Chapter II: Part 2

June 27 1692 The disposition of mary commings ye wif of isaac commins senr aged about sixty yers or thare abouts teseifieth and saith my husband not being at home I was sent to by som parsons of ipsweg sent to me for to have me to write what I cold say of James how iunr his wife elisebeth conscarning her life or conversation and that I would say what I cold say for or against her when the said hows wife sought to aiojn with the church at ipsweg and I spoke to my son Isaac to write that we hade vsed no brimston nor oyl nor no combustables to give to our maer becavs thare was a report that the said hows wife had said that we had given the maer brimston and oyl and the like and a short time after I hade written my testemony consarning this hows wife my son Isaac his maer was missing that he covld not find her in to or thrre days and in a short time after my son isaacs maer came in sight not fare from the hovs and my son isaac praid me to go ovt and look on his maer when I came to her asked me what I thought on her her and I said if he wold have my thoughts I covld not complain it nothing elce but that she wriden with a hot bridil for she hade divirses brvses as if she had bin runing over rocks and mvch wronged and where the bridil went was as if it had bin burnt with a hot bridil then I bide Isaac take ye mare and have her vp amongst the naghbors that peopl might see her for I hered that James how iunr or his wife or both had said that we kept vp ovr maer that people might not see her and isaac did show his maer to saviril and then the said how as i hered did report that isac had riden to Lin spring and caryed his gairl and so sorfited th maer the which was not so.

Mary Comins owned this her testimony to be truth before the Juryes for Inques this 29th of June 1692.

MARY CUMMINGS, SR.

Jvn 27 1692 I mary comins ageed abovt sixty yers thar abovts the wife of isaac comins syner I being at my neighbour Samuel parlys hovs samuel parlys davgter hannah being in a straing condition asked me if J did see goodee how in the hovs going rovnd vpon the wall as gvrl dricted her finger along rovnd in won place and another of the hovs J teled her no J looked as dilegently as i cold and i covld see nothing of her the gvrls mother then did chek her and told her she was alwas foll of such kind of notions and bid her hold her toong then she told her mother she wovld believe it one day and som thing mor which shold hay bin mantioned as the garl poynted to show me whare goode how was she asked me if I did not se her go ovt at that crak which she poynted at.

Mary Comins owned this har testimony one her oath to be the truth before the Juriars of Inquest this 29 of June 92. Jurat in Curia.

MARY CUMMINGS

Jvn 27 1692 The disposition of Mary commins aged abuvt sixty yers or there abovts ho testefieth and saieth that above too yeres agou J went to viset my neighbovr sherins wife and she told me that James how ivnr had bin thare to give her a siset and he did sharply talk to her asking her what hopes she hade of her salvation her answer was to him that she did bild her hopes upon that sver rock Jesvs christ this the said serius vife did tell me and she told me also that she had never talked of the said how or his wife bvt she was wors for it afterwords and she said also when she lay sick of the same sickness whereof she dyed that the said how would come som time into the roome to see but she covld not tell how to bare to see him nor that he shovld be in the hovs Mary Comins ownid that this har testemony on har oath before the Juryars for Inques this 29 of June 1692 Jurat in Curia

FRANCIS LANE

Francis Lane aged 27 yeares testifyeth & saith that about seauen yeares agoe James How the husband of Elizabeth How of Ipswich farmes hired sd Lane to get him a parcell of posts & railes & sd Lane hired John Pearly the son of samuel Pearly of Ipswich to help him in getting of them And after they had got said Posts & rails the said Lane went to the said James How that he might goe with him & take delivery of said Posts & rails & Elizabeth How the wife of sd James how told said Lane that she did not beleive that sd Posts & rails would doe because that said John Pearly helped him & she said that if he had got them alone & had not got John Pearly to help him she beleived that they would haue done but seeing that said Pearly had helped about them she beleiued that they would not doe so sd James How went with said Lane for to take deliuery of sd Posts & rails & the said James How toke severed of the said rails as they lay in heaps up by the end & they broke of so many of them broke that said Lane was forced to get thirty or forty more & when said how came home he told his wife thereof & she said to him that she had told him before that they would not doe because said Pearly helped about them which rails said Lane testifyeth that in his aprehention were sound railes ffrancis Lane declared to ye Jury of inques to ye truth of ye above written evidence upon oath June 30 1692 Jurat in Curia

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JOHN HOWE

The testimony of John How aged about 50 yers saith that on that day that my brother James his wife was Caried to Salem farmes upon examination she was at my house and would a have had me to go with her to Salem farmes I tould hur that if she had ben sent for upon allmost any a Count but witchcraft I would a have gone with hur bvt one that a Count I would not for ten pounds but said I If you are a witch tell me how long you have ben a witch and what mischeue you have done and then J will go with you for said J to hur you have ben acusied by Samuel pearlys Child and suspacted by Daken Cumins for witchcraft; she semed to be aingry with me, stell asked me to come on the morrow I told hur I did not know but I might com to morrow but my ocashons caled me to go to Ipswich one the morrow and came whome a bout suns set and standing nere my door talking with one of my Naibours I had a sow with six small pigs in the yard the sow was as well so fare as I knew as euer one a suding she leaped up about three or fouer foot hie and turned about and gave one squeake and fell downe daed I told my naibour that was with me I thought my sow was bewitched for said I I think she is dead he lafed at me but It proved true for she fell downe daed he bed me cut of hur eare the which I did and my hand I had my knife in was so numb and full of paine that night and sauerall days after that I could not doe any work and is not wholy wall now and I sospected no other person but my sd sister Elizabeth How Capt. John How declared ye above written evidence to be the truth before ye Jury of inquest.

upon his oath in Court

June 30th 1692

JACOB FOSTER

The deposion of Jacob Foster aged about 29 yeares the deponant saith that some years agoe good wife How the wife of James how was about to Joyne with the church of Ipswich my father was an instrumentall means of her being denyed admision quickly after my mare turned out to grass on the tusday and on thursday I went to seek my mare to go to lecture I sought my mare and could not find her I sought all friday and found her not on Saturday I sought till noon & I found my mare standing leaning with her butock against a tree I hit her with a small whip she gave a heaue from a tree and fell back to the tree again then I took of her fetters and struck her again she did the same again then I set my shoulder to her side and thrust her of from the tree and moved her feet then she went home and leapt into the pausture and my mare lookt as if she had been miserably beaten and abused

Jacob ffoster declared ye evidence to be ye truth before ye Jury of inquest on oath June 30 92

JOSEPH SAFFORD

The deposition of Joseph Safford aged about 60 he testefyeth and saith that my wife was much afraid of Elizabeth how the wife of James how upon the Reports that were of her about Samuell perlleys child but upon a tim after thes Reports James how and his wife coming to my house nether myselfe nor my wife were at home and good wife how asked my children wher ther mother was and they said at the next nayboaers hovs she desired them to Coll ther mother which they did when my wife cam whom my wife told me that she was much startled to se goode how but she took her by the hand and said goode Safford I beleue that you are not ignorant of the grete scandall that I Ly under upon the euill Report that is Raised upon me about Samuell perlleys child and other things Joseph Safford saith that after this his wife was taken beyond Rason and all parswasion to tek the part of this woman after this the wife of this James how propounded herselfe to com into the church of Ipswich wher upon sum objection a Rose by sum unsatisfied bretheren wher upon ther was a meeting apinted by our elders of the church to consider of things brought in against her my wife was more than ordenery ernest to goe to lectur the church meeting being on that day notwithstanding the many arguments I used to perswed her to the Contrery yet I obtained a promis of her that she would not goe to the church meeting but meeting with som of the naybourhood they perswaded her to go with them to the church meeting at elder pains and told her that shee need say nothing ther, but good wife how then being Rether Rendred guilty than cleered my wife took her by the hand. after meeting and told her though she wer condemned before men she was Justefyed before god. the next Sabath after this my son that caried my wife to Lectur was taken aftar a strange manar the Saturday after that my wife was taken after a Rauing frenzy manar expressing in a Raging manar that goode how must com into the church and that shee was a precious saint and though shee wer condemned befor men shee was justefyed befor god and continued in this fram for the space of thre or four hours after that my wife fell into a kind of trance for the space of two or thre minits shee then coming to herselfe opened her eye and said ha J was mistaken, no answer was med by the standars by, and again shee said ha J was mistaken Majar appleton’s wife standing by said wherein art mistaken I was mistaken said she for J thought goode how had bene a precious saint of god but now I see she is a witch fer shee hath bewitched me and my child and we shall neuer be well till ther is testemony for her that she may be taken into the church after after this there was A meeting of the eldars at my hous and thay desired that goode how might be at the meeting insign wallis went with myselfe to invite goode how to this meeting she coming in discours at that time she said two or thre times shee was sory to se my wife at the church meeting at eldar pains after this shee said she was aflicted by the aparishtion of goode how a few dayes aftar she was taken shee said the caus of her changing her opinion consarning goode how was becaus shee apeared to her throg a creuis of the clambouerds which she knew no good person could do and at thre seuerall times after was aflicted by the aperishtion of goode how and goode olleuer and furder this deponit saith that Rising erlly in the morning and kindling a fir in the other Room in wife shrieked out I presently Ran into the room wher my wife was and as soon as euer I opened the dore my said ther be the euill one take them whereupon I Replyed wher are they I will take them if I can shee said you will not tek them and then sprang out of the bed herselffe and went to the window and said thar they went out thar wer both biger than she and they went out ther but she could not then J Replyed who be they she said goode how and goode olleuer goode olleuer said J you never saw the woman in your Life no said she I never saw her in my Life but so she is Represented to me goode olleuer of Sallam the millar

Joseph Safford declared to ye Jury of inquest that ye evidence above written & on the other side of this paper is ye truth upon oath

June 30 1692

Jurat in Curia

THOMAS ANDREWS

July 1st 1692

The testimony of Thomas Andrews of Boxford aged about 50 yars this deponant Testifieth & saith yt Jsiah Comings senior of Topsfield sent for me to help help a mare yt was not well & when I came thare ye mare was in such a condition yt I could not tell wt she ailed for J neuer sawe yt like her lips ware exceedingly swelled yt ye Jnsides of Them Turned outward & Look Black & blue & gelled, her Tung was in ye same Condition J told ye said Comings I could not tell wt to doe for her J perceiued she had not ye Botts wch J did att first think she had but J said she might haue some great heat in her Body & I would applie a pipe of Tobaco to her & yt that was concented & I lit a pipe of Tobaco & putt itt under her fundiment & there came a Blew flame out of ye Bowle & Run along ye stem of sd pipe & took hold of ye haer of sd Maer & Burnt itt & we tryed itt 2 or 3 times together & itt did ye same itt semed to Burn blew butt Run Like fyer yt is sett on the grass to Burn itt in ye spring Tyme & we struck itt outt wth our hands & ye sd Comings sd yt he would trye no more for sd he J had rather loose my mare yn my barn & J this deponant doe testifi yt to ye Best of my understanding was ye same mare yt James Hough Junior Belonging to Jpswich farmes husband to Elizabeth Hough would have borowed of ye sd Comings

THO. ANDREWS

REMOVAL OF ATTAINDER AND REIMBURSEMENT

“Ipswich ye 9 of September, 1710

“Whereas ye honored General Court has appointed a committee to consider what damage persons have sustained in their names and estates in the year 1692 by their sufferings in that as was called witch craft, ye odium whereof was as if they are one of ye worst of mankind, we Mary How and Abigail How: ye only survivers in this family also do groundedly believe that our honored mother Elizabeth How suffered as innocent of the crime charged with as any person in the world, and as to the damage done to our estate we can not give a particular account but this we know that our honored father went twice a week ye whole time of her imprisonment to carry her maintenance which was provided with much difficulty and one of us went with him because he could not go alone for want of sight also one journey to Boston for a replevey and for maintenance 5_s._ money left with her the first coming down 20_s._ the second time and 40_s._ so that sometimes more some less yt never under 5_s._ per week which we know for charge for her and necessary charge for ourselves and horses cannot be less than £20 money yet notwithstanding so that ye name may be repaired we are content if your honors shall allow £12.

Yours to serve

MARY HOW & ABIGAIL HOW.”

* * * * *

“This petition was presented to said Court by Capt. John How and Abraham How uncles of said Mary and Abigail for relief in the premises and pray that the petition may be allowed the same.”

* * * * *

The petition was referred to the committee referred to therein.

* * * * *

“The committee met at Salem, 13th, Sept. 1710, and the 14th reported allowing the Misses How the £12 asked for.”

THOS. NOYES }
JOHN BURRILL} _Committee_
NAH. JEWETT }

“23 Oct., 1711. Read and accepted in House of Representatives, and sent up for concurrence.

JOHN BURRILL, _Speaker_.

“In Council, 28 Oct., 1711.

“Read and concurred.

JOHN ADDINGTON, _Sec’y_.”

_State Archives_, _Room_ 434, _Vol._ 135: 131, 169.

HOME OF MRS. HOWE LOCATED. THE CONCLUSION

This map delineates a part of the homestead of Mrs. Eliza Howe Perley, now in her ninety-third year (May 15) whose residence is at “6.” The ascent of the estate is: Mrs. Perley’s father, Aaron Howe; his second cousin, Joseph Howe; Joseph’s father, Abraham Howe; his father, Abraham Howe, Jr.; his cousins, Abigail and Mary Howe; their father, James Howe, Jr.; his father, James Howe, Sr.,—a continuous Howe ownership of two hundred sixty years.

The house pictured on the opposite page stood at “2,” and was built, probably, in 1711, since Abraham Howe, Jr., bought the land in February of that year, “to set a house upon.”

James Howe, Jr., owned “a small house in the orchard,” “3,” and a third of other “housing,” which may have included “the old house,” that stood in 1711, “near” “5” south of “2,” “the southwest corner of the orchard.”

While searching the records of deeds, the writer noted a course in a description: “Thence to the gate opposite James Howe, Junior’s.” The locality was well known to him, and that knowledge located the gate. He had often seen a gate there, between 1840 and 1850. It swung at the entrance of the avenue leading to the residence of James Howe, Senior, marked “gate” on the map. That fact was tangible; Mrs. Howe’s home was at “2” on the map or near it.

Thus far and no farther, till one day looking over the ground back of the present residence of Mrs. Eliza Howe Perley, “6” on the map, the writer noticed a peculiar hollow in the otherwise level surface, and to his question, What made it? she replied, “I don’t know; I have always heard it called Mary’s hole.” He immediately exclaimed, “Mary Howe, daughter of the witch.”

His conclusion: There the surviving daughters, Mary and Abigail, lived, secluded and alone, beneath the shadow of the cruel attainder. After the death of Mary, their home became Mary’s cellar; and when all appearance of a cellar was gone, it became “Mary’s hole.” To-day there is not the slightest vestige of “Mary’s hole”; the old home, known only to the saddest pages of New England history, is arable ground.

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THE AARON HOWE HOUSE, LINEBROOK PARISH
Built in 1711, the birthplace of Rev. Nathaniel Howe (1764-1837), of
Hopkinton, Mass., and of Rev. Benjamin Howe (1807-1883) of that
parish; taken down about 1853.
]

------------------------------------------------------------------------

│JAMES
│ELIZA^{TH}
JAMES .....│MARY
│DEBORAH │MARTHA
│JOHN ......│SARAH
│ABIGAIL │JAMES
MARY
│SARAH │MARK
│MARK │MARY
│JOHN ......│SARAH HOWE ARMS
│ANN │JOHN
│SAMUEL │ZERUIAH
JOHN ......│JOSEPH │JOSEPH
│MARY
│ELIZA^{TH}
│LYDIA
│BENJ^N
│HANNAH
│ABIGAIL
│ISAAC
│JOSEPH
REBECCA
│LOVE │MARY
│ │JOSEPH
│ │SARAH
│INCREASE ..│SUSAN
│ │ELIZA^{TH} │ABRAH^M ...│ABRAH^M P.
│ │JOSEPH │
│ │JOHN │ │W^M A.
│SAMSON │ │EDWARD E.
│ │MERCY │ │ADELINE
│ │JEMIMA │ABEL ......│MARGARET
│ │HEPHZIBAH │ABRAH^M ...│ELEANOR │LEVERETT S.
ABRAH^M ...│ABRAH^M ...│SARAH │JOHN │ABEL S.
│ │RUTH │LUCY │WILLARD P.
│ │ABRA^M ....│NATHAN^L │JOHN
│ │ELIZA^{TH} │ELIZA^{TH} │MEHIT^{ALE}
│ABIJAH │JOSEPH ....│ELIZA^{TH}
│ │MARK │MOSES
│ │DANIEL │SAMUEL │PRISCILLA
│ISRAEL ....│ │SAMUEL
│ │HANNAH │JOSHUA │CECIL P.
│ │PRISCILLA │BENJ^N ....│HOMER
│ │LUCY MARY
│ │AMOS
│ │HANNAH
│ │LOVE
│ │MOSES
│ │LUCY
│MARK ......│MARY
SARAH │AARON
│MARK │CATHERINE
│ABIJAH │JANE
│MARK ......│ELIPHALET
│
│ │NATHAN^L │LEONARD
│NATHAN^L ..│AARON .....│ELIZA │CALVIN E
│PHILEMON │HANNAH │CELESTIA E.
│HEPHZIBAH │MARK ......│NATHAN^L ..│MARY I.
│
│EMERSON ...│CELIA A.
│HANNAH
]

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DESCENDANTS OF JAMES HOWE
IPSWICH HOWES—JAMES BRANCH

ARMA VIRUMQUE CANO

James Howe, Jr., was son of James, Sen., of Ipswich, County Essex, Mass., and grandson of Robert, “who lived in Hatfield, Broad-Oak, county Essex, England, where Sir Francis Barrington lived in Woodrow-Green; James, son of said Robert, lived in a place called Hackerill, or Bockerill, in Bishop-Stortford—in the happy and gracious reign of King James I.”

The mention of Sir Francis’s name in this connection suggests some particular attachment, of which Mr. Howe had, no doubt, informed his children, and which he wished them to remember and cherish. Sir Francis’s family name went into England with the Conqueror, 1066, as Du Barentin. The old feudal burg and barony which cradled the name, near Rouen, is now Barentin. The Conqueror gave Baron Odo Du Barentin a grant of land in county Essex and the descendant office of ranger or keeper of the forest of Hatfield. Early in the seventeenth century the name was anglicized Barrington.

The special mention of Sir Francis’s name, noted above, could hardly indicate a family relation; it may have been a correlation, as ranger and subranger, or assistant, a lucrative station of Sir Francis’s gift. The charge, a wolf’s head, which has characterized the Howe arms for centuries, suggests forests and an encounter.

THE COAT OF ARMS JAMES, JR., AND ELIZABETH

Of the arms “_Gules_ (red) a chevron _argent_ (silver) between three cros-cros-lets _or_ (gold) three wolves’ heads of the same,” said to have “adorned the walls of the ‘Wayside Inn’ or Howe Tavern, in Sudbury, for over a hundred and fifty years,” “Ye wolfs are ye fams. Arms, ye cross, for gt accts don by ye 1st El.,” who lived around A.D. 1500, or the time of Henry VII or VIII.

The seat of the family bearing the above arms was in county Warwick; the seat of Robert Howe and the place of the original Howe arms: “_Argent_ (silver) a chevron between three wolves’ heads couped _sable_ (black)” was in county Essex.

If the query is now suggested, why did not our James Howe claim a coat of arms if he were entitled to one, this answer is persuasive if not conclusive; so early created and so long unused, it was forgotten; or maybe, in New England practical home life its value was considered zero, or negative.

It may be said, further, that the Howe coat armor, the Howe family, the Barrington family, and the King’s forest—each and all—belonged to Hatfield, county Essex, and it may be thought strange that the ancient Howe arms should not include our James, the immigrant, in its descent. On the whole, there is a preponderating impression that the wolf’s head on the Howe arms was captured in the Hatfield forest by a Howe.

James Howe, Sr., was of Roxbury, and made freeman May 17, 1637, and removed to Ipswich before 1648. He was granted June 11, 1650, on motion of Mr. Norton, one of the farms of a hundred acres formerly reserved for Mr. Norton’s friends. He bought, July 3, 1651, about twenty-one acres adjoining to Mr. Winthrop’s and Mr. Symonds’s farms. He was a commoner, 1641; a tithing man, 1671. His wife, Elizabeth Dane, only daughter of John Dane, of Roxbury, died Jan. 21, 1693-4. Both joined the church at Topsfield in 1684.

He was eminently an all round man. He was a weaver by trade, but he could butcher a swine or write a will or deed; he could practice in probate or dig a grave; he could make a coffin or build a house; he could cultivate a farm or survey it; he could shoe a horse or an ox or make his own or others’ shoes; he was a ready helper in every department of country life. He died May 17, 1701-2,[4] at the age of one hundred and four years, a man of three centuries.

Footnote 4:

Caldwell’s _Antiquarian Papers_ quote Sewell: “May 19, 1701, was
buried Mr. James How, a good man, aged 104 years. He died, I think,
Lord’s day night, just about the time the news of the King’s death was
brought from Medera.” King William died Sunday, March 8, 1701-2, O.S.;
Sunday, March 8, 1702, J.S.; or March 19, 1702, N.S.]

James Howe, Jr., was born in Roxbury, in 1635 or 1636, since he was “about 30” in 1666 and “about 34,” Sept. 28, 1669. He married, April 13, 1658, Elizabeth Jackson, a neighbor, daughter of William and Joanna, of Rowley, and sister to Mary, who married Wm. Foster, of Boxford, and to Deborah, who married Lieut. John Trumble, of Newbury, official men in their respective towns.

He had a share in Plum Island, 1664; was a voter, 1679; at about fifty years of age was blind, so he had to be led. His will is dated Nov. 19, 1701. He confirms to his daughter Elizabeth Jackson’s children, what he had given her; mentions his daughter Deborah and grandson James “when 21” and granddaughters Martha How and Sarah How “when 18 or married.” He gave his other two daughters, Mary and Abigail, “for their pains and care that they have taken of me for several years and their labor for my maintenance,” my house, barn, orchard, lands, and movables, and appointed them executrices. He signed his will “James How,” but it was proved, March 11, 1701-2, as the will of James Howe, Jr. He died Feb. 15, 1701. Their children were:

James, who died in July, 1664.

Elizabeth, born June 1, 1661, married Caleb Jackson, son of Nicholas, a
neighbor.

Mary, born Feb. 25, 1664, petitioner, p. 73.

Deborah, who married Isaac Howe, of Roxbury, son and grandson of
Abrahams.

John, born April 17, 1671, married Hannah Browne, and had Martha, 1691;
Sarah, 1692-3; who married Thomas Wood; James, 1695, ancestor of the
Methuen family of Howes. His widow married Ephraim Roberts, of
Methuen, and had Patience, 1703, and Mary, 1705.

Abigail, born Dec. 3, 1673, petitioner, p. 73.

All the family connections of the alleged witch were well-to-do people and stable and standard in church and civic life.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

BIBLIOGRAPHY

M. V. B. Perley, Salem, Mass., Publisher

PAGE
The Perley Family History and Genealogy 71
Perley’s Chronological Chart 74
Family Genealogies 75
Essex Antiquarian 76
Essex County Vital Records 76

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Leather back and corners, gold top-edge $6.50
and gold lettering
Fine Maroon cloth and gold lettering $5.50

M. V. B. PERLEY, Salem, Mass., U.S.A., Publisher

------------------------------------------------------------------------

THE PERLEY FAMILY HISTORY AND GENEALOGY

839 pages; printed page, 4¼ × 7½ inches; 5 dozen full page portraits; 280 illustrations; all handwork binding; index to every proper name; biography covers two thirds of the book; weight, 4¾ lbs.

FAVORABLE COMMENT

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The Sutton Reference Library, Mass., ordered a copy for approval or return. It was not returned; a check was sent in payment.

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FAMILY PRIDE

Family pride is a commendable trait, like national pride or patriotism. The book is the story of the family, male and female, and cannot fail to awaken the just pride of all loyal members. They can write in it their own families as years make them, and leave priceless heirlooms to their posterities.

A HISTORY

Don’t be deceived. The book is not the ordinary genealogy of dates and names. It is a _history_; it reads like a history. There are more than five dozen portraits with their biographies; numerous examples of unsurpassed bravery, as witness there doubt of Bunker Hill, the Pigwacket of Captain Lovewell and the War of 1812; and of patriotism, as witness the wars for the mother country; as colonists; against her, as revolutionists, and as defenders of our home government in the Civil War.

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PERLEY’S CHRONOLOGICAL CHART

FOR (1) VERIFYING, (2) CORRECTING, AND (3) INTERPRETING DATES, THUS:

(1) Gen. Geo. Washington was born on Friday, Feb. 11, 1731-2.

(2) A transit of Venus occurred, in 1639, on Sunday, Dec. 6 (almanac); Dec. 4 (astronomy); Nov. 24 (another astronomy).

(3) Bryan, the 175th monarch of Ireland died Good Friday, 1714. Durham Cathedral, England, was struck by lightning, “The night before the day of Corpus Christi, 1429.” Thomas Ryhale dated his will, “Vigil of Easter, 1427.”

The Chart is adapted to the styles: Julian, Russian, Dionysian, Gregorian, Old and New.

With a little primary arithmetic it furnishes the date of Easter for any year.

It gives the day of the week corresponding to any possible date in 4,000 years, beginning, Saturday, Jan. 1, A.D. 1.

One can easily determine the Friday occurrences of great men and events, and so determine the proportion of unlucky Fridays.

Lawyers, historians, genealogists, teachers, and all students and readers of history would find the Chart eminently serviceable. For a number of weeks in 1892 the Boston _Transcript_ discussed the four elements of dates; this Chart would have given the result in ten minutes. See the _Transcript_, Oct. 1, 1892.

FAMILY GENEALOGIES

These are gleaned from the various records of Essex County. If your name does not appear in the list, we can furnish your genealogy. Correspondence solicited.

Abbot, Aborn, Abraham, Abram, Acie, Acres, Adams, Ager, Akerman, Alexander, Alford, Alger, Allen, Alley, Ambrose, Ames, Anderson, Anderton, Andrews, Annable, Annis, Antrum, Appleton, Archer, Arnold, Ash, Ashby, Ashton, Aslebee, Atkins, Atkinson, Atwell, Atwood, Aubin, Austin, Averill, Ayer, Babidge, Babson, Bacon, Babcock, Badger, Bagley, Bailey, Baker, Balch, Ball, Ballard, Bancroft, Barber, Barker, Barnard, Barnes, Barney, Barr, Barrett, Bartholomew, Bartlett, Bartoll, Barton, Bassett, Batchelder, Bates, Batter, Battin, Beadle, Beal, Bean, Bear, Beck, Becket, Beckford, Belcher, Belknap, Bell, Bennett, Barry, Bessom, Best, Bickford, Biles, Birch, Bishop, Bisson, Bixby, Black, Blackly, Blake, Blanchard, Blaney, Blasdell, Blashfield, Blunt, Blyth, Boardman, Bodwell, Bolles, Bolton, Bond, Booth, Bourn, Bowden, Bowditch, Bowen, Bowles, Bowiman, Boyce, Boyd, Boynton, Bradbury, Bradford, Bradley, Bradstreet, Bragg, Bray, Breed, Brewer, Brickett, Bridgeo, Bridges, Briggs, Brimblecome, Britton, Brock, Brocklebank, Brooks, Broughton, Browne.

THE ESSEX ANTIQUARIAN

The work begins with the earliest records of Essex County—parish, town, and court; births, marriages, and deaths; probate and deeds registry, etc. The search is thorough and reliable. It is put up in thirteen volumes, in strong and attractive binding, and fully indexed.

The price for the set complete is $35.

ESSEX COUNTY VITAL RECORDS

The publication of these records is progressing. They are derived from gravestone, parish, church, town, old Bible, and private records, and end with the year 1849. The following list gives the towns now ready, the number of pages in each, and the price of each:

Andover, pp. 966, $10.10; Beverly, pp. 1,027, $10.75; Boxford, pp. 274, $2.90; Bradford, pp. 373, $3.90; Danvers, pp. 915, $9.75; Essex, pp. 86, $ .95; Hamilton, pp. 112, $1.20; Haverhill, pp. 827, $8.65; Ipswich, pp. 1,125, $12.75; Lynn, pp. 1,050, $10.95; Lynnfield, pp. 98, $1.10; Manchester, pp. 296, $3.15; Marblehead, pp. 1315, $13.70; Methuen, pp. 345, $3.63; Middleton, pp. 143, $1.55; Newbury, pp. 1,323, $13.75; Newburyport, in press; Saugus, pp. 81, $ .90; Topsfield, pp. 258, $2.75; Wenham, pp. 227, $2.40.