Allen line: Samuel Ball 1648-1689

Here we are, back in Springfield, Massachusetts Bay Colony, where so many of our Allen ancestors started out.  This time we're looking at the rather short life of Samuel Ball, who was born in Springfield on March 16, Samuel's life started out on a harsh note, when his father drowned on October 3, 1648.  Samuel wasn't yet a year old.  Samuel had an older brother, Jonathan, and his mother soon remarried to Benjamin Munn.  Before long he had at least eight half siblings to care for and play with.  We don't know much more of his youth than that, but we know from following the early history of Springfield that the town was settled with houses close together, everyone went to church when the drummer came by, and Puritan boys were expected to learn to read and write.  Benjamin Munn was the only father Samuel would ever know, so we can expect that he raised the two Ball boys as he raised his own family. Samuel's inheritance from his father was prtected in 1649, stating that he would receive either 14 pounds when he became twenty years old, or would be provided with an apprenticeship.  

It looks like he was probably apprenticed to a brickmaker or mason, because there are several references to his employment in that trade in the town records.  He also had an interest in a pine saw mill at a later date.  Samuel married Mary Graves, daughter of John and Mary Smith Graves, in Hatfield, Massachusetts on January 15, 1671.  Let's hope Mary settled him down a bit, because as a youth Samuel was one of the young men who did not behave well (there was quite a group of them).  He was sentenced to the whipping post for speaking rudely to his step-father when Samuel was eighteen years old, saying to him "A father indeed; you are no better than an old Indian."  Samuel was offered the option of paying a fine, which he did.  It wouldn't surprise me at all if the money for the fine came from his step-father, but we don't know that. 

Samuel and Mary had five children together.  Probably the most difficult part of their life would have been King Philip's War.  Samuel is credited with fighting in the Turner Fall battle near Deerfield, Massachusetts,on May 19, 1676, along with several other of our family members and his own family, too.  This is a very complicated family as there were several Ball-Stebbins marriages, but we had other family names, too.  John Hitchcock, Samuel's son in law, received land in Falltown, at roughly the site of the battle, in 1736 as the heir of Samuel Ball.  It is quite likely that this was not the only time Samuel fought, or went on patrol, or stood guard duty, but this is the one instance we are sure of. 

Samuel was just 41 years old when he became sick and died on September 13, 1689, in Springfield.  There is no indication of the illness, or the length of the illness.  It could have been a contagious disease or it may have been heart trouble.  Medical care at the time was not particularly effective.

Samuel died without a will and the only record we have is John Hitchcock's presentation of an inventory to the court, on behalf of his mother in law, Mary Graves Ball.  The inventory didn't survive, although there are notes to support the widow and also his mother, and then divide up the inheritance among the surviving children.

In a way, it's fun when we can see a bit of the personality of our ancestors.  Samuel was a little bit of a rebel, as many teen agers are today, and that gives us a sense of connection with him.  He was also willing to work hard, to support his family and to fight for his hometown.  In some ways, he was just like us.

The line of descent is

Samuel Ball-Mary Graves
Mary Ball-John Hitchcock
Samuel Hitchcock-Ruth Stebbins
Margaret Hitchock-Richard Falley
Samuel Falley-Ruth Root
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants

Allen line: John Church 1636-1691

Well, John's birth date is not known for certain, but I'm going with "about May 9, 1636."  The date is sort of important, as is the place, because it's possible that he was the first babe born in Hartford, Connecticut.  His father, Richard Church, is listed as one of the founders of Hartford, and by implication, his mother, Ann probably Marsh, would have been a founding mother.  We find Richard's name attached to lot 35 on the Hartford map of 1640, meaning that he was there early.  So probably John was born either in Hartford or on the trip there.  John was one of at least four children, and he was the youngest of them.

We don't know much about John's childhood but we know he must have attended the First Church there in Hartford, and he would have learned to read and probably write, whether that was at home or in a school setting.  The first record I've found for him was of his marriage on October 27, 1657, when he was just 21, to Sarah Beckley, the daughter of Richard and Ann Daniel Beckley.  Then there is a bit of a mystery.  The couple had ten children, but there doesn't seem to be a record of their births.  There has been a suggestion that perhaps the young couple went to Hadley, Massachusetts Bay Colony for a few years, but records are not found there, either.

We know they were in Hartford by 1670, if indeed they had ever left.  There is a long and complicated church history, but what eventually happened was that a second church was started in Hartford.  Apparently this second church had less stringent rules for membership, because John was able to state that he "owned the covenant", which was usually a precursor to church membership, and also to having your children baptized.  Sometimes this was called the "Halfway Covenant".  So John attended church (every resident in Hartford was expected to attend regular church services) and agreed with church beliefs, but apparently didn't follow all the steps necessary for full church membership.  Sarah was admitted to full membership on June 23, 1678.

John was willed his father's house in Hartford, and also his lands within the bounds of Hartford, which may be one reason they either came back or stayed in Hartford.  This is essentially what I know of John, up until his death.  I don't know his occupation, or to what extent he may have served in the militia, particularly in King Philip's war.  I don't know what town offices he may have held.  And I don't know how he died.  The reason this is of interest to me is that he died October 16, 1691 in Wethersfield, and Sarah is reported to have died just 11 days later.  They were 55 and 51 years old, respectfully, and John died without a will.  This leads me to suspect it was some kind of an illness, perhaps a flu or respiratory disease, that killed them.  That is purely speculation on my part, but clearly something was going on.

His children soon approached the court and asked for guidance as to how to dispose of the estate.  An inventory was taken, establishing the value at about 510 pounds, and it was then divided up between the 10 children, with each child receiving 20 pounds (could possibly be 28, I'm not sure), or goods worth that amount, except for son Richard, who received 40 pounds.  I don't know whether or not John was considered to be financially well off, but his inventory is larger than that of many of our ancestors who died about the same time.  There were two spinning wheels and quite a bit of cloth in the inventory, plus a lot of furniture for the time, especially chests.  There was also 'gunn, sworde, and ammunition", several pieces of real estate, and some farm tools.  I didn't follow what became of the real estate, but it seems that it may have been dealt with separately.

So we know some things about John, and some we don't know.  Yet, there is he in our family lineage, and without him, there would not have been us.

The line of descent is

John Church-Sarah Beckley
Richard Church-Elizabeth Noble
Jonathan Church-Ruth Hitchcock
Ruth Church-Stephen Noble
Ruth Noble-Martin Root
Ruth Root-Samuel Falley
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants

Allen line: Captain Thomas Stebbins 1687-1758

What's an ancestor without a mystery?  I haven't found many of those, and Thomas Stebbins is no exception.  My question is simple, but the answer is elusive.  I'd like to know why he was called "Captain"?  In the book of wills, his will is labeled "Captain Thomas Stebbings".  Now, the will book was made at some point after the death of our subject, so it's possible that he wasn't really a "Captain" at all, and that the recorder of the book of wills used a title that applied to a different Thomas Stebbins, because there were certainly several of them running around Massachusetts at the time.

Or, he did earn the title and we need to do more research.  Based on his age, I would guess that he probably served in Queen Anne's war, possibly on the aborted invasion of Canada (to take it from the French) or in King William's war, with the same aim.  There is also the strong possibility that he responded to one or another of the native American attacks on Deerfield. 

However, that is the middle of the story, or the lack of a story, for Captain Thomas Stebbins.  The beginning of the story is his birth on March 7, 1687 in Springfield, Massachusetts (Massachusetts Bay Colony, actually),  His parents were Edward and Sarah Graves Stebbins, and he was in the fourth generation of men named Stebbins to live in New England.  He was raised in Springfield, lived and died there, and except for whatever he did to be designated as "Captain", he probably never left the town. 

He belonged to one of the more well known families in Springfield, and grew to fill his father's shoes at least partly.  He married Mary Ely, daughter of Joseph and Mary Riley Ely, on May 1, 1711.  He and Mary had at least five children together, and life was pretty good for the Stebbins family.  He held several minor offices in town but was also constable at one point, and served on committees to audit the town accounts.  As was expected of Puritan boys, he could read, write, and do at least some arithmetic.

Thomas died  December 4, 1758, about a month after writing his will.  Mary died less than two years later, on October 14, 1760.  I haven't located an inventory, but Thomas left his oldest son, Caleb, his "gun, sword and belt" so we know he treasured those items.  He doesn't specifically mention any land or dwellings, just his "estate".  He left about 5 pounds to each of his daughters (Ruth got a little more than Mary did) and the rest of his estate, after his wife's death, was to be divided between the sons.  It's hard to imagine someone in Springfield not owning land, so I'm going to guess that Thomas did, too.  He likely inherited at least some of it from his father, although I'm not finding even a will for him. 

That is what we know, and don't know, about Thomas.  I would certainly like to learn more about him, because he probably met and conquered more challenges than we can imagine. 

The line of descent is:

Thomas Stebbins-Mary Ely
Ruth Stebbins-Samuel Hitchcock
Margaret Hitchcock-Richard Falley
Samuel Falley-Ruth Root
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook

Their descendants

Allen line: Editha Stebbins Day Maynard Holyoke 17th century heroine

I had just realized that I wanted to write a blog post about Editha when I saw on one of my genealogy groups a post asking what I was doing to honor my female ancestors in March, which is National Women's History Month.  I wanted to not only honor a female ancestor, but also to allow her to teach us a little about how life could be, and was, in 17th century Massachusetts (and other parts of the colonies, too). 

First, the bare facts about her life.  Editha Stebbins was born in 1613 in probably Woodham, Essex, England although I have also seen other locations in Essex mentioned.  My genealogy skills for English research are negligible, so let's just say Essex, England in order to avoid dispute.  Her parents are frequently given as William and Mary Scott Stebbins.  Her father died in 1625 and it's thought that she came to New England with her brother, Edward Stebbins, in 1633.  They stayed at Newtown/Cambridge, Massachusetts before moving to Hartford, Connecticut with Reverend Thomas Hooker's group. 

Editha married Robert Day about this time, either in Newtown or Hartford.  Robert Day is among those listed as a founder of Hartford, and by rights, Editha should be there, too, as should the wives of the other listed founders.  Robert was a widower when they married but apparently had no surviving children by this first marriage.  Robert and Editha had four children, and started to build a life together in the wilderness.  Robert was a deacon in the church and life looked good, even if it wasn't easy. 

However, Robert died in 1648 and Editha was left with four young children.  She married Deacon John Maynard in October of 1648, and he helped raise her four children, leaving them gifts in his will and probably helping the boys get started in life.  John and Editha had no children together before he died in 1658.  By now, Editha had lived 22 years in Hartford, probably the longest she had lived in any one place in her life. 

She must have been wealthy, or at least well to do, and also physically attractive, even though she was now about 45 years old and probably past child bearing age.  But that same year, she married Captain Elizur Holyoke, who lived in Springfield, Massachusetts.  So Editha packed up her things and moved to her new home, possibly leaving a son behind in Hartford.  Within that first year of this marriage, her other three children married and left home.  Did Mary have time to become an empty nester? 

Not exactly, because her new husband had been widowed in 1657, and she was now the step mother to six children ranging in age from two to twelve years of age.  It was a whole new family to nurture, feed, clothe, and raise, but our ancestor gladly rose to the challenge.  Perhaps she had sadly missed not having children with her second husband.  It looks like life went well for this family, until King Philip's War.  Elizur died in 1676, although there is some dispute about whether or not it was a direct result of war injuries.  He was in charge of the defense of Springfield at the time of his death. 

The loss of her husband was not the only loss Editha suffered during that war.  Her daughter, Sarah, and grandson, Joseph were killed at Hatfield, and Editha also grieved as a step son, Samuel Holyoke, died during the war.  In addition, she may have lost her home.  The Indians attacked Springfield, burning 32 of the 45 homes in the settlement.  If her home was still standing, she would have taken in as many of the homeless villagers as possible, even though the town's crops and animals had also been destroyed. 

Editha lived as a widow for another 12 years, dying in 1688.  I admire her so much, for all she went through, for keeping her Puritan faith when it might have seemed that God had abandoned her, and for her quiet goodness.  But those are not the only reasons I wanted to write about Editha.

The other reason I wanted to tell her story was to mention how the marriages that these pioneer women made really entwined them in much of New England's history.  We don't know who Robert's first wife was, but either through her or through some other family connection there may have been a connection to the Talcott family.  John Maynard's first wife was a sister to John Pynchon, the richest man in Springfield and a government official.  Elizur Holyoke had connections to the Putnam family of Salem witch trial fame.  Editha's children married into the Cooper, Ely, and Gunn families.  One of her step sons married a Talcott and another married an Eliot.  This family was well connected to some of the major families in Massachusetts, and thus part of much of New England's early history. 

Editha's family and connections may be stronger and cast longer shadows than some others, but we should always remember to look for the whole story by thinking about who was sitting around the dinner table when, and what happened to them.  This helps fill in the dash in the story of our ancestors, both male and female.


The line of descent is

Robert Day-Editha Stebbins
Nary Day-Samuel Ely
Joseph Ely-Mary Riley
Mary Ely-Thomas Stebbins
Ruth Stebbins-Samuel Hitchcock
Margaret Hitchcock-Samuel Falley
Samuel Falley-Ruth Root
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants

Allen line: Deacon, Joseph Ely 1663-1755

Joseph was the son of Samuel Ely (who in turn was the son of the immigrant Nathaniel Ely) and Martha unknown (may or may not have been Bliss, as far as I can tell).  He was born August 20, 1663 in Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts and 91 years later, died just across the river in West Springfield.  Unlike his immigrant grandfather, Joseph was content to stay in one place his entire life, which means there are a few records to be found, because the town records of Springfield have been published.  We also have some vital records and a will.  So far, however, I've been unable to locate military or church records.

Joseph was not quite 22 when he married Mary Riley, daughter of John and Margaret McCraney Riley, on July 9, 1685.  Exactly nine months later, their first son, Joseph, was born, to be followed by 6 more children over the next 21 years. He was made a freeman in 1691.

 I have little idea of how Joseph supported his family, although he did acquire several pieces of land over the years.  Presumably this means he farmed.  Lending credence to this idea is the fact that during the 1730s, when he was already in his 70's, he was paid 40 shillings for the "use" of his bull.  Only a few farmers kept bulls, and they were used by all the area farmers when their cows were ready for shenanigans.  After 1735 there is no further mention, so Joseph may have sold his livestock then, or given them to his sons.

He was not very active in civic life, although he was appointed fence-viewer in the area where he lived several times.  This job involved making sure that new landowners put up proper fences, including permanent markers at the corners of their lands.  He would also have been responsible to make sure all fences were kept in good repair, and to notify landowners when their fences needed attention.  It required some diplomacy and perhaps some rudimentary surveying skills, but it wasn't the most complicated of civic jobs.  His diplomatic skills would also have come into play when he was appointed to a committee to try to smooth out difficulties over the courthouse in 1712.

He was referred to as deacon many times, including in his death records.  Deacons might give the message in the absence of the pastor, but their main role may have been as treasurer.  They were responsible for the finances of the church, and were also responsible for distribution of aide to the community's poor people.  Sometimes this involved finding families who would take people into their household, especially the elderly who had no families.   For the most part, caring for the poor was a church function and not a town function when Joseph was deacon.  So again, he was given the role of diplomat; perhaps that came naturally to him.

Mary died May 19, 1736.  Joseph didn't re-marry, but survived her for 19 years, dying on April 29, 1755.  He left land to his sons and a grandson, and 25 pounds each to his daughters.  The value of his estate was a little over 356 pounds, most of it in land and house lots.  He had clothes and some basic household utensils, two beds, and spectacles.  There isn't a mention of military arms or of books that I can see.  But he signed his own name to his will, written in 1738, so he was at least somewhat literate.  It's quite possible that he was living with a child or grandchild at the time of his death, which would explain why there were no farm animals, crops, or other evidence of income producing goods. 

The other big mystery I would like to know is-did Joseph participate in any of the military actions of the time?  King William's War and Queen Anne's War both took place during the time he would have been in the militia.  I haven't yet found a source listing the men who fought in these wars.  He may have been involved in defending or guarding against native American attacks in one or another of the attacks on Deerfield, Massachusetts, which was more or less just up the river, 35 miles from Springfield.  So far, I've not found evidence of this, but it is worth considering.  Even if he didn't participate, he likely pulled some sort of guard duty at home during those uncertain times.  I'd like to know more!

Joseph Ely was a man of honor and integrity, as we can tell by his being deacon, and being elected and re-elected fence viewer.  We can be proud to be his descendant. 

The line of descent is:

Joseph Ely-Mary Riley
Mary Ely-Thomas Stebbins
Ruth Stebbins-Samuel Hitchcok
Margaret Hitchcok-Richard Falley
Samuel Falley-Ruth Root
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants





 

Allen line: Richard Falley, more of a hero than I knew

One of the first blog posts that I wrote, over 6 years ago, told about our ancestor, Richard Falley Jr., who was captured by native Americans in the French and Indian War, held a prisoner in Canada, and then eventually released and returned home.  He was also a lieutenant at the battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolution, and then, I thought, sent home to make rifles.  Well, he was much more than that. 

This is the body of a letter written by Russel Falley, his grandson on September 7, 1831, and printed in "Westfield, Massachusetts 1669-1969".  It gives us a lot mere detail about what actually happened to young Richard during the French and Indian War.  Enjoy this letter from our distant cousin.

"My grandfather (Richard Falley) was a native of the Isle Guernsey. When a young child he was going to school with some other children. They were delayed by some sailors on board a boat by the promise of presents and were put on board their vessel and brought to Boston where they were sold and my grandfather was brought up in the vicinity of Boston and Salem and at the business of husbandry.

He married Anna Lamb, she was a native of Dublin, Ireland and it has been said of her that she was very cheery in her temper and that she was a pious Christian. Some years after their marriage they removed to Westfield, Massachusetts. They had three sons and three daughters.My father, Richard Falley, 1; Samuel Falley, 2, Frederick the latter died young. The daughter, Elizabeth, 4, married Mr. William Ford. They had a numerous family and resided many years in Pittsfield, Mas, then removed to Vermont. Rachel, 5, married Mr. Hubbard. They resided in Pittsfield and had two sons and two daughters. Their eldest daughter married Mr. John Francis, Baptist preacher. The other daughter married Mr. Goodrich. The oldest son died of dysentery.

My father returned from the taking of Burgoyne and after visiting Daniel Hubbard of Pittsfield went to Lennox to visit his brother, Samuel Falley. His nephew, Daniel Falley accompanied him and slept with him one night and took from him the distemper which was fatal to him. Richard Falley had taken this disease in camp and observed in relating the account that the dysentery which he had was attended with a dreadful fever. The child returned and died soon after and Richard returned to Westfield and was soon restored. The youngest, who was born after the disease, was named after him. He lived to marry and died at about thirty, leaving a widow and some children. Sarah, 6, the youngest of Richard Sr, was diseased by reason of fits and died in 1804 aged fifty.

Richard Falley learned the blacksmith's trade, partly in Westfield and partly of Mr. Chapin in Springfield. In the interim of his business he went as a soldier against the French at Canada at Fort William Henry (in 1757). After a troublesome siege of a few days the garrison surrendered to the enemy. He was taken prisoner. He went a few miles to Lake George where the Indians with their prisoners slept. His repose, although a prisoner among savages, was refreshing and delightful on account of his being deprived of sleep for several nights by the confusion of the camp.

They crossed Lake George in bark canoes. From there to Lake Champlain they traveled loaded with both Indians and prisoners. Encamped there, the Indians gave themselves up to drunkenness. One under penalty of death must keep sober to watch the prisoners. He, too, indulged himself with the precious liquors. He would take a spoonful at at time at a short interval and would always give as much to the prisoners. By the extreme drunkenness of the Indians the lives of prisoners were endangered. When would commence the work of destruction, whether on man or beast, the whole drunken gang would unite and the victim was not left until he was hewn to pieces.

At this time a lady came daily in her coach with an attendant to visit the prisoners. Richard, at first cautiously lest the Indians should know his desire to leave them, begged the gentlewoman to buy him and the purchase was made. He with a number walked toward town. A little girl, unbought, was huddled with the company toward the gate. They hoped to have got her without the gate as she would have been safe from the Indians but her keeper missing her came running with the swiftness of the wind caught her and bore her back crying hideously to the great grief of her friends.

He was taken from Montreal to Quebec and put in prison and by eating dry food was sick. Through a hole in the well (wall?) of the prison he was enabled to get into an adjoining garden at night, by procuring fruit in this way he was cured, after being there a while he went on board a vessel with other passengers and went to Boston. On the voyage he had the small pox but lightly and soon got well. On arriving at Boston, he went to Westfield. His mother was so afftected at seeing him, although she had been informed of his safe arrival, that she swooned in his arms. He became a Christian early in life and constantly prayed with his family morning and evening and was a constant attendant in Divine Worship. He died at the age of sixty eight. He was a man nearly six feet in height of fine proportion and great strength.”

Richard's grandson's recollections of Richard's story are priceless.  They match closely with what we know of Fort William Henry and the subsequent taking and treatment of prisoners.  We can surely be proud of this man.  In another post, I will write about Richard Falley in the American Revolution.  That story, too, is richer than the few details I've known.

The line of descent, again, is:

Richard Falley Jr.-Margaret Hitchcock

Samuel Falley-Ruth Root

Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr

Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott

Edith Knott-Edward Allen

Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook

Their descendants

Allen line: Samuel Ely 1639-1692

The jury is out as to where Samuel Ely was born, but fortunately we do know bits and pieces about his life and we have his will and inventory.  We also know that he was a man of many sorrows-certainly more than most of us can even imagine. 

Samuel was the son of Nathaniel and Martha Ely.  Martha's maiden name is unknown, and also unknown is the birth record for Samuel.There seems to be no birth record for Samuel but since his father had been in Hartford since 1635 (Nathaniel is recognized as a founding father of the city) it is most likely that Hartford was the place of his birth.  Somewhat unusually among our ancestors, he seems to have had only one sibling, a sister named Ruth.  The possibiity exists that the two were born to a different mother, who died in or shortly after childbirth.  Martha may have been a stepmother. 

Samuel moved with his family to Norwalk, Connecticut in 1651 and then on to Springfield, Massachusetts by 1659.  Nathaniel was welcomed but Samuel had to have a security bond in order to live there, perhaps because he was young and single and perhaps because a reputation may have preceded him.  He wasn't the first young man of whom security was required.  Samuel married Mary Day, the daughter of Robert and Editha Stebbins Day, in either Hartford or Sprinfgield.  The Days and the Elys had been close friends in Hartford so it's possible the wedding took place there, we just don't know. 

What we do know is sad.  Samuel and Mary had sixteen children together.  They had to make the walk to the graveyard 10 times for their young children.  Of those who died young, one lived to his early teens but the others died much earlier, mostly as infants or toddlers.  I cannot fathom the sadness of losing ten children, nor can I imagine what happened.  I wonder if there was a genetic defect that affected some of the children but not others.  Regardless, the family must have been much pitied. 

Nathaniel Ely had run an ordinary (tavern) and Samuel carried on the tradition of hospitality.  Whether or not he ran an ordinary, too, he did entertain selectmen and other town personages and was reimbursed by the town for expenses.  Samuel doesn't seem to have taken as many town jobs as his father did.  Perhaps he was kept busy caring for Mary as she went through so many pregnancies and losses.  Or perhaps he was busy making money, and supporting his family.  He did act as an appraiser of cattle, and sat on a committee to audit the town books, and his yard was used as a town pound from time to time, so he was very much a part of the town. 

I've been unable to locate anything placing Samuel Ely in military service at the time of King Philip's War, but "Ely's Tavern" was one of three garrisoned houses (built more strongly, and had at least a few troops to protect it) in 1675.  The town was attacked by Agawam and other Indians on October 5, 1675, with all but thirteen homes being destroyed.  There were further skirmishes during the war, or rather, ambushes, with Indians attacking settlers on their way to church, for example.  From this, we can tell that not all of the town left, or at least they didn't leave for long.  We don't know about Samuel and his family but it is likely they stayed in their garrisoned house, offering food and shelter to neighbors in need. 

 Samuel died March 19, 1692.  He was only about 53 years old, and death must have come suddenly for he left no will.  His widow, Mary, and two oldest sons, Joseph and Samuel, proposed a settlement to the court that appears to have been accepted.  Mary was to get 1/3 of the estate, plus money to raise her youngest children.   The two oldest sons were to receive 60 pounds, the two younger sons 50 pounds, and the two daughters 30 pounds, when they were of age.  Thomas Day, Luke Hitchock and John Hitchcock appraised his estate at 400 pounds.  He had the typical farm type animals and implements, four pounds worth of books (quite a lot for the time and place) and enough tables, chairs, and eating utensils to either furnish a house very well, or to equip a tavern.  He had a cider press and a still, which again supports the tavern idea.  In fact, a further agreement notes that Mary Ely and Samuel Ely (junior) were granted a license to continue operating the "ordinary" after Samuel's death. 

