james holbrook (part 1 of 3)

childhood

James Holbrook, one of my 4th great grandfathers, was born October 16, 1779 in Weymouth, MA to Abner Holbrook and Jerusha Vining. (note 1)  He was the 8th child out of 11; although one older brother, Abner, probably died before he was born . (note 2) 

James was only 8 years old when his father Abner died in 1788.  James' family is found in the first Federal Census of 1790, residing in Weymouth, MA.  His mother Jerusha is listed as head of the hosuehold, as widow Holbrook, with 4 of his siblings. 

Males - Under 16: 2 (daniel, jacob, james); Males - 16 and over: 1 (david); Females: 5 (lydia, jerusha, sarah, betty, jerusha)

Since the household only lists 3 males under 16 years old, one of Jerusha's younger sons may have been living with another family at the time.  The three boys that are under 16 are James, who would have been 11, Jacob, and Daniel.  Also, the two oldest sons, John, age 20, and Abner, age 18, are not incuded in the household.  I did not find John or Abner listed as head of household in Weymouth; so perhaps they are also living with another family.  All 4 daughters are included in the household for 1790, living with their mother Jerusha. 

1790 Census, Weymouth, MA : head of household Widow Jerusha Holbrook

The 1790 Census above seems to be enumerated by residence, so it is possible to see who Jerusha, and therefore James', neighbors probably were.  Samuel Bates and Widow Whitman are listed next to them, perhaps they lived next door.  Samuel Bates is James' future father-in-law; which explains how he met his future wife.  Also, a John Vining is below Jerusha on the 1790 census.  Jerusha had a brother John Vining, but he died before 1790.  Her father's name was also John Vining and was still living in 1790; I believe this is him living next to Jerusha.  I was thinking perhaps one of Jerusha's sons that is not listed with her might be living with her father (their grandfather), since they are neighbors.  John Vining does have one other male living with him who is older than 16.  This person could be one of James' older brothers, John or Abner.  John Vining, their grandfather, did not have any living sons in 1790, so this is a good possibility.  It is still a mystery as to where the third younger son is living in 1790.  I guess it is also possible that the census is incorrect, and they are all living together. (UPDATE: I came across a book on google books : Index to Probate Records of the County of Suffolk, MA, G-O; p 128 which lists guardian records for James, Jacob and Daniel as Suffolk Probate 19534, 19533, 19532 respectively)

By 1800, it seems that James, age 21, is living with his mother Jerusha and his younger brothers, one older brother, and two of his sisters, still in Weymouth, MA.

Males -10 thru 15: 1 (daniel); Males - 16 thru 25: 2 (jacob, james); Males - 26 thru 44: 1 (david); Females - 10 thru 15: 1 (lydia); Females - 26 thru 44: 1 (sarah); Females - 45 and over: 1 (jerusha)

1800 Federal Census, Weymouth, MA : head of household Widow Jerusha Holbrook

This census looks to be enumerated alphabetically, so it is impossible to see who James' neighbors were in 1800.  The census does show that James' older brothers, John and Abner, are now heads of their own households, enumerated separately. 

James' childhood occurred at a changing time in American history.  The American Revolution ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783, when James was only 4.  I believe his father Abner fought in the war; at least in the beginning with the march to take possession of Dorchester Heights, according to the Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the Revolutionary War book.  (vol 8 p 71)  The end of the war brought along a lot of changes.  Massachusetts joined the union when James was 9 years old, in 1788, the same year his father died. 

James was 10 years old when George Washington was elected as the first president of the United States in 1789.  The Bill of Rights were adopted when he was 12 years old, in 1791.  John Adams was elected the second president of the United States in 1796, when James was 17.  He was probably familiar with the Adams family, as Abigail Smith Adams had also lived in Weymouth, MA.   

continued...

notes:
1.   James' birth is noted in the Vital records of Weymouth, Massachusetts, to the year 1850... , page 131, available online through Open Library. 

2. A brother Abner was born in 1767, then another brother Abner was born in 1772.  Although I did not locate a death record for the first Abner, I am assuming he died before 1772, when the second Abner was born. 

to do:
1. Obtain Gaurdianship records for James, Jacob and Daniel : Suffolk Probate 19534, 19533, 19532

abner holbrook

I did not post yesterday about Abner Holbrook's birthday on March 9, so I am posting today instead. He was born March 9, 1741 in Weymouth, MA to William Holbrook and Elizabeth Poole. Most of my ancestors on my maternal grandmother's side resided in Weymouth, which is interesting as that is where I grew up too. I love finding out about these ancestors and the familiar areas they lived in.

According to the vital records of Weymouth, Abner had an older brother William that died in 1756 as a "soldier in the Army Under General Winslow...[died at age] 19, at the Camp at Lake George." General Winslow was the man that helped remove the Acadians from New England in 1755. As I do not have the dates that William was in the army, I am not sure William was a part of this removal or the other war activities of General Winslow. He was most likely a part of the large group of seven thousand men General Winslow took to New York with the plan of marching on to Lake Champlain (which never happened). William probably died of illness before he was able to march back home with General Winslow. Abner was only 15 years old when his brother William died in the French and Indian War (Seven Years War), fighting for the British.

Abner was most likely too young to fight in the French and Indian War, although he may have been old enough during the later part of the war. However, Abner was definitely old enough to be involved in the Revolutionary war; he was about 34 years old when the war started. He does not have a pension in the Revolutionary Pension Files on footnote.com, but I did find a record for an Abnar (prob. Abner) Holbrook in the Revolutionary Rolls database on Footnote. This Abnar was in Capt. Able Mason's Company in Colonel J. Davis' regiment of militia from July 20, 1780 to August 8, 1780. After looking into Capt. J. Davis' regiment, it looks like this is not the correct Abner as this regiment was based in Worcester. Further research brought me to the book online at Ancestry.com, Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War..., which states there was an Abner Holbrook in a company commanded by Captain Thomas Nash of Weymouth, in Colonel Solomon Lovell's Regiment for a service of 4 days. It is more likely that this is the correct Abner as it is a more local regiment. This regiment "marched to take possession of Dorchester Heights March 4, 1776; roll endorsed "Minute Roll". The book goes on to state that Abner also was in "Capt. Thomas Nash's Co, Col. Solomon Lovell's regt.; service 5 days, subsequent to March 10, 1776; roll sworn to at Weymouth." There may have been another Abner Holbrook in Weymouth at this time, so I need to check the Holbrook families living in Weymouth to see if there was another Abner that this record may be for.

The few other records I have for Abner come from the database on newenglandancestors.org, the Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850. According to the vital records, he was born, married, and died in Weymouth. He married Jerusha Vining on November 3, 1763, together they had at least 10, maybe 11 children. (Chamberlain's History of Weymouth book lists a daughter Betty Holbrook who died in 1789 - I have not found her in the vital records). Abner lived only for 47 years, dying on May 31, 1788. His youngest child, Daniel, was only 1 year old when Abner died. Since Abner died before the first US Census was taken in 1790, I do not have any census records for him, but I did find some entries for his family.

Abner's wife Jerusha is listed in the 1800 and 1810 Census in Weymouth, MA. I have been unable to find Jerusha in the 1790 Census. Since the censuses at this time period only list head of households, I would not be able to find her name listed if she was living with someone else, a relative or friend, soon after her husband Abner died. I would think she would have had Abner's property after his death, but I have not obtained any land or probate records for Abner to see where his property went at his death. His oldest son was John Holbrook, who would have been 23 years old at the time of his father's death. Perhaps Abner left his property to John. I looked at the Census for Weymouth in 1790 and searched for any Holbrooks. There was a Jon listed, however in this household there were 3 males over the age of 16 and 3 females. It seems unlikely this was Abner's son John as there would have to be at least 3 males under the age of 16, along with 4 females if he was supporting his mother and siblings. John does not marry until 1792, so he would not be living with his wife at this time. There are two John Holbrooks living in Weymouth in the 1800 Census, which would support the idea that this Jon in the 1790 Census is not the John we are looking for. I will have to check the History of Weymouth book to see if there is another John with a family living in Weymouth for 1790.

Chamberlain's History of Weymouth book has a chapter in volume 2 on Century Old Houses. On page 293, he talks about two of Abner's sons, James (my 4th great-grandfather) and Abner. They both resided in Weymouth around the early 1800s. They each had a house near Elmwood Cemetery on Union Street. Chamberlain states that the elder Abner originally built his son Abner's house on Union Street and describes it as "a fine example of the sturdy old houses." He states that one of Abner's daughters, Thais Holbrook Totman (Abner's granddaughter), lived in the house after Abner, then she and her husband sold it to the Carney family in 1857. Also in this chapter, Chamberlain has a section on John Holbrook and Silas Holbrook's house. This John would be Abner's oldest son that I looked for in the 1790 census after Abner's death. Maybe John left the house before his father died to build his own house. Perhaps Abner then left his land to his second oldest son, Abner, as mentioned in Chamberlain's book. If Abner had his father's property, perhaps Jerusha is living with him in the 1790 census. There is an Ab Holbrook listed in Weymouth for the 1790 census, with 1 male over 16 (himself), and one female (could be Jerusha). Abner does not marry until 1796, so he would not be living with his wife at this time. It is possible that this could be another Abner from another Holbrook family, again I will have to check for other Abners in the vital records at this time. If this is the correct son of Abner though, maybe the Jon Holbrook I mentioned above has the siblings living with him, while Abner has his mother.

I did find the map on ancestry.com that lists the houses on Union Street in Weymouth in 1876. You can see on the map both R. Torrey (who is Lucy Holbrook's husband who lived in James Holbrook's house later) and Mrs. Carney (the owner of Abner's house after Thais Holbrook sold it to them) in two houses across from the cemetery on the far right side of the page.

To Do List:

1. find property information on Abner - probate record, etc.
2. find where Jerusha was living in 1790 census - UPDATE: I was searching for Jerusha's father, John Vining, since he was still living during the 1790 census. Above the entry for John Vining was a listing for Wid. Holbrook - which is most likely Jerusha, she was just not indexed for the census on ancestry.com. This widow has living with her the following: 1 male over 16 (John or David), 2 males under 16 (James, Jacob, Daniel), and 5 females (Jerusha, Sarah, Jerusha, Lydia) - the discrepancies are missing maybe one male above age 16 if John is still living with them, missing one or two males under 16 and 1 too many females (maybe Betty), but looks like a close fit to Jerusha's family. Some of the children may be living with other relatives. It will also be good to check the probate of Jerusha's father John Vining to see if any of his grandchildren are listed.
3. read up on General Winslow - I think there is a diary - to see if he mentions any Holbrooks
4. Look into Holbrook families in Weymouth - see if there are other Abners that may have fought in the revolutionary war and other Johns and Abners that would be listed in the 1790 Weymouth census.