Person:Abigail Wells (33)

Below is a verbatim excerpt from “Corrections to Genealogies in Print” (NEXUS [New England Historical and Genealogical Society], Vol. XI, pages 109-110:

HAWKS - Imogene Hawks Lane [author of], John Hawks, a Founder of Hadley, Massachusetts (1989), p. 49, states that Abigail WELLS, w. [wife] of Eleazar-3 HAWKS (and mother of 13 children, b. 1715/6-1741), was the daughter of Ephraim & Abigail (ALLIS) WELLS of Deerfield, Mass. and Colchester, Conn. Deerfield VRs [vital records] contain a marr. [marriage] rec. [record] of Abigail WELS [sic, WELD?] to Eleazar Hawks 24 Nov. 1714. but she cannot be the WELLS-ALLIS dau. [daughter]. This Abigail, then ae. [age] 17, was. b. [born] Colchester, Conn. 20 Feb. 1697 (after her parents removed from Deerfield), m. Colchester 17 Jan. 1721 William MARINER, and had at lest seven ch. [children] b. [born] there. She d. [died] before 1781, when her younger bro. [brother] Thomas WELLS wrote his will (see TAG [The American Genealogist] 37[1961]: 43-44), bequeathing to sister Hannah GUN and to heirs of siblings of Ephraim WELLS, Joshua WELL, Abigail MARINER, Mary DAY, Sarah WAY, Lydia ROWLEY, & Rebecca EDGERTON. I have found no Abigail WELLS of the correct age to have m. [married] Eleazar HAWKS in 1714. Compilers of the published Deerfield VRs may have misread the surname WELD for WELS. - Submitted 17 March 1993 by Barbara Jean Mathews, 18 Blossom Street, Lexington, MA 02173

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Baldwin, Thomas W. Vital Records of Deerfield, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850. (Boston: Wright & Potter, 1920)
   p. 288.

   HAWKS, Abigail, w. of Eleazar, [died] Mar. 17, 1768, a. 71 y. GR1
   [Birth about 1696-1698. Note: Find A Grave memorial shows 17 Mar 1768 on memorial page, but transcription of the inscription given there says 7 Mar 1768, and as far as can be seen through lichen and oblique photograph angles, it appears to say 7 Mar 1768.]

2.   Source:NEHGS Nexus (New England Historic Genealogical Society), Vol. 11, p. 109-110 (link for NEHGS members), the wife of Eleazer Hawks "cannot be" daughter of Ephraim Wells and Abigail Allis as stated in Source:Lane, Imogene Hawks. John Hawks, A Founder of Hadley, Massachusetts After a Sojourn of Twenty Four Years at Windsor, Connecticut, p. 49 (snippet view). The will of her brother Thomas Wells names that Abigail as Abigail Mariner deceased in 1781 [citing TAG, vol. 37, p. 43, link for NEHGS members), so that Abigail married Colchester 27 Jan 1721 William Mariner. The researcher who wrote this article has found no Abigail Wells of suitable age and speculates that the name on the marriage record might have been misread, possibly Weld? (Note: if so, the person who made the town copy made the same error. The original does not seem to be online.)