Mehitable - #52 Ancestors

Mehitable is an Old Testament name meaning "God Rejoices." 

I first encountered the name “Mehitable” when I researched the founding mother of the Agards in America—Esther Agard.

In April 1683 John “The Elder” Agard and his wife Esther traveled to the new world. John either died at sea or immediately upon arrival, leaving Esther, who was six months pregnant to become the founding member of Agards in America.

Esther gave birth to John “The Younger” Agard on 16 July 1683, either in Boston or Barnstable, MA. On 14 December 1685, Esther married Samuel Storrs. Samuel Storrs' wife, Mary (Huckins) Storrs died shortly after giving birth to the couple’s seventh child, Mehitable.

Samuel and Esther Agard Storrs had three children, Thomas, Esther, and Cordial. Thomas married a woman named Mehitable Joyce on 14 March 1708. They in turn had a daughter named Mehitable.

In the Agard line, John “The Younger” Agard married Mehitable Hall in 1709. John and Metitable had seven children. The first five sons consist of the five branches of the Agards in America. The only daughter, Mehitable, born 14 October 1718. I have not traced her at this point. 

The next Metitable appears in the Benjamin Branch of the Agard family. Benjamin Agard married Elizabeth Hall and lived in Mansfield, Connecticut. Mehitable was born 16 October 1784 and died 8 June 1770. 

The first child of the Hezekiah Branch born to Hezekiah and Abigail Damon Agard was named Mehitable, born 5 November 1752 in Torrington, Connecticut.

The last Mehitable that I know of in this line was born into the Benjamin Branch, to Joshua and Ruth (Needham) Agard. Ruth was the daughter of Humphrey and Dorothy Munger of Wales, Massachusetts. Their second child was named Mehitable.

The Mehitable naming pattern in this family line seems to end with this generation.

53 Ancestors – Favorite Name - Metihable

Metihable would rate high on my list as a favorite family name. The first Metihable, Metihable Hall makes her appearance in our family in 1709 when she married John Agard of Mansfield, Connecticut. John was the son of John “The Elder” and Esther Agard. Since John “The Elder” died before or at the time of reaching Massachusetts, Esther is considered the founding member of the Agards in America.

Two years after John’s birth (16 July 1683), Esther married Samuel Storrs. A few years after that, the family moved to Mansfield, Connecticut. That is where John met Metihable Hall, the daughter of Benjamin and Metihable (Matthews) Hall.

But wait! Now that Esther has married into the Storrs family, we find that Samuel Storr’s first wife, Mary (Huckins) Storrs died shortly after giving birth to a daughter named Mehitable. Unfortunately, Mehitable Storrs was baptized 17 September 1683, and died shortly after.

The name of Mehitable was carried down through the Agard family line as well as the Storrs family line. That will be a good project for me one day – track all the Mehitables in our family!