Holbrook line: Adam Mott 1594-1661

 Our ancestor Adam Mott certainly lived in interesting times and may have observed history "up close and personal".  There is a lot we don't know about him, but we know more than we know about some of our immigrant ancestors, and for that, we can largely thank Robert Charles Anderson, who wrote about Adam in The Great Migration series.  

Adam was born February 10, 1594 in Saffron Weldon, Essex, England, the son of John and Elizabeth (possibly Turner, but there are doubts) Mott.  We know nothing of his upbringing, except that he at some point acquired the skills of a tailor, for that is how he is identified when he came to New England.  He also had books in his inventory so he was at least somewhat literate.  

Adam married Elizabeth Creed (may be Creel, but Anderson makes a good case for Creed) on October 28, 1616 in Saffron Weldon.  There was an infant son buried June 18, 1617, which for those who count on their fingers may have meant it was an "early" birth, or the child may simply have been born prematurely.  The couple went on to have at least four more children.

Elizabeth died sometime in the early 1630s, and Adam Mott then married Sarah Lott in May of 1635, shortly before the family set foot on the Defence to begin their trip to the New World.  They were granted full permission by the authorities to leave, having certificates of good behavior which included regular Church of England attendance.  

The Motts went first to Roxbury, Massachusetts and then on to Hingham for a short period of time before going to Portsmouth, Rhode Island to settle in 1638.  It has been suggested that Adam was a supporter of Anne Hutchinson, who was ejected from Massachusetts for being a woman who had the nerve to hold Bible studies in her home.  The Puritans did not care for those attributes.  I don't see his name on the list of the men who signed the Portsmouth Compact, so either he came a little later, or his move was not based on the principles of religious freedom.  

Adam was a freeman in Roxbury in 1635, and in Portsmouth by 1638, so he was an early settler if not a Hutchinson supporter.  Adam and Sarah had at least three children together, to add to the four children of Adam and Elizabeth, so Adam must have worked hard at his tailoring trade, to support the family.  There was a man in Portsmouth named John Mott, who is stated to be Adam's father, but who was under the care of the town.  Adam provided a cow and 5 bushels of corn for him, but the town seems to have taken care of his other expenses.  This is puzzling to me, because generally the family of an aged man was responsible for his care.  There may be some family dynamics going on that we don't understand.  (For instance, how did John arrive in Portsmouth?  There seem to be no immigration records for him.)

Adam bought and sold various parcels of land in Portsmouth, (signing his name to the deeds) up until his death on August 12, 1661.  His wife Sarah survived him.   His estate was valued at 371 pounds, 6 shillings, and he did leave a will specifying how his assets were to be divided.  

We don't know Adam's church affiliation once he reached Portsmouth, nor do we know what part, if any, he may have had in a militia, or whether he had personal business with any of the indigenous people of the region.  There is a lot we don't know, but we're grateful for this much information.

The line of descent is

Adam Mott-Elizabeth Creed

Elizabeth Mott-Edward Thurston

Sarah Thurston-John Thornton

Benjamin Thornton-Mary Gurney

Sarah Thornton-Stephen Paine

Nathan Paine-Lillis Winsor

Deborah Paine-Enos Eddy

Joseph Eddy-Susan Lamphire

Susan Eddy-Hiram Stanard

Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick

Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook

Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen

Their descendants

Fun fact:  Warren G Harding, Marilyn Monroe, and Lizzie Borden are all descendants of Adam Mott, and thus our distant cousins.  

Holbrook line: Thomas Martin 1637-1701

 I wish I knew more about Thomas Martin, particularly his origin and his parents.  Thomas is thought to have been born in about 1637.  There was a Thomas Martin who arrived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1639, and perhaps he has a young son with him.  Although several trees state that he was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts, I cannot find documentation for that.  Several trees state that his parents were Richard and Judith Upham Martin, but again, I am unable to locate documentation.  At this point, his parentage and origin are still a mystery.  

