Allen line: Samuel Starr 1641-1687

I just want to say that this is ridiculous.  It should not be this hard to find information about Samuel Starr.  After all, he married Hannah Brewster, daughter of Jonathan Brewster and granddaughter of Elder William Brewster of the Mayflower.  How can someone with those ties go almost missing?

Well, we do know a few things about him, but certainly not enough to fill in the dash between 1641 and 1687.  Samuel is the son of Thomas and Rachel (last name not proven) Starr, born November 3, 1641, at Scituate, Massachusetts Bay Colony.  Scituate is a town on the coast of Massachusetts, between Boston and Plymouth.  Samuel had as many as seven brothers and sisters, and growing up along the coast would have been a good life.  He could have looked to the sea for his future living, or perhaps decided he didn't like the life of a seaman.  Since his father was a surgeon, it's probably that Samuel learned to read and write. 

He may not have learned his religious lessons well, though, because when he married, his wife and their children were accepted into church but there seems to be no mention of Samuel.  We don't know what he did for a living, but sometimes those engaged in the maritime trade were less likely to join the church, and this may apply to Samuel's situation.  Or not. 

As mentioned, Samuel married Hannah Brewster, daughter of Jonathan and Lucretia Oldham Brewster, on December 23, 1664, in New London, Connecticut.  One of the mysteries about Samuel is how when and why he went from Scituate to New London.  Did it have something to do with the maritime trade?  We just don't know. 

Samuel and Hannah had at least five children together, which was not a lot for the time and for 20 years of marriage. They apparently lived in New London for all the years of their marriage.

In 1670, Samuel was granted the right to establish a ferry at Norwich, but it doesn't appear that the operation ever got off the ground.  He may have been somewhat well to do because he was surety for a Widow Bradley in 1673, who had had two children by a married man, Christopher Christophers.  She would have been whipped and jailed if Samuel hadn't paid the fine, but we don't know why he did this.  Was Widow Bradley a relative, or a neighbor, or just someone upon whom Samuel took pity?He was elected county marshal (sheriff) in 1678 and held the post until he resigned in 1682.

Hannah died in 1684 and Samuel died February 2, 1687.  I haven't yet located any estate papers for him.  We don't know the cause of death for either of them.  It's of course possible that Hannah died in or followin childbirth.  Samuel would have been just 46 years old so one wonders whether it was an accident rather than a disease that killed him. 

Among the things I'd like to know, occupation being first and foremost, is whether or not he participated in some way in King Philip's war.  If he didn't participate, what was his reason for staying out of the war?  And since he likely was required to attend church, why did he not join it?
There are probably answers to some of these questions out there somewhere, and I'd love to solve these questions.  In the meantime, we can be grateful to Samuel for the life he lived, which allows us to live our lives. 

The line of descent is:

Samuel Starr-Hannah Brewster
Thomas Starr-Mary Morgan
Thomas Starr-Jerusha Street
John Starr-Mary Sharp
John Starr-Betsy Havens
John Havens Starr-Clarissa Falley
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants