Category Archives: Loyalists

Burt Family, Follett Family, Loyalists

Rebecca (Follett?), Wife of Loyalist Benjamin Burt

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For many years, I did not know the maiden name of Benjamin Burt’s wife, Rebecca. Even now, the evidence is tenuous because the Follett family has many holes in its early history. It is a relatively unique name in 1600’s colonial American records. Several men with the name settled in New Hampshire/Maine, but they have not been linked to Robert Follett and wife Persis Black of Salem, Massachusetts in the 1650’s.

Robert and Persis Follett were the parents of nine children, whose births are recorded in Salem, Essex, Massachusetts. However, the deaths of Robert and Persis are not found there and at least two of their children, Abraham and John, removed to Attleborough, Bristol, Massachusetts by 17 April 1706, when John’s wife, Martha Callum, was noted to be the first burial in that town. However, there is a gap between the birth of Martha’s last child, Samuel, on 5 April 1706 and their next youngest child, Ruth, born on 9 December 1696, in Salem.

Children of John and Martha (Callum) Follett:

1. John, born 29 July 1695, Salem, MA
2. Ruth, born 9 December 1696, Salem, MA
3. Joseph, baptized 21 May 1699, Salem, MA
4. Samuel, born 5 April 1706, Attleborough, MA

There were likely children born in between while the family was on the move between Salem and Attleborough.

When did John and Martha Follett leave Salem and when did they settle in Attleborough? The second question is easier to answer. With mortality rates relatively high back then, if Martha was the first burial in Attleborough, then they probably hadn’t lived there for more than a year. However, no records have been found to indicate when they left Salem or if Robert and Persis Follett left with them.

Abraham Follett married Sarah Callum on 30 March 1697 in Salem. They are reportedly (e.g. unproven) the parents of a Joseph Follett who died in Attleborough on 24 April 1724. No age is recorded for this Joseph, although he likely was of legal age as his parents’ names are not given either.

How does all this fit in with my Rebecca? Rebecca’s husband, Benjamin Burt, was the son of Seaborn Burt. Seaborn was so named as he was born at sea somewhere between Quebec and Boston upon his parents’ release from captivity after an Indian raid in Deerfield, Massachusetts.His given name is somewhat unique, for obvious reasons.

Proof has not been found for Rebecca’s maiden name, but there is a Seaborn Folliott of Norwalk who married widow Sarah Forbes on 5 Jan 1797. This appears to be the link for suggesting that Rebecca was a Follett/Folliott.

In trying to connect Robert Follett’s children with Rebecca, the CT Barbour Collection shows a marriage for Joseph Follett of Marblehead, Massachusetts and Annah Tongue of New London, CT on 6 March 1730/31 in New London, Connecticut. (Did the Folletts removed to Marblehead, Massachusetts on the way to Attleborough? The few Folletts found in Marblehead vital records all lived in the early 1800’s. Answer: I don’t know.)

It is certainly possible that the Folletts indeed left Salem for nearby Marblehead before moving on to Attleboro and then went on to the area around New London, Connecticut. Joseph then made his last home in Ridgefield, CT.

Ridgefield vital records found in the Barbour collection include:

Joseph Follett, died 30 July 1794, aged 86 years.
Anne, wife of Joseph Follett, died 8 May 1788

Children:
1. George, son of Joseph & Annah, born 30 April 1732
2. Bartlett, son of Joseph & Annah, born 12 Jan 1735/6
3. Hannah, daughter of Joseph & Anna, born 13 Sept 1738
4. Rebeckah, dau of Joseph & Anna, born 9 Jan 1740/1
5. Sarah, daughter of Joseph & Anna, born 6 July 1749
6. John, son of Joseph & Anna, born 20 August 1754

Another clue that my Rebecca was a Follett is that her (assumed) brother, George, married Thankful Burt, sister of Benjamin Burt. There is a family connection between the Burts and the Folletts.

I am quite convinced that this Joseph and Annah/Anna Follett are the parents of Rebecca who married Benjamin Burt. There are no conflicting records to indicate this Rebecca married someone else or died young.

I also believe, based on preponderance of evidence, that Joseph Follett of Ridgefield is the son of John Follett, baptized on 21 May 1699 in Salem, MA. The one thing that bothers me a bit is that Joseph would have been about 31 when he married Annah Tongue, which is late by New England standards of that era. Young men typically married after age 21 and often around age 25. However, since no records have been located for Joseph between his baptism in Salem and marriage in New London, it is very possible that he had a first wife who died and the marriage record was either lost or the event was not recorded.

What became of Benjamin and Rebecca Burt? The Burts were Loyalists and when the Revolutionary War ended, they sailed from New York to New Brunswick, Canada. Benjamin died soon after, on 10 August 1785 in Burton, Sunbury, New Brunswick, Canada. No death date has been found for Rebecca, but all of their children were born in Connecticut and all made their new homes in New Brunswick.

The Folletts have been added to my “to do” list for the next trip to Salt Lake. I would like to fill in the gaps and obtain some documentary proof of my hypothesis.

American Revolution, Loyalists

A Baker’s Dozen of Patriots & Loyalists

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I’ve read many stories of families split by wars, split in terms of members taking opposing sides. This situation is often mentioned particularly in annals of the U.S. Civil War, probably because that is the most recent war in which this was an issue.

Here is just a brief description of my baker’s dozen of Patriots and Loyalists, all through my mother’s family lines, which came together with the marriage of my great great grandparents, Calvin Segee Adams and Nellie F. Tarbox on 1 February 1875 in Calais, Maine.

First, the Patriots:

1. Joses Bucknam, born 6 March 1761, Malden, MA; married Abigail Hay and they moved to Mason, Hillsboro, NH, where Joses died on 18 April 1835. He was a private captured by the British and sent to the notorious Old Mill Prison in Portsmouth, England. It was first thought that he had deserted, but he was actually a prisoner.
2. Samuel Scripture, born 27 April 1727, Groton, Middlesex, MA; married Mary Green. He died about 1817, probably in Nelson, Cheshire, NH. Samuel was a Minuteman who answered the call to arms and fought at Breed’s Hill, commonly called Bunker Hill.
3. James Scripture, born 11 January 1749, Groton, Middlesex, MA; married Sibbel Shepley. They also removed to Mason, Hillsboro, NH where James died on 19 June 1810. James served several enlistments, attaining the rank of sergeant.
4. William Hay, born 18 September 1744, Stoneham, Middlesex, MA; married Phebe Brown. William died after 23 April 1803, possibly in Addison, VT. He served as a private with a militia unit from nearby Reading, MA.
5. John Haskell, born 7 January 1744/45, Gloucester, Essex, MA; married Hannah Parsons. They removed to New Gloucester, Cumberland, ME where John died on 4 October 1828. John gave civil service during the war, holding two town jobs. (If you have an ancestor who performed civil service, such as holding a town office, the Daughters of the American Revolution recognizes such a person as a patriot and descendants qualify for membership in DAR.)
6. Samuel Tarbox, born 23 May 1731, Gloucester, Essex, MA; married Deborah Sayward. They also removed to New Gloucester, Cumberland, ME where Samuel died on 26 July 1809. Like John Haskell, Samuel served as a town officer during the war.

American patriots fought long and hard for their independence from England. While I am very proud of my ancestors’ stands, I also respect the actions of my Loyalist ancestors, as each of them not only stood up for their beliefs, they sacrificed (read: lost) everything when they sailed for Canada at the end of the war. Their new life in New Brunswick was hard and some died almost penniless.

The Loyalists:

1. James Astle, born about 1745; died before March 1815 in Ludlow, Northumberland, New Brunswick, Canada; married Elizabeth McLean. James Astle and his family departed from Schenectady, Schenectady, NY as the war drew to a close and they settled in Canada. James has no known military or civil service for the Crown.
2. Robert Carlisle, born about 1760; died in Charlotte, Washington, ME in 1834; married Catherine (MNU). Robert is on the Loyalist lists, although I wouldn’t technically consider him a Loyalist as he apparently only lived in the Nova Scotia area during the war. He did serve in the British military, but only to guard Nova Scotia. The Carlisles didn’t move to Maine until the 1820’s.
3. John Adams, born about 1740, probably Fairfield County, CT; married Sarah Coley. The Adams group was a well-to-do family, split by political loyalties during the Revolution. The last mention of John Adams describes him as a squatter on Adams Island in the West Isles of New Brunswick, Canada. The family turned to fishing to make their living when they sailed with the fall 1783 fleet from New York to Canada.
4. Benjamin Burt, born 29 December 1741, Ridgefield, Fairfield, CT; married Rebecca Follett. The Burt family was another torn by political divisions. This family also left CT for Canada at the close of the war. Benjamin died on 10 August 1785 in Burton, Sunbury, New Brunswick, Canada.
5. Jonathan Parker Jr., born about 1764, probably in NY; wife is unknown, but he had at least six children. He died after 1811 probably on Campobello, West Isles, New Brunswick, Canada. Campobello is best known as the summer island home of President Franklin Roosevelt. Jonathan is another with no known military ties, but he is found on a list called Return of Loyalists called Anabaptists enrolled in Caleb Barrett’s Company who have actually _____ on board the armed ship Camel bound for St. Johns River.
6. Phillip Crouse, born about 1761 in Zeeland, Netherlands; married Sarah Burt, daughter of Loyalist Benjamin Burt. Phillip died on 21 February 1857 in Keswick, York, New Brunswick, Canada. Phillip lived in North Carolina during the war, but settled in Canada after the war ended.

7. Walter Stewart, born about 1750; married Elizabeth Briggs on 3 March 1774 in Poughkeepsie, Dutchess, NY, but both were residents of Fishkill, Dutchess, NY at the time they married. They likely had a very large family, but those probably born in NY are unknown. They had at least six children born in Canada between 1785 and 1798. The Stewarts left NY for Canada sometime between their marriage and the 1785 birth of son John. Walter died about 1820, probably in Sussex, Queens, New Brunswick, Canada, where the family eventually settled.

Interested in joining a hereditary society? There is one around for almost every group imaginable and, yep, there is one for those with both Patriots and Loyalists. It is aptly named The Hereditary Order of the Descendants of Loyalists and Patriots of the American Revolution.

If you are a descendant of any of these men, I love to meet new cousins, so please leave a comment.

 

Carlisle, Hicks, Loyalists, New Brunswick Canada, Stewart/Stuart Family

Descended Twice from the Same Ancestors – Robert and Catherine Carlisle

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Have you ever discovered that you are descended from one set of parents through two or more of their children? I have. Three of my colonial New England lines – Haskell, Giddings and Lakin – have produced two children each from whom I descend. I also have one Loyalist ancestor from whom I’ve found two daughters who are both my ancestors. I suspect, but probably won’t ever be able to prove due to lack of records, that I have several Slovak families from whom I descend more than once simply because the village was so small. There have been centuries of intermarriages there, but the church records only begin in 1828.

Strangely enough, I haven’t yet found a single double line in my husband’s family.

I am going to be blogging about each of my double lines. Today I’ll start with the simplest to follow – that of Loyalist Robert Carlisle.

Robert Carlisle married wife, Catherine, maiden name unknown, about 1785, probably in New Brunswick although his regiment was formed in Nova Scotia, Canada. Robert was born about 1760, place unknown, and died in 1834 in Charlotte, Washington, Maine according to wife Catherine’s request for a widow’s pension. Catherine was born about 1764, her place of birth also unknown.

They were the parents of at least eight children – Robert Jr., John, James, Hugh, Abigail, Daniel, Catherine and Mary. They might also be parents of Tyson, Hannah, George, Ann and Benjamin, but those relationships are still unproven.

My two ancestors are daughters Abigail and Catherine. Abigail was born about 1793 in New Brunswick, Canada and died 27 Mar 1871 in Meddybemps, Washington, Maine, which borders Charlotte, the town where the Carlisles settled. Abigail married Israel Hicks on 9 March 1819 in Shediac, Westmoreland, New Brunswick, Canada. Israel and Abigail Hicks had eight children, one of whom was my 2x great grandmother, Elida Ann Hicks, born about 1833 in Buctouche, Kent County, New Brunswick, Canada.

Catherine Carlisle was born about 1798 in New Brunswick, Canada and died 30 December 1888 in Calais, Washington, Maine. She married John Stewart on 28 Dec 1814 in Sussex, Kings County, New Brunswick, Canada. John and Catherine Stewart had thirteen children, one of whom was my 2x great grandfather, Charles Augustus Stewart, born 1 July 1822 in Charlotte, Washington County, Maine.

Charles Stewart and Elida Ann Hicks were first cousins, as their mothers were sisters. They married about 6 July 1860, when they filed their intentions, in Calais, Washington, Maine.

Here is an easy viewing chart:

CarlisleDoubleDescent
Carlisle Descent Chart

Do you have any double descents in your family lines?