Hinman Family - The First Five Generations

Woodbury was settled as a result of religious dissension in Stratford. The principal differences of opinion were concerned with church membership, baptism and the discipline of church members. There was disagreement about whether a doctrine called the "Half-way Covenant Practice" should be introduced into the church or not. William Cothren in The History of Ancient Woodbury describes the practice this way: "By this plan, a person of good moral character might own or renew the covenant of baptism, confessing the same creed as members of churches in full communion, and affirming his intention of becoming truly pious in heart and in life, and have the privilege of presenting himself and children for baptism. Nor did the privilege stop here; he might also present for baptism his grandchildren, children bound to him as apprentices, and even his slaves, by giving a pledge for their religious education. Persons thus owning the covenant were considered church members to all intents and purposes, except that they might not come to the communion table. For conduct unbecoming church members, they could be and were dealt with and punished in the same manner as members in full communion. In this way a church could never run down in point of numbers, so long as unconverted persons enough to keep it up were willing to own the covenant of baptism." "...many owned their covenant, and presented their children for baptism, but did not unite with the church in the celebration of the supper, nor in most other duties of members in full communion. Hence it was termed the half-way covenant."

The next three generations of our Hinman family lived in Woodbury or in adjacent Southbury. Our line from Edward is as follows: Benjamin 2 (1662-1713), Noah 3 (1789-1766), Abijah 4 (1733-1807), Simeon 5 (1770-1820), Simeon Benjamin 6 (1800-1890), Marshall Littlefield 7 (1841-1907), and Sadie Blanche 8 (1870-1958) who married William May Garland.

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Benjamin married Elizabeth Lum, the daughter of John Lum and the former Miss Strickland in 1684 in Woodbury. He was a farmer and lived at White Oak in Southbury, dying there in 1713. Benjamin and Elizabeth had thirteen children: Annis, born and died in 1685, Hannah, born in 1686, Adam, born in 1687, Noah, born in 1689, Benjamin, born in 1692, Elizabeth, born in 1693, Eunice, born in 1696, Annis, born in 1697, Rachel, born in 1700, Edward, born in 1702, Samuel, born in 1727, Wait, born in 1706, and Mercy, born in 1709.

Benjamin represented the town in the General Court of the Colony twice in 1711.

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Noah Hinman was born on February 23, 1689 in Woodbury. He was known as Judge Noah Hinman, or the Honorable Noah Hinman, or as on his tombstone, Noah Hinman, Esquire and was one of the most important men in the town and the county during his long and useful life. He was appointed one of the two first deacons of the church led by the Reverend John Graham, the first minister of Southbury, in 1732. He was a Justice of the Peace, a member of the Legislature of Connecticut for eight sessions, and one of the side judges of the County Court in Litchfield County for five years.

Judge Noah was married three times: first to Anna Knowles on February 28, 1710, by whom he had four children, Elizabeth, Gideon, Adam and Thankful, before her death on February 10, 1720. He then married Sarah Scovill of Waterbury. They had seven children, Gideon, Edward, Abijah, Reuben, Simeon, Noah, Jr., and Sarah, before her death on April 23, 1741. Noah's third wife was the Widow Wildman.

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Abijah Hinman was born on March 12, 1733 in Woodbury. He married Rebecca Minor, the daughter of Timothy Minor and Rebecca Judson Minor on May 8, 1857 when she was only nineteen years of age. The Minor and Judson families were also prominent in the town of Woodbury and were among the earliest settlers there.

The first four of the ten Hinman children were born in Woodbury: Addison, Wait, Ruth Emm and Abigail; Rebecca was born in Southbury; Timothy was born in Cheshire, Berkshire, Massachusetts; and Simeon, John, Mary and Elizabeth were born in Pittsfield, Berkshire, Massachusetts. The Western Migration had begun for the Hinman family. They later moved further north to Benson, Rutland, Vermont where Abijah died on Marsh 23, 1807.

Abijah served as a private in the Revolution, marching from Pittsfield, Massachusetts to Kinderhook, New York on May 4, 1777 under the command of Captain John Strong, serving one week until he was dismissed on May 11, 1777. He also marched from Pittsfield to Bennington, Vermont on August 19, 1777 under the command of Lieutenant James Hubbard serving for five days until his dismissal on August 24, 1777.

It is not known when Rebecca died, nor where they are both buried. It is said that Abijah is buried in Orwell, Addison, Vermont.

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Rebecca Minor was a great grandchild of the immigrant ancestor, Thomas Minor, who settled in Stonington, Connecticut, and left many descendants. There is a large monument in Stonington to the four founders of the town, two of whom are Thomas Minor and his father-in-law, Walter Palmer.

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Our descent is through Thomas and Grace Palmer Minor's son John who was born in 1634 and lived until 1719. John Minor moved west to Fairfield County, where he married Elizabeth Booth, the daughter of Richard Booth in 1659. The Minors continued to move continuing north into Litchfield County to Woodbury with so many of their Fairfield County neighbors.

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The Minors and the Hinmans lived in the Woodbury area for three generations before the need for more space impelled them to move in search of new land. In New England the initial migration was north to the relatively untouched land in Vermont, before the Western Migration took them into New York state and beyond.

Simeon Hinman was born in 1770 in Pittsfield, Berkshire, Massachusetts. He married Mary Abbott, the daughter of Timothy and Hannah Murray Abbott. Mary was born November 20, 1774 in Bennington, Vermont and died May 14, 1815. She and Simeon had three sons, Hiram, Franklin, and our ancestor, Simeon Benjamin Hinman, who was born in Benson, Rutland, Vermont. Simeon remarried to a Miss Skinner and died in New York State in 1820.

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Mary Abbott's father was the descendant of four George Abbotts, who were all well known in the town of Andover in Essex County, Massachusetts His mother, Rebecca Swan Abbott, was the descendant of two generations of Swans who had lived in Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts. The headstone of her grandfather, John Swann can still be seen in the Old Burying Ground, between the Unitarian Church and Christ Church on Garden Street. There is also a footstone that gives just their names. Mary is John Swan's second wife. His first wife, Rebecca Palfrey is the mother of our ancestor Gershom Swan who was born in Cambridge on June 30, 1654.

Mary's mother, Hannah Murray is unique in our ancestry in that she is the daughter of a Scotsman, William Murray who immigrated to this country in 1718 to found Londonderry, New Hampshire. Except for a few Dutchmen from New York in the Miller family, all of our ancestors are English. William married Hannah Dickinson from Hatfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts on February 20, 1723 and Hannah was born in Amherst nearby. Timothy was born in Hardwick, Worcester, Massachusetts, the ninth of the ten children born to George and Rebecca Swan Abbott. His parents had lived for many years in Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts, moved to Hardwick, and then moved to Bennington, Vermont with the Separate Church.

Hannah and her husband Timothy Abbott were married in Amherst on November 12, 1764 and they moved to Bennington, Vermont where their seven children, Jonas, Hannah, Seth, Timothy, Mary, Samuel, and Sarah were born. Hannah died September 15, 1795, and Timothy died November 3, 1807. It is not known where they are buried.

Hinman family movements Woodbury, Stratford, and Bridgeport CT
Hinman family movements Woodbury, Stratford, and Bridgeport CT
Overview of Lt. Thomas Minor's monument in Wequetock Burial Ground, Stonington CT Abbot records from Bennington VT
Overview of Lt. Thomas Minor's monument in Wequetock Burial Ground, Stonington CT Abbot records from Bennington VT

(To see pictures of tombstones, click links below)

                 ┌── Edward HINMAN, d. 1681
             ┌── Benjamin HINMAN, b. 1663, d. 1727
             │   │   ┌── Francis STILES
             │   └── Hannah STILES, b. circa 1631, d. before 1679
             │       └── Sarah (__________)
         ┌── Noah HINMAN (Judge), b. 1689, d. 1766
         │   │   ┌── John LUMM (Immigrant), b. circa 1620
         │   └── Elizabeth LUM, b. circa 1662, d. 1727
         │       │   ┌── John STRICKLAND (Immigrant), b. circa 1600, d. after 1672
         │       └── (__________) STRICKLAND
         │           └── (__________) (__________)
     ┌── Abijah HINMAN (DAR Patriot), b. 1733, d. 1807
     │   │       ┌── John SCOVILLE (Immigrant), b. 1635, d. 1712
     │   │   ┌── John SCOVILL, b. 1674, d. 1726
     │   │   │   │   ┌── Thomas BARNES
     │   │   │   └── Sarah BARNES, b. circa 1648
     │   │   │       └── Mary ANDREWS
     │   └── Sarah SCOVILLE, b. 1700, d. 1741
     │       │       ┌── Thomas RICHARDS (Immigrant), d. 1650
     │       │   ┌── Obadiah RICHARDS, b. circa 1638, d. 1702
     │       │   │   └── (__________) (__________)
     │       └── Hannah RICHARDS, b. 1670, d. 1720
     │           │   ┌── John ANDREWS
     │           └── Hannah ANDREWS, b. 1647
     │               └── Mary (__________)
Simeon HINMAN, b. 1770, d. after 1820
     │                   ┌── Clement MINOR
     │               ┌── Thomas MINOR (Immigrant 1629), b. 1608, d. 1690
     │               │   └── Sarah POPE
     │           ┌── John MINOR, b. 1635, d. 1719
     │           │   └── Grace PALMER (Immigrant)
     │       ┌── Ephraim MINOR, b. 1675, d. 1762
     │       │   │   ┌── Richard BOOTHE
     │       │   └── Elizabeth BOOTH, b. 1641, d. 1732
     │       │       └── Miss HAWLEY
     │   ┌── Timothy MINOR, b. 1702, d. 1760
     │   │   │           ┌── William CURTISS, b. 1577
     │   │   │       ┌── John CURTISS (Immigrant), b. 1611, d. 1707
     │   │   │       │   └── Elizabeth (__________)
     │   │   │   ┌── Israel CURTISS, b. 1644, d. 1704
     │   │   │   │   └── Elizabeth HUTCHINS
     │   │   └── Rebecca CURTISS, d. 1763
     │   │       │   ┌── William BEARDSLEY (Immigrant), b. circa 1605, d. circa 1661
     │   │       └── Rebecca BEARDSLEY, b. circa 1648
     │   │           │   ┌── Richard HARVIE, d. 1616
     │   │           └── Mary HARVEY (Immigrant)
     │   │               └── Helena ELLIOT
     └── Rebecca MINOR, b. 1738
         │               ┌── William JUDSON
         │           ┌── Joseph JUDSON (Immigrant), b. circa 1619, d. 1690
         │           │   └── (__________) (__________)
         │       ┌── John JUDSON, b. 1647, d. 1709
         │       │   └── Sarah PORTER
         │   ┌── John JUDSON Jr, b. 1675, d. 1722
         │   │   │   ┌── John CHAPMAN
         │   │   └── Elizabeth CHAPMAN
         │   │       └── Martha (__________)
         └── Elizabeth JUDSON, b. 1703
             │       ┌── James BEERS (Immigrant), d. 1694
             │   ┌── James BEERS Jr, b. 1656, d. 1691
             │   │   │   ┌── John BARLOW
             │   │   └── Martha BARLOW (Immigrant), d. 1697
             │   │       └── Ann WARD
             └── Sarah BEERS, b. 1678
                 │   ┌── Richard OSBORN
                 └── Elizabeth OSBORN, b. circa 1659
                     └── (__________) (__________) (Immigrant)

                     ┌── George ABBOTT
                 ┌── George ABBOTT (Immigrant), b. 1631, d. 1688
                 │   └── (__________) (__________)
             ┌── George ABBOTT Jr, b. 1659, d. 1724
             │   │       ┌── Ralf FARNUM
             │   │   ┌── Ralph FARNUM (Immigrant), b. 1601
             │   │   │   └── Alice (__________)
             │   └── Sarah FARNUM, b. 1638, d. 1728
             │       └── Alice FARNHAM (Immigrant), b. 1607
         ┌── George ABBOTT, b. 1691, d. 1771
         │   │           ┌── William BALLARD
         │   │       ┌── William BALLARD (Immigrant), b. 1603, d. 1682
         │   │       │   └── Sarah (__________)
         │   │   ┌── Joseph BALLARD, b. 1634, d. 1722
         │   │   │   └── Elizabeth (__________) (Immigrant), b. 1607, d. 1641
         │   └── Elizabeth BALLARD, b. 1666, d. 1706
         │       │   ┌── Edward PHELPS, d. 1689
         │       └── Elizabeth PHELPS, b. 1646, d. 1692
         │           │   ┌── Robert ADAMS
         │           └── Elizabeth ADAMS (Immigrant)
         │               └── (__________) (__________)
     ┌── Timothy ABBOTT (DAR Patriot), b. 1738, d. 1807
     │   │       ┌── John SWAN (Immigrant), b. 1620, d. 1708
     │   │   ┌── Gershom SWAN, b. 1654, d. 1708
     │   │   │   └── Rebecca PALFREY, b. 1624, d. 1654
     │   └── Rebecca SWAN, b. 1698
     │       │   ┌── Richard HOLDEN (Immigrant), b. 1609, d. 1695
     │       └── Sarah HOLDEN, b. 1658
     │           │   ┌── Stephen FOSDICK (Immigrant), d. 1664
     │           └── Martha FOSDICK
     │               └── (__________) (__________) (Immigrant)
Mary ABBOTT, b. 1774, d. 1815
     │   ┌── William MURRAY, d. circa 1784
     └── Hannah MURRAY, b. circa 1744, d. 1795
         │               ┌── John DICKINSON, bap. 1564
         │           ┌── Nathaniel DICKINSON (Immigrant), bap. 1601, d. 1676
         │           │   └── Elizabeth (__________)
         │       ┌── Nathaniel DICKINSON, b. 1626, d. 1710
         │       │   └── Anne (__________) (Immigrant), b. 1610
         │   ┌── John DICKINSON, b. 1667, d. 1761
         │   │   │   ┌── William BEARDSLEY (Immigrant), b. circa 1605, d. circa 1661
         │   │   └── Hannah BEARDLSEY, b. 1642, d. 1679
         │   │       │   ┌── Richard HARVIE, d. 1616
         │   │       └── Mary HARVEY (Immigrant)
         │   │           └── Helena ELLIOT
         └── Hannah DICKINSON, b. 1700
             └── Sarah (__________), b. 1667, d. 1707