I’d like to use these next two posts to introduce the two earliest generations I’ve discovered in my Bishop line.  Also, I’ll try to unravel some of the confusing stories about the four men named Edward Bishop who appear in Salem, Massachusetts records in 1692, the year of the most notorious of the witchcraft accusations and hangings.  I refer to these four men as Edward Bishop (1^st), Edward Bishop (2^nd), Edward Bishop (3^rd) and Edward Bishop, the sawyer.

Edward Bishop (1^st), was born in England in about 1619-20 and died in Salem Village/Beverly on 13 January 1695.  He may have been in the village of Beverly, Essex County, colony of Massachusetts Bay as early as 1639, but most certainly by 1644, when he married Hannah More (or Moore).

In 1646 a lot of 40 acres was granted to Edward “at a meeting of the seven men of Salem…Dec. 28, 1646”, described as “lying neere to the ffarmes at Bass River head to Nicholas Howards lott”.  Here's a copy of that grant to Edward:

Three children are known to have been born to Edward and Hannah:  Hannah, baptised 12 April 1646; Edward (2^nd), baptised 23 April 1648 – died in Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts in 1711; and Mary, baptised 12 October 1651.  All three children were born in Salem and baptised at the First Church of Salem.

In 1653, both Edward (1^st) and his wife Hannah were charged with “pilfering apples, a knife and a jerkin and for lying” (Edward); and for “stealing Indian corn and woolen and linen…, milking others cows, and for lying” (Hannah).  On the positive, ‘upright-citizen’ side, Edward Bishop “of Bass River” served as a constable in 1660.

Then in 1667, records of the town of Beverly show that Edward (probably the 1^st) was one of the founders of the First Church of Beverly.

An Edward Bishop is noted to have served in King Phillip’s War in 1675-76; this could have been either Edward (1^st) or (2^nd).  But a record in the Essex County quarterly courts is definitely about the eldest Edward, the 1^st.  From Volume VIII, June, 1681 (page 191), there is this court entry:  “Edward Bishop, aged sixty-three years, testified that John Balch, Benjamin’s father, owned it (some meadow land) forty years ago.  Sworn in court.”

A similar entry in the Essex County quarterly court in this same year of 1681 helps to verify Edward (2^nd)’s year of birth.  In Volume VIII, June 1681 (page 110) is the following entry:  “Edward Bishop, aged about thirty-five years, testified that he heard Backon say that Dodridge was a good seaman….Sworn, June 27, 1681, before Bartho. Gedny, assistant.”

Edward (2^nd) probably married in about the year 1669, to Sarah Wildes, daughter of John Wilde and Priscilla Gould.

Edward (2^nd) and Sarah had a farm in Salem Village – near the border with Beverly – and also ran an inn or tavern, for which they ran afoul of the ‘powers that be’ for doing so without a license.

Their children were (born in Salem Village or Beverly):

Edward (3^rd), born about 1671

Samuel, born about 1672; died 8 June 1726 in Attleboro, Bristol County, Massachusetts.

Jonathan, born about 1674; died in February of 1752

William, born about 1676

David, born about 1678; died in about 1716-17 in Ashford, Windham, Connecticut.

Priscilla, baptised 16 August 1681

Joseph, born 6 April 1683; died after 1711

Sarah, baptised 24 May 1685; died 10 November 1747, Rehoboth, Massachusetts

Benjamin, baptised 17 July 1687; died between 1711-1726

John, born about 1689; died 16 September 1748, Rehoboth, Massachusetts

Ebenezer, baptised 12 May 1695; died after 1711

There may have been one more child, but I’ve never found the record of another one’s name and birth date.  In the year 1710, Edward Bishop wrote to the committee in Essex County that was handling complaints of some of the accused and jailed in 1692.

After detailing their loss of livestock, property and ability to earn a living, he wrote:

the time that my sellf and wife were prisnors was thirtiey seven wekes all which tim cost me ten shillings pur weake for our bord besides other nesecri charges and prison fees which amounted to five pounds and I was cept from making eney improufment of my estate to provide for food for my family and had at that time twelve children the which I could have maintained out of the produce of my esteat could I have had the liberty to med the Improufment of It.

(See Essex County Records, Witchcraft Papers, 1655-1750)
Read more Salem records regarding this traumatic time at: 
Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive

And for some interesting articles and images of early Salem, see this site:
Salem Pioneer Village 1630 

More on these four men named Edward Bishop in my next post, including some documents that will help show why Edward Bishop, sawyer, was probably not closely related to the other 3 men of this name who lived in Salem Village at this time.

There being Complaint this day made (before us) by Thomas Putnam and John Buxton of Salem Village Yeomen, in behalfe of their Majest’s, for them selfes and also for severall of theire Neighbours, Against Wm Hobs husbandman and Deliver’ his wife, Nehemiah Abot Jun’r weaver, Mary Easty the wife of Isaac Easty and Sarah Wilds the wife of John Wilds all of the Towne of Topsfield or Ipswitch:  And Edward Bushop husbandman & Sarah his wife of Salem Village………for high Suspition of Sundry acts of witchcraft donne or Committed by them Lately upon the Bodys of Anna Putnam & Marcy Lewis…..and others, whereby great hurt and dammage hath benne donne to ye bodys of said persons above named therefore Craved justice.

You are therefore in theire Majest’s names hereby required to Apprehend and bring before us..…..above named to Morrow about ten of the Clock in the forenoon at the house of Leiu’t Nath’ll Ingersalls in Salem Village in order to theire Examination Relateing to the premises abovesayd and hereof you are not to faile.

1. Birth order:   according to his parents’ probate records, David was fourth or fifth son of Edward and Sarah Bishop.  His older brother Samuel was born about 1675, if his gravestone dates are correct (see www.findagrave.com for his burial record in Bristol County, Massachusetts Bay Colony).
2. Salem Village Petition:  A 1695 petition of Salem Villagers (Essex County, Massachusetts) who were against the continued ministry of Samuel Parris contains a column headed “young men 16 years old”.  Under this heading are Samuel Bishop, Jonathan Bishop, David Bishop and William Bishop (names all spelled “Byshop”).
3. Salem Village Tax or Rate Lists:  David Bishop’s name first appears on the list of 1699.  By 1702, his name is no longer included.

(Click to Enlarge)   Salem Village Anti-Parris Petition of 1695.  Used by permission from the First Church of Danvers.

1. Sarah Bishop         15 December 1702
2. Rachel Bishop        5 March 1705
3. John Bishop - 1 February 1707
4. Ebenezer Bishop   25 March 1708
5. David Bishop         27 March 1710
6. Rebecca Bishop     27 April 1712
7. Mary Bishop - 28 December 1715 (born in Ashford)

To all Christian People unto whom these presents shall or may come David Bishop of Mashamoquet in ye county of New London in ye Colony of connecticut in New England and Rebecca his wife, for and in consideration of ye full and compleat sum of nine pounds current silver money of New England unto them in hand by John Hubbard of Woodstock in ye county of Suffolk in her Majesty’s province of ye Massachusets bay in New England, husbandman……deliver unto the sd John Hubbard and his heirs…..a certain tract or parcell of land in Mashamamoquett containing thirty seven acres of upland and an acre and half of meadow….. (Pomfret, Connecticut deeds, Volume 1, pages 132-33).

Voted at sd meeting that the Town doe grant to the heirs of David Bishop an equal share of all Divisions of Land.  Here’s a copy of that record (click to enlarge).

It has taken me more time than on other posts to write this one on my 5th great grandfather, Ebenezer Bishop.  He was the fourth generation of this Bishop line in America; and because he left such a wealth of documentation behind, I wanted to do justice to his ‘thoughtfulness’ to his descendants.  So please bear with me – this will be somewhat full of details and not as fleshed out or anecdotal as I would wish.  I’ll post this timeline in two parts

Part One ~ Birth to 1740 ~ About age 32

Ebenezer Bishop was born in Pomfret, Connecticut Colony to David Bishop and Rebeckah Hubbard on 25 March 1708.  At that time, Pomfret was also known as Mashamoquet.

21 December 1725 Appointment of Samuel Bishop, Ebenezer’s uncle, as guardian for Ebenezer’s interest in the share of an inheritance in the estates of grandparents Edward and Sarah Bishop, of Rehoboth, Bristol County, Province of Massachusetts Bay.  He was said to be above the age of 14 and one of the “children of David Bishop late of Ashford” (Connecticut).

Probate Records - Bristol County, Massachusetts (click to enlarge)

24 January 1735/6 Purchased 7 acres from his brother David Bishop, land in Woodstock* (Connecticut – see note below) – Worcester County, Mass. deed book 13, page 25

29 October 1737 Declared his intention of marriage to Lydia Parker of Needham, Massachusetts.  Recorded in Woodstock* records

27 December 1737 Married in Needham, Massachusetts to Lydia Parker of Needham

28 March 1738 Purchased 80 acres in Sturbridge, Massachusetts from Josiah Ellice – Worcester County, Mass. deed book 11, page 184

30 August 1738 Sold 80 acres in Sturbridge, Massachusetts to his brother David.  Deed states that Ebenezer was “of Woodstock” and his occupation was “cooper” – Worcester County, Mass. deed book 11, page 183

6 November 1738 Birth of a son, William, to Ebenezer by his wife Lydia

30 September 1739 Admitted to First Congregational Church of Woodstock*, Connecticut, along with his wife

30 September 1739 Baptism of William, son of Ebenezer, in Woodstock*

20 March 1740 Baptism of Katherine, daughter of Ebenezer, in Woodstock*

28 March 1740 Death of Ebenezer’s daughter Katherine, aged about three weeks, in Woodstock*

3 March 1739/40 Sold 7 acres in Woodstock to Ebenezer Chapman.  Deed mentions brother David Bishop “of whom I purchased ye premises” – Worcester County, Mass. deed book 13, page 47

26 May 1740 Purchased 159 acres, 28 rods in Brimfield, Massachusetts, from Peter Haynes – Hampden County, Massachusetts (formerly Hampshire County), deed book M, pages 216-217

*Note:  It wasn’t until the year 1749 that Woodstock became part of Connecticut.  Until then it was under the jurisdiction of the county of Worcester, Province of Massachusetts Bay.  Because of this fortunate historical fact, I was easily able to search the Woodstock land records – since FamilySearch.org has Massachusetts deeds on line!

Part Two ~ 1740 to 1798 ~ age 32 to age 90

I doubt if Ebenezer ever acquired great wealth during his lifetime, but I do think he lived comfortably, buying and selling land in Brimfield (later called South Brimfield) from 1740 until about 1785.  He and his wife Lydia also became members of the First Congregational Church of Brimfield, and they had several children baptised there.  Five were found in the Brimfield Church records, but I’ve found evidence of three more children who weren’t in the Brimfield church records.  In all, I can find evidence of 10 children, the first two born in Woodstock, Connecticut and the other 8 probably in Brimfield, which was then in Hampshire County, Massachusetts.

1. William born 6 November 1738
2. Katherine born about the first week of September 1740; died 28 September 1740
3. Ebenezer, Jr born about 1742
4. Lydia born 10 August 1743
5. Peter born about 1747; died 2 February 1805, Northeast Twp., Dutchess County, New York
6. Elisha bapt. 9 April 1749; died August ?,1754
7. Lucretia bapt. 6 January 1751
8. Asa bapt. 23 August 1752; died 8 September 1813, Olive, Ulster County, New York
9. Rebecca bapt. May 1756
10. Maria bapt. 4 September 1757

An intriguing deed in 1743 has “Ebenezer Bishop of Needham in the county of Suffolk in the Province of Massachusetts Bay in New England, Cooper” acting as “administrator of the estate of my father-in-law John Parker, late of Needham, husbandman, deceased”.  The land in Needham was sold to Nathaniel Dewing (Suffolk County, Mass. deed book 102, pages 64-65).

Could it be that Ebenezer took up residence in Needham for awhile so that he could better take care of his deceased father-in-law’s affairs?

In 1755, Ebenezer Bishop was among those from Brimfield who took part in the French and Indian War (1754-1763), serving in Captain Daniel Burt’s Company.  His son William was on the Brimfield list in 1760 under Captain Trustrum Davis.

And then there came the years 1762-1765, when newly-formed South Brimfield divided into two opposing camps, disputing the location for their new church building and whether it was fair for those who lived furthest from the location to have to pay taxes for it to be built and to hire its minister.  The divisions came to be called the west parish and the east parish.  I won’t keep you in suspense:  the east parishioners won, and the church was built in a place most convenient to those living there. Ebenezer Bishop and his family lived in the west parish, the part of South Brimfield which was finally given the name of Wales in 1828.

But during the years 1762 to 1765, there were four petitions – two from each side in the dispute – which were signed and presented to the General Court in Massachusetts Bay for consideration by the legislators there.  Signing the west siders’ petitions were Ebenezer Bishop, Ebenezer Bishop, Jr and William Bishop.  Among the east siders signing their peitions were John Bishop and John Bishop, Jr. The east side/east parish was soon after given the name of Holland.

Also in 1762, Ebenezer seemed to decide it was time to sell his oldest son William some of his farmland.  William was probably either newly married or about to be married then.

Ebenezer’s name appears in court records up to the year 1773, but I believe he resided in South Brimfield until about 1783, when he moved to Dutchess County, New York, where his sons Peter and Asa were living.

Although Ebenezer apparently didn’t leave a will, he and Lydia were both mentioned in Peter Bishop’s will dated 14 February 1792 in which Peter directed that his “honoured Father and Mother Ebenezer Bishop and Lydia his wife be decently supported out of my estate during their natural lives and at their decease to have a decent Christian burial”… (Dutchess County Wills, Book B, pages 506-507, proved 22 February 1805).

For Ebenezer Bishop, death came on January 22, 1798, at the age of 90.  The death of his wife Lydia Bishop followed his seven years later on March 17, 1805, at the age of 92  Both were buried in Winchell Mountain Burying Ground in Millerton, Dutchess County, New York.  (See Burying Grounds of Sharon, Connecticut, Amenia and North East, New York; Walsh, Griffen & Hoysradt, Printers, 1983; also see www.findagrave.com).

As I said, a long, full life.

Yes, I do love deeds...and every other kind of land record, such as tax lists, ownership maps, and surveys, for they've been key sources in my research, helping me to link one generation to another.  of course before digging into land records, you need to know where to look for them, that is, the county or town where your ancestors lived at a particular time.  In the case of my Bishop ancestors, I learned this important fact only last year (2013), after 25 years of trying to find the parents and birthplace of my 3rd great grandfather John Fitch Bishop.

So as soon as I found John's birth record in South Brimfield, or Wales, Massachusetts (see my first post "One Less Brick Wall"), I was eagerly 'off to the races'.  The strategy was to find and analyze every available record for the town of South Brimfield and its parent town Brimfield, which mentioned the surname of Bishop, especially William and Catherine Bishop, my 4th great grandparents.

Along with the birth record kept by the town clerk, a record found on Ancestry.com, another source popped up on Ancestry which mentioned the family of William and Catherine: a compilation of family histories in the town of Wales, Massachusetts, by Absalom Gardner[1].  On page 33, Gardner lists three family groups of Bishop's: the family of John and Elizabeth Hooper Bishop, the family of their son John and his wife Rebecca Davis, and the family of William Bishop -- also said by Gardner to be the son of John and Elizabeth -- and his wife Catherine Fitch.

According to Gardner, John and William Bishop, supposedly father and son, had resided on a parcel of land known as "the Nichols Place".

Seeing this, I revised my research strategy -- now I was looking for land or ANY records for this town which involved John and/or William Bishop, and also for a good description of a piece of land known as "the Nichols Place".

To my surprise, I found no record in Brimfield or South Brimfield which linked John and William Bishop.  However, I did find evidence that a William Bishop was the son of Ebenezer and Lydia Bishop. My next post will be a timeline for Ebenezer, showing the birth of a son named William on November 6, 1738, in Woodstock, Connecticut[2], Ebenezer's residence before moving to Brimfield.[3]

The first deed for this William Bishop was dated August 14, 1762, and it begins:

To all People to whom these presents shall come Greeting. Know ye that I Ebenezer Bishop of Brimfield in the County of Hampshire in the Province of the Massachusetts Bay in new England, cooper, for and consideration of the sum of three hundred pounds lawfull money of sd Province to me in hand paid by my son William Bishop of sd Brimfield in ye County & Province aforesd, Husbandman.[4]

This record was in Volume 4, page 380.  In the same volume and on page 381 was a mortgage deed which begins:

To all People to whom this Deed of Mortgage shall come Greeting. Know ye that I William Bishop of Brimfield in the County of Hampshire in the Province of Massachusetts Bay in new England, Husbandman, for & in consideration of the sum of Fifty three pounds six shillings & eight pence lawful money to me in hand paid by my Honoured Father Eben'r Bishop of sd Brimfield, cooper.....etc.[5]

Both of these transactions are for the same 134-acre piece of land, which is evident from the description of the land, including the names of bordering land owners/neighbors.  A bonus in this mortgage, and another example of why I love deeds, is the mention of William's four sisters: Lydia, Lucretia, Rebeckah and Mary Bishop.  As part of the mortgage agreement with his father, William was to pay each of his sisters "the sum of thirteen pounds six shillings & eight pence" on or before a scheduled date, which seemed to have been designed so as to give each sister her allotted sum when she reached 16 or 17 years of age.

Now for the second part of my research strategy involving land records, finding proof that the land William and Ebenezer (not John and Ebenezer William) had lived on was at some time referred to as "the Nichols Place".  By tracking that piece of land through all of the South Brimfield deeds, I found that proof.

The first helpful clue was thanks to a deed in 1794, several years after Ebenezer and William had left South Brimfield.  This description read "land and buildings which formerly belonged to Ebenezer Bishop & by him conveyed to his son William Bishop", a tract containing 135 acres which was bounded by (among others) William Weatherbee, Asa Houghton and Malachi Nichols.[6]

In 1802, Malachi Nichols purchased the same 135 acres from Josiah Hayward.[7]  And because of Malachi's ownership, the farm was called "the Nichols Place'.

There was one final 'clincher' for me, found on a microfilm I rented from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, FHL 954498, Massachusetts Tax valuations for 1784.  On the first page of landowners in South Brimfield were the following names, in this order:  Malachi Nichols, Benjamin Tiffany, Jacob Tiffany, Asa Houghton, William Bishop, Benjamin Tiffany jr and William Weatherbee.

This was evidence that this William Bishop was 'my' William, since he was a neighbor of both Malachi Nichols and Benjamin Tiffany, Jr, 'my' William's son-in-law.[8]

Notes:

1. Gardner, Absalom, A Compendium of the History, Genealogy and Biography of the Town of Wales, 1873, page 33. Accessed on Ancestry.com
2. Woodstock (Connecticut) Vital Records, page 65
3. Massachusetts, Hampden County Deeds, Vol. M, pp 216-217; 1740
4. Ibid, Vol. 4, page 380, 1762
5. Ibid, Vol. 4, page 381, 1762
6. Ibid, Vol. 35, page 606, 1794
7. Ibid, Vol. 69, page 596, 1802
8. Ancestry.com, Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 (database on-line), Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011; record of marriage of Benjamin Tiffany & Parthena Bishop, November 27, 1783, in South Brimfield, Massachusetts

Petition of Lucy (Goff) Bishop, widow of John Fitch Bishop Essex County, New York Surrogate's Court - record dated 16 October 1840

I felt it was important to include Lucy Bishop's petition in order to clear up confusion over the date of John Fitch Bishop's death, which in most on-line family trees has been recorded as 16 October 1840.

This is understandable, since the petition and other probate documents were recorded on that date.

But on lines 8 through 10 is the statement that John's widow Lucy Bishop:

had lived and co-habited with him until the time of his death which was on the 27th day of July 1840."

It's also an extremely valuable document because, although it's not a will, it lists most of John's heirs: Julius Bishop, Charlotte Bishop, Delia Ann Bishop, Mary Bishop, Clinton Bishop, Harrison Bishop, Emeline (Bishop) Chipman and Jerusha (Lawrence) Bishop.