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Rachel Barnes formerly [surname unknown]
Born about 1620 in Englandmap [uncertain]
Daughter of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Wife of William Barnes - married about 1638 in Massachusetts Bay Colonymap [uncertain]
DESCENDANTS descendants
Mother of William Barnes, Mary (Barnes) Hoyt, Hannah (Barnes) Prowse, Deborah (Barnes) Davis, Jonathan Barnes, Rachel (Barnes) Sargent, Sarah (Barnes) Harvey and Rebecca (Barnes) Morrill
Died 9 Feb 1686 in Amesbury, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colonymap
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Profile last modified 11 Mar 2021 | Created 2 Apr 2017
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The Puritan Great Migration.
Rachel (Unknown) Barnes migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1620-1640).
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Contents
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1 Biography
1.1 First Name
1.2 Unknown Maiden Name and Parentage; Fitts and Lord Theories
1.3 Date and Place of Birth
1.4 Immigration to New England
1.5 Date and Place of Marriage
1.6 Children
1.7 Death
2 Sources
Biography
This is the profile for Rachel, the wife of William Barnes of Salisbury and Amesbury.

First Name
The fact that William Barnes was married to a woman named Rachel is well established by the birth records of some of William's children in the Salisbury vital records,[1] his wife's death record,[2] and the 1680 deposition of William Barnes and his wife Rachel.[3]

Unknown Maiden Name and Parentage; Fitts and Lord Theories
Rachel's maiden name and parentage are unknown. The only evidence that has been found that suggests her maiden name is the 1663 will of Robert Fitts of Ipswich in which he refers to a "pcell of meddow at salsbury which was purchased of my Brother willm Barnes".[4] Based on this evidence, Torrey's New England Marriages speculated that Rachel's maiden name may have been either Fitts or Lord,[5] presumably based on the theory that Robert's reference to William as his brother may have meant that they were brothers-in-law as a result of William marrying a sister of Robert Fitts or a sister of Robert's wife Grace Lord. However, no supporting evidence for either maiden name has been found. Moreover, since the parentage of neither Robert Fitts nor William Barnes has been determined, perhaps a more likely explanation for Robert referring to William as his brother is that Robert and William may have been half brothers or step-brothers. Additional explanations for Robert referring to William as his brother are that (i) one of William Barnes' sisters may have been one of Robert Fitts' wives (of which he appears to have had at least two) and thus Robert and William were brothers-in-law through that relationship or (ii) Robert and William may have been "brothers" in the sense of being part of the same religious group or having some other close association not based on genealogical relationship. In sum, while it is possible that the reference in Robert Fitts' will to William Barnes as his brother means that Rachel's maiden name was Fitts or Lord, there are many other, at least as likely, explanations for that reference, so while it is plausible that her maiden name was Fitts or Lord, it is probably more likely that it was neither. Neither Hoyt[6] nor Threlfall[7] suggest Rachel's maiden name.

Date and Place of Birth
The best evidence of Rachel's date of birth is a deposition by her in 1680 in which she said that she was about 60 years old,[3] which would mean that Rachel was born about 1620.

No evidence of her place of birth has been found; however, she was probably born somewhere in England.

Immigration to New England
The date and means of Rachel's immigration to New England are unknown. Based on the fact that, as discussed below, she probably married William Barnes about 1638 and he is known to have participated in the "first division" of land in Salisbury, Massachusetts in 1639-1643,[8] she must have immigrated to New England sometime before then.

Date and Place of Marriage
No record has been found that definitively establishes the date or place of Rachel and William Barnes' marriage. The earliest recorded birth for one of their children is the birth of daughter Hannah in January 1643/4.[9] However, the date of marriage of their daughter Mary (whose birth is not recorded) is recorded as 1659, which suggests that she was an older daughter. In addition, based on lack of gaps in birth order, it is also likely that their son William (whose birth is also not recorded) was born before Hannah. Based on the assumption that William and Rachel had two children born before Mary was born in January 1643/4, it is perhaps most likely that William and Rachel were married about 1638, had either Mary or William about 1639 and the other about 1641. It is unlikely that they were married much, if at all, before 1638, because Rachel testified in 1680 that she was about 60 years old, which (if accurate) would mean she was born about 1620.

Assuming that Rachel and William were married about 1638, they were not married in Salisbury or Amesbury because the former didn't exist until 1640 and the latter wasn't settled until 1654 (and was not incorporated until 1666). It is likely that they were married somewhere in the Massachusetts Bay Colony or possibly in England.

Children
Rachel and William had the following children:

Mary, b. probably sometime in 1638-1641,[10] m. June 23, 1659 John Hoyt[11][6]
William, b. probably sometime in 1638-1641, d. June 11, 1648 in Salisbury
Hannah, b. January 25, 1643/4[1][6] in Salisbury,[12] m. John Prowse[6]
Deborah, b. April 1, 1646[1][6] in Salisbury,[12] m. December 17 or 19, 1663 Samuel Davis[13][11][6]
Jonathan, b. April 1, 1648[1][6] in Salisbury,[12] d. young[6]
Rachel, b. April 30, 1649[1][6] in Salisbury,[12] m. March 2, 1667/8 Thomas Sargent[11][14][6]
Sarah, b. perhaps about 1651[15] in Salisbury,[12] m. 1st September 8, 1670 Thomas Rowell,[6] m. 2d John Harvey[6]
Rebecca, b. perhaps about 1655 probably in New Salisbury (later known as Amesbury), m. probably about 1685 Moses Morrill, d. April 3, 1727 probably in Amesbury
Some family genealogies also list children named Harvey[16] and John Thomas.[17] However, no evidence of their existence has been found. There is no reference to them in Hoyt,[6] Threlfall,[7] Salisbury vital records[1] or William's will.[8]

Death
Rachel died in Amesbury on February 9, 1685/6.[2][6]

Sources
↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 "Vital Records of Salisbury, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849," The Topsfield Historical Society, 1915, p 19
↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Vital Records of the Town of Amesbury, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849," Topsfield Historical Society, 1913, p 522
↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "The Probate Records of Essex County, Massachusetts, Volume III, 1675-1681," The Essex Institute, 1920, p 377
↑ 4.0 4.1 "The Probate Records of Essex County, Massachusetts, Volume II, 1665-1674," The Essex Institute, 1917, p 11
↑ 5.0 5.1 Torrey’s New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2004, p 44
↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 6.14 David W. Hoyt, "The Old Families of Salisbury and Amesbury, Massachusetts, Part One," 1897, p 54
↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 John Brooks Threlfall, "Fifty Great Migration Colonists to New England and their Origins," Heritage Books, 2008, pp 9-12
↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 See profile for her husband WilliamBarnes.
↑ See "Children" in this profile.
↑ Based on date of marriage.
↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 "Vital Records of Salisbury, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849," The Topsfield Historical Society, 1915, p 272
↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 Based on the probable place of residency of their father at time of birth
↑ 13.0 13.1 "Vital Records of Haverhill, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849, Volume II - Marriages and Deaths," Topsfield Historical Society, 1911, p 26
↑ 14.0 14.1 "Vital Records of the Town of Amesbury, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849," Topsfield Historical Society, 1913, p 278
↑ Based on date of marriage and birth date of sister Rachel.
↑ 16.0 16.1 "Harvey Barnes," geni.com
↑ 17.0 17.1 "John Thomas Barnes," geni.com