Holbrook line: Benjamin Clough of Boston 1694-1744

It's exciting and it's scary to find information that casts doubt on what has long been believed to be true.  This post will raise doubts about some parts of Benjamin's life and answer some questions about other parts.

First, Benjamin's parents are given as Benoni and Hannah Merrill Clough, of Salisbury in Essex County, Massachusetts.  It's true that they had a son Benjamin.  The John Clough family history says that Benjamin, son of Benoni, when to Kingston, New Hampshire, where a Benjamin Clough certainly lived and died, and was a Revolutionary War patriot.  However, the Benjamin Clough in New Hampshire is not ours.  His wife's name is wrong, as are the children, and the death date, and just about everything about that Benjamin.  Also, that Benjamin's father, as listed on DAR records, was Cornelios Clough.  Cornelios possibly had two wives, as there are two different names given as the New Hampshire Patriot's mother. 

Because of the Thweng records, we know that Benjamin was a blacksmith, and that he acquired several parcels of land on Sheafe Street and also on Hull Street, starting in 1720.  In the deeds he is almost always referred to as blacksmith, to avoid any confusion as to other Benjamin Clough's, apparently.  He was constable of Boston in 1727 and 1728, so he was respected.  In fact, on his tombstone he is noted as "Mr."

Benjamin and Faith had at least five children together, and Benjamin would have worked hard to support them, catechize them, and find them jobs and spouses.  In 1738, the town took one of Benjamin's houses and "improved" it to be a hospital, during a smallpox epidemic.  We're not told how Benjamin was repaid, or whether this was a permanent confiscation.  At the time, the house was on the west edge of town.

Benjamin wrote his will June 18, 1744 and it was entered into probate on July 31, 1744.  In it, he disposes of his real estate, leaving much of it to his wife during her widowhood. He also gives her "his" Negro woman Jenny and Jenny's child called Violet, as well as all his household goods.  When his inventory is taken, there is very little mentioned in the way of household goods, just a couple of desks and some books, among other things.  His total estate, which does not mention the slaves, was valued at a little over 309 pounds.

He is buried at Kings Chapel cemetery (not affiliated with the church of that name), and ironically, I may have been there without understanding its significance to our family.  When I took a tour of the Freedom Trail in 1998, this was one of our stops.  I was not actively interested in genealogy at that time and had no idea that ancestors had lived in Boston, but I appreciated the history and the fact that the cemetery was being cared for, all these years later.  The stone gives Benjamin the honorific of "Mr." and says that he died July 6, 1744, aged 53 years and 11 months.  So if that age is correct, Benjamin was actually born in 1690, and therefore likely not the son of Benoni and Hannah.

So we have a quandary.  Who was Benjamin Clough, the blacksmith in Boston who was our ancestor? His first child's name was Joseph, but I don't know if that is a clue or not.  I'd love to figure out who his parents are, and I'd also like to know whether he was involved in any military expeditions.  Did he stay a faithful member of the church?  I'd love to find out more about him, but at least we have this much.

The line of descent is:

Benjamin Clough-Faith Hart
Lydia Clough-John Whittemore
Josiah Whittemore-Lucy Snow
Josiah Whittemore- Betsy Foster
Mary Elizabeth Whittmore-Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

I'm so grateful to American Ancestors and to Ancestry, who each had good information in their databases.  These men who were colonial ancestors, but not necessarily immigrants, are difficult to trace!