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ROBERT EMMONS (m. 1717)

MARY PETTY (b. 1695), daughter of John Petty and Mary Taylor

Robert Emmons of Brookfield, Worcester County, Massaachusetts married Mary Petty of Springfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts after 13 July 1717, when their intention was published in Springfield.1

Mary, the daughter of John Petty and Mary Taylor, was born on 26 October 1695, probably in Springfield.2,3

Robert is a frustrating subject as the dates do not seem to fit easily. Temple suggests that the Robert who was granted land in 1702 is the same Robert who whose children were born in the 1730s.4 While this is possible, it does not seem likely. Perhaps there were two Roberts, a father and son. It also seems surprising that a couple who married in 1717, only begin having children in 1725. The early Brookfield records are in poor shape, so perhaps there were earlier children.

Robert was granted land in Brookfield, Worcester County, Massachusetts between 1702 and 1721.4 He was one of the inhabitants of Brookfield who signed a petition asking for financial help in supporting a minister on 30 October 1706.4 He was assessed for taxes in Brookfield on 22 April 1717.4 After a 31 May 1720 town meeting Robert was added to a committee to lay out land.4

Children of Robert Emmons and Mary Petty: Births recorded in Brookfield as the children of Robert and Mary. Except for the twins, the dates are uncertain.5

i. Unknown Son Emmons was born about 1725 in Brookfield.

ii. Abel Emmons was born about 1727 in Brookfield.

iii. Solomon Emmons was born about 1729 in Brookfield. He died about 1 October 1805 in Windsor, Vermont.6 He married Mary Marsh on 31 January 1754 in Hardwick.6 Mary, the daughter of Samuel (Thomas, Samuel, John) and Zerviah (Thomas) Marsh, was born on 13 June 1735 in Hardwick.6 She died on 8 November 1825 in Windsor.6

Solomon was a soldier in the Revolutionary War.6 Mary was the first European woman settler in Windsor.6 She was a member of the First Church in Windsor from 1774 to 1779, but was ex-communicated on 18 March 1793.6 For a long time she was the only midwife in Windsor.6

iv. Noah Emmons was born about 1731 in Brookfield. He died in 1799 and is buried in the West Burying Ground in West Chesterfield, Cheshire County, New Hampshire.7 He married Mary Farr. She died on 5 February 1803 and is buried in the West Burying Ground.7

Noah served in the French and Indian War. He was listed in a 1756 roll of Brookfield soldiers that participated in the reduction of the Fort at Crown Point. He was age 25 and living in Greenwich [presumably in Hampshire County, Massachusetts]4

v. Eunice Emmons was born about 1733 in Brookfield.

vi. Mary Emmons (twin) was born on 15 August 1735 in Brookfield.

vii. Robert Emmons (twin) was born on 15 August 1735 in Brookfield.

It is conceivable that this Robert is the Robert Emmons of Belchertown who made his will on 4 June 1789. The will was probated on 6 April 1790 and Robert's 16-year-old son Eli was his sole heir.8

viii. Benjamin Emmons was born about 1737 in Brookfield. He married Elizabeth Smith.

Endnotes:

1. Vital Records of Springfield, Massachusetts: To the Year 1850, 3 vols. (Boston: New England Historic and Genealogical Society, 2003), vol. 1: 142.

2. Robert Joseph Curfman, The Petty-Pettis Genealogy: Descendants of John Petty of Springfield, Massachusetts, 1668 (Kansas City: unknown, 1985), 32.

3. Vital Records of Springfield, Massachusetts: To the Year 1850, 3 vols. (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2003), vol. 1: 46.

4. J.H. Temple, History of North Brookfield, Massachusetts: Preceded by an Account of Old Quabang, Indian and English Occupation, 1647–167, Brookfield Records, 1686–1783 (North Brookfield: The town, 1887), 171, 194, 212, 450–1, 460.

5. Vital Records of Brookfield, Massachusetts: To the End of the Year 1849 (Worcestor: Franklin P. Rice, 1909), 83.

6. Scott Andrew Bartley, "Early Vermont Settlers, 1700–1784,"AmericanAncestors (https://www.americanancestors.org/DB1565/i/48445/1/1415568298).

7. "Corp. Noah Emmons," Findagrave (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/47251787/noah-emmons). "Mary Farr Emmons," Findagrave (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/36381130/mary-emmons).

8. "Massachusetts, Wills and Probate Records, 1o635–1991," database with images, Ancestry > Hampshire Probate Records, Vol 15-16, 1785-1791, image 455.

Last revised: 22-Dec-2023