November 15, 2017
Henry Short (1580-1672) is my ancestor and one of the original settlers of Newbury, Essex County, Massachusetts. I spotted his name while I was researching a fellow founder of Newbury, my 10th-great-grandfather John Emery (1599-1683).
Interested in seeing what else I could learn about Henry, I decided to search for his name in GenealogyBank’s Massachusetts records with the keyword “Newbury.”
This search led me to the obituary of Henry’s 3rd-great-granddaughter Abigail Short (1830-1903).
Curiously, this obituary reports that Abby died in Newburyport, but her FamilySearch records say that she died in Newbury. Are these two separate places?
From an Internet search, I discovered that Newburyport and Newbury were divided into two cities in 1764, about 30 years after Newbury was settled. Henry Short was an original settler of the town before it was divided.
According to Wikipedia:
“Newburyport was settled in 1635 as part of Newberry Plantation, now Newbury. On January 28, 1764, the General Court of Massachusetts passed ‘An act for erecting part of the town of Newbury into a new town by the name of Newburyport.”
My GenealogyBank search for Henry’s name also produced the obituary of another Short cousin who “was a direct descendant from Henry Short, who with Richard Dummer, held the original grant of the entire town of Newbury.”
A detailed obituary, it mentions his three sisters – including their married surnames; that his father was a “tinman”; and that he was the current holder of “many valuable documents and papers… among them all the grants and deeds of land to his ancestors and an entire collection of almanacs from 1726.”
It would be terrific to know if these papers were passed down and preserved in the family.
Genealogy Tip: The obituaries of your relatives can give you additional details about the family. Find your family stories at GenealogyBank.com.
I am a direct descendant of Henry Short, and I have a record of his daughter Alice Short being born in 1620 in Newbury, Mass. I am interested in finding a record of when Henry Short immigrated, and on what ship.
Becky,
My research shows that Henry Short came to Ipswich on the Mary & John from England. Henry came over in 1634. Before he was living in Totnes, Devonshire, England. I hope this helps.
Christine Meny
chrisyts2@gmail.com
707-631-3402
Becky,
That’s a great question! I’m assuming that Henry was born in Great Britain and moved from there to Massachussetts. That said, I would highly recommend that you commence your search here (https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/England_Emigration_and_Immigration).
That site has a list of ships, both coming and going from Great Britain. Happy hunting!
My name is Laurie Short Jarvis. I was born in and have lived in Newbury my whole life. My Short family line has lived continually in Newbury/Newburyport for 14 generations and counting. I am a lifetime member and registrar for “The Sons & Daughters of the First Settlers of Newbury.” I’d be glad to answer any questions that I know. I have used GenealogyBank for many years. I have found many articles here on the Shorts.
Laurie,
My name is Christine Meny and I am a direct descendant of Amos and Esther Short. Grant Hall Short was my great grandfather and my grandfather was James Crawford Short. I have traced the Short family back to 1424 but have had some confusion over Henry Short who came over on the Mary and Jane and settled in Newbury. Do you know if his middle name was Moses? I think he had three wives – Mary Elizabeth Ashley Short who died in 1648. Then he married Elizabeth Braybrook Short and after that he married Sarah Glover Short in 1697. I would love to talk with you about this side of the Short family. My email is chrisyts2@gmail.com and my cell phone number is 707-631-3402. I live in Fairfield, CA. My confusion is that I have listed a Henry Short II who married Sarah Glover Short but I think that Henry is the same Henry to came over on the Mary and Jane. I would appreciate anything you can do to help me with this.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Chris Meny
Hi Laurie-
I am a descendant of Henry Short of Newbury. Though I live in Michigan, I will be visiting Newbury in mid September. If you get this message, I would love to communicate further with you. I am also a member of the DAR through Asa Short. Henry would of course be my first ancestor in this land, so I am eager to walk in his footsteps. I hope to hear from you. Linda
Hello Short dependents. My name is Jim Miller, I am on the computer trying to figure out my wife’s family history. Her maiden name is Melanie Short. Her dad is Richard Short and I am sure that her direct ancestors, from there, are Milton, Sewell and Samuel. That takes it back to Bangor, Maine. I am pretty sure that my wife is a direct descendant of Henry Short from Newbery. It appears that Samuel went west with young Sewell around 1860 and ended up in California. Melanie and I grew up in San Francisco. Thanks for all the hard work and info that you have put out there.