Abigail ("Nabby") Barrett was born 24 May 1774 in Ashby, Massachusetts. She is the daughter of Jonathan Barrett and Abigail Raymond.
Abigail married Joseph Drury Wheelock in late 1791 or early 1792. Their intention to marry was published in Ashby on August 25th, 1791 and certificate to marry granted October 1, 1791.[1]
Abigail and Joseph had the following children:
Ebenezer
Joseph
Nabby (Abigail)
Polly (Mary)
Anna
Cecelia
Luke
Nabby (Abigail)
John R.
Roxanna
Fannie
Sophrona
Abigail died 12 December 1846 in Vermont and is buried in Cavendish Village Cemetery, Cavendish, Vermont.[2]
Research Notes
28 Mar 1791 is frequently given as the marriage date for Joseph and Abigail, but an original source for this has not been found, and the date is contradicted by the 25 Aug 1791 marriage intention for Joseph and Abigail found in the Ashby town records (see above).[2]
The most authoritative source for the 28 Mar 1791 date may be the Families of Cavendish book by Linda Margaret Farr Welch, published in 1995.[3] It is unclear where the author found that date, but the book cites the following sources:
Marcus Warren Wait, The Wheelock Family of Calais (N. Montpelier, Vermont : Driftwind Press, 1940). This book does not mention Joseph or Abigail.
Vital records of Vermont, and Vermont Census Records; Vital Records of Mass., Medfield, Marlboro, Sudbury, Shrewsbury and Probate Records of Worcester, Mass. These records have been consulted by many researchers, without turning up the 28 Mar 1791 date. But a marriage date for Joseph and Abigail may still be buried in the Ashby, Cavendish, or other town records.
Walter T. Wheelock, The Wheelock Family in America, 1637-1696 (Uxbridge, Mass. : self-published, 1969). This book gives no marriage date.
Mrs. William J. Wilgus, "My Wheelock Family", (manuscript), Ascutney, Vermont, 1942.
Gertrude Bernadette Wilgus, "Sketch of the Life of Deacon Jonathan Wheelock of Cavendish, Vermont", (manuscript), Ascutney, Vermont, 1942; online at Archive.org (https://archive.org/details/sketchoflifeofde00wilg/page/71/mode/2up : accessed 31 Mar 2024). This work states that Joseph Drury Wheelock married Abigail Barrett in Ashby "early in the winter of 1791", citing the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Vol. 42, p. 262, which states that Abigail Barrett married Joseph D. Wheelock, but gives no date. Note that a marriage in early winter of 1791 is consistent with the Ashby marriage intention.
Personal Genealogical Records of: (1) Mrs. Richard R. Root, Santa Barbara, CA 93111, (2) Mrs. Dean Wheelock, Pasadena, CA 91104.
Of these cited sources, all have been consulted except for the "My Wheelock Family" manuscript by Gertrude Wilgus, and the personal genealogical records - with the possible exception of the Mrs. Dean Wheelock records. In February 2002, a report titled "Ancestors of the Wheelock Family of Northeastern Wisconsin", compiled by Dean E. Wheelock, was sent to Rick Sullivan. This report was probably derived from the personal records of of Mrs. Dean Wheelock, cited in Families of Cavendish, and does contain the 28 Mar 1791 date, but without identifying the source.
Of course, it is possible that the Ashby marriage intention is wrong. It is in a book of records that have been copied from original records, and may have been copied incorrectly. But there is no evidence of that, and it seems far more likely that the 28 Mar 1791 date is incorrect.
Sources
↑Massachusetts, Town Clerk...d Town Records, 1626-2001:
"Massachusetts, Town Clerk...d Town Records, 1626-2001"
Catalog: Town and vital records, 1755-1863 [Ashby, Massachusetts] Town and vital records, 1755-1863 [Ashby, Massachusetts]
Image path: Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001 > Middlesex > Ashby > Marriages 1767-1848 > image 12 of 75; citing Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston
FamilySearch Image: 3QS7-9979-7GKV (accessed 30 March 2024)
↑ 2.02.1 Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 28 January 2018), memorial page for Abigail Barrett Wheelock (24 May 1774–12 Dec 1846), Find A Grave: Memorial #190475233, citing Cavendish Village Cemetery, Cavendish, Windsor County, Vermont, USA ; Maintained by David Richardson (contributor 47115653) .
↑ Linda Margaret Farr Welsh, Families of Cavendish: The Early Settlers of the Black River Valley in Windsor County, Vermont (Cavendish, Vermont : Cavendish Historical Society, 1995, 1st edition), Vol 1, p. 315.
Other Sources
Sullivan, Rick. "Abigail Barrett" on Wheelock Genealogy website.
Published genealogy
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A marriage intention for Joseph Wheelock of Cavendish and Abigail Barrett of Ashby was filed 25 Aug 1791 in Ashby. You can see the record here at FamilySearch, at the bottom of page 19 on the right. This implies that the marriage date of 28 Mar 1791 is wrong.
I've looked far and wide for an original source for the 28 Mar 1791 date. The most authoritative source I've found for this date is the first edition of the Families of Cavendish: The Early Settlers of the Black River Valley in Windsor County, Vermont (Cavendish, Vermont : Cavendish Historical Society, 1995), Vol 1, p. 315, by Linda Margaret Farr Welch. I've poured through all the sources she cites except for a manuscript by Mrs. William J. Wilgus, and the "personal genealogical records of: (1) Mrs. Richard W. Root, and (2) Mrs. Dean Wheelock." I did receive a genealogy by Dean Wheelock in an email many years go, so I know the 21 Mar 1791 date is likely in the personal records of Mrs. Dean Wheelock, but no sources were cited in the email I received.
Based on the Ashby record, I'm inclined to discount the 28 Mar 1791 date as incorrect. The Ashby record reads as follows:
"Aug. 25th, 1791. Received the names of Joseph Whelock of Cavendish and Abigail Barrett of Ashby with their intentions of marriage and were out published and a certificate given, Oct 1st, 1791. Isaac Green, Town Clerk."
I interpret the first date to be the date their intentions were declared, but I'm not sure how to interpret the second date. Could that be the marriage date? Any opinions?
I did not spend this morning jumping into any research on the custom of "reading the banns" in 1791 in Ashby, in any of the religious denominations then active and partcularly any ties of the Barretts to a religious organzation. I only know that Episcopalians, of which I am one, Roman Catholics, perhaps Lutherans, did read the banns in church on three Sundays before the marriage rites and some churches still do. Perhaps the Town Clerk did this in a secular role, and thus the marriage date of Oct. 1, 1791 would make sense.
Thanks, Margaret, for the quick response - even though you didn't jump out of bed and start reading banns:)
I did look further into this, and have a idea as to what the two dates mean. The first date (25 Aug 1791) is the date the town clerk was notified of the marriage intention for Joseph and Abigail. The marriage intention was posted/announced/advertised in Ashby. After a waiting period, which is usually just over two weeks, but in this case was close to six weeks, the marriage was "approved". There was probably a two week minimum, required by law or custom.
I know the second date is not the marriage date, because other marriages intentions in the Ashby book were followed by marriages - which were always after the second date.
All very interesting. I went ahead and updated the marriage date, and text in the bio to reflect the source (the previous date was noted as citation needed). I moved the old date to research notes, and referenced the comments, although it might be good to move some of the info from comments directly to the profile, as sometimes comments can be archived.
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I've looked far and wide for an original source for the 28 Mar 1791 date. The most authoritative source I've found for this date is the first edition of the Families of Cavendish: The Early Settlers of the Black River Valley in Windsor County, Vermont (Cavendish, Vermont : Cavendish Historical Society, 1995), Vol 1, p. 315, by Linda Margaret Farr Welch. I've poured through all the sources she cites except for a manuscript by Mrs. William J. Wilgus, and the "personal genealogical records of: (1) Mrs. Richard W. Root, and (2) Mrs. Dean Wheelock." I did receive a genealogy by Dean Wheelock in an email many years go, so I know the 21 Mar 1791 date is likely in the personal records of Mrs. Dean Wheelock, but no sources were cited in the email I received.
Based on the Ashby record, I'm inclined to discount the 28 Mar 1791 date as incorrect. The Ashby record reads as follows:
"Aug. 25th, 1791. Received the names of Joseph Whelock of Cavendish and Abigail Barrett of Ashby with their intentions of marriage and were out published and a certificate given, Oct 1st, 1791. Isaac Green, Town Clerk."
I interpret the first date to be the date their intentions were declared, but I'm not sure how to interpret the second date. Could that be the marriage date? Any opinions?
I did not spend this morning jumping into any research on the custom of "reading the banns" in 1791 in Ashby, in any of the religious denominations then active and partcularly any ties of the Barretts to a religious organzation. I only know that Episcopalians, of which I am one, Roman Catholics, perhaps Lutherans, did read the banns in church on three Sundays before the marriage rites and some churches still do. Perhaps the Town Clerk did this in a secular role, and thus the marriage date of Oct. 1, 1791 would make sense.
Thank you for your interesting work on this.
I did look further into this, and have a idea as to what the two dates mean. The first date (25 Aug 1791) is the date the town clerk was notified of the marriage intention for Joseph and Abigail. The marriage intention was posted/announced/advertised in Ashby. After a waiting period, which is usually just over two weeks, but in this case was close to six weeks, the marriage was "approved". There was probably a two week minimum, required by law or custom.
I know the second date is not the marriage date, because other marriages intentions in the Ashby book were followed by marriages - which were always after the second date.
edited by Rick Sullivan Jr