Deborah (Pillsbury) Eastman (abt. 1684 - aft. 1752)

Born about 1684 in Newbury, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Ancestors

Wife of Reuben Whittier — married 19 Dec 1708 in Newbury, Essex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay

Wife of Zachariah Eastman — married 24 Sep 1724 in Salisbury, Essex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay

Descendants

Died after 23 Apr 1752 after about age 68 in Salisbury, Essex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay [uncertain]

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Biography

Parentage; Date and Place of Birth

Deborah Pillsbury was the daughter of William Pillsbury and Mary (Keny) Pillsbury.^[1][2] No record of her birth or baptism had been found and her date of birth is uncertain. Based on her date of marriage (1708) and available gaps in the dates of birth of her siblings, Deborah was probably born sometime in 1684-1685. The 1937 Descendants of Thomas Whittier states, without sources or explanation, that Deborah was born about 1682.^[2] However, that date is implausible since Deborah's sister Experience was born in 1682^[3] and also would mean that Deborah was four years older than her husband and had a child by her second husband when she was 45. Since her parents were living in Newbury, Massachusetts during the estimated time period of her birth, she was no doubt born there.

First Marriage and Children

The marriage intentions of Deborah Pillsbury and Reuben Whittier were published on November 13, 1708,^[4][5] and they were married in Salisbury, Massachusetts on December 19, 1708.^[6][1]

Deborah and Reuben had the following children, all born in Salisbury:

1. Mary, b. September 25, 1709,^[7][2] m. Samuel French, Jr^[2]
2. Nathaniel, b. August 12, 1711,^[8][2] m. Hannah Clough^[2]
3. William, b. November 20, 1714,^[8][2] m. 1st Phoebe Morrill,^[2] m. 2d Sarah Huntington^[2]
4. Reuben (twin), b. April 28, 1717,^[8][2] m. Mary Flanders^[2]
5. Richard (twin), b. April 28, 1717,^[8] m. 1st Tabitha Piper,^[2] m. 2d Mary Chase^[2]
6. Joseph, b. May 2, 1721, m. January 13, 1743 Martha Evens in Salisbury, d. after January 1782 probalby in Nottingham, New Hampshire. (See discussion and sources in Joseph's profile.)
7. Benjamin, b. March 4, 1721/2,^[8][2] m. Abigail Stevens^[2]

Deborah's first husband, Reuben Whittier, died in Salisbury on November 18, 1722.^[9]

Second Marriage and Children

Deborah married, second, Zechariah Eastman at Salisbury on September 24, 1724.^[6][1]

Deborah and Zechariah had the following children, both born in Salisbury:

1. Timothy, b. August __, 1725,^[10] d. August ___, 1725^[11]
2. ________ (a daughter), b. October 16, 1727^[10]

Rix's 1901 History and Genealogy of the Eastman Family states that Deborah and Zachariah had seven children,^[12] but that is implausible since Deborah was already about 40 when they got married. In fact, records have only been found for two of their children and Rix only lists two. Rix gives no date of death for son TImothy but states that the daughter born on October 16, 1727 died soon after birth.^[12] Salisbury Vital Records instead contains an entry for the death of son Timothy shorty after birth and no record of the death of the daughter.^[11] The daughter born on Ocxtober 16, 1727 was most likely the Mehitable Eastman who married Samuel Brown Jr. on February 9, 1752 and who was referred in Zachariah's will as Mehitable Brown, as there is no other likely place for an unrecorded daughter in any of Zachariah’s marriages.^[13]

Death

Deborah's date and place of death are uncertain. She was probably the "beloved wife" whom Zachariah Eastman mentioned in his will made on April 23, 1752,^[14] which would mean that she died sometime after that date. Since Zachariah was a resident of Salisbury at the time he died,^[13] Deborah probably died in Salisbury.

^{[3] [14] [13] [12] [2] [11] [10] [6] [1] [4] [5] [8] [7] [9]}

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Pilsbury, David B. and Getchell, Emily A. The Pillsbury Family: Being a History of William and Dorothy Pillsbury (or Pilsbery) of Newbury in New England, and Their Descendants to the Eleventh Generation. Massachusetts Publishing Company, Everett, Massachusetts, 1898. pp. 17-18. Link to pages at archive.org.
2. ↑ ^{2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15} Whittier, Charles Collyer. The Descendants of Thomas Whittier and Ruth Green. The Tuttle Publishing Company, 1937. pp 21-22. Link to pages at hathitrust.org.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Vital Records of Newbury, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849. Volume I - Births. The Essex Institute, 1911. p. 409. Link to page at hathitrust.org
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Whitcher, William F. Descendants of Chase Whitcher of Warren, NH. News Book and Job Print, 1907. p. 9.Link to page at archive.org.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} "Massachusetts Marriages, 1695-1910," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FH15-28Q : accessed 16 February 2016), Reubin Whitter and Daborah Pilsbury, 13 Nov 1708; citing reference 287; FHL microfilm 877,468.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2} Vital Records of Salisbury, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849. The Topsfield Historical Society, 1915. p 514. Link to page at archive.org.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Vital Records of Salisbury, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849. The Topsfield Historical Society, 1915. p. 254. Link to page at archive.org.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5} Vital Records of Salisbury, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849. The Topsfield Historical Society, 1915. p. 253. Link to page at archive.org.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} See the profile for Reuben Whittier.
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1 10.2} Vital Records of Salisbury, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849. The Topsfield Historical Society, 1915. p 77. Link to page at archive.org.
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1 11.2} Vital Records of Salisbury, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849. The Topsfield Historical Society, 1915. p 551. Link to page at archive.org.
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1 12.2} Rix, Guy S. History and Genealogy of the Eastman Family of America. (Concord, N. H., 1901). p. 15. [Link to page at hathitrust.org.
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1 13.2} See the profile for Zechariah Eastman.
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1} Essex County Probate Records, Vol 331, pp. 168-170. Link to pages at familysearch.org