Ebenezer Prior

Ebenezer Prior (1712-10-02 – after 1794) was my 6th-great-grandfather, being the father of Tabitha, wife of Henry Vadakin, by his second wife Catherine Simons. He was the born in Enfield, Connecticut the son of John Prior (* 1665-02-14) and Mary Geer. He later moved to Chester, Massachusetts, living near Tabitha’s family. His ultimate fate is unknown. He had 14 children by two wives.

Family

Ebenezer married Hannah Simons in Enfield on 1737-04-21, with 10 recorded children born in Enfield:

Ebenezer Prior (1738-01-22 – 1743-09-11).⁠^{⟮1⟯FamilySearch} The name was reused.
William Prior (1739-10-10 – 1755)⁠^{⟮2⟯FamilySearch}. The History of Enfield says, “William Prior eldest son of Ebenezer Prior died 1755, French war.”⁠^⟮3⟯ Online sources identify him with the William Prior who died in 1823 in Rhode Island in his 84th year⁠^⟮4⟯, but given the History note and that the name was reused (below), it seems that must be a different person.
Hannah Prior (* 1741-06-02)⁠^{⟮5⟯FamilySearch}, presumably died before 1759 when another daughter was named Hannah.
Margaret Prior (1743-03-06 – 1807-09-17)⁠^{⟮6⟯FamilySearch}⁠^{⟮7⟯Find a Grave memorial for Margaret}, married Benjamin Pease.
Mary Prior (1744-09-30 – 1800×10)⁠^{⟮8⟯FamilySearch}, married Sharon Pease. Find a Grave has her death as 1807-09-17⁠^{⟮9⟯Find a Grave memorial for Mary}, but with no proof, and this date is suspiciously identical to Margaret’s death date. However, the 1800 census records a woman of the right age to be Mary living with Sharon in Enfield⁠^{⟮10⟯FamilySearch}, and the 1810 census does not⁠^{⟮11⟯FamilySearch}.
Ebenezer Prior (1746-05-02 – 1841-01-12)⁠^⟮12⟯⁠^{⟮13⟯Find a Grave memorial for Ebenezer Jr.}, married Mary Thompson, and remained in Enfield.
Daniel Prior (1748-02-15 – 1779-11-19)⁠^{⟮14⟯FamilySearch}⁠^{⟮15⟯Find a Grave memorial for Daniel Prier}, no apparent marriage or children.
Azariah Prior (1749-10-11 – 1820-12-18)⁠^{⟮16⟯FamilySearch}⁠^{⟮17⟯FamilySearch}, married 1st Mindwell Hayes or Hager⁠^{⟮18⟯FamilySearch}, married 2nd Alice Pease⁠^{⟮19⟯FamilySearch}
Love Prior (* 1751-10-08)⁠^{⟮20⟯FamilySearch}, no further record.
Zilpah Prior (1754-04-01 – after 1814)⁠^{⟮21⟯FamilySearch}, married Obadaiah King⁠^{⟮22⟯FamilySearch}. This couple sold land in Oneida County, New York in 1814.⁠^{⟮23⟯FamilySearch}

He married Catherine Simons in Enfield on 1759-01-11, with 4 children recorded in Enfield:

Hannah Prior (1759-10-13 – after 1804)⁠^{⟮24⟯FamilySearch}, married Daniel Perkins.⁠^{⟮25⟯FamilySearch}
William Prior (1761-09-24 – after 1830)⁠^{⟮26⟯FamilySearch}, married Elizabeth Ellis.
Tabitha Prior (1763-10-22 – 1803×30), my 5th-great-grandmother as wife of Henry Vadakin. She had a child in 1803, and in the 1830 census, Henry is living alone and so presumably widowed.
Heman Prior (1769-08-07 – 1849?)⁠^{⟮27⟯FamilySearch}⁠^{⟮28⟯Find a Grave memorial for Heman Prior}, married 1st Submit Sanderson, married 2nd widow Deborah (Tupper) Tyler. The death date at Find a Grave is plausible (Heman is in the 1840 but not 1850 census) but I cannot find any corroboration for it.

Records

Land records show that Ebenezer moved from Enfield to Chester (then called Murrayfield) in 1782.⁠^⟮29⟯

Two Ebenezer Priors appear in the 1790 census:

Year	Place	Counts	Inferred births
1790⁠^{⟮30⟯FamilySearch}	Enfield, CT	3 ♂ 16+, 5 ♀	0000–1774 ♂♂♂ 0000–1790 ♀♀♀♀♀
1790⁠^{⟮31⟯FamilySearch}	Chester, MA	1 ♂ <16, 2 ♂ 16+, 2 ♀	0000–1774 ♂♂ 0000–1790 ♀♀ 1774–1790 ♂

It is clear from other records that the first is the son Ebenezer above born in 1746. The second, who is listed next to “Henry Vadican”, Ebenezer’s daughter’s husband, must be our Ebenezer.

A land sale in Chester was signed by both “Ebenezer Prior” and “Cate Prior” and says that “Ebenezer Prior and Catie [or Catee] his wife” personally appeared to file the deed on 1794-02-17⁠^{⟮32⟯FamilySearch}, so both were still alive then. Ebenezer does not appear in the 1800 census and may have died by then.

Wives’ origins

Ebenezer’s first wife Hannah Simons was the daughter of William Simons and Hannah Randall. Other spellings existed for this family, including Symons, as on Hannah’s birth record⁠^{⟮33⟯FamilySearch}; and Simmons, a more common spelling today.

Of more interest to me is the origins of his second wife Catherine Simons, who has the same surname. No record has been found for Catherine’s birth, but it seems likely the two women are related. Evidence points to them being first cousins.

I intend to dive into this more deeply later and make better guesses as to their relation and thus Catherine’s ancestry.

Ancestry

Ebenezer Prior

John Prior

Humphrey Prior

Ann Osborn

John Osborn

Ann Oldage

Richard Oldage

Mary Geer

Thomas Geer

Deborah Davis

Robert Davis

Ann

Ebenezer Prior

Family

Records

Wives’ origins

Ancestry

Footnotes

Galen’s family resources wiki