Esther (Richardson) Shaw (1646 - 1736)

Born 16 Nov 1646 in Hampton, Rockingham, Massachusetts Bay Colony [uncertain]

Wife of Benjamin Shaw — married 25 May 1663 in Hampton, Rockingham, Massachusetts Bay Colony (New Hampshire)

Descendants

Died 16 May 1736 at age 89 in Hampton, Rockingham, Province of New Hampshire

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Biography

Esther was not the daughter of Ezekiel Richardson and Susannah Bradford.^[1]

Benjamin Shaw & Ester Richersonn wear Joyned in marriage: 25: 3rd: 1663 Rec: 8 mo 63 in Hampton, New Hampshire.^[2]

May: 16 1736: Esther Shaw Widow aged 91: Old age & Throatail: died at Hampton, New Hampshire.^[3]

Research Notes

Who could be Esther Richardson’s parents? Say 1640/45 – 1736 By Suzanne Campbell Lowe

As of Dec 21, 2017, I can find no solid verification of at least her father. I will check any male Richardson who is married and alive before 1650 and living in reasonable geographic proximity to Hampton NH. Colonial New England was a time when marriage and births were sometimes not recorded or, more likely, were lost through fire, water damage or inadequate care, so some of the information on which we can rely is slim.

Reasonable possibilities, IN ORDER OF MY BEST GUESS AS TO THEIR LIKELIHOOD, and including facts that lend themselves to my guess:

Edward Richardson Sr (1617-1685)

Edward Richardson “Senior” was one of the founders of Newbury MA. Vinton’s The Richardson Memorial states, in a passage called “The Newbury Richardsons” (pp 813-814) that Edward Sr and his brother William (see below) were in Newbury by 1647, and probably many years before.

New England Marriages to 1700, from The Richardson Memorial, states that he and an unknown wife were married by 1647. It appears records were either not kept or were lost between the time Newbury was founded (appx 1635) and 1647. This means Edward Sr and his unnamed wife could have had Esther before 1647, and that Esther could have been not recorded (especially since we cannot find records of the marriage either).

The Essex Antiquarian has many records of an “Edward Richards” involved in court proceedings, as defendant and witness, in the late 1639s – 1640s in Salem, Ipswich (if I recall correctly) and Essex County. Not sure if these are our Edward Richardson.

We have factual evidence that an Edward Richardson “junior” died in Newbury on Nov 14 1682, but Vinton in The Richardson Memorial says on p 814 that Edward Richardson (senior) died in Newbury on Nov 14, 1685. The dates are identical by day, but 3 years apart. Edward Senior had a son also named Edward, so the 1682 death of Edw Junior must be our Edward senior’s son. The 1683 will papers name a widow Anne, and we know that Edward Richardson “junior” married an Anne Bartlett. We do not have any will / probate papers for Edward senior.

Esther is a biblical name. Several of Edward’s other children had biblical names. Vinton’s The Richardson Memorial references Edward’s involvement in his church and religious affairs.

It appears the name Edward had significance for Esther, which bolsters the hypothesis that Edward Senr was her father. In 1685, right around the time Edward Richardson Senior died in Newbury, MA, Benjamin Shaw and Esther Richardson Shaw had a son they named Edward. This baby died the same year he was born. Their very next child was also a boy (their 10th child and 5th son), and they named him Edward too. It appears somewhat of a tradition that old families named sons (but not necessarily the first son) for an honored or departed relative. It appears more than a coincidence that Esther and Benjamin were so determined to name a son Edward.

Edward Richardson Senior had a son, Joshua, born in 1651. This Joshua eventually had a daughter named Esther (mentioned in his will, dated 1719, proved 1724-25). This Esther was born March 15, 1683, and was named perhaps after Joshua’s older sister Esther Richardson Shaw. This fact further indicates that Esther Richardson Shaw was the (probably oldest) daughter of Edward Richardson Sr.

Geographically, Newbury MA and Hampton NH are about 15 miles apart, so it makes sense that the people of these settlements knew and interacted with each other. For example, in Sept (or Nov) 1662, Argentine Cromwell, daughter of Newbury’s Giles Cromwell, married Hampton’s Benjamin Cram. Several months later in May 1663, Esther Richardson married Hampton’s Benjamin Shaw. So, we have evidence that there was personal knowledge of and relationships between Newbury and Hampton!

Ezekiel Richardson (founder of Woburn) (c 1592-1647)

There are many ancestry and other genealogical records stating that Esther was the daughter of Ezekiel and his wife Susanna. The more I look at this claim, the less I agree that it is correct.

Another reason why it’s a long-shot that Ezekiel is Esther’s father is the distance between Hampton NH and Woburn MA – almost 50 miles. Even though I can document reasons why Ezekiel knew John Wheelwright and/or Roger Shaw, there is no other factual evidence that I can find indicating a strong connection and interactions between the people of Woburn and Hampton. Fifty miles is just too far!

Esther could have been his and Susanna’s last child, as I surmise she was born between 1640 and 1645. Susanna eventually remarried after 1647, when Ezekiel died to a Mr Brooks.

There is no record of Ezekiel and his wife Susanna having a daughter named Esther. However, there are several reasons to think they could have had a daughter named Esther. These are long-shots, though, almost as if I were searching for a reason to make something fit, when it really doesn’t fit. 1) There are gaps in the birth years of Ezekiel and Susanna's children, during which Esther could have been born. Estimates are that she was born between 1640 and 1645. 2) The Richardsons knew the Moulton family, specifically Thomas Moulton, to whom they sold land (posthumously, noted that Ezekiel and Susanna had sold land in Woburn to Thomas Moulton). The Moultons were well known to be from the Hampton NH area, although it is unclear about this particular Thomas Moulton’s connection back to Hampton NH. 3) Ezekiel had signed -- on March 15 1637 -- a petition supporting Rev. John Wheelwright. Wheelwright was a sympathizer with Anne Hutchinson. The two of them broke from their Puritan fellows over the issue of "original grace" vs the requirement that one must work to be saved. This stance caused Wheelwright and Hutchinson to be condemned by Gov Winthrop and his followers. But on Nov 15 1637, Ezekiel Richardson was allowed to remove his name from this petition. It's hard to determine the meaning behind this historical fact, but it can be certain that Ezekiel Richardson knew Rev John Wheelwright, who, subsequent to this 1637 petition, was banished from Boston and who subsequently moved to Hampton NH. Even though Ezekiel Richardson removed his name from a document supporting Rev John Wheelwright, it doesn't mean Richardson didn't keep a connection to Wheelwright and to other Hampton families (including possibly the Moultons). 4) Stacy Schiff, in her book "The Witches," describes the practice of Puritan families sending their children to live with other families, possibly as servants. Especially if she was one of the last of the Richardson children, it would not be a surprise that Ezekiel and more likely Susanna -- who remarried after Ezekiel died in 1647 -- would send Esther to live with another family, and sending her to a Hampton family would not be a surprise, given the Wheelwright connection. Perhaps the Richardsons knew the Roger Shaw family, who moved from Cambridge in 1642 to Hampton, NH. If Esther lived with or at least near the Shaws in Hampton, it would not be a surprise that she would end up marrying Roger's son Benjamin. 5) Even though there is no birth record of Esther Richardson, there were other New England children born in the 1600s who definitely were alive even if we cannot find documents to prove it. Also, in Ezekiel's will, which he signed in 1647, he mentions his older children but not his younger children. Perhaps he did not mention Esther because it was assumed that she would be cared for by his widow Susanna.

Thomas Richardson (brother of Ezekiel, above) (1608-1651)

As per John Adams Vinton’s Richardson Memorial, Maine, Brown Thurston & Co., 1876, when Thomas died "Inventory on his estate, amounting to about £133 plus £80 of real estate, was taken on 22 Sep 1651. Attached to the inventory is a note: "He hath left a wife, three sons and four daughters. The eldest son in 8 years old; the second 6 years; and the third, three-quarters. The eldest daughter is 13 years old, the second 11 years; the third, 4 years; the fourth 2 years." None of the daughters was named Esther. Each daughter is well documented as marrying someone not named Benjamin Shaw.

For these and many of the same reasons Ezekiel might not be Esther’s father, I doubt Thomas is too.  

Samuel Richardson (brother of Ezekiel, above) (1602- 1657/8)

On 23 Mar 1658, Samuel died, intestate. The inventory is dated March 29, 1658. His widow Joanna and eldest son, John, were appointed administrators. On 25 Jun 1658, Lieut. John Wyman, of Woburn, was appointed guardian of his sons, John and Joseph. When his wife Joanna died between 1666 and 1677 (when her will was proved), there was one daughter unmarried, Elizabeth. She is mentioned in Joanna's will. Esther is not named as a child of Samuel and Joanna.

For many of the same reasons Ezekiel might not be Esther’s father, I doubt Samuel is too.

George Richardson (c 1606-d btw 26 May 1646 and 4 November 1647)

We have evidence that he was in Boston in 1635. The Great Migration directory suggests he left for England in 1644, although Hollick’s New Englanders in the 1600s suggests that George died in Salem, and cites his will proved 4 November 1647. No mention of a daughter named Esther.

There is just not enough evidence to credibly connect him / his family to or near Hampton NH.

William Richardson (c 1620 in England - d March 25 1657)

According to Vinton’s The Richardson Memorial (pp 813-814), this man is reportedly a brother of Edward Richardson, above. With Edward, he is documented to have settled in Newbury around 1640, with several records confirming his activities in the years afterward.

He is less likely to be Esther’s father, though, because he did not marry his wife (Elizabeth Wiseman) until Aug 23 1654, which would make it impossible for Esther to be legitimately born and then of marrying age by 1663.

Sources

1. ↑ Anderson, Robert Charles. "Ezekiel Richardson," Featured name. Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to N.E. 1620-1633, (Boston: NEHGS, 1995) AmericanAncestors.org p 1582, citing Sarah Hildreth and NEHGR 57:297-300
2. ↑ Sanborn, George Freeman, Jr., and Sanborn, Melinde Lutz. Vital records of Hampton, New Hampshire : to the end of the year 1900. Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1992. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2016) p. 74 https://www.americanancestors.org/DB1701/i/40198/74/1085550724
3. ↑ Sanborn, George Freeman, Jr., and Sanborn, Melinde Lutz. Vital records of Hampton, New Hampshire : to the end of the year 1900. Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1992. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2016) p. 79 https://www.americanancestors.org/DB1701/i/40199/79/1085561985

See also

• Find A Grave: Memorial #84146831
• Noyes, Libby & Davis: "Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire"; page 625 (Shaw); - marriage and death
• NEHGS Register; Volume 158 (2004), page 318 - marriage