Almy Descendant No. 1282

14. CHRISTOPHER⁴ ALMY (Job³, Christopher², William¹) b. Portsmouth, RI, 5 May 1698; d. Newport, RI, 2 Feb 1727.

He m. Tiverton, RI, 20 Apr 1720, ELIZABETH ALMY (Almy Descendant No. 1234), b. Tiverton, RI, 14 Nov 1697; d. Tiverton, RI, 9 May 1741; dau. of William and Deborah (Cook) Almy.

Children, born Newport, RI:

Christopher, Elizabeth and four children are buried in the Newport Common Burial Ground.

By writ dated 14 July 1721 (Newport Court Files, 1721), Eunice Greenman, "spinster" (daughter of John Greenman), sued Christopher Almy, son of Job Almy, in a paternity case. They had been courting since the beginning of May 1715, Eunice became pregnant the end of March 1719, and in September of that year Christopher had banns published for his marriage to Elizabeth Almy.

Several people gave testimony supporting Eunice and her good reputation. Among those who testified were Eunice's sisters Leah and Lois. Leah stated that Christopher Almy has owned the child born of her sister Eunice as his. Lois made a deposition on 26 March 1722 that about the time the child was born, she heard Christopher say that he would marry Eunice "but his father hindered him. But for time to come, he would marry her notwithstanding his father being against it. About the same time he gave the child a pair of gold buttons." The identity of the child, which must have been born around Christmas of 1719, has not been learned. Eunice evidently never married, and later taught school in Newport, where she died 12 March 1761 in her 64th year and is buried in Newport with her father who died 30 September 1727.

It is interesting to note that John Greenman, father of Eunice, and his son Edward, born 1695, were accused of counterfeiting in 1718 (Newport Court Book A, 290, 311). Edward escaped from jail and was not heard of again.

REFERENCES: LAWTON p. 7; NEHGR July 1992, pp. 294-295; RIVR, Newport, Tiverton.