david stoddard and elizabeth prouty

I decided to print out an ancestor chart from ancestry.com to see where I had some holes in my family tree. The obvious gaps in my research are mostly on my Italian side, as I do not have access to most of these records. On the other hand, my maternal grandmother's line is one of the lines I have been able to take back at least to the 1700's.  After looking at this chart; however, I did notice I do not have any birth and death dates for one pair of 4th great grandparents, David and Elizabeth Stoddard.  In the past, I have looked in the censuses for more information on this couple, but have been unable to find them.  So I figured I would start again with what I know.

Marriage

I know that David Stoddard and Elizabeth Prouty are my 4th great grandparents from my 3rd great grandfather, David Stoddard's, death record.  The record lists his parents as David Stoddard and Elizabeth, including her maiden name as Prouty, both born in Scituate.

With this information it was easy enough to find David and Elizabeth's marriage record on the ancestry database Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988.  There are multiple entries, showing their marriage intention on January 23, 1819, and their marriage on June 7, 1819.  The multiple records show two different locations for their marriage, one in Scituate and one in Hanover.

One of the records is also in the book on google books, A Copy of the Records of Births, Marriages, and Deaths and of Intentions of Marriage of the Town of Hanover, Mass. 1727-1857:


I always assumed David and Elizabeth were married in Scituate because their children's births are all recorded in Scituate, and their first marriage record I came across was from Scituate.  However; as the record is written above, it looks like they were actually married in Hanover, MA, a neighboring town of Scituate.  Their marriage was probably recorded in Scituate also as that is where they were from.

David and Elizabeth's first child, David Turner Stoddard, my 3rd great grandfather, was born in Scituate on August 13, 1820.  Since he was born in Scituate, I had searched the 1820 census for David and Elizabeth Stoddard in Scituate, looking for this family listed with one son under 5 years old.  I have never been able to find them in Scituate, and did not look too closely at other towns at the time.  After looking at their son's birth date though, I see it is later in the year of 1820, and David and Elizabeth could be living in Hanover before his birth.  I did another search for David Stoddard in the 1820 census in Hanover, MA; and there he was (I think)!  The household consists of :

Males 16-25:1 (david); Females 16-25:2 (elizabeth,?)

There is one person unaccounted for, a female aged 16-25.  This could be a sibling of either David or Elizabeth.  Their son David is also not included in this census, which as I stated above makes sense as he was born in August; probably after the census was taken.  I do think this is the correct David Stoddard, as they have to be living somewhere close and they do not seem to be anywhere else. (see note 1)  Also, the household matches up fairly well.

I usually go on to try and locate all the census records I can when researching a family as these records provide clues to birth dates and other family dynamics.  So my next step was to search the 1830 census. According to Scituate Vital Records, Elizabeth and David Stoddard had two more children, Elizabeth Jane Stoddard born in 1822, and Hannah Lapham Stoddard born in 1824.  Since their children were born in Scituate, David and Elizabeth still might be near Scituate in the 1830s.  I searched for them in the 1830 census in Scituate, but also included other towns nearby just in case.  I did not have any luck finding them this time.

Birth

I at least have one census record; though, so I can estimate David and Elizabeth's birth dates.  They were both between the ages of 16 and 25 years old in 1820, so that makes both of them born between 1795 and 1804.  I also know from their son David's death record, they were both born in Scituate.  Looking at the Vital records of Scituate, Massachusetts: to the year 1850, Volume 1, here are their possible birth dates and parents.

Elizabeth Prouty (p 301):


The only entry that matches with a birth year between 1795 and 1804 is the last one, Elizabeth Prouty, born August 10, 1800 to William and Hannah Prouty.  This does not prove this is her birth date or parents, for many reasons.  I could have the wrong census entry for them and therefore the wrong birth range.  There could also have been other Elizabeth's that were not recorded in Scituate, or Elizabeth may not have been born in Scituate.  Their are also many reasons supporting this birth date though.  The first is the that the date makes sense for Elizabeth, married at age 19 and had children between the ages of 20-24.  I also could not find any other census entries in 1820, and her birth date of 1800 does fall between the age range in that census.  To obtain further evidence of her parents I would look at William and Hannah's probate, deeds, and Elizabeth's death record if I could find it.  If her death was after 1840, it would probably include her parent's names.

David Stoddard (p 339):


The only David that would match our birth range of 1795-1804 from the 1820 census would be the first entry, David Stoddard born Sept 27, 1795 to Hezekiah Jr. and Jane.  (The last entry is David and Elizabeth's son David, my 3rd great grandfather.)  Again for the same reasons as Elizabeth's possible birth date, this does not prove that I have the correct David's birth.  I will also have to look into Hezekiah and Jane's probate and deeds, if any, and David's death record if I can find it.  For all the information I have at this point, this David makes the most sense.

Finding more evidence to support David's birth dates and parents:

• probate - David's possible father, Hezekiah Stoddard (Plymouth probate 19550, year 1817) - appoints a guardian to Hezekiah for excessive drinking and wasteful spending.  No mention of David, or any other children.  David would have been 22 years old.
• deeds:

• there are many deeds for Hezekiah Stoddard but only one mentions a David Stoddard, cordwainer of Scituate, and applies to the probate above of selling off Hezekiah's land by his guardian. (Plymouth deed 133,61).  In this deed David buys 9 acres of Hezekiah's homestead in Scituate.  The deed also mentions Hezekiah's wife Jane; but it does not state David is their son.  David does not keep this land, but sells the same land to Thomas Simmons (Plymouth deed 133,62). Both deeds are dated 1817.

• There are also no deeds for a David Stoddard in Hanover, showing where he got his land. (see note 2)

• There are many deeds for a David Stoddard/Stodder in Hingham, but this seems to be a different David - a bricklayer.  

• death records - could not find for David
• census: the 1820 census includes nearby families of Henry Stoddard and David Prouty - but not sure who they are yet in relation to David and Elizabeth.  Hezekiah Stoddard does sell some land in Hanover to a David Prouty.  (Plymouth deeds 138,194; and 128,229)  Other neighbors include families of Barrell, Damon, Nash and Curtis.

Finding more evidence to support Elizabeth's birth dates and parents:

• probate - no probate for William or Hannah Prouty.  
• deeds - many deeds for William Prouty - none to Elizabeth or David Stoddard.  William does give most of his land to his sons before he dies through deeds, but do not see any for Elizabeth or David, or William's other daughter Hannah.
• death record - did not find death record for Elizabeth Stoddard 
• census : same analysis as David's above.

So I found some connections between Hezekiah Stoddard and David Stoddard, especially in the Hanover area as recorded in some of Hezekiah deeds.  I still have not found any additional evidence to support William and Hannah as Elizabeth's parents.  I really need to find their death records, hoping it will list their parents.

Death

Now that I have possible parent's names for both Elizabeth and David, and I could not find them in the 1830 and on censuses, I did a quick check for their possible parents' households in 1830 to see if they could have been living with them.  They do not look to be living with either parents though.  I looked at Elizabeth's possible siblings also, but again none match up. (see note 3)

So at this point I have only found David and Elizabeth's marriage record in Hanover in 1819, their census record with them living in Hanover in 1820, and their children's births in Scituate, ending in 1824.  I was beginning to think that either David or Elizabeth (or both) had died between 1824 and 1830, since the last record I have of them is their daughter's birth in 1824 and I could not find them in the 1830 and beyond censuses.  Below I list the process I have taken to find their death dates.

• I did not find a death record for David Stoddard in the surrounding towns during the 1820s-1830s.  I also did not find death records for him after 1840.  I think it would be more likely that if he died later in life, the records would  be more accurate and I would be able to find it.  This leads me to believe that David died between 1824-1830, and it was not recorded.  
• I also did not find a death record for Elizabeth.  This could mean that she died young also, and the death was not recorded.  It could also mean; however, that if David died, she remarried.  Maybe I have not been able to find her death record because she has a different last name.
• If both David and Elizabeth died young, they would have left three young children behind.  If this is the case there would probably be probate documents identifying their guardians, which there are none in Plymouth Probate index. 
• I did not find a probate docket for a David Stoddard at this time, but there is a probate docket for an Elizabeth Stodder in 1827 in Scituate.  This could be Elizabeth or the Elizabeth that marries Hezekiah Stoddard, David's grandfather.  Since there is no identifying information in the probate, I am not sure who this Elizabeth is.  There is no mention of any children.  
• If David died before 1830, Elizabeth probably would have been enumerated in 1830.  There is an Elizabeth Stodder living in Hingham, but the household does not match.  She does not seem to be living with family members at this time according to their census households. (see note 3)

The research above leads me to believe that David probably died after his last child was born and Elizabeth remarried.  I have looked for a second marriage record for her in the past, but was unable to find one in Scituate.  Since I know now Elizabeth has a connection to Hanover, I checked their vital records also.  I did find an Elizabeth Stoddard who marries a Perez Drake in 1837 in Hanover.  The entry below is from A Copy of the Records of Births, Marriages, and Deaths and of Intentions of Marriage of the Town of Hanover, Mass. 1727-1857:

This could possibly be our Elizabeth, but it does not give us any information if this is Elizabeth's second marriage.  I searched on the ancestry database, Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, to see if I could find any more information on this event and found one interesting entry.

The marriage intention states Mrs. Elizabeth Stoddard, which means she was married before and Stoddard is her married name.  This looks to be the correct Elizabeth to me, which means David's death was most likely between 1820-1830, or at least before this marriage in 1837.  This still does not explain why I cannot find Elizabeth Stoddard in the 1830 census as a widow.  She and her children must be living with some other family.

Now I have another name to search for Elizabeth, Elizabeth Drake.  I will explore what happened to Elizabeth (Prouty) Drake in my next post.

notes:

1. after I found out who their parents were, I looked at father Hezekiah Stoddard and her father William Prouty and they are not included with these families in the 1820 census.
2. Hezekiah Stoddard does seem to have land in Hanover as he sells some of it, as recorded in the Plymouth deeds.  In at least two of these deeds, David and his possible brother Michael, are witnesses (Plymouth deed 126,190 and Plymouth deed 128,229).   Since Hezekiah owns land in Hanover, maybe David is just living on his father's land and did not purchase it.
3. In 1830 they are also not with possible brothers Elijah Prouty, William Prouty or Lincoln Prouty.  I cannot find Elizabeth's sister Hannah Prouty either, they both do not seem to be with possible father William.  Their brother Isaac Prouty still seems to be in father William's household.  I did not look into David Stoddard's possible siblings household in 1830 because if Hezekiah and Jane are his parents, he would have too many siblings and half siblings to check.  

finding rachel cushing's maiden name

I was searching through my family tree, trying to decide which family to focus on next when I saw that I have not found my 5th great grandmother, Rachel Cushing's maiden name.  One of her daughters, my 4th great grandmother, Deborah Cushing, was married to Joshua Bates Cowing.  I wrote about them in a blog post here.

I have Deborah's death record from the ancestry database Massachusetts, Death Records, 1841-1915.

Death Record of Deborah (Cushing) Cowing

The death record shows us that Deborah was 77 years old when she died in 1892, and her parents are Thomas and Rachel Cushing.  Unfortunately the record does not give us her mother Rachel's maiden name. My next step was to see if her marriage record to Joshua has her mother's maiden name listed.

There are many entries for Joshua and Deborah's marriage intentions in the ancestry database, Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, but none of them state the parents of Deborah. The book, Vital Records of Weymouth, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850: Marriages and deaths, available on google books has the marriage intention date and the marriage date, but again does not list their parents. The book states the date of marriage came from C.R.3, which is a church record of the Union Church of Weymouth and Braintree.  If I find the original source of this record, perhaps there will be more information on this family.

I also found Deborah's birth record using the information I already have.  I know that since Deborah died at the age of 77 in 1892, she was born around the year 1815, to Thomas and Rachel Cushing.  Again, there are many records for her birth in the ancestry database, Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, showing Deborah was born July 23, 1814.  The records do not show her mother Rachel's maiden name though, but they do show that she was a twin to her sister Betsey Cushing.

Deborah Cushing birth record

At this point, my two possible options for finding Rachel's maiden name is to search for Thomas Cushing and Rachel's marriage record which most likely would have Rachel's maiden name; and to search for Betsey's death record which also may list Rachel's maiden name.  I would have to estimate the marriage of Thomas and Rachel to be around 1814, since I know they had at least two children at that time.  I also have to guess that this couple was married in Weymouth, since that is where Deborah and Betsey were born.  Using the Vital Records of Weymouth, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850: Marriages and deaths, I see that there are actually two Thomas Cushings around this time that marry a Rachel.  Thomas and Rachel Hunt and Thomas and Rachel Green.



This narrows it down a little bit, but still does not give a definitive answer as to Rachel's maiden name.  So on to finding Betsey Cushing's death record hoping it will finally give us Rachel's maiden name, to bring this family back another generation.  Since I am guessing Betsey marries, and I do not know her married name, I decided to do a search on familysearch which allows you to search for Massachusetts Deaths using first name and parents' last name.  I started my search in familysearch's Massachusetts, Deaths, 1841-1915, using Bestey as a search term, leaving the last name blank.  I also included parents last name as Cushing.  I found one that matches, showing a Betsey Cushing Smith in Weymouth.  I was very excited to see that it did include her mother's name as Rachel Hunt! Then I saw it had her father's name as David Cushing, not Thomas!  I still think this is the correct Betsey, and that the informer just had her father's name incorrect.  I did do a quick search to see if there was a David and a Rachel that had a Betsey around this time in Weymouth, and I did not find one.

death record of Betsey Cushing Smith

Moving on from vital records, I thought it would be interesting to see if Rachel Cushing is listed in the 1830 census. At this time, the census only listed head of households; but Rachel's husband Thomas most likely died in 1822, according to Weymouth Vital Records. There is a Rachel Cushing in 1830, living in Weymouth.  Her household contains the following:

Males Under 5: 1 (?); Males 20-29: 1 (hiram); Females 5-9: 1 (?); Females 15-19: 3 (deborah, betsey,?); Females 20-29: 1 (?); Females 50-59: 1 (rachel)

There are many people in her household, some I am not sure who they would be shown by the question marks above.  One of her children and their family could be living with her; though none I could find matched perfectly.  One interesting thing to note about the 1830 census is who Rachel is enumerated next to, most likely being her neighbors. Simeon Cushing, probably her son; a Polly Cushing; and an Ebenezer Hunt, maybe her brother.  I would think that this Rachel is probably the Rachel Hunt, not Rachel Green, as she is living near Hunts, and Simeon Cushing's death record states Rachel Hunt as his mother.  Since Deborah Cushing Cowing is from Weymouth in all her records, I assume that her parents are the Thomas Cushing and the Rachel Cushing, head of households, in the Weymouth censuses.

So where is the Thomas and Rachel Green living?  There is no other Rachel Cushing or Thomas Cushing in the 1830 census for Weymouth; however there is another Thomas Cushing with a family in nearby Hingham. The other Thomas Cushing family in Hingham is still living in Hingham in 1850, when the census starts to enumerate every household member.  This Thomas's wife is indeed Rachel, and they have two adult children Rachel A and Almira living with them.  I looked for the death records of Rachel A. and Almira Cushing (d. 1872 and 1871), and both state their mother as Rachel Green, and they were born in Hingham.  So the Hingham Thomas and Rachel is the couple that marries in 1810 (Rachel Green); which leaves the Weymouth couple as Thomas and Rachel Hunt. Again, since Deborah was born in Weymouth, not Hingham, her parents most likely are Thomas Cushing and Rachel Hunt.

At this point, I am pretty sure that Rachel Hunt is the mother of Deborah Cushing Cowing.  Since Rachel and Thomas were married in 1792, she would have been born around 1770.  The Weymouth Vital Records show her possible birthdate in 1771 to Ebenezer and Rachel Hunt.

birth entry for Rachel Hunt

I also looked at Norfolk and Suffolk Deeds to see if Rachel Hunt's possible parents, Ebenezer or Rachel Hunt, sold or handed down land to Thomas or Rachel Cushing.  (Weymouth was in Suffolk County until 1793).  I did find some connections between the Thomas and Rachel Cushing's in Weymouth to the Hunts, as shown in the following deeds.  This provides more evidence that Thomas and Rachel in Weymouth were Thomas Cushing and Rachel Hunt, and most likely parents of Deborah Cushing as she was born in Weymouth, not Hingham. (see note 1)  These deeds also show that Rachel's father was most likey Ebenezer Hunt, as she is listed as an heir to his estate in two of the deeds.

• norfolk deed 20(140) : Ebenzer Hunt Jr. sells land in Weymouth to Jacob Dyer and Thomas Cushing dated 1804 (carpenter and mentions Thomas Cushing and wife Rachel)
• norfolk deed 28(8) : heirs of Ebenezer Hunt divide land in Weymouth -- mentions Rachel Cushing and Thomas Cushing (housewright) - among others dated 1805
• norfolk deed 28(9) : heirs of Ebenezer Hunt divide land in Weymouth -- mentions Rachel Cushing and Thomas Cushing (housewright) - among others dated 1805

Now that I am more certain that Rachel's parents are Ebenezer Hunt and Rachel, I looked in the Probate index, Norfolk County, Massachusetts ... 1793-1900, (page 574).  There are many Hunt probates that may apply to this family, including:

• Ebenezer Hunt probate for 1804, in Weymouth, Number 10268 adm; (this is probably her father)
• Ebenezer Jr., for 1823 in Weymouth, number 10269 adm. (this is probably her nephew)  
• Ebenezer Hunt will in 1832, number 10270, (this is probably her brother)  
• Rachel Hunt, will, 1817, Weymouth, number 10349 (this is probably her mother)

All of these documents may provide more clues into Rachel Hunt's family and provide more evidence connecting Deborah Cushing Cowing to this family.  These documents are not available online at this time, so I will have to wait to obtain them.

One of my final step in finding more information on Rachel Hunt is to look in the History of Weymouth book online at ancestry.com.  I look at this last because I do not like the book to influence my thoughts and change the process I would take to find information in records on my own as they often do not provide their source of information.  I have also found errors in the town history books.  I checked Ebenezer Hunt's entry (p 317) to see if they came to my same conclusions as to his family, which they did.  They also state in this book that Ebenzer Hunt's wife, Rachel Hunt, left a will as I referenced above, (Norfolk Probate 10349).  This will apparently mentions her daughters, including Rachel Cushing. I would still like to obtain this will, to see all the information it provides.

I think there is more evidence to support Deborah Cushing Cowing's parents are Thomas Cushing and Rachel Hunt, rather than Rachel Green.  I reached the following conclusion through:

• twin sister Betsey Cushing Smith death record states parents as David Cushing and Rachel Hunt - probably a mistake with father's first name.
• 1830 census has Rachel Cushing living in Weymouth next to an Ebenezer Hunt, possibly her brother.
• 1850 census has other Thomas Cushing and Rachel Green living in Hingham, children born in Hingham according to their death records - Deborah born in Weymouth.  This couple is in Hingham 1810-1860.
• Norfolk County deeds showing that land in Weymouth was handed down to Rachel Cushing, wife of Thomas Cushing, as an heir to Ebenezer Hunt.
• History of Weymouth book states Deborah's mother Rachel Hunt has a will, Weymouth, which mentions daughter Deborah Cushing.

notes:

1. I also looked at Plymouth county for any deeds that may show a transaction for Thomas or Rachel Cushing in Hingham that were linked to either Greens or Hunts, just to double check.  I did not find any connections to either; maybe because both this Thomas Cushing and Rachel Green were from Weymouth according to History of Weymouth book (p 187), so they probably did not purchase land in Hingham from their families.  

hingham house tour - thomas chubbuck jr house

In my last post, I wrote about the Hingham Historical Society's annual House Tour - and how two of the houses belonged at some point to my ancestors.  This post will show some deeds related to the Thomas Chubbuck, Jr. House.  

The Thomas Chubbuck Jr. House - 1778

Courtesy of Hingham Historical Society

Another house on the Hingham Historical House Tour that one of my ancestors lived in is the house of Thomas Chubbuck, Jr (b. 1757).  Thomas Chubbuck, Jr. is my 5th great grand-uncle, the brother of Sally (Chubbuck) French.  According to the Hingham Historical Society, Jeremiah Chubbuck, my sixth great grandfather, owned this land before his grandson Thomas Jr. built his house here.

The house description from the Hingham Historical website is as follows:

"Thomas Chubbuck, Jr. was a patriot and soldier of the Revolution, serving in the Battle of Bennington in 1777. He was descended from the first Thomas Chubbuck, a large landowner and early planter who arrived in Hingham in 1634. Upon his return from war in 1778, Thomas Jr. built this house atop a knoll in the Liberty Plain area on property owned by his father, Thomas, whose house at 1175 Main Street is also on the tour this year. This land was originally granted by the Town to Robert Peck. Subsequently, it was owned by the Thaxter family from 1641 to 1692 and was then purchased by Theophilus Cushing. It was part of the land that passed to the Chubbucks (detailed in 1175 Main Street history). In 1749, a portion of the land was mortgaged to Harvard University by Jeremiah Chubbuck to pay for his college tuition. Thomas deeded the land to Thomas Jr. who married Joanna Whiton, daughter of Captain Enoch Whiton and Joanna (Whiton), in 1787. Thomas Jr. died shortly after their marriage, and he and Joanna had no children, but Joanna lived here 60 more years until her death in 1850."

The land that this house is on is probably part of the 100 acres purchased from Seth Cushing by Thomas Chubbuck in 1742, recorded in the first deed I wrote about in the previous post, Suffolk County deed 73(164).  I have not found deeds which show how the land is transferred to the later generations of Chubbucks; I am assuming the land was handed down through wills or maybe part of some other deeds of land referenced above.  (see note 1)

I did find the Suffolk County deed 76(147), which records Jeremiah Chubbuck's first transaction with Harvard College.  The college treasurer pays to Jeremiah one hundred pounds for...

"a certain piece or parcel of land situate and being in Hingham aforesaid butted and bounded as follows, viz, eastwardly partly on the highway and partly on the land of Thomas Chubbuck, southerly on the land of Daniel Wyton, west on the river, and northward on Seth Cushing the whole containing by estimation about 40 acres be the same more or less now lying in partnership with my father Mr. Thomas Chubbuck, the land hereby intended to be granted is the one moiety or half part of the above described land and premises..."

dated March 1749

and another Suffolk deed 81(101) records the mortgage of Jeremiah's land to Harvard College; where the treasurer of the college pays fifty pounds for...

"one full moiety or half part of a certain piece of land with the fence thereon situate lying and being in Hingham aforesaid butted and bounded as follows viz southwardly on Accord Pond westwardly on the proprietor's land, and the land of Peter Ripley, northwardly on Seth Cushing's land, and eastwardly on the river, containing in the whole 45 acres..."

dated August 1748

I believe later in the deed it is stated that Jeremiah is expected to pay back the fifty pounds, with interest, and the deed will be void.  The language was a little difficult for me to understand while I was reading it quickly.
I am not sure that Jeremiah did pay the college back, as another deed records a division of land between Jeremiah Chubbuck and Harvard College, Suffolk County deed 87(66).

[Harvard College and Jeremiah Chubbuck] "do hold and enjoy in common and undivided a certain tract of land situate and lying at a place called the great plain in Hingham aforesaid containing in the whole sixty eight acres and thirty eight rods...and is bounded northerly with the land of Enoch Whitten easterly with the country road southerly with Daniel Whitten's land and westerly with the land of Peter Ripley and the said Enoch Whitten...that a partition and division of the same land be made between them...that the divisional line of said tract of land begin at a stake and heap of stones standing in or near the highway nine rods...from the northeast corner of said Chubbuck's dwelling house...college has northerly part containing about 30 acres...southerly part contains about 35 acres to be Jeremiah Chubbuck's... "

dated may 1755 

Eventually, the land that Jeremiah has left, the 35 acres, is probably handed down to his son Thomas, and Thomas' son Thomas, Jr. who builds the house pictured above.

notes:

1. There are some Suffolk County deeds which describe transactions between Seth Cushing and Jeremiah Chubbuck, it looks like Jeremiah and Seth exchange about 100 acres in Hingham back and forth.  It looks like Seth Cushing buys this land suffolk deed 67(236) and 67(237) back from Jeremiah Chubbuck in 1742.  These may be mortgages, as the end of the deed describes how Seth will pay Jeremiah.  Then also in 1742, suffolk deed 70(183), Jeremiah pays 600 pounds to Seth Cushing for part of this land, 100 acres.

hingham house tour - david cushing house

I was very excited when I came across the 89th Hingham House Tour website from the Hingham Historical Society. Unfortunately; I missed it!  I hope they do the same houses next year, especially the David Cushing house and the Thomas Chubbuck, Jr. house.  In the descriptions on their webpage, my Chubbuck ancestors (Thomas, Jeremiah, Thomas, and Sally) are mentioned as having lived in these historic houses that are still standing.

I thought it would be fun to try and track down the deeds related to these houses and my ancestors.  I will tackle the David Cushing House in this post.  I used the familysearch.org database of Massachusetts, Land Records.

The David Cushing House - 1719

Courtesy of Hingham Historical Society

From The Hingham Historical Society's website describing The David Cushing House:

"David died only four years after he built the house and it was subsequently owned by his brother Seth Cushing, before being sold to Thomas Chubbuck in 1742.  The Chubbuck family cared for the house until the early 20th century.  Three Chubbuck men are listed in the History of Hingham as residing at this Main Street property before it passed to Chubbuck daughters. First was Thomas (1674 -1753), then his son Jeremiah (born about 1700), and Jeremiah’s son, Thomas (1732/33, - 1802). It was this Thomas that sold half of the barn and house to his daughter Sarah’s husband, Captain Nathaniel French, and the other half of the house to his daughter Mary’s husband, Daniel Dill.  When Thomas’ son, Thomas, Jr. returned from serving in the Revolutionary War, he built a new home next door at 1191 Main (formerly numbered as 1193 Main), which is also on the tour this year."

Thomas Chubbuck (1674-1753)

The first Thomas Chubbuck mentioned was born in 1674 in Hingham.  He is my eighth great grandfather. The Suffolk County deed 73(164), shows that Thomas Chubbuck, of Hingham, yeoman, paid Seth Cushing twelve hundred pounds for...

"all that my [Seth Cushing] late dwelling house and barn with one acre of land convenient to the same also one moiety or half part of the land adjoining according to the quality as well as quantity thereof lying and being in the township of Hingham aforesaid at a place called great plain the whole of said plans contains by estimation one hundred acres...is butted and bounded easterly with the country road southwardly with the patten line westerly with the undivided lands northward with the land of Enoch Whiton and the heirs of Peter Ripley deceased..."

dated march 1742/1743 

Jeremiah Chubbuck

The above transaction was only 10 or so years before Thomas dies in 1753.  The Hingham Historical Society states that Thomas' son Jeremiah, my seventh great grandfather, also lived in this house.  The only transaction I found that mentions Thomas' land and a house being sold is in Suffolk County deed 90(22).  This deed states Thomas Chubbuck owes a debt to Samuel Clapp of Scituate; therefore, his estate gives to Samuel 1/4 of Thomas' dwelling house, barn, and 1/4 of the acre of land.  (see note 1)  This deed also states that Thomas' son Jeremiah is in charge of the estate.  I am not sure if this is the same land mentioned in the first deed of this post, but I do not see any other deed where Thomas sells his dwelling house to his son Jeremiah.  This deed does show that Thomas has a will, which I will have to find. (see note 2)   Maybe in his will, Thomas gives his dwelling house and land from the first deed to his son Jeremiah.  The History of Hingham book does state that Thomas gives to his grandson Thomas the northeast half of his land at Accord Pond.  Again, I am not sure this is the land where the original David Cushing house now stands.  Thomas does seem to have a lot of land in Hingham, according  to the Suffolk Deeds, so it is hard to tell which land is which.   

 

Thomas Chubbuck (1732-1802)

Another deed may show the David Cushing house being handed down to Thomas Chubbuck, my sixth great grandfather and Jeremiah's son.  Suffolk Deed 100(200), records Thomas' purchase of land from his father Jeremiah.  Thomas Chubbuck, yeoman of Hingham, pays thirty four pounds to Jeremiah Chubbuck, of Hingham, gentleman,...

"all that my [Jeremiah Chubbuck] piece or parcel of land lying and being in the township of Hingham aforesaid is part of my homestead it is butted and bounded north with the land of Samuel Whiten, and west with the land of Peter Ripley, and this line is twenty four rods and sixteen links to a stake and heap of stones and then it runs with the said Jeremiah Chubbuck's land southeast eighty nine degrees...and then with the said Jeremiah's land northeast forty six degrees...and then easterly with the orchard that being one acre and no more, the whole contains fourteen acres..."

dated Sept 1761

Thomas was about 30 years old when he purchased this property, and seems to have spent the rest of his life here.  As the Hingham Historical society notes in their information about the Hingham House Tour, Thomas does eventually sell his house and land to two son-in-laws, Daniel Dill and Nathaniel French.  As the following deeds show; though, Thomas remains in his house probably until his death in 1802, living with his son-in-law and daughter Nathaniel and Sally French, my fifth great grandparents.

Daniel Dill and Nathaniel French

Suffolk deed 167(55), records the transaction of half of Thomas Chubbuck's house to Daniel Dill, the husband of his daughter Mary.  Daniel Dill pays fifty pounds to Thomas for,

"one half of one acre of land in the south parish of Hingham, together with one half of the dwelling house and barn standing thereon, bounded easterly on the road leading from Boston to Plymouth partly and partly on land purchased of the town to begin at the southeast corner of Enoch Whiton land and to run southerly by my said land and the said road til it comes four rods southerly of said barn northerly on land of mortgaged to Francis Barks westerly on my own land and southerly on my own land to run as far westerly to make one acre, also I sell to him three acres of land in Hingham..."

dated 1789

Eleven years later, in 1800, Thomas' other son-in-law, Nathaniel French, my 5th great grandfather, also purchases half of this house from Thomas Chubbuck.  This deed shows that Thomas probably remained in the house and was cared for by Nathaniel.  This transaction is recorded in Suffolk deed 195(149):

"...that I, Thomas Chubbuck of Hingham...yeoman...in consideration of three hundred dollars already paid me by Nathaniel French of Hingham aforesaid mariner in boarding me and for the further consideration that he provide me suitable and comfortable maintenance and support during my natural life and pay all my just debts the receipt whereof I do hereby acknowledge have given, granted, bargained...one undivided half of one acre of my homestead in Hingham aforesaid with one half of the dwelling house and one half of the barn thereon standing the whole lying in common with the other moiety which I sold to Daniel Dill, the said acre of land is bounded as follows viz easterly of land I bought of the town partly and partly on the post road from Boston to Plymouth beginning at the southeasterly corner of Enoch Whiton's land and running with my said land and said road until it goes four rods southerly of said barn southerly on my own land and westerly on Daniel Dill's land partly and partly on Nathaniel French's land and northerly on Enoch Whiton's land - also included in the same consideration one other piece of land containing one quarter of an acre more or less in front of the aforesaid homestead, which last mentioned land I bought of said town of Hingham for the description of which reference being had to the records of said town - also included in the same consideration one other piece of land in Hingham aforesaid containing four acres more or less, bounded easterly on the aforesaid post road partly and partly on Daniel Dill's land southerly on said Nathaniel French's land westerly on Accord pond river and northerly partly on said Nathaniel French's land and partly on said homestead...

dated Aug 1800

notes:

1. I looked through the Suffolk County grantor deed index to see if Samuel Clapp sold this part of the land and house back to the Chubbuck family.  I did not find any deeds for Samuel Clapp selling land in Hingham.  
2. Thomas Chubbuck's (d. 1753) will would be in Suffolk County.  Only v.2-3 indexes for Suffolk County probate are online; which does not include Chubbuck, need vol. 1. 

benjamin whiton and lydia stodder (part 3 of 3)

...continued from previous post

death

Benjamin died on March 6, 1858 in South Scituate, at the age of 86.  The cause of death is listed as old age. Lydia lived 6 more years, died on February 5, 1864 in South Scituate.  She was 85 years old.  She also died of old age.  They are buried at the Liberty Plains Cemetery in Hingham, MA.  I visited the cemetery in May of 2010, and found Benjamin's headstone, broken, lying against a tree.  I don't think I looked for Lydia's gravestone at the time as I remember just happening upon Benjamin's while searching for other ancestors, I will have to go back and check.

From blog post benjamin whiton and lydia stodder

land after death

After Benjamin's death, in 1859, there are some Plymouth County deeds showing Lydia purchases land from her sons Richard and Joel in South Scituate, Abington and Hanover.  These deeds describe that this land was the purchased land by her sons from her husband in 1828 and 1831.  Richard and Joel also sell some of this land to their sisters, Elizabeth Whiting Burrell, and Lydia and Mary Whiting; with Elizabeth purchasing one half of house, and Lydia and Mary purchasing the other half. (Plymouth county deeds 293,130-132 - see note 5)  So the land that Benjamin sold off to his sons remains in the family after his death.

In 1860, Lydia, a widow, is living with her youngest daughter, Elizabeth, wife of James Burrell, in Scituate. According to the census, they are still neighbors with Joanna Whiting French and her unmarried children, Mary, Lydia and Jared.  The historical land ownership map for South Scituate in 1879, shows a more precise location of their land, with sisters Joanna Whiting French and Elizabeth Whiting Burrell across the street from each other, just south of Accord Pond.  The other siblings are not listed on this map, perhaps because they are sharing the house with Elizabeth, or they may be on the Abington side of their land (although I did not find them on the Abington map either).

From blog post benjamin whiton and lydia stodder

probate

Both Benjamin and Lydia left probate records, filed in Plymouth county.  Their son Richard is the administrator for both estates.  Benjamin's file contains an inventory, which is appraised at $88.88, and includes cedar shingles, pine lumber, farming tools, blacksmith tools, grindstones, cross saw and other saws, a cooking stove, 3 guns, beds and bedding, chairs and table, desk, crocken and earthenware, and an old silver watch.  There is no mention of land.  The court allowed his wife Lydia to have $55.00 out of Benjamin's personal estate.  (Plymouth county probates (13, 550); (100, 340); (1z, 29); (9, 461); and (101,389))

Lydia's probate file does mention real estate valuing $444.25 and a personal estate of $348.75; but I was unable to find an inventory in her files.  (Plymouth county probate 108,134)  The land must be from the land she bought from her sons in 1859, after her husband's death.  Another file mentions her personal estate again (Plymouth county probate 110,148)...

Said accountant [Richard] charges himself with several accounts received as stated in Schedule A, herewith/ exhibited,....$396.34

And asks to be allowed for sundry payments and charges as stated in Schedule B, herewith exhibited,.........$367.55

Balance,..........$28.79 

Richard Whiting, adm

The undersigned, being all except Joel Whiting of East Providence, RI, parties interested, having examined the foregoing account, / request that the same may be allowed without further notice.

Lydia Whiting / Elizabeth Burrell / Mary Whiting / Joanna French / Jared Whiting / Maria Howes 

There do not seem to be any files though that show where Lydia's land went after her death. She did not leave a will, and I did not find any other purchases of land in the deed index from her children.  I am not sure if this means that the children would have just automatically received her land after her death, or if there should be other documents created that would state this.

to do:
1. find more information on Benjamin's aunt Abigail - did she marry, when did she die, land, census, etc
2. where did lydia's land go - she had also purchased some from freeman french I think

benjamin whiton and lydia stodder (part 2 of 3)

...continued from previous post


later years of marriage

1830's

As Benjamin and Lydia's children grew older, most did not travel far from them.  In 1830, one married daughter looks to be living in their household, Maria and her husband James Howes/House and their 4 year old son James.  They also have an older woman, aged 70-79 residing with them in 1830.  I am not sure who this would be as both of their mothers had passed by this time.  It could be Benjamin's aunt Abigail, who I wrote briefly about in the last post.  I think she sold her land to Benjamin and his brother Joseph.  This is just pure speculation on my part as to who this woman is though, as I have not looked at Abigail's age, death date, or possible entries of her own in the 1830 census yet.

Males under 5: 1 (james howes); Males 10-14:1 (jared); Males 20-29:1 (freeman howes); Males 50-59:1 (benjamin); Females 10-14:1  (elizabeth); Females 15-19:2 (pamelia, mary); Females 20-29:2  (lydia, maria howes); Females 50-59:1 (lydia); Females 70-79:1 (maybe aunt abigail whiton)

The records do not show that Benjamin and Lydia have any other children after Elizabeth, which gave them a total of 10 children.  All of them, except their first, Jared, lived into adulthood.

1840's

The household for Benjamin and Lydia in the 1840 census has one male between the ages of 20-29.  Their youngest son, Jared, would have been 21 years old.  This would make sense that he is still living with his parents as the records show that he never marries.  Another male between the ages of 30-39 is also living with them, which could be their son Joel who would have been 31 years old.  Joel had not married by this time either, although it is strange he is not included in the 1830 census.  (see note 1)  The only daughter that is living in their household in 1840 would have been Elizabeth, at the age of 19.

1840 Census Scituate, MA

1 male 20-29 (jared); 1 male 30-39 (joel); 1 male 60-69 (Benjamin); 1 female 15-19 (elizabeth); 1 female 60-69 (Lydia); Persons Employed in Agriculture: 1

Six out of the 9 living children are not listed in the 1840 census, but most stayed close to home.  It looks like three of their daughters are all living together in the surrounding town of Abington.  They may be living on the land that their father sold to their brothers in 1828, which is all in the general vicinity of the borders of Scituate, Abington and Hingham; close to what is left of Benjamin's land.  The head of this household in Abington is their daughter Lydia, the eldest at age 37.  The other ages in Lydia's household seem to match up with Mary, age 28, and Pamelia, age 26.  Lydia and Mary never marry according to later census records and their death records.  Their sister Pamelia did marry, but died fairly young in 1843.

Three other children, Maria, Joanna and Richard, are also married by 1840.  Maria stays in Scituate until at least 1846, when her last child is born there; but she does eventually move to Boston by the 1850 census. Joanna is married and living in Abington with her family.  The census does not show that she is near her three sisters listed above; but if she is not living near them in 1840, she and her family eventually becomes neighbors with her sisters and her parents by 1850.

Richard removes to the nearby town of Hingham, MA with his family by the 1840 census and remains there throughout his life.  According to his wife's death record; though, it looks like they were probably living on the North side of Hingham, a little bit away from his siblings and parents.  Richard sold most of his land that he owned in the Scituate/Abington area back to his mother and siblings by 1859. Joel also ends up selling his land in Scituate/Abington back to his family in 1859, and leaves the area for Providence, RI and Seekonk, MA by 1847. (see note 2)

grandchildren

Since 5 out of their 9 living children are residing near Benjamin and Lydia in the Scituate/Abington line area near Accord Pond, they were able to stay close to at least some of their children and therefore grandchildren.  Out of the families that lived close to Benjamin and Lydia, though, Joanna was the only one to have children.  They had 8 grandchildren from their daughter Joanna, all born before Benjamin and Lydia died.  Even though their daughter Elizabeth was married, the census shows she does not have children.  The same for the unmarried children, Lydia, Mary, and Jared.  I also did not find any evidence that Richard, living in North Hingham, had any children.  Benjamin and Lydia's daughter that died young, Pamelia, also did not have children in the census.  Their daughter Maria had 7 children, but seems to have been living in Boston, where it would be likely Benjamin and Lydia did not visit often.  (see note 3).  Their other son, Joel, who moved to RI and later Seekonk, MA looks to have had at least one child, but again, not sure if they were able to visit them.

continued...


notes:

1.  The 1830 census has one male between the age of 20-29 living with Benjamin and Lydia, which I attributed to Freeman Howes, their daughter Maria's husband.  This would make sense as the other ages for Maria and her son James fit, and they are living close to Freeman's parents, head of household Coomb's House.  Coomb's household also contains a male between the ages of 20-29, so it is possible Freeman is still living with his parents, while Maria and her son are living with her parents.  Then that 20-29 male in Benjamin and Lydia's household could be Joel.

2.  Sons Richard and Joel sell land back to mother and siblings in 1859

• Plymouth county deeds 293,130 Their mother, Lydia, widow, purchases parcel of land lying partly in South Scituate and partly in Abington - bounded southerly by the highway, easterly by land of Leonard Cushing, northerly by Accord Pond, and westerly by land of David H. Greely.  Originally land purchased from their father in 1828 (162,253).
• Plymouth county deeds 293,131 Their sister Elizabeth Whiting Burrell purchases the easterly lot of land from land they purchased from their father (162,253), which includes 1/2 of house - to be shared with their sisters, Lydia and Mary.
• Plymouth county deeds 293, 131 : Their sisters, Lydia and Mary Whiting purchase the westerly lot of land from land they purchased from their father (162,253)  which includes 1/2 of house - to be shared with their sister Elizabeth Whiting Burrell.
• Plymouth county deeds 293, 132 : Their mother, Lydia Whiting, widow, purchases 2 1/4 acres of land in Abington from her son Joel.  Bordered easterly by heirs of Joseph Whiton, southerly by land that was just sold to Lydia from Richard and Joel in first deed above.  This is part of the land that Joel purchased from his father Benjamin in 1831 (169,274), and partly land Joel purchased from another deed (173,44).
• Plymouth county deeds 293,133 : Richard purchases from Joel woodland partly in Abington, partly in Hanover, bounded northerly by land just given to Lydia from Joel and Richard.  This is part of same land the sons purchased from their father in 1828 (162,253)

3.  It looks like their daughter Maria continues to live in Boston in 1860, while her husband Freeman is living in Scituate with his sister Lucy.

benjamin whiton and lydia stodder (part 1 of 3)

early years of marriage

Benjamin Whiton and Lydia Stodder, my fifth great-grandparents, were married December 10, 1797 in Hingham, MA.  There marriage is listed a few times in the Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 on ancestry.com.  A heading before one of the marriage entries states that "The persons hereafter named were married by the Rev. Henry Ware, pastor of the First Church in Hingham."  Rev. Henry Ware was later known for his Unitarianism influence in the Congregational religion.  I am a little surprised that Benjamin and Lydia were married in the First Church of Hingham because Benjamin's family lived in the Southern part of Hingham, as I will show later in this blog post.  At this time, there was another church in the southern part of the town, with Rev. Shute as their pastor.  (History of the Town of Hingham / Solomon Lincoln, page 36)

The above database also has a record of intention for Benjamin and Lydia in November of 1797, as seen below.

From blog post benjamin whiton and lydia stodder

1800's

Their marriage intention record indicates that Benjamin and Lydia were both from Hingham, but they did not stay in Hingham for long. By 1800, they are living in Scituate, MA; a neighboring town, with two boys under the age of 10.  I matched the children up to those in the vital records database on ancestry.com.

1800 Census, Hanover (actually states Scituate on lower page)

Benjamin Whiting: 2 males under 10 (Jared and Richard), 1 male 26-44 (Benjamin), 1 female 26-44 (Lydia)

Scituate is in Plymouth County, so I browsed the Massachusetts, Land Records, 1620-1986 available on family search.  I was looking for a purchase of land around the time of their marriage in 1797.  There is nothing listed before 1800 for a Benjamin Whiton/Whiting or a Lydia Stodder/Whiting purchasing land in Scituate in the Plymouth County deed index on family search.  I did eventually come across (by luck) Benjamin's original purchases of land in Scituate (and Abington) after their marriage by looking through other deeds in Plymouth County.  Two purchases are filed in vol. 126 (159).  This volume is for the year 1816; however, these transactions took place in October 1797 and April 1800.  Benjamin, named as a blacksmith, first purchases land in Scituate from Ebed Vining, which abuts his father Benjamin's land.  A couple of years later, he purchases land in Abington, bordering Accord Pond, which also borders Scituate.

1797 Scituate purchase:

Paid by Benjamin whiting 3d of Hingham in the county/ of Suffolk blacksmith/ the receipt whereof I do hereby acknowledge, do hereby hive, grant, sell and convey unto the said/ Benjamin Whiting, 3d his heirs and assigns forever a certain piece/ of land lying in Scituate in the county of Plymouth aforesaid/ containing 114 rods be the same or more or less, butted and bounded/ as follows, beginning at the highway leading from Abington/ to Hingham at the northeast corner of the land of Benj. Whiting, jr/ then runs south fifteen ? ? east eighteen rods with ?/ Benjamin Whiting's land then south seventy one ? east five rods/ nineteen links with the lands of the said Benjamin whiting then north/ twelve ? west twenty one rods and links to the highway...

1800 Abington purchase:

a certain piece of land laying in Abington in the county/ aforesaid containing six acres and a half and 22 rods bounded as/ follows viz beginning at the highway leading from accord/ pond to Hanover, then southwest corner of the land of Thankful/ Dunbar then runs easterly with her land thirty six rods and a/ half to the land of Enoch Dunbar to the line between Scituate and/ Abington then southerly with said lines and said Dunbar land to the/ land of David? Chubbuck twenty five rods and a half then westerly/ with said Chubbuck’s land forty eight rods and then links to the highway/ then northerly with said highway twenty four rods and a half to/ the first named corner...

There is another Plymouth county deed dated after Benjamin and Lydia's marriage, in 1804, which has Benjamin purchasing land with his father Benjamin.  This land is 16 acres lying in both Abington and Hanover from Joseph Jacob. (Plymouth County deed 100, 133)  Although it does not state it in the deed, this land is most likely abutting or at least in the same general area as the first two deeds.  At this time, Abington borders Scituate and Hanover (this part of Abington is now Rockland, and this part of Scituate is now Norwell). Benjamin's father eventually gives this land entirely to Benjamin in his will.

So from these deeds we learn that Benjamin is a blacksmith, and he owns land in Scituate, Abington and Hanover, near Accord pond.  We also learn that Benjamin is close to his father, as he purchases land with him.

The following is a current map of the area where Benjamin owns land (from OpenStreetMap), with Accord Pond in the center. The boundary lines are:  Southwest of Accord Pond is Rockland, (which was Abington when Benjamin purchased the land); to the East of Rockland, is Norwell, (which was Scituate when Benjamin purchased land there); to the North of Rockland and Norwell is Hingham, where Benjamin's father owns land; south of Rockland and Norwell is Hanover, where Benjamin purchases land in 1804 with his father, partly lying in Abington (currently Rockland).


