Esther (Moss) Royce (abt. 1654 - 1677)

Born about 2 Jan 1654 in New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut

Wife of Nathaniel Royce — married 27 Oct 1673 in Wallingford, Connecticut

Descendants

Died 19 Jun 1677 at about age 23 in Wallingford, New Haven, Connecticut

Problems/Questions Profile managers: S Willson [send private message] and David Lewis [send private message]

Disputed Origins

Esther/Hester Moss has been shown in some genealogies as male, with no sources provided for the male designation. As "Hester" is normally a female name, in the absence of sources, this profile will consider her as female. Please do not add a male Hester Moss back to WikiTree as a son to these parents without quality sources for his gender.

Esther [Moss] is the wife of Nathaniel,Not the wife of Nehemiah Royce

This error was begun with the "History of Wallingford" by Davis and is very difficult to stop. Many current listings have her married to the wrong husband.

Birth & Baptism
Ester Moss or Mosse was born^[1]. and baptized 2 JAN 1653/4^[2]. Her baptismal record does not list her parents, but Jacobus' Families of Ancient New Haven speculated that she might be the daughter of John Moss.

Different Spellings of her Name and Dates of Birth

She is also referred to as Hester Moss in other sources. Her birth record from Connecticut lists her as Hester, with the same birthdate and father.^[3] Cutter lists her name as Hester, with a birth date of January 16, 1654. Notably, Cutter does not show an Esther as a child of John.^[4] Abner Morse lists her name as Hester, with a birthdate of January 2, 1653-4, and says she is not further reported. He also does not include a child named Esther for John.^[5] Another source lists her father John and siblings. Her name is shown as Hester, and her birthdate is listed as January 2, 1653-4; no sibling named Ester is identified.^[6]

Nathaniel, Esther/Hester's husband married second to Sarah Lathrop in 1681, and they named their daughter Hester.^[7] It seems very unlikely that they would name a daughter a name previously used as a male name in the immediately preceding generation of this very same family.

Marriage
Davis' History of Wallingford mistakenly lists Esther as the wife of Nehemiah Royce. Nehemiah is married to Hannah Morgan, at the time of Esther's marriage. She is instead married to Nathaniel. They were married about Oct 27, 1673^[8] Here again there is some question. The bride's name is not listed in the marriage record of Nathaniel. We know her name is Esther from her death record, but can't be 100% sure that her maiden name was Moss.

Death
Ester Royce, w. Nath'll d 19 June 1677^[8]. Her son Benjamin was born 6 May 1677. So she probably died from complications of childbirth.

Sources

1. ↑ Connecticut Births and Christenings, 1649-1906 database, FamilySearch : 3 December 2014), Hester Moss, 02 Jan 1653; citing ; FHL microfilm unknown
2. ↑ Connecticut Church Records Index. New Haven First Congregational Part 2 J-Z, 1639-1937 Hartford: Connecticut State Library, 1947
3. ↑ Connecticut Births and Christenings, 1649-1906 database, FamilySearch : 3 December 2014), Hester Moss, 02 Jan 1653; citing ; FHL microfilm unknown.
4. ↑ Cutter, William Richard Genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of the state of Massachusetts, published 1910. Reference page 2695
5. ↑ Morse, Abner Memorial of the Morses : containing the history of seven persons of the name, who settled in America in the seventeenth century, published 1850. Reference page 144
6. ↑ Wheeler, Richard Anson History of the town of Stonington, county of New London, Connecticut, from its first settlement in 1649 to 1900, published 1900. Reference page 482
7. ↑ Connecticut Vital Records to 1870, The Barbour Collection, (Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2011.) From original typescripts, Lucius Barnes Barbour Collection, 1928. Reference Wallingford Volume, page 286
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Wallingford Vital Records, 1671-1706 In Land Records, Volume I (copied by Donald Lines Jacobus) The American Genealogist 14:22-

• Genealogical and Personal Memoirs, Prepared under the Editorial Supervision of William Richard Cutter, assisted by William Frederick Adams, Lewis Historical Publishing Co. (1910), vol. iv, p. 2695
• U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 Author: Yates Publishing Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com

GEDCOM Contributors

Carol Gibson, Dave Lewis