Tabitha Howard

Tabitha Kinsman was born circa 1645 in Ipswich, Massachusetts, the daughter of Robert Kinsman, and named in his 1664 will.

In 1667 in Salem, Massachusetts, America, Tabitha Kinsman married William Howard of Ipswich.

William had the following children, all born in Ipswich:

1. Mary, b. December 1667,[5][6] m. October 17, 1685 Joseph Fuller Jr of Ipswich[7]
2. Tabitha, b. January, 21, 1669/70,[8][6] m. January 29, 1689/90 Christopher Hodkins of Ipswich,[7] d. September 15, 1735 in Ipswich[7]
3. William, b. June 25, 1673[5][6]
4. Mercy, b. October 8, 1675,[5][6] m. Daniel Hovey, Jr of Ipswich[7]
5. Martha, b. March 31, 1678,[5][6] never married,[7] d. June 23, 1748 in Ipswich[7]
6. John,* b. about 1683[6]
7. Samuel, b. October 3, 1685[5][6]

Since there is no birth record for John, it is possible that he was the illegitimate son of William's unwed sister Hannah, who, based on Essex County Court records in 1677-1679, had a child by John Hunkins in 1677 whom William was caring for.

Identity

Tabitha was a beneficiary in the will of her father (Robert Kinsman of Ipswich) in 1665: (Stickney)

"I give unto my daughter Tabitha Kinsman my dwelling house and appurtenances and Land and land about it payeing out of it Twenty pounds within two yeare after my decease also I give unto her my said daughter Tabitha my househould stufe."

She is recorded in a land transaction in 1674 as Tabitha Kinsman but this analysis appears in the a book on this Howard family genealogy[1]

"It is not unquestionably certain who this Tabitha (the wife of Wiiliam Howard) was, since the record of her marriage has disappeared with so many other early records. There are, however, several circumstances that favor the belief that she was,the fifth daughter and youngest child of Robert Kinsman, who settled in Ipswich in 1633, and that she married William Howard early in the year 1667. As an objection to this supposition, and it is the only one that has come to the notice of the writer, it has been claimed that Tabitha Kinsman, as late as 1674, conveyed real estate in her own name. On examining the deed referred to however, it appears, in the first place, that she did not make a conveyance at all, but that one Edward Neland sold a peice of marsh land to Ezekiel Rogers, and bounded it on one side by land of Tabitha Kinsman. This of itself would not prove that she at that time held the land in her own right. But in the second place, it is shown by the deed that, although it was not recorded till 1674, it was dated in 1665, some two years previous to her supposed marriage with Mr. Howard. That she survived her husband is evidenced by his will, but how long is not known, as no record or monument is found to determine the date of her death."

She is reputed to have married William Howard in Ipswich, MA in 1667[2]. Although William Howard makes provision for his wife in his will of 1709, he does not name her.

References

• Greene, David L., Was Tabitha, Wife of William Howard of Ipswich, Mass., A Daughter of Robert1 Kinsman?, The American Genealogist (The American Genealogist, Barrington, RI, 1991) Vol. 66, Page 112.
• Stickney, Lucy. The Kinsman Family, Genealogical Record of the Descendants of Robert Kinsman, of Ipswich, Mass., from 1634 to 1875 (Alfred Mudge & Son, Boston, 1876) Page 33.
• American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI)
• Howard genealogy a genealogical record embracing all the known descendants in this country, of Thomas and Susanna Howard, who have borne the family name or have married into the family collected and arranged by Jarvis Cutler Howard. Published 1884 by The compiler in [Hartford, Conn.] . Written in English. Page 10 - 11 Archive.Org
• Family Data Collection - Births
• Family Data Collection - Individual Records
• Millennium File
• U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700
• http://www.szgenes.com/marcia/p8.htm#i2976
• http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/18692618/person/18010922107
• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Kinsman-1256
• Reference: Filae Family Trees - SmartCopy: Jun 5 2023, 19:58:21 UTC