Anna Eno

Disputed Origin Parents Children and Widow

According to The Great Migration Directory: Immigrants to New England, 1620–1640 the parents and origins of this John Bidwell are not known.[1] Anderson cites Hale, House: Families, Mainly of the Connecticut River Valley (Hartford 1952; rpt. Baltimore 1978) 459. Jacobus writes: "Edwin M. Bidwell, compiler of the Genealogy published in 1884, supposed him to be the son of Richard Bidwell of Windsor; and brother of a younger Richard of Winsor, of Anna [Hanna] wife of James Eno of Windsor, and of the early Bidwell who settled at Marshfield, Mass. These are assumptions and the present compiler finds little to sustain them." Jacobus further explains that Richard only had one daughter Hannah born 1664 died 25 Dec 1647 who could not have married James Eno. It was probably Richard's widow who married second to James Eno on 18 Aug 1648:

• "There was a Richard Bidwell in Windsor who was buried 25 Dec. 1647; he had a daughter Hannah born there in 1644, on 22 Oct. 1644 according to Hinman, but on 2 Oct. 1644 according to Stiles in his History (under Bidwell) or 22 Oct. 1634 (under Eno), the earlier date evidently being given under the Eno family to make possible the conclusion of Stiles (more probably of his co-editor, Ruth T. Sperry) that James Eno's wife Anna Bidwell, to whom he was married 18 Aug. 1648, was identical with the Hannah daughter of Richard Bidwell who was born by Windsor records in 1644. By setting the date back a decade, she was made nearly fourteen years old when this marriage occurred. Edwin M. Bidwell in his Genealogy accomplished the same purpose more ruthlessly by setting back the birth of Eno's wife to 1624 and making her daughter of an older Richard. Unfortunately, no births of 1624, nor of 1634 either, were recorded in Windsor, the one date being earlier than the settlement of the town, and the other earlier than the organization of town government there."[2]

James Enno or Eno1, in Richardson, Douglas C. The Eno and Enos Family in America: Descendants of James Eno of Windsor, Conn. (Sacramento, California: unknown, 1973), 1-2 seems to agree with this premise:

• "… Anna Bidwell, the widow of Richard Bidwell. Anna's parentage is unknown but she was born about 1624/25, probably in England. She had only one known child by her first marriage … and probably a second unreported child as well. … James' [Eno] first wife, Anna, died 10-7-1657, in Windsor."[3]

Sources

1. Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Directory: Immigrants to New England, 1620–1640 (Boston, Massachusetts. New England Historic and Genealogical Society. 2015)
2. Jacobus, Families, Mainly of the Connecticut River Valley] (Hartford 1952; rpt. Baltimore 1978) 459
3. James Enno or Eno1, in Richardson, Douglas C. The Eno and Enos Family in America: Descendants of James Eno of Windsor, Conn. (Sacramento, California: unknown, 1973), 1-2

   ---

Disputed Origins

Seen as the daughter of Francis Biddulph of Biddulph & Isabell (Gifford) Biddulph, Birth: October 22, 1634 Biddulph Manor, Biddulph, Staffordshire, England

Biography

Anna Bidwell was born in Biddulph Manor, Biddulph, Staffordshire, England.

Anna married Richard Bidwell. Together they had the following children: John Bidwell; Hannah Bidwell; Samuel Bidwell; Richard Bidwell; Joseph Bidwell.

She died on October 7, 1679 in Windsor, Hartford County, Connecticut.

Hannah daughter of Richard Bidwell was not the wife of James Eno. Rather it was the widow of Richard Bidwell who most likely married Jame Eno. Regarding Richard Bidwell Rolbert Charles Anderson cites Hale, House: Families, Mainly of the Connecticut River Valley (Hartford 1952; rpt. Baltimore 1978) 459. Jacobus writes: "Edwin M. Bidwell, compiler of the Genealogy published in 1884, supposed him to be the son of Richard Bidwell of Windsor; and brother of a younger Richard of Winsor, of Anna [Hanna] wife of James Eno of Windsor, and of the early Bidwell who settled at Marshfield, Mass. These are assumptions and the present compiler finds little to sustain them." Jacobus further explains that Richard only had one daughter Hannah born 1664 died 25 Dec 1647 who could not have married James Eno. It was probably Richard's widow who married second to James Eno on 18 Aug 1648:

Hannah Bidwell Eno in Ancestors of Rev. Williams Howe Whittemore, Bolton, Ct.1800-1885, and of His Wife Maria Clark, New York, 1803-1886

"... 22 ENO. I. James Eno b. d. Windsor, Ct., July 1, 1682. m. 1st, Aug. 18, 1648. Hannah Bidwell b. d. Oct. 7, 1657. (He m. 2nd, Aug. 5, 1658, Elizabeth Holcombe, d. Oct. 7, 1679, wid. of Thomas. He m. 3d ..."

Publication place: Connecticut, USA