Bethiah (Merry) Center (1712 - 1790)

Born 20 Apr 1712 in Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut

Ancestors

Wife of Jonathan Center — married 13 Nov 1734 in Middletown, Middlesex, Connecticut

Descendants

Died 25 Jan 1790 at age 77 in West Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut

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Genealogically Defined

Biography

Early Life

Bethia was born on April 20, 1712 to Cornelius Merry and Bethia Williams in Hartford, Connecticut.^[1]

Bethiah had brothers and sisters named Cornelius, Samuel, Sarah, John, Rachel, Lydia, Mary, Ebenezer and Leah.^[2] Bethiah was named in the will of her father along with her siblings in 1760.^[3]

Her grandfather was an Irish immigrant and early settler of Northampton, Massachusetts.^[4] The first record we find for her father Cornelius in Connecticut is a land record from Dec. 16, 1698 where he is the Grantee for land purchased from Grantor Thomas Hosmer.^[5]

Colonial Connecticut

On November 16, 1701 Cornelius buys more land from Stephen Hosmer.^[6] In the Memorial History of Hartford County Cornelius is included as a later settler of Hartford arriving in 1698.^[7]

The original borders of Hartford stretched from Bolton on the east to Farmington on the west, with the land that would become West Hartford known as the “West Division.” This is the place where the Merry family made their home.^[8] By 1710, with the population of the West Division comprised of 27 families numbering “164 souls,” the settlers petitioned the General Assembly of the Colony for the formation of a new parish. ... The petitioners cited the poor condition of the roads, the distance they had to travel, and the “uncomfortableness overhead,” a euphemism for the harsh New England climate, as reasons necessitating the addition of a new parish. Over the objection of the other churches, the General Assembly voted on May 17, 1711.^[8]

Family

Bethia married Jonathan Center on November 13, 1734 in West Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut. Bethiah was the daughter of Cornelius Merry and early settler of Hartford.^{[9][10][11][12]} Jonathan, Jr. was confirmed as a member of the Middletown church on November 14, 1746.^[13]

Bethia was admitted in full communion with the West Hartford Church on May 27, 1759.^[14]

Map of Pioneer Hartford.

In 1774, everyday life took on a political nature as colonists protested the actions of the British toward their colonies when the Parliament imposed the Intolerable Acts on Boston. After the First Continental Congress met in 1774, the Hartford town meeting decided to support non-importation. Community members chose to sacrifice individual needs and comfort for the common good. The four taverns in town became hubs of political discourse. Women gathered for spinning bees as they joined in to make homespun cloth.^[15]

Jonathan and Bethiah's son, Jonathan Center (III) settled in the Susquehanna and subsequently enlisted in the Contential Army as a blacksmith and served the length of the war.^[16]

Jonathan and Bethiah had children born in Middletown, Connecticut^[10][17]:

1. John b. 1736
2. Seaberry b. 1738
3. Ebenezer b. 1741 m. Agnes Hubbard
4. Jonathan b. 1746 m. Mercy Willard
5. Bethiah (Betty) b. 1748
6. Jeremiah b. 1750

Death

Bethia lived a long life of seventy years and died on January 25, 1790 in West Hartford.^[18]

Sources

1. ↑ "Connecticut Births and Christenings, 1649-1906," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F7WK-FBS : 3 December 2014), Cornelius Merry in entry for Bethiah Merry, 20 Apr 1712; citing ; FHL microfilm unknown.
2. ↑ Barbour, Lucius Barnes. Families of early Hartford, Connecticut. Baltimore, MD: Reprinted for Clearfield Co. by Genealogical Pub. Co, 2001. pgs. 400-401
3. ↑ Connecticut, Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999. Citing the will of Cornelius Merry proved in 1760; (Online database: Ancestry.com. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com, Operations, Inc., 2015.) Probate Files Collection, Early to 1880; Author: Connecticut State Library (Hartford, Connecticut); Probate Place: Hartford, Connecticut. Case No. 3690, Probate Packets, Merrell, Sidney-Mills, D, 1641-1880. Images 290-317. citing daughter of Cornelius Merry Bethiah Center. https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/17584339?h=15dd20
4. ↑ Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary or The first Settlers of New England showing Three Generations or Those who came Before May, 1692 on the Basis of Farmer's Register, (1862) , Boston, Little, Brown and company, vol. 3 Archive.org
5. ↑ Hartford, CT: General Index of Land Records of the Town of Hartford, 1639-1839. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2003.) Originally published as: General Index to the Land Records of the Town of Hartford, from the year 1639 to the year 1839. Published and Compiled by Levi Woodhouse, George S. Burnham, and Gordon Roberts [printed by Wiley, Waterman and Eaton], both Hartford, CT., 1873. citing Cornelius Merry grantee for land from grantor Thomas Hosmer on 12/16/1698. Volume 1, Page 181 AmericanAncestors.org $
6. ↑ Hartford, CT: General Index of Land Records of the Town of Hartford, 1639-1839. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2003.) Originally published as: General Index to the Land Records of the Town of Hartford, from the year 1639 to the year 1839. Published and Compiled by Levi Woodhouse, George S. Burnham, and Gordon Roberts [printed by Wiley, Waterman and Eaton], both Hartford, CT., 1873. citing Cornelius Merry grantee for land from grantor Stephen Hosmer on 11/26/1701. Volume 1, Page 91. AmericanAncestors.org $
7. ↑ Trumbull, J. Hammond. Memorial History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884 Volume 1. E. L. Osgood, 1886. pg. 275 citing Cornelius Merry as a settler in 1698, "son of Cornelius Merry of Northampton, an Irishman; settled in the West Division; d. there, Aug. 9, 1760 ae 94." google books
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} “History – West Hartford First Church.” First Church of West Hartford, Accessed September 5, 2019 http://www.whfirstchurch.org/about/who/history/.
9. ↑ Bailey, Frederic W. Early Connecticut Marriages as Found on Ancient Church Records Prior to 1800. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1997.
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} Connecticut: Vital Records (The Barbour Collection), 1630-1870 (Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2011.) From original typescripts, Lucius Barnes Barbour Collection, 1928.

    Name Jonathan CENTER

    Marriage 1735

    Location Middletown, Middlesex, Connecticut, United States

    Original Text Jonathan, Jr., m. Bethiah Merren, of West Hartford, Nov. 13, 1735

    Original Volume 1

    Original Page 85

    Volume Name Middletown

    Page 91

    https://www.americanancestors.org/DB414/rd/12576/91/139490756

11. ↑ Connecticut. Church Records Index. Connecticut State Library, Hartford, Connecticut. Ancestry.com. Connecticut, Church Record Abstracts, 1630-1920 [database on-line]. Volume 122 Part 1 West Hartford. https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/17581022?h=8100c7

    Name: Jonathan Center

    Marriage Date: 13 Nov 1734

    Spouse: Bethiah Merry

    Death Date: 13 Nov 1734

    Death Place: West Hartford, Connecticut, USA Note: If you read the record you will see that it is just the marriage cited. There was no death recorded on the date cited.

12. ↑ Bailey, Frederic W. Early Connecticut Marriages as Found on Ancient Church Records Prior to 1800. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1997. Ancestry.com. Early Connecticut Marriages [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Book Number: Book 2. https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/17581046?h=aa1187

    Name: Jonathan Center

    Gender: Male

    Spouse's name: Bethiah

    Spouse Gender: Female

    Marriage Date: 13 Nov 1734

    Marriage Place: West Hartford, Hartford

13. ↑ Connecticut. Church Records Index. Connecticut State Library, Hartford, Connecticut. Volume 070 Part 1 Middletown. Ancestry.com. Connecticut, Church Record Abstracts, 1630-1920 [database on-line]. https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/17582737?h=826abe

    Name: Jonathan Center Jr

    Residence Date: 14 Nov 1736

    Residence Place: Middletown, Connecticut

14. ↑ Connecticut. Church Records Index. Connecticut State Library, Hartford, Connecticut. Volume 122 Part 1 West Hartford. Ancestry.com. Connecticut, Church Record Abstracts, 1630-1920 [database on-line]. https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/17582788?h=fe59e4
15. ↑ Wilson, Tracey M. Life in West Hartford. West Hartford, CT: West Hartford Historical Society, 2018. https://lifeinwesthartford.org/colonial-life.html#community-in-the-west-division
16. ↑ Numbered Records Books Concerning Military Operations and Service, Pay and Settlement of Accounts, and Supplies in the War Department Collection of Revolutionary War Records.National Archives Catalog Title: List of Pennsylvania Troops, 1776 - 1781; Series: Records of Military Operations and Service; Category: Officers and Enlisted Men; Volume: 7; Title: List of Pennsylvania Troops. 1776-1781. (fold3.com)
17. ↑ Steve Condarcure's New England Genealogy Index 2103 (Family Pages), n.d. http://www.genealogyofnewengland.com/f_836.htm.
18. ↑ Connecticut, Church Record Abstracts, 1630-1920, database, Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 November 2017), entry for Cornelius Merry. Bethiah Center d. Jan 25, 1790 AE 70.; citing Connecticut State Library, "Church Records Index," Volume 122 Part 1, Vol. 1, Pg. 155. West Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut