Early European settlers in the American colonies were mostly farmers and craftsmen. They had to work hard to provide daily neccesities for themselves.
Thankful Davis Hinds was born on January 7, 1730/31 in Littleton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. Her parents were Simon and Jane Davis.
She married Jacob Hinds on February 26, 1749/50 in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. They were married by the Reverend, Mr. Palatiah Webster. Jacob was born on January 22, 1731 in Shrewsbury. His parents were Jacob Hinds and Grace Morse.
Thankful and Jacob's children included:
Sarah Hinds (April 20, 1751) and
John Bradford Hinds (February 22, 1753, married Susanna Tenney).
Thankful probably died in childbirth when John Bradford was born. She was only 22 years old.
Jacob married Tryphena Keyes on November 24, 1756. Tryphena was born January 5, 1730/31 in Shrewsbury, Worcester County, Massachusetts. Her parents were Ebenezer Keyes and Tamar Wheelock.
Jacob died when he was 30 on May 16, 1761 in Warren, Worcester County, Massachusett.
Tryphena married Moses Tyler in Warren on June 16, 1772. She died there on January 28, 1788.
Old Style Calendar
Before 1752 the year began on Lady Day, March 25th,. Dates between January 1st and March 24th were at the end of the year. Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) are used to indicate whether the year has been adjusted. Often both dates are used.
Some Puritans gave their children hortatory names (from the Latin for “encourage”) like Thankful, hoping that the children would live up to them. The names were used for several generations.
Mister ( Mr.) was derived from master and Mrs. and Miss were derived from mistress. They indicated people of superior social status in colonial America.
Littleton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts was first settled in 1686 by English settlers and was the the location of the Native American village called Nashoba Plantation
Childbirth was was perilous. Around 1.5 percent of births ended in the mother's death. Since women gave birth to many children, chances of dying in childbirth were quite high.
The town common (commons) was a small, open field at the center of the town which was jointly owned. It was used as a marketplace, a place for the militia to drill, or for grazing livestock.
