The PERKINS Family of Ipswich, Essex, MA and Norwich, New London, CT

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Henry was the father of John, who was the father of Jacob and Lydia. Jacob was the father of Joseph, who was the father of Deborah.

Judith is apparently unrelated.

DEBORAH PERKINS (1715-1772)

Parents: Dea. Joseph Perkins and Martha Morgan

Deborah Perkins was born on 20 Jul 1715. [Ref] She died on 5 Dec 1772. [Ref] She married Benajah Cary on 11 Feb 1741/2 in Windham, Windham, CT. [Ref,Ref,Ref]

HENRY PERKINS

Parents:

Henry Perkins married Elizabeth Sawbridge.

Children of Henry Perkins and Elizabeth Sawbridge:

  1. John Perkins married Judith Gater.

SRGT. JACOB PERKINS of Ipswich

Parents: John Perkins and Judith Gater

Sargt. Jacob Perkins married Elizabeth Unknown.

Jacob Perkins is on a 19 Dec 1648 list of taxpayers in Ipswich. [Ref]

Jacob was on the grand jury at at at the 25 Mar 1656 court in Ipswich. [Ref]

Jacob and Elizabeth went to town one summer afternoon in 1668, leaving their 16-year-old maid Mehitable Brabrooke in charge of their house. The Essex County Court records [transcribed in Ref] say

About 2 or 3 aclocke in the afternoone she was taking tobacco in a pipe and went out of the house with her pipe and gott upon the oven on he outside&backside of he houe (to looke if there were any hogs in the corne) and she layed her right hand upon the thatch of the house (to stay herselfe) and with her left hand knocked out her pipe over right arme upon the thatch on the eaves of the house (not thinking there had been any fire in the pipe) and imediately went downe into the corne feild to drive out the hogs she saw in it, and as she was going toward the railes of the feild ... she looked back, and saw a smoke upon her Mistress' house in the place where she had knocked out her pipe at which shee was much frighted.

The wife of a neighbour testified that she came running over; looked into both fireplaces in the house and saw no fire, only a few brands nearly out under a great kettle hanging in the chimney. Mehitable was brought to court on suspicion of wilfully setting the house on fire. A young man, testifying against her at her trial, said that Mehitable had told him that her mistress was angry with her but that she had "fitted her now" by putting a great toad into her mistress' kettle of milk. The court ordered Mehitable to be severely whipped and ordered her to pay Jacob £40 in damages. [Ref]

Jacob Perkins and Elizabeth Unknown had the following children:

  1. Elizabeth Perkins married Thomas Boreman, the son of Thomas Boreman and Margaret Unknown.
  2. Sgt. John Perkins
  3. Judith Perkins
  4. Mary Perkins
  5. Jacob Perkins
  6. Capt. Matthew
  7. Hannah Perkins
  8. Dea. Joseph Perkins married Martha Morgan.
  9. Jabez Perkins

JOHN PERKINS

Parents: Henry Perkins and Elizabeth Sawbridge

John Perkins was born before 1590. He married Judith Gater.

John Perkins is on the 18 May 1631 list of freemen. [Ref]

John Perkins, Sr. a commoner of Ipswich on 'the last day of the last month, 1641'. [Ref]

John Perkins was on the grand jury at the 28 [probably Dec] 1641, 26 (7) 1648 and 28 (7) 1652 courts in Ipswich. [Ref]

John Perkins, Sr., was excused from ordinary training at the 26 (1) 1650 court as he was sixty or over. [Ref]

Children of John Perkins and Judith Gater:

  1. Quartermaster John Perkins is on a 17 May 1637 list of freemen. [Ref] He is on a 19 Dec 1648 list of taxpayers in Ipswich. [Ref]
  2. Elizabeth Perkins
  3. Ann Perkins
  4. Thomas Perkins is on a 19 Dec 1648 list of taxpayers in Ipswich. [Ref]
  5. Sargt. Jacob Perkins married Elizabeth Unknown.
  6. Lydia Perkins married Henry Bennett.

