The Newcomb family grew.


By 1700, when Mary, the last of Andrew's children by his second wife, was born, several of his offspring by his first wife were already married with families of their own. One key example of that is her half brother Simon, who married in 1687 and had a son, John, the following year.  A little later in this dialog, John will be the subject of some interesting moves just prior to the American Revolution. For the moment, let it be said that Mary was an aunt before she was born. Two year old John was her nephew upon her birth.

At that time, Andrew and his older sons owned considerable acreage on Matha's Vineyard and nearby Chappaquiddick, a six square mile island near Edgartown. With limited land available for expansion on the two islands (about 87 sq mi), it became incumbent on these older boys to move off Island. It seems that most of Andrew's children who left Martha's Vineyard settled within about 50 miles on the mainland. Simon went a little further in 1713 when he, and members of his family were among the first to leave Massachusetts.


The move to Connecticut

Simon's family settled in a young community known as Lebanon, in colonial New London County. These families would most likely have traveled by boat about 100 miles from Edgartown to Long Island Sound, then to New London via the Thames River, then perhaps another 15 miles on the river to Norwich where three rivers meet to become the source of the relatively short Thames. It would only have been a 12 mile wagon trip from Norwich to their ultimate destination.

More about that distant cousin, John Kendrick

Before we leave Massachusetts to follow the history of Simon and son John in their pursuits, I'd like to clear up my somewhat tenuous relationship with the adventurer I mentioned in my first blog - John Kendrick. To do that, I have to introduce you to his grandmother, Emlen, or maybe Emeline. She was the fourth of Andrew's children by his second wife, born in 1685.

In 1703, Emlen married Samuel Atkins and they settled in Chatham on Cape Cod, MA. Among their children was a daughter, Elizabeth, who would later marry Solomon Kendrick. Their son John was the mariner in question.

Now, back to Connecticut. In my next blog, I'll tell you more about (Deacon) John Newcomb.