Rev. Obadiah* Holmes, Sr (immigrant)

Other Events and Attributes:

• Residence: 1638, Salem Village, Massachusetts
• Emigration: Bef 1640, Didsbury, England
• Immigration: Bef 1640, Rhode Island
• Other-Begin: 5 Sep 1651, Salem Village, Massachusetts
• Religion: 1668, Baptist church, Middletown, Monmouth Co, New Jersey

Notes:

He was one of the first setters of Rhode lsland and a follower of Roger Williams. His daughter Mary married John Brown. (Broderbund CD History of RI - only mention)

PRESTON LANCASTER CO., ENGLAND
NEW PORT, R.I.
1639 Lived in Salem, MA
1639 (Oct. 11) Salem, MA He had two acres granted to him. Being one of the "Glassmen" as the manufacturers of glass were called.
1640-(May 30)=Baptized Martha.
1642-(May 20)=Baptized Samuel.
1644-(June 9) =Baptized Obediah 2nd.
1641-The glassmen manufactured common glass for windows and pieces are still found in the area.
1644=He drew Lot 39 in the division of wood land at Rehoram.
1645=His name was on the list of those who had forfeited lots at Rehoram for failure to fence land and move their families onto it.
1646=He moved his family to Rehorem and became a member of Rev. Newman's church.
1649=He entered complaints against Samuel Newman for slander, with damages of 100 lbs.
1650=He was presented with others of Rehorem by Grand jury for continuing of meeting, upon the Lord's Day from house to house contrary to order of the court and excummunicated from church with John Clark and John Carandall.
1650=Newport. He and eight others of Rehorem, having separated from the church, were baptized , and Mr. Holmes became pastor. He and some others subsequently left Rehorem and came to Newport.

1651- (July 21)= He with his neighbors, John Clarke and John Crandal of Newport were seized at Lynn, Mass. They being of the representatives of the Newport church, upon the request of William Witten of Lynn became of his advanced age. While Mr. Clarke was preaching the constable came to Mr. Witten's house and apprehended him as well as Mr. John Clarke and John Crandall. The next morning they were sent to prison. Mr. Obediah Holmes denied the lawful baptizing of infants. The principle that had been an issue in England hopelessly lost---that principle of religious freedom: The right of every man, women and child to worship God according to the dictators of his own conscience . Obediah Holmes denied the civil power any right to separate him from the divine higher power. All attempts to induce him to recant failed. Sept. 5,1651 he was taken from prison, stripped naked to the waist--he refused to aid by touching even a button of his clothing and was tied to a post and publicly whipped. Before the whipping they waited awhile for Gov. Indicott who never came. There were thirty strokes with a three cord whip--ninety strokes in all--laid on by a robust executioner, not by one hand, but by two hands. The blows were laid on slowly and with all his strength and pausing after each to gain strength for the next as if to say that the criminal must be punished as deserved. Slowly so as to make him show his suffering under punishment. The white strips turned to red, to black and blue welts, then broke open and drenched his clothing to his shoes. With each lash the executioner seemed determined to bring a moan and an out cry from the criminal but no out cry came. As the man had began to lay the strokes on his back Mr. Holmes had said to the people ,"Though my flesh should fail and my shirt fail, yet my God will not fail." and he prayed unto the Lord not to lay his sin to their charge. The first sound came after he was loosed from the post and we Quote his own account. "Having joyfullness in my heart and cheerfulness in my countenance, for they said that my face shone, I told the magistrate, you have struck me as with roses and moreover God has made it easy for me, yet I pray that it not be laid to your charge." To his dying day be testified that he did not suffer pain although afterwards for weeks he rested and slept on his knees and elbows. He was advised to make his escape by night and depart-" and the next day, while I was on my journary, the constable came to search the house where I had lodged so I escaped their hands and was by the good hand of my heavenly Father brought home to my relatives, wife and eight children. The brothern of our town met me four miles in the woods where we rejoiced together in the Lord."
1675= Holmes wrote an account of his life for his children which is in the Newberry Genealogical Library in Chicago, ILL.
1682=He died Oct. 15, 1682 and buried in his own fields where a tomb was erected to his memory in what is now Middletown, N,J. His wife did not long survive him. He had part in the settling of New Jersey in 1644 and by 1790 had an estimate of 5000 decendents among them many Doctors, Lawyers,
and Ministers.
________

Obadiah Holmes was born in Northern England around the year 1607. His birthplace lay in the rural area of Reddish, five miles southeast of the center of Manchester. He was the second son of Robert Holmes and Catherine Johnson Holmes (the family name was at the time more commonly spelled Hulmes or Hullme.) Baptized in Didsbury Chapel on March 18, 1610, he grew up in a farm family of eight or nine children. Since Obadiah later became a glassmaker and a weaver, it may well be that "bookish" interest was minimal in his early years. He relates that he had been neglectful and strayed from his religious duties and responsibilities for a period of five years. If this was the case, he certainly atoned for it later in his life. His mother's illness and death proved a turning point. "It struck me that my disobedient acts caused her death, which forced me to confess the same to her - my evil ways." Two months after his mother's death, he took Catherine Hyde as his wife. They were married in Manchester's Collegiate College Church on 20 Nov 1630.

The decade of the 1630's so disheartened England's Puritans that they left their homeland in shipload after shipload to create a newer and purer England far away. These were the years of the Great Migration and Obadiah Holmes also "adventured the danger of the seas to come to New England." Holmes and his wife probably sailed from Preston (just north of Liverpool), down the River Ribble, across the Irish Sea, and into the open Atlantic. They had an extremely stormy voyage that prevented them from entering Boston harbor until six weeks had passed. Soon after landing at Boston in the summer or early fall of 1638, they made their way up the coast and settled at Salem, Massachusetts.

By January, 1639, they were in Salem; on the twenty-first of that month Holmes received one acre of land for a house and a promise of ten more acres "to be laid out by the town." The young Salem settlement encouraged Holmes and his co-workers in the development of what may have been the first glass factory in North America. They made the common window glass. Holmes performed other duties befitting a good citizen and often served on juries during his years of residence at Salem.

In March 1640, Obadiah and Catherine became members of the Salem church. Obadiah soon found himself disliking the rigidity of the established church. Nor was it his inclination to keep silent in the midst of religious discussions. He soon decided the church and civil laws could not be tolerated any longer. Obadiah's decision to move was probably more influenced by the fact that the church and civil authorities would not tolerate him. Before Oct of 1643, Obadiah had taken an option in the newly created community of Rehoboth 40 miles south of Boston. He sold his holdings in Salem by 1645, removing himself and his family to Rehoboth the same year. There he was elevated to the status of freeman in 1648. Both Obadiah and Catherine participated in this church's public worship, presided over by Samuel Newman. Obadiah soon found that he had not removed beyond religious and other controversies when making his second settlement in the new country. It took three years for the membership of the Rehoboth church to become divided on doctrinal and legal lines and become aligned behind the minister and Obadiah as the respective leaders. Obadiah's conversion to the distinctive views of the Baptists was developed here. Baptized with the "new baptism" along with 8 others, Obadiah took the irrevocable step toward separation from New England's official way and he became the leader of the Schismatists.

The climax must have come to a head in 1649 for that is the year on October 29 that Obadiah entered suit for slander against Samuel Newman, the minister. The slanderous suit stated that Obadiah had committed perjury in some court proceeding. On the 2nd day of Oct 1650, he, with others of Rehoboth, were indicted by the Grand Jury at New Plymouth for holding meetings on the Lord's day from house to house, "contrary to the order of the court". The burden of the petition was that the dissident group (Holmes and 8 others) had set up a separate and irregular church meeting in opposition to the orderly, approved, and established congregation led by Rev. Samuel Newman. All such schismatical activity, the petitioners urged, should cease forthwith. The court responded mildly enough, by ordering the group (in Holmes' words) "to desist, and neither to ordain officers, nor to baptize, nor to break bread together, nor yet to meet upon the first day of the week..." Holmes and his followers would not find peace in Plymouth nor in Massachusetts Bay, so once more he sold his house and lands and moved to Newport, Rhode Island, hoping that he had left behind for good the meddling civil magistrates, the condescending clergy, the intrusive and insolent laws.

On July 16, 1651, John Clarke, John Crandall and Obadiah Holmes journeyed from Newport into MA, coming to the town of Lynn on the 19th of that month. The purpose of the visit was to bring spiritual comfort and communion to one William Witter, a blind and aged fellow Baptist who had invited the three to come to his house. The broader purpose was, of course, an evangelical one: to tell of the new baptism and its import to all who would hear. And indeed the word was proclaimed, converts were baptized, the elements of the Lord's Supper were served - all of this done privately in William Witter's home.

On Sunday, July 20, two constables entered the house. "With their clamorous tongues" they interrupted Clarke's discourse, "telling us that they were come with authority from the Magistrates to apprehend us." Clarke asked to see the authority for so rude an intrusion, "whereupon they plucked forth their warrant, and one of them with a trembling hand read it to us." The three Rhode Islanders were placed under arrest and taken to the local "Ale-house or Ordinary", Anchor Tavern, to be fed and to await their scheduled appearance before the local magistrate, Robert Bridges, early the next morning.

