Born about in England
Daughter of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Wife of
Thomas Richards
— married
before 1620 in England [uncertain]
Descendants [uncertain] 
Mother of
Marie (Richards) Hinckley, John Richards, Anne (Richards) Hunt, Alice (Richards) Bradford, Hannah Richards, James Richards, Samuel Richards, Joseph Richards and Benjamin Richards
Died before
before about age 79
in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony
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| Created 14 Sep 2010
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| Wealthian (Loring) Richards migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm |
Contents |
Biography
Welthean (Loring?)[1][2][3][4] (who also appears in the records as Welthea/Welthian/Weathean/Wealthean) was born between 1599 and 1605 in Dorchester, Dorset, [citation needed] or possibly Axminster, Devonshire, England.[5]
She married about 1620 Thomas Richards in England.[1]
She emigrated with her husband and children on the Hopewell, departing from Weymouth on May 6, 1635, and settling initially in Dorchester, Massachusetts Bay Colony.[6] They removed to Weymouth about 1639, where Thomas owned a mill in common with Henry Waltham. Thomas Richards died 1650, leaving a good estate to his children and to his wife Wealthian.[7]
Madam Wealthian Richards was left by her late husband, Thomas Richards,[8] a house and lot at Weymouth, with an annuity of 35 pounds for life. She sold the house and lot to her son John for 350 pounds, and moved to Boston, where she lived until her death.[9]
1676: Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts:
- Tax List - 1676: Mrs. Welthian Richards, houses & warfes, 20[10]
She died between July 3 and November 4, 1679 in Boston, Massachusetts, the dates her will was written and proved.[11]
Children
The children of Thomas and Welthean (Loring?) Richards were:
- Mary Richards, bp. Pitminister 11 Nov 1620; m. Barnstable, 4 Dec 1641 Thomas Hinkley, Gov. of Plymouth [12]; d. June 24, 1659.
- John Richards,[3] bp. Pitminister 13 Feb 1624/5.; his mother considered matching him with Mr. William Tyng's eldest daughter [13] ; m. (1) Boston, 3 May 1654 Elizabeth (Hawkins) (Long) Winthrop [14] m. (2) Boston 1 Sept 1692 Ann Winthrop. [15] d. April 2, 1694.
- Anne Richards,[5] bp. Pitminster, 1 Nov 1626; m. say 1643, Ephraim Hunt of Weymouth.
- Alice Richards,[16][17] bp. Pitminster, 7 April 1629 (d. Plymouth 12 Dec 1671, aged 44 [12]; m. by 1650 (1) William Bradford, Dep. Gov. of Plymouth, son of William Bradford. d. Dec. 12, 1671.
- Hannah Richards, bp. Pitminster, 26 Oct 1630; 28 Jan 1650/1 - petitioned to name mother administrator of father's will; not named in mother's will 3 July 1679. May have died before 1679.
- James Richards, bp. Pitminster, 13 Sept 1632; m. say 1655 (1) Sarah Gibbons. [13]; d. June 29 or July 11, 1680.
- Samuel Richards, b. abt 1634; named in father's will but not in mother's will; In a letter to her son John, the mother Welthian Richards on 20 Mar 1652/3 says of Samuel, "consider the trouble that none will share with me in , and if I put him out it will cost me so much that I cannot bear." [13]
- Joseph Richards, b. abt 1636 (under 21 in 1650). 28 Jan 1650/1 - petitioned to name mother administrator of father's will; not named in mother's will 3 July 1679. May have died before 1679.
- Benjamin Richards, b. abt 1638 (under 21 in 1650); m. Boston, 10 Oct 1661 Hannah Hudson [14]
Puritanism
Clear evidence has now been found of the Puritanism of this family and their presentation in the bishop's court has been found in the Bath and Wells Consistory Court Act Book (SRO, D/D/Ca 286 in 1632.
- (f.9) 24 Apr. 1632. Pitminster v. George Mathew alias Proctor.
- Office against Welthian Richards (wife of Thomas Richards of Pitminster, Somerset) "that whereas she have been heretofore presented for her not frequenting her parishe church on sabboath daies in afternoon in evening prayer tyme, she doth contempuously continew her absence, usuallie on those dayes at tyme of evening prayer". George Proctor of Pitminster, above, was also presented the same day.[18]
Witchcraft
Wealthian (Loring) Richards was accused of witchcraft in New England
|
| Welthian's Mark & Seal, 1679 |
Welthian Richards was accused of witchcraft as evidenced in Great Migration Begins:
- "In 1653/4 Welthian Richards was threatened with the charge of witchcraft, having in the heat of passion threatened terrible things would happen to those she was angered at, they later falling victim to various unpleasant fates. Thomas Thacher, writing in her behalf to John Wilson and others from Weymouth 27 February 1653/4 indicated that she took Christian care of her children and that 'God hath so blessed [them] that five or six of them have approved themselves to one church or other, and been readily entertained into their fellowship. Three of whom are now asleep in Jesus. Three survive. One more with us gives great hope of a thorough work on his heart' [WP 6:362]. Her case does not seem to have been brought forward."[1]
Will
- Date: July 3, 1679
- Date Will Proved: November 4, 1679
|
| Welthian's Will |
'I Wealthean Richards of Boston in New England, widow, being sickly and weak attended with many bodily informities, but thro' divine grace of good and perfect memory and understanding, knowing the uncertainty of this life and the certainty of my approaching change, and being desirous to settle that portion of my temporal estate which the good God of his bounty hath made me a steward of, now before my death; do make, ordain and declare this my last Will and Testament in manner and form following.
'First and above all things I commend and commit my soul to Almighty God my Creator, trusting and most assuredly believing that when this earthly tabernacle shall be dissolved, my sol shall be brought into that habitation eternal in the heavens, thro' the precious death and merits of Jesus Christ my Saviour and Redeemer. My body I commit to the earth, from whence it was taken, to be buried in such decent manner as my Executors hereafter named shall see meet and convenient, hoping for and dying in the expectation of that joyful Resurrection of the great day when soul and body shall again be united and be forever with the Lord.
'And now for settling my temporal estate and such goods, chattels and debts as it hath pleased God far above my desert to betrust me with, I do order, give and dispose the same in manner and form as is hereafter expressed. And first I do renounce, revoke, frustrate and make void all testament or testaments, will or wills by me formerly made by word or writing, and appoint this my last will and testament and no other.
'Item. I will that all those just debts which I owe to any person or persons whatsoever be well and truly contented and paid in convenient time after my decease by my Executor hereafter named.
'Item. I give and bequeath to my eldest son John Richards all that my dwelling house and land adjoining, situate in Boston aforesaid, with the privileges and appurtenances thereunto belonging, to be to him, his heirs and assigns foreever. And whereas my said son John hath formerly received of me to value of three hundred pounds in money, the profits whereof hath been to my use and is to be until my decease, as by instruments between us appears, I do give and bequeath the same after my decease to thim the said John and his heirs forever.
'Item. Whereas my son James Richards hath formerly received of me the sum of Two Hundred and Fifty pounds in money, the profits of which hath been to my use and is to be until my decease, as by instruments between us appears, I do give and bequeath the same, after my decease, to him the said James and his heirs forever.
'Item. I will and bequeath unto Thomas Bradford five pounds in money. To Alice Bradford threscore pounds. To Hannah Bradford forty pounds. To Mercy Bradford tenn pounds. To William Bradford Junr. twenty pounds. To John Bradford tenn pounds. To Samuel Bradford five pounds. To Melatiah Bradford five pounds. To Mary Bradford five pounds. To Sarah Bradford five pounds, these tenn above last named being children of William Bradford of Plimouth Colony and my daughter Alice deceased.
'Item. I will and bequeath to Samuel Hinckley twenty pounds. To Thomas Hinckley, Jun. thirty pounds. To Susan Bacon ten pounds. To Hannah Glover five pounds. To Melatiah Crocker five pounds. To Bathsheba Hinckley five pounds. To Mehetable Hinckley five pounds. To Mary Wybornes five pounds. These eight last mentioned being children of Thomas Hinckley of Plymouth Colony and my daughter Mary deceased.
'Item. I give and bequeath unto Ephraim Hunt Jun. five pounds. To Thomas Hunt five pounds. To John Hunt five pounds, sons to Ephraim Hunt Sen. of Waymouth, and my late daughter Anne. Item. I will and bequeath unto the daughter of Mary Wiborne abovesaid five pounds, and to her son tenn pounds. To the son of Hannah Glover five pounds. To John Bradford's two children five pounds each. To Samuel Hinckley's child five pounds. To Sarah Bacon's two children five pounds each. To my son James's six children twenty shillings each to buy a ring apiece. To Thomas Hunt's two children five pounds each, more to Alice and Hannah Bradford five pounds each, to put them in mourning at my funeral.
'Item. I will and bequeath unto the poore of Boston tenn pounds, to be disposed of at the discretion of my Executor hereafter named, and to the first church in Boston five pounds. To Harvard College five pounds.
'Item. I give and bequeath unto Mrs. Sarah Leverett, relict of our late Honored Governor, five pounds, as an acknowledgment of her many kindnesses. To each of my overseers hereafter named five pounds; all which legacies and bequests above my will is shall be paid by my Executor within twelve months after my decease in money, That is, to them that are of age or married, and to the rest as they may come to be of age or marry, or as they have need at the discretion of my Executor.
'My household stuff I dispose as followeth. To my son John I give my biggest silver tankard. To Mercy Bradford the worst of my three feather beds, one bolster, one coverlet, one pair of blankets, one pair sheets, one pillow and pillow case, the rest to Alice and Hannah Bradford, to be equally divided by my Executor. My wearing apparell to be equally divided between Alice and Hannah Bradford and Bathsheba Hinckley.
'It is further my will that in case my estate whould fall short of what is hereby bequeathed as to the money part of it shall be abated proportionably out of the bequests above, except what is given to my Overseers to the Poore and to the College, to the church and to Mary Wiborne, which is not to be lessened. It is my will and testament likewise that if Alice Bradford abovesaid do marry without my consent while I am living or without the consent of my Executor, she shall in such case lose the benefit of all the bequests above, which shall be divided among the rest of the legatees, at the discretion of my Executor hereafter named, anything in said will notwithstanding.
'And I do hereby make, ordain and appoint my loving son John Richards my sole Executor of this my last will and Testament, nothing doubting that he will be careful punctually to perform the same, hereby giving and bequeathing unto my Executor all the residue and remainder of my estate, personal and real, my debts and legacies above being first paid.
'And I do hereby appoint and ordaine Mr. Humphrey Davis and Mr. Anthony Stoddard Overseers of this my last will and testament, requesting them to accept that trouble and to inspect and direct as need may be to the true performance hereof.
'In witness to the premises I have to this my last will and testament set my hand and seal this third day of July, in the year of our Lord 1679.'(SPR 6:314-16; MD 9:91)[19]
Research Notes
Name
DNA
- mtDNA haplogroup T2b4-T152C!
- Matrilineal connection to Margerite (Unknown) Merrick (abt.1622-1708) and Alice (Gorton) Foster (abt.1652-abt.1712).
Sources
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Anderson, Robert Charles, The Great Migration Begins - Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, MA, 1995 Page: 1579. Sketch of Thomas Richards, pp. 1575-9. American Ancestors.org by $ubscription.
- ↑ Winchester Notes by Fanny Winchester Hotchkiss 1912 Page 89 (It should be noted that this reference says probably Loring.)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Chamberlain, George Walter, Genealogies of the Early Families of Weymouth, Norfolk, Massachusetts, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. Baltimore: Reprint, 1984. Page 589. HathiTrust.org
- ↑ Welthian Richards Why she was not a daughter of Thomas Loring and Jane Newton
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Stott, Clifford L., "Humphrey Blake (1494?–1558) and His Descendants in New England and South Carolina: Blake, Richards, Selleck, Torrey, and Wolcott," The New England Historical & Genealogical Register (NEHGS, Boston, Mass., 2009) Vol. 163, Pages 291-2. AmericanAncestors.org by $ubscription. She is "perhaps the sister of Thomas1 Loring of Hull, Massachusetts, who is called 'brother' in Thomas Richards’s will and in whose house the latter executed his will. Thomas Loring was from Axminister, Devonshire."
- ↑ Helliwell, Ernest Hyde, III, "Passengers of the Hopewell from Weymouth England, to New England, 8 May 1635,", The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1847-. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2018.) Vol. 167:182. Link by $ubscription.
- ↑ Maude Pinney Kuhns. The Mary and John. Tuttle Publishing Co., Inc., Rutland, VT, 1943. p. 65. (Record Number: 929.2 K96M)
- ↑ Morse, Abner, A genealogical register of the descendants of several ancient Puritans, v. 3 :the Richards family, published 1861. Reference Volume 3, page 4
- ↑ Maude Pinney Kuhns, The Mary and John, Tuttle Publishing Co., Inc., Rutland, VT, 1943; Record Number: 929.2 K96M; available at Duke University, Perkins Library Address: Durham, NC; p.65
- ↑ Record Commissioner, A Report of the Record Commissioners containing Boston Births, Baptisms, Marriages, and Deaths, 1630-1699, Rockwell & Churchill, City Printers, No. 39 Arch St., Boston, MA, 1883; p.60-61
- ↑ Bowman, George Ernest, "The Wills of Thomas and Welthian Richards," Mayflower Descendant, Vol. 9(1907):89-91. Archive.org
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Nathaniel B. Shurtleff and David Pulsifer, editors. Records of the Colony of New Plymouth in New England. 12 volumes in 10 (Boston 1855-1861). 8:44, 8:33
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Winthrop Papers, 1498-1654, 6 volumes, various editors. (Boston 1925-1992) 6:268, 6:451
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Boston Births, Baptisms, Marriages and Deaths, 1630-1699, Ninth Report of the Boston Record Commissioners (Boston 1883; rpt. Baltimore, 1978) 48, 82.
- ↑ M. Halsey Thomas. The Dairy of Samuel Sewall, Volume One 1674-1708, Volume Two 1709-1729. New York, 1973. 295.
- ↑ Ruth G. Hall, Descendants of Governor William Bradford (through the First Seven Generations), Bradford Family Compact (1951), Page 5.
- ↑ The Mayflower Descendant; An Illustrated Quarterly Magazine. Vol. IX. Boston, MA: Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants (1907), Page 89.
- ↑ Search for the Passengers of the Mary & John 1630 Author: Mary & John Clearing House Publication: Burton W. Spear, Toledo, OH, 1990 vol. 26, pt. 2; p. 57
- ↑ Rev. Abner Morse , Genealogical Register of the Descendants of Several Ancient Puritans, Volume 3; H.W. Dutton, Boston, MA, 1861. Pages 4-6. Archive.org.
- ↑ Book: Notes and Queries
United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 1916, page 376
Google Books (accessed 12 April 2024) - ↑ https://www.ancestry.com/search/categories/bmd_birth/?name=w*lth*n*&birth=1595_england-united+kingdom_3251&birth_x=10-0-0_1-0&gender=f
See also:
- Book: Winthrop Papers: 1638-1644
United States: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1929, page 232
Google Books (accessed 11 April 2024)
- Ruth G. Hall, Descendants of Governor William Bradford (through the First Seven Generations), Bradford Family Compact (1951), Page 4. Archive.org
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L > Loring | R > Richards > Welthian (Loring) Richards
Categories: Hopewell, sailed May 1635 | Massachusetts, Immigrants from England | Accused Witches of New England | Puritan Great Migration
Why do we think she settled first in Boston and traveled in 1635 on the Hopewell? If we're using Abner Morse's work for that date, it may be erroneous. Her husband was a selectman in Dorchester in 1633 and received a land grant there in 1634. The last child baptised in Pitminster was in September 1632. So it seems likely they emigrated either early fall of 1632, or spring 1633. He was a merchant and made several (known) return trips to England, so he was quite mobile. But I think their children's baptisms are a pretty good clue.
Why has her birth date been changed? If no record is found, we generally follow Anderson's suggestion that women in this era & place normally married about age 21. Men at 25. We know Thomas was baptised in 1596, so married about age 24 if it occurred ca. 1620. Welthea's last child was born about 1638, and if we use a normal last-child age of 45, she'd be born about 1593-1599. I suggest we change her birth estimate to "about 1600" at least.
Her LNAB, Loring, is said to be possible, but not proven, by Anderson. The name Loring is derived from "brother Thomas Loring" named in Thomas Richards' will. It's possible he was a brother of the church, versus a brother-in-law. Should we maintain "Loring," or go with Anderson's and Torrey's (3rd ed.) of Unknown?
Baptisms database, Morwenstow Cornwall OPC (accessed 10 April 2024) Thomas Richards baptism on 2 Nov 1623, son of Thomas & Welthean, in Morwenstow, Cornwall, England.
United States: H.W. Dutton, 1861, page 13 Google Books (accessed 10 April 2024)
edited by Bobbie (Madison) Hall
The date given here for her birth is not possible. It is probably more like c. 1596 or 7, as her first son was born in 1615. She would be much too young to give birth to a child with the 1602 date. There is no record yet found for any date.
Incidentally there is no Welthian mentioned anywhere in the The Loring Genealogy online