Holbrook line: John Rockwood 1696-1778

 Here's the thing about John Rockwood.  His grandfather was named John Rockwood.  His uncle was named John Rockwood.  He was named John Rockwood.  His son was named John Rockwood.  His grandson was named John Rockwood.  And, although I haven't proved it yet, I'm reasonably sure he had one or more cousins named John Rockwood.  Do you see a problem here?  It has taken me quite some time to untangle these men and figure out which of the few records I've found actually relate to this John Rockwood.  To add to the fun, this John Rockwood and his son John Rockwood each married women named Deborah Thayer.  Ay-yi-yi!

Unfortunately, most of these men didn't leave much in the way of public records other than their birth, marriage, and death dates, so there is not a lot to write about them.   

John Rockwood, the subject of this brief post, was born August 22, 1696, to Joseph and Mary Hayward Rockwood, in Mendon, Massachusetts.  All four of his grandparents had died in Mendon, and both of his parents were born, lived, and died there, so John at least had roots and extended family, whether or not he had much in the way of material goods.  John had nine siblings, so that was a good start right there, to help fill up the village.  

John married Deborah Thayer, the daughter of Ebenezer and Martha Thompson Thayer, on December 19, 1716 in Mendon.  She, too, had deep Mendon roots, with her grandparents all having died in Mendon and her parents born there.  

Just about two years after his marriage, Joseph, John's father, died.  John received land in his father's will, valued, if I am reading the inventory correctly, at 70 pounds.  "To my beloved son John Rockwood, I give all the land and meadows belonging to me, where he now dwells on both sides the Second Bridge River, with seven acres of my Fifth Division lying upstream from his house, against William Hayward's meadow, bounded as by Town Record, with ten acres of my sixth division to lay out with a two acre and half right in the Town Commons."  John was to provide ten pounds to his sister Mary Wheaton, out of what he had been given.  John also received his father's new coat.  

Presumably John and Deborah lived happily every after, or at least until Deborah died July 24, 1750.  They had at least nine children together and John soon remarried, although all of the children were apparently old enough to be out of the house when she died.  The youngest, Deborah, was 16 but possibly didn't need a mother, or a mother figure, but John must have needed a wife.  He married Elizabeth Wheelock Daniels, a widow, on March 18, 1751 in Milford, Massachusetts, and they may have had a son together.  The towns of Mendon and Milford were just 3 miles apart, so they likely had known each other earlier.  

I have found one reference to John Rockwood as an ensign, at the time of his marriage to Elizabeth.  I haven't located his name in any military records, but perhaps he had served in King George's War, which took place from 1744 to 1748 and was more or less a precursor to the French and Indian War a few years later.  At a minimum, he was an ensign in the town militia.

I wish I could pin down the date, or even the year, that John and Elizabeth moved from Mendon to Warwick, Massachusetts.  This was a small town in Hampshire, now Franklin County, so at the center of the state, and bordering New Hampshire.  What caused John to move? Did he sell his land in Mendon, or lose it to the tax collectors, or was this a step up for him?  I haven't found his name in the town histories, so he seems to have been under the radar there.  Or, possibly, he was living in Warwick with one of his children, since I haven't been able to locate a will.   

John died at Warwick on September 7, 1778, when he was 82 years old.  The Revolutionary War was in progress, and some of his children and grandchildren were involved in that.  This seems to have been a family of patriots, for which we, his descendants, are grateful.

The line of descent is:

John Rockwood-Deborah Thayer

Joseph Rockwood-Alice Thompson

Levi Rockwood-Deborah Lazell

Susannah Rockwood-Nahum Holbrook

Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore

Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown

Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard

Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen

Their descendants