Jabez Snow (elder)

Biography

Jabez Snow grew up in the family of Nicholas Snow and Constance Hopkins. His father's will of November 1676 places him close to the parents' home at Eastham, on Cape Cod in present-day Massachusetts. Nicholas assigned him land between the house and Thomas Paine's property, additional upland and meadow parcels, and meadow around the house. Constance was to retain the use of the part of the house she occupied; after her death it was to pass to Jabez.

The provision shows how the younger household was connected to the older one through adjoining land and a future interest in the home. It also guarded Constance's needs. Some land designated eventually for Jabez could first be disposed of for her support, so the future inheritance was subject to her lifetime requirements.

Jabez and his wife Elizabeth had a son of the same name in 1670. Later family research, citing the Mayflower Families account, records Jabez's admission as a freeman at Eastham in 1681 and service as a highway surveyor and selectman. It also reports that he served as a lieutenant in the 1690 Canadian expedition. The account dates his death to December 27, 1690.

An appraisal of Lieutenant Jabez Snow's estate was made in April 1691. Elizabeth swore to it as his widow, beginning a period of estate administration that extended beyond his death.