Jane Partridge 10th great grandma on RootsMagic tree

Jane Partridge was born around 1612 in Olney, England, one of 2 children of John and Frances Partridge. Jane married Henry Gaines, also of Olney, England. By 1638 Jane, Henry and their 3 sons John, Daniel and Samuel, were in Salem, Massachusetts. The family moved to Lynn, Massachusetts where they lived on the Nahant Bay. In their times there was a small stream called Gaines Neck. Their home was near a salt marsh so they probably ‘fished’ for shrimp, mollusks, and hunted all kinds of game birds that no longer exist. Their south east view was Egg Rock a tiny island. Today Egg Rock is a bird sanctuary, it had a lighthouse for awhile.

Both Jane and Henry died fairly young, in their 30s. Jane’s will survives and shows an inventory of possessions and apprenticeships for each of her sons. John age 13 was apprenticed for seven years to Francis Dowse a shoemaker. Daniel age 11 was apprenticed for eight years to Luke Potter, a tailor in Concord. Samuel age 7 was apprenticed to Nathaniel Hanforth “who was to educate him”. Nathaniel Hanforth was also asked to oversee the money left to each of the boys and improve it if possible.

The inventory showed possessions of the family. A house and a parcel lot including upland, 8 acres of salt marsh. Several bushels of Indian corn, a featherbed, plows, blankets, clothing, one trunk, a straw hat, ten handkerchiefs, four pewter dishes, one kettle, a handsaw, a sword, a pitchfork, 3 spoons, an earthen ware pot, flax and hemp, 2 bibles, a parcel of books.

Sources

• The probate records of Essex County, Massachusetts at HathiTrust
• The Essex Antiquarian at AmericanAncestors.org
• Salt marsh grasses, Spartina patens at Wikipedia
• “Egg Rock, Nahant.” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1850 – 1930. http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47e0-7206-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99