There has been speculation regarding the identity of Sarah, the last wife of John HUSTON, for over a century. It has sometimes been suggested that her family name was DICKSON, and one writer even claimed that she was a CHIPMAN. However, a careful examination of marriage records, genealogies and local histories clearly demonstrates that she was in fact Sarah INGERSOLL.
There is no known grave marker for Sarah, however it is reasonable to assume that she is buried near her last husband, John Huston, to whom she was married 34 years.
Sarah INGERSOLL was born on 27 January 1720 in Westfield, in what is now Hampden County, Massachusetts, the third child of Thomas Ingersoll, Esq. and his wife Sarah (Dewey) Ingersoll. Theirs was a prominent and wealthy family. Her father served as a magistrate for Hampshire County, was a representative at the General Court (colonial government) in Boston and left a large estate when he died. Later, the Ingersolls were divided in their loyalties when it came to the American Revolution. Sarah’s younger sisters Mariam and Ann both married military officers serving for the Mother Country and like Sarah, they settled in Nova Scotia, which remained British. One of her nephews, Thomas Ingersoll (son of Sarah’s oldest brother, Captain Jonathan Ingersoll), later moved to Upper Canada and founded the town of Ingersoll, now an important manufacturing city. In turn, Thomas’ eldest child, Laura Secord (née Ingersoll and Sarah’s grand-niece), became the celebrated Canadian patriot who alerted British defenders when American troops invaded Upper Canada during the War of 1812.
Sarah Ingersoll married 1) Moses ROOT, the son of Lieutenant John and Elizabeth (Sackett) Root, on 31 May 1741 in Westfield. He was a farmer. He died in Westfield on 7 October 1744, aged 28 years old. They had no children.
Sarah married 2) Captain Benjamin EAGER on 15 November 1748 in Westfield. The marriage record listed her as “Sarah Root 2d of Westfield” – her mother was also named Sarah and she had been married to a Root. Her marriages to Root and then Eager are also linked in the excellent Ingersoll genealogy for Hampshire County, Mass. Benjamin Eager was a widower with 5 young children from his first wife. They lived in her husband’s home town, Shrewsbury, Worcester Co., Mass. Captain Eager died on 21 June 1759 in Shrewsbury, aged 44. There is no record that they had children.
Sarah then married 3) Captain John HUSTON of Nova Scotia on 14 April 1761 in Shrewsbury. It was his second marriage. John was a business partner and friend of Charles Dickson (Dixson), who was the husband of Sarah’s sister Mariam, and this was likely the impetus behind the marriage.
Captain John and Sarah lived near Fort Cumberland, in what is now Cumberland Co., N.S., where John had received a land grant in May 1760. They lived there until about June 1775, when John sold most of his property, including the house, household furniture and cattle. They then relocated across the Minas Basin to Cornwallis Township in Kings County and resided on a farm there until John died on 10 October 1795.
Evidence suggests that Sarah remained in close contact with friends and family in Massachusetts. There are several references to her in the diary of Anna Green Winslow, the daughter of her husband’s associate, Joshua Winslow. Anna kept this diary as a school girl in Boston in 1771. Here is part of one entry:
“On Sabbath-day evening 7 June My Hon’d Papa, Mamma, little Brother, cousin H. D. Thomas, Miss Jenny Allen & Mrs Huston arriv’d here from Cumberland [Nova Scotia], all in good health, to the great joy of all their friends, myself in particular....”
However, there is no evidence that John and Sarah Huston had any children (despite what is claimed sometimes on the internet) and given Sarah’s age at the time of her third marriage, this is unlikely. They did raise at least one child, Mary, from John’s first marriage. Sarah was also guardian of two children, Dorothy and Windsor Eager, from her deceased husband Benjamin Eager’s first marriage, and both of them also settled in Cumberland, Nova Scotia. In fact, after Dorothy Eager married Samuel Wethered, they named their first child, Sarah Huston Wethered.
In her husband John’s will, Sarah was left all his property and possessions, including his “negro man named Pomp” (alas, John Huston was a slave owner), with the stipulation that his land would be transferred to his grandson John Huston Chipman, son of his daughter Mary, after Sarah’s death.
According to 'The History of Kings County', Sarah Huston “is said to have survived her husband some years, after his death living with her nephew, Thomas Ingersoll Brown, at Fort Belcher and Truro” [both in Colchester Co., N.S.]. This is nearly true. In fact, Thomas I. Brown was Sarah’s grand-nephew, the son of Thomas and Lavinia (Dickson) Brown and the grandson of Charles and Mariam (Ingersoll) Dickson. During these last years, her health declined. A letter of administration in John Huston’s probate papers, dated August 1796, speaks of “Sarah Huston widow… being grown old an [and] infirm …” Another probate document from December 1797 indicates that she had recently suffered a serious illness.
It is not known when or where Sarah (Ingersoll) Huston died; no death record has survived, nor she did leave any will or estate papers of her own. However, she must have passed away before 31 May 1802, as a document from that date on her husband’s probate file refers to her as “the late Mrs. Huston”.
Major Sources:
The Chignecto Isthmus and Its First Settlers (1902)
Cumberland County, Nova Scotia Deeds, books A and C
Diary of Anna Green Winslow, A Boston School Girl of 1771 (1894)
The History of Kings County, Nova Scotia (1910)
Kings County, Nova Scotia Probate Records, Testamentary file H1 [John Huston, 1796]
Kings County, Nova Scotia Probate Records, Will book vol. 1 [Will of John Huston, 1787]
The Ingersolls of Hampshire (1893)
Root Genealogical Records, 1600-1870 (1870)
Vital Records of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849 (1904)
There is no known grave marker for Sarah, however it is reasonable to assume that she is buried near her last husband, John Huston, to whom she was married 34 years.
Sarah INGERSOLL was born on 27 January 1720 in Westfield, in what is now Hampden County, Massachusetts, the third child of Thomas Ingersoll, Esq. and his wife Sarah (Dewey) Ingersoll. Theirs was a prominent and wealthy family. Her father served as a magistrate for Hampshire County, was a representative at the General Court (colonial government) in Boston and left a large estate when he died. Later, the Ingersolls were divided in their loyalties when it came to the American Revolution. Sarah’s younger sisters Mariam and Ann both married military officers serving for the Mother Country and like Sarah, they settled in Nova Scotia, which remained British. One of her nephews, Thomas Ingersoll (son of Sarah’s oldest brother, Captain Jonathan Ingersoll), later moved to Upper Canada and founded the town of Ingersoll, now an important manufacturing city. In turn, Thomas’ eldest child, Laura Secord (née Ingersoll and Sarah’s grand-niece), became the celebrated Canadian patriot who alerted British defenders when American troops invaded Upper Canada during the War of 1812.
Sarah Ingersoll married 1) Moses ROOT, the son of Lieutenant John and Elizabeth (Sackett) Root, on 31 May 1741 in Westfield. He was a farmer. He died in Westfield on 7 October 1744, aged 28 years old. They had no children.
Sarah married 2) Captain Benjamin EAGER on 15 November 1748 in Westfield. The marriage record listed her as “Sarah Root 2d of Westfield” – her mother was also named Sarah and she had been married to a Root. Her marriages to Root and then Eager are also linked in the excellent Ingersoll genealogy for Hampshire County, Mass. Benjamin Eager was a widower with 5 young children from his first wife. They lived in her husband’s home town, Shrewsbury, Worcester Co., Mass. Captain Eager died on 21 June 1759 in Shrewsbury, aged 44. There is no record that they had children.
Sarah then married 3) Captain John HUSTON of Nova Scotia on 14 April 1761 in Shrewsbury. It was his second marriage. John was a business partner and friend of Charles Dickson (Dixson), who was the husband of Sarah’s sister Mariam, and this was likely the impetus behind the marriage.
Captain John and Sarah lived near Fort Cumberland, in what is now Cumberland Co., N.S., where John had received a land grant in May 1760. They lived there until about June 1775, when John sold most of his property, including the house, household furniture and cattle. They then relocated across the Minas Basin to Cornwallis Township in Kings County and resided on a farm there until John died on 10 October 1795.
Evidence suggests that Sarah remained in close contact with friends and family in Massachusetts. There are several references to her in the diary of Anna Green Winslow, the daughter of her husband’s associate, Joshua Winslow. Anna kept this diary as a school girl in Boston in 1771. Here is part of one entry:
“On Sabbath-day evening 7 June My Hon’d Papa, Mamma, little Brother, cousin H. D. Thomas, Miss Jenny Allen & Mrs Huston arriv’d here from Cumberland [Nova Scotia], all in good health, to the great joy of all their friends, myself in particular....”
However, there is no evidence that John and Sarah Huston had any children (despite what is claimed sometimes on the internet) and given Sarah’s age at the time of her third marriage, this is unlikely. They did raise at least one child, Mary, from John’s first marriage. Sarah was also guardian of two children, Dorothy and Windsor Eager, from her deceased husband Benjamin Eager’s first marriage, and both of them also settled in Cumberland, Nova Scotia. In fact, after Dorothy Eager married Samuel Wethered, they named their first child, Sarah Huston Wethered.
In her husband John’s will, Sarah was left all his property and possessions, including his “negro man named Pomp” (alas, John Huston was a slave owner), with the stipulation that his land would be transferred to his grandson John Huston Chipman, son of his daughter Mary, after Sarah’s death.
According to 'The History of Kings County', Sarah Huston “is said to have survived her husband some years, after his death living with her nephew, Thomas Ingersoll Brown, at Fort Belcher and Truro” [both in Colchester Co., N.S.]. This is nearly true. In fact, Thomas I. Brown was Sarah’s grand-nephew, the son of Thomas and Lavinia (Dickson) Brown and the grandson of Charles and Mariam (Ingersoll) Dickson. During these last years, her health declined. A letter of administration in John Huston’s probate papers, dated August 1796, speaks of “Sarah Huston widow… being grown old an [and] infirm …” Another probate document from December 1797 indicates that she had recently suffered a serious illness.
It is not known when or where Sarah (Ingersoll) Huston died; no death record has survived, nor she did leave any will or estate papers of her own. However, she must have passed away before 31 May 1802, as a document from that date on her husband’s probate file refers to her as “the late Mrs. Huston”.
Major Sources:
The Chignecto Isthmus and Its First Settlers (1902)
Cumberland County, Nova Scotia Deeds, books A and C
Diary of Anna Green Winslow, A Boston School Girl of 1771 (1894)
The History of Kings County, Nova Scotia (1910)
Kings County, Nova Scotia Probate Records, Testamentary file H1 [John Huston, 1796]
Kings County, Nova Scotia Probate Records, Will book vol. 1 [Will of John Huston, 1787]
The Ingersolls of Hampshire (1893)
Root Genealogical Records, 1600-1870 (1870)
Vital Records of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849 (1904)
There has been speculation regarding the identity of Sarah, the last wife of John HUSTON, for over a century. It has sometimes been suggested that her family name was DICKSON, and one writer even claimed that she was a CHIPMAN. However, a careful examination of marriage records, genealogies and local histories clearly demonstrates that she was in fact Sarah INGERSOLL.
There is no known grave marker for Sarah, however it is reasonable to assume that she is buried near her last husband, John Huston, to whom she was married 34 years.
Sarah INGERSOLL was born on 27 January 1720 in Westfield, in what is now Hampden County, Massachusetts, the third child of Thomas Ingersoll, Esq. and his wife Sarah (Dewey) Ingersoll. Theirs was a prominent and wealthy family. Her father served as a magistrate for Hampshire County, was a representative at the General Court (colonial government) in Boston and left a large estate when he died. Later, the Ingersolls were divided in their loyalties when it came to the American Revolution. Sarah’s younger sisters Mariam and Ann both married military officers serving for the Mother Country and like Sarah, they settled in Nova Scotia, which remained British. One of her nephews, Thomas Ingersoll (son of Sarah’s oldest brother, Captain Jonathan Ingersoll), later moved to Upper Canada and founded the town of Ingersoll, now an important manufacturing city. In turn, Thomas’ eldest child, Laura Secord (née Ingersoll and Sarah’s grand-niece), became the celebrated Canadian patriot who alerted British defenders when American troops invaded Upper Canada during the War of 1812.
Sarah Ingersoll married 1) Moses ROOT, the son of Lieutenant John and Elizabeth (Sackett) Root, on 31 May 1741 in Westfield. He was a farmer. He died in Westfield on 7 October 1744, aged 28 years old. They had no children.
Sarah married 2) Captain Benjamin EAGER on 15 November 1748 in Westfield. The marriage record listed her as “Sarah Root 2d of Westfield” – her mother was also named Sarah and she had been married to a Root. Her marriages to Root and then Eager are also linked in the excellent Ingersoll genealogy for Hampshire County, Mass. Benjamin Eager was a widower with 5 young children from his first wife. They lived in her husband’s home town, Shrewsbury, Worcester Co., Mass. Captain Eager died on 21 June 1759 in Shrewsbury, aged 44. There is no record that they had children.
Sarah then married 3) Captain John HUSTON of Nova Scotia on 14 April 1761 in Shrewsbury. It was his second marriage. John was a business partner and friend of Charles Dickson (Dixson), who was the husband of Sarah’s sister Mariam, and this was likely the impetus behind the marriage.
Captain John and Sarah lived near Fort Cumberland, in what is now Cumberland Co., N.S., where John had received a land grant in May 1760. They lived there until about June 1775, when John sold most of his property, including the house, household furniture and cattle. They then relocated across the Minas Basin to Cornwallis Township in Kings County and resided on a farm there until John died on 10 October 1795.
Evidence suggests that Sarah remained in close contact with friends and family in Massachusetts. There are several references to her in the diary of Anna Green Winslow, the daughter of her husband’s associate, Joshua Winslow. Anna kept this diary as a school girl in Boston in 1771. Here is part of one entry:
“On Sabbath-day evening 7 June My Hon’d Papa, Mamma, little Brother, cousin H. D. Thomas, Miss Jenny Allen & Mrs Huston arriv’d here from Cumberland [Nova Scotia], all in good health, to the great joy of all their friends, myself in particular....”
However, there is no evidence that John and Sarah Huston had any children (despite what is claimed sometimes on the internet) and given Sarah’s age at the time of her third marriage, this is unlikely. They did raise at least one child, Mary, from John’s first marriage. Sarah was also guardian of two children, Dorothy and Windsor Eager, from her deceased husband Benjamin Eager’s first marriage, and both of them also settled in Cumberland, Nova Scotia. In fact, after Dorothy Eager married Samuel Wethered, they named their first child, Sarah Huston Wethered.
In her husband John’s will, Sarah was left all his property and possessions, including his “negro man named Pomp” (alas, John Huston was a slave owner), with the stipulation that his land would be transferred to his grandson John Huston Chipman, son of his daughter Mary, after Sarah’s death.
According to 'The History of Kings County', Sarah Huston “is said to have survived her husband some years, after his death living with her nephew, Thomas Ingersoll Brown, at Fort Belcher and Truro” [both in Colchester Co., N.S.]. This is nearly true. In fact, Thomas I. Brown was Sarah’s grand-nephew, the son of Thomas and Lavinia (Dickson) Brown and the grandson of Charles and Mariam (Ingersoll) Dickson. During these last years, her health declined. A letter of administration in John Huston’s probate papers, dated August 1796, speaks of “Sarah Huston widow… being grown old an [and] infirm …” Another probate document from December 1797 indicates that she had recently suffered a serious illness.
It is not known when or where Sarah (Ingersoll) Huston died; no death record has survived, nor she did leave any will or estate papers of her own. However, she must have passed away before 31 May 1802, as a document from that date on her husband’s probate file refers to her as “the late Mrs. Huston”.
Major Sources:
The Chignecto Isthmus and Its First Settlers (1902)
Cumberland County, Nova Scotia Deeds, books A and C
Diary of Anna Green Winslow, A Boston School Girl of 1771 (1894)
The History of Kings County, Nova Scotia (1910)
Kings County, Nova Scotia Probate Records, Testamentary file H1 [John Huston, 1796]
Kings County, Nova Scotia Probate Records, Will book vol. 1 [Will of John Huston, 1787]
The Ingersolls of Hampshire (1893)
Root Genealogical Records, 1600-1870 (1870)
Vital Records of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849 (1904)
There is no known grave marker for Sarah, however it is reasonable to assume that she is buried near her last husband, John Huston, to whom she was married 34 years.
Sarah INGERSOLL was born on 27 January 1720 in Westfield, in what is now Hampden County, Massachusetts, the third child of Thomas Ingersoll, Esq. and his wife Sarah (Dewey) Ingersoll. Theirs was a prominent and wealthy family. Her father served as a magistrate for Hampshire County, was a representative at the General Court (colonial government) in Boston and left a large estate when he died. Later, the Ingersolls were divided in their loyalties when it came to the American Revolution. Sarah’s younger sisters Mariam and Ann both married military officers serving for the Mother Country and like Sarah, they settled in Nova Scotia, which remained British. One of her nephews, Thomas Ingersoll (son of Sarah’s oldest brother, Captain Jonathan Ingersoll), later moved to Upper Canada and founded the town of Ingersoll, now an important manufacturing city. In turn, Thomas’ eldest child, Laura Secord (née Ingersoll and Sarah’s grand-niece), became the celebrated Canadian patriot who alerted British defenders when American troops invaded Upper Canada during the War of 1812.
Sarah Ingersoll married 1) Moses ROOT, the son of Lieutenant John and Elizabeth (Sackett) Root, on 31 May 1741 in Westfield. He was a farmer. He died in Westfield on 7 October 1744, aged 28 years old. They had no children.
Sarah married 2) Captain Benjamin EAGER on 15 November 1748 in Westfield. The marriage record listed her as “Sarah Root 2d of Westfield” – her mother was also named Sarah and she had been married to a Root. Her marriages to Root and then Eager are also linked in the excellent Ingersoll genealogy for Hampshire County, Mass. Benjamin Eager was a widower with 5 young children from his first wife. They lived in her husband’s home town, Shrewsbury, Worcester Co., Mass. Captain Eager died on 21 June 1759 in Shrewsbury, aged 44. There is no record that they had children.
Sarah then married 3) Captain John HUSTON of Nova Scotia on 14 April 1761 in Shrewsbury. It was his second marriage. John was a business partner and friend of Charles Dickson (Dixson), who was the husband of Sarah’s sister Mariam, and this was likely the impetus behind the marriage.
Captain John and Sarah lived near Fort Cumberland, in what is now Cumberland Co., N.S., where John had received a land grant in May 1760. They lived there until about June 1775, when John sold most of his property, including the house, household furniture and cattle. They then relocated across the Minas Basin to Cornwallis Township in Kings County and resided on a farm there until John died on 10 October 1795.
Evidence suggests that Sarah remained in close contact with friends and family in Massachusetts. There are several references to her in the diary of Anna Green Winslow, the daughter of her husband’s associate, Joshua Winslow. Anna kept this diary as a school girl in Boston in 1771. Here is part of one entry:
“On Sabbath-day evening 7 June My Hon’d Papa, Mamma, little Brother, cousin H. D. Thomas, Miss Jenny Allen & Mrs Huston arriv’d here from Cumberland [Nova Scotia], all in good health, to the great joy of all their friends, myself in particular....”
However, there is no evidence that John and Sarah Huston had any children (despite what is claimed sometimes on the internet) and given Sarah’s age at the time of her third marriage, this is unlikely. They did raise at least one child, Mary, from John’s first marriage. Sarah was also guardian of two children, Dorothy and Windsor Eager, from her deceased husband Benjamin Eager’s first marriage, and both of them also settled in Cumberland, Nova Scotia. In fact, after Dorothy Eager married Samuel Wethered, they named their first child, Sarah Huston Wethered.
In her husband John’s will, Sarah was left all his property and possessions, including his “negro man named Pomp” (alas, John Huston was a slave owner), with the stipulation that his land would be transferred to his grandson John Huston Chipman, son of his daughter Mary, after Sarah’s death.
According to 'The History of Kings County', Sarah Huston “is said to have survived her husband some years, after his death living with her nephew, Thomas Ingersoll Brown, at Fort Belcher and Truro” [both in Colchester Co., N.S.]. This is nearly true. In fact, Thomas I. Brown was Sarah’s grand-nephew, the son of Thomas and Lavinia (Dickson) Brown and the grandson of Charles and Mariam (Ingersoll) Dickson. During these last years, her health declined. A letter of administration in John Huston’s probate papers, dated August 1796, speaks of “Sarah Huston widow… being grown old an [and] infirm …” Another probate document from December 1797 indicates that she had recently suffered a serious illness.
It is not known when or where Sarah (Ingersoll) Huston died; no death record has survived, nor she did leave any will or estate papers of her own. However, she must have passed away before 31 May 1802, as a document from that date on her husband’s probate file refers to her as “the late Mrs. Huston”.
Major Sources:
The Chignecto Isthmus and Its First Settlers (1902)
Cumberland County, Nova Scotia Deeds, books A and C
Diary of Anna Green Winslow, A Boston School Girl of 1771 (1894)
The History of Kings County, Nova Scotia (1910)
Kings County, Nova Scotia Probate Records, Testamentary file H1 [John Huston, 1796]
Kings County, Nova Scotia Probate Records, Will book vol. 1 [Will of John Huston, 1787]
The Ingersolls of Hampshire (1893)
Root Genealogical Records, 1600-1870 (1870)
Vital Records of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849 (1904)
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