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John Hoyt (d. 1687)
Frances Unknown (d. 1642)
Sargeant John Hoyt, Sr. died on 28 February 1687 in Amesbury. [1] He married first Frances Unknown. Frances, the wife of John died—apparently in childbirth—on 23: 12m: 1642 in Salisbury. [2]
John Hoyt took the oath of fidelity on 1: 8: 1650 and the freeman's oath on 14: 2: 1663. [3]
John was on the grand jury at the Essex court in 1652, 1653, 1667, 1674, 1677 and 1678. He was on the trial jury in 1669. [4]
Many of the Amesbury townspeople and members of its military company signed a petition that was presented to the court on 10 October 1671. They complained that their "loveing friend & neighbour" John Hoyt had been chosen sergeant and chief military officer and they complained about interference from Samuel Foot. [6]
John—apparently an upstanding citizen—was plagued with troublesome daughters.
Children of John Hoyt and the first Frances Unknown:
i. Frances Hoyt was born about 1636. Frances, the wife of Captain John Barnard died on 2 January 1720/1 in Amesbury. [7] She married first John Colby on 14 January 1655 in Salisbury. [8] John died on 6: 12m. 1673 in Amesbury. [9] Frances, widow, married John Barnard on 27 December 1676 in Amesbury. [10] Captain John Barnard died on 15 July 1718 in Amesbury, age 62[!]. [7]
ii. John Hoyt was born about 1638. He died on 13 August 1696. He married Mary Barnes.
iii. Gregory Hoyt (twin) was born on 1: 11: 1640 in Salisbury. [11] He died on 1: 11m: 1641 in Salisbury. [2]
iv. Thomas Hoyt (twin) was born on 1: 11: 1640 in Salibury. [11] He died on 3 January 1690 in Amesbury. [1] He married first Mary, the daughter of William Brown, about 1667 in Amesbury. [12] He married second Mary Ash on 29 November 1689 in Amesbury. [12][13]
At the 12 April 1664 court, Thomas Hoyt and Thomas Johnson were admonished and fined for going away disorderly from their master Walter Taylor. Walter Taylor was fined for using cursing speeches to his servants. John Hoyt, Sr. was admonished for entertaining his son Thomas, as Thomas was Walter Taylor's servant. [5]
At the 13: 2: 1669 court, Edward Goodwyn was presented and fined for swearing and other miscarriages about threatening to stab Thomas Hoyt. [14]
v. Elizabeth Hoyt was born on 23: 12 m. 1642 in Salisbury. [2]
Children of John Hoyt and the second Frances Unknown:
vi. Sarah Hoyt was born on 16: 11m: 1644 in Salisbury. [11] She died on 26: 12m: 1644 in Salisbury. [2]
vii. Mary Hoyt was born on 20: 12m: 1645 in Salisbury. [11] She was living on 13 June 1729. [15] She married first Christopher Bartlett on 19: 10: 1663 in Salisbury. [6] Christopher Bartlett of Newbury died on 15 March 1669/70. [16] She married second Richard Martin in the Spring or Summer of 1674. [15] Richard, the son of George and Susanna (North) Martin, was born on 24 June 1647 in Salisbury and died on 11 March 1728/9 in Amesbury. [15]
On 12 October 1669 George Martin (the father of Richard) was successfully sued by Christopher Bartlett because George's wife Susanna said that Bartlett was a a liar and a thief and had stolen leather. At the same court, Richard Martin was presented to the grandjury for "abusing his father and throwing him down, taking away his clothes and holding an axe against him." He was sentenced to be whipped ten stripes. [17]
Christopher Bartlett made his will on 14 March 1669, mentioning his wife Mary and son Christopher. The will was witnessed by Thomas and Henry Tewksbury. On 23 September 1674 Richard Martin acknowledged that his wife Mary had received her share of Christopher's estate. [16]
Mary's father apparently invited Thomas Tewksbury to live with him prior to Mary's marriage to Richard. Thomas was said to have left a wife and children in England and pretended to be a single man in New England. In the hope of deluding Mary, he presented her with an apparently forged letter from a clergyman in England saying that he was free to marry; Mary carried this letter in her bosom. A townsman testified that he loaned his horse to Mary so that she could visit Thomas in Boston and that he was at Mary's house in Newbury and he heard Thomas and Mary promise to marry each other. Instead, possibly warned by her father that the letter was a fake, Mary married Richard Martin. However, she apparently continued to be involved with Thomas as on 10 September 1674, Richard's father, George Martin, and John Jimson petitioned the court to stop Thomas's behavior. On 13 September 1674 Richard Martin and his wife Mary were summoned by the court to answer for their behavior. [18][15]
Richard's mother Susanna was hanged for witchcraft on 19 July 1692 in Salem. [17]
viii. Joseph Hoyt was born on 13: 3m: 1648 in Salisbury. [11] He died on 19: 2m: 1648[!] in Salisbury. [2]
ix. Joseph Hoytwas born on 27: 9m: 1649 in Salisbury. [11] He died on 24: 11m. 1649 in Salisbury. [2]
x. Marah Hoyt was born on 24: 9m: 1653 in Salisbury. [11] She died on 1: 10m: 1653 in Salisbury. [2]
xi. Naomi Hoyt was born on 23: 11m: 1654 in Salisbury. [11] She married John Lovejoy on 23 March 1677/8 in Andover. [19]
In 1683 Naomi, a 28-year-old widow of three years, acknowledged a sexual relationship with Benjamin Abbott. An entry in the Andover vital records says that "Ben Naomi," the illegitimate daughter of Benjamin Abbott and Naomi Lovejoy, was born in 1684. [20][21]
xii. Dorothy Hoyt was born on 13: 2m: 1656 in Salisbury. [11]
Dorothy Hoyt was called to the 9 October 1677 court for putting on man's apparel. She replied that she had gone out of the county and her father John appeared and said that his daughter was repentant. The court ordered that she be whipped when she returned or her father could pay a fine. [23]
xiii. Mehitable Hoyt was born on 25: 8m: 1664 in Salisbury. [11] She perhaps married William Straw about 1683 in Amesbury. [22] William Straw of Amesbury made his will on 23 May 1709. He mentions his wife Margaret. His witnesses were Joseph Hoyt and Jacob Bagley. [24]
References:
1. Vital Records of Amesbury, Massachusetts: To the End of the Year 1849 (Topsfield: Topsfield Historical Society, 1913), 554–6.
2. Vital Records of Salisbury, Massachusetts: To the End of the Year 1849 (Topsfield: Topsfield Historical Society, 1915), 578.
3. George Francis Dow, Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, digitized volumes (Salem Witch Project: Documentary Archive and Transcription Project : http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/Essex/index.html), 1:203; 3:59.
4. Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex, 1:251; 3:56, 404; 4: 183, 6:339, 427.
5. Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex, 3:148.
6. Records and Files of the Quarterly Cours of Essex, 4:428–9.
7. Vital Records of Amesbury, 522.
8. Vital Records of Salisbury, 393–4.
9. Asa W. Brown, "Early Settlers of Salisbury, Mass.," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 8 (1854), 79.
10. Vital Records of Amesbury, 313.
11. Vital Records of Salisbury, 138–9.
12. "New England Marriages to 1700," digitized books, AmericanAncestors, vol. 2, p. 807.
13, Vital Records of Amesbury, 383–8.
14: Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex, 4:132.
15. David L. Greene, "Salem Witches III: Susanna Martin, Part Two," The American Genealogist 59 (1983): 11–22.
16. "Essex County, MA: Early Probate Records, 1635–1681," digitized book, AmericanAncestors, 181–2.
17. David L. Greene, "Salem Witches III: Susanna Martin, Part One," The American Genealogist 58 (1982): 192-4
18. Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex, 5:400–4.
19. "Marriages in the Town of Andover, MS.," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 3 (1849): 65–68, specifically 66.
20. Marjorie Wardwell Otten, "The Two George Abbott Families of Andover, Massachusetts," Essex Genealogist 20 (2000): 20–23.
21. Vital Recordsof Andover, Massachusetts: To the End of the Year 1849 (Topsfield: Topsfield Historical Society, 1912), 13.
22. "New England Marriages to 1700," digitized books, AmericanAncestors, vol. 2, p. 1467.
23. Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex, 6:339.
24. "Essex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1638–1881," database with images, AmericanAncestors > 26817.
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08-Nov-2023