Person:Ebenezer Sumner (3)

Probably Ebenezer was lost in the expedition to Canada.

No details about Ebenezer's demise are provided, and the answer seems to have changed over the years. At first, in 1854, Ebenezer is said to have served, along with several other Sumners. Some are explicitly mentioned as lost, but that source was silent on whether Ebenezer returned or not, living the impression he survived. Later, in 1879, he went and was "undoubtedly lost" with no explanation. Now, Holman in 1942 says he was lost as if it is a known fact.

Actually, Holman's own treatment gives rise to some uncertainty, when discussing an agreement of heirs of Ebenezer's father. It was originally signed in 1687, and then acknowledged in 1695. Ebenezer signed the agreement in 1687, but presumably, did not participate in the acknowledgment. At one point, Holman is noting the changes between 1687 to 1695 (i.e., one sister remarried, etc.), and mentions no change for Ebenezer. Maybe she thought it was unnecessary to be explicit, but given the confusion of earlier researchers, it certainly would have helped. Further, one might have expected some kind of probate document partitioning Ebenezer's share among his brothers and sisters, but none is mentioned.

Ebenezer's rights in Dorchester Canada [Ashburnham], awarded in 1735 to veterans and heirs of this expedition, were claimed by "Bartholame Gold of Boston in the Right of His Uncle Ebenezer Sumner" (see, for example, History of Ashburnham, or Source:NEHGR, p. 16:150). So even if Ebenezer survived, it is pretty clear that he died by 1735 with no issue. Trying to determine how Bartholomew came into possession of these rights might yield some information. If Ebenezer died in 1690, one would have expected the rights to have been split amongst all Ebenezer's brothers and sisters and/or nieces and nephews. Concentration in just one person would seem to require a bunch of quitclaims in favor of Bartholomew, whereas if Ebenezer survived, he may have willed it in one piece?

1. ↑ Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States. Births, Baptisms, Marriages, and Deaths, 1630-1699 (A Report of the Record Commissioners): Document 130. (Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States: Rockwell and Churchill, City Printers, 1883)
   101.

   1666. Town.
   Ebenezer of William & Eliza. Sumner born Oct. 30.

2. ↑ Holman, Mary Lovering. "Three Generations of the Sumner Family", in The American genealogist : a monthly magazine of genealogy and local history. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1958)
   19:164.

   Children of William Sumner and Elizabeth Clement: 7) Ebenezer, b. 30 Oct 1666, "lost in the Expedition of 1690".