Holbrook line: William Southwell died 1723

William Southwell's parents and place of birth are unknown.  James Savage, in his "Genealogical Dictionary of the Early Settlers of New England" commented that William may be one of the few early settlers to have arrived in the colony after 1670.  If so, he probably didn't come as an indentured servant, if the date of birth of June 4, 1668 is correct.  (I have doubts about that date because his wife is listed as being born on the same day.)  My reasoning for this is that he married on February 24, 1686, when he would have been not quite 18.  More on that later.  His birth date may be off, because I've also seen it listed as early as 1659 (but the 1659 date seems to belong to another William Southwell, one who is easier to trace than our guy is).

A possible place to look for William might be Southwell, Nottinghamshire, England.  It is about 14 miles northeast of Nottingham, itself, and I will certainly have to learn more about English records before I try to research there.  So what brought William to Northampton, Massachusetts Bay Colony, where he married Sarah Stebbins, daughter of John and Abigail Bartlett Stebbins, on February 24, 1686?  Was he an indentured servant who had earned his freedom by then?  Was he a member of another family (perhaps on his mother's side) in Northampton, and so that was a natural place for him to go?  Northampton wouldn't have just allowed him to move in, as a single man, unless someone took responsibility for him.  Young single men were supervised very carefully in those days.

If William really was just seventeen, Sarah was only just eighteen when they married.  This would have been a very young couple indeed, and they probably lived with one or another of their family, perhaps with widow Abigail Stebbins, for a few years while William was working to establish his own farm and homestead.  

William and Sarah had at least 8 children together.  Their first son, Enoch, and their last son, John, died during the first year of their life.  John apparently died the same day he was born.  What a blow this must have been for William and Sarah.  They also lost a girl at the age of four, so they knew much sorrow during the years of their marriage.  .  

The only "nugget" of information I found for him was that he was a member of the militia under Capt. Joseph Hawby, and received pay on February 2, 1709.  I haven't been able to determine whether he may have gone on one of the expeditions to Maine or Canada, or whether he fought French and Indians closer to home.  Deerfield, site of previous raids and attacks, was not far from Northampton so he may have been stationed to protect that settlement.  I would love to find more information about this.  

William apparently didn't remarry after the death of Abigail.  The next time I found a reference to him, it was to his death on March 19, 1723.  He was kind enough to leave a will which is on American Ancestors.  In it, he gives his wife one half of his estate while widowed, to go to one third if she remarries, with certain items hers to keep outside of the division mentioned.  Ebenezer got a good portion of his land, including his house and homestead, and half of the other land (several parcels) that William owned.  Enoch also received land, although a lesser amount, and I didn't see mention of a house in his share.  The three daughters each got money, with whatever they owed their father to be deducted from the amount he gave them.  He kept an account book that would show the current debts of the daughters.  (Note, that means he had some training in accounting, enough to keep his own books.)  Unfortunately, I didn't find an inventory so we don't have any idea as to books, or arms, or tools that might give us an idea of a second vocation.  

Sarah married John Hanchett, Sr. (also an ancestor) on July 3, 1733 in Suffield, Connecticut and died June 2, 1754 in Springfield, Massachusetts.  

This is the little I know of William Southwell.  If someone reading this knows more, I would love to hear from you!

THe line of descent is

William Southwell-Sarah Stebbins

Ebenezer Southwell-Elizabeth Judd

Eunice Southwell-Medad Pomeroy

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