Elizabeth Stocker
Elizabeth Stocker, her husband, and her oldest child were part of the heroic, civic-minded Republican Generation. Her parents were part of the idealistic Awakening Generation. All her children except the eldest were part of the adaptive Compromise Generation.We have recently determined that the maiden name of this ancestor of ours, referred to as "Mrs. Elizabeth Stocker," was indeed Stocker, daughter of a line of Stockers going back several generations to England.(1)
a great-great-great-great-granddaughter of Elizabeth, who has done extensive genealogical research into our common ancestors, questions Geneva A. Daland and James S. Mansfield, Mansfield Genealogy: Descendants of Robert and Elizabeth Mansfield and Sons Andrew and Joseph who came to Lynn, 1639-1640 (1980), which had identified Elizabeth Stocker as "Mrs. Elizabeth Stocker," clearly implying that she was a widow of someone whose surname was Stocker and that Elizabeth's maiden surname was unknown. I have decided to go along with Pat on this. She writes: "Elizabeth Stocker's marriage record is confusing. It appears to say she was a 'Mrs.' (yet 'Mrs.' was not the usual way to designate a married woman back then). I have heard from other sources that 'Mrs.' was used for unmarried girls, and I wonder if it stood for 'Mistress.' We have looked for an Elizabeth who married a Stocker and was widowed soon after, but we have not found her. Whoever Elizabeth was, she had to have been young when she married Benjamin, for she had children for 24 years after her marriage to him. If she was 20 at her marriage, she would have been 44 at the birth of her last child [by subtraction of her birthdate from her marriage date, we can discern that she was 17 years 6 months 20 days at her marriage to Benjamin--an extremely young 'widow']. We have found the Elizabeth born to Ephraim Stocker in the Lynn vital records, who is the Elizabeth listed here. A book written after 1984 [Marcia W. Lindberg, Stocker Family of Massachusetts] also says this Elizabeth is the correct one; it tells of a will, which may be a proof. Our Elizabeth named a child Ephraim and [another] one Lydia--which are the names of Elizabeth Stocker's parents. The two families lived very close to each other in Lynn. We believe at this time that we have the correct Elizabeth Stocker, but [we] must consider this a provisional ancestry until we can clear up the marriage record."
To close this footnote, click the number again or click (Close)
When she was 17, Elizabeth married 22-year-old Benjamin Mansfield, who would become the father of her many children. They resided throughout their marriage in Lynn (or perhaps Saugus, which was then part of Lynn), Essex County, MA.
Year by year in the life of Elizabeth Stocker
The very early childhood of Elizabeth Stocker in its historical context
Most of the childhood and the prime adult years of Elizabeth Stocker (Mansfield) in their historical context
| Birth of Elizabeth Stocker | |
| Born: | 15 November 1747 |
| Birthplace: | Lynn, Essex County, Massachusetts |
| Parents | |
| Father: | Ephraim Stocker, 1713-1773 (our ancestor), from Lynn, Essex County, Massachusetts |
| Mother: | Lydia Newhall, 1712-1774 (our ancestor), from Lynn, Essex County, Massachusetts |
| Siblings | |
| No information available | |
| Spouse and children | |
| Husband: | Benjamin Mansfield, 1743-1816 (our ancestor) (son of Thomas Mansfield I and Bethiah Poole Mansfield [our ancestors] from Lynn, Essex County, Massachusetts and Reading, Middlesex County, Massachusetts.) Married 14 May 1765(2) Patricia Brown Mathews gives May 14; our other sources had May 4. To close this footnote, click the number again or click (Close) |
| Son: | Samuel Mansfield
Born 2 July 1766 ----- in Lynn, Essex Co., MA Married Elizabeth Dempsey |
| Son: | Nathaniel Mansfield
Born 25 August 1767 Married 12 August 1791 ----- to Elizabeth Howard ----- from Malden |
| Son: | Benjamin Mansfield
(the first one) Born 10 December 1769 Died 24 June 1770 |
| Daughter: | Content Mansfield
Born 17 May 1771 Married 9 October 1792 ----- to James Newhall |
| Daughter: | Bethia Mansfield
Born 25 August 1773 ----- in Lynn, Essex Co., MA |
| Daughter: | Lydia Mansfield
Born 18 February 1776 ----- in Lynn, Essex Co., MA |
| Son: | Benjamin Mansfield
(the second one) Born 25 August 1778 Died 31 August 1778 |
| Son: | Benjamin Mansfield(3)
Patricia Brown Mathews provided the information on this Benjamin Mansfield; she says that he was possibly the one listed in the 1860 census of Saugus who had a wife Esther born in 1791, and that he is probably the one who died 28 June 1864 in Saugus, listed in the Saugus Town Hall records as born in Lynn the son of Benjamin Mansfield. She says that the source for all these wives is unknown. To close this footnote, click the number again or click (Close) (the third one) Born 22 August 1779 ----- in Lynn, Essex Co., MA Married (first) 1804 ----- to Elizabeth Cox Married (second) 1813 ----- to Lucy Smith Married (third) 1822 ----- to Mrs. Esther Twist (widow?) ----- b. 1791 Died 28 June 1864 ---- in Saugus, Essex Co., MA |
| Son: | Amos Mansfield
Born 4 November 1781 Married 15 October 1807 ----- to Mary ("Polly") Mansfield ----- b. 1788(4) Patricia Brown Mathews provided this date; our other sources had "ca. 1786." To close this footnote, click the number again or click (Close) ----- d. 1862
Warren Mansfield, b. 1819 Samuel Mansfield, b. 1824 (No information on possible other children) |
| Daughter: | Sally Mansfield
Born 18 February 1784 ----- in Lynn, Essex Co., MA |
| Daughter: | Betsy Mansfield
Born 21 April 1786 ----- in Lynn, Essex Co., MA |
| Son: | Ephraim Mansfield, 1790-1841 (our ancestor) |
| Other information | |
| Occupation: | Probably housewife |
| Religion: | No information available |
| Death of Elizabeth Stocker (Mansfield) | |
| No information available | |
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Sources on Elizabeth Stocker (Mansfield):
Ted cited the 1855 census figures, for Amos Mansfield and his family.