Holbrook line: Joshua WInsor, immigrant

It seems strange that Joshua Winsor has not been researched more extensively than he has been, because, after all, he was the father in law of Roger William's daughter.  Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that records haven't been found, which could be for any number of reasons, including the sad fact that many records from that time period are not in existence any longer.  The most popular idea seems to be that he was from Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire, England. There were Winsors there from the 1450's and I have the names of Joshua's purported father, grandfather, great grandfather and great great grandfather, if this is correct.  But I don't have a birth date or other documentation, so the jury is still out as to when and where he was born, and what he did with his early life.

Just so we have a beginning framework, let's say, for the purpose of this blog post only, that he was born about 1610.  It could have been earlier, and it may have been a little later.  The first thing we really know is that he was in Massachusetts Bay Colony as an indentured servant of governor John Winthrop. Joshua, whether because of temperament or beliefs, did not fit in well with the Puritans of Boston and would likely have been branded a trouble maker, or worse, had not Roger Williams come to his rescue. 

Roger, from his newly established home at Providence Plantation,  wrote a letter to Gov. Winthrop asking to buy out the rest of Joshua's indentureship, and have Joshua come to Rhode Island.  The governor agreed, and Joshua arrived in Rhode Island in 1638.  By 1640 he was free of the indentured servant status and was a freeman, signing his name to the compact of 1640.   He was granted house lot number 35, on what became South Main Street, in Providence and also acquired six acres of meadowland 

Joshua married sometime before 1644, when his only son was born, but his wife's name has never been determined.  After son Samuel was born, the couple had four more children, all daughters.  Mrs. Winsor died in 1655 and we have no record that Joshua remarried.  He died in 1679, which means he would have been affected and probably lost his home and all that was in it, during King Philip's War in 1675-1676.  There is no record of church membership or attendance for Joshua. It is believed that he was buried on his own home lot, which means he returned to Providence and rebuilt his home. 

I haven't found a copy of Joshua's will or estate, and we know nothing of his religious beliefs.  We know he could sign his name, but we don't know how far his education extended.  Did Roger Williams or his wife Mary Barnard tutor him informally?  We don't know. Joshua's son, Samuel became a Baptist pastor so there was some indication that education was valued in the family.  I'd love to have been a fly on the wall, as Joshua worked for Roger Williams.  Did their conversations extend to religious beliefs and knowledge?  As I said, I'd love to know!

The line of descent is:

Joshua Winsor-wife
Samuel Winsor-Mercy Williams
Samuel Winsor-Mercy Harding
Joseph Winsor-Deborah Mathewson
Lillis Winsor-Nathan Paine
Deborah Paine-Enos Eddy
Joseph Eddy-Susan Lamphire
Susan Eddy-Hiram Stanard
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants