Holbrook line: Joseph Morse 1610-1690 Immigrant

Perhaps I should be writing this about the Joseph Morse who died in 1646 in Ipswich, Massachusetts Bay Colony and who had a son named Joseph, mentioned in his will, but Robert Charles Anderson is not willing to state that Joseph of Ipswich is the father of Joseph of Watertown, Massachusetts Bay Colony, so I will only present that as a possibility.  The Joseph Morse I will write of was born about 1610, somewhere in England and sailed on the Elizabeth from Ipswich, England in 1634.

Joseph was listed as 24 years of age at the time.  He apparently went straight to Watertown and stayed there is whole life.  He was admitted to the Watertown Church and was granted the status of freeman on May 6, 1635.  He was a weaver by trade but also received several grants of land, including meadow and "upland" as well as a farm of 73 acres, all as grants.  He may have rented these lands out or he may have farmed them himself.  He was married by about 1637 to Esther or Hester Piece, daughter of John and Elizabeth (possibly Stoker) Pierce, also of Watertown.  Joseph and Esther had at least seven children, six of whom lived until adulthood.  This was a pretty decent survival rate for the time and indicates that Joseph and Esther were probably not "dirt poor", although they may have struggled during the early years.  Another indication that the family was surviving economically was that they accepted at least one child into their care, who was three years old at the time and who became an apprentice at the age of five, unless these are two different children with the same father. 

Joseph apparently did not take an active part in the civic life of Watertown, although he was a fence viewer for a term.  Raising several children, carrying on a trade as well as (likely) a farming operation may have left him little time for public service.  When Joseph died in 1689/90, his estate was very small, just a little over six pounds.  He had already disposed of his land holdings and probably was living with or under the care of one or more of his children.  Esther lived until 1694. 

This is not much information to fill in the "dash" for a man who lived about 80 years.  I have a book on my "to read" shelf about Watertown, and although I didn't find his name in the index, perhaps the book will be able to fill in some of the gaps in my knowledge of Joseph and how he lived.  We do know that he farmed, he worked, he attended church, he voted, and he served as "master" to at least one child beside his own. 

One other thing:  He is listed as the ancestor of Calvin Coolidge and of Richard Nixon. 

The line of descent is:

Joseph Morse-Esther Pierce
Joseph Morse-Susanna Shattuck
Esther Morse-Nathaniel Joslin
Israel Joslin-Sarah Cleveland
Sarah Joslin-Edward Fay
David Fay-Mary Perrin
Luceba Fay-Libbeus Stanard
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

John Fay, Immigrant

What in the world would an eight year old boy be doing, traveling by himself, on a trip across the Atlantic ocean in 1656?  The Speedwell carried several other passengers who are our ancestors, but we can't prove that any of them knew the Fay family in England.  After thinking about it for a while, perhaps inheritance had something to do with it.  His presumed father is Henry Fay, with a death date, in Ipswich, Middlesex, Massachusetts of 1655.  Maybe John was sent across the ocean to stake a claim to whatever his father had left him.  A woman by the name of Dorothy Fay died in Ipswich on the same day as Henry.  He name is listed next to Henry's in the register, but we don't know for sure that this was his wife.  We don't even know for sure that Henry was John's father, but it appears likely.  Many websites give the parents as David Fay and Elizabeth Coale, but it doesn't appear likely to me that a woman of almost 50 would give birth.  These are more likely John's grandparents. 

We don't know what happened to John when he arrived in America, alone as far as we can tell.  He was eight years old, so unless a relative stepped forward to care for him, he would have been bound out.  He may have been bound out anyway, as this was the frequent way to deal with children.  They needed to learn a trade or skill.  

