Harshbarger line: Nicholas Cocke 1592-1670

Quite a bit of research has been done on the Cocke family of Virginia, and some of it is likely not correct.  However, we know the Cocke's were there, early, so we have at least the general outlines of the family, even if we're not clear on when the first immigration took place.

Nicholas Cocke was born about 1592, likely in Cornwall or Lancashire, England.  Either the records haven't survived or they haven't been located, but this is where the Cocke family lived, and the coat of arms on Nicholas's grave was identical to the Cocke family's coat of arms.  It would be great if someone could trace this back further, and learn why the coat of arms was used, but as far as I know it hasn't happened.

He married Elizabeth Lower of Lesaunt, Cornwall, England on November 11, 1619 so this would be a good clue as to where to start looking for baptismal records.  As far as I know now, the couple had only one child, Nicholas Jr., although they had a marriage of over 50 years.  I would think it likely that there were more children.

It is hard to tell which Nicholas Cocke is being discussed in the Virginia land records, but the older Nicholas seems to have stayed in Middlesex County while his son was in Lancaster County, Va.  (Middlesex was actually formed from Lancaster County, so it is possible that the two men actually lived very close to each other.)
Nicholas died in 1670 and his wife died in 1687, at home in Middlesex County.  I haven't located probate records yet, nor do I know the cause of death for either person.  Elizabeth would have been quite old at her death, perhaps as much as 95 years old but surely at least 85.  Nicholas lived what was actually quite a good life, too, 78 years.   He had been in Virginia for at least 12 years, and that was pretty good for living among all the dangers-natural, human, and disease-that seemed to stalk the colony.

I'd love to know more about Nicholas Senior.  His son had slaves; did this Nicholas also engage in slavery?  What was his home like?  Was he wholeheartedly in favor of the Anglican/Church of England church?   And if Nicholas was truly his only child, how did he feel about that situation?  I would be thrilled to hear from anyone who knows anything more about the Cockes, or the Jones family, or anyone else in this list of descendants.  I don't have good documentation on some of them and I'd love to learn more about these families.

The line of descent is believed to be:

Nicholas Cocke-Elizabeth Lower
Nicholas Cocke-Jane widow Curtis
Jane Cocke-Rice Jones
Anna Keen Jones-John Wyatt
Thomas Wyatt-Susannah "Sukey" Edmondson
John Wyatt-Alice Gordon
Jean Wyatt-William Farmer
Margaret Farmer-Solomon Eliot Bennett
Mary Bennett-John Harter
Clara Harter-Emmanuel Harshbarger
Grover Harshbarger-Goldie Withers
Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Margaret Beeks
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

Holbrook line: Henry Kingman 1595-1667, Immigrant

What would we ever do without the "Great Migration" series that Robert Charles Anderson has devoted his life to preparing?  We certainly wouldn't know as much as we do, particularly about this ancestor, Henry Kingman.   With all due respect, however, there are still mysteries about this immigrant, including the minor details of when and where he was born, and who his parents were.  As I understand it, there is a researcher in England working on these questions now.  May he have great success, and may he share them with the many thousands of people who descent from Henry.

The first knowledge we have of the man, at present, is his migration to New England in 1635 on board the Marygould.  This ship sailed from Weymouth, England and almost all the passengers went to Weymouth, Massachusetts, a small village in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.  This was part of Rev. Hull's company.  (Rev. Hull was an interesting preacher for the time.  He was expelled from the Church of England early in 1635, then was pastor at Weymouth until he was dismissed for his "liberal views", and so on to Hingham and various other places until he returned to England for a decade, then back to the New World to preach in New Hampshire.  He was apparently too Puritan for the Church of England and too Church of England for the Puritans.)  When Henry came to America, he is listed as being 40 years old.  He came with his wife, Joane, and chidren, Edward, Joane, Ann, Thomas, John, and a servant, John or Jonathan Ford. 

Henry and his wife settled in Weymouth, a small village at the time, and stayed there the rest of their lives.  He was a freeman, a member of the church, and a ferryman and innkeeper by trade.  He was granted 42 acres at Weymouth in 1636, apparently in several different parcels, and also acquired land that was "first given to" various other settlers, who apparently moved on or died.  In 1648, he purchased a house and several acres of land belonging to William Richards, so the ferryman/innkeeper business must have been somewhat lucrative. 

He served as the deputy for Wemouth to the Massachusetts Bay General Court in May of 1638 and again in May of 1652, and was a memer of a Massachusetts Bay grand jury in 1637. 

Joan died at Weymouth on April 11, 1659 and Henry died there June 5, 1667.  They had six children, Edward, Joan, Anne, Thomas, Bridget, and John, all born in England. All of the children probably helped in the family business as they grew, so this would likely have been a close family.  Henry's inventory was not totaled, but the land he owned was valued at 288 pounds, and it is noted that his estate included a Bible and one other book. 

This is as much as we currently know about Henry and his wife, Joan or Joanna.  There is much speculation that Joan's maiden name was Drake.  If so, her genealogy may make her a cousin to Sir Francis Drake, but this is not proven.  It would be wonderful to find more answers to more questions!

The line of descent is

Henry Kingman-Joan possibly Drake
Joan or Joanna Kingman-Thomas Holbrook
Peter Holbrook-Alice Godfrey
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Cook
Jesse Holbrook-Abigail Thayer
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright (there she is again!)
Nahum Holbrook-Susanna Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants

Allen line: Robert Perrigo abt 1635-1683

I have only a little bit of information about Robert Perrigo, ancestor in the Allen line and immigrant.  What I have, however, is so intriguing that I want to share it, in hopes that someone else has found more pieces to his puzzle and would be willing to share it.

So far as is believed, our ancestor was born somewhere in England, although his surname is believed to have derived from France.  His birth date is unknown, and his birth place and parents are unknown, although someone has indicated his father's name might be William Perrigo.  There was no documentation attached to that statement.  At least one internet researcher believes he was born in 1624 in St Clements, Hastings, Sussex, England. 

The next thing we know about Robert is that he was married in 1657 in New Barbadoes, New Jersey to Sarah Smart, daughter of Robert Smart.  (New Barbadoes was settled by the Dutch, and is now known as Hackensack.)   Robert and Sarah had at least three children together, Ezekiel, Sarah, and Robert.  They were born in Saybrook, Ct. where the couple had settled.  Apparently Sarah died, and about 1670 Robert married for a second time, to Mary or Marah Wood.  Together they had four or five children, the last born in 1683, a few months after her father's death. 

Mary remarried, to Henry Peterson, but all may now have been well between Henry and his step children.  In April of 1711, 28 years after Robert's death, Henry wrote a letter to the court basically saying that he had learned that some of the children of Robert were hiring attorneys and claiming that the estate of Robert Perrigo, which had been settled in 1684, had not been properly handled.  In 1711, Henry was offering up another 63 acres of Perrigo's land, at Beaver Brook, to add to the estate.  This letter is now on Ancestry,com.  Part of this dispute may be because Robert's son, Robert, had apparently been left only one shilling in the will.  Unfortunately, the probate records for the time period prior to 1700 were destroyed, so these are the only hints we have about the Perrigo estate.

As to his occupation, again, it is difficult to say much.  There are hints that he may have worked in the maritime industry, since he was said to be on Mr. Goodall's ship, "now at Goodman Rusco's" in 1659 when his young son Ezekiel received medical treatment.  If course, it's also possible that he was a merchant or a trader or any number of other occupations.  Since he had 63 acres of land not included in the original estate, he likely did at least some farming.

With no estate records, no inventory, and very few other records to go on, we are left with little knowledge of this ancestor.  We know he married twice, had at least seven children, and probably died before the age of 50.  We also know he came to the New World from the Old, and possibly had friends or relatives in New Jersey, (or Sarah was in Connecticut for some reason), since the couple married in New Jersey.  More research needs to be done concerning Robert, but in the meantime, we can honor what we know of his life.

The line of descent is:

Robert Perrigo-Sarah Smart
Sarah Perrigo-John Royse
Moses-Royce-Hannah
John Royce-Hannah Bellamy
Elizabeth Royce-William McCoy
James McCoy-Nancy Ann Lane
Vincent McCoy-Eleanor Jackson
Nancy McCoy-George Allen
Edward Allen-Edith Knott
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants

Thanksgiving Memories

It's hard for me to write this kind of post, and I'm not sure how many people will want to read it, since this is my first real attempt to capture some of my own memories.  Still, it's part of the family history and some of the "young 'uns" reading this might enjoy hearing about the "good old days."

The "good old days" is a phrase I actually used when my grand aunt, Elizabeth Stannard, spent a Thanksgiving with our family in Othello, Washington in 1958 (possibly 1957; I was pretty young at the time).  If it was 1958, this would have been her last Thanksgiving.  Normally she was not part of our family celebration because she spent it with the nephews she had helped raise, but this year she consented to come.  I remember my mother telling us how we needed to be on our best behavior and not interrupt.  Aunt Elizabeth was a retired Latin teacher and she had strict expectations about how we should behave.  The day came, our guests came (including my grandmother, probably my uncle, and my aunt and uncle with their three children) from Spokane, Washington, and I could hardly stand it.  I think I behaved all through dinner, but afterwards, when we got this special lady made comfortable, I remember the cousins all sitting in a circle around her chair and being allowed to ask questions of our remarkable relative.  I don't remember what anyone else asked, but my brilliant contribution was "Tell us about the good old days."  I vaguely remember that she told us some stories, but I don't remember them at all.  She could have told us many things, as I've since learned that she was raised in Kansas, came to Washington state soon after she graduated from college, was a school teacher and a superintendent of education in a sparsely settled part of the state, and then taught Latin in Spokane for many years.  She was also a world traveler, having gone to Europe, the Middle East, and India at various times.  So, which stories did she tell us, I wonder?

Other Thanksgiving memories involve a cornucopia.  On one of Aunt Elizabeth's trips, she had purchased wax fruit as a gift for my mother, and for at least a few years Mom didn't know what to do with it.  One year, she found a rattan or wicker cornucopia and said "That's it!"  For several years, our Thanksgiving centerpiece was the cornucopia with the fruit, lovingly arranged by my mother in memory of her aunt. 

We also had little Pilgrim candles, and possibly a turkey, although I'm not sure of that.  These are the kind that were probably 10 cents apiece but now sell for many times that on eBay.  They were a part of our Thanksgiving for many years, too. 

Dad usually mentioned how one of our ancestors was William Brewster, elder of the Mayflower Pilgrims.  I sure wish Mom had known that she descended from Myles Standish and Edward Doty, two of the "strangers" on the Mayflower, as there would have been some interesting conversations, I'm sure. 

We spent every Thanksgiving with our cousins, their parents, and our grandmother, sometimes at our grandmother's house, sometimes at our cousins' home, and sometimes at our home, wherever that was.  The men watched football and the children played board games after the wonderful meal, and the day always ended much too soon.  By the end of the day, Aunt Lois usually asked us what we wanted Santa to bring us for Christmas, and often that item ended up under her tree for us the next month. 

The people mentioned in this post have been long gone now, except for two cousins and my sister.  Their descendants all have their own holiday traditions, but I hope if any of them read this, they will know that they come from a long line of Thanksgiving dinners!  I only wish I'd asked my parents how they celebrated Thanksgiving as a family, when they still lived at home. 

Beeks line: Ulrich Ruble 1710-1761 Immigrant

First, a warning.  Not every genealogist or family historian is convinced that Ulrich Ruble belongs in this line.  The point of contention is Hannah, who was married to Samuel Dunham.  Was she, or was she not, a Ruble?  Alternative names, especially Chenoweth, keep popping up for her.  Based on what I have seen on line, I am leaning toward the Ruble line, but I don't consider it proven.  So take this for whatever it's worth.  Ulrich Ruble surely existed, and had descendants, and if he doesn't belong in the Beeks line, he surely belongs to someone.  Someday, someone, somewhere, will find the documents that will prove or disprove this line, and I hope that someone will contact me when they do!

Ulrich was born in either Switzerland or the Palatinate in what is now Germany.  It is likely that his parents, Hans Peter Rubel and Anna Katrina Mueller, emigrated to the Palatinate from somewhere in Switzerland, about the time that Ulrich was born.  We don't know whether the emigration was for economic or for religious reasons.  Many Mennonites and other Anabaptists from Switzerland went to the Palatinate during this time period because of religious persecution, but we don't yet know whether the Rubles could be included in that group. 

Ulrich is believed to have come with his family to Pennsylvania in about 1727, which would mean Ulrich was a teen-ager, or in their society, a young man.  He soon made his own way in the world, and settled in Bucks County,(modern day Lehigh County)  Pa., where he owned land by 1734.  Within a few years, he had decided to sell the land, and moved on to Frederick County, Virginia. He was married by this time to Jane Jacob (not Burson, as is widely reported), but as of yet a marriage date has not been found. 

A fascinating detail noted on the Geni website for Ulrich is that he was a member of the Virginia Militia, and in 1758 voted for Colonel George Washington.  I'm not sure whether this was a military election or a political elections, but since Ulrich was a member of the Virginia militia, it leads to a host of questions.  Was he in the military expeditions that George Washington was a part of, during the French and Indian War?  Did he perhaps serve under the "Colonel?"  The family lived on the Opequon Creek, somewhere between Martinsburg (now WV) and Winchester, so it was definitely frontier county, and Ulrich would have been the right age to be included in the militia. 

Ulrich and Jane had eight children: George, Peter, John, Elizabeth, Samuel, Owen, David, and Susannah.  Ulrich wrote his will on December 20,1759 and it was probated on August 4, 1761. He would have been about 51 years old when he died.  We can speculate that if he served under George Washington on some of those excursions, then he certainly would have suffered hardships that may have caused his somewhat early death.  The stories of what the militia went through in support of the British during that time are hard to read, so we owe men like Ulrich Ruble a huge debt of gratitude.

I've not found an appraisal of his estate although the appraisers were Henry Bowen, Thomas Doster, and William Barrett.  He left everything to his wife Jane until she remarried, and then to his children equally. He apparently owned at least 150 acres of land at his death, and perhaps more.

Once again, here is an immigrant ancestor from Switzerland or the Palatinate to America.  We need to recognize all our brave and hard-working pioneers, whether in Plymouth Colony in 1620 or in Virginia 140 years later, or even in Indiana in the early 1800s.  These folks had what we would consider a hard life, and built America.  We owe the Pilgrims a thank you, but also the many who came after, with different ideals and cultures.

The proposed line of descent is:

Ulrich Ruble-Jane Jacob
David Ruble-Sarah Malin
Hannah Ruble-Samuel Dunham
Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight
Samuel Dunham-Eliza Reese
Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge
Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks
Mary Margaret Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger
Their descendants

Allen line: Thomas Kilbourne 1578-abt 1637, Immigrant

Another Allen line immigrant, another set of questions.  Was he, or wasn't he, killed in an Indian massacre?  Why would a man 57 years old come to the New World, anyway?  Was it to give his children a chance at a better life?  Was it so he could practice his religion?  Was it for economic reasons? 

We do know something of Thomas's life.  He was born (or christened) May 8, 1578 in Wood Ditton, Cambridge, England, and is believed to be the son of John Kilbourne and Anne, of the same location.  It appears that Anne would likely have been a second wife, or at least a much younger wife, so he may have lived in a blended family.  Wood Ditton was a small village near Newmarket, but the small village had a long history going back to the Domesday records.  For a village to survive that long, there must have been some natural resources such as water or metal (or woods?) nearby. 

As far as we can tell, he was not a Puritan, at least not in 1632, when he is listed as a church warden in the Church of England.  He may, of course, have held Puritan sympathies and merely kept them quiet until he could go to New England.  He married Francis Moody, daughter of George Moody and Margaret Chenery, on September 5, 1604, at Moulton, Suffolk, England.  The couple had 8 children, and the youngest would have been about 10 when they immigrated.  Just five of the children sailed with them on the "Increase" in 1635.  One is known to have stayed in England and the other two may have also stayed, or they may have died young.  Thomas was listed as a husbandman (farmer) on the ship manifest. 

Various records say that the ship disembarked at Boston, but yet we see that the first noted residence of the Kilbourne family was in Wethersfield, Ct.  We don't know whether they transferred to another ship for this part of the voyage, or whether they made an overland trip.  Either trip must have been difficult for a couple in their fifties, although their older children must certainly have been a help.  At this time, the Kilbournes were Puritans, so either they changed religions between 1632 and 1635 (which is certainly possible), or the church warden duty had been something enforced by the Church of England, which is also possible. 

In Wethersfield, Thomas was granted or purchased several tracts of land, but there is no record of him after 1637.  This has led to the speculation that Thomas was one of the 7 unidentified victims of the Indian massacre of April 23, 1637, when 200 native Americans carried out an ambush against the settlers during what is known as the Pequot War.  This appears to have been not just a native vs. white man conflict, as the Dutch were allies with some tribes and the English with others, but the original source of conflict was between the tribes, as to which would control the trade of furs desired by both the Dutch and the English.  Of course, it was more complicated than that. 

Regardless of the cause, Thomas Kilbourne was not heard from after that date.  His widow, Frances, did not marry again and appears to have maintained her own household, probably with help from her family.  When she died in 1650 or 1651 (will written November 13, 1650 and proved June 1, 1651), she had a good sized estate amounting to about 336 pounds, which someone has calculated at being about $30,000 today.  This included several tracts of land which weren't designated in the will, so there must have been an arrangement about that.  Francis's estate also included books valued at 2 pounds, so it is likely that Thomas could read, and possibly Francis also. 

In writing about Thomas, I find myself greatly admiring his wife.  She kept the family together for roughly 13 years between the apparent death of Thomas and her own death.  Thomas must have taught her well. 

The line of descent is:

Thomas Kilbourne-Francis Moody
Mary Kilbourne-John Root
John Root-Mary Ashley
John Root-Sarah Stebbins
Sarah Root-Thomas Noble
Stephen Noble-Ruth Church
Ruth Noble-Martin Root
Ruth Root-Samuel Falley
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harried Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants