Archive:The Connecticut Nutmegger, Volume 45
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Helen Schatvet Ullmann, "Hartford District Probate Records from 1750: As abstracted by Lucius Barnes Barbour from Volume 25 (1793-1800)", The Connecticut Nutmegger", The Connecticut Nutmegger vol. 45, no. 1 (Jun 2012):60-79.
[p. 74]
25:215-18; XXVI. 65
Breck, Helena, Hartford
Will 17 Nov 1792, ....
Legatees: ...
All the daughters of Eunice late wife of Rev. Josiah Whitney, Pomfret
....
Frank L. Calkins, B.S., "The Mythical Wives of Josiah Starr (1657-1716) of Danbury, Connecticut", The Connecticut Nutmegger vol. 45, no. 2 (Sep 2012):167-171.
[p. 167]
The purpose of this article is to concentrate in one place what we know about Josiah Starr's wife or wives so that genealogical researchers will not continue to be confused by the three existing myths about his wives that still appear in print, i.e., Mr. Hosea Starr Ballou's "Dr. Thomas Starr, Surgeon in the Pequot War, and his Family Connections;" Mrs. Mary Powell Bunker's History of Long Island Families; and the Rev. John Cornell's Genealogy of the Cornell Family, as revised by Mr. Prentice Glazier's unpublished manuscript of 1975. All of these works contain either errors or unsubstantiated assertions concerning Josiah Starr's wife or wives.
If we are to believe Mr. Hosea Starr Ballou, Josiah Starr had two wives, "Elizabeth Hicks" and "Rebecca (Whitney?);"[1] However, an analysis of the relevant records and published research shows something else. John Hicks, father of the "alleged" Elizabeth Hicks, died in Hempstead, Long Island, New York, between 29 April and 14 June 1672, when Josiah Starr was 15 years old. In John's will, he mentions "my son-in-law Josyas [sic] Starr."[2] Josiah3 Starr was John's "son-in-law" by virtue of John's marriage to Rachel (_____) Starr of Oyster Bay,[3] Long Island, in 1662, widow of Dr. Thomas2 Starr (Dr. Comfort1), rather than by any marriage to an "alleged" Elizabeth Hicks. Indeed, John Hicks did not even mention a daughter Elizabeth Hicks in his last will and testament of 1672, although he did mention two other daughters, "daughter Haviland" and "daughter Dorothy;"[4] the latter was apparently unmarried because her father left her a bequest of £100. Also, Elizabeth (Hicks) Starr allegedly died in 1691, according to Mr. Ballou;[5] this particular assertion will be significant in proving that Elizabeth Hicks was never Josiah Starr's wife. We are grateful to Mr. John Insley Coddington for his discovery of a 19 January 1684/5 Jamaica, L.I., deed witnessed by "Josias Starr" [sic] and "Rebecah Starr" [sic], upon which he asserted that Josiah Starr "had only one Wife."[6] This author's independent research in the Hempstead, Long Island, town records uncovered two additional documents, a Hempstead, L.I., deed and a promissory note, that both "Josias Star" [sic] and" Rebeccah/Rebeekah Star" [sic] witnessed on 3 June 1685.[7] These additional records confirm Mr. Coddington's assertion and categorically prove that Elizabeth Hicks was not Josiah Starr's first wife, who allegedly died in 1691, because Josiah Starr was already married to Rebecca by 1684/5.
Where did the Elizabeth Hicks myth come from? Mrs. Mary Powell Bunker in her 1895 published work states in part that the children of John2 Hicks were[8]:
- "Thomas3 ...
[p. 168]
- Hannah3 m. William Haviland ["daughter Haviland"]
- Elizabeth3 m. Josias Starr. ["daughter Dorothy"].
While the number of children agrees with John2 Hicks' last will and testament, Mrs. Bunker made two errors: she changed the daughter Dorothy's name to Elizabeth and second, she married her to Josias [sic] Starr, without citing any evidence. While we do not know if Mr. Ballou relied on this particular source for his article, we can say that, if he did, he did so at his peril. We now know that the Elizabeth (Hicks) Starr myth has been around for over one hundred years!
The two remaining myths involve Josiah Starr's only wife, Rebecca. The first myth involves her maiden surname of Whitney. In fairness to Mr. Ballou, he qualified his identification of her as a Whitney in 1936,[9] so we have some unknown person to thank for this unsubstantiated assertion. Mr. John Insley Coddington, a renowned, professional genealogist, who was known for making statements he could prove, said in his 1952 article that Rebecca's "maiden surname is unknown and is definitely not Whitney"[10] (emphasis added). Unfortunately, Mr. Coddington did not state the basis for his Whitney assertion. In an effort either to prove or to disprove the assertion, a thorough search was made of the published town records of North and South Hempstead, Long Island, for any Whitney families who were early settlers, that is, in residence between 1650 and 1680. No mention of a Whitney family was found in the records covering the early period;[11] accordingly, we can say that no Whitney lived in Hempstead, Long Island, who could have been Rebecca's father.
However, when a similar search was made in the published town records of Jamaica, Long Island, we found an early settler by the name of Henry Whitney, who was mentioned in the town records of Jamaica between the years 1662 and -1673.[12] A similar search was made in the published town records of Oyster Bay, Long Island[13] where no Whitney was found among the early settlers. We were unable to search the records for the Town of Flushing because they were destroyed by fire in 1789; however, we reviewed the Early Settlers of King's Count[14] and found no Whitney family cited. The search was limited to these four towns because John Hicks and/or Rachel (_____) Starr had ties to them.
Further research identified the aforementioned Henry Whitney as the early settler of Southold, Long Island, who subsequently moved to Huntington, Long Island, and then to Jamaica, Long Island, before finally settling his entire family in Norwalk, Connecticut, in 1665; he is discussed in detail in S. Whitney Phoenix's The Whitney Family of Connecticut....[15] Only two people are mentioned in Henry
[p. 169]
Whitney's last will and testament of 1672, his son John Whitney and Henry's wife.[16]
A review of Mr. Burgis Pratt Starr's book[17] established that no child, grandchild, or great-grandchild of Josiah and Rebecca Starr was named Henry and a similar review of Mr. Phoenix's book[18] established that no child, grandchild, or great¬grandchild of Henry Whitney was named Rebecca. Indeed, only one Rebecca Starr is mentioned in the Whitney genealogy; she was the granddaughter of Josiah and Rebecca Starr who married Nathan Hoyt.[19] The foregoing information supports Mr. Coddington's assertion that Josiah Starr's wife, Rebecca, was not a Whitney.
The last myth involves the unsubstantiated assertion that Rebecca's maiden surname was Cornell. The Rev. John Cornell states in his book that Rebecca3 Cornel (John2, Thomas1) married John Starr;[20] however, he cites no evidence for that assertion. To compound the problem, Mr. Prentice Glazier, in his 1975 manuscript, states that Rebecca3 Cornell married Josiah Starr,[21] not John Starr, but he provides questionable evidence for his assertion, namely, "according to Starr descendants" ( emphasis added). He neither identifies the descendants nor cites their evidence to support his (their) assertion. Indeed, if such a connection were true, why did Mr. Burgis Pratt Starr not publish it in his seminal work on the Starr family?
Where did the Cornell-Starr marriage assertion originate? We have Mr. Thomas C. Cornell to thank for the origins of this myth. In his book of 1890, entitled Adam and Anne Mott: Their Ancestors and Their Descendants, Mr. Cornell asserts that Rebecca3 Cornel, daughter of John2 Cornell and Mary Russell married "_____ Starr."[22] However, he does not name which Starr or give the evidence for his assertion; he does say "Of my own family of the Cornell blood, I have been seeking what I could gather for many years, and much of what follows is now first in print"[23] (emphasis added). It appears that the Rev. John Cornell did not merely repeat Thomas' initial assertion, but added to the myth by making Rebecca3 Cornel marry a John Starr. So, we have another myth in print that has been around for over 100 years without substantiation.
In conclusion, we can state that Josiah3 Starr had only one wife and her name was Rebecca; Josiah3 Starr never married an Elizabeth Hicks and Rebecca's maiden surname was neither Whitney nor Cornel. While her maiden surname still remains unknown, a deed of 6 November 1690[24] and a deed of 16 September 1692[25] may provide a clue for further research. Finally, we know that Rebecca died on 15 July 1739, age 74;[27] this would place her birth ca. 1664/65, making her about 20 years old ca. 1684/85. So she married probably between 1682 and 1684 on Long Island because Josiah Starr is shown as a family head in the 11 October 1683 listing of the "Valuation of Estates" in Hempstead.[28]
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1 Hosea Starr Ballou, "Dr. Thomas Starr, Surgeon in the Pequot War, and his Family Connections," The New England Historical and Genealogical Register (hereinafter NEHGR), 90(1936):153.
2 New York (State) Surrogate's Court (New York County), Abstracts of Wills on File in the Surrogates Office, City of New York, 17 vols. Collections of
the New York Historical Society for the years 1892-1908. The John Watts De Peyster Fund series, vols. 25-41 (New York: Printed for the Society, 1893- 1913), 25:23. Hereinafter cited as CNYHS.
3 Benjamin D. Hicks, Records of the Towns of North and South Hempstead, Long Island, New York, 8 vols. (Jamaica, N.Y.: Long Island Farmer Print, 1896-1904 ), 1: 119-120. Herinafter cited as Hempstead Town Records.
4 New York (State) Surrogate's Court, CNYHS, 25:23.
5 Ballou, NEHGR, 90(1936):153.
6 John Insley Coddington, "Abel Gale of Jamaica, L.I.," The American Genealogist (hereinafter TAG), 28(1952):15. The deed of 19 Jan 1684/5 is from William Thome (grantor) to Elias Bayley (grantee) for 31 acres of land formerly in the possession of Abraham Smith. The Starrs witnessed Thome's signature. The author is truly indebted to Mr. David C. Dearborn, C.G., NEHGS, for bringing this article to his attention.
7 Hempstead Town Records, Volume II, Jamaica, 1897, pp. 89-90. The deed of 3 June 1685 is from Peter Tottun (grantor) to Richard Tottun, his father, for 25 acres of land given to the grantor by his grandfather, Thomas Champin. The promissory note is from Peter Tottun (promisor) to Richard Tottun, his father (promisee), for £25. The Starrs witness Peter's signature/mark.
8 Mary Powell Bunker, Long Island Genealogies (Albany, N.Y.: J. Munsell's Sons, 1895), 212.
9 Ballou, NEHGR, 90(1936):153.
10 Coddington, TAG, 28(1952):15.
11 Hicks, Hempstead Town Records, the "W" sections of both the General Index and the Grantee/Grantor Index for vols. 1-5 inclusive.
12 Josephine C. Frost, Records of the Town of Jamaica Long Island, New York (1656-1751), 3 vols., (Brooklyn, N.Y.: Long Island Historical Society, 1914), 1 :17, 18, 22, 26, 28, 33, 88 and 92. Hereinafter Jamaica Town Records.
13 John Cox, Jr., indexer, Oyster Bay Town Records, 8 vols. Volume 1, 1653¬1690 (New York: T.A. Wright, 1916-1940), 1:751. Hereinafter Oyster Bay Town Records.
14 Teunis G. Bergen, Register In Alphabetical Order, of the Early Settlers of Kings County, Long Island, NY, from its First Settlement by Europeans to 1700 (Cottonport, [La.]: Polyanthos, 1973), 383-399, 451.
15 S. Whitney Phoenix, The Whitney Family of Connecticut, And Its Affiliations;
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Being an Attempt to Trace the Descendants, as well in the Female as the Male Lines, of Henry Whitney, From 1649 to 1878; To which is Prefixed Some Account of the Whitneys of England, 3 vols. (New York: [Bradford Press], 1878), 1:5. Hereinafter Whitney Genealogy.
16 Ibid., 8-9.
17 Burgis Pratt Starr, A History of the Starr Family of New England, From the Ancestor, Dr. Comfort Starr (Hartford, Conn.: Case, Lockwood and Brainard, 1879), 267-271, 284-285, 303-305, 386-389, and 426-429. Hereinafter Starr Genealogy.
18 Phoenix, Whitney Genealogy, 1:1-20.
19 Ibid., p. 203 (#862).
20 Rev. John Cornell, Genealogy of the Cornell Family Being an Account of the Descendants of Thomas Cornell of Portsmouth, R.I. (New York: Press of T.A. Wright, 1902), 267-268.
21 Prentiss Glazier, Thomas Cornell (or Cornwell), 1594-1655/6 of Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island, His English Origin and His Family in America: A condensed revision of the Cornell Genealogy (Sarasota, Fla.: The Author, 1975), Chart A and pp. 4 and 8.
22 Thomas C. Cornell, Adam and Anne Mott: Their Ancestors and Their Descendants (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.: A.V. Haight, printer, 1890), 362.
23 Ibid., 327.
24 Hicks, Hempstead Town Records, Jamaica, 8:228-229. These two deeds (see endnotes 24 and 25), were executed when both Josiah and Rebecca Starr were residents of Danbury, Conn., in 1689 and 1692, but the first deed is the more interesting one because it states (modernized) in part "... my home lot lying and being in the town of Hempstead with one third Part of the lot it was 'beniamen semenses' [emphasis added] Joining to it with all housing, barns, garden, orchards, fences, timber, trees ... containing five acres more or less." The eldest child of Josiah and Rebecca Starr was Benjamin Starr, born ca. 1683.26 Could this 'beniaman semenses' be related in some manner to Rebecca or could some other "Benjamin" of Long Island., e.g., Benjamin Coe of Flushing, be Rebecca's father or step-father?
25 Ibid., 8:230-231. The deed of 1689 was executed by both Josiah and Rebecca; however, the second deed of 1692 was executed by Josiah only, "with the Consent" of his wife.26 The deed of 1689 may have required Rebecca's signature because it entailed property in which she had an inheritance interest, not just a dower interest.
26 James Montgomery Bailey and Susan Benedict Hill, History of Danbury, Conn, 1684- 1896 (New York: Burr Print. House, 1896), 26.
27 Starr, Starr Genealogy, 268.
28 Edmund Bailey O'Callaghan, Lists of Inhabitants of Colonial New York (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1979), 144.
Helen Schatvet Ullmann, "Hartford District Probate Records from 1750: As abstracted by Lucius Barnes Barbour from Volume 25 (1793-1800)", The Connecticut Nutmegger vol. 45, no. 3 (Dec 212):238-265.
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25:50-53
Harmon, Benjamin Jr., Suffield
Invt,. 24 May 1793, app. Daniel Hopkins, John Parker, Benoni Smith
propy in Vermont, Isaac Pomeroy, Moses Spear
CR. p. 26. 21 Feb. 1794. Adms. to Caroline Harmon, Bond with Jacques Harmon
Court Record. Page 26. 21 Feb. 1794. Invt. eshibited. Distribution ordered to Caroline, widow; Benjamin; Isaac, Oliver, Horace, sons; Caroline, wife of Isaac Whitney, daughter.
Page 40. 3 May 1794. Account of adms. exhibited.
Copyright © 2020, Robert L. Ward and the Whitney Research Group.
