Life Events of Dorcas Starbuck Gayer

Very little was documented for the life events of Dorcas Starbuck Gayer. As a result, assumption of her birth was dependent on the events of others in her life.

Dorcas Starbuck was documented on Nantucket on 29 June 1671 by witnessing a deed with the Native Americans in which she signed her maiden name. She likely married within a year or two of that date and had three children with her husband, William Gayer, all born on Nantucket, between 1673 and 1677.^[1] Their birth dates were 24 October 1673, 29 August 1675, and 3 June 1677. That placed the marriage of William Gayer and Dorcas Starbuck after June 1671 but prior to October 1673, likely at some point in 1672 or earlier. Torrey’s New England Marriages to 1700 stated Dorcas married William Gayer before 1673.^[2]  That is as accurate as it is possible to get.

This was several years after the marriage of her closest older sibling, Abigail, which occurred about 1656.^[3] Although the children of Dorcas were born close together, making it appear she had no infertility problems, with only three children it was possible her fertility was impacted by her age, as she may have married later in life than usual.

It is also possible Dorcas’s much later marriage was due to being born several years after her older siblings. Though there was some evidence her father, Edward Starbuck, may have been in Dover as early as 1638, it is possible he did not arrive until some point in 1639.^[4] Edward’s three eldest children were likely born prior to that date (see Life Events of Sarah Starbuck Austin Varney, Nathaniel Starbuck, and Abigail Starbuck Coffin).

Edward and his wife, Katherine, named themselves as the parents of Abigail in a 1678 Dover deed.^[5] Since they were Abigail’s parents, they were most likely the parents of Dorcas who was born after Abigail. The deed named Katherine as Abigail’s mother, though it is possible she was her stepmother. Even so, it should be assumed Katherine was the mother of all of Edward’s children without proof to the contrary. One thing that could account for the later birth of Dorcas was if Edward arrived in New England without his family. Katherine and the three eldest children may have joined him months or years later. There was no evidence in original records of Dover for Katherine, Sarah, Nathaniel, or Abigail before a 1653 deed.^[6] Though it was likely Katherine and her older children arrived before then, they may have been delayed in joining Edward, which offset the birth of Dorcas from the couple’s older children by several years.

One incident in the life of Edward Starbuck may provide a clue to when Dorcas was born. In 1648 Edward was brought before a Massachusetts Bay colony court due to a profession of anabaptism.^[7] Although others spoke out for believer’s/adult baptism (usually referred to as anabaptism in early New England), Edward Starbuck was the only one brought up on charges for it prior to 1668.^[8] Nothing came after Edward’s initial court appearance and the lack of follow up records seem to indicate the matter was dropped. However, that leaves the question of why it was obvious Edward held anabaptist beliefs.

Though Edward’s profession of anabaptism may have been due to public or private statements made to the wrong person, it is also possible his beliefs came to light due to a refusal to baptize his own child. If so, that could be an indication Dorcas was born approximately 1648.

Further proof Dorcas was born after Edward moved to Dover was her name itself. Dorcas was in use in the New England colonies from approximately 1639 onward.^[9] The name was not common in Derbyshire, where the Starbuck family is believed to originate. There are some scattered instances of both Dorcas and Dorchas such as the record of a child’s 1655 burial in Wirksworth parish.^[10] The name, like Abigail and Nathaniel, was biblical which was often an indication of dissent. The name Dorcas proliferated quickly in the colonies.

While it was apparent Dorcas was born after Edward’s wife, Katherine, moved to Dover, putting and exact year pm that event is not possible. It was sometime between 1639 and the early 1650s, most likely falling in the 1640s.

The death of Dorcas Starbuck Gayer was not recorded in the handwritten Nantucket town records.^[11] That source recorded many births, marriages, and deaths out of order making it appear to be a compilation of private documentation brought together some time in the late 1600s or early 1700s to become the foundation of the town’s vital records. The printed version of the town records, published after 1850, gave Dorcas’s death information as:

Gayer, Dorcas, first w. of William Gayer of Devonshire Co., Eng., d. Edward Starbuck 1^st and Catherine Reynolds, –, 8 mo. 1696, P.R.38.

The source of her death information was from a private record of William C. Folger’s from his genealogical collection which was donated to the Nantucket Historical Association prior to 1928 when the Nantucket Vital Records were printed. No marriage record of William’s second marriage was recorded, but his second wife, Mary Conde (widow of Boston), died 23 September 1710, also according to Folger’s records.^[12] Both the death record and William’s second marriage provide evidence Dorcas died in or about 1696. However, without an age at death, the record is of no help in pinning down a more certain birth year for her.

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[1] “Massachusetts Vital Records 1620-1850,” database with images, American Ancestors (www.americanancestors.org : accessed 2 August 2022) Damaris, Dorcas and William Gayer.

[2] “Clarence A. Torrey, New England Marriages to 1700,” database with images, American Ancestors (www.americanancestors.org : accessed 25 July 2022), Dorcas Starbuck.

[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] 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). This source stated Edward Starbuck was in Dover in 1638 when the first church there was organized, becoming one of the first two Elders.

“Winthrop Papers,” database with images, American Ancestors (www.americanancestors.org : accessed 10 August 2021), vol 4, p. 177-179, 185-188, vol 5 173-4. Edward Starbuck was named in a letter dated 22 Jan 1639/40.

[5] “Rockingham County, NH deeds,” database, Ava (www.ava.fidlar.com : accessed 9 Jun 2022), Edward Starbuck, 1678-06-19 Coffin p. 1.

[6] “Rockingham County, NH deeds,” database, Ava (www.ava.fidlar.com : accessed 9 Jun 2022), Edward Starbuck, 1653-07-20 p. 1.

[7] Massachusetts Bay Colony, Massachusetts State Archives Collection, colonial period, 1622-1788  vol 10, document 212 & 212a, Edward Starbuck, 1648; FHL film number 2,294,420, item 1, images 514 & 516 /1646.

[8] Massachusetts Bay Colony, Massachusetts State Archives Collection, colonial period, 1622-1788  vol 10, document 212, Edward Starbuck, 1648; FHL film number 2,294,420, item 1, image 514/1646. The next occurrence of court action on the Massachusetts Archives Collection website for anabaptism was dated 8 May 1668. Prior to Edward’s legal issue, Anne Hutchinson, John Wheelwright, and Roger Williams had all been banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for anabaptism and other beliefs.  

[9] “Boston, MA: Births, Baptisms, Marriages, and Deaths 1630-1699,” database with images, American Ancestors (www.americanancestors.org : accessed 3 August 2022), Dorcas Aspinwall.

[10] “Derbyshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1538-1812,” database with images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 August 2022), Dorcas Jeselias.

[11] No entry for Dorcas in Nantucket, Nantucket, Massachusetts, Births, marriages, intentions of marriage, publishments, and deaths, ca 1662-1835: film 906,220; digital images, Family Search (www.familysearch.org : accessed 24 February 2022). 

[12] “Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, (Sherborn) Nantucket,” database, Family Search (www.familysearch.org: accessed 6 January 2022), death of Mary Condie Gayer.