OK, John Thompson is not quite an immigrant. However, I'm no longer sure of the identity of his parents. I had a whole blog post written and ready to post about Simon Thompson, whom I believed to be his father. I no longer believe that. I've found several sources that appear to be authoritative saying his parents were John and Sarah (possibly Trevore) Thompson and his paternal grandparents were David and Amyas Cole Thomson. These seem to be more likely for our John, and this is the way it is given in a published genealogy plus on line trees, so that's how we'll leave it for now. It's important that I get this right, because we have two lines of descent from this man.
I will say that John Thompson appears to have been born in 1642, although some sources say 1645, possibly in Dorchester. So his parents were already here, and John Thompson and Sarah possibly Trevore would appear to have been here, and in the correct location.
Before 1663, John is believed to have lived at Weymouth, Massachusetts. He married Thankful Woodland, daughter of John and Martha Woodland in about 1665, in Dorchester. Some sources say the marriage occurred in Mendon, but Mendon was not yet a settlement so that appears unlikely. The actual settlement of Mendon occurred in 1668, although there may have been a house or two before then. All 10 of their children were born in Mendon, and John and Thankful probably intended to live out their days there.
Life wasn't as peaceful as it sounds, however. The Thompsons left Mendon in late 1675 and went to Dorchester or one of the "safer" towns, due to the outbreak of King Philip's War. Mendon suffered the first casualties of the war in 1675, and the natives returned to burn the town to the ground in early 1676. The Thompsons were some of the earliest families to return to Mendon in 1677, and to start rebuilding their lives.
John was chosen surveyor for the town in 1680, the first such office to be filled since the burning of the town. He was also a town selectman, and is noted in some records as being an Ensign. If so, he probably was involved in military action during King Philip's War. He may have lived until 1715, but I have not been able to locate a death record or a will.
This is not much to define the life of a pioneer and a patriot. I wish I had more information. I wish I knew how he met his wife. I wish I knew what stories his father must have told, about his amazing grandfather. There is so much I'd life to know, but at least I can honor his name by writing this blog post.
The line of descent is:
John Thompson-Thankful Woodland
Martha Thompson-Ebenezer Thayer
Deborah Thayer-John Rockwood
Joseph Rockwood-Alice Thompson
Levi Rockwood-Deborah Lazell
Susannah Rockwood-Nahum Holbrook
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
The second line is:
John Thompson-Thankful Woodland
John Thompson-Hannah Wight
Joseph Thompson-Mary Holbrook
Alice Thompson-Joseph Rockwood (so they would be second cousins)
See above
Friday, August 31, 2018
Tuesday, August 28, 2018
Holbrook line: Chad Brown, Immigrant
We have more than one ancestor who made it to Wikipedia. Chad Brown, variously described as Reverend, Pastor, and Elder, has his own article that tells much about his life. I've found other articles, too, including one from the Register, published by New England Historical and Genealogical Society, that detail the first four generations of his descendants. So he is easy to write about. The hard part is choosing what to include in this post, and in trying to restrain my pride in this man and his descendants. We actually have at least two lines of descent from him, and there are some Browns I haven't yet identified, so there could be more yet.
Once again we have a mystery as to his parentage, however. We know that he married Elizabeth Sharparowe, daughter of John and Margaret Castley Sharparowe, on September 11, 1626 in Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. We could probably guess that Chad came from the same general area, but we don't know that for sure. Wycombe is a town known for its cloth industry and its paper industry during the 17th century. We don't know whether Chad was involved in either of those, but it does give us a sense that the town was industrial before industrial was widespread, and the town must have had a certain energy to it. We wonder what kind of education Chad received, in light of his later achievements.
Chad, Elizabeth, their son John, and possibly other children arrived on the ship Martin, arriving in Boston in July of 1638. Whether by plan or by "encouragement", they soon moved to Providence Plantations in what became Rhode Island, where Roger Williams was teaching. He signed agreements in 1640 and another one sometime between 1639 and 1644, to agree to the Providence Compact and to set up a government for Providence in 1640. He took over pastoral duties for the Baptist church in 1643, when Roger Williams, the first pastor, went to England on colony business. The church at this time met outside, or in bad weather, in someone's home. The first church building in Providence was not built until some sixty years later. Chad served as pastor for about 10 years, including time he was apparently an unofficial pastor, or perhaps an assistant.
There is not a good record of when he died, but there is a mention of a widow Brown, not further named, being listed on a tax list in 1650. He was mentioned as deceased in a deed from 1663, but he could well have been deceased for quite a while by that time. I tend to think it was shortly before 1650, because the church record says that he ended his pastorate before 1650. This would have left Elizabeth with seven children to raise, with John at 20 being the oldest.
Chad had acted as an arbitrator in the early days of Providence, and also as a surveyor. These jobs, combined with that of pastor make me think he surely had at least a grammar school type education, and perhaps higher than that. He reportedly left a will but I have not been able to locate a copy. The inventory would be valuable, to see whether he had books, and also to see how he supported himself other than as pastor. It doesn't seem likely that this would have been a "paying job".
I think I would have liked Chad Brown. From the bits and pieces we can see, he was a man who lived out his faith by serving others. His record as pastor of the First Baptist Church shows his dedication to the Lord. Some of his sons became members of the Anglican Church and some of his descendants became Quakers. I wonder what he would have said to that?
The two lines of descent are:
Chad Brown-Elizabeth Shaparowe
Daniel Brown-Alice Hearndon
Hosanna Brown-Mary Hawkins
Othniel Brown-Deborah Brown
Sarah Brown-Enos Eddy
Enos Eddy-Deborah Paine
Joseph Brown Eddy-Susan Lamphire
Susan Eddy-Hiram Stanard
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
The second line is
Chad Brown-Elizabeth Sharparowe
John Brown-Mary Holmes
Sarah Brown-John Pray
Mary Pray-Richard Brown
Deborah Brown-Othniel Brown
as above
Fun face: FamousKin says that Amelia Earhart and John Ritter are descendants of Chad Brown, so they are our distant cousins.
Once again we have a mystery as to his parentage, however. We know that he married Elizabeth Sharparowe, daughter of John and Margaret Castley Sharparowe, on September 11, 1626 in Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. We could probably guess that Chad came from the same general area, but we don't know that for sure. Wycombe is a town known for its cloth industry and its paper industry during the 17th century. We don't know whether Chad was involved in either of those, but it does give us a sense that the town was industrial before industrial was widespread, and the town must have had a certain energy to it. We wonder what kind of education Chad received, in light of his later achievements.
Chad, Elizabeth, their son John, and possibly other children arrived on the ship Martin, arriving in Boston in July of 1638. Whether by plan or by "encouragement", they soon moved to Providence Plantations in what became Rhode Island, where Roger Williams was teaching. He signed agreements in 1640 and another one sometime between 1639 and 1644, to agree to the Providence Compact and to set up a government for Providence in 1640. He took over pastoral duties for the Baptist church in 1643, when Roger Williams, the first pastor, went to England on colony business. The church at this time met outside, or in bad weather, in someone's home. The first church building in Providence was not built until some sixty years later. Chad served as pastor for about 10 years, including time he was apparently an unofficial pastor, or perhaps an assistant.
There is not a good record of when he died, but there is a mention of a widow Brown, not further named, being listed on a tax list in 1650. He was mentioned as deceased in a deed from 1663, but he could well have been deceased for quite a while by that time. I tend to think it was shortly before 1650, because the church record says that he ended his pastorate before 1650. This would have left Elizabeth with seven children to raise, with John at 20 being the oldest.
Chad had acted as an arbitrator in the early days of Providence, and also as a surveyor. These jobs, combined with that of pastor make me think he surely had at least a grammar school type education, and perhaps higher than that. He reportedly left a will but I have not been able to locate a copy. The inventory would be valuable, to see whether he had books, and also to see how he supported himself other than as pastor. It doesn't seem likely that this would have been a "paying job".
I think I would have liked Chad Brown. From the bits and pieces we can see, he was a man who lived out his faith by serving others. His record as pastor of the First Baptist Church shows his dedication to the Lord. Some of his sons became members of the Anglican Church and some of his descendants became Quakers. I wonder what he would have said to that?
The two lines of descent are:
Chad Brown-Elizabeth Shaparowe
Daniel Brown-Alice Hearndon
Hosanna Brown-Mary Hawkins
Othniel Brown-Deborah Brown
Sarah Brown-Enos Eddy
Enos Eddy-Deborah Paine
Joseph Brown Eddy-Susan Lamphire
Susan Eddy-Hiram Stanard
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
The second line is
Chad Brown-Elizabeth Sharparowe
John Brown-Mary Holmes
Sarah Brown-John Pray
Mary Pray-Richard Brown
Deborah Brown-Othniel Brown
as above
Fun face: FamousKin says that Amelia Earhart and John Ritter are descendants of Chad Brown, so they are our distant cousins.
Friday, August 24, 2018
Holbrook line: Eltweed Pomeroy, Immigrant
I can't believe that I haven't written about Eltweed Pomeroy yet. Just the sound of his name has made me smile since the day I found him on our tree. Plus, there is scads and oodles of information about him, although of course there are still confusing details and missing facts. There is even a Pomeroy Family Association that honors his name, and a book written about Eltweed and his descendants. I've found a wonderful collection of riches while writing this post.
Eltweed Pomeroy was born in Beaminster, Devon, England shortly before he was christened on July 5, 1585. His father was Richard Pomeroy but the name of his mother is not yet known. (It is often given as '"Eleanor Coker" but that name is also attached to an earlier Richard Pomeroy, and I'll believe it only when I find documentation.) At any rate, Richard would have have at least one wife, and perhaps Eltweed is a name in her family.
We don't know anything about Eltweed's early life other than that he was listed as being a :fuller". The town was famous as a manufacturer of both linens and woolens, so Eltweed worked with woolens, in a manufacturing environment. He first married Johanna Keech on May 4, 1617 in Beaminster. They had two daughters, but Johanna and the two young children died of "the plague" by 1621.
He next married on May 7, 1629 in Sherborne, Dorset, England Margery Rockett (Rockwood), daughter of Thomas Rocket. The two towns are 17 miles apart, so one wonders how they met. However, they both must have been good Puritans and that may explain their marriage, as just a few monts later, in February of 1630, they were in attendance at a meeting of Reverend White's group of Puritans in the "New Hospital" at Plymouth. This was 96 miles from Sherborne, so the Pomeroys would have sacrificed much to get there.
We don't know exactly when the family came to New England but they were part of the Great Migration because Eltweed was made a freeman at Dorchester, Massachusetts Bay Colony, on March 4, 1632. While in Dorchester, he served as selectman, and constable, and on at least two town committees. He was referred to as "Mr. Pomeroy", indicating a degree of respect. The couple had eight children. Two may have been born in England, one possibly in Dorchester, and the rest were born in Windsor, Connecticut, which is where Eltweed took his family in 1636. He readily adhered to the teachings of the Reverend Ephraim Huit (Hewitt), another of our ancestors, when he came to Windsor in 1639. In fact, he built onto his own home a room for Isabel, widow of Ephraim Huit, and then bought it from her estate when she died. Sometime in 1659, there was an Indian raid and Eltweed's mare was stolen. He requested compensation and eventually (5 years later!) received wampum worth ten pounds. This was regarded as an acceptable form of money.
Eltweed owned land in Windsor, including two houses, which he gave to two of his sons.
His background in woolen textiles was valued in Windsor, and he appears to have acted as a sort of consultant, but he was primarily a blacksmith. Margery died in 1655 and after twelve years of widower status, he married Lydia Brown, the widow of Thomas Parsons on November 30, 1667. Eltweed They had no children, Eltweed was old by then, 82 years old when he married for the third time, and nearly blind.
Soon after the marriage, they apparently went to Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay Colony, where Eltweed's son, Medad, lived. Eltweed died there on March 4, 1673, when he was 87 years old. I haven't found a will or an inventory yet, but I'll keep looking. It is possible that he owned next to nothing at the time of his death, since he had given much to his children, and was living with a son.
Eltweed is fun because FamousKin.com tells us that he is the ancestor of some pretty famous people-Harriet Beecher Stowe, Franklin D. Roosevelt, J.P. Morgan and son, Gloria Vanderbilt (and hence Anderson Cooper), and Henry Luce, among others. Some of these people were extremely wealthy, but I don't think we'd be welcome in their homes, except as paying guests. Still, it's fun to find connections like these.
Our line of descent is:
Eltweed Pomeroy-Margery Rockett
Medad Pomeroy-Experience Woodward
Joseph Pomeroy-Hannah Seymour
Medad Pomeroy-Hannah Trumbull
Medad Pomeroy-Eunice Southwell
Eunice Pomeroy-Libbeus Stanard
Libbeus Stanard-Luceba Fay
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Eltweed Pomeroy was born in Beaminster, Devon, England shortly before he was christened on July 5, 1585. His father was Richard Pomeroy but the name of his mother is not yet known. (It is often given as '"Eleanor Coker" but that name is also attached to an earlier Richard Pomeroy, and I'll believe it only when I find documentation.) At any rate, Richard would have have at least one wife, and perhaps Eltweed is a name in her family.
We don't know anything about Eltweed's early life other than that he was listed as being a :fuller". The town was famous as a manufacturer of both linens and woolens, so Eltweed worked with woolens, in a manufacturing environment. He first married Johanna Keech on May 4, 1617 in Beaminster. They had two daughters, but Johanna and the two young children died of "the plague" by 1621.
He next married on May 7, 1629 in Sherborne, Dorset, England Margery Rockett (Rockwood), daughter of Thomas Rocket. The two towns are 17 miles apart, so one wonders how they met. However, they both must have been good Puritans and that may explain their marriage, as just a few monts later, in February of 1630, they were in attendance at a meeting of Reverend White's group of Puritans in the "New Hospital" at Plymouth. This was 96 miles from Sherborne, so the Pomeroys would have sacrificed much to get there.
We don't know exactly when the family came to New England but they were part of the Great Migration because Eltweed was made a freeman at Dorchester, Massachusetts Bay Colony, on March 4, 1632. While in Dorchester, he served as selectman, and constable, and on at least two town committees. He was referred to as "Mr. Pomeroy", indicating a degree of respect. The couple had eight children. Two may have been born in England, one possibly in Dorchester, and the rest were born in Windsor, Connecticut, which is where Eltweed took his family in 1636. He readily adhered to the teachings of the Reverend Ephraim Huit (Hewitt), another of our ancestors, when he came to Windsor in 1639. In fact, he built onto his own home a room for Isabel, widow of Ephraim Huit, and then bought it from her estate when she died. Sometime in 1659, there was an Indian raid and Eltweed's mare was stolen. He requested compensation and eventually (5 years later!) received wampum worth ten pounds. This was regarded as an acceptable form of money.
Eltweed owned land in Windsor, including two houses, which he gave to two of his sons.
His background in woolen textiles was valued in Windsor, and he appears to have acted as a sort of consultant, but he was primarily a blacksmith. Margery died in 1655 and after twelve years of widower status, he married Lydia Brown, the widow of Thomas Parsons on November 30, 1667. Eltweed They had no children, Eltweed was old by then, 82 years old when he married for the third time, and nearly blind.
Soon after the marriage, they apparently went to Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay Colony, where Eltweed's son, Medad, lived. Eltweed died there on March 4, 1673, when he was 87 years old. I haven't found a will or an inventory yet, but I'll keep looking. It is possible that he owned next to nothing at the time of his death, since he had given much to his children, and was living with a son.
Eltweed is fun because FamousKin.com tells us that he is the ancestor of some pretty famous people-Harriet Beecher Stowe, Franklin D. Roosevelt, J.P. Morgan and son, Gloria Vanderbilt (and hence Anderson Cooper), and Henry Luce, among others. Some of these people were extremely wealthy, but I don't think we'd be welcome in their homes, except as paying guests. Still, it's fun to find connections like these.
Our line of descent is:
Eltweed Pomeroy-Margery Rockett
Medad Pomeroy-Experience Woodward
Joseph Pomeroy-Hannah Seymour
Medad Pomeroy-Hannah Trumbull
Medad Pomeroy-Eunice Southwell
Eunice Pomeroy-Libbeus Stanard
Libbeus Stanard-Luceba Fay
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Thomas Betts 1615-1688 Immigrant
I typed Thomas's birth date with trepidation. If he was truly born in 1615, then he became a very young father. I have seen other birth dates as "old" as 1602, and I think that Thomas was born sometime before 1615. If his parents waited 13 years to have him baptized, one wonders what their motivation was. Were they really strict Puritans (or another sect), who didn't believe in baptism of infants? Or did Thomas marry at a very young age? Like so many others, what we know is just bits and pieces, and not very many of those!
Thomas is believed to be the son of John and Mary Bigge Betts, and his first wife is thought to be Mary Bridge. It is possible, since I can't find documentation of the marriage, that there was no marriage and our Grace is an out of wedlock child, but others believe there was a divorce in Massachusetts, shortly after Thomas arrived in the Colony, and that Thomas then left his former wife and child there while he moved to Connecticut to start over. As far as I know, there is no documentation for this idea, either. I wonder if first wife died and he left Grace with relatives while he moved to Connecticut? At this point, all this is speculation and needs more research.
Grace's birth is variously given as Roxbury, Massachusetd "England" so we don't really know when Thomas arrived. We do know he was in Milford, Connecticut in 1639, and in Guilford before 1644, and then moved on to Norwalk, Connecticut in 1660, where he died in 1688. He was a farmer, and not an especially prosperous one at that. His inventory amounted to just 45 pounds and 6 shillings, which is on the low end of "poor", actually. It's possible that he had disposed of land earlier but it appears that he still had his own household.
Thomas is thought to have married a second (?) time, to Mary, whom some have identified with Mary Raymond. His daughter Mary married a John Raymond, so this needs to be researched further to make sure the families aren't mixed up. He had several children with this wife, and these are the children he remembered in his will. Grace wasn't mentioned. Perhaps he had given her a dowry earlier.
The facts and evidence about Thomas Betts is scant, as far as I have been able to learn. However, he seems to be an ancestor and therefore is a man who deserves respect. Without him, we would not be here, family!
The line of descent is:
Thomas Betts-Mary Bridge
Grace Betts-Edward Morris
Samuel Morris-Mehitable Mayo
Abigail Morris-John Perrin
Benjamin Perrin-Mary
Mary Perrin-David Fay
Luceba Fay-Libbeus Stanard
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Thomas is believed to be the son of John and Mary Bigge Betts, and his first wife is thought to be Mary Bridge. It is possible, since I can't find documentation of the marriage, that there was no marriage and our Grace is an out of wedlock child, but others believe there was a divorce in Massachusetts, shortly after Thomas arrived in the Colony, and that Thomas then left his former wife and child there while he moved to Connecticut to start over. As far as I know, there is no documentation for this idea, either. I wonder if first wife died and he left Grace with relatives while he moved to Connecticut? At this point, all this is speculation and needs more research.
Grace's birth is variously given as Roxbury, Massachusetd "England" so we don't really know when Thomas arrived. We do know he was in Milford, Connecticut in 1639, and in Guilford before 1644, and then moved on to Norwalk, Connecticut in 1660, where he died in 1688. He was a farmer, and not an especially prosperous one at that. His inventory amounted to just 45 pounds and 6 shillings, which is on the low end of "poor", actually. It's possible that he had disposed of land earlier but it appears that he still had his own household.
Thomas is thought to have married a second (?) time, to Mary, whom some have identified with Mary Raymond. His daughter Mary married a John Raymond, so this needs to be researched further to make sure the families aren't mixed up. He had several children with this wife, and these are the children he remembered in his will. Grace wasn't mentioned. Perhaps he had given her a dowry earlier.
The facts and evidence about Thomas Betts is scant, as far as I have been able to learn. However, he seems to be an ancestor and therefore is a man who deserves respect. Without him, we would not be here, family!
The line of descent is:
Thomas Betts-Mary Bridge
Grace Betts-Edward Morris
Samuel Morris-Mehitable Mayo
Abigail Morris-John Perrin
Benjamin Perrin-Mary
Mary Perrin-David Fay
Luceba Fay-Libbeus Stanard
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Friday, August 17, 2018
Holbrook line: Thomas Stoughton 1588-1661
Thomas Stoughton is, like many of our ancestors, a man with secrets. We know quite a bit about him, but one thing I have not been able to determine is how he made his living. But let's start at the beginning.
Thomas was likely the second Thomas in his family. There was a Thomas born in 1588, but our Thomas wasn't baptized until January 23, 1592/93. It would have been unusual to wait that long to baptize a child in Naughton, Suffolk, England, especially since his father, also Thomas Stoughton, was a Puritan clergyman. His mother was Katherine, likely Montpesson. So unless Thomas Senior for political/religious reasons had delayed baptizing his first born, we can consider it likely that Thomas, our subject, was born in January of 1592/93.
Thomas was born into a family who valued education and who honored the Lord but wished to do it in their own way. that way was Puritan, not church of England, and so the family probably suffered economically after the father lost his church in 1606. His father, a Cambridge graduate, turned to writing theological pamphlets but it is hard to see how he would have made a living from that. Thomas was one of seven children, and was educated to a high grammar school level. Perhaps he was tutored, at home or elsewhere, but as far as is known he did not attend a university.
Thomas married Elizabeth Thompson or Tompson on May 5, 1612 at Great Totham, Essex, England. He would have been just about 20 years old, which was a little young for the time and place, but he felt ready to support a wife and family. Again, we don't know how he supported his family, which soon included 4 daughters and a son. Another daughter, the first Elizabeth, died shortly after her birth. The second Elizabeth died when she was 6 years old, and there is no further record of Anna, who may also have died young. His wife, Elizabeth, died in 1627, leaving Thomas with children Sarah, Katherine, and Thomas. It should be noted that our connection is through a daughter Elizabeth, who is given varying birth dates but no documentation. So it's possible that Elizabeth was part of this family, but not a child of Thomas's. Perhaps she was his niece or a cousin or some other relation. For now, we will leave her as a daughter.
Thomas and his children came to Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, possibly on the Mary and John, although I don't find his name on any of the lists. He probably went directly to Dorchester where he became a freeman on May 18, 1631. He served on the General Court there until 1634, helped "order the affairs of the plantation" and later was a constable there. He was fined five pounds for marrying two people, which is a bit puzzling. Was he doing this as a civil servant or as a religious person? At any rate, the fine was eventually forgiven.
By 1635, there were religious tensions in Dorchester and Thomas was one of the men who went to what would become Windsor. He set the boundaries for the village and served in the court there for eleven years. About the time he went to Windsor, he married again, to Margaret Barret Huntington, a widow of "good means, and has five children". As far as we know, they lived happily every after.
Thomas died on March 25, 1661. I have not been able to find a will or inventory for him, which is a disappointment. We do know he owned several parcels of land, but whether these were developed for farming or not we don't know. So, as mentioned earlier, although we know quite a bit about him there are still mysteries. How did he make a living? And was Elizabeth his daughter, or possibly the daughter of one of his brothers who also came to the Bay Colony?
The supposed line of descent is:
Thomas Stoughton-Elizabeth Thomson
Elizabeth Stoughton-John Kingsley
Freedom Grace Kingsley-John French
Elizabeth French-Jonathan Thayer
Huldah Thayer-Benjamin Wheelock
Mary Wheelock-Ebenezer Thayer
Abigail Thayer-Jesse Holbrook
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susannah Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Thomas was likely the second Thomas in his family. There was a Thomas born in 1588, but our Thomas wasn't baptized until January 23, 1592/93. It would have been unusual to wait that long to baptize a child in Naughton, Suffolk, England, especially since his father, also Thomas Stoughton, was a Puritan clergyman. His mother was Katherine, likely Montpesson. So unless Thomas Senior for political/religious reasons had delayed baptizing his first born, we can consider it likely that Thomas, our subject, was born in January of 1592/93.
Thomas was born into a family who valued education and who honored the Lord but wished to do it in their own way. that way was Puritan, not church of England, and so the family probably suffered economically after the father lost his church in 1606. His father, a Cambridge graduate, turned to writing theological pamphlets but it is hard to see how he would have made a living from that. Thomas was one of seven children, and was educated to a high grammar school level. Perhaps he was tutored, at home or elsewhere, but as far as is known he did not attend a university.
Thomas married Elizabeth Thompson or Tompson on May 5, 1612 at Great Totham, Essex, England. He would have been just about 20 years old, which was a little young for the time and place, but he felt ready to support a wife and family. Again, we don't know how he supported his family, which soon included 4 daughters and a son. Another daughter, the first Elizabeth, died shortly after her birth. The second Elizabeth died when she was 6 years old, and there is no further record of Anna, who may also have died young. His wife, Elizabeth, died in 1627, leaving Thomas with children Sarah, Katherine, and Thomas. It should be noted that our connection is through a daughter Elizabeth, who is given varying birth dates but no documentation. So it's possible that Elizabeth was part of this family, but not a child of Thomas's. Perhaps she was his niece or a cousin or some other relation. For now, we will leave her as a daughter.
Thomas and his children came to Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, possibly on the Mary and John, although I don't find his name on any of the lists. He probably went directly to Dorchester where he became a freeman on May 18, 1631. He served on the General Court there until 1634, helped "order the affairs of the plantation" and later was a constable there. He was fined five pounds for marrying two people, which is a bit puzzling. Was he doing this as a civil servant or as a religious person? At any rate, the fine was eventually forgiven.
By 1635, there were religious tensions in Dorchester and Thomas was one of the men who went to what would become Windsor. He set the boundaries for the village and served in the court there for eleven years. About the time he went to Windsor, he married again, to Margaret Barret Huntington, a widow of "good means, and has five children". As far as we know, they lived happily every after.
Thomas died on March 25, 1661. I have not been able to find a will or inventory for him, which is a disappointment. We do know he owned several parcels of land, but whether these were developed for farming or not we don't know. So, as mentioned earlier, although we know quite a bit about him there are still mysteries. How did he make a living? And was Elizabeth his daughter, or possibly the daughter of one of his brothers who also came to the Bay Colony?
The supposed line of descent is:
Thomas Stoughton-Elizabeth Thomson
Elizabeth Stoughton-John Kingsley
Freedom Grace Kingsley-John French
Elizabeth French-Jonathan Thayer
Huldah Thayer-Benjamin Wheelock
Mary Wheelock-Ebenezer Thayer
Abigail Thayer-Jesse Holbrook
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susannah Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
Holbrook line: Reginald Foster 1595-1681 Immigerant
Reginald Foster is not who I thought he was. At least it appears that he was not the immediate descendant of Thomas Forster and Elizabeth Carr. It is hard to know who he was, exactly, as he has been said to have come from Northumberland, from Exeter, Devon, and from somewhere in Essex. It seems most likely that he came from Essex, as he married his wife, Judith Wignal or Wignoll, there in 1619.
The couple had seven children when they traveled to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1638. It is said that this was on a ship embargoed by King Charles I, meaning it was forbidden to leave port. Whether money changed hands or whether the captain sympathized with those on board, I don't know. Foster was apparently a Puritan and it is possible that Archbishop Laud was behind the embargo. Regardless, the ship made it to the colonies and the Foster family apparently went directly to Ipswich.
He apparently started building a home in Ipswich, one more substantial than the "hovel" the family first lived in, in the 1640s. The hovel was built at the edge of a bridge and the town decided they wanted the land to expand. This second home is still standing and pictures of it can be found by Googling "Foster House, Ipswich, Massachusetts". I didn't find pictures that were free to share, so they are not included here.
Reginald was most likely a carpenter by trade, but also would have farmed enough to support his family and perhaps a little more. He doesn't appear to have been a town leader, but he did have charge of the town herd of cttle on the south side of the river, (work was actually done by sone Abraham), and he was highway surveyor in 1661. He contributed funds (I'm not sure whether or not this was voluntary) to pay Major Dennison, who commanded the militia of Essex County, in 1648. This was to protect against possible native American raids. He and Thomas Clark were to be paid 10 pounds once they finished making a passage from one river to another, "deep enough that a lighter could pass through laden." That sounds like a significant amount of work, to me!
His wife Judith died in 1664 and he remarried, to Sarah Martin. When Abraham died in 1681 his real estate was appraised at over 580 pounds, so the man had prospered. I haven't found the actual inventory so I am unable to comment on individual items. Did he have books? An unusual number of tools? I don't think this brief blog post has captured the heart or the mind of Reginald. It is a beginning only, until we can figure out when and where his "beginning" was.
The line of descent is:
Reginald Foster-Judith Wignol
Abraham Foster-Lydia Burbank
Abraham Foster-Mary Robinson
Nathan Foster-Hannah Standish
Nathan Foster-Elizabeth Lansford
Jude Foster-Lydia M
Betsy Foster-Josiah Whittemore
Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph R Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
The couple had seven children when they traveled to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1638. It is said that this was on a ship embargoed by King Charles I, meaning it was forbidden to leave port. Whether money changed hands or whether the captain sympathized with those on board, I don't know. Foster was apparently a Puritan and it is possible that Archbishop Laud was behind the embargo. Regardless, the ship made it to the colonies and the Foster family apparently went directly to Ipswich.
He apparently started building a home in Ipswich, one more substantial than the "hovel" the family first lived in, in the 1640s. The hovel was built at the edge of a bridge and the town decided they wanted the land to expand. This second home is still standing and pictures of it can be found by Googling "Foster House, Ipswich, Massachusetts". I didn't find pictures that were free to share, so they are not included here.
Reginald was most likely a carpenter by trade, but also would have farmed enough to support his family and perhaps a little more. He doesn't appear to have been a town leader, but he did have charge of the town herd of cttle on the south side of the river, (work was actually done by sone Abraham), and he was highway surveyor in 1661. He contributed funds (I'm not sure whether or not this was voluntary) to pay Major Dennison, who commanded the militia of Essex County, in 1648. This was to protect against possible native American raids. He and Thomas Clark were to be paid 10 pounds once they finished making a passage from one river to another, "deep enough that a lighter could pass through laden." That sounds like a significant amount of work, to me!
His wife Judith died in 1664 and he remarried, to Sarah Martin. When Abraham died in 1681 his real estate was appraised at over 580 pounds, so the man had prospered. I haven't found the actual inventory so I am unable to comment on individual items. Did he have books? An unusual number of tools? I don't think this brief blog post has captured the heart or the mind of Reginald. It is a beginning only, until we can figure out when and where his "beginning" was.
The line of descent is:
Reginald Foster-Judith Wignol
Abraham Foster-Lydia Burbank
Abraham Foster-Mary Robinson
Nathan Foster-Hannah Standish
Nathan Foster-Elizabeth Lansford
Jude Foster-Lydia M
Betsy Foster-Josiah Whittemore
Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph R Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Friday, August 10, 2018
Holbrook line: Thomas Lincoln, Immigrant
I've spent most of the afternoon trying to figure out which of several Lincoln men I should write about today. Let's just say the easiest one to track is Thomas Lincoln, husbandman, of Hingham, Massachusetts. And to give you an idea of how difficult these Lincolns are, our Thomas was one of four men who lived in the same small down during the same time period. Fortunately, other folks wiser than I have pretty well figured out which Thomas was which,
I wish I could tell you who Thomas's parents are. There was a Stephen Lincoln who settled in Hingham a little before our Thomas. I think he is a relation but I don't know whether he's an uncle, a cousin, or some more distant cousin, but I think there's a clue there.
Thomas is believed to have been born in Wymondham, Norfolk, England. His birth year is given as anywhere from 1616-1626. I think it must be at 1620 or probably earlier, because he was accepted as an adult when he came to Hingham in 1638. So if an adult was 18 years of age, he was born in 1620 or earlier, and if the accepted adult age was 21, he was born in 1617 or earlier. He died in 1692 but many Lincolns had long lifespans, so 1610 is not out of the question.
The first thing we really know about Thomas is that he arrived in Hingham shortly after he arrived in port, on the ship Diligent, which sailed from Ipswich, Suffolk, England. Many of the people on board with him also went to Hingham, so it's possible there was a religious motive for some of the passengers. We don't know whether that was true for Thomas.
Thomas married Margaret Langer, daughter of Richard Langer, who also lived in Hingham, presumably after he arrived in America. The couple had at least 9 children, but at least one died in infancy. Thomas, as mentioned earlier, was a husbandsman, a farmer who tilled fields rather than one who raised animals. This was a status below that of yeoman, but it did mean that he acquired land.
Apparently Thomas was well-regarded in the town, because he was a selectman in 1662 and probably other years.
Thomas died sometime before November 3, 1692, when his will was filed. The inventory of his estate totals 402 pounds, which seems like a healthy amount for a husbandman. The inventory is clearly written out but unfortunately, I am unable to read much of it. I can tell that he had several small plots of land, but not a lot of household goods. Even at the age of 75 or more, he still had ammunition on hand, which tells us something of the times in which he lived. Margaret outlived him by about two years.
This is what I know about Thomas Lincoln, except for one fun fact. He and Margaret were the great great grandparents of John Hancock, who signed his name so large on the Declaration of Independence. Where would we be without Thomas Lincoln?
The line of descent is:
Thomas Lincoln-Margaret Langer
Sarah Lincoln-Thomas Marsh
Thomas Marsh-Mary Burr
Deborah Marsh-Isaac Lazell
Deborah Lazell-Levi Rockwood
Susannah Rockwood-Nahum Holbrook
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
I wish I could tell you who Thomas's parents are. There was a Stephen Lincoln who settled in Hingham a little before our Thomas. I think he is a relation but I don't know whether he's an uncle, a cousin, or some more distant cousin, but I think there's a clue there.
Thomas is believed to have been born in Wymondham, Norfolk, England. His birth year is given as anywhere from 1616-1626. I think it must be at 1620 or probably earlier, because he was accepted as an adult when he came to Hingham in 1638. So if an adult was 18 years of age, he was born in 1620 or earlier, and if the accepted adult age was 21, he was born in 1617 or earlier. He died in 1692 but many Lincolns had long lifespans, so 1610 is not out of the question.
The first thing we really know about Thomas is that he arrived in Hingham shortly after he arrived in port, on the ship Diligent, which sailed from Ipswich, Suffolk, England. Many of the people on board with him also went to Hingham, so it's possible there was a religious motive for some of the passengers. We don't know whether that was true for Thomas.
Thomas married Margaret Langer, daughter of Richard Langer, who also lived in Hingham, presumably after he arrived in America. The couple had at least 9 children, but at least one died in infancy. Thomas, as mentioned earlier, was a husbandsman, a farmer who tilled fields rather than one who raised animals. This was a status below that of yeoman, but it did mean that he acquired land.
Apparently Thomas was well-regarded in the town, because he was a selectman in 1662 and probably other years.
Thomas died sometime before November 3, 1692, when his will was filed. The inventory of his estate totals 402 pounds, which seems like a healthy amount for a husbandman. The inventory is clearly written out but unfortunately, I am unable to read much of it. I can tell that he had several small plots of land, but not a lot of household goods. Even at the age of 75 or more, he still had ammunition on hand, which tells us something of the times in which he lived. Margaret outlived him by about two years.
This is what I know about Thomas Lincoln, except for one fun fact. He and Margaret were the great great grandparents of John Hancock, who signed his name so large on the Declaration of Independence. Where would we be without Thomas Lincoln?
The line of descent is:
Thomas Lincoln-Margaret Langer
Sarah Lincoln-Thomas Marsh
Thomas Marsh-Mary Burr
Deborah Marsh-Isaac Lazell
Deborah Lazell-Levi Rockwood
Susannah Rockwood-Nahum Holbrook
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Tuesday, August 7, 2018
Holbrook line: Stephen Post, Immigrant
Thanks to the hard work of Steve Carter, among others, we have more information about this immigrant ancestor than about many others. We do have some minor disputes about his life, but considering everything, I'll take this. Robert Charles Anderson has also done a sketch of Stephen in "The Great Migration 1633-1635", so much of the material I would ordinarily be looking for is already gathered. That's great news, for me. The hard part is going to be keeping this blog post to a reasonable length, I think.
Stephen Post was baptized on June 24, 1604 at Hollingbourne, Kent, England, the son of Abraham and Anne Hurst (or Hunte, apparently the record is hard to read) Post. He was their second child and only son, so we might guess he was spoiled just a little bit. Unlike many of our families, this one stayed intact until the youngest of the three surviving children was in her late teens, so Stephen had economic advantages that not every young man had. Small as Hollingbourne is, his parents were still able to have Stephen trained as a carpenter, assuring Stephen of a means to support himself throughout his life.
Stephen married Eleanor Panton on October 17, 1625, at Langley, Kent, England, which was only about 4 miles away from Hollingbourne. (Incidentally, both towns appear to be not far from Leeds Castle, which also figures in our family history, but I digress). Their first child was baptized at Hollingbourne but the next three were baptized at Otham, another small village very close to Langley.
There are varying statements as to when Stephen and his family came to New England. Cutter thought it was by 1631, but Eleanor had children in Otham in 1631 and 1633 so that doesn't appear likely. (Of course, one child could have been conceived before Stephen left, and the other after Stephen returned to fetch his family, but those are stretches given that Robert Charles Anderson only says he was in Cambridge, Masachusetts Bay Colony, in 1634. The simpler story is usually the closer to the truth. While he was in Otham, he was identified as a carpenter when he was a bondsman for the marriage intentions of his sister. He was also a churchwarden in 1632. From this, we should not necessarily conclude that he was a Church of England man at heart. Many times in this time period Puritans were forced into these positions.
In 1636, Stephen moved his family from Cambridge to Hartford, Connecticut. He is listed on the memorial of the Founders there, and is believed to have traveled with the party of Rev. Thomas Hooker. Many of the people in this group left the Cambridge area because of their religious beliefs, and Stephen may have been one of them. Hartford seemed to offer hope, and the right to vote.
Stephen acquired several tracts of land in Hartford, but sold the various plots in 1639 to William Goodwin, Thomas Gridley, and Edward Hopkins, respectively. These are all dated February 2, 1639, so that presents the possibility that Stephen was already planning a move to Saybrook. He worked to put clapboard on the meeting house in Hartford in 1640was a constable in Hartford in 1642, however, so this is a little confusing.
We know he was in Saybrook by 1648, when he purchased land there. He also worked on the fort (he was a carpenter here as well as in England) and undoubtedly other projects also. The fort was necessary because of the threat of attack from the native Americans, and perhaps also to intimidate the Dutch, who were eager to maintain a foothold in Connecticut. Stephen was a lieutenant in the militia, so he must have been well liked by his neighbors. There is an undated inventory of land at Saybrook that shows Stephen as having six parcels of land, including his house and homelot in the town, and other small parcels of pasture and meadow.
Stephen died August 16, 1659 in Saybrook. His inventory showed a value of 442 pounds, and included carpenter's tools, a great Bible and a small Bible, three guns (fowling piece, musket and one small gun) and two swords, among other items. Elinor stayed in Saybrook where she died November 13, 1670. They had four adult children, besides the infant Joseph who had died in England in 1633.
One of the questions I have is why Stephen moved to Saybrook, and what Elinor thought about that. Was it for religious reasons, or economic, or did he just enjoy pioneering in new areas? I'd also like to know more about his religious beliefs. However, considering how little we know of some of our ancestors, I'm happy to be able to tell you this much of his story.
Our line of descent is:
Stephen Post-Elinor Panton
Katherine Post-Alexander Chalker
Katherine Chalker-John Jordan
Hannah Jordan-John Stannard
John Stannard-Hannah Hanchett
Libbeus Stannard-Eunice Pomeroy
Libberus Stnnard-Luceba Fay
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Stephen Post was baptized on June 24, 1604 at Hollingbourne, Kent, England, the son of Abraham and Anne Hurst (or Hunte, apparently the record is hard to read) Post. He was their second child and only son, so we might guess he was spoiled just a little bit. Unlike many of our families, this one stayed intact until the youngest of the three surviving children was in her late teens, so Stephen had economic advantages that not every young man had. Small as Hollingbourne is, his parents were still able to have Stephen trained as a carpenter, assuring Stephen of a means to support himself throughout his life.
Stephen married Eleanor Panton on October 17, 1625, at Langley, Kent, England, which was only about 4 miles away from Hollingbourne. (Incidentally, both towns appear to be not far from Leeds Castle, which also figures in our family history, but I digress). Their first child was baptized at Hollingbourne but the next three were baptized at Otham, another small village very close to Langley.
There are varying statements as to when Stephen and his family came to New England. Cutter thought it was by 1631, but Eleanor had children in Otham in 1631 and 1633 so that doesn't appear likely. (Of course, one child could have been conceived before Stephen left, and the other after Stephen returned to fetch his family, but those are stretches given that Robert Charles Anderson only says he was in Cambridge, Masachusetts Bay Colony, in 1634. The simpler story is usually the closer to the truth. While he was in Otham, he was identified as a carpenter when he was a bondsman for the marriage intentions of his sister. He was also a churchwarden in 1632. From this, we should not necessarily conclude that he was a Church of England man at heart. Many times in this time period Puritans were forced into these positions.
In 1636, Stephen moved his family from Cambridge to Hartford, Connecticut. He is listed on the memorial of the Founders there, and is believed to have traveled with the party of Rev. Thomas Hooker. Many of the people in this group left the Cambridge area because of their religious beliefs, and Stephen may have been one of them. Hartford seemed to offer hope, and the right to vote.
Stephen acquired several tracts of land in Hartford, but sold the various plots in 1639 to William Goodwin, Thomas Gridley, and Edward Hopkins, respectively. These are all dated February 2, 1639, so that presents the possibility that Stephen was already planning a move to Saybrook. He worked to put clapboard on the meeting house in Hartford in 1640was a constable in Hartford in 1642, however, so this is a little confusing.
We know he was in Saybrook by 1648, when he purchased land there. He also worked on the fort (he was a carpenter here as well as in England) and undoubtedly other projects also. The fort was necessary because of the threat of attack from the native Americans, and perhaps also to intimidate the Dutch, who were eager to maintain a foothold in Connecticut. Stephen was a lieutenant in the militia, so he must have been well liked by his neighbors. There is an undated inventory of land at Saybrook that shows Stephen as having six parcels of land, including his house and homelot in the town, and other small parcels of pasture and meadow.
Stephen died August 16, 1659 in Saybrook. His inventory showed a value of 442 pounds, and included carpenter's tools, a great Bible and a small Bible, three guns (fowling piece, musket and one small gun) and two swords, among other items. Elinor stayed in Saybrook where she died November 13, 1670. They had four adult children, besides the infant Joseph who had died in England in 1633.
One of the questions I have is why Stephen moved to Saybrook, and what Elinor thought about that. Was it for religious reasons, or economic, or did he just enjoy pioneering in new areas? I'd also like to know more about his religious beliefs. However, considering how little we know of some of our ancestors, I'm happy to be able to tell you this much of his story.
Our line of descent is:
Stephen Post-Elinor Panton
Katherine Post-Alexander Chalker
Katherine Chalker-John Jordan
Hannah Jordan-John Stannard
John Stannard-Hannah Hanchett
Libbeus Stannard-Eunice Pomeroy
Libberus Stnnard-Luceba Fay
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Friday, August 3, 2018
John Mayo, Immigrant 1629-1688
First, let me say this. Our ancestor John Mayo is not the Reverend John Mayo of Boston. He is not the John Mayo of Barnstaple. He is not the Deacon John Mayo of Roxbury. He is, however, the father of the Deacon John Mayo of Roxbury.
Our John Mayo was born probably at or near Malling, Kent, England in 1629, His parents were Thomas Mayo and Elizabeth, as yet unidentified although I have seen her name given as Wing. John came to America when he was about 3 years old, probably in 1633, with his stepfather, Robert Gamlin, and his mother, Elizabeth.
John was more fortunate than some children who came to America because his father had left him some property, presumably in England. His stepfather was appointed power of attorney to sell it, in 1641, when John was 12. It is speculation as to what happened to that money but perhaps it was used to set him up in a trade or apprenticeship. The family settled near Stony River, a part of Rochester. As he was growing up, John had four half brothers and sisters, and one can hope it was a good, loving family. John was not mentioned in his step father's 1663 will, perhaps because he had his own father's bequest or perhaps because Robert had granted him something outright, earlier.
I have not been able to locate much information about John's early life. It is believed he lived in Roxbury from the time he arrived in America, but that may not be correct, especially if he was an apprentice somewhere. We do know he was in Roxbury on May 24, 1654, when he married Hannah Graves, the daughter of John and Judith Alward Graves, and he apparently lived there all the days of his married life, for he died there, also. He purchased land near Spring Street in Roxbury in 1657, just a few years after he married. This sounds like he was a townsman more than a farmer, so he may have had a trade or may have been a merchant of some kind (speculation only).
Just about all we know of his life in Roxbury is that he had a large family, either nine or ten children. We also know that when he died April 28, 1688, he had an estate valued at almost 509 pounds. This wasn't a fortune, but it wasn't a pitiful amount, either. (Clarification: I haven't located a copy of the will or the inventory, but apparently someone has).
There is a book about John Mayo and his descendants at the Allen County Public Library, that appears to be about our John Mayo. I will update this post when I get a chance to look at it, if there is additional information to help us understand this ancestor.
One more find, but I cannot state with certainty that he is our John Mayo: There is a John Mayo who served in King Phillip's War, in 1675, under Captain Mosely. Our John Mayo's son John would have been pretty young although it is possible that it was John Jr. Our John would have been less than 50 years old, so it is possible it was our John. It is also possible it was another John Mayo entirely. At any rate, it's a reminder that these were perilous times that our ancestors lived, and we should be grateful for their lives.
Our line of descent is:
John Mayo-Hannah Graves
Mehitable Mayo-Samuel Morris
Abigail Morris-John Perrin
Benjamin Perrin-Mary
Mary or Mercy Perrin-David Fay
Luceba Fay-Libbeus Stannard
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Update May 24, 2020 John Mayo, Hannah Graves, and Mehitable Mayo are now "former ancestors". See my post about Samuel Morris for a further explanation. I am leaving this post ;up so it can possibly help someone else.
Our John Mayo was born probably at or near Malling, Kent, England in 1629, His parents were Thomas Mayo and Elizabeth, as yet unidentified although I have seen her name given as Wing. John came to America when he was about 3 years old, probably in 1633, with his stepfather, Robert Gamlin, and his mother, Elizabeth.
John was more fortunate than some children who came to America because his father had left him some property, presumably in England. His stepfather was appointed power of attorney to sell it, in 1641, when John was 12. It is speculation as to what happened to that money but perhaps it was used to set him up in a trade or apprenticeship. The family settled near Stony River, a part of Rochester. As he was growing up, John had four half brothers and sisters, and one can hope it was a good, loving family. John was not mentioned in his step father's 1663 will, perhaps because he had his own father's bequest or perhaps because Robert had granted him something outright, earlier.
I have not been able to locate much information about John's early life. It is believed he lived in Roxbury from the time he arrived in America, but that may not be correct, especially if he was an apprentice somewhere. We do know he was in Roxbury on May 24, 1654, when he married Hannah Graves, the daughter of John and Judith Alward Graves, and he apparently lived there all the days of his married life, for he died there, also. He purchased land near Spring Street in Roxbury in 1657, just a few years after he married. This sounds like he was a townsman more than a farmer, so he may have had a trade or may have been a merchant of some kind (speculation only).
Just about all we know of his life in Roxbury is that he had a large family, either nine or ten children. We also know that when he died April 28, 1688, he had an estate valued at almost 509 pounds. This wasn't a fortune, but it wasn't a pitiful amount, either. (Clarification: I haven't located a copy of the will or the inventory, but apparently someone has).
There is a book about John Mayo and his descendants at the Allen County Public Library, that appears to be about our John Mayo. I will update this post when I get a chance to look at it, if there is additional information to help us understand this ancestor.
One more find, but I cannot state with certainty that he is our John Mayo: There is a John Mayo who served in King Phillip's War, in 1675, under Captain Mosely. Our John Mayo's son John would have been pretty young although it is possible that it was John Jr. Our John would have been less than 50 years old, so it is possible it was our John. It is also possible it was another John Mayo entirely. At any rate, it's a reminder that these were perilous times that our ancestors lived, and we should be grateful for their lives.
Our line of descent is:
John Mayo-Hannah Graves
Mehitable Mayo-Samuel Morris
Abigail Morris-John Perrin
Benjamin Perrin-Mary
Mary or Mercy Perrin-David Fay
Luceba Fay-Libbeus Stannard
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Update May 24, 2020 John Mayo, Hannah Graves, and Mehitable Mayo are now "former ancestors". See my post about Samuel Morris for a further explanation. I am leaving this post ;up so it can possibly help someone else.
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