Holbrook line: Benjamin Clough of Boston 1694-1744

It's exciting and it's scary to find information that casts doubt on what has long been believed to be true.  This post will raise doubts about some parts of Benjamin's life and answer some questions about other parts.

First, Benjamin's parents are given as Benoni and Hannah Merrill Clough, of Salisbury in Essex County, Massachusetts.  It's true that they had a son Benjamin.  The John Clough family history says that Benjamin, son of Benoni, when to Kingston, New Hampshire, where a Benjamin Clough certainly lived and died, and was a Revolutionary War patriot.  However, the Benjamin Clough in New Hampshire is not ours.  His wife's name is wrong, as are the children, and the death date, and just about everything about that Benjamin.  Also, that Benjamin's father, as listed on DAR records, was Cornelios Clough.  Cornelios possibly had two wives, as there are two different names given as the New Hampshire Patriot's mother. 

Because of the Thweng records, we know that Benjamin was a blacksmith, and that he acquired several parcels of land on Sheafe Street and also on Hull Street, starting in 1720.  In the deeds he is almost always referred to as blacksmith, to avoid any confusion as to other Benjamin Clough's, apparently.  He was constable of Boston in 1727 and 1728, so he was respected.  In fact, on his tombstone he is noted as "Mr."

Benjamin and Faith had at least five children together, and Benjamin would have worked hard to support them, catechize them, and find them jobs and spouses.  In 1738, the town took one of Benjamin's houses and "improved" it to be a hospital, during a smallpox epidemic.  We're not told how Benjamin was repaid, or whether this was a permanent confiscation.  At the time, the house was on the west edge of town.

Benjamin wrote his will June 18, 1744 and it was entered into probate on July 31, 1744.  In it, he disposes of his real estate, leaving much of it to his wife during her widowhood. He also gives her "his" Negro woman Jenny and Jenny's child called Violet, as well as all his household goods.  When his inventory is taken, there is very little mentioned in the way of household goods, just a couple of desks and some books, among other things.  His total estate, which does not mention the slaves, was valued at a little over 309 pounds.

He is buried at Kings Chapel cemetery (not affiliated with the church of that name), and ironically, I may have been there without understanding its significance to our family.  When I took a tour of the Freedom Trail in 1998, this was one of our stops.  I was not actively interested in genealogy at that time and had no idea that ancestors had lived in Boston, but I appreciated the history and the fact that the cemetery was being cared for, all these years later.  The stone gives Benjamin the honorific of "Mr." and says that he died July 6, 1744, aged 53 years and 11 months.  So if that age is correct, Benjamin was actually born in 1690, and therefore likely not the son of Benoni and Hannah.

So we have a quandary.  Who was Benjamin Clough, the blacksmith in Boston who was our ancestor? His first child's name was Joseph, but I don't know if that is a clue or not.  I'd love to figure out who his parents are, and I'd also like to know whether he was involved in any military expeditions.  Did he stay a faithful member of the church?  I'd love to find out more about him, but at least we have this much.

The line of descent is:

Benjamin Clough-Faith Hart
Lydia Clough-John Whittemore
Josiah Whittemore-Lucy Snow
Josiah Whittemore- Betsy Foster
Mary Elizabeth Whittmore-Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

I'm so grateful to American Ancestors and to Ancestry, who each had good information in their databases.  These men who were colonial ancestors, but not necessarily immigrants, are difficult to trace!

Holbrook line: John Clough, Immigrant, 1613-1691

Oh, how I love this ancestor of ours!  Why, you may ask?  The primary reason is that there is a lot of information about him, more than I can use, and so research isn't needed.  I'm just compiling some of what I've found here.  For more information, go to Robert Charles Anderson's Great Migration: Immigrants to New England 1634-35, or to "The John Clough Genealogical Society" on-line.  There, you will find more details about his story than I can use here. 

Even though there is a lot of information about him, he is another one of those "origin unknown" men.  I have temporarily listed his parents as John Clough and Susanna, but that is not documented at all, so far as I can tell.  This "fantasy father", as I call him, is reputed to have died at Jamestowne, Va., so if it could be proven, there would surely be an interesting story there. 

He is believed to have arrived in 1635 on the ship Elizabeth, although others say he may have arrived in 1634.  There were two John Cloughs in Massachusetts Bay Colony at the same time, so the matter may be debated until reasonable proof is found.  I'm saying he arrived in 1634 because there are references in 1638 to him having served either as an apprentice or as an indentured servant for four years, and he was released from that relationship then. 

John was a house carpenter and also seems to have been some sort of sawyer, because he was asked to help make up 12,000 feet of merchantable boards in 1673.  The two occupations would have worked well together; perhaps he prepared the wood for the homes he built. His first residence was at Ipswich but he was in Salisbury, Essex County, by 1639.  His house lot is shown on a map dated to about 1640, although his name is not on a list of first settlers that I found.  Surely his talents would have been needed, in building homes for the families that would settle there.  Salisbury is on the most northern of the towns in Massachusetts, right on the Atlantic Ocean.  If you go further north, you're in New Hampshire.  It would have been a very pretty location, as well as practical because there was also a river there. 

John served on various juries as required by law but he doesn't seem to have been generally active in civic affairs.  He was the constable in 1662 and served as some sort of arbiter in 1679.  He married Jane, whose last name is unknown, sometime in or before 1642, and the two had seven known children.  Jane died in Salisbury on January 16, 1679/80.  John waited seven years and then married Martha Blaisdell Bowden Cilley.  They had no children.  John died at Salisbury on July 26, 1691.  He left a will because Robert Charles Anderson has had access to it, but it isn't in the Essex County probate records that are on line.  However, Anderson reports that his estate was valued at 284 pounds, 8 shillings, of which 215 pounds was real estate, and also reports that his inventory included books.  He provided for his second wife in his will, and also mentioned children and grand children. 

Apparently not much is known about his religious beliefs, or his education (he did sign his will), or whether he was involved in any type of militia during his earlier years.  There was a garrison in town, so presumably he would have at least helped defend the garrison, in case of attack.  He may even have been involved in its construction.  He is another of our mostly unsung heroes who helped build and protect the first settlements in New England.  Thank you, sir!

The line of descent is:

John Clough-Jane
John Clough-Mercy Page
Benoni Clough-Hannah Merrill
Benjamin Clough-Faith Hart
Lydia Clough-John Whittemore
Josiah Whittemore-Lucy Snow
Josiah Whittemore-Betsy Foster
Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

Holbrook line: Nathaniel Merrill 1601-1655, Immigrant

Like most of our immigrant ancestors, there are many mysteries about Nathaniel Merrill.  He was born in 1600 or 1601 (baptized May 4, 1601) in the very small village of Whersted, Suffolk, England, the son of Nathaniel Merrill and Mary Blaxall or possibly Blackwell.  He had eight siblings, so this was a large family to support in such a small community.  We don't know what Nathaniel Senior did for a living.  We do know that the immigrant was baptized at St Mary's Church, which dates from at least the 14th century.  We also know that Ipswich, the nearest large town, was the location of many Puritan believers.  We don't know how the beliefs in the next town did or did not influence the Merrill family.

There is controversy as to when Nathaniel Merrill came to America, when he married, and even who he married.  Some believe he came to America as early as 1633, lived in Ipswich, went back to England for his wife or to marry, and then had at least one child there, in 1638.  Others think he didn't come to America for the first time until at least 1639.  I haven't been able to find "proof" of any of this. As far as a marriage, his wife was known as Susannah but there seems to be no proof of her parentage 

We do know that his brother, John, held land for him in Newbury in 1638.  Whether this land is the first that Nathaniel owned is open to question, as I have also seen comments, but no documentation, that he owned land in Ipswich Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1636 and that he had earlier been at Salisbury.  Again, there is no documentation. 

We know that a child, Susannah, was born at Lawford, Essex, England in 1638, or at least baptized there, and the earlier children (Nathaniel, John, Abraham) are presumed to have been born there, also.  So how and why Nathaniel would have moved from Suffolk County to Essex County is a matter we are still pondering, as well as if he was in America during those years, how the children came with such regularity.  Based on his will, he is believed to have been a farmer but he only bequeathed five acres of land and some marsh, so perhaps he was a tenant farmer or perhaps he had already disposed of the land he had.  If he didn't arrive in America until 1639 or later, and died in 1654, then he had only had 15 years to build up his estate, and with six or possibly seven children, that would have been difficult. 

His children are Nathaniel, John, Abraham, Susannah, Daniel and Abel.  Some sites also give him a son, Thomas, but there seems to be no documentation for this, either.  

Nathaniel died about March 16, 1654/55, in Newbury and is buried at the First Burying Ground there. I've found nothing so far that would tell us more about his life  I've not found a reference as to whether or when he was made a freeman, nor anything about his religious views, nor what kind of public office he might have held.  I'd sure like to fill in the many blanks in his "dash", and especially to identify his wife.  Can you help?

The line of descent is:

Nathaniel Merrill-Susannah
Nathaniel Merrill-Joanna Kinney or Kenney
Hannah Merrill-Benoni Clough
Benjamin Clough-Faith Hart
Lydia Clough-John Whittemore
Josiah Whittemore-Lucy Snow
Josiah Whittermoe-Betsy Foster
Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph R Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants