Monday Mumblings - Dewey family from 1648 - 1669

Today’s Dewey Mumblings picks up in Windsor, CT where we left off with Thomas Dewey the Settler dying on April 27, 1648.  When Thomas died, he left behind a 37 year old widow, Francis, with 7 children younger than 10 years old.  Two of the children, Mary (10) and Joseph (9?) were from her first marriage to Joseph Clark.  Five of the children Thomas (8), Josiah (7), Anna (5), Israel (3), and Jedidiah (1) were from her marriage to Thomas.  In 1648, the colonial settlement of Windsor was only 13 years old, so survival for Francis and family would be dependent on remarriage.  As frequently happened in those days, Francis quickly married George Phelps on November 16, 1648.  George himself was a recent widower with his wife Phillury Randall dying on April 29, 1648.  Phillury and Francis may have been sisters, (daughters of Philip and Joann (Fush) Randall).  Interestingly, Phillury’s death came 2 days after the death of Thomas Dewey making me wonder if they may have died from small pox as an “epidemic ravaged Massachusetts and most of New England in 1648.”  George and Phillury Phelps had 5 children of their own born between 1638 and 1647 when Phillury died in 1648.  So, when Widow Francis (Randall Clark) Dewey married George Phelps, they had 12 children between them, all born between 1638 and 1647.  To complicate things a bit more, George and Francis (Randall Clark Dewey) Phelps had 3 children of their own born between 1649 and 1653.  We have to admire Francis and George as they raised 15 children total to adulthood.

All these marriages and the children produced by them, resulted in many related families crossing paths many times over.  Mary Clark, daughter of Joseph and Francis (Randall Dewey Phelps) Clark married John Strong.  John along with Josiah Dewey (2^nd generation) and others founded Northampton, MA.  Several generations later, 3^rd(?) cousins once removed Anna Phelps and Simeon Dewey would marry.  Anna’s great grandfather was the above mentioned George Phelps.  Simeon Dewey’s great, great grandfather was Thomas Dewey the Settler.  Anna and Simeon are my 6^th great grandfather and grandmother.  Anna and Simeon will be discussed in a later post. 

Before moving on with the Dewey family, it is important to remember the impact of trying to settle on lands belonging to a Native American population.  The original settlers were able to maintain a working relationship with some of the local tribes but other tribes were hostile.  Conflict was always a concern.  Without the help of friendly tribes, the settlers would have died.  However, as the English population grew, the relationship with the Native Americans became stressed and reached the breaking point with the outbreak of King Philip’s War.  Tribes were forced to take sides, neutrality was not an option.  An excellent book covering relations between the Native Americans and settlers including King Philip’s War is “Mayflower A Story of Courage, Community, and War” by Nathaniel Philbrick.  As I move forward in these posts, I will occasionally mention some of the interactions between my ancestors and the Native Americans. 

Josiah and Hepzibah (Lyman) Dewey (2nd Generation)

Josiah Dewey, son of Thomas and Francis, is my next direct ancestor.  Josiah, born at Windsor, CT in 1641 and died on September 7, 1732 at Lebanon, CT.  He was seven years old when his father died.  He lived with his mother Francis and step father George Phelps in Windsor until 1660. From about 1661 to 1669, Josiah moved to and lived in Nonotuck (now Northampton, MA).  Nonotuck’s was first settled in 1653/54.  In 1661, his name (Josiah Duey) appeared in the churches covenant.  Among the other names in the covenant was Hepzibah Lyman.  Josiah and Hepzibah married November 6, 1662 in Northampton.  Richard and John Lyman were among the first settlers of Northampton owning lots on Pleasant Street.  I do not know if Richard and John were Hepzibah’s father and uncle or her brothers.

Josiah and Hepzibah had 12 children

Born at Northampton, MA:

Hepsibah (1665 - ?)

Mary (1665 – 1666)

Josiah (1666 – 1750)*

John (1669 - ?)

Born at Westfield, MA:

Ebenezer (1673 – 1711)

Nathaniel (1673 – 1711)

Elizabeth (1674 – before 1677)

Joseph (1674 – 1675)

Elizabeth (1677 - ?)

Experience (1682 - ?)

Joseph (1682 – 1682)

Benjamin (1685 – 1685)

Hepzibah Lyman was born in 1644 at Windsor, CT and died June 4, 1732 in Columbia, CT.  She was the daughter of Richard and Hepzibah (Ford) Lyman.  Her father Richard came to New England on the ship Lyon in 1631 with his parents, two brothers, and two sisters.  Her mother Hepzibah (Ford) came to New England on the ship Mary & John in 1630 with her parents and three other sisters.  Of little consequence but fun to know, descendants of Josiah Dewey and Hepzibah Lyman may be of “Royal Descent” through Hepzibah.  This was brought to my attention through the book Life of George Dewey Rear Admiral, U.S.N. (by Adelbert M. Dewey) and Dewey Family History (by Louis Marinus Dewey) where it is claimed that our ancestry goes back to Emperor Charlemagne.  I haven’t spent a lot of energy trying to confirm this, but Charles H. Browning published a book in 1891 titled Americans of Royal Descent, A Collection of Genealogies of American Families Whose Lineage is Traced to the Legitimate Issue of Kings.  On pages 425 and 426 of this book, Browning has a list of ancestors of Hepzibah (mentioning Josiah Dewey).  Here is that list:

1.    Alfred the Great, King of England, had:

2.    Edward the Elder, King of England, second son, who had:

3.    Princess Edgina (widow of Charles III., King of France), who m. secondly, Henry, third Count de Vermandois and Troyes, and had:

4.    Hubert, fourth Count de Vermandois, who had:

5.    Lady Adela de Vermandois, who m. Hugh Magnus, fifth Count de Vermandois, son of Henry I., King of France, and had:

6.    Lady Isabel de Vermandois, who m. first, Robert, first Baron de Bellomont, created Earl of Leicester, Lord Justice of England, who had:

7.    Robert, second Earl of Leicester, Lord Justice of England, who had:

8.    Robert, third Earl of Leicester, Steward of England, who had:

9.    Lady Margaret de Bellomont, who m. Saier de Quincey, created 1207, Earl of Winchester, d. 1219, and had:

10.  Roger, second Earl of Winchester, Constable of Scotland, d. 1264, who m. Lady Helen, daughter of Alan, Lord of Galloway, and had:

11.  Lady Elizabeth de Quincey, who m. Alexander, Baron Cumyn, second Earl of Buchan, son of William, Baron Cumyn, Justiciary of Scotland, 1178-80, and his wife Lady Hexilda, a granddaughter of Donal-bane, King of Scots, and had:

12.  Lady Agnes Cumyn, who m. Gilbert, Baron de Umfraville, and had:

13.  Gilbert, Baron de Umfraville, Governor of the Castle of Forfar and the territory of Angus; Earl of Angus, in right of his wife; d. 1308; he m., 1243, Matilda, Countess of Angus, and had:

14.  Robert de Umfraville, second Earl of Angus, who had by his second wife, Lady Alianore:

15.  Sir Thomas de Umfraville, of Harbottle, younger son, who m., Lady Joane, daughter of Adam de Rodman, and had:

16.  Sir Thomas de Umfraville, Lord of Riddesdale and Kyme, who had by his wife, Lady Agnes:

17.  Lady Joane de Umfraville, who m. Sir William Lambert, of Owlton, Durham, and had:

18.  Robert Lambert, of Owlton (or Owton), father of:

19.  Henry Lambert, of Ongar, Essex, father of:

20.  Elizabeth Lambert, who m. Thomas Lyman, of Navistoke, Essex, d. 1509, and had:

21.  Henry Lyman, of Navistoke and High Ongar, who m. Alicia, daughter of Simon Hyde, of Wethersfield, Essex, and had:

22.  John Lyman, of High Ongar, d. 1587, at Navistoke, who had by his wife, Margaret, daughter of William Girard, of Beauchamp, Essex:

23.  Henry Lyman, of High Ongar, whose son:

24.  Richard Lyman, b. 1580, at High Ongar; removed to Roxbury, Mass., in 1631, and d. 1640, at Hartford, Conn., of which he was one of the original proprietors; he had issue, by his wife Sarah:

1.    Robert Lyman, who m. Hepzibah, daughter of Thomas Bascom.  Issue.

2.    Richard Lyman, of Windsor, d. 1662, who m. Hepzibah, daughter of Thomas Ford, and had:

                                         I.        Hepzibah, wife of Josiah Dewey

Since Hepzibah Lyman is my 9^th Great Grandmother, that would make Alfred the Great, King of England, my 35^th Great Grandfather.

The story of Josiah and Hepzibah Dewey will be continued in my next Mumblings post.