While reading a 2004 book (
Such men are dangerous: the fanatics of 1692 and 2004), by Frances Hill, I saw this:
John Hathorne married, at the age of 33, a girl of 14. Ironically, she was the daughter of Quakers who had been so mercilessly persecuted in Massachusetts they had moved to Connecticut. ... Probably Hathorne's domineering personality made only a very young girl, whose confidence had been undermined by her parents' persecution and her own subsequent abandonment, the kind of consort he could tolerate.
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Strong words. There are several points in the book to discuss, but who was this 'very young girl' who married John Hathorne? We have already looked a little at one of John's descendant who was a descendant of Thomas, namely Nathaniel Hawthorne (
The early times,
Family traditions).
We had noted that John Hawthorne had married Ruth Gardner, daughter of George. Is that true? Also, was George hounded into going to Connecticut?
 |
Nathaniel Hawthorne,
descendant of
Ruth Gardner |
Ruth (#28 in
Dr. Frank A.'s book) did marry Hathorne around 1674 when she was fairly young. Was she still alive during the madness of the early 1690s?
Now, George, her father, did go to Hartford around 1670. Dr. Frank A. doesn't have a motivation in his 1907 book. The Gardner Memorial might have some more information.
Did George leave little Ruth behind? What is the story here?
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Frances Hill has studied, and written about, the Salem trials in which
John had a very major part. His buddy,
Jonathan Corwin, figures into the Thomas Gardner picture, to boot, as Samuel Gardner, son of Thomas, was married to their 1/2 sister (their mother was Samuel's mother-in-law, who had remarried after her husband, John White, died).
The madness was after Thomas' death. However, most of his kids went through those times. Hence, expect more about the topic in this blog as it is one of the many examples of
then vs now and how we still haven't learnt some necessary lessons.
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John Hathorne's sisters married
Porters who tried to protect people, such as
Rebecca Nurse. All types of stories have been told about the ordeals, and there is a lot of public interest.
One of our interests is to collect the stories that tie to Thomas' family; they ought to be a very interesting, eclectic mix.
---
We'll have to feature the other figures in Frances' book, such as
Cotton Mather:
And, running off after abstracted chimeras as we have seen the past decade, or so, is not effective for the commonweal. Perhaps, someone in Harvard has already figured this out. Do I see shades of Cotton Mather here (kidding, of course)?
Remarks: Modified: 09/19/2018
10/19/2011 -- Need to mention Jonathan's son, George, as seen from the
Corey side: The only person who seemed to profit from the witchcraft hysteria was Sheriff George Corwin who confiscated property and pocketed fees collected from the accused and their relatives.
10/19/2011 -- One motivation for interest is that these Corwin guys are great-1/2-uncles (however it is written). Hathorne, on the other hand, is a full great-uncle.
12/02/2011 -- More in the
4th issue of Gardner's Beacon.
12/29/2011 -- This post does not get into the subject, but here is
an article that does. We'll be getting back to the history and the sociology and all of that, at some point. Much to read, first.
03/13/2013 -- In regard to the connection with the Corwins, Samuel Gardner was 1/2 brother-in-law of Jonathan Corwin. George Corwin, Sr, was married to Samuel's mother-in-law, Elizabeth Herbert White.
09/04/2013 -- Again,
the scene is built as follows. Those who came over are from the 10th to 13th generations back (for the most part) for someone alive now. By the time of 1692, lots of the earlier arrivals had passed on. So, that left the
second generation (again, for the most part) as the elders. Now, taking a cohort mix (generational cut) round or about 1692 would give us someone on the current person's tree who would have about three generations living (including the level of their own cohorts). So, we would see siblings/cousins, parents/aunts/uncles, and the greats. In other words, it's a
composite person that is built from that cohort mix (meaning, of course, that being on the tree implies ancestry) for which we can identify relationships blood (including 1/2 blood), in-law, and even friends. What Marjorie's chart does is to take someone who is in the mix and look at extended relationships. Now, consider what we would have if we did that for a large part of the composite mix. Would it not be an interesting view?
10/30/2013 -- I am in the process of reading Katherine Howe's book,
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane. Dane, as in being related to
Francis, of course. I wondered if there would be motivating ideas for a Beacon issue (we did have 1692 as a theme in
2011 and
2012 - we'll pick up the theme in a time other than Halloween). Katherine's book has an interesting plot, especially the balancing of the characters, and their interactions, in two time periods is nice. The description that Katherine provides of little
Dorcas Good in the underground cell surely depicts the poor, young thing's misery and shows Katherine's grasp of the horror. One wonders, from some of the modern views and comments, if people really understand the dire situation. Too, the main hypothesis might have some truth, in a slightly altered sense. You see, science has not shown as much light on human matters as some might think. But, then, for any knowledge that our western mind has gained, we have also seen that the set of the unknowns does not diminish (more than mere choice). Is it just that we get better able to cover (as in, remove from awareness) the holes in which lurk the demons (until they come back and bite us at inopportune times)? ... And, Ruth? Her tale needs to be brought forth. We will have to look into that. For instance, what did Nathaniel write of his g-grand-mother?
10/30/2013 -- Being of the third generation,
Ruth ought to be given some attention with the upcoming 400th events. The early time, and its people, set the stage for the later.
11/13/2013 --
Phippen would be part of the
slate fill.
05/01/2014 -- Put a caption on Nathaniel's photo. Of course, John Hathorne was of a pre-photo time, but it is better to have the caption. ... This post has been popular.
