Hannah Barnard

Biography

Born about 1678

Hannah Barnard grew up in Andover (in northeastern Massachusetts), the daughter of Stephen Barnard and Rebecca Howe. Her father was a weaver. She married Joseph Marble on April 23, 1695, joining another Andover family whose later history was closely connected with Stow.

Among their first children were Hannah, Joseph, and Dorothy. In October 1706 the family lost both daughters: the compiled records place Dorothy’s death on October 9 and Hannah’s on October 13. The surviving dates establish the closeness of the losses without identifying their cause.

The household later included more children, among them Jonathan, Mary, Rebecca, David, and Asa. Hannah’s surviving story is therefore one of a large family formed across the turn of the eighteenth century, including two closely spaced childhood deaths. Her own death date is uncertain.