Edward Ketcham (bef. 1598 - bef. 1655)

Born before 1598 in England [uncertain]

Husband of Mary Sharp (Hall) Ketcham — married 22 Aug 1619 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England

Husband of Sarah (Salmon) Whitney — married about 1639 in Southold, Suffolk, New York

Descendants

Died before 9 Jun 1655 at about age 57 in Stratford, Fairfield County, Connecticut

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Edward Ketcham migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Directory, by R. C. Anderson, p. 193) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Disputed Parents and Origin

Edward Ketcham was purportedly born at County Kent, England in 1590 or Cambridge, England in 1595. Coddington stated that after exhasitive research in the Cambridge area, that it "seems certain, therefore, that Edward Ketcham was a sojourner at Cambridge, that he was born and raised in some other part of England."^[1]

"... reports of a mythical Sir Roland Ketcham in Wales... and other origins are fully disproved, and have no standing whatever."^[2] Sir Roland Ketcham and wife Roberta are a modern incarnation of the above myth and are removed.

Edward Ketcham's ancestry has not been established. Among the possibilities, two of the more likely are reported in Ginger Stork's The Known Descendants of Edward Ketcham/Catchum/Cetcham - Puritan (Davison, MI: G.K. Stork, 1995): James Chetham of Cromsall, County Lancashire, England and Sir Robert Kytchen, Mayor of Bristol.

Biography

Birth and Origins

Edward Ketcham's birth date and place are unknown, although based on the assumed first marriage year of 1619 in Cambridge, England, he was probably born by 1598 in England.

Marriages and Children

Edward Ketcham's first marriage was to Mary (Hall) on 22 Aug 1619 at St. Andrew the Great, Cambridge, England.^[3][4] Together they had the following children:^[5]

1. Mary Ketcham; baptized 7 May 1620 at Church of St. Andrew the Great, Cambridge, England.27,28,29
2. John Ketcham, christened 8 Sep 1622 at St. Andrews Church, Cambridge, England; married Susan Payne; married Bethiah Richardson.
3. Hester Ketcham; baptized 10 Apr 1626 at Holy Trinity Church, Cambridge, England.30,31,32
4. Hannah Ketcham; baptized 19 Oct 1628 at St. Michael's Church, Cambridge, England.36,37,38, She also went by the name of Ann.

Edward married second ^[6] and together they had the following children:

1. Sarah Ketcham, born between 1640 and 1650 at Huntington, Suffolk Co, New York; married Joseph Whitman.
2. Rebecca Ketcham, born circa 1647 at Norwalk, Connecticut; married Thomas Taylor.
3. Joseph Ketcham, born circa 1650 at Southold, Suffolk Co, New York; married Mercy Lindall; married Sarah Jagger.

Immigration

It is unknown when or how Edward immigrated to New England, but he had arrived by 9 March 1636/7, when he was listed as a freeman in Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts.^[7]

New England Life

He was present on 3 Mar 1639/40 at Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony, for the hearing when his daughter Hester was freed from service to John Woolrige. "Hester Ketcham is freed from her service wth her mr, John Woolrige, & the said mr enjoyned to give ^ Ketcham 20shs charges, & the said mr, John Woolrige, is bound to his good behavior, & enjoyned to appear at the Court the 7th m next, & to put in sufficient caution for the good behavior & appearance./."33,34 She was living in 1655.35

Probably in the 1640's the Ketchams moved to Long Island. In 1654 Edward owned land in Southold, Suffolk County, though it seems likely he already resettled in Stratford, Fairfield County, Connecticut, by that date. Edward Ketcham died in the above Connecticut location in 1655.

He and 56 other men of Ipswich signed a remonstrance against the departure of John Winthrop Jr on 21 Jun 1637 from Ipswich, Massachusetts Bay Colony (Massachusetts).{citation needed}

He was shown as a landowner and cattleowner on 20 Dec 1638 at Ipswich, Massachusetts Bay Colony (Massachusetts) and a cattle owner on 30 Jun 1639 and 13 Jan 1640, at Ipswich, Massachusetts Bay Colony (Massachusetts).{citation needed}

He resided before 1650 at Hashamomuck Neck, the southold (Southold), (Suffolk Co), New Haven Colony (New York), when he was listed as land owner.{citation needed}

Death and Probate

He left a will on 9 Jun 1655 at Stratford, Connecticut. In his will he named his 2nd wife, Sarah, his son John, and daughters Mary, Hannah and Hester. His inventory is dated June 9, 1655.{citation needed}

Research Notes

James F. Morton, who wrote a genealogy column for the Boston Transcript under the pen name Amiko, noted that there are almost as many versions of the family of Edward Ketcham as writers on the subject. Edward's four children whose baptismal records have been found in Cambridge, England (Mary, John, Hester, and Ann/Hannah) are certain. All four children were most likely with Edward's first wife, Mary Hall. The evidence indicates that Edward married a Sarah Salman of Southold, Long Island. The differences arise over as many as five purported children, Edward, Samuel, Sarah, Rebecca, and Joseph. Interestingly, Edward's will, deteriorated and with significant lacunae, contains only the names Mary, John, Hester, and Ann/Hannah. The names of the other children, most Ketcham genealogists assume, were to be found in the lacunae.

Sources

1. ↑ "Edward Ketcham of Cambridge, Co. Cambridge, and Elsewhere in England, Later of Ipswich, Mass., Southold, L.I., and Stratford, Conn." in The American Genealogist, vol. 30 (1954):2 (New Haven: D. L. Jacobus, 1954), ; (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - ), image of p. 2 by subscription AmericanAncestors.].
2. ↑ Seversmith, Herbert Furman. Colonial Families of Long Island, New York and Connecticut, Being the Ancestry & Kindred of Herbert Furman Seversmith 4:1737 (Washington DC: 1953); image of p. 1737 available HathiTrust.org.
3. ↑ "Bishop's transcripts for St. Andrew-the-Great's Church, Cambridge"; "England, Cambridgeshire Bishop's Transcripts, 1538-1983," image 71 of 498 at FamilySearch.org.
4. ↑ Clarence Almon Torrey, New England Marriages Prior to 1700, 2:886 (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2011), image of vol. 2, p. 886 by subscription AmericanAncestors.org. Entry: KETCHAM, Edward] (-1655) & l/Wf Mary [HALL]; Cambridge, Eng, 22 Aug 1619 {Stevens-Miller 51 '1; TAG 30:2, 3}.
5. ↑ Citing Parish Records, "Edward Ketcham of Cambridge, Co. Cambridge, and Elsewhere in England, Later of Ipswich, Mass., Southold, L.I., and Stratford, Conn." in The American Genealogist, vol. 30 (1954):3 (New Haven: D. L. Jacobus, 1954), ; (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - ), image of p. 3 by subscription AmericanAncestors.].
6. ↑ Clarence Almon Torrey, New England Marriages Prior to 1700, 2:886 (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2011), image of vol. 2, p. 886 by subscription AmericanAncestors.org. Entry: KETCHUM, Edward1 (—1655) & ?Sarah , m/2 Hemy WHITNEY by 1660; by 1630?; Ipswich/ Southold LI/Stratford, CT {Stratford Hist. 221232; Ring-Mailer 187; Wickham—Billard 183; Fairfield Fam. 1:359, 600; F airf‌ield Prob. 4; Strang; Miner Anc. 200—201; Shaffer-Hunt 9—10; Whitney (#6) 4}.
7. ↑ Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, 1:372 (Boston: W. White, printer to the commonwealth, 1853), image of p. 372 at InternetArchive.org.

See also:

• Anderson, Robert Charles, The Great Migration Directory; Immigrants to New England, 1620–1640, A Concise Compendium, Ebook (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015), entry for "Ketcham, Edward: Cambridge, Cambridgeshire; 1636; Ipswich, Southold, Stratford [MBCR 1:372; ITR 38; TAG 30:2-6; FOOF 1:359-60; Seversmith 4:1729-36; Stevens-Miller 1:511]."
• The Settlers of the Beekman Patent, Dutchess County, New York. An Historical & Genealogical Study of all 18th Century Inhabitants of the Patent. Vol. VII p.470. F.J. Doherty 2003.