Mary Blisse

Notes:

After several years in Springfield, the Joseph Parsons family, which now included three children, moved to Northampton, a brand new settlement some 20 miles up the Connecticut River. Joseph Parsons soon became one of Northampton's leading citizens. A successful merchant, he served as a selectman and on the committee to build the first meetinghouse. Parsons also owned the first tavern in town. Soon after arriving in Northampton, Mary Parsons gave birth to a son, the first English child born in the town. That same month, neighbor Sarah Bridgman had a baby boy. When he died two weeks later, she claimed it was the result of Mary's witchcraft. Rumors began to swirl about the town. Joseph Parsons decided to go on the offensive. He charged James Bridgman with slander for spreading rumors about Mary Parsons's alleged witchcraft. The case was heard at the Magistrates' Court in Cambridge in October 1656; 33 depositions were given. Almost half of Northampton's 32 households sent a witness; a few others came from Springfield. On January 5, 1675, the county magistrates summoned Mary to appear before them. Women searched her body for "witch's teats," unexplained (to seventeenth-century eyes) protrusions where "imps" were said to suck. The record is silent as to what they did or did not find, but in March the Court of Assistants in Boston sent Mary Parsons to prison to await trial. The records from this trial do not survive, but we know that on May 13, 1675, a jury found her not guilty.

Mary married Joseph Parsons on 26 Nov 1646 in Hartford County, Connecticut Colony. Joseph was christened on 25 Jun 1620 in England; died on 9 Oct 1683 in Springfield, Massachusetts Bay Colony. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

There is substantial evidence that Thomas Bliss Sr was born in Gloucestershire, South West England and was married twice: firstly to Margaret Snowe and secondly to Margaret Hulings (Hulins, Hulinge). There are entries for these names in the records of the St Nicholas Church of Gloucestershire a church that was not affiliated with the Church of England. Due to religious persecution Thomas (hereafter Thomas Bliss Sr) and his younger brother George and their families embarked about 1635 at Plymouth England for the New World. Upon their arrival at Boston Thomas Sr resided temporarily at Braintree MBC (Massachusetts Bay Colony) whence he removed to Hartford Plantation[*] before 1639. George settled first in the MBC town of Lynn in 1637, then Sandwich in 1638, and finally Newport. Both Thomas Blisse Sr and Thomas Blisse Jr had house-lots and divisions of land in Hartford as early as 1640. The senior died in Hartford leaving nine children and his widow Margaret. Apparently a woman of resolute independent character, she removed with the younger part of her family to Springfield. - History of Norwich. The Society of the Descendants of the Founders of Hartford lists Thomas Bliss (Sr) as a founder of Hartford settling there before February 1640. Other lists of Hartford founders also list Thomas Jr along with his father. [*]The first English settlers arrived in 1635. Pastor Thomas Hooker and Governor John Haynes led 100 settlers with 130 head of cattle in a trek from Newtown (now Cambridge, Massachusetts) in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and started their settlement just north of a Dutch fort (set up as early as 1623; abandoned 1654). The settlement was originally called Newtown, but was changed to Hartford in 1637 to honor the English town of Hertford. - Wikipedia
From: NEXUS, Vol viii, No 6, New England Historic Genealogical Society, pub Dec 1991: Thomas Blisse Sr d. apparently so suddenly, Hartford, Conn., late 1650 or early 1651, that he had no chance to leave a written will, merely telling Margaret and dau Mary that he left all his estate to her and nothing to his ch. (testimony of dau. Mary (BLISS) PARSONS, Hartford. (Probate Rec., Vol. 11:28, 14 Feb. 1650/1; nuncupative will of Thomas Bliss Hartford - Court Records, 20 Feb. 1650/1).
Thomas Bliss and Margaret Hulings have a Mormon posterity of approximately 270,000 and an American posterity of approximately 18 million placing them in the top seven largest families in America. (Mormon Pioneer Genealogy Library Acquired by NEHGS; Michel L. Call and Gary Boyd Roberts; Published Date: June 1985)

Thomas married Margaret Hulings on 18 Oct 1621 in Gloucestershire, England. Margaret was born about 1590-1600 in South West England; died on 28 Apr 1684 in Springfield, Massachusetts Bay Colony. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Not long after her husband's death, Margaret (Hulings) Bliss removed to Springfield* where she was granted land as "Widdow Bliss" on 22 Jan 1651/52. Her house lot there was purchased from Thomas Tomson. She proved herself to be a woman of capacity...leaving an estate appraised at

Notes:

Married:
Married at St. Nicholas Church, Gloucester