Jonathan Bumpus, ca 1769 to 5 February 1847, of Wareham, Massachusetts, Husband of Martha Chubbuck: Was He the Son of Noah and Hannah Bumpus?

I wrote about Jonathan Bumpus in a 2013 blog post, at which time I had his parents as unknown since the information I previously believed about his parents being Thomas and Mercy (Stewart) Bumpus seemed to be based on incorrect information on his death record. I knew he descended from Edward 1 and Hannah (—?—) Bumpus, but did not know how. I am grateful to Thomas Slocum for his recent tip that Jonathan was born 20 February 1749 at Wareham to Noah Bumpus and Hannah Bumpus, so I have delved into that possibility. 

My question: Is Jonathan Bumpus who married Martha Chubbuck the son of Noah and Hannah Bumpus born in 1749?

My answer: I am unsure, but it seems unlikely.

Jonathan Bumpus son of Noah and Hannah Bumpus:

Jonathan Bump was born Wareham, Massachusetts, on 20 February 1749/50  to Noah and Hannah (Bump) Bump. [Wareham Births, Marriages & Deaths, book A, page 9]  His parents were first cousins. He is a descendant of Mayflower passenger Richard Warren through daughter Mary Warren and her husband Robert Bartlett. Their surname is spelled in a variety of ways, most commonly Bumpus, Bumpas, and Bump.

Jonathan Bumpas is named in his maternal grandfather John Bumpas’ will dated 24 June 1763 and proved 5 Nov 1764. John names his grandchildren Lucy, Jonathan, and Deliverance, children of deceased daughter Hannah Bump/Bumpas. [Plymouth County Probate Records 19:135, 333]

If this Jonathan is the man who married Martha Chubbuck at Wareham on 7 January 1790, he was 39 years old and 14 years his wife’s senior. Not an everyday occurrence, but not impossible.

What I do know: 

Jonathan Bumpus of Wareham is my 5th great-grandfather on my grandfather Arthur Washburn Ellis Davis’ side of the family. He was born about 1769 based on his age at death of 78. 

On 7 January 1790 Jonathan Bump and Martha Chubbuck, both of Wareham, were married by Rev. Noble Everett. [Wareham First Church Records p 51] Intentions published in Wareham 1789. [Coldren-Walker]

Martha was born Wareham 29 February 1764, calculated from her age at death which of course is not also accurate. I have not discovered Martha’s parents with any certainty, although given the uncommon surname I believe she is descended from Nathaniel Chubbuck of Wareham who wrote his will in 1740 and had a daughter Martha. Nathaniel was the son of John and Martha (Beal) Chubbuck. John was one of the 1682 purchasers of Agawam (later Wareham). I recently discovered the identities of two of Martha’s sisters named in a deed as Mercy Maxim and Abigail Kenney (more on this deed below) but so far this new clue has not helped me find her parents.

In online trees she is often conflated with an earlier Martha Chubbuck, born Wareham 1741, daughter of Benjamin and Ruth (Besse) Chubbuck, and married Nathan Muxhom/Maxim.

Jonathan and Martha (Chubbuck) Bumpus had eight children, all born Wareham. There births are unrecorded but are all named in their father’s will and some have Jonathan and Martha identified as parents in their death records:

1. Olive P. born 16 July 1790 (calculated from age at death) just seven months after her parents’ marriage; married Shem Bumpus [his death record states he is son of Noah Bumpus Jr, and therefore grandson of Noah and Hannah Bumpus]; died Wareham 28 September 1864, 74/2/12, typhoid fever, parents Jonathan Bumpus and Martha C. [MA VR VR 175:347]

2. Etsel/Hatsil born 12 April 1794 (calculated from age at death); married (int.) Lucy Smith 15 July 1827 [MA VR p 139]; served War of 1812 [Bumpus]; died Wareham 1 December 1851, 57/7/19, palsey,  [MA VR 1841-1910 58:194]

3. Jonathan born 2 March 1795 (calculated from age at death); married Ruth Pierce; died Wareham 19 September 1874, 76/6/17, cancer, parents Jonathan Bumpus and Martha Chubbuck [MA VR 266:329]

4. Hosea born May 1797 (calculated from age at death); married Delia Bennett 10 October 1822 [MA VR p 242]; died Wareham 20 January 1863, age 65/8, widower, pneumonia, parents Jonathan and Martha [Wareham VR Book A, p. 319]

5. Ruth C. born 2 February 1802; married Jonathan Bumpus 17 May 1821 [death record shows son of Noah Bumpus Jr, and therefore grandson of Noah and Hannah Bumpus]; died Wareham 10 May 1866, 64/3/8, liver inflammation, parents Jonathan Bumpus and Martha Chubbuck  [MA VR 193:334]

6. Rowland Sturtevant born 20 January 1804; married Lucy Nye Pierce 5 September 1825 [Wareham VR p 245]; died Wareham 29 April 1853, 49/3/9, parents Jonathan and Martha Bumpus, died of consumption after returning from gold rush in California. [Mass. VR Vol. 76 p. 226]

7. James born 11 March 1810 (calculated from age at death); married Ruth Bumpus 26 May 1831 [Bumpus]; died Wareham 27 July 1866, 56/7/15, dysentery, parents Jonathan Bumpus and Martha Chubbuck [MA VR 193:335]

8. Martha C. born 1811 (calculated from age at death); married Charles Bumpus 19 September 1827; died Wareham 6 March 1865, age 54, parents Jonathan and Martha Bumpus, cannot decipher cause of death but she was sick for 12 months [MA VR p 19]

I descend from Rowland whom I wrote about here.

All of Jonathan and Martha’s daughters married Bumpus men so all the children kept that surname! In that generation there are three Ruths and two Jonathan/Ruth couples. James and Martha’s spouses were siblings, as were Jonathan and Rowland’s. They all stayed in Wareham to raise their own families. Talk about a crowded gene pool!

Bumpus, later Bump, was an early name in Wareham where they lived along Weweantic River on which stood the Bumpus mill. [History of Mattapoisett & Rochester]

Jonathan was a miller. [death record & Bumpus] From his inventory and other records we see he was also a farmer.  In a Wareham list of livestock markings, recorded 7 December 1802, Jonathan Bump’s mark is a hollow crop in the right ear & a half penny ye upper side & a half penny ye under side of the right ear & a half penny ye under side of the left ear with a crop cut ye foreside of the left ear. [Wareham Town Records 1719-1892, page 303 on Ancestry]

Lawsuits involving Jonathan Bumpus—the first one is likely him and the second his son or son-in-law [Benjamin Fearing is likely Israel Fearing’s son who were Wareham mill owners]:

• At the Plymouth Court of Common Pleas begun 10 April 1820, Israel Fearing Esq. (Wareham) v. Jonathan Bumpus (Wareham Yeoman). Case, on note dated 1 November 1797 for $98.80, payable on demand with interest, "from the first day of December then next." Default by deft; judgment for $211.79 and $8.46 costs.  [Plymouth Court Records 1686-1859, 28:28-33]
• At the Plymouth Court of Common Pleas begun 6 December 1847, Benjamin Fearing (Wareham Trader) v. Jonathan Bumpus (Wareham Laborer), and his trustees Lewis Kinney, Francis Carr, and Josiah H. Hall (all Wareham Manufacturers and partners under the firm of Lewis, Kinney, and Co.), and Nicholas Shearman and Samuel Shearman, Gentlemen, (both of Wareham). Case: for $100 for goods sold and delivered; for $100 for work done and materials found; for $100 for money lent; for $100 for money received; for $100 "for money due from the Deft. to the Pltf. for interest of money before then due and owing. Default by deft. Judgment for $69.80 and $11.73 costs. Execution granted against the goods of the deft. in the hands of the trustees. [Plymouth Court Records 1686-1859, 36: 167-172]

Plymouth County Deeds pertaining to Jonathan Bump/Bumpus of Wareham; not all this Jonathan if he was born 1769:

• Benjamin King of Plymouth sold for £4 13s 4d paid by Jonathan Bumpus of Wareham, yeoman, his one quarter part of a lot of fresh meadow of about 30 acres lying on the Wareham River. It is land that he and his brother Samuel King bought of Miss Washburn and Edward Washburn of Plympton in 1738. Dated 26 Sept 1761. Witnesses were Betty Lothrop and Thomas Witherell. Rec. 31 March 1772, No. 102, 56:180.
• Jonathan Bump of Wareham “cordwinder” to Benjamin Fearing, gentleman, for £4 1s 4p, land at Wareham nigh my dwelling house on the west side of the Country Road that I bought of Joseph Doty, about 14 acres, 28 March 1772. Rec. 14 April 1772, No 134, 56:190. 
• Jonathan Bumpus: Israel Fearing Esq of Wareham recovered the court’s April judgment against Jonathan Bumpus of Wareham for the sum of $211.79 damages and $8.45 costs plus 25 cents more for the writ. We command you take Bumpus and commit unto Gaol in Plymouth and he pay the full sums. Witnessed by Nahum Mitchell Esqr at Plymouth 17 April 1820. Rec. 18 July 1820, No. 820, 140:255.
• Jonathan Bumpus and wife Martha Bumpus of Wareham, yeoman, in consideration of our support, love and affection and one dollar paid by our grandchild James Francis Bumpus, all real and personal estate in Wareham, consisting of a lot of land near Muddy Cove which Mercy Maxim & Abigail Kenney formerly owned, and at their deceased it descended to aforesaid Martha Bumpus, she being the only surviving sister. Includes all beds, bedding, chairs, tables, clothing and other furniture. Dated 28 March 1845, both Jonathan and Martha signed by mark. Rec. 14 April 1845, no. 446, 215:235. This deed was an incredible find as it names Martha’s sisters, but so far I have not found them with certainty in records. 

The mention of Israel and Benjamin Fearing in the court records and deeds is interesting. Isaac Bump born Scituate in 1681, the son of John and Sarah Bump and grandson of Edward 1, was Wareham’s miller. He built a gristmill adjacent to his homestead near the Agawam River. In 1747, Isaac and Elizabeth Bump sold their home and mill to Israel Fearing and moved to Connecticut. Israel’s son Benjamin Fearing expanded the structure in 1765 and the historic building remained in the family for over two centuries when it was acquired and restored by the Wareham Historical Society as the Fearing Tavern Museum. 

Perhaps Jonathan did not own a mill but rather worked for Israel and Benjamin Fearing. This would help explain why he died in debt as mill owners were typically well-off financially.

Martha Bumpus died 5 April 1845 at Wareham, from influenza, age 81 years 1 month 6 days, married, husband Jonathan Bumpus, informant John Bourne. [Deaths in the Town of Wareham, p 13, at Family Search “Massachusetts Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records 1626-2001”]

There is also a death record for “Mrs [unreadable] wife of Jonathan Bumpus” died 29 March 1845. [Records First Church Wareham, p 13]

Jonathan died in Wareham on 5 February 1847. He was 78,  a miller, died of old age. [MA VR 27:136]

If there were gravestones for Martha and Jonathan, they do not survive. Many family members are buried at Agawam Cemetery in Wareham.

Jonathan’s probate is Plymouth County Probate Record No. 3277. There is no mention of a mill. In his 22 March 1845 will, Jonathan Bumpus of Wareham, yeoman, being in ill health, left bequests:

• His dear wife (but no name given) use and improvement of dwelling house, the lots on which it stands and all other buildings, household furniture, all other person property during her natural life [Martha died a few weeks after the will was drawn]
• Grandson James Francis Bumpus to receive all, after legacies paid, that he left to his wife after her decease “in consideration of his faithful service to me”
• Each of his children to receive $1. Olive wife of Shem Bumpus, Hatsil Bumpus, Hosea Bumpus, Jonathan Bumpus Jr., Ruth wife of Jonathan Bumpus Jr., Rowland Bumpus, Martha the wife of of Charles Bumpus, and James Bumpus. 

He named William Bates Esquire of Wareham executor. He signed by his mark. Witnessed by Albert S. Hathaway, Albert Herriman, and Israel F. Nickerson. Will proven 8 June 1847 when William Bates appointed executor, and Herriman and Nickerson made oath to the will. One person appeared to object thereto, but no details given. On the same day William Bates as principal, Silvanus Bourne, and Benjamin Churchill, were bound for $1,000 on the estate of Jonathan Bumpus. 

Sadly Jonathan left over $212 in debt that included probate expenses. One of the debts owed was $20 to James F. Bumpus, presumably his grandson, and $32 to daughter Martha Bumpus.

His estate was valued at $259.75 and included his dwelling house at $183, cart, cow, fowl, clock, looking glass, light stand, various furniture, household and farming items. The inventory was appraised by William Benson, Consider Benson, and Francis Carr. William Bates made oath to the inventory 7 August 1847 and it was recorded book 89, page 324. 

To pay off the debts of his estate, the personal property of Jonathan Bumpus was sold on 18 August 1847:

Looking glass and light stand .08 by Cyrus Stewart

Milch cow 20.60 Cyrus Stewart

3 axes and 1 lot of iron hollow ware 3.00 Lewis Kinney

Dwelling house, out buildings and fencing 100.00 Lewis Kinney

Feather bed, bedding and bedstead 7.00 Lewis Kinney

2 tables, 1 chest of draws, 1 hand cart, iron, ___ 2.13 Lewis Kinney

Lot crockery, tin and glassware .90 Jonathan Bumpus [likely his son]

Lot wearing apparel .60 Jonathan Bumpus [likely his son]

Baskets and measures .50 Otis Pierce

Stove and apparatus 12.00 Perez Johnson

Chest .25 Isaiah Russell

Clock 1.25 Amos Covill Jr.

Lot domestic —?— .50 Frederick Stewart

Pan .06 Ruth Bumpus [likely his daughter]

Basket, hats etc. .98 Etsil Bumpus [son]

Total 149.82 [was appraised for $259.75]

Signed Wm Bates

How heart breaking that the children had to purchase some of their parents’ belongings at an auction.

William Bates accounting of the estate is recorded book 90, page 423:

Coffin and other funeral expenses 8.42

Horse and carriage to notify witnesses to attend probate court .62

Ditto to probate court in Plymouth 4.00

Horsekeeping .50

3 witnesses/1 day 1.30[?] and their transportation 40 miles 1.60 and 4.80 total 7.80

Horse & carriage to notify witnesses to attend Probate Court at Rochester .75

Recording deed from Jonathan Bumpus and wife to James F. Bumpus .50

Horse and carriage for witnesses & myself to Probate Court Plymouth 7.00

Expenses at Plymouth for board and housekeeping  1.85

2 witnesses 1 day 2.00; 2 travel 40 miles 1.60 3.20 Total 5.20

Horse and carriage to notify and qualify appraisers .50

Appraisers services 1.50

Premium of insurance on dwelling house 1.50

Policy of ditto 1.00

Expenses to probate courts Plymouth 2.00

Total 43.14

Amount of sale of property 149.82

Ditto of expenses paid 43.14

Looking after property 1.85

Auctioneer 1.00

Tax on property .44

Payment Silvanus Bourne, Moses Tobey as commissioners 2.00

Expenses to Plymouth .13

James Thurber for advertising appointments of commissioners etc. 2.00

Balance 50.66

Personal services viz:

Notifying witnesses to attend court .75

Attending probate court 3.00

Notifying witnesses to attend court .75

Attending probate court Plymouth 3.00

Writing and posting notices .75

Notifying and qualifying appraisers 1.00 

Probate court at Plymouth 3.00

Writing and posting notices of sale of property 1.00

Taking care and preparing property for sale 2.50

Writing bill of sale for house 1.00

Attending probate court Middleboro 3.00

Attending ditto with commissioners 2.19

Subtotal 21.94

Total 72.60

Signed by Wm Bates, 4 Dec 1848

Foregoing account examined and allowed. Aaron Hobart, judge of probate, same date. 

I am surprised given the precarious financial state of Jonathan’s estate that one of his children didn’t act as executor to save money.

Arguments for Jonathan being the son of Noah and Hannah Bumpus:

His parents are given as Noah and Hannah Bumpas in a Mayflower Descendant article by Julia Coldren-Walker and Christopher Challender Child [see Sources]. So who am I do disagree with the well-regarded Mayflower Descendant?!

In searching Wareham records, he is the only Jonathan Bumpus in records of the small-town at the time to be close to the right age to marry Martha Chubbuck. 

If Jonathan son of Noah and Hannah is not the husband of Martha, then he likely died young or left the area as there is no sign of him in records. 

Arguments against Jonathan being the son of Noah and Hannah Bumpus:

Jonathan Bumpas who died in 1847 was 78 years old, so a circa 1769 birth year, which does not match age of Noah and Hannah’s son. This death record does fit to be Jonathan who married Martha as he wrote his will in 1845 and is was proven in 1847. 

I have not found even circumstantial proof of his being Noah and Hannah’s son such as family naming patterns or being named in his father’s probate record which contains no names of children. 

Birth year of 1750 doesn’t match with age on most Federal census records, however year of 1769 does frequently work:

In the 1790 Federal Census there is just one Jonathan Bumpuss in Wareham: 1 male 16 and over, 2 females. My analysis: This would be Jonathan, wife Martha, and their daughter Olive. Other Bumpuss heads of family on the same page: Samuel, Noah [his possible father], Benjamin, Asa [likely son of Noah], Lot, Joseph x 2, Silvester, Barnabas, James, Jeremiah x 2, and Mary.  

Jonathan Bumpus in 1810 Federal Census for Wareham: 2 white males under 10; 1 white male 10-15; 1 white male 16-25; 1 white male 26-44; 2 white females under 10; 2 white females 16-25; 1 white female 45 and over; 5 household members under 16; 2 members over 25. 10 total family members. My analysis: Total household members nearly fits (they’re 8th child wasn’t born until 1811), but other particulars are off, especially that if Jonathan was born 1750 he would have been 60 years old. Jonathan born 1769 would be 41 which fits; and Martha born 1764 would be 46 which fits as well. 

In the 1820 Federal Census, Wareham, the Jonathan Bumpus household has 1 male under 10, 1 male 45 and over, 1 female 10-15, 1 female 16-25, 1 female 45 and over, for 5 total. My analysis: age 45 and over fits to be Jonathan and Martha, daughter Martha is about 9 so close to the 10-15 range, James is about 10 so close to under 10 range, Ruth is 18 so in the 16-25 range. The rest of the children were grown and off on their own—Rowland was only about 16 but may have been off working already.  On the same page is Shem Bumpus (their daughter Olive’s household), Jonathan Bumpus Jr (son), Noah (Jr), Asa Bumpus (son of Noah).

In the 1830 Federal Census, Wareham, in the only Jonathan Bumpus household in town is a fit to be Jonathan Jr. I don’t find Martha and Jonathan living with one of their children or their grandson James either.

There are three Jonathan Bumpus’ in the 1840 Federal Census living in Wareham. This is most likely: one male 60-69, 1 female 70-79, one person is employed in manufacture and trade. My analysis: age range is correct for Martha, close for Jonathan born 1769. Next door is James Bumpus, likely their son or grandson. Two doors away is his son Jonathan Bumpus 3rd with a large family of twelve. Three doors away is son Edsel Bumpus, also a son. 

Sources:

Leonard H. Smith Jr & Norma H. Smith, Records of the First Church of Wareham, Massachusetts,1739-1891, 1993 (reprinted from 1974) 

Daisy Washburn Lovell, Glimpses of Early Wareham, 1970

Lynn Albert Bumpus, A Genealogy of the Descendants of Edouad Bompasse of the Ship Fortune, 1986

Mrs John Barclay, The American Genealogist,”The Bumpus Family of New England,” vol. 43 (1967)

Julia Coldren-Walker & Christopher Challender Child, The Mayflower Descendant, “The Hicks Family of Mashpee, Massachusetts: Wampanoag Descendants of Pilgrim Richard Warren,” 68:5 21 (2020)

Robert S. Wakefield, Mayflower Families Through Five Generations: Richard Warren, Volume 18, Part 1, General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1999

Prepared by Committee, Mattapoisett and Old Rochester, Massachusetts, Being a History of These Towns and Also part of Marion and a Portion of Wareham, 1907

Zachariah Damon ca 1654-1730 and His Wife Martha Woodworth of Scituate, Massachusetts

Zachariah Damon was born about 1654 at Scituate, Massachusetts, the son of John and Katherine (Merritt) Damon. His birth is not recorded, but the relationship is proven by father John Damon’s will, brother Daniel Damon’s will, and in various land records. His first name is sometimes Zechariah in records and last name Daman or Damen. I wrote about John and Katherine Damon here. His is my 9th great-grandfather on my grandfather Arthur Washburn Ellis Davis’ side of the family.

