Holbrook line: Walter Cook, Immigrant

Walter Cook seems to be another of those early immigrants who was dropped off in Massachusetts Bay Colony by a spaceship.  I haven't even been able to find immigration records, let alone anything tying him to parents in England.  Even England is an assumption, so far. 

He is supposed to have been born in 1618 in GNW (Goodness Knows Where).  He may or may not have been married to Experience, who may or may not have been a daughter of Thomas Holbrook.  He was married to "Cathorn" at the time of his death, who may or may not have been the widow of George Aldrich, who may or may not have been Catherine Brenton.  The may or may nots about Catherine's parentage are also both varied and nebulous. 

For a man who was reported to have been very active in church and state affairs, I find very little about his life.  He was reported to have been at Weymouth, Massachusetts as early as 1643, and was made a freeman there in 1653.  He stayed for about 20 years in Weymouth, before moving to Mendon in about 1663.  I'm a little confused about this because records in Weymouth indicate he was still being granted land there in 1663, but this may have been a late recording, or it may have been that the town was trying to "bribe" him to stay there rather than moving on.

Walter Cook is listed as being a founder of the town of Mendon.  It formally became a town in 1667 and was on the frontier, as it was one of the first towns burned by the natives during King Philip's War in 1675-1676.  Due to previous attacks, the town had already been abandoned when the town was burned, so we can only wonder about Walter Cook and his family.  If his date of birth is correct, Walter would not yet have been 60 years old so would likely have been in the training band (militia) but that doesn't necessarily mean that he actively fought.  He could have been doing guard duty somewhere, for instance, or he could have been helping to care for the other refugees from Mendon.  

In Mendon, I did find a reference that he contributed to building a parsonage for the pastor, so perhaps that is the basis for the early statement that he was active in church and state affairs.  I found a comment that the family had earlier been Quakers but it is undocumented and seems not likely, though I am certainly open to having my mind changed about this.  Also, in the records of the Middlesex County Abstracts of Court records 1643-1674, volume 2, there is an interesting  account stating that Katherin, wife of Walter Cook, was apparently a witness at the labor of Hannah Jewett.  Several women testified as to the date Mrs. Jewett delivered her child, and it appears that this was less than nine months after her marriage.  Hannah Jewett was summoned to testify but I didn't follow the story further. 

Walter and Catherine returned to Mendon and most likely helped to rebuild the town after the war..  Walter had acquired land in not just Mendon but also in Milford, Bellingham, Wrentham and on the Rhode Island line.  Apparently he had disposed of these lands by the time of his death because reference is made in his will to "besides what he already gave them (his children)".  He may have given them parcels of land directly or he may have sold the land and given them the proceeds. 

I am showing all of Walter's children, as many as many as nine, as being children of Catherine, but that may not be correct.  They are all listed as having been born at Weymouth. If Nicholas, our ancestor, born in 1659 is the son of Experience Holbrook then there will be another Holbrook connection in our tree, and we will be our own cousins yet again.  I'd sure like to get some of these mysteries figured out, even if it does tangle our tree even further.

Cathorn, as she is listed in the death records of Mendon, died on January 2, 1695/96 and Walter died just three days later.  Did Walter die of a broken heart, or was there an epidemic at the time, or was it mere coincidence?  It's another mystery. 

The line of descent is 

Walter Cook-Experience or Catherine
Nicholas Cook-Joanna Rockwood
Mary Cook-Joseph Holbrook
Jesse Holbrook-Abigail Thayer
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright (where are you Molly? I'm still looking for you!)
Nahum Holbrook-Susanna Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants