Ebenezer Byram Sr. (1692 - 1753)

Born 1 Oct 1692 in Bridgewater, Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Ancestors

Husband of Hannah (Hayward) Byram — married 9 Dec 1714 in Bridgewater, Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Descendants

Died 9 Aug 1753 at age 60 in Mendham, Morris, New Jersey

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Biography

Capt. Ebenezer Byram was born 1 October 1692, the son of Nicholas Byram II (1640-1727) and Mary (Edson) Byram (1647-1727).^[1][2]

He was originally from East Bridgewater, Plymouth, Massachusetts, where he owned two plantations of considerable value and extent. Ebenezer and his father, Nicholas, were founding members of the East or Third Church of Christ in Bridgewater.^[2]

Ebenezer Byram married Hannah Hayward on December 9, 1714. They had the following children:^[3]

1. Ebenezer Byram b. 1716; m. 22 Nov 1738 Abigail d/o Capt Ebenezer Alden
2. Eliab Byram b. 1718 ; m. (1) Phebe d/o Ephraim Leonard (2) Sarah Leonard
3. Japhet Byram b. 1721; M. Sarah d/o Joseph Allen and two other wives
4. Naphtali Byram b. 1723 m. Hannah Pratt; died 1747/8 at Mendham
5. Hannah Byram b. 1725; m. Elihu Baldwin
6. Mary Byram b. 1728; married (1) Aaron Thompson and (2) Benjamin Pitney.
7. Abigail Byram b. 1730; m. (1) Daniel Thompson nd (2) Benjamin Pitney.
8. Jepthah Byram b. 1732; m. 19 Feb 1761 Susanne d/o Eleazar Washburn

Their children came of age at a time when a religious fervor called the "Great Awakening" was sweeping the colonies. The focal point of this fervor was the preaching of George Whitefield,^[4] a charismatic minister whose ability to attract, and preach to, enormous, outdoors crowds was viewed with scepticism by Benjamin Franklin, until Franklin hear him preach—leaving convinced that Whitefield could, in fact, be heard by crowds of 30,000 people at a time. Whitefield preached a gospel that had developed in a "Holy Club" at Oxford University that included the founders of Methodism, John and Charles Wesley. The message was directed at "common people neglected by the established churches." Although Whitefield was not strongly denominational, his methods were not always welcomed by the established churches, who may not have had the same facility for addressing "plain people in plain language."^[5].

Religious disagreements over the Great Awakening have frequently been cited as a reason for Captain Byram's move to Mendham, New Jersey. One source says that Whitefield preached in Ebenezer's barn, after he was denied use of the local church.^[3] It has also been said that Ebnezer's marriage to Hannah Hayward in 1814 was held in his barn because they were denied the use of the local church. If so, it had nothing to do with Whitefield, who was born in 1814. It has also been said that it was the wedding of his son, Ebenezer Byram, Jr., and Abigail Alden that was held in the barn because they were denied the use of the church.

A descendant, Aaron G. Byram, in 1851 raised the issue of Whitefield in an interview with former U.S. Congressman, Massachusetts legislator and Judge, Nahum MItchell, who authored a history of Bridgewater.^[6] Mitchell said that it was Ebenezer's son, Rev. Eliab Byram, who returned from College and gained his father's support in an attempt to get the local church to invite Whitefield to preach. The local minister was "violently opposed," which was the "commencement of the Church difficulties."^[2]

There is some question of how early Ebenezer responded to these difficulties by moving to New Jersey. The First Presbyterian Church of Mendham says on its website that Ebenezer Byram founded the church, then called the Hilltop Prebyterian Church, in 1738.^[7] The Mayflower Society's Silver Book says that he moved his family to Rocksiticus, Morris County in 1744, New Jersey. Both may be true because he clearly planned his family's migration carefully. Rocksiticus was later renamed Mendham and Ebenezer became Major of the Militia and Judge of the County Court. He established the "Black Horse Tavern," which was later operated by his son Ebenezer, Jr., and his grandson Edward.^[1] The tavern still exists under non–Byram ownership.

Ebenzer died in Mendham, New Jersey in 1753.^[8]. He is buried in the Hill Top Presbyterian Church, Mendham, New Jersey. ^[9] The church was built with money that he had supplied.^[10]

Research Notes

Information has been added to the Biography from a 28–page history of the Byram family by Aaron B. Byram, written between 1851 and 1896. His history is accessible on Family Search.^[2] The author, Aaron B. Byram, also wrote a 125–page manuscript that WorldCat.org shows as available at the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston.^[11]

Mr. Byram's shorter manuscript focuses on what he descibes as a "brief and imperfect" account in Nahum Mitchell's History of Bridgewater of the New Jersey branch of the Byram family descended from Ebenezer Byram, Sr., and Hannah (Hayward) Byram. He includes information that he obtained from Dr. Lewis Condict (1773-1862), a great-grandson of Captain Byram, and that Dr. Condit obtained from his mother, Anna (Byram) Condict (1750-1826). He also interviewed Nahum Mitchell. This and other information recorded during the 19th century may be valuable for other profiles.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Family of John Alden, No. 756–Abigail Alden; Esther Littleford Woodworth-Barnes and Alicia Crane Williams, Mayflower Families through Five Generations, Vol 16 Part 3 of 3, 78–80 (Boston, Mass.: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 2004).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Aaron G. Byram, Genealogy of the Byram Family of New Jersey (Cover page of typed copy dated 1926, Plainfield, N.J., states "compiled by Aaron G. Byram in 1851, with additions to 1896, copied by Mrs. H. W. Satterfield); Family Search Title No. 3164041, 28 images created from a copy in the Dallas Public Library; viewed 7 Aug 2021 at http://www.familysearch.org/library/books/idurl/1/618547
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Ayers, Charles H. Ancestors of Silas Ayers and Mary Byram Ayers, including the Alden, Ayers (Detroit, 1905) #33
4. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=George_Whitefield&oldid=1034394216
5. ↑ Mark A. Noll, A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada, 81-85 (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Willliam B. Eerdsman Pub. Co. 2019)
6. ↑ Memorial page for Nahum Mitchell (12 Feb 1769–1 Aug 1853), Find A Grave: Memorial #7505761, citing Central Cemetery, East Bridgewater, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, USA ; Maintained by Find A Grave .
7. ↑ "A Brief History of the Church," accessed 23 Aug 2021; https://www.hilltopchurch.org/t_About.asp
8. ↑ Ayers, Charles. “Ancestors of Silas Ayers and Mary Byram Ayers : including the Alden, Ayers, and Byram families”. Forgotten Books. 2016 Reprint. (Pages not numbered)
9. ↑ Find a GraveFind A Grave: Memorial #5653617, citing Hilltop Cemetery, Mendham, Morris County, New Jersey, USA ; Maintained by Yvette Aune (contributor 47044096) .
10. ↑ Note about Hilltop Presbyterian Church; http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=59492ddc-183c-45e9-990f-479b731b5067&tid=18886737&pid=205
11. ↑ Aaron G. Byram, Record of the Byram family, http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/48392845

• Poole, Herbert Armstrong, 1950. The Genealogy of John Lindsley (1845-1909] and his wife Virginia Thayer Payne (1856-1941) of Boston, Massachusetts. Privately published, Milton, Mass., page 217
• Jordan, John W. Genealogical and Personal History of Western Pennsylvania (Lewis Historical Pub. Co., New York, 1915, Vol. 3. pg. 1186-1189)

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5653617/ebenezer-byram: accessed 26 November 2022), memorial page for Capt Ebenezer Byram Sr. (1 Oct 1692–9 Aug 1753), Find A Grave: Memorial #5653617, citing Hilltop Cemetery, Mendham, Morris County, New Jersey, USA; Maintained by Yvette Aune (contributor 47044096) .