Zachariah was a Lieutenant in the Scituate militia and served in King Philip’s War. Scituate suffered greatly during the war—13 dwelling houses and their barns burned (including the home of his sister Deborah), one saw mill burned, six heads of family and others were killed, and many more were badly wounded. [Deane] On 22 July 1676 some soldiers received their service pay in lands—Zechariah Daman received land valued at £6 6s 1d. [Records of the Colony of New Plymouth, hereafter PCR, 5:206]

Zachariah married Martha Woodworth in June 1679 at Scituate. [Scituate VR 2:96] Martha was born about 1656 at Scituate, the daughter of Walter Woodworth and his wife whose name is not known. [Sumner]

Martha and Zachariah had eight children born Scituate [1-7 recorded Scituate Vital Records 1:125; No. 8 named in father’s will]:

1. Martha born July 1682; married Edward Jenkins 6 September 1705 [Scituate Marriages 1640-1801 on Family Search] and moved to Cohasset 
2. John Damon born June 1684; married Temperance Nye 13 October 1712 in Sandwich [Scituate VR 2:220]; read they removed to Lebanon, Connecticut but have not confirmed this
3. Zachariah born June 1686; married Mehitable Chittenden 6 December 1711 [Scituate VR 2:96]; died Scituate June 1764 [Gravestone on FindaGrave.com; buried First Parish Cemetery, Norwell] at age 78
4. Daniel Damon born March 1688; married first Bathsheba Silvester 3 January 1711/12 [Scituate VR 2:257] and second Jemima Stetson 27 July 1721 [Scituate VR 2:282]; died Scituate 11 December 1733 [Scituate VR 2:380] at age 45
5. Mary born March 1690; married Thomas Tobey 12 July 1711 [MD 2:170]
6. Abigail born October 1692; married John Perry (son of John 2, Ezra 1) 26 October 1716 [Scituate VR 2:97] and had nine children born Sandwich; died Sandwich April 1764 [Brownson & McLean] at age 71
7. Hannah born November 1694; married Deacon Elijah Perry 7 March 1722/3 [Scituate VR 2:234] and had eight children born Sandwich; died Bourne 11 August 1790 [Brownson & McLean] at age 95
8. Mehitable born about 1696; married Jonathan Merritt  8 Jan 172[last digit worn possibly 7] [Scituate VR 2:101]; died 31 March 1751, Columbia, Tolland County, Connecticut [“Mehitobel Mearrit” gravestone inscription on FindaGrave.com]

Abigail and Hannah married Perry brothers. I descend from Mary. I wrote about Thomas and Mary (Damon) Toby here.

Zachariah owned Conihasset land in Scituate, receiving land from his father John who was an original Conihasset Partner in 1646 and obtaining additional land on his own.

Land transactions involving Zachariah:

• 22 July 1676 Zachariah Daman was one of the group of 30 purchasers of Showamett Neck which included his brother Daniel Daman. This land, between Taunton and Swansea, was conquered lands as a result of King Philip’s War, now the town of Somerset. The cost of each share was £26 13s 4d. Selling the land was a means of raising money in relief of taxpayers and those who sustained losses or injuries during the war. [Bristol County Deeds, 14:432-35]
• 18 July 1695 Jonathan Jackson conveyed land to Zechariah Damon and Israel Cowing [Bangs p 60]
• 18 July 1695 laid out to Richard Sillis his share and now claimed by Jonathan Jackson 8 acres of land that is part of a 20 acre lot in the 4th division. Said land [five acres later mentioned] alienated to Zachariah Damon. [Bangs p 119]
• 23 Jan 1698/9 Jonathan Jackson and Zachariah Damon both of Scittuate exchanged five acres of Conihasset land; Jackson sold for 12 shillings five of the eight acres to Damon that he had taken up in the right of Richard Sillas as part of the 4th division. [Bangs p 120-121]
• 24 June 1699 Taken up by and laid out for Zechariah Daman in the right of Richard Seallis 3.5 acres in the fifth division of seven acres to a share of Conhassett land. [Bangs p 117]
• 4 May 1700 Zechariah Damond sold land to Ebenezer Mott [Bangs p 61]
• 6 Sept 1701 land laid out to William James in the right of Richard Sillis to Jonathan Jackson or to Zechariah Daman. [Bangs p 173]
• 3 June 1703 Jonathan Jackson and Zechariah Dammon sold to Timothy White one whole 30th part or share of upland and marsh in Cohasset. Share that appertained to Richard Sealis deceased. Both signed. [Bangs p 454]
• 12 May 1704, Zechariah Damman of Scituate sold to Job Otis, 1.5 acres of land in the sixth division, part of share that appertained to Richard Seallis, deceased. [Bangs p 494]
• 12 May 1704 Zechariah Damon sold land not yet taken up (granted in the right of Richard Sealist) to Job Otis. [Bangs p 63]
• 4 May 1712 Zechariah Damman of Scituate sold for £4 to Ebenezer Mott 2 acres of land in the fifth division of Conihaset land and in the 16th allotment of said division. [Bangs p 336-7]

Zachariah’s father John Damon died intestate and his estate was divided and presented at court on 2 March 1679/80. He was to receive £20. [PCR 6:33-4] His step-mother Martha had remarried to Peter Bacon and there are multiple court records about issues with them and John Damon’s estate, such as not vacating the land. At 7 July 1680 court land was confirmed to Zachery Daman. “Whereas it doth appear to the Court, that the widdow Daman did sett forth unto the said Zachery Daman his portion to be in the lottery of land which lyeth on the third Clift, his portion being twenty pound; and the said widdow did further promise, that when shee left of improving the remaining pte of the said lott, then the said Zachery shall have the whole lott, paying the said widdow three pounds, which the said Zachery did engage to doe; and the said widdow did ingage not to sell, or give, or dispose of the said pte of the lott to any other pson; and this appears by the testimonyes upon oath of William Brookes and Thomas Woodworth; wherefore the Court can not but allow the aforsaid lott to be the aforsaid Zachery Damans, hee paying three pounds of silver money to his mother in law [step-mother]. [PCR 6:47]

Zecheriah is mentioned in the probate records of his brother John Damon who died unmarried and without children. At 1 November 1676 Plymouth court, letters of administration were granted unto Daniell Daman to administer on the estate of John Daman Jr, his brother, deceased, and Daniell was to have £12 out of the estate, and the remainder of the said estate to be divided betwixt his brother Zacheriah Daman, Deborah Woodworth, and Mary Daman, in equall and alike proportions. [PCR 5:213] 

Zachariah’s brother Daniel also died without a wife or children. He wrote his will on 8 February 1695/6, leaving bequests to:

• Sister Deborah Woodworth house and land at Boston which had belonged to their sister Mary deceased and one-quarter share of his land at Freetown in the right of his sister Mary Damon, and £60 to be paid by his brother Zachariah Damon. 
• Kinswoman Deborah Woodworth 20 shillings.
• Brother Zachariah Damon was to be executor and he bequeathed him all his housing and lands in Scituate, provided he pay the £60 legacy to Deborah, and the rest of his estate. [PCPR 1:229-30] Will was proved 19 February 1695/6.  £60 was a significant sum in those days. 

I find it interesting that three of Zachariah’s siblings did not marry—Daniel, John and Mary. It was unusual for physically and mentally healthy people to remain single.

In a Scituate list of owners of “horse kind” in the year 1694 “Zachriah” Damon owns one red mare with two notches in the near ear and white on all four legs and in 1695 he has the same horse as well as a red mare colt. [Scituate Town Records, page 121, 136 on Ancestry] In 1719 Zachary Damon Senr owns one bay mare. [Scituate Town Records page 184 on Ancestry] He owned the same Bay mare with 2 notches in ye left ear in the town’s 1720 and 1725 lists of horse kind. [Scituate Town Records page 195, 197 on Ancestry] In 1723 he is listed as owning a horse, but the description and page number are too faint to read. [Scituate Town Records]

Zechariah Damon served on a petit jury in March 1698/99 court of common pleas. [Plymouth Court Records 1:35]

On 1 August 1700 Abigail Turner and sons Benjamin and Samuel Stockbridge of Scituate, requested John Bryant, William Pendy, and Zachariah Damon to value the estate of Benjamin and Samuel, “that is to say All the Housing & Land and meadows corne mill and saw mill near or upon ye first Herring Brooke in Scituate aforesaid which by the settlement of ye Estate of their father Charles Stockbridge, deceased.” [PCPR No. 19472]

Lieutenant Zechariah Damon was admitted to Communion at the First Church of Scituate by Rev Shearjashub Bourne 2 July 1727. [NEHGR 11:138]

Lt. Zachariah Damon died at Scituate on 3 September 1730. [Scituate VR 2:381] He was about 75 years old. 

