Frances Coleman

Frances Albright

• Born about 1600 in Welford-on-Avon, Gloucestershire, England
• Died before 26 Mar 1678 in Hadley, Hampshire County, Massachusetts Bay Colony
• Daughter of Richard Albright and [mother unknown]
• Wife of Thomas (Welles) Wells — married 13 Oct 1625 in All Saints, Alcester, Warwickshire, Englandmap
• Wife of Thomas Coleman — married before March 1638/9 (date of the inventory of her brother's estate) or within two years of the death of her husband Thomas Wells and not in Connecticut as had previously been presumed.

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Hugh Wells did not marry Frances Belcher, {Fictional?} (although it is reported in various data bases online). In fact, the Wells Family Research Association contends that Frances Belcher may not have existed.[5]

Sarah Treat, daughter of Thomas Coleman and his first wife (name Unknown) was born before 1638 at Evesham, Worcesteshire, England. Sarah's father Thomas Coleman married his second wife, Francis (Albright) Wells, before 6 March 1638, at Evesham, Worcestershire, England, where they both lived at the time. They had one child, a daughter, Deborah. Francis brought her three children from her first marriage to Thomas Wells: Mary Wells,, Thomas Wells, and John Wells. Thomas Coleman had four children from his first marriage, one of them being Sarah Coleman, who married Richard Treat.

Biography

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Welles-375

See also: http://www.randmwaddell.net/tng/histories/Frances_Albright.htm

Origin

Frances was born about 1600 probably at Welford-on-Avon, Gloucestershire, England, a daughter of Richard Albright (b. Abt 1565, d. Bet 22 Jan 1613 and 1614, Alcester, Warwickshire) and an unknown mother.[1] Her widowed mother lived at Alcester, Warwickshire, and the Wells family probably lived nearby. Before 1637, Frances and her husband, Thomas Wells, had moved to Evesham, co. Worcestershire, where Thomas worked as a weaver.[1]

Proof is in the will of Thomas Welles, that Frances Albright was married to Thomas Welles, weaver, of Evesham, Worcestershire, England, before she married Thomas Coleman, and that her children with Thomas Welles were: Mary, (wife of Jonathan Gilbert of Hartford), Thomas, of Wethersfield and Hadley, and John (of Stratford, Connecticut and Hatfield, Massachusetts), but not Hugh Welles of Wethersfield.[2]

Marriages

Frances married say 1625 in England, as her first, to Thomas Welles who died before 1637 at Evesham, Worcestershire, England.[1] According to Constance Wells, the marriage took place on October 13, 1625 in Evesham, Worchestershire, England.[3] According to Richardson, none of the parish records for their marriage, or for their three children's baptisms, have been found.[1]
Frances married before March 1637/8 to, as her second, to Thomas Coleman. Thomas was buried on 1 October 1674 at Hadley, Massachusetts.

Immigration

Frances came to New England with her second husband, Thomas Coleman b. Abt 1600, Cotterstock, North Hamptonshire, England, buried 01 Oct 1674.[1]

Death and Legacy

Frances survived Thomas and died at Hadley shortly before her will was proved the 26th of March.[2]

Children of Frances Albright and Thomas Welles as claimed by the Wells Family Research Association:

http://sites.rootsweb.com/~wellsfam/genealgy/fam00002/fam00002.html & see also http://sites.rootsweb.com/~wellsfam/genealgy/fam00002/n0000002.html

1. Sarah Wells, b. Between 03 Feb 1631 and 1632, Evesham, England, d. 26 Jun 1636, Evesham, Worcester Co., England
2. Thomas Welles, 1628..1629-1676 married in May 1651, Wethersfield, Hartford Co., CT, to Mary Beardsley ca 1631-1691 [4]
3. Mary Welles, chr: 15 Jul 1630 St. Lawrence Parish, Evesham, Worcestershire, England. married to Jonathan Gilbert 1617..1618-1682 [5]
4. John Wells, chr: 20 Feb 1635/6 All Saints Parish, Evesham, Worcestershire, England. married in 1658, Stratford, Fairfield Co., CT, to Sarah Curtis 1642-ca 1743 [6]

Children of Frances Albright and Thomas Coleman:

1. Deborah Coleman, d. 1703 [7]

Disputed Children

• Esther COLEMAN [8] not listed in will of Thomas Coleman
• Sarah COLEMAN, b. Abt 1642, not listed in will of Thomas Coleman, but listed by Jacobus in Hale, House, and related families as specifically the daughter of this Thomas Coleman.[9][10]

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Notes

Hugh Wells, who came from co. Essex, Eng., about 1635, with wife Frances and at least four children - Thomas, Hugh, Mary and John. He settled in Wethersfield, where he died about 1645. Wid. Frances became second wife of Thomas Coleman [i.e., Mary (Welles) Gilbert's stepfather]. They removed to Hadley with her sons Thomas and John in 1660.

This was enlarged by Stiles in 1902 in his "History of Ancient Wethersfield" (2:780) repeating Shelden while enlarging it to: "Hugh Wells, probably came to New England in the Globe, 1635; was of Hartford, 1636, and appears in Wethersfield abt. 1645, where he is supposed to have d. abt. the same time." Stiles then claims that Hugh's dau. Mary m. Jonathan Gilbert of Hartford. The renowned New England genealogist Donald Lines Jacobus adopted Stiles' rendition as being factual in his "Families of Old Fairfield."

Unfortunately, the said Hugh Wells was a fictitious person and all manner of false genealogies have resulted. In Jacobus' supplemental "Widow Frances Welles and Hugh Wells of Wethersfield" [TAG 28(1952):232] he comments "later writers have accepted these statements [of Sheldon and Stiles] as having substance; among the many, be it confessed, one of the present writers," referring to Jacobus' own "Families of Old Fairfield." Subsequent work regarding the Gilbert family and finally identifying Thomas Welles of Evesham, Eng. as the father of Mary (Wells) Gilbert have thoroughly debunked the fictitious Hugh Wells of Wethersfield. [see TAG 67(1992):161 and NEHGR 146(1992):28]

Sources

• ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Richardson, Douglas, (Jan 1992) "The Widow Frances (Albright) Wells, Wife of Thomas Coleman of Wethersfield and Hadley." The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. AmericanAncestors.org NEHGS (Vol 146, Pages 28-34).
• ↑ 2.0 2.1 Jacobus, Donald Lines and W. Herbert Wood, (1952) "Widow Frances Wells and Hugh Wells of Wethersfield."] The American Genealogist. AmericanAncestors NEHGS (Vol 28, Page 232-35) [This article refers to Thos. Coleman of Wethersfield and Hadley, Mass.]
• ↑ "Welles Genealogy." Citing an article written by Charles R. Barr for The Wells Chronicles Vol. 2, No. 3, July-Sept. 1989. Others cited: Kathryn Metcalf, John Frederick Mason, Constance R. Wells, June Elizabeth Wells, Clayton H. Wells, Byrl Ward, and Dorothy R. Rooney. Archive.org, saved 24 Jun 2017 (Caution incorrect).
• ↑ "The Widow Frances (Albright) Welles", vol 146, page 28-34
• ↑ "The Widow Frances (Albright) Welles", vol 146, page 28-34
• ↑ "The Widow Frances (Albright) Welles", vol 146, page 28-34
• ↑ The Widow Frances (Albright) Welles", vol 146, page 28-34
• ↑ "Genealogies of Hadley, Massachusetts", page 24
• ↑ Jacobus, Donald Lines, and Edgar Francis Waterman, (1952) Hale, House, and related families, mainly of the Connecticut River Valley. Hartford: Connecticut Historical Society, HathiTrust.org (Page 766).
• ↑ Boltwood, Lucius M., (1862) "Genealogies of Hadley Families." Northampton: Metcalf & Co., Archive.org (Page 24).
• The American Genealogist. New Haven, CT: D. L. Jacobus, 1937-. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .) Widow Frances Welles and Hugh Welles of Wethersfield, database online, (accessed 3 Oct 2014), Donald Linus Jacobus and W. Herbert Wood, Vol. 28, page 227-235.
• New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, "The Widow Frances (Albright) Welles", by Douglas Richardson. Jan. 1992 146:28-35. See The American Genealogist, Volume CXLVI, pgs. 28-34 includes Thomas Coleman's Will, giving name of wife
• [http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89066151523;view=1up;seq=788 Hale, House, and related families, mainly of the Connecticut River Valley, by Donald Lines Jacobus and Edgar Francis Waterman. Published: Hartford, Connecticut Historical Society, 1952. page 766
• Lucius Boltwood, "Genealogies of Hadley, Massachusetts", database online, Internet Archive, (Northampton, Metcalf & Co., 18620, page 24
• See also:
• Tim Dowling's Family Tree, database onlline, Geneanet
• Frances Albright Coleman, database online, FindaGrave memorial #129046021, Created by: M Cooley. Record added: May 02, 2014, (accessed 27 July 2015). Cites children of Frances and Thomas Coleman: Noah Coleman (1639 - 1676), Sarah Coleman Treat (1642 - 1734). Neither are referenced in primary sources, not in wills etc.
• Source S32 Repository: #REPO6 Ancestral File (TM), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Publication: June 1998 (c), data as of 5 JAN 1998
• Repository REPO6 Family History Library, 35 N West Temple Street, Salt Lake City, UT 84150 USA
• http://sites.rootsweb.com/~wellsfam/genealgy/fam00002/n0000002.html

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Unknown Unknown, the first wife of Thomas Coleman, had four children with him between 1638 and 1642: John, Esther, Sarah, Noah. Find-A-Grave Memorial for son Deacon John Coleman "Parents: Thomas Coleman & Frances Belcher" World Connect "Name: Frances Albright Belcher" "Birth: 1598 in Essen,England" "Death: 1 Mar 1677/1678 in Hadley Massachutes" "Marriage 1 Thomas COLEMAN b: 1598 in Evesham,Worcester,England" World Connect "Name: Frances [Immigrant] BELCHER" "Birth: 1598 in Colchester, Essex, England" "Birth: 1598 in Dorset/Dorsetshire, England" "Death: 1/16 Mar 1678 in Hadley (Hampshire Co), MA" "Death: 1677 in Dorset/Dorsetshire, England" "Father: Dabridgecourt BELCHER b: 1580 in Essex, England" "Mother: Elizabeth FISHER b: 1582 in Essex, England" "Marriage 2 Thomas [Immigrant, 1635] COLEMAN b: 1598 in Evesham, Worcestershire, England" "Married: 1650 in Hadley (Hampshire Co), MA"

familysearch.org:

Frances BELCHER (AFN: 976X-C5)

Birth: 1598 Colchester, Essex, England

Death: 1 Mar 1678 Hadley, Hampshire, Massachusetts

Burial: Hadley, , Massachusetts

Father: Dabridgecourt BELCHER (AFN: NJ10-CR)

Mother: Elizabeth FISHER (AFN: NJ10-DX)

Spouse (2): Thomas COLEMAN (AFN: 93GQ-JQ)

Marriage: 1650 England

Spouse (1): Hugh (Thomas) WELLS OR WELLES (AFN: FVDP-1J)

Marriage: 1619 Colchester, Essex, Eng, Eng

1. Event: Will Proved 26 MAR 1678 Hadley, Hampshire, Massachusetts
2. Immigration: 1639

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