Allen line: John FInch born about 1620

 If it seems to you that I've written of John Finch before, well, I have.  But I've not written of this John Finch, who is second in the line of four generations (at least) of men named John Finch.  We have some information, and many questions, about this John.  Most of the information I have is based on information from Donald Lines Jacobus, and from very detailed information on the website "We Relate".  

We don't know the origins of John, other than that he was the son of John Finch and his first wife, name not known at present.  It's believed that both father and son were born in England, but were in New England by 1632.  They were first at Watertown but moved to Stamford, Connecticut in 1642.  John, the subject of this post, lived in a blended family as his mother had died and his father remarried.  However, his half siblings were considerably younger than he was, so it's not known how much influence he had on his siblings, or they on him.  

This John apparently married twice.  His first wife was Ann, and she must have died before having children, or during childbirth.  His second wife was Hannah Marsh, the daughter of John and Grace (possibly Baldwin) Marsh and the widow of Lancelot Fuller.  They were married November 8, 1652 in New Haven, Connecticut.  Hannah seems to have maintained a tie to New Haven and may have visited there for extended periods, as there is reference to her having visited John Winthrop (the younger, I think) for treatment for her lame child (who may have been from her first marriage).  In 1656 she was of Westchester, but had seen Mr. Winthrop for her lame child and was noted at the time as being pregnant.

John led an interesting life and it is hard to track him.  He was in Westchester, New York, then Oyster Bay, then Huntington, and possibly was back in Connecticut at various times also.  He was both a husbandman and a "mariner".  The mariner occupation is not common in our family but it does occur, and every time it does, I wonder : What was the extent of his interest?  Did he actually sail, and if so, where?  Was he a coastal trader, or did he sail to far off ports? Was his interest in ship building itself? Was he a merchant or a factor, or what?  

John ran into some bad luck of some type about the time that Hannah was in New Haven to consult with Winthrop.  In 1656 and 1657 there are several suits against him, and his property was sold at auction, apparently to pay his debts.  If he had an owner's interest in a boat that was lost, for instance, this could explain his inability to pay his debts.  It was a gamble that men took, and sometimes lost.  There seems to be no record of John after that, until 1661.  It has been suggested that John lived in a cave during that time, but by 1661 he signed a covenant as a resident of Oyster Bay, Long Island.  

A little bit of background, for context:  This area was part of what the Dutch claimed as their land, until England took over in 1664.  So there were tensions between the two groups, as well as concerns from time to time of raids from native Americans who also considered the land theirs.  

John was a resident of Huntington on Long Island by 1666 and it looks like he stayed there the rest of his life.  He was increasingly described as a mariner, not as husbandman, during this time period.  There is another reference to Hannah in 1663 in New Haven, "if not out of the jurisdiction of this court", so it's a little puzzling as to where Hannah lived, and when.

I've not found a list of children that I completely trust, perhaps because John moved so often.  It is likely that they had more than one child, perhaps a Sarah and perhaps a Francis, among others.  

It looks like his last years may not have been happy ones.  He was described as "deprived of some measures of his intellectuals" so that the town constable and overseer took control of his assets.  I've also seen a reference that he was a heavy drinker at the end of his life.  John died at Huntington on June 19th, 1685.  His estate was very small, valued at less than three pounds., but he had sold some land earlier and probably given some to his son John, and the overseer and constable had likely used his funds to obtain care for him.  Still, he was left at the end of his days with not much at all.   

I have list of questions about John that is unending. I'd llike to know whether he was involved in any of the military operations, defense of his home from the natives, or sea conflicts during his lifetime.  I'd love to pinpoint what happened in 1656-1657 that caused him to be so heavily in debt.  I'd love to know more about his occupation as a mariner.  I'd like to know why his son John wasn't responsible for his father's upkeep, or whether he had declined to care for him.  What drove him to drink?  And I'd like to know more about his marriage to Hannah, which may have been not a happy household.  

Whatever the truth about John Finch, we can appreciate that life was hard for many colonists in the 1600s.  Not all of them were fine upstanding citizens.  Just as today, some had challenges they were unable to overcome.  Yet, they, too, are part of the story of America and the story of our family.  

The line of descent is:

John Finch-Hannah Marsh

John Finch-Hester Davis

John Finch-Sarah

Nathaniel Finch-Hannah Scofield

Jesse Finch-Hannah

Hannah Finch-John Bell

Hannah Bell-Thomas Knott

John Wilson Knott-Harriet Starr

Edith Knott-Edward Allen

Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook

Their descendants