Rebecca Wells Norton

• Daughter of John Wells and Olive Hunt
• Birth: December 26, 1691 in Soleberg, Bucks County, PA, United States
• Went by the last name Norton, Her parents are not known, as they apparently died when she was still very young. She lived with her aunt and uncle, in what is now New Hope on the Delaware River, the oldest town in Solebury Township. Norton was the maiden name of John’s mother Mary.

Married

• Rebecca met her future husband when her uncle took in William Kitchin when William was unable to find work. William and Rebecca were married in 1713 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, when she was about 22 years old
• Rebecca married (2) in 1725 a farmer Thomas Phillips and had two children with him – Aaron about 1730 and Thomas. Rebecca’s second husband Thomas Phillips wrote his will on December 17, 1748, and in it, he mentions his wife Rebecca, two sons and makes his son-in-law William Kitchin, one of his executors. His will was proved on on January 2, 1748/49 -

Children with William Kitchin

• Ruth Kitchin; born circa 1716 in Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA married Paul Kester
• Olive Kitchin; born circa 1719 Solebury, Bucks, Pennsylvania United States
• William Kitchin; born: June 15, 1721 in Solebury Twp, Bucks, Pennsylvania, United States
• Mary Kitchin

Children with Thomas Phillips

• Aaron Phillips, married Mary Clauson, died in 1858
• Thomas Phillips

William Kitchin wrote his will on July 18, 1723, John Wells was a co-executor of his will, which was proved by John Holcombe on May 15, 1727, in Solebury, Bucks County, Pennsylvania

• William Kitchen’s Will, Page 1
• William Kitchen’s Will, Page 2

History

Rebecca Norton. Her parents are not known, as they apparently died when she was still very young. She lived with her aunt and uncle, John Wells and Olive Hunt in what is now New Hope on the Delaware River, the oldest town in Solebury Township. Norton was the maiden name of John’s mother Mary, so it’s probable that Rebecca was the daughter of Mary’s brother. Rebecca had a brother named John Norton, who was a schoolmaster in Bucks County. It is not known if he also lived with the Well’s family, but he is mentioned in John Wells Jr’s will. In John Norton’s own will he leaves his entire estate to his Beloved Nephew Samuel Crook, (assumed to be Mary Kitchin’s young son) and names his Beloved Brother-in-Law William Kitchin as his sole executor. What is interesting is in this Quaker based family, John Norton states that if Samuel Crook dies before coming of age, the inheritance goes to “Charles Beatty, Minister, to be by him Employed for the use and Service of the Presbyterian College.”

Rebecca met her future husband when her uncle took in William Kitchin when William was unable to find work. William and Rebecca were married in 1713 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, when she was about 22 years old. They had at least five children – eldest child ancestor Ruth; Olive about 1718, who was probably named after Mrs. Wells, married John Heed and then Reese Davis; Mary about 1721, possibly named after William’s mother, married Samuel Crook; William on June 15, 1721, married Sarah Crook on December 28, 1743, and then 10 years later married Sarah Ely; and Thomas about 1723, who could have been named after William’s father. In volume 2 of The History of Bucks County, it states, “Thomas Kitchin inherited his father’s real estate in Solebury, but sold it soon after his marriage and removed to Philadelphia county.”

After William died in 1727, Rebecca married farmer Thomas Phillips and had two children with him – Aaron about 1730 and Thomas. Rebecca’s second husband Thomas Phillips wrote his will on December 17, 1748, and in it, he mentions his wife Rebecca, two sons and makes his son-in-law William Kitchin, one of his executors. His will was proved on on January 2, 1748/49. A few weeks later, on January 23, 1748/49, her cousin, who she considered her brother, John Wells Jr, died.The unreadable stone is just behind the upper right corner of the stump. Photo by Mike, a Find a Grave member, 2011. To see whatthe Wells family meant to Rebecca and William, all you need do is read John Jr’s will dated July 16, 1748. He left “William Kitchin of Solebury, Weaver, 105 acres I live on in Solebury Twp.” (William and Rebecca’s son, William); “. . . and Mary, dau. of Paul Kester, have Doz. Diaper Napkins” (Mary was the daughter of ancestors Paul Kester and Ruth Kitchin, daughter of William and Rebecca.); He left money to “John Norton of Bucks Co. Schoolmaster. Aaron and Thomas Phillips sons of Thomas. Moses Kitchin, son of Thomas.” (Aaron and Thomas are Rebecca’s sons by her second marriage.) He then states “Wm. Kitchin to wall in my Grave Yard with stone and lime.” It seems John Wells Jr. cared deeply for both William and Rebecca.

It is not known when Rebecca Norton-Kitchin-Phillips died, but it was after her second husband died. There is a burial record for a Rebecca Kitchin in section B-2-14 in the Solebury Friends Burying Grounds, but the stone is too worn to read. The picture at right was taken at the end of row B-2, showing the unreadable stone just past the stump. She may have been buried with her first husband. There is also a grave without a stone for a Thomas Phillips in this same cemetery.

• Source William Kester's Ancestors

Sources

• History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Volume 3, page 554 - https://www.geni.com/photo/view/6000000007851655533?album_type=photos_of_me&photo_id=6000000087335043853&position=0
• Historical Narrative of the Ely, Revell And Stacye Families Who Were Among the Founders of Trenton And Burlington In the Province of West Jersey 1678-1683 (1910) - https://www.geni.com/photo/view/6000000007851655533?album_type=photos_of_me&photo_id=6000000087332653035&position=1
• History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Volume 3, page 538 - https://www.geni.com/photo/view/6000000007851655533?album_type=photos_of_me&photo_id=6000000087332727059&position=2

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Rebekah Wells

• Daughter of John Wells and Olive Hunt
• Birth Record: December 26, 1691 in Abington Township, Montgomery, Pennsylvania, United States.