Holbrook line: Edward Fay 1717-1801

Edward Fay was good at at least two things:  staying out of sight, and having children.  He was also a soldier who marched off at a rather advanced age on the Lexington alarm at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War.  For that reason alone, it's worth trying to get to know this ancestor. 

Edward was born May 16, 1717 at Marlborough, Massachusetts, the son of David and Sarah Larkin Fay.  He married Sarah Joslin, daughter of Israel and Sarah Cleveland Joslin, in either Marlborough or Southborough, Massachusetts on April 28, 1743.  The two towns are about 4 miles apart, and records were entered in both towns.  These towns were located just east of Boston, and Edward and Sarah would have had similar upbringings. 

However, Edward was one of at least 12 children and he may have determined that opportunities lay elsewhere for himself and his family, so he moved to Stafford, Connecticut soon after the birth of his third child.  (Incidentally, perhaps I should mention here that it is possible that Edward had a previous marriage or relationship. Hepzibah is generally given as his first child, with a birth date of October 4, 1740. That clearly doesn't mesh with the marriage date given above.)

Edward was most likely a farmer, because Stafford was formed as an agricultural community.  With three young children to raise and as many as ten more on the way, life may have been hard for the family, but of course a large family brings joy, too.

As for the rest of his life there, he seems to have been pretty much anonymous.  The one slight hint we have is that he was a corporal, and would have been about 58 years old, when he marched on the Lexington alarm.  So he was healthy at that point, and had had some kind of military experience that earned him the position of corporal.  This leads me to wonder what he was doing during the 1748 expedition to Canada and during the French and Indian War of 1756-1763.  Based on his location and what is known of some of our other ancestors, it is possible that he participated in one of more of these expeditions.  If so, again, his life would have been hard.  I don't know how far he marched on the alarm  Did they go all the way to Lexington or somewhere else in the vicinity of Boston, or did he stay in at the old Connecticut? 

So there are mysteries about Edward, and we don't seem to have a will or inventory to help us out.  Sarah died July 20, 1782 at the age of 60 and was buried at the Old Stafford Village Cemetery. 

Edward died November 12, 1801, according to his Find a Grave memorial, and was buried at Holland, Massachusetts, which was about 12 miles from Stafford.  At least one of his sons was living there at the time, and perhaps Edward was living with him.  I've seen several references that Edward died in 1806, but they are without a specific date or location.  Perhaps there is a reference to an estate or land sale in 1806, but if so, I have not yet found it.

 

Update:  Further research, caused by a question from a distant cousin, prompted me to go back and look at the records.  Edward Fay married Sarah Joslin February 26, 1739-40 in Southborough per the Southborough vital records.  There is no record there of a second marriage.  I apologize to my readers who expect better of me.  

The line of descent is

Edward Fay-Sarah Joslin

David Fay-Marcy Perrin

Euzebia or Luceba Fay-Libbeus Stanard

Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy

Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick

Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook

Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen

Their descendants

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