Happy birthday, son Russ

Your roots, Russell.

A couple of years ago you turned 50 and I posted a few pics of you then with my wishes for continued happiness.

Here's the post from a few years ago, where I reminded you that you're the 13th generation since an ancestor came to America on the Mayflower, through your father's family.

And here's one about the what I thought was the furthest back I've found in  the Rogers tree, going back to Italy. I think Aaron Rogers might not be the furthest back, but here's that posting.

Your Rogers grandfather's mother's Swasey tree goes back to Edward I of England.

An interesting 20 min. video HERE gives an overview of the rulers in Europe since 400 b.c. Sir Roger was our ancestor who ruled in Sicily (Italy) before the Aaron Rogers noted above. In just a bit I'll find the post that includes details about him...

Roger II, King of Sicily

Here is the first of four posts about the Norman conquest of Sicily, including the ancestors of Aaron Rogers, Roger from Normandy, king of Sicily.

Second post of the Roger kings in Sicily

2013 vacation

And the third of this series about early Normans and Italy: HERE.

Finally (and you may have noticed different information of wives and children continue to plague ancestry searches) HERE. This post came on your brother Marty's birthday originally!

Thus I come full circle and

WISH

You 

  A Very

Happy

Birthday!!

How Sudbury got help (1676) from Mr. Edward Cowell

More about the Sudbury MA battle between Colonials and Indians...HERE .

But my question that I posed back then, was which Edward Cowell led the forces that tried to come to the aid of Sudbury, a town being attacked by Indians in King Phillips War in 1676.  Edward Cowell Sr.(1617-1677) would have been in his 50s or 60s, (since his birth date is unknown.)  His son, Edward Jr.(1644-1691) was the right age to be involved in a battle, and I would imagine he was among the company as well.  But it would have been more likely that the elder would be considered a leader.

Youngest Cowell, Edward III was born in 1672. so was obviously too young.

But geography is also in question.

Edward Cowell is described as coming to the aid of Sudbury FROM Brookfield MA by way of Marlborough.

"Mr. Edward Cowell, with a body of eighteen mounted men, coming from {Brookfield}* by way of Marlborough, and by a different way from that taken by Capt. Wadsworth, (of Connecticut) became sharply engaged with an outlying party of the enemy, and lost four men killed, one wounded, and had five of his horses disabled.

I contested at the time I posted that quote back in May that Brookfield had been destroyed in the preceding August 1675, when my ancestor Captain John Ayers was killed by Indians of King Phillips War (which now extended to Sudbury).

But he could have been Mr. Cowell Sr. OF BROOKFIELD if he'd lived there.  But he didn't actually.  He lived in Portsmouth New Hampshire, where he was a sailor by trade.  Had he tried to relocate with other colonists in the shift to western frontier of Quaboag in the 1650s?  I think not.

He had arrived in Boston, in 1640, and in 1645, where he married in 1655. He had his first son, Edward in Boston in 1644.  From there he took the family to Portsmouth NH, and had 3 more children.  Since he was a sailor, he is also recorded as arriving in Boston in 1655.  But his probate following his death was in Portsmouth NH in 1677.

So a descendant made a memorial for him for fighting in King Phillips War in 1676, the year before he died.  I still wonder how he arrived at the scene of the battle in Sudbury MA coming from Brookfield MA, when his home had been all the way in Portsmouth NH.   The clue is that he was coming from the much closer town of Marlborough, just to the west of Sudbury.  It's much more likely that any call for help had gone out to that area, and whoever had any military experience (which was very rare among the early colonists according to what I've read)...would have been pressed into assistance.

Since there were also other colonists who came to aid Sudbury from Connecticut, apparently there was a general call for assistance.  And perhaps Edward Jr. had some interest in Marlborough.

Geographically I don't know more than that Sudbury MA is 22 miles outside of Boston MA and a good 70 miles from Portsmouth, NH.  Sudbury is even 50 miles east of Brookfield MA but only 20 miles from Marlborough.  I don't know where the soldiers (i.e. colonists, with maybe a bit of military training) from Connecticut began, but that's pretty far away as well.  So when the Indians of King Phillips war attacked Sudbury, and the colonists received help, it was probably several days before it arrived from that far away...especially since someone had to ride (or sail) for the help in the first place.

It was the wild frontier then.  And the war with the Indians only lasted a couple of years, at that time.

Here's one description of the wars the European colonists had with Native Americans.  It's pretty amazing to me, since these conflicts are downplayed so much in the American History books.

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Indian_Wars

Further information: European colonization of the Americas

The colonization of North America by the English, French, Spanish, Dutch, and Swedish was resisted by some Indian tribes and assisted by other tribes. Wars and other armed conflicts in the 17th and 18th centuries included:

• Beaver Wars (1609–1701) between the Iroquois and the French, who allied with the Algonquians (What states?)
• Anglo-Powhatan Wars (1610–14, 1622–32, 1644–46), including the 1622 Jamestown Massacre, between English colonists and the Powhatan Confederacy in the Colony of Virginia
• Pequot War of 1636–38 between the Pequot tribe and English colonists in Massachusetts and Connecticut
• Kieft's War (1643–45) in the Dutch territory of New Netherland (New Jersey and New York) between Dutch colonists and the Lenape people
• Peach Tree War (1655), the large-scale attack by the Susquehannocks and allied tribes on several New Netherland settlements along the Hudson River
• Esopus Wars (1659–1663), conflicts between the Esopus tribe of Lenape Indians and colonial New Netherlanders in Ulster County, New York
• King Philip's War (1675–78) in New England between colonists and the Narragansett people
• Tuscarora War (1711–15) in the English Province of North Carolina
• Yamasee War (1715–17) in the English Province of South Carolina
• Dummer's War (1722–25) in northern New England and French Acadia (New Brunswick and Nova Scotia)
• Pontiac's War (1763–66) in the Great Lakes region
• Lord Dunmore's War (1774) in western Virginia (Kentucky and West Virginia)

In several instances, warfare in North America was a reflection of European rivalries, with American Indian tribes splitting their alliances among the powers, siding with their trading partners. Various tribes fought on each side in King William's War, Queen Anne's War, Dummer's War, King George's War, and the French and Indian War, allying with British or French colonists according to their own self interests.

Similarly, in the American Revolution and the War of 1812, Indian tribes in the territories of conflict differed in their alliances. The Cherokees supported the British in the Revolution and raided frontier American settlements in the hope of driving out the settlers. Other tribes fought for the American Patriots, such as the Oneida people and Tuscarora people of the Iroquois Confederacy in New York.^[1]

 

Amy Ayers married who?

Well, Amy (Annie) Cowell had a sister, Mary Cowell, according to my Ancestry Tree.  But there's a bit of a problem.
They both have the birthday of 22 January 1657.  So maybe they were twins.  But they aren't both listed as born the same time from same parents where their birthdays are listed.  They just have the Ancestry trees in a confusion.
But they both have the same death day,  31 March 1736.

So I started looking around.
Especially since they both married a man named Sherburne, one to Joseph, one to John.

Annie (Amy) married a Joseph Sherburne (1656-1669) on 19 Oct 1678.  It's understandable that she married again, (since Joseph apparently died the next year)...to Jethro Ferber (1648-1682) on 19 Oct 1678.  Same marriage date to two different men?

And before I'm completely bald from pulling my hair out, her sister Mary married a man named John Sherburn.  BUT...

he was listed as married to another Mary, with surname of Jackson.  And the John Sherburne on my tree with all the other Sherburnes had been born in 1647, while the one on this new family tree (hear Twilight Zone music here) was supposedly born in 1650.  Same town of Portsmouth NH, but of course different parents so listed as 2 different men.

So this post is going out now, and I have no resolution on the conundrum, and it just keeps getting worse.  My poor little computer screen is just a mixed up as me.

The bottom line is that someone who made those lists of marriages (and births) got the Sherburnes mixed up.  There were so many it's possible that 2 Captain John Sherburnes were walking around town, both married to a different woman named Mary Sherburne.  And then there were all the children of John and Mary Jackson Sherburne...the first of which was born when she was 3 years old!!!  That does seem a bit of a problem.

Yep, never say genealogy is a dull subject.  But oh, it doth try one's patience!

Anyway, I do know the Ferber marriage of Amy (Annie) Cowell Sherburne Ferber produced just one son, who was included in some documents so there's record of that marriage beyond that list.  And I've already posted about how her next husband (my ancestor) Nathaniel Ayers, helped with the Ferber estate.  HERE.

The further back I go with these families of New England, the more I distrust the records that are listed.  If I can see a photocopy of the originals, I'll take that as fact.

In the meantime, I pull my hair out bit by bit, because I can be showing this mixed up mess of data to other Tree searchers, as if it is fact.  So to solve that problem (and whatever reputation I might have) I'm going to delete the relationships which are most "iffy".  Nah, I just wish I could.  There's obviously a sister, who may have been confused as to dates of birth, death, and marriage.  Not to mention who her husband might have been...or the children. 

So Mary will not have the same birth and death date.  And Amy (Annie) will not marry 2 different men on the same day.  Whoever wrote those records must have had a headache...because I refuse to get one on this business.

More of the Ayers next generation - 7 children of Susanna and Mark

Here's a re-quote of the determination that Captain John Ayers (killed by Indians in 1675) wasn't related to the person of the same name from Haverhill:

Captain John Ayres of Ipswich and Brookfield was not the son of John Ayres of Haverhill. I have carefully examined the deeds of Salem, and have careful copies  of the town records of Ipswich and Haverhill, and these show that the mistake had been made by confounding two persons of the same name”. And so we are left without any definite leads as to the place of origin of the family prior to the immigration to New England. The first concrete fact we were able to associate with the family, is the appearance of the name of John Ayres in the early records of Ipswich. This appears in the year 1643, which indicates the approximate date of coming to Ipswich, but not necessarily exactly, since grants were frequently recorded sometime after they had been made. He was also listed as an inhabitant of Ipswich in 1648, and married Susanna, daughter of Mark Symonds of who’s (Mark Symonds) estate he was appointed administrator. In such capacity, on November 24, 1659, he sold a house and a three acre lot to another son-in-law of the deceased, Edward Chapman (Ipswich Deed 3:351). He was allowed the privilege of commonage in February 1667, and admitted a commoner at Ipswich in March of the same year. Captain John, as he was known at Ipswich, came to Quaboag Plantation before May 1667.

Source:West Brookfield Historical Commission: Meet the Planters - AYRES http://westbrookfield.org/historical-sites/quaboag-plantation/qp-ayres-john-12-49-37-am-2/ Researcher: Terry Owens

Continuing to look at the Susanna and Captain John Ayers children:
1) John Ayers III
2) Thomas Ayers,
3) Joseph
4) Susanna
5) Edward
6) Samuel
7) Mark
9) Nathaniel, my 7 times great grandfather

Modern day photo of site of Captain John Ayers' tavern, Quaboag (Brookfield) MA where the Indians burned the town

1.) John Ayers III (1648-1711) was listed as farmer on one record. I just tore my hair out (figuratively) because this John and his young wife were listed as parents of John's 3 younger siblings, making his wife give birth at age 3...and the other thing on Ancestry trees was that they married 20 years after she died!  That's another 20 minutes of my life I won't get back!

OK, he did remarry and have children of his own, at appropriate ages!
First wife was Abigail Hovey Ayers, who died at 27 years and is buried in Boston, in the Ayers family plot.  John and Abigail Ayers may have sheltered his younger siblings after fleeing the burned town of Quaboag, but who knows why they are still listed as his own!

His second wife was Mary Woodham Ayers (1648-1711) and they had 2 sons and 2 daughters.  One daughter died the same year as her birth.  Again there are records that confuse my genealogy, because there were other John Ayers in the line from Haverhill as well, where the one I  am descended from didn't have clear lineage beyond his arrival at Ipswich, MA.

2.) Thomas Ayers (1652-1722)  He married Hannah Errington in 1677, and they had 7 children of the records I've checked quickly, 5 girls and 2 boys.  When I say I checked records quickly, I mean I noticed two were born in the same year, and only one of those had an exact date, so at this point I've not included the other one.  I also see that most of them only have a birth date, and no death date given.

3.) Joseph John Ayers (1655-1740) He died in Brookfield (formerly Quaboag) MA, which tells us that he must have succeeded in reclaiming his father's land.  He married Sarah Caldwell Ayers in 1677, she was one of 9 children.  They had 6 children. When his wife died in 1710 he remarried to Hannah Lovell Ayers.

4) Susanna Ayers Waite (1656-1683) born and died in Ipswich.  The only daughter of Captain John and Susanna, she died in her 20s, close to the same time her mother died.  Actually one record gives her marriage the year after she died.  (Here goes my hair again, tear tear tear) At least I found a hand written record of her marriage  "Thomas Waite in 1677 to Susan Ayers in Ipswich."  I do note that Susan isn't the same as Susanna, but so many women's names got garbled by scribes.  Her husband pre-deceased her.  We have no information about him, and there don't appear to have been any children, at least no records of any.

5.) Edward Ayers (1657- 1717 [or after 1720 and before 1723]) He also died in Portsmouth, NH, where his older brother, Thomas had died as well. The probate documents in 1723 indicate he was also a blacksmith (same as my ancestor, his youngest brother, Nathaniel). Edward's sons, John Ayers and John Cutt provided the inventory of his estate for the probate.  However, the date of his death might have been closer to the probate documents.  There's also a marriage in 1720 that might indicate he was still alive!

His first wife was Alice Elise Shapleigh Ayers.  They may have had 8 children (as listed among duplicates on Ancestry). Alice may have been just 15 to his 20 years when they married.  This is rather different than his older brothers who waited until they were in their mid 20s to marry.  But the times may have been such that 1677 was a good year to marry.  Alice did die in 1717, and there is a headstone in Point of Graves, Portsmouth, NH, and a broken one beside hers that is assumed to be Edward's. His second wife was Margaret Williams Ayers, who lived till 1734 and died in Ipswich.

6.) Samuel Ayers (1658-1713)  I've noticed as I do this research that the birthdates seem pretty flexible for many of these cousins.  So I'm not sure who was older than whom.  When I originally started, both Edward and Samuel were listed as being born in 1658, but nothing indicated they were twins. And since then, a source gave me a birthdate for Edward in 1657. But I also now have Samuel noted as being born in 1657.  Oh dear.

Samuel married also in 1677, to Abigail Fellows Ayers (1644-1714) who was quite a bit older than Samuel, if her birthdate is correct. One record gives her death date as 1723 rather than 1714. No one has been able to locate a grave for Samuel.

How many children they had is really debatable, and not something I'm willing to invest my time in today.  It looks as if the first birth was twins, which included the only girl.  Then there were 8 more possible births, according to Ancestry.    Samuel's death was in Rowley, Essex County, MA, and his probate was in Nov. of 1713, so his death was sometime just before that.

7.) Mark Ayers (1661-1727 Mark married either in 1684 or 86 to Sarah Williams Ayers (1666-1728).  They had a son named Mark Jr. born in 1682, then 3 more sons.  No information came up on the first son, but the other 3 were born in Portsmouth, Rockingham County, New Hampshire.  In 1689 Mark Sr. was listed as a Petitioner for Portsmouth, New Hampshire.  I'm not really sure what that meant, but Ancestry lists it as a census data.  Sarah lived a year after Mark, both of them also dying in Portsmouth.  At least 2 of their sons were living beyond them.

8). Nathaniel Ayers (1664-1731) I already posted about Nathaniel and his wife, Amy Cowell Ferber Ayers (1657-1736)  HERE.

Inscription: Here lyes buried ye body of Mr Nathaniel Ayres aged 67 years & 6 mo dec'd December ye 4th 1731 Burial: Copps Hill Burying Ground Boston Suffolk County Massachusetts, USA Edit Virtual Cemetery info [?] Created by: Thomas A Hawkins Record added: Feb 24, 2004 Find A Grave Memorial# 8434381

 There are quite a few Ayers graves here.
,
Again there was a son born (Capt. Edward Ayers, 1685-1745) before the record of the marriage in 1686.  Their second child (no others are listed at Ancestry) was Ami (Annie) Ayers Swasey born in 1687 (or perhaps 1683 or 1685)..who married Samuel Swasey.

 This family also resided in Portsmouth NH, but Nathaniel was buried in Boston as the headstone attests, in Copp's Hill Burying Ground.

Susanna Symonds Ayers family

Susanna Symonds Ayers, (1617-1683) daughter of Mark Symonds (1584-1659) and Susan Edgar Symonds (1588-16179
I spoke earlier this week about her father and mother, Susan Edgar Symonds. (HERE)

Actually most of what I wrote referred to her step mother Joanna Symonds.  And I did mention that over on Ancestry, Susan Edgar Symonds had been merged with her husband's other wife, Joanna Symonds, to be Susan Joanna Edgar Symonds.  No such person! One commentator/researcher is quoted who thought that there was only one wife, but his comments referred to another generation completely.

I admit I copied information glibly from Ancestry...and used the unknown combined names at least once here on my blog.  Shame on me.  But here's a bit of an edited version of one of the old posts.

And here's a good link for Susanna Symonds Ayers husband Captain John Ayers, and Here to learn about the battle of Quaboag MA where he died.

Back to mother Susan Edgar.  She had been born in 1588 in Birch, Essex, England to Joseph Edgar (1565-1694) and his wife (maybe named Ann).  There is also a record of a Joanna Edgar, whose father was Joseph Edgar, but I'm waiting for more to say that she was Susan's sister. Apparently Susan married Mark Symonds in either 1609 in England, or 1612 in New England.  Her first child, Susan was born and died in 1610 in France or England.  Their next daughter Mary Symonds was born in Ipswich, Essex County, MA.  And their third one, Susanna was born in 1617 in Hull Yorkshire, England.  OK, there are some probable impossibilities here.

There were ships going back and forth to New England from old England regularly.  But why would Susan Edgar Symonds go back to England in 1617 when her last daughter was born?  Are the records (as few as there are) incorrect, or refer to another person entirely?

And how long did mother Susan live after the birth of my great times 8 grandmother?  We're pretty sure she died in 1619.  Her husband married his second wife, Joanna in 1620.  That meant the little girls were Mary 5 and Susanna 2 at the most when their mother died.

King Phillips War (colonials retreat after Indians burn Brookfield (Quaboag) MA (with support from French)

My great times 8 grandparents, Susanna and Captain John Ayers had 8 or 9 children before he was killed by Indians in 1675.  In her petition to courts to receive the property which had been abandoned at Quaboag, she said she had 7 sons and 1 daughter.  But other sources said she had 6 children.

Looking on my Ancestry tree, I've got John III, Thomas, Joseph, Susanna, Richard, Edward, Samuel, Mark and Nathaniel.  Richard wasn't on the list that Susanna gave the Massachusetts courts to reclaim her rightful land.  So I figure she must have knp[own who her children were! And since Richard was listed as born the same year as her son Edward, and in New London CT, rather than Ipswich, I'm pretty sure this Richard wasn't part of this Ipswich family.  Remember how John Ayers Sr. wasn't related to the Ayers family from Haverhill.

So I can change my tree on Ancestry.  It's pretty heady, taking an ancestor off.  He still exists, and is on my list of people, just doesn't show any more as child of my Ayers ancestors.

How about the other 6 children of Susanna and John? I didn't look in depth yet at their lives.  They also retreated from Quabog, and grew up in Ipswich, and were parties to the petitions their mother posed to reclaim her properties.

Oh geese, I just found a record of probate for Captain John Ayers, of Quaboag, listing an inventory of his possessions in 1676. Well, I can't read it, it's just listed at Ancestry.  I'm a bit surprised, and wish I could read it, because his tavern had been burned down by the Indians in 1675 when he was killed, and everyone in the town had fled. Perhaps it's related to how Susanna made her petition.

Print of Brookfield (Quaboag) MA being burned by Indians 1675

Mark Symonds' and wife Joanna of Ipswich, MA

Wasn't it fun (well I thought so) to explore some cousins a few times removed who lived in another historic area, Portsmouth NH?  (HERE) The Sherburne family certainly had lots of descendants.  From Henry who first arrived on the Ship James in 1631, to Joseph his great grandson, who lived in Boston and who had his portrait painted by Copley which now is owned by the New York Metropolitan Museum...a family which had many achievements. (Painting link here.) Then there were all the interesting women in the family as well.

OK, now to get back to my own roots, so to speak.

Joanna Symonds is my choice for today. She is second wife of my 9 times great grandfather, Mark Symonds.  My line goes through her predecessor, Susan Edgar Symonds.  Their daughter Susanna Symonds Ayers was my 8 times great grandmother.  For some reason the folks over at Ancestry decided (why?) to merge the two wives into one, Joanna Susanna!  Never mind the data that proves they were two separate people. I spoke about the 2 wives HERE.

Joanna's parents are unknown.  She did marry Mark Symonds in Ipswich, Essex County MA (or perhaps in Essex England) in 1620.  The same listing of New England Marriages before 1700 states Mark Symonds married his first wife in either 1609 or 1612.  It doesn't name his first wife, but it does give Joanna's first name.

The Preston-Foster house on Water St. in Ipswich MA 1790 (not an ancestor, just one of the early homes still standing in Ipswich)

Mark's will written on 25 April of 1659 gives Joanna as his wife's name, and assigns her the job of executrix. (He died on the 28th April.)  He also names his daughters, Susannah Ayers (my ancestress) and Abigail Pierce.  John Warner Jr. (husband of daughter Priscilla) is given a bequest, as well as his estate divided among the 3 daughters, (Susanna, Abigail, Priscilla) and the children of his deceased daughter, Mary Chapman.

"Joanna, the last wife of Mark Symonds stated in her will “God having given me two daughters,” Priscilla and Abigail. This indicates Joanna was not the mother of the older children, and that there was at least one earlier wife of Mark Symonds."

The Ipswich written record of deaths in 1659 lists Mark Symonds, but not that he's the husband of any surviving wife, though Joanna was definitely still alive.

She provided a written record of her inventory of Mark's possessions.

"debts __ from the estate ... delivered in court __ the _2th of June 1659 by Joanah Symonds relict of Marke Symonds as attest Robert Lord clerk"

All of Mark Symonds surviving children had married by the time he died.

Joanna lived another 7 years herself.  She wrote a will giving her 2 daughters bequests.

9 May 1666 – Joanna’s will proven in Ipswich Court:

I Joana Symonds of Ipswich . . . doe make and ordaine this my last will and Testament . . . And for my outward estate I . . . dispose God haueing given me two daughters which are maryed both and have children my will is equally to dispose of what estate I leave behind . . . unto my said two daughters and there children, i. e., namely unto my daughter Prisilla the wife of John Warner and to her children after her decease the one halfe of my estate And to my daughter Abigaill the wife of Robert Pearce the other halfe equally devided … I doe apoynt my loueing Sons in law John warner & Robert Pearce to be my executors . . . and doe declare this to be my last will and testament this sixt day of Aprill 1666. In presents of us William Goodhue, Robert Lord. Joana Symonds.

And an earlier document in Nov. 1659 following her husband's death, had showed that the sons in law (Chapman and Ayers) sold the house and lands, with agreement of the widow.

24 Nov 1659 – Ipswich Deed:

wheras ther was an estate left by Marke Symonds unto his children after the death of his wife. And by agreem* mutually betweene the widdow & them to alow the widdow a certeine Sum yearly dureing her life and for to devyde the estate presently, and by agreement betweene themselves, the lands with some other small things fell to Edward Chapman (who maryed one of Marke Symonds his daughters) for his part of the estate, And the house being by the consent of all hands put into the hands of John Ayres to make sale of . . . This therfore wittnesseth that I John Ayres for . . . four score pounds . . . sell vnto my Brother Edward Chapman of Ipswich the dwelling house, barne & land about it . . . three acres be it more or less . . . wch was lately Marke Symonds … In wittness whereof … 24 November 1659 . . . John Ayers and John Baker

Recorded 1st of Aprill 1673. by Robert Lord