by Terrie Lynn Bittner

The following is a record of several days of searching for Rebecca Bloomfield. She is the one questionable link in this family chain.

February 27, 2004: For quite a long while I've been researching the Bloomfield and FitzRandolph lines. From the moment Jennifer found Elizabeth Blossom, who married Edward FitzRandolph, I felt powerful connection to her that can't be explained in any earthly way. I've chosen to discover and write her story, and even though we've never met in this life, since she lived in the 1600s, I have had a strong sense of who she is. However, I have been told that Elisabeth Salyer, known as the most reliable researcher of Salyer history, says there is no proof that the Rebecca who married Charles Salyer, Jr. is Rebecca Bloomfield. In fact, many researchers leave Rebecca off the list of the children of Ezekiel Bloomfield and Hope FitzRandolph entirely.  As far as I know, I am the only researcher living here, where Rebecca lived all her life, so I've set a goal to find proof either way.

If I can't prove the connection, I am not likely to be related to Elizabeth Blossom. I feel certain I am, however, and I hope to find the proof. How will I do this? I have no idea! I decided to keep this journal of my search. Today, I am starting to make a timeline of Ezekiel and Hope's lives, and then make one of Rebecca and Charles's lives to look for clues and connections.  I have started a timeline for Ezekiel and Hope, Rebecca's parents. Here is what I learned:

15 Feb. 1702 Ezekiel Bloomfield dies in Woodbridge, Middlesex County, New Jersey. He is 48. Hope is 40.

1706 Hope dies in Woodbridge, Middlesex County, New Jersey. Hope is 44 years old. Ages of their children at Hope's death: Timothy: 24. Ezekiel: 23. Rebecca (1) dead. Nathaniel (1) dead. Jeremiah: 13. Joseph: 11. Rebecca (2) 9. Benjamin: 5. Mary: unknown birth date, but alive since she married Obadiah Ayers, so became adult.

So, Timothy and Ezekiel are fairly young and suddenly find themselves responsible for 5 children. Rebecca and Mary are the only girls. We don't know when Mary was born. What did Timothy and Ezekiel do with these children? Did they raise them? Did they put them out for adoption or send them to relatives? Did they, perhaps send the little girls to others and raise the boys? This could explain why it is so hard to verify who Rebecca was. If we start with the premise that she was a Bloomfield, perhaps she was raised by another family and used their name sometimes. I think she was a Bloomfield for these reasons: She was the first girl born after the death of a sister named Rebecca. This family line nearly always named the next child of the same gender after the dead child. (However, they didn't name a child after the boy who died.) She fits perfectly into the space of the family. There is a large gap without her.

February 28, 2004: I visited the Family History Center at Church briefly before picking up my children from their basketball games. The Salyer book is in Salt Lake, but can't be ordered. However, we did find a history of the Bloomfields, which I have ordered. Today's questions: Where can I find out exactly what Ms. Salyer wrote about Rebecca? What resources are available to help me search for birth and marriage records in Woodbridge? Why haven't my other searches for New Jersey relatives turned up more about Charles? What was his family doing here? They don't seem to appear in the histories I've read, and don't seem to turn up everywhere, as others of that time do. What religion was he?

Kenneth Hines, whose article seems to have been taken down, suggests my Rebecca was the daughter of Timothy. Now that is a possibility. Look into Timothy more. Even if she is Timothy's child, that keeps me in the family.

March 4, 2004: I've spent some time talking to various people and hanging out at the Family History Center. I've continued to scour the Internet, but nothing new has turned up there, except that, if copied correctly, she doesn't seem to have been listed in Ezekiel's will, a very bad sign. It was suggested that I look for the wills of the other children to see if she is mentioned, and continue to search for more on Charles. Also, look for a legal document explaining what happened to the other children when their mother died. Where is the record of their marriage? I've ordered one film and plan to order more soon. So far, things don't look encouraging, but that's okay. The search is fun!

March 21, 2004: A history of the courts of Woodbridge say there are no court records for the year Rebecca was orphaned. That should ruin my brainstorm of looking for guardianship records! Received an email this week from someone else trying to figure this out. She also has a strong impression that Rebecca is a Bloomfield, which gives me hope.

The history of the Plainfield Quakers mentions that Ezekiel married Hope. Were they Quakers? Most records say only the oldest FitzRandolph, Nathaniel FitzRandolph, became a Quaker, but the religions of the girls are never discussed anyway. If they are, this could provide research guidance. I emailed the webmaster to find out if they know. [Note: Did not receive a response.]

March 25: Some sites list Charles and Rebecca as having several children born in NJ, then two in North Carolina, and the last back in New Jersey. Did they move for a time and return? The next generation seems to have moved and stayed or returned to New Jersey, where the line continues for a while until it moves eventually to Kentucky. Salyers are still in Kentucky today. I think my next task is to do a timeline of Charles and Rebecca and each of their children, and start looking for them in North Carolina.

Conclusions: This search was done some time ago. To date, I haven't found any new evidence. However, every person I talk to who researches this line has a strong feeling she belongs where history has placed her. I am a strong believer in inspiration in genealogy.

One person pointed out to me the keeper of the records that put her into this family was Nathaniel FitzRandolph. It is quite certain he knew who belonged there.

See Grandpappy.info for more on this theory, which I support.

A genealogist who is not in this line has suggested to me she may have been adopted after the death of another family member and perhaps came to the family with her own inheritance. If so, the family may not have felt a need to leave her anything in their wills. This seems to be the most likely explanation to me and I plan, at some point, to find out who might have died during her childhood.