USA > Pennsylvania > Colonial and revolutionary families of Pennsylvania; genealogical and personal memoirs, Volume IV > Part 27
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4. Deborah, born June 24, 1770.
5. Esther, born in 1774.
(Ibid.)
(V) ARNOLD FLEET, son of Thomas and Deborah (Underhill) Fleet, was born January 6, 1754. He married (first), in 1780, Judith Woodin. (Woodin II.) He married (second) Hannah McCoun. Children :
I. Daniel; married Rebecca Youngs.
2. James; married Judith Townsend.
3. Deborah, of whom further.
(Ibid. Margaret Townsend: "Townsend-Townshend, 1066-1909: The History, Gene- alogy and Alliances of the English and American House of Townsend," p. 99.)
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UNDERHILL.
Arms- Argent, a chevron sable, between three trefoils, slipped vert. Crest- On a mount vert, a hind lodged or.
Underbill (Crozier : "General Armory.")
FEAKE.
Arms-Sable a fesse dancettée or, in chief three fleurs-de-lis argent.
Crest-Out of a ducal coronet or: a demi-ostrich with wings expanded argent, beaked gules, holding in the mouth a horseshoe gold. (Burke: "General Armory.")
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TOWNSEND.
Arms-Azure, a chevron ermine, between three escallops argent. Crest-A stag passant, proper.
Motto-Haec generi Incrementa Fides. (Margaret Townsend: "Townsend-Townshend Genealogy," p. 125.)
FLEET.
Arms-Argent two bars sable on the upper one as many escallops of the first. Crest-A goat, holding in the mouth a trefoil proper. (Burke: "General Armory.")
COLES.
Arms-,-Argent, a bull passant gules armed or, within a bordure sable bezantée. Crest -- A demi-dragon vert, holding in the dexter paw an arrow or, headed and feathered argent.
Motto- Deum Cole regem serva, 'Crozier : "General Armory.").
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(VI) DEBORAH FLEET, daughter of Arnold and Judith (Woodin) Fleet, was born September 10, 1795, and died April 6, 1862. She married John Wood. (Wood VII.)
(Ibid.)
(The Underhill Line).
Underhill as an English surname originated to designate a resident under or at the foot of a hill. William Underhill is in the Hundred Rolls of Bedfordshire, A. D. 1273.
(C. W. Bardsley: "Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames.")
(I) CAPTAIN JOHN UNDERHILL, son of Sir John and Mary ( Mosely) Under- hill, was born in Warwickshire, England, October 7, 1597. He served in the Dutch Army. After he had returned to England, he came in the fleet with Gov. John Winthrop to Boston in 1630, joined the church, and was sworn freeman May 18, 1630. His wife joined the church December 15, 1633. He was representative at the first court in 1634 and served in the Pequot War in 1637 as captain of the Massachusetts troops; but on his return joined the Antinomians, who settled in New Hampshire. Though chosen governor at Dover, in 1638, his heresy excluded him from the fellowship of the orthodox, and he removed to New Netherland and was one of the "Eight Men" there in 1645, and was for a time at Southold, Long Island, and Greenwich, Connecticut. He purchased one hundred and fifty acres of land from the Indians at Killingworth, now Matinecock, Long Island. He was captain of Rhode Island Troops in 1653. On Long Island he was also active and the high sheriff of North Riding of the Island of Nassau, in 1665, and in the same year was a delegate to the convention at Hempstead, Long Island. He was in the service of the Dutch against the Indians, and died September 21, 1672, at Oyster Bay. His first wife was Helena Kruger, who died in 1649 (or 1659). He mar- ried (second) Elizabeth Feake. (Feake II.) Children of first marriage :
1. John, Jr., of whom further.
2. Elizabeth, born in 1636, died young.
Children of second marriage :
3. Deborah, of whom further.
4. Nathaniel, born in 1663; married Mary Ferris, daughter of John and Mary Ferris.
5. Hannah, died in 1751; married Richard Alsop.
6. Elizabeth, born in 1669; married Isaac Smith.
7. David, born in April, 1672; married Hannah Forman, daughter of Moses and Hannah (Cervoker) Forman.
("American Ancestry," Vol. II, pp. 6, 7; Vol. IX, p. 84. M. P. Bunker: "Long Island Genealogies," p. 298. "Rhode Island Colonial Records," Vol. I, pp. 266, 270. "New York Civil List," pp. 7, 24. "Eligibility Lists of the Society of Colonial Dames," p. 30.)
(II-A) DEBORAH UNDERHILL, daughter of Captain John and Elizabeth (Feake) Underhill, was born on September 29, 1659. She married Henry Town- send. (Townsend II.)
(Ibid.)
(II-B) JOHN UNDERHILL, JR., son of Captain John and Helena (Kruger) Underhill, was born in 1631, baptized in the Old South Church, Boston, Massa- chusetts, in 1642; and died at "Killingworth," Queens County, Long Island.
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In 1649 John Underhill's mother died, and he removed with his father to Long Island. He was brought up at "Killingworth" and spent his life there as a farmer. His religious affiliations were those of the Society of Friends. On November 5, 1675, he was appointed administrator of the estate of (Captain) John Underhill, his father, by the court, his stepmother, Elizabeth, having died.
John Underhill married, October 10, 1668, Mary Prior, born in March, 1652, died July 29, 1698, daughter of Matthew and Mary Prior. Children:
I. John, of whom further.
2. Daniel, born in 1672.
3. Samuel, born in 1674, died young.
4. Mary, born in 1677; married Wright Frost.
5. Abraham, born in 1679; married Mary Townsend.
6. Deborah, born in 1682.
7. Samuel, born in 1685; married, in 1700, Hannah Willets.
8. Sarah, born in 1687; married, in 1708, Thomas Pearsall.
9. Jacob, born in 1689; married Mary Wright.
Io. Hannah, born in 1690; married, in 1716, Thomas Bowne.
(William S. Pelletreau and John Howard Brown: "American Families of Historic Lineage, Long Island Edition," Vol. II, p. 655. "Abstract of Wills, New York," Vol. I, p. 31.)
(III) JOHN UNDERHILL, son of John and Mary (Prior) Underhill, was born at "Killingworth," Long Island, July 1, 1670. He was brought up on his father's farm and continued in that occupation at Cedar Swamp, where he owned a valuable farm.
He married (first) Elizabeth Willets (Willets III) ; and (second) Susanna Birdsall. The children of first marriage, probably born at Cedar Swamp, Long Island :
I. Daniel, of whom further.
2. Amos, born after 1705.
3. Isaac, born about 1707, died in 1723.
4. Deborah; married Joseph Prior.
5. Mary.
6. Thomas; married Sarah Powell.
(William S. Pelletreau and John Howard Brown: "American Families of Historic Line- age," Vol. II, p. 655.)
(IV) DANIEL UNDERHILL, son of John and Elizabeth (Willets) Underhill, was born at Cedar Swamp, Long Island, May 29, 1690. He married, in 1728, Abigail Crooker. (Crooker III.) Child :
I. Deborah, of whom further.
("American Ancestry," Vol. II, p. 5. William S. Pelletreau and John Howard Brown: "American Families of Historic Lineage, Long Island Edition," Vol. II, p. 655.)
(V) DEBORAH UNDERHILL, daughter of Daniel and Abigail (Crooker) Under- hill, was born probably at Cedar Swamp, Long Island, May 16, 1732, and died March 30, 1763. She married Thomas Fleet. (Fleet IV.)
(Ibid.)
(The Crooker Line).
Undoubtedly an old Saxon family, the Crokers, or Crookers, were one of the most ancient Devonshire families. There is a tradition that in that county were three eminent families who were settled there before the Norman Conquest, often
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spoken of thus: "Crocker, Crewys and Coplestone. when the Conqueror came, were at home." It is not known from what branch of this ancient family came the ancestors of William Crooker, of Long Island, nor is there a clear record of his arrival in America.
(Joseph Foster : "Various Families Descended from Francis Fox," pp. 23-24.)
(I) WILLIAM CROOKER, whose name was variously spelled Crocker, Croker, and Crucker, in the early records, died probably, at Oyster Bay, Long Island, before February, 1661. Mr. Crooker came to Oyster Bay about 1660, probably from Stratford, Connecticut. He died, leaving his family in straitened circum- stances, and February 1, 1661, the following engaged to give for a year Indian corn for the "maintenance of the widow Croker"-John Richbell, three bushels ; Robert Forman, two bushels; Francis Weekes, two and one-half bushels; Moses Forman, one bushel; Jonas Halsted, two bushels; Anthony Wright, two bushels; John Townsend, two bushels; Henry Townsend, two bushels; Benjamin Hub- bard, two bushels, and Samuel Andrews, two bushels.
Fairfield records show that Henry Gregory's estate was inventoried June 19, 1655, and only his son, John, is named. Widow 'Ann Crooker confirmed the sale of a lot at Oyster Bay "which my husband William Crooker did formerly sell unto Nicholas Wright" (dated March 2, 1667). She reserved a section of meadow. William Crooker married Ann Gregory, daughter of Henry Gregory, who was of Stratford, Connecticut, in 1647, or before. She married (second), after 1667, and before December 14, 1670, John Rogers, and was living in 1685-86. Children :
1. William, Jr., of whom further.
2. Joseph.
3. Hannah; married (first) Moses Forman; (second) Joseph Weekes.
("The Underhill Society of America, Fifth Annual Report." Samuel Orcutt: "A His- tory of the Old Town of Stratford and the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut," Vol. II, p. 1208. Spencer P. Mead: "Abstract of Probate Records at Fairfield County, Fairfield, and State of Connecticut," p. 6. "Oyster Bay Town Records," Vol. I, pp. 37, 97-98, 205. )
(II) WILLIAM CROOKER, JR., was the son of William and Ann (Gregory) Crooker, of Oyster Bay, Long Island. He and his brother both confirmed the sale of a house and lot March 6, 1682-which their mother, Ann, had made to Richard Latting before 1661-the lot having been the property of their father, William Crooker. William Crooker and Joseph Crooker, with their mother, Ann Rogers, and stepfather, John Rogers, are in land sale records February 2, 1673. William Crooker, Jr., and Isaac Doughty rented, for farming purposes for seven years, the improved lands and meadows at Littleworth, Oyster Bay, owned by Robert Godfrey, October 16, 1682. To William Crooker the town granted a home lot and three acres-with grazing and timber privileges on the town commons- March 26, 1683, also further grants later. He was one of the purchasers of Matinecock lands January 9, 1685-86. He witnessed a deed in 1694. He mar- ried, in 1655, Sarah Hawxhurst, daughter of Christopher and Mary (Ruddock) Hawxhurst. Children :
I. Robert; married Dinah Rhodes.
2. William; married Anne.
3. Samson, died in 1759; married (first) Elizabeth Titus; married (second) Margaret Loses.
4. Sarah.
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5. Benjamin ; married Ann.
6. Abigail, of whom further.
("Oyster Bay Town Records," Vol. I, pp. 105, 161-62, 166-68, 205-06, 263, 264, 333, 540. "New York Genealogical and Biographical Record," Vol. XXXII, p. 175.)
(III) ABIGAIL CROOKER was the daughter of William and Sarah (Hawxhurst) Crooker. She married Daniel Underhill. (Underhill IV.)
("American Ancestry," Vol. II, p. 5.)
(The Willets Line).
The surname Willets appears in early records in the varying forms Willett, Wil- letts, Willet, and is a baptismal name meaning "the son of William," from the nickname Will and diminutive Will-et, or Will-ot.
(C. W. Bardsley: "Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames.")
(I) RICHARD WILLETS came to America before 1657, probably from the west- ern part of England. He settled in Hempstead, Long Island, and in 1657 had "6 gates, 6 cattle, 6 milch cows and 28 acres of land." He was assistant magistrate in 1658, surveyor of highways in 1659, and in 1662 was chosen townsman by vote. He died at Lusum (now Jericho), Long Island, between 1664-66.
Richard Willets married, before 1650, Mary Washburne, born in 1629, daugh- ter of William and Jane Washburne, of Hempstead, Long Island. In 1667, Widow Mary Willets bought a portion of her brother-in-law Robert Williams' Oyster Bay Patent or Purchase, and settled at Jericho, where she and some of her children lived the rest of their lives. She joined the Society of Friends, became a minister, and had meetings at her house. She died 17th, II mo., 1713. Children :
I. Thomas, of whom further.
2. Hope, born 7 mo., 1652, died about 1703; married Mercy Langdon.
3. John, born 5 mo., 1655; married Margaret Hallock, daughter of John and Abigail Hallock, of Brookline.
4. Richard, born 12 mo., 1660, died 14 d. 3 mo., 1703; married (first), 25 d. I mo., 1686, Abigail Bowne, of Flushing, who died in 1688. He married (second), 15, 3 mo., 1690, Abigail Powell.
5. Mary, born 2 mo., 1663; died 23 d. 11 mo., 1687; married, 7th I mo., 1686, John Fray.
(Mary P. Bunker : "Long Island Genealogies, Albany, New York," pp. 73-74. "Ameri- can Ancestry, Albany, New York, 1895," Vol. X, p. 91. William S. Pelletreau and John H. Brown: "American Families of Historic Lineage, Long Island Edition," Vol. II, p. 541. Joel Munsell's Sons : "American Ancestry," Vol. X, p. 91.)
(II) THOMAS WILLETS, son of Richard and Mary (Washburne) Willets, was born in Huntington Township, Long Island, 3 mo., 1650, and died at Secatogue (Islip), Long Island, 15 d., 4 mo., 1710. In 1673, Thomas purchased from Rob- ert Williams land at Jericho, but most of the families lived at Secatogue, now Islip, Long Island.
He married Dinah Townsend, daughter of Richard and Deliverance (Cole) Townsend. Dinah was born in 1651 and died 18th d., 10 mo., 1732. Children :
I. Isaac, died 4 mo., 1736; married, in 1710, Clement Hallock.
2. Amos, born at Secatogne, died in 1748; married (first), in 1713, Mary Hallock; (sec- ond), in 1719, Rebecca Whitson.
3. Richard, died May 14, 1703: married (first) Sarah Hallock, daughter of John and Abigail (Sweezey ) Hallock. He married ( second) Deborah Cole, and (third), May 15, 1690, Margaret (Hallock) Powell, born June 18, 1668, died November 2, 1757.
4. Thomas, born in 1683; married (first) Catherine Hallock, daughter of Abigail ( Sweeżey) Hallock; married (second) Rachel Powell.
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5. Mary, died in 1739; married, in 1691, Thomas Powell.
6. Elizabeth, of whom further.
7. Hannah; married Samuel Underhill.
8. Sarah.
9. Dinah; perhaps married William Hallock.
(Mary P. Bunker : "Long Island Genealogies, Albany, New York," pp. 73-74. William S. Pelletreau and John H. Brown: "American Families of Historic Lineage, Long Island Edition," Vol. II, p. 655.)
(III) ELIZABETH WILLETS, daughter of Thomas and Dinah (Townsend) Willets, was born in 1674 and died in September, 1713. She married John Under- hill. (Underhill III.)
(Mary P. Bunker : "Long Island Genealogies, Albany, New York," pp. 74, 296, 297.)
(The Woodin Line).
(I) JAMES WOODIN, the first member of this line who is recorded in Long Island, was born May 17, 1726, and died March 16, 1805. It is not known where his family had settled, as records of this part of early Long Island are very scarce. He married Mary Townsend. (Townsend V.) Children :
1. Judith, of whom further.
2. Absalom, born July 11, 1753, died December 13, 1841.
3. Isaac, died December 3, 1830; married Sarah Well.
4. Solomon, born February 8, 1760, died February 23, 1842.
5. Elizabeth, born June 12, 1766, died September 20, 1857.
6. James, born April 19, 1770, died October 28, 1841.
7. Townsend, born October 12, 1772, died February 15, 1795.
(Margaret Townsend: "Townsend-Townshend Genealogy, 1066-1909: The History, Genealogy and Alliances of the English and American House of Townsend," p. 99.)
(II) JUDITH WOODIN, daughter of James and Mary (Townsend) Woodin, was born March 12, 1752. She married Arnold Fleet. (Fleet V.)
(Ibid.)
(The Townsend Line).
In 1100, a gentleman from Normandy named Lodovic (Ludovich) came to Eng- land in the train of Henry I, married the only child of de Hauteville, settled upon his wife's estate and also took the family name of Townsend. The property was held and increased by Townsend descendants during the eight hundred years that fol- lowed. The Townsends have a distinguished ancestry; the name has been borne by Secretaries of State, Lord Chief Justices, Members of Parliament and officers in the army and navy.
(Margaret Townsend: "Townsend-Townshend Genealogy, 1066-1909: The History, Genealogy and Alliances of the English and American House of Townsend," p. 118.)
(I) HENRY TOWNSEND settled in Oyster Bay, Long Island, previous to Sep- tember 16, 1661. He died between February 6 and March 30, 1695, at what must have been a good old age, and was buried on Mill Hill, where a rough stone marked H. T. shows his grave. His wife survived him. Henry Townsend's wife and chil- dren received a legacy from Richard Grassmore in 1663. Henry Townsend gave his wife and children the equivalent of this sum from his own property and then turned the legacy over to the town to be administered for the benefit of the poor. He is said to have given with the legacy £ 176 in money. Henry owned and man- aged a gristmill and sawmill; held the office of town clerk; made many surveys
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and, with his nephew, was employed in public work, such as adjusting boundaries, buying land of the Indians, and securing patents. The conveyances to and from him are innumerable. His purpose was to make his property more compact, and he made presents to all his children. In 1683, he laid out six acres on the hill for a home and gave the old homestead to Henry. To Henry and John, he gave three- fourths of the mill in 1668, the remaining fourth to Rose, wife of Joseph Dickin- son. Henry also gave land to his three daughters. Henry Townsend married Ann Coles. (Coles II.) Children :
I. Henry, of whom further.
2. John, died May 9, 1705; married (first) Johannah, who died October 6, 1680.
3. Rose; married Captain Joseph Dickinson.
4. Susannah; married Aaron Furman, Jr.
5. Mary; married John Wright. (Wright V.)
6. Elizabeth, died, unmarried, September 13, 1680.
7. Robert, born June 3, 1667, died in 1687 (on his headstone in the cemetery).
("American Ancestry," Vol. IX, p. 81. Margaret Townsend: "The History, Genealogy and Alliances of the English and American House of Townsend," pp. 95-96, 99, 103.)
(II) HENRY TOWNSEND, JR., son of Henry and Anne (Coles) Townsend, died before 1703. He appears on the local records only in the transfer of property. He married Deborah Underhill. (Underhill II.) Children :
I. Henry, of whom further.
2. Robert.
3. A daughter ; married a Ludlam.
(Margaret Townsend: "The History, Genealogy and Alliances of the England and American House of Townsend," p. 96.)
(III) HENRY TOWNSEND, 3D, son of Henry and Deborah (Underhill) Town- send, died in 1709. He was elected surveyor and seems to have been a young man of ability. He bought back several pieces of land sold by his father. He married Eliphal Wright, daughter of his Aunt Mary Townsend and John Wright. (Wright VI.) Children :
I. Henry; married Elizabeth Titus.
2. Absalom, of whom further.
(Ibid.)
(IV) ABSALOM TOWNSEND, son of Henry and Elizabeth (Wright ) Townsend, died February 2, 1795. He lived upon the place belonging to Mrs. DeKay. He married Deborah Weeks, who died October 10, 1739. Children :
I. Mary, of whom further.
2. Philena, born December 14, 1734; married (first) Richard Butler ; married (second), in 1761, Thomas Alsop.
3. Anne, born November 24, 1736, died November 29, 1783; married Daniel Parish. 4. Deborah. (Ibid., p. 99.)
(V) MARY TOWNSEND, daughter of Absalom and Deborah (Weeks) Town- send, was born June 10, 1732, and died November 27, 1824. She married James Woodin. (Woodin I.)
(Ibid.)
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(The Wright Line.)
Wright, an English family name, is occupational in origin. "The Wright," was often Latinized in mediæval rolls into faber, meaning a skilled workman in various materials, usually in wood. Roger and Robert le Wricte, and Margery le Wrytte, are all mentioned as early as 1273, in County Cambridge, England. Others of the name are mentioned in Counties York and London. Our family was from County Norfolk. The Wright family was of very ancient stock. In the reign of King Henry VI ( 1422-61) they were located at East Lexham, in County Norfolk, and later of Little Buckenham and Weting, in the same county, then of Crent- Bradford, County Suffolk, and last of Kilverstone Hall, Kilverstone Manor, Thet- ford, County Norfolk, where descendants of this line continued to reside until a very recent date.
(Bardsley: "Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames." H. D. Perrine: "The Wright Family," pp. 5, 7.)
(I) NICHOLAS WRIGHT, son of John Wright, was born about 1490 and died before 1567, probably at Beaupré Hall. He married Ann Beaupré, who was living in 1579, daughter of Edmund Beaupré, and his second wife, Margery Wiseman. Children :
1. John.
2. Elizabeth.
3. Charles.
4. William.
5. Nicholas, of whom further.
("Wright Family of Oyster Bay," p. 24.)
(II) NICHOLAS WRIGHT, son of Nicholas and Ann (Beaupré) Wright, mar- ried (first), February 18, 1559, Ellen Gylbert, or Gilbert, daughter of William Gilbert. She died January 10, 1582. He married (second), January 25, 1589, Margerie Alexander. Children of first marriage:
I. William; married November 18, 1584, Elizabeth Jeffers.
2. Nicholas, of whom further.
(Ibid.)
(III) NICHOLAS WRIGHT, JR., son of Nicholas and Ellen (Gylbert, or Gil- bert) Wright, married (first), November 15, 1582, Margaret Jeffers, of Neatis- head. He married (second), April or September 20, 1594, Margaret Nelson, in the parish of St. Peter and St. Paul at Wendling, Norfolk County. Children of second marriage :
I. Peter Townsend, born in England after 1594 and died at Oyster Bay, between Decem- ber 13, 1660, and September 14, 1663, intestate. He married Alice, who as widow, married Richard Crabb.
2. Anthony, died before September 4, 1680, unmarried. He was a blacksmith in Oyster Bay and was an active and zealous member of the Society of Friends, and for many years his house was the place for both worship and business. On the 15th of 8th mo., 1672, conveyed a portion of his land for "a burial place and meetinghouse." He took an active and prominent place in the settlement, his name appearing often in the records, showing that he was called on frequently to serve his fellow- townspeople. He died possessed of many and large tracts of land, which he left to his nieces and nephews.
3. Nicholas, of whom further.
("Wright Family of Oyster Bay," pp. 26, 39. "Oyster Bay Town Records," Vol. I, pp. 102-03, 154-60, 628.)
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(IV) NICHOLAS WRIGHT, 4TH, son of Nicholas and Margaret (Nelson) Wright, was born in County Norfolk, England, about 1609-10, died in Oyster Bay, Long Island, in November, 1682, aged seventy-three years. He emigrated from England with two brothers, and settled in 1637 in Sandwich, Massachusetts, where they all appear to have been quite active in the affairs of the settlement, in acquiring lands, and in the civic and social administration of that historic town on Cape Cod. They took the oath of fidelity in 1643, and Nicholas was appointed one of the surveyors of the highways, June 5, 1651. In the spring of 1653, the brothers joined a company under the leadership of Rev. William Leverich, for the purpose of forming a new settlement in Long Island. The journey was made by water in the sloop "Desire," of Barnstable, owned by Samuel Mayo, John Dickinsen, master, and ended at the new home site, Oyster Bay, in the north shore of Long Island. Here Peter Wright, Samuel Mayo and Rev. William Leverich, for themselves and associates, were the grantees in a deed made to them on behalf of the Indian tribe occupying the lands, by Asiapum, alias Mohenses, shortly after their coming in 1653. Anthony and Nicholas Wright, along with other associates of this little company, were later admitted to a share in this "old purchase" as partners. This purchase was confirmed in 1677 by Royal patent granted by Governor Andros. A portion of this land had been owned and occupied by the family ever since, its title passing by descent. In May, 1677, their names were among the freeholders of the town entitled to vote and hold office. The brothers became large land pro- prietors in and about Oyster Bay and all were men of prominence and large influ- ence in that new community until their deaths. They were all, at an early period, active and zealous members of the Society of Friends. Nicholas Wright held many public offices and was elected toren schepen (magistrate) in 1673 of Oyster Bay, where he continued to reside till his death, in 1682. The large amount of real estate that he left, he devised to his sons, John, Caleb and Edmund, not mentioning his four daughters, which caused some trouble between them.
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