No baptism record was found for Abigail Starbuck in England or New England. Abigail first appeared in a public record with Nathaniel, her brother, in a 20 July 1653 deed.[1] She and her brother, Nathaniel, were witnesses to their parents’ sale of land to Peter Coffin. There was no specific age or gender requirement for being a witness, but common sense made it unlikely a very young child would perform that task. Both signed with an X, but that was not an indication of age.
Abigail’s marriage to Peter Coffin was not recorded in any vital record. Torrey’s book on New England marriages prior to 1700 listed the possible years of 1655 and 1657 with three possible locations: Dover, New Hampshire; Salisbury, Massachusetts; and Exeter, New Hampshire.[2] The sources used by Torrey to arrive at those conclusions included the following:
NEHGR 24:150 An 1870 article by Sylvanus Macy stated Peter Coffin married Abigail Starbuck and that their first child was born 20 Oct 1657[3]
NEHGR 33:98 Stated only that Abigail married Judge Peter Coffin of Dover[4]
The Descendants of Joseph Stickney found in NH Granite Monthly 5 #121-2 by Walter Gibson: (Found on page 334) stated only that Peter and Abigail were married by 1657 and that their daughter Abigail was born in Dover.[5]
My Great Grandfather’s House in Exeter, NH by James Henry Brooks p. 34: A daughter of Peter & Abigail, named Abigail, was born about 1657.[6]
Genealogy of the Early Generations of the Coffin Family by Sylvanus Jenkins Macy (pub. 1870) p. 2: Stated only that Peter Coffin married Abigail Starbuck and their first child was born 20 Oct 1657.[7]
The Coffin Saga by William Edward Gardner (pub. 1949) p. 307 & 349: Stated Peter married Abigail Starbuck, their first child was born 20 Oct 1657, and that the event was featured in a Coffin pen and ink drawing.[8]
Early Wills Illustrating the Ancestry of Harriot Coffin by William S. Appleton (pub. 1893) p. 50: Stated only that Peter married Abigail Starbuck.[9]
Ancestry of Charles Stinson Pillsbury and John Sargent Pillsbury (2 vols, pub. 1838) p. 614: Stated identical information from NEHGR 24:150.[10]
Genealogical Dictionary of Maine & New Hampshire by Noyes, Libby, & Davis, p. 657
Dover NH, Mar 34: Stated Abigail witnessed her father’s deed dated 20 Jul 1653 and married Capt. Peter Coffin.[11]
Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England by James A. Savage vol 1 (pub. 1860-2) p. 419: Stated Peter Coffin married Abigail Starbuck and listed children with birthdates.[12]
Simeon Church of Chester, Conn., 1708-1792 and His Descendants by Charles Washburn Church (pub 1914) p. 2: Nothing found-no mention of Starbuck or Coffin. May be typo in original book.
My Children’s Ancestors: Data Concerning about Four Hundred New England Ancestors of the Children of Roselle Theodore Cross and his Wife Emma Asenath (Bridgman) Cross by Theodore Roselle Cross (pub 1913) p. 63: Stated only that Peter Coffin married Abigail Starbuck.[13]
Noyes-Gilman Ancestry by Charles Phelps Noyes (pub 1907) p.192, 248-9, 275: Capt. Robert Coffin, son of Peter & Abigail Coffin, married Joanna Gilman (no date given); Peter was bap. 30 Jul 1630 in Brixton as son of Tristram and Dionis (Stevens) Coffin and was married in New England; Stated he married Abigail Starbuck about 1656 and his first child, Abigail, was born 20 Oct 1657.[14]
Annals of Sinnott, Rogers, Coffin, Corlies, Reeves, Bodine, and Allied Families by Mary Elizabeth Sinnott (pub. 1905) p. 72: Stated only that Peter Coffin married Abigail Starbuck.[15]
None of the sources listed an exact date or place for the event. Analysis of Torrey’s sources showed consistency with two facts. One was that Abigail Starbuck married Peter Coffin. No source listed a different or additional husband for her. The other was their first child’s birth on 20 October 1657, which was corroborated by multiple vital records, including Dover’s.[16]
Although Nantucket’s early vital records and other sources backed this up, all (including Dover’s) were printed books which did not list their original source. However, the complete consistency of both parents’ names and the birthdate of their first child meant Peter Coffin and Abigail Starbuck were most likely married before 20 October 1657.
Another bookend for Abigail’s possible marriage date is the previously mentioned deed which was signed by Abigail using her maiden name Starbuck on 20 July 1653.[17] The document was a deed in which Edward and Katherine Starbuck sold or gave land to Peter Coffin “for & in consideration of full satisfaction in hande received and for divers other reasons us moveinge theareunto.” Such wording could indicate the land was being given to Peter Coffin as Abigail’s dowry, possibly indicating it was free or sold for a low amount.
Abigail may have been in her mid- to late teens in 1653, which (if the deed was her dowry) may have delayed her marriage to Peter by two to three years. Once she and Peter began having children, they were very consistent. Their children were born in October 1657, August 1660, September 1663, July 1665, 1667, February 1669, February 1672, about 1675, and January 1680.[18] It was clear fertility was not a problem for the couple, so with a first child born in October 1657, it was likely they married some time in 1656 or early 1657 as many authors have speculated. If the deed of land to Peter Coffin was a dowry or business transaction meant to facilitate a later or long engagement for the couple, a marriage delay from 1653 to 1656 was logical if Abigail’s parents felt she was not old enough to marry. If she reached her majority or at least age eighteen in 1656, her birth year would be 1635 or later, making her younger than her brother, Nathaniel.[19] While a twin relationship was not out of the question, it was more likely Abigail’s birth occurred in the late 1630s.
Abigail has no death record. Peter Coffin did not leave a probate so his marital status at the time of death could not be determined. Though both were commemorated on various memorials, neither had a tombstone. The only assumption which can be made for Abigail’s death was that it occurred in or after January 1680.
[1] “Rockingham County, NH deeds,” database with images, Ava (www.ava.fidlar.com : accessed 9 Jun 2022), Edward Starbuck 1653-07-20.
[2] Clarence Almon Torrey, New England Marriages to 1700 (Boston, Massachusetts : New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008), 342; digital images, American Ancestors (www.americanancestors.org : accessed 22 July 2022).
[3] Sylvanus J. Macy, Esq, “The Coffin Family,” The New England Historical and Genealogical Register 24 (1870): 150-1; image copy, NEHGS (www.americanancestors.org : accessed 29 July 2022).
[4] Alonzo Hall Quint, “Notes on the Dover Combination of 1640,” The New England Historical and Genealogical Register 33 (1879): 98; image copy, NEHGS (www.americanancestors.org : accessed 29 July 2022).
[5] Walter Gibson, “The Descendants of Joseph Stickney,” The New Hampshire Granite Monthly vol 5 (1887), 334; digital images, Google Books (books.google.com : accessed 1 August 2022).
[6] James Henry Brooks, “My Great Grandfather’s House in Exeter, NH,” folded leaves of plates, Family History Library, 1932; digital images, Family Search (www.familysearch.org : accessed 1 August 2022).
[7] Sylvanus Jenkins Macy, Genealogy of the Early Generations of the Coffin Family (Boston, Massachusetts: David Clapp & Sons, 1870) 2; digital images, Hathitrust (www.babel.hathitrust.org : accessed 1 August 2022).
[8] William Edward Gardner, The Coffin Saga (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Riverside Press, 1949), 307, 349; digital images Internet Archive (www.archive.org : accessed 1 August 2022).
[9] “Early Wills Illustrating the Ancestry of Harriot Coffin: with Genealogical and Biographical Notes,” database with images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 1 August 2022).
[10] “Ancestry of Charles Stinson Pillsbury and John Sargent Pillsbury,” database with images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 2 August 2022.)
[11] Noyes, Libby & Davis, Genealogical Dictionary of Maine & New Hampshire (reprint Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2002), 657.
[12] James Savage, Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England vol 1 (Boston, Massachusetts: Little, Brown & Co., 1860), 419.
[13] Theodore Roselle Cross, My Children’s Ancestors: Data Concerning about Four Hundred New England Ancestors of the Children of Roselle Theodore Cross and his Wife Emma Asenath (Bridgman) Cross (Twinsburg, Ohio: publisher not named, 1914), 63; images at Family Search (www.familysearch.org : accessed 2 August 2022).
[14] Charles Phelps Noyes, Noyes-Gilman Ancestry (St. Paul, Minnisota: The Gilliss Press, 1907), 278-281.
[15] Mary Elizabeth Sinnott, Annals of Sinnott, Rogers, Coffin, Corlies, Reeves, Bodine, and Allied Families (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1905), 72; images at Family Search (www.familysearch.org : accessed 2 August 2022).
[16] “Early Records of New Hampshire Families,” database with images, American Ancestors (www.americanancestors.org : accessed 2 August 2022).
[17] Nathaniel Bouton, editor, New Hampshire State Papers vol 40, (Concord, New Hampshire: George E Jenks, state printer, 1867), 98-99; digital images, New Hampshire Secretary of State (www.sos.nh.gov : accessed 3 March 2022).
[18] Sylvanus J. Macy, Esq, “The Coffin Family,” The New England Historical and Genealogical Register 24 (1870): 150-1.
[19] “Massachusetts Vital Records 1620-1850,” database with images, American Ancestors (www.americanancestors.org : accessed 28 Jul 2022).
