Allen line: John Root "Junior" 1642-1687

One neat thing about writing genealogy blog posts is that as I research, I find new pieces of information that seem to have not shown up in other people's research.  As I look at the dates that they posted, I can see that my new "finds" became available on line only after their posts were written.  So it's a good reminder to us all to not take for granted that everything available has already been found.  I'm sure earlier blog post writers would have loved to have had access to John Root's will and inventory, for instance.  And they would have loved to have known about his military service.  Both of these items weren't freely available just a few short years ago.  Finding information about the son or daughter of an early immigrant is never easy, so I'm glad I've got a story here to tell.

John Root was born about 1642 at Farmington, Hartford County, Connecticut.  His parents were John and Mary Kilbourne Roote, and he was one of at least eight children.  His parents stayed in Farmington  His parents did well financially and John Sr. was active in civic life, so John probably had a good start in life.  We know nothing of his childhood but can imagine that he started doing chores at a young age and probably went to school for about three months out of the year, as that was typical for the time.  Or perhaps his mother schooled him.

John married Mary Ashley, daughter of Robert and Mary Ashley on October 18, 1664 in Springfield, Massachusetts.  John was noted as being of Farmington at the time and I've not yet found reference to where the young couple first settled.  Their first known child, Mary, was born September 22, 1667 in Westfield, Massachusetts and that is where the couple lived their married life.  (Westfield didn't legally exist until 1669, when it was split from Springfield, but it seems likely that the couple didn't actually move.)  They lived on Union Street in Westfield, and John was a farmer.

We don't know much about their lives, actually, except that they had at least eight children.  So Mary would have been kept quite busy as she raised the children.  She had four girls to help her with the many household chores, and John had four boys to educate in some sort of occupation.  And of course, there were future spouses to think of, to approve or disapprove.

John may have been ill or somehow injured, because when it came to King Philip's War in 1675, he was appointed commissary of the fort at Westfield.  It doesn't appear that Westfield was actually attacked, but it may have been because the area was relatively well protected.  John's job as commisary was to make sure that their were ample supplies and food for the soldiers, as well as for those families staying at the fort. 

John became a freeman in 1669.  He was appointed to a survey committee in 1668 and then about two years later the committee was dismissed and a new one was chosen.  In 1684, he was a juror in the case of Elezer Weller.  The verdict was that the man had died by suicide on August 17, 1684.

John apparently died rather suddenly on September 24, 1687.  He did not have a will, and the appraisal wasn't done for another three years.  By this time, the youngest child was about 8 years old and that may have something to do with it.  Or, the oldest child was about 23 and may have been requesting his portion of the estate.  The estate was valued at about 505 pounds, with 35 pounds owing so the net value was about 470 pounds.  The widow was to have her choice of housing, and the children were each assigned a portion, with mathematical precision.  The oldest son's share was more than the other children's but not double as was commonly the case.

The amazing part of John's story to me is actually that of his wife.  Mary didn't remarry, despite having small children to raise.  And, bless her heart, when she died in 1703, she left a will!  Of course, being a woman, her will was overturned, but at least she tried.  One thing that she had requested, but that apparently wasn't honored, was that her youngest daughter, fittingly named Mercy, be given a separate amount as payment for the three years that she had cared for her mother in her old age.  The document signed by Samuel Partridge merely says there were "imperfections" in the will, and he re-distributed her estate.  Her estate was valued at 170 pounds, and the inventory shows that she was still running an active household and farm, including farm animals, feed, and other things necessary for a household.  She had Bibles and old books, and "specticles", which touched me.  She also had a musket.  I wonder if she ever used it, or knew how to use it?

While learning about John, I also learned about Mary, and oh, how I love her.  I hope you do, too.

The line of descent is

John Root-Mary Ashley
John Root-Sarah Stebbins
Sarah Root-Thomas Noble
Stephen Noble-Ruth Church
Ruth Noble-Martin Root
Ruth Root-Samuel Falley
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants