Edward Messenger (1617 - 1688)

Born 1617 in Lincolnshire, England

Husband of Dorcas (Bosworth) Messenger — married 1651 in Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut Colony

Descendants

Died 12 May 1688 at about age 71 in Bloomfield, Hartford, Connecticut Colony

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Jathan Pfeifle [send private message] and Peter Spencer [send private message]

Disputed origins:

• In her 1998 article, "The Three Messengers: Henry, Andrew, and Edward: Clearing the Decks" (NEHGR 152), Helen S. Ullmann does not find an elder Andrew Messenger to have been the father of the three immigrants (Henry, Andrew and Edward). Author refers to the purported father as "this fictional Andrew."

According to Ullman, such an elder Andrew Messenger was reported by authors Marilyn Symonds and Esther Robb. This is presumably the 1965 work by those named, "Andrew Messenger, of Jamaica, New York and his Two Brothers" (12 pp., available from Family History Library Catalog). Ullman notes a "scathing retort" of the Symond's work by John Insley Coddington (cited as appearing in "Stamford Genealogical Society Bulletin, 9-10[1967]:78-84").

Ullman opens her article with the statement, "It is unlikely that the English origins of Henry, Andrew and Edward Messinger/Messenger will ever be discovered unless assumptions which have been widely circulated about them are examined with care and at least some discarded."

Disputed marriage:

• In her 1998 article (above) and of the marriage of Edward Messenger, Ullmann writes (emphasis added) "He married, probably about 1649, possibly in England but probably in Connecticut. Edward's close association with the Drake family at Windsor suggests his wife might have been related to them, but not even her given name is known."
• Where did the name of Dorcas Bosworth come from? There is no source for this information. Until evidence is presented to support her relationship to Edward, she should not be regarded as his wife or the mother of his children. As her name may never be known, the recommendation is to sever the link between Edward and Dorcas Bosworth to allow the name of his wife and children to be shown as unknown.

Biography

Born in England by 1630, perhaps much earlier, married about 1649 _____ _____, probably in Connecticut. He was last known to be alive 3 Feb 1685 [/6?]. ^[1]

According to Stile's The History and Genealogies of Ancient Windsor, Edward was a married man in 1650 when he resided in the Windsor Connecticut settlement. He owned land in what is now Bloomfield, Connecticut. At one time he was sentenced by the court to be whipped for his merciless treatment of a servant and then lying to lessen his fault.

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Children^[1]

1. Dorcas Messenger b. at Windsor 23 Sept 1650 m. by June 1666 Pieter Wouterse Vander Meulen (aka Peter Mills)
2. Nathaniel Messenger b. at Windsor 18 Jun 1653; m. 5 Apr 1678 Rebecca Kelsey
3. Deliverance Messenger b. at Windsor 7 April 1655. May have died with her daughter in 1676.

Edward Messenger. ^[2]

Born 1617 England^[3]

Died 12 May 1688. CT^[4]

Marriage Husband @I46552@. Wife Sarah Unknown. Marriage England^[5] Child: Andrew Messenger. Child: Edward Messenger. Child: Henry Messenger.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Ullman: Three Messengers
2. ↑ Source: #S45
3. ↑ Source: #S45
4. ↑ Source: #S45
5. ↑ Source: #S45

• Helen S. Ullmann, "The Three Messengers: Henry, Andrew, and Edward: Clearing the Decks," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 152 (1998):353-372; digital images, AmericanAncestors.org (accessed 2014). [Source reports "Nathaniell Messenger b. at Windsor 18 June 1653" the son of Edward; cites Some Early Records and Documents of and Relating to the Town of Windsor, Connecticut, 1639-1703 (Hartford: Connecticut Historical Society, 1930), 52; Edwin Stanley Welles, Births, Marriages and Deaths Returned from Hartford, Windsor and Fairfield and Entered in the Early Land Records of the Colony of Connecticut (Hartford: Case, Lockwood & Brainard Co, 1898), 45; Henry R. Stiles, The History and Genealogies of Ancient Windsor, Connecticut, Including East Windsor, South Windsor, Bloomfield, Windsor Locks, and Ellington, 1635-1891, 2 vols. (Hartford, 1892; reprint, Somersworth, N. H.: New England History Press, 1976), 2:493, reporting "Stiles ... says 1651."]

• Marilyn Symonds and Esther Robb, "Andrew Messenger of Jamaica, New York and his two brothers," manuscript (11 numbered plus title page ); digital images, FamilySearch (accessed via Family History Library Catalog, 2014). [Note: As noted in the comments here, this work by Symonds and Robb has been criticized by genealogical authorities.]
• Source: S45 G1209 (Beecroft's).FTW Repository: #R16

No REPO record found with id R16.

• Stiles, Henry Reed The History and Genealogies of Ancient Windsor, Connecticut (Hartford, CT., Case, Lockwood & Brainard, 1891), Vol 1, p 93.