Person:Benjamin Hale (1)

Note: Married cousin [posted without explanation]

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Stow, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States. Vital Records of Stow, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850. (Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society at the charge of the Eddy Town Record Fund, 1911)
   p. 247.

   HALE, Binja[min], [died] Nov. 16, 1776. [Benjamin, a. 72 y. 3 m. 21 d., GR1]
   [Birth calculates to 26 Jul 1704. Allowing 11 days for the calendar shift in 1752, would give 15 Jul 1704. GR1=Old Cemetery at "Stow Lower Village"]

2.   Putnam, Eben. The genealogical magazine. (Boston, Massachusetts: Eben Putnam)
   Vol. 1, p. 31.

   Middlesex Deeds 77:349: 26 Feb 1777: "Kezia Hale, widow of Benjamin Hale of Stow, yeoman, deceased, and Administratrix of Estate" quitclaims her share in the estate except for certain exceptions, to a long list of heirs. As Benjamin and Kezia appear childless, these heirs would be heirs of the brothers and sisters of Benjamin. Benjamin, being the youngest, appears to have outlived all his brothers and sisters. With the addition of the will of Benjamin's brother Oliver showing that Oliver had an otherwise unknown daughter Mercy Gates, the list of heirs can be shown to have been grouped by the parents (the order is preserved in the list below, only the identifications of the parents have been inserted), therefore, this very usefully connects the parentage of these heirs with their condition decades later::
   [Children of brother Oliver ]
   "Daniel Gates of Preston, Conn., yeoman, as Attorney for his mother Mercy Gates of Preston, Conn."
   "Bezallel Hale of Stow, yeoman"
   "Benjamin Whitcomb of Marlbro, and wife Dorcas, yeoman"
   "Oliver Hale of Leominster, gentleman"
   "Jacob Hale of Stow, gentleman"
   "Joseph Hale of Marlbro, blacksmith"
   "Ebenezer Knight of Athol, cordwainer, and wife Mary"
   [Children of brother Israel ]
   "Israel Hale of Petersham, cooper"
   "Samuel Hale of Leominster, yeoman"
   "Ephraim Gates of Palmer, yeoman, as Attorney for his mother Mary Gates of Palmer"
   "Martha Robbins of Stow, widow"
   [Children of brother Joseph ]
   "Thomas Witherbee of Stow, yeoman, and wife Elizabeth"
   "Lydia Priest of Leominster, widow"
   "Reuben Gates of Leominster, yeoman, and wife Mary"
   [Children of sister Dorothy ]
   "Israel Davis of Holden, yeoman"
   "Joseph Davis of Pomfret, Conn."
   "Eleazer Davis of Hubbardston, yeoman"
   "Oliver Davis of Princeton, gentleman"
   "four above named Davises as acting on the behalf of their sister, Martha Smith in New Jersey"
   [Children of sister Mary ]
   "John Heald of Acton, gentleman and on behalf of [next two]"
   "Martha Barret [widow of Chelmsford and sister of John]"
   "Mary Robbins [widow of Chelmsford and sister of John]"
   "Jacob Robbins of Westford, husbandman, and wife Lydia"
   "Nehemiah Davis of Concord, husbandman, and wife Dorothy"
   "Oliver Heald of Temple, N.H., husbandman"
   "Israel Heald of Acton, gentleman"
   "James Faulkner of Acton, blacksmith, and wife Ruth".