Nehemiah Brown and his Ancestors The Heaths

Kensington seal

Nehemiah Brown was the son of William Brown and Anne Heath of Kensington, New Hampshire.  He was born 28 Nov. 1717. Kensington was not incorporated until 1737, it was a parish of Hampton, so his birthplace would have to  be said to be Hampton. Nehemiah married Anne Longfellow on 26 January 1737 in Kensington. 
Anne was the daughter of Nathan Longfellow and Anne Green.  She was born 2 August 1719 in Hampton Falls. 

I have looked at both the ancestors of Nehemiah and Anne Heath on ancestry.com and on the internet and junky genealogy abounds. I know that the immigrant ancestor of Nehemiah was a John Brown, but which John Brown is any ones guess at this point. See my article on the John Browns of New England.

Bartholomew Heath and Hannah Moyce

Anne Heath's immigrant ancestor was Bartholomew Heath. Bartholomew was born in England, probably around 1616. He was deposed in 1657 and gave his age as 41. He died January 14, 1681 so he died around age 66. It is not known where he was from in England or when he came to America.  He is traditionally lumped in with the William Heath family from Nazings, England, who sailed on the Lyon in 1632, but as his name nor his brother's for that matter, was on the manifest there is no way to prove it. There also does not seem to be any family connection between them in the colony. Some people say that Bartolomew lived with the William Heath Family in Roxbury, when they first arrived, but that is useless speculation, because there is no proof.

Bartholomew may have come at the same time as his brother John Heath. They were in Newbury, Massachusetts by 1640. Bartholomew married Hannah, daughter of Joseph Moyce, probably by 1641-2 as his first child was born in 1643.  The family moved to Haverhill by 1645. 

Sadly, most of Bartholomew and Hannah's children died in infancy.  Only three children reached adulthood and only John and Josiah were alive at the time of his death. 

The children of Bartholomew and Hannah were:

1. John, b. Aug 14, 1643 in Newbury Ancestor d. 1706
2. Joseph b. ? in Newbury,  d. 1672
3. Joshua b. Feb 12, 1646/7 in Haverhill died  August 1647
4. Hannah b. Sept 3, 1648 Haverhill died Nov. 9, 1668
5. Josiah b. Sept 4, 1651 Haverhill d. 1717 Haverhill
6. Elizabeth b. Mar 19, 1653/43 Haverhill d. Jan 28, 1654/55
7. Benjamin b. Aug 8, 1656 Haverhill d. June 29, 1657
8. Elizabeth b. Sept 5, 1658 Haverhill  d. Feb 11, 1659


haverhill

Newbury, Massachusetts was first settled in 1635.  Haverhill was founded in 1640 by settlers from Newbury.  By 1645 there were over thirty land owners in Haverhill, including Bartholomew, his brother John was not listed at that time.  Bartholomew was made a freeman in 1648. In 1650 Bartholomew and a few others were allowed to exchange their land in the plain" for land west of "the little river".  He sold some of his land for 8 pounds in 1651. His brother John was in Haverhill by 1657 when he, Bartholomew and others entered into an agreement with a blacksmith for the town. In 1665 Bartholomew entered into an agreement to repair, maintain and operate a mill for the town.Bartholomew was chosen as selectman in 1643, 1648,  on 30 November 1660, and in 1667/8. 

In the Records and Files of the Quarterly Court of Essex County is found an interesting item.  On October 11, 1664, the court was held in Hampton.  Bartholomew Heath was on the Grand Jury.  Steven Dow and his wife Ann were presented by the Grand Jury for fornication, they confessed and were sentenced to either to a whipping, not to exceed 10 stripes, or to pay a fine of 20 shillings. They chose the fine, and Bartholomew Heath paid it. I wonder why, was it just a loan or did he pay it for them?

His brother John died Jan 17, 1674/75. Bartholomew's family was mentioned in his will. John apparently had no surviving children, so he is neglected by family researchers.

Some ancestry sites list the parents of Bartholomew and John as John and Alis Bartholomew Heath from Salisbury, Wiltshire England.  But no one has any supporting evidence to back up this claim. Robert Charles Anderson wrote a bio of several Heath's who came from Nazeing, England including brothers William and Isaac and he did not include John or Bartholomew. Others speculate that Bartholomew was the son of William Heath, but completely leave John out of the picture. 

St. Mary's Dennington, Suffolk

Joseph Moyce and Hannah Folcorde
Hannah Moyce, daughter of Joseph and Hannah Folcorde Moyce was born in Dennington, Suffolk, England in 1618.  Hannah was baptized at St. Mary the Virgin, Dennington on September 6th of that year. Joseph and Hannah were married 22 November 1609. They seem to have only had three daughters in Salisbury all born 1618 and after.  I wonder what happen in the nine years from their marriage until Hannah was born. 
Joseph was one of the original proprietors of Salisbury, Massachusetts.  He received lands in 1640 and 1641. In 1644 he sold his "new house", land and all things around it to Richard Currier.  In 1649 his name is listed as a land owner in Haverhill, but he does not seem to have ever lived there. He was taxed in 1650 and 1651 to pay the minister of Salisbury.  He again received land in 1654.  His wife Hannah died in 1655. It is not known when Joseph died, there is no will or probate records. 

John Heath and Sarah Partridge

John Heath, the son of Bartholomew and Hannah, was born in Newbury, but raised in Haverhill, Massachusetts.  He married 14 November 1666 in Salisbury to Sarah Partridge. Sarah was the daughter of William Partridge and Ann Spicer. They had the following children, all born in Haverhill:
1. Bartholomew b. Sept 3, 1667 d. 4 Aug 1704 Killed by Indians
2. Sarah b. 26 March 1669 died same year
3. Elizabeth b. 1 March 1669/70 d. 9 Dec 1683 age 13
4. Hannah b. 3 May1673 m. 1691
5. John b. 17 March 1674/75 d. unknown
6. Martha b. 30 Nov. 1677 m. George Goldwyer (2) Robert Pike d. 1713
7. Nehemiah b. 11 May 1680 d. Jan 14 1717/18 he was a sea-captain, lived in Hampton 
   Falls m. Mary Gove of Hampton, will probated at Hampton
8.  Rachael b. 23 July 1682
9.  Ann b. 30 June 1684 m. William Brown d. 7 Aug 1765 Kensington
10. Sarah b. 22 April 1688

Hannah Dunston weilding her hatchet

In 1697 Haverhill was attacked by Indians during King William's War, the first of the French and Indian Wars.  Almost 40 people were killed at that time. Hannah Dunston was taken captive by the Indians. She became a hero to the colony when she killed her captors and escaped back to Haverhill. 
 War flared up again in 1704, this time called Queen Anne's War. Bartholomew Heath, son of John and Sarah Partridge, was not so lucky, he was killed during this uprising. John and Sarah also lost children at a young age. Almost no one reached old age without the loss of children or  other close family members.
According to Hoyt John and Sarah died in Hampton, New Hampshire, other books say Hampton, Mass which does not exist.  In about 1740 or so Haverhill, Mass was divided and part of it became Hampstead, New Hampshire. John's will is not found in the New Hampshire probate records. Maybe he and Sarah were living with one of the children in Hampton. John is said to have died in 1706, age 63 and Sarah in 1718, age 71.

Genealogical and Family History of the State of Maine, Vol 3, by Henry Sweetser Burrage
Massachusetts Vital Records
History of Haverhill, George Wingate Chase
Great Migration 1620-1632, Robert Charles Anderson
Genealogy of Richard Currier, Harvey Lear Currier
Old Families of Salisbury and Amesbury, Hoyt