Zachariah died intestate. His probate is recorded as Plymouth County Probate Records file no. 6028. On 13 September 1730 judge Isaac Winslow issued a warrant to divide his estate. [PCPR 6:165] John Cushing Jr Esqr, Mr Stephen Clap, Mr George King, Mr Caleb Torry, and Mr Timothy Byrnes all of Scituate were empowered and directed to view his estate and set off the one-thirds dower to his widow, conduct an inventory, and settle the remaining two-thirds of the estate to the children of the deceased in equal portions. 

An inventory of the estate of Zachariah Damon was taken 30 October 1730 [PCPR 6:164-5]. The entire inventory is not totaled but it is lengthy and includes valuable land. His son John, administrator of the estate, made oath to the inventory on 7 November 1730.  Items listed include books, arms & ammunition, pewter, brass, ironware, shop tools, meat, crops (Indian corn, 10 bushels of barley, rye, beans, malt, flax, two stacks of hay), feathers, farm animals (oxen, steers, cows, hog, sheep, horses), and farming equipment. 

The real estate listed in the inventory:

• Upland and meadow at the third Clift £340 00 00
• Five acres of upland between the meeting house and Mr Billos House lying on both side of the road 50 00 00
• Six acres of swamp land in Hicks Swamp 20 00 00
• Six acres and half of upland by John Merritt Jr 97 10 00
• Piece of swamp land near Mast Hill 15 00 00
• Two lots of seder swamp in Halifax 08 00 00

Additional items were added to the estate inventory on 10 April 1732, including more than 7 bushels of malt, a debt paid by Ensign Otis, and a debt paid by widow Booth. 

The division of the estate is dated 10 April 1732. Land the children had already been given by their father during his lifetime was taken into consideration. 

• Widow Martha given 5.75 acres of land that bordered Capt Samuel Turner’s land and the sea, five acres and sixty five rods of salt marsh adjoining the Third Cliff and bordering the meadow of Mr Clap, and six acres of swampland at Hicks Swamp.
• Son John Damon, in the right of Mary Toby daughter of the deceased, two acres and thirty rods of upland at the Third Cliff. It was judged that Zachariah had given more than his proportionable share of the estate by his father while he was living. 
• Daughter Hannah Perry, five acres of upland at Third Cliff and two shares in the 28th lot of cedar swamp. 
• Daughter Abigail Perry about eight acres of upland at Third Cliff. 
• Son Zechariah Damon 2.75 acres and 24 rods of salt marsh on the Third Cliff in addition to what his father had already given him.
• Son Daniel Damon three acres and 20 rods of salt marsh and meadow in addition to what his father had already given him. 
• The children of daughter Martha Jenkins, deceased, four acres and 100 rods of land.
• Mehitable Merritt four acres of land and three and a half acres of swamp land.

The division to the children and widow was accepted and approved by the court on 22 April 1732.  On 27 May 1732 Martha Damon, widow of Zachariah Damon, conveyed a portion of her dower share of real estate to daughter Hannah Perry, wife of Elijah Perry of Sandwich, in return for a 30 shilling annuity.  [Plymouth County Deeds 27:88]

Martha died after 27 May 1732 when she deeded land to her daughter Hannah Perry. [Plymouth County Deeds 27:88]

Sources:

Jeremy Dupertuis Bangs, The Seventeenth Century Town Records of Scituate, Massachusetts, Volume Two, 1999

Samuel Deane, History of Scituate Massachusetts, from its first settlement to 1831, 1831

Harvey Hunter Pratt, Early Planters of Scituate, 1929

Nathaniel B. Shurtleff and David Pulsifer, eds., Records of the Colony of New Plymouth, in New England, 12 vols. (New York: AMS Press, 1968)

Richard A. Damon, Jr. & D. Bradford Damon, Damon Family of Scituate, Mass. Genealogy, 2000

Lydia B (Phinney) Brownson and Maclean McLean, NEHGS Register, “Ezra Perry of Sandwich, Mass.,” 115:188 (1961)

Torrey’s New England Marriages Prior to 1700

Edith Bartlett Sumner, Ancestry and Descendants of Samuel Bartlett and Lucy Jenkins, 1951