Holbrook line Kingsland Comstock 1673-1721

I've written about Kingsland Comstock previously.  That post was about the son of this Kingsland Comstock.  I had only a little bit to say about that Kingsland, and the same is true of his father.  I know about when he was born, about when he died, and I know he lived his whole life in the same area.  But I can find nothing to hook us into his life, to give us a sense of the kind of man he was.  Still, he is our ancestor, and deserves this brief moment in the sun.

Kingland was born sometime before November 2, 1673, which is his christening date.  His parents were Daniel and Palthiah Elderkin Comstock, and he was one of at least eleven children. He may have been the youngest child, but was surely one of the youngest.  This name came from his maternal grandmother's maiden name, although it also same with a variety of spellings, such as Kensley and Kingsley.  The family lived in Norwich, New London County, Connecticut.  Grandfather William Comstock had settled there, father Daniel inherited some of his land, and Kingsland in turn inherited some of that land,  His father died in 1683, when Kingsland was only about 11 years old, but the land was held for him until he reached the age of 21.  So by the time Kingsland married, the Comstock land had been in the family for "generations", and it appears that it stayed in family hands for quite a long time. 

Kingsland married Mary Atwell, daughter of Benjamin and Mary Atwell by 1697, and they had at least six children together.  Since he had the land farmed by his grandfather and father, he probably farmed, too.  If he had an additional occupation, I've not been able to determine it. 

I know nothing of any military service, I know nothing of his religious beliefs.  It appears that the children were baptized but I have not found that Kingsland ever joined the church.  Perhaps he did, because Connecticut was still quite Puritan by the time of his marriage and Mary may have influenced him to do so. 

He died suddenly, from a fall from a horse.  Did he have a stroke or heart attack that caused him to fall, or did the horse get spooked for some reason?  This was before April 17, 1721 ir oissubkt 1722.  The location of his death is listed as New London, New London, Ct. so perhaps he was there on some sort of business trip, or perhaps he and Mary had moved to the larger town.  Kingland would have been about 50 when he died. 

He left no will so the children agreed to sell the land that was theirs to their uncle, Daniel Comstock. There is a confusing entry that on March 1739/1740 the heirss of Kingsland Comstock agreed to the distibution of the estate.  Why had it taken this long?  Did Mary receive some sort of support while she raised the young children?  Their youngest son apparently was not born until about 1719, so that may explain the delay in settling the estate. 

That's what I know about Kingsland.  King Philip's war occurred when he was just a very young child.  He may or may not have been involved in Queen Anne's war, or in the expedition to Maine.  We just don't know.  But we do know he's our ancestor, and for that, we honor him.

The line of descent is

Kingsland Comstock-Mary Atwell

Kingsland Comstock-Rachel Crocker

Rachel Comstock-John Eames

John Eames-Elizabeth Longborrom

Hannah Eames-James Lamphire

Sussan Lamphire-Joseph Eddy

Susan Eddy-Hiram Stanard

Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick

Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook

Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen

Their descendants

Holbrook line: Kingsland Comstock, another elusive ancestor

I almost regret trying to write a blog post about Kingsland.  I find wide variations on his birth date, no record of his death date, no location to be sure of, and nothing at all about him.  I think I know who his parents are, I am reasonably sure who his wife was, and I do have information that may or may not be correct about his children.  He may be hiding in plain sight but so far I haven't caught many glimpses of him.

Kingsland was the son of Kingsland and Mary Atwell Comstock.  Supposedly his parents were married in 1711, which is a bit of a problem.  First, I can't find documentation for that, and secondly, our Kingsland is presumed to be older than can be accounted for by this couple, if the marriage date is correct.  We know that Kingsland married Rachel Crocker on September 18, 1717 in New London, so Kingsland would presumably have been in the neighborhood of 25 years old then.  That gives a birthdate of about 1692.  Kingsland Sr. and Mary were old enough to have been married when our Kingsland was born  So either Mary Atwell was a second wife, or the marriage date, undocumented, is simply wrong. 

At any rate, the younger Kingsland had at least three brothers and one sister.  The family is believed to have stayed in New London, where our Kingsland married in 1717.  But with absolutely no record to be found after a moderate amount of research, I'm wondering whether he may have taken his family elsewhere.  Kingsland and Rachel are believed to have had at least seven children, all born between 1718 and 1727.  After the 1727 birth, Kingsland disappears from New London records.  Did they live off the grid, so to speak, or did Kingsland possibly desert his family?  Did he die at sea? 

I've not found a record of a will for Kingsland, nor an inventory.  This further exclaims "Mystery" to me.  His mother Mary died in 1755 and left a small estate, but the papers I've found didn't include a distribution.  The supposition is that Kingsland was already deceased by then.

 I wonder if he had actually left New London for some reason?   I wonder what his occupation was  and whether he attended church after his children were baptized.  I wonder if he was literate.  I wonder if he did leave his family an estate that has been lost.  I wonder why he is so mysterious! 

The line of descent is

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