Allen line: William Brewster, Immigrant and Pilgrim

It seems somehow fitting that I write the last regularly scheduled Allen family post about the first ancestor our nuclear family learned of . We were given for Christmas one year a typewritten genealogy of the Starr family, and in those pages we found our connection to William Brewster.  I was about 12 years old at the time, and I was one proud young girl.  William Brewster! The Mayflower!  Elder, holding the role of chaplain!  To someone already deeply interested in history, this was a treasure of pure gold.

Much has been written about William Brewster and I could just say "look him up on Wikepedia" and not have to write another word . But because some of my family might not take that step, here is a brief summary of his life.  William Brewster was likely born at Scrooby Manor, Nottinghamshire, England, where his father, also William Brewster, was the bailiff of the archbishop of York (Scrooby Manor belonged to the archbishop) and also the local postmaster.

The first significant event in William's life was his brief period of study at Peterhouse, Cambridge, before he entered the service of William Davison.  This likely meant that he was part of the court of Queen Elizabeth I.  William Davison got on her wrong side and was sent home in disgrace, and our William Brewster went home to Scrooby.  There he took over his father's role as postmaster. 

Whether it was at Peterhouse or somewhere else, William became less and less a proper Anglican and more and more a Separatist.  Scrooby Manor was frequently used as a meeting place by other Separatists in the area, where the group worshipped and planned what to do as the authorities started cracking down on anyone not a full supporter of the Anglican church.  The group decided to leave England, but before they could do so, many of this small group were arrested.  The cell where William Brewster and William Bradford were held is now a tourist attraction, seen on "Who Do You Think You Are?" in the Ashley Judd program.  Eventually the two were released, and made their way to the Netherlands, where other members of the Separatists had already fled. 

The Pilgrims spent 13 years in the Netherlands, which practiced a certain amount of religious freedom.  The group lived in close proximity to each other, and ate many of their meals together.  Here William Brewster practiced the trade of printing, and taught English at Leiden, and made enough money to help support the group in very modest circumstances.  One of the pamphlets he printed angered King James in England, and he had to go into hiding as the Separatists negotiated to buy ships and prepare to leave the Netherlands.

The story of the Mayflower is well enough known that I won't repeat much here.  There was at least one false start, as the second ship intended to go with the Mayflower, the Speedwell, began leaking, and unsuccessful repairs were made.  This was a fearful time for the passengers and the trip across the Atlantic wasn't easy, either.  Once land was sighted, most of the men on board the Mayflower signed what became known as the Mayflower Compact, setting up basic regulations for the way they would live.  Tradition says that this was signed using the top of a chest belonging to William Brewster, which has been preserved. 

The first Massachusetts winter, that of 1621, was terrible for the Pilgrims and at the end, there were only seven men left alive.  William Brewster was one, and William Bradford wrote in his journal of the tender care that Mr. Brewster gave to those who were ill.  William took on many of the roles of a pastor, praying and preaching, conducting graveside services, and encouraging the congregation to live a Christian life.  However, he continually refused to preside over Communion services, so the group had to wait until their pastor, John Robinson, arrived in 1629. 

William's wife Mary, surname still a subject of debate, died in 1627 after having given birth to six children, one of whom died in England.  William did not remarry, and he died April 10, 1644, at Duxbury.  He was about 77 years old at the time of his death. 

Pilgrims were stern people because they had to be.  But they laughed and raised families and felt joy as well as other emotions.  While we may not understand some of their religious beliefs, we can honor them for their faithfulness, for their hard work, and for the opportunity that they saw to "start over" in a new country.  William Brewster is one of my favorite ancestors, and not just because he was the first one I learned about.  I hope he is one of yours, too.

Our line of descent is

William Brewster-Mary
Jonathon Brewster-Lucretia Oldham
Hannah Brewster-Samuel Starr
Thomas Starr-Mary Morgan
Mary Starr-John Chester
Thomas Chester-Sarah Eldridge
Bathsheba Chester-Jonathon Havens
Betsy Havens-John Starr
John Havens Starr-Clarissa Falley
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants

Fun fact:  There is a whole list of famous descendants in the Wikepedia article.  We are distant cousins of Katherine Hepburn, Bing Crosby, Nelson Rockefeller, and Zachary Taylor, among many others.  Hello, cousins! 

Allen and Holbrook lines: Family themes

Now that I've been "doing" family history for awhile, I'm seeing some themes that run from generation to generation.  Recently I read someone's blogpost that suggested it would be good to note these down, more or less as guideposts, so that this current generation, and the generations following, would have at least a general idea of who we are besides names and dates.

The two strong themes that I see running through our families, for generations back, are God and education.  We have sub themes, like serving our country, and of course love seems to wrap around everything, but I keep coming back to God and education.  Of course, to a certain extent God and education go hand in hand, although it is quite possible to have either without the other.  Still, most pastors were educated, and they made sure their families were educated, too, if only to read the Bible and religious books. 

I've written about some of the pastors in our family but there are more who may or may not be the topic of a blog post at some point.  From Richard Allen to Roger Williams to William Eddy, we are descended from a long line of pastors who have taught us about the love of Jesus, each in their own way.  The last time I counted, there were at least 24 pastors in the Holbrook and Allen lines. If one continues back into distant England, some of our ancestors were bishops and archbishops, but I'm not sure we want to claim some of those people!

Besides pastors, we have ancestors who were church leaders, from Elder William Brewster to elder Edward Allen.  We have Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, Quakers, Puritans, Church of England, and a few Lutherans (there is a German line, after all), and many of our ancestors helped establish their local church, of whatever denomination.  We may even had had a Roman Catholic or two in early Maryland, but I'm still working on that.  My hope and prayer is that all of these people served the Lord with all their hearts.

Education is also a common theme in our family.  Ralph Wheelock was one of the first schoolteachers in New England, and in the recent past we have seen great grandparents and grandparents who taught school.  Those who didn't teach went to school and learned. We have very few known ancestors who couldn't read or write.  Many of those in more recent generations have gone to college, and some have multiple degrees.  Those who chose not to go to college have acquired an education in their own way, such as through their jobs, reading, or watching on line courses intensively. 

I personally find it fascinating that the very book that means the most to me, the Bible, is the same one that our ancestors have been reading for over 400 years (more, in some cases) and if I read a King James version, it's the very same words.  On top of all the other reasons for reading the Bible, this is an intriguing one. What did Roger Williams think, when he read the same words I'm reading?  Did Nicholas Street preach on this passage? 

God, and education, are the reasons we can find a connection to our ancestors, even though we may understand nothing of the rest of their lives.  Will our descendents also find that God and education have continued as themes, generations from now? 

Allen and Holbrook lines: Our Pilgrims

When I was about 11 or 12 years old, my father received as a Christmas gift from his sister, a genealogy of the Starr family.  Dad thought I should read it (really?), since I had an interest in history, and while doing so, I found that there was a marriage in the Starr family that took us back to Elder William Brewster and his wife, Mary.  Yes, that good man and his wife Mary are our ancestors!
I have been interested in the Pilgrims/Puritans/separatists ever since, and when my interest in family history ignited in 2006, that was the first family line that I added to my tree. 

However, I always thought it would be nice if I could find some Pilgrim ancestors for Mom, too. The odds seemed at least somewhat favorable, since there were many of her lines that were in early New England.  I'll never forget the day I found Mom's Pilgrims. I was working on the Foster family, which was a true joy in itself because I'd finally found Elizabeth Whittemore's parents, after searching for years. Her maternal grandfather was a Foster. I was at work (before work hours, naturally), and came across the name Hannah Standish, who had married Nathan Foster. They were born in the early 1700's, and the thought crossed my mind "How many Standish families can there be?"  Sure enough, as I traced her line back, not only did she descend from Myles Standish, she also descended from Edward Doty!  Oh, that was a happy genealogy dance day! 

Here's a very brief summary of each man. 

William Brewster was apparently a man of some means, and was thought highly of by his fellow Separatists. He was an Elder in the church and served as their pastor once the Mayflower group reached Massachusetts, until a pastor arrived to lead them. He taught and preached, but refused to serve communion since he was not ordained.  Everything I have read about him points to his being a really good man.  His wife was Mary, last name not certain.  I have listed her as Mary Wentworth on my tree because the evidence seems to point that direction, but I haven't carried her line back further because I don't consider it "proof" enough to continue. 

Myles Standish may or may not have been a member of the Pilgrims in the religious sense, but he attended services with them and shared his life with them.  He was a "Captain", and was apparently hired or otherwise enticed by the Pilgrims to come to "Virginia" with them (Virginia was their original destination) as their military leader.  He served admirably in that capacity, and from what I have read, was a diplomat as far as relations with the native Americans went.  It is due in large part to what he did that the little colony survived.  We are descended through his second wife, Barbara, whose last name is also unknown. 

Both of these men were also commended for the "tender care" they gave the sick and starving Pilgrims during the first disastrous winter, when so many of them died.  I'm sure neither man had nursing in his background, but they did what needed to be done in a loving and caring manner.  Yes, they were heroes in my book.

The third Pilgrim, Edward Doty, didn't join the church until some years after the arrival of the Mayflower.  He was apparently a contentious man, frequently in court over some matter, usually as the defendant.  He came to the New World as an indentured servant of Stephen Hopkins, and the first mention that is made of him is of his involvement in a duel with the other indentured servant of Stephen Hopkins.  Maybe he did not achieve at the high level of Elder William Brewster or Captain Myles Standish, but he did survive the first winter, and many more, and he did accumulate considerable wealth.  He was married to Faith Clarke.

These are very brief summaries of the men and women we can claim as ancestors, written as a brief Thanksgiving Day tribute.  If you would like more information about how our lines descend, please contact me and I'll be happy to send the information. 

Why I dance, genealogically speaking

Happy genealogy dance...what does that mean?  To me, it means almost any new discovery about our ancestors, or something new I've learned that helps me understand what I found.  Specifically, I do a happy genealogy dance when I:

• Go to a repository, especially a courthouse, and find new records 

• Am able to extend an ancestor's history back another generation, or 10, or 20

• Connect with a cousin who has information or pictures that I don't have, and they're willing to share

• Am able to help someone with one of their genealogy puzzles, or get someone started for the first time

• And of course, when I actually find information that I've been looking for, sometimes for years.

Some examples of happy genealogy dance days, which I'm sure I'll be writing more about:

• The day I figured out that Barack Obama, then a US Senator just starting his run for the presidency, was a distant cousin of my husband's

• The day I finally found marriage records for Archibald Allen, which proved his wife's name, told me where they were married, and led to his father's will which led to his father's will and the names and ancestors of their wives.  Even more exciting was actually going to Harrodsburg, Ky and finding wills of two of my great great great grandfathers, researching in a building that was there when my ancestors were there, and actually holding in my hand a document signed by my third great grandmother and my second great grandfather.  

• Several days when distant cousins, or people who were researching distant cousins, contacted me and gave me information that led to days and weeks of exciting discoveries.  I've received pictures, copies of wills, names and dates, and other information that I would never have found without their help.  I don't have permission to publish their names, but I hope they someday read this blog and realize that I am talking about them.  

• Coming across ancestors who are actually famous such as Roger Williams, Myles Standish, William Brewster (I grew up knowing about him, actually).

• Learning bits and pieces of the lives of ancestors who were not famous. They often served in wars, or did the work that kept the country growing (or fed), and finding even a little bit about them is priceless.

• Looking at a page in my tree and realizing it said some of these people were born in castles, which eventually led to more lines to the Plantagenets, Tudors, Stewarts, Capets, and other royal lines than I can count. I don't feel special because I know most of the English speaking world descends from these same lines, but it's much more exciting to read history and realize that that's my "grandpa" or "grandma" they're talking about. 

In the weeks to come, I'll be writing more about happy genealogy dance days.  If you care to join me for some of these dances, I'd be honored!