Usually when I write a blog post, I have a birth date and a death date, even if those dates are approximate, and my job is to fill in the dash between those dates, telling a story about who the person was and what they did. For today's post, I have only the vaguest of ideas about dates, and I'm not sure whether I'm telling the story of one man, or of two. I am going to treat this as two men, with the understanding that I am fully open to corrections and additional information.
The first John Turner seems to have been born perhaps about 1600. He came to America by 1643, when his name was on an early petition for Lynn, Massachusetts. He was there in 1654, as an iron worker. In 1648, he was charged with stabbing his daughter in law, Sarah Turner, and was sentenced to be severely whipped. It is thought that this was the wife of his son Lawrence. He is also thought to have had a son John. There don't seem to be any further known records about John in Lynn. Speculation is that he had been an iron worker in England, perhaps at Hammersmith, and had come to Massachusetts specifically to work at the first iron works set up in the colony.
The next time we find John Turner, he is in Taunton, Massachusetts, in 1654. This John Turner worked as a foreman at the forge in Taunton. He is believed to be the son of the John Turner at Lynn, but it's possible that this was the same man. If he was the son, then he followed in his father's trade, and likely moved up in the world, because by 1690 he was listed as the "clerke" at the iron works at Taunton, which was perhaps close to the role of manager, or maybe chief financial officer. It was a position of respect, anyway.
John at Taunton was a married man, with at least three daughters, Jane, Mary, and Margaret. It's thought that his wife's name was Jane, but records are lacking. (Taunton's early records were destroyed by fire).
The other things we know about John are that he was a surveyor in 1675 (the only town office he is known to have filled, although there were likely others), that he purchased a share or part of a share in the company, that he acquired some of the land purchased from the native Americans in 1672, and that he took an oath of fidelity, probably related to when William and Mary took the thrones in 1688. He's not found on the list of freemen, which means he likely was not a member of the church. He may have had a few animals but he wasn't a farmer in the traditional sense of the word. It would be a great help to review his will, but it seems to have gone missing, whether in the destruction of other town records or for some other reason, I don't know.
Taunton was only lightly affected by King Philip's war, with minor attacks on only two occasions. A couple of houses were burned and one man was killed. The town in general did not evacuate, so it seems likely that John would have served in one of the garrison houses, either as a ember of the militia or as a civilian pressed into duty.
John was working in 1690 but I've not located any further records of him. He was outside of the box for our family, not a pastor or a school teacher or a farmer. The work of the iron works was truly essential to the success of the colony, as the only other source of iron was from England itself, a long and costly way to procure it. So his work was important to the colony, and his life is important to us.
The line of descent is
John TUrner-Jane
Jane Turner-Richard Godfrey
Alice Godfrey-Peter Holbrook
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Cook
Jesse Holbrook-Abigail Thayer
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susanna Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Eliabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Showing posts with label turner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label turner. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 28, 2020
Friday, March 30, 2018
Holbrook line: Francis Godfrey, Immigrant
Francis Godfrey came to Plymouth Colony by 1637, with his family pretty well established. His wife's name was Elizabeth Hall, and they were married in St Micheal le Belfrey, York, Yorkshire, England. His parents are believed to be Richard and Isabel Ramadaile or Ramsdale Godfrey, but I haven't yet seen proof of this. Let's just think that Francis was probably from somewhere around York, since that's where he was married. The church at York was built, or rebuilt, in 1527 and is near the much more famous York Minster.
Once again not much is known about Francis prior to his 1637 arrival at Plymouth. He is listed as having several children, including Elizabeth, Peter, Richard and George, but has also been said to have had Jane and perhaps Moses. Since he arrived here in 1637 and the marriage was in 1622, most if not all of the children would have come with him. George wasn't born until 1640, so he was born here.
"Here" was by this time Duxburrow (Duxbury), where Francis and family went in 1638. This was the town founded by Myles Standish, and a list of the 1643 men of Duxburrow who were able to bear arms lists several familiar names-William and Jonathan Brewster, Comfort Starr, William Tubbs, Francis Sprague, Captain Standish, and others who are part of our Holbrook (and Allen) families.
Francis was a carpenter and apparently made a fairly good living, because he was able to purchase 25 acres of land in 1644 and another 100 acres in 1648. This second purchase was on the North River, but Francis sold it in 1651. He had also received land as a grant in 1638, as an early settler of Duxbury, and he may have received more through the years. He moved to Marshfield about 1650, and then to Bridgewater, which was more or less part of Duxbury, by 1657. He was made a freeman there in 1657. At some point, he also acquired land at "Providence Plantations" but is not believed to have lived there. He may have made the moves he made because he was following the jobs. As more people came to settle these new towns, they would have needed homes and basic furniture, and not every newcomer to America had the skills, or the tools, to provide for himself.
When Francis wrote his will on February 26, 1666/7 (proved October 29, 1669), he gave much of his estate, including a list of carpentry tools, to his wife Elizabeth. I don't know what he expected her to do with them; it would be interesting to know his thoughts. I wonder if his "servants" also worked with him and he wanted them to be able to continue to bring an income for Elizabeth?) He gave some of his land to his son in law and two cows, two canvas sheets, and his "Great Bible" to his daughter Elizabeth Cary. and tools and clothing to his grandson John Cary. He also left small bequests to two servants. His other children are not mentioned in the will, but they may have received cash earlier. His estate was valued at a little over 117 pounds, apparently including the land.
This is not a lot of information but it at least shows us a picture of a tradesperson in the early days of Plymouth Colony, a little bit different life than our "yeoman" ancestors had. I'd of course like to know more about him and his life. What happened to Elizabeth? Did she go to live with the Cary family or did she stay in the home Francis provided for her, and supervise the servants? There are always more questions than there are answers!
The line of descent is:
Francis Godfrey-Elizabeth Hall
Richard Godfrey-Jane Turner
Alice Godfrey-Peter Holbrook
Mary Holbrook-Joseph Thompson
Alice Thompson-Joseph Rockwood
Levi Rockwood-Deborah Lazell
Susanna Rockwood-Nahum Holbrook
Joseph Rockwood Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
And yes, Alice Godfrey and Peter Holbrook are also the ancestors of Nahum Holbrook, so he is his own cousin, I guess.
Once again not much is known about Francis prior to his 1637 arrival at Plymouth. He is listed as having several children, including Elizabeth, Peter, Richard and George, but has also been said to have had Jane and perhaps Moses. Since he arrived here in 1637 and the marriage was in 1622, most if not all of the children would have come with him. George wasn't born until 1640, so he was born here.
"Here" was by this time Duxburrow (Duxbury), where Francis and family went in 1638. This was the town founded by Myles Standish, and a list of the 1643 men of Duxburrow who were able to bear arms lists several familiar names-William and Jonathan Brewster, Comfort Starr, William Tubbs, Francis Sprague, Captain Standish, and others who are part of our Holbrook (and Allen) families.
Francis was a carpenter and apparently made a fairly good living, because he was able to purchase 25 acres of land in 1644 and another 100 acres in 1648. This second purchase was on the North River, but Francis sold it in 1651. He had also received land as a grant in 1638, as an early settler of Duxbury, and he may have received more through the years. He moved to Marshfield about 1650, and then to Bridgewater, which was more or less part of Duxbury, by 1657. He was made a freeman there in 1657. At some point, he also acquired land at "Providence Plantations" but is not believed to have lived there. He may have made the moves he made because he was following the jobs. As more people came to settle these new towns, they would have needed homes and basic furniture, and not every newcomer to America had the skills, or the tools, to provide for himself.
