Banyan trees and Family trees have a lot in common, if
they are like mine. One commonalty is the many branches that grow roots replant
themselves. Sometimes one cannot tell
which is the main trunk. The line
I am researching is a good example of this concept. Each one of the branches by itself seems quite
right. When you put them together and
see the interaction between the lines, it might make you go umm…
This line is for my immigrant 9th great grandfather, Mark
Parsons late of Kennebec, York, Maine with a little bit of Boynton, Gray and Savage thrown in.
Mark Parsons (1620/21- ca.1665)
is a very elusive ancestor. Only the bare facts have been found for him. There is another Parsons family in the Hadley-Northampton area of Massachusetts with many of the same given names. Please don't get them confused. There is no proof of a relationship to this family.
At least two
of Mark's children, John and Anne (my 8th grandfather and 8th grandmother) were
both born in England. History tells us that Mark and his family did
not immigrate to Maine until around 1665.
Mark was born about 1620/21 and married in England to Elizabeth in 1645.
Researchers have not found her maiden
name, but it maybe Hardy.
The Maine
Historical and Genealogical Recorder tells us
that in the recorded deeds for
that area, Mark’s son-in-law William Bordman and daughter Elisabeth bought
Mark’s land from his widow Elizabeth.
The deeds are dated September, 1666 and state that Mark was decreased. The land is around the Bath, Maine area at
the lower end of the Sagadahoc (now the Kennebec) River. Mark’s widow, Elizabeth married John Spencer
of Parker’s Island.
 |
| Fort Popham Kennebec River |
Anne Parsons (1646-1677) married
William Hilton (1635-1699) of York, Maine.
He is the son of William Hilton, who with brother Edward Hilton, founded Dover, NH. Their son Mainwaring Hilton marries
Elizabeth
Thompson, the great granddaughter of my immigrant ancestor – Anthony Emery into
the Emery line. Mainwaring and Elizabeth's granddaughters through their son Ezekiel - Sarah and Mary Lord Hilton. Sarah married John Boynton, the grandson of
Caleb Boynton and Christian Parsons (Anne’s niece), their daughter Elizabeth
married John Gray. Ezekiel’s daughter
Mary Lord Hilton married James Savage.
Their son Jacob married Hannah Gray, the daughter of Elizabeth Boynton and
John Gray. Now, without any more
intermarriages this Mary Lord Hilton and James Savage marriage brings the ancestors directly down through the Gerrish line.
 |
| Early Cordwainer |
John resided in Portsmouth, NH and worked as a cordwainer during the 1674-1677 time frame for my 6th grandfather – Nehemiah Partridge whose mother was the sister of Captain William Gerrish of Newbury, MA, my direct ancestor!
By 1687, John was in York, Maine. The city had granted him 12 acres under condition that he apply his trade. The land was at York Corner. After his apprenticeship with Partridge, John set up a tannery and conducted business from his property in York until his death. John was killed in the Candlemas Day Massacre, January 1692. His estate was not settled until July 1705. Bondsman was Thomas Trafton, my 7th grandfather, whose descendants married down into my Emery line through his son Zacchaeus.
John’s son, Elihu (1684-1730)
married Ruth Wilson, daughter of Gowen Wilson of Kittery, my 9th grandfather. Their son Joseph married Miriam Preble daughter of Joseph Preble. Joseph and Miriam had a son John, whose
daughter Lydia (1783-1850) marries Jotham Trafton, my 4th generation
grandfather. Remember the bondsman for
John Parsons’ estate in the second generation – Thomas Trafton?
John’s daughter Christian
(1685-1766) married Caleb Boynton of Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts. Caleb was
buyer and seller of land in and around the York area. He died in Wiscasset, Somerset, Maine. Their son, John was the descendant into the Gerrish line.
Truly, a generational version of ‘All in the Family’! I wonder how many degrees of Kevin Bacon this would be?
Mark Parsons
|
|||||||||||
John
m. Elizabeth Hunkins
|
Anne
Parsons m. William Hilton
|
||||||||||
Christian m.
Caleb Boynton |
Elihu m.
Ruth Wilson |
Mainwaring Hilton m. Elizabeth
Thompson
|
|||||||||
John m.
Sarah Hilton |
Joseph m.
Miriam Preble |
Ebenezer Hilton m. Mary Lord
|
|||||||||
Elizabeth m.
John Gray |
John m.
Mary Moore |
Mary Lord Hilton m.
James Savage |
Sarah Hilton m.
John Boynton |
||||||||
Hannah m.
Jacob Savage |
Lydia m.
Jotham Trafton |
Jacob Savage m.
Hannah Gray |
Elizabeth m.
John Gray |
||||||||
John Gray Savage m. Sarah Oliver
|
John Trafton m.
Lavinia Chadbourne |
John Gray Savage m.
Sarah Oliver |
Hannah m.
Jacob Savage |
||||||||
Patience m.
John Oliver Rattleff |
John Frank Trafton m. Sarah
Dixon
|
Patience m.
John Oliver Rattleff |
John Gray Savage m.
Sarah Oliver |
||||||||
John Nelson Rattleff m. Lectina
McKinney
|
Emma Trafton m.
George P. Emery |
John Nelson Rattleff m. Lectina
McKinney
|
Patience m.
John Oliver Rattleff |
||||||||
Ida Rattliff m.
Chester Gerrish |
Forrest B. Emery m.
Ruth Whitman |
Ida Rattliff m.
Chester Gerrish |
John Nelson Rattleff m.
Lectina McKinney |
||||||||
Bertram L Gerrish m. Elinor
Emery
|
Elinor Emery m.
Bertram Gerrish |
Bertram L Gerrish m.
Elinor Emery |
Ida Rattliff m.
Chester Gerrish |
||||||||
Bertram L Gerrish m.
Elinor Emery |
|||||||||||
Sources:
Candlemas Massacre - https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6296506944698632013#editor/target=post;postID=4717673887278835419;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=16;src=postname
Ancestry of Elihu Parsons
Ancestry of Elihu Parsons
The Maine Historical and Genealogical Recorder, Volumes 8-9
https://books.google.com/books? id=iUs9AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA82&dq=mark+parsons&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj__MStg8rTAhUi74MKHbeQAZEQ6AEIRTAG#v=onepage&q=Parsons&f=false
Pictures courtesy of Google images
