John Higby (1658 - 1688)

Born 1658 in Huntington, Suffolk, Long Island, New York [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Rebecca (Treadwell) Higby — married 1 May 1679 in Middletown, Hartford, Connecticut

Descendants

Died 1688 at about age 30 in Middletown, Hartford, Connecticut

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Biography

John was born in 1658, in Huntington, Suffolk County, New York. He was the son of Edward Higby and Jedidah Skidmore. He passed away in 1688.

JOHN HIGBY (1658-1688) and REBECCA TREADWELL (1658-1708)

John married Rebecca Treadwell, daughter of Samuel Treadwell and Ruth Wheeler, on 1 May 1679 in Middletown, New Jersey. Rebecca had been born the same year as John — in 1658 — so they were both 21.

Rebecca and John spent much of their married lives in Middletown, Connecticut, but they also lived in New Jersey briefly. The land on the western bank of the Connecticut River where Middletown now lies was home to the Mattabesett Indians when Europeans established a settlement there in 1650. Colonists arrived shortly after and later in the 1700’s, John and Rebecca would have seen much of the trouble between the colonists and the Mohegans, who moved into the area from the Hudson River Valley.

John and Rebecca had five sons: •John b. 27 Feb 1680 in Middletown, Middlesex, Connecticut •Ebenezer b. 25 Dec 1681 in Middletown, Middlesex, Connecticut •Samuel b. 17 Feb 1683 in Middletown, Middlesex, Connecticut •Edward b. 24 Aug 1684 in Middletown, Middlesex, Connecticut [See Edward Higby and Rebecca Wheeler below.] •Thomas b. ABT 1686 in Fairfield, Connecticut

John died just two years after Thomas was born — in 1688 in Middletown, New Jersey. Rebecca, at the age of 30, was left to raise her sons — ages 8, 7, 5, 4, and 2. There is no evidence — yet — that she ever remarried, though it seems unlikely she could have managed on her own with such small children. She was 50 when she died on 1 Mar 1708. Her youngest son, Thomas, would have been 22. JOHN HIGBY (1658-1688) and REBECCA TREADWELL (1658-1708)

Find a Grave; this memorial is no longer found on the FAG site John Higby Memorial Birth: 1658 Huntington Suffolk County New York, USA Death: 1688 Middletown Middlesex County, Connecticut, USA

(II) John Higby, son of Edward Higby or Higbee, was born about 1658, died about 1688. His inventory was dated December 28, 1688, by John Hall, Francis Whitemore, and Nathaniel Stow. (P. 7, Vol. ii, Hartford Probate Records) He married Rebecca Treadwell, at Middletown, daughter of Samuel Treadwell, of Fairfield. She died 1707-08, and was succeeded in the administration of her husband's estate by her son Edward, appointed March 1, 1707-08. Family links: Parents: Edward Higby (1616 - 1699) Jeddidah Skidmore Higby (1624 - 1660) Spouse: Rebecca Treadwell Higby (1658 - 1708)* Children: Edward Higby (1684 - 1775)* Burial: Old Westfield Cemetery Middletown, Middlesex County, Connecticut, USA

Sources

• "Connecticut Marriages, 1630-1997," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F7LW-ZTB : accessed 29 September 2015), John Higby and Rebecca Tredwell, 01 May 1679; citing Middletown, Middlesex, Connecticut, United States, reference item 1 p 40; FHL microfilm 1,513,707.
• Abstract of Probate Records at Fairfield, Connecticut, Down to 1721 (n.d.) Page 170: "1684 Higby, John, called grandson by Thos. Skidmore of Fairfield, he having married his wives daughter."