Dear Cousin Colleen,

I just had to let you know about our cousins, George and Barbara [Smyth] Bowers. Would you believe that they have moved again? They first came to Scituate from England and were not happy there and sold property land in 1640. Then they moved to Plymouth and now they have moved to Cambridge. He refused to let a public road be put through his land but it was done anyway. Then he voted in the election for governor and was fined 10 pounds, but due to his ignorance, it was lowered to 5 pounds. He had kept his citizenship in Plymouth. There was a problem between George and his son, Benanuel and George was fined again. Benanuel had to spend a year in jail for refusing to pay a fine. He had entertained some Quakers at home and was fined. He was also fined for giving a glass of water to Elizabeth Horton, a "witch." He eventually became a Quaker.

However, George is a man to be admired. He and Barbara gave their children a good education with John graduating from Cambridge College in 1649. John married first Rebecca Gregson but she did not live long and he then married to Bridget Thompson. Ruth married Richard Knowles in 1639. Benanuel married Elizabeth Dunster in 1653. They sent their three daughters to Philadelphia to be educated. One daughter, Bathsheba, is a noted authoress. Mathew died in Cambridge, 1645. Patience married Humphrey Bradshaw and Silence married Elnathan Dunckley.

A Merry Christmas to All,
Wynnette

Information for the above came from:
The Ancestry of Amaziah Hall and Betsey Baldwin by Edith Bartlett Sumner
Records of the Colony of New Plymouth in New England Edited by Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, M.D.