Esther (Mathews) Hall (1651 - 1727)

Born 8 Jan 1651 in Yarmouth, Plymouth Colony [uncertain]

Ancestors

Wife of William Hall — married 1680 in Mansfield, Connecticut Colony

Descendants

Died 19 Feb 1727 at age 76 in Mansfield, Connecticut

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Richard Draper [send private message], Eugene Whitney [send private message], and Steve Henkel [send private message]

Biography

Quick summary: Esther might or might not have been born Mat(t)hews, a different Esther who apparently WAS Matthews married Daniel Willard in Yarmouth in 1695.

The main legitimate source for Esther the wife of William Hall is Anderson's "Great Migration" which unfortunately is self-contradictory regarding her marriage so this profile should be very much considered work-in-progress.

In Great Migration Vol 5 pg. 93 in the entry for James Matthews, his daughter Esther is given a specific birth date and location (8 Jan 1650/51 in Yarmouth, Massachusetts) as the daughter of James Matthews. This entry says she was "probably the woman of that name who married Daniel Willard in Yarmouth 10 Aug 1695" listing Plymouth Colony Records and Yarmouth Vital Records as primary sources.^[1] and ^[2] and for an actual primary source showing maiden name of Matthews, Yarmouth vital records.^[3]

Anderson's main source for this entry was the Willard Genealogy ^[4] Esther Matthews, with no parents and no sourcing, is set up as the wife of the above Daniel Willard currently.

In the same series Vol 2 pg 842-843 we find Esther Unknown as the wife of William Hall (son of immigrant John), married to him by 1683 or possibly as early as 1675. Here Anderson lists a source of "The Ebenezer Hanks Story" by Kerry William Bates which does not seem to be available online. Anderson says this source lists a "possible" son Isaac who married in 1700 (pushing Esther's likely marriage date back to maybe 1675) and notes that the source "suggests" that Esther may have been a daughter of James Matthews apparently based on the fact that James' daughter Mehitabel married Benjamin Hall, brother of William Hall.^[5]

Esther the wife of William Hall then appears in Mansfield (Connecticut) vital records as "Easter Hall, wife of Captain William Hall, d. 19 Feb 1726/27"^[5] while Esther the wife of Daniel Willard died 28 Jun 1726 in Yarmouth, Massachusetts^[6] and^[4] in the same place her husband Daniel died in 1712.

So in summary, none of this resolves whether Esther the wife of William Hall was born Matthews and if so, whether she was the daughter of James Matthews and sister of Mehitabel, wife of Benjamin Hall. However, it DOES mean that Esther the wife of William COULD NOT have been the wife of Daniel Willard, as this Esther was buried as the wife of William Hall in 1727 so we are dealing with 2 different Esthers.

More research on Daniel Willard and his wife Esther (apparently) Matthews probably needs to be done to resolve these uncertainties. The "Willard Genealogy" referenced by Great Migration may hold more clues.^[4] It states authoritatively, but without detailed sourcing, that Esther was the daughter of James Matthews.

Sources

1. ↑ Anderson, Great Migration Begins v5 p93 https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/2496/42521_b158316-00206
2. ↑ Massachusetts Marriages, 1695-1910 https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FCD1-1YB FHL microfilm 1598030 IT 1-2
3. ↑ Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 Yarmouth Town Records https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/2495/40168_271163__0008-00125
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Willard Genealogy materials gathered chiefly by Joseph Willard and Charles Wilkes Walker ; edited and completed by Charles Henry Pope https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/1402
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Anderson, Great Migration Begins v2 p842 https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/2496/42521_b158319-00168
6. ↑ Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 Yarmouth Town Records https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/2495/40168_271163__0009-00136

Acknowledgments

• This person was created through the import of grant2.ged on 07 February 2011.
• WikiTree profile Mathews-521 created through the import of Tap.ged on Sep 16, 2011 by Richard Draper. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Richard and others.
• Thank you to Steve Henkel for creating WikiTree profile Mathews-995 through the import of Anne Laura Churchill Direct line.ged on Apr 26, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Steve and others.
• Thank you to Darrell Abbey for creating WikiTree profile Matthews-2476 through the import of Generations of Abbe_Abbey 2013-07-28.ged on Jul 28, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Darrell and others.