Family:Thomas Barber and Hannah Miller (1)

4 August 1768: Married in Cumberland, RI by Hannah's father, a reverend. Hannah was 5-6 months pregnant. Their first child was born in Rehoboth in 1768; their second child was born in Warwick in 1770.

The next documented birth is Sally Barber's 1781 birth in Townshend, VT. (But see below for a full list of their children as recorded over ten years after the fact by the Townshend VT town clerk.)

I believe that the four children born between 1770 and 1781 were not recorded in Warwick because Thomas and Hannah were Baptists and therefore against infant baptism.

A full list of Thomas and Hannah's pre 1781 children may be found in the Townshend, VT land deed records, Volume I, page 4. This is an interesting page. Tucked in amidst land deeds is a page, made at one sitting, by the town clerk, Thomas Amsohn in March 1783. It lists the children of both Amzi Doolitle and Jerusha his wife as well as of Thomas Barber and Hannah his wife (at least those born by March 1783). See the marriages notes for Amzi Doolittle and Jerusha Smith for the list of their children on this page. Here are the list of Thomas and Hannah's children as recorded in the land deed book:

Esther Barber, daughter to Tho. Barber and Hannah his wife, born November 14th, 1768. [We know her birth is recorded in the Rehoboth, MA Vital Records.] Thomas Barber son to Tho. Barber and Hannah his wife, born September 18th, 1770. [We know his birth is recorded in the Warwick, MA vital records.] Benjamin Barber son to Tho Barber and Hannah his wife, born February 26, 1773. Sibbel and Hannah Barber, twins and daughters to Tho Barber and Hannah his wife, born May 29th, 1775 Daniel Miller Barber, son to Tho Barber and Hannah his wife Born July 2nd, 1777 Sally Barber, daughter to Tho Barber and Hannah his wife, born December 11, 1781 Recorded Townshend March 1?, 1783 Dr.(?) Tho Amsohn Town Clerk.

Townshend, VT Vital Records, Volume B, p. 9 Recorded July 22, 1819 by Joseph Tyler, Town Clerk [note the date this was recorded-- a few months after Thomas Barber's death]: Sally Barber daughter of Thomas Barber and Hannah his wife was born December 11th 1781. Eber M. Barber son of said Thomas and Hannah was born August 4th, 1783 Calvin Barber, son of said Thomas was born June 5th, 1785 [note: the last three were not recorded by the previous town clerk above.]

Also listed on this same page by same hand on same date are the names and ages of Eber M. Barber and Metoris his wife. [Jillaine Smith has a photocopy of this record.]

Several town histories describe the controversy that culminated in the summer of 1778 in Warwick, MA and that affected Thomas and Hannah's marriage. Excerpts:

1) _History of the town of Warwick, Massachusetts: From its first settlement to 1854_ by Hon. Jonathan Blake (Boston: Noyes, Holmes and Co., 1873 [initially drafted in 1832-33], p. 59-61: "Who could believe that this monster in sin, though a pretended servant of the most high God, had long been guilty of conduct that would disgrace a brothel; and, to fill up the measure of his iniquity to the brim, he absconded from the town with a young girl, the miserable dupe of his nefarious wiles, and a deluded proselyte to his pretended religion. This girl's name was ___ Doolittle. As soon as the rookery was broken up by the arch demon's decamping, Mr. Amos Marsh cleared out with Mrs. Doolittle, the girl's mother; and Mr. Amzi Doolittle, the father of the girl, went off with Mr. Thomas Barber's wife... Before leaving this disgusting story, I will inform you of one of the methods this famous Elder Hix used to lead astray his credulous hearers, and make them the willing subjects of seduction. He told them that men and women had their spiritual husbands and wives as well as their temporal; and consequently where the spirit led them to love and admire each other in a spiritual sense, there was no criminality in the connection."

2) _History of Western Massachusetts: The counties of Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin, and Berkshire_ by Josiah Gilbert Holland, Vol. II, Part III, Springfield: Samuel Bowles and Company, 1855; p. 450-451 (Warwick chapter): "In the midst of the excitements and burdens of the Revolution, one Elder Hix [an itinerant Baptist minister] appeared [in Warwick] and, preaching from house to house, created an intense and all-pervading religious excitement, which brought within its influence nearly all the people in the town. But Elder Hix was a wolf in sheep's clothing. He upheld and taught the doctines of "spiritual wife-ism," identical with those of the present day [1855; probably referring to the doctrines of the Oneida Society founded in 1848], and the bubble burst, when at its highest inflation, by the revelation of the elder's corrupt practices among his flock, and by his running away with Amzi Doolittle's daughter. Amos Marsh, one of his proselytes, followed his example, and ran away with the girl's mother [first wife of Amzi Doolittle], and the father [Amzi Doolittle], to be even with the rest of the family, decamped with Thomas Barber's wife [Hannah Miller]. Mr. Marsh and Mrs. Doolittle were followed, arrested in the State of New York, and brought back. Both were legally convicted of their foul crime, and received appropriate sentences. [No mention of what the town did about Amzi Doolittle and Hannah Miller-- see below.] The effect upon the moral and social condition of the town was lamentable in the extreme."

3) "History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, Volume II," by Louis H. Everts, 1879. "About 1778 the town was scandalized by the advent of one Elder Hix, who, claiming to be a Baptist preacher, excited the community by his remarkable religious enthusiasm, and so agitated the people that a religious mania or infection prevailed upon every hand; the practical pursuits of life were well nigh unheeded, religious meetings were held at all hours of the day and night, and the town driven, in short, almost wild. At this juncture Elder Hix eloped with a young girl whom he had betrayed, a Miss Doolittle; Amos Marsh, one of his disciples, ran off with the girl's mother, and, to cap the climax, the girl's father, Amzi Doolittle, disappeared with the wife of Thomas Barber. The foolish followers of Hix and his doctrine of spiritual love or double marriages, spiritual and temporal, were cured, and they again returned to the domain of rational beings. Amos Marsh and Mrs. Doolittle were captured, convicted of adultery, and condemned to pay a fine and sit upon the gallows, Marsh being additionally sentenced to wear thereafter the letter A upon the breast of his coat."

Spiritual Wife-ism claimed that while yes, it was good to be married, that many people also had "spiritual mates" and even if someone was married, if they found their spiritual mate, it was okay to sleep with that person (and still stay married).

Hannah apparenly returned to Thomas shortly after her escapade with Amzi Doolittle, and Thomas moved Hannah and the children away from Warwick, MA to Townshend, VT. Ironically, Amzi Doolittle moved to the same place. Barber and Doolittle appear to have lived on adjoining land in Townshend and Wardsboro, VT. .

Hannah and Thomas, rare as it was at the time, divorced, and Hannah-- apparently taking some of her youngest children with her-- married Amzi Doolittle in 1787. Thomas married second Agibail Chase in 1791 in Townshend, VT.

From "Return to Yesterday: A History of Wardsboro, VT": The Barber Family "A history of Wardsboro would not be complete without an account of the well-known Barber family, some of whom were born and raised in Wardsboro, and prominent members of this family are now living in Brattleboro... Thomas B. ... was born Dec. 29, 1742, at Rehoboth, died April 17, 1819, and was buried at Wardsboro, East hill Cemetery, married Hannah Miller at Cumberland, RI, daughter of Rev. Daniel Miller. Thomas B. Barber divorced his wife Hannah and married secondly, Abigail Chase."

Even though Thomas and Hannah’s marriage failed and she ended up with her "spiritual" mate, Amzi Doolittle, the Barbers and Doolittles remained connected. Land deed records indicate that Doolittle and Barber sold Townshend land to each other over many years before and after the divorce. In May 1790, Thomas Barber sold 21 acres to Amzi Doolittle for 16 pounds and a week later, Amzi Doolittle sold Thomas Barber a track of land for 50 pounds. A few months later (July), Thomas Barber married Abigail Chase.

And not only was land exchanged, but sons and daughters were, too:

In February 1788, a few months after Amzi Doolittle, Sr. and Hannah Miller Barber married, Amzi’s son, Amzi Doolittle, Jr., married Hannah & Thomas’ daughter, Esther Barber. (This couple had no children of their own, but adopted Esther’s sister’s son, Hiram Shepherd who adopted the Doolittle surname; see below.)

A few months later (May 1788), Amzi Sr. sold 100 acres to his son and new daughter-in-law. Ten years later, in 1798, Amzi’s son Origin Doolittle married Thomas & Hannah’s daughter, Hannah Barber.

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Researcher and Barber descendant Elizabeth Barber Lusk (Betty) read the microfilm tapes of the handwritten official town records of Warwick, Wardsboro and Winchester. (Townshend films have not been made by the LDS, but researcher Connie Lancaster and Jillaine Smith have both visited the town clerk's office in Townshend, VT and copied the typed records (of the handwritten ones) that they have.) Here is a summary of Betty's, Connie's and Jillaine's findings:

1) The original handwritten records of Warwick, MA include both Joseph Barber (Brian Lewis' ancestor) and Thomas Barber. [Joseph and Thomas were brothers; they married the sisters Lydia and Hannah Miller, respectively.] Warwick VR list all of Joseph's children plus some marriages of Joseph's children and births of some grandchildren. The only recorded Warwick baptism for children of Thomas Barber and Hannah Miller is Thomas Barber, Jr. 18 Sep 1770 - no other mention of them or the births of their other children are found in the Warwick VR.

2) There is no mention of Thomas and Hannah's other children in the Wardsboro VT records- no births, etc. There is nothing on them in their original town records which go into the 1900s. [They were found in nearby Townshend, VT by Jillaine Smith in 2005.]

3) There are two microfilms for Winchester, NH (originally called Arlington). Winchester was incorporated in 1753 as Winchester (1733 as Arlington). No mention of any Barbers nor Doolittles in those records up to about 1830, when Betty quit reading- no town jobs held, no Vital Records, no land parcels. [Conflicts with the fact that Doolittles are buried in Winchester during this time period; they are also there in 1830, 1840 and 1850 censuses. Need to check records of Baptist church there.]

4) Since Thomas Barber did not remarry (Abigail Chase) until 1791, Hannah Miller probably took at least the younger children with her when she married Amzi Doolittle Sr. in 1787. (Calvin, the youngest, would have been age two.) Having grown up in Doolittle's home could explain Calvin's use of the Doolittle name for his son (Amzi Doolittle Barber) and why Thomas' two daughters (Hannah and Esther) married Amzi's sons, Amzi Jr. and Origin Doolittle.

Jillaine found that there is one Barber resident on East Hill, on Barber Road; no one was at home when she visited in July 2005.

1. ↑ Arnold, James N. Vital Record of Rehoboth, 1642-1896. (Providence, RI: Narragansett Historical Publishing Co., 1897)
   p. 478.

   [MILLERD] Hannah and Thomas Barber, both of Rehoboth, April 7, 1768.

2. ↑ Arnold, James N. Vital Record of Rehoboth, 1642-1896. (Providence, RI: Narragansett Historical Publishing Co., 1897)
   p. 422.

   [BARBER] Thomas and Hannah Millerd, both of Rehoboth, April 7, 1768.

3. ↑ Cumberland Marriages, in Arnold, James N. Vital Record of Rhode Island, 1636–1850: First series, births, marriages and deaths. A family register for the people. (Narragansett Hist. Publ. Co., 1891)
   11.

   BARBER, Thomas, of Rehoboth, and Hannah Miller, of Cumberland; m. by Elder Daniel Miller, Aug. 4, 1768.