Anne Starkweather

Not a proven child of Metacomet "King Philip"

https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LRZ3-7VG

However, several living descendants have had DNA tests revealing Native American ancestry.

Massachusetts Bay To Connecticut Migration

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Unknown-384527 Last significant change: 28 Mar 2019

Anne (Unknown) Starkweather (abt. 1655 - 1727)

Anne "Anna" Starkweather formerly [surname unknown]

Born about 1655 [location unknown]

Daughter of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]

[sibling%28s%29 unknown]

Wife of John Starkweather I — married 1675 in Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts Bay, British America

DESCENDANTS

Mother of

Thomas Starkweather I, Timothy Starkweather, John Starkweather II, Robert Starkweather,

Richard Starkweather, Mary (Starkweather) Stanton and Lydia Starkweather

Died 1727 in Preston, New London, Connecticut, British America

Profile manager: Robert Haviland

Profile last modified 28 Mar 2019 | Created 31 Aug 2017 |

Last significant change: 28 Mar 2019

23:56: Robert Haviland posted a message on the page for Anne (Unknown) Starkweather (abt.1655-1727). [Thank Robert for this]

Biography

Ann (_____) Starkweather, born about 1655; died in Preston, New London County, Connecticut Colony, British America in 1727; probably buried in the Preston City Cemetery with her husband; member of the Preston First Congregational Church; married in Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British America, 1675, John Starkweather; Seven children.

Timeline

About 1655. Birth of Ann.[1] Birth place and parents unknown. (See Research Notes below.) 1675. Marriage of John Starkweather and Ann[1][2] in Ipswich. Torrey gives the place of marriage as Ipswich / Preston.[3] However, Dr. Starkweather states "[t]heir early married life was spent in Ipswich . . . [and] [t]he children of John and Ann [___] Starkweather, [were] all born in Ipswich probably . . ."[4][p 17] and Savage[2] states all of the children were of Preston by 1705. Dr. Starkweather in his Sons of the American Revolution application[5] states that Ann and John were married in 1675. (Two other SAR applications (National Number 50645 dated 1931 and National Number 93344 dated 1965) give the date as 1676.) About 1677. Birth of son Thomas Starkweather probably in Ipswich. About 1679. Birth of son Timothy Starkweather probably in Ipswich. 1680, April 1. Ann Starkweather gives sworn testimony in Essex County Court. "Ana, wife of John Starkwether, aged about twenty-five years, testified that she bought silk of Abigall Duch and the latter said if she would spare her some milk she would pay her in ribbon. Sworn, Apr. 1, 1680, before Jo. Woodbridge,* associate. [* Autograph].[1]

1680, September 16. Birth of son John Starkweather in Ipswich. 1684, November 12. Birth of son Robert Starkweather in Ipswich. 1686, December 25. Birth of son Richard Starkweather in Ipswich. About 1689. Birth of daughter Mary Starkweather probably in Ipswich. About 1693. Birth of daughter Lydia Starkweather in Ipswich. 1694, August 26. First mention of John Starkweather in Preston, New London County, Connecticut Colony. It is assumed John, Ann, and their children are living in Preston at this time.[4][p 17] 1703, August 21. Death of husband John Starkweather in Preston, New London County, Connecticut Colony, British America. 1705. Death of son Robert Starkweather. 1706, April 14. "Mrs. Anna Starkweather" was received into full communion 14 April, 1706, by the church (Congregational) in the South Society of Preston (now the Preston City church).[4][p 18][6] 1709, October 5. Anna admonished by the church for her being faulty by lying and obstinate therein.[4][p 18][6] 1711, February 28. Mrs. Anna Starkweather, church confession and restored to full communion.[4][p 18][6] 1727. Death of Anna Starkweather[3] in Preston[4][p 17], New London County, Connecticut Colony, British America. It can be assumed that Ann was buried with her husband in the Preston City Cemetery. The Find A Grave memorial[7], for Ann states her burial was at this cemetery. However, there is no documentation to support this statement. (See Research Notes below.)

