Abiel Shurtleff

Aft 1666 - 1732  (< 65 years)

• Name	Abiel Shurtleff  [1]
  Alternate birth	Between 23 Jun 1666 and 30 Jun 1666	Marshfield, Plymouth, Massachusetts   [2]
  Birth	Aft 23 Jun 1666	Marshfield, Plymouth, Massachusetts   [3]
  Gender	Male
  Death	28 Oct 1732	Plympton, Plymouth, Massachusetts   [2]
  Alternate death	Bef 24 Dec 1733  [1]
  Person ID	I44025	Ancestry of PNH, TNH, and others
  Last Modified	1 Oct 2025

  
  

  Father	William Shurtleff,   b. Abt 1624   d. 23 Jun 1666, Marshfield, Plymouth, Massachusetts (Age ~ 42 years)
  Mother	Elizabeth Lettice   d. 31 Oct 1693, Swansea, Bristol, Massachusetts
  Marriage	18 Oct 1655	Plymouth, Plymouth Colony   [3]
  Family ID	F25718	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Lydia Barnes,   b. 4 Jul 1674, Plymouth, Plymouth Colony d. 10 Sep 1727, Plympton, Plymouth, Massachusetts (Age 53 years)
  Marriage	14 Jan 1696	Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts   [2, 3]
  Children	+ 1. Hannah Shurtleff,   b. 31 Jul 1705, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts d. 14 Nov 1789, Kingston, Plymouth, Massachusetts (Age 84 years)
  Family ID	F25713	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	1 Oct 2025

  
  

• Notes

  "Abiel Shurtleff was born soon after the untimely death of his father and there was a considerable debate as to what his name should be. By some it was thought that he should be called after Boanerges (Children of Thunder), as mentioned in the New Testament; but the difficulty of converting the plural name into the singular number fortunately prevailed against the infliction of an appellation which was far from being euphonious. The scriptural name Abiel, which interpreted into English from the Hebrew, signifies 'God, my father,' was adopted as the most satisfactory, since it was sufficiently indicative of his posthumous birth. Mr. Shurtleff was a very noted 'housewright, as was his father, and built 'all the meeting houses in his time.'" [Benjamin Shurtleff, citation details below]

  
  

• Sources

  [S636] Mayflower Families Through Five Generations: Volume 12, Francis Cooke of the Mayflower by Ralph V. Wood, Jr. Camden, Maine: Picton Press, 1996; revised edition, 2014. [S3699] Descendants of William Shurtleff of Plymouth and Marshfield, Massachusetts by Benjamin Shurtleff. Revere, Massachusetts, 1912. [S101] The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633, Volumes 1-3 and The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volumes 1-7, by Robert Charles Anderson. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1996-2011.