Martha (Unknown) Astwood (abt. 1615 - bef. 1640)

Born about 1615 in England

Wife of John Astwood — married about 1635 in Roxbury, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony [uncertain]

Descendants

Died before 1640 before about age 25 in Roxbury, Massachusetts Bay Colony [uncertain]

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Martha (Unknown) Astwood migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Great Migration (Series 2), by R. C. Anderson, vol. 2, p. 27) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

Martha ________ was born in England roughly about 1615 (assuming she was 20 when she married). Her specific origins, last name and parents are unknown.

She married John Astwood by 1635, as his 2nd wife, following the death of his first wife. She may possibly be identified as the Martha Carter, aged 27, on the "Hopewell" in 1635, the same ship on which John Astwood was passenger. She enrolled at London on April 3, 1635 as a passenger bound for New England. In New England her name is listed among those who all settled in Roxbury and she is listed (with only one name separating them) with John Astwood. Anderson, in his "Great Migration..." sketch of Martha Carter says "She may, therefore, have been the second wife of Astwood, whom he married by 1635." ^[1][2]

Immigration record: Martha Astwood Arrival year: 1635 Arrival Place: Roxbury, Massachusetts Primary Immigrant: Astwood, John Family Members: Wife Martha Source Publication Code: 116.5^[3]

Martha was admitted as a church member at Roxbury, member #135 as "Martha Astwood the wife of John Astwood;" among the arrivals of 1635 and her name is listed shortly after the admission of her husband.^[2]

They had one child:^[2]

1. Hannah Astwood born say 1636. She married by 1653 to Stephen Freeman. Married (2nd) November 23, 1685 to Robert Porter. Married (3rd) after 1689 to [John?] Clark. She was known as "now widow formerly the wife of Robert Porter" on March 10, 1690/1.

The unsourced Find A Grave records indicates that Martha died in 1638 in Milford. Burial place not known. ^[4]However, Anderson in his sketch of John Astwood, her husband, says he moved to Milford by 1639 and he remarried there by August 2, 1640.^[2]From this we can probably deduct that Martha Astwood died at Roxbury after 1636 (the birth of child Hannah) and by 1639 when her husband left for Milford.

There is no certainty that the following baptism record refers to the Martha Carter who migrated to New England in 1635.

Martha was born in 1611 in Hardingstone, Northamptonshire, England. Baptism record: Name: Martha Carter Event Type: Baptism Baptism Date: 23 Feb 1611 Baptism Place: Hardingstone, Northamptonshire, England Parish as it Appears: Hardingstone Register Type: Parish Registers Phillimore Ecclesiastical Parish Map: Father: Thomas Carter

Sources

1. ↑ Great Migration 1634-1635, C-F. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: The Great Migration, Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume II, C-F, by Robert Charles Anderson, George F. Sanborn, Jr., and Melinde Lutz Sanborn. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001. p. 27 sketch of Martha Carter.subscription
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Great Migration 1634-1635, A-B. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: The Great Migration, Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume 1, A-B, by Robert Charles Anderson, George F. Sanborn, Jr., and Melinde Lutz Sanborn. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1999. p. 93 sketch of John Astwood.subscription
3. ↑
   • ANDERSON, ROBERT CHARLES, GEORGE F. SAN-BORN JR., The Great Migration, Immigrants to New England 1634-1635, Volume 1. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1999. 633p., John Astwood, Martha wife.
4. ↑ Find A Grave, created by Linda Mac, 19 June 2009.[ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/38531151]

• Northamptonshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1532-1812, Northamptonshire Record Office; Northampton, England; Register Type: Parish Registers; Reference Numbers: 150P/1

See Also:

• Baldwin, Charles C. (1881). Baldwin Genealogy from 1500-1881. Leader Printing Co., Cleveland Ohio. (pg 43)Baldwin, Charles Candee.The Baldwin Genealogy From 1500 To 1881(The Leader Printing Company, Cleveland, Ohio, 1881)