Hester 'Esther' Finney

Biography

Hester Lewis, recorded at her marriage as Esther, was born 9 September 1665 in Northampton, Hampshire Co., MA and died Apr. 11, 1743, Bristol, RI. She was the daughter of Thomas Lewis and Hannah Baker.

Married Jan. 7, 1684, Bristol, RI Jeremiah FINNEY (b. Aug. 15, 1662, Barnstable, MA; d. Feb. 8, 1748, Bristol, RI), son of John FINNEY and Elizabeth BAILEY.

Children of Esther and Jeremiah FINNEY:

1. Jeremiah died young;
2. Mary;
3. Hannah married Thomas DIMAN;
4. Mehitable died young;
5. John died young;
6. Rebecca probably married Samuel HARRIS;
7. Esther married Joseph JOY;
8. Deborah;
9. John married Mary CAMPBELL;
10. Abigail; and
11. Capt. Jeremiah married Elizabeth BRISTON (or BRISTOW).

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Disputed Relationship

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Lewis-549

Thomas Lewis moved his family from Northampton to Bristol County by 1669, the year the birth of his daughter Elizabeth was recorded at Swansea. Thomas named only one of his children -- daughter "Hepzebath" -- in his 1708 will, referring to the others collectively; thus, primary documentation is lacking to directly connect Hester Lewis, born in Northampton, Massachusetts, with Esther Lewis, who married Jeremiah Finney in 1684 in Bristol Massachusetts/Rhode Island. However, as noted in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register of October, 1994 (and as earlier reported by George Harlan Lewis in 1908), it is Hester who is the most probable (and to date -- Jan. 2021 -- the sole identified), logical candidate as Jeremiah's spouse.[1][2] She is of the right age, at the right place, and at the right time, with -- allowing for a minor, and common, spelling variant -- the right name, and is the one candidate thus supported as spouse of Jeremiah.

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References

1. http://www.phinneysplace.com/genealogy/p1526.htm#i2572 Last Edited 8 Jun 2011
2. http://kinnexions.com/smlawson/lewise.htm#TLewis
3. Howard Finney, Finney-Phinney Families in America; Descendants of John Finney of Plymouth and Barnstable, Mass., and Bristol, of Samuel Finney of Philadelphia, Pa., and of Robert Finney of New London, Pa.
4. Clifford L Stott, "The Finney Family of Lenton, Nottinghamshire and Plymouth, Massachusetts", 148, 315.
5. https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LHK7-RBW
6. WikiTree contributors, "Hester (Lewis) Finney (1665-abt.1743)," WikiTree: The Free Family Tree, (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Lewis-549 : accessed 12 September 2024). cites
   1. "The Finney Family", NEHGR Vol. 148 (Oct. 1994), p. 346; Vital Records from The NEHGS Register. Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (Compiled from articles originally published in The New England Historical and Genealogical Register.); https://www.americanancestors.org/DB522/i/14295/326/38037615 (by subscription)
   2. Edmund Lewis, of Lynn, Massachusetts, and some of his descendants, by George Harlan Lewis, Salem, Mass., Essex institute, 1908, pp. 13-14; https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89062356258&view=1up&seq=17
   3. "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch ([1] : 10 February 2018), Hester Lewis, 09 Sep 1665; citing Birth, , Northampton, Massachusetts, United States, , town clerk offices, Massachusetts
   4. New Jersey, Church Records, 1675-1970; https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS4F-H348-W?cc=2106099
   5. Rhode Island Town Marriages Index, 1639-1916, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F8V3-4R2 : accessed 5 September 2018), Jeremiah Finney and Esther Lewis, 07 Jan 1684; citing Bristol, Bristol, Rhode Island, United States, town halls, Rhode Island, and Rhode Island Historical Society, Providence; FHL microfilm 64.
   6. "Rhode Island Town Deaths Index, 1639-1932", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F86L-L66 : 4 November 2020), Esther Phinney, 1743.
   7. "Rhode Island, Vital records, 1846-1898, 1901-1953," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QL9K-WH17 : 10 December 2017), Jeremiah Phinney, 1743; citing Death, Bristol, Bristol, Rhode Island, United States, Rhode Island State Archives, Providence; FHL microfilm 007727152.
   8. "PHINNEY... Mr. Jer., 85y., Feb. 18, 1743" -- Bristol VRs, Vol. 6, p. 1-157; Rhode Island: Vital Records, 1636-1850. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014), Originally Published as: Vital record of Rhode Island 1636-1850: First Series: births, marriages and deaths: a family register for the people, by James N. Arnold. Providence, RI: Narragansett Historical Publishing Company; https://www.americanancestors.org/DB532/i/14345/1-157/260814116 (by subscription)
   9. Rhode Island Vital Records, database, FamilySearch, image of original record; https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9BL-XQSH-W?cc=193... [Note: this image unavailable as of 22 Jan. 2021]
   10. Betsey Howe
   11. World Family Tree Vol. 8, Ed. 1
7. 3 The Lewises of Northern New Jersey, by Ralph Kimball Potter, 1972