In my last Holbrook post, I noted that there was a story about the daughter of Edward and Thomasine Belgrave Frost, and that I would follow up with that information in a later post. It's not often that we find records of the woman in the marriage. Usually they have to have been very good, controversial, or outright law breakers in order to draw the attention of anyone studying the early immigrants to New England. Alice may have been all three of the above-a good woman, controversial, and possibly a law breaker. What fun to find her!
Alice was baptized at Stanstead, Suffolk, England on December 1, 1594. She was one of 10 children, but six of her siblings died as infants or children. We wonder what impact that had on the family, and whether it influenced Alice's decision to become a midwife later in her life. She married Thomas Blower at Stanstead, Suffolk, England on November 19, 1612, and they in turn had seven children.
Alice was apparently a free-spirited woman, and drew the attention of the authorities on February 18,1633/34. She was fined the huge sum of 100 pounds for "her notorious contempt of ecclesiastical laws and jurisdiction" in her (word or words illegible). Apparently the case had been postponed in case someone wanted to appeal it, but "This day inasmuch as neither the said Alice Blower nor anybody else for her gave in any petition to desire any mitigation of her fine imposed upon her, the said fine to an hundred pounds was to be certified into his highness exchequer and estreated to his highness use."
We aren't told any more than this about the fine, but this was the time period when Archbishop Laud was becoming more and more powerful, insisting upon "High Church" worship, when many held dissident views and wished to practice their own religion. We can't tell from this limited information whether Alice and possibly refused to attend the required state church services, or whether she had been more active in her defiance. At any rate, 100 pounds was a huge fine and a year later, the commissioners reconsidered. She was no longer at Sudbury, the location of the alleged offense, and "thereby the scandal grown by her (was) taken away, and for that she had in all obedience submitted herself & would continue herself conformable to the order's doctrine, and discipline of the Church of England", basically the case was dismissed.
Thomas went to New England in or before 1635. It is possible that Alice had already gone to Boston with him, since there was a reference in the court record to her being "long removed from Sudbury". There is no record of her immigration, which is not all that unusual. Women and children were not always noted on the ship manifests. Thomas died in 1639 and soon after, she married William Tilley, probably in Barnstable, Massachusetts, and soon after July 6, 1640.
We don't know when she began practicing as a midwife, but by 1648 she was in trouble again and was actually jailed. Dozens of women in Boston and Dorchester signed petitions on her behalf, and she was eventually released. William Tilley came to his wife's defense and made Hugh Gullison of Boston his attorney, and gave him authority "in my name to implead & arrest & prosecute & recover of Wm Phillips of Boston & his wife or either or both of them"... So we have a good clue here as to whom the Tilley family blamed for Alice's imprisonment.
William Tilley was in court in 1649, being fined four pounds for an infraction, and Alice petitioned them to reduce the fine, which eventually resulted in a reduction to 40 shillings. Despite William's actions to support his wife and despite Alice's action in attempting to get his fine reduced, apparently all was not bliss in the Tilley household.
Some sort of petition was made by Mr. Tilley to the court and the response on October 11, 1665, was that "the court, having heard what he & his wife could say for themselves, judge meet to order & enjoin Mr. Tilley & his wife forthwith to live together as man & wife, that Mr. Tilly provide for her as his wife, & that she submit herself to him as she ought, on the penalty of forty pounds on his part, & imprisonment on hers. So a separation, or a divorce, or whatever the petition requested, was apparently not granted.
We know that both William and Alice were still alive in 1668, when she made a deposition involving her maidservant. This one word, plus the size of the fines that were previously mentioned, makes us think that this family was not poverty stricken. I haven't located a will or inventory, which would perhaps help clarifIy their financial stataus.
I like Alice. She was a feisty woman, who may or may not have broken laws, but who certainly pushed them to their limit. It must have been hard for her to live in Puritan Boston. I'd love to know more about her!
The line of descent is:
Alice Frost-Thomas Blower
Alice Blower-Richard Brackett
John Brackett-Hannah French
Hannah Brackett-Joseph Stannard
John Stannard-Hannah Jordan
John Stannard-Hannah Hatchett
Libbeus Stannard-Eunice Pomeroy
Libbeus Stannard-Luceba Fay
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
I suspect that most of this information originally came from Robert Charles Anderson's "Great Migration" series, or the "Great Migration" newsletters. It was available, unidentified, on Find A Grave and on Geni. My access to AmericanAncestors.ogr, where I normally would look, is temporaraily unavailable, since I waited till the very last day to renew my membership!
Showing posts with label Blower. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blower. Show all posts
Friday, September 9, 2016
Tuesday, August 23, 2016
Holbrook line: Thomasine Belgrave 1562-1653 or sooner; Immigrant or not?
I mostly have been writing posts about immigrant or colonial ancestors, and I'm not sure whether my subject today qualifies. I have seen her death given as "undoubtedly about 1620 in England: and as 1653 in Sudbury, Middelsex, Massachusetts. As I write this, I have been unable to confirm either date. If she truly lived until 1653 then she was over 90 years old at the time of her death. In the process of researching this article, I found that she had a most remarkable daughter, who is also our ancestor. What fun it is to do this research, even when finding facts seems to be an elusive goal!
Thomasine Belgrave's origins are fairly well documented. She was baptized February 1, 1561/62 to John Belgrave and Joanna Strutt in Leverington, Cambridgeshire, England. and was one of at least 6 children. She married Edmund Frost, son of John and Ann Scott Frost, on September 26, 1585 in Chelmsford, Suffolk, England, where the Belgrave family was apparently living. She and Edmund had at least 11 children before Edmund died in August of 1616.
Here's the question: Did Thomasine die about 1620, or did she survive to travel to New England with one or more of her children? Elizabeth, Alice, and Thomasine all came to America with their husbands and settled in Sudbury, Massachusetts so it seems possible that she came with one of them. The Sudbury town records, or at least the deaths, appear to be missing from 1650 until August of 1653, so they are of little help in resolving the situation.
I'm hoping that by posting this, maybe someone has come up with additional information to give a definite place and date of death for our ancestor. Does her story end in England, with her surviving children still there, or does it extend across the Atlantic Ocean to a land her husband would have only heard rumors about?
I promise that I will do a follow up post about her daughter Alice. She was remarkable.
Our line of descent is:
Thomasine Belgrave-Edmund Frost
Alice Frost-Thomas Blower
Alice Blower-Richard Brackett
John Brackett-Hannah French
Hannah Bracket-Joseph Stannard
John Stannard-Hannah Jordan
John Stannard-Hannah Hatchett
Libbeus Stannard-Eunice Pomeroy
Libbeus Stannard Jr-Luceba Fay
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
I've used mostly articles from "The American Genealogist" for this post. I'm so grateful for all the genealogists and family historians who have gone before. If everyone had to start from scratch with all their ancestors and do all the research themselves, we'd not know much.
Thomasine Belgrave's origins are fairly well documented. She was baptized February 1, 1561/62 to John Belgrave and Joanna Strutt in Leverington, Cambridgeshire, England. and was one of at least 6 children. She married Edmund Frost, son of John and Ann Scott Frost, on September 26, 1585 in Chelmsford, Suffolk, England, where the Belgrave family was apparently living. She and Edmund had at least 11 children before Edmund died in August of 1616.
Here's the question: Did Thomasine die about 1620, or did she survive to travel to New England with one or more of her children? Elizabeth, Alice, and Thomasine all came to America with their husbands and settled in Sudbury, Massachusetts so it seems possible that she came with one of them. The Sudbury town records, or at least the deaths, appear to be missing from 1650 until August of 1653, so they are of little help in resolving the situation.
I'm hoping that by posting this, maybe someone has come up with additional information to give a definite place and date of death for our ancestor. Does her story end in England, with her surviving children still there, or does it extend across the Atlantic Ocean to a land her husband would have only heard rumors about?
I promise that I will do a follow up post about her daughter Alice. She was remarkable.
Our line of descent is:
Thomasine Belgrave-Edmund Frost
Alice Frost-Thomas Blower
Alice Blower-Richard Brackett
John Brackett-Hannah French
Hannah Bracket-Joseph Stannard
John Stannard-Hannah Jordan
John Stannard-Hannah Hatchett
Libbeus Stannard-Eunice Pomeroy
Libbeus Stannard Jr-Luceba Fay
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
I've used mostly articles from "The American Genealogist" for this post. I'm so grateful for all the genealogists and family historians who have gone before. If everyone had to start from scratch with all their ancestors and do all the research themselves, we'd not know much.
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Holbrook line: Thomas Blower 1587-1639 Immigrant
Can we call a man an immigrant if his daughter had come to Massachusetts a couple of years earlier? I'm not sure how accurate the label is, but since he was the oldest ancestor of this family to arrive here, I'm calling him the immigrant.
I don't have a lot to write about Thomas and most of what I've found was in The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England Volume I. Thomas was baptized at Stanstead, Suffolk, England on April 23, 1587, the son of Thomas and Susan Vincent Blower. He probably had brothers and sisters since his parents lived until at least 1597,but we don't have their names, and we don't know what the elder Thomas did for a living.
Thomas married Alice Frost, daughter of Edward and Thomasine Belgrave Frost on November 19, 1613 in Stanstead. She was about seven years younger than he, having been baptized December 1, 1594. Seven of the children were born in England, and the eighth, Pyam, was born in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. (Note: Pyam is not a certainty but Anderson says there is no other logical parent for the child, except this couple. It's also possible that he may have been adopted by this couple, formally or informally.) The other children were Hannah, Alice, Joshua, Thomas, Mary, John, and a second Thomas. Hannah, Joshua, and the first Thomas all died young, in England.
Thomas and possibly his wife and children on the Truelove, in 1635. Alice had come over earlier, Their first residence was Boston and they may have stayed there. There is no mention of Thomas becoming a freeman; in fact, it appears that he had financial difficulties and his wife may have had legal difficulties (she was a midwife). In 1640, a resident of Hitcham, Suffolk wrote to John Winthrop regarding. 24 pounds that he claimed Thomas Blower owed him. Unfortunately, by this time Thomas was deceased, so we don't know if the gentleman ever collected his debt. Thomas is believed to have died by September 9, 1639.
Reading between the lines, one wonders why Thomas came to Massachusetts. Was it to be with his daughter, to escape economic pressures, or to help his wife evade legal problems? Perhaps it was some combination of the the above, and perhaps Thomas hoped to make a fresh start in the New World. We don't know how he supported himself or the family, but we do know that his wife remarried in 1640, to William Tilly. With small children to support, she needed to find security quickly, and remarried quickly, as many widows did.
Now that I know Alice Frost Blower became Alice Frost Blower Tilly, and that she was a midwife, I'm anxious to learn more about her. Midwifes sometimes left records, and it would be fascinating to find hers!
I'd like to find an occupation for Thomas. Perhaps he didn't work and that is why Alice was a midwife, but if that's the case, I'd like to know what his physical limitations were. I'd like to know whether he was a member of a church. I'd like to know what dreams he had when coming to the New World, and whether or not they were fulfilled. He's an interesting ancestor, since we know so little about him.
The line of descent is:
Thomas Blower-Alice Frost
Alice Blower-Richard Brackett
John Brackett-Hannah French
Hannah Bracket-Joseph Stannard
John Stannard-Hannah Jordan
John Stannard-Hannah Hatchett
Libbeus Stnnard-Eunice Pomeroy
Libbeus Stannard-Luceba Fay
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
I don't have a lot to write about Thomas and most of what I've found was in The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England Volume I. Thomas was baptized at Stanstead, Suffolk, England on April 23, 1587, the son of Thomas and Susan Vincent Blower. He probably had brothers and sisters since his parents lived until at least 1597,but we don't have their names, and we don't know what the elder Thomas did for a living.
Thomas married Alice Frost, daughter of Edward and Thomasine Belgrave Frost on November 19, 1613 in Stanstead. She was about seven years younger than he, having been baptized December 1, 1594. Seven of the children were born in England, and the eighth, Pyam, was born in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. (Note: Pyam is not a certainty but Anderson says there is no other logical parent for the child, except this couple. It's also possible that he may have been adopted by this couple, formally or informally.) The other children were Hannah, Alice, Joshua, Thomas, Mary, John, and a second Thomas. Hannah, Joshua, and the first Thomas all died young, in England.
Thomas and possibly his wife and children on the Truelove, in 1635. Alice had come over earlier, Their first residence was Boston and they may have stayed there. There is no mention of Thomas becoming a freeman; in fact, it appears that he had financial difficulties and his wife may have had legal difficulties (she was a midwife). In 1640, a resident of Hitcham, Suffolk wrote to John Winthrop regarding. 24 pounds that he claimed Thomas Blower owed him. Unfortunately, by this time Thomas was deceased, so we don't know if the gentleman ever collected his debt. Thomas is believed to have died by September 9, 1639.
Reading between the lines, one wonders why Thomas came to Massachusetts. Was it to be with his daughter, to escape economic pressures, or to help his wife evade legal problems? Perhaps it was some combination of the the above, and perhaps Thomas hoped to make a fresh start in the New World. We don't know how he supported himself or the family, but we do know that his wife remarried in 1640, to William Tilly. With small children to support, she needed to find security quickly, and remarried quickly, as many widows did.
Now that I know Alice Frost Blower became Alice Frost Blower Tilly, and that she was a midwife, I'm anxious to learn more about her. Midwifes sometimes left records, and it would be fascinating to find hers!
I'd like to find an occupation for Thomas. Perhaps he didn't work and that is why Alice was a midwife, but if that's the case, I'd like to know what his physical limitations were. I'd like to know whether he was a member of a church. I'd like to know what dreams he had when coming to the New World, and whether or not they were fulfilled. He's an interesting ancestor, since we know so little about him.
The line of descent is:
Thomas Blower-Alice Frost
Alice Blower-Richard Brackett
John Brackett-Hannah French
Hannah Bracket-Joseph Stannard
John Stannard-Hannah Jordan
John Stannard-Hannah Hatchett
Libbeus Stnnard-Eunice Pomeroy
Libbeus Stannard-Luceba Fay
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Friday, February 6, 2015
Holbrook line: Richard Brackett Immigrant 1610-1680
Richard Brackett is yet another of our immigrant ancestors. Fortunately, more is known about him than about many of our immigrants, and it is well documented. Still, motivations are missing and we will probably have to leave it at that.
Richard was born to Peter Brackett and Rachel Wheatley on or before September 16, 1610 in Sudbury, Suffolk, England. It appears that at the time, Sudbury was a small town-not a village but not a city, either, and the town's main industry was textiles. He was one of at least five children who were left fatherless in 1616. His mother soon remarried to Martin Saunders, so there was a father figure in the family.
Richard migrated to the New World in 1630, with the Winthrop Fleet and settled in Boston, where he was an early member of the church. He returned to England in 1633 and while there he married Alice Blower on January 6, 1634 in St Katherine by the Tower Church, London, England. The newly weds soon left to make their permanent home in the New World. Their first child, Hannah, was born in Boston and baptized January 4, 1635. Alice signed the covenant on November 8, 1635 and thus became a member of the Boston church, also.
In Boston, Richard became a freeman on May 25, 1636, meaning he had accumulated some property and was a member of the church, and he joined the "Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company" on November 23, 1639. This was a volunteer militia group with the stated goal of providing officers for the various enrolled militia companies.
He was given land on which to build on March 21, 1636, on Washington Street, but the family didn't stay there long. On November 20, 1637, he was appointed by the General Court to keep the prison, and was granted a salary of 13 pounds, 6s.8.d, which was later increased to 20 pounds. We don't know why he was given this task but it was the sort of job of which "someone has to do it"
In 1641, Richard and Alice "removed" to Braintree, and Richard became a Deacon of the church there. (Braintree is the home of the famous Adams family of later years.) He was noted as "Captain Richard Brackett" when we was a deputy to General court, many times over the years. He we town clerk for about 8 years, and was appointed to many town committees. He was a husbandman and a farmer, and a father to 8 children born between 1635 and 1652. It is also believed that he taught the school in Braintree. As a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, he was chief military officer during King Philip's War, although he did not have command of the garrison built between Braintree and Bridgewater.. In 1679, he was appointed to take oaths in civil cases and perform marriages.
On October 15, 1684, Richard was, at his persistent request, released from his military duties. He was 73 years old at the time, and had been connected with the company for 43 years and had been its captain for 30 of those years. Richard died March 3, 1690 at Braintree. He left a will but I did not find an actual inventory. However, there was a home, land in Braintree and in Billerica, and several bequests of 20 pounds apiece, so he was not a poor man by any means. Alice died 8 months after her husband, on November 3, 1690.
Richard and Alice donated a silver cup used at communion service to the church at Braintree, inscribed R&A. It may be owned by a Unitarian church now.
Oh, I love it when an ancestor line has been researched by New England Historical and Genealogical Society and published in either "The Great Migration Begins" or "The Great Migration". This blogpost is a summary of that information, with possibly another fact or two thrown in from the website www.deloriahurst.com, "The Genealogical Tree of Captain Richard Brackett." There is also a whole book online called "Brackett genealogy", which I have not consulted, but if you have interest in this man, as I do, go ahead and put it on your "to read" list, as I will.
The line of descent is:
Richard Brackett-Alice Blower
John Brackett-Hannah French
Hannah Brackett-Joseph Stannard
John Stannard-Hannah Jordan
John Stannard-Hannah Hanchett
Libbeus Stannard-Eunice Pomeroy
Libbeus Stannard-Luceba Fay
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendents
Fun fact: Richard must have acted as an informal recruiter for the New World. "The Great Migration Begins" concludes that there were more than forty future immigrants to New England who were related to Richard Brackett by blood or marriage before their departure from England.
Richard was born to Peter Brackett and Rachel Wheatley on or before September 16, 1610 in Sudbury, Suffolk, England. It appears that at the time, Sudbury was a small town-not a village but not a city, either, and the town's main industry was textiles. He was one of at least five children who were left fatherless in 1616. His mother soon remarried to Martin Saunders, so there was a father figure in the family.
Richard migrated to the New World in 1630, with the Winthrop Fleet and settled in Boston, where he was an early member of the church. He returned to England in 1633 and while there he married Alice Blower on January 6, 1634 in St Katherine by the Tower Church, London, England. The newly weds soon left to make their permanent home in the New World. Their first child, Hannah, was born in Boston and baptized January 4, 1635. Alice signed the covenant on November 8, 1635 and thus became a member of the Boston church, also.
In Boston, Richard became a freeman on May 25, 1636, meaning he had accumulated some property and was a member of the church, and he joined the "Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company" on November 23, 1639. This was a volunteer militia group with the stated goal of providing officers for the various enrolled militia companies.
He was given land on which to build on March 21, 1636, on Washington Street, but the family didn't stay there long. On November 20, 1637, he was appointed by the General Court to keep the prison, and was granted a salary of 13 pounds, 6s.8.d, which was later increased to 20 pounds. We don't know why he was given this task but it was the sort of job of which "someone has to do it"
In 1641, Richard and Alice "removed" to Braintree, and Richard became a Deacon of the church there. (Braintree is the home of the famous Adams family of later years.) He was noted as "Captain Richard Brackett" when we was a deputy to General court, many times over the years. He we town clerk for about 8 years, and was appointed to many town committees. He was a husbandman and a farmer, and a father to 8 children born between 1635 and 1652. It is also believed that he taught the school in Braintree. As a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company, he was chief military officer during King Philip's War, although he did not have command of the garrison built between Braintree and Bridgewater.. In 1679, he was appointed to take oaths in civil cases and perform marriages.
On October 15, 1684, Richard was, at his persistent request, released from his military duties. He was 73 years old at the time, and had been connected with the company for 43 years and had been its captain for 30 of those years. Richard died March 3, 1690 at Braintree. He left a will but I did not find an actual inventory. However, there was a home, land in Braintree and in Billerica, and several bequests of 20 pounds apiece, so he was not a poor man by any means. Alice died 8 months after her husband, on November 3, 1690.
Richard and Alice donated a silver cup used at communion service to the church at Braintree, inscribed R&A. It may be owned by a Unitarian church now.
Oh, I love it when an ancestor line has been researched by New England Historical and Genealogical Society and published in either "The Great Migration Begins" or "The Great Migration". This blogpost is a summary of that information, with possibly another fact or two thrown in from the website www.deloriahurst.com, "The Genealogical Tree of Captain Richard Brackett." There is also a whole book online called "Brackett genealogy", which I have not consulted, but if you have interest in this man, as I do, go ahead and put it on your "to read" list, as I will.
The line of descent is:
Richard Brackett-Alice Blower
John Brackett-Hannah French
Hannah Brackett-Joseph Stannard
John Stannard-Hannah Jordan
John Stannard-Hannah Hanchett
Libbeus Stannard-Eunice Pomeroy
Libbeus Stannard-Luceba Fay
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendents
Fun fact: Richard must have acted as an informal recruiter for the New World. "The Great Migration Begins" concludes that there were more than forty future immigrants to New England who were related to Richard Brackett by blood or marriage before their departure from England.
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