Knox Family Tree

In this post I'm going to trace back the Knox family line.  Grace (Fairbanks) McGlew's mother (Grampy's grandmother) was Delia Maria Knox.

Delia's bible, passed down to
her daughter, Grace.

Delia was born in Groveland, MA, on Aril 18, 1873.  She married Charles Otis Fairbanks on Dec. 25, 1890, at the Groveland Congregational Church.  Delia and Charles had ten children together.  Uncle Charlie had written in his notes that "Delia was a kind considerate mother and wife and loved by all her children."  Delia passed away on April 9, 1964, in Haverhill MA.

Delia Maria (Knox) Fairbanks
photo shared by Ruth McGlew

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Delia's parents were Willard Knox and Loversha Hardy (we'll be tracing the Hardy family back in a future post).  Willard was born in 1848/9 (birth year estimated from his age on census records, I have not yet been able to locate his birth certificate).  One interesting fact discovered on the 1850 census record: Willard and his future wife, Loversha, were likely next door neighbors as children, as the Knox family was listed immediately after the Hardy's on that year's census record.  

1850 census record - Hardy and Knox families were likely
neighbors.  Lovercia age 2 yrs, Willard 2 mos.

Willard and Lovercia married in Groveland on April 22, 1866.  He was listed as a farmer on their marriage record.  Lovercia passed away on March 17, 1896 from what was recorded as "access of abdomen," and Willard died three decades later, on June 26, 1926.  They were both laid to rest in Groveland's Riverview cemetery.

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Willard's parents were Eli Knox and Susan Ricker (b. Aug 20, 1823 in Dover, NH).   Eli was born on Sept 20, 1820, in Berwick, ME.  He married Susan Ricker on May 9, 1844, in his hometown, and they had five children together. Eli's occupation on the 1850 census record is listed as carpenter, and in 1849 he built his home in Groveland.  

Excerpt from "The Houses and Buildings of Groveland Mass"
- Compiled in 1854 by Alfred Poore, M.D. 

Eli died on October 13, 1908, in Groveland, Massachusetts, at age 88, and was buried in Riverview Cemetery.

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Eli's parents were Joshua Knox and Patience Knox (possibly distant cousins?  She was born in 1793 to David Knox in Acton, ME).  Joshua was born in Berwick, ME, on May 25, 1787.  He married Patience on April 10, 1817, in Lebanon, ME.  It appears that they had eight children together, but only three survived to adulthood.  Joshua died on June 1, 1840, in Berwick, Maine, at the age of 53.

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Joshua's parents were Jonathan Nock and Elizabeth/Betsey (surname uncertain).  Jonathan was born on February 27, 1758, in Berwick, Maine.  He served as a private in the Revolutionary War, in Captain Emerson's company of Col. Joseph Cilley's New Hampshire Regiment.  A summary of his 1829 pension application stated that Jonathan "Enlisted for the term of three years January 1, 1777 (having before served eight months and twelve months). In Capt. Amos Emerson's Co., Col. Joseph Cilley's Regt., New Hampshire line. Discharged March 21, 1780, at Reading, Conn."

Jonathan was one of the many continental soldiers who endured the winter at Valley Forge.  Some of the 1st New Hampshire's previous engagements included the Siege of Boston, Defense of Canada, Lake Champlain, Trenton-Princeton, Saratoga, Philadelphia-Monmouth.

Found at "Valley Forge Legacy: The Muster Roll Project"

Jonathan and  Elizabeth married on July 23, 1780, and they had nine children together.  He died on January 6, 1840, and Elizabeth on Oct 15, 1769.  They were both buried in in the Knox family cemetery in Berwick, Maine.

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Jonathan's parents were Zachariah Nock and Judith Pitman.  Zachariah was born on Aug 1, 1720.  He first married Molly Hanson in 1737, and they had two children together.  After Molly's death, he remarried in 1750 to Judith Pitman, and had seven children with her.  

This story was shared in the book Thomas (Nock) Knox of Dover, N. H., in 1652 and Some of His Descendants: "Zachariah settled early in Berwick. The cellar hole where his house once stood is still seen about a mile northwardly of Berwick bridge. He settled far from neighbors and beyond the immediate protection of any garrison house. He had several encounters with the Indians, but he was a bold, brave man and always came out best. At one time when he was returning with his cows from pasture, he was beset by a large band of Indians, but he fought his way through them, reached his house and taking one child himself and his wife another, they reached the woods and made their way to the nearest garrison house which they reached unharmed."

Zachariah passed away in 1816.  I haven't been able to locate either birth or death records for Judith.

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Zachariah's parents were Zachariah Nock and Sarah (surname uncertain).  Zachariah Sr. was born about 1689 in Dover, NH.  The Thomas Nock genealogy states that he was a house carpenter.  Zachariah and Sarah settled in Berwick, ME and had nine children together.  He passed away in either 1769 or 1772.

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Zachariah Sr.'s parents were Sylvanus Nock and Elizabeth Emery (b. abt. 1652 in Kittery, ME).  Sylvanus was born about 1657 in Dover, NH.  On April 20, 1677, he and Elizabeth were married, and they had eight children together.  I found information that Sylvanus was apprenticed at about age thirteen to John Hall, Jr., a tavern keeper in Dover.  Sylvanus and his first wife moved across the border to Kittery, Maine, around 1689. Sylvanus passed away sometime between when he made his will on March 7, 1716 and when his will was probated on Feb 13, 1717.

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Sylvanus' parents were Thomas Nock and Rebecca Tibbetts.  Thomas was born before 1629 in England, and had immigrated to the New World sometime before 1652, when it , as recorded that he received a grant of land in Dover. Thomas died as the result of an accident on Oct 29, 1666, leaving behind his wife Rebecca, four young children (and another who would be born just over three months later).

Thomas' wife, Rebecca (Tibbetts) Nock, was born between 1636 and 1637 in Dover, NH, to Henry and Elizabeth Tibbets.  After Thomas died, she remarried to Philip Benmore on Sept 28, 1669.  Elizabeth died on March 30, 1680 in Dover Neck, NH.

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Elizabeth's parents were Henry Tibbitts and Elizabeth (possibly Austin?).  Henry was born circa 1596 in England, and he was shoemaker in London. He and his wife Elizabeth, and their two oldest children (Jeremy, age 4, and Samuel, age 2) left London on the ship James and arrived in the New World in Sept. 1635 (on the James's passenger list, their surname is recorded as "Tybbott").  The James was a relatively small ship, and carried one hundred passengers along with horses, cattle, goats and enough provisions to last the twelve week journey.  In 1642, Henry was granted 20 acres of land in Dover, NH.  “On the west sied of ye Back Rever or over ye Back Rever” (now called the Bellamy River). He also had a grant in 1643 to a 3 ½ acre house lot on Dover Neck, on the east side of High Street (now Dover Point Road).  His house was later fortified as a garrison against Indian attack.  Henry was a farmer, shoemaker and engaged in lumbering. He died sometime before the 27th of June, 1676.

Two Sides of the Salem Witch Trials: Accused & Accusers

One thing I've been especially interested in while tracing our family history has been the maternal lines, because they're so much more difficult to follow back.  Traditionally, women have taken the surnames of their husbands, and in early records are often denied even their given name and are simply recorded as "wife of X."  While researching Martha Luella (Chase) McGlew's ancestors, I was able to get back to her ancestors who first immigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony...and along the way discovered connections to the Salem Witch Trials, as both accused and of accusers.

Martha Luella Chase's parents were Mary Abby Ricker and Charles Frederick Chase.
Mary Ricker was born in Bradford, MA on May 1st, 1850, and passed away in Ipswich MA on Feb 3rd 1904.

Mary's parents were Eliza Pallacier Harriman and William H. Ricker.
Eliza was born in Bradford, MA on March 10th, and passed away in Groveland on April 16th, 1885.

