Week 5: So Far Away
Week 5 of the writing prompts: So Far Away (now I have to get Carole King out of my head!).
Most of the people I've tracked down on the family tree came to Colonial America in the 17th century and some in the 18th. They came from western Europe or the British Isles, hung out on the Atlantic coast for a few decades and then spread out to upstate New York or Kentucky or Ohio initially, then Michigan and Missouri and then to Washington state. This is both paternal and maternal ancestors: these people basically walked across the country in parallel lines for several centuries. So, yeah, all of them came from far away and just kept moving. But this gives me the opportunity to talk about one of the more colorful ancestors amidst all of these footloose people: Welthian Loring Richards.
It appears that Welthian was possibly born in Dorchester, England (or maybe Axminster in Devon), in about 1602 and came to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in about 1630, already married to Thomas Richards and with some children. Despite the fact that Richard went back to England numerous times, it looks like she ended up with nine children but I think that number is pretty murky: people tended to recycle names so much it's hard to tell who is who. I believe that I am descended from her daughter Alice. Welthian had lived in Weymouth Massachusetts with her husband until his death, and then moved to Boston.
So, here is where she gets interesting. Apparently, she felt that she was being cheated by a local businessman and had made the error of wishing aloud for bad things (unspecified) to happen to various people, which of course they did happen. This businessman then accused Welthian of witchcraft. In Massachusetts. Since this was mid-century, about 1653, the whole witchcraft thing had not really taken hold and the accusation was never acted on. And it appears that everyone realized that the man Welthian accused of cheating her had probably been doing so. The conclusion of various of the other researchers online is that she was an honest and outspoken woman. My conclusion is that the people of her century might have been made a bit uncomfortable by her willingness to speak up. (Actually, I don't think too much has changed.)
Welthian died in 1679 in Boston. The text of her will, written in the summer before her death, is online and seems to be right in line with her outspoken character. When she bequeathed her bedding, she specifically made sure Mercy Bradford (her daughter) got the worst of the three feather beds. She left five pounds to Harvard College, and that bequest, along with ten pounds to the poor and another five to the first church of Boston, was meant to take priority over almost all of the other provisions of her will if the money fell short. I'm not sure she was really all that pleased with her children.
One last thing: Here is a link to the lyrics and a recording of Carole King's "So Far Away." I've always loved that song and related to it so thank you for the excuse to revisit it!
https://www.metrolyrics.com/so-far-away-lyrics-carole-king.html
Most of the people I've tracked down on the family tree came to Colonial America in the 17th century and some in the 18th. They came from western Europe or the British Isles, hung out on the Atlantic coast for a few decades and then spread out to upstate New York or Kentucky or Ohio initially, then Michigan and Missouri and then to Washington state. This is both paternal and maternal ancestors: these people basically walked across the country in parallel lines for several centuries. So, yeah, all of them came from far away and just kept moving. But this gives me the opportunity to talk about one of the more colorful ancestors amidst all of these footloose people: Welthian Loring Richards.
It appears that Welthian was possibly born in Dorchester, England (or maybe Axminster in Devon), in about 1602 and came to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in about 1630, already married to Thomas Richards and with some children. Despite the fact that Richard went back to England numerous times, it looks like she ended up with nine children but I think that number is pretty murky: people tended to recycle names so much it's hard to tell who is who. I believe that I am descended from her daughter Alice. Welthian had lived in Weymouth Massachusetts with her husband until his death, and then moved to Boston.
So, here is where she gets interesting. Apparently, she felt that she was being cheated by a local businessman and had made the error of wishing aloud for bad things (unspecified) to happen to various people, which of course they did happen. This businessman then accused Welthian of witchcraft. In Massachusetts. Since this was mid-century, about 1653, the whole witchcraft thing had not really taken hold and the accusation was never acted on. And it appears that everyone realized that the man Welthian accused of cheating her had probably been doing so. The conclusion of various of the other researchers online is that she was an honest and outspoken woman. My conclusion is that the people of her century might have been made a bit uncomfortable by her willingness to speak up. (Actually, I don't think too much has changed.)
Welthian died in 1679 in Boston. The text of her will, written in the summer before her death, is online and seems to be right in line with her outspoken character. When she bequeathed her bedding, she specifically made sure Mercy Bradford (her daughter) got the worst of the three feather beds. She left five pounds to Harvard College, and that bequest, along with ten pounds to the poor and another five to the first church of Boston, was meant to take priority over almost all of the other provisions of her will if the money fell short. I'm not sure she was really all that pleased with her children.
One last thing: Here is a link to the lyrics and a recording of Carole King's "So Far Away." I've always loved that song and related to it so thank you for the excuse to revisit it!
https://www.metrolyrics.com/so-far-away-lyrics-carole-king.html
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