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Samuel Allen II (abt. 1633 - 1705)

Samuel Allen II
Born about in Englandmap [uncertain]
Husband of — married about 1658 in Duxbury, Plymouth Colonymap [uncertain]
Descendants descendants
Died at about age 72 in Bridgewater, Plymouth County, Province of Massachusetts Baymap
Profile last modified | Created 29 Nov 2008
This page has been accessed 9,461 times.
The Puritan Great Migration.
Samuel Allen II migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640).
Join: Puritan Great Migration Project
Discuss: pgm

Note: This is not the profile for (1) Samuel Allen of Northampton, who married Hannah Woodford, (2) Samuel Allen, the son of George Allen of Weymouth and Sandwich, or (3) Samuel Allen of Salem

Contents

Biography

Parentage

Samuel Allen of Bridgewater was the son of Samuel Allen of Braintree and his first wife Ann (Unknown) Allen.[1][2] His parentage is confirmed by a deed recorded in November 1672 in which [his step-mother] Margaret Allen "the Late wife of Samuell Allen now deceased" and [his half-brother] Joseph Allen "both Of the Town of Brantry in the Government of the Massachuset's" conveyed 12 acres of land in Braintree to Samuel Allen of Braintree "for & in consideracon of Twenty pound's, given & appointed to bee Paide, by the abovesaide Samuell Allen deceased, to his sonne Samuell Allen of Bridgewater in the Government of New Plimouth."[3]

Date of Birth

Samuel's date of birth is uncertain. Mitchell[1] and later secondary sources, including Savage[2] and Vinton,[4] probably in reliance on Mitchell, state that Samuel died in 1703 at the age of 71. Apparently based on this proposition, Mitchell[5] and many other secondary sources[6][4][7] state that Samuel was born in 1632. The probate records for Samuel's will and estate, however, clearly show that, although he made his will in 1703, he died on November 2, 1705.[8] Therefore, if Samuel was 71 when he died, he would have been born in 1634, not 1632. Savage splits the difference and states that he was probably born about 1633.[2] Based on the date of birth of his first known child (1660), Samuel's date of birth would be expected to most probably be sometime in 1631-1636 (based on a marriage date of 1659 and an age at marriage of 23-28), so a date of birth of 1632, 1633 or 1634 are all reasonable.

Oakes' 1905 Genealogy and Family History of the County of Jefferson, New York and many family trees state that he was born November 10, 1632.[9] However, no reliable source has been found that supports that date of birth. The November 10, 1632 date also appears in many family trees as the date of birth for Samuel Allen of Northampton.

Place of Birth

Samuel's place of birth is uncertain. Since Samuel's father was in Braintree by 1635 and perhaps as early as 1632[2] and was probably in England before then, and since Samuel was most likely born sometime in 1632-4, Samuel could have been born in either Braintree or England.

Residency in Braintree; Removal to Bridgewater

Since Samuel's parents lived in Braintree, Samuel probably lived there at least until he reached maturity. According to Mitchell[1] and other secondary sources after him,[6][4][7] Samuel was living in the part of Bridgewater that later became East Bridgewater, as early as 1660. According to The Bridgewater Book, Samuel was, in fact, the very first settler in Bridgewater's East Precinct and built his house on the east side of the Matfield River.[10] His 1660 date of residency in Bridgewater is probably based on the fact that the birth of Samuel's eldest child, Samuel Jr. in December 1660, was recorded in Bridgewater's town records.[11] Since Samuel met and married Sarah Partridge of Duxbury sometime before that date, it is probable that Samuel moved from Braintree to the Duxbury-Bridgewater area sometime in 1656-1660.

Marriage

Samuel married Sarah Partridge, daughter George Partridge of Duxbury.[1][2][12] Their marriage is confirmed by a 1680 deed by George Partridge to his son John Partridge of a 50-acre lot in Bridgewater on the westerly side of the 50-acre lot of Samuel Allen, which "he had of me George Partridge his father-in-law"[13] and is further supported by George Partridge's 1682 will, which contains a bequest to his granddaughter Bethiah Allen[14][15] and the 1702 will of George Partridge's widow Sarah which refers to her daughter "Sarah Allien."[15]

The date of Samuel and Sarah's marriage is uncertain. Savage states that they were married about 1658;[2] Partridge[16] and Vinton[4] state that they were married in 1658; while Anderson just states that they were married by 1660.[12] All estimates of their date of marriage appear to be based on the date of birth of their children. The first child whose identity is known is Samuel Jr., who was born on December 4, 1660. However, the Bridgewater town records of the births of Samuel's children state that Samuel was the "second borne" of Samuel Allen senior, without identifying the older child.[17][18] Based on a typical two-year gap in births, Samuel and Sarah's first child was probably born in late 1658 or early 1659. Thus, the estimates of a marriage in about 1658 seem reasonable.

The location of Samuel and Sarah's marriage is also uncertain. Based on the residency of Sarah's parents in Duxbury at the probable time of their marriage and the fact that, after their marriage, they resided in Bridgewater, they were probably married in Duxbury or Bridgewater, with the former being somewhat more likely of the two.

Children

Samuel and Sarah had the following children, all except Mehetabel born in Bridgewater:

  1. an unidentified child, b. say early 1659, presumably died young[19]
  2. Samuel, b. December 4, 1660,[17][18][11][1] m. December 2, 1685 Rebeckah Cary in Bridgewater,[20][1] d. 1736[1]
  3. Essiel/Elliel, b. March 1, 1662/3,[17][18][21][1] living but unmarried in June 1703 (based on a bequest by Samuel to daughter Elliel Allen)
  4. Mehitabel, b. January 20, 1664/5 "in Duxborugh,"[17][18][22][1] m. December 2, 1685 Isaac Alden in Bridgewater[23][1]
  5. Sarah, b. April 14, 1667, m. 1st about 1687 Jonathan Cary in Bridgewater, m. 2d October 25, 1705 Benjamin Snow in Bridgewater, d. after September 1738 in Bridgewater (for sources, see Sarah's profile)
  6. Bethiah, b. May 12, 1669,[17][18][21][1] m. John Pryor[1]
  7. Nathaniel, b. February 10, 1672/3,[17][18][22][1] m. 1st December 14, 1696 Bethiah Conant in Bridgewater,[20][1] m. 2d Abigail ______[1]
  8. Ebenezer, b. October 14, 1674,[17][18][21][1] m. October 11, 1698 Rebeckah Scate in Bridgewater[24][1]
  9. Josiah, b. April 21, 1677,[17][18][25][1] m. December 25, 1707 Mary Read in Bridgewater[23][1]
  10. Elisha/Elishah, b. February 8, 1678/9,[17][18][21][1] m. December 3, 1701 Mehitabel Byram in Bridgewater[24][1]
  11. Nehemiah, b. January 5, 1680/1,[17][18][22][1] m. January 3, 1706/7 Sarah Wormel in Bridgewater[20][1]

Public Life

Samuel held a number of prominent positions in Bridgewater. He was town clerk from 1683 to 1702.[26] In 1687, Samuel was chosen as commissioner for taking a list of Bridgewater males 16 and older and valuing their estates;[27] in 1691 he was selected as Bridgewater's Representative to the General Court of Massachusetts;[28] and in 1694 he was chosen, together with Thomas Hayward, John Haward, Deacon Brett and Thomas Snell, to assign the seats to each person in the town meeting house.[29] According to Mitchell[1] and subsequent secondary sources,[6][4][7] Samuel was a deacon in the local church.

In 1676, during King Philip's War, Samuel and his son Samuel Jr. were among a group of 22 men from Bridgewater led by Ensign John Haward who came upon the enemy, fought them, and took 17 of them alive.[30]

Will; Death

Samuel made his will on June 9, 1703. In his will, he made bequests to his wife Sarah, sons Samuel, Nathaniel, Ebenezer, Josiah, Elisha and Nehemiah and daughters Elliel Allen, Mehitable Alden, Sarah Cary and Bethiah Prior, and appointed his wife Sarah and son Nathanial as executors. The will was witnessed by John Partridge, Samuel Seabury and James Partridge and was proved on December 21, 1705 before Nathaniel Thomas, Judge of the Probate Court on the oaths of all three witnesses.[8]

The inventory of Samuel's estate states that he died on November 2, 1705.[8] Since both his will and the inventory of his estate state that he was "of Bridgewater," he almost certainly died there.

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 Mitchell, Nahum. History of the Early Settlement of Bridgewater in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. 1840. p 94. Link to page at archive.org.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May, 1692, on the Basis of Farmer's Register, Vol. I. Little, Brown and Company, 1860. p 35. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Suffolk Deeds. Liber VIII. City of Boston, 1896. pp 21-22. Link to pages at hathitrust.org.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Vinton, John Adams. The Vinton Memorial, Comprising a Genealogy of the Descendants of John Vinton of Lynn, 1648. 1858. p 303. Link to page at archive.org.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Mitchell, Nahum. History of the Early Settlement of Bridgewater in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. 1840. p 93. Link to page at archive.org.
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 A Branch of the Allen Family of New England. New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Volume 10 (1856). p 225. Link to page at americanancestors.org.
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Allen, Asa W. Genealogy of the Allen and Witter Families. 1872. p 96. Link to page at archive.org.
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Probate Records, 1633-1967, Docket 322, Book 2, pp 73-5. Link to pages at familysearch.org.
  9. 9.0 9.1 Oakes, R.A. Genealogical and Family History of the County of Jefferson, New York, Volume I. The Lewis Publishing Company, 1905. p 201. Link to page at books.google.com.
  10. 10.0 10.1 The Bridgewater Book. 1899. p 12. Link to page at books.google.com.
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 Vital Records of Bridgewater, Massachusetts to the Year 1850, Volume I - Births. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1916. p 30. Link to page at archive.org.
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume V (M-P). New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2007. p 378. Link to page at ancestry.com.
  13. 13.0 13.1 Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume V (M-P). New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2007. p 375. Link to page at ancestry.com.
  14. 14.0 14.1 Partridge, George Henry. Partridge Genealogy: Descendants of George Partridge of Duxbury, Massachusetts. 1915. p 2. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume V (M-P). New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2007. p 377. Link to page at ancestry.com.
  16. 16.0 16.1 Partridge, George Henry. Partridge Genealogy: Descendants of George Partridge of Duxbury, Massachusetts. 1915. p 4. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
  17. 17.00 17.01 17.02 17.03 17.04 17.05 17.06 17.07 17.08 17.09 17.10 Bridgewater Town Records, Vol. 1, p. 15. FHL Film # 007009747, image 11. Link to image at familysearch.org. See image attached to this profile.
  18. 18.00 18.01 18.02 18.03 18.04 18.05 18.06 18.07 18.08 18.09 18.10 Bowman, George Ernest Bowman. "Vital Records of Bridgewater, Mass." The Mayflower Descendant. 2(1900):91-92. Link to pages at hathitrust.org.
  19. 19.0 19.1 The assertion that Samuel and Sarah had a child born before son Samuel is based on Bridgewater town records of the births of Samuel's children state that Samuel was the "second borne" of Samuel Allen senior, without identifying the older child. Based on a typical two-year gap in births, Samuel and Sarah's first child was probably born in late 1658 or early 1659. Since the birth of Samuel and Sarah's first child was not included in the Bridgewater town records, the child was probably stillborn or died shortly after birth.
  20. 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 Vital Records of Bridgewater, Massachusetts to the Year 1850, Volume 2 - Marriages and Deaths. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1916. p 29. Link to page at archive.org.
  21. 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 Vital Records of Bridgewater, Massachusetts to the Year 1850, Volume I - Births. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1916. p 27. Link to page at archive.org.
  22. 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 Vital Records of Bridgewater, Massachusetts to the Year 1850, Volume I - Births. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1916. p 29. Link to page at archive.org.
  23. 23.0 23.1 23.2 Vital Records of Bridgewater, Massachusetts to the Year 1850, Volume 2 - Marriages and Deaths. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1916. p 28. Link to page at archive.org.
  24. 24.0 24.1 24.2 Vital Records of Bridgewater, Massachusetts to the Year 1850, Volume 2 - Marriages and Deaths. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1916. p 26. Link to page at archive.org.
  25. 25.0 25.1 Vital Records of Bridgewater, Massachusetts to the Year 1850, Volume I - Births. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1916. p 28. Link to page at archive.org.
  26. 26.0 26.1 Mitchell, Nahum. History of the Early Settlement of Bridgewater in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. 1840. p 35. Link to page at archive.org.
  27. 27.0 27.1 Mitchell, Nahum. History of the Early Settlement of Bridgewater in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. 1840. p 66. Link to page at archive.org.
  28. 28.0 28.1 Mitchell, Nahum. History of the Early Settlement of Bridgewater in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. 1840, p 36. Link to page at archive.org.
  29. 29.0 29.1 Mitchell, Nahum. History of the Early Settlement of Bridgewater in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. 1840. p 67. Link to page at archive.org.
  30. 30.0 30.1 Mitchell, Nahum. History of the Early Settlement of Bridgewater in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. 1840. p 40. to page at archive.org.

