Allen line: John Chester 1692-1771

 We know a little of the life of John Chester.  Or maybe I should know that we have some facts about him.  How much can we really know of the lives of those who lived so many years before our time, in a different culture, speaking "English" in an accent and idiom we probably couldn't understand well today, and with an entirely different world view from what we in the 21st century have.  

We can maybe understand a little of his surroundings, if we use our imagination and transpose a current scene from perhaps a state park to that location, and get an idea of the view he would have had when he stopped outside his front door and looked around.  Probably the view of the nearby Thames River is the same, if you ignore the 300 plus years of "progress".  We know he would have been standing on or in the vicinity of Fort Griswold, which is where Thomas Starr was wounded and many of our cousins were killed during the Revolutionary War.  John, however, died before that conflict, and as a farmer, his life would have centered on his home and his land, and not so much on the river.  

John was born in New London, Connecticut about 1692 (he was baptized May 29, 1692) to Samuel and Hannah Chester.  His mother's name is believed by many to have been Talcott, but others say she was a different Hannah.  He grew up with several siblings, some of whom were probably half siblings as it appears that his father was married twice, and John was a child of the second wife.  When his father died in 1708, John was named in the will and he and his two brothers inherited the homestead and sixty acres of land from him.  His father's will was recorded in New London but it appears under Groton, also, in the records.  

John is referred to as "Captain", based on his election in the first company of militia in October 1738.  I would like to learn how long he had been a member of the militia (since age 16?) and whether he served in any military conflict, but so far I haven't located that information.l  He also was a deputy for Groton to the General Assembly in 1736, serving just one term.   

John married Mary Starr, daughter of Thomas and Mary Morgan Starr, on November 1, 1716 in Groton.  He was about 24 years old at the time, and she was about four years younger.  It was probably considered a good match for each, as both families had some status in the community.  The couple had at least eight children, and perhaps another who died in infancy.  He would have attended the Congregational Church there, which was founded in 1702.

John lived his life as part of his community, but one wonders whether he made any trips on voyages with or on behalf of his father.  Was he satisfied to be a farmer, or did he have the sea in his blood also?

John wrote his will February 17, 1770 and it was proved June 8, 1771.  We have his inventory which shows 149 acres of land, a house, typical household goods and farm animals and implements, and what appears to be, comparatively speaking, a good supply of bed clothes and table linens.   I did not see any guns or ammunition.  Mary lived until 1774, having enjoyed the use of what she needed until her death.  In his will, John mentioned a grandson by the name of Daniel Williams.  He would have been the son of his daughter Katherine Chester, so there is an untold story there.  Katherine is not known to have married.  

John Chester was a solid man, one who was respected enough to lead men and to serve them.  He's another in our line of ancestors who have told us only parts of their life story, but we know that they are the reason America exists.

The line of descent is:

John Chester-Mary Starr

Thomas Chester-Sarah Eldridge

Bathsheba Chester-Jonathan Havens

Betsy Havens-John Starr

John Havens Starr-Clarissa Falley

Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott

Edith Knott-Edward Allen

Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook

Their descendants