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Robert Fletcher (abt. 1592 - 1677)

Constable Robert Fletcher
Born about in Englandmap [uncertain]
Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of — married about 1617 [location unknown]
Descendants descendants
Died at about age 85 in Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colonymap
Profile last modified | Created 23 Feb 2011
This page has been accessed 9,592 times.
The Puritan Great Migration.
Robert Fletcher migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640).
Join: Puritan Great Migration Project
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Contents

Disputed Origins

The precise birth place and birth date and the parents of Robert Fletcher are unknown. No evidence has been presented to support addition of William Fletcher as father, although he is shown on many online trees as father. For this reason, his father "William" has been removed. Please do not add a father without discussing the proposal on G2G and without good evidence.

Biography

According to the death record of Robert Fletcher held in Concord Massachusetts, Robert was born in 1592,[1] but the location in England was not identified.[2]

Robert Fletcher emigrated to Concord Massachusetts in the 1630s. According to genealogist Winifred Lovering Holman, "He is said to have settled very early in Concord, a town some twenty miles northwest of Boston, and in 1637, he was appointed by that town as its constable."[3] The Great Migration identifies 1637 as the earliest date when he was recorded in New England.[4]


MBCR 1:206, 267; Kempton Anc 4:272-79]

According to Holman, "In 1645, his name appears among a list of petitioners there, and in 1656, he again appears on a petition which deals with bridges in Concord. That same year, 1656, he became a juryman end in 1664 signed another petition." [3]

In E.H. Fletcher's book, Descendants of Robert Fletcher of Concord, Mass., five children are mentioned: William, Luke, Samuel, Francis and Cary.[5] W. L. Holman's sister Mary shows that Cary's actual name was Grissell, and that she subsequently was married five times.[3]

Several accounts list Margaret Hailston(e) as Robert's wife, but a woman of the same name appears in the Chelmsford records as the wife of Robert's son Samuel.[6]

Other names suggested as Robert's wife are Sarah and Rose, but no marriage record has been found.

Robert passed away on April 3, 1677. [7] direct link[8]

He made his will on 04 February 1677. [9]

Robert Fletcher MP

Birth

Birth: 1592 estimate
Place of Birth: England

Immediate Family

Husband of Sarah Fletcher
Father of: Grissell Kibby; Luke Fletcher; William Fletcher; Cary Fletcher; Francis Fletcher; and Sgt. Samuel Fletcher

Immigration

Immigration: about 1636; settled in Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts [10]

Death

Death: April 3, 1677 (85)[8]
Place of Death: Concord, Middlesex , Massachusetts

Burial

Place of Burial: According to the Findagrave website, Robert is thought to have been buried in Forefathers Burial Ground at Chelmsford, Massachusetts. However, there is no surviving marker to verify it.

Research Notes

DNA Findings

Robert Fletcher was born in 1592 in Chelmsford, Essex, England. His parents may have been William FLETCHER and Ann FINNEY, but recent DNA puts this lineage in doubt and this Robert is probably not connected to the principal Fletcher family of Cockermouth Hall. (Actually, almost all linkages to gentry in my tree have turned out to be false. The vast majority of early immigrants were what we would call now middle class.)

DNA testing, As of Nov 2014: R-M269

Descendant test results do not match "any other Fletcher lineage" date.

Miscellaneous

He married Sarah HARTWELL (is this proven?) about 1612 in England. Robert died 3 Apr 1677 in Concord, Middlesex, Mass.

family

Parents unknown. Wife's name unknown, seen as Sarah.

Five children, all probably born in England:

Grissell b. c1618; Married 1) Thomas Jewell 2) Humphrey Griggs 3) John Gurney Francis b. c1620; Married Elizabeth Wheeler William b. c1622; Married Lydia Bates Luke b. c1625; Married Betsey Shattuck Samuel b. 1632 married Margaret Hailston

biographical notes

"The first of that name known to have come to this country was Robert Fletcher, who was born in Oxford, England, in 1592, as shown by the records of his death found in the Town Records of Concord, Mass. He settled in Concord, Mass., in 1630, being 38 years of age when he came to America. He brought with him his wife and two sons, named Luke and William, and a daughter named Carey, also a brother, William, who afterwards settled in Middletown, Conn.

Robert Fletcher was a wealthy and influential man. He died in Concord,Mass., April 3, 1677, aged 85 years. He had five children: Luke,William, Carey, Samuel and Francis."

Bates, Theodore C., Bates and Fletcher Genealogical Register, (1892) p. 47.

documentation

From geneamusings

The family and biography of Robert Fletcher has been extensively researched by:

Winifred Lovering Holman, Robert Fletcher of Concord, Mass. Bay, 1637 (the author, 1930), accessed on FHL Microfilm 0,015,506 Item 11.
Edward H. Fletcher, The Descendants of Robert Fletcher of Concord, Mass. (Boston, Mass.: Rand, Avery & Co., 1881).
Joan S. Guilford, The Ancestry of Dr. J.P. Guilford (Sheridan Psychological Services, Inc., 1990), Volume 1, page 284. (One line)
Dean Crawford Smith, The Ancestry of Eva Belle Kempton (1878-1908); Part IV: The Ancestry of Linda Anna Powers (1839-1879) (Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2000) (One line).

From member Virginia Wilber, Oct 2014:

The Robert Fletcher who came to Concord in 1634 is not a descendant of William Fletcher. There was another Robert Fletcher who remained in England. I have been in contact with the manager of the Cockermouth Hall website as he is a descendant of the Robert who remained in England. I am enclosing a copy of the pertinent part of our email correspondence where he states the DNA results.

"Dear all,

There are very many people tested for the DNA of descendants of Robert Fletcher of Concorde who all live in the USA, etc. The two principle people descended from Sir Henry Fletcher of Cockermouth who is also ancestor to the Robert Fletcher of Cumberland, are William Guy Fletcher (myself) and William LeRoy Fletcher of California. The test results proved that Robert Fletcher of Concorde is NOT the same person as Robert Fletcher of Cumberland. Sincerely, W. Guy Fletcher"

I would be happy to send anyone who wants it the entire email correspondence - including Guy's email address. I know this link is all over the internet and ancestry and LDS, but I am trying to correct this misconception as Robert Fletcher is an ancestor of mine, also. Truthfully, I'm sorry this link is not valid as I would, also, like to be descended from King Alfred.

References:

Fletcher, Edward H. The Descendants of Robert Fletcher of Concord, Massachusetts. Boston: Rand, Avery & Co., 1881. (An expanded version of his 1871 edition); and

Holman, Winifred Lovering. Descendants of Robert Fletcher: The First Six Generations. Unpublished manuscript in library of NEHGS, Boston. 1950. (A carefully researched genealogy which corrects much of EHF's 1881 book; for more details, see Fletcher Family Research Bulletin, Mar 1993.) Also see Jun 98; Jun 2000; Mar-Jun-Sep 2001.

Links

http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=ryder10&id=I19324
https://www.familytreedna.com/public/fletcher/default.aspx?section=results

Sources

  1. This date appears to have been calculated by assuming his age at death to be 85, since he claimed to be 80 when his will was written in 1672
  2. Fletcher Family History, the Descendants of Robert Fletcher of Concord, Mass., by Edward H. Fletcher, p. 11: "ROBERT FLETCHER, the immigrant ancestor from whom are reckoned the generations recorded in the following pages, was born in 1592, as appears from the record of his death found upon the town records of Concord. Mass. The part of England whence he came has not been certainly ascertained".
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Holman, Winifred L., Fletcher Lineage, 1928 manuscript complied for Henry Fletcher
  4. Great Migration 1634-1635, I-L. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: The Great Migration, Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume IV, I-L, by Robert Charles Anderson. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2005. page 60.
  5. Fletcher, E. H., The Descendants of Robert Fletcher of Concord, Mass., Boston, 1881
  6. Essex Institute, Vital Records of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (Salem, MA: The Essex Institute, 1914), p. 231.
  7. Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records: Concord, p. 19
  8. 8.0 8.1 Vital Records of Concord, MA page 19 https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/records/item/366180-concord-massachusetts-births-marriages-and-deaths-1635-1850?viewer=1&offset=0#page=26&viewer=picture&o=info&n=0&q=
  9. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/9069/images/007553462_00075?pId=2522186
  10. From The Miner Report




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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:

Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.



Comments: 20

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Fletcher-13147 and Fletcher-321 appear to represent the same person because: they have the same death year, approximate in death date, and approximate locations.
posted by J Chesley
According to the biography, the place of birth is unknown (as well as the parents who have already been detached.) I suggest eliminating the birth place from the data, and the possibility of that being the correct POD could be added in research notes.

This profile needs a refresh... anyone?

Can we PPP this prolife. It seems changes (parents) are being made without sourcing and in direct conflict with his bio.
protected. thanks Jeanie

profile needs disputed origins paragraph at the top.

Clearly a fashion trendsetter as the avatar appears to be wearing clothing from a later period. I did not inherit this trait.
posted by David Grim
Agree, clearly this is not the picture of a 17th century immigrant. Looks more like a 19th century drawing.
will someone please remove picture? Thank you.
A Robert, son of Robert Fletcher was baptized 29 Nov 1590 in Manchester, St Mary, St Denys and St George, original parish record image viewable on ancestry.com here https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/2964/40366_293996-00083 Obviously no idea if it's this Robert.
posted by Brad Stauf
TAG: 68: 1993: p. 60 - in the review of the book: The Ancestry of Dr. J. P. Guilford, Vol. 1; 17th Century New England Colonials by Joan S. Guilford.

indicates that Robert Fletcher may have had a wife prior to Sarah. I don't have access to the book.

See TAG 68: https://www.americanancestors.org/databases/american-genealogist-the/image?pageName=60&volumeId=12963&rId=24672427 (subscription)

posted by Chris Hoyt
I have added an Unknown Origins paragraph and removed the speculative father, William, yet again.
posted by Vic Watt
Sarah Hartwell is currently shown as the mother of Robert Fletcher's daughter Grissell. Does anybody know of any primary source documentation for the wife of Robert? If not, I'll suggest detaching Sarah as Grissell's mother.
posted by [Living Schmeeckle]
There have been several changes to this profile in the past week which are not accompanied by documentary evidence. I am removing the proposed spouses and parents until some better support documents are found.
posted by David Fletcher
Hi David,

Thanks for the merge. Grissell Carey (Fletcher) Jewell and Grissell (Kirby) Jewell are the same person.

Grissell used the name Carey in her younger years, then started using Grissell. Her marriage record can be found on Grissell Carey (Fletcher) Jewell (Fletcher-1263). Fletcher-1263 and Kirby-59 should be merged under Fletcher-1263.

Thanks again for the merge.... you seem to have to do them all - but it is appreciated!!

Virginia

I have completed the proposed merge of Fletcher-1398 into Fletcher-321, and have edited the biography to reflect the uncertainty of the date and location of Robert's birth. I have yet to find any documentary evidence that supports the Yorkshire origin. I believe we should remove the references to Yorkshire and to his purported spouses until more evidence is obtained.
posted by David Fletcher
Fletcher-4029 and Fletcher-321 appear to represent the same person because: The dates are the same. I know there are differences re wife (which should be unknown) and children - I've already contacted the Joseph St. Denys with some questions.

I've not heard of any other Robert Fletcher in Concord with this death date. There are quite a few areas to be worked out - wives and children to start.

This is the merge I meant to propose previously. Trying to finish stuff and it's too late at night - if that can be counted as an excuse.

Fletcher-1398 and Fletcher-321 appear to represent the same person because: They have the same dates, children, and history.
For further research: http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?opGET&dbryder10&id=I19324
posted by [Living Schmeeckle]