07th

Stephen Angell b. 1705

/ Kirstin Miller

Stephen Angell 5th great grandpa on RootsMagic tree.

Stephen Angell was born in 1705 in Providence, Rhode Island. His parents were John and Sarah Clemence Angell. His great grandpa, Thomas Angell, with Roger Williams was a founder of Rhode Island colony in 1636, both immigrated from England. In that small community the families are intertwined through generations. His grandparents, great grandparents descend from the small group in 1636.

Genealogy of the descendants of Thomas Angell at Archive.org

Stephen married Martha Olney, her family also original RI immigrant settlers.  They married in on May 16, 1728. Stephen and Martha had 10 children. They may have been Quakers (Friends). They lived in Providence for awhile then moved to Johnston about 5 miles west. Stephen is mentioned in a couple wills. The will of his grandma,  Sarah Smith Clemence  in 1725, “Item I Give to Every one of my Grand Children five shillings a peice in paper money”. The court named Stephen “bond to council for his administration” on his father’s estate  “administration of all singular … goods and chattels and credits of his father John Angell … year 1745”.  Stephen inherited the family farm.

Stephen wrote his will March 7, 1771. The inventory lists blacksmith, carpenter, cooper and farming tools. Daughters had received their portions at their marriages, older sons had received their portions earlier too. Son William received rights on Olney Mills, Daniel and William were in charge of their mom’s support. Their mom Martha Olney Angell objected to the will provisions at court,  the court approved the will anyway on July 25, 1772.

Sources, free sources linked.

Grace Child b. 1689

/ Kirstin Miller

Grace Child 7th great grandma on RootsMagic tree

Grace was born October 27, 1689 in Roxbury, Massachusetts to Benjamin Child and Grace Morris. Grace’s ancestors came to America from England and Wales in the early 1620-40s. Grace married Timothy Walker on May 14, 1713. Grace’s sister Mary married Timothy’s brother Peter Walker. in 1715. The Walker family ancestors were early colonial immigrants too. Grace and Timothy had 6 children, 5 daughters and a son. Grace and her family belonged to the original church in Rehoboth, today it’s the Newman Congregational Church, they practice and preach “radical hospitality”, established in 1624.

Grace died October 30, 1729, she was 40 years old and is buried at Newman Cemetery, a mile or so north of the Walker House where she and her family lived.

Snapshot of Grace Child’s ancestors, Ancestry family tree

Timothy started building the Walker House in 1724. The house is still there, open for tours and a house study site. Just announced at the site, it will be a farm again in Spring 2021. “When Philip Walker [Timothy Walker’s grandpa] died in 1679 his estate included 177 acres of land,” said Val Talmage, executive director of PRI. “By 1891, the farmland associated with the antique dwelling was 96 acres. And by 1960, the land was reduced to the current configuration of just over one acre. It’s so exciting that this most significant historic place will once again be a productive farm.”

Source

Timothy Walker b. 1687

/ Kirstin Miller

Timothy Walker 7th great grandpa on RootsMagic tree.

Timothy Walker was born on September 14, 1687 in Rehoboth, Massachusetts to Samuel and Martha Ide Walker. Timothy’s 4 grandparents came to America from England in the 1630-40s. Timothy was the 3rd generation to live on his family’s farm. He had an older brother and 4 younger sisters.

On May 6, 1713 Timothy published his intention of marriage to Grace Child and they married on May 14th. Grace and Timothy lived on the Walker family farm. In Rehoboth, Timothy farmed and worked at the family sawmill and inherited both when his dad and his brother both died in 1812. The farm and sawmill are long gone but at 432 Massasoit Ave., East Providence, RI the house Timothy built is still there: The Walker House. Timothy was a widow in 1729 and married 2nd wife Rachel Beverly on January 15, 1730. Timothy wrote his will in November 1744 and died in 1745. The will is 32 pages, it includes his children’s names, an inventory and his signature. Timothy is buried at Newman Cemetery about 1 mile from the Walker House, his house.

The Walker House is on land Timothy’s dad Samuel Walker inherited from his dad Philip Walker. The Walker House stayed in the family until 1812 and was donated to Preserve Rhode Island in 1984. “At the time of its erection it was considered a marvel of architecture. North of the house were apple orchards and outbuildings, including a barn, shed, carriage house, and chicken house.”

Philip Walker House building began in 1724

Major updates were completed in 2008 by Preserve Rhode Island, ‘The Statewide Advocate for Rhode Island’s Historic Places’. Today Timothy Walker’s house is a study house, “for architectural history and historic preservation students, who can benefit from first-hand observations of architectural features”. The website has photos, a field study PDF and an orientation packet PDF, 10 pages of detail about the house, its history and the Walker family. Virtual visit: https://www.preserveri.org/walker-house

Sources

Martha Olney b. 1707

/ Kirstin Miller

Martha Olney 7th great grandma on RootsMagic tree

Martha was born in Providence, Rhode island on May 16, 1707. She was a great granddaughter of Thomas Olney, John Whipple and Roger Williams, all migrated from England and all original settlers in 1635, Rhode Island. Martha married Stephen Angell a great grandson of Thomas Angell, John Smith and Thomas Clemence, who also migrated from England and were original Rhode Island settlers. Martha and Stephen had 9 sons and 2 daughters. They were Quakers or Friends (Religious Society of Friends).

Angell Bible

Angell family bible at FamilySearch.org

Martha’s generation lived through the colonies turning into independent states. She was 53 when tax issues began, 68 when the Revolutionary War started, 76 when the war ended and 82 when General Washington was President. Martha’s son John and son in law Israel were both Colonels of Rhode Island regiments in the revolution.

Martha was a widow in 1772 and when her husband’s will was read she objected to it. In the Angell genealogy book, “she was dependent upon Daniel and William for her comfortable support … left to their discretion”. A part of the will “Item. I Give to my True and Loveing wife Martha Angell, one cow and one mare … Together with other household furniture sufficiant to keep house with at the Discretion of my Executors hereafter named, and also one good feather bed and furniture, all which to be at ther Disposal as She Thinks Proper”. The Court upheld the will and with no additional issues recorded.

Sources

Rebecca Brown b. 1676

/ Kirstin Miller

Rebecca Brown 7th great grandma on RootsMagic tree.

Rebecca Brown was born in New Haven, Connecticut in 1676 the youngest of 7 kids. Her mom’s dad and both grandpas were pastors who founded churches in Concord, Massachusetts- Peter Bulkeley and New Haven- John Jones. In 1703 Rebecca married Benjamin English.

Brown, Eleazer and Sarah Bulkeley, children

Eleazer Brown, Sarah Bulkeley, their children

Benjamin was a widow from Salem. He and his cousin William Punchard arrived in New Haven in 1701 or so and they married sisters: Benjamin married Rebecca Brown and William married Hannah Brown. Rebecca and Benjamin stayed in New Haven and had 8 children. One daughter, Mary English, had a son John Connable who had a daughter Lydia Connable. Lydia married Obed Gaines and in the 1850s journeyed about 1,245 miles to Iowa where in 1878 the Mary Ella Gaines and James Miller married and had a son William Miller who had a son Faber Miller who married Gladys Cable.

Sources

 

Oliver Angell b. 1717

/ Kirstin Miller

Oliver Angell 7th great grandpa on RootsMagic tree

Oliver was born February 20, 1717, the 2nd of Hope and Lydia Olney Angell’s 7 children. On June 13, 1740 Oliver and Naomi Smith were married by Reverend Josiah Cotton in Providence, Rhode Island. Oliver and Naomi farmed and raised 7 children in Providence. Oliver was also a ‘cooper’ he made barrels, baskets and casks; a carpenter and a shoemaker.


Oliver died on April 1, 1799, his wife Naomi died December 3, 1799 and their grand daughter Adah died October 9, 1799. These 3 Angells and 16 others are buried in the Rhode Island Hist. Cemetery North Providence #8, also known as the Hope Angell Lot, or the Oliver Angell Lot. This tiny cemetery has 19 burials, was originally on Angell farmland and is now in a residential area between two houses. If you’re related to Elizabeth Speedy Roose, you’re related to 17 of the 19 buried there, all but Smith Angell’s 2 wives.


Oliver Angell has an obituary posted on his Find a Grave Memorial:  Obituary — Providence Gazette, April 6,1799, p. 2: At North-Providence, on the 1st inst. Mr. Oliver Angell, in the 83d year of his age, who sustained an unblemished character. As a citizen he was firm in the support of government; as a husband he was kind and affectionate; as a parent he taught his children the love of virtue in their early years, and by his example daily set before them, shewed that he had himself experienced the happy effects. Few who lived to his advanced age could say, as he did, that he was never sued at law, nor sued any person, but lived in peace with them all.


The 19 burials in the Hope and/or Oliver Angell Lot 1,2 Oliver and Naomi Smith Angell, 3 Ruth Angell daughter 4, 5 Elisha Angell, son and his wife Anna Fenner 6, 7, 8, 9 – Elisha’s son Fenner Angell, Fenner’s wife Mary Smith Angell, their son Zachariah Angell, Elisha’s 2nd wife Mary Dean Angell. 10, 11, 12, Hope Angell son and his wife Avis Olney, their daughter Adah.  13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 – Hope’s son Smith Angell, Smith’s wife Freelove Harris, their daughters Asenath and Minerva, their sons Horace Lafayette, Thomas and Zalmon.

Sources

Richard Risley b. 1709

/ Kirstin Miller

Richard Risley 7th great grandpa on RootsMagic tree

Richard was born in Glastonbury, Connecticut on July 24, 1709. On September 24, 1729 he married Hannah Smith. They had 8 or 9 children and lived in Bolton, Connecticut. Richard was a widow in 1785 then married Mary Smith. On the 1790 census Richard is head of house living, probably, with a son with 2nd wife Mary.

Richard died in 1792. There’s no record of his will. His probate was on August 7, 1792 with Joseph Carver (no clues on who this person was) and Mary the widow as executors. The inventory of Richard’s estate included: One great coat, one bed with pillows and bolsters, 16 runs of linen yarn, a trunk, a chest of drawers, a tea kettle, pewter plates and cups, some livestock, 20 acres of land. An estate sale was held on April 18, 1793. Handwritten inventories of the 1600 and 1700s seemed to include every thing the person owned from buttons and seeds to land and livestock.

Risley, Richard estate papers page 4

Connecticut, Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999 at Ancestry

Sources

Naomi Smith b. 1720

/ Kirstin Miller

Naomi Smith 7th great grandmother on RootsMagic tree.
Naomi was born October 28, 1720 in Providence, Rhode Island. Her parents Israel and Elizabeth Arnold Smith and ancestors lived in 1636 RI.  Naomi married Oliver Angell- his family also of 1636 RI. Naomi was a teacher, ‘She had the satisfaction of knowing that her boys and girls were all unusually intelligent.’ Page 9. Israel Angell Colonel of the 2nd Rhode Island Regiment at HathiTrust. She’s described as a ‘small alert woman with remarkably keen dark eyes’. Naomi and Oliver had seven children and this Angell family lived right through the American Revolution. Naomi’s son Israel was a Colonel, son Hope helped with the draft. Naomi would have been part of the Homespun Movement. Americans tired of taxes on English imports, began protesting these imports, this included cloth. So before and during the war women upped their spinning and weaving to produce clothing, bedding, textiles, yarns  for their communities and the troops. 

Naomi Smith Angell headstone at Hope Angell Lot

Naomi Smith Angell headstone at Hope Angell Lot, RI

Naomi and Oliver both died in 1799, same year as George Washington. Naomi and Oliver are buried in a cemetery known as Rhode Island Hist. Cemetery North Providence #8, the Hope Angell Lot, or the Oliver Angell Lot. The cemetery was originally on an Angell farm and is now in a residential area between two houses. Photo shows the location on Google Maps. GPS coordinates: 41.8733900, -71.4574900 

Angell Cemetery in Rhode Island

Hope Angell Lot,. North Providence, Providence, Rhode Island, USA

 

Benjamin English b. 1678

/ Kirstin Miller

Benjamin English 7th great grandfather on RootsMagic tree

Benjamin was born October 19, 1678, the 4th of 6 children. His parents were Mary Waters and Clement English. Benjamin was 6 years old when his dad died and soon after Benjamin’s mom married John Stephens, a fisherman. The family lived in Salem, near Cat Cove and Winter Island. It’s almost certain Benjamin helped his dad with fishing. In Benjamin’s time Cat Cove was used for fishing and shipbuilding. The map shows, at the right edge, homes of Benjamin’s mom Mary Waters English Stephens, his aunts Abigail Waters Punchard and Hannah Waters Striker and his uncle Ezekiel Waters, all living on lands their father left them.

Cat Cove, Salem MA

Snapshot of Salem Map in 1700

To the left, Philip English had a huge house in the same area, no relation to this English family yet. The drawing of Philip’s house is at the [Nathaniel] ‘Hawthorne in Salem’ website. Historians believe this Philip English house or the John Turner house nearby were the inspiration for Hawthorne’s ‘House of Seven Gables’. Benjamin’s family home would have looked about the same, smaller.

Philip English house at Salem

Drawing of Philip English house in Salem

By 1720 Benjamin was in New Haven, Connecticut where he married Rebecca Brown of New Haven. Rebecca’s sister Hannah was married on the same day to William Punchard. “Marriages in New Haven, William Punchard and Hannah Browne were married April 21 1703. Benjamin English and Rebecca Brown were married the same day, John Alling justice”. Benjamin and Rebecca stayed in New Haven and had 8 children.

Sources

Marah Smith b. 1686, Isaac Tubbs b. 1675

/ Kirstin Miller

Marah Smith and Isaac Tubbs 7th great grandparents, on RootsMagic tree.

Marah Smith and Isaac Tubbs married in 1709 about 30 years after their fathers and grandfathers were on opposite sides of a 1670 Colonial riot. Marah Smith’s 2 grandfathers Richard Smith and John Huntley rioted on the Lyme side. Isaac Tubbs’s father and grandfather rioted on the New London side.

In Colonial Connecticut a 2 mile strip of land was part of ongoing land disputes. In May 1668 Lyme was incorporated, New London, Connecticut was already a town, when the Court made a judgement on the land: that it would be ’ministry land’ for the town ministers, one side for Lyme, the other for New London. Men from New London protested and accused their leaders of not truly representing the people. The 1668 Court ruling held, until August of 1671. 30 men from New London set out to mow the ministry land, they were met by a group of men from Lyme planning to mow their minister’s land, and the riot started. The Lyme constable put New London men in prison, the New London constable put Lyme men in the town prison. After a while leaders met and “drinking a dram together with som(e) seeming friendship, every man departed to his home” and decided to let the Courts again make a decision about the continuing land dispute. March 1672 the Court charged and fined men for rioting. From New London: Samuel Tubbs (father of Isaac Tubbs) and Isaac Wiley (grandfather of Isaac Tubbs). From Lyme: John Huntley and Richard Smith (grandfathers of Marah Smith). The court fined each town, but the Court eventually forgot about the fines or paid the fines and the disagreement just sort of died out.

The public records of the Colony of Connecticut volume 2 page 558 at HathiTrust