Category Archives: Sweet Family

Samuel Boone & Mary Sweet, No. Kingstown, RI + Her Parents

Today, I need to recap a loose end – the parents of Mary Sweet, who married Samuel Boone, plus share the life story of Samuel, Mary and their family.

While trying to find documentation that Valentine and Eleanor Sweet were the parents of Mary, wife of Samuel Boone of North Kingstown, Rhode Island in the early 1700s, I actually was able to disprove the relationship.

Ironically, proof positive was found on the same page of North Kingstown land deeds that showed Valentine Sweet selling land to Samuel Boone.


Bottom Portion of Page 165

The top portion of page 165 is a land deed filed from James Sweet to “my Loveing son in law Samuell Boone.”


Top Half of Page 165

However, not much more is known about James Sweet and wives (1) Hannah and (2) Mary (Pearce) Hill, widow of Robert Hill of Prudence Island, Rhode Island. James and Mary married between 1690-1711, which is quite a span of years.

James Sweet was born 8 May 1657 in Warwick, Kent, Rhode Island, the son of James Sweet and Mary Greene. His first wife was Hannah (MNU) and they were the parents of possibly only two children. James and Mary Pearce Hill had no children together.

Children:

  1. Mary, born c1685; married Samuel Boone, c1706
  2. James; married Sarah Stephenson, 14 December 1722, Portsmouth, Rhode Island, but both of Prudence Island. James is identified as the son of James and Hannah Sweet

There is no indication of when James, the son, was born and some say Sarah was a second wife.

However, I have satisfied myself that James and Hannah are the parents of Mary who married Samuel Boone, so I will move onto their large family.

Samuel Boone was born c1680, probably England or Wales. He married Mary Sweet, c1706, probably in North Kingstown, Washington, Rhode Island. Samuel left a will, probated in 1766, but his wife isn’t mentioned. However, it partially burned and it is possible that Mary is mentioned in the destroyed portion.

Children, with all births registered in North Kingstown:

  1. Hannah, born 16 October 1707; not in her father’s will
  2. Ann, born 18 September 1709; married Mr. Ga___ (name burned on records). Ann may have married Job Gardiner, as that is the only family whose surname begins with GA. One Ann Gardiner died on 15 March 1776 in North Kingstown.
  3. Mary, born 10 January 1711; not in her father’s will
  4. Freelove, born 10 July 1713; died c1741; married David Vaughn, 7 December 1738, North Kingstown or East Greenwich, Kent, Rhode Island. The marriage is recorded in both towns, but they likely married in the bride’s town of North Kingstown. David married (2) Mary Bailey, 11 January 1742, East Greenwich, Kent, Rhode Island.
  5. Susannah, born 7 May 1715; married John Walton, by 1735
  6. Samuel, born 9 April 1717; died c1783, New Brunswick, Canada; married Mary Wightman, 6 December 1736, North Kingstown, Washington, Rhode Island. She died in 1782 in Rhode Island.
  7. Sarah, born 7 February 1718; not in her father’s will
  8. James, born 28 November 1720; probably is the James who married Mary Updike, 21 April 1745, North Kingstown, Washington, Rhode Island
  9. Abigail, born 13 April 1723; married Mr. Smith per her father’s will
  10. Elizabeth, born 19 March 1727; died 24 July 1799, North Kingstown, Washington, Rhode Island; married (1) Mr. Peckham, c1748 and had one son, Benjamin Peckham (2) John Lea, 31 October 1756, Newport County, Rhode Island

I haven’t found an online digital image, nor are the North Kingstown wills in the FamilySearch collection, but his will is found in volume 8, pages 292-293.

Valentine Sweet & Wife Eleanor (MNU) + James & Hannah Sweet, North Kingstown, RI 1704-06

Valentine Sweet is a proven son of James Sweet and Mary Greene, but aside from his date of birth – 14 February 1665 in Providence, Providence, Rhode Island, there are very few facts to be found about him.

Valentine, in fact, is my weak link connecting his reputed daughter, Mary (who married Samuel Boone), to the Sweet-Greene branch of the family tree.

What can be proven about Valentine besides his date of birth, parents and siblings? Who were his children and where is the proof?

Here are the few facts to be found about Valentine Sweet:

  1. He sold land to Samuel Boone of Portsmouth on 30 October 1704
  2. He sold land to brother-in-law Samuel Wickham on 15 January 1710/11
  3. He sold land to brother Samuel Sweet in 1712
  4. He sold land to Job Green on 5 May 1715
  5. His wife was named Eleanor, in both the Boone and Wickham land deeds.

Part of the difficulty in documenting this family comes from the fact that North Kingstown had a fire and lost some of its town records. Some were saved, but partially burned. This is what remains of the land deed with Samuel Boone:


Page 165


Page 166

From the fragment, it is possible to make out Valentine’s name and Eleanor is clearly identified as his wife. The date of 30 October 1704 can also be read.

The names of Valentine’s children are not recorded in any town records. Nevertheless, he is attributed with having a daughter, Mary, and a son, Valentine. The family configuration appears many places online, with no sources. (If it’s online, it must be true, right? I think NOT!)

Children:

Mary, born c1686; married Samuel Boone
Valentine

I strongly suspect that the timing of the Sweet-Boone land sale is what prompted someone (probably years ago) to state that Samuel Boone’s wife, Mary, was the daughter of Valentine Sweet. The deed is dated 30 October 1704 and the birth of Samuel and Mary’s first child, Hannah, is recorded in town records as 16 October 1707.

This deed is proof positive that the two families knew each other.

However, it is curious to me that although Samuel and Mary Boone had ten documented children (two sons and eight daughters), but none named Valentine or Eleanor. Of course, it is possible that Eleanor wasn’t a first wife and wasn’t the mother of Mary, if she was Valentine’s daughter.

Another curious bit of info is that the two sons were named Samuel and then James and the first born daughter was named Hannah. There are communities that follow naming patterns and a very common one is that the first son is named for the father’s father and the second for the mother’s father. The first daughter is named for the mother’s mother and the second for the father’s mother.

Samuel and Mary Boone’s first three girls were Hannah, Ann (which was often interchanged with Hannah – did the first Hannah die soon?) and then Mary.

If they followed the naming pattern, then Mary (Sweet?)’s parents would have been named James and Hannah Sweet.

Guess what? Valentine Sweet had an older brother named James, born 8 May 1657 in Warwick, Kent, Rhode Island. James, who lived on Prudence Island, Rhode Island, reportedly married twice. His first wife was Hannah (MNU) and the second wife was Mary (Pearce) Hill, widow of Robert Hill. James and Mary had no children together, so any of his issue would have been children of Hannah.

One last tidbit is that Prudence Island today is considered part of Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Samuel Boone lived in Portsmouth, according to the 1704 land deed, but Valentine’s brother, James, resided on Prudence Island.


Source: Google Maps

I think there is perhaps more circumstantial evidence here supporting Mary, wife of Samuel Boone, as the daughter of James and Hannah Sweet, as opposed to Valentine and Eleanor Sweet.

I’d love input on this theory. Please leave a comment or two!

UPDATE: I think I have answered my own question about the parentage of Mary (?Sweet) Boone:


James Sweet to “My Loveing Son in Law Samuell Boone”
Source: FamilySearch, North Kingstown, RI Land Evidence Records 1686-1718, page 165

Where did I find this land deed? In the North Kingstown burned volume, but the most amazing thing is that the Valentine Sweet deed that I cropped from page 165 is the bottom half of the same page where this James Sweet land deed is recorded!

Here’s a good lesson for beginners – do your own research. I didn’t think the clues added up to Mary being a child of Valentine and Eleanor Sweet. By digging a bit deeper myself, I found the answer staring me right in the face on one of the only written records left by Valentine Sweet!

 

 

James Sweet & Mary Greene of Rhode Island

James Sweet was born c1630, probably in Wales, the son of John Sweet and Mary (MNU). As James’s father died when James was about 7 and his mother married (2) Ezekiel Holliman, he and his brother and sister were raised mostly by their stepfather.

James married Mary Greene, daughter of Dr. John Greene and Joan Tatarsole c1654. Mary was baptized on 19 May 1633 at St. Thomas Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. James died after 1695, probably in Kingstown, Washington, Rhode Island.

James and Mary had a large family of nine children, but some may have died in childhood.

Children:

  1. Philip, born 15 July 1655, Warwick, Kent, Rhode Island; died after 8 November 1686 when his father deeded Providence lands to him; married Elizabeth (MNU). Philip lived at Prudence Island in 1686.
  2. James, born 8 May 1657, Warwick, Kent, Rhode Island; died after 8 November 1686 when his father deeded Providence lands to him; married (1) Hannah (MNU) (2) Mary Pearce Hill, widow of Robert Hill
  3. Mary, born 2 February 1659, Warwick, Kent, Rhode Island; died 1746; married Enoch Place of Kingstown, Washington, Rhode Island
  4. Benoni, born 28 March 1663, Warwick, Kent, Rhode Island; died 19 June 1751, North Kingstown, Washington, Rhode Island; married Elizabeth (MNU). Benoni also received land in the 1686 deed from his father.
  5. Valentine, born 14 February 1665, Providence, Providence, Rhode Island; died after 8 November 1686; married Eleanor (MNU). Valentine also received land from his father in the 1686 land deed.
  6. Samuel, born 1 November 1667, Providence, Providence, Rhode Island; died 26 November 1728, North Kingstown, Washington, Rhode Island
  7. Jeremiah, born 6 January 1668/69, Providence, Providence, Rhode Island; no further record
  8. Renewed, born 18 July 1671, Providence, Providence, Rhode Island; no further record
  9. Sylvester, born 1 March 1673/74, Providence, Providence, Rhode Island; died c1763, possibly in Newport, Rhode Island; married Sarah Tew

James was made a Warwick freeman in 1655. He also served as a Warwick commissioner in 1653, 1658 and 1659.  He also moved several times as he lived in Portsmouth 1681, Prudence Island 1686, Warwick 1683 and Kingstown in 1686.

My line of descent:

James Sweet & Mary Greene
Valentine Sweet & Eleanor (MNU)
Mary Sweet & Samuel Boone
Samuel Boone & Mary Wightman
William Boone & Ruth Hill
Mary Boone & Richard Jones
Rebecca Jones & Peter Crouse
Sarah Moriah Crouse & William Coleman
Hartwell Thomas Coleman & Anna Elisabetha Jensen
Hazel Ethel Coleman & Vernon Tarbox Adams
Doris Priscilla Adams & George Michael Sabo
Linda Anne Sabo Stufflebean – me!