John French

Spouse: Margaret Darling
Marriage: about 1722

1. Jesse French, born 9 Oct 1723, Mendon, Worcester Co, MA
2. John French, born 14 Mar 1727/28, Mendon, Worcester Co, MA
3. Margaret French, born 10 Jun 1729, Mendon, Worcester Co, MA
4. Hannah French, born 25 Aug 1733, Mendon, Worcester Co, MA
5. William French, born 28 May 1737, Mendon, Worcester Co, MA

Spouse: Hannah Parks
Marriage: before 7 Nov 1752

• Worcester County, Massachusetts, probate case 58650, estate of David Thayer, calling Hannah French the wife of John French, "formerly Hannah Thayer, extrx of the testament of David Thayer late of Mendon."

Spouse: Abiel Littlefield
Marriage: 19 Feb 1756, Holliston, Middlesex Co, Mass.

• Holliston Vital Records to 1850

Notes:

In his will, dated 24 May 1773, proved 25 March 1777, John French of Mendon named his wife, Abihail; his sons William, and John; six children of Jonah French, deceased – Silas, Jonah, Nathaniel, Malatiah, Sibbel, and Abihail, all surname French; his daughters Margaret Daniels, Anna Aldrich; and his daughters in law Dinah Thayer and Elizabeth Thayer.¹

Sources:

1. Worcester County, Massachusetts, probate records, John French, case 22449.

Joanna Haven

Spouse: Daniel Weld
Marriage: 3 Apr 1744, Oxford, Worcester Co, MA

• Oxford Vital Records to 1850

1. Daniel Weld, born 28 Feb 1744/45, Oxford, Worcester Co, MA
2. Stephen Weld, born 10 Oct 1746, Oxford, Worcester Co, MA
3. Joanna Weld, born 14 Aug 1748, Oxford, Worcester Co, MA
4. Elizabeth Weld, born 7 May 1751, Oxford, Worcester Co, MA
5. Jonathan Weld, born 27 Sep 1753, Oxford, Worcester Co, MA
6. Bathsheba Weld, born 4 Dec 1755, Oxford, Worcester Co, MA
7. Elizabeth Weld, born 16 Dec 1757, Oxford, Worcester Co, MA
8. Esquire Weld, born 14 Jan 1767, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA

Dinah Thayer

Birth: 19 Dec 1740, Mendon, Worcester Co, MA

• Mendon Vital Records to 1850

Death: 30 Oct 1819

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/77776349/dinah-allen: accessed 19 December 2022), memorial page for Dinah Thayer Allen (d. 30 Oct 1819, aged 76), Find a Grave Memorial ID 77776349, South Cemetery, Brooklyn, Windham Co, CT, maintained by John Beckstein (contributor 46939506).

Burial: South Cemetery, Brooklyn, Windham Co, CT

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/77776349/dinah-allen: accessed 19 December 2022), memorial page for Dinah Thayer Allen (d. 30 Oct 1819, aged 76), Find a Grave Memorial ID 77776349, South Cemetery, Brooklyn, Windham Co, CT, maintained by John Beckstein (contributor 46939506).

Father: David Thayer
Mother: Hannah Parks

Spouse: John Allen
Marriage: 8 May 1758, Pomfret, Windham Co, CT

• Connecticut Vital Records, Pomfret 1705 - 1850, Barbour Collection, Connecticut State Library, 1918, Dinah Thayer - John Allin, p. 188, citing vol. 1, p. 114 of the original records; database with images, AmericanAncestors.org (https://www.americanancestors.org/search/databasesearch/414/connecticut-vital-records-the-barbour-collection-1630-1870 : accessed 29 Nov 2022).

1. John Allen, born 8 Mar 1762, Pomfret, Windham Co, CT
2. Mary Allen, born 1 Dec 1763, Pomfret, Windham Co, CT
3. Sarah Allen
4. John Allen, born 28 Aug 1767, Pomfret, Windham Co, CT

Spouse: Lemuel Storrs
Marriage: 17 Dec 1778, Brooklyn, Windham Co, CT

• "Early Connecticut Marriages," database, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/3719/ : accessed 7 Dec 2022), Dinah Allen - Lemuel Storrs; from Frederic W. Bailey, Early Connecticut Marriages as Found on Ancient Church Records Prior to 1800, 7 books in 1 volume (Baltimore, Maryland : Genealogical Publishing, 1997), bk. 1, p. 40.

Notes:

Dinah married John Allen in Pomfret, where three of her siblings were married: Hannah, Rebecca, and Elijah.

She died probably in Brooklyn (once part of Pomfret), and is buried in the South Cemetery there. Her headstone reads: "Dinah Allen, consort of John & relict of Lemuel Storrs, died Oct 30, 1819, age 76."¹

Dinah is tied to the family of David Thayer and Hannah Parks of Mendon, Worcester County, Massachusetts by Middlesex County, Massachusetts, deed 120:27, dated 5 Jan 1793, in which "Dinah Storrs of Brooklin [sic] ... of the county of Windham in the state of Connecticut," along with [her siblings] Elijah Thayer, Hannah Pike wife of John Pike, Rebecca Cleveland wife of Phineas Cleveland, as heirs of Zaccheus Parks of Lincoln, Middlesex County, Massachusets, quitclaimed their rights to his estate. Zaccheus was the uncle of Dinah and her siblings, and had died intestate at an advanced age, with considerable estate, and without wife or children. Most of his siblings were deceased, resulting in an estate that had to be divided between his nieces, nephews, and their heirs.

David Thayer, Seth Wheelock and his wife Elizabeth "in her right" also quitclaimed their rights to the estate of Zaccheus.²

Research Notes for Dinah Thayer:

She was aged 76 when she died in 1819, implying a birth date of 1743, which is a few years younger than her 1740 birth date recorded in Mendon.

Sources:

1. "Connecticut, Charles R. Hale Collection, Vital Records, 1640-1955", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F72D-4YK : 16 September 2020), from Headstone Inscriptions Town of Brooklyn, Connecticut, p. 56; FHL DGS 007592408.
2. Middlesex County, Massachusetts deeds, 110:320.

Elijah Thayer

Birth: 14 May 1744, Mendon, Worcester Co, MA

• Mendon Vital Records to 1850

Death: 3 Dec 1813

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/64149412/elijah-thayer: accessed 19 December 2022), gravestone photo for Capt Elijah Thayer (d. 3 Dec 1813, aged 61 yrs), Find a Grave Memorial ID 64149412, South Cemetery, Brooklyn, Windham Co, CT, maintained by Marc Thayer, III (contributor 46542959).

Burial: South Cemetery, Brooklyn, Windham Co, CT

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/64149412/elijah-thayer: accessed 19 December 2022), gravestone photo for Capt Elijah Thayer (d. 3 Dec 1813, aged 61 yrs), Find a Grave Memorial ID 64149412, South Cemetery, Brooklyn, Windham Co, CT, maintained by Marc Thayer, III (contributor 46542959).

Father: David Thayer
Mother: Hannah Parks

Spouse: Anna Cady
Marriage: 30 Dec 1773, Pomfret, Windham Co, CT

• "Connecticut: Vital Records (The Barbour Collection), 1630-1870," database, AmericanAncestors.org (https://www.americanancestors.org/search/databasesearch/414/connecticut-vital-records-the-barbour-collection-1630-1870 : accessed 19 Dec 2022), Elijah Thayer and Anna Cada, Pomfret, p. 188, citing vol. 2, p. 52 of the original records; from Lucius Barnes Barbour typescript.

1. Elizabeth Thayer, born 13 Oct 1774, Pomfret, Windham Co, CT
2. Deborah Thayer, born 8 Apr 1776, Pomfret, Windham Co, CT
3. John Thayer, born 23 May 1779, Pomfret, Windham Co, CT
4. William Thayer, born 21 Sep 1782, Pomfret, Windham Co, CT
5. Polly Thayer, born 6 Nov 1785, Pomfret, Windham Co, CT
6. Joseph Thayer, born 20 Sep 1790, Brooklyn, Windham Co, CT
7. Fanny Maria Thayer, born 1 Oct 1794, Brooklyn, Windham Co, CT

Notes:

On 18 April 1754, Thomas Thayer of Mendon was appointed guardian of Elijah Thayer, son of David Thayer of Mendon, deceased. In July 1758, Peter Wheelock was appointed guardian of David Thayer, age 14, son of David, late of Mendon. Benjamin Wheelock posted bond.¹

On 7 Aug 1805 Elijah Thayer posted bond on the estate of his father in law, John Cady.²

Elijah Thayer of Brooklyn, Windham County, Connecticut made his will on 20 July 1809. It was approved by the probate judge on 4 Jan 1814. He was called "Capt. Elijah Thayer" in the probate documents. In his will, Elijah appointed his wife Anna executor, and left bequests to the following heirs: his wife Anna, his sons Joseph Thayer, John Thayer, William Thayer, his daughters Deborah Scarborough, Betsey Thayer, and Polly Thayer.³

Research Notes:

Ravenscroft says that Elijah Thayer married Keziah Thayer (not Anna Cady). Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine, and several DAR applications, claim that the Elijah who married Anna Cady was the son of David and Hannah of Mendon.⁴

Elijah Thayer's gravestone in South Cemetery, Brooklyn, Windham County, Connecticut says he died 3 Dec 1813, aged 61, placing his birth in 1752. Anna, wife of Capt. Elijah Thayer, is buried in the same cemetery, died 14 Dec 1850, aged 98, which places her birth in 1752. Elijah, however, was born 1744, 8 years earlier than these dates suggest.⁵

Some genealogies include Ezra Thayer as a child in this family, but he is not mentioned in Elijah's will.

Sources:

1. Worcester County, Massachusetts, probate case 58659.
2. "Connecticut, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999," database with images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/9049/ : accessed 12 Jan 2023), John Cady (1805), case no. 740; from Pomfret District, Hartford, Probate Packets, Cady, H-Carrill, Nathaniel, 1752-1880, Connecticut State Library.
3. "Connecticut, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999," database with images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/9049/ : accessed 20 Dec 2022), Elijah Thayer (1814), case no. 3983; from Pomfret District, Probate Packets, Thayer, E-Tyler, Septimus, 1752-1880, Connecticut State Library.
4. See for example Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine, Vol. XLVII, No. 6, December 1915, p. 390; online at Archive.org (https://archive.org/details/sim_american-spirit_1915-12_47_6/page/390/mode/2up : accessed 7 Dec 2022).
5. FindAGrave memorial 64149412, Capt. Elijah Thayer.

Hannah Thayer

Birth: 17 Dec 1731, Mendon, Worcester Co, MA

• Mendon Vital Records to 1850

Father: David Thayer
Mother: Hannah Parks

Spouse: Josiah Fassett
Marriage: 31 Aug 1752, Pomfret, Windham Co, CT

• Connecticut Vital Records, Pomfret 1705 - 1850, Barbour Collection, Connecticut State Library, 1918, Hannah Thayer - Josiah Fossett, p. 188, citing vol. 1, p. 103 of the original records; database with images, AmericanAncestors.org (https://www.americanancestors.org/search/databasesearch/414/connecticut-vital-records-the-barbour-collection-1630-1870 : accessed 7 Dec 2022).

1. Hannah Fassett, born 3 Sep 1753, Pomfret, Windham Co, CT
2. Molly Fassett, born 10 Mar 1755, Pomfret, Windham Co, CT
3. Dorcas Fassett, born 4 Feb 1757, Pomfret, Windham Co, CT
4. Lucy Fassett, born 3 Jan 1759, Pomfret, Windham Co, CT
5. Josiah Fassett, born 12 Aug 1761, Pomfret, Windham Co, CT
6. Reuben Fassett, born 9 Jan 1764, Pomfret, Windham Co, CT
7. Elijah Fassett, born 9 Nov 1766, Pomfret, Windham Co, CT

Spouse: John Pike
Marriage: 16 Feb 1779, Brooklyn, Windham Co, CT

• "Early Connecticut Marriages," database, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/3719/ : accessed 7 Dec 2022), Hannah Fassett - John Pike; from Frederic W. Bailey, Early Connecticut Marriages as Found on Ancient Church Records Prior to 1800, 7 books in 1 volume (Baltimore, Maryland : Genealogical Publishing, 1997), bk. 1, p. 41.

Notes:

Hannah was married in Pomfret, Windham County, Connecticut, where three of her siblings married: Rebecca, Dinah, and Elijah. Her first husband was Josiah Fassett with whom she had at least seven children. He died circa January 1777, when the Pomfret district probate court ordered his estate to be divided and distributed to his heirs.¹

She married as her second husband in Brooklyn, Windham County, 16 Feb 1779 John Pike.

On 5 Jan 1793, John Pike and Hannah his wife ("in her right") of Brooklyn, Windham County, Connecticut, as heirs of Zaccheus Parks (Hannah's uncle) of Lincoln, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, quitclaimed their rights to his estate. Also quitclaiming their rights in the same document were siblings of Hannah, including Elijah Thayer, Phineas Cleveland and Rebecca his wife "in her right", and Dinah Storrs, all of Brooklyn, Windham County, Connecticut.²

Ravenscroft identifies a third husband, Lemuel Stone.³

Sources:

1. Pomfret probate district, Windham County, Connecticut, 3:514-516.
2. Middlesex County, Massachusetts, deeds, 120:27, Isaac Parks et al to Samuel Parks.
3. Ruth Thayer Ravenscroft, Martin Clinton Thayer His Ancestors and Descendants, 4 volumes, (Colorado Springs, Colorado: R. T. Ravenscroft, 1947-48), vol. 1, part 2, p. 87; online at FamilySearch.org (https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/190970 : accessed 23 Nov 2022).

Mary Thayer

Birth: 26 Jun 1735, Mendon, Worcester Co, MA

• Mendon Vital Records to 1850

Death: between 12 Aug 1740 and 14 Oct 1743

• Worcester County, Massachusetts, probate case 58743, Mary Thayer.

Father: David Thayer
Mother: Hannah Parks

Notes:

Mary's grandmother, Mary (Poole) Thayer, widow of Thomas, wrote her will 12 Aug 1740, and left a new bible to her granddaughter Mary Thayer, daughter of her son David. On 14 Oct 1743, she wrote a codicil calling her granddaughter "being since deceased."¹ Mary is not mentioned in her father's will, dated 8 Oct 1750.

Sources:

1. Worcester County, Massachusetts, probate case 58743, Mary Thayer (1745).

Rebecca Thayer

Birth: 8 Apr 1730, Mendon, Worcester Co, MA

• Mendon Vital Records to 1850

Death: before 6 Jan 1795, probably Brooklyn, Windham Co, CT

• "Connecticut, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999," database with images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/9049/ : accessed 9 Dec 2022), Richard Adams (1773), case no. 43; from Pomfret District, Probate Packets, Abbot-Allen, James, 1752-1880, Connecticut State Library; On 6 Jan 1795, Aaron Adams, son of Rebecca and Richard, petitioned the probate court to allow division of the real estate that was set aside for Rebecca, widow of Richard, signalling that she was then deceased.

Father: David Thayer
Mother: Hannah Parks

Spouse: Richard Adams
Marriage: 16 Oct 1755, Pomfret, Windham Co, CT

• Connecticut Vital Records, Pomfret 1705 - 1850, Barbour Collection, Connecticut State Library, 1918, Rebeckah Thayer - Peter (sic) Adams, p. 188, citing vol. 1, p. 105 of the original records; database with images, AmericanAncestors.org (https://www.americanancestors.org/search/databasesearch/414/connecticut-vital-records-the-barbour-collection-1630-1870 : accessed 6 Dec 2022).
• Kendall P. Hayward, "Richard Adams of Sudbury, Mass.; Plainfield and Norwich, Conn.," The American Genealogist, Vol. 23 (1946), p. 144, 147; AmericanAncestors.org (https://www.americanancestors.org/DB283/i/11854/147/23568260 : accessed 10 Jan 2023).

1. Rachel Adams, born 22 Jun 1756, Pomfret, Windham Co, CT
2. David Adams, born 1 Sep 1758, Pomfret, Windham Co, CT
3. Hannah Adams, born 5 Jan 1761, Pomfret, Windham Co, CT
4. Richard Adams, born 26 Apr 1763, Pomfret, Windham Co, CT
5. Aaron Adams, born 10 Oct 1768, Pomfret, Windsham Co, CT
6. Mary Adams, born
7. Eunice Adams, born

Spouse: Phineas Cleveland
Marriage: 27 Jul 1775, Pomfret, Windsor Co, CT

• Connecticut Vital Records, Pomfret 1705 - 1850, Barbour Collection, Connecticut State Library, 1918, Rebeckah Adams - Phinehas Cleaveland, p. 5, citing vol. 2, p. 63 of the original records; database with images, AmericanAncestors.org (https://www.americanancestors.org/search/databasesearch/414/connecticut-vital-records-the-barbour-collection-1630-1870 : accessed 6 Dec 2022).
• Edmund Janes Cleveland, Horace Gillette Cleveland, The genealogy of the Cleveland and Cleaveland Families 3 Volumes, (Hartford, Connecticut: author, 1899), Vol. 1, p. 77-8,154; online at Archive.org (https://archive.org/details/genealogyofcleve01clev/page/76/mode/2up : accessed 10 Jan 2023).

Notes:

Rebecca was married in Pomfret, where three of her siblings were married: Hannah, Dinah, and Elijah.

