Today I have delved further into the research of the family of my first American ancestor Matthew Boomer. I’m excited that a fellow amateur genealogist has written about the family of Gideon Freeborn, husband to Mary Boomer. From this I can begin to imagine the context of her life (during the 1600s women rarely take a center stage) where she was the second wife of Gideon and likely bore him many children. The author of this biography has also listed a valuable source: the Winthrop society (where I’ve linked her references).  I have copied the text that I’d like to credit to Kathy Manchester (2009):

[…] On the trip over from England (the Francis), William and Mary were accompanied by their children Mary (b. 1627, Ipswich; d. 6 March 1664 in Portsmouth, RI) and Sarah (b. 1632, Ipswich; d. 23 April 1670 in Portsmouth, RI), and John Aldbrugh, age 14 (which would make him born in 1620), whose presence there is unexplained. They arrived in Boston, MA in 1634. William became a Freeman of Roxbury, MA, 3 September 1634 (Pope’s ‘Pioneers of Massachusetts’ p.175, Univ.of Fla.) William and Mary had a son, Gideon Freeborn, stated in another LDS IGI record to have been born in Boston in 1639. If so, then Mary must have stayed in Boston while William went to survey Rhode Island. William was reportedly one of 75 “in 1637 (Nov 20) disarmed in Boston for favoring Wheelright, and the next year went to Rhode Island.” He was a signer of the Portsmouth Accord 7 March 1638. By act of Assembly he was expelled from Massachusetts for failing to appear in court 12 March 1638. He was assigned in 1639 with William Ballston, John Porter, John Wall, and Philip Sherman to “lay out lands as they shall be disposed” in Portsmouth. Was a member of the Grand Jury in Portsmouth 1 Dec 1641. He became a Freeman of Portsmouth 16 March 1641, Constable in 1642, and Commissioner to the General Court in 1657 (PRF #726254) , possibly because surveyors were expected to know manorial law. Received a grant of 140 acres in Portsmouth on 10 Dec 1649 if he would build a house within a year. Elected a member of the General Court of Commissioners 19 May 1657 and a member of the Rhode Island Assembly the same year. A member of the Society of Friends. William died 28 April 1670 in Portsmouth, Newport, RI according to PRF Pin#726254, Pin#530070, Pin#332217, Pin#281781, Pin#848256, Pin#655646, Pin#1006050 and Pin#657505. PRF Pin#62459 has an apparent typographical error of 28 Apr 1676.

Gideon died 28 Feb 1720 in Portsmouth, RI. He had married Sarah Brownell (b.1641 in Portsmouth) 1 June 1658 in Portsmouth, Newport, RI. She d. 6 Sept 1676 in Portsmouth. Gideon later married Mary Boomer in 1678. Between the two wives Gideon had at least 20 children.

I have also looked into Elizabeth Boomer, another daughter of Matthew and Hannah. She married to a man named Joseph Buttersworth, and their marriage is on record in an ancient text that was transcribed in 1900:

This exciting tidbit places Elizabeth in the area of Swansea where further research could follow. Some researchers have listed Elizabeth and Joseph’s children’s names and dates of birth, although I have yet to have sources on these.