Biography for Thankful Heath (5th Great Grandmother)
Thankful was born July 5, 1717, in Framingham, Middlesex, Massachusetts.[1] She died after 1786 in Tyringham, Berkshire, Massachusetts. Her exact death date and burial location are unknown, but she is identified in her husband’s 1786 probate documents as being his widow.[2]
Her parents are Isaac Heath and Rachael Reed. Isaac was born July 23, 1683, in Roxbury, Massachusetts. He died in Tolland, Tolland, Connecticut on July 8, 1749. Rachael was born June 19, 1682, in Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts. Her death date and location are unknown.
Thankful married Daniel Markham III as his second wife in Stafford, Tolland, Connecticut on November 14, 1745.[3] Daniel, son of Daniel Markham II and Deborah Meacham, was born November 13, 1704, in Middletown, Middlesex, Connecticut and died March 16, 1786 in Tyringham. Daniel had five children from his first marriage:
- Deborah Markham, born August 9, 1729, Middletown, Hartford, Connecticut; married Samuel Eaton, June 25, 1746, Middletown, Hartford, Connecticut.
- Daniel Markham IV, born August 9, 1731, Middletown, Hartford, Connecticut; married Rachel Heath, May 27, 1752, Stafford, Connecticut, USA; died April 7, 1812, Tyringham, Berkshire Co, MA.
- Patience Markham, born March 14, 1734, Enfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts; married Isaac Heath, September 8, 1755, Willington, Tolland, Connecticut; died May 8, 1806, Tryingham, Berkshire Co, MA.
- Abijah Markham, born May 8, 1735, Stafford, Tolland Co, CT; married February 4, 1762; died after January 30, 1818, Madison County, New York.
- Steven Markham was born on December 1, 1738 in Stafford, Tolland Co, CT. He died before 1828 at the age of 90.
Thankful and Daniel had the following children:
- Lucy Thankful Markham, born October 12, 1746, Stafford, Tolland Co, CT; married Israel Alden, July 11, 1765, Stafford, Tolland Co, CT; died October 28, 1825, Windsor, Broome County, NY.
- Samuel Markham was born on November 1, 1748 in Stafford, Tolland Co, CT.20 He died before 1838 at the age of 90. He lived in Connecticut.
- Benjamin Markham Sr., born July 14, 1752, Stafford, Tolland Co, CT; married Mercy Bentley, November 18, 1779, Tyringham, Berkshire Co, MA; died after 1816 per the date on the powder horn he carved in Granville, New York (this death date and location is not proven).
- Betsy Markham, born January 8, 1753, Stafford, Tolland Co, CT; married John Bentley, October 28, 1773, Tyringham, Berkshire, Massachusetts; died 1825.
Narrative
Thankful was born in Framingham, Middlesex, Massachusetts. She was the fifth of six children. She married Daniel Markham III in 1745, in Stafford, where he already owned land. Over the next several years they had four children and Daniel bought two more pieces of land. He owned about 184 acres of land in Stafford before giving 20 acres to his son Daniel IV and 24 acres to his son Abijah, his two oldest sons.
In May of 1764 a group of Baptists, including Daniel and likely Thankful, “praying to be exempted” from “paying anything towards the support of the ministry or building of meeting houses” took this request to the Connecticut General Assembly. Their request was approved and they were exempted.[4] As they were already paying for their own Baptist church, they weren’t required to also pay taxes for any other types of churches.
Their move to being Baptists may have been driven by the Great Awakening. This was a religious revival that impacted the colonies during the 1730’s and 1740’s. Feeling that the passion for religion had grown stale, Christian leaders often traveled from town-to-town preaching about the Gospel, emphasizing salvation from sins and promoting enthusiasm for Christianity. The result was a renewed dedication toward religion. One of the key leaders, some say the most prominent theologian, of this movement was Jonathan Edwards, preacher at Northampton, Massachusetts. He delivered his most famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” on July 8, 1741, in Enfield, Connecticut.[5] Daniel may have very well have been in attendance for this. And it may have inspired them greatly.
On July 29, 1766 Daniel bought land in Tyringham, 52 acres for 40 pounds in lot 66.[6] This is where the family moved to and where they lived the rest of their lives. He bought another 255 acres for 500 pounds in lots 17,18, 97 and 115 (all of these are relatively close together, north of what is today Lake Garfield) on November 12 of the same year, giving them over 300 acres.
Dated March 12, 1781 there is this entry in the Tyringham Vital Records book – “The Names of those that presented Certificates certifying that they belong to ye Baptist Church”. Daniel Markham is among the handful of names.[7] This may have been needed to continue relieving the Baptists from paying taxes for other churches, as initially documented in the 1764 General Assembly ruling. Interestingly, none of their sons are listed.
Daniel died March 16, 1786 without a will. But the probate process includes an inventory and a probate distribution.[8] Thankful is shown as being his widow. Following is a summary of these items:
The total inventory was valued at 373L (L to represent pounds, shilling and pence are rounded). The homestead was valued at 150L (31 acres), house at 35L, barn at 10L plus other small items for a total of 203L.
His personal estate was valued at 170L, inclusive of 75L “good debts”, exclusive of 33L of “bad debt” owed to the estate. Good debts were those that the appraisers felt could be collected, bad debts would probably not be collected.
Daniel had 44L of debts that he owed, debts due from the estate, which leaves about 125L of personal estate to be distributed. The land and personal estate were distributed as follows:
- Thankful, his widow – 7+ acres worth 77L plus 42L personal estate
- Daniel IV – 7+ acres worth 45L plus 14L personal estate (also what was already given him)
- Abijah – land worth 22L, acres not given (probably 4), plus 6L personal estate (also what was already given him)
- Patience Heath – 4 acres worth 22L plus 25L personal estate (also what was already given her)
- Lucy Alden – 5 acres worth 22L plus 18L personal estate (also what was already given her)
- Betsy Bentley – 5 acres worth 22L plus 19L personal estate (also what was already given her)
- Benjamin – had already received two land deed gifts that represented his full share (this was 84 acres that Benjamin sold later in the same year[9])
Daniel had also previously given his son Abijah 50 acres.[10] It is likely that also gave land to his oldest son Daniel IV, and to his daughters and their husbands, but no land records have been found for this. There are about 185 acres of his land unaccounted for (acres bought minus acres sold or given), so the assumption is that he did give this land to his other children.
His inventory consisted of the normal things that would be found on a farm in these times – clothes, bedding, kitchen and household items, two bibles and a psalm book, farm tools, livestock, a gun with bayonet, livestock, some hay and 400 foot of white pine boards.
There is no record of Thankful after Daniel’s probate, when she would have been 69 years old. She likely lived with one of their children.
Thankful lived in the following places:
1717 – She was born in Framingham, Middlesex, Massachusetts.
1745 – Married Daniel in Stafford, Tolland, Connecticut.
1766 – The family moved to Tyringham, Berkshire, Massachusetts, shown by a land purchase.[11]
After 1786 – Thankful dies in Tyringham.
Suggested reading:
“Stafford, Connecticut, 1719-1870 – From farm to factory”, by William P. McDermott, Kerleen Press, Tolland, CT, 2010.
“Tyringham – A Hinterland Settlement”, by Eloise Myers, published by Hinterland Press, 1989.
“A History of the Town of Tyringham, Mass., by Edwin Brewer, A.M.
“Berkshire – The First Three Hundred Years, 1676-1976”, by Tyler Resch, published by William H. Tague and Robert B. Kimball, 1961.
“Berkshire County, Its Past History and Achievements”, by Charles F. Palmer.
“The Berkshire Jubilee – Celebrated at Pittsfield, Mass – August 22 and 23, 1844”, by Weare C. Little and E. P. Little, Pittsfield, 1845.
“History of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men”, New York, J. B. Beers & Co., 1885.
“Four Papers of the Berkshire Historical and Scientific Society”, Published by the Society, 1886.
“Gazetteer of Berkshire County, Mass., 1725-1885”, by Hamilton Child, Syracuse, NY, Printed at the Journal Office, 1885.
Biography written by Kem & Becky Marcum; November, 2022.
[1] Descendants of Deacon Daniel Markham – Workbook 2008, by Curtis Hartwig and Nancy (Markham) Hartwig; Binghamton, New York; Page 12.
[2] Massachusetts Wills & Probate Records, 1635-1991, Volume 6, Page 10; accessed at Ancestry.com.
[3] Connecticut, U.S., Town Marriage Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection), Stafford Vital Records 1719-1850, Page 105; accessed at Ancestry.com.
[4] The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut, Vol. XII, p271; accessed at Ancestry.com.
[5] “What was the Great Awakening? Know the Facts & Summary”, by Diane Severance, Ph.D.; accessed at https://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1701-1800/the-great-awakening-11630212.html.
[6] Massachusetts Land Records, Berkshire County, Volume 12, Page 150; accessed at Familysearch.org.
[7] Tyringham’s book of records, 1711-1898; In the Vital Records section, in Deaths under the letter Y, which counts to be Page 96; accessed at Familysearch.org.
[8] Massachusetts Wills & Probate Records, 1635-1991, Volume 6, Page 10; accessed at Ancestry.com.
[9] Ibid, Massachusetts Land Records, Berkshire County, Volume 30, Page 444.
[10] Ibid, Massachusetts Land Records, Berkshire County, Volume 35, Page 291.
[11] Ibid, Massachusetts Land Records, Berkshire County, Volume 12, Page 150; accessed at Familysearch.org.