Hannah Lippincott

Although there are numerous women named Hannah Lippincott who lived in Burlington County, New Jersey, in the late 1700s and early 1800s, the Hannah Lippincott who voted in October 1807 in Moorestown, Chester Township, appears to have been the widow of Richard Lippincott of Chester Township. She was one of 38 women listed as having voted to choose new representatives and public officials for Burlington County. At the time, Hannah Lippincott was an elderly woman and she cast her ballot along with at least four of her five grandsons-in-law (Josiah Hubbs, Samuel Slim, Thomas Hunter, and Peter Slim, Jr.) who lived in the same township. 

Hannah Lippincott’s birthdate is currently unknown, but her maiden name was Clemens and she was originally from Burlington County. On May 1, 1751, Hannah Clemens married farmer Richard Lippincott (1724-1801) of Chester Township, Burlington County. Hannah and Richard’s two children, Sarah and Thomas, were born in the 1750s. According to the 1780 tax list for the township, Richard Lippincott owned 140 acres of land, three horses, and eight “horn’d cattle.” Richard Lippincott wrote his will in December 1799 and bequeathed to his wife his moveable estate as well as a room in his home and provisions for the rest of her life. Richard appointed his grandson John Pearson, who received the rest of his grandfather’s estate, to ensure that Hannah Lippincott had what she needed to survive. Richard Lippincott also bequeathed small sums of money to his five granddaughters. He died in 1801 and his estate inventory was valued at over 410 pounds. 

Hannah Lippincott’s widowhood and ownership of moveable property made her eligible to vote in 1807. She is not recorded on tax lists for the township probably because she did not own real estate. Hannah Lippincott wrote a will of her own in 1804 and bequeathed her estate to her grandchildren. John Pearson was to receive five pounds, while her five granddaughters (Hannah Slim, Mary Hunter, Sarah Johnson, Elizabeth Hubbs, and Rebecca Slim) were to receive equal shares of her estate. Lippincott died about one month after she cast her ballot in 1807. An inventory completed on November 24, 1807 valued her estate at $846.17. The inventory lists moveable goods such as her clothing, bedstead, bedding, pots, kettles, earthenware, a flax spinning wheel, table linens, homespun cloth, a looking glass, a table, chairs, a large chest, and “low drawers.” Hannah Lippincott’s burial place is currently unknown.