Our ancestor is notorious, not because he did anything wrong, but because he has confused and confounded genealogists and family historians. His death date is often given far too early, 1676, when it was his son John Rockwood who died during an attack by the Nipmucks during King Philip's War. He is sometimes assigned to the wrong parents. Nicholas Rockwood and Margaret Holbrook are not correct, as they didn't marry until our John was a teenager. Having said that, here's what we do know about John Rockwood, whose name is sometimes spelled Rocket or Rockett, just to make it more fun to research him.
He was born November 1, 1641 probably at Braintree, Massachusetts (even though the vital records don't seem to list his birth there). His parents were Richard Rockwood and Agnes Lovell, sometimes seen as Agnes Bicknell. Actually, Robert Charles Anderson doesn't accept that her maiden name was Lovell. She was married to Zachary Bicknell and married Richard Rockwood as a widow. John had an older step brother and at least two sisters who apparently grew up in the same household.
He married Joanna Ford, daughter of someone named Ford, apparently. There seems to be no firm resolution as to this; I've seen Nicholas, Thomas, and William Ford each listed on a different website as her father. However, I can say that they married July 15, 1662 in Braintree. John and Joanna had at least ten children together. Some were born in Braintree, some in Mendon, and some in Medfield. The family moved to Mendon by 1667, when John was awarded land in the meadows, probably indicating he already had a houselot, although it wasn't surveyed until 1669. That same year, he was appointed to a committee to agree on the boundaries between Mendon and Dedham.
John would likely have been content to stay his whole life in Mendon, but King Philip's War, particularly the burning of the towa n and the death of his twelve year old son, sent him and the family to Medfield for at least a few years. It would have been a fearsome time, and difficult to rebuilt after losing everything. I don't find him listed as a soldier in the war but he would have been only 34 or 35 years old so it's likely that he at least did garrison duty or was otherwise engaged with the militia.
His will tells us that he was a husbandman, or farmer. Joanna had died at some point because his will refers to his wife Rebecca, identified elsewhere as Rebecca Crafts. He wrote his will in Mendon but there isn't a death record there, so he may have moved, either to be with his wife's family or with one of his children. Unfortunately, I've not found an inventory for him, yet, which may indicate he had already disposed of his land and had few personal possessions.
John Rockwood was one of those quiet men, it seems, who took care of his family, saw sorrow and joy, and helped build New England. I'd like to learn more about him.
The line of descent is:
John Rockwood-Joanna Ford
Joanna Rockwood-Nicholas Cook
Mary Cook-Joseph Holbrook
Jesse Holbrook-Abigail Thayer
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susanna Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Second line starts with John Rockwood and Joanna Ford
Joseph Rockwood-Mary Hayward
John Rockwood-Deborah Thayer
Joseph Rockwood-Alice Thompson
Levi Rockwood-Deborah Lazell
Susannah Rockwood-Nahum Holbrook
and on as above. So Susannah and Nahum were fourth cousins. I wonder if they knew that?
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