Holbrook line: Zachariah Eddy 1638-1718

I've written earlier of Samuel Eddy, Zachariah's father, and of John Eddy, his uncle (although I now think that John Eddy was not an ancestor on the Allen side, pending further study).  But Zachariah has been neglected until now, probably because he wasn't in the first generation of immigrants.  But hey, we was born in Plymouth Colony and probably knew, or at least knew of, our Mayflower ancestors.  So his history, to me, is interesting. 

Zachariah (also seen as Zechariah and Zachary) was born March 7, 1639 to Samuel and (probably) Elizabeth Savory Eddy, in Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts.  He was the second of seven children his parents are known to have had.  Samuel was a tailor, but he apparently was not hugely successful because he asked the court to find an apprenticeship or other training opportunities for his children.  Zachariah was just 7 years old when the court approved his placement with John Browne, to train to be a husbandman or whatever else Mr. Browne desired.  John Browne was a man of considerable wealth and talent, so it was a good opportunity for Zachariah to learn much from him.  We are not sure whether that happened.  At any rate, 7 year old Zachariah said good-by to his parents and presumably moved to Rehoboth, where the Brownes lived.  His term of service was for 14 years, until Zachariah was 21 years old. 

Peter Browne was involved in the founding of Swansea, Massachusetts, and Zachariah and his brother, Caleb, are also considered among the first founders of the town.  He married Alice Paddock, daughter of Robert and Mary Holmes Paddock, on May 7, 1663, in either Plymouth or Middleboro, Massachusetts.  They may have settled immediately in the land that became Swansea, although the town itself wasn't founded until 1667.  The town selected him to be one of three waywardens in 1671, roughly these men were superintendents of highways. 

I didn't find any record that he was ever made a freeman, perhaps because he became a member of the Baptist Church in Swansea, which is one of the oldest Baptist churches in America.  I wonder whether Peter Browne influenced his decision one way or the other, to join this church.  Or his wife could have had some influence.  Nevertheless, it may have been hard to leave the Puritan church that had been a part of his early life.

I didn't find an occupation for Zachariah, although it is likely to have been as a husbandman, as he was trained to do.  He did own some marsh land, and probably other land, too, so it's easy to think he did at least some farming.  He and Alice had at least eight children, apparently all born at Swansea.

Life in Swansea was probably good, but also probably not easy.  It got even harder when King Philip's War broke out.  Swansea was one of the first villages attacked, although apparently everyone made it to the local garrison safely.  Some of the homes were burned, and there was fighting in the area for quite a while.  The little village escaped back to Plymouth for the most part, and it is believed that our family was part of this group.  I found no record that Zachariah was part of the militia but it's hard to believe that he would not have responded to protect his home and home town. He was of the right age and unless he had a physical infirmity, which I haven't seen mentioned, he would have had some role to play in either the defense or the offense.

The Eddy family was back in Swansea about 1678, rebuilding whatever had been lost to the native Americans.  Alice Paddock Eddy died October 24, 1692 and Zachariah then married Abigail, the widow of Dermit or Jeremiah Smith.  She brought children to the marriage, too, although they may have been close to grown, as Zachariah's own children were.  (I'm not finding a date for the second marriage, so perhaps Zachariah married when some of his own children were preteens or teenagers.

When Zachariah died, his estate was very small, valued at close to 65 pounds.  He mentions the lands that he had previously given to each of his sons, and adds that any money owed him by his sons should be forgiven.  His wife Abigail is to live in the homestead granted son Caleb for the rest of her natural life, and he left her money, also.  He left his great Bible to a grandson.  His will specifically grants a carbine to one son, a musket to another, and a fowling piece to yet another.  Zachariah died September 4, 1718 and is buried at the Eddy family burial grounds at Swansea, where his parents and many other family members are also buried. 

Although we know quite a bit about Zachariah, there is also much we don't know, especially about his life in Swansea.  But it is interesting to find another early Baptist in the family, and it's intriguing that our Pilgrim fathers would have known him.  This was a time when much of what was to become America was being constructed, day by day and town by town.  We are privileged to feel a little of this through reading about the lives of Zachariah Eddy and other of our ancestors.

The line of descent is

Zachariah Eddy-Alice Paddock
Zachariah Eddy-Amphillis Smith
Elisha Eddy-Sarah Phetteplace
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
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

  

Holbrook line: Samuel Eddy, Immigrant, of Plymouth

He wasn't a Mayflower Pilgrim, but there he is, arriving in New England in 1630, probably, and settling in Plymouth Colony.  So he knew our Mayflower ancestors William Brewster, Myles Standish, and Edward Doty.  He was a tailor, so he may even have sewn clothes for them and their families.  How cool is that!  I also find it "cool" that there is quite a bit of material available about him, so let's start at the beginning. 

Samuel Eddy was born on or before May 15, 1608 in Cranbook, Kent, England, the child of William and Mary Fosten Eddy.  If that location and those parents seem familiar, it's because John Eddy, an ancestor on the Allen side of the family, was Samuel's brother.  I've written about John before.  We know little of Samuel's life in England, except that he was a PK, (preacher's kid, for those who don't recognize the initials).  His mother died in 1611 and his father died in 1616, so it's likely that his  guardian, older bother Phineas, was the one who decided that Samuel should learn the trade of a tailor.  We don't know how much schooling Samuel had, but the terms of his father's will said that he was to be educated before being put to a trade.  So presumably he at least had a few years of primary school, and could read and write.

It's believed that Samuel came to New England with his brother John in 1630.  John settled in Watertown but Samuel decided to stay in Plymouth Colony.  He had enough money left from his father's bequest to purchase a home within two years of his arrival.  It's not known for sure when he married, but it was probably around 1635 or 1636 because the children started arriving in 1637.  It is believed, but not for certain, that his wife was Elizabeth Savory.

Samuel and Elizabeth had somewhere between 5 and 8 children, depending on which list you believe.  Robert Charles Anderson in "The Great Migration Begins" credits them with five children, all born between 1637 and 1647.  Life may have been difficult for the two, as they sent at least three of the children to live with others, and to be taught a trade.  It's possible that there was not great call for a tailor in Plymouth, or perhaps there was competition.

Samuel was made a freeman on January 1, 1634/35, and was on the surviving tax lists for many years after.  He apparently had some sort of aptitude for real estate, because he bought several different parcels during his lifetime, and was granted more by the colony.  In 1632/33, his servant, Thomas Brian, ran away but I was not able to learn the resolution of this.  His wife Elizabeth was called to court two different times for being absent from the meeting house on Sunday.  Once she was doing laundry (which may have been a necessity as there was sickness in the house) and once she went to Boston because someone was ill there, and asked for her.  She was admonished, but apparently not punished further, both times.

Samuel was still practicing his tailor trade in 1675/76, because the colony paid him for making uniforms for the soldiers who fought in King Philip's War.   Samuel had been a member of the training band but by the time of this war, he was in his late 60's, and had probably been excused from duty.  Samuel and Elizabeth moved to Swansea, Massachusetts about 1680, and Samuel died there a year later.  He had apparently donated some of his land as a burial ground for his family there, and there are a lot of Eddy wills and estates through the 1700s and later.  Elizabeth died at Swansea in 1689.  I've been unable to locate a copy of the will or estate.

So here is Samuel Eddy, tailor, husband, father, church member, tax payer, and probably a good man.  It would be nice to know more about him, but we have enough information to recognize that he was a valued member of his society and an ancestor worthy of our respect.

The line of descend is:

Samuel Eddy-Elizabeth Savory
Zachariah Eddy-Alice Paddock
Zachariah Eddy-Amphyllis Smith
Elisha Eddy-Sarah Phetteplace
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
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
  

Thomas Savory, maybe an immigrant?

This is more of a plea for help than a blog post, actually.  I've had such difficulty in pinning this man down that about all I can write about him will be theories and speculation.  The one thing I am reasonably certain of is that he married Mary (Marie) Woodcock (Woororke, or something similar) on January 26, 1595 in Hannington, Wiltshire, England.  This would probably make his birth date sometime in the early 1570's but that is really just a guess.  I show on my tree that his parents were Robert and Joan Savory, but I haven't seen good documentation for that and so I regard it merely as speculation.  Robert and Joan did have a child named Thomas in that time period and location, but so did at least one other couple, so I say "show me".

We don't know when he came to America.  In fact, there are those who don't think he came to America at all.  Because his daughter was Elizabeth Savory who married Samuel Eddy in Massachusetts Bay Colony, I lean toward the idea that he was here but I have no proof.  He most likely is not the Thomas who came to America in 1633, and neither is he the one who came on the Mary and John in 1634. 

There is even considerable dispute about his children.  Some lists do not include Elizabeth, but she does seem to fit in this family, due to her birth date of May 1607, between two of her brothers.  It's possible that Elizabeth came to America without her parents, but no proof has been found. 

So Thomas is a mystery, and I'm asking for help in finding him.  If he came to America, he deserves recognition.  If he didn't come to America, then how did Elizabeth get here, and were Thomas and Mary her parents? 

This blog post is written as quite evident proof that there is much more to be learn about our ancestors.  Did Thomas come to America and possibly live just a short time?  Did he stay in England and perhaps perish in the Civil War there?  Did he die on board ship?  How did he stay under the radar for so long?  I hope to update this blog post at some point in the future, but let this be evidence that finding accurate information about our ancestors is difficult!

The (supposed) line of descent is:

Thomas Savory-Mary Woodcocke
Elizabeth Savory-Samuel Eddy
Zechariah Eddy-Alice Paddock
Zechariah Eddy-Anphillis Smith
Elisha Eddy-Sarah Phettiplace
Enos Eddy-Sarah Brown
Enos Eddy-Deborah Paine
Joseph Brown Eddy-Susan Lamphire
Susan Eddy-Hiram Stanard
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

Holbrook line: Robert Paddock 1584-1650

Why am I writing about a man who lived 400 years ago when there are many more recent ancestors I haven't touched upon yet?  My answer would be that he's got a very interesting story, even though his history may or may not be proven.  The problem is that some of the initial research done on the Paddock family may or may not be bogus, and may or may not have been produced by Gustave Anjou, who was famous for manufacturing false genealogies.  So we will have to take the information about the French ancestry of Robert Paddock with a grain or two of salt, until more definitive research is undertaken.  Still, it's fun to think that this line back to medieval France and minor nobility might be correct.

Robert Paddock was born in 1584 in Stephenstown, Balrothery Parish, County Dublin, Ireland.  His parents are believed to have been John Paddock, who was born July 19, 1550 in La Cateau, Cambrai, Nord France, and Jane Jennings or Jenin, also born in France.  Now, one could ask why a French couple were in Ireland, and why an Irishman was in Plymouth Colony, and we can only offer conjectures.  John Paddock probably left France due to religious or/and political reasons, as the 1580's were a time of great religious upheaval and persecution in France.  There were likely economic reasons that he left France, also.  However, if he was a Protestant, why did he end up in County Dublin, Ireland?  John Paddock was probably known as Jean Paddoc in France, and if you believe the undocumented records, he came from "lesser nobility" and his ancestors can be traced back to the early 1300's.  So, we may or may not be a little bit French.

Robert Paddock is documented a bit better, but there is still much we don't know, including when he arrived in America, and why he came to America.  He was a blacksmith, having inherited his father's blacksmith shop in Ireland.  The Pilgrims are known to have recruited blacksmiths as that was a trade that apparently did not come over on the Mayflower, or perhaps the practitioner(s) died in those very early years of the Colony.  It is believed that he and his second wife, Mary Holmes (probably) were here by 1632.  Robert's first wife had been Mary Ball, but she died in 1627.  He is supposed to have married Mary Holmes in October of 1630, and they had 6 children together, Robert, Elizabeth, Zechariah, Mary, Alice, and John.  Robert had another daughter, Susanna, but she was by his third wife, Mary Trine. 

I haven't found reference to Robert's religion, but he was given land with other settlers and was given civic responsibilities, so he may have been a "saint".  He met up with the law on at least one occasion, when he and William Clarke had too much to drink and had to pay a fine.  He was constable of Plymouth Colony, and he was a member of the Plymouth Company militia, which included all men able to bear arms, as Indians were a constant threat.  His commander was Captain Miles Standish. 

Apparently his death came rather suddenly, because there was no written will.  His death bed statement asked Mary to give John Paddock, his son of about 5 years of age, to Thomas Willet for upbringing.  Thomas Willet was later Mayor of New York.  It is not clear why special arrangements were made for this child and not for the others. 

Most of this information was obtained from The Paddock Genealogy by Robert Curfman, with some corrections made due to information found later.  Mr. Curfman himself was somewhat suspicious about the French pedigree, but to date I know of no one has been able to provide documentation of any other ancestry for Robert and John/Jean.  Regardless, it's fascinating to know that this ancestor of ours would have known William Brewster, Miles Standish, and Edward Doty, our Mayflower ancestors, and would likely have performed services for them. 

Our line of descent is:
Robert Paddock-Mary Holmes
Alice Paddock-Zechariah Eddy
Zechariah Eddy-Amphillis Smith
Elisha Eddy-Sarah Phettiplace
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
Holbrook children, grand children, great grandchildren and great great grandchildren