Who were the parents of Elizabeth Perkins who married Samuel Hovey in 1737?

Question

According to several resources, including FindAGrave, FamilySearch, and at least one book, the parents of Samuel Hovey’s wife, Elizabeth Perkins, were Jacob Perkins (1690- ) and Elizabeth Kinsman (1690-1732). But Lucy W. Stickney’s “The Kinsman Family”, Alfred Mudge & Son, 1876, on page 63 says that the couple had two daughters named Elizabeth, and both died in infancy, which would mean they were not the parents of Elizabeth Perkins-4389.
 
Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850 lists two births for the couple, one an Eliza[beth] in 1718, and one an Elizabeth in 1726, and only one death (in 1726). Is it possible that Lucy Stickney assumed the death of the first Eliza[beth] because of the later named Elizabeth, but that her assumption was incorrect? Then again, if Jacob & Elizabeth Perkins had a living daughter named Elizabeth, why would they give the same name to another daughter?

 Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850, Vol 2, page 230, Ipswich Marriages, shows the marriage of Samuel Hovey and Elizabeth Perkins on October 10, 1737 and notes ‘Intention also recorded’. I viewed the handwritten record of both the marriage and the intention on “Ancestry Institution”. The parents of the bride and groom are not named in either one. The intention, dated September 25, 1737, clearly states “Samuel Hovey and Eliza[bet]h Perkins, both of Ipswich…”
 
The Charles R. Hale Collection of Connecticut Cemetery Inscriptions, also found on “Ancestry Institution” shows the death of the wife of Samuel Hovey as Elizabeth Hovey, died March 22, 1788 Scotland (Windham) Connecticut, age 75. That would indicate a birth year of 1713 for Elizabeth Perkins instead of 1718. There was an Elizabeth Perkins, born to Stephen Perkins and Mary Eveleth in Ipswich in 1713. But that Elizabeth Perkins married Elias Lowater in 1731, so she cannot be the wife of Samuel Hovey.
 
The Ipswich Births on page 286 of the Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850 also show an Elizabeth Perkins born in 1720 to Robert Perkins and Elizabeth Douton. But she can’t be Samuel Hovey’s wife. This Elizabeth Perkins is already in WikiTree as Perkins-2163. Her profile shows that she married Benjamin Kinsman-1086 in 1740.

Does anyone have other suggestions for how to determine who were Elizabeth’s parents?

Answer 1

As far as the Stickney book is concerned there are parts that can be evidenced and parts which are her assumptions. One of these is the assumption that the first Eliza[beth] died an infant. There is nothing in the Massachusetts VR records to back that up. The same can be said for her elder brother Francis bp. 1717 with a second baptism of a Francis in Ipswich in 1724 to apparently the same parents.

Is it possible that the compiler of the VR book is drawing attention to there being two contemporary families of Jacob Perkins? Checking in that timeframe gives a list of births/baptisms to children of Jacob that may split into two family groups:

to Jacob and Eliza[beth]:

Jacob bp 1715

Francis bp 1717 (no burial recorded)

Eliza[beth] bp 1718 (no burial recorded)

Lucy bp 1720, bur 1726, aged 6, d. Jacob and Elizabeth

Lucy bp 1728 (12 Aug) bur 6 Mar 1728/29 aged 7 months d. Jacob and Elizabeth

Daniel bp 1731, bur 1731 inf s. of Jacob and Eliza[beth]

to Jacob and Elizabeth:

Francis bp 1724

Elizabeth b. 1726, bur 1726 d. Jacob and Elizabeth

Lucy bp 1727, bur 1727 inf d. Jacob and Eliza[beth]

Nowhere near conclusive, and it may of course just be down to the clerk of the time saving some ink. Also speaking against this possibility is that there is only one marriage in the right timeframe for Jacob Perkins to an Elizabeth.

 

 

Answer 2

Here are some additional facts that I think connect, and I think are an indication of there being two Jacob Perkins of that time.

Elizabeth Perkins, wife of Jacob Perkins, died 26 Sep 1732 in her 43rd year (Gravestone) - born c1690

Jacob Perkins of Chebacco died 28 Mar 1754 (VR)

Susannah Perkins died 1 Oct 1769 aged 80 (VR) - born c1690

Jacob Perkins of Chebacco wrote his will in 1740, a codicil in 1743 and it was proved 8 Apr 1754. In it his major bequest is to his wife Susannah, formerly Butler. Minor bequests to his wife's children by her first marriage. Rest to his sons Jacob and Francis. Francis is noted as being a minor when the will was written.

This Francis (minor in 1740) cannot be s/o Jacob & Eliza[beth] b1717. He could be either s/o Jacob and Elizabeth b1724, or Jacob & Susannah b1732.

The only Jacob born in Ipswich in this timeframe is s/o Jacob and Eliza[beth] bp 1715.

Jacob Perkins married widow Susannah Butler 10 Feb 1728/29 (VR) - three years before the death of Elizabeth, wife of Jacob in 1732.

But, to be consistent with the will, Jacob father of Jacob (1715) must also be father of Francis (1732). At the same time Elizabeth, mother of Jacob (1715) cannot be the Elizabeth who died in 1732 (inconsistent with the marriage to Susannah in 1729).

Which means there must have been two Jacobs and Elizabeths having children in the same time period.

The only other way these facts go together is if they allowed plural marriages in Ipswich in the early 1700s - please someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I didn't think that was the case.

Answer 3

I strongly encourage you to turn to probate records and land deeds of the various close relations of these families. Often times answers to questions left by inadequate vital records can be found there.

This may require turning to microfilm at your local LDS family history center. Some digital files may be available to members of NEHGS. Ancestry has recently launched a large amount of probate records so if you're a subscriber there you could see what they have for Ipswich.

Answer 4

 One other thing occurs to me, you eliminated Elizabeth b1713 as: "that Elizabeth Perkins married Elias Lowater in 1731, so she cannot be the wife of Samuel Hovey" - are you sure it's the same person?

The VR book says:

{Perkins} Elizabeth [Mrs. int] and Capt. Elias Lowater [of Salem. int], Nov 10 1731

That reads to me that Elizabeth who married Lowater was a widow.

Answer 5

A rider to my comment about Elizabeth d/o Stephen.

Thanks to Ellen Smith who posted an answer to my query about the next generation back, I now have a copy of the will of Captain Stephen Perkins dated 1733. His daughter is referred to as Elizabeth Lowater, so your initial observation was spot on.