Esther Homer, wife of Amor Preston: errors corrected and new information discovered.

Amor Preston married Esther Large 6 Jan 1710/11 in Bucks County, Pennsylvana (1, 2, 3), and for many years I assumed that was her maiden name.  After discovering an article in The Oregon Daily Journal, dated 16 Mar 1919, I learned that her maiden name was Homer.  I then went looking for a marriage record between Esther Homer and a man with the surname Large.  Richard Large and Esther married 21 Jun 1705 in Falls, Bucks County, Pennsylvania (1).

Many more years went by, and I thought I'd look for more information about Esther.  I reviewed her marriage certificate to Richard Large, and one witness to their marriage stood out:  William Homer.  I did a simple google search using the search terms "William Homer" "Bucks, Pennsylvania" and got a great hit.  It was an abstract of the will of William Sanford, dated 25 Mar 1689 and probated 17 Oct 1692, and a witness was named James Boyden (remember that name).  Sanford named "my son William Homer" and "daughter in law Ester Homer" (4).  William Sanford had a son named William Homer?  This is why abstracts are only a jumping off point, we must search for the will!  It is also very important to remember that in the colonial era, the term "in-law" didn't mean what it does today.  At the time, it meant that Esther was the child of his wife, and she became his daughter-in-law at the time of William's marriage to her mother.  Unfortunately, though he mentioned "my dear wife" in the will, her name was not given.

I then went on a hunt for a copy of the will, and found it, along with a codicil, and another juicy piece of information, at familysearch.org.  

What is very interesting is what I discovered first, as I was searching through the record set that contained the will.  I found the indenture for Ester Hummer, daughter-in-law of William Sanford, "between 8 & 9 years of age," dated 10 Mar 1690/91 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, to James Boyden for 8 years.  He was the witness to Sanford's will.

Watts and Belsterling stated that Esther died 14 Feb 1774 in Buckingham, Bucks County, Pennsylvania "aged upwards of one hundred years" (2, 3).  this would have put her birth year about 1674.  The Indenture proves that this is in fact incorrect.  She was born about 1682, and died at about 92 years of age.

I then went in search of a marriage record for William Sanford to a woman with the surname Homer.  William Sanford and Frances Homer were married 31 May 1684 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania (7, 8, 9).  She is purported to have come from England as a widow with her two children.  She is also said to have been Swedish (2, 3). 

I then went in search of William Homer.  His marriage intention to Elizabeth Warmsley was recorded 4 Jul 1700 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania (1), and he purchased 250 acres in Byberry, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania in 1713 (7).  He wrote his will 3 Sep 1714 and it was probated 17 Mar 1715 (10).

Sources:

1.   U.S., Quaker Meeting Records, 1681-1935, [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com  Operations, Inc., 2014.

2.   Charles S. Belsterling, "William Preston of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Philadelphia," The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine, Volume 11 Number 2, Mar 1931

3.   William Watts Hart Davis, "History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, from the discovery of the Delaware to the present time," Democrat Book and Job Office Print, Doylestown, PA, 1876

4.   Martha Cross Sargent, "Sanford, William," PA-Roots, 1 Nov 2009, http://www.pa-roots.org/data/read.php?28,617782,617782

5.   A registry of wills, letters of administration, and the names of executors, guardians and trustees, 1684-1693, Film #005547281, pages 59-60, Images 70-71 of 780, familysearch.org

6.   Pennsylvania, Bucks, Orphans' Court record Book A, Volume 1, Film #005534520, pages 24-25, 28-29, Images 27 and 29 of 360, familysearch.org

7.   William Joseph Buck, "Local Sketches and Legends Pertaining to Bucks and Montgomery Counties," printed by the author, 1887

8.   Pennsylvania and New Jersey, U.S., Church and Town Records, 1669-2013, [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

9.   William Montgomery Clemens, "American Marriages Before 1699," The Biblio Co., Pompton Lakes, NJ, 1926

10.  Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, U.S., Will Index, 1682-1819, [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2000

NOTE:  I apologize for my poor sourcing in previous articles.  I strive to do better in the future.