Beeks line: Peter Ruble about 1684-1750

 I hesitate to write this post because so little is known about this man, and because there is a possibility that the Rubles are not actually part of the family line.  Although I have no absolute proof, I tend to think the line is correct.  If not, at least someone else who is sure this man is theirs may learn something.  

I have actually found very little about Peter (Hans Peter, to give his full name).  His birth date is given as February 14, 1684, in either Lauperswil, Bern Canton, Switzerland or Bayern, Germany.  He was the son of Johann Peter and Margreth Ruble.  The possibility is strong that this was a Mennonite family, forced from Switzerland to Germany by Swiss authorities (Mennonites refused to belong to the state church, or to have their children baptized there) and then forced by economics or politics, again, to flee Germany for the British colonies, usually Pennsylvania.  And indeed, there are Rubles who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1736 and in 1742, the second year being the one that Ulrich Ruble arrived.  Peter had a son named Ulrich.  Hans Ruble, who may or may not be Hans Peter, arrived in 1736.  

I found a statement that the Ruble family changed from Mennonite to Methodist, but I'm not sure what time frame that was meant to describe, or whether an older man such as Peter would have made the change.

I've been unable to locate Peter in Pennsylvania unless he was the Hans of 1736.  However, by 1744 Ulrich was in Frederick County, Virginia and Peter was likely with him.  I found a statement in "Shenandoah Valley Pioneers and Their Descendants" that Peter was one of the oldest settlers in the North end of Frederick and controlled large tracts of land.  But then it goes on to state that Peter saw service in the Revolutionary War.  So it may be that these statements combine the lives of two men.  Revolutionary War Peter may be a son or grandson of this Peter.  Since our man was born in 1684 and died about 1750, he didn't fight in the Revolutionary War, or even the French and Indian war.  

We know almost nothing about Peter's family.  His wife's name is given as Anna Katrina Mueller, but I've not found documentation for that.  The marriage would have taken place in Germany, as would the births of their children.  I have a birth date of 1710 for son Ulrich, and September 21, 1720 for Peter (possibly he of the Revolutionary War) but not even that much information for other sons, who may have included Robert, John, and Cunrad.  

I've not found estate records of any kind for Peter, which is strange if he indeed controlled or owned a lot of land.  There is a lot of work to be done before we can even feel that we have enough information for a sketch of his life.  These are mere hints for the most part, and I only hope they will lead us in the right direction.  

The proposed line of descent is:

Peter Ruble-Anna Katrina Mueller

Ulrich Ruble-Jane Jacob

David Ruble-Sarah Malin

Hannah Ruble-Samuel Dunham

Jacob Dunham-Catherine Goodnight

Samuel Dunham-Eliza Matilda Reese

Margaret Catherine Dunham-Harvey Aldridge

Cleo Aldridge-Wilbur Beeks

Mary Beeks-Cleveland Harshbarger

Their descendants

Holbrook line: John Rockwood 1696-1778

 Here's the thing about John Rockwood.  His grandfather was named John Rockwood.  His uncle was named John Rockwood.  He was named John Rockwood.  His son was named John Rockwood.  His grandson was named John Rockwood.  And, although I haven't proved it yet, I'm reasonably sure he had one or more cousins named John Rockwood.  Do you see a problem here?  It has taken me quite some time to untangle these men and figure out which of the few records I've found actually relate to this John Rockwood.  To add to the fun, this John Rockwood and his son John Rockwood each married women named Deborah Thayer.  Ay-yi-yi!

Unfortunately, most of these men didn't leave much in the way of public records other than their birth, marriage, and death dates, so there is not a lot to write about them.   

John Rockwood, the subject of this brief post, was born August 22, 1696, to Joseph and Mary Hayward Rockwood, in Mendon, Massachusetts.  All four of his grandparents had died in Mendon, and both of his parents were born, lived, and died there, so John at least had roots and extended family, whether or not he had much in the way of material goods.  John had nine siblings, so that was a good start right there, to help fill up the village.  

John married Deborah Thayer, the daughter of Ebenezer and Martha Thompson Thayer, on December 19, 1716 in Mendon.  She, too, had deep Mendon roots, with her grandparents all having died in Mendon and her parents born there.  

Just about two years after his marriage, Joseph, John's father, died.  John received land in his father's will, valued, if I am reading the inventory correctly, at 70 pounds.  "To my beloved son John Rockwood, I give all the land and meadows belonging to me, where he now dwells on both sides the Second Bridge River, with seven acres of my Fifth Division lying upstream from his house, against William Hayward's meadow, bounded as by Town Record, with ten acres of my sixth division to lay out with a two acre and half right in the Town Commons."  John was to provide ten pounds to his sister Mary Wheaton, out of what he had been given.  John also received his father's new coat.  

Presumably John and Deborah lived happily every after, or at least until Deborah died July 24, 1750.  They had at least nine children together and John soon remarried, although all of the children were apparently old enough to be out of the house when she died.  The youngest, Deborah, was 16 but possibly didn't need a mother, or a mother figure, but John must have needed a wife.  He married Elizabeth Wheelock Daniels, a widow, on March 18, 1751 in Milford, Massachusetts, and they may have had a son together.  The towns of Mendon and Milford were just 3 miles apart, so they likely had known each other earlier.  

I have found one reference to John Rockwood as an ensign, at the time of his marriage to Elizabeth.  I haven't located his name in any military records, but perhaps he had served in King George's War, which took place from 1744 to 1748 and was more or less a precursor to the French and Indian War a few years later.  At a minimum, he was an ensign in the town militia.

I wish I could pin down the date, or even the year, that John and Elizabeth moved from Mendon to Warwick, Massachusetts.  This was a small town in Hampshire, now Franklin County, so at the center of the state, and bordering New Hampshire.  What caused John to move? Did he sell his land in Mendon, or lose it to the tax collectors, or was this a step up for him?  I haven't found his name in the town histories, so he seems to have been under the radar there.  Or, possibly, he was living in Warwick with one of his children, since I haven't been able to locate a will.   

John died at Warwick on September 7, 1778, when he was 82 years old.  The Revolutionary War was in progress, and some of his children and grandchildren were involved in that.  This seems to have been a family of patriots, for which we, his descendants, are grateful.

The line of descent is:

John Rockwood-Deborah Thayer

Joseph Rockwood-Alice Thompson

Levi Rockwood-Deborah Lazell

Susannah Rockwood-Nahum Holbrook

Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore

Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown

Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard

Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen

Their descendants

 

Holbrook line: John Perrin 1701-1770

 I like John Perrin for one reason, which family historians will appreciate: He was born, lived, and died in the same small town in Connecticut.  Thank you, Grandfather John!  

John was the son of Samuel and Mehitable Child Perrin, and was born March 18, 1701/1702 in Woodstock, Connecticut, except that it was Massachusetts at the time.  He was the fifth of at least eight children born to the couple, and the family multiplied so that by the time John died, his own children and those of his siblings were numerous in the town.  This makes it "fun" because it looks like there were at least two other John Perrins who lived in Woodstock, and some records seem to be confused.  They are certainly, to me, confusing.  There was a John who died in 1770 (ours), one who died in 1773, and one who died in 1803, among possibly others. 

We owe a debt of gratitude to the Perrin family in general, for many of the men fought in the French and Indian War, and in the Revolutionary War.  I found no reference to our John having served in either conflict, but John would have been in his 50's when the French and Indian War broke out.  There is a possibility that he fought in King George's War, (1744-48) but I've not found a record yet. I'm not sure whether he would be in Massachusetts or in Connecticut records, since the transfer to Connecticut took place in 1749.  That search continues.

John married Abigail Morris, daughter of Samuel and Dorothy Martin Morris, shortly after December 28, 1725, the date their intentions were published.  At the time, Abigail was noted as being "of "Mianoxit", which I haven't been able to identify.  John was about 24 and Abigail was about 18 years old.  Their first son was born soon after, on April 17, 1726.  John and Abigail had at least fourteen children together, with an apparent gap between 1748, when number 13 was born, and 1753, when the last son is reported to have been born.  There is room for an additional pregnancy between those two dates but I've not located a record for a child born then.  At any rate, Abigail in 1753 was 46 years old and probably had her hands full.  

John's father, Samuel, had been a founder of the town and served in several civic offices.  John appears to have not served to the same extent, but he did leave some records.  We know that he lived in the southwest section of Woodstock, that he and Abigail were admitted to full communion in the Woodstock church in 1727, and that he was a part of the (Congregational) church in West Woodstock and he was apparently assigned per number 5 in 1747, , indicating a degree of respect in the community.  His name is on a petition in 1750 for a division of school districts, asking for a new school to be built nearer to his part of town.  

We don't know what John did for a living but he likely farmed.  He did have several parcels of land at his death, and it seems that he may have given some of his older children land or money as they married and left home.  

John died without a will on April 5, 1770.  Ancestry has a copy of the estate papers.  The older children mostly agreed to renounce their claims in favor of the younger children, but I didn't find out what happened to Abigail.  I didn't see her name mentioned anywhere, although I have a death date for her of June 14, 1787, and she is mentioned on Find a Grave as the widow of John Perrin.  There are also records in 1803 which seem to me to be for a different John Perrin, although some of the same names are in those records.  Surely settling the estate didn't take 33 years?

John is buried at the Bungay Cemetery in West Woodstock.  Engraved on his tombstone are the following lines: "Let not the dead forgotten lie Lest men forget that they must die."

John's family was obviously close, as siblings named their children after not only their parents, but their parent's siblings.  John was undoubtedly proud of the men who went off to war, as well as those who stayed behind.  And we are proud to be his descendants.

The line of descent is:

John Perrin-Abigail Morris

Benjamin Perrin-Mary or Marcy possibly Osborn

Mary Perrin-David Fay

Luceba Fay-Libbeus Stanard

Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy

Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick

Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook

Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen

Their descendants

Harshbarger line: Leonard Duliban Tullepan and related spellings 1730-1785

 It's always interesting to find an ancestor who hasn't been researched very thoroughly.  Sometimes, it seems, maybe he has been researched and very little has been found about him.  That seems to be the case with immigrant Leonard Duliban.  He has a name that is spelled many different ways, and that is part of the problem, I'm sure.  I have seen it spelled Duliban, Tulepane, Dulibohn, Dullenbaum, Dulybantz, Dulleton, Tulpan, and Dulban, and I've undoubtedly missed some spellings. To add to the fun, Leonard is also seen as Lenhard and over variant spellings.

 Leonard is believed to have been born to a French Huguenot family, in Alsace, what is now France, and likely the family went to Germany to escape the persecutions under Louis XIV, perhaps around 1680.  The "D" and "T" sounds are very similar in German, which would explain some of the differences in spelling. 

The Duliban (used here for convenience) family probably came to Philadelphia in 1752.  The man generally acknowledged as his father, Frantz Dulibon, arrived then.  Leonard is not enumerated on that list, which I have recently learned means he likely came as an indentured servant, meaning neither he nor his father could pay his way here.  That may explain why there seem to be no records of him during the 1750s; he was serving an indentureship and thus more or less invisible.  

We don't know when he married, nor whom.  His wife when he died was named Margaret, but as far as I know no records have been found regarding his marriage.  He may have been married when he and his father came here from Germany or Alsace, France, or he may have married here.  The list of children that I have starts in 1762, so that would indicate a marriage after his arrival here, but it's not proof.  

Leonard seems to have been either a tenant farmer or a tradesman of some sort, because none of the tax records I've seen indicate that he owned land or a dwelling.  The most taxable items I've seen him listed with is 2 cows, which could easily have been for household use and kept wherever it was he was living.  We know he spent most if not all of his life in America in Warwick Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  

Assuming that the French Huguenot religion is correct, Leonard likely supported or belonged to a Reformed church of some kind, Calvinist in nature.  The most likely candidate is Old Zion Church at Brickerville, which has a communion table that was crafted in 1743 by Wendell Laber, the grandfather of his son's wife.  I have not, however, found records that support this.  

We don't know what role, if any, Leonard played in the French and Indian War.  That whole area was subject to raids and many families left their homes for relative safety in larger cities.  However, we don't know whether Leonard was in Warwick Township that early.  

I've found his name listed twice in Revolutionary War records.  The Pennsylvania State Archives shows him as being in the inactive duty militia, 9th battalion, 3rd company, second class, with the note "Non Attendance Return 1777-1780", so possibly he missed more than one training session.  He is also noted as being in the Lititz District, 3rd Battalion, 8th company, 2nd class in 1781.  There is a note that the first class served in Northumberland County but nothing is said about the 2nd class.  By this time, he was about 51 years old, so I hope he didn't have to go on a long expedition.  

Leonard and (possibly) Margaret are credited with having at least seven children: Henry, John, Susanna, Elizabeth, Margaret, Jacob, and Christian.  They were born between 1762 and 1783.

Leonard died prior to March 4, 1785, when Margaret Dullebaun was granted administration of his estate.  Apparently the will itself is in German and has not been translated, based on the introduction to "An index to the will books and intestate records of Lancaster County".  One of my fellow researchers says that the administration notice is all that the County has, so someone is right!  Margaret would have had a long road ahead of her, if she lived to raise her children.  I have not been able to find a death date for her, and she may well have re-married.  

This is the total of my information about Leonard.  I hope someone reading this has more information than this and will contact me so we can learn more about him.  He lived through some interesting times.

The line of descent is

Leonard Duliban-possibly Margaret

Elizabeth Tullepan-Conrad Mentzer

Catherine Mentzer (Mancer)-Lewis Harshbarger

Emmanuel Harshbarger-Clara Ellen Harter

Grover Harshbarger-Goldie Withers

Cleveland Harshbarger-Mary Beeks

Their descendants

Holbrook line: John Whittemore 1638ish-1694

 I did quite a bit of research for this post, and then found almost all of it tied up quite neatly in an article "The Whittemore Family in America" in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, volume 106, page 89.  So although I've found other sources, if you are interested the above article is the place to go for a "correct", more scholarly version of what I will write.  As my reader knows, I tend to speculate a little and try to get into our ancestor's shoes, if I can, or at least, see what his or her neighbors would have seen.  

John was actually an immigrant.  He was baptized February 11, 1638 in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England, and was probably born shortly before that date.  His parents were Thomas and Hannah Chawkley Whittermore, and when they immigrated to New England in 1642, they brought their five children with them.  Five more children were born to this couple after their arrival, so John had as many as nine siblings to grow up with.

John was fortunate to be taught a trade, that of wheelwright.  I've not found who his master was, but the family lived mainly in Malden so it's possible that is where his apprenticeship took place.  However, he was married in Charlestown, so perhaps that is where he learned his trade.  His first wife was Mary Upham, daughter of Deacon John and Elizabeth Slade Upham.  Mary had seven children before dying 12 days after the birth of her last son, likely of complications from childbirth.  With seven young children to care for, John remarried quickly, to Mary Miller, who was the daughter of Rev. John and Lydia Miller, on November 8, 1677.  John and the second Mary had six children together, and she out-lived him by many years.

John began acquiring land in Charlestown as early as 1665 and perhaps sooner.  By 1666, he was able to sell a property in Charlestown that included a dwelling house with outhouses, barn, orchard, and garden, plus 42 acres of land for "a valuable sum".  This may have been his father's estate; his father had died in 1661 and his mother remarried in 1663, so this may have been John's inheritance.  

He was able to purchase 15 acres of land in Cambridge in 1670, another 60 acres in 1671, and 20 acres in Cambridge in 1673. By 1681 he was considered a proprietor of Charlestown and received smaller parcels of land in land divisions.  He seems to have moved to Watertown for a few years about 1690, and agreed to help pay for repairs to the Watertown church in 1694, apparently shortly before his death.  However, in his estate records he is consistently noted as being "of Charlestown", so the Watertown John may be another John, or it may be that John was there for only a short time.

John served on juries, gave testimony in some trials, and had various civic jobs within Charlestown.  In 1668 he was a fence viewer, in 1675 a hog reeve, in 1678 a tythingman, in 1679 fence viewer again, a surveyor of highways in 1681, and constable in 1684 and again in 1692, indicating he was no longer in Watertown, if he had ever indeed been there.  These positions indicate that he was respected but not necessarily in the very top tier of citizens of the town, since he seems to have never been a selectman.