When Francis wrote his will on February 26, 1666/7 (proved October 29, 1669), he gave much of his estate, including a list of carpentry tools, to his wife Elizabeth. I don't know what he expected her to do with them; it would be interesting to know his thoughts. I wonder if his "servants" also worked with him and he wanted them to be able to continue to bring an income for Elizabeth?) He gave some of his land to his son in law and two cows, two canvas sheets, and his "Great Bible" to his daughter Elizabeth Cary. and tools and clothing to his grandson John Cary. He also left small bequests to two servants. His other children are not mentioned in the will, but they may have received cash earlier. His estate was valued at a little over 117 pounds, apparently including the land.
This is not a lot of information but it at least shows us a picture of a tradesperson in the early days of Plymouth Colony, a little bit different life than our "yeoman" ancestors had. I'd of course like to know more about him and his life. What happened to Elizabeth? Did she go to live with the Cary family or did she stay in the home Francis provided for her, and supervise the servants? There are always more questions than there are answers!
The line of descent is:
Francis Godfrey-Elizabeth Hall
Richard Godfrey-Jane Turner
Alice Godfrey-Peter Holbrook
Mary Holbrook-Joseph Thompson
Alice Thompson-Joseph Rockwood
Levi Rockwood-Deborah Lazell
Susanna Rockwood-Nahum Holbrook
Joseph Rockwood Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
And yes, Alice Godfrey and Peter Holbrook are also the ancestors of Nahum Holbrook, so he is his own cousin, I guess.
Tuesday, January 9, 2018
Holbrook line: Richard Godfrey, Immigrant
Richard Godfrey is one of our ancestors who followed a slightly different path to New England, or at least a later path. Many of the English ancestors I write about were here by the end of the Great Migration in 1635, but Richard didn't come until possibly 1650 or so. I'm getting the cart ahead of the horse here, I guess, so let's backtrack.
Unfortunately, if we start at the beginning we don't know where we are, because Richard's parentage is very much a matter of question. So is his birth location. He may be the son of a Richard Godfrey born in Wales about 1600, and he may be the Richard Godfrey born in Lancashire, England in 1631, but there is no real proof for either "may be". So we really know nothing of his life until he shows up in Taunton, Plymouth Colony, in 1652. We don't know whether he landed first at Boston, or landed at Plymouth, and we don't know what he did for a living in England.
One slightly unusual aspect of his arrival was the timing of it. He apparently arrived at the end of three Civil Wars in England (one right after another). Did he come to America to escape military service, or had he already been a soldier? Was it for purely economic reasons that he came? What were his religious beliefs? Plymouth was not generally a good place to live unless one could live in harmony with Separatists. There was one exception: If one had a skill that was needed at Plymouth, one would be welcome there. And there is a possibility that Richard had skills that were needed in the iron making industry. His wife was (unknown first name but many say Jane) Turner, daughter of John Turner and Jane, and they seem to have been married about 1650. The location of the marriage is unknown at this time, but if they married in England they may well have come to America to work in the iron works that John Turner co-owned. Richard's name hasn't been found in company records, but he did own land that was part of the forge
Richard and his wife had six children, but birth dates are lacking. They were born from "circa 1651" to "say 1660". Jane died before March of 1669/1670. Richard apparently stayed a bachelor for about 15 years, and then married Mary possibly Hoskins, widow of Mr. Palmer.
We see a few glimpses of Richard's life in that we know he was sentenced to spend two hours in the stocks on training day, for speaking "opprobriously" of some place in the town of Taunton, and 14 years later, was fined five pounds for actions unknown, but apparently they were to the detriment of William Wetherell, who was to receive the money. His name is found in the records of King Philip's War, as having served but it seems more likely that this was his son, also named Richard. He was still part of the military company in 1682, however, along with sons Richard Jr. and Robert.
