Abraham Shotwell (abt. 1625 - aft. 1679)

Born about 1625 in England

Descendants

Died after 6 Nov 1679 after about age 54 in New York

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Abraham Shotwell is a part of New Jersey history. Join: New Jersey Project Discuss: New Jersey

Biography

Unknown Origins

Many popular online trees have listed Abraham's father as "Lord Jonathan Shotwell." This has never been proven. Abraham's parents and country of origin remain unknown, though he was most likely from England. Please contact a member of the Shotwell project for more information.

Life in East Jersey and New York

The earliest record for "Abraham Shotwell, founder of the family in America, was in Elizabeth Town, New Jersey, 1665.^{[1][citation needed]}

"He was probably one of the many Englishmen who fled from the mother county after the restoration of Charles II. He was certainly an active defender of the cause of the settlers in opposition to the collection of burdensome quit-rents exacted by the Governor, Captain Philip Carteret on behalf of the non-resident lords proprietors. In consequence, he was forced into exile and his New Jersey real estate was confiscated, being sold at auction 25 April 1675, and a few days later was in the possession of the Governor." ^[2]

His banishment from New Jersey is noted in a letter of 7 December 1672 from the Lords Proprietors to the Governor of New Jersey "affirming sentence of banishment of Abraham Shotwell".^[3]

Hatfield describes additional details of the confiscation of his property in Elizabeth: he fled to New York, appealed to the proprietors, and then returned to Elizabeth, where he was supported by his neighbors in the appeal. He lost, the land was auctioned 25 Aug 1675, then resold to "a fortnight later" to Carteret, who built his governor's house there.^[4]

On 29 September 1677, he received patent of a grant of 38 1/4 acres of land in the southeast side of Manhattan Island, including a water mill on Sawmill Creek, which property, on 6 November 1679 he conveyed "with consent of his son John" to John Robinson. ^[2]

He probably died soon afterward. Abraham was certainly dead by 25 July 1683 when his son John received a patent to land once owned by his father: "Patent to John Shotwell for 4 acres in Elizabethtown, occupied, cleared and improved by his late father Abraham Shotwell." ^[5]

"The ancestor of the Shotwells is believed to be Abraham Shotwell, one of the early settlers in Elizabethtown, but who, in consequence of too freely expressing his opinion of the ruling powers, was banished and the land at Elizabeth confiscated. But in 1683, after his death, the property was restored to his son John, who married Elizabeth Burton in New York in 1679 and under the name of John Shotwell, Sr. We find his death recorded at 1718 but it should have been 1719." Location unknown. ^{[6][7] [8]}

Family

The name of his wife and the names of his children other than John, and probably Daniel, have not been certainly ascertained. Daniel was the progenitor of the Richmond branch of the Shotwell family."

Children of Abraham Shotwell born in England:

1. John Shotwell Sr. (abt.1650-1719)
2. Daniel Shotwell (abt.1659-aft.1732)
3. Mary Shotwell born about 1661.
4. Thomas Shotwell born about 1663.^[9] Looking for better source

Research Notes

• Abraham is mentioned in Harlem: Its Origins and Early Annals ^[10]
• Abraham is mentioned in Origins and History of the Village of Yorkville in the City of New York as owning a leathermill ^[11]
• Death: 03 Jan 1698 in Peel, Middlesex (Unsure if this is the correct Abraham, but placing here for reference)

^[12]

Sources

1. ↑ Ancestry.com. U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2010.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Shotwell, Ambrose M (comp). Annals of Our Colonial Ancestors and Their Descendants, or, Our Quaker Forefathers and Their Posterity: Embracing a Genealogical and Biographical Register of Nine Generations of the Shotwell Family in America, Together with the Pedigree and Near Kindred of the Author's Parents, Nathan and Phebe B. (Gardner) Shotwell. Lansing, Michigan, Robert Smith & Co., 1897, page 85
3. ↑ Letter from Lords Proprietors to Governor and Council "affirming sentence of banishment of Abraham Shotwell". Indexed in Calendar of Records in the Office of the Secretary of State. 1664-1703. New Jersey Colonial Documents, Volume 21, page 32. Citing East Jersey Deeds, Liber 3.
4. ↑ Hatfield, Edwin F. History of Elizabeth, New Jersey: Including the Early History of Union County. (New York: Carlton & Lanahan, 1868), pages 92-93
5. ↑ Patent indexed in Calendar of Records in the Office of the Secretary of State. 1664-1703. New Jersey Colonial Documents, Volume 21, page 55. Citing East Jersey Deeds, Liber A.
6. ↑ Find a Grave Memorial# 126710294
7. ↑ Swarthmore College; Swarthmore, Pennsylvania; Register of Marriages, Births and Deaths, 1687-1871; Collection: Quaker Meeting Records; Call Number: MR Ph:547
8. ↑ Annals of Our Colonial Ancestors and Their Descendants, Pages 81 and 85
9. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #126710294
10. ↑ Harlem: Its Origins and Early Annals, by James Riker. Ardent Media, 1970. Retrieved from Google book, 29 Jul 2018.
11. ↑ Origins and History of the Village of Yorkville in the City of New York . By Anthony Lofaso. Xlibris Corporation, Jan 16, 2015. Retrieved from Google book on 29 Jul 2018.
12. ↑ "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch Abreham Shatwell, 03 Jan 1698, Death. Citing p. 164, Peel, Middlesex, record group RG6, Public Record Office, London.

• Shotwell, Ambrose, Annals of our colonial ancestors and their descendants, or, Our Quaker forefathers and their posterity. 1893. Pg 85.