| FAMILY NOTES |
The Saunders (or Sanders) family came from "Torbay, England", settled on the Isles of
Shoals and took up the familiar, albeit dangerous, lives of commercial fishermen. Then, as now,
commercial fishing was one of the most dangerous occupations in America. The list of those who were
lost at sea is great in this family.
While "Torbay, England" is not found in the modern atlases of that country, the "Torbay" referred to is possibly now the town of Torquay, England - which is a harbor town south of Exeter. It is between Hope's Nose and Paignton, just sounth of Babblecombe Bay[6]. The Great Gale of 20 October 1770 was one of the most destructive and violent ever on the New England coast. It was a vicious Nor'Easter which started late Friday, 19 October 1770 and continued in full force on Saturday, 20 October 1770. Contemporary readers would recognize it as having the strength and ferocity of "The Perfect Storm&34; of late October 1990. "...In the bay at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, two schooners from Rye were out fishing, and were seen about sunset Friday night, but were never again heard from. On one of the vessels were six men, John Sanders and his son John, John Yeaton, William Thomas and two others and two boys; and on the other were Samuel Sanders, Joshua Foss, Samuel Sanders, Jr., and two boys. Six of the men left wives and a number of children. How many wives were made widows and children orphans by this storm is not known, but the number must have been large..."[4] The Saunders family clearly suffered tremendous loss in this one gale. |
| BIRTH | John was born in Torbay, England. |
| DEATH | John was lost in the Great October Gale of 1770[2]. |
| MIGRATION | John emigrated from Torbay, England before 7 April 1740 (date of marriage) and settled at the Isles of Shoals[2]. |
| MARRIAGE #1 | John first married Mary BERRY. We've yet to figure out her parentage from the many Berrys along the New Hampshire coast at that time. She died before 1760. |
| CHILDREN |
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i. | Esther SAUNDERS |
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ii. | Robert SAUNDERS | Lived at Epsom died in 1839 in Rye, Rockingham co., NH and in Effingham. On 7 July 1765 Robert married Mary LOCKE, in Rye, Rockingham co., NH[7]. |
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iii. | Mary SAUNDERS | In 1763 Mary first married William THOMAS of Gosport, second married [not known] and third married William MATHES[2]. |
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iv. | John SAUNDERS | Married Dorcas PITMAN and was lost at sea[3]. |
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v. | George SAUNDERS | Lived at Epsom and was killed in a fall from his horse. George married Anna PAGE[2]. |
| MARRIAGE #2 | In 1760 John second married Tryphena PHILBRICK, in Rye, Rockingham co., NH[2]. |
| CHILDREN |
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i. | Abigail SAUNDERS | Born on 7 October 1760 on the Isle of Shoals, Rockingham co., NH and married William LOCKE[2]. |
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ii. | William SAUNDERS |
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iii. | Sarah SAUNDERS | First married William SAUNDERS, in Rye, Rockingham co., NH on 6 March 1783. She second married Joseph VERRILL[2]. |
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iv. | Olly SAUNDERS | Born in 1766 on the Isle of Shoals, Rockingham co., NH and married William TUCKER[2]. |
| GENERATION | Great-great-great-great-great-great-great (G7) Grandmother |
| FAMILY NUMBER | 570 |
| SOURCES |
1. New England Historic and Genealogical Register. Vols. 1+,
(Boston: New England Historic and Genealogical Register, 1845+),
[NEHGR or Reg.], 3:152; 8:161-162; 36:144; 41:382. 2. Parsons, Langdon B., History of the Town of Rye, NH From Its Discovery and Settlement to December 31, 1903, (1905; repr. Bowie, MD: Heritage Press 1992), [RyeHist], 523. 3. Ibid. 4. Perley, Sidney, Historic Storms of New England: Its Gales, Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Showers with Thunder and Lightning, Great Snow Storms, Rains, Freshets, Floods, Droughts, Cold Winters, Hot Summers, Avalanches, [etc.]..with Incidents and Anecdotes, Amusing and Pathetic., (Salem, Mass.: The Salem Press Publishing and Printing Company; rpt. 2001 Beverley, MA: Commonwealth Editions, Memoirs Unlimited, Inc.), [Perley], 70-71. 5. Ibid. 6. Mini Atlas of Britain, (Edinbugh, Scotland: Bartholomew), [BritAtl], 4c. 7. [RyeHist], 524. 8. Meloon, Ian, New Castle, NH Records, (Portsmouth, NH: Portsmouth Library). 9. [RyeHist], 571. 10. Ibid. 523, 571 11. Odiorne, James Creighton, Genealogy of the Odiorne family in America., (Rev. in 1966), [Odiorne (1966)], 51.
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Return to the Saunders Index page. |
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| Return to the Family Index page. |
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Return to the Surname Index page. |
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Return to the Hall Side Tree page. |
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