- This comes from:
"The Great Migration - Immigrants to New England 1634-1635", Volume III G-H. Records of the First Church in Charlestown, Massachusetts, 1632-1789, James Frothingham Hunnewell, ed. Boston 1880)
MRP Case #10209 Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Probate Records
NYGBR 120:145-47 = The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Volume through present (1869+)
WaVR 31 = "Records of Births, Deaths and Marriages - First Books," Section One in Watertown Records Comprising the First and Second Books of Town Proceedings... (Watertown 1894)
GM 2:1:171-74 = Robert Charles Anderson, George F. Sanborn, Jr. and Melinde Lutz Sanborn, The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume 1, A-B (Boston 1999)
NEHGR 146:230-34 = New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 1 through present (1847+)
SUSANNA HALSTEAD
ORIGIN Halifax, Yorkshire.
MIGRATION 1635 (based on church membership).
FIRST RESIDENCE: Charlestown (based on church membership).
REMOVES: Watertown about 1642 (assuming that she moved at the same time as Michael Barstow).
CHURCH MEMBERSHIP: On 8 January 1635/6, "Susanna Halsteed" was admitted to Charlestown church [ChChR 8].
EDUCATION She signed her will by mark. Her inventory included "her books" valued at 8s.
ESTATE: In her will, dated 11 January 1667[/8?] and proved 4 October 1669, "Susan Halstead which liveth with Mighael Berstow in Wattertowen hath owing unto her 5 pound of Abraham How which liveth in Maullbeery and 5 pound more of Thomas Walch which liveth in Charlstoune and she being aged and weak in body but well in mind and senses not knowing how soon it may please God to take me out of this world, my will is that my sister Grace Berstow wife of Mighael Berstow with whom I now live should have those debts and the rest of my estate only my will is that Sarah the wife of Joseph Child should have the best red surcoat made of stuff and my will is that Debora Berstow should have another red stuff coat and an undercoat with an [2-3 words illegible] and my will is that Sarah Hortton should have my red cloth coat, the rest of what is mine I do give to my sister as aforesaid and my will is that my sister as aforesaid Grace Berstow should be my whole executor, this is my last will in witness whereof I set to my hand" [MPR Case #10209]. In a codicil dated 2 February 1668/9, "Susan Halstead" stated that "whereas I gave a coat to Sarah Orton my will is now to give it to Debra Berstow within mentioned" [MPR Case #10209].
The inventory of "the estate of Susan Halstead deceased the 5 day of the 5 month 1669," presented at court 4 October 1669, totalled £16 2s. 3d., with no real estate included [MPR Case #10209].
BIRTH: Say 1604, daughter of Abraham and Susan (Whitley) Halstead of Halifax, Yorkshire [NYGBR 120:145-47].
DEATH: Watertown 5 July 1669 [WaVR 31].
ASSOCIATIONS: Susanna Halstead was younger sister of Grace (Halstead) Barstow, first wife of MICHAEL BARSTOW 1635, Charlestown [NYGBR 120:145-47; GM 2:1:171-74]. (Curiously, this Grace is not the" sister Grace Barstow" who was executor and residuary legatee to Susanna Halstead, inasmuch as Michael Barstow had remarried twice, and his third wife, with whom Susanna Halstead had lived for a quarter of a century, was also named Grace [NEHGR 146:230-34]).
Susanna Halstead was also sister to Jonas Halstead, who settled in Hempstead by 1655 [NYGBR 120:145-47].
COMMENTS: All the evidence available to us indicates that Susanna Halstead migrated with and resided with her brother-in-law Michael Barstow throughout her time in New England. Like Michael Barstow, she first appeared in Charlestown in 1635. We assume, therefore, that she joined him in his migration to Watertown about 1642.
Volume A-B has George, Michael and William Barstow.
p. 173 - Michael married (1) Halifax, Yorkshire, 15 February 1624/5 Grace Halstead [Bond 677]; she died by 1635.
Bond 677 = Henry Bond, Genealogies of the Families and Descendants of the Early Settlers of Watertown, Massachusetts ..., two volumes in one, second edition (Boston 1860)
p. 174 - Grace Halstead, first wife of Michael Barstow, was daughter of Abraham Halstead of Halifax, Yorkshire; her sister Susanna Halstead accompanied Michael Barstow to New England and her brother Jonas Halstead followed some years later. [NYGBR 120:145-47]
NYGBR 120:145-47 = The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Volume through present (1869+)
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- "with bequests to her sister Grace Barstow, with whom she lived, to Deborrah, born in Aug 1650, and Sarah Barstow, who were probably daughters of William Barstow, a brother of Michael Barstow, and to Sarah Childs, wife of Joseph Childs. It seems certain that Susanna Halstead had never been married."
Bond "Watertown, Massachusetts", 2nd ed., page 18:
"BARSTOW, Michael, of Watertown," then in a footnote: "Susannah Halestead made a will, Jan. 11, 1667-8, proved Oct. 9, 1669 making her bequests to her sister Grace Barstow; to Sarah, wife of Joseph Child; and to Deborah and Sarah Barstow."
