Joan (Unknown) Miller (1625 - abt. 1695)

Born 1625 in England

Wife of Thomas Coggins — married 1641 in Taunton, Massachusetts

Wife of Obadiah Miller — married 1654 in Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died about 1695 at about age 70 in Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts

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Biography

Joan was married when she was about 16 and over the next twelve years would become the mother of at least four children. Her husband died in March 1654 and the following month her father-in-law, William Cogan wrote his will leaving his house and land to "Joane Cogan my daughter and to the heires male of her bodie" if his daugther Eleanor Deane had no male heirs. Joan evidentally had a small son whose name does not appear in the records. She was left with little means to provide for her small children soon married Obadiah Miller, a man she came to hate. Not long after their marriage, while living in Taunton, she was brought before the grand jury for fighting with him and in 1655 he took her to court for calling him names: "Obadiah Miller complaynes against Joane his wife for abusing him with reproachfull tearmes or names as calling him fool, toad & vermine and threatninge him; as also for that yesterday shee fell uppon him indeavoringe to beat him at which tyme shee scratched his face and hands. The case being examined it was found that Joane the wife of Obadiah Miller was guilty of very evill behavior towards her said husband; it beinge proved by the testimony of John Lamb and Thomas Miller. John Lambe testifyed he heard her say shee would knock him on the head; and that shee did often call him foole and other reproachfull tearmes. Thomas Miller testifyed that when his brother Obadiah and his wife lived with him, she did comonly call him foole and vermine and he doth not remember he ever heard her call him husband and that she said shee did not love him but hated him; yea shee here said shee did never love him and shee should never love him. For which her vile misbehaviour towards her husband shee was adjudged to be taken forth to the whippinge post; there to receive soe many stripes on the naked body as the commissioners should see cause to inflict on her; whereuppon shee was brought forth; but by her humiliation and earnest protestations for better carriage towards her said husband the punishment was remitted and this sentence passed, that for the least miscarriage to her husband after this tyme shee should be brought forth agayne to receive a good whipping on the naked body well laid on" .

At a General Court held at Plymouth on 1 Oct 1661, in answer to her petition "requesting that shee may have libertie to make sale of some of the land that her deceased husband left undisposed of, the Court, haveing considered that her request is in the behalfe of her daughter, whoe shee saith is weake and stands in need thereof, do give libertie that one quarter part of the said land, and of what is left by her said deceased husband, may bee sold for the releife of her said daughter; and what it shalbee sold for shalbee carfully disposed of to the use of Bathshebah Coggen, att the descretion of Richard Williams and Walter Deane, of Taunton, and the resedue of the said lands &c bee reserved by them for the use of the rest of the chidlren of the deceased Thomas Coggen, provided that the said Jone Miller doe put in sufficient cecurite that the said estate shalbee soe disposed of" -- see Shurtleff's Plymouth Colony Records 4:4.

She and Obadiah continued to have problems and in August 1665 they were bound over to the County Court by Pynchon 'haveing had sad bickeringe and strife between themselves'. Upon their appearance they owned they had not carried it well with each other formerly but asserted that, since being bound for their appearance, they had lived in peace and quietness. After being admonished by the court they werre released of their bond upon promises of better carriage". -- see Pynchon Court Record. They also had problems paying their bills at Pynchon's company store and in 1666 gave him six acres of their land in Cold Spring in West Springfield to pay their debt to him and on 28 March 1668 they gave him nine more acres abutting the Great River. That April Pynchon wrote: "Goodwife Miller came to mee with her husband and said she was willing that I should have the land but she thought I gave too little and in further discoursing and owning my debt to have been long due, she was willing to agree to the sale if I would allow her 11 shillings she owes for kersey, which I yielded to, and so both of them were willing and the price for the land is 18 pounds 1 shillings." She and Obadiah were married for over 40 years and probably learned to argue privately, since they don't appear again in the Court Records. She died in 1695, several years before his death.

Sources

• Plymouth County Deeds: Book 3:6 - Joanne (& Bathsheba Coggins) sold 6 acres in Taunton to John Turner - 1661