Nathaniel Goodhue (abt. 1670 - 1721)

Born about 24 Oct 1670 in Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Ancestors

Husband of Mercy (Hawkes) Goodhue — married 28 Nov 1696 in Lynn, Essex, Province of Massachusetts Bay

Descendants

Died 18 Aug 1721 at about age 50 in Ipswich, Essex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay

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Biography

This profile is part of the Chebacco Parish, Massachusetts One Place Study.

Nathaniel Goodhue, the son of William Goodhue, Jr. and Hannah Dane, was probably born on 24 Oct 1670 or 1671, in Ipswich in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.^[1] According to The Hammett Papers, he was born "October 24, 1672."^[2] While Jonathan Goodhue, author of History and Genealogy of the Goodhue Family, cites a birth of "Aug. 4. 1670,"^[3] but that may be a misinterpretation of the month, given as "8ber" in the records, as todays' eighth month, while the eighth month of the seventeenth century would have been October (see below).

There is some uncertainty about Nathaniel Goodhue's year of birth because the transcribed registry entry is only clear that it was on the 24th day of "8ber," or October, of 167--. Calculating back from his age of 51 in 1721, when he died (see below), his year of birth would probably be 1669 or 1670. Because the decade, at least, was legible in the original register at the time of transcription, 1670 is the preferred date.

Nathaniel married Mercy Hawkes of Lynn, in Essex County of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, in 1696.^[4]

Chlldren:

1. William, b. Oct 15, 1699
2. Sarah, b. Feb 8, 1701
3. Nathaniel, b. Nov. 2, 1702, d. Sept 16, 1721
4. John, b. Jan 5, 1707
5. Mercy, b. Feb. 19, 1709; d. Oct. 12, 1721
6. Elisabeth, b. Dec. 1710

Capt. Nathaniel Goodhue "of Chebacco" died on 18 Aug 1721, at the age of 51. He was buried in the Old Essex Cemetery (originally the Chebacco Parish cemetery).^[5] According to The Hammett Papers, "1721, August 18, died Capt Nathaniel Goodhue at Chebacco."^[2] Nathaniel's death is also listed in records from the Second Church of Ipswich's Chebacco Parish with a slightly different date, "1721: August 16th. Capt Nathan'll Goodhue Dyed." Nathaniel's record is the first of four records on a single page which also lists the deaths of his wife Mercy, and two of his children, Nathaniel and Mercy, who all perished between August and October of 1721.^[6] Their deaths appear to be coincident with a 1721 smallpox outbreak mentioned in History of The Town of Essex.^[7]

Note: Mayflower Families states he was the son of William and Hannah (Dane) Goodhue.

Sources

1. ↑ Vital records of Ipswich, Massachusetts : to the end of the year 1849, Volume I; Ipswich Births; Page 164
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Hammatt, Abraham. The Hammatt Papers (A. Caldwell, A.W. Dow, 1880-1899). pp. 120-121. Citing: "Nathaniel Goodhue."
3. ↑ Goodhue, Jonathan. History and Genealogy of the Goodhue Family in England and America to the Year 1890. (E. R. Andrews, Rochester, NY, 1891). pp.12-13. Citing: "Family 3. William Goodhue."
4. ↑ Goodhue, History and Genealogy of the Goodhue Family: p. 16. Citing: "19. Nathaniel Goodhue."
5. ↑ Vital records of Ipswich, Massachusetts : to the end of the year 1849 v.2; Ipswich Deaths; Page 570
6. ↑ Congregational Library & Archives (CongregationalLibrary.org). History Matters, "Essex, Mass. First Congregational Church," Parish records, 1681-1726, p. 44. Citing: "Deaths of The Several persons hereafter Named.
   1721: August 16th. Capt Nathan'll Goodhue Dyed.
   1721: Septem'r 16th. Nathaniel Goodhue Son of Capt Nathan'll Goodhue Dyed.
   1721: October 12th. Mercy Goodhue Daughter of Capt Nathan'll Goodhue Dyed.
   1721: October 28th. Mercy ye Wife of Capt Nathaniel Goodhue Dyed."
7. ↑ Crowell, Robert. History of The Town of Essex, from 1634 to 1868 (Essex, Mass., 1868). p. 131. Citing: "1721. This year is memorable for the extensive spread, and great mortality of the small pox in Boston, and other towns."

See also:

• Mayflower Society Application Database: "Community Trees," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/2:2:QVQG-1WS : accessed 1 March 2022), entry for Nathaniel Goodhue, cites sources; "Mayflower Pilgrim Genealogies" file (2:2:2:MMXD-DP8), submitted 24 February 2020 by FamilySearch. Source: Robert S. Wakefield, FASG; Margaret Harris Stover, CG, Mayflower Families Through Five Generations - Descendants of the Pilgrims Who Landed at Plymouth, Mass December 1620 (Vol. 17) ([Plymouth, Massachusetts]: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 199

• Mayflower Families Vol. 17 p. 39

• Wikipedia Contributors. Essex, Massachusetts. (Accessed 29 Dec 2022). "Essex was incorporated as a town in 1819. It was previously a part of the town of Ipswich and was then called Chebacco Parish."