Contents |
Mary (Roby) Folsom (1644-aft.1702)
Mary was born to in 1644 to Ruth (Moore) Roby (abt.1623-1673) and Judge Henry (Robie) Roby (1619-1688)[1] at the Exeter "settlement of exiles" in what is now Rockingham County, New Hampshire, USA.
"Exeter is a small town in southeastern New Hampshire centered around the falls where the freshwater Exeter River meets the salty, tidal Squamscott. The location of an early settlement at the fall oline is probably no coincidence because the natural resources found there suited the needs of the early settlers so admirably. The falls provided water power, which the English settlers were quick to utilize; the river (Squamscott) furnished a relatively easy mode of transportation, which remained an important factor in the economy of Exeter until the mid-nineteenth century... ... The river was bordered with salt marshes, which supplied readily available fodder to keep the settlers' cattle alive; moreover, the Exeter area was favored with a significant acreage of natural meadow. There features, when added to the great stands of timber nearby, supplied much that a new settlement needed to take root and prosper.
The area had another attraction for a band of exiles hounded into the wilderness by the Massachusetts General Court in the late 1630's; it was without any kind of central government. It lay within the bounds of grants given by the Plymouth Company to" John Mason (1586-1635)" in 1622 and 1629. Mason, however had died and his heir was a minor and could not pursue claims. The English government was too preoccupied with the troubles that eventually resulted in the (English) Civil War to listen to complaints by Mason's advisors. As a result, the area and the earlier settlements, such as Portsmouth and Dover were without any central government."
Although there were a few scattered settlers in the area that became Exeter before the "Rev. John Wheelwright (1592-1679)" arrived, the title of Founder belongs to him because he brought a number of settlers with him and provided an organized government. The kind of people Wheelwright and his followers were and the religious beliefs that drove them were central to their reasons for coming to Exeter and to their ability to make a success of the new settlement."[2]
Mary (Roby) Folsom (1644-aft.1702)
She married Samuel Folsom Oct. 22, 1664 in Hampton and had 7 children. [3] Although Samuel Folsom's wife (Mary) was a daughter of Judge Henry Robie, we do not find that she was shielded or excused for any slight deviation from the "straight and narrow path" of those times, for at the court held at Salisbury April 8, 1679, "Mary wife of Samuell Foulsam, presented for absence from the public worship of God, was ordered to appear before Capt. Gillman. And again, on Nov. 11th of that same year "summons to Samll Foulsam to have his wife Mary answer for being away from home at unseasonable times in the night, for appearance of uncivil carriage at a saw mill at Exeter." (Essex Cour Files, Vol. 7, pp. 193, 284)
Mary (Roby) Folsom (1644-aft.1702)
Mary (Roby) Folsom (1644-aft.1702)
Mary (Roby) Folsom (1644-aft.1702)
"Petition of Mary Folsom, Widow of Samuel - At a Council and General Assembly held at Portsmouth, July 20, 1702, a petition from Mary Foulsham was read at the Board relating to her being released out of Prison being in for Debt, and a very poor woman as upon file. In answer to which petition his Excellency and Council doth oder that the Secretary write to the Creditor or his attorney, who keeps the petitioner in gaol, that if they do not take care, to find out the petitioner's estate whereby he may satisfy his Debt by laying his execution there-upon in twenty days time at farthest, that then the said Creditor shall allow said Petitioner 2s 6d per week, or otherwise the petitioner to be discharged. (Miscellaneous Provincial Papers) And thus we get another glimpse of Mary (Robie) Folsom in the struggles she had with the provincial laws.[4]
BURIAL
Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.
Mary is 23 degrees from Herbert Adair, 18 degrees from Richard Adams, 18 degrees from Mel Blanc, 21 degrees from Dick Bruna, 17 degrees from Bunny DeBarge, 30 degrees from Peter Dinklage, 19 degrees from Sam Edwards, 15 degrees from Ginnifer Goodwin, 18 degrees from Marty Krofft, 12 degrees from Junius Matthews, 12 degrees from Rachel Mellon and 17 degrees from Harold Warstler on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.