Elizabeth Edwards

Elizabeth was widely thought to be "insane" in the community, according to "Families of Ancient New Haven". She had a child born after her marriage to Richard Edwards of Hartford, but he never acknowledged the child. The paternity of the child was said to be by Joseph Preston. Richard Edwards divorced Elizabeth in 1691.

Elizabeth Tuttle, the eighth child of William Tuttle and Elizabeth Mathews married Richard Edwards November 19, 1667. Elizabeth early on showed signs of an impetuous nature and lack of decorum which was quite at odds with the Puritan standards of the day.

From the minutes of "A County Court holden by adjournment at Hartford, 1668" came this note: "Richard Edwards and Elizabeth his wife, being called to an account of incontinency before marriage, the Court having considered what hath been presented, with the acknowledgement of the said Richard that he was upon the bed with her at Mr. Wells, his house, before marriage, the best part of one night, and in company with her at New Haven (according to which the child was borne), this Court cannot but judge and declare the child borne of the said Elizabeth to be and be reputed child of the said Richard Edwards, and for their incontinency before marriage, they are adjudged to pay [as] a fine to the public treasury of the County of Hartford, the sum of five pounds."

Richard subsequently learned that he was NOT the father of the first child, Mary, and on July 2, 1689, he filed a petition to divorce her. He rather plantively based his divorce action on the following four reasons: "(1) Her being guilty at first of a fact of ye same nature; (2) Her refusing me so longer together; (3) Her carage having been observed by some to bee very fond and unseemly to some other man than my self; (4) Her often comending on other man with show or ye like words...he was worth a thousand of my self."

That "other man" may have been one William Pitkin, for he brought suit against Richards Edwards in May of 1691 for using a term in his divorce case that was "derogatory of his (Pitkin's) honor." The records found in "Crimes and Misdemeanors, Divorces, 1664-1732, Document No. 235" read:

"He found, three mo. after marriage, that she was with child by another (Mr. Randolph), who she accused before 2 magistrates; and her father [William Tuttle] took and brought up the child; which from regard to her and relying upon her fair promises, he [Richard] neglected to take advantage of her, for which he had bitter cause to repent.

He lived with her eight or nine years, when she obstinately refused conjugal communion with him, and deserted his bed; and her conduct was so intolerable that by advice, he travelled abroad, hoping by his absence she would relent. On his return, for a while, she behaved herself, but soon, in answer to some question, she said she had committed folly with another man, whom she named, and fell into her old fits of obstinacy; and he renounced her as a wife, and so has since lived. She has caused him intolerable and insupportable afflictions. He enters into a long scriptural argument for divorce and quotes early Christian examples and authorities. She is guilty of adultery, and he prays a release."

Edwards' plea for divorce was denied despite the fact that Elizabeth's two eldest children by Edwards, Timothy and Abigail, testified against her, "to the great obstinacy of their mother and to her absenting herself from their father's bed and society."

Two years later, in Oct of 1691, a council of "able divines (including the famous Rev. Thomas Hooker and Rev. Increase Mather) were assembled to consider the divorce action again. At that time Richard made a second, more long-winded plea. By then he was calling himself an attorney, though he was self taught. Besides, he needed to be free to marry Mary Talcott, with whom he had lain already. In fact, Mary Talcott had been fined for fornication with him.

On top of that, Mercy Brown, Elizabeth's sister, had killed her son the previous spring and her brother Benjamin had been executed for murdering their sister, Sarah prior to that. It became clear that Elizabeth herself was, at times, not in her right mind, and often threatened to murder her husband while he was asleep. Surely the judges would understand that Richard's fear of Elizabeth was not ungrounded. The upshot of this second plea was that the ministers decided "it is not within the compass of human power to deny him a divorce." Edwards was granted the divorce and eventually married Mary Talcott, with whom he had six children.

After the divorce, there is no record of Elizabeth ever marrying again. Nor was the date of her death recorded, which leads one to believe that she may have been leading a marginal existence by the time she died. It is possible, too, that she committed suicide. Suicide was a grave sin in those times, and a person who had committed suicide could not be buried in a cemetery. Perhaps she had wandered to another, wilder part of the country and died in an area where records were not kept.

Ironically, Elizabeth Tuttle was the ancestor of a family that was to have an amazing impact on American history. Her son Timothy married a Stoddard, and he became the father of Jonathan Edwards, the brilliant, neurotic minister who has been called the last of the great Puritans. Jonathan Edwards married a Pierrepont. His descendants went on to be influential ministers, college presidents, financiers, surgeons and judges. Perhaps the most famous descendant was Aaron Burr. Eli Whitney was another relative who married Rev. Jonathan Edwards Grandaughter Harriett Pierpont Edwards.

Elizabeth Tuttle. Born ca 1645 in New Haven, CT. Elizabeth was baptized in First Congregational Society, New Haven on 9 Nov 1645.1

Elizabeth had a child, Mary, born 1668 after marriage and never acknowledged by her husband, of whose paternity Joseph Preston was accused. Jacobus lists her as insane.1

On 19 Nov 1667 Elizabeth married Richard Edwards, son of William Edwards, in New Haven, CT.19 Born in May 1647 in Hartford, CT.3 They were divorced in 1691.

Richard, of Hartford, had He was a very valuable. citizen. and d. 20 May 1713 acc. Geneal. Reg. XII. 334, while fam. tradit. gives 20 Apr. 1718, when Timothy, Abigail, Elizabeth Ann, and Mabel, ch. of the first w. beside three s. and one d. of the sec. were liv. Daniel, a judge of the Sup. Court of Conn. d. 6 Sept. 1765.3

They had the following children:

1579 i. Mary (1668-) (Not acknowledged by Richard Edwards)

1580 ii. Timothy (1669-1758) 

1581 iii. Abigail (1671-1754) 

1582 iv. Elizabeth (1675-) 

1583 v. Ann (1678-1764) 

1584 vi. Mabel (ca1680-) 

__________________

This birth date is actually her baptism date. Obviously, she was born before this day.

She is thought to have died before 1692. However, they were divorced in 1691, because, supposedly, she was insane.

_________________

• The descendants of William and Elizabeth Tuttle, who came from old to New England in 1635, and settled in New Haven in 1639, with numerous biographical notes and sketches : also, some account of the descendants of John Tuttle, of Ipswich; and Henry Tuthill, of Hingham, Mass. (1883)
• http://www.archive.org/stream/descendantsofwil01tutt#page/n141/mode...
• Children of William and Elizabeth Tuttle
• I. John, b. in England, 1631; m. Kattareen Lane.
• II. Hannah, b. in England, 1632-3; m. 1649 John Pantry; (2) June 23, 1654, Thomas Wells, jr.
• III. Thomas, b. in England, 1634-5; m. May 1661, Hannah Powell.
• IV. Jonathan, bap. in Charlestown, Mass., July 8, 1637; m. Rebecca Bell.
• V. David, bap. in C., April 7, 1639. In 1659 he was comlained of in New Haven for not carrying arms. He settled in Wallingford, Conn., where, in 1685, he had lot No. 16 on the e. s. of Main St. During the latter years of his life he was an invalid, and was cared for by his brother Thomas, in pursuance of an agreement by which, as consideration, David conv. to Thomas his whole est., which included, besides other prop., two acres in the Governor's quarter, and four acres in the Nack. He d. unm. in 1695. After d. of Thomas, some acct. betw. David and Hannah, the widow of Thos., were adjusted by adms.
• VI. Joseph, bap. in New Haven, Nov. 22, 1640; m. May 2, 1667, Hannah Munson, A double wedding -- his sister Mercy m. same day to Samuel Brown.
• VII. Sarah, bap. in N. H., April 1642; m. Nov. 22, 1663, John Slauson.
• VIII. ELIZABETH, bap. in N. H., Nov. 9, 1545; m. Nov. 19, 1667 RICHARD EDWARDS.
• IX. Simon, bap. in N. H., March 28, 1647; m.
• X. Benjamin, bap. in N. H., Oct. 29, 1648; d. unm. June 13, 1677, w. his prop. to his bro.-in-law, Richard Edwards, who subsequently conv. it to the bros. of Benj.
• XI. Mercy b. April 27, bap. May 19, 1650; m. May 2, 1667, Samuel Brown.
• XII. Nathaniel, bap. Feb. 29, 1652, then called "of Branford church;" m. Aug. 10, 1682, Sarah Howe.
• http://www.archive.org/stream/descendantsofwil01tutt#page/n305/mode...
• Thomas Welles, b. 1598; came from Northampton Co., Eng., and was the among the first settlers of Hartf., 1636. He was the first treasurer of the Conn. Col., and its 4th Gov., 1656-7-8. He m. in Eng. Elizabeth Hunt; (2) abt. 1646, Elizabeth, dau. of John Deming, and wid. of Nathaniel Foote; s. i. by 2d m. She was sis. of John Deming, named in Gov. Winthrop's charter as one of the grantees, whose g. s., Jacob Deming, m. Elizabeth, dau. of RICHARD and ELIZABETH (TUTTLE) EDWARDS. Gov. Welles d. Jan. 15, 1759-60, and was bu. in Wethersfield, but his remains were rem. to Hartf. and rest with those of several of the other early governors. His will, dated Nov. 7, 1659, gives to s. Thomas "my meadow and swamp in Penny Wise, on the south side of the fence; also that four acres of swamp which I bought of Nathaniel Willett, and my upland on the east side of the great river, by the Hopkins farm, without the fence, having sold that within the fence to Capt. Cole." Will names Mr. Wadsworth and John Deming, sr., supervisors. Mrs. Welles d. July 20, 1683, in 88th yr.; names John Deming, sr., (bro.) and Capt. John Allyn, Esq. 1. John, m. abt. 1647 Elizabeth Bourne. She m. (2) John Wilcoxson and rem. with four ss. to Stratford. 2. Thomas, m. Hannah (Tuttle) Pantry. 3. Samuel [Ruth; Capt. Samuel, 1663/5; Thaddeus, 1695; Samuel, 1731; Samuel, 1754; Hon. Gideon was Sec. of the Navy; Samuel, bro. of Thaddeus, 1695, had Samuel, who was the f. of Samuel, the celebrated banker of Paris, France]. 4. Mary. 5. Anne. 6. Sarah, m. Capt. John Chester.
• http://www.archive.org/stream/descendantsofwil01tutt#page/n841/mode...
• 8. ELIZABETH TUTTLE, bap. Nov. 9, 1645; m. Nov. 19, 1667, RICHARD EDWARDS,* b. in Hartford May, 1667. "He was a merchant." (See Dr. Dwight's ed. Life and Works of Jonathan Edwards for some account of his character and last sickness,) " I RICHARD EDWARDS of Hartford, and by my agent Samuel Brown [.II.], sold to Thomas Tuttle of New Haven [3] ye whole of ye land and ye meadow that was Benjamin Tuttle's, viz; 1/3 part of 4 acres of meadow by west side of East River near bro. Joseph Tuttle and bro. John Tuttle, and 2 acres of land in ye Yorkshire Quarter bounded by Mr. Miles' land near side, and by my own land that I bought of bro. David Tuttle [5] on the other side, and one-quarter part of 9 1/2 acres towards ye mill between Jones and Bradley, and 6 acres within ye neck. * * * Of 2d division 1/3 part of 6 acres lying near Stoney River, near ye iron works; consideration (english pound)12 in full for all ye above lands. Acknowledged before William Jones, assistant a true record of the original compact and recorded April 20, 1705; dated Jan 17, 1680; signed RICHARD EDWARDS, Jonathan Tuttle, John Sizer."--New Hav. Land Rec. At a court held May, 1696, Mr. RICHARD EDWARDS as attorney for Isaac Curtis of Wallingford petitioned to grant said Curtis execution on verdict of jury given by county court at New Haven 1695 in an action between Curtis and Mr. John Hull of W.' Curtis plaintiff. Said Hull had illegally entered upon, and made improvements on 3 3/4 acres of meadow in a place called "Dog's Misery." in Meriden. Capt. Thomas Yale attorney for Dr. John Hull. The name of RICHARD EDWARDS elsewhere appears as attorney in civil suits. He m. (2) Mary, dau. of Lieut. Col. John Talcott of Hartf. and his wf., Helena, dau. of John Wakeman of New Haven, who d. April 19, 1722, a. 62. He d. April, 20, 1718, a. 71.
• I. Mary Edwards, b. 1668; chil. b. in Hartford.
• II. Timothy Edwards, May 14, 1669; m. Esther Stoddard Nov. 6, 1694.
• III. Abigail Edwards, 1671; m. 1689 Benjamin Lathrop; (2) Capt. Thos. Stoughton.
• IV. Elizabeth Edwards, 1675; m. March 14, 1695, Jacob Deming; (2) __ Hinckley.
• V. Ann Edwards, b. 1678; m. 1696 Jonathan Richardson; (2) William Davenport.
• VI. Mabel Edwards, b. Dec. 13, 1685; m. Dec. 14 1699, Jonathan Bigelow.
• VII. Martha Edwards. ___________________
• Genealogy as Pastime and Profession By Donald Lines Jacobus
• http://books.google.com/books?id=woTUU8txumkC&pg=PA38&lpg=PA38&dq=J...
• Pg.104
• It is also a matter of interest that ELIZABETH, one of the insane daughters of William Tuttle, became an ancestress of the illustrious Jonathan Edwards family, which has come almost a classic example of "good" heredity. In this branch, the energy and vigor of the early Tuttles was retained without the insanity, and union with the sane, shrewd normality of the Edwards family and the brilliance of the Stoddard connection, produced unusually happy results. Later marriages into families of mental ability have maintained the superior endowment of the descendants, although education and social environment may well have been factors in maintaining the superiority of the Edwards group. ____________________
• The True Aaron Burr: A Biographical Sketch By Charles Burr Todd
• http://books.google.com/books?id=fypwlIUgxEYC&pg=PA1&lpg=PA1&dq=Joa...
• Pg.1
• Burr's grandfather, the Rev. Jonathan Edwards, was the son of Rev. Thomas Edwards, who was the son of RICHARD EDWARDS, who in 1667 married ELISABETH, daughter of that William TUTHIL who in 1635 removed from Old England to New England and became on of the founders of the city of New Haven, Conn. This William Tuthull was a great-great grandson of Joan Grafton, daughter of Richard Grafton, who descended in direct line from Alfred the Great. Considering the blood in his veins one might assert with confidence that is was impossible for Aaron Burr to have been a traitor. ___________________________
• http://home.earthlink.net/~herblst/tuttle_family.htm
• Notes for ELIZABETH TUTTLE: "A remarkable feature in our family history, as it would be in any other, is the branch of ELIZABETH. It is an interesting genealogical study. Both the parents were of the same Welsh race. There is evidence that the mother had the sensitive and excitable temperament of genius. RICHARD EDWARDS, being an only child, inherited ample means and gave his children the best education the country afforded. To educate is to bring out, and to train, it cannot create talents or character. The ministerial profession was then almost the only field for the employment of able and educated men. So all things conspired to favor the natural bent for their son Timothy. The process was continued and in the next generation reached its highest development in his son Jonathan. From the very beginning this branch has been noted for its high regard for education, its scholarly culture, and its religious disposition. It is said to include a larger number of eminent persons than have sprung from any other one of the New England founders. It is wonderful, says a late writer, how much of the grace and culture of American society has sprung from this root. The same pursuits continued generation after generation in the same families, or originally set apart by nature for a chosen work, has resulted in a heritage of confirmed aptitudes, enlarged natural capacities, delicacy and refinement of physical organization, manners, sentiments and tastes; a sort of 'Brahmin Caste in New England,' as Dr. Holmes put it, of which the Edwards family form a considerable proportion, and in which it holds a high rank."
