Isaac Hathaway 1704-1749 By: Bob Alford 2010 Isaac Hathaway was born in Freetown, Massachusetts on July 16, 1704. He was the fourth child and the third son of Jacob Hathaway and Phillipa Chase Hathaway. His great grandfather, John Hathaway Senior, and his grandfather, John Hathaway Junior, were both still alive at the time and living nearby. We know very little about Isaac s youth. We do know that his father became a Quaker when Isaac was barely a teenager, an event that undoubtedly had great impact on Isaac s life. We also know that his father became one of, if not the richest man in town, and that he (Jacob) was a slaveholder. All of this undoubt edly had a great affect on Isaac as a young man. Isaac married Rebecca Warren of Watertown, Massachusetts in 1727. She was born in 1702 and was the daughter of Joshua Warren and Rebecca Church, and the great, great granddaughter of Richard Warren, one of the Mayflower Pilgrims. She was also the great, great, great grandmother of Frank Randel Hathaway. This means that all of the descendents of Frank Randel Hathaway had a great, great.. great grandfather who came to America on the Mayflower. The Warren ancestry is interesting in a number of ways: First: Note that although her father s name was Warren, she is descended from Richard Warren through her mother, not her father. Joshua Warren, Rebecca s father, was the son of Daniel and Mary (Barron) Warren. Daniel was the son of John Warren, who was born in Nayland, County Suffolk, England about 1585. John came to the new world in a fleet with John Winthrop in 1630. Richard came in 1620 on the Mayflower. There is no evidence, and no reason to believe that John and Richard were related.
Second; for many years Richard Warren was thought to be of royal descent. This appears to be wishful thinking and there is no proof of this. His ancestry remains unknown. See the The Warren Ancestry available on our web site. Isaac and Rebecca Hathaway had seven children. 1. Joshua, born January 19, 1727. He, like his father, was a blacksmith. He married Mary Reed Evans in Freetown on August 23, 1749. He served as a Major in the Revolutionary War under Col. Edward Pope. He represented Freetown in the Colony General Court and was active in that body. He died May 4, 1807. 2. Isaac, born July 29, 1729. He married Phoebe Bailey August 13, 1752. He served in the Revolutionary War and many of his descendents have joined the DAR honoring his service. He died December 25, 1798. Isaac is our ancestor. 3. Irene, born May 17, 1731. She married Ephraim Shaw on October 9, 1752 in North Providence, Rhode Island. She died September 30, 1753. 4. Phineas, born February 11, 1732. He married Mehitabel French on October 11, 1752 in Berkley. He died in Taunton sometime before 1785. 5. Daniel, born May 25, 1735. He married Ruth Howard on April 29, 1758. He died sometime before June 1777. 6. Prudence, born March 7, 1736. She married Bennett Bailey on July 13, 1755. She died in 1768. 7. Susanna, born April 28, 1741. She married Beajah Wilkinson on April 20, 1760. She died August 30, 1795. Isaac Hathaway spent his entire life in Freetown, Massachusetts, where he was a blacksmith. This was a common and honorable profession in colonial days, and several of Isaac s uncles and great uncles were blacksmiths, so it is easy to see how he might have obtained the training required. Most Hathaways enjoyed longevity, living until their eighties, even in colonial days. Isaac Hathaway died on June 7, 1749, nine weeks before his 45 th birthday. The cause of death is unknown. He is buried in the old colonial Plummer Burial Ground across the street from St. Bernard Church in Freetown, Massachusetts. Isaac died ten years before his father, Jacob Hathaway. Jacob named Isaac s children in his will. He stated in the will that he inheritance left to Joshua, Isaac s oldest son, was in lieu of what he intended for Isaac had Isaac survived him. His wife, Rebecca, lived until at least 1773. She may have moved to Tiverton, Rhode Island sometime after 1755.
The Times of the Life of Isaac Hathaway Isaac Hathaway lived in the latter part of the colonial era. He was born into a wealthy family in a well established town. He undoubtedly had all that wealth could provide in that period. We do not know what his home looked like, but we have pictures of his great grandfather s house as it existed in 1900. It was a large colonial saltbox home. We also have pictures of one of his grandfather s homes, which is still standing, and is listed in the national register. His father s house must have been at least as good, and was probably bigger. The town of Freetown, in which he lived all his life, was also well established. Both his grandfather and his father were prominent citizens and had served the town as selectmen form many years. He was not therefore a pioneer as his great grandfather and even his grandfather had been, but rather a citizen in a well established and prosperous colonial community. He was born during Queen Anne s War. This was the second of the French and Indian wars fought between France and England for control of the new world. Near the end of the war, Isaac s father, Jacob Hathaway, was jailed for refusing to serve in the war. Jacob had fought in King William s War in 1690 and was an Ensign in the militia, but had since become a Quaker. Isaac was about seven years old at the time. In 1709, when Isaac was only 5 years old, New England was hit with what became known as the Great Frost, which was the coldest winter in 500 years. As Isaac reached young adulthood, religious fervor spread across New England with the arrival of the First Great Awakening. Being a Quaker, this probably did not have a great impact on Isaac or his family, but many around him were surely involved in this religious revival. In general, the late colonial period leading up to the Revolutionary War were relatively peaceful and prosperous for the colonialists. They were allowed to practice the religion of their choice, and trade between the colonies and Europe thrived. The trials of founding a new land were over and the turmoil of the revolution and the beginning of a new country were yet to begin. Isaac died just short of his 45 th birthday. It was obviously a premature death as all of his family enjoyed longevity. We do not know how he died, but he did not live to see the war that was about to come, in which his sons fought to found the United States of America.
So How am I Related to Isaac Hathaway? If you can trace your ancestry to Frank Randel Hathaway and his wife Beulah Messer Hathaway, who were my grandparents, you are a descendent of Isaac Hathaway. Isaac was the great, great, great grandfather of Frank Randel Hathaway. Simply determine how many generations you are descended for him and add that number of Greats. If you are not sure who Frank Randel Hathaway was, see his biography which will tell you who some of his descendents were, and perhaps you can establish a relationship. If you are a more distant cousin who is descended from one of the early generations you can do your own generation counting. In this case please contact us and let us know who you are. I hope you have enjoyed meeting Isaac and thinking about what his life was like. Had he not lived, married and had his family, none of us would exist today. All the information in this biography is historically accurate to the best of my knowledge. With genealogy, new information often comes to light that contradicts the old. If you are aware of any errors I have made or corrections or additions to this that should be added, please let me know.