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Prudence
Adams is my 5th great-grandmother. According to my
great-grandmother's records,
Prudence was born on July 29, 1741. My great-grandmother also
recorded that Prudence married
Lancelot Larkham in 1763.
Lancelot and Prudence's first six children were born in
Richmond, Rhode Island between 1767 and 1774. These births are
recorded in Richmond town records and in The Vital Record of
Rhode Island. Since Lancelot served an apprenticeship in
Richmond from 1749 until he left to fight in the Old French and
Indian War in 1760, my best guess is that Prudence was probably
from Richmond, and most likely a member of the Adams family of
Rhode Island who descends from the Scotsman, James Adams, who
emigrated to Lynn, Massachusetts*. Since much of the information
on the Adams family of Rhode Island is incomplete, I haven't
been able to prove Prudence's parentage, and can only speculate
on her probable ancestry (see below).
Prudence and Lancelot Larkham had the following children:
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John Larkham,
born on March 18, 1767 in Richmond, Rhode Island; married Desire Morgan
[daughter of Ebenezer and Desire (Branch) Morgan] on February 6, 1785 in
Voluntown, Connecticut; died after 1850 in Carlisle, Schoharie County,
New York. John died prior to 1819, because in his will, Lancelot
referred to John as deceased.
-
Thomas Larkham,
born March 15, 1768 in Richmond, Rhode Island; married Sarah Crandall
[daughter of John and Kezia (Shaw) Crandall] on November 25 1790 in
Voluntown, Connecticut; died on December 18, 1821 in Hartford,
Washington County, NewYork.
-
Sarah Larkham,
born on May 15 1769 in Richmond, Rhode Island, married Benjamin
Colegrove [son of Benjamin and Sarah (Colegrove) Colegrove] on March 1,
1789 in Voluntown, Connecticut; died probably in Brookfield, Madison
County, New York.
-
Joseph Larkham,
born on September 19, 1770 in Richmond, Rhode Island. I have found no
other record of Joseph Larkham, and he wasn't named in Lancelot's will,
so I assume he died very young.
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Prudence Larkham,
born on August 24 1772 in Richmond, Rhode Island; married William Himes;
died probably in Berlin, Rensselaer County, Rhode Island.
-
Lot Larkham, Jr., born March 14, 1774 in Richmond, Rhode
Island; married Elizabeth Kennedy [daughter of Daniel and Lucretia
(Whipple) Kennedy] on April 28, 1796 in Voluntown, Connecticut; married
Olive
Gorton on November 28, 1816 in Voluntown, Connecticut; married Sarah
Ann Phillips on April 6, 1835 in Voluntown, Connecticut; died May 22,
1847 in Voluntown, Connecticut.
-
Patience Larkham,
born November 17, 1779 in Voluntown, Connecticut; married John Witter
[son of John and Tacy (Porter) Witter] about 1799. They moved to
Brookfield, Madison County, New York, but she probably died in a place
further West.
In 1779, just before the birth of their seventh child, Patience,
Lancelot and Prudence moved to Voluntown, Connecticut. It was
here that they established a farm and lived out the remainder of
their lives. Prudence and Lancelot were Baptists, and are
recorded on the membership lists of the First General Baptist of
Richmond in 1770 and the North Kingston Six Principle Baptist
Church in 1784 and 1786.
On October 21 1799, Prudence Adams Larkham died in Voluntown.
She was 59 years old. All of her children had married and left
home by this date.
Prudence (Adams) Larkham is very likely a daughter of John and
Patience (Hall) Adams of Richmond Rhode Island. Information on
the family of this couple is very incomplete, however my
speculation is based on several facts:
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Patience Adams, a known daughter
of John and Patience (Hall) Adams, married Thomas Webster on
November 17, 1765 in Richmond, Washington County, R.I. (Vital Record of
Rhode Island, Vol. 5, p. 1.
-
Patience and Prudence have the
same maiden name (Adams) and Patience and Thomas' marriage date (1765)
was close to Prudence and Lancelot's (1763);
-
Lancelot and Prudence (Adams)
Larkham were listed as members of the First General Baptist Church of
Richmond (Vital Record of Rhode Island, Vol. 11, p. 406). Thomas and
Patience (Adams) Webster were also members of this church and have the
exact same dates of membership as Lancelot and Prudence.
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Lancelot and Prudence Adams
named their eldest son John and their youngest daughter Patience.
Lancelot and Prudence's daughter, Sarah named all of her children
according to traditional naming patterns. Her youngest daughter, who
should have been named for a grandmother, was named Patience.
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Prudence's husband, Lancelot
Larkham, was apprenticed to Margaret (Webster) Enos. Margaret's father,
John Webster, witnessed Lancelot's apprenticeship contract. Thomas
Webster was the nephew of Margaret Webster and the grandson of John
Webster. Thomas Webster married Patience Adams (see #1 above).
Postscript: Prudence's middle name may have
been Maria. I have a cross-stitched bookmark that reads, "Maria
Adamf" (with an old-fashioned s). I have no idea who else this
could have belonged to.
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