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Ancestors of Margaret May Harvey

1156. Thomas* Gilbert II, born 25 Apr 1589 in Beverley, Yorkshire, England; died 05 Sep 1659 in Wethersfield, CT. He was the son of 2312. Thomas Gilbert I and 2313. Aleny~ Brooke. He married 1157. Lydia*~ 29 Aug 1610 in Meriden, Warwickshire, England.

1157. Lydia*~, born Abt. 1596 in England; died 1654 in Windsor, Hartford County, CT.

Notes for Thomas* Gilbert II:
FROM THE WEBSITE: "The Genealogy of Walter Gilbert"
"ANCESTORS: THE TENTH GENERATION BACK"
Walter Gilbert: 6700 Cipriano Road; Lanham, Maryland, USA; 20706-3877; 301-552-9191
Last modified 02/23/00 21:18:22

Thomas Gilbert of Braintree, Massachusetts, and Windsor and WetherSfield, Connecticut was born in England in about 1582, and died in Wethersfield, Connecticut, on September 5, 1659. Lydia _____ was born in England and died in Hartford, Connecticut, in January, 1654/5. They were married in England before 1618. She took the name Lydia Gilbert. They had seven children:

i. Jonathan Gilbert [#512]: He was born in England in about 1618, and died in Hartford on December 19, 1682.
ii. Thomas Gilbert was born in England about 1620, and died in Springfield, Massachusetts, on June 5, 1662. He married Catherine (Chapin) Bliss on June 30 or July 1, 1655. She was born in England about 1626 and died in Springfield on February 4, 1712/3. She was the daughter of Deacon Samuel and Cicely (Penney) Chapin of Springfield and widow of Nathaniel Bliss. They had four children: Sarah, John, Thomas, and Henry.
iii. Ezekiel Gilbert was born in England about 1622. He living in 1664 when he was given a share of his father's estate. He is supposed to have been a mariner. Nothing has been found to indicate that he had a wife or family.
iv. Sarah Gilbert was born in England about 1624. She married Joel Jenkins. They had seven children: Lydia, Theophilus, Lemuel, Hannah, Ezekiel, Sarah, and Obadiah.
v. John Gilbert was born in England about 1626, and died in Hartford on December 29, 1690. He married Amy Lord. She was baptized at Towcester, England, on November 30, 1626; she was the daughter of Thomas and Dorothy (Bird) Lord [#2062/3] of Towcester and Hartford. vi. Josiah Gilbert: born in England about 1628; married (1) Elizabeth Belcher, (2) Mary (Harris) Ward.
vii. Obadiah Gilbert: born in England about 1630; married Elizabeth (Burr) Olmsted.

Thomas Gilbert and his descendants are the subject of the book "The Gilbert Family, Descendants of Thomas Gilbert," 1582(?)-1659 of Mt. Wollastin (Braintree), Windsor, and Wethersfield by Homer Worthing Brainard, Harold Simeon Gilbert, and Clarence Almon Torrey, 1953, from which the following is taken.

The earliest mention of Thomas Gilbert in any New England record is found in Boston Town Records (vol. 2, page 49 of the printed records). This is a record of grants of land to thirty-two men at Mt. Wollaston, formerly in the town of Braintree, but now within the limits of Quincy. The record in part is as follows:

"The same 24th day of twelfth month February 1639 ... and at the same meeting there was granted to Thomas Place of Mount Wollystone for five heads 20 acres there upon the covenant of 3s per acre.... The like to Thomas Gilbert of the same for 7 heads 28 acres there upon the same covenant of 3 shillings per acre." Thomas Gilbert's name stands eighth in the list of grantees, a position presumably of no significance. The expression "seven heads" means that his family consisted of the father and six sons, the female members not being considered in the grant. He had also a daughter Sarah and a servant or employee named Joel Jenkins. It thus appears that Thomas Gilbert with his large family and a servant was engaged in farming upon a grant of new land within the limits of the present town of Quincy from 1639 to 1644 or a little later. In 1668 the heirs of Thomas Gatlive of Braintree sold to Lieut. John Holbrook all their right to the mill, mill-ponds, water and water courses, commonage, feedings, messuages, tenements or dwelling houses, together with forty acres of upland lying near the said mill within a common fence, bounded with the said mill brook and pond toward the north and easterly with the land of Goodman Gilbert. [Suffolk County Deeds , vol. 5, p. 526.] Lands of Gregory Belcher are mentioned in this deed. As the site of the mill is known, the location of Gilbert's land can be approximated.

The site of the mill is marked at "Fort Square" (Granite and Pleasant Streets) in Quincy, Massachusetts and was probably directly north of Gilbert's land. There is a small "Gilbert Street" nearby. See the blueprint of land grants at Old Braintree, 1640–45, drawn in 1940 by Waldo C. Sprague of the Quincy Historical Society.

A petition of fourteen of the men of Braintree, dated May, i646, was addressed to the General Court "for the prswading or forcing Thomas Gilbert either to forbeare feeding yt iland or upland with certaine medowes of their environs, or else to lett it on reasonable termes to the petitioners." The Court determined that an order of Court made in 1643 applied to this case. [See Records of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay , vol. 2, p. 49 and vol. 3, p 67.] It would appear that Thomas Gilbert had left Braintree, and was still holding privileges of pasturage in that time, possibly leaving cattle there in charge of his son Josiah Gilbert, who soon married Elizabeth Belcher, daughter of Gregory Belcher. The exact date of his departure is not known, but it was probably in i 644 that he went to Windsor, Conn. The reasons of his going can be surmised. For ten years previous to 1644, there had been a constant flow of settlers from Massachusetts Bay to the rich lands on the Connecticut. Gilbert joined the movement, hoping to better his condition.

Francis, Henry, and John Stiles, brothers, were early settlers in Windsor, Conn. Previous to February 28, 1640/1, Francis Stiles held lands described as follows: "A homelot granted by the plantation, with some additions, thirteen and a quarter acres, bounded north by William Gaylord, Jr., south by John Stiles, west by Rocky Hill, east by his own meadow; also nine acres of meadow lying east of his home lot; also some addition in upland, thirty-two acres towards Pine Meadow, bounded north by Joseph Clark, south by Mr. St. Nicholas; also fifteen hundred acres east of the Great River."

About the time that Thomas Gilbert came to Windsor, Francis Stiles was preparing to remove to Stratford and had sold to William Hayden about twenty-six acres of his thirty-two-acre piece of upland, and on January 24, 1644/5, he sold the remainder, about five acres, to Thomas Gilbert. The deed contains the words "upon good consideration to me secured," which indicates that Gilbert paid little or no money down. Some years later and prior to August 20, 1652, this lot was in possession of John Drake, Sr., and had upon it "a Seler," house, garden, and fencings. These improvements were probably the work of Thomas Gilbert and probably built before April 22, 1649. The "Seler" was in all probability Gilbert's first habitation in Windsor, an underground house or dugout, commonly used by the first settlers, because it could be quickly and easily constructed, and thus afford shelter until a frame house could be built.

On September 12, 1647, Francis Stiles sold all his remaining holdings in Windsor to Robert Saltonstall, gentleman, of Massachusetts, and describes part of it "as at present in the tenure of Thomas Gilbert and John Bancroft." Clearly Gilbert leased more of the land than the five- acre lot which he purchased. It is not clear that the tenure terminated at the time of this sale or of the next in 1648, but it is probable that it terminated on or soon after November 24, 1648, when Saltonstall sold his Windsor holdings to Nicholas Davison of Charlestown, Mass. On March 31, 1665, Mr. Davison's widow sold the land to Josiah Ellsworth, and it continued in that family down to recent times. It is the land that lies about the Judge Oliver Ellsworth house, near Hayden's Station, in the northern part of Windsor. It is therefore possible to locate Thomas Gilbert's first residence in Windsor rather closely.

The Ellsworth House is owned and maintained by the Daughters of the American Revolution and may be seen on certain week days. Its location is indicated on the "Map of Haydens", 1885. See the Record of the Connecticut Line of the Hayden Family by Jabez H. Hayden, 1888; also Stiles, Ancient Windsor, maps facing pp. 145 and 149, vol 1.

In the month of March or April, 1649, Thomas Gilbert associated himself with Henry Stiles, and this, although with entire innocence on Gilbert's part, led to great misfortune to himself and his family. Stiles was a man of mature age, being past fifty, without wife or family, and boarded in Gilbert's house. Mrs. Gilbert performed many services for him in making and repairing his clothing, tending him in sickness and the like. There is not the slightest trace of any discord or ill feeling of either party to this arrangement. On November 3, 1651, Henry Stiles was accidentally shot in the back and died in consequence of the wound. It was on a training day and the trainband, according to the tradition preserved by President Ezra Stiles, was waiting upon Gov. John Winthrop when he was embarking for England to obtain the Connecticut charter. This charter was obtained in 1662. Therefore this tradition cannot be correct. Tradition apart, the death of Henry Stiles did occur at the time and in the manner related, as the records of the Particular Court, held December 4, 1651, attest:

Indictment of Thomas Allyn. "Thomas Allyn, thou art indited by the name of Thomas Allyn that not having that due fear of God before thine eyes for the preservation of the life of thy neighbor, didst suddenly, negligently, carelessly cock thy piece, and carry the piece just behind thy neighbor, which piece being charged and going off in thine hand, slew thy neighbor to the great dishonor of God, breach of the peace, and loss of a member of this commonwealth. What sayest thou, art thou guilty or not guilty?"

"The inditement being confessed, you (the jury) are to Inquire whether you finde the act to bee manslaughter or homicide by misadventure."

"The said Thomas Allyn, being Indited for the fact, the Jury finds the same to be Homicide by misadventure."

"The Court adjudges the said Thomas Allyn to pay to the country as a fine Ł20 for his sinful neglect and careless carriages in the premises and that he shall be bound to his good behavior for a twelve- month and that he shall not bear arms for the same term."

"Matthew Allyn Acknowledgeth himself bound to this commonwealth in a Recognizance of Ł10 that his sonne Thomas Allyn shall carry his good behavior for the space of a year ensuing."

The jury who brought in this just verdict numbered ten, four of them residents of Hartford, six of them residents of Windsor. This fact should be remembered in connection with another trial, soon to be related.

Thomas Gilbert brought in a bill against the estate of Henry Stiles. This bill shows that Gilbert, although careful and methodical in his business matters, could not write his own name, for he signs with his mark, a large "T". The account bears witness to the relations of Gilbert and his wife to Henry Stiles. It is more probable that Thomas Gilbert, after the sale of Francis Stiles's land in 1648, went to live in the house of Henry Stiles, than that Stiles went to live with Gilbert, because he was a landowner and Gilbert seems not to have been at this particular time. Of course both theories may be incorrect. They may have done these things as neighbors, without change of abode.

[Records of the Particular Court, in vol. 22, pp. 106–7 of the Collections of the Connecticut Historical Society , 1928. The spelling has been modernized.] It will be so assumed and better explains the account, which in full is as follows:

An account of debts dew
from Henry Stiles of Windsor to Thomas Gilbert
Imp. Reckoned the 25th of March 1649 and then all Accots being levied, there remained dew at the 22nd of April next ensuing from Henry Styles to the said Thomas Gilbert five pounds I say dew to mee the said Thomas Gilbert. Ł s. d.
05: 00: 00
Since due for diett beginning the 22nd of April 1649 to ye 3rd November 1651 he being by covenant to pay three shilling per week for his diett, the sum whereof amounting to nineteene pounds sixteene shillings I say 19: 16: 00.

We must not ascribe to English law alone the inhuman laws concerning witchcraft. The witchcraft delusion prevailed throughout Christendom from the early days of the Church down to the eighteenth century. The absolute belief in the reality of witchcraft and of its divinely ordained punishment was based upon the Hebrew code and held enthralled all Christian Europe. To deny it was the greatest of heresies. Mr. Taylor, in the monograph already mentioned, treats of this phase of the subject. For more extensive discussions, the reader may consult History of the Warfare between Science and Theology, by Andrew D. White and History of the Inquisition by J. Henry Lea and other works.

Lydia Gilbert's Conviction of Witchcraft
The dismal roll of witch hangings in Connecticut begins with that of Alse Young who was hanged May 26, 1647. No witches were ever burned in New England. Mary Johnson of Wethersfield went the same way in 1648, and on March 6, 1651/2, John Carrington and his wife Joan were convicted., There is a record showing that both were executed. The fifth victim was Lydia, wife of Thomas Gilbert of Windsor. We shall give as full an account as possible of her case.

Who Lydia Gilbert's accusers were is unknown. Whether ignorant gossip or private enmities brought this ghastly charge upon her, it is impossible to say. That the charge of procuring the death of Henry Stiles could be brought against her seems incredible, when everyone of mature age in Windsor must have known that Henry Stiles met his death by the carelessness of Thomas Allyn, three years before. But this charge was brought against her. She was charged with other witchcrafts besides this, and it may be that she was one of those unfortunate women to whom suspicion of witchcraft clung, for reasons which cannot now be stated. The evidence upon which Lydia was convicted, and the names of the witnesses against her, are unknown. The juror's oath, the names of the jury and the names of the magistrates who heard the case are on record, as well as the indictment and the verdict. Six of the magistrates and jurymen were residents of Windsor, five of Hartford, and the rest belonged to Wethersfield. The Court considered the case in a special session beginning November 28, 1654. The jury brought in the indictment and the records seem to show that they brought in the verdict as well. These two functions of a jury are separate in our time, but in 1654 it was not so. This seems repugnant to our ideas of justice. We should like to hope that the Court proceeded after the ancient English manner, receiving the indictment from the jury, hearing the evidence and deciding in accord therewith.

The Juror's Oath
You do sware by the Ever living god that you will diligently enquire & faithfully present to this Court what soe Ever you know to bee a Breach of any Established Law of this Jurisdictyon so far as may conduce to the glory of god and the good of the commonwealth as allso what Oreginall offences you shall Judge meete to be presented, as you expect helpe from god in Jesus Christ.

The Indictment
Lydea Gilburt thou art here indited by that name of Lydea Gilburt that not having the feare of god before thy Eyes thou hast of late years or still dust give Entertainment to Sathan the greate Enemy of god and mankind and by his helpe hast killed the Body of Henry Styles besides other witchcrafts for which according to the law of god and the Established Law of this commonwealth thou Deservest to Dye.

The Verdict
Ye party above mentioned is found guilty of witchcraft by the Jury.

All the authorities upon the witchcraft cases state that she suffered death. An accusation or even the suspicion of witchcraft was so deadly a thing that persons involved fled from the Colony in dread haste if possible. Ten years later, Katherine Harrison of Wethersfield was convicted by a jury, but public opinion had so far changed that the ministers were called in to advise, and although their advice was for technicalities only, the magistrates were divided in opinion and after a year's imprisonment Mrs. Harrison was allowed to go to Westchester in New York jurisdiction. There is no evidence that there was any intervention in behalf of Mrs. Gilbert. The governor of the Colony did not have the power of reprieve or pardon at this time. An appeal to the General Court was possible, but there is no record of such an appeal in this or in any of the witchcraft cases. An appeal to Parliament would have been beyond the means of the defendant, and impossible to obtain on other grounds. England had seen more than seventy executions in one county in the space of one year under the law of 1603. It is doubtful if Lydia Gilbert escaped. She may have suffered the penalty either in the jail yard at Hartford or more probably on the lot at the corner of Albany Avenue and Vine Street in Hartford, where the public gallows is known to have stood a little later. Perhaps the huge, ancient elm tree whose trunk and roots were removed about 1913, when in its vigor, witnessed the sad scene. It is incorrect to say, as does George L. Clark in his History of Connecticut, that the witches were hanged on the rocky ridge where Trinity College now stands. The ridge, however, was a place of execution during the Revolutionary period.

After the death of his wife, Thomas Gilbert sold his place in Windsor to Thomas Bissell and retired to Lieut. John Hollister's farm at Nayaug, then in the limits of Wethersfield, but now in Glastonbury, east of the Connecticut River, in the district of South Glastonbury. This farm had been leased by Jonathan, John and Josiah Gilbert as early as 1651. Here Thomas Gilbert remained until his death in 1659. He left some personal estate but the amount of his debts was large and very little was left to be distributed to his heirs. One reference in records has been found to an event in which Thomas Gilbert figured while he lived in Wethersfield. It is not proof that he was independent in his religious or theological opinions, because as tenant of Lieut. Hollister he was doubtless almost compelled to sign the paper. Rev. Mr. Russell, the minister of Wethersfield, excommunicated Lieut. John Hollister without giving him an opportunity to know what the charges against him were. Feeling ran high in regard to the matter. A petition, dated Aug. 17, 1658, was presented to the Governor and Magistrates of the Colony for Hollister's relief. Among the signers were Thomas Gilbert and John Harrison (husband of Katherine Harrison, already mentioned).

In an old book of rates at Windsor, regarding the seating of the people in the meetinghouse, is read: "Those that were placed in the short seats, what they have paid William Haydon 7s., Henry Stiles 3s., Thomas Gilbert 7s." [Stiles, Ancient Windsor , vol. 1, p. 179.] Stiles dates this paper January 18, 1659/60. It must refer to a seating of the meetinghouse made before the death of Henry Stiles who deceased in 1651. In that case, the Thomas Gilbert mentioned would be our Thomas Gilbert. This record tells nothing as to Thomas Gilbert's religious views or habits. All men of the town were compelled by law to attend the services in the meetinghouse on Sabbaths, and to pay for the support of the minister. A very early list of the members of the church at Windsor does not contain the name of Thomas Gilbert, and we must conclude that he was not a member of the Puritan or Congregational church of Windsor or at Wethersfield.

Thomas Gilbert was aged 77 years at the time of his death. Governor John Winthrop, Jr., who for many years was governor of Connecticut, son of the Governor John Winthrop who was founder of Massachusetts, practiced medicine as well as politics. His medical journal has been preserved. In it is an entry, indicating that Winthrop attended or prescribed for Thomas Gilbert in his illness in 1659 and giving his age as 77 years.

The inventory of the estate of Thomas Gilbert given below is copied from the original on file at the State Library, Hartford. There is a copy of it, made in 1663, in volume two of the records of the Particular Court and Probate, page 127, probate side. The other documents concerning this estate are also copied in this volume, the original papers having perished.

Was Lydia Gilbert the wife or the daughter of Thomas Gilbert? Dr. Henry A. Stiles in his History of Ancient Windsor , makes Lydia the daughter of Thomas Gilbert and other writers have done the same. If Lydia was the daughter, she could not have been much more than twenty years of age in 1654 and at the time when Henry Stiles was shot, still younger. It was generally elderly women who were accused of witchcraft. The cooking, sewing and other household work done in the house when Stiles and Gilbert were associated in farming are much more likely to have been done by Gilbert's wife than by a supposed daughter. The same Lydia appears in the later generations of the Gilbert family. This would have been less likely to occur had Lydia been the daughter and not wife of Thomas Gilbert. After the death of Lydia, the home at Windsor was broken up, the family scattering in different directions, some to places outside the Colony. Thomas Gilbert left Windsor for good, and his older sons found a place for him on their leased farm at Nayaug. The view that Lydia was the wife and not the daughter is supported by a number of reasons, although the evidence is indirect and circumstantial. Those who hold that Lydia was a daughter and not the wife of Thomas Gilbert point to the item in the administrators' account "To charges of funeralls for him and wife" and assert that Gilbert's wife died about the time he did. The postponed charges for the funeral of the wife can be explained on the hypothesis that Jonathan and John Gilbert paid the funeral expenses of Mrs. Gilbert at the time of her death, and later collected it from their father's estate. Two other hypotheses are possible: that Lydia was not executed after all and died about the time Thomas did; or that he had married again and that the funeral refers to this unknown wife.

The account book of Henry Wolcott, planter at Windsor, in 1650 and 1653 has been preserved. Among the accounts for these years is one with a person whom Mr. Wolcott always calls Mr. Gilbert or Gilburd, never mentioning his Christian name. A personal examination of the ancient book showed that Wolcott wrote the name Gilbert or Gilburd in every instance. Hence it was supposed that the account was with Thomas Gilbert and his wife. But later consideration, taking into account the nature of the articles and commodities bought and exchanged, led to the conclusion that the wrong deduction had been made. Thomas Gilbert and his wife would have been unable to supply or produce the articles that this Mr. Gilbert gave to Mr. Wolcott in exchange for commodities received from him. There was in Windsor at this time a Mr. William Gibbard and his wife, a merchant of means, and he is probably the person mentioned in the Wolcott account. His name was sometimes written Gilbert. He removed to New Haven Colony and became a prominent man there, always mentioned with the title "Mr." before his name, whereas Thomas Gilbert never had this title, being obliged to content himself with the title "goodman."

It has been questioned by some that the persons named as heirs in the distribution of Thomas Gilbert's estate in 1663 were his children. The proof that this was the fact may be stated here. It is known from the Massachusetts Colonial Records that Sarah, daughter of Thomas Gilbert, then of Braintree, became the wife of Joel Jenkins. Since Sarah was entitled to a share in the estate it is certain that the others who were given a share in the distribution of the estate by the court were also children of Thomas Gilbert and hence her brothers. Jonathan Gilbert of Hartford in his will of i674 makes "my brother John Gilbert" one of the overseers to help his wife Mary whom he had made executrix. In a deposition of 1684 Josiah Gilbert mentions "my brethren Jonathan and John Gilbert." Obadiah Gilbert of Fairfield in his will dated August 23, 1674, makes "my Loving Brethren Jonathan Gilbert and Josiah Gilbert to be my overseers." As far as yet discovered, there is no other proof that Thomas Gilbert of Springfield and Ezekiel Gilbert of Lynn were sons of the first Thomas Gilbert of Braintree, Windsor and Wethersfield, except that contained in the distribution of the estate of Thomas Gilbert in 1663.

Sources:
Brainard, Homer Worthing; Gilbert, Harold Simeon; and Torrey, Clarence Almon, The Gilbert Family—Descendants of Thomas Gilbert, 1582(?)-1659 of Mt. Wollastin (Braintree), Windsor, and Wethersfield, 1953

Walter Gilbert: 6700 Cipriano Road; Lanham, Maryland, USA; 20706-3877; 301-552-9191---end of excerpt of "The Genealogy of Walter Gilbert".

ALSO FROM "THE GENEALOGY OF WALTER GILBERT" WEBSITE
Searching for the Ancestors of Thomas Gilbert
From pages 9–12 of The Gilbert Family, Descendants of Thomas Gilbert, 1582(?)–1659, of Mt. Wollaston (Braintree), Windsor, and Wethersfield by Homer Worthington Brainard, Harold Simeon Gilbert, and Clarence Almon Torrey

Thomas Gilbert was born in England about 1582. The exact date of his birth or baptism and the names of his parents are unknown. Statements as to his origin have been made which are mistaken or false. Many years ago, Mr. J. Gilbert Thornton published a small volume concerning Jonathan Gilbert of Hartford and some of his descendants. The work contains much that is of historical value, but Mr. Thornton did not know that Jonathan Gilbert was a son of Thomas Gilbert of Braintree. He hardly discusses the origin of Jonathan at all, but inclines to the hypothesis that he may have been a descendant of Sir Humphrey Gilbert.

More recently it has been stated that Richard Gilbert of North Petherwin in Devonshire, whose family bore the same arms as the Gilberts of Compton in the same county, removed to North Burlingham in Norfolk, was lord of Walcote Hall, and had a grandson, John Gilbert, who lived at Little Ellingham in Norfolk. This son, John Gilbert, married Ann and was the father of Jonathan Gilbert who came to New England. This pedigree is entirely fictitious, palmed off upon some Americans who were seeking for the ancestors of Jonathan Gilbert of Hartford. Although it is an utterly false pedigree, some reasons for its rejection will be given.

Harleian Mss. 1163–1164 in the British Museum give Richard Gilbert of North Petherwin as the son of William Gilbert of Bridgerule in Cornwall and state that Richard, although married, died without issue. In 1914 a gentleman and genealogist, the best authority upon the records and families of Norfolk, wrote as follows: "Years ago I lived in the neighborhood of North Burlingham and saw the registers and knew members of the Gilbert family living in the district and amused myself by making a sketch pedigree. The Gilberts that I knew belonged to the family of Cantley and Chedgrave, and although I never could trace the precise connection with the old Burlingham family, I fancy there was a connection." He then gave the line of the lords of the manor of Walcote Hall in the following manner: "Robert Gilbert of North Burlingham died in 1485. His son Thomas died in 1508. Thomas was the father of Richard of North Burlingham who died in 1558, as lord of the manor, leaving sons Thomas, John and Richard. Thomas Gilbert, son of Thomas and Audrey, died in 1627, leaving sons Thomas and John, born in 1579, who died possibly in 1653. Thomas Gilbert, brother of this John, last lord of the manor, had only daughters who, with their husbands, sold the manor in 1654. It is very precarious to assume that John Gilbert, born in 1579, was identical with John Gilbert of Little Ellingham, which is twenty miles from North Burlingham, as the crow flies." The pedigree gives only the line of the lords of the manor, the younger sons being omitted. Probably there were numerous lines of Gilberts descending from the first Robert, who settled in the country around North Burlingham. John of Little Ellingham may have belonged to one of these.

Some of the efforts made to find the parentage of Thomas Gilbert of Braintree will be apropos. The late Frank Newton Gilbert of Portland, Oregon, was much interested in this matter. Had he lived longer, it is probable that results would have been obtained. Mr. Gilbert caused to be examined all the Gilbert wills and administrations of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, the records of which are at Somerset House in London. Gilberts from all parts of England were found, for this is by far the largest and oldest probate registry in England. Unfortunately, not a single clue to any Thomas Gilbert that could have been the Thomas Gilbert of Braintree was found. Mr. Gilbert undoubtedly would have continued the search in other probate registries of England, of which there are a considerable number, but his death in 1916 put an end to the search.

[ continued at Notes of Lydia, wife of Thomas Gilbert. ]

More About Thomas* Gilbert II:
Immigrant Ancestor: Bef. 1639, England to MA
Land Grant: 24 Feb 1638/39, Mt. Wollaston, MA, 28 acres
Legal 1: May 1646, Petition to the General Court regarding abandoned land of Thomas Gilbert.
Legal 2: 03 Nov 1651, death of Henry Stiles at Windsor, CT.
Legal 3: 04 Dec 1651, Particular Court rules Thomas Allyn guilty of homicide by misadventure in the death of Henry Stiles.
Legal 4: Aft. 03 Nov 1651, Thomas files account of debts due him from estate of Henry Stiles.
Migration 1: Bef. 1639, England to Massachusetts
Migration 2: Abt. 1644, Braintree, MA, to Windsor, CT
Migration 3: Abt. 1654, Windsor, CT, to Wethersfield, CT
Occupation: farmer
Probate: 1663, distribution of estate.
Property 1: 24 Jan 1644/45, Francis Stiles sold 5 acres to Thomas Gilbert at Windsor, CT.
Property 2: Abt. 1654, Thomas sells property in Windsor, CT, to Thomas Bissell.
Record: 1659, John Winthrop, Jr., treated Thomas & recorded same in his journal.
Residence 1: Braintree, MA ²⁶⁰
Residence 2: Aft. 1639, Mt. Wollaston, MA ²⁶¹
Signer: 17 Aug 1658, Petition of relief for Lt. John Hollister.

Notes for Lydia*~:

LYDIA GILBERT, VICTIM OF RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE

Lydia may have been executed for witchcraft. She was convicted, but, apparently, no records exist to document the usual penalty for this offense. She was born in England and came to America, a part of the great Puritan migration that sought to escape the horror of religious persecution, only to succomb to the intolerance of her own people. Witches in America were not burned at the stake. They were hung. Following are some examples of some of the material about this subject from the internet. ---RCM
[]

From: "SALEM TRIALS HOMEPAGE"

The Dead [at Salem]

Nineteen accused witches were hanged on Gallows Hill:

Bridget Bishop, George Burroughs, Martha Carrier, Martha Corey, Mary Easty, Sarah Good, Elizabeth Howe, George Jacobs, Sr., SUSANNAH MARTIN, Rebecca Nurse, Alice Parker, Mary Parker, John Proctor, Ann Pudeator, Wilmott Redd, Margaret Scott, Samuel Wardwell, Sara Wildes, John Willard.

One accused which was pressed to death when he failed to plea guilty or not guilty: Giles Corey.

Other accused witches died in prison:

Sarah Osborn, Roger Toothaker, Lyndia Dustin, Ann Foster. (As many as thirteen** others may have died in prison.) **sources conflict as to the exact number of prison deaths.

An example of a death warrant:
(Death Warrant for Sarah Good, Rebecca Nurse, SUSANNAH MARTIN, Elizabeth Howe, and Sarah Wilds)

To Goerge: Corwine Gent'n High Sheriff of the county of Essex

Whereas Sarah Good Wife of William Good of Salem Village Rebecka Nurse wife of Francis Nurse of Salem Village SUSANNAH MARTIN of Amesbury Widow Elizabeth How wife of James How of Ipswich Sarah Wild wife of John Wild of Topsfield all of the County of Essex in thier Maj'ts Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England Att A Court of Oyer & Terminer held by Adjournment for Our Severaign Lord & Lady Kind Wiliam & Queen Mary for the said County of Essex at Salem in the s'd County onf the 29th day of June [torn] were Severaly arrigned on Several Indictments for the horrible Crime of Witchcraft by them practised & Committed On Severall persons and pleading not guilty did for thier Tryall put themselves on God & Thier Countrey whereupon they were Each of them found & brought in Guilty by the Jury that passed On them according to their respective Indictments and Sentence of death did then pass upon them as the Law directs Execution whereof yet remains to be done: Those are Therefore in thier Maj'ties name William & Mary now King & Queen over England &ca: to will & Command you that upon Tuesday next being the 19th day for [torn] Instant July between the houres of Eight & [torn] in [torn] forenoon the same day you Safely conduct the s'd Sarah Good Rebecka Nurse Susann Martin Elizabeth Howe & Sarah Wild From thier Maj'ties goal in Salem afores'd to the place of Execution & there Cause them & Every of them to be hanged by the Neck untill they be dead and of the doings herein make return to the Clerke of the said Court & this precept and hereof you are not to fail at your perill and this Shall be your sufficient Warrant given under my hand & seale at Boston th 12't day of July in the fourth year of Reign of our Soveraigne Lord & Layd Wm & Mary King and Queen &ca:

*Wm Stoughton
Annoq Dom. 1692

(Reverse)

Salem July 19th 1692

I caused the within mentioned persons to be Executed according to the Tenour of the with[in] warrant

*George Corwin Sherif

PETITIONS OF TWO CONVICTED WITCHES AWAITING EXECUTION
(Petition of Mary Easty)

The humbl petition of mary Eastick unto his Excellency's S'r W'm Phipps to the honour'd Judge and Bench now Sitting in Judicature in Salem and the Reverend ministers humbly sheweth

That whereas your poor and humble petitioner being condemned to die Doe humbly begg of you to take it into your Judicious and pious considerations that your Poor and humble petitioner knowing my own Innocencye Blised be the Lord for it and seeing plainly the wiles and subtility of my accusers by my Selfe can not but Judge charitably of others that are going the same way of my selfe if the Lord stepps not mightily in i was confined a whole month upon the same account that I am condemned now for and then cleared by the afflicted persons as some of your honours know and in two dayes time I was cryed out upon by them and have been confined and now am condemned to die the Lord above knows my Innocence then and Likewise does now as att the great day will be know to men and Angells -- I Petition to your honours not for my own life for I know I must die and my appointed time is sett but the Lord he knowes it is that if it be possible no more Innocent blood may be shed which undoubtidly cannot be Avoyded In the way and course you goe in I question not but your honours does to the uttmost of your Powers in the discovery and detecting of witchcraft and witches and would not be gulty of Innocent blood for the world but by my own Innocency I know you are in this great work if it be his blessed you that no more Innocent blood be shed I would humbly begg of you that your honors would be plesed to examine theis Afflicted Persons strictly and keep them apart some time and Likewise to try some of these confesing wichis I being confident there is severall of them has belyed themselves and others as will appeare if not in this wor[l]d I am sure in the world to come whither I am now agoing and I Question not but youle see and alteration of thes things they my selfe and others having made a League with the Divel we cannot confesse I know and the Lord knowes as will shortly appeare they belye me and so I Question not but they doe others the Lord above who is the Searcher of all hearts knows that as I shall answer att the Tribunall seat that I know not the least thinge of witchcraft therfore I cannot I dare not belye my own soule I beg your honers not to deny this my humble petition from a poor dy ing Innocent person and I Question not but the Lord will give a blesing to yor endevers

(Reverse) To his Excellency S'r W'm Phipps: Govern'r and to the honoured Judge and Magistrates now setting in Judicature in Salem.

(Petition of John Proctor)
SALEM-PRISON, July 23, 1692.

Mr. Mather, Mr. Allen, Mr. Moody, Mr. Willard, and Mr. Bailey

Reverend Gentlemen.

The innocency of our Case with the Enmity of our Accusers and our Judges, and Jury, whom nothing but our Innocent blood will serve their turn, having Condmened us already before our Tryals, being so much incensed and engaged against us by the Devil, makes us bold to Beg and Implore your Favourable Assistance of this our Humble Petition to his Excellency, That if it be possible our Innocent Blood may be spared, which undoubtedly otherwise will be shed, if the Lord doth not mercifully step in. The Magistrates, Ministers, Jewries, and all the People in general, being so much inraged and incensed against us by the Delusion of the Devil, which we can term no other, by reason we know in our own Consciences, we are all Innocent Persons. here are five Persons who have lately confessed themselves to be Witches, and do accuse some of us, of being along with them at a Sacrament, since we were committed into close Prison, which we know to be Lies. Two of the 5 are (Carriers Sons) Youngmen, who would not confess any thing till they tyed them Neck and Heels till the Blood was ready to come out of their Noses, and ‘tis credibly believed and reported this was the occasion of making them confess that they never did, by reason they said one had been a Witch a Month, another five Weeks, and that their Mother had made them so, who has been confined here this nine Weeks. My son William Proctor, when he was examin'd, because he would not confess that he was Guilty, when he was Innocent, they tyed him Neck and Heels till the Blood gushed out of his Nose, and would have kept him so 24 Hours, if one more Merciful than the rest, had not taken pity on him, and caused him to be unbound. These actions are very like the Popish Cruelties. They have already undone us in our Estates, and that will not serve their turns, without our Innocent Bloods. If it cannot be granted that we can have our Trials at Boston, we humbly beg that you would endeavour to have these Magistrates changed, and others in their rooms, begging also and beseeching you would be pleased to be here, if not all, some of you at our Trials, hoping thereby you may be the means of saving the shedding our Innocent Bloods, desiring your Prayers to the Lord in our behalf, we rest your Poor Afflicted Servants,

JOHN PROCTOR, etc.

WARRANT FOR THE ARREST OF ELZABETH PROCTOR AND SARAH CLOYCE (APRIL 4, 1692):

Salem Aprill. 4'th 1692

There Being Complaint this day made (Before us) by capt Jonat Walcott, and Lt Natheniell Ingersull both of Salem Village, in Behalfe of theire Majesties for themselfes and also for severall of their Neighbours Against Sarah Cloyce the wife of peter Cloyce of Salem Village; and Elizabeth Proctor the wife of John Proctor of Salem farmes for high Suspition of Sundry acts of Witchcraft donne or Committed by them upon the bodys of Abigail Williams, and John Indian both of Mr Sam parris his family of Salem Village and mary Walcott daughterof the abovesaid Complainants, And Ann Putnam and Marcy Lewis of the famyly of Thomas Putnam of Salem Village whereby great hurt and dammage hath beene donne to the Bodys of s'd persons above named therefore Craved Justice.

You are therefore in theire Majest's names hereby required to apprehend and bring before us Sarah Cloyce the wife of peter Cloyce of Salem Village and Elizabeth proctor the wife of John Procter of Salem farmes; on Munday Morneing Next being the Eleventh day of this Instant Aprill aboute Eleven of the Clock, at the publike Meeting house in the Towne, in order to theire Examination Relateing to the premesis aboves'd and here of you are. not to faile Dated Salem Aprill 8'th 1692

To George Herick Marshall of the County of essex
John Hathorne
Jonathan Corwin Assists ---end of excerpt from "SALEM TRIALS HOMEPAGE"
[]

FROM THE WEBSITE: "The Genealogy of Walter Gilbert"
"ANCESTORS: THE TENTH GENERATION BACK"
Walter Gilbert: 6700 Cipriano Road; Lanham, Maryland, USA; 20706-3877; 301-552-9191
Last modified 02/23/00 21:18:22

Lydia Gilbert's Conviction of Witchcraft

The dismal roll of witch hangings in Connecticut begins with that of Alse Young who was hanged May 26, 1647. No witches were ever burned in New England. Mary Johnson of Wethersfield went the same way in 1648, and on March 6, 1651/2, John Carrington and his wife Joan were convicted., There is a record showing that both were executed. The fifth victim was Lydia, wife of Thomas Gilbert of Windsor. We shall give as full an account as possible of her case.

Who Lydia Gilbert's accusers were is unknown. Whether ignorant gossip or private enmities brought this ghastly charge upon her, it is impossible to say. That the charge of procuring the death of Henry Stiles could be brought against her seems incredible, when everyone of mature age in Windsor must have known that Henry Stiles met his death by the carelessness of Thomas Allyn, three years before. But this charge was brought against her. She was charged with other witchcrafts besides this, and it may be that she was one of those unfortunate women to whom suspicion of witchcraft clung, for reasons which cannot now be stated. The evidence upon which Lydia was convicted, and the names of the witnesses against her, are unknown. The juror's oath, the names of the jury and the names of the magistrates who heard the case are on record, as well as the indictment and the verdict. Six of the magistrates and jurymen were residents of Windsor, five of Hartford, and the rest belonged to Wethersfield. The Court considered the case in a special session beginning November 28, 1654. The jury brought in the indictment and the records seem to show that they brought in the verdict as well. These two functions of a jury are separate in our time, but in 1654 it was not so. This seems repugnant to our ideas of justice. We should like to hope that the Court proceeded after the ancient English manner, receiving the indictment from the jury, hearing the evidence and deciding in accord therewith.

The Juror's Oath

You do sware by the Ever living god that you will diligently enquire & faithfully present to this Court what soe Ever you know to bee a Breach of any Established Law of this Jurisdictyon so far as may conduce to the glory of god and the good of the commonwealth as allso what Oreginall offences you shall Judge meete to be presented, as you expect helpe from god in Jesus Christ.

The Indictment

Lydea Gilburt thou art here indited by that name of Lydea Gilburt that not having the feare of god before thy Eyes thou hast of late years or still dust give Entertainment to Sathan the greate Enemy of god and mankind and by his helpe hast killed the Body of Henry Styles besides other witchcrafts for which according to the law of god and the Established Law of this commonwealth thou Deservest to Dye.

The Verdict

Ye party above mentioned is found guilty of witchcraft by the Jury.

All the authorities upon the witchcraft cases state that she suffered death. An accusation or even the suspicion of witchcraft was so deadly a thing that persons involved fled from the Colony in dread haste if possible. Ten years later, Katherine Harrison of Wethersfield was convicted by a jury, but public opinion had so far changed that the ministers were called in to advise, and although their advice was for technicalities only, the magistrates were divided in opinion and after a year's imprisonment Mrs. Harrison was allowed to go to Westchester in New York jurisdiction. There is no evidence that there was any intervention in behalf of Mrs. Gilbert. The governor of the Colony did not have the power of reprieve or pardon at this time. An appeal to the General Court was possible, but there is no record of such an appeal in this or in any of the witchcraft cases. An appeal to Parliament would have been beyond the means of the defendant, and impossible to obtain on other grounds. England had seen more than seventy executions in one county in the space of one year under the law of 1603. It is doubtful if Lydia Gilbert escaped. She may have suffered the penalty either in the jail yard at Hartford or more probably on the lot at the corner of Albany Avenue and Vine Street in Hartford, where the public gallows is known to have stood a little later. Perhaps the huge, ancient elm tree whose trunk and roots were removed about 1913, when in its vigor, witnessed the sad scene. It is incorrect to say, as does George L. Clark in his History of Connecticut, that the witches were hanged on the rocky ridge where Trinity College now stands. The ridge, however, was a place of execution during the Revolutionary period.---end of the excerpt of "The Genealogy of Walter Gilbert".

DEATH OF LYDIA GILBERT

An article appearing in the "American Quarterly", 1968, has been referenced which states that Lydia was hung.
[]

ALSO FROM "GENEALOGY OF WALTER GILBERT" WEBSITE
[ continued from Notes of Thomas Gilbert, husband of Lydia. ]

Searching for the Ancestors of Thomas Gilbert
From pages 9–12 of The Gilbert Family, Descendants of Thomas Gilbert, 1582(?)–1659, of Mt. Wollaston (Braintree), Windsor, and Wethersfield by Homer Worthington Brainard, Harold Simeon Gilbert, and Clarence Almon Torrey

continuing...Another line of research, which has not been followed out, is suggested by the following facts. Mrs. Katherine Harrison of Wethersfield, Conn., widow of John Harrison, had a comfortable estate from her husband. She was much persecuted and her estate much damaged by enemies in Wethersfield.ł This finally culminated in a charge of witchcraft against Mrs. Harrison. Witchcraft was at that time a capital crime and such a charge was a very serious matter for its victim. She defended herself with spirit, but was convicted. However, she was not executed, but managed to get away with her daughters to Westchester in the province of New York. Josiah Gilbert had been there in an earlier period and probably suggested Westchester as a safe refuge for Mrs. Harrison. There are several indications that the Gilberts of Hartford and Wethersfield were kindred in some degree to Mrs. Harrison or to her husband. An entry in Canterbury Marriage Licenses, Series 1, p.199, reads as follows: "Richard Harrison of St. George's, Canterbury, plumber, and Catherine Gilbert of St. John's in Thanet, widow, at St. George's." Date is June 22, 1609. This conjunction of names may be only a coincidence, and the persons mentioned have not been identified, but it may be that here is a possible clue to the origin of Thomas Gilbert of Braintree.

Another effort along different lines has been made by Mr. Clarence A. Torrey, a descendant of Thomas Gilbert and much interested in solving the problem of Thomas Gilbert's origin. Mr. Torrey has searched printed parish registers and other records of places in England for a Thomas Gilbert who might be identical with Thomas Gilbert, the emigrant. The effort has not been successful, but has revealed much else of importance and shows the magnitude of the problem of identification.---end of the excerpt of "The Genealogy of Walter Gilbert".
[]

FROM "ROOTS OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS"
page 79

"Noah Webster, a descendant of executed witch Lydia Gilbert, invented the dictionary."---"Roots of the Rich & Famous"

1654 (9) NEng/CT Winsor 1 Gilbert, Lydia f Hanged. (Source: Drake, Frederick C. "Witchcraft in the American Colonies, 1647-62" American Quarterly 20 (1968):694-725) ---http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~marc-carlson/witchtrial/na.html
[]

ANCESTRY.COM

Database: Salem Witches

Gilbert, Lydia
Year: 1654 Town: Windsor
Colony: Connecticut
Outcome: Convicted and possibly executed
Notes:
[]

http://www.theyliveagain.com/Gilbert/witchcrafthanging.htm

A Victim of Witchcraft Hysteria
Lydia Gilbert

Despite popular belief, no witches were burned at the stake in the American colonies, but UC historian Terri Premo says instead, they were hanged and drowned. Most of the trials took place in 17th century New England, particularly in Salem, Massachusetts, where 19 people, mostly women, were executed.

"Believing in witchcraft was not perceived as unusual. The smartest people in the colonies would blame events on witchcraft. It was connected to the culture they brought with them from Europe," says Premo. Even children were jailed for witchcraft and in 1692, Massachusetts governor William Phips ordered a halt to the trials when his own wife, Lady Mary Phips, was suspected of witchcraft.

Who Lydia Gilbert's accusers were is unknown. Whether ignorant gossip or private enmities brought this ghastly charge upon her, it is impossible to say. That the charge of procuring the death of Henry Stiles could be brought her seems incredible, when everyone of mature ages in Windsor must have known that Henry Stiles met his death by the carelessness of Thomas Allyn, three years before (as a result of a firearms accident which Allyn had been tried upon). But this charge was brought against her.

She was charged with other witchcraft besides this, and it may be that she was one of those unfortunate women to whom suspicion of witchcraft clung, for reasons which cannot now be stated. The evidence upon which Lydia was convicted, and the names of the witnesses against her, are unknown.

The juror's oath, the names of the jury and the names of the magistrates who heard the case are on record, as well as the indictment and the verdict. Six of the magistrates and jurymen were residents of Windsor, five of Hartford and the rest belonged to Wethersfield. The Court considered the case in a special session beginning November 28, 1654.

The jury brought in the indictment and the records seem to show that they brought in the verdict as well. These two functions of a jury are separate in our time, but in 1654 it was not so. This seems repugnant to our ideas of justice. We should like to hope that the Court proceeded after the ancient English manner, receiving the indictment from the jury, hearing the evidence and deciding in accord therewith.

The Juror's Oath

You do sware by the Ever living god that you will diligently enquire and faithfully present to this Court what soe Ever you know to bee a Breach of any Established Law of this Jurisdictyon so far as may conuce to the glory of god and the good of the commonwealth as also what Oreginall offences you shall Judge meete to be presented, as you expect helpe from god in Jesus Christ.

The Indictment

Lydea GiIburt thou art heere indited by that name of Lydea Gilburt that not hauing the feare of god before thy Eyes thou hast of late years or still dust giue Entertainement to Bather [sic] the greate Enemy of god and mankinde and by his helpe hast killed the Body of Henry Styles besides other witchcrafts for which according to the law of god and the Estableshed law of this Comon wealth thou deservest to Dye.

The Verdict

Ye Party aboue mentioned is found guilty of witchcraft by the Jury.

Sources:

THE ENGLISH ORIGIN OF THOMAS GILBERT OF BRAINTREE, MASS., AND WETHERSFIELD, CONN. By Douglas Richardson, M.A.. The American Genealogist, July 1992

Drake, Frederick C. "Witchcraft in the American Colonies, 1647-62" American Quarterly 20 (1968):694-725)

The Hanging of a Witch Dog

John Bradstreet of Rowley was arrested and tried at Salem in 1652, "for having familiarity with the
devil." In court he admitted that he "read a book of magic and heard a voice asking what work I had for him," meaning that he had used magic to get the devil to talk to him. Bradstreet testified under oath, "I asked the devil to make a bridge of sand over the sea, and make a ladder of sand to heaven, then go to God and come to me no more." The Magistrates found John only guilty of lying and ordered him to be fined and whipped. He found himself in another dilemma in 1692, however, when he was accused of witchcraft. He was indicted for "inciting a dog to afflict others," which could mean a death sentence during Witch Times. John ran away and hid in the woods, thus avoiding the hangman, but the dog he incited to give two teenage girls "the evil eye," was hanged.

Never Walk Under a Ladder

One superstition from witch-hanging days that persists to this day is never to walk under a ladder. The reason is that when a witch was pushed from the ladder at the gallows, she usually dropped under the ladder, and if you were standing there, this "fire-brand of hell" might touch you. It was thought that if a witch touched anything, especially during her last gasp on earth, it would soon die. Therefore, it was believed that if you walked under a ladder leaning on the gallows tree even after the witch had been cut down and disposed of, her curse might still be lingering there, and you would die within a year.
[]

More About Lydia*~:
Cause of Death: executed as a witch
Historical: 1654, Victim of the Puritan witch trials.
Immigrant Ancestor: Bef. 1639, England to MA
Legal: 28 Nov 1654, Special session of Court finds Lydia guilty of witchcraft.²⁶²

More About Thomas* Gilbert and Lydia*~:
Marriage: 29 Aug 1610, Meriden, Warwickshire, England

Children of Thomas* Gilbert and Lydia*~ are:

	578	i.		Thomas* Gilbert III, born 16 Feb 1610/11 in Berry, Pomeroy, Devonshire, England; died 05 Jun 1662 in Springfield, Hampton County, MA; married Catherine* Chapin 17 Sep 1639 in All Saints, W. Bromich, Staffordshire, England.
		ii.		Obadiah Gilbert, Sr, born 1616; died 1658; married Elizabeth Burr Bef. 1658; born Abt. 1637; died Unknown.

More About Obadiah Gilbert and Elizabeth Burr:
Marriage: Bef. 1658

iii.

Jonathan Gilbert, born 1617 in England; died 10 Dec 1682 in Hartford, CT²⁶³; married (1) Mary White 29 Jan 1645/46 in Hartford, CT; died Unknown; married (2) Mary Welles 1650; born Abt. 1626; died 03 Jul 1700.

Notes for Jonathan Gilbert:
Amos Richardson of Boston and Stonington
http://www.familytreemaker.com/_glc_/5830/5830_117.html

Page 117

APPENDIX A.

THE JONATHAN GILBERT FAMILY OF

HARTFORD.

JONATHAN GILBERT, born in England about 1616, was a land owner at Hartford, Conn., in 1645. He died there December 10, 1682, aged 64. It is probable that he had been in the colony a number of years, as in 1646 he was engaged in difficult negotiations with Uncas and other Indian chiefs, and as an interpreter with the Indians in April, 1647. His ancestry is unknown. Savage says: "William Gilbert, of Windsor, 1640, was perhaps the father of Jonathan, Thomas, John, Josiah and Obadiah, but no proof." If this is true (?) it is remarkable that he did not have a grandchild that bore his name.

Thomas, of Windsor and Springfield; John, of Hartford, and Josiah, of Wethersfield, were known to have been his brothers, and according to family tradition Obadiah, of Fairfield, was also. He married first, Mary, daughter of Elder John White, Jan. 29, 1645-6. She died in 1650 and he married second, Mary, daughter of Hugh and Frances Wells and niece of Governor Thomas Wells.

His second wife was remarkable for her prudence and energy, which contributed greatly to his success, and who was honored in the lives of her children. He died Dec. 10, 1682, aged 64, and his second wife July 3, 1700, aged 74. They lie side by side in the ancient burial place at Hartford.

Jonathan Gilbert was the chief inn-holder of Hartford, and in his house the General Court usually met when they did not sit at the meeting-house. Mrs. Gilbert conducted the inn for many years after her husband's death.

He was a man of business, respectability and enterprise, engaged in the trade and coasting business of the young colonies, possessed of great wealth for the day, collector of customs at

Page 118

Hartford, marshal of the colony--an office corresponding to that of high sheriff--a deputy to the General Court. He acquired large tracts of land in the different settlements, which he subsequently divided among his children.

