This HurlburdGen page is to provide the results of research on the Genealogy of William Hulburd
born before 1606, died 1694
.
This work is dedicated to the memory of Richard Monighetti,
It was compiled by Richard O. Monighetti and D. Michael Iradi between July 2004 and July 2008
Hulburd (a.k.a. Hulbert)
England
The following Hulburd genealogy is very greatly supplemented with the 2003-5 research of Richard Monighetti of CA, and my own additional research, as well as several additions by fellow family researchers Barbara C. Martin of FL, and Tom and Linda Hulbert of WI. Notorious genealogical forger Gustav Anjou created a fictitious ancestry in England, connecting American immigrants Thomas Hurlbut(t), William Hulburd I and Walter Holbard as brothers. This is pure creation, and there is no grain of truth in it.
However, the lies of Anjou have crept their way into other historical compilations. For example, in an email of 20 Feb 07 to Monighetti, I wrote the following regarding information found in volume I of “History of Enfield”, published 1900:
“…Volume I starts off with the "Introduction" section (pg 11 - 59), which contains abbreviated family trees of the prominent families. The Hulburds are listed in this section (apparently originally penned in 1900) as "Hurlburt" - showing that the compiler had already been influenced by the fraudulent works of Gustav Anjou…. Also, a home-lot map of the original settlement is included in the front of volume I, but it was obviously reconstructed later on by the compiler of the history, as our ancestor's lot is marked ‘William Hurlburt.’ ”
1.1 The descendants of the MA immigrant Thomas HURLBUT(T) and Sarah (Nye?) have generally guarded the spelling “Hurlbut(t)/Hurlbu(r)t” throughout the first several generations. However, further on down their line, many seem to have adopted the spelling “Hulbert/Hulburt,” similar to that of the line of William Hulburd I, immigrant to CT. I think the reason for this, is because there are a lot of English (i.e. Anglo-Saxon/Germanic) forenames that already end in "bert," and it just "sounded good/better/more normal" (e.g. Albert, Dilbert, Dagobert, Engelbert, Filbert, Gilbert, Hubert, Humbert, Lambert, Robert, Wigbert, etc.) but there are not many personal names in English that end in "but" (e.g. halibut.…)
The HOLBERT/HOLBURT Family, likewise, is quite numerous today. They may be a VA family, as the earliest with that name seem to be in VA, including a Michael Holbert who was born about 1760 in Loudown, VA. Also, a William Holbert was born in Connecticut in 1755 (although some say Holland) and settled in Montague Township, Sussex County, N.J. on the banks of the Delaware River in 1770. He afterward purchased a large tract of land in Lackawaxen, Pike County, Pa. extending from the confluence of the Delaware River to Mast Hope. Here he had large lumber interests and his farm was the oldest in that locality. His name appears on the assessment roll of Lackawaxen Township as having 2 mills showing he was an enterprising man. The descendants of this William Holbert are primarily in the South.
According to a Jeremy Hulbert of Co. Norfolk UK in 1999 : “…There are early records of the name "Hulbert" as a Norman surname imported by the successful invasion of England in 1066….The earliest document showing our surname that I know of is dated 1168 and refers to HOLBERTUS VENATOR (is this “old man Hulbert?”) There is also mention of a JOHN HOLDEBERT in a document dated 1205….I think that the Wiltshire Hulberts' family name derives either from the Norman line or from before the Norman invasion as the original Anglo-Saxon (sic. Germanic) name HOLDBEORHT (meaning Gracious and Bright). Other Hulbert family names probably did derive form local prowess as HURLBATS on the hurling field, but village hurl-batters were less likely to have their names recorded in documents (because they were not landed aristocracy – DMI). Consequently, we are left with records only from the noble or landowning HULBERTS or those with official positions in politics, local government or religious organizations….”
2. William Hulburd I, Immigrant to Northampton, MA 1630
WILLIAM HULBURD I, b. bef. 1606 in Great Britain (aged above 60 on 13 March 1666/7 per the Medical Journal of John Winthrop Jr. [WMJ] 1657 – 1669, Mass. Hist. Soc.) b. 2 May 1612 in Great Britain (per most internet sources, which are obviously wrong) d. 17 April 1694 in Northampton, MA (listed as “William Hulberd”). Per Sharon Sims in Clink – Hulbert Prairie State Immigrants posted in www.gencircles.com, William 1st m. 26 Sep. 1643 “Ann Amy”, however the birth of his two oldest children makes this unlikely, unless Ann Amy were the second of three wives, and mother of only his daughter Sarah (there is a circa 7 year gap between the births of his second son John and his daughter Sarah). William Hulburd I had the following children by his first and/or second wife:
1. John Hulburd (#1) b.? d. 25 Aug 1639 in Windsor, CT – per the Matthew Grant Records 1639 – 1681, Documents of and relating to the township of Windsor, CT, Hartford, 1930.
2. John Hulburd (#2), Sr. b.c.1640 in Windsor, Hartford Co., CT (aged 24 on 20 May 1664) – per WMJ) d. 19 Jul 1713 in Northampton, MA as “John Hulberd, an old man.” He 1st m. bef. 1668 Ann _______ (b.? d.c.1670). As “John Hulbert”, he 2nd m. 1 Mar 1671 in Northampton Mary Baker.
(See below a detailed listing of John Hulburd Sr.’s descendants.)
3. Sarah Hulburd b. 10 Jul 1647 in Hartford (Hartford Co.), CT d.? Listed as “Sarah Hulberd, dau. of William Hullberd….” There are no further records of her.
4. Anna Hulburd bap. 17 Mar 1648/49 in Hartford, CT d.? Listed as “Anna Hulberd, dau. of William Hullberd….” [Note DMI: I don’t believe that this dau. would have been the dau. of Ann Whitmore as GMB below supposes, as she was born – depending upon which year of birth you attribute to her – either one month before Samuel Allen Sr. died, or 11 months afterward, which would have necessitated her mother being impregnated by William Hulburd I only 2 months after her first husband’s burial, which to me seems unlikely.]
William Hulburd I m. 2nd (sometime bef. the birth of his dau. Abigail) Ann Whitmore (b.c.1608 in England [she deposed 7 Jul 1662, aged 54 years] d. 13 Nov 1687 in Northampton (Hampshire Co.), MA), the widow of Samuel Allen Sr. (buried 28 April 1648 at Windsor, CT) [also misidentified by some as the immigrant George Allen, husband of Katharine, George having died during the latter part of April 1648 at Sandwich, New Plymouth Colony, MA, and he was subsequently buried there on 2 May 1648.]. Ann Whitmore was the dau. of John Whitmore (b.1592 d.?) and ___________ . William I and Ann had the following children:
5. Abigail Hulburd b.1650 in CT? (aged 13 on 20 Nov 1663 – WMJ) d. 5 Jan1670 in Northampton, MA – apparently unmarried.
6. Ruth Hulburd b. ? in CT? d. 12 Jun 1692 in Northampton, MA – apparently unmarried.
7. William Hulburd II b. 1653 in Windsor, Hartford Co., CT (aged 11 on 20 Nov 1663, and aged 10 on 20 May 1664 – WMJ) d. 11 Mar 1734 in Enfield, CT. (See below for more info. on him and his descendants.)
According to “Planters of the Commonwealth-Banks,” William Hulbert I is listed as a passenger (as William Hulbirt) of the Winthrop Fleet in 1630. His vessel landed at Boston with his destination Northampton, MA.
However other accounts [which I think are the accurate ones – DMI] claim that William I came to Dorchester, MA on the Mary and John in 1630, and he sold land there in 1635. The ship Mary & John had sailed from Plymouth, England with 140 passengers aboard. The Rev. John White of Dorchester, Dorset, recruited all the families. Nearly all of them came from the West Country of England, which included the counties of Somerset, Dorset and Devon. The ship landed in New England on 30 May 1630, two weeks before the Winthrop Fleet arrived. These people founded one of the first towns in Massachusetts, Dorchester, in 1630, and one of the earliest in Connecticut, Windsor, five years later.
Per The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620 – 1633, Vol I – III [i.e. GMB]: “William Hulbird” requested 19 Oct 1630 to be a freeman at Dorchester, and was admitted 3 April 1632. The gap of 1 1/2 year between his request and admission may possibly indicate that he made a return trip to England in the interim. He was granted a 16 acre “Great Lot” at Dorchester 16 Jan 1632/3, and an 8 acre “Great Lot” there on 1 Dec 1634. He received Lot #67, consisting of 6 acres of meadow beyond Naponset, presumably the same year, and by 18 Jan 1635/6 he had sold his 8 acre “Great Lot”.
William I was at Windsor, CT before 1640 (probably in 1635), and appears listed as “Wm. Hurlbert” there in the 1640 list of settlers. Per GMB, he is listed in a land inventory at Windsor on 23 Feb 1640/1 as “William Hulberd”, holding seven parcels including: a home lot of 13 acres; 6 1/2 acres in the “Great Meade”; five acres in the “Great Meade”; 22 acres for planting beyond “Rocky Hill”; 18 rods in breadth by 2 1/2 miles stretch over the “Great River” (annotated “sold to Thomas Debl [Dibble], Abram Randal eight score by exchange); 2 1/4 acres in “Long Meade”; and 3/4 of an acre in “the palisado.”
He subsequently removed to Hartford, CT where his first wife “Ann Amy” died. Per GMB, “William Hullberd” I is recorded in May 1648 in Hartford, CT as owner of “one parcel on which his dwelling house now standeth & another tenement and yards therein, being & was sometime parcel of the Meeting House yard containing by estimation two rods” (he later sold this to William Lewis on 8 Sep 1655, and in the inventory of land belonging to Richard Lord in Hartford was “one parcel lying next to his house lot containing by estimation twelve perches be it more or less which he bought of William Hullberd.”) On 24 April 1649 William Hulburd I brought suit against James Wakely.
William I’s second marriage was before 26 September 1653 to Ann Whitmore (b.? d. 30 Nov 1687), the widow of Samuel Allen Sr. (Samuel was buried in Windsor, CT 28 April 1648.) William I’s youngest child William II was one of the children of his second wife. He removed to Northampton, MA 1657 or earlier, and was a charter member of the church there. According to family researcher Barbara C. Martin, “It is recorded that when William settled in Northampton he took with him the Allen children and his own”, however, I have not been able to locate her source for that. However, per GMB, on 5 July 1662 Edward Butler, an Irishman, assaulted Rebecca Allen which resulted in “Anne Hulburd the mother of Rebecca Allen being about 54 years” making a deposition two days later.
From "History of Northampton" by L.R. Trumbull (1898) page 37, "The lots upon the highways just named having been occupied, settlers began to cluster around Meeting House Hill. William Hulburd/Hulbert is first mentioned as having a home lot in that vicinity."
William Hulburd I, his wife and his children (except for William II) apparently spent the rest of their lives in Northampton, MA. However William II moved back to Enfield, CT (sometime between his first and second marriages) where he married Mary Howard as his second wife, raised a family, eventually remarried to Hannah (née Whittaker) Hulet as his third wife around 1710, spending the rest of his life residing in Enfield, CT.
3. The male descendants of John Hulburd I of Northampton, MA
[Note DMI: The following info regarding the descendants of John Hulburd had been gathered June 2006 from the internet genealogies posted on Ancestry.com by Sid “Sy” Fisher (the Hubbard lines) and Fred H. Cowin (the Hulbert lines)]
A-1 JOHN HULBURD/HULBERT I, (b. 1640 in Windsor, Hartford Co., CT d. 19 Jul 1713 in Northampton, MA listed as “John Hulberd, an old man.” Listed as “John Hulbert” he 2nd m. 1 Mar 1670/1 in Northampton Mary Baker (b.? d.? 8 Oct 1707 ? in Northampton).
A-1 John Hulburd I m. Ann____________
B-1 John Hulburd (b.? d. 9 Jan 1669/70 at Northampton)
A-1 John Hulburd I m. Mary Baker
B-2 John Hulberd/Hulbert II (b. 28 Feb 1675/6 d. 10 Jan 1737, m. Ruth _________ b.? d. 27 Mar. 1720 at Northampton, MA);
James “Hulberd” #1 (b. 7 Mar 1678/9 d. 10 days later);
Samuel “Hulberd” (b. 10 Oct 1681 d. 8 Jun 1748 as Samuel Hulbert, apparently never married);
Mary “Hirlberd” (b. 2 Aug 1684 d.? is she the “Mary Hulberd who m. 22 Nov 1711 Thomas Ponder);
B-3 James “Hulberd” I (b. 15 Oct 1687 d. 10 Apr 1767 as James Hulbert, m. 1732 Mary Goslin);
Hepzibah “Hulberd” (b. 14 Feb 1690 d.?).
B-3 James Hulberd/Hulbert I m. Mary Goslin
Mary Hulbert (b.20 Sep 1733 d. aft. 1765);
C-1 James Hulbert II (b.15 Sep 1735 d. 9 Jan 1824 m. 21 Oct 1762 in Northampton, MA Eleanor Pomeroy);
C-2 John Hulbert I (b. 9 Aug 1737 d. 6 Apr. 1815 in Colrain, MA, m. 18 Sep 1758 in Northhampton, MA Susanna Johnson/McClure);
C-1 James Hulbert II m. Eleanor Pomeroy
D-1 Seth Hulbert I (b. 8 Jul 1763 d. 17 Aug 1812 in Thompson, OH 2nd m. 27 Dec 1789 in Northampton, MA Elizabeth Elliot);
Eleanor Hulbert (b. 25 Nov 1764 d. aft. 1784);
Rhoda Hulbert (b. 20 Apr 1766 d. aft 1783);
Rachel Hulbert (b. 3 Jan 1768 d. aft. 1787);
Samuel Hulbert #1 (b. 12 Aug 1770 d. Jul 1772);
Moses Hulbert (b. 12 Aug 1770 d.? – twin of Samuel #1?, m. _________Harmon, probably has issue);
Phebe Hulbert (b. 11 Jul 1773 d. aft. 1800);
Achsol Hulbert (fem. b. 4 Jun 1775 d. aft. 1795);
Samuel Hulbert (b. 18 May 1777 d. 26 Mar 1860, m. Lois Birge, probably has issue);
Joel Hulbert (b. Aug 1779 d. 16 Apr 1855, unmarried);
James Hulbert III (b. 4 Aug 1782 d. 6 May 1863 in West Farms, MA, m. in Northampton, MA 13 Dec 1804 Phebe Bartlett, probably has issue).
D-1 Seth Hulbert I m. Elizabeth Elliot
E-1 Seth Hulbert II (b. 18 Dec 1790 d. 28 Aug 1843 in Thompson, OH m. 28 Oct 1811 Theodosia Bartlett);
Sorana A. Hulbert (b. 29 Nov 1794 d. 22 Nov 1874);
Achsah Hulbert (fem. b. 16 Dec 1797 d. 1822);
Fanny Hulbert (b. 30 Jan 1803 d. 1826);
E-2 Rufus Hulbert (b. 30 Jan 1803 d. 10 Dec 1847 m. 7 Apr 1830 Aure L. Smith).
E-1 Seth Hulbert II m. Theodosia Bartlett
F-1 Henry Hulbert (b. 10 Sep 1814 d. 6 Dec 1895 m. 8 Dec 1836 Martha Ann Warren);
Eunice Hulbert (b. 22 May 1816 d. 1848);
F-2 Frederick Hulbert (b. 16 Apr 1818 d. 26 Dec 1901 m. 8 Sep 1842 in Thompson, OH Charlotte Cibella Talcott);
Diana Hulbert (b. 12 Apr. 1820 d. 29 Oct 1896);
F-3 Edward Hulbert (b. 26 Feb 1823 d. 18 Mar 1901 m. 2 Sep 1848 Emily E. Smith);
Rosetta M. Hulbert (b. 18 Aug 1826 d. 1905);
Fanny Hulbert (b. 27 Oct 1827 d. 6 Dec 1914).
E-2 Rufus Hulbert m. Aure L. Smith
Eliza Hulbert (b.c.1836 d.?);
F-4 William Hulbert (b.c.1841 d.? m. Martha ________);
F-1 Henry Hulbert m. Martha Ann Warren
G-1 James Hulbert (b. 14 May 1848 d. 6 Oct 1916 1st m. 1 Jan 1870 Austa Fitch, 2nd m. 25 May 1868 Lillian Chase);
G-2 George Hulbert (b. 8 Oct 1837 d. 30 Dec 1913 m. 16 Apr 1871 Melissa Batcheldor);
G-3 Charles Hulbert (b. 1841 d. 7 Jun 1918 m.c.1865 Lucy J. Alderman);
David Hulbert (b.c.1843 d.c.1844);
G-4 Rufus H. Hulbert (b. Mar 1845 d. 10 Jun 1928 m. 15 Mar 1869 Addie Wolcott);
Jane Hulbert (b. 1845 d. 21 Sep 1924);
Jeanette Hulbert (b. 1851 d. Nov 1911).
F-2 Frederick Hulbert m. Charlotte Cibella Talcott
Frederick Alonzo Hulbert (b. 8 Sep 1843 d. 5 Feb 1863 in Germantown, OH, probably no issue);
G-5 Edgar Seth Hulbert (b. 24 Jan 1849 d. 29 Dec 1924 m. 16 Apr 1876 in Thompson. OH Isabelle Pomeroy);
Esther Charlotte Hulbert (b. 25 Dec 1850 d. 15 Aug 1918);
Mary Annette Hulbert (b. 6 Oct 1854 d. 11 May 1940);
G-6 Newel Eugene Hulbert (b. 12 Feb 1857 d. 23 Feb 1932 m. 17/27 Sep 1888 Emma Jane Hardy);
Almira Elizabeth Hulbert (b. 10 May 1859 d. 20 Oct 1918).
F-3 Edward Hulbert m. Emily E. Smith
Byron Hulbert (b. 6 Jan 1850 d. 3 Feb 1850);
Lottie Hulbert (b. 1861 d. 30 Dec 1934);
Freddie Hulbert (b.c.1867 d.?, infant death?);
John George Hulbert (b.c.1873 d. 1 Apr 1875).
F-4 William Hulbert m. Martha ________
G-1 James Hulbert 1st m. Austa Fitch
H-1 Ward H. Hulbert (b. 26 Feb 1871 d. 5 Feb 1940 m. Stella Shepard);
Stanley M. Hulbert (b. 4 Jul 1875 d. 8 Jul 1968 in San Antonio, TX, issue not indicated);
G-1 James Hulbert 2nd m. Lillian Chase
H-2 Henry Hulbert (b. 8 Dec 1888 d. 14 Dec 1947, m. _______________);
Vira Hulbert (b. 26 Apr 1898 d. 6 Oct 1975);
H-3 Reed Owen Hulbert (b. 9 Sep 1904 in Plymouth, OH d. 25 May 1991 in Ashtabula, OH, m. 6 Feb 1932 Zada Elizabeth Hamilton).
G-2 George Hulbert m. Melissa Batcheldor
Salina S. Hulbert (b. 1877 d. 1879).
G-3 Charles Hulbert m. Lucy J. Alderman
Nellie Hulbert (b.? d. 7 Jul 1896);
Howard H. Hulbert (b. 1867 d. 1 Apr 1935 m. 31 May 1893 Clara Belle Strong, probably has issue).
G-4 Rufus H. Hulbert m. Addie Wolcott
H-4 Hoyt W. Hulbert (b. 27 Dec 1870 d. 1945 m. 4 April 1895 Lucy Caroline Green);
H-5 Wade Oakley Hulbert (b. 13 Oct 1876 d. 12 Jan 1959 m. 2 Aug 1905 Berta Burgess);
H-6 John R. Hulbert, Dr. (b. 1890 in Thompson, OH d. 6 Sep 1923 m. 1916 in Thompson, OH Bertha Houston).
G-5 Edgar Seth Hulbert m. Isabelle Pomeroy
Ernest N. Hulbert (b. 23 Jun 1877 d. 26 Jun 1882);
Leo R. Hulbert (b. 4 Jun 1884 d. 8 Jan 1886);
Alice Belle Hulbert (b. 27 Dec 1885 d. 15 Feb 1974 in Madison, OH);
H-7 Arthur Newell Hulbert (b. 25 July 1887 d. 26 Apr 1958 in Cleveland, OH m. Marian Lane 11 July 1898);
Grace Mary Hulbert (23 Aug 1890 d. 8 Aug 1956).
G-6 Newel Eugene Hulbert m. Emma Jane Hardy
Jeanette Charlotte Hulbert (b. 17 Oct 1889 d. 14 Jun 1978);
H-8 Roy Truman Hulbert (b. 19 Nov 1891 d. aft. 1937 m. 23 Sep 1896 Marjorie Lela Wharton);
Esther Laura Hulbert (b. 17 Sep 1894 d. 13 Nov 1993);
H-9 Frederick Leo Hulbert (b. 22 Nov 1896 d. 30 Jul 1973 m. 30 Sep 1926 Olive Golden);
Howard Hiram Hulbert (b. 20 May 1900 d. 7 Sep 1932 m. 10 Mar 1928 Lillian King, probably has issue).
H-1 Ward H. Hulbert m. Stella Shepard
Bertha B. Hulbert (b.? d. 26 Mar 1936);
I-1 Stanley E. Hulbert (b. 14 Aug 1892 d. 1983 in IL, m.________________).
H-2 Henry Hulbert m. _______________
(Child Hulbert) (b.? d.?).
H-3 Reed Owen Hulbert m. Zada Elizabeth Hamilton
(Child Hulbert) (b.? d.?, has issue);
(Child Hulbert) (b.? d.?, has issue);
(Child Hulbert) (b.? d.?, has issue);
(Child Hulbert) (b.? d.?, has issue).
H-4 Hoyt W. Hulbert m. Lucy Green
I-2 Rufus Green Hulbert (b. 11 Oct 1898 d. 18 Feb 1983 m. Catherine Rodner);
Nellie Hulbert (b.? d.?);
Anna Hulbert (b. 1895 in Thompson, OH d. 11 Apr 1935);
Harriet Hulbert (b. 1897 d. 15 Nov 1978).
I-3 Edward Wade Hulbert (b. 1907 in OH d. 1 May 2003 in Detroit, MI m. 9 Aug 1932 in MI Catherine Grace Swartz);
I-4 Francis Lossing Hulbert (b. 25 Mar 1911 in OH d. 20 Sep 1999 in St. Paul, MN m. 12 May 1939 Margaret Rentenbach);
(Child Hulbert) (b.? d.?, three children with their own issue (2, 3, 2 respectively) indicated).
H-6 John R. Hulbert m. Bertha Houston
I-5 John Houston Hulbert (b. 6 Feb 1918 in Orangeville, OH d. 13 Sep 1976 in Little Rock, AR m. _________).
H-7 Arthur Newell Hulbert m. Marian Lane
Mary Elizabeth Hulbert (b.? d.?);
Lenore Allegra Hulbert (b.? d.?).
H-8 Roy Truman Hulbert m. Marjorie Lela Wharton
William George Hulbert (b.? d.?, probably no issue);
Emma Elizabeth Hulbert (b.? d.?);
Lewis Eugene Hulbert (b.? d.?, had 3 children???);
Mary Eva Hulbert (b.? d.?);
Marjorie Jeanette Hulbert (b.? d.?);
Howard Wharton Hulbert (b. 19 May 1920 in Barnesville, OH d. 28 Nov 1942 in Pacific, apparently no issue).
H-9 Frederick Leo Hulbert m. Olive Golden
(Child Hulbert) (b.? d.?, has issue).
I-1 Stanley E. Hulbert m.________________
(Child Hulbert) (b.? d.?).
I-2 Rufus Green Hulbert m. (Catherine Rodner?)
(Child Hulbert) (b.? d.?, has issue);
(Child Hulbert) (b.? d.?, has issue).
I-3 Edward Wade Hulbert m. Catherine Grace Swartz
(Child Hulbert) (b. ? d. ?, has issue).
I-4 Francis Lossing Hulbert m. Margaret Rentenbach
Richard Edward Hulbert (b. 25 Nov 1941 in Detroit d. 1941)
(Child Hulbert) (b. ? d. ?) ;
(Child Hulbert) (b. ? d. ?) ;
(Child Hulbert) (b. ? d. ?).
I-5 John Houston Hulbert m. _________
(Child Hulbert) (b. ? d. ?).
4. WILLIAM HULBURD II, b.c.1654 in Windsor (Hartford Co.), CT d. 11 March 1734 in Enfield (Hartford Co.), CT. He 1st m.c.1686 in Northampton Ruth Salmon (b.? d.c.1687). He 2nd m.c.1693 in Enfield Mary Howard (b. 24 Apr 1672 in Salem, MA d. 17 Mar 1710 in New Haven, CT) (See Howard Genealogy for her ancestry.)
Per Sims, William Hulburd II 1st m.c.1686 (this marriage – without an actual date - is registered in Northampton, MA records – DMI) Ruth Salmon, and they had a son:
1. Baradiah (i.e. Berechiah) Hulburd (b. 2 Feb 1689 d.1709 – apparently without issue.)
Also per Sims, William Hulburd II and 2nd wife Mary Howard had the following 10 (probably 11 Per the research of Monighetti and Iradi - DMI) children:
2. Thomas Hulburd (b. 10 Oct 1693 in Enfield, CT - however also listed in Northampton, MA records as born there 8 Jan 1694 these may refer to two different Thomas Hulburds born to different Hulburd relatives. I have not myself been able to find in Enfield records a birth for a Thomas Hulburd, and I suspect the Northampton, MA record is the accurate one. He d. aft. 1715. See notes below. – DMI)
3. Ruth Hulburd (b. 10 Mar 1695/96 in Enfield, CT d.? Per Enfield Birth Records: Rruth holberd daughter of william holbord and marah his wife was born ye 10 of merch: 1695/6 Is she the “Ruth Hulbird” who m. 14 Dec 1719 in Northampton, MA Benjamin Root? - DMI)
4. Abigail Hulburd (b. 18 Jun 1697 in Enfield, CT, d.? Per Enfield Birth Records: abegall holbord the daughter of williom holbord and mary his wife was born Jun: 18: 1697. Is she the “Abigail Hulberd” who m. 25 Nov 1720 in Northampton, MA Eliezar Wright? Does she later appear as the widow of Isaac Pain(e) in 1762 Morris Co., NJ – whose will William III was a witness to?)
5. Obadiah Hulburd #1 (b. 18 Jun 1697 in Enfield, CT d. bef. Aug 1703. I myself have not been able to find this record of birth in Enfield Records - DMI.)
6. William Hulburd III (b. 11 Dec 1698 in Enfield, CT d. 17 Jan 1779 in Mendham, NJ. Per Enfield Records: Willom holbord the son of willom holbord and mary his wife was born desember ye: 11: 1698.)
7. Mary Hulburd (b. 9 Apr 1701 in Enfield, CT, d.? Per Enfield Birth Records: Mary holbord the daughter of williom holberd and mary his wife was born aprel ye 9: 1701- possibly later appearing as “Mary Freeman” in Mendham, NJ??? – DMI.)
8. Obadiah Hulburd #2, Sr. (b. 3 Aug 1703 in Enfield, CT d. 13 Nov. 1784 insame. Per Enfield Birth Records: obadiah holbord the son of Williom holbord & mary his wife was born ye eighth of agaust: 1703. Tombstone falsely says he was “83” when he died. He m. 22 Jan 1729/30 Love Parsons, and they had in Enfield: William (b. 4 Feb 1730/31); Eleanor (b.?); Tryphena (b.?); Obadiah Jr. (b.1738) [see his children listed below]. Obadiah Sr. 2nd m. 4 Jan 1745 Esther Colton, and they had in Enfield: Esther (b. 8 Aug 1745); Ebenezer (b. 16 Sep 1747); Job (b. 22 May 1750); Hiland (b.1752); Eliphalet (b. 31 Aug 1752); Mehitable (b. 22 Jun 1755); Asa (b. 5 Nov 1757). Ebenezer Hulburd (b. 15 Jul 1705 in New Haven, CT, d.?)
9. Anna (a.k.a. Hannah – DMI) Hulburd (b. 6 Apr 1707 in New Haven,CT d.?) Per Enfield records of “Intentions of Marriage”: Decbr 22d: 1733 marriage is intended between Joseph Atwell a non resident and Annah Hulburt of this town.”
10. Benjamin Hulburd (b. 13 Mar 1709/10 in New Haven, CT d. 1 Nov 1757 at Ft. Ticonderoga, NY. He m. 20 Nov 1740 in Enfield, CT Thankful Pierce, and had the following children in Enfield, CT: Abel (b. Nov 1741); Abel (b. 26 Nov 1743); Benjamin Jr. (b. 10 Aug 1746 d. 18 May 1810 in Bennington, VT); Barijah (b. 21 May 1749 d. 16 Nov 1777 in Fort Mifflin, PA); Ambrose b. 27 Jan 1752 d.1781); and Elihu (b. 16 Feb 1756)
11. Rachel Hulburd b.c.1709 in CT, d. 12 Aug 1779, aged 70, in Mendham, NJ. She m.1745 in Mendham John Chambers (d. 31 May 1777). (She was evidently the hitherto unknown sister of William III. It appears that she was also the namesake for his own dau. named Rachel. See additional notes on her below - DMI)
William II and his wife Mary Howard removed from Enfield, CT to New Haven, CT, where three (i.e. four counting Rachel – DMI) additional children were born (1705-1710). Per Sims, William II also 3rd m.c.1710 a Hannah Whittaker (b.c.1689 in Windsor?, CT), the widow of John Hulet of Concord, MA (who d. in Rehoboth, MA in 1708 - DMI) This quick remarriage of William II may indicate, as I believe, that Mary Howard died giving birth to Rachel Hulburd, and William Hulburd II was suddenly a widower with at least five children under the age of 5 (three of whom were under the age of 3 – including a newborn infant girl.)
Where Did the Widower William Hulburd II Meet His Third Wife, the Widow Hannah (née Whittaker) Hulet?
In an email to Monighetti 6 April 2007, I wrote the following:
“In continuing with my obsessing about how – and where – the widower William Hulburd II met the widow Hannah (née Whittaker) Hulet, I did some brief research in the Enfield volumes.
[Note: I've seen the name "Whitecar" in indices and records, and I now understand this to be a spelling variation of "Whittaker", and thus meant by the scribe to be pronounced as "Whit - ec - ar", and not as "White - car."]
As far as William II is concerned, it’s “apparent” why he would have chosen Enfield, CT to immediately return to; just by scanning thru the indices of the three volumes of the History of Enfiled, one finds:
1) a significant number of people surnamed “Whitmore”, who were possibly his maternal uncles (i.e. the mother of William II, was supposedly Ann "Whitmore.”);
2) a significant number of people surnamed “Howard” (i.e. William II’s Howard brothers-in-law, whom are known to have resided at Enfield, and possibly also his Howard paternal uncles thru marriage.);
3) a very significant number of Allens listed there (i.e. possibly William II’s Allen half-brothers resettling at Enfield);
4) and who knows what other surnames William II’s married Allen half-sisters were going by, and his Hulburd sisters were going by, as well as the surnames of William II’s married maternal and paternal Aunts. To wit, his Hulburd sisters were his half-sisters Sarah and Anna/Hannah – if they indeed lived to adulthood – and his two other Hulburd full-sisters, Abigail and Ruth, the latter two who both apparently died in Northampton, MA, as unmarried adults, while presumably still at the home of their father William I.
By that point in time (i.e. about 1710), William II’s only connection remaining to Northampton, MA would have been his older half-brother John Hulburd Sr. (i.e. he and John supposedly had different mothers, both coincidentally named “Ann”), since their father William I was already dead for 16 years, and his two Hulburd full-sisters in Northampton were also dead by then. In fact, it was possibly the inheritance received from the death of his father the immigrant, that allowed William II (supposed youngest child by the second wife Ann) to remove from Northampton, MA back to the Hartford and New Haven areas of CT with his own second wife Mary Howard, where her family was already well-situated.
So, while his only family apparently left in Northampton was his half-brother John Hulburd Sr., William II probably still had lots of relatives in the Enfield/Windsor CT area.
Conclusion #1: My best guess is, that William II returned to Enfield to be helped out by his Howard Family in-laws, which we know were living at Enfield at that time. We also know that very strong family ties between the subsequent NJ Hulburd generations and Howard family existed, because their Howard surname was still being used as a middle name for William III’s son(s) (e.g. William IV) and/or possibly his grandson(s) (e.g. Benjamin Jr.) Furthermore, William II’s older stepbrother, Samuel Allen Jr. is known to have moved back to Enfield, CT from Northampton, MA 13 years earlier in 1697, per the History of Enfield.
So, the second question remains, what was the widow Hannah (née Whittaker) Hulet, with infant children herself, doing at Enfield, CT rather than being back at the relatively distant settlements of Concord and/or Rehoboth, MA where she had previously lived with her late husband?
Well, I didn’t really find any “Whittaker” references (i.e. possible brothers of hers) or “Hulet” references (i.e. possible brothers-in-law of hers) to speak of in Enfield, but we must remember that we don’t know the maiden name of Hannah Whittaker’s mother, and we don’t know the married name of any of her Whittaker sisters she may have had (not to mention the married names of any Hulet sisters-in-law she may have had).
Presumably, Hannah would have made the trek around 1709 from Rehoboth, MA to Enfield, CT with her infants, to be housed and provided for by family members at Enfield. I do have internet genealogical references to her having been born at Windsor, CT, but no solid sources actually given for that claim, and like I said, there are no “Whittaker” births listed in the Enfield volumes (which I assume, perhaps wrongly, also contains information on neighboring Windsor, CT, which is where Hannah was supposedly born).
So, while I didn’t yet find what close relatives she would have gone to Enfield to initially stay with before remarrying, I did find something very interesting nonetheless:
There is only one “Hulet” listed in all the Enfield records, and it is her son Jonathan Hulett. I can say at this point "definitively" that he was her son (a connection that was only theorized by that one certain genealogy found on Ancestry.com – all others listing her only children as Mary and John Jr. [who likely died as an infant, I believe]), because nearly every time Jonathan appears in the records, it almost always involves the transfer of neighboring land to him by either William II right before his death, or by Obadiah sometime after the death of William II.
So, we see William II before his death transferring land to the stepson (Jonathan Hulet) he had presumably raised at Enfield since he was roughly 3 years old, making Jonathan Hulet about 4 years younger than his "big brother" Obadiah Hulburd, and 2 years older than his "little brother" Benjamin Hulburd (signing witness to the first such transfer of land). And the land transfers are almost always land directly bordering the farm of William Hulburd II. Whether or not the land was bought or given is undetermined by the deed abstracts contained in the volumes.
So, evidently, Jonathan went back to Rehoboth, MA sometime as a teenager, since “Jonathan Hulet of Rehoboth” appears in Enfield records for the first time when he is 23 years old, when his stepfather William II (who had presumably raised him) transferred neighboring property to him in 1730. The last time he is mentioned in Enfield, CT records is when he was 38 years old (13 years after the death of William II, the only father he ever knew) in a land transfer by Obadiah with the notation “quit claim” – referring, I suppose, to Obadiah’s relinquishing of a former claim on the same land?)
I think I had already sent you those land deeds in previous emails, but we did not fully understand at that time when looking at them, the very close familial connection between Jonathan Hulet and the various Hulburds involved.
After 1745, Jonathan Hulet, who for all intents and purposes was the “little brother” of William III, apparently removed to Rehoboth, MA, where he was apparently born (albeit no record apparently exists there for his birth), further supporting my theory that his mother’s Whittaker-kin were from there. So, that would suggest that his mother had removed to Enfield, evidently, to be with her unknown mother's-kin.
Conclusion #2: we have a much better understanding of the household that William III grew up in at Enfield, CT (presuming he was still at home, and not apprenticed out already at 12 or 13 years old), in that he had a step-sister Mary Hulet several years younger than he, and a little step brother Jonathan Hulet who was about 10 years younger than he.
His step-sister Mary Hulet eventually married an Allen, and had a family in the Enfield area, while his step brother Jonathan moved back to Rehoboth, MA, where he raised his own family. Thus, we may also go back to the land deeds, etc. in the future, and possibly better understand any connections/ sales between Allens and Hulburds in Enfield, if they exist, to actually involve Mrs. Mary (née Hulit, raised by Hulburd) Allen, and/or her husband.
William II in Enfield, CT Records
In an email of 20 Feb 07 to Monighetti, I wrote the following regarding information found in volume I of History of Enfield, published 1900:
“…regarding the section “Land Grants,” one finds the following on pg. 218 [a small type-face indication in the margin of "1708" - which may refer to the date first purchased, even though the date of the first surveying was done in 1712, with the following text]:
"William Hulburd : William Hulburd he is posses'd of his 2d devision which is his on account of Thomas Days grant from ye Committee, it lies Near the Mountains Contanith 109 acres more of less, it is 160 rods long and 109 wide Bounded west side with John Howard, East with Simons south with ye Highway North with Commons.
He is further possesed of 30 acres more or less of 2d devision Which belongeth to James Ferman, which sd Ferman alienated to him and is Entred in this Book this lot lyeth By the Mountains, it is Bounded west side by John Burrough, East by Commons, Northward by the way that goeth to Woodstock South Bounded by the Main Mountains, the length 80 and Bredth 60 rods by reason of the barrones of the land There is sum allowance April 13th 1712 it was measured.
William Hulburd is possesed of a percel of 2d devisn land lying in the Mountains Contaning by Estimation 98 acres, Bounded Northwest Corner with the Brook westerly with James Killams Land Northerly southerly and Easterly By Common Land it being 160 rods long Easterly and westerly and 98 rods wide Northerly and Southerly it being 98 acres be it more or less, - May 26th 1721."
In an email of 22 Feb 07 to Monighetti, I wrote the following regarding information found in volume III of History of Enfield, published 1900:
“…One of the reasons that we may not find all the church records (i.e. birth, marriage, etc.) for the earlier dates at Enfield, is because it seems that the Established First Church at Enfield was not officially founded until 3 June 1699. So, the question is – which towns church served those living in or around Enfield before 1699?
There are a slew of deeds in "Early Deeds" section involving William II and Obadiah, and they seem to be lumped together - for the most part - based upon the surname "Hulburd", but not necessarily in alphabetical or chronological order.
I won't reproduce all the deeds involving Obadiah, but I will say that there are several names that show up throughout the years as witnesses, or buyers/sellers for tracts of land involving Obadiah: John Abby/Abbe shows up at least three times. William Pynchon shows up in Obadiah deeds, as well as in the two deeds for his brother Thomas Hulburd and for his father William II. Other names include William Booth and Philip Simons - apparently neighbors, but maybe more. One name that also shows up quite a bit is Nathaniel Collins, and it seems that he was probably the minister in town.
Below are the deeds involving only William II as a buyer or seller which I've found, which I've re-arranged in chronological order. There are many other deeds which simply refer to his property as bordering the given, neighboring parcel being sold, and I have not bothered to copy those:
per pg. 1971:
Thomas Day senr of Springfield and wife Sarah to William Hulburd (War.) "My whole right interest and property in Enfield." 12 acres homelot - street west, Commons east, Isaac Gleason north, Joseph West south. 40 acres in the South field east division - highway west, Commons east and south, Thomas Marick senr north. 4 acres meadow. Witnesses Pelatiah Glover, Micah Mudge, Tilly Mirick. 31 May 1694. Recorded 25 April. 1709.
per pg. 2036:
Isaac Morgan to William Hulburd (War.) 10 acres in the South field division- highway south, Commons north, Lieut. Pease east, Capt. Meacham west. Witnesses Benjamin Parsons, Jonathan Bush, Nathaniel Horton. 15 Feb 1695/6. Recorded 1 April 1708.
per pg 2000:
William Hulburd and wife Mary to John Prior. (War.) 12 acres homelot (with buildings thereon) which I bought of Thomas Day - Town Street west, Commons east, Isaac Gleason north, Zachariah Booth south. Witnesses David Throw, Hannah Burrouoghs. 4 April 1698. Recorded 27 Jan 1698/9.
William Hulburd of New Haven Conn. and wife Mary to William Booth. (War.) 40 acres in the East Division [South field?]- Isaac Pease north, highway west, Commons south and east. 10 acres in the South field- "Reserved lots" north, highway south, James Pease Junr east, William Booth west. Witnesses William Bement, John Wulcute, Joseph Sexton. 13 March 1707. Recorded 15 April 1708.
per pg 1999:
Nathan Howard to William Hulburd (War.) 10 acres 1/2 homelot in South field west division- Nathan Howard north, William Simons senr south, Great River west, Country road east. Witnesses Nathaniel Collins, Alice Collins, Joseph Sexton. 19 Oct 1714. Recorded 19 Oct 1715.
[Note DMI: Later on in 1720, Nathan Howard sells land to his brother John Howard the weaver (these are, I'm pretty sure, the brothers-in-law of William II), and he is referred to as "Nathan Howard late of Enfield, now of New London, CT." William III was 22 years old at this time. In fact, his brothers Benjamin Howard and Ebenezer Howard are also listed in various Enfield deeds as being in "New London" at the time - i.e. in the sense of having removed to New London, and selling off their Enfield lands.]
per pg 2134:
Samuel vining to William Hulburd (War.) 10 acres in South field third division-Samuel vining north, William Simons south, Israel Phelps east, country road west. Witnesses Joseph Sexton junr, Mindwell Sexton, Joseph Sexton. 29 Aug. 1716. Recorded 23 Aug. 1717.
per pg 2001:
William Hulburd and wife Hannah to Capt. Samuel Terry. (War.) 109 acres near the mountains - Commons north, highway south, Symons east, John Howard west. Witnesses John Sherman, William Pynchon, Ebenezer Terry. 2 July 1717. Recorded 23 Aug. 1717.
William Hulburd to his son Obadiah Hulburd. (War.) 30 acres at the mountains- John Burroughs west, Commons east, Woodstock road north, mountains south. Witnesses Shubael Geer, Benjamin Jones, Nathll Collins. 3 Feb. 1726/7. Recorded 28 March 1729.
William Hulburd to his son Obadiah Hulburd. (War.) 98 acres in the mountains- James Killum west, Commons north, south and east. Witnesses Benjamin Jones, Shubael Geer, Nathll Collins. 24 Feb. 1726/7. Recorded 5 June 1728.
per pg 2001-2002:
William Hulburd to Jonathan Hulet of Rehoboth. (War.) 126 [Note DMI: Is there a missing parcel description in the blank space following the number 126, which is alone on the last line of pg 2001, or is the number itself a misprint?] 10 acres in the South field third division- Roger Grisel [Griswold] north, William Simons south, Israel Phelps east, country road west. 10 acres with house in the South field west division- Shubael Geer north, country road east, Great River west, John Simons south. Witnesses Joshua Booth, Benjamin Hulburd. 21 Sept. 1730. Recorded 19 Oct. 1730.
[Note DMI: son Benjamin Hulburd is one of the witnesses. Jonathan Hulet is presumably William’s step-son.]
Also per pg 2223 in "Probate Records", William II appears as one of the three appraisers of the Inventory of the Estate of Isaac Gleason, dated 14 May 1698….”
The Enfield Connection Between step-brothers William Hulburd II and Samuel Allen Jr.
In an email of 22 Feb 07 to Monighetti, I wrote the following regarding information found in volume III of “History of Enfield”, published 1900:
“…A deed listed on pg 2109 in "Early Deeds" is of interest, because it lists William II and Samuel Allen Jr. as landholders in Enfield, with only one plot of land separating them:
William Simons Senr to his son John Simons. (War.) 35 acres in lower part of Enfield - William Hulburd north, Samuel Allen south, street east, Great River west. Witnesses Isaac Kibbe, John Abbee, William Pynchon Junr. 29 March 1723. Recorded 8 April 1724.
[Note DMI: John Abbe and William Pynchon pop up yet again. Maybe they were local lawyers or town registrars?]
And then last of all, a quotation and source we've been looking for for quite a while appears on pg. 2633 in a section entitled "Enfield and Somers Soldiers in the Colonial Wars". Under the heading "First Settlers in Enfield who were Soldiers in King Philip's War in 1675" is the following footnote by the compiler of the three volumes [Note DMI – I’ve corrected the account according to the compilers own notes for corrections at the end of the volume]:
"Note- …Samuel Allen [Sr.], immigrant, of Windsor, founder of the Windsor branch of the Allen family d.1648 leaving Samuel [Jr.], Nehemiah, John, Obadiah, Rebecca, Mary. His widow Ann married Wm Hurlburt [Note DMI: sic for Hulburd] & moved to Northampton with her children, except Obadiah [Allen] who went to his uncle Thomas Allen in Middletown.... His brother Samuel [Jr.] moved to Enfield from Northampton in 1697. ...."
So, all the above being said, I need to re-read the account in "Savage's" regarding "William Hubbard" being a neighbor of the Allens at Suffield, CT, and something about a "barn-fire" - since as I already suspected a couple of years ago, this is a reference in "Savage's" to William Hulburd II, and not to an unrelated "Hubbard."
5. Notes on Thomas Hulburd
In an email of 22 Feb 07 to Monighetti, I wrote the following regarding information found in volume III of “History of Enfield”, published 1900:
There are two very interesting deeds listed in the section “Early Deeds”, first on pg. 1968:
Joseph Cooley 3d of Springfield and wife Mary to Thomas Hulburd of Springfield. (War.) 107 acres near the mountains- Commons north, road to Woodstock south, William Hulburd east, William Simons west. Witnesses Luke Hitchcock, William Pynchon, Jehojada Bartlet. 1 Feb. 1714/15. Recorded 13 Aug. 1715
then, on pg 2001:
Thomas Hulburd of Springfield to Samuel Terry. (War.) 107 acres near the Mountains- Commons north, highway south, William Hulburd east, William Cymons senr west. Witnesses William Pynchon, John Worthington, John Howard. 14 July 1715. Recorded 14 Nov. 1715.
So, it appears that William III was not the oldest living boy in the family after all, at least up until 1715, and that his brother Thomas was alive at least up until this point (i.e. 21 years old). What happened to him afterward, and if he ever had any surviving issue, is still unknown to me, as these are his only appearances in the Enfield records.
Furthermore, it is clear that these are references to the older brother of William III, and not to an unrelated “Hurlbut” whose surname had been misspelled, since the piece of land borders that of William II, his father….
And notice, Thomas is continually referred to as being "from Springfield." This could be a possible clue as to William III's whereabouts at the same time.
Speculation Regarding Obadiah Sr.’s Presumed Lawsuit against Step-mother Hannah Whittaker
It is said in some “Hulbert/Hurlbut” accounts I have read (but now can not find the references to them) that “Obadiah represented his mother Mary's interests in Howard lands” without further clarification to exactly what that means. Mary Howard’s mother Ruth died 1675, and her father removed to Enfield, CT in 1682. Mary Howard married about 1693 William Hulburd II. Her father Thomas Howard died 1700, and Mary died ten years later in 1710. Her husband William Hulburd II, who had remarried, died 1734. Obviously, whatever land Mary’s father would have possessed would have been distributed to his heirs – with or without a will – well before ten years had finished (i.e. before 1710.)
Because Obadiah is mentioned as “representing his mother’s interests…” this is apparently referring to some action brought by Obadiah after his mother’s death, and when he was at least 21 years old himself. Mary’s surviving son Obadiah (i.e. the 2nd child so named) was only six years old at his mother’s death. So, it’s not until at least 1725 that he would have been old enough to have brought suit. I do not have any references to the suit itself (doubtless registered in Enfield or Hartford), and I assume that none of the other known surviving Hulburd brothers (i.e. Benjamin or William III) were involved.
But most importantly, it is her son Obadiah who is representing Mary Howard’s “interest,” and not her husband William II who died 1734. This suggests to me the suit was brought by Obadiah to reclaim a “lost” inheritance after the death of his father William II. In any event, second oldest son William III was apparently not part of this suit, and one might infer that he was already absent and probably in Mendham, NJ at the time. Therefore, determining the date of that suit will likely tell us when William III had already left for NJ.
One possible explanation for such a theorized suit might be that Mary Howard had received an inheritance of land from her father upon his death, which was transferred to her husband William II upon Mary’s death, who may have then transferred the same land to his last wife Hannah (née Whittaker) upon his own death. Obadiah may have felt such land rightfully belonged to him. Again, there needs to be further research into this subject for a number of reasons.
Enfield, CT Probate Records For the Children of Obadiah Hulburd
In an email of 22 Feb 07 to Monighetti, I wrote the following regarding information found in volume III of “History of Enfield”, published 1900:
There are some interesting extracts from Probate records concerning the children of Obadiah Hulburd Sr. First is the probate of Obadiah Jr. on pg. 2265:
Obadiah Hulburd [Jr.]. Will dated 16 March 1814, presented 2 May 1814. Mentions children Obadiah [III], Halsey, Daniel Burr, William. Sisters Tryphena and Eleanor. Aunt Tryphena. Mother-not named. Executor Jonathan Pease. Witnesses Timothy Chapin, Chester Allen 2nd, Caleb Booth. Inventory $4,372.92. Real and Personal.
Also, on pg 2308 is the probate extract of Obadiah Sr.'s daughter:
Tryphena H. Beers. Will dated 22 Sept. 1849- presented 26 Oct. 1849. Mentions husband Philo Beers. Also sister's daughters-not named. Also Sybil W. Osborn wife of Ethan Osborn, Obadiah Hulbert. Also Halsey Hulbert, Daniel Hulbert and William Hulbert brothers now living in Ohio. Executor Samuel R. Pease. Witnesses Franklin C. Hulbert, Nancy G. Pease and Jonathan Pease.
[Note DMI: What is interesting about this will, is that by the early 1800's, three of the sons of Obadiah Hulburd Jr. had moved out to Ohio, and also like their NJ cousins, the sons and grandsons of William III, they had probably started spelling their own surname "Hulbert," despite the fact that it had been habitually spelled "Hulburd" beforehand.]
- WILLIAM HULBURD III, bap. 11 Dec. 1698 in Enfield (although his tombstone inscription per the Combined Registers of the Morristown, NJ Presbyterian Church says he died at 76, therefore supposedly being born in 1702.) He d. 17 Jan 1779 in the Mt. Freedom section of “Mendham Twsp,” (i.e. today Randolph) NJ. The tombstone age of 76 is apparently wrong (like so many other tombstones I know), and should read based on his Enfield birth (baptism?): “aged 80 years, 1 month, 6 days.”
William Hulburd III. 1st m.c.1723 _____________, who was the mother of all of his older children – including Benjamin (apparently except for William’s 4 or so youngest children.) His last wife was named Mary _____[née Wilkinson?] (b.c.1724/5 d. 24 Aug 1803), who is listed in the Combined Registers as “Mary Halbard, wife of William, d. 24 Aug. 1803, aged 78.” Her surname is spelled “Hulbert” on both her own tombstone, as well as on the tombstone of her dau. by a former marriage, Mrs. Hannah Sanderson. Those tombstones were still legible in the Mt. Freedom Baptist Cemetery (a.k.a. Walnut Grove Baptist Cemetery) in Randolph, NJ in 1982 (see below).
6. Is William Hulburd III of Mendham, NJ Really the Son of William Hulburd II of Enfield, CT?
[see 15 Nov 06 update at end of this section]
I have made a preliminary conclusion that William Hulburd III is the son of William Hulburd II based on the overwhelming forename similarities which exist between the children of both families. Furthermore, the son of William II of Enfield baptized there in 1698 (and named “William”) is listed by some internet accounts as having died specifically in Whippany, NJ (i.e. a section of Hanover Twsp.), although the actual sources for that info unfortunately are not provided.
Having myself grown up next to the obscure “one horse town” of Whippany, NJ, I have to admit that this is somewhat of a strange and obscure location just to “pick out of thin air” for someone from CT to have supposedly ended up and died in 1778, since none of the documents found to date in NJ regarding William III actually place him specifically at “Whippany.” However, the notes of 19th Century Tuttle/Tuthill Family researcher Lotta Vail (see below) do refer to a “William Hulbert of Rockaway.” Rockaway, NJ (which neighbors both Whippany and Randolph) was also part of “Hanover Twsp.” along with Whippany during the period in question. Lotta Vail in her Tuttle Book also quotes a newspaper clipping of 1750, in which William III’s dau. Mrs. Abigail Tuttle is described as “living in Whippany, NJ.”
Any documents found to date directly naming William Hulburd III all refer to him as having been at the Randolph section of what was then “Mendham”, NJ, including the first mention by name in 1752. However, he is known to have been in Morris Co., NJ in the 1740’s, and his oldest three dau.s did marry at the Morristown and Hanover Presbyterian Churches (the site of the original structure of the Hanover Presbyterian Church during the period in question having been situated in what is today “Whippany”, about a mile away from the rebuilt church’s current location in the present town of East Hanover, NJ.) So, it’s entirely possible that William III could have first lived at Rockaway and/or Whippany before relocating to “Mendham” around 1750. Therefore, I wouldn’t be surprised if that internet reference to William III having “died at Whippany, NJ” had come from something like a Hulburd/Hulbert family bible of one of William III’s siblings, or nieces/nephews, which merely noted something like “to Whippany in New Jersey” next to his name.
Another compelling indication for the ancestry of William III being the son of William II is the actual spelling of the former’s surname, as he himself spelled it (rather than how other scribes/clerks fashioned his surname in various colonial documents), which was “H-u-l-b-u-r-d.” While I realize that none of the above is necessarily indisputable proof that William III of Mendham, NJ is indeed the aforementioned son of William II of Enfield, CT, the indications point in that direction. It is my belief that the documentation linking William III back to Enfield, CT (or alternately to Northampton, MA, or New Haven, CT where the family had also resided) will probably eventually be found - not necessarily for William III himself - but possibly for those who were closely associated with him (or even married to him) in Mendham, NJ.
However, in the event of a complete lack of any solid documentary evidence being uncovered in the future clearly establishing the link to William II, the link still can be firmly established thru the relatively inexpensive Y-Chromosome DNA testing of a male descendant in an all-male descent from William Hulburd III (e.g. researcher Tom Hulbert of WI), and compare those results to those obtained by similarly testing a similar modern male descendant of William III’s presumed brother(s) Obadiah Hulburd of CT and/or Benjamin Hulburd of VT – or better yet, to William III’s presumed uncle, John Hulburd of Northampton, MA.
As of this writing, Tom Hulbert has ordered a 37-marker Y-Chromosome test, and should know the results by July 2005. If there already happen to be any Hulbert/var. surname male descendants of William III’s sons Obadiah of CT or Benjamin of VT (or even such descendants for William III’s brother John Hulburd of Northampton, MA) who are already registered in the companies DNA database, and if Tom were to match any of those descendants 37 out of 37 markers, than that would be conclusive, irrefutable proof that William Hulburd III of Mendham, NJ was the son of William Hulburd II of Enfield, CT. Stay tuned….
[update 23 August 2006]
The following email response was sent by myself to Tom Hulbert of WI on this day:
“…What can be authoritatively said based on this perfect 12 marker match between you and Jim Hulbert of Boynton Beach, FL (i.e. descendant of “uncle” John Hulburd of Northampton, MA whom I tracked down and contacted) is that:
1. You and Jim Hulbert are from the same male Hulburd/Hulbert ancestral line originating in England.
2. Your ancestor Amos Hulbert Jr. was indeed the orphaned son of his murdered father Amos Hulbert Sr.
3. You are, therefore, definitively a descendant of William Hulburd of Mendham, and that said William Hulburd of Mendham is of the same male ancestral origin as William Hulburd I, immigrant to CT in 1630.
However, and not to put a damper on things, but the one thing this match of only 12 markers did not definitively, 100% prove (at least in my own mind - although I'm about 99% convinced), is that William Hulburd of Mendham, NJ is indeed the son of William Hulburd II of Enfield CT. I say that, because it's entirely possible that William Hulburd of Mendham, NJ could feasibly have immigrated to NJ directly from England, and could have in fact been something like a 5th or 6th cousin of William Hulburd II, immigrant to Enfield, CT.
Naturally, I do believe that William III of Mendham is in fact the son of William II of Enfield - as I always have suspected, but a subsequent 37 marker update on Jim's already stored DNA sample would COMPLETELY put to rest once and for all any of those existing, tiny, residual doubts about the exact relationship (i.e father and son, or cousins) between William II of Enfield and William III of Mendham, and I do hope that one day in the not too distant future that Jim will have that DNA update done….”
[update 15 November 06]
Tom Hulbert had ordered an update for Jim Hulbert to 25 markers, and he has matched Tom perfectly 25/25. What this means, is that Jim Hulbert and Tom Hulbert are both descended from a “Hulbert” patriarch who lived within the time frame of the last few hundred years. So, we now have two descendants of two different sons of William Hulburd I (i.e. John Hulburd Sr. and William Hulburd II) who have matched each other perfectly, therefore William III is irrefutably the son by the same name of William II of Enfield, CT. DNA has finally confirmed what the available records could not.
Speculation on the Early Movements of William Hulburd III from Enfield, CT to Mendham, NJ
Most early settlers to Morris Co., NJ were drawn there by the discovery of high-grade iron ore about 1700 in exposed veins, in a place the local Indians called “Succasunna.” The earliest settlers to Hanover and Whippany, who were drawn there from Newark and the Oranges, were the owners of forges rather than farmers. The Dickerson Mine was opened at Succasunna between 1710-1713. Before that date the ore was evidently collected in saddle bags from the exposed veins, and transported on horseback to the forges in Whippany, where it was smelted, and the iron ingots were then transported in saddle bags on horseback to Newark, were it was shipped for use in Manhattan. By about 1715, the center of smelting iron ore had shifted from Whippany to West Hanover (i.e. Morristown) and the Randolph area, which was much closer to the mine(s).
The Allen family of Mendham, NJ (originally from Suffield, CT - the town next to Enfield, CT where William III had grown up) had immigrated to Randolph, NJ about 1717. Also, William III’s neighbors (and his daughter’s in-laws), the Aber Family had immigrated to Randolph, NJ about 1732. So, it’s possible that William III could have already been in Morris Co., NJ 10 or (or possibly even 20) years before the marriage there of his dau. Mary in 1745. If so, he may possibly have married his first wife in NJ too.
As far as the origins of this Aber family, the marriage in Jamaica, Queens, NY of John Aber ("Ebere") to Mary Huls says he was from "Seatucket." This is the town of Setauket, NY (essentially Port Jefferson) on the north shore of Long Island due south of Bridgeport, CT (next to New Haven, CT). A ferry still runs across the L.I. Sound from Bridgeport, CT (near New Haven) to Port Jefferson, L.I., NY. William II had lived in New Haven, CT when Mary Howard died c.1710 (at which time he was about 12 years old.) His father returned with the family to Enfield, CT and remarried the same year that Mary Howard died. William III may have subsequently moved back to New Haven, CT (e.g. to apprentice) at about 14 years old, and may have become acquainted with the Aber family while there (as the Setauket section of L.I. was under the jurisdiction of New Haven, CT at the time.)
Concerning William III’s first appearing in Morris Co., NJ, a passage regarding William III’s son-in-law William Tuttle appears in Tuttle-Tuthill Lines in America by Alva M. Tuttle, 1968, which relies heavily on the late 19th Century genealogical notes of Lotta (Tuthill) Vail. In this passage is a reference to the dau. of William III, probably being the dau. of “William Hulbert of Rockaway, NJ” (which was once a part of “Hanover Township”, and is next to Randolph). How Lotta (Tuthill) Vale (compiler of most of the Tuttle genealogical information for that book) knew William III was specifically from “Rockaway, NJ” is not revealed, however it was obviously through a land deed, or possibly some church records, apparently for a congregation that may have existed there before 1745 (as the unrelated “Ebenezer Holiberd” is said per the Combined Registers of the Morristown Presb. Church to have baptized a dau. Mary in 1745 “at Rockaway”).
This information seems to indicate that William Hulburd III was first at Rockaway, NJ, before removing to neighboring “Mendham”. This move to the Mt. Freedom section of the then “Mendham” probably occurred around the time William III purchase 200 acres from the estate of William Penn (i.e. 1756/7), although he could have possibly moved to the Mt. Freedom area before that date. While no evidence has been uncovered to connect William III directly with the mining and smelting of iron ore in the area, it is not unlikely that he could have been drawn to that area to participate in some other aspect of that industry (e.g. the production of charcoal, the transportation of iron ore, charcoal, or iron ingots, etc.)
The exact route William III took from Enfield, CT before ending up in the area of Randolph, NJ is still unknown. However, the Wilkinson Family and Freeman Family (the two witnesses to the will of William III) were both from Woodbridge (Middlesex Co.), NJ before coming to Mendham. Also, the Payne/Pain(e) family was also specifically at Woodbridge, NJ before coming to Mendham (and William III was apparently the witness to the will of an "Isaac Pain" of Mendham, NJ (d.1762 in Mendham).
A Baptist Connection?
So as we see above, that's three, maybe more, families specifically from in or around the town of Woodbridge, NJ that we see all in Mendham, NJ later on, and associated with William Hulburd III. Coincidence?... Probably not. I have suspected for a while that William Hulburd III may have been part of a "religious group" referred to in the History of Randolph, NJ (the religion not being specified, nor the names of the families in this group), that came up the Raritan River from the New Brunswick area near Raritan Bay, near where Woodbridge is situated.
I believe this may be a reference to the “Rogerenes/Rogerines” who settled at Schooleys Mountain and Landing, NJ about 1732. Woodbridge, NJ itself was founded in the late 1660’s by the followers of a Rev. Woodbridge of Newbury, MA, who removed to Middlesex Co., NJ and named the new settlement after their spiritual leader back in MA. The neighboring settlement of Piscataway NJ was separated out of Woodbridge, NJ, and while those settlements were composed of early Baptists, the Pastor of the Piscataway congregation, the Rev. Edmund Dunham, soon switched his beliefs over to that of the Seventh Day Baptists in 1705, being a Baptist group unique and different from the Rogerene Baptist group.
In an email of 20 Feb 07 to Monighetti, I wrote the following regarding information found in volume I of History of Enfield, published 1900:
“…There is an extremely fleeting reference to the following on pg 422:
"... at the Same meeting [i.e. 15 March 1756] voted that Edward Collins [i.e., I think the town minister] go to hartford as agent in behalf of the town to act in the affair in which the Baptists or Separates have sued the town and to imploy an attorney if thought best and impower any other person to act in that affair in all Respects as shall be needfull. ..."
I believe this is the first mention I've found of Baptists at Enfield, CT and already they're suing the town. William III was already in NJ for at least ten years (maybe 20 years), but the presence of the lawsuit shows that Baptist teachings were probably already in the area for some time….”
In an email of 21 Feb 07 to Monighetti, I wrote the following regarding information found in volume II of History of Enfield, published 1900:
“…But perhaps some of the most interesting info in Vol II has to do with the history of religion in Enfield, starting on pg 1525 entitled "Second Ecclesiastical Society 'Or Strict Congregationalists' 'Separatists'.
"Strict Congregationalists/Separatists" is evidently the term used of the people who would later be called "Baptists."
In the Report of Governor Leete, of Connecticut, to the Privy Council of the English King dated 15 July, 1680, is found the following statement:
"Our people in the Colony are, some strict Congregationall men [i.e. Baptists], others more large Congregationall men, and some Presbeterians; and take the Congregationall men of both sorts, they are they greatest part of the people of this Colony. There are 4 or 5 seven-day men [i.e. Seventh Day Baptists] and about so many more Quakers." - Col. Rec. of Conn., Vol. III, page 299.
The Strict Congregational Church of Enfield was probably organized around 1747, and the first known mention is in the Canterbury letters dated 1751 to 1753, when the Enfield church is already mentioned as fully organized, and as having an ordained and covenanted pastor. However, the Enfield Strict Congregational Church had no legal existence until 1770. Previous to that date, although it had been in existence for about 25 years, its members were legally members and voters in the Society of the Established Church. In 1768, they were strong enough to hinder, if not to prevent, the settlement of a minister in the First Church. So, a compromise was made, they agreeing not to oppose the settlement of a minister in the First Church, and the First Church agreeing not to oppose their petition to the General Assembly to be made a legal Ecclesiastical Society.”
Amongst the signers of that 4 May 1769 petition to create a legally recognized "Strict Congregationalist" Society in Enfield were: Obadiah Hulburd [notice the surname spelling, and presumably his 4 sons:], Job Hulburd, Eliphalet Hulburd, Obadiah Hulburd Jr., and Ebenezer Hulburd.
So, we can see, that Baptist leanings were very strong, even in the CT branch of the Hulburd family.”
Was William Hulburd III an Early Quaker Settler to Randolph, NJ?
I emailed Monighetti on 27 May 06 the following:
“ The History of Randolph makes it clear, that by 1756, there were at least between 30 and 50 Quaker individuals at Mendham (specifically Randolph, NJ) to justify the holding of "preparative meetings" (i.e. Quaker services), and eventually build a Meeting House there (in 1758.)
This just confirms that the Hulburds (at least William III) probably were (at least at one point earlier in William III’s life) Quakers, originally from the Woodbridge area (which is where all the NJ Quakers, and the Wilkinsons and Freemans came from too), and that he was probably part of that founding "religious" group that came up the Raritan River from Woodbridge in the 1730’s.
So, that would explain the lack of death record for his 1st wife, lack of baptism records for his children (Quakers didn't perform infant baptism), lack of tombstone for his first wife (some early Quakers used un-inscribed boulders as grave markers), perhaps the lack of subsequent marriage record to last wife Mary, etc. I guess it just wasn't important enough to those settlers in the wilderness to "make sure" that the births and deaths were "properly recorded" back in Woodbridge at the main Meeting House there.
It would also explain one of the reasons why the founding "religious group" - if they we indeed Quaker - chose Randolph, NJ...for the iron ore, as one would have guessed anyway, since it seems there was a "Quaker Iron Works" back at Woodbridge, which would have meant that they were sending iron ore (or probably pig iron) down the Raritan River.
William's three daughters were married in the 1740's in the Hanover Presbyterian church (i.e. by the Presbyterian minister), probably more out of convenience and necessity (only minister around?), rather than as a declaration of their faith. And their husbands may not have been Quakers in any event. Additionally, Quaker marriages (especially outside of Quaker enclaves like Woodbridge) may not have been recognized as "legal" at that time.
By the time William III's sons were older, we see an association of William III and Mary with the Presbyterian church there, however, it seems his sons were simultaneously converting to Baptist. An explanation for why the Hulburd boys would have converted from Quakerism during the American Revolution to the Baptist faith could be as simple as the fact that Quakers are pacifists while Baptists are not. And as we just read yesterday in the NJ Quaker history excerpt I had found, Quakers considered the majority of early Baptist to have once been Quakers themselves (i.e. and off-shoot of Quakerism.)
And, we also had read earlier that the construction of the new Presbyterian Church (at Mendham?) lured many Baptists back to the Presbyterian Church, only because the structure was beautiful (and the pastor evidently had some "Baptist" theological leanings, although infant baptism was still being performed.”
The First Mention in NJ Records of our Hulburd Family
It still remains undiscovered exactly when William Hulburd III first arrived from Enfield, CT to Morris Co., NJ, and along what route. However, William III was clearly in Morris Co. before the time his dau. Mary married John Aber in 1745 in Morristown, but for how long?
So, what is the first reference we have to the family of William Hulburd III actually residing in Mendham, NJ? Well, the first mention of a similar name to Hulbert/ Hulburd in NJ is apparently what Monighetti found in "Mendham Township" (by Hon. S.R. Axtell), which lists the “prominent names in Mendham about the year 1740; one such being a Benjamin Hurlburt.” (Speculation regarding his possible identity is discussed in further detail below.)
William III’s presumed sister Rachel Hulburd (b.1709) married a John Chambers Sr. also in 1745 in Mendham, NJ - which was a second marriage for John Chambers Sr., but apparently a first marriage for her (discussed further below).
A Benjamin Hulburd is merely mentioned in 1749 in the Mendham Presbyterian Church, presumably as a member. Also in 1749 is a list of those who had been assigned Livestock earmarks in Mendham Twsp., and once more the name of Benjamin Hulburd appears on the list (but strangely not that of William Hulburd III.) I believe there is also a land deed that turned up for a “Benjamin Hulburt” in Mendham around 1749 as well. Whether or not this is the same person as the supposed “Benjamin Hurlburt, prominent in Mendham in 1740”, and whether or not these are references to William III’s son Benjamin Hulburd Sr. is still unclear (discussed further below).
Monighetti has found in the List of Freeholders of Morris County, August 31, 1752: “A List of the freeholders of the Towne Ship Mendom as followes: …Wm Holbord” (The Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey; Volume 16, Number 3, Whole No. 65; July 1941, published November 1942.) This is the first recording by name found (to date) of William III himself being in NJ. However, the marriages of William III’s dau.s Mary, Abigail and Hannah in the Hanover and/or Morristown Presbyterian Churches in 1745, 1748 and 1749 respectively all precede 1752, and place William III and his older children in Morris Co., NJ already by at least 1744. It also appears that William III was possibly living in neighboring Rockaway, NJ sometime before 1752, which is where 19th century genealogist Lotta Vail lists him as residing in her notes (discussed further below).
It is clear by 1757 exactly where (at least some of) the property of William III was situated (which was in the small settlement of Mt. Freedom only roughly 5 miles from the iron ore deposits), since 1756/7 is when William III purchased (an additional?) 200 acre tract of land from the heirs of the estate of William Penn (i.e. the founder of “Pennsylvania”), and many other neighbors of William III also purchased large tracts from the Penn estate that same year. Those deeds were registered 22 Feb 1757 in Philadelphia, PA. It is my belief he may have built a new house on this property.
It’s interesting that much – if not all - of the site of the original 200-acre Hulburd purchase (at the southeast corner of the intersection of Radtke Rd and West Hanover Ave) appears to be presently set apart as a rather large forested tract (whether private or public, I’m not sure from the map.) The official website of Randolph, NJ says the Twsp. has been designated to remain 50% rural and 50% urban (evidently by the State of NJ?)
William Hulburd III’s homestead(s) would have been first classified as lying within the jurisdiction of Hanover Twsp., NJ (which was enormous back then), regardless of whether he were actually at today’s Rockaway or Randolph, NJ. "Mendham Twsp" was subsequently created out of part of Hanover Twsp in 1749, (which was also much larger than today's Mendham), and the 1752 homestead, if the same, of William III was then reclassified as lying in “Mendham” for the rest of his and his children’s lifetimes. Finally, Randolph Twsp. was formed out of part of Mendham Twsp. in 1850, and the same site of the Hulburd homestead since that date has been reclassified as lying in "Randolph Twsp" (specifically in the Mt. Freedom section.)
This might explain why some internet accounts (without documented sources) list William III as having died in “Whippany, NJ,” as Whippany today is basically the majority of what’s left over of the original Hanover Twsp., and “Whippany” and “Hanover” are used – albeit incorrectly – as synonyms for one another, even by the residents there today. Also, his (apparently childless) dau. Mrs. Abigail Tuttle is listed as residing specifically in Whippany in 1750.
A William and Benjamin “Hulbert” are listed in Mendham, NJ in the 1778 list of Ratables (Property Tax) – presumably our William III of Mendham (who died 1779, and not William III’s son William Hulburd IV), and William III’s son Benjamin.
The Staten Island (or Piscataway/Woodbridge, NJ?) Hulburd Connection
In an email to Monighetti on 10 Jul. 2004, I stated the following:
Benjamin was supposedly only 12 years old in 1745 at the time of his first sibling’s marriage. So, we really have to start thinking in terms of just why would Benjamin be on Staten Island in the mid to late 1750's to have met Elizabeth Van Name? I still suspect it's some kind of connection with the family of his unnamed mother. If so, then William III may have actually been married on Staten Island, NY – or even in nearby Middlesex Co., NJ (e.g. Rahway (i.e. “Spanktown”); Woodbridge; New Brunswick, South Amboy; Piscataway, etc.) from whence many early Staten Island Anglophone settlers had removed.
The first mention by name in a record we have of Benjamin (i.e. being back in Mendham, NJ) is in the first Mendham Tax Ratable of 1778. Also, Benjamin's two oldest children (i.e. Aaron and Mary) both died in 1778 (apparently of a Typhus epidemic which came on the heals of a deadly Smallpox epidemic), being the first of our Hulburd Family discovered by us to date to have been buried in a known gravesite, in NJ.
Benjamin and Elizabeth apparently removed from Staten Island back to Mendham, NJ sometime between 1764 (the only year when Benjamin is listed as a constable there as “Benjamin Halbout”) and 1778 – most probably around 1776 as a result of the onslaught of the Revolutionary War, and early British occupation of Staten Island.
Benjamin may have years later moved back toward the coast at the end of his life (to the Lyons Farm Area of Newark/Elizabeth - i.e. the location of the Newark airport today), perhaps to be closer to the Van Name Family, as well as his own mother's relatives - who were possibly all from Staten Island. However, it appears more likely that there may have been tensions between him and his nephew Rhuben Hulburd, which may have reached the point of legal action in 1794/95 involving charges and counter charges, which could have precipitated the move of both Benjamin Sr. and Jr. from “Hanover” in 1797 (see details below).
When Elizabeth Van Name died, she was possibly buried with her parents on Staten Island (since the gravesite of her and Benjamin remains unknown, and they don’t appear to be buried anywhere in Elizabeth, NJ). Benjamin appears to have remarried to another woman also named Elizabeth (apparently the widow of a Caleb Lindsley), but he had no children with his second wife. So when he died, his children presumably would have buried him next to their mother Elizabeth Van Name, who was presumably buried on Staten Island.”
Was the First Wife of William Hulburd III an “Allen”?
I have long speculated that the maiden name of William III’s first wife could have been “Allen” or “Dallas”, due to the fact that the name of the oldest son of Amos Harrison, grandson of Benjamin Hulburd Sr., was “Charles Allen Harrison”, with no know source for this name. I emailed the following to Monighetti on 31 Nov 2004:
“…Edward Allen and most of his 7 or so sons, and his daughters, all moved to Suffield, CT. They all had large families in small Suffield in the second half of the 1600's. Half the population of Suffield was probably Allens. Suffield, as you probably already know, is only about 3 miles or so down the road from the center of Enfield - both of them being in the middle of nowhere (at least back then). And as you probably know, just because someone was from "Enfield" (like the Hulburds) doesn't necessarily mean their farm was smack in the center of town, and not closer to, say, Suffield.
Savage's Gen. Dic. Evidently has an interesting one-line, (maddeningly-abbreviated) blurb about these Suffield Allens: “EDWARD, Ipswich, ace. a very doubtful tradit. came from Scotland, 1636, m. a Kimball, and had, as runs the same story, fifteen s. and three ds. That acco. was giv. by Hon. Samuel C. Allen to Farmer. In the Hist. of Hubbard, wh. was his neighb. the burn. of his barn, 1670, is ment.”
Yeah, I know, there were genuine "Hubbards" everywhere in CT (at least three different distinct immigrant lines by that surname, I think.) However, allow me to say only, that we have seen our own Benjamin and William IV (erroneously) referred to as "Hubbard" in the Hanover Ratables in the 1780’s. Savage wasn't perfect, you know….
So, the question is: "Were the Allens of Suffield, and the Hulburds of Enfield actually on neighboring farms?" And even if they weren't on neighboring farms, does it really make a difference since they were so close anyway?
So, which Allen girls were of marrying age for William III (and not already taken)? Thankfully not very many. Of course, there are probably an additional number of Allen girls who were just never recorded too - that seems obvious (since some of the Allen families/ genealogies list, say, three or four sons only for a given couple.) So, Samuel Allen moved 1717 to Morris Co., NJ and definitely had a dau. 1712, and another 1714 - too old to probably have been candidates for William III's wife (i.e. mother of his oldest girls.) Yeah, there's a supposed dau. Elizabeth too, but some accounts list her as born/baptized 1758, so her existence is completely dubious. We also have the problem of William III having to marry one of the dau.s of Samuel Allen in NJ (since Samuel Allen left for NJ in 1717). The problem with that, is I was hoping the marriage to an Allen girl would have provided the reason for William III's subsequent move to NJ.
There is one other possibility (aside from unlisted girls); the brother of Samuel Allen - William Allen - stayed put in Suffield. He had lots of girls, too. Of those girls, the two nearest William III's own age (i.e. b. 1698) - and who aren't listed as having otherwise married someone else - are:
Joanna Allen b. 21 Apr 1696
Sarah Allen b. 28 Apr 1699
Did, William III marry one of these sisters, then move to Mendham, NJ to be near her uncle Samuel Allen (or if he were already dead) near her widowed Allen Aunt and young cousins? Let's not forget that William III's oldest child was named "Sarah." Since the trend in naming the older children seemed to be to name them after a member of William III's family, I thought maybe his dau. Sarah had been named after his Aunt (i.e. his father's sister) Sarah Hulburd - but that always seemed a bit of a stretch to me. If William III did marry Sarah Allen, then his oldest child Sarah Hulburd would have been named after his wife.
And if Sarah (or Joanna) Allen of Suffield were the neighbor of William III of Enfield, then she would have known all of William III's siblings personally, and might explain why she actually agreed to name her children after her husband’s brothers and sisters (who were possibly her friends back home.) Of course, in this scenario, William Hulburd IV could actually have been named after Sarah's own father, William Allen, too.
So, I did a search for the names of all the granddaughters of William III, to see if there were any similarities to the Allen girl's names, and this is what I've come up with so far:
Sarah -(apparently no issue)
Abigail – (apparently no issue)
Mary - (dau.s Joanna; Eliza(beth) )
Hannah - (dau.s Elizabeth; Sarah)
Benjamin Sr. - (a dau. Elizabeth - his wife's name too)
William IV - (no dau.s identified)
Rachel – (no dau.s identified)
Ruth – (no children identified)
(Ephraim, Jotham and Joshua are not children of William III's first wife)
So, we see Elizabeth used three times (see below speculation that William III’s first wife was named Elizabeth based on the naming of Benjamin Sr.’s children). Sarah and Joanna are both used once (which just happen to be the names of the two Allen sisters, and their theoretical Allen cousin.) Unfortunately, I don't have the names of the dau.s of the other siblings - especially William IV’s daughters, if any.
However, it should not be forgotten, that the immigrant William I 2nd m. Ann, the widow of a Samuel Allen Sr. of MA (who is apparently completely unrelated to the Edward Allens later of Suffield, CT.) This Ann then became the mother of William II, and I found in one internet account by Barbara C. Martin the note (albeit undocumented), “It is recorded that when William (Hulburd I) settled in Northampton (MA) he took with him the Allen children and his own.” These were the Allen half-uncles and/or half-aunts of William III, which meant that William III had Allen half-cousins, regardless of whether or not he ever married an Allen himself. Perhaps he married one of these Allen half-cousins, who may have been his first wife.
Was the First Wife of William III a “Howard” cousin?
In an email to me of 8 Nov 06, Tom Hulbert shared the following information:
“…Linda found where my 5 great grandfather Amos, his wife Jane (Gordon) and we think Benjamin Hulbert [Jr., grandson of William III - DMI] are buried today. Also Samuel Gordon and his wife are there. You may recall that Benjamin Jr. and Amos came up from Elisabeth, NJ and worked in Samuel's mill. It's in the Wyalusing, PA, the same place he was murdered in 1803. The following info was gathered from gravestones last year.
Hulbert Amos July 6, 1803 23 Years
Hulbert, Jane Nov 6, 1806 26 years
Hulbert, ? BH May 24 1813 ??
In an email of 10 Nov 06 concerning the discovery of the tombstone of Benjamin Hulbert Jr., I wrote the following to Monighetti:
“…Well, like I pointed out, one of the most important things is one of the littlest things - i.e. the middle initial "H" on Ben Jr.s tombstone.
Hey, here's a thought that just comes to me at this writing: as discussed previously, first cousin marriages in colonial America were not only common, but seem to have been preferred in many families. Do you think that William III could have possibly married in before 1725 in sparsely populated frontier CT a "Howard" cousin of his (i.e. his mother's niece), and that Ben Jr. could have actually gotten his middle "H" from William III's wife (i.e. Ben Jr.'s grandmother), and not from William III's mother (i.e. Ben Jr.s great-grandmother)?
We should look and see how many nieces Mary Howard had, and if they are listed as married already to other men.
I really think that "H" is a reference to a family name on his father's side (it is certainly not a reference to a name anywhere back on his mother Van Name's side), and I specifically have a strong suspicion that it is a reference to the maiden name of William III's first wife.
The first Thomas Howard to immigrate came with 5 children - one of them Thomas Howard Jr., who was the father of Mary Howard. So, there are possibly both first and second cousins (females) of William III born with the "Howard" surname….”
In a follow up email to Monighetti of 16 Nov 06, I wrote:
“…The middle initial of "H" on the tombstone of Benjamin Hulbert Jr. in PA (if indeed true) is definitely the family name of his father's mother - I just know it. So, assuming it is "Howard" (i.e. assuming William III married one of his cousins in frontier CT), I tried to find what I could on the Howards.
It turns out, that William III was growing up with Howard female cousins right in his own frontier settlement of Enfield, CT, and nothing is known of the later life of three of those first cousin girls around his own age.
In doing the research, I did run across several examples in the greater Howard family of what appears to be cousin marriage…. Of course, the Howard girls right in Enfield are of particular interest. And do notice how all their names are exactly the names of William III's own daughters - i.e. Mary, Abigail, Anna/Hannah, Ruth, etc….”
In an email of 21 Feb 07 to Monighetti, I wrote the following regarding information found in volume II of “History of Enfield”, published 1900:
“…It should also be noted, that several female Howard cousins of William III were born in Enfield roughly 5-10 years after him, and I have theorized that the middle name "Howard" of William IV, as well as the middle "H." on the PA tombstone of Ben Jr. (presumably for "Howard") could have come from William III's wife, if she were a Howard, rather than from William III's mother Mary Howard.)
They are:
Ruth Howard the daughter of nathan howard and Abegall his wife Was borne ye twenteeth of genewry 1703/4
Prissilah haward the daughter of John haward & Prissilah his wife was born the twenty day of september 1705
abigail haward the daughter nathan hawerd and abigail his wife was born the twenth first of may: 1706
elezebath howard the daughter of John howard and Prissilah his wife was born ye twenty day of may: 1707
mary howard the daughter of nathan howard & abigall his wife was born was born [sic] ye first of febewry: 1707/8.
annah howard the daughter of nathan howard and abagall his wife was born febewry the third 1709/10.
Any one of these girls could have been the mother of William III's children, if he married a cousin (as was the preferred custom at the time), the first child Sarah being born about 1725, and provided they can’t be eliminated thru known marriages with other men.”
Was Mary, the Last Wife of William III, a “Wilki(n)son” ?
In an email 24 March 2005, I wrote the following to Monighetti:
“…I was thinking only last night, that James Wilki(n)son has got to be the brother-in-law of William III; he's a witness on William III's will in 1778 (a position frequently filled by brothers-in-law), and accompanied the widow Rachel (Hulburd) Channel (along with her brothers two full brothers Ben Sr. and William IV) to make sure she got her dead husband’s pension benefits for war service in 1783. Particularly because of this involvement with Rachel in 1783, several years after William III had already died, I feel he was related to the Mendham Hulburds. I definitely feel he was likely an “Uncle” of Benjamin, William IV and Rachel – and likely the blood uncle, of Jotham and Joshua - and not merely an uncle through marriage.”
The Wilki(n)sons were early settlers at Woodbridge (Middlesex Co.), NJ. The website for the town of Woodbridge, NJ states in part: "Mr. Dally, in his History of Woodbridge and Vicinity, stated that it was so called in honor of Reverend John Woodbridge of Newbury, MA." Evidently, the followers of Rev. Woodbridge had removed to Woodbridge, NJ (several years after that territory first became open to English settlement in 1664) by invitation of the notorious NJ Governor Carteret.
The Wilki(n)son family appear to have originally come from CT and/or MA, and they are found in the early records of Milford, CT. Milford, CT is also the settlement where the Roger family (founders of the Rogerene Baptists) had originally resided. The patriarch of the Wilki(n)son family early on at Woodbridge, NJ seems to have been an Edward Wilkinson I (b.c.1660? d.1702 in Woodbridge, NJ). He is listed as having m. 28 Dec 1692 a Sarah Conger (b. Jan 1667/68 in Woodbridge, NJ?) – but she may have been his second wife, as his three sons found posted on a site in Ancestry.com were all apparently born well before 1692. Those three sons listed for Edward Wilkinson I are:
i. Edward Wilkinson II, b.c.1680? d.?
ii. John Wilkinson I, b. 15 Jul 1685 d.1733. He m. bef. 1710 Rebecca Thorpe, and they had a son John II (b.c.1718 d.?) John II m. bef. 1735 ___________, and they had son a James (b.1735 d. 25 Nov 1800 in Woodbridge, NJ?) James m.1760 Sarah Burnet.
iii. Allen Wilkinson, b. 2 Jun 1687 d.?
Woodbridge cemetery records list a Dr. James Wilkinson (b.c.1697 d.1749 in Woodbridge, NJ). This is apparently the same James Wilkinson who is listed as having m. 16 Dec 1726 Mary Dunham (b. 3 March 1703/4). This Dr. James Wilkinson (due to a comparison of dates involved) seems to have probably been a son of Edward Wilkinson I by his presumed second wife Sarah Conger. Did this (Dr.) James Wilkinson and Mary Dunham of Woodbridge, NJ have a son named James Wilki(n)son, who is the “James Wilkison” of Mendham, NJ who witnessed in 1778 the will of William Hulburd III, and who in 1783 (4 years after the death of William III) accompanied the adult children of William III during the widow Rachel Channel’s petition for her widow’s pension? If so, was it either the first unnamed wife of William Hulburd III (or his last wife Mary) who was probably a dau. of Edward Wilkinson I and his (presumed second) wife Sarah Conger of Woodbridge, NJ?
I emailed Monighetti 1 April 2005 the following:
“There’s some kind of link here of the Wilkinson and Freeman families of Woodbridge, NJ thru the Dunham Family of Woodbridge, NJ, but I’m just not fully understanding it yet:
1. Dr. James Wilkinson m. a Mary Dunham. (They probably had a son James Wilkinson Jr. who witnessed William III’s will.)
2. Mary Dunham (said wife of Dr. James Wilkinson) was the sister of David Dunham Jr., as confirmed thru the estate administration of Dr. James Wilkinson.
3. David Dunham Jr. m. a Miss Mary Freeman (dau. of Henry).
4. Said Miss Mary Freeman (wife of David Dunham Jr.) was the Aunt of the Miss Mary Freeman (dau. of Samuel), who married Capt. John Payne. (William III witnessed the will of an Isaac Pain 1762, probably a close relative of this Capt. John Payne.)
5. Said Miss Mary Freeman (wife of David Dunham Jr.) was also the Aunt of Gilman Freeman (son of Benjamin). (Jotham and Joshua Hulburd witnessed Gilman’s will in 1801.)”
In an email to Monighetti 1 Aug 2005 I wrote:
“…(Starting with the packet entitled "New Jersey in 1793" [that you sent me])
1. Notice, that immediately preceding the Hulburd surname “cousins” who are listed in the [1793 NJ Militia] list, there are two Abers (presumably kin-thru-marriage to their sister/aunt Mary (Hulburd) Aber.) Sandwiched between these two Abers is the only Wilkinson in the list. Coincidence? Since the militia is not listed in alphabetical order, or chronological order based on date of enlisting, it's a physical count - either of bodies, or of households.
Either way, it shows that the Abers, Hulburds and Wilkinsons were all either a) immediate neighbors, or b) kin or close friends hanging out in a group when the men were lined up for counting. Just another indication that the signing of the will of William III by James Wilkinson was not just because Wilkinson "happened to be passing by the house, and was handy." I have already speculated that William III's last wife Mary was a Wilkinson, which would have made this William Wilkinson likely a first cousin to Jotham, who is listed two names down the list….”
In an email to Monighetti 6 Aug 2005 I wrote:
“…James Wilkinson had accompanied Rachel Hulburd Channel to court (as well as Rachel's two older brothers), but there was always a slight chance that Rachel could have been a dau. of William III's last wife Mary anyway. And even if she weren't, James Wilkinson had still been "Uncle" for at least 18 years to all the Hulburd children, and don't forget; it was a tight-knit, small, frontier, religious community too. Most Wilkinson arrows seem to be pointing specifically towards Jotham and his mother Mary.
It also makes sense, that at the time of his death, that his current brother-in-law (i.e. presumably James Wilkinson) would have been a witness to the will of William III, and not a past brother-in-law (who may have likely still been back in CT, or on Staten Island, or Middlesex Co., NJ, or wherever else Hulburd's first wife actually came from.)
Along these same lines, the other witness to William III's will, "Mary Freeman", also apparently had some sort of a connection specifically with Jotham and Joshua, and their witnessing of Gilman Freeman's will (see below). So, the two witnesses to William III's will were apparently his local in-laws thru his current wife Mary, and they had been his in-laws already for about 20 years. So, that makes perfect sense that they would have been the witnesses to his will.
Mary Freeman couldn't have also been born "Mary Wilkinson" herself, therefore she couldn't have been a full sister to William III's last wife Mary. She must have been a step-sister, or a first cousin (or less likely a half sister - through a common mother, who had been married twice, with two different surnames). She couldn't have been a wife of a deceased brother of Mr.s Mary [nee Wilkinson?] Hulburd, because that would have made her "Mary Wilkinson" too.
Ohhh! I got it now! Mary Freeman was Mrs. Mary [nee Wilkinson?] Hulburd's daughter by a first marriage - the step daughter of William III, and half-sister of Jotham and Joshua. In fact, I think I had previously speculated to that effect.
So, that would have made the two witnesses to William III's will his brother-in-law James Wilkinson, and his (probably) oldest, (probably) widowed step-daughter Mrs. Mary Freeman.
…suffice it to say that I'm now inclined to believe that it's about 80% likely that William III's last wife Mary was a sister of James Wilkinson, and likely a dau. of Dr. James Wilkinson and Mary Dunham of Woodbridge, NJ, and likely the mother of a Mrs. Mary Freeman.
William III as Witness to the Will of Isaac Pain of Mendham
The Will Abstracts Morris Co., NJ 1761 – 1770, contains an abstract for the will of an Isaac Pain of Mendham written 25 March 1762. Said will has as a witness a “William Hulburd” – presumably William III, as William IV probably would have signed or been listed as “ William Jr.” The Abstract is as follows:
“1762, March 25. Pain, Isaac, of Mendham, yeoman; will of. Wife, Abigail, household goods, etc. Sons, Isaac and John, £50 each. Daughters, Deborah, Sarah, Mary and Ruth, £10 each, when they are 18. Executors - my wife and Samuel Roberts. Witnesses - Henry Clark, William Hulburd, Alexander Aikman. Proved April 15, 1762.
1762, April 3. Inventory, made by Robert Adams and Henry Clark. Includes house and 122 acres of land, L114. (Lib. H, p. 364)”
Like the Freeman and Wilkinson Families (the two witnesses to William III's own will, discussed above and below), the Payne/Paine family was also apparently from Woodbridge (Middlesex Co.), NJ) However, the Payne/Pain(e) family appears to have followed a route very similar to that of the Hulburd Family; apparently originally at New Haven, CT, the Payne/Pain(e) family moved to Northampton, MA, before removing to Middlesex Co., NJ, then onward to Morris Co., NJ. The Northampton, MA cemetery has a sole burial list for someone of that name; Seth Paine, d.1689. The exact relationship, if any, is as yet undetermined between this Isaac Pain and William Hulburd III of Mendham. Isaac Pain’s wife’s name was Abigail, and if Isaac Pain were earlier at Northampton, MA before coming to NJ, it’s possible that his wife Abigail could be the sister of William Hulburd III. However, this is yet another point of speculation to be proved – or disproved – by future research.
There was an Isaac Pain(e) b. 3 Jan 1698 (son of Samuel Paine and Patience Freeman of Cape Cod, MA) who m. an Abigail Snow. But there's nothing about them to suggest they ever left MA for NJ. I think it's a coincidence. I think that the Isaac Pain who died 1762 in Morris Co., NJ was likely a brother of that Capt. John Payne, who is mentioned in NJ records as being born in Woodbridge, NJ.
The Children of William Hulburd III of Mendham, NJ
It’s probable that William III had only two wives. However, the possibility that he could have had up to three wives has not yet been ruled out. I therefore propose the following:
Children borne by his first wife____________:
1. Sarah Hulburd (b.c.1724?, no issue? – apparently never married. She’s apparently listed as a member of the Rockaway Presb. Church in the 1768 (as is her brother-in-law John Losey), and is mentioned simply as “Sarah” in her father’s will of 1778 – although her sister Rachel, who was the widow of John Channel, was also mentioned only as “Rachel” in that same will. Sarah Hulburd is not listed in the Morris Co. Surrogate Court records which begin 1804, possibly indicating that she had died, or married, beforehand. Of course, most single women/widows had no sizeable estate to inventory, and didn't need to make out wills either. And if their husbands survived them, there'd be no wills or inventories made out anyway.
2. Abigail Hulburd (b.c.1725?, d. sometime after 1778. She m. 18 May 1748 William Tuttle, who d. sometime before 1778. See notes on them below. Mrs. Abigail Tuttle is not listed in the Morris Co. Surrogate Court records which begin 1804, possibly indicating that she had died, or remarried and/or moved, beforehand.
3. Mary Hulburd (b.c.1727?, m. 21 Jan. 1745 John Aber II – the father of John Aber II had moved from Setauket, NY (then part of New Haven, CT) to Jamaica, NY (where he married), then to Mendham, NJ c.1732.) Mrs. Mary Aber is not listed in the Morris Co. Surrogate Court records which begin 1804, probably indicating that had she died beforehand. They had the following 9 children, all born in Morristown, NJ: John III (possibly “John Hulburd Aber”, b. 2 Jan 1746); Aaron (b. 2 Oct 1747 d. 3 Nov 1822 in Seneca Co., NY); Experience (b.c.1749); Joanna (b.1750); Mary (b. 5 Dec 1752 d. 27 Oct 1788 in Hanover, NJ); Matthew (b.1753 d.1817 in Allegheny Co., PA); Abisha (b.c.1755 d.1817 in Westmoreland Co., PA); Jabesh (b.c.1758); Hopewell (a.k.a. Eliza Hopewell, b.c.1761 d.? in Westmoreland Co., PA).
4. Hannah Hulburd (b.c.1733? d. 23 Oct. 1803 in Morristown (at 70). She m. 16 Aug. 1749 John Losey II (d.1808). John Losey II 2nd m. bet. 1803 and 1805 the widow Mary (née Nichol) Freeman (who may have been Hannah Hulburd’s theorized step-sister). Hannah and John Losey II, and had at least 15 children (apparently including two sets of twins), at least 11 of which are known to have married: Phoebe (bap. 27 Oct 1751 d.? m.1783); Elizabeth (bap. 9 Jun 1754 d.?); Abigail (bap. 21 Aug 1757 d. 30 Dec 1813 in Hamilton, OH m. 18 Mar 1773 David Garrigus); Hannah (twin?, bap. 21 Aug 1757 d.?); Anne (a.k.a. “Nancy”? bap. 11 Nov 1759 d.? m. 7 Jan 1775 David Tredwell); Stephen (bap. 22 Nov 1761 d.?); Cornelius (bap. 30 Jun 1763 d. 17 Jan 1846 in Walpack, NJ); Lucretia (b.1763, bap. 4 Nov 1764, d. 17 Sep 1798 m. 31 Dec 1778 William Bowen); John (bap. 14 Sep 1766 d.1778); Mary (bap. 21 Aug 1768 d. 24 Jun 1772); Abner (b. 28 Jun 1770, bap. 28 Jun 1772 d. Jul 1778); Silas (b. 24 Mar 1772, bap. 28 Jun 1772, d. aft. 1817 in Ontario Co., NY); Letitia (b. 3 Mar 1774, bap. 10 Oct 1782 d.?); David (b. 13 Mar 1777, bap. 10 Oct 1782, d. aft. 1856 in Ontario Co., NY m. 25 Dec 1799 in Hanover Mary Jameson); Sarah (twin, b. 13 Mar 1777, bap. 10 Oct 1782, d. aft. 1810 in Union Co., PA m. 21 May 1801 Michael Smith);
5. Benjamin Hulburd Sr. (b.c.1733 per bill of mortality (but possibly born closer towards 1725 per early Mendham Records) d. Nov. 13, 1803 (said “at 70”), m. 1st Elizabeth Van Name and 2nd Elizabeth _________, the widow of Caleb Lindsley. See Benjamin’s children listed below.)
6. William H.(oward?) Hulburd IV (a.k.a. “Bill Hulbert”, per a couple of Ratables, b. bef. 1740? d.1812 in Hilltop Cemetery, Mendham – the “H” as a middle initial is supposedly on his tombstone), m. bef. 1764 presumably in Morris Co., NJ “Annur” (i.e. Anna) __________ (b.? d.1816? – there is an illegible tombstone next to William IV’s with an 1816 dead date). William and Anna Hulburd (even though they both apparently died after 1804, and were apparently both buried in Morris Co.) are not listed in the Morris Co. Surrogate Court records, which begin 1804. William IV and Anna apparently had at least two sons: William V (b.c.1763 d. 9 Mar. 1798 (at 34); and Rhuben (b.c.1765? d. apparently bef. 1840). William V m. 1 Dec 1783 Deborah Fairchild, and whatever children they may have had (including a dau. Rebekah d.1773 at age 11) appear to have predeceased them. Concerning a “William Hulbert of Mendham”, I had read many years ago a quote in a published account housed in the Morristown, NJ Library – but failed to cite the source - which stated “William Hulbert of Mendham, called a preacher of the Gospel by some, was closely associated with a Benjamin Hulbert of that place. He apparently died without issue, as there are no heirs mentioned in his will.” This statement cannot be accurate regarding either his father William III, or his son William IV (who died 1812), and whose son Rhuben lived past 1830.
7. Rachel Hulburd (b. sometime bet. 1733 and 1752, d. sometime bet. 23 Oct 1793 and 3 Feb 1794, per her court records seeking widow’s compensation), m. John Channel, and apparently already had at least two children, maybe more (including son John Jr., and another son) by 1778, when John Channel had died a prisoner in NYC.)
(gap between birth of #6 (William IV) and #8 (Ruth) of possibly between anywhere from about 10 to 18 years. Unsure if #7 (Rachel) is closer in age to #6 (William IV) or #8 (Ruth) .)
8. Ruth Hulburd (presumably b.c.1752?, but possibly much earlier, d. aft. 1778), m. Mr. Lose(y) (but which Mr. Losey?) - In fact, Ruth’s estimated birth date here is pure speculation, and it is possible that Ruth’s age may be older than what is estimated here. Mrs. Ruth Lose(y) is not listed in the Morris Co. Surrogate Court records which begin 1804, possibly indicating that had she died, or moved, beforehand. Was she first m. to a Mr. Severn? And did she then m.c.1774 Peter Losey (b. 10 Dec 1748 in Morristown, NJ)? – As a Peter Losey of Morristown m.1774 the (widow) Ruth Severn.
(c. 7 or more year gap here)
Children #8 (Ruth) and #9 (Ephraim) and #10 (Unnamed) are possibly both borne by a theorized second wife, but could also be the children of his first wife, or (even more likely at least as Ephraim and Unnamed are concerned) of his last wife Mary _____[née Wilkinson?] (i.e. Ruth could be a child of his first wife, and Ephraim could be a child of his last wife):
9. Ephraim Hulburd (b. 5 April 1759 d. aft.1833 in OH. He 1st m.c.1782? in Morris Co., NJ ____________ . He 2nd m. 19 Oct. 1788 at First Pres. of Goshen (Orange Co.), NY Jemima Rumsey. His son by his first marriage, Daniel (b.1783/4 in Morris Co., NJ d. 23 Sep 1797 in Mendham, NJ of dysentery). Ephraim had at least the following 3 children by his second wife per the aforementioned 1800 NY Census (and the 1830 OH Census provides the name of at least one of them): Oliver (b. bet. 1800 and 1810); son (born bet. 1800 and 1810, per the 1800 NY Census); daughter (per the 1800 Census).
10. (Child) Hulburd (b.c.1761/2 d. Apr 1773 (at 11). This child is listed in the Morristown Bill of Mortality under the year 1773 as “child of William Huberts”. The day of death, and cause of death are not provided. Normally, I would assume that this is a reference to a child of William Hulburd IV, however the compiler of the Combined Registers of the Morristown Presb. Church lists this “child” as a note attached to Jotham Hulburd’s entry, which is found indented along with Joshua’s note under “Mrs. Mary Halbard”, thereby indicating she is the “mother.” Therefore the compiler of the C.R. apparently understood this death in 1773 to refer to a child of William Hulburd III and his wife Mary, regardless of the child’s forename, or whether or not said notation appears at first glance to be a mistaken reference to Jotham. We know it’s not Jotham, because Jotham is mentioned in his father’s will as still living in 1778. (see speculation regarding the maternity of Ephraim and (Child) below).
Children definitely borne by third wife Mary ________[née Wilkinson?] (per the Combined Registers of the Morristown Presb. Church) when she was already between 38 and 44 years old, based on her age at death in 1803:
11. Jotham Hulburd (bap. 14 Sep. 1766 d. aft. 1830 in Newark. Jotham sold “to Jesse Upson, Caleb Meeker, Nathaniel Clarke, George Forsey and Nehemiah Losey being the township committee of Mendham for $22.87, in trust for the use of the inhabitants of Mendham a lot of land and buildings in Mendham...” (Bk. L, p. 536 Recorded Mar. 2, 1805). Jotham 1st m. (either on 2 May or 4 Jun 1805) a Jane Neges/Neguss (of “Newton”, NJ?) (Note DMI – is this “Newton” in Sussex Co., NJ or “Newtown” which is part of Piscataway in Middlesex Co., NJ?) He 2nd m. 14 Aug 1808 in Morris Co. Mary Sanders. (note: is there any relationship between her, and the husband of Jotham’s known half-sister Mrs. Hannah Sanderson?) He moved to Newark, NJ sometime bet. 1817 (when he paid taxes in Mendham) and 1830 (when he’s listed as living in Newark.) Jotham had at least one child: William Hulbert of Newark, NJ (b. bet. 1805 and 1810 in Randolph d. aft. 1860).
12. Joshua Hulburd (bap. 21 Aug. 1768 d. 8 Feb. 1847 in Randolph, he m. bef. 1795 Martha Babbit (b.1774 d. 21 Sept. 1825). Joshua is not listed in the Morris Co. Surrogate Court records which begin 1804. They had at least: Isaac Babbit (b. 1796 d. 17 Jan 1813 in Randolph); Martin S. (b.1798 d. aft. 1860); Mary (b.1805? bap. 28 Jun 1807 d. aft. 1860?); and (Child bap. 17 Aug 1810, died young.) I theorize there was probably also another son of Joshua Hulburd, who left sons listed in the 1860 census in Morris Co., along with those of Martin S. Hulbert. Also, the Combined Registers of the Morristown Presbyterian Church has an entry for an “Esther Holbert m. 22 Feb 1812 in Morris Co., NJ Joseph Jaggers”. If she is a descendant of William Hulburd III, and not a descendant of Ebenezer Holbert/Hurlbut of Rockaway, then she is most likely a dau. of Joshua Hulburd.)
Who was the Benjamin Hurlburt/var. listed in Mendham, NJ between 1740 and 1750?
[See update of 23 Feb 2007 at end of this section]
There is a Benjamin Hulburt living in Mendham in 1749. The fact that he was assigned a livestock earmark, and is mentioned in a land deed, and I believe is mentioned in the Presb. Church records - presumably as a member, all would normally indicate that this Benjamin had reached the age of majority (i.e. 21) by 1749, and likely some years before that date. However, per his age given at death of 70 in 1803, our Benjamin Hulburd, son of William III, would have been only 16 years old in 1749.
So, who was the “Benjamin Hulburt” in 1749 Mendham, NJ records? Being in tiny Mendham the same time as William Hulburd III would lead one to naturally believe that he was somehow related to William III – but that’s not necessarily so, as the unrelated line of “Ebenezer Holbert/Hurlbut” was also residing in neighboring Rockaway at that time (see notes below). So, how many Benjamin Hulburt/var.’s are known to have been alive somewhere at the time, who were also related to William III? There is essentially only his son, and William III’s brother Benjamin.
Was He William III's Brother?
The problem with the brother, is that he married Thankful Pierce 20 Nov 1740 in Enfield, CT (so the brother can't be the "prominent Benjamin Hurlburt" of 1740 Mendham.) William III’s brother Benjamin then had a number of children born between 1741 and 1746, all in Enfield, CT. There is a gap in between the birth of a child born 10 Aug. 1746 in Enfield and the next born 21 May 1749 (also in Enfield, CT). I suppose he could have been in Mendham, NJ between those two births, but that's really stretching it, and the birth in Enfield in 1749 conflicts with the fact that the Mendham livestock ear mark, etc. are all recorded for a Benjamin in 1749. He died less than 10 years later at Fort Ticonderoga on the NY/VT border. So, it looks like these probably aren't references to William III's brother Benjamin Hulburd at all.
Was He William III's Son?
We've already discussed that William III's son Benjamin, if he were truly born in 1733, would have only been 16 in 1749, and thus apparently too young to have been legally involved in commerce. However, if he were actually born about 1725 or so, then it could very well be him. Remember: William III's own age was also apparently underestimated by his family at the time of his death by almost 4 years. Likewise, the age at death of William III’s brother Obadiah Hulburd was over estimated by 2 or so years at his death. I have a feeling if we ever find an actual baptism or birth record for William III’s son Benjamin somewhere, he may have been born closer to the age of his “older” sisters Sarah and Mary, and not in 1733. However, even so, he would still have been a minor in 1740, and so can't be the supposed "prominent Benjamin" of at least that date. Of course, I’m prepared to propose that the author of that book was mistaken with either the date or forename in question, as I believe the information in that book was based largely on interviews nearly 100 to 150 years after the facts.
Was He a Grandson of the Immigrant Thomas Hurlbut?
Thomas Hurlbut had at least two grandsons named "Benjamin Hurlburt." The first was born 29 Oct 1685, and was the son of Stephen Hurlbu(r)t (b.1649 in Wethersfield, CT) and Phoebe Dickenson. The second was born later, on 17 Nov 1724, and was the son of Joseph Hurlbu(r)t and Mary Castle. I have found no indication of issue or place of residence for either of these two cousins named Benjamin. The younger is too young to have been "prominent" in 1740. However, Benjamin, the son of Stephen, would certainly be the right age - that is if he had removed to NJ, which is not certain. However, as noted by me in this genealogy’s preface, an “r” before the “l” nearly always indicates a descendant of the immigrant Thomas Hurlbut(t). However, I have found some examples in records where our known “Hulburds” are misidentified as “Hurlbut” or “Hurlburt” (in PA and possibly in NY), and even as diverse variations of “Hubbard” (in the “Hanover” Ratables).
Was He another Benjamin Altogether?
Finally, it's remotely possibly, albeit probably unlikely, that the Benjamin listed in Mendham in 1740 (and presumably the same who is listed again in 1749) is a grandchild of William III's Uncle John Hulburd. Also, it's within the realm of possibility, that this Benjamin in Mendham 1740 and 1749 is neither descended from the immigrant William Hulburd I, nor descended from the immigrant Thomas Hurlbut, but from another completely unrelated line.
Conclusion:
I believe that William III's brother can be absolutely ruled out as a candidate, although he would have actually been the most logical choice otherwise. That leaves as more plausible candidates either William III's own son, or the son of the unrelated Stephen Hurlbu(r)t (the son of Thomas Hurlbut(t).) We don't know if Stephen Hurlbu(r)t's son actually removed to NJ, so that's pure speculation at best, and most of the Hurlbuts apparently did not move in the direction of NJ (Ebenezer Holbert/Hurlbut of Rockaway, NJ being the clear exception.)
We do know that William III was probably in NJ by or before about 1740, and that his son Benjamin was obviously with him. It is possible that a precocious Benjamin at sixteen (assuming he was born in 1733), with the cooperation of his father, could have been considered to be an adult by 1749 as far as business transactions were concerned. The relatively young age of Benjamin’s wife Elizabeth Van Name at their wedding (i.e. about 18) also argues in favor of Benjamin being closer to 25 at his wedding (i.e. born about 1733) rather than closer to 33. However, if Benjamin were born earlier than presently supposed (by about 7 years, then at least the 1749 references could definitely refer to him. However, the 1740 reference in "Mendham Township" (by Hon. S.R. Axtell) is apparently hearsay, and not based in any sort of supporting documents, and in my opinion is probably erroneous information, and a confusion with William III, or the date “1740’s” being confused with the “1750’s”. However, even in the later case, Benjamin Hulburd Sr. appears to have been residing on Staten Island, at least towards the end of the 1750’s.
[Update 23 Feb 2007] – earlier deeds and records at Enfield, CT as recorded in the three volume set History of Enfield, CT, published 1900, clearly show that the sons of William II, notably Obadiah Sr. and probably Thomas, were involved in land transactions and appointed to town posts well before their 21st birthdays, which all but confirms that the subsequent mentions of a “Benjamin Hulburt” in Mendham, NJ of the 1740’s are references to the son of William Hulburd III by that name, who had likely not reached the age of 21 yet.
