Hester Bliss

Est 1640 - 1683  (~ 43 years)

• Name	Hester Bliss  [1]
  Birth	Est 1640	Hartford, Connecticut Colony
  Gender	Female
  Death	12 Jun 1683	Springfield, Massachusetts Bay Colony   [2]
  Person ID	I2148	Cooley Miller Sears Barnhouse
  Last Modified	10 Jun 2020

  
  

  Father	Thomas Blisse,   b. Abt 1580-1590, South West England d. Bef Feb 1650/51, Hartford, Connecticut Colony (Age ~ 61 years)
  Mother	Margaret Hulings,   b. Abt 1590-1600, South West England d. 28 Apr 1684, Springfield, Massachusetts Bay Colony (Age ~ 84 years)
  Marriage	18 Oct 1621	Gloucestershire, England   [3]
  	Married at St. Nicholas Church, Gloucester
  Family ID	F811	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Edward Foster   d. 22 Feb 1719/20, Springfield, Hampshire Co, Massachusetts
  Marriage	26 Dec 1661	Springfield, Massachusetts Bay Colony   [4, 5]
  Family ID	F822	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	2 Jun 2020

  
  

• Notes

  From the Bliss Genealogy it appears that a Hester Bliss, who arrived in Boston after the Thomas Bliss Sr family was established in Hartford (1640), was married to an Edward Foster, himself a servant of John Pynchon. The question arises: was the Hester Bliss of Boston the same Hester Bliss, daughter of Thomas Sr? There is also the question of her twin sister Elizabeth. Why isn't Elizabeth mentioned in conjunction with Hester? It appears likely that (1) Hester of Boston is probably not the Hester of Hartford. If she is eliminated as a child of Thomas Bliss Sr. the question of her twin sister still remains. Another possibility, (2) Hester of Hartford did not marry Edward Foster. I will keep Edward Foster as husband because of the strong John Pynchon link to Springfield and that Hester died in Springfield. [Dec. 26, 1661, Edward Foster, a servant of John Pynchon, Esq., a merchant in Springfield, Mass., was m. to "Hester Bliss", supposed by some to have been a member of this family, came to this country after the death of Thomas Bliss, sen. It appears by the "account book" kept by John Pynchon, Esq...[he] agreed with Hester at Boston, to serve bim a year for four pounds sterling, and that she commenced her service with him Nov. 1, 1658. And Mr. P. paid on her account, at Boston, two pounds to the "pinnace master;" which indicates that she had then lately arrived from England, and that that sum was the balance due for her passage. For this reason Judge Morris excluded her name from the list of the children in the {Thomas Bliss Sr family]. The birthdates and places of the twins Hester and Elizabeth Bliss are not clear. I have stated they were born in Hartford Plantation in 1640 because there is evidence Thomas Bliss Sr was in Hartford "as early as 1640". If they were born before 1640 Glouscestershire seems likely or aboard ship which seems less likelly.

  
  

• Sources

  [S627] Torrey, Clarence Almon, Sanborn, Melinde Lutz (supplements), NE Marriages, (Database and images. Ancestry. https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=3824, Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2012. ), p518 (Reliability: 3). [S592] Holbrook, Jay Mack, MVR, (Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook). ), "Hester Foster was sicke and died June 12th 1683" (Reliability: 3). [S692] Gloucestershire Anglican Parish Registers, Gloucester bapts marriages burials, (Ancestry.com. Gloucestershire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1813 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Original data: Gloucestershire Anglican Parish Registers. Gloucestershire Archives, Gloucestershire, England. ), Ref P154/15 IN 1/1. St Nicholas, Gloucester. (Reliability: 3). [S592] Holbrook, Jay Mack, MVR, (Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook). ), Edward Foster was Joined in Mariage to Hester Bliss: Decembr 26th 1661 (Reliability: 3). [S627] Torrey, Clarence Almon, Sanborn, Melinde Lutz (supplements), NE Marriages, (Database and images. Ancestry. https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=3824, Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2012. ), p277 (Reliability: 3).