An Enthusiastic Welcome to All Problem Solvers

The people and information on this site have been selected because they represent our family's most significant Genealogy Brick Walls. When we first published the site in 2008, only two of our problem families were represented. We also introduced five, and now six, additional puzzle families we plan to discuss in the future. It is our hope that by making our research available in this way, we may find cousins and other genealogists who are researching these same individuals and share, compare and discuss our findings. Even as we progress, we continue to ask...

Who were these people...

If you know anything that may help us chip through these bricks, or learn more about these people and their lives, please click here to contact me! Corrections of all kinds are also welcome.

SOLVED: John Bolton (1756-1819) of Bridgewater and Boston, Massachusetts

John Bolton married Zilpah Peirce in Boston in 1803 and had one daughter, Elizabeth Everett Bolton, born in Boston in 1806. Our family had been searching for three generations to identify who these Bolton ancestors actually were. After years of frustrating hit-and-miss attempts, about five years ago we decided to methodically research and eliminate, one-by-one, the members of every Bolton family we identified to have been living in Massachusetts during the targeted time period. To keep them all straight, we gave the most likely John Bolton candidates identifying names and also grouped the families by their primary counties of residence. The project was completed in 2010, and only one family and, thankfully, only one John Bolton, remained probable. Unless we find any conflicting documentation to the contrary, we have decided to "claim" the candidate we had called "John Bolton (the Uncle) of Bridgewater" as our Ancestor.

John Bolton, our ancestor, was born in Bridgewater, Plymouth County, Massachusetts in 1756, the only son of John Bolton Jr. and Elizabeth Hayward. As a young man he enlisted in the Continental Army and served in the Revolutionary War until its end in 1781. In 1797, after just a few months of marriage and no children, he divorced his first wife, Betsy Denny, very publicly in the Boston newspapers. He married Zilpah Peirce almost six years later and they had one daughter, Elizabeth Everett Bolton, in 1806. Zilpah died when Elizabeth was two years old and John's health and finances went steadily downhill. He died in Boston in 1819.

It would be lovely to say that, by finally identifying John, our Bolton Brick Wall was completely destroyed. However... as so often happens, with one problem solved, others presented themselves.  In the earliest reliable resource we have found, the words "uncertain" and "perhaps" were used to describe the placement of both John Bolton Jr. and Elizabeth Hayward in their respective Bolton and Hayward families.  Because we wanted to know the truth, our next major Bolton tasks, in addition to trying to identify Zilpah Peirce's family, became to determine the accurate parentage of both of our ancestor John's parents, John Bolton Jr. and Elizabeth Hayward.

SOLVED: John Bolton (c1730-c1762) of Bridgewater, Massachusetts

John Bolton Jr. married Elizabeth Hayward in Bridgewater, Plymouth County, Massachusetts in 1751 and had four children. Their third child and only son, John Bolton, was born in 1756 and was our first Brick Wall subject discussed above.

In the Vital Records of Bridgewater, for his marriage and for the births of each of his children, John was identified as "John Bolton Jr."  As early as 1897 when Nahum Mitchell's History of the Early Settlement of Bridgewater was published, the parentage of John Bolton Jr. was described as uncertain.  Then Anna Chesebrough Wildey's 1903 Genealogy of the Descendants of William Chesebrough stated that John Jr. was the son of Ensign John Bolton (1686-1755) and Ruth Hooper (1691-1755).  Although now proven to be incorrect, that wrong conclusion at that early time was probably considered logical.  John Jr. "should" have been the son of a John, right?

Since that publication in 1903, almost all books and internet sources on the subject have perpetuated the error.  We, also, initially thought that 1903 conclusion seemed logical, while at the same time believed that it shouldn't be that difficult, in today's world, to prove -- or disprove.

After completing our research of all of the Massachusetts Bolton families, it appeared probable that John Bolton Jr. was the son of one of the sons of John Bolton (1660-1722) and Sarah Chesebrough (1663-1729), and therefore the great grandson of Nicholas Boulton (c1600-1683) the Immigrant.  We were determined, if we could, to identify the correct father and to set the record straight.

John Bolton (1660-1722) and Sarah (Chesebrough) Bolton (1663-1729) had eleven children, six of them sons. The only son we could initially eliminate from consideration as John Jr.'s father was the eldest, Ensign John Bolton (1686-1755) who, according to land records, his will and the division of his estate, had five daughters and no sons. We therefore concluded that the title of "Junior" was used only as a means of distinguishing the younger John (c1730-c1762) from his older uncle John (1686-1755), who also lived in Bridgewater. The remaining five brothers, all of whom were researched as possible fathers, in order of birth were Samuel Bolton (1688-1753), Nicholas Bolton (1695-1750), Elisha Bolton (1700-1777), Joseph Bolton (1704-1751) and Nathaniel Bolton (1706-1770).

When our research of the brothers brought us to Elisha (1700-1777), we learned that he had six sons who had all served in the French and Indian War.  According to the records, they enlisted and served in pairs. Imagine our excitement when we learned that the first two to enlist were the two oldest brothers, John (c1730-c1762) and Elisha (c1735- ). Elisha's birth had been recorded in the Bridgewater records, but John's had not.  Additional research told us that one of Elisha (1700-1777)'s sons had died in the army on or before 9 Jul 1762, and that all of his sons except John could be found in the records after that date.  We had wondered of course, before discovering the war records, why we had found no records of John after the birth of his last child in 1760.  So, then we knew... Elisha Bolton (1700-1777) was John Jr.'s father!

Brick Wall Bolton Wives: Zilpah, Elizabeth and Mary

Our Peirce Project: Who was Zilpah (Peirce) Bolton?

Zilpah Peirce (c1782-1808) married John Bolton (1756-1819) in Boston in 1803 and they had only one child, a daughter, Elizabeth Everett Bolton (1806-1864). Our seven year search for Zilpah has produced only a few pieces of actual proof that she lived. Her marriage in Boston in 1803, her membership in the Second Baptist Church in Boston in 1805, her death in the church records in 1808 and the notation in a manuscript listing of 1808 deaths in Boston that she was 26 years old when she died. Even though we have a tiny collection of additional "clues", she's still, at this point, not much more than a name.

So, much as we did with our search for John Bolton, we have begun the process of researching all of the families in Massachusetts known as Peirce, Pierce, Pearce, Pearse, Pers and any other variations of the name that present themselves. Zilpah's three links below will introduce you to the people she was associated with in Boston, some of her descendants and the extended Massachusetts families and individuals we have identified so far as potential candidates to have known her.

Our Hayward Project: Who was Elizabeth (Hayward) Bolton?

Elizabeth Hayward (c1726-1801) married John Bolton (c1730-1762) in Bridgewater in 1751 and they were the parents of three daughters and Zilpah's husband, John Bolton (1756-1819). In Mitchell's 1897 Early History of Bridgewater, Elizabeth was identified as perhaps the daughter of Nathaniel Hayward (1690-1755) and Mary Harvey (c1679-1756) of Bridgewater.  Since that publication, almost all books and internet sources about the Haywards have repeated that information, without the qualifying "perhaps" and with no documentation, as though it were true.

Because it is important to us to place our Elizabeth (Hayward) Bolton in the correct family, we are searching for additional clues and documentation about her life and family.  According to Mitchell's Early History of Bridgewater, "The surnames Hayward, Haward and Howard were often used interchangeably in southeastern Massachusetts, and all seem to have been pronounced Howard".  The link below will lead you to the "Hayward" people we have identified so far, their extended families and known associates.

Who was Mary (Unknown) Bolton?

Mary Unknown (c1709-1786) married Elisha Bolton (1700-1777) of Bridgewater and they were the parents of Elizabeth Hayward's husband, John Bolton (c1730-c1762) and at least five other sons.  We have nothing but wild guesses, like Washburn, Hooper and Pratt, at this point, to help us determine Mary's maiden name.

Washburn was selected as an "interesting possibility" for two reasons. First, because Mary's gravestone in the Bolton plot of the Old Graveyard in Bridgewater is very near the gravestones of Benjamin Washburn(c1718-1812) and his two wives, Susanna (Battles) Washburn (1723-1744/45) and Mary (Cushman) Washburn (1725-1808). The second Washburn connection is that two of Mary's Bolton brothers-in-law married Washburns. We've not yet begun to study the Washburn family in any depth.

Hooper is "interesting" because Mary's memorial gravestone was erected by an individual named John Hooper, whom we now believe was John Hooper (1739-1807) of Bridgewater. He seemed to be about the right age, served in the French and Indian War with Mary's son who died in the army, John Bolton (c1730-c1762), and after the war was called "Money John Hooper". We haven't yet learned why he erected her gravestone, which is likely critical in helping us learn more about Mary and her life before she married  Elisha Bolton (1700-1777).

Pratt as Mary's surname was reported by John Arnold Byram in both the first and second editions of his Byrams in America, although neither edition notes any documentation or sources for any of the information provided. Byram, reporting on the marriage of Bethiah Ripley (1745- ) and Jabez Bolton (c1737- ) in 1765 stated incorrectly that Jabez's father was John Bolton. It is uncertain if the John Bolton referred to was supposed to be John Bolton (1686-1755), who was actually Jabez' uncle, or John Bolton (c1730-c1762), Jabez' older brother. Whichever was meant, both are incorrect. Jabez' father was Elisha Bolton (1700-1777). Jabez' mother's name was Mary, however we have no evidence, and only the clue from this one source, that suggested her surname may have been "Pratt".  Increasing our interest in Pratt as her maiden name is that the names of Mary's sons Jabez and Seth appear frequently in the Pratt family. At this point in our research, we know we must pursue every clue to Mary's identity that presents itself.  We've done almost nothing yet about the Pratts, although we have identified one Mary Pratt (1708- ), a daughter of Jabez Pratt (1673- ) and Elizabeth Cobb (1671- ), who could be a possiblility.

Our Original Bolton Project: A Summary

Our Bolton People

What began as our Bolton Brick Wall project, with John Bolton and Zilpah Peirce as our only two "problem" people, grew to include John's parents, John Bolton "Jr." and Elizabeth Hayward, and the search to identify their parents.  For three generations our family had been trying to identify who these Bolton ancestors actually were. We finally began to make some progress after we decided to methodically research and eliminate, one-by-one, the members of every Bolton family we identified to have been living in Massachusetts during the targeted time period. To keep them all straight, we gave the most likely John Bolton candidates identifying names and also grouped the families by their primary counties of residence.

Our John Bolton, we discovered, was a descendant of Nicholas Boulton, the Immigrant. Nicholas is the earliest known ancestor of most of the Boltons of Plymouth and Bristol Counties and the link below lists his known descendants, descendant families and associates.  Among the descendant families and associates, ancestors of some individuals may also appear, and by necessity, there is duplication of some of the people between other lists found on the site.

The Five "John Bolton" Primary Candidates

Our research included twenty-one John Boltons who resided in Massachusetts during the time period we identified as probable, their families and associates. All but five of the Johns were eliminated relatively quickly for a variety of reasons, and the remaining five were then researched thoroughly enough to determine sufficient evidence to eliminate them (or not) from further consideration.

We gave each of these five candidates a descriptive name in order to keep them straight as we pieced together their lives. The first two of this group to be researched and eliminated were John Bolton of Vermont and John Bolton of Lowell. The final three, John Bolton (the Nephew) of Bridgewater, John Bolton of Berkley and John Bolton (the Uncle) of Bridgewater were more difficult to eliminate, until finally, the Uncle of Bridgewater was the only one left.

Other Bolton Families in Massachusetts

In order to organize the several other Bolton families we found in Massachusetts during the same time period, we attempted to group them on the lists linked below by their primary County locations. In doing this, we have kept family lines together, even though various members and/or generations of the family, may have originated from or moved to other locations.

Our Bolton Family

Come inside using the link below for the full story...

CONNECTED: Walter Hinds and Walter Hinds, County Cavan, Ireland

Yes! It's true... Our "Missing Link" has been found -- and his name is also Walter Hinds!

Walter Hinds of the 1800s was our ancestor and he was the primary subject of our Hinds Family research. Neither Walter nor Hinds appeared to have been common names in County Cavan, Ireland in the 1700s or early 1800s. So when we identified a second Walter Hinds, this one of the 1700s, it just seemed unreasonable to ignore the possibility that these two Walters were very likely related.

Walter Thomas Hinds of the 1800s

Our Ancestor Walter Hinds of County Cavan, Ireland, was born about 1798. His parents and siblings were a mystery. He married Margaret Charters, probably around 1840, and they had eight children: John Hinds, James Hinds, Robert Hinds, Bella Hinds, Fanny Hinds, Henry Hinds, Edward Hinds and Richard Hinds. We learned from our research that Walter was identified most often, probably to distinguish him from his relatives with the same name, as Walter Thomas Hinds.

Walter Hinds of the 1700s

Three wills were found in Dublin at the National Archives of Ireland that introduced us to the earlier, 1700s, Walter Hinds, his brother, John Hinds, and Walter's eldest son, Ralph Hinds, all of County Cavan, Ireland. Through the wills we learned of several additional Walter Hinds family members.

A Tale of Two -- Now Three -- Walters Connected

We can now shout to the rooftops that through Memorial Deeds and other land records, our two Walters have been connected -- with yet another Walter Hinds! Come inside using the link below for the full story...

Preview of Coming Attractions

One of the aspects of genealogy that makes it so rewarding is the never-ending supply of "Brick Walls" we run into. Chipping through the bricks, and solving the puzzles, even when the solutions present more puzzles, is a joy! This website has given us the opportunity to share our problem people and to compare and discuss our information with others. We're excited about the answers we've already found -- and our cousins and new friends, too! We have additional puzzles we plan to share, and some that are currently in various stages of development include:

John Richard Watts and Jane Fleming, London, England, 1828

John Richard Watts was baptized at St. Mary Newington, London, Southwark, England in 1798. His parents were listed on his birth record as "John" and "Sarah" and he had a sister named Mary Ann, but no further information is known about who his family was.  He was an officer in the East India Company and first married Mary Ann Grice at St. Mary Rotherhithe, London, Southwark in Feb1825. Mary Ann died giving birth to their son, John Henry Watts, in late Dec 1825. John Richard then married Jane Fleming in 1828 at St. Dunstan, Stepney, London. Nothing at all is known about Jane's parents, birth or life before her marriage. John Richard and Jane immigrated with John Henry first to New York City and then to Honesdale, Wayne County, Pennsylvania and had four more children. 

Francis West (c1605-1692) of Duxbury, Massachusetts

What was the relationship between the Francis West who appeared in Duxbury, Plymouth County, Massachusetts in the 1630s and the Captain Francis West who arrived in Jamestown, Virginia in 1608? Many sources have noted that they were the same man, or that Francis of Duxbury was a descendant of Francis of Jamestown. Just as many, however, have reported that there was no relationship between the two men at all. Inquiring minds want to know...

Thomas Brown(e) (c 1760-1817) in England and Wales

Thomas Brown(e), born c1760, was likely the son of Henry and Mary Browne of Abbots Bromley, Staffordshire, England. He married, first, Jane Flemming of that village in 1789, immigrated to Monmouthshire, Wales, and married, second, Jane Williams in 1798 after his first wife's death. Some of his descendants immigrated in 1847 and then settled in Scranton, Lackawanna (then Luzerne) County, Pennsylvania by 1850.

John (Primus) Conger (c 1640-1712) of Woodbridge, New Jersey

Researchers, for years, have been trying to learn about the early life of John Conger. His name simply appeared in the marriage records of Newbury, Essex County, Massachusetts when he married Mary Kelly in 1666. His country of origin has never been learned, although it is believed by some Conger researchers that his surname was originally "Belconger". Other variations of the Conger name have also been suggested over the years. John and Mary Conger relocated to Woodbridge, Middlesex County, New Jersey before 1669. John Conger, who produced a very long line of descendants, is thought to have had eight children with Mary, and after Mary's death, with his second wife Sarah Cawood, seven more.

Jonathan Arnold (1758-1838) in NY, CT and PA

Who was Jonathan Arnold's first wife and the mother of his first four sons? Jonathan was born in 1758 in Aquebogue, Suffolk County, New York. While still a teenager, he served first for New York and then Connecticut in the Revolutionary War and later appeared on the Census of 1790 in Warwick, Orange County, New York. He brought his four sons, David, Shubel, Thomas and Heman into his marriage in 1798 with Mary (Polly) Lester, and they had seven more children. They lived in Wayne County, Pennsylvania. Whom, where and when did Jonathan marry first?

Levi Townsend (c1750->1830) of New York and Pennsylvania

Levi Townsend married Rebecca Jones, probably c1785 and probably in New York.  They had ten children and raised their family in Falls Township, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.  Levi's early life is a mystery, and active research has been underway for years by this researcher and many others desiring to place Levi with the correct parents and siblings. DNA evidence has confirmed to our satisfaction that Levi was a descendant of one of the three Townsend brothers of Oyster Bay, Long Island, Nassau County, New York but which one and how many generations removed is not known.  It is believed that he was born in New York and probably lived in early Dutchess County (now Putnam County) before relocating to Pennsylvania.

 

Content and Accuracy

The site is a work in progress, built from ongoing research which, by its nature, is incomplete. Where secondary sources have been used, attempts have been made (or are being made) to locate a primary source or original document to verify or disprove the secondary source information. In most cases, erroneous information that had originally been included, and then proven to be incorrect has been identified and explained. In some instances, however, false information was deleted entirely. These deletions occurred primarily in the very beginning of the research process -- before it was learned that "bad" information, with verification and source citations, could be a valuable tool in future research. All opinions expressed and conclusions drawn are those of this researcher unless attributed to another source.