Family:Whitney, Eleanor (s1684-1730)
Eleanor3 Whitney (Joshua2, John1), daughter of Joshua2 and Abigail (Tarbell) Whitney,[1] was born say 1684, Groton, MA,[2] and died before 21 Dec 1730, Plainfield, CT.[3]
She married about 1700, Groton, MA, Samuel Shepard,[4] son of Isaac and Mary (Smedley) Shepard.[5] He was born -- Oct 1668, Concord, MA,[6] and died before 1724, Plainfield, CT.[7]
He settled in Plainfield, CT, very early. "The settlers on the east side of the river at the time of the town charter in 1699 were Isaac Shepard, Richard Pellet, Benjamin Rood, John Fellows, Samuel Shepard, John Spalding, Edward Spalding, James Kingsbury, Thomas Pierce, Thomas Harris, Matthias Button, Joseph Spalding, Jacob Warren, Nathaniel Jewell and Timothy Pierce."[8]
On 24 Dec 1702, Samuel Shepard appears on a list of the freeholders of Plainfield, CT, on the east side of the Quinebaug River, along with his brothers-in-law Joshua Whitney and Nathaniel Jewell.[9]
"The division of Plainfield territory into equal and regular allotments, and its distribution among such inhabitants as fulfilled the required conditions, were accomplished in 1704; the recipients throwing up their previous purchases into the common stock and each receiving an allotment with rights in future divisions proportionate to his interest in the common proprietorship. Abroad strip of land adjoining the Quinebaug, extending from the north side of Moosup river to the Cedar swamp, was reserved as a general field, the great plain for corn planting, for the use of all the inhabitants. Twenty-four proprietors received shares in this allotment, of one hundred acres each, which was completed in February, 1804. These proprietors were: Samuel Shepard, John Smith, Benjamin Smith, John Fellows, Ebenezer Harris, William Douglas, Thomas Stevens, Sr., Thomas Pierce, James Kingsbury, Edward Yeomans, Joshua `'Whitney, Stephen Hall, John Spalding, Edward Spalding, Benjamin Palmer, Nathaniel Jewell, Thomas Stevens, Jr., Matthias Button, Jacob Warren, Timothy Pierce, Joseph Parkhurst, Thomas Williams, James Deane and Joseph Spalding."[10]
He owned rights to land in Killingly. "The Owaneco land in the southern part of Killingly, held by Plainfield residents, was still unsettled and undivided, though many rights were sold or bartered. Edward Spalding bought the rights of James Kingsbury and William Marsh for £61, 10s. each. In 1708 Michael Hewlett purchased Parkhurst's right for one pound. Jacob Warren sold his right in this land to Nicholas Cady in exchange for land north of Whetsone brook, southwest from Chestnut hill, in 1710. Thomas Stevens at the same date sold his share to Ephraim Warren. John Hutchins bought out the rights of Nathaniel Jewell and Samuel Shepard. ... In 1725 Plainfield was visited by a 'very distressing sickness and great mortality,' so that the people could not get sufficient help among themselves to attend the sick, but were obliged to rely upon other towns for aid. About twenty persons died in the town within a few months, including some of its first and leading citizens, viz.: John Hall, Samuel Shepard, James Deane, Benjamin Palmer, Matthias Button, Ephraim Wheeler, Philip Bump and Samuel Howe."[11]
"The grave of Samuel SHEPARD at Plainfield, Conn., is marked by a simple slab with the inscription S.S., 1724."[12]
The children of Samuel and Eleanor (Whitney) Shepard, of Plainfield, CT, as named in the distribution of his estate Nov. 10, 1726, (indorsed) and recorded at Windham (Willimantic), Conn., Dec. 32, 1730: Jonathan, David, Nathan, Benjamin, Eleanor Darby, Mary Johnson, Lucy Shepard.[13] The absence of Samuel, Abigail, and Sarah, or their heirs, from this list indicates that they had died by that date.
Children of Samuel and Eleanor3 (Whitney) Shepard:
i. Eleanor Shepard, b. 6 Mar 1701, Plainfield, CT;[14] m. James Darby. ii. Mary Shepard, b. 11 Aug 1703, Plainfield, CT;[15] m. Jacob Johnson. iii. Samuel Shepard, b. 30 Sep 1705, Plainfield, CT;[16] apparently died before 10 Nov 1726, when his father's estate was distributed. iv. Jonathan Shepard, b. 3 Mar 1707;[17] m. Elizabeth Baker. v. David Shepard, b. 10 Nov 1712, Plainfield, CT;[18] m. Mehitable Spalding. vi. Abigail Shepard, b. 6 Dec 1713, Plainfield, CT;[19] d. 12 Nov 1720, Plainfield, CT.[20] vii. Sarah Shepard, b. 28 Jun 1715, Plainfield, CT;[21] apparently died before 10 Nov 1726, when her father's estate was distributed. viii. Lucy Shepard, b. 14 Nov 1718, Plainfield, CT;[22] m. Ezekiel Spicer. ix. Nathan Shepard, b. 15 Jun 1720, Plainfield, CT;[23] m. Susannah Wheeler. x. Benjamin Shepard, b. 21 Feb 1722, Plainfield, CT;[24] m. Martha Whitmore.
References
1.^ Her parentage is proven by the wills of her father and her brother Joshua.
2.^ The date is estimated from the birth of her oldest child, the order of mention in her father's will, and the known and estimated birth dates of her siblings.
3.^ Gerald F. Shepard (compiler) and Donald Lines Jacobus (editor), The Shepard Families of New England, vol. 1, p. 13. Eleanor's death was reported to the General Court on 21 Dec 1730 and thate distribution of her dower was ordered to the heirs on that date, according to Windham Probate 1:407. Her brother Joshua's will, dated 15 Oct 1751, mentions "the heirs of" his sister Elinor Shepard, implying that she was not living as of that date.
4.^ The marriage is proven by the wills of her father and her brother Joshua.
5.^ Frederick C. Pierce, The Descendants of John Whitney, Who Came from London, England, to Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1635 (Chicago, IL: The Author, 1895), p. 26.
6.^ L.D.S. International Genealogical Index.
8.^ History of Windham County, Connecticut (New York: W.W. Preston, 1889).
9.^ Abner Morse, "Early Settlers of Plainfield, Connecticut," NEHGR, vol. XV (1861), p. 53.
14.^ "Eleanor [Shepard], d. Samuell & Eleanor, b. Mar. 6, 1701/2," according to the Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records, Plainfield, vol. 1, p. 5.
15.^ "Mary [Shepard], d. Samuell & Eleanor, b. Aug. 11, 1703," according to the Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records, Plainfield, vol. 1, p. 5.
16.^ "Samuell [Shepard], s. Samuell & Eleanor, b. Sept. 31, (sic), 1705," according to the Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records, Plainfield, vol. 1, p. 5.
17.^ "Jonathan [Shepard], s. Samuel & Eleanor, b. Mar. 3, 1707/8," according to the Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records, Plainfield, vol. 1, p. 5.
18.^ L.D.S. International Genealogical Index.
19.^ "Abega(i)l [Shepard], d. Samuel & Elloner, b. Dec. 6, 1713," according to the Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records, Plainfield, vol. 1, p. 13.
20.^ "Abega(i)l [Shepard], d. Samuel & Ellenor, d. Aug. 12, 1720," according to the Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records, Plainfield, vol. 1, p. 22.
21.^ "Sarah [Shepard], d. Samu(e)ll & Elena, b. June 28, 1716," according to the Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records, Plainfield, vol. 1, p. 17.
22.^ "Lussee [Shepard], d. Samuel & Ele(a)ner, b. Nov. 14, 1718," according to the Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records, Plainfield, vol. 1, p. 20.
23.^ "Nathan [Shepard], s. Samuel & Ellener, b. June 15, 1720," according to the Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records, Plainfield, vol. 1, p. 22.
24.^ "Benjamin [Shepard], s. Samuel & Eleanor, b. Feb. 21, 1722/3," according to the Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records, Plainfield, vol. 1, p. 28.
References not examined:
- Gerald Faulkner Shepard, with Donald Lines Jacobus, ed., The Shepard Families of New England, vol. 1 (New Haven, CT: New Haven Colony Historical Society, 1971).
Copyright © 2006, 2016, Robert L. Ward and The Whitney Research Group
