Robert Abell and Joanna —

Citing this biography: Boyd, Michelle, "Robert Abell and Joanna —," article, Olive and Eliza, last accessed [current date]."

Robert Abell was born about 1605, probably at Stapenhill, Derbyshire, England, to George Abell and Frances Cotton (see Great Migration Begins (GMB)). Some of the details of his young adulthood and relationship with his father can be guessed at by a bequest in his father's will, dated 8 September 1630: "I bequeath unto my second sonne Robert Abell onelie a Twentie shillings peece for his childs parte in regard to the charges I have beene at in placing him in a good trade in London which he hath made no use of and since in furnishing him for newe England where I hope he now is" (the passage from will above was cited in Boyer).

Robert arrived in Massachusetts in 1630 and settled first at Weymouth, Norfolk, Massachusetts (see GMB). He requested to be made a freeman 19 October 1630 and was admitted freeman 18 May 1631 (see GMB).

It is uncertain what Robert was doing between 19 October 1630 and 4 December 1638 (an appearance before the General Court), as he disappears from the record between these dates. On 6 April 1638, a Robert Abell (possibly ours) appears on the Providence Island Company's list of those going to New England who were willing to go to Providence. (See GMB.)

Robert married Joanna —. As there is no other evidence of his marrying another wife and three of his children named daughters Joanna, Robert Charles Anderson stated that they had probably married by 1639. On 3 July 1656, he was allowed to keep an ordinary (become an innkeeper) at Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts (see GMB). He took an oath of fidelity there in 1657 (see GMB). He served on the grand jury for Plymouth on 3 June 1657, the petit jury 4 June 1657, the coroner's jury 10 June 1661 and 22 April 1662 (see GMB).

Robert died 20 June 1663 in Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts. The inventory on his estate was taken 9 August 1663 and the distribution was made on 3 March 1663/4.

Joanna married second William Hyde 4 June 1667 in Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts. William arrived in Connecticut in 1636, original proprietor of Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut, also settled in Saybrook, Middlesex, Connecticut and Norwich, New London, Connecticut, died 6 January 1681 in Norwich, New London, Connecticut; for more information, see the page for William Hyde. William's granddaughter Margaret Post would later marry Joanna's son Caleb in 1669.

Robert and Joanna’s children are (see GMB):

1 Abraham Abell, buried 14 Nov 1639 in Weymouth, Norfolk, Massachusetts.
 
2
Mary Abell, born 11 Apr 1642 in Weymouth, Norfolk, Massachusetts, mentioned by name in the distribution of her father's estate (see GMB). Secondary sources claim that she married Samuel Luther but there is no known primary evidence for this.
 
3 Preserved Abell, married 1) Martha Redaway 27 Sep 1667 in Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts, 2) Sarah (Bowen?), and 3) Anna — 3 Jan 1706/7 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts (intention 20 Dec 1706 in Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts), a sergeant in 1689, ensign in 1690, and a lieutenant in an expedition against Quebec led by Sir William Phillips in 1690 (see Horace Abell), served in King Philip's War (ibid.), died 18 Aug 1724 in Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts (his will was dated that same day--see Horace Abell), buried in Newman Cemetery, East Providence, Providence, Rhode Island.

Wife 1: Martha Redaway, bur. 1 Mar 1685/6 in Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts.

Wife 2: Sarah (Bowen?), d. 14 May 1703 in Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts, buried in Newman Cemetery, East Providence, Providence, Rhode Island. Both The Abell Family in America and Torrey state that Preserved Abell married Sarah Bowen 27 Dec 1686 in Rehoboth. However, the Vital Records of Rehoboth, extracted by James N. Arnold, show a James Abell marrying Sarah Bowen on that date. The Great Migration Begins only gives information about Preserved's first marriage to Martha Redaway, then refers the reader to The Abell Family in America for information on his subsequent marriages.

Wife 3: Anna —, m. 1) -- West, d. 11 Dec 1723 in Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts.
 
4 Caleb Abell, born about 1647, probably in Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts, married 1) Margaret Post Jul 1669 in Norwich, New London, Connecticut and 2) Mary Miller 25 Jun 1701 in New London, New London, Connecticut, petitioned to become a freeman at Dedham, Norfolk, Massachusetts 3 May 1665, moved to Norwich, New London, Connecticut in 1668, constable in 1684 and 1706, selectman in 1682, townsman in 1689 (and "often afterwards"), appointed by the town to keep a tavern in 1694, sargeant of the Norwich Train Band in 1702, will dated 30 Jul 1728 and probated 16 Sep 1731 (see Horace Abell), died 7 Aug 1731 in Norwich, New London, Connecticut, buried in the Old Cemetery, Lebanon, New London, Connecticut.

Wife 1: Margaret Post, b. 21 Feb 1652 in Saybrook, Middlesex, Connecticut to John and Hester (Hyde) Post, died in Nov 1700 in Norwich, New London, Connecticut.

Wife 2: Mary Miller,
daughter of George Miller, widow of Stephen Loomer, admitted to the First Church of Christ in New London in 1696 (see Loomer-Shepard).
 
5 Joshua Abell, born about 1650, residing in Norwich, New London, Connecticut in 1672, married 1) Mehitabel Smith 1 Nov 1677 in Norwich, New London, Connecticut and 2) Bethiah Gadger in Nov 1685 in Norwich, New London, Connecticut, constable in 1682 in Norwich, New London, Connecticut, "frequently chosen townsman," a yeoman (see Horace Abell), will dated 6 Nov 1722 and probated 5 Mar 1724/5 (ibid.), died 1 March 1724/5 in Norwich, New London, Connecticut, buried in Old Norwichtown Cemetery, Norwich, New London, Connecticut.

Wife 1: Mehitabel Smith, b. 4 Jul 1655 in Marshfield, Plymouth, Massachusetts to Nehemiah Smith (and Anne Bourne, according to Horace Abell), d. 14 Mar 1684/5 in Norwich, New London, Connecticut.

Wife 2: Bethiah Gadger, b. abt. 1661 to John Gager (see TAG 11:154-5) and Elizabeth -- (see Horace Abell), d. 31 Mar 1723 in Norwich, New London, Connecticut, bur. in Old Norwichtown Cemetery, Norwich, New London, Connecticut.
 
6 Benjamin Abell, married Hannah —, residing in Norwich, New London, Connecticut as early as 1670, inventory 6 Jun 1699 at the court held in New London, New London, Connecticut.

Wife: Hannah —, m. 2) David Caulkins, according to Torrey.

7 Experience Abell, married John Baldwin in 1680 in Norwich, New London, Connecticut.

Husband: John Baldwin, b. 5 Dec 1654 in Guilford, New Haven, Connecticut to John Baldwin and Hannah (Birchard, according to Horace Abell), nuncupative will 8 Jan 1704/5 (see TAG 9:232), d. 18 Jan 1704 in Lebanon, New London, Connecticut, bur. in the Old Cemetery, Lebanon, New London, Connecticut, inventory 13 Feb 1704/5 (see TAG 9:232), a deacon (see TAG 9:232), selectman in 1717 (see Horace Abell).

8 (child) Abell, name, birthday, and gender unknown. The existence of this child can be deduced from the distribution of Robert's estate, which refers to an eldest son, Mary, and "the five other children." As Abraham was deceased well before that time, there must have been another child. Robert Charles Anderson's analysis of family names suggests Mehitable as a possible name, with Martha being another possibility (though the name only appears after the marriage of Preserved to Martha Redaway).