Richard's will is dated October 4, 1691 and was proved on November 17 of the same year. His three daughters and son Robert were each given five pounds, and sons Richard and John were to pay the debts and share the remainder of the estate. His second wife, Mary, was given 20 bushels of corn, one hog and one good cow Perhaps he expected that she would go to live with one of her children, or his. His inventory has been lost so we don't know the weapons he owned, or whether he owned books, or whether there was evidence of a religious belief in his home. But we do know a few things about Richard Godfrey, and with luck, work, and money, perhaps more can be found.
The line of descent is
Richard Godfrey-(Jane?) Turner
Alice Godfrey-Peter Holbrook
Mary Holbrook-Joseph Thompson
Alice Thompson-Joseph Rockwood
Levi Rockwood-Deborah Lazell
Susannah Rockwood-Nahum Hollbrook
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:
Richard Godfrey-(Jane?) Turner
Alice Godfrey-Peter Holbrook
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Cook
Jesse Holbrook-Abigail Thayer
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susannah Rockwood
etc.
So I think anyone from Nahum Holbrook on down is their own cousin, somehow!
Unfortunately, if we start at the beginning we don't know where we are, because Richard's parentage is very much a matter of question. So is his birth location. He may be the son of a Richard Godfrey born in Wales about 1600, and he may be the Richard Godfrey born in Lancashire, England in 1631, but there is no real proof for either "may be". So we really know nothing of his life until he shows up in Taunton, Plymouth Colony, in 1652. We don't know whether he landed first at Boston, or landed at Plymouth, and we don't know what he did for a living in England.
One slightly unusual aspect of his arrival was the timing of it. He apparently arrived at the end of three Civil Wars in England (one right after another). Did he come to America to escape military service, or had he already been a soldier? Was it for purely economic reasons that he came? What were his religious beliefs? Plymouth was not generally a good place to live unless one could live in harmony with Separatists. There was one exception: If one had a skill that was needed at Plymouth, one would be welcome there. And there is a possibility that Richard had skills that were needed in the iron making industry. His wife was (unknown first name but many say Jane) Turner, daughter of John Turner and Jane, and they seem to have been married about 1650. The location of the marriage is unknown at this time, but if they married in England they may well have come to America to work in the iron works that John Turner co-owned. Richard's name hasn't been found in company records, but he did own land that was part of the forge
Richard and his wife had six children, but birth dates are lacking. They were born from "circa 1651" to "say 1660". Jane died before March of 1669/1670. Richard apparently stayed a bachelor for about 15 years, and then married Mary possibly Hoskins, widow of Mr. Palmer.
We see a few glimpses of Richard's life in that we know he was sentenced to spend two hours in the stocks on training day, for speaking "opprobriously" of some place in the town of Taunton, and 14 years later, was fined five pounds for actions unknown, but apparently they were to the detriment of William Wetherell, who was to receive the money. His name is found in the records of King Philip's War, as having served but it seems more likely that this was his son, also named Richard. He was still part of the military company in 1682, however, along with sons Richard Jr. and Robert.
Richard's will is dated October 4, 1691 and was proved on November 17 of the same year. His three daughters and son Robert were each given five pounds, and sons Richard and John were to pay the debts and share the remainder of the estate. His second wife, Mary, was given 20 bushels of corn, one hog and one good cow Perhaps he expected that she would go to live with one of her children, or his. His inventory has been lost so we don't know the weapons he owned, or whether he owned books, or whether there was evidence of a religious belief in his home. But we do know a few things about Richard Godfrey, and with luck, work, and money, perhaps more can be found.
The line of descent is
Richard Godfrey-(Jane?) Turner
Alice Godfrey-Peter Holbrook
Mary Holbrook-Joseph Thompson
Alice Thompson-Joseph Rockwood
Levi Rockwood-Deborah Lazell
Susannah Rockwood-Nahum Hollbrook
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:
Richard Godfrey-(Jane?) Turner
Alice Godfrey-Peter Holbrook
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Cook
Jesse Holbrook-Abigail Thayer
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susannah Rockwood
etc.
So I think anyone from Nahum Holbrook on down is their own cousin, somehow!
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