Thomas Durkee & His Family
Thomas Durkee was the second son of the emigrant ancestor and his wife Martha (Cross). Facts about his life and family have been much harder to obtain than those of his brothers, John and William. For this reason we have been reluctant to feature him in the Newsletter. However, so many of our readers are descended from Thomas that we have decided to present what we do know about him and his family.
Thomas was born about 1666. No record of his birth has been found, but the Durkee Ledger and other sources indicate that he was the second child. Everything that we do know about Thomas seems to show that he was quite different from his brothers. In only one instance was he mentioned as associated with the church, while his brothers were active as leaders and deacons in the various congregations to which they belonged. It may be that he was more like his carefree Irish father than his Puritan mother. Strangely however, it was in Thomas's home that Martha spent her declining years and there that she died.
Little
is known about Thomas's home life, but we do have one brief glimpse.
On August 26, 1696, Bartholomew Gedney, Commander in Chief of the
militia in Yorke, Maine, sent to a Captain Hill, 21 men to relieve
some of his forces. Among these 21 men was listed Tho: Durgy. There
had been sporadic warfare along the Maine coast during King Philip's
uprising between 1675 and 1677 and in 1688 an attack on Penobscot
precipitated the French and Indian conflict with the English of Main
and Massachusetts that is known as King William's War. Thomas must
have been an active member of the local militia and thus been called
upon to help defend the settlements in Maine.
On March 5, 1700/1, Thomas was married to Elizabeth Lord (or Ford). He was nearly 34 years of age at this time, but as far as is known he had not been married before. In spite of serious research on the problem, we have not yet been able to identify the Elizabeth that Thomas married. The vital records of Ipswich, where the wedding occurred, give her name as Ford. However, Hammett the well known historian of Ipswich, records her name as Lord. In the script of the time, F and L are easily confused, thus adding to the problem. For some time we seriously considered that she might be the Elizabeth, daughter of Andrew Ford and Ellinor (Lovell) who was born November 2, 1667. However, as is pointed out in the Ford Genealogy, she would have been 58 years old at the time of her youngest child's birth, which makes her less than a likely candidate.
A survey of the inhabitants of Ipswich show many more Lord families than Fords. There were several whose names were Nathaniel, and as the eldest child of Thomas and Elizabeth was named Nathaniel, we felt that one of these Lord families must certainly be the one we sought. Your editor went to Essex County and read the wills of all Lords dying anywhere near this time period, as well as studying many of the land records. No mention of any Elizabeth was discovered and certainly not one who was married to Thomas Durkee. We also had the prestigious New England Historical and Genealogical Society research the problem and they were not able to arrive at any solution to the mystery either. Thus, the identity of Elizabeth remains unsolved.
For
reasons that are unclear, the birth records for the older children of
Thomas and Elizabeth have never been located. This as caused much
confusion among previous researchers of the Durkee family. The eldest
son, Nathaniel, was placed in the family of his uncle John, although
there was no room for him there and John's family was well
documented. Thomas owned land in Ipswich and probably lived there for
some time, but in 1712 his name appears among the list of inhabitants
of The Hamlet who were petitioning the Ipswich congregation for a
separate church. They indicate that they had been attending church in
Wenham which was an inconvenient distance from them. A search of the
records of Wenham as well as The Hamlet (now Hamilton), failed to
find any entries of children born to Thomas and Elizabeth Durkee.
Their 5th child, Benjamin, was recorded in the Ipswich
records.
Thomas appears to have been the first of the family to investigate
the new land opening up in Connecticut. In July of 1713 he purchased
a parcel of land in
Windham from Thomas Bingham. The land was described as a place known
as Meeting House Hill, and consisted of 100 acres. The price was 19
pounds. In September 1713, Thomas and Elizabeth appeared at the court
in Ipswich to sell a 3 ½ acre parcel of land to John and
Jonathan Whipple. It was apparently not long after this that Thomas
and his family removed to Windham. They were followed shortly after
by Thomas's brothers, John and William and their families.
Five
more children were born to Thomas and Elizabeth in Windham, but alas,
when the youngest was only 18 months of age, Elizabeth died. Thomas's
only daughter, Elizabeth, was already married, so Thomas realized the
necessity of finding another wife, and mother for his children. The
woman he chose was Rebecca Lamb. She was the widow of John Lamb and
had apparently previously lived in Rhode Island. Her parentage is not
known and her birth and death dates have not been found. Two
daughters were born to Thomas and Rebecca.
Shortly after the births of their daughters, Thomas and Rebecca moved to Pomfret, as usual being the first of the family to leave Windham. He owned land in Norwich and may have lived there for a time. In 1742 he removed to Woodbury where he lived until his death.
There is an interesting note which was found in the Connecticut Historical Society Library which states, "Thomas Durkee disposed of all his interests in Norwich in 1742. Another deed says, I, Rebecca Durkee, late widow of John Lamb, but now wife of Doct. Thomas Durkee of Providence...."
This
note raises many questions. First, it supports the date of his
removal to Woodbury. Secondly, it indicates that he may have lived in
Providence, Rhode Island, or perhaps that Rebecca had previously
lived there. (An inquiry was sent to Providence but was not answered.
This will be pursued further.) Thirdly, it raises the possibility
that Thomas was a Doctor. Certainly this would refer to his being a
medical doctor at this point in history. As a detailed inventory of
his possessions has not been located, we do not know if he possessed
medical instruments or not. We do hope to find out about this
possibility.
Thomas died in Woodbury in the spring of 1757 at the age of 91. His wife Rebecca was still living and Thomas specified that the distribution of his estate not take place until two years after both his and Rebecca's deaths. This distribution, which would provide the approximate death date for Rebecca as not been found. Thomas's son, James, was appointed administrator of the estate. The entire text of the will can be found on page 38. No gravestones have been found for Thomas or Rebecca, although they must have been buried in Woodbury. Now, after nearly 230 years, we are still trying to solve the mysteries of this elusive son of William and Martha.
Thomas' Family
NATHANIEL:
Nathaniel Durkee was almost certainly the eldest son, although the date of his birth has not been found. He is mentioned first in his father's will although his bequest was smaller than his brother Andrew's. He was probably born in late 1701. Nathaniel married Mary Baker, on August 11, 1727 in Windham. Mary was most likely the daughter of Joseph Baker and Hannah (Cook), born July 5, 1702 in Norwich, Connecticut. John Baker and his wife Sarah (Davis) have also been mentioned as possible parents of Mary. The eldest children of Nathaniel and Mary were twin daughters, Hannah and Elizabeth, (likely named for their two grandmothers) born February 6, 1728/9. Hannah married Junia Ingraham and had 11 children. Elizabeth married a Gillett but the details of her family have not been found. The next child was Nathaniel, Jr. born December 10, 1730. He married Keziah Martin about 1750 and had 5 known children. This family went to New York and the details of their later life are not known. Jedidiah, the next son was baptized on June 22, 1735 and was probably born shortly before this date. He was living at the time of his father's death in 1760 and received all of Nathaniel's stock, farming implements and carpenter's tools. No record of a marriage or family for Jedidiah has been found. Timothy, the 3rd son was born May 1, 1737 and married Lucy A. Smalley on May 3, 1758. They were the parents of 11 children. They removed to Hanover, Grafton County, New Hampshire about 1770 and to Royalton, Vermont before 1780. Timothy served in the Revolution as a Lieutenant.
A
third daughter, Mary was baptized on July 1, 1739. One daughter,
Hannah Martin Warner, was born to them.
Catherine, was the 4th daughter of Nathaniel and Mary and was baptized March 7, 1741/2. She married Joseph Beeman on June 28, 1759 and had 10 children. The youngest child was Nathan who was baptized on January 31, 1748. He was a minor at the time of his father's death and was not mentioned in the will. However, a guardian was appointed for him on April 21, 1762.
Nathaniel and his family moved to Woodbury about 1737 and Nathaniel wrote his will there in February 1760. He stated that he had disposed of his real estate by deeds of gifts to his children, and the will concerned only his personal estate. Nathaniel likely died shortly after the will was written, but the exact date of his death, or his gravestone have not been found.
Nathaniel's
wife Mary, married Samuel Martin, Sr. in 1768 and more research is
necessary to locate the details on her later life and date of death.
THOMAS, JR.
Thomas was probably the second child and was likely born about 1703. He was like his father, in that the details of his life are not well known. He married Sarah about 1728. A penciled note in the Durkee Ledger gives her maiden name as Peabody, but no proof of this has been found. Five children were born to Thomas and Sarah but only two sons, Thomas, 3rd, was born 5 May, 1729. He married Abijah Smith on March 5, 1755. Reference of some type has been made to 18 children supposed to have been born to Thomas and Sarah including at least 3 sets of twins! This family removed to Hanover, Grafton County, New Hampshire about 1774. Thomas served as a Lieutenant in the Revolution and was prominent in the local affairs of Hanover. He is supposed to have assisted Dr. Eleazer Wheelock in the founding of Dartmouth College but no actual record of this has been found. He died in 1800 in Hanover and his wife Sarah died there in 1809.
A second son, Abijah, was born March 10, 1730/1 but died in infancy. A second Abijah was born March 7, 1731/2. He married Sybil Stone about 1752 and 5 children were born to them. Abijah died in Litchfield in 1762, and Sybil died in 1764. Who raised this young family has not been discovered as yet, but there should be guardianship records in Litchfield. A son, Silas, was born September 15, 1733, but was apparently not living in 1751. A daughter, Elizabeth, was born July 15, 1738 but was also dead by 1751.
Thomas, Jr. left a detailed will dividing a rather extensive estate among his widow and two sons. The home lot alone, was valued at over 1600 pounds. The widow, Sarah, married Solomon Johnson on March 15, 1754.
ELIZABETH:
Of all the children of Thomas, there has been the most confusion
about his eldest daughter, Elizabeth. Her birth was not recorded.
Further, an error in the Webb Genealogy credited her second marriage
to Samuel Webb, to her 
daughter,
Elizabeth. It was only when Thomas's will was located that the true
facts finally emerged. Elizabeth must have been born by 1705 in order
to have been old enough to have married David Fiske on Christmas Day,
1723. David and Elizabeth had 9 children, but only; 4 lived to
adulthood. They were David, born 17 Dec 1726 who married Sarah
Farnham on 26 March 1747; Jonathan, born 4 July 1731, married first,
Elizabeth Scott, on 9 Aug. 1750 and second, Sarah Leach on 16 March
1762; Asa, born 28 May 1733, married Elizabeth Knight on 19 March
1755; and Elizabeth, born 6 March 1735/6 who married her cousin,
Joseph Durkee on 27 Nov. 1753. Elizabeth, the mother, married as her
second husband, Samuel Webb, on 14 May 1752 in Windham. She died in
1788.
JOSEPH:
One of the most serious errors in the Durkee Ledger, was the omission of Joseph, 3rd son of Thomas and Elizabeth. He removed early to Preston, Connecticut and married there Abigail Hodge on March 10, 1729/30. Abigail was the daughter of Henry Hodge and his wife Sarah (Welch). She was baptized in 1713 in Preston. Joseph and Abigail had 6 children. Joseph, born April 7, 1731, married his cousin Elizabeth Fiske, daughter of Elizabeth (Durkee). They had 12 children all born in Windham. This family later removed to Stockbridge, Vermont. The second child was
Robert, born January 29, 1732/3. He married Mehitable Paine, June 3, 1755 and had 10 children. They moved about a great deal, living in Canterbury and Woodstock, Connecticut, Brimfield, Massachusetts and Newport, New Hampshire.
The first daughter, Abigail, was baptized on October 5, 1735. She married Stephen Chapman on May 24, 1759, in Woodstock, Connecticut. 3 children were recorded in Woodstock. It is likely that they then moved to another location where additional children were born. Unfortunately, we have not discovered where they moved and have no further information on Abigail's family. Another child was born to Joseph and Abigail and was baptized on August 21, 1737. The name and sex of the child was not recorded and it died in 1739. A son, Moses, was baptized on October 7, 1739 but he died young and another son, also named Moses, was baptized on May 24, 1741. This younger Moses was left out of the Durkee Ledger entirely and it was only through the efforts of Anson and Sadiebeth Lowitz that his descendants have been identified. The name of his wife has never been discovered. Moses lived in New York and served in the Revolutionary War. His pension record was instrumental in solving some of the mysteries about his life.
It most have been shortly after the birth of the younger Moses, that the father Joseph died. Abigail was remarried to Benjamin Bugbee on January 5, 1744 and had 5 more children by him.
BENJAMIN:
Benjamin
was the first of Thomas's children to have his birth recorded. He was
born February 6, 1711/12 in Ipswich and moved with his family, as an
infant, to Windham, Connecticut. He removed to Norwich as a young
man, and there married Sarah Abell on August 1, 1738. Two daughters
were born to them: Sarah, on October 30, 1740 and Margaret on January
22, 1741/2. In March of 1744 Benjamin apparently became ill, for on
the 24th of that month he dictated his will. He left
one-third of his estate to his wife, Sarah and the other two-thirds
to his daughters, Sarah and Margaret. Benjamin died on 11 May 1744.
His wife Sarah and her brother, Josuah Abell were the administrators
of the estate. The eldest daughter, Sarah, married John Bryant on 17
April 1765 and had nine children, all born in Norwich. It may have
been the widow, Sarah, who married Jacob Dresser on April 15, 1767 in
Killingly, Connecticut, but if this was so, she had been a widow for
over 20 years.
ROBERT: 
Robert was the first of the children born in Windham, and his birth there helps to date the arrival of the Durkee's in Connecticut. He was born on December 10, 1713. He married Hester Warren on April 25, 1738. She was the daughter of David Warren and his wife Patience (Thomson) and was born in Plainfield, Connecticut on 9 December 1721. Robert and Hester were the parents of 9 children, the first born in Windham and the rest in Woodbury, Connecticut. The eldest was a daughter Hester who was born 14 April 1739 and died the following month. The first son, David was born on 6 February 1740/1. He married Mary Warner and had 7 children. David was a blacksmith and removed to Plymouth, New Hampshire and later to Pittsfield, Vermont. He served in the French and Indian Wars and died in Pittsfield in 1835. A second son, Joseph, was born to Robert and Hester on 30 April 1743 but died in 1759. The next child was a son, Benjamin who was born August 18, 1745. He married Susanna Clark on 1 October 1766 and had 12 children. Benjamin was a Revolutionary War soldier and later removed to Augusta, Oneida County, New York, where he died on January 7, 1812.
The next child was Sarah, born 3 November 1749. She died in 1757. Eunice was born 16 June 1751 and married Aaron Olds, 22 April 1771. They removed to Vermont in 1783. Eunice died in Poultney about 1806. A son, Asa, was born December 28, 1754 but died, unmarried in 1778. Sarah II, born August 5, 1757 married Samuel Slade and had 7 children. They lived in Hanover, New Hampshire. The youngest child was Lois, baptized on 21 June 1761. She married Ingram but the details on her family have not been located. Robert and Hester remained in Woodbury all of their lives and Robert died there on 28 June 1771. Hester died in 1780.
ANDREW:
Andrew
was born 2 February 1715/6. He married Mary Bartholomew about 1738
but the record has not been located. Their eldest child was
Bartholomew, born 14 January 1738/9. He married Ruth Keyes on 6
October 1761 and had 13 children, all born in Pomfret, Connecticut.
Bartholomew removed to Sheldon, Vermont where he died in 1807. The
eldest daughter, Eunice, was born 15 May 1741 and married Seth
Chandler on 5 June 1760. They had 11 children, all born in Woodstock,
Connecticut. Eunice died there in 1824. The next daughter, Mary,
baptized 17 July 1743, married Ebenezer Dresser, but nothing is known
about her family. The second son, Benjamin, was born 22 July 1745. He
married Johanna Williams on 25 August 1768. He has often been
confused with his cousin, Benjamin , son of Robert Durkee. Benjamin
and Joanna had 11 children, all born in Pomfret. Benjamin died there
in 1813. The next daughter was Elizabeth, born 12 October 1747. She
married Benjamin Ruggles and had 6 children born in Pomfret. It is
thought that this family then moved to another location where more
children may have been born, but where this was is not known. Persis
was born 29 October 1751 and married Stephen Cole. They were the
parents of 13 children, the first 6 born in Pomfret and the next 4 in
Amherst, Massachusetts. The family later moved to Concord, Vermont
where Persis died in 1723. A daughter Sarah, was born 26 January 1756
but died in 1758. A second Sarah (called Sally) was born 17 November
1760. She married John Lee and also lived in Amherst, Massachusetts.
She had one daughter, Sally, and probably other children.
The father, Andrew died of Smallpox on 3 January 1761 when the youngest child was only 2 months old. He was apparently too sick to write a will but his estate was inventoried and distributed in Pomfret. One third of the rest was divided among the children. The house itself was divided, with access to the various rooms being specified as well as the use of the well, the oven and the barn. The inventory and division was done by Nathaniel Clark, Seth Paine, Jr. and William Sabin. The widow, Mary, married as her second husband, Nathaniel Carpenter on May 6, 1765.
SOLOMON:
Solomon was born 14 December 1717. No record of his death has been located, but he was not mentioned in his father's will and is thought to have died young.
JAMES:
James was born 3 June 1721. He married Lydia Pitcher on October 22, 1745 in Woodbury. This family was featured in the Winter 1983 issue of the Durkee Family Newsletter (Vol. II, #4). They removed to Washington County, New York and are known as the Fort Edward Durkee's. James was the administrator of his fathers estate.
Tom Skarbek recently located the ledger book of a Stephen Bill in Argyle and Fort Edward. There is an entry for James Durkee, Sr. on May 8, 1809. This certainly indicates that James was still living at that time. He apparently did not write a will.
NATHAN:
Nathan was the youngest child of Thomas and his first wife Elizabeth. He was born 27 December 1725 and was only 18 months old when his mother died. He probably considered his stepmother Rebecca Lamb as his mother and was raised with her 2 daughters. Nathan married Anne Gifford on 19 December 1749. They had a son, Nathan, Jr., born 10 February 1750/1 but the mother, Anne, died on 3 July 1752 and the child died the following year, 6 October 1753. On December 11, 1753, Nathan married a second time to Mary Hyde. She was the daughter of John Hyde and his wife Sarah (Haskins). Mary was born 19 April 1738 in Norwich. Nathan and Mary had four children: Anna, born 1754, Nathan II, born September 1755, Benjamin, born 1757 and John Hyde, born 1759. Nathan apparently died suddenly on 14 November 1759. The estate was administrated by Silas Hide (Hyde), likely a brother of Mary's. However, no mention of Mary or the children is made in the inventory and distribution of the estate. Much of the estate was sold at auction, apparently to settle debts. Nathan had evidently served in the militia, as a sword and belt were listed among his possessions. He also owned a sea chest and some rather fancy cloths for the time, including a Beaver Hat, a scarlet vest and a blue coat. Little is known about Mary and her family after Nathan's death. Anna, married a Field but nothing is known about her family. Nathan II married Phebe Bliss and removed to Lebanon, New Hampshire. They had 6 children. Benjamin apparently died young. John Hyde was a merchant and sea captain. He settled in Salem, Massachusetts and is said to have drowned, leaving a widow but no children.
MARY:
Mary was the first child of Thomas and his second wife, Rebecca
Lamb. She was born on February 28, 1728/9. She married Isaac Johnson,
Jr. and had 4 known children. It is likely that this family moved
elsewhere and had more children. He known children were Stephen
William, born 2 June 1749, married Mary Smith; Jonathan, born 30
November 1750, married Celia Anthony; Abigail born 9 September 1752,
married John Cumbo; and Anna, born 22 August 1754, married Aaron
Griswold.
ANNE (AMELURGE):
The youngest daughter, Anne, was born April 10, 1731. She married a Pitcher, likely a relative of her aunt, Lydia Pitcher, wife of James Durkee, but nothing about her family has been found.
