Abigail Silliman (1708-1787) was born Abigail Williams in Deerfield, Massachusetts, the daughter of the town's minister, the Reverend John Williams. Her father's first wife, Eunice (Mather) Williams was killed in a raid on the town by the French and their Native allies in 1704; the Reverend Williams and his surviving children were captured and taken to New France (Canada.) Williams and four of his children were released and returned to Deerfield. He married Abigail Bissell of Hartford, Connecticut, in 1707 and the couple had five children, of whom Abigail was the first.
After her father died in 1729, Abigail inherited as part of her share of his estate an enslaved man, Mesheck. She took Mesheck with her when she married Ebenezer Hinsdale (1707-1763) of Deerfield, who founded Hinsdale, New Hampshire, and operated a store there and in Deerfield. Mesheck was often charged with carrying on business at Hinsdale while his enslaver was busy at Deerfield, and vice versa. Abigail and her husband also enslaved Jockton and Caesar. After Ebenezer's death, Abigail took Jockton with her when she married Colonel Benjamin Hall of Cheshire, Connecticut. Her third husband was Judge Ebenezer Silliman of Fairfield, Connecticut, who died in 1775. During the American Revolution (1775-1783) British forces launched a raid on Fairfield in July, 1779. Much of the town was burned, including Abigail's home. Abigail then returned to her childhood home in Deerfield where she died in 1787. She is buried next to her first husband in Hinsdale.
Abigail also enslaved Patience, Lemuel, and Chloe. She had Patience and Lemuel baptized in 1782 and 1786, and her will of 1783 stipulated that Chloe be manumitted upon her death. A 1787 entry in a the account book of Deerfield physician Elihu Ashley records a visit to "Cloes Boy" under "Widow Abigail Silliman"'s account. This was the son of Chloe Spencer Freeman. It is possible that mother and son remained in the Silliman household until Chloe married Noble Spencer in Deerfield on Oct. 23, 1794.
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