Holbrook line: John BIshop, Immigrant

John Bishop, our immigrant ancestor, is a hard man to pin down.  There were several John Bishops in New England during the time period our John Bishop was there, and as usual, I believe some of his records have been merged with those of other John Bishops.  I have not found a will, a deed, a hint of land ownership, a record of being a freeman, or marriage and birth records for him, for his wife, or for his children.  So I'm going to pick my way carefully through the rubble and hope that I don't trip over the wrong John Bishop as I write this. 

Our John Bishop was most likely born in or near Neen Savage, Shropshire, England about 1590.  Need Savage is small enough that it's not described as a village, even now.  It has the designation of "hamlet".  It does appear to have a very old church and this is likely where John was christened.  He may be the son of Richard Bishop but even that is not certain.  All that we really know is that he somehow met and married Ann, whose last name may be Stevens, probably about 1619.  They had four children together and set to work raising their family, with the children being born roughly from 1620 to 1630. 

When they came to America on the Saint John in 1639, the children would have been 9 to 19 years old.  They were certainly old enough to help establish the home they would live in, in the wilderness.  John had traveled in the party of Reverend Henry Whitfield, and most if not all of the people on the ship followed him as they arrived at New Haven, Connecticut and then quickly settled on their own land in what became Guilford, Connecticut. 

John was one of the six trustees of the town and one of the three whose name is signed to a deed for a large tract of land in 1643, when the purchase of land from the native Americans was finalized.  He was a justice of the peace and may have held other positions that are no longer known to us.  We don't know whether or not he ever became a "freeman" although it seems that a man with that kind of respect and service would have been made a freeman.  From my 21st century eyes, it only makes sense but again, records are lacking and when he is referred to, his designation is "planter", whereas others are noted as "freeman".  John lived out the rest of his days in Guilford. 

That is really all that is known about John.  He died sometime between February 7, 1659 and February 7, 1661 (I've seen dates of 1659. 1660, and 1661) and although I haven't located a copy of his will or inventory, I did find one for Ann, who died in 1676.  Her estate was valued at slightly over 87 pounds.  She named three children and a grandchild as heirs, and also left a small bequest to her servant, Thomas Smith.  It wasn't unusual to have servants in that time, even for a not well off family, but it does show that John must have left her more than enough to live on. 

We don't know whether John had an additional occupation other than planter, or how much land he might have owned, or whether or not he was literate (although he did sign his name to that deed with the Indians and he was a justice of the peace) or whether he was a regular church goer to the end of his life.  But we do know that he was courageous enough to come to America, to settle and raise his family, and to take care of his wife, so those are all admirable qualities. 

The line of descent is

John Bishop-Ann probably Stevens
Ann Bishop-John Jordan
John Jordan-Katherine Chalker
Hannah Jordan-John Stannard
John Stannard-Hannah Hatchett
Libbeus Stannard-Eunice Pomeroy
Libbeus Stanard-Euzebia Fay
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants