Ignatious Perkins (born 1720 Plympton, Mass) and Keziah Davis

Ignatious (or Ignatius) Perkins, my seventh great-grandfather, was born 15 July 1720 at Plympton, Plymouth Co., Mass., the son of Luke and Ruth (Cushman) Perkins. I wrote about Luke and Ruth here.

Ignatious married Keziah Davis on 10 November 1743 in Freetown, Bristol Co., Mass. 

Keziah was born in Freetown on 9 March 1724/25, the daughter of William and Keziah (Cudworth) Davis. 

Assonet River in Freetown (source: Wikipedia)

Freetown was settled by the English in April 1659 on the banks of the Assonet River. It remained part of Plymouth Colony until that colony merged with Mass Bay Colony in 1685.

Ignatious and Keziah had six children, recorded at Wrentham but first four likely born in Freetown:

David born 1 February 1743/44; m. Zilpha Hathaway

Ignatious born 18 May 1746

Luke born 25 January 1747/48; m. Margaret Pierce; served in the Revolutionary War and died from a wound to his foot.

John born 3 June 1750

Ruth born 5 August 1752

William born 12 October 1754

I descend from Ruth who married Jesse Pierce. I haven’t done much research on Ruth’s siblings and would love to hear from any of their descendants.

Ebenezer Peirce wrote that Ignatious is said to have been lacking much of being a saint, but I haven’t found exactly what he is referencing.

source: Wikipedia

Most of what I know about this family is in thanks to Paul Bumpus’s article in the September 2006 Mayflower Quarterly. He wrote that four of Ignatious’s children were born in Freetown. He moved to Wrentham by 1752 when daughter Ruth was born there. The family eventually returned to Freetown. 

In 1762, Ignatious was listed as a blacksmith living in Freetown. He came from a long line of blacksmiths, including his father, Luke Perkins.

From Plymouth Court Records (12: 332-334):

David Stockbridge Esq. (Hanover) attached Ignatius Perkins (Freetown                             

Blacksmith). Trespass on the Case, on 3-month note dated 21 October

1762 for 8 dollars (or 48s.) with interest. Pltf. said that on 18 March

1763 Chase endorsed the note to pltf. or his order, and pltf. notified

deft., who promised to pay but later refused to pay, to pltf.'s damage of

£10. Default by deft. Judgment for £2.12s.1d. and £2.1s.9d. costs. 

Locations and dates of Ignatious and Keziah’s deaths have not been discovered.  

Sources Not Listed Above:

Ebenezer W. Peirce, The Posterity of William Davis of Freetown, NEHGR, Vol 20, July 1866

Ebenezer W. Pierce, The Peirce Family, NEHGR, Vol 22, 1867

Paul Stanton Bumpus, Ruth Perkins, Daughter of Ignatious Perkins of Freetown, Mass…, Mayflower Quarterly, September 2006