The family of John Rockwood 1641-1725

 The family of John Rockwood is yet another family that leaves me with questions, doubts, and frustration.  But on the theory that my genealogy cup is half full, I will do my best to write about this family and explain which questions still need definitive answers.  For instance, John is the son of Richard Rockwood or Rockett and Agnes Anna Lovell, except that not everyone accepts Agnes as John's mother.  I think the dates work and there is a marriage record for the couple, so I'm going with it.  John was born in Braintree, moved to Mendon, and died in either Mendon or Medfield, Massachusetts Bay Colony.  Many trees will say he died in 1680 but the will wasn't probated until 1725 so I think it more likely that he lived until close to 1725.  Many of the children mentioned in the will weren't married in 1680; some were still very young then. 

John married Joanna Ford, thought to be the daughter of William and Hannah Eames Ford, although I've not found proof of her parents.  Together, John and Joanna (Johannah) had at least nine children, maybe and perhaps.  

Their first born son, John, was born in 1663 and died in 1676, killed during an attack on Mendon during King Philip's War, per James Savage's Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England.  He would have been about 12 years old at the time.  Records show that his parents never really recovered, financially, from losing everything they owned and their precious son or sons (see below) during the attack.

Priscilla was born in 1664 and married Robert Corbett, son of John and Anne Mainwaring Corbett.  She died about 1691, after giving birth to John and Joseph.  

Richard was born in 1665 and it's possible that he was also killed in the attack on Mendon.  His death date is given as July 14, 1675, which is also the date of the first attack on Mendon.  It appears that John may have been killed in the second attack, when the entire town was burned to the ground.  I don't know the source of the death date for Richard so it is possible that only one son was killed.  I am still trying to verify that.  

Next may have come Ann or Anna, in 1667, who may have married John Darling, the son of Dennis and Hannah Darling, as his second wife.  I say may have, because some information I've found attributed to Ann actually belongs to Joanna.  John and Ann had one daughter, Anna, before Ann died in 1690.  

Joanna was born in 1667 and died in 1710.  She is not the same as Ann, above, because she married Nicholas Cook , the son of Walter and possibly Catherine Brenton Cook.  (Walter and Catherine are our ancestors in another line.)  Their children are Josiah, Nicholas, Johanna, Mary, Ann, Seth, Daniel, David, Abigail, and Peter.

Joseph was born next, in 1671and died in 1718.  (There was a four year gap here...Are we missing a child, or was there an unsuccessful pregnancy?)  He married Mary Hayward, the daughter of John and Elizabeth Hayward.  (We have other Hayward's in our lines, but I have not yet found John and Elizabeth's connection, if any.) Joseph and Mary had a large family including Mary, Joanna, Joseph, John, Margaret or Margery, Samuel, Josiah, Trial, Richard, Susanna and Benjamin.  I will write more of this family in my next blog post.

Mercy was born in 1672 and died before 1700.  She married Isaac Thayer, the son of Ferdinando and Hulday Hayward Thayer.  Yes, Ferdinando and Huldah are our ancestors in another line.  Their children are Mercy, Isaac, Ebenezer, and Comfort.

There is another five year gap, and then Trial was born in 1677.  She died about 1704, having married Jonathan Hayward, the son of William and Sarah Butterworth Hayward.  It's possible that this is another Hayward connection, but I have not confirmed it.  Trial had four children before she died-Sarah, William, Jonathan, and David.

Finally, there is Deliverance, born in 1678 and died the same year.  The names of Trial and Deliverance may indicate the family's recent troubles during and following King Philip's War.  

Although John and Joanna faced many losses and ongoing hardships, they contributed children to the colony, and their story, and that of their children, should not be forgotten.