Meazon, Hannah, 1757 -
Hannah Meazon was born circa 1757, the daughter of Robin and Irene Meazon1. She was likely one of the 28 Pequot girls ages 4-12 enumerated on the Pequot reservation by Rev. Jacob Johnson in June of 1766. According to statements provided to the Overseer Elisha Crary in August 18, 1836, Hannah, in the year 1778 or 1779, married a Mohegan man, Moses Bohema, in Hartford, Connecticut. Presbyterian minister Rev. Whitman presided over the ceremony. The newlyweds remained in Hartford for six months before settling in Montville, CT, presumably on Mohegan lands. Here they lived for twenty years or so, after which the family moved to Glosenbury, Massachusetts2 and then later to the Town of Montgomery in the foothills of the Berkshires. Moses Bohema died there in the Spring of 1816 and the widow Hannah remained there for another 20 years until the town paid for her return to the Mashantucket lands in Ledyard, CT3 . Whether there were children from this union is undetermined
Hannah Meason’s name appears on a list of Pequot individuals that was submitted to the New London County Court in March of 1825. This doesn’t necessarily mean that she was present, but rather recognized as a member of the community living elsewhere. Likewise, in December of 1833, she was again enumerated in an informal census of those belonging to the tribe. Erastus Williams, having just concluded his tenure as overseer, noted that Meazon was 76 years old.
By the summer of 1836, Hannah Meazon had returned to the Mashantucket Pequot reservation; Roger Pettis of Montgomery, MA having made the approximately 200-mile round trip to deliver her. Without her own household, in December of 1836 Hannah moved in with Hannah Miller who provided her with food, clothing and other forms of support. Meazon lived with Hannah Miller and her other boarders, James and Phebe Sunsamon, until mid-year 1838 when Mark Daniels assumed the responsibility for her support until February 9, 1839.
In June of 1840 Hannah Meazon appeared in the ledgers of the overseer charged for a pair of shoes and the expense of some tobacco. Ostensibly, her room and board was still provided by Mark Daniels.
Worthpoint Auction, Ca. 1836 PEQUOT INDIAN DOCUMENT by ELISHA CRARY OVERSEER OF INDIANS PRESTON CONN, https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/ca-1836-pequot-indian-document-elisha-1862483757; 1766.06.00.00 http://nativenortheastportal.com/digital-heritage/list-indians-now-living-groton; Names of the Western Pequot Tribe Submitted to the New London County Court, 1825.03.00.01; CHS, William Samuel Johnson Papers, III, 100: December 13, 1833 Letter from Erastus Williams to William T. Williams; CSL, RG3, NLCC:PbS, Indians, Mashantucket Pequot
- 1. During the 1856 August term of the New London Superior Court the Petition of Celia Watson v. William Morgan was heard. In this petition Celia Watson testified that her mother was Irene Meazon. Given that Celia Watson was born c. 1793 it is likely that, if Hannah and Celia are related, there is a generational difference to consider. Perhaps Irene Meazon had a daughter Irene Meazon who had a daughter Celia Watson. In other words, Hannah Meazon and Celia Meazon Watson might be aunt and niece, respectively.
- 2. It's possible that Hannah Meazon was referring to Glastonbury, CT, a town just outside of Hartford.
- 3. This was around the time, 1836, that Ledyard was incorporated out of the northern part of Groton.
Born:
c. 1757Tribes
Ethnicity