Alexander Ennis and Catherine

Citing this biography: Boyd, Michelle, "Alexander Ennis and Catherine —," article, Olive and Eliza, last accessed [current date]."

Click the button below to download a more comprehensive biography of Alexander and Catherine Ennis:

Alexander Ennis came from Scotland. Alexander’s origin within Scotland is currently unknown and no parents have been proven. On 3 September 1650, he fought as part of the Scottish forces commanded by David Leslie in the Battle of Dunbar against the English forces of Oliver Cromwell at Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland.

He was among the several thousand who were taken prisoner after the Scots were defeated and forced to march south. The march was strenuous and long and the Scots were given no food. At the town of Berwick-on-Tweed, Northumberland, England, near the Scottish border, many of the prisoners rebelled and refused to move until they were fed. Their guards killed 30 of the men and forced them to march late into the night. At Morpeth, Northumberland, England, the prisoners were enclosed for the night in a walled garden, where they ate the cabbages growing there, roots and all. Soon thereafter, they began to show signs of "bloody flux" (probably dysentery) and the next day, many began to fall dead by the wayside.

After a march of six days, in which the prisoners had eaten almost nothing, they arrived at Durham, Durham, England and were imprisoned inside the cathedral there. Sir Arthur Haselrigge was placed in charge of the prisoners and, in a letter dated 31 October 1650, claimed to have fed the prisoners and removed the sickest to the nearby castle. However, the prisoners were dying in great numbers daily and of the estimated 3,000 Scottish soldiers who arrived at Durham, only about 1,300 survived. The dead were buried in mass graves and in 2013, 29 of the skeletons of these Scottish prisoners were discovered near Palace Green in Durham (they have since been, after archaeological analysis, interred properly and memorialized with a funeral and a monument).

Alexander was among the survivors and was healthy enough later in 1650 to be selected to be sent to New England. Alexander was one of about 150 men who were sold to investor John Becx and transported to Massachusetts Bay Colony on the ship Unity. They arrived in Boston in about late December 1651 and the men were either sent to one of two business ventures that Becx was involved with or sold to local colonists as indentured servants.

Alexander was sent to one of Becx's ventures, the Saugus Ironworks at Saugus, Essex, Massachusetts, the first integrated ironworks in America. Integrated means that the ironworks not only produced cast and wrought iron but only mined and processed the bog ore and gabbro (used as flux) and made the charcoal needed to create their final products. In addition, the ironworks had its own farm to feed and keep the livestock of the workers. It is not known exactly what kind of labor Alexander performed (though it is likely that he could have worked at several different kinds of tasks as needed). However, he and the other Scots there were involuntary indentured servants, most of whom were unpaid and not free to leave service until the terms of their indentures were up.

Alexander Ennis was recorded in a 1653 inventory of the property belonging to the ironworks in a list of 35 Scots, valued collectively at £350.

He married an Irishwoman named Catherine -- sometime between 1650 and 1656. Similar to Alexander, Catherine’s origin within Ireland and maiden name are currently unknown and no parents have been proven. William B. Saxbe, Jr. proposed a theory that she was part of a group of Irish indentured servants that landed at Marblehead, Essex, Massachusetts in the ship Goodfellow in 1654. This was during an era, after the Cromwellian campaign in Ireland, when the Acts of Settlement had been passed, which aimed to remove Catholic Gaelic Irish from much of Ireland, resettle them on lands west of the Shannon River, and give the vacated lands to English soldiers owed back pay and creditors of Parliament. The Goodfellow group were taken from the southern coast of Ireland, perhaps from County Cork, upon the request of David Sellecke and Richard Leader, to be transported and sold as indentured servants. A deposition of one of the known Irish servants, John Ring, recounted how he had been taken from his bed at night and brought aboard the ship where he found a number of his "countrymen weeping and crying because they were stollen from theyr friends."