We do, however, know a little of his story. His name is listed as being assigned to William Kerly's house (or garrison) in 1675, when King Philip's War broke out and the town was worried about being attacked. They were right to be concerned, for the town was attacked at least twice, and most of its structures burned.  Thomas doubtless was on duty during this time, although I didn't locate a specific record for him.  Thomas's family probably evacuated to the east after the first attack, if they had not already gone.

Thomas owned land in 1686 in Ockcocangansett Plantation,  in what later became part of Marlborough, Middlesex County in Massachusetts.  He was a shoemaker by trade, but also did some farming, as is indicated in his will, mentioning barns, halls, dwelling, orchard, meadows and uplands.  There is no indication that he held civic office, but from the first few lines of his will, we know that he was a religious person, and the church in Marlborough was Puritan, which seems to align with his briefly stated religious beliefs.

Thomas's wife was Jane or Johanna, but we know nothing more than that about his marriage.  Some trees say that her last name was Thomas, which is possible but I've not found proof.  Based on the will, there were at least two children born to this couple, Thomas, and Dorothy, and other sources also give the names of Adam and Mary.  He generously left half of his property for his wife's use, when law required just one third. 

Thomas died November 13, 1701 at Marlborough.  We have his one page will, but I've not found records showing the partition of the estate, or the inventory that would have been taken at his death.  The only guess I can make about his status is that his daughter, Dorothy, first married Joseph How or Howe, and when he died (also in 1701; was there an epidemic?) Joseph was relatively well off.  

It's good go know this much about Thomas Martin.  It would be better to know more! 

 The line of descent is 

Thomas Martin-Jane or Johanna

Dorothy Martin-Samuel Morris

Abigail Martin-John Perrin

Benjamin Perrin-Mary

Mary Perrin-David Fay 

Luceba Fay-Libbeus Stanard

Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy

Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick

Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook

Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen

Their descendants

 

Holbrook line: John Whittemore 1714-1778

I love it when history rises up and smacks me in the face!  With John Whittemore, we have a first hand seat to view some real history-some that he was a part of and some he would have observed.  What an exciting life he led!  

John is the third in a line of John Whittemores, and had cousins and uncles with the same name, so it would have been quite difficult for me to pick out which was our John of this generation.  However, there's a long and well researched history of the Whittemore family in America which was published in The Register in the early 1950s, and some of the information I'd found was confirmed by that article.  Also, some was refuted, as it belonged to another John Whittemore.  

John was the son of John and Elizabeth Lloyd Whittemore, and was born in Boston. Massachusetts on May 8, 1714.  His father was a mariner and when he could no longer do that work, became an innkeeper in Boston.  He was successful and had a comfortable estate, of which John inherited 100 pounds and one fourth of the "moveables" (personal property).  His father specifically stated that none of the sons were to inherit the liquors, which were left to his daughter, either because the Whittemore men liked their liquor, or possibly because he wanted to leave his daughter a means of support.  

John married Lydia Clough, the daughter of Benjamin and Faith Hart Clough, on June 3, 1742, six years before his father's death.  They were married by Reverend Joshua Gee, who was the pastor of the Old North Church (the Congregationalist church, not the more famous Anglican one) at Boston.  The couple had three children before Lydia died in 1750.  I'm not sure who took care of the children when John went off to war. 

 He was a matross (a gunner's assistant) with the rank of private and served in the French and Indian war.  One statement I found stated that he was on the "Crown Point expedition", but the dates for that were in 1755 and again in 1758-59, whereas the dates for John's service that I have are for May 1-November 29, 1756, 30 weeks and 3 days, with 18 days allowed for travel time.  Clearly, he went some place and served through a summer and fall campaign.  My best guess, barring further documentation, would be that he was at Fort Edward, because his commander was there.  He may well have been on other patrols in the area, and would have, as did all soldiers of the time, suffered a great deal to keep America out of the hands of the French.  

When John returned to Boston, he married again, sometime after 1757, but the name of his wife is not known.  She was younger than he was, because the couple had one child, Sarah, together.  

After that, John mostly vanishes from the records.  There are hints that the couple may have gone to Charlestown, which was John's family's home, and some trees state that he died there.  Others say he died in Boston.  The date seems to be undetermined, but it was likely in early 1778.  I've not found a will or probate, or even a death record.

I don't think he was living in Charlestown in 1778, because that town was burned to the ground during the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775, and was not rebuilt until after the war.  If he had been in Charlestown, he may have gone to Boston after the British evacuated it in 1776, but Boston had such good records that I can't explain the lack of a death record for him there.

This is one ancestor who actually witnessed the early part of the Revolution.  He could have been in the crowd at the Boston Massacre, although most of those men were younger.  He may have been aware of the Boston Tea Party before it occurred, and would probably have cheered as news came that it had happened.  He would have seen the Redcoats take over Boston and march through his streets, perhaps even barracked near his residence.  Is it too much to think that he may have known some of the more prominent Boston patriots, maybe even Paul Revere?    

I wish I knew more of John-his occupation, his church (was he a member of the Old North Church?), and more of his military experience.  But I'm thrilled to know this much, and to wonder if it was a tiny bit of one of his genes that has always sparked my interest in history, particularly in Boston during the 1770's.  

The line of descent is:

John Whittemore-Lydia Clough

Josiah Whittemore-Lucy Snow

Josiah Whittemore-Betsy Foster

Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook

Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown

Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard

Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen

Their descendants

Harshbarger line: Adam Koch Sr. died 1807.

 Adam Koch is such a challenge.  I am not sure that the lineage I'm suggesting is correct.  It's more of a theory and is based on indications that many of the on line trees are not correct.  For instance, several trees show him as having died in North Carolina in 1817.  That wasn't this Adam Koch, although it's possible that it is a grandson.  My understanding is that there were at least five men of the name in Berks County, Pennsylvania during the Revolutionary War, and I am certain that there is a good deal of confusion about them.

To start with, Adam Koch born 1758 who married Anna Maria Lenig (Lennich or Bennich are other spellings but seem to be the same person), daughter of Thomas and Barbara Lenig, left a will naming sons Adam and Henry, so there are two Adams already.  I believe that Henry, born in 1794, is the Henry Cook who went to Summit County Ohio and then to Whitley County, Indiana.  The Adam born 1758 I think is the Adam born to Adam and Anna Catherine Duckner, although I am not absolutely sure of the mother's identity.  But the Adam who died in 1807 did leave a widow Catherine, so I'm not ready to say this is not his wife.  

Then it gets more confusing, because in 1751 a ship arrived in Philadelphia carrying Adam, Adam Jr, Michael, and Michael Jr., all named Koch.  Adam Jr. would have had to have been at least 16 years old to have been separately listed.  I'm thinking this is the Adam Koch who died in 1807, and there is another, as yet not identified Adam Koch also on this ship.  He may possibly be Adam "Jr's" father, and if so, he would have had to have been born by about 1710.  I have not yet found anything further about him.  

So this post, although I've titled it "Sr", is actually, I think, about the man referred to as "Jr" in the passenger list.  His birthdate is generally given as 1735, which may or may not be accurate.  There were males named Adam Koch born in 1735 in at least two different towns in what is now Germany, but I haven't been able to tie either of those to this Adam Koch.  Perhaps the date of 1735 is a "by" date, based on the idea that Adam would have been at least 16 in 1751. He could be older.  (For reference, his father could be John Adam, or Matthias, or Michael, or someone else entirely.)  

Adam settled in Bern township in Berks County, Pennsylvania.  He was likely a farmer, and was probably there during some of the uprisings of the native Americans, goaded on by the French, during the French and Indian war.  If he was there, he probably was part of the militia that protected families, including his own, during that time, and may or may not have been what was considered active duty.  

Adam was part of the Revolutionary War, of that we are reasonably certain.  He applied for a pension from the state in 1806 and it was granted by the Pennsylvania state legislature , shortly before he died in 1807.   The record shows that he was shot at Brandywine in 1777, taking a "musquet" ball beneath the right eye that came out below his right ear.  The petition states that it also damaged his "intellects".  Yet he was at Fort West Point (also known as Fort Clinton) not long after, where he was injured when a log crushed his chest.  From what I can determine, he must have been on the construction crew that helped build the fort.  

We don't know much about Adam's life after the war.  He is listed on some tax forms, still in Bern Township, and in the 1790 census.  I am not sure that I've located him in the 1800 census, although there is a man named Adam Koch, a mason by trade, in Reading at that time.  I think this is a different Adam Koch, but I'm not sure which one he is.  The Adam I'm writing about here died in Bern Township.  

He did leave a will but it is in German. It was written March 27, 1807 and probated March 1, 1807.  A brief abstract translation gives his wife, Catherine, the house and land for life.  After her death, son John was to have the first chance to purchase the land, if he would give as much as anyone else, and the money was to be equally divided among his other children.  

I will keep looking for additional records to document Adam's life.  I don't have anything in writing to show that Adam and Catherine were the parents of the Adam who married Anna Maria, but I probably have not found the right resources yet.  The dates are presented firmly in some of the trees, and they make sense, so I have great hope that this is correct.  

Our families have a lot of Revolutionary War soldiers, but this, I believe, is the first that has such good documentation, showing where he was and what happened at two different parts of the war.  We can be proud to have this man in our tree!

The line of descent is

Adam Koch-Catherine

Adam Koch-Anna Maria Lenig

Henry Cook-Catherine Whetstone

William Cook-Elizabeth Brown

Barbara Cook-William Withers

William Withers-Della Kemery

Goldie Withers-Grover Harshbarger

Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Beeks

Their descendants

 

Holbrook line: Stephen Gates 1597-1662

 Stephen Gates's origins are pretty much a mystery.  Oh, we know where he was born and when, and we know who his parents were.  But beyond that, there are questions.  I'll start with speculation and then we'll go to known facts, which fortunately, are relatively plentiful for this immigrant ancestor.

Stephen Gates was baptized December 26, 1597 in Coney Weston, Suffolk, England.  This was a very small village near the east coast of England.  His parents were Eustis or Eustace and Rose Wright Gates.  We know Rose's parents, Martin and Elizabeth (maiden name not known) Gates, but we don't know the parents of Eustace.  We do know that Eustace described himself in his will as a laborer.  We also know the will spelled his last name as Jacques.  I've also seen it as Jayuettes. 

 Now, here's the speculation:  Either the English clerk who wrote this out was a notoriously bad speller, or...perhaps Eustace himself, or his father, was from a French speaking country.  This would not be the first family of French descent we've found in Elizabethan England, as the French Huguenots had been allowed into the country following the massacre of St Bartholomew's Day (and following) in 1572.  Many of the Huguenots, even though they may have had a good education in France, could find only menial jobs, such as laborer, in England.  That is speculation, but what we can say with a degree of certainty is that Stephen was not the grandson of Peter and Mary Josselyn Gates, names frequently seen on family tree databases.

Stephen was 28 years old when his father died in 1626, and apparently what he inherited from his father was enough to allow him to marry on May 5, 1628 in Hingham, Suffolk, England to Anne Neave, daughter of Martin and Elizabeth Neave.  (There is some controversy about Anne's name, some thinking it was Veare, but a 2009 article by Edward Harrison in The Register has me pretty well convinced it's Neave. The Coney Weston web site lists her name as Beare, which is another possibility.) 

The couple had at least three children in England, and they came to Massachusetts together as a family in the ship Diligent in 1638.  They lived for a time in Hingham, which was part of Plymouth Colony, possibly finding relatives or neighbors from the "old country" there.  Some of their children were baptized in the Puritan church there, in 1646.  It appears that Stephen was able to pay for his passage and that of his children, since there is no mention of him as an indentured servant. 

By 1654, Stephen and Rose were in Lancaster, Massachusetts, about 43 miles from Hingham, and still pretty much a frontier town.  Stephen was made a freeman there in 1656 and in 1657 was chosen as constable.  There may have been some tensions with neighbors, though, because Stephen asked in court to have John Whitcomb recompense him for the loss of three swine killed by his sons.  Whitcomb responded by saying he was aged and weak and asked for the fine to be withdrawn; I didn't find a resolution to this issue.  One of Stephen's daughters, Mary, was apparently outspoken and was chastised for speaking out in church.  

It may have been time to move on, or Stephen may have been aging, but he died in Cambridge, Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1662.  Roger Thompson in Cambridge Cameos suggests that some may  have thought Stephen was not of sound mind when he died, so perhaps he had gone to live with or near family who could care for him.  (I don't, however, show any of the 7 children of Stephen and Rose as having died in Cambridge, so perhaps they had other reasons for moving.)

We are fortunate to have Stephen's will, but not so fortunate in that it is difficult to read.  He left legacies to his wife as long as she remained a widow, and to his children.  His inventory is 4 columns long but isn't totaled in the papers I found.  He still owned several plots of land in Lancaster, plus various farm animals and even some silver, if I'm reading this correctly.  At any rate, he didn't die a poor man.  

I haven't found mention of Stephen in any skirmishes with the natives but he died well before King Philip's War.  He likely would have been part of the training band (militia) but whether he ever had to go on patrol or not we don't know.  That's just one of the questions remaining about Stephen.  

The line of descent is

Stephen Gates-Ann Neave

Elizabeth Gates-John Lazell

Israel Lazell-Rachel Lincoln

Isaac Lazell-Deborah Marsh

Deborah Lazell-Levi Rockwood

Susanna Rockwood-Nahum Holbrook

Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore

Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown

Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard

Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen

Their descendants

Harshbarger line: Barbara Burkholder Long Buchtel Kemery keeps us guessing

 I was on line again, trying to see if there were any new clues I could find as to the parentage of Barbara's mother, Elizabeth Miller Burkholder.  I regret to say I think I eliminated a few Miller families, which leaves me with thousands yet to research.  But...In reviewing documents attached to Barbara, in public trees, I found something interesting.  Someone had attached a death certificate for Joseph Hively, in which his parents were named as John Hively and Barbara Burkholder.  Say what?

Joseph was reported as being 6 years old in the 1850 census, in the household of Benjamin and Barbara Buchtel.  Benjamin and Barbara had married in March of 1844 and Joseph was born May 1, 1844 in Portage County, Ohio, so there was no reason to suspect anything other than the birth followed the marriage date by only a few weeks.  No big deal; it happens.  But, I noticed that this Joseph was the only one of the children to be listed with a middle initial.  He was Joseph H. "Booken", as the name was mis-spelled.  

So what is the story here?  I have not found a marriage record for a John Hively and Barbara Long, and Barbara's name is given as Barbara Long when she married Benjamin on March 22, 1844.  Joseph's son, John Hively, knew his father's surname to provide it for the death certificate, so it was not a secret within the family.  Yet, Joseph probably traveled with the Buchtels to Whitley County, Indiana in 1858.  His obituary gives the date, but not the family he lived with.  

I'm unable to locate Joseph in the 1860 census.  He was not with the Buchtels and he doesn't seem to have been with any of the Hively families that had also settled in Whitley County.  There are 49 entries with Hively surnames in the 1860 census there, in Columbia City and in Thorncreek Township, but I didn't note a Joseph.

There was a John Hively who married Christena Smith in Summit County, Ohio in 1817, and he had a son John who was born in 1819.  Either of these men could be Joseph's father, although both of those Hively families stayed in Ohio.  The senior John went to Richland County, Ohio, where he died in 1855 and a younger John died in 1908 in Knox County, Ohio.  The younger one left an estate record mentioning all his heirs, and Joseph is not one of them.  The older John seems to have died without a will, and the settlement papers are not available on line.  Was one of these men Joseph's father?  

We will never know what happened.  Was the child conceived in love, or otherwise?  Why did Benjamin marry Barbara, knowing she was carrying another man's child-or did he know? (I have always suspected that Benjamin may have been married earlier, but have not found any proof. He was 20 years older than Barbara.) And why did Joseph know who his true father was, or at least, he knew the name?  His obituary lists surviving half sisters and a half brother, three with the name of Kemery or Buchtel, but there is no mention of Hively siblings.  

Joseph died in Richland Township, Whitley County, on October 27, 1913.  He "followed teaming and farming" and was well known throughout the county.  He played the violin in his earlier days, at various entertainments. He had married Sophia J. Tannehill, and had four children with her. 

There was a Joseph Hively from Indiana in the 54th Regiment during the Civil War, who served a one year enlistment.  The 54th was formed in Indianapolis by men from all over the state, so it's hard to know whether or not this is our Joseph.  The obituary didn't mention Civil War service and his name is not on the monument at the courthouse at Columbia City so probably this isn't this Joseph, but I wanted to mention this as still being open to research.  

Joseph is not a direct ancestor.  He's the son and half-brother of direct ancestors, though, and that death certificate is our clue that his life was not what we thought.  Neither is Barbara's!  

 

Holbrook line: Joseph Rockwood 1671-1718

 Mendon, Massachusetts was the home of many of our early Holbrook and Holbrook related ancestors.  Joseph Rockwood is one of those who was born and who died there.  The small village was closely connected by blood, and if Joseph wasn't already connected to a settler there, his descendants soon would be.  

Joseph was born May 27, 1671 to John and Joanna Ford Rockwood (often seen as Rockett or Rocket in this generation).  Some of his great grandparents had been immigrants to Massachusetts, so Joseph already had roots here when he was born.  Even so, Mendon was a frontier town and as such, was one of the first towns to suffer when King Philip's War broke out in 1675. Several residents were killed and the mill was burned.  What was left of the town was burned by natives, and those families that were still in Mendon mostly moved to Medfield or to Braintree.  Joseph's parents chose Medfield, about 15 miles northeast of Mendon, and roughly halfway to Braintree.  Unfortunately, the town of Medfield was also burned during the war and it's possible that the family went to Braintree, or elsewhere, for a time.

By 1678, the town was starting to rebuild and it seems that the Rockwood family returned about this time, so most of Joseph's childhood memories would have been of the town as it was newly rebuilt, although it's also likely that he had traumatic memories of his earliest childhood.  

Joseph married at a relatively young age.  He was about 18 years old when he married Mary Hayward, daughter of Samuel and Mehitable Thompson Hayward.  She was also just 18, if the couple married in 1689 as Torrey's Supplement indicates.  The Haywards were also Mendon residents so the two had grown up knowing each other.  I don't know if this statement applies in this particular case, but it's been said that those men who married young came from relatively well to do families, as they didn't have to work so hard to establish themselves first.  

Joseph and Mary had at least ten children together, starting in 1690 and ending in 1711.  Mary was kept busy with her family and doing all the chores that women of those days were responsible for.  Joseph was busy raising crops and doing whatever else he might have done to support his family.  He died before his father so didn't inherit anything from that estate, although of course John may have helped him with a land purchase or gift of land when Joseph married, or early in the marriage.

There is not a lot to be gleaned about Joseph's life.  It is quite possible that he served in the military, on one or more of the military expeditions against the French and Indians that were part of the ongoing wars of that time period.  He may, for example, have gone to Fort Royal or other locations in what became Nova Scotia.  As of this date, I have no definitive information about that.  

Joseph and his family regularly attended church, because his name is on a petition to have his "rate" (tax) assigned to a church that was nearer to him than the church in Mendon.  This petition was denied, until eventually, years after Joseph's death, it was agreed to.  

We are fortunate to have Joseph's will and inventory, but it leaves me wondering.  Is there a page missing from the will?  There is none of the usual language about being of sound mind, leaving one's soul to God, and so on.  Nor is there a mention of his wife, Mary, who according to what I think I know, outlived him by four years.  

All of the children are given either land (the boys) or money, generally 8 to 10 pounds, to the girls.  Most of the value is in the land, and the total is about 545 pounds.  One son had been given "working tools", and that carries a value of twelve pounds so it may be that Joseph had a trade of some sort.  His livestock is all lumped together in one lot, so it's hard to know whether this was stock raised purely for his family's use, or whether he also would have had an income from it.  He did have some books, and a gun and two powder horns. 

Joseph died at the age of 48, on November 18, 1718.  We don't know the cause of death.  Mary still had young children to raise, but it appears that she died in 1722.  I am left wondering what happened to the children.

Fun fact: Joseph and Mary are ancestors of William Howard Taft, President of the United States.  Taft is therefore our cousin!

The line of descent is:

Joseph Rockwood-Mary Hayward

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

Holbrook line: Robert Cutler about 1605-1665

 Full confession:  I am not sure of the origins of Robert Cutler.  There are countless trees that say he was born November 17, 1605 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England.  However, Roger Thompson in his book From Deference to Defiance says that he was from Stepney, which is now a part of London.  The two locations are about 78 miles apart.  It's possible that the family had become mobile and moved during Robert's early years, but at this point I would be open to other suggestions as to his origin.  

If he was born in Ipswich, then his parents were Thomas and Anne Doundy Cutler.  He had two wives.  The first was Anne Mayhiew or Mayhew, whom he married in 1623.  The second was Rebecca, whom he married in England, with an uncertain date of 1626 or 1629.  At any rate, he was married for the second time when he arrived in Massachusetts.  

The date of his immigration is variously given as 1635, 1636, or 1638.  Robert Charles Anderson's The Great Migration Directory gives him a date of 1636, and I would certainly not argue with that.  Robert was different from some of our other ancestors.  He seems to have arrived here with a trade (blacksmith) and at least some money.  He likely came with a dream of both economic advantage and freedom to worship as a Puritan, and hoped to raise a God-fearing family here.  

Robert and Rebecca are known to have had at least three children, but there may well be others.  Rebecca lived a long life and three children would have been a very small family for the time.  Many families suffered the loss of several children as infants, who don't always show up in church records.

By 1638, the family was established in Charlestown, although they may have first been in Watertown.  Robert was able to purchase a home and houselot in 1638, and from the first he seems to have been a respected part of the community. He was admitted to the church on the 6th day of the 9th month in 1637, and Rebecca was admitted a few months later.  This made him qualified as a freeman, and he was admitted as such on March 6, 1636/37.  (So it's possible he owned land earlier than the 1638 house purchase.)  

Robert was selected constable in 1645, a selectman in 1653, and in 1658 received from the town 56 acres in woods and 9 1/2 acres in the commons. The taxes he paid that year are among the highest on the listing. In 1659 he was ordained a deacon in the (congregational) church.  He served on various juries and signed petitions asking that first John Clough, and later Walter Edmonds, be licensed to keep a tavern (Clough) and to serve drinks (Edmonds).  

While he was part of the town's civil government, he was also busy building a business.  Somehow, either as a new occupation or in addition to his blacksmithing business, he became what Thompson called a retailer.  From the inventory taken at his death, he seems to have had a lot of textiles, ribbons, and notions on hand.  I am not sure whether this was the extent of his retailing, or whether he also sold other goods.  

Robert died March 7, 1665 in Charlestown.  He left a will and an inventory.  After debts were paid, the estate was valued at a little over 602 pounds, which went to his wife Rebecca, and to son John and daughters Rebecca and Hannah.  The inventory covers three pages, and although much of it is merchandise, we do know he had books, and more household furnishings than many of our other ancestors had in this time period. ( The will and inventory are difficult for me to read, but if you're interested, you can find them on Ancestry.com.  You'll likely have better luck than I did!)

Deacon Robert is an example to our family of courage in leaving his home and crossing the ocean, of service to his community, of obedience to God in his religious life, and of hard work to support his family.  I've enjoyed getting to know this much about him, and wish I could learn more!

