The family of John Root 1672-1731

 In my last blog post, I completed the line of Root men and their families that is the longest, from John to John to Samuel to Martin to Martin Jr.  Martin Jr.s daughter Ruth married Samuel Falley, and that was the end of the Root name in our family.  But there is one more Root to write about.  

John, then John, and then John again, the brother of Samuel, was ignored while I traced the longer Root line, but he deserves his own post because he also had a family, although a small one.  John was the son of John and Mary Ashley Root, born in 1672 and died in 1731 in Westfield, Massachusetts.  He married Sarah Stebbins, the daughter of Edward and Sarah Graves Stebbins, in 1701 in Westfield.  

They had one child, Sarah, born in 1702, who married Thomas Noble, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Dewey Noble.  Sarah and Thomas's children are Sarah, Thomas, Stephen, Eunice, John, Silas, Elizabeth, Caleb, and Seth.  

John's wife, Sarah, died sometime between the birth of her daughter and 1712, when John married Elizabeth Bissell, the daughter of Samuel and Abigail Holcombe Bissell.  She had first married Samuel Sackett, but was widowed in 1709.  I have seen various death dates for Sarah but have not been able to determine which is correct, so that's still a blank spot in my records.

John and Elizabeth had three or possibly four sons in short succession.  Stephen, an unnamed son, and possibly another unnamed son all died as newborns or infants.  The last son, Moses, born in 1717, did live to adulthood.  He married Sarah Ingersoll, the daughter of Thomas and Sarah Dewey Ingersoll, and died in 1748.  I have found no record of children for Moses and Sarah.  Sarah Dewey Ingersoll was a niece of Elizabeth Dewey Noble, if I have this figured correctly.  

So we have "daughtered out" again with Sarah Root Noble, and I will start a new family line in my next blog post. 

Blog post #1001: The family of Martin Root Jr. 1753-1822

If you don't mind my saying so, this family intrigues me.  Martin is a DAR recognized Revolutionary War soldier, for one thing.  For another, in his later years he moved from Westfield, Massachusetts, to Montgomery, (still in Hampshire County), Massachusetts and then later still to the Buchanan Settlement in Harrison County of what is now West Virginia.  Why did he leave Massachusetts, the home of his ancestors for generations?  So far, all I can deduce is that members of his family as well as other settlers from Montgomery traveled and settled together.  I'd love to find the rest of this story!

Martin was the son of Martin and Eunice Lamb Root, of Westfield, Massachusetts.  He was born in 1753 and died in 1822.  He was married twice, as I just recently learned.  His first wife is Ruth Noble, the daughter of Stephen and Ruth Church Noble.  She died in 1790 and he then married Lois Smith, the daughter of Warham and Martha Belding Smith, in 1793.  I have seen her referred to as Ann Lois, but the marriage records of Westfield list her name as Lois, so that is the name I'm using.

Martin and Ruth had at least 6 children together, all born in Westfield.  What I find fascinating about this family is that three of the six children married siblings, the children of Daniel and Rebekah Bosworth Barrett.  These two families must have been very close friends, probably members of the same church, and the cousin relationships are hard to keep straight.  

Noble Root was their first son.  He married Damaris Barrett, daughter of Daniel and Rebekah Bosworth Barrett.  Their children are Alanson, Belinda, Cynthia, Rebecca, Laurinda, Oriliana, and George.  After Damaris died, Noble then married Harriet Bushnell, the daughter of Ebenezer and Susanna Hubbard Bushnell.  They had three daughters-Harriet, Elizabeth and Susan. Noble died in 1831 in Granville, Licking County, Ohio.

Martin was the next born, in 1781.  He married Mary Barrett, daughter of Daniel and Rebekah Bosworth Barrett, and sister to Damaris above.  Their children are Marcus Aurelius, Linus, Mary, Moses, Martha, Samuel, Lysander and Damaris.  Martin died in 1838 in Granville, Licking County, Ohio.  

Ruth was the next born, in 1784 and she was their first daughter.  She married Samuel Falley, the son of Richard and Margaret Hitchcock Falley.  Their children are Lois, Clarissa, Richard, Charles, Samuel, Francis, Ruth, Edmund, Linus, Eunice and Charlotte.  (So many of these names are used over and over, I certainly hope I haven't mis-identified any!)   Ruth died in 1862 in Granville, Licking County, Ohio.

Charlotte was born in 1786.  She married Theodore Stearns, the son of Jonathan and Elizabeth Edwards Stearns.  Their children are Mary, Charlotte, Daniel or/and possibly David, Henry, and Theodore.  She died in 1863 in Easthampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts.   I usually ignore middle names when I name the children, but this one is so unusual it must be mentioned.  Theodore's middle name was Obookiah.  He was likely named for Henry Obookiah, a native Hawaiian who was educated in Connecticut as a Christian pastoral candidate, but who died of typhus before he could return to Hawaii.  It would certainly be interesting to know how close Charlotte or Theodore were to this man, and the source of their relationship! Theodore is noted as being a deacon, so it's likely that there was a connection through church.

Charles was the next son, born in 1789.  He married Mary Jackson, the daughter of John and Jemima Davison Jackson.  Their children are Jemima, Charles, Elizabeth, William, another William, Carlton, Henry, Charlotte, and Truman.  Charles died in 1847 in Edwards County, Illinois.

Martin and Ruth's last child was Eunice, born in 1790.  (Ruth's death that same year may well have been connected to the childbirth.)  She died June 29, 1822 in West Virginia.  Her husband was Elisha Dow Barrett, son of Daniel and Rebekah Bosworth Barrett.  In the approximate six years of their marriage, they had four children-Lysander, Louisa, Eunice and Louvinia.  

Martin and Lois, his second wife, had at least two children.  

Edmund was born in 1795 and married Eva Reinhart, the daughter of George and Susannah Wiles Reinhart.Their children are George, Susan, Mary Jane, Flora, and a son who died in infancy.  Edmund died in 1848 in Bone Gap, Edwards, Illinois.  

Linus was born in 1797. He married Martha Burr, the daughter of John and Mary (Polly) Copeland Burr.  (If we follow the Burr line back far enough, she was a descendant of John and Mary Warren Burr, who are ancestors on the Holbrook side of the family).  Their children are Lois, Louisa, Martin, John, Mary Jane, Edmund, Linus, David, Charles, David again, Martha, and Richard.  Linus also died in 1848 in Bone Gap, Edwards County, Illinois. 

Martin is credited with 64 grandchildren.  His children settled mostly in Granville, Ohio and Bone Gap, Illinois, although one stayed behind in Massachusetts and one died shortly after arriving in West Virginia.  The family was growing as the country grew, thanks to the efforts of men like Martin, and other Revolutionary War soldiers mentioned in this post without reference to their military service. 

The family of Martin Root 1721-1793

Martin Root, the head of the family we're reviewing today, was born in 1721 in Westfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts, the son of Samuel and Mary Gunn Root.   He died in Westfield in 1793. Presumably he left the town for short trips but other than that, he stayed there his whole life.  One of his contributions to the town was another generation of Roots, several of whom stayed in the town their whole lives.  He married, in 1745, Unis/Eunis/Eunice Lamb, the daughter of Samuel and Martha Stebbins Lamb.  Their children are:

Unis, born in 1746 and died in 1747.  It must have been terribly hard to lose their first child, despite the presence in the town of many family members.

Miriam, born a few months before Unis's death, in 1747.  She married Samuel Falley, the son of Richard and Anna Lamb Falley.  (I have not been able to determine any relationship between Anna Lamb, who was born in Dublin, Ireland, and Eunice Lamb, whose roots go back to Dorchester, England.)  Samuel Falley is also our ancestor, through another line.  Miriam and Samuel Falley's children are Anna, Samuel, Miriam, Theodosia, Rachel, and Rhoda.  Miriam died in 1813 in Lenox, Berkshire, Massachusetts.

Samuel, their first son, born in 1749. He married Tryphena Kellogg, the daughter of Samuel and Merab (Mary) Nash Kellogg, and died in 1817 in Westfield.  Their children are Tryphena, Samuel, Mary, Lucinda, John, Polly, and Samuel.  I have seen Warham also listed as their son but this seems to relate to a Warham born and died in eastern Massachusetts.  I think he likely belongs to another family, but am certainly open to additional information.

Unis, born in 1751 and a bit of a mystery.  She was single when her father wrote his will in 1817, because she was provided for in the will as a single woman.  She died in 1819 so it may be that she was in ill health or physically challenged in some way.  Some sites say she married a Recompence Miller but I can find no documentation for that, nor can I find any information about Mr. Miller.  If she did marry, it was for a very short time.  She died in Westfield.

Martin Jr, born in 1753 is our line and I will write of him in an upcoming post.  He married Ruth Noble, the daughter of Stephen and Ruth Church Noble.  Their children are Noble, Martin, Ruth, Charlotte, Charles, and Eunice. Ruth died in 1790 and Martin then married Lois Smith, the daughter of Warham and Martha Belding Smith, still in Westfield.    They had two children together, Edmund and Linus.    Martin died in 1822 in Buchanan, Harrison County, (West) Virginia.

Jared, born and died in 1756.

Jonathan, born and died in 1757.  This makes three children who died as infants/toddlers within 10 years.  

Theodosia, born in 1759, and died in 1812 in Westfield.  She married Gad Root, her third cousin.  He was the son of Solomon and Mary Church Root.  (Mary was a descendant of John and Sarah Beckley Church, who are also our ancestors.  It's complicated!) Their children are Isabella, Gad, Grace, Sophronia, Asher, "King William", Theodore, and Elizabeth.  

Sarah, born in 1767 and died in 1846 in Westfield.  She married Moses Drake, the son of Moses and Mary Shepard Drake.  Their children are David, Elijah, Moses, Sally, Hiram, Samuel, and Oliver.

Peggy was born in 1765.  She married Matthias Gates, possibly the son of Matthias and Thankful Ackley Gates.  Their children are Richard, Martin, Theodocia, John, Matthias, Roderick, Hannah, Jarvis, Minerva and Peggy.  I am lacking a death date and location for her.  I have seen two additional marriages listed for her but I believe those are for her daughter Peggy, although I am open to additional information as always.  

William, born in 1767 may or may not be their child.  I have been unable to find any information about him so perhaps he died young, or perhaps he doesn't belong to this family.  

If this list is complete and accurate, Martin and Eunice are the grandparents to 46.  And the Roots are beginning to spread out, with Martin Jr moving to what was then western Virginia. 

The family of Samuel Root 1675-1756

Samuel Root, the son of John and Mary Ashley Root, was born in 1675 in Westfield, Massachusetts, and died there in 1756.  He is just one of the reasons (two uncles settled there also) that the family was "rooted" in Westfield for several generations.  He married Mary Gunn in 1702, the daughter of John and Mary Williams Gunn, and the couple had at least 7 children together.  They were a somewhat fortunate couple in that "only" one child died while very young, and a second before she turned 30.

The first child was Jonathan, born in 1704 and died in 1760 in Sheffield, Massachusetts.  He married Dorothy Vosburgh, the daughter of Abraham and Claartje Bressy Vosburgh.  (This marriage is interesting to me because this family was apparently from the Low Countries, and I've not yet figured out how the two families met.)  Their children are Moses, Martin, Abraham, Lydia, Rhoda, Martin, Hannah, Lucy and Stephen.  

Mary was their first daughter, born in 1706 and died in 1788 in Lee, Berkshire County, Massachusetts.  She married John Williams, who is often seen as the son of John and Sarah Weld Williams.  (I think this man may be mis-identified.  The son of John and Sarah was born in 1710 in Roxbury, near Boston, and died there.  There is likely another Williams couple we should be looking for.)  At any rate, Mary and John's children are Warham, John, Desire, Content, Bill, and Hannah.  

Margaret was the next daughter, born in 1710.  She is the one I alluded to in my first paragraph, who died in 1714 at approximately four years of age.  

Abigail was born that same year, in 1714 and died in 1788 in Salisbury, Litchfield, Connecticut.  She married Cornelius Dutcher, son of Roelef and Janettje Bressie Dutcher.  This was another family originally from the Low Countries.  I don't know whether Janettje and Claartje Bressie/Bressie were related, but it seems possible.  Abigail and Cornelius had children named Margaret, Roelof, Abigail, Jane, Cornelius, John, Solomon, Cornelius, William and Revland or Rowland.  

Namesake Samuel was born in 1717 and died in 1743 at Westfield.  He married Sarah Sitton, the daughter of Benjamin and Sarah Kibbe Bush Sitton.  (A note in the Westfield records says her name at death was Sarah Taylor, so she apparently remarried).  I find only two children born to this couple, but they had been married only about four years when Samuel died.  The children are Ruth and Oliver.  

Martin was the next son, born in 1721 and died in 1788 in Westfield.  He married Eunice (Unis) Lamb, the daughter of Samuel and Martha Stebbins Lamb.  Their children are Unis, Miriam, Samuel, Eunice, Martin, Jared, Jonathan, Theodosia, Sarah, Peggy, and William.  I will follow this family in my next blog post.  

The last known child was Margaret, born in 1728 and died in 1756 in Westfield or West Springfield.  She married Henry Rogers Jr., the son of Henry and Sarah Remington Rogers.  The only child I've located for them was named Grace.  

If I had all the time in the world, which I don't, I'd love to explore the Dutcher and Vosburgh families further.  As far as I'm aware, these are the first families not of British origin to marry into the colonial Root family.  They aren't the last, I'm sure.