Researching James Cutler, or at least reviewing some of the information found about him on line, was interesting. Usually if a man has been researched well enough to be included in Robert Charles Anderson's Great Migration series, then there isn't much controversy left. I have learned that there is some controversy involving which of James's last two wives would be the mother of our Jemima Cutler Snow. I think The Great Migration is most likely to be correct. But then I wondered why others were choosing a different mother for Jemima Cutler. It seems that James's third wife, Phoebe Page, had a bad reputation. It may have been deserved. So perhaps those who want a pretty genealogy instead of an accurate one may have chosen to go with wife #2. But let's start at the beginning.
James is thought to be the James Cutler, son of Thomas and Anne Cutler, who was born or baptized at Sproughton, Sussex, England on May 21, 1606. That's as much as we know of his childhood and early years, except that Anne died in 1613, when James would have been about 7 years old. He was one of six children born between 1600 and 1610, so perhaps Anne died giving birth, or recovering from another birth, in 1613. His father lived until 1640, so he would have been there, probably with a new wife, to guide the children as they grew and to possibly place them in a position to learn a trade, although James doesn't seem to have practiced a trade as such in New England.
James arrived in New England with his wife Ann and was in Watertown by November 6, when his first son was born. He and Ann (possibly Cakebread, but not proven) had four children in Watertown, but Ann died sometime on or before September 30, 1644. He then married Mary, widow of Mary King, and they had three children. Her date of death is uncertain but was sometime after Sarah's birth in 1653. With his third wife, Phoebe Page, whom he married probably before 1661, he had four children.
Wife Phoebe Page was an interesting woman and it is impossible at this distance to say how much, if any, of the "gossip" about her is true. She sued once and won a defamation case in Watertown, when it was stated that she was pregnant and unmarried. There is at least one statement that she was the Phoebe Page who was whipped in Long Island for fornication, but I didn't find a date for that so have no idea how to evaluate it. She was noted as being "past her prime" when she married James Cutler, and apparently brought at least one child to the marriage with her. Note that James Cutler was also past his prime!
James's only occupation that I could locate was "planter". He is described in his later years as poor, but he was able to give land (not enough to live on, but enough to help) to several of his sons during his lifetime, and still had assets to bequeath when he died. He left Watertown in 1653 and settled in the part of Cambridge known as Cambridge Farms and later as Lexington, where he died in 1694. He had been appointed surveyor of highways in Watertown for the two years just before he moved. He didn't hold offices after that, but his farm was located on the outskirts of Cambridge so it may have been a matter of convenience as much as anything else. Phoebe apparently died before he did, as she is not mentioned in his will.
James's will was written November 24, 1684 and proved August 20, 1694. His estate was valued at a little over 108 pounds, of which 100 pounds was real estate. Remembering that he had previously given land to sons, and apparently dowry to one or more daughters, this was not a poor man, although he was not well off, either. He was kind enough in his will to leave something to the children of his second wife, and to a daughter "Phoebe" was was apparently the daughter of third wife Phoebe Page, but not his child. He actually left her a number of items which "must not be brought into my inventory", indicating that these items were likely Phoebe Page's when she came to the marriage.
I think I like James Cutler. He was willing to take a woman "past her prime" as a spouse, he cared for his step children as well as his children, and he made something out of (presumably) nothing when he was able to acquire and farm the land he didn't really know how to cultivate (not an insult; no one in New England really knew what they were doing as far as farming and raising animals went. It was a different climate and a different soil, and a different growing season. It took time to adapt.) . Although there is little indication that he was a good Puritan (or for that matter, a bad one), he did have a Bible in his estate when he died. Let's give the man a break, and a thank you!
The line of descent is:
James Cutler-Phoebe Page
Jemima Cutler-Zerubabbel Snow
William Snow-Elizabeth Stevens
Lucy Snow-Josiah Whittemore
Josiah Whittmore-Betsy Foster
Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Showing posts with label Page. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Page. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 5, 2019
Friday, November 9, 2018
Holbrook line: Another John Page, Immigrant 1614-1687
We only think we know the year of John's birth. It appears to be based on his age at his death, which is always a little bit suspect if proof can't be found. So the year may be off, and we don't know his place of birth, and we don't know his parents. They were not John Page and Phebe Paine Page, whom I wrote about last week. They were not Robert and Lucia Warde Page as they were too young. I have seen a Robert Page and Margaret Goodwin listed, but they are not stated to have had a son John, although they continued to have children for years after Robert's death. Trust not in that suggestion!
So we don't know where John came from. It's believed he arrived in Massachusetts Bay Colony about 1635, but is not mentioned in Robert Charles Anderson's "Great Migrations" books. Speculation is that he came with George Marsh's family in 1635 as an indentured servant, and then married "the boss's daughter". He became a freeman at Hingham in 1640, which meant his indenture, if any, was complete by then. This implies church membership, and also gave John the right to vote and to hold office, sit on juries, and be an active citizen. About this same time, he married Mary Marsh, daughter of George Marsh, as their first child was baptized at Hingham on July 11, 1641.
In 1646, he was granted land in Haverhill, but apparently didn't move his family there right away as more children were baptized in Hingham after that date. (Of course, they could have simply liked the pastor in Hingham, or had other reasons for having the baptisms done there.) It appears that John was a carpenter and he may have been busy building homes and warehouses for Haverhill residents for several years, until he also was able to build a home for his own family. John and Mary had 12 children, including a still born son and an infant son who lived only a few months. In addition, they adopted Abigail Marsh, daughter of Mary's brother Onesiphorous, when she was fifteen years old, so it was a large family and probably needed a large house! John's house lot in Haverhill was on the river, which meant the boys probably did a lot of fishing, and there may have been some trading going on, too. A river lot was much to be desired.
John died November 23, 1687, and Mary died in 1697. He died without a will, but his estate wasn't settled until 1723. We don't know why there was a delay or what prompted the final settlement, but his grandson, Thomas Page, was the final executor.
John Page was a pioneer, who lived on the frontier during the early days of Massachusetts settlement. Since he was a carpenter, he literally helped build America. We can be proud of him.
The line of descent is:
John Page-Mary Marsh
Mercy Page-John Clough
Benoni Clough-Hannah Merrill
Benjamin Clough-Faith Hart
Lydia Clough-John Whittemore
John Whittemore-Lucy Snow
Josiah Whittemore-Betsy Foster
Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
So we don't know where John came from. It's believed he arrived in Massachusetts Bay Colony about 1635, but is not mentioned in Robert Charles Anderson's "Great Migrations" books. Speculation is that he came with George Marsh's family in 1635 as an indentured servant, and then married "the boss's daughter". He became a freeman at Hingham in 1640, which meant his indenture, if any, was complete by then. This implies church membership, and also gave John the right to vote and to hold office, sit on juries, and be an active citizen. About this same time, he married Mary Marsh, daughter of George Marsh, as their first child was baptized at Hingham on July 11, 1641.
In 1646, he was granted land in Haverhill, but apparently didn't move his family there right away as more children were baptized in Hingham after that date. (Of course, they could have simply liked the pastor in Hingham, or had other reasons for having the baptisms done there.) It appears that John was a carpenter and he may have been busy building homes and warehouses for Haverhill residents for several years, until he also was able to build a home for his own family. John and Mary had 12 children, including a still born son and an infant son who lived only a few months. In addition, they adopted Abigail Marsh, daughter of Mary's brother Onesiphorous, when she was fifteen years old, so it was a large family and probably needed a large house! John's house lot in Haverhill was on the river, which meant the boys probably did a lot of fishing, and there may have been some trading going on, too. A river lot was much to be desired.
John died November 23, 1687, and Mary died in 1697. He died without a will, but his estate wasn't settled until 1723. We don't know why there was a delay or what prompted the final settlement, but his grandson, Thomas Page, was the final executor.
John Page was a pioneer, who lived on the frontier during the early days of Massachusetts settlement. Since he was a carpenter, he literally helped build America. We can be proud of him.
The line of descent is:
John Page-Mary Marsh
Mercy Page-John Clough
Benoni Clough-Hannah Merrill
Benjamin Clough-Faith Hart
Lydia Clough-John Whittemore
John Whittemore-Lucy Snow
Josiah Whittemore-Betsy Foster
Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Friday, November 2, 2018
John Page 1586-1676 Immigrant
Recently I broke through a "brick wall" and here is the first of what I hope will eventually be several blog posts about our "new" ancestors. I was hoping to find an inspiring story about this man, about how he started from nothing and became a respected member of society, or maybe how he was already a respected member of society when he arrived here. Sadly, neither situation seems to be the case. John Page was a man with faults, perhaps more faults than some of our other ancestors. His family here appears to be somewhat dysfunctional. It's not really the kind of post I like to write. But here it is.
John Page was most likely christened on September 25, 1586 in Boxted, Essex, England to Robert and Susanna Syckerling Page. He was "about 90 years old" when he died in 1676, and he stayed in the same general area until about 1630. One June 5, 1621, he married Phebe Paine, daughter of William and Agnes Neves Paine, at Lavenham, Suffolk, England. These two towns were about 14 mile apart but of course their homes may have been closer than that. When the Pages prepared for their move to America in 1630, they were living in Dedham, which was about 11 miles from Lavenham. Other folks from Dedham went with the Winthrop Fleet also, so the Pages were not alone.
Technically they weren't alone anyway, because at least two of their children, our two ancestors, were with them on the trip. Both children were born after several years of marriage so it's possible that there were other children, or other pregnancies, that we don't know about. Also several of Phoebe's siblings were in the area, so she probably saw them from time to time. And then, they were part of Rev. George Phillip's company, so they had brothers and sisters in Christ. John and Phoebe would have two more children in Watertown, but Daniel didn't live long. Samuel would join Phoebe against older brother John in a lawsuit after father John died in 1676.
John was appointed constable of the new town of Watertown in 1630, and admitted freeman there in 1631. He was a grantee in several land divisions in the early years of the town, but by 1642 was no longer receiving land through the town land divisions. Apparently he had already sold his homestead, which meant he was no longer eligible to acquire land by grant. He was in financial trouble early, writing such a desperate letter back to Dedham that a pastor there sent him some flour so he could feed his family. Was the man a poor money manager, or a speculator, or had he simply miscalculated how much money and food he would need in the New World? Maybe the loss of his home by fire in 1631 had forced him over the edge, financially.
John and Pheobe's daughter Phebe caused them grief. As she matured, she resented her father and had various ummm various escapades with men she wasn't married to. (This is a G rated blog, so I'm trying to be careful here). Apparently she could still get along with her mother, but her relationship with her father was cold and distant. She sued a man for defamation, for saying she was with child while unmarried, but there were a lot of witnesses against her and she lost the case. This was when Phebe reported she just wanted to go far away and lie down and die. Fortunately for us, she was not granted her wish.
We know little else about John. He apparently withdrew a little ways from town onto land he owned, and lived the rest of his life there. He and his wife Phebe lived in a half a dwelling, the other half perhaps occupied by John Page Jr. (Son John had gone to help settle Groton, Massachusetts but had returned to Watertown when Groton was burned during King Philip's War). John died December 18, 1676 and Phebe died less than a year later, on September 25, 1677.
There was quite a fight in court about John's estate. The inventory was not totaled but it included land valued at 50 pounds, and a Bible and two small books, plus various household goods and 2 cows. The court ruled that son John, executor, was entitled to all of the estate because of the care he had given his father in his old age. Samuel and Phoebe got nothing. This apparently caused quite a fuss in the town, as people took sides in the dispute, but the court ruling stood.
That's what we know about John Page. We don't know how faithful to the church he might have been, or how his life changed as he met economic reverses. We don't know why it seems that he didn't overcome them. We don't know why his daughter held him in such low esteem, or why she had her various escapades. We simply don't know why he might be diagnosed today as "failure to thrive". But he's our ancestor, and without him, where would we be?
Our line of descent is:
John Page-Phebe Paine
Phebe Page-James Cutler
Jemima Cutler-Zerubabbel Snow
William Snow-Elizabeth Stevens
Lucy Snow-Josiah Whittemore
Josiah Whittemore-Betsy Foster
Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
John Page was most likely christened on September 25, 1586 in Boxted, Essex, England to Robert and Susanna Syckerling Page. He was "about 90 years old" when he died in 1676, and he stayed in the same general area until about 1630. One June 5, 1621, he married Phebe Paine, daughter of William and Agnes Neves Paine, at Lavenham, Suffolk, England. These two towns were about 14 mile apart but of course their homes may have been closer than that. When the Pages prepared for their move to America in 1630, they were living in Dedham, which was about 11 miles from Lavenham. Other folks from Dedham went with the Winthrop Fleet also, so the Pages were not alone.
Technically they weren't alone anyway, because at least two of their children, our two ancestors, were with them on the trip. Both children were born after several years of marriage so it's possible that there were other children, or other pregnancies, that we don't know about. Also several of Phoebe's siblings were in the area, so she probably saw them from time to time. And then, they were part of Rev. George Phillip's company, so they had brothers and sisters in Christ. John and Phoebe would have two more children in Watertown, but Daniel didn't live long. Samuel would join Phoebe against older brother John in a lawsuit after father John died in 1676.
John was appointed constable of the new town of Watertown in 1630, and admitted freeman there in 1631. He was a grantee in several land divisions in the early years of the town, but by 1642 was no longer receiving land through the town land divisions. Apparently he had already sold his homestead, which meant he was no longer eligible to acquire land by grant. He was in financial trouble early, writing such a desperate letter back to Dedham that a pastor there sent him some flour so he could feed his family. Was the man a poor money manager, or a speculator, or had he simply miscalculated how much money and food he would need in the New World? Maybe the loss of his home by fire in 1631 had forced him over the edge, financially.
John and Pheobe's daughter Phebe caused them grief. As she matured, she resented her father and had various ummm various escapades with men she wasn't married to. (This is a G rated blog, so I'm trying to be careful here). Apparently she could still get along with her mother, but her relationship with her father was cold and distant. She sued a man for defamation, for saying she was with child while unmarried, but there were a lot of witnesses against her and she lost the case. This was when Phebe reported she just wanted to go far away and lie down and die. Fortunately for us, she was not granted her wish.
We know little else about John. He apparently withdrew a little ways from town onto land he owned, and lived the rest of his life there. He and his wife Phebe lived in a half a dwelling, the other half perhaps occupied by John Page Jr. (Son John had gone to help settle Groton, Massachusetts but had returned to Watertown when Groton was burned during King Philip's War). John died December 18, 1676 and Phebe died less than a year later, on September 25, 1677.
There was quite a fight in court about John's estate. The inventory was not totaled but it included land valued at 50 pounds, and a Bible and two small books, plus various household goods and 2 cows. The court ruled that son John, executor, was entitled to all of the estate because of the care he had given his father in his old age. Samuel and Phoebe got nothing. This apparently caused quite a fuss in the town, as people took sides in the dispute, but the court ruling stood.
That's what we know about John Page. We don't know how faithful to the church he might have been, or how his life changed as he met economic reverses. We don't know why it seems that he didn't overcome them. We don't know why his daughter held him in such low esteem, or why she had her various escapades. We simply don't know why he might be diagnosed today as "failure to thrive". But he's our ancestor, and without him, where would we be?
Our line of descent is:
John Page-Phebe Paine
Phebe Page-James Cutler
Jemima Cutler-Zerubabbel Snow
William Snow-Elizabeth Stevens
Lucy Snow-Josiah Whittemore
Josiah Whittemore-Betsy Foster
Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Friday, April 27, 2018
Holbrook line: John Clough, Immigrant, 1613-1691
Oh, how I love this ancestor of ours! Why, you may ask? The primary reason is that there is a lot of information about him, more than I can use, and so research isn't needed. I'm just compiling some of what I've found here. For more information, go to Robert Charles Anderson's Great Migration: Immigrants to New England 1634-35, or to "The John Clough Genealogical Society" on-line. There, you will find more details about his story than I can use here.
Even though there is a lot of information about him, he is another one of those "origin unknown" men. I have temporarily listed his parents as John Clough and Susanna, but that is not documented at all, so far as I can tell. This "fantasy father", as I call him, is reputed to have died at Jamestowne, Va., so if it could be proven, there would surely be an interesting story there.
He is believed to have arrived in 1635 on the ship Elizabeth, although others say he may have arrived in 1634. There were two John Cloughs in Massachusetts Bay Colony at the same time, so the matter may be debated until reasonable proof is found. I'm saying he arrived in 1634 because there are references in 1638 to him having served either as an apprentice or as an indentured servant for four years, and he was released from that relationship then.
John was a house carpenter and also seems to have been some sort of sawyer, because he was asked to help make up 12,000 feet of merchantable boards in 1673. The two occupations would have worked well together; perhaps he prepared the wood for the homes he built. His first residence was at Ipswich but he was in Salisbury, Essex County, by 1639. His house lot is shown on a map dated to about 1640, although his name is not on a list of first settlers that I found. Surely his talents would have been needed, in building homes for the families that would settle there. Salisbury is on the most northern of the towns in Massachusetts, right on the Atlantic Ocean. If you go further north, you're in New Hampshire. It would have been a very pretty location, as well as practical because there was also a river there.
John served on various juries as required by law but he doesn't seem to have been generally active in civic affairs. He was the constable in 1662 and served as some sort of arbiter in 1679. He married Jane, whose last name is unknown, sometime in or before 1642, and the two had seven known children. Jane died in Salisbury on January 16, 1679/80. John waited seven years and then married Martha Blaisdell Bowden Cilley. They had no children. John died at Salisbury on July 26, 1691. He left a will because Robert Charles Anderson has had access to it, but it isn't in the Essex County probate records that are on line. However, Anderson reports that his estate was valued at 284 pounds, 8 shillings, of which 215 pounds was real estate, and also reports that his inventory included books. He provided for his second wife in his will, and also mentioned children and grand children.
Apparently not much is known about his religious beliefs, or his education (he did sign his will), or whether he was involved in any type of militia during his earlier years. There was a garrison in town, so presumably he would have at least helped defend the garrison, in case of attack. He may even have been involved in its construction. He is another of our mostly unsung heroes who helped build and protect the first settlements in New England. Thank you, sir!
The line of descent is:
John Clough-Jane
John Clough-Mercy Page
Benoni Clough-Hannah Merrill
Benjamin Clough-Faith Hart
Lydia Clough-John Whittemore
Josiah Whittemore-Lucy Snow
Josiah Whittemore-Betsy Foster
Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Even though there is a lot of information about him, he is another one of those "origin unknown" men. I have temporarily listed his parents as John Clough and Susanna, but that is not documented at all, so far as I can tell. This "fantasy father", as I call him, is reputed to have died at Jamestowne, Va., so if it could be proven, there would surely be an interesting story there.
He is believed to have arrived in 1635 on the ship Elizabeth, although others say he may have arrived in 1634. There were two John Cloughs in Massachusetts Bay Colony at the same time, so the matter may be debated until reasonable proof is found. I'm saying he arrived in 1634 because there are references in 1638 to him having served either as an apprentice or as an indentured servant for four years, and he was released from that relationship then.
John was a house carpenter and also seems to have been some sort of sawyer, because he was asked to help make up 12,000 feet of merchantable boards in 1673. The two occupations would have worked well together; perhaps he prepared the wood for the homes he built. His first residence was at Ipswich but he was in Salisbury, Essex County, by 1639. His house lot is shown on a map dated to about 1640, although his name is not on a list of first settlers that I found. Surely his talents would have been needed, in building homes for the families that would settle there. Salisbury is on the most northern of the towns in Massachusetts, right on the Atlantic Ocean. If you go further north, you're in New Hampshire. It would have been a very pretty location, as well as practical because there was also a river there.
John served on various juries as required by law but he doesn't seem to have been generally active in civic affairs. He was the constable in 1662 and served as some sort of arbiter in 1679. He married Jane, whose last name is unknown, sometime in or before 1642, and the two had seven known children. Jane died in Salisbury on January 16, 1679/80. John waited seven years and then married Martha Blaisdell Bowden Cilley. They had no children. John died at Salisbury on July 26, 1691. He left a will because Robert Charles Anderson has had access to it, but it isn't in the Essex County probate records that are on line. However, Anderson reports that his estate was valued at 284 pounds, 8 shillings, of which 215 pounds was real estate, and also reports that his inventory included books. He provided for his second wife in his will, and also mentioned children and grand children.
Apparently not much is known about his religious beliefs, or his education (he did sign his will), or whether he was involved in any type of militia during his earlier years. There was a garrison in town, so presumably he would have at least helped defend the garrison, in case of attack. He may even have been involved in its construction. He is another of our mostly unsung heroes who helped build and protect the first settlements in New England. Thank you, sir!
The line of descent is:
John Clough-Jane
John Clough-Mercy Page
Benoni Clough-Hannah Merrill
Benjamin Clough-Faith Hart
Lydia Clough-John Whittemore
Josiah Whittemore-Lucy Snow
Josiah Whittemore-Betsy Foster
Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants
Tuesday, October 3, 2017
Beeks line: Thomas Page 1595-1676
I'm going to do a dangerous thing here, and write a little bit about an ancestor who hasn't been researched much. At least, he hasn't been researched enough for the genealogy world to come to a consensus about who he is.
Still, he's a good reminder that the Beeks family is made up of so many different kinds of people, who came from so many different places and so many different walks of life . Since there are still brick walls there may yet be more surprises for this family. Today I'm writing about Thomas Page, who was born about 1595 in England and died March 10, 1676 in Rappahannock County. I do have notes in my files as to the possible identity of his parents, but I am not sure enough about them to list them here. Likewise, I have a name for a wife but she was about 30 years younger than he was so while it's possible that his wife was Elizabeth Allen, she surely would not have been his first wife since daughter Mary was born just 6 years after Elizabeth. I've found a reference that says his wife was Elizabeth Finch Allen, and was born in 1607, but again, I'm not finding the documents or supporting evidence.
What we do think we know about Thomas is that he came to America in 1650. THe record I'm looking at sas he was "granted" land several times. Only one of those times was the number of acres a nice, even number that would indicate possibly he had head rights for bringing 12 persons from home, or elsewhere, to work in the colony. Also one listing includes 600 acres but is dated 12 plus years after Thomas died. Either this land went to a different Thomas Page, or it could be that it was a delayed entry kind of thing. The land he acquired included a parcel of 281 1/2 acres on the south side of Rappa River, another 600 acres on the south side of Rappahannock River, another 3075 acres in the same general location, and then 783 acres, and finally a second entry for 600 acres. His will is said to be missing so we don't know how he disposed of it, or what other assets he may have had.
I have found reference to him as a colonel but I'm not sure what the basis for that is. His death date is given as March 10, 1676 in Rappahannock County, and that's as much as most of the genealogy world seems to know about Thomas. We know from earlier reading that if this is one Thomas Page who owned all this land, he must have been a tobacco farmer and probably a fairly well to do man at that. The strong suspicion is that he would have had slaves or indentured servants, or both, to work the fields. His home may have been fairly substantial, for the time and place, and he would most likely have belonged to the Church of England, like most of his neighbors.
Thomas's heritage interests me, and the heritage he left his family is interesting, too. Virginia planters were not at all common in the Beeks family, especially those who had a military rank like "Colonel". I hope we can find more information about him!
The line of descent is believed to be
Thomas Page-Elizabeth
Mary Page-Valentine Allen
William Allen-Mary Hunt
Francis Allen-Peter Lehew
William Lehew-Hannah
Mary Lehew-William Featheringill
Elizabeth Featheringill-George Botkin
Charity Botkin-Jackson Wise
Mary Wise-William Beeks
John Beeks-Eliabeth Wise
Wilbur Beeks-Cleo Aldridge
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants
Still, he's a good reminder that the Beeks family is made up of so many different kinds of people, who came from so many different places and so many different walks of life . Since there are still brick walls there may yet be more surprises for this family. Today I'm writing about Thomas Page, who was born about 1595 in England and died March 10, 1676 in Rappahannock County. I do have notes in my files as to the possible identity of his parents, but I am not sure enough about them to list them here. Likewise, I have a name for a wife but she was about 30 years younger than he was so while it's possible that his wife was Elizabeth Allen, she surely would not have been his first wife since daughter Mary was born just 6 years after Elizabeth. I've found a reference that says his wife was Elizabeth Finch Allen, and was born in 1607, but again, I'm not finding the documents or supporting evidence.
What we do think we know about Thomas is that he came to America in 1650. THe record I'm looking at sas he was "granted" land several times. Only one of those times was the number of acres a nice, even number that would indicate possibly he had head rights for bringing 12 persons from home, or elsewhere, to work in the colony. Also one listing includes 600 acres but is dated 12 plus years after Thomas died. Either this land went to a different Thomas Page, or it could be that it was a delayed entry kind of thing. The land he acquired included a parcel of 281 1/2 acres on the south side of Rappa River, another 600 acres on the south side of Rappahannock River, another 3075 acres in the same general location, and then 783 acres, and finally a second entry for 600 acres. His will is said to be missing so we don't know how he disposed of it, or what other assets he may have had.
I have found reference to him as a colonel but I'm not sure what the basis for that is. His death date is given as March 10, 1676 in Rappahannock County, and that's as much as most of the genealogy world seems to know about Thomas. We know from earlier reading that if this is one Thomas Page who owned all this land, he must have been a tobacco farmer and probably a fairly well to do man at that. The strong suspicion is that he would have had slaves or indentured servants, or both, to work the fields. His home may have been fairly substantial, for the time and place, and he would most likely have belonged to the Church of England, like most of his neighbors.
Thomas's heritage interests me, and the heritage he left his family is interesting, too. Virginia planters were not at all common in the Beeks family, especially those who had a military rank like "Colonel". I hope we can find more information about him!
The line of descent is believed to be
Thomas Page-Elizabeth
Mary Page-Valentine Allen
William Allen-Mary Hunt
Francis Allen-Peter Lehew
William Lehew-Hannah
Mary Lehew-William Featheringill
Elizabeth Featheringill-George Botkin
Charity Botkin-Jackson Wise
Mary Wise-William Beeks
John Beeks-Eliabeth Wise
Wilbur Beeks-Cleo Aldridge
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Beeks line: Valentine Allen 1630-1712 Immigrant
I've spent considerable time in my genealogy life looking at this family and trying to work out a connection to the James Allen in my line, not realizing that I needed to be interested in Valentine because he was in the Beeks line, whether or not he is also in the Allen line. I'm finding there is a lot of conflicting information about this Valentine, and perhaps there is more than one person with the name Valentine Allen. This will just be a brief description of what seems to be proven and what is questionable, and hopefully as time goes on someone will find the smoking gun that proves or disproves the questionable "facts".
Everyone seems to agree that Valentine was born in either 1630 No one seems to agree on where that birth took place, nor on whom the two participants in that birth were. Many sites say he was born at "Isle of Wight, Virginia" to John and Catherine Mayor Allen. I don't think the birth location is correct because I found records for his arrival in Virginia in 1650, as a headright for John Catlett and Ralph Rousey. Of course, it's possible that he was born in Virginia and sent back to England to be raised if, in fact, his mother's death date is also 1630, as I have frequently seen listed, but with no documentation. At any rate, we know he was in Virginia, in what was then Northumberland County, in 1650.
Arriving as a headright meant Valentine would have had to work for several years, usually three or four, either for the men who brought him over or for someone else who bought his services for that time period. He was a young and apparently strong man, for he survived all the dangers and diseases of early Virginia and lived to marry Mary Page, daughter of Thomas Page in 1655, and to raise a family. The most consistent notes I find indicate that their children were Samuel, Reynolds, William, Richard, Christine or Christian, Judith, and Valentine. There may also have been a Susannah, although her birth date as given would be outside the 1654-1671 birthdates of the other children by several years.
Valentine and Mary deeded land that Mary had inherited from her father Thomas to two of their children in 1689. Or perhaps the first gift, to Elizabeth, was a daughter from an earlier marriage of Mary's, for she is not mentioned in the above listing of children. The second gift was to their daughter Christian married to Richard Dyson. Each of these gifts was for 451 acres.
I haven't located a will for Valentine yet. I'm guessing he owned more land than the 902 acres accounted for by his marriage to Mary Page. I'm also guessing this meant he owned slaves to work his land. I would love to find the will and I'd love to find more about him, especially to see whether any of his grandchildren or great grandchildren would turn out to be James, of the Allen line.
The Beeks line of descent appears to be:
Valentine Allen-Mary Page
William Allen-Mary Hunt
Francis Allen-Peter Lehew
William Lehew-Hannah
Mary Lehew-William Featheringill
Elizabeth Featheringill-George Botkin
Charity Botkin-Jackson Wise
Mary Wise-William Beeks
John Beeks-Elizabeth Wise
Wilbur Beeks-Cleo Aldridge
I would love to hear from anyone who is working on this family. Also, please remember that Mary Wise may not be a Wise at all but this is what her legal family would look like.
Everyone seems to agree that Valentine was born in either 1630 No one seems to agree on where that birth took place, nor on whom the two participants in that birth were. Many sites say he was born at "Isle of Wight, Virginia" to John and Catherine Mayor Allen. I don't think the birth location is correct because I found records for his arrival in Virginia in 1650, as a headright for John Catlett and Ralph Rousey. Of course, it's possible that he was born in Virginia and sent back to England to be raised if, in fact, his mother's death date is also 1630, as I have frequently seen listed, but with no documentation. At any rate, we know he was in Virginia, in what was then Northumberland County, in 1650.
Arriving as a headright meant Valentine would have had to work for several years, usually three or four, either for the men who brought him over or for someone else who bought his services for that time period. He was a young and apparently strong man, for he survived all the dangers and diseases of early Virginia and lived to marry Mary Page, daughter of Thomas Page in 1655, and to raise a family. The most consistent notes I find indicate that their children were Samuel, Reynolds, William, Richard, Christine or Christian, Judith, and Valentine. There may also have been a Susannah, although her birth date as given would be outside the 1654-1671 birthdates of the other children by several years.
Valentine and Mary deeded land that Mary had inherited from her father Thomas to two of their children in 1689. Or perhaps the first gift, to Elizabeth, was a daughter from an earlier marriage of Mary's, for she is not mentioned in the above listing of children. The second gift was to their daughter Christian married to Richard Dyson. Each of these gifts was for 451 acres.
I haven't located a will for Valentine yet. I'm guessing he owned more land than the 902 acres accounted for by his marriage to Mary Page. I'm also guessing this meant he owned slaves to work his land. I would love to find the will and I'd love to find more about him, especially to see whether any of his grandchildren or great grandchildren would turn out to be James, of the Allen line.
The Beeks line of descent appears to be:
Valentine Allen-Mary Page
William Allen-Mary Hunt
Francis Allen-Peter Lehew
William Lehew-Hannah
Mary Lehew-William Featheringill
Elizabeth Featheringill-George Botkin
Charity Botkin-Jackson Wise
Mary Wise-William Beeks
John Beeks-Elizabeth Wise
Wilbur Beeks-Cleo Aldridge
I would love to hear from anyone who is working on this family. Also, please remember that Mary Wise may not be a Wise at all but this is what her legal family would look like.
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