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Dear List,
For at least 150 years, well-known genealogical authors such as Savage,
Torrey, and Thomas Lothrop have asserted that Benjamin White of Muddy
River/Brookline, a grandfather of President John Adams, married Susannah Cogswell of
Ipswich, daughter of William and Susannah (Hawkes) Cogswell. However, none of these
authors provided any evidence to support the assertion, nor did they even say
why they thought it might be true.
For the last 25 years, I have been happy to accept this myself, but recently
I have started to worry about it, because:
1) I can find no supporting evidence that the Whites of Muddy River/
Brookline and the Cogswells of Ipswich ever had any dealings with each other.
2) I suspect that the marriage record reported in Ipswich Vital Records
("Benjamin White m. Susannah Cogswell, d. William, Jan. 21, 1681. CT. R.") may
refer to a different Benjamin White. This concern is based on records showing
that there was a Benjamin White of Ipswich in King Philip's War in August 1676
(NEHGR, Jan 1888, page 96), and that a Benjamin White of Ipswich participated in
the 1690 campaign against Quebec, receiving a land grant in Winchendon as a
reward (NEHGR, Jan 1893, page 35.) I have found no suggestion that Benjamin
White of Muddy River/ Brookline did either of these things. Furthermore, the
Ipswich marriage record does not identify Benjamin as being from another town,
although such notations were commonly made when applicable..
The marriage record cited above was drawn from records of the Essex County
Quarterly Courts, but no date of the court record is cited, and I have been
unable to find it. I have found that Susannah Cogswell's father, William
Cogswell, left a will, 19 Dec 1700, cited as Ipswich probate file #5865, but I have
not yet seen this will. However, even if this will included a bequest to
daughter Susannah White, wife of Benjamin White, that would not by itself answer the
question "Which Benjamin White?"
I realize that people who question long-accepted "truths" don't make
themselves popular, but still hope that some one of you may have thought about this
problem, and may be able to help me resolve it.
Any help will be greatly appreciated by
Rick Sherman
Kensington, CA