Person talk:Anna Hyde (7)

Comments [1 January 2016]

I had a hard time following this argument. Probably my fault for coming at this with little background, but here are my comments. First, I think arguments are easier to follow when they move from known to what is not known, only speculated. Second, there are several occurrences of "I believe", which as a reader, I feel should be followed by an explanation of why you believe, it being by definition not a matter of fact, but the result of an analysis of other items. Third, more information on the cases ruled out would definitely be helpful to a reader. I tried rewriting it, but it would be unfair to tag the combined work as an article written by you, so I will simply offer it here as a discussion.

What is known [2 January 2016]

Anna Hyde married Joseph Laidain in Boston on 26 November 1796 at the Church of the Holy Cross (1)(2)(3). They had a daughter named Mary Anna Laidain (5).

Mary Anna (Laidain) Hunt died in Quincy, Norfolk, Massachusetts on 25 February 1877 [1]. Her death records indicate that her mother, "Annie", was born in Newton, Massachusetts (4)(5). Death records for Anna (Hyde) Laidain indicate that she was 73 years old when she died on 12 August 1838 (5) (here) This means that Anna Hyde would have been born in Newton, Massachusetts about 1765.

Research [2 January 2016]

My research has focused on three women named Anna Hyde born in Newton, Middlesex, Massachusetts, between 1763 and 1774. All three were descendants of Jonathan Hyde (1626-1711), and were therefore cousins. One was also a descendant of Samuel Hyde (1610-1689). This essay attempts to differentiate between the three.

According to Newton VRs:

• Anna Hyde, born in Newton on 17 Jul 1763 to Nathan Hyde and 2nd wife Bethia Dyke(7).
• Anna Hyde born to Elisha Hyde and Mary Knapp has no birth recorded.
• Anna Hyde born in Newton on 31 May 1774 to parents William Hyde and Lydia Bruce.

[A woman born in 1765 and marrying in 1797, such as is being discussed, is pretty old for a first marriage. However, I could not find any likely widows that fit.]

According to Jackson's History of Newton:

• the daughter of Elisha m. Joseph Leighton. Elisha d. 1781.
• no marriage is shown for the daughter of Nathan. Nathan d. 1780.
• the daughter of William m. Nathan Craft in 1793. William d. 1802.

Also: Newton VRs show

• Anna Hyde and Nathan Craft m. 2 Apr 1793.
• Anna Hyde and Edward Hill, (int.) 18 Jul 1795 (married per Cambridge VRs 6 Aug 1795).

and Boston records show

• Anna Hyde and Joseph Laidain m. 26 Nov 1797.

From Middlesex Probate we learn:

• Case 11231: Elisha Hide had a daughter Anna. Case 11233: in 1782, Lydia, Anna, and Beulah, all over 14, chose Jeremiah Wiswall as guardian. Lydia's birth is recorded in 1762, and age at death places Beulah's birth in 1767, so Anna around 1764-1765.
• Case 11269: the will of Nathan Hide lists a daughter "Anner" second (after Sarah), i.e., presumably his second oldest daughter. She is left a legacy of £100. Case 11270: In 1781, Jonathan, Anna & Bethiah all chose Samuel Hide as their guardian, being all over fourteen.
• William Hyde does not seem to have a probate file.

Daughter of Elisha Seems Most Likely

The Anna Hyde who married Joseph Laidain in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, appears to be the same one who was born in Newton in about 1765 to Elisha Hyde and Mary Knapp. [presumably based on age at death?]

No birth for this Anna Hyde has been found. Her estimated birth in 1765 comes from an analysis of her father's probate. Her birth parentage, and marriage informationan assertion that her spouse was Joseph Leighton, are included in Jackson's "History of the Early Settlement of Newton" (6). [What does Jackson base this identification of her spouse on?] I believe that "Leighton" is an Anglicization of the French name "Laidain". If one accepts this, then Jackson's book tells us that this Anna Hyde was the one who married Joseph Laidain.

I believe that she moved to Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, later meeting and marrying Joseph Laidain there.

So, why did she move to Boston? Anna did have a sister, Lydia (Hyde) Etheridge who lived in Boston, so she may have been staying with her. Death records indicate that Lydia Etheridge died in Boston (5). So, Anna may have met Joseph Laidain while staying in Boston with her sister's family. Interestingly, the church marriage records indicate that the husband of Lydia Hyde, Samuel Etheridge (6)(11), was one of the witnesses at Anna's wedding(3).

Other Candidates [2 January 2016]

Jackson tells us the daughter of William and Lydia married Nathan Craft on 2 April 1793, later moved to Jay, Franklin, Maine (5). [What is Jackson's basis for saying this? I haven't found any records that directly support this. Actually, a cemetery record suggests this is wrong (see here) which says Anna Crafts died in Jay, ME, age 77 in 1840, which works out to a birth in 1763. And it does make sense that one of the older Annas was the first one married, and not the youngest of the three candidates. Several sources copy Jackson, which is to be expected, including Source:Crafts, James Monroe. Crafts Family : A Genealogical and Biographical History of the Descendants of Griffin and Alice Craft, of Roxbury, Mass., which nonetheless clearly shows Nathan and Anna Crafts named no children either William or Lydia.]

Anna Hyde and Edward Hill married in Cambridge on 8 August 1795 (8). These records cannot be for the Anna Hyde born in 1774 [only because we assume she was already married to Nathan Craft?] The 1763 Anna Hill is the best match for the one who married Edward Hill. [Why? he was born 1769 so she is older than her, which is not common.] Edward Hill is living in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the 1800 U.S. Federal Census [2] with wife and 2 young daughters. No record of this Anna Hyde after 1800 has been found, so the fate of her and her family is unknown. [The births of their daughters don't seem to be recorded in Cambridge, so no naming patterns available to support this.] --Jrich 06:09, 2 January 2016 (UTC)