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David Trowbridge was born in 1738. David Trowbridges' parents, John and Mary Trowbridge, lived at Wilton where their first six children were born. Their first child, John was born about 1736. Then came David Trowbridge in 1738. Sarah was born in 1739, Ann in 1741, Isaac in 1744 and Hester in 1748.
In the spring of 1749 the Trowbridge family moved to Danbury, CT. Mary gave birth to two more children. Lydia was born in 1755 and Phoebe in 1751. David's father was chosen to be a selectman of Danbury in 1753 and served in the French and Indian War from 1755 to 1757 at Fort William Henry. The Trowbridge children grew up and married at Wilton in Danbury, CT. Isaac married for the 2nd time to Lucy Foote. Sarah and Hester married the Benedict boys.
David Trowbridge married Sarah Woodbridge on 18 October 1770. They married at Hatfield, Mass. The Trowbridges lived in Danbury and the Woodbridges lived in Hatfield, Mass. David's younger sister, Lydia Trowbridge was born about 1755, and married in 1786 to John Woodward when she was thirty-one years old.
David Trowbridge was a felt maker at Deerfield and Hartford, Ct. He later became a tavern and hotel keeper at Deerfield and at Hartford. After they were married, David and Sarah Trowbridge settled at Hatfield, CT. While living in Hatfield they had three children. Their first child, Sarah, was born in 1771. Mary was born in July 1773 and Henry was born in September 1776. The following month, their first born, Sarah, died at the age of five.
In 1777 the Trowbridge family moved to Amherst, Mass. Here Eunice Trowbridge was born in 1777. In 1779, Sarah gave birth to another little girl, which they named Sarah. Another boy and girl, David and Susan, were born.
David Trowbridge was in the Amherst Company of the Militia under Captain Moses Cook and served in the defense of the Government of Springfield for seven days in September 1786 during the Shay's Insurrection. After the Revolution the Trowbridges must have lived in Deerfield, Mass. Their last child, Emily Trowbridge, was born at Deerfield in March 1793.
The Trowbridges moved to Albany, N.Y. about 1796, where he was an inn keeper. Eunice Trowbridge was nineteen when her family moved to Albany. At the time Joseph L. Herkimer was a law student at Albany. Eunice Trowbridge will marry Joseph Herkimer in 1800.
The Trowbridges later moved to Utica, N.Y. where David was a hotel keeper. They returned to Albany in 1806 to live. David Trowbridge, died at Little Falls, N.Y. on 16 September 1816, while visiting his daughter, Eunice. Sarah (Woodbridge) Trowbridge, died at Albany, N.Y. on 24 October 1826 .
John Trowbridge was born at Stratford, Ct. on 22 May 1709. The Trowbridge family, with its eight children, moved from Stratford, CT to the parish of Wilton in the town of Norwalk, CT in 1712. After they moved, Mary (Belden) Trowbridge gave birth to three more children: Abigail in 1712, Lydia in 1715 and Sarah in 1717.
John Trowbridge married Mary Comstock at Norwalk, Ct about 1735. She was born at Norwalk on 5 August 1710 to Captain Samuel Comstock and Sarah Hanford. Capt. Comstock had been Deputy to the General Assembly from 1726 to 1730. Mary was the third child of seven children.
John and Mary Trowbridge lived at Wilton where their first six children were born. Their first child, John was born about 1736. David Trowbridge was born in 1738. Sarah was born in 1739, Ann in 1741, Isaac in 1744 and Hester in 1748.
In the spring of 1749 the Trowbridge family moved to Danbury, CT. Mary gave birth to two more children. Lydia was born in 1755 and Phoebe in 1751. Mary's father, Captain Samuel Comstock, died in October 1752 and was buried at the Old East Norwalk Cemetery. John Trowbridge was chosen to be a selectman of Danbury in 1753. A selectman is one of a board of town officers chosen annually in New England communities to manage local affairs.
John Trowbridge served in the French and Indian War as a corporal in the 5th Company, 4th Regiment of Connecticut, from 12 September 1755 to 8 November 1755. He was a sergeant in the 7th Company, 3rd Regiment of Connecticut at Fort William Henry in October 1756 and again in August 1757.
In 1761, John Trowbridge was appointed the collector of rates in Danbury. The Trowbridge children grew up and married at Wilton in Danbury, CT. Their son, Isaac married for the 2nd time to Lucy Foote. Their daughters, Sarah and Hester married the Benedict boys. Sarah married Lemuel in 1763 and Hester married Aaron in 1768.
John Trowbridge was a prominent member of the Danbury Congregational Church. John was a farmer and worked his land, just west of Danbury, until his death in May 1777.
James Trowbridge was born at New Haven, Ct. on 26 March 1664. His father, William Trowbridge married at Milford, Ct. on 9 March 1657 to Elizabeth Lamberton, the widow of Daniel Sellivant. Elizabeth Lambertom was first married as the second wife of Daniel Sellivant on 17 October 1654. James was one of ten children between 1657 and 1676.
In July 1677, the Trowbridges moved to West Haven and built a home on a portion of the Lamberton farm. James' father was a planter, husbandman and a master of the sloop - "Cocke" making two voyages out of New Haven.
James Trowbridge was thirteen when the family moved to West Haven. There he grew up with his four brothers and four sisters. James marries Lydia Alsop in 1688.
James' parents, William and Elizabeth Trowbridge, were members of the First Church of New Haven in 1686. William died at West Haven in November 1690, and Elizabeth there in 1716.
James Trowbridge, at the age of twenty-four, married first on 8 November 1688 to Lydia Alsop. James and Lydia Trowbridge had one child. Little James was born on 13 September 1689. James Trowbridge learned the trade of a "cordwainer" or a shoemaker and settled at New Haven, Ct. Lydia Alsop died at Stratford, Ct. on 6 May 1690, leaving James a widower with a baby boy.
James Trowbridge married again on 29 September 1692 to Esther Howe. In September 1693 James Trowbridge moved to Stratford, Ct., where they were admitted as members of the Stratford Congregational Church on 8 April 1694. James and Ester Trowbridge had three children. Isaac was born at Stratford about 1693. Esther was born at Stratford about 1695, and Mary was born at Stratford about 1697. Ester died at Stratford in 1697. James Trowbridge was a widower again with four children, ages eight, four, two and an infant.
On 19 April 1698 James Trowbridge married at Wilton for the third time to Mary Belding (or Belding) Mary was born at Hatfield, Mass. on 17 November 1677 to Daniel Belding and Elizabeth Foote. Mary Belding's mother, two brothers and a sister had been killed by the Indians in 1696. Mary's father, another brother and sister had been captured by the Indians and just released. James Trowbridge was a widower with four young children, ages nine to one. Of course Mary Belding was one of fifteen children. Their married life could only get better!
James and Mary (Belding) Trowbridge had seven children born between 1701 and 1717. Daniel was born at Stratford on 13 August 1701. Elizabeth was born at Stratford on 1 March 1703. Caleb was born at Stratford on 8 April 1706. John Trowbridge ,our ancestor, was born in 1709. Abigail was born at Stratford on 1 September 1712. Lydia was born at Norwalk on 8 May 1715, and Sarah was born at Norwalk on 29 July 1717.
In 1712 James Trowbridge and his family moved to the parish of Wilton in the town of Norwalk, Ct.,where he purchased a large farm. He was one of the original members of the Wilton Congregational Church, becoming a deacon there. He was a grand juror in 1719 and the town collector in 1721. James Trowbridge farmed at Wilton until his death in May 1732. Mary died sometime after 1737.
William Trowbridge England 1636
William Trowbridge was born in 1633 and baptized at St. Petrock's at Exeter, Devonhire, England on 3 September 1633. William's parents were Thomas and Elizabeth Trowbridge. Thomas Trowbridge was a mercer (dealer in textiles, especially silks) at Exeter. William's grandfather, John Trowbridge, was the Mayor of Taunton, Somersetshire, England in 1630 and again in 1638. He also was the warden of St. Mary Magdalen Church.
In early 1636, William Trowbridge sailed with his father, his brother, Thomas Trowbridge and his mother to New England. William was only three at the time. His oldest brother, John, was seven and remained at England. John probably lived with his grandparents in Taunton.
The Trowbridges first settled at Dorchester, Mass. (Bay Colony), near Boston. William's younger brother, James, was born at Dorchester, Mass. about 1636. Thomas Trowbridge moved his family to New Haven, Ct. in 1638, but spent little time there because he was occupied with extensive trade between England, Barbados and the Colonies.
William Trowbridge's mother died in 1643. Shortly after she died at New Haven, his father was recalled to England. The Trowbridge boys were only seven, ten, and twelve. Thomas Trowbridge returned to England, never to return to New England. Thomas' father, John Trowbridge, died at Taunton, Somersetshire, England in July 1649 at the age of 79. Thomas, being his father's only living son, inherited substantial wealth, which is probably what kept him at Taunton, England, until his burial at St Magdelen Church on 7 February 1673.
William Trowbridge and his two brothers also were left at New Haven, Ct. under the care of Henry Gibbons, a servant. Gibbons mismanaged the affairs of Thomas' property. The courts put William and his brothers under the care of Sergeant Thomas Jeffery and his wife. When William became of age, he brought Gibbons to court and tried to get him to make restitution, but without success.
William's older brother, Thomas Trowbridge, married 1st in 1657 to Sarah Rutherford, and 2nd in 1689 to Hannah (Nash) Ball. He died at New Haven on 22 August 1702, and had 9 children. His younger brother, James, became a Deacon and married Margaret Atherton in 1659.
William Trowbridge married at Milford, Ct. on 9 March 1657 to Elizabeth Lamberton, the widow of Daniel Sellivant. Elizabeth Lambertom was first married as the second wife of Daniel Sellivant on 17 October 1654. Daniel had died at Virginia in the summer of 1655. William and Elizabeth Trowbridge had at least ten children between 1657 and 1676.
William Jr. was born 12 November 1657, and married in 1687 to Thankful Stow. Thomas was born on 2 October 1659, and married in 1684 to Abigail Beardsley. Elizabeth was born on 5 January 1662, and married in 1678 to Peter Mallory. James Trowbridge, our ancestor, was born at New Haven, Ct. on 26 March 1664. Margaret was born on 1 June 1666, and married to Joseph Goodwin. Hannah was born on 6 July 1668, and married to Moses Jackson. Abigail was born on 7 October 1670, and married to John Marshall. Samuel was born 7 October 1670 (twin), and married in 1698 to Sarah Lacy. Mary was born on 12 October 1672. Joseph was born in 1676, and married in 1708 to Anne Sherwood.
In July 1677, William and Elizabeth Trowbridge moved to West Haven and built a home on a portion of the Lamberton farm. He was a planter, husbandman and a master of the sloop - "Cocke" making two voyages out of New Haven.
William and Elizabeth Trowbridge were members of the First Church of New Haven in 1686. William Trowbridge died at West Haven in November 1690, and Elizabeth there in 1716.
Mary Belding was born at Hatfield, Mass. in November 1677. Mary Belding was the fourth child of nine. Her baby sister died as an infant in 1686. After her death Mary's father, Daniel Belding, moved the family to Deerfield, Mass. Their oldest child was fifteen and their youngest was only three. Mary Belding was nine years old when they moved to Deerfield.
Mary Belding's mother gave birth five more children. Samuel was born in April 1687, John was born in June 1689 and died the next day. Abigail, named after the daughter who died, was born in August 1690. John was born in February 1693. Last but not least [indicated by the name], Thankful; was born 31 December 1695.
The Beldings with their surviving eleven children lived a rather peaceful life at Deerfield. Homes with unpainted clapboards, narrow, unshuttered windows, and dignified doorways lines the mile-long street reflected life on the frontier 75 miles west of Boston.
Then the Indians attacked on September 26, 1696. Mary Belding was nineteen years old at the time. Her mother and three of her siblings were killed by French Mohawk Indians. Young Daniel was sixteen, John was three and Thankful was one year old when they were killed by the Indians. Her father, her sister Elizabeth and brothers Nathaniel and Hester were captured and taken to Canada. Mary Belding's older brothers, William and Richard, managed to escape with Mary, her fourteen year-old sister, Sarah, and nine year old brother, Samuel. Apparently Mary Belding left Deerfield after the 1696 Indian raid.
Mary Belding married at Wilton, Norwalk, Ct., on 19 April 1698 to James Trowbridge (as his third wife). Mary Belding was twenty-two and James Trowbridge was thirty-four when they got married. Mary lived a prosperous married life with James Trowbridge in Connecticut while her father continued to battle the Indians in Massachusetts.
Click on James Trowbridge to learn about Mary Belding's adult life.
The Belding Ancestors 1622-1732 Endland 1635
William Belding was born about 1622 in Staffordshire England. On the early records of Wethersfield, Ct., the surname was originally spelled Baylden until 1641, when the name appeared as - Beldon. In 1643, the spelling changed to Belding, and in 1736, back to Beldon. From 1753 to 1825, it was spelled - Belding and now is found as Belden. William Belding came to New England with his father, Richard Baylden, about 1635.
Richard Baylden was probably the third son of Sir Francis Baylden and Margaret Goodrick, of Kippax, Yorkshire, England. Sir Francis was knighted on 23 July 1603 at the coronation of King James I. Richard was baptized at Yorkshire on 26 May 1591. He took the Oath of Allegiance to the King on 26 March 1613 and served in the campaign of Breda, Holland under Sir George Blaudell. He and his brother - John, had strong sympathies with the Puritans and left Staffordshire, England, about 1635. When Richard came to New England, he brought with him three sons that were born in Staffordshire: William was born about 1622, Samuel was born about 1629 and John born in 1631.
William Belding's father, Richard Belding, was among the early settlers of Wethersfield, Ct., which was situated on the west bank of the Connecticut River, about 3 1/2 miles south of Hartford. The exact date of his settlement there is not known, but his name first appears in the town records of Hartford, on 7 April 1641, as owning eight tracts of land. He was granted land at Wethersfield and also purchased additional land. He built his house there, on a three acre parcel.
On 16 March 1646, Richard Belding was appointed as Town Herder in charge of the cows, which pastured on common lands at Wethersfield. Richard and his brother - John, were admitted as Freeman in 1657.
Richard Belding deeded a farm to his son - Samuel in October 1654. Richard died about 1655 at Wethersfield leaving a very large estate that was inventoried on 22 August 1655. There is no record of his wife, who died at England.
William Belding's brother, Samuel, married 1st about 1654 to Mary Beardslay who was killed by Indians in 1677. He married 2nd in 1678 to Mary Welles, and 3rd to Mary (Meeker) Allis, and 4th in 1705 to Sarah Wells.
William Belding {also found spelled Beldin} was the eldest son of Richard. Like his father, he served as one of the herders of the town, being appointed in 1648.
William Belding married at Wethersfield, about 1646, to Thomasine Sherwood, whose father may have been Thomas Sherwood of Fairfield, Ct. William and Thomasine (Sherwood) Belding moved to Norwalk, Ct., in 1646. They had six children between 1647 and 1654. Daniel Belding was born, at Wethersfield, Ct., on 20 November 1648. Daniel Belding grew up at Wethersfield with his three brothers and two sisters. William Belding died at Wethersfield on 27 March 1655, and his inventory was taken on 1 June 1655. Daniel Belding was only eight years old at the time.
Daniel Belding married at Wethersfield on 10 November 1670 to Elizabeth Foote. She was born to Nathaniel Foote Jr and Elizabeth Smith at Hadley, Mass. in 1654. Elizabeth was only sixteen when she married. Daniel was twenty-two.
Daniel and Elizabeth (Foote) Belding first settled in Hartford, CT. In 1671, Daniel and Elizabeth Belding moved from Hartford, Ct. to Hatfield, Mass. Daniel took the Oath of Freeman, at Hatfield, on 8 February 1679.
Daniel and Elizabeth Belding had nine children while living at Hatfield. William was born on 26 December 1671. Elizabeth was born on 8 October 1673. Nathaniel was born on 26 January 1675. Mary Belding - our ancestor was born at Hatfield in November 1677. Daniel was born on 1 September 1680. Sarah was born on 15 March 1682. Hester was born on 29 September 1683, and Abigail was born on 10 April 1686, and died 25 June 1686.
About 1686 Daniel, Elizabeth Belding and their eight children moved to Deerfield. Their oldest child was fifteen and their youngest was only three. Mary Belding was nine years old when they moved to Deerfield. Elizabeth gave birth five more children. Samuel was born in April 1687, John was born in June 1689 and died the next day. Abigail, named after the daughter who died, was born in August 1690. John was born in February 1693. Last but not least [indicated by the name] Thankful was born 31 December 1695.
The Beldings with their surviving eleven children lived a rather peaceful life at Deerfield. Homes with unpainted clapboards, narrow, unshuttered windows, and dignified doorways lines the mile-long street reflected life on the frontier 75 miles west of Boston.
During King William's War hostilities broke out in America between the English and French and between the Iroquois Indians and the French in the area from the Mohawk to the St. Lawrence. The French struck with their Indian allies along the northern frontier with raids in New Hempshire, New York and Massachusetts.
On 26 September 1696, his wife and three of his children were killed by French Mohawk Indians. Young Daniel was sixteen, John was three and Thankful was one year old when they were killed by the Indians. Daniel Belding and three other children (Elizabeth age 23, Nathaniel age 21 and Hester age 13) were captured and taken to Canada. Somehow the other children [William, Richard, Mary, Sarah, and Samuel] escaped. William and Richard were thirty-something; Mary was nineteen; Sarah was fourteen and Samuel was nine years old.
Mary Belding married at Wilton, Ct., on 19 April 1698 to James Trowbridge (as his third wife). Apparently she left Deerfield after the 1696 Indian raid.
Daniel Belding and his three children were held captive in Canada until they were released in 1698. They returned to Deerfield to pick up their lives. Daniel married again, on 17 February 1699, to Hepzibah Buel (widow of Lt. Thomas Wells), who was born in 1649 to William Buel. His son, William, married in 1700 to Margaret Armes. His daughter, Sarah, married in 1702 to Benjamin Burt. Little did they know they were about to face another Indian raid - "Deerfield - a massacre in the wilderness".
"An ox sledge creaked under the last load of the wood, women served supper from the glowing hearths, and by nine o'clock Deerfield's 290 settlers were abed on the cold bitter night of February 28, 1704. Toward dawn the sentinel dozed at his post."
"Stealthily a horde of Abenakis, Caghnawagas, and French Canadians crept over drifted snow and dropped inside the palisade. Shrieking hideously, they fell upon settlers in their beds. ... Torches fired 17 houses. Leaping flames sent a vivid message, and mounted men from other Connecticut Valley settlements finally routed the attackers."
"They say the moon was red over Deerfield the night of the slaughter. The Massachusetts village left a smoking ruin with half its inhabitants killed or dragged off to the north. Deerfield's wretched survivors refused to abandon their wilderness outpost, and a farm village rose again, prospering from the rich soil." - America's History lands
Daniel's second wife was captured by the Indians on 29 February 1704 and was killed enroute to Canada. His daughter, Sarah, was captured by the Indians in 1704. Daniel married a third time to Sarah Hawkes, the daughter of John Hawkes and the widow of Philip Mattoon.
Daniel Belding died at Greenfield (or Deerfield), Mass., on 14 August 1732 and Sarah on 17 September 1751.
The Foote Ancestors 1620-1696
Nathaniel Foote Jr. was born in England about 1620. His father, Nathaniel Foote, was probably born in England about 1592 and married about 1615 to Elizabeth Deming. They had six children born in England. Their first child, Elizabeth, was born about 1616. Nathaniel Foote Jr. was born about 1620. Then came Robert in 1627, Frances in 1629 and Sarah was born on 7 April 1632. There is no record of when and how the Footes came to New England. It can be assumed that the Foote family and Elizabeth's brothers sailed for New England some time between April 1632 and September 1633.
The Foote family settled at Watertown, Mass. on 16 acres of land, which they received as a grant. Nathaniel Foote Jr. was about fourteen when his mother gave birth to his youngest sister, Rebecca, at Watertown about 1634.
In 1635, Nathaniel Foote and John Strickland, and their families, ventured out from Watertown and were among the first settlers on the bank of the Connecticut River, at Pyquag, Ct. (known as Wethersfield for an English village of the same name). This is the same John Strickland whose daughter married John Jackson who is a Greene ancestor. Nathaniel Foote had 10 acres of land at Wethersfield.
Later the Footes moved to Hartford, Ct. where, in 1640, Nathaniel's father was assigned a house lot of 10 acres. In addition, he owned several other tracts of land at Hartford, amounting to over 400 acres. He was a farmer and a Deputy to the General Court of Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1641, 1643 and 1644. Nathaniel Foote Sr. was a very pious and industrious farmer, besides being one of the richest landowners of his day.
Nathaniel Foote Sr. died at Wethersfield sometime before 20 December 1644, the date of the inventory of his estate. He is buried in the ancient burial grounds in the rear of the Meeting House at Wethersfield, where nine generations of Footes are gathered.
Nathaniel Foote Jr.'s mother was left a widow with six children. Nathaniel was twenty-four and the youngest, Rebecca, was only eleven. Mary had married in 1642 at the age of nineteen.
Nathaniel Foote Jr.'s mother remarried in 1646 at Wethersfield, to Governor Thomas Welles. She died at Wethersfield on 28 July 1683.
At the age of twenty-six, Nathaniel Foote Jr. married Elizabeth Smith in 1646. She was the daughter of Lt. Samuel Smith of Wethersfield, Ct. and Hadley, Mass. Elizabeth Smith was seven years old when her family sailed from England to Boston, Mass.
In 1646, Nathaniel and Elizabeth Foote Jr. moved to Hadley. Nathaniel and Elizabeth had four children. Their first child, Nathaniel III, was born on 10 January 1648. Samuel [named after his maternal grandfather] was born on 1 May 1649. Daniel was born in 1652 and Elizabeth Foote was born in 1654. All the children were born at Hadley except Daniel, who was born at Wethersfield.
Nathaniel died at Wethersfield after 7 June 1655, the date of his will, and before 23 September 1655, when his inventory was taken. The four Foote children ranged in ages from seven to one year old. Little Elizabeth was only one year old. Her mother remarried to William Gull of Wethersfield and had four children by him. Elizabeth (Smith) (Foote) Gull died on 16 December 1668.
Elizabeth's mother, Elizabeth (Smith) (Foote) Gull died on 16 December 1668. Elizabeth was now fourteen years old. She remained in Wethersfield with her three older brothers, her step-father and four half-sisters/brothers. On 10 November 1670 Elizabeth Foote married Daniel Belding at Wethersfield. The Beldings were long time residents of Wethersfield. Elizabeth was only sixteen when she married. Daniel Belding was twenty-two.
Elizabeth's brother, Daniel, married and had a daughter named Hannah. Hannah married Richard Beach in 1704.
Click on Daniel Beldings to learn about Elizabeth's traumatic adult life.
A few words about Samual Smith, who was Elizabeth Foote's maternal grandfather and Nathaniel Foote's father-in-law. Samuel Smith was a tanner by trade and a dealer in skins and furs. He figured in a number of land transactions and commercial enterprises. As a result he became one of the wealthiest men at Wethersfield. He was a magistrate for a number of years, and was part owner of the first large ship - "Tryal" that was built at the Connecticut Colony in 1649. It was still sailing regularly to the West Indies in 1662.
Samuel Smith served as a Deputy of Wethersfield to the General Court, almost continuously from 1637 to 1656. He served in the 1637 Pequot War and was commissioned as a sergeant of the Wethersfield Trainband, prior to 1658. In 1659, Due to a church quarrel over theology, Samuel Smith and 58 other men moved their families up the Connecticut River to the Norwottuck Plantation (in 1661 it became known as Hadley, Mass., after Hadleigh, Suffolkshire, England), where he farmed for the rest of his life.
Samuel Smith served as a Deputy to the Massachusetts General Court, held at Boston, from 1661 to 1673. In December 1661, and for a number of years thereafter, he was chosen as a "Rate Maker" (assessor). Samuel Smith was repeatedly chosen to be one of the Townsmen (later called Selectmen) until late 1680, the year of his death.
Samuel became a Lieutenant of the Hadley Trainband, an organization formed, between 1663 and 1678, to defend the town from Indian attacks. He fought in the King Philip's War.
In 1667, Lt. Smith became a trustee of a fund to establish a grammar school at Hadley, as well as at Hartford, Ct. and at New Haven, Ct.. In 1671, he held an Innkeeper's license, a right to sell wine and strong liquors. Lt. Smith died, at Hadley, in December 1680.
The Comstock Ancestors 1627-1777
Mary Comstock married John Trowbridge. Mary's great-grandfather, Christopher Comstock was born at England about 1635 to William Comstock and Elizabeth Daniels. Christopher was the next to youngest of six children.
William Comstock and his son, Christopher, came to Weymouth, Mass., about 1637 and probably settled at Watertown, Mass.. He was first recorded in Wethersfield, Ct. in 1641. It is uncertain if his wife and other children came at the same time or followed later.
During the time of the first English settlement the Pequot Indians were busy conquering their weaker Indian neighbors. By the middle of the 1630s their great sachem, Sassacus, ruled over more than two dozen subchiefs and claimed most of Connecticut and Long Island. Being on the border between Dutch and English, Sassacus had played shifty politics with both, growing more and more arrogant and independent.
In 1636 Massachusetts Bay Puritans sent a force to smite the Indian nation that had become the strongest in New England - the Pequots. The Massachusetts Bay Puritans, massacred a village and having declared war the Puritans went back home. The English settlements in Connecticut and at Plymouth were dragged into the war by the precipitated action of the Massachusetts Puritans.
In June 1637 the English army made a stealthy night attack on a stockade Pequot town near the Mystic River. They burned the town and slaughtered the 600 inhabitants. The only other engagement in the war was the surrender of a crowd of Pequots trapped in a swamp; the adult male captives were killed, boys sold to the West Indies, women and girls parceled out among the colonists as slaves. - The American HERITAGE Book of INDIANS.
William Comstock, was one of 26 men from Wethersfield, under Captain John Mason, who captured the Pequot Fort at Mystic, CT. on 26 May 1637, killing more than 500 Indians.
William Comstock owned land on the Connecticut River, which he purchased from Richard Miles in April 1641. On 21 June 1647, he purchased ten more acres of land from Richard Miles, and settled there on the east side of the Thames River, at Piquot (now New London, CT.). This was where Christopher Comstock spent his childhood.
When Christopher Comstock was about fifteen his father, William Comstock, entered into an agreement with John Winthrop, to build a corn mill at New London, Ct. (now Montville) and settled there in 1651. William Comstock died about 1663 at New London, and Elizabeth died sometime after 1665.
In 1661, Christopher Comstock lived at Norwalk, Ct. and married on 6 October 1663 to Hannah Platt. She was born in 1643. Her father was Richard Platt, who was born in England in 1603. His father and grandfather were both tailors at Ware, Hertfordshire, England. Richard Platt apprenticed as a tailor and was a Puritan. He sold his home, at Ware, on 25 April 1638 and moved his family to London, temporarily for several months, while awaiting passage to New England. Richard Platt, his wife and their four children probably sailed to America in the latter half of 1638 or early 1639. Their oldest was about ten years old and their youngest was a baby.
The Platts lived in New Haven, Ct. On 22 August 1639, Richard Platt was one of 66 men, who formed themselves into a church society, at New Haven, under the leadership of Rev. Peter Prudden. He was listed there as a Free Planter on 20 November 1639. In the Spring of 1640, this same group of men moved their families nine miles to the west and founded the plantation of Milford, Ct.. Richard and his family, of four, were enrolled among Milford's first settlers.
The first five Platt children were born at England, while the other four at Milford. Richard Platt was admitted as a Freeman there before 1669. He was a deeply religious man, of high character, who was chosen as a deacon in the first church at Milford, in 1669. Hannah's mother was buried at Milford on 24 March 1676, and her father, Richard Platt, died there in the winter of 1684/85.
Hannah and Christopher Comstock first lived at Fairfield, Ct. (as early as 1653). About 1662, they moved to Norwalk, where he was an innkeeper. Christopher Comstock was nominated for Freeman of the Connecticut Colony on 10 October 1667. He served as a Deputy from Norwalk to the Connecticut General Assembly, from 1686 to 1690.
Christopher was sometimes known by "Sergeant" Comstock, and was nominated for a Freeman of Norwalk, Ct. on 10 October 1667. He was a Deputy for Norwalk to the General Court on 16 January 1686, and again in 1689 and 1690. He kept a tavern at Norwalk in 1671, and left a large estate when he died there in 1702. Hannah died at Milford sometime after 1713.
Christopher and Hannah Comstock had eight children between 1664 and 1685 all born at Norwalk, CT. Samuel Comstock was born at Norwalk, Ct in February 1680. Christopher grew up with his five older sister, his older brother and younger brother at Norwalk where his father ran a tavern.
Samuel Comstock married at Norwalk on 27 December 1705 to Sarah Hanford. She was the daughter of Rev. Thomas Hanford and Mary Miles. Samuel and Sarah Comstock first resided at Norwalk.
Samuel Comstock was a Deputy to the General Court from 1711 to 1738. He was an Ensign of South Company of Norwalk in 1710, a Lieutenant in 1719, and a Captain in 1730. He died on 26 October 1752 at East Norwalk and is buried at the old East Norwalk Cemetery.
Sarah and Samuel Comstock had seven children, who were all born at Norwalk. Sarah was born 25 March 1707,and Samuel was born on 12 November 1708. Mary Comstock was born in 1710 and married about 1735 to John Trowbridge. Deacon Nathan was born about 1713, and married in 1739 to Bethiah Strong. Lydia and Daniel were born about 1720, and David was born in 1720.
Mary Comstock grew up in Norwalk with her older brother and sister, younger three brothers and younger sister. Her younger sister, Lydia may have died as a baby since there are no know dates for her. Her younger brothers were both ten years younger than she.
Mary Comstock was married at Norwalk, about 1735, to John Trowbridge. He was born on 22 May 1709 to James Trowbridge and Mary Beldon.
Mary (Comstock) and John Trowbridge lived at Norwalk until 1749, when they moved to Danbury, Ct.. John Trowbridge served in the French and Indian War during 1755. Their farm was located just west of Danbury, where Revolutionary soldiers were quartered. John died at Danbury in May 1777 and Mary sometime later. They had eight children, including our ancestor - David Trowbridge. He, who married in 1770 to Sarah Woodbridge.
Click on John Trowbridge to learn more about Mary Comstock's adult life.
Thomas Hanford was born, at Devonshire, England, on 22 July 1621. His father was Jeffery Hanford who born about 1589. His mother was Eglin Hatherly, who was born in Fremington, Devonshire, England. His mother's brother, Rev. Timothy Hatherly, came to Plymouth in 1636 and was a founder of Scituate Mass. Thomas' father died sometime before 10 April 1635. That was the date that Thomas' mother and two sisters - Margaret and Elizabeth, sailed from Sudbury, England, aboard the ship - "Planter", that was bound for New England. Thomas Hanford remained in England in order to study for the ministry. About 1642, persecution of Puritan clergymen forced him to leave Devonshire, for Boston.
Thomas Hanford settled at Scituate, Mass. in 1643. He was a teacher at Roxbury, Mass., where he was made a Freeman of Massachusetts in May 1650. In 1651, he was a teacher at New Haven, Ct., and was first married, in 1652, to Hannah Newberry of Dorchester, Mass.. She was born about 1633 and was the daughter of Thomas and Jane Newberry. Hannah's father died in 1635 and her mother remarried Rev. John Warham.
In the summer of 1652, Thomas and Hannah Hanford moved to Norwalk, Ct., where Thomas was granted 4 acres of land and he commenced the work of the ministry. On 18 May 1654, Thomas Hanford was made a Freeman of Connecticut. He was ordained in 1654, and was the first minister in the Congregational Church of Norwalk. Hannah died about 1660, leaving no children.
Rev. Thomas Hanford married again, at New Haven on 22 October 1661, to Mary Miles, the widow of Jonathan Ince of New Haven. She was born about 1635 to Hon. Richard Miles of New Haven. Mary had a five year old son, Jonathan. Little did Jonathan know he was going to become the oldest of eleven children.
Rev. Thomas Hanford and his new wife and son moved to Norwalk, CT. Norwalk was one of the new towns that joined the Connecticut Colony in 1660. Other towns that joined were Fairfield, Farmington, Middletown, New London, Saybrook and Stratford. The Connecticut Colony received a charter from England, which served as Connecticut's constitution until 1818.
Mary Miles (Ince) Hanford had ten children between 1662 and 1678, all born at Norwalk, CT.: Theophilus, Mary, Hannah, Elizabeth, Thomas, Eleazur, Elanthan, Samuel, Eunice, and Sarah. Sarah Hanford was born in May 1678 and was the youngest of eleven children.
On 8 October 1674 Thomas received a grant of 200 acres of land at Hartford, Ct. and in 1686, he was a patentee of Norwalk. He was held in high regard by the Indians, who gave him even more land. Rev. Thomas continued his work in the ministry at Norwalk until his death, in December 1693. Mary died on 12 September 1730.
Sarah Hanford married Samuel Comstock at Norwalk on 27 December 1705 to. Samuel Comstock was a Deputy to the General Court from 1711 to 1738. He was an Ensign of South Company of Norwalk in 1710, a Lieutenant in 1719, and a Captain in 1730. Sarah and Samuel Comstock had seven children, who were all born at Norwalk. Sarah was born 25 March 1707,and Samuel was born on 12 November 1708. Mary Comstock was born in 1710 and married about 1735 to John Trowbridge. Deacon Nathan was born about 1713, and married in 1739 to Bethiah Strong. Lydia and Daniel were born about 1720, and David was born in 1720.
Sarah Woodbridge was born at Hatfield, Mass in 1746. She was the next oldest of four children born to Rev. Timothy Woodbridge III and Sarah Welles Trowbridge. Her brother, Timothy IV was born on 3 November 1745. Joshua Lamb Woodbridge was born about 1750, and Eunice Woodbridge was born in 1764.
Sarah's father, Rev. Timothy Woodbridge III was the Chaplin of Col. Israel William's 3rd Regiment of Connecticut in 1757. Timothy Woodbridge III was the pastor of the Church of Christ, at the town of Hatfield, for thirty years. He died at Hatfield, on 3 June 1770.
Sarah Woodbridge married David Trowbridge at Hatfield Mass. on 18 October 1770. David Trowbridge was born at Wilton, Ct. in 1738. The Trowbridges lived in Danbury, CT. David's father, John Trowbridge, was a sergeant in the 3rd Regiment of Connecticut at Fort William Henry in October 1756 to August 1757. Perhaps this is how the Woodbridges came to know the Trowbridges.
David Trowbridge was a felt maker, by trade, at Deerfield and Hartford, Ct. He later became a tavern and hotel keeper, at Deerfield and at Hartford.
After they were married, David and Sarah Trowbridge settled at Hatfield, CT. While living in Hatfield they had three children. Their first child, Sarah, was born in 1771. Mary was born in July 1773 and Henry was born in September 1776. The following month, their first born, Sarah, died at the age of five.
In 1777 the Trowbridge family moved to Amherst, Mass. Here Eunice Trowbridge was born in 1777. In 1779, Sarah gave birth to another little girl, which they named Sarah. Another boy and girl, David and Susan, were born.
Rev. Timothy Woodbridge III was born at Simsbury, Ct., in 1713, and graduated from Yale in 1732. He married Sarah Welles about 1743. Sarah Welles was born on 6 December 1725; she was one of six children. Her father, Capt. Gideon Welles had died in March of 1740. Her mother, Hannah (Chester) Welles remarried Jonathan Hale. The Welles were an old Connecticut family.
Timothy's father, Rev. Timothy Woodbridge Jr. had graduated from Yale in 1706 and was ordained at Simsbury, CT in 1712, where he preached for 30 years. He had died at Simsbury, (or Hartford) on 22 August 1742.
Rev. Timothy Woodbridge III first preached at Harwinton, CT, from 1735 to 1737. He tutored at Yale from 1737 to 1739 and was ordained at Hatfield, Mass., in 1740. In 1757, Rev. Timothy Woodbridge III was the Chaplin of Col. Israel William's Regiment.
After Timothy and Sarah married they lived in Hatfield, Mass. They had four children. Timothy IV was born on 3 November 1745. Sarah Woodbridge, our ancestor, was born in 1746. Joshua Lamb Woodbridge was born about 1750, and Eunice Woodbridge was born in 1764.
Sarah Woodbridge married David Trowbridge at Deerfield, Mass. on 18 October 1770. Sarah's brother, Joshua Lamb Woodbridge, carried on the Woodbridge tradition and graduated from Yale in 1773.
Rev. Timothy Woodbridge III was the pastor of the Church of Christ, at the town of Hatfield, for thirty years. He died at Hatfield, on 3 June 1770, while Sarah lived until 19 November 1781.
The Woodbridge Ancestors 1613-1742
John Woodbridge was born at Stanton, Wiltshire, England in 1613. His father was the Rector of the parish of Stanton, near Highworth, at Wiltshire. When his father died at Stanton, England on 9 December 1637, his mother, Sarah Parker Woodbridge, remarried.
John Woodbridge was educated at Oxford, but refused to take the oath of conformity. The "Mary and John" made another voyage across the Atlantic in 1634. In 1634, he left Mildenhall, Wiltshire and came to New England on the ship "Mary and John", with his uncles - Rev. Thomas Parker and Rev. Noyes.
John Woodbridge settled at Newbury, Mass., as a planter and was the first town clerk there from 1634 to 1638. In 1637, he was the "surveyor of arms" and a representative, from Newbury to the General Court in 1637, 1640 and 1641.
About 1639, he married Mercy Dudley, who was baptized at Northampton, England, on 27 September 1621 to Thomas Dudley and Dorothy Yorke. Thomas Dudley was a noted Puritan and Deputy Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Mercy and John Woodbridge had eleven children. Their first child, Sarah, was born on 7 June 1640. Lucy was born on 13 March 1642. In 1642, John Woodbridge returned to England, for a short time, to settle his father's estate.
In 1643, John Woodbridge kept school at Boston, Mass., and moved to Andover, Mass. John Woodbridge Jr. and Benjamin were born at Andover in 1644 and 1645. John Woodbridge was ordained as the first minister at Andover on 24 October 1645.
Now the Rev. John Woodbridge, and others, negotiated the purchase of some plantations from the Indians, and this land eventually became the town of Andover, Mass.
In 1647, John again returned to England with his wife and three children, and settled at Burford, St. Martins, where he became the Chaplin to the Parliamentary Commissioners. Afterwards he was the minister at Andover, Hants and at Barford-St. Martins (Wiltshire, England). Thomas and Dorothy Woodbridge was born at England about 1648 and 1650. Anne was born at England about 1653. Timothy Woodbridge was born at Barford, St. Martins, Wiltshire, England, on 13 January 1656. Joseph was born the following year. His younger sisters were born in 1659 and 1660. Timothy now had four older sisters, two younger sisters, three older brothers and one younger brother. That's eleven children in all!
In 1662, Rev. John Woodbridge was driven, by the Bartholomew Act, from a school he had established at Newbury, England. On 26 July 1663, he returned to Boston in the ship "Society", after spending sixteen years at England. Timothy was six years old when the family returned to Boston. The Woodbridge family settled at Newbury Mass.
Rev. John Woodbridge was made an assistant to his uncle, Rev. Thomas Parker, until November 1670, when he was dismissed. [I don't know why he was dismissed; obviously it was not because of anything illicit] Several times he was chosen as the first Magistrate for the Colony and was the Justice of the Peace for the county of Essex for a number of years. He was an Assistant of the Massachusetts Colony in 1683 and 1684.
Timothy Woodbridge graduated from Harvard College in 1675 and became the minister of the First Church at Hartford, Ct. in 1683. Timothy Woodbridge was ordained as the pastor there on 18 November 1685.
In 1685, Timothy Woodbridge married Mehitable Wyllys, who was the widow of Rev. Isaac Foster (she was also the widow of Rev. Daniel Russell of Charlestown, Mass.). Mehitable had two daughters by her previous marriages: Mable Russell was seven and Ann Foster was four.
The Woodbridges are generations of ministers, while the Wyllys are generations of governors. The Wyllys ancestors were founders of Harvard; the Woodbridges were founders of Yale.
Timothy and Mehitable Woodbridge had four children: Timothy Woodbridge Jr., our ancestor, was baptized in 1686. Mary was baptized on 19 June 1692, and married in 1724 to Hon. William Pitkin (Governor of Connecticut). Ruth was baptized on 18 August 1695, and married in 1716 to Rev. John Pierson. John was baptized on 31 January 1697, and was buried on 6 February 1697.
Rev. John Woodbridge was a rather wealthy man for his time, owning about a 600 acre farm, four horses and many livestock. Mercy died at Newbury on 1 July 1691, and John died there on 17 March 1695.
Mehitable Woodbridge died on 21 December 1698. Rev. Timothy Woodbridge became a widower with five children. His step-daughters, Mabel Russell and Ann Foster were twenty-one and eighteen. Young Timothy Woodbridge was twelve years old. Mary was six, and Ruth was three.
Rev. Timothy Woodbridge's step-daughters married shortly after their mother's death. Ann Foster married Rev. Thomas Buckingham in 1699 and 2nd to Rev. William Burham. Mabel Russell married Rev. John Hubbard in 1701 and 2nd in to Rev. Samuel Woodbridge, who was Timothy's nephew. Samuel was the son of Benjamin Woodbridge.
Rev. Timothy Woodbridge married again about 1702 to Mary (Pitkin) Howell, who died several years later. Timothy and Mary had three children: Samuel was born about 1701, Susanna was baptized on 6 February 1703,and Ashbel was baptized at Hartford on 10 June 1704.
About 1715, Rev. Timothy Woodbridge married for the third time to Abigail Warren, the widow of Richard Lord and daughter of John Warren of Boston. They had one child: Theodore was baptized on 23 June 1717.
Timothy Woodbridge was one of the ten principal ministers of Connecticut to found Yale College in 1699. He was a Fellow of Yale from 1700 to 1732, and took the rectorship there in 1722. He was concerned with the political affairs of the Colony and served on several committees, named by the General Assembly. Timothy died on 30 April 1732 and was buried at Hartford. Abigail survived him by 22 years, dying on 1 January 1754.
Timothy Woodbridge Jr. was born at Hartford, Ct. in 1686 To Rev. Timothy and "Mabel" (Wyllys) Woodbridge. Timothy Woodbridge Jr. was the oldest of four children. His baby brother died in February 6, 1697 when he was only a week old. Timothy Jr.'s mother, Mehitable (Wyllys) (Foster) Woodbridge, died in December 1698. At that time, Timothy Jr. was eleven years old and his sisters were six and three years old. His father had re-married Mary (Pitkin) Howell about 1702. She had two children: Susanne born in 1703 and Ashel born in 1704.
Timothy Woodbridge Jr. graduated from Yale in 1706 and was ordained at Simsbury, CT in 1712. Timothy's father had founded Yale University and was a Fellow Of Yale. Timothy Woodbridge Sr. and his step-mother lived in Hartford CT.
Timothy Woodbridge Jr. married on 14 February 1712 to Dorothy Lamb, who was born on 2 June 1679. They got married on Valentines day! Dorothy was the widow of Rev. Dudley Woodbridge (Timothy's cousin) and the daughter of Rev. Joshua Lamb and Mary (Alcock) Lamb of Roxbury, Mass. Dorothy was thirty-three when she married Timothy. Timothy was twenty-six. Dorothy's father had died in 1690. Dorothy's first husband was the first minister at Simsbury. Timothy and Dorothy lived at Simsbury CT. Their first child, Timothy Woodbridge III, was born in 1713. A baby girl, Mary, was born in 1716. Another boy, Haynes was born in October 1717. While Timothy Jr. was raising his family, his father was still having children. So Timmy, Mary and Haynes had an uncle younger than they.
Timothy Jr.'s step-mother, Mary (Pitkin) (Howell) Woodbridge, died some time before 1715. His father, Timothy Woodbridge Sr., remarried widow, Abigail (Warren) Lord of Boston, in 1715. She had a baby boy, Theodore, born in 1717.
Timothy and Dorothy had two more boys born in 1720 and 1723. Timothy Woodbridge Jr. preached at Simsbury CT for thirty years. However, he became an active businessman. By 1726 he was engaged in steel manufacturing, copper mining and making turpentine.
Their daughter, Mary Woodbridge, married Col. George Wyllys. Now remember, Timothy's mother was a Wyllys and his maternal grandparents were Samuel Wyllys and Ruth Mary (Haynes) Wyllys. Samuel Wyllys had died at Hartford CT in 1709. Were George and Mary cousins? Their son, Haynes Woodbridge, married Elizabeth Griswold in 1742. The Griswolds were early settlers from Windsor CT. Mary Griswold married David Porter!
Rev. Timothy Woodbridge Sr. died in April 1732 and was buried at Hartford.
Rev. Timothy Woodbridge Jr. died at Simsbury, CT (or Hartford) on 22 August 1742.
Timothy Woodbridge III grew up in Simsbury with his young sister and three younger brothers. He graduated from Yale in 1732. He too became a preacher.
Thomas Lamb was born at England about 1600, and was the first Lamb to come to New England. He lived at Barnardiston, Suffolkshire and was a merchant of London and emigrated from there with the Winthrop Fleet in July 1630. Thomas Lamb brought his wife - Elizabeth and two sons, Thomas and John. Thomas was six and John was four years old. They landed at Boston and were one of the first settlers at Roxbury, Mass.. On 18 May 1631, he took the Oath as a Freeman of Roxbury. Thomas and Elizabeth Lamb settled in Roxbury. Elizabeth gave birth to another baby boy, Samuel, who was baptized on 30 October 1631.
In July 1632, Dr. John Alcock and Thomas Lamb were two of the principle founders of the first church at Roxbury, along with John Eliot. Rev. John Eliot, as a pastor at Roxbury, learned the Indian dialects and began to preach to the Indians.
Elizabeth Lamb gave birth to another baby boy, Benjamin, on 28 November 1639. Both Elizabeth and the baby died that day. After Elizabeth and his son died Thomas Lamb married again, at Roxbury on 16 July 1640, to Dorothy Harbottle (Harbiddle or Harbittle).
Thomas and Dorothy Lamb, and Thomas' four children, stayed in Roxbury. They had four more children born between 1641 and 1646. Joshua Lamb was baptized at Roxbury on 27 November 1642.
Thomas Lamb bought a large tract of land at Dedham, Mass.. He and five others formed the first free school in America. Thomas Lamb died at Roxbury on 28 March 1646, and Dorothy remarried on 2 February 1652 to Thomas Hawley, of Roxbury.
By 1667 Joshua Lamb was about twenty-three and probably still lived with his step-mother in Roxbury. In 1674 Joshua Lamb and Mary Alcock were married at Roxbury. Their first child, Josuha, named after his father, was born at Springfield on 3 October 1674.
Joshua Lamb purchased land from the Indians, upon which the towns of Leicester and Spencer were built. Josuha Lamb was a soldier in the Kings Philip's War, and served under Capt. Thomas Brattle in August 1676. Josuha was the Justice of the Peace and Magistrate of Roxbury. He owned land at Roanoke, Va., which he sold in 1677.
Joshua and Mary Lamb's second child, Dorothy Lamb, was born on 8 June 1679. Another son was born in 1681. Mary gave birth to three more children between 1683 and 1685. All three died as infants. In April 1686, Mary gave birth to their seventh child, Samuel.
Dorthy's father, Joshua Lamb, died on 23 September 1690, leaving her mother, Mary Lamb, a widow with four children. Dorothy was twenty-one; the youngest was fourteen. Mary Lamb died on 9 October 1700.
Dorothy Lamb first married Dudley Woodbridge, who was the first minister of Simsbury, Ct. After Dudley died, Dorothy remarried in 1712, to Dudley's cousin - Rev. Timothy Woodbridge Jr. Dorothy and Timothy had five children, including our ancestor - Timothy Woodbridge.
Click on Timothy Woodbridge Jr. to learn more about Dorothy Lamb's adult life.
The Alcock Ancestors 1600-1700
John Alcock was born in 1627 at England. His father was Dr. George Alcock. George Alcock was born between 1604 and 1610 and matriculated as a physician in 1622 from Cambridge. He was married first to Anne Hooker, who was the sister of Rev. Thomas Hooker. Rev. Hooker was the founder of Hartford CT. George and Anne had just the one son, John.
George and Anna Alcock and her brother, Thomas Hooker, came with the first company of the Gov. Winthrop Fleet. Dr. George Alcock left his three year old son at England, and emigrated with his wife from Impington, Cambridgeshire, to Massachusetts in 1630 with the Gov. Winthrop's Fleet. Anne died in the winter of 1630/31, shortly after their arrival at New England. George Alcock was admitted as a Freeman of Massachusetts on 19 October 1630. George Alcock settled in Roxbury. Thomas and Elizabeth Lamb also settled in Roxbury.
In July 1632, Dr. Alcock and Thomas Lamb were two of the principle founders of the first church at Roxbury, along with John Eliot. Rev. John Eliot, as a pastor at Roxbury, learned the Indian dialects and began to preach to the Indians. Dr. Alcock was the first Deacon of the Roxbury Church, where he lived. Prior to that, Dr. Alcock was a Deacon of the combined church of Dorchester and Roxbury.
On 18 May 1634, Dr. Alcock was a Deputy from Roxbury to the first General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The tax records of Roxbury (1634-1640) show that he owned a five acre homestead at Roxbury, as well as 20 acres of upland and marsh on the east side of Boston Neck. Meanwhile John Alcock was growing up in England.
Dr. Alcock made a return voyage to England, where he married his second wife, Elizabeth, in 1636. He returned to Roxbury with his new wife and son, John. John Alcock was nine years old at the time he came to New England. Elizabeth and George Alcock had a son, Samuel, born at Roxbury on 16 April 1637.
George Alcock died at Roxbury on 30 December 1640. John Alcock was thirteen years old when his father died; his half-brother was only three. John's step-mother, Elizabeth, remarried in April 1641 to Henry Dingham, a surgeon from Watertown, Mass.
John Alcock graduated from Harvard College in 1646, with a Master's degree. He married in 1648 to Sarah Palgrave, who was born about 1621 to Dr. Richard Palgrave and Anna Harris, of Charlestown. Sara had emigrated from England with her parents, her brother and sister in the early summer of 1630. They had sailed with the Winthrop Fleet to Massachusetts. Sara's father was one of the earliest physicians to come to New England.
John Alcock taught school at Hartford, Ct. in 1647 and 1648, a position he probably obtained through his uncle, Rev. Thomas Hooker. John and Sarah Alcock had a baby girl born at Boston in 1649. The child died as an infant. Then in May 1650, they returned to Roxbury, Mass., where John Alcock was admitted to the church. Upon John's return to Roxbury, the relationship between the Alcocks and Lambs was renewed, even though their fathers had died. John Alcock was like a father to Joshua Lamb, who was only eight years old.
Sarah Alcock gave birth to twin girls, who were baptized 26 May 1650. Two years later, Mary Alcock was born at Roxbury in 1652. John Alcock became a large investor in lands in various parts of the Colony. He was admitted as a Freeman of the Colony in 1652, and owned several tracts of land at Northborough and Stow. Sarah Alcock had five more children born between 1655 and 1662
Sarah Alcock's father Dr. Richard Palgrave died sometime before 1655. Her mother returned to England, probably to be near her two married daughters who lived in the London vicinity.
On 23 May 1655, the General Court granted John Alcock 842 acres in the southeasterly part of Marlborough. John also held his father's land at Roxbury and an estate at Scituate. John Alcock later moved to Boston, Mass. for the convenience of his medical practice. In 1660, he was a prime mover in the purchase of Block Island and acquired a 1/16 share. He never settled there, but his son-in-law - John Williams, settled on Dr Alcock's share in 1670.
Sarah Alcock died on 27 November 1665. Mary Alcock was only thirteen at the time. Her older twin sisters were fifteen and baby brother was only three. John Alcock died at Boston on 27 March 1667 and was buried at Roxbury. He left his estate to their nine children. His estate was obviously adequate to provide for his children's care.
Apparently the Alcock children remained in Roxbury, where the Lambs looked after them. By 1667 Joshua Lamb was about twenty-five and probably still lived with his step-mother in Roxbury. In 1674 Joshua Lamb and Mary Alcock were married at Roxbury. Mary Alcock was eighteen years old while Joshua Lamb was thirty-two!
Click on Joshua Lamb to learn about Mary Alcock's adult life.
The Wells Ancestors
John Welles was born about 1621 in England to Alice (Tomes) and Thomas Welles. Thomas Welles was born at Essexshire, England in 1598. He first married, soon after July 1615, Alice Tomes, who was the daughter of John Tomes. On 5 July 1615, shortly before he married Alice, Thomas received a house and lands at Burmington, Warwickshire. Before immigrating to New England, he acquired shares in land patents at Dover, Durham, Stratham, and parts of Newington and Greenland, N.H. Thomas and Alice Welles had six children born at Essexshire. Ann was born about 1619. John Welles was born about 1621. Robert was born about 1624. Thomas was born about 1627. Samuel was born about 1630, and Sarah was born about 1632.
Thomas Welles, Alice and their six children, ages fourteen to two years old, emigrated from Northamptonshire England to Boston, Mass. about 1633. John Welles was about twelve when his parents came to New England. The Welles family landed in Saybrook, CT. They first settled at Hartford, Ct. and then moved to Wethersfield, Ct. in 1637. Alice and Thomas Welles had two more children more after they came to New England: Mary was born about 1634 and Joseph was born at Hartford in 1637.
Thomas Welles may have had a house at Cambridge, Mass. on 8 February 1636. He was recorded at Boston, with his wife, on 9 June 1636. Thomas Welles was a Puritan and was a member of a Court held at Hartford, Ct. about March 1637, in a house opposite that of Gov. George Wyllys.
Thomas Welles acted as a Magistrate at the General Court from 1 May 1637 until 1660. He was elected Treasurer of the Connecticut Colony from 1639 until 1641, and again from 1648 until 1652. He served as Secretary, Alternate Commissioner and Commissioner of the United Colonies (in Boston) from 1640 until 1649, and again in 1659. Thomas was chosen as Moderator of the General Court in February 1654. In 1654, he was elected as Deputy Governor of Connecticut, and was elected again in 1656, 1657, 1659 and 1660. He was the Governor of Connecticut in 1655 and 1658.
In mid 1646, Thomas Welles moved his home from Hartford to Wethersfield, Ct., and this was about the same time that Alice died. In 1646, Thomas remarried, at Wethersfield, to Elizabeth (Deming) Foote. Elizabeth was born about 1595 to John Deming, and first married, about 1616 to Nathaniel Foote Sr., who died in 1644 (remember the Footes?).
Thomas Welles died suddenly, at Wethersfield, on 14 January 1660, and Elizabeth (Deming) (Foote) Welles died on 28 July 1683.
John Welles was made a Freeman, at the Connecticut General Court on 10 April 1645 and received one-half of his father's house and lands in Farmington, Ct.. John Welles moved to Stratford, Ct. before 2 April 1652, when he sold lands there. John Welles was a Deputy in the General Court in 1656 and 1657, and was elected as Magistrate in 1658 and 1659.
John's brother, Capt. Samuel Welles, married 2nd to Hannah Lamberton, who was the daughter of Captain George Lamberton of New Haven [Hannah's sister, Elizabeth married William Trowbridge]. Samuel had six children by his previous wife. Samuel died on 15 July 1675, and Hannah married again.
John Welles married in 1647, at Stratford, Ct., to Elizabeth Bourne. John and Elizabeth Welles had six children, including our ancestor - Robert. Robert Welles was born in 1651. John Welles died, at Stratford, 7 August 1659. Elizabeth remarried, at Stratford in 1663, to John Wilcoxson.
Robert Welles was the second son and second child of seven. Robert Welles married, at Wethersfield, on 9 June 1675 to Elizabeth Goodrich. She was the daughter of William and Sarah (Marvin) Goodrich. Robert was a Captain of the north end of the Wethersfield Train-Band in September 1689. He was a Deputy for Wethersfield to the General Court for many sessions. Elizabeth died on 17 February 1698, and Robert remarried, in Boston, to Mary Stoddary, on 13 October 1698. Robert Welles died at Wethersfield, Ct. on 22 June 1714 and he and Elizabeth had at least six children, including our ancestor - Gideon.
Gideon Welles was born at Wethersfield CT about 1686. There Gideon Welles grew up with his five siblings. Gideon's mother died in February 1698. Gideon was about twelve years old. His father remarried in October of 1698. The Welles continued to live in Wethersfield.
Gideon Welles married on 30 November 1716 to Hannah Chester, who was the daughter of John and Hannah Chester. Capt. Gideon died on 28 March 1740 and Hannah remarried to Jonathan Hale. She died on 29 May 1749. Gideon and Hannah had six children, including and our ancestor - Sarah.
Sarah Welles was born at Wethersfield CT in December 1725. There Sarah Welles grew up with her five siblings. Sarah was fifteen when her father died in March 1740. Her mother remarried to Jonathan Hale. She died on 29 May 1749. Sarah Welles married in 1743 to Timothy Woodbridge III.
Click on Timothy Woodbridge III to learn about Sarah Welles' adult life.