Allen line: The family of Luke Hitchcock 1614(?)-1659

 Luke Hitchcock's origins are not verified, but he was from England, perhaps somewhere in Wiltshire.  His parents are often given as John and Mary Franklin Hiscockes, which may or may not be correct.  He was in New Haven, Connecticut by 1644, when he took the freeman's oath there.  He married Elizabeth Gibbons, who may be the daughter of Thomas Gibbons, but is probably not the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Pierpont Gibbons. (If their birthdates are correct, then they are much too old to be parents of Elizabeth, although they could possibly be grandparents.  I'm not aware of records that would resolve this issue.)  Sadly, Luke died at a relatively young age, in 1659, in Weathersfield, Connecticut.  Elizabeth next married William Warriner, Jr. (who is a relative of ours but I don't think he's an ancestor) and then Joseph Baldwin, before dying in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1696.

Luke and Elizabeth had at least three children.  I have seen at least one list that includes others, and their purported birth dates make sense, but I've not found records to support them.  So I'll concentrate on the three children I'm reasonably sure are theirs, and then briefly mention the others.  

John was born in 1642 and died in 1712 in Springfield, Massachusetts.  He married Hannah Chapin, the daughter of Samuel and Cicely Penny Chapin.  Their children are an unknown daughter who died young, Hannah, John, Samuel, Like, Nathaniel, Daniel and Jonathan.  I will follow this family in my next blog post.  

Hannah was born in 1644 and died in 1733 in Hadley, Hampshire, Massachusetts.  She married Chileab Smith, the son of Samuel and Elizabeth Smyth Smith.  (Yes, this is the same Smith family that included Mary Smith who married John Graves, our ancestors in another line.)  Hannah and Chileab's children are Hannah, Samuel, Luke, Ebenezer, Nathaniel, John, Hester (Esther), Elizabeth, Mary, Chileab, and Sarah.  

Then there is a gap of close to 11 years, before Luke was born in 1655.  Luke died in Springfield in 1727.  He married Sarah Burt, the daughter of Jonathan and Elizabeth Lobdell Burt.  (She is the granddaughter of Henry and Eulalia Marche Burt, who are our ancestors in another line.) Their children are Sarah, Elizabeth, Mercy, Hannah, Thankful, Mary, Luke, Jonathan, Ebenezer, Jonathan, and Peletiah.  

So who are the "possible" children?  There is an earlier Hannah, born in 1641, who probably died young.  Then there are Elizabeth, born about 1645, Nathaniel, in 1647, and Matthias in 1650.  The dates may work, and it's possible that the records for these children are simply missing, or at least, I haven't found them yet.  It's also possible that they belong to a different Hitchcock family, perhaps that of Matthias or Edward, who were in the same area at the same time as Luke.  I'd be delighted to hear from someone who can point out records for these young Hitchcocks, to prove or disprove their parentage.