PALMER: 1605 – 1936
arrived in Massachusetts with the Puritans from England in 1635, was a first
settler in Watertown, MA, Wethersfield, Branford, back to Wethersfield CT, and
finally Westchester, NY.
+ possible first wife, Sarah->three boys
+ Martha
1 Joseph and 2 Benjamin born in Wethersfield, CT; 3 Samuel,
4 Obadiah, 5 Thomas, 6 Martha, 7 Philip, born in Branford, CT.
All moved to Westchester County, NY in 1666. Wm died there in 1670
3 Samuel b. abt 1645 d. (1.da .2.mo) 1716 Mamaroneck, NY
+ Mary Drake, Boston b. abt 1655 d. 1728
1 William, 2 Obadiah, 3 Nehemiah, 4 Samuel, 5 Sylvanus, 6 Solomon
When the British sent out a baronet to replace town officials with ‘gentlemen,’ and
taxed farmers £50 a year, Samuel, Mary and six sons moved to Mamaroneck. They
were also likely persecuted as Quakers. Samuel and his wife belonged to Flushing
Friends’ Society. Samuel held several offices in Mamaroneck: appointed Supervisor
in the first town meeting, 1697, subsequently Constable, Trustee, Overseer,
Surveyor, Commissioner, Assessor, Executor of several estates. In 1701 Samuel bought Great Neck, a square mile now called Larchmont, and City Island both
handed down to his descendents for almost a century-about 1790. All Palmers had rights-of-way to City Island.
5 Silvanus b. 13 Sept. 1688 d. 1741 Mamaroneck, NY
+Mary
1. John no reliable information on Mary or children
1 John b. abt 1698 d. abt 1747 Westchester, NY
+Rebecca Baxter, b. abt 1700 d. 1771
1 Lewis, 2 Joseph, 3 Marcus, 4 Benjamin, 5 Esther, 6 Philip, 7 Thomas, 8 Martha
John, went to England to read law and become a driving force in the development of jurisprudence in colonial America. He was a founder of part of Westchester County, a justice of the peace, and his signature was on documents of significance in New York throughout his life.
1. Lewis b. abt 1725 Mamaronck, NY d. 1794 Grand Pré/Horton, NS\
+ Rachel Fowler of Philipseburgh Manor, Eastchester b. 1720
1 Edmund, 2 Mary, 3 Milcah, 4 Euphemia, 5 Alpheus, 6 Benjamin, 7 Gideon, 8
9 Theodosiius
Lewis left the family compound in Mamaroneck and Larchmont and accumulated
land in Eastchester, Westchester and Somers in Cortlandt Manor: three farms of
about 800 acres. But, on the 18th of August 1776 he was charged with treason for
refusing to swear allegiance to the US, and to bear arms against the king. He was taken from his home in Somers, by American Minutemen, incarcerated and
maltreated in several gaols in Connecticut and Massachusetts. He was paroled after
seven months, broke parole and went to New York City where the British were
garrisoned and stayed there until the end of the American Revolution. His eldest
son, Edmund, was seized for spying for the British and subsequently hanged at
Gallow’s Hill, New York on the 8th of August 1777. Benjamin and Alpheus also
owned property in NY State and theirs along with Lewis’ was confiscated by the Americans and they left NY State with little more than they could carry. The British
allotted £1,470 to Lewis for the loss of his son, his property and his loyalty.
Lewis, Rachel, Alpheus, and Benjamin with his wife arrived in Port Roseway
(Shelburne) on the Apollo on the 8th June 1783 with a total of ten children and 13
servants, at least two of those had been Alpheus’ slaves. They would be free in
Canada, however, Alpheus denied them wages and provisions. In fact, he demanded
they pay him for government provisions drawn in the servants’ names. Twenty-
seven complaints were registered by the 2,000 former black slaves, most relegated
to Birch Town, and three of those were against Alpheus. All three Palmer males
were granted land in and around Shelburne, more to Lewis and Benjamin in Lake
George/Morristown and Lewis bought 14 acres of dykeland "lying in Grand Paree
in Horton." Alpheus stayed in Shelburne.
+ Philena Hunt b. 4 June 1760 d. 1850
1 Alfred, 2 Betsy, 3 Enoch, 4 Rachel, 5 Elijah, 6 Enoch, 7 Elizabeth, 8 Benjamin,
9 Philena, 10 Margaret Ann, 11 John Inglis, 12 Mary
5 Elijah b. 24 July 1784 Shelburne d. 27 Sept 1871 Aylesford
+ Elizabeth Robinson, Wilmot, b. 1789 d. 1869
1 Mary Jane, 2 Benjamin Lawrence, 3 Eliza, 4 Amy, 5 Louisa, 6 Ann, 7 Sarah,
2 Benjamin b. 1817
+ Charlotte Tupper
1 Leander, 2 Edgar, 3 Amelia, 4 Euphemia, 5 Arabel, 6 Helen, 7 James Reed,
8 Handley
- Leander b. 14 Jan 1843 d. Nov 1926 Auburn
- Jack b. 11 Nov 1889 d. 1968 Lawrencetown, NS
+ Sarah Ann Roop
Edith Alphretta B., Ernest Whitmore, Meredith Whillaby, Newcombe, Thomas Lorne, 6 Helen
6 Helen b. 1870 d. Dec 1947 Millville, NS
+ Archibald Hudgins
1 Frank, 2 Olive (Ollie), 3 (Freeman Archibald) Jack, 4 Major (Maj), 5 Ethel (Bob)
+ Margaret Main Buthlay b. 8 Oct 1900 d. 23 Dec 1947 Lawrencetown, NS
1 Olive Margaret, 2 William Buthlay, 3 Janet Patricia b. 26 Sept 1936
Submitted by Janet Hudgins