Summary of Sources

  1. Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook).
  2. Vital Records of Norwich Connecticut, 1659-1848. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2007.) Originally published as: Vital Records of Norwich, 1659-1848. Hartford, Society of colonial wars in the state of Connecticut, 1913.
  3. Ancestry.com. Connecticut Town Birth Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection) [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Original data: White, Lorraine Cook, ed. The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Records. Vol. 1-55. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1994-2002.
  4. Ancestry.com. Connecticut, Town Marriage Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection) [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Original data: White, Lorraine Cook, ed. The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Records. Vol. 1-55. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1994-2002.
  5. Ancestry.com. Connecticut, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1790-1890 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999. Original data: Jackson, Ronald V., Accelerated Indexing Systems, comp.. Connecticut Census, 1790-1890. Compiled and digitized by Mr. Jackson and AIS from microfilmed schedules of the U.S. Federal Decennial Census, territorial/state censuses, and/or census substitutes.
  6. Boston, MA: Marriages, 1700-1809. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2006), Originally published as: Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston, Containing the Boston Marriages from 1700 to 1751 (Vol. 28), Boston, Municipal Printing office, 1898. Records Relating to the Early History of Boston, Containing Boston Marriages from 1752 to 1809 (vol. 30), Boston, Municipal Printing Office, 1903.
  7. Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Compiled Marriages, 1633-1850 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Original data: Dodd, Jordan, Liahona Research, comp. Massachusetts, Marriages, 1633-1850.
  8. Vital Records of Rehoboth, Massachusetts, 1642-1896. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2002.) Originally published as: Vital record of Rehoboth, 1642-1896. Marriages, intentions, births, deaths. With supplement containing the record of 1896, colonial returns, lists of the early settlers, purchasers, freemen, inhabitants, the soldiers serving in Philip's war and the revolution, by James N. Arnold. Providence, RI: Narragansett Historical Publishing Company, 1897.
  9. Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850, Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2010.
  10. Ancestry.com. Connecticut, Deaths and Burials Index, 1650-1934 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
  11. "Connecticut Deaths and Burials, 1772–1934." Index. FamilySearch, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2009, 2010. Index entries derived from digital copies of original and compiled records.
  12. Vital Records of Marshfield, Mass., to 1850 (Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2007), (Vital Records of Marshfield, Massachusetts to the Year 1850. Compiled by Robert M. Sherman and Ruth Wilder Sherman, Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, 1970.)
  13. Savage, James, A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, Boston, 1862, retrieved from http://www.usgennet.org/usa/topic/newengland/savage/, Nov 2012.
  14. Ancestry.com. U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2012. Original data: Torry, Clarence A. New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2004.
  15. Place: Connecticut; Year: 1636; Page Number: 157. Ancestry.com. U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2010. Original data: Filby, P. William, ed. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s. Farmington Hills, MI, USA: Gale Research, 2012.
  16. Caulkins, Frances Manwaring, History of Norwich, Connecticut, Norwich, CT: H.P. Haven, 1874, p. 210.
  17. Caulkins, Frances Manwaring, History of New London, Connecticut, New London, CT: H.D. Utley, 1895, pgs. 327, 340.
  18. Booth, Charles Edwin, One Branch of the Booth Family, New York: privately printed, 1910, pgs. 21-23.
  19. Whittemore, Henry, Genealogical Guide to the Early Settlers of America, 1898, Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1967 (reprinted from The Spirit of '76, published in 1898-1906), p. 279.
  20. Tombstones of Preserved and Sarah (--) Abell, Newman Cemetery, East Providence, Providence, Rhode Island.
  21. Tombstones of Caleb Abell and John Baldwin, Old Cemetery, Lebanon, New London, Connecticut.
  22. Tombstones of Joshua and Bethiah (Gadger) Abell, Old Norwichtown Cemetery, Norwich, New London, Connecticut.

Records related to Robert and Joanna Abell but not copied below due to copyright considerations:

  1. Abell, Horace A.. The Abell family in America : Robert Abell of Rehoboth, Mass., his English ancestry and his descendants, other Abell families and immigrants, Abell families in England. Rutland, Vt.: Tuttle Pub. Co., 1940, pgs. 65, 75.
  2. Entry for Robert Abell. Ancestry.com. New England, The Great Migration and The Great Migration Begins, 1620-1635 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. Original data: Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633, Volumes 1-3; The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volumes 1-6. Boston: New England Historical and Genealogical Society, 1996-2011.
  3. Boyer, Carl, Medieval English Ancestors of Robert Abell, Santa Clarita, CA: C. Boyer, 2001.
  4. Ancestry.com. The descendants of Stephen Loomer of New London, Connecticut [database on-line]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Original data: Loomer-Shepard, Addie E.. The descendants of Stephen Loomer of New London, Connecticut: comprising the first, to and including the ninth generation. Allison, Iowa: A.E. Loomer-Shepard, 1991.
  5. Barbour, Lucius Barnes, Families of Early Hartford, Connecticut, Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1977, p. 334.
  6. Jacobus, Donald Lines, "New London (Conn.) Probate Records," The American Genealogist, vol. 9 (1932), p. 232.
  7. Jacobus, Donald Lines, "New London Probate Records," The American Genealogist, vol. 11, 1934, pgs. 154-5.


Source Materials

Click on each category below to expand and see the copies of sources used to create the biography above (copyrighted and other restricted items are listed in the summary of sources above but not included below). Click again to close.

A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England

Vol. 1
ABELL

 
CALEB, Dedham, 1665, may have been s. of the preced. rem. 1668, to Norwich, there m. July 1669 Margaret, prob. d. of John Post of Saybrook, had a d. b. 1671, d. soon, Samuel, Oct. 1672; Experience, Dec. 1674; Caleb, Apr. 1677; John, [[vol. 1, p. 7]] Dec. 1678; Theophilus, Nov. 1680; Joanna, Nov. 1683; Abigail, Mar. 1689; and Hannah, Oct. 1692. His w. d. Nov. 1700, and he m. 1701, Mary, wid. of Stephen Loomer of New London, wh. surv. him. He d. 17 Aug. 1731.

