Ann LANGFORD 1585-1659, Sussex Eng - New Haven CT

Hannah or Ann LANGFORD is my10th great-grandmother, 11th to my children, 12th to the grandchildren.  It can be somewhat difficult to find and verify names and relationships in such an early time, without original old Parish Registers, clear writing, and consistency in family residences or parishes. There could be errors in this post. Variants of the name Ann can be Anne, Annie, Anna, Hannah, Hanny.

 I first saw the name Ann LANGFORD in walking back through time in my Treat-Graves-Brooks-Potter male ancestors in very early Connecticut, and decided to see if I could find any information and details about her - her parents, more information about her husband, and perhaps the region she apparently lived in - Sussex, England.  Lewes, in East Sussex, is situated on the River Ouse, where the river cuts sharply through the South Downs - chalk hills. The River Ouse drains south to the English Channel, only 8 miles away.  

Ann LANGFORD Potter Beacher appeared in New Haven, Connecticut, having emigrated after her 2nd husband John Beecher, had unexpectedly died in 1638 in his first months after travelling to New Haven, Connecticut to help prepare land and a home for her, his son, and at least one or more stepchildren. That pointed me back to Lewes to find more information in England. I was able to tease out her first husband's name, William POTTER, and searching backwards in time, I was very surprised to find his death/burial of 14 Aug 1619, in Lewes, Sussex, Eng., aged 39. Further information a little further down in this post.

William POTTER and Ann LANGFORD were married 06 Oct 1607 in Lewes, Sussex, England [transcribed records at FamilySearch], and had several possible children born in Lewes as found on FindMyPast:

   1.  William [jr], bap 28 Aug 1608, d. 1662 in New Haven CT; m abt 1639 CT,
            Frances ____; 6 children known.
   2.  John [ancestor], bap 18 Feb 1608/09, d 10 Aug 1644 New Haven CT;
            m Elizabeth WOOD  in Eng., (1606-28 Jul 1677), 4 children known. 
   3. Mary, bap 21 Mar 1611/12; nothing further known about her.
   4. Steven, bap 1 Aug 1614; nothing further known about him. 

Nothing is yet known about William's occupation, nor the cause of his death at a relatively young age. On his minimal burial register it states he was a "housekeeper" - and several other men on the same list, also listed that. Did they mean "householder" -? Did he work in an Estate House-? Confusion continues. In the early 1600s, deaths were often caused by various epidemics such as Dysentery, Scarlet Fever, Plague, Tuberculosis, Typhoid, Typhus, Influenza and related secondary infections such as Pneumonia. Perhaps it was a disease that caused his early death.

One might suspect that William sr. and their two younger children Mary and Steven died about the same time. However, I have not found burial records for the children in Lewes, Sussex, nor nearby places. 

Several years after William's death, about 1622/23, Ann LANGFORD Potter married for a second time to John Beecher. I have  few records or history for John Beecher. The couple had one known son, Isaac, who was born about 1625, in Lewes. He married and had 10 known children (as seen in the book, Families of Ancient New Haven, V.01) Clearly I need to continue more research, including letters to the local parishes/societies.

John Beecher set off for New Haven, Connecticut in 1637/8 along with oldest stepson Wm Potter jr., to set up a house on land he bought.  Unfortunately, as mentioned before, John  died in the winter of 1638/39. I have not found details of his death. Not knowing of his death, Ann LANGFORD Potter Beecher with the living children: John, William jr, and Isaac - set sail for New Haven, Connecticut, arriving only to find that her husband had died in the winter. 

In terms of support for the widow Ann LANGFORD, and her youngest son, Isaac Beecher jr., I found a history note that because Ann LANGFORD Potter Beecher was a midwife, she was granted assistance from New Haven community leaders. Her two other Potter sons would have been of an age to assist her as well. Her youngest son, Isaac Beecher jr., married  Mary ____, approximately 1650 in New Haven, and had 5 known children, all sons. In New Haven town, the land she had is listed in her previous name: Ann Potter, and is by her two Potter sons, William jr. and John. Her son by John Beecher, would have been living with her on her property.  See map link at bottom of the page. 

Ann LANGFORD Potter Beecher did not marry again, having buried two husbands, and likely continued working as a midwife for the community. She remained in New Haven, and died on 5 Apr 1659, aged 74. 

A map of 1641 New Haven town is available and I was able to find the POTTER family as well as many other of my very early New Haven ancestors. The plan of the town is unique, and the 9-square design was planned by one of the early town settlers, John Brockett, and is known by his name, i.e., "the John Brockett map."  Click here to view the map online at the New Haven Museum (and yes, it is safe to click through). 

                    -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -

If any of these people are also your ancestors, I am happy to share what I have about their families and ancestors as well. You can best contact me at calewisATtelusDOTnet as Blogger is not allowing me to reply to any comments on my posts.  

Benjamin PIERCE 1657-1730, Dorset Eng to Massachusetts

It's been a while since I posted about another ancestor. I'm back on track now after completing a very large project. Here's a post about a long-ago ancestor in the 1600s: Benjamin PIERCE - variants Pearse, Peirse, Peirce, Pears, Piers, and many more. He is the 7th great-grandfather through the RICE line of brothers Jack & Bill Lewis, 8th to their children, 9th to their grandchildren, 10th to great-grandchildren. 

Benjamin PIERCE was the 4th child, eldest son, born in Scituate, Massachusetts, in approximately
1657. His birthdate is inferred to information of him being 13 in 1670 records, although of course he might have turned 14 soon after. Scituate is the "heart" icon on the coast below Boston. 

Here is some information on Benjamin's parents: his father was [Capt] Michael PIERCE (1615 - 1676) who married Persis EAMES, (1621-1662) in approximately 1644 or 1645.  He was the eldest of the two sons of Michael and Persis; the couple had 5 daughters as well, one of whom died as an infant.  *See below at end for Michael's supposed 2 brothers who also immigrated.

Research for the families of Benjamin PIERCE and his mother Persis EAMES was relatively straightforward as the Online Parish Clerk for Dorset [OPC] England, was extremely thorough and detailed in his postings of genealogical/historical information of the Pierce & Eames families. FamilySearch and Ancestry both have more digitized records from early Massachusetts town records. More research is needed to clarify several fuzzy dates and relationships. 

Note Benjamin's parents, Michael PIERCE & Persis EAMES, immigrated from Fordington, Dorset, England, to Massachusetts or Rhode Island before 1645.  All of their eight children were born in Scituate, Plymouth, Massachusetts, as confirmed by summary images of baptism registers for Scituate, MA.  

The parish church in Fordington, Dorset is
St. George, [right] with a very early history  in this area from the 11th Century on. 
Photo credit: By Chris Downer,
CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org
/w/index.php?curid=12996528  

Benjamin PIERCE was the 4th child, eldest son, born in 1657, in Scituate, MA. 

On 5 Feb 1678, Benjamin PIERCE married Martha ADAMS [1658-1717] who had been born in Plymouth County, MA of very early settlers to MA. The couple had 8 known children, as follows, all born in Scituate, Plymouth, MA: 

   1.  Martha, b 14 Dec 1679, d 18 Feb 1700.  
   2.  Jerusha [ancestor], b 13 Feb 1681, d. 6 Apr 1758, Scituate MA;
              m approx 1702 to Deacon Joseph BAILEY jr., 5 children
   3.  Ebenezer, b 2 Apr 1686, d 15 Dec 1772, MA; poss. married, [Mary]
              2 children, [not proven]
   4.  Benjamin (jr), b 2 Apr 1684 
   5.  Persis, b 6 Jun 1688, d 1717 Scituate MA
   6   Caleb, b 12 Jun 1690, d 22 Dec 1769 Litchfield CT; m est 1720 
              Hannah Tilden; 2 girls known
   7.  Thomas, b 14 Nov 1692, d 9 May 1775; m 29 Jan 1717 Mary Booth,
               2 children   
   8.  Adams, b 11 Jun 1695, d 1714. 
   9.  Jeremiah, b 17 Sep 1697, d Jan 1780, MA; m 24 Aug 1732 Bethsheba
             Litchfield; no other research completed yet. 
  10.  Elisha [Deacon], b 24 Nov 1699, d 15 Jul 1770; m Sara Edson, 2 girls, 2 boys.

Benjamin is listed with other landowners in a late 1620s or early 1630s land record.  For a number of years, Benjamin, with 2 other men, had responsibility from the district council to examine the boundaries of various lands, re buying land, subdividing land, clarifying boundary edges for all freemen. 

After his father Michael died in 1676, Benjamin was executor of his father's considerable estate, receiving the majority of the land and buildings. He apparently managed it extremely well, becoming a wealthy landowner with holdings in excess of 1000 acres. He also owned and ran a sawmill that was erected on a river running through his lands. 

Like his father before him, Benjamin was appointed Captain of the local militia. 

Martha, died aged 59 on 29 Dec 1717 in Scituate MA. 

Two years later, on 21 Jul 1718, he married widow Elizabeth Lobdell Perry, who had 12 children. They had no children together. Elizabeth died in 1742. 

Benjamin died aged 73 on 8 May 1730, where he lived his entire life, in Scituate, MA. A gravestone may be seen at Groveland Cemetery, Scituate, MA:   FindAGrave  

*See "Pierce Genealogy, being the Record of the Posterity of Capt. Michael, John, Capt. William Pierce, who came to this country from England,"* by Frederick Clifton Pierce of Rockford Ill., published in 1889, Albany NY, by Joel Munsell's Sons.  

This is a debunked genealogy book that inaccurately states three brothers, Capt. Michael, John, and Capt. William, emigrated from Frodington, Dorset, England before 1645.  This has been thoroughly debunked as false by current genealogist researchers. Michael Pierce had no brothers with these names. Actually, no siblings have been verified as yet. And there are many Pierce immigrants with variants: Pearse, Peirse, Peirce, Pears, Piers, etc. These first names are very very common as well. Easy to get excited about how they "must" be brothers. They weren't.

                                -- / -- / -- / -- / -- / -- / -- / -- / -- / --

If these are your ancestors, I am happy to share what little I have on these ancestors. And if there are errors, please do let me know, via calewis at telus dot net, or in the Comments below and I will get back to you either by email or in the Comments. I appreciate the opportunity to correct any issues or add additional information in these family trees.

Blogger - or my computer - is not letting me "reply" to your comments. If I don't reply to your Comment, please know that I'm totally thrilled you came to read my post and commented! You truly make my day!!