Holbrook line: Samuel Wilson 1686-1730

 A man who lived only about 43 years (he died "in his 43rd year") doesn't necessarily leave a lot of records behind him.  I feel fortunate that I've found a few things, but not enough to make me feel that I could sit and talk with him for a little while.  Too much is just unknown.

Samuel was born April 5, 1686 in Dedham, Massachusetts Bay Colony, the son of Ephraim and Rebecca Sumner Wilson.  (Rebecca was a daughter of Samuel and Rebecca Staples Sumner, the couple that had gone to Dorchester County, South Carolina to found a Puritan colony there.  Rebecca stayed behind, probably because Ephraim didn't go south with the Dorchester group.)  So Samuel would not have known his Sumner grandparents except as a very young child, and his Wilson grandparents also died before he could have known them well.

So Ephraim and Rebecca were pretty much on their own when raising their children in Dedham.  Samuel had at least four siblings and there were doubtless other young children in the village.  Samuel would have attended the local church and had religious instruction at home, if the family followed local expectations.  He also would have learned to read and write.  

Samuel married Elizabeth Hawes (also seen as Haws), daughter of Nathaniel and Sarah Newell Hawes, on November 4, 1714.  Some records say the marriage took place in Dover, but Dover didn't become a town until later.  Dover is on the border of Needham, so likely the official place of marriage should be Needham.  We know that Samuel Wilson and his neighbor Thomas Fuller petitioned for a road from the Charles River (where Samuel's land was located) to the "top of the hill by the plains" on January 29, 1720, so it appears that Samuel had moved either at the time of his marriage or shortly after.  When the Needham church organized, he was one of the men who signed the church covenant on March 18, 1719/20.

Samuel served several minor town office positions in Needham.  He was a field driver in 1714 and 1720, a tythingman in 1723, a fence viewer in 1719 and 1723, and a surveyor of the highway in 1721-1726.  These were all jobs that might be considered "town employee" jobs except that there was no pay for doing them.  The tythingman position was a church position, which involved helping to keep discipline in the church, especially among the youth . The one reference to an occupation was that of school teacher.  He was paid 5 pounds for keeping school for the month of February, 1726/27, but I found no further reference to other school sessions.  (The information in this paragraph comes from The History of Needham, Massachusetts 1711-1911 by George Clarke.)  

Samuel Wilson is listed in the Dedham, Massachusetts Town and Tax Records for September 18, 1717.  He was taxed on a small estate, for the town, the school, and the minister.  His values are about average for the town, it seems.  I'm not sure that this is the same Samuel, as we have record of him in Needham in 1714, but he may have lived in Needham and owned property in Dedham.  

Samuel and Elizabeth had at least six children together, but only four survived their childhood.  Samuel's will leaves everything (including 13 1/2 acres of land) to his wife Elizabeth during her widowhood, with the real estate and personal property going to his son Seth when she died or remarried.  The three daughters were to be given money as they came of age or married.  So there Elizabeth was, with four children to raise.  She was doubtless still grieving the death of a son a year earlier, and their first son also died as a toddler.  

Samuel wrote his will in December of 1729 and died February 2, 1730, so he must have known he was ill (or badly injured?).  I haven't yet located an inventory.   Elizabeth died as a widow, December 18, 1739.  There should be guardian papers for some of the children but I'm still looking for those, too.  

I've not found any indication of military service for Samuel, although he would likely have been part of a training band.  We know he could read and write, because he taught school, and we know he was respected, because school teachers had to be such.  And we know he was active in the church, because he was a tythingman.  But he owned just a relatively small plot of land.  Did he have a trade besides that of farmer?  I sure would like to find an inventory, which might give us a clue.

The line of descent is:

Samuel Wilson-Elizabeth Hawes

Rebecca Wilson-Jonathan Wright

Molly Wright-Amariah Holbrook

Nahum Holbrook-Susanna Rockwood

Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore

Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown

Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard

Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen

Their descendants