Frances Larkham

of  South Kingstown, Rhode Island

 In Lancelot's apprenticeship contract, Frances is named as "of South Kingstown in Kings County in the Colony of Rhode Island & Providence Plantation in New England Woosted Corner", Woosted Corner, no doubt being the name of a mill village in South Kingstown where "woosted", or worsted, was woven. This, and the fact that Frances bound her son as an apprentice to learn the trade of weaving, probably indicates that she, too, was involved with the weaving trade.

 On 8 July 1746, Thomas Larkham enlisted in Captain Edward Cole's Company in the campaign against Canada, King George's War.  The troops were quartered at Fort George on Goat Island in Newport Harbor, where they remained until 2 November 1746.  Of 100 men listed on the muster roll of Captain Cole’s Company, twenty-five men died and twenty deserted.   Arnold wrote in  History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations: 

“These troops were quartered on Goat Island by July and from that time until November 2, when they finally sailed for Nova Scotia they were in a state of uncertainty as to their destination. . . .The number of desertions in the third roll is noticeably large. The fact that the pay of these men was recorded just as it was for those who stayed with the colors is evidence that the authorities knew of extenuating circumstances, or in some way looked leniently upon what is technically a serious fault.”

According to the muster roll of Captain Cole's company, Thomas Larkham died 4 September 1746, having served 58 days, wages due 1£ 6S. He apparently never left Fort George on Goat Island in Newport Harbor.  It's possible that disease was one of the extenuating circumstances of which Arnold wrote. Thomas Larkham’s death in 1746 explains why, in July of 1749, it was Frances Larkham who placed young Lancelot into an apprenticeship at the young age of 8 ½ years.  Normally the father would have been the more likely party in such a contract, and as a single mother, Frances Larkham probably had few resources to raise a child.

The parties involved in the apprenticeship of Lancelot may have had a significant relationship to Frances, whose maiden name is unknown.  Lancelot was apprenticed to Joseph and Margaret Enos, weavers of Richmond.  The indenture was witnessed by Anna Kinyon and John Webster.  These four individuals were connected in several ways, and because of this and the fact that they were party to young Lancelot's apprenticeship, I have to wonder what their relationship was to Frances:  

1. According to Marjorie Webster Schunke, who wrote A Line of Descent from John Webster of Westerly, it is "possible that the Margaret Webster who married Joseph Enos in Westerly 20 Sep 1716" was a sister of John Webster (who was a witness to the indenture).

2. Anna Kinyon, who also witnessed the indenture, is no doubt Anna (Barber) Kinyon, wife of Sylvester Kinyon.  There were several documents during the mid-1700s in which John Webster signed as witness along with either Anna Kinyon, Sylvester Kinyon, or both of them.  In fact, on May 15, 1749, all three witnessed the will of John Enoss.

3. John Webster married, for his first wife, Sarah Kenyon, a sister of Sylvester Kinyon (husband of Anna (Barber) Kinyon).

4. John Webster's eldest daughter, Hannah Webster, married Ezekiel Barber, Anna (Barber) Kinyon's older brother.

5. John Webster's youngest daughter, Elizabeth Webster, married John Kenyon, son of Sylvester and Anna (Barber) Kenyon.

6. John Webster's youngest son, Thomas Webster, married Patience Adams, born ca. 1745 in Richmond, daughter of John and Patience (Hall) Adams.

7. Lancelot Larkham married 1763-1765, Prudence Adams, born July 29, 1741 in Richmond. I believe it's very likely that Prudence Adams was another daughter of John and Patience (Hall) Adams and a sister to Patience (Adams) Webster.

Frances and Thomas Larkham most likely had another child, a daughter Elizabeth, who was a few years younger than Lancelot. In Dr. Joseph Torrey and His Record Book of Marriages, by William Davis Miller, based on “A Record of the Names &c of the persons joyned together in Marriage by Joseph Torrey Pastor of the Chts: of Christ in South Kingstown" is recorded:

“William Rees & Elizabeth Larkham both of this Town were Lawfully Married Aug. 16, 1767.”

Considering the rarity of the Larkham surname in 18th century Rhode Island, the South Kingstown location, and the date of Elizabeth Larkham’s marriage – 1767, only four years after Lancelot and Prudence were married – it is highly likely that Elizabeth Larkham was a younger sister of Lancelot and a daughter of Frances and Thomas Larkham.

In 1751, Frances Larkham was paid 1£ from the estate of William Robinson (South Kingstown Town Council records, Volume 4, p. 370, Film # 093184). This is the last record I have found for her.

Sources

 Indenture for the Apprenticeship of Lancelot Larkham of South Kingstown, Rhode Island to the Weavers Joseph and Margaret Enoss of Richmond, Rhode Island, July 7, 1749 (original document in the possession of Sally Russell Cox)

International Genealogical Index parish register extraction listings from the LDS Church's Family Search Internet Genealogy Service at http://www.familysearch.org/Search/searchigi.asp

The records of Sarah Clark Burdick

Rhode Island in the Colonial Wars by Howard M. Chapin, p. 22

South Kingstown, Rhode Island Land Evidence Records, pp. 275-277 (LDS Family History Library Microfilm # 0931301)

South Kingstown, Rhode Island Town Council Records (LDS Family History Library Microfilms # 0931833 and # 0931834)