A Special Exhibit until March 23rd on William Munroe, Concord, Massachusetts Furniture Maker

An eight-day clock made by Daniel Munroe and Company

with a case marked "WM", William Munroe's mark

Early Lexington, Massachusetts was known as Cambridge Farms, and also as Scotland because one of the early settlers was William Munroe.  He was a Scots prisoner of war, sold into servitude on the docks of Charlestown in 1651.  By 1657 he was free, and had removed to what is now Lexington.  His grandsons fought in the Battle of Lexington in 1775, and several were killed.   Two of my 5th great uncles, Robert Munroe (1712 - 1775) and Jonas Parker (1722 - 1775) (he was married to my 5th great grandfather's little sister, Lucy Munroe) were some of the Munroe kin killed on the 19th of April 1775. 

Jedediah Munroe (1721 - 1775), who was killed in the Battle, was a first cousin to my Munroe great uncles who died in the same battle.   His grandsons went into the clock making business together in Concord, Massachusetts. One of the three brothers, William Munroe (1778 – 1861) was a cabinetmaker, and he built the cases for the clockworks.  William was also a fine furniture maker.  During the War of 1812 his furniture business dropped off, but he learned that people were paying a premium for pencils.  Most pencils at that time were made in England, but during the war there was a shortage of them.  So William went into the pencil making business which made him a rich man.  He made the first wooden graphite lead pencils in the United States.

A display of account books and documents from William Munroe

Although he was famous for his pencil business, among collectors he is well known for his fine furniture. Any Munroe furniture that comes up at auction commands very high prices, and is highly sought after by antique dealers. His brief time as a cabinetmaker produced many wonderful pieces of furniture.   Recently many of his side boards, chests and clock cases were gathered for an exhibit at the Concord Museum in Concord, Massachusetts.   You can see this exhibit through 23 March 2014.  They have some of his famous pencils on exhibit, too!

This is a miniature piece of furniture completed by William Munroe

toward the end of his apprenticeship as a demonstration 

of his ability as a cabinetmaker.  

At the Concord Free Public Library until January 31, 2014 is a special exhibit on the William Munroe family, too.  Before going, check the website http://www.concordlibrary.org/ or call them at 978-381-3300 to check the hours of the exhibit.  At this exhibit we saw lots of family photos and documents, a family tree, Munroe artifacts donated to the book and art collections at the Concord Free Public Library and more Munroe pencils on exhibit!

The Munroe Genealogy:

Generation 1 :  William Munroe, born about 1625 near Inverness, Scotland; died 27 January 1718 in Lexington, Massachusetts; married in 1672 to Mary Ball as his second wife (three wives), daughter of John Ball and Elizabeth Pierce.  She was born 1651 and died August 1692 in Lexington.  William Munroe and his first wife,  Martha George, are my 7^th great grandparents.

Generation 2 : Daniel Munroe, born 12 August 1673 in Lexington, died 1 February 1733 in Lexington; married about 1716 to Dority Mooers, daughter of Jonathan Mooers and Constance Langthorne.  She was born 6 November 1688 in Newbury, Massachusetts, and she was the sister of my 6th great grandmother, Sarah Mooers, the wife of George Munroe (actually three Mooers sisters married three Munroe brothers!). 

Generation  3: Jedediah Munroe, born 20 May 1721 in Lexington,  died 19 April 1775 at the Battle of Lexington; married September 1744 in Lexington to Abigail Loring, daughter of Joseph Loring and Lydia Fiske.  She was born before 7 January 1722 in Lexington, died 30 November 1711 in Lexington.

Generation 4 : Daniel Munroe, born 23 September 1744 in Lexington, died 23 July 1827 in Roxbury, Massachusetts; married on 15 September 1774 in Roxbury to Abigail Parker.  She was born 30 January 1753 in Roxbury and died 1 May 1744 in Barnstable, Massachusetts.

Generation  5:  William Munroe, born 15 December 1778 in Roxbury, Massachusetts; died 6 March 1861; married to Martha (Patty) Stone, daughter of Captain John Stone and Martha Greenough. Nine children, including William Munroe (1806 – 1877) founder of the Concord Free Public Library.

For the truly curious:

Sketch of William Munroe, Pencil Maker, at Wikipedia  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Munroe_(pencil_maker)

There is a special exhibit on the Munroe Family of Lexington and Concord at the Concord Free Public Library until January 31, 2014.  http://www.concordlibrary.org/Munroes_Exhibit_%20PR.pdf

The Concord Museum exhibit on William Munroe’s furniture runs through March 23, 2014, and you can learn more about this special exhibition at this link:  http://www.concordmuseum.org/best-workman-in-the-shop.php

The Four Centuries of Massachusetts Funtinture Exhibition and Events website page on William Munroe, Cabinetmaker of Concord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=N2W0ZmQznwM

YouTube video of the collection “Four Centuries of Massachusetts Furniture” a collaboration between 11 museums and institutions   (William Munroe is mentioned in this video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=N2W0ZmQznwM

The William Munroe family papers are at the Concord Free Public Library, Concord, Massachusetts, Vault A45, Munroe, Unit 6- 2 containers (1.5 linear feet), the Munroe family photograph collection is Vault A45, Munroe Unit 5

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The URL for this post is

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/01/a-special-exhibit-until-march-23rd-on.html 

Copyright © 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Amanuensis Monday ~ The Will of William Munroe, 14 Nov. 1716

Among the family papers my cousin found earlier this year was a typed transcription of our 7^th great grandfather’s last Will and Testament.  William Munroe (1625 – 1718) was born in Scotland.  As a young man he fought on the side of the crown at the Battle of Worcester, during the English Civil War.  Many Scots warriors at this battle were captured by the Puritan forces of Cromwell, and sold into servitude in the New World. 

William not only survived his forced march to London, but also survived the voyage to Boston.  He was sold as an indentured servant and eventually gained his freedom and settled in Lexington, Massachusetts.  He outlived three wives and had fourteen children!   In his will he names all of the children who had lived until 1716 (only missing Susanna), the year he wrote the document.  He died on 27 January 1718, a very aged man for his time.

I did not transcribe this will.  It was transcribed and typed up by my 2^nd great grand aunt Olivia Adeline Munroe (1836 – 1905).  I recognized her typewriter, and her carbon paper ink color used on this transcription as the same type as some of the other documents she had signed.   On most of the documents she had put her married initials A. M. G, for Addie Munroe Grout. 

There are three witnesses who signed this document.  One is John Hancock.  This is not the famous John Hancock who signed the Declaration of Independence, but is his grandfather John Hancock (1671- 1752), a resident of Lexington and the local minister.   Another witness, Benjamin Muzzy 3^rd is a 1^st cousin to me, 8 generations removed and closely related to the MOOERS family of Rowley.  Three of the MOOERS sisters married three of William Munroe’s sons!

I love the line in this will that is a warning to his children.  He demands that there will be no quibbling about this last will and testament with the words "... if any of my children are contentious about their portions; they shall forfeit the same unto their brethren".  Great idea, Great Grandpa!  If I had several children I would be tempted to put those same words into my own will.

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In the name of God Amen.  I William Munroe of Lexington

in the County of Middlesex in the Province of the Massachu-

setts Bay in New England being at present writing herof

of a sound disposing mind thro’ divine goodness, but sensible

of my mortality, do therefore make this my last Will, & Test-

ment in manner & form as followeth.

                And first I do Command my precious and Immortall Soull

Into the hands of Christ Jesus my Lord, hopeing in his merits

alone for the Salvation of it; and my body I commit to the

dust by a decent burial at the discretion of my executors

in hopes of a Joyfull Resurrection to life eternal.  And as

for that temporal estate which it hath pleased Allmighty God

to bestow upon me & which is yet in my hands undisposed of,

my will and pleasure is to dispose thereof as followeth.

                Impr: I do give and bequeath unto my beloved sons

John Munroe, William Monroe, George Munroe, Daniel Munroe, David

 Munroe, Joseph Monroe, & Benjamin Monroe to each & everyone of

them ten Shillings a piece, besides what I have already

bestowed upon them.

                Item.  My Will and pleasure is; that my beloved daughter

Eleanor Burgess shall have the Sole use of my mansion house,

& a priveledge in the barn dureing the whole term of her

 widowhood, and that upon her decease or marriage my son

George Monroe shall have all my buildings; he paying unto the

said Eleanour Burgess the sum of three pounds.  And I do also

(page two)

give & bequeath unto the sd: Eleanour Burgess the one half

of my moveable household stuff.

                I do also give & bequeath unto my beloved daughters,

Martha Comee, Hanah Peirce, Elizabeth Rugg, Mary Phassett,

Eleanour Burgess, & Sarah Blanchard to each and every one of

them ten pounds apiece.

                And after all my Just debts, & funeral charges be de-

frayed, my Will & pleasure is, that all the rest and residue

of my estate both reall & personal be equally divided among

all my children.  & that my son George Monroe shall have the

first tender of all my Lands at the price of four pounds

pr. Acre;  And if any of my children are contentious about

their portions; they shall forfeit the same unto their

brethren, that shall abide by my will.

                I do also make & ordain my well beloved sons John Monroe,

& George Monroe to be executors of this my Last Will & Testa-

ment. And that this is my Last Will & Testament.  And that I

do hereby revoke and Disanul all other & former Wills and Testa-

ments by me at any time made; I do putt my hand & seal hereto.

November the fourteenth Anno Domi; one thousand Seven hundred

& sixteen – In the third year of his Maje: Reign –

                                                William Monroe   (seal)

                                                His mark               X

Signed, sealed & declared to be my Last Will in presence of

 Elezar Kendall    Benjamin Muzzy Tertius                John Hancock

A true copy

                Attest , J. Hozler Register

William Munroe Family Sketch:

William Munroe, son of Robert of Aldie, born 1625 near Inverness, Scotland, died 27 January 1718 in Lexington, Massachusetts; married first to Martha George in 1665, daughter of John George and Elizabeth Unknown, born about 1636 in Charlestown, Massachusetts and died about 1672 in Lexington; married second to Mary Ball about 1672, daughter of John Ball and Elizabeth Pierce, born about 1651 and died August 1692 in Lexington; married third to Elizabeth Johnson, widow of Edward Wyer, and daughter of William Johnson and Elizabeth Story, born about 17 March 1640 in Charlestown and died 14 December 1715 in Lexington.

Children with Martha George, born in Lexington:

1.     John , born 10 March 1666, married Hannah Mooers and Rachel Unknown

2.  Martha, born 2 November 1667, married John Comee

3.  William, born 10 October 1669, married Mary Cutler and Joanna Russell

4.   George, born about 1672, married Sarah Mooers (my 6^th great grandparents)

Children with Mary Ball, born in Lexington:

5.   Daniel, born 12 August 1673, married Dority Mooers (yes, three brothers married three sisters!)

6.   Hannah, born 1674, married Joseph Pierce

7.    Elizabeth, born about 1676, married Thomas Rugg

8.    David, born 6 October 1680, married Deborah Howe

9.    Eleanor, born 24 February 1683, married William Burgess

10.   Sarah, born 18 March 1684, married George Blanchard

11.   Joseph, born 16 August 1687, married Elizabeth Unknown

12.   Benjamin, born 16 August 1690, married Lydia Stone

13.   Susanna, born about 1691, died young?

14.   Mary, born 28 June 1678, married Joseph Fassett

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Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Surname Saturday ~ Crosby

Robert Crosby is my 9x great grandfather, born about 30 October 1596 in Holme-on-Spaulding-Moor, Yorkshire, England, and died before 1640 in Rowley, Massachusetts.  His third cousin, Thomas Crosby, was born about 1575 in Holme-on-Spaulding-Moor and died on 6 May 1661 in Rowley, too.  These two families have a common ancestor in Yorkshire- John Crosby born about 1440. 

Not only is this confusing, but Robert had a great grandfather named Thomas Crosby, born in 1510 in Holme-on-Spaulding-Moor, married to a Jannett Unknown.  Thomas had a 2x great grandfather named Thomas Crosby, born in 1505 in Holme-on-Spaulding-Moor, married to a Jannett Unknown (but widow of a John Bell).  Often I see family trees where these two Thomas Crosbys are merged into one man married to one woman named Jannett, making Robert and Thomas closer cousins.  However, this is not true. 

All of Robert Crosby’s children were baptized in Holme-on-Spaulding-Moor, including the youngest child Hannah, who was baptized on 31 October 1634.  They must have come to New England after this date.  His wife Constance received a grant of land in 1643, so he must have been dead by this time.

Thomas Crosby, the distant cousin, was well to do, according to tax records in England.  They arrived in New England with a group of Rev. Ezekiel Rogers followers before 1640.  They are thought to have lived for a time with the widow of their son, Simon, in Cambridge, before removing to Rowley.   Simon Crosby came on the ship “Susan and Ellyn” in 1635 with the followers of Rev. Thomas Shepard.   Simon died young and his wife married Rev. William Tompson of Braintree (now the town of Quincy), Massachusetts.

The Crosbys were a fairly well off family in England and immigrated for religious reasons as part of the Puritan Great Migration. The records in England have been well documented by genealogists. 

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

Some good Crosby sources (there are many!):

Ancestors and Descendants of Timothy Crosby, Jr. by Paul W. Prindle, Orleans, MA, 1981.

The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England 1634-1635, by Robert Charles Anderson, George F. Sanborn and Melinde Lutz Sanborn, Boston, MA: NEHGS, 2003, Volume 2, pages 232-236.

Simon Crosby the Emigrant: His English Ancestry and some of his Descendants, by Eleanor Davis Crosby, 1914.

There will be Dancing: The History of a Johnson Family, by Susan E. Keats, Boston, MA, 2000, pages 285 – 312.

“The Yorkshire Ancestry of the Three Crosby Sisters of Rowley, Mass”, by Paul W. Prindle,  New England Historic Genealogical Society Register, Vol. 119,  pages 243 - 248, October 1965.

"The Watson Ancestry of Constance (Brigham) Crosby of Holme-upon-Spalding Moor, Yorkshire, and Rowley, Mass., And Notes on the Southeron and Millington Families" by Walter Lee Sheppard,  New England Historic Genealogical Society Register,  Vol. 120, 1966, pp. 21-25.  

“The Crosby Family of New York”, by Ernest Howard Crosby, October 1898, New York Genealogical and Biographical Record.

  

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Lineage A:

Generation 1:  John Crosby born about 1440, married Agnes Unknown

Generation 2:  John Crosby born about 1470

Generation 3:  Thomas Crosby born about 1505 in Holme-on-Spaulding-Moor, died 1555 in Holme-on-Spaulding-Moor;  married to Jennett Unknown. Six children.

Generation 4: Richard Crosby, born about 1532 in Holme-on-Spaulding-Moor; married Margaret Stevenson

Generation 5: John Crosby, born about 1556 in Holme-on-Spaulding-Moor, died about 1604 in Holme-on-Spaulding-Moor; married on 31 August 1594 to Jane Webster.

Generation 6: Robert Crosby, baptized on 30 October 1596 in Holme-on-Spaulding-Moor, died before 1640 in Rowley, Massachusetts; married on 22 July 1622 in Holme-on-Spaulding-Moor to Constance Brigham, daughter of Thomas Brigham and Isabel Watson.  She was born in 1602 in Holme-on-Spaulding-Moor, and died on 25 January 1684 in Rowley, Massachusetts. Five children.

Generation 7:  Mary Crosby, baptized on 4 December 1629 in Holme-on-Spaulding-Moor, died on 29 November 1667 in Rowley; married on 16 January 1647 in Rowley to Richard Langthorne, son of John Langthorne and Jane Clement.  He was born about 1622 in Holme-on-Spaulding-Moor, and died on 13 February 1668 in Rowley. Ten children.

Generation 8. Constance Langthorne married Jonathan Mooers. 

Generation 9: Sarah Mooer and George Munroe

Generation 10: Andrew Munroe and Lucy Mixer

Generation 11:  Andrew Munroe and Ruth Simonds

Generation 12:  Luther Simonds Munroe and Olive Flint

Generation 13: Phebe Cross Munroe and Robert Wilson Wilkinson

Generation 14: Albert Munroe Wilkinson and Isabella Lyons Bill

Generation 15: Donald Munroe Wilkinson and Bertha Louise Roberts (my grandparents)

  

Lineage B:

Generation 1:  John Crosby born about 1440, married Agnes Unknown

Generation 2:  Miles Crosby born about 1483, died after 1538

Generation 3: Thomas Crosby, born 1510, died on 16 March 1559 in Holme-on-Spaulding-Moor; married about 1542 to Jannett, widow of John Bell. Four children.

Generation 4: Anthony Crosby, born about 1545; married about 1570 to Alison Blanchard

Generation 5: Thomas Crosby, born about 1575 in Holme-on-Spaulding-Moor, died 6 May 1661 in Rowley; married Jane Sothern, daughter of William Sothern and Constance Lambert.

Generation 6: Simon Crosby, born 1609 in Holme-on-Spaulding-Moor and died September 1639 in Cambridge, Massachusetts; married on 21 April 1634 in Holme-on-Spaulding-Moor to Ann Brigham, daughter of Thomas Brigham and Isabel Watson. Three children.

Generation 7: Reverend Thomas Crosby, born 26 February 1635 in Holme-on-Spaulding-Moor, died 13 June 1702 in Boston; married Sarah Unknown.  Twelve children.

Generation 8: John Crosby, born 4 December 1670 in Eastham, Massachusetts, died on 25 May 1717 in Harwich, Massachusetts; married about 1703 to Hannah Bangs, daughter of Jonathan Bangs and Mary Mayo. She was born on 14 March 1676 in Eastham, died about 1715. Six children.

Generation 9: Jonathan Crosby, born 2 November 1705 in Harwich, died 26 July 1782 in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada; married before 7 March 1734 to Hannah Hamblin, daughter of Benjamin Hamblin and Hope Huckins. Eleven children.

Generation 10: Ebenezer Crosby, born 26 August 1747 in Mansfield, Connecticut, died 26 February 1826 in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia; married on 8 September 1774 to Elizabeth Robinson, daughter of Jabez Robinson and Tabitha Green.  She was born 17 June 1750 in Falmouth, Massachusetts; died 27 July 1837 in Nova Scotia.  Eleven children.

Generation 11:  Rebecca Crosby, born 19 December 1789 in Yarmouth; married on 12 August 1808 in Chebogue, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia to Comfort Haley, son of Comfort Haley and Abigail Allen. Comfort was born 9 October 1787 in Chebogue, and died 3 December 1874 in Chebogue.  Eleven children.

Generation 12: Joseph Edwin Healey married Matilda Weston

Generation 13: Mary Etta Healey married Peter Hoogerzeil

Generation 14: Florence Etta Hoogerzeil married Arthur Treadwell Hitchings

Generation 15: Gertrude Matilda Hitchings married Stanley Elmer Allen (my grandparents)

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Copyright 2012, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Surname Saturday ~ Longhorn / Langthorne of Rowley, Massachusetts

LANGTHORNE/LANGHORNE/LONGHORNE

Rowley First Church and Pharmacy
photo by Fletcher6 at Wikipedia Commons

Richard Langthorne arrived in the New World from Holme on Spalding, Yorkshire, England and he was granted 100 acres in Rowley, Massachusetts in 1666.  He received land in the Hog Island marsh in 1667.  Richard died in 1668, only a month and a half after his wife, and at about the same time as three or four children. I don’t know if some un-named disease swept through the family.  Six children were left orphaned.  Within five months the two youngest sons were also dead.  The children were taken in by relatives in Cambridge and Rowley. Richard’s brother in Cambridge was Thomas Longhorn. 

The last will and testament of Richard Longhorne of Rowley in the county of Essex made Februarie 10.1668.

First give to my daughter Elizabeth a Double portion whom also I constitute and appynt to be the executresse of this my last Will and Testament together with my beloved brother Thomas Longhorne whom also I constitute and appoynt to be the other Executor with my Daughter Elizabeth and if the sayd Elizabeth shall die without heirs of her owne body my will is that the one half of the Estate given her by this my last Will and Testament be equally divided between my other three daughters.

I give unto Samuel Wood my servant the sume of 10 £ to be payd to him within the space of one yeare after my death and if Obadiah Wood the father of the said Samuel shall be willing that his son shall serve out his time untill he comes to the full age of Twenty one years with my brother John Johnson of Rowley then my will is that ten pounds more be added and the whole 20 to be payed unto (him) when he hath served out his full time and in case the said Samuell shall die before he hath served out his full time that then no part of the 20 £ be payd unto him butt that 20 £ shall be divided equally amongst my children then living. My will is also that my daught(er) Elizabeth shall have the 20 £ above forementioned over and above her double portion untill it shall be due unto the aforesayed Samuel and if the Sayd _______ Wood shall presently take away his son then 10 li: of the twenty shall be equally divided between my children and then all my estate both of lands houses cattle household stuffe and all my moveables to be divided equally (my debts being first paid) amongst my children, my daughter Elizabeth haveing a doube portion as aforesaid lastly

I constitute and appoynt John Peckard, John Johnson and James Bailey (all of Rowley aforesaid) to be overseers to see this my will performed.

[No signature]

Witness:

Anthony Crosbie

Daniell Ela

John Ward

Proved in Ipswich Court Mar. 30, 1669, by the Witnesses.

DEPOSITION of Jonathan Platts that going to Haverhill when Richard Longhorne was sick, with John Pickard, he left the latter on this side the river and went over with the daughter of Richard Longhorne to see him and told him his brother Pickard was on the other side. He told Deponent that he was very glad of it, for he had a great desire to speak with him, that he knew not how God might dispose of him and he desired Deponent to come to him again when his brother being with him, and he, having told his mind to his brother Pickard, the latter told Longhorne that he would relate what he said to Deponent for fear of spending him. Concerning his children's disposal, John Pickard said to leave them to the disposal of their Grandmother to which Longhorne replied that he would and also to their two Aunts, and that he would have them advise with Goodwife Bayly who was a good woman, whom he believed loved them Well. This was about three days before he died. John Pickard affirmed the same.

Sworn 30.1m; 1669, Ipswich Court.

For more information on the early Langthornes of Rowley, Massachusetts there are several good books to read, including The Pioneers of Massachusetts by Charles H. Pope [the entry for Constance Crosby Pope is wrong, Mary Crosby’s husband is NOT Nicholas Longhorne] and also The History of Rowley, Massachusetts by Thomas Gage.  In the Rowley and Cambridge vital records please see LONGHORN as well as LANGTHORNE. 

There was an article on Richard Longhorn in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Volume 68, pages 12 -13. 

My Langthorne lineage:

Generation 1: Richard Langthorne, born about 1662 at Holme on Spalding, Moor, Yorkshire, England, died on 13 February 1668 at Rowley, Massachusetts; married on 16 January 1647 in Rowley to Mary Crosby, daughter of Robert Crosby and Constance Brigham.  She was born before 4 December 1629 in Holme on Spalding Moor, and died 29 November 1667 in Rowley.  Ten children.

Generation 2: Constance Langthorne,  born in September 1652 in Rowley; married on 10 May 1670 in Newbury, Massachusetts to Jonathan Mooers, son of Edmund Mooers and Anne Unknown.  He was born on 23 April 1646 in Newbury.  Nine children.

Generation 3: Sarah Mooer m. George Munroe

Generation 4: Andrew Munroe m. Lucy Mixer

Generation 5: Andrew Munroe m. Ruth Simonds

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

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Copyright 2012, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Surname Saturday ~ Mooers of Newbury, Massachusetts

Newbury, Massachusetts in 1640

Captain Edmund Mooers arrived in the New World aboard the Confidence in 1638.  The log book spells the name “Mooers”.  He was probably not the son of Francis Mooers and his wife Katherine Unknown in Kingston Magna, Dorsetshire, England, as reported in many on-line records. 

Jonathan Mooers, son of Edmund, was a soldier, too, and was listed in the Militia of Newbury in 1707.  He was promoted from corporal to cornet it 1689.  He maintained a garrison house at “Wataquo Dock” during the King Phillips War.

 Jonathan wrote a will in 1692, which was submitted to probate in 1693.  According to the Essex Antiquarian, Volume 2, page 131 – 132 “May 12, 1714, Richard Mooer of Lexington and John, George and Daniel Munroe (three brothers who married three sisters) joined in petitioning the court that John Mitchell, their "father-in-law" might administer upon the estate of Lt. Jonathan Mooer "which was not already disposed of."  This action we interpret to mean that the mother, Constance, was then deceased, and that the widow's dower was to be divided among the heirs”

There is one book about the Mooers family, Some Descendants of Edmund Mooers 1614 – 1677 of Newbury, Massachusetts by Amy Mooers William, Detroit, Michigan, 1956.  No major article has been written about the early Mooers in Massachusetts.  There are a few mentions of Mooers in the book History of Newbury, Massachusetts 1635 – 1902 by John J. Currier, 1902, but no genealogical sketches or biographies.  The best places to find information on the Mooers family are the vital records in Essex County.

There is a Mooers Family newsletter.  See the website:

 http://www.mooers-law.com/MooerMemoriesOpeningPage.htm  

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My Mooers genealogy:

Generation 1: Edmund Mooers, born about 1614 in Kingston Magna, Dorsetshire, England, died 19 April 1669 in Newbury, Massachusetts; married to Anne Unknown, she died on 7 June 1676 in Newbury.  Six children.

Generation 2: Jonathan Mooers, born 23 April 1646 in Newbury, died between 1692 and 1693; married on 10 May 1670 in Newbury to Constance Langthorne, daughter of Richard Langthorne and Mary Crosby.  She was born in September 1652 in Rowley, Massachusetts.   Ten children.  Constance was married second to John Mitchell on 1 November 1697.

Generation 3: Sarah Mooers, born 1677 in Newbury, died 4 December 1752 in Lexington, Massachusetts; married to George Munroe, son of William Munroe and Martha George.  Nine children.  Sarah’s sister, Hannah, married John Munroe.  Her sister, Dority, married Daniel Munroe about 1716.  Three Munroe sisters married three Mooers brothers.

Generation 4: Andrew Munroe m. Lucy Mixer

Generation 5: Andrew Munroe m. Ruth Simonds

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

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Copyright 2012, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Surname Saturday ~ Munroe of Lexington, Massachusetts

MUNROE

Here Lyes ye
Body of
Mr. WILLIAM
MUNROE Aged
About 90 Years
Dec'd Jan 27, 1718

The Munroe name is well known in Lexington because of the Revolutionary War.  The first Munroe in my lineage came to Massachusetts as a prisoner of war.  William Munroe, and his two brothers, were Scots captured at the Battle of Worcester in England in 1651.  They were shipped to London and packed aboard the “John and Sara” to be sold into servitude in Boston, Massachusetts.  William was free by 1657 when he was fined in Cambridge for not having a ring in the noses of his pigs.  By 1660 he had removed to Cambridge Farms, near the Woburn line, to a part of town that became known as “Scotland”.  It is now known as the town of Lexington.

What is interesting to me is that apparently the Munroe clan harbored somewhat of a grudge against the British.  In 1775, when the British marched on Lexington, the sergeant of the militia was another William Munroe, great grandson of the immigrant William.  He owned the Munroe Tavern and led a group in which about one third were his kinsmen (other Munroes, cousins, and relations).   He entertained George Washington at the tavern in 1789 when he visited Lexington to thank the townspeople for their participation in the American Revolution. 

There are many books with information on the Munroe family, but the three best are:

A Sketch of the Clan Munro and William Munroe, Deported from Scotland, settled in Lexington, Massachusetts by James Phinney Munroe

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

History of the Town of Lexington, Middlesex County, Massachusetts by Charles Hudson of the Lexington, Massachusetts Historical Society, 1913 (with genealogies)

Also, the Lexington Historical Society owns the Munroe Tavern and has much information on the Munroe family in their archives.  Please see the website http://lhsoc.weebly.com/ for more information.   The official Clan Munro website is www.clanmunrusa.org and their website has much information on the Lexington family.  The 2012 Munroe clan gathering will be in Boston August 9 – 12, 2012 and details are available at http://clanmunrousa.org/wp/?page_id=197

I have many stories about the Munroe family here on my blog.  You may access them all at this link: http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Munroe 

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My Munroe lineage:

1. William Munroe, born about 1625 near Inverness, Scotland, and died 27 January 1718 at Lexington, Massachusetts; married first about 1665 to Martha George, daughter of John George and Elizabeth Unknown; married second about 1672 to Mary Ball, daughter of John Ball and Elizabeth Pierce; and married third after 1693  to Elizabeth Johnson, daughter of William Johnson and Elizabeth Story.  He had four children by Martha and ten children by Mary.

2. George Munroe, born about 1672 in Lexington,  and died 17 January 1747 in Lexington.  He married Sarah Mooers, daughter of Jonathan Mooers and Constance Langthorne.  They had nine children.

3.  Andrew Munroe, baptized 4 June 1718 in Lexington,  and died 16 September 1766 in Lexington; married on 26 May 1763 to Lucy Mixer, daughter of Joseph Mixer and Mary Ball.  They had two children, and Lucy remarried on 6 December 1774 in Woburn to Caleb Simonds.

4.  Andrew Munroe, Junior, born on 31 March 1764 in Lexington, an died 7 August 1836 in Danvers, Massachusetts; married on 22 March 1785 in Burlington to Ruth Simonds, daughter of Caleb Simonds and Susanna Converse, his step-sister.  They had eleven children.  Andrew Munroe was a Major in the American Revolutionary War.

5.  Luther Simonds Munroe, born on 10 May 1805 in Danvers, and died 23 December 1851 in Danvers; married on 3 September 1826 in Reading, Massachusetts to Olive Flint, daughter of John Flint and Phebe Flint.  They had six children.

6. Phebe Cross Munroe, born 28 October 1830 in Danvers, and died 31 January 1895 in Salem, Massachusetts; married on 24 November 1853 in Danvers to Robert Wilson Wilkinson, son of Aaron Wilkinson and Mercy F. Wilson. Three children.

7.  Albert Munroe Wilkinson, born 7 November 1860 in Danvers, and died 12 May 1908 at Corey Hill Hospital in Brookline, Massachusetts due to complications of a gall bladder surgery;  married on 18 October 1894 in Salem to Isabella Lyons Bill, daughter of Caleb Rand Bill and Ann Margaret Bollman.

8. Donald Munroe Wilkinson and Bertha Louise Roberts, my grandparents.

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To Cite/Link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday ~ Munroe of Lexington, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted June 30, 2012, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/06/surname-saturday-munroe-of-lexington.html: accessed [access date]).