Elizabeth (Leighton) Pinkham (abt. 1676 - abt. 1756)

Born about 1676 in Dover, New Hampshire

Ancestors

Wife of Richard Pinkham — married before Aug 1696 in Dover, New Hampshire

Descendants

Died about 1756 at about age 80 in Dover, New Hampshire

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Carlos Pinkham [send private message] and Steve Honda [send private message]

Biography

Elizabeth Leighton, the daughter of Thomas Leighton II and Elizabeth (Unknown) Leighton, was born in Dover N.H. abt. 1676, and died in Dover N.H. abt. 1756. At Dover, New Hampshire, she married Richard Pinkham, a carpenter (born abt. 1672, the son of John and Martha (Otis) Pinkham). On 18 Apr. 1699 they were given land by her brother Thomas Leighton III. (NHPD, 5:107). According to another source, Elizabeth was born in Dover about 1673, to Thomas and his first wife Elizabeth (Nutter) Leighton. Elizabeth died between August 7, 1725 when she made her mark to a deed, and before November 27, 1757 when her husband remarried.^[1]

After Elizabeth's death, Richard Pinkham, at age 85, married his second wife on 27 Nov 1757, Mary (Hill) Welch of Kittery, Maine, widow of Benjamin Welch (Noyes-Libby-Davis, 556-7; ^[2][1] who was then 78 years old.

Everett S. Stackpole tells us that Elizabeth was put in stocks because her husband would not or could not pay her fine for "entertaining" Quakers, and for attending Quaker worship at Oyster River; a victim of the Puritan rule of Massachusetts at the time:

“Another time five more Quaker preachers came to Dover, including Ann Coleman, the irrepressible. They went to the place of worship, on the height of Dover Neck, and were promptly sent to prison by Major Walderne. There they were detained almost two weeks, "though he confessed that for aught he knew they might be such as were spoken of in the 11th of Hebrews, yet he must execute the law against them, and so set them at Liberty. The people promised that the priest Rayner should give them a fair reasoning when his worship was done; but he broke his word and packed away; and though the women followed him to his house yet he would not turn, but clapt to his door, having taken out the key and turned Anna Coleman out of the house." After this some of the people of Dover, especially in the Oyster River parish, were fined for being absent from meeting and attending Quaker worship and entertaining Quakers, among whom were William Roberts, William Williams, William Follet, James Smith, John Goddard, Thomas Roberts, James Nute, Mary Hanson and the wife of Richard Pinkham, who sat in the stocks because her husband would not or could not pay a fine of sixty-five shillings.”

"Truth crushed to earth shall rise again"; so, it did in Dover, and a Quaker meeting house was built, and a company of godly men and women gathered in it. The children of some of the persecutors were converted to the views and practices of the Friends, and to this day the Quaker church in Dover lives, and their house of worship stands as a monument to the noble army of those who had the martyr spirit. This disgrace of persecuting the Friends in New Hampshire was due to the Puritan rule of Massachusetts for a time therein.” ^[3].

Children of Richard and Elizabeth (Leighton) Pinkham. (All born in Dover N.H.):

1. John Pinkham, born 19 Aug. 1696.^[4][1]
2. Richard Pinkham Jr., born 5 Sep 1698.^[5] Per another source, he was born about 1705^[1] Married Abigail Pinkham.^[6] Died in Barrington N.H. 5 Jun. 1778.^[7]
3. Tristram Pinkham, born abt 1700. Married Martha Abigail Hayes, daughter of Samuel Hayes and Leah Dam, on 12 Aug 1738. Martha was born on 16 Aug 1721 in Dover, N.H.. She died before 1762. Per another source, he was born in about 1710.^[1]
4. Elizabeth (Betty), b about 1701; m in Dover Dec 7, 1727, Samuel Cromwell^[1] NOTE: Not shown as a child in The Leighton Genealogy by Perley M. Leighton
5. Ann, b about 1703; m at Dover March 2, 1726/7 William Geddis. No further record^[1] NOTE: Not shown as a child in The Leighton Genealogy by Perley M. Leighton

Richard Pinkham was a carpenter and lived on Dover Neck, N.H., owning a lot fronting on the High Street. He m. Elizabeth Leighton, daughter of the second Thomas Leighton, a noble choice. On May 2, 1699, Richard Pinkham conveyed the High Street premises to Thomas Tibbetts. On May 12, 1709, he conveyed to his nephew, [not correct, his brother] Amos Pinkham, land which formerly belonged to the first Thomas Leighton. Feb. 22, 1736-37, he conveyed land to his son, Tristram; also on Feb. 11, 1748-49. On Dec. 2, 1730-31, he conveyed to his son, Richard, Lot No. 70 in the first division at Rochester, N. H. On April 18, 1699, he received land from Thomas Leighton, eldest son and heir to Thomas, deceased, grandson of Thomas Leighton first, and brother to Elizabeth Leighton, wife of Richard Pinkham. ^[8]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6} "The Pinkhams of Strafford County, New Hampshire" New Hampshire Genealogical Record. Reference Volume 22 (2005), Issue 2, pages 63-67
2. ↑ https://archive.org/details/richardpinkhamof00sinn/page/22
3. ↑ [https://archive.org/details/historynewhampshire01stac/page/72
4. ↑ https://archive.org/stream/newenglandhistor005wate#page/188/mode/1up
5. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/131959785/richard-pinkham
6. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/131959919/abigail-pinkham
7. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/131959785/richard-pinkham
8. ↑ Sinnett, Charles Nelson, Rev, 1908. Richard Pinkham of Old Dover New Hampshire, and His Descendants, East and West, Rumford Printing Company, Concord, NH, 334 pp, p 15. https://archive.org/details/richardpinkhamof00sinn/page/n333

• Perley M. Leighton "A Leighton Genealogy: Descendants of Thomas Leighton of Dover N.H., Vol-1" Page-27. NEHGS, Boston 1989.

• Charles N. Sinnett, "Richard Pinkham of Old Dover, N.H. and His Descendants East and West" [Concord, 1908}, 15-17) Pages 15-17, 22

• NEHGR: The Otis Genealogy by Horatio N. Otis, The New England Historical & Genealogical Register (New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Mass., 1851) Vol-5 Pg-188 https://archive.org/stream/newenglandhistor005wate#page/188/mode/1up

• Scales, John, History of Dover, New Hampshire, Vol. 1. (Tercentenary Ed.) Containing Historical Genealogical and Industrial Data of Its Early Settlers, Their Struggles and Triumphs, published 1923. Reference pages 321-22

• Everett S. Stackpole, "History of New Hampshire, Volume-1" ([The American Historical Society, N.Y., 1916], Page-73)

• Genealogical Record Sheets prepared by Pinkham-363 around 1980 in his possession. Each sheet has additional references.

Acknowledgments

• Theresa Salari, Friday, March 28, 2014.
• WikiTree profile Leighton-549 created through the import of RandallEdithM_AncWithDeathAft1600.ged on Feb 20, 2012 by Sue Durling.