Holbrook line: John Trumbull 1670-1751

This is another case of the glass being half full.  We have some information about John, but not enough to really let us think we know him, or even much about him.  Like many in his generation, he is more shadow than substance.  But still...there is this information.

John was born November 27, 1670 in Rowley, Massachusetts to Joseph and Hannah Smith Trumbull.  Joseph and Hannah soon moved to Suffield in what would finally be determined to be Connecticut, in time for Joseph to be considered a proprietor there.  John would have been only five years old when King Philip's War broke out, and the family is believed to have left Suffield for a time.  Joseph would have served at least in the militia, but I've not yet found record of it.  John would have been the "little man" of the family during this crisis.

I don't know whether John ever served in the military, except I do know training bands were required so he was at least theoretically able to serve in any of the military expeditions and native American scares of the late 1600's and early 1700's.  He married Elizabeth Winchell, daughter of David and Elizabeth Filley Winchell, in Suffield on September 3, 1696.  He was a little older than normal for a first marriage, but he likely had been helping care for his younger brothers and sisters.

John, whose name is spelled Trumble in the town records, was probably low on the social status scale.  Most of the town offices that he held were relatively low level-fence viewer, surveyor of highways (indicating at least a basic education), and on a committee to make sure all hogs were "yoak'd and ring'd".  He cast several dissenting votes in town meetings, some having to do with land grants and at least one having to do with paying a "rate" (tax) to pay a "writing scoller" in addition to the usual schoolmaster.  By 1722 he was appointed to a committee to see to it that the pews were made, and in 1725 was trusted with the office of constable.  This was a civic responsibility that many tried to avoid, as in involved collection of rates, and if he were unable for any reason to collect, that he could be held to account.  Sure enough, in 1728 there was discussion about his failure to collect rates from two men, one of whom was by then deceased.

We're not told the assignment of the pews in the meeting house, but later John was given permission to change pews with a man who had been assigned the second pew.  Usually these front pews were based on wealth, but sometimes exceptions were made for people who were elderly, or/and hard of hearing, and that may be the case here. 

Some of his land was appropriated for a highway, and typically he would have received land elsewhere in compensation, although I haven't found record of that.  His land was on Feather Street, which may have been land inherited from his father, and also noted (I'm not sure whether this was separate land, or a different description) as being the Allyn Land at the Ferry.  His son was a ferryman, so John may or may not have also held that occupation. 

Find a Grave states that this couple had eight children.  I am unable to verify that but it could well be true.  If his estate records could be located, that would be most helpful, both as to heirs and to the size of his estate, perhaps as to the land he owned and an occupation.  Was he an employee of the iron works, or was he a farmer?  We simply don't know at this point.  We do know that he died January 3, 1751/52, when he would have been in his early eighties.  So he was part of the "hardy pioneer stock" from whom we descend.

Oh, one other descendant is John Wayne, the actor.  He is John Trumbull's sixth great grandson, making him, I believe, a seventh cousin once removed to my generation. 

The line of descent is:

John Trumbull-Elizabeth Winchell
Hannah Trumbull-Medad Pomeroy
Medad Pomeroy-Eunice Southwell
Eunice Pomeroy-Libbeus Stannard
Libbeus Stanard-Luceba or Euzebia Fay
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen



 

Holbrook line: Joseph Trumbull 1647-1684

Joseph's father, John, didn't leave us a whole lot of clues about himself, and like father, like son.  Joseph also stands mostly mute in the records I've found, other than birth, date, and death records.  We are grateful for those, of course, but wish for more.  It would be nice to find a will or estate papers, but so far they haven't been located.  So this will be a short post. 

Joseph was born March 19, 1647 in Rowley, Massachusetts to John and Elin or Elinor Chandler Trumbull (usually spelled Trumble during this time period).  He was one of at least six children, and he apparently lived his whole life in Rowley until his marriage to Hannah Smith, the daughter of Hugh and Mary Smith.  They were married May 6, 1669.  The two were born just five days apart and may have known each other from a very early age. 

By 1670 the couple had gone to Suffield to live.  From the viewpoint of a family historian, that was a poor choice.  Suffied at the time was part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, but it became part of Connecticut in the 1740s.  That means records could be in either location, or in neither, as the search for a will is showing.  I did find one reference to Joseph in the book "Colonial Justice in Western Massachusetts 1639-1702".  On September 3, 1680, when Joseph would have been 33 years old, he was fined 10 shillings for been "overtaken by drink", and "being very sorry and acceccted with it Confessing it himselfe and proffering to satisfie the Law by paying ten shillings for the same", the guilty please was accepted and Joseph apparently stayed out of trouble for the rest of his life.  It wasn't considered a serious offense, for just a few months later Joseph was made a freeman, giving him the right to vote.

One of the big mysteries is whether or not Joseph served in King Philip's War.  I've found that he along with all or almost all the other town residents left town during the war, returning only after several months, to find the town burned to the ground.  Joseph Trumbull had hidden tools from Major Pynchon's saw mill, and was paid for doing so.  It must have been a terrifying time for the family, and for the other settlers in Suffield, who most likely had traveled south down the Connecticut River to a safer town like Hartford, or even further south.  There were three small children at this time, so it wouldn't have been an easy time, either during the exile or during the rebuilding of their homes and their lives. 

The only clue I've found so far about Joseph's possible participation is a suggestion that Joseph's early death may have been as the result of injuries suffered in a battle with native Americans, with no date given for that event.  I don't know what the basis for that speculation might be.  There are a lot of other causes for early death, including any number of diseases, other injuries, and underlying health conditions.

By the time Joseph died on August 15, 1684, he was the father of five children.  Hannah delivered the last of their children just five days later.  She was a young widow, with six mouths to feed, and she next married John Strong in 1686, and then Nicholas Buckland in 1698.  Hannah lived until March 27, 1719 and died in Windsor, Ct. 

I don't know enough about Joseph to speculate about his life.  Based on the names of their sons, (Judah, Ammi, Benoni and John), I suspect that he, or Hannah, was deeply religious.  Based on Major Pynchon's trusting him to hide the tools for the sawmill, he was trustworthy.  And if he drank a little too much, so did most of the colonists, at one time or another.  I suppose he had land and farmed, but that is a supposition.  We know where he was, but not what he was.  Still, as so often, something is better than nothing.

The line of descent is:

Joseph Trumbull-Hannah Smith
John Trumbull-Elizabeth Winchell
Hannah Trumbull-Medad Pomeroy
Medad Pomeroy-Eunice Southwell
Eunice Pomeroy-Libbeus Stannard
Libbeus Stanard-Euzebia or Luceba Fay
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendats

Holbrook line: David Winchell 1643-1723

49!  That's how many references there are to David Winchell in the "Documentary History of Suffiel, and he didn't even arrive there until he was about 34 years old.  Sometimes it's a feast, sometimes it's a famine.  This is definitely a feast, even though the print in this book is incredibly small.

But let's start at the beginning.  David Winchell was a first generation New Englander, born to Robert and Mary Phelps Winchell in Windsor, Connecticut on October 22, 1643.  He was one of ten children born to the couple, although it appears that one died close to birth and one died as a toddler.  The family lived in Windsor, and David married his wife, Elizabeth Filley, daughter of William and Margaret Filley there on March 1, 1672.

The young couple stayed in Windsor for a few years.  David contributed to a fund for those who lost much in King Philip's War in 1677, and then no more is heard of him in Windsor.  In fact, it appears that he was granted land in Suffield as early as 1671, so perhaps for a few years he lived in both places, or maybe it took a few years to get the house ready for his family.  He and Elizabeth spent the rest of their lives in Suffield,which was originally part of Massachusetts Bay Colony, and he was chosen as constable, selectman or land measurer for 25 years.  His home lot was on High Street in Suffield and it appears that he had several land acquisitions, including one as late as 1711.  Except, some of the townspeople objected to that particular land grant and it was soon annulled.

David was on the committee to oversee the construction of the first meeting house in 1679, and on a committee to secure the second minister of the church.  In 1692 he was on the list of those who were privileged to vote in town elections.  This may or may not be the same as a "freeman", but it was close.  Many of the assignments he accepted from the town were peace keeping type missions, where he was asked to help approach ministerial candidates, or unhappy ministers, or mediate a dispute about where a highway should go, or to help locate a school teacher for the town.

However, in Colonial Justice in Western Massachusetts there is mention in two places of scrapes David was in.  He was fined four pounds for scurrilous comments about the minister, and for pressing for a different constable in a town meeting, than was "contrary to the mind of the people".  In 1681 Lt. Anthony Austin complained against David Winchell and two other men for defaming him and for taking the dispute to a town meeting  Apparently the men apologized and that was the end of it.

So, peacemaker, disturber of the peace, church man, selectman, committeeman, land measurer, this is our ancestor.  He and Elizabeth had eight children together.  When he died at the age of 80, there were undoubtedly grandchildren and even great grandchildren to mourn him.  Elizabeth died five years later, in 1728.  I've not located a will that I was sure was his, or hers, and I would certainly like to do that.  However, we have much to be proud of when we think of David Winchell, and we may even appreciate him more, knowing he was not quite perfect!

The line of descent is

David Winchell-Elizabeth Filley
Elizabeth Winchell-John Trumbull
Hannah Trumbull-Medad Pomeroy
Medad Pomeroy-Eunice Southwell
Eunice Pomeroy-Libbeus Stannard
Libbeus Stanard-Luceba Fay
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

Holbrook line: John Trumbull, Immigrant 1612-1657

John Trumbull seems to be more of a mystery than I had thought.  I have his birth information, and his parentage back for three generations.  Or so I thought.  Robert Charles Anderson, of "The Great Migration" series, seems to think that there were two John Trumble or Trumbulls, one in Cambridge-Charlestown, and one who went to Rowley.  Our target is the man who went to Rowley. 

So, we don't know who John's parents are, or where they were from, although the majority of the England births in the supposed time period for James that I could find were from either Yorkshire or Northumberland counties in England. The James Trumble who is frequent given as John's father was a kielsman, or someone who worked on freighters and lighters, small ships that worked around the docks.  It was a low status, low paying job, and it seems to some that he would not have had the means to send his son to school for several years. 

Our John Trumbull or Trumble surely had some education, for he was the first school teacher in Rowley, Massachusetts, where he was situated by 1639.  His wife was Ellen or Elinor Chandler, believed to be the daughter of John Chandler and Ann Swan, and they married July 7, 1635 at Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, England. She emigrated with her husband John and their first son John, but we don't know exactly when.  

As indicated, John was a school teacher.  He was made a freeman May 13, 1640.  He was also town clerk from 1654-1656, (meaning, among other things, that his penmanship was decent) and a selectman from 1652 to 1654.  By trade he was a cooper.  He was also a deacon in the church.  

John and Elinor had six children together.  Elinor died before August of 1650, when John married Ann, the widow of Michael Hopkinson, and they had two more children, besides at least three of Ann's.  It would have been a bustling household!

John's estate is rather interesting. There seems to have not been a will, so the court decided how the money should be divided.   It shows that Ann's children, and Ann and John's children, mostly received more money than John and Elinor's children did.  For instance, Jonathan Hopkinson received 25 pounds, while John, the firstborn of John and Elinor, received 15 pounds.  The other children from that marriage received 8 pounds each.  55 pounds was allowed to the widow.  It would be interesting to understand the reasoning process in deciding who got what, for typically a wife would receive one third of the estate, particularly if she still had children to raise.  Ann got about one quarter of the estate's value.   

The estate was valued at almost 226 pounds, minus debts of about five pounds.  He had at least eight plots of land, including house, garden and orchards, several farm animals, over a pounds worth of books, a halberd, two swords, and a pair of bandoliers, a fowling piece, but just one bed with some additional bedding.  The weapons were likely a requirement of all able bodied men.  We don't know how able bodied John was toward the end of his life.  If he was born about 1612, then he died about 45 years old, on March 16, 1657.  I wonder what else he had hoped to accomplish with his life. 

So we have some idea of John's life in New England, but almost none of his life in England.  Perhaps someone is working right now to determine which John Trumbull is likely to be ours.  It would be nice to know!

Our line of descent is:

John Trumbull-Elinor Chandler
Joseph Trumbull-Hannah Smith
John Trumbull-Elizabeth Winchell
Hannah Trumbull-Medad Pomeroy
Medad Pomeroy-Eunice Southwell
Eunice Pomeroy-Libbeus Stanard
Libbeus Stanard-Luceba Fay
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

Holbrook line: William Filley, Immigrant

William Filley's birth date and location, and death date and location, are unknown.  We can make some reasonable guesses, that he may have been born in about 1617, probably somewhere in Devonshire since that seems to be the only place where this surname is found, and he probably died in Windsor, Connecticut because he lived there for the great majority of his life in America.  I have seen documents, which I can't decipher, which others have said give his parents as "Godfridus Bailey and Mary Filley Harris, but I am not at all convinced that this is our William.  The location is wrong, for one thing, and for another, this would make William "illegitimate".  I'm not saying it's impossible, but I'm just saying that at this point, I'm not buying the story.

There are also varying stories as to when he arrived in America.  One story says he arrived with Major Holmes in 1633, when a trading post was established at what became Windsor, and testimony in 1654 states that William had lived at Windsor "these twenty years".  Most say he arrived in 1638 with the group led by Reverend Ephraim Huit or Hewett. I don't know whether the two stories are mutually exclusive, or whether William might have come early and then returned to England, before coming for the final time in 1639, If he was with the early group, then he may have been there for the Pequod War, whether or not he returned to England.  (If he came with Rev. Huit's group, he apparently was not as much of a Puritan as the majority of those sailing were, since he didn't formally join the church until 1673.)

Pretty much everyone agrees that he was in Windsor by 1640, and that he married Margaret there in 1642.  One might reasonably ask whom this Margaret was, but the silence in the records so far is complete.  Nevertheless, we do know more about William Filley once he is married and settled down.  He and Margaret had at least nine children: Samuel, John, Mary, Elizabeth, Hannah, Margaret, Abigail, Deborah, and William, born between 1643 and 1665.  William acquired various tracts of land, "trading up", and in 1686 he and Margaret were shown to have had a house with six acres, another tract of 18 acres of farmland, a horse, two oxen, and one swine.  This showed a relatively prosperous household for this time and place. 

As far as his civic duties go, he was a constable for one term beginning in 1662, responsible for enforcement of the local laws and ordinances.  It is likely that his name appears on town petitions but I haven't found them yet.  We don't know when William, or for that matatere, Margaret, died, although it must have been after they were listed in the 1686 record mentioned above.  Their children stayed mostly in the Windsor area for generations, and we may very well still have cousins there. 

Every generation has been part of what makes America great, but he was one of the very earliest pioneers.  My hat is off to him, and to Margaret!

Here's our line of descent:

William Filley-Margaret
Elizabeth Filley-David Winchell
Elizabeth Winchell-John Trumbull
Hannah Trumbull-Medad Pomeroy
Medad Pomeroy-Eunice Southwell
Eunice Pomeroy-Libbeus Stanard
Libbeus Stanard-Luceba Fay
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

Holbrook line: Hugh Smith, Immigrant

We have more information about Hugh Smith than about some of our other ancestors, but most of it is on this side of the Atlantic.  I have a long line of ancestors for him going back many years past that, but it's unsourced and I don't trust it.  So for now, we don't know Hugh Smith's parents, and we don't know where he was born.  His likely birth date is 1613 or 1614, in England.

We likewise don't know exactly when he arrived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, although he was probably here by 1640.  We know he was made a freeman on March 18, 1642.  He may have gone directly to Rowley when he arrived here, and he may have been following the Rev. Ezekiel Roger's group  But it seems he wasn't in the first wave of settlers there, because when the first land allotments were given in 1643, he was given the minimum, when the original settlers were given more.  Nevertheless, he was in Rowley early, and he stayed there the rest of this life.

His wife's name was Mary, and that is as much as we know about her up to the time she and Hugh started having children.  They had seven living children when Hugh died in 1655.  Samuel and John may have come with their parents from England, because the first recorded Rowley birth was of Mary, in March of 1642/43.  They also had Sarah, Hannah, Martha, and Edward.  There is a gap of 6 years between Martha and Edward so there may have been unsuccessful pregnancies, also.

We know Hugh was of some importance in the town because he was overseer of the poor in 1649 and again in 1654, and selectman in 1651. In 1653 he and Francis Parret and Joseph Jewett were appointed to help set out the borders between Rowley, Ipswich, and Topsfield.    He gradually accumulated land and owned several plots at the time of his death.  He was occasionally taken to task because his fences were in disrepair.  In 1953, we find that he had four cows. 

I was thrilled to find a copy of his estate on line, and even more thrilled to find that it has been transcribed.  That handwriting was going to be hard to decipher, so I'm glad that someone else has done it (The Probate Records of Essex County, volume 1, page 236 and following, found on the American Ancestors website).  He left Mary her third, plus five pounds to aid in the "bringing up of my youngest son".  Oldest son Samuel was to have "half so much more in portion as any other of my children" and the balance was to be shared.  His inventory included one mare, one ass, four sheep, two oxen, five cows, one cow and a bull, two heifers, six calves, one steer, and eight swine.  He had 26 acres of land and a dwelling, the land being in four different parcels.  For arms, he had one mustket, two swords, and one pouch.  He had a large amount of wool on hand, so perhaps he was a dealer of some sort.  There was eleven score and fourteen pound of wool in one batch, and thirtie pound of sheep wool, identified separately.  He had one pair of looms but no mention of a spinning wheel, so it seems that this was more wool than the family would use.  (Speculation only, and anyone is welcome to share an additional thought about this). His estate was valued at 234 pounds, 11 shillings, 8 pence, but there were also 51 pounds and 16 shillings in various debts.

The estate was finally settled  in 1667.  By this time, Edward was approaching 14 years of age and it may have been appropriate to settle at this age. Mary married Jeremiah Ellsworth in 1657, and lived until 1688.  I'd sure like to know who Mary was, and I'd love to know who Hugh's parents are. 

The line of descent is:

Hugh Smith-Mary
Hannah Smith-Joseph Trumbull
John Trumbull-Elizabeth Winchell
Hannah Trumbull-Medad Pomeroy
Medad Pomeroy-Eunice Southwell
Eunice Pomeroy-Libbeus Stanard
Libbeus Stanard Luceba Fay
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

Holbrook line: Robert Winchell, Immigrant

Robert Winchell is a bit of a mystery since as far as I can tell, his home in England, or possibly Wales, has not been located.  He is believed to be the son of Thomas Winchell or Wyncoll and Beatrice.  One birth location for Robert has been suggested as Dorchester, Dorset, England, but I am not able to find any documentation for that. 

Robert and his wife Mary (generally said to be Mary Phelps) arrived in Dorchester, Massachusetts Bay Colony most likely in 1634.  He was accepted as a freeman on May 6, 1635 in Dorchester.  He acquired several pieces of property there but shortly after, probably in 1637, moved on to Windsor, Connecticut, where he also acquired land, including that given to the original proprietors in 1640.  Two children were born to Robert and Mary before they arrived in Windsor, and six more after they made their home there.  Mary must have been a busy lady! 

Robert served several times on juries for Connecticut and at least once as an arbitrator, but as far as we know was never really involved in the government of the town or the colony.  We do believe that he had some education, as he had an old Bible and about 10 books in his possession when he died. 

We learn a little more from the inventory.  It included two swords and some ammunition, but apparently not a firearm.  This indicates that he had been excused from military duty, as all of the militia or training band was required to have firearms at all times. 

Robert died March 5, 1667/1668, apparently owing a little more than the value of his estate.  However, the oldest son, Nathaniel, did end up with the homestead, and the other sons were left something, even if it was just the forgiveness of a debt.  His will was oral, which sometimes means the last illness was sudden and there was no time to call someone who could write it out .

The other thing we can tell  about Robert is that he seems to have stayed out of trouble, at least anything major, for there is no reference to him in the court records that I have consulted.  He was one of those who came to America and quietly helped build it, supporting his family and giving them a chance to make a better life for themselves. 

The line of descent is

Robert Winchell-Mary
David Winchell-Elizabeth Filley
Elizabeth Winchell-John Trumbull
Hannah Trumbull-Medad Pomeroy
Medad Pomeroy-Eunice Southwell
Eunice Pomeroy-Libbeus Stanard
Libbeus Stanard-Luceba Fay
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants