Allen line: Hugh Calkins, Immigrant, about 1599-1690

We know a little more about Hugh Calkins than about some of our other immigrant ancestors.  Research done by Mr. Roy Edwards in 1998 finally pinpointed his parents' marriage and his christening date.  Since they were both in the same location, we are taking Waverton, Cheshire, England, as his hometown, although it is possible that they lived on a farm or in a village even smaller than Waverton.  At any rate, the records show that Waverton was an important place in their lives.  This area is to the east of the northern part of Wales, so it is not surprising that for a long time it was believed that Hugh was from Wales.

Hugh was the son of Rowland and Ellen Payne Calkin, who were married June 23, 1597 at St. Oswald church in Chester. .  He was christened on April 8,1603 at St Peter in Waverton.  Brothers William, Hugh, and Peter were baptized there, too. 

We don't know his parent's occupation, nor his, but this area has been known for dairy and for sheep raising, so it's possible that Rowland, and later Hugh, were involved in farming, at least to some extent.  We don't know when Hugh married, or to whom, although her name is frequently given as Ann, or Sarah Ann, Eaton.  Since marriages frequently took place in the bride's church, it is possible that the records still exist somewhere, but they don't seem to be at Waverton.  It's estimated that the marriage took place sometime around 1626, since their first known child was born in 1627.

We also don't know when Hugh and Ann became "non-conformists."  Were they born into non-conforming families, or did they all become non-conforming over time, or were Hugh and Ann "breakaways" from the family religion?  We don't know the answer to that yet, either, but we do know they were non-conformists; one source even terms Hugh "radical".  It is believed that Hugh and Ann and their children came to America about 1640, since daughter Deborah was buried at Waverton  October 4, 1639.  It's possible that Hugh had come earlier and that Ann stayed behind to deliver and then bury their child.  They traveled with Rev. Richard Blinman once they were here, so perhaps they came as part of his congregation in 1640.  

Hugh and Ann's children were  Sarah, Mary, Rebecca, Deborah  John, David, and Deborah again.  There may also have been a daughter Susan.  David and the second Deborah were born in Massachusetts, after the family arrived here.  Hugh and family settled first at Green's Harbor in  Plymouth Colony, but soon moved to Gloucester with Mr. Blinman. We don't know the whole story, but there was some sort of religious dissension involving his minister and others.  He was made a freeman Dec. 27, 1642 at Gloucester, so he owned at least a modest amount of property by then.  He was a selectman 1643-1648, and then moved to New London, Connecticut, about 1650, again with Rev. Blinman.  He was a selectman and representative there, and was also a town clerk.  In 1662 he moved to what would become Norwich, leaving some of his daughters in New London.  In Norwich he was the first deacon of the church, and a representative in 1663-1664.  He died in 1690,  at the age of ninety years. He and son John are listed as founders of Norwich, so the land was wilderness when they arrived. 

There is a Calkins Family Association with their own website that has most of this information, and I recommend that you "google" for it and enjoy all the work that has gone into that site.  I am so grateful that this work has been done so that we can enjoy knowing a little about our immigrant ancestor.

The line of descent is:
Hugh Calkins-Ann possibly Eaton
Deborah Calkins-Jonathan Royce
John Royce-Sarah Perrigo
Moses Royce-Hannah
John Royce-Hannah Bellamy
Elizabeth Royce-William McCoy
James McCoy-Nancy Lane
Vincent McCoy-Eleanor Jackson
Nancy McCoy-George Allen
Edward Allen-Edith Knott
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendents

Allen line: Robert Royse 1605-1676 Immigrant

Robert Royse is another of our immigrant ancestors in the Allen line.  (Stay tuned for a fun fact at the end of this post.)  Like many ancestors, we aren't really sure where he came from but it is looking more and more likely that he was christened November 3, 1605 at Ketton CumTixover in Rutland, England, the son of William Royce and possibly Joan Casebird.  (The father I show on my Ancestry tree is Thomas, but that appears to not be as likely as I thought when I entered that information.  It's the wrong location, and Thomas is not a name that was used in any subsequent generation.) 

If William is Robert's father, then he was the fourth of at least nine children born between 1600 and 1616.  That is all that we can say about his childhood and youth, that he had a family and that the family ate well enough that Robert survived.  He married Mary Jackson (shown in the records as "Jugkson") on April 8, 1627 in Saint Michael, Stamford, Lincolnshire.  The young couple had several children, during the first 10 years of their marriage, of whom three died as infants. 

We don't know when the family arrived in New England.  Nehemiah was the last child born there, in 1637, and the next known child, Samuel was born in November of 1644 supposedly in New London, Ct.  The problem with that story is that New London wasn't founded until two years later, in 1646.  It seems unlikely that a single family would have gone to the area ahead of the colony, so more research needs to be done here. However, we do know that at least 4 children were born in the New World, starting in 1644.  That leaves a gap of 7 years in which other children may have been born, and possibly lost.

He owned several pieces of land in New London, some given to him as a recognized early settler of the town, and some that he purchased.  He sold most of this to his sons in the early 1660's.  Even so, his estate when he died in 1676 was valued at 420 pounds, 11 shillings.  This was a good estate for a man who had been a leather worker, shoemaker, and "ordinary" keeper during his life at New London.  He had also been constable of the town and deputy to the General Court during the 1660's, indicating that he was a respected member of the town. His will reportedly left property to his wife, five sons, and three daughters, although we only know of two daughters.  (Perhaps one was born during the 7 year time period mentioned above.) 

The best write up of Robert's life that I found was on Wikitree, and I have used some of the information in that article for this post.  The article lists sources that I want to follow up on, and perhaps more can be learned about the life of this ordinary ordinary keeper, who came to New England and made a better life for himself and his family.

The line of descent is:

Robert Royce-Mary probably Jackson
Jonathan Royse-Deborah Calkins
John Royse-Sarah Perrigo
Moses Royse-Hannah
John Royse-Hannah Bellamy
Elizabeth Royse-William McCoy
James McCoy-Nancy Lane
Vincent McCoy-Eleanor Jackson
Nancy McCoy-George Allen
Edward Allen-Edith Knott
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendents

Fun fact:  Robert is the ancestor of President Millard Fillmore, so we are distantly related to another president.  Is anyone keeping track of these connections?