Hannah AMBLER

Hannah married Joseph DAVENPORT on 5 Jul 1753 in Stamford, Fairfield Co., Connecticut. Joseph (son of John DAVENPORT and Sarah BISHOP) was born on 9 Aug 1725; died in aft. 31 Mar 1789. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Name:
On 6 Oct. 1747, Sergeant Stephen Ambler was appointed guardian of Silvenus Hoyt, nephew of his wife and son of Jagger Hoyt, deceased. From that date until 1769 when he became Deacon of the First Church, Stephen Ambler is referred to frequently as "Sergeant Ambler." He and his wife are on earliest list of members of the First Church, Dec., 1746, when they were in "good standing."

He entered his ear mark for animals at Stamford, 1 may, 1719, His name appears frequently in town land records as grantee and grantor. His high standing in Stamford is shown by frequency of his name as guardian, executor, administrator, taker of inventories, and witness to wills and deeds. Probably he spent much of his life in Northfields (northern section of Stamford City), and on Davenport Ridge, He had large land holdings throughout the town.

Stephen Ambler was a selectman in 1754 serving two years.

The will of Stephen Ambler dated Stamford, 12 Sept., 1770, he "being in advanced years," was probated 25 Nov., 1783, Joshua Ambler and Ebenezer Weed having been named administrators. The will provided for wife Mercy and divided residue into fourteen equal parts. Sons Joshua, Joseph, John and David each to receive three parts, daughter Deborah Davenport, one part, and the children of deceased daughter Hannah Davenport, one part. It named "beloved friend Abraham Davenport" sole executor. (Abraham Davenport was the most important man in the Stamford of his day.) Inventory of personal estate totaled L735, much of it in notes given by sons Joshua and John...

Stephen Ambler probably was buried in the Stamford Congregational Cemetery long since destroyed.

It is of interest to note that Stephen Ambler lived to see three namesakes serve in the army, two of whom, a son and a grandson, died in the service, while the third, a grand nephew, served five and a half years with Washington.

Stephen married Deborah HOYT on 14 Dec 1721 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA. Deborah (daughter of Benjamin HOYT and Elizabeth JAGGER) was born on 09 Aug 1698 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA; died on 08 Oct 1768 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Name:
John Ambler evidently accompanied his father to Bedford upon the settlement of that plantation and spent his early manhood there, perhaps maintaining his father's property in that town.

John Ambler appears on the inhabitants' list of Bedford for 1692. On 16 Oct., 1694, the town of Bedford agreed to buy a house and lot of John Ambler for a parsonage " provided his price do not exceed L25." On 22 Dec., 1694, he joined with his father in a deed of several plots to the Proprietors of Bedford and was called "of Stamford" in the conveyance. it seems probable that this deed covered a large part of the Ambler holdings in Bedford. On 26 Dec., 1699, the Town of Bedford agreed to carry out certain accommodations for Mr. Joseph Morgan upon his coming to carry on the ministry. Among other things the town agreed to give Mr. Morgan all the land "which the town bought of Mr. Ambler and of his son John."

John Ambler entered his ear mark for animals at Stamford on 1 April 1699. He was, listed as a freeholder of Stamford in 1701 with property amounting to L92.10s, which placed him among the town's twenty richest men. He was collector of rates of Stamford in 1700 and a selectman of stamford in 1709 and 1710. he served as Deputy from Stamford to the Connecticut Legislature in May and Oct., 1711. His name appears frequently in Stamford Land records.

The will of John Ambler dated 3 Nov. 1711, was probated 5 Feb., 1711/12. In it he mentions wife Martha and children John, Stephen and Martha, a minor. Executrix, his wife Martha. Inventory was taken 1 Jan. 1711/12, Ib 24 Aug., 1713, John, a son of the decedent, chose Samuel Blatchley, of Stamford, as guardian and the son Stephen chose John Stone, of Stamford. Martha, widow of John Ambler, married second at Stamford, in Nov., 1712 Edward Beach. On 14 April, 1720, "the widow Martha Beach" entered hr ear mark for animals at Stamford. On 15 Dec., 1724, the town granted widow Martha Ambler a discharge from paying any taxes for one year.......

John married Martha WILDMAN in 1695 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA. Martha was born about 1668; died after 12 Nov 1728. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Fact: Daughter of Thomas Wildman

Notes:

Name:
When Martha (Wildman) Ambler embarked upon widowhood in November 1711, her husband had ensured that she and their three children were well taken care of. With acreage and a dwelling house, JohnAmbler's estate was worth nearly a thousand pounds. That property and Martha's dower rights meant she would be able to live comfortably.

But a year later she was remarried and all that she possessed went under the control of her new husband Edward Bach, newly arrived from England. This marriage turned out to be an unfortunate decision. The law giving married women property rights inConnecticut would not be in place for nearly 150 years, and Edward would make "a prey of the Good Estate left her." Successfully obtaining an absolute divorce in Connecticut during this time meant that one had to prove "adultery, desertion, fraudulent contract, and seven yeas' absence without word." Martha may have been able yo provide proof of all of those claims to be granted her 1721 divorce but inexplicably she did not pursue legal means to rid herself of this grasping husband.....

The widow Martha Ambler, with two minor children at home, married Edward Bach (Beach/Batch) in November 1712. The couple does not appear to have had children. By 6 March 1716, three years into the marriage, Edward wrote a letter to Martha asking that she "discharge" him from their marriage. Edward wrote of the "unhappy match" and "the Trouble that has befallen both you and I" and that he "cannot be contented: with her. He wrote the letter from Huntington, nearly thirty miles away, and requested that she oblige him and grant the discharge or "if you are Cross and will not send me a discharge you must take what follows." Despite the yhreat of "what follows," it appears Martha did not filed paperwork with the courts until several years later.

There are claims that Edward Bach had a child with Mercy June of Stamford before Edward's request to end his marriage to Martha. that child Mindwell Batch (or Bach), was born about 1713 or 1714 based on a 1733 deed from her mother and Mindwell's own marriage hat year. It is possible she was born a year or two later, closer to the time of the 1716 letter from Edward.

Mindwell June's mother, Mercy June, later married Richard Chester (Cheester/Chessier) at Stamford on 1 March 1718/9. the couple had one child, Mary, likely born about 1720.

By September 1721, five years after Edward's request for "discharge" from the marriage, Martha petitioned the Superior Court in Fairfield, making three damning claims against Edward: 1) Edward was still married to a woman in England, (2) he had already married a second time in Connecticut, and 3) he had spent all that was left to her by John Ambler. She claimed a "totall neglect of Duty" and his "extravagancy and ill husbandry" were reasons for praying for a divorce. Three men of Stamford verified her claims, Samuel Wood, Samel Hait/Hot, andRichard Chessier (who by then had been married to Mercy June for over two years), testified that they were "sorrowfully acquainted" with Martha who had been "almost nine years past unhappily married to Edward Batch a Stranger newly (or was said) come then out of England" who had a living wife and children in England and now a wife and child in the new country. According to the testimony Edward had absent seven years, meaning he had left Martha's household in the winter of 1714. Even though they had not lived together, Edwrd legally had access to whatever Martha possessed during his absence.Since Mercy June was married to Richard Chester by this time, the "wife and child in the new country" presumable are yet another woman and her child, though no marriage record for Edward other than the Bach-Ambler one was found.

Edward is not found in later records in Stamford or Fairfield County.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Death: Bef 28 Sep 1744, Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA

Benjamin married Elizabeth JAGGER on 10 Jun 1697 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA. Elizabeth (daughter of Jeremiah JAGGER and Sarah FERRIS) was born about 1679 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA; died after 1747 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Fact: Son of Richard Ambler and Sarah
• Occupation: Between 1670 and 1686; Recorder or town clerk of Stamford
• Occupation: 1699; Recorder or town clerk of Stamford

Notes:

Was elected Deputy from Stamaford to the Connecticut Legislature and served:

May and October 1677
May and October 1678
May and October 1679
May 1681
May 1682
October 1690
May, July and October 1691
October 1692

He was a Justice of Fairfield County when he died in 1699, having been appointed by the General Court in May, 1699. In addition he held minor offices in Stamford and major offices in Bedford, Westchester County, as well as serving on important committees in both places. In 1684, when New York assumed jurisdiction over Bedford for a short time, he was confirmed in his offices and made a Justice of Westcheste County.

Abraham's name is second as a signer on the Indian Deed to Bedford, dated December 23, 1680, his father's standing first. On October 11, 1681, he was named one of a committee of five appointed by the Proprietors to lay out the town lots.

Name:
A man of superior education and wisdom he held a position of leadership throughout his life, while his gentle nature and generous mind brought him the affection of the people of Stamford and Bedford....

In 1684, when New York assumed jurisdiction over Bedford for a short time, he was confirmed in his offices and made a Justice of Westchester County.

Abraham Ambler's name appeared for the first time in the Stamford Land Records on 20 june 1670, when Richard Ambler by "free deed of gift" gave his son Abraham Ambler a house and home lot situated between his own home and that of Robert Bates. From that date until his death his name appears frequently as grantor and grantee and in various distributions to proprietors made by the town. His holdings rank him among the town's richest proprietors and were widely distributed over the township.

Abraham Ambler's name is second as a signer on the Indian Deed to Bedford, dated 23 Dec. 1680, his father's standing first. On 11 Oct. 1681, he was named one of a committee of five appointed by the Proprietors to lay out the town lots. That he was an active projector of Bedford is proved by the action of the Court of Elections at Hartford which on 11 may, 1682, empowered him to act as chief civil officer of Bedford under a license which reads to this effect: Upon the petition of the people of the Hop ground, this Court doth grant them the privelege of a plantation and do order that the name of the town be henceforth called Bedford, and this Court do appoint Joseph Theall to be the present chief military officer for the train band of Bedford and Abraham Ambler is also empowered by this Court to grant warrants, to swear officers and witnesses and to join persons in marriage according to law, and they do free the said town of Bedford from county rates, for the space of three years next ensuing.

Abraham Ambler thus became the first Justice, town clerk and recorder of Bedford and continued as recorder until 26 Feb. 1696/7, when he was succeeded by Zachariah Roberts. His last entry in the town books of Bedford is dated 9 Feb., 1696/7. The early town records in his hand in Stamford and Bedford are remarkable for the character and beauty of the script and the clarity of the phrasing. They prove him a man of education. One marvels that living in a new and crude town such as the Stamford of his boyhood must have been, he enjoyed the opportunity or possessed the character to assimilate the degree of learning which evidently was his. The early school in Stamford probably was most rudimentary, actually there is no record of a school before 1670 and it may be assumed that the Rev. John Bishop, first minister of Stamford, was his teacher.

Abraham married Mary BATES on 25 Dec 1662 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA. Mary (daughter of Robert BATES and UNKNOWN) was born about 1643 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA; died after 15 May 1675 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Benjamin married Hannah WEED on 05 Jan 1670 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA. Hannah (daughter of Jonas WEED and Mary ?) was born about 1650 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA; died on 09 Nov 1711 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Jeremiah married Sarah FERRIS about 1676 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA. Sarah (daughter of Peter FERRIS and Elizabeth REYNOLDS) was born about 1655 in Stamford, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA; died before 1690 in Connecticut, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]