Our lead article is Holmes Descendants of Desire (Doty) (Sherman) (Holmes) Standish. The author, Susan A. Gillette, began this project by trying to identify her ancestor, Israel Holmes (ca. 1713–1807). She soon found that most of the Holmes families of Plymouth Colony were not well defined, and that various Mayflower publications contained differing statements or suggestions. No one had concentrated on most of these Holmes families, only on the families of wives who were Mayflower descendants. By carefully reviewing ages, exact places of residence and burial, and associations with other people, she was able to develop a definitive account of this Holmes family. The key problem turned out to be interpreting the commentary added to the Plympton vital records by the town clerk, Lewis Bradford (1768–1851).
The next article is Updating Two Ezekiel Fullers, Father and Son, of Attleborough, Massachusetts, Lebanon and Hebron, Connecticut, and Smithfield, Rhode Island, by Frederick C. Hart, Jr. These two Ezekiels were the grandson and great-grandson of Robert1 Fuller of Salem and Attleborough. The key to identifying the children and grandchildren of the younger Ezekiel was finding online the details of an 1874 federal case that was taken all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Although there are genealogies of the descendants of Robert1 Fuller, it appears that this article is the first publication to identify definitively the wife of Benjamin2 Fuller (the mother and grandmother of the two Ezekiels).
As many readers know, identifying New Englanders who migrated to upstate New York or elsewhere in the Northeast in the nineteenth century can be a major challenge –– but one that can often be solved. Austin W. Spencer presents one of these families in Joseph and Mary (Whitcomb) Wood of Tolland, Connecticut, and Dalton, Massachusetts. Joseph and Mary ended up living in Chenango County, New York, with three of their sons; their other five children lived and died elsewhere.
An unusual family situation may invite misinterpretation. In John Barrows of Plymouth, Massachusetts, Martin E. Hollick shows that John1 Barrows first appeared in Plymouth in 1665/6 with an adult son Robert Barrows. Both men married about then, Robert for the first time, John for the second time. John had children by his second wife, and these children were a generation younger than their older half-brother Robert. Not surprisingly, some Barrows children married cousins, notably Samuel3 Barrows (ca. 1673–1755), both of whose wives were descended from George1 Morton, as was Samuel himself.
While working on a genealogy of the Decosta family of Massachusetts, Glade Ian Nelson found an interesting and well-documented illegitimacy, presented in Elizabeth and Sarah Decosta of Boston: Covering up Reality. Fortunately, both women (mother and daughter) left wills implying that they were mother and daughter although not actually stating it.
In Part 2 of The Slaves of Gov. Stephen Hopkins, Cherry Fletcher Bamberg and Donald R. Hopkins give accounts of Phebe Hopkins (ca. 1730–1820) of Providence, Rhode Island; her husband Bonner Brown; her two children, Primus Hopkins and Bonner Brown, Jr.; and her Hopkins grandchildren. While much of the article involves genealogical analysis, the authors include substantial biographical detail, including Revolutionary War service and involvement in black community organizations.
In Part 2 of Richard Hixson of Massachusetts and His Descendants, Carol Botteron gives accounts of the three Hixson sons and their children, in Stoughton, Sharon, and Dedham, Massachusetts. An important component of this article was following the various civil and church subdivisions of Stoughton during the eighteenth century, e.g., the records of the First Church of Stoughton ended up with the First Church of Canton.
Non-Massachusetts Probates Recorded in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, to 1799, by David Allen Lambert, continues, with lists of wills, administrations, or guardianships recorded from elsewhere along the Eastern Seaboard, the West Indies, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and Madeira.
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The Register depends on many people, especially associate editor Helen Ullmann, whose role is vital. She reviews and edits all drafts of Register articles and often does further research. I couldn’t get along without her.
I am also indebted to the Register’s consulting editors, especially the three I call upon frequently. David Dearborn answers my phone calls for help with sources on the sixth floor of NEHGS, Cliff Stott does English research for relevant articles, and Gary Boyd Roberts reviews all articles. Julie Otto produces the excellent indexes to the Register and American Ancestors Journal.
For their help with specific articles, I thank John Humphrey, Eric Grundset, George Redmonds, and Gordon Remington. Colleagues at NEHGS are unfailingly helpful and supportive, especially Lynn Betlock, Lynne Burke, Tom Champoux, Marie Daly, Anika Ebanks, Michael Forbes, Judy Lucey, Ted MacMahon, Alessandra Magno, Michelle Major, Jean Maguire, Rhonda McClure, Kelly McCoulf, Ginevra Morse, Carolyn Oakley, Rick Park, Jean Powers, Tim Salls, Steven Shilcusky, Brenton Simons, Steve Solomon, Scott Steward, Penny Stratton, Olga Tugarina, Jim Viall, Leah Walczak, Tom Wilcox, and Ryan Woods.
We are always grateful to Ruth Bishop for her thoughtful and generous endowment of the Register, and to the Massachusetts Cultural Council for its support.
– Henry B. Hoff
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