Edward A. Ainsworth, Sr., "the Immigrant"

In 1682, Massachusetts bought a tract of land, which included Woodstock, from the Mohegans. A group of 13 men from Roxbury, Massachusetts settled the town in 1686 and named it New Roxbury. Judge Samuel Sewall suggested the town change its name to Woodstock in 1690.

Additional Curator's Notes:

Edward Ainsworth (1652-1741) lived and died in Massachusetts and NOT in Connecticut.

During the lifetime of Edward Ainsworth, Woodstock was not a part of Connecticut. If one reads the deed for his farm, when he transferred it to his son in 1725, he describes himself as Edward Ainsworth of Woodstock in the County of Suffolk and the Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England. Twelve years later, when making his will, Edward describes himself as Edward Ainsworth of Woodstock, in the County of Worcester, and the will was filed in Worcester County, Massachusetts.

Six years after Edward's death, in May 1749, the town of Woodstock, formerly New Roxbury, in Worcester County, Massachusetts, was unilaterally annexed by Connecticut and assigned to Windham County.

Maria Edmonds-Zediker, Volunteer Curator, February 10, 2014

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Edward Ainsworth was born in c.1652 in England and emigrated to the New England area of America in before 1687. Family lore tells of his arrival by shipwreck. The first records for Edward in the New World are for his marriage to Joanna Hemmingway on January 11, 1687/8. Joanna was the daughter of Hemenway and wife Joanna Evans. She was born September 21, 1670 and December 23, 1748.

Edward and Joanna settled first in Roxbury, Massachusetts, but sold out their possessions in 1703 and moved to Woodstock (now in Connecticut, during Edward's time it was considered a part of Massachusetts). He farmed in Woodstock for 35 years. Edward died in Woodstock, Suffolk County, Massachusetts on March 4, 1741.

Finding himself in frail health in his later years, he transferred the home farm to his son Edward in December 1725, with conditions for ongoing support and care for himself and his wife. That document, a deed of maintenance, is on file, recorded in the Registry of Deeds, Worcester, Massachusetts, Book A, page 124. The deed is lengthy, with details about the restrictions Edward placed on his son in return for the farm. Edward, who came to disagree with the many restrictions in the deed, reconveyed the property back to his father in July 1737 for 300 pounds. Edward and Joanna's youngest son, Nathan, undertook the care of his parents.

Not long after this, Edward wrote his will, dated August 10, 1737. It remains on file with the Worcester Probate Registry. He leaves bequests to certain children, and leaves the bulk of his estate to his wife Joanna, with the provision that estate would pass to youngest son Nathan after Joanna's death. The will was proven on August 18, 1741. The inventory of his estate, after his death, also still survives today, in the Worcester Probate Registry.

Edward and Joanna had thirteen children. The first eight were born in Roxbury, the remaining five in Woodstock. Ten children reach adulthood. These children are all named in either the deed to the farm (mentioned above), or the will dated 1737, often with their spouses' names.

Children of Edward Ainsworth and wife Joanna Hemmingway:

• Joshua Ainsworth, born January 22, 1688/9 and lived only three days.
• Hannah Ainsworth, born January 21, 1689/90, married John Johnson of Brookfield, Massachusetts.
• Edward Ainsworth, born August 8, 1693, married Joanna Davis of Pomfret, Connecticut, and died June 15, 1758.
• Elizabeth Ainsworth, born November 18, 1695, married John Jennings of Woodstock.
• Daniel Ainsworth, born October 7, 1697, and died in 1708 from snakebite.
• Joanna Ainsworth, born December 31, 1699, and died as an infant.
• Joanna Ainsworth, born October 5, 1700, named for her sister, married (1) Ebenezer Holmes and (2) Maturin Allard, as his second wife.
• Judith Ainsworth, born January 23, 1702, married James Marcy
• Dorcas Ainsworth, born April 14, 1706, married Jacob Child of Woodstock
• Thomas Ainsworth, born April 15, 1708, married (1) Dorothy Kellogg; (2) Elinor Kellogg, sister to Dorothy; and (3) Ruth Mason, who survived him.
• Mary Ainsworth, born c.1710, married John Green of Brookfield.
• Smith Ainsworth, born March 25, 1712, never married.
• Nathan Ainsworth, born July 20, 1715, married (1) Huldah Peake and (2) Abigail Child of Woodstock.

Links to additional material:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodstock,_Connecticut
• Genealogy of the Ainsworth Families in America, By Francis Jewett Parker, published 1894, available as Google e-book.