Previously
on Unearthing Ancestors I have written about my Vidito and Barnum lines. Both
of these ancestral lines arrived in America in the 1600s. Today, I will explore
another line of my Pilgrim ancestors that links the Vidito and Barnum families:
the Pickett family. The Picketts were early settlers of Connecticut. In the
book History of Danbury, Conn., 1684-1896, Pickett is referred to as an
“ancient” name. When this book was written (1896) there
were still headstones with this name standing in good condition in the town's
first burial ground. Originally called The Old Town Plot, it was
renamed Wooster Street Cemetery in 1820. I haven’t visited Danbury yet, but I hope to, and I would definitely go to this cemetery to see if any of the
original headstones are still there.
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| Credit: Jan Franco |
The earliest documentation I have found for a Pickett
ancestor is Zerubabbel Pickett, born about 1591 in Kent, England. He is my 11th
great grandfather. His son, John Pickett was born about 1616 in Derbyshire,
England. John married his wife, Margaret Metcalfe in Derbyshire in 1642 and they
arrived in Salem, Massachusetts in 1648. Four of their children (John, James,
Thomas and Sarah) were baptized on September or November 19, 1648 in Salem (MA
Vital Records says September, The Genealogy and History of the Families of Old
Fairfield says November). Either way, we know they were born prior to that
time, most likely in England. From baptism and estate records, we know John and
Margaret went on to have three more children after their arrival: Rebecca,
Daniel and Jacob.
In 1660 John and Margaret moved to Stratford
Township, Fairfield County, Connecticut. John served as Constable in 1667,
Selectman in 1669, and Deputy to Colonial Assembly from 1673 to 1675. Margaret
passed away on October 6, 1683 in Stratford at the age of 62. Thomas died, also
in Stratford, on April 11, 1684.
It is John
and Margaret’s son, Thomas Pickett (my 9th great grandfather) who
married Sarah Barnum (my 9th great grandmother), connecting the
Pickett and Barnum families. Thomas was born about 1643 in England, and as we
know was baptized in Salem, Massachusetts in 1648. He and Sarah married in 1690
in Norwalk, Connecticut. Thomas had children from before and after this date,
giving us a good idea of which children are from his first marriage, to Abigail
Seymour: Abigail, Jacob, Hannah, Ephraim
and Thomas; and which are from his marriage to Sarah: Sarah, James, Joseph,
Benjamin and Ebenezer.
Thomas and
Sarah’s daughter, Sarah Pickett, is my 8th great grandmother. She married
John Vidito, my 8th great grandfather, and the grandson of Jean Vittiteau, a Huguenot refugee who arrived in New York in 1660.
I hope I have concisely presented the links between my Barnum, Vidito and Pickett ancestral lines. If you are a
visual person, here is a picture of this branch of my tree, which I’ve taken
from my Grant/Farrer Family Tree on www.ancestry.ca.
History of Danbury, Conn., 1684-1896
The Genealogy and History of the Families of Old Fairfield
Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850, Vol: Salem-V2
Boston, MA: Births, Baptisms, Marriges and Deaths, 1630-1699
U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s - 1900s
U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900
Connecticut, Town Marriage Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection)
Millenium File (ancestry.ca)
Family Data Collection - Individuals, Births, Deaths (ancestry.ca)
Happy researching!
