Frances (Unknown) Hutchins (abt. 1612 - 1694)

Born about 1612 in Hampshire, England [uncertain]

Wife of John Hutchins — married 1637 in Newbury, Essex, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Descendants

Died 5 Apr 1694 at about age 82 in Haverhill, Essex, Province of Massachusetts Bay

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Frances (Unknown) Hutchins migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

Frances was accused of witchcraft (but survived) in Salem, Massachusetts

Birth
Birth dates and places for Frances Unknown, wife of John Hutchins, have been based on her identity as Francis Alcocke, age 26, passenger on the "Bevis" in 1638. That is born about 1612. She was not ffrauncis Alcocke^[1] of the Bevis. However, she was having children about 1635, so an estimate of 1612 is probably not more than a few years off. We know her name was Frances by her will and John's will, several deeds, and Mrs. Hutchins is mentioned by name in Nov 1679, "John Hutchins and wife Francis testified." ^[2]

Immigration
She immigrated to New England before 1640, when her son Joseph was born. She settled first in Newbury, Massachusetts, and later in Haverhill, Massachusetts.^[3]

Marriage
Frances and John Hutchins were married about 1635, based on the birth of their son William, who testified in court in 1656, implying his adult status, and the fact that daughter Elizabeth married in 1656.

Sumptuary Laws
In 1651, the Essex General Court passed "The Sumptuary Laws Against Excess in Apparel designed to forbid "intolerable excess and bravery in dress" which held that men "of meane condition," should not take "the garbe of gentlemen" and that "No person whose estate did not exceed £200 was permitted to wear any gold or silver lace or buttons, or points at their knees, or to walk in great boots; or women of the same to weare silke or tiffany hoods, ribbons, or scarfs" under penalty of 10 shillings. Further reserved for "any magistrate or public officer of this jurisdiction, their wives and children... or any settled militia officer or soldier in the time of military service, or any other whose education and employment have been above the ordinary degree, or whose estate have been considerable, though now decayed." "^[4][5]

27:7:1653 [27 Sept 1653] Court Held at Ipswich. "Wife of John Hutchings, presented for wearing a silk hood, was discharged upon testimony of her being brought up above the ordinary rank."^[6][5]

Witch Trials
When Frances was an old woman she was accused of witchcraft by Timothy Swan, Ann Putnam, Jr., and Mary Walcott. A warrant was issued 18 August 1692 and Frances Hutchins was seized and brought to Salem on 19th August 1692.^[7] She was imprisoned until the 21st December 1692 when she was released on £200 bond of Samuel Hutchins and John Kingsbury. No trial records were found.^[8][5]

Death, Will, Inventory
Frances, w. John, died in Haverhill, Massachusetts, April 5 1694. John had previously died 6 Feb 1685. ^[9]

"an inventory of the estate of M~ frances huching widow woman who deseaced aprill the 5th: 1694 the inventory.... £133 - 82- 00." Son Samuel made oath.^[10]

Frances Hutchins made a will 4 March 1689/90, making bequests to her children William, Elizabeth & Love, Benjamin, Samuel, son Joseph deceased, daughter in law Johanna Hutchins (Joseph's wife), and Joseph's children viz. John, Francis, Mary, Samuel, Joseph.^[10] See Space:John Hutchins died 1685 and Frances Hutchins died 1694 Last Will and Testament for full text.

Children

From Essex Genealogist (2001) 21:46,

1. William Hutchins, called "eldest son' in his father's will; probably born prior to 1635, testified in court 24 Apr 1656, implying age 21
2. Elizabeth Hutchins, birth not recorded, married Thomas Ayer at Haverhill, Massachusetts, April 1, 1656
3. Joseph Huchens, son of John, b at Newbury, Massachusetts, November 15, 1640;^[11] d young
4. Benjamine Huchens, son of John, b at Newbury, May 15, 1641^[11]
5. Joseph Huchens, son of John, b at Newbury, October 10, 1641 (sic)^[11]
6. Love Hutchins, dtr. of John, b at Newbury July 16, 1647^[11]
7. Samuel Hutchins, no recorded birth, but named in the wills of his parents.

Research Notes

Disputed Origins

The origins of Frances, wife of John Hutchins, is disputed and controversial. One set of speculative parents are George Alcock and Ann/Amy Hooker, who were previously attached as parents to this profile and have been disconnected.

Who is Frances?

A Review of the Literature

Savage 1860: "ALCOCK, FRANCIS, Newbury, came in the Bevis 1638, aged 26, in the employm. of Richard Dummer, as the Eng. custom ho. rec. tells; but that is the sole authority for call. him of Newbury, nor is any more kn. of him."^[12]

NEHGR 1860:^[13] Sailed as servants of Richard Dummer, on the Bevis May 1638:

-John Huchinson carpenter, age 30

-ffrauncis Alcocke vizg, age 26.

Hunt 1961: John G. Hunt article NEHGR 115:153,^[14] makes a case that

-vizg should have been read virg (virgin ie. single woman).

-Richard Dummer (employer of John and ffrauncis) settled in Newbury.

-John Hutchins settled there by 1640 (birth of child Joseph.)

-ffrauncis disappeared from the record,

-Therefore because ffrauncis disappears from the record and because they are on a list of servants next to each other, this strongly suggests that ffrauncis Alcock is Frances Hutchins.

DeLorey 2001 A Second Look..."^[15]

-Believes that John Hutchinson on the Bevis and John Hutchins, Newbury and Haverhill, are the same.

-Subsequent to the Holman 1961 article which suggests strongly, Francis Alcock was the wife of John Hutchins, this has been accepted as fact.

-Close examination leaves Holman's conclusion in doubt.

-vizg vs virg, yes it is virg~ if she is female, she is the only female passenger with such a designation.

-However that ffrauncis disappeared is not unusual at all.

-A closer look at the children makes DeLorey's point that ffrauncis Alcock was not the same person as Frances Hutchins.

-Children, William and Elizabeth, by a date of testimony and a marriage were born prior to 1638. If Francis is their mother, then she could not have been a single woman in 1638.

-A 1654 deed and it's confirmation may have indicated that francis was not their mother.

-In the inventory of John Hutchins 30 Mar 1686, Francis Hutchins makes two statements about land ... "which my son Wm Hutchins was given to him by my husband and my selfe delivered but no deed of it." and "This Land was given to my son Wm Hutchins"

-Frances' will dated 4 Mar 1694. "my son William Hutchins, my two daughters Elizabeth and Love, My two sons Samuel and Benjamin

-Conclusion: John Hutchins had one wife, Frances, mother of all his children. She was not ffrauncis Alcocke.

-Also concludes, that nothing is known of Francis Alcock's or John Hutchin's origins.

Martin 2007 "A Look at John Hutchins of Newbury and Haverhill"^[16]

-m. circa 1635 Frances

-One older theory states she was Frances Gibbons, but there is nothing to validate this and is probably case of mixed up identity. Francis daughter Love married Samuel Sherburne, son of Henry and Rebecca (Gibbons) Sherburne

-Theory: She was Francis Alcock virg~ of the Bevis. It is clear that children, Elizabeth and William, were born before 1638, and that Frances was the mother of all John's children.

Unsourced Claims on Find a Grave Memorial

FindAGrave (as of 1.29.23) refers to her as Frances Alcock, and gives a birth of 5 Apr 1612 in Hampshire, England. The memorial assumes she was the passenger on the Beavis. In any case, A search of Ancestry, FreeRegUk and FamilySearch found no corresponding record.

Sources

1. ↑ Coldham, Peter Wilson. The Complete Book of Emigrants: 1607-1660 Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co, 1987. p. 197.
2. ↑ Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County Edited by George Francis Dow Transcribed and Abstracted from the Original Manuscript by Harriet S. Tapley Published and Copyrighted by the Essex Institute. p. 288
3. ↑ Children were born in Newbury. Her will places her in Haverhill.
4. ↑ The Essex Genealogist 27:74 citing Ipswich Court Records vol I leaf 34, Essex County Records I:308
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} Duncan, Samuel White. "An oration delivered at the commemoration of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the settlement of Haverhill, Massachusetts : July second and Third, 1890. Boston: J.G. Cupples, 1891. Wearing silken hood p. 147; accused of witchcraft footnote p 149.
6. ↑ Dow, George Francis (editor) Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County Volume I. Transcribed and Abstracted from the Original Court Manuscript by Harriet S. Tapley. Published and Copyrighted by the Essex Institute 1911 p. 303
7. ↑ MS Ch K 1.40, vol. 2, p. 92, Rare Books & Manuscripts, Boston Public Library. Boston, MA. Repository A guide to Online Sources of the Salem Witch Trials. Warrant
8. ↑ Massachusetts Archives Collection, vol. 135, no. 75, p. 74. Massachusetts State Archives. Boston, MA. Repository A guide to Online Sources of the Salem Witch Trials. bond
9. ↑ Vital Records of Haverhill Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849. Vol 2 – Marriages, deaths. Topsfield, Mass.: Topsfield Historical Society, 1910. p. 425.
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} Essex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1638-1881. Haverhill, Essex, Massachusetts. CASE NUMBER: 14370. VOLUME: Essex Cases 14000-15999 PAGE: 14370:1
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3} Vital Records of Newbury, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849. Salem, Mass.: Essex Institute, 1911. Benjamin, Joseph, Joseph p. 231; Love p. 235
12. ↑ Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May, 1692. Vol. I-IV. Boston, MA, USA: 1860-1862. p. 21
13. ↑ "The Founders of New England." New England Historical and Genealogical Register 14:337. NEHGS 1860.
14. ↑ Hunt, John G. "The Identity of Frances, Wife of John Hutchins of Newbury and Haverhill, Mass." New England Historical and Genealogical Register 115:153. NEHGS 1961 At American Ancestors ($)
15. ↑ DeLorey, Janet Ireland. 21 (2001):46 "A Second Look at the Identity of Frances, wife of John Hutchins of Newbury and Haverhill, Massachusetts. The Essex Genealogist 21:46. 2001. At AmericanAncestors ($)
16. ↑ Martin, David Kendall. "A Look at John Hutchins of Newbury and Haverhill." The Essex Genealogist 27:71

See Also:

• Find A Grave: Memorial #103755187 [Misidentifies Frances as the passenger on the Bevis
• Hutchins, Jack Randolf, Hugh Hutchins of Old England : the history of the Hutchins families of the Old and New Worlds, Published 1984 by Gateway Press. Reference pages 280-282
• Byam, Edwin Colby. Descendants of John Hutchins of Newbury and Haverhill, Massachusetts. Rockville, MD: Hutchins, 1975.
• Clarence Almon Torrey "New England Marriages Prior to 1700" Genealogical Publishing Company, Baltimore, 1985; Reprinted 1997; Note: Sourced by William F. Prokasy Torrey's New England Marriages to 1700,
• Emery, William M.. Newell ancestry: the story of the antecedents of William Stark Newell. Boston: Privately printed, 1944. Borrow at Archive.org. p. 169, 172 Basic information only.
• Salem Witches. Ancestry.com. Original data - Original information from surviving legal records from the towns and villages in question and appearing in Godbeer, Richard, comp. The Devil's Dominion: Magic and Rel;
• Ayer Genealogy by Janson Ayer, hosted by RootsWeb - Ancestry Chart of Janson Ayer - Janson Ayer to John Ayer