CHAPTER ONE. THE BANNING LINE.
Branches: Atwood, Bangs, Banning, Barnes, Bassett, Collier, Hobart, Joyce, Mulford, Prence, Sparrow, Tiffany , and Tracy
Banning Family
1. JOHN1 BANNING was born in England about 1650 and died in Lyme, CT, shortly before September 1717 when his will was probated (New London Probate District #292). He married first, in England at an unknown date, a woman whose name may have been ELIZABETH. There exists in the Register of St. Martin in the Fields, County Middlesex, England, a record written 31 Oct 1673 of the baptism of Frances, daughter of John and Elizabeth Baning in October 1673. Baning was an alternate spelling of John's name. He married second, about 1689, place unknown, the widow ABIGAIL NILES, whose first husband, John Niles had died about 1687. (The date of this marriage is earlier and the death of John Niles is later than those usually given; they have been adjusted to fit new facts found in the New Shoreham Town Book , and are described in detail in my paper in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 153:323-343).
His first appearance in America was at a town meeting of New Shoreham, Block Island, RI in 1685, and he attended these meetings regularly until he left the island. Peter George, a wealthy landowner, gave him three acres of land, perhaps as a wedding gift, in 1689 "for the reall good will and Respectt we have to John Baning taylor."(NSTB,292); such an unusual gift to an outsider suggests that John may have been in some way related to Peter George. He was made freeman 10 Jan 1692 and in June of 1702 was called as deputy constable to inspect and bury a body washed up on the beach. Usually he was addressed as "Mister", although he could not sign his name, printing instead his mark, a rough JB. When he married Abigail Niles, he acquired four stepchildren, Penelope, Abigail, John and Ambrose Niles; the two eldest girls are included following a suggestion of Moriarity in the Register.
On 11 June 1701, John Banning joined in partnership with two Tiffany brothers,
Consider and Ephraim, in the purchase of roughly 1000 acres in Lyme, CT.
called Joshua's Town. Ephraim Ball, but later owned the whole third. Consider
was married to John's step-daughter, Abigail Niles. John Banning and his
son John, Jr., calling themselves "late of Block Island, now of Lyme,"sold
their three acres on Block Island on 15 August 1702 ( New Shoreham
Town Book and my paper in the New England Historical and Genealogical
Register, 153:323-343).The first of the partnership to settle in Lyme,
John apparently picked for his home lot what he thought was the best place
in the whole 1000 acre
tract. 
It was in the southwest part of Joshua's Town, near what is still called
Joshua's Rock; where a natural seat is found in the rock of the cliff overlooking
the
Connnecticut River, the favorite seat of
the sachem who sold the land to the white settlers.
His name was chief Attawanhood, who called himself Joshua after he became
a Christian. John Banning thought so much of this land that he deeded his
home lot to his grandson John when the latter was only five years old, to
make sure it stayed in the family. It did for about 100 years until the Bannings
were bought out by larger and richer landowners. Immediately upon purchase
John gave half of his third to Abigail's sons, John and Ambrose Niles. His
will mentions his wife Abigail, son John2 and daughter Frances,
as well as his little grandson, John3.
Children of John with his first wife, Elizabeth:
2 i. JOHN2 BANNING, b. ca. 1671.
ii. FRANCES BANNING, probably the one bap .in London, England Oct 1673. She doubtless married, because her father's will says " and as for my daughter Francis, through God's goodness she is provided for and I have given her what I have to bestow upon her." So far, no further information has been found about Frances.
2. JOHN2 (John1) BANNING was born in England about 1671. This date is chosen because he received his ear-mark in New Shoreham on 10 April 1694 (NSTB., 177.) and for this he must have been at least twenty-one, born 1673 or before; I have chosen 1671, because of the birth of his sister(?), Frances, in 1673. He died in Lyme, CT, about 1759, when his will was filed (NLP #294). Amelia Eells, granddaughter of Abner Banning, wrote in a letter dated 3 August 1866, an interesting account of his death. (Banning, First Banning Genealogy):
Our grandfather, Abner Banning, said in my hearing that he remembered his grandfather and spoke of him as a strong tall straight well built Englishman and stated that there was a small cloud rose one morning and, as he was standing in the door, he was killed by a stroke of lightning.
He went to Lyme with his father in 1702, and his first child, Elizabeth was born about 1705. Because he had little chance to socialize with people other than the small group that had moved to Lyme from Block Island, it is thought he married one of these. A review of all the families turns up one obvious possibility, that of SARAH TIFFANY, born in Swansea, MA, 6 July 1683, daughter of Humphrey and Elizabeth Tiffany (Swansea VRs). The Tiffany family lived close to the Bannings in both New Shoreham and Lyme, and her brother Consider had married Abigail Banning's daughter, Abigail. In addition, all the children of John2 whose families have been traced, named a daughter Sarah, which, although Sarah was a common name, seems to be beyond coincidence, also John2 names his first daughter Elizabeth. Sometime between 1747 and 1751 John married a second time, the twice widowed MARY (----) DANIELS ROLAND, whose second husband, Henry Roland of Lyme died there in 1747.(NLP # 4629). She survived John Banning, too; on 28 November 1764 she deeded some property to her son Daniel Daniels (Lyme LRs).
John was made freeman of Lyme on 17 January 1714. When, in 1718, the district of Johua's Town was granted permission to establish a pound of its own, he was elected poundkeeper. At the town meeting of 19 December 1727 he was chosen to be one of the grandjurymen from Lyme. He fortunately wrote a will in 1757, so we know the names of his children. He also helped divide the property of his deceased son John among all John's children.
Children of John and his first wife, probably Sarah, all born in Lyme:
i. ELIZABETH3 BANNING, b. ca. 1705 d. in Lyme 26 April 1738 in her thirty-third year; m. in Lyme 1 arch 1727, LT. JOHN BROCKWAY, b. in Lyme 10 May 1697, d. there 27 Nov. 1777, son of William and Elizabeth Brockway. He married (2) in 1739, Sarah Scovil. Elizabeth and John had five children born in Lyme; Elizabeth, John, Ebenezer, Sarah and Mary.
ii. (DAUGHTER) BANNING, perhaps Sarah, b. ca. 1706. The evidence for the existence of this daughter comes from John2 Banning's will, wherein he mentions his "grandson, Thomas Dibble." This child was possibly the illegitimate son of Thomas Dibble of East Haddam, who married Rebecca Booge in 1734. Thomas and Rebecca had two sons, neither named Thomas (East Haddam VRs). Illegitimate is assumed because John does not give his daughter's name. A Dibble is also mentioned by Amelia Eels, who wrote she remembered hearing Abner speak of "a cousin Dibble, a batchelor in Lyme."
iii. JOHN BANNING, b. ca. 1709; m. (1) MARGARET DEWOLF; m(2) JEMIMA (MARVIN) PECK; he died in Lyme in 1754. John was given 70 acres by his father, with the provision that they were to be used by himself for his lifetime. When he died before his father, these 70 acres were divided among his wife, Jemima; three children with his first wife, John, Benjamin, and Irena, and five with Jemima, Ebenezer, William, Joseph, Margaret, and Sarah.
3 iv. SAMUEL BANNING, b. ca 1713.
v. MARY BANNING, b. ca. 1720, was still living in Lyme in 1795 (Lyme LRs). She m. (1) in Lyme ca. 1742 GEORGE REED of Lyme, b. ca. 1713 to John Reed and Deborah Niles, mentioned in the will of John Reed (NLP #4335). Her father gave them seven acres of land in 1743 (Lyme LRs)..She m. (2) ca. 1749, JOHN WOOD. Land records show that Mary had at least two sons, George Reed, Jr., and John Wood, Jr.
vi. HANNAH BANNING, b. ca 1725, d. in East Haddam, CT ca. 22 Oct. 1762, three days after the birth of her fourth child; m., probably in Lyme ca. 1755, JOSEPH WILDER, b. in Lancaster, MA, son of Jonas Wilder. After the death of Hannah, Joseph remarried and moved to Barkhamstad where he was Justice of the Peace and State Representative. The children of Hannah and Joseph were Thomas, Hannah, Patty, and Sarah. (Wilder, Book of the Wilders.)
3. SAMUEL3 (John2,1) BANNING was born in Lyme, CT about 1713 and died in East Hartland, CT 22 April 1803, aged ninety (Hartland Church Records). He married probably in Lyme, about 1738, HANNAH (-----), who died in East Hartland in 1765, aged forty-four (HCR). A search in Lyme and East Haddam records turned up only one possibility for Hannah, HANNAH BATES, born in East Haddam 16 October1721, daughter of John Bates and Mary Knowlton. The ancestry of Hannah Bates is not included in this genealogy, because she is by no means a satisfactory answer for Samuel's wife, mainly because the given names of their sons Abner and David remain unexplained. He married second, in Hartland about 1767, ELEANOR (----), who was probably ELEANOR BARNES, born in East Haddam, 10 February 1730, daughter of Thomas and Rebecca Barnes. She died in Hartland 20 September 1803 (HCR).
Samuel inherited seventy acres in Lyme from his father, with the provision Samuel's step-mother Mary could live on it for her lifetime. It seems as if Samuel waited until Mary had died and then in 1763 sold his land in Lyme to the wealthy Samuel Ely, buying some in the new settlement of Hartland.
The internet has a good description of Hartland, written by the residents:
"Hartland , located in northwest Connecticut on the Massachusetts border was originally part of the Western Lands allotted to Hartford in 1667. It was established in May of 1761. The town's history is one of gradual and difficult cultivation of lands not naturally suited to agriculture. The elevation of the hills makes the pastures especially susceptible to heavy frosts, and early inhabitants had to drive their young livestock to other towns for grazing during parts of the year. These circumstances bred a particularly hardy sort of pioneer."
Unfortunately, Hannah was not hardy. Amelia Eells gives us a description of her death:
"The girls came on a week before their mother, her health not being good, to arrange things. The night after she arrived she reached up to take her night cap from the bed curtains, gave a groan, and soon died."
Samuel bought about 60 acres for his son Samuel, Jr. on the west side of the Farmington river, and about 240 for himself on the East side. He gave (or sold for very little) most of his property to his children, at the end of his life giving the rest to his son David with the provision he could stay on for the remainder of his life. It has been difficult to trace Samuel's children. Amelia Eels said he had eight children with Hannah and two with Eleanor; The First Banning Genealogy gave some hints: one daughter married a Chapman, one married first a Mack and then an Adams, another married Elijah Clark The list that follows is a mixture of diligent record searching and just plain luck.
Children, with first wife, Hannah, all born in Lyme, the order may not be correct and the birth dates are only roughly approximate:
i. SAMUEL4 BANNING, b. ca. 1738, d. in Hartland, CT 26 Feb, 1815, aged 76 (HCR); m. (1) in East Haddam, CT, 13 Sept. 1764, LYDIA SCOVILLE, bap. In East Haddam 15 Nov. 1735 and d. probably at Hartland, daughter of Edward and Deborah Scovel of East Haddam (Brainard,Scovils). He m.(2) in Hartland ca. 1768, ABIGAIL STERLING, b. in Lyme, CT 12 May 1743, d. in Hartland 15 April 1818, aged 76, daughter of John and Jane Starling." Mrs. Abigail Banning, wife to Samuel Banning, Jr., was received into the church 4 June 1769 (HCR). Samuel's will mentions his wife Abigail, sons John and Sterling, daughters Hannah Wilcox, Seba, and Ruth, and children of his deceased daughters Abigail, Lucy and Lydia.(Granby Probate, #164).ii. LUCY BANNING, b. ca. 1743, d. 21 Nov. 1793 in Granby, CT; m. probably in Lyme, CT ca. 1764 WILLIAM RATHBONE, b. in Lyme 1 Jan. 1740, son of Daniel and Thankful (Higgins) Rathbone. William was given land by Samuel Banning in 1764. After the death of Lucy Banning, William married Lucy Sterling of Lyme in 1795. The will of William Rathbone was filed in Simsbury, CT #2398; in 1804, it mentions wife Lucy, and children Daniel, William, Jonathan, Jedidah, Frances, Hannah and Elijah . The existence of Lucy was found by chance in the book by J. C. Cooley about the Rathbones; her death date and the fact of the second Lucy was given the author by Robert Rathbone of Bowling Green KY.iii. SARAH BANNING, b. ca. 1745; m. (1) place and date unknown JONATHAN MACK, b. in Lyme 1July 1731, d. in Hartland 16 Feb. 1776, son of Jonathan and Sarah (Bennet) Mack. Samuel gave him land in 1764. She m.(2) DANIEL ADAMS, whose first wife Rebecca died 3 Nov. 1782. The widow Sarah Mack joined the Hartland First Congregational Church 5 Oct. 1779 in the company of Abner Banning and his wife; her two children Sarah and Hannah Mack were baptized there 7 Nov. 1779.
iv. MARY BANNING, b. ca. 1747; m. in an unknown place WILLIAM CHAPMAN. They moved to Hartland by 1779, where they had David, William, Mary and Jemima baptized on 11 July 1779, Amasa in 1780 and Rhoda in 1782. In the first cases the parents are named as William and Mary Banning Chapman.
v. HANNAH BANNING, b. ca. 1750; m. ELIJAH CLARK, b. in Lyme 12 Sept. 1741, son of Samuel and Hannah Clark. The birth record for "Wilson Clark, son of Elijah and Hannah" on 31 May 1785 is in the Vital 1 Records of Hartland. Samuel gave 50 acres land to Elijah in 1764 (HLRs). Children of Elijah and Hannah were Walter, Abner, Eber, Charles, Elijah, Wilson and Rhoda Clark (HCR).4 vi. ABNER BANNING, b. ca. 1754.vii. DAVID BANNING, b. ca 1756; d, at Hartland, Ct 20 Jan 1821. He m. (1) at Hartland 3 Feb. 1779, MARY RATHBONE who d. there 21 Mar. 1792. He m. (2) at Hartland, 19 Nov. 1794, HANNAH COE, b. in Durham, CT, 1 May 1776, d. in childbirth, 15 April 1806, daughter of Joseph and Hannah Coe and half-sister of the husband of David's sister Rhoda; she was the mother of all his children. He m. (3) CLIMENA (----). His will mentions his wife Climena, four sons Josiah, Schuyler, James and Benjamin, and three daughters, Polly, Nancy and Elmina.(HCRs, and Bartlett, Robert Coe, Puritan)viii. RHODA BANNING, b. ca. 1761; m. in Hartland, CT. PHINEAS COE, b. at Durham CT, 5 June 1753, son of Josiah and Sarah Coe. Their children were Miles, Anson, Polly and Sally Coe. (HCRs; Bartlett)Child with second wife, born in East Hartland; only one child has been identified:ix. REBECCA BANNING, b. at Hartland ca. 1767; m. bef. 7 Jan 1787 DANIEL BUSHNELL, bap. 24 Feb. 1771, son of Alexander and Chloe (Waite) Bushnell. Daniel got 10 acres of land from Samuel Banning in 1769 (HLRs). (Alexander Bushnell was the illegitimate son of William Bushnell and Thankful Higgins [Foster,"Paternity of Captain Alexander Bushnell"]; Thankful Higgins was also the mother-in-law of Samuel Banning's eldest daughter, Lucy. ) Their children were Miles, Anson, Polly and Sally Bushnell.4. ABNER4 (Samuel3, John2,1) BANNING was born in Lyme, CT about 1754 and died in Hartland, CT, in August 1829. He was the first of the Banning line to have but one wife; he married, at East Haddam 3 April 1777, ANNAH SPARROW (First Church of Christ, Congregation, East Haddam), who was baptized in East Haddam 19 May 1751, and died in Hartland 1 June 1820, daughter of John Sparrow and Anna Atwood (East Haddam Church Records). In 1776 he received 30 acres of land from his father (HLRs). He was a private in the Connecticut Militia during the revolution, and several descendants have obtained DAR membership because of this, although he was given credit for but one month and ten days service (actually he was in service for even less than that. from August 18 to September 14).Amelia Eells writes of Abner and Annah:
"Abner Banning, our grandfather, lived and died three-quarters of a mile North West of the center of East Hartland, where he first located when commencing for himself. He received as a present from his father, 15 acres of ledge land [Amelia's memory was not infallible. MBF] At 23 he became acquainted with Annah Sparrow, of East Haddam. She was an orphan girl, one of a numerous family, - was put out to be brought up. They were subsequently married. She was at the time of the marriage 26 years old. They commenced with empty hands, but with determined minds, (having known the bitterness of poverty) to have a respectable living if there was one to be got by proper means. He soon commenced building him a framed house; he worked out by days work and worked digging his cellar evenings. By perseverence he completed a house in which himself and wife lived and died, and when I visited the East twenty years ago his grandson was occupying it, with wife and children. It must then have been standing some 78 years..... They both united with the Congregational Church, had their children baptized, and endeavored to direct them in the way they should go. Most of them became, as is hoped, Christians, not any of them in youth but in after life.
He was a man over six feet, of strong muscular frame, not corpulent. He was naturally social, very stern in his family, still possessed of warm parental attachments to his family....He at one time owned 600 acres of land, intending to settle his sons around him, 300 of which he afterwards disposed of to purchase lands in Ohio for his sons as they chose to settle there. As a patrimony to his children he gave each a Bible and psalm book as they were all members of the choir of singers. Each of his sons, a horse, saddle and bridle. His daughter a saddle and bridle. And gave each of his children 1200 dollars, as he considered his children were often calling for help and did not call in vain if he had the means."
But Abner and Annah did not confine their help to their children to Bibles or to money; whenever they needed a place to stay, Abner would take them in. There was hardly any time when his house was without children. Benjamin was the first to leave for Ohio in 1802, followed soon by Asahel and Morgan and finally Samuel, the youngest married Betsy Jones of Hartland in 1809 and they, too, moved west. By this time Benjamin had become a widower for the second time and came back to Hartland with two young children; he left his three-year-old son Elijah with his parents and his daughter Mary with her Coe grandparents, while he looked around .for a new wife. In 1813 he remarried and eventually retrieved his children. Then in 1815, Abner's daughter Melinda died; leaving three children, ages 9, 6 and an infant named Melinda; their father deserted them, but not Abner and Annah...they took in all three; the two eldest stayed with them until they reached their majority, and little Melinda was still there when Abner died. There is more. Samuel died in 1821, leaving a widow and four children; most of his estate had to be sold to pay his debts, and Abner "furnished them a home while living and provided for them after his death (Quote from Amelia Eels)".
The only bequests in Abner's will were to his granddaughter, Melinda, his "feather bed, underbed, bedclothes on which I have always slept," and to Mrs. Lucretia Banning, Calvin's wife, $400.
Children of Abner and Annah, all born in Hartland, CT:
i MELINDA5 BANNING, b. ca.1778, m. (1) RICHARD VINING, Jr.; they lived in Johnstown, Ohio and had two children, Amelia and Abner Vining. She married (2) ca.1814, JOHN ROBINS, had one child, Melinda, and died, 1815.
5 ii. BENJAMIN BANNING, b. ca.1780; m (1) in Hartland, CT.
iii. ASAHEL BANNING, b. 4 Aug. 1782, m. (1) in Hartland, CT 22 Sept.1803, AMELIA WILCOX. They went to Trumbull County, Ohio, where she died in 1814, children: Abner, Amelia, and Melinda. He m.(2) in Trumbull Co., DENCY CROSBY, children: David, Jeremiah, Timothy, Mary, Converse, Stoddard, and Melinda. (Trumbull County Probate Abstracts). He died in Gustavus, Ohio, 1837, struck on the head with a falling timber.
iv. MORGAN BANNING, b. 26 Sept. 1784; m. in Trumbull Co, Ohio, 15 Jan. 1805, LAURA TANNER, sister of the second wife of Benjamin. He died in Vernon, Ohio, 31 Nov, 1821 (Beach-Smith Cemetery Vernon Township), no children.
v. CALVIN BANNING, b. 28 Dec, 1786; m. LUCY( LUCINDA) CASE of Granby, CT. He was a "professor of religion", according to Amelia Eells; and d. 2 April, 1864, children: Edwin, Jerome, Almon, Calvin, Lucy and Lavinia.
vi. SAMUEL BANNING, b. 18 Oct, 1789 (HVRs); m. in Hartland, CT, 12 Sept. 1809, BETSY JONES; d. in 1819. They moved to Vernon Ohio, but did not stay long, returning to Hartland. Then he, by himself, went back to Ohio, and, borrowing money money from both Benjamin and Morgan, went to St. Louis "where he was soon deranged, living but three or four days." he died in the fall of 1820. Children were Ruth, James, Nancy, Samuel and Abie.
The official records of his estate bear out Amelia's tale. His brother Benjamin was appointed administrator in December 1820 and the settlement dragged on and on. On July 26, 1821 the appraisers Joseph Wolfe, Asa Haynes and Jeremiah Wilcox reported that he had a note from his brother Morgan dated 1 July 1819; another from Morgan to pay for 20 ½ galllons of whiskey, dated 15 Oct. 1819, a third from Morgan dated January 1820; two notes from other people; and 89 clocks in store at Sandusky Bay appraised at $5.50 each. In March of 1823, Benjamin was ordered to show cause why the estate was not yet settled; he asked for more time. In the meantime Morgan died. The last record was Benjamin's report on 20 January 1824, showing he had collected $425.94 and paid out $28.15 a net cash of $397.79. The major item in the cash is sales of $365 which, which must have come from the sale of some of the clocks and the whiskey.( Trumbull County Probate Records) The remaining clocks were probably those that showed up later in Benjamin's estate.
5. BENJAMIN5 (Abner4, Samuel3, John2,1) BANNING, was born in Hartland, CT in 1780 and died in Lorain Ohio, 1827 (Lorain County Cemetery Inscriptions), of heart disease He married three times; first in Hartland 28 November 1802, MARY COE who was born 1781 in Hartland, in 1781 and died there 1803, daughter of Elijah Coe. He married second in Canfield Ohio, 20 November 1804, PEGGY TANNER.who was born born in Cornwall, CT, 17 Jun 1782, and died in Vernon, Ohio , June 1810, daughter of Tryal and Huldah ( Jackson) Tanner); and married third in Litchfield, CT in 1813, MARY MUNGER.
About 1801, the church in Hartland decided to impose a new tax on all its members; and this made many people decide to move west to Ohio, which was just beginning to be settled (Brownlee Manuscripts); Benjamin and Mary planned on joining them. Unfortunately "in one short year she was consigned to the tomb, leaving an infant daughter but a few days old" (Amelia Eells again) and Benjamin had to go alone, bringing little Mary with him. They were forty days on the road. from Hartland to Vernon, Ohio. There he courted and married Peggy Tanner from nearby Canfield, Ohio they had three sons in quick succession, Elijah and Edmund.. The first died as an infant and Peggy died giving birth to the third. At this time there may have been a quarrel between Benjamin and Tryal Tanner; in any case he left his baby son Edmund Prior with Tryal and returned east to Hartland with Mary and his three year old Elijah. Once there he left Mary with her grandfather Elijah Coe and Elijah with his grandfather Abner Banning. He himself stayed with his widowed sister Melinda for more independence. In three years he had married again, in Litchfield, CT Mary Munger, 15 years his junior; he started a new family , had two more daughters and two more sons, and then decided to try Ohio again. He had collected Elijah and Mary sometime before this because they went with him. They all settled in Huntington, Lorrain County, Ohio and there Benjamin and Mary had two more daughters.
A History of Lorrain County mentions Benjamin several times, he seemed to have finally come into his own. He was called Captain Benjamin because of a short service in the war of 1812. When Huntington was incorporated in 1822, he was named one of the three trustees, and one of two supervisors of the poor. He was the second to be elected Justice of the Peace, and died while still in offfice. His death, in 1827, was the first adult death in the town and he was interred in the orchard just south of his residence.
In his will he left his son Edmund Prior half the forty acres Peggy Tanned had received from her father (the other half went to Elijah) and one dollar. His other sons got $300, the daughters $150. A very curious item in his inventory was 38 clocks ( see the probate of his brother Samuel). His wife survived him and married again, a Mr. Slocum. Comments on his children are taken from the letter of Amelia Eells.
Child with his first wife, Mary Coe:
i. MARY COE6 BANNING, b. in Hartland, CT ca. 1803, m. in Ohio a MR GRANGER.They had one son and one daughter.
Children with his second wife, Peggy Tanner:
ii. ELIJAH BANNING, b. ca. 1807, in Canfield Ohio, married PATIENCE HART and had children, lived in Rochester, Ohio. He became insane and was taken to "an insane retreat." His health failed and he became very anxious to be carried home; he was taken home to die. He died 19 July 1855, age 59 (LCC).
6 iii..EDMUND PRIOR BANNING
Children with his third wife, Mary Munger:
iv. LAURA BANNING, b. In Litchfield, CT ca. 1814; married a MR ROBINS. One child.
v. CORNELIA ANNE BANNING, b. in Litchfield CT 4 May 1815; married.
vi. SILVESTER VANDALIAN BANNING married and had a large family, " He was a tailor by trade, did not succeed well in life."
vii. GRANVILLE BANNING, died young.
viii. MARYETTE BANNING, died young.
ix. AMY JANE BANNING , no further information.
6. EDMUND6 PRIOR ( Benjamin5, Abner4, Samuel3, John2,1) BANNING was born in Canfield, Ohio 3 June 1810, and died in Mt. Vernon, New York, 8 January 1892.. He married, in Centerville PA, 7 May 1834, LYDIA HUMISTON PECK, who was born in Harpersfield NY,30 December 1811, and died in Mt. Vernon, 30 April 1888, daughter of Charles and Elizabeth (Cowley) Peck The dates here given are from the Banning Family Bible.
When still an infant, Edmund Prior was left by his father with his maternal grandfather Tryal Tanner, who assumed guardianship for him. After five generations of farmers, Edmund Prior struck; he did not want to farm, but rather to study medicine and this disgusted his grandfather/guardian who disinherited him when he was eighteen. Fortunately for Edmund, his two uncles, Archibald Tanner and Edmond Prior Tanner, were willing to help him. He chose Archibald to be his guardian and lived with him in Warren, Pennsylvania until he became 21; and also got help from Edmund (Trumbull County Probate).
Apparently he learned his profession by following another doctor around,
starting in 1832 in Titusville, Pennsylvania; about 1850 he moved to New
York City. He branched out into "the up to then unknown field of mechanical
pathology," and designed, patented and sold an adjustable brace to correct
a multitude of things. He opened "Dr. Banning's Institute of Medico-Mechanology
FOR THE TREATMENT OF Chronic DISEASE (Consumption, Bronchitis, Dyspepsia,
Diseases of the Heart, General Debility, Melancholia, Hypoochondria, Spinal
derangements and other deformities of body, Chronic Diarrhea, Hemorrhoids,
Constipation, the several varieties of Hernia, Prolapsus Uteri and the protean
group of symptoms called Female Weaknesses." He wrote and published extensively,
and after a while became a popular lecturer, especially among the ladies.
"There can scarcely be anything more injurious to health than the present
pernicious system of dressing, especially the custom of compressing the waist
and allowing the weight of the skirts to hang upon
the 
abdomen." He
railed at skirts that were so long that they were tripped upon ascending
or descending stairs and gathered up dirt anddampness (all hems should be
at least 7 inches above epb.jpgground) , and "destroy
graceful and elastic movement, roducing cold feet, varicose veins, etc....the
shoulders and the shoulders only, are designed to bear burdens." His major
book, "Common Sense on Chronic Diseases" ran to at least 14 editions. In
1864 he took out several patents on his body-braces (# 43560 on 19 July and
#44913 and # 44914 on November).
Edmund was an extremely charismatic man, much loved by all who knew him. His tough and practical uncle, Archibald Tanner made this perceptive statement in his will of 1861
"Thirteenth, I give and bequeath to my Nephew Dr. Edmund P. Banning, all the debts and claims which I shall have against him at the time of my disease and hereby direct my executors to discharge the same. And I hereby take the opportunity to remark that whatever may hereafter be the fortune of the said Edmund P. Banning, or his success in life, that I am satisfied he has been animated by a laudable desire to be useful in his profession and that he will eventually make his mark and show himself a useful and viable man. And as men of his stamp are often found to be deficient in their attention to their pecuniary affairs, or in the requisite skill to manage them, I request my executors that in case the said Banning shall die leaving his family in palpable need of pecuniary aid, or if such need shall exist.......that they extend to his family from time to time such limited temporary relief as they in their discretion shall deem appropriate: they taking into consideration the interest I have always taken in the welfare of my said nephew. In short, it is my will that they render such assistance to the family of said Banning if it shall be necessary as shall be consistent with my own concern towards him during my life." (Warren County Registers Docket #3, page 449)
Children: births, marriages and deaths from Banning Family Bible:i. ARCHIBALD7 TANNER BANNING, b. Titusville PA; d. as an infant.
ii EMMA BANNING, b. Titusville 16 Sept. 1836; d. Titusville, 9 Nov. 1840.iii.WELLS TANNER BANNING, b. Titusville 10 Oct, 1838; m. Providence, RI, 28 Mar 1862 FLORA HUTCHINGS. He graduated from New York Free Academy (later CCNY) at the age of 19. Family legend says that he could play 7 games of chess, blindfolded, at the same time. He died in Providence , RI 28 July, 1862 (Banning Branches).
iv. ELIZABETH BANNING, b. Titusville; d. Titusville 9 Dec. 1840.
v. EDMUND PRIOR BANNING, JR, b. Titusville, 28 Feb. 1845; m.(1) in Pensacola, FL 10 July 1868 FLORIDA MORRELL she died the next year; m. (2) MARY ORDWAY, Milton- on- the- Hudson,NY, 20 July 1871; she died 1878; m.(3) CARINA CARPENTER, Geneva NY, 1879, ended in divorce; m.(4) ANNA MAE TAYLOR, children by third marriage: Lydia, Carina, Florida, Dahlgren, and Maesimund. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1861, at the outbreak of the civil war; on 2 July, at the request of his commanding officers, President Lincoln commissioned him Lieutenant in the Marine Corp; he resigned his commission in 1869 (age 24) and studied medicine .at the Cleveland University of Medecine and Surgery.; and Cleveland Homeopathic Medical College. Later he lectured on Orthopedics at the Herring Medical College in Fort Wayne, Ind.vi. EMILY BANNING, b, 8 De. 1842; m.2 May, 1881, TOMPKINS MANN.vii. WILLIAM PECK BANNING, b. New York City 23 May 1847, died young.viii. GEORGIANA BANNING, b. Tituaville, 17 April 1849; d. Catskill-on-the-Hudson, NY, 24 July 1876.ix. CAROLINE I. BANNING , b .New York City, 20 March 1852; m. 28 Feb. 1880, DR, GILBERT CLARK; died Centerville, PA, 6 Aug. 1934. Children Ralph, Inez, Grace, Archie, and Carina Clark.7 x. ARCHIBALD TANNER BANNING, b. New York City 15 May,1854.7. ARCHIBALD7 TANNER (Edmund6, Benjamin5, Abner4, Samuel3, John2,1) BANNING was born in New York City, 15 May 1854, and died in Mt. Vernon, NY 9 November 1924; he married in Mt. Vernon, 23 July 1879 JESSIE LOCKWOOD, born in New York City 3 Feb 1860, daughter of John Ashley Lockwood and Hannah Mott (BFB). He spent two years at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York City and graduated (when 19) from Cincinatti College of Medicine and Surgery in 1873 (These and other facts that follow are taken from a series of newspaper articles in the Mt. Vernon paper). He settled in Mount Vernon, New York, where he was elected Coroner and Health Officer in 1893. He was the promoter and one of thefounders of the Mt. Vernon Hospital, and President of the Mt. Vernon Medical Society. In September 1896 the hospital had to close for lack of funds, and Dr. Banning offered the use of his home for receiving and treating emergency cases (the hospital reopened in February 1897).He was "an ardent lover of music," one of the founders of the Mozart Club. He played upon many instruments, being a particularly fine lutist. He was also the possessor of an excellent bass voice, and was one of the choir of Trinity Church. He was a life long Republican, except for voting for Theodore Roosevelt on the Progressive ticket, and a Mason, once Master of Stuyvesant Lodge, #705 of New York City.
The Bannings had a dog called Judge, who eventually had to be put down for rabies, Dr. Banning said that when any one was sick in the house the dog would draw his nails into his paws when walking across the hard wood hall so that he wouldn't make a noise. He, Archibald, was for many years a member of the North Lake Fish and Game Club in Quebec, Canada, and used to go there frequently. The paper said his children were all either smart or handsome!
Children of Archibald and Jessie:
i. WILLIAM8 PECK BANNING, b. in New Tok City, 25 May 1880; d.18 June 1962; m. 1916, HELEN CAMERON VROOM who was born 12 March 1890, d. 12 April 1982. Receoved AB degree from New York University in 1902; went to China in 1911 as one of the founders of the newspaper China Press. Joined AT&T in 1920; asst. VP of Public Relations in 1944, children: Helen Cameron, George Vroom, and William Peck.
ii. ELIZABETH GEORGIANA BANNING; b. NYC 1 Nov. 1881.8 iii. ARCHIBALD TANNER BANNING, Jr.,b. NYC 10 May 1884.iv. LAURA BANNING, b. Mt. Vernon, NY 4 Dec. 1886; m 8 June 1928 HARRISON FOSKA. Received AB from Syracuse University in 1908.v. BENJAMIN BLAINE BANNING, b. Mt. Vernon, NY, 11 July 1889, children Benjamin and Fred.vi. GEORGE WRIGHT BANNING, b. Mt. Vernon, NY 29 Oct. 1891; m. 31 Dec. 1915 AMY ROSE, children: Sybil,. Shirley and. Suzanne.vii .LYDIA ESTHER BANNING, b. Mt. Vernon , NY 27 Dec 1893; m RICHARD HOLMES.viii. JESSIE OCTAVIA BANNING, b. Mt. Vernon NY 15 March 1896; m. CLINTON FARRINGTON, children: Jessie (Chick) and Lydia.ix. THEODORE ROOSEVELT BANNING, b. Mt Vernon, 12 Jan 1899; m. EVELYN BROWN; d. 1985. One son, Bruce.x. JOHN PECK BANNING, b, Mt. Vernon, NY 18 Feb 1901; m. 16 July 1922, IRENE FINER, from London, children: Constance Irene, Theodora Joan, and John Peck.8. ARCHIBALD8 TANNER ( Archibald7, Edmund6, Benjamin5, Abner4, Samuel3, John2,1) BANNING, JR was born in Mt. Vernon, New York. 10 May 1854, died there 10 December 1965. He married in Duluth, Minnesota, 9 October.1914 MARGARET FRANCES CULKIN, who was born in Buffalo Minnesota, 18 March 1891, and died in Tryon, North Carolina 4 January, daughter of William Edgar Culkin and Johanna Alice Young; they were divorced 1929, because of his alcoholism. He received his AB degree from Cornel University in 1904 and his LLB from George Washington University in 1908. Children: Mary Margaret and Archibald Tanner,3rd who lived to adulthood and two who died in infancy, William Culkin and Margaret Brigid. The rest of his story is left for someone of a later generation to tell.
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Tiffany FamilyThese Tiffanys are possible ancestors, not proven.1. HUMPHREY1 TIFFANY was baptized in London, England 4 June 1630, son of Henry and Elizabeth Tyffnie (Banks, Humphrey Tiffany); and died while traveling between Swansey and Boston, Massachusetts 15 Jul 1685, struck by lightning. He married, probably in Rehobeth, MA about 1663 ELIZABETH (-----), born about 1645 (she testified in 1708 as aged about 63, Register, 86:326). The records of Rehobeth show he became a citizen there 22 Jan 1663. ( Tiffany, Tiffanys of America). They say that a plaque was attached to the tree under which he and a young neighbor woman were seeking shelter:
Squire Humphrey Tiffany
And Mistress Low
By a stroke of Lightning
Into eternity did go.
Two horses were also killed, and the man who was trying to steady the horse they were on and hold a cloak over the girl was "stounded but not killed." His widow was left with 5 children in their teens or early 20s and 4 children ten and under, Consider, Ephraim, Elizabeth and Sarah who was only two years old. Hezekiah, fifteen years old, drowned the next year. By 1690 Elizabeth had remarried, Simon Ray of New Shoreham, Block Island, Rhode Island; it is known that she took her sons Consider and Ephraim with her to New Shoreham, and I am assuming she also took Elizabeth and Sarah. There is no further record of either of these girls.
Children of Humphrey and Elizabeth.( Friedlander, Register)
i. EBENEZER2 TIFFANY, b. in Milton, MA, ca. 1663; d. in Barrington, RI, 1747; m.1694 ELIZABETH (----).
ii. JAMES TIFFANY, b. in Milton, MA. ca. 1666; d. 1732; m. ca.1688 Bethia (----).
iii. THOMAS TIFFANY, b in Milton, MA, 11 June 1668; d. ca in Ashford, CT, at an unknown time; m. in an unknown place about 1689, HANNAH (----). cousin BETHIA TIFFANY of Lyme.
iv. HEZEKIAH TIFFANY, b. in Milton, MA, ca. 1670; drowned in Swansey River, 4 Dec. 1655.
v. WILLIAM TIFFANY, b. in Milton MA,1672.
vi. CONSIDER TIFFANY, b. in Milton, MA, 14 June 1675; m. ABIGAIL NILES, Lyme CT abt. 1670. daughter of John and Abigail Niles, step-daughter of John1 Banning.
vii. EPHRAIM TIFFANY, b. in Milton, MA, 26 Dec.1677; m. BETHIA TOSH, born 1676 in New Shoreham, RI , daughter of William and Jael (Sullivan) Tosh. Ephraim and Consider were the two partners of John Banning who bought land in Lyme CT, and moved there in the early 1700s.
viii. ELIZABETH TIFFANY, b. in Milton, MA, 11 April 1680.
2 x. SARAH TIFFANY, b. in Swansea, MA, 6 July 1683. .
2. ELIZABETH2 (Humphrey1) TIFFANY, was born in Swanses, MA,. 6 July 1683. She is possibly the one who married., either in New Shoreham , Rhode Island or in Lyme, Connecticut about 1604, JOHN2 BANNING.
1. RICHARD1 SPARROW was born in England about 1605 and died in Eastham, MA 8 January 1661. He married in England about 1629, PANDORA (-----) and emigrated with her and their son Jonathan to Plymouth, MA about 1632. He became a freeman in 1633, and held the posts of surveyor of highways, juryman, grandjuryman, and constable in Plymouth colony. He was sufficiently educated to sign his name. In June of 1939 Richard and Pandora hired an apprentice , Mary Moorecock for nine years; they also took in Elizabeth Hopkins after the death of her father in 1644, to care for her until she was nineteen. The family moved to Eastham on Cape Cod about 1653; from there he was elected deputy in 1653. The Sparrow house in Plymouth, built in 1640, has now been turned into a museum; it is one of the oldest houses in Plymouth He was sufficiently educated to sign his name. In his will he names his wife, son Jonathan, and grandchildren John, Priscilla and Rebecca. (Stoddard, Plymouth Colony and Dawes, Dawes- Gates)
Child of Richard and Pandora:
2 i. JONATHAN2 SPARROW, b. England, ca. 1631.
2. JONATHAN2 ( Richard1) was born in England about 1629, and died in Eastham, Massachusetts 26 March 1700. He married three times; first in Eastham 26 Octobet 1654, REBECCA BANGS (Plymouth Colony Records}, who was born in Plymouth, MA 1636 and died about 1666 in Eastham, daughter of Edward and Rebecca (Hobart) Bangs; second, by 1761, HANNAH (PRENCE) MAYO , daughter of Thomas and Patience (Brewster) Prence, and widow of Nathaniel Mayo; and third, in Barnstable 23 November 1698 SARAH (LEWIS) COBB, born 2 Feb 1643., daughter of George and Sarah (Jenkins) Lewis and widow of James Cobb (Anderson, Great Migration Begins). He was a very active citizen, being a school-master, constable, deacon of the church and justice of the peace; he was elected deputy nineteen times and selectman ten times. In King Phillip's war he began as an ensign, then lieutenant, receiving his captaincy in 1689. (Dawes-Gates) Josiah Paine commented in the Register, 21: 212, that he was the most prominent citizen of Eastham. Of all the ancestors, he was probably the most useful to the society in which he lived, an excellent role model for future generations.
In his will he mentions his wife Sarah, his sons, John, Jonathan and Richard, grandsons John and Jonathan Sparrow, brother Joshua Bangs, three daughters, Rebecca, Lydia and Patience.
Children of Jonathan and Rebecca:, all born Eastham, MA (Dawes-Gates):
i. REBECCA3 SPARROW, b. 30 Oct. 1655; m 31 Dec.1672, THOMAS FREEMAN, b. Sept 1653, son of John and Mercy (Prence) Freeman.
3 ii .JOHN SPARROW, b. 2 Nov. 1656.
iii. PRISCILLA SPARROW, b.13 Feb, 1658; d. bef. 10 March, 1707; m. ca.1680 EDWARD GREY.
iv. LYDIA SPARROW, b. ca. 1661 d. aft. Mar. 16, 1709; m(1) ca. 1683 ,WILLIAM FREEMAN; m. (2) aft. 3 May 1687, JONATHAN HIGGINS.
v. ELIZABETH SPARROW, m. 5 Feb 1684, SAMUEL FREEMAN.
vi. JONATHAN SPARROW, b. 9 July 1665; d. 9 Mar. 1740; m.(1) REBECCA MERRICK.
Children of Jonathan and Hannah:
vii. PATIENCE SPARROW, b. bef. 25 Oct. 1675; d. 25 Oct. 1745; m.(1) at Eastham, 27 May 1691, JOSEPH PAINE, son of Thomas; m. (2) 23 Nov. 1715, JOHN JENKINS.
viii. RICHARD SPARROW, b. abt. 1675; d. 13 April 1728; m. at Eastham, 4 Feb. 1702, MERCY COBB.
ix. RICHARD SPARROW, b. 17 Mar. 1670.
3. JOHN3 (Jonathan2, Richard1) SPARROW was born in Eastham MA, 2 November, 1656; and died at Orleans, MA 23 February, 1735. He married in Eastham 5 December 1683, APPHIA TRACY, who was born in Eastham 5 Dec. 1683, and died there 15 December 1739, daughter of John and Mary Jane (Prence) Tracy. His will was proved 10 March 1735; in it he charged his son Stephen with the care of his mother Apphia in his house for the rest of her life. He also left his grandson John a bed with bedding and appurtenances, five sheep, and his Queen's Army gun with silver horn and primer.
Children of John and Apphia:
i. REBECCA4 SPARROW, b. 23 Dec. 1684.
ii. JOHN SPARROW, b. 24 Aug. 1687.
iii. ELISABETH SPARROW, b. 19 Jan. 1689.
4 iv. STEPHEN SPARROW, b. 6 Sept. 1694.
4. STEPHEN4 (John3, Jonathan2, Richard1) SPARROW was born in Eastham, MA, 6 September 1694, and died in East Haddam, CT 9 September 1785. He married in Eastham, 28 July 1715, ANNA MULFORD, who was born in Eastham 28 July 1691 and died in East Haddam 26 June 1722 , daughter of Thomas and Mary (Bassett) Mulford.. In 1745 he participated in the expedition against Louisburg, Nova Scotia. He sold his house and land in Eastham iabout 1748 and bought land in East Haddam , Connecticut, then moved there with all his family.
Children of Stephen and Anna all born Eastham, MA:
5 i. JOHN SPARROW, b. 6 July 1719.
ii. THOMAS SPARROW, b. May 1721.
iii. STEPHEN SPARROW, b. 10 May 1722; m. 1736 APPHIA PEPPER.
iv. ELIZABETH SPARROW, b. 18 March 1723.
v. NATHANIEL SPARROW b. 4 March 1725.
vi. RICHARD SPARROW, b. 16 July 1727; m. East Haddam, CT, 1764, DEBORAH HOWLAND.
vii. JOSHUA SPARROW, b.28 May 1730.
viii. APPHIA SPARROW, b.18 July 1731.
ix. JAMES SPARROW, b.22 Oct.1735; m. East Haddam, CT, 12 Dec. 1770, MEHITABLE HOLMES.