The Barbour Collection identifies her first husband as Peter Adams, married 16 Oct 1755, but other records imply that his name was Richard Adams. There was a Peter Adams in Pomfret, probably the brother of Richard, but he married Prudence Warren, and the two remained married well past 16 Oct 1755 when Rebecca married. The birth records of Pomfret show children born to Rebecca and Richard in a time frame consistent with the 16 Oct 1755 marriage date. Richard died circa 1773. The division of his estate identified his wife as Rebeckah, and the names and birth order of his children, consistent with the Pomfret records. Josiah Fasset and Peter Adams posted bond. Josiah was administrator.¹

Rebecca married Phineas Cleveland in 1775, a few years after Richard's death. On 5 Nov 1779, per Richard's probate documents, Phineas Cleveland posted bond and was appointed guardian of Richard Adams, minor child of Rebecca and Richard.

In 1790, Phineas Cleveland was living in Brooklyn, Windham County, Connecticut (created from Pomfret) with one female, presumably his wife Rebecca.

On 5 Jan 1793, Phineas Cleveland and Rebecca his wife ("in her right") of Brooklyn, Windham County, Connecticut, as heirs of Zaccheus Parks (Rebecca's uncle) of Lincoln, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, quitclaimed their rights to his estate. Also quitclaiming their rights in the same document were siblings of Rebecca, including Elijah Thayer, John Pike and Hannah his wife "in her right", and Dinah Storrs, all of Brooklyn, Windham County, Connecticut.²

Per Richard's probate documents, Rebecca died before 6 Jan 1795, when Aaron Adams, son of Richard and Rebecca, petitioned the probate court to allow division of "that part of the real estate" that was set out to Rebecca, widow of Richard.

Sources:

1. "Connecticut, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999," database with images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/9049/ : accessed 9 Dec 2022), Richard Adams (1773), case no. 43; from Pomfret District, Probate Packets, Abbot-Allen, James, 1752-1880, Connecticut State Library.
2. Middlesex County, Massachusetts, deeds, 120:27, Isaac Parks et al to Samuel Parks.

Bathsheba Weld

Birth: 4 Dec 1755, Oxford, Worcester Co, MA

• Oxford Vital Records to 1850

Father: Daniel Weld
Mother: Joanna Haven

Daniel Weld

Death: 11 Apr 1783, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA

• Charlton Vital Records to 1850

Spouse: Joanna Haven
Marriage: 3 Apr 1744, Oxford, Worcester Co, MA

• Oxford Vital Records to 1850

1. Daniel Weld, born 28 Feb 1744/45, Oxford, Worcester Co, MA
2. Stephen Weld, born 10 Oct 1746, Oxford, Worcester Co, MA
3. Joanna Weld, born 14 Aug 1748, Oxford, Worcester Co, MA
4. Elizabeth Weld, born 7 May 1751, Oxford, Worcester Co, MA
5. Jonathan Weld, born 27 Sep 1753, Oxford, Worcester Co, MA
6. Bathsheba Weld, born 4 Dec 1755, Oxford, Worcester Co, MA
7. Elizabeth Weld, born 16 Dec 1757, Oxford, Worcester Co, MA
8. Esquire Weld, born 14 Jan 1767, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA

Notes:

Daniel was "of the Country Gore" when he married Joanna in 1744.¹

His will was dated 21 Feb 1783, and his heirs petitioned the court to allow the will on 3 May 1783. The signatories of the petition were Joanna Weld, Daniel Weld, David Thayer, Joanna Thayer, Peter Sleeman and Elizabeth Weld (guardians of the heirs of Stephen Weld), Jonathan Weld, and Esquire Weld, minor. The will was allowed on 4 Nov 1783. In it he left bequests to his wife, Joanna, son Daniel, heirs of his son Stephen, his daughter Joanna Thayer, his son Jonathan, his daughter Elizabeth Lamb, and his son Esquire. He appointed Capt. Samuel Lamb executor.²

Sources:

1. Oxford Vital Records to 1850
2. Worcester County, Massachusetts, probate case 62817, Daniel Weld.

Daniel Weld

Birth: 28 Feb 1744/45, Oxford, Worcester Co, MA

• Oxford Vital Records to 1850

Father: Daniel Weld
Mother: Joanna Haven

Elizabeth Weld

Birth: 7 May 1751, Oxford, Worcester Co, MA

• Oxford Vital Records to 1850

Father: Daniel Weld
Mother: Joanna Haven