Holbrook line: David Fay, 1679-1738

We're always glad for a little bit of information about an ancestor and always hoping for more.  I have to admit that there is not one new piece of information in this blog post about David Fay, but perhaps something new will come on line tomorrow, or the day after.  It's always a disappointment when all I can find is information that is already in print, but I'm happy to at least get this much written down for our family.

David Fay came from a family who may or may not have been French Huguenots.  David's father, John Fay, came to America as an eight year old orphan boy boy, but his mother, Susanna Shattuck, had grandparents and even great grandparents who had come early to Massachusetts Bay Colony. 

David was part of a large family.  His father and mother had four children, but Susannah had previously been married to Joseph Morse and had ten children with him.  Somehow, Susannah survived 14 or more childbirths, and three husbands, for she married Thomas Brigham after John's death.  John was a brave man, too, to accept responsibility for the ten children of his new wife.

David was born August grew up in Marlboro or Marlborough Massachusetts,  He wasn't born until 1679, but he would have grown up hearing stories of King Philip's War, and of how the family had fled to Watertown until peace was restored.  He may have heard about the Praying Indians that lived within the town limits, and he may have learned about the treatment the natives received from the colonists.  

On May 1, 1699, David married Sarah Larkin, daughter of John and Joanna Hale Larkin, in Watertown, Massachusetts.  This was the town his family had gone to during King Philip's War, and it was here that he found the young lady he married.  David was just about 20 and Sarah was just two years older, so this was couple was a little bit young for the time, but they made their marriage work. 

David inherited land from his father after John Fay's death in 1690.  This would have been held in trust for him until he reached the age of majority, which happened right around the time of his marriage.  In 1695, he was still considered a minor at 16 years of age, and asked the court to appoint Joseph Morse, probably his half brother, as his guardian.  The court approved.

After their marriage, David and Sarah went to Marlboro, where they lived all their married life.  David was starting to accept responsibilities in town.  In 1710, he joined the church, which was still quite a lengthy process, as the whole church had to listen to his testimony and then decide whether he was living a plain, Christian life.  By no means was this an easy task, so David must have been respected in the town.  (Possibly he joined the church so his children could be baptized, but he still would have needed the approval of the congregation,)  He was on a committee to seat the church after that.  This was a delicate job because seating was assigned based on how long one had been a member of the church, general reputation, and how much money one was giving,  The town fathers generally sat at the front and the tenant farmers at the back, for instance. 

David supported his family as a weaver, in addition to the farming that he did.  He was given a grant of land by the town in 1710.  David and Sarah had 12 children together.  It was probably fortunate that David had grown up in a large family and had learned to roll with the punches.  Sarah was one of five children, so this may have been an adjustment for her, but most women think "We can do just one more" so this may have been her attitude. 

Starting in 1727, plans were made for a peaceful division of the town of Marlborough.  David and Sarah lived in what became Southborough, so it's not correct to say they moved to Southborough.  They lived on the same farm they had always lived on.  In Southborough, David was a constable, and a selectman in 1730, 1733, and 1735.  We also know that his family was assigned to Isaac Howe's garrison, for protection from the native Americans.  This implies that David was probably in the militia, but we don't know whether they ever had to go to the garrison or not, or what alarms and skirmishes he might have been involved in. 

David died April 10, 1738, before his fiftieth birthday.  I have not found any record of probate or estate records for him,  There could be guardian records for some of the younger children, too, but I haven't located them.  Sarah died in 1755 at Southborough, without remarrying.  She must have been busy, raising that family, and we can hope that the children, as well as her husband's siblings, helped take care of her as she aged. 

That's what I know about David Fay.  Since he was a Puritan, it's likely that he was literate and could read the Bible to his children, and write as needed.  As a weaver, he may have needed to have computational skills also, to keep track of his sales and his inventory.  We don't know about his military service and his grandparents haven't been satisfactorily identified.  But we do know that he cared for his family, stayed out of trouble, and was elected to public office several times.  He was another solid New England ancestor. 

The line of descent is:

David Fay-Sarah Larkin
Edward Fay-Sarah Joslin
David Fay-Mary Perrin
Euzebia or Luceba Fay-Libbeus Stanard
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen