Gershom Eames (abt. 1648 - 1676)

Born about 1648 in Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony [uncertain]

Husband of Hannah (Brigham) Ward — married 1671 in Sudbury, Middlesex County, Massachusetts [uncertain]

Descendants

Died 25 Nov 1676 at about age 28 in Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony [uncertain]

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Biography

No reliable primary establishes Gershom's parentage or date and place of birth and no reliable secondary source has been found that even suggests his parentage. It is, however, reasonably likely that he was the son of Thomas Eames of Dedham, Medford, Cambridge, Sudbury and Framingham and his first wife Margaret (Unknown) Eames. The evidence supporting that assertion are (1) there is a gap in the birth dates of Thomas and Margaret Eames known children from 1645 to about 1652, which leaves a time period of 1647-1650 in which it is reasonably probable that they had another child,^[1], and, based on Gershom's probable date of marriage (1671), that time period is a reasonable time period in which Gershom was born, (2) Gershom's first known record (the birth of daughter Hannah in February 1671/2) is in Marlborough, and Thomas and Margaret Eames were living in Sudbury up until about 1670 and then Framingham^[1] and Sudbury and Framingham border Marlborough, (3) Gershom's wife was from Sudbury, where Thomas and Margaret Eames lived in 1665-1670, which is the 5-year period before Gershom was probably married, (4) Thomas and Margaret Eames' known son John Eames moved to Watertown about 1676,^[2] which is the same time that Gershom moved to Watertown and (5) it is less likely that the other identified candidate for his father, Robert Eames of Woburn, was his father, since Robert lived father away from Malborough and is not known to have had any children before 1653.^[3]

Gershom was in Marlborough early^[4] and volunteered to defend the town in 1675.^[5]

Gershom married Hannah Brigham by 1671.^[6][7]

Gershom and Hannah had the following children:

1. Hannah, b. 3 Feb 1671/2 in Marlborough^[8]
2. Mary, b. 1677^[4]

He died in Watertown on 25 Nov 1676.^[9]

His estate was inventoried and it provides much detail:^[10][11]

• that he was of Watertown, Massachusetts
• that he died 25 Nov 1676
• that he had an extensive (multi-page) inventory of furniture, utensils and food
• that he owned land in "Marlbury" (Marlborough)
• the his widow, Hannah, was administrator of his estate

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} See the profile for Thomas Eames
2. ↑ See the profile for John Eames.
3. ↑ Loring, Arthur G. "Robert Eames of Woburn, Mass., and His Descendants." New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Volume LXII (1908). pp. 58-59. Link to pages at archive.org.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Hudson, Charles. History of the Town of Marlborough, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, from Its First Settlement in 1657 to 1861. 1862. pp. 357-358. Link to pages at archive.org.
5. ↑ p. 240. Trask, William B. "Indian War Papers." New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Volume VIII (1854). p. 240. Link to page on hathitrust.org.
6. ↑ New England Historical and Genealogical Register.
7. ↑ U. S. New England Marriages Prior to 1700.
8. ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V5NH-8CX : 15 January 2020), Hannah Eames, 1671.
9. ↑ "Massachusetts, Deaths and Burials, 1795-1910," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FC9N-L3G : accessed 15 Aug 2014), Gershom Eames, 25 Nov 1676; citing Watertowne, Middlesex, Massachusetts, reference p 12; FHL microfilm 892249.
10. ↑ Middlesex County Probate Records, Vol. 4. pp. 262-264. FHL Filmm # 007554519, images 147-148. Link to images at familysearch.org.
11. ↑ Middlesex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1648-1871, 6650 (digital images of original available through AmericanAncestors.org (NEHGS); membership required.)

See also:

• Heritage Consulting. Millennium File. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2003.
• Godfrey Memorial Library, comp.. American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI). Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999.
• Flint, James, comp. Middlesex County, Massachusetts Probate Index, 1648-1870. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.