#52 Ancestors - #4 Hannah Mayo (1620-1694)

 Week # 4  - Hannah Mayo (1620-1694)

An ancestor a week for 52 Weeks!   #52ancestors

Our family genealogists have discovered that Hannah Mayo is our 7th Great-grandmother, born about 1620 in the Netherlands. One source says she died abt 17 Jan 1694 - age 74 in Barnstable, Cape Cod, Massachusetts Bay Colony. [Hannah was still living when her son Nathaniel wrote his will in Aug 1691. She is Mayo-39 at Wikitree] She migrated to the colonies with her parents Rev. John Mayo and Tamisen Brike and her four siblings.  There is a great book- "Rev John Mayo and his Descendants" by Dr. Jean (May) Mayo-Rodwick [a]

In her book we see that New England Historic Genealogical Society granted permission to use the extensive portions of volume 95 [1941], pages 39-49 [b] and volume 103 [1949]-"John Mayo, First Minister of the Second Church of Boston", pages 100-108 of The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Those searching for more details will find them there.  Dr. Jean Mayo's book is now in its sixth edition. She says "By at least 1618, John Mayo must have traveled to Leiden also and married there. Searching for the births of Rev. John Mayo and his wife Tamsen's children, it was found that the Register of Baptisms of Rev. Goodyear of the English Church in Leiden is lost."  

A little more background on Hannah's parents- "John Mayo was born on April 2, 1597 in Farthinghoe Parish, Northamptonshire, England. He married Tamisen Brike on March 21, 1618 in Leiden, Holland; marriage of Jan Meyer, a baize worker [works with coarse woolen used to make curtains, tablecloths, linings etc.] from England, and Timmosijn Breyck, also from England in the Reformed Church. The witnesses were Timmosijn's mother Susanna Breyck, and her sister, Marytgen Duijck. Jan was accompanied by Thomas Smith [Jan Meyer in Dutch is John Mayo in English; Timmosijn Breyck is Tamisen Brike.]. He died in May, 1676 in Yarmouth, Barnstable County, Plymouth Colony, at age 79."  We know that these folks moved to Leiden in the Netherlands to escape religious persecution in England.

"The Mayo's have migrated to Barnstable by 1639 where he is listed among the first settlers in 1640. Daughter, Hannah, is about 18 at this time. The NEHGS article from 1941 says that for Rev. Mayo to pay for the passage of a family of seven or eight would have cost £30. There are about 20 families in Barnstable when they arrive. A church was formed and Rev. Mayo was teaching elder. "They worshiped in fair weather on Shoot-flying Hill or beside the Great Rock. Some of the congregation were Indians." John Mayo was granted about 12 acres in lot No. 5 with the northern boundary of Barnstable Harbor, Lot No. 4 on the west, J. Casly's lot on the east and the highway to the south.

Life in Barnstable in the middle 1600s must have been quite an adventure. "There were 3135 inhabitants in Plymouth Colony when the census was taken in 1643, of whom 230 were freemen. The Barnstable population comprised about 300 English and 500 Indians."  Barnstable was quite a remote outpost from Plymouth - the easiest method of travel from the Barnstable harbor to Plymouth was probably by boat.  The overland trail would surely have been a much slower and more dangerous route. It's only about 30 miles by land and Google says you could walk that today in about nine hours but still, it's a boat trip for me if I have any say in the matter.

The Elder Mayo moved to Nausett (Eastham), Plymouth Colony, staying there from 1646 to 1654. He was the first pastor of the church there. Evidently, the "deep, blackish, mouldy soil" at Nausett impressed those who were considering moving there. The Eastham people built a meetinghouse 20 feet square, thatched and loopholed next to Town Cove. 

We see that daughter Hannah marries Nathaniel Bacon (1621-1673), also a first settler, on 4 Dec 1642 in Barnstable town [c][d] before the rest of the family heads for Eastham.  "They went to housekeeping in the large two-storied house he had set up so staunchly that at the end of two hundred and fifty years when it was demolished the timbers were still sound, as is the stock it sheltered, which today is noted for its public spirit and service." [Dr. Jean Mayo]

Hannah and Nathaniel have eight children; Hannah (1642), Nathaniel (1645), Mary (1648), Samuel (1650), Elizabeth (1653), Jeremiah (1657) [our 6th great-grandfather], Mercy (1659), and John (1661).  You can see nearly twenty years separates the children.

It's simply amazing that so many records were kept and are now available online for us to appreciate.

[a]online at Link to Rev John Mayo and his Descendants   

[b] online at NEHGS Paywall link to marriage record

[c]marriage record- https://www.americanancestors.org/databases/massachusetts-vital-records-1620-1850/image?volumeId=13885&pageName=4&rId=32095843 Records of Barnstable, Mass. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2002.]

[d] https://archive.org/details/thomashowesofy00hawe/page/59/mode/2up