Israel Whitcomb

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ISRAEL WHITCOMB (c. 1714–1790/5), son of Hezekiah Whitcomb and Hannah Green

AZUBAH HOUGHTON (b. 1720), daughter of Jonathan Houghton and Thankful White

Israel, the son of Hezekiah and Hannah Whitcomb, was born about 1714. Israel, the son of Hezekiah, was baptised on 22 April 1716 in Lancaster, Worcester, Massachusetts.¹ He died between 16 November 1790 and 26 May 1795. He married Azubah Houghton on 8 May 1738 in Lancaster.¹

Azubah, the daughter of Jonathan and Thankful Houghton, was born on 20 November 1720 in Lancaster.¹ She was baptized there on 8 January 1720/1.¹

On 26 November 1732, after the death of his father Hezekiah, Jonas Priest was chosen as the guardian of Israel, age 18.²

In a 14 July 1747 deed, confirming an agreement entered into by Azubah and her siblings, Azubah is refered to as the wife of Israel Whitcomb.³

Israel Whitcomb of Bolton, Worcester County, Massachusetts was one of the men in Captain Ephraim Wilder's company who pursued the Indians after an attack on Lancaster on 5 July 1748.⁴

Israel Whitcomb of Bolton, being advanced in years, made his will on 16 November 1790. He left his beloved wife Azubah his household furniture, two cows, one horse, six sheep, half of all debts due him and the income from his sheep during her life. He left bequests to his eldest son William, his second son Israel, his third son Jonathan, his fourth son Ephraim (whom he named his executor), his eldest daughter Betty, his second daughter Abigail, his third daughter Azubah and his fourth daughter Sarah. His will was probated on 26 May 1795.⁵

Children of Israel Whitcomb and Azubah Houghton: Births recorded in Bolton.⁶

i. William Whitcomb was born on 6 September 1741. He died in 1814.⁷ He married Lucy Meriam on 13 December 1769 in Bolton.⁶ Lucy, the wife of William, died on 12 September 1773, age 23 or 24, in Bolton.⁶ William of Bolton married [second] Sarah Sawyer on 29 June 1777 in Harvard, Worcestor county.⁸ William and Lucy are buried in the Old South Burial Ground in Bolton.⁷

William was a sergeant in the Continental Line in the Revolutionary War.⁷

ii. Betty Whitcomb was born on 23 April 1744. She married Abel Moore on 11 January 1746 in Bolton.⁶ Abel, the son of John and Susanna Moore, was born on 17 February 1742/3 in Bolton.⁶ He died on 1 April 1777.⁴ He is buried in the Old South Burial Ground in Bolton.⁷

Abel was a soldier in Captain Benjamin Hastings' company, Colonel John Whitcomb's regiment that marched from Bolton to Cambridge at the Lexington Alarm.⁴ He was a soldier from Lancaster in Captain Samuel King's company in the Tenth regiment of Bolton Continental.⁴

iii. Captain Israel Whitcomb was born on 16 July 1746. He died on 11 November 1803, age 52, his death recorded in Winchendon, Worcester county.⁹ Israel, Jr. married Eunice Wilson on 28 November 1775 in Bolton.⁶ Eunice, the widow of Israel, died on 25 December 1831.[9] Israel and Eunice are buried in the Old Centre Burial Gound in Winchendon.⁷

Israel was a prominent person in Winchendon and his death is recounted in the town history, seen above.¹⁰

iv. Jonathan Whitcomb was born on 27 Apr 1749. He died in 1822. He married Relief Fyfe.

v. Ephraim Whitcomb was born on 22 July 1751. He died in 1807 in Bolton.^6,7 He is buried in the Old South Burial Ground in Bolton⁷ He married Sarah Longley on 14 January 1777 in Bolton.⁶

Ephraim was a private in the Continental Line in the Revolutionary War.⁷

vi. Rufus Whitcomb was born on 26 February 1754. He probably died before 16 November 1790, when he was not mentioned in his father's will.

vii. Abigail Whitcomb was born on 13 June 1756. She married Gardner Moore on 23 July 1788 in Bolton.⁶ Gardner, the son of Joshua and Elizabeth Moore, was born on 20 April 1757 in Bolton.⁶

viii. Azubah Whitcomb was born on 20 January 1760. She died on 2 July 1838.⁷ She married John Whitcomb, Jr. on 31 May 1780 in Bolton.⁶ Azubah, the widow of John, died on 2 July 1838, age 77, in Bolton.⁶ John was the son of John and Becke [Rebecca?] Whitcomb, born on 12 May 1760 in Bolton.⁶ John died on 3 December 1798, age 38, in Bolton.⁶ John and Azubah are buried in the Old South Burial Ground in Bolton.⁷

ix. Sarah Whitcomb is referred to as the fourth daughter in her father's will.

Endnotes:

1. Henry S. Nourse, Birth, Marriage and Death Register, Church Records and Epitaphs of Lancaster, Massachusetts, 1643–1850, Clinton, MA, W. J. Coulter, Printer, 1890, 27 (marriage of Israel and Azubah), 52 (birth of Azubah), 275, 277 (baptism of Azubah).

2. Shirley M. (Robinson) Pizziferri, "Early Worcestor County Probate Records," Mayflower Descendant 38 (1988): 168, citing case 64050.

3. Joy F. Peach, "The Real Wife of Ephraim Fairbank of Lancaster and Bolton, Massachusetts," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 160 (2006): 313–4.

4. Henry S. Nourse, The Military Annals of Lancaster, Massachusetts, 1740–1865: Including Lists of Soldiers Serving in the Colonial and Revolutionary Wars for the Lancastrian Towns, Berlin, Bolton, Harvard, Leominster, and Sterling (Lancaster: unknown, 1889), 25 (Israel, Sr.), 115, 191 (Abel Moore).

5. "Worcester County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1731–1881," database with images, AmericanAncestors (https://www.americanancestors.org/DB1635/i/33902/64051-co11/56212499) > Worcester case 64051, citing records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives.

6. Vital Records of Bolton, Massachusetts: To the End of the Year 1849 (Worcester, MA: Franklin P. Rice, 1910), 55–56, 92–97 (births); 182–5 (marriages); 227–30 (deaths).

8. Thomas W. Baldwin, Vital Records of Harvard, Massachusetts: To the Year 1850 (Boston: Wright & Potter, 1917), 228.

9. Vital Records of Winchendon, Massachusestts: To the End of the Year 1849 (Worcester: Franklin P. Rice, 1909), 219.

10. A.P. Marvin, History of the Town of Winchendon (Winchendon: the author, 1868), 402

Last revised: 09-Dec-2023