Saturday, November 26, 2011

Surname Saturday - LNU (Massachusetts)

...
It's Surname Saturday, and I'm "counting down" my Ancestral Name List each week. I am up to number 295, who is Hannah --?-- (1689-????), one of my 6th-great-grandparents. [Note: The 6th great-grandfathers have been covered in earlier posts]

My ancestral line back to Hannah is:

1. Randall J. Seaver

2. Frederick Walton Seaver (1911-1983)
3. Betty Virginia Carringer (1919-2002)

4. Frederick Walton Seaver (1876-1942)
5. Alma Bessie Richmond (1882-1962)

8. Frank Walton Seaver (1852-1922)
9. Hattie Louise Hildreth (1857-1920)

18. Edward Hildreth (1831-1899)
19. Sophia Newton (1834-1923)

36. Zachariah Hildreth (1783-1857)
37. Hannah Sawtell (1789-1857)

72. Zachariah Hildreth (1754-1828)
73. Elizabeth Keyes (1759-1793)

146. Jonathan Keyes (1722-1781)
147. Elizabeth Fletcher (1720-1761)

 294.  Samuel Fletcher, born 06 September 1684 in Chelmsford, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States; died 06 September 1749 in Westford, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.  He was the son of 588. Samuel Fletcher and 589. Hannah Wheeler.  He married about 1712 in Chelmsford, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States.
 295.  Hannah, born about 1689 in Massachusetts, United States.


 Children of Samuel Fletcher and Hannah are: Samuel Fletcher (1713-????); Jacob Fletcher (1715-????); David Fletcher (1717-????); Hannah Fletcher (1718-????); Elizabeth Fletcher (1720-1761); Samuel Fletcher (1722-1750); Susanna Fletcher (1723-????); Jacob Fletcher (1725-????); Joanna Fletcher (1729-1730).

And that's it! 

If one made the giant leap of faith that this family followed the traditional naming pattern, then the name of the first son should be Samuel, and the second son would be Hannah --?--'s father.  The first son is Samuel, which is his paternal grandfather's given name.  If the naming pattern is followed, then Hannah --?--'s father's first name is Jacob.  The first daughter's name in the naming pattern is after the maternal grandmother, but we don't know her name.  If the pattern is followed, it would be Hannah.  But Hannah is the name of her mother and her paternal grandmother also.  So, according to the naming pattern, we should be looking for a couple in or near Chelmsford named Jacob and Hannah with a daughter Hannah who may not be in the birth records or marriage records. 

A dedicated researcher could use the first names of the other children of Samuel and Hannah (--?--) Fletcher and try to match them to Samuel's siblings, and perhaps the others are Hannah's siblings, and would provide clues at least to a family.  Samuel's siblings were William, Isaac, Hannah, Elizabeth, Mary, Lydia Susanna and Sarah.  That leaves David and Joanna as possible names for Hannah's siblings, along with any duplicate names.

The only information I have on this 294. Samuel Fletcher is from the town records - his birth and death, and the births, marriages and deaths of his children.  I have yet to find probate records (I've looked) or land records (I don't think I've looked). 

None of the other Fletcher researchers have come up with a maiden name for Hannah --?-- so I don't feel so bad, I guess.

for those readers wondering about the LNU surname - that is an acronym for "Last Name Unknown."  I like to use it to confuse people!

No comments: