Abel Partridge 1739-1814

Abel Partridge was born to Seth Partridge and Sarah Ellis in Medfield, Massachusetts, Nov. 14, 1739. He sold out his rights in his father’s estate to his brother Nathan Partridge in 1769.^[1]History of the town of Medfield, Massachusetts, William Smith Tilden, John A. S. Monks (1887), pp. 450-451. He filed his intent to wed Miriam Haven in Hopkinton, Massachusetts on 9 Apr 1765 ^[2]Vital Records of Hopkinton Massachusetts to 1850, p. 292, 339; Boston : New England historic genealogical society, 1911. and was married on 23 May 1765 at Christ Church in Hopkinton ^[3]Vital Records of Hopkinton Massachusetts to 1850, p. 292, 339; Boston : New England historic genealogical society, 1911.. Miriam was the daughter of Jedediah Haven and Miriam _____ ^[4]Some genealogists have named Miriam, wife of Jedediah, as the daughter of Capt. Benjamin Bridges and Elizabeth Framingham. While there were multiple inter-relationships between the two families, I … Continue reading, born 29 Mar 1737 in Hopkinton ^[5]Vital Records of Hopkinton Massachusetts to 1850, p. 100; Boston : New England historic genealogical society, 1911., died 6 Apr 1799 in Medfield ^[6]Private Record of Deaths in Medfield, Massachusetts, 1746-1844, MassachusettsGenealogy.net, retrieved 22 Jan 2026., “after having been supported by the town.” Abel was also a public charge and died 30 Mar 1814 in Medfield.

Family

Abel is “supposed” to have had an out-of-wedlock relationship with Hannah Cheney, daughter of Ephraim and Ann (Clark) Cheney, and had the following son:

1. Abel Partridge, born 3 Mar 1765 in Medfield, Massachusetts ^[7]Abel, “Supposed ” s. Abel Partridge and Hannah Cheney, Mar. 3. 1765. Vital records of Medfield, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, Medfield, Mass. (1903), p. 78.; filed his intention to marry Sarah Stearns, daughter of Nathaniel and Sarah (Cheney) Stearns, in Medfield on 15 Nov 1800, and married her in Auburn, Massachusetts ^[8]Auburn was named Ward until 1837 on 30 Mar 1801. She died 3 Nov 1826 in Auburn.

Abel and Miriam Partridge had the following children:

2. Oliver Partridge, born 1766-7; died Jan. 20, 1831; married Catharine Knowlton, and had children:
   1. Nathan Partridge, born 11 Oct. 1794.
   2. Seth Partridge, born 2 Mar. 1796; died 12 Mar. 1806.
   3. Sally Partridge, died 12 Mar. 1806.
   4. Keziah Partridge, died 9 Mar. 1806.
   5. Seth Partridge, born 1807; died 29 Nov. 1829.
   6. Sally Partridge, born 1811; died 13 May 1830.
   7. Cyrus Partridge, born 1814; died 6 Apr. 1835.
3. Miriam Partridge, born 15 Mar 1768 in Medfield; died in 1816; married in 1793, Asa Wight.

Sources:

• George Homer Partridge, “William Partridge of Medfield, Mass., and His Descendants”; New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 63 (Jan 1909), p. 95.
• Vital records of Medfield, Massachusetts, to the year 1850, Medfield, Mass. (1903), p. 78.
• History of the town of Medfield, Massachusetts, William Smith Tilden, John A. S. Monks (1887), pp. 450-451.
• Vital records of the town of Auburn (formerly Ward) Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1850 : with the inscriptions from the old burial grounds, Worcester, Mass. (1900), pp. 76, 99.
• Vital Records of Hopkinton Massachusetts to 1850, Boston : New England historic genealogical society, 1911.
• Private Record of Deaths in Medfield, Massachusetts, 1746-1844 – Massachusetts Genealogy.