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So, this is Dad and Mom. Ray is the son of Conrad Herrmann and Kate Bundock. He is the step-son of Edith Armstrong and Wally Hewitt. ...

Friday, January 29, 2016

Jane Crane's Maternal Line

My previous post talked about the 1st cousin connection of Jane and her husband, Isaac Kelsey, through her father and his mother. I now want to talk a little about Jane's mother, Martha Daggett.
Martha and John Crane married in 1694 in Killingworth. I have five children for them - Hannah, Jane, Ebenezer, Concurrence, and Eleanor. They may have had a first child, John, but I can find no info for him at the present time.
Martha died in Killingworth, possibly in the same year, 1711, as her husband. But Martha was not born in Killingworth.
Martha Daggett was born in 1672 in Edgartown, Massachusetts. The county is known as Dukes today, but back when Martha was born it was known as Martha's Vineyard. 
Martha's parents were Thomas Daggett and Hannah Mayhew. Martha had 9 siblings - Thomas, Samuel, John, Joshua, Jemima, Mary, Patience, Israel, Ruth. 
Thomas and Hannah were my 9th great-grandparents.
Thomas was an early settler on Martha's Vineyard, even before Thomas Mayhew moved there and bought the land that included Edgartown (Great Harbor). He was a son of John Doggett and Alice Brotherton, although his mother is debatable among researchers. His father, John, was part of the Winthrop Fleet and was one of the original settlers of Watertown, Massachusetts. Thomas served as clerk and, later, justice of the county courts on Martha's Vineyard.
Governor Thomas Mayhew
Hannah Mayhew was the daughter of Thomas Mayhew and Jane Gallion. Her father purchased the land that consisted of Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and the Elizabeth Islands. He established himself as its "First Governor for life". Hannah was known as her father's "favorite daughter' and it gave her much freedom to do what most women were not allowed to do for that time period. She owned several lots of land that remained as her sole possession after her marriage to Thomas. Her father's will even extracted a promise from Thomas not to meddle in his wife's property.  
Some of the settlers dubbed her "Deputy Governor" due to her involvement in her Father's Administration, only withdrawing after her father's death at which time her nephew, Matthew, became Governor.
On an interesting side note, the Governor's assistant in converting the local Indians was Peter Foulger (Folger), grandfather of Benjamin Franklin.