Generations I - VII
On May 27, 1692, Mercy was accused of sorcery by her fellow citizens of Compo (now Fairfield), Connecticut during the infamous New England witchcraft madness, and arrested. On the first of June, 1692 she was subjected to the "water trial", which she failed because she refused to drown. She was held all summer until a trial was held on 14 Sep with Governor Robert Treat presiding. Almost two hundred depositions were taken against her, but the jury was at an impasse and could not reach a verdict. In October, the ministers of the Connecticut General Court reviewed the evidence and found it all to be erroneous. The jury was recalled, but this time they found her guilty. The court then approved the verdict, and the Governor sentenced her to death. She was imprisoned again to await her fate. A petition was circulated by influential friends and family and presented to the General Court, claiming that the trial had been completely illegal for a number of reasons. The court promptly appointed a committee of three men to review the trial and take such action as they saw fit. On 12 May 1693, the committee issued their reprieve of Mercy to stay her execution. The report concluded "The Court may please to consider also how farr (sic) these proceedings do put a difficulty on any further trial of this woman." Thankfully, the tragedy of Salem was not repeated in Fairfield, CT as Mercy was pardoned. Published pamphlets, a popular form of communication in those times, were circulated about the account of Mercy's ordeal. One can only wonder, however, how she coped after she was freed, and what her relationships with her neighbors (who had tried to have her put to death) were like. Probably not friendly, anyhow. It is known that not long after the trial, one of her neighbors tried to create further trouble for Mercy by accusing her of having had a child out of wedlock years before when her mother, Susannah sent her to live with her brother-in-law, a well-known minister, the Rev. Gershom Buckley. Buckley immediately came to her defense and put the rumor to rest in a letter which still exists and is in the collection of the Fairfield Historical Society. There is much more information about this fascinating and horrific chapter in American history regarding Mercy Desborough's ordeal on the Disbrow Family Web Site and in various other publications. A list can be provided upon reguest by emailing alicecalhounsilentscreenstar@yahoo.com. Thomas and Mercy had 1 Child: THOMAS.
II) THOMAS DISBROW (b. 1680-85 d. 1757) m. Oct 1708 ABIGAIL ne้ Goding or Goodwin (b. c1681 d. 17 Apr 1756). Thomas lived his entire life on his parent's farm, which was called (for unknown reasons) "Sherwood Lot", and added to it over the years. He conveyed a portion of the estate to his half-brothers, John (in 1712) and Nathaniel (in 1718) Nichols. By the time Thomas passed away in 1757, he owned more than 250 acres, in at least eight different parcels. He died without leaving a will, but the inventory of his estate ran six legal-sized pages and totaled 2,166 pounds, 7 shillings and 6 pence, which was a sizeable fortune in 1757. Thomas and Abigail had 7 Children: Thomas III; Joseph; NATHAN; Susannah; Caleb; Joshua; Sarah.
III) NATHAN DISBROW (b. 10 Jun 1715 d. 25 Sep 1777) m. 21 Nov 1738 WAIT/ Waitee/Weight ne้ Scribener (b. Feb 1718? d. 1 Dec 1805). Nathan was an American Revolutionary War soldier in the 7th Regiment of Dutchess County, New York. Nathan was a ferryman, and built a toll bridge at the Saugatuck River in Fairfield (then called Compo), Connecticut. The fare at Disbrow's Ferry in 1750 was "for man, horse and load, twopence halfpenny; for led-horse, one penny; for footman, penny halfpenny; for ox or other neat kine (sic), threepence halfpenny; for sheep, hog or goat, halfpenny." A number of IOUs from Nathan are still in existence; he seemed to write a lot of them, probably because he had 17 Children: Johanna; NATHAN; Patty; Abigail; Ruth; Sarah; Peter; Wait; Susannah; Andrew; Jacob; Israel; Lydia; Solomon; David; Polly; Esther.
IV) NATHAN DISBROW (b. 6 Apr 1741 d. 12 May 1807) m. EUNICE ne้ Rowland (b. 23 Sep 1744 d. 21 Oct 1822). He was an American Revolutionary War soldier; same regiment as his father. Nathan was a cooper by trade. Nathan and Eunice had 7 Children: THOMAS; Thomasin; Zalmon; Rowland; Israel; Wait/Weight; Sarah. Nathan's son Israel was kidnapped while cutting wood in a forest in Canada, and forced to fight against his own country in the War of 1812. During this time, his wife (Johanna Bridgeman bap. 21 Jun 1795 d. c1816) died, never knowing what had happened to him. He returned to the rest of his family after the war. He then gave his daughter, Minerva to his brother Rowland, and took his son William with him and moved back to the U.S. to Marietta, Ohio. He married Phoebe Jayne (b. 5 Feb 1797 d. 28 May 1882) and they had seven children: Stewart Nathan; Charles Talmon; Johanna; Mary C.; LYDIA JANE (see Gen. VII below - she married her cousin, Zelotes); Hattie; Israel Rowland. Israel Sr. drowned while trying to save his son who had fallen through the ice while skating on Duck Creek, about 3 miles from Marietta, Ohio in January 1832.
V) THOMAS DISBROW (bap. 2 Feb 1766 d. 1826) m. EUNICE ne้ Frost (b. (before) 1873? d. 1853, over 80 yrs. of ae.). Eunice told her grandson, Zelotes (Gen. VII, below) horrific stories about his Great-Great Grandfather Nathan fighting in the Revolutionary War; the fierceness of the battles, the cold and the hardship - "..blood gushing out of his (Nathan's) shoes...".Thomas had a hotel and a large farm in New York state. In 1812 he mortgaged all his properties and invested in a ship loaded with potash for sale in England. This being a time of war, the ship was lost, and Thomas also lost all of his property. He was already an old man (according to his grandson, Zelotes' recollection - actually Thomas was 36) and had to start his life anew. He packed up what was left, and with his sons, Thomas, Isaac, Jessie and their families, traveled via the Allegheny up the Ohio River(s) to the farm of the future American president General William Henry Harrison. The family lived there and labored on the land until Thomas died in 1826, Thomas and Eunice had 6 Children: Isaac C.; Jacob C.; Jesse; THOMAS, JR.; Melissa; Eunice; Polly (Mary); Rebecca.
VI) THOMAS DISBROW (b. 28 Sep 1797 d. 29 Jul 1850) m. 4 Mar 1817 ELIZABETH "Betsy" ne้ Jaynes (see photo) (b. 2 Dec 1795 d. 18 May 1870). Thomas and Betsy moved back to New York state after Thomas' father died in 1826. In 1832 they moved to Ohio. 8 Children: James William; Lydia Ann; ZELOTES PHELPS; Daniel B.; John McConnell; Ira Clark; Sarah Jane; Thomas.
VII) ZELOTES PHELPS DISBRO, M.D. (see photo) (b. 20 Nov 1822 d. 31 Jan 1903) m. 28 Jul 1846 his first cousin once removed, LYDIA JANE "Jennie" ne้ Disbrow (see above Gen. IV) (see photo) (b. 13 Feb 1828 d. 20 Feb 1890). Zelotes was born on William Harrison's farm. The grandchildren called Zelotes "Lacey Curtains" because of his long, white goatee. They loved to sit on his lap and play peek-a-boo by hiding behind it. Zelotes was a physician and a licensed Weleyan minister. He wrote down much of the family history, and was a prolific letter writer. Lydia's will, which left everything to her husband, recorded their address on Aaron Street in the seventh ward of the City of Cleveland, and was witnessed by Florence F. Payne (Alice Calhoun's mother) of 173 Aaron Street. Zelotes and Jennie had 5 Children: Harriet Jane; EMILY ALICE; IRA WESTON (see photo); William Rufus; Edward Rowland.
Generations VIII - XIV