Welcome to my genealogy blog. Ancestors I Wish I Knew is a combination of genealogical information and stories about individuals in my family tree. The focus is on those from my Cochrane, Eitelbach, Merrett, Minarcik and Richards lines and their descendants.

Thursday, January 18, 2018

#112--Abrahan Newell, Jr, Has a Lot of Candles on His Birthday Cake


I had never really thought about who was the oldest person in my genealogy, but the challenge for this week is longevity.  To do this I first had to figure out how old people were when they died.  Fortunately Family Tree Maker did that for me.  Out of the four people who reached the age of 100, I picked Abraham Newell, Jr, because he is most closely related to me.  He is my 7th great uncle. 

Abraham Newell was born in 1626 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England.  His parents were Abraham and Francis (Foote) Newell.  At the ae of 8, Abraham came to Massachusetts on the ship Lyon with his parents and five brothers and sisters.  They family settled in Roxbury, Massachusetts.
On February 18, 1651, Abraham Married Susanna Rand in Roxbury.  They had 12 children: Joseph Newell 1651–1651; Abraham Newell 1654–1726; Susanna Newell 1656–1729; Joseph Newell 1658–1718; Mary Newell1661–; Thomas Newell 1663–1674; Elizabeth Newell 1666–1683; Rebecca Newell 1667–;Ruth 1 Newell 669–; John Newell 1672–1673; Robert Newell 1674–1741; Thomas Newell 1675–1675.

Despite my best efforts I could not find much on Abraham at all.  He does not appear in the History of Roxbury or in the Church Records.  The only mention of him I could find was in his father’s will.  In that will, he states that he has given his son, Abraham several parcels of land and 20 pounds at his marriage and that that shall be considered his double portion of the land owned by his father.  Further, that his wife shall be able to live with any of her children that she wants to, but that Abraham should pay twice what his brothers pay for her support.  Also, once his wife dies, Abraham shall “enjoy the nowle” by the hill near his house, that he build where his father’s house was burnt. 

Abraham Newell, Jr. died on October 9, 1726, in Roxbury, Massachusetts, at the impressive age of 100.

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