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About Rebecca Bushnell
Evidence needed to support as daughter of Capt. Robert Chapman or of Robert Chapman
4. William Bushnell, bapt. Horsham, co. Sussex, Eng. 3 Feb. 1610/11 (R-1), d. Saybrook, Conn. 12 Dec. 1683, m. Saybrook, abt. 1643, Rebecca Chapman (R-32), sister of Capt. Robert Chapman, b. Eng. d. Saybrook.
Rebecca lived in Saybrook Colony, a colony apart from Connecticut until 1644.
Children, 11 (R-18):
- 26*. i. Joshua, b. 6 May 1644
- 27*. ii. Samuel, b. Sept. 1645 28.
- iii. Rebecca, b. 5 Oct. 1646
- 29*. iv. William, b. 15 Feb. 1658/9
- 30*. v. Francis, b. 6 Jan. 1649/50
- 31. vi. Stephen (Twin), b. 4 Jan. 1653
- 32. vii. Thomas (Twin), b. 4 Jan. 1653
- 33. viii. Judith, b. Jan. 1655
- 34. ix. Daniel
- 35. x. Abigail, b. Feb. 1659/60
- 36. xi. Lydia, b. 1661
Identity
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Chapman-288
Little is known about the wife William Bushnell who immigrated to Saybrook, Connecticut likely between 1635 and 1639. Rebecca was almost certainly born in England, or at least not in New England, but nothing is yet known of her origins with certainty. Even her first name must be considered unknown, as all sources reviewed to-date, including those of Torrey and Anderson, simply assert without proof that she was Rebecca, sister of Captain Robert Chapman.
Many websites have her parents as Robert Chapman and Rebecca (Unknown), or Rebecca Mason, daughter of William Mason, who did marry a Robert Chapman 4 May 1616 at Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire[1] but there is no proof of her parentage at all.
It is not know when or where she came to New England. --- Per Torrey in "New England Marriages to 1700" William Bushnell married Rebecca, possibly surname Chapman by 1644 in Saybrook, Connecticut. Torrey's entry is this:
BUSHNELL, William (?1610, 1611-1683) & [Rebecca CHAPMAN?] (-1703); by 1644; Saybrook, CT[2]
Whether her surname was actually Chapman is not absolutely proven; it is asserted without source in "The Chapman Family..." (under See Also section) that a "sister of Robert Chapman" married William Bushnell, but that book does not claim her to be named Rebecca.
The "Bushnell Genealogy" (Under See Also) claims that her name was Rebecca, again without source and notes that she was "said to be a sister of Robert Chapman". It also claims that the Bushnell family had an ancient document, now lost, which proved her identity.
A "Rebeckah" Bushnell died 14 May 1703 in Saybrook, but this appears to be the wife of William Bushnell Jr according to the language of the Saybrook vital records:
Rebecka Bushnell wife to the above sd William Bushnell died the 14th day of May in the year 1703
The "above said" William Bushnell appears to be, from an earlier line on the page, "William Bushnell the son of Lieut. William Bushnell" i.e. this was Rebecca the wife of William Bushnell Jr, NOT the (maybe Rebecca Chapman) wife of Lieutenant William Bushnell Sr.[3][4]
Rebecca (if that was her name, all sources reviewed so far simply state it with no actual source) was almost certainly dead by 6 Jun 1710 when the probate of William's estate listed his surviving children and did not mention her at all. Likely she had died long before but she has not been found in Saybrook vital records so far assuming, as discussed above, that the 1703 death of a woman by that name was her daughter-in-law, the wife of William Bushnell Jr.[5]
References
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Rebecca Bushnell's Timeline
| 1616 |
1616
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England (United Kingdom)
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| 1644 |
May 6, 1644
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Saybrook, Middlesex, CT
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| 1645 |
September 15, 1645
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Saybrook, Middlesex, Connecticut, United States
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| 1646 |
October 5, 1646
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Saybrook, Middlesex, Connecticut
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| 1648 |
February 15, 1648
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Saybrook, Middlesex, Connecticut, United States
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| 1650 |
January 6, 1650
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Old Saybrook, Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States
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| 1653 |
January 4, 1653
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Saybrook, Middlesex, Connecticut, United States
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January 4, 1653
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Saybrook, Middlesex, Connecticut, United States
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| 1655 |
January 9, 1655
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Old Saybrook, Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States
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