Lydia Gilbert

Unique is an absolute, and using qualifying adjectives deserves the modern-day equivalent of burning at the stake.

That’s me, washing semi-literacy out of the dark crannies of the net.

Really, a little more polish and professionalism on the writing here would elevate a fine and unique site quite a bit. Verb. sap., eh?

Nah, Ed’s right, my comment was snarky. But professionalism is all in the intent. You all usually do better; that one just snagged my editor’s eye.

There have been rumors of her escaping the ends of the trials, since it was quite obvious the outcome. I also, according to my mother’s genealogy, a descendant of Lydia Gilbert, which it would be fantastic to meet other descendants intrigued by this murky yet interesting bit of family history.
My mother supposedly has copies of some of the trials and paperwork from the family. I will try to find more information if possible.

Would love to see Lydia’s maiden name. Some accounts and genealogical charts show “Lydia Ballat,” or Lydia Bollot.” This appears to refer to a marriage between Thomas Gilbert and Lydia Ballat that occurred in 1690 – and therefore – could not be referring to the Lydia who was tried in 1654.

Did an hour or so of research last night – there is a diversity of opinion on whether Lydia’s husband was Thomas Gilbert Sr, born 1589, or Thomas Gilbert Jr, baptized 1611/12. Doesn’t really matter to me – as both are ancestors. Each point of view has compelling arguments – though I found those for Thomas Gilbert Jr slightly more so. This would mean he had three wives, and remarried in 1655 – within a year (or less) of the time Lydia Gilbert was condemned for witchcraft. Very mean, if true – yet if there were a number of children involved – it may have come close to necessity.

Some of the Thomas Gilbert Jr evidence revolves around location – who was where and when. This can hardly be ignored as it appears unlikely that a man would have a wife living in one town – while he resides in another.

Meanwhile – I have more to read.

I have been looking into this Lydia/Thomas thing today. I also initially found the various arguments for each Thomas compelling but thinking about it further, those arguments are all based on assumptions. For instance, the one that “rules out” Thomas Sr. because the funeral expenses allowances in his’ will for both himself and his wife… well, everyone who argues this says it had to have been referring to Elizabeth Bennett (supposed wife of Thomas Sr.) because of him dying in 1658. They assume she had to have died very shortly before him for him to include that in his will and since Lydia (they assume) was hanged in 1654, it somehow cannot be her. However, they fail to consider the possibility that maybe her funeral expenses just had not been paid off yet. After all Thomas relocated after she passed, which does come with a considerable expense. Furthermore, they assume that she died before him period. Perhaps this wife of his was still living but he wanted to make sure it was taken care of (maybe they were getting joint plots). Maybe she was ill and on her death bed and about to die. I am not sure when the will was drafted..perhaps it was an old copy? Others dismiss her as being a wife at all but suggest maybe she was his sister. They cite a lack of marriage record. Perhaps Lydia was a middle name. What if Lydia and Elizabeth Bennett or Thomas Jr.’s first wife were one in the same!?!

The BIGGEST thing that caught my attention was in regard to the purported birth/baptism records for Thomas Jr. They state he was christened on 16 February 1611 in Yardley, Worcester, England (there is such a record for a Thomas), but claim he was born in Berry Pomroy, Devonshire, England on the same day. Now, clearly they have not done their homework because these two locations are about 192 miles apart. Furthermore, they assume Thomas Sr. IS the Thomas born in Yardley to Richard on 25 Apr 1589 BUT there is also a Thomas born on 22 March 1585 in Devonshire, son of John. There is also a Thomas, son of Robert, born in 1595. We also have a Thomas, son of Richard, born 30 September 1593 in Devonshire.

There are other things as well. It seems to me there have been a lot of liberties taken in regard to these people of ours. I realize with limited documentation, one must consider circumstantial evidence but some of the “evidence” given by some is not thoroughly considered. I would love it if we could figure this puzzle out but I suspect that may never be accomplished.

Thank you for this great post. @Chelsey, if you found those documents, I would be most grateful if you would share them 🙂 Take care cousins!

Stefani

Chelsey,
I am a descendant also of Lydia. I would love to see any family documents you have, if you’re willing to share.

In response to an earlier post about Thomas Gilbert’s English origin. He was most assuredly born in Yardley, Worcestershire England, not Devonshire. All of his children except Sarah are shown in the baptismal records at Yardley. The likelihood of another place having the exact era with names like Ezekiel and Obadiah and Josiah would almost defy belief. This data was uncovered by Douglas Richardson, published in 1992 in the American Genealogist. He nailed the location and parents of Thomas Sr. However, he speculated about Lydia and came to the conclusion that she was the wife of Thomas Jr, and many have repeated this since that time. He supposed, without evidence, that Lydia was the second wife of Thomas Jr, but she could easily be the second wife of Thomas Sr.

Elizabeth Bennett appears in only one record: her marriage in 1610 in Yardley. She is not in the baptism records of Thomas Sr’s children. She could theoretically have died in 1610 and not been the mother of any of Thomas’ children! There is a gap between the first child: Thomas Jr. in 1611/12 and the next bp. record of 1617. It could be that Thomas Sr married Lydia in this timeframe and she was the mother of the subsequent children (but not eldest son Thomas Jr born soon after parent’s marriage). I think this is likely because most of these children named a daughter: Lydia. Also, most accused witches were elderly, and this could better fit the wife of Thomas Sr.

In discussions about the location of Lydia at the time of accusation (Windsor) it wouldn’t be necessary for her to have lived near/with Henry Stiles at the time of his death, she could have just been visiting for a while and still be accused. Some of the Salem accused were not longtime residents.

While it is quite possible that Thomas Gilbert Jr married Mary ____ in England in the 1630s, his wife was not Mary James of West Bromwich, Stafford (marr 1639) as that Thomas and Mary remained in West Bromwich and had other children including one baptised 1 week after the child of Thomas of Yardley, making this a separate couple.

RE Gallamore’s poetic summary
RE Gallamore’s poetic summary is a wonderful addition to the genealogical facts being gathered about Lydia Gilbert. Both prose and poetry to give definition to a life.

Lydia descendant
Hi everyone, I too am a descendant of Thomas Gilbert. I have an account that shows Thomas’s death in 1659 and his estate was distributed to his siblings instead of his children probated in Wethersfield, CT: John Jonathan, Thomas Ezekiel, Josiah Obadiah and Sarah Jenkins. Although from his tombstone in Wetherfield Village Cemetery, Hartford, CT it says father to Obadiah, Jonathan, Ezeckiel, John, Josiah, Thomas and Sarah. I’ve written the siblings exactly how my document reads, it’s an old typed history of my Gilbert side and a bit hard to read at times. Is this in line with anything anyone has seen?

Lydia decendents
Hello All, Someone wrote that Lydia had children. I have never seen that anywhere, but people must believe it or they would not be saying they are her decendents. Where can I find the names, etc. of her children? Thank you.

Thomas and Lydia Gilbert
I am interested in all documents connected to Thomas and Lydia. I am a direct descendant of the son, Jonathan, who married Mary Wells. I was under the impression that the children were from Lydia and Thomas remarried rather fast to have a mother for the children. I would love to have any and all documentation available. Thank you all, Marie