Samuel Ladd (1649 - 1698)

Born 1 Nov 1649 in Haverhill, Essex, Massachusetts Bay

Husband of Martha (Corliss) Ladd — married 1 Dec 1674 in Haverhill, Essex, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died 22 Feb 1698 at age 48 in Haverhill, Essex, Massachusetts Bay

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Biography

Samuel Ladd was born on November 1, 1649 in Haverhill, Essex, Massachusetts. He is the son of Daniel Ladd and Ann.^[1]

Martha Corliss was born in Haverhill in 1652. She and Samuel were married in 1674 and remained in Haverhill, Massachusetts, where they had ten children.^[2]

1. Daniel Ladd was born on November 19, 1676.^[3]
2. Lidia Ladd was born on September 25, 1679.^[4]
3. Samuel Ladd was born on May 22, 1682.^[5]
4. Nathaniel Corliss Ladd was born on September 9, 1684.^[6]
5. Ezekiel Ladd was born on February 14, 1686.^[7]
6. Jonathan Ladd, a twin with David, was born on April 13, 1689.^[8]
7. David Ladd a twin with Jonathan, was born on April 13, 1689.^[9]
8. Abigail Ladd was born on September 29, 1691.^[10]
9. John Ladd was born on June 22, 1694.
10. Joseph Ladd was born on May 26, 1697.^[11]

Samuel was a leader in the Haverhill militia company that fought in the Narragansett campaign in King Philip’s War (1675-76). Not long after he returned from King Philip’s War, Samuel found himself in controversy. He and Edward Baggott apparently were drinking together. Just after nightfall they went to the home of Francis Thurlow, went to the room of Francis Thurlow’s fourteen-year-old daughter, and told her to come with them. When her parents arose and tried to enter the room, Samuel jumped out the back window. Samuel was found guilty of a misdemeanor.

Ten years later Samuel was back in controversy, with a young woman named Elizabeth Emerson, who was from a somewhat troubled family. When she was only 11, her father Michael had been censured following charges of beating her excessively. Later, Elizabeth’s sister Mary had been whipped for “fornication” with her soon-to-be husband before their marriage.

In April 1686, 21-year-old Elizabeth, who was not married, had a baby daughter, Dorothy. After this, the Emerson house was marked as a “wicked” one. The neighbors’ suspicion was further aroused in the spring of 1691, when Elizabeth (still living with her parents) stopped leaving the house. On May 10, 1691, a committee of townspeople came to the house with a warrant based on the suspicion she once again was pregnant. Elizabeth was required to submit to a physical examination by the midwife, who attested she had recently given birth.

The men in the party discovered a fresh patch of dirt in the yard and dug up two dead infant boys, buried in a shallow grave. Elizabeth was immediately arrested. She confessed that she had given birth but that the babies were stillborn. According to Elizabeth’s statement, she had delivered without assistance and placed the dead babies in a trunk, then waited until her parents were gone to bury them. Her mother said she suspected pregnancy, but Elizabeth had always denied it.

Elizabeth was adamant throughout her trial and confinement that Samuel Ladd was her twins’ father and the father of her daughter Dorothy. She insisted Samuel Ladd was the only man she ever slept with. Her parents backed her story. Again, though, Samuel Ladd never was questioned in the matter. Interestingly, his wife Martha Corliss Ladd also was pregnant when Elizabeth gave birth to the twins.

Thus, Samuel Ladd had three more children with Elizabeth Emerson:

1. Dorothy was born in 1686. No one acknowledged nor supported this child.
2. A twin boy #1, probably stillborn, was born in 1690.
3. A twin boy #2, probably stillborn, was born in 1690.

In September 1691, Elizabeth Emerson was found guilty. Some sources say the charge was murder; others say she was convicted of concealing the death of her "bastard children" (as opposed to actually killing them). Either was a capital crime and she was sentenced to hang. She first was in prison for two years, “ministered” by Cotton Mather. This was during the height of the Salem witch hysteria, and many suspected witches were in the same prison.

On June 8, 1693, before a large crowd assembled on Boston Common, Mather preached what he later called one of his “finest sermons,” using Elizabeth as a cautionary tale about lack of chastity.

Samuel Ladd went unmentioned and unpunished. About six weeks after Elizabeth’s execution, in fact, Samuel Ladd’s father Daniel died and he received a large inheritance.

Samuel and Joanna had one more child in 1697, and Samuel died less than a year later. He had gone out to gather some hay with his oldest son Daniel as well as Jonathan Haynes and his son Joseph. They were ambushed by Indians, who killed both Samuel Ladd and Jonathan Haynes with an ax. Some sources say both Daniel and Joseph were taken prisoner; another says Daniel escaped by horse, and was captured in another incident. Asked later why they killed Samuel Ladd, the Indians said because "he so sour."^[12]

Samuel died on February 22, 1698.

Sources

1. ↑ Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 NameSamuel Lad Event Type Birth Birth Date 1 Nov 1649 Birth Place Haverhill, Massachusetts Father Name Daniel Lad Mother Name Ann Lad
2. ↑ U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700 Name Martha Lad Maiden Name Corles Gender Female Marriage Date 1 Dec 1674 Marriage Place New England, USA Spouse Samuel Lad
3. ↑ Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 Name Daniel Lad Event Type Birth Birth Date 19 Nov 1676 Birth Place Haverhill, Massachusetts Father Name Samuel Lad Mother Name Martha Lad
4. ↑ Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 Name Lidia Lad Event Type Birth Birth Date 25 Sep 1679 Birth Place Haverhill, Massachusetts Father Name Samuel Lad Mother Name Martha Lad
5. ↑ The New England Historical & Genealogical Register, 1847-2011 Name Samuel Lad Event Type Death Birth Date abt 1682 Age at Death 54 Death Date 4 Mar 1736 Death Place USA Page number 382 Volume Number 086
6. ↑ Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 Name Nathaniel Lad Event Type Birth Birth Date 9 Sep 1684 Birth Place Haverhill, Massachusetts Father Name Samuel Lad Mother Name Martha Lad
7. ↑ Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 Name Ezekiel Lad Event Type Birth Birth Date 14 Feb 1686 Birth Place Haverhill, Massachusetts Father Name Samuel Lad Mother Name Martha Lad
8. ↑ Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 Name Jonathan Lad Event Type Birth Birth Date 13 Apr 1689 Birth Place Haverhill, Massachusetts Father Name Samuel Lad Mother Name Martha Lad
9. ↑ Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 Name David LadEvent Type Birth Birth Date 13 Apr 1689 Birth Place Haverhill, Massachusetts Father Name Samuel Lad Mother Name Martha Lad
10. ↑ Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 Name Abigail Lad Event Type Birth Birth Date 29 Sep 1691 Birth Place Haverhill, Massachusetts Father Name Samuel Lad Mother Name Martha Lad
11. ↑ Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 Name Joseph Lad Event Type Death Death Date 9 Jun 1697 Death Place Haverhill, Massachusetts Father Name Samuel Lad Mother Name Martha Corlis
12. ↑ George Wingate Chase, The History of Haverhill, Massachusetts, from its first settlement, in1640, to the year 1860. Haverhill, 1861. p 201-203.

See also:

• "A Dishonorable Ancestor"
• Genealogical and Family History of the State of New Hampshire
• Warren Ladd, The Ladd Family (Printed for the author by Edmund Anthony & Sons, New Bedford, Mass. 1890.). A Genealogical and Biographical Memoir of the Descendants of Daniel Ladd, of Haverhill, Mass., Joseph Ladd, of Portsmouth, R. I., John Ladd, of Burlington, N. J., John Ladd of Charles City Co., Va. Compiled by Warren Ladd (No. 1506), of New Bedford. p. 11, 12 & 13