Holbrook line: John Johnson of Roxbury, Immigrant

 It doesn't help matters at all that we have at least two ancestors named John Johnson on our tree. For a long time, I've been reluctant to write about this one because I thought it was possible that I had the two men confused on my tree.  However, I've been thrilled to find, and finally read, a book called "The Biography and Genealogy of Captain John Johnson from Roxbury, Massachusetts: An Uncommon Man in the Commonwealth of the Massachusetts Bay Colony 1630-1659" by Gerald Garth Johnson, whom I assume would be a distant cousin of ours.  The book was published by Heritage Books in 2008, so the scholarship is recent.  As my son and my sister would say "Cool beans!" 

To give the bare facts, we don't know for sure where John Johnson was born nor whom his parents were, but it appears likely that he was from the area of Great Amwell or Ware, Hertfordshire, England.  He married his first wife, Mary Heath, at Ware in 1613, so he was likely born sometime around 1590, give or take a few years.   He seems to have learned to read, write, and "cipher" as a child but there is no evidence for that except that he possessed these skills in his adult life.  He was a Puritan, probably deeply religious, and he had ten children before he came to America, unfortunately without Mary.  She died in 1629 and John Johnson came to Massachusetts on the Arabella, with the Winthrop Fleet in 1630.  He was the quartermaster for the ship, meaning he was responsible for providing and rationing food for the trip across the ocean, and perhaps for a time when the ship landed.  Only six or perhaps seven of the children were still living, and we don't know whether all of the children came with him or whether some were on other ships of the same fleet,  Mary, the oldest, would have been just sixteen, which perhaps was considered old enough to watch over the other children while on the trip. 

Not much is known of Johnson's life in England but somewhere he must have acquired the skills and abilities that allowed him to become prominent in the life of Roxbury.  He apparently went to the new village as soon as he landed, and was part of the town's development for the rest of his life.  He was referred to as a yeoman, so he had little status coming to town but soon was respected by all  Among his accomplishments, he was a selectman for most of his life there.  He served as constable for many, many years.  He was "Surveyor-General of the Arms" for the entire Massachusetts Bay Colony , as well as Captain of the Roxbury Military Company and clerk of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts.  (He had likely been a member of the Honourable Artillery Company of London, but the identification is not certain).

Johnson was frequently called on to witness wills or to inventory estates, as well as to represent townspeople as attorney or power of attorney.  As a Puritan in a Puritan town, he helped found the first church and may have helped to construct the first meeting house.  He donated toward the establishment of the first school in Roxbury.  As Surveyor-General, he helped build bridges and decide boundaries, including settling disputes, or what could have become disputes, between neighboring towns. 

Are you impressed yet?  He did all this while raising his family, running a farm, and owning a tavern in Roxbury.  He was a land owner and a land dealer, providing for farms for two sons as well as selling land for profit.  John did have some help.  He married for the second time, to a woman named Margery, probably about 1633. but possibly before coming to America to 1630.  Margery died and Johnson then married Grace Negus Fawer before October 14, 1656.  (She was either childless or had no surviving children when she died in 1671, since she left her estate to her two brothers).  So on top of all that he did for the community, the church, and the colony, Johnson was also a family man.  He may have had step children, although none were mentioned in his will. 

John Johnson died September 30, 1659.  The book I referred to earlier gives his complete will and an inventory several pages in length.  His estate was valued at about 668 pounds, and the inventory shows many more items than were typical in a New England household in 1659.  This is even more remarkable because Johnson's house, including town and military records and the town's ammunition, burned to the ground in 1645.  Johnson had quickly replaced everything of the household that was destroyed, and possibly more besides. 

The author is certainly proud of John Johnson and I think we should be, too.  He was respected in his time both for the work he did and for the results, as he was regarded as successful.  I'd love to learn more about him but this is so much more than I expected to find, that I am truly grateful for this book.  If you want to learn more about John Johnson, or about Puritans in general, you couldn't do better than to read this book!

The line of descent is:

John Johnson-Mary Heath
Mary Johnson-Roger Mowry
Nathaniel Mowry-Joanna Inman
Joanna Mowry-Walter Phetteplace
Sarah Phetteplace-Elisha Eddy
Enos Eddy-Sarah Brown
Enos Eddy-Deborah Paine
Joseph B Eddy-Susan Lamphire
Susan Eddy-Hiram Stanard
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

Holbrook line: Roger Mowry 1610-1666

There's so much information about Roger Mowery (Mowery, Mawry, etc.) that some of it has to be wrong.  He was born in London, or he was born in Brimpton, Dorset, England.  His parents were Thomas and Anne, or they were Thomas and Elizabeth.  He came to Massachusetts in 1628, or1630, or 1632.  Some of these statements may not be contradictory.  Obviously he had one birth place and one set of parents.  But he could have come to Massachusetts more than once.  "The Great Migraation Begins" gives a migration date of 1630 so that is close enough, and another source says he came with Gov. Winthrop's fleet in 1630.

When Roger came to America, he was first at Plymouth colony, at the same time as Roger Williams.  He then moved at about the same time as Roger Williams to Salem, a little north of what was then a very small Boston.  In fact, Salem, at the time, was used as a seaport more than Boston, and may have been a little larger.  If a record of his marriage exists, it's not well documented and some have suggested he may have married more than once.  This may be based on the idea that in late December, 1637, he was granted three quarters of an acre of marshland near Salem, and at that time had a household of five.  So he may have had children from an earlier marriage, or there may be more children than we know about, or he could have had relatives living with him.  At any rate, his recognized wife is Mary Johnson, daughter of John Johnson, and they were married by 1637, when the first of at least 11 children were born. 

Roger and Mary stayed in Salem for several years.  At least their first four children, Jonathan, Appia/Bethiah, Mary, and Elizabeth were born there, and it is likely that is where Nathaniel, Mehitable, John, Joseph and Benjamin were born, since Benjamin was baptized at Salem on May 20, 1649.  Thomas and Hannah were born at Providence, Rhode Island. 

There are suggestions in several writings that Roger Mowry and the famous Roger Williams were somehow related, but their friendship could just as easily have been based on religious beliefs.  At any rate, the two Rogers lived near to each other for much of their lives, and it seems reasonable to suppose that Roger Williams' religious teachings influenced those of Roger Mowry. 

We know that Roger was educated well enough that he could write his name, but beyond that we know nothing of his education.  He would have had land to farm, both in Salem and in Providence, as he was given or earned it by right of being a freeman and an early settler.  In addition, in Salem he was a "neat herd", which was an early form of "cow herd."  He was responsible for getting the town cattle to their pasture each morning and bringing them back each night, and probably for their safety during the day.  This would not have left much time for other activities.  He held this post for at least 5 years, from 1636 to 1641, but there is no further mention of that occupation.  We know he was on the Esses County petit Jury on January 24, 1641.

Sometime before July of 1652, the Mowry's had moved to Providence, Rhode Island.  Salem may have become too restrictive, or they may have missed the fellowship with the Williams family, or they may have moved for economic reasons.  He was an inn-keeper (which also means tavern-keeper) at Providence by 1653.  This home/business was standing as late as 1900, and was known as the Olney House.  (You can Google Roger Mowry tavern, Providence and find a fascinating story and picture of the building itself, and about how it was used when Roger owned it.  Good stuff!) 

Roger was a constable in Providence in 1655, one of six men chosen to hear cases in Providence by 1662, and frequently a Providence juryman.   This seems to be a rise in status from that of "neatherd".

Roger died in Providence January 5, 1666/7, possibly from smallpox.  His widow, Mary, married John Kingsley of Rehoboth, and when she died in January of 1678/9, she was buried at Rehoboth. His will and inventory did not survive King Philip's War, when all but five buildings in Providence were burned, the Tavern being one that was spared.

The line of descent is:

Roger Mowry-Mary Johnson
Nathaniel Mowry-Joanna Inman
Joanna Mowry-Walter Phettiplace
Sarah Phettiplace-Elisha Eddy
Enos Eddy-Sarah Brown
Enos Eddy-Deborah Paine
Joseph Eddy-Susan Lamphire
Susan Eddy-Hiram Stanard
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Their descendents