No, he wasn't that John Rolfe, not the one who was married to Pocahontas, not the one who figured large in the early days of Virginia. But nevertheless, he is a John Rolfe who is an early immigrant, and who has a story to tell.
The story starts in England, where John was born or baptized May 10, 1634 in Whiteparish, Wiltshire, England. Whiteparish is a small town about seven and a half miles southeast of Salisbury, and at the time of John's birth was a sheep raising area, with textile manufacturing in Salisbury providing an outlet for the wool produced there. His parents were Henry and Honor (Rolfe) Rolfe, and their family tree is quite convoluted. There are Rolfes on both sides of the family going back to about 1515, but it's not know whether it was the 1515 Rolfes (one apparently unproven) or whether the connection goes further back. Anyway, it's a lot of Rolfes, and more than one Honor, to keep straight-or not.
Henry and Honor had at least four children. They are believed to have been in Massachusetts Bay Colony by about 1638, although no documentation seems to exist for their trip. John would have been a very young child at the time; Imagine being a three or four year old boy with a ship to explore, and imagine being a young mother, with other children, trying to prevent said boy from going overboard. All were probably glad when they arrived at their destination.
The family settled first in Newbury, where John grew to manhood and married Mary Scullard, daughter of Samuel and Rebecca Kent Scullard, on December 4, 1656. Mary was very young, possibly as young as 14, when they married. They had eleven children together, losing the first one in infancy. Their first three children were born in Newbury, but they moved on to Nantucket about 1663.
This seems to have much to do with the situation described in "Good Wives" by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. John was a fisherman, and had just left for a trip to Nantucket, leaving his young wife and children adequately protected and supported, as he supposed. But by the time he returned from his trip, Mary and been involved in something of a scandal, involving a gentleman from England, a physician, who decided he wished to bed her, never mind that she was nursing her third child. He was found out, by a neighbor who came in through a window since the door was locked, and rescued Mary, although they agreed to say nothing about it. Mary told all to her mother and had a witness (who, hard as it is for us to imagine) shared the bed with Mary in order to keep her safe, although it wasn't a very effective protection as it turned out.
The man involved was found guilty and Mary was vindicated, but John decided this was a good time to move to Nantucket, where he would be closer to the fishing grounds. They stayed in Nantucket for somewhere around ten years. By this time, John was approaching 40 and may have been looking for an easier way to make a living than fishing. The family moved to Cambridge, where John purchased and apparently operated a mill.
John died at Newbury on October 1, 1681, perhaps while visiting his brother Benjamin. It seems to have been a sudden death and the will may have had an oral codicil, as there is no provision in the will for his wife but the additional testimony of women who were there makes clear that he wanted to have his wife cared for also. Mary was pregnant with their last son when John died. John's inventory was valued at somewhere around 500 pounds (it's not totaled on the two pages, but I added up to about 485 pounds in my head, plus all the shillings and pence; I'm definitely no expert on that!). It seems like a pretty good estate for a fisherman or millwright, either one. He was just 47 when he died and was just in his peak earning years. He had tools and farm animals, copperware, earthenware, and pewter, and five spinning wheels, so this was not a poor family. I didn't see any mention of books or of munitions.
Mary lived about six more years and died in Cambridge. Most of their children moved to the area of Woodbridge, N.J, and changed the spelling of their name to Rolph, except for their son John. I didn't find anything that helped me understand John's religion but some of his children may have become Quakers, or at least lived in harmony with them in Woodbridge. It would be nice to know more about John, but at least we know he was a hard-working man, and one of the few men in the family who fished for any length of time, for a living.
The line of descent is:
John Rolfe-Mary Scullard
Mary Rolph-Benjamin Dunham
Jonathan Dunham-Mary Smith
Samuel Dunham-Hannah Ruble
Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight
Samuel Dunham-Eliza Matilda Reese
Mary Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants
Showing posts with label Scullard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scullard. Show all posts
Friday, August 2, 2019
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
Beeks line: Samuel Scullard abt 1616-1647 Immigrant
Samuel Scullard is likely from Abbots Ann, Hamphire, England although as yet it seems that no one has pinpointed his birth or christening record. He is believed to be the son of Richard Scullard, joiner, and his wife, Alice. Richard died in 1617 when Samuel, his second child, was just a baby, which could possibly explain the lack of baptismal records for Samuel. Perhaps his wife was just too overwhelmed or ill to arrange for it.
It appears that Samuel was in New England by 1638, and likely came with Rev. Stephen Bachwiler. He was in Newbury, Massachusetts by February 24,1637/38, because he was fined for not attending a town meeting at eight o'clock in the morning, after having been warned, so he must have been there at least a few weeks by that time. He was referred to as yeoman, meaning a farmer who owned his own land, as opposed to a tenant farmer, or a planter, who may not have actually worked the land he owned. He also was a partner in a water (grist) mill in Newbury, and upon his death his widow's second husband purchased that interest. Newbury is situated at the northeast end of Massachusetts, on the coast, and was also an early site for shipbuilding and tanning, so there was an opportunity to sell to more than just the local farmers.
Samuel married Rebecca Kent, daughter of Richard and Emme Dorothy Shorte in 1641. Some sites say they married in England but this does not appear to be correct. The Kents were already in Newbury and doubtless the couple met and married there. They probably had four children, Mary, Rebecca, Sarah and Samuel although only Mary and Sarah are named in his will. Unfortunately, his will was dated March 27, 1647 and proved July 28, 1647, so Samuel died when he was only about 30 years old. It was a nuncupative will, indicating that likely his death was sudden. He may have been injured, or he may have died of one of the fevers that went the rounds so quickly and so often in colonial times.
His estate was valued at 196 pounds, 4 shillings. Half went to his wife, who remarried soon after Samuel's death, and the other half went to his two daughters but not until 1670, when the daughters were married and of age. Rebecca married John Bishop and died sometime before John's death in 1684.
There is still more research to be done about Samuel. I don't have a good grasp of the land he owned, or of his church life, or whether he held any church or civic positions. However, we do know this much and that's more than we knew when we began this post!
The line of descent is:
Samuel Scullard-Rebecca Kent
Mary Scullard-John Rolfe
Mary Rolfe-Benjamin Dunham
Jonathan Dunham-Mary Smith
Samuel Dunham-Hannah Ruble
Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight
Samuel G Dunham-Eliza Matilda Reese
Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants
It appears that Samuel was in New England by 1638, and likely came with Rev. Stephen Bachwiler. He was in Newbury, Massachusetts by February 24,1637/38, because he was fined for not attending a town meeting at eight o'clock in the morning, after having been warned, so he must have been there at least a few weeks by that time. He was referred to as yeoman, meaning a farmer who owned his own land, as opposed to a tenant farmer, or a planter, who may not have actually worked the land he owned. He also was a partner in a water (grist) mill in Newbury, and upon his death his widow's second husband purchased that interest. Newbury is situated at the northeast end of Massachusetts, on the coast, and was also an early site for shipbuilding and tanning, so there was an opportunity to sell to more than just the local farmers.
Samuel married Rebecca Kent, daughter of Richard and Emme Dorothy Shorte in 1641. Some sites say they married in England but this does not appear to be correct. The Kents were already in Newbury and doubtless the couple met and married there. They probably had four children, Mary, Rebecca, Sarah and Samuel although only Mary and Sarah are named in his will. Unfortunately, his will was dated March 27, 1647 and proved July 28, 1647, so Samuel died when he was only about 30 years old. It was a nuncupative will, indicating that likely his death was sudden. He may have been injured, or he may have died of one of the fevers that went the rounds so quickly and so often in colonial times.
His estate was valued at 196 pounds, 4 shillings. Half went to his wife, who remarried soon after Samuel's death, and the other half went to his two daughters but not until 1670, when the daughters were married and of age. Rebecca married John Bishop and died sometime before John's death in 1684.
There is still more research to be done about Samuel. I don't have a good grasp of the land he owned, or of his church life, or whether he held any church or civic positions. However, we do know this much and that's more than we knew when we began this post!
The line of descent is:
Samuel Scullard-Rebecca Kent
Mary Scullard-John Rolfe
Mary Rolfe-Benjamin Dunham
Jonathan Dunham-Mary Smith
Samuel Dunham-Hannah Ruble
Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight
Samuel G Dunham-Eliza Matilda Reese
Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Beeks line: Richard Kent abt 1590 to 1654, Immigrant
I'm treading lightly with this Beeks ancestor, because there is a lack of information (as in, none documented) about his early years. He is believed to have been raised in either Nether Wallop or Over Wallop, Hampshire, England, but I've not found the proof for that. His parents are believed to be Thomas Kent and Ellen Pyle. If these are his parents, he may have had as many as 8 siblings, so it would have been a lively household.
There doesn't seem to be much information about his spouse, either. Most sites list her as Emma, I found one reference to "Emma Mason" and one to Dorothe Short. Emma is believed to be the mother of his children, and he was married to Emma when he died.
Thomas came to Ipswich, Massachusetts on the Mary and John in 1634 and settled briefly at Ipwich, and then moved to Newbury the very next year. He is listed on a plaque as being one of the first settlers of the town. We aren't sure when his family arrived, although I found a reference to daughter Rebecca's arrival in 1638, with Richard's brother Stephen. She was 16 at the time, which makes one wonder about the birth of John in 1645. Did both children have the same mother?
Richard and his family settled in Newbury where Richard acquired land. He is listed as a "maltster", or someone who produced the malt that was used in beers and vinegar. We don't find a record of public service, or of military service. However, during this time period he was doubtless part of whatever training band or loose-knit group of militia that the town had, as every able-bodied man was required to so serve. I've yet to find a record of church membership, which may explain why I've not found mention of him as a freeman, either. However, his will indicates that one salmon should be given yearly to Mr. Noyes, probably Rev. James Noyes of Newbury, and to Mr. Roggers of Rowley, probably Rev. Ezekiel Rogers, of Rowley. So perhaps I just haven't looked hard enough for the records, yet, because obviously he had some Christian convictions.
Little else is known of his life in Newbury. His son John was born there in 1645. There are a couple of occasions we might wish we didn't know about, both suits brought by John Godfrey. Richard was sued for slander in 1642, outcome not found, and a year later he was sued for an "unstated infraction" and was to be whipped. He recovered, and continued to support his family.
He netted fish with his weir (that's how the salmon were to be acquired) and he farmed.( He had land directly fronting the Parker River, which would explain the reference to the salmon.)
His will proved September 26, 1654 and appraisal showed a value of a little over 233 pounds, including a dwelling house, barn, orchard with 82 bearing trees and a nursery, tillage land, pasture land, meadow, and another parson of land bought of Mr. Rawson. His estate also included two oxen, 4 cows, one two year old steer and 2 yearlings, 3 calves and six swine, and four stocks of bees. His other possessions were typical farm and household equipment. There was no mention of books or a Bible.
He left his wife her choice of ten pounds per year or 30 pounds all at once, and the fruit from "her" apple tree. I haven't found a death date yet for Emma. I'd like to know more about Richard, of course Emma or Dorothy or whomever was the mother of Rebecca.
Here's the line of descent:
Richard Kent-Emma or Dorothe
Rebecca Kent-Samuel Scullard
Mary Scullard-John Rolfe
Mary Rolfe-Benjamin Dunham
Jonathan Dunham-Mary Smith
Samuel Dunham-Hannah Ruble
Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight
Samuel Dunham-Eliza Reese
Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants
Fun fact. Richard Kent, who was whipped for some infraction, was an ancestor of President Barack Obama.
There doesn't seem to be much information about his spouse, either. Most sites list her as Emma, I found one reference to "Emma Mason" and one to Dorothe Short. Emma is believed to be the mother of his children, and he was married to Emma when he died.
Thomas came to Ipswich, Massachusetts on the Mary and John in 1634 and settled briefly at Ipwich, and then moved to Newbury the very next year. He is listed on a plaque as being one of the first settlers of the town. We aren't sure when his family arrived, although I found a reference to daughter Rebecca's arrival in 1638, with Richard's brother Stephen. She was 16 at the time, which makes one wonder about the birth of John in 1645. Did both children have the same mother?
Richard and his family settled in Newbury where Richard acquired land. He is listed as a "maltster", or someone who produced the malt that was used in beers and vinegar. We don't find a record of public service, or of military service. However, during this time period he was doubtless part of whatever training band or loose-knit group of militia that the town had, as every able-bodied man was required to so serve. I've yet to find a record of church membership, which may explain why I've not found mention of him as a freeman, either. However, his will indicates that one salmon should be given yearly to Mr. Noyes, probably Rev. James Noyes of Newbury, and to Mr. Roggers of Rowley, probably Rev. Ezekiel Rogers, of Rowley. So perhaps I just haven't looked hard enough for the records, yet, because obviously he had some Christian convictions.
Little else is known of his life in Newbury. His son John was born there in 1645. There are a couple of occasions we might wish we didn't know about, both suits brought by John Godfrey. Richard was sued for slander in 1642, outcome not found, and a year later he was sued for an "unstated infraction" and was to be whipped. He recovered, and continued to support his family.
He netted fish with his weir (that's how the salmon were to be acquired) and he farmed.( He had land directly fronting the Parker River, which would explain the reference to the salmon.)
His will proved September 26, 1654 and appraisal showed a value of a little over 233 pounds, including a dwelling house, barn, orchard with 82 bearing trees and a nursery, tillage land, pasture land, meadow, and another parson of land bought of Mr. Rawson. His estate also included two oxen, 4 cows, one two year old steer and 2 yearlings, 3 calves and six swine, and four stocks of bees. His other possessions were typical farm and household equipment. There was no mention of books or a Bible.
He left his wife her choice of ten pounds per year or 30 pounds all at once, and the fruit from "her" apple tree. I haven't found a death date yet for Emma. I'd like to know more about Richard, of course Emma or Dorothy or whomever was the mother of Rebecca.
Here's the line of descent:
Richard Kent-Emma or Dorothe
Rebecca Kent-Samuel Scullard
Mary Scullard-John Rolfe
Mary Rolfe-Benjamin Dunham
Jonathan Dunham-Mary Smith
Samuel Dunham-Hannah Ruble
Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight
Samuel Dunham-Eliza Reese
Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants
Fun fact. Richard Kent, who was whipped for some infraction, was an ancestor of President Barack Obama.
Friday, October 30, 2015
Beeks line: Henry Rolfe 1585-1643, Immigrant
Henry Rolfe is another immigrant ancestor in the Beeks line. He was born before September 5, 1585 in Downton or Whiteparish, Wiltshire, England. (The two villages are very near each other. It appears he was christened at Whiteparish but may have lived nearer to Downton.) Someone on the webpage vault.hanover.edu/~smith/smit.gen.html has done a wonderful job of describing his or her trip to the area, and has wonderful pictures showing the villages and the actual land farmed by John Rolfe, Henry's father. It is a very peaceful appearing location. The land showed no crops currently being grown, so it's hard to know how the land was used 400 and more years ago. I've been unable to verify the mother of Henry, except that her name was "Honor."
"Honor" may have been a popular name for women in that place and time period, for Henry married an "Honor" also, in fact, she was "Honor Rolfe", a first cousin once-removed. They were married at Whiteparish, Wiltshire, England on May 28, 1621, when Henry was 30 and Honor was about 22 years old. They seem to have had three children in England, with a fourth, Benjamin, born in Newburyport in 1638. It isn't known for sure when they immigrated to America but it must have been no later than 1638 since his son was born there. Henry's will, written in 1642, shows "howse and land" so he had been here long enough to accumulate some land and build a home, anyway. This was in the town of Newburyport, now known as Newbury. There is no record that he was ever made a freeman, so possibly he acquired the land shortly before his death.
His inventory was valued at 153 pounds, 8 shillings, 6 pence, which seems to be farily decent considering that he was in America only a few years. He owned quite a few animals-6 cows, four oxen, one bull and one steer, 5 "beasts", plus calves, hogs, and bees. There is mention of a feather bed and a "flock" bed (a flock bed was filled with wool refuse, left over materials, and the like), and 6 feather pillows. From this, one suspects that some children slept on the floor. He also had a musket and fowling pieces, 2 swords and bandoliers, so he was armed in typical fashion for the time. Also there were books, not identified, valued at one pound, so Henry could read. It would be interesting to know what the books were, because that would give us a window into his mind. Henry's wife, Honor, died in 1650 or 1653, according to different sources.
I'd love to know more about Henry. Was he a Puritan, or was he in America for other reason than to practice his religion? What were those books in his inventory? He may have had a final illness of several months, since he wrote his will several months before he died. What was his cause of death? Did he ever need to discharge those firearms to protect his family, or his fellow colonists?
Once again, there are questions, but we do know that he was a brave and hard-working man, to have come to the Massaschusetts Bay Colony and to have been a financial success at his death.
The line of descent is:
Henry Rolfe-Honor Rolfe
John Rolfe-Mary Scullard
Mary Rolph-Benjamin Dunham
Jonathan Dunham-Mary Smith
Samuel Dunham-Hannah Ruble (or possibly Chenoweth)
Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight
Samuel G Dunham-Eliza Reese
Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants
"Honor" may have been a popular name for women in that place and time period, for Henry married an "Honor" also, in fact, she was "Honor Rolfe", a first cousin once-removed. They were married at Whiteparish, Wiltshire, England on May 28, 1621, when Henry was 30 and Honor was about 22 years old. They seem to have had three children in England, with a fourth, Benjamin, born in Newburyport in 1638. It isn't known for sure when they immigrated to America but it must have been no later than 1638 since his son was born there. Henry's will, written in 1642, shows "howse and land" so he had been here long enough to accumulate some land and build a home, anyway. This was in the town of Newburyport, now known as Newbury. There is no record that he was ever made a freeman, so possibly he acquired the land shortly before his death.
His inventory was valued at 153 pounds, 8 shillings, 6 pence, which seems to be farily decent considering that he was in America only a few years. He owned quite a few animals-6 cows, four oxen, one bull and one steer, 5 "beasts", plus calves, hogs, and bees. There is mention of a feather bed and a "flock" bed (a flock bed was filled with wool refuse, left over materials, and the like), and 6 feather pillows. From this, one suspects that some children slept on the floor. He also had a musket and fowling pieces, 2 swords and bandoliers, so he was armed in typical fashion for the time. Also there were books, not identified, valued at one pound, so Henry could read. It would be interesting to know what the books were, because that would give us a window into his mind. Henry's wife, Honor, died in 1650 or 1653, according to different sources.
I'd love to know more about Henry. Was he a Puritan, or was he in America for other reason than to practice his religion? What were those books in his inventory? He may have had a final illness of several months, since he wrote his will several months before he died. What was his cause of death? Did he ever need to discharge those firearms to protect his family, or his fellow colonists?
Once again, there are questions, but we do know that he was a brave and hard-working man, to have come to the Massaschusetts Bay Colony and to have been a financial success at his death.
The line of descent is:
Henry Rolfe-Honor Rolfe
John Rolfe-Mary Scullard
Mary Rolph-Benjamin Dunham
Jonathan Dunham-Mary Smith
Samuel Dunham-Hannah Ruble (or possibly Chenoweth)
Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight
Samuel G Dunham-Eliza Reese
Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants
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