Rebecca (Andrews) Jacobs (1646 - aft. 1718)

Born 18 Apr 1646 in Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay

Wife of John Frost Sr — married 26 Jun 1666 in Cambridge, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Wife of George Jacobs Jr. — married 9 Feb 1673 in Salem, Province of Massachusetts Bay

Descendants

Died after 5 Mar 1718 after age 71 in Salem, Essex, Massachusetts Bay

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Biography

Rebecca (Andrews) Jacobs was accused of witchcraft in witch trials

Rebecca Andrews was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts on 18 Apr 1646 a daughter of Thomas Andrews and Rebecca (Moore) Wyeth^[1] of Watertown and Cambridge^{[2] [3]}

On June 26, 1666, Rebecca married John Frost, son of Edmond Frost and Thomasine Clench of Cambridge^{[4] [3] [5] [6]} , and their children included:

1. John, born November 19, 1667^{[7] [5]}
2. Rebecca^[8], who married Deacon Thomas Coolidge^[5]
3. Thomas, who was a weaver residing in Salem in 1696^[5]

John Frost died before September 30, 1672^[3], when Rebecca was appointed administrator of his estate^{[9] [5]}

On 9 Feb 1673 she married George Jacobs, the son of George Jacobs and his first wife (Unknown) of Salem, Massachusetts^{[10] [3] [5] [11]}, and their children included^[12]

1. Margaret, born November 26, 1675^[12], who married John Foster^[13]
2. George, born September 29, 1677^{[12] [13]}
3. John, born 18 September 1679^[12], who may have died young
4. Jonathan, born 29 July 1681^{[12] [13]}
5. Mary, born 20 May 1683^[12]
6. Joseph, born circa 1690^{[12] [13]}

Rebecca died after March 5, 1718^[3], when her husband's estate was administered^[13].

Salem Witch Trials

Salem Witchcraft Papers (SWP No. 081: Rebecca Jacobs)

Court of Oyer and Terminer

• 14 May 1692, Arrested
• 16 Sep 1692, Indicted

Supreme Court of Adjudicature

• January 1693, Indicted Again
• January 1693, Acquitted

Eleven Months in Jail^[14]

"Rebecca, the wife of George Jacobs, Jr., was the victim of a partial derangement. Her daughter Margaret was already in jail. Her husband had escaped by a hurried flight, and his father was in prison awaiting his trial. She was left in a lonely and unprotected condition, in a country but thinly settled, in the midst of woods. The constable came with his warrant for her. She was driven to desperation, and was inclined to resist; but he persuaded her to go with him by holding out the inducement that she would soon be permitted to return. Four young children, one of them an infant, were left in the house; but those who were old enough to walk followed after, crying, endeavoring to overtake her. Some of the neighbors took them into their houses. The imprisonment of a woman in her situation and mental condition was an outrage; but she was kept in irons, as they all were, for eight months. Her mother addressed an humble but earnest and touching petition to the chief-justice of the court at Salem, setting forth her daughter's condition; but it was of no avail."^[15]

1692, Rebecca (Andrews) (Frost) (Jacobs) was accused of witchcraft, as were her brother Daniel Andrews and her husband George Jacobs. Her brother and husband escaped Salem, but Rebecca was imprisoned, and found not guilty in January 1693^{[16][17] [18] [5][3]}

Massachusetts Remediation

1. 17 October 1710, Convictions Reversed, The General Court of Massachusetts Bay, An act, the several convictions, judgments, and attainders be, and hereby are, reversed, and declared to be null and void.^[19]
2. 17 Dec 1711, Compensation to Survivors, Governor Dudley, GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS BAY, approved compensation to such persons as are living, and to those that legally represent them that are dead
3. 28 Aug 1957, No Disgrace to Descendants, General Court of Massachusetts, ...such proceedings, were and are shocking, and the result of a wave of popular hysterical fear of the Devil in the community, and further declares that, as all the laws under which said proceedings...have been long since abandoned and superseded by our more civilized laws, no disgrace or cause for distress attaches to the said descendants or any of them by reason of said proceedings.^[20]
4. 31 Oct 2001, Additional Victims Included, Massachusetts Senate and House of Representatives in General Court, AN ACT RELATIVE TO THE WITCHCRAFT TRIAL OF 1692, chapter 145 is hereby further amended by adding Bridget Bishop, Susannah Martin, Alice Parker, Margaret Scott and Wilmot Redd.^[21]

