My Revolutionary War Patriots - Major Andrew Munroe of Lexington, Massachusetts

 

Yours truly and granddaughter in front of the

Munroe Tavern in Lexington, Massachusetts

This is Patriot #2 I have written about for this series on my Revolutionary War ancestors.  Major Andrew Munroe was born 31 March 1764 in Lexington, Massachusetts, the son of Andrew Munroe (1718 - 1766) and Mary Mixer (1727 - 1783).  His mother was married three times, first to Daniel Simonds, second to Andrew Munroe and third to Caleb Simonds.  Caleb had been married three times, too, and with his second wife, Susanna Converse had a daughter named Ruth Simonds.  Ruth was Andrew Munroe's step sister, and they married 22 March 1785 in Burlington, Massachusetts. 

Andrew Munroe was the great grandson of William Munroe ( about 1625 - 1718), a Scots Prisoner of War who was captured at the Battle of Worcester in 1650 and sent in chains to be sold into servitude on the docks of what is now Charlestown, Massachusetts.  He lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts briefly and then removed to Cambridge Farms, now known as Lexington, Massachusetts in a part of town near the Woburn line that became known as "Scotland".  He had fourteen children by three wives, and left many descendants in Lexington and Middlesex County who eventually fought in the Revolutionary War. 

When Andrew was only eleven years old the Battle on Lexington Green took place.  Many members of his Munroe family were at this battle, including his uncle William Munroe who was captain of the Lexington Militia.  Several family members were killed including his two uncles, Robert Munroe (1712 - 1775) and Jonas Parker (1722 - 1775), who was married to his father's sister, Lucy Munroe. I'm sure that this event shaped Andrew's life in many ways, since he enlisted in the war very young.  At age 16, on 15 July 1780, he enlisted in the Continental Army for six months under the command of Capt. James Cooper in the 16th division. He served under Brigadier General Patterson at Camp Tottoway on 25 October 1780 for another six months.  Later Andew enlisted as a private in the Danvers Militia Company, where he served from 1796 to 1817.  He applied from Danvers for a pension on 14 August 1832.  

Andrew and Ruth were married in Burlington, and had two chidlren born in Woburn.  His next two children, twins Andrew and Ishmael, were born in New Grafton, New Hampshire on 1 April 1789.  Andrew had been given a land grant in New Grafton for his military service.  It doesn't appear that he stayed very long in New Grafton, but returned to Danvers, Massachusetts where seven more children were born. 

I couldn't find his being promoted to Major in his military records, but his gravestone at the King's Burial Ground in Peabody (formerly part of the town of Danvers) read:

"In the memory of Major Andrew Munroe Formerly of Lexington Soldier of the Revolution who died Aug. 7, 1836 aged 73 Erected by his daughter Mrs. Mary T. Taylor."   

I descend from the youngest child of the eleven children, Luther Simonds Munroe (1805 - 1851) who married Olive Flint, daughter of John Fint and Phebe Flint (second cousins), on 3 September 1826 in Reading, Massachusetts.  

More information on Major Andrew Munroe for the truly curious: 

Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolution

History and Genealogy of the Lexington, Massachusetts Munroes by Richard S. Munroe, 1966

Report of the Committee Appointed to Revise the Soldier's Record by Danvers, Massachusetts, 1895 (see page 142) 

other blog posts about Andrew Munroe and the Munroe family:

2012 "Surname Saturday - Munroe of Lexington, Massachusetts"   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/06/surname-saturday-munroe-of-lexington.html  

2012 "5 November 1789, George Washington Dined Here!"   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/11/5-november-1789-george-washington-dined.html  

2013 "He married his step sister?"   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/02/he-married-his-step-sister.html  

2015  "The woeful life of a colonial woman"  (about Mary Mixer Munroe)   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-woeful-life-of-colonial-woman.html  

#1 in this series Colonel Joshua Burnham of Milford, New Hampshire:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/02/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-colonel.html  

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "My Revolutionary War Patriots - Major Andrew Munroe of Lexington, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 10, 2026, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/03/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-major.html: accessed [access date]). 

Weathervane Wednesday ~ Weathervanes in Boston, England

I posted a series of weather vane photographs every Wednesday for the last several years.  This started with images of weathervanes from the Londonderry, New Hampshire area, but now I've found interesting weather vanes all across New England and across the globe.  This is the last weathervane post of the series!  I hope you've enjoyed these Weathervane Wednesday posts. 

Today's weather vanes were photographed in England.

Do you know the location of weathervane post #400?  Scroll down to find the answer.

These weathervanes were photographed on the tower above the "Boston Stump" or St. Botolph's church,  in Boston, Lincolnshire, England.  The name of the town "Boston" is thought to derive from "St. Botolph's town".  We were visiting Boston during our tour of England and Holland with the General Society of Mayflower Descendants Historic Sites Tour last year.

There appear to be eight weathervanes on the octagonal tower above the church.  Each is a gilded banner, and very shiny in the sunlight.  However, the tower is extremely tall at 272 feet height, and we could only see these weathervanes using the zoom lens on the camera.  You can see the sunlight glinting off the banners from a great distance.  This tower is so tall, sailors at sea use it as a landmark!

There is a "Puritan Path" of markers outside the
church, memorializing the Puritans who left
Lincolnshire for Boston, Massachusetts

"1630 John Cotton bids farewell to his parishoners on the the Arbella"

This church is very important in New England history.  The Puritan leader Rev. John Cotton was a vicar at St. Botolphs in the 17th century.  He encouraged a large number of his congregation, on board the ship Arbella and other ships in the Winthrop Fleet, to leave for New England in 1630.  By 1633 Rev. Cotton also left, and he founded and named Boston, Massachusetts.  There is a Cotton Chapel inside St. Botolph's church now, as well as a model of the Mayflower (the Pilgrim Fathers were imprisoned in Boston for trying to escape to Holland).   I had several ancestors believed to have been on board the Arbella, including Samuel and William Chesebrough, William Beamsley, Edward Converse, Mattias Irons, Edmund Lockwood, Thomas Mayhew, and Ezekiel Richardson.

Five men from Boston, England became Governors of Massachusetts - Richard Bellingham, Thomas Dudley, Simon Bradstreet, John Leverett and Francis Bernard.

I think that this church and it's weathervanes are a nice way to wrap up this series of 400 weathervane posts for "Weathervane Wednesday".  I can't think of a town or church in England that influenced migration and family history as much as the "Boston Stump".

I hope you enjoyed this series!

Click here to read about our day in Boston, Lincolnshire, England:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/11/along-pilgrim-trail-boston-lincolnshire.html

Click here to see the entire collection of Weathervane Wednesday posts!

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

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Weathervane Wednesday ~ Weathervanes in Boston, England", Nutfield Genealogy, posted January 30, 2019, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/01/weathervane-wednesday-weathervanes-in_23.html: accessed [access date]). 

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Elizabeth Carter, buried 1691 in Woburn, Massachusetts

This tombstone was photographed in Woburn, Massachusetts at the Old Burial Ground.

HERE LIES Ye BODY

OF ELIZABETH

CARTER WIFE OF CAPt.

JOHN CARTER AGED

78 YEARS DIED Ye

6 OF MAY 1691

Elizabeth, my 8th great grandmother, was born about 1613 in England, died 6 May 1691 in Woburn, and married John Carter about 1642 in Woburn, Massachusetts.  Many sources, including Torrey's New England Marriages to 1700, give her surname as KENDALL, but actually no one knows her maiden name.  She doesn't have a marriage or death record.  This tombstone is the only record of her name "Elizabeth".

I descend from two of her daughters.  Abigail Carter, my ancestress, was born 21 April 1648 in Woburn, and married James Fowle in 1666.  I descend from their son, James Fowle, Jr. born 1667.

I also descend from Abigail's sister, Hannah Carter, my 7th great grandmother, born in 1651.  She married James Converse on 1 Jan 1669 in Woburn.  I descend from their son, Robert Converse, born in 1677.

A blog post about the tombstone of Elizabeth's husband, John Carter:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/07/tombstone-tuesday-captain-john-carter.html

A "Surname Saturday" blog post about the CARTER family:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/01/surname-saturday-carter-of-woburn.html


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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Tombstone Tuesday ~ Elizabeth Carter, buried 1691 in Woburn, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted August 15, 2017, (https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/08/tombstone-tuesday-elizabeth-carter.html: accessed [access date]).

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Anna (Long) Converse, buried 1691 in Woburn, Massachusetts

This tombstone was photographed at the Old Burial Ground (First Burial Ground) in Woburn, Massachusetts.

HERE LYES Ye BODY OF

ANN CONVERS WIFE

TO JAMES CONVERS

AGED 69 YEARS

DIED AUGUST THE

10 1691

Anna (Long) Converse was my 8^th great grandmother. She was born 1 June 1623 in St. Albans, England, and died 10 August 1691 in Woburn, Massachusetts. She was the first wife of Lt. James Converse, son of Deacon Edward Converse and Sarah Parker. Anna and James were married on 24 October 1643 in Woburn. 

Anna was the daughter of Robert Long and Sarah Taylor of Charlestown, Massachusetts.  They came to New England aboard the ship Defence on 7 July 1635.  Robert Long operated an inn in Bedfordshire, and owned the famous “Three Cranes” in Charlestown.  This inn stayed in the Long family for 100 years, and burned on 17 June 1777 when Charlestown was set on fire by the British when they evacuated Boston.

You can read more about “The Three Cranes” inn of Charlestown, Massachusetts, where Anna grew up, in this blog post:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/09/city-square-charlestown-massachusetts.html

My LONG lineage:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/02/surname-saturday-long-of-charlestown.html

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

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, “Tombstone Tuesday ~ Anna (Long) Converse, buried 1691 in Woburn, Massachusetts”, Nutfield Genealogy, posted July 18, 2017, (http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/07/tombstone-tuesday-anna-long-converse.html: accessed [access date]). 

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Patience Converse, buried 1707 in Woburn, Massachusetts

This tombstone was photographed at the Old Burial Ground in Woburn, Massachusetts

  MEMENTO                      FUGIT

  MORI                                HORA

HERE LYES Ye BODY

OF PASHENCE CONVER

DAUGHTER OF MAJOR

JAMES & HANNAH CONVER

WHO DEPARTED THIS

LIFE JULY Ye 25^th

1707  IN Ye 21

YEAR OF HER AGE.

Patience Converse, my 6^th great aunt,  was born on 6 November 1686 in Woburn, and died unmarried 23 July 1707.  She was the daughter of Major James Converse (1645 – 1706) and Hannah Carter (1651 – 1691).  She came from a family of nine siblings, and I descend from her brother, Robert Converse (1677 – 1736) who married Mary Sawyer.  

My CONVERSE lineage:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/09/surname-saturday-converse-of-woburn.html   

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

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Tombstone Tuesday ~ Patience Converse, buried 1707 in Woburn, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted July 11, 2017, (http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/06/tombstone-tuesday-patience-converse.html: accessed [access date]). 

Surname Saturday ~ PIERCE of Charlestown and Woburn, Massachusetts

PIERCE,  PEIRCE, PEARSE, PERS

Thomas Pierce (1583 – 1666), my 11^th great grandfather, is of unknown origin.  He was made a freeman on 6 May 1635 in Charlestown, Massachusetts, and he received a land grant of 4 acres at Charlestown in 1636.  By 1638 he owned 10 lots totaling 97 acres.  He married Elizabeth Unknown , who was admitted to the church at Charlestown on 10 January 1644/5, and Thomas was admitted on February 21^st.

In 1643 Thomas Pierce moved his family to Woburn, where he was made a proprietor in 1643.  He made his will in Cambridge in 1665, at the home of Thomas Danforth, the treasurer of Harvard College.  There was a provision for the college, as well as for his wife and children in his will.

Thomas Pierce's Will

Cambridge in New England, Novemb. 7th, 1665

I, Thomas Pierce of Charlestown, aged about 82 years, being throw the goodness of ye Lord of sound judgment & memory, and in some measure of bodily health, do ordaine & hereby declare my last Will and testament, in manner and form following; viz: my soul, which I believe is imortall, I do desire humbley and believeingly to resign it unto the father of spirits, who gave it to mee, and to remit borth body and soul into the everlasting mercyes of God, the father, Sonne, and Holy Ghost. My body I desire it may be decently interred, at the discretion of my loving wife whom I do ordaine and make sole Executrix of this my Will. And for my outward Estate wherewith the Lord hath gratiously blessed me, I do dispose thereof as follows, viz. to Harvard College twenty shillings to be payed within one year after my decease. To Mary Bridge, and Elizabeth Jeffs, two of my grand-children now dwelling with mee I do give ten pounds apiece, to be paid by my Executrix as soon as she can with convenience, but not to be compellable thereto for and during to years after my decease. The residue of my estate, my just debts and funerall expenses being first payed, I do give and bequeath unto my loving wife Elizabeth, to have and to hold the same during her life, and at her pleasure to be helpful to any of my children as shee shall see meet in her discretion, by giveing or lending to them any part thereof: And before he deceased I do give her power to make her will, and by the same to bequeath nay part thereof by gift or legacy as shee shall see meet, and after her decease such part thereof as sahll beby her unexpended, and not disposed of by her before her decease, I do will and bequeath ye same in manner following - viz: To all my grandchildren I do give ten groates apeece, and the remainder to be equally divided among my children. My will is that the younger shall have eaquell with the eldest, I have formerly done for them according to my ability. Finally I do nominate my loving friends, Mr. Ri: Russel * Mr. Thomas Danforth*, and my sonne Jno. Pierce overseers of this my will; by whose advise and consent of them or the more part of them I do give my Executrix full power to settle all my lands on such of my sonnes, as shall approve themselves in the feare of God, and duty to their aged mother, and on such conditions as they shall meet also I do nominate Lift. Randall Nicholls (this name is in place if one erased, I think Lowden) to be added to my overseers above named, provided always it is my declared will yt my Executrix shall not alienable or dispose of any of my lands so as to deprive all my sonnes of the same, but I do giver her power by the advice of my overseers as above is expressed to dispose of the whole to any one of my sonnes according to her discretion, but not to divide the same into parcels. In witness whereof I do hereunto sett my hand and seal the day and year first written.

Thomas Pierce is the ancestor of two US Presidents.  He is the ancestor of Barbara Pierce Bush, wife of President George H. Bush and mother of President George H. W. Bush.  He is also the ancestor of President Franklin Pierce.

My PIERCE genealogy:

Generation 1:  Thomas Pierce, born about 1583 in England, died 7 October 1666 in Charlestown, Massachusetts; married Elizabeth Unknown.  She was born about 1595 and died after 22 March 1667 in Woburn, Massachusetts.  Eight children.

Generation 2: Thomas Pierce, Jr., born about 1620 in England, died 6 November 1683 in Woburn; married on 6 May 1635 in Charlestown to Elizabeth Cole, daughter of Rice Cole and Arrald Unknown.  She was born about 1619 and died 5 March 1688 in Woburn. Thirteen children.

Generation 3:  John Pierce, born 7 May 1643 in Woburn, died 25 May 1720 in Woburn; married on 1 July 1663 in Woburn to Deborah Convers, daughter of James Converse and Anna Long.  She was born 25 July 1647 in Woburn.  Ten children.

Generation 4: Ebenezer Pierce, born 1687 and died before 16 May 1766 in Wilmington, Massachusetts.  He married Mary Wilson, daughter of Samuel Wilson and Elizabeth Pierce (no relation).  She was born 10 April 1685 in Woburn, and died 17 January 1747 in Woburn.  Nine children.

Generation 5:  Deborah Pierce, born 4 November 1709 in Woburn, died 1739; married on 11 March 1730 in Woburn to Increase Wyman, son of Nathaniel Wyman and Mary Winn.  He was born 1 March 1707 in Woburn and died 5 September 1739 in Woburn.  Five children.

Generation 6: Increase Wyman, born 4 June 1732 in Burlington, Massachusetts, died before 1776; married to Catherine Unknown.  She died 19 January 1783. Ten children.

Generation 7: Jemima Wyman m. Joshua Burnham

Generation 8: Jemima Burnham m. Romanus Emerson

Generation 9: George Emerson m. Mary Esther Younger

Generation 10:. Mary Katherine Emerson m. George E. Batchelder

Generation 11: Carrie Maude Batchelder m. Joseph Elmer Allen

Generation 12: Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandparents)

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, " Surname Saturday ~ PIERCE of Charlestown and Woburn, Massachusetts”, Nutfield Genealogy, posted September 24, 2016 ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/09/surname-saturday-pierce-of-charlestown.html: accessed [access date]). 

Surname Saturday ~ CONVERSE of Woburn

CONVERSE  CONVERS

I have already written a “Surname Saturday” blog post on the CONVERSE family of Woburn at this link: https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/02/surname-saturday-converse-of-woburn.html   However, last year I discovered that in addition to a lineage from Deacon Edward Convers (1590 – 1662) on my father’s side, I also have a link on my mother’s side (see below)

I also discovered our link to the Converse sneaker King, and you can read all about it at this link:  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-sneaker-king-marquis-mills-converse.html   

MY CONVERSE lineage:

Generation 1:  Edward Convers, son of Anthony Convers and Clemence Spady, born 30 January 1590 in Stanford Rivers, Essex, England, died 10 August 1662 at Woburn, Massachusetts; married first on 29 June 1614 at Great Burstead, Essex, England to Sarah Parker, daughter of John Parker, died 14 January 1662/3 in Woburn.  Six children.   Edward Convers married second to Joanna Warren, widow of Ralph Sprague.

Generation 2.  James Convers, born about 1621 in England, died 10 May 1715 in Woburn; married first to Anna Long, daughter of Robert Long and Sarah Taylor.  She was born 1 June 1623 in St. Albans, England and died 10 August 1691 in Woburn. Ten chlldren.  He married second to Anna Sparhawk.

Lineage A:

Generation 3.  James Converse, born 16 November 1645 in Woburn, died 8 July 1706 in Woburn; married on 1 January 1669 to Hannah Carter, daughter of John Carter and Elizabeth Kendall.  She was born 19 January 1651 in Woburn and died 10 August 1691 in Woburn. Nine children.

Generation 4. Robert Converse, born 29 December 1677 in Woburn, died 20 July 1736; married on 19 December 1698 in Woburn to Mary Sawyer, daughter of Joshua Sawyer and Sarah Wright.  She was born about 1681 and died 1766.  Twelve children.

Generation 5. Susanna Converse, born 18 June 1724 in Woburn, died 29 October 1771 in Woburn; married on 26 March 1746 in Woburn to Caleb Simonds, son of James Simonds and Mary Fowle.  He was born 27 August 1720 in Woburn, died 4 January 1811 in Woburn.  Eight children.

Generation 6. Ruth Simonds m. Andrew Munroe

Generation 7.  Luther Simonds Munroe m. Olive Flint

Generation 8.  Phebe Cross Munroe m. Robert Wilson Wilkinson

Generation 9. Albert Munroe Wilkinson m. Isabella Lyons Bill

Generation 10.  Donald Munroe Wilkinson m. Bertha Louise Roberts (my grandparents)

Lineage B:

Generation 3.  Deborah Converse, born 25 July 1647 in Woburn; married 1 July 1663 in Woburn to John Pierce, son of Thomas Pierce and Elizabeth Cole.  He was born 7 May 1643 in Woburn and died 25 May 1720 in Woburn. Ten chlldren.

Generation 4.  Ebenezer Pierce m. Mary Wilson

Generation 5.  Deborah Pierce m. Increase Wyman

Generation 6.  Increase Wyman m. Catherine Unknown

Generation 7.  Jemima Wyman m. Colonel Joshua Burnham

Generation 8.  Jemima Burnham . Romanus Emerson

Generation 9. George Emerson m. Mary Esther Younger

Generation 10.  Mary Katharine Emerson m. George E. Batchelder

Generation 11.  Carrie Maude Batchelder m. Joseph Elmer Allen

Generation 12.  Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandparents)

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

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday ~  CONVERSE of Woburn", Nutfield Genealogy, posted September 3, 2016, ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/09/surname-saturday-converse-of-woburn.html: accessed [access date]).

Surname Saturday ~ COLE of Charlestown, Massachusetts

COLE, COLL, COWLES, COLES, COALE

Ryce Cole, my 11^th great grandfather, was made member #109 of the church in Boston in 1631.  Rice Cole was admitted as an inhabitant of Charlestown, Massachusetts in 1630.   His first name can be found as Rice or Ryce or Rise in the records, as well as all the surname variations listed above.  Just to make it more interesting, his wife’s name is listed as “Arrald” on her church membership and her will.   Her two sons-in-law listed her as “Harald Coale” on a petition in Cambridge dated 1662. 

Doctor Samuel Fuller, Mayflower passenger, gave medical assistance to some of the Charlestown settlers in 1630.  Several of these families sent their children to live in his household as servants.  In his will he made reference to Elizabeth and Robert Cowles of Charlestown.  They were Rice Cole’s two first children.  Elizabeth Cole (1619 – 1688) is my 10^th great grandmother.  She married Thomas Pierce and had thirteen children.

Notable descendants of Rice Cole are presidents Franklin Pierce and George H. W. Bush.

For more information see:

The Great Migration Begins, by Robert Charles Anderson, Volume I, pages 426 – 429.

American Presidential Families, by Charles Mosely, 1993, page 420.

The Genealogies and Estates of Charlestown, by Thomas Bellows Wyman and Henry Herbert Edes, Volume 1, page 228

The Early Genealogies of the Cole Families in America, by Frank T. Cole, 1887, pages 178 – 179.

My COLE genealogy:

Generation 1: Rice Cole, born about 1590 and died 15 May 1646 in Charlestown, Massachusetts; married about 1616 to Arrald Unknown.  She died between 20 December and 26 December 1661.  Five children.

Generation 2: Elizabeth Cole, born about 1619, died 5 March 1688 in Woburn, Massachusetts; married 6 May 1635 in Charlestown to Thomas Pierce, son of Thomas Pierce and Elizabeth Carew.  He was born about 1620 and died 6 November 1683 in Woburn.  Thirteen children.

Generation 3:  John Pierce and Deborah Convers

Generation 4:  Ebenezer Pierce and Mary Wilson

Generation 5:  Deborah Pierce and Increase Wyman

Generation 6:  Increase Wyman and Catherine Unknown

Generation 7: Jemima Wyman and Joshua Burnham

Generation 8: Jemima Burnham and Romanus Emerson

Generation 9:  George Emerson and Mary Esther Younger

Generation 10: Mary Katharine Emerson and George E. Batchelder

Generation 11: Carrie Maude Batchelder and Joseph Elmer Allen

Generation 12: Stanley Elmer Allen and Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandparents)

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday ~  COLE of Charlestown, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted August 27, 2016, (http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/08/surname-saturday-cole-of-charlestown.html:  accessed [access date]). 

The Sneaker King, Marquis Mills Converse

Kristen Stewart
wearing Chuck Taylor sneakers
on the red carpet in Hollywood
UP photo 2009

When I was just a teen aged kid, I started tracing our genealogy.  I had some help from a night class I took, and then I was on my own in the genealogy stacks of the reading room at the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts.   I was lucky because it was the mid-1970s, and I had interviewed my grandparents, who had been born in the 1890s.  They knew all about their own parents and grandparents, which took me right to the “Tan Books”.  In those days (pre-internet), anyone doing Massachusetts ancestry used the Tan books, which are the published vital records for most of the towns in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.   The Tan books cover from the beginning of vital records in the early 1600s up to 1850.

I was also lucky because the AAS had, and still has, a great collection of compiled genealogies.  I was able to find a book on my MUNROE ancestors, and my EMERSONs, and then the CONVERSE family.  I carefully compared all the notes and dates to vital records.  I was sure that I was on the right track. However, the CONVERSE family had information on the family going back into the eons of time in England.  I took it all for granted and added it to my family tree.  There was no way of checking information pre-1620 in the Massachusetts Vital Records.

Still on the hunt for proof of my CONVERSE line led me to check the information I previously found with some books on heraldry and peerages.  All the Converse information matched, except for the leap from England to Massachusetts in the 1600s. Which is exactly where I found my first case of “trimming the family tree” a few years later.  As I advanced in my genealogy research experience, I learned about genealogy journals and using the latest available research.  The CONVERSE book I had read was published in the 1800s. Newer information in the NEHGS Register later in the 20thcentury straightened out the line and trimmed off my noble CONVERS line which had led to the knight Sir Roger de Coigneries, companion to William the Conqueror. 

Fast forward  - in the year 2001 a book was published called The Name’s Familiar II, a second volume of a book by Laura Lee which gives biographies and family histories on the inventors or historical figures who lent their names to brands, inventions, and other commonly used words.  This is the book for you if you are curious about the people and names behind CliffsNotes,  Bunker Hill, or Converse athletic shoes.   You can read this book online at Google Books.

The very first line of the sketch on Marquis Mills Converse, founder of the Converse athletic shoe company,  states “…was born October 25, 1861 into a family that traces its lineage all the way back to Edward III of England…”.   I wondered if they used his noble heritage in any early advertising.  And hey, that CONVERSE name sounded familiar?  Marquis Mills Converse turned out to be a relative. To me.  Not to any noble King in England.  If a fifteen year old could figure out that family history, why couldn't a book author?  (Did his parents name him "Marquis" after a mythical royal lineage?)

Did you ever wear a pair of Chuck Taylor basketball shoes? This is the same Converse shoe company, founded in 1908 in Malden, Massachusetts.  Our common ancestor, the Puritan Deacon Edward Converse first came to the New World and settled in Charlestown, and then Woburn, Massachusetts.  Malden was a great place for this famous sneaker factory since it is right in between the two towns where Deacon Converse lived in the 1600s.  These shoes are probably now made in China, but I don't know for sure.  Converse sneakers were wildly popular with both basketball players and teenagers in the 1950s and 1960s, until designer athletic shoes became the rage in the 1970s and 1980s.  The company is still making athletic shoes, and they are more popular today with skateboarders and red carpet actresses in Hollywood than with NBA athletes.

Here’s the real story!

The Converse Family genealogy:

          Richard Convers d. 1542 in Navestock, Essex, England m. Margaret Unknown

                                                               I

                                         John Convers m. Joan Fuller

                                                               I

                                         Anthony Convers m. Clemence Spady

                                                               I

                                         Deacon Edward Converse m. Sarah Parker

                                         b. 1590 Stanford Rivers, Essex, England

                                         d. 10 August 1663 Woburn, Massachusetts

                              I                                                                   I

James Converse m. Anna Long                                     Samuel Converse m. Judith Carter

                              I                                                                   I

James Converse m. Hannah Carter                              Samuel Converse m. Dorcas Pain

                              I                                                                   I

Robert Converse m. Mary Sawyer                                Thomas Converse m. Abigail Fay

                              I                                                                   I

Susanna Converse m. Caleb Simonds                           Joel Converse m. Elizabeth Bixby

                              I                                                                   I

Ruth Simonds m. Andrew Munroe                               Marquis Converse m. Electa White

                              I                                                                   I

Luther Simonds Munroe m. Olive Flint                        Peter Mills Converse m. Mary Spear Clement

                              I                                                                   I

Phebe Munroe m. Robert W. Wilkinson         Marquis Mills Converse m. Alice Houghton Sargent
                             I                                                   Founder of the Converse Shoe Company

Albert M. Wilkinson m. Isabella L. Bill                         

                              I

Donald M. Wilkinson m. Bertha L. Roberts

                (my grandparents)

Slightly inaccurate source:

The Name’s Familiar II, by Laura Lee, Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Company, 2001.  (See pages 83-84 for the sketch on Marquis Mills Converse)

Better sources for CONVERSE genealogy:

NEHGS Register, Volume 146, pages 130 -132

NEHGS Register, Volume 153, pages 81 - 96

Great Migration Begins, Volume 1, pages 459 - 463

Internet resources:

Converse History   http://www.insidehoops.com/converse-history.shtml

Converse Shoes official website    www.converse.com

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Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Surname Saturday ~ Kettell of Charlestown

 

Charlestown, Massachusetts
From Britannica.com

KETTELL/KETTLE

Richard Kettell’s origins are unknown, but he was probably from England.  The first record of him was when he and his wife were admitted to the church in Charlestown, Massachusetts on 30 July 1633.  He was made a freeman on 4 March 1634/5.  He was a cooper and a sergeant in the militia. His wife was “Atherton Haulghe’s maid servant”. 

Richard Kettell owned about 33 acres, which was a lot of land in Charlestown.  In his will he mentions his children, grandchildren, and the division of this land. In his will he lists land near the mill pond, which you can see in the map above.  His son, John Kettell, removed to Gloucester, and lived for a time in Lancaster where his wife was carried off by the Indians in 1676 during one of the raids, and she spend some time with the captive Mary Rowlandson.   There is a Kettell's Cove in nearby Gloucester in the town of Manchester-by-Sea, very close to the house where my Uncle Robert Wilkinson lived for many years. 

I am descended from two of Richard Kettell’s children, Hannah and Jonathan.

Some sources for Kettell information:

The Great Migration Begins, by Richard Charles Anderson, Boston: NEHGS, 2000, Volume II, pages 1124 – 1128. You can also see Charlestown Genealogies by Thomas Bellows Wyman, 1879, Volume 2, page 574, and the Thayer Genealogy by Ruther Thayer Ravenscroft, Colorado Springs, 1943.

Genealogy:

Generation 1: Richard Kettell, born about 1609 in England, died 20 June 1680 in Charlestown, Massachusetts; married about 1636 to Hester Ward, born about 1612 in England, died 5 July 1679 in Charlestown.  Six children.

Lineage A:

Generation 2: Hannah Kettell, born 27 October 1637 in Charlestown, died 27 August 1708 in Charlestown; married on 26 June 1656 in Charlestown to John Call, born 6 March 1636 in Faversham, Kent, England, died 19 April 1697 in Charlestown, Massachusetts.  Eight children.

Generation 3: Mehitable Call m. John Rand

Generation 4: Caleb Rand m. Katherine Kettell ( his second cousin)
Generation 5: Caleb Rand m. Mary Mayhew
Generation 6: Mary Rand m. Asahel Bill
Generation 7: Reverend Ingraham Ebenezer Bill m. Isabella Lyons
Generation 8: Caleb Rand Bill m. Ann Margaret Bollman
Generation 9: Isabella Lyons Bill m. Albert Munroe Wilkinson
Generation 10: Donald Munroe Wilkinson m. Bertha Louise Roberts (my grandparents)

Lineage B:

Generation 2:  Jonathan Kettell, born 1646 in Charlestown, died 18 December 1720 in Charlestown; married on 30 March 1676 in Charlestown to Abigail Converse, daughter of James Converse and Anna Long.  She was born 13 October 1658 in Woburn, and died 25 January 1691 in Charlestown.  Five children.

Generation 3.  Jonathan Kettell, born 23 August 1681 in Charlestown, died 21 January 1764 in Charlestown; married first on 8 May 1707 in Boston to Katherine Hands, daughter of John Hands and Mary Bell.  She was born about 1681 and died on 8 March 1748.  He married second to Eunice Treadway on 24 October 1748.  He had ten children with his first wife.

Generation 4: Katherine Kettell and Caleb Rand (see above)

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Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Surname Saturday ~ Sawyer of Lancaster, Massachusetts

SAWYER

This is another case of “three brothers came to America”.  There were three Sawyer brothers, and they settled in Rowley, Newbury, and Lancaster, Massachusetts.   Tradition is that they came together, but there is only proof that Thomas arrived early and Edward and William do not appear in records until after 1643.
 

Thomas Sawyer lived first in Ipswich, and appears in the records in 1636.  In 1643 some land in Rowley, Massachusetts was set off to Thomas Sawyer and to Edward Sawyer.  Thomas left Rowley to settle Nashaway Plantation, now known as Lancaster, where he is on the list of proprietors in 1647.  He was admitted as a freeman in 1654.  His house was on the East side of Main Street near  today's Seventh Day Adventist School (Atlantic Union College).   

During King Phillip’s War the local native Indians held several raids on Lancaster.  On 10 February 1675 there was a massacre which killed Thomas Sawyer’s son, Ephraim, and his father-in-law, John Prescott.  The town was abandoned for several years, and when it was re-settled Thomas Sawyer was a local leader in the growth of the town.  In 1705, another war broke out between England and France and there was another raid on the town.   Thomas Sawyer was able to survive all this and died in 1706, at age 90.  He has a very primitive gravestone in the Lancaster burial ground.

Thomas Sawyer's headstone
from FindAGrave.com

Thomas’s son, Joshua removed to Woburn in 1670 and was elected a freeman.  He fought in King Phillip’s War as a member of Captain Henchman’s company in 1676. 

For more information on the Sawyer family, see the History of the Town of Lancaster, Massachusetts by Abijah Perkins Marvin and the book The Birth, Marriage and Death Register, Church Records and Epitaphs and Lancaster, Massachusetts 1643-1850 by Henry S. Nourse, 1890.  There are two articles in The American Genealogist,  “Mary Carter, First Wife of Nathaniel Sawyer of Lancaster, Massachusetts” by Frank G. Lesure, 2000, Volume 75, pages 51 – 54 and also “The Children of Thomas Sawyer of Lancaster” by Claude W. Barlow, 1954, Volume 30.  See also the book Sawyer Familes II: Edward, William, Thomas, 1636 – 2005 by Eleanor Grace Sawyer, Penobscot Press, 2005.  There is a manuscript at NEHGS “Genealogy of the Sawyers of England, from which the American line descended” by Fannie Sawyer Quinn call number Mss A 4631 (8 typed pages).

My Sawyer genealogy:

Generation 1:  Thomas Sawyer, son of John Sawyer and Agnes Sharpe, born in 1616 in Lincolnshire, England, died on 12 September 1706 in Lancaster, Massachusetts; married on 2 July 1648 in Rowley, Massachusetts to Mary Prescott, daughter of John Prescott and Mary Platts alias Gawkroger, baptized on 24 February 1630 in Sowerby, Yorkshire, England and died in April 1716 in Lancaster, Massachusetts.  Thirteen children.

Generation 2: Joshua Sawyer, born 13 March 1655 in Lancaster, died on 14 July 1738 in Woburn, Massachusetts; married on 2 January 1678 in Concord, Massachusetts to Sarah Wright, daughter of John Wright and Priscilla Byfield.  She was born on 16 February 1652 in Woburn.  Seven children.

Generation 3:  Mary Sawyer, born about 1681, died 1766; married on 19 December 1698 in Woburn to Robert Convers, son of James Convers and Hannah Carter.  He was born 29 December 1677 in Woburn, died on 20 July 1738.  Twelve children.

Generation 4:  Susanna Converse m. Caleb Simonds

Generation 5: Ruth Simonds m. Andrew Munroe

Generation 6: Luther Simonds Munroe m. Olive Flint

Generation 7: Phebe Cross Munroe m. Robert Wilson Wilkinson

Generation 8: Albert Munroe Wilkinson m. Isabella Lyons Bill

Generation 9: Donald Munroe Wilkinson m. Bertha Louise Roberts (my grandparents)

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

Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

He married his Step Sister?

Back when I was a teen aged kid, in the 1970's, before computers and the internet, I started working on my family history.   As a teenager, I was very intimidated by the librarians and archivists in some repositories.  They definitely did not like genealogists, and they did not like children.  I had to get permission to step inside several archives, including interviews.  The staff at the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester often stopped to ask me what I was doing in the building, but I had a badge and my name was on the “researcher” list when I was fifteen. 

 It was difficult at times to untangle what I was reading in the vital records.  Can you imagine finding some sort of mystery and not having Twitter, Facebook or email to instantly consult with fellow genealogists?   None of my teen friends were helpful, and the genealogy class I attended was full of retired people who were new at genealogy, too.  I didn't know a single experienced genealogist, except my genealogy teacher.  There were no genealogy clubs.  I was on my own!

And so, upon studying my  5x great grandmother, I found her marriage record to be very confusing.  Working backwards from my 4x great grandparents, Andrew Munroe and Ruth Simonds, I saw that they were married on 22 March 1785 in Woburn (now Burlington), Massachusetts.   Ruth’s parents were Caleb Simonds and Susanna Converse.  Andrew’s parents were listed as Andrew Munroe and Mary Simonds.   In trying to find Mary’s marriage and parents, I ran into problems. 

It turned out that Mary Simonds was really Mary Mixer, daughter of Joseph Mixer and Mary Ball and the widow of Daniel Simonds.  She was married to Daniel Simonds in 1749, to Andrew Munroe in 1763 (and had a son, Andrew, jr.), and to Caleb Simonds (cousin to Daniel) in 1774.   Caleb Simonds was married twice, first to Susanna Converse in 1746 (and had a daughter Ruth), and then to Mary (Mixer) Munroe. 

Yes, Ruth Simonds married her step brother.  Eleven years after Caleb and Mary married, she married Andrew Munroe, Jr. on 22 March 1785. 

Susanna Converse m. Caleb Simonds  m. Mary Mixer m. Andrew Munroe

                                  I                                                             I

                            Ruth Simonds  m.  Andrew Munroe, Jr.

                                                   I

                                     Luther Simonds Munroe

                                   (my 3x great grandfather)

Not only was this eye brow raising to me at age fifteen, it was difficult to sort out on my own.  However, it slowly unraveled, and was quite a relief to find that everything worked out without any incestuous marriages. 

Then I found out that Luther Simonds Munroe had married Olive Flint in 1826, and her parents were named John Flint and Phebe Flint.   Can’t you just hear me saying “Here we go again!” 

Since this time, I've found several cases of step siblings marrying in my family tree.  Also first cousins marrying, lots of second cousins and third cousins marrying, and siblings marrying the widowed spouse of a sibling.   I think I've seen it all, over and over, which is not unusual in early colonial New England, and probably not unusual anywhere else.

Click here for my Simonds lineage:
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/12/surname-saturday-simonds-of-woburn.html

Click here for my Mixer lineage:
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/09/surname-saturday-mixer-of-watertown.html

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

To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "He married his Step Sister?", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 28, 2013, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/02/he-married-his-step-sister.html: accessed [access date]). 

Surname Saturday ~ Long of Charlestown, Massachusetts

LONG

Charlestown, Massachusetts seen from Boston Harbor

 

Robert Long was an innkeeper in England before coming to America.  He boarded the ship Defence In London on 7 July 1635 with his second wife and ten children.  He came to live in Charlestown, Massachusetts, next to Boston.  Robert Long owned the “Three Cranes Inn” also known as the “Grand Ordinary” in Charlestown at the foot of town hill.   The building stayed in the Long family for 100 years until it was burned on 17 June 1777 when Charlestown was set ablaze by the British upon their evacuation of the town.

It is thought that Robert Long named his son, Zechariah, after the Charlestown pastor, the Reverend Zechariah Symmes.  Rev. Symmes arrived in Boston in 1934 aboard the ship Griffin with his wife and seven children, along with the Rev. John Lothrop and the famous Quaker Anne Hutchinson.   He was pastor at Charlestown until his death in February 1670, when he was buried with honors at the town’s expense.
 

You can read more about Robert Long and his family in The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England 1634 – 1635, Volume II, by Robert Charles Anderson, Boston: NEHGS, 2001, pages 316 – 320.  I pieced together my line with help from the vital records and Savage’s Genealogical Dictionary of New England, Volume 1.  Please see my post on my Converse lineage at this link: 
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/02/surname-saturday-converse-of-woburn.html 

My Long genealogy:

Generation 1:  Robert Long, son of John Long and Marie Unknown, born 1590 in St. Alban’s, Hertfordshire, England, died on 6 January 1663 in Charlestown, Massachusetts;  married first on 3 October 1614 in St. Alban’s to Sarah Taylor, daughter of John Taylor and Margaret Willmot.  She died on 12 December 1631 in England.  He married second to Elizabeth Unknown about 1635.  He had ten children by his first wife born in England, and three more by his second wife, all born in Charlestown.

1.) Michael Long, b. about 1615, d. 12 January 1689 in Charlestown, m.  Joan Unknown
2.) Sarah Long, b. 13 October 1616, m. Abraham Hill
3.) Robert Long, b. about 1619, m. Elizabeth Hawkins
4.) Elizabeth Long, b. about 1621, m. James Parker
5.) Ann Long (see below)
6.) Mary Long, b. about 1627, m. Simon Kempthorne
7.) Rebecca Long, b. about 1628, m. Elias Rowe
8.) John Long, b. about 1628, m. Abigail Norton
9.) Zechariah Long, b. 1630, m. Sarah Tidd
10.) Joshua Long, b. after 1630,
11.) Hannah Long, b. 2 March 1637, m. Henry Cookery
12.) Ruth Long, b. 3 June 1639
13.) Deborah Long, b. 10 August 1642

Generation 2:  Ann  Long, born 1 June 1623 in St. Alban’s, died 10 August 1691 in Woburn, Massachusetts; married on 24 October 1643 in Woburn to James Convers as his first wife.

Generation 3: James Converse m. Hannah Carter

Generation 4: Robert Converse m. Mary Sawyer

Generation 5:  Susanna Converse m. Caleb Simonds

Generation 6:  Ruth Simonds m. Andrew Munroe

Generation 7:  Luther Simonds Munroe m. Olive Flint

Generation 8:  Phebe Cross Munroe m. Robert Wilson Wilkinson

Generation 9:  Albert Munroe Wilkinson m. Isabella Lyons Bill

Generation 10: Donald Munroe Wilkinson m. Bertha Louise Roberts (my grandparents)

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

Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

 

Surname Saturday ~ Parker

PARKER

Unfortunately there are several Parker families in Middlesex County, and it is easy to confuse the descendants.  I’m related to many of the families, and many of the branches of descendants of the Parker brothers who lived in Billerica, Chelmsford and Groton.  I even have a first cousin who married one of these Parker descendants!  The only Parker I am descended from is Sarah Parker, the wife of Edward Convers.

There is an article in the NEHGS Register, Volume 153, January 1999, pages 81 - , “The English Origin and Ancestry of the Parker Brothers of Massachusetts and their Probable Aunt, Sarah Parker, Wife of Edward Converse”, by Doug Richardson that outlines much of the genealogy of the extended Parker family.   This is the best literature for untangling the Parker brothers.   However, please remember that there were other Parkers in Middlesex County, including Thomas Parker of Reading.   The NEHGS online library card catalog lists over 120 books and manuscripts for Parkers.

This is the first time I will do a Surname Saturday post showing several generations of the English origins of an immigrant ancestor.  Since professional genealogists have done all the work, I feel safe that this is the lineage of Sarah Parker.

Parker Genealogy:

Generation 1:  John Parker, husbandman, born about 1525 in England, buried on 29 May 1581 in Great Burstead, Essex, England; married to Margaret Unknown before 1533 in England.  In his will he left two houses, one to his son, and one to his two daughters Sarah and Mary.  He also bequeathed a sheep to each of his two living grandchildren by his daughter Anne.

Three children:

1. Anne, born about 1553, married Thomas Dore on 28 July 1573 in Great Burstead
2. John Parker (see below)
3. Sarah Parker
4. Mary Parker

Generation 2: John Parker, born about 1560, buried 5 August 1613 in Great Burstead; married to first to Unknown and had four children; married second to Mary Ashels or Wheeler on 9 October 1606 in Great Burstead.    John is named in his mother, Margaret’s, will proved 9 September 1594. 

Four children by Unknown:

1. John, born about 1587, died after 1630, married Ann Unknown, six children. Came to Massachusetts
 2. Alice, born about 1590, married George Payne on 12 July 1609 in Great Burstead
 3. James, born about 1594, married Joan Coker on 14 August 1616 in Great Burstead. Came to Massachusetts
 4. Sarah, born about 1596 in England (see below)

One child by Mary:

1. Joseph Parker, baptized on 9 August 1607

Generation 3: Sarah Parker, born about 1596 in England, buried 13 June 1625 in South Weald, Essex, England; married on 29 June 1624 in Great Burstead to Edward Converse, born 20 January 1590 in Navestock, Essex, England, died 10 August 1663 in Woburn, Middlesex County, Massachusetts.  Six children.

Generation 4: Sergeant James Converse m. Anna Long

Generation 5:  James Converse m. Hannah Carter

Generation 6: Robert Converse m. Mary Sawyer

Generation 7: Susanna Converse m. Caleb Simonds

Generation 8:  Ruth Simonds m. Andrew Munroe

Generation 9:  Luther Simonds Munroe m.  Olive Flint

Generation 10: Phebe Cross Munroe m.  Robert Wilson Wilkinson

Generation 11: Albert Munroe Wilkinson m. Isabella Lyons Bill

Generation 12: Donald Munroe Wilkinson m. Bertha Louise Roberts

Click here to see the Surname Saturday post on Edward Converse, Sarah Parker's husband:
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/02/surname-saturday-converse-of-woburn.html 

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

Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Surname Saturday ~ Converse of Woburn

This post was updated in 2016 with new information.  Please see it at this link:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/09/surname-saturday-converse-of-woburn.html  

This is the one of the first surnames I seriously tackled as a beginning genealogist back in the 1970s.  I was about fifteen years old, and I used to ride my bike from Holden to Worcester to use the genealogical resources at the American Antiquarian Society.  I didn’t know how lucky I was to be able to use one of the best libraries in the USA.  To me it was just the nearest place to work on my new hobby.

I had carefully traced my family back using the “tan books” at AAS.  These are sets of hardcover books containing the vital records up to 1850 of most of the Massachusetts towns where my ancestors lived, but the series does not cover all the towns in the commonwealth.  Fortunately, the Woburn, Massachusetts book was included in this series.  I worked my family back to Edward Convers, who was born in 1590 in England.   Along the way, using some of the old compiled genealogy books and “brag books” on the shelves, I carefully copied in my first false lineage.  Many genealogies in the 1970s attributed the Convers/Converse family of Massachusetts to a medieval English noble line going back one thousand years to the knight Roger de Coigneries.  It was a good lesson for me to learn and to untangle.  Untangling was much more difficult in the days of pencil and paper records than it is now with computer genealogy data bases.   

The truth is that Edward Convers’s English origins have been well documented by several major genealogists since I was a teenaged genealogist.  You can read about his ancestors in the New England Historic Genealogical Society’s Register volume 146, pages 130 – 132 and his wife’s English origins in the Register, volume 153, pages 81 – 96.   There is a sketch about Edward Convers in Volume 1 of the Great Migration Begins on pages 459 – 463.  There is much exciting information on his life, and I no longer regret not being related to an English Knight!

Edward Convers arrived with his wife Sarah and three of his children with the Winthrop Fleet.  The family lived first at Charlestown, Massachusetts.  He ran a ferry between Charlestown and Boston.  In the journal of Governor Winthrop it spells out the agreement between Edward Convers and the Colony.  He could charge two pence per person, six for a man and a horse.  By 1640 he lost the ferry business when the right to operate the ferry was granted to Harvard College as a fund raiser.  About this time he removed with Sarah to the new settlement of Woburn. 

His Epitaph in the First Burial Ground, Woburn [note the birthplace, which is incorrect]:

In Memoriam, Deacon Edward Convers, Born: Wakerly, County of Northampton, England, January 30, 1590

Landed: Salem, Mass. June 12, 1630, In Company of Governor Winthop, Died: Woburn, Mass. August 10, 1663.

Founder: City of Woburn, Mass. and First Church, Woburn.  Forefather of The Converse Family in America.

Erected In His Memory By His descendants - The Converse Family In America - 1961.

My Converse genealogy:

Generation 1:  Edward Convers, son of Anthony Convers and Clemence Spady, born 30 January 1590 in Stanford Rivers, Essex, England, died 10 August 1663 in Woburn, Massachusetts; married first on 29 June 1614 in Great Burstead, Essex, England to Sarah Parker, daughter of John Parker, died on 14 January 1662; married second in 1663 to Joanna Warren, daughter of Richard Warren, widow of Ralph Sprague. Five children with each wife.

At the First Burial Ground, Woburn
HERE LYES THE BODY
OF LIEUT.
JAMES CONVERS
WHO DEPARTED THIS
LIFE MAY THE 10TH
1715 IN THE 59TH
YEAR OF HIS AGE

Generation 2: James Convers, baptized on 29 November 1620 in South Weald, Essex, England, died on 10 May 1715 in Woburn; married on 1 January 1669 to Hannah Carter, daughter of John Carter and Elizabeth Kendall. She was born 19 January 1651 in Woburn, died 10 August 1691 in Woburn. Nine children.   (Please see the new post https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/09/surname-saturday-converse-of-woburn.html  for updated information on the Generation 2 James Convers m. Anna Long and the Generation 3 James Converse, Jr. m. Hannah Carter. )

Generation 4: Robert Convers, born 29 December 1677 in Woburn, died 20 July 1736;  married on 19 December 1698 in Woburn to Mary Sawyer, daughter of Joshua Sawyer and Sarah Wright.  She was born about 1681 and died 1766. Twelve children.

Generation 5: Susanna Converse, born 18 June 1724 in Woburn, died 29 October 1771 in Woburn; married on 26 March 1746 in Woburn to Caleb Simonds, son of James Simonds and Mary Fowle.  He was born 27 August 1720 in Woburn and died 4 January 1811 in Woburn.

Generation 6: Ruth Simonds married Andrew Munroe

Generation 7: Luther Simonds Munroe married Olive Flint

Generaiton 8:  Phebe Cross Munroe married Robert Wilson Wilkinson

Generation 9: Albert Munroe Wilkinson married Isabella Lyons Bill

Generation 10: Donald Munroe Wilkinson married Bertha Louise Roberts (my grandparents)

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

Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo