Elizabeth (Unknown) Stover (abt. 1634 - bef. 1722)

Wife of Sylvester Stover — married 25 May 1650 in York, York, Maine

Descendants

Died before 4 Sep 1722 before about age 88 in Scituate, Plymouth, Massachusetts

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Cheryl Hammond [send private message] and Puritan Great Migration Project WikiTree [send private message]

Elizabeth (Unknown) Stover migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Disputed paternity

Margaret,^[1] widow of Henry Norton, is named in a 1660 court proceeding as the mother-in-law of Sylvester Stover. In his Great Migration profile of Henry Norton,^[2] Anderson accepts Margaret as the mother of Elizabeth, but makes the case that Henry was unlikely to have been Elizabeth's biological father:

*NOTE: Estimating ages in colonial New England. Usual ages at first marriage in colonial New England were mid-to-late 20s for males and early-to-mid 20s for females.

Common genealogical practice for this time period is to estimate the birth of the first child one year after marriage, and subsequent children two years apart.^[3]

• Henry Norton's birth is recorded in Stepney on 26 Nov 1618.
• At least two of Elizabeth and Sylvester Stover's children were born in or before 1653, suggesting a marriage around 1650-51. They were definitely married by 1655, when they appear in court for a domestic dispute: as Anderson describes the proceedings, "not those of a newlywed couple, but of a couple who had considerable experience of one another."
• This makes the distance between Henry's birth and Elizabeth's marriage about 32 years, meaning they would each have been 16 years old at first marriage—unusually young—or one older than 16 and one much younger—even less likely.

Instead, Anderson speculates that Elizabeth was probably Margaret's daughter by a prior (unknown) marriage, and therefore the stepdaughter of Henry Norton. If Anderson's theory is accepted then Elizabeth's birth name is unknown.

Biography

Birth

Elizabeth's birth date is not precisely known and no record has been found. She was at least in her mid- to late 20s in 1653, by which year at least two of her children (John, aged 77 in 1730, and Elizabeth, aged 85 in 1738)^[2] had been born.

Given the likelihood that Elizabeth was born by about 1630, it is therefore most likely she was born in England, not New England, and almost certainly not Maine: Henry Norton is first recorded in Boston in 1634/5, and removed to York, Maine, by 1649.^[2] No sailing record or passenger list has been found for the family.

Marriage and children

On 28 Jun 1655, "Sylvester Stover & his wife" were presented to a grand jury in York "for complaining of one another on a Lord's Day in the morning in saying his wife did abuse him & bade him go to Thomas Crockett's to his bastard & carry some bread & cheese, & the said wife of Stover said that her husband did commonly call her whore." On 5 Jul 1660, "Elizabeth Stover, the wife of Sylvester Stover," was presented for "abusing her husband by many reviling & reproachful speeches, as calling of him rogue & rascal." During the same case, additional provision was made "if the said Stover shall make any just cause of complaint against Mrs. Norton his mother-in-law."^[2]

Elizabeth names children John, Dependence, George, Josiah, Elizabeth Walfoot, Sarah Lancaster, Deborah Sawyer, Mary Wanton, and Hannah Bryant in her will.^[4]

Death

The will of Elizabeth Stover, then a widow, was dated 7 Dec 1714 at Scituate, Massachusetts, and proved 4 Sep 1722 at Plymouth.^[4] The actual date and location of her decease is not known.

Elizabeth made bequests of £10. 8s to each of her children: sons John Stover, Dependence Stover, Josiah Stovor, George Stovor and daughters Elizabeth Walfoot, Sarah Lanchaster, Deborah Sawyer, Mary Wanton, and Hannah Bryant^[4]

In addition Elizabeth gave freedom to Phebe, her negro woman, plus £10 8s, her cloths and bed and bed clothing (Phebe's). Likewise Phebe’s son Jonathan to receive the same plus her gun. Jerusha dtr of Phebe was given her freedom, her cloths and 10. 8 when she turn 18.^[4]

Written and signed by mark “E” 7 Dec 1714. Signed by the executors, accepting position 4 Sep 1722.^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/2:1:MBPV-Z2Y?view=basic
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume 5. Boston: New England Historical and Genealogical Society, 2005, p. 271.
3. ↑ Baggaley, Rebecca. "Estimating Marriage and Birth Dates", Genealogy Today, http://www.genealogytoday.com/articles/reader.mv?ID=528 visited 30 Oct 2014.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4} Plymouth County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1686-1881.Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015. (From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives.) https://www.americanancestors.org/DB1558/r/426478254