Tabitha (Hancock) Dunham (abt. 1748 - 1813)

Born about 1748 in Tisbury, Dukes, Massachusetts

Ancestors

Wife of Cornelius Dunham — married 8 Jan 1766 in Tisbury, Dukes, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died 18 Apr 1813 at about age 65 in Windsor, Berkshire, Massachusetts

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Biography

Tabitha was born about 1748 in Tisbury, Dukes, Massachusetts to Reverend Nathaniel Hancock and his wife, Sarah Torrey. Tabitha was the last of the known eight children born to Nathaniel and Sarah. Unfortunately, Tabitha's exact date of birth, along with her siblings, with likely never be known. Her father, Nathaniel, was the Reverend of the Church of Christ in Tisbury during his children's birth. However, "the church records of the Torrey and Hancock pastorates were in the possession of Rev. Mr. Hancock in 1760, four years after his dismissal… the Deacon reported that Mr. Hancock refused to give them up. What became of them is not now known, but it is traditional that they were destroyed because of the minutes they contained regarding offences committed by members of the church and the action of the officers against the offenders.” ^[1]

On January 8, 1766 Tabitha married Cornelius Dunham in Tisbury. ^[2] The couple had 15 known children: Josiah Torrey, Susanna "Sukey", Jemima, Unnamed daughter died one day after birth, Edmund, Cornelius Jr., Samuel, Tabitha, Fredrick, Gustavus, Samuel Hancock, Amanda, Stephen, Mary, and Cornelius. All of the children were born in Tisbury. ^[3]

Sometime after the birth of their last child, Cornelius, in 1797, Tabitha and her family moved to Windsor, Berkshire, Massachusetts. This is where Tabitha passed away on April 18, 1813. She died as a result of a fever. ^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ Charles Edward Banks (1911). The History of Martha's Vineyard, Dukes County, Massachusetts: Town annals. G.H. Dean. pp. 87.
2. ↑ Isaac Watson Dunham (1907). Dunham genealogy: English and American branches of the Dunham family. Bulletin Print. pp. 120. https://books.google.com/books?id=mDRKAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false
3. ↑ Vital records of Tisbury, Massachusetts to the year 1850 (1910). Boston, Mass.: Pub. by the New England historic genealogical Society, at the charge of the Eddy town-record fund, p.40-42. https://archive.org/details/vitalrecordsofti1910tisb/page/40
4. ↑ Vital records of Windsor, Massachusetts, to the year 1850. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1917. pg. 129