The family of John Rockwood 1696-1778

We come to John Rockwood, the son of Joseph and Mary Hayward Rockwood, born in 1696 in Mendon, Massachusetts and died there in 1778.  There were a lot of "small" wars during his lifespan, including the not so small French and Indian War of 1754-1763, but so far I've found no records that show him as a soldier during any of the conflicts.  This doesn't rule out the probability that he was at least in the militia, so there is at least the possibility that more research would turn up something.

John married Deborah Thayer, the daughter of Ebenezer and Martha Thompson Thayer, in 1716 in Mendon.  As far as I can tell, they stayed in Mendon their entire lives, so I'm a bit puzzled that three children claimed for them are not listed in the Mendon birth records.  Of course, by this time there were other John Rockwoods and it's possible that the three children should be attributed to one of those men.  The three in question are Simeon, supposedly born in 1722, Abigail, in 1724, and Mary, in 1725.  I would certainly love to hear from anyone who has knowledge of these three.  They fit nicely into John and Deborah's time line, but they apparently weren't born in Mendon, or records were lost for those years.  I am unable to trace any of them further, so perhaps they died very early, if they belonged to this family.

There are six children who seem to be documented.  Ebenezer was the first son, born in 1718.  He lived long enough to marry Sarah, who is possibly Sarah Hayward, the daughter of Jonathan Hayward.  Their son, and apparently their only child, is Ebenezer.  Sadly, Ebenezer (Sr.) died in 1742, at the young age of 26.

John was the next son born in 1721.  This gets pretty confusing because this John, the son of John and Deborah Thayer Rockwood, also married Deborah Thayer, except she was the daughter of Jonathan and Bethiah Chapin Thayer.  Both Thayers trace back to Ferdinando Thayer, the Thayer immigrant, so there was some kind of family relationship involved.  They have at least two children, Molly (Molle) and Simeon.  I have seen trees that list additional children, but if so, they don't seem to have been born in Mendon.  John died in 1753, based on the bond issued to his wife Deborah, and two male Thayers, in August of that year.

Joseph was the next son, born in 1722.  He married Alice Thompson, the daughter of Joseph and Mary Holbrook Thompson.  They have eight children-Deborah, John, Alice, Joseph, Melatiah, Cephas, and Daniel.  Joseph died in 1778 in Bellingham, just a month after the death of his father.  (Bellingham was a daughter city to Mendon so if he had moved at all, it wasn't far.)  I will write more of this family in my next post.

Then there is a break of 8 years, which may be when Simeon, Abigail, and Mary were born and lived what may have been short lives.  There is always the possibility that John and Deborah had moved to another town or village and that these three children were simply born elsewhere, but I've not found any likely locations yet, so let's leave them as questionable at this point.

Reuben (Rubin) was born in 1730.  He may have been the first of the family to really strike out away from home, as he died in 1803 in Tyringham, Berkshire, Massachusetts.  His wife is Lydia Green, the daughter of Joshua and Phebe Rawson Green.  Their children are Hannah, Lydia, Ebenezer, Abigail, Joshua, Jason, Margery, Deborah, Beulah, Asenath, and Phebe.  Reuben was a veteran of the Revolutionary War.

Margery or Margaret was born in 1732 and died in 1758 in Wrentham, Worcester, Massachusetts.  She married Edward Gay, the son of Edward and Rebecca Fisher Gray.  Their children are Hannah, Thomas, Rachel, and Margery or Margaret.  

Deborah (I wonder why that name wasn't used earlier?) was born in 1734 and died in 1811 in Upton, Worcester, Massachusetts.  She married Benjamin Farrar, the son of Joseph and Mary Hoskins Farrar.  Their children are Deborah, Abigail, Ruth, Sarah, Benjamin, Esther, and possibly three others, unnamed and perhaps died as infants.  

This summary of the family of John and Deborah Thayer Rockwood of course leaves questions, not least about the missing child-bearing years of Deborah.  We can at least know that John and Deborah left at least 32 children, and their descendants probably have a tangled tree and stories to tell, too.