I had something of a genealogy scare when I started researching for this post. I saw that there are several trees that give different parents for our Ebenezer than I had thought correct. So I spent some time going through what records I could find on line and ended up confident that the parents I'm showing are more likely to be correct than the ones others are showing. Whew! I let my breath out when I came to my conclusion, because I've made enough errors already and don't want to perpetuate any more.
So, Ebenezer Thayer was born April 12, 1699 in Mendon, Massachusetts, the son of Ebenezer and Martha Thomson Thayer. (I wrote about Ebenezer Senior recently, with never a thought that he might be the wrong guy.) Ebenezer, the subject of this post, had at least two brothers and four sisters, named in his father's will in 1722 (father was of Bellingham then). Bellingham was formed out of Mendon and it appears that at least some of the family land was on the border between the two towns, but the main dwelling house was part of Bellingham.
Our Ebenezer married Mary Wheelock on August 9, 1721. She was the daughter of Benjamin and Huldah Thayer Wheelock, and yes, there was a family connection between Ebenezer and Huldah. The two were first cousins once removed. When Ebenezer Senior died in 1722, he left a lot of land and other assets, to the value of about 795 pounds. Ebenezer, as the oldest son, received a double share and it looks like he would have been set for life.
Then it gets confusing, and I've not been able to find a will to give answers. Mary, the wife of Ebenezer, is said to have died in 1731 and Ebenezer is said to have married Hannah Greene in 1734 and fathered more children with her. I can't find a record of Mary's death or of the marriage of Ebenezer and Hannah, so I'm confused. I don't know whether the Ebenezer who married Hannah was ours or not. Some of the printed genealogies say that it was an Ebenezer who was born in 1720 who married Hannah, and that makes no sense either. There was an Ebenezer who was born to Isaac Thayer in 1697; could it have been this Ebenezer who married Hannah?
And yet, there are just three records of births to Ebenezer and Mary in the town records...so what really happened?
Another point of confusion is the use of the term "Captain" in 1754. Which Ebenezer was this? And how did he obtain the title of "Captain"/ What military service might this person have been part of? The most likely explanation, given the birth date of 1699 for our Ebenezer is that he was somehow involved in King George's War,but I've found no evidence for that yet.
There was only one Ebenezer who was taxed in 1726 in Bellingham, one who was qualified in 1739 to be a voter (implying land ownership and church membership, I believe). His name is on a petition asking to be assigned to Mendon II district for ecclesiastical affairs, in 1747. I know that Mendon had a serious church problem as did Bellingham, as the church in Bellingham was Baptist. Perhaps Ebenezer was not of that persuasion and wanted to go to a more traditional church.
Since I can't find a will or estate papers for Ebenezer, I don't know whether he held on to some of his father's wealth or not. Farming in that area of Massachusetts was difficult as the soil was not suited for farming, or at least not easily farmed. Was his will taken by someone who wanted it for personal reasons, or did he never have a will? But shouldn't he at least had a probate record?
I'd like to know about Ebenezer, of course. Did Mary die and did her remarry? Where are Mary's death records? What were his religious beliefs, and how did he acquire the title of "Captain", if this man is ours? I sure hope someone who has studied this family will have some answers and be willing to help us learn more of our ancestor's story.
The line of descent is:
Ebenezer Thayer-Mary Wheelock
Abigail Thayer-Jesse Holbrook
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susanna Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Showing posts with label Wheelock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wheelock. Show all posts
Friday, May 8, 2020
Friday, March 27, 2020
Holbrook line: Benjamin Wheelock 1678-1746
Earlier this week I wrote about Jonathan Thayer, of whom I could find little or nothing. Now I'm writing about his son in law, Benjamin Wheelock, who lived in the same small town, and I've found a ton of information about him. His father, also Benjamin Wheelock, was a founder of the town of Mendon, Massachusetts Bay Colony, and was respected in the town. This Benjamin also was respected, sometimes being given the title of "Mr." in the town records, and his son Benjamin, who is not our direct ancestor, carried on the family tradition.
This Benjamin was the son of Benjamin and Elizabeth Bullen Wheelock and a grandson of Ralph Wheelock, the immigrant. He was born December 12, 1768 and was one of at least five children. He came to Mendon as a young boy and lived his whole life in this frontier village.
On December 9, 1700 he married his step sister, Huldah Thayer, who was the daughter of Jonathan and Elizabeth French Thayer (Elizabeth had married Benjamin's father, after they were both widowed). Since it's reasonable to suppose that the two knew each other well, we can assume this marriage was a happy one. They had at least eight children together, and the family, or at least Benjamin, seems to have prospered.
In The Annals of the Town of Mendon, it is often hard to differentiate between the three (at least) Benjamin Wheelocks. But in 1707 ours is identified as Benjamin Wheelock Jr., as a selectman, so we are willing to consider the possibility that some of the remaining references to Benjamin between then and 1716, when his father died, could be our Benjamin.
In 1705, Benjamin Wheelock and his successors were granted use of the "mill pond" for as long as they kept in in repair and serviceable for the town's use. The mill pond was used as a reservoir with water released as necessary to run the mill. I don't know if this signifies that the mill was run by the Wheelocks, or whether there is something else significant about this. If someone knows, please let me know!
I didn't find anything specific about Benjamin in the military, but it seems likely he was in the training band, if nothing else. I did find that he was appointed to a committee to oversee the building of the town meeting house in 1720. It was to be 50 ft long, 45 ft wide, 20 ft high, and to be a "studded house", as differentiated from a log cabin, I suppose. He also was appointed to a committee to sell the "pew rooms" in 1737. I'm not clear on the meaning of this, either.
He was the recipient of several grants of land that the town made, and two of the three times I noted he drew a low number, so he chose some of the best of the land that was being divided. In another grant, he drew lot 122, so this was probably mediocre at best.
Benjamin was a selectman several times, starting in 1707 and probably ending in 1739, when he was also chosen to be the representative to the general court in Boston. He refused to serve, but it's not stated why he chose to stay home. He was already 61 years of age, and may have not felt up to the task. Just as likely, Huldah died July 7 of that year and he probably wanted to stay home, to care for her and watch after the family.
Benjamin remarried on August 21, 1740, to Rebecca Nurse Kinney. (No, I haven't checked to see if she was connected to the Nurses of Salem). He died 6 years later, on September 13, 1746. His will is quite extensive. He left twenty pounds each to the daughters of his deceased daughter, Mary Thayer, and some personal belongings beside. His will specifies that all bequests are to be in the "old tenor", which is a reference to a fairly recent change in currency. He wanted them to be given the money as he had known it all his life, and that carried more value than the more recent currency.
I was also fortunate enough to locate his inventory. It is quite specific, including the value of items devised in the will. His inventory was valued at over 1120 pounds, again in the "old tenor". I think we would classify him as"well to do", if not wealthy. Benjamin Wheelock was a family man, a civil servant, a member of the church, and a leader in the community. We can be proud of him!
The line of descent is
Benjamin Wheelock-Huldah Thayer
Mary Wheelock-Ebenezer Thayer
Abigail Thayer-Jesse Holbrook
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susanna Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
This Benjamin was the son of Benjamin and Elizabeth Bullen Wheelock and a grandson of Ralph Wheelock, the immigrant. He was born December 12, 1768 and was one of at least five children. He came to Mendon as a young boy and lived his whole life in this frontier village.
On December 9, 1700 he married his step sister, Huldah Thayer, who was the daughter of Jonathan and Elizabeth French Thayer (Elizabeth had married Benjamin's father, after they were both widowed). Since it's reasonable to suppose that the two knew each other well, we can assume this marriage was a happy one. They had at least eight children together, and the family, or at least Benjamin, seems to have prospered.
In The Annals of the Town of Mendon, it is often hard to differentiate between the three (at least) Benjamin Wheelocks. But in 1707 ours is identified as Benjamin Wheelock Jr., as a selectman, so we are willing to consider the possibility that some of the remaining references to Benjamin between then and 1716, when his father died, could be our Benjamin.
In 1705, Benjamin Wheelock and his successors were granted use of the "mill pond" for as long as they kept in in repair and serviceable for the town's use. The mill pond was used as a reservoir with water released as necessary to run the mill. I don't know if this signifies that the mill was run by the Wheelocks, or whether there is something else significant about this. If someone knows, please let me know!
I didn't find anything specific about Benjamin in the military, but it seems likely he was in the training band, if nothing else. I did find that he was appointed to a committee to oversee the building of the town meeting house in 1720. It was to be 50 ft long, 45 ft wide, 20 ft high, and to be a "studded house", as differentiated from a log cabin, I suppose. He also was appointed to a committee to sell the "pew rooms" in 1737. I'm not clear on the meaning of this, either.
He was the recipient of several grants of land that the town made, and two of the three times I noted he drew a low number, so he chose some of the best of the land that was being divided. In another grant, he drew lot 122, so this was probably mediocre at best.
Benjamin was a selectman several times, starting in 1707 and probably ending in 1739, when he was also chosen to be the representative to the general court in Boston. He refused to serve, but it's not stated why he chose to stay home. He was already 61 years of age, and may have not felt up to the task. Just as likely, Huldah died July 7 of that year and he probably wanted to stay home, to care for her and watch after the family.
Benjamin remarried on August 21, 1740, to Rebecca Nurse Kinney. (No, I haven't checked to see if she was connected to the Nurses of Salem). He died 6 years later, on September 13, 1746. His will is quite extensive. He left twenty pounds each to the daughters of his deceased daughter, Mary Thayer, and some personal belongings beside. His will specifies that all bequests are to be in the "old tenor", which is a reference to a fairly recent change in currency. He wanted them to be given the money as he had known it all his life, and that carried more value than the more recent currency.
I was also fortunate enough to locate his inventory. It is quite specific, including the value of items devised in the will. His inventory was valued at over 1120 pounds, again in the "old tenor". I think we would classify him as"well to do", if not wealthy. Benjamin Wheelock was a family man, a civil servant, a member of the church, and a leader in the community. We can be proud of him!
The line of descent is
Benjamin Wheelock-Huldah Thayer
Mary Wheelock-Ebenezer Thayer
Abigail Thayer-Jesse Holbrook
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susanna Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Tuesday, March 24, 2020
Holbrook line: Jonathan Thayer 1658-1690
A life cut short...Jonathan Thayer was one of the several children of Fernando or Ferdinando and Huldah Hayward Thayer. He was born January 1, 1658 and he died sometime in 1690. He lived just 32 years. That is probably why I can find so little information about him.
He married Elizabeth French, daughter of John and Freedom French, on June 22, 1679, and that is where he and Elizabeth raised their family. Four children, Huldah, Grace, Deborah and Jonathan, were born to the couple, and our Jonathan also had an illegitimate child with Sarah Darling, Hezekiah Thayer, who died young. (This last was born in 1687). It would be interesting to find the court records for that situation. Jonathan probably had to pay some kind of support for the young child, and Sarah could very well have been jailed and whipped.
That is as much as I can tell you, and honestly, I don't have a source for the Hezekiah story. It's on Find a Grave, so take it for whatever it's worth.
Now, I'm going to speculate for a couple of sentences. Huldah, Jonathan's mother, died in 1690. 1690 was a horrible year for smallpox in the Boston area (Mendon was near enough for this purpose to be counted as Boston.) Did both of them die of smallpox? Jonathan apparently died before September 14, 1690 (date of inventory) and his mother died in September, Had one of them been caring for the other?
We can't tell much about Jonathan from the inventory, which was taken September 14, 1690. The inventory included 10 acres of land, a dwelling and out (housing, laying, not sure what it says), two cows, three yearlings, and one calf, ten swine, 2 horses, a cart, arms and ammunition, a debt from his father, and a few household goods such as beds and a chest. It's a pretty meager inventory.
Elizabeth went on to marry Benjamin Wheelock in 1692, and her daughter Huldah, our ancestor, married his son Benjamin, also our ancestor. It's nice to think that something good happened out of these tragedies.
The line of descent is:
Jonathan Thayer-Elizabeth French
Huldah Thayer-Benjamin Wheelock
Mary Wheelock-Ebenezer Thayer
Abigail Thayer-Jesse Holbrook
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook=Susanna Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
He married Elizabeth French, daughter of John and Freedom French, on June 22, 1679, and that is where he and Elizabeth raised their family. Four children, Huldah, Grace, Deborah and Jonathan, were born to the couple, and our Jonathan also had an illegitimate child with Sarah Darling, Hezekiah Thayer, who died young. (This last was born in 1687). It would be interesting to find the court records for that situation. Jonathan probably had to pay some kind of support for the young child, and Sarah could very well have been jailed and whipped.
That is as much as I can tell you, and honestly, I don't have a source for the Hezekiah story. It's on Find a Grave, so take it for whatever it's worth.
Now, I'm going to speculate for a couple of sentences. Huldah, Jonathan's mother, died in 1690. 1690 was a horrible year for smallpox in the Boston area (Mendon was near enough for this purpose to be counted as Boston.) Did both of them die of smallpox? Jonathan apparently died before September 14, 1690 (date of inventory) and his mother died in September, Had one of them been caring for the other?
We can't tell much about Jonathan from the inventory, which was taken September 14, 1690. The inventory included 10 acres of land, a dwelling and out (housing, laying, not sure what it says), two cows, three yearlings, and one calf, ten swine, 2 horses, a cart, arms and ammunition, a debt from his father, and a few household goods such as beds and a chest. It's a pretty meager inventory.
Elizabeth went on to marry Benjamin Wheelock in 1692, and her daughter Huldah, our ancestor, married his son Benjamin, also our ancestor. It's nice to think that something good happened out of these tragedies.
The line of descent is:
Jonathan Thayer-Elizabeth French
Huldah Thayer-Benjamin Wheelock
Mary Wheelock-Ebenezer Thayer
Abigail Thayer-Jesse Holbrook
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook=Susanna Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Holbrook line: Benjamin Wheelock 1639-1716
Benjamin Wheelock, who may have been the first Wheelock born in the American colonies, certainly has stayed out of view of family historians. We have bits and pieces, enough to have a vague outline, but we don't know nearly as much about him as he know about his father.
His parents were Rev. Ralph and Rebecca Clarke Wheelock. Rev. Wheelock was a graduate of Clare College at Cambridge University, and Rev. Ralph came to America as a Puritan pastor. He is also recognized as the first public school teacher in America. So, poor Benjamin! His father was both a pastor and a schoolteacher; what chance did the poor kid have?
Benjamin had four older siblings and one younger sibling. He was born January 8, 1639/40 in Dedham, Massachusetts, where his parents had gone soon after arriving in Massachusetts Bay Colony. The family stayed there until Benjamin was about 11 years old and then they moved to Medfield, Massachusetts. Typically boys were put into some kind of a trade or on the job training program by the time they were 14. We don't know if this happened to Benjamin, or whether his father's more professional occupations might have allowed Benjamin to stay at home longer. Perhaps he was needed for the chores around home, as his father was busy preparing sermons and lessons and may not have paid much attention to other things that needed to be done.
Benjamin married Elizabeth Bullen, daughter of Samuel and Mary Morse Bullen, on May 21, 1668 in Medfield. He was a little older than typical for his generation, about 28, but Elizabeth was about 21, about typical for young women. Benjamin and Elizabeth stayed in Medfield, where he had a house built the year of their marriage. He acquired other land and became known as a "proprietor", which gave him certain rights in land divisions that not every resident had.
Benjamin and Elizabeth had at least five children, and at least four were born in Medfield. Sometime in 1685 or 1686, the family moved to Mendon, where Benjamin is listed as a founder. Here he was a tything man, a constable, and a selectman, so he was well regarded there. He purchased land from Matthias Puffer and undoubtedly hoped to live out his days in Mendon, along with his wife Elizabeth.
However, Elizabeth died in 1689, Benjamin may have married Elizabeth French, widow of Jonathan Thayer and daughter of John French, in about 1692. It is possible that he fathered two more children with her, although some think this is not correct. I guess I hope it is true, that he had children when he was well into middle age, because they would have kept him young, or at least helped care for him as he aged.
Benjamin died September 13, 1716 at Mendon. I've not found a will or inventory, which is disappointing. That might give us more insight into what Benjamin did for a living, and how well he was doing, financially. It might also tell us what land he owned, and whether he had a library of more than a Bible and a couple of religious books.
From what little we know, we know that he was respected in his community, that he raised a good family, and that he was at least as "religious" as his neighbors. Being chosen as a selectman was an honor, and it's an privilege to be able to claim him as an ancestor.
The line of descent is
Benjamin Wheelock-Elizabeth Bullen
Benjamin Wheelock-Huldah Thayer
Mary Wheelock-Ebenezer Thayer
Abigail Thayer-Jesse Holbrook
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susanna Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Hobrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
His parents were Rev. Ralph and Rebecca Clarke Wheelock. Rev. Wheelock was a graduate of Clare College at Cambridge University, and Rev. Ralph came to America as a Puritan pastor. He is also recognized as the first public school teacher in America. So, poor Benjamin! His father was both a pastor and a schoolteacher; what chance did the poor kid have?
Benjamin had four older siblings and one younger sibling. He was born January 8, 1639/40 in Dedham, Massachusetts, where his parents had gone soon after arriving in Massachusetts Bay Colony. The family stayed there until Benjamin was about 11 years old and then they moved to Medfield, Massachusetts. Typically boys were put into some kind of a trade or on the job training program by the time they were 14. We don't know if this happened to Benjamin, or whether his father's more professional occupations might have allowed Benjamin to stay at home longer. Perhaps he was needed for the chores around home, as his father was busy preparing sermons and lessons and may not have paid much attention to other things that needed to be done.
Benjamin married Elizabeth Bullen, daughter of Samuel and Mary Morse Bullen, on May 21, 1668 in Medfield. He was a little older than typical for his generation, about 28, but Elizabeth was about 21, about typical for young women. Benjamin and Elizabeth stayed in Medfield, where he had a house built the year of their marriage. He acquired other land and became known as a "proprietor", which gave him certain rights in land divisions that not every resident had.
Benjamin and Elizabeth had at least five children, and at least four were born in Medfield. Sometime in 1685 or 1686, the family moved to Mendon, where Benjamin is listed as a founder. Here he was a tything man, a constable, and a selectman, so he was well regarded there. He purchased land from Matthias Puffer and undoubtedly hoped to live out his days in Mendon, along with his wife Elizabeth.
However, Elizabeth died in 1689, Benjamin may have married Elizabeth French, widow of Jonathan Thayer and daughter of John French, in about 1692. It is possible that he fathered two more children with her, although some think this is not correct. I guess I hope it is true, that he had children when he was well into middle age, because they would have kept him young, or at least helped care for him as he aged.
Benjamin died September 13, 1716 at Mendon. I've not found a will or inventory, which is disappointing. That might give us more insight into what Benjamin did for a living, and how well he was doing, financially. It might also tell us what land he owned, and whether he had a library of more than a Bible and a couple of religious books.
From what little we know, we know that he was respected in his community, that he raised a good family, and that he was at least as "religious" as his neighbors. Being chosen as a selectman was an honor, and it's an privilege to be able to claim him as an ancestor.
The line of descent is
Benjamin Wheelock-Elizabeth Bullen
Benjamin Wheelock-Huldah Thayer
Mary Wheelock-Ebenezer Thayer
Abigail Thayer-Jesse Holbrook
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susanna Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Hobrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Friday, November 1, 2019
Holbrook line: Simon Thompson, Immigrant 1619-1658
Simon Thompson was about 11 years old when he came to Massachusetts with his father, James Thompson or Thomson, and his step-mother, Elizabeth. He was born to James and his mother, Ann, and was christened July 3, 1619 at Friesden, Lincolnshire, England. He was one of four children born to this couple before Ann died about December 13, 1625. Simon's father, James, married Elizabeth in 1625 and soon moved to the neighboring parish of Fishtoft. This couple had two children born in England. When James and Elizabeth came to Massachusetts they had four children with them, Simon, James, Jonathan and Olive.
James settled in Charlestown so that is where Simon spent his early teen age years, probably learning a trade as well as how to adjust to this whole new world he could explore. James soon moved on to Woburn, as did Simon, and that is where Simon met and married his wife, Mary Converse, the daughter of Edward and Sarah Parker Converse, They were married December 19, 1643 in Woburn, and had at least six children together.
After that, we don't know much about Simon. He is not listed in the list of freemen in Massachusetts, although his father, James was so listed. He was made a freeman of Woburn in 1648, according to information found on Wikitree, so I'm not sure why he didn't show up in the state record.
We know he had some land because it is mentioned briefly in a record of deeds for early Woburn. This particular reference, the only one I found, refers to land in a meadow, so from that, we can infer that he also had a house lot. Family tradition says that he was an early town clerk, but I cannot verify that-yet. We can be pretty sure, with the designation of meadow-land, that Simon farmed, but we don't know if that was his only occupation.
We can also be sure that he attended what became the First Congregational Church of Woburn, whether or not he was a member. During the early days of each "plantation" or settlement that I've read about, an appointed drummer walked through the village, beating the drum at each household, so the persons residing could fall in line and march to the meeting house for service. Every resident was expected to be at service whether or not they belonged to the church.
The Wikitree that I referenced earlier states that Simon had helped to organize the town of Chelmsford, but it's not clear that he ever moved there.
Simon died while still quite young. He was not yet 40 years old when he died in May of 1658. He likely died of an illness because he reportedly wrote his will a few weeks before he died. I have been unable to find a cause of death, nor have I found the will or inventory. He left the widow's third to Mary, a double portion to his surviving son James, and the rest was left to his four daughters. All of the children were minors, which is probably one reason that Mary remarried quickly. She married John Sheldon of Billerica in 1659, the year after Simon's death.
This certainly is not a satisfying blog post. There surely is more information about Simon than I've located. However, it at least helps us remember Simon and a little of the kind of life he lived. He's another of the quiet people who helped build America, and for that alone we should be thankful.
One of his famous descendants was Calvin Coolidge, "Silent Cal". Perhaps he took lessons from this ancestor!
The line of descent is
Simon Thompson-Mary Converse
Jonathan Thompson-Thankful Woodland
Martha Thompson-Ebenezer Thayer
Ebenezer Thayer-Mary Wheelock
Abigail Thayer-Jesse Holbrook
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susanna Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-May Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
James settled in Charlestown so that is where Simon spent his early teen age years, probably learning a trade as well as how to adjust to this whole new world he could explore. James soon moved on to Woburn, as did Simon, and that is where Simon met and married his wife, Mary Converse, the daughter of Edward and Sarah Parker Converse, They were married December 19, 1643 in Woburn, and had at least six children together.
After that, we don't know much about Simon. He is not listed in the list of freemen in Massachusetts, although his father, James was so listed. He was made a freeman of Woburn in 1648, according to information found on Wikitree, so I'm not sure why he didn't show up in the state record.
We know he had some land because it is mentioned briefly in a record of deeds for early Woburn. This particular reference, the only one I found, refers to land in a meadow, so from that, we can infer that he also had a house lot. Family tradition says that he was an early town clerk, but I cannot verify that-yet. We can be pretty sure, with the designation of meadow-land, that Simon farmed, but we don't know if that was his only occupation.
We can also be sure that he attended what became the First Congregational Church of Woburn, whether or not he was a member. During the early days of each "plantation" or settlement that I've read about, an appointed drummer walked through the village, beating the drum at each household, so the persons residing could fall in line and march to the meeting house for service. Every resident was expected to be at service whether or not they belonged to the church.
The Wikitree that I referenced earlier states that Simon had helped to organize the town of Chelmsford, but it's not clear that he ever moved there.
Simon died while still quite young. He was not yet 40 years old when he died in May of 1658. He likely died of an illness because he reportedly wrote his will a few weeks before he died. I have been unable to find a cause of death, nor have I found the will or inventory. He left the widow's third to Mary, a double portion to his surviving son James, and the rest was left to his four daughters. All of the children were minors, which is probably one reason that Mary remarried quickly. She married John Sheldon of Billerica in 1659, the year after Simon's death.
This certainly is not a satisfying blog post. There surely is more information about Simon than I've located. However, it at least helps us remember Simon and a little of the kind of life he lived. He's another of the quiet people who helped build America, and for that alone we should be thankful.
One of his famous descendants was Calvin Coolidge, "Silent Cal". Perhaps he took lessons from this ancestor!
The line of descent is
Simon Thompson-Mary Converse
Jonathan Thompson-Thankful Woodland
Martha Thompson-Ebenezer Thayer
Ebenezer Thayer-Mary Wheelock
Abigail Thayer-Jesse Holbrook
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susanna Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-May Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Friday, February 15, 2019
Holbrook line: William Hayward, Immigrant
It's February and the ice is thawing. I feel like I'm on very thin ice, here, writing about this particular ancestor. I hope I can stay away from all the cracks and holes in his story, and eventually get back to dry and solid land.
Actually, let's start with dry and solid land. It seems pretty well established that William Hayward died at Braintree, Suffolk County, Massachusetts on May 10, 1659. He was at his usual work as a ferryman, and drowned. Perhaps he had a heart attack or stroke that caused him to fall into the water, but the cause of death was apparently drowning. The inventory of his estate showed a value of 195 pounds, 5 shillings, and 6 pence. Power of administration was given to Margery, his late wife, on behalf of herself and the children. His estate included a dwelling house, garden, and orchards, as well as other lands, oxen, cattle and a meager amount of household furnishings including seven shillings worth of books.
Margery, his wife, is believed to be Margery Knight. There are marriage records for a couple by those names on October 10, 1633, Stepney, Middlesex, England, and they are believed to be the same people who later came to New England. Stepney appears to have been a separate village at the time but is now part of the city of London. Some show the couple as having arrived in 1635 but the earliest records are from 1637, when William was in Charlestown. He then went to Braintree ,where he was deputy to the general court in 1641.
By occupation, William was a mariner, boatman, and ferry man. He probably did whatever was necessary to support his family, which may have included as many as eight children, some of them still minors when he died.
That is pretty much what is known about William. I've been birth dates for him of everything from 1585 to 1617. The 1617 date is likely not correct because that would have made him only about 16 years old when he married Margery, which doesn't seem likely. More likely he was born between 1595 and 1610, but there were quite a few William Haywards born during that time period.
So we end with a mystery or two. Who was he, and who were his parents? What were his reasons for coming to America? Presumably he was made a freeman, since he held the office of deputy. When did that happen? Regardless, we once again come to the conclusion that he and Margery are people worthy of respect and honor, for crossing the ocean, for raising a family here, and for giving us those hardy pioneer genes that have served us well.
The lines of descent are:
William Hayward-Margery Knight
Huldah Hayward-Ferdinando Thayer
Ebenezeer Thayer-Martha Thompson
Ebenezer Thayer-Mary Wheelock
Abigail Thayer-Jesse Holbrook
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susanna Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
and
William Hayward-Margery Knight
Samuel Hayward-Mehitable Thompson
Mary Hayward-Joseph Rockwood
John Rockwood-Deborah Thayer
Joseph Rockwood-Alice Thompson
Levi Rockwood-Deborah Lazell
Susanna Rockwood-Nahum Holbrook
per above
As you'll note, this is a rather tangled tree, with Thompson and Thayers showing up in several different ways. That may explain why we have several ancestors in common with William Howard Taft, former President of the United States.
Actually, let's start with dry and solid land. It seems pretty well established that William Hayward died at Braintree, Suffolk County, Massachusetts on May 10, 1659. He was at his usual work as a ferryman, and drowned. Perhaps he had a heart attack or stroke that caused him to fall into the water, but the cause of death was apparently drowning. The inventory of his estate showed a value of 195 pounds, 5 shillings, and 6 pence. Power of administration was given to Margery, his late wife, on behalf of herself and the children. His estate included a dwelling house, garden, and orchards, as well as other lands, oxen, cattle and a meager amount of household furnishings including seven shillings worth of books.
Margery, his wife, is believed to be Margery Knight. There are marriage records for a couple by those names on October 10, 1633, Stepney, Middlesex, England, and they are believed to be the same people who later came to New England. Stepney appears to have been a separate village at the time but is now part of the city of London. Some show the couple as having arrived in 1635 but the earliest records are from 1637, when William was in Charlestown. He then went to Braintree ,where he was deputy to the general court in 1641.
By occupation, William was a mariner, boatman, and ferry man. He probably did whatever was necessary to support his family, which may have included as many as eight children, some of them still minors when he died.
That is pretty much what is known about William. I've been birth dates for him of everything from 1585 to 1617. The 1617 date is likely not correct because that would have made him only about 16 years old when he married Margery, which doesn't seem likely. More likely he was born between 1595 and 1610, but there were quite a few William Haywards born during that time period.
So we end with a mystery or two. Who was he, and who were his parents? What were his reasons for coming to America? Presumably he was made a freeman, since he held the office of deputy. When did that happen? Regardless, we once again come to the conclusion that he and Margery are people worthy of respect and honor, for crossing the ocean, for raising a family here, and for giving us those hardy pioneer genes that have served us well.
The lines of descent are:
William Hayward-Margery Knight
Huldah Hayward-Ferdinando Thayer
Ebenezeer Thayer-Martha Thompson
Ebenezer Thayer-Mary Wheelock
Abigail Thayer-Jesse Holbrook
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susanna Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
and
William Hayward-Margery Knight
Samuel Hayward-Mehitable Thompson
Mary Hayward-Joseph Rockwood
John Rockwood-Deborah Thayer
Joseph Rockwood-Alice Thompson
Levi Rockwood-Deborah Lazell
Susanna Rockwood-Nahum Holbrook
per above
As you'll note, this is a rather tangled tree, with Thompson and Thayers showing up in several different ways. That may explain why we have several ancestors in common with William Howard Taft, former President of the United States.
Friday, September 14, 2018
Holbrook line: Samuel Morse 1576-1654 Immigrant
What would it take for a man of 50 to decide to take his family across the ocean to a land they had only heard of, with challenges both known and unknown? He was a "husbandman", meaning that he farmed either land owned by someone else, or a small farm. So he didn't have much money in England, and perhaps he thought life would be better here.
We do know a little more about Samuel than we do about some of our ancestors. His parents were Reverend Thomas and Margaret (probably King) Morse, and he was born on or shortly before June 12, 1576 in Boxted, Essex, England. Boxted is a small village on the northern border of Essex, not far from the North Sea. The current population is about 1350 people. Two groups of religious dissenters had gone from this area to New England in 1630, so in addition to economic reasons, perhaps the Morses were following family, or certainly, neighbors.
Samuel married Elizabeth Jasper, daughter of Lancelot and Rose Shephard Jasper, on June 29, 1602, at Redgrave, Suffolk, England. This was about 40 miles from Samuel's home at Boxted, but we don't know how they met. Perhaps Samuel's father had preached at Redgrave, or maybe Elizabeth visited someone in Boxted. At any rate, they met, married, and settled down in or near Redgrave, where several of their children were born. Their last three children were born at Burgate, Suffolk, England, which seems to be quite close to Redgrave.
Samuel, Elizabeth, their twenty year old son Joseph and a 2 year old granddaughter traveled together on the ship Increase in 1635. Samuel was listed as 50 and Elizabeth as 48. It is uncertain how the other children got to New England but there are only ship and other records for a small fraction of those who arrived in New England, so that is not a problem. Samuel and Elizabeth first went to Waterwon, and then to Dedham, which are both towns settled by those settlers who had come over from Boxted in 1630. The Morses were iamong the first settlers of Dedham in 1637, when Samuel was admitted to the church. He was made a freeman on October 8, 1640.
We don't know what education Samuel had but he must have had at least the basics because he served Dedham as a treasurer and a selectman, he was an assessor for the meetinghouse rate, and he was a fenceviewer and highway surveyor. One would think that the treasurer's position would require basic math skills, and the selectman's job may have required literacy.
In 1652, Samuel and Elizabeth moved on to Medfield, where they were early settlers. I find it hard to fathom moving across the ocean, living in one town, going to another, and then finally, at the age of 67, starting over in another village. Starting over may well have meant building one's own home, clearing one's own fields and helping with the common, and helping develop roads for the new village. It would have been a lot of work! Samuel still owned land in Dedham when he died in December of 1654, but it's unclear whether he also owned land at Medfield.
His estate was valued at 124 pounds, 7 shillings, of which 40 pounds was real estate. I don't know what his net worth would have been when he left England, but he seems to have improved his circumstances here.
He left descendants who would not only improve their circumstances, but improve the country. John Chapman, otherwise known as Johnny Appleseed, is a descendant, as are Wild Bill Hickock, Emily Dickinson, William Howard Taft, Calvin Coolidge, and the two Presidents Bush. There are also some famous entertainers in the list such as Raquel Welch and Elizabeth Shue. We are cousins, very distant, to all these people!
The line of descent is:
Samuel Morse-Elizabeth Jasper
Mary Morse-Samuel Bullen
Elizabeth Bullen-Benjamin Wheelock
Benjamin Wheelock-Hulda Thayer
Mary Wheelock-Ebenezer Thayer
Abigail Thayer-Jesse Holbrook
Amariah Holbrook-Molly oh where are you Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susannah Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
If I have this figured right, Hulda Thayer was Ebenezer Thayer's niece, so Abigail Thayer's grandmother Hulda was also her aunt. Can that be right?
We do know a little more about Samuel than we do about some of our ancestors. His parents were Reverend Thomas and Margaret (probably King) Morse, and he was born on or shortly before June 12, 1576 in Boxted, Essex, England. Boxted is a small village on the northern border of Essex, not far from the North Sea. The current population is about 1350 people. Two groups of religious dissenters had gone from this area to New England in 1630, so in addition to economic reasons, perhaps the Morses were following family, or certainly, neighbors.
Samuel married Elizabeth Jasper, daughter of Lancelot and Rose Shephard Jasper, on June 29, 1602, at Redgrave, Suffolk, England. This was about 40 miles from Samuel's home at Boxted, but we don't know how they met. Perhaps Samuel's father had preached at Redgrave, or maybe Elizabeth visited someone in Boxted. At any rate, they met, married, and settled down in or near Redgrave, where several of their children were born. Their last three children were born at Burgate, Suffolk, England, which seems to be quite close to Redgrave.
Samuel, Elizabeth, their twenty year old son Joseph and a 2 year old granddaughter traveled together on the ship Increase in 1635. Samuel was listed as 50 and Elizabeth as 48. It is uncertain how the other children got to New England but there are only ship and other records for a small fraction of those who arrived in New England, so that is not a problem. Samuel and Elizabeth first went to Waterwon, and then to Dedham, which are both towns settled by those settlers who had come over from Boxted in 1630. The Morses were iamong the first settlers of Dedham in 1637, when Samuel was admitted to the church. He was made a freeman on October 8, 1640.
We don't know what education Samuel had but he must have had at least the basics because he served Dedham as a treasurer and a selectman, he was an assessor for the meetinghouse rate, and he was a fenceviewer and highway surveyor. One would think that the treasurer's position would require basic math skills, and the selectman's job may have required literacy.
In 1652, Samuel and Elizabeth moved on to Medfield, where they were early settlers. I find it hard to fathom moving across the ocean, living in one town, going to another, and then finally, at the age of 67, starting over in another village. Starting over may well have meant building one's own home, clearing one's own fields and helping with the common, and helping develop roads for the new village. It would have been a lot of work! Samuel still owned land in Dedham when he died in December of 1654, but it's unclear whether he also owned land at Medfield.
His estate was valued at 124 pounds, 7 shillings, of which 40 pounds was real estate. I don't know what his net worth would have been when he left England, but he seems to have improved his circumstances here.
He left descendants who would not only improve their circumstances, but improve the country. John Chapman, otherwise known as Johnny Appleseed, is a descendant, as are Wild Bill Hickock, Emily Dickinson, William Howard Taft, Calvin Coolidge, and the two Presidents Bush. There are also some famous entertainers in the list such as Raquel Welch and Elizabeth Shue. We are cousins, very distant, to all these people!
The line of descent is:
Samuel Morse-Elizabeth Jasper
Mary Morse-Samuel Bullen
Elizabeth Bullen-Benjamin Wheelock
Benjamin Wheelock-Hulda Thayer
Mary Wheelock-Ebenezer Thayer
Abigail Thayer-Jesse Holbrook
Amariah Holbrook-Molly oh where are you Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susannah Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
If I have this figured right, Hulda Thayer was Ebenezer Thayer's niece, so Abigail Thayer's grandmother Hulda was also her aunt. Can that be right?
Friday, August 17, 2018
Holbrook line: Thomas Stoughton 1588-1661
Thomas Stoughton is, like many of our ancestors, a man with secrets. We know quite a bit about him, but one thing I have not been able to determine is how he made his living. But let's start at the beginning.
Thomas was likely the second Thomas in his family. There was a Thomas born in 1588, but our Thomas wasn't baptized until January 23, 1592/93. It would have been unusual to wait that long to baptize a child in Naughton, Suffolk, England, especially since his father, also Thomas Stoughton, was a Puritan clergyman. His mother was Katherine, likely Montpesson. So unless Thomas Senior for political/religious reasons had delayed baptizing his first born, we can consider it likely that Thomas, our subject, was born in January of 1592/93.
Thomas was born into a family who valued education and who honored the Lord but wished to do it in their own way. that way was Puritan, not church of England, and so the family probably suffered economically after the father lost his church in 1606. His father, a Cambridge graduate, turned to writing theological pamphlets but it is hard to see how he would have made a living from that. Thomas was one of seven children, and was educated to a high grammar school level. Perhaps he was tutored, at home or elsewhere, but as far as is known he did not attend a university.
Thomas married Elizabeth Thompson or Tompson on May 5, 1612 at Great Totham, Essex, England. He would have been just about 20 years old, which was a little young for the time and place, but he felt ready to support a wife and family. Again, we don't know how he supported his family, which soon included 4 daughters and a son. Another daughter, the first Elizabeth, died shortly after her birth. The second Elizabeth died when she was 6 years old, and there is no further record of Anna, who may also have died young. His wife, Elizabeth, died in 1627, leaving Thomas with children Sarah, Katherine, and Thomas. It should be noted that our connection is through a daughter Elizabeth, who is given varying birth dates but no documentation. So it's possible that Elizabeth was part of this family, but not a child of Thomas's. Perhaps she was his niece or a cousin or some other relation. For now, we will leave her as a daughter.
Thomas and his children came to Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, possibly on the Mary and John, although I don't find his name on any of the lists. He probably went directly to Dorchester where he became a freeman on May 18, 1631. He served on the General Court there until 1634, helped "order the affairs of the plantation" and later was a constable there. He was fined five pounds for marrying two people, which is a bit puzzling. Was he doing this as a civil servant or as a religious person? At any rate, the fine was eventually forgiven.
By 1635, there were religious tensions in Dorchester and Thomas was one of the men who went to what would become Windsor. He set the boundaries for the village and served in the court there for eleven years. About the time he went to Windsor, he married again, to Margaret Barret Huntington, a widow of "good means, and has five children". As far as we know, they lived happily every after.
Thomas died on March 25, 1661. I have not been able to find a will or inventory for him, which is a disappointment. We do know he owned several parcels of land, but whether these were developed for farming or not we don't know. So, as mentioned earlier, although we know quite a bit about him there are still mysteries. How did he make a living? And was Elizabeth his daughter, or possibly the daughter of one of his brothers who also came to the Bay Colony?
The supposed line of descent is:
Thomas Stoughton-Elizabeth Thomson
Elizabeth Stoughton-John Kingsley
Freedom Grace Kingsley-John French
Elizabeth French-Jonathan Thayer
Huldah Thayer-Benjamin Wheelock
Mary Wheelock-Ebenezer Thayer
Abigail Thayer-Jesse Holbrook
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susannah Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Thomas was likely the second Thomas in his family. There was a Thomas born in 1588, but our Thomas wasn't baptized until January 23, 1592/93. It would have been unusual to wait that long to baptize a child in Naughton, Suffolk, England, especially since his father, also Thomas Stoughton, was a Puritan clergyman. His mother was Katherine, likely Montpesson. So unless Thomas Senior for political/religious reasons had delayed baptizing his first born, we can consider it likely that Thomas, our subject, was born in January of 1592/93.
Thomas was born into a family who valued education and who honored the Lord but wished to do it in their own way. that way was Puritan, not church of England, and so the family probably suffered economically after the father lost his church in 1606. His father, a Cambridge graduate, turned to writing theological pamphlets but it is hard to see how he would have made a living from that. Thomas was one of seven children, and was educated to a high grammar school level. Perhaps he was tutored, at home or elsewhere, but as far as is known he did not attend a university.
Thomas married Elizabeth Thompson or Tompson on May 5, 1612 at Great Totham, Essex, England. He would have been just about 20 years old, which was a little young for the time and place, but he felt ready to support a wife and family. Again, we don't know how he supported his family, which soon included 4 daughters and a son. Another daughter, the first Elizabeth, died shortly after her birth. The second Elizabeth died when she was 6 years old, and there is no further record of Anna, who may also have died young. His wife, Elizabeth, died in 1627, leaving Thomas with children Sarah, Katherine, and Thomas. It should be noted that our connection is through a daughter Elizabeth, who is given varying birth dates but no documentation. So it's possible that Elizabeth was part of this family, but not a child of Thomas's. Perhaps she was his niece or a cousin or some other relation. For now, we will leave her as a daughter.
Thomas and his children came to Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, possibly on the Mary and John, although I don't find his name on any of the lists. He probably went directly to Dorchester where he became a freeman on May 18, 1631. He served on the General Court there until 1634, helped "order the affairs of the plantation" and later was a constable there. He was fined five pounds for marrying two people, which is a bit puzzling. Was he doing this as a civil servant or as a religious person? At any rate, the fine was eventually forgiven.
By 1635, there were religious tensions in Dorchester and Thomas was one of the men who went to what would become Windsor. He set the boundaries for the village and served in the court there for eleven years. About the time he went to Windsor, he married again, to Margaret Barret Huntington, a widow of "good means, and has five children". As far as we know, they lived happily every after.
Thomas died on March 25, 1661. I have not been able to find a will or inventory for him, which is a disappointment. We do know he owned several parcels of land, but whether these were developed for farming or not we don't know. So, as mentioned earlier, although we know quite a bit about him there are still mysteries. How did he make a living? And was Elizabeth his daughter, or possibly the daughter of one of his brothers who also came to the Bay Colony?
The supposed line of descent is:
Thomas Stoughton-Elizabeth Thomson
Elizabeth Stoughton-John Kingsley
Freedom Grace Kingsley-John French
Elizabeth French-Jonathan Thayer
Huldah Thayer-Benjamin Wheelock
Mary Wheelock-Ebenezer Thayer
Abigail Thayer-Jesse Holbrook
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susannah Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Tuesday, July 17, 2018
Holbrook line: William Knight, Immigrant
It's hard to write a blog post when there is not a lot to go on as far as documentation. One must read between the lines, and perhaps draw incorrect conclusions. The good thing is that someday, someone will figure out a lot of these mysteries. I hope to be around to witness at least some of these new discoveries.
William Knight is a good example of this. We do have some information, but some of it is conflicting and much information is missing. We'll either look at this glass as half full or half empty, and I guess I'm voting for half full.
After all, we do know at least two and perhaps three of William's wives. We know when he arrived in Massachusetts Bay Colony, and we know what he left as an estate. That is more information than we have for some of our ancestors, anyway.
We don't know for sure where or when William was born. One suggesting is December 15, 1670 in London, Middlesex, England, with parents of John Knight and Margery Lascelles. I think this is probably not our William Knight, as it would leave him coming to America as a man of 65 and fathering children here. It's possible, but unlikely.
One of the challenges is that there are at least three proposed wives for William. One is Ann Ives, who probably died between 1612 and 1622, when there is a distance of ten years between the noted children. But his records in America indicate his wife may have been Emma Potter, whom he had married by 1635. How do we account for his children born in the 1620s? And finally, he had a second or third wife Elizabeth Lee Ballard, who was living when William died and whom he married in or soon after 1640. He seems to refer in his wife to having had four children with Elizabeth, in addition to those he had earlier.
He refers to sons John, Jacob, and Francis, and to daughters Ann and Hanna, as well as to two of Elizabeth's children by her first husband, and to the four children (unnamed) that he has with Elizabeth. I'm not sure why Margery, our connection, wasn't mentioned in the will but there could be any number of reasons, including that he may have given a marriage gift, either of land or money.
William died March 5, 1655/56, in Lynn, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony. He had been in America about 20 years, having arrived at Salem in either 1635 or 1636. He owned land in Salem in 1636, so probably he arrived in 1635. There is a William Knight who was made a freeman in 1638 in Boston, but I don't know whether this is our William or not.
William's inventory is interesting. He owned a dwelling house, barn, and fifteen acres of plow land, six acres of meadow in Rumley marsh and five acers of meadow in the town marsh, plus oxen, cows, sheep and swine. He has a significant amount of household goods, more than many farmers had, which partl can be explained by the fact that he lived in seaside towns where goods were more readily available than on the frontier. For instance, he had "stolls, chears, and a table", which was more than was usual for the time. He had three spinning wheels, so the women of the house must have been kept busy with the wool from the sheep. I see no mention of books, not even a Bible. The total inventory including uncollected debts was about 163 pounds.
I wish I knew more about William, especially the niggling little question of whether he was really Margery's father, or whether there are more William Knights than have yet been discovered. I'd like to know his religion, and his occupation if he did more than farm. If I learn that this is not Margery's father, then I'll update this post but as of now, I think it's at least somewhat likely.
The line of descent would be:
William Knight-Ann Ives
Margery Knight-William Hayward
Huldah Hayward-Ferdinando Thayer
Jonathan Thayer-Elizabeth French
Hulday Thayer-Benjamin Wheelock
Mary Wheelock-Ebenezer Thayer
Abigail Thayer-Jesse Holbrook
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susanna Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
There is also a second line:
Samuel Hayward (son of William Hayward and Margery Knight above)-Mehitable Thompson
Mary Hayward-Joseph Rockwood
John Rockwood-Deborah Thayer
Joseph Rockwood-Alice Thompson
Levi Rockwood-Deborah Lazell
Susanna Rockwood-Nahum Holbrook
and on as above
Once again, we are our own cousins.
William Knight is a good example of this. We do have some information, but some of it is conflicting and much information is missing. We'll either look at this glass as half full or half empty, and I guess I'm voting for half full.
After all, we do know at least two and perhaps three of William's wives. We know when he arrived in Massachusetts Bay Colony, and we know what he left as an estate. That is more information than we have for some of our ancestors, anyway.
We don't know for sure where or when William was born. One suggesting is December 15, 1670 in London, Middlesex, England, with parents of John Knight and Margery Lascelles. I think this is probably not our William Knight, as it would leave him coming to America as a man of 65 and fathering children here. It's possible, but unlikely.
One of the challenges is that there are at least three proposed wives for William. One is Ann Ives, who probably died between 1612 and 1622, when there is a distance of ten years between the noted children. But his records in America indicate his wife may have been Emma Potter, whom he had married by 1635. How do we account for his children born in the 1620s? And finally, he had a second or third wife Elizabeth Lee Ballard, who was living when William died and whom he married in or soon after 1640. He seems to refer in his wife to having had four children with Elizabeth, in addition to those he had earlier.
He refers to sons John, Jacob, and Francis, and to daughters Ann and Hanna, as well as to two of Elizabeth's children by her first husband, and to the four children (unnamed) that he has with Elizabeth. I'm not sure why Margery, our connection, wasn't mentioned in the will but there could be any number of reasons, including that he may have given a marriage gift, either of land or money.
William died March 5, 1655/56, in Lynn, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony. He had been in America about 20 years, having arrived at Salem in either 1635 or 1636. He owned land in Salem in 1636, so probably he arrived in 1635. There is a William Knight who was made a freeman in 1638 in Boston, but I don't know whether this is our William or not.
William's inventory is interesting. He owned a dwelling house, barn, and fifteen acres of plow land, six acres of meadow in Rumley marsh and five acers of meadow in the town marsh, plus oxen, cows, sheep and swine. He has a significant amount of household goods, more than many farmers had, which partl can be explained by the fact that he lived in seaside towns where goods were more readily available than on the frontier. For instance, he had "stolls, chears, and a table", which was more than was usual for the time. He had three spinning wheels, so the women of the house must have been kept busy with the wool from the sheep. I see no mention of books, not even a Bible. The total inventory including uncollected debts was about 163 pounds.
I wish I knew more about William, especially the niggling little question of whether he was really Margery's father, or whether there are more William Knights than have yet been discovered. I'd like to know his religion, and his occupation if he did more than farm. If I learn that this is not Margery's father, then I'll update this post but as of now, I think it's at least somewhat likely.
The line of descent would be:
William Knight-Ann Ives
Margery Knight-William Hayward
Huldah Hayward-Ferdinando Thayer
Jonathan Thayer-Elizabeth French
Hulday Thayer-Benjamin Wheelock
Mary Wheelock-Ebenezer Thayer
Abigail Thayer-Jesse Holbrook
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susanna Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
There is also a second line:
Samuel Hayward (son of William Hayward and Margery Knight above)-Mehitable Thompson
Mary Hayward-Joseph Rockwood
John Rockwood-Deborah Thayer
Joseph Rockwood-Alice Thompson
Levi Rockwood-Deborah Lazell
Susanna Rockwood-Nahum Holbrook
and on as above
Once again, we are our own cousins.
Tuesday, June 19, 2018
Holbrook line: John Woodland, Immigrant
John Woodland is apparently one of the less famed of our ancestors, as I am not able to find a lot of information about him, and some of what I have found, I can't verify. One source (Geni) gives his birth as February 21, 1621 at Husborne Crawley, Bedfordshire, England. His parents are listed as Johannis Woodland and Grace, whom I have seen noted as Grace Thomson.
The village of Husborne Crawley is very small although there is a church there that dates back to the 13th century. It's size may indicate the village, which now has a population of less than 250 people, may have been larger at one time. It was largely agricultural at the time, so we will assume until we find other information that John had a farming background of some kind.
John married Martha, whose last name is not known, probably about 1645 since their first known child was born in 1646. This is the same year that he is believed to have come to Massachusetts Bay Colony, where he settled in Dorchester and by 1651 was in Braintree. I have not been able to locate any thing that says he ever was granted freeman status, but his son John was apparently christened in the church in Braintree, in 1651, so the possibility exists. I've also seen that his daughters Thankful was born in Dorchester in 1646 and Martha about 1648, but again, where are the records? There may have been a second son John born in 1649, and after several years of no children, possibly a "surprise', Abigail in 1661. The ten year gap leave us wondering whether there were other pregnancies or other children born during that time period
In 1662, a group was formed to settle a new town which became known as Mendon. It was on the frontier, fifteen or more miles from the nearest town. There were seven original settlers and John Woodland was one of them. John and his wife and four children moved to Mendon by the end of July, 1663, as they were required to do under the terms of the contract allowing the new village.
I can find little about John's life in Mendon. He was appointed fence keeper in 1667 and surveyor of highways in 1668. He is listed on a petition of May 19, 1669, asking for a minister for their town. Although I did not find his name on lists when the house lots were distributed, in 1672 swamp lots of five acres were granted to those who had house lots of 30 acres, and John's name is on that list.
Mendon has the distinction of being the first town hit in Massachusetts, in 1675 at the start of King Philip's War. Five or six people were killed but the list is not complete. We have no indication that any of them were of John's family, but of course they would have been his neighbors. The Woodlands fled the town, as did many others, and returned to Braintree. It is good that they left, because later, in early 1676, the natives returned again, and burned the town to the ground.
I've found statements that the Woodlands returned to Mendon sometime after 1680, but there is nothing in the "Annals of the Town of Mendon, Massachusetts" to support this. They were living in Braintree in 1687, when John and Martha sold five acres of land "before Woodland's dwelling house that he now liveth in". John died between then and 1700, when the town of Braintree voted to pay for the widow Woodland's transportation back to Mendon, where her son in law, John Thompson, promised to care for her. Her date of death is also uncertain.
I haven't figured out how John supported himself and his family. Was he "only" a farmer or did he have another trade also? Was he a religious man? Our only clue is the signing of the petition to bring a minister to Mendon. Was he literate? Apparently he could sign his name but we don't know any more than that. What a mystery!
Our lines of descent are:
John Woodland-Martha
Thankful Woodland-John Thompson
Martha Thompson-Ebenezer Thayer
Deborah Thayer-John Rockwood
Joseph Rockwood-Alice Thompson
Levi Rockwood-Deborah Lazell
Susannah Rockwood-Nahum Holbrook
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Another line goes from Thankful Woodland-John Thompson to
John Thompson-Hannah Wight
Joseph Thompson-Mary Holbrook
Alice Thompson-Joseph Rockwood (2nd cousins)
And yet another line goes from Martha Thompson and Ebenezer Thayer to
Ebenezer Thayer-Mary Wheelock
Abigail Thayer-Jesse Holbrook
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susanna Rockwood (so they are third cousins)
Yes, we're cousins, and we're our own cousins!
The village of Husborne Crawley is very small although there is a church there that dates back to the 13th century. It's size may indicate the village, which now has a population of less than 250 people, may have been larger at one time. It was largely agricultural at the time, so we will assume until we find other information that John had a farming background of some kind.
John married Martha, whose last name is not known, probably about 1645 since their first known child was born in 1646. This is the same year that he is believed to have come to Massachusetts Bay Colony, where he settled in Dorchester and by 1651 was in Braintree. I have not been able to locate any thing that says he ever was granted freeman status, but his son John was apparently christened in the church in Braintree, in 1651, so the possibility exists. I've also seen that his daughters Thankful was born in Dorchester in 1646 and Martha about 1648, but again, where are the records? There may have been a second son John born in 1649, and after several years of no children, possibly a "surprise', Abigail in 1661. The ten year gap leave us wondering whether there were other pregnancies or other children born during that time period
In 1662, a group was formed to settle a new town which became known as Mendon. It was on the frontier, fifteen or more miles from the nearest town. There were seven original settlers and John Woodland was one of them. John and his wife and four children moved to Mendon by the end of July, 1663, as they were required to do under the terms of the contract allowing the new village.
I can find little about John's life in Mendon. He was appointed fence keeper in 1667 and surveyor of highways in 1668. He is listed on a petition of May 19, 1669, asking for a minister for their town. Although I did not find his name on lists when the house lots were distributed, in 1672 swamp lots of five acres were granted to those who had house lots of 30 acres, and John's name is on that list.
Mendon has the distinction of being the first town hit in Massachusetts, in 1675 at the start of King Philip's War. Five or six people were killed but the list is not complete. We have no indication that any of them were of John's family, but of course they would have been his neighbors. The Woodlands fled the town, as did many others, and returned to Braintree. It is good that they left, because later, in early 1676, the natives returned again, and burned the town to the ground.
I've found statements that the Woodlands returned to Mendon sometime after 1680, but there is nothing in the "Annals of the Town of Mendon, Massachusetts" to support this. They were living in Braintree in 1687, when John and Martha sold five acres of land "before Woodland's dwelling house that he now liveth in". John died between then and 1700, when the town of Braintree voted to pay for the widow Woodland's transportation back to Mendon, where her son in law, John Thompson, promised to care for her. Her date of death is also uncertain.
I haven't figured out how John supported himself and his family. Was he "only" a farmer or did he have another trade also? Was he a religious man? Our only clue is the signing of the petition to bring a minister to Mendon. Was he literate? Apparently he could sign his name but we don't know any more than that. What a mystery!
Our lines of descent are:
John Woodland-Martha
Thankful Woodland-John Thompson
Martha Thompson-Ebenezer Thayer
Deborah Thayer-John Rockwood
Joseph Rockwood-Alice Thompson
Levi Rockwood-Deborah Lazell
Susannah Rockwood-Nahum Holbrook
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Another line goes from Thankful Woodland-John Thompson to
John Thompson-Hannah Wight
Joseph Thompson-Mary Holbrook
Alice Thompson-Joseph Rockwood (2nd cousins)
And yet another line goes from Martha Thompson and Ebenezer Thayer to
Ebenezer Thayer-Mary Wheelock
Abigail Thayer-Jesse Holbrook
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susanna Rockwood (so they are third cousins)
Yes, we're cousins, and we're our own cousins!
Tuesday, May 8, 2018
Holbrook line: Thomas French, Immigrant (following some of his children)
There are several good sites for information about Thomas, our immigrant, but none of them are perfect and some disagree on certain parts of Thomas's life. This is not unusual, for there were apparently several by the name of Thomas French, including the son Thomas who came several years before his father. Some of the records of the two, both of whom settled in Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts have been mixed, it seems. Our Thomas was born in 1584 is Assington, Suffolk, England, the son of Jacob and Susan Warren French, and it appears that Susan, his wife, whom he married in 1608, was born the same year. Susan, also seen as Susannah, was the daughter of John and Dorcas (possibly maiden name Black) Riddlesdale. We don't know what Thomas did in England although his son Thomas was a tailor. Our Thomas may well have followed the same trade, since Thomas Junior was his oldest son. Traditionally, the oldest son followed in his father's footsteps.
Thomas French came to New England after four of his children had made the voyage. He and his wife Susan may have had as many as eleven children, although some are in dispute. The most trustworthy lists I've found give eight names: Thomas, Alice, Dorcas, Susan, Anne, Margaret, John, and Mary. These children were all born in Assington, Suffolk, England, and by the time John and Susan arrived in Ipswich they were both in their middle fifties, with at least some children still teenagers. However, teenagers at that time were expected to earn their keep, so it's unclear how many of the children lived with their parents.
It's believed that they arrived in 1638 or even earlier, because he owned land in Ipswich in 1638. Records of their immigration have not been found. We know that Ipswich was founded by John Winthrop the Younger, so this was a Puritan town and presumably our Thomas was also a Puritan. The reason we know so little about his life here is that he had a short life once he arrived in Massachusetts Bay Colony. He died shortly before November 5, 1639. Since he was here such a short time it is tempting to speculate that one of the many contagious diseases that were prevalent took his life, but it may have been natural causes, or an accident. The records don't tell us that.
We know he had time to write a will, asking that his land be sold to support his wife and younger children. His wife Susan lived until 1658, and she also died in Ipswich.
One can wonder what led two middle aged people to pack up and leave home? True, several of their children were here and it may have been a chain migration. They may have felt forced out so that they could worship God as they chose, rather than as they were told to do. Maybe they wanted to be where their grandchildren would be. Maybe they were adventurous, and had stayed behind in England only till the younger children could travel more easily, or until they completed business affairs there. We will probably never know.
We also may not ever know the extent of Thomas's education, or how closely the family conformed to the Puritan religion, or what his personality was like. However, we do know that like it or not, they were willing to give up whatever they had in England in order to unite their family, and that is a trait worth honoring.
Our line of descent is:
Thomas French-Susan Riddlesdale
John French-Freedom Kingsley
Elizabeth French-Jonathan Thayer
Huldah Thayer-Benjamin Wheelock
Mary Wheelock-Ebenezer Thayer
Abigail Thayer-Jesse Holbrook
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susanna Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Thomas French came to New England after four of his children had made the voyage. He and his wife Susan may have had as many as eleven children, although some are in dispute. The most trustworthy lists I've found give eight names: Thomas, Alice, Dorcas, Susan, Anne, Margaret, John, and Mary. These children were all born in Assington, Suffolk, England, and by the time John and Susan arrived in Ipswich they were both in their middle fifties, with at least some children still teenagers. However, teenagers at that time were expected to earn their keep, so it's unclear how many of the children lived with their parents.
It's believed that they arrived in 1638 or even earlier, because he owned land in Ipswich in 1638. Records of their immigration have not been found. We know that Ipswich was founded by John Winthrop the Younger, so this was a Puritan town and presumably our Thomas was also a Puritan. The reason we know so little about his life here is that he had a short life once he arrived in Massachusetts Bay Colony. He died shortly before November 5, 1639. Since he was here such a short time it is tempting to speculate that one of the many contagious diseases that were prevalent took his life, but it may have been natural causes, or an accident. The records don't tell us that.
We know he had time to write a will, asking that his land be sold to support his wife and younger children. His wife Susan lived until 1658, and she also died in Ipswich.
One can wonder what led two middle aged people to pack up and leave home? True, several of their children were here and it may have been a chain migration. They may have felt forced out so that they could worship God as they chose, rather than as they were told to do. Maybe they wanted to be where their grandchildren would be. Maybe they were adventurous, and had stayed behind in England only till the younger children could travel more easily, or until they completed business affairs there. We will probably never know.
We also may not ever know the extent of Thomas's education, or how closely the family conformed to the Puritan religion, or what his personality was like. However, we do know that like it or not, they were willing to give up whatever they had in England in order to unite their family, and that is a trait worth honoring.
Our line of descent is:
Thomas French-Susan Riddlesdale
John French-Freedom Kingsley
Elizabeth French-Jonathan Thayer
Huldah Thayer-Benjamin Wheelock
Mary Wheelock-Ebenezer Thayer
Abigail Thayer-Jesse Holbrook
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susanna Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Friday, April 13, 2018
Holbrook line: Samuel Bullen, Immigrant
We know enough about Samuel Bullen to make us want to know more. Of course, some of the early information is conflicting, but once we can point to him in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, his information is a little more definitive. So, he was born in either 1617 or 1622, in Redgrave, Suffolk, England, or Botesdale, Suffolk, England. The two villages are only about two and a half miles apart, so at least we have are pinned down very closely. Living at either location, Samuel would have been very familiar with St Mary's Church, which was constructed sometime in the late 13th or early 14th century. There are pictures on Wikipedia of the interior of this building, and they are stunning. But I digress.
I tend to think Samuel was likely born in 1617 although possibly not christened until 1622, for whatever reason. He was married in 1641 and the 1622 date would make him a pretty young bridegroom for the time period. His father was likely (don't quote me on this!) John Bullen and his mother Agnes Wiffin. I'd feel better if I could find the documentation for this myself, but it's been reported early and often.
There is also a bit of confusion the date he came to America. He was in Watertown, Massachusetts in 1636. I have also seen him listed as arriving in 1640. If this is so, then he must have returned to England for reasons unknown, and arrived back that year. We know he was accepted as a freeman in Boston in 1641, the same year he married Mary Morse, daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth Jasper Morse, in Dedham, Massachusetts. Samuel's name is on the Dedham Compact, written in 1636, but it's not clear whether he signed it in 1636 or whether he signed it when he moved to the town.
Samuel and Mary had at least nine children, some born in Dedham and some after the family had moved (or possibly the town had divided) to Medfield. I am not sure I completely understand the following but I will give it to you, anyway, in quotes. It is from an article from Volume 65 of the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, page 270, from an article about "The Origin and Development of Conveyancing."
"Samuel Bullein of Dedham for & in consideration of two cowes sould him granted vnto Thomas Dudley Esq deput Governor his dwellinghouse in Dedham and foure Acres of land within the fence neere adjoyneing to the said house vppon condition that the sd Bullein shall pay unto the sd Thomas Dudley twelve pounds starling at the house of the sd Thomas Dudley in Roxbury in manner following to wit thirty shillings in good cleane dry wheate the 18 (1) the next comeing and 20s in good butter and 10s in good cheese the 8 (7) 1647. & so the like sume vppon every eighteenth of march and the like sume of butter & cheese vppon every eight day of 7ber for the three yeares next following provideing at his owne cost a Tubb for the butter and the wheate buttr & cheese to be valued by indifferent men; & if the Cows be not with Calfe then ten shillings to be abated in the first paymt. This was by mortgage dat7 (7) 1646. Acknowledged before John Winthrop Gov: the same day."
I've tried to copy this word for word and punctuation for punctuation. I think it means that our Samuel purchased a dwellinghouse in Dedham and two cows from Thomas Dudley, the deputy Governor, and in return was to pay him wheat, butter and cheese for a period of four years. Cash was scarce at the time.
There are suggestions that Samuel may have been a housewright (carpenter) but I've not found that supported, yet. We can assume that he raised wheat and dairy cows, from the above conveyance.
We don't know just when Samuel became a deacon in the church. Almost everyone in town belonged to the church when it was first formed in 1638, but it seems unlikely that he would have been chosen as deacon right away, merely because of his age.
Samuel and Mary were in Medfield by 1651, but circumstances forced them out during King Philip's War in 1675-76. At least half of the town was burned by the native Americans, and about 20 colonists were killed. It is possible that the Bullens had already left for safer ground before the attack. It's also possible that Samuel, who would have been nearly 60 years old, stayed to try to protect the town. I've not found his name listed in "Soldiers in King Philip's War" but that list may not include every one who defended his own home town. Apparently Samuel's children had a hard time of it, too, because Samuel later asked for a reduction in "rates" (taxes) because not only had he lost everything, but he had needed to help some of his adult children, also.
Samuel and Mary did return to Medfield and rebuilt their home.Samuel died January 16,1692/92 and Mary died February 14 of the same year. This may explain why his inventory wasn't filed until 1695. It included books, clothing, feather beds and furniture, 'irons" and a loom, and several pieces of land as well as his dwelling house, totaling 178-02-08. Two years later, when a division was finally made, the real estate was valued at 131-10-00.
As with many of our immigrants, we can be proud of him, and just as with many others, we can wish we knew more about him. Imagine coming across the ocean, hoping to find a better life, and later having your home and those of some of your children burned! There were remarkable people.
Our line of descent is:
Samuel Bullen-Mary Morse
Elizabeth Bullen-Benjamin Wheelock
Benjamin Wheelock-Huldah Thayer
Mary Wheelock-Ebenezer Thayer
Abigail Thayer-Jesse Holbrook
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susanna Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
I tend to think Samuel was likely born in 1617 although possibly not christened until 1622, for whatever reason. He was married in 1641 and the 1622 date would make him a pretty young bridegroom for the time period. His father was likely (don't quote me on this!) John Bullen and his mother Agnes Wiffin. I'd feel better if I could find the documentation for this myself, but it's been reported early and often.
There is also a bit of confusion the date he came to America. He was in Watertown, Massachusetts in 1636. I have also seen him listed as arriving in 1640. If this is so, then he must have returned to England for reasons unknown, and arrived back that year. We know he was accepted as a freeman in Boston in 1641, the same year he married Mary Morse, daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth Jasper Morse, in Dedham, Massachusetts. Samuel's name is on the Dedham Compact, written in 1636, but it's not clear whether he signed it in 1636 or whether he signed it when he moved to the town.
Samuel and Mary had at least nine children, some born in Dedham and some after the family had moved (or possibly the town had divided) to Medfield. I am not sure I completely understand the following but I will give it to you, anyway, in quotes. It is from an article from Volume 65 of the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, page 270, from an article about "The Origin and Development of Conveyancing."
