It's hard enough to find information about our ancestors without someone writing their name in such a fashion that it can't be read accurately. Two sources who apparently looked at the very same records for the very same year arrived at different conclusions as to whether the initial letter in his first name is an "L" or and "S". In my tree, I have it as an "S" but I'm not taking any bets as to whether or not that is correct.
Having said that, is it any wonder that we don't know who this man's parents are, or where they came from? Everyone assumes it's England, and that is probably correct, but we don't know when he was born, either, so that makes the search a little more difficult.
What we do know is that he was in or of Hinghaam, Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts in 1636, when he was given a grant of land there.
We know that he had a daughter Margaret when he died in 1659 and we know from his will that he had three daughters, Margaret married to Thomas Lincoln (eldest son Joshua), Dinah and Rebecca, who were apparently not married. There is no mention of a wife so she had probably died, but whether that was in New England or not, we don't know. Some have given her a first name of Margaret and others have called her "Joanne Underdowne" but I've not seen documentation for either name.
When Richard wrote his will on February 20, 1659, he tells us all we know of his life between 1636 and 1659; in fact, he tells us all we know of his life. He describes himself as "very aged". His real estate was described as "two home lotts that I bought of mhy son in law, Thomas Lincoln", which were to go to Joshua Lincoln, and a lot of meadow at Conyhasset as well as his "great lott lyeing neere Glad Tidings Rocke". The only personal property he disposed of was a 'green rugg" to his daughter Margaret, and she was to give 4 shillings each to her two sisters, Dinah and Rebecca. He may have been living with the Lincolns when he died, to have so little personal property. His appraisal was modest, just 21 pounds and two shillings. I haven't seen a copy of the appraisal, so I don't know whether the valuation included the land mentioned or not.
We can guess that Richard attended church services but we don't know whether or not he was a Puritan, or a Separatist, or merelly getting along with his neighbors. He did seem to get along with his neighbors, as I found no mention of him in court records. These are speculations only. We have a record that shows he was here, that he acquired a modest amount of property, that he had daughters, and that he seemed to have a high regard for hiw (apparently) first grandson. Other than that, he kept his head down and raised his family, for which we thank him, whatever his name is!
The line of descent is
Richard Sanger-
Margaret Sanger-Thomas Lincoln
Sarah Lincoln-Thomas Marsh
Deborah Marsh-Isaac Lazell
Deborah Lazell-Levi Rockwood
Susanna Rockwood-Nahum Holbrook
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Showing posts with label Langer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Langer. Show all posts
Friday, July 12, 2019
Friday, August 10, 2018
Holbrook line: Thomas Lincoln, Immigrant
I've spent most of the afternoon trying to figure out which of several Lincoln men I should write about today. Let's just say the easiest one to track is Thomas Lincoln, husbandman, of Hingham, Massachusetts. And to give you an idea of how difficult these Lincolns are, our Thomas was one of four men who lived in the same small down during the same time period. Fortunately, other folks wiser than I have pretty well figured out which Thomas was which,
I wish I could tell you who Thomas's parents are. There was a Stephen Lincoln who settled in Hingham a little before our Thomas. I think he is a relation but I don't know whether he's an uncle, a cousin, or some more distant cousin, but I think there's a clue there.
Thomas is believed to have been born in Wymondham, Norfolk, England. His birth year is given as anywhere from 1616-1626. I think it must be at 1620 or probably earlier, because he was accepted as an adult when he came to Hingham in 1638. So if an adult was 18 years of age, he was born in 1620 or earlier, and if the accepted adult age was 21, he was born in 1617 or earlier. He died in 1692 but many Lincolns had long lifespans, so 1610 is not out of the question.
The first thing we really know about Thomas is that he arrived in Hingham shortly after he arrived in port, on the ship Diligent, which sailed from Ipswich, Suffolk, England. Many of the people on board with him also went to Hingham, so it's possible there was a religious motive for some of the passengers. We don't know whether that was true for Thomas.
Thomas married Margaret Langer, daughter of Richard Langer, who also lived in Hingham, presumably after he arrived in America. The couple had at least 9 children, but at least one died in infancy. Thomas, as mentioned earlier, was a husbandsman, a farmer who tilled fields rather than one who raised animals. This was a status below that of yeoman, but it did mean that he acquired land.
Apparently Thomas was well-regarded in the town, because he was a selectman in 1662 and probably other years.
Thomas died sometime before November 3, 1692, when his will was filed. The inventory of his estate totals 402 pounds, which seems like a healthy amount for a husbandman. The inventory is clearly written out but unfortunately, I am unable to read much of it. I can tell that he had several small plots of land, but not a lot of household goods. Even at the age of 75 or more, he still had ammunition on hand, which tells us something of the times in which he lived. Margaret outlived him by about two years.
This is what I know about Thomas Lincoln, except for one fun fact. He and Margaret were the great great grandparents of John Hancock, who signed his name so large on the Declaration of Independence. Where would we be without Thomas Lincoln?
The line of descent is:
Thomas Lincoln-Margaret Langer
Sarah Lincoln-Thomas Marsh
Thomas Marsh-Mary Burr
Deborah Marsh-Isaac Lazell
Deborah Lazell-Levi Rockwood
Susannah Rockwood-Nahum Holbrook
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
I wish I could tell you who Thomas's parents are. There was a Stephen Lincoln who settled in Hingham a little before our Thomas. I think he is a relation but I don't know whether he's an uncle, a cousin, or some more distant cousin, but I think there's a clue there.
Thomas is believed to have been born in Wymondham, Norfolk, England. His birth year is given as anywhere from 1616-1626. I think it must be at 1620 or probably earlier, because he was accepted as an adult when he came to Hingham in 1638. So if an adult was 18 years of age, he was born in 1620 or earlier, and if the accepted adult age was 21, he was born in 1617 or earlier. He died in 1692 but many Lincolns had long lifespans, so 1610 is not out of the question.
The first thing we really know about Thomas is that he arrived in Hingham shortly after he arrived in port, on the ship Diligent, which sailed from Ipswich, Suffolk, England. Many of the people on board with him also went to Hingham, so it's possible there was a religious motive for some of the passengers. We don't know whether that was true for Thomas.
Thomas married Margaret Langer, daughter of Richard Langer, who also lived in Hingham, presumably after he arrived in America. The couple had at least 9 children, but at least one died in infancy. Thomas, as mentioned earlier, was a husbandsman, a farmer who tilled fields rather than one who raised animals. This was a status below that of yeoman, but it did mean that he acquired land.
Apparently Thomas was well-regarded in the town, because he was a selectman in 1662 and probably other years.
Thomas died sometime before November 3, 1692, when his will was filed. The inventory of his estate totals 402 pounds, which seems like a healthy amount for a husbandman. The inventory is clearly written out but unfortunately, I am unable to read much of it. I can tell that he had several small plots of land, but not a lot of household goods. Even at the age of 75 or more, he still had ammunition on hand, which tells us something of the times in which he lived. Margaret outlived him by about two years.
This is what I know about Thomas Lincoln, except for one fun fact. He and Margaret were the great great grandparents of John Hancock, who signed his name so large on the Declaration of Independence. Where would we be without Thomas Lincoln?
The line of descent is:
Thomas Lincoln-Margaret Langer
Sarah Lincoln-Thomas Marsh
Thomas Marsh-Mary Burr
Deborah Marsh-Isaac Lazell
Deborah Lazell-Levi Rockwood
Susannah Rockwood-Nahum Holbrook
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Friday, July 6, 2018
Holbrook line: Richard Langer, Immigrant
Richard Langer is another of those "quiet men" who lived their lives, for the most part, under the radar so that 350-400 years later, there are few traces of his life. Fortunately, he left a will in Hingham, Massachusetts Bay Colony, when he died on January 25, 1661, and that tells us pretty much everything we know about him.
His birth year is given as about 1595, variously at either Cambridge, Cambridgeshire or Beaminster, Dorset, England. I don't find anything that would support either location but someone must have found something, in order to be willing to hazard these guesses.
We don't know when Richard arrived in the Colony, or whether he married in England or in his new home land. This leads me to guess that he may have come as an indentured servant, but that is only a guess. We do know, from a history of Hingham, that he arrived there in 1636 but it isn't clear whether he arrived directly from England or whether he had been in another part of the colony. In the entire book, this is the only reference to him, so as stated earlier, he led a quiet life.
Hingham was a subject of religious controversy in the middle 1640's but there is no indication as to which side Richard was on, or whether in fact he took sides at all. Still, it would have affected his life as neighbors opposed neighbors. We can only hope there was a satisfactory outcome to the dispute.
In his will, there is no mention of a wife so she died before him, but how long before that is a mystery. We know he had three daughters because they are mentioned in his will. His will left all of his lands to his grandson, Joshua Lincoln, who was about 16 at the time of Richard's death. He also left a green rug to his daughter Margaret (Joshua's mother) with instructions that she was to give 4 shillings to each of her two sisters, Dinah and Elizabeth. The will is dated February 20, 1659, 23 months before he died.
I don't have death dates for Thomas and Margaret Langer Lincoln's children, but it looks like Joshua would have had several brothers and sisters who would have been living when Richard wrote his will. Joshua must have been his "favorite", to have been given all the land.
His estate showed two house lotts, a great lott and a lott of meadow, valued at a total of 21 pounds, two shillings. This was a small estate. There is no mention of personal property, so perhaps he was living with Margaret and Thomas when he died. He may have given his daughters other items or money earlier, if this was the case.
As you can guess, I'd like to know more about this ancestor of ours.One fun fact, especially appropriate to this week, is that his descendant is John Hancock, he of the large signature on the Declaration of Independence.
The line of descent is:
Richard Langer-Margaret
Margaret Langer-Thomas Lincoln
Sarah Lincoln-Thomas Marsh
Thomas Marsh-Mary Burr
Deborah Marsh-Isaac Lazell
Deborah Lazell-Levi Rockwood
Susannah Rockwood-Nahum Holbrook
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
His birth year is given as about 1595, variously at either Cambridge, Cambridgeshire or Beaminster, Dorset, England. I don't find anything that would support either location but someone must have found something, in order to be willing to hazard these guesses.
We don't know when Richard arrived in the Colony, or whether he married in England or in his new home land. This leads me to guess that he may have come as an indentured servant, but that is only a guess. We do know, from a history of Hingham, that he arrived there in 1636 but it isn't clear whether he arrived directly from England or whether he had been in another part of the colony. In the entire book, this is the only reference to him, so as stated earlier, he led a quiet life.
Hingham was a subject of religious controversy in the middle 1640's but there is no indication as to which side Richard was on, or whether in fact he took sides at all. Still, it would have affected his life as neighbors opposed neighbors. We can only hope there was a satisfactory outcome to the dispute.
In his will, there is no mention of a wife so she died before him, but how long before that is a mystery. We know he had three daughters because they are mentioned in his will. His will left all of his lands to his grandson, Joshua Lincoln, who was about 16 at the time of Richard's death. He also left a green rug to his daughter Margaret (Joshua's mother) with instructions that she was to give 4 shillings to each of her two sisters, Dinah and Elizabeth. The will is dated February 20, 1659, 23 months before he died.
I don't have death dates for Thomas and Margaret Langer Lincoln's children, but it looks like Joshua would have had several brothers and sisters who would have been living when Richard wrote his will. Joshua must have been his "favorite", to have been given all the land.
His estate showed two house lotts, a great lott and a lott of meadow, valued at a total of 21 pounds, two shillings. This was a small estate. There is no mention of personal property, so perhaps he was living with Margaret and Thomas when he died. He may have given his daughters other items or money earlier, if this was the case.
As you can guess, I'd like to know more about this ancestor of ours.One fun fact, especially appropriate to this week, is that his descendant is John Hancock, he of the large signature on the Declaration of Independence.
The line of descent is:
Richard Langer-Margaret
Margaret Langer-Thomas Lincoln
Sarah Lincoln-Thomas Marsh
Thomas Marsh-Mary Burr
Deborah Marsh-Isaac Lazell
Deborah Lazell-Levi Rockwood
Susannah Rockwood-Nahum Holbrook
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
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