Andreas or Andrew Raub was actually an immigrant ancestor, having arrived with his parents in 1732. However, since he was two years old at the time, he likely had no memory of the "Old Country" or of the journey to America. He was the son of Philip and Maria Sarah Schoffel Raub and was born February 13, 1730 at Hagsfeld, Stadt Karlsruhe, Baden-Wuerttemburg, now part of Germany. He was one of at least six children born to the couple, and Philip was almost 50 when Andreas was born.
Andreas was about 23 when his father died and he was fortunate enough to inherit the family farm in Springfield Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. A few months before his father's death, he married Maria Charlotte Weber, daughter of Johan Jacob and Maria Charlotte Reichard Weber. Andrew, at the age of 23, had a wife and a farm and responsibilities. These may have kept him too busy to participate in either the French and Indian War or the Revolutionary War, or his work as a farmer may have made him too valuable to serve. There is also the slight possibility that he was a Loyalist. I haven't exhausted all the records I would need to search to determine whether he was a soldier, a farmer, or a Loyalist during the Revolutionary War, so that is on my to do list.
It appears that Andreas and family were in New Jersey by the time of the Revolution, and he had bought his first farm there, "about halfway between Walnut Valley and Jacksonville". It was located in Knowlton Township, Sussex (now Warren) County. This, incidentally, would have been a horrible place to be during the Revolutionary War, as many battles were fought in New Jersey and troops would have been marching, pillaging, and possibly worse at any of several different times during the war. I haven't yet located specific information regarding this particular area, as to whether there were actual battles here, but skirmishes, at least, seem likely.
Andreas acquired several other properties over his lifetime, all in the same general area. He needed land not only to support his family, but because he wanted to pass land along to each of his sons. In this, he was successful. The Raubs had at least three sons and seven daughters, living at the time Andreas wrote his will in 1806. The will was proved May 25, 1809, one day after the inventory was taken. The estate was modest, about $325, but that wouldn't have included the land and buildings. Two of his sons were responsible for making the payments he requested to his daughters. I sure would like to find that inventory!
Maria Charlotte had died in 1791. There is one reference that says he later married a Katherine, but if so, she must have died also as there is no mention of her in the will.
Andreas is more interesting than I thought he would be, simply because of the times he lived in and the choice he made to move from Bucks County to Sussex County. I would like to figure out why he made that change. Also, his children were baptized Lutherans; why is he buried in the Knowlton Presbyterian Cemetery? And what were his war experiences? Did any of his sons fight? There are always more questions than answers.
The line of descent is:
Andreas Raub-Maria Charlotte Weber
Charlotte Raub-Johan Jacob Weis (Wise)
Andrew Wire-Mary Serfass
David Wise-Matilda Martin
Elizabeth Wise-John Beeks
Wilbur Beeks-Cleo Aldridge
Mary Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants
Tuesday, June 30, 2020
Friday, June 26, 2020
Holbrook line: John Burr 1659-1716
John Burr is among those of our ancestors who I am beginning to call the "Silent Generation". Actually, there are several "silent" ancestors in many generations. To explain my terminology, it means I have been unable to find more than bare bones information about the person and sometimes not even that.
At least for John Burr, we know who his parents are, and we know the vitals about birth, marriage, and death. If it wasn't for his will, that information is all that we we would have. Also, we do know a little about the town he lived and died in, and we know a little of the history of his time. So we can pull this silent man just a little bit out of the shadows, and start to see a little of his life.
John Burr was born January 6, 1659 in Hingham, Massachusetts. His parents, Simon and Hester Burr, were the immigrants here. I should stop a moment to explain that John's mother is variously seen as Hester Rose, Rose Hester, and Hester Sparhawk. Whatever her name, her parentage has not yet been established, to the best of my current knowledge.
Hingham was a small village on the Massachusetts coast line, what is known as the South Shore. It is about 20 miles from Boston. At the time John lived, it probably supported both fisherman and coastal mariners as well as farmers and tradesmen. Our John was a farmer. He is described using that word, rather than husbandman or yeoman, which is a bit unusual. The only record of town service that we have was that he was a constable in 1698.
His father, Simon, served in King Philip's War and it is probable that John at least served at home. He would have been just 16 when the war broke out, and would have trained for only a few days with the local training band. He likely could shoot, but probably couldn't yet perform military maneuvers well. Hingham wasn't directly affected by the war, and probably the village didn't evacuate as so many towns did. It is also possible that John served in some of the campaigns that Massachusetts men were involved in during King William's War, particularly the battles in what became Maine and Nova Scotia. If he wasn't there, he at least would have known all about it from stories from other citizens of the town.
John married Mary Warren, daughter of John and Deborah Wilson Warren, on December 24, 1685 in Hingham. He and Mary had 10 children together. John's financial position would have been improved when Simon died in 1691. His older brother Simon got about 60% of the estate and he got about 40%, but it was still enough to help, with eventually 10 children to raise. Presumably the two men supported their mother until her death by suicide in 1693.
The only other information we have about John is his will. His estate totaled almost 922 pounds, which was a pretty good sum for a farmer. He owned 9 different plots of land, which made up the bulk of the estate, plus various farm animals and household furnishings. His "arms and ammunition" were valued at 1 pound, and his books at two pounds. His house had at least four rooms, or chambers, with furniture in each. John has several dates of death attributed to him, but they are all between September 17 and December 7, 1716. His youngest son was just 13 when John died. Mary lived as a widow until July 26, 1742.
This is the little we know of John Burr, and I'd like to know more. Wouldn't you?
The line of descent is
John Burr-Mary Warren
Mary Burr-Thomas Marsh
Deborah Marsh-Isaac Lazell
Deborah Lazell-Levi Rockwood
Susanna Rockwood-Nahum Holbrook
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
At least for John Burr, we know who his parents are, and we know the vitals about birth, marriage, and death. If it wasn't for his will, that information is all that we we would have. Also, we do know a little about the town he lived and died in, and we know a little of the history of his time. So we can pull this silent man just a little bit out of the shadows, and start to see a little of his life.
John Burr was born January 6, 1659 in Hingham, Massachusetts. His parents, Simon and Hester Burr, were the immigrants here. I should stop a moment to explain that John's mother is variously seen as Hester Rose, Rose Hester, and Hester Sparhawk. Whatever her name, her parentage has not yet been established, to the best of my current knowledge.
Hingham was a small village on the Massachusetts coast line, what is known as the South Shore. It is about 20 miles from Boston. At the time John lived, it probably supported both fisherman and coastal mariners as well as farmers and tradesmen. Our John was a farmer. He is described using that word, rather than husbandman or yeoman, which is a bit unusual. The only record of town service that we have was that he was a constable in 1698.
