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William Durkee (b.c. 1631)
Martha Cross (1643–1727), daughter of Robert Cross and Anna Jordan
William was born about 1631. His origins are unknown; he shows up in New England as a servant of Thomas Bishop of Ipswich. His name is spelled many different ways in the early records—Durgie, Dirkye, Durke, Dirke, Dorkee—but never the modern Durkee. He married Martha Cross on 20 December 1664. [1][2] Butler [3] offers a fanciful account of his origins.
Martha, the daughter of Robert Cross and Anna Jordan, was born on 15 March 1643 in Ipswich. [1] The widow Martha died on 11 January 172/7, age about 87 [an exaggeration] in Windham, Windham County, Connecticut. [4]
William deposed that he was 48 in May 1680 and about 52 in March 1684. [5]
William was probably illiterate and unable to write his signature. As a witness, he signed the 20 February 1683/4 will of Killecress Rosse with his mark. [5]
William Durkee and Martha Cross were servants of Robert Cross's neighbor Thomas Bishop. They became romantically involved but Robert was opposed to the marriage. Martha apparently vacillated between wanting to be with William and wanting to go home to her father. She pleaded with Thomas to appeal to her father to let her marry William. At some point, Martha realized she was pregnant. Goodman Story deposed that he found Martha at her sister [Elizabeth] Nelson's house and that both were distraught. He took them both to Robert's house and prevailed upon Robert to let them Martha marry. However, her father still had misgivings and William had developed them as well. He commented that he wished he had not admitted to being the father and that if he had to keep one of the two, he would prefer to keep the child. William reluctantly agreed to marry Martha and on 12 September 1664 Robert wrote to Thomas that he was full of sorrow but he left Thomas to dispose of his servants as he wished. The 27 September 1664 court heard the charges and counter charges: William sued for damages if Robert did not permit the marriage and Robert claimed William had abused his daughter. William was ordered to be whipped, not exceeding twenty stripes, and to post a bond of 20 pounds for keeping the child, or else go to prison. Thomas Bishop acted as surety. After their marriage and the birth of the child, the 28 March 1665 court at Ipswich ordered Martha to be whipped for fornication or pay a fine of three pounds. [5]
William, along with Thomas Bishop, Jr., and Cornelius Kent, were living on a 100-acre farm belonging to Thomas Bishop, Sr., when Thomas mortgaged it on 3 February 1670. [5]
William appears to have never been made a freeman or ever held public office and left little trace; he apparently left no will. He was alive in 1684 but probably died in Ipswich before 1723, when his family had moved to Windham County.
Martha went to Windham County with her children, where they were founding members of the church in Hampton. Martha is probably the widow who was a church member in 1723. She owned the covenant on 13 December 1724. [6]
Children of William Durkee and Martha Cross:
i. Deacon John Durkee was born on 3 January 1664/[5?] in Ipswich. [2] He died on 11 September 1739, age about 75, in Windham, Windham County. [4] He married Elizabeth Parsons.
Deacon John was an original member of the Hampton church on 5 June 1724. [6] Elizabeth might be the Elizabeth who was a member in 1723. [6]
ii. Martha Durkee was born in August 1668 in Ipswich. She died after 27 November 1716. She married Thomas Fuller.
iii. William Durkee was born about 1671. He died on 2 March 1731/2, at about 60, in Windham, Windham County. [4] He married Rebecca Gould in 1704. [7]
Jerusha, the daughter of William and Rebecca, married as his second wife, Ebenezer Martin, the brother of Mercy and Jane Durkee's husbands. [7] On 12 May 1737 Jerusha's sister Sarah married her cousin George Martin, the son of George Martin and Mercy Durkee. [7]
William was an original member of the Hampton church in 1723. He and Rebecca owned the covenant on 13 December 1724. [6]
iv. Elizabeth Durkee married George Martin, Sr, as his second wife after 21 February 1712/3 (intention) in Ipswich. [2]
After her marriage, Elizabeth was the step-mother of her younger sisters' husbands.
v. Mercy Durkee was born about 1684. She married George Martin, Jr. as his second wife after 4 June 1709 (intention) in Ipswich. [2] She died on 1 August 1730 and is buried in South Cemetery in Hampton, Windham County, Connecticut. [8]
The inscription on Mercy's gravestone says, "Hear lies ye Body of Mrs. Marcy Martin wife of Mr. George Martin She died August ye 1th(?) 1730 Aged 46 years." [fg0]
vi. Jane Durkee married John Martin after 29 April 1710 (intention) in Ipswich. [2]
References:
1. "Great Migration 1634–1635, C–F," digitized book, AmericanAncestors.org, originally published as: Robert Charles Anderson,, George F. Sanborn, Jr., and Melinde Lutz Sanborn, The Great Migration, Immigrants to New England, 1634–1635, Volume II, C–F (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001), 243.
2. Vital Records of Ipswich, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849, 2 vols. (Salem: Essex Institute, 1910), vol. 1: 116; vol. 2: 134, 147.
3. Elmer E. Butler, Butlers and Kinfolk (Milford, Cabinet Press, 1904).
4. "Connecticut: Vital Records (The Barbour Collection), 1630–1870," online database, AmericanAncestors.org, from original typescripts, Lucius Barnes Barbour Collection, 1928 > Windham, 78–81.
5. George Francis Dow, ed., and Harriet S. Tapley, trans., Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, 9 vols., digitized books, Salem Witch Trials: Documentary Archive and Transcription Project (http://salem.lib.virginia.edu), vol. 3: 189–90, 198, 224 (premarital events); vol. 7, 380; vol. 9: 158 (Rosse's will), 181 (depositions of May 1680 and March 1684), 182 (Thomas Bishop's farm).
6. "Connecticut, U.S., Church Record Abstracts, 1630–1920, database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/3032) > vol 50 Hampton, 57–65.
7. "Martin-Durkee Connections," Essex Genealogist 5 (1985): 74–77.
8. Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 26 March 2023), memorial page for Mercy Durkee Martin (1684–1 Aug 1730), Memorial ID 72433132, citing South Cemetery; Maintained by 47117651 (contributor 47117651).
30-Apr-2023