DEA. JOSEPH PERKINS (1674-1726) of Norwich

Parents: Sargt. Jacob Perkins and Elizabeth Unknown

Dea. Joseph Perkins was born on 21 Jun 1674 in Ipswich. [Ref,Ref] He died on 4/6 June 1726 in Norwich. [Ref] He married Martha Morgan on 22 May 1700. [Ref]

Joseph and his brothers Jabez and Matthew bought 1200 (or, perhaps 800) acres lying in the forks of the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers in Norwich from James Fitch. [Ref ] This part of Norwich later became Newent Society in LIsbon and the locality became known as "Perkin's Crotch". [Ref] Matthew returned to Ipswich, but Joseph and Jabez stayed and "were for a long time influential men and leading church members in that portion of the town". [Ref]

Joseph Perkins and Martha Morgan had the following children.

  1. Elizabeth Perkins was born on 5 Nov 1701 and died in 1703. [Ref]
  2. Dr. Joseph Perkins was born on 25 Oct in Newint Society in Norwich. [Ref] He died on 7 Jul 1794. [Ref,Ref] He married first Lydia Pierce in 1728. [Ref,Ref] Lydia died on 7 Jan 1730 in Plainfield, Windham, CT. [Ref] He married second Mary Bushnell, the daughter of Dr. Caleb and Ann (Leffingwell) Bushnell of Norwich, on 23 Jul 1730.[Ref] Joseph graduated from Yale in 1727. [Ref] He practiced medicine in Norwich. [Ref] He had seven children. [Ref]
  3. Martha Perkins was born on 21 August 1705. [Ref] She married first Thomas Todd on 19 Apr 1727 in the Congregational Church in Lisbon, New London, CT. [Ref,Ref] Thomas, the son of John and Elizabeth Todd, was born on 18 Aug 1701 in Rowley, Essex, MA. [Ref] Martha married second Solomon Lothrop on 22 Nov 1727 in the Lisbon Congregational Church. [Ref] She married third Matthew Loomis in 1739. [Ref] Martha and Solomon had two children; Martha and Matthew had four children. [Ref]
  4. John Perkins was born on 5 Oct 1709 and died on 16 Apr 1761. [Ref] He married first Elizabeth Bushnell, the sister of his brother Joseph's wife Mary. [Ref] He married secon Lydia Tracy, the daughter of Solomon Tracy. [Ref] John was called "the great Perkins" because of his size. [Ref] John had nine children, two with his first wife and seven with his second. [Ref]
  5. Jerusha Perkins was born on 1 Sep 1711 and died on 8 Feb 1742. [Ref] She married Rev. Jedidiah Hyde on 17 Jul in the Lisbon Congregational Church. [Ref,Ref] Jedidiah was a Separatist and was a pastor of a church on "Bean Hill" in Norwich. [Ref] Jedidiah and Jerusha had four children. [Ref]
  6. Matthew Perkins was born on 31 Aug 1713 in Norwich. [Ref] He died on 3 May 1773. [Ref] He married 15-year-old Hannah Bishop on 19 Apr 1739 in the Congregational Church in Lisbon. [Ref,Ref] Hannah, the daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Fobes) Bishop was born in 1724. [Ref,Ref] Matthew owned a 100-acre farm in Hanover Society in Lisbon. [Ref,Ref] He was a large and powerful man. [Ref] "He died from lockjaw caused, by a bite on the thumb which he received from a young negro slave, whom he was chastising for some fault." [Ref] He had twelve children. [Ref]
  7. Deborah Perkins was born on 20 Jul 1715. She died on 5 Dec 1772. She married Benajah Cary.
  8. Ann Perkins was born on 20 Jul 1715 and died on 29 Jun 1731. [Ref]
  9. Hannah Perkins was born in 1717 and died in 1745. [Ref] She married Joshua Huntington and they had five children. [Ref]
  10. Simon Perkins was born in 1720 and died in 1725/6. [Ref]

JUDITH PERKINS

Parents:

Judith Perkins married William Sergeant.

LYDIA PERKINS (bp. 1632)

Parents: John Perkins and Judith Gater

Lydia Perkins was baptised on 3 Jun 1632 in Boston. [Ref] She married Henry Bennett of Ipswich by about 1651.[Ref]

John M. Bradbury [Ref] argues that Lydia, the daughter of John Perkins, married Henry Bennet. He notes that John Perkins mentions his daughter Lydia Bennet and suggests that she has children. On 27 Apr 1669, Lydia Bennet gave a deposition saying that she saw Elizabeth Gater scuffling with Elizabeth Linkhorne and that her son Joseph had tried to part them. The next day, Benjamin Morgan gave a deposition saying that he was at Henry Bennet's house and heard the confrontation.