"Samuel Bullein of Dedham for & in consideration of two cowes sould him granted vnto Thomas Dudley Esq deput Governor his dwellinghouse in Dedham and foure Acres of land within the fence neere adjoyneing to the said house vppon condition that the sd Bullein shall pay unto the sd Thomas Dudley twelve pounds starling at the house of the sd Thomas Dudley in Roxbury in manner following to wit thirty shillings in good cleane dry wheate the 18 (1) the next comeing and 20s in good butter and 10s in good cheese the 8 (7) 1647. & so the like sume vppon every eighteenth of march and the like sume of butter & cheese vppon every eight day of 7ber for the three yeares next following provideing at his owne cost a Tubb for the butter and the wheate buttr & cheese to be valued by indifferent men; & if the Cows be not with Calfe then ten shillings to be abated in the first paymt. This was by mortgage dat7 (7) 1646. Acknowledged before John Winthrop Gov: the same day."
I've tried to copy this word for word and punctuation for punctuation. I think it means that our Samuel purchased a dwellinghouse in Dedham and two cows from Thomas Dudley, the deputy Governor, and in return was to pay him wheat, butter and cheese for a period of four years. Cash was scarce at the time.
There are suggestions that Samuel may have been a housewright (carpenter) but I've not found that supported, yet. We can assume that he raised wheat and dairy cows, from the above conveyance.
We don't know just when Samuel became a deacon in the church. Almost everyone in town belonged to the church when it was first formed in 1638, but it seems unlikely that he would have been chosen as deacon right away, merely because of his age.
Samuel and Mary were in Medfield by 1651, but circumstances forced them out during King Philip's War in 1675-76. At least half of the town was burned by the native Americans, and about 20 colonists were killed. It is possible that the Bullens had already left for safer ground before the attack. It's also possible that Samuel, who would have been nearly 60 years old, stayed to try to protect the town. I've not found his name listed in "Soldiers in King Philip's War" but that list may not include every one who defended his own home town. Apparently Samuel's children had a hard time of it, too, because Samuel later asked for a reduction in "rates" (taxes) because not only had he lost everything, but he had needed to help some of his adult children, also.
Samuel and Mary did return to Medfield and rebuilt their home.Samuel died January 16,1692/92 and Mary died February 14 of the same year. This may explain why his inventory wasn't filed until 1695. It included books, clothing, feather beds and furniture, 'irons" and a loom, and several pieces of land as well as his dwelling house, totaling 178-02-08. Two years later, when a division was finally made, the real estate was valued at 131-10-00.
As with many of our immigrants, we can be proud of him, and just as with many others, we can wish we knew more about him. Imagine coming across the ocean, hoping to find a better life, and later having your home and those of some of your children burned! There were remarkable people.
Our line of descent is:
Samuel Bullen-Mary Morse
Elizabeth Bullen-Benjamin Wheelock
Benjamin Wheelock-Huldah Thayer
Mary Wheelock-Ebenezer Thayer
Abigail Thayer-Jesse Holbrook
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susanna Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Friday, September 23, 2016
Holbrook line: Edward Converse, Immigrant
I suspect this is on of the best documented of my previously unblogged Holbrook ancestors. In less than an hour, I've found a lot of information about him, including articles from "The Great Migration Begins" and an article by Douglas Richardson, and one by Robert J. Kurtz. The problem is, even with these fine sources, they don't always agree, and some of them omit information that others included. So it's possible that this summary won't quite be correct, as I pick and choose and try to at least get the basics written for my family.
Edward was most likely born January 30,1589/90 at Stanford Rivers, Essex, England, to Anthony Convers or Combers and Clemence Spady. They had been married three years when Edward was born. He had an older brother as well as a younger sister and three younger brothers. This area was mostly small cottages and farms, rural and probably poor. We don't know whether Edward could read and write, although we know he signed his name. Based on all the offices he held in later life, it would surprise me to learn that he was illiterate.
Anthony married Sarah Parker June 29, 1614, at Great Burstead, Essex, England. She was the daughter of John and Mary Ashels Parker. The new family stayed in England for just 16 years, long enough to have three of their four children. In 1630 the family sailed for New England with the Winthrop Fleet and either landed at or went directly to Boston. (This was very early, as the Massachusetts Bay Colony had just been established one year earlier.) Edward was listed as member number 66 when he joined the Boston church in the fall of 1630 and became a freeman in 1631. In the fall of 1632, Edward and Sarah were dismissed from the Boston church to found a church in Charlestown, where they are listed as founding members. Edward was a selectman in Charlestown from 1634 until almost the time he moved to Woburn.
Edward was granted a ferry license, with stated fees, and apparently operated or managed the ferry for most of the time he lived in Charlestown. He was also busy accumulating land. By 1638, he had been granted 13 different parcels of land there, most if not all as an original settler, grants from the town and not cash purchases. Edward and his family, which now included an additional son, moved to Woburn in 1640 and he is considered a founding father of that town. This was only about 10 miles from Charlestown, but it was "frontier" at the time, and once again all the land needed to be cleared, homes built, and a village set up. Edward was involved in all of that. He was a selectman there from the founding of the town to at least 1663, indicating that he was both a strong churchman, a strong leader, and able to get along with his neighbors. We are also told that he was a tithing-man, responsible for church attendance and discipline. He is listed as "yeoman" so he was not necessarily of a high social standing.
Edward wrote his will in 1659, when Sarah was still alive, but it wasn't proved until 1665, by which time Sarah had died and he had married Joanna Warren widow Sprague. He died on August 10, 1663, not long after his remarriage. I've not found a record of a conflict so perhaps Joanna was treated fairly by the executors, or they came to some sort of an agreement between Edward's death and the date the will was proved.
I'm sure there is more of Edward's story to be found, and I'm sure that a good story-teller could make much of what we know of him. The facts don't indicate the emotions and motives behind the moves. Why did they come to New England? Why did they leave Charlestown for Woburn? How did he feel about some of the events in England, including the events that led to England's Civil War? Were any of his extended family affected by the war? Was Edward himself in the militia or training band?
I admire this man. He lived his life walking in his faith, and he seems to have prospered. He is seldom mentioned in court records (only two incidents, each resolved peaceably) so he was somewhat unusual in that regard. If we had lived during that time period, he would have been a man to emulate.
The line of descent is
Edward Converse-Sarah Parker
Mary Converse-Simon Thompson
Jonathan Thompson-Thankful Woodland
Martha Thompson-Ebenezer Thayer
Ebenezer Thayer-Mary Wheelock
Abigail Thayer-Jesse Holbrook
Amariah Holbrook-my missing Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susanna Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook=Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Edward was most likely born January 30,1589/90 at Stanford Rivers, Essex, England, to Anthony Convers or Combers and Clemence Spady. They had been married three years when Edward was born. He had an older brother as well as a younger sister and three younger brothers. This area was mostly small cottages and farms, rural and probably poor. We don't know whether Edward could read and write, although we know he signed his name. Based on all the offices he held in later life, it would surprise me to learn that he was illiterate.
Anthony married Sarah Parker June 29, 1614, at Great Burstead, Essex, England. She was the daughter of John and Mary Ashels Parker. The new family stayed in England for just 16 years, long enough to have three of their four children. In 1630 the family sailed for New England with the Winthrop Fleet and either landed at or went directly to Boston. (This was very early, as the Massachusetts Bay Colony had just been established one year earlier.) Edward was listed as member number 66 when he joined the Boston church in the fall of 1630 and became a freeman in 1631. In the fall of 1632, Edward and Sarah were dismissed from the Boston church to found a church in Charlestown, where they are listed as founding members. Edward was a selectman in Charlestown from 1634 until almost the time he moved to Woburn.
Edward was granted a ferry license, with stated fees, and apparently operated or managed the ferry for most of the time he lived in Charlestown. He was also busy accumulating land. By 1638, he had been granted 13 different parcels of land there, most if not all as an original settler, grants from the town and not cash purchases. Edward and his family, which now included an additional son, moved to Woburn in 1640 and he is considered a founding father of that town. This was only about 10 miles from Charlestown, but it was "frontier" at the time, and once again all the land needed to be cleared, homes built, and a village set up. Edward was involved in all of that. He was a selectman there from the founding of the town to at least 1663, indicating that he was both a strong churchman, a strong leader, and able to get along with his neighbors. We are also told that he was a tithing-man, responsible for church attendance and discipline. He is listed as "yeoman" so he was not necessarily of a high social standing.
Edward wrote his will in 1659, when Sarah was still alive, but it wasn't proved until 1665, by which time Sarah had died and he had married Joanna Warren widow Sprague. He died on August 10, 1663, not long after his remarriage. I've not found a record of a conflict so perhaps Joanna was treated fairly by the executors, or they came to some sort of an agreement between Edward's death and the date the will was proved.
I'm sure there is more of Edward's story to be found, and I'm sure that a good story-teller could make much of what we know of him. The facts don't indicate the emotions and motives behind the moves. Why did they come to New England? Why did they leave Charlestown for Woburn? How did he feel about some of the events in England, including the events that led to England's Civil War? Were any of his extended family affected by the war? Was Edward himself in the militia or training band?
I admire this man. He lived his life walking in his faith, and he seems to have prospered. He is seldom mentioned in court records (only two incidents, each resolved peaceably) so he was somewhat unusual in that regard. If we had lived during that time period, he would have been a man to emulate.
The line of descent is
Edward Converse-Sarah Parker
Mary Converse-Simon Thompson
Jonathan Thompson-Thankful Woodland
Martha Thompson-Ebenezer Thayer
Ebenezer Thayer-Mary Wheelock
Abigail Thayer-Jesse Holbrook
Amariah Holbrook-my missing Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susanna Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook=Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Friday, August 28, 2015
Holbrook line: John Kinglsey 1614-1678 Immigrant
This immigrant ancestor is interesting to me because he is another one who went from England to Massachusetts to Rhode Island. In my mind, someone who moves to Rhode Island has at least a 50/50 chance of having moved for religious principles, although of course there are family and economic issues to consider, also. I don't think there is enough information about John to allow us to draw a conclusion about this issue, but there is quite a bit of information available about him, more than I can use in one of these short sketches.
John Kingsley was born September 7, 1614 to John Kingsley (various spellings) and Katherine Butler. We know little about his life in England except that he had at least one brother, Stephen. We also know that John and Stephen sailed on the "James" from Bristol, England on June 3, 1635. Richard Mather, a Puritan "teacher", was aboard this ship so it is likely that John was already a Puritan and came to New England at least partly for religious reasons.
This particular voyage was even less enjoyable than most. The ship was caught in the "Great Colonial Hurricane of 1635" as it neared the coast and the ship was forced to ride out the storm near what is now Hampton, New Hamphire. At one point their ship was stranded but refloated with the high waves of the storm. Their sails were gone as were their anchors, but the sailors made new sails and other repairs, and the ship eventually landed at Boston on August 17, 1635. I wonder if any passenger on that ship ever sailed again?
John married Elizabeth Stoughton about 1636 in Dorchester, Suffolk, where he had gone to live shortly after landing in New England. There is some question about her last name because the documentation seems to not exist, but this is the traditional name of his first wife, and she seems to be the mother of his children, who were Freedom, Enos, Edward, Eldad and Renewed, all born before 1645. The family lived at Dorchester until about 1655, and Elizabeth died sometime during this time period. During his life in Dorchester, John had been a bailiff, a tax collector, and an elder in the church, after having helped found the church in 1636.
About 1656, John married Alice Thatcher, who was a widow, and they moved to Rehoboth, Bristol County, sometime shortly after. (The time lines I have seen vary as to when the moves and the marriages took place so consider this just a general outline, not firm as to dates.) At any rate, when the family lived in Rehoboth, they were prosperous, with a fertile farm east of the Seekonk River. They, like other families, raised grain and had horses, cattle, sheep, swine and fowls.
John's wife Alice died in 1673 and John married for a third time, to Mary Johnson, who was the daughter of John Johnson and Mary Heath. (John and Mary are our ancestors through another line.)
It wasn't enough for John to survive Puritanism in England, a hurricane on the voyage to New England, and to have buried two wives and married a third. He was 62 years old on March 28, 1676, when, as part of King Philip's War, Indians came to Rehoboth and burned all but two houses, the barns, and outbuildings. John survived because he was in the garrison house, which was too heavily fortified for the Indians to burn, and Mary had probably gone with the other women and children to Newport, R.I., where they were sheltered and cared for by Rev. John Clarke.
Probably due to the turmoil of the war (aha! we may have an answer to my question in the first paragraph!), John and Mary went to Bristol, Rhode Island to live out their remaining years, which were few. John and Mary died within a few days of each other in January of 1678 or 1679. John had asked to be buried with his second wife, in Rehoboth, and so he was. However, his tombstone has been removed to what is now the Newman Cemetery, in E. Providence, R.I.
John Kingsley had a fascinating life, although I'm sure he would not have chosen to walk through it, had he seen as a young man in England what the next 42 years would bring. He must have been a strong man, physically, spiritually, and emotionally, to have raised his family through the turmoil. If you're interested in learning more, the blog "Miner Descent" has a blog post about our ancestor that gives much additional information.
Our line of descent is:
John Kinglsey-Elizabeth possibly Stoughton
Freedom Kingsley-John French
Elizabeth French-Jonathan Thayer
Huldah Thayer-Benjamin Wheelock
Mary Wheelock-Ebenezer Thayer
Abigail Thayer-Jesse Holbrook
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susanna Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
John Kingsley was born September 7, 1614 to John Kingsley (various spellings) and Katherine Butler. We know little about his life in England except that he had at least one brother, Stephen. We also know that John and Stephen sailed on the "James" from Bristol, England on June 3, 1635. Richard Mather, a Puritan "teacher", was aboard this ship so it is likely that John was already a Puritan and came to New England at least partly for religious reasons.
This particular voyage was even less enjoyable than most. The ship was caught in the "Great Colonial Hurricane of 1635" as it neared the coast and the ship was forced to ride out the storm near what is now Hampton, New Hamphire. At one point their ship was stranded but refloated with the high waves of the storm. Their sails were gone as were their anchors, but the sailors made new sails and other repairs, and the ship eventually landed at Boston on August 17, 1635. I wonder if any passenger on that ship ever sailed again?
John married Elizabeth Stoughton about 1636 in Dorchester, Suffolk, where he had gone to live shortly after landing in New England. There is some question about her last name because the documentation seems to not exist, but this is the traditional name of his first wife, and she seems to be the mother of his children, who were Freedom, Enos, Edward, Eldad and Renewed, all born before 1645. The family lived at Dorchester until about 1655, and Elizabeth died sometime during this time period. During his life in Dorchester, John had been a bailiff, a tax collector, and an elder in the church, after having helped found the church in 1636.
About 1656, John married Alice Thatcher, who was a widow, and they moved to Rehoboth, Bristol County, sometime shortly after. (The time lines I have seen vary as to when the moves and the marriages took place so consider this just a general outline, not firm as to dates.) At any rate, when the family lived in Rehoboth, they were prosperous, with a fertile farm east of the Seekonk River. They, like other families, raised grain and had horses, cattle, sheep, swine and fowls.
John's wife Alice died in 1673 and John married for a third time, to Mary Johnson, who was the daughter of John Johnson and Mary Heath. (John and Mary are our ancestors through another line.)
It wasn't enough for John to survive Puritanism in England, a hurricane on the voyage to New England, and to have buried two wives and married a third. He was 62 years old on March 28, 1676, when, as part of King Philip's War, Indians came to Rehoboth and burned all but two houses, the barns, and outbuildings. John survived because he was in the garrison house, which was too heavily fortified for the Indians to burn, and Mary had probably gone with the other women and children to Newport, R.I., where they were sheltered and cared for by Rev. John Clarke.
Probably due to the turmoil of the war (aha! we may have an answer to my question in the first paragraph!), John and Mary went to Bristol, Rhode Island to live out their remaining years, which were few. John and Mary died within a few days of each other in January of 1678 or 1679. John had asked to be buried with his second wife, in Rehoboth, and so he was. However, his tombstone has been removed to what is now the Newman Cemetery, in E. Providence, R.I.
John Kingsley had a fascinating life, although I'm sure he would not have chosen to walk through it, had he seen as a young man in England what the next 42 years would bring. He must have been a strong man, physically, spiritually, and emotionally, to have raised his family through the turmoil. If you're interested in learning more, the blog "Miner Descent" has a blog post about our ancestor that gives much additional information.
Our line of descent is:
John Kinglsey-Elizabeth possibly Stoughton
Freedom Kingsley-John French
Elizabeth French-Jonathan Thayer
Huldah Thayer-Benjamin Wheelock
Mary Wheelock-Ebenezer Thayer
Abigail Thayer-Jesse Holbrook
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susanna Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Friday, May 15, 2015
Holbrook line: Ralph Wheelock abt 1600-1683 Immigrant
There is so much written about Ralph Wheelock, including an easily accessible article on Wikipedia, that I am not sure why I am writing this post. However, because my family may not be aware of their connection to him, I will give just the bare outlines of his life. We need to know our past, so we can walk proudly into the future.
It seems most likely, although unproven, that Ralph Wheelock was born or christened on May 14, 1600 in Donington, Shropshire, England. He know that his parents must have had money, because he was educated at Clare Hall, Cambridge University, with John Milton and John Elliot as classmates. He enrolled in 1623 and obtained a bachelor of arts degree in 1626 and a master of arts in 1630 or 1631. Cambridge was a center for Puritan thought and he participated in that movement while there.
Less than two weeks after obtaining his master of arts degree, and being ordained by Francis White, biship of Norfolk, he married Rebecca Clarke, daughter of Thomas Clarke and Mary Canne, in the church of Wramplingham St. Peter and Paul, Wramplingham, England. It appears that he served as local curate in Banham, Norfolk, and then in some capacity in Eccles. We don't know when or whether his beliefs as a Puritan brought him up against the requirements of the Church of England, but it is believed that he, along with his wife and three children Mary, Gershom and Rebecca, sailed to Boston in 1637. There may have been a daughter, Peregrina, born at sea, also.
They first settled in Watertown, but by 1638 Rev. Wheelock was one of the founding fathers and first settlers at Dedham, Massachusetts. Four children were born to the couple there, Benjamin, Samuel, Record, and Experience. In 1639, he was chosen to be one of eight town 'assayers', or selectmen, and was also made a freeman. In 1642 he was appointed the General Court Clerk of Writs, which was included legal duties and also the authority to dispense lands.
Rev. Wheelock's first love was teaching school, and he may have been the first teacher of a public school in America. The school was voted on February 1, 1644 and Wheelock was the first teacher, but it's not clear exactly when the school began.
In 1651, the family was preparing to move again, to a settlement they helped found that became the town of Medfield. The last son, Eleazur, was born there, and the Wheelocks had finally found their permanent home. Rev. Wheelock was the leader of the committee of seven that founded the town, and received the first house lot there. He served on the board of selectmen for several years, and was a representative to the General Court in Massachusetts five different times. He was also the first school teacher there.
Rebecca Clarke Wheeler died January 1, 1680 and Reverend Ralph died January 11,1683. His will gave several grants of land to his sons and sons in law, and added a comment that "Further my will is that my books not formerly disposed of shall after my decease shall be Devided amongst my children." I would love to find an inventory of his books, to see what was important in his life besides the Bible, and what he used to teach his family and his students.
We have had a lot of schoolteachers in our family, and it's fascinating to think that somehow some of this man's influence reached to his descendents, many generations later.
The line of descent is:
Ralph Wheelock-Rebecca Clarke
Benjamin Wheelock-Elizabeth Bullen
Benjamin Wheelock-Huldah Thayer
Mary Wheelock-Ebenezer Thayer
Abigail Thayer-Jesse Holbrook
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susanna Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendents
Since Molly Wright is mentioned in this descent, the update is that there is no update. I am supposed to hear something from NEHGS this week, but thus far, all is silent. Soon, very soon!
It seems most likely, although unproven, that Ralph Wheelock was born or christened on May 14, 1600 in Donington, Shropshire, England. He know that his parents must have had money, because he was educated at Clare Hall, Cambridge University, with John Milton and John Elliot as classmates. He enrolled in 1623 and obtained a bachelor of arts degree in 1626 and a master of arts in 1630 or 1631. Cambridge was a center for Puritan thought and he participated in that movement while there.
Less than two weeks after obtaining his master of arts degree, and being ordained by Francis White, biship of Norfolk, he married Rebecca Clarke, daughter of Thomas Clarke and Mary Canne, in the church of Wramplingham St. Peter and Paul, Wramplingham, England. It appears that he served as local curate in Banham, Norfolk, and then in some capacity in Eccles. We don't know when or whether his beliefs as a Puritan brought him up against the requirements of the Church of England, but it is believed that he, along with his wife and three children Mary, Gershom and Rebecca, sailed to Boston in 1637. There may have been a daughter, Peregrina, born at sea, also.
They first settled in Watertown, but by 1638 Rev. Wheelock was one of the founding fathers and first settlers at Dedham, Massachusetts. Four children were born to the couple there, Benjamin, Samuel, Record, and Experience. In 1639, he was chosen to be one of eight town 'assayers', or selectmen, and was also made a freeman. In 1642 he was appointed the General Court Clerk of Writs, which was included legal duties and also the authority to dispense lands.
Rev. Wheelock's first love was teaching school, and he may have been the first teacher of a public school in America. The school was voted on February 1, 1644 and Wheelock was the first teacher, but it's not clear exactly when the school began.
In 1651, the family was preparing to move again, to a settlement they helped found that became the town of Medfield. The last son, Eleazur, was born there, and the Wheelocks had finally found their permanent home. Rev. Wheelock was the leader of the committee of seven that founded the town, and received the first house lot there. He served on the board of selectmen for several years, and was a representative to the General Court in Massachusetts five different times. He was also the first school teacher there.
Rebecca Clarke Wheeler died January 1, 1680 and Reverend Ralph died January 11,1683. His will gave several grants of land to his sons and sons in law, and added a comment that "Further my will is that my books not formerly disposed of shall after my decease shall be Devided amongst my children." I would love to find an inventory of his books, to see what was important in his life besides the Bible, and what he used to teach his family and his students.
We have had a lot of schoolteachers in our family, and it's fascinating to think that somehow some of this man's influence reached to his descendents, many generations later.
The line of descent is:
Ralph Wheelock-Rebecca Clarke
Benjamin Wheelock-Elizabeth Bullen
Benjamin Wheelock-Huldah Thayer
Mary Wheelock-Ebenezer Thayer
Abigail Thayer-Jesse Holbrook
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susanna Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendents
Since Molly Wright is mentioned in this descent, the update is that there is no update. I am supposed to hear something from NEHGS this week, but thus far, all is silent. Soon, very soon!
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