John did grow up and married first Mary Brigham, by whom he had four children, and then Susannah Shattuck Morse, by whom he had four more children.  He married Susannah on July 5, 1678 in Watertown, although it's not believed he ever lived there.  Early in his life, but probably when he was an adult, John went to Marlboro, where he was made a freeman in 1669.   He acquired land in Worcester, and was considered a proprietor there, but he apparently didn't live there.  He stayed in Marlboro until the fury of King Philip's War forced the family to go to Watertown,

We wouldn't know much more about John except that he left his inventory.  Actually, there are two inventories for him, one taken in 1691 (John died December 5, 1690) and one in 1695.  The youngest child was born in 1686 so perhaps it was time to settle the estate.  The older children, from his first marriage, may have been getting anxious to get "their share".  The estate was valued at about 209 pounds in 1691.  The 1695 inventory is not totaled but it appears to be very similar.  From the items listed, it appears that John was a farmer; he had the usual animals including two oxen, and "husbandry tools",  He also had a Bible and books, total value given as 1 pound and one shilling. 

The other interesting thing about John I can't prove.  It is said that he was of Huguenot parentage.  Whether his parents were Huguenots or whether the connection is further back, I don't know.  I don't even know if there is a connection.  It's a possibility. 

The line of descent is:

John Fay-Susannah Shattuck
David Fay-Sarah Larkin
Edward Fay-Sarah Joslin
David Fay-Mary Perrin
Luceba Fay-Libbeus Stannard
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

Beeks and Holbrook lines: John Pers 1588-1661 Immigrant

John Pers is another in a long line of early immigrants to New England in the Beeks family, and also the Holbrook family.  He follows something of the typical mold, if there is such a thing, of coming to New England before the English Civil War, with a family and in his middle age.  John was born April 8, 1588 in Norwich, Norfolk, England, the son of Richard Pers or Pierce and Marguerite Coney.  We don't know much about his early life, except that his occupation in New England was a weaver.  It is probable that he learned this trade at home in Norwich, where the main industry was wool.  Wool made Norwich a wealthy city, and the Wikipedia article is quite interesting as it explains how Norwich welcomed religious refugees in the decades just before John was born.  What we don't know is John's religion, except that his children were baptized in the Anglican church.

John married Elizabeth Trulle or Stoker on April 22, 1610, in Norwich.  (I have seen her name listed as Trulle Stoker and as Stoker Trulle, but as of now I haven't found documentation for either name.  The couple had seven children from 1610 to 1622.  Four of them are documented as having traveled with their parents to Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1637.  There was also a servant, John Gednay, in their party.  However, this may not have been John's first trip to the New World.  The older children of John were already here, and John was given land in Watertown in 1634.  It is likely that he was here as early as 1633 and then returned to New England for his wife and the rest of his family, to bring them over in 1637. 

The family settled in Watertown where John taught the weaving trade to at least some of his children, and where they were given land as settlers of the town.  John was made a freeman in March of 1638 and took the "oath of fidelity" in 1652.  His name appears as a drummer in the train band (militia) of that year but it's not clear whether this was John the immigrant or John the son.  John the immigrant would have been 64 years old and likely had been excused from the militia by this time, unless he was in exceptionally good health. 

John made his will in 1658 and died September 2, 1661.  His will was proven September 30,1661, and his inventory was valued at just over 217 pounds.  Elizabeth made her will on March 15, 1667 and died within just a few days, as it was proved April 2, 1667.  Her estate was valued at just over 124 pounds, so she must have used her assets wisely. 

Of course I'd like to know more about this couple, but I'm grateful to have located this much information about them.  Here are the lines of descent.

Beeks:

John Pers-Elizabeth Trulle or Stoker
Anthony Pers-Ann
Daniel Pierce-Elizabeth Shedd
Elizabeth Pierce-Samuel Smith
Shubael Smith-Prudence Fitzrandolph
Mary Smith-Jonathan Dunham
Samuel Dunham-Hannah Ruble
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

Holbrook:

John Pers-Elizabeth Trulle or Stoker
Hester Pierce-Joseph Morse
Joseph Morse-Susanna Shattuck
Esther Morse-Nathaniel Joslin
Israel Joslin-Sarah Cleveland
Sarah Joslin-Edward Fay
David Fay-Mary or Mercy Perrin
Euzebia (Luceba) Fay-Libbeus Stanard
Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy
Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants