While Mrs. Abigail Leonard’s grave does appear in my book Burial Hill: Early Stories in Stone, it’s only a photo with a caption showing how young she was when she died. Here, I’ll get into her history and her family more.
Anything that I include in italics are just my thoughts, they are in no way verified, they are purely conjecture.
June 1, 1745
Abigail’s father, Richard Holmes, is born in Plymouth to parents George & Lydia. He is the third of their twelve children.
July 15, 1754
Abigail’s mother, Abigail Sr., is born in Marshfield. Her parents were Elijah & Anna Damon and she was the oldest of their eight children.
May 4, 1771
Abigail’s parents are married in Plymouth.
1766
Abigail’s first husband, Ephraim Bartlett, is born to Ephraim Sr. & Mercy; the exact date isn’t known. He was the youngest son and fourth of five children.
October 11, 1767
Abigail’s second husband, William Leonard, is born in Plymouth to Nathaniel & Bethiah. He was the second of three sons.
1774
Abigail is born in Plymouth, though I was unable to find the exact date. She is the oldest of five siblings, with three sisters and one brother.
1776
Abigail’s sister, Experience, is born. She is the only one of the siblings born in Duxbury instead of Plymouth.
September 7, 1777
Abigail’s brother, Richard, is born.
November 29, 1780
Abigail’s sister, Mary, is born.
1782
Abigail’s sister, Sarah, is born.
January 18, 1791
William Leonard marries his first wife, Rebekah Bartlett, in Plymouth. He and Rebekah had five children: William Jr. (date unknown), Rebecca (1793), Eleanor (1796), Bethia (1798) & an unnamed infant (1801). Rebekah died October 2, 1801. It appears she died in childbirth as their unnamed child was born on that day; the baby passed away five days later.
Interesting fact: Rebekah & Abigail’s first husband, Ephraim, were half siblings.
November 15, 1798
Abigail and Ephraim are married in Plymouth.
1800
Abigail’s only child, a son named Isaac, is born. The exact date isn’t known and there are no other records for Isaac other than appearing on one family tree.
There is not an Isaac Bartlett buried in Burial Hill and the only one on Find a Grave born in 1800 is someone from Maine. Searching on Ancestry showed another Isaac Bartlett born around the same time, but his mother was named Mary. There are a lot of infant burials in Burial Hill, so it seems likely that he was either still born or died in infancy and that his grave is now unmarked.
September 9, 1800
Ephraim passes away in Grand Bank, Canada by drowning.
One family tree notes him has being lost at sea, but he has a headstone at Burial Hill. There are a few other markers in the cemetery that are simply memorials and this is likely the case here.
November 28, 1805
William marries his second wife, Susannah Bartlett. She was sisters with Rebekah. They had one son, Ephraim III, on June 17, 1808. Susannah died on December 14th that year. Little Ephraim died on January 31, 1809.
February 8, 1812
Abigail and William are married in Plymouth. The couple doesn’t have children of their own.
January 4, 1821
Abigail passes away at age 48. Cause of death is unknown.
Where to find Abigail
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