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Henry Cobb (abt. 1607 - bef. 1679)

Elder Henry Cobb
Born about in Englandmap [uncertain]
Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of — married about Apr 1631 in Barnstable, Massachusettsmap [uncertain]
Husband of — married 12 Dec 1649 in Barnstable, Barnstable County, Massachusettsmap
Descendants descendants
Died before before about age 72 in Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts Bay Colonymap
Profile last modified | Created 14 Apr 2010
This page has been accessed 13,103 times.
There are disproven, disputed, or competing theories about this person's parents. See the text for details.
The Puritan Great Migration.
Henry Cobb migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See Great Migration Begins, by R. C. Anderson, Vol. 1, p. 392)
Join: Puritan Great Migration Project
Discuss: pgm

Contents

Biography

Origins

The origins and parents of the immigrant Henry Cobb of Barnstable, Massachusetts are unknown. His date of birth is estimated at about 1607 based on the estimated date of his first marriage and the birth of his first child.[1]

In A History of the Cobb Family, Philip Cobb says that it is "doubtless" that Henry had been a member of Rev. John Lothrop's church in England. John Lothrop had served the Church of England at Egerton, Kent from 1611 to 1623 before breaking with the church and joining the Puritans at the Independent Church in London.[2] Because Henry was one of Lothrop's followers, many sources presume that Henry, like Lothrop, had origins in Kent. Adding support to that presumption is the fact that Henry is one of the the first settlers of Scituate who were collectively known as "The Men of Kent". In Scituate's Men of Kent Cemetery, Henry Cobb is named as one of eleven original settlers on a plaque "Erected to the Men of Kent who settled Scituate in 1628".[3] However, primary evidence of Henry's connection to Kent has not yet been found. See research note, below.

Life in New England

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. See research note, below. Henry appears on the first list of Plymouth Colony freeman admitted 1 January 1632/3.[1][4]

Henry married first to Patience Hurst, daughter of James Hurst, by September 1631.[5] The exact date of their marriage is unknown, but they very likely married in Plymouth. Henry and Patience had seven children together (see list, below). All seven children were later named as grandchildren in the will of Patience's father, James Hurst, proved 2 March 1657/8.[2][5]

Henry appears on the Plymouth tax lists in 1633 and 1634 and was on the list of freemen at Plymouth dated 7 March 1636/7.[1]

Henry and his family removed to Scituate, Massachusetts, where Henry and his wife were admitted as members at the founding of the church there on 8 January 1634/5.[1] The town of Scituate had been formed just prior to John Lothrop's arrival in New England, and John was the church's pastor.[2] On 15 December 1635, Henry was made a deacon of the Scituate church.[1]

In 1638, when it was proposed that the Scituate church remove to Sippican (now known as Rochester, Massachusetts), Henry was one of the committee to whom the court granted the lands for a township. However, when the group afterwards decided to remove instead to Mattakeese (later Barnstable, Massachusetts), he was a member of the committee to select a suitable location for the settlement. In October 1639, along with Rev. Lothrop and his brethren, Henry and his family removed to Barnstable.[2] That year he was on the list of Scituate freemen, but it is noted that he was transferred to the list of Barnstable freemen. On 1 December 1640, Henry sold his house and land in Scituate to Manasseth Kempton. In Barnstable, Henry was a tavern keeper, where he was licensed to draw wine on 5 June 1644.[1]

Henry's wife, Patience, was buried at Barnstable on 4 May 1648.[6] She was the first person buried at the "new burying place by our meeting house". On 12 December 1649, Henry remarried to Sarah Hinckley in Barnstable,[6] where she was admitted to the church on 20 January 1649/50.[1] Sarah, daughter of Samuel, was the sister of Thomas Hinckley who later became governor of Plymouth Colony.[2] Henry had eight more children with Sarah (see list, below).

In Barnstable, Henry served various times as a Deputy to the General Court between the years 1644 and 1662, he served as a petit juror several times between 1639 and 1650, he was on a coroner's jury in 1658 and was excise collector for Barnstable in 1664. On 7 June 1659, Henry was one of five men who were "granted liberty to view and purchase a tract of land at Saconeesett". Half of this land was later distributed to three of his sons pursuant to Henry's will.[1]

Henry appears as a freeman of Barnstable on the Plymouth Colony lists dated 1658 and 29 May 1670. Henry was ordained as a ruling elder of the Barnstable church on 14 April 1670[1] and likely served in that role until his death.

Death and Will

Henry died in 1679, after 22 February and before 3 June. The exact date of his death is unknown; he most likely died in Barnstable. His wife survived him, dying before 2 March 1679/80.[1] Henry may be buried at the Lothrop Hill Cemetery in Barnstable where, in 1871, Enoch Cobb erected a stone to the memory of Henry, inscribed as follows: "ELDER HENRY COBB THE ANCESTOR OF THE COBB FAMILY IN, USA. BARNSTABLE. DIED IN 1679".[7]

Henry's will was written in Barnstable on 4 April 1678 (with a codicil dated 22 February 1678/9) and was proved 3 June 1679.[1][8] The same day, Henry's youngest sons chose guardians Thomas Hinckley (for Henry) and Thomas Huckens (for Jonathan).[2] Henry's will names his wife Sarah; his sons John, James, Gershom, Eleazer, Samuel, Jonathon and Henry; and his daughters Mary, Hannah, Patience and Sarah. [1][8]

Sarah's date of death is unknown, but she was deceased before 2 March 1679/80, when administration of her estate was opened.[1]

Children

With first wife Patience Hurst:

  1. John, born at Plymouth 7 June 1632,[6] married Martha Nelson[1]
  2. James, born at Plymouth 14 January 1634,[6] married Sarah Lewis[1]
  3. Mary, born at Scituate 24 March 1636/7,[6] married Jonathan Dunham as his second wife[1]
  4. Hannah, baptized at Scituate 5 October 1639, married Edward Lewis[1]
  5. Patience, baptized at Barnstable 13 March 1641/2,[6] married first Robert Parker and second William Crocker[1]
  6. Gershom, born at Barnstable 10 January 1644/5,[6] died before 24 June 1675 at Swansea, Massachusetts, unmarried[1]
  7. Eliezer, born at Barnstable 30 March 1648,[6] living unmarried in 1703[1]

With second wife, Sarah Hinckley (all born in Barnstable):

  1. Mehitable, baptized 7 September 1651, buried 8 March 1651/2[1][6]
  2. Samuel, born 12 October 1654,[6] married Elizabeth Taylor[1]
  3. Sarah, born 15 January 1658, buried 25 January 1658[1][6]
  4. Jonathan, born 10 April 1660,[6] married Hope (Chipman) Huckins[1]
  5. Sarah (second of that name), born 10 March 1662/3, married Samuel Chipman[1]
  6. Henry, born 3 September 1667 (or 1665),[2] married Lois Hallett[1]
  7. Mehitable second of name, not listed by Anderson, born 15 February 1667 in Barnstable, never married.[2][9] An "aunt Mehitable Cobb" was named in the 1 October 1742 will of Thomas Cobb, who was a son of her brother Samuel[2]
  8. Ephraim[1] or Experience,[2][9] born 11 September 1671, no further record. NOTE: Anderson says this child is a son named Ephraim, but town/other records state that the child is a daughter named Experience. Anderson gives no reason for using the name Ephraim.

Research Notes

Disputed Origins

Although Henry's origins are thought by many to be in Kent, England, claims that Henry Cobb and Pleasance Reddwood, who married at Reculver, Kent in 1603, are Henry's parents have been disproven. This couple have been detached as Henry's parents. A specific, unsourced birth date of 8 January 1596 has also been removed.

While a 2 May 1615 baptism of a Henry Cobb, son of Henry was found in the old register of St Mary's Church, Reculver, Kent[10] and O.E. Cobb suggested this Henry was the immigrant to America, a 1615 birth would be too young for the Henry Cobb of Barnstable, as he would have been married with a child at age 17 in New England.

Similarly, John E. Cobb proposed in 1985 that: "immigrants Henry Cobb of Plymouth and Ambrose Cobb of the Virginia Colony were of the same Kent Family, i.e., they shared a common progenitor in John Cobb, Esquire (b. ca 1300) of Cobb’s Court, Romney, Kent."[11] However, DNA analysis disproves a relationship between Henry Cobb of Barnstable and Ambrose Cobb of Virginia. The relationship is described in more detail by Hubert F. Cobb in 2005.[12] Ambrose Cobb of Virginia is a descendant of the Reculver, Kent Cobb family. The Cobb DNA project also shows there are at least two distinct Cobb lines in Kent (maybe more).[13]

For more discussion on Henry's origins see the following blogs:

Arrival Date

In 1985, John E. Cobb proposed that Henry sailed to New England in 1629 aboard the Anne, the Mayflower II or the Little James.[11] Although it is possible that Henry arrived in New England earlier than 1632, there are no records of exactly when he arrived or on which ship he traveled.

Other Notes on Origins and Arrival

The following is excerpted from unpublished work done by Cobb researcher Hubert F. Cobb, in an attempt to help eliminate misinformation about Henry Cobb "The Elder", highlights of which include:[14]

"Savage the historian says Henry 'had been of Plymouth about 1629'. This is supported by the church records that say several persons arrived in 1629, some of whom had been in Mr Laythrops (Lothrop) Church in England. Most of us know of the close association Henry [Cobb] had with Rev. Lothrop, both here and in England."
"In Nathaniel Morton’s "History of the Plymouth Church 1620-1680" is the following paragraph discussing streghtening (sic) the colony with a new group of immigrants:
"In Anno 1629 a Considerable Number of the bretheren of the Church which were le[ft] in Holland were Transported ouer to vs that were of the Church in New England which although it was att About 500lb charge yet it was bourne Chearfully by the poor bretheren heer Concerned in It; alsoe about that time seuerall Godly prsons; some wherof had bin of mr Laythrops Church in England and others alsoe Came to vs out of England; so wee becaime through the Goodnes of God pretty Numerous and were in the best estate Respecting the Church that wee had as yet bine in New England." (Also see NEHGS New England Ancestors, Fall 2003, Vol 4, No. 4, pg. 28).
"The fact that Dean[e] in his history of Scituate says he was one of the "men of Kent" and that Rev. John Lothrop preached in Kent plus his association with other men of Kent seems to indicate that he probably was from Kent."
In a book Early English Dissenters by Champlin Burrage is the following which is also interesting:
"After Jacobs departure the congregation managed as best it could without a pastor until about 1624, when John Lathrop, who had formerly been a Puritan preacher at Cheriton in Kent [just outside Folkestone and about 8 or 9 miles from Romney Marsh or Cobb’s Court], and who evidently was still an Independent Puritan, joined the church. He was chosen pastor in 1625."
"Did Elder Henry meet the Rev. in Cheriton and live somewhere around that area? We now have three areas where they could have met, Egerton, Cheriton or Southwark."

Pedigrees: Cobbs of Kent

Two pedigrees of the Cobb line in Kent have been very helpful in sorting out the families as has Hasted's "History of Kent". The two pedigrees are:

  • Berry, William. County Genealogies: Pedigrees of the Families of the County of Kent. London: Sherwood, Gilbert and Piper, 1830. Available for searches on Ancestry.com.
  • "The Cobb Pedigree at the College of Arms by Ralphe Brooke, York Herald, 1607 [sic]". Chris Cobb of the Cobb DNA project points out Ralphe Brooke was quite a scoundrel and may have made up part of the pedigree.
  • Canterbury Cathedral has another Cobb pedigree.

Sources

  1. 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 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Vol. I, 1995, pp. 392-395: Henry Cobb. AmericanAncestors.org($).
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 Cobb, Philip L. A History of the Cobb Family. 3 vols. Cleveland, OH: Cobb, 1907, pp. 5-19. Archive.org: Source mentioned by Anderson, includes transcribed records.
  3. USGenWeb: Plymouth County, Scituate, Massachusetts - MEN OF KENT CEMETERY
  4. Shurtleff, Nathaniel Bradstreet. Records of the Colony of New Plymouth, in New England, Vol. 1. Boston: Press of W. White, 1855, p. 4. Archive.org.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Anderson. The Great Migration Begins, Vol. II, pp. 1046-1048: James Hurst. AmericanAncestors.org($).
  6. 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 Shurtleff. Records of the Colony of New Plymouth, Vol. 8, p. 42. FamilySearch: births of 1st ten children, burial date of 1st wife, 2nd marriage date.
  7. "Find a Grave", database with images, Find A Grave: Memorial #38873918, Memorial page for Henry Cobb Sr. (5 Oct 1606-3 Jun 1679), citing Lothrop Hill Cemetery, Barnstable, Barnstable County, Massachusetts. NOTE: Memorial DOB is incorrect
  8. 8.0 8.1 "Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Probate Records, 1633-1967," images, FamilySearch: Wills 1633-1686 vol 1-4, image 490 of 616; State Archives, Boston.
  9. 9.0 9.1 Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001, database with images, FamilySearch: Barnstable Town Records Vol. 1:351. 1640-1774, image 261-262 of 663.
  10. Rev. Royston W Cole, Vicar of Reculver and Herne Bay, Kent, letter dated Jul 1936 wrote to Oliver Ellsworth Cobb: "Anderson, son of Henry Cobb, Baptized 24th of May, 1612... Henry, son of Henry Cobb, was Baptized 2nd day of May, 1615, etc."
  11. 11.0 11.1 Cobb, Col. John E. Cobb Chronicles: An Overview of the Clan. Alexandria, VA: Durant Publishers, 1985, p. 26. FamilySearch.org
  12. Cobb, Hubert E. "Cobb Family Genetics: A Case Study Using DNA" in New England Ancestors Magazine. Boston, MA: NEHGS, 2005, Vol. 6.1, pp. 43-44. AmericanAncestors.org($).
  13. CobbAndCobbs.com: DNA project.
  14. Cobb, Hubert F. "Elder Henry Cobb of Plymouth, Scituate and Barnstable, MA" (2004) and "Cobb (Hubert) Family Records" (Apr 2007). 66 Campbell Shore Rd., Gray, ME 04039, HFCobb (at) scurespeed.us - in the private collection of Larry Chesebro'
See also:
  • "Find a Grave", database with images, Find A Grave: Memorial #38873918, Memorial page for Henry Cobb Sr. (5 Oct 1606-3 Jun 1679), citing Lothrop Hill Cemetery, Barnstable, Barnstable County, Massachusetts. Has incorrect DOB.
  • "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001", database and images, FamilySearch: Henry Cobb, births of children
  • "U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700", database with images. Ancestry Sharing Link (free access) - Ancestry Record 3824 #176471($): both marriages.
  • Bigelow, Samuel Fowler. The Biographical Cyclopedia of New Jersey. New York: National Americana Society, 1909, p. 269. Archive.org.
  • Carlson, R. P. "Henry Cobb (1679) Monument", gravestone and plaque image; web content. Cape Cod Gravestones, plot photo by Robert Rowland, memorial plaque photo by Nathan Augustine.
  • Deane, Samuel. History of Scituate, Massachusetts, from its First Settlement to 1831. Boston: J. Loring, 1831, p. 238. Archive.org.
  • Furlong, C. Wellington. "Land of the Men of Kent", web content. ScituateHistoricalSociety.org.
  • Jacobus, Donald Lines. An American Family, Botsford-Marble Ancestral Lines. Conneticut: Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor, 1933, p. 237. Archive.org: Deputy for Barnstable to the Plymouth General Court.
  • Lathrop, John. Records of First Parish Church (Scituate, Mass.) and East Parish Congregational Church (Barnstable, Mass.). 48 pages viewable at Yale.edu.
  • Otis, Amos. Genealogical Notes of Barnstable Families: being a Reprint of the Amos Otis papers Originally Published in the "Barnstable Patriot". Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1888, pp. 166-172. FamilySearch.
  • Roser, Susan E. Early Descendants of Henry Cobb of Barnstable, MA. Markham, ON, Canada: Stewart Publishing and Printing, 2008. Not available online.
  • Starr, Frank Farnsworth. The Williamson and Cobb Families in the Lines of Caleb and Mary (Cobb) Williamson of Barnstable, Mass., and Hartford, Conn.. Cambridge: University Press, 1896, pp. 37-46. Archive.org.
Sources re: other Cobb Families:
  • Cobb, Cully A. The Cobbs of Tennessee, Atlanta, GA: Ruralist Press, Inc., 1968: Mrs. Ethel M. A. Curtis of La Verne, CA is the one that made the connection of Ambrose Cobb to Kent and Cully hired Mr. Arthur J. Willis to prove the connection into the Cobb family in Kent. This Ambrose Cobb that was the emigrant was the son of Ambrose shown on page 151 of Berry’s Cobb Pedigree of Co. Kent. NOTE: subsequent DNA analysis proved that Henry Cobb of Massachusetts was not related to this Ambrose Cobb.
  • Cobb, Duane Philips. "The Blacksmith Cobbs of Corfe Castle, Dorset, England". 1981. This is part of the Taunton, MA Cobb line.
  • Cobb, Isaac. "Early History and Genealogy of the Cobb Family in New England." Unpublished genealogy of Elder Henry Cobb’s descendants; the original is at the Maine Historical Society in Portland, ME. Focuses on the later Maine branches of this and other Cobb families
  • Cobb, Oliver Ellsworth. The Cobbs of Stonington, Their Antecedents and Descendants with Allied Families. 1885; revised by Henry Evertson Cobb 1934; pp. 1-10. Not available online.




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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Henry 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:

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Comments: 37

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I'll update this profile as needed (1/31/24)

DONE 2/3/24

posted by Traci Thiessen
edited by Traci Thiessen
3 Jun 1679 is the date of proving his will, not date of death. _Great Migration Begins...1620-1633_ p. 394, says death was between 22 Feb. 1678/9 (writing of codicil to will) and 3 Jun 1679 (priving of will.
posted by Christine Crawford
Note that the date of date field now says "before" 3 June 1679. Sometimes we don't have a date of death so we use before probate date as we know the person was deceased by that date.
posted by Traci Thiessen
edited by Traci Thiessen
Henry Cobb's (Cobb-37) biography makes two references to his burial at the "Old Barnstable Cemetery." However, Find a Grave (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/38873918/henry-cobb) states he is buried at Lothrop Hill Cemetery in Barnstable. I have also personally visited his grave, and the sign alongside the street says Lothrop Hill Cemetery.

Are the Old Barnstable Cemetery and Lothrop Hill Cemetery different names for the same cemetery? If they are different, could his biography please be updated?

posted by Christopher Cobb
Good question, I've been trying to find some info on this. Assuming that Lothrop Hill (and the cemetery) were named for the Rev. John Lothrop, when was it thus named? In 1679 when Henry Cobb died, was the cemetery referred to by that name yet? I'm asking because WT uses date-sensitive place/names to try and reflect what places were called contemporaneously. In this case, I can't find anything for sure. Lothrop-3 died in 1653 so maybe they were calling it that name by 1679. I couldn't find anything definitive in this "History of Barnstable..." book https://archive.org/details/historyofbarnsta00deyo/page/488/mode/2up?q=Lothrop although it did mention Cobb's Hill named for Henry. The book mentions several cemeteries but it's not always clear where they are or if they have a name other than "this ancient cemetery in Yarmouth" or whatever.

In any case Rev. Lothrop's profile on WT gives the cemetery name as "Lothrop Hill" so I don't think there would be any objection if you wanted to change it in the bio narrative.

posted by Brad Stauf
Cobb-10785 and Cobb-37 appear to represent the same person because: A duplicate was inadvertently added.
posted by Brian Armstrong
Very strange. Second time in one week this profile has been duplicated. I will approve merge.
posted by Jillaine Smith
Cobb-10782 and Cobb-37 appear to represent the same person because: Cobb-10782 was inadvertently added
posted by Ray Zeller
I've approved and completed the merge, but could use some help combining the resultant bio/narrative.

The higher-numbered duplicate included some of the same info but also had additional info. Raymond, are you willing to help clean up the narrative?

posted by Jillaine Smith
Yes, I regret my error. I knew immediately there had to be a profile but I was distracted and saved the data. Just tell me what you want done and I will be glad to use my limited skill.
posted by Ray Zeller
Thanks, Raymond. The desired outcome is a single narrative with appropriate sub headers; I'd recommend you follow the outline of what was there before, and plug new information from your duplicate (should currently be found at the bottom of the merged narrative) where appropriate; might require some additional sub headers. Thanks so much.
posted by Jillaine Smith
Raymond,

Thank you for supporting WikiTree. Hoping to support this work, have moved what appear to be your research items to a free space page. See Henry Cobb Research Notes.

See Juillaine's helpful comments and the temporary "Needs" subsection in the biography. The noted research items are only partially a duplication of the existing biography. A careful review of the items to the existing biography will need to be done. As appropriate, additions should be made to the current profile narrative. --Gene

posted by GeneJ X
I believe that Henry Cobb's father is Baronet Henry Cobb (Cobb-520). I have that information from an Unsourced GEDCOM file
posted by Charles Cobb III
Hi Charles,

Please note that those parents have been disproven, as is noted in the "Disputed Relations" section on this profile.

posted by Bobbie (Madison) Hall
[deleted]
There is an proven existing direct Cobb to Cobb DNA link to Elder Henry Cobb. It may not be public. It was done with the early dna work with Hubert Cobb. Lots of the direct line of the Cobbs never moved more than 50 miles from the Cape until the 1940's.
posted by [deleted]
It is interesting that DNA is brought up without any carriers listed...

thank you for confirming that somewhere one does exist

posted by Gail Smith
Parents detached again. With new rules in place now, not just anyone can add parent back in.
posted by Jillaine Smith
It looks like Henry's parents need to be detached again.
posted by S (Hill) Willson
According to the source I've just attached, The Biographical Cyclopedia of New Jersey", he was born in 1596 in Kent. It also has a lot of other good biographical material on him becoming a disciple of Congregationalism; some of the info may be able to flesh out the section in his profile, marked "citation needed".
posted by S (Hill) Willson
Elder should be a nickname rather than part of his first name.
posted by S (Hill) Willson
Cobb-3551 and Cobb-37 appear to represent the same person because: Same name, same wife
posted by Bob Tonsmeire
Susan Roser is a genealogist for the Association of Mayflower Descendants and her book about this Cobb family is available for purchase. She pegs his birth at ca 1605-1610 and gives her reasons for doing so. She also gives 15 children. His eldest child is John followed by James.
posted by Morag (Morrison) M
Thank you, Becky! I went ahead and incorporated that into the narrative; should anyone else have any source citations for the information in this profile, please feel free to add it directly to the narrative. Thanks!
posted by Jillaine Smith
For marriages Henry Cobb, see GMB Vol I p. 394. 1)by 1632, married Patience Hurst (birth of first child 7 June, 1632), citing will of James Hurst and NEHGR 9:281 and PCR 8:42. 2) Sarah Hinckley Dec. 12, 1649. Citations: NEHGR 9:281 and PCR 8:42.