Essex County, Massachusetts was created on May 10, 1643 by the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, when it ordered "that the whole plantation within this jurisdiction be divided into four sheires."
The use of the term ye to mean the derives from Early Modern English, in which the was written "þe," employing the Old English letter thorn: "þ."
Ye is also the plural of thou.
John Kitchen and Elizabeth Grafton married in Salem about 1655. They were Quakers who were precuted for their beliefs. He was a cordwainer.
John had children with his first wife who was also named Elizabeth.
John and his first wife's children probably included:
Elizabeth Kitchen (about 1643),
Hannah Kitchen (about 1643),
Joseph Kitchen (about 1645),
John Kitchen (about 1646), and Mary Kitchen Robinson Hanson (about 1648).
Joseph and John probably died young.
On December 26, 1642 John Kitchen and his wife were admitted to the first church of Salem.
Salem is in Essex County, Massachusetts and was a significant seaport in early America. John Endicott obtained a patent from England and arrived there in 1628. Salem originally included much of the North Shore, including Marblehead. Salem Village also included Peabody and parts of Beverly, Middleton, Topsfield, Wenham and Manchester-by-the-Sea.
The Society of Friends (Quakers) began in England in the 1650s, when they broke away from the Puritans. Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn, as a safe place for Friends to live and practice their faith.
A cordwainer (or cordwinder) made shoes from fine, soft leather. There was a distinction between a cordwainer, who made shoes, and a cobbler who repaired them.