Research Notes

Birth Year

The only source I've found to date on the birth of Ann is in the court records[1] that state on 1 April 1680 she was "aged about twenty-five years". This gives a birth year of about 1655. Dr. Starkweather's book[4] contains no other Ann Starkweather during this time period. Haviland-437 14:19, 12 July 2017 (EDT)

Marriage

Torrey's New England Marriages Prior to 1700[3] has this entry for John and Ann Starkweather. STARKWEATHER, John (1646-1703) & Ann __?__ (-1727); b[m?] 1680; Ipswich/Preston, CT The potential typographical error is obvious in the "b[m?] 1680". This error could indicate other potential transcription errors. Research into the original source may clarify the marriage date. On 1 April 1680 the court[1] record identifies Anna as 'wife of John Starkwether". So we know their marriage was prior to this date. The Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) is a patriotic organization that invites applicants who are a lineal descendant of an individual who served in the military, or contributed to the cause of American independence during the Revolutionary War. Today all applicants are required to submit proof of their lineal descent. Years ago, no proof was required. So the older applications should generally be used as hints, not as quality sources. There are at least three past members of the SAR who have applications on record that include descent from John and Ann Starkweather. (Why the older applications trace the descent to, and past the Revolutionary War ancestor I do not know. But three applications do just that.) What is of note is one of the applications was submitted in 1915, and it is the application of Dr. Carlton Lee Starkweather,[5] the author of the Starkweather Genealogy.[4] In his application, he states that John and Ann Starkweather were married in 1675 (the 1931 and 1965 applications state 1676). Torrey gives the place of marriage as Ipswich / Preston. Dr. Starkweather states their early marriage life was in Ipswich and that most, if not all, of their children were born in Ipswich.[4][p 17] Since the first mention of John Starkweather in Preston is in 1694,[4][p 17] it is reasonable to assume they were married in Ipswich. Haviland-437 14:19, 12 July 2017 (EDT)

Burial

I have found no sources documenting the burial place of Anna Starkweather. Haviland-437 14:19, 12 July 2017 (EDT) The burial place of her husband, John Starkweather is documented as follows.[4][p 18]

"A rude slab, inscribed I. S., in the Preston city burying-ground marks his grave." A You Tube video by user name nadsab1 shows what he identifies as the headstone of John Starkweather. He explains how he found the gravestone from the description in Dr. Starkweather's book and how he found the older part of the cemetery. His video clearly shows the "rude slab, inscribed I. S." Although in the video he tries to make the initials J. S. Nadsab1 continues that while Dr. Starkweather's "book makes no mention of Anna's grave, however the grave next to John, if viewed in the sunlight at just the right angle, with the video camera I had at the time, I was able to make out a very very faint but large letter 'A' in the middle of the stone." No high quality proof of Anna's grave, but a likely possibility. Attempts to contact nadsab1 have been unsuccessful. Haviland-437 14:19, 12 July 2017 (EDT)

Native American Heritage

I have found no proof that Anna was not a Native American. I have found no proof that she was not the daughter of Metacom, aka King Philip. However, I have also found no proof that Anna was a Native American. There is a lot of family tradition and speculation on the internet stating she was the daughter of King Philip, but no quality sources have been found.

Let's look at some of the issues around these claims.

Last name. Various "sources" on the internet list Anna's last name at birth, or current last name, or also known as, as "Philip", or "King", or "Woodbury". No quality sources are included in these statements. The current convention on G2G for Native Americans without a last name at birth is to use the tribe's name as the last name. I'm not sure where the name "Woodbury" came from as no documentation has been found. A couple of trees reference the Woodbury family, descendants of the Pilgrims. This doesn't make sense if the purpose is to show Anna as a Native American. Was she Native American descent, or Pilgrim descent? The use of the names "Philip" or "King" apparently is trying to tie her to Metacom who is also known as Pometacom and King Philip. Metacom and his older brother Wamsutta received their English names about the year 1656. The governor of Plymouth gave the name of Alexander to Wamsutta and Philip to Metacom.[8][Book III, p 3]. It wasn't until later that Philip became known as "King Philip". This misuse of names only confuses the issue of Metacom's last name at birth and the various last names for Anna. Poor, or no sources, for the claim of Native American Ancestry for Anna. The majority of the claims of Native American ancestry for Anna point to "ancestry trees" or other such sites on the internet. Attempts to locate these sources lead to trees that in turn point to another tree on the internet or the referenced tree is no longer on the internet. One of the most definitive statements on Anna's possible ancestry came from an article King Philip's War (1675-1676 in The Patriot Files. It states, "In Stonington, Connecticut, selectman John Starkweather married his Christianized captive." No sources for this statement are included in the article and attempts to reach the author have not been successful. Another "source" that several online trees point to is the article Indian Prentices Descended from King Philip by Linus Joseph Dewald Jr. In his article he states the "material was posted by Jana Countryman at Ancestry.com". Attempts to contact Jana Countryman at Ancestry.com and through web searches, and to contact Joseph Dewald Jr., have not been successful. The article states that "Wampanoag Sachem (aka King Philip)" had a daughter "Anne Philip (aka Ann Woodbury Phillips), b. 1655 in or near Pokanoket, Bristol Twp., Bristol Co., RI, and d. bef. 11 Jul 1727 in Preston, New London Co., CT. . . She m. John Starkweather in Preston, New London Co., CT." Again, the only reference is to Ancestry.com where searches for quality sources were fruitless. Haviland-437 14:19, 12 July 2017 (EDT)

Update on the Indian Prentices Descended from King Philip source: Received an email dated 10 Aug 2017 as follows. Haviland-437 16:39, 11 August 2017 (EDT) "I apologize for the delay in responding to your email. I've added a "Note" at the bottom of the article indicating there is no sourcing available for the information in the article. And I'm afraid that I do not have any additional information about the marriage of John Starkweather and Anna. Best wishes, Joe Dewald Editor, Prentice Newsletter" So was Anna a Native American? No quality sources have been found. Is the information on the web (e.g., PrenticeNet and Patriot Files) speculation and fictional accounts to "make" Anna the daughter of King Philip? Difficult to say without access to the sources used in the articles. How could John Starkweather have met a daughter of King Philip if they lived a hundred miles apart? Well, John must have met/captured(?) her during a military campaign in the area. Why was Anna disciplined by the church? It must be because she was a Native American and not use to the "civilized" ways of the English. It's hard to disprove these statements, but that doesn't make them true. Dr. Carlton Lee Starkweather in his Starkweather genealogy states concerning John Starkweather's wife Ann, "Ann . . . who is said by a most improbable tradition to be a descendant of the old Narragansett, King Philip."[4][p 17]

Genealogy without sources is mythology. Without speculation we know nothing of Anna's parentage and early childhood. What do we know about Metacom (King Philip) and his family?

METACOM,2 alias Pometacom, who accepted from the English the name of Philip, but now better known in history as KING PHILIP. . . . He m. Wootonekanuske, a sister of Weetamoo. . . . He had a son whose name at this time cannot be certainly ascertained. This son, while yet a child, was captured by the English and sold into slavery.[9][p 210] He had a wife and nine year old son who were captured by the English and sold into slavery. August 1, 1676, Wootonekanuse, the wife of King Philip, and their son about nine years of age, together with divers other Indian women and children, were taken prisoners by the English.[9][p 151][8][p 40] Although we do not know if King Philip had other children, that in itself doesn't mean he had a daughter Anna. Haviland-437 14:19, 12 July 2017 (EDT)

What do we know about King Philip's father, Massasoit?[9][pp 210-211] 1. MASSASOIT,1 alias Asamequin or Osamequin, chief of the Wampanoag tribe of Indians at the time of the landing of the English at Plymouth, had children as follows: 2. WAMSUTTA,2 . . . m[arried] . . . Weetamoo, and sometimes called the Squaw Sachem of Pocasset. . . . he accepted from the English the name of Alexander. . . . 3. METACOM,2 alias Pometacom, who accepted from the English the name of Philip . . . m[arried] Wootonekanuske, a sister of Weetamoo. . . . 4. SONKANUHOO,2 who was perhaps identical with the brother of King Philip said to have been slain at the fight in a swamp in Pocasset. . . 5. A DAUGHTER,2 whose name is to me unknown. She is said to have been captured by the English, July 31, 1676. . . . +6. AMIE,2 m. Tuspaquin, the Black Sachem. What is of note is that Massasoit had a daughter who was captured by the English. What became of her? Could she be Ann, wife of John Starkweather? Without further information, it is impossible to tell. Sources

↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Essex Institute. Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts. Lynn, MA: Thos. P. Nichols & Son Co., 1919. Volume VII, p 372. [digital copy available at Google Books.] ↑ 2.0 2.1 Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before, 1692, on the Basis of Farmer's Register, Volume IV. Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1862. pp 172-173. [Digital copy available at Internet Archive.] ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Torrey, Clarence Almon. New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1985, 2004 (7th Printing) (copyright New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston), p 703. Ancestry.com. ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 Starkweather, Carlton Lee, M. D.. A Brief Genealogical History of Robert Starkweather of Roxbury and Ipswich, Massachusetts Who Was the Original American Ancestor of All Those Bearing the Name of Starkweather and of His Son John Starkweather of Ipswich, Mass. and Preston, Conn. and of His Descendants in Various Lines, 1640-1898. Auburn, NY: Knapp, Peck and Thomson, 1904. [Digital copy available at Internet Archive.] ↑ 5.0 5.1 U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970. Provo, UT, 2011. Volume 135, Member Carlton Lee Starkweather National Number 26817, 1915. Ancestry.com. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Connecticut, Church Record Abstracts, 1630-1920, Volume 092 Preston Connecticut Church Records, Index, Preston First Congregational, 1698-1883, Connecticut State Library, 1943, pp 186-187, Ancestry.com. ↑ Find A Grave, database online, Memorial Number 109649904, www.findagrave.com. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Drake, Samuel Gardner. The Book of the Indians; or, Biography and History of the Indians of North America, From Its First Discovery to the Year 1841. Boston: Benjamin B. Mussey, 9th Edition, 1845. [Digital copy available at Google Books.] ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Peirce, Ebenezer W. Indian History, Biography and Genealogy: Pertaining to the Good Sachem Massasoit of the Wampanoag Tribe, and His Descendants. North Abington, MA: Zerviah Gould Mitchel, 1878. [digital copy available at Google Books]. Acknowledgments

Thank you to the genealogists who initiated and added facts and references to this profile (See Changes Tab).

Anna (last name unknown) was the wife of John Starkweather. Together they had the following children, all born in Ipswich, Massachusetts:

Thomas Starkweather, b. about 1677. Timothy Starkweather, b. about 1679. John Starkweather, b. 1680. Robert Starkweather, b. 1684. Richard Starkweather, b. 1686. Mary (Starkweather) Stanton, b. about 1689. Lydia (Starkweather) Lester, b. about 1693.

Family links:

Spouse:

 John Starkweather (1646 - 1703)*

Children:

 John Starkweather (1680 - 1750)*

 Richard Starkweather (1686 - 1760)*

 Mary Starkweather Stanton (1689 - 1761)*

 Lydia Starkweather Lester (1692 - 1760)*

*Calculated relationship

Note: Last updated 23 June 2014.

Burial: Preston City Cemetery Preston New London County Connecticut, USA

Created by: Leslie Lewis Record added: Apr 28, 2013 Find A Grave Memorial# 109649904

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The ancestry of Ann Starkweather is unknown but there are at least two contentious or perhaps "improbable traditions." that attempt to answer this question. The first theory is that she was the daughter of parents with the surname of Woodbury. The origins of this theory are unknown, however we did find a copy of a letter written by someone who signed their name only as F.B., published under a column titled "Genealogical" in a November 11, 1896 edition of the "Boston Evening Transcript" that attempted to answer the question. F.B.'s theory was that since John and Ann Starkweather both had a grandson and a great grandson named Woodbury, then the name Woodbury must be a family name, and it was assumed as likely by this writer that Ann Starkweather's maiden name was Woodbury. This was really a stretch but the name Ann Woodbury now appears firmly fixed as John Starkweather's wife in dozens of family trees on Ancestry.com and elsewhere.

On the other hand an equally "improbable tradition" is that Ann Starkweather was the daughter of Metacomet, also known as King Philip, a well known and hated Indian leader in Colonial New England. At least in this theory there is a possibility of truth and the family tradition that Ann Starkweather was an Indian has existed for many, many generations within the Starkweather family. We probably should begin with a brief description of the life of our possible 8th great grandfather, Metacomet, or as he was called by the English, Philip, the sachem of the Wampanoag Indians...

Could John Starkweather's wife have been an Indian? Absolutely. Could she have been a daughter of Metacomet? Possibly. Now me must examine how this "improbable tradition" might have come about.

At the time of the King Philip's War, John Starkweather was living in Ipswich, Massachusetts and if his future wife Ann (an improbable picture as profile photo) was the daughter of Metacomet, then she was probably living somewhere near Mount Hope in southeastern Rhode Island around 100 miles south of Ipswich. In 1676 it was unlikely under normal circumstances that they would have met and married. This assumes of course, that John Starkweather was not part of the Massachusetts Militia during the King Philip's War. As it turns out the Massachusetts Militia was commanded by a Col. Samuel Appleton who just happened to live in John Starkweather's hometown of Ipswich. We have also learned from the book by Carlton Lee Starkweather that we previously referenced, that John Starkweather was a tenant on land owned by John Appleton, whom we believe was Samuel Appleton's brother. Both Appleton brothers were very prominent citizens of Ipswich and as it turns out Samuel Appleton was my 9th great grandfather as well as the son-in-law of previously mentioned William Paine. While we found no evidence that John Starkweather was a soldier in the Massachusetts militia commanded by Samuel Appleton during the King Philip's War, we nevertheless believe that there was a high probability that he did serve as did a large percentage of the male population. If we accept that John Starkweather was engaged in the war then that would certainly increase the possibility that the young and single John Starkweather encountered his future Indian wife in or around Mount Hope or at least somewhere in Rhode Island or southern Massachusetts, and that he returned with her to his home in Ipswich where they were married in 1676. The fact that the year of their marriage coincides with the end of the King Philip's War suggests that this "improbable tradition" of the marriage may indeed have a hint of accuracy. We must also not discount the "long family tradition" that Ann Starkweather was a daughter of Metacomet as being purely without merit. Such traditions do not just spring up from nothing. Furthermore, we must note that Ann's age fits well within the time period when Metacomet had likely fathered children. While it is true that the Puritan soldiers in many cases indiscriminately killed Indians during the war including elderly as well as women and children, this does not mean that everyone in the community condoned that behavior. We believe that there is very real possibly that many of the innocent Indians particularly the women and children might very well have been hidden and then absorbed into the community. Finally, Ann Starkweather did not receive her "full communion" into the Puritan Church until after her husband's death in 1703 and even then her time with the church was somewhat contentious as she was disciplined in 1709 for lying and being obstinate. She apparently "confesses" and was forgiven by the church in 1711 although her delay in becoming an active member of the church and her somewhat belligerent behavior later towards the church is suggestive that she may not have received a strict Puritan upbringing. The reason of course, may simply have been because her earlier years were spent living with her parents in an Indian community. While all of this is not proof of anything, it does seem a little strange that despite all that we know about John and his parents, siblings, and his children, we know absolutely nothing about the background and parents of our 7th great grandmother, Ann Starkweather. No information in this regard has been uncovered in any of the Ipswich public records nor in the abundant church records.

John and Ann Starkweather lived together in Ipswich from the time of their marriage until around 1694 when they relocated with their family to Preston, Connecticut around 125 miles south of Ipswich. We have pointed out a number of times in this Blog about how our colonial ancestors seem to up and move all the time thinking that each time they moved they were just seeking better opportunities for themselves and their children. While this is undoubtedly true, it occurred to us recently that even our generation is constantly on the move. My father was born in Elmira, New York but he ended up spending most of his life with my mother in Niagara Falls, New York. My parents had three children all of us born near or in Niagara Falls but all three of us moved: one of us to Florida, one to Boston, MA, and one to Corvalis, Oregon. This habit of relocating seems to be an inherited trait perhaps in all of us.

John and Ann Starkweather had seven children born in Ipswich between the years of 1677 and 1693 including my 6th great grandfather Richard Starkweather, their 5th child, who was born in the year 1686. We do not know much about the life of John during these years other than it appears he may have continued in his father's trade of raising and grazing farm animals as well as growing crops for food for his family. He was described in one of the historical documents in Preston as a "husbandman" which was old medieval term meaning a free tenant farmer or a small landowner. This expression confirms what is mentioned elsewhere that John Starkweather was a tenant on land owned in Ipswich by John Appleton. John Starkweather was around 46-years old when he moved his family to Preston. Apparently the lure of free land that he was granted in Preston on 26 August 1694 was too much to ignore. The "plantation" of Preston had been established only a few years earlier in 1686 and clearly the city leaders wanted to encourage new settlers. This move and change in John Starkweather's life seems to have encouraged him, especially now that he was a landowner for the first time, to participate in the management of his community. In 1698 John was appointed a "List Gatherer, in 1700 he was appointed a "Fence Viewer," and then on 5 January 1698, at age 50, and again on 30 December 1702, he became a "Selectman" in the city of Preston. The selectmen, there was more than one, were literally selected by the adult males in the community and as a small group they were responsible for running the day to day operations of the city. This honor for John Starkweather was further extended when he want on to represent Preston in the Legislature of Connecticut. During the years of 1698 until his death on 21 August 1703 he was involved in a number of other civic activities within the community many of which are noted in the town records including mention of him in the documents as "M' Starkweather", Mister as opposed to the lessor title of Goodman. His rise from the poverty of his parents to becoming a small tenant farmer in Ipswich, to marrying an Indian princess, and then becoming a landowner and town leader in Preston, Connecticut makes for a truly incredible story. The value of his estate at his death was around 200 English pounds which definitely would have placed him in the well-off category. Ann Starkweather survived her husband by 23 years finally passing away in 1727. Our 6th great grandfather, Richard Starkweather, was around 18-years old when his father died. His parents are buried side by side in the old Preston City Cemetery.

Source: http://bakerfamilytree.blogspot.com/2014/10/chapter-36-our-starkwea...