Elizabeth (Oldham) Hunt (abt. 1742 - 1774)

Born about May 1742 in Massachusetts

Ancestors

Wife of Judah Hunt — married 18 Dec 1764 in Duxbury, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died 11 Jun 1774 at about age 32 in Duxbury, Massachusetts

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Annie Blanchard [send private message]

Biography

Elizabeth "Betty" or "Betsey" Oldham was the first wife of Judah Hunt. She bore at least three children and died at the age of 32, probably as the result of a birthing.

Also on the page where her death is listed is "Judah Hunt child stillborn - 7 June 1774"

There is a somewhat confusing reference to Elizabeth" in "Genealogy of the name and family of Hunt"

"1778, July 22, Seth. Jan 25, 1852. Elizabeth. Delano."

[Note from Annie Blanchard: the first line is Elizabeth's son Seth's birth and death dates. The second line would be a reference to her daughter's first name and married name]

"Mrs. Betsey Hunt ob. a. 32 June 11, 1774.* The first daughter Esther, had child ob 1792; Charlotte b. 1796**; Eliza Sept 15 1806; one married a Leonard. The second dau married July 1806, Nathaniel DeLano."

Seth, b. 1778 was a child of his [Judah Hunt's] second marriage to Deborah [Weston]. Mrs. Betsey Hunt, Judah's first wife, had one daughter, Esther, b. Note that Seth is the son of Judah and Deborah, Judah's second wife. Esther is Betsy's daughter, from his [Judah's] first marriage.

There is a Nathaniel Delano who married a Betsey Hunt in July of 1805 - she was born in 1780. It is possible that Judah's second wife, Deborah, was the mother - but that she would agree to name the child "Elizabeth", the same name as his first wife seems very generous of her. (There were no Elizabeths in her immediate family).

[added notes to these comments, by Annie Blanchard, 8/27/2021:

• Judah Hunt's first wife, Elizabeth "Betsey" (Oldham), died at the age of 32 on June 11, 1774. She'd given birth to their son, Judah, a few days before, on the 7th of June - he was stillborn or died during childbirth. This is noted in Duxbury, Massachusetts Births, Marriages & Deaths, 1620-1988, which I've seen in person in Town Hall in Duxbury, Massachusetts, but is also available online through Ancestry.

• • The references to their daughter Esther are confusing and perhaps revealing. Esther's daughter Charlotte was born out of marriage in 1796. Charlotte is the one who married a Leonard. Notes on her memorial on Find A Grave Esther was fined $12 as this was her second offense, which might account for the stillborn child in 1792. Another child, Elizabeth, was born to her, still unwed, in 1806 according to town records. She could not be the Elizabeth who married Nathaniel DeLano in 1806! She married Oliver Freeman in 1827.

It is entirely possible that the baby, Betsy, born in 1780, supposedly to Judah and his second wife, Deborah, was the first out of wedlock child of Judah and Betsy's daughter, Esther. She would have been 14. Or that they allowed her, grieving child, to name the baby. Or -- from what I've seen in researching my ancestors for 30 plus years, it was not that unusual for a child to be named after a deceased spouse. We modern folks may forget that these people were living together in small communities - a second wife may have been related to or friends with the first wife. And most of the time, the first wife was not an "ex", but a dearly departed. However, it does seem possible that she was really Esther's child, named after her recently and dearly departed mother.

Seth Hunt (my 4th gr grandfather) was only married once, to Huldah Wadsworth.

Sources

• Birth

Birth date is an estimate, based on age at death from records.

• Marriage

Title : Vital Record Transcripts, Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 also Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. p 281

• Death

Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records, Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988

Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, VR: Duxbury Births, Marriages and Death. "Betty wife of Judah Hunt, age 32 yrs 2 months. 11 July 1774"

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