Deborah (Hinckley) Ward (1762 - 1841)

Born 30 Jan 1762 in Harwich, Barnstable, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Ancestors

Wife of John Ward — married Jul 1778 in Addison, Vermont

Descendants

Died 27 Oct 1841 at age 79 in Chester, Pennsylvania, United States

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Biography

Deborah was born 30 Jan 1762 in Harwich, Barnstable, Massachusetts Bay Colony to Nathaniel Hinkley and Mercy Nickerson.

The birthplaces of Deborah and her siblings show the western movement of the family from eastern Massachusetts to Vermont. Deborah's parents were in Harwich, Barnstable, Massachusetts for her birth in 1762 and the births of Isaac in 1767 and Nathaniel in 1769. They moved to Westerly, Rhode Island where Mercy was born in 1771and Thomas, in 1773. When Rachel was born in 1776, the family was in Bridport, Vermont. They moved again to Rutland, Vermont where Elijah was born in 1783. [10]

Bridport, Vermont is just south of Addison where John Ward was living. It is likely that the Deborah and John met during this time since they were married in Addison, Addison, Vermont in Jul 1778. Both of them were young--Deborah was 16 and John was 18. All of this was in the midst of the Revolutionary War and their location on Lake Champlain put them in the path of danger. Her future father-in-law Asahel Ward had died in 1777 on a march of the militia to intercept Bourgoyne's troops as they marched from Canada to Saratoga.

When Carleton's Raiders headed south from Canada in the fall of 1778, the women and children of the communities along Lake Champlain were moved to safety. [11] Deborah's husband John stayed to bring in the crops. He was captured by Carleton's raiders near Crown Point, New York on 4 Nov 1788. He and the others captured were taken north to Canada by the British Indian allies and held as prisoners in Quebec . John spent two difficult winters as a prisoner. In the spring of 1780 he and 7 others escaped. They managed to move as far as Three Rivers before they were recaptured by some Indians. They escaped again and made their way south successfully reaching Bridport, Vermont in about 20 days in May or June of 1780.[2] John continued the patriot fight until the conclusion of the Revolution. There are numerous payroll slips for him documented in Vermont militia records. (See John's list of sources.)

In fact, the first three children of Deborah and John were born during the Revolutionary War. Her first child John was born while his father John was a prisoner in Canada.

After the war John and his family were reunited. They rebuilt their house at Chimney Point in the township of Addison, Vermont, which had been burned by Carleton's men. John continued to farm there and to take care of his mother as well as Deborah and their growing family. Deborah and John had 13 children with Clarissa, born in Addison, Addison, Vermont, in 1804 being the last.[5] [6] [7] [9]

Sometime between the 1810 and 1820 United States Censuses, John moved Deborah and the family to Aurelius, Cayuga County, New York.[8] [9] The move was probably around 1811 when John sold the farm. [13]

After John's death in 1831, Deborah went to live with her daughter Laura and Laura's husband, the Rev. Dyer A Nichols, in Pennsylvania.[12] She continued to receive John's war pension.[4] She died there on 27 Oct 1841 and was buried in Chester County Pennsylvania.[3]

Our paths to Mayflower ancestors William Brewster, Giles Hopkins, and Stephen Hopkins are through Deborah Hinckley.

Research Notes

The preferred original spelling of Deborah's last name was "Hinckley." The 'c' was lost and she used the name "Hinkley."

Sources

[1] * Ward, George K, "Andrew Warde and His Descendants 1597-1910, De La Mare Publishing, 1910.

[2] Washington, Ida H. and Paul A. Carleton's Raid, Weybridge, Vt., Cherry Tree Books, 1977, pages 41, 65-67, 93 & 94.

[3] Find A Grave Memorial Page https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/1718Our Path36787/deborah-ward

[4] United States Revolutionary War Pension Payment Ledgers, 1818-1872 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99WB-ZNRZ?i=96&cc=2069831&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AQ24Q-5D1P

[5]1790 United States Census for Addison, Addison, Vermont https://ancestry.prf.hn/click/camref:1011l4xx5/type:cpc/destination:https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/5058/images/VTM637_12-0219?pId=396033

[6]1800 United States Census for Addison, Addison, Vermont https://ancestry.prf.hn/click/camref:1011l4xx5/type:cpc/destination:https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7590/images/4440857_00044?pId=519306

[7]1810 United States Census for Addison, Addison, Vermont https://ancestry.prf.hn/click/camref:1011l4xx5/type:cpc/destination:https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7613/images/4433470_00034?pId=608552

[8]1820 United States Census for Aurelius, Cayuga, New York https://ancestry.prf.hn/click/camref:1011l4xx5/type:cpc/destination:https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7734/images/4433437_00041?pId=510016

[9] Birth Records of some of Deborah and John Ward's Children from Addison, Addison Vermont Records of 1781 https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/collection/1030/tree/167094205/person/252173217275/media/330c532f-26eb-4c54-a872-e3cea1f850ba?_phsrc=tMp78519&usePUBJs=true&galleryindex=1&sort=-created

[10] The Hinckley Family by Josiah Hinckley, 1863 on the Internet Archive https://archive.org/details/hinckleyfamily00hinc/page/n32/mode/1up?ref=ol&view=theater

[11] Information on the township of Addison from rootsweb.com http://sites.rootsweb.com/~vermont/AddisonAddison.html?_gl=1*1cfm45b*_gcl_dc*R0NMLjE2Njk1MDYxMjkuYmMyYWZmZTI0NzY3MTQxZjFmMTU5YzYwZTQ2Nzc5NjA.*_ga*OTQ5MzMyMDczLjE2MTQ2NDM1ODI.*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*MTY3NjE0NjEwMC40NTguMS4xNjc2MTQ3MjM4LjU2LjAuMA..*_ga_B2YGR3SSMB*MTc5NmNkNjUtYTM5My00NTBjLTllMmUtNDQ0YmE4YWQwM2FiLjMyNy4xLjE2NzYxNDcyMzQuNjAuMC4w&_ga=2.205645712.2067784518.1673876466-949332073.1614643582

[12] 1840 United States Census for D.A. Nichols in Upper Providence, Montgomery, Pennsylvania https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8057/images/4410777_00377?pId=2864325

[13] Vermont Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1732-2005, Addison https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89MB-FHR1?i=73&wc=Q8ZY-CFT%3A324710901%2C324710902%2C324777201&cc=1987653

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