Holbrook line: Nathaniel Mowrey 1643-1717

 We have quite a bit of information about Nathaniel Mowry, but there are also gaps in our knowledge.  This is one of those cases where the glass is half full, to my way of thinking. His birthdate is given as January 10, 1644 although I've also seen it written as 1643 (one of those tricky calendar double dates, so I'm using the most common date I've found).  Some of the sites say he was born in England but his father had been in New England since 1631, so it is much more likely that he was born in Lynn or Salem, Massachusetts Bay Colony, where his parents were living.  His parents were Roger and Mary Johnson Mowry.  (Note that there are about 10 different spellings for this name; the "Mowrey" I've used in the title seems to be the one Nathaniel settled on.)  He was one of about 11 children, born in Salem, Lynn, and Rehoboth, Massachusetts and the last two in Providence.

His parents seem to have traveled with Roger Williams, although they didn't arrive in Providence until about 1649.  Nathaniel was just five years old at the time, so he would have had little memory of his days in Massachusetts.  Rhode Island would have always seemed like "home" to him.  I like to think of little Nathaniel perhaps visiting with Roger and Mary Williams.  They were kindly people and I like to think they treated children well.

Nathaniel married Joanna Inman, daughter of Edward and Elizabeth (possibly Hopkins) Inman after August 28, 1666, (date of intention) and they had either 11 or 12 children.  It was enough to keep the parents busy, anyway . 1666 was a busy year for Nathaniel.  Not only did he marry that year, but his father died, and he also became involved in a land acquisition of 3500 acres (in what became Smithfield) from native Americans.  He and his partners bought the land without an agreement from the Providence Plantation residents, and although they kept the land, it caused a bit of tension in the settlement.  This didn't destroy his reputation, because he was admitted a freeman in 1672.

We don't know what Nathaniel did during King Philip's War.  Presumably he either fought or took his family to safety, or both.  He would have been in his early 30's and unless he was Quaker, he probably fought in at least the Great Swamp battle.  The family probably went to an island for safety.   I've not found any mention that he held any colony offices but he was a man of some substance, if only for being Roger Mowry's son.

Nathaniel gives his occupation as yeoman (farmer who owned property) in his will.  He had sold much of the land he owned by the time of his death March 27, 1717, but he did have 300 acres of land which he disposed of to his sons.  The daughters were to divide up the farm animals and household goods after the death of his wife.  It appears that his farming operating by the time of his death had been curtailed; his animals were listed as a mare, six cows and two heifers, and four swine.  His inventory also included an old gun, a Bible and four old books, household furnishings including a few pieces of pewter, and farm implements and food in storage.  The total valuation of the personal property was a bit over 106 pounds.  

I have seen speculation that Nathaniel was Baptist and I've also seen speculation that he was Quaker, but I've not seen anything that documents either religion.  I'd like to know how and where he worshiped, and I'd like to know the extent of his military service, if any.  The Bible in his inventory indicates that he had some education, and we have a record of his signature so he could at least write his name.  How much education did he receive?

Even though we know quite a bit about Nathaniel, there are always more questions.  What we don't question is that he is a part of our family, part of our Rhode Island roots.

The line of descent is:

Nathaniel Mowrey-Joanna Inman

Joanna Mowrey-Walter Phetteplace

Sarah Phetteplace-Elisha Eddy

Enos Eddy-Sarah Brown

Enos Eddy-Deborah Paine

Joseph Brown Eddy-Susan Lamphire

Susan Eddy-Hiram Stanard

Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick

Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook

Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen

Their descendants