Janicealogy - Prince

Prince

The Prince line in North America dates back to the 1600s in Salem Village, and has close ties to the witch trials of 1692. I'm still a tad bit unclear on the who's who of that first generation, but there's plenty out there about Sarah. Later they, settled Amherst, New Hamphire.

Last modified 8/12/05

Immigrant Ancestor:

Robert Prince was born in England and settled in Salem Village, Massachusetts Bay Colony. It may be that he followed his brother Richard Prince, who was recieved as an inhabitant on 18 Nov 1639. Robert may have been the same Robert Prince who was a servant in the tavern of John Gedney in 1651, brother to Bethiah and Lydia, and brother to Rebecca Prince, who married John Putnam and settled in Salem Village in 1652. Robert bought land from William Trask on Dec. 20, 1655 and built on it what later became known as the ancient Osbourne house. Although it has been moved, it still stands today.

He married Sarah Warren of Watertown on April 5, 1662. They had children, but then Robert died on June 4, 1674. He had willed the house and land to his minor sons, James and Joseph, subject to Sarah's improvement of the estate during their minority. After she remarried Alexander Osbourne, an Irish indentured servant, the claim to the land was disputed. The land dispute caused ill will among the community (as did the controversial remarriage, and Sarah's chronic illness) and led to her status as an easy mark for the accusers of the witch hysteria of 1692. She was arrested under the same warrant as Tituba, was questioned in a pretrial by John Hawthorn, and was jailed for two months awaiting trial before she succumbed to illness on May 10, 1692, in the jail in Boston. For more information about Sarah Osbourne, see the separate page on Notable Ancestors.

Children of Robert and Sarah:
James, b. 19 Jan 1664-5, d. Sep 1666 as an infant
James, b. 15 Aug 1668, m. Sarah Rea, d. 1724
Elizabeth, b.19 Feb 1669-70
Joseph, (see below)

Joseph Prince was born in the 1670s in Salem Village, MA. He married in Salem on 3 Jun 1698 Elizabeth Robinson.They had (at least) one dozen children!

Children:
Robert, b. 29 Dec 1700, m. Mary Fowls and removed to Connecticut
Lieut. Joseph, b. 30 May 1702 (see below)
Timothy, b. 17 Oct 1703, died young
Elizabeth, bap. 29 Jul 1705, died young
Solomon, bap. 30 Mar 1707
Susanna, bap. 3 Jul 1709
Abel, bap. 8 Apr 1711, m. Hannah Eaton
Martha, bap. 11 Jun 1713
Elizabeth, bap. 18 Mar 1715-16, m. John Nichols of Middleton on 2 Oct. 1739
William, bap. 8 Sep 1717, m. Mary Holland of Pomfret
Samuel, bap. 7 Jun 1719
Timothy, bap. 12 Aug 1722, m. Mary Putnam, m2. Huldah Prince

Lieut. Joseph Prince was born 30 May 1702 in Salem Village, MA. His uncle, Richard Prince, appeared on a Report of Impressment of "names of the fouldier that are Impreffed out of the two foot Companys of Salem upon the prefent expedition, by order from the major generall" 1 December 1676, for service in King Philip's War. Richard was awarded land in New Hampshire for his service, but upon his death from his wounds, the land was claimed by his nephew, Lt. Joseph Prince. There were several dozen original grantees of the town, known as Souhagen West and later Amherst; however, Joseph was probably the only grantee to actually permanently settle in the town. An 1858 map shows the Prince house on the NE side of a street that angles NW off the NW corner of the town Common.

According to the History of Amherst (by Daniel Secomb, 1883, p. 909-910), "he is said to have laid out the road from his cabin to the first meeting-house by following the sound of the hammers of the workmen who were engaged in building the house... During the French and Indian wars block-houses were built in various parts of the town for the protection of the settlers. For some time he declined taking refuge in the block house at night, but finally, suspecting that the Indians were lurking around, he sprinkled ashes on the ground around his dwelling, and the next morning saw tracks made by Indian moccasins during the night. After this he was more careful. On one occasion, as he was going to the block-house in the evening, an Indian arrow whizzed past his head, without touching him. The next day he found the arrow sticking in a tree near the path he followed to the garrison-house."

He married c.1749 Elizabeth Rawlins (also spelled Rollins) of Souhagen West. She was b. 15 Mar 1729, daughter of William Rawlins and Hannah Millet. They had at least 10 children. He d. 28 Nov 1789 in Amherst, NH at the age of 87. She d. 29 Jul 1823 at the age of 94. They are buried next to one another in the Amherst Public Burial Ground, a small cemetery beside the court house on the town Commons.

Children:
Elizabeth, b. 18 Feb 1750, m. David Cady, m2. Benjamin Roby, d. Oct 1830 in Merrimack.
Joseph, m. Sarah Wyatt of Danvers, d. 1800
Hannah, b. ~1753, m. John Hartshorn, d. 19 Dec 1795 in Amherst
Sarah, m. Thaddeus Duncklee and removed to Vermont
Abel, b. 1 Jan 1757 (see below)
Mary, b. 1760, m. David Melvin, d. 6 Sep 1844
Susannah, b. ~1763, m. Ralph Ellenwood and removed to Johnson, VT, d. 10 Nov 1838 in VT
John, m. Mindwell Mills, removed to Johnson, VT, d. IN
Anna, m. David Reddington on 5 May 1786, removed to VT and IN
Solomon, b. 4 Aug 1771, m. Mary Muzzy

Pvt. Abel Prince was born 1 Jan 1757 in Amherst, NH. At the age of 18, he joined the Continental Army and fought in the Revolutionary War. His service is documented in a number of sources, and a number of official DAR members have documented their descendency from him.

According to Records of Our Ancestors (by F. A. Prince, 1898), "Abel Prince appears on a list of Capt. Taylor's Company of militia which marched from Amherst, Dec. 8, 1775, to join the Continental army on Winter Hill. Rank, Private. Abel Prince also appears as Private on a list of Capt. Phillip Putnam's Co., Col. Nahum Baldwin's Reg't, raised in Sept. 1776, and sent into New York for the purpose of re-enforcing the army there. This regiment was in the battle of White Plains, Oct. 28, 1776 and was dismissed in Dec. 1776. Abel Prince again appears on a payroll of Capt. Stephen Peabody's Co., which Company marched from Amherst to Ticonderoga on the Alarm of June 30, 1777. Rank, Private: engaged June 30, 1777; discharged July 4, 1777 [note: a good day to go home?]; time of service, 5 days."

Although there was more war left to be fought at the end of his service, he returned home to Amherst, and on 3 Nov 1782 married Fanny Cowan. She was b. 3 Nov 1762 and was from Merrimack, NH. They had at least 10 children. He d. 9 Jun 1838 at the age of 81, and she d. 16 Oct 1841, almost 79 years old.

Children:
Betsey, b. 3 Mar 1783, m. Samuel Hildreth on 7 Oct 1802, d. 23 Dec 1869
John, b. 1785, m. ___ Brown, settled in Camden, ME
Abigail, b. 31 Mar 1787, unmarried, d. 18 Jun 1848
Abel
Joseph, b. 2 Jul 1792, m. Lucinda Bates, settled in Warren, PA, where he d. 16 Apr 1844
James, b. 2 Aug 1794 (possibly 1793) (see below)
Nancy, b. Sep 1796, m. Joseph Wallace of Milford on 14 Nov 1816, m2. Thomas Proctor of Hollis.
Fanny, b. 12 Jan 1798, m. Seth Nichols, settled in Warren, PA
Sarah, b. 12 Feb 1800, m. Cyrus Foster in Apr 1829, settled in Elmira, ME
Rebecca, b. 15 Aug 1803, m. Enoch Gage of Merricmack on 31 Dec 1833

Rev. James Prince was born 2 Aug 1794 or 1793. On 10 Apr 1826 he married Polly Upham, also of Amherst. She was b. 19 Sep 1799 and was the daughter of Phineas Upham and Lois Stratton. They had at least 5 children, but then she died 4 Apr 1837. He remarried 1 Feb 1838 to Nancy Simmonds.

Children:
Mary, b. 24 Jun 1837, m. Charles A. Russel, m2. John F. Beasom, d. 14 May 1869 in Rice Lake, MN
James Upham, b. 30 Aug 1828, m. Louisa Jane Osgood on 24 Oct 1850.
Lucinda, b. 31 May 1830, m. Levi Stratton on 4 Nov 1847, d. 8 Oct 1867.
Ann Jane, b. 2 Apr 1832, unmarried, d. 26 Mar 1857 in Amherst.
Louisina, b. 1 Jan 1834, m. Samuel Taylor Jones on 3 Jul 1853, d. 20 Aug 1909. She is my ancestor, and the family line goes to the Jones page from here.