For over 100 years, Knower descendants have been looking for the exact lineage of Elizabeth Weld Knower, but no one has ever found it. Until, perhaps, now.
Her granddaughter, Ann Knower Vantine, asserted that she was a descendant of the Rev. Thomas Weld who came from England in 1632 and settled in Roxbury, Mass. This is entirely possible; the noted Puritan divine left many descendants in Roxbury, as did his brothers.
The problem begins with the fact that we cannot pinpoint her birth in Roxbury vital records. The best clues to her lineage come from Norfolk County, Mass. deeds recovered and transcribed by David Randall in 2004. Benjamin Knower, widower of Elizabeth Weld Knower, died intestate in 1806. The property on which they raised their family was part of Elizabeth's Weld patrimony. Benjamin acknowledges this just before his second marriage in a legal document signing over to his children his rights in the house "being the property of a former wife," Elizabeth, "their mother." In another document dated 1816 (Norfolk County Registry of Deeds, Vol. 48, 1814-17, LDS microfilm 0839811, folio 186 verso), several individuals release their rights in the property to Benjamin's heirs. They are Hannah Munroe and her husband John H.; Sally Hawkes and her husband Ezra; and Martha Tolman and Jesse Tolman, heirs at law of Sarah Tolman late of Needham. More Tolman property abuts the land described in this document, as does land "formerly set off as dower to the late widow Hannah Weld."
As the police might say, Hannah Weld is a Person of Interest in this case. She is likely the direct ancestor of Hannah, Sarah, Sally and Jesse -- and we may someday be able to prove, mother of Elizabeth Weld Knower. Interestingly, an 1863 deed refers to land "formerly of Samuel Weld more recently of Mary Randall." Mary Randall was a daughter of Elizabeth Weld Knower. It may be that Hannah and Samuel Weld are the parents of Elizabeth. There was such a couple, in exactly the right place, at the right time, as we'll see below.
But first, who are the Tolmans and the Hawkes, and why do they have an interest to convey? There is a clue in the marriage of Polly (Mary) Weld to Timothy McIntire on July 9, 1786, in Roxbury. Timothy McIntire was born July 7, 1759, in Needham, son of Joseph McIntire and Jemima Coller. According to Boston Marriage Intentions, a Sarah McIntire married Elman Tolman on Nov. 5, 1778. According to the LDS genealogical index, Sarah is Timothy's sister. According to a lineage posted on the Web by Mark Stilwell, a Hawkes descendant, their son, Jesse and his wife Martha had a child named Sally Tolman, born May 7, 1786, who married Ezra Hawkes on July 18, 1805. So, if these data are correct, the Sarah Tolman late of Needham, whose son Jesse and daughter-in-law Martha figure in the 1816 deed to the Knower tribe, is Timothy's sister and a sister-in-law of Polly Weld, and Jesse Tolman is the father of Sally Tolman Hawkes.
As for Hannah Munroe, she is identified as a daughter of Sarah Tolman in an 1815 deed, but she and her husband are otherwise unknown. Further research may bring them to light.
Mary Weld McIntire, nee Polly Weld, died Feb. 21, 1823, age 61, in Roxbury. I can find no record of her having had children. Could this be why her property passed to her husband's nieces?
And how exactly was she related to Elizabeth? Facts suggest a close relationship: In 1792, Benjamin Knower and Timothy McIntire redeemed a small piece of land with a house from one John Preston. It is bordered by land of Charles Belknap; "the thirds of Hannah Weld," and the "High Way." Preston had purchased the land a year earlier "reserving nevertheless to the heirs of Hannah Weld the Right of Redemption in the Premises." Furthermore Benjamin Knower and Timothy McIntire remained tenants in common of the house. (Suffolk County Registry of Deeds vol. 173, 1792, LDS microfilm 0494625) We believe the "Heirs of Hannah Weld" are not Benjamin Knower and Timothy McIntire -- but their wives: Elizabeth and Mary Weld.
In 1794, Benjamin Knower of Roxbury and Mary McIntire, widow, sell a piece of the same land to an abutter, Samuel Heyward. In the same document, Elizabeth, Benjamin's wife, relinquishes her right of dower to this property. (Norfolk County Registry of Deeds, vol. 2, folio 58 recto; LDS microfilm 0839599)
There is one other small clue: Mary McIntire Randall, a daughter of Mary Randall (the daughter of Elizabeth Weld and Benjamin Knower mentioned above), born in 1810, was apparently named for her.
So, closely following genealogies set forth in "Weld Collections" by Charles Frederick Robinson, privately printed at Ann Arbor, Mich., in 1938 and its subsequent volume of additions and corrections, we present a:
1. REV. THOMAS WELD was born 1595 in Sudbury, Suffolk, England, and died March 23, 1659/60 in London, England. He married (1) MARGARET DERESLYLE. She died about 1635 in Roxbury, Mass. He married (2) JUDITH -----. She died May 4, 1656 in Gateshead, near Newcastle, England. He married (3) MARGARET ------. She died in 1671.
THOMAS WELD was entered in the parish register of St. Peter's Church, Sudbury as 'the son of Edmund Weld' at his baptism July 15, 1595. He matriculated at Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1611, taking his BA two years later and his MA in 1618. He was ordained deacon and then priest by the Bishop of Peterborough in March 1618. His first post was as Vicar of Haverhill, Suffolk, and in 1624 he was appointed Rector of Terling, in Essex, where he remained until about 1632. His theology and politics being strongly Puritan, Weld was examined and excommunicated during ArchbishopWilliam Laud's 'cleansing' of the church, and he fled to Holland before taking ship for Boston in Massachusetts on March 9, 1632. Weld's arrival aboard the "William and Francis" was noted June 5, 1632 by John Winthrop in his Journal. Rev. Weld's first American appointment was to the church at Roxbury, which invested him in July 1632; he shared pastoral and teaching responsibilities with John Eliot, who later became known as the 'Apostle to the Indians.' Eliot's was the more gentle spirit. Weld had little admiration for the natives and detested dissenters. He preached an inflexible and rigorous Puritanism, and took an active part in the persecution of Anne Hutchinson. On the other hand, he was also active in the effort to found and nurture the Roxbury Free School and the college across the river in Cambridge known today as Harvard University. He was also a co-author of the Bay Psalm Book.
Weld owned considerable tracts of land in Roxbury by 1640 which passed to his son, Thomas. Weld seems to have retained a soft spot for his homeland. As early as 1632 he had composed a pastoral letter to his flock back in Essex. As the political climate in England shifted in favor of Puritanism, he was drawn home, leaving Massachusetts in 1641, never to return. Several of his sons remained in Roxbury, who with their cousins became progenitors of a vast family. In England, Weld worked diligently on behalf of the schools and churches of Massachusetts, raising endowments and scholarships for Harvard students and funds for relief of poor emigrants. JUDITH, his second wife, was already the widow of two ministers when she married Thomas. Her epitaph, in St. Mary's Church, Gateshead, reads: "Here sleeps Mrs. Judith Weld, who was to three godly ministers a good wife, to Christ a faithful servant, to the church an affectionate member, for piety, patience and prudence eminent. She departed this life 1656. In Jesu dormio, spendide resurgam." MARGARET, Thomas Weld's third wife survived him. Her will was probated in November 1671.
Children of THOMAS WELD and MARGARET DERESLYLE are:
i. JOHN WELD, baptized June 6, 1625, Terling, Essex.
John emigrated to Massachusetts with his parents and two brothers in 1632, and remained in the colony after his father's return to England. He suffered disgrace while a student at Harvard College in 1644, being whipped with another student with whom he committed two burgaries -- one at the home of his own uncle. He did not complete his education, but returned to England, where he became minister at Ryton.
2. ii. THOMAS WELD, baptized July 26, 1627, Terling, Essex; died January 17, 1681/82, Roxbury, Mass.
iii. SAMUEL WELD, baptized October 8, 1629, Terling, Essex; probably died young.
iv. EDMUND WELD, baptized: July 8, 1631, Terling, Essex; died March 2, 1667/68, County Cork, Ireland.
He remained with his brothers Thomas and John when their father returned to England. He graduated from Harvard College in 1650, took Holy Orders and emigrated to County Cork, Ireland in 1655 to serve Puritan parishes there, including one at Blarney Castle. Although he married, his wife's name is not recorded; the couple had one known child, named Nathaniel, born in 1660.
v. DANIEL WELD, died December 16, 1699, Deerfield, Mass.; m. MARIE HINSDALE, of Dedham, Mass.; died 1682, Roxbury, Mass. Daniel's place and date of birth are not recorded.
2. THOMAS WELD was born in Terling, Essex, baptized there July 26, 1627, and died January 17, 1681/82 in Roxbury, Mass. He married DOROTHY WHITING June 4, 1650, daughter of the REV. SAMUEL WHITING. She was born about 1628 in England, and died July 31, 1694 in Roxbury, Mass.
Thomas inherited his father's land holdings in Roxbury as well as 'remote' land elsewhere, and expanded his holdings by purchase. Over his lifetime he held most of the principal town offices. That he was a soldier in King Philip's War is evidenced by the claim by his son Edmund to land now in Bedford, N.H. that was part of a tract parceled out to veterans of that war as pay for their services. He died a wealthy man, leaving land to his sons and daughters and a rich annuity to his widow. Thomas and Dorothy Weld are buried in the Roxbury First Church burying ground. DOROTHY WHITING came to New England with her father, arriving May 26, 1636. He was appointed minister of the church at Lynn. Dorothy's mother and siblings had died in England before Samuel and Dorothy emigrated.
Children of THOMAS WELD and DOROTHY WHITING are:
i. SAMUEL WELD, baptized July 20, 1651, Roxbury, Mass.; burial there August 26, 1653.
ii. THOMAS WELD, baptized June 12, 1653, Roxbury, Mass.
iii SAMUEL WELD, born August 10, 1655.
iv. JOHN WELD, born October 9, 1657, Roxbury, Mass.; died there July 25, 1686.
He never married. The documents concerning the disposition of his estate show that he was a properous weaver and husbandman.
3. v. EDMUND WELD, born September 29, 1659, Roxbury, Mass.; died there in 1747.
vi. DANIEL WELD, baptized March 6, 1661/62, Roxbury, Mass.; burial there June 25, 1663.
vii. DOROTHY WELD, born April 28, 1664; died 1740; m. (1) WILLIAM DENISON; m. (2) SAMUEL WILLIAMS. Although she was twice married, she died without issue.
viii. JOSEPH WELD, born May 3, 1666; died 1695, apparently died without having married.
ix. MARGARET WELD, born November 29, 1669; m. NATHANIEL BREWER, March 17, 1691/92. Margaret and Nathaniel were the parents of at least two daughters who were mentioned in the wills of Weld relations.
3. EDMUND WELD born September 29, 1659, in Roxbury, Mass., and died there in 1747. He married ELIZABETH WHITE on November 10, 1687. She was born in 1667, and died December 20, 1721 in Roxbury.
He was a cooper by profession. In his will, probated April 14, 1747, he left a comfortable estate to his children and widow. Their birth order can only be guessed at by the order in which they are named in his will.
Children of EDMUND WELD and ELIZABETH WHITE are:
i. ELIZABETH WELD, m. ELIAS PARKMAN on November 13, 1718.
ii. JOHN WELD, born about 1690.
iii. JOSEPH WELD, died February 21, 1692/93.
4. iv. EDMUND WELD, born June 23, 1695, Roxbury, Mass.; died there July 1748.
v. DOROTHY WELD, born April 8, 1725; married HARBOTTLE DORR, May 11, 1696.
Harbottle Dorr, born May 11, 1696, was the son of Edward and Elizabeth Dorr. They were the parents of at least three children: Susanna, Harbottle Jr., and Dorothy.
vi. SAMUEL WELD, died March 29, 1698.
vii. THOMAS WELD, born November 1702. He graduated with the Harvard Class of 1723 and became the minister of the town of Upton, Mass. In 1744 he was called to and then ejected from a troubled church in Middleborough. He returned to Roxbury in 1750. His date of death is not recorded, nor is any marriage known.
4. EDMUND WELD was born June 23, 1695, in Roxbury, Mass., and died there July 1748. He married CLEMENCE DORR July 8, 1725. She was born July 17, 1700.
The couple was married by the Rev. Nehemiah Walter, and were members of his church in 1726. He was a "landed gentleman of considerable importance" and his occupation was joiner. He died intestate; sons Samuel, Joseph and Edmund eventually bought out their siblings. CLEMENCE DORR was a daughter of Edward and Elizabeth Dorr. Her brother Harbottle married Dorothy Weld, above.
Children of EDMUND WELD and CLEMENCE DORR are:
5. i. SAMUEL WELD, born April 14, 1726, Roxbury, Mass.; died there 1773. He m. HANNAH ROGERS, June 22, 1749.
ii. ELIZABETH WELD, born October 30, 1727; m. EBENEZER STEVENS, July 9, 1750.
iii. EDMUND WELD, born January 12, 1727/28.
iv. DOROTHY WELD, born April 7, 1730; m. JOHN REYNOLDS, May 5, 1753.
The couple lived for some time in Providence, R.I., but by 1765 had returned to Boston. They had five sons.
v. JOSEPH WELD, born October 30, 1732.
vi. EDWARD WELD, born February 5, 1733/34.
vii. CLEMENCE WELD, born about1735; m. PAUL SPEAR, August 25, 1758. He was a chairmaker in Boston
5. SAMUEL WELD was born April 14, 1726 in Roxbury, Mass., and died there in 1773. He married HANNAH ROGERS June 22, 1749. The couple was married by the Rev. Nehemiah Walter. They were members and pew owners in the First Church in Roxbury. His occupation was joiner. We believe this couple to be the parents of Elizabeth Weld Knower, although Robinson does not list her among their known children. There is room for her between the birth of Thomas in 1751 and Samuel in 1755; her recorded age at death (ae 49, in the Roxbury Vital Records) points to a birthdate in 1753. We further believe that her sister, Mary, who was baptized December 6, 1761, is the Polly Weld who married Timothy McIntire, whose business dealings with Benjamin Knower, Elizabeth's husband, are well documented, and that this Mary is "the Widow McIntire" who shared an interest in the house and land occupied by Benjamin and Elizabeth Knower. Her age as reported at her death (ae 61 in the Roxbury Vital Records) points to a birth year of 1761. It is significant that Samuel's homestead is recorded as abutting land of Charles Belknap to the north, and that it faces the major road through the area. This places his land and homestead in the same place as land later inherited by the children of Elizabeth Weld Knower; the same land was purchased a generation later by Elisha Dorr Knower. Several deeds refer to these lots as land "formerly of Hannah Weld" and "formerly of Samuel Weld." These indications can't be taken as conclusive proof that Samuel and Hannah are the parents of Elizabeth Weld, but they are the best solution we can offer to a mystery that has puzzled Knower descendants for over a century.
Children of SAMUEL WELD and HANNAH ROGERS are:
i. HANNAH WELD, born June 3, 1750; m. ABIEL WITHINGTON, December 14, 1774, West Roxbury.
ii. THOMAS WELD, born October 8, 1751.
iii. SAMUEL WELD, born June 18, 1755.
iv. EDMUND WELD, born February 24, 1757.
v. JOSEPH WELD. Baptism: March 4, 1759, Roxbury, Mass.
vi. MARY WELD. Baptism: December 6, 1761, Roxbury, Mass. Died February 21, 1823, Roxbury.
vii. EZRA WELD, born December 21, 1764.