Source: Savage, James, A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, Boston, 1862, retrieved from http://www.usgennet.org/usa/topic/newengland/savage/, Nov 2012.



Torrey's New England Marriages Prior to 1700

Abell, Benjamim [sic] (-1699) & Hannah [?BALDWIN], m/2 David CAULKINS; b 1683; Norwich, CT
Loomer/?Lume, Stephen (-1700) & Mary [MILLER], m/2 Caleb ABELL 1701; by 1684; New London
Preserved (1644-1724) & 2/wf Sarah BOWEN (1656-1703); 27 Dec 1686; Rehoboth

Source: Ancestry.com. U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2012. Original data: Torry, Clarence A. New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2004.



History of Norwich, Connecticut

Three of this name are found at an early period among the inhabitants of Norwich : Caleb, Benjamin, and Joshua. It is a natural supposition that they were brothers, and nothing is known that disproves the relationship. In all probability they came from Dedham.

1. Caleb Abell married in July, 1669, Margaret, daughter of John Post. They had eleven children. The wife died in 1700, and Mr. Abell married Mary, relict of Stephen Loomer.
He was chosen constable in 1684; townsman in 1689, and often afterwards; appointed to keep tavern in 1694; enrolled among the dignitaries with his military title, "Sargent Calib Abel," in 1702 ; died Aug. 7, 1731, leaving wife Mary, and nine children.
Enough of the broken head-stone of his grave remains to show that he was in the 85th year of his age.
Of the six sons of Caleb and Margaret Abell, the first three on the list, Samuel, Caleb and John, married sisters, Elizabeth, Abigail and Rebecca Sluman, daughters of Thomas Sluman and Mary Bliss.
Samuel, the oldest son, born in 1672, was a physician. In 1708, and again in a list of land-owners in 1726, he appears with the prefix of his profession. We assign him to the third place in the list of Norwich physicians whose names have been recovered. Though cotemporary with Dr. Caleb Bushnell, he was a few years senior in age.
Theophilus, the fourth son, died on the last day of August, 1724, aged 44. This was before his father's decease. He left a wife and two daughters. His library seems to intimate that he was a religious teacher. It consisted of about thirty volumes, and among them were the following:

A Bible with silver clasps.
Wise's Church Quarrels.
Doolittle on the Lord's Supper.
Henry's Communicant's Companion.
Robert Russell's Seven Sermons.
Dr. Mather on Angels ; do. on Resignation to the Will of God.
Memorial on Milk for Babes.
Cotton Mather's Day of Rain.
Stoddard on Saving Conversion.
Dr. Mather's Now or Never.
Bunyan's Forsaken Sinner.
Do. Solomon's Temple Spiritualized.
Wadsworth's Guide to the Doubting.
Dr. Mather's Ecclesiastical Councils.
Pierpont's False Hope. Henry Gearing.
Burrough's Preparation for Judgment.
Stoddard's Guide to Christ.
Flavel's Husbandry Spiritualized.
Sundry old books.

No single book, except the Bible, was valued over 2s. 6d.

2. Benjamin Abell was in the settlement as early as 1670. His inventory was presented to the Prerogative Court in June, 1699, and the statement made that he left a son, Benjamin, and six daughters.

3. Joshua Abell married, Nov. 1, 1677, Mehitable, daughter of Nehemiah Smith. He was constable in 1682, and was frequently chosen townsman. He died March 17, 1724, in the 77th year of his age. His estate was distributed the same year to four daughters, £915 to each. They were the wives of John Lothrop, John Leffingwell, Hugh Calkins, and Thomas Lothrop. Two other daughters, the wives of Nathaniel Fitch and Obadiah Smith, had received their portions. No son is mentioned.

Source: Caulkins, Frances Manwaring, History of Norwich, Connecticut, Norwich, CT: H.P. Haven, 1874, p. 210.