John died December 8, 1694, seemingly without a will.  He would have been about 58 years old, so perhaps his was a sudden death.  I found no mention in the estate papers of his wife or her support, but there is a distribution of 234 pounds to be divided among the children or their guardians, and son Thomas apparently got the house and land.  Some of the writing was difficult for me to read so I may have missed something, since Mary would have needed support in some fashion.  The inventory had a value of 333 pounds.  It included books and household goods, as well as livestock and farm goods and equipment.  I didn't see mention of guns, or of any servants or slaves.  

John seems to have made a good life for himself, coming as such a young child to a new colony, and learning a trade, then raising 13 children (well, the youngest was just three when his father died, but he was provided for in the estate, anyway), and participating in church and community life.  We can be proud to be his descendants.

The line of descent is:

John Whittemore-Mary Upham

John Whittemore-Elizabeth Annable

John Whittemore-Elizabeth Lloyd

John Whittemore-Lydia Clough

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

Holbrook line: Thomas Marsh 1651-1725

The Marsh family loved Hingham, Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts, or at least they liked it well enough to stay there for several generations.  Thomas's paternal grandparents, George and Elizabeth Key Marsh, and his maternal grandfather, John Beal, were early immigrants to the town.  His parents, Thomas and Sarah Beal Lincoln, were also immigrants who may have known each other before they arrived in America.  They were married in Hingham, Plymouth Colony, in 1649, and our Thomas was born two years later, on December 4, 1651. 

 Hingham is at the very north of what used to be Plymouth Colony, and is now considered part of the South Shore of Boston.  It was a good place to raise a family, and to grow a colony.  It was right on the coast so there was ample fishing and sea food available, and probably docks and wharves for small ships to trade.  There was much to keep a young boy busy and happy.  Sadly, Thomas Senior died when our Thomas was just six years old, so he and his siblings had to adjust to a new way of life.  Five years later, there was another adjustment, as his mother remarried to Edmund Sheffield.  He was a widower with nine  children, and another three children were born while Thomas was likely still part of the household, unless he had been sent to another home to learn a trade, which is possible.  

Thomas was a man of good reputation and if not well to do, at least one of the wealthier people in town.  He was made a freeman in 1677, two years after his marriage to Sarah Lincoln, daughter of Thomas and Margaret Langer Lincoln, also of Hingham.  The couple had six children together.  We are told that he lived on his father's homestead on North Street, so he likely inherited that parcel. A picture on the Hingham Wikipedia page shows a home that was built in 1640 and is still extant, and the Marsh home may have been similar to this one.  

Thomas was chosen as a selectman for at least four years in the 1690s and early 1700s.  He likely also held other positions at various times, but I've been unable to locate further information.  It is also likely that he was a member of the local church, which was led for many years by Peter Hobart.  The church he would have attended, the Old Ship Church, was built in 1681 and is the oldest Puritan meeting house in America.  Thomas would have contributed funds or supplies during the building process.  

Thomas's name is also listed on a petition of February, 1708/09, stating that "Mahitabel Warren" has been afflicted for many years, that she is a widow and that she believes that "God gave her a sanctified improvement of his afflictive hand to her".  This petition is protesting her innocence as she has apparently been accused or charged with witchcraft.  This would have been 16-17 years after the Salem witchcraft trials and perhaps his particular part of New England had learned a lesson.  

I've not been able to find any mention of Thomas's actions during King Philip's War, or in any of the subsequent wars that our ancestors endured.  I will keep looking, as I find new sources.  I also have not found his will.  He died March 23, 1725 according to Cohassett records, where he is noted as being of Hingham, and "Aged man".  Cohasset and Hingham were adjoining towns.  If he died in Cohasset, he may have been there on business, or possibly living with a child during his last months or years.  If he lived with a child, that may be why no will has been found.  He may have given his estate away prior to his death.  His widow, Sarah, lived until 1738, so it seems that he would have made provision for her.  The search continues.

The line of descent is

Thomas Marsh-Sarah Lincoln

Thomas Marsh-Mary Burr

Deborah Marsh-Isaac Lazell

Deborah Lazell-Levi Rockwood

Susanna Rockwood-Nahum Holbrook

Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore

Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown

Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard

Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen

Their descendants

 

Holbrook line: John Stannard of Suffield, Connecticut and Sheffield and New Marlborough Massachusetts

 After writing 902 blog posts, I'm finding that many of the remaining ancestors I want to write about have great big question marks around their names.  John Stannard is one of them.  He is reported to have been born anywhere from 1720 to 1729, and there is a good deal of discussion about the identification of his mother.  The problem is that Suffield, Connecticut, where John may or may not have been born, contained more than one, possibly as many as three, men by the name of John Stannard.  

Our John was the son of John Stannard, which still doesn't narrow the field down by much.  Most trees give his mother as Rachel Conklin, but, although I don't have proof yet, I currently believe his mother was Hannah Jordan, widow of Samuel Bate.  This couple was married in 1717 in "Old Saybrook", Connecticut.  There is an article in the 2019 Connecticut Nutmegger which I am unable to access, which may very well straighten this out.  

Assuming that John and Hannah were his parents, John would have had at least three sisters.  One was born about 1718, one about 1721 and one about 1725.  John could have fit into either of those times between daughters, or he may have been born after the last one.  We don't know why records of his birth haven't been located.  New England records are good, but not perfect!

John's parents moved to Suffield, Connecticut at some point, and that is where this John married Hannah Hanchett, daughter of John and Lydia Hayward Hanchett, on November 9, 1748.  He may have just returned from military duty, because there is record of a John Stannard of Suffield, Ct. in 1747, in "Colonial Officers and Soldiers in New England 1620-1775". He is listed as a private on 6/23/1747.  But there were other John Stannards of the right age to have served then, so I am only saying this is a possibility, not a given.  This was likely connected to King George's war, which was an uprising by native Americans against the colonists and the British, primarily in what is now Maine.  Again, this is just a guess, and there were other campaigns in eastern New York that may have been the area that John Stannard, whoever he was, participated in.

John and Hannah's children were apparently all born in Suffield.  Their family is quite recognizable because they chose just a few family names for their eleven children.  The majority were given names going back to Roman days, such as Libbeus, Claudius, and Pliny, as well as unusual Biblical names such as Jehiel, and Greek names such as Chloe.  We needn't speculate about the education of this family; the parents were certainly literate and familiar with the classics.

Here's where it gets even more complicated.  Most trees say that John died in Suffield, Connecticut in 1807 and indeed there is a will for John Stannard with that date.  However, none of the names of the children, or of the wife, match with what we know of John's family.  I don't think this is our John Stannard.

I would like to find someone who has researched this man, and learn whether there is support for John having moved to Sheffield, Berkshire County, Massachusetts.  A man by that name died there in 1772.  His widow's name was Hannah, later Hannah Huxley.  He died without a will and the case file contains about 32 pages in his estate file, but I didn't locate the name of any of his children in the file.  His estate didn't cover his debts, so although the widow got her one third share, the rest of the estate seems to have gone to his creditors, of whom there were many.  Sheffield caught my eye because Ethan Allen had some connections in that place, and Libbeus Stannard was one of Allen's  "Green Mountain Boys" during the Revolutionary War. Actually, John is referred to as being from New Marlborough, which wasn't incorporated until 1775.  At the time John died, it would still have officially been Sheffield.

I hope to do more research regarding John.  If he died in Massachusetts in 1772, then there should be guardianship records for the children.  There should be marriage records for Hannah's second marriage, and there may be records in Mr. Huxley's file that relate to the children, possibly including land records.  And there's that tantalizing article in the Connecticut Nutmegger, which I must track down.  I will try to update this post when I learn more.

The line of descent is:

John Stannard-Hannah Hanchett

Libbeus Stannard-Eunice Pomeroy

Libbeus Stanard-Luceba Fay

Hiram Stanard-Susan Eddy

Louis Stanard-Mary Alice Hetrick

Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook

Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen

Their descendants