Rebecca Hunt

This Rebecca Earle, who married Stephen Hunt, is not the daughter of Enoch Earle and Anna Morris Earle. (See the research notes below.)

The Rebecca who is the daughter of Enoch Earle and Anna Morris, married Philip Smith and relocated to Fishkill, NY shortly after they were married.

Two daughters named Rebecca.

From the book: Settlers of the Beekman Patent by Frank J Doughtery'

• "Enoch (Rebecca's father) came to Fishkill by 1741 when he was first taxed and was taxed through 1757. He had a daughter Rebecca who married Philip Smith and also came to Fishkill (Rombout). Philip Smith was taxed from 1738 through 1754."
• The Earle Family at the time of the writing of History and Genealogy of the Earles of Secaucus was not aware of the fact that Enoch Earl came to Rombout (Fishkill), Dutchess County, and we have to question some of the marriages and later births (listed in the book), particularly the marriages of Anne and Rebecca and the absence of son Joseph.
• The Earle Family History written by Rev. Isaac Newton Earle has Rebecca, dau. of Enoch married to Stephen Hunt at Hackensack on 18 Sept. 1733. He was born in Westchester Co., NY ca. 1709, the son of Thomas and Rachel (Arnold) Hunt. Stephen Hunt and his wife lived in Westchester, and he died on 26 June 1786. Stephen Hunt and his wife named their first child Sylvester and did not name any children Enoch (This would indicate that she may be the daughter of Sylvester Earle not Enoch).
• Rebecca Earle and her husband, Philip Smith definitely came to Fishkill with her father Enoch.
• The Rebecca who married Stephen Hunt is probably the daughter of Sylvester Earle.
• Enoch's daughter should be the Rebecca who married Phillip Smith.

History and genealogy of the Earles of Secaucus got this wrong.

From the book: History and genealogy of the Earles of Secaucus, With an account of other English and American branches.

• D 72) Rebecca Earle m. Stephen Hunt, Sep. 21, 1733. “Stephen Hunt, y. m., lives West Chester, and Rebecca Earle, y. d., lives Hackensack.” Reformed Church, Hackensack. Probably b. about 1713. No Rebecca appears on the record of the fourth generation. There were three families of the third generation which were likely to name a daughter Rebecca. They were those of Enoch, Marmaduke, and John, who m. the Morris sisters, daughters of Rebecca Morris. We have ventured to place this Rebecca in Enoch’s family and to designate her D 10. Of course, it is a guess, but one that does no one any wrong, as the line is not pursued further.
• D 73) Rebecca Earl m. Philip Smith, Dec. 28, 1736. “Philip Smith, y. m., and Rebecca Earle, y. d., both live in Bergen County.” Reformed Church, Hackensack. Here is another Rebecca to dispose of. This cannot be the preceding Rebecca who married Stephen Hunt in a second marriage, as she is referred to as a “young dame,” which means that she was not previously married. She may have been the daughter of Marmaduke or of John. It seems strange that there was no Rebecca in Marmaduke’s family, where the mother and grandmother both bear that name. We have no record of John's family.

The Rebecca that married Philip Smith was Enoch's daughter. She and her husband left New Jersey and moved to the Fishkill (Rombout) area with her father Enoch. Both Enoch and Philip Smith are shown in the tax records and had land transactions with each other.

No record of her birth or baptism has yet been found. However, several circumstances point in this direction:

• There is a Rebecca Earle of Hackensack who did marry Stephen Hunt in Hackensack, but she is not the daughter of Enoch.
• Stephen Hunt had a son with the unusual name of Sylvester, perhaps named after her father.
• Rebecca is the name of Enoch's mother, her grandmother.

The principal book published study of this family "guesses" that she is Enoch's daughter, rather than the daughter of his brothers Marmaduke or John, but this information is not correct.

Rebecca Earl of Hackensack married Stephen Hunt of Westchester, in the Dutch Reformed Church of Hackensack, on 20 Sep 1733. Stephen and Rebecca were labeled "y.m." and "y.d," respectively, indicating that this was the first marriage for both.

Stephen had a son Silvester/Sylvester, mentioned in the will of Stephen's father Thomas.