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Seafaring Family


Ship George off Cape Ann by Edmund Stone

Mary Holt (1761-1850) and Robert Endicott (1756-1819)

Generation Five Family 535

MARY HOLT (Sarah Abbott Holt4, George3, George2, George1), b. at Danvers, 3 Oct 1761 daughter of Nathan and Sarah (Abbott) Holt; d. at Beverly, 7 Jan 1850; m. 1 Nov 1781, ROBERT ENDICOTT, b. 29 Oct 1756 son of John and Elizabeth (Jacobs) Endicott; Robert d. at Beverly, 6 Mar 1819.

Mary Holt married Robert Endicott a descendant of Governor John Endicott. They settled in Beverly where they had a family of seven children. The Endicott family was instrumental in the shipping industry in Salem and three of the sons of Robert and Mary were mariners.

Son Robert Endicott went to sea at age 20, and although he did not die at sea, he died at age 28 of “decline.” Son Nathan Holt Endicott went to sea at age 16 and was chief mate when he died of fever aboard the ship Glide in Calcutta. A son-in-law, John Ellingwood, also died at sea. He was first officer of the ship Bramin when he died in the Bay of Bengal.

Third oldest son, Captain Samuel Endicott, was a shipmaster in command of the ship George for several years. The ship George was built in Salem in 1814 and was part of a large fleet of merchant vessels owned by Joseph Peabody. This ship made annual trips to Calcutta and the round trip took nearly a year. The average outbound trip was 115 days and the average return took 103 days. After his seafaring days, Samuel was president of the bank in Beverly.

Youngest son, William, lived to be 99 years 10 months old. He was a successful business owner having a mercantile and drug store at the corner of Cabot and Washington Streets in Beverly.

Robert and Mary Endicott had seven children born at Beverly.

1. MARY ENDICOTT, b. 29 Jul 1782; d. at Beverly, 8 Jan 1813; m. at Beverly, 18 Oct 1808, JOHN ELLINGWOOD, b. at Beverly, 20 Dec 1783 son of John and Hannah (Glover) Ellingwood; John d. aboard ship in Calcutta, 7 Nov 1816.

2. ROBERT ENDICOTT, b. 5 May 1785; d. at Beverly, 29 Aug 1813 of “decline.” Robert did not marry. He was a mariner.

3. NATHAN HOLT ENDICOTT, b. 31 Jan 1788; d. aboard ship at the Bay of Bengal, 2 Jul 1816. Nathan did not marry. He died from a fever.

4. Daughter, b. 7 Jun 1790 and d. 10 Jun 1790

5. SAMUEL ENDICOTT, b. 18 Jul 1793; d. at Beverly, 28 Jan 1872; m. 1st, 11 Jun 1820, his first cousin, HANNAH HOLT, b. at Epping, NH, 4 May 1794 daughter of Peter and Hannah (Holt) Holt; Hannah d. 14 Mar 1825. Samuel m. 2nd, 21 May 1826, SARAH FARNUM HOLT, b. at Epping, 12 Feb 1809 daughter of Peter and Hannah (Holt) Holt; Sarah d. 23 Aug 1847. Samuel m. 3rd, 7 Jun 1852, MARY THORNDIKE LEECH, b. at Beverly, 3 Aug 1803 daughter of William and Ruth (Lee) Leech. Mary T. Leech had first married ship captain John Giddings. Mary d. 20 Dec 1881.

6. Daughter, b. 7 Sep 1796 and d. 11 Sep 1796

7. WILLIAM ENDICOTT, b. 11 Mar 1799; d. just two months before his 100th birthday on 8 Jan 1899; m. 26 Sep 1824, JOANNA LOVETT RANTOUL, b. at Beverly, 13 Jan 1803 daughter of Robert and Joanna (Lovett) Rantoul; Joanna d. 26 Jun 1863.

Sources:

Ancestry.com, U.S., Newspaper Extractions from the Northeast, 1704-1930

Essex Institute. 1922. Old-Time Ships of Salem, 2nd Edition. Salem, MA: Nichols Press Printers.

Hurd, Duane Hamilton. 1888. History of Essex County, Massachusetts: With Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, Volume 1. Philadelphia: J. W. Lewis.

Ma-vitalrecords.org

Web: US, New England Seamen's Protection Certificate Index, 1796-1871

Photo Credit: Essex Institute, Old-Time Ships of Salem


Family sheet for Robert Endicott and Mary Holt: https://abbottgenealogy.org/familygroup.php?familyID=F6199&tree=abbott1