Mary married Thomas Stebbins and then John Coleman, and died October 25, 1725 at the age of 84.  She had seen more sorrows that most women ever fear, and we can be proud to be the descendants of Samuel and Mary Ely. 

The line of descent is

Samuel Ely-Mary Day
Joseph Ely-Mary Riley
Mary Ely-Thomas Stebbins
Ruth Stebbins-Samuel Hitchcock
Margaret Hitchcock-Richard Falley
Samuel Falley-Ruth Root
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook


. 

Allen line: Jacob Walker 1643-???

Once again, mysteries hide some of the important facts about Jacob Walker.  We know when he was born, March 11, 1643 and that he was born in Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony, a son of Robert and Sarah Leager Walker.  He was one of 12 children and was born about 10 years after his family arrived at Boston.  His parents apparently stayed in Boston their whole lives after arriving in the New World, as his father died there as did his mother. 

Jacob, however, was different.  He went to Stratford, Connecticut, where he married Elizabeth Wheeler Blackman, a widow who was the daughter of Moses and Miriam Hawley Wheeler.  Elizabeth had two or perhaps three surviving children from her marriage to Adam Blackman, two girls and a son who "died young".  Apparently she was ready for more children, for the couple had seven children after their December 5, 1670 marriage.  I have seen comments that Jacob had his hands full with the Blackman family but I haven't found a lot to substantiate that claim.

There are ongoing court records involving suits by Mrs. Jane Blackman against Jacob.  I'm unable to untable the details, but it seems to be a dispute over land.  The local jusries seemed to side with Jacob and then the other side appealed.  If Jacob lost an appeal, then he appealed further. 

From the few details I found, it seems that Jacob must have been a farmer, for he is accused of using the farm land of the Blackmans.  Mrs. Jane Blackman was Elizabeth Wheeler's mother in law during her first marriage, and finally the court asked Jacob to forego using land that was probably his until the death of Jane Blackman, since his use of the land was causing grief to the widow. 

We don't know for sure how religious Jacob might have been, but Elizabeth's first hsuband was the son of a pastor, and Jacob had at least one brother who was a pastor.  Probably this was a religious, Puritan family. 

I am thoroughly confused about Jacob's death date.  The last Walker child was born in 1681.  As far as I can tell, Robert Walker's will in 1687 doesn't mention Jacob.  There is a 1718 estate for Jacob Walker, the son of our Jacob, and there is a reference to his father in it, but I can't make out the details.  He, the younger Jacob, seems to leave a small estate to his surviving brothers and sisters. 

It is entirely possible that Jacob and Elizabeth left Stratford after the brith of .Mercy in 1681.  I don't know when Elizabeth died, either, or where.  Their daughter Elizabeth married in 1695 in Springfield, Massachusetts, but I've not found Jacob there yet, either.  So for now, it's a mystery to me which is a bit of a surprise.  Usually the death date is not that hard to locate.

Jacob seems to have been a man of little means, or perhaps he died too early to really accumulate that much of an estate.  He was probably a farmer, and probably a church goer, but he is definitely our ancestor and deserves to be included in our family history.

If someone knows more of Jacob's story, particularly his death date and location, I would love to hear from you!

The line of descent is:

Jacob Walker-Elizabeth Wheeler
Elizabeth Walker-Luke Hitchcock
Ruth Hitchock-Jonathan Church
Ruth Church-Stephen Noble
Ruth Noble-Martin Root
Ruth Root-Samuel Falley
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants

  

Allen line: Samuel Hitchcock 1717-1777

I was getting frustrated.  Why could I find so little information about Samuel?  He lived in the same town, Springfield, Massachusetts, his whole life.  He is a direct ancestor of Grover Cleveland, President of the United States.  Why was the amount of information about him so limited?  And then-jackpot! I found his estate papers on the American Ancestors website, and it was happy dance time. 

But let's start at the beginning.  Samuel Hitchcock was born June 9, 1717 in Springfield, Massachusetts, the son of Ensign John and Mary Ball Hitchcock.  He was the youngest of their eleven children and may have been just the tiniest bit spoiled, although of course good New Englanders would not have "spoiled" their children.  Since his name is in the records of the First Church (Congregational) of Springfield, we know that he had only two pastors for his entire life.  Daniel Brewer was the pastor when he was born, and Robert Breck not only married Samuel and his wife, Ruth Stebbins, but also buried him.  That's a pretty long record for pastoral longevity and it may be that the church was truly unified during all that time. 

Samuel married just a few days past his 21st birthday, to Ruth Stebbins, daughter of Thomas and Mary Ely Stebbins.  Ruth was either 16 or 17 when she married-records differ as to the year of the wedding, but it was either 1738 or 1739.  The couple quickly settled into married life, and would eventually have twelve children together, all of whom lived to adulthood.  Samuel's father died in 1751, when he received a "French gun" from his father, and Mary died in 1760. 

That's pretty much what we know about Samuel from records I'd found.  I'd begun to think that our Samuel was a "nobody", or rather, one of the ordinary people who live under the radar, without drawing notice either good or bad.  I don't know whether he served in the French and Indian war, although because Springfield is located on the Connecticut river in Western Massachusetts, and because Samuel would have been less than 40 years old when the war started, it would be quite likely that he did serve then.  It's one of my burning questions about Samuel. 

I interrupt this blog post for a history geek moment.  When I started looking at the estate papers, one cool thing is that in May of 1777, appraisers were appointed for the estate, a usual procedure and nothing unusual.  By this time, the colonies were using printed forms, where only the name of the deceased and the names of the appraisers had to be added by hand.  What's neat about this one is that the heading on the paper was printed "Province of Massachusetts".  The justice of the peace had crossed out "Province of" and written "State of" on the form.  This was less than a year after the Declaration of Independence, things were not going well for the colonists, and yet, Massachusetts, considered itself a state.  It gave me a thrill chill to see that written out. 

Samuel died April 22, 1777, after Ruth died in 1775.  He died without a will, so perhaps it was a sudden illness or accident that took hiw life.  The administrators of the estate didn't have an easy time of it.  They had to divide the land that Samuel owned into 13 more or less equal tracts.  Samuel, the oldest son got a double portion, and each of the other children got about 100 acres, although I don't think it was necessarily in nice neat squares.  An added bonus:  My Revolutionary War hero, Richard Falley, and his wife, Margaret Falley, along with several other Hitchcock children signed that they had received their portions.  So I know those two ancestors, at least, were literate.  Each child also received about 77 pounds, with son Samuel receiving a double portion of 154 pounds plus. 

Interesting items in the inventory:  One new beaver hatt, one grey wig, at least two pairs of silver knee buckles, about 15 books, including a Bible and hymnal, at least 20 different tracts of land, more farm animals than the typical "yeoman", although that is how Samuel is referred to in one document, quite a few household furnishings including "2 great chairs and 13 old chairs", 14 pewter plates and other pewterware, one fifth of a cider mill, a weaver's shop, and a lot of tools and farm implements.  Clearly, although a yeoman who apparently didn't make many waves in town, Samuel did make money and was relatively well off in the town.  His estate, before expenses, was valued at about 1300 pounds, and it took four appraisers a total of 17 man days to value everything they found. 

It would be interesting to know what his neighbors thought of Samuel Hitchcock.  Was he well regarded?  Was he a nice man?  Did he do his duty during the French and Indian war?  Did the town perceive him as being rich, or greedy, or generous, or something in between?  Was he a patriot during the earliest years of the Revolution?  (I'll wager he was!)  I've enjoyed getting to know a little bit about Samuel Hitchcock, and would love to know more!

The line of descent is"

Sanuel Hitchcok-Ruth Stebbins
Margaret Hitchcock-Richard Falley
Samuel Falley-Ruth Root
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants

Allen line: Joseph Riley, possible Irishman, Immigrant

This post will be more a collection of ideas than a post of fact.  Please take anything you read here with a grain of salt.  I am trying to do more research to support this post but so far I'm coming up empty, and here is my deadline for writing this post.

