*•*. SOME OF THE DESCENDANTS OF JONATHAN FABENS, OF \ MARBLEHEAD. GEO. ATPERKINS, M.D., Mehbek New England Histouc Genealogical• Society. ,j / ift3 i i [From HistoricalCollections ofEssex Institute, Vol.XVHL] SALEM: $j** PRINTED FOR THE INSTITUTE.\^. fr% 4 4 JONATHAN FABENS Jl AND SOME OF HIS DESCENDANTS, Inthe records of the Probate Court of Essex County, Mass., Vol. 13, fol. 71, under date of July 2, 1668, is the Inventory of the estate of one Thomas Dill,of Mar­ blehead, seaman, who died at sea. — Dillappears to have been part owner, of the vessel, the Catch Prosperous, of Marblehead. Among the creditors of his estate is the name of "Jon fabins "to whom the estate was debtor to i the amount of £3-00-00. This is the first mention of the name of Fabens found upon the records of this region. Marblehead was settled in 1635 by Mr.Allerton and others, the General Court voting that year "that there should be aplantation at Marblehead." On May 2, 1648, the town contained forty-eight families. Itwas incorporated in1649, and in 1674 itcontained 114 householders and others. JoD fabins must, therefore, have been among the ear­ liest inhabitants of that ancient town, and old enough at the date of the above inventory, "the second day of July, 1668," to be engaged in business; itis not un­ reasonable, therefore, to suppose him to have been born previous to 1643. The name, as found upon the earlier records, is spelled ina variety of ways, Fabian, Fabin, Fabins and Fabens. We find it spelled in two ways in the same document, which was not unusual inearly times. (3) 4 Inthis paper, Jo* Fabens, the creditor of Thomas Dill, is assumed to he the ancestor of all in this region who have borne and now bear that name, and from "James Fabins, fisherman," whose name is found soon after, the present and intervening persons of the name can be dis­ tinctly traced. His marriage with Joanna Barnes and a long list of their children, with the dates of their bap­ tisms, are to be found recorded upon the books of the first church of Marblehead. Among the records of early Deeds of Essex County, there appear several conveyances of real estate inMarble­ head, signed by James Fubens; and Joanna, his wife, conveys her right of dower in the property. Under the title "Fabens," Savage, who is considered authority on such matters, does not mention the Marble­ head family, though many of the name were living there at the time he wrote, and others in the city of Salem. He says "Faben, Fabin, Fabins: John on a jury in New Hampshire, 1656, married, perhaps, one of the daughters of Edward Gillman. Fabyan is a name in that region, and John Fabyan, Esq., of the province, died in 1757. Eliz :.aged 16, came in the Elizabeth and Ann 1653, but we do not know who was her father." Various places have been mentioned as the fatherland of the family, none more likely to be correct than that tradition which would make them of French descent, from the island of Jersey ;but this is wholly without any his­ torical foundation. The men of Marblehead were mostly engaged in the fisheries in the early colonial days ;they have since fur­ nished hardy, intrepid and patriotic seamen and soldiers in time of war. The Fabens family, of that old and liberty-loving stock, were no exceptions, but have con­ 5 tributed their share of men ready to lay down their lives intheir country's service. Manyof the individuals mentioned below were seamen, and have become shipmasters. It may be stated that no connection has been found between the Marblehead family and the Fabyan family of New Hampshire. 1Jonathan Fabins was in Marblehead in 1668, at which time he appears as a creditor of the Estate of Thomas Dill,deceased; he was probably at that time, at least, twenty-five years old;of his birthplace, parents or wife, we know nothing. We assume that he was born about 1640, and that he was the father of 2 James, b. ab't 1665. 2 James (Jonathan 1) of Marblehead, Mass., born about 1665, married Joanna Barnes, of Marblehead, Oct. 15, 1687. She was born in 1667, and died after 1750.1 James Fattens died January, 1729. His son, James F., was the administrator of his estate. Several conveyances of real estate in Marblehead by James and wife Joanna are upon the Essex Deeds. He calls himself "Fisherman."' 1Alist of names mnde in 1790, of yery aged members ofthe lintchurch of Marblehead,* contains" the name of"Joanna Fabins. aged 83." Dec. 10,1703, James Fabins" ofMarblehead, fisherman," and wifeJoanna, Mil toJohn Legg or Marblehead, the dwelling house and land wherein wemay now live, whichland we bought of the Commoners, &c,Ac. " James Fablns. Signed joanna ffab|ni. Deo. 9,1708, James Fabins ofMarblehead and wifeJoanna, convey part oftheir orchard in Marblehead toPhillipHnbbard, withland and barn. AprilB,1714, James Fabins and wife Joanna, sell to Elizabeth. Brawn, land, house and garden, in Mmrblehead.— Rtgistry ofDtedt. • 6 The children of James and Joanna (Barnes) Fabens were: — 3 Urith, bapt. Aug. 19, 1688; m.Feb. 10, 1718, W. Andrews. 4 John, bapt. Aug. 24, 1690. 5 Jane, bapt. July 31, 1692; m.Jan. 16, 1712, John Kennurk. 6 Joanna, bapt. July 24, 1694; m.Nov. 14, 1721, Andrew Trimlet. 7 James, bapt. July 19, 1696; d. young. 8 Elizabeth, bapt. Sept. 18, 1698; m. Feb. 10, 1732, John Servey. 9 Mary, bapt. Oct. 22, 1699 ;m.Nov. 19, 1718, John Dyer. 10 James, bapt. Ang. 20, 1704 ;m. Apr. 30, 1725, Mary Viuning. 11 William, bapt. March 23, 1707; m. July 24, 1730, Mary Lebby. 12 Sarah, bapt. Oct. 9, 1709 ;m. Aug. 11, 1726, John Lendall. 13 Eunice (perhaps). 10 James (James*, Jonathan 1) born in Marblehead June, 1704, baptized Aug. 20, 1704, and married Apr. 30, 1725, Mary Vinning, daughter of Thomas and Eliza­ beth Vinning. He removed to Salem with his brother John in1734, in which year both names appear upon the Tax list. Their children were : — 14 Mary, bapt. In Marblehead March 5, 1727; d. young. 15 James, bapt. inMarblehead Nov. 17, 1728 ;d. yonng. 16 Thomas, bapt. in Marblehead Jan. 4, 1780. 17 James, bapt. at First Ch. in Salem, Oct. 19, 1735. 18 Feard, bapt. at FirstCh. in Salem, Feb. 4, 1788. 11 William (James*, Jonathan 1) born in Marblehead in1707, baptized March 23, 1707, and married July 24, 1730, Mary Lebby of Marblehead. She died in 1750. Their children were : — 19 William, bapt. Sept. 30, 1733. 20 Urith,bapt. Nov. 3, 1734; m. May 26, 1752, Vinteman Reed. 21 Susanna, bapt. Aug. 1, 1736; d. young. 22 Mary, bapt. March 12, 1738; ra. Nov. 10, 1761, William Allen. 23 John, bapt. Jan. 20, 1740; d. young. 24 John, bapt. June 6, 1742 ;d. young. 25 Daniel, bapt. July 10, 1743. 26 Susannah, bapt. Sept. 28, 1744. 27 John, bapt. Apr. 12, 1747. 7 Concerning the descendants of William and Mary (Lebby) Fabens, we findnothing more than the marriages of Urithand Mary as above. 16 Thomas {James 10,James 9,Jonathan 1) was bap­ tized inMarblehead Jan. 4, 1730. He married Rebecca Bowden of Marblehead June 22, 1751, and died intestate Nov. 15, 1754. His widow was appointed executrix, and Richard Lang and Newbegin Harrison were bondsmen. His estate amounted to £15-10-10, which was all given to his widow. He was a mariner. She married 2d, Newbegin Harrison Nov. 21, 1756. Their children were :— 28 Mary, b. 1752; m. WilliamBright, Sept. 10, 1772. 29 Rebecca, m.Daniel Bnxton, Oct. 13, 1778. 17 James (James 10,James*, Jonathan 1) was baptized in the first church inSalem Oct. 19, 1735. He married Sarah Henderson June 25, 1757, and died in1790. He was engaged in the fishing business withhis brother- in-law, Capt. Benjamin Henderson. He was captain, or as that office was then called, skipper, of the Schooner William for several voyages, and afterwards shoresman. They built a house and store in Dean street, Salem, and used the banks of the North river for curing their fish. Then: children were :— 80 William,b. April,1759; m.Bebecca Gray. 31 James, b. about 1760; m.Anna Symonds. 32 Joseph, b. about 1768 ;m.Betsey Morse. 83 Thomas, b. October 1766; m.Margaret White. 34 Benjamin, b. 1770; unm'd. 85 Sarah, b. 1772; m. Wm. Laskey. 86 John, b.1774 ;unm'd. 87 Mary,b. 1776; m. 'Jacob Holman; "OlirerPope. M 8 18 Peard (James 10,James*, Jonathan 1) was bom in Salem, Mass., in 1737, and baptized Feb. 4, 1738. He married Hannah Lang, oldest daughter of Jeffrey Lang* of Salem, Mass., June 29, 1762. He died about 1778-9, and she, born May 1, 1735, died Sept. 24, 1824. Peard Fabens calls himself a "fisherman." His name is borne on the rollof a company under Capt. Benjamin Ward, jr.,stationed at a fortin Salem, Mass., in January, 1776." He afterwards served as gunner's mate on board the General Gates," privateer, where he was taken pris­ oner and afterwards exchanged. He again served on board of another armed vessel, was again taken prisoner, and never returned, dying abroad. Their children were :— Elizabeth, b. 26, 1769. \ 88 Jan. 89 Hannah, b. Aug. 81, 1771. 40 Mary,b.1778 ; she d. from akick of a hone, when 4years old. 30 William (James 11,James 10,James 9,Jonathan 1) was born inSalem in1759. He married Rebecca Gray, of Saco, Maine, in 1781, and died Apr.