My Pickett Lineage In Colonial America

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.

 

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 11^th 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 9^th great grandfather) who married Sarah Barnum (my 9^th 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 8^th 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.

Sources:
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., New England Marriages Prior to 1700
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!