While Alexander's (and possibly Catherine's, if Saxbe's theory is correct) indentures were forced labor, it was temporary and likely ended by 1656/57 (early 1657, according to the Gregorian calendar), when the couple appear in Plymouth Colony records. On 3 February 1656/7, Catherine appears in a court record in Taunton in Plymouth Colony (now in Bristol, Massachusetts), where is charged with having committed adultery with William Paule, who was probably another Scottish prisoner of war. Alexander was ordered to appear as a witness, along with two other Scots and another Irishwoman. Saxbe provided evidence to show that Catherine had probably become pregnant by Paule during an extended absence of Alexander.

On 5 March 1656/7, Paule was sentenced to be whipped and to pay for his imprisonment and punishment and Catherine was sentenced to be whipped once in Taunton and once at Plymouth for adultery. She would have been about eight months pregnant when she was punished. Catherine was also accused of blasphemy in court and was ordered to wear a letter B made of red cloth sewn on the right arm of her upper garment, to be worn at all times while in the colony. Alexander was accused of leaving his wife exposed "to such temtations" and was sentenced to sit in the stocks while the other two were being punished and pay for Catherine's imprisonment and punishment.

Not surprisingly, the Ennises did not stay in Plymouth Colony. Alexander bought an acre of land at Portsmouth, Newport, Rhode Island on 14 May 1659 from Nickolas Browne. In August of 1664, Robert Guthrie, another probable Scottish prisoner of war, invited his countryman (believed to be Alexander) to settle on Block Island, off the Rhode Island shore with a promise of a house lot and the opportunity to buy forty acres there. Alexander appears as the grantee of two deeds that appear right before Guthrie's letter in the New Shoreham Town Book. He sold a parcel of land on Block Island in 1678/9.

Alexander died in 1679 on Block Island, at the home of William Harris, who was probably his son-in-law. Alexander left a nuncupative will with Robert Guthrie and two other islanders as witnesses and named William Harris as his heir.

Note about Catherine's maiden name: Please note that this page was cited in a book published in 2020. Most of the information associated with this citation did indeed appear (and still does appear) in this biography and is correctly represented. However, one piece of information seemingly attributed to me--that Catherine's maiden name was Briggs--does NOT come from me nor have I ever included it in any biography, online family tree, etc. In fact, I am highly skeptical of the name Briggs being her maiden name as there is a lack of primary source documentation and . Anyone having primary source documentation supporting Briggs as her name is encouraged to contact me--I would be grateful for any additional information.

Those listed below are probable/possible children of Alexander and/or Catherine. They are not listed in birth order as no birth or baptismal dates are known, except in the case of James Paule. G. Andrews Moriarty proposed that there was an Alexander Ennis, Jr. but Saxbe noted that there is no evidence and that the error was due to a misreading of land records.

Catherine’s probable illegitimate child by William Paule:

James Paule, born 7 Apr 1657 in Taunton, Bristol, Massachusetts, married Mary —, a defendant 23 Dec 1676 in the Bristol County Court of Common Pleas in a case of trespass but was acquitted, bought land 5 Mar 1683 from Edward Bobbit and 5 Mar 1685 from Thomas King, a proprietor of the South purchase, signed a petition 11 Oct 1708 for the South precinct to be set off as a new town, an inhabitant of Dighton, Bristol, Massachusetts upon its organization in 1712, sold land 18 Mar 1723 to Joseph Atwood. will dated 28 Sep 1723 and proved 14 Jan 1724/5, estate appraised 23 Mar 1724/5.

Alexander and Catherine’s proposed children are:

1	Elizabeth Enos, married 1) William Harris 24 July 1672 on Block Island, Rhode Island, deeded land adjoining the Great Salt Pond on Block Island from her groom William (who gave it to “Elizabeth Enos” “my supposed wife” and her first child), a deed of land received 8 Dec 1680 by William on her behalf from Robert and Margaret Guthry “for the love we bear her…for the hayrs of her body,” moved to Lyme, New London, Connecticut (probably due to “repeated raids by pirates and privateers, both French and English” on Block Island) about 1691, deeded with 12 Jun 1693 John a dwelling house at Block Island to John Rodman, married 2) Richard Smith before Feb 1694/5 and 3) Roger Alger, Sr. in 1711-1712, sued with Roger by William Harris for a settlement of his father and Elizabeth late husband William Harris’ estate, produced receipts as the relict and executrix of Richard Smith from Richard’s sons-in-law in 1725, died in 6 Jul 1729 in Lyme, New London, Connecticut, buried at Meeting House Hill Cemetery, Lyme, New London, Connecticut (age on her headstone is almost certainly inaccurate). Husband 1: William Harris, a blacksmith, one of the witnesses of a deed in January 1669/70 of land at Block Island that had formerly been owned by Alexander Ennis, land at Block Island deeded to him by Alexander Ennis Feb 1678/9, witnessed a deed 1 Sep 1679 from John and Margaret (Dodge) Rathbone to son John, named as the heir of Alexander Ennis in 1679, bought a smith shop and a small parcel of land 11 Jun 1691 from Christopher Swaine at Lyme, New London, Connecticut, living 12 Jun 1693 when he appeared in a deed, first record of the settlement of his estate Sep 1693 at Lyme, New London, Connecticut. Husband 2: Richard Smith, of Lyme, New London, Connecticut, son of Richard and Mary (Kerley) Smith, married twice before his marriage to Elizabeth, will dated 7 Mar 1701/2, died 8 Mar 1701/2. Husband 2: Roger Alger, of Lyme, New London, Connecticut, a widower at the time of his marriage to Elizabeth, will written 15 Apr 1725 and proved 19 Nov 1725.
2	William Ennis, married Cornelia Viervant, lived in Kingston, Ulster, New York, died before 10 May 1717. Wife: Cornelia Viervant, b. in Kingston, Ulster, New York to Cornelis Arentsen Viervant and Jeanne Lesueur, first cousin of Jannetje Lesueur below, lived at Fordham (now a part of the Bronx, New York City, New York) in 1675, guardians appointed to her after her father's death in 1675 were Resolved Waldron and Johannes Vermilye, m. 2) Lambert Brink 10 May 1717 in Kingston, Ulster, New York (banns 21 Apr).
3	Thomas Ennis, married Jannetje Lesueur, first cousin of Cornelia Viervant below, appeared in baptismal records at Kingston, Ulster, New York 1695-1700. Wife: Jannetje Lesueur, dau. of François Lesueur and Jannetje Hillebrant, m. 1) Jan Jansen Postmael.
4	Mary (Ennis?), married John Dodge 4 Feb 1696 in New Shoreham (on Block Island), Washington, Rhode Island. Husband: John Dodge, son of Tristram Dodge, freeman Jul 1670, bought land from brother Israel Dodge on Block Island 1 Oct 1720, sold land at Block Island 1 Feb 1724/5.
5	Catherine Innis, employed by William Worth, examined August 19, 1678 by the chief magistrate at Nantucket, Massachusetts and admitted to being with child and that the father was Dennis Manning (which he denied), affirmed on 24 Jun 1679 (after the birth of her child) that the child’s father was Dennis and the court him to maintain the child and her to nurse her, sentenced 30 Sep 1679 to be whipped “fifteen stripes” or pay a fine, probably married 1) Dennis Manning. A petition of 30 May 1739 noted that Dennis and their son William who was to take of his parents had both died “while Dennis' wife yet lived and had nothing to support her.” The house and land that had been given to William was sold “to procure funds for her maintenance.” The petition mentioned that the widow had married again. Husband 1: Dennis Manning, an early settler on Nantucket, gave to son William a house and land on the condition he support Dennis and his wife during their lives but his widow outlived both him and William. Husband 1: -- --. Name unknown. Assuming that Catherine Innis was indeed the wife of Dennis Manning, she would have been the widow of Dennis Manning mentioned in the 1739 petition as having married again.

Summary of Sources

Bliss, William Root, Quaint Nantucket, Boston: Houghton & Mifflin, 1896.
Brigham, Clarence S., The Early Records of the Town of Portsmouth, vol. III (Court Orders, 1651-1661), Providence, RI: E. L. Freeman & Sons, 1901, pgs. 379.
Clapham, Rev. F. W., “Births, Marriages and Deaths in Lyme, Conn.,” New England Historic Genealogical Register, vol. 23, October 1869, p. 425.
Gravestone of Elisabeth Alger, Meeting House Hill Cemetery, Old Lyme, New London, Connecticut.
Hoes, Roswell Randall (comp.), Baptismal and Marriage Registers of the Old Dutch Church of Kingston, Ulster County, New York, Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1997 (originally published by DeVinne Press (New York), 1891).
Manning, William Henry, The Genealogical and Biographical History of the Manning Families of New England and Descendants, Salem: The Salem Press Co., 1902.
Paul, Edward Joy, The Ancestry of Katharine Choate Paul, Now Mrs. William J. Young, Jr., Milwaukee: Burdick & Allen, 1914.
Shurtleff, Nathaniel B., Records of the Colony of New Plymouth, in New England, vol. III (Court Orders, 1651-1661), Boston: Press of William White, 1855, pgs. 110-112.
Torrey’s New England Marriages to 1700. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: Torrey, Clarence Almon, New England Marriages Prior to 1700, Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015.
Vital Records of Taunton, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850, Vol. I—Births, Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1929.
White, Lorraine Cook (ed.), The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Records, Lyme Vital Records 1667-1852, Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1994-2002.
Will of Roger Alger, Ancestry.com. Connecticut, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Connecticut County, District and Probate Courts. Notes: New London District, Probate Packets, A-Ames, S, 1675-1850.
Woodward, Theron Royal, Dodge Genealogy: Descendants of Tristram Dodge, Chicago: Lanward Publishing Co., 1904.

Banks, Charles E., “Scotch Prisoners Deported to New England by Cromwell, 1651-52,” speech printed in Bowles, Francis Tiffany, Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, October 1927 meeting, vol. 61, Massachusetts Historical Society.
Bowerman, Robert H., “Additional Material Pertaining to the Harris Family of Block Island and Dutchess County,” New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, vol. 124, Oct 1993, pgs. 222.
Carlson, Stephen P., The Scots at Hammersmith, Saugus, MA: Eastern National Park & Monument Association, 1976.
Gerrard, Christopher, Graves, Pam, Millard, Andrew, Annis, Richard, and Caffell, Anwen, Lost Lives, New Voices: Unlocking the Stories of the Scottish Soldiers from the Battle of Dunbar 1650, Oxford: Oxbow Books, 2018. (herein cited as Gerrard et al.)
Johnston, Arran, ‘Essential Agony’: The Battle of Dunbar 1650 (Century of the Soldier 1618-1721 series, No. 45), Warwick: Helion & Company Limited, 2019.
Jones, Roderick Bissell, “The Harris Family of Block Island and Dutchess County, N. Y.,” New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, vol. 84, Jul 1953, pgs. 134-148.
Moriarty, G. Andrews, “The Scotch Prisoners at Block Island,” Rhode Island Historical Society Collections, Vol. 13, Jan 1920, pgs. 28-35.
Moriarty, G. Andrews, “Additions and Corrections to Austin’s Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island,” The American Genealogist, vol. 19, January 1943, pgs. 129-135.
O’Brien, Michael J., Pioneer Irish in New England, New York: P.J. Kenedy & Sons, 1937.
Regan, Janet and White, Curtis, Hammersmith Through the Historical Texts, Chapter 2 in Griswold, William A. and Linebaugh, Donald W. (ed.), Saugus Iron Works: The Roland W. Robbins Excavations, 1948-1953, Saugus, MA: Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site. PDF available at https://www.nps.gov/sair/learn/historyculture/robbinsexcavationsbook.htm, last accessed 29 April 2021.
Reid, Stuart, Dunbar 1650: Cromwell’s Most Famous Victory, Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2004.
Reese, Peter, Cromwell’s Masterstroke: Dunbar 1650, Barnsley, South Yorkshire: Pen & Sword Books Ltd., 2006.
Saxbe, William B., Jr., "Four Fathers for William Ennis of Kingston: A Collective Review," New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, vol. 129, Oct 1998, pgs. 227-238.
Saxbe, William B., Jr., "Who Was the Mother of James Paule (1657-1724) of Taunton, Massachusetts?," The American Genealogist, vol. 73, Oct 1998, pgs. 312-315.

Photos

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Scanned image of an inventory, showing a list of 35 Scots, valued at 350 pounds — A portion of the 1653
inventory of the Saugus
ironworks, showing a
list of Scottish indentured
servants, including "Allex.
Ennis" (7th line down)

Source Materials

Click on each category below to expand and see the copies of sources used to create the biography above (copyrighted and other restricted items are listed in the summary of sources above but not included below). Click again to close.

Records of Baptisms of the Reformed Church at Kingston, Ulster, NY.

Page Number	Baptism Number	Baptism Date	Parents	Child	Witnesses
44	835	1694	William Annis	Alexander	(No witnesses named.)
		18 Nov.	Cornelia Viervant
45	865	1695	Thomas Ennis	Jannetje	Henrick Boogerssen.
		29 Sept.	Jannetje Francois		Jannetje Mertissen.
48	923	1696	William Ennis	Cornelis	Jannetje Ennis.
		6 Sept.	Cornelia Veervant
52	1014	1698	Thomas Annis	Rachel	Lucas De Witt.
		9 Jan.	Jannetje La Chair		Antje Tilba.
53	1034	1698	Willem Ennis	Cornelis	Geertruy Pieters.
		8 May	Cornelia Post
58	1159	1700	Thomas Ennis	Helena	Jan Post.
		3 March	Jannetje Legier		Cornelia Martensen.
62	1235	1701	William Ennis	Catharina	Jan Janssen Post.
		20 April	Cornelia Viervand		Antje Post.
69	1408	1703	William Ennis	Jannetje	Abraam Post.
		17 July	Cornelia Veervand		Antje Post.
77	1583	1706	William Mines	Jannetje	Jan Pearson.
		18 Aug.	Cornelia Mines		Antie Pearson.
87	1801	1709	Willem Annist	Alexander	Thomas Herris.
		18 Sept.	Cornelia Viervant		Catharyn Honnist.
97	2020	1712	Wilhem Ennes	Wilhem	Wiljam West.
		27 Jan.	Cornelia Vier-Vant		Mary West.

Births, Marriages and Deaths in Lyme

Roger Alger, Senr., was married to Elizabeth, his now wife in 1711-1712, by Joseph Peck, Justis.

Source: Clapham, Rev. F. W., “Births, Marriages and Deaths in Lyme, Conn.,” New England Historic Genealogical Register, vol. 23, October 1869, p. 425.

Kingston Marriage Register

Page 533, Marriage # 367
1717 10 May.
LAMMERT BRINK, j. m., born in Horly (Hurley), and CORNELIA VIERBRAND, widow of WILLEM ENNES, born in Kingstown. Banns registered, 21 April.

Source: Hoes, Roswell Randall (comp.), Baptismal and Marriage Registers of the Old Dutch Church of Kingston, Ulster County, New York, Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1997 (originally published by DeVinne Press (New York), 1891).

Taunton Births

Paull,

James, s. William, Apr. 7, 1657.

Source: Vital Records of Taunton, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850, Vol. I—Births, Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1929, Taunton Vital Records, p. 327.

Lyme Vital Records

Alger, Elizabeth, wid. Roger, late of Lyme, formerly w. of William Har[r]is, d. July [], 1720. Attested by Benjamin DeWolf.

Source: White, Lorraine Cook (ed.), The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Records, Lyme Vital Records 1667-1852, Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1994-2002, p. 2.

The Early Records of the Town of Portsmouth

[1310] Be it Knowen vnto all men by these prescents yt I Nickolas Browne of portsmouth in Roade Hand in ye Colloney of prouidence plantation in New Eingland haue for good Caueses and Concidration mee their vnto mouinge as allsoe for A full and vallewable Satisfaction recaiued in hand by me ye Nickolas: doe by these presents bargaine and sell vnto Ellexander Enos one Acre of land sittiated within the boundes of portsmouth aboue said : and bounded as follueth videl ye one Side with ye bound of Tho. Lawton Nine Rodes broode and ye other End with ye land of ye said Nickolas being Tenn Roodes and one halfe broode ye one side allsoe bounded with ye said Nickolas his land being fiftene roodes longe and ye other side Butting vpon the Comon Nienetene rods longe Together with all ye benefites priueledges or prouits their to belonging or any waies appertaing: these giueinge and by these prescents granting from me the said Nickolas in heairs Exetutors administrators or asignes all my right Titel Claime or intrest in or to ye abouesaid Acre of land and Conferming the same vpon the abouesaid Ellexander his heirs Excutors Adminnistrators or Asignes for Euer to haue and hould and peaceably to injoy all former Couenants Contracts morgages leases or deads of sale or any asignation what soe euer. as all after Claimes made by me ye said Nickolas my heirs Executors administrators or asignes to be void and of none Efect and this writing is to stand in full force pouer and vertew unto the aboue Said Ellexander his heirs Excutors adminnistrators or asignes for Euer wittness my hand and Scale this fourtene day of may in the yeare of Grace one Thowsand Sixe hundred fiftey and Nine

Signed Sealed and deliuered The marke of
in the preasetes of Nickolas Browne
Thomas wood his marke
William Hall

A True Copey per me Thomas Cornell Towne Clarke

Source: Brigham, Clarence S., The Early Records of the Town of Portsmouth, vol. III (Court Orders, 1651-1661), Providence, RI: E. L. Freeman & Sons, 1901, pgs. 379.

Records of the Colony of New Plymouth, in New England

Page 110-111 (3 February 1656):

Att this Court, the cunstable of Taunton brought a certaine Scote, a single man, and an Irish woman named Katheren Aimes, whome hee had apprehended vpon suspision of comiting adultery each with other; but the Court, haueing examined them, could not proceed to punish them for want of clearer euidence; but haueing intelligence that sundry in Taunton could giue euidence in the case, whoe were not psent, the Court comited the said man and woman to the custidy of the marshals vntill the next Court, and summoned in the wittnesses to appeer att the said Court, vizt. Alexander Aines, John Muckclay, Daniell Muckeney, Scotsmen, and a certaine Irish woman named Elizabeth; her other name non psent doe know.

Pages 111-112 (5 March 1656/7):

ATT this Court, Wiliam Paule, Scotchman, for his vnclean and filthy behauiour with the wife of Alexander Aines, is centanced by the Court to bee forthwith publickly whipt, and and to paye the officers the charges of his imprisonment and punishment, which accordingly was pformed.
Att this Cour, Katheren Aines, for her vnclean and laciuiouse behauior with the abouesaid Wiliam Paule, and for the blasphemes words that shee hath spoken, is centanced by the Court to bee forthwith publickly whipt heer att Plymouth, and afterwards att Taunton, on a publicke training day, and to were a Roman B cutt out of ridd cloth and sowed to her vper garment on her right arme; and if shee shalbee euer found without it soe worne whil shee is in the goument, to bee forthwith publickly whipt.

Source: Shurtleff, Nathaniel B., Records of the Colony of New Plymouth, in New England, vol. III (Court Orders, 1651-1661), Boston: Press of William White, 1855, pgs. 110-112.

Quaint Nantucket

August 19, 1678. Katterine Innis being examined by Mr Coffin Chefe magistrate saith that she is with child and being asked whose it is She answered it is Denis Mannings—speaking in his presence—which he denied…

November 7th, 1678. Denis maning appears and is bound to ye Court.

June 24th, 1679. Where as Kattering Innis formerly did say that she was with child by dennis maning and now the child being born still affirmes the child is dennis mannings — The Court doth order that Denis maning shal take care for the mayntenance of the child and mayntayne it as it ought to be, he being legally the father of it. And Katteren Innis is bound over to the next Court to make her appearance. The Court order that Katteren Innis shal nurse dennis mannings child which she laid to his charge, and the Court wil se her master William Worth paid.

September 30th 1679. Katteren Innis being bound over appeareth. The Court hath ordered that she shall be whipt fifteen stripes or pay five pound.

Source: Bliss, William Root, Quaint Nantucket, Boston: Houghton & Mifflin, 1896, pgs. 49-50.

The Genealogical and Biographical History of the Manning Families of New England and Descendants

I. DENNIS MANNING was an early settler on Nantucket island, off the coast of Mass. With the exception of one item, knowledge of the family is derived from Savage's Genealogical Dictionary (see ‘additions’ at the end of one of his volumes). I find no trace of any one in the male line after the third generation who is likely to have been a descendant, but have made no investigation on Nantucket. The fact that several of the daughters married there is against the theory that the family returned to England; it may have become extinct in the male line, or the survivors may have removed to a distance. Mass. Archives [17-591] show a petition, 1739, May 30, of the selectmen of Sherborn, now Nantucket, and the paper relates that Dennis Manning gave to his son William a house and land on condition that the said son supported Dennis and wife during their lifetime, but father and son both having died, while Dennis' wife yet lived and had nothing to support her, the petitioners pray for permission to sell the house and land to procure funds for her maintenance. Granted. The paper also mentions that William left two ‘orfans,’ and that their mother had married again. Here knowledge of the family ends. Dennis m. 1678, Catherine Innis.

Source: Manning, William Henry, The Genealogical and Biographical History of the Manning Families of New England and Descendants, Salem: The Salem Press Co., 1902, p. 776.

The Ancestry of Katharine Choate Paul, Now Mrs. William J. Young, Jr.

7001 James Paul, born in Taunton Apr. 7, 1657, was defendant Dec. 23, 1676, in the Court of Common Pleas for Bristol county in an action of trespass brought by Jarard Talbuts. plaintiff, and having appeared was acquitted: bought lands of Edward Bobbit Mar. 5. 1683, and is supposed to have married soon afterward: bought lands of Thomas King Mar. 5, 1685: became a proprietor of the South purchase; joined with his brothers John and Edward, brother-in-law Thomas Jones and others in signing a petition Oct. 11, 1708. that the South precinct might be set off as a new town; became an inhabitant of Dighton. by reason of its organization in 1712: was chosen in 1714 to see upon what grounds Swansea men hold a mile of land out of our Grand Deed: attended a meeting of the proprietors of the South purchase Mar. 25. 1717: obtained judgment in the Court of Common Pleas at Bristol in April. 1717, on a plea of trespass originally brought against him by John and Joanna Godfrey; testified concerning a path in Dighton July 10. 1717: witnessed the will of Thomas Jones Jan. 25, 1723: sold lands to Joseph Atwood Mar. 18. 1723; made his will Sep. 28, 1723, and having left to my son James one-half of my lands in Rocky woods charged with the payment of legacies, and to my son William the residue of my estate, appointed the latter to be executor, and died soon afterward. His will was probated Jan. 14, 1724-5. His estate, appraised Mar. 23, 1724-5, was worth four hundred thirty pounds. His widow was Mary. Their children, bom in that part of Taunton which became Dighton, were: i. James, b. about 1685, m. Mary Phillips; 2. Mary, b. about 1687, m. Daniel Bartlett; 3. Hannah, b. about 1689, m. Robert Pigsley; +4. William, b. about 1691, m. Mary Whitmarsh.

Source: Paul, Edward Joy, The Ancestry of Katharine Choate Paul, Now Mrs. William J. Young, Jr., Milwaukee: Burdick & Allen, 1914, pgs. 16-17.

Dodge Genealogy: Descendants of Tristram Dodge

2. JOHN2 DODGE (Tristram1). Freeman July, 1670. Wife, Mary. New Shoreham rec. say John Dodge m. Feb. 4, 1696. Bought land in Block Island Oct. 1, 1720, from his brother Israel of New London. Sold land in Block Island Feb, 1, 1724-5.

Source: Woodward, Theron Royal, Dodge Genealogy: Descendants of Tristram Dodge, Chicago: Lanward Publishing Co., 1904, p. 6.

PAUL, James (1657-1724) & Mary _____; by 1685; Taunton {Paul Anc. 16, 17}

Source: Torrey’s New England Marriages to 1700. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: Torrey, Clarence Almon, New England Marriages Prior to 1700, Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015.

Roger Alger's will and inventory

Click the button below to view Roger's probate records:

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Meeting House Hill Cemetery, Old Lyme, New London, Connecticut

Gravestone of Elisabeth Alger — Elisabeth Alger
Photo credit: Ellen
O (46888377),
findagrave.com

Transcription:

“Here Lyeth the Body of Elisabeth the Releck of mr Roger Alger who died July the 6 1729 in the 66 year of her Age”