Holbrook line: Daniel Longbottom 1658-1732

I wrote about Daniel's presumed father, James Longbottom, earlier and described the difficulties I'd had in putting together a brief sketch of him.  Writing a post about Daniel is turning out to be not a lot easier, but we do see him, briefly, in various records of Norwich, Connecticut, and we have his will, so that is more than we know about his father.

Daniel was born, according to some sites, on April 27, 1658.  I have not yet been able to locate a source for that, and there is a possibility that he was born earlier.  His parents are believed to be James and Isabel Hoult Longbottom, and he was possibly born in Rhode Island.  Again, many sites say he was born in Norwich, Ct, but Norwich had not yet been formed at that time, so if he was born in Connecticut it was when the town was part of New London.  

He was probably in Norwich before February 15, 1692, because that is the date of his marriage to Elizabeth Lamb, daughter of John and Ann Lamb, there.  Daniel is noted as being an "inhabitant" (meaning he had permission to live there) in 1698.  He and Elizabeth had at least 9 children together.  Somewhat remarkably, all of the known children were mentioned in his will of 1732, when the youngest would have been about 15 years old.  It seems to have been more common than not to have lost young family members.  Since this family didn't, we can think that they were able to have healthy diets, get enough exercise, and avoid dangerous occupations and hazardous military service.  Perhaps the answer is that they had good genes and a bit of luck.  

The only record we have of Daniel being involved in town affairs is that he was chosen or elected surveyor on 1702.  In 1718 he is listed as being one of 16 farmers in "Ye Crotch of Ye Rivers".  The Thames river goes to the east of the town and something known as the Cove branches off to the left, but I'm not sure whether this is the area known as "Ye Crotch" or not.  

Also in 1718, Daniel and Elizabeth and their six youngest children were baptized by "Mr. Woodward". I haven't seen this record and it is a bit confusing because "Mr. Woodward" left the church in 1716.  It seems that either the date or the pastor could be incorrect.

Daniel died November 18, 1732.  He left a will, as mentioned above, and gave his wife use of half of his dwelling house and barn, and 1/3 of the rest of the estate, for her lifetime.  His inventory seems to show that he was basically a farmer, who also had a "wooling wheel" and spindle, and a "linnen" wheel.  The household was not exactly poor but certainly not well to do, based on the amount of furniture, linens, and household goods reported.  He had a firelock, guns, and possibly other arms, and a Bible and a few other books.  The estate was valued at a little over 902 pounds, of which 750 was the house, orchard, and buildings.  Elizabeth lived another 25 years, until 1757.

Among other questions, I'd like to know what role Daniel may have paid in King Philip's War or Queen Anne's War.  Was he one of those Connecticut men who went to Canada?  If so, did he go as a soldier or as a sailor?  Daniel lived through a lot of uncertain times and I'd sure like to know what part, if any, he played, and what his thoughts were.  I'd like to know how educated he was, and what prompted his baptism in 1718, when he was in his sixties.  But at least we have this much, and can be grateful for this glimpse of our ancestor, a father, husband, farmer, and surveyor.

The line of descent is:

Daniel Longbottom-Elizabeth Lamb

James Longbottom-Elizabeth Jackson

Elizabeth Longbottom-John Eames

Hannah Eames-James Lamphire

Susan Lamphire-Joseph Eddy

Susan Eddy-Hiram Stanard

Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick

Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook

Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen

Their descendants