Hannah (Pontus) Rickard (1623 - 1690)

Born 1623 in Leyden, Zuid-Holland, United Netherlands

Wife of John Churchill — married 18 Dec 1644 (to 1 Jan 1662) in Plymouth Colony (Massachusetts), New England

Wife of Giles Rickard Sr. — married 25 Jun 1669 in Plymouth, MA

Descendants

Died 22 Dec 1690 at about age 67 in Plymouth, Plymouth Colony, New England

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Biography

Hannah (Pontus) Rickard immigrated to New England as a child during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640).

Hannah Pontus was born in 1623 in either Holland or England to English Puritan parents who were in exile in Holland for a time. She died in Plymouth, Plymouth colony, New England. Her parents were William Pontus and Wybra (Hanson) Pontus. The family migrated from Holland or Kent, England to Plymouth Colony, New England in 1632/33.

Name: Hannah Pontus

Birth: 1623 in Leyden, South Holland (alternative: Kent, England)

Father: William Pontus, b: 1583 in Dover, Kent, England; m: Nov. 13, 1610 in Leyden, Holland by Rev. William Brewster (Pilgrim leader); emigrated to Plymouth in 1633 with family; d: Feb. 9, 1652 in Plymouth colony (Massachusetts), New England.

Mother: Wybra Hanson (aka Hansen), b: 1587 in Leyden, Holland; m: Wm. Pontus on Nov. 13, 1610, in Leyden, Holland; d:  ?

Event: Arrival at Plymouth, Massachusetts - 1633^[1]

Marriage # 1 - to John Churchill (1620-1663)
Married on December 18, 1644 at Plymouth, Plymouth colony

Children:^[2]

1. Joseph Churchill (1647-AFT 2 MAR 1668)
2. Hannah Churchill (12 NOV 1649- ? )
3. Eleazer Churchill (20 APR 1652-1715)
4. Mary Churchill (1 AUG 1654-)
5. William Churchill (1656-5 OCT 1722)
6. John Churchill (1657-13 JUN 1723)

John Churchill died in January 1663 in Plymouth, Plymouth colony.

After the death of her first husband, John Churchill, Hannah married Giles Rickard, Sr., as his third wife; they were married in Plymouth on 25 June 1669. No children were reported from this marriage.^[3]

Giles Rickard, Sr. died on February 2, 1685 in Plymouth, Plymouth colony, New England.

Hannah (Pontus) Rickard died on 22 December 1690 in Plymouth, Massachusetts.^[4] Burial: Hobbs Hill, Plymouth colony (Massachusetts), New England. The grave was unmarked or its location is no longer known.

An inventory of the estate of Hannah Rickard, deceased, "now in the possession of her children" taken 17 March 1691, included household items in the possession of Joseph Churchel, at Eleazer Churchils, at John Churchels, at John Andros, at William Churchels, at Henry Chruchels, things given to her grand child Hanah Dotey, things given to Martha Dotey. Joseph Churchel made oath to the inventory 17 March 1690/91. ^[5]

An additional inventory of the estate of "Hannah Rickard deceased all that was left in her hands by her deceased husband that is not already disposed of, taken & apprised" on 10 May 1709. Sworn to by John Churchell on 23 June 1709.^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s, by Filby, P. William, ed.; Farmington Hills, MI, USA: Gale Research, 2010. Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2010.
2. ↑ Families of Sequoyah County, OK & Others - Hannah Pontus. See also: Ben Hendrick - Hannah Pontus
3. ↑ cited on:Vital Records of Plymouth, Massachusetts, pg. 666. Quote: "Gyles Rickard Sr. was married to Hannah Churchill Sr. the 25th of June Anno Domini 1669". See also: Individuals from Chrisman Pedigree, page 20 - Hannah Pontus - well-researched genealogical web site; cites primary references.
4. ↑ Vital Records of Plymouth, Massachusetts, p. 135: "The widow Hannah Rickard dec'd. 22d Dec. 1690." See: Plymouth Church Records, 5:20 in Pub. Col. Soc. Mass. 22:269: "Hannah Rickard, widow (who was formerly Churchel), [died on] December, 22 [1690] in her 67th yeare." Cited on Individuals from Chrisman Pedigree, page 20 - Hannah Pontus. This 17th Century source confirms Hannah's birth year as 1623, not 1614.
5. ↑ "Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Probate Records, 1633-1967," images, FamilySearch : 20 May 2014, Probate records 1686-1702 and 1849-1867 vol 1-1F > image 51 of 490; State Archives, Boston. Plymouth County Probate Records, Vol 1:89, Inventory of Hannah Rickard 1:89 1690/1
6. ↑ "Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Probate Records, 1633-1967," images, FamilySearch : 20 May 2014, Probate records 1702-1710 vol 2 > image 72 of 106; State Archives, Boston. Plymouth County Probate Records Vol. 2:114

See also:

• Anderson, Robert Charles. "William Pontus", in The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Vol III. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995, pp. 1491-1493. (Online at americanancestry.org, the NEHGS web site)

• Find-a-grave Memorial #41150731 - Hannah Pontus Churchill Rickard. "Unknown burial location."

• John Churchill (c. 1643), article by Martha Churchill]. This article erroneously puts Hannah's birth year at 1614 instead of 1623, as accepted by almost all other genealogists. Her arguments are NOT proven nor based on any acknowledged contemporary sources. She misunderstands that the 1690 death notice of Hannah being "67 years old" came from the 17th Century Plymouth church records that should not be discounted, as she does. This is NOT a proven source and should not be used to change the birth date. 1623 is a much more acceptable birth year for Hannah and makes her marriage in 1644 at 21 years old "fit" the norm for women in that time and place. (note by Chet Snow on May 1, 2016. The webpage on which this article was located has since been taken down. Stevens-17832 20:01, 11 December 2021 (UTC)

• Ben Hendrick - Hannah Pontus Gives John Churchill's data.

• Families of Sequoyah County, OK & Others on RootsWeb - Hannah Pontus. Says that the Pontus family were among those Puritans slated to embark aboard the Mayflower in 1620 but had to stay in England/Holland due to problems when it set sail. They were close friends of Rev. William Brewster, the leader of the Pilgrims, and arrived in Plymouth around 1633 (when Hannah was 10 years old).

• Source: SOUR2285 Title: Profile page Text: http://www.archives.com/member/Default.aspx?_act=PersonProfile&personId=30242555

Acknowledgements

• Valerie Koutek imported the data for Hannah Rickard from Ancestors of Lois Greene.ged on 19 October 2010

• Thank you to Rebecca DiVirgilio for creating WikiTree profile Pontus-39 through the import of Rebecca_Divirgilio's_Family_Tree (12).ged on Oct 9, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Rebecca and others.