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To Joshua and Esther Mitchell were born in the town of Newbury, six children, five daughters and one son; Betty was the name given their third daughter. She was born January 20, 1744. The Congregational Church Government prevailed in the New England colonies at this time, so when Betty’s smother died, she was compelled to remain silent for a long period of time while the minister prolonged his sermon and prayed at great length for the soul of her mother. She was now eleven years old. She assisted her two older sisters, Sarah and Esther, to care for Joanne, Caleb and wee baby Nanne, until one year later, when Joshua Mitchell married Allis Holt.
When Betty was fourteen, the Mitchells joined the Weare and Benjamin Swett families in a move to New Hampshire. They located near Portsmouth Bay, where her father could resume his work as shipwright.
There was tenderness in Betty's large brown eyes and a glint of gold in her beautiful auburn hair. Animation filled her being, and when she turned her deepening smile on the male members of the community, they vied for an opportunity to court her.
Betty was in no hurry to leave her father’s tender care. She reminded him, to a great extent, of her mother, and she consequently became the recipient of favors not accorded the two older girls.
Accuracy and efficiency are words which are a must in reference to the ability of a shipwright. So much money, labor and life depend on his "know-how" to build a sea worthy ship that he cannot be otherwise. When one considers that there were no less than 150 vital parts to a sailing vessel, each part depending on the accuracy in computing measurements for its durability and strength, one realizes that a man must spend the greater portion of his life in preparing himself to receive the title of shipwright. Gnarled and tar-stained were the hands of Joshua Mitchell, but they gave a loving caress to his children. Harsh was his voice from calling and shouting to the men at work on the ship he was building, but he could croon a lullaby to his wee one. Power in his shoulders and stance, tone in his muscles remained with him the major portion of his life. However, exposure to the elements was bound to bring decay eventually. Joshua died July 12, 1761, but not before he dictated his will. He appointed his second wife, Allis Mitchell, as executrix of his estate, which two of his shipwright friends, Michael Shute and Hubertus Neal, appraised at 18,194 pounds. His two older daughters were married, and Betty was now seventeen. After providing for the care of his wife and other children, he gave the following instructions: "To my daughter, Betty Mitchell, her heirs etc., forever, I bequeath 500 pounds old tenor, a mourning suit and a piece of chence I have bought to make her a gown to be paid for out of my estate at the age of eighteen years or her marriage day."
This chence, or chintz as we might call it, came from India. From Spartacus we read: "At the time - - about 400 B.C, the most precious material in Rome was not silk, it was the delicate and wonderfully sheer cotton spun in India, having a gossamer quality that no si1k-Could equal”. Although it had been used in India these many centuries, it was Queen Anne, who came to the throne of England in 1702, who promoted the use of the material in her court. Aside from the floral designs, it in no way resembles the chintz as we know it today.