Mark Kulow shows Edward's middle name as 'Thomas' in his records.
Edward changed his name from Peavey to Peve.
(Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire. By Sybil Noyes, Charles T. Libby and Walter G. Davis. PEAVEY, pgs. 536-537 )
Taxed in Greenland in 1691, tenant on Hall farm and in 1693 he was living with Richard Blanchard. Edward is listed in the "'New Hampshire Residents 1633-1699' by Jay Mack Holbrook" as a Portsmouth Church Member in 1694. He lived at Oyster River in 1700 when he was "sued by Pepperell and fined by Dover for fencing highway." Subscribed for Newington minister in 1713
(Sybil Noyes, Charles T. Libby, and Walter G. Davis, "Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire," pp 536-537)
Edward was in Portsmouth, NH in 1691, aged 21, and in 1693 he had a seat in the North Church. Portsmouth had been established in 1623, and in 1631 a group of 80 colonists arrived. The colony grew slowly, however, because by 1657 there were scarcely 100 persons over the age of 21. In 1692, Edward Peavey was one of a list of New Hampshire men who petitioned for equal privileges with Massachusetts. By 1700, he had moved over to Dover (still in Strafford County) and was located at Oyster River. He was designated as a yeoman. In 1694, Oyster River was often attacked by Abenaki Indians. The Rev. John Pike recorded one terrible attack in his diary: July 18. "The Indians fell suddenly and unexpectedly upon Oyster River about break of day. Took 3 Garrisons, killed and carried away 94 persons, and burnt 13 houses." Half the settlement was burned to the ground, and the attackers killed hundreds of livestock. The town is now known as Durham and is located above Boston.
Edward spelled his name as a witness to a deed as "Peve." In 1713, he was on a list of petitioners for the new town of Newington which was comprised of the "Bloody Point" section of Cover and a section of Portsmouth. He, along with his son Abel Peavey, signed the document. Nathaniel and Joseph also signed documents pertaining to the Newington Parish in the same year.
(source: Ne-Do-Ba Friends Sharing in History. The Great Massacre of 1694 by Craig J. Brown).
(Above two paragraphs from: Ron Custer's Family Tree Farm - Ronald Gene Custer - [email protected])
The remaining notes concerning Edward Peve and his family were compiled by Mark Kulow and Lisa Braendle.
Edward Peve's middle name was Thomas and his parents were Thomas Peavey/Peve, b. c. 1645 and Martha Eaton, b. c. 1645, both from England. He was taxed in 1691 and was living as a tenant on the Hall farm with Richard Blanchard in 1693. Another record indicates Thomas Peavey and Richard Blanchard on the Hall farm. Mark asserts that Rachel's maiden name was Adams, but did not record where he discovered that information.
There are many different accounts regarding the appearance of the first Peavey's in this country. The spelling of the name is only important in some aspects of tracking specific individuals and in tracing the line to our European roots. We have chosen to maintain a common spelling in order to facilitate our record-keeping and research. By some accounts (Including the fine work by Leroy D. Peavey) Edward Peve was the first by that name to settle in this country, specifically in the NH area. His father may have been Thomas Peve and Martha (Eaton) Peve who resided in England and Edward may have come over with a brother John. We have given Edward the middle name of Thomas based on the possible reference to Thomas the father and a reference from the NH historical records regarding the rental of the Hall property by Edward Peavey. Another record for the same information states it was Thomas Peavey on the farm. Since we have no records of a Thomas in this time frame a combined name of Edward Thomas Peavey might fit with both records. In addition, Thomas seems to be one of the most common names in the early Peavey lines.
There has been some discussion about Edward and another brother William of Portsmouth but the dates for this William seem to fit much better for a son of Edward rather than a brother. A possible brother John with a wife Mary is not mentioned in any NH records. The only mention in this time period is the son John Peavey who drowned in 1722. There is a possibility that he had a wife named Mary which would explain the marriage of John Peavey to Mary. We could add to the confusion if this widow Mary Peavey got remarried at some point to Samuel Holmes instead of a daughter Mary. Nothing seems to indicate this so it is probably best to leave things as they are for now. We have not found anything definitive to indicate that there are any Peavey descendants other than those who are directly descended from Edward. If Leroy is correct the first mention of Edward was in the 1691 list of those who pledged to support the Puritan Minister Rev. John Cotton. He was not listed on the "Powder List" in 1690 or an earlier "List" in 1688. With that in mind it is possible that one or more of his sons were born in England or on the ship coming over rather than in Rockingham Co., NH. Again this minor detail is not extremely important to our research on the family. Leroy's notes on the origination of name is very interesting and should be part of the education of all Peavey researchers.
Edward was originally in Portsmouth, moving from there to Dover (Durham), and then to "Bloody Point", a section of Dover. Edward was one of the petitioners for the new town of Newington which was comprised of the "Bloody Point" section of Dover and a section of Portsmouth. Edward's son Abel also signed the petition in 1713 indicating a birth prior to 1695 or 1692, depending on the age requirements for signers of the document. It is possible that the Edward who signed the document in 1713 was actually Edward but we have no evidence to prove this one way or the other. Nathaniel and Joseph also signed documents pertaining to the Newington Parish in the same year. While this information does not pinpoint the birth dates of these individuals, it does indicate a time-frame which fits with the dates we have found based on research available in the LDS records. Additional information recorded by Leroy regarding rolls and other earlier records serve as further verification for the birth dates we are using.
The family of Edward seems to have moved to different locations within the area based on further early records. Generally speaking Abel, Nathaniel, and Joseph are in Newington before moving elsewhere. William seems to have remained in the Portsmouth area. Peter ends up in Hampton, NH and then in Andover, Essex Co. MA as detailed by Leroy. Some of Peter's children end up back in NH at a later point. Edward seems to have been in Newington but his line has not been identified as of yet. John dies at an early age without issue as far as we know. Deborah, Jane and Rachel seem to have stayed in the Dover area with their husbands and families and we have not traced their lines beyond the first generation due the necessary constraints we have placed on our research. Sarah and her husband Richard Carter went to ME as well as Mary and her husband Samuel Holmes. It may be important to trace these lines in the event that they represent a connection to other Peavey's who later moved to ME. Other Peavey's also ended up throughout the New England area. We have not found any connection to the Southern Peavey's which is not to say that there is no connection.
It would be helpful at this point to identify all of Edward's wives and his children and to look at possible birth dates to avoid putting these children in the wrong generation or with the wrong parents. The first consideration is the birth date for Edward Sr. who should likely be dated at least 21 years before he signed the pledge in 1691. This puts his birth before 1670. His son Abel Peavey was on "Col. Walton's Command" in the French War Rolls in 1710. It is possible for young men to have fought from the age of 16 years and up but 18 is more likely. This would put his birth before 1692. We have a fairly reliable birth date for Abel's son Hudson of Feb. 11, 1711 with a crossover to 1710. This means that Abel was married to Mary Hudson by 1709. Again it is possible for him to have married as young as 18 years old but it is more likely that he was at least 21 years of age. This would also fit better with his War service in 1710. Our conclusion is that his birth date is c. 1688. This is supported by various family trees and LDS records. If Abel was the eldest son and we assume Edward was at least 21 when he was married the most commonly used birth date of 1666 and a marriage date of 1687 would be as close as we can come to the actual dates. It might also be good to point out here that Rachel (Adams?) was most likely the mother of all of Edward's children. A Rachel Peavey marries Selathiel Denbow Dec. 19, 1720 in Newington. This may be the widow of Edward or a daughter of his. Rachel, the daughter of Edward gets married to Thomas Rowe January 17, 1720 in Newington. This younger Rachel has a daughter Mary Rowe in 1723. Since the widow Rachel would be at least 50 years old at this point it does not seem likely she married Thomas Rowe and the daughter married Selathiel. Some have put forward the possibility that Mary Clough/Cluff was the mother of some of Ed's earlier children. It would seem unlikely that Edward married a Mary Cluff and his son Abel also married a Mary Cluff in c. 1717. There are no records that indicate the birth of a Mary Clough/Cluff before 1670 which would be the latest birth date for her if she was the mother of Abel who was likely born in 1688 as previously demonstrated.
The following is what we consider to be the most likely family tree based on the available information.
Abel Peavey (1688) married Mary Hudson (1689) in 1709/10. She died before 1713 since her father's will dated 1713 indicates she was no longer alive. She had three children in that four year time-frame so these dates seem to match with the additional information available.
 Children of Abel Peavey and Mary Hudson as confirmed by John Hudson's will
Hudson Peavey Feb. 11, 1710/11
Thomas Peavey June 19, 1714
Abel Peavey June 30, 1716
We have a marriage record for the 2nd marriage for Abel to Mary Clough (Cluff?) in 1717 according to the Newington Town records. LDS has a date of Dec. 19, 1720. To this marriage was born Ezekiel who was christened June 2, 1734. At this point Abel was a member in good standing with the church in Newington and Christenings seem to be taking place shortly after the birth of the child so the Christening date is likely very close to the birth date. We have not found any further mention of Ezekiel at this point other than a record from the Revolutionary War. An earlier birth date would make him fairly old to be serving in the Revoluntionary War unless this is a reference to a different Ezekiel. The birth of a child 17 years after their marriage seems unlikely but we have no other records to prove this one way or the other. A likely birth date for Mary Clough is 1690-1700 which would make her 34-44 at the birth of Ezekiel. This would fit but doesn't answer the question about the late birth. It also does not address why Abel's children by Mary Hudson were living with their grandparents and not with Abel and his new wife Mary. Some mysteries will not be resolved without a time machine. This seems to be the complete family for Abel with the most likely dates possible at this point. See the notes for Abel to get an overview on his lines.
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