Friday, March 11, 2016

52 Ancestors - Week 115: #138 Amos Plimpton (1735-1808)

Amy Johnson Crow suggested a weekly blog theme of "52 Ancestors" in her blog post Challenge:  52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks on the No Story Too Small blog.  I am extending this theme in 2016 to 156 Ancestors in 156 Weeks. Here is my ancestor biography for week #115:

Amos Plimpton (1735-1808) is #138 on my Ahnentafel list, my 5th great-grandfather who married #138 Mary Guild (1735-1800) in 1756.


I am descended through:

*  their daughter
#69 Mercy Plimpton (1772-1850), who married 
#68 Aaron Smith (1765-1841) in 1795. 
*  their son, #34 Alpheus B. Smith (1802-1840) who married #35 Elizabeth Horton Dill (1791-1869) in 1826.
*  their daughter, #17 Lucretia Townsend smith (1828-1884), who married #16 Isaac Seaver (1823-1901) in 1852.
*  their son, #8 Frank Walton Seaver (1852-1922), who married #9 Hattie Louise Hildreth (1847-1920) in 1874. 
*  their son, #4 Frederick Walton Seaver (1876-1942), who married Alma Bessie Richmond (1882-1962) in 1900.
* their son, #2 Frederick Walton Seaver (1911-1983), who married #3 Betty Virginia Carringer (1919-2002) in 1942.
*  their son, #1 Randall J. Seaver (1943-....)

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1)  PERSON (with source citations as indicated in brackets):


*  Name:                       Amos Plimpton[1–15]   
*  Sex:                          Male   

*  Father:                      John Plimpton (1708-1756)   
*  Mother:                    Abigail Fisher (1711-1785)   
  
2)  INDIVIDUAL EVENTS (with source citations as indicated in brackets):
  
*  Birth:                       16 June 1735, Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States[3]   
*  Deed:                       17 March 1765 (age 29); Abner and Esther Plimpton sold 9 acres of woodland to Amos Plimpton for 12 pounds; Wrentham, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States[5]   
*  Deed:                      4 September 1765 (age 30), sold 9 acres of land in land in Wrentham, Mass. to David Wight for 12 pounds, six shillings; Wrentham, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States[6]   
*  Military:                 19 April 1775 (age 39), Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States[7]   
*  Census:                   1 June 1790 (age 54), Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States[8]   
*  Distribution:           1796 (about age 61), distribution from Nathaniel Guild's estate; Walpole, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States[9]   
*  Deed:                      6 April 1798 (age 62), deed of land in Norfolk County from heirs of Nathaniel Guild to Harman Guild for $1671.43; Dedham, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States[10]   
*  Census:                   1 June 1800 (age 64), Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States[11]
*  Death:                     20 August 1808 (age 73), Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States[13]
*  Burial:                    after 20 August 1808 (after age 73), Vine Lake Cemetery, Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States[14]    
*  Probate:                  6 September 1808 (age 73), will proved; Dedham, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States[15]   
  
3)  SHARED EVENTS (with source citations as indicated in brackets):
  
*  Spouse 1:               Mary Guild (1735-1800)   
*  Marriage 1:            9 December 1756 (age 21), Walpole, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States[4]  
*  Child 1:                  Molly Plimpton (1758-1813)   
*  Child 2:                  Elizabeth Plimpton (1761-1766)   
*  Child 3:                  John Plimpton (1763-1765)   
*  Child 4:                  Amos Plimpton (1770-1770)   
*  Child 5:                  Mercy Plimpton (1772-1850)   

*  Spouse 2:               Mary (Pratt) Breck (1750-1843)   
*  Marriage 2:           6 November 1800 (age 65) Medfield, Norfolk, Massachusetts, United States[12]   
  
4)  NOTES (with source citations as indicated in brackets):   

Amos Plimpton was the second son and second child of John Plimpton (1708-1756) and Abigail Fisher (1711-1785), and was born in Medfield, Massachusetts.  The birth record of Amos Plimpton in the Medfield Vital Record book says[3]:

"[Plimpton] Amose, s. John and Abigail, June 16, 1735"

There are sketches of the life of Amos Plimpton in two published books:

1)  From page 74 of:  Levi B. Chase, A Genealogy and Historical Notices of the Family of Plimpton or Plympton in America, Plumpton in England (Hartford, Conn. : Plimpton Mfg. Co., Print, 1884)[1].

"[Plimpton] Amos (39) b. June 16, 1735, d. 1808; m. first, 1756, Mary Guild, of Walpole, b. 1735, d. 1800; m. second, widow Mary Breck, of Sherborne, d. in Medway. He took the estate at the decease of his mother in 1785 ; paying out to Abner Plimpton, Unity  Boyden and Olive Peters, other children of the deceased, and was the last of the name residing on the original homestead. He was a soldier of the Revolution."

and on page: 105:

"39. Amos Plimpton. [22]

"Molly (90) b. 1758, m. first, 1780, Joseph Cole, of Medfield, d. ; m. second, 1785, Amos Kingsbury, of Walpole. They settled on the original homestead in Medfield."  

2)  Mr. Tilden, the historian of Medfield, writes[2]

"The original Plimpton House stood doubtless on the traditional spot where the traces of a cellar are, which I showed you." This was a depression in the ground behind Mr. Kingsbury's barn ; and farther from the street than the present house. "On the decay of that house, a second one was built on the spot now occupied by that of Mr. Kingsbury. I remember it as long ago as 1840 ; it was very old in appearance then and hardly fit for a residence. This was built, probably, by John [9] who d. 1730. It was a two-story house with, at first, but one large room below, and the front door and entryway at the westerly end. Afterwards a lean-to seems to have been added in the rear.

"When Amos Plimpton married his second wife (1800), his son-in-law Kingsbury was still living with him, and the house being found too small, a ' new part ' was added to the west end, of about the same shape and size as the old part."

"The whole was torn away about 1875, and the present house built by William Kingsbury (210) on the same cellar.

"Mr. K. owns the easterly part of the original house-lot as at first laid out on the north side of the street, with the addition made carrying it to the brook. Across the ' field ' opposite, Spring street now runs ; a portion of the land has been sold for house-lots. The out-lands of the Old Plympton Estate are mostly sold out of the family."

"Elizabeth b. 1761, d. 1766. John b. 1763, d. 1765. Amos b. 1770, d. 1800 ; unm. Marcy (91) b. 1772, d. 1850 ; m. 1795 Aaron Smith, of Medfield, b. 1772, d. 1841, lived on the road to Norfolk, near the south school house."

Amos Plimpton of Medfield and Mary Guild of Medfield, daughter of Nathaniel Guild and Mary Boyden, were married in Medfield in 1756.  The Medfield Vital Records book says[4]:

"Amos Plimpton and Mary Guild, Dec. 9, 1756"

Amos and Mary (Guild) Plimpton had five children between 1758 and 1772.  Only two survived to adulthood - Molly and Mercy.

Abner and Esther Plimpton, both of Sturbridge, sold land in Wrentham, Massachusetts to Amos Plimpton of Medfield, Massachusetts on 17 March 1765 for 12 pounds[5]. The land was one fifth part of a 45 acre tract of woodland lying in the northern part of Wrentham bounded to the north by the Charles River, on land of Asa Ellis, on Common land, on land of Nathan Plimpton, on land of John Ellis, on land of Ebenezer Ware to the east and southeast, and land of Ebenezer Ware, of Ebenezer Ellis, and land of Joseph Plimpton to the west and northwest. Recorded 20 June 1765.

Amos Plimpton, yeoman of Medfield, sold land in Wrentham, Massachusetts to David Wight, yeoman of Medway, Massachusetts on 4 September 1765 for 12 pounds 6 shillings[6]. The land was one fifth part of a 45 acre tract of woodland lying in the northern part of Wrentham bounded to the north by the Charles River,on land of Asa Ellis, on Common land, on land of Nathan Plimpton, on land of John Ellis, on land of Ebenezer Ware to the east and southeast, and land of Ebenezer Ware, of Ebenezer Ellis, and land of Joseph Plimpton to the west and northwest. Recorded 5 April 1766.

Amos Plimpton served in the Revolutionary War.  His service is summarized in the Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War book as[7]:

"Plimpton, Amos, Medfield.  Sergeant, Capt. Ephraim Chenery's (Medfield) co., Col. John Smith's regt., which marched on the alarm of April 19, 1775; service, 11 days; also, 2d Lieutenant, Capt. Aaron Guild's co., Col. Lemuel Robinson's regt.; list of commissioned officers endorsed ?till 1st of April [p.464] 1776;? also, Lieutenant, Capt. Aaron Guild's co., Col. Lemuel Robson's (Robinson's) regt.; enlisted Jan. 29, 1776; service to time of marching in [i.e. home], 14 days; regiment raised in Suffolk and York counties; roll dated Roxbury and endorsed ?service at Dorchester Heights and vicinity; also, Lieutenant, Capt. Sabin Mann's co. of Medfield militia; return of alarm list with equipments, dated June 10, 1776; also, list dated Sept. 16, 1777, of men belonging to Capt. Sabin Mann's co. of Medfield militia drafted to complete the quota for the Continental Army, but who paid money in lieu of service; said Plimpton reported as having paid £15."

In the 1790 U.S. Census, Amos Plimpton was enumerated in Medfield, Suffolk County, Massachusetts[8].  There was one male over age 16 (Amos) and one female (probably wife Mary).

Amos Plimpton's wife, Mary Plimpton, received a one seventh share of all of the real estate and the personal estate of Mary's father, Nathaniel Guild (1712-1796) of Walpole, according to the 1795 will of Nathaniel Guild[9].  

On 6 April 1798, the heirs of Nathaniel Guild, father of Mary (Guild) Plimpton, sold land in Walpole to Harman Guild[10].  The deed says, in part:

"Know all Men by these Presents, that We Amos Plimpton Yeoman, and his wife Mary Plimton Spinster, both of Medfield and Ebenezer Hewings Yeoman and Mercy Hewins his wife Spinster, and Ezra Morse Esq'r & Susanna Morse his wife Spinster, and Mehatable Guild, spinster, all of Sharon, all in the County of Norfolk, and Samuel Guild of Easton in the County of Bristol Esq'r, and heirs of  the Estate of Nathaniel Guild late of Walpole dec'd for and in consideration of Sixteen Hundred & seventy one Dollars and forty three Dollars paid us by Herman Guild of Walpole in the County of Norfolk Yeoman, the receipt whereof we do hereby acknowledge, do hereby Quit and have by these  Presents, have Quited to him the said Harmen Guild and to his heirs and assigns, all our rights & title in and unto all the real Estate lying and being partly in Sd Walpole and partly in Sd Sharon and partly in Foxborough, being all that is contained in the Inventory that was taken of the real estate of s'd Nathaniel Guild dec'd dated Nov'r 15'th 1796 and for further description and Perticulars of the Boundaries of s'd real Estate, reference is had to the Plan taken by the appraisers of s'd Estate."

In the 1800 U.S. Census, Amos Plimpton was enumerated in Medfield, Norfolk County, Massachusetts[11].  There was one male over age 45 (Amos) and one female aged 26-45.

Mary (Guild) Plimpton, the first wife of Amos, died in Medfield on 20 March 1800.  Amos married, secondly, Mary (Pratt) Breck, widow of Elijah Breck,  on 6 November 1800.  The Medfield Vital Record book records the marriage[12]

"[Plimpton] Amos and Mary Breck (wid., int.], Nov. 6, 1800"

Amos Plimpton died on 20 August 1808 in Medfield, Massachusetts, according to the Medfield vital Records book[13], which says:

"[Plimptom] Amos, Aug. 20, 1808."

The inscription on the gravestone of Amos Plimpton, in Vine Lake Cemetery in Medfield, says[14]:


In Memory of 
Mr. Amos Plimpton.
Died August 20th 1808
Aged 73
How peaceful are our slumbers here,
No cares disturb our rest,
In vain shall death alarm our fear,
Since Christ the grave hath blest.