In an email of 20 Feb 07 to Monighetti, I wrote the following regarding information found in volume I of History of Enfield, published 1900:
“…The first appearance of Obadiah Hulburd Sr. in records is 12 March 1732/3, when he appears written as "Hulbord" by the town clerk, and was chosen to be a constable. He would have been roughly 19 or 20 years old at the time. This, plus the following land deed, demonstrates that one did not necessarily have to be 21 years old (despite the prevailing laws) before being appointed to a public position, or before being able to buy and sell land. That being the case, it does seem likely that the early mentions of a Benjamin Hulburd in NJ are references to a precocious Benjamin Hulburd Sr. after all.
Obadiah is most importantly listed in the following land sale (at 20 years old):
I the subscriber for good & Valluable Considerations Doe hereby Alienate & pass over unto Jonathan Hulett & to his heires and assignes for Ever Twenty acres of Land of my Common right of Land Purchased of my father William Hulburd and Doe hereby give to him said Hulett & to his heires & assignes as full Power & Authority to Act & Improve upon ye same as myself might of Could Doe att any time before ye signing hereof; hereby relinquishing of & quitting Claim to ye premises; hereby giving to him sd Hulett as full Power to take up & record ye same to himself or make over by Will or Deed to any other Person Whomsoever;
In Witness Whereof I have hereunto subscribed my Name this twenty sixth Day of May Annoqe Domini 1732.
Obadiah hulburd
Signed in the presence of us
Benjn Bement
[In "Book A" no seal - signatures original]
7. The Unrelated Ebenezer “Holiberd” of 1745 Rockaway, NJ (i.e. née Ebenezer Hurlbut in Middletown, CT), and His Presumed Morris Co., NJ Descendants
I emailed 6 March 2005 Monighetti the following:
“The reason I've been concentrating on looking for Ebenezer Hulbert/var.'s lately, is only because I wanted to rule out that William III's brother Ebenezer was not there with him in Morris Co., NJ in 1745, by finding his brother Ebenezer Hulburd living somewhere else (or already dead.) To date, I have not been able to find William III's brother Ebenezer, either elsewhere or dead. And believe me; I've searched high and low for info on William III's brother Ebenezer, and the only thing interesting to come up that made me wonder if he were actually alive and elsewhere was the following:
Abstract of Probate Records at Fairfield, County of Fairfield, and State of Connecticut, by Spencer P. Mead, L.L.B. Volume 10, 1748 - 1755. Page 215: “Holbert, Thomas, late of Norwalk, Jan. 24, 1754, letters of administration on his estate granted to Ebenezer Holbert of Norwalk, CT, page 503.”
I was thinking, that this could have possibly have been William III's older brother Thomas dying, and leaving younger brother Ebenezer as administrator of his estate. But as it turns out, the above is a reference to the death of Thomas Hurlbut (a.k.a. Holbert) of Middletown CT, and the Ebenezer who was administrator was his son. And as fate would have it, this is the same Ebenezer and his wife Dorothy Brown that removed to “Hanover” (Morris Co.), NJ sometime around 1744, and we see mentioned in the Combined Registers of the Morristown Presb. Church as “Ebenezer Holiberd at Rockaway in 1745”.
I also emailed 20 March 2005 Monighetti the following updated info regarding the line of Ebenezer Holbert/Hulburt:
As far as the ancestry of "Ebenezer Holiberd" who baptized a dau. Mary 1745 at Rockaway, NJ (per the C.R.), it is as follows (per various genealogies posted on Ancestry.com):
I. Thomas Hurlbut, immigrant, m. Sarah Nay. Wethersfield, CT.
II. John Hurlbut, m. Mary Deming. moved to Middletown, CT.
III. Thomas Hurlbut (sometimes a.k.a. "Holbert"), m. Martha Collins. Middletown, CT (Note: this is the Thomas Holbert whom I had earlier found in CT, who left his son Ebenezer as administrator.)
IV. Ebenezer Hurlbut/Holbert b.1711 in Middletown, CT d. 9 Jun 1770 in "Hanover" (Morris Co.), NJ. He had m. in CT Dorothy Brown. (Note: this is apparently the only “Hurlbut”, from an otherwise very large Hurlbut family in CT, that removed to Morris Co., NJ - or to anywhere in NJ for that matter - at this point in time.)
The children of said Ebenezer Hurlbut/Holbert Sr. who were born in Middletown, CT to wit were:
1. Martha, bap. 18 Jan 1734/5
2. Ebenezer Jr., bap. 2 May 1737 (a.k.a. “Haultbut” m. 9 Jan 1763 Sarah Nichol in Morris Co., NJ. Removed to Orange Co., NY before 1810. They had a dau. “Mary Halbard” bap.1764 in Morris Co., NJ. They also apparently had a son “Hezekiah Hurlburt” (b. 28 March 1778), who is listed in the Combined Registers of the Morristown Presb. Church, and who is possibly the "Hezekiah "Holbert" of 1840 Rochester, NY)
3. Elizabeth, bap. 24 Aug 1740
4. John (Capt.), bap. 16 Jan 1742 (removed to Sussex Co., NJ, where he’s listed in 1773/4 as “John Holburd”. Subsequently removing to Orange Co., NY by 1800?)
The additional children of Ebenezer Hurlbut/Holbert Sr. born in "Hanover", NJ to wit were:
5. Mary, bap. 14 Aug 1745 at Rockaway, NJ (as “Mary Holiberd”)
6. Susannah, bap.? (m.1770 Nathan Hall as “Susanna Halbert”)
(and possibly)
7. Andrew, bap.? d.c.1791 in "Hanover", NJ. (He m. Roxanna ________ .)
V. John Holbert/Holburd (Capt.) b. 14 Dec 1742 in East Middletown,
CT d. 4 Mar 1829 in Chester (Orange Co.), NY. (in Orange Co., NY Censuses. He had m.1763 in Sussex Co., NJ Mary Bellus of Sussex Co., NJ).
The children of Capt. John Holbert were:
1. Mary
2. Peter
3. Martha
4. John Jr. (in Orange Co., NY Censuses)
5. Ebenezer, b. 18 Dec 1776 in Sussex Co., NJ d. 12 Jun 1844 in Orange Co., NY (in Orange Co., NY Censuses)
6. Susan
7. Samuel (in Orange Co., NY Censuses)
8. James (in Orange Co., NY Censuses)
Monighetti had also found in the Officers and Men of New Jersey in Wars, Part V with Great Britain, 1812 - 1815, pg. 228 what appears to be yet another Ebenezer, apparently from the early Ebenezer Holbert/Hurlbut line in NJ:
“Halbert, Ebenezer - Private, Capt. James F. De Peyster's Company; enlisted, at Paterson, N.J., May 6, 1814, for the war; discharged at New York, N.Y., May 24, 1815, close of the war.”
Was William III’s Last Wife Mary the Widow of a Mr. Nichol?
Concerning the Ebenezer Holbert/Hurlbut Jr. (b.1737) who removed to Orange Co., NJ, I wrote Monighetti:
“We know there's some kind of connection between our Mendham, NJ Hulburds and specifically Goshen (Orange Co.), NY, because two members of our Hulburd family possibly ended up there (if they were indeed members of our NJ Hulburd Family, and not the line of Ebenezer Holbert/Hurlbut), and they wind up getting married there - to wit:
1. Ephraim Hulburd married 1788 Jemima Rumsey in the Goshen, NY first Presb. Church.
2. William Hulbert Sr. (son of Ben Sr.) m. Alice Bannister bef. 1790 (i.e. about the same time Ephraim remarried), and is listed in the Bannister Genealogy as being from "Goshen."
In an Email of 19 March 2005 to Barbara Martin regarding the same subject, I added:
“Of course, that Sarah Nichol (who m.1763 Ebenezer “Haultbut” Jr.) could very well be a sister of Mary Nicholl (widow of Gilman Freeman, whose will was witnessed by Jotham and Joshua Hulburd) - but that's where any “connection” between the Nichol Family and the Mendham Hulburd Family apparently ends.
Hmmmm…, that raises an interesting possibility though; Mrs. Mary [née Wilkinson?] Hulburd, last wife of William III, was previously married, and had at least one dau. (Hannah, who married a Mr. Sanderson). If William III had married “the widow Mary Nichol”, and if Sarah Nichol were a dau. of Mrs. Mary Hulburd, then the children of Ebenezer "Haultbut/Holbert" (an unrelated Hurlbut) would still be the half nieces and nephews of Jotham and Joshua (and probably Ephraim too) – thru their mother, and not their father. Also, if Mary Nicholl (who married Gilman Freeman) were also a dau. of Mrs. Mary [née Wilkinson?] Hulburd, and the sister of Sarah Nichol, and a half-sister of Jotham and Joshua Hulburd, that would also nicely explain their having witnessed the will of her husband Gilman Freeman.
Incidentally, Gilman’s widow, Mary (Nicholl) Freeman, remarried to John Losey II (whose wife Hannah Hulburd had died in 1803), as John and Mary Losey (“formerly Mary Freeman”…) then sold in 1806 a piece of land to Jotham Hulburd in Randolph, NJ (Recorded 28th May 1806 Morris County, New Jersey Deeds, Bk. L, p. 536). That means that Mary (Nicholl) Freeman remarried the widower of who was possibly her dead stepsister, Hannah Hulburd.
Furthermore, if Ephraim Hulburd were also a son of William III's last wife Mary (as I'm leaning in only the last week or so, due to my having identified that other 11 year old Hulburd child’s death, who was born in between Ephraim and Jotham), then that would explain A LOT about Ephraim going up to Goshen, NY (where his presumed half-sister Sarah, and her "Holbert/Hurlbut" children had removed). Their surnames being "Hulbert" and "Holbert" would just be pure coincidence at that point. But the familial and blood relationship becomes even closer than I had first expected.
Finally, the “Mary Freeman” who witnessed the will of William Hulburd III, if she were the same as Mary (Nicholl) Freeman, could have actually been the stepdaughter of William Hulburd III. Such a close relationship might explain why she – as a woman in 1778, had witnessed his will, without the accompanying signature of a “Mr. Freeman.” However, this is all my pure speculation at this point, until we find that first theorized marriage for William III's last wife Mary to a Mr. Nichol.”
Mrs. William Hulburd III died 1803 (in Morris Co.), and so is not in the records in the Morristown, but should be listed in Trenton.
The Maternity of William III’s Four Youngest Children
It has already been pointed out by Monighetti, that since William III’s three youngest named boys have forenames apparently not found amongst the siblings and ancestry of William III himself (unlike all of the older children), that these names are possibly taken from the family of his last wife Mary (e.g. her father’s, grandfather’s or brother’s forenames, etc.)
Due to the inability to find, to date, any baptismal records for the older children of William III (including those known to have been born in Morris Co., NJ like Ephraim and Ruth), as well as the inability to find a Staten Island baptismal record for the wife and Children of Benjamin Hulburd Sr., I emailed Monighetti on 20 Feb 2005 the following:
“…So, apparently the Baptist movement started on the coast (i.e. Middlesex Co., NJ), and on Staten Island, before penetrating deeper into NJ. This might explain the tendency of the family of William III of Mendham toward Baptist beliefs (and why we can't find records for his children’s baptisms anywhere) – the Baptist faith may have been something they were already familiar with from their supposed Staten Island connections (e.g. the Rev. James Carman was converted to the Baptist religion on Staten Island in 1692, six years before William III was born in CT). There may be no records for the baptisms found to date for the children of William III, or for the wife and children of Benjamin Hulburd Sr. because as early Baptist practitioners - they were never baptized as children to start with!!!
In an email to Monighetti dated 27 May 2006, I theorized the following as regards the maternity of Ephraim and Unnamed:
“… the fact that we see William III's sons baptized as infants in the Presbyterian church in 1766 and 1768 supports the theory that their mother Mary was likely responsible for their baptism into the Presbyterian church. Notice, however, that Ephraim (b. 1759) and William's dead, unnamed child (b. 1761/2) are not baptized while the last two children are. It makes one wonder if Mary was really the mother of Ephraim and Unnamed, or if his first wife was, or a possible theorized middle wife was.
That unnamed, presumably un-baptized child was about 4 years old when Jotham was baptized in 1766, and Ephraim was about 7 at that time. So, if William and Mary were the parents of all of those children, and converted to Presbyterianism sometime before the birth of Jotham, then one would assume they would have had Ephraim and the unnamed child baptized too, rather than let them go un-baptized, while the two youngest, Jotham and Joshua, are baptized.
Point being, the fact that Ephraim and Unnamed were not baptized at the same time, or before, Jotham was in 1766 indicates to me that Mary was not their mother, and she was the mother of Jotham and Joshua only. Furthermore, we should see about 1773 in Presbyterian Confirmation Records a 13 year old Ephraim - but we don't! We do, however, see in that same year 1773 the death of the Unnamed child recorded in the Presb. Church records, probably related more to Mary's arranging for the child's burial with "her" Minister, rather than an indication that the child was hers (or else that child's name and baptismal date presumably would have also been included in that C.R. entry.)
I had earlier theorized that the unnamed child was Mary's, because it's included under her name in the C.R. with Jotham and Joshua, and normally that infers parentage, but it's included in a physically "strange" way, and I'm not so convinced now (based upon a lack of a baptism of that particular child at 4 or younger) that it was hers - which means Ephraim wasn't hers either.
It's not like Unnamed died unbaptized, and so the Hulburds became superstitious and had Jotham and Joshua baptized as a precaution afterward, because Unnamed died years after Jotham and Joshua were born and baptized, and Unnamed wasn't baptized - and neither was Ephraim.
And while it's true that the C.R. also contains info from the Registers of the Baptist Churches in the Morristown area, Baptists didn't then - and still don't - practice infant baptism, so the baptism of Jotham and Joshua in the C.R. can only be understood as Presbyterian infant baptisms.
Furthermore, if Unnamed wasn't the child of William III (but say, of William IV), that still leaves Ephraim - who is clearly a named son of William III – un-baptized and unconfirmed in the Presb. Church. When it was time for Jotham and Joshua to later be confirmed, the Rev. War was well under way, and may have interrupted such events. They seem to have become Baptists at any rate.
The fact that Mary was later buried in the Baptist cemetery may only be an indication that she wanted to be buried next to her husband William III who was interred there, and not necessarily that she was a believing Baptist herself.”
Jotham and Joshua Hulburd Witness the Will of Gilman Freeman
Per Will Abstracts Morris Co., NJ 1800 – 1805:
1800, Dec. 29. will of Freeman, Gilman, of Mendham Twsp., Morris Co.; Wife, Mary all my lands, messuage or tenement in said Twsp., together with all my goods and other property in said Twsp. Daughter, Phebe Aber, 10 shillings; also 3 certain lots of land in Bolton Twsp., Chittendon, Vermont. Executrix—wife, Mary. Witnesses—Joseph Pierson, Joshua Hulbard, Jotham Hulburd. Proved Aug. 29, 1801. Lib. 39, p. 409; File (missing).
The will of Gilman Freeman (b.c.1740 in Woodbridge (Middlesex Co.), NJ) lists as witnesses William III's two youngest sons. This leads me to believe that Gilman Freeman was a very close relative to, specifically, those two Hulburds (Note: William Hulburd IV was still "around town".)
However, after visiting the Morris Co., NJ Surrogate’s office in Oct 2005, I sent an email to Monighetti on 2 Nov 2005 stating the following:
“…The Morris County Surrogate's Office has archives dating only from 1804 to the present. Prior wills/inventories are archived by the State at Trenton (which records, as previously discussed, are now unavailable for public viewing). So, most of what we're looking for in the way of documents predates 1804.
However, the surrogates office has an inventory on microfilm of the estate of Gilman Freeman dated 1804. You'll remember, that Gilman Freeman's will was proved 1801 (and therefore is archived in Trenton), and lists both Joshua and Jotham Hulburd as witnesses.
The inventory is very short, and I will get copies to you, but the interesting thing is, the inventory is made by Joshua and William Hulburd IV (not Jotham), and they both signed their own names clearly as "Hulburd."
The fact that older (half)brother William is now also involved in the inventory of the estate of Gilman Freeman means that this Gilman Freeman was definitely a very close relative, as suspected. We really need to get from Trenton a copy of that Gilman Freeman will....”
Gilman Freeman was the son of Benjamin Freeman and Christian Gilman of Woodbridge, NJ. Gilman Freeman m. 19 Dec 1763 in Mendham (i.e. Randolph), NJ Mary Nicholl (b. 23 Oct. 1741 - parentage not specified).
Gilman Freeman and Mary Nicholl had at least 2 children: Phebe (b. 1 Sep 1762/5) and Samuel (b.c.1765). Phebe Freeman m. Israel Aber Jr., the nephew of John Aber II (the husband first of Hannah Hulburd, then later of th ewidow Mary Freeman, Phebe Freeman’s mother.) Israel Aber is mentioned as the former owner of the land bordering the lot that his mother-in-law Mary (Nicholl Freeman) Losey was selling to Jotham Hulburd in 1806. Phebe and Israel Aber Jr. moved in 1804 to Orange Co., NY. This Mary (Nicholl) Freeman is probably not the "Mary Freeman" mentioned in the 1779 will of William III, since one would have expected her husband Gilman Freeman to have appeared in said will instead of her (or at least without her).
Per the Morristown Bill of Mortality (1768 – 1806), the "Walnut Grove Baptist Cemetery" (a.k.a. Mt. Freedom Baptist Cemetery) in Randolph Twp. lists the following “Hulbert” burials: Hannah (wife of Joseph Sanderson, and dau. of Mrs. Mary Hulbert); William Sr. (i.e. III) and wife Mrs. Mary Hulbert; Joshua Hulbert and his wife Martha Babbit (with their son Isaac Babbit Hulbert.)
In an email of 12 Oct 2004 to Monighetti, I stated the following regarding documents pertaining to the Mt. Freedom Baptist Cemetery, which he had previously forwarded to me:
“…the Morristown Baptist Church baptized in 1783 (as an adult by full immersion) the Rev. Price, who was later the pastor of the Mt. Freedom congregation. So, the Morristown Baptist church is where we need to look for earlier Hulburd Family records. Remember I told you that this church, one of the most beautiful stone churches in Morristown (there are several) - if not the most beautiful - burned down only about 6 years ago. (Note: Monighetti subsequently replied that he had discovered that those church records had long ago been transferred to the keeping of the Morristown Library, and so were not lost in the fire.)
…Rev. Price was an itinerant preacher, and one of his four or so congregations was at the Canoebrook Baptist Church, "Canoebrook" being identified in your published documents as today's "Summit" (which is between Union and Chatham.) I believe this is a misidentification of "Canoebrook", which I have only previously seen referred to as "Orange/West Orange" - which is not really near Summit at all. In fact, this reference to a "Canoebrook" Baptist Congregation could possibly actually be a reference to the Northfield Baptist Congregation (in Livingston, which was earlier part of Orange, NJ). After all, Randolph is closer to Northfield (i.e. Livingston) than it is to West Orange.
There’s lots of great info on Joshua Hulburd and his pivotal role in the founding of the Baptist church in Randolph. And do take notice, that his name is spelled "Hulburd," as is the surname of who is presumably his half-brother, William IV (who is listed as one of the builders of the church, which was completed in 1801). The story of his "coming to the rescue" of the Baptist Parsonage/Cemetery, and his sale/negotiations of the land (which bordered his own) shows that the other source you had earlier found was (slightly) wrong when it had identified the original seller of the land to the Baptist congregation as an "Isaac" Hulburd. I kept wondering whose son that "Isaac" was. It looks like "Isaac" was a misidentification/ misspelling for "Joshua." And it should be noted, that the pastor of that church was an Isaac Price, and the confusion in names could have come from there.
Also, notice William IV is listed as having helped regarding the finances/construction of the church. I'm betting that he acted as the local country evangelist before the Baptist church in Randolph was organized (thus those references I had stumbled across many years ago of "William Hulbert of Mendham, who according to some was a preacher of the gospel..."), and when the church was finally built, they installed the Baptist Rev. Price as the proper, ordained Minister. Note also, that the last mention of the Rev. Price is in 1799, but the church functioned for some time afterward (with whom as pastor?)
…how screwed up is it, that the Mt. Freedom Cemetery tombstone inscriptions were apparently only recorded in 1982! Like, after 1/2 of the stones were already destroyed or illegible! There must be an earlier list made than 1982. I think that's why William's stone is not in the list - already gone by 1982, when it would have been 203 years old probably of one of the local poor quality stones. However, having his widow Mary's epitaph is just fantastic:
In Memory of
Mrs. Mary Hulbert
relict of William
Hulbert Senr., died
Aug∫t. 21∫t AD 1805 Aged
78 Years
In awful ∫ilence trembling ∫tand,
Behold your doom, death is at hand;
Attend the call which does entreat,
Prepare in time your God to meet.
It's a shame though the epitaphs for his son Joshua, etc. are not legible (whose death year is actually 1847 – and not “181_” as falsely indicated in the records.) My guess, as before, is that William III and others (like the prior death of William III’s 11 year old child that died 1773, etc.) were buried on the Hulburd farm, and Joshua bought the neighbor's property adjacent to the Hulburd homestead, and sold that, along with the small adjacent piece containing the Hulburd family plot, to the newly founded Baptist Church.
The Hulberts (i.e. including William III) seem to have been buried in two of the cemetery’s many large family plots, specifically in plots number 11 and 12, which at least included graves 27 thru 59 - probably more.
…this is definitely one of the most interesting bits of info (i.e. regarding Mrs. Hannah Sanderson, dau. of "Mary Hulbert."):
In Memory of
Hannah Sander∫on
Relict of
Jo∫eph Sander∫on
& Daur. of
Mary Hulbert Decd.
who died April 25th
AD 1812, In the 63d Year
of her age.
Cold in the grave keen ∫orrow cries,
A tender friend and mother lies;
But to ∫urviving friends a hope remains,
In heaven above the christian reigns.
You were right in you're initial analysis of some months past that this means that William III's last wife Mary had brought her own dau. named Hannah with her into the marriage. Note that this Hannah is not the same Hannah (who is in fact William III's dau.) who is listed as having married John Losey in 1749, since Mary's dau. Mrs. Hannah Sanderson wasn't born until 1749. Furthermore, Mrs. Hannah Sanderson is not the dau. of William III's dau. Mary (née Hulburd), since the mother is listed on Hannah’s tombstone as "(Mrs.) Mary Hulbert," and not "(Mrs.) Mary Aber."
Therefore, there were two Hannah's; one Mrs. Hannah (née Hulburd) Losey, dau. of William III by his first unnamed wife, and another Mrs. Hannah (née Nichol???) Sanderson, who was the dau. of William III's last wife Mary __________ by a previous marriage, and who was born about 17 to 20 years after Mrs. Hannah Losey . Incidentally, Mrs. Hannah Sanderson is apparently buried along with the Hulburd clan in grave #36.
So, this is actually quite an important find and lead for us, since it dates William III's marriage to his last wife the widow Mary (Nichol???) as having occurred sometime after her dau. Hannah's birth in 1749 and probably before Ephraim's birth about 1758 (but definitely before 1761.) Also, this clearly makes William III's last wife Mary approximately 30 years his junior (as confirmed by her age given at death), since Jotham and Joshua would definitely constitute later in life babies - born 17 and 19 years respectively after their half-sister Mrs. Hannah Sanderson was born. This confirms my previous speculation that William III had intentionally made a point of referring in his will to Mary as his “true and loving wife” as there was apparently a very great difference in their ages, and their marriage had no doubt left eyebrows raised and idle tongues flapping.
If Mary's Hannah was born after William III's daughters were already marrying in Morris Co., then William III's last wife Mary was also local to the Morristown area, and William and she married presumably in Morris Co., NJ. So, why isn't their marriage listed in the Combined Registers of the Morristown Presbyterian Church? Possibly because it wasn't preformed in a Presbyterian Church in that region. But the Baptist Church at Mt. Freedom didn't exist yet either, so where were they married? Possibly in the Baptist Church at Morristown (which is also possibly where William III's dau. Rachel married John Channel, where the burial of William III’s first wife may be registered, where the baptisms of William III’s children may be found, etc….)”
8. William Hulburd IV in the Morristown Court Records
From notes provided by Monighetti concerning the Minutes of Common Pleas, Morris Co, NJ, Vol. 4, Dec 1766 - Mar 1770; one finds the following brief entry concerning William Hulburd IV:
July term 1769
The King vs. William Halbert Jun
- Recogz: in the sum of 20 pounds
This appears to be a judgment entered against William Hulburd IV for what was considered by the court to be a very serious infraction of the law, as the amount of the fine is quite substantial (don’t forget, that in his will written 9 years later, William III left each of his children a bequest of either 10 schillings or 15 schillings each). One must also remember that this was a time just 6 years before the outbreak of the American Revolution, and the subsequent Bill of Rights created by the American Constitution did not exist: there was no freedom of assembly; there was no freedom of speech; and there was no freedom to practice the religion of one’s choice (especially if it contradicted the teachings of the official religion – the Anglican Church.) There was no separation of Church and State; a “religious infraction” or “sin” against the Anglican Church was also a “crime” against the King.
Also from notes provided by Monighetti, one finds the following brief entry in the same court term regarding William Hulburd IV in a civil case filed in Morristown, NJ in 1779/70, presumably by Israel Aber Sr. as plaintiff for (one might normally assume) the collection of a monies from William Hulburd IV, as the defendant. The William Hulburd involved is clearly William IV, and not William III, as he is specifically called “Jr.” It is uncertain if there is a connection, if any, between these two cases involving William IV:
July Term 1769
Israel Aber vs. William Halbert Jr
De Hart Atty
lels: Cap: Case [?]
CC. Bules ? [Initials]
March Term 1770
William Hulbert Adjm. Israel Aber
[i.e. Defendant Hulburd’s motion for adjournment – DMI]
“In Standes [or Hands?]. The Plaintiff having neglected to bring the Trial of this cause [i.e. apparently didn’t show up in court], it is ordered that the Defendant have leave to bring on this Trial by Proviso [i.e. by stipulation] at the next term on Motion of Abm Ogden [apparently Hulburd’s attorney] for the Defendant…
[Note DMI: I’m not sure that this is a case of debt collection, since normally a motion would be made by the defendant’s attorney would be to dismiss, and not to adjourn. Furthermore, if I’m reading this correctly, there appears to be a stipulation by the attorneys of the two parties for the case to proceed at the next session, this time with Hulburd as the plaintiff.]
…And whereas Samuel Carter a Material Witness in this Cause on the Part of the Defendant is about leaving this province [i.e. of New Jersey] for North Carolina, it is ordered on like Motion that the deposition of the sd Samuel Carter be taken on Oath before one of the Judges of this Court & that the defendant or his attorney give notice to the Plaintiff or his attorney of the Time & Place of taking of the sd Deposition at least five days before taking the same & that the same Deposition of the sd Samuel Carter To [?] be read in Evidence on the Trials of the above Cause whenever it shall happen & on non attendance of either Party that the sd party attending proceed to take the Deposition & the same Witness if Parte? [Initials]”
Thirty one years later, we find Israel Aber Sr. and William Hulburd IV once again mentioned in the same legal document, but this time under very different circumstances; William IV and James Shores, both of Mendham, are listed as “Fellowbondsmen” (i.e. providing surety) for the Estate of Israel Aber Sr. in the following abstract (this is clearly William Hulburd IV, since both William III and V were already dead):
Will Abstracts Morris Co., NJ 1800 - 1805
1801, Aug. 19. ABER, Israel ("Sr."), of Morris Co. Int. Adm'x—Dorothy Aber. Fellowbondsmen—William Hulburd and James Shores, of Mendham, Morris Co. ~ Lib. 29, p. 411.
1801, Aug. 18. Inventory, $170.24; made by James Shores and Caleb Meeker. Morris Co. ~ File 1054N.
The Jail Bust-Out of William Tuttle, Husband of Abigail Hulburd
Monighetti had discovered the following reference on page 562 of the above referenced Tuttle-Tuthill Lines in America, which he had emailed onward to me. I transcribed the highly abbreviated text (per the compiler’s own notes on the abbreviations used) as follows:
“William Tuttle - possibly b.c. the 1720’s, (probably a son, or possibly a grandson, of Henry Tuttle – who was probably b.c.1670); m. 18 May 1748 in Morristown, NJ (per Presbyterian Church vital records) Abigail Hulbert (possibly the daughter of William of Rockaway);
Per a 20 Oct 1750 news clipping:
“3 men broke out of the Trenton, NJ gaol [i.e. jail] last week—one, William TUTTLE, height 5 feet 8 inches, thin face, sandy complexion, bushy hair; born in PA, bred to farming, has a wife at Whippany, NJ”;
If William Tuttle were born in the earlier 1700’s, and had been married beforehand, he might possibly be the father of Henry Tuttle (b.1733), David Tuttle and John Tuttle (both possibly b.c. the 1740’s), and William (b.c.1744). Sources: NJ Archives; and the genealogical notes of Lotta (Tuthill) Vail.”
“…notice that William III and Abigail are said to reside at "Whippany" in the article. This could possibly be a mistake for neighboring Rockaway by the journalists (as Whippany would have been a better known section of Hanover Township than Rockaway).
Also, notice that the Tuttle Book (i.e. presumably the notes of Lotta Vail) identifies Abigail as a "Hulbert." It's interesting that those who lived 100 years closer to the facts clearly recognized all the spelling variations to be variations of what we would consider "Hulbert" (which probably also means that by the mid to late 1800's when Lotta Vail was writing, that "Hulbert" had apparently already become the generally accepted spelling of the surname.)
Why was William Tuttle in Jail within only two years of being married to Abigail Hulburd, and why in Trenton, NJ? This was 26 years before the American Revolution, so it likely had nothing to do with military service or activities. It's also 4 years before the French and Indian War. King George's War ended in North America in 1749, but this was fought primarily in the north of New England, around NH, ME and Nova Scotia.
So it appears that his imprisonment had nothing to do with wartime activities. Being a Quaker was quite possibly still a jail-able offense in 1750 in NJ, but I doubt it. For example, in Southold, L.I. we read of my ancestor Barnabas Wines II that "...He witnessed against the Quaker Arthur Smith there 19 May 1659...." The fact that William Tuttle is said to have been born in PA (one might presume Philadelphia at that point in time) makes me also wonder if he were a Quaker. 1756/7 was the year William III made the land purchase from the William Penn heirs, and PA was founded by Penn as a haven from Quaker persecution, so it's possibly that William Tuttle could have been imprisoned for religious beliefs, but 1750 seems a little late for that. And why Trenton, where the Governor's seat is? It's not exactly a "hop, skip and a jump" from Morristown to Trenton. Even Newark and Elizabethtown were closer. Of course, it's equally likely that he was guilty of some criminal offense (e.g. debtor's prison, brawling, speaking against the Crown, or the Church of England, etc.) [Note DMI: The boundary between East and West NJ, settled on as the Lawrence Line in 1743, went through today’s Chester, NJ (part of what became Mendham, NJ in 1749). Even thought East and West NJ were united under a Royal Charter in 1703, the boundary line between East and West NJ was still used for legal purposes, and William Tuttle may have been sent to the West NJ authorities in Trenton, which may have been ruled to have jurisdiction over his case.]
Why did William Tuttle "bust out of prison" from Trenton in 1750 rather than stay in prison, and yet he apparently appears in a public record only two or less years later in as a Freeholder in Mendham, NJ in 1752? How does that happen? I mean, it's not exactly like he was "laying low" or "hiding out from the law."
Notice, that any children suspected of William Tuttle, are suspected (i.e. and only suspected by Lotta Vail) as the result of a speculated 1st marriage for William Tuttle by her - and that only because she couldn't otherwise place the paternity of certain “stray” Tuttles. I don't think those are likely his children, though. And even if they are his, notice there's zero mention of any children by Abigail Hulburd by genealogist Lotta Vail, or in the newspaper clipping of his prison escape. E.g., Vail doesn't even suspect that the William Tuttle b.c.1744 could have been born about 1749 instead, and thus a child of Abigail's. So, they obviously couldn't have children for some reason.
Finally, we know that by 1778, Abigail was widowed, had not remarried, as she is mentioned in her father’s will simply as “Abigail”, signifying that like Sarah (presumed spinster) and Rachel (widow) who are also listed only by forenames, that they were living under William III’s roof at the time he wrote his will in 1778. Therefore, the "double" listing in Hanover only in the 1785 tax census for "William Tuttle", and one listing there in 1786, but these are not references to the husband of Abigail Hulburd.
So who were the "other two" he busted out of prison with? Were they known to him, or just fellow inmates? Of course, this incident produces more questions than answers.”
The mixing up of: 1) the two Rachel Hulburds with each other; 2) the two John Chambers with each other, and; 3) the Deserter John Chambers with the Patriot John Channel:
Per Monighetti:
“…I copied this – Church yard, Morristown – Chambers, John m. Rachel Hulbard (Hubbard) of Mendham. Deserted (i.e. this life) 31 May 1777 [there 59 years, his second wife, Rachel died Aug. 12, 1779 aged 70 years.] A Rachel Hulbert of Mendham, NJ m.1745 a John Chambers.”
This is, presumably, a younger sister of William Hulburd III of Mendham unlisted in the list of children of his father William II of Enfield. The aforementioned Rachel Hulburd was apparently born 1709 – which is coincidentally the very year Mary Howard, mother of William III died, and this may have been the very birth in New Haven, which resulted in the death of Mary Howard, and William II’s subsequent quick remarriage to Hannah Whittaker. The death of the mother Mary Howard and subsequent immediate return of the distraught family from New Haven, CT to their former home in Enfield, CT probably accounts for why this Rachel’s baptism is not found in either New Haven or Enfield church records (although it may possibly be recorded in the registers of another CT parish, e.g. Suffield or Windsor.)
A John Chambers of Mendham, NJ was a widower with at least one son (i.e. a John Talbot Chambers), and he 2nd married in 1745 the aforementioned Rachel Hulburd (b.c.1709), the presumed sister of William Hulburd III of Mendham. It is unknown whether Rachel (b.c.1709) had issue.
Concerning the identity of this Rachel Hulburd (b.1709), I wrote the following to Monighetti in an email 19 Oct 2004:
“Rachel's birth was likely the very birth that killed Mary Howard, and which went unrecorded (i.e. the baptism not performed immediately, or not properly registered) in connection to the situation involving her mother's death. She probably left CT after her father died in 1734, but before she married, and went to live with her oldest brother, and assuming Thomas were already dead (as an infant or otherwise), then that would have been William III. Rachel (b.1709) was 25 when her presumed father William II of Enfield died in 1734, and her presumed brothers ages were: William III (36); Obadiah #2 (31); Ebenezer (possible child death, but if alive he was 29); Benjamin (24). At 25 years old, one might have expected Rachel to have already been married, and if not, for 31 year old Obadiah who was married in Enfield, CT to have been able to shelter and feed her until she married. However, if she weren't married by 25 - for whatever reason – (or was widowed with or without children) then she probably would have gone to live with oldest surviving brother William III, who may have already been in or around “Hanover”, NJ by that time (Hanover was settled about the year 1700.) William III was in “Hanover” at most only 10 years after his father's death in 1734 (since his first dau. was married there in 1745), and possibly before that.
Also, the more I think about it, Rachel Hulburd married John Chambers when 36 years old. That seems awfully late, given the time and place in question, for a first marriage (although not impossible, depending on how undesirable she may have been, and how desperate John Chambers might have been....) It was a second marriage for John Chambers Sr., and he apparently had no additional children with his second wife Rachel Hulburd.
Rachel's presumed brother William Hulburd III also had by his first wife a daughter named Rachel Hulburd (b.c.1749), whom he had presumably named after his own sister. Rachel (dau. of William III), married a John Channel Sr. sometime before the Revolutionary War had started. John Channel was a Private in Captain David Lyon’s Company in Colonel Oliver Spencer’s Regiment of the Continental Army. He was evidently captured by the British in a battle around Bound Brook, NJ on 1 June 1777, and remained “one full year” as a POW in a British dungeon in NYC, dying in 1778.
1778 was also the year that William Hulburd III of Mendham made out his will (i.e. written 24 Nov 1778). It is probable at that time, that the family had already learned of John Channel Sr.’s death in a NYC British prison, and may be why William III lists his widowed daughter (likely living at home with him) simply as "Rachel," and not as "Mrs. Rachel Channel", or the "Widow Rachel Channel."
Since the widow Rachel Channel may have previously been married in a (wedding?) gown that had belonged to her mother, her father decided to leave it to her in his will, apparently for sentimental reasons (in memory of her deceased husband and their marriage?). After the war ended in 1783, Rachel applied for her widow's pension, with the help of her brothers William Hulburd IV and Benjamin Hulburd, and James Wilkinson – who had been a witness to her father’s will. Rachel's son John Channel Jr., having been deprived of his own father by the hostilities of war, grew up to be a Quaker pacifist.
Also fighting in the Revolutionary War was a soldier named “John Chambers.” It has not yet been satisfactorily determined yet whether the Revolutionary soldier John Chambers was actually the son of John Talbot Chambers, or whether he was from an unrelated Chambers line. The soldier Chambers is listed in military records as having deserted in the Pocono Mtns., however the Continental Army is said by one descendant of his to have apparently “overlooked” that desertion, and his alleged part in letting spies for the British escape, etc., since there were apparently no court-martial proceedings found, and he was apparently able to subsequently settle in PA and/or NY near other former fellow Revolutionary soldiers. However, it may actually have been the very presence of those other former soldiers settling in those very areas which precipitated his moves from PA to NY, and then finally 17 years after the war’s end, to loyalist Canada.
Because it has apparently been assumed, without proof, that deserter John Chambers was married to a Rachel Hulbert (no doubt due to identity confusion between deserter John Chambers and his possible grandfather John Chambers of Mendham - by family researchers looking for a wife for deserter John Chambers), the subsequent result has been similar identity confusion by family researchers between deserter John Chambers and the patriot John Channel (who was actually married to a Rachel Hulburd of Mendham); i.e. having already falsely assumed deserter John Chambers was married to a Rachel Hulburd of Mendham, family researchers then did discover a Rachel Hulburd of Mendham who was married to a Revolutionary soldier named John Channel.
However, it must be remembered that deserter John Chambers deserted the Continental Army in the Pocono Mtns. of PA. on 29 May 1779. This is fully 2 years after the capture of patriot John Channel in 1777, and fully one year after the death of patriot John Channel in a British prison in Manhattan in 1778. You can't desert from the army in the mountains of PA a full year after you've already died in NYC. The wife of deserter John Chambers, therefore, remains unidentified.
Regarding William III’s daughters Rachel and Ruth, I sent in the same email Monighetti in an email 31 Nov 2004:
“After searching extensively thru the Ancestry.com database, I’ve found nothing on Ruth Hulburd and her husband Mr. Losey. BUT, I did find in Morristown a Peter Losey b. 10 Dec. 1748 who m.c.1774 a Ruth Severn (parentage unknown.) His age is perfect to have been Ruth's husband, based on her theorized birth date. I think it could be possible, that Ruth may have been the young widow (possibly without children) of a Mr. Severn (say, married Severn about 1770), and then remarried about 1774 a Peter Losey (about 4 years before William III wrote out his will.)
Rachel and John Channel are not listed in any on-line genealogies either. There are no John Channel's listed at all. However, I did find an Abraham Channel of Ipswich, MA (who married in 1779), and a Lewis Channel from around Boston, MA (who married bef. 1767.) This Lewis could have been a brother of John. In any event, the Channels seem to be a family that originated in MA in the early to mid 1600's. As far as the John Chambers who had married William III's supposed sister Rachel - no on-line genealogies on them either. But there seemed to have been Chambers around Monmouth and Middlesex Co.s, NJ early on.
The Fight of Rachel Hulburd to Receive Her Late Husband’s Half-Pay
Rachel (dau. of William III), married a John Channel Sr. sometime before the Revolutionary War had started. They probably had at least two sons (John Jr. and Samuel.) [note DMI: they actually probably had more than two children per Monighetti, based on information on colonial citizens of Randolph, NJ posted on the internet by that town’s High School.]
Per Revolutionary Pension Records of Morris Co. “Certificate of Rachel Channel:
(1st). The written affidavit of Col. Oliver Spencer dated “from Camp” on 15 May 1780, to whom it may concern:
“I do hereby Certify that John Channel Said to be deed was an inlisted Soldier in Capt. David Lyon’s Company in my Regt. for during the War; and that he was taken prisoner by the British between Boundbrook & (New) Brunswick on the 1st day of June 1777 after making a Gallant Defense under Lt. (William) Martin of my Reg. who was kiled at the Same time and said to Remain a prisoner with the Enemy one full year after he was made Prisoner.”
Col. Oliver Spencer’s affidavit was later used by the widow Rachel Channel when she filed 7 Dec 1783 to receive her dead husband’s half-pay, as the record shows that “Application was made to the Court of General Quarter Sessions in favour of Rachel Channel widow of John Channel to obtain an adjudication for her Husbands halfpay….”
The Revolutionary Pension Records of Morris Co. “Certificate of Rachel Channel” continues:
“2nd. We do Certify that Rachel Channel of the Township of Mendham County of Morris & State of New Jersey is now living & was the lawfull Wife & we believe is real widow of John Channel, Deed. (dated) December 13th, 1783…. Witnesses that saw them married
Jacob Doty, Overseer of poor
Seth Babbit, Justice peace
James Wilkisson
William Hulbard
3rd . Morris Co. Ss: Personally appeared before me Benjamin Halsey one of the Justices of the peace for said County, Benjamin Halberd & being duly sworn Saith that he Saw Rachel Hulberd married to the above named John Channel & that Serjeant Reed of the same Company in which the said John was inlisted told this deponant that the Said John Died in New York about one year after he was taken which this deponant verily believes to be the Case & that the Said Rachel was the lawfull wife and is the real Widow of the Said John Channel.
Benjamin Halburd
Sworn the 13th day of July 1780 before me
Benjamin Halsey, J.P.
The Court having considered the s. Certificates & Affidavits are of the opinion that the said Rachel Channel is intitled to the half pay of her deceased husband from the first day of June 1777 to this day & do order the Clerk to make our Certificate accordingly.
Nearly 10 years later, the Votes of the House of Assembly on 26 May 1792 state “Mr. Imlay from the Committee, to whom was re-committed, the Report made to this house at the last Sitting, together with sundry Petitions for Claims against this State, report as follows: That in the Opinion of your Committee the Warrant issued to Rachel Channel, Widow of John Channel, late a Private in Colonel Spencer’s Regiment, in the Service of the United States, and who died in Service, the sum of Twenty-five Schillings per Month, from the first Day of June, Seventeen Hundred and Seventy-seven, should be allowed”, and three days later, the House of Assembly ordered “that the Speaker do sign the said several Warrants (for half-pay)”, including for “Rachel Channel.”
However, the very next day on 30 May 1792 in the House Assembly, “Mr. Condict from the Council, informed the House that the Warrant entitling Rachel Channel, to receive the Amount of her late Husband’s Half-pay, is rejected by Council”, and also “Resolved, that the Council disagree thereto.” However, she was later “adjudged by the (Morristown) Court to be entitled to the half pay of her deceased husband from 1 June 1777 until “this day” 9 May 1793. Later that year on 23 October 1793, the House Assembly records that “An Adjudication of the Court of Quarter-Sessions of the County of Morris, in favor of Rachel Channel for the Half-pay of her late Husband John Channel, deceased, formerly a Soldier in Colonel Spencer’s Regiment, was read and ordered a second Reading.”
The final word on the subject seems to have been rendered a few months later on 3 Feb 1794, when the House of Assembly records that “Mr. Camp from the Committee to whom was referred, the Petitions of sundry Widows, praying the Allowance of the Half-pay of their late deceased Husbands, reported: That the Petition of the late Widow Channel, is not properly supported, and ought not to be allowed.”
The only reason that I can possibly imagine for this turn about, is that the Assembly were questioning the fact that she was actually “legally” married to John Channel, as they were obviously not considering her Quaker (or Baptist) marriage to have been valid, and there were no (Presbyterian) church records to provide “evidence” that a “legal” marriage had in fact taken place. Of course, we see here that the Morristown Court had previously backed up Rachel’s claims of having been married, since they would have personally known her and her late husband.
9. The Sworn Statement of Ephraim Hulbert (i.e. Hulburd) 1833 Fairfield Co., OH
The Movements of Ephraim Hulburd from Mendham, NJ to Amanda, OH
Ephraim Hulburd (a.k.a. Hulbert) was born Morris Co., NJ on 5 April 1759 (probably in Mendham – i.e. in what is today’s Randolph, NJ). Between the age of 17 and 20 (during which time his father died in 1779), he fought and served in the Revolutionary War under a number of different Captains, Colonels and Generals, including Captain Artemis Day (mentioned in his father’s will) and at one time General George Washington himself.
Most of his service was rendered guarding Elizabethtown, NJ (i.e. Elizabeth, NJ) against British incursions launched from nearby Staten Island across the narrow Arthur Kill waterway, as well as guarding against Loyalist supporters and spies from crossing the other way over to the British on Staten Island. However, he also guarded Hessian prisoners taken to Morristown; he and 4 other soldiers built Fort Nonsense (in Pompton, NJ); he subsequently fought in the Battle of Springfield, NJ (i.e. Union, NJ); he was subsequently taken ill in some manner (heat stroke?) during the Battle of Monmouth (near Trenton, NJ), and he subsequently fought in the Battle of Princeton, NJ – all probably before his 19th birthday.
I emailed Monighetti 21 Nov 2004 the following:
“…As I had suspected, the British had apparently taken over Staten Island early on (due to their vastly greater sea superiority), blockading it, and no doubt causing Benjamin and Elizabeth Hulburd and family (and possibly the Van Names too) to flee from Staten Island. The fact that Ephraim states that he doesn't know that any birth records on him actually "were ever kept" is interesting - and may hint at a Quaker or Baptist background, as already suspected (i.e. not Presbyterian, as those records would have probably been available - even then - by simply writing to the parish in question.) However, his younger brothers Jotham and Joshua (of the presumed same mother Mary) evidently were baptized as children (indicating a Presbyterian or Anglican parentage), as their baptisms are listed in the Combined Registers of the Morristown Presb. Church.”
Ephraim apparently first married in Morris Co., NJ in 1782 a Miss ____________ , as his oldest child Daniel Hulburd was born 1783. After the end of the Revolutionary War in 1783, he stayed in Morris Co., NJ for “several more years” per his sworn statement, before removing to New York State. He appears in the “Hanover”, NJ Tax Ratables along with his brothers Benjamin Sr. and William IV for the years 1783 through 1786, but disappears from NJ Records at that point, while his said brothers (at least Benjamin Sr.) continue to be listed as property owners at “Hanover” until 1797.
Ephraim’s first unnamed wife must have died sometime between 1783 and 1788 (i.e. closer to 1783 than 1788, as no other children from his first marriage are known), since Ephraim next appears in records in Goshen (Orange Co.), NY, where he 2nd m. 19 Oct. 1788 at First Presb. Church of Goshen a Jemima Rumsey. Ephraim subsequently appears in the 1790 NY Census in New Cornwall (Orange Co.), NY as head of household consisting of: one male (over 16, Ephraim); one male (under 16, son Daniel); and one female (Jemima Rumsey). While it’s possible that the Ephraim listed in Orange Co., NY is not the same as our Ephraim Hulburd of Mendham, NJ, the family details in the 1790 Census, and the fact he disappears from NJ records in 1786 indicate that this most likely is our Ephraim Hulburd residing in New Cornwall, NY.
Just how long Ephraim remained in Orange Co., NY before returning to the Mendham, NJ area is not certain. However, Monighetti did find in Vol. 11 of the Minutes of Common Pleas of the Morris County, NJ Clerk’s Office, Years 1794-1798, (unpaginated, but in chronological order), under the “Seals to July Term 1795” an entry regarding the civil suit of a Daniel Harrison vs. in debt Liba(?) Arnold, and “Ephraim Hulburd” is listed as one of the jurors on that case (incidentally, the plaintiff “Daniel Harrison” in this suit is not the Daniel Harrison of Newark, NJ who would shortly become the son-in-law of Benjamin Harrison Sr. only four years later in 1799). Furthermore, per the Combined Registers of the Morristown Presbyterian Church, Ephraim Hulburd’s oldest son Daniel (b.1783/4) died on 23 Sep 1797 in Mendham, NJ of “dysentery”, indicating that Ephraim was also present in Morris Co., NJ at that time.
Ephraim appears shortly thereafter in Washington (Cayuga Co.), NY in the 1800 Census there as head of a household consisting of: 2 males (0-10, Oliver and another son); 1 male (26-45, Ephraim); 1 female (0-10, his 'widowed' OH dau. listed in 1830); 1 female (26-45, wife Jemima). It should be noted than the “Benjamin Hulbert” who appears listed in the same Census in the same town is not Ephraim’s half-nephew and peer “Benjamin Hulburd Jr.”, but is apparently a “Hurlbut” descendant. The next time Ephraim appears in records, he appears to be residing in Seneca Co., NY in the 1810 Census as “Ephraim Holbert”
Ephraim again removed (so he implies in his sworn statement) directly from “Genesee” in Upstate, NY to resettle in Amanda (Fairfield Co.), Ohio about 1818 (however see speculation below that he may have first returned to Morris Co., NJ before removing to OH). However I emailed the following 20 Feb 2005 to Monighetti:
“…Actually, I'm thinking Ephraim might have been back in NJ for the 1820 Census, which is why he can't be found in NY State in that year’s Census. The fact that you found a sale of property he made in Morris Co. in 1813 (with his signature) shows he was physically there in NJ in 1813 to sign the deed, right? So, was he living in NJ before that, on land, or was this land left to him mother Mary when she died in 1803 – or land that he simply owned, that he finally made a trip back to NJ to sell?
During his voyage in 1818 down the Ohio River en route to Amanda, the ship he was on sunk, and all of his belongings (including whatever documents he may have had) were lost near Marietta, Ohio. The household of Ephraim and his wife is detailed in the 1830 Census for Amanda, OH, and includes 1 female (30-40, either a widowed dau. or dau.-in-law) and 1 male (under 5, a grandson).
He apparently died sometime after August of 1833, presumably in Amanda, Ohio (about 30 miles southeast of Columbus), which is when he applied for a government pension based on his prior Revolutionary War service. No mention of a spouse, children or other family members is apparently made in his sworn statement to the court there, however and attached genealogical request from the 1950’s suggests that he did indeed have descendants.
10. Who was Rhuben Hulburd of Randolph, NJ ?
A “Ruben Hulburd” appears in the 1793 NJ Militia Census, as well as in the 1811, 1816 and 1817- Tax Ratables and census enumeration in Randolph twp. for those years.
I emailed Monighetti the following in March of 2005:
“This Rhuben Hulburd appears in various records in connection with our Mendham Hulburds in the late 1700’s and early, and is clearly a close family member, but at the same time is evidently not a son of William III, who does not mention him in his will. Nor is he a son of William III’s oldest son Benjamin, as he is likewise not listed in the will of Aaron Van Name as a child of Benjamin Hulburd Sr. and Elizabeth Van Name. This Rhuben Hulburd (he signed his own name “Rhuben”) can only be a son of William Hulburd IV. Thus, the comment I had found years ago in a published account that “William Hulbert…apparently had no issue, as he left no heirs in his will” is incorrect (unless it were possibly referring to the will of his son William V).”
Barbara Martin had provided the following deed abstract in an email of 14 March 2005:
“March 6, 1807. Between Rhuben Hulbert of Randolph, County of Morris and Elizabeth his wife of the one part and Daniel Aber of the same place, for $19.25 sell to Aber the parcel of land beginning at a corner of Rhuben Hulbert’s house lot, mentions Peter Tills land
Signed “Rhuben Hulberd” and Elizabeth Hulbert, “her mark”
Witnesses: John Squeer, David Squer
Recorded July 13, 1807”
In an earlier email of 2 March 2005, Monighetti had provided the following:
“While reviewing, I'm starting to remember what some of my initial thoughts were regarding Ruben (Hulburd). I had found him in the 1830 Randolph census and also Lewis Hulbert, which led me to believe Lewis is the son of Ruben and Elizabeth (Bonnell) Hulbert. By the 1840 census it's just Lewis (40-50) and family. No older males shown in household but there wasn't before either. They were in separate households. From this I would assume Rubin died between the Censuses, and might possibly be buried in that area. I believe Elizabeth and Betsy are the same person.
Lewis Hulbert's children were named: Charles Bonnell Hulbert (b. 14 Feb 1834); Aaron C. Hulbert; George W. Hulbert; Sylvester C. Hulbert; and Elizabeth B. Hulbert.
From Ancestry.com, Family Data Collection:
Name - Charles Bonnell Hulbert
Parents - Lewis Hulbert, Esther Drake
Birthplace - Morris, Mt. Freedom, NJ
Birthdates - 14 Feb. 1834
Marriage Place - Mt. Freedom, Morris, NJ
Marriage Date - 20 October 1860
Death Place - Ironia, Morris, NJ
Death Date - 01 March 1916
Ruben appears to have been in the same proximity of William's and Benjamin's and some of the others (Ratables and census) so I feel certain this isn't just a rogue Hulbert/var. trying to attach himself to another's family. Basically through elimination and what we feel we know at this time my money is also on William IV as Ruben's father.”
However, Barbara Martin in an email of 20 March 2005 sent OH Census records, suggesting that some “Reuben Hulbert” had settled in OH by 1820. Since Rhuben Hulburd still appears in Randolph, NJ in the 1830 census, the Reuben Hulbert in OH in 1820 may possibly be a son of Rhuben Hulburd of Randolph, NJ, or Rhuben Hulburd may have moved out to OH, only to move back to Randolph NJ by 1830. Per the 1820 OH Census:
1820: Chester (Geauga Co.), OH, pg. 112:
Hulbert, Reuben, head of household consisting of 1 male (over 45); 2 males (26-45)
Also in 1820, in Mentor (Geauga Co.), OH, p. 119:
Silas Losey and his son, Miller (the son of Hannah Hulburd and John Losey II, having lived in Ontario Co., NY in the past two Censuses near the sons of Benjamin Hulburd Sr.).
“The State vs. Benjamin Hulburd”; including the Grand Jury indictment of Rhuben Hulburd, and a Cross-Complaint by Rhuben Hulburd.
The abstracts regarding this case certainly confuse me, since it appears at first glance to be a “criminal” case initially brought against a “Benjamin Hulburd” by “The State”, ergo the title under which it is filed - “The State vs. Benjamin Hulburd.” However all the ensuing discussion, subpoenaing, jury selection, and trial in said abstracts seem to actually revolve around an apparent cross-complaint brought by Benjamin Sr.’s nephew Rhuben Hulburd - who was himself apparently the one indicted by a grand jury to stand trial, presumably for “trespass” (is this the modern equivalent of “squatting”?).
So, I’m unsure whether Rhuben’s cross-complaint is 1) actually levied against “the State” per se, or 2) is levied against his actual accuser, whose charges the State had presumably originally pressed against Rhuben – i.e. presumably “Benjamin Hulburd”, presumably his Uncle, as Benjamin Hulburd Jr. is listed in 1794 as a soldier sent to Pennsylvania to put down an Insurrection there. It seems to have been the later, since in the abstract of Rhuben’s cross-complaint, a “defendant” is ordered by the court to “plead within thirty days.”
“The State” (if this is actually the cross-complaint of Rhuben Hulburd which is entitled “the State vs. Benjamin Hulburd”) should probably be understood as the State’s prosecutor pressing the counter-charges made by Ruben Hulburd against the Benjamin Hulburd so named. If so, the fact that this is a “cross-complaint” that implies that the so named Benjamin Hulburd had previously pressed charges through the State prosecutor against Rhuben Hulburd (ergo the grand jury indictment of Rhuben Hulburd, which is mentioned in the abstracts). Therefore, one should be able to find prior to this point some mention of a lawsuit, presumably entitled something like The State vs. Reuben Hulburd recorded in Morris Co., NJ, as The State vs. Benjamin Hulburd is apparently the title of Rhuben’s cross-complaint. Or am I confused about this?
Incidentally, in order to understand the nature and/or effects of these legal proceedings, it might be helpful to review a timeline of certain Hulburd events about that same time:
- The end of 1794 until at least the end of 1795 (possibly into 1796): Rhuben Hulburd and Benjamin Hulburd Sr. are both mentioned in what’s apparently a related “criminal” suit (albeit possibly only misdemeanor in level) in Morristown, NJ – presumably involving counter-charges against one another, as tried by the State prosecutor.
- 1797: the last year we see either Ben Sr. or Ben Jr. paying taxes as property owners in the “Hanover”, NJ Ratables (although not necessarily as residents there).
- 7 Feb 1797: the will of Aaron Van Name (father-in-law of Benjamin Sr.) was probated [Note DMI - having originally been written 5 March 1792, about 4 1/2 years after his dau. Elizabeth’s death in 1787, and after his son-in-law Benjamin Sr.’s supposed 1791 remarriage to the widow Elizabeth Lindsey - but apparently before the presumed tensions broke out between Benjamin Sr. and his nephew Rhuben Hulburd. It’s interesting that Aaron, an attorney, never changed his will until it’s probate in 1797, and apparently was aware of his son-in-law’s presumed legal and familial problems with Rhuben, as well as Benjamin Sr.’s presumed “divorce” from his second wife. Of course, Aaron also died right before Benjamin Sr.’s 3rd marriage to the widow Patience Edwards, later deemed bigamous, and so we have no way of knowing how he would have reacted to that event, if at all. There is also no way of knowing if Benjamin Sr. would have married Patience Edwards if Aaron Van Name had not yet died….]
- 5 Sep 1797: the marriage of a “Benjamin Halbert – cooper of Morris-town” to the widow Patience Edwards, school marm from Elizabeth, NJ is deemed “illegal by virtue of a previous marriage.”
- Bet. 1797 and 1802: An elderly Benjamin Sr. apparently had removed to Elizabeth, NJ around 1797 or beforehand, since he presumably had met the widow Patience Edwards there.
Benjamin Sr.’s sons Benjamin Jr. and Amos were apparently residing (at home with Benjamin Sr.) in Elizabeth, NJ in 1802 (per some “reference”, which I now cannot put my finger on…), and Benjamin Sr. apparently died there himself in 1803. He was apparently already residing at Elizabeth by 1798, in order for his dau. Rachel to have met and married Daniel Harrison of Newark by 1799. In fact, one might assume that Benjamin Sr. was already residing around Elizabeth, NJ at least by 1796 in order to have met Patience Edwards before their marriage there in 1797. This means that Benjamin Sr. removed to Elizabeth, NJ nearly immediately after the suspected tensions and legal proceedings between him and Rhuben Hulburd. Incidentally, Rhuben Hulburd appears to have stayed put in Randolph, NJ, as he apparently is residing there in the 1830 Census (although a “Reuben Hulbert” also appears in the 1820 OH Census).
Pleas to December Term 1794
The State vs. Benjamin Hulburd
Sur Recognizance 20 Conditioned that Rueben Hulburd be & appear at the Court on the first day of next Term and then & there try the traverse (the counter/cross complaint – DMI) of his indictment and not depart the Court without leave. The Grand Jury having returned into Court presented to the following bills [illegible] (probably “of indictment” – DMI) & having informed the Court they had no further [illegible] before them, they were discharged…
…In trespass [illegible] The plaintiff (apparently in the counter/cross complaint - DMI) having [illegible] his declaration in due season-- vs. present that the defendant (Benjamin Hulburd??? - DMI) pleads in thirty days or judgment on the Rueben Hulburd motion of Elisha Ayers, Atty for the plaintiff.
March Sessions 1795
The State Sur Recognizance in 50 vs. Conditioned that Rueben Hulburd be & appear at this Court on the first day of next term, then & there to try the traverse (i.e. the counter/cross complaint – DMI) of his Indictment And not depart the same without leave----
Sessions to July Term 1795
The State Sur Indictment at Issue vs. The Court on motion of Russell, (the Attny - DMI) for the State, order that the trial of this traverse (counter/cross complaint of - DMI) Reuben Hulburd come on where upon the Sheriff having returned the [service?] (i.e. subpoena for jury duty? Or service on the defendant and witnesses? – DMI) issued in this Cause the following Jurors appeared and were sworn: Vzt 1. Jonathan Dickerson 2. Daniel Lindsly 3. Jacob Hall 4. George Cooper 5. Moses Kitchel 6. Nthan Minton 7. John Halsey 8. Joseph Prudden 9. Saml Ford 10. Abraham Canfield 11. David Wood 12. Boyce Prudden.
BENJAMIN HULBURD, b.c.1725?/1733 d. 13 Nov. 1803 of tuberculosis in Elizabeth?, NJ at “70 years old”. He 1st m. Elizabeth Van Name (b. bet. 1740 and 1742 d. 26 Nov. 1787). (See Van Name Genealogy for her ancestry, and a list of their children.) The location of Benjamin Hulburd’s and Elizabeth Van Name’s graves remains unknown – but see notes below on daughter Rachel. Benjamin 2nd m. 20 Sep. 1791 Elizabeth ______________ (b. 1729 d. Mar. 20, 1809 – age 80), allegedly the widow of a Caleb Lindsley. They had no issue, and Benjamin may have even “divorced” her before 1797, said divorce not being recognized by the authorities (at least the Baptist religious authorities) in NJ when his subsequent marriage in 1797 to the widow Patience Edwards was deemed “illegal” (see below).
11. Benjamin Sr., his Brothers, Sons and Nephew(s) in Early Morris Co., NJ Records
Per Monighetti 27 Jul. 2004:
“The first reference to a Benjamin Hulbert/var. (on Staten Island) is found in Richmond Co, NY Court Records of the Courts of Session and Common Pleas 1711-1844 (0946673):
‘Benjn Halbout, Constables, Appears, 25th day of September in the fourth years of the reign of our Sovereign Lord George the third by the (???) grace of God of Great Britain, France & Ireland King Defent of the faith and (saforirth?) anno domini 1764. Benjn Halbout sworn constable ordered to attend the Jury.’
He seems to appear as Constable only in 1764. An Aaron Van Names is listed as a Justice in different years; 1761, 1762.”
In an email of 8 Jul. 2004, Monighetti shared the following regarding the Mendham and “Hanover” Tax Ratables:
“The earliest year our Hulburds appear in the Mendham Ratables is 1778:
Mendham Twsp.
1778 – Benjamin Halbert (Sr.), William Halbert (III), and William Halbert (IV) living in close proximity to each other. William III has 100 acres, William IV no land, and Benjamin Sr. has 22 ac. They all have a couple head of cattle and a few hogs. [Note DMI – in 1778/79, William Losey said that he had enlisted in the Company of a “Capt. Hubbard” in Morristown, and they marched to Newark, but it is unclear if this was one of our Mendham Hulburds. If so, it was likely William IV, but could have possibly been Benjamin Sr.]
1779 – The Widow Halbert now replaces William III, otherwise about the same.
1779 – Benjamin Halbert (Sr.) 21ac., Ephraim Halbert 50ac., William Halbert Jun. (IV) 40ac. Don't know why there are two 1779 years. They prob. didn't either.
1780 – Benjamin Hulbert (Sr.) 22ac.,Bill Holbardt (i.e. William IV) 40ac., Cattle and hogs the same.
1781 – Benjamin Hulbert (Sr.), Bill Hobart (i.e. William IV). Is water damaged and hard to read. Not sure of land or taxables due to condition of image, which is unreadable.
1782 – Benjamin Halburt (Sr.), who now has (6?)ac. (the 6 might have been attempted to be erased), and is a householder 5/0; Ephraim Halburt now (13?)ac. and is further in proximity than usual; William Halburt (IV) now (88?)ac. Other data about the same. (Note DMI- evidently “5/0” signifies “5 males over a certain age (i.e. 10 or 16), and no males below that age”.)
1783 – Ephraim Halbert no land now, the Widow Halbert 43ac.,William Halbert (IV) 39ac.
1785 – Same as 1783.
1786 – the Widow Halbird 43ac., and William Halbert (IV) 37ac. (both in close proximity to each other.)
1787 – Benjamin Halbert (Sr.?) – single man, 60ac., Ephraim Halbert 200ac. (must be poor land or a mistake as it's not valued worth crap for taxable value)William Halbert (IV) 40ac.
1788 – 1789 (either no Mendham Ratables available, or no Hulburds listed?)
1790 – Andrew “Hubbard”, Benjamin Hulburd – singleman (Sr.), George Hulburd, Joshua Hulburd, Jotham Hulburd, Reuben Hulburd, William Hulburd (IV).
During the same general period that we find the Hulburds listed in the Mendham Ratables, we also find them simultaneously listed in the Hanover Ratables in “Hanover”:
Hanover Twsp.
1783 – Benjamin Hubbard (Sr.), Elisha Hubbard (i.e. error for “Ephraim”);
1784 – Benjamin Hobbard (Sr.), Ephraim Hobbard
1785 – Benjamin Hubbard (Sr.) 51ac., Ephraim Hubbard 45ac., and William Hubbard (son of Ben Sr.?);
1786 – Benjamin Hubbard (Sr.) 49ac., Ephraim Hubbard 45ac., William Hubbard (i.e. son of Ben Sr.)
1787 – Benjamin Hobbard (Sr.?), and William Hubbard (i.e. son of Ben Sr.)
1788 – Benjamin Hulbert (Sr.), “W. W. Hulbert” (son of Ben Sr.); Benjamin Kulbert –Jr.; [Note DMI – a copyist’s error for “Hulbert”, as there is no “Benjamin Kulbert Sr.” listed, and this is the only occurrence of the name “Kulbert” in any of the Ratables.]
1789 – Benjamin Hubbard (Jr.? or Sr.?), William Hulbird (son of Ben Sr.?).
1790 – 1793 (no Ratables records for Hanover)
The NJ Militia Census of 1793 lists the following “Hulburds” in Morris Co.:
Benjamin Halbart of Hanover (Benjamin Jr.)
Jotham Halbart of Mendham
The following are the subsequent Census Enumerations and Tax Ratables for Morris Co. in which the Hulburds appear:
Mendham Twp.
1795 – Benjamin Hulburd (Sr.), Ephraim Hulburd, Joshua Hulburd, Jotham Hulburd, , Reuben Hulburd, William Hulburd (IV).
1796 – Joshua Hulburd, Jotham Hulburd, Reuben Hulburd.
1797 – Benjamin Hulburd, Ephraim Hulburd, Reuben Hulburd, Jotham Hulburd, William Hulburd.
1798 – 1801 (no records)
1802 – “Jonathan Holberd” (i.e. error for Jotham), Joshua Holberd, Reuben Holberd, William Holberd.
1803 –Joshua Hulburd, Jotham Hulburd, William Hulburd.
1805 – Joshua Hulbert, Jotham Hulbert, Reuben Hulbert.
1806 – 1810 (no Hulburds listed)
1811 – Jotham Hulbert, Ruben Hulburd.
1812 – Jotham Hulbert, Joshua Hulbert.
1813 – Jotham Hulbert, Joshua Hulbert.
1814 – Joshua Hulbert.
1815 – Joshua Hulbert.
1816 – Jotham Hulbert, Joshua Hulbert, Ruben Hulburd.
1817 – Jotham Hulbert, Ruben Hulburd.
(Note: Jotham is absent for the 1814 and 1815 Ratables. This is apparently because, as Monighetti uncovered, he had enlisted as Jotham “Halbert” in New York City on 3 Aug 1814 as a private under Captain Benjamin Franklin Wood’s Company to fight against the British during the “War of 1812”. He was discharged 28 Jun 1815 at the close of the war.)
Hanover Twp.
I immediately responded by email:
“There are a few interesting things in here;
…It's interesting that William IV owns no land early on. Don't forget, that based on a Enfield CT baptism date for William III, he was about 80 years old at this time (1778), which was a ripe old age. William IV (based on brother Benjamin's age) probably would have been between 40 and 43 years old. And he had no land, not even 5 acres, out in the middle of nowhere, where land was “dirt-cheap” at that time?
Sounds like he was farming William III's land for him - and don't forget, he was presumably supporting also his 80 year old father, step-mother Mary (and maybe some of his step-siblings), his own minor sons and wife Anna, his two widowed sisters (Abigail Tuttle and Rachel Channel), Rachel’s two (or more?) kids, his (spinster?) sister Sarah, his half-brothers Ephraim, Jotham and Joshua, and maybe some others too (like Benjamin Sr., his wife and 9 original children – who were presumably refugees from Staten Island in 1776). So, we shouldn't be surprised to suddenly see him in possession of 40 of the original 100 acres after his father's death. However, I don't remember reading about an inheritance like that for William IV in William III’s will (maybe I just missed it – not!) Could it have been passed on by deed just before (or after) his father's death? The same question may also apply for Benjamin Sr. and/or Ephraim.
The two different 1779 Ratables might have something to do with disturbances caused by the Revolutionary War. I mean, it's just amazing to me, that in the middle of the Revolutionary War, in a back-woods place like Mendham, that the local governments were functioning, and collecting taxes. But I guess they had to support the War effort. Maybe a special assessment was made in 1779 to raise more money to help support the troops/Continental Army. Also, there may have been a plunge in revenues caused by the Smallpox and Typhoid epidemics of 1777-78, which saw the death toll rise to 6 times its normal number. Incidentally, what does "a householder 5/0" mean for Benjamin Sr.? It can't mean 0 females. Does it mean 0 minors (not likely since he had minor children at the time)? It probably means 5 free men (over age 16?), and 0 male slaves (over age 16?) in the household.
The gaining and loosing of a few acres probably reflects the differences in surveying the land and/or difficult terrain to survey. Also, since naturally occurring large trees and rocks, dirt roads/paths and streams/rivers were commonly used as the reference points, what happens if one of these is misidentified, disappears, or moves slightly…I also agree that Elijah is probably a mistake for "Ephraim" in that one Hanover Ratable …As far as owning 200 acres and paying virtually nothing in taxes for it, sounds like swampland, or hilly terrain not good for cultivation, or cattle - but excellent for hunting, trapping, herding hogs, and collecting firewood (for charcoal production for iron smelting?)
…Also, just because Benjamin Sr. borrowed a certain sum of money from his father-in-law (which is mentioned in the latter's will), doesn't mean that this was the only time Benjamin Sr. borrowed money from Van Name, or even that was never previously gifted money/land by the same.
We've talked a lot about how Daniel Harrison and Benjamin Hulburd Sr.’s dau. Rachel could have met - and just where. Well, just how - and where - did Benjamin Hulburd Sr. of Mendham meet his first wife Elizabeth Van Name of Staten Island? These places are relatively quite far from one another, even by today's standards. Presumably, it would have been a young Benjamin Sr. milling around in or near Staten Island before he was married, and not a young Elizabeth loitering around Mendham before she was married….” (See notes above under father William III.)”
The Children of Benjamin Hulburd Sr. and Elizabeth Van Name
As the year of birth is know for only the two oldest children (who died in 1778), the ages of the surviving children are roughly calculated based on their respective marriage dates (or the dates they first appear as “heads of household/property owners”, etc.), as well as based on order of their listing in the will of their grandfather Aaron Van Name. There is enough time between the estimated birth of their son Ben Jr. c.1765, and the established birth of their son Amos Sr. in 1780 to have comfortably allowed for at least 3 additional births, and it’s possible that Benjamin and Elizabeth may have had other children who died young before 1780, and would have been buried in Staten Island, without having been mentioned in Aaron Van Name’s will, which was penned in 1792. The known children of Benjamin Hulburd Sr. and his wife Elizabeth Van Name were:
1. Aaron Hulbard (b.1759 on Staten Island? d. 19 Jul 1778 at 19 in Randolph, NJ of typhus?, Hilltop Presby. Cemetery)
2. Mary Hulburd (b.1761 on Staten Island? d. 18 Jul 1778 at 17 in Randolph, NJ of typhus?, Hilltop Presby. Cemetery in Mendham, NJ)
3. William (W.?) Hulburd (Sr.?) (b.c.1763? on Staten Island? d. sometime after 1792 (when the will of his grandfather Aaron Van Name was penned.) He apparently d. 11 Feb 1827 in Pavilion (Genesee Co.), NY. He m. Alice Bannister (b. 6 Feb 1764 d?), and is listed in a Bannister genealogy as “William Halbard of Goshen” (i.e. in Orange Co., NY). William and Alice apparently had at least two sons: James (b. 27 Sep 1791 d. 20 Sep 1832 in Pavilion); William Jr. (b.1793 d.1865 in Pavilion). William “Holbert Sr.” of Stafford, William “Holbert Jr.” of Le Roy, and James “Holbert” of Le Roy are all listed as heads of household in Genesee Co., NY in the 1820 Census.
4. Benjamin (H.?) Hulburd Jr. (b.c.1765 on Staten Island? d. 24 May 1813 in Wyalusing (i.e. Tuscarora, Bradford Co.), PA. (See additional notes on Benjamin Jr. and his children below.) He had to have been born before 1767 in order to have been at least 21 years old for his inclusion in the 1788 Hanover Rateables.
5. Moses Hulburd (b.c.1774? on Staten Island? d. sometime aft. 1812) (see notes on him below).
6. Charles Hulburd (Sr.?) (b.c.1776? on Staten Island? d.? ) (see notes on him below).
7. Elizabeth Hulburd (b.c.1778? d.? She was dism. Morristown Pres. Ch. 1 Mar 1814. She m. Dec 1800 Isaac Hinds originally of Westfield, NJ, later of Morris Plains, NJ, and they had at least a son Ezra (b. 21 Sep 1801 d. 25 Jul 1802). Did they move to NY State? (see additional notes on her below).
8. Amos Hulburd Sr. (b.1780 in Randolph?, NJ d. 6 Jul 1803 at 23 in Wyalusing Creek (Bradford Co.), PA – murdered. He m.1803 in Wyalusing Creek Jane Gordon (b. 1880 d. 6 Nov 1826 at 26). His only child, who was born after his death, was Amos Jr. (b.1804 d.?). As the mother of Amos Jr. d.1806, and he was raised by his Gordon grandparents, his grandfather dying in 1810. After that point, he was raised by his widowed grandmother Jane (née Marsh) Gordon. (See below for additional notes on Amos Sr.)
9. Rachel Hulburd (b.c.1782? in Randolph?, NJ d. sometime aft. 1820. She m. in Newark, NJ 1799 Daniel Harrison. See below for more info.)
Were Benjamin Sr.’s Children Named after a Pattern?
Aaron and Mary were definitely the first two children. Might we not assume then, that Benjamin Hulburd Sr. and Elizabeth Van Name apparently named their children after a pattern: The oldest boy after her father, the oldest girl after her mother. Then, the second boy after his father, and presumably the second girl after his mother. Then, the third boy after him, and the third girl after her (unless she and her unidentified mother-in-law actually had the same forename, i.e. Elizabeth.) Following this formula, the second girl born - who should have been named after Benjamin Hulburd Sr.'s mother - was named "Elizabeth" (however, if there was another as yet unidentified dau. born between Mary and Elizabeth, then one might expect her to have the forename of Benjamin Sr.'s mother - whatever that was.)
Of course, Elizabeth Van Name did have brothers named Aaron, William, Moses and Charles, and one might be tempted to think they were just naming all the children after herself and her own husband, and her side of the family only. But Rachel was named after Benjamin Sr.'s sister, and where did the name "Amos" come from? So they’re not all named after her side, or else Amos and Rachel would have been named "Simon and Catherine" instead. However, they all are apparently named after a pre-existing family member (only Amos’ namesake still remains undiscovered.)
The name "Amos" is apparently not from Elizabeth’s maternal or paternal side of the family. And Amos does not come from Benjamin Sr.'s paternal side of the family either. Neither did Benjamin Sr. or Elizabeth evidently have a sibling named "Amos." That probably leaves only Benjamin Sr.'s maternal side of the family (i.e. either his mother's father or his mother’s brother.) I have speculated above that Benjamin’s mother may have been one of the Allens of Suffield, CT, so it should be noted here that there were individuals in that Allen family named “Amos Allen” – including in the Morris Co., NJ branch of Allens, but I feel at this point that, if related, they would still be too far removed from Benjamin Hulburd Sr. to have been used as a namesake for his son.
The “Bigamous” Marriage of a “Benjamin Halbert of Morristown, NJ” (i.e. Presumably Benjamin Hulburd Sr.) to the “Widow Patience Edwards of Elizabeth, NJ”
Monighetti wrote the following in his email to me of 29 Jul. 2004 :
…"New Jersey Marriages 1665-1800" by Nelson and noted the following: Benjamin Halbert - cooper, Morris-Town, and Patience Edwards, widow, school mad., Williams Farms, (illegal) N.B.- void by previous marriage 1797 Sept. 5. [note DMI: N.B. is a Latin abbreviation which stands for “Note”, and “Williams Farms” was a section of Elizabethtown, which was part of Union Twsp. When that town was formed out of Elizabeth in 1808. The present Union Co., NJ was created out of Essex Co. in 1857. The Williams Farms section of Union Twsp. was then incorporated in 1901 as the independent town of Roselle Park (Union Co.), NJ, which it remains today.]
I had forgotten about this Benjamin marriage. As best as I can tell the source named for this entry is Lyons Farms Church Marriage Records, Lyons Farms Baptist Church Book, Marriage Records. This source doesn't ring a bell with me as being available on film or published print but it might be. This puts "a" Benjamin again near Elizabeth but appears he was from Morris-Town in 1797….”
I responded the same day:
“…I was also wondering if it could possibly have been her being a bigamist, but no, because she is mentioned as a widow. This Benjamin “Halbert” was evidently divorced from his previous wife, and attempted to re-marry, but the divorce was not recognized as legal for whatever reason in NJ. So the marriage to Patience Edwards was subsequently declared "illegal", since Benjamin was considered “still married” by the religious and/or secular authorities. This Patience Edwards was very likely a relation somehow thru marriage to the renowned Baptist Minister Moses Edwards of Northfield Baptist Church. "Bigamy" is usually considered a "crime" - regardless of the circumstances - especially back then – especially to some kind of kin of a renowned local Baptist minister! Note that the attempted marriage to the widow Patience Edwards was apparently performed - and sometime subsequently deemed illegal.”
As Benjamin Hulburd Jr. was still married to his wife Miss Smith (as evidenced by the fact that she bore him a daughter Catharine on 5 Oct 1797 – 1 month to the day after the illegal marriage of Patience Edwards was deemed void), this “Benjamin Halbert of Morristown” is almost certainly a reference to his father Benjamin Hulburd Sr. (unless there’s some other Benjamin Hulbert/var., related or otherwise, that we just haven’t yet accounted for.) Benjamin Sr. would have been at least 64 for this attempted remarriage in 1797. I can only assume at this point that he had somehow “illegally divorced” his 2nd wife, the widow Elizabeth Lindsley.
In an email to me of 25 March 2005, Barbara Martin provided the following insight and reflection regarding said marriage:
“…I had seen that marriage for Benjamin before, but decided I didn't need to go there. One set of my 4th great grandparents were tried, found guilty and fined 500 lbs. tobacco for "fornication" in Virginia, pre-Revolution. They were actually married, but it was in one of the new "dissenting" religions - Methodist. The established Church of England - Episcopal - was the only one allowed to perform legal marriages. Of course, once the war ended, the established church was disestablished and all those marriages were declared legal.”
Benjamin Hulburd Sr. as Slave Owner, and Excommunicated from the Baptist Church for his “Unlawful Marriage”
In an email to Monighetti dated 2 Nov 2005, I wrote the following:
“…I have gone through the Index of the volumes of the Morristown Baptist Church archived at the Morristown Library in several bound volumes (something like 1746 to present). I found only two short entries of interest to us:
May 25th 1788 "Benjamin Halbert and Prince a Negro man were baptized and added."
and minutes of the elders containing:
20 Nov 1797 "...considered the case of Benjamin Halburt for his unlawful marriage and voted to exclude him."
I understand the first entry to reveal not only that Benjamin converted to the Baptist faith just 6 months after the death of his first wife Elizabeth Van Name, but that he did so with his slave "Prince". The reason why I say "his" slave, is because when slaves are mentioned in church records (e.g. marriages, deaths, etc.), they're usually listed as something like "Tom, the negro man of Silas Condit was married to Sally, the negro woman of Bethual Pierson." The fact that Prince's owner is not named (nor is he mentioned as a "free man", which would have been usual if he were) all point to Benjamin Hulburd Sr. as being Prince's slave-master.
Remember; slave-owning meant that a person had enough means to support a slave. So while no slave(s) were mentioned in the will of his father William III (and the bequests were meager, indicating that William III may not have been wealthy enough to actually own a slave - or didn't need one because he had Sarah and Rachel and others at home...), Benjamin was obviously "better off" to be able to afford to support a slave. So I had initially assumed that Benjamin Sr. had done well for himself - until I remembered that he had married into money (remember Aaron Van Name, Esq.?) Prince had probably been a gift from Aaron Van Name to his daughter Elizabeth.
Also, from the second entry, it's clear that the "excommunication" in 1797 from the Baptist Church, was from the Baptist church in Morristown, and not "only" the Lyon's Farm (Elizabethtown) or Northfield congregations. The word used for Benjamin was "exclude" him, however "excommunicate" is actually used for other individuals in other entries. However, I found in my brief scan through the index of the records no mention of his second marriage to the widow Elizabeth Lindsley, nor his third annulled/"bigamous" marriage to Patience Edwards.
Was he intentionally bigamous without divorcing his second wife, or was a divorce from his second wife not "recognized" as valid in the eyes of the Baptist church?”
12. The Revolutionary War Service of William Hulburd, son of Benjamin Sr.
William Hulburd of Morris Co. received a certificates for the depreciation of his Continental pay as Ensign in the Morris County Militia (in Militia, 2nd year, pages 96, 10 and 218, which book was originally called Indents, Revolutionary War) as follows:
William “Hulbert” No. 14 (voucher No. 110) as signed by Silas Condict, dated 3 May 1784 for £5:0:0 (2nd year interest £0:6:0). His name is written in another place in the Indents as William “Halburt”;
William “Holbert” No. 26 (i.e. voucher No. 11) as signed by Silas Condict on the same date for £3:10:6 (2nd year interest £0:4:2). Note: William’s name is written in the Indents copy as “Halbut” and in another place as “Halbert”, as well as on the actual pay stub, as “Halbert”, and is listed immediately following that of Ephraim ‘Halbert”in the Indents;
William “Halbert” No. 590 (voucher No. 1) as signed by Silas Condict on the same date for £0:9:3 9 (2nd year interest £0:0:6).
In an email of 1 Aug 2005 to Monighetti I wrote:
The Revolutionary War records you’ve sent me refer to the service of William Hulburd, the son of Benjamin Hulburd Sr.
At first, I thought it was possible it was a reference to William V, who was 21 in 1784. Then I thought it could also be a reference to his father William IV, who would have been about 45 to 50 years old at the time.
But I started looking at the spelling of the surname, particularly Halbert and Holbert, and these two (particularly the later) are the spellings we see, for whatever reason, most associated with the children of Ben Hulburd Sr. And Ben Sr.'s son William would have been 22 years old at the time.
And then it dawned on me; it's not William IV or William V, since they and the son of Ben Sr. were all alive at the same time, and William V definitely would have been referred to in official records as "William Jr", and William IV likely would have been referred to as "William Sr." - and we've seen this type of thing before in certain records.
So, the William listed in Revolutionary War records is William, the son of Benjamin Hulburd Sr.
And then something else dawned on me; the change in the spelling/pronunciation of the surname of the children of Ben Sr. (by only slightly altering the vowel sound) may have been intentional (and not accidental), to help distinguish them from their Hulburd relatives with similar first names.
So, it's not implausible, that the children of Ben Sr. - particularly William, who was the oldest living son - intentionally changed the pronunciation of his surname (or it was intentionally changed for him by others) to "Holbert/Halbert", in order to distinguish himself from his nearby uncle and cousin of the same name and age, and his younger siblings also started to be called "Holbert", after the lead of their oldest brother.
The Debt Collection against William Hulburd, the Son of Benjamin Sr.
Monighetti had found the following entries in microfilms of Vol. 10 of the Minutes of Common Pleas of the Morris County, NJ Clerks Office, Years 1792-1794, unpaginated, but in chronological order (note: per Black Law Dictionary: Caps = Capias; i.e. the name of several species of writs.) The involvement of Moses Hulburd (the son of Benjamin Hulburd Sr.) in this case, is why I believe that the defendant in “Kinney vs. Hulburd” is William Hulburd (the son of Benjamin Sr.), and not William Hulburd IV, nor William V (who would have been referred to in the records as “Jr.” in any event). It was apparently for the collection of a debt for the sum of £17 as follows:
Seals March Term 1793
John & Abrm Kinney vs. William Hulburd (Debt 17..0..0)
Seals to July Term 1794
Jno & Abm Kinney 2nd Pls Caps Debt 17 vs. N.E. William Hulburd
Continuing in Vol. 11 of the Minutes of Common Pleas of the Morris County, NJ Clerk’s Office, Years 1794-1798, (unpaginated, but in chronological order):
Seals to December Term 1794
Jno & Abm Kinney (Russell Attny for plaintiffs)
vs.
In debt 3d William Hulburd Pls Caps 17 C.C. Moses Hulburd bail
Hiram Smith Esq. Sheriff
In the same volumes, Monighetti also found the following civil suit brought by a different party against a William Hulburd the very same year, also for the collection of debt. One might therefore assume that this was likewise a suit involving William Hulburd, the son of Benjamin Hulburd Sr., and not William IV nor William V:
Pleas to March Term 1794
Isaac Canfield vs. William Hulburd
In debt the like on the like motion
Pleas to March Term 1794
The State vs. Isaac Lewis
Per Monighetti’s note, a “William Hulburd” is listed as one of the Jurors in this case. One would assume that this juror was either William IV or William V, given the fact that William, son of Benjamin Sr., apparently had the preceding two suits being tried against him for debt collection during the same court sessions as this later unrelated debt collection suit, and as a result probably wouldn’t have been sought as a juror.
13. The Confusion Between an Unrelated Benjamin “Hurlbut/Hulburd” of Early 1800’s NY State, and our Benjamin Hulburd Jr.
I wrote to Monighetti on 20 Feb 2005:
“I just searched the 1800 for NY, and found these two entries:
Ephraim “Hulbert” 1800 Washington (Cayuga Co.), NY
2 males (0-10, either Oliver (only if newborn), and another son, or two other sons); 1 male (26-45, Ephraim); 1 female (0-10, 'widowed' OH dau. listed in 1830); 1 female (26-45, wife Jemima).
This actually fits fairly well with what we know about Ephraim Hulburd of Mendham, NJ (albeit not “exactly”). At first glance, his half-nephew Benjamin Hulburd also seems to be listed there with him:
Benjamin “Hulbert” 1800 Washington (Cayuga Co.), NY
1 male (0-10); 1 male (16 - 26); 1 male (26-45); 4 females (0-10); 1 female (16 - 26).
However, upon closer inspection, his wife is not listed with him (although she’s listed in the 1810 PA Census – as being older than him). Also, there appears to be either two teenagers living with him (or alternately, another young couple)…. All in all, this appears to be an unrelated Benjamin Hulbert/var. (most likely from the line of Ebenezer Holbert/Hurlbut, which had relocated to Goshen (Orange Co.), NY sometime before 1800. However, this could also possibly be a descendant of the Benjamin Hulburd (the brother of William III), whose descendants settled in Upstate NY in the late 1700’s.”
The 1810 Census for Boyle (Ontario Co.), NY shows a Benjamin “Hurlbut” living there near a William “Hurlbut”, a Silas Losey, and a William Losey. At first glace, this appears to be our Benjamin Hulburd Jr. and his brother William Hulburd Sr., both living near their first cousin Silas Losey (son of Hannah (Hulburd) Losey). While this Silas Losey may indeed be the son by the same name of Hannah Hulburd, the Benjamin and William Hurlbut in Boyle, NY are not the brothers Benjamin Hulburd Jr. and William Hulburd Sr. originally of Morris Co., NJ.
First off, the name “Hurlbut” should have been a clear indication that they were not our Hulburds, but there are some very few instances of the “Hulburd” name being miswritten as “Hurlbut” or even “Hubbard” variations based upon the whim of the scribe in question. However one proof that these are not our Hulburds, is that the family information in this Census record simply doesn’t match completely with what we know of the family of our Benjamin Hulburd Jr. – not to mention the fact that the family of Benjamin Hulburd Jr. is clearly enumerated in the 1810 Census for Wyalusing (Luzerne Co.), PA!
Therefore, given the above, as well as the fact that Benjamin Hulburd Jr.’s tombstone confirms a death date of 24 May 1813, the following transaction recorded in Deeds of Ontario County, N. Y., Liber 27, p. 196 is to be considered a land sale by the above unrelated Benjamin “Hurlbut”, even though his surname is now (insanely…) spelled in this record as “Hulburd”:
“December 5, 1815: Benjamin Hulburd (sic Hurlbut) granted to Silas Locey (sic Losey) of Pittsford, Ontario Co., New York for $108 a parcel of 12 acres in Brighton (apparently the Brighton by Rochester in Monroe Co., NY – DMI). Witnessed by Miller Losey and Sally Losey.”
14. The Actual Whereabouts and Movements of Benjamin Hulburd Jr.
Benjamin Hulburd Jr. is first mentioned by name in the 1788 “Hanover” Ratables as “Kulbert, Benjamin Jr.” (although it’s possible that the “Benjamin” who is listed in “Hanover” Ratables in prior years is actually Benjamin Jr., and not Benjamin Sr.), meaning that he was at least 21 years old by that time, placing his birth before 1767.
Benjamin Hulburd Jr. was probably about 24 at the time, and he would have been married or engaged to his wife Miss Smith already, based upon the birth of their presumed oldest child in Feb 1791. He is next listed in the 1793 NJ Militia Census in Morris Co. as Benjamin Halbart. The following year in 1794, he is listed as Benjamin “Holbert”, one of the NJ soldiers sent to Pennsylvania to put down an Insurrection there. His visit there may help to explain his return to PA 8 years later to settle.
Ben Jr. is subsequently listed in the 1795, 1796 and 1797 “Hanover” Ratables (as is his father). He apparently disappears from the records bet. 1797 and 1802, when he reappears in Elizabeth, NJ near the time of his father’s death there in 1803. He and his father Ben Sr. may have both moved there about 1796/97, possibly in connection with the presumed legal proceedings from 1794 to 1795/96 involving Rhuben Hulburd as discussed above.
So if the various Benjamin Hulbert/var.s in NY State records between 1800 and 1813 are not of our Benjamin Hulburd Jr. (as discussed above), then what happened to Benjamin Hulburd Jr. and his family after he is last recorded in Elizabeth, NJ about 1802?
I received the following information in an email of Jan 2005 from Mrs. Linda Hulbert of WI:
“Per Pioneer & Patriot Families of Bradford County PA 1800-1825 Vol. II – by Clement F. Heverly, pages 63-82:
‘Benjamin Hurlbut (sic), a miller by occupation, came from Elizabeth City, N.J. to Wyalusing Creek, 1802-'3, where he was employed in the Gordon mill. In 1806 he removed to Tuscarora and took up a farm where he died about 1817. He had married a Miss Smith in New Jersey. Their children who married as follows were: Esther (to Sylvanus Shumway); Catharine (to Cyrus Shumway (Note DMI – this is false; Bridget Clink m. Cyrus Shumway, Catharine Hulbert m. his brother “Darius” Shumway); Eliza (to Mr. Brace); Charles; John; Rebecca (to William Clink); Joanna (to Mr. Cook).’ ”
She followed up that information with the following emails of 23 and 24 March 2005:
“Spring Hill, PA was erected from Wyalusing in 1830. In 1856, the name was changed to Tuscarora, PA. Per the History of Bradford County 1770 – 1878 by the Reverend Mr. David Craft:
‘…Benjamin Hurlbut (sic) moved from Elizabeth City, NJ, to the Wyalusing creek in 1803. He was a miller, and was employed in Gordon’s, and afterwards in Town’s Mill. He came to the hill in 1805 or 1806. His brother Amos came with him (i.e. in 1803). Benjamin bought the Connecticut title of Gordon (i.e. the territory was claimed by both CT and PA at that time)…Mr. Hurlbut (sic) died about 1817 (sic - in 1813), on the farm he first purchased.’
I just found Jane Gordon, the grandmother of Amos Hulbert Jr. (i.e. orphaned nephew of Benjamin Hulburd Jr.) in 1810 in Wyalusing Twp. (Luzerne Co.), PA, of which part of Bradford Co. was eventually formed. It lists her as a widow; Gordon died in 1810. She has an under-10 male in the household (i.e. Amos Jr.)…. Also, on the same page in 1810 is a Benj. Holburd as head of a household consisting of 2 males (0-10, Charles and John); 1 male (26-45, Benjamin Jr.); 2 females (0-10, Rebecca and Joanna); 2 females (10-16, Catharine and Eliza); 1 female (16-26, Esther); 1 female (over 45, Miss Smith).”
The Children of Benjamin Hulburd Jr.
Benjamin Hulburd Jr. m.c.1790 in “Hanover”?, NJ _________ Smith (b.c.1764 d. aft. 1810), based both upon his first appearance in the “Hanover” Ratables in 1787/88, and the birth of their presumed oldest child in Feb 1791. According to the Combined Registers of the Morristown Presb. Church, however, Benjamin Jr. married Miss Smith in 1791. Since his oldest surviving child Esther was born 14 Feb 1791, they were likely married before that date as I have speculated, and Miss Smith is likely the mother of all the children attributed to him.
The following information was found April 2005 in several accounts posted on Ancestry.com including Sweet and Dacey Project by Phillip Sweet; and The Limbs and Branches of the Smith Family Tree by Terry D. Smith. The children of Benjamin Hulburd Jr. and _______ Smith include:
1. Esther Hulbert, b. 14 Feb 1791 in “Hanover”?, NJ d. 24 Jun 1853 in Scioto Co., OH. She m. 2 Jun 1811 Sylvanus Towne Shumway, and they had: Darius (b.1812); Mary (a.k.a. Polly, b. 29 Aug 1816); Nelson (b. 13 Nov 1818); Harriet (b. 4 Jul 1820); John Quincy (b. 24 Jul 1824); Phebe (b.1826); Joanna (b.1828); Hannah (b.1830); Julia (b.1832); Sylvanus (b. 12 Jun 1836).
2. Catharine Hulbert (1st), b.1795 in “Hanover”?, NJ d. 11 Jun 1799 in Elizabeth?, NJ at 4 years old of “nervous fever” per the Morristown, NJ Bill of Mortality. She’s probably listed in the Morristown, NJ records because she would have likely been buried in Morris Co., NJ with the rest of her Hulburd ancestors.
3. Catharine Hulbert (2nd), b.c.1799 in Elizabeth?, NJ d. 16 Apr 1883 in Spring Hill (i.e. Tuscarora, Bradford Co.), PA. She’s listed in many accounts as having been born 5 Oct 1797, but this is clearly impossible given the date of the death of the 1st Catharine as listed in Morristown, NJ records above. She m.1817 in Spring Hill, PA Darius Shumway and had: Lucy (b. 19 May 1818); Charlotte (b. 19 Sep 1820); Charles H. (b. 24 Aug 1822); Hiram (b. 26 Apr 1824); Julia (b. 7 Jun 1826); Pamelia (b. 3 Aug 1828); Sylvanus (b. 11 Aug 1830); Burton (b. 27 May 1833); Elizabeth E. (b. 2 May 1836).
4. Eliza Hulbert, b.1800?
5. Charles Hulbert, b.c.1802?
6. John Hulbert, b.c.1804?
7. Rebecca Hulbert, b.c.1806? d. 28 May 1886 in IL. She m. William Clink Jr., and they had: Lucretia (b. bef. 1825); Darius S. (a.k.a. Denny, b.1825); Alpheus H. (6 Apr 1829); Isaac N. (b. 6 Feb 1831); Mary Margaret (b.1833); George W. (b.1835);
8. Joanna Hulbert, b.c.1808?
Some sources also attribute the following dau. to Benjamin Hulburd Jr. [Note DMI – she’s probably not the daughter of Benjamin Jr. per the enumeration of the members of his household in the 1810 Census, however she could well be the dau. of Moses Hulburd, the brother of Benjamin Hulburd Jr.]:
9. Mary Hulbert, b.1807 d. 18 Nov 1861 in Laceyville (Bradford Co.), PA. She m. Adam Clink (brother of William Clink Jr.), and had all of the following children in Auburn (Susquehanna Co.), PA: Sally Ann (b. 22 Aug 1828); Simeon Augustus (b. 26 Nov 1830); Milton Hamilton (b. 9 May 1841); Adaline (b.1843); Cyrus (b.1849); Elmira (b.c.1850).
An E.W. Hulburd m. 25 Sep 1850 in Luzerne Co., PA a Huldah A; Dodson. The had three children listed: Frank (b.1852 d.1852); Harry (b. 10 Dec 1852 d.1859); and Tammy (d.1859). They may have had more children than this, and this E.W. Hulburd is likely a descendant of Benjamin Hulburd Jr., or his brother Moses Hulburd.
15. The Movements of Moses Hulbert, the Son of Benjamin Hulburd Sr.
Moses Hulbert, the son of Benjamin Hulburd Sr. is first mentioned by name in the will of his grandfather Aaron Van Name, written in 1792. Per Monighetti’s research, Moses is next listed in the 1793 NJ Militia Census as being in Essex Co., NJ (which also included Union Co., NJ at that time). Why he was listed in Essex Co. in that Militia Census, while the rest of his family are listed in Morris Co. is unclear. Was he living on someone else’s farm, as a worker or apprentice, or was he married (and perhaps living with his in-laws)?
Monighetti next found Moses listed in Dec 1794 as having set bail for his brother William Hulburd in Morristown, NJ, and after that, Monighetti found Moses listed in the Morris Co., NJ Ratables in 1795 as living in “Hanover”, NJ (where both Ben Sr. and Jr. are also listed as heads of household in that year). He is not listed in the Ratables there in 1796, but reappears in the 1797 “Hanover” Ratables as “Moses Hulbord, land owner”.
Presumably Moses had removed about 1796/97 to Elizabeth, NJ with his father and other siblings, and remained there until his father’s death in 1803. Moses’ whereabouts for the next 7 years are simply unknown, as he has not turned up in any records so far. However, we do finally find a “Moses Halbert” listed in the Morris Twsp. Ratables in 1810 as a “landowner”, and in the “Hanover” Ratables the following year in 1811, also as a landowner. In 1812, we find him back in the Morris Twsp. Ratables, this time listed as a “house holder” there. That’s the final mention found to date of him in NJ. However per Mrs. Linda Hulbert of WI, that same year a “Moses Hulbert” also appears paying taxes in Wyalusing, PA along with his brother Benjamin Jr. If Moses moved out to PA (as appears to possibly be the case), then that could explain his disappearance from NJ records after apparently selling his home there in 1812.
In an email of 10 Nov 06, I wrote to Monighetti the following:
“…Furthermore, the [recent discovery by Linda Hulbert of the] tombstone of Ben Hulbert Jr. [in PA] is important, because the 1813 death date provides the reason for why his brother Moses disappears from NJ records in 1812, and per Linda Hulbert, is listed in PA in 1813 (along with Ben Jr.) paying taxes (although I've never received a copy of those PA tax records from her for confirmation.)….”
Nothing is yet known for certain regarding if he ever married or had any issue. A Moses Hulbert (over 45) is listed with his family in the 1820 Census living in Elk Creek (Erie Co.), PA, but it is unclear if this is the same man as the son of Benjamin Hulburd Sr. He is listed in that town along with heads of household Ansal Hulbert, and an Ezekiel Hulbert, who are both (26-45).
16. Charles Hulbert (Sr.?) of “Hanover”, NJ
Per Monighetti’s research: he is listed as “Charles Halbert” in the 1800 Census for Northfield (Staten Island), NY. In the 1810 Census for that same place, his name is written in the original document in small print, inserted in the third column, situated between the neighboring listings for his uncles Moses and Simon Van Name. So, he was apparently living with one or the other of his uncles, who were on neighboring properties at that time. He is next listed in as “Charles Hulbert” a single man, in the 1813 “Hanover”, NJ Tax Ratables. He next appears as “Charles Holbert, a single man”, in the 1816 “Hanover”, NJ Tax Ratables. He was apparently residing in Chatham, NJ at that time.
Although he’s called a “single man”, it must be remembered that “single man” did not always necessarily mean “never married”, as this term was apparently applied to widowers as well (including his father Benjamin Sr. in the 1787 “Hanover” Ratables). With that possibility in mind, the 1840 Census lists a Charles Hulbert as head of household in Westfield (Union Co.), NJ consisting of 1 male (under 5); 2 males (5-10); 1 male (30-40); 2 females (under 5); 1 female (5-10); and 1 female (30-40). Given the age of the Charles Hulbert listed, he can not be the son of Benjamin Hulburd Sr. by that name, but he is the right age to have been a son of the Charles Hulbert (the son of Benjamin Hulburd Sr.), and Westfield is very near Chatham/Madison, where Charles the son of Benjamin Sr. last appears in the records we’ve uncovered to date. So, this is likely a Charles Hulbert Jr. that we see listed in the 1840 Census.
The Adult Baptism of Elizabeth (“Holbert”) Hinds, the Daughter of Benjamin Hulburd Sr.
On 20 Feb 2005 I sent the following email response to Monighetti:
“…As far as Elizabeth (Holbert) Hinds, sister of Rachel (Holbert/Hulbert) Harrison, my only further thoughts based on what you have found are:
Her baptism as an adult in the Morristown Presb. Church indicates she was raised Baptist….. If she were born into a Baptist household, she may NEVER have been Baptized as an infant (since Baptists’ "big thing" is "adult baptism only" and "resistance" to practicing infant baptism.) I think this is the most plausible scenario:
She was raised Baptist on Staten Island, and thus was never baptized herself as an infant. When she was only 3 weeks shy of having her first baby (which also implies she knew exactly when she got pregnant – i.e. on her honeymoon – ergo she was married in Dec of 1800), she decided to get baptized in the event that should she die during childbirth, she would die having “been baptized”. This has to be the reason she was baptized when she was, because one of the last things I can imagine would be on the “to do” list of a pregnant woman even today (only 3 weeks shy of her delivery date), would be to get up in front of a church full of people and be baptized.
Elizabeth (Holbert) Hinds' final Morristown Pres. church dismissal in 1814 (there was a prior dismissal 24 Oct 1809, with a return 1 Nov 1811) shows they moved away from the Morristown, NJ / Randolph area for good, (possibly to another diocese like Hanover or Chatham - or possibly completely out of State - like her brother William had done to NY State, and her brothers Ben Jr. and Amos had to PA). Along those lines, if they moved out of NJ in 1814, then that could definitely be Isaac Hinds in NY State in the 1820 Census.
The only thing I wonder about is, if Elizabeth and Isaac Hinds were in the Morristown Pres. Congregation bet. 1801 and 1809, why are there no additional Hinds children listed baptized (or buried) there during that time (or from 1811 to 1814) - or are there?”
The Identity of the Esther “Holbert” who married Joseph Jaggers in Morristown in 1812
The Combined Registers of the Morristown Presbyterian Church has an entry for “Esther Holbert m. 22 Feb 1812 in Morris Co., NJ Joseph Jaggers”. This Esther would have presumably been born about 1790. At first glance, it appears that this Esther is the dau. of Benjamin Hulburd Jr. However, Heverley in the above quoted source seems to contradict this by listing Benjamin Jr.’s dau. as having married a Sylvanus Shumway.
Both the children of Benjamin Hulburd Sr., and the descendants of Ebenezer Hurlbut/Holbert of Rockaway, NJ seemed to use the spelling “Holbert.” It’s possible, that this could be a dau. of the unrelated Andrew Hulbert who died about 1791 in Morris Co., NJ, or the dau. of some other descendant of Ebenezer Holbert/Hurlbut of Rockaway, NJ. However, she could also very likely be a dau. of one of our Mendham Hulburds. Since Ephraim's sole dau. was too young to be this Esther (per her age given in the 1800 NY and 1830 OH Census), and Jotham apparently 1st married in 1805, that leaves Joshua (who married sometime before 1795) as the best candidate to be her father (with Rhuben Hulburd being another possibility).
17 The Murder of Amos Hulburd Sr., the Son of Benjamin Hulburd Sr.
Mrs. Linda Hulbert of WI sent me the following information in Jan 2005:
“Per Pioneer & Patriot Families of Bradford County PA 1800-1825 Vol. II, by Clement F. Heverly, pages 63-82:
‘Amos Hurlbut [sic Hulburd/Hulbert], a brother of Benjamin, came to Wyalusing Creek with him. He married, Jane, daughter of Samuel Gordon and had a son, Amos. In June, 1803, Mr. Hurlbut [sic Hulburd/Hulbert] had some words with John Dalton, who struck him across the head with a sharp instrument, causing his death. Dalton was tried for his life at Wilkes-Barre and through the obstinacy of one man, was brought in guilty of murder in the second degree; he was sentenced to 18 years' confinement in the penitentiary at Philadelphia; was pardoned, 1808 and died soon after in a hospital. This was the first capital offense within what is now Bradford county.’
Also in History of Bradford County, Pennsylvania with Biographical Sketches, by H. C. Bradsby, 1891 Chapter Twelve – ‘Wars and Rumors of Wars’:
‘As a kind of substitute for grim and bloody war, June 28, 1803, John Dalton, living near Merryall, on the Wyalusing, met his neighbor, Amos Hurlbut [sic Hulburd/Hulbert], a son-in-law of Samuel Gordon, near Town’s Mill; they quarreled, when Dalton struck Hurlbut [sic Hulburd/Hulbert] with a hoe he was carrying, and fractured the skull, and he died July 5, following. Dalton was arrested, and examined by Guy Wells, and sent to Wilkes-Barre, and at court was tried and convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to eighteen years’ imprisonment; but in 1808 was pardoned out by Gov. McKean, and he soon after died.’ ”
Per History of Bradford County 1770 – 1878 by the Reverend Mr. David Craft
‘…in June, 1803, John Dalton murdered Amos Hurlbut [sic Hulburd/Hulbert] on the low ground where Hiram Buck (Manfred Stevens) now lives. He was tried for his life in Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne county, as we then belonged to that county, and, through the obstinacy of one man, was brought in guilty of murder in the second degree, and sentenced to eighteen years' confinement in the penitentiary in Philadelphia. Dalton was, however, pardoned in 1808, while Thomas McKean was governor of Pennsylvania, but he never returned home. He died soon after in hospital, in Philadelphia.
As this was the first capital offense, which occurred in the county, we may complete the story by giving the official account of the trial as it appears on the records of the court:
Res publica vs. John Dalton. Indictment for the murder of Amos Hulburd, with count for voluntary manslaughter. True Bill.
Aug. 16, 1803. The defendant, being charged at the Bar, pleads not guilty, and thereof puts himself on the country for trial; Attorney General likewise.
And now, August 17, 1803, a jury being called came, to wit: James Atherton, Noah Taylor, Solomon Johnson, Oliver Pettibone, Zebulon Marcy, Daniel Ayres, Caleb Wright, Joseph Sweatland, Joseph Reynolds, Abraham Shurtz, Roger Searle, and Case Cortlandt, who, being duly sworn and affirmed to try the issue aforesaid, on their oaths and affirmations, respectively, do say that they find the defendant guilty of murder in the second degree.
Whereupon, the Court, to wit, on the 19th day of August, 1803, sentence the defendant to undergo an imprisonment at hard labor for the period of eighteen years; and that he be fed and clothed, and in all respects treated, according to the directions of the Act to reform the penal laws of the State; and that he be placed and kept three years out of the eighteen in the solitary cells in the Penitentiary house in the city of Philadelphia, and fed on low and coarse diet; and that he pay the costs of prosecution, and stand committed until this whole sentence be complied with.’ ”
The notes of W.E. Harrison name Daniel's wife as "Rachel Holbert/Hulbert (i.e. Hulburd)," having been married by the Rev. Alex MacWhorter of Newark 1st Presbyterian Church. W.E. Harrison also lists both Daniel and Rachel as being of Madison, NJ. Daniel's grandson Amos (thru his son Charles) was given the middle name "Hulbert." Also, the Bottle Hill/Madison church records list in 1820 "the widow Rachel Harrison." Ergo, Daniel Harrison, land-heir in both Newark and the Madison area, did marry a girl named Rachel Hulburd as confirmed by the three aforementioned sources.
“Evidently William Hulburd III of Mendham's oldest son Benjamin married Elizabeth Van Name and had a youngest child named Rachel (i.e. our Rachel), who then named her own two sons after her Hulburd brothers (i.e. Amos and Charles). The naming of the two sons after her two brothers (yeah, Amos was relatively common even in the Harrison family - but not Charles – a non-biblical name) really does confirm (at least for me) that this is indeed our Rachel.
It seems likely that Rachel and Daniel had met in the Lyon’s Farm area near the Newark/Elizabeth border, where the Harrison homestead was in Down Neck Newark, and Benjamin Hulburd Sr. had apparently just moved from “Hanover” to “Elizabeth”, NJ by the Newark border about 1798 (i.e. only a year or so before Rachel and Daniel married). Daniel’s father died about the same time as he married, leaving him the land out by Madison and in Down Neck Newark. Rachel’s father died in 1803, a full 4 years after her 1799 marriage in Newark to Daniel Harrison. Who knows…, maybe she was even working as a domestic in the home of Jonas Harrison (who was a widower). Notice that Daniel and Rachel apparently only sold their part of the Newark property, and bought a place out in Orange (which was the chic place for all the better families from downtown Newark to relocate from between, say, 1775 to 1900) in 1803, when her father died.
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