Robert
Abell
Born about in England
Ancestors 
Son of George Abell
and Frances (Cotton) Abell
Husband of
Joanna (Unknown) Hyde
— married
before 1639 in Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts [uncertain]
Descendants [uncertain] 
Father of
Abraham Abell, Mary (Abell) Luther, Preserved Abell, Caleb Abell, Joshua Abell, Benjamin Abell, Experience (Abell) Baldwin and Unknown Abell
Died
at about age 58
in Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts Bay
Profile managers:
Lydia Vierson 
[send private message], Puritan Great Migration Project WikiTree [send private message], and Magna Carta Project WikiTree [send private message]
[send private message], Puritan Great Migration Project WikiTree [send private message], and Magna Carta Project WikiTree [send private message]Profile last modified
| Created 14 Apr 2010
This page has been accessed 14,790 times.
| Magna Carta Gateway Ancestor Descendant of Magna Carta Surety Baron Saher de Quincy (see text). Join: Magna Carta Project Discuss: magna_carta |
| Robert Abell migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See Great Migration Begins, by R. C. Anderson, Vol. 1, p. 3) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm |
Contents |
Biography
Birth and Parents
Robert was the son of George Abell and Frances Cotton. He was born in about 1605.[1][2][3] His birth place is uncertain: Anderson's The Great Migration Begins suggests it was probably Stapenhill, Derbyshire,[1] which was where his father was born, but his father had a residence at Hemington, Leicestershire[2][3] and described himself as "of Hemington, Leicestershire.[4]
Life
In his 1630 will, Robert's father left him only 20 shillings, lamenting that this was due to "the charges I have been at in placing him in a good trade in London which he hath made no use of and since in furnishing him for New England where I hope he now is".[1][2][3][4]
Robert emigrated to Massachusetts with the Winthrop Fleet in 1630.[5] Initially he settled at Weymouth. He was made a freeman of the colony in the winter of 1630/1. See Research Notes.
It is possible he returned to England: there is no further record of him in New England until 1638; and that year a Robert Abell sailed to New England.[1] See Research Notes.
A 1643 record of Weymouth, Massachusetts refers to his having held seven acres in the Weymouth area. That year he moved to Rehoboth:[1][2][3] he is recorded as having bought land there in a record of December 1643. Further grants of land were made in 1646, 1653 and 1658.[6][7] He became an innkeeper.[1][2][3]
In 1657 Robert headed a list of men at Rehoboth who took an oath of fidelity.[1]
Marriage and Children
Before 1639 Robert married Joanna, whose last name at birth is not known. (Her first name is given in letters of administration granted to Joanna for Robert's estate.)[1][2][3] They had the following children:
- Abraham,[2][3] buried on 14 November 1639[1]
- Mary, baptised on 11 April 1642, who married the Rev. Samuel Luther[2][3][8] buried on 14 November 1639[1]
- Preserved,[2][3] possibly born in about 1644[1]
- Caleb,[2][3] possibly born in about 1647[1]
- Joshua,[2][3] possibly born in about 1649[1]
- Benjamin,[2][3] possibly born in about 1651[1]
- Experience, possibly born in about 1660, who married John Baldwin[1][2][3]
- another child[2][3] - papers relating to the distribution of Robert's estate refer to his oldest son, his daughter Mary, and five other children, and his son Abraham was already dead. Robert Charles Anderson suggests, based on names of grandchildren, that this child may have been a daughter called Mehitable or Martha, but there is no firm evidence for this.[1]
Death
Robert died at Rehoboth, Massachusetts Bay on 20 June 1663.[9]
His wife was granted letters of administration on 1 March 1663/4.[1][2][3] An inventory of his estate taken on 9 August 1663, shows assets worth some £355, including a house and land worth £130.[1] It was exhibited to the Plymouth Court on 3 March 1663 and deposed unto by Joanna Abell widow.[10]
On 4 June 1667 she married again, her second husband being William Hyde of Norwich, Connecticut.[1][2][3]
Research Notes
Cuthbert Abell has previously been shown on WikiTree as a son of Robert and his wife Joanna. There is no evidence for this. Please see Cuthbert's profile for more information.
Same Robert? Writing about lengthy period from the time he disappeared in the records and then reappeared, Anderson wrote "further research may determine that the records ... actually pertain to two men named Robert Abell, one who was in New England in 1630 and 1631, and a second who had arrived by 1639 ..."[11]
Sources
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 Robert Charles Anderson. The Great Migration Begins, Vol. I, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995, pp. 3-6, American Ancestors (New England Historic Genealogical Society website) and Ancestry.co.uk
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham, 2nd edition (Salt Lake City: the author, 2011), Vol. I, p. 2, ABELL 13, Google Books
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), Vol. I, p. 107, ABELL 13
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The National Archives, ref. PROB 11/159/158, Will of Georg Abell, Gentleman of Hemington, Leicestershire, Discovery Centre catalogue entry
- ↑ Charles Edward Banks. The Winthrop Fleet of 1630, Houghton Mifflin, 1930, p. 57, Internet Archive
- ↑ Carl Boyer 3rd. Medieval Ancestors of Robert Abell, the author, 2001, pp. 2-3, Familysearch
- ↑ Horace A Abell and Lewis P Abell. The Abell Family in America, Turtle Publishing Company, 1940, pp. 43-46, Familysearch
- ↑ Leslie L Luther, revised by George A Luther. The Luther Genealogy. A History of the Descendants of Captain John Luther, privately printed, 2001, pp. 73-74, Familysearch
- ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QG1K-S215 : 6 May 2022), Robert Abell, 20 Jun 1663; citing Death, , Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007578641
- ↑ "Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Probate Records, 1633-1967," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-997D-VSJZ : 7 March 2023), Wills 1633-1686 vol 1-4 > image 215 of 616; State Archives, Boston. Page 15-16
- ↑ Referencing "The Winthrop Fleet by Robert Charles Anderson [2012]," Penelope L. Stratton and Henry B. Hoff, Guide to Genealogical Writing: How to Write and Publish Your Family History (New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014; epub 2017), Chapter 4 (as location 522 of 4303).
- See also:
- Chamberlain, George. The History and Genealogies of Weymouth, Massachusetts (The Weymouth Historical Society, 1923), Vol. 3, p. 5, Hathi Trust
- Colket, Meredith Bright. Founders of American Families, General Court of the Order of Founders and Patriots of America, 1975
- Boyer, Carl, 3rd. Ancestral Lines Revised
- Luther Family association (website: https://www.lutherfamily.info)
- (Author Unknown). "A Royal Descent: King Edward I," in 'Forebears', Vol XV, No. 2 (Spring 1972), p.117
- Wikipedia: Robert Abell
- Miller-Anderson blog
- http://oliveandeliza.com/boyd/abell/robertandjoanna.html (sourced online tree)
Acknowledgements
Magna Carta Project
- This profile was re-reviewed for the Magna Carta Project by Michael Cayley on 27 June 2022.
- Robert Abell is listed in Magna Carta Ancestry as a Gateway Ancestor (vol. I, pages xxiii-xxix) in a Richardson-documented trail to Magna Carta Surety Baron Saher de Quincy (vol. I, pages 1-2 ABELL). This trail was developed for the Magna Carta Project by Jayme Arrington and reviewed/approved/badged in September 2017 by Liz Shifflett. See the Magna Carta Trails on his mother's profile to view the profiles on this trail.
- See Base Camp for more information about identified Magna Carta trails and their status. See the project's glossary for project-specific terms, such as a "badged trail".
Sponsored Search by Ancestry.com
DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Robert by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. Y-chromosome DNA test-takers in his direct paternal line on WikiTree:
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Robert by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. Y-chromosome DNA test-takers in his direct paternal line on WikiTree:
- Howard Abell
:
Family Tree DNA Y-DNA Test 67 markers, haplogroup I-M253, FTDNA kit #391210
-
~0.39%
Kirt Adams :
Family Tree DNA Family Finder, GEDmatch NE3891265 [compare], FTDNA kit #34080
Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.
Featured Foodie Connections: Robert is 18 degrees from Emeril Lagasse, 19 degrees from Nigella Lawson, 19 degrees from Maggie Beer, 40 degrees from Mary Hunnings, 24 degrees from Joop Braakhekke, 22 degrees from Michael Chow, 19 degrees from Ree Drummond, 21 degrees from Paul Hollywood, 14 degrees from Matty Matheson, 19 degrees from Martha Stewart, 27 degrees from Danny Trejo and 23 degrees from Molly Yeh on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.
How did we address this? --Gene
See Penelope L. Stratton and Henry B. Hoff, Guide to Genealogical Writing: How to Write and Publish Your Family History (New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014; epub 2017), Chapter 4 (as location 522 of 4303).
edited by GeneJ X
I do not have access to Anderson's 2012 work so do not know what the discussion in it says and how far, if at all, it expands or modifies what is said about Robert Abell in The Great Migration Begins. For what it is worth, Douglas Richardson, in both his 2011 Magna Carta Ancestry and his 2013 Royal Ancestry, gives most of the information recorded in the bio, and all the family relationships shown. I cannot speak for PGM, which co-manages this profile, but the policy of the Magna Carta Project is to follow Richardson on relationships unless there is good evidence for not doing so.
Do you have specific suggestions for improving this profile? If so, please make them, with appropriate sourcing, and preferably with some suggested wording. Do you want to suggest, for instance, a research note?
edited by Michael Cayley
Thank you for your response. The source quoted several of Anderson's comments, enough that I felt the information was given in context.
I added a research note. --Gene
- now DONE
edited by Michael Cayley
Colonial descendants of Iseult de Mortimer are no longer valid
There is a Capt Robert Abell born in Rehoboth, Mass who came in the 1700's. He may or may not be this branch of the Abell family.
There is a 3rd Robert Abell - Capt Robert Abell who came from England to Maryland, I believe, in the 1700's. This Abell family lived in Maryland and Virginia. They may or may not be a branch of this Abell line.
There are Abell's who went from England to Canada but are not part of this Abell line.
Please refer to the Book, "The Abell Family in America: Robert Abell of Rehoboth, Mass., ...", Tuttle Publishing Co, (1940).
Note: There are several branches of the Abell Family with different Coat of Arms. Robert Abell (1605-1663) is from the Derby Branch. The Coat of Arms has a saltaire cross (an "x") with 9 gold fleur de lis on a blue and white shield.