Surname Saturday ~ COGSWELL of Ipswich and Essex, Massachusetts

Cogswell's Grant, Essex, Massachusetts

John Cogswell arrived in New England with his family aboard the Angel Gabriel in 1635.  This is the famous ship, part of the Winthrop Fleet, that shipwrecked at Pemaquid Point in Maine on its way to Massachusetts from England.  You can read more about the Angel Gabriel HERE .  John Cogswell, and most of the passengers on the Angel Gabriel, made their way to Ipswich, Massachusetts where he was granted 300 acres of land in the part of Ipswich known as Chebacco.

In the 1650s John Cogswell, Jr. went to England and his visit was recorded by relatives in Wiltshire and in a letter from London dated 30 March 1653 [NEHGR 15: 177].   He died on the return voyage in September 1653.  I have seen references of his dying of injuries from a snake bite, but no solid proof.  Why would there be a snake on the ship?  

Cogswell Grant was originally 300 acres in what is now Essex, Massachusetts. It is now a historic house museum on 165 acres along the Essex River. The house was purchased by Bertram and Nina Little in 1937, and donated to the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, now known as Historic New England.  Bertram Little was the president of the Society for many years.  The home standing on this property was built in 1728 by Jonathan Cogswell, Jr.

Among the more famous COGSWELL descendants are Lady Diana Spencer, mother of Princes William and Henry of England (so they are all Cogswell descendants!); Presidents John Adams,  John Quincy Adams and Calvin Coolidge; Margaret Mead, Tennessee Williams, Oliver Wendall Holmes, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Julia Ward Howe.

What is amazing is that this lineage begins and ends in Essex, Massachusetts.  John Cogswell was one of the first settlers in the Chebacco Parish of Ipswich in the 1630s, which became the town of Essex, Massachusetts.  All the generations below lived in Ipswich and Essex, including my own mother, who was born in Ipswich.  John Cogswell's mother-in-law was named Phyllis, and he named one of his daughters Phyllis, and this name was passed on for several generations.  My mother's name is Phyllis, too. 

My COGSWELL genealogy:

Generation 1: John Cogswell, son of Edward Cogswell and Alice Unknown, born about 1592 in Westbury, Leigh, Wiltshire, England, died 29 December 1669 in Ipswich, Massachusetts; married on 10 September 1615 in Westbury Leigh to Elizabeth Thompson, daughter of Reverend William Thompson and Phillis Unknown.  She was born about 1598, and died 2 June 1676 in Ipswich.  Twelve children.

Lineage A:

Generation 2: John Cogswell, born about 1622 and died 27 September 1653 on a ship returning to America from England; married to Unknown.  Three children.

Generation 3: John Cogswell, born 1650 in the Chebacco Parish of Ipswich, died 1724; married on 22 July 1674 in Ipswich to Margaret Gifford, daughter of John Gifford and Margaret Temple.  Six children.

Generation 4: John Cogswell, born 6 September 1683 in the Chebacco Parish of Ipswich, died 3 May 1719 in Ipswich; married in 1708 to Sarah Brown, daughter of John Brown.  She died on 15 July 1752.  Four children.

Generation 5: Martha Cogswell,  born on 1 January 1719 in the Chebacco Parish, and died 23 December 1809 in Ipswich; married on 1 March 1747/48 in Ipswich to John Andrews, son of John Andrews and Elizabeth Wallis.  He was born in 1717 in Ipswich and died 3 May 1779 in Ipswich.

Generation 6: James Andrews, born 13 November 1763 in the Chebacco Parish, died 19 October 1857 in Essex (the former Chebacco Parish), Massachusetts;  married on 15 July 1788 in Ipswich to Lucy Presson, daughter of William Presson and Abigail Sargent.  She was born in May 1763 in Gloucester and died 5 September 1852 in Essex.  Ten children.

Generation 7:  Orpha Andrews, born 3 Feb 1804 in the Chebacco Parish, died 20 April 1869 in Peabody, Massachusetts; married on 28 October 1824 in Essex to Joseph Allen, son of Joseph Allen and Judith Burnham.  He was born 31 July 1801 in the Chebacco Parish and died 2 August 1894 in Beverly, Massachusetts.  Six children.

Generation 8: Joseph Gilman Allen m. Sarah Burnham Mears

Generation 9:  Joseph Elmer Allen m. Carrie Maude Batchelder

Generation 10: Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandparents)

Linage B:

Generation 2:  Sarah Cogswell, born about 1645 in Ipswich, died 24 January 1733 in Ipswich; married about 1663 to Simon Tuthill/Tuttle, son of John Tuthill and Joan Antrobus.  He was born about 1637 in Ipswich and died 11 January 1691 in Lynn, Massachusetts.  Twelve children.

Generation 3:  John Tuthill m. Martha Ward

Generation 4: Martha Tuthill m. Mark Haskell

Generation 5: Lucy Haskell m. Jabez Treadwell

Generation 6: Nathaniel Treadwell m. Mary Hovey

Generation 7: Jabez Treadwell m. Betsey Jillings Homan

Generation 8: Eliza Ann Treadwell m. Abijah Hitchings

Generation 9: Abijah Franklin Hitchings m.  Hannah Eliza Lewis

Generation 10: Arthur Treadwell Hitchings m. Florence Etta Hoogerzeil

Generation 11: Gertrude Matilda Hitchings m. Stanley Elmer Allen (see above)

For the truly curious:

Cogswell’s Grant website

 http://www.historicnewengland.org/historic-properties/homes/cogswells-grant

There is a sketch of John Cogswell and his children at the Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume II, C- F, pages 137 – 140.

The Cogswells in America, by E. O. Jameson, 1884

Dawes-Gates Ancestral Lines, by Mary Walton Ferris, 1943, Volume 1, pages 188 – 189

Cogswell Family Association   www.cogswell.org

--------------------------

The URL for this post is

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/11/surname-saturday-cogswell-of-ipswich.html

Copyright © 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Surname Saturday ~ BURNHAM of Chebacco Parish, Ipswich (now Essex), Massachusetts

BURNHAM

I have a plethora of BURNHAM ancestors.  In order to write this Surname Saturday post I had to review my BURNHAM lineages and count them up.  I had estimated that I had half dozen lines from the BURNHAM brothers who immigrated to America in the 1630s.  I was wrong.  After combing through the family tree I counted up eight Burnham lineages from just two of the three brothers (supposedly brothers - see the note below)!

If you are interested in tangled colonial lines then this post is for you.  The tiny town of Essex, Massachusetts (formerly known as the Chebacco Parish of Ipswich) has very few surnames in its lists of vital records.  In the 1820 census, there were 43 different surnames in Essex, but the six most common were BURNHAM, ANDREWS, LOW, STORY, CHOATE and COGSWELL, which account for half of the 1820 census.  You will see all six of these surnames often in my family tree.   This lineage starts in the 1630s and stays in Ipswich and Essex right down to my mother, who was born in Ipswich.

Last Christmas I met David H. Burnham, a trustee of the New England Historic Genealogical society, and also a descendant of the Chebacco Parish (Essex) BURNHAMs.  He told me that he was one of a half dozen BURNHAMs in his Essex kindergarten class, and that there was a saying in Essex “If you aren’t a BURNHAM or an ANDREWS, there must be a STORY!”     

         

My Burnham genealogy:

Hold onto your hat!  There are eight lineages of BURNHAMS here, all ancestors of my maternal grandfather, Stanley Elmer Allen (1904 - 1982):

According to the book The Burnham Family: Or Genealogical Records of the Descendants of the Four Emigrants of the Name, Three Burnham brothers arrived on the ship Angel Gabriel with the other passengers, and made their way to Ipswich (Chebacco Parish) in Massachusetts.  Their kinship is not clear.

Generation 1:   Speculation:  Robert Burnham, born about 1581 in Norwich, England; married Mary Andrews.  She was born about 1585 and died about 1635 in Norwich.   The three sons who came on the ship Angel Gabriel are John, Thomas and Robert.  The captain of the ship was supposed to be their maternal uncle, Captain Robert Andrews.  The kinship of the three Burnham men has not been proven to be brothers, but it is clear they were close kin.

Lineage A:

Generation 2:  Deacon John Burnham, born about 1616 in England, died 5 November 1694 in the Chebacco Parish, Ipswich, Massachusetts; married Mary Unknown.

Generation 3: John Burnham, born about 1650 in Ipswich, died 11 January 1708 in Ipswich; married about 1677 to Sarah (Graves?). 

Generation 4: John Burnham, born about 1685, died 24 November 1749 in Ipswich; married as his third wife to Anne Choate on 21 October 1710 in Ipswich.  She was the daughter of Thomas Choate and Mary Varney, born 22 May 1691 in Ipswich, died 15 August 1739 in Ipswich.

Generation 5: Jeremiah Burnham, born about 1716 in Ipswich, died 1760; married on 2 December 1736 to Abigail Andrews, daughter of John Andrews and Elizabeth Story.

Generation 6:  Abigail Burnham, born 12 April 1741 in Ipswich; married 24 November 1763 in Ipswich to Isaac Allen, son of William Allen and Mary Ingalls. He was baptized 3 August 1740 in Ipswich.

Generation 7: Joseph Allen m. Judith Burnham

Generation 8: Joseph Allen m. Orpha Andrews

Generation 9: Joseph Gilman Allen m. Sarah Burnham Mears

Generation 10: Joseph Elmer Allen m. Carrie Maude Batchelder

Generation 11: Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandparents)

Lineage B:

Generation 2:  Lieutenant Thomas Burnham, born 1623 in Norwich, England, died 19 June 1694 in the Chebacco Parish of Ipswich; married about 1643 to Mary Lawrence, daughter of Thomas Lawrence and Joan Antrobus.  She was baptized on 10 April 1625 at St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England, and died 27 March 1715 in Ipswich.

Generation 3: John Burnham, born 1648 and died 12 January 1704 in the Chebacco Parish; married on 6 June 1668 to  Elizabeth Wells, daughter of Thomas Wells and Abigail Warner.  She was born 31 July 1646 in Ipswich and died 9 June 1731. I descend from three of John’s children: John, Thomas and David.

Lineage B1:

Generation 4: John Burnham, born 8 April 1671 in Ipswich, died October 1706 in Ipswich; married on 13 April 1693 in Ipswich to Sarah Choate, daughter of John Choate and Ann Unknown.

Generation 5: John Burnham, born 8 April 1693, his father’s birthday, in Ipswich; married on 20 October 1722 in Ipswich to Rachel Smith.

Generation 6: Dorothy Burnham, born about 1737 in the Chebacco Parish, died 7 April 1789 in Ipswich; married on 3 April 1761 to Abner Poland.

Generation 7:  Abner Poland, jr. m. Sarah Burnham

Generation 8: Sally Poland m. Henry Burnham

Generation 9: Sarah Ann Burnham m. Samuel Mears

Generation 10: Sarah Burnham Mears m. Joseph Gilman Allen (see above)

Lineage B2:

Generation 4: Thomas Burnham born 30 September 1673 in Ipswich, died 16 December 1748; married on 30 September 1700 in Ipswich to Susannah Boardman.  She was born 5 April 1681 and died 1748.

Generation 5: Stephen Burnham, born about 1715 in the Chebacco Parish, and died 1790 probably in Milford, New Hampshire; married on 16 August 1735 in Ipswich to Mary Andrews, daughter of Thomas Andrews and Mary Smith.

Generation 6: Colonel Joshua Burnham, born 26 January 1754 in Gloucester, Massachusetts, died 7 June 1835 in Milford, New Hampshire; married on 21 January 1779 to Jemima Wyman, daughter of Increase Wyman and Catherine Unknown.

Generation 7: Jemima Burnham, born 9 May 1793 (twin to Thomas Burnham) in Milford, New Hampshire, died 5 August 1868 in South Boston, Massachusetts; married on 22 November 1810 in Boston to Romanus Emerson, son of John Emerson and Katherine Eaton.  He was born 1 September 1782 in Townsend, Massachusetts, died 10 October 1852 in South Boston.

Generation 8: George Emerson m. Mary Esther Younger

Generation 9: Mary Katharine Emerson m. George E. Batchelder

Generation 10: Carrie Maude Batchelder m. Joseph Elmer Allen (see above)

Lineage B3:

Generation 4: David Burnham, born 20 October 1688, died 2 February 1770; married on 2 July 1711 to Elizabeth Perkins, daughter of Jacob Perkins and Elizabeth Sparks. She was born 18 March 1691 in Ipswich.  I descend from two of their sons, David and Westley.

Lineage B3a:

Generation 5: David Burnham, born 17 June 1714 in Ipswich, died 27 December 1802 in Ipswich; married on 25 September 1734 in Ipswich to Elizabeth Marshall, daughter of Benjamin Marshall and Bethiah Goodhue.  She was born in 1715 and died 15 November 1801 in Ipswich.

Generation 6: Amos Burnham, born 13 July 1735 in Ipswich, died 28 November 1788 when he drowned in Chebacco Pond; married on 27 January 1757 in Ipswich to Sarah Giddings, daughter of Thomas Giddings and Martha Smith.

Generation 7: Judith Burnham, born 14 January 1782 in Essex, died 26 October 1848 in Essex; married on 5 April 1799 in Ipswich to Joseph Allen, son of Isaac Allen and Abigail Burnham (see above)

Lineage B3b:

Generation 5: Westley Burnham, born October 1719, died 28 June 1797; married on 10 November 1743 to Deborah Story, daughter of Zachariah Story and Rachel Andrews.  She was born in 1723 and died 24 November 1821.  I descend from two of their children: Westley and Sarah Burnham.

Generation 6: Westley Burnham, born 27 August 1747 in Chebacco Parish, died 1 September 1835; married Molly Woodbury, daughter of Robert Woodbury and Hannah Preston/Presson.  She was born 29 July 1749 in Beverly, Massachusetts, died 27 April 1830 in Essex.  I descend from two of their sons, Asa and Henry.

Lineage B3bi:

Generation 7:  Asa Burnham, born 9 September 1778, died 23 May 1850; married on 24 December 1801 in Ipswich to Polly Bray, daughter of Humphrey Bray and Molly Herrick.  She was born about October 1779 in Gloucester, Massachusetts. 

Generation 8: Lydia W. Burnham, born 19 September 1802 in Essex, died 5 September 1864 in Essex; married on 29 March 1823 in Essex to Samuel Mears, son of Alexander Mears and Martha Poland.  He was born about 1798 in Essex and died 28 August 1879 in Essex.

Generation 9: Samuel Mears m. Sarah Ann Burnham, daughter of Henry Burnham and Sally Poland (see below)

Generation 10: Sarah Burnham Mears m. Joseph Gilman Allen (see above)

Lineage B3bii:

Generation 8:  Henry Burnham born 23 June 1783 in Essex, died 1 July 1867 in Essex; married on 2 May 1805 in Essex to Sally Poland, daughter of Abner Poland and Sarah Burnham (1^st cousins) (see above)

Generation 9: Sarah Ann Burnham, born 23 October 1821, died 23 January 1848 in Hamilton, Massachusetts; married on 20 April 1844 in Essex to Samuel Mears (see above)

------------------------------

For more information on the BURNHAM family:

The Burnham Family: Or the Genealogical Records of the Descendants of the Four Emigrants of the Name, who were among the early settlers in America , by Roderick Henry Burnham, Hartford, Connecticut, Press of Case, Lockwood & Brainard, 1869. (available to read online at Google books)

There are many articles on the Connecticut BURNHAM family (no known relation) in The American Genealogist and The Connecticut Nutmegger, but no one has written about the Essex County BURNHAMs.  There are many articles and books on some of the allied families (CHOATE, WALLIS, MARSHALL, COGSWELL, etc.which mention BURNHAM marriages and list the BURNHAM children of these marriages, which is very helpful.  The vital records of Ipswich, Essex, Gloucester and Hamilton are very good, but the tendency of the BURNHAMS to recycle first names such as John, Thomas and David make it very confusing. 

------------------------------

To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, Nutfield Genealogy, posted 17 May 2014, ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/04/surname-saturday-burnham-of-chebacco.html, accessed: [access date]).  

A Lawsuit over a Carpet, 1675, Massachusetts

No, this is not the carpet from the lawsuit

There once was a rug that crossed the ocean in 1635,  survived a ship wreck and several lawsuits, and was passed on as a family heirloom for years and years.   This is the story of that carpet.

In 1675 John Cogswell sued his uncle, William Cogswell over his father’s estate.  A will could not be found, and the local Essex County, Massachusetts court decided in John’s favor for about 54 pounds plus court costs.  Uncle William appealed, and in 1676 the higher court in Boston reversed the judgement and charged John 13 pounds 4 shillings.  John refused to pay, and asked for a hearing.  On 29 May 1677 the whole case was heard again in William’s favor.

John Cogswell (1650 – 1724) is my 7^th great grandfather.  His grandparents, John and Elizabeth (Thompson) Cogswell, were my 9^th great grandparents.  They came to America with the Winthrop Fleet, on board the ship Angel Gabriel, which was wrecked in Pemaquid harbor, Maine during a big hurricane in 1635.  The carpet in question survived the voyage, the shipwreck, and the 40 years before the lawsuit.

Deposition by William Thompson, 1677, aged about 28 years, who lived with John Cogswell in Ipswich. 

“I did frequently see a Turkey-work carpet which my uncle and aunt had:  and I have heard them say it was theirs in Old England, and used to lie on their parlor table there; and I heard my father, Doctor Samuel Thompson, say that he did well remember that my uncle had a Turkey-work carpet, which used to lie upon their parlor table in Old England, and took it away with them.”

More depositions in the 1676 case can be read at this page:   http://kristinhall.org/fambly/Cogswell/John3Cogswell.html

Why was the Turkish carpet on the table?  Well, in the 17^th century carpets were much too valuable to walk on, even in England.  They were usually hung on the wall like a tapestry, or hung over a table or bed.  Why was the original judgement overturned?  Someone must have been fibbing, since several witnesses mentioned the goods owned by Cogswell, as well as the carpet.   

Court cases such as this help fill out the story of our ancestor’s lives beyond birth and death dates.  Since the early colonial residents of New England were particularly litigious, there is a good chance you might find your ancestor mentioned in a court record, as a witness, defendant, plantiff, judge or juror.  This particular case is interesting because of the descriptions of the household goods owned by the Cogswell family.

John Cogswell of Ipswich, Massachusetts is also known for bravely signing a petition in favor of John and Elizabeth (Bassett) Proctor during the Salem Witch Hysteria in 1692.  John Proctor was the witch trial victim immortalized by the play “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller.  John Proctor and his first wife, Martha Harper , are also my ancestors.   This was considered a brave act, because in 1692 many of the friends and family of the accused had the finger of guilt pointed back at themselves, especially if they tried to prove their loved one’s innocence.

You can still visit the Cogswell family land in the town of Essex, Massachusetts (formerly the Chebacco parish of Ipswich, Massachusetts).   Cogswell's Grant is now a museum home operated by Historic New England. 

For more information:

The Cogswells in America, by E. O. Jameson, published in Boston in 1884 (can be read online at archive.org)

Cogswell Family Association    www.cogswell.org

The Cogswell Family Association blog  http://cogswellfam.wordpress.com/

Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts,  Volume VI, 1675 – 1678, page 156 mentions the “turkey work” carpet.  Available to view online at Google Book Search.

Cogswell’s Grant, a historic property managed by “Historic New England”.  It was first owned by John Cogswell (1592 – 1669), born in Westbury Leigh, Wiltshire, England, who came to New England in 1635 aboard the Angel Gabriel with his family.  The Angel Gabriel was wrecked, and they lost 5,000 pounds sterling of property, but all survived.  He called his property in Essex, Massachusetts (Chebacco Parish), Westberry Lee” after his birthplace.   It was passed down in the Cogswell family from 1636 to 1839, when it was sold to Adam Boyd, a prominent shipbuilder.

http://www.historicnewengland.org/historic-properties/homes/cogswells-grant

The image above of the carpet is from Wikimedia Commons, Lotto Carpet design Usak 16th century, photographed at the Museum of Islamic Art, World Imaging, 2009. 

---------------------------------

The URL for this post is

 http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/01/a-lawsuit-over-carpet-1675-massachusetts.html 

Copyright © 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Not So Wordless Wednesday - Pemaquid, Maine

We traveled up to Pemaquid, Maine to see the area where the ship "Angel Gabriel" wrecked in 1635.  Several ancestors were on this ship, but ended up in Essex County, Massachusetts since all survived the disaster of being blown off course to Maine by a hurricane.  I have a previous blog story about the shipwreck at this link: http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/11/other-mayflowers-voyage-5.html 

Pemaquid Lighthouse
if it looks familiar it's on the Maine State Quarter!

Plaque by the Blaidell Family Association

Plaque by the Cogsell Family Association

The view from the top of the lighthouse!

A Revolutionary War encampment at the fort

Pemaquid Fort

All adventures in Maine end with a seafood dinner.
We found an "in the rough" restaurant right in Pemaquid Harbor
(steamers, lobster, onion rings, chowder, Mmmmmm!)

-----------------

To Cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Not So Wordless Wednesday - Pemaquid, Maine", Nutfield Genealogy, posted July 20, 2011.  

Have a cow? Win a wife!

This is a cute story from my family tree…

“William Cogswell, when a lad, was out from home by the highway, where some men were trying in vain to relieve a cow who had become choked with a potato. There stood by, also, a young girl, eight or ten years old, who watched with interest every effort made. When all experiments failed, and it was suggested that only by someone thrusting his hand down the cow's throat would the cow be saved, she at once said, "My arm is small; I can do it best; you hold her mouth." They did so, and she drew out the potato, to the great relief of the poor cow and all present. The young lad said to himself, "That young miss, by and by, shall be my wife." Her name was Martha Emerson; and thus the name of Emerson came into the Cogswell family.”

The William Cogswell mentioned in the story is nephew of my ancestor John Cogswell, who was born about 1622 in England and lived in the Chebacco Parish of Ipswich, Massachusetts. He arrived in the New World aboard the “Angel Gabriel”, which shipwrecked in Maine. William Cogswell, the nephew, was born in 1659, and he finally married little Martha Emerson in 1685.

-----------
My Cogswell lineage:

Generation 1: John Cogswell, born about 1592 in Westbury Leigh, Wiltshire, England, died on 29 December 1669 in Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts; married on 10 September 1615 in Westbury Leigh to Elizabeth Thompson, the daughter of William Thompson and Phillis (maiden name unknown). He arrived in New England in 1635 aboard the Angel Gabriel.

Generation 2: John Cogswell, born about 1622 in England, died on 27 September 1653 on a ship returning to America; married to unknown. His wife died young, leaving him with three children who he put into guardianship with his brother William, father of the William in the story above. He left for England and died on the return trip to America.

Generation 3: John Cogswell, born 1650 in Ipswich, Massachusetts, died in 1724; married on 22 July 1674 in Ipswich to Margaret Gifford, daughter of John Gifford and Margaret (maiden name unknown) born about 1653 in Ipswich,

Generation 4: John Cogswell: born 6 September 1683 in Ipswich, died on 3 May 1719 in Ipswich; married in 1708 to Sarah Brown, daughter of John Brown, and she died 15 July 1753.

Generation 5: Martha Cogswell, born on 1 Jan 1718/19 in Chebacco Parish, Ipswich, died 23 December 1809 in Ipswich; married on 1 March 1747/8 in Ipswich to John Andrews, son of John Andrews and Elizabeth Wallis, born 1717 in Ipswich, died on 3 May 1779 in Ipswich.

From here my line switches to the Andrews family of Chebacco Parish/Essex, Massachusetts for the next three generations.

------------
For more information:

This except is from "The Cogswells in America" book originally published in 1884 by the Rev. E. O. Jameson and long out of print. This book was updated with the new book “Descendants of John Cogswell 1635- 1996” by Donald J. Cogswell, Family Line Publications, 1998.

See my blog posting on November 20, 2009 “The Other Mayflowers, Voyage 5: The Shipwreck of the ‘Angel Gabriel’” for the story of the wreck of the Angel Gabriel in Pemaquid Maine.

https://www.historicnewengland.org/property/cogswells-grant/ The Historic New England webpage for the 1728 Cogswell’s Grant home at 60 Spring Street, Essex, Massachusetts. It is on the National Registry of Historic Places, and was deeded to the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities.

---------
Looking for more cow stories?

Cow Story #2 Another Cow, a Salmon and Sam Adams

Cow Story #3 Mooooore Cows in the Family Tree

Cow Story #4 Daisy the Cow

---------

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Have a cow? Win a wife!", Nutfield Genealogy, posted January 3, 2010, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/01/have-cow-win-wife.html: accessed [access date]). 

A Blogging Connection!

A package arrived in the mail last month from the Cogswell Family Association, along with a very nice letter and a copy of their latest newsletter. This journal is published three times a year, and it was filled with news, stories, photos and histories. I help edit the New Hampshire Mayflower Society newsletter, but our little journal is not much compared to this valuable little gem. Malcolm Cogswell sent me this nice package; he is the editor of the newsletter. He had read my blog posting in November about the shipwreck of the “Angel Gabriel” and thus sent me the journal, and some more information about the shipwreck, as well as an invitation by the Cogswell Family Historian to add my lineage to their data base.

I thought this was not only an extremely kind gesture, but it was also evidence of the power of blogging about genealogy. Previously I had relied on sending snail mail or email to the folks who had genealogical websites, or perhaps posting information and brickwall conundrums on genealogical bulletin boards. I usually found distant cousin relationships, good clues to expand the family tree, and sometimes brickwall breakthroughs- but they often took many months or sometimes many years to receive answers. This is one of the fastest replies I have ever had to good genealogical information!

Malcolm sent me the April 2008 issue, which had some updated information on the shipwreck of the “Angel Gabriel” in Pemaquid, Maine on August 15, 1635. The hurricane which caused the disaster is thought to be a strong Category 4 hurricane, according to a recent analysis by the Atmospheric Oceanic Meteorological Laboratory. It also caused severe damage at Plymouth (houses blown down), and at Dorchester (from accounts by John Winthrop). It was the same storm that sank the “Watch and Wait” and shipwrecked Anthony Thacher and his wife on the island off Gloucester still known today as Thacher’s Island. It was a storm that touched the lives of many New Englanders, from Massachusetts to Maine.

See my blog about the shipwreck here.

Thanks to Malcolm Cogswell and the Cogswell Family Association!

---------------
Copyright 2009, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

The Other Mayflowers, Voyage 5

The Shipwreck of the “Angel Gabriel”

The Great migration was an exodus of Puritans from England to New England between 1620 and 1640. During this time John Winthrop sailed on the “Arabella” and wrote his famous sermon about the “City on a Hill” during the voyage. Most of my ancestors arrived in this period, on many ships, mostly unrecorded by passenger lists. One ship carried the most ancestors (besides the Mayflower), and that was the galleon “Angel Gabriel.”

She was a galleon built for Sir Walter Raleigh, and carried him on his last trip to the New World in 1617. For eighteen years she carried passengers to America, but in 1635 she was shipwrecked in Maine. I’m descended of two of the families who survived: Andrews and Cogswell. “Angel Gabriel” had been blown off course by a hurricane, and came ashore at Pemaquid Point, Maine, which was a fortified military outpost. When the passengers disembarked for the night, the ship was caught at anchor in the harbor by another hurricane and disappeared. Although many have searched for her wreck, none have found any evidence of the “Angel Gabriel.”

The survivors were stranded at Maine for a short time, eventually made their way to Boston, Massachusetts and left a large number of descendants. Today there is a museum at the recreated fortress near the harbor, and plaques commemorating the shipwreck of the “Angel Gabriel” by the lighthouse. The gift shop maintains several three ring binders where many descendants have deposited family trees and genealogical information. Several of these families have associations with newsletters and annual reunions.

We visited Pemaquid Point a few years ago, to see the harbor and wooden stockade fortress. You will recognize Pemaquid lighthouse from the Maine state quarter that began circulation in 2003. It was a beautiful summer day, and the view from the top of the lighthouse was spectacular. But I’m sure that my ancestors didn’t appreciate the view as I did (well, there was no lighthouse in 1635 either!) Several ships were lost in this storm, and the “Angel Gabriel’s” companion ship “James” was blown to the Isles of Shoals. The passengers lost all their possessions (the Cogswells were reported to have lost five thousand pounds of money and much property) and valuable time in getting to their destination. Thankfully, only three or four of the passengers and crew, and most of the cattle, lost their lives since the passengers had all disembarked for the night.

There is no official passenger list that has survived the wreck. According to a book written in 2001, this is the recreated list of passengers. The possible list of passengers should be much larger, since the “James” had at least 100 passengers.

• Capt. Robert Andrews, Ship’s Master,Ipswich, Massachusetts
• John Bailey, Sr., Newbury, Massachusetts
• John Bailey, Jr. b. 1613
• Johanna Bailey (possibly came on a later ship)
• Henry Beck
• Ralph Blaisdell of Lancashire, settled in York, Maine
• Mrs. Elizabeth Blaisdell
• Henry Blaisdell
• William Furber
• John Cogswell, age 43, settled in Ipswich, Massachusetts
• Elizabeth, (Thompson) Cogswell about age 41,
• Mary Cogswell, about age 18,
• William Cogswell, about age 16,
• John Cogswell, about age 13,
• Hannah Cogswell, about age 11,
• Abigail Cogswell, about age 9,
• Edward Cogswell, about age 6,
• Sarah Cogswell, about age 3,
• Elizabeth Cogswell, infant
• Samuel Haines, about age 24, Greenland, New Hampshire
• William Hook
• Henry Simpson

Highlighted passengers are some of my ancestors!

For more information see:

“Angel Gabriel: The Elusive English Galleon” by Warren C. Riess, published by 1797 House, 2001

The Journal of the Reverend Richard Mather (who was aboard the “James”) published 1850

--------------

Cite/Link to this post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "The Other Mayflowers, Voyage 5", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 20, 2009,  ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/11/other-mayflowers-voyage-5.html: accessed [access date]).