Eliza's parents were Sarah Brocklebank and Enoch Harriman, Jr.
Sarah Brocklebank was born in Rowley, MA on Oct 4th, 1774, and passed away in Bradford on June 7th, 1860.

Sarah Brocklebank's parents were Sarah Fowler and John Brocklebank.
Sarah Fowler was born in Ipswich, MA on Nov 3rd, 1745, and passed away in Rowley MA on  June 2nd, 1823.  (We're connected to the Fowler family through another line, as well, which I'll delve into more in a later post.  Many of same surnames and families kept popping up as I researched our Puritan New England genealogy!).

Sarah Fowler's parents were Mercy Howe and John Fowler.
Mercy was born in Ipswich MA on March 3rd, 1714 and passed away in Ipswich on Oct 24th, 1773.  Mercy and John are buried in the Old Linebrook Cemetery in Ipswich.  (source)

Mercy Howe's parents were Abraham Howe, Jr. and Hephzibah Andrews.
Abraham Jr. was born on June 27th, 1686, in Ipswich, MA, and passed away on March 6th, 1770.  Both Abraham Jr and Hephzibah are buried in the Old Linebrook Cemetery in Ipswich, where their gravestones can still be found today.

Link to source, including a transcription
of the inscription on the stone.  

Link to source, with transcription
of the gravestone inscription.  

Abraham Howe, Jr.'s parents were Abraham Howe, Sr. and Sarah Peabody. 

Abraham Sr. was born in Ipswich on March 28th, 1649, and passed away on Jan 21st, 1718, 

also in Ipswich.  Abraham Sr. was a weaver, as his father James had been.

Abraham Howe, Sr.'s parents were James Howe and Elizabeth Dane.  James was born in May of 1598 in Hatfield, Broad Oak, Essex, England, and passed away on May 12, 1702 in Ipswich, MA -- having lived during three different centuries.   

James and Elizabeth immigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635 from Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, England.  They settled first in Roxbury, then moved to Salem, before eventually settling permanently in Ipswich.  James was a weaver, and also served as a constable.  "James lived at 'Ipswich Farms,' south of the Rowley-Ipswich boundary line, where he built two houses, the second of which had a front door driven full of nails to prevent the Indians from cutting through."  (source)

James and Elizabeth (Dane) Howe had at least five children together, including our direct ancestor, Abraham Sr.  Abraham's brother, James (b. March 23, either 1632 or 1633) married Elizabeth Jackson, and settled in the Linebrook Parish area of Ipswich, MA.

Elizabeth (Jackson) Howe was one of those accused, tried, convicted, and executed during the Salem Witch Trials of 1692.  On June 30th, Elizabeth was one of five women arraigned in the first Salem witch trial. When asked how she plead to the charges made against her, Elizabeth Howe response was, “If it was the last moment I was to live, God knows I am innocent of any thing of this nature”. One of the witnesses who testified against Elizabeth was Abraham and James' other brother, John.

Elizabeth Howe’s brother-in-law John testified that he told Elizabeth that “if she would confess” he would accompany her to Salem, but she had refused. He recounted that the next day at sunset his sow leaped up three or four feet high. gave one squeak and fell dead. He cut off the ear of the sow and the hand he used to do this became numb, and thus concluded “I suspected no person other than my said sister Elizabeth Howe." It has been speculated that because James and Elizabeth had no sons, John may have hoped that he would someday inherit his brother’s estate. (source).

However, other family members (including her father-in-law, James Howe) and neighbors served as witnesses and signed petitions in support and defense of her, to no avail.  On July 19, 1692 Elizabeth (Jackson) Howe, Rebecca (Towne) Nurse, Sarah (Solart) Poole Good, Sarah (Averill) Wildes and Susannah (North) Martin were hanged on Gallows Hill in Salem Towne and buried in a nearby crevice.

Mural in Ipswich, featuring Elizabeth (Jackson) Howe

These two articles are both excellent summaries of the circumstances surrounding Elizabeth's arrest and trial.

* Elizabeth Howe: Innocent Mother or Horse Witch?

* Stories from Ipswich: The Witchcraft Trial of Elizabeth Howe

This website has transcriptions of Elizabeth Howe's arrest warrant, court proceedings, indictment, along with statements from both the witnesses against her and in support of her.

* * *

Unlike many of the other women accused as witches, Elizabeth was not known to have a harsh tongue. In fact, from the statements made in her support by family members and neighbors, it seems that she was considered to be a sweet, kind grandmother who doted on her children and grandchildren.  Elizabeth's husband James went blind when he was about 50 years old, and Elizabeth had to take over the running of the household and farm as a result. By all accounts, it appears that they continued a loving relationship and their farm remained successful. However, the perception that she was in charge could have caused discomfort in this deeply Puritan society.  Another strong motivator for being charged with witchcraft during this time period was being and independent woman, especially one who owned property.  Because James and Elizabeth had only girls, she was likely to inherit her husband's estate, which may have inspired her brother-in-law to stand as a witness against her. 

Elizabeth Howe's original accusers were the Perely family of Ipswich, Massachusetts.  Samuel and Ruth (Trumbell) Perley had a ten year old daughter, Hannah, whom they had claimed was being afflicted by Elizabeth when she fell ill in 1682. Because of this accusation, Elizabeth was denied membership at the Ipswich church.  They also had other accusations against Elizabeth, including that the sudden illness and death of the family's cow was her doing, claiming that the cow suddenly went mad and ran into a pond, drowning herself.  

Samuel Perley was born around 1640 in Ipswich, MA. On 15 Jul 1664, he married Ruth Trumble (b. Apr 23, 1645), who was the daughter of John Trumble and Elinor Chandler.  Samuel and Ruth were also farmers, and were neighbors of James and Elizabeth Howe.  They had six children, including Hannah, who passed away in 1685 from "fits" and whom they believed had been bewitched by Elizabeth Howe.  Their eldest daughter, Sarah, was born on Jun 7th, 1665.

Sarah Perley married Captain Joseph Andrews, on 1 Feb 1st 1681, in Topsfield, MA.  She died on Jan 15th, in either 1693 or 1694, in Oxford, MA, at age 28.  Joseph Andrews was a house carpenter. He was also very active in town affairs, and served as assessor, town surveyor, selectman, constable, on a committee to select a site for the church, as well as the church building committee. Joseph was outspoken in his opposition to the 1692 witch hunt, and signed a petition in support of John and Elizabeth Proctor, who were both accused of witchcraft.

Joseph and Sarah Andrews had eight children together, including Hephzibah Andrews, who was born in 1693.  Just shy of twenty years after her grandparents, the Perleys, accused Elizabeth Howe of witchcraft, sending her to her death, Hephzibah married Abraham Howe, Jr, who was Elizabeth's nephew.

Chase Family Tree

In this post, I'm going to focus on Jeremiah Thomas McGlew's wife, Martha Luella (Chase) McGlew, and the Chase family tree.   

Click HERE for a larger image of this chart.

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Martha Luella Chase was born in Groveland MA, on July 26, 1874.  Her parents were Charles Chase and Mary (or Abby) Ricker Chase.  She seems to have gone by her middle name, Luella, throughout her life, often being named in various public records as "M. Luella Chase."  

Luella married Jeremiah McGlew in December of 1889.   Their marriage record states her age as 18, but according to her birth certificate, she would have actually been 15 when she wed (and Jeremiah would have been thirty).  They went on to have nine children together, including Winfred McGlew, our direct ancestor.  

