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Colonel Jabez Fitch (1702–1784), son of Major James Fitch and Alice Bradford
Lydia Gale (1699–1753), daughter of Abraham Gale and Sarah Fiske
Jabez, the son of James Fitch, was baptized on 7 June 1702 in Preston, New London County, Connecticut. [1] He died on 31 January 1784, probably in Canterbury, Windham County, Connecticut. The Canterbury church records say that Jabez, the son of Major James, married Lydia Gale, the sister of Richard Gale, on 29 May 1722. [2] Captain Jabez married second Elizabeth Darbe on 14 January 1754 in Canterbury. [1] He married third Rebecca Unknown.
Lydia, the daughter of Abraham and Sarah Gale, was born on 9 July 1699 in Watertown, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. [3, 2:15] Lydia, the wife of Captain Jabez, died on 22 August 1753 in Canterbury. [1]
Lydia apparently came to Canterbury to live with her older brother Richard.
The inscriptions on the gravestones of Jabez and Lydia in the Cleaveland Cemetery in Canterbury say: [4]
Sacred to the memory of Coll. Jabez Fitch who for many years Sustained with integrity & honor the offices of Justice of the Peace & quorum & Judge of Probate. After a long life of usefulness & reputation he fell asleep in Jesus, Jan. 31st, 1784 in the 81st year of his age.
Here Lies ye Body of Mrs Lydia Fitch Late Wife of Jabez Fitch Esq Who Deperted this Life in Hope of a Better Aug 20 AD 1753 in ye 53d year of her age.
Jabez and Lydia owned the covenant on 2 June 1723 in the church in Canterbury. [2] Lydia, the wife of Jabez, was admitted to the church on 11 April 1731; Captain Jabez was admitted in February 1744. [2]
Jabez was a representative from Canterbury to the General Assembly of the Colony of Connecticut 54 times between May 1734 and December 1775. [5]
Jabez was appointed to a committee to audit the colony’s accounts with the treasurer in May 1737. [5] John Dwight of Killingly’s house—and all his financial records—burned on the night after 18 February 1750. In May 1750 the Assembly appointed Jabez Fitch, Esq. of Canterbury to be on a committee to investigate the matter. [5] The report was presented in May 1751. [5] Upon the request of Jabez Fitch, agent for the town of Canterbury, the Assembly appointed a committee to study a boundary dispute between the towns of Canterbury and Windham in May 1751. [5] During his life he was regularly appointed to committees to help solve the colony's disputes.
In October 1738 the Assembly appointed Jabez ensign of the fifth company in the town of Norwich. [5]
In May 1740 Jabez Fitch of Canterbury complained that he had built a bridge over the Quinnabaug River at a cost of 210 pounds and had received only £134-09-00 in subscriptions. The Assembly ruled that he could charge tolls from those who had not paid. [5]
The Assembly appointed Jabez a Justice of the Peace for Windham County for the upcoming year in May 1749 and every year following until May 1755. [5] In May 1756 and every following year until May 1776 the Assembly appointed him Justice of the Peace and Quorum for Windham County for the following year. [5] The Assembly of the State of Connecticut appointed him to this office every year from May 1777 to May 1783. [5]
On 4 February 1754 Jabez Fitch of Canterbury sold the farm he lived on to his son Jabez, Jr. On 4 April 1758 they partitioned the farm. [6]
The Assembly of the colony of Connecticut appointed Jabez a judge of the probate court for the district of Plainfield in Windham County for the following year in May 1759 and every year following until May 1776. [5] The Assembly of the State of Connecticut appointed him to this office every year from May 1777 to May 1783. [5]
In an undated deed, acknowledged on 27 March 1765, Jabez Fitch and Elizabeth Fitch—formerly the widow of William Darbee of Pomfret and now the wife of Jabez—sold 17 acres to Jabez, Jr. [6]
In May 1771 the Assembly appointed Jabez Lieutenant Colonel of the 11th Regiment of Connecticut militia. [5]
Jabez Fitch of Canterbury, being in a “weak and languishing state of body,” made his will on 10 December 1783. He noted that he had never given his son Jabez anything and forgave him 100 pounds of a 110-pound note dated 20 March 1777 he held against him to make him equal to his son Asahel and his three daughters Jerusha, Lydia and Lucy. He also noted that he had given his deceased son Perez, late of Stamford and his deceased daughter Alice, the late wife of Reverend James Cogswell their portions while they were alive, and nothing was due their heirs. The remainder of his estate was to be distributed according to the laws of the state. He appointed his son Jabez his sole administrator. Witnesses testified on 10 February 1784. Inventory, amounting to about 329 pounds was exhibited on 2 April 1784 and accepted on 7 April 1784. [7]
The court ordered a distribution to Jabez's widow Rebecca Fitch on 2 January 1787. After this distribution and debts, the estate was insolvent. A somewhat ambiguous estate paper says that further inventory was discovered. Apparently, a judge ordered that Solomon Morgan of Plainfield and Jabez Fitch [Jr.], late of Canterbury, owed about 151 pounds. Jabez is described as “now absconded and gone.” [7]
Children of Jabez Fitch and Lydia Gale: The children, with the exception of Jabez, were baptized in the church in Canterbury as the children of Jabez and Lydia. [2]
i. Jerusha Fitch was born on 30 January 1722/3 in Canterbury. [1] She was baptized on 23 June 1723. She died after 4 February 1788. [6] She married first Tixhall Ensworth on 6 December 1742 in Canterbury. [1] Tixhall, the son of John and Elizabeth (Cleveland) Ensworth, was born on 19 December 1717 in Canterbury and died on 6 January 1776 in Canterbury. [6] Jerusha married second Jacob Brown as his third wife on 11 December 1776 in Preston. [6] Jacob, the son of John Brown, was born on 6 July 1711 in Preston and died after 4 February 1788. [6] He married first Deliverance Bump on 11 November 1742 in Preston. [6] He married second Mary Payson on 14 December 1757 in Preston. [6]
ii. Alice Fitch was born on 8 January 1724/5 in Canterbury. [1] She was baptized on 11 April 1725. She died in April 1772. [6] She married Reverend James Cogswell on 24 April 1745 in Canterbury. [1] James, the son of Samuel and Ann (Mason) Cogswell, died on 2 January 1807 in Hartford. [6] He married second Martha (Lathrop) Devotion, the widow of Reverend Ebenezer Devotion, on 21 January 1773 in Hampton, Windham County. [6] He married third Irene (Ripley) Hebard, the widow of Nathaniel Hebard, on 5 May 1797 in Cheshire, New Haven County. [6]
James Cogswell graduated from Yale in 1742 and was licensed to preach on 15 May 1744. He was the minister in Canterbury from 1744 to 1771 and then minister in Scotland in Windham County for 33 years. [6]
iii. Doctor Perez Fitch was born in December 1726 in Canterbury. [1] He was baptized on 11 December 1726. He died on 6 September 1775 and was buried in the North Street Cemetery in Stamford, Fairfield County, Connecticut. [6] He married Martha Coggeshall on 4 September 1753 in Stamford. [6] Martha, the daughter of Freegift and Martha (Nettleton) Coggeshall, was born on 25 June 1730 in Milford and died on 12 January 1812 in Stamford. [6] She married second Abraham Davenport on 8 August 1776 in Stamford. [6] She married third Doctor Amos Mead. [6]
Perez graduated from Yale in 1750 and settled in Stamford as a physician. [6] He was a church member on 9 September 1759. [6]
Perez made his will on 2 August 1773; it was proved on 22 February 1775. He mentions his wife Martha, his sons William and Samuel, and his daughters Martha, Abigail, and Betsey. Inventory was taken on 14 December 1775 and it included servants Tom and Chloe. On 13 January 1776 Martha informed the court that the estate was insolvent. [6]
iv. Jabez Fitch was born on 23 May 1729 in Norwich or Lisbon in New London County. [6][8] He died of a lingering consumption while visiting his son Dr. Chauncey Fitch on 19 December 1806 in Sheldon, Franklin County, Vermont. [6][9] He married Lydia Huntington of Norwich on 22 August 1754 in Canterbury. [1] Lydia, the daughter of Ebenezer and Sarah (Leffingwell) Huntington, was born on 27 October 1735 in Norwich and died on 3 April 1803 in Vergennes, Addison County, Vermont. [6]
Jabez was admitted to the church in Canterbury on 18 August 1751; his wife was admitted on 27 January 1760. [2]
The Assembly appointed Mr. Jabez Fitch, Jr. a surveyor of lands in Windham in May 1754. He resigned this post by May 1760. [5]
The Assembly appointed Jabez, Jr. a captain the tenth company in May 1759. [5]
Jabez Fitch, Jr. was a deputy from Canterbury to the General Assembly of the State of Connecticut in May 1777. [5]
Jabez of Sheldon made his will on 13 December 1805; it was proved on 4 February 1807. He named his sons Ebenezer, Jabez, Chauncey, and Samuel; his daughters Sally Knowlton, Nancy Sanders, Lucy Williams, and Alice Coleman; and the heirs of his deceased daughter Lydia Perkins. [6]
Jabez's son, Reverend Ebenezer Fitch, was the first president of Williams College. [9]
v. Lydia Fitch was baptized on 27 January 1734. She died on 14 July 1820, age 85, in Norwich. [MF] She married married Phinehas Adams.
vi. Lucy Fitch was born on 24 June 1736 in Canterbury. [6] She was baptized on 27 June 1736. She died on 27 February 1814 in Mansfield, Tolland County, Connecticut. She married David Adams on 29 October 1761 in Canterbury. [6] David, the son of David and Katherine (Adams) Adams, was born on 23 May 1731 in Canterbury and died on 26 March 1790 in Canterbury. [6] David and Lucy are buried in the Mansfield Center Cemetery. [6]
Lucy was admitted to the church in Scotland in 1762. [6]
David was a doctor serving in the Revolutionary War. [6]
Lucy Adams of Pomfret, widow of Doctor David, made her will on 27 September 1710; it was proved on 5 April 1814. She named her daughter Lucy Ensworth, widow; her daughter Lucy Grosvenor, wife of Nathan; and her daughter Polly Holt, wife of Elijah, who was in debt to her. [6]
vii. Doctor Asahel Fitch was baptized on 27 August 1738. He died on 31 March 1793 in Redding, Fairfield County. [6] He married first Rachel Strong on 24 June 1760. [6] She died on 13 April 1762 in Redding. [6] He married second Hannah Lockwood on 4 October 1764 in Wilton, Fairfield County. [6] Hannah, the daughter of Peter and Abigail (Hawley), was born on 23 September 1743 in Norwalk and died on 13 March 1821 in Redding. [6]
Asahel and his wife joined the Redding church on 5 June 1768. [6]
Asahel served as a Surgeon’s Mate in the Revolutionary War. [6]
Administration of Asahel’s estate was granted to Hannah on 24 April 1793; he was insolvent. His inventory included 21 pairs of sheets, 16 pillow cases, 17 blankets, and 11 beds or underbeds. He must have cared for patients in his home. [6]
viii. Abigail Fitch was baptized on 19 April 1741. The daughter of Captain Jabez and Lydia, died on 1 May 1749 in Canterbury. [Ref]
References:
1. "Connecticut: Vital Records (The Barbour Collection), 1630–1870," database with images, AmericanAncestors.org > from original typescripts, Lucius Barnes Barbour Collection, 1928 > Canterbury, 78–79 (Fitch), Preston, 241 (Fitch).
2. "Connecticut, U.S., Church Record Abstracts, 1630–1920, database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/3032) > Volume 15 Canterbury, images 27–28 (Fitch), 33 (Gale).
3. "Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1620–1850," online database, AmericanAncestors.org> Watertown.
4. Alfred Johnson, “Inscriptions in the Cleaveland Cemetery, Canterbury, Conn.,” New England Historical and Genealogical Register 70 (1916): 342–6.
5. Charles J. Hoadley, The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, vols. 4–15 (Hartford: Press of the Case, Lockwood and Brainard Co., 1868–1890); Charles J. Hoadley, The Public Records of the State of Connecticut, vols. 1–3 (Hartford: Press of the Case, Lockwood and Brainard Co., 1894–1922); Leonard Woods Labaree, The Public Records of the State of Connecticut, vols. 4–5, (Hartford: The State, 1943).
6. “Mayflower Families Fifth Generation Descendants, 1700–1880,” database with images, AmericanAncestors.org > Bradford, William (vol. 22), images 252–8.
7. "Connecticut, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1609–1999," database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/9049) > Windham > Probate Records, vol. 8–9, 1783–1796, images 56–57 and > Hartford > Probate Packets, Felch, W–Gates, Silas, 1747–1880, images 178–99.
8. "Norwich, CT: Vital Records of Norwich, 1659–1848," database with images , AmericanAncestors.org, 1–6.
9. Calvin Durfee, Sketch of the Late Rev. Ebenezer Fitch, D.D., First President of Williams College (Boston: Massachusetts Sabbath School Society, 1865), 16–17.
02-Jan-2023