Seth Pope 1689-1744 Dartmouth and Sandwich, Massachusetts

Seth Pope was born 5 April 1689 at Dartmouth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, the son of Seth Pope and Deborah Perry (NEHGR 2:69, 1869). Seth the elder was quite interesting; I wrote about him here. Seth the younger is my 8^th great-grandfather on my grandfather Arthur Washburn Davis’ side of the family.

Seth married Hannah Bourne on 12 January 1709/10 in Sandwich. She was born 4 May 1689, the daughter of Elisha and Patience (Skiffe) Bourne. I wrote about Elisha here.  Seth’s brother, John, married Hannah’s sister, Elizabeth Bourne.

Children of Seth and Hannah Bourne are recorded in Sandwich Vital Records or proven by baptisms:

Abigail born 2 August 1710, m. Isaac Parker

Bathsheba born 2 Dec 1713

John born 23 November 1716; m. Mercy Swift

Mary, Baptized 1720

Hannah born 25 April 1720

Elisha baptized 28 July 1723, died in August that year

Patience born 29 Nov 1725, m. J. Wooster

Elisha born 28 July 1729

I descend through John Pope and his wife Mercy Swift.

Seth’s father purchased a great deal of land in Sandwich Village and gave parcels to his sons Seth and John. Seth’s home is at what is now 10 Grove Street. The house is still standing and is on a stunning piece of land.  Seth operated (later was bequeathed ownership from his father) a grist mill, fulling mill and weaveshop.

His father Seth’s will has an unusual stipulation that in case he did not keep the works in proper repair, the executors were from time to time, as found necessary, to take charge of and repair them, and operate them until the expenditures had been repaid. In October, 1734, we are told that “a committee waited upon the miller, Mr. Pope, to know if they could not be better served in grinding their corn.” Perhaps Seth Junior didn’t inherit his father’s strong work ethic!

Seth Pope died 23 November 1744 at Sandwich. He is buried there at the Old Town Cemetery. He was 55 years old.

Hannah Pope, widow of Seth, died 18 March 1744/45, at Sandwich. She was also age 55.

 Sources:

 Franklin Leonard Pope, Genealogy of Thomas Pope of Plymouth, NEHGR vol 42, Jan. 1888

 A Lovell, Sandwich, A Cape Cod Town, 1984

 

Book Review: Mayflower Increasings by Susan E. Roser

 

Mayflower Increasings from the Files of George Ernest Bowman at the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants,  by Susan E. Roser, 2^nd edition, 1996, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc.  

Susan Roser treats 27 Mayflower families in this book, covering the first three generations of descendants. Birth, marriage and death dates are provided when known, as well as epitaphs and obituaries. She also includes a Probate Index for each family to assist the reader in identifying fourth and fifth generation children. Sources are cited throughout and it is fully indexed.

Appendices include Gov. Bradford’s list of Increasings and Decreasings of Mayflower passengers and the 1627 Cattle Division.

Research on Mayflower passengers is never-ending, so there have been some discoveries since this book was published (such as the maiden name of Richard Warren’s wife Elizabeth), so hopefully there will be a third edition published. The only criticism I have of this book is that the type is quite small.

I have found any book by Susan E. Roser to be a valuable addition to my genealogical library and am very thankful for all of her research. Some other books she has written: Mayflower Deeds and Probate, Mayflower Births and Deaths, Mayflower Marriages, Early Descendants of Henry Cobb of Barnstable Massachusetts, Early Descendants of Daniel Cole of Eastham Massachusetts.

Genealogical Publishing Company provided me with a copy of this book to review.