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Sergeant Abraham Doolittle
b.12 Feb 1649/50 New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut, United States
d.10 Nov 1732 Wallingford, New Haven, Connecticut, United States
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m. Bef 1648
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m. 9 Nov 1680
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m. 5 Jun 1695
Facts and Events
"Abraham Doolittle Jr., the oldest son of Abraham Doolittle and Joan Allen, was born at New Haven February 12, 1649. He was baptized by the Reverend John Davenport and reared under his teaching. He attended Grammar School and answered well the questions about the catechism on Saturday and the many questions about the Sunday sermon on Monday. He was less than twenty when the family removed to Wallingford. It must have been lonely for the youths bred in Wallingford, as there was no store or place of entertainment nearer than New Haven. Although young, Abraham Junior was elected constable and was called "a worthy son of a worthy sire." (P) Abraham Doolittle Jr. married for his second wife Ruth Lathrop of New London [his first wife was Mercy HOLT]. There were no children of this union and she did not long survive her wedding day. His third wife was Elizabeth Thorp, by whom he had six children. (P) Whether the results of Abraham's much-married state was the cause of the following order of the General Court in October, 1710, is a matter of conjecture. The order was as follows: Upon the consideration of the great affliction and trouble of Abraham Doolittle of Wallingford, in the weakness and infirmity of his children, "This Assembly do relieve and exempt him --- the said Doolittle --- from paying any county rates for the future. (P) Abraham died in Wallingford, November 10, 1732 at the age of eighty-three years. (P) Elizabeth, the third wife and the widow of Sergeant Abraham Jr., died at Wallingford, August 29, 1736. In her will she mentions her own children, but no mention is made of the children of Mercy Holt. (P) But we are interested only in the children of Abraham Doolittle. Their education was gained largely from tales told by the grandfathers of emigration, colonization, and early pioneer life; stories of wild animals carrying off the stock, interesting glimpses of house building, hunting and happy home life. At the end of the day the children all took to their snug beds in the cold upper rooms, where frequently they watched the stars through crevices in the rafters. They were used to but little furniture, which was rude and of oak or pine. Each room had a bed, and a chest of drawers occupied the parlor. They told the time of dinner by the sundial, and ate from pewter and wooden dishes; if they had china, it was kept for special occasions. (P) Did the two motherless daughters of Mercy (Holt) Doolittle refuse to thrive under these conditions? There is no mention of them in the records of Wallingford, New Haven, or the adjoining towns after the birth record. The two sons, however, grew up and left a numerous progeny [see under John and Abraham (3) DOOLITTLE]." --- Emily Holt Durkee in The First Three Generations of Holts in America, p 248-9 References
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