Holbrook line: James Cutler, Immigrant

Researching James Cutler, or at least reviewing some of the information found about him on line, was interesting.  Usually if a man has been researched well enough to be included in Robert Charles Anderson's Great Migration series, then there isn't much controversy left.  I have learned that there is some controversy involving which of James's last two wives would be the mother of our Jemima Cutler Snow.  I think The Great Migration is most likely to be correct.  But then I wondered why others were choosing a different mother for Jemima Cutler.  It seems that James's third wife, Phoebe Page, had a bad reputation.  It may have been deserved.  So perhaps those who want a pretty genealogy instead of an accurate one may have chosen to go with wife #2.  But let's start at the beginning. 

James is thought to be the James Cutler, son of Thomas and Anne Cutler, who was born or baptized at Sproughton, Sussex, England on May 21, 1606.  That's as much as we know of his childhood and early years, except that Anne died in 1613, when James would have been about 7 years old.  He was one of six children born between 1600 and 1610, so perhaps Anne died giving birth, or recovering from another birth, in 1613.  His father lived until 1640, so he would have been there, probably with a new wife, to guide the children as they grew and to possibly place them in a position to learn a trade, although James doesn't seem to have practiced a trade as such in New England. 

James arrived in New England with his wife Ann and was in Watertown by November 6, when his first son was born.  He and Ann (possibly Cakebread, but not proven) had four children in Watertown, but Ann died sometime on or before September 30, 1644.  He then married Mary, widow of Mary King, and they had three children.  Her date of death is uncertain but was sometime after Sarah's birth in 1653.  With his third wife, Phoebe Page, whom he married probably before 1661, he had four children. 

Wife Phoebe Page was an interesting woman and it is impossible at this distance to say how much, if any, of the "gossip" about her is true.  She sued once and won a defamation case in Watertown, when it was stated that she was pregnant and unmarried.  There is at least one statement that she was the Phoebe Page who was whipped in Long Island for fornication, but I didn't find a date for that so have no idea how to evaluate it.  She was noted as being "past her prime" when she married James Cutler, and apparently brought at least one child to the marriage with her.  Note that James Cutler was also past his prime! 

James's only occupation that I could locate was "planter".  He is described in his later years as poor, but he was able to give land (not enough to live on, but enough to help) to several of his sons during his lifetime, and still had assets to bequeath when he died.  He left Watertown in 1653 and settled in the part of Cambridge known as Cambridge Farms and later as Lexington, where he died in 1694.  He had been appointed surveyor of highways in Watertown for the two years just before he moved.  He didn't hold offices after that, but his farm was located on the outskirts of Cambridge so it may have been a matter of convenience as much as anything else.  Phoebe apparently died before he did, as she is not mentioned in his will.

James's will was written November 24, 1684 and proved August 20, 1694.  His estate was valued at a little over 108 pounds, of which 100 pounds was real estate.  Remembering that he had previously given land to sons, and apparently dowry to one or more daughters, this was not a poor man, although he was not well off, either.  He was kind enough in his will to leave something to the children of his second wife, and to a daughter "Phoebe" was was apparently the daughter of third wife Phoebe Page, but not his child.  He actually left her a number of items which "must not be brought into my inventory", indicating that these items were likely Phoebe Page's when she came to the marriage. 

I think I like James Cutler.  He was willing to take a woman "past her prime" as a spouse, he cared for his step children as well as his children, and he made something out of (presumably) nothing when he was able to acquire and farm the land he didn't really know how to cultivate (not an insult; no one in New England really knew what they were doing as far as farming and raising animals went.  It was a different climate and a different soil, and a different growing season.  It took time to adapt.) .  Although there is little indication that he was a good Puritan (or for that matter, a bad one), he did have a Bible in his estate when he died.  Let's give the man a break, and a thank you!

The line of descent is:

James Cutler-Phoebe Page
Jemima Cutler-Zerubabbel Snow
William Snow-Elizabeth Stevens
Lucy Snow-Josiah Whittemore
Josiah Whittmore-Betsy Foster
Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants