Lydia Franklin, sister of Benjamin Franklin, married Capt. Robert Scott, a sea captain, and moved to Newport, Rhode Island, where she died leaving one daughter, Mary Scott, born in 1734. Mary Scott married at Newport 6 June 1754 to John Arnold Hammond.
They moved from Newport to Nova Scotia, with children born in both places. Bible and baptism records have been located for few of these, so the list of their known children is incomplete, with most birthdates unknown and ages estimated.
The known children included:
Robert Hammond baptized 11 May 1755 Newport, Rhode Island
John Hammond born circa 1756
James Scott Hammond born circa 1758
(John Scott Hammond?)
Anstes/Anstress Hammond born circa 1759 in Newport, R.I. or Canada
Elnathan Hammond b: 16 Dec 1760 in Newport, Newport County, Rhode Island
Elizabeth Mary Hammond born c 1762 in Rhode Island or perhaps in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia, Canada (some say 1759-1796)
The list of children is not authoritative and probably contains errors. A brief memorandum written by John Arnold Hammond's father, Elnathan Hammond, indicated that two boys and two girls were born before the family moved to Canada.
THE WRITINGS OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN (1908), ed. by Albert Henry Smyth, vol. IV, p.109, references the Ben Franklin papers containing letters from Elnathan Hammond regarding his widowed daughter-in-law (and Franklin's niece) Mary Scott Hammond, Mrs. John Arnold Hammond. Elnathan Hammond's correspondence detailed his son's death at the hands of the British leaving his daughter-in-law impoverished and discussed financial assistance from her uncle Ben Franklin.
Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin, by Jill Lepore, says (Endnotes) Lydia married Robert Scott in 1731. "Their sister Lydia Franklin, born in 1708, had married a ship's captain named Robert Scott, borne a daughter, and died in 1758*. 'Do you know anything of our sister Scott's daughter," Franklin asked Jane, and 'whether she is still living, and where?' He was sure Jane would be able to find out.[31]"
Jane Mecom, the favorite sister of Benjamin Franklin (1960), by Carl Van Doren, pp. 247, 254 calls her Mrs. Robert Scott; also pp 4, 24, 25-27, 31, 44, 65, 229. Page 25 refers to Robert Scott "shipmaster."
The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 30 (1876), p. 26, refers to Mary Scott Hammond, Mrs. John Arnold Hammond, as the niece of Benjamin Franklin, the earliest published reference to a child of Ben Franklin's sister Lydia Franklin Scott.
Various claims have been put forth in recent years that Lydia Franklin Scott married first Capt. Robert Scott, then second (circa 1730) Erastus Rowley (c1708-c1731?), and third (24 SEP 1747 in Boston) George Brewer, and had children by all three husbands, dying in Boston as Lydia Brewer in 1758. This would be possible if she married first Rowley, second Scott, and lastly George Brewer, and if she lived all her life in and died in Boston rather than going to Providence, R.I., as the Hammond descendants indicated. The Ben Franklin papers make no mention of Rowley or Brewer heirs of Lydia, although the omission does not prove she could not have married other men also.
Interestingly, Lydia's daughter Mary Scott Hammond was the grandmother of Abigail Hammond Warren, first wife of Levi Warren whose second wife Rhoda Turner was a granddaughter of John Rowley (1727-1793) and Rebecca Hurt, and possibly a great-granddaughter or great-grand-niece of the Erastus Rowley (c1708-c1731?) who married one Lydia Franklin (possibly a niece of Lydia Franklin Scott).
MASS. TOWN VITAL RECORDS
Name:Mary Hammond
Event Type:Death
Birth Date: abt 1733
Death Date: 6 Feb 1806
Death Place:Boston, Massachusetts
Death Age:73
Most all death notices say age 73.
(Boston, Mass.) REPERTORY, Feb. 11, 1806, pp. 2, 3. ("Mrs. Mary Hammond, age 73")
(Boston, Mass.) NEW-ENGLAND PALLADIUM, Feb. 11, 1806, p.3
(Boston, Mass.) COLUMBIAN CENTINEL, 12 Feb. 1806, p.2: Deaths. Mrs. Mary Hammond, age 73
(Boston, Mass.) DEMOCRAT, Feb. 12, 1806, p. 3; Feb. 15, p.3 ("age 70")
BOSTON COMMERCIAL GAZETTE, Feb. 13, 1806, p.2
BOSTON COURIER, Feb. 13, 1806, p. 3; Feb. 20, 1806, p. 4 ("age 70", "Peripnumony"); March 11, 1806, p.?
(Boston, Mass.) INDEPENDENT CHRONICLE, Feb. 13, 1806, p.2; Feb. 27, 1806, p.3; March 13, 1806, p. 1 (will; Samuel Clap, exr.)
(Portland, Maine) WEEKLY EASTERN ARGUS, Feb. 14, 1806, p.2
(Newburyport, Mass.) NEWBURYPORT HERALD, Feb. 14, 1806, p.3
(Portsmouth, NH) PORTSMOUTH ORACLE, Feb. 15, 1806, p.3
(Springfield, Mass.) HAMPSHIRE FEDERALIST, Feb. 18, 1806, p. 3
(Worcester, Mass.) MASSACHUSETTS SPY, Feb. 19, 1906, p.3 (age 73)
(Walpole, N.H.) FARMER'S WEEKLY MUSEUM, Feb. 21, 1806, p.3
The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 30 (1876), p. 26:
"A record of fine genealogical interest exists in the Memorandum Book of Capt. Elnathan Hammond, of Newport, R.I., who lived an esteemed citizen of that town, and died there May 24, 1798, at the age of 90. His descendants cherish his memory with peculiar regard, retain his portrait, point to his former residence still standing in Thames Street, recall his character as a sea captain in the best commercial period of the town, and his active interests in the congregational church. The book is a reverend relic, preserved in Vermont in the family of the grandson and namesake of the original owner, now in the keeping of his only surviving great-grandson here, at the age of eighty. Its leather binding and metallic clasp and uneven margins indicate age and wear, its contents recall a historical period, and special and various personal tastes. It is a pocket memorandum book, of which this is the first inscription in respect to date:
Elnathan Hammond, his memorandum Book, Febr 1755. Memorandum of some things I have observed, yt. I think remarkable, and of some things I have thought so in course of my reading.
…On an initial fly-leaf is formally inscribed:
This Memorandum Book I have given to my grandson, Elnathan Hammond, May ye 15th, 1781, and I desire that he may have the possession of it after my Decease: Witness my Daughter Elizth Sprague. ELNATHAN HAMMOND.
Page 31: "...'My son John Arnold Hammond with his wife and two children a son and daughter, a negro boy and negro girl, with all his household goods, provision(s) and some stock, removed from Hence and sailed for Cornwallis, in Minis in Nova Scotia to begin a settlement there, having the last summer lived and taken up a right of land there and made some preparation for a settlement.(')
"This paragraph following his marriage and death in the record, contains the only allusion to the children of John Arnold Hammond; it is continued for a line or two in cipher. His wife, Mary Scott, is spoken of by the descendants as a niece of Benjamin Franklin."
(This 1876 article is the earliest known publication stating that Mary Scott Hammond was the niece of Ben Franklin. The letters of Benjamin Franklin contain references to Elnathan Hammond and John Arnold Hammond.)
This is the wording of the guardianship document for the orphaned children of Mary Hammond and Valentine heeler Jr. in 1799. Taken from a copy of the doc. in the Probate records office, Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
KNOW all Men by thefe Prefents,
That we Levi Warren as Principal and Joseph Bagg Gent as Surety both of Lanesborough
In the County of Berkshire, are holden and ftand firmly bound and obliged unto the Hon. William Walker Efquire, his Succeffors and Affigns, in the full fum of Three Thousand Dollars, to be paid unto the faid William Walker Esq. His Succeffors, in the Office of Judge of Probate of Wills, and for granting Letters of Adminiftration of the Eftates of Perfons deceafed, in the faid County of Berkfhire, or Affigns-to the true payment whereof, we jointly and feverally bind ourfelves, and our feveral and refpective heirs, Executors and Adminiftrators, firmly by thefe prefents. Sealed with our Seals. Dated the sixth day of August in the Year of our Lord Seventeen Hundred and Ninety nine.
The Condition of this Obligation is fuch, that if the above bounden
Levi Warren who is nominated and appointed to be Guardian unto Anstref Wheeler, Sarah Wheeler, Arnold Wheeler, Polly Wheeler, Milton Wheeler, and Nabby wheeler, Minors and children and heirs of Mary Wheeler late the Wife of Valentine Wheeler, shall and do well and truly perform and discharge the trust and office of Guardian unto the said Minors and that in and byall things according to law so far as related to such part or portion of Estate as accrues to them from the Estate of Elnathan Hammond late of Newport in the State of Rhode island deceased in Right of their said Mother and shall render a plain and true Account of his faid Guardianfhip upon oath; and all and fingular fuch eftate as fhall come to his hands and poffeffion, by virtue hereof and of the profits and improvements of the fame, fo far as the law will charge him therewith, (when he fhall thereunto lawfully required) and fhall pay and deliver what and fo much of the faid Eftate as fhall be found remaining upon his Account, the fame being firft examined and allowed by the Judge or Judges, for the time being, of the Probate of Wills, &c. within the County of Berkshire aforefaid, unto the faid Minor, when they fhall respectively arrive at full age, or otherwife as the faid Judge or Judges, by his or their Decree or Sentence, fhall limit and appoint: Then this Obligation to be void, otherwife to remain in full force.
Signed, Sealed and Delivered
in prefence of us:
Nath Bullock(?) Levi Warren
A(?)_ Smith Joseph Bagg
The cover page has the following:
Anstref Wheeler & others Ward to Levi Warren Guardian __(?)____ August 6,1799
Recorded Lot 10 p.79 Anstress Sarah Arnold Polly Milton Nabby
They moved from Newport to Nova Scotia, with children born in both places. Bible and baptism records have been located for few of these, so the list of their known children is incomplete, with most birthdates unknown and ages estimated.
The known children included:
Robert Hammond baptized 11 May 1755 Newport, Rhode Island
John Hammond born circa 1756
James Scott Hammond born circa 1758
(John Scott Hammond?)
Anstes/Anstress Hammond born circa 1759 in Newport, R.I. or Canada
Elnathan Hammond b: 16 Dec 1760 in Newport, Newport County, Rhode Island
Elizabeth Mary Hammond born c 1762 in Rhode Island or perhaps in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia, Canada (some say 1759-1796)
The list of children is not authoritative and probably contains errors. A brief memorandum written by John Arnold Hammond's father, Elnathan Hammond, indicated that two boys and two girls were born before the family moved to Canada.
THE WRITINGS OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN (1908), ed. by Albert Henry Smyth, vol. IV, p.109, references the Ben Franklin papers containing letters from Elnathan Hammond regarding his widowed daughter-in-law (and Franklin's niece) Mary Scott Hammond, Mrs. John Arnold Hammond. Elnathan Hammond's correspondence detailed his son's death at the hands of the British leaving his daughter-in-law impoverished and discussed financial assistance from her uncle Ben Franklin.
Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin, by Jill Lepore, says (Endnotes) Lydia married Robert Scott in 1731. "Their sister Lydia Franklin, born in 1708, had married a ship's captain named Robert Scott, borne a daughter, and died in 1758*. 'Do you know anything of our sister Scott's daughter," Franklin asked Jane, and 'whether she is still living, and where?' He was sure Jane would be able to find out.[31]"
Jane Mecom, the favorite sister of Benjamin Franklin (1960), by Carl Van Doren, pp. 247, 254 calls her Mrs. Robert Scott; also pp 4, 24, 25-27, 31, 44, 65, 229. Page 25 refers to Robert Scott "shipmaster."
The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 30 (1876), p. 26, refers to Mary Scott Hammond, Mrs. John Arnold Hammond, as the niece of Benjamin Franklin, the earliest published reference to a child of Ben Franklin's sister Lydia Franklin Scott.
Various claims have been put forth in recent years that Lydia Franklin Scott married first Capt. Robert Scott, then second (circa 1730) Erastus Rowley (c1708-c1731?), and third (24 SEP 1747 in Boston) George Brewer, and had children by all three husbands, dying in Boston as Lydia Brewer in 1758. This would be possible if she married first Rowley, second Scott, and lastly George Brewer, and if she lived all her life in and died in Boston rather than going to Providence, R.I., as the Hammond descendants indicated. The Ben Franklin papers make no mention of Rowley or Brewer heirs of Lydia, although the omission does not prove she could not have married other men also.
Interestingly, Lydia's daughter Mary Scott Hammond was the grandmother of Abigail Hammond Warren, first wife of Levi Warren whose second wife Rhoda Turner was a granddaughter of John Rowley (1727-1793) and Rebecca Hurt, and possibly a great-granddaughter or great-grand-niece of the Erastus Rowley (c1708-c1731?) who married one Lydia Franklin (possibly a niece of Lydia Franklin Scott).
MASS. TOWN VITAL RECORDS
Name:Mary Hammond
Event Type:Death
Birth Date: abt 1733
Death Date: 6 Feb 1806
Death Place:Boston, Massachusetts
Death Age:73
Most all death notices say age 73.
(Boston, Mass.) REPERTORY, Feb. 11, 1806, pp. 2, 3. ("Mrs. Mary Hammond, age 73")
(Boston, Mass.) NEW-ENGLAND PALLADIUM, Feb. 11, 1806, p.3
(Boston, Mass.) COLUMBIAN CENTINEL, 12 Feb. 1806, p.2: Deaths. Mrs. Mary Hammond, age 73
(Boston, Mass.) DEMOCRAT, Feb. 12, 1806, p. 3; Feb. 15, p.3 ("age 70")
BOSTON COMMERCIAL GAZETTE, Feb. 13, 1806, p.2
BOSTON COURIER, Feb. 13, 1806, p. 3; Feb. 20, 1806, p. 4 ("age 70", "Peripnumony"); March 11, 1806, p.?
(Boston, Mass.) INDEPENDENT CHRONICLE, Feb. 13, 1806, p.2; Feb. 27, 1806, p.3; March 13, 1806, p. 1 (will; Samuel Clap, exr.)
(Portland, Maine) WEEKLY EASTERN ARGUS, Feb. 14, 1806, p.2
(Newburyport, Mass.) NEWBURYPORT HERALD, Feb. 14, 1806, p.3
(Portsmouth, NH) PORTSMOUTH ORACLE, Feb. 15, 1806, p.3
(Springfield, Mass.) HAMPSHIRE FEDERALIST, Feb. 18, 1806, p. 3
(Worcester, Mass.) MASSACHUSETTS SPY, Feb. 19, 1906, p.3 (age 73)
(Walpole, N.H.) FARMER'S WEEKLY MUSEUM, Feb. 21, 1806, p.3
The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 30 (1876), p. 26:
"A record of fine genealogical interest exists in the Memorandum Book of Capt. Elnathan Hammond, of Newport, R.I., who lived an esteemed citizen of that town, and died there May 24, 1798, at the age of 90. His descendants cherish his memory with peculiar regard, retain his portrait, point to his former residence still standing in Thames Street, recall his character as a sea captain in the best commercial period of the town, and his active interests in the congregational church. The book is a reverend relic, preserved in Vermont in the family of the grandson and namesake of the original owner, now in the keeping of his only surviving great-grandson here, at the age of eighty. Its leather binding and metallic clasp and uneven margins indicate age and wear, its contents recall a historical period, and special and various personal tastes. It is a pocket memorandum book, of which this is the first inscription in respect to date:
Elnathan Hammond, his memorandum Book, Febr 1755. Memorandum of some things I have observed, yt. I think remarkable, and of some things I have thought so in course of my reading.
…On an initial fly-leaf is formally inscribed:
This Memorandum Book I have given to my grandson, Elnathan Hammond, May ye 15th, 1781, and I desire that he may have the possession of it after my Decease: Witness my Daughter Elizth Sprague. ELNATHAN HAMMOND.
Page 31: "...'My son John Arnold Hammond with his wife and two children a son and daughter, a negro boy and negro girl, with all his household goods, provision(s) and some stock, removed from Hence and sailed for Cornwallis, in Minis in Nova Scotia to begin a settlement there, having the last summer lived and taken up a right of land there and made some preparation for a settlement.(')
"This paragraph following his marriage and death in the record, contains the only allusion to the children of John Arnold Hammond; it is continued for a line or two in cipher. His wife, Mary Scott, is spoken of by the descendants as a niece of Benjamin Franklin."
(This 1876 article is the earliest known publication stating that Mary Scott Hammond was the niece of Ben Franklin. The letters of Benjamin Franklin contain references to Elnathan Hammond and John Arnold Hammond.)
This is the wording of the guardianship document for the orphaned children of Mary Hammond and Valentine heeler Jr. in 1799. Taken from a copy of the doc. in the Probate records office, Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
KNOW all Men by thefe Prefents,
That we Levi Warren as Principal and Joseph Bagg Gent as Surety both of Lanesborough
In the County of Berkshire, are holden and ftand firmly bound and obliged unto the Hon. William Walker Efquire, his Succeffors and Affigns, in the full fum of Three Thousand Dollars, to be paid unto the faid William Walker Esq. His Succeffors, in the Office of Judge of Probate of Wills, and for granting Letters of Adminiftration of the Eftates of Perfons deceafed, in the faid County of Berkfhire, or Affigns-to the true payment whereof, we jointly and feverally bind ourfelves, and our feveral and refpective heirs, Executors and Adminiftrators, firmly by thefe prefents. Sealed with our Seals. Dated the sixth day of August in the Year of our Lord Seventeen Hundred and Ninety nine.
The Condition of this Obligation is fuch, that if the above bounden
Levi Warren who is nominated and appointed to be Guardian unto Anstref Wheeler, Sarah Wheeler, Arnold Wheeler, Polly Wheeler, Milton Wheeler, and Nabby wheeler, Minors and children and heirs of Mary Wheeler late the Wife of Valentine Wheeler, shall and do well and truly perform and discharge the trust and office of Guardian unto the said Minors and that in and byall things according to law so far as related to such part or portion of Estate as accrues to them from the Estate of Elnathan Hammond late of Newport in the State of Rhode island deceased in Right of their said Mother and shall render a plain and true Account of his faid Guardianfhip upon oath; and all and fingular fuch eftate as fhall come to his hands and poffeffion, by virtue hereof and of the profits and improvements of the fame, fo far as the law will charge him therewith, (when he fhall thereunto lawfully required) and fhall pay and deliver what and fo much of the faid Eftate as fhall be found remaining upon his Account, the fame being firft examined and allowed by the Judge or Judges, for the time being, of the Probate of Wills, &c. within the County of Berkshire aforefaid, unto the faid Minor, when they fhall respectively arrive at full age, or otherwife as the faid Judge or Judges, by his or their Decree or Sentence, fhall limit and appoint: Then this Obligation to be void, otherwife to remain in full force.
Signed, Sealed and Delivered
in prefence of us:
Nath Bullock(?) Levi Warren
A(?)_ Smith Joseph Bagg
The cover page has the following:
Anstref Wheeler & others Ward to Levi Warren Guardian __(?)____ August 6,1799
Recorded Lot 10 p.79 Anstress Sarah Arnold Polly Milton Nabby
Lydia Franklin, sister of Benjamin Franklin, married Capt. Robert Scott, a sea captain, and moved to Newport, Rhode Island, where she died leaving one daughter, Mary Scott, born in 1734. Mary Scott married at Newport 6 June 1754 to John Arnold Hammond.
They moved from Newport to Nova Scotia, with children born in both places. Bible and baptism records have been located for few of these, so the list of their known children is incomplete, with most birthdates unknown and ages estimated.
The known children included:
Robert Hammond baptized 11 May 1755 Newport, Rhode Island
John Hammond born circa 1756
James Scott Hammond born circa 1758
(John Scott Hammond?)
Anstes/Anstress Hammond born circa 1759 in Newport, R.I. or Canada
Elnathan Hammond b: 16 Dec 1760 in Newport, Newport County, Rhode Island
Elizabeth Mary Hammond born c 1762 in Rhode Island or perhaps in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia, Canada (some say 1759-1796)
The list of children is not authoritative and probably contains errors. A brief memorandum written by John Arnold Hammond's father, Elnathan Hammond, indicated that two boys and two girls were born before the family moved to Canada.
THE WRITINGS OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN (1908), ed. by Albert Henry Smyth, vol. IV, p.109, references the Ben Franklin papers containing letters from Elnathan Hammond regarding his widowed daughter-in-law (and Franklin's niece) Mary Scott Hammond, Mrs. John Arnold Hammond. Elnathan Hammond's correspondence detailed his son's death at the hands of the British leaving his daughter-in-law impoverished and discussed financial assistance from her uncle Ben Franklin.
Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin, by Jill Lepore, says (Endnotes) Lydia married Robert Scott in 1731. "Their sister Lydia Franklin, born in 1708, had married a ship's captain named Robert Scott, borne a daughter, and died in 1758*. 'Do you know anything of our sister Scott's daughter," Franklin asked Jane, and 'whether she is still living, and where?' He was sure Jane would be able to find out.[31]"
Jane Mecom, the favorite sister of Benjamin Franklin (1960), by Carl Van Doren, pp. 247, 254 calls her Mrs. Robert Scott; also pp 4, 24, 25-27, 31, 44, 65, 229. Page 25 refers to Robert Scott "shipmaster."
The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 30 (1876), p. 26, refers to Mary Scott Hammond, Mrs. John Arnold Hammond, as the niece of Benjamin Franklin, the earliest published reference to a child of Ben Franklin's sister Lydia Franklin Scott.
Various claims have been put forth in recent years that Lydia Franklin Scott married first Capt. Robert Scott, then second (circa 1730) Erastus Rowley (c1708-c1731?), and third (24 SEP 1747 in Boston) George Brewer, and had children by all three husbands, dying in Boston as Lydia Brewer in 1758. This would be possible if she married first Rowley, second Scott, and lastly George Brewer, and if she lived all her life in and died in Boston rather than going to Providence, R.I., as the Hammond descendants indicated. The Ben Franklin papers make no mention of Rowley or Brewer heirs of Lydia, although the omission does not prove she could not have married other men also.
Interestingly, Lydia's daughter Mary Scott Hammond was the grandmother of Abigail Hammond Warren, first wife of Levi Warren whose second wife Rhoda Turner was a granddaughter of John Rowley (1727-1793) and Rebecca Hurt, and possibly a great-granddaughter or great-grand-niece of the Erastus Rowley (c1708-c1731?) who married one Lydia Franklin (possibly a niece of Lydia Franklin Scott).
MASS. TOWN VITAL RECORDS
Name:Mary Hammond
Event Type:Death
Birth Date: abt 1733
Death Date: 6 Feb 1806
Death Place:Boston, Massachusetts
Death Age:73
Most all death notices say age 73.
(Boston, Mass.) REPERTORY, Feb. 11, 1806, pp. 2, 3. ("Mrs. Mary Hammond, age 73")
(Boston, Mass.) NEW-ENGLAND PALLADIUM, Feb. 11, 1806, p.3
(Boston, Mass.) COLUMBIAN CENTINEL, 12 Feb. 1806, p.2: Deaths. Mrs. Mary Hammond, age 73
(Boston, Mass.) DEMOCRAT, Feb. 12, 1806, p. 3; Feb. 15, p.3 ("age 70")
BOSTON COMMERCIAL GAZETTE, Feb. 13, 1806, p.2
BOSTON COURIER, Feb. 13, 1806, p. 3; Feb. 20, 1806, p. 4 ("age 70", "Peripnumony"); March 11, 1806, p.?
(Boston, Mass.) INDEPENDENT CHRONICLE, Feb. 13, 1806, p.2; Feb. 27, 1806, p.3; March 13, 1806, p. 1 (will; Samuel Clap, exr.)
(Portland, Maine) WEEKLY EASTERN ARGUS, Feb. 14, 1806, p.2
(Newburyport, Mass.) NEWBURYPORT HERALD, Feb. 14, 1806, p.3
(Portsmouth, NH) PORTSMOUTH ORACLE, Feb. 15, 1806, p.3
(Springfield, Mass.) HAMPSHIRE FEDERALIST, Feb. 18, 1806, p. 3
(Worcester, Mass.) MASSACHUSETTS SPY, Feb. 19, 1906, p.3 (age 73)
(Walpole, N.H.) FARMER'S WEEKLY MUSEUM, Feb. 21, 1806, p.3
The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 30 (1876), p. 26:
"A record of fine genealogical interest exists in the Memorandum Book of Capt. Elnathan Hammond, of Newport, R.I., who lived an esteemed citizen of that town, and died there May 24, 1798, at the age of 90. His descendants cherish his memory with peculiar regard, retain his portrait, point to his former residence still standing in Thames Street, recall his character as a sea captain in the best commercial period of the town, and his active interests in the congregational church. The book is a reverend relic, preserved in Vermont in the family of the grandson and namesake of the original owner, now in the keeping of his only surviving great-grandson here, at the age of eighty. Its leather binding and metallic clasp and uneven margins indicate age and wear, its contents recall a historical period, and special and various personal tastes. It is a pocket memorandum book, of which this is the first inscription in respect to date:
Elnathan Hammond, his memorandum Book, Febr 1755. Memorandum of some things I have observed, yt. I think remarkable, and of some things I have thought so in course of my reading.
…On an initial fly-leaf is formally inscribed:
This Memorandum Book I have given to my grandson, Elnathan Hammond, May ye 15th, 1781, and I desire that he may have the possession of it after my Decease: Witness my Daughter Elizth Sprague. ELNATHAN HAMMOND.
Page 31: "...'My son John Arnold Hammond with his wife and two children a son and daughter, a negro boy and negro girl, with all his household goods, provision(s) and some stock, removed from Hence and sailed for Cornwallis, in Minis in Nova Scotia to begin a settlement there, having the last summer lived and taken up a right of land there and made some preparation for a settlement.(')
"This paragraph following his marriage and death in the record, contains the only allusion to the children of John Arnold Hammond; it is continued for a line or two in cipher. His wife, Mary Scott, is spoken of by the descendants as a niece of Benjamin Franklin."
(This 1876 article is the earliest known publication stating that Mary Scott Hammond was the niece of Ben Franklin. The letters of Benjamin Franklin contain references to Elnathan Hammond and John Arnold Hammond.)
This is the wording of the guardianship document for the orphaned children of Mary Hammond and Valentine heeler Jr. in 1799. Taken from a copy of the doc. in the Probate records office, Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
KNOW all Men by thefe Prefents,
That we Levi Warren as Principal and Joseph Bagg Gent as Surety both of Lanesborough
In the County of Berkshire, are holden and ftand firmly bound and obliged unto the Hon. William Walker Efquire, his Succeffors and Affigns, in the full fum of Three Thousand Dollars, to be paid unto the faid William Walker Esq. His Succeffors, in the Office of Judge of Probate of Wills, and for granting Letters of Adminiftration of the Eftates of Perfons deceafed, in the faid County of Berkfhire, or Affigns-to the true payment whereof, we jointly and feverally bind ourfelves, and our feveral and refpective heirs, Executors and Adminiftrators, firmly by thefe prefents. Sealed with our Seals. Dated the sixth day of August in the Year of our Lord Seventeen Hundred and Ninety nine.
The Condition of this Obligation is fuch, that if the above bounden
Levi Warren who is nominated and appointed to be Guardian unto Anstref Wheeler, Sarah Wheeler, Arnold Wheeler, Polly Wheeler, Milton Wheeler, and Nabby wheeler, Minors and children and heirs of Mary Wheeler late the Wife of Valentine Wheeler, shall and do well and truly perform and discharge the trust and office of Guardian unto the said Minors and that in and byall things according to law so far as related to such part or portion of Estate as accrues to them from the Estate of Elnathan Hammond late of Newport in the State of Rhode island deceased in Right of their said Mother and shall render a plain and true Account of his faid Guardianfhip upon oath; and all and fingular fuch eftate as fhall come to his hands and poffeffion, by virtue hereof and of the profits and improvements of the fame, fo far as the law will charge him therewith, (when he fhall thereunto lawfully required) and fhall pay and deliver what and fo much of the faid Eftate as fhall be found remaining upon his Account, the fame being firft examined and allowed by the Judge or Judges, for the time being, of the Probate of Wills, &c. within the County of Berkshire aforefaid, unto the faid Minor, when they fhall respectively arrive at full age, or otherwife as the faid Judge or Judges, by his or their Decree or Sentence, fhall limit and appoint: Then this Obligation to be void, otherwife to remain in full force.
Signed, Sealed and Delivered
in prefence of us:
Nath Bullock(?) Levi Warren
A(?)_ Smith Joseph Bagg
The cover page has the following:
Anstref Wheeler & others Ward to Levi Warren Guardian __(?)____ August 6,1799
Recorded Lot 10 p.79 Anstress Sarah Arnold Polly Milton Nabby
They moved from Newport to Nova Scotia, with children born in both places. Bible and baptism records have been located for few of these, so the list of their known children is incomplete, with most birthdates unknown and ages estimated.
The known children included:
Robert Hammond baptized 11 May 1755 Newport, Rhode Island
John Hammond born circa 1756
James Scott Hammond born circa 1758
(John Scott Hammond?)
Anstes/Anstress Hammond born circa 1759 in Newport, R.I. or Canada
Elnathan Hammond b: 16 Dec 1760 in Newport, Newport County, Rhode Island
Elizabeth Mary Hammond born c 1762 in Rhode Island or perhaps in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia, Canada (some say 1759-1796)
The list of children is not authoritative and probably contains errors. A brief memorandum written by John Arnold Hammond's father, Elnathan Hammond, indicated that two boys and two girls were born before the family moved to Canada.
THE WRITINGS OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN (1908), ed. by Albert Henry Smyth, vol. IV, p.109, references the Ben Franklin papers containing letters from Elnathan Hammond regarding his widowed daughter-in-law (and Franklin's niece) Mary Scott Hammond, Mrs. John Arnold Hammond. Elnathan Hammond's correspondence detailed his son's death at the hands of the British leaving his daughter-in-law impoverished and discussed financial assistance from her uncle Ben Franklin.
Book of Ages: The Life and Opinions of Jane Franklin, by Jill Lepore, says (Endnotes) Lydia married Robert Scott in 1731. "Their sister Lydia Franklin, born in 1708, had married a ship's captain named Robert Scott, borne a daughter, and died in 1758*. 'Do you know anything of our sister Scott's daughter," Franklin asked Jane, and 'whether she is still living, and where?' He was sure Jane would be able to find out.[31]"
Jane Mecom, the favorite sister of Benjamin Franklin (1960), by Carl Van Doren, pp. 247, 254 calls her Mrs. Robert Scott; also pp 4, 24, 25-27, 31, 44, 65, 229. Page 25 refers to Robert Scott "shipmaster."
The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 30 (1876), p. 26, refers to Mary Scott Hammond, Mrs. John Arnold Hammond, as the niece of Benjamin Franklin, the earliest published reference to a child of Ben Franklin's sister Lydia Franklin Scott.
Various claims have been put forth in recent years that Lydia Franklin Scott married first Capt. Robert Scott, then second (circa 1730) Erastus Rowley (c1708-c1731?), and third (24 SEP 1747 in Boston) George Brewer, and had children by all three husbands, dying in Boston as Lydia Brewer in 1758. This would be possible if she married first Rowley, second Scott, and lastly George Brewer, and if she lived all her life in and died in Boston rather than going to Providence, R.I., as the Hammond descendants indicated. The Ben Franklin papers make no mention of Rowley or Brewer heirs of Lydia, although the omission does not prove she could not have married other men also.
Interestingly, Lydia's daughter Mary Scott Hammond was the grandmother of Abigail Hammond Warren, first wife of Levi Warren whose second wife Rhoda Turner was a granddaughter of John Rowley (1727-1793) and Rebecca Hurt, and possibly a great-granddaughter or great-grand-niece of the Erastus Rowley (c1708-c1731?) who married one Lydia Franklin (possibly a niece of Lydia Franklin Scott).
MASS. TOWN VITAL RECORDS
Name:Mary Hammond
Event Type:Death
Birth Date: abt 1733
Death Date: 6 Feb 1806
Death Place:Boston, Massachusetts
Death Age:73
Most all death notices say age 73.
(Boston, Mass.) REPERTORY, Feb. 11, 1806, pp. 2, 3. ("Mrs. Mary Hammond, age 73")
(Boston, Mass.) NEW-ENGLAND PALLADIUM, Feb. 11, 1806, p.3
(Boston, Mass.) COLUMBIAN CENTINEL, 12 Feb. 1806, p.2: Deaths. Mrs. Mary Hammond, age 73
(Boston, Mass.) DEMOCRAT, Feb. 12, 1806, p. 3; Feb. 15, p.3 ("age 70")
BOSTON COMMERCIAL GAZETTE, Feb. 13, 1806, p.2
BOSTON COURIER, Feb. 13, 1806, p. 3; Feb. 20, 1806, p. 4 ("age 70", "Peripnumony"); March 11, 1806, p.?
(Boston, Mass.) INDEPENDENT CHRONICLE, Feb. 13, 1806, p.2; Feb. 27, 1806, p.3; March 13, 1806, p. 1 (will; Samuel Clap, exr.)
(Portland, Maine) WEEKLY EASTERN ARGUS, Feb. 14, 1806, p.2
(Newburyport, Mass.) NEWBURYPORT HERALD, Feb. 14, 1806, p.3
(Portsmouth, NH) PORTSMOUTH ORACLE, Feb. 15, 1806, p.3
(Springfield, Mass.) HAMPSHIRE FEDERALIST, Feb. 18, 1806, p. 3
(Worcester, Mass.) MASSACHUSETTS SPY, Feb. 19, 1906, p.3 (age 73)
(Walpole, N.H.) FARMER'S WEEKLY MUSEUM, Feb. 21, 1806, p.3
The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 30 (1876), p. 26:
"A record of fine genealogical interest exists in the Memorandum Book of Capt. Elnathan Hammond, of Newport, R.I., who lived an esteemed citizen of that town, and died there May 24, 1798, at the age of 90. His descendants cherish his memory with peculiar regard, retain his portrait, point to his former residence still standing in Thames Street, recall his character as a sea captain in the best commercial period of the town, and his active interests in the congregational church. The book is a reverend relic, preserved in Vermont in the family of the grandson and namesake of the original owner, now in the keeping of his only surviving great-grandson here, at the age of eighty. Its leather binding and metallic clasp and uneven margins indicate age and wear, its contents recall a historical period, and special and various personal tastes. It is a pocket memorandum book, of which this is the first inscription in respect to date:
Elnathan Hammond, his memorandum Book, Febr 1755. Memorandum of some things I have observed, yt. I think remarkable, and of some things I have thought so in course of my reading.
…On an initial fly-leaf is formally inscribed:
This Memorandum Book I have given to my grandson, Elnathan Hammond, May ye 15th, 1781, and I desire that he may have the possession of it after my Decease: Witness my Daughter Elizth Sprague. ELNATHAN HAMMOND.
Page 31: "...'My son John Arnold Hammond with his wife and two children a son and daughter, a negro boy and negro girl, with all his household goods, provision(s) and some stock, removed from Hence and sailed for Cornwallis, in Minis in Nova Scotia to begin a settlement there, having the last summer lived and taken up a right of land there and made some preparation for a settlement.(')
"This paragraph following his marriage and death in the record, contains the only allusion to the children of John Arnold Hammond; it is continued for a line or two in cipher. His wife, Mary Scott, is spoken of by the descendants as a niece of Benjamin Franklin."
(This 1876 article is the earliest known publication stating that Mary Scott Hammond was the niece of Ben Franklin. The letters of Benjamin Franklin contain references to Elnathan Hammond and John Arnold Hammond.)
This is the wording of the guardianship document for the orphaned children of Mary Hammond and Valentine heeler Jr. in 1799. Taken from a copy of the doc. in the Probate records office, Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
KNOW all Men by thefe Prefents,
That we Levi Warren as Principal and Joseph Bagg Gent as Surety both of Lanesborough
In the County of Berkshire, are holden and ftand firmly bound and obliged unto the Hon. William Walker Efquire, his Succeffors and Affigns, in the full fum of Three Thousand Dollars, to be paid unto the faid William Walker Esq. His Succeffors, in the Office of Judge of Probate of Wills, and for granting Letters of Adminiftration of the Eftates of Perfons deceafed, in the faid County of Berkfhire, or Affigns-to the true payment whereof, we jointly and feverally bind ourfelves, and our feveral and refpective heirs, Executors and Adminiftrators, firmly by thefe prefents. Sealed with our Seals. Dated the sixth day of August in the Year of our Lord Seventeen Hundred and Ninety nine.
The Condition of this Obligation is fuch, that if the above bounden
Levi Warren who is nominated and appointed to be Guardian unto Anstref Wheeler, Sarah Wheeler, Arnold Wheeler, Polly Wheeler, Milton Wheeler, and Nabby wheeler, Minors and children and heirs of Mary Wheeler late the Wife of Valentine Wheeler, shall and do well and truly perform and discharge the trust and office of Guardian unto the said Minors and that in and byall things according to law so far as related to such part or portion of Estate as accrues to them from the Estate of Elnathan Hammond late of Newport in the State of Rhode island deceased in Right of their said Mother and shall render a plain and true Account of his faid Guardianfhip upon oath; and all and fingular fuch eftate as fhall come to his hands and poffeffion, by virtue hereof and of the profits and improvements of the fame, fo far as the law will charge him therewith, (when he fhall thereunto lawfully required) and fhall pay and deliver what and fo much of the faid Eftate as fhall be found remaining upon his Account, the fame being firft examined and allowed by the Judge or Judges, for the time being, of the Probate of Wills, &c. within the County of Berkshire aforefaid, unto the faid Minor, when they fhall respectively arrive at full age, or otherwife as the faid Judge or Judges, by his or their Decree or Sentence, fhall limit and appoint: Then this Obligation to be void, otherwife to remain in full force.
Signed, Sealed and Delivered
in prefence of us:
Nath Bullock(?) Levi Warren
A(?)_ Smith Joseph Bagg
The cover page has the following:
Anstref Wheeler & others Ward to Levi Warren Guardian __(?)____ August 6,1799
Recorded Lot 10 p.79 Anstress Sarah Arnold Polly Milton Nabby
Inscription
Here lies the Body of
Mrs Mary Hammond who
died Feb. 8th, 1806; Aged 75 years.
Wisdom, sweetness, and propriety,
Dwelt in her mind, devoid of guile.
In all the vicissitudes of this life,
She was the same. Constant in virtue, stedfast
In her principles, The same just rules always
govern'd Her conduct. Faithful in the exercise
of piety, Equal in Justice, A mother to the Orphan,
A friend to the needy.
To the unfortunate her sympathy was pleasing.
Her love was Wisdom.
Family Members
Parents
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