Alice (Daniel) Greene (abt. 1611 - 1643)

Born about 1611 in England

Wife of Richard Beggarly — married about 1630 (to Dec 1638) in England

Wife of John Greene — married 1640 in Rhode Island

Died 1643 at about age 32 in Providence, Rhode Island [uncertain]

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Alice (Daniel) Greene migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See Great Migration Begins, by R. C. Anderson, Vol. 1, p. 147) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

Alice Daniel Beggarly Greene

Unknown Origins

Alice was born before 1610, judging by her marriage to Beggarly, which was no later than 1630. We have no information about her origins.^[1] The name Daniel may have been her maiden name, or it may have been a prior marriage.^[1] Either way, it is the earliest name we know for her.

Alice was certainly literate. We know this by the letter she wrote to John Winthrop in 1635.[WP 3:186]^[1] She also had considerable medical knowledge. ^[1] Anderson described her as "of high social status." This is evidenced by her excellent education and her inclusion in the "freeman's section" of the 1636 Salem land grant.^[1] As a "freeman," she was also a member of the Salem Church.

Associations

Reverend Samuel Skelton - After the death of Rev. Skelton, Alice had controlling interest in his estate.^[1] Also, Alice had written a letter to John Winthrop describing her difficulty in managing Skelton's cattle and also asking that she not be responsible for Skelton's children.^[1] The condition of the house in which Alice was living was described in another letter written by Hugh Peter to John Winthrop on 8 August 1638, "Mrs. Beggerly's, or rather Mr. Skelton's house, which is now falling to the ground."^[1] So there was certainly some unknown, but close relation between Alice and Samuel Skelton. ^[1]

Immigration

Alice immigrated in 1630 and settled first in Salem.^[1] She was married, but had sailed without her husband, Richard Beggarly.^[1] Apparently he was expected to join her in British America, but never did so.

Alice received two or three land grants in Salem, beginning in 1636. She was granted a farm and a meadow for a houselot, based on a household of one.[STR 1:104]^[1] A 1637 Providence record shows that Alice had also been granted land there.[ERP 1:3]^[1] She married her second husband, John Greene, at Providence in 1638.

Family

Alice married twice.

1) Married in England by 1630 to Richard Beggarly (or Beckley).^[1]

Based on Winthrop's records, it appears she sailed to New England without her husband, who failed to join her. Her case was brought before the colony Court and Winthrop wrote about it 2 Jun 1636, noting that she had been here six years, and her husband still in England. The Court had determined there was insufficient evidence for a divorce and advanced her 20s "till she might send into England for further proof" [WJ 2:421]; on 27 Mar 1638 in Essex Quarterly Court, "Mrs. Daniell" sued "Richard Beckly" in an action of debt, the court awarding the plaintiff 20s damages and 4s costs [EQC 1:7; NEHGR 35:319]; Winthrop's journal included a 13 or 14 Dec 1638 entry that "one Greene (who hath married the wife of one Beggerly, whose husband is living, and no divorce, etc., but only it was said, that he [Beggerly] had lived in adultery and had confessed it)" [WJ 1:341], indicating an estimate date by which Alice Daniels had married John Greene (i.e., between March and December 1638. [See also ERP 17:9.]

Because Alice's husband did not join her in British America, she filed for divorce. On 27 March 1638, the Essex Quarterly court denied her petition, seeking further evidence from England.[WJ 2:421]^[1] Winthrop wrote in his entry from13 or 14 December, 1638, "one Greene (who hath married the wife of one Beggarly, whose husband is living, and no divorce, etc., but only it is said, that he had lived in adultery, and had confessed it)."[WJ 1:341]^[1]

2) Married by 14 December, 1638 at Providence to John Greene.^[1]

No children are recorded.^[1]

Salem

She was included in the "freeman's" section of the 1636 Salem land grant, implying she was by then admitted to the Salem church.

That she was literate is evidenced by the latter she wrote to John Winthrop, probably in 1635 [Winthrop Papers 3:186]. According to John Endicott, she also had considerable medical knowledge [WP 3:222].

In Salem, her property ("farm") was adjacent to that of Lawrence Leach. [STR 1:60]. In 1637, "Mrs. Daniell" received a grant of meadow for a household of one. [STR 1:104].

Providence

"Mrs. Daniel" and "Alice Daniels" appear in two early lists of Providence landowners, probably dated 1638 [RICR 1:15, 24]

A 27 Jan 1682/3 Providence petition from John Greene Sr [sic] calls her "mother-in-law before my father Mr. John Greene Sr. married her who was at that time called Mrs. Alse Daniell." [ERP 8:122, 17:9].

Death and Legacy

Anderson tells us that according to Austin, Alice died in 1643 at Providence, but no actual evidence is cited.^[1]

Great Migration Begins Comments

"Although there is no direct evidence that 'Mrs. Beggarly' and 'Alice Daniel' were the same person, we find a parallelism in three areas where both names are found:

1. the marriage to Richard Beggarly/Beckley [WJ 1:283, 2:344 vs EQC 1:7];
2. the estate of Rev. Samuel Skelton [MBCR 1:232, WP 4:51 vs WP 3:186]
3. Providence [WJ 1:283 vs RICR 1:15, 24, ERP 1:3, 8:122, 17:9].

"The association with the estate of Samuel Skelton is especially telling, for it would be difficult to believe that two women of high social status, Mrs. Beggarly and Mrs. Alice Daniel, would both be directly involved in the same degree in settling that estate.

"Presumably Daniels is Alice's maiden name (or possible the name of a husband prior to Richard Beggarly). She was obviously well-educated and of high social status, at least by New England standards. Further research in England, including examination of the English career of Samuel Skelton, should reveal more about this interesting woman."

"In 1881 William B. Trask gathered all that was known about Alice, except for the items from the Providence town records [NEHGR 35:318-20]. His suggestion that Alice's husband Richard Beggarly was the same as Richard Beckley of New Haven seems an unlikely guess."

Research Notes

Joan Beggarly has been erroneously attributed in various places online as the daughter of Richard Beggarly and Alice Daniel. However she was cited as Mrs. Beggarly when she married John Greene, which means she was a widow, which makes the parental statement above incorrect. ^[2]

Unsourced information: She died abt 1682 at Quidnessett, Rhode Island.^{[citation needed]}

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18} Anderson, Robert C., The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III. (1995) Pages 147-48. AmericanAncestors.org (by subscription) accessed May 24, 2021.
2. ↑ La Mance, Lora S. The Green Family and all its Branches from A.D. 861 to A.D. 1904. Floral Park, NY: Mayflower Pub. Co., 1904. Page 59.

• Trask, William B. "Letter of Mrs. Alice Daniell of Salem, to Gov. John Winthrop at Boston." New England Historical and Genealogical Register 35:320 (1881)
• Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration Begins, Vol I-III, pp 147-148
• Doherty, Frank J., The Settlers of the Beekman Patent (1990) Vol. 5, Page 752
• Perley, Sidney, 1858-1928. The History of Salem, Massachusetts. Salem, Mass.: S. Perley, 1924-28. Vol 1 p. 256 Text: "After his death, the wife of Richard Beggarly attended to the settlement of Mr. Skelton's affairs. Who she was has never been determined. She was apparently the same person who, three years later, had a grant of land in Salem under the name of Mrs. Alice Daniel, who subsequently married John Greene. She was provably some connection of Mr. Skelton." see Historical Collections of the Essex Institute, volume 14 pp 143-152.