There is some reason to think that Jonathan Gilbert belonged to the family of Sir Humphrey Gilbert, of Devonshire, but there is no proof of it, and the pedigree which has been published showing such connection is not credited. Unfortunately spurious pedigrees have been printed about many prominent New England families. It is certain, however, that he was worthy to have been a relative of Sir Humphrey, and after reading the account of him given by J. Wingate Thornton it would almost seem as though he were. This was printed in the New England Genealogical Register, vol. 4, and it is regretted that space will not permit giving it in full. After quoting from Gookin showing the perilous condition of affairs when the white settlements in Connecticut were threatened with destruction by the Indians, he says:

"The increasing power of the white men, and their aggressive policy, excited their jealousy, which was manifested by murders, firings, and all cruelties, of Indian revenge. Such were the state of affairs when the colony availed itself of Gilbert's services in perilous negotiations with these engaged, crafty and faithless savages. None but a resolute man, of a cool, penetrating eye, a wary watchfulness, and a fearless temper, could gain respect or safety among them. Uncas, like King Philip, was a patriot, and a settled hatred to his new neighbors fired his heart and mind, and filled the breasts of his people."

Mr. Homer W. Brainard, of Hartford, collected much valuable information about the family for Mr. John B. Bloss, of Washington, Mrs. Bloss being a descendant of Jonathan Gilbert. This has been printed by Mr. Bloss and from it some facts have been gleaned.

Jonathan Gilbert had two children by his first wife, Mary White:

i. JONATHAN, born May 11, 1648. He was so wayward
in his early manhood that his father left him a smaller
share of his estate than his brothers. After his father's
death he applied to the court for relief, saying that he had
become fully reconciled to his father, who had approved
of his marriage. The court, with the consent of Mrs.

Page 119

Gilbert, his stepmother, granted him a considerable increase
from his father's estate. He married Dorothy
Stow, daughter of Rev. Samuel, of Middletown, and died
in Middletown, Feb. 1, 1698. He had ten children,
recorded at Middletown.

ii. MARY, baptized Dec. 17, 1649, married first, John
Rossiter; second, Samuel Holton.

Jonathan Gilbert had seven other children by his second wife, Mary Wells.

iii. SARAH, born July 25, 1651, married Capt. Andrew
Belcher, of Boston. He was a member of the council
from 1702 to 1717 and Eliot says "was the most opulent
merchant in the town of Boston, a man of integrity and
honor, a friend to religion and learning." He died Oct.
31, 1717, his wife Jan. 26, 1689. Their seven children
were:

1. Andrew, born 1672, died unmarried.
2. Sarah, married first Joseph Lynde and second John Foye.
3. Elizabeth, born Jan. 12, 1678, married Daniel Oliver; their son
Peter Oliver, born in Boston, March 26, 1713, graduated at Harvard,
was appointed a justice of the Massachusetts Supreme
Court in 1756 and in 1771 became chief justice. See further
notice of him in Encyclopaedia Britannica.
4. Mary, born March 7, 1680, married George Vaughan of Portsmouth.
5. Jonathan, born Jan. 8, 1682, graduated at Harvard College in
1699. He traveled abroad for many years; on his return became
a merchant in Boston, was a member of the council for
several years, and in 1728 was sent as agent to England. In
Jan., 1729-30, he was commissioned Governor of Massachusetts,
which office he held for eleven years. In 1747 he was made
Governor of New Jersey, serving until his death in 1757. He
married first, Mary, daughter of Lieutenant Governor William
Partridge of New Hampshire and second, Mary Louisa Emilia
Teal. He had five children, all by his first wife.
Andrew, his eldest son, graduated at Harvard in 1724, was for a few years member of the council and died at Milton in 1771. Eliot says of him: "He possessed a handsome property without much patriotic zeal or literary taste."

Jonathan, second son of the Governor, graduated at Harvard in 1728 and was one of the early settlers of Chebucto, now Halifax. He was Chief Justice and Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia. Eliot says of him: "He was a man of excellent habits, prudent, upright, of great political integrity. His prejudices were much in favor of New England."

6. Ann, born March 30, 1684, married Oliver Noyes.
7. Martha, born March 29, 1686, married Anthony Stoddard.

Page 120

iv. LYDIA, born Oct. 3, 1654, married first, Stephen Richardson,
of Stonington, and second, (???) Chapman.

v. NATHANIEL, date of birth unknown, died unmarried.

vi. THOMAS, born in 1655, married first, Lydia Ballett and
second, Mrs. Mary Trowbridge. He had six children, and
resided in Boston.
He was Captain of the ship Swan, which was owned by his brother-in-law, Captain Belcher. During King William's war the French sent a squadron to sweep our commerce from the shores of New England. Captain Gilbert, with his associates, captured a French ship called the Saint Jacob. In 1695 he sailed for London, was taken by a French privateer and imprisoned for two months in France. The remains of Captain Gilbert and his wife Lydia rest in the "Granery burial ground" in Boston.

vii. SAMUEL, born about 1763, married Mary Rogers, and
resided in Hartford, where he was commissioned ensign
of the train band in 1698. In 1707 he removed to Colchester,
where he was appointed captain of the train band.
He died Aug. 5, 1733, at which time he resided in what
is now the town of Salem. He had six sons and one
daughter.
viii. EBENEZER, mentioned in his father's will; no further
account.
ix. RACHEL, married Sept. 22, 1686, Josiah Marshfield.
x. HESTER, married Charles Dickenson.

Jonathan Gilbert was a prominent man at Hartford and Marshal
of the Colony. In 1654 he visited Ninigrate. the famous Chief of the
Pequots, and made demands for the Commissioners of the United
Colonies, returning to Hartford on Sept. 18, with Ninigrate's answer.
Trumbell's History, I, 222.

This shows that he was regarded as a very brave and discreet man.

More About Jonathan Gilbert:
Land Grant: Aug 1661, Colonial land grant of 350 acres for services to the colony.
Legal: 1662, General Court granted him liberty to keep an ordinary at his house at Cold Spring.
Military 1: 1658, Served under Maj. Mason
Military 2: 1668, Commissioned Cornet of Troop of Horse
Occupation 1: Bet. 1646 - 1682, Indian interpreter
Occupation 2: Bet. 1646 - 1682, Marshal, Connecticut Colony
Occupation 3: 1654, received permission to set up a warehouse at the general landing place.
Occupation 4: 1659, Collector of Customs, Hartford
Political 1: May 1677, Deputy from Hartford to Connecticut legislature
Political 2: Townsman of Hartford several times.
Political 3: Oct 1677, Deputy from Hartford to Connecticut legislature
Political 4: May 1678, Deputy from Hartford to Connecticut legislature
Political 5: May 1681, Deputy from Hartford to Connecticut legislature
Probate: 01 Mar 1682/83, Will
Will: 10 Sep 1674

Notes for Mary Welles:
Jonathan Gilbert, husband of Mary Wells, may be the Jonathan Gilbert, son of Thomas Gilbert.

More About Jonathan Gilbert and Mary Welles:
Marriage: 1650

		iv.		Prudence Gilbert, born 1617; died Unknown.
		v.		Ezekiel Gilbert, born 17 Feb 1620/21; died Unknown.
		vi.		Giles Gilbert, born Abt. 1624; died Unknown.
		vii.		Sarah Gilbert, born 1624; died Unknown; married Joel Judkins; died Unknown.
		viii.		Joseph Gilbert, born Abt. 1626; died Unknown.
		ix.		John Gilbert, born 1626; died 1690 in Hartford, CT; married Amy Lord 1647 in Hartford, CT; born 1629 in Towcester, Northamptonshire, England; died 08 Jan 1690/91.

More About John Gilbert and Amy Lord:
Marriage: 1647, Hartford, CT

Mary Gilbert, born Abt. 1628; died Unknown.

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