Polley Morey

Birth: 11 Dec 1782, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA

• Charlton Vital Records to 1850

Father: Ephraim Morey
Mother: Hannah (--?--)

Notes:

She was probably the Polly Morey who married Chester Rice in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, 21 Sep 1806.

Simeon Morey

Birth: 13 Nov 1784, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA

• Charlton Vital Records to 1850

Father: Ephraim Morey
Mother: Hannah (--?--)

Notes:

A Simeon Morey engaged in land transactions in Milford, Otsego County, New York, in the early 1800s, where his presumed brothers, Nathan, Leonard, and Amzi were know to be living. He is probably the Simeon Morey who left probate records in Otsego County, circa 1813.

A Worcester County deed refers to Simeon Morey of Milford, Otsego County, New York, and his wife Abigail.¹ He is probably the Simeon Morey who married Abigail Hastings 20 Mar 1808 in Brookfield.

Sources:

1. Worcester County deeds, 181:165, William Hastings et al to Oliver Crosby (1810); FHL 845589, image 444 of 692.

Tirzah Morey

Birth: 29 Aug 1790, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA

• Charlton Vital Records to 1850

Father: Ephraim Morey
Mother: Hannah (--?--)

Hannah Hobbs

Birth: about 1750

• "Obituary," death notice for Mrs. Hannah Morey, third wife of Major Ephraim Morey, The Moral and Political Telegraphe or Brookfield Advertiser (Brookfield, Massachusetts), 11 May 1796, p. 3, col. 4; GenealogyBank.com, accessed 16 June 2024.

Death: estimated 4 May 1796, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA

• "Obituary," death notice for Mrs. Hannah Morey, third wife of Major Ephraim Morey, The Moral and Political Telegraphe or Brookfield Advertiser (Brookfield, Massachusetts), 11 May 1796, p. 3, col. 4; GenealogyBank.com, accessed 16 June 2024.
• Charlton Vital Records to 1850; Says 4 May 1797, but that was several months after he married his fourth wife, and a full year after Mrs. Hannah Morey's death notice in the newspaper.

Father: Josiah Hobbs
Mother: Mary Harrington

Spouse: George Watkins
Marriage: 26 Feb 1776, Brookfield, Worcester Co, MA

• Brookfield Vital Records to 1850

1. Gardner Watkins, born about 1777, Sturbridge, Worcester Co, MA
2. Sylvester Watkins, born about 1778

Spouse: Ephraim Morey
Intention: 24 Jan 1795, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA

Marriage: 26 Feb 1795, Brookfield, Worcester Co, MA

• Brookfield Vital Records to 1850

Notes:

Their Charlton intention calls him Major Ephraim Morey of Charlton, and her Mrs. Hannah Wadkins of Brookfield.¹

Her Charlton death record calls her the third wife of Ephraim, and says she died 4 May 1797, but this is incorrect.² Her death notice appears in the 11 May 1796 edition of The Moral and Political Telegraphe or Brookfield Advertiser, and reads as follows:³

"Died - At Charlton, Mrs. Hannah Morey, third wife of Major Ephraim Morey, aged 46, in about two years after the death of his second wife, of a cancer."

This resolves the conflict between the death date of Hannah, Ephraims third wife, which, according to the Charlton records, occurred after the date of his marriage to Abigail, his fourth wife.

Sources:

1. "Massachusetts, U.S., Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988," database with images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/5325710:2495 : accessed 16 June 2024), Major Ephraim Morey and Mrs. Hannah Wadkins (1795), Charlton, Births, Marriages and Death, image 60 of 1179; Charlton town clerk.
2. Charlton Vital Records to 1850.
3. "Obituary," death notice for Mrs. Hannah Morey, third wife of Major Ephraim Morey, The Moral and Political Telegraphe or Brookfield Advertiser (Brookfield, Massachusetts), 11 May 1796, p. 3, col. 4; GenealogyBank.com, accessed 16 June 2024.

Abigail Hobbs

Birth: about 1749

• Sturbridge, MA, Vital Records to 1850; Age 88 at death.

Death: 21 Feb 1837, Sturbridge, Worcester Co, MA

• Sturbridge, MA, Vital Records to 1850.

Father: Josiah Hobbs
Mother: Mary Harrington

Spouse: Elias Brown
Marriage: 26 Feb 1769, Brookfield, Worcester Co, MA

• Brookfield Vital Records to 1850

Spouse: John Boyden
Marriage: 26 Feb 1776, Brookfield, Worcester Co, MA

• Brookfield Vital Records to 1850

Spouse: Ephraim Morey
Intention: 26 Nov 1796, Charlton, Worcester Co, MA

• Charlton Vital Records to 1850

Marriage: 21 Jan 1797, Sturbridge, Worcester, MA

• Sturbridge, MA, Vital Records to 1850.

Notes:

Her Sturbridge marriage record to Ephraim Morey refers to her as Abigail Boyden, widow.¹

A quitclaim deed in Worcester County, dated 5 May 1802, from Mary Hobbs, Nathan Hobbs, Lydia Hobbs, Ephraim Morey, Abigail Morey, Sylvester Watkins, and Gardner Watkins to Moses Hobbs identifies all the signatories (which includes the grantors) as "widow, children, and grandchildren, heirs at law of Josiah Hobbs late of Brookfield."² At the time of the deed, Ephraim was married to the widow Abigail Boyden, who was an heir of Josiah Hobbs, as were Sylvester and Gardner Watkins, whose mother, Hannah (Hobbs) (Watkins) Morey, was deceased. Also signing the deed were John Boyden (son of Abigail from her previous marriage to Capt. John Boyden), and Abijah Brown (son of Abigail from her first marriage to Elias Brown).³ This ties Ephraim's wife, Abigail, to her previous husbands - Elias Brown and John Boyden - and to her sister, Hannah (Hobbs) (Watkins) Morey.

Sources:

1. Sturbridge Vital Records to 1850.
2. Worcester County, Massachusetts, deeds, 153:250; FHL 844359, image 475 of 708.
3. See Sturbridge Vital Records to 1850 for birth of John Boyden, and Lincoln Vital Records to 1850 for birth of Abijah Brown.

George Watkins

Birth: 29 Mar 1753, Sturbridge, Worcester Co, MA

• Sturbridge, MA, Vital Records to 1850.

Death: 29 May 1788, Sturbridge, Worcester Co, MA

• Sturbridge, MA, Vital Records to 1850.

Spouse: Hannah Hobbs
Marriage: 26 Feb 1776, Brookfield, Worcester Co, MA

• Brookfield Vital Records to 1850

1. Gardner Watkins, born about 1777, Sturbridge, Worcester Co, MA
2. Sylvester Watkins, born about 1778

Notes:

Son of George and Deliverance, per Sturbridge birth record.

Sylvester Watkins

Birth: about 1778

• "Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1925", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N7R7-D28 : accessed 16 June 2024), Sylvester Watkins (1843), Sturbridge deaths, vol. 9, p. 157, Massachusetts State Archives, Boston; FHL 959807, image 386 of 797.

Death: 25 Oct 1843, Sturbridge, Worcester Co, MA

• "Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1925", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N7R7-D28 : accessed 16 June 2024), Sylvester Watkins (1843), Sturbridge deaths, vol. 9, p. 157, Massachusetts State Archives, Boston; FHL 959807, image 386 of 797.

Father: George Watkins
Mother: Hannah Hobbs

Gardner Watkins

Birth: about 1777, Sturbridge, Worcester Co, MA

• "Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1925", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N7VG-BBR : accessed 16 June 2024), Gardner Watkins (1851), Sturbridge deaths, vol. 59, p. 189, Massachusetts State Archives, Boston; FHL 959814, image 668 of 702.

Death: 17 Feb 1851, Sturbridge, Worcester Co, MA

• "Massachusetts State Vital Records, 1841-1925", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N7VG-BBR : accessed 16 June 2024), Gardner Watkins (1851), Sturbridge deaths, vol. 59, p. 189, Massachusetts State Archives, Boston; FHL 959814, image 668 of 702.

Father: George Watkins
Mother: Hannah Hobbs

Notes:

Son of George and Hannah Watkins, per death record.

Josiah Hobbs

Spouse: Mary Harrington
Intention: 7 Apr 1774, Weston, Middlesex Co, MA

• Town of Weston, Births, Deaths, and Marriages 1707-1850, Gravestone, 1703-1900, Church Records, 1709-1825 (Boston: McIndoe Bros, Printers, 1901), p. 573; online at Archive.org (https://archive.org/details/cu31924028839847/page/52/mode/2up : accessed 16 Jun 2024).

1. Abigail Hobbs, born about 1749
2. Hannah Hobbs, born about 1750

Notes:

He was probably the Josiah Hobbs of Brookfield who filed intention to wed Mary Harrington of Weston, Massachusetts, 7 Apr 1744 in Weston, on the same day that John Hobbs of Brookfield and Beulah Warren of Weston filed intentions there.¹ The will of John Hobbs of Brookfield, dated 2 Feb 1778, proves that he had a wife named Beulah, and that his brother was Josiah Hobbs.²

See notes for Abigail Hobbs (about 1749 - 1837).

Sources:

1. Town of Weston, Births, Deaths, and Marriages 1707-1850, Gravestone, 1703-1900, Church Records, 1709-1825 (Boston: McIndoe Bros, Printers, 1901), p. 573; online at Archive.org (https://archive.org/details/cu31924028839847/page/52/mode/2up : accessed 16 Jun 2024).
2. Worcester County, Massachusetts, probate case 29797, John Hobbs (1778).

Elias Brown

Death: Feb 1774, Lincoln, Middlesex Co, MA

• "Massachusetts, U.S., Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988," database with images, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/41395757:2495 : accessed 16 June 2024), Elias Brown deat (1774), Lincoln, Births, Marriages and Death, image 221 of 1092; Lincoln town clerk.

Spouse: Abigail Hobbs
Marriage: 26 Feb 1769, Brookfield, Worcester Co, MA

• Brookfield Vital Records to 1850

Notes:

Per record of marriage to Abigail Hobbs, Elias Brown was from Lincoln.

John Boyden

Death: 22 Feb 1795, Sturbridge, Worcester Co, MA

• Sturbridge, MA, Vital Records to 1850.

Spouse: Abigail Hobbs
Marriage: 26 Feb 1776, Brookfield, Worcester Co, MA

• Brookfield Vital Records to 1850