While searching for information on Luella, I stumbled across a community cookbook called The Rowley Cook Book: True and Tried Recipes, which was published in 1922 and consisted of recipes contributed by women of Rowley, MA and "Arranged by the Historical Society for the benefit of restoring the Platts-Bradstreet House."  Luella's contributions to this cookbook were: 

PLAIN MOLASSES COOKIES — 1-2 cup sugar , 1-2 cup shortening, 1 cup molasses , 1 teaspoon salt, 2-3 cup cold water, 2 rounding teaspoons soda, 1 teaspoon ginger.  Mix sugar, molasses and shortening, add water, then 2 cups of flour sifted with soda, salt and ginger. Add enough more flour to roll. — Mrs Luella McGlew 

APPLE CUSTARD — Peel and core as many apples as will set in a dish you are going to use.  Fill the holes where the cores were with sugar and pour over them a custard made a bit sweeter than usual and bake. — Mrs Luella McGlew

BEEF WITH TOMATO — Select 2 1-2 lbs of beef solid meat ,wash well and place in baking dish. Sprinkle Well with salt and pepper, also a dash of cayenne. Cut up 2 medium sized onions, add to meat, and lastly add 1 large can of tomatoes. Cover dish and bake in moderate oven for 3 hours. Take from oven, place meat on large platter and add to it tomato gravy, also 1 package of elbow macaroni which has been boiled tender and pour over meat. — Mrs Luella McGlew

On the 1930 census, Luella's occupation was listed as "laundress."  She passed away on October 3, 1937, in Rowley MA.

Martha Luella (Chase) McGlew
photo shared by Ruth McGlew

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Luella's mother, Mary A. Ricker (it appears that the A stands for Abby), was born in either 1850 or 1851 in Groveland, MA to William and Eliza Ricker.  She passed away on Feb. 3, 1904 from "general debility" in Ipswich, MA.  In following her maternal line back, I was able to reach the late 1600s and discovered that our family has ties to the Salem Witch Trials, as both the accused and as the accusers (I'll delve more into that lineage in a later post).

Luella's father, Charles Frederick Chase, was born in Haverhill MA on January 2, 1853, to John and Martha Thayer (Fowler) Chase.  John was a shoemaker by trade (on the 1880 United States Federal Census his occupations listed as "works in shoe fact.), and married Mary on Dec. 3, 1873.   He died in Rowley, MA from "pulmonary tuberculosis."

I was also able to follow Martha's family back on her paternal side to when her ancestors immigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony.  The Fowlers, Herricks, and Kimballs were founding families in the North Shore area of Massachusetts, and have ties to the Salem Witch Trials as well as the King Philip's War.  I'll follow up on those lines back in later posts.  

* * *

Charles' father, John Chase, was also listed as a shoemaker.  Her was born aprox. 1826 to Frederick and Mary (Stinson) Chase.  John married Martha Fowler (b. April 7, 1829 to John Fowler and Lydia Brown) in Haverhill, MA, on June 7, 1849.  He passed away only four years later, on August 12, 1853, leaving her a widow with two young children at the age of 24.  Martha remarried on Dec. 27, 1857, to widower John Bradley.  Tragically, she died from consumption only two years later, at the age of 30.  I have located a Charles F. Chase, age 12, living with a Putnam family in Danvers MA on the Massachusetts 1865 State Census. Andrew Merriam Putnam's wife, Sarah (Fowler) Putnam, was Martha's sister.  My assumption is that he, and possibly his older brother Henry, went to live with his aunt and uncle after his mother's death.

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Frederick Chase (John's father) was born on Dec. 10, 1800 in Haverhill, MA, to John and Betsey (Kelley) Chase.  He married Mary Stinson (born on April 13, 1804, in Goffstown, NH, to Samuel Stinson and Abigail Potter) on December 13, 1823.  Frederick is listed on the census as being a farmer.  Frederick and Mary had six children together.  He passed away in Haverhill on Jan 10, 1867, and Mary lived until June 8, 1874.

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I have been unable to trace back the Chase family line any further - there are at least two different John Chases living in Massachusetts during the correct time period, and I have not yet been able to pinpoint which is "our" John Chase.  If I have a breakthrough at any point I'll be sure to update this post.