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Tuesday, January 07, 2014

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS: EDWARD COLBOURNE

Fellow geneablogger Amy Johnson Crow of No Story Too Small has issued the 52
Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge. Basically, we have to post something evey week
on a different ancestor, whether a story, picture, or research problem. I thought I'd
give it a shot, and start with Edward Colbourne.


My 8x great grandfather Edward Colbourne/Colborne/Colburn/Coburn arrived in
Boston on the ship "Defence" on October 30th, 1635. His age was listed as seventeen.
There is some evidence that he was, for a time, a farmer on land owned by the
Saltonstall family in Ipswich. In 1642 he married his wife Hannah(her last name may
have been Rolfe)in Ipswich and they began having children. By 1666 they had nine
children, two girls and nine boys, one of whom was my ancestor Joseph Colburn.

With that many sons, Edward would have wanted his own land to provide for their
future. At first the family moved to Chelmsford, where his by now grown sons started
their own farms, but apparently Edward felt the need for more. So  In 1668 he bought
part of the land owned by a John Webb from his widow, and three years later he bought
the rest. The land was on the norther side of the Merrimac River and is now in the town
of Dracut, Massachusetts. Edward is credited as one of the founding fathers of the town. 

A few years later the King Philip's War broke out. Edward Colborne by that time had
built one of the classic New England garrison style house. On  March 18 1675 the Wamesit Indians attacked while Edward was guarding the ferry at the Merrimac River. Two sons of Edward's friend Samuel Varnum were killed and the houses in Chelmsford that were owned by Edward's sons were burned down. Other than that the family came through that war unharmed, and also survived the King William's War thanks to the garrison house. Edward died on 17Feb 1700.

You may have noticed I listed all the various spellings I've found for Edward's name. This
is because many of them are used in documents issued in Edward's own lifetime. He seemed to have settled on Coburn by the end of his life, although some of his descendants used Colburn. My own descent from Edward comes to me through my grandmother Cora Barker:
Edward & Hannah Rolfe(?)
Joseph & Hannah(last name UNK)
Moses & Deborah Wright
Caleb & UNK
Moses & Esther Spaulding
Wesley & Lesley Stowe
Lucy & Nathaniel S Barker
FranK W, Barker & Charlotte Barker(cousins)
Cora B, Barker & Floyd E. West Sr.(my grandparents) 

12 comments:

Diana Ritchie said...

Hi Bill ~ I like how you showed your line of descent from Edward. I've seen a few people do that and it's something I think I'll start doing going forward.

I'm jealous of all your New England ancestors and how long they've been here!! Most of my ancestors managed to get here in the mid-1800s.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Unknown said...

Very interesting. I enjoyed reading your blog post, I am too a descendant of Edward.

My line is as follows

Edward (9th great grandfather)
Robert, Mary Bishop
Edward, Sarah Heyward
Samuel, Elizabeth Holt
Cornelius, Rachel Robinson
Nabby Colburn, Joseph Preston
Talitha Philena Preston, Leonard Van Alstine
Evaline Van Alstine, Joseph Minor Brown
Margaret Irene Brown, Orson Hull Watson
Helen Dorothy Watson (Grandmother)

This would make me your 8th cousin once removed. I will retweet this on twitter! Great blog post! Thanks. I started doing 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks on my Facebook page,

https://www.facebook.com/millennialgenealogist

Good work,
Gary

Schalene Dagutis said...

I found a cousin of my SIL during week one of the 52 ancestors challenge. Pretty neat!

Unknown said...

I'm a descendant of Edward Colbourne severral times through his sons John, Thomas, Daniel, Joseph and Ezra and grand children Sarah and Josiah. My paternal line is
Edward
John Colburn
Job
Job
Joshua
Joshua
John Henry
Fred Allen
Paul Francis Colburn m Olive Fox

Also
Edward
Joseph
Lydia m Josiah Richardson
Hannah Richardson m Joshua Coburn
Hannah Coburn m Job Colburn

And
Edward
Ezra Coburn
John
Joshua Colburn m Hannah Coburn

My maternal line
Edward
Ezra Coburn
Samuel
Jonathan
Thaddeus
Zachariah
John
Henry Goodrich
Orpha Coburn m Lester Fox

and
Edward
Thomas Colburn
Josiah m Sarah Colburn
Mary m David Fox
David
Russell
Darius Lincoln
Eben Tappan
Lester Fox m Orpha Coburn
Olive Fox m Paul Colburn

and
Edward
Daniel Colburn
Sarah Colburn m Josiah Colburn
Mary Colburn m David Fox

Very confusing...

Bill West said...

Glad to meet you cousins Gary and Deborah!

Unknown said...

I'm also the proud granddaughter of Edward Colbourne and Hannah Rolfe. And Edward Bishop and Hannah Moore. Then Robert Colborn and wife Mary Bishop. My name is Angela colborn

Anonymous said...

Edward Coburn
Robert Coburn
Daniel Coburn
Ebenezer Coburn
David Coburn
David Coburn
Joel Coburn
Wilbur Coburn
Elwyn Coburn
Sylvan Coburn
John Coburn
Ed Coburn

Dee Coburn said...

Thank you for posting my husband's paternal line of the Coburn family, last night. I have explored your website for the last couple of days and I have thoroughly enjoyed all the information, your personal thoughts, and views you have shared with all of us. It is obvious you went through great lengths to acquire such a massive amount of valuable information. I just wanted to let you know, I would certainly be happy to share any and all of my information with you. I was stuck on the younger David Coburn listed in the family line and it literally took me many years to acquire the cited information to enable me to finish this family line correctly. I found the much needed documents, to prove lineage through some documents tucked away in Massachusetts and Connecticut, while I was on vacation up there one year. I am sure there are still individuals who are still stuck on this particular generation in my husband's family. Honestly, I just got lucky!! I am still stuck at a dead end in my family's tree.

I have been exploring my husband's family for many years and it has been a very enjoyable and exciting adventure filled with twist, turns, and surprises. The Coburn family has an impressive history filled with various stories of courage, sorrow, success, and prestige. I am sincerely blessed to be part of this wonderful family! Once again, thank you Mr. West for sharing all your information with us.

Unknown said...

Yes and then the records of my direct grandmother Mary Bishop Colborn are hard to find. Because of the Salem witch trials. Our birth records are jumbled up with. Grandpa Edward Bishop of the Salem witch trials. Because of Bridget Bishop the first witch Hung. And Edward Bishop Jr and wife Sara Wilde's Bishop. Also taken for witchcraft.

Rebecca Coburn Gardner said...

Greetings! I am also a descendant of Edward. Here is my line...

Edward Colborne
Robert Coburn
Daniel Coburn
Jacob Coburn
Daniel P Coburn
Asa Coburn
Thomas Coburn
Chester Coburn
Albert Coburn
Ralph W Coburn
Ralph Coburn
Michael Coburn
Rebecca (Me!)

manorchurch said...

Thanks. I've been looking for the ship (Defence) and date of arrival.
My line is:

Edward
Robert
Edward
Samuel
Zebediah
Nathaniel
Amariah
Emily Marie Coburn Slade Ward Austin, author of "My Life With the Mormons"