The Pilgrim Connection
This line of ancestors leads to my maternal grandfather, Dan Myers. Exploring for the first time the pedigree of Helen Colby Myers, Dan’s mother, it turned out that the Colby line (along with lines of several of their spouses) goes straight back to Massachusetts in the early 1600’s; that is, the first decades after the Mayflower. The Mayflower itself landed in 1620; I did not find any of these ancestors on that famous passenger list (numerous other ships soon followed), but at least eight of them were born in Massachusetts colony during the next 30 years. Several branches can be traced back to England, one of them (anecdotally, at least) to Medieval European royalty.
The most prominent of my “post-Pilgrim” ancestors is Anthony Colby.
He came from England in 1630 on a ship of the “Winthrop fleet.” He and hiswife Susanna (Haddon?) settled in Salem, Mass. in that year. Later in life, he bought a large house in Amesbury, Mass, from Thomas Macy, the town’s first clerk. Macy was run out of town by his fellow Puritans, after he gave shelter in a storm to a family of Quakers, an incident commemorated fictionally in a poem by Robert Greenleaf Whittier, titled “The Exiles.” The house is now a private museum, open only by arrangement. Click here to visit the house’s own website.
Anthony Colby’s house in Amesbury, Mass.
Colby_House_Sign
Including Colby’s son John, there were eight ancestors of Helen Colby Myers born in New England during the first 35 years of European settlement:
John Colby (Helen’s 5th great-grandfather) b. 8 Sept. 1633, Boston. Son of Anthony Colby and Susanna.
Frances Hoyt (5th great-grandmother) b. 1636 in Salisbury, Mass. Parents John Hoyt and Frances Jewell both came from England. Married John Colby.
William Eldridge, alt. Eldred (5th g. grandfather) b. 4 Sept. 1627, Yarmouth, Mass. Parents Thomas Eldred and Anne Watson both came from England.
Anne Lumpkin (5th g. grandmother) b. 1631, Yarmouth, Mass. Parents William Lumpkin and Thomasin (Constable?) both came from England. Parents apparently returned to England eventually. Married William Eldridge.
Mary Rowell (4th g. grandmother) b. 3 Jan 1649 in Salisbury, Mass. Parents Valentine Rowell and Joanna Pinder came from England and were married in Mass. Colony. After a “morals offense,” Mary Rowell married Thomas Frame, who had earlier come from England as an indentured servant.
John Folsom (4th g. grandfather) b. 3 Oct. 1641 in Hingham, Plymouth, Mass. Parents John Folsom and Mary Gilman both came from England.
Abigail Perkins (4th g. grandmother) b. 12 Apr. 1655 in Hampton, New Hampshire. Parents Abraham Perkins and Mary Wyeth both came from England. Married John Folsom. Perkins ancestry is traced (controversially) back to medieval royalty, which means there are hundreds of them, including William the Conqueror, Henry I of France, Charlemagne, even Judith Martel. And a huge cast of kings, princes, dukes, and counts of England, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, with tendrils even back into Scandinavia via Russia. Mind you, these are all direct ancestors, 20-30 somethingth great grandfather/mother of Dan Myers. I’m still working on this. So far, Dan Myers’ pedigree has grown from 36 individuals to over 1,000. Some of the new ones, maybe a third, were already in my data, the rest I added in the course of this project.
All of these ancestors are in dozens of printed and online genealogies. They are listed, for example, in the following 4-Volume set:
Reference source
An “internet cousin,” Nancy Hallberg (approx. 8th cousin), sent me excerpts from “Fifty Great Migration Colonists …” by John Brooks Threlfall, 1990, which gave us the “morals offense” of Thomas and Mary, among other details.
Pilgrims Galore – with scandal
My 7th great-grandparents, Thomas Frame(1649-1708) and Mary Rowell, had an affair that “… precipitated a hasty marriage on 18 Sept. 1673. For this morals offense, he was sentenced to be “whipped 15 stripes, unless he pay a fine of 4 pounds,” and she was to be “whipped 10 stripes, or pay a fine of 40 shillings.” — from Fifty Great Migration Colonists … by John Brooks Threlfall, 1990
Ouch! I am guessing the “morals offence” was merely premarital sex resulting in pregnancy, but there may have been more to it. The source, “Fifty Great Migration Colonists …” by John Brooks Threlfall, 1990, gives no further details. Oh, those Puritans!
Great Auntie, Convicted Witch
Mary Perkins (1615-1700) was born in England and came to Massachusetts in 1630 with her parents, John Perkins and Judith Gater, my 9th great-grandparents in the line of Helen Colby Myers, through Mary’s brother, Abraham Perkins. The Perkins line is traced back to King Henry III of England in several published sources, although the connection is not without controversy.
Anyway, Mary Perkins (Bradbury), when she was in her 70’s, was caught up in the Salem Witch hysteria. This quote is from the Perkins Family page of The New England Colonists Web:
On May 26, 1692, Mary [Perkins] Bradbury was named as a tormentor of Mary Walcott, Mercy Lewis, and Ann Putnam, Jr. She was arrested by Constable William Baker when she was 70 years of age [sic – she was more like 77]. Her husband, Captain Thomas Bradbury, was disliked by Suzanna Martin for his suspected tampering with her father’s will.
On August 9, 1692, Mary’s accusers depostions were taken. Suzanna Martin, enemy of her husband, was already hanged on July 19, 1692.
Mary was supposedly seen signing the Devil’s book. Other enemies were John Carr and his niece Anne Putnam, Jr. John Carr desired to marry Mary Bradbury’s daughter. Mary did not agree to his wants, since she thought her to be too young to marry. Later on, John Carr died in 1689. Mary Walcott and Ann Putnam, Jr. told the court that Uncle John appeared to them in a sheet as a spectre and told them that Mary Bradbury had killed him. John’s brother William, on the other hand, felt that John Carr had died of natural causes.
On Saturday, September 10, 1692, Mary [Perkins] Bradbury was sentenced to hang. Most of the testimony against Mary came from the Endicotts and the Carrs. The Carrs were the brothers of Mrs. Ann Putnam, Sr …
Another source, The Family of John Perkins of Ipswich, Massachusetts, by Geo. A. Perkins, M.D., Salem, 1882, quotes Mary’s answer to the indictment:
“I plead not guilty. I am wholly innocent of such wickedness through the goodness of God that hath kept me hitherto. I am the servant of Jesus Christ, and have given myself up to him as my only Lord and Saviour, and to the diligent attendance upon him in all his holy ordinances, in utter contempt and defiance of the Devil and all his works, as horrid and detestable; and have endeavored to frame my life and conversation in accordance with His holy word and in that faith and practice, resolve, by the help and assistance of God, to continue to my life’s end. For the truth of what I have to say as to the matter of practice, I humbly refer myself to my brethren and neighbors that know me, and to the searcher of all hearts, for the truth and uprightness of my heart therein, human frailties & unavoidable infirmaties excepted, of which I bitterly complain every day.”
118 friends and neighbors of the Bradbury’s signed a letter of testimony upholding Mary’s innocence and good character. But the court convicted her anyway, and sentenced her to be hanged on September 22, 1692. Back to The New England Colonists Web for the not-so-tragic outcome:
After Mary’s sentence a group of her supporters broke Mary Bradley [sic] out of jail. One of her accusers, Samuel Endicott, was said to have left home around the same time as she broke out of jail. He never returned. Seven years later he was still not found and was declared legally dead.
By Saturday, January 14, 1693 (four months later), Mary Bradbury was still in hiding, fearing that if she came back she would be charged for Samuel Endicott’s murder.
On Friday, May 12, 1693, Mary Bradbury rejoined her family and lived another seven years, until her death in 1700. By 1693, most prisoners were set free and the “Witch Hunt” was over.
Other sources state that bribes were paid to secure her release. Perkins (1882), states that Mary died of natural causes in 1693, instead of 1700.
Allen Currier
Aug 19, 2012
should be noted that John Colby was babtized 8 sep 1633, which means
that he was probably born in 1633, but no proof as to his birth date. It is doubtful that he was born and babtized on the same day.
I am looking for the parents of Frances Jewell, who married Sergeant John Hoyt, the Parents of Frances Hoyt, wife of John Colby. They are
both in my direct line.
Allen Currier
Aug 19, 2012
Also, of some note: Richard Currier my gr……….grandfather, married Joanna Pindor as his 2nd wife 26 oct 1676, he, being her third husband, after Valentine Rowell m: 14 sep 1643, and William Sargent m: 18 sep 1670.
George
Aug 19, 2012
OMG, that makes us somethingth-coousins. Maybe twice-over. Looking into this soon.
George
Aug 21, 2012
Fascinating! So your ancestor married Joanna at the tender age of 55, if my birth date for her is correct. No pedigree info on Francis Jewell, sorry. I will email you some contact info for Colby family assn.
George
Aug 21, 2012
My FTM data correctly shows John Colby *baptized* 08 Sept. born merely 1633 by deduction. I think the html software I used may have changed it.
Bruce White
Feb 22, 2013
Hi George,
Thanks for the interesting presentation on Tuesday. It was very informative and may serve as inspiration for me to start doing something similar.
I have dipped my toe onto your website and into your blogs and come up with some interesting discoveries. It appears we (and my wife Cathy, also) have numerous ancestors in common, including Anthony Colby (both Cathy and me), John Perkins (me), William Eldridge and his wife Ann (me), John Folsom and his wife (Cathy) and Abraham Perkins and his wife (Cathy). There may be more, but that was what I was able to discern so far from various entries in your blogs about early Americans.
Cathy and I visited the Macy-Colby house in Amesbury three years ago. At the time we thought we only had a connection through our shared ancestor Anthony Colby. Further research indicates that Cathy’s mother is descended from Thomas Macy, so she is related on her mother’s side to Macy and to Colby on her father’s side and is therefore represented on both sides of that early property transaction between Macy and Colby.
I look forward to reading more of your blogs as I get the chance.
George
Feb 22, 2013
Cool, cousin! There are other Colby descendants in BGS, including Hugh Pickering, that I know of. Perkins is one of my lines that is traced (probably spuriously) back to Medieval royalty. Eldridge is of special interest to me, because of a remotely possible connection with my “mystery” 2nd-great-grandmother, Susan M Eldridge (1820-1893). She was purportedly born in New York state, but I have found nothing further on her background. Susan is featured on my “Most Wanted” page.
J. Colby
Feb 16, 2019
The portrait you are using as Anthony Colby is NOT Anthony Colby it is a portrait of Captain Abraham Colby 1785-1865.
George
Feb 17, 2019
Yes, I believe you are right. Do you have a source citation for the image? I see other genealogy sites identifying it as Anthony, still others as Abraham. But after a closer look at the attire, it certainly would seem to be that of the early 1800s, not the 1600s.