This week’s 52 Ancestors writing prompt is Written. Suggestions for the prompt were writing about someone in my family that is a writer (besides me!), someone who had a habit of sending letters to the editor of newspapers, those that had lovely handwriting, etc. Of course, we are free to interpret the prompt as we wish. I had written prior about my ancestor Pheobe Fed Prindle, my maternal 6th great-grandmother, and felt this blog post was a perfect example of analyzing handwriting in old records, discovering transcription errors, and records being destroyed by the British. By doing so, I succeeded in discovering my ancestor’s true maiden name. By analyzing Colonial American handwriting of this time period, using DNA, and the records of related surnames that were mis-transcribed. Her maiden name was listed in the transcription of her marriage record was Fed, which is basically a non-existent surname in Colonial Connecticut and in Colonial America in general.

We have only this one record that lists her maiden name, the transcription of the marriage records of Colonial Connecticut, the above listing of Daniel Prindle of New Milford (Connecticut) marrying Phebe Fed, a transient person, on October 4, 1737, by John Bostwick, J.P. In a second transcription typed up of this same record they list her name as Phebie Fed.

Phebe being listed as a transient person meant that she was not of New Milford and had been there only a short time. It does not mean that she was not from another area of Connecticut, nor does it mean that she was poor or homeless.

She is listed as Phebie along with her husband Daniel Prindle in the birth records of several of their children, including their son, my ancestor, David Prindle.

I noticed that some (in their family trees) give her the middle name of Marie/Maria and list her as Phebe/Pheobe Marie/Maria Fed Prindle. There are no documentation, proof, or records that show she had a middle name, and I am not sure where this trend of giving her a middle name originated.

Some have incorrectly attached her to the death record of a Mrs. Phebe Prindle that died at age 84 in Connecticut. But if you research this death record further, you discover that this woman was born about 1754 and died in 1838. This is not my ancestor Phebe, for she died in 1782.

She is listed in the will of her husband:

Daniel Prindle of New Fairfield, Fairfield County, Connecticut; will 16 April 1774; probate 3 May 1774; inventory 24 May 1774. Wife Phebe; sons Aaron, David and Daniel; daughters Phebe, Hannah, Rachel, Elizabeth, Mary and Lois.

She and her husband Daniel Prindle are buried in Center Cemetery in Sherman, Fairfield County, Connecticut.

The surname is found only once in British Colonial American records of the 1600s, a John Fed born 1620-1629 that is listed in the book A Recd. of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of A Commonwealth and the Founding of A Nation. Ed. By Ezra S. Stearns. New York, 1908. I have been unable to discover any additional information about this John Fed.

In the 1700s in British Colonial America, the name is very uncommon, and quite rare. Below are the few instances it is found in records.

There is a John Fed listed on the US Revolutionary War Rolls of 1775-1783. He served July-August 1775-1783 in New Jersey. Nothing more is known about this person. There is not a man named John Fed found in any other New Jersey records, nor he is found in any family trees, which leads me to believe his surname was incorrectly listed or spelled in this record.

There is a John Fed found in the AGBI (American Genealogical-Biographical Index) born 1750-1759 and lived in Pennsylvania. In early census records of 1790, we find a John Fed living in Tinicum, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and he is the same John Fed found in the AGBI record.

But this John Fed found above living in Pennsylvania and listed in the AGBI, was actually named John Fred and was a Quaker, he is found in many records with his correct surname of Fred, sometimes spelled Fredd. John Fred/Fredd emigrated from Ireland.

I have zero DNA matches or connections to this Quaker Fred/Fredd family of Ireland and Pennsylvania.

In Massachusetts U.S. Town and Vital Records, we find a Samuel Fed living in 1793 in Medford, Massachusetts. But is the only time this name is found in Medford or anywhere in Massachusetts records in this time period. His surname was actually Wade/Waide.

I have no DNA connections to this Wade/Waide family of Medford, Massachusetts.

In this same time period, the only other person found with this surname in records is my ancestor, who is listed in the AGBI and the Colonial Connecticut marriage records with the name Phebe/Phebie Fed Prindle.

The only DNA matches I have with the surname Fed in their trees, are to cousins that share Phebe Fed Prindle as their ancestor. I have no other Fed DNA matches.

That’s it! Just these very few instances of the surname being located in Colonial American records.

This surname Fed in my family tree has been a dead end, a tree stump, a brick wall. So, what was I to do? What was her true surname? Well after looking at records for the surname Ted/Tedd which looks very close to Fed/Fedd when viewing Colonial American cursive handwriting styles, I discovered that there were Jud/Judd families in Colonial Connecticut that sometimes had their surname incorrectly listed as Jed, Ted/Tedd and occasionally as Fed/Fedd.

In Colonial America, handwriting styles were not universal, as you will see in the below examples of capital letters. Also, not everyone had beautiful penmanship, some writings from the time are easier to read than others. I give you the examples below for the letters F, J, and T, because they are directly related to my research of this ancestral line.

Below is a comparison of the various ways that the capital letter F was written in Colonial America. As you can see, it was not uniform.

Below is a comparison of the various ways the capital letter J was written in Colonial America. Once again, it is not uniform, but does have similarities.

Below is a comparison of the various ways the capital letter T was written in Colonial America. It is a bit more uniform but with some variance.

I have been unable to actually view the marriage record of my ancestors Phebe Fed and Daniel Prindle, and analyze the original handwriting, all we have is what someone else read, transcribed, and typed up.

As you can see above, the capital letters F and T in some instances look very much alike, and the second and fifth example of the letter J also is somewhat similar to some of the F and T examples.

The surname Jud/Judd could look like Ted/Tedd or even Fed/Fedd.

After considering strongly that Phebe’s maiden name was actually Judd, and she was of a Judd family of a different town in Connecticut, DNA became quite helpful.

Firstly, I studied my DNA matches, and the DNA matches of my maternal half-sister, and matches of my niece (my maternal half-brother’s daughter). A DNA match came up that already shares with me David Prindle and Phebe Fed as ancestors, if Phebe’s maiden name was Judd, then he would have the same Judd ancestors, Philip Judd (Jr.) and his 1st wife, twice, and descend from two of their children, via different, but related lines. Philip Judd was the son of Philip Judd (Sr.) and Hannah Loomis. I did research into Philip Judd, his family, and my DNA matches. Numerous additional DNA matches came up, being descended from this same Judd family.

There is some confusion regarding the wives of Philip Judd (Jr). Many list him as married to Lydia Hall, but she was the wife of his 2nd cousin Nathaniel Judd. She died in 1749 and cannot be the same Lydia that is a member of the Bethel Church in 1760 and is known to be the 2nd wife of Philip Judd.

His last known child was born about 1722, and in all likelihood his children are all from his first marriage. The name of his first wife is unknown. The maiden name of his second wife Lydia or if she was married prior is also unknown.

The above picture is from a page in the book Philip Judd and His Descendants, by Caroline Judd McDowell. It was originally published in 1923.

What is known for sure is he had three sons: Philip (III), Thomas, and Samuel Judd. He had a daughter named Hannah Judd, whose name was confirmed by Deacon Eliel Taylor, and a second daughter, Rebecca Judd, whose name was confirmed by Russel Judd. Deacon Eliel Taylor thought that there was a total of five daughters. That leaves three unnamed daughters.

I do not find any marriage records for Hannah or Rebecca Judd, nor did I find any known descendants. Although, if they married in or near Danbury, the records were destroyed by the British, so none would be found. My Phebe marrying in New Milford is actually a blessing, since those records were not destroyed.

It states in Philip Judd and His Descendants, that the records of Danbury, Connecticut were destroyed by the British in April 1777 during the American Revolutionary War. The author visited Danbury in 1839, and depended upon Deacon Eliel Taylor, who was aged 82 at the time, as her primary source of information. The records for Bethel, which is a few miles from Danbury, would have been included in the records destroyed by the British.

It is believed that one of the unnamed daughters was Mary Judd, who married Judah Wright. I believe that my ancestor Phebe was also one of the unnamed daughters. Phebe Judd would have been born about 1718 in Bethel, Connecticut, which is near Danbury, and is 17.3 miles from where she married Daniel Prindle in New Milford.

I wanted to inject a little update here. Since originally writing this, I have discovered that Jerusha Judd (married Samuel Hoyt) is also believed to be one of the unknown named daughters of Philip Judd and his first wife. Also, some think Philip Judd’s daughter, Hannah Judd, was the wife of Deacon Eliel Taylor.

I have DNA matches to the descendants of the three Judd sons and the daughter, Mary Judd Wright.

Since we do not know the name of the first wife of Philip Judd (Jr.), or anything about his second wife Lydia, I have to go back to the next generation.

Philip Judd (Jr.) was the son of Philip Judd (Sr.) and Hannah Loomis. She was the daughter of Thomas Loomis Sr. and Hannah Fox/Fowkes.

Philip Judd (Sr.) was the son of Thomas Judd (who died 12 November 1688 in Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts) and Elizabeth ___.

I have several DNA matches to the descendants of Philip Judd, Sr. and Hannah Loomis.

I also have DNA matches to the descendants of Thomas Judd and Elizabeth ____.

Thomas Loomis, Sr. was born 3 December 1624 in Braintree, Essex, England, and died 28 August 1689. He married first on 1 November 1653 to Hannah Fox/Fowkes, the daughter of Henry Fox/Fowkes (of Windsor, Connecticut). After his first wife Hannah died, he married second on 1 January 1662/63 to Mary Judd, the daughter of Thomas Judd and Elizabeth ____.

I have DNA matches to the descendants of Thomas Loomis, Sr. and Hannah Fox/Fowkes.

Thomas Loomis, Sr. was the son of Joseph Loomis, a woolen draper from Braintree, Essex, England and his wife Mary White. Joseph Loomis sailed from London on 11 April 1638 on the ship Susan and Ellen. He arrived in Boston, 17 July 1638. He settled at Windsor, Connecticut.

Now, do I know 100% beyond a shadow of a doubt that Phebe Fed Prindle was born Phebe Judd? Well, no, not 100%. But by studying handwriting of the time and surnames that were mis-transcribed as Fed/Fedd/Ted/Tedd, the fact that the surname Fed is quite rare and nonexistent in Colonial Connecticut (or anywhere in Colonial America), also that we know Philip Judd (Jr.) had five daughters and that some of their names were lost to time and records being destroyed by the British, as well as my very strong DNA connection to these Judd and Loomis families, I strongly believe that it is a cogent hypothesis.

My direct line:

1. Philip Judd, Jr. and his first wife.
2. Phebe Judd and Daniel Prindle.
3. David Prindle and Jemima Leach.
4. Amos Prindle and Esther Canfield.
5. David M. Prindle, Sr. and Hannah Elizabeth Greatsinger/Kritsinger.
6. Daniel Prindle and Sarah Jane “Jennie” Doman.
7. Anna Cora Prindle and Joseph Edward Cole (my great-grandparents).

Famous kin of Thomas Judd and Elizabeth _____:

1. Gilbert Clifford Nobel – Co-Founder of Barnes & Noble.
2. O. Henry – Short Story Writer.
3. Mark Hopkins, Jr. – Co-founder, Central Pacific Railroad.
4. Frank Kellogg – 45th U.S. Secretary of State.
5. Daniel Burnham – World’s Columbian Expo Architect.
6. Horace Austin – 6th Governor of Minnesota.
7. Bob Barker – TV Game Show Host.
8. Nancy (Davis) Regan – First Lady of President Ronald Reagan.
9. Henry Fonda – Movie Actor.
10. Norman Rockwell – American Artist.
11. Dan Quayle – 44th U.S. Vice-President.
12. Jane Fonda – Movie Actress.
13. Ted Danson – TV Actor.
14. Sigourney Weaver – Movie Actress.
15. Peter Fonda – TV and Movie Actor.
16. Diana Ellen “Naomi” Judd – American country music singer, songwriter, and activist.
17. Jodie Foster – Movie Actress.
18. Christina Claire Ciminella “Wynonna” Judd – American country music singer.
19. Ashley Tyler Ciminella Judd – American television and film actress. 
20. Amy Adams – Movie Actress.
21. Viggo Mortensen – Movie Actor.
22. Bridget Fonda – Movie Actress.
23. Tammy Duckworth – U.S. Senator from Illinois.

Numerous people on this above list, I also have other family connections with them on other different lines.

This list of famous kin of Thomas Loomis and Mary White is even longer. It includes some of the names above and many more. You may click here, to view the list.

If you’d like to learn more about the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks project, please visit here:

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.

Or join the Facebook group Generations Cafe.

If you use any information from my blog posts as a reference or source, please give credit and provide a link back to my work that you are referencing. Unless otherwise noted, my work is © Anna A. Kasper 2011-2026. All rights reserved. Thank you.