Research Notes

1. Note her mother was not Rebecca Craddock as is indicated in many online trees. This is based on a deed in England that indicates a Thomas Andrews was married to Rebecca Craddock, but it was signed in 1644, well after Thomas and his wife were clearly recorded in New England, and appears to be a reference to another Thomas Andrews^[3].
2. Her mother was Rebecca (Unknown) (Andrews) (Wyeth) Fox, widow of Thomas Andrews and Nicholas Wyeth, who later married Thomas Fox^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ Early New England Families, 1641-1700. (Original Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2013. (By Alicia Crane Williams, Lead Genealogist.) https://www.americanancestors.org/DB501/i/13908/3/250755123
2. ↑ Massachusetts Vital Records Cambridge Volume 1, page 21, also found in NEHGS, which states ANDREWES (see also Andrew, Andrews) Rebecca, d. of Thomas and Rebecca, Mar. 18, 1646.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7} Early New England Families, 1641-1700, by Alice Crane Williams et al (Original Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2013. (By Alicia Crane Williams, Lead Genealogist.) See Thomas Andrews (m 1641), page 3
4. ↑ Massachusetts Vital Records Cambridge Volume 2, page 16, also found in NEHGS, which states ANDREWS Rebeccah and John Frost, June 26, 1666.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6} Frost, Thomas G. (Thomas Gold), b. 1866, and Edward Lysander Frost. Frost Family In England And America, With Special Reference to Edmund Frost And Some of His Descendants. Buffalo: Russell Print. Co., 1909
6. ↑ New England Marriages to 1700 (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015. This secondary sources suggests references for further reading in Volume 1, page 584: FROST, John (-1672) & Rebecca ANDREWS, ?m/2 George JACOBS 1675; 26 Jun 1666; Cambridge {Frost (1909) 55; Sv. 2:56; Coolidge 242; Salem 3:109; Pillsbury Anc. 474; Reg. 77:279}
7. ↑ Massachusetts Vital Records Cambridge Volume 1, page 271, also found in NEHGS, which states FROST John, s. Jno and Rebeccah, Nov. 19, 1667'
8. ↑ Massachusetts Vital Records Cambridge Volume 1, page 272, also found in NEHGS, which states FROST Rebeccah, d. John and Rebeccah, Dec. 3, 1669
9. ↑ Middlesex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1648-1871 Case #8585 John Frost. Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives. Digitized images provided by FamilySearch.org)
10. ↑ Massachusetts Vital Records Salem Volume 3, page 387, also found in NEHGS, which states FROST Rebecka, wid., and Georg Jacobs, 9:12 m:1674
11. ↑ New England Marriages to 1700 (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015. This secondary sources suggests references for further reading, in Volume 3, page 844 JACOBS, George (ca 1649-) & Rebecca (ANDREWS) FROST, w John; 9 Feb 1674/5; Salem {Salem 3:109; Harmon Anc. 51; Frost (1909) 55; Foster 700; EIHC 1:53; GDMNH 373}
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6} Massachusetts Vital Records Salem Volume 1, page 469, also found in NEHGS, which states JACOBS
    • George, s. Georg and Rebecka, 29: 7m: 1677
    • John, s. Georg and Rebecka, 18: 7m: 1679
    • Jonathan, s. Georg and Rebecka, July 29, 1681
    • Margerett, d. Georg and Rebecka, 26: 9m: 1675
    • Mary, d. Georg and Rebecka, May 20, 1683
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4} Essex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1638-1881 Case #14712 George Jacobs. Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives.)
14. ↑ “The Salem Witchcraft Papers : Verbatim Transcripts of the Legal Documents of the Salem Witchcraft Outbreak of 1692 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming.” Internet Archive. New York : Da Capo Press, January 1, 1977. https://archive.org/details/salemwitchcraftp0003unse/page/998/mode/1up/search/Rebecca Jacobs.
15. ↑ “Salem Witchcraft : with an Account of Salem Village, and a History of Opinions on Witchcraft and Kindred Subjects : Upham, Charles Wentworth, 1802-1875, Author : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming.” Internet Archive, January 1, 1970. https://archive.org/details/salemwitchcraftw02upha_0/page/188/mode/2up.
16. ↑ The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-by-day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege; Marilynne K. Roach; Taylor Trade Publications
17. ↑ Salem Witch Trials Timeline; Jone Johnson Lewis, About.com
18. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_witch_trials
19. ↑ “Salem Witchcraft : with an Account of Salem Village, and a History of Opinions on Witchcraft and Kindred Subjects : Upham, Charles Wentworth, 1802-1875, Author : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming.” Internet Archive, January 1, 1970. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/17845/17845-h/salem2-htm.html#Page_ii.480.
20. ↑ https://www.mass.gov/doc/resolves-of-1957-chapter-145/download
21. ↑ https://malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2001/Chapter122

See also:

• Charles Sumner Frost : Title: Genealogical Frost Record 1635-1906
• The New England Historical & Genealogical Register, 1847-2011 about Rebecca Andrew
• Fox, N. M.. "Notes" section, Note D, pp. 197-9, in A history of that part of the Fox family descended from Thomas Fox of Cambridge, Mass. : with genealogical records. St. Joseph, Mo.: Union Print. Co., 1899. [Repository: Ancestry.com. A history of that part of the Fox family descended from Thomas Fox of Cambridge, Mass. : with genealogical records [database on-line]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.] (contains transcript of a letter written by mother, Mrs. Rebecca Fox, to Gov. Wm. Phips for her daughter's release from prison)
• The Salem Witchcraft Papers (Scholars' Lab, University of Virginia Library, 2018)