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Greetings, Colby-kin,
I finally broke down and bought Second Site, as my TMG-created webpages, although split by progenitor and generation, were still becoming too large and unwieldy. I still have to experiment with all the bells and whistles of the new program to get the site just as I want it. I have changed the name from "Relations of Steven G. Levine" to "Ancestors and their Descendants," both of which are distinctly lacking in Pizzazz. Maybe I'll just name it "A Bunch o' Dead People."
Anyway, the site contains 1171 Colbys, which you will find indexed at http://freepages.family.rootsweb.com/~solongago/i4.htm#169 . See what you think, and think what you see. Although I cite Ron Colby's site on many if not most of the listings, I shouldn't have referenced the specific page numbers, as they change so frequently. I will correct this eventually. Please point out any errors, or descendants who should be added. Thanks.
Steve..
INFP
Found this website with a list of a few Colbys buried
in Union Cemetery, Amesbury, MA. Includes
inscriptions and photos of gravestones.
Have a nice Memorial Day.
http://www.gravematter.com/cem-ma-amesbury.asp
I cannot connect this John Colby though?
John Colby
died
Dec. 29, 1821
Aged 33
Elijah his son
died
Aug. 27, 1824
Aged 24.
Bob Colby
This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list.
Surnames: Colby, Hinkley
Classification: Obituary
Message Board URL:
http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/wQJ.2ACEB/706
Message Board Post:
Evelyn L. Colby
Evelyn L. "Betsy" Colby, nee Hinkley, 76, of Wiscasset, died Tuesday,
September 23, 2003 at her home in Wiscasset.
Born on August 26, 1927 in Skowhegan, she was a daughter of Merwyn and
Lillian S. (Mitchell) Hinkley. She was raised by her grandparents, Ethel
Blanche and Clarence Plummer of Fairfield.
Mrs. Colby attended the Fairfield school system and in 1945 graduated from
Coburn Classic Institute. She was glad to have attended a Coburn reunion in
the 1990s.
She met her future husband, Jed Ellis Colby at Camp O-AT-KA and they were
married on October 14, 1946. They lived for a time in Bath and before moving
to Wiscasset. For 50 plus years she lived in Wiscasset.
Mrs. Colby and her family went on multiple family camping trips and traveled
to special spots both at Lake Moxie and Campobello Island in Canada. She and
her daughter, Susan, traveled to the British Isles. This was her first and
only trip outside North America.
Her husband predeceased her in August, 1980.
For 21 years, she worked as a switchboard operator at the Bath Iron Works,
retiring in 1987.
She was a lifetime member of the American Legion Auxiliary Unit in
Wiscasset. Her many hobbies included crocheting outfits for dolls, knitting,
doing crossword puzzles, reading and watching or listening to sports events,
especially the Celtics and the Red Sox.
Mrs. Colby was admired for being able to do a cartwheel and getting her
driver's license, both in her 50s.
Survivors include her children, Jed Earl and Carol Colby of Edgecomb, Dawn
Cates and her partner Harry Bonish of Vassalboro, and Susan and Timothy
James of Wiscasset; grandchildren, Stacy and Johnnie Barnes of Dresden, Jed
Ebden and partner Roxie Ayer of Wiscasset, Amy Cates and Wendy and Chad
Grenier of Winslow, Jessica and Lindsay of Wiscasset, and Timothy (T.J.)
James of Wiscasset and Lund, Sweden; great-grandchildren, Olivia Barnes,
Natalie Green, Caitlin and Hailey Grenier, Trey James and Trinen Jeffrey;
siblings, Earl W. and Dorothy Hinkley, Dover, N.J., Harold and Dolores
Hinkley of Stroudsburg, Penn.; John and Sue Hinkley of Augusta, Helen and
Ronald Greene of Zephyrhills, Fla.; sister-in-law, Maizie Argondizza of
Portland; and many other family and friends.
Mrs. Colby was predeceased by a brother, Leforest Hinkley in infancy.
A memorial service was held on Monday, September 29 at the Lawry Brothers
Funeral Home in Fairfield. There was a gathering of family and friends at
Dawn Cates and Harry Bonish's home in Vassalboro following the service.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to a scholarship or
charity of one's choice.
This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list.
Surnames: Colby Felton Haddon
Classification: Query
Message Board URL:
http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/wQJ.2ACEB/705
Message Board Post:
Please provide the exact title and publishing information for the Weir book that has been discussed on the list.
I apologize if I missed it.
Grace and Peace,
Clarence Burton Bagby
Guy
the statement that Weis makes is this:
Anthony Colby was born in England (perhaps at Beccles, co. Suffolk, or
Banham, co. Norfolk), 1595, and he died at Salisbury, Massachusetts, 11
February 1660/1. He married Susannah (perhaps Haddon), who died at
Salisbury, 8 July 1689.
----- Original Message -----
From: <guycolbyiv(a)att.net>
To: <COLBY-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 25, 2005 11:33 PM
Subject: [COLBY] Anthony Colby's Parentage Revisited
John G. Hunt's June 1974 NGSQ article, recently posted to the list in its
entirety by Ron Colby, contains the following statement:
"Frederick Lewis Weis, "The Colby Family" (Concord, Mass., 1970), page 3,
shows that Anthony (1) Colby was born in 1595."
I do not have the Weis book, so I do not know what proof he adduces for this
claim. It would appear, however, that he is adopting the suggestion made by
David W. Hoyt in "Old Families of Sailsbury and Amesbury" (page 1059), that
the immigrant Anthony Colby may have been the son of Christopher Colby and
Anne Thorold of Grantham, Lincolnshire.
The Hunt article also notes an alternate supposition in the Banks
manuscripts that the immigrant is to be identified with an Anthony Colby
from Aswardby, Lincolnshire.
In another recent posting, Bob Colby quotes from John Brooks Threlfall's
1990 work "Fifty Great Migration Colonists to New England," in which
Threlfall emphatically argues that the immigrant Anthony Colby is to be
identified with the son of Thomas Colby and Anne Jackson, christened 8 Sep
1605 at Horbling, Lincolnshire. This is the identification which seems
currently to enjoy general acceptance.
I have met John Brooks Threlfall personally and listened to him discourse
upon this subject, and I share Bob Colby's admiration for his closely
documented research. However, I do have a question. In arguing his case
for the Horbling candidate as the immigrant Anthony Colby, Threllfall makes
the following statement:
"All the other known contemporary Anthony Colbys in Old England can be
eliminated from consideration for one reason or another."
My question is this: Does anyone know on what basis Threlfall rejects the
Grantham and Aswardby candidates mentioned in the Hunt article? I concur
that the claims made on behalf of the Anthony from Beccles in Suffolk have
been thoroughly discredited, but it would seem on the face of it that some
of the same arguments made in favor of the Horbling candidate can be offered
in support of these other two Lincolnshire candidates as well.
Guy I. Colby IV
Irving, TX
==== COLBY Mailing List ====
2005 COLBY CLAN REUNION
Aug 20, 2005
East Hartford, Connecticut
For more information contact:
Adeline S. Stack
26 Coolidge Ave
South Portland, Maine 04106-5013
Phone (207) 799-1648
==============================
Find your ancestors in the Birth, Marriage and Death Records.
New content added every business day. Learn more:
http://www.ancestry.com/s13964/rd.ashx
John G. Hunt's June 1974 NGSQ article, recently posted to the list in its entirety by Ron Colby, contains the following statement:
"Frederick Lewis Weis, "The Colby Family" (Concord, Mass., 1970), page 3, shows that Anthony (1) Colby was born in 1595."
I do not have the Weis book, so I do not know what proof he adduces for this claim. It would appear, however, that he is adopting the suggestion made by David W. Hoyt in "Old Families of Sailsbury and Amesbury" (page 1059), that the immigrant Anthony Colby may have been the son of Christopher Colby and Anne Thorold of Grantham, Lincolnshire.
The Hunt article also notes an alternate supposition in the Banks manuscripts that the immigrant is to be identified with an Anthony Colby from Aswardby, Lincolnshire.
In another recent posting, Bob Colby quotes from John Brooks Threlfall's 1990 work "Fifty Great Migration Colonists to New England," in which Threlfall emphatically argues that the immigrant Anthony Colby is to be identified with the son of Thomas Colby and Anne Jackson, christened 8 Sep 1605 at Horbling, Lincolnshire. This is the identification which seems currently to enjoy general acceptance.
I have met John Brooks Threlfall personally and listened to him discourse upon this subject, and I share Bob Colby's admiration for his closely documented research. However, I do have a question. In arguing his case for the Horbling candidate as the immigrant Anthony Colby, Threllfall makes the following statement:
"All the other known contemporary Anthony Colbys in Old England can be eliminated from consideration for one reason or another."
My question is this: Does anyone know on what basis Threlfall rejects the Grantham and Aswardby candidates mentioned in the Hunt article? I concur that the claims made on behalf of the Anthony from Beccles in Suffolk have been thoroughly discredited, but it would seem on the face of it that some of the same arguments made in favor of the Horbling candidate can be offered in support of these other two Lincolnshire candidates as well.
Guy I. Colby IV
Irving, TX
Everyone:
I have been helping a cousin with her line. She is a descendant of Daniel
Colby and Sarah Trussel. Everything on this Daniel Colby seems to hit a
brick wall, until yesterday when the following was sent to us by another
researcher helping her.
From the NEHGS,
Vital Records of Enfield, NH, 1761-1940
Daniel, s. Ebenezer & Mary (Chase)
b. Nov. 23, 1752, Haverhill, Mass.
d. Nov. 10, 1815, Enfield
m. Oct. 1, 1769, Plaistow, Sarah Trussell
Moses, s. Daniel & Sarah (Trussell)
b. June 5, 1772, Plaistow
m. Jan. 27, 1799, Lebanon, Betsey Moody
Now, here is the stickler for this new information. Colby family
information have it that Daniel Colby s/o Ebenezer Colby and Mary Chase
married 24 AUG 1775 Mary Folsom. Several of their children went to Darien,
New York. If the Enfield vital records on NEHGS are correct it will make
the whole line of Daniel Colby and Mary Folsom an "orphan" Colby line.
I would like some feed back on this new information.
Ronald Colby
rmcolby(a)micro-net.com
Kearns, Utah
801-680-1317
I finally got my head together, now my body is falling apart.
Home page:
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~colby/colbyfam
This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list.
Surnames: Colby, Perrine, Schmitt
Classification: Query
Message Board URL:
http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/wQJ.2ACEB/704
Message Board Post:
Lois E. Schmitt
Nov. 9, 1912 – May 15, 2005
OLIVIA -- Lois Emeline Schmitt, 92, of Olivia, formerly of Fairmont, died Sunday at the Renville County Hospital in Olivia.
The service will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Lakeview Funeral Home in Fairmont. Burial will be at Lakeside Cemetery in Fairmont.
Visitation will be for one hour prior to the service at the funeral home. Memorials preferred to the Fairmont United Methodist Church UMW or the Lakeview Methodist Home Foundation.
She was born Nov. 9, 1912, in Delavan to Bert L. and Sarah (Haynes) Colby. She attended schools in Delavan and Blue Earth. She graduated from high school in 1931.
She married R. H. “Mike” Perrine on July 15, 1934. He died in October of 1970. She worked as a kindergarten aide in Isle, then as supervisor of students at St. Cloud University.
She married the Rev. Albert Schmitt in St. Cloud. She moved to Duluth and worked as a cashier at St. Luke’s Hospital. They moved to Fairmont and she worked as an admissions clerk at Fairmont Community Hospital. She retired in 1976. She moved to Olivia in 2004.
She was a member of the United Methodist Church and was a Sunday School teacher and Women’s Society president active in other church organizations. She was a member of the Eastern Star.
She is survived by her sons: the Rev. Byron (and Cheryl) Perrine of Olivia, Dan (and the Rev. Pam) Perrine of Lexington, Ky.; stepdaughter: Ruth (and Dick) Flannelly of Arlington, Va.; nine grandchildren; and many great-grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husbands; son: Michael Perrine; daughter-in-law: Jean Perrine; one sister and four brothers.
Trying to identify this Sherman D. Colby from Concord, NH
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Ron
Descendants of Sherman D. COLBY - 16 MAY 2005
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FIRST GENERATION
1. Sherman D. COLBY was born in 1815 in New Hampshire. He appeared on the
census in 1850 in Concord, Merrimack County, New Hampshire. He appeared on
the census in 1860 in Concord, Merrimack County, New Hampshire. He appeared
on the census in 1870 in Concord, Merrimack County, New Hampshire. He
appeared on the census in 1880 in Concord, Merrimack County, New Hampshire.
He was married to Martha W. CROWELL on May 1, 1845 in Concord, Merrimack
County, New Hampshire. (SOURCE: FHL Number 1000976; COLBY, Sherman D.,
Marriage: Martha W. CROWELL, Date: 1 May 1845; Recorded in: Birth and
Marriage Index for New Hampshire.) Martha W. CROWELL was born in 1816 in
New Hampshire. She appeared on the census in 1850 in Concord, Merrimack
County, New Hampshire. She appeared on the census in 1860 in Concord,
Merrimack County, New Hampshire. She appeared on the census in 1870 in
Concord, Merrimack County, New Hampshire. She appeared on the census in
1880 in Concord, Merrimack County, New Hampshire. Sherman D. COLBY and
Martha W. CROWELL had the following children:
2 i. Sherman P. COLBY was born in 1846 in Concord, Merrimack County, New
Hampshire. He appeared on the census in 1850 in Concord, Merrimack County,
New Hampshire. (living at home with father and mother.) He appeared on the
census in 1860 in Concord, Merrimack County, New Hampshire. (living at home
with father and mother.)
3 ii. Clara M. COLBY was born in 1849 in Concord, Merrimack County, New
Hampshire. She appeared on the census in 1850 in Concord, Merrimack County,
New Hampshire. (living at home with father and mother.) She appeared on
the census in 1860 in Concord, Merrimack County, New Hampshire. (living at
home with father and mother.) She appeared on the census in 1870 in
Concord, Merrimack County, New Hampshire. (living at home with father and
mother.)
4 iii. Rosilla D. COLBY was born in 1851 in Concord, Merrimack County, New
Hampshire. She appeared on the census in 1860 in Concord, Merrimack County,
New Hampshire. (living at home with father and mother.) She appeared on
the census in 1870 in Concord, Merrimack County, New Hampshire. (living at
home with father and mother.)
5 iv. Flora A. COLBY was born in 1854 in Concord, Merrimack County, New
Hampshire. She appeared on the census in 1860 in Concord, Merrimack County,
New Hampshire. (living at home with father and mother.) She appeared on
the census in 1870 in Concord, Merrimack County, New Hampshire. (living at
home with father and mother.)
+6 v. John W. COLBY (born in November 1857).
SECOND GENERATION
6. John W. COLBY was born in November 1857 in Concord, Merrimack County,
New Hampshire. He appeared on the census in 1860 in Concord, Merrimack
County, New Hampshire. (living at home with father and mother.) He
appeared on the census in 1870 in Concord, Merrimack County, New Hampshire.
(living at home with father and mother.) He appeared on the census in 1880
in Concord, Merrimack County, New Hampshire. (living at home with father
and mother.) He appeared on the census in 1900 in Concord, Merrimack
County, New Hampshire.
He was married to Hattie L. STEVENS on December 3, 1888 in Concord,
Merrimack County, New Hampshire. (SOURCE: FHL Number 1000976; COLBY, John
W., Age: 31 years; Marriage: Hattie L. STEVENS, Age: 23 years; Date: 03 Dec
1888; Recorded in: Birth and Marriage Index for New Hampshire.) Hattie L.
STEVENS was born in 1865 in Massachusetts. (Daughter of Nathan P. STEVENS
and Harriet A. ROLFE.)
He was married to Esther B. TUCKER on January 25, 1893 in Concord, Merrimack
County, New Hampshire. (SOURCE: FHL Number 1000976; COLBY, John W., Age:
35 years; Marriage: Esther B. TUCKER, Age: 18 years; Date: 25 Jan 1893;
Recorded in: Birth and Marriage Index for New Hampshire.) Esther B. TUCKER
was born in July 1874 in Massachusetts. (Daughter of Freeman A. TUCKER and
Lucy J. CARDY.) She appeared on the census in 1900 in Concord, Merrimack
County, New Hampshire. John W. COLBY and Esther B. TUCKER had the following
children:
7 i. John Bernard COLBY was born on May 24, 1893 in Concord, Merrimack
County, New Hampshire. He appeared on the census in 1900 in Concord,
Merrimack County, New Hampshire. (living at home with father and mother.)
8 ii. Harold COLBY was born in March 1897 in Concord, Merrimack County, New
Hampshire. He appeared on the census in 1900 in Concord, Merrimack County,
New Hampshire. (living at home with father and mother.)
Prepared by:
Ronald M. Colby
4814 South 4180 West
Kearns, Utah 84118-4014
COLBY FAMILY & OTHERS
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~colby/colbyfam
This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list.
Surnames: Colby, Sherman, Flynn
Classification: Obituary
Message Board URL:
http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/wQJ.2ACEB/703
Message Board Post:
Colby, Dr. Ira S.
PITTSFIELD -- Dr. Ira S. Colby, 87, of Ann Drive died Sunday at Mount
Greylock Extended Care Facility.
Born in New York City on Dec. 31, 1916, son of Philip and Sadie
Sherman Colby, he graduated from high school there in 1933, from City
College in New York City in 1937 and from New York University College of
Dentistry in 1941. He received his license to practice dentistry in 1942 in
New York and in 1947 in Massachusetts, and completed his residence in
general dentistry at Mount Sinai Medical Center in 1943.
An Army veteran of World War II, he served as a captain from 1943 to
1946 and was the chief of three dental clinics.
Dr. Colby maintained a general dentistry practice on South Street for
43 years. He sold the practice to Dr. Alan Gold and retired in 1990. He was
on the medical staff of the former St. Luke's Hospital and of Berkshire
Medical Center. He was appointed as a lecturer at Harvard University in
1974. He had practiced dentistry in Manhattan for a year before moving to
Pittsfield.
He was elected a fellow to the American College of Dentists in 1965
and to the International College of Dentists in 1969. He was past president
of the Berkshire District Dental Society and the Massachusetts Dental
Society. He was recognized in 1969 by the state Senate for his leadership in
strengthening the Medicaid Dental Program, primarily working with the Head
Start program in increasing access for pediatric dentistry. He also helped
establish a retirement program for dentists throughout the state.
Dr. Colby was a member of the Country Club of Pittsfield for more than
35 years and an avid tennis player. He also enjoyed painting at the
Berkshire Museum and organizing traveling for MDS members to Italy, Ireland,
South America and Hawaii. He also had been president of the board of
directors of Jacob's Pillow for 15 years and a member of the New York
University Century Club.
He and his wife, the former Mary L. Flynn, were married Oct. 12, 1943,
in St. Mark's rectory in Pittsfield.
Besides his wife, he leaves two sons, Dr. Ira C. Colby of Houston and
Peter E. Colby of Acton; two brothers, Dr. Raymond Colby of Pittsfield and
Dr. Robert Colby of Del Ray Beach, Fla.; a sister, Doris Meenes of Boca
Raton, Fla.; four grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.
FUNERAL NOTICE -- Dr. Ira S. Colby, 87, died Sunday, Oct. 3, 2004. The
funeral service and celebration of his life will be private, with Barbara
Cohen, spiritual leader of Temple Anshe Amunim, and Rabbi Harold Salzmann,
rabbi emeritus, officiating. Inurnment will take place in St. Michael the
Archangel Mausoleum in St. Joseph's Cemetery. The family extends an
invitation to friends and colleagues to attend a meal of consolation at the
Country Club of Pittsfield on Friday, Oct. 8, beginning at noon. Memorial
donations may be made to the Parkinson's Disease Research Fund in care of
DEVANNY-CONDRON FUNERAL HOME, 40 Maplewood Ave., Pittsfield 01201. He is
also survived by his grandchildren, Stephen, Matthew, Elizabeth and Lisa
Colby, and his great-grandchildren, Taylor, Megan, Tristan and Reese Colby.
I am glad to see some spirited dialogue about our
Anthony Colby parentage. I am one of the believers in
John Brooks Threlfall's documented research.
From, "Fifty Great Migration Colonists To New
England", By John W. Threfall, Madison, Wisconsin,
1990:
"ANTHONY COLBY (Thomas, Matthew) was baptized on 8
September 1605 at Horbling, Lincolnshire. Horbling is
next to Sempringham where his Colby ancestors had
lived for several generations. He was apparently
named for his uncle, Anthony Jackson.
Left London, (Isle of Writht) in March of 1630 with
more than 400 others. Arrived on ship Arbella at
Boston. Lived on shipboard 4 months before housing
could be made.
"THE GREAT MIGRATION"
"The Massachusetts Bay Company was organized to
cultivate trade, convert the heathen, and provide a
refuge for those who position in England, under King
Charles I and Archbishop Laud, was becoming more
untenable...
"During the winter of 1629-30 a fleet of eleven
vessels had been readied. Four, including the
"Arbella", which carried Governor Winthrop and the
charter, without the possession of which he and his
associates had not been willing to sail, left England
on March 29, 1630; the others soon followed. The year
1630 alone brought about fifteen hundred people, and
it has been estimated that there were fifteen thousand
by 1642, when political conditions in England
prevented any considerable further emigrations. By
1647 more Than twenty communities had been
established, mostly near the coast, with Dedham the
farthest inland. As time passed, prosperity came with
trade in cod, furs, and lumber, supplemented by rum,
distilled from West Indian molasses.
The "Arbella" landed at Salem, after more than two
months at sea. Winthrop and his followers first
intended one compact settlement, but Salem "pleased
them not," and they moved on... Except for the
inadequacy of water supplies, they might have made
Charlestown their headquarters, but when invited by
William Blaxton, survivor of a Gorges colony, living
on what is now Beacon Hill, they moved on the Shawmut
or Trimountain, whose name was changed to Boston.
Between lack of fresh food, inadequate housing, and
disease, the first winter was almost as bad as
Plymouth's, especially after intense cold set in on
Christmas Eve. When the "Lion" arrived with
provisions, the worst agony was relieved, but many
went back with her, and some left their bones in
King's Chapel burying ground, where they still lie."
"Anthony Colby left London, (Isle of Wright) in March
of 1630 with more than 400 others from the area. The
ship Anthony traveled across the Atlantic and was
re-christened the 'Arbella' in honor of Lady Arbella.
The ship mounted 28 guns and carried a crew of
fifty-two seamen. On Thursday, April 8, 1630 the
fleet set sail to the unknown West. On June 12th,
land was a reality when they arrived at Cape Ann.
From then untill the 6th of July, when the last of the
convoy arrived safely. Their final prayer ended with
- - "And there shall be no more Sea.."
------------------------------------------
In the Additions and corrections section printed in
1919, I found the following pertaining to Anthony
Colby. This is what Hoyt had to say about James W.
Colby's Beccles theory.
"James W. Colby, in his "History of the Colby
Family,"
Waltham, Mass, 1895, states that Anthony of Salisbury,
b. 1690
(should be 1590), was the son of Thomas of Beccles,
Suffolk, Eng.
He carries the ancestry back through Suffolk families,
probably
descended from John, who disappears from the Norfolk
pedigree,
eldest son of John of Banham, Norfolk, grandson of Sir
John, and
brother of Robert; but gives no authority. He carries
the
Norfolk line much further back than Sir John, to
Robert de
Colebi. He gives Colby families in other parts of
England, and
gives the ancestry of Christopher as we have it above;
but states
that he was living in 1616 and left no issue. The
"Visitation"
quoted above make no such statement. Mr. Colby omits
entirely
the Thorold-Colby line, which includes an Anthony
Colby who may
have been b. in 1690."
"In is probable that the Suffolk family is a
branch of he
Norfolk line; but it is DOUBTFUL if the connection Mr
Colby gives
is correct. If we understand his arrangement, he
makes the
ancestry of Anthony of Salisbury as follows: Sir
John, John of
Banham, John d. 1459, John of Brundish (Suffolk), d.
1540?,
Thomas of Beccles, will 1588, Anthony, b. 1590. It is
not often
that a son dies 81 years later than his father, and if
a man's
will was probated in 1588, he could not have a son
born in 1590.
Mr. Colby gives a Christopher of this branch, an uncle
of Anthony
of Salisbury. Could he have been the husband of Anne
Thorold?
Six generations seem too few. If the Christopher of
Banham and
Grantham were the same, the son Anthony would be the
ninth
generation."
"The Suffolk "Visitation" of 1664, published in
1910, gives
a later pedigree, showing that Rev. Thomas Colby, son
of Thomas
and brother of Christopher settled in Cawston,
Norfolk, and had a
son, John of Waltham, Suffolk, in 1664."
BOB COLBY
http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/c/o/l/Robert-C-Colby-jr/index....
Clarence --
If I may, I should like to formulate a consolidated response to your several queries regarding Anthony Colby's parentage. As I see it, there are two separate issues here:
1) How conclusive is the evidence against the assertion that the immigrant Anthony Colby was the son of Thomas Colby and Beatrice Felton of Beccles in Suffolk?
2) What evidence can be marshalled in support of the assertion that the immigrant Anthony Colby was the son of Thomas Colby and Anne Jackson of Horbling in Lincolnshire?
From my perspective, the answer to the first item must be that the evidence is substantial. As Ron indicated in a recent posting, a number of respected genealogists have called into question the reliability of James Colby's original identification of Anthony with the Beccles family. One of the most cogent rebuttals is to be found in the 1975 Nelson article, which Ron posted to the list in its entirety. I find Nelson's arguments to be compelling. His reasoning can be boiled down to two main points:
A) Based upon the 1588 will of Thomas Colby of Beccles (and other related documents cited in the article), Thomas's fifth child Anthony would have been approximately 56 years old at the time of his arrival in Massachusetts. This would require him to have begotten 8 children over the next 20 years, and to have engaged in strenuous physical labor up to the time of his death at age 87. Such a scenario is highly unlikely.
B) The 1643 will of Anthony's brother Phillip, which provides for an annuity to be paid to Anthony twice a year, strongly suggests that Anthony Colby of Beccles was still in England 13 years after the immigrant Anthony Colby arrived in Massachusetts. Moreover (and this is the real clincher), this same will makes a bequest to Anthony's adult son Thomas -- seven years before the birth of Thomas Colby, son of the immigrant Anthony Colby!
In light of the above, the likelihood seems to me remote that Anthony Colby, son of Thomas Colby of Beccles, was the individual who came to America with the Winthrop fleet in 1630.
So, then, who was Anthony Colby the immigrant, and who were his parents? As Nelson points out, there were a number of men by that name living in England in the first quarter of the 17th century. Is there conclusive evidence that the Anthony Colby who was christened in 1605 at Horbling in Lincolnshire is the right man?
The answer to this question is that while no absolute proof exists, circumstantial evidence to this effect is persuasive. John Brooks Threlfall has demonstrated that all other contemporary Anthony Colbys can be eliminated from consideration for one reason or another, leaving us to assess whether Anthony Colby of Horbling is a logical candidate. Consider the following:
I) He is the right age -- he would have been approximately 24 at the time of his arrival in Massachusetts.
II) Thomas Colby's 1625 will mentions his five living sons. Three of them (William, Richard, and Robert) are mentioned in subsequent source documents as being in residence at Horbling after 1630, but there is no record of Anthony or his brother Matthew in England after 1625.
III) Early records suggest an association between the immigrant Anthony Colby and Simon Bradstreet, who eventually became governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony. The two men were nearly the same age, and it is of no little significance that Bradstreet (who also arrived in America in 1630) was a Horbling native. Winthrop's original company also included a number of others from villages near Horbling.
John Brooks Threlfall has compiled a brief documented history of the ancestry of Anthony Colby of Horbling, taking both his paternal and maternal lines back several more generations.
I hope this posting provides answers to some of your questions. While absolute certainty will probably remain beyond our reach, the foregoing represents a summary of the most current research on the subject.
Regards,
Guy I. Colby IV
Irving, TX
Clarence
You mentioned your cousin gave you the information about Anthony being from
Beccles.
My question is: what are their sources for this conclusion? Would you share
these with us?
Ron Colby
----- Original Message -----
From: <cbbagby(a)sbcglobal.net>
To: <COLBY-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2005 7:11 PM
Subject: [COLBY] Re: Thomas Colby
This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list.
Surnames: Colby Felton
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Message Board Post:
I have now read Glade Nelson's article.
I must say that from my vantage point, it seems to place high importance on
a great deal of subjective evidence.
I do not think now, having read all of this, that there is conclusive
evidence that there were two Anthony Colbys and two Thomas Colbys.
I believe the will of Thomas Colby that I have from 1588 is the most
concrete evidence to date and it supports my position that Anthony Colby was
the second son of Thomas Colby of Beccles.
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Message Board Post:
I have now read Glade Nelson's article.
I must say that from my vantage point, it seems to place high importance on a great deal of subjective evidence.
I do not think now, having read all of this, that there is conclusive evidence that there were two Anthony Colbys and two Thomas Colbys.
I believe the will of Thomas Colby that I have from 1588 is the most concrete evidence to date and it supports my position that Anthony Colby was the second son of Thomas Colby of Beccles.
This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list.
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Message Board Post:
Guy,
What are the sources for these conclusions?
I am assuming that since you are so emphatic, you must have conclusive evidence of which Anthony is which and which Thomas is whice.
Please share these with us.
Ron - been reading all these entries... and I thought I was having a hard time trying to find my Jeremiah Colby... geez...
Katie
-------------- Original message --------------
> Clarence
> My question is
> What are your cousin's sources on the ancestry of Anthony that suggests he
> was from Beccles?
>
> Glade Nelson is not the only author who has disagreed with James W. Colby's
> conclusion that Anthony came from Beccles.
> It started David W. Hoyt in his book "Old Families of Salisbury and
> Amesbury", he question his findings in 1897. Boyd Roberts of the NEHGS and
> John B. Threlfall are among others who have questioned the Beccles line.
>
> Ron
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From:
> To:
> Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2005 10:44 PM
> Subject: [COLBY] Re: Thomas Colby
>
>
> This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list.
>
> Surnames: Colby Felton
> Classification: Query
>
> Message Board URL:
>
> http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/wQJ.2ACEB/652.1.1.1
>
> Message Board Post:
>
> Guy Colby IV wrote:
>
> There are two separate Colby lines which have often been confused. The
> Thomas Colby who was christened 20 Dec 1567 at Sempringham, Lincolnshire,
> England was married on 4 May 1596 at Horbling (about two miles north of
> Sempringham) to Anne (or Agnes) Jackson. He died 10 December 1525. Their son
> Anthony, christened 8 Sep 1605 at Horbling, was the immigrant who came to
> Massachusetts with the Winthrop fleet in 1630 -- he is the ancestor of the
> vast majority of Colbys in America today.
>
> There was another unrelated Thomas Colby who lived in Beccles, East Suffolk,
> England, whose second wife was Beatrice Felton. This couple also had a son
> named Anthony, who was born about 1574. James W. Colby's 1895 book "Colby
> Family History" erroneously identifies this Anthony Colby as the one who
> emigrated to America, and the error has been perpetuated in numerous
> publications and family trees down to the present time. The identification
> of the immigrant Anthony Colby with the Suffolk line was conclusively
> refuted by Glade Ian Nelson in an article in the April 1975 issue of "The
> American Genealogist."
>
> Guy I. Colby IV
> Irving, TX
> -----------------
> I am always nervous when people say things like "conclusively refuted" when
> talking about genealogy especially when we're talking about 400+ year old
> records.
>
> Does anyone know that basis for Mr. Nelson's position?
>
> My cousin very thoroughly researched this line, so I hate to dismiss his
> hard work out of turn without at least gathering more data.
>
> Sure would appreciate some details.
>
> Best regards to you all,
> C. Burton Bagby
> Houston, Texas
>
>
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Trying to identify this Joseph Colby.
In the 1860 census his initial is given as K in the 1870 it is B.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Ron
Descendants of Joseph K./B. COLBY - 12 MAY 2005
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FIRST GENERATION
1. Joseph K./B. COLBY was born in 1825 in Massachusetts. He appeared on
the census in 1860 in Haverhill, Essex County, Massachusetts. He was a
Music Teacher in 1860 in Haverhill, Essex County, Massachusetts. He was a
Music Teacher in 1870 in Bradford, Essex County, Massachusetts. He appeared
on the census in 1870 in Bradford, Essex County, Massachusetts. He died
between 1870 and 1880.
He was married to Jane (COLBY) about 1852. Jane (COLBY) was born in April
1831 in New York. She appeared on the census in 1860 in Haverhill, Essex
County, Massachusetts. She appeared on the census in 1870 in Bradford,
Essex County, Massachusetts. She appeared on the census in 1880 in
Haverhill, Essex County, Massachusetts. She appeared on the census in 1900
in Haverhill, Essex County, Massachusetts. (living with son Frank Henry
Colby and family.) Joseph K./B. COLBY and Jane (COLBY) had the following
children:
2 i. Josephine A. COLBY was born in 1853 in New York. She appeared on the
census in 1860 in Haverhill, Essex County, Massachusetts. (living at home
with father and mother. Listed as Joseph A. Colby.) She appeared on the
census in 1870 in Bradford, Essex County, Massachusetts. (living at home
with father and mother.) She was a Music Teacher in 1880 in Haverhill,
Essex County, Massachusetts. She appeared on the census in 1880 in
Haverhill, Essex County, Massachusetts. (living at home with mother.)
+3 ii. Frank Henry COLBY (born in July 1861).
4 iii. Walter R. COLBY was born in 1866 in Massachusetts. He appeared on
the census in 1870 in Bradford, Essex County, Massachusetts. (living at
home with father and mother.) He appeared on the census in 1880 in
Haverhill, Essex County, Massachusetts. (living at home with mother.)
SECOND GENERATION
3. Frank Henry COLBY was born in July 1861 in Massachusetts. He appeared
on the census in 1870 in Bradford, Essex County, Massachusetts. (living at
home with father and mother.) He appeared on the census in 1880 in
Haverhill, Essex County, Massachusetts. (living at home with mother.) He
appeared on the census in 1900 in Haverhill, Essex County, Massachusetts.
He was married to Martha KINGSBURY on September 8, 1892 in Massachusetts.
Martha KINGSBURY was born on June 23, 1865 in Bradford, Essex County,
Massachusetts. She appeared on the census in 1900 in Haverhill, Essex
County, Massachusetts. Frank Henry COLBY and Martha KINGSBURY had the
following children:
5 i. John Kingsbury COLBY was born on October 19, 1896 in Massachusetts.
He appeared on the census in 1900 in Haverhill, Essex County, Massachusetts.
(living at home with father and mother.)
Prepared by:
Ronald M. Colby
4814 South 4180 West
Kearns, Utah 84118-4014
COLBY FAMILY & OTHERS
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~colby/colbyfam
Clarence
My question is
What are your cousin's sources on the ancestry of Anthony that suggests he
was from Beccles?
Glade Nelson is not the only author who has disagreed with James W. Colby's
conclusion that Anthony came from Beccles.
It started David W. Hoyt in his book "Old Families of Salisbury and
Amesbury", he question his findings in 1897. Boyd Roberts of the NEHGS and
John B. Threlfall are among others who have questioned the Beccles line.
Ron
----- Original Message -----
From: <cbbagby(a)sbcglobal.net>
To: <COLBY-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2005 10:44 PM
Subject: [COLBY] Re: Thomas Colby
This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list.
Surnames: Colby Felton
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Message Board Post:
Guy Colby IV wrote:
There are two separate Colby lines which have often been confused. The
Thomas Colby who was christened 20 Dec 1567 at Sempringham, Lincolnshire,
England was married on 4 May 1596 at Horbling (about two miles north of
Sempringham) to Anne (or Agnes) Jackson. He died 10 December 1525. Their son
Anthony, christened 8 Sep 1605 at Horbling, was the immigrant who came to
Massachusetts with the Winthrop fleet in 1630 -- he is the ancestor of the
vast majority of Colbys in America today.
There was another unrelated Thomas Colby who lived in Beccles, East Suffolk,
England, whose second wife was Beatrice Felton. This couple also had a son
named Anthony, who was born about 1574. James W. Colby's 1895 book "Colby
Family History" erroneously identifies this Anthony Colby as the one who
emigrated to America, and the error has been perpetuated in numerous
publications and family trees down to the present time. The identification
of the immigrant Anthony Colby with the Suffolk line was conclusively
refuted by Glade Ian Nelson in an article in the April 1975 issue of "The
American Genealogist."
Guy I. Colby IV
Irving, TX
-----------------
I am always nervous when people say things like "conclusively refuted" when
talking about genealogy especially when we're talking about 400+ year old
records.
Does anyone know that basis for Mr. Nelson's position?
My cousin very thoroughly researched this line, so I hate to dismiss his
hard work out of turn without at least gathering more data.
Sure would appreciate some details.
Best regards to you all,
C. Burton Bagby
Houston, Texas
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In the body include only one word: unsubscribe
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This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list.
Surnames: Colby
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Message Board Post:
I take it you haven't read Glade Nelson's article
Extract from The American Genealogist
Whole number 202 Vol. 51, No 2
April 1975
Anthony Colby’s Purported Ancestry
By Glade Ian Nelson
James W. Colby’s frequently unreliable ‘Colby family History’, published in 1895, is the basis for the statement that Anthony Colby of Massachusetts Bay Colony was the son of Thomas Colby, Esquire, by his second wife Beatrice Felton of Beccles, Co. Suffolk, England. Since the printing of that volume, this relationship has been repeated in many other publications with elaboration’s upon the various royal personages which fill the ancestral pedigrees of the Colby and Felton families. Most recently it has appeared in Michel L. Call, ‘Royal Ancestors of some L.D.S. Families’ (Salt Lake City: 1972), and in Count d’Angerville, ‘Living Descendants of Blood Royal’, vol. 4. While the first book is so error-filled as to make it completely untrustworthy to any serious student of royal genealogies, the second does contain some lineage’s of merit. To the discredit of both authors they fail their readers by !
not giving documentary source material or references for data contained in their books. It should not be too surprising, therefore, that the claim of the Massachusetts immigrant, Anthony Colby, as the son of Thomas and Beatrice (Felton) Colby is without substantiation and most likely completely fallacious. Certain lineage societies have rather blindly accepted this lineage in the past and, I presume, continue to do so. (See Langston and Buck, ‘Pedigrees of Some of the Emperor Charlemagne’s Descendants’, Vol. ii (1974), p. 96--Ed.). Therefore, in order to correct this purported parentage and to warn those who might be tempted to accept the questionable lineage, the following information is presented.
Anthony Colby came to New England probably with the Winthorp Fleet in 1630 for in that year he was of Boston and recorded as a church member. He was of Cambridge as early as 1632 when he owned land and buildings there, and was still there when, on 14 May 1634, he took the oath of "freeman" before the General Court in Boston. About 1637 he moved to the settlement at Ipswich, but soon thereafter moved on to Salisbury, then called Colchester, where he received land in the first division of 1639. Additional grants of land were given to him by the town of Salisbury in 1640 and 1643. Anthony Colby was one of the original settlers of the "newtown", now called Amesbury, where he was made a commoner on 19 March 1654, receiving a grant of land there in that same year as well as grants in subsequent years. (1) He died intestate, 11 Feb. 1660/1, in Salisbury, Mass., and the inventory was taken on 9 March 1660/1, (2) with the division made 9 April 1661.
(3) Although as early as 1939, information concerning the identity of Anthony Colby’s wife was printed by Donald Lines Jacobus, (4) many errors have since been printed concerning her. Mr. Jacobus clearly pointed out that Anthony Colby married after coming to New England, probably between 1630 and 1632, the widow Susannah Waterman of Boston, Mass. She married, thirdly, about 1663-4, William Whitridge, a carpenter from Gloucester who died 5 Dec. 1668, leaving her a widow for the third time. Susannah died 8 July 1689 in Salisbury, Mass. Various accounts state her maiden name to have been Haddon and make her either a sister or daughter of William Sargent, and still others ascribe her to her the name Nutting. None of these claims, however, is substantiated by documented evidence, leaving her maiden name unknown. (5) Anthony and Susannah Colby had the following children: (6)
i. John, bapt. 8 Sept.1633, Boston, Mass., d 11 Feb 1673/4; m. Salisbury, 14 Jan 1655/6, Frances Hoyt.
ii. Sarah, b. 6 March 1634/5, Cambridge, Mass.; m. 6 March 1653/4, Orlando Bagley.
iii. Child, b. ca.1637, prob. Ipswich, Mass.; may have d. y. (Savage states here were four children older than Isaac. which is the basis for the inclusion of this unnamed child).
iv. Samuel, b. ca. 1638, Ipswich, d. 1716; m. Elizabeth Sargent.
v. Isaac, b. 6 July 1640, Salisbury, d. by 1691; m. Martha Parratt.
vi. Rebecca, b. 11 March 1643, Salisbury, d. by 1673; m. Haverhill, Mass., 9 Sept 1661, John Williams.
vii. Mary, b. 19 Sept 1647, Salisbury; m. Amesbury, 25 Sept. 1668, William Sargent.
viii. Thomas, b. 8 March 1650/1, Salisbury; estate inventory taken 31 March 1691; m. 16 Sept 1674, Hannah Rowell.
Examination of English Colby records sheds light on the problem at hand. The 1612 Visitation of Suffolk contains the family of Thomas and Beatrice (Felton) Colby as "Thomas, son and heir; Charles, second son, obit; John, obit; Anthony; Edmond, obit; Philip; Francis; Huntington; Beatrice, mar to Edmond Thurston of Colchester; Mary, mar. to John Copuldyke of Kirby in suff.; Penelope, mar. to Sir Walter Aston in Chesh.; Katherin, unm." (7) Thus it can be seen that there was a son Anthony belonging to this family. However, justification for rejecting him as the immigrant Anthony is substantial, as will be further explained.
Thomas Colby of Beccles, co. Suffolk, England, wrote his will 8 June 1588 and it was proved that same year at the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. (8) In this will Thomas referred to "Beatrice my well beloved wife" to whom he gave all his manors for life as well as other items. He then bequeathed to his "son Thomas from and after the decease of my wife all my manors. . ." Provision was made that should the son Thomas die without legal heirs, the lands were to be entailed to his other living sons, Anthony, Edmond, Philip, Francis and Huntington, in that order. Concerning these last five sons mention is made of a distribution of an annual rent in the sum of 9 pounds and 6 shillings to each of the sons from a farm in Brundish, co. Suffolk, that "eache and every of them shall begin to receyve their saide annuitic or portion at twentie years of age untill whiche time I will and devise that my executors shall putt the saide money during their minorities or manage to the only !
profit and bringing upp of my said sonnes in vertu good education and bearinge. . ." Thomas also mentioned "my thre (sic) daughters and the child whiche my wife is at the making. . . at their age of twentie yeares or at their severall dayes of marriage. . ." Thomas made his son Thomas and his brother-in-law Anthony Felton executors of his will, with his brother Francis Colby as supervisor.
The children of Thomas and Beatrice (with approximate birth years based on the best documentation available) were: (9)
i. Thomas, b. ca. 1566; m. Brundish, 1599, Amy Brampton; lived in Brundish where six of their children were baptized, with two additional children mentioned in the 1612 visitation of Suffolk.
ii. Charles, 2nd son, b. ca. 1568; appears only in the 1612 Suffolk Visitation as already deceased; not mentioned in father’s will in 1588 nor in that of Uncle Francis in 1599.
iii. Beatrice, b. ca. 1570; under 20 years of age in 1588 when her father’s will was made; m. Edmond Thurston of Colchester; her unnamed children are referred to in her brother Philip’s will in 1643.
iv. John, 3rd son, b. ca. 1572; mentioned only as deceased in the 1612 Visitation; not mentioned in the wills of his father (1588 or Uncle Francis (1599)
v. Anthony, 4th son, b. ca. 1574; erroneously claimed as the New England immigrant.
vi. Mary, b. ca. 1576, m. 1598 in Beccles, John Copuldyke of Kirby, Suffolk.
vii. Edmond, 5th son, b. ca. 1578; mentioned in will of his father (1588) and in his Uncle’s (1599), but listed in the 1612 Visitation of Suffolk as already deceased.
viii. Philip, 6th son, b. ca. 1580; m. 1609 in Beccles, Lady Dorothy
(Bacon) Gawdy, daughter of Sir Nicholas Bacon, Knt. and widow of Sir Bassingbourn Gawdy, Bart. She d. 1621 at age 47. Philip’s will in 1643 mentioned only one daughter. This will, referred to later on, contains additional valuable information concerning his
brothers, sisters, nephews and nieces.
ix. Penelope. b. ca. 1582, m. Sir Walter Aston; mentioned in brother Philip’s will as "my loveing sister ye Lady Aston."
x. Francis, 7th son, b. ca. 1584; m. 1610 in Beccles, Margaret Sampson, daughter and coheir of George Sampson of Sampson’s Hall, Kersey, Suffolk; gentleman of the Privy Chamber to Prince Henry. Francis and Margaret had one son Hertford aged 1 in the 1612
Visitation.
xi. Huntington, 8th son, b. ca. 1586; knighted 28 Nov. 1616.
xii. Katherine, b. shortly after her father’s will (1588) in which he refers to "the child whiche my wife is at the making." Unmarried when the 1612 Visitation was recorded.
The Anthony Colby living in Beccles, England, son of Thomas and Beatrice (Felton) Colby, as has been pointed out, was under 20 years of age in 1588 when his father made his will. His eldest brother Thomas was the only one of the family not designated as under age. Consequently Thomas’s birth year cannot be placed later than 1568 and was probably just one or two years before that date. The Visitation of Suffolk taken in 1561 (10) indicated the father as then married to Ursella, Lady Brend, his first wife. Therefore, Thomas’s second marriage, to Beatrice Felton, occurred subsequent to 1561. The 1612 Visitation of Suffolk lists the children of Thomas and Beatrice, listing Anthony as the fourth of their eight sons along with four daughters. Other listings of the brothers follow the same basic position of Anthony as fourth son. Given this information, and knowing all of Thomas and Beatrice’s children were born between 1561 and 1588, their son Anthony!
’s birth year can be approximated as 1574. Certainly a few years variance is possible, one way or the other, but reason dictates it cannot be placed earlier than 1570 nor later than 1579. If this was the Anthony Colby who came to New England in 1630, he would then have been at least 50 years of age! That by itself would not be too astounding, but his next feat, marriage to a young, recent widow who had the attractive attribute of owning property and not under the necessity of making an undesirable marriage arrangement, certainly would have been. (11) Next, this Anthony would have sired at least eight children, the last arriving when he was at least 70 years of age. For this to be the case, the wife Susannah would have had to be at least twenty years his junior. While not biologically impossible, these accomplishments are not very probable. Their improbability is further accentuated by a knowledge of what the immigrant Anthony did after coming to New England.
In the old Norfolk County, Mass., records, (12) can be found an agreement made 4 Nov. 1658 between Willi: Osgood, Phillip Challis, William Barnes, Anthony Colby and Sam’ll Worcester, copartners, present possessors of a saw mill situated in Salisbury. David W. Hoyt in his work, ‘Old Families of Salisbury and Amesbury,’ (13) presents information concerning each of these men. According to Hoyt’s records, William Osgood was born about 1609 and hence would have been about 49 years of age in 1658. Philip Challis, according to his own deposition, was born in 1617, and therefore 41 years of age in 1658. William Barnes would have been born between 1605 and 1615, as his children are recorded as born from about 1640 to 1653; his age then in 1658 would have been between 43 and 53, say 48 as a compromise. Samuel Worcester was first married in 1659 when he was about thirty, placing his birth about 1629. Compare these ages of 49, 41, 48 and 29, wit!
h the 78 years of the son of Thomas and Beatrice (Felton) Colby. The wording of the sawmill agreement is such as to make it seem that all were able-bodied men who would be personally laboring at the mill. For a man of 78 this would have been difficult, even if in excellent health. Association of a elderly man with men of middle years might be reasonable if he had superior financial capacity, but this does not seem to have been present to the advantage of Anthony Colby. The total value of his estate when appraised just three years later was only li 359, of which li 185 was in real estate and the remainder in various sundry personal goods. (14) of interest also is the fact that the inventory contained several items belonging to the saw mill and its activities. The logical conclusion that must be reached is that the Anthony Colby associated with the saw mill in 1658 was not in his late seventies, and therefore could not have been the son of Thomas and Beatrice (Felton!
) Colby of Beccles, England.
The most enlightening information concerning his comes from the will of his brother Philip. (15) This will, made and proved in 1643, mentions, among others, two of his sisters, two of his brothers and seven nephews and nieces, including:
Item I doe give into my brother Mr. Anthony Colby in present moneys xx li and doe give & confirm unto him his anuity or porsion being ffive pounds by ye yeare during the terme of his naturall life, payable at hollowmas and candlemas.
Item I doe give unto his sonne Thomas Colby three score pounds to be payd unto him within one yeare next after my decease.
This document is important because (1 it mentions Philip’s brother Anthony with no hint whatever that he was not residing in England, thirteen years after the American Anthony had arrived in New England, and (2 it show that Anthony had a son Thomas in 1643 also presumably living in England. It would have been very unusual for Philip not to make provision for sending Anthony’s "ffive pounds by ye yeare during the term of his natural life" twice yearly, if this money was to have been transported to the New World! Failure to make such a provision is further indication that two Anthonys are involved. The second item quoted shows that Anthony had a son Thomas in 1643 who was to receive a substantial legacy within one year after his uncle Philip’s death. An examination of the American Anthony’s family, as presented earlier, indicates that his son Thomas was not born until 1650, with only sons John, Samuel and Isaac in 1643! Furthermore, no!
ne of the American Colbys would have been anywhere near their majority when the will was written. Had Philip’s nephew Thomas then been a minor, provision would certainly have been made for supervision of his legacy monies until a specified age was attained. In fact, this is exactly what Philip did with two of his three grandchildren with legacies to become due and payable when the grandchildren reached the ages of 16 and 14, respectively. The logical conclusion to be reached, again, is that Philip’s brother Anthony was not the same person as the Amesbury Anthony.
While use of the given name Anthony in the Beccles Colby family does provide a valuable clue as to the immigrant’s possible ancestry, the Beccles branch of the Colby family had no monopoly of this Christian name. Edward Colbye, Gentleman, Of Banham, co. Norfolk, wrote his will 31 March 1580, proved 17 May 1580, (16) in which he named, among others his wife Elizabeth, daughter Alice and sons Thomas, Francis, Anthony and Edward. The Banham parish registers contain the baptismal records of Edward (28 Jan 1560) and Thomas (14 Sept. 1561), (17) but not those of Alice, Francis and Anthony. There seems to have been a break in the Banham registers from about 1565 to about 1580, and their births probably occurred during this time. This Anthony could logically be estimated as born about 1568, making him even older than the Beccles Anthony. The Colby family of Banham, co. Norfolk, and that of Beccles, co. Suffolk, were branches of the same family, sharing common ancest!
ry. It can be seen that the name Anthony was known in both branches at least one generation before the American Anthony came to New England.
Furthermore, two other contemporary Anthony Colbys can be located in England. In 1622, Elizabeth Colby, singlewoman of Matshell (Mattinshall?) , co. Norfolk, made a nuncupative will in which she left the majority of her goods to "Anthoney Collby my brother Also his wife"(18) but as Thomas and Beatrice did not have a daughter Elizabeth, this must be another Anthony, especially in light of the significant distance. The parish registers of St. Nicholas, Ipswich, Suffolk, (19) contain the baptismal record on 29 April 1597 of Richard, son of Anthony Colby. The burials of this church show in 1604 -
29 Aug. John Colby }
Richard Colby } fratres
Ralph Davy
31 Aug Anthony Colby pater
The only similarity between the immigrant and the son of Thomas and Beatrice was the given name. However, other Anthony’s located in England, without any additional documentation, have just as valid a claim to be the New England immigrant. Further research into source material in Suffolk and Norfolk may reveal the parentage of the immigrant to New England who now has a large posterity in America, including the author of this article. Nevertheless, until documentation is forthcoming, the parentage of Anthony Colby of Amesbury must be regarded as unknown *, and the previously accepted connection with the son of Thomas and Beatrice (Felton) Colby must be discarded.
SOURCES: (1) Mary Lovering Holman, Ancestry of Charles Stinson Pillsbury and John Sargent Pillsbury (Concord, N.H., 1938), pp. 137 f.;
(2) David W. Hoyt, Old Families of Salisbury and Amesbury, Mass. (Providence, R.I., 1897), 1:103 f.
(3) Norfolk County Quarterly Court files 1:33.
(4) Ibid. p. 24
(5) Donald Lines Jacobus, The Waterman Family (New Haven 1939), 1:8.
(6) Holman, op. Cit.; Belle Preston, Bassett-Preston Ancestors (New Haven 1930), pp. 66 f.
(7) Holman, op. Cit. Hoyt, op. Cit.
(8) Walter C. Metcalfe, ed., Visitations of Suffolk (Exeter 1882), p. 127.
(9) Prerogative Court of Canterbury, Wills 1588 9 Leicester.
(10) Metcalfe, op. Cit., pp.17 f., 127; Brundish Parish Registers; Prerogative Court of Canterbury: Wills 1588 9 Leicester (will of Thomas Colby), 1599 94 Kidd (will of Francis Colby); Episcopal Consistory Court of Norwich, Wills 1642, f. 77 (will of Philip Colby; Boyd’s Marriage Index: Suffolk, vols. 1, 4, 7; Visitations of Norfolk in the year 1563 (Norwich 1878-1895), 1:97, 2:493 f.
(11) Metcalfe, op. Cit.
(12) Jacobus, op. Cit.
(13) Essex Institute Hist. Coll. 60 (1924) pp. 149 f:
(14) Hoyt, op. Cit.
(15) Probate Records of Essex County, Mass. (1916), 1, 1635-1664, pp. 407-410.
(16) Episcopal Consistory Court of Norwich, Wills 1642, f. 77.
(17) Ibid. 1580.
(18) Banham Parish Registers.
(19) Archdeaconry of Norfolk, Wills, 1622, f. 53.
(20) St. Nicholas, Ipswich, Parish Registers.
Many thanks to those who offered suggestions for contacting the survivors of Harold Colby Smith relative to obtaining permission for a facsimile reprint of the subject book. Several of you called to my attention an Internet white pages listing for a Carolyn Ochsner in Captiva, Florida. I spoke with her by phone this evening, and unfortunately, she is not the person we are looking for.
I also talked at length this evening with Adeline Stack of the Colby Clan Association, who is apparently the last one to correspond with Mr. Smith's family. Adeline exchanged letters some eight or ten years ago with Mr. Smith's widow and his daughter, at which time she purchased one of the last remaining books from the original press run. She does not have a current address for either of them, but she is going to see if she can retrieve from her files the last known addresses.
I will post any new developments to the list.
Guy I. Colby IV
Irving, TX