Nathaniel Bidwell (bef. 1688 - 1770)

Born before 11 Nov 1688 in Middletown, Hartford, Connecticut Colony

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Keeney) Bidwell — married 22 Dec 1720 in Glastonbury, Hartford, Connecticut

Descendants

Died 13 May 1770 after age 81 in Glastonbury, Hartford, Connecticut Colony

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Biography

Nathaniel Bidwell, son of Samuel Bidwell and Elizabeth Stowe, was baptized 11 November 1688 in Middletown, Middlesex, Connecticut Colony. He became a covenanter there on 14 April 1709 and was confirmed there on 8 July 1711. ^[1] NOTE: the original baptismal record says the baptism took place on the 9th mo. 11th day of 1688, but due to old calendar calculations (where the new year began in late March) the 9th month from then is November.

"In May 1714 the first church was formed here [Portland, Connecticut] and the society was called East Middletown, and in October 1767 named Chatham; among the petitioners were Samuel and Nathaniel Bidwell, and afterwards came John Penfield from Rhode Island."^[2]

On 12 Mar 1719/20, Nathaniel Bidwell of Middletown purchased from Richard Goodrich a 100 acre homestead and 1 acre of meadow in South Glastonbury. ^[3] From 1720 to 1732, Nathaniel purchased or acquired by division 172 acres in South Glastonbury, and by 1749 had sold 153 acres of the total. ^[4]

Nathaniel Bidwell Original Homestead in South Glastonbury, Hartford, Connecticut

Nathaniel married Mary Keeney on 22 December 1720 at Glastonbury, Hartford, Connecticut, where their daughter Mary Bidwell was born a year later on 15 Dec 1721, and was their only child recorded in the Glastonbury town vital records. ^[5] Nathaniel was "of Middletown" and Mary was "of Glastonbury."

Marriage Record for Nathaniel Bidwell and Mary Keeney

Also shown in the land map above, father-in-law Richard Keeney had purchased from Richard Fox on 14 Sep 1714 a 50 acre farm in the Five Mile Division that was four miles east of the Connecticut River and adjacent south of the lot on the Glastonbury-Hartford border on the Glastonbury side, ^[6] that Richard Fox Jr. had bought from his father Richard Fox Sr. on 01 Jan 1706, in a deed that described the location and boundaries of the farm in detail. ^[7]

"On 12 Jun 1758 Thomas Goodrich, Jr., for £3, conveyed to Samuel Bidwell of Glastonbury, 30 rods with a dwelling house where Nathaniel Bidwell dwells, reserving life use for Nathaniel Bidwell and his wife."^{[8] [9]}

Nathaniel Bidwell and Wife Home Deed 12 Jun 1758

Nathaniel Bidwell was buried on 13 May 1770 at Glastonbury First Congregational Parish. ^[10]

Transcript Death Record for Nathaniel Bidwell

Sources

1. ↑ Connecticut, Church Record Abstracts, 1630-1920; Volume 070 Part 1 Middletown, p. 63 (Ancestry.com)
2. ↑ Pub. Rec. of Col. of Conn., page 208, quoted in Bidwell, Edwin M. (1988) Genealogy of the first seven generations of the Bidwell family in America p. 41 (Ancestry.com)
3. ↑ Glastonbury, Hartford, Connecticut Land Records, Volume 2, page 142
4. ↑ Glastonbury, Hartford, Connecticut Land Records, Grantee (3x) 1720, 1732; Grantor (22x) 1720-1749
5. ↑ FamilySearch.org: Glastonbury, Hartford, Connecticut Vital Records, Volume 1, page 44
6. ↑ Glastonbury, Hartford, Connecticut Land Records, Volume 3, page 146
7. ↑ Glastonbury, Hartford, Connecticut Land Records, Volume 2, pages 92-93
8. ↑ Jacobus, Donald Lines (2001) Hale, House and Related Families, Mainly of the Connecticut River Valley, Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, page 472 (Ancestry.com)
9. ↑ Glastonbury, Hartford, Connecticut Land Records, Volume 8, page 252
10. ↑ Transcript Records of Glastonbury First Congregational Parish 1759-1791, page 74