History of New London, Connecticut

George Miller, died in 1690.
This person had been a resident, east of the river, (in Groton,) from the year 1679, and perhaps longer. He left four daughters, Mary, wife of Stephen Loomer; Elizabeth, second wife of Edward Stallion; Sarah, second wife of the second John Packer, and Priscilla, then unmarried.
...
Stephen Loomer, died in 1700.
This name is not found in New London before 1687. Mr. Loomer's wife was a daughter of George Miller. His children, and their ages at the time of his death, were as follows: John, sixteen ; Mary, thirteen; Martha, eleven; Samuel, eight; Elizabeth, five. In following out the fortunes of the family, we find that John, the oldest son, was a seaman, and probably perished by storm or wreck, as in 1715, he had not been heard from for several years. Mary, relict of Stephen Loomer, married in 1701, Caleb Abel, of Norwich, and this carried the remainder of the family to that place.

Source: Caulkins, Frances Manwaring, History of New London, Connecticut, New London, CT: H.D. Utley, 1895, pgs. 327, 340.



One Branch of the Booth Family

The first mention of a member of the Abell family, of which we have any record, is Robert Abell, of Weymouth, who probably came in the fleet with Winthrop in 1630. He removed to Rehoboth in 1643, and died there June 20, 1663, leaving a widow, Joanna, and seven children; Mary, who was born April 11, 1642, was one of them, and Lieut. Preserved Abell, of Rehoboth, was doubtless another. It seems to the writer reasonable to suppose that Caleb Abell, who appears at Norwich in 1668, was also a son of Robert's. The petition addressed to the General Court, which was drawn up at Dedham in 1665, shows that Caleb's name was fourth among about seventy signers, and as social rank and precedence were as closely observed in early colonial days as they had been in England, it is very unlikely that a youth who was only eighteen would be allowed to put his signature so near the head of the list unless he was the son of a man who was well-known and highly esteemed in the community. In the Hyde Genealogy it is stated that nothing is known of William Hyde's wife, but that she probably died in Hartford or Saybrook, and there is no mention of a second one, but on page 3 of Arnold's Vital Records of Rehoboth, under the heading Marriages and Intentions, we find the following entry, "Joanna Abell and William Hyde, of New Norwich, June 4, 1667," which seems to show that William Hyde married Robert Abell's widow as his second wife. When Caleb Abell appears at Norwich in 1668, he was barely of age, but he was at once made welcome and received into the families of the original proprietors, (Caulkins' Norwich, page 209), and permitted to marry into one of them within a year. In view of the manners and customs of those days it is difficult to explain this, unless we accept the theory that his mother was already there as the wife of one who was prominent among the original proprietors. After the father had died, it would be quite natural for the three unmarried sons, Caleb, Benjamin and Joshua, and the daughter Experience, to follow their mother as they seem to have done. Preserved Abell had received the house and land as his share of his father's estate, and had married Martha Redaway, in Rehoboth, Sept. 27, 1667, thus establishing home ties which would keep him in Rehoboth. The writer, in his efforts to establish this supposed relationship between Robert and Caleb Abell, has had the aid of Mr. George S. Porter, of Norwich, and Mr. James N. Arnold, of Providence, both of whom are authorities in their respective fields, but neither one was able to find anything in the Norwich or Rehoboth records which would throw any light upon the subject. In both places the records are very imperfect, and in Rehoboth the Church records, previous to 1720, are lost. In view of the fact, however, that Robert was the only emigrant settler of that name of which we have any knowledge, added to the fact that there is no evidence against the theory, the probability that Caleb, Benjamin and Joshua were sons of Robert seems very strong. Experience Abell, who married Dea. John Baldwin, was also, probably, his daughter. The Register of Probate in Plymoth, in answer to my inquiry regarding the settlement of Robert Abell’s estate, wrote me as follows : “His widow, Joanna Abell, administered on the estate and gave bond as such administratrix in 1664. An interesting seal with a coat of arms is attached to the bond at the right of her name, but whether it belonged to her family or not, I cannot say.”



Mr. George S. Porter, previously referred to in Note 2, was engaged to examine the Norwich records to determine, if possible, the parentage of Experience (Wood) Abell, and reported as follows : “I have given the ancestry of Experience Abell, wife of Thomas Wood, a great deal of time and attention, and while it is impossible to give you record proof I am convinced that she was the daughter of Benjamin Abell. He was in Norwich as early as 1670, but there is no record of his marriage, death, the name of his wife, or the names of his children. As the Norwich probate records do not begin until 1748, I went to New London and examined the probate records there where Norwich Estates were previously settled, but could find no trace of Benjamin's name nor of his wife and children. I then searched the records of the old New London county court, which, before the establishment of probate courts, appears to have done a miscellaneous business of civil, criminal, and probate. These records are all in manuscript, are much faded and torn, and are written in the most difficult handwriting to decipher that I think I have ever seen. The volumes are unindexed and the pages are unnumbered. I found that in a court held in New London, June 6, 1699, the inventory of the estate of Benjamin Abell, of Norwich, deceased, was exhibited, was proved, accepted and ordered to be recorded. The court granted administration to the widow, and also distributed to the widow one-third part of the movable estate for ever, and one-third part of the real estate during her natural life; to son Benjamin a double portion at twenty-one, and to six daughters at eighteen or days of marriage. By request of the widow, Joshua Abell and John Baldwin were appointed overseers. In this court record the name of the widow does not appear, nor do those of the six daughters. The records appear to be first rough drafts of what was to appear in more detailed form in other books, although, in some cases, they are given at some length. Where these supplemental books are today, if they ever existed, is unknown. We think ourselves fortunate that even so much remains. I regret exceedingly that I can find no record proof of Mrs. Experience (Abell) Wood's parentage, but it does not exist in any known record to-day. Personally, with the evidence adduced, I am satisfied that she was a daughter of Benjamin Abell by his unknown wife.” As the foregoing report makes no mention of any examination of deeds or wills, Mr. Porter was engaged a little later by another descendant of the Abells to see what could be found among them, and the result was published by W. B. H. S. in the Boston Transcript of March 18, 1907,: “It does not solve the difficulties about the parentage of Experience and Lydia Abell, but it makes some other things certain heretofore in doubt. First, that Benjamin and Caleb Abell were brothers. Benjamin, son of Benjamin, refers to his Uncle Caleb in a deed bearing the date Dec. 8, 1709. Again it appears that the lands of Joshua, Caleb, and Benjamin adjoined. Second, the inventory of Benjamin, Sr.'s estate was recorded June 6, 1699. Benjamin, Jr., was allowed a double portion to be set out to him at the age of twenty-one. The widow was appointed administratrix. Mr. Porter now finds that the administratrix in November, 1712, caused his share to be recorded to him, thus making him born about 1691, and he finds that as administratrix the widow signed herself Hannah Caulkins. Thus we have her Christian name of Hannah. With Mr. Porter I feel certain that Lydia (Abell) Williams and Experience (Abell) Wood were children of Benjamin and Hannah Abell.”

Source: Booth, Charles Edwin, One Branch of the Booth Family, New York: privately printed, 1910, pgs. 21-23.



Genealogical Guide to the Early Settlers of America

William Hyde, Hartford, an original propr., removed to Saybrook, thence, about 1659 or 60, to Norwich, there died 1681. The only children known of are Samuel and Esther, who married John Post.

Source: Whittemore, Henry, Genealogical Guide to the Early Settlers of America, 1898, Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1967 (reprinted from The Spirit of '76, published in 1898-1906), p. 279.


Massachusetts Town and Vital Records

Name:    Robert Abell
Event Type:    Death
Death Date:    20 Jun 1663
Death Place:    Rehoboth, Massachusetts

Name:    Mary Abell
Event Type:    Birth
Birth Date:    11 Apr 1642
Birth Place:    Weymouth, Massachusetts
Father Name:    Robert Abell

Source: Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook).



Vital Records of Norwich

William Hide Senior the father of Hester the wife of John Post Deceased upon the 6th of January Anno Dom 1681

The marriage of Caleb Abell with Margaret post was in July Anno Domini 1669
The first child of the abouesd persons was a Daughter & borne in March Ano: 1671 & Deceased the same month & yeare 1671
Samuell Abell was borne in Octob Anno: 1672
Experyence Abell was borne Desem Anno 1674
Caleb Abell was borne in Aprill Anno: 1677
John Abell was borne in Desem Anno: 1678
Theophelos Abell in Novem Anno: 1680
Johannah Abell was borne Novemr Ano: 1683
Abigail Abell was born march 16th Anno 1689
Hannah Abell was born octobr 12th Anno 1692
Margret the wife of Caleb Abell Deceased Novembr 1700
Mr Caleb Abell of Norwich Died the 7th: day of Augt 1731
Caleb Abell and Mary Loomer ware Married June anno: 1701
Noah Abell the son of Caleb and Mary was born December: the 25th 1706

John Bauldwen and Experience Abell ware married Anno 1680
Experience Baldwen was Born August 3d 1684
John Baldwen was Born Aprill. 27th 1687
Mary Baldwen was born may. 3d 1692
Mehitabell Baldwen was Born August 27th 1695
Tabitha Baldwen was born Aprill 2d 1699

The marriage of Jofhuah Abell with Mehittabell Smith was upon the first of November Anno Dom 1677
Their first a fon borne the first of January Anno: 1678 & deceased the 6th day of January the fame year
Nehemiah Abell was borne January 15th Anno 1679 & deeafed about the 27th of the fame month & yeare
Anne Abell was borne Aprill the 2d And 1681
Martha Abell was borne ffeb 13th Anno 1682
mahitobell Abell Died march 14th Anno 1684/5
Jofhua Abell and Bathiah Gadger were married Nouembr 1685
Mahitobell Abell was Born Decembr 1686
Lidea Abell was Born in may 1688
Sarah Abell was Born ffebrur Anno 1690
Pheby Abell was Born may 1st Anno 1693
Mehitabell Abell Died Janur Anno 1694/5
Elizabeth Abell was Born octobr Anno 1695
Bethiah Abell was born August Anno 1697
Bethiah Abell the Wife of joshua Abell Died ye last Day of march: 1723:
Jofhua Abell Died ye first day of march anno D: 1724/5

Source: Vital Records of Norwich Connecticut, 1659-1848. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2007.) Originally published as: Vital Records of Norwich, 1659-1848. Hartford, Society of colonial wars in the state of Connecticut, 1913.
[Note: Some letters transcribed in the above record as F probably should have been transcribed as S (letters S's at the time often appearing a long F-like letters). So, for example, "poft" is actually "post," "Defember" is actually "Desember" or December, and "Jerufha" is actually "Jerusha." MB]



Connecticut Town Birth Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection)

Name:    Margaret Post
Gender:    Female
Birth Date:    21 Feb 1652
Birth Place:    Saybrook
Parent:    John
Parent:    Hester

Name:    John Baldwin
Gender:    Male
Birth Date:    5 Dec 1654
Birth Place:    Guilford
Parent:    John
Parent:    Hanna

Source: Ancestry.com. Connecticut Town Birth Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection) [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Original data: White, Lorraine Cook, ed. The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Records. Vol. 1-55. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1994-2002.



Connecticut Town Marriage Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection)

Name:    Caleb Abel
Marriage Date:    25 Jun 1701
Marriage Place:    New London, Connecticut, USA
Residence Place:    Norwich
Spouse:    Mary Loomer

Source: Ancestry.com. Connecticut, Town Marriage Records, pre-1870 (Barbour Collection) [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Original data: White, Lorraine Cook, ed. The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Records. Vol. 1-55. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1994-2002.



Connecticut Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index

Name:    Robert Abell
State:    MA
County:    Massachusetts Colony
Township:    Freeman 19 Oct
Year:    1630
Database:    MA Early Census Index

Name:    Caleb Abell
State:    CT
County:    New London County
Township:    Norwich
Year:    1672
Record Type:    Resident's List
Page:    NPN
Database:    CT 1635-1807 Misc. Records

Name:    Joshua Abell
State:    CT
County:    New London County
Township:    Norwich
Year:    1672
Record Type:    Resident's List
Page:    NPN
Database:    CT 1635-1807 Misc. Records

Source: Ancestry.com. Connecticut, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1790-1890 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999. Original data: Jackson, Ronald V., Accelerated Indexing Systems, comp.. Connecticut Census, 1790-1890. Compiled and digitized by Mr. Jackson and AIS from microfilmed schedules of the U.S. Federal Decennial Census, territorial/state censuses, and/or census substitutes.


Boston, MA: Marriages

Preserved Abel & Anna West Married By Mr. Thomas Bridge on Jan. 3, 1706

Source: Boston, MA: Marriages, 1700-1809. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2006), Originally published as: Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston, Containing the Boston Marriages from 1700 to 1751 (Vol. 28), Boston, Municipal Printing office, 1898. Records Relating to the Early History of Boston, Containing Boston Marriages from 1752 to 1809 (vol. 30), Boston, Municipal Printing Office, 1903.



Massachusetts Compiled Marriages

Name:    Mrs. Anne West
Gender:    Female
Spouse:    Preserved Abell
Marriage Date:    20 Dec 1706
City:    Rehoboth
County:    Bristol
Source:    Family History Library, Salt Lake City, UT, Film # 0562559.

Source: Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Compiled Marriages, 1633-1850 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. Original data: Dodd, Jordan, Liahona Research, comp. Massachusetts, Marriages, 1633-1850. With some noted exceptions all marriage records in this collection can be found at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, and may be available through Family History Centers throughout the United States.



Vital Records of Rehoboth, Massachusetts

Marriages
Abell
Joanna and William Hide of New Norwich, June 4, 1667.
Preserved and Martha Redaway, Sept. 27, 1667.

Intentions
Abell
Preserved of Rehoboth and Mrs. Anne West of Boston, Dec. 20, 1706.

Deaths
Abell
Lieut. Preserved, Aug. 18, 1724
Sarah, wife of Preserved, May 14, 1703
Anna, wife of Lieut. Preserved, Dec 11, 1723

Burials
Abell
Martha, wife of Preserved, buried March 1, 1685-6

Source: Vital Records of Rehoboth, Massachusetts, 1642-1896. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2002.) Originally published as: Vital record of Rehoboth, 1642-1896. Marriages, intentions, births, deaths. With supplement containing the record of 1896, colonial returns, lists of the early settlers, purchasers, freemen, inhabitants, the soldiers serving in Philip's war and the revolution, by James N. Arnold. Providence, RI: Narragansett Historical Publishing Company, 1897.



Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850

Weymouth
Abell
Abraham, s. Robert, " burried " Nov. 14, 1639.

Source: Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850, Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2010.



Vital Records of Marshfield, Mass., to 1850

mehetabell Smith The daughter (o)f nehemiah Smith was (Bor)ne The 4 of July 1655

Source: Vital Records of Marshfield, Mass., to 1850 (Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2007), (Vital Records of Marshfield, Massachusetts to the Year 1850. Compiled by Robert M. Sherman and Ruth Wilder Sherman, Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, 1970.)



Connecticut Deaths and Burials Index

Name:    John Baldwin
Birth Date:    abt 1653
Age at Death:    51
Death Date:    18 Jan 1704
Death Place:    Lebanon, Connecticut
Gender:    Male
FHL Film Number:    3083

Name:    Joshua Abell
Birth Date:    abt 1650
Age at Death:    75
Death Date:    1 Mar 1725
Death Place:    Norwich, Connecticut
Gender:    Male
FHL Film Number:    3076

Name:    Bethiah Abell
Birth Date:    abt 1661
Age at Death:    62
Death Date:    31 Mar 1723
Death Place:    Connecticut
Gender:    Female
Marital Status:    Married
Spouse:    Joshua
FHL Film Number:    3357

Source: Ancestry.com. Connecticut, Deaths and Burials Index, 1650-1934 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. "Connecticut Deaths and Burials, 1772–1934." Index. FamilySearch, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2009, 2010. Index entries derived from digital copies of original and compiled records.


U.S. and Canada Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s

Name:    William Hyde
Arrival Year:    1636
Arrival Place:    Connecticut
Source Publication Code:    1262
Primary Immigrant:    Hyde, William
Annotation:    Date and place of settlement or date and place of arrival. Names not restricted to the Order of Founders and Patriots of America.
Source Bibliography:    COLKET, MEREDITH B., JR. Founders of Early American Families: Emigrants from Europe, 1607-1657. Cleveland: General Court of the Order of Founders and Patriots of America, 1975. 366p.
Page:    157

Source: Place: Connecticut; Year: 1636; Page Number: 157. Ancestry.com. U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2010. Original data: Filby, P. William, ed. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s. Farmington Hills, MI, USA: Gale Research, 2012.



Old Cemetery, Lebanon, New London, Connecticut

Gravestone of Caleb Abell
Caleb Abell
(tombstone)
Photo credit:
K Carlini (KC) -
Find A Grave
Perhaps the footstone of Caleb Abell
Caleb Abell
(footstone?)
Photo credit:
K Carlini (KC) -
Find A Grave
Gravestone of John Baldwin
John Baldwin
Photo credit:
Sara (#47069894),
findagrave.com

Old Norwichtown Cemetery, Norwich, New London, Connecticut

Gravestone of Joshua Abell
Joshua Abell
Photo credit:
Bruce and Teresa
Downer
(FamilyTResearch),
findagrave.com
Gravestone of Bethiah Abell
Bethiah Abell
Photo credit:
Bruce and Teresa
Downer
(FamilyTResearch),
findagrave.com

Newman Cemetery, East Providence, Providence, Rhode Island

Gravestone of Preserved Abell
Preserved Abell
Photo credit:
Helen Lodge,
findagrave.com
Gravestone of S A
S A (Sarah Abell)
Photo credit:
Julie Nathanson,
findagrave.com



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Author: Michelle A. Boyd
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Last updated 27 November 2021