The line of descent is

Robert Cutler-Rebecca

Hannah Cutler-Matthew Griffin

Hannah Griffin-Edward Lloyd

Elizabeth Lloyd-John Whittemore

John Whittemore-Lydia Clough

Josiah Whittemore-Lucy Snow

Josiah Whittemore-Betsy Foster

Mary Elizabeth Foster-Joseph Holbrook

Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown

Loren Holbrook-Etta Stannard

Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen

Their descendants

Holbrook line: Abraham Foster 1659-1741

 Too many Abraham Fosters, I say, in the same time period and place.  I hope I've got them straightened out now; this at least seems to make sense.  Sometimes that's a dangerous thought, because people don't always make sense.

Abraham Foster was born October 16, 1659 in Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts.  His parents were Abraham and Lydia Burbank Foster, and he was one of at least nine children.  Abraham would have attended the local church until much later in his life, and he probably learned to read and write (there are books noted in his inventory).  

He was not yet sixteen when King Philip's War broke out, and it's not likely that he played a significant part in that, based on his age and location.  He would, however, have heard stories of men who did serve in that war, and possibly of friends or relatives who were in harm's way.  Even though there were no newspapers at that time, news did travel from town to town with merchants, tradesmen, and others.  Young Abraham may have been quietly hoping he would someday get a chance to go to war.  

Before that happened (if it did), Abraham married Mary Robinson, daughter of Robert and Mary Silver Robinson, on November 15, 1693 in Newbury, Massachusetts.  The two towns are about 14 miles apart, and there may have been reason for the two young people to have met.  As far as we know, the couple lived in Ipswich, but likely close to the town of Topsfield, because in 1714 and again in 1718 Abraham, along with some of his neighbors, signed petitions asking that their church "rate" (tax) be paid to Topsfield since it was much closer for them to attend church there, it being only about three miles away from where most of them were living.

Topsfield is interesting because three women from Topsfield were executed in the 1692 Salem witch trials, including one who lived on the border of Topsfield and Ipswich.  So once again, the stories surely reached Abraham and Mary, and they may have learned to keep silence about such a touchy subject.  Again, perhaps not...perhaps Abraham was in the crowd that saw the hangings.  We hope not, but we just don't know.  

Mary and Abraham seem to have had a small family, just three sons who were mentioned in the estate papers.  If there were others, I didn't note them in looking at the town records for Ipswich.  This was a small family for the time, and there may be an explanation but I don't know what it was.  Since the expectations were for families to have several, if not many, children, the couple may have been embarrassed, but most of the blame would have gone to Mary, according to society's thinking at the time.

Abraham was wounded in the service of his country, and awarded 8 pounds "smart money", which may have been a one time pension payment or something of the sort.  I've been unable to determine when he served and where he was wounded, but there is an Abraham Foster from Essex County who served in the 1710 Port Royal expedition.  There were other Abraham Fosters from Essex County, but it appears to me that the Abraham Foster I've found in Andover would have been too young, and Abraham's son Abraham was also too young.  So the Port Royal expedition, which finally took the fort there from the French and their indigenous allies, is a definite possibility.  (As a result of this action, Port Royal became Port Annapolis, and Acadia became Nova Scotia.) 

We don't know Abraham's occupation, but it was not particularly wealth inducing.  When he died on May 22, 1741 without a will, his son Daniel became the administrator, and the inventory was quite modest.  As mentioned earlier, it did include some books, and farm animals.  It also included a "manufactory five shilling bill", money seals and weights, and "a lot of hoops for cart wheels", which may or not not be a clue as to his occupation.  The total was valued at just over 37 pounds, and expenses and debts were deducted.  The amount of money that Mary and each of the three sons received would not have been enough to keep the wolf away from the door.  I hope one of the sons took Mary in, if she needed a place to live.  I haven't yet located a death date for her.

Abraham (and Mary) lived through some unsettled and exciting times in our country's early history.  King Philip's War, the Salem witch trials, King William and Queen Anne's wars were the highlights, and I'd love to hear them talk about those events.  

The line of descent is:

Abraham Foster-Mary Robinson  

Nathan Foster-Hannah Standish

Nathan Foster-Elizabeth Lansford

Jude Foster-Lydia M

Betsy Foster-Josiah Whittemore

Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook

Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown

Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard

Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen

Their descendants