Amos Plimpton wrote his will on 13 January 1807, and it was proved on 6 September 1808 in the Norfolk County, Massachusetts Probate Court.  The proving statement and will say[15]:

" Commonwealth of Massachusetts
By William Heath Esquire Judge of the Probate of Wills, and for granting Letters of Administration on the Estates of Persons deceased, having Goods, chattels, Rights or Credits in the County of Norfolk,within the Commonwealth aforesaid.

"To all men to whom these presents shall come, Greetings. Know Ye, That on the day of the date hereof at a Court of Probate, held at Dedham in and for the County aforesaid, the Instrument hereunto annexed, purporting to be the last Will and Testament of Amos Plimpton, late of Medfield, in said County, Gentleman, deceased, who had, while he lived, and at the time of his decease,Goods, Chattels, rights or Credits, in the County aforesaid, was present before me and proven. I Do, Therefore, by virtue of the power and authority given me in such Case, hereby commit the execution of the said Instrument and the Administration of the Estate of the said Deceased unto John Kingsbury, the Executor named in the said Will, well and faithfully to execute the same, and to administer the Estate of the said deceased according thereto; who accepted of the said Trust, and gave Bond as the Law directs, to exhibit, upon oath a true and perfect Inventory of the said Estate, into the Probate Office of the said County within three months; and also to render a plain and true Account of his proceedings thereon, upon oath, within one year from the date hereof. In Testimony whereof I have hereunto Set my hand & Seal of the said Court of Probate. Dated at Dedham the sixth day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eight.                        W. Heath

"I, Amos Plimpton of the town of Medfield,County of Norfolk and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Gentleman, being in health and of a sound mind and memory blessed be Almighty God for the same, do make and publish this my last Will and Testament in manner following that is to say. First, I order all my just debts and funeral charges to be paid by my Executor hereafter named as soon as may be after my decease.

"Imprimis I give to my beloved wife Mary Plimpton the use and improvement of the following parts of my Dwelling House as long as she remains my Widow viz. My front room, bedroom and back room and back chamber with one half of the Cellar and the free use of the well, with a sufficient yard room together with half the wood house. And it is my will that she shall receive annually out of my estate for her support eight cords of good fire wood brought to the door and cut fit for the fire, five Bushells of Indian Corn, five bushells of Rye, one bushell of Matt, one barrell of Cyder, sixty pounds of Pork, fifty pounds of Beef, sixty pounds of good Cheese, thirty pounds of Butter, ten pounds of Flax and five pounds of Sheep's Wool, with a sufficiency of same of all kinds. I also give her all of the furniture which she brought with her when I married her to be at her disposall forever. Also one Cow at her disposal.

"Item I Give and devise to my Grandson John Kingsbury and to his heirs all my Real Estate that I shall die possessed of, such as buildings and lands excepting my wood lot at Smith's plane (so called) and what I shall hereafter give to my daughter Molly Kingsbury for improvement during her natural life he the said John Kingsbury to come into possession of the first part after my decease the other part after his mother's decease. 

"Item I give to my daughter Molly Kingsbury wife of Amos Kingsbury the use and improvement of the one third part of my home lot on the south side the Turnpike Road during her natural life. Item I give and devise to my daughter Mercy Smith wife of Aaron Smith and to her heirs my woodlot lying on Smith's plane (so called). And also six hundred dollars to be paid in the following manner (viz) one hundred dollars in one year after my decease and one hundred dollars annually until the whole sum of six hundred dollars is paid.

"Item I give and bequeath to my Son in law Aaron Smith and to his heirs all my wearing Apparell to be at their disposal forever. Item I give and bequeath to my grandson John Kingsbury all my farming tools to him & his heirs forever. 

"Item I give and bequeath to my two Sons in law (viz) Amos Kingsbury and Aaron Smith and to my grandson John Kingsbury and to their heirs all the remainder of my personal estate not before disposed of to be equally divided between them. All the before enumerated articles which I have given to my wife for her annual support I order my Grandson John Kingsbury to furnish agreeable to the foregoing part of my Will. And all the Legacies which I have given to my daughter Mary Smith are to be paid by my grandson John Kingsbury at the times and in the manner before directed in consideration of what I have given him. And I do constitute and appoint my grandson John Kingsbury sole Executor of this my last Will and Testament which I have this day made and executed and in conformation this is my last Will and Testament. In Testimony whereof I the said Amos Plimpton have hereunto set my hand and seal this thirteenth day of January in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and seven.     
                                     Amos Plimpton 

"Signed sealed published pronounced and declared by the said Amos Plimpton as and for his last Will and Testament in the presence of us, who at his request and in his presence hereunto set our names as witnesses to the same. 
                                     John Baxter Thaddeus Moore Alpheus Fisher"

5)  SOURCES
 
1. Levi B. Chase, A Genealogy and Historical Notices of the Family of Plimpton or Plympton in America, Plumpton in England (Hartford, Conn. : Plimpton Mfg. Co., Print, 1884), pages 74 and 105, Amos Plimpton sketches.

2. William S. Tilden and John A. S. Monks, History of the town of Medfield, Massachusetts, 1650-1886 : with genealogies of the families that held real estate or made any considerable stay in the town during the first two centuries (Boston, Mass.: G.H. Ellis, 1887), page 462, Amos Plimpton sketch.

3. Vital Records of Medfield, Massachusetts to the Year 1850 (Boston, Mass. :  New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1903), Births, page 84, Amos Plimpton entry.

4. Vital Records of Walpole, Massachusetts to the Year 1850 (Boston, Mass. :New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1902), Marriages, page 161, Amos Plimpton and Mary Guild entry.

5. "Massachusetts, Land Records, 1620-1986," digital images, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org :, Suffolk County, Mass., Volume 104, page 219, deed for 9 acres of woodland in Wrentham, Suffolk County from Abner and Esther Plimpton to Amos Plimpton, 1765; citing original records in County Courthouses, and on FHL Microfilms.

6. "Massachusetts, Land Records, 1620-1986," digital images, FamilySearch, Suffolk County, Mass., Volume 108, page 164, deed for 9 acres of woodland in Wrentham, Suffolk County from Amos Plimpton to David Wight, 1766; citing original records in County Courthouses, and on FHL Microfilms.

7. Massachusetts, Secretary of the Commonwealth, Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War (Boston, Mass. : Wright & Potter Printing, 1896-1908), Volume 12, Page 484, Amos Plimpton entry.

8. 1790 United States Federal Census,, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Medfield, Page 369, Amos Plimpton household; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com); citing National Archives Microfilm Publication M697, Roll 4  .

9. "Norfolk County, Massachusetts Probate Court Records, 1793-1881," court clerk manuscript, Volume 2, Pages 502-503, will of Nathaniel Guild, 1795, accessed on FHL US/CAN Microfilm 0,843,573.

10. "Massachusetts, Land Records, 1620-1986," digital images, FamilySearch, accessed 4 March 2016), Norfolk County, Mass., Volume 13, pages 81-82, deed for land in Norfolk County from heirs of Nathaniel Guild to Harman Guild, 1798; citing original records in County Courthouses, and on FHL Microfilms .

11. 1800 United States Federal Census, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, Medfield, Page 89, Amos Plimpton household, digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com); citing National Archives Microfilm Publication M32, Roll 18.

12. Vital Records of Medfield, Massachusetts to the Year 1850, Marriages, Page 164, Amos Plimpton and Mary Breck entry.

13. Vital Records of Medfield, Massachusetts to the Year 1850, Deaths, page 228, Amos Plimpton entry.

14. Jim Tipton, indexed database, Find A Grave (http://www.findagrave.com), Vine Lake Cemetery (Medfield, Mass.), entry for Lieut Amos Plimpton (1735-1808).

15. "Norfolk County, Massachusetts Probate Court Records, 1793-1881," Volume 15, Pages 482-484, Amos Plimpton estate, will, 1808, accessed 2 February 2016 on FHL US/CAN Microfilm 0,843,580.



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