Person:Samuel Fox (1)

His sister Hannah married Daniel Lester, born April 16, 1642.

Their parents were Thomas Fox, born 1619 in Concord, Middlesex, Mass or England, died 1658 in Concord, and Hannah Brooks, born about 1620 in England and died 1690 in Concord. They married October 13, 1647 in Concord.

The Fox Cemetery in Montville contains descendants of this family.

According to "History of New London", Samuel and his brother John arrived to settle in New London about 1675. His tombstone reads: "Here lyeth the body of Mr. Samuel Fox, who died Sept. ye 4th, in ye 77th year of his age."

From Savage's Genealogical Dictionary

SAMUEL, New London, br[other] of John of the same, m[arried]. 30 Mar. 1676, Mary, by wh[om]. he had two d[aughter]s. and Samuel, b[orn]. 24 Apr. 1681; he had sec[ond]. w[ife]. Joanna; a third, Bathshua, wh[o]. was wid[ow]. of Richard Smith, d[aughter]. of James Rogers; and a fourth w[ife]. Esther; and by one, or other of these had Isaac, Benjamin, and Samuel, again, while the first Samuel was liv[ing]. and f[ather]. of a fam[ily]. He d[ied]. 4 Sept. 1727, in 77th y[ea]r.

From frankleyn@@webtv.net

1675 - Samuel was in the Swamp fight from New London. War erupted June 1675 in Swansea, Mass. The Narragansetts had remained fairly neutral until this time but were found sheltering some of "King Philip's men. (King Philip was son of the head of the Pokanoket Indians.) 315 Connecticut men led by Major Robert Treat attacked the Narragansett Fort on December 19, 1675 and were met by 2,000 Indians. This was later known as the "Great Swamp Fight."

List of Volunteurs of King Philip's War. Minutes of meeting of Volunteurs, July 1st 1701. A list of the names of the English volunteurs in the late Narrangansit Warr as followth - Samuel Fox is listed.

From Births in the Town of New London, Ct. to 1730

Samuel belonged to the First Church of Christ in New London, Conn.

In 1706 he gave land in North Parish (Montville) to sons Samuel and Isaac. Issac and Benjamin later settled in Colchester. In 1727 Samuel wrote his will, which is now in the State Library at Hartford. 1728 an Inventory was made by Joshua Hempstead, Jonas Green and Walter Butler. 2280L-11s-5d shows his value.

From The New London Gazette http://www.newlondongazette.com

Ye Antientest Burial Ground between Hempstead and Huntington Streets just outside of downtown New London was set aside for burial in 1652 and many of the early settlers, several of whom played important roles in this country's history, are interred there. Also in the cemetery are some of the oldest-known graves of early Black colonists. It was maintained by the town until 1793 and families owning plots continued to use it until 1845.

As were many ancient cemeteries, this one was situated on a hill providing a scenic view for the resting souls. Benedict Arnold is said to have stood at this high elevation during the Revolution in 1781 to watch his British troops conquer Fort Griswold in Groton across the river and then burn New London. Many of the gravestones were made of Connecticut sandstone and have deteriorated. Some were carved by the diarist Joshua Hempsted.

Despite some distracting modern constructions, the site offers sweeping views of the Thames River, Fort Griswold, and the arcing Gold Start Bridge carrying the vigorous traffic of Interstate 95. The best spot from which to view the surrounding area is a knoll at the middle northern edge near the tomb of Mrs. Elsie Winthrop, wife of Francis Bayard Winthrop and daughter of Thomas and Cornelia Marston of New York...

Looking up from near the bottom of the cemetery, you see irregular rows of black, grey, lichen-covered, decaying tombstones shilhouetted at varying degrees of attention against the sky. Observing that scene, you may fancy yourself back in early Puritan New England and feel close to those hardy souls who forged a nation.

From online article Researching Around Brick Walls: Using Collateral Lines" by Diana L. Smith

... Samuel Fox's first wife [Mary Lester] died, leaving Samuel with four small children. Samuel Fox and his second wife Joanna [Way] had son Isaac. Joanna died when he was just 6 years old (and brother Benjamin was only 1 year old). Samuel married Bathsheba Rogers less than a year later - he really needed a mother for those 6 children. We are very interested in Bathsheba, since she would have been the primary influence on the life of Isaac, as the mother who raised him. In researching Bathsheba's family we found that her brother was the founder of the Seventh Day Baptist Church in Connecticut. That led us to information that Samuel and Joanna were active members of the church before her death, and Samuel and Bathsheba continued to be active after their marriage. This was not a popular religion of the day, and they were even persecuted by the local civil authorities. Knowing that provides some idea of the kind of life that Isaac had as a child.

Other wives: (1) Mary LESTER 30 Apr 1675, New London, New London, CT. SS: 17 Jul 1968 AZ (2) Joanna WAY (3) Bathsheba ROGERS 1690, MA, SS: 17 Jan 1992, BOISE. (4) Esther ALLEN, SS: 4 Aug 1990, JRIVE.

Samuel Fox belonged to First Church of Christ, New London, CT. Burial place listed as "Ancientest Bur.", New London, CT His will is said to be in CT State Historical Museum at Hartford, CT.

Recorded in the 5th book of wills for the county of New London Folio U g. 220 Sept. 13th 1727 Recorded Book A, page 233: Samuel's will that says "made in 1727" and is now in the State Library at Hartford, Conn. Samuel gave land in the North Parish [Montville] in 1706, to Samuel and Isaac, his sons. Sons Isaac and Benjamin settled in Colchester. Samuel's will is signed 1727 and says "I give unto my wife Esther Fox all the estate that she brought with her to me when I married her" "I give unto my son Samuel Fox the elder, my wearing apparel of all sorts". "I give and bequesth unto my youngest son Samuel Fox all my ploughs, carts etc."

1. ↑ Frances Manwaring Caulkins. CAULKINS' History of New London, Connecticut. (New London, 1852, 1860 or 1895).
2. ↑ Edward Prentis, compiler. Ye Ancient Burial Place of New London, Conn.. (New London, 1899).
3. ↑ Harry Abel Way. WAY: The Connecticut Way Family, Being Descendants of Sgt. George Way of Main & Providence. (Decorah, IA 1989)
   p. 3.
4. ↑ William F. Fox. FOX: Thomas Fox of Concord and His Descendants. (Albany, NY 1909)
   p. 14a, 18a, 20.
5. ↑ James Savage, Former President of the Massachusetts Historical Society and Editor of Winthrop's History of New England. Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May 1692, on the Basis of Farmer's. (1860-62 and Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, MD, 1965; Corrected electronic version copyright Robert Kraft, July 1994)
   Vol. 2, p. 196.
6. ↑ HEMPSTEAD: The Diary of Joshua Hempstead
   p. 188 (death).
7. ↑ Researcher.

   frankleyn@@webtv.net