Holbrook line: Samuel Doty 1643-1715

Update 8/11/2022  This man is not our ancestor.  I am leaving the post up for anyone who is interested in a short version of his life, however.  The error in this post is that Sarah Doty did not marry Josiah Standish, according to current research.  

There's more to Samuel Doty than meets the eye.  Yes, he was the son of a Mayflower Pilgrim and yes, he married a daughter of a member of the Great Migration.  Yes, he was maybe a bit of a rebel in his younger days.  But his story has several interesting twists, some of which I haven't seen in other ancestors. 

First, the basics:  Samuel Doty was the son of Edward Doty of the Mayflower and Faith Clarke, who arrived in Plymouth Colony in 1634 with her father Thurstan Clarke.  He was one of 9 children of the couple.  The Doty family would have attended church services on a regular basis, because it was required.  But it is believed that Edward Doty didn't join the church as a member, and Samuel appears to have taken the independent thinking route.  (Plymouth Colony was both Puritan and Separatist, meaning that they wanted nothing to do with the Church of England, whereas the Puritans, at least initially, wanted only to "purify" the church of England of its rituals, hierarchy, church decor, and some of their beliefs). 

Samuel moved from Plymouth to Eastham on Cape Cod sometime before July 16, 1668.  He was there for only a brief time,but it may have been enough to convince him or encourage him that he needed to leave the colony.  Several families from that area left for either Long Island, New York, or New Jersey during that time period.  Some were Quakers and some were what we would call seekers, maybe.  At any rate, Samuel was helping found Piscataway, New Jersey by October of 1669.  He was still a young man.  It's possible that Samuel had married by now but if so, there is no record of a first wife. 

He was thirty five years old when he married Jane or Jeane Harmon in Piscataway on November 13, 1678, which is rather old for a first marriage.  Jane Harmon ws born in Saco, Maine and it's not entirely clear how she arrived in Piscataway.  She was bound as an indentured servant to Lt. James Gibbins for an eight year period on April 4, 1671, having been removed from her father's home for "oppression{.  Apparently the Gibbins family acted somewhat as a foster family, but they would have used Jane as a servant, too.  She would have been taught housekeeping skills and perhaps how to read.  Some of the families from that area emigrated to Piscataway at the outbreak of King Philip's War, and she may have arrived then.  It appears that the Gibbins family must have returned to Maine, if indeed they have moved at all.  The marriage date of Samuel and Jane is just a few months prior to the time her indenture likely expired.  Samuel may have been able to purchase those last few months of servitude that Jane owed the Gibbins, or perhaps they agreed to it.  At anhy rate, they were married.

Samuel and Jane had somewhere about 12 children (some say 13) together, so, like many of our ancestors, they would have been quite busy providing for their family.  Samuel owned land but was not accorded the title of "Mr."  In his will, he calls himself a yeoman, meaning a farmer who owned land.  He was respected in Piscataway and by 1675 was a lieutenant in the militia company.  He is sometimes referred to as "Captain" so he may have been promoted or elected to the higher office at some point. 

We don't know what religion Samuel practiced when he arrived in Piscataway, but he helped found the Seventh Day Baptist church there.  This appears to be similar to other Baptist churches, for instance those in Rhode Island, except that this group met on Saturday instead of Sunday. 

Samuel inherited some of his father's land and sold it, which may be how he was able to purchase so much land in New Jersey.  He owned hundreds of acres, purchasing land at least up until 1690.  We don't know how much of it he developed as farm land, nor do we know what crops he grew.  The abstract of his will shows a "personal estate".  It seems that he had probably given land or otherwise gifted his children prior to his death, as only his wife and one son are mentioned in the will.  (I have not seen the original, this information is from an abstract). 

Samuel died November 8, 1715 and Jane died just two years later, on October 8, 1717.  Samuel would have been 72 years old but Jane just 56.  Child-bearing may have worn her out.  The youngest child was about 12 years old by that time, but there were plenty of older siblings to provide care, a home, or whatever was needed. 

I would love to talk to Samuel.  I'd like to know the stories his parents might have told him.  I'd like to know how his religious beliefs developed.  I'd like to know how he and Jane met.  I'd like to know whether he was involved in any military expeditions.  And most of all, I'd like to know how he and Jane were able to overcome rather difficult backgrounds and raise so many children, who all apparently were strong, contributing citizens. 

The line of descent is:

Samuel Doty-Jane Harmon
Sarah Doty-Josiah Standish
Hannah Standish-Nathan Foster
Nathan Foster-Elizabeth Lansford
Jude Foster-Lydia M
Betsy Foster-Josiah Whittemore
Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook=Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

Holbrook line: Joseph Stevens 1679-1757

I hesitate to write this blog post, because I'm finding information that is different than mine.  It looks like two of even three men by the name of Joseph Stevens have been combined in some of the information that is out on the web.  I hope I have untangled our Joseph Stevens from the others, and if I haven't, I hope someone who has the documentation will correct me. 

Our Joseph Stevens was the son of John and Elizabeth Hildreth Stevens. His grandfather, Henry, was the Stevens immigrant, and father John was born in Boston in 1637.  Joseph, however, was born in Chelmsford, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony on March 24, 1679,  This was just after King Philip's War, and Chelmsford had apparently not been seriously attacked during that conflict, although the town did suffer raids from native Americans.  Joseph may have been the youngest of the eight Stevens children, so some of his older siblings likely told him stories as he grew up.  I can imagine the youngster's eyes growing round as they told stories that may have become slightly embellished with time.

This might be a good time to comment on a reference I saw that Joseph is believed to have been one.eighth native American.  I would say that this is possible only because I don't know all of Joseph's great grandparents.  They would have been born around the turn of the seventeenth century, or earlier, and would have had to have lived in the colony.  So far I've no evidence that there was anyone here that early.  I would love to know the truth of that rumor.

I don't know whether Joseph ever lived in Woburn, but it's possible because he married Elizabeth Tidd, daughter of John and Elizabeth Fifield Tidd there in 1701.  We next find Joseph in Billerica, where he married his second wife, Elizabeth Sherman in 1713 in BIllerica.  Elizabeth Tidd had died shortly before that, of unknown causes. 

Joseph had four children with Elizabeth Tidd and then perhaps as many as eight children with Elizabeth Sherman.  It would have been quite a household.  Joseph was well-regarded in Billerica and took responsibility to help form the town of Chelmsford.  It was formally incorporated in 1732, but settlers were probably there earlier.  He had the right to call the first town meeting, as the proprietor of the town, but he didn't do that.  He was, however, moderator of the first town meetings and was chosen as selectman several times.  He also seems to have been active in getting the first church started, after signing the covenant in 1734. 

Then it is hard to tell what happened to Joseph.  He died October 1, 1756 in Townsend, still in Essex County.  I haven't yet been able to trace when he moved there, or why, but his probate papers clearly state that he is of Townsend.  (Note: I found a will attached to him on Ancestry trees but it doesn't appear to be correct.  The children named don't belong to our Joseph, for one thing. I found what I believe is the correct probate file at American Ancestry.)  Joseph died without a will and with a very small estate, burdened with debts.  Perhaps in his old age taking "loans" from friends was a way to sustain himself.  But he was rich in treasure laid up in heaven, because this is what his headstone says:

"Halt stranger as you go past
Remember time doth runeth fast
My dust in narou bounds do lye
Remember man that thou must dye
This dust revive it shalt again
And in a grave no more remain
When trumpet sounds I shall arise
And celebrat my God his praise"

(Transcribed by Kevin Avery on Find a Grave.)  I've not seen this verse before and it speaks to me.  Joseph was a man of his times, a not so stern Puritan as he looked forward to his resurrection.

So we know a little about Joseph, but not enough to really satisfy me.  Why did he move so many times?  Did he have a trade that was valued at each of his homes?  Why did he fall on hard times?  Did he participate in any of the military missions of his times?  There is always more to learn!

The line of descent is

Joseph Stevens-Elizabeth Tidd
Elizabeth Stevens-William Snow
Lucy Snow-Josiah Whittemore
Josiah Whittemore-Betsy Foster
Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants 

Holbrook line: John Stevens 1637-1691

As is often the case, there's much I don't know about John Stevens.  But we do have a few facts that will help us place him in a time and a location, with family around him and work to be done.  So although it's a very faint and not detailed picture of his life, at least it's something.

John was born September 10, 1637 in Boston, Massachusetts, when Boston was just a few years away from being total wilderness.  So by definition, at least in his early years, he would have seen native Americans on the streets of his town, and he was most likely a Puritan.  His parents were Henry and Alice (maiden name unknown) Stevens.  An account of his father in "The Great Migration" indicates that his father was a mason and was likely a servant from at least 1635 to 1640, when his master left permanently for England.  Henry was one of those who were able to live above the subsistence level that was the lot of many servants, and he had died with a decent estate. 

John, however, was another story.  We don't know for sure why or how he ended up in Chelmsford, Massachusetts, which was probably at the time about 40 miles north and west of Boston.  But it was in Chelmsford that he married Elizabeth Hildreth, daughter of Richard and Elizabeth (possibly Hinchman) Hildreth.  I can't make a guess as to what his occupation was, other than farmer, based on his inventory.  He and Elizabeth had at least five children in Chelmsford. 

He is referred to as "Ensign" but we don't know when or how he acquired that title.  He would have been the right age to have served in King Philip's War but I didn't find anyone I could positively identify with our John Stevens then.  There was one John Stevens in that war, who had either lost an arm, or had it badly damaged, in the conflict.  But it seems that he was likely of a different community than our John.  Like most towns, there is little reference to the war or its aftermath in the town records, but John did sign a petition in 1676 asking for lower taxes because the town had suffered so grievously in the war.  We know that Chelmsford did suffer at least one raid but it's not clear whether the town was then abandoned, or whether the people simply lived in garrisons. 

John was made a freeman, meaning he had property, could join the church if he hadn't already, and could now vote, on May 3, 1665, shortly after his December 15, 1664 marriage to Elizabeth.  So he had some status in the community.  His farm was located about two miles west of the meeting house, at the foot of "Francis" hill.  Five generations of the family lived there after John, so likely the family watched and perhaps participated in the Revolutionary War from this home. 

From a couple of tax lists I reviewed, it looks like John was neither well off nor dirt poor.  His "rates" or taxes, were maybe a tad below the average charge, but were not at the lowest amount, by any means.  He doesn't seem to have been elected to town office, which again indicates that he didn't have much status in the town.  Still, he was a freeman, and not everyone achieved that distinction

John died April 6, 1691 in Chelmsford.  If he left a will, I've not been able to locate it.  I did find his inventory, which looks like that of many farmers-animals and tools, some household goods, several properties, arms and ammunition.  Since he wasn't yet 60 years old, he was probably still a member of the training band, which explains the arms.  The estate was valued at a little over 195 pounds, significantly less than the amost 500 pounds his stone mason father had left when he died less than a year earlier.

That's what we know of John.  He seems to have stayed out of trouble and out of the public limelight, while taking care of his family and serving his colony.  He didn't get rich along the way, but he probably never let his family go hungry.  He deserves to have a few paragraphs written about him, all these years later.

The line of descent is

John Stevens-Elizabeth Hildreth
Joseph Stevens-Elizabeth Tidd
Elizabeth Stevens-William Snow
Lucy Snow-Josiah Whittemore
Josiah Whittemore-Betsy Foster
Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

Holbrook line: John Whittemore 1685-1748

What fun!  Most of our ancestors were good folks, either farmers or pastors, and sometimes it's hard to find something new to say about their lives.  But every once in a while, someone steps out of the box and does something entirely different, and perhaps is entirely different, from our norm.  John Whittemore just may be one of those men.

John Whittemore was born February 23, 1685 in Charlestown, Massachusetts, the son of John and Elizabeth Annable Whittemore, and he's one in a succession of four men named John Whittemore, each of whom is our ancestor.  Confusion reigns, but I think I have this man figured out. 

At some point in his life, John left Charlestown and settled in Boston.  He married Elizabeth Lloyd, the daughter of Edward and Hannah Griffin Lloyd.  The Lloyds were a Charleston family who had moved to Boston also.  I'm wondering if John was maybe an apprentice or some sort of shipworker there, because the marriage took place in Boston.  John and Elizabeth had at least five children together, including our John born 1714. 

I'm still trying to pull together John's story as far as his adult life goes.  I know that he was a mariner and a retailer, perhaps not at the same time or perhaps at the same time.  His father in law had died with a good supply of "rhum" and spirits, and John may have inherited or purchased that, as he also sold strong spirits.  So, basically he ran a tavern or a liquor store.  He must have been somewhat successful because he built a new home in 1733,   We know that because he was granted liberty to dig a frain from his new house, which was apparently on Sheaf St.  It looks like this would have been just blocks from what we know as the Old North Church, in the north end of Boston.  It was also near Copp's Hill Burying Ground

, which is where he was buried. 

Elizabeth died August 13, 1746 and John died April 21, 1748,  In his will, he left 100 pounds to his oldest son, John and 150 pounds (old tenor, not the new fangled money the colony had printed) to son Edward.  He also left each of them 1/4 of his "moveable estate".  Three grandsons, including another of our Johns, were to share 100 pounds.  To Elizabeth, his daughter, he left his house and land, and all his liquors.  One can speculate that the two sons were set up in life already but that Elizabeth would need some source of income.  I wonder what the city fathers thought of that. 

The only reference I found to a possible religion for John was that his son John was baptized at "Second Church", which is now known as Old North Church.  Increase Mather was the pastor at the time.  There doesn't seem to be any record of the other children's baptism.  Perhaps John was away so much that he wasn't often there to see that the children were baptized, or perhaps Elizabeth had enough to do to take care of her family.

I would love to find his inventory, to learn whether he was well to do or not.  I'd also love to learn more about his story as a mariner, and I do have a few new sources to look at for that.  If I find anything interesting, I'll do an update.  And of course, I'm wondering how involved he was in the slave trade, and whether he had one or more slaves.  That would be more than possible if he was importing rum, also. But for now, we at least have a sense that John lived in one of the (to me) most interesting places in the world, and had a fascinating career.  That's pretty cool.

The line of descent is:

John Whittemore-Elizabeth Lloyd
John Whittemore-Lydia Clough
Josiah Whittemore-Lucy Snow
Josiah Whittemore-Betsy Foster
Mary Elizabeth Whittemore=Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

Holbrook line: Nathan Foster 1700-1753

This will be another short post about a man almost lost to history.  Nathan Foster was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts Bay Colony on May 17, 1700 to Abraham (also seen as Abram) and Mary Robinson Foster.  His great grandparents, Reginald and Judith Wignol Foster, were the original immigrants, and he was of the second generation actually born on this side of the ocean.  Nathan's parents,

Abraham and Mary, were older than average when they married.  Abraham was 34 and Mary was 28.  Nathan was one of three known children born to the couple.  Since both lived many years after the birth of their children, one wonders whether there were difficulties related to their age that prevented other children.  At any rate, this was a small nuclear family.

It's believed that Nathan left Ipswich (or Topsfield, some say) to go to the new settlement of Stafford, Connecticut about 1720.  Since Nathan wasn't yet of age to live by himself, he may well have lived with one of the early families there, while he learned all the ins and outs of farming.  That family may well have been that of Josiah and Sarah Doty Standish, for on November 23, 1724 he married their daughter, Hannah.  (Yes, when I first saw that Standish name, I was excited because I suspected it would lead me back to Captain Myles Standish, and it did.  I had to do some research to learn that Doty was also a Mayflower name.) 

We don't know whether the young couple stayed with their in-laws for a few years, but that would have been a common custom, while Nathan began earning his own living and building a home for his new bride.  Nathan and Hannah had at least eleven children together, born from 1725 to 1749,  

That's pretty much what I know about Nathan's life.  He died May 26, 1753 in Stafford, apparently rather suddenly.  I say that because he didn't leave a will.  His estate wasn't settled until 1763, when the youngest of the children was 14 and probably an apprentice with some other family or a citizen.  His inventory doesn't tell us much about his life.  He did have a few books, and some farm animals and farm equipment.  His land holdings were not large, about 30 acres, plus a "small house" and rights in the commons and the cedar swamp.  His household goods were barely adequate for the family he was raising, and he had few farm animals.  It leads me to wonder whether he worked for someone else, either in the fields or doing other labor intensive work.  At any rate, we wouldn't say that he was well off financially.  There are other records from 17693 explaining exactly how his land was divided, with oldest son Nathan getting a double share. 

I hope to someday find and read the town records for Stafford.  They may provide more insight into Nathan's life.  I'd like to know his occupation, whether he held any town offices (this was a small town, so one would think he must have at least been a fence viewer at some point), whether he went on any military expeditions, and whether he was a faithful member of a church.  I'd also like to know where he was buried, although I suspect it was the Old Stafford Street cemetery.  It would be nice to know that for sure, too. 

The line of descent is

Nathan Foster-Hannah Standish
Nathan Foster-Elizabeth Lansford
Jude Foster-Lydia M.
Betsy Foster Josiah Whittemore
Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

Holbrook line: Michael Lunsford 1700 ish to 1756

I really don't know enough about Michael to write a post, but I'm going to at least give a few details about him.  He is a mystery in that he was born about 1700, but I am unable to find any hint of identity for his parents.  At this point, I am wondering if he was the immigrant, but I have no evidence of that, just a lack of evidence for parents. 

The first time he leaves a record is on November 9, 1727, when, as Mickel Lunsford, he is married to Elizabeth Hackben in East Bridgewater, Plymouth County, Massachusetts.  Elizabeth Hackben is also a mystery as to who she was.  Perhaps both of them had come to Massachusetts as indentured servants, but that is purely my speculation.  I intend to keep searching until I find four parents for this couple. 

I know very little of Michael's life for the next 29 years after his marriage.  He and Elizabeth had three known children, all girls.  At some point, they left Bridgewater and moved to Stafford, Hartford County, Connecticut.  Ir is at that location that we find his name on a list dated May 5, 1756, from Mansfield, Connecticut, stating that these 48 men, including a "Mickel Lunsford", had been mustered in to the military for an intended expedition against the French at Crown Point.  The planned expedition didn't take place, and we are left wondering whether this is our Mickel Lunsford or not.  He wrote his will April 12, 1756, perhaps in anticipation of leaving with his companions.  Or perhaps this is not our Mickel Lunsford at all.  Perhaps our Mickel was already sick. 

The will was exhibited June 7, 1756, which conflicts with a printed death date of June 8, 1756.  At present, I can't explain the discrepancy.  The will was pretty straightforward  He left the use of  everything, real and personal, to his wife until or unless she remarried.  Then it was to be divided equally between his three daughters.  One daughter, Mary White, was to receive 40 shillings, apparently when the will was probated. 

We don't know what his cause of death was.  There were influenza like illnesses and also dysentery that were common causes of death that year.  If he had marched with the troops for any length of time, he would have been exposed to any number of camp diseases.  We just don't know. 

Judging from his probable age at his marriage in 1727, he was probably in his early fifties when he died. An inventory was taken June 25, 1756.  Michael owned 52 acres of land and a dwelling house, a gun and 5 books, various farm animals, and other basic household and farming equipment.  The total value of the estate was a little less than one hundred twenty pounds. 

This is all that I currently know about Michael.  I would love to know more about his life and especially I would love to know where he came from, and who his parents were.  The same goes for his wife Elizabeth.  But for now, we will have to be content with the knowledge that Michael and Elizabeth lived the kind of lives we all want to live, just quietly raising a family and planning for their future.

The line of descent is:

Michael Lunsford-Elizabeth Hackben
Elizabeth Lansford-Nathan Foster
Jude Foster-Lydia M
Betsy Foster-Josiah Whittemore
Mary Elizabeth Whittermore-Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

Holbrook line: Benjamin Clough of Boston 1694-1744

It's exciting and it's scary to find information that casts doubt on what has long been believed to be true.  This post will raise doubts about some parts of Benjamin's life and answer some questions about other parts.

First, Benjamin's parents are given as Benoni and Hannah Merrill Clough, of Salisbury in Essex County, Massachusetts.  It's true that they had a son Benjamin.  The John Clough family history says that Benjamin, son of Benoni, when to Kingston, New Hampshire, where a Benjamin Clough certainly lived and died, and was a Revolutionary War patriot.  However, the Benjamin Clough in New Hampshire is not ours.  His wife's name is wrong, as are the children, and the death date, and just about everything about that Benjamin.  Also, that Benjamin's father, as listed on DAR records, was Cornelios Clough.  Cornelios possibly had two wives, as there are two different names given as the New Hampshire Patriot's mother. 

Because of the Thweng records, we know that Benjamin was a blacksmith, and that he acquired several parcels of land on Sheafe Street and also on Hull Street, starting in 1720.  In the deeds he is almost always referred to as blacksmith, to avoid any confusion as to other Benjamin Clough's, apparently.  He was constable of Boston in 1727 and 1728, so he was respected.  In fact, on his tombstone he is noted as "Mr."

Benjamin and Faith had at least five children together, and Benjamin would have worked hard to support them, catechize them, and find them jobs and spouses.  In 1738, the town took one of Benjamin's houses and "improved" it to be a hospital, during a smallpox epidemic.  We're not told how Benjamin was repaid, or whether this was a permanent confiscation.  At the time, the house was on the west edge of town.

Benjamin wrote his will June 18, 1744 and it was entered into probate on July 31, 1744.  In it, he disposes of his real estate, leaving much of it to his wife during her widowhood. He also gives her "his" Negro woman Jenny and Jenny's child called Violet, as well as all his household goods.  When his inventory is taken, there is very little mentioned in the way of household goods, just a couple of desks and some books, among other things.  His total estate, which does not mention the slaves, was valued at a little over 309 pounds.

He is buried at Kings Chapel cemetery (not affiliated with the church of that name), and ironically, I may have been there without understanding its significance to our family.  When I took a tour of the Freedom Trail in 1998, this was one of our stops.  I was not actively interested in genealogy at that time and had no idea that ancestors had lived in Boston, but I appreciated the history and the fact that the cemetery was being cared for, all these years later.  The stone gives Benjamin the honorific of "Mr." and says that he died July 6, 1744, aged 53 years and 11 months.  So if that age is correct, Benjamin was actually born in 1690, and therefore likely not the son of Benoni and Hannah.

So we have a quandary.  Who was Benjamin Clough, the blacksmith in Boston who was our ancestor? His first child's name was Joseph, but I don't know if that is a clue or not.  I'd love to figure out who his parents are, and I'd also like to know whether he was involved in any military expeditions.  Did he stay a faithful member of the church?  I'd love to find out more about him, but at least we have this much.

The line of descent is:

Benjamin Clough-Faith Hart
Lydia Clough-John Whittemore
Josiah Whittemore-Lucy Snow
Josiah Whittemore- Betsy Foster
Mary Elizabeth Whittmore-Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

I'm so grateful to American Ancestors and to Ancestry, who each had good information in their databases.  These men who were colonial ancestors, but not necessarily immigrants, are difficult to trace!

Holbrook line: Josiah Whittemore 1784-1870

When I started to research Josiah Whittemore, I thought I knew what story I would find.  I thought I would find that he had served in the War of 1812.  After all, he was of the right age, and lived in the right location.  I'm still not convinced that he wouldn't have served, in some capacity, but I haven't found him in any of the dozen or so databases and lists I've checked.  So, was he a closet British sympathizer?  It doesn't seem likely, since both his father and his father in law had served in the Revolutionary War.  Or did he have some sort of physical condition that prevented him from serving?  Or was he considered crucial to the war effort, and therefore excused?  So far, I have no answers to those questions.

I do know that Josiah was born in Leominster, Worcester County, Massachusetts, on October 28, 1784.  I don't yet have documentation for that but I do have records showing he was baptized there on May 29, 1785, the son of Josiah and Lucy Whittemore.  Lucy was Lucy Snow, the daughter of William and Elizabeth Stevens Snow.  Leominster had a population of 1189 in the 1790 US census, so this was very much a small town.  Josiah was one of eleven children so it is easy to see why his father quickly remarried, after his mother died when Josiah was about 10 years old.  His stepmother was Martha Purkhurst Rider, widowed herself, and she and Josiah had four more children.  So it was one big and we hope happy family.

Well, perhaps the family wasn't all that fappy, or perhaps Josiah just wanted to strike out on his own.  In 1805 we find him in Mooers, Clinton County, New York, where (probably) he married Betsy Foster, the daughter of Jude and Lydia maiden name unknown Foster.  Jude had died in 1787 so both Josiah and Betsy knew loss as young children.  Josiah and Betsy had 9 children together. 

Josiah was a farmer by occupation, and soon after their marriage the young couple moved to Hartford, Washington County, New York.  Josiah is shown there in several censuses up to 1850, when he was shown in the household of Josiah Whittemore, his son, in Clinton, Erie County, New York.  His wife Betsy didn't die until 1854, so I can only guess that Josiah had left Betsy in the care of sy died his son John (she is listed in his household in the 1850 census) while Josiah went across the state to help his son Josiah with farming chores.  Betsy died March 13, 1854, and Josiah was living with son John in Hartford, Washington County when the state census was taken in 1855.  He is listed as a farmer, so he was probably helping John as best he could.  By this time, he was 71 years old.  The census does state that Josiah had lived in Hartford for 48 years, and this is where he voted so apparently the 1850 census report from Erie County supports the idea that he was there for a brief visit of some sort.

Josiah lived until May 17, 1870, by which time his residence was listed as "South Hartford".  I haven't found a will or estate papers, nor have I found land records to help us locate the Whittemore farm.  But I have found a family man who cared enough to cross the state to help his son, and that is more than I knew when I started this post.  Josiah Whittemore was apparently another of our quiet ancestors, but perhaps I will someday learn more of his story.

The line of descent is

Josiah Whittemore-Betsy Foster
Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Myers
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

Holbrook line: Abraham Foster, Immigrant Son

I wrote earlier about Reginald Foster, Abraham's father, but Abraham deserves a post of his own because he was 16, and almost a man, when he arrived with his father and mother, four brothers and two sisters.  Abraham was born in April of 1622 in Exeter, Devonshire, England, the third child and first son.  It must have been a happy day when he arrived!  Unlike the stories of many of our English ancestors, Abraham didn't grow up in a small village or even a small town.  Exeter was large enough to have its own cathedral, and old enough to trace its roots back at least to the Romans. 

It's not clear why Reginald and Judith Foster, Abraha's parents, chose to leave England, nor exactly when they left.  One story is that they left on an embargoed ship in 1638.  They were in Ipswich, Essex COunty, Massachusetts by 1638, so perhaps they left even earlier than suspected.  If they traveled on an embargoed ship, then they left England illegally and perhaps made a sop in another port in order to arrive in New England without questions being asked.  It has also been suggested that perhaps he was part of the exiled Rev. John Wheelwright's party, but that group settled in what became Exeter, New Hampshire and there is no indication that the Fosters had any connections there.  The Fosters probably came to America for both religious and economic reasons. 

There is a bit of a controversy concerning Abraham's wife.  Was she Lydia Burbank?  Most genealogies say that was her name, but they are split on the identity of her parents.  I am tentatively leaving her parents as John and Jemima (last name not known) Burbank, while noting that some believe her parents to be Caleb and Martha Burbank.  To be Caleb's daughter, she would have had to marry at an exceptionally young age (11 to 14, depending on which source you choose).  The Lydia Burbank who was born to John and Jemima was born in 1644, unless that is her baptismadate rather than her birth date.  To my mind, the answer to her parentage is not yet clear.  Abraham and Lydia's  first known child, Ephraim, was born October 9, 1657, so probably Lydia was born before 1640 and perhaps earlier. 

Abraham was not admitted to full communion with the church until 1676, when he was 58 years old.  If he left England for religious reasons, why did it take so long for him to join the church, unless in fact he was a Wheelwright adherent?  That is another mystery not yet solved.  We know that Abraham was a yeoman, a farmer who owned land.  His name is on a "rate" list from 1648, showing the ammount each resident needed to pay for the msalary of their "Leader", Major Denison.  Abraham's share is 3 shillings.  He was a witness in a court case in 1651, and in 1678 is on a list of people who had rights to the cow commons.  That's not a lot of information to show who our ancestor was and what he did for the 73 years or so that he lived in Ipswich. 

Abraham died without a will, at about his 90th year, on January 15, 1710-11. He had disposed of all of his lands to his sons, through deeds, and his inventory, if there was one, would have been very basic.  So we don't know whether he was literate, we don't know what crops or animals he raised, other than he had rights to the commons, whether that was for hogs, sheep, or cows, and we don't know if he served in the militia although a good guess would be that he did.  But we do know that he came to Massachusetts, married here, raised a family here, and contributed to the growth of the colony.  For that, we are grateful.

The line of descent is:

Abraham Foster-Lydia probably Burbank
Abraham Foster-Mary Robinson
Nathan Foster-Hannah Standish
Nathan Foster-Elizabeth Lansford
Jude Foster-Lydia M
Betsy Foster-Josiah Whittemore
Mary Elizabeth Whittermore-Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

Holbrook line: William Greene, Immigrant

Unfortunately, we don't seem to know for sure when William Greene was born, or where, or the names of his parents, or even when he arrived in New England.  If he was born as early as 1591, as some suggest, then his wife, Hannah Carter, would have been significantly younger than he was in order to be starting the family in 1644.  So if the 1591 date is correct, he may well have had an earlier wife and an earlier family about whom we know nothing. 

What we know of William is that he was "of Charlestown" in 1640 and that year subscribed to the "town orders" for the settlement of Woburn, which basically stated rules to live by, for the town.  For instance, no one could have a guest ("inmate"), for more than three days without the express permission of at least four of the town selectmen.  He married Hannah Carter, daughter of Thomas Carter, the blacksmith of Charlestown, about 1642, and the young or middle-aged and young, couple went to Woburn to live.  He was made a freeman in 1644.  I should note that it's possible that Greene never actually moved at all, as Charlestown gave up some of its territory to what became the town of Woburn.  Still, the Greenes probably lived a good ways from Hannah's parents, as currently Woburn and Charlestown are about 18 miles distant from each other.  William was made a freeman in 1644, meaning he was a member of the church and had property of some sort. 

There isn't much more that is known of his life in Woburn.  Apparently he stayed out of trouble, paid his taxes, supported the church, and was not much involved in the government of the town.  Raising small children and farming probably kept him busy.  When he died in 1654, there were at least four small children to raise, and they were apparently taken in by members of Hannah's family.  Hannah died just a few years after William, in 1658.

William Greene had an estate of over 200 pounds when he died, probably helped greatly by a gift of half of the lands of his father in law.  This was a good sum of money for a man believed to have been in the country only about 14 years when he died. 

This sums up the story of William Greene, who came to New England to practice his religion, or for economic gain, or because he wanted an adventure, or some combination of the three.  Whatever his reasons, we are glad he came, because he contributed to our gene pool. 

The line of descent is

William Greene-Hannah Carter
Mary Greene-John Snow
Zerubabbel Snow-Jemima Cutler
William Snow-Elizabeth Stevens
Lucy Snow-Josiah Whittemore
Josiah Whittemore-Betsy Foster
Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

Holbrook line: Edward Lloyd, of Boston

I'm in trouble with this post, and hope someone will read it, weep, and then contact me with the correct information.  Some of this is fact and some is a wild guess; I'll try to make clear which is which. 

Here's what I think I know:  Edward Loyd, Lloyd or Lyde, was living in Boston, Massachusetts when he married Hannah Griffin in 1677 in Concord, Massachusetts Bay Colony,  He was a mariner by trade, according to his will, and at the time he wrote his will said he was of Boston.  There is a note to the side that said "Jamaica" but I don't know if there was a section of Boston known as Jamaica that early, or whether this was a note that Edward had actually died in Jamaica, on one of his voyages.  The will, which was probated in 1704, mentioned his wife, not by name, and two daughters, Hannah and Elizabeth.  The court documents explain that his wife's name was Mary.

This is where it gets confusing.  Perhaps our Edward Loyd was not the husband of Hannah Griffin.  Perhaps he was the husband of Mary Wheelwright, married in 1660 in Boston.  Mary's father, John Wheelwright, left land in England to his grandson, Edward Loyd or Lyde when he died.  Is this Edward Lyde our Edward Lloyd?  Mary Atkinson had a son, Edward Lloyd, baptized at Old South Church in Boston in 1674.  By then she had been a widow, for the second time, for about 7 years but this is the first I can find of an Edward Lloyd who might fit into this family.  Does he also fit into ours?  I'm not sure.

All we really know is that our Edward was the father of two girls and had a wife, Mary, when he died.  We know his estate was valued at about 77 pounds, including 75 gallons of "Rhum", and a sugar loaf.  He also had an old Bible.  The rum makes one wonder...why did he have this much on hand?  Was he a small time merchant, or did he expect to sell the rum to another party?  Had he purchased the rum in Jamaica or some other Caribbean port?  He apparently owned no land or buildings when he died. 

So, the question is, are these Edward Lloyd's the same person?  Was the  Edward who married Hannah Griffin a descendant of the Edward who married Mary Wheelwright?  Or were these two entirely separate families, with only the common name in common? 

Perhaps I shouldn't have written anything until I had this better figured out.  But if I don't ask for help on this, I may never find our answers.  Besides, I like to write about men who were mariners, who had a bit of mystery about them.  I will definitely be keeping an eye out for Edward Lloyd, as I continue to work to tell the stories of our ancestors. 

The line of descent is:

Edward Loyd-Hannah Griffin
Elizabeth Lloyd-John Whittemore
John Whittemore-Lydia Clough
Josiah Whittemore-Lucy Snow
Josiah Whittemore-Betsy Foster
Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

Edward Doty, Pilgrim Immigrant

 Update 8/11/2022:  This man is not our ancestor.  However, I am leaving the post here for those who might want a short version of his highly interesting life.  (The error is that Sarah Doty did not marry Josiah Standish, according to further research.)

Well, probably he wasn't a Pilgrim in the traditional sense.  He would have been required to go to religious services, of course, but there's no evidence he joined the church, that I can find.  So while he was definitely a passenger on the Mayflower of 1620, and he was definitely an immigrant, we don't know what his religious beliefs really were, if any. 

We also don't know who his parents were, or where in England he was from.  Really, the first thing that is known for certain is that he was on the Mayflower, signed the Compact, and was an indentured servant of Stephen Hopkins.  If he didn't know Hopkins earlier, then he surely would have been entertained on the trip by Hopkins' takes of life in Jamestown, Virginia, and his shipwreck adventure on Bermuda in 1609.  It is believed that he was married prior to his known marriage in Plymouth Colony, but whether that was in England or in America is unknown.  It's also suspected that he had served most of his indentureship before arriving at Plymouth Colony. 

We do know that he married Faith Clark, daughter of Thurston or Tristam and Faith Clark, in 1634/5.  She was 19 years younger than he was, and Dory had "snagged" her pretty much fresh off the boat, as the Clarks arrived in 1634. By this time Doty had made something of a name for himself, and not necessarily for a good reason. 

He and fellow servant Edward Leister had such a falling out, a few months after the Mayflower landed, that they actually dueled with sword and rapier.  Each was wounded, apparently not seriously.  For this, the Pilgrim leaders decided that the two should be bound together for 24 hours, head and feet together, so that they could neither eat nor drink during that time.  The two complained so piteously that they were released after only an hour, but this was the first in a pattern of court appearances and complaints that Doty was involved with, usually as the plaintiff.  He seems to have had great faith in the American justice system, even as limited and as primitive as it was during his lifetime.  If someone wronged him, he expected legal redress, and he also expected to pay his fine if he was found to be in the wrong.  The records prior to 1632 are mostly lacking, so we don't know what happened regarding the courts as a younger man, but after that his name is frequently noted. 

Sometimes, his name was recorded for a good reason.  He was granted land several times, he sold some of it and bought more, and he paid his taxes.  He also was counted as fit for military duty, so he would have had armor, guns, and swords as required  We can assume that he patrolled the area when the natives were nearby, and probably that he went on military expeditions expecting trouble from the native Americans.  However, perhaps because of the court cases, perhaps because of his personality or education, he apparently never held any colony offices, even though he was made a freeman in about 1633.  Had he not been involved in all those court cases, he would have been one of the nearly invisible population. 

Edward and Faith had nine children, with the last born in about 1653.  Edward died just three years later, leaving Faith with a large family to raise.  She must have done a decent job of raising them, because she didn't remarry (to John Phillips) for another ten years, on March 14, 1666/7.  She died on or before December 21, 1675.  Edward's estate was valued at close to 138 pounds, which was not terrible but probably not terrific, either. 

Edward Doty was undoubtedly a colorful character, and we may not know his whole story.  But he came, he survived, he persisted, and he died here after going from indentured servant to landowner.  For that, he deserves to be honored. 

The line of descent is:

Edward Doty-Faith Clark
Samuel Doty-Jeane Harman
Sarah Doty-Josiah Standish
Hannah Standish-Nathan Foster
Nathan Foster-Elizabeth Lansford
Jude Foster-Lydia M
Betsy Foster-Josiah Whittemore
Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

Holbrook line: James Cutler, Immigrant

Researching James Cutler, or at least reviewing some of the information found about him on line, was interesting.  Usually if a man has been researched well enough to be included in Robert Charles Anderson's Great Migration series, then there isn't much controversy left.  I have learned that there is some controversy involving which of James's last two wives would be the mother of our Jemima Cutler Snow.  I think The Great Migration is most likely to be correct.  But then I wondered why others were choosing a different mother for Jemima Cutler.  It seems that James's third wife, Phoebe Page, had a bad reputation.  It may have been deserved.  So perhaps those who want a pretty genealogy instead of an accurate one may have chosen to go with wife #2.  But let's start at the beginning. 

James is thought to be the James Cutler, son of Thomas and Anne Cutler, who was born or baptized at Sproughton, Sussex, England on May 21, 1606.  That's as much as we know of his childhood and early years, except that Anne died in 1613, when James would have been about 7 years old.  He was one of six children born between 1600 and 1610, so perhaps Anne died giving birth, or recovering from another birth, in 1613.  His father lived until 1640, so he would have been there, probably with a new wife, to guide the children as they grew and to possibly place them in a position to learn a trade, although James doesn't seem to have practiced a trade as such in New England. 

James arrived in New England with his wife Ann and was in Watertown by November 6, when his first son was born.  He and Ann (possibly Cakebread, but not proven) had four children in Watertown, but Ann died sometime on or before September 30, 1644.  He then married Mary, widow of Mary King, and they had three children.  Her date of death is uncertain but was sometime after Sarah's birth in 1653.  With his third wife, Phoebe Page, whom he married probably before 1661, he had four children. 

Wife Phoebe Page was an interesting woman and it is impossible at this distance to say how much, if any, of the "gossip" about her is true.  She sued once and won a defamation case in Watertown, when it was stated that she was pregnant and unmarried.  There is at least one statement that she was the Phoebe Page who was whipped in Long Island for fornication, but I didn't find a date for that so have no idea how to evaluate it.  She was noted as being "past her prime" when she married James Cutler, and apparently brought at least one child to the marriage with her.  Note that James Cutler was also past his prime! 

James's only occupation that I could locate was "planter".  He is described in his later years as poor, but he was able to give land (not enough to live on, but enough to help) to several of his sons during his lifetime, and still had assets to bequeath when he died.  He left Watertown in 1653 and settled in the part of Cambridge known as Cambridge Farms and later as Lexington, where he died in 1694.  He had been appointed surveyor of highways in Watertown for the two years just before he moved.  He didn't hold offices after that, but his farm was located on the outskirts of Cambridge so it may have been a matter of convenience as much as anything else.  Phoebe apparently died before he did, as she is not mentioned in his will.

James's will was written November 24, 1684 and proved August 20, 1694.  His estate was valued at a little over 108 pounds, of which 100 pounds was real estate.  Remembering that he had previously given land to sons, and apparently dowry to one or more daughters, this was not a poor man, although he was not well off, either.  He was kind enough in his will to leave something to the children of his second wife, and to a daughter "Phoebe" was was apparently the daughter of third wife Phoebe Page, but not his child.  He actually left her a number of items which "must not be brought into my inventory", indicating that these items were likely Phoebe Page's when she came to the marriage. 

I think I like James Cutler.  He was willing to take a woman "past her prime" as a spouse, he cared for his step children as well as his children, and he made something out of (presumably) nothing when he was able to acquire and farm the land he didn't really know how to cultivate (not an insult; no one in New England really knew what they were doing as far as farming and raising animals went.  It was a different climate and a different soil, and a different growing season.  It took time to adapt.) .  Although there is little indication that he was a good Puritan (or for that matter, a bad one), he did have a Bible in his estate when he died.  Let's give the man a break, and a thank you!

The line of descent is:

James Cutler-Phoebe Page
Jemima Cutler-Zerubabbel Snow
William Snow-Elizabeth Stevens
Lucy Snow-Josiah Whittemore
Josiah Whittmore-Betsy Foster
Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

Holbrook line: John Tidd, Immigrant, of Woburn

John Tidd is a bit of a mystery, or at least his earlier years are a mystery.  Some, but not all, genealogists say that we was the John Tidd who was christened at Hertford, Hertfordshire, England on October 18, 1594.  If so, he was the son of John Tidd and Anna or Agnes Dane.  This date would  fit in well with the proposed marriage date of 1616 for John to marry Margaret.  Margaret is believed by some to be Margaret Greenleaf of Yarmouth, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Leeds Greenlefe, which leaves us to wonder how the two would have met.  An argument has been made that she was Margaret Greenfield, sister of Samuel Greenfield, but there seems to be no proof as to that marriage, either.  So the most that we can say with confidence is that he married Margaret and that the six or seven children they are credited with were all born in England.  Field Dalling, Norfolk, England is given as the birth place of some of the children, and Ipswich, Suffolk, England for others, but again, I don't find documentation. 

However, we know that John and Margaret were in New England by 1637, when he is said to be at Charlestown (a frequent first stop for those who moved on).  All of their children were born by then, and John would have been in his early 40s.  Their oldest son, would have been 20 and their youngest, Hannah, perhaps eight years old. 

John, a tailor, became a member of the church at Charlestown on March 10, 1639.  He was an original proprietor of the town of Woburn in December of 1640, and three years later was a freeman and sergeant of the training band (militia) in Woburn.  This wasn't just some show up one day a month and drill group.  These men were responsible for protecting the town from any incursions from the native Americans, and the Pequot War had just ended in 1637.  Training would have been serious business. 

John acquired eight pieces of land in Charlestown, as well as part of the cow commons.  When he moved to Woburn, he had minor town offices, most relating to taxes, besides the role of sergeant for the band.  He was a courageous man, for he was one of those who, in 1653, signed a petition to the General Court called the "Woburn Memorial for Christian Liberty", earning himself the permanent label of "One of the bold petitioners."  Apparently religious freedom was still frowned upon by the Court.

Margaret died about 1641.  We don't have a cause of death but there were many illnesses prevalengt that took both women and men.  John married Alice sometime after Margaret's death, but they had no children together.  

John gave land to his son Samuel and possibly to his other sons before he died, which would explain why they are not mentioned in his will.  He died April 24, 1656, leaving an estate of 163 pounds.  One unusual feature of his will was that he left the house and orchards to his wife Alice, for as long as she lived or until six years after her re=marriage.  Usually men left the use of the home, or part of it, until the widow remarried, so the six years grace period is a bit different. 

John was another of our ancestors who had the courage to come to the New World under difficult conditions, and who apparently "made good".  He coped with the new environment, with supporting and raising his family, and with the demands that the military placed on him.  He and Margaret are good role models. 

John Tidd gives us another ancestor in common with the two Presidents Bush, with Barbara Bush, and with Buckminster Fuller, among others. 

The line of descent is:

John Tidd-Margaret possibly Greanleaf
John Tidd-Rebecca Wood
John Tidd-Elizabeth Fifield
Elizabeth Tidd-Joseph Stevens
Elizabeth Stevens-William Snow
Lucy Snow-Josiah Whittemore
Josiah Whittemore-Betsy Foster
Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

Holbrook line: Richard Snow, Immigrant

Richard Snow born about December 21, 1606, in or around Barnstaple, Devon, England.  Many think that his father was Patrick Snow, with his father being Richard, and then his father being Patrick, born about 1517.  It is certainly possible that he is connected to this family, but Richard didn't name any of his sons Patrick, and I've not been able to document any connection.  If he did grow up in Barnstaple, he may have been involved in the wool trade, in cloth making, or in sheep raising.  These were the main industries of the town. 

We don't know much about Richard before he arrived in Woburn, Massachusetts, but it is thought that he might be the 28 year old Richard Snow who left England in 1635, aboard the Expedition and bound for Barbados.  There were other men who ended up in Woburn who were on that ship.  We don't know if the ship was making a "triangle run" or if the men stayed in Barbados for a time.  If they stayed there, had they planned to stay longer than they did?  Did they go, realize they didn't care for the climate, and then later head to Massachusetts?  We don't know.

Another missing fact in Richard's life is when he married.  His wife's name is believed to be Avis or Annis Barrett, and she is thought to be the daughter of William Barrett.  They may have married in or near Barnstaple, or in Barbados, or in Woburn.  I have found no records any of those places so I guess we can take our pick.  I root for Barbados, for at least it would have been warm and sunny there.  It's possible that Richard went to Barbados as an indentured servant and then left for New England as soon as his term was up.  If so, he must have been a thrifty man, as it would have been hard to save money for the passage. 

He was in Woburn by 1645 and perhaps a year or two earlier.  Why he chose to go to Woburn has not yet been determined.  There weren't other Snow families there, nor were there Barretts, but there were some of the men who had been on the Expedition with him. 

Richard and Avis or Annis stayed pretty much under the radar during their whole lives in Woburn.  He doesn't seem to have held any town offices, but he doesn't seem to have been called into court, either.  Neither did he attract the interest of any of the religious authorities.  He did, however, receive land in 1648, and in 1653 he was one of twenty nine men (possibly most of the men in town) who signed a petition requesting that churches be allowed to find their own pastors, rather than having a group of pastors from outside the town make the decision.  The request was turned down, but was written in such a humble (possibly groveling) style that the men weren't chastised for their request.  Richard and Avis had arrived in Woburn with two children, and had at least three more in Woburn. 

We know that he was part of the train band (militia) until he was excused in 1659. Usually at that time, men were only excused because of some infirmity that prevented their serving, or that made them an impediment to the rest of the group, but we have no indication of what that may have been.   

Richard died before May 5, 1677 at Woburn.  His will provided that his four surviving sons provide for their mother in her old age,  and left most of the land to the oldest son, John, where he already lived.  His estate was valued at about 188 pounds, most of it in parcels of land, including the house and orchard.  John lived in this home and it stayed in the family for several generations, seemingly abandoned sometime in the mid nineteenth century.  The inventory included two Bibles and other books of sermons, so it seems that Richard could read.  I don't have a date of death for his widow.

This is the story of a man who worked hard, improved his lot in life, supported his church, and was content to stay in one place once he arrived in Massachusetts.  He's another of the ordinary people who helped build an extraordinary country.

The line of descent is:

Richard Snow-Avis Barrett
John Snow-Mary Greene
Zerubabbel Snow-Jemima Cutler
William Snow-Elizabeth Stevens
Lucy Snow-Josiah Whittemore
Josiah Whittemore-Betsy Foster
Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants


 



  

Holbrook line: Thomas Whittemore, Immigrant

I'm pleased to be writing about Thomas Whittemore (Whitmore), not just because he is our immigrant ancestor and not just because there's quite a bit of material readily available about him.  It's also the completion of a promise I made myself early in this genealogy journey.  Mary Elizabeth Whittemore, my great great grandmother, was a brick wall for me in the early days of my genealogy search, and I remember promising her that I would find her family and tell their story.  It's satisfying to me to be able to do that now, with the help of a lot of other family historians along the way. 

Thomas Whittemore was born or christened on June 6, 1593 in Hitchin, Herefordshire, England.  His parents were Thomas and Mary Meade Whitmore. and our Thomas was one of at least ten children born to his parents.  Hitchin is or was a market town and a wool center, so it is quite possible that the Whitmores were involved in that somehow, whether raising sheep or working in mills.  It seems to have had a larger population than the towns that many of our ancestors were from, which may or may not explain why there are fairly good records there. 

Thomas married three times.  The name of his first wife is unknown.  His second wife was Sarah Deardes, whom he married in 1623.  No children are known from that marriage.  He next married Hannah Chawkley on October 26, 1632, and she is the mother of all of his known children, all thirteen of them!  Roger Thompson, in his book "From Deference to Defiance: Charlestown, Massachusetts 1629-1692" says that Thomas came to Charlestown in about 1639, aged about 43, in a party of eight.  That would be himself, his wife Hannah, and six children (Son John had died probably shortly after birth in 1635, but there were these six who came with them).  I'm not sure that Sarah, Mary, and Thomas were his, or else they did belong to one of his earlier wives, for those children are given birth dates well before his marriage to Hannah.  It's possible that they were other relatives that he agreed to bring to America, but it looks like more research needs to be done about those children.  Daniel, Nathaniel, and another John were the children of Thomas and Hannah, who accompanied them on the trip.

The family settled in Charlestown soon after their arrival.  In 1638 or 1639, this would have been quite a small town because in 1658 there were still fewer than 200 heads of household.  We don't know a lot about Thomas's life in Charlestown.  He had a farm that was situated on the Mystic River so he would have had easy access to fish and, likely, seafood, to supplement whatever he grew on his farm.  We don't know if he had another occupation.  I found no record of him in the applications for freeman, so apparently he never acquired the right to vote, and I found no record that he served in any sort of political or government post. 

Thomas died on May 25, 1661 at Malden, which was carved out of Charlestown.  Descendants lived on his property until the mid 1800's, which is pretty remarkable.  At his death, his estate was valued at 286 pounds.  He wanted Hannah to have the right to live in the house for as long as she lived (no language about "and remains unmarried") and gave the bulk of the estate to his son Daniel, with smaller bequests to Nathaniel and John.  Son Thomas had been given property of some type in England and had returned there to live, but "to save trouble" he was bequeathed five shillings if he came back to claim it.  The other children were to receive small bequests as they turned 18, or 21, or married.

Hannah married as her second husband Benjamin Butterfield in 1663 and lived until 1677.  

So that's what is known of Thomas Whittemore.  His children served as minor officials such as constable and hog reeve, but we don't know how active they were in church life, or more particularly, spiritual life.  I've not found anything that indicates whether or not Thomas could read, nor have I found an inventory of his assets.  I'll keep looking for those.   Thomas Whittemore, no matter how respected or not respected he was during his lifetime, deserves our gratitude for bringing his family here and for raising good citizens.  He helped make America.

The line of descent is:

Thomas Whittemore-Hannah Chawkley
John Whittemore-Mary Upham
John Whittemore-Elizabeth Annable
John Whittemore-Elizabeth Lloyd
John Whittemore-Lydia Clough
Josiah Whittemore-Lucy Snow
Josiah Whittemore-Betsy Foster
Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

Holbrook line: Henry Stevens, Immigrant

Henry Stevens is another man of mystery, prior to his immigration to Massachusetts Bay Colony on the Defiance in 1635.  His age on the records is given as 24 at that time, so his birth date would be about 1611, and it's probably safe to say his origins were in England.  The ship sailed from London, which may or may not mean he was from somewhere in the southeast section of the country.  Alice Stevens, believed to be Henry's wife, came at the same time on a separate ship, the Abigail.  We don't know why they sailed on separate ships and that is a mystery I'd like to solve.  At any rate, it appears that they were married before they came to America, perhaps shortly before.

Their first home was in Lynn but they were in Boston by 1641.  Alice was admitted to the Boston church on June 18, 1643, and Henry Stevens was admitted February 8, 1651/2.  Sometime between April 11, 1649 and February 1651/52, Alice had died and Henry was married to Mary Buckmaster.  Their first child was born May 28, 1652, so Henry wasn't a widow for long. Henry and Alice's first three children were baptized on the same day that Alice became a member of the church (having children baptized was sometimes a prime motivator in joining a church; at least one parent had to belong to the church.)  John, James, Joseph, Deborah and Deliverance were the children of Henry and Alice.  Henry's children with Mary were Joanna, Henry, Thomas, Joshua, John, Samuel, Silence, and Mary.  This was quite a family to raise!  Son John was nearly 33 years old when Mary, the last child, was born in 1670.

Fortunately, Henry had a good trade.  He was a mason, and likely moved from Lynn to Boston when he realized there was more work available at Boston. (Robert Charles Anderson suggests that Henry was a servant to John Humfrey, who left to return permanently to England, about the time that Henry moved to Boston.  He further suggests that Henry, as a servant to Humfrey, had burned down Humfrey's bar.  My inference is that this was likely an accident, because years were added to Henry's servitude, rather than Henry being imprisoned or even sentenced to death, as would have happened if it were considered a crime.

Henry had at least some education because he signed his name on deeds, and when he died his estate included books.  He became a freeman on May 26, 1652, and was appointed to committees to set boundaries between towns.  He was also a constable at least twice, and a tithingman.  One of the deeds refers to Henry Stevens as a husbandman, so he must have done some farming, or at least owned farmland, also.

When Henry died on June 11, 1690, James and Joseph had predeceased him, as Henry left small bequests to their children.  His estate totaled 411 pounds 10 shillings, of which 381 pounds was real estate in several different locations.

I have not been able to find what became of Mary.  Information on various genealogy web sites gives her death as 1684.  If this is accurate, then Henry, who wrote his will in 1688, had remarried and his third wife was also Mary, for he mentions her by name in his will.  This would be a mystery that a descendant of Henry and Mary might want to try to solve.  Our tree comes through Henry and Alice, so my interest is in identifying Alice.

The line of descent is:

Henry Stevens-Alice
John Stevens-Elizabeth Hildreth
Joseph Stevens-Elizabeth Tidd
Elizabeth Stevens-William Snow
Lucy Snow-Josiah Whittemore
Josiah Whittemore-Betsy Foster
Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants


  

Holbrook line: William Fifield, newly found immigrant

William Fifield is a recent addition to our family tree.  When I learned who the Lucy Snow was who married Josiah Whittemore, she came with quite a well researched genealogy.  William Fifield was one of those finds.  I love it when an ancestor has been written up by Robert Charles Anderson in The Great Migration series!  What I don't love about William Fifield is that he lived in a state and county that I'm not familiar with.  That means I not only have more research to do, but I have to learn how to do the research in New Hampshire.  However, I digress.

William Fifield was born about 1614 somewhere in England.  A case has been made that he is from Littleton, Hampshire, England, and some believe his ancestry can be traced back another four or five generations.  I'm not convinced, but I'm sure going to look into it.  His birthdate is approximated from various depositions he gave in his adult life, when he said that he was of a certain age at that time.  It isn't known who his wife may have been, other than her given name of Mary.  They likely married after each immigrated.

The first record we have of William is his oath of fidelity given when he immigrated on the Hercules, in 1634.  It arrived at Ipswich, Massachusetts Bay Colony in April of that year.  Since there were only 12 known passengers on this ship, either it was very small or it carried primarily cargo.  In 1634, most of what the colony used would have been imported from "home".  It was, after all, a colony.  He lived at Ipswich for a short time, then at Newbury, and in 1639 went to Hampton, in what is now New Hampshire.  It appears that he spent the rest of his life there.

Hampton would have been a good place to raise a family.  It was on the Atlantic Ocean, so there was likely a maritime business.  If not, at least it was pretty!  Good water was available, and there were vast fields of timber nearby.  William and Mary may have had as many as nine children, the last born in 1660/61. Two children did not survive infancy, but the others reached adulthood and married.

There is a possibility that William was somehow related to the Fifields of Barbados, but that needs more study.  If it turns out to be true, one could wonder ships sailing to or from Hampton would have carried family members.  It also makes one wonder whether there was any slave trade involved.

William acquired land both by grants and by purchase, but I don't know enough about land in New Hampshire at this time period to figure out whether he acquired more than the typical resident.  

William had some amount of education, because he signed his name to deeds.  He was made a freeman in 1641, which gave him the right to vote and to hold office.  He held the office of timber surveyor, selectman, constable, and deputy constable at various times, and was frequently a petit juror.  He also served on a committee to set the boundary between Portsmouth and Hampton.

This is what I know about William Fifield.  I'd like to learn his origins and his wife's maiden name.  I'd like to know about his military service (he had some, because he was excused from military training in the later years of his life), and how active he was in church.  But, welcome to our family, William Fifield!  I'm glad you made your presence known.

The line of descent is:

William Fifield-Mary
Elizabeth Fifield-John Tidd
Elizabeth Tidd-Joseph Stevens
Elizabeth Stevens-William Snow
Lucy Snow-Josiah Whittemore
Josiah Whittemore-Betsy Foster
Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

Holbrook line: Captain Miles Standish, Immigrant,

I/m really surprised that I haven't written about Miles (Myles) Standish yet, so the timing of this, during Thanksgiving week, seems appropriate.  There is a lot of material about the Captain available, but there is still much to learn.  Robert Charles Anderson thinks it is possible or even likely, but not proven, that Miles is the son of John Standish, of the Isle of Man, son of John, son of Huan.  It has long been thought that Miles came from either the Isle of Man or Lancashire, and the two families seem to be somehow related, although the connection has not yet been found.  He seems to have been born about 1583 or 1584, 

Another mystery is when and under what circumstances he went to fight in the "Low Country".  The two options put forth most often are that he went as a mercenary, during the war between the Low Countries and Spain, or that he served under Sir Horatio Vere, who was sent by Queen Elizabeth I to fight in Holland. Vere is known to have recruited soldiers in both Lancashire and the Isle of Man.  It seems that there would be some sort of record if that were the case, but of course the English Civil War of the 1640s, as well as other causes of decay, confusion, and misplacing of records all mean that we may never find a roster with the name of Miles Standish on it.  In any case, it appears that he retired from military service and stayed in Holland, where he had ample opportunity to meet with the men who would soon be known as Pilgrims. 

Miles was hired by the Pilgrims to be their military advisor, so it appears that he wasn't one of the Pilgrims.  He was Protestant, though, and hIn 1620, whas been called Puritan.  If this is accurate, the difference in beliefs between his own and the Pilgrims would not have been large' primarily, the Separatists wanted to live separately, away from established religion as they knew it, and the Puritans were interested in reforming the Church of England, to make it a simpler and less ornate religion. 

In 1620, when the Pilgrims left Holland and then England for the New World, Miles and his wife Rose were on board the Mayflower,  Rose, however, died during that first winter, along with many of the other Pilgrims, due to exposure and disease as well as inadequate food.  His second wife, Barbara, arrived on the ship "Anne" in 1623.  This seems to be someone Miles already knew but Anderson is not willing to identify her further.  It has been suggested that she was the sister of Rose, 

Captain Myles' s occupation is listed only as "soldier", but he did much more than construct the defenses at Plymouth Plantation.  He led men on military expeditions, which were mainly again the native Americans but also against the Dutch in the war against the Dutch.  He is said to have had a violent temper, but he was working in difficult conditions with difficult men so I'll give him a pass on that.  He was a councilor, a free man, an assistant, deputy governor, treasurer of the colony, and on the Council of War.  He was also the commander of the military forces.  He was still listed os able to bear arms in 1643, when he would have been just about 60 years of age. 

While we don't know the extent of his education, he was the treasurer so he must have had at least rudimentary arithmetic skills, and perhaps more than that.  He had several dozen books in his inventory when he died, including three Bibles, Honer's Iliad and Caesar's Commentaries.  I think we can say he had an education, whether formal or not .

He and his wife had 7 children, and by 1643 had moved with his family to Duxbury, a new settlement in Plymouth Colony.  There he lived out his days, and died on October 3, 1656,  Barbara died sometime after October 6, 1659.  (She apparently did not remarry).  Myles's estate was valued at 358 pounds, 7 shillings, which was not too bad for a "soldier".  He must have had a good business sense, too. 

Although I certainly wish the situation with the native Americans could have been handled differently, in general Myles Standish is worth our respect and honor.  The situations that he lived through were remarkable and more difficult than we can imagine.  I'm glad we're part of his family.

The line of descent is:

Miles Standish-Barbara
Josiah Standish-Sarah Allen
Josiah Standish-Sarah Doty
Hannah Standish-Nathan Foster
Nathan Foster-Elizabeth Lansford (Lundsford)
Jude Foster-Lydia M
Betsy Foster-Josiah Whittemore
Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

Holbrook line: Richard Hildreth, Immigrant

The only reason I haven't written about Richard Hildreth before is that he is one of the recent funds I made when finally determining the identity of Lucy Snow Whittemore.  That connection leads to several more immigrant families, and this is one of them.  Much has been found about Richard Hildreth but much more needs to be found. Still, my view on writing these posts is that something is better than nothing. 

Among the "minor" details we don't know about Richard are the names of his parents, his birthdate or location, and the maiden name of his first wife.  We're not at all sure about the maiden name of his second wife, either.  Other than that,,,

We do know that he was in Massachusetts Bay Colony at least by May 10, 1643, when he was made a freeman.  At the time, he resided in Cambridge.  Some records indicate that he lived at Woburn but had his children christened in Cambridge, so it's possible that he moved. The two towns are about eleven miles apart now, but I don't know where the boundaries were then.   Richard had come to America with his first wife, Sarah, and their two children.  Sarah died at Cambridge June 15, 1644.  He must have married Elizabeth, who may have been a Hinchman or Henchman, (but I've found nothing to document that) very soon after Sarah's death, because second wife's first child, Elizabeth, was born on September 21, 1646.  Sarah and Richard had at least seven children.  Based on the ages reported on their gravestones, Elizabeth was about 20 years younger than Richard and was probably only about twenty years old when she married. 

In Cambridge, Richard was well respected and was a selectman of the town.  He was also referred to as "sergeant", and most likely would have had this title as part of the military training band.  Sometime in his life, he lost the use of his right hand.  Whether this was as part of a military expedition, a training accident, or some other kind of accident is not known, not is it known exactly when this loss occurred. 

He acquired land in Chelmsford in 1653 and he and the family had moved there sometime before 1658, when his a son was born at Chelmsford.   In 1664 the Court granted him 150 additional acres of land because of the loss of his right hand, so we know that the incident occurred before that date.  There doesn't appear to be a skirmish or war to which we can attribute it, but as mentioned above, there are several explanations.  The Court would likely not  have given land to those who had suffered non-military injuries, as far as I can tell. 

Richard was a member of the church at Chelmsford and must have also been a member earlier, when he attained freeman status.  

Richard died at Chelmsford February 23, 1693 and Elizabeth followed him a few months later.  He had disposed of most of his property by the time of his death, as his inventory shows a value of only about 17 pounds.  However, it did include four books, which tells us something.  His mind may have still been active even at such an advanced age.  His son Ephraim had the use of Richard's estate while Richard lived, and was appointed executor of the estate.  Oldest son James was to get 20 shillings more than the others when the estate was settled. 

So we're left wondering...Was his wife a Hinchman?  How did Richard support himself, before and after the incident that cost him his right hand?  Where was he born, and who were his parents?  The search goes on.

The line of descent is:

Richard Hildreth-Elizabeth
Elizabeth Hildreth-John Stevens
Joseph Stevens-Elizabeth Tidd
Elizabeth Stevens-William Snow
Lucy Snow-Josiah Whittemore
Josiah Whittemore-Betsy Foster
Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph R Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants