"Great Migration 1634-1635" by Robert Charles Anderson tells us almost everything we'd like to know about Abraham, except who his parents are, where he came from, the name of his wife, and whether or not he was in the military. On the military issue, I'm guessing probably not, as he was 50 years old when he arrived in Roxbury with his family, but I could be wrong about that. If he served, it would not have been for long, due to his age, but he probably was at least required to bear arms for a time.
Speculation (not by Anderson) is that he came from somewhere in Essex, but that is just a guess. We know that Abraham Newell was a tailor, and we know he arrived in Roxbury on the Frances of Ipswich, which sailed about April 30, 1634. He was admitted to the Roxbury church, where Rev. John Eliot taught, later that year as member 106, and was admitted as a freeman on March 4, 1634/5. His wife was admitted to the church in 1636 as member 154. It would be interesting to better understand the culture of Roxbury, as to why Abraham and his wife didn't join at the same time.
Abraham's wife is listed either as unknown or as Francis Foote, daughter of Robert and Joane Brooke Foote. The smoking gun evidence, as in documents, is so far lacking, but the arguments for this relationship are at least reasonable. Abraham may have been more than "just" a tailor, or else he had a head for business, even though he seems to have been illiterate (he always signed his name with a mark). He owned at least 10 pieces of property at one time. In the first inventory of land I found, taken sometime between 1636 and 1640, he already owned 22 acres. One wonders how Abraham supported his family and acquired so many land
holdings, but perhaps we are limiting him by calling him a tailor.
Perhaps he actually ran a shop and had people working under him, as
"table monkeys" cutters, and finishers.
Abraham and possibly Francis had at least seven children together, including Jacob who was born on the voyage and Rebecca who was born at Roxbury. The family may have had one or more servants, because at one point his barn burned down and the blaze was said to have been started by "his girle". The house itself burned sometime prior to 1666, and his son Abraham built another house on the site.
His will and inventory give no hint of his occupation but by the time he died, shortly before June 21, 1672, he was about 91 years old. He may have disposed of his business, if such it was, by then. There were no weapons listed in his inventory, either, so perhaps he had passed whatever he had on to one of his sons by then. At his death, his estate was valued at just 23 pounds, 4 shillings, which did not include real estate. That had mostly already been given to his sons and son in law. "Old Mother Newell" lived until 1683 when she was "neere one hundred years old".
Aside from descriptions of the land he owned, this is pretty much what is known about Abraham Newell. The fact that he was so soon accepted into church membership and became a freeman so early signifies to me that he was known by other people in Roxbury, whether from his hometown or from shipboard friendships, or from Puritan church relationships. More than that is, again, speculation. At any rate, we can be proud of this tailor who came to America, got hit with some hard knocks here, and yet, survived to a good old age.
The line of descent is
Abraham Newell-Francis possibly Foote
Isaac Newell-Elizabeth Curtis
Sarah Newell-Nathaniel Hawes
Elizabeth Hawes-Samuel Wilson
Rebecca Wilson-Jonathan Wright
Molly Wright-Amariah Holbrook
Nahum Holbrook-Susanna Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Showing posts with label Curtis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Curtis. Show all posts
Friday, May 3, 2019
Tuesday, April 23, 2019
Holbrook line" William Curtis, Immigrant 1592-1673
Full disclosure: Most of what I will write in this blog post is taken from "The Great Migration Begins" by Robert Charles Anderson. Most of the other information that I found on line, if not all of it, is also taken from Anderson's work, sometimes word for word. We are so grateful to Mr. Anderson for all the work he has done to tell us about the immigrant families, so we can claim those who are ours!
William Curtis was born before November 12, 1592, the date of his baptism, at Nazeing, Esex, England. He was the son of Tohams and Mary Camp urtis. He had four siblings, and the family likely grew up as Puritans as Nazeing was a center of Puritan activity in the early 1600s. William first married Margaret Rawlyns in London on December 3, 1615. She died at or very soon after the death of their son, William.
He then married, on August 6, 1618, Sarah Eliot, daughter of Bennet and Lettice Agar Eliot. She was the sister of Rev. John Eliot, known in New England as "The Apostle to the Indians". The family lived in England for 14 years after their marriage and had the first five of their children there, burying a daughter Elizabeth there. Little is known of their life in England, but presumably they were under the teaching of Rev. Eliot, and came to New England so they could practice their faith.
William and his wife and four children came to New England in 1632, where they promptly joined the Roxbury church. William is listed as member 37 and Sarah as member 38. He became a freeman on March 4, 1632/3. While in Roxbury, William and Sarah added three children to their family. Son William, born to Williams first wife, died in 1634.
William is described as a yeoman and had several parcels of land in Roxbury, where he lived his whole life. By a Roxbury land inventory (likely written for tax purposes), he had ten acres with a house, barn, and orchard, plus one acre of upland and meadow, three acres acquired in an exchange, and two acres and a rood of salt marsh. The only office that he held, (that Anderson located) was as a petit juror in 1637, so he was not deeply involved in the politics or governance of the town.
He had basically the same holdings when, in February 1669/70, he gave most of his estate to his youngest son, Isaac, on the condition that Isaac continue caring for his parents until both were gone. He gave 40 shillings each to son John Curtis and to son in law Isaac Newell. The other children had already had their gifts. William died December 9, 1670 and Sarah died March 27, 1672/3.
That's what is known of WIlliam Curtis. He seems to have stayed out of trouble, and to have supported his family and served his God. Several of his children married in the late 1650s and early 1660s, so presumably he lived to see grandchildren growing up in the New World. I hope he died a happy man,
The line of descent is:
William Curtis-Sarah Eliot
Elizabeth Curtis-Isaac Newell
Sarah Newell-Nathaniel Hawes
Elizabeth Hawes-Samuel Wilson
Rebekah Wilson-Jonathan Wright
Molly Wright-Amariah Holbrook
Nahum Holbrook-Susanna Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
William Curtis was born before November 12, 1592, the date of his baptism, at Nazeing, Esex, England. He was the son of Tohams and Mary Camp urtis. He had four siblings, and the family likely grew up as Puritans as Nazeing was a center of Puritan activity in the early 1600s. William first married Margaret Rawlyns in London on December 3, 1615. She died at or very soon after the death of their son, William.
He then married, on August 6, 1618, Sarah Eliot, daughter of Bennet and Lettice Agar Eliot. She was the sister of Rev. John Eliot, known in New England as "The Apostle to the Indians". The family lived in England for 14 years after their marriage and had the first five of their children there, burying a daughter Elizabeth there. Little is known of their life in England, but presumably they were under the teaching of Rev. Eliot, and came to New England so they could practice their faith.
William and his wife and four children came to New England in 1632, where they promptly joined the Roxbury church. William is listed as member 37 and Sarah as member 38. He became a freeman on March 4, 1632/3. While in Roxbury, William and Sarah added three children to their family. Son William, born to Williams first wife, died in 1634.
William is described as a yeoman and had several parcels of land in Roxbury, where he lived his whole life. By a Roxbury land inventory (likely written for tax purposes), he had ten acres with a house, barn, and orchard, plus one acre of upland and meadow, three acres acquired in an exchange, and two acres and a rood of salt marsh. The only office that he held, (that Anderson located) was as a petit juror in 1637, so he was not deeply involved in the politics or governance of the town.
He had basically the same holdings when, in February 1669/70, he gave most of his estate to his youngest son, Isaac, on the condition that Isaac continue caring for his parents until both were gone. He gave 40 shillings each to son John Curtis and to son in law Isaac Newell. The other children had already had their gifts. William died December 9, 1670 and Sarah died March 27, 1672/3.
That's what is known of WIlliam Curtis. He seems to have stayed out of trouble, and to have supported his family and served his God. Several of his children married in the late 1650s and early 1660s, so presumably he lived to see grandchildren growing up in the New World. I hope he died a happy man,
The line of descent is:
William Curtis-Sarah Eliot
Elizabeth Curtis-Isaac Newell
Sarah Newell-Nathaniel Hawes
Elizabeth Hawes-Samuel Wilson
Rebekah Wilson-Jonathan Wright
Molly Wright-Amariah Holbrook
Nahum Holbrook-Susanna Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
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