Holbrook line: Another John Lamb, quite mysterious

I can tell you a lot of things John isn't.  He isn't the son of Thomas and Dorothy Harbottle Lamb.  He isn't the son of Thomas (see above) and Elizabeth Lamb.  He isn't the John who died in Springfield, Massachusetts in 16*90.  He isn't the John who died January 9, 1677 in a saw mill accident in New London or perhaps Stonington, Connecticut, although there are indications this may have been John's son, John.  We know several things about who he wasn't, but there's not much to show who he was. 

I was surprised when I started researching John Lamb to find him first in Kittery, Maine.  I had to pull up a map of Kittery, which is in York County (a new county for me to research in, perhaps making this number 238!!) to realize this was not at all far from the northern shores of Massachusetts.  At the time, of course, it was part of Massachusetts Bay Colony, so John can be forgiven for being in "new" parts.  However, we don't know when or where he was born, or how he arrived in Kittery, or even when he arrived in Kittery. 

Most guesses put his birthdate at about 1623, with two or three different locations being put forth for his home at birth, and several guesses as to his parents.  If we accept that the John killed near Stonington was his son, and assume that he was probably not more than 24 (since he would likely have been married by then) and assume that he was the first or second son of John's, then our John could have been born as late as 1630.  John himself tells us that he was 45 years old in 1670, when he testified in court, so even though these dates are not always accurate, it is as close as we are likely to get. 

We know he was in Kittery, Maine in 1651, because then and again in 1653 he was called a liar in court (a thief also, in 1651) although I don't know the disposition of those cases.  I also don't know whether he was single or married at this time, although it must have been around this time that he married.  His son Thomas sold part of his inheritance to brother Samuel in 1695.  The best guess is that John died sometime around 1681, and likely some of his seven children were minors at this time, which could explain why there is no discussion of an inheritance until 1695.  But that is supposition.

It's believed that his wife's name was Ann.  She may have been Ann Skelton, or she may have been Ann Plaistead.  The Plaistead guess seems to be based on that 1670 court case, when John testified on behalf of Roger Plaistead about lands in dispute between Connecticut and Rhode Island.  In 1674, John made inquiries on behalf of this same Roger Plaistead about building a fulling mill near Stonington.  There was some sort of connection here, but whether this is enough to establish a family relationship appears doubtful.  There seems to be even less support for the Skelton idea.  So for now and perhaps forever, the name of John's wife is not known. 

He was a charcoal burner in Kittery, which was a lonely, demanding job, since the charcoal had to be tended to almost constantly.  Charcoal was needed for the iron smelting process.  He received grants of land in Kittery in 1655 and 1666, but by 1663 was in New London, or possibly near Stonington, Connecticut.  We don't know why he changed locations.  At his new home, he seems to have been a farrier and a blacksmith as well as a farmer and a miller.  Again, the records are scanty.

He may be the John Lamb who became a freeman at New London in 1670, but that isn't clear.

The implication is that John died about 1681, when there was testimony about what John told John Packer about problems in a mill wash.  Since John himself didn't testify, he was likely either too sick to testify or had already died.

So he don't know his parents, his origins, when he arrived in New England (I'm thinking he was possibly an indentured servant), who he married or when, or much about his life near Stonington.  We don't know what he thought of King Philip's War, or whether he might have served in earlier militias.  We don't know why he was only about 55 when he (most likely) died.  We assume that he attended church but there don't seem to be records to confirm this.  He apparently prepared a will in 1673 but it's been lost.  "Johnny, we hardly knew ye."

Please, if someone knows more or has insights into this family, please contact me!

The line of descent is

John Lamb-Ann
Elizabeth Lamb-Daniel Longbottom
James Longbottom-Elizabeth Jackson
Elizabeth Longbottom-John Eames
Hannah Eames-James Lamphire
Susan Lamphire-Joseph Eddy
Susan Eddy-Hiram Stanard
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

Allen line: John Gunn, Quartermaster 1641-1726

John Gunn or Gunne is another one of our ancestors who contributed to the Westfield, Massachusetts family connections.  For such a small village, we certainly had a lot of Allen ancestors there, back in the day.  We know a little bit about him, but not a lot. 

John was the son of Thomas and Elizabeth possibly Brown Gunn, born July 8, 1647 in Windsor, Connecticut.  Thomas was an inkkepper in Windsor but left for Westfield "early".  Since Westfield wasn't formed until the late 1660s, John may well have been 25 years old or so before moving, if he left at the same time his father did.  John was apparently in Westfield when he married Mary Williams, daughter of John and Mary (maiden name Burley, Bulkeley, or something else) on January 22, 1678. 

John seems to have been one of four children who survived infancy, and he and Mary had at least six children.  There is a four year gap between two of their children, so it's possible there was another baby, or a miscarriage.  Women typically had children every two years or so, unless illness or absence prevented it.

We don't know for sure what John did for a living but he likely farmed, at least enough to support his family.  He had land both in Windsor and in Westfield at one time, and eventually sold the Windsor land.  He may have purchased more in Westfield at about the same time.  He seems to have been a respected man in town and probably accumulated some wealth, although I have not been able to locate a will or inventory for him-yet.

His gravestone calls him "quartermaster". which has me scratching my head.  John lived through King Philip's War, Queen Anne's War, and King William's War.  John Root, another of our ancestors,  was listed as a commissary in Westfield for King Philip's War, and it seems, unless I am missing something, that the two terms have the same definition.  It's possible that John Root took care of the troops who were garrisoned in Westfield and John Gunn took care of supplying the troops who went further afield, fighting the natives and their French instigators.  It would be interesting to figure out which conflict or conflicts John Gunn was part of, and whether he was part of any actual skirmis or battles. 

Mary died in Westfield November 26, 1711, and John survived her by close to fifteen years.  He lived until Spetember 17, 1726.  The records say he died in Springfield but was buried in Westfield.  He may have been staying with daughter Mercy in Springfield, or he may have gone there for medical attention.  At any rate, he lived a long life, about 85 years. 

We don't know certain things about John but we can infer that he could read and write, because most men in the town could.  We can guess that if he wasn't a church member, he at least attended church, because regular church attendance was required in Puritan towns, whether or not one was a member.  And we can know that he was a good citizen and attended town meetings, because, again, it was required.  He did much to help shape America, just by living and raising his family.

The line of descent is

John Gunn-Mary Williams
Mary Gunn-Samuel Root
Martin Root-Eunice Lamb
Martin Root-Ruth Noble
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 family: Martin Root, Patriot 1721-question mark

There is probably more information about Martin Root than I have been able to find.  It is probably documented better than I have been able to find.  He seems to be a very elusive person, so this is only the best I can do, at this time.  I just don't want him to go completely unnoticed in our family, because he lived through some very turbulent times and surely there are records to search that I've not yet located.  If and when I do, I will either update this post or do a whole new post. 