His father, Simon, served in King Philip's War and it is probable that John at least served at home. He would have been just 16 when the war broke out, and would have trained for only a few days with the local training band. He likely could shoot, but probably couldn't yet perform military maneuvers well. Hingham wasn't directly affected by the war, and probably the village didn't evacuate as so many towns did. It is also possible that John served in some of the campaigns that Massachusetts men were involved in during King William's War, particularly the battles in what became Maine and Nova Scotia. If he wasn't there, he at least would have known all about it from stories from other citizens of the town.
John married Mary Warren, daughter of John and Deborah Wilson Warren, on December 24, 1685 in Hingham. He and Mary had 10 children together. John's financial position would have been improved when Simon died in 1691. His older brother Simon got about 60% of the estate and he got about 40%, but it was still enough to help, with eventually 10 children to raise. Presumably the two men supported their mother until her death by suicide in 1693.
The only other information we have about John is his will. His estate totaled almost 922 pounds, which was a pretty good sum for a farmer. He owned 9 different plots of land, which made up the bulk of the estate, plus various farm animals and household furnishings. His "arms and ammunition" were valued at 1 pound, and his books at two pounds. His house had at least four rooms, or chambers, with furniture in each. John has several dates of death attributed to him, but they are all between September 17 and December 7, 1716. His youngest son was just 13 when John died. Mary lived as a widow until July 26, 1742.
This is the little we know of John Burr, and I'd like to know more. Wouldn't you?
The line of descent is
John Burr-Mary Warren
Mary Burr-Thomas Marsh
Deborah Marsh-Isaac Lazell
Deborah Lazell-Levi Rockwood
Susanna Rockwood-Nahum Holbrook
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Tuesday, June 23, 2020
Allen line: Yet another Thomas Noble 1696-1775
I try to make it a habit to write a blog post of at least five paragraphs, when writing about an ancestor. I don't think I'll make it on this one. Thomas Noble, who is at least the sixth of that name in a line dating back to the early 1500's, is also our last direct ancestor of that name, at least as far as I know now. However, he seems to have not done much to make himself known, so this will be a short post.
Thomas was born November 10, 1696 in Westfield, Massachusetts Bay Colony, to Thomas and Elizabeth Dewey Noble. He was one of at least 11 children, and, like his father, he was born and died in the same small town.
Thomas married Sarah Root, daughter of John and Sarah Stebbins Root, on September 1, 1722 in Westfield. He and Sarah had at least 10 children together before her death on July 19, 1760, also in Westfield. He then married Sarah Field Belding in 1761 in Hatfield, Massachusetts Bay Colony, and they returned to Westfield to live.
We have these additional facts about Thomas: He was a farmer, and in fact lived on the farm that had belonged to his grandfather. He was chosen as a fence viewer in 1739 and in 1744, and was on a committee responsible for building pews in the meeting house. He was often the moderator for town meetings, calling the meeting to order, making sure everyone's voice (male, of course) was heard, ancounting votes. This took a level-headed man, one who could control both his own emotions and those of others. That's as close as I can come to defining the character of the man.
He was, of course, the son of a deacon and his vital records are in the First Church record books. We can probably guess that he attended church on a regular basis, but I've not been able to determine whether he was actually a member of the church. I have also been unable to determine whether, or to what extent, he served in the militia or on military expeditions. It is within the range of possibility that he would have participated in King George's War, since he was only about 50-53 during that time period. This would have pitted the colonists and Great Britain and their native American allies against the French and their native American allies. His name is not listed in the source I consulted about Colonial Officers and Soldiers but those lists are always incomplete. So we just don't know.
There is, on the "Early American Ancestors" website, a drawing labeled "The home of Thomas Noble, Westfield, 1725". This is likely to be the home of Thomas's parents, Thomas and Elizabeth Dewey Noble, but it may well be the home that this Thomas also lived in. At any rate, he would have been very familiar with this home.
Sarah Root Noble died July 19, 1760 and Thomas married Sarah Field Belding the following year. She died in 1763. Thomas died February 18, 1775, just two months before the battles of Concord and Lexington. We don't know what he would have thought about the Revolutionary War, except that at least two of his sons, who were middle aged men at the time, served as patriot soldiers. That says something about their upbringing.
I haven't been able to locate a will for Thomas, or a definitive land transfer. The land probably stayed in the family, perhaps for generations. We know there were Nobles in Westfield up through the 1940 census and probably longer. Of course, I'd love to find a will or deed. I'd love to find military records. I'd love to know more about this man who seems to have stayed in the background. I would be willing to bet there is more to his story.
The line of descent is:
Thomas Noble-Sarah Root
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
Thomas was born November 10, 1696 in Westfield, Massachusetts Bay Colony, to Thomas and Elizabeth Dewey Noble. He was one of at least 11 children, and, like his father, he was born and died in the same small town.
Thomas married Sarah Root, daughter of John and Sarah Stebbins Root, on September 1, 1722 in Westfield. He and Sarah had at least 10 children together before her death on July 19, 1760, also in Westfield. He then married Sarah Field Belding in 1761 in Hatfield, Massachusetts Bay Colony, and they returned to Westfield to live.
We have these additional facts about Thomas: He was a farmer, and in fact lived on the farm that had belonged to his grandfather. He was chosen as a fence viewer in 1739 and in 1744, and was on a committee responsible for building pews in the meeting house. He was often the moderator for town meetings, calling the meeting to order, making sure everyone's voice (male, of course) was heard, ancounting votes. This took a level-headed man, one who could control both his own emotions and those of others. That's as close as I can come to defining the character of the man.
He was, of course, the son of a deacon and his vital records are in the First Church record books. We can probably guess that he attended church on a regular basis, but I've not been able to determine whether he was actually a member of the church. I have also been unable to determine whether, or to what extent, he served in the militia or on military expeditions. It is within the range of possibility that he would have participated in King George's War, since he was only about 50-53 during that time period. This would have pitted the colonists and Great Britain and their native American allies against the French and their native American allies. His name is not listed in the source I consulted about Colonial Officers and Soldiers but those lists are always incomplete. So we just don't know.
There is, on the "Early American Ancestors" website, a drawing labeled "The home of Thomas Noble, Westfield, 1725". This is likely to be the home of Thomas's parents, Thomas and Elizabeth Dewey Noble, but it may well be the home that this Thomas also lived in. At any rate, he would have been very familiar with this home.
Sarah Root Noble died July 19, 1760 and Thomas married Sarah Field Belding the following year. She died in 1763. Thomas died February 18, 1775, just two months before the battles of Concord and Lexington. We don't know what he would have thought about the Revolutionary War, except that at least two of his sons, who were middle aged men at the time, served as patriot soldiers. That says something about their upbringing.
I haven't been able to locate a will for Thomas, or a definitive land transfer. The land probably stayed in the family, perhaps for generations. We know there were Nobles in Westfield up through the 1940 census and probably longer. Of course, I'd love to find a will or deed. I'd love to find military records. I'd love to know more about this man who seems to have stayed in the background. I would be willing to bet there is more to his story.
The line of descent is:
Thomas Noble-Sarah Root
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
Friday, June 19, 2020
Allen line: John Root 1672-1731
I'm not sure why I could not find much on-line information about this John. Yes, the earlier John Roots have more information, and there are a confusing number of John Roots to "root" through, to find our ancestor. Yes, he had only one child with our ancestor, and those are all good reasons. But yet...he was a person of some standing in his town. Though he didn't leave as many foot prints as his father and grandfather did, there is enough to fill my minimum requirement of five paragraphs, I think.
John Root was born December 28, 1672 in Westfield, Massachusetts Bay Colony, one of eight children of John and Mary Ashley Root. He spent his childhood in Westfield, grew to be a man in Westfield, married twice and raised his family in Westfield, and died in Westfield. The only hint we have that he may have ever left Westfield is that in his will and inventory papers, he is often referred to as "Lieutenant" John Root. (This was important, as it differentiated him from his father and from other John Roots who lived in the same town).
He is also referred to as a husbandman, which is roughly translated as farmer, and surely he farmed. Everyone in Westfield did. He also attended church regularly. Everyone did. Not everyone, however, had the title of "Deacon", which is another name I have seen assigned to his name. I haven't yet found the documentation for that. His pastor's name, for most of John's life, was Edward Taylor. He was a brilliant man, an Englishman, and seems to have been loved by the whole town. If John was indeed a deacon, he had a good man leading him.
John married Sarah Stebbins, daughter of Edward and Sarah Graves Stebbins, on January 8, 1701 in Westfield. She was from Springfield, but Westfield was actually part of Springfield at one time, so the two would have known each other, probably well, before their marriage. They had just one child together, a daughter named Sarah. who was born in March of 1702. Perhaps there were difficulties with her birth, but for whatever reason, Sarah Root had no more known children before she died. We don't have a death date for her, except that it was prior to September of 1713, when John married the widow Elizabeth Sackett. I would certainly like to find a death date for our Sarah! John and Elizabeth had at least four children, two of whom died very young. There was much sadness for this couple to overcome, each having lost spouses, and then to lose the babies, too, must have been overwhelming.
I would also like to know about John's military service. Why was he referred to as lieutenant? He was too young for King Philip's War, except that he would have gone to the garrison house with his family when attack was feared, and probably lived there for several months. There were various military expeditions and wars he could have participated in, but one that seems most likely would be after the native American attacks on Deerfield, Massachusetts in 1704. Deerfield was just 37 miles north of Westfield, and family members lived there. Other possibilities include Queen Anne's war or King William's war. Regardless, John was recognized as a leader of men and was prepared to go into battle with them.
a
John died May 1, 1731. He left 300 pounds to his daughter Sarah and a small mount of land plus team with its tackle to his son Moses. There is no mention of wife Elizabeth, or of son Stephen. Elizabeth was alive, because the paperwork for her to be the guardian of Moses is included in the estate papers. However, John died owing money to almost everyone in town, it seems. There is nothing in the papers that indicates how the estate was settled, and whether daughter Sarah got her bequest or son Moses got his land and his team. It appears unlikely.
So there's another mystery. Why did John, who appears to have been a well respected member of his society, die with so much debt and such a small estate? Were there crop failures? Did he spend too much time in military service to accumulate any wealth? Was Elizabeth a spendthrift? We simply can't tell from the little we can learn about him, but we can wonder.
Certainly I want to learn more about his story, and about what kind of man he was. But at least here are a few paragraphs to honor our ancestor.
The line of descent is:
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
John Root was born December 28, 1672 in Westfield, Massachusetts Bay Colony, one of eight children of John and Mary Ashley Root. He spent his childhood in Westfield, grew to be a man in Westfield, married twice and raised his family in Westfield, and died in Westfield. The only hint we have that he may have ever left Westfield is that in his will and inventory papers, he is often referred to as "Lieutenant" John Root. (This was important, as it differentiated him from his father and from other John Roots who lived in the same town).
He is also referred to as a husbandman, which is roughly translated as farmer, and surely he farmed. Everyone in Westfield did. He also attended church regularly. Everyone did. Not everyone, however, had the title of "Deacon", which is another name I have seen assigned to his name. I haven't yet found the documentation for that. His pastor's name, for most of John's life, was Edward Taylor. He was a brilliant man, an Englishman, and seems to have been loved by the whole town. If John was indeed a deacon, he had a good man leading him.
John married Sarah Stebbins, daughter of Edward and Sarah Graves Stebbins, on January 8, 1701 in Westfield. She was from Springfield, but Westfield was actually part of Springfield at one time, so the two would have known each other, probably well, before their marriage. They had just one child together, a daughter named Sarah. who was born in March of 1702. Perhaps there were difficulties with her birth, but for whatever reason, Sarah Root had no more known children before she died. We don't have a death date for her, except that it was prior to September of 1713, when John married the widow Elizabeth Sackett. I would certainly like to find a death date for our Sarah! John and Elizabeth had at least four children, two of whom died very young. There was much sadness for this couple to overcome, each having lost spouses, and then to lose the babies, too, must have been overwhelming.
I would also like to know about John's military service. Why was he referred to as lieutenant? He was too young for King Philip's War, except that he would have gone to the garrison house with his family when attack was feared, and probably lived there for several months. There were various military expeditions and wars he could have participated in, but one that seems most likely would be after the native American attacks on Deerfield, Massachusetts in 1704. Deerfield was just 37 miles north of Westfield, and family members lived there. Other possibilities include Queen Anne's war or King William's war. Regardless, John was recognized as a leader of men and was prepared to go into battle with them.
a
John died May 1, 1731. He left 300 pounds to his daughter Sarah and a small mount of land plus team with its tackle to his son Moses. There is no mention of wife Elizabeth, or of son Stephen. Elizabeth was alive, because the paperwork for her to be the guardian of Moses is included in the estate papers. However, John died owing money to almost everyone in town, it seems. There is nothing in the papers that indicates how the estate was settled, and whether daughter Sarah got her bequest or son Moses got his land and his team. It appears unlikely.
So there's another mystery. Why did John, who appears to have been a well respected member of his society, die with so much debt and such a small estate? Were there crop failures? Did he spend too much time in military service to accumulate any wealth? Was Elizabeth a spendthrift? We simply can't tell from the little we can learn about him, but we can wonder.
Certainly I want to learn more about his story, and about what kind of man he was. But at least here are a few paragraphs to honor our ancestor.
The line of descent is:
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
Tuesday, June 16, 2020
Holbrook line: Zachariah Eddy 1638-1718
I've written earlier of Samuel Eddy, Zachariah's father, and of John Eddy, his uncle (although I now think that John Eddy was not an ancestor on the Allen side, pending further study). But Zachariah has been neglected until now, probably because he wasn't in the first generation of immigrants. But hey, we was born in Plymouth Colony and probably knew, or at least knew of, our Mayflower ancestors. So his history, to me, is interesting.
Zachariah (also seen as Zechariah and Zachary) was born March 7, 1639 to Samuel and (probably) Elizabeth Savory Eddy, in Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts. He was the second of seven children his parents are known to have had. Samuel was a tailor, but he apparently was not hugely successful because he asked the court to find an apprenticeship or other training opportunities for his children. Zachariah was just 7 years old when the court approved his placement with John Browne, to train to be a husbandman or whatever else Mr. Browne desired. John Browne was a man of considerable wealth and talent, so it was a good opportunity for Zachariah to learn much from him. We are not sure whether that happened. At any rate, 7 year old Zachariah said good-by to his parents and presumably moved to Rehoboth, where the Brownes lived. His term of service was for 14 years, until Zachariah was 21 years old.
Peter Browne was involved in the founding of Swansea, Massachusetts, and Zachariah and his brother, Caleb, are also considered among the first founders of the town. He married Alice Paddock, daughter of Robert and Mary Holmes Paddock, on May 7, 1663, in either Plymouth or Middleboro, Massachusetts. They may have settled immediately in the land that became Swansea, although the town itself wasn't founded until 1667. The town selected him to be one of three waywardens in 1671, roughly these men were superintendents of highways.
I didn't find any record that he was ever made a freeman, perhaps because he became a member of the Baptist Church in Swansea, which is one of the oldest Baptist churches in America. I wonder whether Peter Browne influenced his decision one way or the other, to join this church. Or his wife could have had some influence. Nevertheless, it may have been hard to leave the Puritan church that had been a part of his early life.
I didn't find an occupation for Zachariah, although it is likely to have been as a husbandman, as he was trained to do. He did own some marsh land, and probably other land, too, so it's easy to think he did at least some farming. He and Alice had at least eight children, apparently all born at Swansea.
Life in Swansea was probably good, but also probably not easy. It got even harder when King Philip's War broke out. Swansea was one of the first villages attacked, although apparently everyone made it to the local garrison safely. Some of the homes were burned, and there was fighting in the area for quite a while. The little village escaped back to Plymouth for the most part, and it is believed that our family was part of this group. I found no record that Zachariah was part of the militia but it's hard to believe that he would not have responded to protect his home and home town. He was of the right age and unless he had a physical infirmity, which I haven't seen mentioned, he would have had some role to play in either the defense or the offense.
The Eddy family was back in Swansea about 1678, rebuilding whatever had been lost to the native Americans. Alice Paddock Eddy died October 24, 1692 and Zachariah then married Abigail, the widow of Dermit or Jeremiah Smith. She brought children to the marriage, too, although they may have been close to grown, as Zachariah's own children were. (I'm not finding a date for the second marriage, so perhaps Zachariah married when some of his own children were preteens or teenagers.
When Zachariah died, his estate was very small, valued at close to 65 pounds. He mentions the lands that he had previously given to each of his sons, and adds that any money owed him by his sons should be forgiven. His wife Abigail is to live in the homestead granted son Caleb for the rest of her natural life, and he left her money, also. He left his great Bible to a grandson. His will specifically grants a carbine to one son, a musket to another, and a fowling piece to yet another. Zachariah died September 4, 1718 and is buried at the Eddy family burial grounds at Swansea, where his parents and many other family members are also buried.
Although we know quite a bit about Zachariah, there is also much we don't know, especially about his life in Swansea. But it is interesting to find another early Baptist in the family, and it's intriguing that our Pilgrim fathers would have known him. This was a time when much of what was to become America was being constructed, day by day and town by town. We are privileged to feel a little of this through reading about the lives of Zachariah Eddy and other of our ancestors.
The line of descent is
Zachariah Eddy-Alice Paddock
Zachariah Eddy-Amphillis Smith
Elisha Eddy-Sarah Phetteplace
Enos Eddy-Sarah Brown
Enos Eddy-Deborah Paine
Joseph Eddy-Susan Lamphire
Susan Eddy-Hiram Stanard
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Zachariah (also seen as Zechariah and Zachary) was born March 7, 1639 to Samuel and (probably) Elizabeth Savory Eddy, in Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts. He was the second of seven children his parents are known to have had. Samuel was a tailor, but he apparently was not hugely successful because he asked the court to find an apprenticeship or other training opportunities for his children. Zachariah was just 7 years old when the court approved his placement with John Browne, to train to be a husbandman or whatever else Mr. Browne desired. John Browne was a man of considerable wealth and talent, so it was a good opportunity for Zachariah to learn much from him. We are not sure whether that happened. At any rate, 7 year old Zachariah said good-by to his parents and presumably moved to Rehoboth, where the Brownes lived. His term of service was for 14 years, until Zachariah was 21 years old.
Peter Browne was involved in the founding of Swansea, Massachusetts, and Zachariah and his brother, Caleb, are also considered among the first founders of the town. He married Alice Paddock, daughter of Robert and Mary Holmes Paddock, on May 7, 1663, in either Plymouth or Middleboro, Massachusetts. They may have settled immediately in the land that became Swansea, although the town itself wasn't founded until 1667. The town selected him to be one of three waywardens in 1671, roughly these men were superintendents of highways.
I didn't find any record that he was ever made a freeman, perhaps because he became a member of the Baptist Church in Swansea, which is one of the oldest Baptist churches in America. I wonder whether Peter Browne influenced his decision one way or the other, to join this church. Or his wife could have had some influence. Nevertheless, it may have been hard to leave the Puritan church that had been a part of his early life.
I didn't find an occupation for Zachariah, although it is likely to have been as a husbandman, as he was trained to do. He did own some marsh land, and probably other land, too, so it's easy to think he did at least some farming. He and Alice had at least eight children, apparently all born at Swansea.
Life in Swansea was probably good, but also probably not easy. It got even harder when King Philip's War broke out. Swansea was one of the first villages attacked, although apparently everyone made it to the local garrison safely. Some of the homes were burned, and there was fighting in the area for quite a while. The little village escaped back to Plymouth for the most part, and it is believed that our family was part of this group. I found no record that Zachariah was part of the militia but it's hard to believe that he would not have responded to protect his home and home town. He was of the right age and unless he had a physical infirmity, which I haven't seen mentioned, he would have had some role to play in either the defense or the offense.
The Eddy family was back in Swansea about 1678, rebuilding whatever had been lost to the native Americans. Alice Paddock Eddy died October 24, 1692 and Zachariah then married Abigail, the widow of Dermit or Jeremiah Smith. She brought children to the marriage, too, although they may have been close to grown, as Zachariah's own children were. (I'm not finding a date for the second marriage, so perhaps Zachariah married when some of his own children were preteens or teenagers.
