Rev William Balch

• BIRTH 30 Sep 1704 Groveland or Beverly, Essex County, Massachusetts, USA
• DEATH 12 Jan 1791/2 (aged 87) in Bradford, Essex, Massachusetts, United States
• BURIAL Riverview Cemetery, Groveland, Essex County, Massachusetts, USA
• MEMORIAL ID 124553873 Photos by Kelly (Grady) Hartmann

Biography

Reverend William Balch was born 30 September 1704 in Beverly, Essex County, Massachusetts, the son of Freeborn Balch and Elizabeth Fairfield.[1] He graduated from Harvard in 1724, and was first pastor at the Second Church (East Bradford) for sixty-five years. [2] William married Rebecca/Rebekah Stone on 12 March 1727/28 in Beverly, Essex County, Massachusetts. [3] After Rebecca died, he married secondly, Abigail Blodgett. He was recorded on the 1790 census for Bradford, MA.[4]

Inscription [4]

Parents
Freeborn Balch 1660–1729
Elizabeth Fairfield Balch 1666–1737

Half-Siblings
Mirriam (Balch) Fowler
Freeborn Balch 1685–1770
Benjamin Balch

Siblings
Skipper Balch 1692–1714
Sarah Balch 1700–1714
Abigail (Balch) Raymond,
Tabitha Balch Raymond 1702 – unknown
Mary Balch Wingate 1707–1787

Spouses
Rebeckah Stone Balch 1709–1747 m. 12 Mar 1727 in Beverly, Essex, Massachusetts Bay
Abigail Blodgett Balch 1706–1793

Siblings
Freeborn Balch 1685–1770
Skipper Balch 1692–1714
Sarah Balch 1700–1714

Children
Rebecca (Balch) Parker
William Balch Jr. 1730–1806
Hannah (Balch) Hale
Sarah Balch Sargeant 1733–1753
Daniel Balch 1734–1790
Nathaniel Balch 1737–1802
Benjamin Balch 1743–1823

Note

The Fairfield Family database states that William Fairfield married twice - (1) Rebeckah Stone, (2) Abigail Converse. The second wife is noted in the biography but not in the profile.

References

[1] https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Balch-313 Balch-313 created 17 Feb 2015 | Last modified 17 Apr 2020

[2] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/124553873/william-balch

[3] http://www.fairfieldfamily.com/database/data_index.html

Sources

[4] "The Essex Antiquarium, Vol. X., Salem, Mass., Jan., 1906, No. 1, Groveland, Inscriptions, Ancient Burial Ground"

[5] Vital Records of Beverly, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (Topsfield Historical Society, Topsfield, Mass., 1906-1907)| Page 35

[6] The Massachusetts Vital Records Project, Beverly, Essex County Birth Records

[7] 1790 United States Federal Census, State of Massachusetts, Essex County, Bradford, Page 109, Third Column, Line 28| 1790 US Census, "Revd William Balch"

[8] Vital Records of Bradford, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (Topsfield Historical Society, Topsfield, Mass., 1907)| Page 296

[9] Balch, Galusha B. Genealogy of the Balch families in America (E. Putnam, Salem, Mass., 1897)| Pages 34-35
Bentley, William.

[10] The Diary of William Bentley, D.D., Pastor of the East Church, Salem, Massachusetts (Essex Institute, Salem, Mass., 1905) Vol. 1, Page 341

[11] Walter Goodwin. "The ancestry of Sarah Stone, wife of James Patten of Arundel (Kennebunkport) Maine", Portland: The Southworth Press| Page 17