Re: John, b. ca. 1685 to William and Mary; resided in NJ
-
In reply to:
John, b. ca. 1685 to William and Mary; resided in NJ
Duane Boggs 3/11/09
I have recently found additional circumstantial evidence which I believe supports my theory that John Hickson married Ann Giles, daughter of Mathew and Catherine (MNU) Giles. Consider the following.
1. According to the New Jersey Calendar of Wills, in 1707 William Hixson, Benjamin Clarke and Joseph Worth, together, completed the inventory of the estate of the late Andrew Davis.
2. This Benjamin Clarke had married, ca. 1690, Ann Giles, daughter of James (and so sister of Mathew) Giles.
3. This Joseph Worth had married, in 1694, Sarah Giles, another daughter of James Giles and so also a sister of Mathew Giles.
4. In 1711 William Hickson was a witness for the Will of Mathew Giles, and, thereafter, married Mathew's widow, Phoebe (Hendricks) Giles and became step-father to Phoebe's children by Mathew.
5. In 1711/1712, John Hickson attended the Quaker marriage ceremonies of Anne Clarke (to John Cooper) and Elizabeth Clarke (to James Lord). Anne and Elizabeth Clarke were both daughters of this Benjamin and Ann(Giles) Clarke.
6. In 1722, William Hixson, Benjamin Clarke and Joseph Worth again teamed up to complete the inventory of the estate of the late John Brearly (a/k/a Braily) of Maidenhead, NJ.
7. Later in 1722, William Hixon gave a "draft" of his Will to this Joseph Worth, and it was Joseph Worth who had to appear in court to "prove" that the draft was the Last Will. In his Will, William Hickson specifically mentioned his Giles step-children.
8. This same Joseph Worth and Benjamin Clarke together inventoried the estate of the late William Hickson.
I draw several inferences from these facts. First, William Hickson became very close friends with Joseph Worth, a fellow Quaker, sometime before or in 1707, and almost certainly would have met Mrs. Worth, that is, Sarah (Giles) Worth. This friendship endured for at least 15 years, when William Hickson put special trust in Joseph to help prepare his Will. Second, William Hickson also became very close friends with Benjamin Clarke, a fellow Quaker, sometime before or in 1707, and this friendship also endured. William Hickson's son John attended the Quaker marriages of two of Benjamin's daughters. William Hickson almost certainly would have been acquainted with Mrs. Clarke, that is Ann (Giles) Clarke. Third, through these friendships with Benjamin Clarke and Joseph Worth, and with their wives, who were both sisters of Mathew Giles, William Hickson also became acquainted with Mathew (and so witnessed Mathew's Will and married Mathew's widow). Fourth, it is possible that William Hickson's close friends (and their wives) introduced William's son John, a young bachelor, to their eligible young niece, Ann Giles (daughter of Mathew and Catherine). Certainly there were sufficient social contacts between William Hickson and the Giles sisters (Mrs. Worth and Mrs. Clarke) and between William Hickson and Mathew Giles, that John Hickson almost certainly would have known of and probably met Mathew Giles's daughter Ann, probably sometime in or before 1607. There could have been "matchmaking" on the part of the Giles women. Under this theory, John Hickson married Ann Giles about 1708, and thus attended the weddings of her two Clarke cousins, Ann and Elizabeth, a few years later.
Finally, John Hickson named a son Mathew, and it was not at all uncommon for a couple to name a son after that son's maternal grandfather (thus, Mathew Hickson might have been named for Mathew Giles).
And consider this under the theory. When William Hickson married widow Phoebe (Hendricks) Giles, Phoebe (who was already the step-mother of Ann (Giles) Hickson) became the mother-in-law of Ann (Giles) Hickson.
Does anyone have alternative ideas for the identity of John Hickson's wife (and please, NOT the discredited Elizabeth Stillwell)?