STARK: Rooted in History, Aaron of Groton, CT

11th Great Grandparents

Lambson-Smith Branches

Aaron Stark

Aaron was born circa 1608 in Scotland. It is believed that he immigrated to the colonies to fight in the Indian wars as early as 1630, but I found no proof of that date. It is more probable he arrived circa 1636-37. He was uneducated, unable to sign his name, and from his actions not a Puritan. Aaron was publicly "whipped at Winsor" Connecticut, and assigned to serve under Captain Mason for an incident occurring 1643. 

Colonial records document Aaron Starke/Stark crimes as early as 1639 in Hartford County, Connecticut. I believe this is the same Aaron Stark of Groton when he was about 31 years of age.

The public records of the Colony of Connecticut  record the disgusting crimes that Aaron Starke committed in the Colony, which included rape [page 28] and bestiality [page 55], and for whatever crime he was held responsible in 1643 that forced him into service under Captain Mason [page 84]. 

At 43 years of age, around 1651, Aaron married Sarah (1620-possibly 1685), her surname being lost to history, but possibly Fishe/Fish. Together they had seven children. Aaron became a freeman in 1669. Aaron died on or about Jun 1685 in Groton, Connecticut. Aaron is documented as a landholder in Groton in 1652.

Allyn, James H. Major John Mason's Great Island. Mystic, Conn.: Roy N Bohlander, 1976. 

 

Bodge, George M. King Philip's War, 1675-1676, Indians of North America--Wars 1600-1750, Neew England--History Colonial period, Ca. 1600-1775, Massachusetts__ Militia, Connecticut--Militia, genealogy. Boston, Mass.: Printed for the author, 1906. Page 443, 445.

Caulkins, Frances Manwaring, Griswold, Cecelia. History of New London, Connecticut, from the first survey of the coast in 1612 to 1860. New London: H.D. Utley, 1895. Pages 313-314.

Mason, John. Paul Royster, editor. A Brief History of the Pequot War.

The Public Records of the Colony of Connecticut. Vol I. All volumes are found on the UCON/University of Connecticut website .

 

Murin, John M. "Things Fearful to Name: Bestiality in Colonial America." Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies, Vol 65, 1998, p 23. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/27774160. Accessed 22 Jul 2020.

 

Shepard, James. Connecticut Soldiers in the Pequot War of 1637. Meriden, Conn.: The Journal Publishing Co., 1913. Page 28. PDF download.

Stark, Charles. The Aaron Stark Family: Seven Generations of the Descendants of the Aaron stark of Groton, Connecticut. 1927.

 

Children of Aaron Starke/Stark and Sarah 

John (1652-1689)

Aaron (1654-1721)

Margaret (1658-1705)

Sarah (1660-1722)

Baby Stark (1663-1663)

William Stark Sr (1664-1739) ~ m. Elizabeth (surname lost to history)

Elizabeth (1667-1749)

William Stark Sr

William Stark Sr was born circa 1664 in Stonington, New London, Connecticut. He married circa 1688 to Elizabeth (1668-1730), her surname was lost to history, but presumed to be Halstead. 

William Stark Sr deeded to his pastor twenty acres of land and a house for the purpose of establishing a Baptist congregation in Groton. William died 8 Sep 1730 and is buried at Wightman Burying Ground in New London, Connecticut.

Stark, Charles Rathbone. Groton, Conn. 1705-1905. Stonington, Conn.: Palmer Press. Printed for the author. Pages 126-127.

  

Photo on left found on Find a Grave website. Elizabeth is believed to be buried at Wightman Burying Ground, also.  The photo was originally taken by Todd Travis between 1996-1998 and reads, "Here lieth the body of William Stark died Sept ye 8, 1730 in ye 66 year of his age." The photo was digitally enhanced by Clovis LaFleur, which I found on his website. LaFleur's website is full on amazing detailed, factual, and historical documentation and it is worth checking out.

Children of William Stark and Elizabeth

William Jr (1689-1743)

Christopher (1698-1778)

Phebe Stark (1700-1758) ~ m. 20 Jun 1724 to Thomas Walworth 

Daniel (1700-1758) 

John Winthrop Jr was influential in surveying Connecticut Colony, which along with territories in Rhode Island and New York had been Dutch settlements. John Winthrop Jr was the first Governor of Connecticut and brought the Walworths, whose son married Phoebe Stark, from England to Fisher's Island circa 1689. 

Walworth, Clarence A. Walworths of America; comprising five chapters of family history, with additional chapters of genealogy. Albany, N.Y.: Weed, 1897. Pages 154-159.

 

* Poly is mentioned in the above book only by name under James and Mary's children. Poly married Boaz Lambson and her brother, John, married Boaz's sister Sylvia Lambson.  

Descendants of Aaron Stark and Sarah

William Stark Sr ~ m. Elizabeth

Phebe Stark ~ m. Thomas Walworth

William L Walworth ~ m. Sarah Covell *2nd great grandmother was a daughter of the native Wamanoag tribe

James Walworth ~ m. Mary Rodgers

Polly Walworth ~ m. Boaz Lambson

Alfred Boaz Lambson ~ m. Sarah Bigler

Edna Lambson ~ m. Joseph Fielding Smith

Edna Melissa Smith ~ m. John Fife Bowman

John Hyrum Bowman ~ m. Rosetta Ellen Jackson

* For privacy reasons, I did not include my parents, children, siblings, or cousins

ROWLEY: Rooted in History, Henry of Barnstable

10th Great Grandparents

Mack-Smith Branch

Henry Rowley

Henry Rowley was born circa 1598 in England. 

Henry is believed to have arrived in Massachuttes Bay Colony sometime between 1630-32 with his wife and children, and first settling in Sciuate, Massachusetts. 

He married Sarah Palmer, whose father and brother came to the colonies in 1621 on the ship Speedwell.

Henry Rowley married second, Ann Blossom, widow wife of Thomas Blossom (1580-1633) who traveled on the Speedwell with Sarah's father. Thomas Blossom's sister was Sarah Palmer's mother. 

I descend from his first marriage with Sarah Palmer. After she died in 1632, their younger children may have been sent live with Sarah's father, William Palmer, Sr.. I say this because in 1637 William bequeaths part of his property to Rebecca and Moses Rowley, grandchildren, then provides a guardian to raise Moses. 

Henry Rowley was a freeman in 1639, and removed to Barnstable with his second wife in 1640. He died in Barnstable around befre the probate of his will on 15 Jul 1673. 

Rebecca, depends on migration date (1631-1710) mentioned in William Palmer's will.

Henry  Rowley died 15 Jul 1673 in Falmough, Barnstable County, MA on or about 15 Jul 1673. 

Fiske, John and James Grant Wilson. Appletons; Cyclopedia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1886-1900. Vol 1, page 269

Anderson, Robert Charles. New England, The Great Migration Begins, 1620-1632. Vol 3 P-W. Boston: New England Historical and Genealogical Society, 1996-2001. Pages 1602-1604.

Deyo, Simeon L. History of Barnstable County, Massachusettes, 1620-1637-1686-1890. New Yourk: Blake, 1890. Pages 308, also see index.

Green, Richard Henry. The New York genealogical and biographical record. New York: New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, 1906. Pages 57-58.

 

Home W. Brainard, "Henry Rowley and Some of His Descendants." Article in The New York genealogical and biographical record; Green, Henry. New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, 1906. Pages 57-59.

 

Pope, Charles Henry. The pioneers of Massachusetts, a descriptive list, drawn from records of the colonies, towns and churches and other contemporaneous documents. Boston, C.H. Pope, 1900. Page 393.

Children of Henry Rowley and Sarah Palmer

Joseph, born in England (1623-1655) 

Sarah, born in England (1625-1710)

Henry, born in England (1626-Unk)

Moses, born in England (1627-1705) ~ m. Elizabeth Fuller

Rebecca Rowley, birth depends on migration date. She is mentioned in William Palmer Sr. will.

Moses Rowley

Moses Rowley was born in London, England circa 1627. His mother Sarah Palmer died when he was about five years of age. I believe the Rowley family came to the Colonies as part of the followers of John Lothrop in the Winthrop fleet circa 1630; however, Sarah's father, William Palmer, was at Plymouth as early as 1621 and her mother, Frances Blossom, in 1623. 

Moses and his sister Rebecca are specifically mentioned in William Palmer's will, which makes me assume that William raised the two youngest Rowley children in his household. Also, his will provides for conservatorship of Moses after his death in 1637.  

Moses married on 22 Apr 1652 to Elizabeth Fuller. Elizabeth was the daughter of Dr Matthew Fuller of Barnstable, who came with wife and family to Plymouth Colony circa 1640. FamilySearch documents state she was born at Plymouth, but more likely in England. 

Moses and Elizabeth had twelve children, all in Barnstable. Sometime before his death in 1705, the family moves to Haddam, Hartford Co., Connecticut. 

* My personal speculation is that the Rowley family moved to Connecticut as early as 1683. [In 1635, John Winthrop Jr. was surveying the Connecticut area for colonization. Connecticut and New York had previously, had been a Dutch settlement. Ancestors on the Lambson branches like the Starks, Walworths, and Matsons settled in Groton and Fisher's Island; the Olmstead and Loomis in Hartford]. 

Fuller, William Hyslop. Fuller genealogy, Vol III: Some descendants of Captain Mathew Fuller, John Fuller of Newton, John Fuller of Lynn, John Fuller of Ipswicch, and Robert fuller of Dorchester and Dedham, with supplements to Vol I and II. Palmer, Mass.: C.B. Fiske & Co. 1908. Pages 11-12.

 

Children of Moses Rowley and Elizabeth Fuller

Cahterine (1652-1683)

Mary (1653-1704)

Moses Jr (1654-1735)

Child (stillbirth 1656)

Mehitabel Rowley (1660-1759) ~ m. "Little" John Fuller 

Shubael (1660-1714) * twin of Mehitabel 

Sarah (1662-1705)

Nathan (1664-1742) 

Aaron (1666-1743)

John (1667-1705)

Matthew (1669-1717)

Daniel (1671-1682)

Descendants of Henry Rowley and Sarah Palmer

Moses Rowley ~ m. Elizabeth Fuller  * Matthew Fuller's daughter

Mehitable Rowley ~ m. John Fuller * Samuel Fuller's son

Lydia Fuller ~ m. Daniel Gates Jr

Lydia Matilda Gates ~ m. Solomon Mack

Lucy Mack ~ m. Joseph Smith Sr

Hyrum Smith ~ m. Mary Fielding Smith

Joseph Fielding Smith ~ m. Edna Lambson

Edna Melissa Smith ~ m. John Fife Bowman

John Hyrum Bowman ~ m. Rosetta Ellen Jackson

* For privacy reasons, I have not listed my children, parents, siblings, or cousins

 

ADAMS: Rooted in History, Scottish Prisoner of War

8th Great Grandparents

Lambson Branches

James Adams

BATTLE OF DUNBAR

A battle of the War of Three Kingdoms in England's Civil War

On 3 Sep 1650, the Scottish army fought against the Crown of England in the Battle of Dunbar. The Scottish soldiers were defeated and some of the men captured by Oliver Cromwell were marched to Gravesend, near London. Some of the men were deported to America on the vessel Unity to serve as indentured servants. The ship arrived in Charleston, Massachusetts in late December 1650. My 9th great grandfather, James Adams was one of them.

SAUGUS IRON WORKS

Saugus, Massachusetts

James Adams

James was born circa 1632 in Scotland. He was a soldier at the Battle of Dunbar, captured, and sent to Massachusetts as an indenture to work off his sentence at Saugus Irron Works.

James married Priscilla Ramsdell on 7 May 1662 in Concord Massachusetts. They had nine children. 

Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001, database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPC7-J218:31 Oct 2019), James Adams and Priscilla Ramsden, 7 Nov 1662: citing Marriage, Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States, Massachusetts secretary of the Commonwealty, Boston: FHL microfilm 007011227.

Priscilla Ramsdell was born in Lynn, Massachusetts circa 1640 to John and Priscilla Ramsdell. John Ramsdell was born circa 1602 in Halifax, Yorkshire, England. It is believed that he and his wife immigrated as part of the Winthrop Fleet, but I found not documentation to support this. John is briefly mentioned in History of Lynn and Ironworks onf the Saugus, where he was employed. He and his wife are believed to have moved to Topsfield, but that may have been his son. John died 27 Oct 1688 and his wife Priscilla died 18 1717. 

There is limited information of John Adams, but for more information of the Scottish soldiers at Dunbar, or Saugus Iron Works the following book may be of interest:

Gerrard, Chris, Pam Graves, Andrew Millard, Richard Annis, and Anwen Caffell. Lost Lives, New Voices: Unlocking the Stories of the Scottish Soldiers at the Battle of Dunbar 1650. Oxford an Philadelphia: Oxbow books. 2018.

Hartley, Edward Neal. Ironworks on the Saugus: The Lynn and Braintree Ventures of the Company of Undertakers of the Ironworks in New England. 1990. 

James Adams was one of the founders of the Scots' Charitable Society in 1657. James died 2 Dec 1707 in Concord Middlesex, MA, 

Children of James Adams and Priscilla Ramsdell

Priscilla (1663-1737) 

Elizabeth Adams (1665-1710) ~ m. Joseph Lambson Jr

James (1668-1741)

Hannah (1670-1727)

John (1672-1744)

Nathaniel (1674-1707)

Dorcas (1677-Unk)

Richard (1678-1749)

Abigail (1661-1707)

Descendants of James Adams and Priscilla Ramsdell

Elizabeth Adams ~ m. Joseph Lambson Jr

Ebenezer Lambson ~ m. Mary Matson

Elnathan Lambson, Revolutionary Soldier ~ m. Jane Hayes

Jesse Lambson, Revolutionary Soldier ~ m. Ruth Miller

Boaz Lambson ~ m. Polly Walsworth

Alfred Boaz Lambson ~ m. Melissa Jane Bigler

Edna Lambson ~ m. Joseph Fielding Smith

Edna Melissa Smith ~ m. John Fife Bowman

John Hyrum Bowman ~ m. Rosetta Ellen Jackson

* For privacy reasons I did not list my parents, children, siblings, or cousins

LEE: Rooted in History, Robert of Barnstable

10th Great Grandparents

Mack-Smith Branch

Robert Lee

Robert Lee is believed to be born circa 1602 in London, Middlesex, England. He married Mary Atwood circa 1623. 

Mary was born circa 1603 to John Atwood (1580-1644) and Ann Coleson (1580-1654). She was Christened 23 Feb 1603. Mary is believed to be their only child. Records list John Atwood died in Plymouth circa 1644 and Ann  died in Boston 1654. This is consistent with the documentations of their wills I found in the Pioneers of Massachusetts, page 23. 

Children John Atwood and Ann Coleson 

Mary Lee (1603-1681)

Although I couldn't pinpoint Mary and Robert's arrival, page 282 of the above book, the record states that Robert Lee was in Plymouth in 1636. Robert died circa 1663. Mary died about 1 Oct 1681 in Barnstable, Massachusetts, having lived with her son-in-law John Howland Jr for eight years prior to her death. 

Pope, Charles Henry. Pioneers of Massachusetts, a descriptive list, drawn from records of the colonies, towns and churches and other contemporaneous documents. Boston: C.H. Pope, 1900. Page 23, 282.

Children of Robert Lee and Mary Atwood

Ann (1625-1697)

Mary Lee (1632-1697) ~ m.Lieutenant John Howland II

Descendants of Robert Lee and Mary Atwood

Mary Lee ~ m. John Howland Jr

Hannah Howland ~ m. Johnathan Crocker

Hannah Crocker ~ m. Shabuel Fuller

Lydia Fuller ~ m. Daniel Gates Jr

Lydia Matilda Gates ~ m. Solomon Mack

Lucy Mack ~ m. Joseph Smith Sr

Hyrum Smith ~ m. Mary Fielding

Joseph Fielding Smith ~ m. Edna Lambson (4th living wife)

Edna Melissa Smith ~ m. John Fife Bowman

John Hyrum Bowman ~ m. Rosetta Ellen Jackson

* For privacy reasons I did not list my parents