Lot Larkham, Jr.

  Lot Larkham, Jr. was born on March 17, 1774 in Richmond, Rhode Island. He was the son of Lancelot and Prudence (Adams) Larkham.

One month after his 22nd birthday, Lot married Elizabeth "Betsy" Kennedy, the 17-year-old daughter of Daniel and Lucretia (Whipple) Kennedy of Voluntown. The marriage took place at the First Congregational Church of Voluntown (also known as the Plain Church) with the Reverend Micaiah Porter officiating. The date was April 28, 1796. The young couple settled near Lot's father's farm at the southeast of Beach Pond in Voluntown. Ten months later, the couple's first child, Daniel Kennedy Larkham was born. Lot and Betsy subsequently had four children during the course of their marriage:

• Daniel Kennedy Larkham, born March 8, 1797

• Erastus Renssalaer Larkham, born July 5 1801

• Alice Kennedy Larkham, born April 19 1803

• Lancelot "Lancy L." Larkham, born February 15, 1810

On October 21, 1799, Lot's mother died at the age of 59. Two years later, December 3, 1801, Lot's father remarried a 52-year-old woman named Hannah Larkin. During this time period, all of Lot's siblings left Connecticut to settle in various parts of New York state. His oldest brother, John, took his family to Schoharie County, New York. His next oldest brother, Thomas, went first to Petersburgh, Rensselaer County, New York in 1799, and later to Hartford, Washington County, New York. Lot's sister Sarah married Benjamin Colegrove of Voluntown, and they moved to Brookfield, Madison County, New York in 1802. Sister Prudence married William Himes and they settled in Berlin, Rensselaer County, New York. Lot's younger sister, Patience, married John Witter. They also settled in Brookfield, New York before migrating further west.

The westward migration of his siblings clearly had a significant impact on Lot's landholdings in Voluntown. On October 30, 1799 (just nine days after his mother's death), Lot's older brother Thomas, who was then living in Petersburgh, New York, gave power of attorney to Lot over his property and possessions in Voluntown. Lot was eventually to be the recipient of all of his father's Beach Pond land. In 1801, Lancelot Larkham gave land to Lot in two land deeds.

On August 25, 1814, at the age of 35, Betsey Kennedy Larkham died, leaving Lot with 4-year-old Lancy, 11-year-old Alice, 13-year-old Erastus, and Daniel, age 17. Lot was 40 years old, and the challenge of raising a family and maintaining a sizeable farm no doubt inspired him to look for another wife. A little more than two years later, Lot married again.

Lot's second wife, Olive Gorton, was the daughter of Hezekiah and Patience Gorton of West Greenwich, Rhode Island. Lot and Olive were married on November 28, 1816. The marriage was recorded in Voluntown town records as:

"Lot Larkham Jun^r. and Olive Gorton were lawfully Joined in mariage[sic] Nov. 28th AD 1816 by Stafford Green Elder".

A little more than two years after their marriage, Olive gave birth to a son, John Alfred Larkham. Lot and Olive were to have four children of their own during the seventeen years that they were married:

•  John Alfred Larkham, born February 4, 1819

• William H. Larkham, born May 31, 1820

• Betsey Olive Larkham, born May 24, 1824

• Edwin Larkham, born January 26, 1828

In January 10, 1821, Lot's father, Lancelot Larkham, died. Lot was made executor of his father's will, and he inherited the greater part of his father's estate, valued at $1113.01. In December of this same year, Lot's older brother, Thomas, was killed in a farming accident in Hartford, New York.

Lot appears to have spent most of his life on the Beach Pond farm that his parents established in the late 1700s. In 1824, Lot added to this property by purchasing cedar swamp land in Exeter, Rhode Island (no doubt land adjacent to the existing Larkham land but just over the Connecticut line in Rhode Island) from William Tucker.

On May 25, 1834, Olive Gorton Larkham died, leaving Lot, once again, with a young family to raise on his own. John was 15, William was not yet 14, Betsy Olive had just turned 11 the day before, and Edwin was only 6.

Less than a year later, on April 6, 1835, Lot took a third wife, 36-year-old Sarah “Sally Ann” Phillips of Coventry, Rhode Island. Lot was nearly 61 years old. Their first child, Sally Ann Larkham was born on December 13, 1836. Lot and Sally Ann Phillips Larkham had two children together:

• Sally Ann Larkham, born December 13, 1836

•  Mary Jane Larkham, born November 2, 1838

On May 22, 1847, Lot Larkham died. His will, written on December 22, 1845 and proved on June 11, 1847, named his wife, Sally Larkham, son Daniel K. Larkham, son Erastus R. Larkham, daughter Alice K. Larkham, son Lancey L. Larkham, son John A. Larkham, daughter Betsey O. Larkham, daughter Sally Ann Larkham, daughter Mary J. Larkham, and son William H. Larkham. William and his stepmother were named executors of the estate, with William inheriting the majority of Lot's real and personal estate, valued at $948.77.

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Last updated: Saturday, July 03, 2021 04:04:37 PM

Lea, J. Henry, Esq. "Gleanings Among the English Archives" The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume LIV, April 1900, Whole Number 214, P. 193.

Lewis, W. History of the Congregational Church, Cockermouth : being selections from its own records.  London: H.K. Judd & Co., 1870.

Nightingale, Benjamin. The Ejected of 1662 in Cumberland & Westmorland, Their Predecessors and Successors.  Manchester, University Press, 1911.