One of the constables suggested to the 3 prisoners that if they were free, then all might go together to the Lynn church for evening services. Clarke replied (humor presumably intended) that if they were free, none of this awkwardness would have happened. Yet, he said, we are at your disposal and if you want us to go to church we will go to church. Off they went, but on the way Clarke informed the constable that if forced to attend "your meeting, we shall declare our dissent from you both by word and gesture." Believing this to be a problem for sacred officers, not civil ones, the constable held his peace. Upon entering the church, where services were already underway, the three visitors took off their hats, "civilly saluted", sat down, and put their hats back on again. This action was more than rude; the replacing of hats was an open declaration of disapproval of whatever was being said or done. The constable quickly snatched three hats from three irreverent heads and afterwards, the three were returned to the tavern where they were "watched over that night as thieves and robbers." In the morning, after a brief appearance before Robert Bridges in Lynn, the itinerant evangelists were sent to Boston for trial.

They were committed to the common jail. The mittimus, or court order for commitment to prison, indicated essentially four complaints against the "strangers". They had offended by (a) conducting a private worship service at the same time as the town's public worship; (b) "offensively disturbing" the public meeting in Lynn; (c) more seriously, "seducing and drawing aside others after their erroneous judgment and practices"; and (d) "neglecting or refusing to give in sufficient security for their appearance" at the next meeting of the county court.

The trial before the General Court began one week later. The trial itself was so swiftly consummated that the accused hardly knew it was done. We were examined in the morning, wrote Clarke, and sentenced in the afternoon - sentenced "without producing either accuser, witness, jury, law of God or man..." It was the assumption of Governor Endicott and his assistants of the guilt of the accused and cut off any defense when Holmes and Clarke tried to speak. The members of the court shot questions at them, or made statements to them, which showed their guilt prejudged. The violence of some of the bystanders, in the presence of the court, and without its rebuke, went so far that Holmes was assaulted, struck, and cursed by Rev. John Wilson. This happened while Holmes was in the custody of an officer, in the presence of the court, and within the protection of the law.

The penalty which the law provided was banishment. But what sort of punishment is it to "banish" persons who already live in another jurisdiction? Obviously, some other manner of rebuke had to be meted out, whether the law made provision for it or not. Clarke, clearly the spokesman and leader of the group, was fined £20; Crandall, as a tag-along and largely silent companion, was fined only £5. But Obadiah Holmes, already under the cloud of excommunication from the church in Rehoboth, received the largest fine of £30. All the fines provided for a hard alternative: to be paid in full or else the culprit was to be "well whipped". Until the fines were paid or satisfaction otherwise received, all three were to remain in jail.

They were not without friends and sympathizers, however. The friends of Clarke and Crandall speedily raised the amounts of their fines and paid them. The fine of Holmes was higher and required a little more time to raise the amount, but his friends were ready to pay it. When he learned what they were proposing to do, he promptly forbade the payment of the fine, making it a matter of his conscience and scruples.

After another week, Clarke was released when friends paid his fine. John Crandall put up bail and went home. So only Holmes remained in prison, adamantly refusing to pay his fine or to let others pay it for him. The court's explicit alternatie awaited him - to be "well-whipped". The 5th day of Sep 1651 came and he was taken from the jail, stripped naked down to the waist - he refused to aid by touching even a button of his clothing - tied to the post and publicly whipped.
There were thirty strokes, with a three-cord whip, held by the executioner, not in one hand, but in both hands. The strokes did not follow each other quickly or lightly. They were laid on slowly and with all the strength of the officer wielding the instrument of torture. Throughout, there was not a groan or murmur from the victim. The first sound from his lips were the words to the magistrates, who stood about as witnesses, "You have struck me as with roses."

After his release from jail, Holmes returned to Newport and in 1652 succeeded Dr. John Clarke. He became the second minister of the first Baptist Church in America. The church at Newport was his permanent charge for more than thirty years until his death on October 15, 1682.

Reference to his will is found in a list of seventeen wills (between 1676 and 1695) that were presented to the court in 1700, by parties interested, the law requiring three witnesses, and these wills having but two. He was buried in his own field, where a tomb was erected to his memory (in what is now the town of Middletown). His wife did not long survive him.

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

Last Will and Testament of Reverend Obadiah Holmes
These are to signify that I, Obadiah Holmes of Newport on Rhode Island, being at present through the goodness and mercy of my God of sound memory; and, being by daily intimations put in mind of the frailty and uncertainty of this present life, do therefore - for settling my estate in this world which it has pleased the Lord to bestow upon me - make and ordain this my Last Will and Testament in manner following, committing my spirit unto the Lord that gave it to me and my body to the earth from whence it was taken, in hope and expectation that it shall thence be raised at the resurrection of the just.

Imprimis, I will that all my just debts which I owe unto any person be paid by my Executor, hereafter named, in convenient time after my decease.

Item. I give and bequeath unto my daughter, Mary Brown, five pounds in money or equivalent to money.

Item. I give and bequeath unto my daughter, Martha Odlin, ten pounds in the like pay.

Item. I give and bequeath unto my daughter, Lydia Bowne, ten pounds.

Item. I give and bequeath unto my two grandchildren, the children of my daughter, Hopestill Taylor, five pounds each; and if either of them decease, the survivor to have ten pounds.

Item. I give and bequeath unto my son, John Holmes, ten pounds.

Item. I give and bequeath unto my son, Obadiah Holmes, ten pounds.

Item. I give and bequeath unto my grandchildren, the children of my son Samuel Holmes, ten pounds to be paid unto them in equal portions.

All these portions by me bequeathed, my will is, shall be paid by my Executor in money or equivalent to money.

Item. I give and bequeath unto all my grandchildren now living ten pounds; and ten shillings in the like pay to be laid out to each of them - a bible.

Item. I give and bequeath unto my grandchild, Martha Brown, ten pounds in the like pay.

All [of] which aforesaid legacies are to be paid by my Executor, hereafter named in manner here expressed: that is to say, the first payment to [be] paid within one year after the decease of my wife, Catherine Holmes, and twenty pounds a year until all the legacies be paid, and each to be paid according to the degree of age.

My will is and I do hereby appoint my son Jonathan Holmes my sole Executor, unto whom I have sold my land, housing, and stock for the performance of the same legacies above. And my will is that my Executor shall pay unto his mother, Catherine Holmes, if she survives and lives, the sum of twenty pounds in money or money pay for her to dispose of as she shall see cause.

Lastly, I do desire my loving friends, Mr. James Barker, Sr., Mr. Joseph Clarke, and Mr. Philip Smith, all of Newport, to be my overseers to see this my will truly performed. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal, this ninth day of April, 1681.

Obadiah Hullme [Holmes][Seal]

Signed, sealed and delivered in the presence of

Edward Thurston

Weston Clarke

(Edward Thurston, Sr., and Weston Clark appeared before the Council [of Newport], December 4, 1682, and did upon their engagements [pledges] declare and own that they saw Obadiah Holmes, deceased, sign seal and deliver the above written will as his act and deed; and, at the time of his sealing hereof, he was in his perfect memory, according to the best of our understandings. Taken before the Council, as attested. Weston Clarke, Town Clerk.)

References

Baptist Piety, "The Last Will & Testimony of Obadiah Holmes", Edwin S. Gaustad, Christian University Press, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1978.
The Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island, John Osborne Austin, Genealogical Pub. Co., Baltimore, MD, 1969, (previously pub. 1887), pp. 103 - 104.

TAG - The American Genealogist, Vol. 19, No. 4, Additions & Corrections to Austin's Genealogical Dictionary of RI, G. Andrews Moriarty, Demorest, GA, April 1943, p. 224.

The Wightman Heritage, Wade C. Wightman, Gateway Press, Baltimore, MD, 1990, pp. 288 - 304.

Plymouth Colony, Its History & People 1620 - 1691, Eugene Aubrey Stratton, Ancestry Publishing, Salt Lake City, UT, 1986, p. 306



Other-Begin:
Sept. 5,1651 he was taken from prison, stripped naked to the waist--he refused to aid by touching even a button of his clothing and was tied to a post and publicly whipped.
(see full notes)

Religion:
New Jersey Historical Collections: Barber & Howe, p. 354 -- "The village of Middletown is in a fertile country, near the heart of the township. ...The Baptist church ... [was] the first of this denomination established in the State. ... The following were Baptists: Richard Stout, John Wilson, William Layton, John Stout, Walter Hall[Wall], William Compton, James Grover, John Cox, James Ashton, Jonathan Bown, Jonathan Holmes, John Bown, Obadiah Holmes, George Mount, Thomas Whitlock, John Beeckman, William Cheeseman, James Grover, Jr. ... The forenamed 18 men [were] constituents of the
[Baptist] church of Middletown ... [in] ... the winter of 1668."
--Ref. The Family of Stout
(URL: http://wymple.gs.net/~longstrt/1718-n.html)

Obadiah* married Katherine* Hyde on 20 Nov 1630 in Manchester, England. Katherine* (daughter of Gilbert* Hyde) was born in 1608 in Manchester, England; died in 1684 in Newport Co, Rhode Island. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Emigration: Aft 1639, Didsbury, England
• Immigration: Aft 1639, Rhode Island

Mary* married John* Brown, (immigrant) in 1654 in Providence Co, Rhode Island. John* (son of co-founder Providence, RI Chaddus** Brown, (immigrant) and Elizabeth* Sharparowe, (immigrant)) was born about 1635 in England; died about 1706 in Providence Co, Rhode Island. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Johnathan was the eldest of eight children. At age 15 he would listen with awe, weep over, and he worried about the future when his elders would talk about the problems that they might face.
1667- Middletown (Given lot 9)
1672- Justice- After a few more years in New Jersey he returned to Newport, R.I.
1684- Newport, R.I. during that same year he sold lands in Newport, R.I.

Jonathan married Sarah Borden on 17 Apr 1664 in Rhode Island. Sarah was born in May 1644 in Portsmouth, Newport Co, Rhode Island; died on 2 Oct 1713 in Newport Co, Rhode Island. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Birth: 30 Mar 1640, Newport, Newport Co, Rhode Island

Notes:

Marriages of Martha Holmes (1640) - John Audley & William Wilbore
posted by Kristin Richey 31 Jul 2011 2:03PM GMT
Surnames: Audley, Holmes, Hulme, Odlin, Wibore, Wilbur

I'm interested in information about the marriages of Martha Holmes (b. 1640 to Rev. Obadiah Holmes & Katherin Hyde). She is listed in many trees as having been married to both John Audley (b. 1640 to John Audley & Margaret Brager) in 1660 and William Wilbore (b. 1630) in 1653.

This makes no sense to me as William Wilbore didn't pass until after 1700 and and I find nothing on a divorce of any kind. Many of the children claimed to have come from Martha Holmes & William Wilbore are born long after her date of marriage to John Audley and children born of her marriage to John Audley have birthdays mixed throughout that timeframe as well. Many trees seem to not include the last born Wilbore children as they conflict with the marriage to John Audley.

I haven't found any actual documentation of William Wilbore's marriage to Martha Holmes, although it's documented he did marry a Martha, but I have found numerous documents from the founding of Boston, etc.. mentioning in full name John Audley's wife Martha Holmes.

I'm not sure what the actual lineage is, but I tend to beleive that Martha Holmes was in fact NOT the wife of William Wilbore.. or maybe there was in fact another Martha Holmes in the area (maybe a cousin?)

I've seen the birth date for William Wilbore's wife Martha vary between 1632, 1634, 1636 and 1640 which would make more sense for a marriage that happened in 1653... while John Audley's wife Martha Holmes is documented as having been born in 1640 and her birthday is supported by official records.

Any help is appreciated!

reply to this thread also says no record of this Martha marrying Wilbur/Wilbore.
http://boards.ancestry.com/surnames.audley/26/mb.ashx

Martha married John Audley about 1660 in Newport, Newport Co, Rhode Island. John was born on 3 Feb 1642 in Boston, Suffolk Co, Massachusetts; died on 13 Dec 1711 in Newport, Newport Co, Rhode Island. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Samuel married Alice Stillwater about 1662. Alice was born in 1645; died after 1663. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Birth: 9 Jun 1644, Newport, Newport Co, Rhode Island

Obediah married Elizabeth Cole about 1688. Elizabeth was born in 1668; died after 1689. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Remarried: Mary Greene; b. Oct. 12, 1680 d. 1713
Children by 2nd wife: William, Mary, Frances, Ann Suzanna, Obediah, and Phebe

John lived in Newport RI.
1669-He and others were ordered to assemble the inhabitants of Conn Is. to see what maybe most suitable for defense against the Indians.
1682-1705=Deputy.
1690-(May 7)=He and Caleb Carr appointment by Assembly to agree with carpenters to provide boards and nails to finish the town house out of money and wool in hands of the treasure.
1690-1709= Sen. Treasure.
1708=He and others chosen to oversee the repair of finishing of the Colony House with 100 (lbs) . It was finished by the assembly.
1712-(Oct. 4) = His will unfinished. Died by 1712. Mary's will speaks of her five daughters.

John married Frances Holden on 1 Dec 1671 in Warwick, Kent Co, Rhode Island. Frances was born on 21 Sep 1649; died in 1679. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

John married Mary Sayles on 12 Oct 1680. Mary (daughter of John Sayles, II (immigrant) and Mary Williams) was born on 17 Jul 1652 in Providence, Providence Co, Rhode Island; died in 1717 in Newport, Newport Co, Rhode Island; was buried in Easton Lot, Middletown, Newport Co, Rhode Island. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Lydia married John Bowne, Major on 26 Dec 1663 in Kings Co, New York. John was born about 1651; died after 1671. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Hopestill married (..) Taylor, Mr about 1671. (..) was born about 1651; died after 1672. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Sarah* married John* Pray on 14 Nov 1678 in Providence Co, Rhode Island. John* (son of Richard* Pray, (immigrant) and Mary* (..) Pray) was born on 24 Dec 1653 in Providence, Providence Co, Rhode Island; died on 9 Oct 1733 in Providence, Providence Co, Rhode Island. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Ensign John Brown married Isabel Mathewson in Providence, Rhode Island. Their son was Obadiah Brown.

John married Isabel Mathewson about 1685 in Providence Co, Rhode Island. Isabel was born about 1661; died after 1689. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Martha married Governor of Rhode Island Joseph Jenckes, III, Esq. about 1685 in Providence, Providence Co, Rhode Island. Joseph (son of Joseph Jenckes, Jr. (immigrant) and Esther Ballard) was born in 1656 in Lynn, Essex Co, Rhode Island; died on 15 Jun 1740 in Pawtucket, Providence Co, Rhode Island. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

He married Mary Harris on December 17, 1691 in Rhode Island.

James married Mary Tew Harris on 17 Dec 1691 in Rhode Island. Mary was born on 17 Dec 1671 in Newport, Newport Co, Rhode Island; died on 18 Aug 1736 in Providence, Providence Co, Rhode Island. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

She married Arthur Aylesworth.

Mary married Arthur Aylesworth about 1690. Arthur was born about 1667; died after 1691. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Sarah married William Slade about 1686. William was born in 1662; died on 30 Mar 1772 in Somerset, Bristol Co, Massachusetts; was buried in Jonathan Slade Cem, Somerset, Brisol Co, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Obadiah married Alice Ashton about 1696 in Portsmouth, Newport Co, Rhode Island. Alice (daughter of Rev. James Ashton and Deliverance Anna Throckmorton) was born about 1671 in Freehold, Monmouth Co, New Jersey; died on 12 Apr 1716 in Middletown, Monmouth Co, New Jersey. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Catherine married Rev. Daniel Wightman about 1696 in Newport, Newport Co, Rhode Island. Daniel (son of George Wightman, (immigrant) and Elizabeth Updyke) was born on 2 Jan 1668 in North Kingstown, Washington Co, Rhode Island; died on 31 Aug 1750 in Newport, Newport Co, Rhode Island; was buried in Common Burying Ground, Newport, Newport Co, Rhode Island. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Rebecca Leonard Throckmorton. Rebecca (daughter of Deputy Job Throckmorton, I and Sarah Leonard) was born on 10 Nov 1690; died on 10 Nov 1761. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Jonathan married Deliverance Ashton about 1706 in Newport, Newport Co, Rhode Island. Deliverance (daughter of Rev. James Ashton and Deliverance Anna Throckmorton) was born about 1686 in Newport, Newport Co, Rhode Island; died before 1715. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Susannah married Rev. Valentine Wightman about 1700 in Connecticut. Valentine (son of George Wightman, (immigrant) and Elizabeth Updyke) was born on 16 Apr 1681 in Kingston, Washington Co, Rhode Island; died on 7 Jun 1747 in Groton, New London Co, Connecticut; was buried in Wightman Cem, Groton, New London Co, Connecticut. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Property: 20 Sep 1760, Scituate, Providence Co, Rhode Island

Notes:

Birth:
Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island p 359
Hugh Sr. sells John Pray Jr. (his brother) 30 acres for £14 10s 1726 20 Sep 11 Age: 39 Scituate, Providence Co., RI

Assuming this is to a brother John Jr. b.d. Would he be youngest child? Would he be buying land so late in life - or is this sale to another John Jr.?

Property:
Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island p 359
Hugh Sr. sells John Pray Jr. 30 acres for £14 10s 1726 20 Sep 11 Age: 39 Scituate, Providence Co., RI

Assuming this is son of his brother John Jr, as his brother died 1751.

John married Sarah Downing about 1700 in Providence Co, Rhode Island. Sarah was born about 1679 in of, Providence Co, Rhode Island; died after 1720. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Other-Begin: 29 Apr 1733, Smithfield, Providence Co, Rhode Island

Notes:

Other-Begin:
Mentioned in her father's will dated 29 Apr 1733 as Sarah Brown. Will also mentions separately daughter Mary Brown. Some researchers are showing Sarah and Mary as same person.


Died:
have seen death date given as 4 Jan 1728; but she is mentioned in her father's will dated 9 Oct 1733 as daughter Sarah Brown.

Sarah* married Joseph* Brown about 1703 in Rhode Island. Joseph* (son of Jeremiah* Brown and Mary* "Maxy" Gardner) was born in 1680 in Newport Co, Rhode Island; died on 13 Mar 1764 in Gloucester, Providence Co, Rhode Island. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Property: 23 Jul 1717, Providence, Providence Co, Rhode Island
• Will: 15 Mar 1755, Scituate, Providence Co, Rhode Island

Notes:

Property:
his father John deeds home farm to son Richard
1717 23 Jul ? Age: 64
Providence, Providence Co., RI
Deed for love all his farm where he dwells, with dwelling house, that is half at signing and half at decease of both parents.

Will:
"Pray, Richard, yeoman. Will dated 15 Mar 1755, pvd 10 Nov 1755, pgs 250-251. Mentions: Daughters Sarah Pray, Rachael Hinds, & Mary Hopkins wife of Ezekiel Hopkins, Jr. Children under age of daughter Rachael Hinds."

Family/Spouse: Mrs. Rachel (..) Pray. Rachel died before 1755 in Scituate, Providence Co, Rhode Island. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Other-Begin: 29 Apr 1733, Smithfield, Providence Co, Rhode Island

Notes:

mentioned in her father's will dated 29 Apr 1733 as daughter Mary Brown.

Other-Begin:
mentioned in her father's will dated 29 Apr 1733 as daughter Mary Brown. Will also mentions separately Sarah Brown. Some researchers show Sarah and Mary to be the same person.

Mary married Richard Brown before 1733 in Providence, Providence Co, Rhode Island. Richard was born in 1676 in Providence Co, Rhode Island; died in 1774 in of, Smithfield, Providence Co, Rhode Island. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Property: 20 Sep 1726, Scituate, Providence Co, Rhode Island
• Will: 25 Apr 1761, Foster, Providence Co, Rhode Island

Notes:

Wrentham Births,
pg 171
Pray, Abagail, d of Hugh and Abagail, Jun 1, 1719
Ann, d of Hew and Abigail, Mar 4, 1734-5
David, s of Hugh and Abigail, Mar 18, 1738-9
pg 172
Pray, Hugh s of Hugh and Abagail, Aug 9, 1726
Jeremiah, s of Hew and Abigail, Apr 1, 1733
John, s of Hugh and Abagail, Dec 3, 1722
Jonathan, s of Hugh and Abagail, Sept. 9, 1724
Martha, d of Hugh and Abagail, Oct 14, 1728.
Mercy, d of Hugh and Abigail, Oct 7, 1741
Patience, d of Hugh and Abagail, Jul 8 1718.
Sarah, d of Hugh and Abgail, Mar 29, 1721.


Property:
Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island p 359
High Sr. sells John Pray Jr. 30 acres for £14 10s 1726 20 Sep -- Age: 39 Scituate, Providence Co., RI

(this is probably son of his brother John Jr. who had died in 1751.)


Will:
Administers father Hugh Sr's estate at age 36
25 Apr 1761, Foster, Providence Co, Rhode Island
Eldest son Jonathan presented Hugh's Inventory: £156, 1s. viz: pocketbook and money £33, 2s., pewter, cow, heifer, paid oxen, 2 sheep, lamb, hog, riding beast etc.
(at time of Hugh Sr.'s estate, John, the oldest son, had passed about 10 yrs previous.)

Hugh married Abigail Blake on 22 Feb 1716 in Boston, Suffolk Co, Massachusetts. Abigail was born on 30 Jul 1698 in Wrentham, Norfolk Co, Massachusetts; died in 1775 in Providence, Providence Co, Rhode Island. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Religion: Quaker

Penelope married John Aldrich in 1710 in Smithfield, Providence Co, Rhode Island. John (son of Jacob* Aldrich and Huldah* Thayer) was born on 27 Nov 1688 in Mendon, Worcester Co, Massachusetts; died on 25 Mar 1750 in Quaker area, Uxbridge, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

mentioned in her father's will.

Died:
have seen death date given as 27 Nov 1728; however, she is mentioned in her father's will dated 9 Oct 1733 as daughter Catherine Comstock.

Catherine married Hazadiah Comstock, Sr. on 16 Apr 1682 in Providence Co, Rhode Island. Hazadiah (son of Ensign/Capt Samuel* Comstock and Elizabeth* Arnold) was born on 16 Apr 1682 in Smithfield, Providence Co, Rhode Island; died on 21 Feb 1764 in Smithfield, Providence Co, Rhode Island. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Will: 20 Oct 1778, Scituate, Providence Co, Rhode Island

Notes:

Mentioned in her father's will as daughter Martha Wilkenson
She married Joseph Wilkinson.

Will:
"Wilkinson, Martha, widow, of Scituate, now aged 88. Will dated 20 Oct 1778, proved 14 Mar 1785, pgs 517-518. Mentions: Daughter Ruth Williams, wife of Benjamin Williams."
Rhode Island Genealogical Register, Second Edition

Died:
"Wilkinson, Martha, widow of Joseph, at Scituate, aged 94 years, May 22, 1784."

Martha married Joseph Wilkinson before 1708 in Providence Co, Rhode Island. Joseph was born on 22 Jan 1682 in Providence, Providence Co, Rhode Island; died on 24 Apr 1740 in Providence Co, Rhode Island. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Obediah married Aice Eddy on 21 May 1713 in Gloucester, Providence Co, Rhode Island. Aice was born on 5 Jan 1694 in Swansea, Bristol Co, Massachusetts; died after 1720 in of, Glocester, Providence Co, Rhode Island. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Died:
John died on Mar 24,1720/1 during a trip to England: Details are sketchy about whether he died on English soil or at sea.
(findagrave)

John married Hannah Boomer about 1711 in Providence, Providence Co, Rhode Island. Hannah was born on 16 Nov 1692; died on 18 Dec 1718 in Providence, Providence Co, Rhode Island; was buried in North Burial Ground, Providence Co, Rhode Island. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Joseph married Abigail Whittemore on 24 Apr 1737 in Providence, Providence Co, Rhode Island. Abigail was born in 1711 in Providence, Providence Co, Rhode Island; died on 23 May 1784 in North Providence, Providence Co, Rhode Island. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Joseph married Martha Field on 7 Jan 1727 in North Providence, Providence Co, Rhode Island. Martha was born in 1710 in Providence, Providence Co, Rhode Island; died on 19 Apr 1736 in Providence, Providence Co, Rhode Island. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Elisha Greene. Elisha was born on 5 Aug 1698 in Warwick, Kent Co, Rhode Island; died on 11 Nov 1780 in Gloucester, Providence Co, Rhode Island. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

prosperous merchant. The family firm was active in distilling rum, owned an iron furnace, and took part in a wide variety of merchant activities including sponsoring the ill-fated and notorious voyage of the slave ship Sally in 1764
Moses Brown's father died in 1739, and Moses was raised in the family of his uncle Obadiah Brown, who was primarily responsible for running the firm?s spermaceti works. Following Obadiah's death in 1762, Moses served as executor of his estate. Shares in the farming and shipping business were divided between Moses and his three brothers, Nicholas, Joseph, and John, and the business was renamed as Nicholas Brown & Co. The brothers were co-founders of the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, later renamed Brown University after Nicholas's son. The family was active in the Baptist community of Providence and were descendants of Chad Brown (c. 1600 ? 1650), a Baptist minister who co-founded Providence with Roger Williams. Moses had a sister, Mary.
(wikipedia)

Family/Spouse: Hope Power. Hope was born in 1702; died in 1792. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Mary Harris. Mary was born in 1718; died in 1805. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Edward married Phebe Chase on 6 Dec 1720 in Swansea, Bristol Co, Massachusetts. Phebe (daughter of Samuel Chase and Sarah Sherman) was born on 22 Jan 1700 in Yarmouth, Barnstable Co, Massachusetts; died on 19 Feb 1755 in Swansea, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Elizabeth married Barnard Haile on 24 Jan 1711 in Swansea, Bristol Co, Massachusetts. Barnard was born in 1687 in Swansea, Bristol Co, Massachusetts; died on 16 Apr 1754 in Swansea, Bristol Co, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Lydia married Ebenezer Baker on 20 Oct 1726 in Swansea, Bristol Co, Massachusetts. Ebenezer (son of Daniel Baker and Mary Sherman) was born in 1708 in Swansea, Bristol Co, Massachusetts; died on 20 Oct 1786 in Sweansea, Bristol Co, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Joseph married Elizabeth Ashton, (dau of who?) about 1722 in Freehold, Monmouth Co, New Jersey. Elizabeth was born about 1700 in Freehold, Monmouth Co, New Jersey; died on 1 Nov 1750 in Upper Freehold, Monmouth Co, New Jersey. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Lydia married David Trowbridge on 3 Jul 1735 in Bedford, Westchester Co, New York. David was born on 30 Dec 1709 in Stratfield, Fairfield Co, Connecticut; died on 16 Nov 1768 in Morristown, Morris Co, New Jersey. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Sarah married John Throckmorton on 24 Sep 1739 in Christ Church, Monmouth Co, New Jersey. John (son of John Throckmorton and Mary Stillwell) was born on 20 Feb 1718 in Freehold, Monmouth Co, New Jersey; died on 24 Aug 1805 in Amwell, Hunterdon Co, New Jersey. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]