Ruth (Lockwood) Sherwood (abt. 1738)

Born about 1738 in Greenwich, Fairfield, Connecticut Colony

Ancestors

Wife of Seymour Sherwood — married 14 Jun 1762 in Province of New York

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Biography

Ruth Lockwood was born to Nathan and Sarah Lockwood, probably around 1738,^[1] in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Nathan Lockwood executed his last will on 11 June 1761, bequeathing to his five named daughters, including Ruth, 30 acres lying east of the road by David Palmer's to be divided between them so as to make them all equal. To his grandson Lebbeus Sherwood, he bequeathed 12 shillings.^[2]

Ruth was married to Seymour Sherwood, apparent son of Gabriel and Martha (Seymour) Sherwood, by marriage bond supposedly dated 14 June 1762 in the Province of New York.^[3]

The obvious question is, why did Nathan have a grandson Lebbeus Sherwood before Ruth was married to Seymour? One possibility is that Lebbeus was not Seymour's son, and/or not Ruth's son. Was he the son of a daughter deceased and married to Seymour or some other Sherwood? Was Ruth married to a different Sherwood before she married Seymour? Is the transcribed date of their marriage incorrect? Was it a common law marriage until 1762?

Sarah Lockwood, widow of Nathan, executed her last will on 16 December 1769, bequeathing to Ruth Sherwood and her four sisters the residuum of her estate after bequests to Ruth's two brothers -- monies and debts, moveable estate and wearing apparel. Nathaniel Reynolds and Seymour Sherwood were executors.^[4]

The couple has not yet been positively identified in any subsequent records.

Sources

1. ↑ Both of Ruth's parents listed their children in the same order in their wills, Ruth coming after her sister Abigail, whose gravestone gives her an implied birthdate of around 1736, hence an estimate of around 1738 for Ruth.
2. ↑ Probate record, estate of Nathan Lockwood (will and inventory), 1761. Stamford Probate Book 5:145-8; Fairfield Probate Records (Stamford District), Vol 4-5, 1772-1782, images 287-8.
3. ↑ Names of Persons for Whom Marriage Licenses Were Issued by the Secretary of the Province of New York, Previous to 1784. Albany: Weed, Parsons and Co, 1860, p. 349, citing Province of New York Marriage Bonds 6:191.
4. ↑ Probate record, estate of Sarah Lockwood (will), 1769-'70. Stamford Probate Book 3:374-5; Fairfield Probate Records (Stamford District), Vol 1-3, 1728-1772, images 654-5.

• Holden, Frederic. & Lockwood, E. Dunbar. Descendants of Robert Lockwood (Philadelphia, PA., 1889) Page 67.
• Marriage Licenses Issued by the State of New York

• "1762 14 Jun; Seymour Sherwood; Ruth Lockwood"

• Jacobus, Donald Lines. History and Genealogy of the Families of Old Fairfield (Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor Co., New Haven, Conn., 1930) Vol. 2, Page 843.