Nathaniel’s first appearance in Dover’s town records was a land grant from the town of Dover which added to the land his father had already given him, making a total of 200 acres for him in Dover. The date for the event was given only as 1656, which wasn’t recorded until 22 December 1658 in the town records.[1] Although parents could deed or bequeath land to a child at any age, according to English law at that time, that child could not do anything with the land until the age of twenty-one without parental/guardian consent.[2] Because of that, towns were unlikely to grant a patent or permission for land use to anyone under the age of twenty-one. Nathaniel also appeared in the Dover tax records on 21 July 1657, an indication he had taxable property by then and was accountable for it.[3] These records would indicate Nathaniel was born in the mid-1630s.
Nathaniel’s, and his sister Abigail’s, first appearance in the New Hampshire State Papers was as witnesses to their parents’ sale of land to Peter Coffin on 20 July 1653.[4] 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 neither the marks nor the witnessing was an indication of age.
Nathaniel was deposed in court on 27 June 1661 concerning a statement made by William Furber three or four years previously about ownership of a parcel of Furber’s land.[5] In the deposition, the Nathaniel Starbuck was described as, “ageged about twenty-five years,” placing his birth about 1636 or shortly before.
The town, tax, and land records all pointed toward a birth for Nathaniel close to 1636. Nathaniel’s birth was recorded in the Nantucket vital records as occurring in 1636, though he could not have been born on Nantucket which was not settled until the 1660s.[6] The early vital records for the town were composed from private and family papers long created long after Nathaniel’s birth.
According to the many sources Torrey used for his New England Marriages to 1700, Nathaniel Starbuck and Mary Coffin married about 1662 on Nantucket.[7] The sources for their marriage were primarily family histories. There was nothing in original records to confirm or dispute the marriage year and the birth of their first child on Nantucket, 30 March 1663, made the year 1662 reasonable.[8] This further confirmed a birth in the 1630s as likely.
Nathaniel’s death recorded in Nantucket vital records occurred on 6 Aug 1719.[9] His age was given as “in his 85th year.” Though the two sources Torrey used disagreed on the month in which Nathaniel died (William Folger’s records vs. those of Hon. Isaac Coffin) the discrepancy was likely due to the Julian calendar in which the 6th month was August before 1752 and June after 1752. In either case, the death record pointed to a birth in 1634 or 1635.
Nathaniel’s birth year was remarkably consistent for seventeenth century accounts all of which recorded the event several years after his birth. It was clear he was born within a year or so of 1635. The question was where? There were no original records for Edward Starbuck in New England prior to 1640, though one history stated he arrived about 1638.[10] With no mention of Nathaniel in church or vital records of England or New England near the time of his birth, he could have been born in either location or some place in between including Holland if Edward spent time there prior to his move to America.
[1] Dover, New Hampshire, Town Records 1647-1753; digitized images, City of Dover, NH (https://www.dover.nh.gov/government/city-operations/finance/city-clerk-tax-collection/historic-dover-records/ : accessed 10 August 2021) Nathaniel Starbuck (56) p. 66.
[2] Sir William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England in Four Books, Vol. 1 (Oxford, England: Clarenden Press, 1765) 290, digital images, The Online Library of Liberty (http://files.libertyfund.org : accessed 28 Jul 2022).
[3] Dover, New Hampshire, Town Records 1647-1753; digitized images, City of Dover, NH (https://www.dover.nh.gov/government/city-operations/finance/city-clerk-tax-collection/historic-dover-records/ : accessed 10 August 2021) unpaginated, approx. p. 176.
[4] Nathaniel Bouton, editor, New Hampshire State Papers vol 40, (Concord, New Hampshire: George E Jenks, state printer, 1867), 99, digital images, New Hampshire Secretary of State (www.sos.nh.gov : accessed 3 March 2022).
[5] Nathaniel Bouton, editor, New Hampshire State Papers vol 40, (Concord, New Hampshire: George E Jenks, state printer, 1867), 482, digital images, New Hampshire Secretary of State (www.sos.nh.gov : accessed 3 March 2022).
[6] “Massachusetts Vital Records 1620-1850,” database with images, American Ancestors (www.americanancestors.org : accessed 28 Jul 2022) Nathaniel Starbuck.
[7] Clarence Almon Torrey, New England Marriages to 1700 (Boston, Massachusetts : New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008), 1436; digital images, American Ancestors (www.americanancestors.org : accessed 22 July 2022) Nathaniel Starbuck.
[8] “Massachusetts Vital Records 1620-1850,” database with images, American Ancestors (www.americanancestors.org : accessed 28 Jul 2022) Mary Starbuck.
[9] “Massachusetts Vital Records 1620-1850,” database with images, American Ancestors (www.americanancestors.org : accessed 28 Jul 2022) Death of Nathaniel Starbuck.
[10] “Winthrop Papers,” database with images, American Ancestors (www.americanancestors.org : accessed 10 August 2021), vol 4, p. 179.
Manual of the First Church, Dover, N.H. Organized December 1638, (Dover, New Hampshire: N. E. Stiles Job Print, 1893), 15; digital images Internet Archive (www.internetarchive.org : accessed 10 August 2021).
