A possible baptism was found for Sarah Starbuck in the parish of Derby St. Peter in 1631.[1] This parish borders the one in which a possible baptism was found for her father, Edward. A baptism in 1631 made 1648-1652 a reasonable time frame for Sarah’s first marriage. There is no marriage record for Sarah and Joseph Austin, but the birth of their first child, Deborah, indicated a marriage around 1649.[2]
Most of the confusion regarding Sarah comes from mistakes made in various family histories. Sometimes she was labeled Esther Starbuck and other times the fictional Esther was named as her sister. One of the most common mistakes was making “Esther” the wife of William Storer/Story. No proof of an Esther Starbuck has been found in records made on the Starbuck family in the 1600s. Each of Edward’s children had several documented records made within his or her lifetime, but no records exist for an Esther except in histories compiled by later researchers.
Sarah Starbuck did not, at any time, marry William Storer/Story. Sarah married (1) Joseph Austin about 1649.[3] Joseph Austin’s will was written 25 Jan 1662/3, and his widow was appointed executor 1 July 1663, therefore Sarah Starbuck Austin was still a widow as of July 1663.[4]
A document in William Story’s probate, dated 27 June 1661, stated his widow Sarah was married to Samuel Austin at that time.[5] This marriage occurred while Sarah Starbuck was still married to Joseph Austin, who was very much alive in 1661. After the death of Joseph Austin in 1663, Sarah married (2) Humphrey Varney on 2 Mar 1664 in Dover.[6] According to Torrey’s New England Marriages to 1700, the Sarah who married William Storer was married to him from 1648 until his death about 1660, which was during Sarah Starbuck’s marriage to Joseph Austin.[7]
In addition to the proof provided by town, marriage, and probate records, a deed of Edward Starbuck’s conferred land originally given to Joseph Austin on Humphrey Varney in May 1664, (not entered until 1696 in the Rockingham County deeds).[8] There was no entry wherein Edward Starbuck conferred any property on a William Storer/Storey. The 1664 transaction was granted by Edward because Humphrey married his daughter, Sarah.
Furthermore, no original records were found for any marriage of the William Storer/Storey who lived in Boston (possibly), Exeter, and Dover. However, a Register article stated he had children born in 1640, 1642, 1644, 1645, 1648 (twins) and 1653.[9] Sarah could not have been William’s first wife because she was too young to have children in 1640 (at age 9 if the 1631 baptism in Derby is hers).[10] She was not William Storey’s second wife because she was still married to Joseph Austin from approximately 1648 to 1663. A year after Joseph’s death she married Humphrey Varney, and still had the surname Varney in 1714.[11] This leads to the conclusion that Sarah Starbuck could not have been William Storer/Storey’s first or second wife.
Sarah Starbuck Austin Varney likely died after 1714. She was named that year as Humphrey Varney’s wife in his probate record.[12] One family history listed her death year as 1721, but to date no original record has been found to document that event.[13]
[1] “Derbyshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1538-1812,” database with images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : 22 July 2022), Sara Starbuck.
[2] Deborah, the oldest child of Joseph and Sarah (Starbuck) Austin had her first child 1 June 1669 in Nantucket (VR). For her to marry at an average age in approximately 1668, she was born about 1647-49. Joseph and Sarah must have married by that time. John Ham’s Dover, New Hampshire Marriages 1623-1823 stated the marriage took place in 1668. These were the two best sources, in addition to Torrey, for confirming the marriage.
[3] See explanation in footnote 2.
[4] “New Hampshire, U.S., Wills & Probate Records, 1643-1982,” digital images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 July 2022), Joseph Austin.
[5] Nathaniel Bouton, editor, New Hampshire State Papers vol 31, (Concord, New Hampshire: George E Jenks, state printer, 1867), 52-53; digital images, New Hampshire Secretary of State (www.sos.nh.gov : accessed 25 July 2022) William Story 1661. NOTE: The inventory was dated 8 Oct 1660, indicating the probate process was begun that year so William was deceased by then.
[6] A transcript of Dover town records gave Sarah’s name as Sarah Storer, which resulted in the confusion of Sarahs married to men surnamed Austin.
[7] “Clarence A. Torrey, New England Marriages to 1700,” database with images, American Ancestors (www.americanancestors.org : accessed 25 July 2022). This source lists multiple sources for its information.
Rev. Alonzo H. Quint, “Genealogical Items Relating to Dover, N. H.,” The New England Historical and Genealogical Register 8 (1854):130; image copy, American Ancestors (www.americanancestors.org : accessed 29 July 2022).
[8] “Rockingham County, NH deeds,” database, Ava (www.ava.fidlar.com : accessed 9 Jun 2022), Edward Starbuck, 1696-05-02.
[9] Alonzo Hall Quint, “Notes on the Dover Combination,” The New England Historical and Genealogical Register 33 (1876): 99; image copy, NEHGS (www.americanancestors.org : accessed 26 Jul 2022).
[10] “Derbyshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1538-1812,” database, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : 22 July 2022), Sarah Starbuck.
[11] Nathaniel Bouton, editor, New Hampshire State Papers vol 31, (Concord, New Hampshire: George E Jenks, state printer, 1867), 714-715; digital images, New Hampshire Secretary of State (www.sos.nh.gov : accessed 25 July 2022), Humphrey Varney, 1714.
[12] Bouton, New Hampshire State Papers vol 31, 714-715.
[13] Herbert Clarkson Varney and Franklin C. Thompson, A Genealogy of Some of the Descendants of William Varney of Ipswich, Massachusetts, 1649 and More Particularly of His Son Humphrey Varney of Dover, New Hampshire, 1659. (No publisher named : Salt Lake City, Ut, 1951), 26.
