Edmund Goodenow, Immigrant 1611-1688

I love to find our immigrant ancestors (this one is in the Holbrook line) and I love it even more when I can actually trace them back to a specific town or county in the Old World.  With this ancestor, my glass is half full.  Opinions are mixed as to when and where he was born, and even as to whom his parents are.  Clearly there was more than one Edmund Goodenow born in England in 1610 and 1611. Savage's Genealogical Dictionary of New England states that he was a husbandman from Wiltshire, so we'll go with that information for now.

We know he came to America in 1638 with his wife, Ann (maiden name not certain, because, of course...) and two sons, John and Thomas, as well as a servant, Richard Sanger.  He and his family settled in Sudbury, Middlesex, Massachusetts, where he was made a freeman in 1640.  This indicates he was a member of the church, and he owned property, which was a good start for a young man who had just passed his thirtieth birthday. 

Edmund and Ann's family continued to grow in Sudbury, as did his influence.  As many as five more children were added to the family-Hannah, Mary, Sarah, Joseph, and Edmund.  

Edmund served in many elected and appointed positions within the town of Sudbury, and was Sudbury's deputy to the General Court of Massachusetts several times.  His name is found on various petitions, including one asking for relief from paying taxes that is undated but probably dates to sometime after King Philip's War.

Yes, Edmund was involved in that war.  He had been chosen ensign of the local militia in 1645, lieutenant in 1651, and by 1674 was Captain of the Foot Company.  I have found references to the "Goodenow Garrison" of Captain Goodenow, which was part of the area attacked by what is believed to be 500 indigenous men in April of 1676.  They burned much of Sudbury and there were at least some colonists lives lost during the battle.  Two groups of soldiers sent to bolster the settlers were massacred.  Edmund's son Joseph died at the end of May in 1676, aged 31, but I don't know whether it was as a result of the battle or from some other cause.  

Edmund continued his life, likely helping his neighbors, those who had not fled the town when the natives burned so much of it, with much of his family surrounding him and still serving the town, until he died in April of 1688.  I'd like to know more about those last years of his life, but I'm glad to know this much.  

The line of descent is

Edmund Goodenow-Ann

John Goodenow-Mary Axtell

Edmund Goodenow-Rebecca Graves

David Goodenow-Mary Bent

Lydia Goodenow-Jude Foster

Betsy Foster-Josiah Whittemore

Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook

Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Myers

Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard

Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen

Their descendants 

Matthew Rice 1629-1717

Believe it or not, we descend from at least four of the eleven children of Edmund and Thomasine Frost Rice.  They are Mary, who married Thomas Axtell; Henry, who married Elizabeth Moore; Lydia, who married Hugh Drury; and Matthew, who married Martha Lamson.  This may or may not be a record for a tangled tree, but it sure makes life interesting to a family historian.

Matthew was born in 1629 in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England, the third child and first son of his parents, who had 11 children.  He was just a young boy when he came to Massachusetts with his parents, and the family settled in Sudbury, which is about 20 miles west of Boston.  He grew to manhood there, and in 1654 married Martha Lamson, the daughter of Barnabas and Mary Liggett Lamson.  

I wish I knew more about Matthew.  He appears to have not been a town or church leader, but I found only one possible negative item about him.  In 1670, there was some sort of writ against him by "Mr. Danforth".   Also he was "warned" for "admitting Thomas Hedley, his wife and child to some part of his land".  From what I can gather, this meant that he had sold or rented land to the Hedleys without the permission of the town, and he would therefore be responsible for them if they could not support themselves.  I don't know if this is one and the same event as the 1670 writ, or whether these are two separate events.  

I didn't find Matthew's name in any of the muster rolls for King Philip's War, although I did find several other Rice family members.  Sudbury was attacked and burned during that war, so it's more than likely that Matthew would have been involved as a militia member even though he may not have gone out from the town to fight.  He wasn't 50 years old yet during the war so he would not have been excused from duty unless he had some physical handicap.  

By 1688, he was one of several men who kept guns and ammunition at their home in case there was need for a military action.  Some of the native tribes were still conducting raids.  We don't know when the petition was written and sent to the General Court, but a number of persons signed a petition asking for relief due to losses the townspeople had suffered.  This was perhaps a response to the burning of the town in King Philip's War, or to later incursions, or it may be related to expeditions during the 1690s to Port Royal and later to Quebec.  At any rate, Matthew and others were finding it hard to return to a normal way of life.

Matthew's land was actually on the outskirts of Sudbury, bordering on Framingham, which was about 20 miles south of Sudbury.  We know this because in 1696 he and others agreed to pay rates (taxes) to Sudbury if they in turn would care for the poor of the area, and if the settlers were relieved of the obligation to pay for roads in the town itself.   

Matthew and Martha had eight children, 7 girls and one son, Isaac. Isaac was appointed executor of his father's estate, and was responsible for bequests to four living daughters, all married, and four children of a deceased daughter, Sarah Loker.  The inventory of his estate shows a value of a little over 112 pounds, not including 290 acres of land which was to be divided equally among the six heirs-Isaac, four daughters, and the four granddaughters to have one share.  Wife Martha was to be allowed to live in one half of the house, with Isaac responsible for keeping her "decently".  

We have tantalizing glimpses of Matthew, and reasonable speculation as to some of the events that touched Sudbury, but of course we have many more questions.  Regardless, we know that he was part of the early growth of Massachusetts, and part of our American heritage.  

The line of descent is

Matthew Rice-Martha Lamson

Martha Rice-John Bent

David Bent-John Drury

Mary Bent-David Goodenow

Lydia Goodenow-Jude Foster

Betsy Foster-Josiah Whittemore

Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook

Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown

Loren Holbrook-Etta Stannard

Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen

Their descendants 

 

Holbrook line: John Drury 1646-1678

 Sometimes writing about the earliest ancestors in our lines is easier than writing about one just a few generations back.  John Drury is one ancestor who left enough records that we can get some glimpses of his life, even though of course there is always more that we would like to know.

John was born March 2, 1646 (hey! I'm writing this on March 2, 2026-a mere 380 years later! Happy birthday, ancestral grandfather!) in Sudbury, Massachusetts to Hugh and Lydia Rice Drury.  Hugh was our immigrant grandfather, and yes, Lydia Rice is the daughter of Edmund and Thomasine Frost Rice, who are our ancestors in another line.  He seems to have spent the early years of his life in Sudbury, but by 1667 he was in York, Maine, where he married Mary Weare, the daughter of Peter and Ruth Gooch Weare.  

I haven't been able to determine whether he actually lived in York, or whether he may have possibly met her when he was building homes in York (he was a house carpenter by trade), or whether they may have met through relatives.  York and the Boston area are only about 65 miles and travel would likely have been by boat, along the coast.  At any rate, the marriage took place in Sudbury and that seems to be where the couple spent the early years of their marriage.  However, they seem to be in Boston in 1673, when John was made a freeman, meaning he had property, was a member of the church, and could vote.  His membership was in the Old South Church that became famous during the Revolutionary War.  

John was a lieutenant in King Philip's War, serving under Captain Samuel Mosely at Mt. Hope in 1675 and also under Captains Davenport and then Ting in the Narraganset expedition of  1675-1676.  He survived the war, apparently without injury, but died in Boston in 1673, at the age of 32, of smallpox.

He left a widow with three very young children..  Thomas was born in 1668, then Elizabeth, Lydia,n 1670, Mary, Daniel, Hugh, Mercy, and another Elizabeth.  Sadly, it appear that only Thomas, Lydia, and Mary, and their mother Mary, survived that 1678 smallpox epidemic.  This is another case of "how did they survive?" Mary died in 1716 in Boston.  She apparently had never remarried.  

While we need to honor John for his service to his country and his devotion to his family, let's not forget Mary, who was left to carry on.  I would love to know the rest of her story! 

The line of descent is:

John Drury-Mary Weare

Thomas Drury-Rachel Rice

Mary Drury-David Bent

Mary Bent-David Goodenow

Lydia Goodenow-Jude Foster

Betsy Foster-Josiah Whittemore

Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Rockwood Holbrook

Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown

Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard

Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen

Their descendants