Rachel (Thompson) Potter (1763 - 1795)

Born 21 Jan 1763 in Elizabethtown, New Jersey

Descendants

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Jim Fender [send private message]

Biography

Birth Date and Place

• 21 January 1763
• Elizabethtown, New Jersey

Parents

• Thomas Thompson
• Rachel Shotwell

Marriages

• John Potter, probably second husband
• 1784
• probably New Jersey

Children

• Charlotte (Potter) Bothwell

Death Date and Place

• 17 January 1795
• Fayette, Farette County, Pennsylvania

Rachel's second husband was John Potter, also a Revolutionary War Patriot. The couple had at least one child, Charlotte Potter.

North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000

Name: Racheal Thompson

Gender: Female

Age: 32

Birth Date: 1763

First Marriage Date: 1784

Death Date: 1795

Father: Thomas Thompson

Mother: Rachel Shotwell

Spouses:

John Potter

[Noah] Marsh

Child: Charlotte Potter

Research Notes

I was hoping to find more information about Rachel Thompson by looking for her marriage record for her first husband, Noah Marsh. No luck so far. I've posted what little I found below, and all pertains to Noah Marsh, not Rachel Thompson or their marriage. The exception is that one of the will and probate documents mentions Noah's wife Rachel Marsh. Her last name at birth is not mentioned.

Some researchers show Rachel Thompson was married also to Noah Marsh. But there is some confusion, at least on my part, as to whether this information is connected to the correct Rachel Thompson.

His first wife Ann was the mother of at least two children: Phoebe, born 1775, and Mary Nancy, born 1776. He died during the Revolutionary War, on 26 May 1783. His remains were buried in the Presbyterian Church Burying Grounds, Westfield, Union County, New Jersey with other Union soldiers.

• Noah Marsh, probably first husband
• Unknown, probably 1783 or earlier
• probably New Jersey

U.S. Census Reconstructed Records, 1660-1820 ^[1]

Name: Noah? Marsh Gender: M (Male) State: New Jersey County: Essex County Residence Year: 1780 Household Remarks: Name on a petition, 8 Jun 1781, to the Legislature, etc., from inhabitants of Essex County, who, “from their situations near the Lines”, are concerned about the amount of trade conducted with the enemy...

New Jeresy Abstract of Wills ^[2]

I've attached a copy of this document to this profile.

Name: Noah Marsh

Residence Date: 2 Jun 1784

Residence Location: Essex, New Jersey, United States

New Jersey Colonial Documents, page 266, has several entries for Noah Marsh. First entry on the page:

"1783, May 27. Renunciation by Rachel Marsh, widow of said Noah, in favor of Ephraim Marsh and Daniel Marsh. Witnesses--John Ross and John Thompson. Lib. 24, p. 333."

Second entry:

"1784, June 2. Marsh, Noah, of Essex Col. ward. son of Noah Marsh, of said Co. deceased. Said Ward, having real and personal estate, makes choice of Daniel Marsh and Ephraim Marsh as his Guardians. Witnesses--David Mills and Elizabeth Connet.

"1784, June 2. Guardians--Daniel Marsh and Ephraim Marsh; both of said Co. Lib 26, p. 506."

Third entry:

"1784, June 2. Marsh, Samuel, of Essex Col. Ward. Son of Noah Marsh, of said Col, deceased. Said Ward, having real and personal estate, makes choice of Daniel Marsh and Ephraim Marsh as his Guardians. Witnesses--David Mills and Elizabeth Connet,

1784, June 2. Guardians--Daniel Marsh and Ephraim Marsh; both of said Co. Lib. 26, p. 506.

These entries show that Noah Marsh had several sons and at least one of them, Samuel, was under age at the time of his death. Samuel's mother was probably not Rachel Thompson Marsh, but Noah's first wife, Ann. For whatever reasons, guardianship of this child would not go to his step-mother, but probably to his older brothers or uncles.

The fact that Rachel remarried that same year to John Potter may or may not have played into the fact that she removed herself as administrator of her deceased husband's estate and as guardian of her deceased husband's young son by his first wife. She would have been only 21 in 1784, quite young to be a widow or stepmother, and it's understandable that she wanted to remarry.

Sources

1. ↑ U.S. Census Reconstructed Records, 1660-1820, Noah Marsh, Essex County, New Jersey. Document: Manuscript Collection, 1680s - 1970s, BAH: Legislative Records, 1770 - 1781 [New Jersey State Archives]; Call Number: Box 1-14, Folder 69; Page Number: 4; Family Number: 8. Source Information: Ancestry.com. U.S. Census Reconstructed Records, 1660-1820 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. See: http://ancstry.me/2GtP5Je.
2. ↑ Ancestry.com. New Jersey, Abstract of Wills, 1670-1817 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Noah Marsh, 2 June 1784, Essex County, New Jersey. Original data: New Jersey State Archives. New Jersey, Published Archives Series, First Series. See: http://ancstry.me/2FtCGDN.

• North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000, Book Title: Lineage Book : NSDAR : Volume 102 : 1913. Rachel Thompson, born 1763, daughter of Thomas Thompson and Rachel Shotwell. Source Information: Ancestry.com. North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. See: http://ancstry.me/2GvAAVC.

• Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 29 January 2018), memorial page for Pvt Noah Marsh (1742–26 May 1783), Find A Grave Memorial no. 19498257, citing Presbyterian Church Burial Grounds, Westfield, Union County, New Jersey, USA ; Maintained by Rich H. (contributor 46489213). Find A Grave: Memorial #19498257 retrieved Noah Marsh

• Ancestry.com. New Jersey, Abstract of Wills, 1670-1817 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Noah Marsh, 2 June 1784, Essex County, New Jersey. Original data: New Jersey State Archives. New Jersey, Published Archives Series, First Series. See: http://ancstry.me/2FtCGDN.