Holbrook line: John Burbank, Immigrant

Once again we have an immigrant with an elusive history.  According to numerous trees but no documentation that I have found, John Burbank was born sometime between 1600 and 1613 in Greystoke, Cumberland, England.  His parents are believed to be John Burbank and Ann or maybe Abigail, but again I haven't found wills or anything on line that supports this belief.  Greystoke is in the northern part of England, not far south of Carlisle.  I haven't been able to find anything about the industries that might have been operating there in the early 100's but the area around Carlisle was used for farming and raising livestock so that is a possibility.

We don't know when John married his first wife, who may have been Ann or Joane, and may have been a Jordan.  Or she may have been someone else entirely.  He had two children with his first wife.  We don't know for sure when John came to America but it may have been in 1635, on the ship Abigail.  The name that is supposed to have been written incorrectly and then evolved into John Burbank is a far cry from Burbank.  There is always the possibility that he didn't give his real name and that he did come on this ship, or another of the same year, because that fits with the theory that he came as an indentured servant, worked in Charlestown until he acquired his freedom, and then had to work to earn his standing as a freeman, which was granted May 13, 1640, .

Ann must had died before 1643, because John married Jemima about that time. We don't know where either marriage took place but the second marriage, to Jemima, would most likely have been in Massachusetts.  John is found in what became Rowley, Massachusetts in 1643 and apparently stayed there his whole life.  He was termed a yeoman, which means a farmer of a small amount of land. He and Jemima had three children, and they were still married when John died in 1681.  He had acquired some land and I have seen brief abstracts of his will but haven't found it on line yet.  In addition to his wife and children, he also mentioned a grandson, the son of John Jr.  

Our John is one of those quiet men who made America great.  He lived quietly, obeyed the laws, worshipped in church (probably, because we don't have records of his being fined for non-attendance) and generally stayed out of trouble . Because he did all these things, there is not a long paper trail to follow for him.  But we know he was here, we know that he fathered five children and raised them, and we know he dreamed of a better future, or he would not have come to America.  Some things we can understand, even without knowing the details.

The line of descent is:

John Burbank-Jemima
Lydia Burbank-Abraham Foster
Abraham Foster-Mary Robinson
Nathan Foster-Hannah Standish
Nathan Foster-Elizabeth Lansford
Jude Foster-Lydia M
Betsey Foster-Josiah Whittemore
Elizabeth Whittermore-Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

Update:  I think I have Lydia's parents wrong.  They are now believed to be Caleb Burbank and Martha, of Rowley, Massachusetts.  Caleb's father is supposed to be a John, but I don't know if it's this John or not.  I'm deleting John from the tree until I get this figured out!  5/5/2019