Mary Whitcomb (1751-1828) (52 Ancestors 2020 Week 10) Theme: "Strong Woman"

Giving birth under a bush while fleeing with her husband and several young daughters in the aftermath of Shay's Rebellion puts my 4th great grandmother Mary high on my list of strong female ancestors.

Mary Whitcomb was born 23 October 1751 in Warren, Worcester, Massachusetts, the youngest of 10 children born to James and Sarah (Winslow) Whitcomb. Mary's parents had both been married and widowed previously, James to three cousins in succession, none of whom had produced any children, and Sarah to Thomas Lincoln by whom she had three children. Several of Mary's older siblings were a full generation older than she was! Her father died when she was 11 and her mother when Mary was 19.

At the age of  20, Mary married John Bullen in Warren, Worcester, MA. John had been born in Brimfield, MA in 1747 to John and Abigail (Greene) Bullen, but had moved  to Ware by the time of his marriage. Baby girls started arriving within a couple of years and regularly thereafter: Anna (c.1774), Mary Polly (1777), Demia (1778), Ascha (1779). While Mary was busy producing all these daughters, her husband John was operating a tavern at "Bullon's Corners" on the turnpike at Ware. Assuming this was also the location of the family home, it is quite likely that Mary would have assisted with operating the tavern as well.

John enlisted in the American army during the War of Independence. First, he was on the payroll of Captain Breakenridge's Company of Militia in 1777. On 5 June 1780, John Bullen of Ware is among the men raised to reinforce the Continental army for the term of 6 months. They arrived at Springfield 13 July 1780 and marched to camp under command of Captain Thomas Pritchard. He was discharged 8 December 1780  and is credited as serving for 5 months, 3 days.

No children were added to the family between 1779 and 1783, probably a bit of a relief to Mary even though it was while her husband was involved in fighting the Revolutionary War. Finally, Mary and John's girls were joined by a brother, another John (1783) and yet another girl, Irene (c.1785).

Mary's son John Bullen (1783-1850)
(Sadly no photographs are available from the time of his mother Mary's life)

After the end of the Revolutionary War, all was not well in the new country. Economic and cultural injustices led to an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the new government during Shay's Rebellion (1786-1787). John is said to have served as a captain in the affair and is often thereafter referred to as "Captain John". Life must have been chaotic during those years for both John and Mary and their growing family of young children. After the suppression of the rebellion, 18 men were sentenced to death and escaped into neighbouring states to avoid their fate. John fled with Mary and all their young children to Paris Hills, Clinton (Oneida) N.Y., a distance of some 200 miles.

Escape from Warren, MA to Clinton, NY 

It was during this escape, sometime in 1787, that Mary inconveniently went into labour. She gave birth to daughter Pamela under a bush (or in a bush hut, according to some reports). Both mother and baby daughter survived, attesting to the strength of this family. (A recent DNA match between our family and a descendant of Pamela's adds a more personal connection to this event.)

(There is some confusion over birth order since yet another daughter was said to have born to John and Mary in 1787: Sarah Sally on 4 February 1787. No good source can be located for the place of Sarah Sally's birth - both Brimfield, MA and Clinton, NY are given in various family trees. Pamela's birthplace is generally given as Whitesboro, NY.  Without any good birth records, we can only guess that she must have been born close to the end of that year while the family was making their escape.)

The next child born was my 3X great grandfather David in 1788, followed by daughter Abigail (1790) and a third son Alfred (1793). In all, Jane gave birth to 11 children, all surviving to adulthood to marry and have children of their own. My database indicates 75 grandchildren for Mary and John, one of whom was my 2X great grandmother Sarah Catherine Bullen. Mary was obviously a strong woman made for motherhood in even the toughest of circumstances.

She died 28 February 1828 at the age of 76 years and is buried with her husband at Hannibal, Oswego, New York in the Old Clinton Burying Ground.

Old Clinton Burying Ground where Mary Whitcomb Bullen is buried, along with husband John.
Photo courtesy Jim High of Findagrave.com