1,091. Henry Cobb (Married 1st: Patience Hurst (#1,092) probably at Plymouth, likely between July September 1631 before June 7, 1632 when their son John was born, Married 2nd: Sarah Hinckley on 12 December 1649. She was the daughter of Samuel Hinckley and Sarah Soole. Sarah Hinckley was the sister of Thomas Hinckley who was the Governor of Plymouth Colony from 1681 to 1692. (Source of the information in green is "Find A Grave": Created by Shari Hanson Frey, record added: June 29, 2009, Find A Grave Memorial #38873918) SOURCE INFORMATION sited on Find A Grave site:(1) Robert Charles Anderson. Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-33 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2000. Original data: Robert Charles Anderson. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633. Vol. 1-3. Boston, MA, USA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995. Description:The Great Migration Begins aims to provide comprehensive biographical and genealogical information, derived from a broad survey of primary and secondary sources, on all immigrants to New England between 1620 and 1633.(2) U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900; Source number: 1630.006; Source type: Family group sheet, FGSE, listed as parents; Number of Pages: 1; Source number: 528.000; Source type: Electronic Database; Number of Pages: 1; Submitter Code: RGI (3) American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI); Godfrey Memorial Library, comp.. American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI) [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 1999. Original data: Godfrey Memorial Library. American Genealogical-Biographical Index. Middletown, CT, USA: Godfrey Memorial Library.(4) Family Data Collection Deaths; Edmund West, comp.. Family Data Collection - Deaths [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2001.(5) Passenger and Immigration Lists index, 1500s-1900s; Place: Plymouth, Massachusetts; Year: 1632; Page Number: 392; Gale Research. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2006. Original data: Filby, P. William, ed.. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s. Farmington Hills, MI, USA: Gale Research, 2006. (Source: Friends of the Pilgrims Series... Early Descendants of Henry Cobb of Barnstable, Massachusetts, Volume 1, 2008; by Susan E. Roser)
Born: 1596, 1607, ca 1605-1610 of Unknown Father (#2,181 ) and Unknown Mother (#2,182 )
Died: probably between March - May 1679; will was proved 3 June 1679 in Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts. His burial is at Lothrop Hill Cemetery, Barnstable, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, USA.
[His siblings, if any, are unknown]
Miscellaneous Information:
Henry was the first Cobb in America.
Henry's parents and origins are unknown. He arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1632 on "the second boat.". He married first to Patience Hurst, daughter of James Hurst, before June 7, 1632, when their son John was born.
Henry and Patience moved to Scituate in 1634 and Barnstable in 1639. Henry was a Tavern Keeper and was licensed to draw wine at Barnstable June 5, 1644.
Henry and Patience were member numbers #7 & #8 at the founding of Scituate church on January 8, 1634/5. On December 15, 1635 he was invested into the office of Deacon at Scituate. He was ordained ruling elder of Barnstable church April 14, 1670.
He was educated and signed his name to coroner's jury findings. His inventory included books valued at 24s. He was admitted Freeman on January 1, 1632/3. His offices included Deputy for Barnstable, Coroner's jury, Plymouth petit jury and Excise collector for Barnstable. He was on the 1643 list of Plymouth men able to bear arms and on the committee for defense of Barnstable October 10, 1643.
Henry had 14 or 15 (15) children. (Seven sons and 8 daughters.)
With Patience, he had 1) John Cobb who married 1st Martha Nelson and 2nd Jane Woodward; 2) James Cobb, who married Sarah Lewis; 3) Mary Cobb (#546), who married Jonathan Dunham; 4) Hannah Cobb, who married Edward Lewis; 5) Patience Cobb, who married 1st Robert Parker and 2nd William Crocker; 6) Gershom Cobb, who married Hannah Davis; and 7) Eliezer Cobb. Another source states he and Patience had 7 children including 1) John who m. Martha Nelson; 2) James who m. Sarah Lewis; 3) Mary who m. as second wife Jonathan Dunham; 4) Hannah m. Edward Lewis; 5) Patience m. Robert Parker as his second wife; she m. 2nd William Crocker; 6) Gershom died unmarried; 7) Eliezer apparently died unmarried (all births from PCR 8:42) [Note: These two sources agree except the second source said Gershom died unmarried, while the first source says he married Hannah Davis. PCR refers to the Plymouth Colony Records.] (Source: Massachusetts and More Genealogy Blog accessed on Dec. 11, 2015).
His first wife, Patience, died five weeks after giving birth to their seventh child, Eleazer in 1648.
Following Patience's death in 1648, Henry married Sarah Hinckley. With Sarah, he had 8) Mehitable Cobb, who died young; 9) Samuel Cobb, who married Elizabeth Taylor; 10) Sarah Cobb, who died as an infant; 11) Jonathan Cobb, who married Hope (Chipman) Huckins, daughter of John Chipman and widow of John Huckins; 12) Sarah Cobb, (2nd of that name) who married Samuel Chipman; 13) Henry Cobb Jr., who married Lois Hallett. Lois was the daughter of Joseph and his wife Elizabeth (Gorham) Hallett; 14) Mehitable Cobb, no further record; 15) Experience Cobb, no further record. Another source states Henry had 7 children with his second wife: 8) Mehitable, died young; 9) Samuel m. Elizabeth ____, said to be Elizabeth Taylor dau of Richard Taylor; 10) Sarah, died young; 11) Jonathan m. Hope (Chipman) Huckins, dau of John Chipman and widow of John Huckins; 12) Sarah m. Samuel Chipman; 13) Henry m. Lois Hallet; 14) Ephraim; no further record beyond his 1671 birth. (all births from PCR 8:42) [Note: The second source does not include the second Mehitable or Experience that are listed by the first source. However, it lists Ephraim, who is not listed by the first source. ]
(Source: From the Massachusetts and More Genealogy Blog accessed on Dec. 11, 2015). "Henry Cobb was of Plymouth in 1632, of Scituate in 1633, and of Barnstable in 1639, where he likely remained until his death in 1679. His last name is sometimes spelled Cob.
Henry was a follower of Rev. John Lothrop, who split from the Church of England to become part of an independent movement. Lothrop and 24 of his followers were jailed in London for refusing to take the oath of fidelity to the Church of England. They believed the word of God flows not through the king but through the Bible. Sturgis Library in Barnstable owns Lothrop’s 1605 Bible.
Lothrop’s followers stayed together in Scituate and then split and only some followed Lothrop to Barnstable. Henry continued to follow Lothrop and was one of the first settlers of Barnstable, where he became an Elder in the church and an important person in the community.
He married Patience Hurst, probably by late summer 1631, as their first child was born June 1632. Henry’s parents and birthplace have not been discovered, but it is often stated that he was from Kent, England.
The will of James Hurst, dated 10 Dec 1657, names (among others) grandchildren John Cobb, James Cobb, Gershom Cobb, Eliezer Cobb, Mary Dunham, Hannah Cobb and Patience Cobb. Susan Roser (author of Early Descendants of Henry Cobb of Barnstable, Massachusetts) has a copy of a 1964 letter from the Municipal Archives in Leiden: "The only record in which James Hurst is mentioned is in the Poll-tax register. He lived in the alley next to the garden of John Robinson, with his wife Geertgen (=Margareth) and two children Jan (=John) and Passchyntgen (=Patience)." John Robinson was the Pilgrims' minister. James Hurst was a deacon of the Plymouth church and died December 1657.
Henry is not mentioned in the 1627 cattle division, so he came to the colony between 1627 and 1632, when the birth of his first child was recorded at Plymouth. The Hurst family arrived at the same time.
Henry is listed on the 1633 freeman list, although he appears to have removed to Scituate soon after. A plaque of this early settlement by the "men of Kent" can be seen in Scituate today. In the Men of Kent Cemetery there, he is mentioned as one of the original settlers on a plaque. On 11 Oct 1639, the Cobb family removed with Lothrop and the Church to Barnstable.
The Scituate Church was organized 8 Jan 1634/5, with 13 initial members, including Henry. He was a man given substantial respect as he is often called “Goodman Cobb” in records.
From Samuel Deane: He was one of the “Men of Kent” and settled on Kent Street in Scituate, on North River. There was division among the early Scituate settlers in support of their first minister, Lothrop, who appealed to Gov Thomas Prence to move him and his supporters to a new settlement, first to be Seipican (Rochester), but later changed to Barnstable. Deane believed major reason for the split amongst the church was that some wanted full body immersion baptisms while Lothrop did not.
Amos Otis wrote that Henry’s house lot was not desirable land, but other lots he owned had much better soil. He noted that the three Barnstable deacons all had stone or fortified homes, so that they took care of the people's spiritual needs as well as their safety in the event of an Indian attack.
Patience died at Barnstable and was buried there 4 May 1648. Barnstable church records say she was "the first that was buryed in our new burying place by our meeting house." Lothrop's diary states she was age 38 when she died, which gives her a birth year of ca 1610.
Henry married second, at Barnstable, 12 December 1649, Sarah Hinckley, daughter of Samuel and sister of Governor Hinckley.
Henry was a tavernkeeper, a deacon at the church and later a ruling elder of the church. He served as deputy for Barnstable many times, served on juries and was also the excise tax officer.
He received some education as evidenced by the positions he held, that he signed his name to a report and that his inventory included books.
Henry's will was written April 4, 1678, and proved June 3, 1679. The date of Henry’s death unknown; codicil dated 28 Feb 1678/9, will proved 3 June 1679, so he died likely at Barnstable, between March-May 1679.
(Sources:1) Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633, Boston, MA, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995. 2) Samuel Deane, History of Scituate, From Its First Settlement to 1831, orig. published 1831, reprinted by Clearfield Publishing, Baltimore, MD, 1993, 1995; 3) Amos Otis, Genealogical Notes of Barnstable Families, being a reprint of the Amos Otis Papers, originally published in the Barnstable Patriot, revised by CF Swift, Volume 1 and 2, Barnstable, MA, The Patriot Press, 1888)
Henry's will is as follows and is copied from pages 7 and 8 of Susan Roser's book:
Will of Henry Cobb
I, Henery Cobb of Barnstable though weake in body yett
through the Mercye of God of disposing mind and memory; and
calling to mind the uncertainty of this transitory life; I ame
desirous according to my duty to sett things in order before I goe
hence; and therefore doe make this my Last Will and Testament
heerby revoakeing and disanulling all former will and wills, by
word or writing hertofore by mee made; and doe heerby
constitute and declare this to be my Last Will and Testament in
manor and forme following: viz; After my desire to Comitt my
soule to God in Jesus Christ whoe gave it and my body to decent
burial; when God shall please to call mee hence, and as touching
my worldly estate which God hath beyond my deserts bestowed
on mee my will is to dispose of it as followeth. Imp: my will is
that all my debts in Right or Conscience to any man due, shallbe
first discharged by my Executrix heerafter Named in convenient
time out of my estate; Item I will and bequeath my Great Lott
of Land in Barnstable unto my son James Cobb, and to his
heires and assignes for ever; hee having heertofor payed five
pounds to my son John Cobb for his Interest therein; And
whereas I heertofore gave half my Lands att Saconeesett unto my
sons John James Gersham and Eliezer equally to be devided
betwixt them which was with my Consent sold and exchanged;
and forty shillings being in the hand of my son, James for my
son Eliezers {parte} thereof; my Will is that my son James pay
unto Eliezer that forty shillings in pay currant, with the
Marchant. Item, I Will and bequeath my Now dwelling house
and all the Rest of my Lands both upland and meddow unto
Sarah my Deare and loveing wife, during her Naturall life, for
her support; and bringing up the Children I had by her. Item
my will is that after her decease; my son Samuell shall have my
dwelling house and two acrees of my upland; and one acree and
a halfe of my Marsh; which I bought with his stock being the one
halfe of a parsell of Marsh lying att Sandy Necke; in
partenorship with my son James. Item I will and bequeath to
my sonnes Samuell, Johathan and Henery all the rest of my
lands both upland and meddowes, to be equally devided betwixt
them after my said wifes decease, or sooner if shee see cause, to
each of them theire heires and assignes for ever; Item I give
and bequeath unto my sonnes John Gershom and Eliezer one
shilling to each of them; and to my daughters Mary (#546), hannah and
Patience to each of them one shilling out of my estate; Item I
will and bequeath to my daughter Sarah my second best bed and
furniture therunto belonging. Item, I will and bequeath all the
rest of my estate in whatsoever it be within dores or without unto
Sarah, my Loveing wife; whom I doe by these presents
Constitute and declare to be my sole executrix. In witness
whereof I have heerunto sett my hand and seale; the date
aforesaid with this word halfe entered before in sealeing heerof.
Henery Cobb
Witnesses:
Thomas Hinckley, Assistant
Mary Hinckley
On further consideration I, the within or above mensioned
Henery Cobb have caused this Coddicell to be added to this my
Last Will and Testament, viz: my wish is that my son Samuell,
shall have onely two acrees of my upland together with the
Marsh att Sandy Neck within mensioned after my wifes decease,
and all the rest of my lands to be equally devided between my
said three sonnes, Samuell, Jonathan and Henery as above
mensioned. And further my will is that my son henery shall
have my now dwelling house after my wifes decease and his
parte of the land aforesaid to lye most Convenient to the said
house onely my lands att the Island shalbe equally devided
between them my said three sons; whom I will that they shall
give libertie to my son James to dry thatch on one half of an
acree of the said Iland; when the English Corne is taken off in
such place therof as shall Annually appoint, unto him; In
witness whereof I have heerunto sett my hand and seale this 22nd
day of february 1678
|
`
When Henry died,he had outlived 12 of his 15 children and withnessed the births of 28 grandchildren. He had a total of 72 grandchildren and 423 great-grand children.[Note: Henry Cobb is the web master's 8th Great Grandfather.]
Below are photographs posted at the Find A Grave website. Image 1: the Lothrop Hill Cemetery sign, Image 2: a tombstone erected in 1871 for Henry by descendent Enoch T. Cobb. Image 3: closer view of the tombstone. Image 4: stone erected by descendents of Henry and his son Samuel. [Note: Images 3 and 4 were added images to Find A Grave by Caryn.]
ELDER
HENRY COBB
THE
ANCESTOR
OF THE COBB
FAMILY IN
BARNSTABEL
DIED IN 1679
___________
ERECTED BY
ENOCH T. COBB
A DECENDANT
IN 1871
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Lifetime Events Summary for Henry Cobb:
Event |
Date |
Henry's Age |
Birth |
1596 |
0 |
Arrived in Plymouth |
1632 |
36 |
1st Marriage |
Before June 7 1632 |
Younger than 36 |
Children's births |
1632 - 1671 |
36 - 75 |
Moved to Scituate |
1634 |
38 |
|
1636/37 |
~40 |
Moved to Barnstable |
1639 |
43 |
Death of 1st Wife |
1648 |
52 |
2nd Marriage |
1649 |
53 |
Death |
1679 |
83 |
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Contact person for this website is Susan Snyder: susanleachsnyder@gmail.com
