Nehemiah Wilkins (1752 - 1811)

Born 14 Aug 1752 in Middleton, Essex, Massachusetts Bay

Ancestors

Husband of Sarah (Russell) Wilkins — married 12 Aug 1772 in Middleton, Essex, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Descendants

Died 17 Jun 1811 at age 58 in Middleton, Essex, Massachusetts, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Laura Wilkins [send private message]

Biography

Name: Nehemiah Wilkins Gender: Male Birth Date: 14 Aug 1752 Birthplace: MIDDLETON,ESSEX,MASSACHUSETTS Father's Name: Ichabod Wilkins Mother's Name: Mary

SARAH RUSSELL, b. at Andover, 29 Oct 1750 daughter of Joseph and Hannah (Perkins) Russell; d. at Middleton, MA, 2 Jan 1844;^[1] m. at Middleton, 12 Aug 1772, NEHEMIAH WILKINS, b. at Middleton, 14 Aug 1752 son of Ichabod and Mary (Clark) Wilkins; Nehemiah d. at Middleton, 17 Jun 1811.

Nehemiah Wilkins served in the Revolution as a private in the company of Capt. Stephen Wilkins from 1 July 1776 to 7 January 1777. In 1837, Sarah applied for and received a widow’s pension.

In September 1776, Nehemiah wrote the following letter to Sarah from Camp Ticonderoga: “Dear wife and parents and all ther friends I take this my opportunity to inform you of my Estate hoping thes Lines will find you and our Children and my parents and all other of my friends well through the Goodness of god. I my Self have been very poorley but I am betor so I leave our fetague is Very Hard so that wee cant Hardly get time to cook. It is very sickly, There was to of men fired on by the Ingines yesterday between ground pint and Ticonderoga but made there Escape with out being hurt there was a party of Ingines seen by the mils and wee espect the Regulers very. Out alowans is very poore sum times half a pund of meat and a pound and a half of bread and sum times a pound of meat and one pound of bread no saus nor no pint only when upon fetague then we have half a glas of rum, Rum is one doler per quart shugar and cheas two shillings per pound. I beg you to write to me so send said to ware receive this. I still remain your Loving Husband till Deth shall part, Nehemiah Wilkins.”

On 26 September 1776, Sarah wrote this letter to her husband: “Thes lines comes with my love to you hoping that by the blessing of God that tha will find you in good health as has left me and the children and I shall be glad that you would come home when your time is oute, and your father and mother is well and all your friends so nomore at prissent but I remain your faithful wife, Sary Wilkins.”^[2]

On 21 February 1803, Nehemiah Wilkins conveyed to Nehemiah Wilkins, Jr., mariner, a tract of land in Middleton consisting of seven and one-half acres for $175.^[3] On 15 April 1806, Nehemiah Wilkins, for $480, conveyed to Ephraim Wilkins the farm in Middleton with buildings. For an additional $228.32, Nehemiah sold to Ephraim a lengthy list of household items and tools including four beds, thirteen chairs, kitchen items, axe, and two candlesticks.^[4]

Sarah Russell and Nehemiah Wilkins were parents of ten children born at Middleton.

i SARAH WILKINS, b. 18 Mar 1774; d. likely at Danvers, 1816;^[5] m. likely 15 Mar 1804, EBENEZER GOODHUE, b. at Bradford, 20 Mar 1783 son of Phineas and Hannah (Parsons) Goodhue; Ebenezer d. at Middleton, 20 Mar 1843. Ebenezer married second Sarah’s sister Mary. Sarah and Ebenezer did not have children.

ii LUCY WILKINS, b. 20 Oct 1775; d. at Topsfield, 9 Dec 1868; m. at Middleton, 20 May 1802, MOSES PERKINS, b. at Topsfield, 21 Aug 1775 son of Oliver and Lucy (Gould) Perkins; Moses d. at Topsfield, 18 Oct 1858.

iii ABIGAIL WILKINS, b. 7 Sep 1777; d. at Middleton, 8 Apr 1806; m. at Middleton, 13 May 1798, JOSEPH WRIGHT, b. about 1770; Joseph d. at Middleton, 5 Nov 1836.

iv NEHEMIAH WILKINS, b. 16 Dec 1779; likely the mariner Nehemiah lost at sea, Nov 1803. “Nehemiah, mariner in the schooner Friendship, sailed from Winyan, Nov. —, 1803, lost at sea, ____. P. R. 82.”

v EPHRAIM WILKINS, b. 13 Sep 1781; d. at Middleton, 22 Feb 1827; m. at Middleton, 6 Apr 1806, HANNAH DIXEY, baptized at Marblehead, 8 Jul 1787 daughter of Richard and Rebecca (Homan) Dixey; Hannah d. at Middleton, 4 Sep 1831.

vi MARY WILKINS, b. 31 Oct 1783; d. at Middleton, 7 Mar 1861; m. at Middleton, 28 Sep 1816, EBENEZER GOODHUE (see sister Sarah above). Mary and Ebenezer did not have children.

vii JAMES WILKINS, b. 1 Nov 1785; d. at Middleton, 23 Jul 1875; m. 1 May 1817, BETSEY WILKINS, b. at Middleton, 21 Jan 1793 daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Fuller) Wilkins;^[6] Betsey d. at Middleton, 21 Jun 1872.

viii ROBERT CLARK WILKINS, b. 5 Mar 1788; d. at Middleton, 21 Aug 1827. Robert does not seem to have married.

ix NANCY WILKINS, b. 18 Mar 1790; d. at Danvers, 26 Aug 1874; m. at Middleton, 22 Oct 1812, WILLIAM GIFFORD, b. at Danvers, 27 Feb 1784 son of William and Lydia (Putnam) Gifford; William d. at Middleton, 2 Jan 1849.

x JESSE WILKINS, b. 8 Mar 1792; d. at Middleton, 27 Jan 1827; m. at Middleton, 10 Oct 1810, PEGGY PEABODY, b. 14 Dec 1791 daughter of Benjamin and Hannah (Black) Peabody; Peggy d. at Middleton, 21 Dec 1840.

Sources

1. ↑ Died at 93 years, 3 months on her gravestone.
2. ↑ Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, Case W26086. The two letters are included in the pension application file.
3. ↑ Massachusetts Land Records, Essex County, 171:180
4. ↑ Massachusetts Land Records, Essex County, 177:213; 177:214
5. ↑ U.S., Newspaper Extractions from the Northeast, 1704-1930
6. ↑ The names of Betsey’s parents are given as Samuel Wilkins and Sarah Fuller on her death record.

• Vital Records of Andover, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849
• "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQ63-HZH : 4 December 2014), Ichabod Wilkins in entry for Nehemiah Wilkins, 14 Aug 1752; citing MIDDLETON,ESSEX,MASSACHUSETTS, ; FHL microfilm 0823676 IT 3.