Hannah White, my 9th great-grandmother on my mother's side, was born circa 1646 as the youngest daughter of John White and Joane West, Puritan immigrants from South Petherton, Somerset, England. Her parents and siblings had come to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1638 during the Great Migration, and settled in Wenham, near Salem, before removing to Lancaster. Hannah was likely born in Wenham, although her birth isn't recorded. Her father John later described her as "nurse to him in his old age". In 1663, at Lancaster, she married the Ensign John Divoll. Tragedy struck the family on February 10, 1676, when Wampanoag Indian warriors attacked Lancaster and destroyed the town. Her husband John was killed in defense of the garrison house, along with two of her children. Meanwhile Hannah as well as her other two children were taken captive by the Indians. She was later ransomed along with her son William and apparently her daughter, also named Hannah, my 8th great-grandmother. Around 1678 she remarried to Samuel Lummus of Ipswich, and had a son named Samuel. Hannah died on December 22, 1709 at Ipswich, having led a fascinating life, the daughter of Puritan immigrants who saw her husband and two children killed by Indians, was taken captive by Indians and later ransomed, and to live out her life in the growing Colony. She was buried at Hamilton Cemetery in Hamilton, Massachusetts.
The grave of Hannah White is a beautiful one, and is very old and damaged. You can make out some Puritan symbolism on the grave, with a visible death head and wings at the top of the grave. Puritan graves are always such beautiful finds.
Inscription on the Grave:
HERE LYES THE BODY OF
MRS. HANNAH LUMMUS
WIFE TO MR. SAMUEL LUMMUS
AGED 65 YEARS
DIED DEC. 22ND, 1709
No comments:
Post a Comment