Ancestry of Mariah Smith Huntoon (1728/9-1813)
posted to Huntoon-L by Christopher
Hunton on August 28, 2001
Mariah Smith Huntoon, the wife of "Squire
Charles" Huntoon (#8 in Daniel T. V. Huntoon's book and on Harry
Huntoon's website, and #19 in Allan Abrahamse's genealogy) is the ancestor
of many of us, but relatively little information about her has been
compiled. Here are some observations about her birthdate, parentage and
ancestry.
Birthdate
There is no contemporary record of her birth. Daniel T.
V. Huntoon reports, without attribution, that she was born May 20, 1728,
and says she was "of Brentwood," the village next to Kingston.
The Unity Town Records (on page 13 of the town records book bought in 1776
by Mariah's husband) reflect that she was born in Exeter (another town
adjoining Brentwood), and show a birthdate of May 20, 1729. Her husband
was Town Clerk at various times, and the entry appears to be in his
handwriting. I would give the later year more credence, but neither one is
certain.
Parentage
A strong trail of evidence concerning inherited property
leads to the conclusion that she was the daughter of Reuben Smith and Jane
Goss of Brentwood, N. H. Here is the evidence:
- On January 28, 1755, Reuben Smith's estate was
divided among his wife Jane (sometimes Jean or Jenny) Smith, his
sons Reuben, Joshua, and Robert Smith and his daughter "Moriah."
Moriah's surname is not specified on any of the original probate
records, which are on microfilm at the New Hampshire Historical
Society. Land divided among the heirs included the homeplace, 50
acres of land "purchased of Capt John Odlin", and
"a Meadow in the woods On Exeter River ... s(ai)d meadow
Laying between Cloughs Mill & Cavelly mill ..." The
meadow is key to identifying Mariah as Reuben's daughter. It was
in the Poplin section of Brentwood, which is now Fremont.
(Sources: New Hampshire Probate Records, Vol. 16 pp. 311-12; Vol.
18 p. 450, pp. 479-80; Vol. 19 pp. 185-87. Also Probate Records of
the Province of New Hampshire, Volume 34 in The State Papers of
New Hampshire, edited by Otis G. Hammond, Concord, 1933, pp. 383 -
387.)
- Apparently Mariah's husband was taxed as the
owner of her share of the Smith property, because Charles Huntoon
appeared as a Brentwood taxpayer once Reuben Smith's estate was
settled in early 1755. I do not find any record at the Rockingham
County Courthouse of his buying land in Brentwood, nor do I find
any record there that shows a Mariah Smith or a Mariah Huntoon
selling any part of the inherited land, nor is she listed as a
Brentwood taxpayer. (Source: Transcriptions of Brentwood Tax Rolls
in the Brentwood, N. H . Public Library.)
- Next we find Mariah's husband associated with the
Smith heirs in the meadow property. John Clough, Jonathan Sanborn,
John Morrill, Obadiah Elkins and Zaccheus Clough were the
"Owners of a mill in Brintwood ...Known by ye name of
Clough's Saw mill." Their "mill or Dam flows a Large
Quantity of Choice good Land which Intirely Ruins s(ai)d Land
& prevents ... ye owners of s(ai)d Land of all profitts
thereof." On April 22, 1760, the mill owners committed to pay
1,000 pounds to the land's owners if they had not removed the dam
and mill by April 11, 1762. The landowners were "John Sleeper
yeoman Daniel Ladd Junr yeoman Reuben Smith Joshua Smith Robert
Smith all yeomen & all of Brintwood afores(ai)d & Charles
Huntoon of Kingston Trader." (Source: Rockingham County, New
Hampshire Deeds, Vol. 62, p.118.)
- The pieces identifying Mariah Smith Huntoon as
Reuben's daughter fall into place when Mariah Huntoon appears with
her family in a document on file at the N. H. State Archives. On
August 16, 1769 a writ on behalf of John and Solomon Sleeper,
minor sons of the late John Sleeper, was sworn out summoning
"Jane Smith widow Reuben Smith husbandman Joshua Smith
husbandman Robert Smith husbandman all of Brintwood in our
province of New hampshire. And Charles Huntoon of Kingston in the
same province gent. & Mariah his wife", i.e. all Reuben
Smith's heirs and his son-in-law. The defendants had to answer the
charges that they had seized and fenced in a 20-acre part of the
"Callamus meadow" in Poplin which they had previously
sold to the Sleeper's father, and that they were illegally
retaining the income from those acres. The court's referees
decided that the Smiths should return 12 of the 20 acres.
(Source: New Hampshire Court Records in the N. H. State Archives,
Concord, File #25531, Year 1769.)
I think that this string of evidence leads to as
conclusive an identification of Mariah Huntoon's parents as is possible in
the absence of a contemporary birth record. Perhaps some of you on
the Huntoon List Serve can suggest reasons that Mariah Huntoon did not
hold the meadow property outright in her own name. Her landownership
certainly did not follow the patterns we are accustomed to today. On
January 10, 1757 "John Hunton, Junr" sold 7 acres in Kingston to
his sister-in-law "Meriah wife of Charles Hunton of Kingston,
weaver," but it was not until 5 1/2 years later on May 12, 1762, that
the parties to the transaction had it recorded in the Rockingham County
records. Although Mariah was granted some acres in Unity in the early
1770's as an inducement to move to the new settlement, I found no record
in the Cheshire County deeds that she ever sold the land. She died
intestate, and again I found no record of her property's disposition.
(Sources: Rockingham County Deeds, Vol. 67, p. 421, and Transcription of
the Unity Proprietors' Records in the Unity Town Office.)
Ancestry
Here, thanks to the Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and
New Hampshire (by Sybil Noyes, Charles Thornton Libby and Walter Goodwin
Davis, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, 1996) is an outline
of her ancestry. More detailed, and often very interesting, particulars
can be found in Danny D. Smith's Preliminary Account of the Descendants of
Robert Smith 1611 - 1706 of Exeter and Hampton, New Hampshire Through the
Fifth Generation With Some Lines Continued Until Recent Times, issued in
1981.
1) Mariah Smith - b. May 20, ca. 1728/9 in Exeter, N. H.
d. April 19, 1813 in Unity, N. H.
2) Reuben Smith of Brentwood and Exeter, d. bef. May 8,
1753, when probate began.
3) Jane Goss - living 1769.
4) Israel Smith, planter, of Exeter and Stratham,
1670/71 - 1723
6) Robert Goss of Rye and Greenland, NH, d. 1647.
7) Jane Berry, ca. 1668 - 1752.
8) Jonathan Smith, b. ca. 1640. Brickmaker of Exeter and
Hampton.
9) Mehitable Holdridge, b. 1652 in Haverhill, Mass.
12) Richard Goss, of Portsmouth, d. bef. 1694.
14) Joseph Berry, of the Portsmouth / Rye, NH area. B.
ca. 1639 -d. bef. 1717.
15) Rachel -------
16) Robert Smith of Exeter & Hampton, ca. 1611 -
1706 Tailor, magistrate and selectman.
17) Susanna ------- killed by lightning 1680.
18) William Holdridge, ca. 1610 - living 1680. Tanner of
Exeter & Strawberry Bank, NH.
19) Isabel --------- Her hysterical accusations failed
to convict a neighbor of witchcraft, 1659.
28) William Berry, d. before June 28, 1654. Selectman
and constable of Strawberry Bank.
29) Jane ----- b. ca. 1619, md. 2nd Nathaniel Drake.
