< rodbigelow@netzero.net > 
BACK TO BIGELOW HOME PAGE
From records at Harvard, MA we take the births of three daughters of Nathan Brooks and his wife Mary Bigelow:
16211.1 Mary, bapt 5 Jan l752 Harvard.
16211.2 Abigail, bapt 24 Jun 1759 Harvard.
16211.3 Sarah, bapt 29 Aug 1766 Harvard.
Sources:
The Bigelow Family Genealogy, Volume I, page 154;
Howe, Bigelow Family of America;
vital records MA;
records of Lee Corless, Grosse Pointe Woods, MI.
Note:
Subject: Bigelow/Harris & Bigelow/Brooks
Date: Fri, 21 Jun 2002 13:25:05 -0700
From: "Rex" < rexette847@charter.net >
Rod,
Although I am not a Bigelow descendent, there are two places in which Bigelows
appear to marry into my families. I tend to be a bit of a fanatic regarding
documentation and thus, am hoping that you can assist me with determining
the underlying source of information as per your Bigelow website.
1) 15336.5 Cornelius 6 BIGELOW married, circa 1792,
Persis Harris, born between 1774 and 1776, daughter of Gerald and Elizabeth
(Sawyer) Harris. They are supposed to have moved to Montreal circa 1800,
though a fourth son was said to be born at Townsend, VT
in 1801. Howe's Bigelow genealogy says he went with his brothers to form Montreal's
first nail factory. By 1803 be is listed as a tenant on the lands of Col.
Daniel Robertson in Chatham township, Argenteuil county. Still further rumor
is that he returned to New York briefly, but in 1807 was definitely back
in Quebec. Howe's Bigelow genealogy says he lived in Montreal during the War
of 1812, but children born after 1814 were all born at Chatham (now called
St. Philippe), Quebec.
Cornelius' wife Persis died 20 May 1823, following
the birth of her fourteenth child.
I would greatly appreciate knowing how Persis was determined to be a Harris
and how it was determined that her parents were Gerald Harris m Elizabeth
Sawyer. The Cornelius Bigelow home in Chatham, Quebec was very near
that of my 4th ggrandfather, Silas Harris, and according to a published genealogy
(authored by Lee & Mae Corless) that addresses the Harris family, Persis
was Silas' sister. Unfortunately, I can find absolutely no documentation
for this whatsoever and mathematically, this would appear to be highly unlikely
unless perhaps, Persis were the product of a second marriage to a much younger
wife.. This same genealogy claims that Elizabeth Sawyer was the wife
of Silas Harris and I have found some evidence to indicate that this is correct.
Nevertheless, if Persis was indeed, a Harris, determining her relationship
to my 4th ggrandfather could be crucial to proving my Harris line.
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
2) 16211. Mary 5 BIGELOW, daughter of Jonathan 4 (Jonathan 3, Joshua 2, John 1), and Mary (SNOW) BIGELOW, was born 16 July 1731 at Lancaster, MA. She was married at Harvard, MA on 5 Feb 1751 to Nathan Brooks, son of Joseph and Susannah (Bacon) Brooks. He was born 1 May 1713 at Concord, MA. His first marriage was 9 Feb 1737 to Sarah Bacon, who died leaving four children. We have no dates of death for either Nathan or his second wife Mary Bigelow. They may have emigrated to Vermont.
>From records at Harvard, MA we take the births of three daughters of Nathan Brooks and his wife Mary Bigelow:
16211.1 Mary, bapt 5 Jan l752 Harvard.
16211.2 Abigail, bapt 24 Jun 1759 Harvard.
16211.3 Sarah, bapt 29 Aug 1766 Harvard.
Although this is a bit confusing, I think that this Mary Bigelow is the
second wife of Nathan Brooks whose first wife was Susannah Bacon. The
family seems to have completely disappeared from Harvard and I see a note
that they "may have emigrated to Vermont". I am curious as to why it
is
thought that they could have gone to Vermont since Nathan Brooks son, David
Brooks (by first wife, Susannah Bacon) is thought to be the David Brooks who
was in Chester, Windsor Co. VT - my 4th ggrandfather. I have never
been able to prove or disprove that he is the "real" David Brooks and at this
point, would be happy to simply locate some of the rest of his family nearby
but unfortunately, I have had no success in finding Nathan Brooks' children
by Susannah Bacon or Mary Bigelow. At this point, all I have is my
David Brooks who roughly fits the age criteria to have been Mary Bigelow's
stepson. There are numerous websites that declare him to be so however,
once again, absolutely no documentation other than the little unsourced published
Brooks genealogy by Lee & Mae Corless. Again, any assistance would
be greatly appreciated. BTW - the Harvard Vital Records show additional
children of Nathan Brooks m Mary Bigelow: Elizabeth Brooks September
30, 1753 and Zaccheus Brooks November 16, 1760.
Interestingly, the Silas Harris of #1 had a daughter who married the son
of David Brooks of #2 - they were my 3rd ggrandparents. Proving the
ancestry of both have proven to be exceedingly difficult so perhaps, there
is some clue within the Bigelow family. BTW - it seems to me that if
I do manage to prove the Brooks upline, eventually, I get a Bigelow of my
very own. Looking forward to hearing from you,
Teri
More:
Rod Bigelow sent me a copy of your letter to him, and asked me if perhaps
I could help. I think that the best way is to send you the material
I found, on your Snow-Bigelow-Brooks connection, (I connect with all three
of theses families, though not with your connection) since I have some things
that may help. Some of it is just going to be more confusing, I’m afraid,
since it differs from information that you have.
From the “Genealogy of the Richard Snow Family” compiled by George Burwell
Snow, D.D.S. of Long Beach, Calif. (This is a Typewritten copy in the
Manuscript Dept. of the Newberry Library, in Chicago.):
“Mary Snow, Bapt. Jan 15, 1710 in Lancaster, married Jonathan(4) Bigelow
14 June 1730 of Weston, MA. She was the daughter of James and Mary Snow.”
From “The American Genealogist”, Volume 53, #2, April 1977 , pages 94 through
100, “Thomas Brooks of Watertown and Concord”, by John Brooks Threlfall
“ Joseph(3) Brooks (Joshua(2), Thomas (1)) was born about the fall of 1570
at Concord, died 11 July 1746 in his 76th year per grave stone at Concord.
He married at Concord, first, 31 Jan. 1703/4, Abigail Bateman, born 29 July
1677, died 24 Jan. 1704/5 in child bed, daughter of Thomas and Abigail (Merriam)
Bateman; second, 26 June 1706, Rebecca Blodgett, born 5 June 1689 at Wolburn,
died 25 Jan. 1768 in Lincoln, probably daughter of Thomas and Rebecca (Tidd)
Blodgett. His will names his wife and all his children. (Middlesex
Probate 2857)”
(Note, 9 children listed:Mary, Hannah, Rebecca, Joseph, Nathan, Amos, Jonas,
Isaac, and James. Following is what is given for Nathan):
“v. Nathan, b. 1 March 1712/13; m. 9 Feb. 1736/7 in Bedford, (1) Susan Bacon,
d. 25 Sept. 1750 aged 37, mother of four; (2) Mary Bigelow, 6 children b.
Harvard. Ch. By first wife: Nathan 1738- ; Joel bapt. 1742, d. 17744/5;
David bapt. 1743- ; Susanna bapt. 1747; by second wife: Mary bapt. 1752;
Elizabeth apt. 1753; Sarah bapt. 1756; Abigail bapt. 1759; Zaccheus bapt.
1760; inf. D. 1763.”
In Jonathan(4) Bigelow’s Will, written on May 23, 1755, in Charlestown,
NH(See “Forge”, the Bigelow Society Quarterly, Volume 18, #1, January 1989,
page 8) you will note that he said:
“Item. I give and Bequeath unto my well beloved daughter Mary Brooks the
wife of Nathan Brooks of Harvad in the County of Worcester in the province
of Massachusits Bay forty shillings lawful money of the province above Sd
together with what she hath already received.”
After he lived in Charlestown, NH, Jonathan (4) lived in Rockingham,
Windham County, VT.
Note: One of my Bigelow lines is down through your Mary (Bigelow) Brook’s sister, Mindwell (Bigelow) Frost, wife of Jonathan Frost.
The information concerning the two wives of Joseph Brooks is also confirmed
in my copy of “Genealogy of the Brooks Family, descendants of Thomas Brooks
of Watertown collected and arraged by William Gray Brooks of Boston, 1860,
Member of the Massachusetts Historical Society and the New England Historic
Genealogical Society” it states:
“Joseph, b 1674, m 1st, Abigal Bateman of concord, Jan. 31, 1703
2nd, Rebecca Blodgett, Jan.
26, 1706”
I hope that some of this helps. Perhaps, if Nathan and Mary (Bigelow)
Brooks did move to Vermont, they moved to Rockingham, where her father was
living. Anyway, it’s a place to start your search in Vermont. I would
appreciate it, if you would let me know, if you find anything more on Nathan
& Mary, so I can add it to my files.
Janis (Bigelow) Pahnke
5220 N. Melvina Ave.,
Chicago, IL 60630-1037
< rodbigelow@netzero.net >