Sarah Ensign

Biography

Sarah Wilcox was born on 03 Oct 1648 at Hartford, Connecticut and died there on 03 Feb 1717/18. She’s buried in Hartford’s Ancient Burying Ground.

Sarah was the daughter of John Wilcox and Sarah Wadsworth (Sarah’s only child). Her mother died in childbirth with her, and John Wilcox married three times more.

She married 1st Thomas Long on 03 Oct 1666: they were divorced in December, 1681. Thomas Long remarried to Sarah Elmer before 1688.

Sarah then married 2nd David Ensign on 3 October 1684.[3]. He had first married Mehitable Gunn on 22 October 1663; they had divorced in 1682. David Ensign was accused of adultery with Sarah Long in his divorce.

The children of Sarah Wilcox and Thomas Long were:

1. Joseph Long (1668 - ). Married Martha Smith.
2. William Long (1670 - 1740). Married Mary Henbury.
3. Jerusha Long (1672-1723). (Unmarried?)
4. Mary Long (1675 - <1712) Married Ephraim Bushnell.
5. Sarah Long (say 1677 - 1766). Married John Culver.
6. Hannah Long (1679 - ~1770). Married 1) Simon Large 2) Jonathan Moore.

The child of Sarah Wilcox and David Ensign was:

1. David Ensign (1688-1759) (2nd of the name) m. (1) Hannah Smith and (2) Sarah Moody

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Origins

A Compilation by The Society of Middletown First Settlers Descendants, Connecticut, USA.

• In-Depth First Settler Profile: John Wilcox, Jr 1654 / Sarah (Wadsworth) Wilcox.
• [direct quotes taken from this document.]

Child of John Wilcox by first wife:

• (1) Sarah Wilcox,
  • b. October 3, 1648, Hartford, Conn. (”Sarah Willcock Daughter of John Willcock Junior” Hartford Land Records p. 578);
  • d. unknown;
  • m. (1) Thomas Long abt 1667, Hartford, Conn. (6 children);
  • m. (2) David Ensign, abt. 1688, Harford, Conn. (1 child)
    • [Compiler note: On September 18, 1660, “John Willcok doe give unto my daughter Sarah Wilcox ye child that I had by my first Wife my houfe & Home lott at Hartford... left in ye hands of her Grandfather William Wadsworth during her minority” (Hartford Land Records p. 525-526)” will of Mary Wilcox dated April 3, 1671, “to Sarah Long” (MAN vol. 1 p. 255-256); will of William Wadsworth of Hartford dated May 16, 1675, “unto my gr. daughter Long” (MAN vol 1, p. 246); Thomas Long divorced Sarah Long in December 1681 (Women before the Bar by Cornelia Hughtes Dayton, 1995); on September 6, 1734, David Ensign of Hartford sold his right in the undivided land in Middletown “in the right of my Honoured Mother Sarah Wilcocks alias Ensign” (vol. 6, p. 348-349); on June 8, 1739, Joseph Long of Coventry, Windham County sold to his “beloved brother David Ensign of Hartford” his rights in undivided land in Middletown “Which descended to him from his honored grand father John Wilcock of Middletown.” (vol. 6, p. 3960]

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Supporting data

Hale, House, and Related Families: Mainly of the Connecticut River Valley. Donald Lines Jacobus, Edgar Francis Waterman. Connecticut Historical Society, 1952 - Connecticut - 914 pages. Page 804-806. < HathiTrust >; < text >

… 2. JOHN WILCOX (John¹), born in England, perhaps about 1620 or earlier, certainly not later than 1620, died at Middletown, Conn., 24 May 1676; married first, at Hartford, Conn., 17 Sept. 1646, SARAH WADSWORTH, born in England, about 1626, died at Hartford, probably at the birth of her daughter in Oct. 1648, daughter of William and Sarah (Talcott) Wadsworth; … The will of William Wadsworth of Hartford, dated 16 May 1675, (inven- tory taken 16 Oct. 1675), named, with others, his granddaughter Long, to whom he gave twenty shillings. On 18 Sept. 1660, John Willcok gave to "my daughter Sarah willcox ye child that I had by my first Wife my house & Home lott at Hartford... this is left in ye hands of her Grandfather Wil- liam Wadsworth dureing her minority"; if she die under age unmarried, the property is to revert to "my Two Eldest children, that is to Say John & Thomas." The land was entered as belonging to "Sarah Willcox ye daughter of John Willcox late of Midle Towne." Immediately beneath is entered "Land... belonging to Thomas Long," including "one percell of land which he Bought of his father John willcox," recorded 2 Jan. 1681.ª The will of William Lane of Dorchester, Mass., made 28 Feb. 1650/1, proved 6 July 1654, named his daughter, Mary Long. By her first husband, Joseph Long, she was mother to Thomas Long who married her stepdaugh- ter, Sarah Wilcox; also of Joseph Long, Jr., of Dorchester, who died 26 Aug. 1676.

… On 27 Oct. 1667, the Court ordered John Wilcox to pay his mother £6 a year, as on account of weakness she cannot occupy "the Old House." Prob- ably she had moved some time before that to her daughter Bidwell's home. She made her will, 4 Oct. 1666. She gave to her "Cosin" [granddaughter] Sara Long, two pewter platters; to daughter, Ann "Haul," 40s. and her best feather pillow; residue to son-in-law, John Bidwell, he to be executor. Friends, Deacon Butler and James Ensign, to be overseers.d …

The inventory of the estate of John Willcox of Middletown was taken 6 June 1676 by Richard Hall and John Kirby and amounted to £409.11.04. The children were named as Sarah Long, aged 28; Israel, 20; Samuel, 18; Ephraim, 4; Hester, 2 in Dec. 1675; and Mary, born 9 March 1675/6. Dis- tribution was ordered to the three sons and two daughters. A late distribu- tion, dated 3 Jan. 1694/5, but probably signed earlier by some of the heirs, names Israel Wilcox, Samuel Wilcox, Ephraim Willcock, Easter Willcock, and Mary Willcock; signed by Joseph Hand Sen. in behalf of the wife of Joseph Hand Jr.; Sarah Willcock (by mark); Ephraim Wilcock; Mary Wil- cock (by mark); Esther Wilcock; Esther Stow (by mark); Samuel Wilcock; and Joseph Hand. Esther Stow (alias Wilcox), the administratrix, asked for acceptance of this distribution, 6 Dec. 1726, and was discharged because of her age and infirmity; and as land had been laid out to the Estate of John Wilcox and hence not inventoried, administration was granted to Francis Wilcox of Middletown and David Ensign, Jr., of Hartford.

(Page 807) Child of John and Sarah (Wadsworth) Wilcox, born at Hartford: i. SARAH,3 b. 3 Oct. 1648; d. at Hartford, 3 Feb. 1717/18; m. (1) at Hartford, 3 Oct. 1666, THOMAS LONG, b. probably at Dorchester, Mass., d. at Windsor, Conn., 8 Nov. 1711, son of Joseph and Mary (Lane) Long; they were divorced in 1681, and he m. (2) Sarah Elmer, b. in 1664, d. at East Windsor, 8 Nov. 1741." Sarah Wilcox m. (2) David Ensign, b. abt. 1644, d. at West Hartford, 12 Dec. 1727 in 82d yr., son of James and Sarah (— −) Ensign.

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Genealogies

Jacobus, Donald Lines, and Edgar Francis Waterman. Hale, House and Related Families, Mainly of the Connecticut River Valley. (Hartford: The Connecticut Historical Society, 1952) page 807. < Archive.Org >. Children of John Wilcox:

Record of the descendants of James Ensign and his wife Sarah Elson, 1634-1939 by Nelson, Martha Eunice Ensign, 1888. Page 20. < Archive.Org > Children of James Ensign and Sarah; misidentified Sarah Wilcox.

• David Ensign’s second wife was Sarah Wilcox, who had married Thomas Long first
• Israel Wilcox was her half brother, not her husband. Israel’s wife was Sarah Savage.
• Sarah Wilcox’s uncle, who had hid the Connecticut Charter in the < Charter Oak >, was Captain Joseph Wadsworth, ancestor of Elijah Wadsworth.

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The Great Migration (1634-1635) < AmericanAncestors > Children of James Ensign and Sarah:

References

1. https://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:Sarah_Wilcox_%2813%29 cites
   1. Jacobus, Donald Lines, and Edgar Francis Waterman. Hale, House and Related Families, Mainly of the Connecticut River Valley. (Hartford: The Connecticut Historical Society, 1952) page 807. “Sarah3 (Wilcox) b. (Hartford) 3 Oct. 1648; d. at Hartford, 3 Feb. 1717/18.” < Archive.Org >
   2. Nelson, Martha Eunice Ensign. Record of the Descendants of James Ensign and His Wife Sarah Elson, 1634-1939-1960. (United States: The Compiler, 1960) 10. “Sarah Wilcox, b. 3 Oct. 1648, Hartford, Conn.; dau. of John and Sarah Wadsworth Wilcox, Jr.; d. 3 Feb. 1717, West Hartford, Conn.”
2. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=51656556
3. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Wilcox-724
   1. Connecticut Births and Christenings, 1649-1906, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F7WQ-M9X.
   2. Marilyn Wilcox Bauer & Laura Wilcox Thrasher, Descendants of John Wilcox of Hartford, Connecticut, 2018, https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/viewer/789602/?offset=5#....
   3. Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume II, C-F, page 456. < AmericanAncestors >
   4. "Connecticut Births and Christenings, 1649-1906," database, FamilySearch ([1] : 3 December 2014), Sara Willcock, 03 Oct 1648; citing ; FHL microfilm unknown.
   5. "John Wilcox and Some Descendants of Hartford and Middletown, Connecticut," by Raeola Ford Cooke, Page 5 (Privately published by author: Twin Falls, ID, 1988) FHL #929.273 W643 (also Film #1598186, Item 8.)
   6. "Families of Early Hartford, Conn." p. 238 (bio by: Nareen, et al)
   7. “HISTORY OF THE FIRST KNOWN WILCOX IN AMERICA: John Wilcox & wife, Mary in Hartford, Connecticut.” History of Berlin, Connecticut CHAPTER IV—Page 80. < FamilySearch >
   8. Historical Catalogue of the First Church in Hartford. 1633-1885 (First Church, Hartford, Conn., 1885) Page 157.
4. http://www.holcombegenealogy.com/data/p922.htm#i46099 cites
   1. Maud Ensign Van Meter, Record of The Descendants of James Ensign The Puritan 1634-1939
   2. Martha Eunice Ensign Nelson, Record of the Descendants of James Ensign and His Wife Sarah Elson
5. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ctsmfsd/WilcoxInDepth.pdf
6. http://www.pamsgenealogy.net/SS/p17.htm (dead link) cited
   1. [S120] Charles Collard, M.A. Adams, Upper Houses.
   2. [S400] Massachusetts Historical Society, Winthrop Medical Journal.
   3. [S155] Martha S. Osborne, Wilcox/Wilcoxson.
   4. [S85] James Savage, Genealogical Dictionary.
   5. [S160] John Wilcox, Genealogy, 1987-8 Author's Files.
   6. [S147] William Richard Cutter, Connecticut Genealogies
7. Record of the descendants of James Ensign and his wife Sarah Elson, 1634-1939 By Nelson, Martha Eunice Ensign, 1888- Contributor FamilySearch, Family History Library, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Notes No copyright page found. Pages 374. Page 20. < Archive.Org > misidentified Sarah Wilcox.
8. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/44473570/david-ensign cites
   1. "Families of Early Hartford, Conn."
9. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/51656556/sarah-ensign cites
   1. "Families of Early Hartford, Conn." p. 238 The daughter of John & Sarah (Wadsworth) Wilcox. She married (1) Thomas Long (they were possibly divorced) and (2) David Ensign (his second wife).
10. THOMAS LONG WAS GRANTED A DIVORCE FROM HIS WIFE, SARAH (WILCOX) LONG ON 15 DEC 1681: At a Special Court of Assistants, held at Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut on 15 December 1681, Thomas Long, for good and sufficient reasons was given a divorce from his wife, Sarah Wilcox. -- see NEHGR 29:28.

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Curator's note: Supposed son, Jonathan Long is listed on many internet trees, often referencing an unsupported christening in Hartford, but no actual references can be found as of 05/28/2023. If new, verifiable, information is found, contact Jessica Marie German .

https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L4BT-YJQ -- no supporting data attached.