Contents |
Elizabeth Latham was born on 24 October 1692[1] to one John Latham[2] and an as yet unknown mother.
We have no record of where Elizabeth was born and we know almost nothing about either of her parents. Her mother died and her father married, next, before 1710, perhaps around 1703, Mary (Clements), widow of John Butler. Elizabeth's father, John Latham, died in or before around 1710, when his widow Mary married, third, Robert Lockwood of Fairfield. Elizabeth had three Butler step-siblings and nine Lockwood step-siblings, though only the two youngest Lockwoods were children of her step-mother.
Elizabeth, daughter of John Latham, married Samuel Richards on 4 March 1714, of record in Norwalk. Given the birth date of their first child, we take this to mean 1713/14.[2][3]
Children of Samuel and Elizabet Latham Richards:[2]
Elizabeth's husband was co-administrator of the John Butler estate with Butler's widow, Mary [(Clements) (Butler) (Latham)] Lockwood, in 1723.
On 1 March 1722/3, an accounting was delivered to the Fairfield Probate Court by "Samuel Richards and Mary Lockwood his mother in Law who was formerly the widow of John Butler formerly of Norwalk."[4] This is the record by which we establish that Mary was Elizabeth's step-mother, there being no room in Samuel Richards' family for this stated mother-in-law relationship to come from his side.
In 1723 and 1725, Samuel Richards bought property in Norwalk from the Butler heirs. Elizabeth's step-sister Ellinor Butler died in 1732. Samuel Richards administered her estate, and was made guardian of her daughter Prudence Butler. For details of these matters, refer to Mary's profile. We might reframe this adoption as Elizabeth adopting her step-sister's daughter Prudence Butler. One might imagine that after Elizabeth lost her father, perhaps being his only child, her Butler step-siblings and step-mother became quite dear to her.
Elizabeth died on 17 February 1751. Her grave is at the Old Five Mile River Cemetery in Rowayton.[1][5]
A previous version of this profile, like other profiles of Elizabeth to be found online, had John and Mercy (Plumbe) of New London listed as Elizabeth's parents. There are problems with this association.
First, Elizabeth's gravestone shows that she was born in 1692. John Latham and Mercy Plumb of New London were both baptized in 1677, and their eldest known daughter, Elizabeth, was baptized in 1699. This is not the picture of a family with a daughter Elizabeth who was born in 1692.
Second, we have no explanation for why a young lady or girl whose parents live in New London to marry and start a life in Norwalk. Surely these things did happen, but there is usually a reason, and we see none here. Lacking any other evidence, it would be stretch to assert this, even if there weren't other problems with the match.
Third, and finally, Elizabeth's husband's parents died in 1715 and 1717 in England. There is no way that Mary (Clements) was the step-mother of Samuel Richards. Thus, for Mary to be Samuel's "mother-in-law," as the probate record of John Butler states, she must have been some sort of mother to Elizabeth Latham. Mary's timeline does not allow for her to be Elizabeth's biological mother, therefore she must have been Elizabeth's step-mother. This rules out the New London family, which was intact until John Latham of New London died in 1733.
Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.
Elizabeth is 19 degrees from Emeril Lagasse, 18 degrees from Nigella Lawson, 22 degrees from Maggie Beer, 43 degrees from Mary Hunnings, 26 degrees from Joop Braakhekke, 28 degrees from Michael Chow, 21 degrees from Ree Drummond, 20 degrees from Paul Hollywood, 19 degrees from Matty Matheson, 21 degrees from Martha Stewart, 29 degrees from Danny Trejo and 25 degrees from Molly Yeh on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.
There's another reason that I don't believe Elizabeth belongs in the New London family. I feel we have fairly strong evidence that she was a step-daughter of Mary Clements of Stamford, Norwalk and Fairfield. I've put together my reasoning in Mary's profile.
I would like to detach Elizabeth from the New London family, give her a new John Latham as her father, who died bef. 1710, leaving widow Mary (Clements) (Butler) Latham, who subsequently married Robert Lockwood. As I've documented in Mary's profile, she appears to be Elizabeth's step-mother, not her mother, so Elizabeth's mother would be unknown, as yet.
Any objections to making these changes?
Thanks for all your work with this. Please proceed with the disconnect. This new-to-me info is fascinating. I connect to this person through several maternal lines (intermarriage) so am especially interested in the correct line.
VIckie
Cheers! Daphne
edited by Daphne Maddox