Chris & Julie Petersen's Genealogy

Thomas Greenslade

Male Bef 1622 - 1677  (> 55 years)


Personal Information    |    Notes    |    All    |    PDF

  • Name Thomas Greenslade 
    Born Bef 1622  , , England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Died 21/21 Mar 1676/7  Salem, Essex, Massachusetts, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID I5770  Petersen-de Lanskoy
    Last Modified 27 May 2021 

    Family Ann,   b. Abt 1622, , , England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 22 Sep 1692, Salem, Essex, Massachusetts, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 70 years) 
    Married Abt 1649  of Salem, Essex, Massachusetts, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
     1. John Greenslade,   b. Abt 1650, of Falmouth, Cumberland, Maine, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 24 Oct 1693, Falmouth, Cumberland, Maine, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 43 years)
     2. Thomas Greenslade,   b. Abt 1652, of Falmouth, Cumberland, Maine, United States Find all individuals with events at this location
     3. Ruth Greenslade,   b. Abt 1654, of Falmouth, Cumberland, Maine, United States Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Bef 16/16 Mar 1723/4, Andover, Essex, Massachusetts, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 70 years)
     4. Samuel Greenslade,   b. Abt 1656, of Falmouth, Cumberland, Maine, United States Find all individuals with events at this location
     5. James Greenslade,   b. Abt 1658, of Falmouth, Cumberland, Maine, United States Find all individuals with events at this location
    Last Modified 28 May 2021 
    Family ID F1117  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • RESEARCH_NOTES:
      1. The book "The Averell-Averill-Avery family: a record of the descendants of William and Abigail Averell of Ipswich, Mass.," by Clara A. Avery (Press of Evangelical Publishing House, 1906), pp. 123-25:
      "MEMORANDA
      Greensleet, Greensled, Greenslit.
      * An Inv. of the Est. of Thomas Greenslet late (of Salem) dec'd presented 1677, Mar. 27th.; on file [Case 11851], Essex Co. P. R.
      The Inv. of Thomas Greenslet deaseased Salem 21 Mar. 1676
      An Greenslet admx. testified to the truth of the inventory of her late husband Thomas Greenslet before the Court held at Ipswich the 27 of March 1677. Robert Lord Cleric
      Between this date in 1676, and Nov. 28, 1682, Widow Ann ( ---- ) Greensleet m. Jacob Pudeator (this name being a corruption of the surname Pointdexter) of Salem, Mass., whose will was proved at the last date, before the Court at Salem. Mention is made in the will of Ann's children by her previous marriage, and a debt of £5 is forgiven her son John "Greenfield," and bequests to the same amt. made to "the other fouer of my wives children: that is to say Tho Greenslid, and Ruth, & Samuel & James Greensled"
      His "loving wife Ann" was named as exx and was to have the use of his property during her life; and at her decease it was to go to his cozen (nephew?) Isaac Pudeater. At the end of the instrument he adds: "I have desired my loving freind s cozen Mr John Browne Senr, Mr Francis Scevey (Seavey?), and John Massey to be the overseers of this my will." Among names of debtors to the estate, and for very small amounts, appear those of Samll Verey, Senr £2. 10s, Ensign Bancroft; Jacob Baun Esq., Price Edwards [Essex P. R., Vol. 302, p. 25; Inv. same vol. and page].
      Widow Ann (Greensleet) Pudeator was executed for witchcraft 1692 at Salem; and Dec. 10, 1694, an inventory of the est. was presented and admn granted Mr Philip English, attorney for Grace Pudeater, Legatee [Essex P. R., Vol. 303, p. 198; Case 22909].
      James Greensleet starts action against the estate but lets it fall, and Ruth Greenslate alias Bridges receives her legacy of £5 from the estate of her step-father, Jacob Pudeator.
      Some of Ann's children were at Casco Bay, near Portland, Me., in 1692. The Inv. of the estate of "John Greensit, late of Salem (prob, son of Ann, above mentioned), who dec'd Oct ye 24, 1693," was presented Oct. 30, 1693, and admn was granted his widow, Abigail Grenslitt [Essex Probate, Vol. 303, pp. 165, 166].
      It is possible that "Joan Greensleet a single woman" who was m. at Boston, Nov. 10, 1643, to James2 Avery, son of Christopher1 Avery of Cape Ann and Gloucester, Mass. (progenitors of the Groton Avery Clan), was of this Greensleet stock, and a relative of Ann the wife of John Averell. Joan Greenslade was admitted to the First Church of Boston in 1643, and dismissed after her marriage to unite with the church at Gloucester in 1644 [see The Groton Avery Clan, pp. 43-4-5, for Greenslade, etc]."

      2. Some would have us believe that Thomas Greenslade was the son of Edward Greenslade of Boston. There does not seem to be any proof for such a connection except a surname similarity; however, even the surname similarity is in question since the available records for Edward only show thus far a spelling of Greenlief or Greensled. Very little can be found about Edward. Perhaps he was related or not. Perhaps he is a brother or not. What can be thus far found is as follows:
      A. American Ancestors "Suffolk County, MA: Index to Probate Records, 1636-1893" accessed 19 Jan 2019[https://www.americanancestors.org/databases/suffolk-county-ma-index-to-probate-records-1636-1893/image?rId=1085512248&volumeId=40195&pageName=52&filterQuery=] shows: "1668, Edward Greensled, Administration, Mislaid docket." In looking at the Suffolk Probates, apparently there is no existing paperwork.
      B. American Ancestors "Boston, MA: Inhabitants and Estates of the Town of Boston, 1630-1822 (Thwing Collection)" accessed 19 Jan 2019 [https://www.americanancestors.org/databases/boston-ma-inhabitants-and-estates-of-the-town-of-boston-1630-1822-thwing-collection/image?volumeId=14226&pageName=9665&rId=260111342] shows:
      Edward Greenlief
      September 27, 1654 27 (7) 1654 admitted an inhabitant (TR 2:120)
      July 30, 1655 30 (5) 1655 Edward Greenlief granted leave to set a house of 18 ft. deep & 12 ft. to the front from the end of Mr. Batts tan house paying 2.6 for the school use as long as he improves it as a dye house (TR 2:126) Water St.

      3. Savage's "Genealogical Dictionary," p. 310: "GREENSLAD, GREENLY, GREENSLATE, or GREENSLEDGE, THOMAS, Scarborough 1658, Salem 1668, d. July 1674. Compare Willis, I. 64, with Genealog. Reg. V. 264 and IX. 85."

      4. Unverified from the Internet:
      A. A mariner and fisherman with crew of The Margery arriving 1642- 3 (2), in Falmouth 1648 (2), Scarborough 1658 (1), Scarborow and Falmouth 4 July 1663 (17) and Salem 1668 (1), permission to go from the Barbadoes to Antigua in the sloop True Friendship 7 Oct 1679 (17 from Hotton),
      B. Thomas Greenslade was also known as Greenslett.2 He was born say 1624 in England.3 He migrated to Casco Bay, Maine, aboard the ship Margery in 1643.1 Marriage before 1650. He died in July 1674. It is Perley who states, "Thomas Greenslet lived in Salem in 1673." (Probably based on the 1673 Salem Ct records regarding Sarah Lambert's child. I have found no records yet which would indicate Thomas and Ann were in Salem before 1673.) Thomas Greenslet died c. July 1674. An exact date is not known. "July 1674" is given by Sidney Perley, History of Salem. The first document I have with Ann Greenslet's name on it is the Inventory of Thomas Greenslet's Estate, File #11851, dated March 1677, which is when the inventory was recorded. The inventory clearly states Ann Greenslet administratrix for her husband Thomas Greenslet his estate. He died without a will and his estate was inventoried l in March 1677 at Ipswich, Essex Co., Massachusetts; died intestate.5 His estate was probated on 27 March 1677 at Court at Ipswich, Essex Co., Massachusetts.6
      "Most researchers agree that Thomas and Ann had 5 children. We do not know their birth dates or birth places. Assumptions have been made that the children were born between 1650-1660 in Casco Bay, Maine. There are no records, no documentation for this. I have not found any mention in any Maine records that Thomas Greenslade's wife was ever in Casco Bay, Maine, but it is assumed she came there at some time and lived with him there. Very scant records exist for Thomas Greenslade for the years he was in Casco Bay. Based upon a 1666 record of a defaulted mortgage there, my assumption is he left Casco Bay after 1666 and went to Salem, MA. Ann went to Salem with him. He owned no property. He died intestate in 1674 and left more debts than money to pay them. About 3 years later (c. 1677) Thomas Greenslade's widow Ann married her neighbor Jacob Pudeator, who was about 20 years younger than she was. Jacob's wife Isabel had died in 1676. Her inquest and the questions to witnesses indicate that the court might have thought Isabel Pudeator's death needed inquiry. Jacob and Isabel Pudeator had no children. The source for the names of the 5 Greenslade children is the 1681 will of Ann's second husband Jacob Pudeator. Ann's children named in Pudeator's will were: John, Thomas, Samuel, James, and Ruth. Thus, because they were left legacies by Pudeator, we know these 5 were alive when the will was written in 1681."7
      Citations
      1. Sybil Noyes, Charles Thornton Libby and Walter Goodwin, editor, Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire (Portland, ME: Southward Press, 1928-1939), p. 289, "with crew of -The Margery - arriving 1642-3."
      2. Probate Records of Essex County Massachusetts: Vol. III, 1675-1681 (Salem, MA: The Essex Institute, 1920), III:121. Estate of Thomas Greenslett, 27 Mar 1677, q.v.
      3. Sybil Noyes, Charles Thornton Libby and Walter Goodwin, Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire, 289, "a Devon-Somerset name." Prob. b. ca. 1624.
      4. Sybil Noyes, Charles Thornton Libby and Walter Goodwin, Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire, p. 289, from estimated birth dates of children. Ann, his widow, swore to his estate inventory in 1677.
      5/6Probate Records of Essex County Vol. III, III:121; Estate of Thomas Geeenslett. Administration upon the estate of Thomas Greenslett, intestate, was granted Mar. 27, 1677, to Ann Greenslett, who was to pay the debts as far as the inventory, which was 31i. 16s. 2d., would allow. Ipswich Quarterly Court Records, vol. 5, page 287.
      Inventory of the estate of Thomas Greenslet taken Mar. 21, 1676-7 by Edmund Batter and John Massey: one flocke bed & apertenances. Hi.; 2 old Chests with raggs, 6s.; a lampe, ticke & Hauke, 4s. ; table, 2 wheels & Chairs, 10s. 6d.; one Irone pott, 6s. 8d. ; wood & old bedsteed, 7s.; potts, 2s.; 2 swine. Hi. ; total, 31i. 16s. 2d. The debts many & not knowne. Attested in Ipswich court Mar. 27, 1677 by An Greenslet administratrix of the estate of her late husband Thomas Greenslet. Essex County Probate Files, Docket 11,851.
      7. Greenslip List on Rootsweb, online http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/index/GREENSLIT/, Helen Greenslit Graves on 30 Apr 2006 and 26 Jul 2000.
      8. Sybil Noyes, Charles Thornton Libby and Walter Goodwin, Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire, 289.
      C. Posting by Helen Greenslit Graves:
      "... regarding Ann Greenslet Pudeator, here's some background info on Ann which will lead up to her execution as a witch in Salem in 1692. It's pretty slim:
      Scarce info has been found for Ann, wife of Thomas Greenslet. Her maiden name, her DOB, and her birthplace are unknown; who her parents were and if she had any siblings is also unknown. The date of her marriage to Thomas Greenslet and where the marriage took place is unknown. Although the names of her children (Thomas, Ruth, John, Samuel, and James) appear in her 2nd husband's will, where and when ANY of them were born is unknown.
      Their births are estimated as occurring between 1650-1660. Since Thomas Greenslet's name appears on a list of residents for Falmouth during this time period, the family must have lived there and that is probably where all 5 children were born. However, no birth or baptism records have been found. Worth noting: Ann Greenslet's name appears nowhere in early Falmouth, Maine, records.
      1666-1673 gap. The last record for Thos Greenslet being in Maine was 1667 when he defaulted on a mortgage. The next record is 1673 when Salem Town paid Thomas Greenslet to take in Sarah Lambert's young child to care for. There was a law regarding schooling children and making sure they learned how to read English. Apparently, Thomas Greenslet did not do this. The child was taken away from the Greenslet household that same year. Sidney Perley's 'History of Salem' refers to this, but what he says is misleading. Sounds like it was one of Thomas Greenslet's children who wasn't schooled, but that was not the case. It was an unrelated young child who Salem Town was paying the Greenslet's to raise.
      It is Perley who states, "Thomas Greenslet lived in Salem in 1673." (Probably based on the 1673 Salem Ct records regarding Sarah Lambert's child. I have found no records yet which would indicate Thomas and Ann were in Salem before 1673.
      Thomas Greenslet died c. July 1674. An exact DOD is not known. "July 1674" is given by Sidney Perley, 'History of Salem'. The first document I have with Ann Greenslet's name on it is the Inventory of Thomas Greenslet's Estate, File #11851, dated March 1677, which is when the inventory was recorded. The inventory clearly states Ann Greenslet administratrix for her husband Thomas Greenslet his estate. Ann's birth has been estimated as being c. 1622-1627, so she was 47-52 when her husband died in 1674. In 1674, if their 5 children were born 1650-1660, some of the younger children were probably still at home. It is believed that the eldest child was son Thomas, and that he was probably born c. 1650. If correct, by 1674, Thomas Jr. was 24 years old, a mariner and working on ships in/out of Salem. There are later references that his brothers Samuel and John were in Casco Bay fighting Indians in 1676. From these references, it has been assumed that perhaps James was the youngest child and may have still been in the Greenslet home in 1674 when his father died. Where daughter Ruth was in 1674 is unknown, but she appears in Ipswich in 1677.
      19 Sept 1677 Ruth Greenslip (sic) married Josiah Bridges in Ipswich.
      1680 Thos. & Ann's son John Greenslet married Abigail Curtis, d/o William Curtis/Curtice and Alice Rumball. Marriage date and place have not been found. Since her parents continued to live in Salem, it is assumed the marriage took place there. (This is my line.)
      JACOB PUDEATOR was born ca 1642, so he was 17-20 years younger than his neighbor Ann Greenslet. According to Sidney Perley, he arrived in Salem c. 1666 when he was 24 years old and married Isabel Mosier. They had no children. Jacob Pudeator was a blacksmith and owned ppty near Salem Commons. According to Perley, Isabel was a drunkard and a railer, and squandered Jacob's money for rum. (Perley prob got this from Essex Co. Court Records.)
      Isabel Pudeator died 3 March 1675/76. There was an inquest into her death. Essex Court Records reveal that Ann Greenslet, the Pudeator's neighbor, had nursed Isabel prior to her death, so we know that Ann Greenslet lived not far from the Pudeator house on Salem Commons and was referred to as 'Nurs'. How much nursing she did, is not known. The testimony regarding Isabel Pudeator's death is interesting, in that the doctor who tended to her was amazed that she had died, as he had left her on the mend. Hmmm.
      Within the year after Isabel died (March 1677-March 1678) Jacob Pudeator married his neighbor Ann Pudeator. He was about 35 years old and she was about 55 years old -- not a typical union. Most men sought younger wives and he was still young enough to start a family. Ann Pudeator was not rich; she owned no property. I have yet to find an "advantage" for Jacob to marry her... unless he owed her something for offing his drunkard wife. The record for their marriage has not been found. However, Ann appears as Jacob Pudeator's wife on a deed dated March 1678, so we know they were married by then.
      The marriage lasted about 5 years (1677-1682). Jacob Pudeator died c. August 1682 and his will was proved in Essex Court 28 Sept 1682. In his will, Jacob Pudeator named his wife's 5 children as John, Thomas, Ruth, Samuel, and James and left all but John legacies of 5 pounds each. John Greenslit has purchased a house and lot from Jacob in 1681 and John still owned Jacob 5 pounds. John's legacy was that Jacob forgave him his 5 pound debt. Jacob devised to his beloved wife Ann the rest of his property to use during her natural life, but upon her death it was to go to his 'cozen' Isaac Pudeator. When Jacob died age 40 in 1682, his widow Ann (Greenslet) was about 60 years old.
      1682-1692. Nothing is known of Ann's life in these 10 years. No doubt she lived in Jacob Pudeator's house on his ppty located on Salem Commons. She may have leased out his smithy for income.
      WHEREABOUTS OF ANN's CHILDREN IN 1692. From trial records, her son Thomas Greenslet was in Salem at one time to give testimony to the strength of the Rev. George Burroughs. But it is speculated that since Thomas was a mariner, he probably was in and out of Salem on ships. There is no record that he testified in his mother's behalf.
      There is no record of her son Samuel who was named in the 1682 will. Since Jacob Pudeator listed him and devised him a legacy, it is assumed he was alive in 1682, but where he was living or what happened to him after that, is unknown. There is no record that he received his legacy 1682-1694. (Jacob Pudeator's estate was settled in 1694.)
      Ann's son John Greenslit was married, had small children, and lived in Salem until c. 1689 when he left 'to go to sea' and never returned. Assumed dead, John's young widow remarried 2-Thomas Mason. They lived in Salem in 1692; however, there is no record that Ann's ex-daughter in law spoke up for her in her behalf. John Greenslet's children were old enough in 1692 to know that their grandmother Greenslet had been accused of witchcraft, found guilty, and hung.
      Ann's daughter Ruth was married to Josiah Bridges, had young children, and lived in Boxford in 1692. No record exists that Josiah and Ruth Bridges spoke up in Ann's behalf.
      Ann's son James is a mystery. He was named in the 1681 Pudeator will so we know he was alive then. Nothing further is known of him, except in 1694 he was paid his 5 pound Pudeator legacy. What was left of Jacob Pudeator's estate after Ann was hung in 1692 was administered to by Phillip English, Salem merchant, in 1694. He submitted an inventory to Essex Court and also listed all of his expenses. He paid James Greenslet's attorney the 5 pounds owed to James and he paid Ruth Greenslet alias Bridges her 5 pound legacy. No mention is found in Phillip English's records that he paid Thomas, Jr., or Samuel their legacies.
      This is the sketchy background info on Ann Greenslet Pudeator. In Essex Court Records, she is referred to as 'Nurs' and we know she "nursed" her neighbor Isabel Pudeator just before she died. When the sheriff came to arrest Ann for witchcraft, they found pots of various sizes in her house. Who knows what was in them (perhaps herbs and medicinal mixes she concocted) but it seemed proof that she was mixing evil potions.
      Ann Greenslet Pudeator was hung on 22 Sept 1692 -- accused by neighbors as well as by some of the young girls.
      Many of us have scratched our heads and speculated as to why certain ancestors were accused. Why Ann Pudeator?
      In her book, "The Devil in the Shape of a Woman", Carol F. Karlsen doesn't have much to say about Ann Pudeator. In the book she attributes accusations to plain anger, and supports it by saying "Ann Pudeator's crime was scolding. John Best (Jr.), speaking about how he had several times found Pudeator's cow among his father's when he rounded up the herd, explained that the reason he 'did conclude said pudeator was a wich' was that she 'would chide me when I came houme for turning the cow bak.'
      Later on in the book, during a section where Ms. Karlsen is discussing women who were mid-wives and healers (she thinks that this is could be a connection to why they were accused of witchcraft as she says 22 of those accused witches were mid-wives and/or healers) Ms. Karlson has this to say of Ann Pudeator:
      "The problem is further complicated by the presence among witches of women like Ann Pudeator who turned these housewifery skills to profit when widowed or at other times of economic need."
      HUH? I think Ms. Karlsen made a giant assumptive leap there. Yes, Ann was a widow. Yes, she is referred to in Essex Court records as 'Nurs Greenslad' during the inquest testimony for the dead Isabel Pudeator. But this 'Nurs' reference could have been because she had been called in by Jacob Pudeator to tend to his ill wife. She was their neighbor. We have no proof, no documentation, that Ann Greenslet practiced as a nurse-healer for profit. Ann said the pots they found in her house contained soap."