Holbrook line: John Hawkins 1643ish to about 1725

It's amazing to me that so many second generation but still early settlers in New England (and elsewhere, for that matter) have gone into hiding.  And sometimes, ancestor hunters see other people with the same name and assume they are the person they are tracking.  I think both of those situations exist with our John Hawkins.  But he is so good at hiding, that I'm not sure.  Here's what I know, and what I think...

John Hawkins was born about 1643, maybe a year or so either way, in Providence Plantation, Rhode Island.  This was very early in the colony's history, so John basically grew up with the colony.  His parents were William and Margaret Harwood Hawkins, who had arrived in Providence about 1638.  John had at least five siblings, and it makes me smile to think how they could have "tormented" some of out other ancestors who were there at the same time, not the least of which would be Roger and Mary Williams. 

Providence was next to the sea, and also had plenty of arable land, so most people who settled here early were either farmers or mariners of some sort.  One website I saw indicates that our John became a mariner, but I don't know where that information was found.  It is certainly within the realm of possibility.  John, however.  We know that he acquired land because from 1684 until 1717 he deeded a total of 325 acres to one or another of his children.  So he probably farmed, whether or not he was a mariner.  Perhaps he did both jobs, or perhaps he was a mariner in the sense that he owned a boat, or shares in a boat. 

I'd like to tell you who he married, I really would.  A lot of sites show him as marrying Sarah Demeral, a widow, in Boston in 1654.  There was a John Hawkins in Boston who married this widow in 1654, but our John Hawkins was only about 11 years old at the time, so this can't be our John.  Torrey's New England Marriages Prior to 1700 says only that he married Sarah, prior to 1679.  She is frequently identified as Sarah Daniels, which is possible.  However, I've not found a Daniels family that was living in the area at that time, so it's also possible that he married another Sarah, since usually men married women within courting distance.  As far as I'm concerned, the search continues. 

John and Sarah had at least 10 children together.  Or at least, John is credited with having 10 children.  If all of these children are his, it's possible that Sarah died and John remarried, because most of the children were born by 1685 but it appears there was another child in 1690 before Abigail, the last, was born about 1695.  Or perhaps John and Sarah had other children born in between those time spans who didn't survive, or who were still born. 

Another big question is his religion.  His father was believed to have been a friend to Quakers, if not a friend himself.  I found one statement that John was a Quaker, and he may well have been, but I've not found him in the usual sources so take that for what it's worth. 

I've not found John on any lists for serving in any kind of military service, not even during King Philip's War.  His father was one of those who stayed, not abandoning Providence, so John may have stayed, too.  If so, Sarah and the first of the children may have gone elsewhere. I think it's quite likely that there home was destroyed during the War, but these are other questions that may or may not be answered with additional research. 

We don't know when Sarah died, and we have only an approximate date for John.  We know that his son Edward referred to his father, John, as deceased in a deed on April 13, 1726, so it was prior to that date.  Apparently Edward had cared for him in his old age because he had received by deed, in 1702, a gift of land  from John.  John in 1719 also gave him half the homestead, house, and lands, and the other half at his decease. 

I've found no will, but that may be because he had already given land to each of his children and had nothing left to give.  Or it could be that the will is lost.  If it still exists, I'd love to see those final papers. 

That's what we know of John Hawkins.  Whether or not he was a mariner, or a Quaker, he lived through interesting times, knew interesting people, and obviously cared for his family.  Thank you, John Hawkins.

The line of descent is:

John Hawkins-Sarah

Mary Hawkins-Hosanna Brown

Othniel Brown-Deborah Brown

Sarah Brown-Enos Eddy

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