Martha Haffield

Richard Haffield married (2) by about 1627 Martha _____. She died at Wenham on 22 February 1667[/8] (presumably at the home of her son-in-law, Thomas White).

They had 3 children: Martha Coy, Rachel Clinton (divorced 18 March 1681/2), & Ruth White. On 30 March 1647, "widow Halfield" fined 20s. "for taking the name of God to witness to a lie affirmatively and negatively."

On 29 March 1653, "Ruth Halfield, presented for excess in apparel, at last court, being under her mother's government, and Rich[ard] Coye affirming that her mother was worth two hundred pounds, was discharged." The courtship of Lawrence Clinton and Rachel Haffield was far from ordinary. While her four other sisters had made marriages at or about the usual age, Rachel had remained at home to care for her incompetent mother, and was more than thirty-five years old when she formed her liaison with Lawrence Clinton. Clinton was a confidence man, claiming wealthy relatives in England, and apparently taking advantage of Rachel's mother's mental incapacity to convince Rachel to buy out the remainder of his servant's contract with Robert Cross. That this marriage ended in divorce should not be surprising. Only a limited selection of the many depositions in this case has been published; examination of the originals of all these documents might reveal much more about this episode.

• Reference: Ancestry Genealogy - SmartCopy: Dec 25 2016, 19:02:59 UTC
• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Dec 25 2016, 19:05:07 UTC
• probate records at Ancestry.com Massachusetts, Essex County, Probate Records; Author: Massachusetts. Supreme Judicial Court (Essex County); Probate Place: Essex, Massachusetts
• Ancestry.com Richard Haffield article in Great Migration, Vol 3, G-H. Anderson does not list a maiden name for her.