Abraham Rideout and his (first) wife Mary came to the US from England with their son Nicolas, and daughter Prudence. It would be some time after 1705 when Nicolas was born, because he was born in England.
Abraham and Mary Rideout had the following children:
- Nicolas (from whom we descend), born in England
- Prudence
Abraham was a 'scrivener' of Essex County, Province of Ye Mass Bay Co., in New England. He bought lands north of Mill Pond in Sagadahoc. A scrivener means public writer, meaning that he was educated.
Abraham's first wife died, and he remarried a Jemima (Jessica) Davis. They married in Haverhill, MA in Mar. 1714. Jemima was born on Oct 10, 1697 in Haverhill, MA. She died on Apr 19, 1746. She was the daughter of Stephen Davis and Mary Tucker.
Together, Abraham and Jemima had 3 children, all born in Haverhill:
- Rowland, born Aug. 31, 1715. Married Judith Bedell on December 13, 1739. Rowland died in April 1779 in Wilton, Hollsborough, New Hampshire.
- Benjamin, born June 19, 1717. The Golda Soffee book says that Benjamin's birthdate is June 9, 1716, but the Topsfield Historical Society records (VR Birth, Marriage and Death of Haverhill, MA, 1633-1849) agrees with the first date.
- Mary, born May 7, 1720. Married John Bailey on January 24, 1739 (40).
The children of Jemima (Rideout) and James Holgate were (all born in Haverhill, Essex County):
- Deborah, born January 29, 1724/5, died December 12, 1737 (age: 13yrs)
- Judith, born December 3, 1726, died December 1, 1737 (age: 11yrs)
- Abigail, born December 20, 1728, died December 20, 1737 (age: 9yrs)
- Priscilla, born February 3, 1730/1.
- James Jr., born June 7, 1733, died December 25, 1737 (age: 5yrs)
- Elisabeth, born June 19, 1737, married John Morss on June 20, 1754
In the month of December, 1737, Jemima Davis and her husband James Holgate lost 5 children. They are buried in the Pentucket Cemetery, in Haverhill, MA. One of those who died was Benjamin, the son of Jemima and Abraham, her previous husband, from whom we descend. The Throat Distemper Plague hit Haverhill where many people died, mostly children.
According to Essex County Vital Records, Jemima Davis (Rideout) Holgate died Apr. 19, 1746 in Haverhill Mass.
To see more photos of the gravestones of the children of Jemima who died during the plague, go to our page on Throat Distemper, or click on the following website link, and scroll down to the name of Benjamin Rideout, and the Holgate children, then click on their name: A Grave Matter
The children of Jemima and Abraham Rideout, and of Jemima and James Holgate who died during the Throat Distemper Plague were (in order of date of death):
December 1, 1737: Judith Holgate, 11 years old December 10, 1737: BENJAMIN RIDEOUT December 12, 1737: Deborah Holgate, 13 years old December 20, 1737: Abigail Holgate December 25, 1737: James Holgate Jr.
As a side note, Dr. James Holgate is noted in the Newbury, Mass records (1635-1849 CR 7 Marriages), as having remarried after Jemima's death to Mrs. Lydia Sawyer on April 2, 1747.
When did Abraham arrive in Maine?
Although Soffe's book is not very clear on this, we have some hints. Abraham's first wife, Mary, came with him from England. Nicolas was born in England in 1705, but how old he was upon his arrival here is not known. He surely was no more than about 10 years old. We know this because Mary died at some point afterward, but that definitely had to have happened before 1714, when Abraham married Jemima Davis. In addition, according to the York County Deeds, Vol 8, Vol 208: "Abraham Rideout (and others) bought land from Joseph Shaw on February 17, 1716". I do not know where this land was that was sold by Shaw.
If Ancient August (at Small Point) is one of the first places that Abraham had settled, it is quite possible that he lived through one, if not several, vicious Indian attacks. Was his first wife, Mary, killed during an Indian attack? Did she die from illness shortly after arriving in the new country? Did she suffer through a harsh winter that she was not strong enough to endure? If I had to guess, I would say that there is a strong possibility that it was at the hands of Indian marauders. I say that because we know that during several of the Indian attacks, that the settlers, after realizing that they could not fight the Indians off, jumped into whatever ships or canoes that they could, and abandoned the settlement.
It is known that Abraham married Jemima Davis in Massachusetts, near Haverhill. So we know that Abraham was one of the settlers who abandoned the old Fort. Although many returned to try to resettle, we do not have any direct evidence that Abraham ever returned to Maine. In fact, I do not believe that he did return. That is based on the fact that after Abraham's death (also, Haverhill), Jemima remarried there, and lived for some time in Haverhill. Several of her children with her second husband are buried there, as well as the child that she had with Abraham. I have been unable to uncover any burial records for Abraham, Mary or Jemima, as of the summer of 2007.
Posted by Linda | April 4, 2008
