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.