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Facts and Events
Disputed lineage
Rockwell genealogists have hypothesized that John Rockwell of Stamford was the son of John Rockwell, the immigrant who settled in Windsor, Connecticut, and finding the 1621 baptism of a John Rockwell, son of John Rockwell, in Fitzhead, Somerset, England strengthened this hypothesis.[6]. However, some[3][6] noted the lack of mention of John of Stamford in the wills of John and Wilmot of Windsor, and in the will of their son Simon. What is also of note is that the list of those immigrating with John and Wilmot in 1635[4] lacks the name of a young John. This, of course, could be a copying error, but taken with the lack of mention of him in the wills, it suggests that John of Stamford was not the son of John and Wilmot of Windsor. DNA analysis shows a relationship, but it need be no closer than being a cousin to John (and William) of Windsor[6][7].
One man or two?
It is not certain that the same John Rockwell married both Mehitable and Elizabeth Weed, but an examination of the possibility that it was two different John's (probably father and son) concludes that the simpler solution is that the same John Rockwell married both women[7].
Mentions in the Stamford records
"It has been supposed that John Rockwell, the founder of the family of which this account is given, was from the vicinity of Dorchester, England, where the Rockwell name was well known, and came to America about the time mentioned in the History of Stamford by Huntington, page 25. To Huntington's History, perhaps more than to any other source, we are indebted for the early history of the immigrant John Rockwell, of Stamford, Conn. The date of the first record referring to John Rockwell is December 7, 1641, where he is named as one of the first settlers, and received for his home lot two acres and a parcel of woodland. In the same history is found a list of first settlers of Stamford, containing his name, and again, on page 40, there is found a record of John Rockwell being a witness in court there at that date. At a town meeting held at Stamford Feb. 19, 1667-8, it was voted that John Rockwell, Sr., be granted liberty to mow and have the grass of Noroton Island as long as he shall live in Stamford. He is also mentioned on the Land Records in 1669 as conveying his land in two parcels, to one person his house and home lot, and to another his land, after which he removed to Rye, Westchester County, N. Y., where he died in 1676. The Whitney Genealogy, page 22, speaking of Daniel Keeler, calls him the son of John and Hittabel Rockwell Keeler, and a grandson of John Rockwell, Sr., one of the first settlers of Stamford, Conn.; and again, on page 81, a note speaking of John Rockwell, Sr., records his death as having taken place at Rye, Westchester County, N. Y., in 1676; and also, on page 1259, in referring to the said John Rockwell, Sr., says that his wife was probably Elizabeth Weed, daughter of Jonas Weed, of Stamford, Conn."[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Nichols, Weeden Rockwell. The Descendants of John Rockwell II (1588-1662) and Wilmet Cade (1587-1662). (Hays, Kansas: Hays, Kansas : W.R. Nichols, 1996, 1996).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Boughton, James. A genealogy of the families of John Rockwell of Stamford, Conn., 1641, and Ralph Keeler of Hartford, Conn., 1639. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1979)
3.
- ↑ John Rockwell, in Anderson, Robert Charles; George F. Sanborn; and Melinde Lutz Sanborn. The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635. (Boston, Massachusetts: NEHGS, 1999-2011)
6:71.
'John Rockwell [son of the immigrant], bp. Fitzhead, Somerset, 22 July 1621; no further record. (The wills of both his father and mother named only daughters Mary and Hannah and son Simon, and the will of Simon named only sisters Mary and Hannah, so this John Rockwell cannot be the John Rockwell of Stamford, Connecticut.)'
- ↑ John Rockwell, in Filby, P. William, ed. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s. (Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Research, 2006).
arriving 1635 to Dorchester were [ages not all accurate]:
John Rockwell, age 36
Wilmot Rockwell, age 37
Nathaniel Rockwell, age 14
Thomas Rockwell, age 12
Mary Rockwell, age 11
Symon Rockwell, age 4
Anna Rockwell, age 3
citation: BANKS, CHARLES E. Passengers on Early Ships to New England. In The Second Boat (Downeast Ancestry, Machias, ME), vol. 17:5 (Fall 1998), pp. 24-25.
- Arthaud, John Bradley. Was John Rockwell of Stamford, Connecticut, and Rye, New York, Married Twice?, in The American Genealogist (TAG). (Donald Lines Jacobus, et.al.)
77(2002):104-09.
After presenting evidence, including the 1656 death record of "Hittabel Rock" (whose surname might have had a mark indicating a contraction), and the estimated age of John's wife Elizabeth Weed, the author theorizes that John had 2 wives. Based on (mostly marriage) dates and names carried into the next generation, he proposes maternity of John's children, as follows:
first wife (Mehitable ____):
- wife of John Marshall, "usually called Hannah" (p. 107), born say 1650
- child of John who died 31 Jul 1658, born say 1652, but position uncertain
- Sarah, born ca. 1654
- Mehitabel, born say 1656
second wife, Elizabeth Weed:
- Jonathan, born ca. 1665
- Thomas, born ca. 1667
- Joseph, born ca. 1670
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Rockwell, Kenneth W. Early Rockwell Settlers of Connecticut: DNA analysis shows a relationship, in New England Ancestors. (Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society)
4.2(2003):53.
'... Rockwell genealogists have hypothesized that ... John of Stamford was that son of John of Windsor baptized in 1621 at Fitzhead, immigrating with his father in 1635, and heading out on his own at the age of twenty to settle at the new town of Stamford; ... We cannot state with certainty that the above identifications are true; for one thing, John and Wilmot Rockwell of Windsor left written wills that do not name a son John. (This omission might be explained by his long absence; they could have given him a legacy when he left Windsor for Stamford in 1641.)' [Having stated on page 52 that 'the DNA results show strong support for the theory that John of Stamford and Josiah of Norwich were nephews of William of Windsor.', the author goes on to say] 'John of Stamford could, alternatively, be a son of Richard; or he and/or Josiah could be cousins rather than nephews of William. But the families rooted in Fairfield and New London counties in Connecticut clearly share a common haplotype with William, ...'
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Rockwell, Kenneth W. John Rockwell of Stamford, Connecticut: One Man or Two?, in The American Genealogist (TAG). (Donald Lines Jacobus, et.al.)
79(2004):299-308.
p. 300: Based on DNA analysis: 'He [John Rockwell of Stamford] could have been a cousin or a nephew or possibly a more distant relative [of John Rockwell of Windsor].'
Following up the suggestion that John Rockwell of Stamford was married twice, the author examines the possibility that John, the settler of 1641, married Mehitable and they had a son John who married Elizabeth, making 2 families rather than a single blended family. He concludes that there is no way to tell for sure, but that fewer assumptions are required to support the idea that it was one man with 2 wives; albeit, there may still have been a son John who considered moving to Newark, New Jersey.
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