For those of you who are descendants of Seth Ring (and there are a lot of us), this may be news: Seth and his wife, Elizabeth Libby Ring, had an earlier child -- apparently their firstborn -- which was killed in an accident in Portsmouth, NH on August 22, 1716. This comes from a court document, filed the following day by a Joseph Davis, mariner, accused of the killing, who requests a special early court session to hear his case because of his difficulty in getting bail. No details are given about the accident, nor is the child's name, age or gender given.

If any of you dig out these details, please let us all know.

This would seem to place the date of Seth and Elizabeth's marriage no later than 1715.

Check it out in the NH Provincial and State Papers, Vol. 17, page 728. This volume is entitled "Revolutionary Rolls -- Vol. 4" -- who'd think to look there for information about Seth! Which may be why this little gem hasn't come to light earlier.

I'd like to hear from anyone knowledgeable about this family, their parents, grandparents or the line descending from their later born son Josiah Ring. I have a lot already, but there's always more to learn!