We know that Martin was born either December 19, 1720 or December 14, 1791.  It's quite possible there were two babies by the name of Martin Root.  It's also possible that the date on one, or the other, or both, has been misread.  His parents were Samuel and Mary Gunn Root, and he was born in Westfield, Massachusetts.  Martin's grandparents had all been born in New England so his connections with England were tenuous, at best.  Maybe his grandparents had passed on a story or two, but most of what he knew would have come from his own home and surrounding towns.

Martin married Eunice (sometimes seen as Unis) Lamb, daughter of Samuel and Martha Stebbins Lamb, on May 16, 1745 in Springfield, Massachusetts, where the Stebbins and Lamb families had lived for many years.  Westfield is currently 14 miles from Springfield but if we make allowance for a sprawling city, maybe it was more like 20 miles at the time.  However, Westfield had a small river that connected with Springfield, so transportation would have been easy.  The two may have met through mutual family members or friends, or their fathers may have done business together, or perhaps a chance meeting on the street.  

Samuel and Eunice had 11 children together, starting in 1746 and ending in 1767. (Eunice, you have my admiration and my sympathy, both!).  I've not yet learned what Samuel did for an occupation, nor have I learned what, if anything, he did in the French and Indian War.  He was certainly a perfect age to have been in the conflict, and the Springfield area contributed a lot of men to the effort, but I've not yet located his name in a file or record.

We do know, however, that he is listed as a Patriot in the DAR index, because he was a member of the Committee of Correspondence, Inspection, and Safety in 1776 and 1777.  They worked to co-ordinate with other cities in Massachusetts (and probably Connecticut) and helped make sure the men had the best supplies available to them.  Several websites state that he marched to Lexington after the April 18,1775 alarm but it seems to me that it's more logical that it was his son, Martin Root, Jr. (also our ancestor) who went on that expedition.  Martin Junior was born in 1753 and would have been the right age to go to war.  However, the Martin Root military story is even more complicated because the Martin Root who shows up on Fold 3 records died in 1777, which doesn't fit either of our men.  So some more digging needs to be done on the Revolutionary War story.  Regardless, the service on the Committee does allow anyone who can prove descent to join the DAR, if you are so inclined.

I haven't found a death date for Eunice, but neither have I found a re-marriage for Martin.  So perhaps they both lived to a good age.  Martin's death date is also in dispute.  Many websites give it as 1788 but "Deaths in the First Church, Westfield, Massachusetts 1728-1836" gives a date of March 11, 1791 for Martin Root, with the notation 71 years.  This closely matches our Martin and I am using this until someone sets me straight or I find further information.  Again, there were several Martin Roots and it's possible that this is "the other" Martin Root, if there was one.

That's not much information for a man who lived 71 years, more or less.  We know his family but we don't know how he supported them.  I've not found a will.  I did find a record of an ear mark for cattle registered by son Martin, so there is that slight hint that maybe his father also had a farm.  I would certainly love to know whether/when/where he served in the French and Indian War.  The hint in the death record shows us that he was a member of the First Church of Westfield.

It's frustrating to feel that there are stories that need to be told, and yet they are just beyond my fingertips.  I'd love to hear from others who are researching this man!

The line of descent is:

Martin Root-Eunice Lamb
Martin Root-Ruth Noble
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: John Lamb 1628-1690

Is it breaking the rules to call John Lamb an immigrant?  He was only two years old when he came to New England, so he had no say at all in whether to come.  Yet, not understanding the purpose of being uprooted and joining his parents on a small and dark ship, he shared the voyage and shared the wonder of arriving in a world totally unlike anything he knew in England.  From the eyes of a two year old, this would have been a big deal, and yes, I think we can call him an immigrant.  Besides, he's in the Allen line and I don't have many opportunities any more to write about this side of the family. 

It would be interesting to know how closely his parents, Thomas and Elizabeth Lamb, could follow the typical Puritan methods in raising children under the circumstances of sailing across the ocean.  Were they stern, were they relaxed?  Certainly they, especially Elizabeth, would have been watchful as there were many ways for little ones to get hurt, or worse, on a ship.  The other women on board would have helped, surely, but it wouldn't have been an easy job.  Actually, our ancestor John  had sibling Thomas with him, so at least there was someone to play with. 

John was born to Thomas and Elizabeth on or before August 1, 1628 at Barnardiston, Suffolk, England.  He would have been baptized in the local church, which had parts dating back to the twelfth century, so this was a very old village indeed.  Likely there was quite a bit of family in the area, as that is common for small villages, so again one wonders what the pioneer immigrants were thinking. 

John came with his parents to Roxbury, Massachusetts, where Thomas died in 1646.  Five years later, in 1651, John settled in Springfield, Massachusetts where he was made a freeman in 1654.  He was a wheelwright and perhaps an "East Indian trader".  That may mean he owned part of a ship that traveled to the East Indies, or it could have other meanings.  It gets a little dicey here because he is supposed to be living in Springfield and in Kittery, Maine at the same time.  I suspect there were two John Lambs, and they have been a bit intermingled in this part of the story. Perhaps the man in Kittery was the one who was engaged in trading.  More research needs to be done on this.  

In Springfield, he became an important part of the town.  He was a fence viewer, a surveyor of highways, a sealer of weights and measures, a sergeant of the Westfield Garrison during King Philip's War, and he  had the fifth seat in the church (seats were assigned according to wealth and piety as well as status in the town). 

John was married to Joanna Chapin, daughter of Samuel Chapin and Cicely Penny) about 1650, and they had eleven children, with the last being born in 1674.  Joanna died in 1683 and John died September 28,1690, just two or three years after he had married Lydia Wright Bliss Norton.  His estate was valued at a little over 421 pounds, which was respectable indeed.  He had more animals than many of his neighbors would have had, several good sized parcels of land, more tools and implements, and more household goods than would have been common.  John Lamb had done all right for himself. 

The line of descent is:

John Lamb-Joanna Chapin
Samuel Lamb-Rebecca Bird
Samuel Lamb-Martha Stebbins
Eunice Lamb-Martin Root
Martin Root-Ruth Noble
Ruth Root-Samuel Falley
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants

James Longbottom, Immigrant

I'm really not sure whether I should be writing this blog post or not.  Most of the sites say that James is "assumed" to be the father of Daniel Longbottom.  But then, most sites clearly have erroneous information about James, giving him the same birth date and marriage date, and stating, without any proof that I can find, that he died in Norwich, New Haven County, Connecticut.  So let's see what we do know about James, and try to separate fact from speculation. 

James Longbottom was probably born about 1605, more or less, somewhere around the village of Todmorden, West Yorkshire, England.  A James Longbottom married Isabel Hoult on August 19, 1628 at Heptonstall, Yorkshire, England. Note:  The name is spelled Longbotham in England). This couple is often given as Daniel's parents.  It's possible, because no one seems to know when exactly Daniel was born, although his birth year is typically given as 1658-1660.  If this is Daniel's birth year, then it's not likely that Isabel was his mother, although it's barely possible, especially if Daniel was born say 5 years earlier.  Or James may be the father, but another woman may be his mother.

James's place of death is frequently given as Norwich, New London County, Connecticut.  In a review of some of the available on line sources, I've not been able to verify that.  (A son of Daniel's did die in Norwich, and that might be the source of the confusion.)  James is believed to have died in 1674, which would mean that he wasn't likely living with Daniel, in Norwich as Daniel would have been young.

OK, so there are all those things we don't know about James.  But I believe I've found traces of him, not in Norwich but in Rhode Island.  The time period fits and the story there is believable.  He was first of Newport, and in 1660 was one of a group of six who bought land from the native American Narragansett tribe in 1660, representing a group of about 80 men.  This land later became the town of Westerly, R.I., and James drew the 55th lot when land was distributed.   The town was on the east side of the Pawtucket River, and there were disputes with Stonington, Connecticut, when persons from Stonington built on disputed land there.  Eventually this led to quite a feud, and some of the Westerly men were thrown in jail (not sure whether this was in Connecticut or in Massachusetts).  I didn't find a list of the men who were arrested so we don't know if this included James or not, but it surely included some of his friends and neighbors. 

There is a list of freemen of Westerly on March 18, 1669 that does not include James Longbottom.  Was this an oversight?  Was he not a freeman?  Or had he, perhaps, already left the area for Norwich, or gone back to Newport?  Any of these are possible.  The land that James had bought in Westerly was sold by Daniel Longbottom in 1714, which is the reason James is believed to be Daniel's father.  He could be a grandfather, though.  Also there is one reference that Daniel sold land of James's in 1674.  This would mean Daniel had to be at least 21 years of age at the time. 

Here we come to the end of what I've been able to locate about James Longbottom.  He is as shadowy as they come, and if it weren't for the information we have about him in 1660-1661, we wouldn't know he had been in America at all.  Newport and later Westerly had early Baptist histories.  Perhaps James was a Baptist, and his death was simply not reported to the authorities.  It would appear that he stayed out of legal trouble, based only on the idea that no one has reported finding him in court records. 

Some of our ancestors like to hide behind thin veils and some behind thick curtains.  Some may stay hidden there during my lifetime, but perhaps these hints will allow someone else to do some real digging, perhaps in Yorkshire, and come up with a more definite sketch of our ancestor.  I certainly hope that is the case, for I'd like to know more about James Longbottom!

The probable line of descent is:

James Longbottom-possibly Isabel Hoult
Daniel Longbottom-Elizabeth Lamb
James Longbottom-Elizabeth Jackson
Elizabeth Longbottom-John Eames
Hannah Eames-James Lamphire
Susan Lamphire-Joseph Eddy
Susan Eddy-Hiram Stanard
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
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: Thomas Bird 1593-1662, Immigrant

The dates I've used in the title of this are not ones I necessarily put much credence in.  Most sources say Thomas was born about 1600 in England, and that he died in 1662 in Hartford, Connecticut.  I've been able to find a few bits and pieces of information about Thomas but not nearly as much as I'd like, and some of those bits and pieces don't necessarily belong to this man.  I've tried to weed out the obviously wrong ones. 

So, Thomas was born in England and died in Hartford, Connecticut.  There is a Thomas Bird who was baptized November 5, 1593 in St Andrew Parish, Enfield Borough, London, England. He was the child of Robert and (from a different, undocumented source) possibly Amy.  This may be our Thomas although 1593 is several years away from "about 1600".  The jury is still out, as far as I'm concerned, as other researchers feel strongly that he came from the area of Braintree, Essex. We don't have birth dates for the children (Hannah, James, Joseph, Mary) but based on their marriage dates, they were probably born in the 1620's, so Thomas's first marriage would have taken place there, too.  I've seen various names for this first wife put forth but they are all just speculation at this point.  We do know he married Mary Belden as a subsequent wife, about 1660, in Hartford, Ct.. 

Thomas and his family were in Hartford by 1639, when he was granted land there.  He also purchased land from Thomas Judd in 1644.  There is apparently no mention of him in church records, but it is likely he was a Puritan, one who possibly stayed out of trouble with both the church and the courts.  His name is notable more for the lack of records than for the records currently available. 

We don't know when his wife died, but Thomas remarried just about two years before his own death, which was probably in July of 1662.  His inventory was presented on August 10, 1662 and showed a total estate of 149 -05-10.  This was not a large estate but it wasn't poverty level.  I'm still looking to find more about the inventory.  Son Joseph was left the dwelling place and land, but I don't know if that was all of the land or just the land the dwelling was on.  I also don't know if there was more than one piece of land at the time of Thomas's death. 

As is often the case, there is much not known about this immigrant ancestor, who by most standards was not an "illustrious" man.  But he was here, he supported the culture of the area, he probably paid his taxes and tithes, and probably served in the military, and he supported his family.  Those were the things that the many "ordinary" men did, and we can be proud of each of his actions.  I'd certainly like to learn more about him!

The line of descent is:

Thomas Bird-unknown first wife
James Bird-Lydia Steele
Rebecca Bird-Samuel Lamb
Samuel Lamb-Martha Stebbins
Eunice Lamb-Martin Root
Martin Root Jr-Ruth Noble
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: John Root 1608-1684, Immigrant

Although we know quite a bit about John Root, there are two big questions I have after going through all the material I can find about him.  The first is his origin.  His gravestone, which I think is old but probably not dating back to 1684, states that he was a "Descendant of the Huguenots Routtes who fled from France to England."  I've seen statements that this headstone was actually put up as late as 1880, and that the statement should be discounted because it was an American who had it installed. Being an American doesn't necessarily make it wrong, of course, and there is a Thomas Routte/Roote/Root who is accepted by the National Huguenot Society as being an ancestor.  I don't know how much credibility to apply to this statement except that it does seem likely that at some point the Routte family came to England.

The second mystery about John is his parents.  They are given everywhere as John Roote and Mary Ann Russell or Rushall.  However, we are also told that John was raised by a wealthy uncle, and looking at the family tree, it appears that this couple might fit that description.  I can't find documentation as to his birth or to the death of these "parents" so I'm not clear on exactly who John is.  However, he was born February 26,1608 in Badby, Northamptonshire, England.  Supposedly the uncle who raised him was pressing John to go into the Parliamentary Army under Cromwell, and our John was not willing to do that, so he came to America as a Puritan and settled in Farmington, Connecticut in 1640. 

He married Mary Kilbourne, most likely after arriving in Farmington but possibly in England.  Their first known child was born in 1642 in Farmington, so if they met soon after John's arrival, possibly in church, then a marriage perhaps in 1641 and a child born a year later would make sense. 

John was a weaver as well as a farmer.  We know that he and his wife were members of the church in Farmington, that John served on several juries at Hartford, and that he was apparently a respected man of his town.  We are fortunate that copies of his estate are still available.  At his death, it was valued at 819 pounds.  Interestingly, it includes a list of the 32 books in his library, most of which were religious.  There was one "law book" and it's not clear what a couple of the other books were, but most had titles like "Israel's Safety" or "door of Salvation."  His inventory also included a long gun, a musket, a carbine, a backsword and belt, and various equipment needed to support these weapons.  It is likely that he was part of the "military train" for much of his life, but since he lived until 1684, when he would have been 76 years old, he had probably been excused from military service some years earlier.  He was have been 67 or 68 when King Philip's War broke out, so likely stayed home to help guard the women and children when the men of the town were called out. 

John died in August of 1684 and his wife Mary died in 1697.  Among his descendants, so our cousins, are President Rutherford B. Hayes, Louisa May Alcott (yes!  I knew I liked her!), Nancy Davis Reagan, Bess Wallace Truman, and Clint Eastwood.  He contributed much to American's history, besides settling in Connecticut and helping make a town out of the wilderness.

Our line of descent is:

John Root-Mary Kilbourne
John Root Mary Ashley
Samuel Root-Mary Gunn
Martin Root-Eunice Lamb
Martin Root-Ruth Noble
Ruth Root-Samuel Falley
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants

A second line is the same for the first two generations, and then is:

John Root-Sarah Stebbins
Sarah Root-Thomas Noble
Stephen Noble-Ruth Church
Ruth Noble-Martin Root
and so on.  Ruth Noble and Martin Root were second cousins, if I have this figured right.  So we're doubly related to all those famous people I mentioned! 

Allen line: Anthony Dorchester 1619-1683 Immigrant

Although quite a bit is known of Anthony's life in America, little is known of his life in England.  He is believed to have been born about 1619, and some sources list, without documentation that I have found, his parents as being Anthony and Sarah Dorchester.  Since Anthony himself had a wife named Sarah, I hope the two men are not being confused.  I tend to believe his parents are not yet identified.

We don't know when Anthony came to America, either.  Some believe it was as early as 1633, but Robert Charles Anderson hasn't covered him in any of the Great Migration publications that I've reviewed, so until there is some verification we will have to leave that as unknown.  His second wife, Martha Chapman, may have been from Digswell, Hertfordshire, England but that may not be a clue since the marriage took place in Springfield, Massachusetts. 

Savage, in his genealogical Dictionary of First Settlers of New England, says that Anthony went to Springfield about 1649 (probably soon after the death of his first wife, Sarah) but had been at Windsor, Ct. for some years prior (he is listed as a founding father of Windsor) and may have been at Hingham before that.  Children by his first wife were John, Mary, and James, and were likely born in Windsor between 1644 and 1647. (Therefore, it is possible that a father or grandfather of Anthonhy's would have been John.)  It is possible that Sarah died in or from complications of childbirth, since 1649 would have been about the time she would likely have had another pregnancy.  With three small children to raise, Anthony needed a wife quickly, and less than three months after Sarah died, he was married to Martha Chapman Kitcherel, who was either from Digswell as indicated above or from Rolvenden, Kent, England.  Apparently the jury is still out on her origins.  Martha had children from her marriage, so it must have been a lively household as three more Dorchesters, Benjamin, Sarah and Hester, were added to the family.   Martha died December 17, 1662 and Anthony next married Elizabeth possibly Cummins, his wife for the last 21 years of his life.  She must have been an amazing woman to raise so many children who weren't "hers" by birth!

Anthony lived in very interesting times and the book "Colonial Justice in Western Massachusetts" tells at least one interesting story to indicate this.  We don't generally think of slaves at that time period in Massachusetts, but it definitely was a fact of life.  Jack ran away from his owner after one too many beatings, and 10 days later was at the Dorchester home.  He asked for some tobacco, which the Dorchesters gave him, and then there was some sort of a struggle.  It took Dorchester, his wife, and a daughter to subdue the man, possibly with the aid of a cutlass or possibly the cutlass "came out stiff" and therefore wasn't effective. When Jack was searched, he had in his pocket a knife belonging to Anthony.  Jack was sent to jail until he was released into the custody of Lieut. William Clark.  That night, the Clark house burned down, and Jack was soon found guilty of arson.  He was sentenced to be hanged and his body to be burnt to ashes.  It's not clear whether he ever stood trial for the events at the Dorchester home. 

In addition to this story, Anthony and his wife were witnesses in a witchcraft case.  It seems that an one time Anthony was working for Hugh Parsons, perhaps as a laborer, and he and Parsons each owned 1/4 interest in a certain cow.  When the cow was killed, both men wanted the tongue.  Dorchester got it, and it was put in the pot to be cooked but "mysteriously" disappeared.  This was one of several incidents that got Hugh and his wife accused of witchcraft.  Mrs. Parsons was tried in Boston for the death of her child, apparently believed to be witchcraft.  She was found guilty but before she could be hanged she died in jail, apparently deranged.  Mr. Parsons was also convicted of witchcraft but the General Court didn't confirm the conviction and he was allowed to leave Massachusetts.  There's more to the Parsons story but our interest is in the Dorchesters, and it is interesting to see that both slavery and witchcraft touched their lives. 

Anthony was a miller and a ferrier (ferryman? or farrier?) but he would have done at least some farming.  We know he signed a petition in 1668 (along with a lot of other Allen ancestors and relatives) asking that the imposts, or tariffs, be lifted.  We know that in 1663 he took an oath of fidelity, apparently routine, as part of the training band.  He was on some local juries and was a selectman for Springfield.  He was made a freeman of Springfield in 1661.  He helped build the meeting house in Springfield, or at least was on a committee to supervise the building. 

Anthony appears to have been relatively poor.  He died without a will but his son John helped formulate an agreement with the heirs, including Martha, the daughter of Martha Chapman, who claimed that her mother had brought some property to the marriage.  I'd love to find that inventory to see what was there when Anthony died August 28, 1683.  Did he have a Bible and other books?  Did he still have that cutlass?  I'll keep looking!

The line of descent is: 

Anthony Dorchester-Martha Chapman
Sarah Dorchester-Joseph Stebbins
Martha Stebbins-Samuel Lamb
Eunice Lamb-Martin Root
Martin Root Jr-Ruth Noble
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: John Williams, Immigrant

Maybe I don't have enough information to write about this man.  In fact, I certainly don't have enough information.  What information I have found is confusing.  He was born here, or he was born there. There are no records of when he arrived in the colonies.  He married her or he married her.  He died then or he died 54 years later.  Do you see what I am talking about?  This post is going to be based mostly on either/ors, with a few things thrown in that I do believe related to our ancestor.

The first either/or is the place of his birth.  Most sources list St Giles, Cripplegate Parish, London, England in 1618, with his parents being Robert Williams and Elizabeth Stratton.  Others say he was born in Norfolk, England, or unknown parents.  Since we can't pin down where he was born or the names of his parents we also know nothing about his life in, presumably, England. 

We don't know when he came to the Colonies, but we know he is listed as a founder of Windsor, Connecticut, and there is probably a record of him there in 1639.  I say "probably" because I can't find another researcher who has pointed this out, perhaps as a matter of delicacy.  It shows our ancestor, if this is indeed our John Williams, in a somewhat unsavory light, as he was sentenced in Hartford court in 1639 "to stand upon thee pillory from the ringing of the first bell to the end of the lecture, then to be whipt at a cart's tail and to be whit in a like manner at Windsor within eight days following."  (From The History of Ancient Windsor by Henry Reed Stiles).  The charge was "behaving in an unclean manner" which could mean anything from visiting a prostitute to touching a woman, or any manner of other possibilities.  Two other men were sentenced with him at the same time, but whether they were all involved in the same event is not clear.  At this time, John would have been about 21 years old, old enough to know better but perhaps too young to care.

He apparently recovered from this event and saved enough money to buy land in 1644, 14 acres.  This wasn't enough to support a family but it was probably enough to raise pigs, sheep and chickens for a family to live on.  This was important because in the same year John married, in Windsor, Connecticut.  His wife was Mary, but it's not clear what her last name was.  It may have been Burley, or Berkly, but does not seem to be Bulkeley, as has often been reported.  (That means a whole lot of my family tree is wrong and we are not nearly as much of royal pains as I had believed.)

John and Mary, however are our ancestors and they did raise a family in Windsor, of at least eight children.  We find John's name on a list of horsemen formed in Windsor in 1657-58, but he isn't on a list of people who purchased pews in the church in 1659-1660. Mary died, apparently in Windsor, in 1681 and five years later John married Esther or Hester Kelsey.

 There doesn't seem to be any further reference to him in Windsor after 1658, until his will written February 10, 1707/08, in which he says is is of Windsor.  However, there is a confusing reference to John and Mary in Westfield, or it may be that it was their daughter who was in Westfield, Massachusetts.  Someone by his name was a fence-viewer in Westfield.  More research needs to be done to track the last years of his life.  There are those who say that he died in 1658,but that doesn't appear to be correct.

At any rate, his will in 1707/08 says he was of Windsor.  The will was filed four years later but when  filed in 1712 it was contested because no executor had been named and because John "as [a} person 96 years of age, had become childish and infirm in his intellectuals."  The court approved Hester to claim her widow's share of the estate, but there were court proceedings 25 years later attempting to divide up a small part of the estate among heirs of his heirs.  The estate, when originally inventoried, had been valued at 222 pounds.  Hester lived until 1720.

The line of descent is:

John Williams-Mary Burley
Mary Williams-John Gunne
Mary Gunne-Samuel Root
Martin Root-Eunice Lamb
Martin Root Jr-Ruth Noble
Ruth Root-Samuel Falley
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants

Fun fact:  John and Mary are the ancestors of Humphrey Bogart, making him a distant cousin.  


 

Allen line: Rowland Stebbins 1592-1671 Immigrant and Allen ancestor at least three times

Rowland Stebbins is a name the Allen family should hold dear, for we have at least three different lines that go back to this man and his wife.  I guess somehow that would probably make us our own cousins, but that gets too complicated to think about.  At any rate, Rowland Stebbins is a name we should recognize and acknowledge.  Fortunately, there is some information about him so that we know a little more about him than we know about some of our other immigrant ancestors. 

Rowland Stebbins was born or christened November 5, 1592 in Bocking, Essex, England, the son of Thomas Stebbins and Ellen, whose maiden name is unknown.  He had at least two brothers and a sister, and there may have been more children in the family.  His older brother Dennis died soon after birth, so for all intents and purposes, Rowland was the oldest child in the family.  We don't know what the family did for a living but much of the town at that time was involved in the woolen trade in some fashion, so it is likely that this family also participated in some aspect of that business, whether raising sheep, manufacturing the cloth, or trading in it.

Rowland married Sarah Whiting, who was three years older than he, on November 30, 1618 at St Mary's Parish, which is where Rowland had been christened.  Sarah was the daughter of John Whiting and Sarah Smith.  The family had at least four children, who traveled with them on the Francis in 1634, along with Mary Winche, who at 15 may have been a servant but also may have been related to either Rowland or Sarah.  We don't know what compelled the family to emigrate, but because he was well regarded in his town of choice, Springfield, Massachusetts, we probably can conclude that religious convictions had something to do with the move.

Rowland is believed to have settled or stayed first in Roxbury, because that is where his younger brother Martin lived.  By 1639, he and his family were in Springfield, Massachusetts Bay Colony, where he stayed for almost 30 years. Sarah died in 1649, and Rowland never remarried. We can probably infer that Rowland was a well respected man in Springfield by the statement that he was in the "first seat" of the Springfield meeting house in 1659 and again in 1662/3.  The "first seat" was a rather coveted position and the family sitting there would generally be either wealthy or extremely pious, or otherwise highly respected by the community. 

He acquired land in various grants from the town, small acreages here and there, including meadows and wood lots so he could grow the hay needed for animals and cut the wood needed to heat the family home.  He doesn't appear to have owned what we would consider a farm, all in one location, but owned various parcels granted by the town as it grew.  Since he wasn't farming, he must have had another occupation but I've been unable to locate it.  He is not known to have signed his name, but signed deeds by "his mark." 

He sold his land in Springfield in 1668 and moved to Northampton, likely to be with an adult child.  He wrote his will March 1, 1669/70 and died December 24, 1671.  His inventory totaled a little over 121 pounds, of which 66 pounds was real estate. His will leaves property to his sons John and Thomas, to his daughter Elizabeth, and to various grandchildren. 

There is much I would like to know about Rowland, such as his presumed service in the militia, how he might have dealt with the local natives, what his occupation was, and more about his daily life.  However, we know he was an immigrant, a pioneer in the frontier town of Springfield, and the father of four children who lived to adulthood.  Once again, he is worthy or our respect.

Here is one line of descent:

Rowland Stebbins-Sarah Whiting
Thomas Stebbins-Hannah Wright
Joseph Stebbins-Sarah Dorchester
Martha Stebbins-Samuel Lamb
Eunice Lamb-Martin Root
Martin Root Jr-Ruth Noble
Ruth Root-Samuel Falley
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants

We have another line through Rowland and then Thomas, and one through Rowland and son John.  It's complicated! 

Allen line: Thomas Gunn 1605-1681

First, there is a wonderful website with pages and pages of interestingly written information about our immigrant Thomas Gunn.  It is at thomasgunnfamily.com/1st-generation/ and I urge my readers  to read as much of that as they are willing to do.  Not only does it give a lot of information about Thomas's life, but it also tells some compelling stories and gives a good background for many of our ancestors, not only Thomas Gunn.  Compared to that narrative, this is a very condensed version.

It's believed that Thomas was born in 1605, possibly around the area of Dorset, England, but so far records have not turned up to document that.  The 1605 date is given because John Winthrop Jr. treated Thomas in 1666 and said he was then a man of about 61 years of age.  If Dorset was indeed the place of his birth, the most likely industries that he would have been involved in as a young man were either maritime, or sheep farming.  Neither one showed much promise at the time economically, and Thomas may also have been a Puritan when he sailed for America.

It's not known for sure when Thomas came to America but "Great Migrations" gives him an immigration date of 1634.  The Thomas Gunn site mentioned above says he came in 1629.  At any rate, he would have been a young or youngish man when he came.  He settled in Dorchester, part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and was made a freeman there in 1635, meaning he was at least 21, of proper religious beliefs, and had property worth 20 pounds.  He may not have been completely happy, because he soon joined Rev. Thomas Hooker's group and went to Connecticut in 1636, where he is recognized as one of the first founders of Windsor.  He may have married before making the trek to Windsor, and his wife's name may have been Elizabeth.  It has been suggested that her last name was Browne, but that seems to not have been proven yet. 

Thomas and his wife had four or perhaps five children in Windsor.  One or perhaps two daughters named Elizabeth died young.  John, Mehitable, and Deborah survived into adulthood.  Thomas was a respected man in Windsor as he raised his family.  He frequently served on the petit jury, and was also several times either a defendant or a plaintiff in court cases.  He moved on to Westfield, Massachusetts before 1669, and again helped establish a town in a wilderness. 

Westfield was extremely fortunate during King Philip's War in 1675-1676 to have escaped a direct attack by the natives.  Westfield had been told to send their women and children to Springfield for safety, and the town refused, deciding instead to stay, plant their crops, and keep vigilant watch. 
Thomas would have been one of the soldiers at the town, as he did not ask until 1678 to be relieved of his militia duties due to his infirmities.  He would have been 73 years old at the time, so we can infer that up to this time he had been healthy enough to satisfy his military obligations.

Thomas died at Westfield February 26, 1680/81.  His wife had died in 1678.  The estate was left to his son John with 5 shillings given to daughter Deborah.  (Her husband, Timothy Thrall, had been given several parcels of land earlier).  Daughter Mehitable received 20 pounds, with each of her four children receiving 5 pounds, and the balance went to son John.  The estate was valued at 349 pounds, of which 254 pounds was the house and several parcels of land.  Thomas had done well for himself.

I was unable to locate an occupation for Thomas, but we know that he farmed.  If he had other interests or business ventures I have been unable to find them.  He was another ancestor who worked hard, raised his family well, and helped build America, by helping to found two towns that still exist today.   

The line of descent is:

Thomas Gunn-possibly Elizabeth
John Gunn-Mary Williams
Mary Gunn-Samuel Root
Martin Root-Eunice Lamb
Martin Root Jr.-Ruth Noble
Ruth Root-Samuel Falley
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Their descendants

Allen line: Robert Ashley 1620-1682 Immigrant

I decided to write about Robert Ashley today because part of his story is very real to me as I write.  I have been reading "King Philip's War: The History and Legacy of America's Forgotten Conflict" by Eric B Schultz and Michael J. Touglas, and when I started looking at Robert's life, I realized he lived in Springfield, Massachusetts at the time that the Indian attack took place in 1675.  However, I guess I'm getting ahead of myself. 

There isn't a lot of information about Robert's early life.  He was born in 1620 apparently in Lowesby, Leicestershire, England, although I have seen another birth location listed.  His father is believed to have been William Ashley and Elizabeth or Mary, possibly widow Schuyler.  Almost nothing is known of his life in England.  There are dates postulated as immigration dates ranging from 1626 to 1638.  If he came at the age of 6, it would likely have been with a family member who is as yet unidentified.  If he came later, he may have come about the same time that William Pynchon came, or he may have joined the Pynchon group after he got to Roxbury. 

Although the first notice I've found of Robert in America is in 1639, where he is in Springfield, Massachusetts, some sources say he first spent several years in Roxbury.  Roxbury was the early home of the Pynchons, before William and some other colonists went to the area that would soon become Springfield in 1635.  If  Robert was still underage in 1635, it's possible that his name would not have been noted until after he was 18, so it is possible that he was in Springfield at its founding. 

We know that he was there in 1639,when he agreed to help pay for the minister's maintenance and either helped physically, or contributed monetarily, to build a home for the minister.  He must have worked hard and been a financial success, for in 1641 he won the hand of Mary Eddy, who was the wealthy widow of Thomas Horton.  She had a three year old child and an infant when they married.  It was not necessarily a marriage of equals, because Mary was an educated woman and Robert always signed with his mark, but that doesn't mean that Robert wasn't financially astute or a good businessman.  Mary thought enough of him that she assigned her property that she had inherited from her first husband to Robert, for the use and behalf of her two children. 

Mary was called to account by the town authorities in 1641 for having sold her husband's "piece" (gun) to an Indian and was told to recall it immediately.  She pleaded innocence in that she didn't know it was against the law to do so.  Robert must have either squirmed, being very embarrassed by the whole situation, or else he thought that she needed a man to take care of her.  Regardless, the marriage took place as planned.

Robert soon was a respected member of the community because he was first a juryman in 1639 and 1640, and then was elected selectman of the town for most of the years between 1653 and 1666.  From this, we can deduce that he was a freeman, and a property holder. We don't know for sure what his early occupation was, but his wife's first husband had operated an "ordinary" (tavern/inn) and in 1665 Robert and his wife, keepers of the ordinary, were ordered not to sell any "strong waters" or wine to the Indians.  We don't know if he had been operating the ordinary since his marriage, or whether he acquired it later in life. 

Robert and his wife raised her two children, plus five of their own.  They were born between 1642 and 1652, so they may not have been part of the family home during the Indian troubles of 1675 and 1676.  By the time of King Philip's War, Springfield may have had a population of about 500, and about four small settlements that made up Springfield itself.  It's not clear which settlement held the home and ordinary of the Ashleys, and we also don't know for sure whether the Ashleys were still in Springfield or whether they had fled to other towns where they would be somewhat safer.

Most of the homes in the village, as well as barns and some of the garrisons, were burned by the Indians in that attack.  The homes and barns were looted and ransacked, so that there were few supplies left to the people and they faced a very difficult time, along with numerous of their sister settlements, in keeping food on the table.  Robert would have been 55 years old at the time of the attack, so he may or may not have been involved as a part of the militia.  He may have been excused from training by this time due to his age, but he may also have been considered a "reserve", to be called on when needed.

Robert died on November 29, 1682 and his wife Mary died less than a year later on September 19,1683.  I've not yet located a will for him, but since he died of disease it is likely he had time to write one.  I'll keep looking for it.

I'd love to know more about Robert's story, especially surrounding the harrowing years of King Philip's War.  What an amazing life he led!

The line of descent is:

Robert Ashley-Mary Eddy
Mary Ashley-John Root
Samuel Root-Marry Gunne
Martin Root-Eunice Lamb
Martin Root, Jr-Ruth Noble
Ruth Root-Samuel Falley
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendents

Fun fact:  Robert Ashley and Mary Eddy were the ancestors of Rutherford B Hayes and Franklin D Roosevelt.  We are becoming quite the presidential family! 

Allen line: John Steele 1591-1665 Immigrant

Update 12/6/2020:  It appears that this is a post about a "former ancestor."  I believe it is accurate, until we get to the list of descendants.  Lydia Steele is not our ancestor and thus, neither is John.  But I'll leave the post up in case it is of interest to someone else.  

This immigrant ancestor is a little easier to trace than some.  John Steele was born to Richard Steele and an unknown wife on or about December 12, 1591 in Fairstead, Essex, England.  There is a later marriage of Richard Steele to Elizabeth Bredy in 1595 in the same location, so it may be that John's mother had died.  If this is the same Richard Steele, then John would have been raised by a step mother.  He had an older brother, George, but we don't know of any other siblings.

Fairstead is a very small village, and always has been, so this would have been a town where everyone knew everyone.  I've not located a church for the village but it is possible that there was one.  If not, the family would have had to travel four or five miles to a neighboring town such as Braintree, for church and probably for marketing needs.  Richard would have been a farmer, and possibly John also. 

The records, however, seem to indicate that one way or another John acquired an education, since some of the positions he held in Connecticut would have required more than just the basics.  He also seems to have been a man of good sense.

On October 10, 1622 in Fairsted, Essex, England, he married Rachel Talcott, the daughter of John Talcott and Anne Skinner.  The couple would go on to have 9 children together.  Four of them, John, Samuel, Daniel and Rachel, were born in England before the couple came to the new world.  "The Great Migration" states that John migrated in 1633, but it is only a guess that his family accompanied him at that time.  We do know that he became a freeman on May 14, 1634 at Cambridge, Massacushouetts, so he would have been a member of the church there before that.

(Note:  An 1862 Genealogical History of John and George Steele states that John with his wife Rachel and Samuel, John, and Hannah, came in 1630 and that he was first at Dorchester, before being one of the proprietors of Cambridge (Newtown) in 1632.  This may be based upon the above names being listed as on board the ship Lyon, and arriving in Salem in 1630. So we may be missing a few years of John Steele's history.)

At any rate, he was here early and was appointed the Massachusetts Bay commissioner for new settlements on the Connecticut River on Maarch 3,1635/6.  He is listed as one of the founders of Hartford, Ct. and the Steele genealogy referred to earlier states that he led the pioneer band of settlers there in 1635, arriving at the onset of winter, and that Rev. Hooker and the rest of the company came in 1636. John had acquired several plots of land in Cambridge and he sold them to Richard Bradish just before making the move to Hartford.

He was quite active in Hartford politics, being appointed the recorder in 1640 and for 20 years thereafter.  He was also the recorder for Farmington,  He was a representative to the colony court for 23 years and was present for at least 88 of its sessions.  He was also active in his church and as the head of his large family.

The Steele family moved to and helped found the town of Farmington, Ct in 1645.  There Rachel died on October 24, 1653.  A little over 2 years later, John Steele married again, to Mercy Ruscoe Seymour.  They had no children, but they did have a marriage that lasted 9 years and he called her his "dear and loving wife" in his will. 

John Steele died at Farmington February 27, 1664/65.  His will left his home and appurtenances to his wife for the rest of her life, and then land mostly to his sons and sons-in-law.  He made token bequests to his grandchildren, and a piece of gold to his two daughters.  He had a few books in his home when he died, and 2 Bibles, and two quires of writing paper. 

The line of descent is:

John Steele-Rachel Talcott
Lydia Steele-John Bird
Rebecca Bird-Samuel Lamb
Samuel Lamb-Martha Stebbins
Eunice Lamb-Martin Root
Martin Root Jr-Ruth Noble
Ruth Root-Samuel Falley
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendents

I've loved writing this post.  I had very little about John Steele in my files, but there is a lot of information on-line, as it turns out.  I particularly recommend "The Great Migration Begins" by Robert Charles Anderson as a starting place.

Allen line: Thomas Lamb, another immigrant ancestor

Thomas Lamb (Lambe) is another of our immigrant ancestors.  Although much is known about him, there are still some questions, because what would family history be without unanswered questions?  (One answer might be "finished!", but we are not anything close to being there yet.)

Thomas Lamb was born in Barnardiston, Suffolk, England in 1596 to Thomas and Elizabeth Aylett Lamb. He had two brothers, Edward and Samuel.  The next time we hear of our Thomas, he and his wife Elizabeth (possibly the widow Smith who married a Thomas Lambe in Shropshire, England in 1621, but that is still unproven) and at least two sons are in the Winthrop Fleet coming to the New World.  Thomas was a merchant, and also a Puritan, since he came in that fleet.

Thomas Lamb was one of the founders of Roxbury, receiving 18 acres of land there, between the Meeting House and the Stony River. His neighbors included John Johnson and Isaac Heath.  He took the oath of the general court on May 18, 1631 and became a freeman on October 19, 1631.  He was also one of the founders of the first church at Roxbury.

Thomas and Elizabeth had several children after arriving in Roxbury.  John and Thomas had come with them, and Samuel was born about a month after their arrival in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Their other children were Decline, Abiel, and Benjamin.  Elizabeth died during or just following the birth of Benjamin in 1639, and Thomas married Dorothy Harbittle soon after.  He needed a stepmother for all those children, and Dorothy appears to have been a good one. She also gave Thomas more children. 

It's unclear whether he acted as a merchant at Roxbury, but by 1633 he was opening the first quarry in New England, on the island of Squantom in Boston Harbor. There are additional reports about land acquisitions up until his death on March 28, 1646 of a "grate colde".  I would guess this was pneumonia.  His inventory at the time of his death was 112 pounds, 8 shillings, 8 pence, which didn't include the land he owned.  There was trouble with the estate, and it appears that there were still court proceedings in 1698, trying to prove who owned land that was contested between the Lamb descendents and those of Dorothy Harbittle's second husband, Thomas Hawley. 

I of course would like to know more about Thomas's life in England. How did he become a merchant, or was that designation given to him only in Massachusetts?  With his father dead when Thomas was just three years old, who cared for him and got him started in life?  Was it his mother's family, or a paternal uncle?  And when and how did he become a Puritan? 

Our line of descent is:

Thomas Lamb-Elizabeth
John Lamb-Joanna Chapin
Samuel Lamb-Rebecca Bird
Samuel Lamb-Martha Stebbins
Eunice Lamb-Martin Root
Martin Root Jr-Ruth Noble
Ruth Root-Samuel Falley
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John W Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendents

Allen line: Peter Bulkeley, Puritan, pastor, and gateway immigrant

It's not often that I can "google" a known ancestor and find more information than I can use in a post.  The added bonus is that there is even a portrait of Peter on the wikipedia site.  I encourage anyone who wants to see what this ancestor looked like to go to that site. The article itself is quite interesting with a lot of good sources.  There are books written about Peter Bulkeley and his descendents to the seventh generation, and about his ancestors.  He is discussed in "The Great Migration" by the NEHGS.  In other words, if you want to know more about Peter, you don't need to ask me. You can read what the experts have to say.  Maybe you want just a brief snippet about him, though, and that I can provide.

Peter Bulkeley was born at Odell, Bedfordshire, England on January 31, 1582/1583 to Reverend Edward and Olive Irby Bulkeley.  His father was a "faithful minister of the gospel".  Peter was raised in a home that would have had regular religious education and encouragement.  Peter must have been a very bright young man, for he graduated from St John's College, Cambridge with a BA in 1605 and an M.A. in 1608.  He succeeded his father in becoming the rector of Odell, and served the church there from 1610-1635.  His father had been a non-conformist, and Peter either "became" one or had always been a non-conformist at heart.  By 1633 there were complaints about his preaching, and he was silenced by the archbishop for his unwillingness to conform with the requirements of the Anglican church.  In 1634 he refulsed to wear a surplice or use the Sign of the Cross at a visitation, and was ejected from the parish.

By this time, he had married his first wife, Jane Allen, daughter of Thomas and Mary Fairclough Allen, had nine children with her (some lists give 12 children), and had buried her on December 8, 1626.  He stayed a widower 9 years and in 1635 married Grace Chetwood, by whom he had 4 more children.  The family came to New England in 1635, aboard the Susan and Ellen.  He was ordained at Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1637 and went to Concord, Massachusetts as one of the first founders there.

He was known among Puritans for the "superlative stiffness of his Puritanism" and sat on the church trial of Anne Hutchinson. (Editorial sigh: He was what he was.  I'm not sure growing up in his household would have been much fun.)  He is also known as the author of one of the first books from New England, published in London, "The Gospel Covenant, or the Covenant of Grace Opened".

 Peter died March 9, 1659, in Concord. He seems to have done rather well for himself, financially, having five houses already by 1635/1636.  His estate left books to his oldest son, (having given him a significant gift at the time of the son's marriage), a farm, a mill, 120 acres in land, other small bequests, and 150 pounds to other of his children.   When Grace Bulkeley sold the property in 1663, it included a dwelling house, outhouses, garden, orgard, pasture, a one hundred acre great lot, one hundred forty three acres of meadow (divided), two hundred acres in the hog pens, one hundred fifty acres by the cedar swamp, one hundred twelve acres of woodland, and twenty acres of commons.

Oh, the lineage. Frederick Lewis Weis in "Ancestral Roots" traces it back to William Longespee, illegitimate son of Henry II and Ida de Toeni or Tosny.  The same book, if followed back 40 generations, takes him back to Cerdic, King of the West Saxons.

Tracing the line forward, here is our line of descent:

Peter Bulkeley-Jane Allen
Mary Bulkeley-John Williams
Mary Williams-John Gunne
Mary Gunne-Samuel Roote
Martin Root-Eunice Lamb
Martin Root Jr-Ruth Noble
Ruth Root-Samuel Falley
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward F Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook


Update:  No longer believed to be an ancestor, but I'm leaving this up in case it helps someone else. 

Allen line: Richard Falley, Jr. One of our good guys!

I hope I can convey to you why I have so much respect for this man. Undoubtedly he was not perfect, but from what we can see, he was a hard-working soldier and businessman who led a somewhat adventurous life.

Richard was born on January 31, 1740 at the Lower Settlement on St Georges River in what is now Knox County, Maine.  His parents were Richard Falle and Anna Lamb. Richard Sr according to family tradition was kidnapped from the Isle of Guernsey and sent to the colonies to be sold as an indentured servant.  (Guernsey has a history of belonging to France more than it belonged to England, so the name there would have been Faille, and there were a lot of Failles on the island. As far as I know, no one has yet figured out which was ours).  Richard Sr spent most or all of his indenture period clearing out stumps for his master. He married Anna Lamb, who was an orphan from The Coombs, Dublin, Ireland probably about 1739.  Richard, our good guy ancestor, was their first child, but he had at least 8 brothers and sisters.

The first we learn about Richard after his birth is his service in the French and Indian War. He was just 16 years of old, but that was considered of military age in that time, and his country, or colony, needed him.  Details of when he reported for service are sketchy, but it is known that he was one of the militia who left Ft William Henry alive, after the surrender to the French in Agusut of 1757.  He didn't reach Ft Edward, the immediate destination of the defeated British, but was instead captured by Indians who were "out of control". Eventually he was taken to Quebec, and the story is that a kind woman there "bought" him from the Indians for 16 gallons of rum.  He was eventually released, whether by the kind woman or whether in the general release of prisoners from Quebec at the end of September, and made his way home to what must have been a very relieved family.

"Home" by this time was Westfield, Massachusetts, where Richard started a manufacturing business of sorts.  He seems to have studied gunsmithing and perhaps he was already making guns when the Revolutionary War broke out.  The first order of business for Richard was to join the patriot cause and that meant the militia.  He is variously listed as a second lieutenant, ensign, and first lieutenant beginning shortly after the battles of Lexington and Concord.  His name is on an officer's list as early as May 27, 1775.  He was at the Battle of Bunker (Breed's) Hill in June of 1775 and withdrew to Cambridge with the American forces. With him was his son Frederick, age 14, a drummer for the Revolutionary forces.

Richard was granted beating orders on April 11, 1776, which essentially meant he was a recruiter, responsible for enlisting men to serve in a regiment to be raised to fortify the town and harbor of Boston, which was still under siege by the British. He was also present for the surrender of Borgoyne in 1777, which means he was involved in the expedition to Saratoga. This man must have walked a lot of miles!

About this time the shortage of guns for the American soldiers became a real problem, and Richard returned to his home in Westfield to enlarge the manufacturing and gunsmith work he had been doing.  He built a factory or gunsmith shop at the foot of Mt Tekoa, near Westfield, and his workmen lived in Westfield.  The guns he produced were regarded as being of top quality, and doubtless made a difference in the outcome of later battles in the Revolutionary War.

Richard Falley married Margaret Hitchcock, daughter of Samuel Hitchcock and Ruth Stebbins, in 1762, and they had 10 children. (Our line runs through Samuel, who was born October 9, 1780, and I will likely write about him in a future post.)   One of their descendents was Grover Cleveland, so we are some sort of cousin to the former president of the United States. Richard died in Westfield, Massachusetts on September 3, 1808. He was just 68 years old and one wonders if the hardships of war had anything to do with his relatively brief lifespan. 

It would truly be a genealogy happy dance day, if I could learn who Richard's grandparents were, but for now, he is one of my most admired ancestors and I'm proud to call him my fourth great grandfather.  The line goes: Richard, (Edith, Tessie, Vernon, Corinne) Allen, Edith Clarissa Knott, Harriet Clarissa Starr, Clarissa Falley, Samuel Falley, Richard Falley Jr.