John & Margaret:
Your messages about "John the Distiller" (ABC #300) sent me into some
date lookups. Both the ABC passage and the similar text provided now by JRC
the other day cite two instances of "John" and "John Jr" that seem to
imply
they refer to John #300 and his son. (The two instances are the boarding of
the ship "Asia" and the signing of the Revolutionary Pledge.)
Both of these instances occurred in 1776. But John #300's son John #878
was not born until 1781 or 1784. So if the John & John Jr refers to this
family at all, it must refer to John #300 and his father.
But this interpretation seems also unlikely; John #300's father (John
#74) was born about 1685 (ABC p. 61) and so would have been about 91 years
old in 1776. This seems a bit aged for managing his own affiars, even to
the extent of boarding ships to collect a debt. It may also be a bit old
for Pledge-signing, as at least in one district those over 55 were
considered "exempt."
Moreover, ABC says that John #74's widow (Ruth Coe Carpenter) remarried
a Mr. Thurston. But if John #74 lived to age 91, such remarriage seems at
least questionable. Alternatively, if the Thurston marriage is correct,
John #74 probably didn't live to 1776 (age 91)...and therefore would not be
the John (Sr.) cited in the Pledge and cited in the ship "Asia" affiar. And
if John #74 was not the Sr, John #300 would not be the John Jr--neither of
the Pledge nor of the "Asia" boarding.
Altogether, this John #74 becomes more and more problematic. As we have
noted so often with Phoebe C, ABC's account of John #74 has him siring
offspring over a remarkable span of 30 years, only BEGINNING at about age 35.
Robin