Sarah (Howes) Skidmore (abt. 1618 - 1684)

Born about 4 Jan 1618 in London, England

Ancestors

Wife of Ralph Keeler — married about 1663 in Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut

Wife of Thomas Skidmore — married 1672 in Connecticut Colony [uncertain]

Descendants

Died Nov 1684 at about age 66 in Fairfield, Fairfield, Connecticut

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Roger Wehr [send private message], Paul Wright [send private message], Jeanine Schirmer [send private message], and Dick Gates [send private message]

Origin

The identification of Sarah (Howes) (Tredwell) (Whelpey) (Keeler) Skidmore's as the daughter of Robert Howes was published in 1980. Her father is described as "citizen and fishmonger of London" in his will, which was proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury in 1636. Sara was one of his orphans; this is shown by a declaration made by her brother, John Howes, to the Chamberlain of the City of London in 18 September 1651:^[1]

This is a declaration by John Howes that he had received a letter of attorneyd 8 May 1651 from Edward Tredwell of Easthold near Southold in Long Island within the jurisdiction of Newhaven, and Sara his now wife, sister to the said John Howes, authorizing him to receive monies due to them in the right of Sara following the death of her brother Jonathan Howes, one of the sons and orphans of Robert Howes, late citizen and fishmonger of London. The declaration "is accompanied by a bond to the Chamberlain of the City of Londond 18 September 1651 signed by John Howes, Minister of the Word of God at Barton, Northamptonshire, and Samuel Cooper, citizen and fishmonger of London.

Biography

Sara was baptized 4 January 1617/8 at St Michael, Crooked Lane in London as the daughter of "Mr Robert House".^[2] Her father, Robert Howes (as it's typically spelled), was a fishmonger in London. Her mother was Sara Gawthorne(?).

Around 1626 record of their family appeared in the St Martin Orgar parish register.

Sara was named in her father's 20 December 1635 will.^[3] Three years later she was named in her mother's 17 August 1638 will as "Sara Tredwell".^[4]

Sara married Edward Tredwell though their marriage record has not been found. They had presumably known each other for about 10 years by the time of their marriage. Edward Tredwell had began an apprenticeship in 1625 (lasting until 1633) with Richard Pargrave who was also a member of the parish of St Martin Orgar.

They removed to Ipswich, Massachusetts by 1638 before relocating to New Haven Colony and settling on Long Island.

Marriages / Children

Sara married four times: ^[5]

1. Edward Treadwell
2. Henry Whelpley
3. Ralph Keeler
4. Thomas Skidmore.

Edward Tredwell

She married , as her 1st to Edward Tredwell/Treadwell. He died between 12 May 1660 and 28 January 1660/1 probably at Huntington, Suffolk County, New York.^[6] They had:

1. Samuel Treadwell b. 1642, of Stratfield, Fairfield County, CT, d. 21 Oct. 1718, Stratfield, Fairfield, CT
2. John Treadwell b. 7 Dec 1644, Hempstead, Queens Co., LI, NY, d. 12 Jan 1718, Hempstead, Queens Co., LI, NY
3. Elizabeth Treadwell b. 3 Aug 1646, Watertown, Norfolk county, MA, d. 18 Sep 1714, Watertown, Norfolk County, MA
4. Rebecca Treadwell b. 1658, Fairfield, Fairfield County, CT, d. 1 Mar 1708, Middletown, CT

Henry Whelpley

She married, probably before May 1st 1661 at Stratford, CT, as her 2nd, and as his 3rd, to Henry Whelpley.^[7] He died before 6 Jun 1662. ^[6][8]

The mother of Henry Whelpley's children is unknown. Their births were not recorded, and thes of Henry's marriages are only estimated. Sara and Henry were married a short time; they married before May, 1661, and he died before 6 June 1662.^[6] Children of Henry Whelpley (mother unknown) were:^[7]

1. Daughter; m. George Kniffen
2. Nathan
3. Joseph
4. Jonathan of Greenwich; m. Rebecca Bulkley

Ralph Keeler

She married after 6 Jun 1662 at Norwalk, Connecticut, as his 2nd, and as her 3rd, to Ralph Keeler.^[9] He was born about 1613 and died between 20 Aug and 10 Sep 1672. ^[6]

There were no children born to Sara and Ralph Keeler. Sara became step-mother to all seven of his children, who were by his first wife, probably the daughter of Mary Betts of Hartford, a widowed schoolteacher.^[9] Her first name is unknown.^[9]

Thomas Skidmore

She married, as her 4th, to Thomas Skidmore.^[5] He died between 20 April and 13 November 1684, and Sara died 14 days after his death.^[6]

There were no children born to Sarah and Thomas Skidmore.

Death and Legacy

The will of Sara's fourth and last husband, Thomas Skidmore, was written on 20 April 1684, and it was proved on December 8, 1684. In it, he left everything to her, stipulating that after her death it was to be equally divided by "my grandchild John Higby that married my wife's daughter" and "my grandchild John Skidmore."^[10]

Sara swore to the Inventory on 15 Nov 1684, but on 8 Dec. "Sara is alsoe within a fortnight after her husbands deceas alsoe taken away to death." (Cf. William Robbins, The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, ^[6]) Therefore, both Thomas and Sara died in November 1684.

Research Notes

Many family trees show that Sara's mother was Priscilla Wright. This is disproven by the combination of parish records relating to the family of Robert Howes, fishmonger of London, and the 1638 will of Sara's mother.

Whelpley:

Sarah Howes Whelpley, widow of Henry Whelpley, was married to Edward Treadwell of Huntington, L. I., When he died in 1660^[6]. She then married Henry Whelpley of Fairfield, Conn., who died by 6 June 1662. Sarah then married Ralph Keeler, and after his death in 1672 she married Thomas Skidmore of Fairfield, who died in 1684. Sarah died 14 days later

This info seems to be confusing as tos of marriage to spouses. Ralph's second wife was Sarah Whelpley, widow of Henry Whelpley. Sarah Howes, was married to Edward Treadwell of Huntington, L. I., when he died in 1660 ^[6], she then married Henry Whelpley of Fairfield, CT, who died by 6 June 1662. Sarah then married Ralph Keeler and after his death in 1672 she married Thomas Skidmore of Fairfield, who died in 1684. Sarah died 14 days later.

The Keeler-Wood genealogy (Frost, Josephine C., "Ancestors of Evelyn Wood Keeler", privately printed, 1939) overlooks the fact that Whelpley married the widow of John Whitlock "before" he married the widow of Edward Treadwell ^[7] and assumes that it is Whitlock's widow who later married Ralph Keeler. This leads the author to the faulty conclusion that it was not Sarah Whelpley who was married to Ralph Keeler at the time of his death.^[11] Sara did not marry John Whitlock, as asserted by Josephine Frost; her first husband was Edward Tredwell.^[5]

Sources

1. ↑ Coldham, Peter Wilson, 1980 "Genealogical Gleanings in England." National Genealogical Society Quarterly. 68: 115-22, at 117 Sarah Howes' maiden name resolved.
2. ↑ St Michael, Crooked Lane, London. Parish Registers, 1538-1723, fol. 56 verso. London Metropolitan Archives; London, England; London Church of England Parish Registers; Reference Number: P69/Mic3/A/001/Ms11367. Digital images. Ancestry.com. London, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 > City of London > St Michael, Crooked Lane > 1538-1723.
3. ↑ Prerogative Court of Canterbury. "Will of Robert Howes, Fishmonger of London", ref. no. PROB 11/170/92. The National Archives of the UK (TNA). Digital images of microfilm. (discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk : accessed 21 November 2023).
4. ↑ London Metropolitan Archives and Guildhall Library Manuscripts Section, Clerkenwell, London, England; Reference Number: Ms 9052/9; Will Number: 177, Sara Howes. Digital images. Ancestry.com. London, England, Wills and Probate, 1507-1858, > 1638 > H > Howes.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} Keeler, Wesley B., 1982 "Sarah Treadwell-Whelpley-Keeler." "The American Genealogist" AmericanAncestors.org. accessed 19 May 2016, Vol 58, Pages 32-34.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7} Robbins, William A., 1911 "Descendants of Edward Tre(a)dwell through his Son John." The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record. New York, NY: New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, 1870- free online access Jan 2019 AmericanAncestors.org, accessed 20 May 2016, Vol 42, Pages 177-84.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2} Jacobus: Vol. 1,Page 684.
8. ↑ Records of the Particular Court of Connecticut, 1639-1663; Published by The Connecticut Historical Society And The Society of Colonial Wars In The State of Connecticut, Hartford, 1928. Page 250; image 161, (FamilySearch.org link: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSZC-S7SH-9 : 4 April 2022).
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2} Harris, Gale Ion, 2005 "The First Wife of Ralph Keeler of Hartford and Norwalk, Connecticut: Probably an Unknown Sister of John Betts of Wethersfield." The American Genealogist. AmericanAncestors.org. accessed 19 May 2016, Vol 80, Page 177.
10. ↑ Martin, David Kendall, (2007) "Richard White of Huntington, L.I." The American Genealogist, Vol 82. AmericanAncestors.org NEHGS, (Vol 82, Page 270).
11. ↑ Frost, Josephine C. 1939 Ancestors of Evelyn Wood Keeler, wife of Willard Underhill Taylor ... [Brooklyn?, N.Y.] : Priv. pub., Page 248 HathiTrust.org accessed 20 May 2016, Caution: incorrect (see Research Notes).

• Jacobus, Donald Lines. History and Genealogy of the Families of Old Fairfield (Genealogical Publishing Company, 1930) Vol 1, Pages 355-56., 684
• Givens, Michael, "Sarah Treadwell Whelpley" "Peter Harrison Givens" 2 MAR 2001, Caution: incorrect.
• The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record. Vol 104, Pages 195-204.
• Torrey, Clarence Almon. Torrey’s New England Marriages Prior to 1700 (Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. Baltimore, 1985) Vol. III, p. 1642.

WHELPLEY, Henry (-1662) & 2/wf Sarah [TREADWELL](-1684), w. Edward, m/3 Ralph KEELER, m/4 Thomas SKIDMORE; ?bef 1 May 1661; Stratford, CT.

http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?f=sse&db=flhg-newenglandmarriages&h=76308&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt

• Schenck, Elizabeth Hubbell. The History of Fairfield, Fairfield County, Connecticut (J.J. Little & Co., Astor Place, New York, 1889) Vol. 1, Page 422
• Founders and Patriots of America Index: http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?f=sse&db=flhg-founderspatsamerica&h=194136&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt
• Peter Harrison Givens. by Michael Givens.
• The American Genealogist Publication: New Haven, CT, Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor Co, 1932. vol. 80, no. 3, pg. 185
• http://www.longislandsurnames.com/getperson.php?personID=I05968&tree=Woolley
• Robbins, William. Descendants of Edward Tre(a)dwell Through His Son John (T.A. Wright Press, New York, 1911) Page 7
• Yates Publishing, U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 (The Generations Network, Inc., Provo, UT, USA, 2004)
  • http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?f=sse&db=worldmarr_ga&h=1310729&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt
  • http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?f=sse&db=worldmarr_ga&h=1310730&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/195170445/sarah-keeler: accessed 01 September 2022), memorial page for Sarah Howes Keeler (1615–27 Nov 1684), Find a Grave Memorial ID 195170445, ; Maintained by Gerald Whelpley (contributor 46876673) Burial Details Unknown.