• FROM CONN. QUARTERLY
• "The branch of the Tuttle family from which ELIZABETH TUTTLE came, was erratic to the degree of insanity, and is so to a certain extent to the present day. This family taint was restrained by the strong will and great spirituality and intellectual vigor of Rev. Timothy and Rev. Jonathan, only to crop out again in renewed activity in the son (Pierpont Edwards) and the grandson (Aaron Burr), of the 'divine Jonathan,' both of whom were profligate, vicious and licentious. Mrs. RICHARD EDWARDS' brother was found guilty of slaying his sister, by the Colonial Court, and executed; and another sister was found guilty of killing her own son, but through the confusion existing at that time, she escaped the penalty of the law."
• ELIZABETH TUTTLE, the eighth child of William Tuttle and Elizabeth Mathews married RICHARD EDWARDS November 91, 1667. ELIZABETH early on showed signs of an impetuous nature and lack of decorum, which was quite at odds with the Puritan standards of the day.
• From the minutes of "A County Court holden by adjournment at Hartford, 1668" came this note: "RICHARD EDWARDS and ELIZABETH his wife, being called to an account of incontinency before marriage, the Court having considered what hath been presented, with the acknowledgement of the said RICHARD that he was upon the bed with her at Mr. Wells, his house, before marriage, the best part of one night, and in company with her at New Haven (according to which the child was borne), this Court cannot but judge and declare the child borne of the said ELIZABETH to be and be reputed child of the said RICHARD EDWARDS, and for their incontinency before marriage, they are adjudged to pay [as] a fine to the public treasury of the County of Hartford, the sum of five pounds."
• RICHARD subsequently learned that he was not the father of the first child, Mary, and on July 2, 1689, he filed a petition to divorce her. He rather plantively based his divorce action on the following four reasons: "(1) Her being guilty at first of a fact of ye same nature; (2) Her refusing me so longer together; (3) Her carage having been observed by some to bee very fond and unseemly to some other man than my self; (4) Her often comending on other man with show or ye like words...hee was worth a thousand of my self." That "other man" may have been one William Pitkin, for he brought suit against RICHARD EDWARDS in May of 1691 for using a term in his divorce case that was "derogatory of his (Pitkin's) honor." The records found in "Crimes and Misdemeanors, Divorces, 1664-1732, Document No. 235" read:
• "He found, three mo. after marriage, that she was with child by another (Mr. Randolph), who she accused before 2 magistrates; and her father [William Tuttle] took and brought up the child; which from regard to her and relying upon her fair promises, he [RICHARD] neglected to take advantage of her, for which he had bitter cause to repent. He lived with her eight or nine years, when she obstinately refused conjugal communion with him, and deserted his bed; and her conduct was so intolerable that by advice, he travelled abroad, hoping by his absence she would relent. On his return, for a while, she behaved herself, but soon, in answer to some question, she said she had committed folly with another man, whom she named, and fell into her old fits of obstinacy; and he renounced her as a wife, and so has since lived. She has caused him intolerable and insupportable afflictions. He enters into a long scriptural argument for divorce and quotes early Christian examples and authorities. She is guilty of adultery, and he prays a release."
• EDWARDS' plea for divorce was denied despite the fact that ELIZABETH's two eldest children by EDWARDS, Timothy and Abigail, testified against her, "to the great obstinacy of their mother and to her absenting herself from their father's bed and society."
• Two years later, in Oct of 1691, a council of "able divines (including the famous Rev. Thomas Hooker and Rev. Increase Mather) were assembled to consider the divorce action again. At that time RICHARD made a second, more long-winded plea. By then he was calling himself an attorney, though he was self taught. Besides, he needed to be free to marry Mary Talcott, with whom he had lain already. In fact, Mary Talcott had been fined for fornication with him.
• On top of that, Mercy Brown, ELIZABETH's sister, had killed her son the previous spring and her brother Benjamin had been executed for murdering their sister, Sarah prior to that. It became clear that ELIZABETH herself was, at times, not in her right mind, and often threatened to murder her husband while he was asleep. Surely the judges would understand that RICHARD's fear of ELIZABETH was not ungrounded. The upshot of this second plea was that the ministers decided "it is not within the compass of human power to deny him a divorce." EDWARDS was granted the divorce and eventually married Mary Talcott, with whom he had six children.
• After the divorce, there is no record of ELIZABETH ever marrying again. Nor was the date of her death recorded, which leads one to believe that she may have been leading a marginal existence by the time she died. It is possible, too, that she committed suicide. Suicide was a grave sin in those times, and a person who had committed suicide could not be buried in a cemetery. Perhaps she had wandered to another, wilder part of the country and died in an area where records were not kept.
• Ironically, ELIZABETH TUTTLE was the ancestor of a family that was to have an amazing impact on American history. Her son Timothy married a Stoddard, and he became the father of Jonathan Edwards, the brilliant, neurotic minister who has been called the last of the great Puritans. Jonathan Edwards married a Pierepont. His descendants went on to be influential ministers, college presidents, financiers, surgeons and judges. Perhaps the most famous descendant was Aaron Burr.
• Notes for RICHARD EDWARDS: RICHARD EDWARDS was a well-to-do merchant, later became an attorney-at-law, and practicing his profession as early as 1684; in 1702-3 he argued a fugitive slave case against Saltonstall. He was probably the first Queen's Attorney, appointed as such in April, 1705, the office having been created in May, 1704.
• His eldest son, Timothy, wrote as follows concerning him: "He was a noble stature of a straight, well-formed body and of a comely countenance. His smile had a pleasantcy beyond which I have seen in many, yea, in most others. He was quick and nimble in his movements even to old age and was of a strong and healthy constitution. He had a strong clear mind. and had a very good utterance. He had a quick fancy; a pleasant. ready wit, with a very good judgment. He could argue in a matter and reason in a case very well. He was a man of considerable reading; both in Law History, and Divinity; was well furnished for society and very pleasant in consultation. Thus it pleased the Most High to endow and adorn my dear departed father with many virtues which rendered him very lovely and desirable in his life and much lamented in his death. ________________________
• Early families of Wallingford, Connecticut By Charles Henry Stanley Davis
• http://books.google.com/books?id=QjNVJnNF7_MC&pg=PA7&lpg=PA7&dq=Mar...
• Pg.302
• TUTTLE.1
• William.
• 1. For collateral branches, see Cothren's Hist. Woodbury, Conn., 723-7; Dodd's Hist. East Haven, Conn., 156-8; Hall's Hist. Rec. Norwalk, Ct., 2-3-241, 267-269, 281-290, 297; Hudson's Hist. Lexington, Mass., 248, 249; N. E. Hist. and Gen. Reg., VIII, 132-42; Otis's Gen. Otis Family; Savage's Gen. Dict., IV. 350-2; Wyman's Hunt Family Hist., 529.
• Pg. 305
• 8. Elizabeth Tuttle, daughter of William and Elizabeth Tuttle, married Richard Edwards of Windsor, Conn. She was the maternal ancestor of the late Gov. Henry W. Edwards, of New Haven.
• Children: 46 Mary, b. 1668; 47 Timothy, b. May 14, 1669, m. Esther Stoddard; 48 Abigail, b. 1671; 49 Elizabeth, b. 1675; 50 Ann, b. 1678; 51 Mabel, b. 1685; 52 Cynthia __. ___________________
• William Tuttle of New Haven : an address delivered at the Tuttle gathering, New Haven, Conn., September 3d, 1873 / /c by Joseph F. Tuttle (1873)
• http://www.archive.org/stream/williamtuttleofn00tutt#page/n5/mode/2up

Elizabeth Tuttle had a scandal all her own. Married to Richard Edwards, Elizabeth would have seven children. But only six, apparently, belonged to Richard. The Edwards’ – grandparents to Minister Jonathan Edwards – would divorce in 1691. Richard obtained the divorce after years of Elizabeth’s abusive and irrational behavior, he said. Elizabeth largely disappeared from the historical record following that, though biographers of Jonathan Edwards have suggested her behavior helped inspire his Puritanical fervor. ______________________

GEDCOM Note

Category:124-DeCoursey_ged

Biography

Elizabeth Tuttle was born on November 9, 1645 at New Haven, New Haven County, Connecticut. Her parents were William Tuttle and Elizabeth Matthews. About 1667 Elizabeth Tuttle married Richard Edwards. The couple had six children before they divorced - including Rev. Timothy Edwards.

Siblings: :Nathaniel Tuttle 1629–1662 :John Tuttle (1631 - 1683)* :Ann Tuttle Hurd (1633 - ____)* :Levi Tuttle 1634– :Thomas Tuttle (1634 - 1710)* :Jonathan Tuttle (1637 - 1705?/1676?)* :David Tuttle 1639–1693 :Joseph Tuttle (1640 - 1690)* :Sarah Tuttle (1642–1676) :Elizabeth Tuttle Edwards (1645 - ____) :Simon Tuttle (1647 - 1719)* :Benjamin Tuttle (1648 - 1677)* :Mercy Tuttle 1650–1690 :Nathaniel Tuttle 1652–1721(Revised this list with Additional Children's names from the followingsite,https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/101168/person/6150...

?Elizabeth is supposed to be the 9th child? "Elizabeth Tuttle, dau. and ninth child of William Tuttle and his wifeElizabeth, bapt. at New Haven, Conn. Nov. 9, 1645. On Nov. 19, 1667 at New Haven, Elizabeth m. Richard Edwards, s. of William Edwards and Agnes Harris, b. May 1, 1647 at Hartford, Conn. Much has been written about the Edwards-Tuttle family. Elizabeth was one of thirteen children, several who manifested multiple cases of insanity or uncontrollable rage with a penchant for using an axe to inflict bodily harm. Her brother David was held to be mentally incompetent, her sister Mary killed her son by use of an axe, and her brother Benjamin murdered his married sister Sarah by use of an axe and was subsequently executed. While it is not easy for a descendant to acknowledge the facts of the marrital life of Elizabeth and husband Richard, it was what it was. While Elizabeth did not use an axe, she was nonetheless unstable, prone to fits of rage and depression, and repeatedly threatened to slit the throat of her husband while he was asleep. Three months after their marriage Elizabeth gave birth to a daughter named Mary who was not Richard Edward's child, with Richard refusing toaccept the child as his own. Richard's father filed suit against a man in New Haven for 'trespass' of his son's wife before marriage. Whilethe required bond was posted, there is no record the case proceeded to trial. The child was given the surname of Tuttle and raised by her maternal grandparents. Despite Richard's refusal to acknowledge the child, in a codicil to his 1718 will Richard left two shillings to "the child of my first wife should she come to claim it." Unfortunately, a diligent search has failed to reveal the adult identity of this child. After twenty-four years of marriage and several court hearings, in 1691 Richard Edwards was granted one of the first divorces in New England. What became of Elizabeth is unknown, one writer speculating that sheperhaps lived on the fringe of life, moved to a place where records are lacking, or perhaps committed suicide preventing her from being interred in a recognized cemetery. Fortunately, the ills of the maternal parent were not knowingly manifested by her children. Elizabeth Tuttle and Richard Edwards had the following six children born at Hartford, Conn. Despite there being baptism records for both theHartford 1st and 2nd churches in the 1670s and 1680s, only daughter Mabel has a recorded baptism. Son Timothy's birth date is known only through the records of his own family: • i. Rev. Timothy Edwards, b. May 14, 1669; d. Jan. 27, 1758 at EastWindsor, Conn., Æ 89. He m. Nov. 6, 1694 at Northampton, Mass., Esther Stoddard, dau. of Rev. Solomon Stoddard and Esther Warham, b. June 6, 1672 at Northampton, Mass. She d. Jan. 19, 1770 at East Windsor, Conn., Æ 99. Eleven children of the family, including Rev. Jonathan Edwards, the famous 18th century divine, the gr.father of Aaron Burr, theone-term Vice Pres. of the United States to Pres. Thomas Jefferson. • ii. Abigail Edwards, b. circa 1671; m. 1) Benjamin Lothrop, who was lost at sea circa June 9, 1690 shortly after the marriage, by whom she had no known child, and 2) May 19, 1697 at Windsor, Conn. as his 2nd wife, Capt. Thomas Stoughton of Windsor, Conn., by whom she had ten children. • iii. Elizabeth Edwards, b. circa 1674; m. Mar. 14, 1694/5 at the Hartford 1st Chh., Jacob Deming of Wethersfield, Conn. by whom she had four children, and 2) before 1714 at Hartford, Jonathan Hinckley from Barnstable, Mass., by whom she had at least one child. She was named as living in 1718 in her father's will, and was living in 1723 when heryoungest son by her 1st husband left her money in his will. Jonathan Hinckley m. 2) on Sept. 6, 1733 at East Haddam, Conn., Lydia Ackley, the widow of Ens. Thomas Robinson of East Haddam. • iv. Ann Edwards, b. circa 1678, d. in May 1764 at Coventry, Conn.;m. 1) circa 1697 Jonathan Richardson, by whom she had two children, and 2) circa 1702 William Davenport of Hartford as his second wife, by whom she had at least four children.

• v. Martha Edwards, b. circa 1681 and d. in infancy circa 1682. • vi. Mabel Edwards, bapt. Dec. 13, 1685 (Hartford 1st Chh.), d. May14, 1765 at Hartford, Æ 80; m. Dec. 14, 1699 at Hartford, Jonathan Bigelow, Jr. Eight children of the family. Shortly after Richard Edwards's divorce from Elizabeth, Richard m. Mary Talcott, dau. of Col. John Talcott and Helena Wakeman, b. Apr. 26, 1661 at Hartford, by whom he had six children. He d. testate at Hartford Apr. 20, 1718 and wife Mary d. at Hartford Apr. 19, 1723. Both are interred at Hartford's Ancient Cemetery, formerly known as the Center Church Cemetery."

Created by: Don Blauvelt Record added: Jan 01, 2010 Find A Grave Memorial# 46215304 https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=46215304

Sources

Elizabeth Tuttle in the Millennium File, No Image,Text-only collection :Name: Elizabeth Tuttle[Tuthill] :Gender: Female :Christening Date: 9 Nov 1645 :Christening Place: New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut:Death Date: 1679???this date is wrong Richard divorced her in 1691! :Father: William Tuttle [Tuthill] :Mother: Elizabeth (Matthews) maiden name has no documentation :Spouse: Richard Edwards :Children: Mabel Edwards Source Information:Heritage Consulting. Millennium File [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: :Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2003. Original data: :Heritage Consulting. The Millennium File. Salt Lake City, UT, USA: Heritage :Consulting.http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=7249&h=1049...

A GENEALOGICAL MEMOIR OF THE LO-LATHROP FAMILY, 1884, PAGE 50, BENJAMIN (#44)

• Find A Grave Memorial at http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=46215304
• Source: Stiles, Henry R.. The History of Ancient Windsor, The New Hampshire Publishing Company, Somersworth, New Hampshire, 1976. Originally published in 1892. Two Volumes. p. 194-5.
• Source: Title: Maltby 08282011.FTW Media: Other

Footnotes

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Acknowledgements ==Decoursey, Harry Maltby, Karen Munro, Ellen Blackwell, John Wylie, Eric Clark, Elyse Doerflinger, Becky Syphers, Becky, Valentine Van Zee, Vic Watt. This list may be incomplete.

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