Sarah FERRIS

Sarah married Benjamin FERRIS, Jr. in 1737 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA. Benjamin (son of Benjamin FERRIS and Sarah WEED) was born on 22 Sep 1709 in Greenwich, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA; died between 1768 and 1771 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Peter married Mercy BELL on 15 Jun 1716 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA. Mercy (daughter of Jonathan BELL and Susanna PIERSON) was born on 05 Nov 1678 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA; died in 1747 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Name:
"Connecticut Ancestry": Peter Ferris and his brother Joseph and brother-in-law Jonathan Reynolds were among the 12 Greenwich residents who decided to place themselves under the jurisdiction of the New Haven Colony on 6 October 1656. The exact nature of this transaction is not clear, since the Colony noted that "They are to fall in with Stamford, and be accepted a part thereof." Apparently there was some kind of a split within the Greenwich community, and it may be presumed that there wre others still resident in that town who preferred to remain under the prevailing Dutch control. No boundary changes seem to have resulted from this event.

It does appear, however, that Peter Ferris was a resident of Stamford for most of his career. He held several positions of responsibility in that town over the years, including being named deputy (representative) to Connecticut General Court (Assembly) in 1667. All other references to Peter Ferris in Greenwich appear to relate to his son, Peter Ferris Jr.

The names of the children in this family have been confusing for researchers, at least partly because of incompleteness in the records. One of the boundaries in determining Peter's children has been his father Jeffrey's mention in his will, made on 6 January 1664, of "my sonn Peter Fferris his three children." On the surface, this seems to include Joseph, Peter Jr., and either Mary or the second Elizabeth, who was only 4 years old when Jeffrey made his will. The first Elizabeth is known to have died in infancy.

Another boundary on the identification of Peter's children is his making of two deeds of gift to his loving grandson Jeremiah Jagger on 24 May 1698 and 27 September 1706 (the latter was on the day before Peter died.) this Jeremiah Jagger was not yet 21 years old in 1698, and was therefore the third generation Jeremiah Jagger, born to Jeremiah Jagger and a daughter of Peter Ferris. Peter Ferris and Abraham Ambler administered the estate of Jeremiah Jagger in 1690, and Elisha Holly, Daniel Scofield and Peter Ferris took the inventory. The estate's largest debt (L30) was to Peter Ferris, and Jagger's heirs were named as (his children) Sarah age 13, Elizabeth age 11, Mary age 7 and Jeremiah age 5. Therefore the grandson Jeremiah had been born in about 1684, and his oldest sister Sarah had been born in about 1676. Their mother must have been born before say 1656 or so, assuming she was at 20 when her first child was born. This means (on the basis of age) she could not have been either Mary, born in 1662 or the second Elizabeth, born in 1664. Paul Prindle could only resolve this situation by postulating an earlier, first child for Peter Ferris, born perhaps as early as 1655, and perhaps called Sarah, since she gave her eldest child that name. This daughter would have been living at least as late as 1684 (when Jeremiah Jagger was born) and was therefore very much alive when Jeffrey Ferris made his will (in 1664) numbering only 3 children for his son Peter. Prindle solved THIS problem by supposing that Elizabeth (b. 1664) was not the third child named in her grandfather's will after all, and that the discrepancy could be explained either by Jeffrey's being unaware of a new grandchild born just 4 days before he made his will, or more likely, that it was due to a specific effect of old style dating, and that Elizabeth had not yet been born. This compilation accepts that arrangement, since this specific case was in the direct line of Prindle's client's ancestry, and he would have been sure to place the highest importance on getting it right. Capt. Jim Ferris was apparently unaware of this line of reasoning, and did not consider a possible additional daughter for Peter Ferris, born say bout 1655. His solution was to place the second Elizabeth as the wife of Jeremiah jagger and make her the mother of the four jagger grandchildren, and in the process he actually telescoped the first two Jeremiah Jaggers into one person. In addition to its misunderstanding of the Jagger family, this proposal is not viable since it requires the improbable situation that Elizabeth (b. 1664/65) was only about 12 years old when the oldest Jagger grandchild was born.

We now turn to the Hannah Ferris who married Capt. John Knapp at Stamford on 10 June 1692. She must have been born before about 1674, assuming she was at least 18 years old when married. She was the subject of queries to the "Hartford Times" and the "Boston Transcript", but apparently no one has yet conclusively proven her identity. In the only positive answer to these newspaper inquiries, H.S.C. gave the following statement," Hannah Ferris, daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (Reynolds) Ferris, married John Knapp June 10, 1692. She died afterwards, leaving two children, Samuel and John." Actually she left at least 7 children, Samuel, John, Hannah, Peter, charles, Deborah, and Moses. But the real problem here is that S.P Mead's History does not give this identity for Hannah at all, and as a matter of fact does not even list a Hannah Ferris as a daughter of Peter and Elizabeth.

Other writers have also included Hannah as a daughter of Peter Ferris, but without any real support. Nevertheless, it does seem reasonable to place Hannah here in this family, probably born sometime after Jeffrey Ferris died in 1666/67. In another "Boston Transcript" query, M.S.R.S. put the issue quite clearly as follows," She (Hannah) must have been of the third generation of Jeffrey Ferris' family. Was she the daughter of Peter or of Joseph Ferris? Mead's "Greenwich" gives Joseph a daughter Hannah, but as wife of Jonathan Austin. John Ferris and his family lived too far fro Stamford, and James Ferris was married too late. This seems to leave Peter Ferris as the only possible father for (the) above Hannah." Capt. Jim Ferris also placed Hannah in this family, but again without any supporting documentation.

There is some important additional evidence that tends to confirm that Hannah Ferris, wife of John Knapp, belongs in this family. First, it is probably significant that they named a child Peter, since the name Peter does not appear earlier in the Knapp line and this may therefore have been in honor of her father. Secondly, on 2 April 1712, the brothers Joseph and Peter Ferris, "sons of Peter Ferris late of Stamford deceased" ( and therefore Hannah's brothers if she were indeed a part of this family) sold a three-acre home lot in Stamford to John Knapp. it is significant that this land was described as "...whereon Standeth ye new Dwelling house and barn of sd John Knap." the fact that John Knapp had built his new house and barn on this land while it was still owned by this branch of the Ferris family is strong circumstantial evidence that he had indeed married a daughter of Peter Ferris Sr.

A letter in the Edich Vicks Papers at the Stamford Historical Society claims that the late Virginia Olson (co-author of "Stamford's Soldiers" and former genealogist of the Stamford Genealogical Society) had told the writer that "Peter and Elizabeth were the parents of Hannah. She (Mrs Olson) states, 'Hannah proved by deeds as the daughter of Peter but birth not recorded; married John Knapp 10 June 1692. She died 27 Sep 1724.' Mrs. Olson also quotes the "Hartford Times 12/28/1940 as giving reference to the relationship."

Although an excellent circumstantial case may be made for Hannah's placement in this family, it is not yet felt to be conclusive, and she must be paced here in this present compilation want the qualifier, "probably".

Peter married Elizabeth REYNOLDS on 15 Jul 1654 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA. Elizabeth (daughter of John REYNOLDS and Sarah CHESTERFIELD) was born about 1636; died in 1703 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Jonathan married Susanna PIERSON on 31 Oct 1672 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA. Susanna was born about 1650 in Branford, New Haven County, Connecticut; died in 04 Jan 1706/7 or 13 Jan 1706/7 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Name:
"Connecticut Ancestry": Jeffrey Ferris was born in England say about 1610, and died at Stamford, Fairfield County, Connecticut probably about November 1666. Various reports circulate on the internet giving his birthplace in England in an assortment of places usually Leicestershire, and some of these give his father as one Richard Ferris, born in 1585. None of these reports has been confirmed or substantiated for this present compilation....

He was married (at least) three ties, but none of the marriages seem to have been recorded in Connecticut records. The death of his first (?) wife, probably the mother of all of his children, was recorded at Stamford, but her name has not yet been determined. She died at Greenwich on the 31st day, 5th month(July) 1658, during the time of the epidemic of what is thought to have been malaria that claimed so many Stamford lives in that time period. the Stamford record of her death is partially lost because the original page is deteriorated, but Donald L. Jacobus transcribed the entry in 1933 as "( )ne wife of Jeffrey Ferris." No further identification or explanation has been found.

The Rev. Elijah Baldwin Huntington, Stamford's first historian, while not naming Jeffrey's first wife, reported a tradition regarding her that may or may not eventually be confirmed by future researchers:
"Tradition invests the emigration of this (Jeffrey Ferris) family to this country with the hues of romantic adventure - the ancestress, high born, following her plebian lover out into this western world, to share with him here the fortunes which English aristocracy would not allow there."

Jeffrey married second, possibly in December 1658, Mrs. Susannah (Norman) Lockwood, born say 1615, the daughter of richard Norman of Salem, Massachusetts, and widow of Robert Lockwood who died in Fairfield before 11 September 1658 when his inventory was taken. Robert Lockwood was at Watertown during the period 1634-1646, and the couple must have been acquainted at that time and place. She had 11 children from her first marriage, 10 of whom were living in 1658, and many of them were young enough to move to Stamford with her when she married Ferris. Susannah (Norman) (Lockwood) Ferris died at Greenwich on 23 December 1660.

Jeffrey Ferris' third wife was Judith (Feake) Palmer, daughter of James Feake and widow of Lieutenant William Palmer. She had four young boys with her when she joined Jeffrey's household. His will set aside ten pounds apiece "to her four children that is to say this four boyes which I brought up and kept." After Jeffrey's death in 1666, she married as her third husband, John Bowers, and used his name in 1667 when receipting for her share in the settlement of Jeffrey's estate.

He was in America by 6 May 1635 when he was made a freeman of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, presumable a resident of Watertown at the time. he joined with other Watertown residents in their establishment of Wethersfield, Connecticut, probably later in that same year of 1635. He recorded his homestead in the Wethersfield land records on 26 April 1641, prior to selling a portion to William Comstock in that same year. he continued to hold land in Wethersfield until 1645, when he disposed of the remainder of his property there to John Deming. An early Glastonbury historian found by analyzing the Wethersfield Land Records that Jeffrey Ferris owned land in the eastern portion of Wethersfield at Naubuc Farms, on the east side of the Connecticut River at what is now Glastonbury.

In 1640-1641 he joined with those other members of the Watertown/Wethersfield party who went on to become the founders and settlers of Stamford, and his name appears on most of the surviving lists of the earliest Stamford residents. He then purchased land in greenwich from William Hallett and moved there about 1650. His connections with both Stamford and Greenwich constituted almost a dal citizenship, considering the different jurisdictions that controlled these two towns during their infancy.....

According to historian Jeanne Majdalany, Jeffrey Ferris was the operator of Stamford's town mill in the early years, and his sons were probably a great help in this endeavor.

Paul Prindle transcrived the will of Jeffrey Ferris in full for his book, "Gillespie Ancestors". The following excerpts provide us with information on his children and grandchildren that cannot be found anywhere else: "my sonn James Fferris...my sonn Jonothan Lockwood...my daughter Mary Lockwood...her husband Jonothan Lockwood...my son Peter Fferris his three children...my sonn Joseps two children...

Jeffrey married Mary ?. Mary was born about 1612; died on 31 Jul 1658 in Greenwich, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Name:
"Connecticut Ancestry": John Reynolds was born in England say about 1610. The date and place of his death are unknown, and there has consequently been considerable speculation about his possible whereabouts during later life. he may have been the brother of Robert Reynolds of Boston, Watertown and Wethersfield.

A Sarah Reynolds died at Stamford on 31 August 1657 during the epidemic at Stamford thought to have been malaria. This record (alone) has let earlier researchers to claim that she was the wife of John Reynolds, but the original records does NOT give any relationship or age for her, even though the death was recorded on two separate pages. Since there is no other Stamford (or Greenwich) record that identifies this Sarah Reynolds, we must leave open the possibility that she was instead a daughter of John Reynolds, or even an early wife of one of his sons. Caution dictates that we refrain from accepting the earlier assumptions of other writers, including the usually careful Paul Prindle, and say only that the wife of John Reynolds MAY HAVE BEEN the SarahReynolds who died at Stamford in 1657, particularly since there are so few records at Stamford for John Reynolds himself.

A Sarah Reynolds, age 20 years, was on board the ELIZABETH, captained by William Andrews, that left Ipswich, County Suffolk, England for New England on 30 April 1634. Many researchers have speculated that this was the wife of our John Reynolds, who therefore must have come to America himself before that time, or who was on board the same ship but not listed for some reason. It is true that the family of Thurston Raynor and his wife Elizabeth were also on board that ship (along with others bound for Watertown) and the Raynors were also involved in the later migrations to Wethersfield and Stamford, as was John Reynolds.

Regardless of Whether this was indeed Sarah, wife of John Reynolds in the spring of 1634, it does seem probable that John himself had come at about that time since John "Reynolls" was listed next to Jeffrey Ferris on the list of persons taking the oath of freeman of the Massachusetts Bay Colony on 6 May 1635. these two men had very parallel careers at Watertown, Wethersfield, Stamford, and probably Greenwich, and their families intermarried, suggesting a possible relationship reaching back to their origins in England, not yet discovered.

On 14 November 1635, the town of Watertown "Agreed that Daniel Patrick: Brian Pembleton: Richard Bernard: Ephraim Child: Abram Browne: Charles Chaddock: & John Reynolds shall devide to every man his propriety of Meddow, & Upland that is plowable, & the rest to lie common."

The exact time of his arrival in Wethersfield is not known, but Wethersfield historians place it in either 1635 or 1636. On the other hand, Robert Reynolds, possibly his brother, is usually considered to be among the fist settlers of Wethersfield in 1635.

John Reynolds was certainly on the list of Wethersfield residents agreeing to settle at Stamford, and may have gone there early, with the first settlers in 1641 or 1642. However, there are remarkably few records on file for him at Stamford. He had no lands surveyed in 1651 as did so many Stamford citizens, and he was not mentioned as an adjoining landholder in any of the other surveys made at that time except for a single mention of John Holly's homelot as being "bounded by ye lot which was John Renoles". this lack of Stamford references has given rise to several speculations about a later career for John Reynolds, including a possible return to Wethersfield and/or to England, etc. Paul Prindle considered some of these possibilities, and added a few of his own, but without reaching any sure conclusion. At this point, and without further evidence, we must admit that the place, time and circumstances of John Reynolds' death are still unknown. Unquestionably, all three of John Reynolds' (known) children married into Greenwich families.

John married Sarah CHESTERFIELD. Sarah was born in 1614 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England; died on 21 Aug 1657 in Stamford, Fairfield Co., Connecticut. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Francis married Rebecca ?. Rebecca died on 17 May 1684 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]