View Larger Map

1810's

Benjamin and Lydia reside in Scituate throughout their lives, as shown by the rest of the censuses.  The 1810 census does not match up as nicely as the 1800 census, though.  According to the Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, they should have 3 sons and 3 daughters by 1810.  Their youngest son would have been Joel, who would only be a year old.  The category of males between the ages of 10-15 only list one son, but they have two at this age, Jared, 12 and Richard, 10.  Maybe Jared at the age of 12 was apprenticed to another family or just living with someone else.  It is also possible the census enumerator mistakenly put one dash instead of two.  I still think this is their family, even with the missing son.

1810 Census Scituate, MA

1 male under 10  (joel); 1 male 10-15 (Jared is 12 and Richard is 10); 1 male 26-44 1 (Benjamin); 3 females under 10 (Lydia, Maria, Joanna); 1 female 26-44 (Lydia)

1815

Benjamin's father, also Benjamin, died around 1815 and fortunately left a will; which shows how he divided his land among his children.  He left his son Benjamin more land adjacent to his land Benjamin already owns. (Plymouth Probate 47,135)

"He gave his eldest son Benjamin 8 acres in Abington, in common and undivided with the land of the said Benjamin, also 1/2 acre of the old place so called, said half acre to be taken off the easterly side of said place adjoining the home lot of said Benjamin, also 1/2 acre of land where his shop stands."

This 8 acres in Abington is part of the deed Benjamin purchased with his father in 1804, which was 16 acres in Abington and Hanover.  The other part of Benjamin's inheritance, the 1/2 acres, were probably in Scituate, where Benjamin must also have had his blacksmith shop.  According to an earlier deed, his father Benjamin purchased land in Scituate and Abington in 1761.  (See note 1 and 2)

1820's

In 1820, Benjamin and Lydia are still living in Scituate.  The 1820 Census matches up with their growing family according to the records found in Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988.  They now have 3 boys and 5 girls.  Their oldest son, Jared, unfortunately died before this census was taken, at the young age of 20 in 1817.  Benjamin and Lydia had another son in 1819, also naming him Jared.  They also have one more daughter after the 1920 census, Elizabeth, born in 1821.

1820 Census Scituate, MA

1 male under 10 (jared); 1 male 10-15 (joel); 1 male 16-25 (richard); 1 male 45 and over (benjamin); 2 females under 10 (mary, pamelia); 2 females 10-15 (maria, joanna); 1 female 16-25 (lydia); 1 female 26-44 (lydia)

1823 

In 1823, Abigail Whiton of Hingham, sells land in Hingham to a Benjamin Whiton of Hingham, yeoman and a Joseph Whiton of Hingham, Cooper.  This seems to be Joseph's family, as Abigail would be his aunt, Joseph his brother, and it is signed by another sibling, Aseneth his sister.  But Benjamin is not usually listed from Hingham, and he is also usually listed as a blacksmith, not yeoman.  This land is for one acre in Hingham to Benjamin (southeast side) and one acre to Joseph (northwest side), bounded northeasterly on Benjamin Whiton land, southeasterly on Abigail Whiton's land, southwesterly on the cartway, and northwesterly on Joseph Whiton's land.  If this is our Benjamin, and there does not seem to be other Benjamin Whiton's in the area at this time, this is the first land he owned in Hingham, where he grew up.  (Plymouth county deed 149,291) (see note 3)  

1828

In 1828, Benjamin sells what seems to be most of his land to his sons Richard and Joel for $750.00. Mentioned in this deed:

• the land Benjamin's house resides on in Scituate
• another lot that lies in Abington and Scituate (lying opposite the first mentioned scituate lot - south of Accord Pond)
• another six acres in Abington that Benjamin purchased from Ebed. Vining
• and finally the sixteen acres Benjamin and his father purchased from Joseph Jacobs in Abington and Hanover.  (Plymouth county deeds 162,253)

The only land not mentioned is the land in Hingham he bought from Abigail Whiton in 1823, if that is even our Benjamin.

1829

In 1829, the estate of Abner Morton sells land to Benjamin Whiton of Scituate containing 1 1/4 acre in Abington and 3/4 of the dwelling house, subject to the improvement of the widow of Abner.  This land is north of Benjamin's land and west of his brother Joseph's land. (Plymouth County Deed 165,263)  I find it interesting that the deed states it is north of his land, as it seems he sold his land to his children already. Apparently, he did keep some of his land.  Only a couple of years later in 1831; however, Benjamin does sell this land from Abner Morton to his son Joel Whiting, shoemaker of Scituate. (Plymouth county deeds 169,274) (Joel sells this land back to his mother after Benjamin's death in 1859 293,132)

1831

Another indication that Benjamin still has land is just a couple of years later, in 1831, there is a judgement against Benjamin Whiton by Bela Tower, for Benjamin to sell some of his land.  Benjamin owes $48.23 to Bela and is ordered to give him the southerly part of his land in Abington, appraised at $58.96 (looks like the court received the difference in sum).  This land contains 9 acres, bounded southerly by partly Tilson Gardner's land and Noah Gardner, westerly on land in the town of Abington, northerly by land of him, Benjamin Whiton, easterly by road leading to Tilson Gardner. (Plymouth county deed vol 173,30)  This is probably the judgement referenced in The court of Common Pleas, 1825-1834, vol. 14/David Thomas Konig p 250.  It seems like this was a difficult time for Benjamin; perhaps that is why he was selling his land to make money to pay off some debts.  He was able to keep most of his land in his family though, by selling it to his sons.

continued...

notes:

1.  I was able to find an earlier deed, from 1761 (Plymouth County Deeds 47,5) with a Benjamin Whiton, cordwainer of Scituate, sells to a Benjamin Whiton, cooper of Hingham, land in Scituate near Accord Pond.  On the preceding page is another deed, where Benjamin Whiton purchases land from Thomas Chubbuck in Abington, bounded north by Accord Pond line between Scituate and Abington (Plymouth County Deeds 47,4).  The purchaser of these lands (Benjamin Whiton, cooper of Hingham) is Benjamin's father, and the seller is most likely his grandfather.

2. One of Benjamin's brothers, Joseph, also receives land about "3 acres lying partly in Scituate and partly in Abington being the remainder of the old lot not already given to Benjamin."  This brother also receives the land in Hingham, where his father Benjamin resided (looking at the Hingham historical map shows where Benjamin grew up in Hingham, very close to the Scituate, Abington border near Accord Pond.)

3.  There was a Benjamin S. Whiting, son of Perez, born in 1815, and lived in the Plymouth area - there are a lot of deeds with this Benjamin purchasing and selling land in Plymouth.  This Benjamin has a brother Charles who I also see much of in census and deed documents.