From the same volume:
"HALSTEER (Halstead) -- SUSAN HALSTEER, d. July 5, 1669 [see Barstow, 1]. And from page 150 of the same volume, a note about and Elizabeth Carver (this may be the one who married William Randall); some of you may remember that I put forth the query about whether Grace Halstead had first married a Carver and had a daughter, Elizabeth, who married William Randall. I have not found a source yet, but still wonder where the reference to Elizabeth Randall as a step-daughter to Michael Barstow comes from. The will of Michael Barstow, which I have checked, names Elizabeth Randall but does not call her a step-daughter.
"CARVER. Will of Richard Carver, of Watertown, in New England, yeoman, testified before Go. Winthrop, Sept. 9, 1641 (Margin 30 (8 [degrees?]) 1643) mentions wife Grace, and daus. Elizabeth and Susannah [See Geneal. Reg. II, p. 263].
From Wyman, "Genealogies and Estates of Charlestown," Vol. I, A-J, p. 461:
HALSTEED Susanna. Adm. church 8 (11) 1635-6; d. at Watertown July 5, 1669.
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Ken Erd e-mail 19 Jun 2004 - I came across an email message in his notes on Grace Halstead which you sent him on 22 Oct 2000. It seems to me you either copied the note to me or sent it to the entire group at that time. I am going to paste it here just so you know exactly what I am referring to:
Mark R. Halstead 22 Oct 2000 e-mail: "> Just last night I came across something in your notes that startled me a little. Grace Halsted (is that the spelling you've seen for the old English Halsteads? I seem to remember coming across that in WLH), I think quoting Wardwell, was sometimes known as "Grace Carver". Could Carver have been her first husband?" " ... It so happens that, as I was looking into the Barstows (whom Grace also married into), I stumbled across a line of my grandmother's family, the Randalls of Scituate, Mass. A Barstow daughter (Elizabeth, d/o William and Anna (Hubbard)) married William Randall; William Randall is also one of my ancestors, so I was looking into whether my Barstows and Randalls intermarried. In checking around, I find that MY William Randall married an Elizabeth Carver, who was step-daughter to Michael Barstow! This Elizabeth was born in Yorkshire, probably between 1612 and 1632, judging by the birthdate of her daughter (Elizabeth (Randall) Davis was born in Oct 1652 in Scituate), and so MIGHT have been the daughter of ______ Carver and Grace Halsted. According to a GenForum posting, which looks like it quotes The American Genealogist, Elizabeth (Randall) Davis is named a beneficiary in the will of Michael Barstow, and is called a stepdaughter. It seems to me that Michael and Grace (Halsted) Barstow did not have children, as would not they have been named in Susannah Halstead's will? The question remains as to why Susannah chose to make bequests to two of her brother-in-law's nieces (Deborah and Sarah Barstow), and not to one of Grace's natural children, if indeed Elizabeth (Carver) Randall is a child of Grace. I don't know whether to hope this is true or not, as it makes my father's parents ninth cousins once removed! They didn't like each other very much any way!"
Way back when, well at the time of that email message, I accepted it as reasonable although noting that it was speculation. I added Elizabeth as the daughter of Grace by a previous union with an unknown Carver and united her with Randall. But that was then. My situation today is quite different from the period when you sent that message. In those days it cost me an arm and a leg to go online. Now I pay a fixed monthly fee and it matters not how much time I spend browsing. So I went looking for William Randall of Scituate and found some interesting information at the following website:
http://babbage.clarku.edu/~djoyce/gen/report/rr01/rr01_072.html#P14644
I will copy and paste some of the information I found there and then comment on the information.
1988. William Randall. Born on 16 Mar 1598/9 at Grantham, Lincolnshire. William died at Scituate, MA, on 13 Oct 1693.118 Occupation: cordwainer.
"William Randall came into Scituate before 1640. His farm was on the brook that falls into Till's or Dwelley's creek: His house was in the valley, twoenty rods north of the brook on the west side of the way, where stands [1831] the mansion of Elisha Foster, sen. late deceased. There is no record of his marriage here: he probably married at Rhode Island, where we find some traces of him as early as 1636; or in Marshfield, where he seems to have been 1637. He was an enterprising and useful man in many respects; but unfortunately for himself, appears to have been litigious. There are several disputes on the Colony records, which he prosecuted with his neighbors about bounds of lands, and when the causes were decided against him, he seems not to have submitted very quietly. He was fined 1660, 'for striking Edward Wanton,' in one of these disputes: and in 1664, 'for breaking the King's peace by poakeing Jeremiah Hatch with a ho-pole, was fined 3s. 4d.' Colony Records. He, with his wife were of the party that gained much strength from 1650 to 1670, which held it unlawful to pay religious teachers. His goods were occasionally taken by the constable. On one of these occasions, '1654 William Randall's wife fined for abusing the Constable, Walter Hatch.' Colony Records. After these troubles, they both settled down to quiet members of Mr Witherell's church."5
From Frank A. Randall's Randall and Allied Families:155 "William Randall, the founder. Born Eng., 1609, died Scituate (now Norwell), Mass., Oct. 13, 1693. Regarding him Savage2 says: 'William Randall of Scituate, Mass., came fvrom the port of London in the ship Expectacon the 24th of April, 1635, to the Island of Providence (R.I.) He was twenty-six years of age and took the oath of Supremacy and Allegiance as then required of every person leaving England.' He removed to Marshfield, Mass., 1637, where he tarried three eyars, then removed to Scituate, which adjoins Marshfield to north, the North River separating them. At Scituate he occupied a respectable position; a man of strong opinions and always ready to maintanin his rights; hence he developed a 'litigious' reputation, spending some time in courst as a defendant (PR). Many of the plaintiffs were related to him by marriage, or to some member of his family. In some of the causes that he lost, William Randall paid the damages in 'shooes', notable in the case of Joanna Kemton (PR, 1657, pp. 82,83) from which circumstance we are led to believe that William followed the occupation of 'cordwainer' or shoemaker. This opinion is strengthened by reference in Plymouth Colonty Probate Court records to paymetns made to William Randall, Sr., 'for shooes' in the settlement of the 'Estate of John James' in 1679/80 (MD, Vol. 19,p. 99). At various times William was Constable, Surveyor-of-Highways, a freeman and on lists of those 'able to bear arms'. See Old Scitaute and Its Pioneer Families for details."
Ca 1640 William married Elizabeth Carver (954) , daughter of Richard Carver (376) (ca 1577-1638/41) & Margaret Skurrie (-Nov 1618), at Scituate, MA.155 Born ca 1618 at England. Baptized on 15 Oct 1618 in Filby, Norfolk.13
Although in Randall and Allied Families155 it is stated that William Randall's wife was Elizabeth Barstow, sister of Michael, George and William Barstow and daughter of of Matthew Barstow, it is more likely that this was Elizabeth Carver. See Robert Charles Anderson's article13 "The wifes of Michael Barstow and Richard Carver of Watertown, Massachusetts and the identity of the wives of William Randall of Scituate and William Perry of Marshfield." Elizabeth Carver was Richard Carver's daughter by his first marriage to Margaret Skurrie. Matthew Barstow married as his third wife Grace (Walker) Carver, Richard Carver's third wife.
Children:
3523 i. Sarah (ca1640->1693)
3524 ii. Joseph (1642-1723)
3525 iii. Hannah (1644-1714)
3526 iv. William (1647-1712)
3527 v. John (1650-<1728)
3528 vi. Elizabeth (1652-1693)
3529 vii. Job (1654-1727)
3530 viii. Benjamin (1656-)
3531 ix. Isaac (ca1658-1759)
376. Richard Carver. Born ca 1577 at England.13 Richard died at Watertown, MA, in 1638/41.13 Occupation: husbandman.
Michael held a cottage in Ormsby St. Michael about 1610.13
From the combined passenger list of two ships which sailed from Yarmouth in Norfolk in 1637 (John C. Hotten, The Original Lists of Persons of Quality ... [1874; repr. ed., Baltimore, 1986] the followin family was examined on 11 Apr 1637: "Richard Carvear of Skratby in the County of Norf[olk] husbandman ageed 60 yeares, and Grace his wife, ageed 40 years, with 2 children. Elizabeth ageed 18 yeares and Susanna aged 18 years, being twynes."13 Also three servants: Isaac Hart aged 22, Thomas Flegg 21, and Marabel Underwood 20.
The will of richard Carver of Watertown, yeoman, testified before Gov. Winthrop 9 Sep 1641 mentions wife Grace and daughters Elizabeth and Susanna.10
On 14 Nov 1614 Richard first married Margaret Skurrie, at Filby, Norfolk, Eng.13 Margaret died in Nov 1618. Buried on 16 Nov 1618 in Filby, Norfolk, Eng.13
Children:
953 i. Marie
954 ii. Elizabeth (Twin) (ca1618-)
955 iii. Susanna (Twin) (ca1618->1674)
Richard second married Elizabeth [Carver]. Buried on 1 Dec 1622 in Filby, Norfolk, Eng.13
On 7 Jul 1623 Richard third married Grace Walker, at St Stephen's, Norwich.13 Grace died at Watertown, MA, on 21 Jul 1671.13
Thus it would seem that while Richard Carver, father of Elizabeth Carver, was married to the Grace whom he mentioned in his will, that Grace was his third wife and not the mother of Elizabeth. Further, her name was Grace Walker, not Grace Halstead or even Barstow. That would seem to scotch the concept that she was the Grace Halstead who married Michael Barstow.
That would seem to drive a large nail into the balloon. Ah, but does it? It seems that Grace (Walker) Carver died at Watertown, Massachusetts on 21 July 1671, while our own dear Grace (Halstead) Barstow died on 20 July 1671 in of all places Watertown, Middlesex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony. That is far too much of a coincidence to be anything other than the same person cashing in her chips. I am going to look further to see if I can come up with some happy resolution, but it would appear that the Grace mentioned in the will of Richard Carver is the earlier husband of our beloved and oh so distant relative.
Fondly,
Ken
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Abt 1603 - 1669 (~ 66 years)
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