Holbrook line: James Mathewson, Immigrant

Like many of our immigrant ancestors, James Mathewson's origins are a mystery.  Most family historians are willing to say he was born in England about 1624, but that may be just a guess.  It may or may not be true that the family name descends from someone named Mathew, before surnames were used.  That is not much to go on.  Some websites say that he came to Plymouth Colony and was not happy there so went to Rhode Island.  I can find no documentation that he was ever at Plymouth, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen.  I just don't want to write it down as my belief when I have no support for the statement.  So take it for what it is worth, perhaps a clue. (There is a James Mathew who was in Charlestown and then Yarmouth, Massachusetts but it appears that that James, besides bearing a different last name, was older than we think our James Matthewson is).

We first learn of James in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1658 when he purchased five acres of land from Thomas Angell, who is also our ancestor. (Fun fact:  This land was adjoined by land belonging to Benedick Arnold, who was the great grandfather of the Benedict Arnold who is now infamous in our country's history.)  He purchased more land and was also granted land in a division of lands in 1665, indicating he was now considered a settler.  We don't know where the funds came from to purchase that original land.

The only other fact I have been able to locate is that he was a deputy to the court in 1680, showing that he was respected by his peers.  We can surmise that his family's home was burned during King Philip's War, since almost all homes in Providence were burned by the natives during that conflict.  Hannah and the children had likely fled to Newport, but we don't know about James.  It seems possible, at least, that he was called to battle, to protect his home and his family, and to pursue the natives.  We don't know what religion James was.  If he was a Quaker, he may not have been involved in the fighting.

James married Hannah Field, daughter of John and possibly Ruth Fairbank Field, about 1660, and had as many as nine children together. If our birth dates are correct, John was about eighteen years older than Hannah. When James wrote his will, there was a child yet unborn.  I wonder if he and Hannah had discussed her future, or their children's future, without a husband and father to provide for them . He wrote the will in October of 1682 and died December 3 of that same year. 

His will indicates that he had some property.  One lot of land of 120 acres went to son James, one lot of 41 acres went to son Thomas, and son Zachariah plus the unborn child if a son was to receive the house and certain land. All sons were to divide equally land beyond the "Seven Mile Line".  (I've not been able to confirm this, but my suspicion is that this was land that was considered more on the frontier, where possibly there were still challenges with the native Americans.) His wife was to receive all removable goods and cattle for the upbringing of the daughters.  This amounted to  Indian and English corn valued at about 85 pounds, and household goods and cattle valued at 65 pounds. 

I'd like to know more about James.  I'd like to know his origins, his parents, his religion, his occupation, his education if any, and more that would help me tell more of his story.  We know enough to know that he led an interesting life, knew fascinating people (he would have known our ancestor Roger Williams, for instance) and lived in dangerous times.  We know that he was not a quitter, and we know he cared for his family.  For that, we can thank our immigrant ancestor! 

The line of descent is:

James Mathewson-Hannah Field
Thomas Mathewson-Martha Sheldon
Deborah Mathewson-Joseph Winsor
Lillis Winsor-Nathan Paine
Deborah Paine-Enos Eddy
Joseph Eddy-Susan Lamphire
Susan Eddy-Hiram Stanard
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

Holbook line: John Field 1616-1686, Immigrant

John Field is another mystery.  He is important to our family because he was the immigrant ancestor, and because he seems to be the grand son of the famous John Field, English astronomer and mathematician.  However, little is known about his life.

It is believed that he was born in Thurnscoe, South Yorkshire, England, the son of William Field and Jane Sotwell.  However,  the given year of his birth, 1616, would not permit him to be the son of William, if his birth dates are correct.  He may be the son of one of William's sons, possibly Matthew.  Since we do know John's death year of 1686, he was likely not born much before the date given as 1616.

So if 1616 is correct, then he was quite a young man when he crossed the seas and showed up in what is now Providence, Rhode Island, in 1637.  Providence, of course, was founded by Roger Williams just a couple of years earlier, when Williams was banished from Massachusetts.  The settlers who were in Providence early enough to sign a document agreeing to obey the orders or agreements of the settlement, only in civil things.  He was one of thirteen settlers to sign the first agreement, and one of 39 to sign an agreement in 1640 as to the form of civil government.  We don't know for sure what drove him to Providence but most of the early settlers were there because of their admiration for Roger Williams or/and their desire for religious freedom. 

We know that he acquired or maintained a degree of respectability in Providence, as he is referred to as the Honorable John Field.  He owned land in 1645, in 1655 was made a freeman, and by 1676 was a deputy (probably to a court or council of some kind).  His will, which was submitted on November 22, 1686, showed an inventory of 34 pounds, 19 shillings, 6 pence, but it appears that there may have been more, as the court declined to probate it since a division of property had already been made. 

We know his wife was Ruth Fairbank, possibly the daughter of Jonathan Fairbank and Grace Lee Smith, and they were married in Providence in 1638. Their known children were John, Zechariah, Hannah, Daniel and Ruth. Ruth, widow of John, apparently also died in 1686.  It is believed they are buried in the North Burial Ground, Providence, R.I.

This is as much as I currently know about John Field.  I'd love to know when he came to New England, and why he came to Rhode Island.  Surely he left a record somewhere in New England, if he was in Providence at such an early time.  He must have caught the attention of some church or court, somewhere!  And of course, I'd like to solve the mystery of who his parents really were, as 60 year old couples did not give birth.  There must be more to his story.

The line of descent is:

John Field-Ruth Fairbank
Hannah Field-James Mathewson
Thomas Mathewson-Martha Sheldon
Deborah Mathewson-Joseph Winsor
Lillis Winsor-Nathan Paine
Deborah Paine-Enos Eddy
 Joseph Eddy-Susan Lamphire
Susan Eddy-Hiram Stanard
Louis E. Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their Descendents