Joanna (Hale) Penticost (abt. 1616 - 1686)

Born about 1616 in England

Ancestors

Wife of Edward Larkin — married 1638 (to 1651) in Charlestown, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Wife of John (Pente) Pentecost — married about 1658 in Charlestown, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Descendants

Died 27 Jan 1686 at about age 70 in Charlestown, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Scott Hufford [send private message], Michael Thomas [send private message], Carolyn Lynett [send private message], and Lyle Larkin [send private message]

Biography

Joanna (??) was born in England in about 1616, based on her being about 70 years of age when she died in 1685/6.^[1] Her maiden name is not known for certain, but it is commonly given as Hale. See the Surname Notes below for details.

Joanna first appears on Colonial records as the wife of Edward Larkin, when Joanna Larkin was admitted to the First Church of Charlestown on 8 January 1638/9. Joanna had therefore married Edward by about 1638.^[2] Edward Larkin was admitted to the church on 23 September 1639.^[3] Edward was also in Charlestown by about 1638, based on the church records cited above. He is listed in Anderson's Great Migration Directory.^[4]

Joanna and Edward had children, all born in Charlestown:^[5][6]

1. John born 10 (1) 1640 (10 March 1640), married Joanna Hale, died 1678, of smallpox. He was a wood turner and had a house and marsh at the Mill Pond. He had a "dubbel portion" by his father's will.
2. Elizabeth born 5 (7) 1641 (5 September 1641), married John Newton
3. Hannah born 16 (1) 1643 (16 March 1643), "Taken by brother and Sister Penticost to keep and provide for." (See will of Edward Larkin), married John Newell.
4. Thomas born 18 (8) 1644 (18 October 1644). Married Hannah Remmington, then Elizabeth Douse
5. Sarah born 12 (1) 1647, (12 March 1647), married John Wheeler
6. Joanna born ca 1649, married Moses Newton
7. Posthumous child, b. 1652, died young (See will of Edward Larkin)

Edward wrote his will on 15 September 1651, and he died on 15 November 1651.^[7] His inventory was taken on 14 January 1651/2. Hannah was bequeathed the usual one-third widow's dower, and she and Robert Hale were the executors of the estate.^[8]

Hannah was pregnant at the time that Edward wrote his will. The unnamed posthumous child apparently died as an infant.

Prior to Edward's death Edward and Joanna had given their daughter Hannah to be raised by John and Joanna Penticost, who had no children of their own. By 1658 John was a widower, and he and Joanna married, each for the second time.^[9] Joanna was thus reunited with her daughter Hannah, then age about 15.

Joanna and John had a son John born on 6 May 1659, who evidently died young.^[7]

In 1673 Joanna's youngest child was of age, and Joanna deeded part of Edward's estate to their son Thomas.^[5]

Joanna died on 27 January 1685/6, in Charlestown.^[1][10] John Penticost deeded his entire estate to his adopted daughter Joanna (Larkin) Newell on 12 March 1685/6.^[5] John died on 27 October 1687, also in Charlestown.^[10]

Joanna has a Find A Grave: Memorial #32722538 which has her buried in the Phipps Street burying Ground, Charlestown.

Research Notes

Surname Notes

Mary Lovering Holman posits in a footnote in Stevens-Miller (cited above) that Joanna's birth surname must have been Hale, and that she was a sister of the early Boston immigrant Robert Hale. Her surmise is based on Edward Larkin's will of 15 February 1651/2, in which he mentions his "beloved brother and sister Penticost" and his "beloved brother Robert Hale". Taking this language to indicate actual family relationships, John Penticost was assumed to have married, as his first wife, Edward's (assumed) sister Joanna, so the Penticosts were Edward's "brother and sister". Edward was assumed to have married Robert's (assumed) sister Joanna, so Robert was a "brother".^[5]

However, in TAG 62:118-20, Douglas Richardson discusses the probable origins of John Penticost, and he finds a 1632 marriage record for him in England, to the widow Joane Smyth.^[7] This would mean that Edward Larkin did not have an in-law relationship with John Penticost, and by extension it casts doubt on whether Robert Hale was an in-law of Edward, as both "beloved" relationships could be (and often are) construed as based on mutual church membership. Another valid interpretation of the "beloved" language is that by the time Edward wrote his will the Penticosts had adopted his daughter Hannah, so they were family in that sense, and Robert Hale was a stalwart Deacon of the church, so very aptly styled "brother".

The assumption that Edward Larkin and Robert Hale each had sisters named Joanna in Cambridge in about 1638 seems to be based solely on Holman's surmise. The records document only that Edward, Robert, and John each married a Joane / Joanna, and that the Larkin, Hale, and Penticost families were closely associated by 1651, when Edward wrote his will.

Per Anderson's GMB, Robert Hale arrived in Boston in 1630, and he was married by 1632, when he and his wife Joane were dismissed from the church there and joined the Charlestown church. Anderson references both Holman and Richardson, but he allows the possibility that Robert had a sister Joanna who married Edward Larkin.^[11]

The likelihood that John Penticost married in England dispenses with the need to assume that Edward Larkin arrived with a sister. Given the lack of credible origins for Robert Hale it is not possible to determine whether he had a sister who came to New England when she became of age, but it should be recognized that this is not the most straightforward scenario, nor is it necessary given the known records.

Parenthetically, Edward's son John married Robert Hale's daughter Joanna. Under Holman's surmise this was a marriage between first cousins, not unheard of for that time, but not usual either.

In summary, it should be recognized that the basis for assigning Joanna the surname Hale is based on a surmise that has been shown to be partially incorrect. Assuming that she was a sister of Robert appears to be an unnecessary complication that at present is not possible to confirm or deny. The most conservative approach would be to disconnect Joanna from the Hale surname until it can be confirmed that Robert Hale in fact had a sister who came to New England by early 1638.

Miscellaneous Notes and Errata

FamilySearch has a daughter Sarah born to Edward and "Joana" on 4 July 1641. The citation is their "Massachusetts Births and Christenings" collection. The Charlestown vital records do not show this birth, and it would be impossible given the record for the birth of Elizabeth on 5 September 1641. The source image is not available on FamilySearch, but the birth record has to be a typographical error of some sort.

From a prior version of this profile: "Some sources state maiden name is Butler, Others state she is daughter of Henry Hale." " Joanna arrived in 1630 to Salem, Massachusetts." "Joanna Butler married Edward Larkin 1635 in Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts. Joanna Hale or Butler's husband, Edward Larkin, was born 1615 in England, and died June 02, 1652 in Charlestown,Ma. "

Note on Family

Edward and Joanna Larkin's daughter, also named Joanna Larkin, probably was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts. She married Moses Newton in Marlborough on October 28,1668. Joanna's sister was married to Moses' brother John. Later, her son Ebenezer married another Joanna Larkin, his mother's niece. Time and again one runs into families interlocked through marriage. After all, there were relatively few families in the area, especially in the early days. Travel was limited, and a young person tended to marry someone who lived very near.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001", , FamilySearch(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FH2W-XP8 : Wed Oct 25 20:09:56 UTC 2023), Entry for Johanna Penticost or Pentecost and John, 27 Jan 1685.
2. ↑ New England Marriages to 1700. Torrey v.2 p.922 (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015. NEHGS member site
   • Text: "LARKIN, Edward (-1652) & Joanna [HALE?] (1616-1686), sis Robert, m/2 John PENTICOST; by 1639; Charlestown {Keeler-Wood 181; Snow-Estes 1:254; Paine Anc. (1936) 27; Dows-Dowse 6; Dodge Anc. (1896) 23; Holman Ms: Larkin; Warner-Harrington 393, 471; Stevens-Miller 138; Charlestown 599; Bigelow-Howe 85,94; Falls 135-6; Hinckley Anc. 50; Lord 192; Newton (#4) 21; Paine (#5) 57; Treat 191; Warren (#5) 97; Bullard Anc. 153}"
3. ↑ Records of the First church in Charlestown, Massachusetts, 1632-1789, p. 9, InternetArchive
4. ↑ Anderson, Robert Charles, Great Migration Directory
   • Text: “Larkin, Edward: Unknown; 1638; Charlestown [ChTR 39; ChBOP 43; ChChR 9; MBCR 1:376; NEHGR 4:268; Stevens-Miller 1:144-48; TAG 62:118-20; Kempton Anc 3:290-97].”
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3} Holman, Mary Lovering, Ancestry of Colonel John Harrington Stevens and his wife Frances Helen Miller, 1948, v.1 pp.144-148 borrowable on InternetArchive
6. ↑ Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1620-1850 Charlestown, v.1 pp. 4-10 (Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2016). NEHGS member site
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2} The American Genealogist. New Haven, CT: D. L. Jacobus, 1932-. v.62 pp.118-120 (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .) NEHGS member site
8. ↑ Middlesex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1648-1871.Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives. Digitized images provided by FamilySearch.org) NEHGS member site
9. ↑ New England Marriages to 1700. Torrey, v.2 p.1164 (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015. NEHGS member site
   • Text: "PENTICOST, John (-1697, ae 90) & 2/wf Joanna (HALL) LARKIN (1615-1685, ae 70), w Edward; aft 1652, by 1674, by 1659, aft 1656/7; Charlestown {Charlestown 599, 737; Paine (,5) 57; Newton (,4) 21; Bigelow-Howe 85; Bullard Anc. 153; Keeler-Wood 181; Stevens-Miller 147; Warner-Harrington 397}"
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1620-1850 Charlestown, v.1 pp. 131, 136 (Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2016). NEHGS member site
11. ↑ The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2010), (Originally Published as: New England Historic Genealogical Society. Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, 3 vols., 1995). NEHGS member site

• Author: Albert Gallatins Wheeler, Jr. Title: The History of the Wheeler Family in America Publication: Name: Boston, Massachusetts., 1914, American College of Genealogy; NOTESource Medium: Book CONT
• Author: Thomas Todd Title: Todd & Wheeler Families Publication: Name: Boston, 1909,; Call Number: ISBN: 0 8328-5287-2 NOTESource Medium: Book CONT Source Quality: Excellent CONT CONT http://www.higginsonbooks.com CONT CONT 148 Washington Street, P.O. Box 778 CONT Salem, Massachusetts 01970 CONT

Acknowledgments

• Thank you to Al Adams for creating WikiTree profile Joanna-35 through the import of samuel reed.ged on Dec 13, 2013.