Phebe (Dana) Coolidge (1729 - 1812)

Born 12 Jul 1729 in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Ancestors

Wife of Henry Coolidge — married 12 Sep 1747 in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died 28 Mar 1812 at age 82 in Bolton, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States

Biography

PHEBE DANA,^[1] b. at Cambridge, 12 Jul 1729^[2] daughter of Caleb Dana and Phebe Chandler;^[3] m. at Cambridge, 12 Sep 1747,^[4] HENRY COOLIDGE, b. at Watertown, 3 Nov 1717 son of John and Margaret (Bond) Coolidge;^[5] Henry d. at Boxborough, 28 Mar 1812.^[6]

Phebe and Henry resided in Cambridge early in their marriage and were later in Boxborough. Henry owned a proprietor right in Ashburnham although he did not live there. Henry’s brother Elisha settled in Ashburnham as did Phebe’s uncle Richard Dana.^[7]

On 5 April 1788, Henry Coolidge, husbandman of Boxborough, sold to James Dana Coolidge, husbandman of Boxborough, a tract of land in Boxborough for payment of £300. On 19 March 1788, Henry sold to Augustus Coolidge of Stow 160 acres partly in Boxborough and partly in Stow for payment of £300.^[8]

In his will written 2 July 1811 (probate 26 May 1812), Henry Coolidge bequeathed one hundred dollars to Rev. Joseph Willard of Boxborough. Son Caleb Coolidge receives one hundred and fifty dollars to be paid as necessary for the support of Caleb’s children this to be at the discretion of grandson Henry Coolidge. Grandson Henry Coolidge receives fifty dollars for “his encouragement to the discharge of duty & affection to his parents.” Granddaughters Mary Toombs and Phebe Houghton receive one hundred dollars to be equally divided. Mary and Phebe also received the household furniture. Sons James and Henry each receives five dollars as they have received their full shares from the estate. Grandson Augustus Coolidge receives one hundred dollars and grandson John Coolidge, seventy dollars. To daughter Lois the wife of Oliver Houghton,^[9] he leaves “my desk and what it contains.” Granddaughters Mary and Phebe receive any residue of the estate. Rev. Joseph Willard was named executor. Rev. Willard declined the role of executor and David Barnard of Acton was named administrator. The following heirs of the estate petitioned that Augustus Coolidge not be named administrator: Lois Houghton, Mary Tombs, Lewis Tombs, Abner Houghton, Phebe Houghton, Henry Coolidge, and Caleb Coolidge. Real estate was $525 and personal estate was $27.39.^[10]

Phebe Dana and Henry Coolidge were parents of six children.^[11]

i PHEBE COOLIDGE, baptized at Cambridge, 17 Jul 1748.^[12] Phebe (and no heirs of Phebe) is not mentioned in father’s will.

ii HENRY COOLIDGE, b. at Cambridge, 7 Jun 1750;^[13] d. at Waterford, ME, about 1832 (probate May 1832); m. at Cambridge, 3 Apr 1776, MARY NORCROSS, b. at Boston, 22 Dec 1757 daughter of Uriah and Mercy (Watts) Norcross; Mary d. after 1832.

iii CALEB COOLIDGE, baptized at Cambridge, 19 Apr 1752;^[14] d. at Westminster, MA, 2 Nov 1815; m. at Boston, 10 Oct 1774, FRANCES “FANNY” ROBINSON, b. at Brighton, about 1750; Fanny d. at Cambridge, 14 Aug 1844.^[15]

iv ROBERT COOLIDGE, baptized at Cambridge, 1 Sep 1754;^[16] d. at Stow, MA by 1786 (probate 25 Jan 1786); m. at Stow, 7 Oct 1779, LOIS WHITNEY, b. at Stow, 14 Jun 1761 daughter of Lemuel and Elizabeth (Wheeler) Whitney. Lois married second Oliver Houghton on 18 Sep 1793.

v AUGUSTUS COOLIDGE, b. about 1759; m. 1st at Acton, 3 Nov 1785, RUTH FAULKNER, b. at Acton, 28 Feb 1765 daughter of James and Ruth (Heald) Faulkner; Ruth d. at Boxborough, 5 Oct 1803. Augustus m. 2nd at Boxborough, 21 Jun 1804, Ruth’s sister MARY FAULKNER, b. 21 Nov 1768. Augustus had seven children with his wife Ruth and two children with Mary. Six of the children died in 1803.^[17]

vi JAMES DANA COOLIDGE, b. Oct 1760; d. at Bouckville Madison, NY, 11 Apr 1844;^[18] m. 1st at Littleton, 6 Apr 1786, LYDIA PATCH, b. at Littleton, 8 Mar 1766 daughter of Jonathan and Hannah (-) Patch; Lydia d. at Bouckville, 13 Feb 1814. James m. 2nd at Boxborough, 3 Jun 1822, PATTY WHITCOMB (widow of Ephraim Taylor), b. at Boxborough, 30 Jul 1781 daughter of Ephraim and Hannah (Hoar) Whitcomb; Patty d. at Madison, NY, 1830 (probate 1 Oct 1830).

She passed away 28 March 1812 in Bolton, Worcester, Massachusetts.^[19]

Sources and Footnotes

1. ↑ Family summary taken from Abbott, Patricia A., The Descendants of John and Elizabeth Stevens of Andover Through Six Generations, 2021, In Press
2. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F4JK-N3T : 10 November 2020), Phebe Dana, 12 Jul 1729; citing Birth, Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007009680.
3. ↑ The 1769 will of Caleb Dana includes bequests to daughter Phebe and his Coolidge grandchildren; Middlesex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1648-1871.Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. Case 5832
4. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FCSZ-HP1 : 10 November 2020), Phebe Dana in entry for Henry Coolidge, 12 Sep 1747; citing Marriage, Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 004198966.
5. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F4N4-77H : 10 November 2020), Henry Coolidge, 3 Nov 1717; citing Birth, Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007009514.
6. ↑ Coolidge, Henry, Mar. 28, 1812, a. 94 y. and abt. 5 m. C.R. Boxborough Vital Records, volume 1, p 66
7. ↑ Stearns, Ezra Scollay. 1887. History of Ashburnham, Massachusetts, from the Grant of Dorchester Canada to the Present Time, 1734-1886; with a Genealogical Register of Ashburnham Families. Ashburnham, MA: Published by the town. p 106; https://archive.org/details/historyofashburn00stea/page/106/mode/2up
8. ↑ Massachusetts Land Records, Middlesex County, 97:353, 101:135
9. ↑ Lois is Lois Whitney who was the widow of Henry’s son Robert. Lois later married Oliver Houghton. Granddaughters Mary and Phebe named in the will are children of son Robert and Lois.
10. ↑ Middlesex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1648-1871.Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. Case 5088
11. ↑ Dana, Elizabeth Ellery. 1956. The Dana Family in America. Cambridge, MA: Wright and Potter Printing Company. p 471; https://archive.org/details/TheDanaFamilyInAmerica/page/n483/mode/2up
12. ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQXX-DZT : 15 January 2020), Phebe Coolidge, 1748.
13. ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQXF-65M : 15 January 2020), Henry Coolige, 1750.
14. ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQXF-T6Y : 15 January 2020), Caleb Coolidge, 1752.
15. ↑ Coolidge, Frances, b. in Brighton, wid. of ————, Aug. 14, 1844, a. 94 y. 6 m. Old age.
16. ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQXF-BYX : 15 January 2020), Robert Coolidge, 1754.
17. ↑ Dana, Elizabeth Ellery. 1956. The Dana Family in America. Cambridge, MA: Wright and Potter Printing Company. p 472
18. ↑ James is interred at Indian Opening Cemetery, Bouckville, NY; death at age 83 years, 6 months; Find a Grave: 16854390; https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/16854390/james-dana-coolidge
19. ↑ FamilySearch https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LHPL-NS1 Accessed 13 January 2023.