Elizabeth (Unknown) Dorchester (abt. 1607 - 1699)

Born about 1607 in England

Wife of Anthony Dorchester — married after 1662 in Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died 16 May 1699 at about age 92 in Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts

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Elizabeth's maiden name is unknown. All surnames given to her in various trees are based purely on speculation. Others have been proven to be incorrect. Please see discussion of surnames below.

Biography

Elizabeth (Unknown) Dorchester migrated from England to Colonial America.

Elizabeth (Unknown) Dorchester was a Massachusettsan.

Elizabeth was born about 1607, her age being 92 years at her death in 1699.^[1]

It is not known when Elizabeth arrived in New England or when she married John Harmon. What is known is that they were married and had two children before they arrived in Springfield in 1643. The latest possible date of marriage to accommodate this fact would be about 1640 with their son John born in 1641 and their son Samuel born in 1643.

The land first alotted to John Harmon in Springfield is described in the town records to have been:..."a house lot by Grant of ye Plantation with the addition vizt four acres more or less Breadth 8 rod Length from the Street Fence to the Great River 80 rod bounded North by Henry Burt South by Nathaniel Pritchard." (Town Records V.3 pg. 158 & 199--- no date is affixed to this entry.) His home lot was located on the west side of the street between the present State and Mill Streets.^[2]

Children:

1. John, b. abt. 1641, probably at Roxbury, MA
2. Samuel, b. abt. 1643, probably at Roxbury, MA
3. Sarah, "borne 7 mon. 24 day 1644." at Springfield. (Sep. 24, 1644 - New Style)
4. Joseph, "borne 7 mon. 4 day 1646." at Springfield, MA (Sep. 4, 1646 - New Style)
5. Elizabeth, "borne 2 mon. 15 day 1649" at Springfield, MA (Apr. 15, 1649 - New Style); d. age 3 "ye 7th of ye 4th month" (Jun. 7, 1652)
6. Mary, "borne ye 12 day of ye 9 mon. 1651 at Springfield, MA (Nov. 12, 1651)
7. Nathaniel, Mar. 13, 1653/54 at Springfield, MA
8. Ebenezer, borne ye 12 of the 6 mon. 1657" (Aug. 12, 1657) at Springfield, MA, died age three, drowned in "ye brook by ye mill stream ye 7th of ye 2 mon, 1660." (Apr. 7, 1660)

Elizabeth's husband, John Harmon, made his will on Mar. 4, 1661 and died at the age of 43 years on Mar. 7, 1661. His verbal will "said he would leave all that he had into his wive's hand for he said she is a tender mother, therefore she should have the disposal of all."^[3][4]

After John's death, his widow, Elizabeth, became the third wife of Anthony Dorchester. His second wife, Martha, died on Dec. 17, 1662, so their marriage would have taken place after that date.^[5] and before the following 1664 record.^[6]

“Decembr 64 Upon the request of Anthony Dorchester there is grannted to his own & to his Wives Sons:

To John Dorchester thirty acres

To James Dorchester thirty acres

To John Harman thirty acres

To Samuel Harman thirty acres

To Joseph Harman thirty acres.

She was probably buried in the old Peabody Cemetery in the center of Springfield, where in 1848 all remains of the old burying grounds in downtown Springfield were removed to the present Springfield Cemetery which is known as the Peabody Cemetery. There is a plot in the Springfield (Peabody) cemetery is the last plot in Row 1, identified in Cemetery Records as #1-111. To the right of #1-111 is a plot approximately 20' x 20' containing the following marker: "Withing these four monuments are the remains of Unknown Dead removed from the Old Burial Places in 1848." This plot is adjacent to the only Harmon stone remaining---that of John 3rd (1678-1742) and his family.

LAND: Film 844,486 Elizabeth Harmon (HAS HER MARK) pg. 51 A (1662/63 Springfield Land Records) A copy of a deed whereby Widdow Harman of Springfield hath sold certayne lands unto her son-in-law, Charles Ferry with the acknowledgment thereof: “Know all men by these presents that Elizabeth Harmon of Springfield, Widdow, hath, for and in good considerations moving her hereunto, given, granted, bargained, and sold and by these presents and doth fully, clearely, and absolutely give, grant, bargain, and sell unto her son-in-law, Charles Ferry of Springfield and to his heirs and assigns forever certayne parcels of land lying in Springfield aforesaid. That is to say a little peece of her, the said Widow’s, Meadow Lott that lies before the street which little peece lies at the easterly end of the said Meadow and is ten rod in bredth from the little brook under the hill and holds that breadth quite through the end of ye said Meadow Lott. Another parcel of land hereby sold is a wood lott conteyning foure acres, more or less, joyning to that little peece of meadow before mentioned being in breadth eight rodd and in length extending from ye said little brook going fourty-foure rodd eastward. And both the said little peece of meadow and this said wood lot doe border on ye lands of Widow Ulaliah Burt on ye North and of Nathaniel Prichard on ye south. Another parcel of land hereby sold is foure acres more or less lyinge on ye west side of the great River and abutting on ye highway by the River side. And extending westward to Agawam and bounded on the North by the land that was formerly Henry Burt’s, deceased, and on ye south with ye land that was formerly Nathaniel Prichard’s. To have and to hold that little peece of meadow with foure acres of woodlott and foure acres on ye River to the said Charles Ferry and to his heirs and assigns forever. And ye said Widow Harmon doth hereby covenant and promise to and with ye said Charles Ferry, to save ye said Charles harmless from all manner of claims, right, title, or interest of any person or persons laying lawful claim to any of ye said land hereby sold by from or under her, ye said Widow or any of (her) heirs. In witness whereof the said Widow Harman hath hereunto sett her hand and seale on ye 12th of March 1662/3. Subscribed, Sealed and DeliveredThe mark of “E” In ye presence of Elizabeth Harmon John Lombard and John Lamb This deed of sale was acknowledged by the Widoww Harmon (be)fore us Elizur Holyoke and Samuell Chapin, Commissiors Recorded April 6, 1663 by me Elizur Holyoke, Recorder. Here followeth a copy of an acknowledgement of John Harman and Samuell Harman touching the land above mentioned to be sold. Know all men to whom these presence may concerne, we the above John Harman and Samuell Harman, sons of the within named Elizabeth Harman, do hereby acknowledge our full and free consent to this deed of Sale whereby the said Elizabeth, our mother, hath sold certain parcells of land unto Charles Ferry within named yielding and giving up all our right and interest in ye said parcels of land unto ye said Charles Ferry and unto his heirs and assigns forever. Witness our hands this three and twentieth day of May Anno Domi 1665. Witness hereunto are:The mark “JH” of John Harman Elizur Holyoke Samuel Chapin.The mark “SH” of Samuel Harman This acknowledgment was written on ye back side of ye said deed of sale and recorded ye said twenty-third of May 1665 by me Elizur Holyoke, Recorder“….. excerpted

Sources

1. ↑ Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook); Springfield; "the widdow Elyzabeth Dorchester dyed the 16th day of May 1699 being about 92 years old."
2. ↑ Springfield, MA Town Records, Vol. 3, pgs. 158 & 199
3. ↑ Springfield Town Records; "John Harmon of Springfield, deceased, who died the 7th day of March 1660/61."
4. ↑ Film: 879,189 Massachusetts Probate Court Hampshire County Title: Probate Records, 1660-1916 Volume 11 1767-1777 The will & Testament of John Harman of Springfield deceased who died the 7th Day of March 1660/1661: Know all whom this may concern that John Harman of Springfield being sick and weak in body, but of ready memory and understanding, being requested on the 4th day of March 1660/1661 to settle his worldly affairs, did refuse to dispose of any thing perticularly, but said he would leave all that he had into his wive's hand for he said she is a tender mother, therefore she should have the disposal of all. This was spoke by the said John Harman the day above mentioned being two days before his death: Witnesses whereunto were: Elizur Holyoke and John X Lumbard (His mark) Recorded May 13th 1661.
5. ↑ Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook); Springfield; "Martha ye wife of Anthony Dorchester dyed ye 17th of December 1662"
6. ↑ p. 254 of Springfield Town Records: cited by : Starr, Frank Farnsworth, Various Ancestral Lines of James Goodwin and Lucy (Morgan) Goodwin of Hartford, Conn., 2 vols. (Hartford: [Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor], 1915)

Discussion on Surnames For Elizabeth

Cheryl Harmon Bills published an article entitled "Who is Elizabeth Harmon?" from her book, "John Harmon of Springfield, Massachusetts & His Associates." Published 2010. Link

This article is copied below:

Melvin T. Harmon who drew up the Harmon Family Tree made these statements:

"I have found three positive statements that neither John Harmon or his wife, Elizabeth, were born in 1617. 1. Elizabeth died 1699. 2. She was over 90 years old when she died. 3. She was ten years older than John."

He then states that Elizabeth was probably born about 1609 and John in 1619. He gives no surname to Elizabeth.

When I published my first book, My Harmon Heritage--Descendants of John Harmon and Elizabeth Southwell, I had no idea what a Pandora's box I was opening. Upon being challenged for sources of Elizabeth's maiden name, I found that my only source was a naive "This is the way it has always been in my family's records." Since that time I have been trying to discover if Elizabeth could be a Southwell or if she was a Cummings or a Potter or a Sampson as others have suggested. I will examine some of my findings here:

CUMMINGS

The Ancestral File favorite by far for Elizabeth's surname is Cummings. My research has shown that Elizabeth Cummings did indeed marry a John Harmon. However, contrary to the Ancestral File, her John was NOT our John Harmon.

Quoting Artemus Harmon from Harmon Genealogy--Comprising All Branches in New England printed by Gibson Bros., Inc. Washington, D.C. 1920 page 138:

"John Harmon was one of the few persons in Saco [Maine] who owned horses in 1674. Carriages were unknown. On July 28, 1674, Richard Cummings, John Harmon, and others with their horses were allowed use of Humphrey Scammon's ferry, near the mouth of Saco River. In a list of the inhabitants of Saco dated July 5, 1653, no Harmons appear. Elizabeth Harmon, born at Old Orchard, the only dau. of Richard Cummings, m. 1st her cousin, John Foxwell, and after his death she m. John Harmon, previous to 1680. Mr. Harmon became the sole heir to that part of the Boynthon Patent which fell to the wife of Cummings. The dau., Elizabeth, an only child of John Harmon and his wife, Elizabeth, m. Joseph Banks, of York, to which place Harmon removed before 1690. Banks thus acquired Harmon's right, but in 1714 conveyed one half of it to Peter Weare and others. John Harmon and Thomas Cummings were the administrators of the estate of Richard Cummings, who d. abt 1676. Thomas did not long survive his father. John Harmon was sent by Saco, as Deputy to the Assembly in 1681."

The John Harmon who married Elizabeth Cummings is a son of James.1 This John was born abt 1650 and married in 1673 Elizabeth Cummings Foxwell. John married 2nd in York, Me., abt 1675 Deborah Johnson. He died in York, Maine in 1695. John Harmon and Elizabeth Cummings had one child, Elizabeth. A descendant of this daughter supplied the information that Artemus Harmon used in his book. (See pg. 139 last paragraph.)

Someone has given the birthdates of our Elizabeth and John to this Elizabeth and her John and that is how the Ancestral file record reads.

SOUTHWELL

As mentioned previously, I have no documentation to prove the origin of the Southwell Elizabeth as John's wife. Later generations of Harmon married into the Southwell family. According to Savage's Dictionary of First Settlers, the Southwells did not come to America until much later--abt 1721. They did, however, come to the Suffield area at that time and Harmons married into the family. I have revised my book so the second edition will not carry the Southwell surname for Elizabeth.

SAMPSON

The Ancestral File has an Elizabeth Sampson, daughter of Henry and Anne Plummer Sampson. Elizabeth is married (according to the Ancestral File) to John Harmon, son of Francis. Her husband John has a birthdate (approximated) of 1623 and almost the same death date as our John. Hers is 3 Mar 1661. We have 7 Mar 1661 both at Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts. This Elizabeth was born when her father was about 13 years old if the estimated dates are correct.

I have the following reservations about this Elizabeth:

1. There is a question mark by her name in the Ancestral File. 2. The estimated ages do not seem to be logical. Our Elizabeth was born probably between 1609 and 1617. She died in 1699--supposedly 90+ years old. 3. This John and Elizabeth had a daughter, Sarah Jane Harmon born abt 1651 in Plymouth, MA. Our John was having children in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1651. 4. Sarah Jane married in New Jersey and raised her children there. None of our John's descendants that we know lived in New Jersey. 5. It appears to me that Elizabeth Sampson and her husband, John Harmon, have been assigned the death dates and place of our John and Elizabeth. In order for this Elizabeth to have been over 90 years old at her death as was the Springfield Elizabeth, she would have been born abt 1609 or before. Elizabeth Sampson's father--according to the Ancestral File was born 1610. Henry Sampson's father has a complete birthdate of 24 Jun 1575--making him 45 years old when Henry was born--not impossible, but somewhat questionable. 6. Therefore, could it be possible that Henry was born earlier? If so, then he may be old enough to be the father of a daughter born in 1609. This needs further research. 7. It has been suggested that Elizabeth Sampson might be a second wife of our John. This is not possible because our John's wife outlived him by 38 years. 8. I think the biggest drawback is that Sarah Jane married Captain Samuel Doty. Our John's Sarah married Charles Ferry and her family is well documented.

POTTER

In the Book, Goff-Davis Ancestral Lines--The Ancestry of Moulton Babcock Goff and his wife, Agnes Hopkins Davis, Lois B. Goff suggests that Elizabeth may be a Potter--a relative of Vincent Potter. Goff's sources are currently being investigated.

It is not helpful that so much error has been perpetuated through the years. This type of research requires original sources which may not be available at this time. The fact that Elizabeth Cummings and Elizabeth Southwell have been named mothers of our John's children has compounded the error. Artemus Harmon's record of Elizabeth Cummings which distinctly names her children needs to be brought to the attention of the submitters of the Cummings surname as that of our John. It is easy to eliminate Sarah Sampson as she has different children and a different locality than our John. Your help and input is most appreciated.

AND SO THE MYSTERY CONTINUES:

Who is Elizabeth, the wife of John of Springfield and Suffield?

With that mystery remains another mystery--who are John's parents? Is our John the son of Francis as has been supposed?

According to Walter Goodwin Davis, author of The Ancestry of Lydia Harmon 1755-1836. 1924 Stanhope Press. Boston, page 4 there are several possible Johns:

1. John, a son of Edmund Harmon of London was apprenticed to Francis Cooke of Plymouth for seven years in 1634; his name appears on the records of Plymouth in 1643 and 1645. In 1657 he was at Duxbury; in 1662 and 1665 he obtained grants of land from Plymouth; selling both in 1669. There is no evidence that this John had a wife and family. In his later years he became decrepit and in 1680 there was a debate before the court whether the town of Taunton or Plymouth should care for him. 2. John (age 12) the son of Francis (age 43); with sister, Sarah age 7 were passengers from England on the "Love" in 1635. Where did this Francis settle? There was a Francis made a freeman on 6 May 1646; A Francis and wife Sarah were at Medfield with children born between 1651 and 1667 among them a son, John born 6 Apr 1651. This Francis is unlikely the same as the emigrant as this Medford man died in 1692--when the emigrant would have been 100 years old. The son, John born in 1651 is fully accounted for in Medfield records and the name of this family has gradually become Hammant. 3. John Harmon settled in Springfield in 1644 with wife, Elizabeth and two children, John and Samuel and had other children recorded between 1645 and 1657. He died 7 May 1661 and his wife married Anthony Dorchester. This is our ancestor. I think it is interesting that Mr. Davis lists him as a separate individual from the John who emigrated with Francis. This John also had a son, John, who married Mary Dorchester and is fully accounted for. 4. A Nathaniel Harmon of Braintree married Mary Bliss of Rehoboth and her father, Thomas, mentions them in his will in 1647. He had children in Braintree in 1640 and 1642 and numerous others after 1652. Mr. Davis feels that Nathaniel is the ancestor of his John who later settled in Maine. The John Harmon, founder of the Wells-Scarborough Harmon family has never been fully identified. He married a daughter of William Roberts of Oyster River, New Hampshire, by the name of Sarah. In 1667 he was a servant to John Symonds of Kittery and in 1675 was a soldier in the Narrangansett Fort fight with the Indians. In 1677 he was granted land in Wells, Maine and in 1726 moved to Scarborough.

1 James Harmon, the immigrant, was born probably in England and came to Saco, Maine when it was first settled. He married Sarah Clarke, daughter of Edward Clark and Barbara. Harmon, Artemus. The Harmon Genealogy. Gibson Bros., Inc. Washington, D.C. 1920.