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Comments: 32

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Adding to what you found about the house location....I was trying to figure out where Samuel Allen and Sarah lived and found that they had two houses in East Bridgewater. The first was by the John's/Matfield River, east bank "at the further end of Salsbury Plain", and the second at Leonard Hill next to the land that is called "Old Cemetery of East Bridgewater" and also called "Old Grave Yard." Presumably the Salsbury Plain is near to where the Salisbury Plain River joins with the Matfield River and Beaver Brook.

"at the further end of Salsbury Plain" comes from the "Records of John Cary" page 8: https://archive.org/details/recordsofjohncar00brid/page/8/mode/2up?q=allen

The Leonard Hill house being next to the Old Grave Yard comes from this quote:

"Nehemiah Allen was 22 years old in 1703, and was not married till 1707, and his parents, grantors in this deed of 1703, had moved into their new house (Leonard Hill house) from their old house on the bank of the river, near the [later in time] railroad crossing; and there they lived, and there they died; he June 28, 1705, and his wife, Sarah, after the date of the deed, June 28, 1703, but when is not known..." -Epitaphs in Old Bridgewater, page 185. (This online book has a plot map of the Old grave yard showing the lot's exact shape at digital image 194. If one compares this lot to the modern shape and location still on Central Street it proves it is the same place....though Leonard Hill itself is not on any map that I can see. )

https://plymouthcolony.net/bridgewater/latham/185.html (new and old house locations described) https://plymouthcolony.net/bridgewater/latham/183.html (Samuel Allen's huge tract reached from River to the Grave yard) https://plymouthcolony.net/bridgewater/latham/194a.html (shape of cemetery lot)

posted by R Adams
The verbatim transcription of the Bridgewater records indicates that Samuel Allen born 1660 was the second born child of his parents. Not sure if the first child died or is left out simply because the location of birth was not Bridgewater. Record shows whole family over two pages. Click next to see second page.

See: https://plymouthcolony.net/bridgewater/md/02091.html

posted by R Adams
edited by R Adams
Good catch and very interesting. I have added a cite the original publication of that verbatim transcription in the Mayflower Descendant to the profile and tweaked the marriage date discussion to reflect the new information.
posted by Scott McClain
The above web address [ https://plymouthcolony.net/bridgewater/md/02091.html] is now giving an "Error 404" Page not found.
posted by Katherine Cappon
edited by Katherine Cappon
The Mayflower Descendant page is linked at fn 18 and the original town records transcribed in the Mayflower Descendant are linked at fn 17 (also image attached to this page), so no need for the plymouthcolony.net website's copy of the Mayflower Descendant.
posted by Chase Ashley
edited by Chase Ashley
Thanks for the heads up! It's a really good website, but they have reconstructed it.

The 404 error links to the newer USgenweb pages for Bridgewater (revamped in 2022 to be more mobile/tablet friendly as you can supposedly now click and drag the image around your phone screen).

Their new address with the original orthography showing that Samuel b 1660 was the second child is now at: https://plymouthcolony.net/magenweb/plymouthcounty/bridgewater/md/02091.html

Here is the new Bridgewater home page. It might have some newer stuff, but I am not sure: https://plymouthcolony.net/magenweb/plymouthcounty/bridgewater/index.html

posted by R Adams
I am detaching the image that was added: https://www.wikitree.com/photo/jpg/Allen-21 . The image also shows up on a Geni.com profile, but for a different Deacon Samuel Allen. See https://www.geni.com/people/Deacon-Samuel-Allen-Jr-of-Northampton/6000000004089661349 That Samuel Allen is this profile on wikitree: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Allen-615. However, I don't think it should attached to either unless we can figure out what the original source it. The style of dress looks early 1800s to me. None of the sites that use the image seem to provide a source.
posted by Chase Ashley
There is some interesting information about this Samuel Allen, the old town clerk, and his family in "Epitaphs in old Bridgewater, Massachusetts" by Williams Latham. Samuel Allen, his son Samuel Allen, and his grandson Capt. Matthew Allen all played different roles in the founding of Old Grave-Yard of East Bridgewater.

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt/search?q1=samuel+allen&id=hvd.32044024594608&view=1up&seq=100&num=231

posted by R Adams
Allen-31314 and Allen-21 appear to represent the same person because: Parents and some siblings match; approximate same birth date.

Suggest we resolve the surname of mother's third husband, George Farrow or Farrar?, which would then allow further clean-up of mother Ann/e Whitmore and this Samuel's siblings.

But the son of Samuel Allen and Ann/e Whitmore should be represented by the Samuel Allen-21 profile.

posted by Bryan McCullagh
Allen-19527 and Allen-21 appear to represent the same person because: The father-and-son pair of profiles Allen-19527 and Allen-19526 are fairly new profiles that apparently were intended to represent the same father-and-son pair as existing profiles Allen-21 and Allen-1385. The Allen-21 profile has a mixture of life dates from at least two different Samuel Allens who have existing profiles. Please merge Allen-19527 into Allen-21, retaining the data from Allen-21.
posted by Ellen Smith
Allen-19527 and Allen-21 are not ready to be merged because: Allen-19527 has different birth location, death date and death locations - should be resolved before merging
posted by Lydia Vierson
Allen-19527 and Allen-21 appear to represent the same person because: These profiles need to be merged before the connected profiles intended to represent the son can be merged. The death information in Allen-21 should be kept. (The information in Allen-19527 comes from a different Samuel Allen.)
posted by Ellen Smith
Allen-17802 and Allen-21 appear to represent the same person because: Same name, parents (different spelling of mother's surname), and wife. Same birth year.
posted by Carole Partridge
Would it be appropriate to label this Samuel as 'Samuel Allen the Second', e.g., Samuel Allen II ?

His father was Samuel Allen I and his son was Samuel Allen III. This might help to further disambiguate the various Samuel Allens.

posted by Bryan McCullagh
Allen-4961 and Allen-21 appear to represent the same person because: Allen-4961 is a "floater"--unconnected to others. Lacking other insight, the notes below provide us with rationale to consider this Allen-4961 / Samuel Allen to have been the son of Allen-20, Samuel Allen. Ala, Allen-4961 would be a duplicate of Allen-21, Samuel Allen m. Sarah (Partridge) Allen.

Allen-4960, so one ID number down, redirects to the profile of Allen-20, Samuel Allen, who settled at Braintree, Mass, m. 1 Ann ____, m 2 Margaret French, widow of Edward Lamb.

Allen-4962, so one ID number up, redirects to the profile of Allen-893, Sarah Allen b. 1639, daughter of Samuel Allen and Ann.

posted by GeneJ X
Hoping to be helpful ...

Allen-4960, so one ID number down, redirects to the profile of Allen-20, Samuel Allen, who settled at Braintree, Mass, m. 1 Ann ____, m 2 Margaret French, widow of Edward Lamb.

Allen-4962, so one ID number up, redirects to the profile of Allen-893, Sarah Allen b. 1639, daughter of Samuel Allen and Ann.

Lacking other insight, the above provide us with rationale to consider this Allen-4961 / Samuel Allen to have been the son of Allen-20, Samuel Allen. Ala, Allen-4961 would be a duplicate of Allen-21, Samuel Allen m. Sarah (Partridge) Allen.

posted by GeneJ X

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