5. JOHN5 (Steven4, John3, Jonathan2, Richard1)SPARROW was born Eastham MA. 6 July 1719. and died in East Haddam, CT 25 July 1764. He married in Eastham, 13 November 1740, ANNE ATWOOD, who was also from Eastham.(Eastham Town Clerk). ( This is where ATB had Elizabeth----, which was an error from an earlier genealogy). About 1748, he moved his family to East Haddam, in the company of his father and siblings.. After the death of John Sparrow, Anne married again, 28 February1765 to William Selby, and died 31 March 1806 at the house of her daughter Sarah Sparrow Williams in Chatham, Connecticut.
Children of John and Anne, all except Thankful born in East Haddam (East Haddam VRs):
i. THANKFUL SPARROW, b. Eastham, 2 Jan. 1744.
ii. SARAH SPARROW, b. ca. 1747; m. (.....) WILLIAMS.
ii. MARY SPARROW, b. 13 Dec. 18, 1749; m. 28 Apr.1769 ICHABOD SPENCER.
6 iii. ANNAH SPARROW, b. 19 Apr. 1751.
iv. ELIZABETH SPARROW, b. 13 Dec.1753.
v. JOHN SPARROW, b. 22 Feb. 1756.
vi. APPHIA SPARROW. b. 2 May. 1758.
vii. STEPHEN SPARROW, 8. Nov. 1760.
viii. BENJAMIN SPARROW, 9 Nov. 1762.
6. ANNAH6 (John5, Steven4, John3, Jonathan2, Richard1) SPARROW was born in East Haddam 19 April 1751, the daughter of John and Anne (Atwood) Sparrow. She married in East Haddam 3 April 1777. ABNER4 BANNING.. According to her granddaughter, Amelia Eells, she had been "put out" to work, after the death of her father in 1764. This has not been confirmed, but might well have been so.
1. EDWARD1 BANGS was born in Canfield, Essex County, England 28 October 1591, and died in Plymouth, Massachusetts, 19 October 1677, son of John and Jane (Chavis) Bangs. He married first LYDIA (------); and married second in Plymouth about 1633 LYDIA HICKS, who was baptized in St. Mary Magdalen, Bermondsey, Surrey, 6 Sept 1612 and died in America about 1634. He married third about 1635, REBECCA HOBART, who was born before 1679 to Edmund and Margaret (Dewey) Hobart. (NOTE: Anderson says there is no good evidence that Rebecca was a Hobart).
Edward and his first family had a very hard time getting to America. They set out from England in October 1622, on a ship that had to return to England because it was not sea-worthy. Then he started again on December 22 and were about half way across when a terrible storm came up that lasted 14 days; the man at the tiller had to be bound fast to prevent being washed away, the mainmast had to be cut down, and a return made to England. Finally he set forth again in the Anne in late April, arriving in Plymouth nine months after first starting out only to find that Plymouth Colony was starving. His first wife and her children died soon after they arrived in Plymouth.
He was a shipwright, said to have supervised the first vessel built in the Colony; he also served as Captain of the Guard. He removed with Prence to Eastham on Cape Cod in 1644.; there he was elected treasurer of the group at Eastham, and served as deputy several times.. For nineteen years he was elected trasurer of the group at Eastham, and was granted permission to sell wine and"strong waters", although never to Indians. He could sign his name. He was a "purchaser," i.e., he participated in the allowed purchase of land in the 1627 division of livestock. There were 58 of these purchasers. Others were Thomas Prence, William Bassett, Stephen Tracy (Dawes-Gates)
Child of Edward and Lydia Hicks:
i. JOHN2 BANGS, b. probably in Plymouth, ca. 1634; d. between 1703 and1708; m. at Plymouth, HANNAH SMALLEY.
Children of Edward and Rebecca:, all born in Plymouth ; dates are taken from Dawes-Gates and Anderson:
2. ii. REBECCA BANGS, b. abt 1636.
iii. SARAH BANGS, b. abt 1638; m. At Eastham, 1656, THOMAS HOWES, Jr.
iv. JONATHAN BANGS, b. abt 1640; d..at Brewster, MA; m (1) at Eastham 16 July 1664, MARY MAYO, daughter of Samuel; m. (2) SARAH (--); m (3) in 1720, RUTH (COLE) YOUNG., daughter of Daniel Cole, and widow of John Young.
v. LYDIA BANGS, b. abt 1642, d. after 1709; m (1) in Eastham 24 Dec 1661, BENJAMIN HIGGINS; m. (2) in Eastham, NICHOLAS SNOW.
vi. HANNAH BANGS, b abt. 1644; d. after 1677; m. in Eastham, 30 April 1662, JOHN DOANE.
vii. JOSHUA BANGS, b. abt. 1646, d. 14 Jan. 1711; m. at Eastham, 1 Dec. 1669, HANNAH SCUDDER.
viii. BETHIA BANGS, b. 28 May 1650; d. 15 Oct. 1696;. REV. GERSHOM HALL.
ix. MERCY BANGS, b. 15 Oct. 1651, twin; m 28 Dec.1670, STEPHEN MERRICK.
x. APPHIA BANGS. b. 15 Oct. 1651, twin; m (1) 28 Dec 1670, JOHN KNOWLES; m (2) by 6 March 1677; m. (3) STEPHEN ATWOOD.
2. REBECCA2 (Edward1) BANGS was born in Plymouth ,Massachusetts about 1636, and died in Eastham, Massachusetts about 1666. She married, in Eastham, MA 26 October 1654, JONATHAN2 SPARROW.
On the assumption that Rebecca Bangs was born Rebecca Hobart, this family is included. The data is from a letter to the author from Edmund Hobart, family historian, of Troy, NY, dated 21 December 1991.
EDMUND1 HOBART was born in England perhaps at Hingham, county Norfolk, about 1570, perhaps son of Thomas and Helena (Winsofer) Hubbarde and died 8 March 1646 at Hingham, Massachusetts. He married first in England 7 September 1600, MARGARET DEWEY, born about 1575.and died before October 1634; he married second in Charleston, Massachusetts 10 October 1634, SARAH (OAKLEY) LYFORD, .who was born about 1586 and died in Hingham, 23 June 1649; she was the widow of the Rev. John Lyford. Edmund and Margaret came to America 1633 from Hingham, England in the ship Elizabeth Bonaventure (Banks), with their six children. For a time he lived in Charleston, where he was on the Grandjury and then moved to Hingham, which he helped to found. Anderson says his education must have been above average for his time. The children of Edmund and Margaret were Nazareth. Edmund, Peter, Thomas, Alice, Anthony, Edward, Rebecca, Joshua, and Sarah.
2. REBECCA2 (Edmund1) HOBART was baptized 29 December 1611. It is thought she may have married about 1635 EDWARD1 BANGS.
1. STEPHEN1 TRACY was baptized 28 December 1596 at Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, Englanmd, son of Steven and Agnes Tracy, and died in Plymouth after 20 March, 1655 (the date of his will). He married, in Leyden, Holland, 3 January 1621 TRYPHOSA LEE, who was born about 1597, and must have died before her husband, because she is not mentioned in his will. Stephen and Tryphosa had both been with the Pilgrim group in Leiden where he was a sayworker; he came to America on the Anne, but Tryphosa, who had a baby just a few months old, stayed behind, going to England for a while. On his arrival at Plymouth, Stephen somehow managed to get three acres of land, for a family of three, even without his wife and child there. Tryphosa followed as soon as she could; although no more ships were available for passengers, she apparently came on a cattle boat the Jacob. in 1625, with her baby Sarah, telling the British authorities she was going back to Holland. (Wakefield, The Adventurous Triphosa Lee) After the death of Tryphosa, his children having grown up, Stephen went back to England; he made his will in London in 1654 mentioning his five children He probably did not return again to America; he may have been tired of roughing it..
Children of Stephen and Tryphosa:
i SARAH2 TRACY. b. Leiden, Netherlands, about Jan, 1623; m. in Plymouth Nov. 1638, GEORGE PARTRIDGE.
ii. REBECCA TRACY. b. Plymouth, ca 1625; m. ca. 1645 WILLIAM MERRICK.
iii. RUTH TRACY, b. ca. 1628; still living 1655.
iv. MARY TRACY, b. ca. 1630; still living 1635.
2 v.. JOHN TRACY, b. ca. 1632; m. by 1661 MARY PRENCE.
2. JOHN2 (Stephen1) TRACY was born in Plymouth, MA about 1632 and married about 1632, MARY JANE PRENCE, who was born about 1661, daughter of Thomas and Mary (Collier) Prence.
Children of John and Mary Jane:
i. JOHN TRACY, b. Duxbury, MA. ca. 1771.
3. ii APPHIA TRACY, b. Duxbury ca. 1663.
iii. HANNAH TRACY, b. Duxbury ca 1666.
iv. STEPHEN TRACY, b. Duxbury ca. 1674; m. DEBORAH BINGHAM, children: Mary, Nathaniel, Deborah, Thomas, James, John, and Prence.
v. SUSANNA TRACY, b. Eastham, MA ca. 1676; m. JAMES ROGERS, children Thomas, Abigail, James, Mary, Isaac, and Susanna.
3. APPHIA3 (John2, Stephen1) TRACY was born at Duxbury, Massachusetts about 1663 and died at Eastham, Massachusetts 15 December 1739; she married at Duxbury 5 December 1683 JOHN3 SPARROW.
1. THOMAS1 PRENCE was born in Lechdale, Gloucestershire, England about 1600 son of a carriage maker, and died in Plymouth, Massachusetts 29 March 1673. He married three times in Plymouth: first 5 August 1624 PATIENCE BREWSTER, who was born in Scrooby, Notinghamshire about 1603 , and died in Plymouth 1634, daughter of Elder William Brewster; second 1 April 1635 MARY JANE COLLIER, who was baptized in St. Olaf, Southwark, Surrey, 18 February 1611 and died by 1644, daughter of William and Jane (Clark) Collier. He married third, by 8 December 1662 APPHIA (QUICK) FREEMAN, daughter of William Quick of London ,and divorced wife of Samuel Freeman; and fourth, in Eastham, MARY HOWES, widow of Thomas Howes, who died in December 1695, surviving him by many years.
He was our most historically distinguished ancestor. He was Governor of Plymouth Colony in 1634, 1638 and from 1657 to 1672, serving as Assistant in the intervening years. He moved to Eastham on Cape Cod in 1644 and when he was elected Governor in 1657, the colonists had to change the rules that required the governor to live in Plymouth. He was one of the eight Undertakers, those men who undertook the responsibility of paying off the original English Adventurers who had financed the colony. Stratton, in Plymouth Colony, says "with the death of Bradford in 1657, Prence became without doubt the most important and influential man in the colony," He was very strict, and hated Quakers with a passion, but also very fair; for instance, he presided over the trial that condemned to death three white men for the murder of an Indian. In 1651 there was an outbreak of witchcraft accusation in Plymouth, a Dinah Sylvester accused the wife of William Holmes of being a witch; the court, of which Prence was the magistrate, sentenced Dinah to be whipped and fined, or make public apology; there was no further witch trouble during Prence's lifetime. "Studious of peace, a well-willer to all that feared God, and a terror to the wicked" was the way Secretary Morton described him.
Ironically, in spite of his hatred of Quakers, two of his daughters, Rebecca and Mercy. married sons of Edmund Freeman, a Quaker sympathizer, and worst of all his daughter Elizabeth actually married a Quaker. Their courtship was an interesting one. In March, 1667, Prence presided at a court that fined Arthur Howland for "inveigling of Mistris Elizabeth and makeing motion of marriage to her, and procecuting the same contrary to her parents likeing, and without theire consent" and ordered "in special that hee desist from any meanes to obtaine or retaine her affections." In July, Arthur pledged to "desist;" on the 9th of December 1667 they were married. (Dawes- Gates). Once the deed was done, Thomas Prence made the most of it, he and accepted his son-in-law, and made no exceptions against Elizabeth in dividing his estate among his daughters.
In 1673; was a very awfull frowne of God upon this chh and colony in the death of mr. Thomas Prince the Governor (Plymouth Town Records).
Children of Thomas and Patience Brewster, all born in Plymouth (information on all children is from Anderson):
i. REBECCA PRENCE, b. abt. 1625, 1627; d. before 11 July 1651; m. 22 April 1646, EDMOND FREEMAN, Jr.
ii.THOMAS PRENCE, b. Plymouth abt. 1627. He went to England where he died before 13 March 1673.
iii HANNAH PRENCE, b. Plymouth abt. 1629; m (1) Eastham 13 Feb. 1650 NATHANIEL MAYO, in a double wedding with sister Mercy; m (2) by 1671 JONATHAN SPARROW.
iv. MERCY PRENCE, b. Plymouth about 1631; d. at Eastham 28 Sept. 1711, aged 80 years; m. Eastham 13 Feb. 1650, JOHN FREEMAN.
Children of Thomas and Mary Jane Prence:
v. JANE PRENCE, b. Duxbury, MA, 1 Nov. 1637; m. Eastham 13 Feb. 1650 MARK SNOW.
2 vi. MARY JANE PRENCE, b.Duxbury, abt 1639. Children probably with Apphia:
vii. JUDITH PRENCE, b. abt. 1645; m (1) Plymouth 28 Dec. 1665, ISAAC BARKER son of Robert Barker; m. (2) aft. 1693, WILLIAM TUBBS.
viii. ELIZABETH PRENCE, b. abt, 1647; m Marshfield, MA 9 Dec. 1667 ARTHUR HOWLAND, Jr. son Arthur Howland.
ix SARAH PRENCE, b. abt 1648; d. 3 March 1706, in 60th year of her age; m. by 1669 JEREMIAH HOWES.
2 .MARY2 JANE ( Thomas1) PRENCE was born at Duxbury, MA about 1639. She married by about 1661 JOHN3 TRACY.
1. WILLIAM1 COLLIER was born in England about 1585, and died in Duxbury, Massachsetts in 1671. He married, in England, St. Olave, Southwark, Surrey 16 May 1611 JANE CLARK, who died after June 1666 and before her husband. William was a well-off grocer in London when he agree to help finance the Pilgrims, i e., become an "Adventurer." Most of the Adventurers stayed in England, but William Collier decided to be adventerous with himself as well as with his money and joined them in Massachusetts. Morton wrote of him in 1633 " This year Mr. William Collier arrived with his family in New- England, who as he had been a good Benefactor to the Colony of New- Plimouth before he came over, having been an Adventurer unto it at its first beginning, so also he approved himself a very useful Instrument in that Jurisdiction after he arrived, being frequently Chosen, and for divers years serving God and the Country in the place of Magistracy." He was often elected an Assistant.
Children of William and Jane:
2 i. MARY2 COLLIER, bap. St, Olave, England., 18 Fe. 1611.
ii. HANNAH COLLIER, bap.14 Sept. 1613 buried there in 1625.
iii. REBECCA COLLIER, bap. 10 Ja1n 1614; m. Plymouth, JOB COLE.
iv. SARAH COLLIER, bap. 30 April 1616; m. 15 May 1634 LOVE BREWSTER.
v. ELIZABETH COLLIER, bap. 9 March 1619; m. 2 Nov. 1637 CONSTANT SOUTHWORTH.
and seven others who died in England before 1625.
2. MARY2 (William1) COLLIER was baptized in St. Olave,Soutwark, Surrey 18 February 1611. She came to America with her father Thomas in 1633, and married in Plymouth 1 April 1635, THOMAS PRENCE.
1. THOMAS1 MULFORD was born in England about 1640 and died in Eastham, Massachusetts, 8 June 1706, aged 66 He married (1) in Hingham, MA about 1664, ELIZABETH BARNES, who was baptized at Hingham 8 Dec. 1644, and died about 1674, daughter of Thomas and Anna Barnes. He married (2) in Eastham MA about 1679 HANNAH (WILLIAMS) SMITH, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Tarte) Smith, and widow of John Smith; she died at Eastham 10 Feb 1718 ( Barclay, Rachel E., TAG,:40:195).
Children of Thomas and Elizabeth ( dates from Freeman, Cape Cod, p. 375):
2 i. THOMAS2 MULFORD, b. Hingham ca. 1665.
ii. ELIZABETH MULFORD, still alive in 1706, unmarried.
iii. JOHN MULFORD. b. Eastham July 1670.
iv. PATIENCE MULFORD, b. Eastham 17 Aug. 1674; d. Chatham MA, 8 Feb 1744 in 71st year; m. Eastham, 28 Feb. 1701, THOMAS DOANE, b. Eastham 4 Sept. 1674; d. Chatham 8 May 1756 in 83rd year, son of Ephraim and Mary (Knowles) Doane.
2. THOMAS2 (Thomas1) MULFORD was born in Hingham Massachusetts about 1665 and died at Truro, Massachusetts 14 September 1747 in his 82nd year. He married in East Haddam, Connecticut 28 October 1690 MARY BASSETT, who was born about 1666 and died at Truro 29 January 1742 in her 76th year, daughter of Nathaniel and Dorcas (Joyce) Bassett. He was a leader in founding the Congregatonal Church in Truro, ordained Ruling Elder in March of 1728.
An interesting item in the Mayflower Descendant (Vol. 10, p. 150) is the baptism on 13 October of Coffee the adult negro servant of Elder Mulford There is also a record in March, of the sale for twenty-five pounds of a "negro Slave named London" to Thomas Mulford of Truro...to have and to hold to him the said Thomas Mulford, his heirs and assigns forever." The Ruling Elder might baptize his slave to save his soul, but he didn't .care enough to free him, because in his will he left Coffee, along with other property, to his son.
His will, dated 8 June 1728, names his daughters by their married names.
Children of Thomas and Mary, born in Eastham (dates from Freeman, History of Cape Cod):
3 i. ANNA3 MULFORD, b. 28 July 1691.
ii. DORCAS MULFORD, 6 March 1693; d. Mansfield CT between 1751 and 1756; m. ELISHA ELDRIDGE, JR., b. ca. 1790 and d. at Mansfield CT 9 Nov.1754, son of Elisha Eldridge.
iii. MARY MULFORD, b. 6 June 1696; d. bef 1760; m. ca. 1714 DANIEL MAYO, son of Daniel and Sarah (Hughes) Mayo.
iv. HANNAH MULFORD, b. 5 September 1698; d. at Chatham, MA 25 June 1796; m. ca. 1725 ROGER KING, probably son of John and Bathsheba (Snow) King.
v. ELIZABETH MULFORD, b. 31 June 1701; d. Wellfleet MA 14 June 1761; m. in Truro, 17 June 1725 JEREMIAH MAYO, son of Daniel and Sarah Mayo.
vi. THOMAS MULFORD, b. 20 Oct. 1703; d. Truro 27 Apr, 1749; m. (1) MARY SMITH, who was b. Eastham 23 June 1713 and d. Truro 16 Oct 1767, daughter of John and Abigail (Freeman) Smith; m. (2) in Eastham 10 Mar. 1748, RACHEL TREAT who was b. Eastham 1 Nov. 1725, daughter of John and Abigail (Young) Treat.
vii. JEMIMA MULFORD, b. 13 Oct 1708; d. Truro, 23 Dec. 1722.
3. ANNA3 (Thomas2,1 } MULFORD was born in Eastham , Massachusetts July 1691 and died in East Haddam, Connecticut 26 June 1772. She married in Eastham 7 November 1717 STEPHEN4 SPARROW, who was born at Eastham 6 September 1694 and died at East Haddam 9 September 1785, son of John and Apphia (Tracy) Sparrow.
1. THOMAS1 BARNES was born in England about 1602, and died in Hingham, Massachusetts 29 November 1672, aged 70.. He came with his wife ANN (-----) from Hingham in England; was a proprietor in Hingham, MA in 1637, and made freeman in 1645. His children were Thomas, John, Elizabeth, Ann, Hannah, James, and Peter (Savage).
2. ELIZABETH2( Thomas1) BARNES was born in Hingham, MA 3 Dec 1644 and died in Eastham, MA 10 May 1692. She married before 1670 THOMAS1 MULFORD.
1. WILLIAM1 BASSETT was born in England between 1595 and 1600 and died in 1667 in Bridgeport, Massachusetts. ( This data is taken from Anderson; other sources are conflicting. Stratton gives him a different history, and may be talking about his father.). He married (1), probably in England by 1621, ELIZABETH (-----) who probably came to this country with him on the Fortune in 1621, and married (2). before 12 December 1664, MARY (TILDEN) LAPHAM, daughter of Nathaniel Tilden and widow of Thomas Lapham, His name was on the ship's list, but no women were named. He was on the freeman list in Plymouth in 1633 He was an iron-monger, or blacksmith by trade, and, strangely for a man of this profession, was very well read; he left a library of 20 books, valued at nearly 10 pounds. Among them "Haris on the Beautituds" , "Wilson's dixsonary", "to small books against prelacy". Also in his inventory was the wonderful item "some small triviall things happyly forgotten."
Children of William and Elizabeth:
i. WILLIAM BASSETT, b. Plymouth ca. 1624; m. by 1652, MARY RAINSFORD.
ii. ELIZABETH BASSETT, b. Plymouth ca. 1625; m. Sandwich. MA Nov.1648 THOMAS BURGESS.
iii. SARAH BASSETT, b. Plymouth ca. 1629; m. by 6 Mar 1649 PEREGRINE WHITE.
2 iv. NATHANIEL BASSETT, b. ca. 1630.
v. JOSEPH BASSETT, b. ca. 1632; m. (1) MARY LAPHAM; m. (2) MARTHA HOBART.
vi. RUTH BASSETT, b. ca. 1634; m. (2) JOHN SPRAGUE; m. (2) JOHN THOMAS.
2. NATHANIEL2 (William1) BASSETT was born in Plymouth about 1630 and died in Yarmouth, Massachusetts 16 July 1719. He married in Yarmouth about 1671 DORCAS JOYCE, who was born about 1644, daughter of John and Dorothy (Cotchet) Joyce, children: William, Mary, Nathaniel, Joseph, Ruth, Samuel. Hannah, Sarah, Nathan (?), Dorcas.
3.. MARY3 (Nathaniel2, William1) BASSETT was born in Yarmouth, Massachusetts about 1672 and died in Truro, MA 29 January 1742, She married in Eastham MA 28 October 1690 THOMAS2 MULFORD.
1. JOHN1 JOYCE was at Sandwich MA in 1637 and at Yarmouth by 1643; he died at Yarmouth 22 Dec 1666. He married, probably at Yarmouth, about 1639 DOROTHY COCHET, sister of Robert Cochet of Mickle-Over, Derbyshire, England, gentleman.(Coldham, 380).
Children of John and Dorothy, all born Yarmouth:
i, HOSEA2 JOYCE, m.(1) Yarmouth abt. 1665 MARTHA (----); (2) abt 1673 ELIZABETH CHIPMAN.
2 ii. DORCAS JOYCE, b. abt.1644.
iii. MARY JOYCE
.2. DORCAS2 (John1) JOYCE was born in Yarmouth, MA about 1644, daughter of John and Dorothy (Cochet) Joyce. She married in Yarmouth about 1671, NATHANIEL2 BASSETT.
Atwood Family
The ancestry of the ANNE ATWOOD who married in Eastham 20 November 1740 JOHN SPARROW has not yet been determined. It is considered certain that she descended from Stephen Atwood because it was his branch of the Atwood family who settled in Eastham
1. STEPHEN1 ATWOOD, sometimes called WOOD was born in England, and appeared in Eastham, MA 6 November 1644, when he married ABIGAIL DUNHAM, who was born about 1627 daughter of John and Abigail (Barlow) Dunham. He was a resident of Eastham in 1648. He died in February 1694. They had seven children who lived to adulthood.
Children of Stephen and Abigail, all born Eastham:
i. ABIGAIL2 ATWOOD, b. Aug. 1645; d. Aug. 17 1684; m. JONATHAN PRATT.
ii. HANNAH ATWOOD, b. 14 Oct.1649; d. 29 Mar. 1729; m. JEREMIAH SMITH.
2 iii ELDAD ATWWOD, b. July 2, 1651.
iv .STEPHEN ATWOOD, b. 1648; d. 1722; m. APPHIA (BANGS) KNOWLES
v. MEDAD ATWOOD, b. 1659; m. ESTHER COLE
2a vi. DANIEL ATWOOD, b. abt 1660.
The families of all these children have been accounted for except for the family of Daniel. without finding any Anne (or Anna or Annah) who could have been the wife of John Sparrow. So the Atwood family historians have put her and a few other strays into the family of Daniel, in the following manner, signified by appending a to the generation numeral.
2a. DANIEL2a (Steven1) ATWOOD, is a completely unknown quantity. Neither the date of his birth or that of his death is known, nor the name of his wife. It is known that he was living in 1733; and that his son, Daniel Jr. was living at the same time. A few land transactions exist.
3a. DANIELl3a (Daniel2a, Stephen1) , was called Daniel Junior. His date of birth, death and name of wife are also missing. This seems to be the catch-all place for Atwoods who do not fit anywhere else. He is "given" the children Israel. Deborah. Thankful, and Anna. A transaction with the names of both Daniels has been found.
4a. ANNE4a (DANIEL3a,2a, STEPHEN1) ATWOOD is the woman the Atwood historians have said was the wife of John5 Sparrow.
Realizing that this is a long shot, I suggest an ALTERNATE place to put Anne in the Atwood Family; one that has at least some reason behind it. Plain superscripts will be used to show these names.
2. ELDAD2 (Stephen1) ATWOOD was born in Eastham MA 2 July 1651, His probate was filed in 1707.He married in Eastham 14 Feb 1683, ANNA SNOW; who was born 7 July 1656, and died 1714,daughter of Mark and Anna (Cook) Snow. Eldad and Anna had seven children, Maey, John, Anna, Deborah, Sarah, Eldad, Ebenezer and Benjamin. When Eldad died, his wife Anna was appointed administrator, but did nothing, so when she died the eldest son John was appointed administrator of both estates. It is the youngest son Benjamin, with whom we are concerned.
3. BENJAMIN3 ( Eldad2, Stephen1) ATWOOD was born in 1701 and died in 1731. He was a mariner, supposedly unmarried, and was lost at sea.; his probate was made by his brother John (Atwood, Ye Atte Wode Annals ). I suggest that married or not, he probably left a child ; and perhaps his brother John brought her up.
4. ANNE4 (Benjamin3, Eldad2, Stephen1) ATWOOD was born in Eastham about 1720. and married there in 1740 JOHN5 SPARROW. The children of Anne and John are named under the Sparrow Family. It is of note that their third son is called Benjamin, and there are no Daniels.
