Category Archives: Stanwood

Mercer, Stanwood

Thomas Mercer of Massachusetts & Maine, 1600s

Leave a comment

The final loose end to the Witham family tree update last month is Thomas Mercer, thought to be the father of Lydia (Mercer) Butler who married John Stanwood.

A total guesstimate for Thomas Mercer’s year of birth is 1625, which is reasonable give his appearance in the Robert Button inventory taken in 1652, referenced down two paragraphs.

Because Thomas moved to what is today’s Maine and lived there for many years, not as much is known about his life. He lived in Sheepscot, then in York County, Maine. However, few records survive due to an Indian raid and the burning of the village.

Thomas may be the same man found in the list of Petty Debts included in the inventory of Robert Button, deceased, of Suffolk County, Massachusetts, dated 10 January 1652.

The few details known about the Mercers life in Maine come from depositions described in The History of the Stanwood Family in America, published in 1899:

How many children Thomas Mercer had is uncertain. Because there is a Thomas Mercer in southern Maine in the early 1700s, he may well have had a son, Thomas Jr., who remained in Maine.

Lydia appears to be his daughter, too, based on her deposition.

Lastly, some say that Esther who married Robert Scott by 1677 might be a Mercer daughter of Thomas, but no documentation has been found supporting that theory.

If you can add any factual material to this life sketch, please leave a comment.

Stanwood

Philip Stainwood/Stanwood & Jane (MNU), Gloucester, MA, 1600s

Leave a comment

Philip Stainwood/Stanwood is the immigrant ancestor of the Stanwood family in America today. It must be emphasized, though, that in spite of online trees, there is no documentation of Philip’s likely English origins, his birth year or the maiden name of his wife, Jane.

The birth of their (presumed) first child, Philip Jr., is not recorded in the colonies and Philip’s name doesn’t appear in Massachusetts records until the birth of his second son, John, born in February 1652 in Gloucester, Essex, Massachusetts.

Therefore, it seems reasonable to conclude that Philip Jr. may well have been born in England and that the young family arrived in Massachusetts about 1651.

Children: (All events in Gloucester, Essex, Massachusetts unless noted otherwise):

  1. Philip, born c1650, place unknown; married Mary (MNU), c1677
  2. John, born February 1652; died 25 January 1705/06; married Lydia (Messer/Mercer Butler), 9 December 1680, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts
  3. Jane, born 2 April 1655; died before December 1695, when her husband remarried; married Timothy Somes, 2 April 1673
  4. Samuel, born 5 March 1657/58; married Hannah Pressen of Amesbury, 16 November 1686
  5. Jonathan, born 29 March 1661; married Mary Nicols, 27 December 1688
  6. ?Mary, birth recorded as 29 April 1664, which might be an error for 1654; reportedly died 3 March 1673/74
  7. Naomi, born 29 April 1664; married William Sargent, 26 October 1681
  8. Ruth, born 10 March 1666; married John Hammons, 7 July 1686
  9. Hannah, born 16 September 1670; no further record

Philip Stainwood/Stanwood died on 7 August 1672 in Gloucester, Essex, Massachusetts. His widow, Jane, married (2) John Pearce, c1673. Jane might be the “Jean Pearce” who died in Gloucester on 18 August 1706. John Pearce predeceased her on 15 December 1695, also in Gloucester.

Stanwood

John Stanwood & Lydia Messer/Mercer Butler, Gloucester, MA, 1600s

Leave a comment

As we move back a generation in the Stanwood family, facts are a little harder to come by, at least concerning Lydia (Messer/Mercer) Butler.

John Stanwood was born at “the last” of February 1652 in Gloucester, Essex, Massachusetts according to the entry in the town clerk’s records. He was the second child and second son of Philip Stanwood and Jane, his wife. [Many online trees claim her maiden name was Whitmarsh, but there is NO documentation found to support that claim.]

Therefore, Jane is (MNU) or Maiden Name Unknown.

John Stanwood married Lydia Messer or Mercer on 9 December 1680 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts. It appears from four depositions that Lydia gave in her lifetime that she was born c1662, possibly in Maine and that her father was Thomas “Messer,” thought to be Mercer.

She married a Mr. Butler when she was about seventeen years old, c1679, but was soon widowed.

The History of the Stanwood Family in America has a detailed summary of her life, beginning with the John Stainwood entry at the bottom of page 31:

These depositions are the only source of information about Lydia’s life before she married John Stanwood.

Children: (All events took place in Gloucester.)

  1. John, born 26 September 1681; married Deborah Robinson, 16 June 1707
  2. Jonathan, born 12 September 1683; died 7 May 1745; married Dorcas Robinson, 27 August 1707. Dorcas was the sister of Deborah who married John Stanwood.
  3. Lydia, born 2 December 1685; married Jonathan Parsons, 6 February 1710/11
  4. Naomi, born 16 January 1687/88; married William Fear/Fears, 24 July 1721
  5. James, born 17 March 1689/90; married Mary Davis, 25 December 1712
  6. Mary, born 31 March 1695; married Daniel Davis, 2 December 1720
  7. Abigail, born 4 June 1697; married John Walklate [That’s what the record says and he is the only man of that name found in the Gloucester records.], 28 December 1721
  8. Hepzibah, born 3 October 1699; married James Witham, 7 February 1722/23

John Stanwood Sr. died on 25 January 1705/06 in Gloucester, Essex, Massachusetts and his son, John Jr., was appointed administrator of his estate.

Lydia’s final deposition was taken on 19 July 1742, so she died sometime after that date, probably in Gloucester, where the town clerk continued to omit death dates from his records!