Stephen Crossman (1710 – 1805-07-24)⟮1⟯ and Mercy Hoskins (c.1720 – 1806-08-02) were my 6th-great-grandparents, being the parents of Elijah Crossman. They lived in Taunton, Massachusetts, and married there 1740-05-15⟮2⟯, before moving to Sutton, MA. They later returned to Taunton, where they lived the rest of their lives.
Stephen was the son of Nathaniel Crossman (β 1680-03-10 – 1757) and Sarah Merrick (* c.1688).
There is a Y-DNA project which includes the Crossman name, which however as of 2024 hosts only three results.⟮3⟯ None include genealogical info, and they are all limited 12-marker tests. Two match each other and are classified in the large R1b-M269 clade; the other is likely also R1b but not closely related. So, there is little to go on, beyond that the Crossman family apparently belongs to this broad haplogroup. There is discussion on the Mayflower DNA wiki.⟮4⟯
Mercy was the daughter of Stephen Hoskins (1697-09-02 – 1725-07-07) and Mercy Briggs (* c.1696). The name Hoskins was sometimes recorded as Haskins. Mercy Briggs was the only child of William Briggs and Constant Lincoln, as shown by several land records.⟮5⟯ Constant had died by 1706, and William Briggs remarried to Elizabeth Kingsbury, a sister of Stephen Crossman’s great-grandmother Sarah (Kingsbury) Crossman.
The will of Stephen Hoskins’s father William dated 1780-03-26 attests to the relationship down to Mercy:
To the children of my son Stephen Hoskins dec’d whose names are Stephen Hoskins Mercy Hoskins and Abiah Hoskins….
Mercy’s parents were first cousins, once removed, both being descended from William Hoskins and Anne Hinds. As described in William’s entry, this gives her a descent on both sides from royalty.
A book by John R. Crossman (hereafter JRC) on the descendants of Stephen and Mercy Crossman,⟮6⟯John R. Crossman, The descendants of Stephen and Mercy Crossman (1987); WorldCat. See also a possibly earlier edition John R. Crossman, The sons of Stephen and Mercy Crossman, Taunton and Sutton, Massachusetts (1984); WorldCat. provides a detailed account of this family, which includes records connecting its members. It appears to be a credible source, but unfortunately, it is out of print and I have had trouble getting ahold of it. However, JRC also published many details elsewhere, and I have done my own survey of primary records to validate many claims that appear to originate from his research.
JRC gives Stephen a birth of 1710, but I have not found record of this, nor his date of death for Mercy. In any case, both Stephen and Mercy seem to hail from Taunton, where they had several children. Unfortunately, Taunton records were lost in a fire in 1838, so data from this time is incomplete. Nevertheless, other records fill out many missing details.
On 1774-01-18, Stephen Crossman of Rehoboth buys land in Sutton.⟮7⟯ Rehoboth is a town adjacent to Taunton, but both are far from Sutton, so this is presumably around when he moved there. JRC refers to him as the founder of the Crossman family of Sutton.
My ancestor Elijah married his first wife Elizabeth Marsh in nearby Douglas, her home town. Researchers say he had a house in Sutton in the late 1770s after getting married.
On 1783-05-30, Stephen and Mercy Crosman of Sutton sell land in Sutton.⟮8⟯ Witnesses are Samuel Crosman, Ebenezer Marsh, and Elijah Crosman. Samuel and Elijah are sons of Stephen, while Ebenezer appears to be his wife’s brother.
In 1790, Stephen is listed in the census of Sutton with one female, no doubt Mercy.⟮9⟯
In 1796, Stephen and Mercy were back in Taunton.
JRC say they are buried in Taunton, but I have not found information about such a burial or gravesite. This may be his source for the dates not found in vital records.
Stephen and Mercy had these six known sons:
We can probably add these two daughters:
As noted above, I’m waiting on being able to find the original research by JRC on this family to confirm details.