Birth: 18 Feb 1761, Sudbury, Middlesex Co, MA
Death: 1 Dec 1844, Barre, Worcester Co, MA
Burial: Adams Cemetery, Barre, Worcester Co, MA
Father: Thomas Brintnall
Mother: Martha (--?--)
Spouse: Joel Kelley
Marriage: 25 Dec 1800, Barre, Worcester Co, MA
Notes:
Establishing the identify of Susanna Brintnall is complicated by the fact that there is no birth record for her in Barre. But a probate record proves that her father was named Thomas Brintnall "of Barre."
The Barre vital records indicate that a Thomas Brintnall died there 30 March 1812, aged 90 years. Vital and land records (see below) show that he was the same Thomas Brintnall born in Sudbury, Massachusetts, 11 Aug 1721, date consistent with his age at death.
Thomas and his wife Martha had twelve children in Sudbury between the years 1750 and 1771, one of whom was Susanna Brintnall, born 18 Feb 1761, consistent with her age at death in Barre 1 Dec 1844, aged 83 years:
Multiple records provide evidence that Thomas Brintnall and his family moved to Barre, probably around 1781, when he purchased 43 acres of land there. Land records reveal six people bearing the names of Thomas' children living in Barre between 1781 and 1794. Among these were Peter Brintnall and Thomas Brintnall, Jr., who purchased land together in Barre. No other family headed by Thomas, with sons Peter and Thomas, Jr. are known to have existed at that time.
These records are summarized and cited below:
In his will, dated 26 March 1795, Richard Mills of Barre bequethed to "Susanna Brintall (daughter of Thomas Brintall of Barre)" all of his household goods, furniture, cattle, and horses. He appointed Susanna joint executrix of his will, along with his brother Oliver Mills. An undated note at the bottom of the will states "I the subscriber in behalf of Susanna Brintnall now Kelly, one of the above named executors decline the trust," signed by Joel Kalley. "Susanna Brintnall now Susanna Kalley" received a large payment from the estate, as did Joel Kalley. Asa Newell, possibly Joel's brother-in-law, received a small payment from the estate.1 This establishes Joel's wife, Susanna Brintall, as the daughter of Thomas Brintnall, likely the same Thomas that died in Barre, 30 March 1812, aged 90 years.2
On 1 May 1781, Thomas Brintall of Sudbury purchased from Isaac Bullard of Sudbury, for 200 pounds, a tract of 43 acres in Barre.3 This was probably the same Thomas mentioned above, and given his age at death, the same one born in Sudbury, Massachusetts, 11 Aug 1721.4
Per Sudbury VRs, Susannah Brintnall, daughter of Thomas and Martha Brintnall, was born in Sudbury, 18 Feb. 1761. This is certainly the same Susannah.
Thomas and Martha had twelve children between 1750 and 1771 (listed below), suggesting they were married around 1749, consistent with Thomas' Sudbury birth record.4 Unfortunately, no marriage record has been found.
Several of the children listed above were also residents of Barre. Martha Brintnall was married in Barre, 16 Jan 1781 to Noah Sparhawk, Jr. Abigail Brintnall was married in Barre, 3 Sep 1794 to Moses Anesworth.2 On 23 Aug 1791, Phinehas Brintnall of Barre and his wife, Mary, sold property in Barre to John Buckminster.5 On 17 March 1792, Samuel Osgood of Barre, with his wife Lydia, sold property in Barre to Peter Brintnall and Thomas Brintnall, Jr., both of Barre.6
On 13 May 1785, Isaac Brintnall witnessed a deed of sale from Nathan Clark of Barre to Noah Sparhawk, 2nd of Barre (no doubt the husband of Martha Brintnall) for a tract of land in Petersham, Massachusetts.7
Susanna's mother may have been Martha Bent, born 11 Mar 1728/9 in Sudbury, the daughter of Peter and Mary Bent. No other marriage record has been found for Martha. Many of her children appear to be named after her siblings.8 Also, a child of Susanna's sister, Abigail, was named Martha Bent Ainsworth.9
Sources:
Spouse: Lucretia Curtis
Marriage: about 1843
Birth: about 1846
Spouse: Caroline A. Wheelock
Marriage:
Baptism: 3 Nov 1765, Lynn, Essex Co, MA
Death: 8 Jul 1845, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA
Father: Amos Newell
Mother: Margaret Southwick
Spouse: Ruth Kelley
Marriage: 24 Oct 1790, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA
Spouse: Tryphena McIntire
Marriage: 5 Nov 1828, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA
Notes:
Asa and Ruth were married in Charlton and lived there for a while before moving to Barre circa 1802. They had moved back to Charlton by May 1825, when John Douty deeded 24 acres to Asa Newell of Charlton.1
Parentage:
Vital records, land records, and naming patterns make it clear that Asa Newell of Charlton was the same person as the Asa Newhall of Lynn, Massachusetts, son of Amos and Margaret (Southwick) Newell. The evidence for this is outlined in detail below.
The first critical piece of evidence is the death record of Asa Newell, who died in Charlton, 8 July 1845, age 80. The record states that he was born in Salem, son of Amos and Mary A. Newell.2 The age at death aligns well with the Asa Newhall who was baptized in Lynn (adjacent to Salem), 3 November 1765. The baptism record identifies his mother as Margaret Newhall, leaving the father unidentified.3 The death record of Asa's daughter, Jane (Newell) Bacon, who died in Charlton, 1874, also places her father's birth in Salem.4
This leaves several discrepancies. Mary is not a common nickname for Margaret, and Lynn is not Salem. These will be dealt with later.
A further examination of the records indicates that Margaret was in the late stages of pregnancy when her husband, Amos, died at a relatively young age. Amos Newhall of Lynn wrote his will 12 July 1765. He died a few days later, on 20 July 1765. In his will he left everything to his wife, Margaret, for a period of eight years, "in consideration of her bringing up the children," after which the estate was to be divided in a ratio such that for each two shares given to his sons, one share was given to each daughter. In this division, Margaret was to get a third of the estate during her natural life. She was named sole executor. The children were not named, but the 1773 accounting of the estate indicates that Margaret had to pay funeral expenses for a deceased child, Sarah Newhall, and she had to "lie in ... about 3 months after husbands decease," presumably to care for or bring to term the new child. The probate documents also reveal that Margaret remarried before the 1773 accounting, as the records refer to her as "Margaret Newhall (now Jacobs)."5
Margaret Southwick was from Salem, according to her 1750 marriage record to Amos Newhall.6 After Amos died, she and Henry Jacobs of Danvers filed their intentions 9 Sep 1770 in Lynn,7 consistent with the reference to her as Margaret Jacobs in the 1773 probate accounting.
Asa Newell had a sister, Elizabeth Newell, b. in Lynn, 6 July 1756.8 The following records will show that Elizabeth also went to Charlton, and that she and her husband owned property abutting Asa Newell.
First some background. Elizabeth Newell and Jonathan Putney, both of Danvers, were married 9 Dec. 1773 in Danvers, Essex County, Massachusetts.9 Danvers abuts Salem on the northeastern side. It 1752 it was set off from Salem and established as separate district. It was incorporated as a township in 1775, about two years after Elizabeth married Jonathan.
A land record removes whatever ambiguity may exist regarding the identity of Jonathan Putney's wife. On 15 Jan. 1776, Jonathan Putney of Danvers and his wife Elizabeth sold for 6 pounds 13 shillings and 4 pence to Asa Newhall of Lynn, tailor by occupation, all their interest in "the real estate whereof our honored mother Margaret Jacobs, late of Danvers" owned by "right of dower in the estate of our honored father Amos Newhall late of Lynn," deceased, by right of Elizabeth's inheritance, consisting of one seventh part of the whole.10 It is tempting to assume the grantee, Asa Newhall, was Elizabeth's brother, but this is ruled out by the fact that Asa would have been ten years old at the time, and was not old enough to be a "tailor", or to purchase land. In fact, this was Asa's uncle (perhaps his namesake) who bought and sold considerable property in Lynn during this time period.
This was the last land transaction Jonathan Jr and Elizabeth conducted in Essex County. The apparently moved to Charlton shortly after (probably with Asa Newhall, underage at the time). The birth of their first child, Amos Putney, was recorded in Charlton, Aug 1777.2
Jonathan Putney was a resident of Charlton when he purchased his first property there on 29 Dec 1784.11 On 3 Nov. 1787, at the age of 22, Asa Newell of Charlton first purchased land there - 50 acres 104 rods abutting propery of Jonathan Putney.12
Jonathan and Elizabeth had five children recorded in Charlton between the years 1777 and 1790.2 Jonathan died in 1814. In his will, dated 15 Sep 1813, he left $5 each to his five children, and the remainder of his estate to his wife, Elizabeth.13
On 18 Dec. 1820, Asa Newell purchased 24 acres in Charlton abutting the property of the widow Elizabeth Putney (his sister).14
Elizabeth (Newell) Putney died in Charlton 7 Aug 1833 at the age of 77.2 This aligns perfectly with her birth date recorded in Lynn, 6 July 1756. Unlike her brother, Asa Newell, her death record does not identify her place of birth. But the death record of her daughter, Mehitable (Putney) (Miller) West, who died in Charlton 14 June 1871, identified the birth place of her father, Jonathan Putney as Danvers, and her mother, Elizabeth Putney, as Salem.15
The discrepancy between Asa and Elizabeth's birth place of Lynn, and the death records which say Salem is likely an error. Lynn was once part of Salem, and the two towns were adjacent during the lives of Asa and Elizabeth. People often refer to the nearest well known town or city when identifying their home town. Most have heard of Salem, probably not many know of Lynn. Furthermore, their mother, Margaret was from Salem, which may have contributed to the discrepancy.
The discrepancy in the name of Asa's mother in his death record is probably just a mistake. It may have been a transcription error, a mishearing of the name, or mistaken memory on the part of the informant. A search of the Essex County vital and land records reveals no man named Amos Newhall who married a woman by the name of Mary.
Finally, the discrepancy between the name Newhall and Newell deserves mention. The Newhall family of Lynn was prodigious. The vital records are filled with people who have that surname, sometimes spelled Newall, Newell, but usually spelled Newhall. In Charlton, the name was consistently spelled Newell.
Sources:
Birth: estimated 1760
Death: before 25 Dec 1800
Father: Timothy Nurse
Mother: Jane Caldwell
Spouse: Joel Kelley
Marriage: 7 Dec 1794, Barre, Worcester Co, MA
Notes:
Mary Nurse was identified as a daughter and legatee in the will of Timothy Nurse, of Barre, dated 27 June 1781, allowed 6 Aug 1781.1
Research Notes:
The following records prove that Timothy Nurse of Barre was the father of Mary Nurse.
Jane, wife of Timothy Nurse, died 26 Oct 1816, age 95, per Barre Vital Records.
On 9 Jan 1819, after Timothy's widow, Jane, died, Timothy's property was divided amongst his heirs, as documented in his probate records, case 43949. By that time, Mary had died; her share of the estate was to be passed on to her heir - a single unnamed daughter to whom about 3 acres of land was bequethed.
Though she wasn't explicitly named in the division of estate, Jane McCullar, the daughter of Mary (Nurse) Kelley, signed the document, proving that she was the heir of her mother, Mary, who in turn was the daughter of Timothy. Jane McCullock's husband, Horace, was likely deceased when Jane put her signature to the division of estate. Note the spelling of the surname McCullock as McCullar, which was a common spelling used by the family in the probate documents.
The profile for Mary Nurss on FamilySearch.org, 10 Oct 2022, identifies her birth date as 16 Mar 1762 in Barre, her death as 14 Mar 1797, no sources cited.
Sources:
Birth: 31 Mar 1843
Death: 11 Feb 1908
Burial: Rome Cemetery, Rome, Oneida Co, NY
Spouse: Helen Mary Wheelock
Marriage: 1878
Spouse: Mary Kelley
Marriage: 27 Apr 1794, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA
Birth: 15 May 1849
Death: 6 Jan 1853
Father: Sylvester Wheelock
Mother: Ann Mary Harrington
Birth: 29 Nov 1855
Death: 29 Nov 1939
Burial: Rome Cemetery, Rome, Oneida Co, NY
Father: Sylvester Wheelock
Mother: Ann Mary Harrington
Spouse: Henry R. Jones
Marriage:
Birth: 1 Mar 1854
Death: 31 Dec 1934
Burial: Rome Cemetery, Rome, Oneida Co, NY
Father: Sylvester Wheelock
Mother: Ann Mary Harrington
Spouse: Aaron Putnam
Marriage: 1878