not Hannah Walker.....
The problem seems to have begun with Abner Morse and his Genealogical Register of Sherborn, Holliston and Medway, published in 1855. His info came from a granddaughter of John (1696-1699), who was in her 90's when she provided the information. John and Hannah had died years before she was born, so obviously, her recall was not all that accurate. The other problem seems to have been that there were so many other "Bull..." surnames involved. John's house in Sherborn had been purchased from Elisha 'Bull'en (the father of the Hannah Bullen in question), Morse recorded the house as being deeded to Hannah Bullen by her father on his death, but when I searched the records, it was found that Elisha Bullen actually sold the property to William 'Bull', step grandfather of John Phips (who 'raised him from childhood'), and William then deeded it to John Phips of Sherborn in May 1719 (Just prior to the marriage of John Fipps and Hannah Walker in June 1719 at Sudbury - a wedding gift maybe?). Another "Bull..." involved was John's 2nd wife Martha 'Bull'ard, widow of Eleazer Fairbanks. You can see how confusing it might have got with all these 'Bulls'! (By the way, Morse also never mentioned John's 2nd wife Martha Bullard, so neither did any of the published genealogies that used him as a source.)
Further, according to Medfield town records, Hannah Bullen, daughter of Elisha Bullen and Hannah Metcalf married Josiah Fisher December 4, 1716, and died at Medfield, MA November 16, 1765 "wife of Josiah Fisher" (Josiah died about 1781) long after 'our' Hannah died in Sherborn in 1743. Therefore, Hannah Bullen could NOT have been married to John Phipps about 1720 and die in Sherborn in 1743. The vital records concerning Hannah Bullen and Josiah Fisher are well documented in Medfield, MA Vital Records. So, if John Phipps of Sherborn did not marry Hannah Bullen, who was the 'Hannah' he married that shares his grave site at Sherborn's Central Burial Ground? There are no other marriages recorded for any other John Phipps to a Hannah during that time period in any other MA town (I have researched all the early vital records published for Phipps in MA), except John 'Fipps' to Hannah Walker.
Any ways, on looking at all the other published genealogies of Phipps (Weis, Patterson, NEHGS etc.), it was quickly found that they ALL used Morse as their 'original' source, and he was wrong, so they were too - no one ever bothered to look at wills, deeds, etc.!
My source claimed that Hannah was the daughter of William and Sarah Goodenow Walker of Sudbury. A search of Sudbury and surrounding towns showed William and Sarah had eight children listed from 1686-1708 born in Sudbury. The births of some of their children were recorded up until 1693 - then a gap in the records of 9 years and more children recorded from 1702 - 1708. No Hannah is found in the records - but our Hannah would have been born during the gap according to her age at death which as recorded on her gravestone would have her born sometime between 1696-1698. The Framingham town historian, Steve Herring, told me that during those years there were problems within the church and also Indian troubles in Sudbury. He thinks it likely that some births were just not recorded given the large gap (1693 - 1702) - it would be rather unusual to have a gap of 9 years between births in those times. Another child of William Walker that appears in his will also does not appear in town records.
A newly published genealogy of the Goodenow family shows a daughter Hannah born to William and Sarah Walker, but records no date, as does a Walker genealogy I have seen.
Further, the will of William Walker of Sudbury which I have on microfilm, shows he had a daughter identified as 'Hannah Phips' (not Fipps).
The connection of the Hannah Walker born to William and Sarah to our Phips
clan is even more believable because another earlier Walker of this same line (Moses Walker), married a cousin of our John Phips of Sherborn. This tells me that this particular Walker family and our Phips family were in proximity. Walker men of this line were with Sir William Phips on his expedition of 1690 against Quebec, and fought in the Indian wars with William Bull, step grandfather of our John.
Also, Hannah Walker's grandmother was Mary Stone. Descendants of Mary Stone's line, show up in all the towns that our Phipps family were - Framingham, Hopkinton, Holliston, Sudbury, Sherborn, Douglas, Thompson, CT., Oppenhiem, NY, etc. In fact there are several connections between Stone, Walker and Phipps ancestors and descendants from these same lines.
Further cementing all this is the fact that the Walker and Bull families were involved in brick making, and perhaps that is how they knew each other. One of John Phipps' (1696-1699) sons was a brick maker as well.
A grandson of John Phips had the middle name of 'Walker' - not exactly any kind of proof, but still.. with everything else....
And according to Sherborn town historian Betsy Johnson; "...John Phipps married Hannah Walker, daughter of William Walker of Sudbury (not Hannah Bullen as Morse states in his History of Sherborn), on 15 June 1719, in Sudbury. She died in Sherborn 4 April 1743, and he married, 22 December 1743, for his second wife, Martha, the widow of Eleazer Fairbanks of Sherborn, who died 22 June 1755... " According to Morse's History, Phipps settled on his farm in 1720, "half a mile South West of the Common, on the road to Holliston, and lived at the foot of the hill where David Sanger resides [in 1856]." "...Morse erroneously states that this farm had been inherited by Phipps' wife, instead of Phipps himself as the records show..." This information was said to be from a deed search on the Richard Sanger House # 60 Washington St., Sherborn, MA by Richard Nylander for the National Historic Register - this is the house known as the Bullen-Sanger house that was earlier inherited by John Phips from William Bull.
So - although I have no definitive proof - here
is what I know.
1. The most important fact is that John Phips
DEFINITELY DID NOT marry Hannah Bullen, daughter of Elisha and Hannah Metcalf
Bullen, of Medfield.
2. It is possible John Phips married another
'Hannah', but no record has ever been found except the marriage of a John
Fipps and Hannah Walker in 1719 recorded both at Sudbury (birthplace? of
Hannah Walker, daughter of William Walker) and Sherborn (residence of our
John Phips).
3. John Phips was married to 'Hannah' prior
to the birth of William Phips in April of 1720 (Sherborn Town Records).
This birth occurred 10 months following the recorded marriage of John Fipps
and Hannah Walker at Sudbury in 1719.
4. The month prior to the marriage of John
Fipps and Hannah Walker at Sudbury, John Phips of Sherborn was deeded property
by his step grandfather who raised him from childhood. A wedding
gift?
5. A Hannah Walker, daughter of William and Sarah
Goodenow Walker of Sudbury was called 'Hannah Phipps' in her father's will
in 1732 - 'our' Hannah was still alive in 1732.
6. The Walker ancestry of Hannah of Sudbury,
and the Phipps ancestry of Sherborn were connected in other ways.
7. Brick making could have been a connection between
the Walker of Sudbury family, and the William Bull family of Sherborn.
I do feel this is the correct Hannah - perhaps deeds of William Walker of Sudbury might show something. Or - if a will could be found for John Phips, father John (b. 1668, d. 1742-1754) - maybe something might be mentioned there. I have only Norfolk & Suffolk Co., to search for it - have searched Middlesex already. But - we may not ever know conclusively. If anyone finds any further proof, please let me know!!!
A WORK IN PROGRESS!
If you have comments or suggestions, e-mail me at walkers@vaix.net
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