Susannah (Unknown) Shaw

Born [date unknown] in England

Wife of William Tilton — married 18 Dec 1638 in Wolston, Warwickshire

Wife of Roger Shaw — married about 1653 in New Hampshire

Descendants

Died 28 Jan 1655 in Hampton Falls, Rockingham, New Hampshire

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Puritan Great Migration Project WikiTree [send private message]

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

Biography

No original source identifies the maiden name or birthdate of Susanna, wife of William Tilton and Roger Shaw. Her first marriage was to William Tilton, son of Robert Tilton and Elizabeth Focell. The marriage was 18 December 1638, only six months after the death of his first wife, Ursula and the parish register lists only her first name, not her last.^{[1] [2] [3]}

Not long after the marriage, probably by 1640, they emigrated to New England, where they had three sons.^{[2] [3]} (But see Note below) These were:

Samuel b c 1640, d 17 Nov 1731

m Hannah Moulton

Abraham b c 1641, d 28 March 1728

m (1) Mary Cram; (2) Deliverance Littlefield

Daniel b 1646, d 10 Feb 1714/15

m Mehitebal Sanborn

William Tilton died 28 January 1653 in Lynn, Essex, Massachusetts, and Susannah was named executor. His Will (which does not survive) was proved in "5 mo 1653". The inventory shows an estate worth (£128.4s.10d.), including livestock, house and lands.^[4]

Susannah in December of that same year married Roger Shaw of Hampton, New Hampshire.^[3] She was clearly motivated in part for the need to make provision for her minor sons. The real estate in Lynn left by William was sold to Thomas Chadwell,^[5] and Susannah with her sons removed to Hampton, where she died 28 Jan 1655, [28 d 11m 1654] in Hampton, New Hampshire. ^[6] After her death, and after his, the Shaw family duly fulfilled their obligations to Susannah's sons, suggesting that she chose their future guardian well.

Note: Disputed Birthdates

The generally-accepted birthdates for the children of William Tilton and Susannah, while specific, have not been documented. With the exact date of their immigration unclear, it is not possible to be certain about the place of birth and dates for the older two. Nonetheless, the strength of the evidence suggests that Samuel was the older son.

Francis Theodore Tilton^[3] p 51-53, contradicts himself, saying at one point (p 10) that Abraham was the oldest son, but later (p 51) that Samuel was. Abraham's gravestone gives his date of death as March 28, 1728, at "ninety years of age", which would place his birthdate about 1638. Francis Tilton refers to one deposition of October 8 1714, in which Abraham gives his age as "70 and two years or thereabouts", giving a birthdate of about 1642. This is not conclusive.

However Francis cites yet another deposition from Samuel, dated 12 June 1661, in which Samuel is called the oldest son. He also (pp 9-10) refers to the 1660 Will of Roger Shaw and its codicil, in which he pledges to make payments to the three sons when they turn 21 years of age. On June 12 1661, his executor made this payment to Samuel Tilton, indicating a birthdate of 1640. On this date, Samuel acknowledged receipt. In 1662, Samuel Tilton was chosen as the guardian of his youngest brother Daniel and in 1663 received money on his behalf, again clear evidence that he was over age 21. On May 13 1669, the executor of paid the agreed legacy to Abraham Tilton, but this payment must have been delayed.

On p 61, Francis states that Samuel's gravestone bears the date of death 29 November 1731, "in the ninety-fourth year of his age,"^[7] which would, if correct, mean a birthdate of 1637 or 1638 - before (or at) the death of Ursula Tilton, making him her son, not the son of Susannah. However, this evidence is only anecdotal and can't be taken as hard proof without a source showing how Homes had firm evidence for Samuel's birthdate.

Davis ^[8] lists the children of William Tilton as follows:

Children, by a first wife

John, possibly born about 1615

Peter, possibly born about 1617

Children by wife Susanna

Samuel, b about 1636

Abraham, b about 1639

Daniel, b about 1642

However, Davis is incorrect about John and Peter's birthdates, as well as other matters, and can't be taken as entirely reliable. No conclusive evidence supports a birthdate for Samuel as early as 1636.

The conclusion can only be: this issue is not resolved. While the argument for Samuel being the oldest son is strong, there can be no clear conclusions about exact birthdates.

She is an ancestor, through Abraham, of President Millard Fillmore^[9]

Sources

1. ↑ FreeReg.org UK transcript, Parish Register, St. Margaret, Wolston, Warwickshire, [1]
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Jones, William Haslet. William Tilton: His English Origins and Some American Descendants. Heritage Press: 2000, pp 9.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3} Tilton, Francis Theodore. A History of the Tilton Family in America. New Jersey: 1927. pp 8-10.
4. ↑ Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts, 1636-1686 Vol. 1 (The Essex Institute, 1911) probate p. 287
5. ↑ Essex County Registry Deeds, vol 6
6. ↑ Sanborn, George Freeman, Jr., and Sanborn, Melinde Lutz. Vital records of Hampton, New Hampshire : to the end of the year 1900. Hampton: Volume 1: p. 112. Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1992. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2016)
7. ↑ Diary 1715-1747 of Rev. William Homes, New England's Hidden Histories: Colonial-Era Church Records, Congregational Library and Archives [2]
8. ↑ Davis, Walter Goodwin. The Ancestry of Phoebe Tilton. Portland Maine: Anthoensen Press, 1947. [3]
9. ↑ Gary Boyd Roberts, Ancestors of American Presidents. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009, p ??

See also:

• Author?, "Early Settler of Essex and Old Norfolk," in New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 1854, Volume 8, p ??

• Francis Theodore Tilton, History of the Tilton Family in America, November 12, 1928, Francis Theodore Tilton; Reprinted by Higginson Book Company.

Acknowledgements

This profile was created by the generosity and kindness of the following individuals. Thank them for their contributions:

• Cynthia Edgemon Rushing - created the profile, added available image, sources and the original bibliography.