Richard Harcourt

Richard HARCOURT Birth: Abt 1623 England Death: Abt 1696 Oyster Bay, Nassau, New York Marriage: Abt 1651 New York

Spouse: Elizabeth POTTER Birth: Abt 1630 Hempstead, Nassau, New York (links state 1635) Death: Abt 1683 Oyster Bay, Nassau, New York

Children:

1. Susannah HARCOURT Birth: 1652 Hempstead, Nassau, New York Death: 1 Apr 1682 Jamaica, Queens, New York Married: Peter STRINGHAM Marr: 4 Mar 1679 Flushing, Queens, New York
2. Elizabeth HARCOURT Birth: 1654 Hempstead, Nassau, New York
3. Mercy HARCOURT Birth: 1656 Hempstead, Nassau, New York
4. Daniel HARCOURT Birth: 1658 Hempstead, Nassau, New York
5. Benjamin HARCOURT Birth: 1659 Hempstead, Nassau, New York
6. Isabella HARCOURT Birth: 1662 Oyster Bay, Nassau, New York
7. Sarah HARCOURT Birth: 1664 Oyster Bay, Nassau, New York
8. Meribah HARCOURT Birth: 1667 Oyster Bay, Nassau, New York
9. Dorrothy HARCOURT Birth: 1670 Oyster Bay, Nassau, New York Death: 1739
10. Mary HARCOURT Birth: 1674 Oyster Bay, Nassau, New York

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From George Cocks, in The Cock......Genealogy of Long Island: Richard Harcurt appears in History of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations 23 January 1648/9, as one of the signers of the Fundamental Agreement of the Inhabitants of the Colony of Warwick; 26 February 1648/9 with Henry Townsend, Mr. (Robert) Potter, and Mr. (Ezekiel) Holliman, appointed to lay out the meadow and upland in "ye neck". In 1648 as Constable, the (then) highest office in the Town Government. In 1652 he was licensed to keep a Victualing House and to sell spirituous liquors. In 1655, it was ordered that Richard Harcurt is appointed to be an Ordinary Keeper (i.e. tavern keeper) together with Stukely Westcott. In 1657, at Jamaica, Long Island, he was on a list of citizens, along with the three Townsends, subsequently his neighbors at Oyster Bay. On 16 February 1661, at Jamaica, he was on a list of those proscribed for sympathy with Quakers (Friends). In September of the same year, his name appears among the grantees of the Mill Right to Henry Townsend at Oyster Bay. The Oyster Bay records show that his first residence was on a lot bought of Mark Meggs situate on the South side of the main street just east of the mill dam. His next and probably his last residence was on the south side of the road to the Cove, including property of the late Edward M. Townsend. He held at times the offices of Overseer, Constable and Surveyor and was on sundry commissions for laying out lands in the Town. Of his ancestry, George Cocks had not made any attempt at discovery, but believes him to have been a 'cadet' (a younger brother or son, or a younger branch) of the Harcourt Family. The following extracts may be a beginning for some future chronicler. "In 1652 Richard Harcut was mentioned as heir or assignee of Frances (sic) Weston, and Margaret his wife," while in another deed Richard is called cousin (nephew) of Francis Weston from whom he had inherited land. It is suggested that Richard's mother was a sister of Francis Weston. Francis Weston was of Salem, Massachusetts, Providence and Warwick, Rhode Island, and was a recalcitrant Puritan and one of the twelve original members of the Baptist Church at Providence. According to Austin's Gen. Dict. of RI, p. 156, Richard Harcurt married 1st Elizabeth Potter, daughter of Robert Potter and Isabel Anthony (as shown by induction) daughter of John and Susannah Anthony of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, Inn Keeper, etc. Robert Potter in 1638, being under criticism in the Church, removed to Portsmouth and Warwick, RI, where in 1643 he, with sundry others including Samuel Gorton were notified to appear before the General Court at Boston, as "they held blasphemous errors, which they must repent of" or go to Boston for trial; "and they were soon carried thither". At the time of the capture of the Warwick men, their wives and children were forced to betake themselves to the woods and suffered hardships that resulted in the death of three women at least, one of these being the wife of Robert Potter. In 1655, on the 25th of May, he was appointed by the Court of Commissioners to keep a house of entertainment, but died before the expiration of the year. Richard Harcurt married 2nd Mariam Hoyt, daughter of Samuel Hoyt of Stamford, CT, and widow of Samuel Forman, son of Robert of Oyster Bay. Richard died at Oyster Bay after 2 May 1696, that being the date of Codicil to his last will. The very interesting will (See Townsend Memorial, p. 73 et seq.) does not name all his children and their alliances, but the following arrangement here presented while making no pretense to regularity of birth, nor anything but possibility in cases of those marked interrogatively, is approximately correct. (Susannah, Elizabeth, Mercy, Daniel, Benjamin, Isabel, Sarah, Meribah, Dorothy, Mary)

The Winthrop Fleet list mentions that Harcourt called two other Fleet passengers "Uncle" and "Aunt": Francis and Elizabeth Weston. Their origin is undetermined. One or both became adherents to Mrs. Anne Hutchinson and were banished; one or both of them removed to RI.

Further information from: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~mbfriedlander/hawxhurst.html

Corrected relationships

https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L5FK-BD5

In 1935 the first notice was published of the old error about who the husband of Susannah Harcourt was as per "A Memorial of John, Henry and Richard Townsend." The codicil to the 1696 will of Susannah's father Richard Harcourt, mentioned his granddaughter Hannah Townsend, dau of his dau Susannah. The Memorial author mistakenly assigned Susannah as 1st wife to John Townsend II, and also gave him a 2nd wife that belonged to his cousin of the same name. Discovery of the error was made from town records that show that Susannah actually married Joseph Halstead and that both grandfathers of these children, Richard Harcourt and Jonas Halstead, were recorded as protective of the interests of their Halstead grandchildren because by 1682, Susannah had died and in 1679 Joseph had died. The grandfathers were engaged in legal actions with their stepfather Peter Stringham to secure the interests of the children. This find corrects the error that Susannah md. Joseph Halstead, and that Hannah Townsend, granddaughter, was actually Hannah Halstead, md. to James Townsend, Jr. as probably his 2nd wife. John Townsend II was married to a Townsend whose given name was Hannah as it appears on various records for that couple, but her maiden name is NOT known. The incorrectly assigned 2nd wife Phebe belongs to John Townsend, son of Richard Townsend I, who later removed to Cape May, NJ. Ironically, the Townsend Memorial had that marriage correct and did not catch their own error about wives of John Townsend II. Please read this important correction posted in Memories so we can keep all these families accurate.

References

• http://www.familycentral.net/index/family.cfm?ref1=4923:8646&ref2=4...
• Other Sources: http://genforum.genealogy.com/potter/messages/183.html
• http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Potter-84
• http://www.antonymaitland.com/hptext/hp0306.txt
• https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~mbfriedlander/genealogy/hawxhurst.html