Martha Tallman

Notes:

From George Washington's Secret Spy War: The Making of America's First Spymaster by John A. Nagy (New York: St. Martin's Press, 2016):

There was a change in the sand dunes that made up a portion of the New Jersey coastline early in 1778. It opened the Shrewsbury River to the sea and the inlet remained open until 1800. This changed Sandy Hook from a promontory into an island that was controlled by the British army. At times the British navy had a warship stationed at the Hook. Sandy Hook was even called “Refugee’s Town,” where Tories could receive protection from the British military stationed there. This would have made it possible for a small boat from Shrewsbury to go out of the inlet and head north to drop off merchandise either to the sloop Eagle at Princess Bay, to refugees, or to the military encampment at Sandy Hook. Governor Livingston stated that the illegal trade had depleted Bergen County by August of 1778 and had shifted its focus to Shrewsbury and that the state was unable to stop it.

Lieutenant Enos Reeves of the Pennsylvania Line wrote that “there has been an amazing trade carried on from [New] Jersey shore to the city of New York, but we hope to put a stop to it.” It was wishful thinking, as they could not raise enough men to guard the entire coastline. Washington left the enforcement of the illegal trade to the state. He had Brigadier General David Forman of the New Jersey Militia station observers in the Raritan Bay area to keep a watchful eye on British shipping. Colonel John Stillwell watched from his house atop Garrett’s Hill. He used a spyglass provided by General Forman. His reports on the movement of ships in Raritan Bay and Sandy Hook were in the form of a diary and were given to David Forman, who then provided them to Washington. Martha Tallman Seabrook, who lived at Shoal Harbor, worked as an agent in sending reports of observations.

[Footnote:] Shoal Harbor is now known as Port Monmouth. Martha was the wife of the American Major Thomas Seabrook. With Thomas off to war, she opened the house as an inn and today it is known as the Spy House.

Martha married Maj. Thomas Seabrook on 11 Oct 1758 in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Thomas (son of Daniel Seabrook and Mary Brown) was born on 16 Feb 1735 in Middletown, Monmouth, New Jersey; died on 22 Feb 1805 in Middletown, Monmouth, New Jersey; was buried in Fair View Cemetery, Middletown, Monmouth, New Jersey. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Thomas Seabrook was born on 15 Nov 1771 in Monmouth, New Jersey; died on 14 Jul 1844 in Monmouth, New Jersey; was buried in Fair View Cemetery, Middletown, Monmouth, New Jersey.

Stephen married Mary Potter on 11 Nov 1724 in South Kingstown, Washington, Rhode Island. Mary (daughter of John Potter and Sarah Wilson) was born on 2 Mar 1707; died about 1764 in Shrewsbury, Monmouth, New Jersey. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Both he and his second wife Hannah Swain were practicing physicians.

James married Hannah Swain on 14 Sep 1701 in Portsmouth, Newport, Rhode Island. Hannah (daughter of John Swain and Mary Weare) was born in 1679; died in 1765. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

John married Sarah Wilson about 1691. Sarah (daughter of Samuel Wilson and Mary Tefft) was born about 1665 in Kingstown, Washington, Rhode Island; died after 27 Jan 1739. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: 1666

Notes:

He was admitted a burgher of Hamburg on 14 Aug 1646, but in 1647 he emigrated from Hamburg to Barbados, where he married his first wife Ann Hill. In 1648 he migrated from Barbados to Rhode Island with his wife, her brother Robert Hill, and their mother. He was in Newport as early as May 1650, but in Portsmouth shortly after that.

Landowner, merchant, slaveholder, he was one of the early purchasers of land on Martha's Vineyard and very active in its settlement. He appears in Connecticut records on 20 May 1652, called "Dutchman"; he also spent time in Flushing and in New Amsterdam, where he was on occasion an interpreter between the English and the Dutch. He also owned land in Dartmouth, Massachusetts.

"In 1663, he bought Indian lands in Holmes' Hole, Martha's Vineyard. Today it is known as Tisbury. This land he bought without the consent of all the Indians involved. He bought the land in partnership with Thomas Lawton; they were both sued for trespass and lost the case." [Ruth Alice Anderson, "Peter Tallman: A Footnote in History."]

"When G. Andrews Moriarty wrote that Henry Tallman of Schleswig-Holstein was the probable father of Peter Tallman of Hamburg, Barbados, and Rhode Island, he presented no direct evidence, listing only dates of christenings for Peter's two supposed sisters in the parish of St. Nicholas, but none for Peter himself." [Ancestral Lines, Third Edition, citation details below.]

Peter Tallman (1623-1708) = Joan Briggs (d. 1686)
Dr. Jonathan Tallman (1666-1762) = Sarah Davol (1668-1748)
Darius Tallman (1689-1733) = Sarah Wilbore (1702-1729)
Brittain Tallman (1729-1815) = Deborah Head (b. 1725)
William Tallman (1755-1835) = Rhoda Akin (1751-1844)
Lydia Tallman (1787-1873) = Abel Ford (1783-1842)
Silas Ford (1807-1854) = Amanda Hedden (1812-1853)
Emily Helena Ford (1834-1901) = William Lyman Aiken (1821-1893)
William Ford Aiken (1864-1901) = Anna Potter (1864-1901)
Conrad Aiken (1889-1973) = Jessie McDonald (1889-1970)
Joan Aiken (1924-2001)
Jane Aiken Hodge (1917-2009)

Peter married Joan Briggs before 24 Jul 1665. Joan (daughter of Samuel Briggs) was born in of Taunton, Bristol, Massachusetts; died before 1686. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Abt 1685

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Bef 27 Jan 1718, Nantucket, Massachusetts

John married Mary Weare on 15 Nov 1660 in Hampton, Rockingham, New Hampshire. Mary (daughter of Nathaniel Weare and Sarah) died in 1714 in Nantucket, Massachusetts; was buried in Founders Burial Ground, Nantucket, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Ichabod married Martha Hazard before 1662. Martha (daughter of Thomas Hazard and Martha) was born about 1642. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: 1 Apr 1649

Samuel married Mary Tefft about 1657 in Portsmouth, Newport, Rhode Island. Mary (daughter of John Tefft and Mary Barber) was born in 1640 in Providence, Providence, Rhode Island; died after 1674. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: 1682, Portsmouth, Newport, Rhode Island