Mumblings - Simeon Dewey, William Dewey, and some Witchcraft

Although it is not a Monday, here is my next post concerning the 5th and 6th generations of my Dewey family.

Simeon Dewey (5^th generation)

Simeon was born May 1, 1718 at Lebanon, CT and died there March 2, 1751.  Simeon was a farmer.  He married Anna Phelps March 29, 1739.  Anna was born August 6, 1719 at Mansfield City, CT and died September 25, 1807 at Hanover, NH.  On November 27, 1765, she remarried Noah Smith who died February 1776.  Soon after Noah’s death, she moved to Hanover with her living children.  Anna was the great granddaughter of George Phelps and Francis Randall.  When George Phelps died, Francis remarried Thomas Dewey.  So this would make Simeon and Anna distant cousins several times removed.  Little else is known of Simeon and Anna.

Simeon and Anna had six children:

Theoda (1740 – 1750)

William (1742 – 1744)

Simeon (1745 – 1830)

William (1746 – 1813)*

Amy (1748 - ?)

Benoni (1750 – 1823)

William Dewey (6^th generation)

William was born on January 11, 1746 in Lebanon (Columbia), CT and died June 10, 1813 in Hanover, NH.  William served as a corporal during the Revolutionary War for 21days.  He with a company from Hebron, CT answered the call from Lexington in 1775.  He fought under General Benjamin Gates at the Battles of Saratoga on September 19 and October 7, 1777.  The company marched from Concord in September 1777 to join General Gates near Saratoga in the fight to defeat the British General Burgoyne. [Career and triumphs of Admiral Dewey, Robert L. Blagg, The Crowell & Kirkpatrick Co., Springfield, Ohio, 1899, page 17.]

William lived in Hebron, CT until 1776 when he moved to Hanover, NH, four miles above Dartmouth College where he farmed.  William appears in the First Census of the United States (1790) on page 32, living in Grafton County, Hanover, NH.

William married Rebecca Carrier June 10, 1768 in Connecticut.  Rebecca was born March 19, 1747 in Colchester, CT and died July 6, 1836 in Hanover, NH.  Rebecca’s great grandmother Martha Allen Carrier (my 8^th great grandmother) was accused of being a witch and was hanged on Gallows Hill on August 19, 1692 in Salem, MA.  Click here to read the transcript of her trial.  Martha's children Andrew (Rebecca's grandfather), Richard, Thomas and Sarah were also accused of witchcraft in 1692 in Essex County, MA.  On July 21, 1692 a warrant was issued for Andrew's arrest.  Click here for a transcript of his testimony.  I have not found a record of sentencing for Martha's children.  Their testimony was used against their mother, so they may not have been sentenced.  On November 1, 2001, three centuries after they were hanged as witches, five women were officially exonerated by the state of Massachusetts.  The legislative act was signed on Halloween by Governor Jane Swift.  The five: Bridget Bishop, Susannah Martin, Alice Parker, Wilmot Redd and Margaret Scott were among 20 men and women put to death during the witchcraft hysteria of 1692. To my knowledge, Martha Allen has not been exonerated.

Martha's husband Thomas (my 8th great grandfather) was quite an interesting man.  He was said to be over seven feet tall and may have lived over 100 years.  Carrier family tradition states that Thomas Carrier's may have been the executioner of King Charles I of England (For more on Thomas, click here and search for " The Strange Story of Thomas Carrier").

William and Rebecca had 14 children:

Anna (1769 – 1841)

Simeon (1770 – 1863)*

William (1772 – 1840)

David (1773 – 1847)

Asa (1775 – 1850)

Israel (1777 – 1862)

Lydia (1778 – 1841)

Henry (1779 – 1875)

Parthenia (1781 – 1846)

Oliver (1782 – 1871)

Eunice (1784 – 1851)

Elias (1785 – 1838)

Andrew (1789 – 1865)

(child) (1791 – 1791)