Sarah (Barnes) Scoville (bef. 1651 - aft. 1700)

Born before 26 Feb 1651 in Farmington, Connecticut Colony

Wife of John Scoville — married 29 Mar 1666 in Farmington, Connecticut Colony

Descendants

Died after 18 Nov 1700 after age 49 in Middlesex, Connecticut Colony [uncertain]

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Biography

Sarah Barnes

Uncertain Origin

Sarah was baptized 26 Feb 1651 at Farmington, Hartford, Connecticut. Wife of John Scoville — married March 26, 1666 in Farmington, Hartford, Connecticut.

Jacobus does not list Sarah among the children of Thomas and Mary.

Family

Sarah Barnes married John Scoville [Scovell] March 29 (or 26?), 1666, at Farmington, Connecticut Colony.^[1][2]

The family moved to Waterbury in 1678. They may have continued to Branford and Haddam.^[3]

Children of Sarah and John:^[3]

1. Mehitable Scoville; m Feb 1685 Caleb Thompson
2. Eleazur Scoville; m Abigail Langdon, settled at Watertown
3. Thomas Scoville; m Kity Langdon
4. John Scoville

Sarah's death date and place are unknown, but she survived her husband, John who died shortly before 18 Nov 1700, at Haddam.^[4] Sarah may also have died at Haddam.

This profile previously reported death date 17 Apr 1720 at Middlesex, CT (without evidence or citation).

1712 was also previously listed as death date (no evidence or citation).

Grandma's Cabin, Genealogy by Nancy Hazen (Selander) Machuga. The author of this website died in 2014 and the site is no longer available.

" Not every family can claim the dubious honor of having an ancestor executed as a witch but the many descendants of Mary Barnes, first wife of Thomas Barnes of Hartford, Connecticut can make this claim.

In 1662 a young girl named Ann Cole began naming certain townspeople as witches. Ann, who had suffered from epileptic or similar seizures for years, would cry out during these seizures that witches were tormenting her. She named three people as her primary tormenters: Nathaniel Greensmith, his wife Rebecca, and Mary Barnes.

In early January 1663/4 a trial was held to hear the various testimonies of the plaintiff and the defendants. Rebecca Greenfield quickly confessed to being a witch and, with many ludicrous tales, implicated her husband Nathaniel. Evidently, Mary defended herself and denied being a witch.

On January 25, 1663/4 both of the Greensmiths and Mary Barnes were found guilty. They were hanged that very day. No chance for an appeal was given. “Justice” was swift in those days. The so-called witches had the distinction of being the last 3 persons executed in Connecticut for this crime.

Thomas and Mary Barnes were the parents of 3 children: Sarah, Benjamin and Joseph.

Their daughter Sarah married John Scoville and this couple was among the first to settle in Mattatuck, now Waterbury, CT. in 1674. In 1686 they moved and, again, were among the early settlers of a new town called Haddam, CT. John and Sarah Barnes Scoville were the parents of John Jr., William, Edward and Benjamin.

William Scoville, born circa 1761, married Martha whose maiden name is unknown. William was wounded while on an excursion against the Indians and it was said his wound made it impossible for him to do heavy labor. In 1708/9 William was the schoolmaster in Haddam, CT. He and Martha had 2 sons: William and John.

William Scoville Jr., born June 1706, married Hannah Shailer in 1734. He later died in 1788 and she died in 1802. They were the parents of 14 children including Hannah Scoville who married Oliver Bailey. This couple followed some of their children to Bradford County, PA.

Thus, today, there are many descendants of Thomas and Mary Barnes who can claim their lineage descends from a witch.

Sources

1. ↑ Farmington Vital Records The American Genealogist New Haven, CT: 1937-. NEHGS AmericanAncestors.org (Vol 9, Pg 180).
2. ↑ Connecticut Vital Records to 1870 (Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2011.) From original typescripts, Lucius Barnes Barbour Collection, 1928. Vol: Framington, p. 11, citing vol. LR1, p. 5: https://www.americanancestors.org/DB414/i/12536/11/0 (accessed 13 Apr 2017)
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Barnes, Trescott C., The_Barnes_Family_Yearbook. (The Grafton Press, Genealogical Publishers, 70 Fifth Avenue, New York, 1907) Archive.org (Page 9).
4. ↑ Brainard, Homer Worthington (1915) A Survey of the Scovils or Scovills of England and America ... Archive.org (pp.133-138).

• Jacobus, Donald Lines. Families of Ancient New Haven (Clarence D. Smith, Rome, New York, 1923) Volumes 1-9, with cross-index by Helen Love Scranton, Nine Volumes in Three (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1981) [Omits Sarah]
• Torrey, Clarence Almon. Torrey’s New England Marriages Prior to 1700 (Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. Baltimore, 1985) (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2011) Vol, II, p. 1342. SCOVIL, John & Sarah BARNES; 29 Mar 1666, ?26 Mar; Farmington, CT/Waterbury/Haddam.

Acknowledgments

• WikiTree profile Barnes-1340 created through the import of Lent_Vise_2011-05-11aa.ged on May 26, 2011 by Bryan Sypniewski. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Bryan and others.