Hi Jack and all, Here's my two cents worth. I descend from Benjamin and Mary Abbott's son Joshua. My research coincides with John Chandler's findings. I did look at Jacob and wife(s) some time ago as I was researching the Blanchards from Bradford, NH, one of whom was a Jacob. The Bradford Jacob soon was clearly not related to Jacob son of Benjamin so I did not pursue the search long. However here is some feedback on the issue: -----Original Message----- From: Jack Murray [SMTP:silverfox1@erols.com] Sent: Thursday, September 16, 1999 2:42 PM To: BLANCHARD-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Thomas Blanchard - Son Jonathon's line At the suggestion of Fletcher Blanchard, I want to submit for comments the Jonathan Blanchard's line as I have researched through Vital Records, as part of my on-going research. Much has been reported of Thomas and the lineage of George, but I have yet to observe difinitive evidence of Thomas's father, Jean Pierre (Pierre Jean) Blanchard. Perhaps there is a work out there that will shed some light on their migration from Normandy to England to Charlestown - 1639. [Sherry L Gould] All I would add to Johns comments about the parentage of Jonathan is that he is found in Samuel's will and is well known at the Andover Historical Society to be the son of Samuel. Starting with Thomas Blanchard, born 16 Aug. 1626: s Jonathan b. 25 May 1664 - ( Charlestown V.R.) Married Ann Lovejoy 26 May 1685 - (Andover V.R.) s Benjamin b. 14 Feb. 1692 - (Andover V.R.) Married Mary Abbott 29 Dec. 1718 - (Andover V.R.) s Jacob (Sr) b. 11 May 1724- (Andover V.R.) Married Rebecca Lawrence 1749 (Hollis V.R.) This is where things get muddied. The History of Hollis by Samuel Worcester includes an extracted list of events from the Hollis VR plus other sources, and it shows the marriage of a Jacob Blanchard to an ELIZABETH Lawrence on 1745 Nov. Have you actually consulted the original records and found that they say REBECCA? Is there some evidence to show that this Jacob is the same as the son of Benjamin above? (Pat Curry may have collected some, but we can't ask her now. We really do miss her.) John Chandler [Sherry L Gould] My hunch was that Jacob may have married Elizabeth who died and then married Rebecca. The reference for the marriage to Elizabeth that John gives is on page 343 of the History of Hollis where the source is given as "marriages to be found in the records of the district of Dunstable." Pg. 366 of the same History gives a family register where the births of two sons are given to Jacob and Rebekah Lawrence, Jacob, b. Aug 9, 1750 & d. and Jacob b. Feb 16, 1753 (neither of these births are found in NH Vital Records). Worcester gave the date of marriage when he had it from the town records, and he does not give the date marriage for Jacob and Rebekah, nor does he mention Elizabeth in this family register. If I were to follow up on this hunch I would explore the Lawrence family of Groton, MA to see if both Elizabeth and Rebekah could be identified. If so I would want to see the will of her/their father(s). An interesting side note is that Jacob Blanchard of Dunstable married Mary Hazleton of Hollis on June 6 1814 from pg. 353 of the History of Hollis as taken from the Hollis record of Marriages. s Nathaniel b. 29 May 1760 - (Groton V.R.) Married Anna Green 28 Nov. 1782 - (Groton V.R.) [Sherry L Gould] I have the printed VR's for Dunstable and a copy of the Blanchard section for Groton. Nathaniel's birth is in the Groton VR, pg. 28 of Vol. 1. The marriage is as above on pg. 25 of Vol. 2. s Esquire b. 3 July 1798 - (Dunstable & Groton V.R.) Married Rachel Searles 13 April 1819 - (Groton V.R.) [Sherry L Gould] This 'home' for Squire and Rachel is exciting for me, thanks! The name always intrigued me when I encountered it in the NH VR's, though I never investigated the line. I find Esquire's birth in Groton VR pg. 28 of Vol. 1 and not found in Dunstable VR. The marriage is found in the Dunstable record (pg. 105) and not in the Groton one. s Noah b. 27 Jan. 1822 - (Groton V.R.) Married Emaline Cordelia Powers-Wood 25 July 1844 at Elizabeth, N.J. [Sherry L Gould] I find Noah F's birth as 27 Jan 1821 in the Dunstable VR pg. 12 with a reference of 1st Book of Dunstable Town Records at City Hall, Nashua, NH. I do not find it in the printed Groton VR. Jack, thanks for sharing this information to the list. I am interested in learning anything you may have found on Joshua, brother of Jacob and also any information about the death and burial of Benjamin and Mary. Sherry Gould