Allen line: Matthew Bellamy 1677-possibly 1752

Once again there are mysteries and questions about an ancestor.  We know when he was born, and lots of people think they knew when he died, but since the only will I've located in that time period was for his son and not himself, I'm not quite convinced.

Matthew Bellamy, the second Matthew Bellamy of whom I've written, was born February , 1677-78 or possibly 1676, at Killingworth, Connecticut.  The reason I say possibly is that some sites give his birth date as 1676, and at Saybrook, under the idea that he and his sister Mary were twins.  I haven't proven or disproven that yet.  The date and location I've given first are those published in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register volume 61, page 339.  Regardless, it is accepted as established that his parents were Matthew and Bethiah Ford Bellamy.  Matthew the younger was one of at least five children in his family.

Matthew senior was an educated man, a schoolmaster, so we can only assume that our Matthew learned to read and write, but we know nothing further of his education.  He was living in Wallingford by 1696, and that is likely where he met his first wife. We have two marriages for Matthew.  His first wife, whom he married September 26, 1705 was Sarah Wood.  The couple had six children together, but Sarah died on March 8, 1721, about 6 weeks after the birth of her last child.  Matthew remarried quickly, on May 30, 1721 to Mary Johnson, daughter of Samuel Johnson.  They had five children together.

The article I mentioned above says that he owned an interest in the copper mines at Wallingford, and may have worked there.  I don't find anything to document that, but I did find a petition he presented to the General Assembly in 1721-1722, asking to be licensed for a house of entertainment, for the benefit of the miners who worked at the mine.  The article doesn't state whether or not this was approved, so more research needs to be done to verify that.  He was apparently looking for a way to better support his family, as his occupation up to this point had been that of a weaver. (On a tax list for 1701, he was charged at a value or "grand rate" of 22 pounds, which was less than most of the town, although of course he was still quite young at that time.)  I wonder how Mary thought she would be able to help him, with 6 young step-children and two of her own on the way (she would have twins in February of 1722).

Surprisingly, because most of our early ancestors have been Puritans, it appears that the Bellamy family was of the Church of England, as his name is on a petition to the Bishop of London asking for more pastors for the area.  

I've not yet located anything to make me think that Matthew was involved in any of the border wars during Queen Anne's or King William's wars of the late 1600 and early 1700s, but he would have been of the right age for the duty and we can't yet rule out the possibility.

I've not located a will for Matthew yet.  There is one for Matthew Bellamy from 1754, but this is his son Matthew, not ours.  The Bellamy family was prominent in Wallingford for some time, with some of Matthew's grandsons serving in the Revolutionary War, one a noted Episcopalian pastor, and others of honorable professions.  Even though our Matthew may not have died a wealthy person (which is my supposition, not a fact, since I haven't seen a will or inventory), he must have given his descendants a strong sense of character and duty.  Mary died before Matthew, on March 8, 1721, and Matthew's date of death is given as June 7, 1752.

The line of descent is

Matthew Bellamy-Mary Johnson
Hannah Bellamy-John Royse
Elizabeth Royse-William McCoy
James McCoy-Nancy Lane
Vincent McCoy-Eleanor Jackson
Nancy McCoy-George Allen
Edward Allen-Edith Knott
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants

Allen line: Moses Royse, date and location unknown

Here's what I know about Moses:  He was born, he married, and he died.  Pretty much everything else is a mystery.  There were several Moses Royse's in the time period we're talking about, and in the same or near by towns.  I am asking for help.  If anyone has figured this man out, with dates and documents, I would be so excited to hear from you! 

Here's what might be accurate:

Moses Royse was born about 1689 or possibly later, to John and Sarah Perrigo Royse.  If this is the correct couple, then he we born in either Norwich, New London County, Connecticut, or in Mansfield, Tolland County, Connecticut.  His parents were born in Norwich but at some point moved to Mansfield.  He came from a large family, perhaps as many as ten children, and his father may have outlived him. 

Moses may have married a woman named Hannah, whom some have identified as Hannah Beebe.  Others say Hannah Beebe married someone else, and so the name of Moses's wife remains unverified.  One Moses Royse who had a wife named Hannah. They had at least three children and I've seen as many as eight children listed.  Moses died in 1768 and her first name is found in the estate papers.  However, that Moses Royse is thought to have been from Stratford. and not everyone is convinced that is our Moses Royse. 

If it is our Moses Royse, when did he move to Stratford?  On the other hand, it does help make more sense of a thought that Moses Royse was an Indian trader in the Highlands of New York, which would not have been far from Stratford.  Also DNA seems to tie this Moses back to John Royse, and to Robert, who is believed to be John's father. 

Since I'm not sure about any of this, I am not, at this point, going to describe the estate papers I found, or the inventory.  It is available on Ancestry if a fellow researcher wants to look at it.  We don't know for sure when Moses died.  The one I have in my tree right now says July 30, 1768 but then it also says, Windham, Connecticut.  So I wouldn't put up an argument if you agreed, or if you disagree. 

Obviously I would like to figure this out.  If our Moses was an Indian trader, that could make for some interesting stories.  Did he also spy, and if so, was it for the colonists, the British, or the French?  He probably lived through the French and Indian war, if 1768 is a correct date, and he may have been right in the thick of things with hair raising stories.  Of course, he could have been a stay at home farmer, merchant, or seaman, too.  If someone can help with this man, please let me know!

Here's the line of descent, which I hope is correct:

Moses Royse-Hannah
John Royse-Hannah Bellamy
Elizabeth Royse-William McCoy
James McCoy-Nancy Lane
Vincent McCoy-Eleanor Jackson
Nancy McCoy-George Allen
Edward Allen-Edith Knott
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants

Allen line: James McCoy, Immigrant and part myth?

James McCoy is almost lost under the weight of the stories surrounding his name.  His early life remains undocumented, so I can't tell you for sure when or exactly where he was born.  He is believed to have been born somewhere in Ulster, Ireland, about the year 1720.  This would fit well with a proposed marriage date of 1745, to Ann Bruce, supposedly in Frederick County, Va. 

An undocumented story says he arrived in Baltimore, Maryland in 1730.  Either he was very young and traveled with someone, or this isn't our James McCoy.  Other stories say he was a runaway, who became a stow away passenger on a ship to America.  He supposedly ran away because he rode a horse too hard, causing it to stumble and fall.  When the horse had to be put down, James disappeared.  It's only a story, but it's fun and there might be a grain of truth in there somewhere.  Another story is that he at some point prior to his marriage stayed with a "Captain Hyde", whose wife taught him to read and write.  It is possible that the "Hyde" was actually a "Hite" but so far no candidate seems to fit the description exactly.  Again, it's a story, which may or may not prove true.  We know he came to America and we know he married Ann Bruce, daughter of John and Sarah Parrell Bruce, about 1745. 

The couple is credited with having as many as ten children.  Some, as early as 1753, are given birth locations as Union Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania but that is only in hindsight.  In 1753, this would have been Bedford County, and then it was Westmoreland County before Fayette County was finally formed in 1783.

Wherever the McCoy's were (I've found record of them in 1777 in what became Fayette County), they were deeply affected by the attacks of the native Americans in both the French and Indian war and the Revolutionary War.  James replaced his original log cabin with a fort, where neighbors gathered when the area was under attack.  This appears to be Revolutionary War era, but it doesn't say how long the McCoys lived in the log cabin before the fort was built. 

It is most probable that James is a Revolutionary War veteran, and also likely a French and Indian war veteran, although I've not found records yet.  Several of his sons served, and since he was likely still in his mid 40's when the Revolutionary War broke out, he would at least have served in the militia.  The history of this time and place is absolutely fascinating, and one can't read a book about it without feeing a tremendous admiration for the men and the women who settled and lived on the frontier, long before it was "safe" to do so. 

When the first Baptist Church was founded in Uniontown, Fayette County in 1780, James was an early, if not charter, member.  He was also instrumental in the building of another Baptist church, south of Uniontown, in 1787, where he was a faithful member until his death on September 30, 1801 (I've also seen 1802 as his death date).  Ann died February 4, 1808, also in South Union Township. 

As we know, the Baptist legacy of James McCoy lived on through his sons and grandsons and likely there are still descendants of this family who belong to that generation.  There are certainly many who cling to the "Old Rugged Cross". Legacies are important, and religious legacies may be the most important of all.

The line of descent is

James McCoy-Ann Bruce
Wiiliam McCoy-Eizabeth Royse
James McCoy-Nancy Lane
Vincent McCoy-Eleanor Jackson
Nancy McCoy-George Allen
Edward Allen-Edith Knott
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants

Allen line: Timothy Ford bt 1611-1684, Immigrant

We know at least a few things about Timothy Ford.  It is quite likely that he came from Devonshire, England.  He may or may not be connected to the Henry and Catherine Drake Ford from that area.  I have it on my tree as fact, but looking at it more closely, he didn't have children named Henry or Catherine so I am a bit skeptical.  Also, Henry was a Sir Henry and Catherine was from a family connected to Sir Francis Drake.  So one would think that he would at least be accorded the title of "Gentleman" and I haven't found him referred to as such.  So maybe they were distant cousins, but Timothy was probably not their child.  (I hope I'm wrong; I like the Francis Drake connection.)

Timothy is believed to have come to New England in 1637 and to have stayed in the Cambridge area for a couple of years before traveling to New Haven.  We don't know whether he went to New Haven for religious reasons or for some other purpose, but it appears that his marriage took place at about this same time.  New Haven was the most Puritan town, and the strictest, in New England so we can hope he went willingly, knowing that life would be different in New Haven than it was in Boston. 

Most sides give his wife's name as Eliza Gordy, but I haven't found any documentation as to that name.  Torrey's New England Marriages doesn't give her even a first name, so I guess the verdict is still out on the name of his wife.  The marriage, however, is supposed to have taken place before 1640, as Samuel Ford was born in that year, and at least five other children were born after that.  Timothy signed his name to the New Haven Covenant in 1639 and received land during the first and second divisions of land there.  He took the "oath of allegiance" in 1644, which basically said he would do what the government (local) said.  215 other men took the oath at the same time, probably all the residents except for perhaps the very sick and those temporarily away from home.

He is believed to have been a farmer, and seems to have been hard pressed for funds in the early years of his marriage, but gradually acquired more land.  He moved to Fairfield, where he owned land before 1650, but was back in New Haven by 1652.  He was fined there, then for a defect in his arms (there were strict rules as to what kind of guns and swords each man must have, and the type and amount of ammunition0 and he tried to excuse himself by saying the requirements were different "where he came from".  Since he was fined, apparently the judge didn't buy the excuse. 

When the meeting house was built, the Fords were assigned seats toward the back of the room, which indicates a low social status, but 25 years later they were in the center of the room, and he was in the 7th row, which may mean he was more prosperous or it may mean simply that age had its privileges. 

His wife, referred to as Goody Ford, died in 1681 and Timothy died August 28, 1684.  He had sold some of his land to one of his sons in 1679, but his estate was still valued at 166 pounds, 17 shillings, and two pence. He had come up in the world. 

Timothy didn't leave a lot or records behind, but apparently he kept out of trouble except for the one arms violation, and that was hard to do in a town like New Haven.  My respects to this gentleman, our ancestor!

The line of descent is:

Timothy Ford-possibly Elizabeth Gordy
Bethiah Ford-Matthew Bellamy
Matthew Bellamy-Mary Johnson
Hannah Bellamy-John Royse
Elizabeth Royse-William McCoy
James McCoy-Nancy Lane
Vincent McCoy-Eleanor Jackson
Nancy McCoy-George Allen
Edward Allen-Edith Knott
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants

Allen line: John Parmelee 1584-1659, Immigrant

If for not other reason, John Parmelee is noted for having five wives, apparently having out-lived four of them, and for having children by each of his first four wives.  He was born in Lewes, Sussex, England before September 27, 1584.  His father, also John Parmelee, had died late in April (buried May 1) 1583, so his mother, Alice Russell, waited a few months to have him baptized.  Perhaps she herself was ill, or she was waiting for relatives to arrive.  Babies were usually but not always baptized shortly after birth.  John is known to have had one sister, Margaret, who was born a little more than ten years earlier than John.  There was another sister, Catherine, who would have been about five years older than John but who died as an infant. 

It's not clear who raised Margaret and John.  Alice apparently did not remarry, which would have been unusual for this time frame, unless her health was not good.  Probably the family moved in with relatives and eventually John learned the trade of bricklaying.  He supported his own family with his trade.  This would have been back breaking work, just as it is today, but John was apparently a strong young man.  He married at age 24 for the first time, to Anne Howell, and their marriage lasted until her death 21 years later.  They had seven children together, but only one survived childhood. 

John next married Hannah Wilbur in 1630.  She had two children, and died on February 20, 1634, perhaps as a result of childbirth.  Fifteen months later, John married Elizabeth Holter, and had three children with her.  Again, all three children died young.  He next married Joane Cobden, about 15 months after wife Elizabeth had died, and they had one daughter, Rachel, who was buried just five days after her 1638 baptism.  It isn't known what happened to Joane, but she was probably dead when John decided to start a new life in America, or at least when he set sail. 

His surviving son John was already in New England when John sailed from London on the St John on May 20, 1639.  The ship went directly to New Haven, Connecticut and John Senior joined his son John Junior in Guilford.  His signature was on a Plantation Covenant which was officially dated June 1, 1639, but apparently a few late-comers signed the document as they arrived in port.  He was assigned a home lot at the north end of the village green, where the First Congregational Church now stands. We are told on the Town of Guilford, Connecticut's website that the homes built were no more than huts, with thatched roofs, wooden walls, and dirt floors,  and the village resembled a medieval village for several generations. 

John was voted a freeman about 10 years after he arrived in Guilford, but some time before 1659 he and his family moved to New Haven, where he was admitted as a freeman on August 8, 1659.  His family at this time included his fifth wife, Elizabeth, whom he had married in 1653.  There were fourteen years between the death of his fourth wife and the final marriage, so perhaps John had finally given himself time to grieve the loss of so many wives and so many children.   John died November 8, 1659, probably at New Haven.  He did leave a will and inventory but so far I haven't been able to locate it. 

This brief outline leaves a lot of questions.  Was John a strong Puritan church supporter?  How did he support his family in Connecticut?  What were the early relations with the native Americans?  Was he a member of a train band or other military group?  I need to find out more about John Parmelee, who sparks my compassion across these many generations. 

The line of descent is:

John Parmelee-Hannah Wilbur
Hannah Parmelee-John Johnson
Samuel Johnson-unknown
Mary Johnson-Matthew Bellamy
Hannah Bellamy-John Royse
Elizabeth Royse-William McCoy
James McCoy-Nancy Ann Lane
Vincent McCoy-Eleanor Jackson
Nancy-McCoy-George R Allen
Edward Allen-Edith Knott
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants

Allen line: Matthew Bellamy about 1618?-1690

Matthew Bellamy seems to be one of our hidden ancestors, and yet, there is enough in the record to know that he was here, and that he was educated enough to be a school teacher for many years.  He deserves to be more thoroughly researched. 

Matthew apparently spent his entire life in various towns and villages in Connecticut.  He may have been an early immigrant, but so far I am unable to pinpoint his arrival.  His father is given as John Bellamy, supposedly born in London, England, but again, I have no proof and more work needs to be done.  We don't know his birth date but he is known to have signed the plantation covenant of New Haven, Ct in 1639.  He would have been at least 21 to have done so.  That puts his birthdate at 1618 or earlier.  He took the oath of fidelity in 1644 and taught school at various times at New Haven, Milford, Stamford, Guilford, Saybrook and Killingworth in Connecticut.  One wonders whether he was more or less chased from town to town (too stern?  too lenient? not completely in accord with church beliefs?) or whether he regarded it as his mission to start or continue schools in each of the new locations. 

He married Bethia Ford, daughter of Timothy Ford and possibly Eliza Gordy in 1671 in Stamford, Ct.  This was a late marriage and possibly second marriage for him, although no records have been found to indicate an earlier marriage.  He would have been at least 53 years old at this time.  Bethia, however, is believed to have been born in 1653, so she was a much younger woman.  Regardless of the difference in their ages, the couple had five children.  Matthew, Bethia and Elizabeth all died as infants.  What a sorrow this must have been to the couple!  They did, however, have two children who lived to adulthood, Mary and Matthew (a second time.  It wasn't unusual to name a younger child after an older deceased sibling, especially when that was the father's name.) 

The circumstances of his death are not known.  The dates are variously given as 1689-1692, and it is believed he may have been lost at sea.  Bethia died in 1692, but I haven't yet located wills or estate papers for either of them. 

The information for this blog post came from very limited sources, mostly an article printed in 1907 in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register.  It's time for another look at this man.  I'd like to know when and where he was born, how he acquired his education, and something about his early life.  Did he have a "first family"?  When did he actually arrive in New England, and where?  Did he come for economic or for religious reasons?  I think his story might be a fascinating one, if we only knew it!

The line of descent is:

Matthew Bellamy-Bethia Ford
Matthey Bellamy-Mary Johnson
Hannah Bellamy-John Royse
Elizabeth Royse-William McCoy
James McCoy-Nancy Ann Lane
Vincent McCoy-Eleanor Jackson
Nancy McCoy-George R Allen
Edward Allen-Edith Knott
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants

Allen line: Robert Perrigo abt 1635-1683

I have only a little bit of information about Robert Perrigo, ancestor in the Allen line and immigrant.  What I have, however, is so intriguing that I want to share it, in hopes that someone else has found more pieces to his puzzle and would be willing to share it.

So far as is believed, our ancestor was born somewhere in England, although his surname is believed to have derived from France.  His birth date is unknown, and his birth place and parents are unknown, although someone has indicated his father's name might be William Perrigo.  There was no documentation attached to that statement.  At least one internet researcher believes he was born in 1624 in St Clements, Hastings, Sussex, England. 

The next thing we know about Robert is that he was married in 1657 in New Barbadoes, New Jersey to Sarah Smart, daughter of Robert Smart.  (New Barbadoes was settled by the Dutch, and is now known as Hackensack.)   Robert and Sarah had at least three children together, Ezekiel, Sarah, and Robert.  They were born in Saybrook, Ct. where the couple had settled.  Apparently Sarah died, and about 1670 Robert married for a second time, to Mary or Marah Wood.  Together they had four or five children, the last born in 1683, a few months after her father's death. 

Mary remarried, to Henry Peterson, but all may now have been well between Henry and his step children.  In April of 1711, 28 years after Robert's death, Henry wrote a letter to the court basically saying that he had learned that some of the children of Robert were hiring attorneys and claiming that the estate of Robert Perrigo, which had been settled in 1684, had not been properly handled.  In 1711, Henry was offering up another 63 acres of Perrigo's land, at Beaver Brook, to add to the estate.  This letter is now on Ancestry,com.  Part of this dispute may be because Robert's son, Robert, had apparently been left only one shilling in the will.  Unfortunately, the probate records for the time period prior to 1700 were destroyed, so these are the only hints we have about the Perrigo estate.

As to his occupation, again, it is difficult to say much.  There are hints that he may have worked in the maritime industry, since he was said to be on Mr. Goodall's ship, "now at Goodman Rusco's" in 1659 when his young son Ezekiel received medical treatment.  If course, it's also possible that he was a merchant or a trader or any number of other occupations.  Since he had 63 acres of land not included in the original estate, he likely did at least some farming.

With no estate records, no inventory, and very few other records to go on, we are left with little knowledge of this ancestor.  We know he married twice, had at least seven children, and probably died before the age of 50.  We also know he came to the New World from the Old, and possibly had friends or relatives in New Jersey, (or Sarah was in Connecticut for some reason), since the couple married in New Jersey.  More research needs to be done concerning Robert, but in the meantime, we can honor what we know of his life.

The line of descent is:

Robert Perrigo-Sarah Smart
Sarah Perrigo-John Royse
Moses-Royce-Hannah
John Royce-Hannah Bellamy
Elizabeth Royce-William McCoy
James McCoy-Nancy Ann Lane
Vincent McCoy-Eleanor Jackson
Nancy McCoy-George Allen
Edward Allen-Edith Knott
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants

Allen line: John Bruce 1690-1748, Immigrant

We know more about John Bruce than we do some of our other immigrant ancestors, but of course it's not enough.  The timeline for his life and the history of his times would indicate that it's possible he left Scotland under duress, as a "Covenanter", but I've not found proof of that.  He may have come to America for economic reasons alone. 

John Bruce was born (or christened) September 7,1690 in Portsoy, Fordyce Paarish, Aberdeen, Scotland.  Portsoy is a small village on the northeast coast of Scotland, with lovely cliffs overlooking the ocean, but little else in the way of natural beauty.  The pictures I found on line showed no trees outside of the village and very few in town.  The main occupation of the townspeople would have been fishing, and also quarrying or mining a serpentine rock that was considered so beautiful it was used both in jewelry and in the Palace of Versailles.  Presumably there would be enough vegetation to raise a few sheep or goats, but it's hard to see how someone could farm and make a living there.

John's parents were Thomas Bruce and Mary Christian.  He is believed to have had six brothers and sisters.  There is not as much certainty about the identity of his wife.  My tree shows "Sarah Parrell" but I have also seen Margaret Griffith, Margaret Frazier and Sarah Coles listed as being his wife.  He may have been married more than once, but I don't have documentation for any of this.  One possible explanation for the lack of knowledge may be that he spent some time in Ireland, as many Covenanters did, before emigrating to America.  I have seen speculation about this but again, nothing definite.

John arrived in Chester County, Pennsylvania by about 1730.  He would have been nearing the age of 40, and surely he brought his children with him.  His two oldest daughters married and stayed in Chester and Bucks county, but John moved on.  By 1735, he was in the area of Winchester, Virginia, in the Shenandoah Valley, where he received a patent for land on November 12, 1735, which was a grant from the Crown. (The policy at the time was to get this land settled, as a border against both the French and the Indians.) There are records in what was then Orange County of John suing and being sued for various debts.  He is listed as a "peddler", which leads one to wonder whether he was trading with the native Americans, or whether there were enough white people in the area to support his trade at that time

Brucetown, Va. was named at least partly in his honor.  This town was located 8 miles northwest of Winchester,  near the border of what is now Berkley County, West Virginia.  His land totalled about 255 acres.  In addition to doing some peddling, John was a farmer and operated a grist mill.  His lie was cut short by an epidemic that hit the area in 1748.  It may have been cholera, or any of several other diseases that were all too common at the time.  In his will, which had been written in 1747, he left his land to his sons George and James, who were to take care of his widow Sarah for as long as she lived.  I don't have a death date for her, but she may have lived for some years. 

It's not clear why his other children weren't mentioned in his will.  Perhaps the daughters had been given money or other property at the time of their marriage.  At any rate, by the time of John's death he had established a settlement that became a town, set up a business that George was able to grow, with the partnership of his mother in law, and had a farm that would help support the Bruce family.  We can be proud to call him our ancestor.

I'd love to know more about John, and especially about his wife.  When did they marry, and who was she?  Was there a church established that John and his family attended?   

The line of descent is:

John Bruce-Sarah Parrell
Ann Bruce-James McCoy
William McCoy-Elizabeth Royse
James McCoy-Nancy Lane
Vincent McCoy-Eleanor Jackson
Nancy McCoy-George R. Allen
Edward Allen-Edith Knott
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants

There is a lot of material about John Bruce on the Internet.  I would particularly recommend "In the Footsteps of Our Ancestors", found at www.bradleyrymph.com.  There is also a book which I haven't yet seen, but which is frequently referenced, called John Bruce of the Shenandoah, by Violet Laverne Bruce.  Much of the information on the Internet seems to have come from that source. 

Allen line: Robert Royse 1605-1676 Immigrant

Robert Royse is another of our immigrant ancestors in the Allen line.  (Stay tuned for a fun fact at the end of this post.)  Like many ancestors, we aren't really sure where he came from but it is looking more and more likely that he was christened November 3, 1605 at Ketton CumTixover in Rutland, England, the son of William Royce and possibly Joan Casebird.  (The father I show on my Ancestry tree is Thomas, but that appears to not be as likely as I thought when I entered that information.  It's the wrong location, and Thomas is not a name that was used in any subsequent generation.) 

If William is Robert's father, then he was the fourth of at least nine children born between 1600 and 1616.  That is all that we can say about his childhood and youth, that he had a family and that the family ate well enough that Robert survived.  He married Mary Jackson (shown in the records as "Jugkson") on April 8, 1627 in Saint Michael, Stamford, Lincolnshire.  The young couple had several children, during the first 10 years of their marriage, of whom three died as infants. 

We don't know when the family arrived in New England.  Nehemiah was the last child born there, in 1637, and the next known child, Samuel was born in November of 1644 supposedly in New London, Ct.  The problem with that story is that New London wasn't founded until two years later, in 1646.  It seems unlikely that a single family would have gone to the area ahead of the colony, so more research needs to be done here. However, we do know that at least 4 children were born in the New World, starting in 1644.  That leaves a gap of 7 years in which other children may have been born, and possibly lost.

He owned several pieces of land in New London, some given to him as a recognized early settler of the town, and some that he purchased.  He sold most of this to his sons in the early 1660's.  Even so, his estate when he died in 1676 was valued at 420 pounds, 11 shillings.  This was a good estate for a man who had been a leather worker, shoemaker, and "ordinary" keeper during his life at New London.  He had also been constable of the town and deputy to the General Court during the 1660's, indicating that he was a respected member of the town. His will reportedly left property to his wife, five sons, and three daughters, although we only know of two daughters.  (Perhaps one was born during the 7 year time period mentioned above.) 

The best write up of Robert's life that I found was on Wikitree, and I have used some of the information in that article for this post.  The article lists sources that I want to follow up on, and perhaps more can be learned about the life of this ordinary ordinary keeper, who came to New England and made a better life for himself and his family.

The line of descent is:

Robert Royce-Mary probably Jackson
Jonathan Royse-Deborah Calkins
John Royse-Sarah Perrigo
Moses Royse-Hannah
John Royse-Hannah Bellamy
Elizabeth Royse-William McCoy
James McCoy-Nancy Lane
Vincent McCoy-Eleanor Jackson
Nancy McCoy-George Allen
Edward Allen-Edith Knott
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendents

Fun fact:  Robert is the ancestor of President Millard Fillmore, so we are distantly related to another president.  Is anyone keeping track of these connections?