Person:Rachel Varney (2)

  Featured Page: Week of August 15, 2016

Coming to Massachusetts

Rachel Varney was born sometime around 1630, probably in England. (Suggestions that she was born in Barbados seem to be based on the assumption that her mother Bridget was a widow of Jeffrey Parsons, an assumption that has been adequately disproven.^[10]) She arrived in Ipswich, Massachusetts with her parents William and Bridget Varney, probably in 1648. At that time she was already married to her first husband, Thomas Cooke. William Varney and Thomas Cooke were given “liberty” to reside in Ipswich at the same time, on 13 November 1649.

Three Marriages

As a number of researchers have noted, Rachel seems to have had poor judgment regarding her choice of husbands. Thomas Cooke was her first husband,^[11] and they were probably married in England. Unfortunately, Thomas had a problem. The same day that he was given permission to live in Ipswich, he also appeared in court for "going into the woods at unseasonable time of night, and carrying fire and liquors with him". Worse, he claimed that what the minister taught was false and argued against baptism, saying "that if he had children he would not have them so played the fool withal."^[12] Shortly thereafter, he and Rachel moved to Lynn, where presumably Thomas was employed at the first iron works in the Village of Hammersmith. The move, however, did not stop his drinking, and he died soon after, leaving Rachel with a young son (John Cooke).^[13]

Rachel apparently returned to Ipswich, where she married again, to Joseph Langton. Joseph was another man fond of wine. He also apparently resented caring for another man’s child. On 1 July 1652, Joseph appeared in court on charges of "evil usage" of Rachel's child by her first husband. The courts, in their concern for the well-being of young John Cooke, placed him in the care of his grandparents, William and Bridget Varney, at least on a temporary basis. Joseph and Rachel continued to live together, at least long enough to have two children, (Rachel and Mary Langton). Sometime, possibly not long after the birth of their second daughter, Joseph apparently deserted Rachel,^[14] leaving her now with three young children to raise. Eventually Rachel petitioned the courts for a divorce, probably on the grounds of desertion and infidelity.^[15] Her petition was granted.^[16]

Almost immediately, Rachel married for the third and last time. Her third husband, William Vinson of Gloucester, was the antithesis of her first two husbands, older and known for being sanctimonious. He was prosperous and presumably provided a good home for Rachel and the two children she had with him (Thomas and Abigail Vinson). He also apparently accepted her children by previous marriages, as they are mentioned either directly or indirectly in his will. And he apparently was trusted by Rachel’s mother, who mentioned him in her will and entrusted him with Rachel’s inheritance.^[1]

Witchcraft

Rachel was approaching sixty years of age when William died in 1690. Her children were all grown and married. William had been one of the more prosperous residents of Glouscester, and Rachel's widowhood should have been quiet and comfortable. It wasn't. Sometime in the fall of 1692, Rachel, along with Phoebe Day (wife of Timothy) and Mary Rowe (2nd wife of Hugh), was accused of witchcraft and arrested.^[2][17] Because the jail in Salem was filled, Rachel and the others were held in the Ipswich jail. The conditions, according to them, were grim. In a Petition to the Honourable Governer and Councell and Generall Assembly now sitting at Boston, they stated:

“. . . some of us have Lyen in the prison many monthes, and some of us many weekes, who are charged with witchcraft, . . .; we hope you will put on the bowells of compassion soe far as to concider of our suffering condicion in the present state we are in, being like to perish with cold in lying longer in prison in this cold season of the yeare, some of us being aged either about or nere four score some though younger yet being with Child, and one giving suck to a child not ten weekes old yet, and all of us weake and infirme at the best, and one fettered with irons this halfe yeare and all most distroyed with soe long an Imprisonment: Thus hoping you will grant us a releas at the present that we be not left to perish in this miserable condicion we shall alwayes pray &c.”^[18]

Fortunately, they were released for the winter and the public hysteria died down. As far as is known, the remaining years of Rachel’s life were uneventful. She lived another 15 plus years and died 15 February 1707/8.

Footnotes

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Babson, John J. History of the town of Gloucester, Cape Ann: including the town of Rockport. (Gloucester Mass.: Procter Bros., 1860)
   p. 173.

   Bridget [Knight] Varney's will [1672] mentions daughter Rachel Vincion, and son-in-law William Vincion.

2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Felt, Joseph B. History of Ipswich, Essex, and Hamilton. (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Printed by C. Folsom, 1834)
   p. 342 (Appendix).

   September 24 [1692]. On bonds for their appearance, Mary [sic], wife of Hugh Row, Phebe, wife of Timothy Day, and widow Rachel Vinson, all of Gloucester, are released from Ipswich prison, having been confined there for witchcraft.

3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5} Barber, Kathleen Canney, and Janet Ireland Delorey. William Varney of Ipswich and Gloucester, Massachusetts. The American Genealogist. (Jul 2006).

   Gve birth as about 1630; but had to be under 21 when father's estate inventoried, so should be about 1631

4. ↑ Massachusetts (Colony). Quarterly Courts (Essex County). Records and files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts. (Salem, Massachusetts: The Essex Institute, 1911-1925, 1975)
   Vol 1, p. 196.

   Rachell, wife of Thomas Cooke, deceased, sometime "inhabiting" at Ipswich, broght in an inventory of the estate of her husband. Amount, 35li. 8s. He left no will and she was appointed administratrix. Inventory of estate of Thomas Cook, deceased taken by William Bartholmew and William Varney

5. ↑ Massachusetts (Colony). Quarterly Courts (Essex County). Records and files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts. (Salem, Massachusetts: The Essex Institute, 1911-1925, 1975)
   Vol 1, p. 204.

   John Gorum of Hamersmith acknowledge judgment to widow Rachell Cooke of Ipswich

   Hammersmith was the name of the village associated with the Lynn ironworks. See "The History of Lynn including Nahant" by Alonzo Lewis

6. ↑ Essex County (Massachusetts). Register of Deeds. Deeds, 1639-1866; index to deeds, 1640-1879 (Essex County, Massachusetts). (Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1971)
   Vol. 10, p. 62; FHL # 0866019.

   See Estate Sales for abstract

7. ↑ Essex County (Massachusetts). Register of Deeds. Deeds, 1639-1866; index to deeds, 1640-1879 (Essex County, Massachusetts). (Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1971)
   Vol 38, p. 272; FHL #866031.

   See Gloucester for abstract

8. ↑ Deaths, in Gloucester, Essex, Massachusetts, United States. Vital Records of Gloucester, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849. (Salem, Massachusetts.: Essex Institute, 1917)
   p. 314.

   Vinson, Rachall, , Feb. 15, 1707

9. ↑ Barber and Delory Source: Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, ed., Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, 5 vols in 6. Boston 1853-54. Vol. 3, p. 194.
10. ↑ Willis S. Parsons. “Jeffery Parsons of Loddiswell, Devonshire and Gloucester, Massachusetts”. The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 142:(July 1988)
11. ↑ There is no known record of the marriage. However Thomas Cooke and William Varney were given liberty to live in Ipswich at the same time; William stood bond for Thomas when he first appeared before the court for drunkeness; Rachel Cooke is named in court records as Thomas's widow after his death; William Varney helped Rachel Cooke inventory her husband's estate; Thomas and Rachel's son John Cooke was given to William Varney as protection against mistreatment by Rachel's second husband; and John Cooke was mentioned in the will of Rachel's third husband, William Vinson.
12. ↑ Massachusetts (Colony). Quarterly Courts (Essex County). Records and files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts. (Salem, Massachusetts: The Essex Institute, 1911-1925, 1975), Vol 1, p. 178
13. ↑ On 29 Feb 1649/50 Thomas was in court in Salem for "being overtaken with drink". Massachusetts (Colony). Quarterly Courts (Essex County). Records and files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts. (Salem, Massachusetts: The Essex Institute, 1911-1925, 1975), Vol 1, p. 186.
    On 23 May 1650, Rachel, as widow of Thomas, was in court in Salem to petition for remission of the fine for Thomas' drunkness because she could not afford to pay. Barber and Delory, citing : Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, ed., Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, 5 vols in 6. Boston 1853-54. Vol. 3, p. 194
    On 17 Sep 1650 Joseph Armitage of Lynnn fined for allowing Thomas Cook to be so drunk he fell. Massachusetts (Colony). Quarterly Courts (Essex County). Records and files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts. (Salem, Massachusetts: The Essex Institute, 1911-1925, 1975), Vol 1, p. 194
    Also on 17 Sep 1650 Rachel presented the inventory of her deceased husband's estate to the courts. Massachusetts (Colony). Quarterly Courts (Essex County). Records and files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts. (Salem, Massachusetts: The Essex Institute, 1911-1925, 1975), Vol 1, p. 119-120
    On 16 Dec 1650 Rachel was finally able to collect the wages owing to Thomas before he died. Massachusetts (Colony). Quarterly Courts (Essex County). Records and files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts. (Salem, Massachusetts: The Essex Institute, 1911-1925, 1975), Vol 1, p. 204
14. ↑ There is speculation that Joseph was in Newtown, Long Island by 1856, four years after his daughter Mary was born. See Anderson, Robert Charles; George F. Sanborn; and Melinde Lutz Sanborn. The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635. (NEHGS, 1999-2011), Vol IV, p. 229. See also, Gale Ion Harris, "The Wives and Children of James2 Bradish of Newtown, Long Island, New York: With Notes on His Sister Hannah2 Bradish, Companion of Joseph Langton", The American Geneologist 78 (2003):96-102.
15. ↑ A husband's infidelity was accepted ground for divorce at the time. See: Sheila McIntyre, “The Correspondence of John Cotton, Jr. (1640-1699)”, American Ancestors 11:2 (Spring 2010), pp. 39-42.
16. ↑ Shurtleff, Nathaniel B. (Nathaniel Bradstreet). Records of the governor and company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England: printed by order of the legislature. (Boston, Massachusetts: W. White, 1853-1854), Vol. 4, Part II, p. 8, 22 May 1661. Also cited by Barber and Delorey.
17. ↑ Drolet, Jedediah, "The Geography and Genealogy of Gloucester Witchcraft". Paper presented to the Berkshire Conference, June 2005. According to Drolet, "There is no record of their accusation and examination extant . . . . nor is there any evidence of these women's cases to consider." He notes that the women were nearly all related through marriage or descent within the Rowe and Day families, including 15 year old Abigail Rowe, daughter of Hugh and Mary and step-granddaughter of Rachel.
18. ↑ Petition of Ten Prisoners at Ipswich. The Salem witchcraft papers, Volume 3: edited by Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum (1977) / revised, corrected, and augmented by Benjamin C. Ray and Tara S. Wood (2010). Salem witchraft papers