Contrary to what most websites say, Daniel Comstock was born before (probably shortly before) July 21, 1624 in Uxbridge, Middlesex, England. His parents were William and Elizabeth Daniel Comstock. He was probably in New England by 1639, when his father has records in Wetherfield, Connecticut, but because he was underage there don't seem to be records of his arrival here.
The first we know of Daniel for sure is that he was in Providence, Rhode Island in 1645, but we don't know why he was there. It's possible that he served as an indentured servant to one of the other families in the settlement. He was granted 25 acres of land there in 1645, and was there in 1648 when John Elderkin, his future father in law, took Robert Williams to Daniel's home to sleep off the effects of too much alcohol. That same year, he was fined for making a false report of an Indian attack.
John married Palthiah Elderkin probably in Providence about 1653, as their first daughter is thought to have been born in 1654. The family stayed in Providence for a few years and then moved on to Norwich, Connecticut. Daniel was selling land about 1657 and that may be when the family moved.
Daniel and Palthiah's family was large but there are differing opinions on just how large it was. Most seem to agree there were at least 11 children, and some add more. At any rate, Daniel and Palthiah were kept busy with their young brood. We don't know what his occupation was but perhaps he worked with his father in law. Elderkin was a ship's carpenter, and if Daniel followed the same trade, that could explain why he moved to Norwich and then on to New Haven, following the work.
He was made a freeman in New Haven, Connecticut in 1669. If he hadn't been a freeman in the other towns, this would have been his first chance to vote. We don't know whether he was involved in King Philip's War, or any of the earlier skirmishes between the colonists and the natives. He would have been at least 50 years old when the war started and perhaps he was excused from duty because of his age. Many Connecticut men were called to duty, either to fight the Indians or to stay behind and protect the families left behind, so it would not be totally unexpected if he took one of these roles.
Daniel died, probably in New Haven, in 1683. His inventory was taken there in November, and valued at almost 222 pounds. Most of the value appears to have been in real estate, including plots of 100 acres and 150 acres of land. His wife was to have control of the estate to assist her in raising their younger children, at least three of whom were minors.
Many times the second and third generations of immigrants are more difficult to trace than the original settler was, so we can be grateful for the bits and pieces we have here. We don't know whether he was a church member, nor do we know whether he was literate, nor his occupation. But we know he adjusted to his new life and contributed to the story of our family. Perhaps more will be found in the future, but this is at least a start.
The line of descent is:
Daniel Comstock-Palthiah Elderkin
Kingsland Comstock-Mary Atwell
Kingsland Comstock-Rachel Crocker
Rachel Comstock-John Eames
John Eames-Elizabeth Longbottom
Hannah Eames-James Lamphire
Susan Lamphire-Joseph Eddy
Susan Eddy-Hiram Stanard
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Showing posts with label Elderkin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Elderkin. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 9, 2019
Friday, July 29, 2016
Holrook line: William Comstock 1595-1683 Immigrant
We know a lot more about William Comstock than we know about some of our other immigrant ancestors. In this case, that might not be such a good thing, because there is at least one troubling event that we'll need to discuss further.
But in the beginning, he was born to William Comstock and an unknown mother on July 4, 1595 at Culmstock, Devon, England. This was a very small village but it had a church, All Saints, which was where he was baptized and which is still in use today. If I were ever to take a trip to England, one goal would be to worship in an ancestral church like this one. For us, it is hard to think of a church that has been standing for 700 years, but that's the approximate age of the oldest parts of this building. You can find pictures of the church on Google, which may be the next best thing to an in person visit.
William's family likely were sheep farmers, or/and weavers, for this part of Devon is known for its wool. About 1623 or 1624, William married Elizabeth. Most on line sources say her name was Daniels but there is a decent cast to be made for her name have been Cock or Cocke. As far as I can see, the jury is still out on that one. There were five or possibly six children born to the Comstock family in England. It's possible that Christopher, the youngest, was born after n earlier Christopher was born and had died as an infant.
We also don't know when or why William, Elizabeth, and family left for New England, or where their first stop was. Some say that they were in Watertown, Massachusetts Bay Colony for a short time. Others think they went directly to Wethersfield, Connecticut. He purchased land then that had previously been awarded to Richard Mylles, so William had at least some money by that time.
The evidence that "proves" he was in Wethersfield prior to that is scanty, but troubling. His name is apparently listed (where???) as being a private at Wethersfield, and 26 privates from Wethersfield were involved in a shameful incident in the Pequod War, when between 400 and 700 members of the tribe, mostly women and children, were massacred. The English set their village on fire, and shot anyone who tried to escape. This was in supposed retaliation for previous raids on the English settlers. So if William Comstock was at Wetherseifeld by May 26, he likely took part in this horrible event. If not, most of his neighbors would have been there. Wethersfield was small enough that everyone below the age of 55 or so would have gone, with only the older men left behind to guard the town.
William and his wife raised their children in Wethersfield until about 1650, when they moved to Pequot, which was quite near New London, Ct. He contracted with John Winthrop to establish a corn mill there, and in 1651 he was working on the dam for the mill. In 1659, he and Elizabeth sold land in New London.
He was chosen to be sexton on February 25, 1661.62,to order youth in the meeting house, sweep the meeting house, and beat out dogs. He was to be paid 40 shillings a year for this job, plus 4 shillings for each adult burial and 2 shillings for each child burial. He, at the age of 66 or more, had to dig the graves for the burials. It's not reported how long he held this job.
Traditional sources say that William lived until 1683, with only two of his sons surviving him. I've not found a record of a will.
So, really, there are still a lot of unknowns for our William. Besides the missing facts, I would most like to know if William really was part of the massacre, and if so, what he was thinking before, during, and after the event. Did he suffer from anything like PTSD? Was he "just following orders"? Or was he an eager participant, doing what he felt needed to be done to keep his family safe? Had he been in the Colonies long enough to be able to make an informed decision? It's hard to come upon a "probable" like this, which to our thinking leaves a big black mark on his name.
The line of descent is:
William Comstock-Elizabeth
Daniel Comstock-Palthiah Elderkin
Kingsland Comstock-Mary Atwell
Kingsland Comstock-Rachel Crocker
Rachel Comstock-John Eames
John Eames-Elizabeth Longbottom
Hannah Eames-James Lamphire
Susan Lamphire-Joseph B Eddy
Susan Eddy-Hiram Stanard
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Glady Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Fun Fact: William Comstock was an ancestor to Gerald Ford, making us distant cousins to another president.
But in the beginning, he was born to William Comstock and an unknown mother on July 4, 1595 at Culmstock, Devon, England. This was a very small village but it had a church, All Saints, which was where he was baptized and which is still in use today. If I were ever to take a trip to England, one goal would be to worship in an ancestral church like this one. For us, it is hard to think of a church that has been standing for 700 years, but that's the approximate age of the oldest parts of this building. You can find pictures of the church on Google, which may be the next best thing to an in person visit.
William's family likely were sheep farmers, or/and weavers, for this part of Devon is known for its wool. About 1623 or 1624, William married Elizabeth. Most on line sources say her name was Daniels but there is a decent cast to be made for her name have been Cock or Cocke. As far as I can see, the jury is still out on that one. There were five or possibly six children born to the Comstock family in England. It's possible that Christopher, the youngest, was born after n earlier Christopher was born and had died as an infant.
We also don't know when or why William, Elizabeth, and family left for New England, or where their first stop was. Some say that they were in Watertown, Massachusetts Bay Colony for a short time. Others think they went directly to Wethersfield, Connecticut. He purchased land then that had previously been awarded to Richard Mylles, so William had at least some money by that time.
The evidence that "proves" he was in Wethersfield prior to that is scanty, but troubling. His name is apparently listed (where???) as being a private at Wethersfield, and 26 privates from Wethersfield were involved in a shameful incident in the Pequod War, when between 400 and 700 members of the tribe, mostly women and children, were massacred. The English set their village on fire, and shot anyone who tried to escape. This was in supposed retaliation for previous raids on the English settlers. So if William Comstock was at Wetherseifeld by May 26, he likely took part in this horrible event. If not, most of his neighbors would have been there. Wethersfield was small enough that everyone below the age of 55 or so would have gone, with only the older men left behind to guard the town.
William and his wife raised their children in Wethersfield until about 1650, when they moved to Pequot, which was quite near New London, Ct. He contracted with John Winthrop to establish a corn mill there, and in 1651 he was working on the dam for the mill. In 1659, he and Elizabeth sold land in New London.
He was chosen to be sexton on February 25, 1661.62,to order youth in the meeting house, sweep the meeting house, and beat out dogs. He was to be paid 40 shillings a year for this job, plus 4 shillings for each adult burial and 2 shillings for each child burial. He, at the age of 66 or more, had to dig the graves for the burials. It's not reported how long he held this job.
Traditional sources say that William lived until 1683, with only two of his sons surviving him. I've not found a record of a will.
So, really, there are still a lot of unknowns for our William. Besides the missing facts, I would most like to know if William really was part of the massacre, and if so, what he was thinking before, during, and after the event. Did he suffer from anything like PTSD? Was he "just following orders"? Or was he an eager participant, doing what he felt needed to be done to keep his family safe? Had he been in the Colonies long enough to be able to make an informed decision? It's hard to come upon a "probable" like this, which to our thinking leaves a big black mark on his name.
The line of descent is:
William Comstock-Elizabeth
Daniel Comstock-Palthiah Elderkin
Kingsland Comstock-Mary Atwell
Kingsland Comstock-Rachel Crocker
Rachel Comstock-John Eames
John Eames-Elizabeth Longbottom
Hannah Eames-James Lamphire
Susan Lamphire-Joseph B Eddy
Susan Eddy-Hiram Stanard
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Glady Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Fun Fact: William Comstock was an ancestor to Gerald Ford, making us distant cousins to another president.
Friday, September 11, 2015
Holbrook line: John Elderkin 1612-1687, Immigrant
Who wouldn't love a name like John Elderkin? It's just fun to say. As it turns out, it's also fun to read about his life, and as is often the case with our immigrants, his early life is pretty much a mystery.
John Elderkin's birth is a mystery although the one that I like best is January 1, 1612, at Fennes, Lincolnshire, England. (I haven't seen this record, but it's likely that it would be the baptism date and not the birth date.) The parents of this John Elderkin were John Elderkin and Palthiah, and they were married in 1592. The date of 1612 also matches one of the dates John gave in a statement later in life, although in other places the age he gave for himself would compute to 1616. No one was come up with a John Elderkin born in England in 1616 yet, as far as I know.
The first we really know about John is that he was in Lynn, Massachusetts by 1637. He was married to Abigail Kingland (also shown as Kingslane) probably in England, and the couple had probably three daughters, Pelatiah, Abigail, and Hannah. Abigail died possibly as early as 1646 but definitely before 1660, when John married Elizabeth Drake. She had children, he had children, and they had children together, making a total of 16 but of course the oldest children were likely out of the house by the time the youngest ones arrived.
The neat thing about John is that we know quite a bit about his life in New England. He was a master builder, or a general contractor, or whatever term you want to use to describe a man who didn't stay in one place very long. We know that he was in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1637, Dedham, Massachusetts in 1641, Reading, Massachusetts in 1646, possible Providence, R.I. or possibly just making a short stop there, then New London, Connecticut in 1651 and finally Norwich, Connecticut in 1660.
At each location, he was a miller, a millwright, and a carpenter, using his skills to build and operate mills and also to build churches, bridges, and at least one ship. He seems to have stayed in each location until he had built what the town needed to function. By the time he got to Norwich, he was in his 50's and perhaps not so willing to move on. (Also, he had just re-married and may have stayed more in one place for family reasons.)
In 1661 he was an ordinary keeper in New London, which doesn't conform to the Norwich date of 1660. I have no explanation for this, unless the ordinary keeper was his son John. Perhaps he was a long distance owner, but that doesn't make much sense, either. However, this is what the records seem to say.
John Elderkin died at Norwich June 22, 1687, and Elizabeth lived for another 29 years, dying in 1716. I haven't found his will yet but I would guess that he was a man with some means, as he had been given land in several different locations, either as an early settler or in recognition of the services he'd provided.
I like knowing more than I can include in a post about an ancestor, and I particularly like thinking about this ancestor, who must have been incredibly talented, to build churches, bridges, and ships, and to build and run mills. When I look at very old carpenter tools now, I'll think of John Elderkin and imagine his hands holding and using something similar, and I'll feel a connection. I hope you do, too!
The line of descent is:
John Elderkin-Abigail Kingsland
Pelatiah (Palthiah) Elderkin-Daniel Comstock
Kingsland Comstock-Mary Atwell
Kingsland Comstock-Rachel Crocker
Rachel Comstock-John Eames
John Eames-Elizabeth Longbottom
Hannah Eames-James Lamphire
Susan Lamphire-Joseph B Eddy
Susan Eddy-Hiram Stanard
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
John Elderkin's birth is a mystery although the one that I like best is January 1, 1612, at Fennes, Lincolnshire, England. (I haven't seen this record, but it's likely that it would be the baptism date and not the birth date.) The parents of this John Elderkin were John Elderkin and Palthiah, and they were married in 1592. The date of 1612 also matches one of the dates John gave in a statement later in life, although in other places the age he gave for himself would compute to 1616. No one was come up with a John Elderkin born in England in 1616 yet, as far as I know.
The first we really know about John is that he was in Lynn, Massachusetts by 1637. He was married to Abigail Kingland (also shown as Kingslane) probably in England, and the couple had probably three daughters, Pelatiah, Abigail, and Hannah. Abigail died possibly as early as 1646 but definitely before 1660, when John married Elizabeth Drake. She had children, he had children, and they had children together, making a total of 16 but of course the oldest children were likely out of the house by the time the youngest ones arrived.
The neat thing about John is that we know quite a bit about his life in New England. He was a master builder, or a general contractor, or whatever term you want to use to describe a man who didn't stay in one place very long. We know that he was in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1637, Dedham, Massachusetts in 1641, Reading, Massachusetts in 1646, possible Providence, R.I. or possibly just making a short stop there, then New London, Connecticut in 1651 and finally Norwich, Connecticut in 1660.
At each location, he was a miller, a millwright, and a carpenter, using his skills to build and operate mills and also to build churches, bridges, and at least one ship. He seems to have stayed in each location until he had built what the town needed to function. By the time he got to Norwich, he was in his 50's and perhaps not so willing to move on. (Also, he had just re-married and may have stayed more in one place for family reasons.)
In 1661 he was an ordinary keeper in New London, which doesn't conform to the Norwich date of 1660. I have no explanation for this, unless the ordinary keeper was his son John. Perhaps he was a long distance owner, but that doesn't make much sense, either. However, this is what the records seem to say.
John Elderkin died at Norwich June 22, 1687, and Elizabeth lived for another 29 years, dying in 1716. I haven't found his will yet but I would guess that he was a man with some means, as he had been given land in several different locations, either as an early settler or in recognition of the services he'd provided.
I like knowing more than I can include in a post about an ancestor, and I particularly like thinking about this ancestor, who must have been incredibly talented, to build churches, bridges, and ships, and to build and run mills. When I look at very old carpenter tools now, I'll think of John Elderkin and imagine his hands holding and using something similar, and I'll feel a connection. I hope you do, too!
The line of descent is:
John Elderkin-Abigail Kingsland
Pelatiah (Palthiah) Elderkin-Daniel Comstock
Kingsland Comstock-Mary Atwell
Kingsland Comstock-Rachel Crocker
Rachel Comstock-John Eames
John Eames-Elizabeth Longbottom
Hannah Eames-James Lamphire
Susan Lamphire-Joseph B Eddy
Susan Eddy-Hiram Stanard
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
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