I've written an earlier blog post about John Riley, and I think I had that one pretty much straight, but I could be wrong.  Joseph seems, at the present time, to be more in the way of a myth, since I can't find records right now to support what I have finding on line.  I'll post what I have found online here in the hopes that this will give us some clues as to where to look, or perhaps someone will recognize this man and be able to say, "No, he's not your guy, and here's why". 

The first surprising thing is that Joseph seems to have been born on December 12, 1598 in Dublin, Leinster, Ireland.  That is a bit unusual for our family, but stranger things have happened.  His parents may have been Jonathan Riley and Sarah, whose name is given in some places as Deming.  Deming is a good New England name but I'm not sure it's a good Irish name, so there is one of my hesitations with this tree. 

The next "fact" I find about Joseph is that he married Mary Wright on January 23,1624 in Eland, Yorkshire, England.  I am unable to figure out a really good reason that Joseph would have gone from Dublin to Yorkshire to marry, except, possibly, that his Riley grandparents, Daniel and Elizabeth Bist Riley, went from Yorkshire to Dublin.  So there is a slight possibility that he had family in the area.  it's also possible that Daniel and Elizabeth are also not factual. 

It seems that Joseph and Mary arrived in New England in the late 1620s, because supposedly their son Thomas was born in Wethersfield, Hartford Connecticut in 1630.  There's a problem here, however, as Wethersfield wasn't founded until 1822, quite a bit after our ancestor lived.  Also, the trees are showing that Joseph died in Massachusetts, possibly Westfield, Hampden County.  The problem with that is I have looked at those records (Westfield) and there are no Rileys at all listed there prior to, at least, 1700.

Joseph and Mary have been credited with at least five children:  John, Sarah, William, Daniel, and Elizabeth, with John presumably being the oldest and being born in Dublin.  However, I'm not finding records of the births of the children.

I would certainly like to find some documentation for this family. If they are from Dublin, then that makes them quite interesting people in our family.  If they are not from Dublin, where are they from?  And if John's parents aren't even Joseph and Mary, where do we go from here?

Do you see why sometimes it feels like banging one's head against a wall, in trying to verify "information"?  I don't want to mislead anyone into believing that much of anything here has been proven, at least not be me.  Yet, on the chance that this is correct, here we go:

The line of descent may be:

Joseph Riley-Mary Wright
John Riley-Grace Buck
John Riley-Margaret McCraney
Mary Riley-Joseph Ely
Mary Ely-Thomas Stebbins
Ruth Stebbins-Samuel Hitchcock
Margaret Hitchcock-Richard Falley
Samuel Falley-Ruth Root
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants

Allen line: William Buck, Immigrant 1585-1657

I've rarely written about a person with so much conflicting information.  On the one hand, we have Robert Charles Anderson, world famous Great Migration researcher, saying no one knows his parents, or his wife, and that William had only one known son.  On the other hand, we have other researchers who give William's parents, two wifes, and up to 17 children.  I've also found discrepancies, large ones, in his birthdate. 

In a nutshell, this is what is absolutely certain about William:  He came to New England from England with his son Roger, on the ship Increase, with his son Roger.  He was a plowright (a maker and probably repairman of plows) and he died January 24, 1657/58. 

That would be the end of this blogpost, except I also want to share what else may be true about William.  From a book published in 1799 called History of Worcestershire, England by Nash, he is referred to as esquire, and is said to have been the son and heir of Nathaniel, son of John, and is also said to have marred about 1606 Margaret Good, daughter and heir of Michael Good of Sussex, Lord of the castle of Frome, Somersetshire. My analysis of this is that it is doubtful, because of the way William made his living in Massachusetts Bay Colony and because he never joined a church or became a freeman.  Even the land he was given was on the outskirts of town, indicating that perhaps he lived on the edge of society.

I've also seen his parents listed as James Buck and Elizabeth Sherman, This connection goes with a birth location of Padbury, Cambridgeshire, England, and makes a little more sense historically, except that I can find no documentation for this information.  So as far as I can determine, the jury is still out.

William Buck is also said to have married Margaret Neave, September 7, 1618 in Andersby, Lincolnshire, England.  This would be late for a first marriage, but it is entirely possible that he had a first wife.  Under this theory, Roger, the known descendant, was born in 1617 and his mother, William's wife, died shortly after.  William is credited with as many as eight children with Margaret, including our ancestor, Grace.  But again, I can find no record of her birth, nor of any of her siblings. 

It is fun to think of William living as a plowright, next to a Winthrop farm . Perhaps he knew some of the Winthrop family, in a business sense, anyway.  Living in Cambridge, he would have known some of our other Allen and Holbrook ancestors, and helped them make a living on their farms. 

I am very open, even anxious, to learn more about William Buck.  Was he in fact the father of our Grace, and was he married to Margaret Neave?  I'd love to find his family!

The line of descent would be:

William Buck-possibly Margaret Neave
Grace Buck-John Riley
John Riley-Margaret McCraney
Mary Riley-Joseph Ely
Mary Ely Thomas Stebbins
Ruth Stebbins-Samuel Hitchcock
Margaret Hitchcock-Richard Falley
Samuel Falley-Ruth Root
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants

Allen line: Richard Lamb 1696-1736

Richard Lamb's story is short and not so sweet.  He's interesting, though, because he is one of a very few Irish ancestors known to be in the Allen line.

He was born in 1696 in the Coombe, Dublin, Ireland to John Lamb and Margaret Hoult, who were both from Monkstown, Dublin, Ireland.  While we don't know for sure how Richard supported himself, the Coombe area was an area set off for the cloth trade.  Woolen manufacturers set up many firms here, and Richard may well have been a weaver or had some other part in the manufacturing business. 

In 1713, he married Anna White, who was from Clackmannshire, Ireland.  At least, that's what my source said.  I am unable to locate this in Ireland, and wonder if the reference should be to Scotland, instead.  Richard and Anna had eight children, but Anna had died by 1736.

In1736, Richard decided it was time to come to America. He and his eight children set sail but unfortunately, Richard became a statistic, one of those who did not live to see the shores of his new country.  I have variously seen that he died of disease and that he was swept overseas in a storm, so am recording both versions here.  At any rate, his children were orphans when they arrived here.

I haven't yet traced their history but it looks like at least some of them ended up in Maine, likely as indentured servants.  Each would have served until the age of at least 16 for the girls and 18 or 21 for the boys.  William was 24 so he at least may have had his freedom, and would have been able to watch over his siblings to some extent.

That is what I know about Richard Lamb.  He did not realize his dream of starting over in America, but his children did.   .I'd love to ask him a lot of questions, but I'm especially curious about his religion.  Was he Catholic?  There were some Protestants in the Coombe but I haven't yet learned out to research them.   And what did he expect to do in America?  Did he have a plan?  We will likely never know the answers to these questions, but they are worth considering.  I sure wish he had lived to leave some records here!

The line if descent is:

Richard Lamb-Anna White
Anna Lamb-Richard Falley
Richard Falley-Margaret Hitchcock
Samuel Falley-Ruth Root
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants

Allen line: Robert Walker, Immigrant 1601-1687

Oh, happy day!  Here's a well-documented (mostly) ancestor that had been under my radar to the extent that I didn't even have a folder started for him.  Yet, here he is, with well written articles in both The Great Migration Begins and The American Genealogist, as well as a good web page on the John Walker Family Organization website.  The only problem is, his parentage may or may not be correct, and the identification of his wife is not certain.  Other than those "minor" issues, we know quite a lot about Robert Walker.

The first question, of course, is when was he born and who were his parents?  It's believed that he was born in either 1601 or 1607.  If the 1607 date is correct, then his parents were Thomas Walker and Margaret Bardsley.  Margaret died when Robert was about two, and Thomas died just two years later, so Robert was likely raised by the husband of his step-mother.  Somehow, Robert followed the trade of linen weaver or webster that his father had followed.  Perhaps his  sort of step-father was also a linen weaver.  (Webster" appears to mean someone who also made linen thread from flax, perhaps for separate sale, in addition to weaving the material). 

Robert came to Massachusetts Bay Colony (Boston) in about 1631 along with his wife, Sarah probably Leager, whom he had married in England.  Their origin was "Manchester, Lancashire, England." The John Walker Family Organization website says he came in 1630 with the Winthrop Fleet, along with Sarah and "other Puritans."  If they were already married, they were newly-weds.  Other sources say they married in Boston. 

Robert and Sarah had at least 12 children, some of whom died young.  In Boston, Robert joined the First Church in 1632 and Sarah in 1634.  Robert was made a freeman in 1634.  He later became one of the founders of the Old South (Third)  Church in 1669.  I may have unknowingly walked, or at least driven, by his homesite when I made a quick trip to Boston (not for genealogy purposes) in 1998, because his home was bounded on the north by Boston Common.  I was right there! 

Robert didn't hold many offices in Boston.  He was appointed a cowherd, and served on two grand juries.  Also he was a clerk of the market, and a tithing man at Old South church. He wrote his name on only one deed but signed only initials on other documents.  Was his hand sore, or hurt, or was he truly just barely literate, one wonders.  Sarah consistently signed her name. 

Robert had what appears to be a stroke on May 27, 1687 and died two days later.  Samuel Sewall is quoted in his Diary as stating "He was a very good Man and conversant among God's New England People from beginning."  That's a pretty good legacy, in my opinion. 

It's fun to think about Robert and Sarah in very early Boston (which when they arrived was a very small town indeed).  And when I read about "Old South Church" in pre-Revolutionary War days, it's exciting to realize that an ancestor helped found that church, 100 years earlier.  Oh, I love it when facts come together! 

The line of descent is

Robert Walker-Sarah Leager
Jacob Walker-Elizabeth Wheeler
Elizabeth Walker-Luke Hitchcock
Ruth Hitchcock-Jonathan Church
Ruth Church-Stephen Noble
Ruth Noble-Martin Root
Ruth Root-Samual Falley
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants

Allen line: John Riley 1625-1674 Immigrant

Oh, my goodness.  The "Life of Riley" is giving me an old-fashioned headache.  I've been trying to figure out which Riley's have proof or at least some semblance of plausibility and which are wrong, or at least, not so plausible. 

The only "facts" that I've located have to do with John's marriage, the birth of three of his sons, and his date of death..  All else is conjecture, or the result of  the mixing of several John Riley's.  It's an interesting family to look at because several people claim that the family originally came from Dublin, Ireland, and then place them in England for at least one generation and maybe two, before John emigrated to New England. 

So John was born in 1624 or 1625, at Longford, Ireland or possibly Elland, Yorkshire, England.or maybe somewhere else.  His parents are given as Joseph Riley and Mary Wright, who were married June 23, 1624 in Elland.  It's hard to reconcile this with a birthdate for John of May 12, 1624 in Longford, Ireland, so all I am willing to say is that there is a possibility that John had Irish ancestry.  Joseph and Mary may have come to the New World, perhaps sometime between 1628 and 1630, but I haven't found documents that confirm this idea yet.  Supposedly they had three children in Ireland and two in Wethersfield, but that doesn't seem likely because the dates of birth as given are before the settlement of Wethersfield began.

We do know that John married Grace Buck, probably the daughter of William and Margaret Good Buck, before 1646, according to Torrey's Marriages.  Three children are listed in the Wethersfield vital records for them: Joseph, John, and Jonathan. Also listed in his will were Mary, Grace, Jacob and Isaac. John the father is listed several times in Hartford Court records as being a juror. 

From John's will (written as "John Ryly") and inventory, we can see that he died sometime before September 8, 1674.  He was not a poor Irishman, if Irish he ever was.  His inventory includes furniture in the parlor, beds, carpet, "guns, swords, and other ammunition", farm implements, carpenter tools, horses, oxen, cows, swine, sheep, and bees (indicating an orchard) as well as several parcels of land.  His estate totaled 688 pounds, 4 shillings, but of that he owed 66 pounds in debts to three men.  So it was not a huge estate, but definitely up the ladder from "poor."  His wife, not mentioned by name, was the sole executor, which indicates he put a great deal of trust in her. 

I would certainly like to find out more about John Riley.  What connection, if any, did he have to Ireland?  Was he a member of the (Puritan) church?  Who were his parents?  Was he well respected in Wethersfield?  As of now, the clearest picture I have of him comes through his will and inventory, and I'd like to know so much more!

The line of descent is:

John Riley-Grace Buck
John Riley-Margaret
Mary Riley-Joseph Ely
Mary Ely-Thomas Stebbins
Ruth Stebbins-Samuel Hitchcock
Margaret Hitchcock-Richard Falley
Samuel Falley-Ruth Root
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants

Allen line: Thomas Noble, 1606-1666, Immigrant or not?

I thought I'd found an immigrant to write about, but now I'm confused as to whether I should be writing about Thomas, or about another Thomas who was born about 1632.

According to very sketchy information I've found, the Thomas I intended to write about was born in 1606 in Aldingha, Kent, England.  Except that he may be the Thomas who was born in 1606 in St Giles, Cripplegate, England.  If the second theory is correct, his occupation may have been that of pinmaker, which was a working class job except that he seems to have been admitted to a guild.

Thomas may or may not have married Rachel Gardiner, and he may or may not have died in 1666 in Westfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts.  Right now I am not finding sources or documentation for any of these statements.  I am finding that Thomas Noble born 1632 is noted as "The Settler".  He was admitted an inhabitant of Boston in 1651.  The internet assumption is that this refers to Thomas born 1632, but I don't know that there's proof about that.

I'm also wondering about the death date and location for Thomas.  There is at least some thought in the genealogy world that Thomas senior died in England about 1650, and that Thomas the settler went to England soon after at least partly to claim his inheritance.  This would explain a lot of things, but absolute proof is lacking, since the will of Thomas in England leaves an inheritance to Thomas Jr but doesn't state the younger Thomas's whereabouts.

I'll write another blog post about Thomas the Settler, but I wanted to at least throw out the ideas that are floating around, about Thomas's father.  He may have been from Aldingham, Kent, England or he may have been from London.  He may have married Rachel Gardiner, or he may have married someone else.  He may have died in London, or he may have died in Westfield, Massachusetts.  And someday, we may have the answers to these questions, and more!

The line of descent may be:
Thomas Noble-Rachel Gardiner
Thomas Noble-Hannah Warriner
Elizabeth Noble-Richard Church
Jonathan Church-Ruth Hitchcock
Ruth Church-Stephen Noble
Ruth Noble-Martin Root Jr.
Ruth Root-Samuel Falley
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Allen
Their descendants

Their is another line that would go

Thomas Noble-Rachel Gardiner
Thomas Noble-Hannah Warriner
Thomas Noble Elizabeth Dewey
Thomas Noble-Sarah Root
Stephen Noble-Ruth Church  and then duplicates

So Stephen Noble, Revolutionary War soldier, and Ruth Church were second cousins. 

Allen line: Henry Burt 1595-1662, Immigrant

Question: What do Ethan Allen, Grover Cleveland, and Winston Churchill have in common? 
Answer:  They are all descendants of Henry Burt, as are we of the Allen family.  I think that's so cool!  I haven't done the actual research to bear this out, but these are statements I've found on-line, and they appear to be plausible. 

This blog post is mostly based on research found at dunhamwilcox.net.  It is a thoroughly referenced source, and I'm grateful to have found it.  There's even an online book about Henry and his descendants, which is rather wordy but interesting.  Basically I'm using these and other sources to paraphrase what they've found, and to add my own little twist to this ancestor's story.

Henry Burt was born in 1595 in Harberton, Devon, England, the first child and first son of Henry and Iseult or Isolde Burt. (Her parents are as yet unknown.). Henry Senior was a clothier and seems to have done rather well for himself by the time he died in 1617.  Harberton was small (population about 1300 currently) so for a person to own 93 sheep and 32 lambs, plus cloth and yarn, several houses, an orchard, nursery, various out buildings, and more, he must have been at least of the middle class. 

Our Henry was one of at least seven children (these children were mentioned in the will, there may well have been others who died before Henry Sr.s death in 1617).  He was left 5 dwellings in his father's will, but there seems to be no mention of the sheep, cloth, and yarn that would have given Henry a trade, so perhaps that went to son John, who was left half the residue of the estate.

Henry did in fact become, or already had been, a clothier also, and was doing well enough financially in December of 1619 to marry Eulalia Marche.  He was a Puritan, of such measure that he occasionally read Sunday sermons to the congregation in his later years, apparently when the church was without a pastor or the pastor was ill or out of town.  Henry was in his early 40's when he decided to move his family to the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

It's believed that they came, perhaps as a family, to Boston in 1638, although it could have been earlier.  By 1638 they were in Roxbury, where we learn that their home burned.  This would likely have included the tools of the clothing trade also, so it was a terrible loss.  It appears that there was some sort of "settlement" of about 8 pounds to the family, as recompense, and by 1639, the family was in Springfield, Massachusetts, which had been founded just four years earlier.

Henry quickly settled down in Springfield.  His town lot bordered on the Connecticut River.  He was on an early jury, was selectman for the town several years, and was made a freeman in April of 1648.  He was "Clerke of the Band", the militia, starting in 1648 also, and in 1649 was chosen "Clerke of the writts for this Towne." He was involved in two or three lawsuits during his lifetime, suing for debts he was owed.  Plus, there was the reference to his reading sermons on Sunday, perhaps because he was Clerke, perhpas because he had a strong speaking voice, or perhaps because he was regarded as a pious man. 

The Burts had children, a lot of children.  I'm finding lists of anywhere from 11 to 19 of them, some of whom died young.  It may have been after the birth of one of her children in England that Eulalia herself was thought to have died.  The family tradition is that she was laid out in her coffin and regained consciousness during her own funeral.  Further tradition has said that she brought the coffin to American with her and was buried in it many years later.  I suspect the "regained consciousness during her funeral" may be true but I wonder about the coffin story.  It's fun to think about it, though!

Henry died in Springfield on April 30, 1662, without a will.  However, there is a thorough inventory.  It includes, among other things, the house and land in town, two other parcels of land, farm implements and animals, two guns, and books valued at 10 shillings.  The total estate was 181 pounds, of which 47 pounds was owed, mostly to "Mr. Pynchon."

Eulalia, mother of many children, did not remarry, and died August 9, 1690, outliving her husband by 28 years.  She evidently still had her own housing, for she gave cows, bedding, land and household goods to her children.  This post is about Henry, but it certainly appears that he chose wisely in marrying Eulalia. 

There is much more that could be said about Henry, but this is intended to be a sketch only, so we at least know a bit about our immigrants.  Sometimes that leads to famous cousins, and interesting stories, and those are some of the reasons I write this blog. 

Here's the line of descent:

Henry Burt-Eulalia Marche
Abigail Burt-Francis Ball
Samuel Ball-Mary Graves
Mary Ball-John Hitchcock
Samuel Hitchcock-Ruth Stebbins
Margaret Hitchock-Richard Falley
Samuel Falley-Ruth Roote
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants

Allen line: Francis Ball Immigrant, died 1648

I sure could use some help with this ancestor.  He is erroneously confused with a Frances Ball in Virginia, who was a female and apparently not of this family.  His birth date is given as anywhere from 1599 to 1624.  His parents are given as William Ball and Alice Waltham, and if the parentage is correct and the age of the parents is correct, 1599 would be a likely date, but 1609 and even 1619 are within the realm of possibilities.  The most frequent place of birth given is Wiltshire, England, with no parish that I can locate.  So I am left wondering...

Is his father the William Ball who died in New Haven, Connecticut in 1647?

Was Abigail Burt, who was born in 1623, his first wife?  If Francis was born in 1599, she would have been 24 years his junior, and there would have been plenty of time for an earlier marriage.  Francis Ball and Abigail Burt, daughter of Henry Burt and Eulalia March,  were married in August of 1644 in Springfield, where Francis had arrived about a year earlier. They lived in Springfield, where they had two sons, and where Francis purchased land from John Woodcocke, valued at 5 pounds. 

The most common fact I find about Francis Ball is that he drowned in the "Great River", known to us as the Connecticut River, on October 3, 1648.  So either he was a mariner, unlucky on that day, or he was not used to water and a storm or accident may have caused his death.  Of course, there are other possible explanations but these two seem the most likely to me.

Abigail married Benjamin Munn in April of 1649, and after his death, she married Thomas Stebbins, who is an Allen ancestor through his first wife, Hannah Wright.  Abigail died in 1707, three times widowed and about 84 years old.

I sure would like to know more about Francis Ball.  I'd like to pin down his birthdate and birthplace, to verify whether William and Alice were his parents.  I'd like to know if the marriage to Abigail was his first marriage.  And I'd like to know how he happened to drown.  If someone has this information, please contact me!

The line of descent is

Francis Ball-Abigail Burt
Samuel Ball-Mary Graves
Mary Ball-John Hitchcock
Samuel Hitchcock-Ruth Stebbins
Margaret Hitchcock-Samuel Falley
Samuel Falley-Ruth Root
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants

Allen line: Sgt RIchard Beckley about 1618-1690 Immigrant

When I win the lottery (which will be sometime after I buy my first ticket), I would love to spend much of that fortune tracing down these immigrant ancestors.  Richard Beckley is another mystery.  He must have had leadership qualities because he was elected or appointed sergeant of the New Haven Artillery Company in 1648.  He must have been a successful person, because he was able to leave homes to each of his sons at his death.  He was respected in his communities, for he was many times a juror, and sometimes appointed to commissions.  But we don't know much more than this, which seems so very little to know.

He is traditionally given a birth date of 1618, in "probably" Hampshire, England, but as far as I know there is as yet no documentation for that.  His parents were John Beckley and Mary Elliott, and he is known to have had at least one brother, Simon.  That is as much as we know of his youth, or for that matter, of his marriage.  He is believed to have been married at least twice.  It has been suggested that his first wife was Mrs. Alice Daniels (maiden name not known, unless it was Daniels), but the circumstances surrounding that marriage, if correct as reported, are bizarre and worthy only of the gossip columns.  I'm not sure that the Richard Beggarly in England, alleged adulterer, and Richard Beckley, fine upstanding citizen, more or less, in Connecticut are the same person, but I'm simply noting it as a possibility, however remote.  His second wife is believed to be Frances Deming, and that marriage took place probably in either 1662 or 1665.

So, sometime Richard married someone, and had children Sarah, John, Mary, Benjamin, Nathaniel, and Hannah, all in New Haven, Connecticut, except Sarah may have been born elsewhere.  Richard and presumably his wife had arrived there by 1639, so New Haven was still a very small community at that time.  They stayed in or near New Haven until about 1660, when they moved to Wethersfield, Ct.  Richard purchased land in 1668 from Turramuggus, which was 300 acres and was located on both sides of the Mattebesset River, in what is now the "Beckley section" of Berlin, Ct  He was clever in purchasing his land, for it allowed him to build a mill on the river.  I've not found references to attacks on the settlement during King Philip's War, but militia from Connecticut were certainly involved in some of the battles and since Richard was a sergeant earlier, it is likely that he participated in at least some of them.  (He apparently wasn't 60 years of age yet, so would have been in the militia unless he had a health condition that prevented it.) 

In Wethersfield/Berlin, Richard and family apparently prospered.  Towards the end of his life, Richard was granted license for an ordinary (he may have been licensed earlier but records haven't been found), which may have been an easier way to make a living than the farming he had been doing.  His children or and grandchildren may have helped with the chores of this tavern/inn. 

Richard died August 5, 1690.  His estate wasn't settled until 1701 so his wife may have outlived him.  His inventory taken September 2,1690 was valued at 383 pounds, 5 shillings.  Among the items I can read on the inventory are 15 books, carpenters tools, and six hives of bees. I think this is the first inventory I've found that mentioned bee hives, but it makes sense since it's known that he had an orchard. His inventory and will are on the new database at Ancestry.com, and I just found them today.  It's pretty cool to be able to sit here and read (or not) some of the last wishes of such a distant ancestor!

The line of descent is:

Richard Beckley-unknown first wife
Sarah Beckley-John Church
Richard Church-Elizabeth Noble
Jonathan Church-Ruth Hitchcock
Ruth Church-Stephen Noble
Ruth Noble-Martin Root Jr.
Ruth Root-Samuel Falley
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants

Allen line: Moses Wheeler 1598-1698, Immigrant

It's a joy to write these blog posts.  I never write one entirely out of what I think I know when I sit down to write a post.  A little digging turns up more information, or draws into question what I think I know, and always leaves me with more questions.  Sometimes, I am so fortunate as to find one or more stories that tell me a little bit about the person.  These anecdotes can't be proven, but I love them because even if not strictly true, they do give us insights into the character of the man or woman.  Such is the case with Moses Wheeler.

Moses Wheeler is believed to have been born in Kent, England in 1598, the son of Dominick and Mercy Jelly Wheeler.  As far as I know, the documentation for this has not been found, just as the documentation for his journey to America and his marriage has not been found.  His early life is a mystery.  It is believed that he came to America in 1638 and soon was in New Haven, Connecticut, but records of his immigration are missing.  It is also believed that he married Miriam Hawley, sister of Joseph Hawley, but when or where are still questions.  If, as many trees state, he married her in Connecticut than it may well be that he had earlier been married.  Moses and Miriam's first child was born August 1, 1642, when Moses would have been 46 years old.  This leaves plenty of time for him to have had a family in England, be widowed and come to America to start a new life.  He must also have had strong religious convictions, because New Haven was one of the strictest Puritan settlements in New England.  He may have come to New Haven so that he could follow his trade, which was a shipwright.   He was on the Planters list in 1641, receiving 12 1/2 acres in the first division and 14 acres in the second division of land.  At the time of the first division, there were just two people in the family, so the family had not yet been started.

I love the story that in New Haven, Moses returned from a trip on Sunday.  In his joy at seeing his family again, he kissed his wife and children, in public, on the Sabbath.  New Haven had strict "blue laws" and he was expelled from the colony for this offense.  That's the story.  I question whether it happened exactly that way, and whether this was a first offense.  Generally a person who ran up against the blue law was given a chance to confess and repent, and be punished by time in the stocks or/and a public whipping.  Perhaps Moses didn't confess and repent, or perhaps he had other minor marks on his record, thus incurring the harsh punishment of being expelled.  From this story, I take the germ of truth that he must have loved his family, and that perhaps he was a bit of a rebel.

Another story about Moses is that one day when Moses was in the cellar, three Indians with hatchets "appeared in the doorway.  Moses said something to the effect of "let's have a drink" and picked up a barrel (empty, or nearly so) of cider and drank directly from the bunghole.  The visitors apparently thought it was full, and decided that Moses was too strong for the three of them.  I'm not sure what to make of this story, since giving spirits to the Indians was forbidden.  Perhaps cider, no matter how "hard" it was, was permissible.  My takeaway from this story is that Moses was a strong man and muscular, in order to lift even an empty barrel to his shoulder, and that he may have been known to his visitors.

When the family was expelled, they moved southwest on the coast to Stratford, which was founded in 1639, again by Puritans, and purchased land from the Indians.  It is not known when the Wheelers arrived but in 1648 he was granted rights to be the ferryman on the Stratford river.  This was a hard job, physically, but when he had no passengers to ferry he could farm and he could continue building ships, so there was an opportunity to "get ahead" financially.  Ferrying probably meant rowing passengers across the river, which could be quite a challenge, with floods and ice and tidal currents to make the job more difficult.  He was the ferryman from 1648 to 1690, and when he "retired" at the age of 92, he passed his duties on to his son Samuel. 

Moses and Miriam had 7 known children, although some lists include fewer.  Elizabeth was the first born, in 1642, and then they had Miriam, Samuel, Moses, Mary, Joanna and Susanna, in 1659.  Apparently he returned to England in 1665 for just a short time.  Was this business, or was he called home to settle an estate, or was there another reason for the trip?  It would be fascinating to know more about this trip. 

Moses is stated to have been an extensive land holder and one of the leading influential men of Stratford Township.  This means he must have stayed out of trouble with the church authorities.  His sister, Jane, had married Rev. Adam Blakeman who was one of the founders of Stratford and its minister for many years, so if Moses did have any more improprieties such as the kissing episode, he may have had a religious counselor to help him conform. 

Moses Wheeler's headstone in the Old Congregational Burying Ground at Stratford is partially buried, but still clearly legible is "Moses Wheler  Aged 100 Dyed Jan 15,1698"  What a life he had, long and loving and virtuous, hardworking and strong.  I'm so glad I got to know him a little bit by writing this post!


The line of descent is:

Moses Wheeler-Miriam Hawley
Elizabeth Wheeler-Jacob Walker
Elizabeth Walker-Luke Hitchcock
Ruth Hitchcock-Jonathan Church
Ruth Church-Stephen Noble
Ruth Noble-Martin Root
Ruth Root-Samuel Falley
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendents

Allen line: Nathaniel Ely, Immigrant

We know a lot abut Nathaniel Ely in New England, but not anything at all about his life in (presumably) England.  The best guess for his birth is probably 1605-1610, but that is based on his arrival in New England in 1634 as a presumably young man.  His son Samuel was born "say 1634" and his daughter Ruth born "say 1641".  There is always the possibility that he had children earlier, in England, and that he had others who were for whatever reason not recorded.  We know he married Martha, and it is presumed that she is the mother of her children, which would make it likely that the marriage took place in England, also. 

It's believed that Nathaniel and Martha came to Boston in 1634 on the ship "Elizabeth" from Ipswich.  He first settled in Newtown (now Cambridge, Ma.) where he was made a freeman in 1635.  This indicates he was over 21 years of age, possessed at least 20 pounds in property, and was properly Puritan in his religious beliefs and practice. 

We don't know what prompted the move that the family made in 1636, but they left their home and considerable property in Newtown and went with Rev. Thomas Hooker and his group to found what would become Hartford, Ct.  His name is listed on the Founder's Monument there.  While in Hartford he again accumulated considerable land.  By February 1639/1640, he had fourteen parcels of land, ten of which had been granted by the town and four which he had purchased.  We don't know for sure what his occupation was during this time period, but his lands included meadows and swamp, so it is not likely that he did a lot of cultivation of land.  He probably raised sheep or cattle and also enough food for his family.  We know he was the constable of Hartford in 1639/40, meaning he was responsible for keeping the peace, both in the settlement and in church, so he was a man who would have commanded some respect or/and fear. 

After 13 years in Hartford, Richard Ely and Roger Ludlow were the first settlers of what would become Norwalk, Ct, southwest of Hartford and on the coast line. There he again was apparently a respected man, because he was the constable in 1654 and he represented Norwalk in the General Court of the Colony of Connecticut in 1656.   His name is listed on the Founders stone of the early settlers of Norwalk, which is located in the East Norwalk Historical Cemetery.  Again, we don't know for sure his occupation but he owned at least thirteen parcels of land, as an original settler. 

The Ely family made one final move, in 1659 and moved to Springfield, Massachusetts, which was north of Hartford.  Did they stop to visit with old friends on their way to Springfield, I wonder?  Was Martha getting a little tired of moving and "starting over" by now?  At least this time they weren't "founding fathers," as the settlement had begun about 1636.  Maybe they even had a chance to buy their home instead of needing to build one.  by now, Nathaniel was respected enough to be a selectman for at least six years.  By 1663 he was assigned a seat in the second row at the meeting house (church).  Seats were assigned based on social importance and wealth, so this is another sign that he was of some importance to the town.

We don't know whether he keep his seat when he became the owner of an "ordinary" (inn-tavern) in 1665, but this ownership got him into a bit of trouble.  At one time he was fined for selling cider to the Indians and another time he was fined for not having beer in the tavern.  Both times, he admitted his guilt.  In 1670 he reportedly had unkind words for or about his pastor and was again fined, although the fine was much less than for the alcohol-related offenses.

I haven't yet been able to locate information regarding the burning of Springfield by the Indians in 1675.  Nathaniel was still alive then.  Springfield was left a mess, with 45 of the 60 homes burned and also the grist mill and the saw mill.  We are told that the town lived under siege and famine conditions.  Nathaniel died December 25, 1675, and probably the difficult conditions contributed to his death.  He must have been heart broken to leave his wife in such a situation, but there were two adult children to care for her so she was not left totally helpless.  Martha died in 1683.

Now comes the hardest part of this post...One of the "items" included in Nathaniel's inventory was a "Negro man," valued at 15 pounds.  I just read on a recent blog that early New England ancestors may well have been slave owners, and this seems to prove that statement.  If I could talk to Nathaniel today, I'd want to know more about the Indian attack and what happened to the Ely family during that time, but I'd also want to know about this apparent slave ownership.  Why did the family 'need' a slave, and how did this come about?  What was the slave's name, and his story?  Did he ever attain his freedom?  And how did this fit in with Nathaniel's religious beliefs?

The line of descent is:

Nathaniel Ely-Martha
Samuel Ely-Mary Day
Joseph Ely-Mary Riley
Mary Ely-Thomas Stebbins
Ruth Stebbins-Samuel Hitchcock
Martha Hitchcock-Samuel Falley
Samuel Falley-Ruth Root
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendents