1692 :: Warrant for Arrest of Barkers and Marston

On this date in our family history . . . the 25th day of August . . . in the year 1692 . . . after being accused of the supposed crime of witchcraft, a warrant is issued for the apprehension of certain individuals from our family tree, i.e. . . . 

Essex To the Constables of Andov'r

Complaint being made to me this day, by Sam'l Martin of Andover & Moses Tyler sen'r of Boxford, against Willia Barker sen'r Mary Marstone the wife of John Marstone jun'r & Mary Barker the daughter of Lef't John Barker , all of Andov'r in that the aboves'd William Barker Mary Marstone & Mary Barker, have woefully afflicted & abused, Abigail Martin & Rose foster of Andov'r, & Martha Sprague of Boxford by witchcraft, Contrary to the peace of o'r sovereigne Lord & Lady #[King] William & Mary King & Queen of England &c: & to their Majes'ts Laws in that Case provided:

These therefore require you in their Majes'ts names upon sight hereof, to apprehend & seize the bodies of William Barker sen'r Mary Marstone the wife of John Marstone jun'r & Mary Barker the daughter of Lef't John Barker all of Andov'r & them safely Convey to Salem, before their Majes'ts justices of the peace there, to be examined & proceeded with according to law, for which this shall be yo'r warrant: given und'r my hand & seal this #[eighteenth] 25'th [25] day of August Anno Domini 1692: in the fourth year of their Majes'ts Reigne:/ *Dudley Bradstreet justice of Peace

The s'd Martin & Tyler have given suffitient bond to prosecute s'd persons to effect, which bond remains with me:

(Reverse) [torn] In Obediance Two this warant I have aprehended the within Riten persons and have brought them to Salom the 29'th of August 1692 Before their honours mentined in the Rit: pere me *Ephraim Foster
Constable of Andover

W'm Barker
Mary Marston Mary Barker
Exa'd 29: 6. 92

The names mentioned in this warrant and their kinship to the Keeper of this family history blog are as follows . . . 

• Samuel Martin [step 9th great-grand-uncle] 
• Moses Tyler [9th great-grandpa] 
• William Barker [8th great-grandpa]
• Mary Marston [stepdaughter of 8th great-grand-aunt]
• Mary Barker [7th great-grandma]
• Abigail Martin [wife of step 9th great-grand-uncle]
• Rose Foster [7th great-grand-aunt]
• Martha Sprague [step-8th-great-grand-aunt]
• Dudley Bradstreet [father-in-law of 8th great-grand-uncle] 
• Ephraim Foster [8th great-grandpa]

1746 :: Death of Ephraim Foster

On this date in our family history . . . the 21st day of September . . . in the year 1746 . . . Ephraim Foster dies in Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts . . . this Ephraim is an 8th great-grandpa to the Keeper of this family history blog . . . the epitaph from his tombstone, as recorded in Volume IV of The Essex Antiquarian, reads as follows . . . 

HERE LIES BURIED

THE BODY OF M^r

EPHRAIM FOSTER

WHO DIED SEP^t

21 1746 IN

Y^e 89 YEAR

OF HIS AGE

In his Foster Genealogy, Frederick Clifton Pierce recorded the following regarding our Ephraim Foster . . . 

"One of the prominent names in the early town history [of Andover, Mass.,] was Ephraim Foster. . . . He seems, judging from the numerous documents in his handwriting, to have excelled as a scribe, and to have been versed in the art of punctuation, then little known to the majority of our town officials. His favorite point was the colon, with which his papers are plentifully besprinkled, without regard to the grammatical or rhetorical construction. This characteristic appears in the 'Proprietor's Records,' where his handwriting occurs.
 
Some of the family estates were in the east part of North Andover, one of the ancient homesteads (that afterward occupied by J.M. Hubbard, Esq., and noted for the large and beautiful elm tree, still vigorous) was Ephraim's residence. He d. September 21, 1746. Res., Andover, Mass., in that part now North Andover. . . .

Ode to Job

On this date in our family history . . . the 7th day of November . . . in the year 1760 . . . 38-year-old Ruth Porter nee Foster dies in Boxford, Massachusetts . . . the following day, the 8th of November, would be the 16th anniversary of the day she had married Benjamin Porter in Andover, Massachusetts . . . this Benjamin and Ruth are 6th great-grandparents to the Keeper of this family history blog . . .

Benjamin's family history in Andover traces back to his 3rd great-grandpa, Job Tyler, who is said to have been living in Andover as early as 1639 . . . it has been said of this Job that . . .  

"He was a rude, self-asserting, striking personality" . . . and that . . . He did not . . . "learn prudence very fast, but he was himself. . . . He did not shape his words to suit sensitive ears. He resented dictation and found it hard to restrain himself from what he wanted to do through any prudential policy. . . . From this old canvas there gazes steadily out, not an ideal but a very real personage, an out and out Yankee type."

At a Tyler Family Reunion held in Andover on Wednesday, September 2nd, 1896, the gathering was called to the old North Parish Church, where Job Tyler anciently paid "minister's rates," and where his sons, Moses, Hopestill and John, were early communicants.

At this gathering, songs were sung, organization business was taken care of, and genealogies and letters of regret, as well as poems were read . . . including the following excerpts from a lengthy poetic composition written in honor of our Job . . .

In Newport, quaint Rhode Island town,

way down upon the coast.

There landed from old England's shore,

of whom we can now boast

A "Tyler"; from o'er the sea came he

to the woods and lofty hills.

To found a home and family,

and 'scape old country's ills.

"Sixteen Forty," or thereabout,

he stepped upon the strand

And pitched his tent in an ancient town

now known throughout the land

As Andover, of scholastic fame,

whose influence is known

In Forum, Pulpit, Rostrum,

where Knowledge it is shown.

"Job" was his appellation,

a patient man, 'tis said.

This horny-handed ancestor,

now numbered with the dead,

Who delved from early morn till night,

he strove to make a name,

Respected, loved, esteemed by all,

but yet, unknown to fame.

To gratify his longing

he went from town to town,

To Roxbury, Mendon, Arundel,

before he settled down.

But he came back to Andover,

and here resolved to stay.

Where we revere his memory

on this September day.

The supposition is,

his bones a grave doth fill

In the little old-time burial yard,

not far upon the hill;

No stone doth mark the sacred spot

or record can be found,

But one, his first born,

who lies there beneath historic ground.

The trees do wave their requiem

above the sacred dead,

So we should grant our meed of praise

for the spirits that have fled,

And add our mite of reverence for

those who went before,

And visit, each and all, the spot,

before the day is o'er.

As is stated in that poem, Job's final resting place has been lost to the sands of time . . . thanks to those involved in the referenced gathering, our Job is now memorialized with a bronze tablet attached to a boulder in the Old North Parish Burying Ground in North Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts . . . that boulder was relocated from the old Tyler farm in West Boxford . . . and placed near the gravestone of his son, Moses . . . the memorial was dedicated five years following the above reunion . . . on the 4th day of September in 1901 . . . 

This blogpost was researched and prepared specifically for The Sixth Annual Great Genealogy Poetry Challenge over at cousin Bill's blog which is known as . . . West in New England . . .

1739 :: Order for Gravestones

On this date in our family history . . . the 3rd day of April . . . in the year 1739 . . . Deacon David Foster places the following order for gravestones for some of his family members . . . this David Foster is a 7th great-grandpa to the Keeper of this family history blog . . .

Mr. Robert Mulican of Bradford: Ser pray make: for me Two Grave Stones; one for David Foster jeuner of Andover who died the 22; day of Dec; in the year of our Lord; 1736, in the 20th year of his age; the son of David and Lidea Foster of Andover.

And one for Lidea Foster the daughter of David and Lidea Foster of Andover who died in the 17th year of her age in the year of our Lord 1736 and, when they are made, send me word; and I will come and pay you for them.

David Foster.

And one for Isaac Foster; the son of Joshua and Mary Foster of Andover who died in the third year of her age in the year 1738. Pray send me word when it is made; and I will satisfye you for it.

Joshua Foster.

Let them all be made; before you send us word the 3rd day of April, 1739.

From
Foster Genealogy
by
Frederick Clifton Pierce