When Zachariah died, his estate was very small, valued at close to 65 pounds. He mentions the lands that he had previously given to each of his sons, and adds that any money owed him by his sons should be forgiven. His wife Abigail is to live in the homestead granted son Caleb for the rest of her natural life, and he left her money, also. He left his great Bible to a grandson. His will specifically grants a carbine to one son, a musket to another, and a fowling piece to yet another. Zachariah died September 4, 1718 and is buried at the Eddy family burial grounds at Swansea, where his parents and many other family members are also buried.
Although we know quite a bit about Zachariah, there is also much we don't know, especially about his life in Swansea. But it is interesting to find another early Baptist in the family, and it's intriguing that our Pilgrim fathers would have known him. This was a time when much of what was to become America was being constructed, day by day and town by town. We are privileged to feel a little of this through reading about the lives of Zachariah Eddy and other of our ancestors.
The line of descent is
Zachariah Eddy-Alice Paddock
Zachariah Eddy-Amphillis Smith
Elisha Eddy-Sarah Phetteplace
Enos Eddy-Sarah Brown
Enos Eddy-Deborah Paine
Joseph Eddy-Susan Lamphire
Susan Eddy-Hiram Stanard
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Friday, June 12, 2020
Holbrook line: Medad Pomeroy 1638-1716
My last blog post was about Thomas Noble, an ancestor on our Allen side. In it, I mentioned that his widow, Hannah Warriner, had married Medad Pomeroy. I recognized that name so looked for the blog post I must have written about him, but there was nothing to be found. So, here it is. Medad Pomeroy is an ancestor on our Holbrook side. He was first married to Experience Woodward, from whom we descend. He was later married to Abigail Strong, who would be a sibling of our ancestor Thomas Strong, also on the Holbrook side. And finally, he was married to Hannah Warriner Noble, the Allen connection. We have quite a connection to this man, and it's time that I wrote about him.
Medad Pomeroy was born August 19, 1638 in Windsor, Hartford Connecticut, to Eltweed and Mary Rockett/Rockwood Pomeroy. The elder Pomeroys were with the very first settlers in 1633, when the settlement was first called Dorchester. Eltweed had some prominence in the town, and is noted to be the founding father of the Pomeroy family in America. Medad was one of at least eight children born to the couple. Eltweed was a fuller, but perhaps he provided his children with an apprenticeship, for Medad was a blacksmith and a gunsmith. It's unclear why Medad left Windsor to go to Northampton, Massachusetts (north of Springfield), but once there, he may have been taught by John Webb, who was the first blacksmith in Northampton but not necessarily a businessman. (One source says he arrived in Northampton in 1659 and was welcomed because of his blacksmithing skills. I've used a history of Northampton for most of the information in this post.) Medad eventually took over Webb's shop location, perhaps with Webb's approval. Medad also must have been given a decent education for the time. Although he didn't attend college, the positions he held in the town would have required reading, writing, and arithmetic skills.
As mentioned, Medad married three times. He married Experience Woodward, daughter of Henry and Elizabeth Mather Woodward, on March 21, 1661 in Northampton, not long after his arrival in Northampton. (Henry was one of the first settlers of the town.) Medad and Experience had 11 children together, before she died, possibly in childbirth, at the age of 43. Medad next married Abigail Strong, and they had one son together. When Abigail died in 1704, he waited just a few months before marrying Hannah Warriner Noble. By this time, he was about 67 years old and Hannah was also in her 60's, so there were no children from this marriage.
Medad had one of the longest periods of public service to his town of any ancestor I've yet found. He was chosen selectman of the town 28 times, deputy to the general court seven times, treasurer from 1698 onward, and some years held as many as six elected offices at the same time. It was a small town, but he was still one of the prominent men in town. He was also clerk, responsible for keeping town records, for most of the period from 1665 until shortly before his death.
As if that was not enough honor, and work, he was also a deacon in the church, and a member of the militia who was involved in the Falls Fight, serving under Captain Turner. This fight involved the massacre of a native American village so is not necessarily something to be proud of, but it was part of his life and he would have lived with that knowledge for another 40 plus years. I wonder if he ever had nightmares, or whether he felt it was his duty to participate? His son Ebenezer was granted land in 1736 in reward for his father's service during this battle.
Medad wrote his will in 1708 but lived until December 30, 1716. There must have been some kind of prenuptial agreement because he left Hannah her choice of a cow, everything she had brought with her, and instructions that she was to draw from the estate anything that she needed. He left his sons and daughters anywhere from 20 to 80 pounds apiece, except that by the time he died, the estate was not worth nearly as much as he had expected. Perhaps in the interim, he had sold assets and given the proceeds to the children, but it's hard to know. His estate was valued at just 41 pounds, unless there were more pages to the inventory that didn't get filmed.
There is more to be told about Medad than I've included in this brief sketch. He was involved in at least one town controversy, and there were a couple of business ventures that don't seem to have gotten off the ground. But Medad seems to have been well-respected, an extremely hard worker, and an important part of the town he served so well. While recognizing that he had shortcomings, we can still respect this man, part of our past and part of our family.
The line of descent is:
Medad Pomeroy-Hannah Warriner
Joseph Pomeroy-Hannah Seymour
Medad Pomeroy-Hannah Trumbull
Medad Pomeroy-Eunice Southwell
Eunice Pomeroy-Libbeus Stannard
Libbeus Stanard-Luceba Fay
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Medad Pomeroy was born August 19, 1638 in Windsor, Hartford Connecticut, to Eltweed and Mary Rockett/Rockwood Pomeroy. The elder Pomeroys were with the very first settlers in 1633, when the settlement was first called Dorchester. Eltweed had some prominence in the town, and is noted to be the founding father of the Pomeroy family in America. Medad was one of at least eight children born to the couple. Eltweed was a fuller, but perhaps he provided his children with an apprenticeship, for Medad was a blacksmith and a gunsmith. It's unclear why Medad left Windsor to go to Northampton, Massachusetts (north of Springfield), but once there, he may have been taught by John Webb, who was the first blacksmith in Northampton but not necessarily a businessman. (One source says he arrived in Northampton in 1659 and was welcomed because of his blacksmithing skills. I've used a history of Northampton for most of the information in this post.) Medad eventually took over Webb's shop location, perhaps with Webb's approval. Medad also must have been given a decent education for the time. Although he didn't attend college, the positions he held in the town would have required reading, writing, and arithmetic skills.
As mentioned, Medad married three times. He married Experience Woodward, daughter of Henry and Elizabeth Mather Woodward, on March 21, 1661 in Northampton, not long after his arrival in Northampton. (Henry was one of the first settlers of the town.) Medad and Experience had 11 children together, before she died, possibly in childbirth, at the age of 43. Medad next married Abigail Strong, and they had one son together. When Abigail died in 1704, he waited just a few months before marrying Hannah Warriner Noble. By this time, he was about 67 years old and Hannah was also in her 60's, so there were no children from this marriage.
Medad had one of the longest periods of public service to his town of any ancestor I've yet found. He was chosen selectman of the town 28 times, deputy to the general court seven times, treasurer from 1698 onward, and some years held as many as six elected offices at the same time. It was a small town, but he was still one of the prominent men in town. He was also clerk, responsible for keeping town records, for most of the period from 1665 until shortly before his death.
As if that was not enough honor, and work, he was also a deacon in the church, and a member of the militia who was involved in the Falls Fight, serving under Captain Turner. This fight involved the massacre of a native American village so is not necessarily something to be proud of, but it was part of his life and he would have lived with that knowledge for another 40 plus years. I wonder if he ever had nightmares, or whether he felt it was his duty to participate? His son Ebenezer was granted land in 1736 in reward for his father's service during this battle.
Medad wrote his will in 1708 but lived until December 30, 1716. There must have been some kind of prenuptial agreement because he left Hannah her choice of a cow, everything she had brought with her, and instructions that she was to draw from the estate anything that she needed. He left his sons and daughters anywhere from 20 to 80 pounds apiece, except that by the time he died, the estate was not worth nearly as much as he had expected. Perhaps in the interim, he had sold assets and given the proceeds to the children, but it's hard to know. His estate was valued at just 41 pounds, unless there were more pages to the inventory that didn't get filmed.
There is more to be told about Medad than I've included in this brief sketch. He was involved in at least one town controversy, and there were a couple of business ventures that don't seem to have gotten off the ground. But Medad seems to have been well-respected, an extremely hard worker, and an important part of the town he served so well. While recognizing that he had shortcomings, we can still respect this man, part of our past and part of our family.
The line of descent is:
Medad Pomeroy-Hannah Warriner
Joseph Pomeroy-Hannah Seymour
Medad Pomeroy-Hannah Trumbull
Medad Pomeroy-Eunice Southwell
Eunice Pomeroy-Libbeus Stannard
Libbeus Stanard-Luceba Fay
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Tuesday, June 9, 2020
Allen line: Thomas Noble 1632ish-1703/04
Earlier, I wrote about Thomas's supposed parents. I wasn't sure at the time that I had the right people and I am still not sure. So I will just say Thomas's parents may or may not have been Thomas and Rachel Gardiner Noble. His father also may or may not have been John Noble. The Thomas and Rachel may or may not have come to New England, and they may or may not have both died during the year of Thomas's birth. End of speculation for now.
The first that i really known of Thomas Noble is that he was "admitted" to Boston on January 5, 1653. "Admission" generally means that he had no family there but that he had a trade or other means to provide for himself. Boston did not wish to have people in its community who could not be trusted to contribute to its growth, and who might, for whatever reason, become a burden to the town. (This was common for single men in most early Massachusetts towns and villages). Thomas, then, had permission to stay, but he didn't stay for long.
Later in the year he is found in Springfield, Massachusetts, a town which was founded in 1653. He was still a single man so would have been required to have stayed in someone else's home. (The First Century of the History of Springfield gives his arrival date as 1656. I think that is in error, because in 1657 Thomas had already gained enough approval from Mr. Pynchon to be advanced money for a trip to and from England. We can only speculate whether the trip was trade-related, or family related, or on some kind of errand for Mr. Pynchon.)
Thomas Noble did have a trade, or at least a part time trade. He was a tailor when he wasn't farming. Again, it is hard to trace who he lived with and how he could practice a trade when he had no place to call his own. He married Hannah Warriner, daughter of William and Joanna Scant (probably) Warriner of Springfield on January 11, 1660, in Springfield. It's possible that he had stayed in the home of his in-laws until and even after the marriage, but as far as I know there is no documentation of that. We can see that after his marriage he acquired a bit more status than he had as a bachelor. In 1659, he was assigned to the 9th row of men in the meeting house, and in 1662 he was already moved to the sixth row. Marriage made a man more respectable, in and of itself.
Thomas and Hannah stayed in Springfield for several years, eventually moving to the new town of Westfield, a little further to the west of the Springfield village. In 1664 he was one of four men who were given permission to set up a saw mill, and were also given 70 acres of land to use. The sawmill was to be in operation by April 1, 1666. The sawmill was on the west side of the Agawam river, which appears to be just where Westfield was created. Thomas Noble is noted as having been there in 1667, so probably the family moved during or after the construction of the sawmill.
Yes, Thomas and Hannah had a family, and there are probably tens of thousands of descendants from this family now. There were at least ten children born to the couple. The family didn't realize it at the time, but later learned that a native American called "Gray Locks" had often had some of the children in his sight, saying he could have killed several at one time, but that he wanted to capture them so they could be held for ransom. Thankfully, this goal was not accomplished. During King Philip's war, the same Gray Lock would open the door to the cabin, and let it swing shut before playing his game again. This encouraged the family to move from their farm to the relative safety of Westfield, at least for the duration of hostilities.
Thomas farmed, of course, and probably helped in the saw mill operation, and also did tailoring work until close to the end of his days. He was involved in another saw mill operation in 1684, but it's not clear whether he had already relinquished his partnership in the earlier saw mill, or whether this was a separate enterprise entirely. At various times he was a constable, an appraiser, and on committees to help set the boundaries between Springfield and Westfield.
Thomas joined the Westfield church on February 26, 1681 and was made a freeman in the fall of the year. He was on juries, including one conducting an inquest into the manner of death of one of their neighbors, concluding that Eliezer Weller had hanged himself. But Thomas also had his minor run-ins with the law, specifically, church law. He was fined 5 shillings in 1683 because he traveled on a day of court-ordered fasting and humiliation. Thomas stated that he was just trying to get home, but that didn't fold water with the court.
Thomas seems to have been often, if not always, in debt, especially to William or John Pynchon, despite acquiring more and more land during his lifetime. When he died on January 20, 1703/04, he left a will naming his ten children, although it appears that son James died at the same time that Thomas did. Hannah survived him and later married Medad Pomeroy, another of our ancestors. She lived until 1721.
Thomas's inventory was valued at 448 pounds, which was mostly land, farm animals, and farm implements. He had arms and ammunition, but I didn't see any mention of books in the inventory, nor did I see tailoring tools, although they could have been included with "other small things". There is much more information available about Thomas, but the big mystery is still the identification of his parents, and of how and when he arrived in Massachusetts.
Fun fact: I was fascinated to learn that Agatha Christie, the mystery writer, is his sixth great grand daughter. He is my 8th great granddaughter, so that makes us very distant cousins. Other famous grandchildren are Samuel Colt, Humphrey Bogart, Nancy Davis Reagan, and Ken Burns.
The line of descent is
Thomas Noble-Hannah Warriner
Thomas Noble-Elizabeth Dewey
Thomas Noble-Sarah Root
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
The first that i really known of Thomas Noble is that he was "admitted" to Boston on January 5, 1653. "Admission" generally means that he had no family there but that he had a trade or other means to provide for himself. Boston did not wish to have people in its community who could not be trusted to contribute to its growth, and who might, for whatever reason, become a burden to the town. (This was common for single men in most early Massachusetts towns and villages). Thomas, then, had permission to stay, but he didn't stay for long.
Later in the year he is found in Springfield, Massachusetts, a town which was founded in 1653. He was still a single man so would have been required to have stayed in someone else's home. (The First Century of the History of Springfield gives his arrival date as 1656. I think that is in error, because in 1657 Thomas had already gained enough approval from Mr. Pynchon to be advanced money for a trip to and from England. We can only speculate whether the trip was trade-related, or family related, or on some kind of errand for Mr. Pynchon.)
Thomas Noble did have a trade, or at least a part time trade. He was a tailor when he wasn't farming. Again, it is hard to trace who he lived with and how he could practice a trade when he had no place to call his own. He married Hannah Warriner, daughter of William and Joanna Scant (probably) Warriner of Springfield on January 11, 1660, in Springfield. It's possible that he had stayed in the home of his in-laws until and even after the marriage, but as far as I know there is no documentation of that. We can see that after his marriage he acquired a bit more status than he had as a bachelor. In 1659, he was assigned to the 9th row of men in the meeting house, and in 1662 he was already moved to the sixth row. Marriage made a man more respectable, in and of itself.
Thomas and Hannah stayed in Springfield for several years, eventually moving to the new town of Westfield, a little further to the west of the Springfield village. In 1664 he was one of four men who were given permission to set up a saw mill, and were also given 70 acres of land to use. The sawmill was to be in operation by April 1, 1666. The sawmill was on the west side of the Agawam river, which appears to be just where Westfield was created. Thomas Noble is noted as having been there in 1667, so probably the family moved during or after the construction of the sawmill.
Yes, Thomas and Hannah had a family, and there are probably tens of thousands of descendants from this family now. There were at least ten children born to the couple. The family didn't realize it at the time, but later learned that a native American called "Gray Locks" had often had some of the children in his sight, saying he could have killed several at one time, but that he wanted to capture them so they could be held for ransom. Thankfully, this goal was not accomplished. During King Philip's war, the same Gray Lock would open the door to the cabin, and let it swing shut before playing his game again. This encouraged the family to move from their farm to the relative safety of Westfield, at least for the duration of hostilities.
Thomas farmed, of course, and probably helped in the saw mill operation, and also did tailoring work until close to the end of his days. He was involved in another saw mill operation in 1684, but it's not clear whether he had already relinquished his partnership in the earlier saw mill, or whether this was a separate enterprise entirely. At various times he was a constable, an appraiser, and on committees to help set the boundaries between Springfield and Westfield.
Thomas joined the Westfield church on February 26, 1681 and was made a freeman in the fall of the year. He was on juries, including one conducting an inquest into the manner of death of one of their neighbors, concluding that Eliezer Weller had hanged himself. But Thomas also had his minor run-ins with the law, specifically, church law. He was fined 5 shillings in 1683 because he traveled on a day of court-ordered fasting and humiliation. Thomas stated that he was just trying to get home, but that didn't fold water with the court.
Thomas seems to have been often, if not always, in debt, especially to William or John Pynchon, despite acquiring more and more land during his lifetime. When he died on January 20, 1703/04, he left a will naming his ten children, although it appears that son James died at the same time that Thomas did. Hannah survived him and later married Medad Pomeroy, another of our ancestors. She lived until 1721.
Thomas's inventory was valued at 448 pounds, which was mostly land, farm animals, and farm implements. He had arms and ammunition, but I didn't see any mention of books in the inventory, nor did I see tailoring tools, although they could have been included with "other small things". There is much more information available about Thomas, but the big mystery is still the identification of his parents, and of how and when he arrived in Massachusetts.
Fun fact: I was fascinated to learn that Agatha Christie, the mystery writer, is his sixth great grand daughter. He is my 8th great granddaughter, so that makes us very distant cousins. Other famous grandchildren are Samuel Colt, Humphrey Bogart, Nancy Davis Reagan, and Ken Burns.
The line of descent is
Thomas Noble-Hannah Warriner
Thomas Noble-Elizabeth Dewey
Thomas Noble-Sarah Root
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
Friday, June 5, 2020
Holbrook line: John Cole of Maryland 1669-1746
I've put off writing about John Cole. It's not because I don't like him, but because he is so confusing. Is he one man, or two men, or three? Which set of parents are really his? And there are other questions. So I'm going to proceed here with caution. Please understand that this may not be entirely correct, and it could be entirely wrong. I am following primarily (when I have a question) the work of Robert Barnes, who is a noted genealogist and who is relatively error free. He is also an expert in Baltimore County, Maryland, genealogy. I'm not.
John Cole was born in or about 1669, based on various court testimonies he gave. All the records I have seen list his birth place as Anne Arundel County, Maryland, which was formed from St. Mary's County prior to the time of John's birth. (So his parents may have been found in St Mary's County prior to the division). I've seen several listings for John's parents, some with a bit of reason to them and some not. But Robert Barnes lists his parents as John Cole and Mary Beedle, so we'll go with that while acknowledging that further analysis or new records could result in a different understanding.
We are reasonably sure that John Cole married Johanna Garrett, daughter of Dennis and Barbara (last name not found) Garrett about 1690. He was a witness to and therefore testified in the trial of John Oldton (who is our distant relation as he was married to a Gorsuch), who was charged with the murder of Dennis Garrett.
Sometime within the next 10 years, John moved his family to Baltimore County, in the area of the Gunpowder Meeting, where he owned at least two pieces of land and probably more. There are indications that John was or became a Quaker, or at least that other members of his family were members of the Society of Friends. I haven't been able to verity that. However, it does show that they were in the area and he would have possibly been influenced by their beliefs, even if he did stay a member of the Church of England.
John and Johanna had at least seven and possibly as many as ten children. Barnes lists seven. Johanna died probably about 1715 and John next married Dinah Hawkins, in 1716. He had at least three children with her, so Dinah must have been at least a few years younger than John.
John was a planter. His crops would have included tobacco, so that likely means that he owned slaves, or at the least, had indentured servants. I haven't located records yet that indicate the status of his farm laborers, but he would have needed help and most if not all families had either slaves or indentured servants, or both. Yes, in this time period some Quakers had slaves, too.
John wrote his will in 1745 and it was presented on November 3, 1746. It named his wife, Dinah, and their three, or three surviving, children. His children with Johanna were all adults and presumably he had given them land or other assets earlier, since the will was not contested. The value of his inventory was just short of 100 pounds.
It's a pretty scanty sketch of a man in our ancestry and in our genes, but it is what we have, at the moment. I think it's important to at least mention these men and women who built America, especially since so many of our ancestors were from New England. We have Southern and almost Southern roots, too.
The line of descent is
John Cole-Johanna Garrett
Sarah Cole-Charles Gorsuch
Hannah Gorsuch-Thomas Stansbury
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
John Cole was born in or about 1669, based on various court testimonies he gave. All the records I have seen list his birth place as Anne Arundel County, Maryland, which was formed from St. Mary's County prior to the time of John's birth. (So his parents may have been found in St Mary's County prior to the division). I've seen several listings for John's parents, some with a bit of reason to them and some not. But Robert Barnes lists his parents as John Cole and Mary Beedle, so we'll go with that while acknowledging that further analysis or new records could result in a different understanding.
We are reasonably sure that John Cole married Johanna Garrett, daughter of Dennis and Barbara (last name not found) Garrett about 1690. He was a witness to and therefore testified in the trial of John Oldton (who is our distant relation as he was married to a Gorsuch), who was charged with the murder of Dennis Garrett.
Sometime within the next 10 years, John moved his family to Baltimore County, in the area of the Gunpowder Meeting, where he owned at least two pieces of land and probably more. There are indications that John was or became a Quaker, or at least that other members of his family were members of the Society of Friends. I haven't been able to verity that. However, it does show that they were in the area and he would have possibly been influenced by their beliefs, even if he did stay a member of the Church of England.
John and Johanna had at least seven and possibly as many as ten children. Barnes lists seven. Johanna died probably about 1715 and John next married Dinah Hawkins, in 1716. He had at least three children with her, so Dinah must have been at least a few years younger than John.
John was a planter. His crops would have included tobacco, so that likely means that he owned slaves, or at the least, had indentured servants. I haven't located records yet that indicate the status of his farm laborers, but he would have needed help and most if not all families had either slaves or indentured servants, or both. Yes, in this time period some Quakers had slaves, too.
John wrote his will in 1745 and it was presented on November 3, 1746. It named his wife, Dinah, and their three, or three surviving, children. His children with Johanna were all adults and presumably he had given them land or other assets earlier, since the will was not contested. The value of his inventory was just short of 100 pounds.
It's a pretty scanty sketch of a man in our ancestry and in our genes, but it is what we have, at the moment. I think it's important to at least mention these men and women who built America, especially since so many of our ancestors were from New England. We have Southern and almost Southern roots, too.
The line of descent is
John Cole-Johanna Garrett
Sarah Cole-Charles Gorsuch
Hannah Gorsuch-Thomas Stansbury
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Tuesday, June 2, 2020
Holbrook line: Samuel Doty 1643-1715
Update 8/11/2022 This man is not our ancestor. I am leaving the post up for anyone who is interested in a short version of his life, however. The error in this post is that Sarah Doty did not marry Josiah Standish, according to current research.
There's more to Samuel Doty than meets the eye. Yes, he was the son of a Mayflower Pilgrim and yes, he married a daughter of a member of the Great Migration. Yes, he was maybe a bit of a rebel in his younger days. But his story has several interesting twists, some of which I haven't seen in other ancestors.
First, the basics: Samuel Doty was the son of Edward Doty of the Mayflower and Faith Clarke, who arrived in Plymouth Colony in 1634 with her father Thurstan Clarke. He was one of 9 children of the couple. The Doty family would have attended church services on a regular basis, because it was required. But it is believed that Edward Doty didn't join the church as a member, and Samuel appears to have taken the independent thinking route. (Plymouth Colony was both Puritan and Separatist, meaning that they wanted nothing to do with the Church of England, whereas the Puritans, at least initially, wanted only to "purify" the church of England of its rituals, hierarchy, church decor, and some of their beliefs).
Samuel moved from Plymouth to Eastham on Cape Cod sometime before July 16, 1668. He was there for only a brief time,but it may have been enough to convince him or encourage him that he needed to leave the colony. Several families from that area left for either Long Island, New York, or New Jersey during that time period. Some were Quakers and some were what we would call seekers, maybe. At any rate, Samuel was helping found Piscataway, New Jersey by October of 1669. He was still a young man. It's possible that Samuel had married by now but if so, there is no record of a first wife.
He was thirty five years old when he married Jane or Jeane Harmon in Piscataway on November 13, 1678, which is rather old for a first marriage. Jane Harmon ws born in Saco, Maine and it's not entirely clear how she arrived in Piscataway. She was bound as an indentured servant to Lt. James Gibbins for an eight year period on April 4, 1671, having been removed from her father's home for "oppression{. Apparently the Gibbins family acted somewhat as a foster family, but they would have used Jane as a servant, too. She would have been taught housekeeping skills and perhaps how to read. Some of the families from that area emigrated to Piscataway at the outbreak of King Philip's War, and she may have arrived then. It appears that the Gibbins family must have returned to Maine, if indeed they have moved at all. The marriage date of Samuel and Jane is just a few months prior to the time her indenture likely expired. Samuel may have been able to purchase those last few months of servitude that Jane owed the Gibbins, or perhaps they agreed to it. At anhy rate, they were married.
Samuel and Jane had somewhere about 12 children (some say 13) together, so, like many of our ancestors, they would have been quite busy providing for their family. Samuel owned land but was not accorded the title of "Mr." In his will, he calls himself a yeoman, meaning a farmer who owned land. He was respected in Piscataway and by 1675 was a lieutenant in the militia company. He is sometimes referred to as "Captain" so he may have been promoted or elected to the higher office at some point.
We don't know what religion Samuel practiced when he arrived in Piscataway, but he helped found the Seventh Day Baptist church there. This appears to be similar to other Baptist churches, for instance those in Rhode Island, except that this group met on Saturday instead of Sunday.
Samuel inherited some of his father's land and sold it, which may be how he was able to purchase so much land in New Jersey. He owned hundreds of acres, purchasing land at least up until 1690. We don't know how much of it he developed as farm land, nor do we know what crops he grew. The abstract of his will shows a "personal estate". It seems that he had probably given land or otherwise gifted his children prior to his death, as only his wife and one son are mentioned in the will. (I have not seen the original, this information is from an abstract).
Samuel died November 8, 1715 and Jane died just two years later, on October 8, 1717. Samuel would have been 72 years old but Jane just 56. Child-bearing may have worn her out. The youngest child was about 12 years old by that time, but there were plenty of older siblings to provide care, a home, or whatever was needed.
I would love to talk to Samuel. I'd like to know the stories his parents might have told him. I'd like to know how his religious beliefs developed. I'd like to know how he and Jane met. I'd like to know whether he was involved in any military expeditions. And most of all, I'd like to know how he and Jane were able to overcome rather difficult backgrounds and raise so many children, who all apparently were strong, contributing citizens.
The line of descent is:
Samuel Doty-Jane Harmon
Sarah Doty-Josiah Standish
Hannah Standish-Nathan Foster
Nathan Foster-Elizabeth Lansford
Jude Foster-Lydia M
Betsy Foster-Josiah Whittemore
Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook=Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)