The Abell Family of Rehoboth, Bristol Co.,
Massachusetts and England
Robert Abell, Esquire
Robert Abell, Esquire, was named as of Stapenhill (Stapenhall) in the County of Derby, England, in a complaint of Walter Blount in about 1533. He is also mentioned in a 1547 deed. In the will of his son George, dated May 3, 1596, Robert is said to have been deceased.The children of Robert Abell, Esquire are:
1. Anthony Abell, of Tichnall, who's will was dated on May 29, 1559.
2. George Abell, of Stapenhall and also of Newborough in
the County of Stafford and Nether Seale of the County
of Leicester. His will was dated on May 3, 1596.
3. Robert, of Stapenhall and Tichnall, Derby, died in 1587/88.
4. A daughter (name unknown) who married a man with the surname
Royale (Royle).
5. Anne, of Nether Seale, Co. Leicester, died unmarried.
Robert Abell II of England
Robert Abell, II, was of Stapenhill and Ticknall in the County of Derby, England. He was mentioned in the wills of his brother Anthony in 1559 and his brother George in 1596 as then deceased. His will is dated March 18, 1787/88, and was proved at London on May 17 of that year. In this will he gave to his only son George �all the tithes of Ticknall and I appoint him sole executor.� His wife�s name is unknown.
George Abell of England, son of Robert Abell II
George Abell was born about 1561 in Stapenhill in the County of Derby and Hemington in the Parish of Lockington, County Leicester, England. He was matriculated at the age of seventeen on December 8, 1578 at Brasenose College, Oxford. In 1581, he was admitted to the Inner Temple.
George was an attorney. He tried to get his son Robert a good job in London by having him become an apprentice there, but Robert chose to leave England and move to Massachusetts. George was not in favor of this move, as he noted in his will.
In 1588, he was the executor of his father�s will. He was also mentioned in his Uncle George�s will of 1596. In his own will dated September 8, 1630, proved on February 7, 1631, in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, he named his wife�s brothers, Andrew Cotton, �gent,� and George Cotton, �Esq.,� both residing at Combermere, as executors of his will. George was buried on September 13, 1630. George Abell�s father�s name was Robert also. George married Frances Cotton who was the daughter of Richard Cotton, of Combermere in the County of Cheshire, England. Frances is believed to be of royal ancestry. George was the only child of Robert Abell, II.
George�s children are:
1. George, the eldest son mentioned in his father�s will.
2. Robert, who was an apprentice in London prior to his move to
New England in about 1630.
3. Richard, the third child mentioned in his father�s will.
4. Mary, was mentioned in her father�s will and also
in her Aunt Dorothy Cotton�s will in 1646.
Robert Abell, the Immigrant and son of George Abell
Robert Abell, of Rehoboth, was born in England. He was the second son of George Abell and Frances Cotton of Hemington, Leicestershire. He was already in New England when his father made out his will dated September 8, 1630. He is believed to have immigrated there that year in the fleet of Governor Winthrop which arrived at Charlestown, Massachusetts in June of 1630.
The first record of Robert in America is at Weymouth, Massachusetts where his name appeared on a list of persons who desired to be made freemen on October 19, 1630. On May 18, 1631 he took the Oath of Freeman. His name appears in court records of the Quarterly Court, held at Boston, in 1638 and 1640. In Weymouth his name appears in land transactions between October of 1642 and May of 1644.
In 1642, Reverend Samuel Newman, who was the minister of Weymouth for four or five years, and a majority of his congregation, moved to Rehoboth. Robert removed to Rehoboth in 1643. In 1643 a joint agreement was made by the inhabitants of Rehoboth so that lots could taken up according to person and estate. On this list, the 28th name is Job Lane. Underneath this name �now Robert Abell�s� is written. This appears to have been written in later.
On February 1, 1654 at a town meeting, Robert was ordered to keep the Ordinary (a place where travelers could get a meal and lodging). On July 3, 1656 at Plymouth, Massachusetts, he was allowed by the Court to keep an Ordinary at Rehoboth. On June 22, 1658 lots were drawn for the meadows that lie on the north side of Rehoboth (now Attleborough, MA and Cumberland, RI) according to person and estate. Robert was third on the list who drew for lots.
Robert's wife�s name was Joanna. Robert died on June 20, 1663 at Rehoboth. After Robert�s death, Joanna, also known as �Goody� (meaning goodwife) married on June 4, 1667 at Rehoboth to William Hyde, one of the original proprietors of Norwich, Connecticut. Joanna died after 1682.
The children of Robert and Joanna are:
1. Abraham was probably born in England about 1629, buried
November 14, 1639 at Weymouth
2. Mary, born on April 11, 1642 at Weymouth; married Samuel Luther
3. Lieutenant Preserved, who was born in 1644 at Rehoboth.
4. Sergeant Caleb, who was born in 1646, probably at Rehoboth, and moved
to Norwich, CT. He married (1) Margaret Post and (2) Mary Miller.
5. Joshua, was born in 1649, probably at Rehoboth. He married (1) Mehitobell
Smith and (2) Bathiah Gadger.
6. Benjamin was living in Norwich, CT in 1670, and died there in
1699. His wife�s name was Hannah.
7. Experience married in 1680 to John Baldwin at Guilford, CT.
There may have been another child as well.
Preserved Abell, son of Robert Abell
Preserved Abell was born in 1644 at Rehoboth, Massachusetts. He died there on August 18, 1724, and is buried in the old Newman Cemetery in what is now East Providence, Rhode Island. Following his father�s death, Preserved inherited his father�s house and lands. He was the only child of Robert to remain in Rehoboth.
Preserved married (1) Martha Redaway (Redway) on September 27, 1667. Martha was born on March 15, 1648 at Rehoboth. She was buried there on March 1, 1685/86. She was the daughter of James Redway. James Redway (Ridway/Redwaie) was of Dublin, Ireland. He was a servant of William Bladen of Dublin in 1637. He came to America with Mr. Bladen about the middle of that year. He appears to have been released from his apprenticeship three years later, in 1640. He married in 1640. James was with the first settlers in the new town of Seekonk (Rehoboth) in 1643. His wife's name is unknown.
After Martha�s death, Preserved married (2) Sarah Bowen on December 27, 1686 at Rehoboth. Sarah was born on Februray 7, 1656. She died on May 14, 1703. She was the daughter of Richard Bowen and Ester Sutton.
After Sarah�s death, Preserved married (3) Anne West of Boston. The intentions of marriage were published at Rehoboth on December 20, 1706. He had three children by his first wife and seven by his second wife. He was a freeman.
Preserved was a surveyor of highways in 1670, and a constable in 1671. He served under Major Bradford in King Philip�s War. In 1689 he was a sergeant ensign of the local militia. In 1690 he was ensign. That same year he served as a Lieutenant in Captian Gallup�s Company in Sir William Phipp�s unsuccessful expedition against Quebec. In 1708 he was on a committee of three to procure a schoolmaster to keep school in Rehoboth for one quarter of a year. He was also chosen to lay out land.
The children of Preserved Abell are:
(by Martha Redaway)
1. Mehetable, born on August 28, 1672 at Rehoboth, died
September 19, 1672.
2. Dorothy, born on November 18, 1677 at Rehoboth.
3. Joanna, born on January 11, 1681 at Rehoboth, died there
on February 20, 1702/03. She is buried near her father.
(by Sarah Bowen)
4. Martha, born on November 20, 1687 at Rehoboth, and died
there on August 30, 1709.
5. Robert, born on April 25, 1689 at Rehoboth, and died there
on May 1, 1715.
6. Sari (Sarah), born on January 10, 1690/91, and died there
on February 14, 1702/03.
7. Experience, born on March 10, 1692/93, married at Rehoboth
on January 1, 1717/18 to Abiah Carpenter, Jr.
8. Joshua, born on June 8, 1695 at Rehoboth, and died there
on March 16, 1731/32. He married his cousin Rebecca Carpenter
of Rehoboth on June 16, 1720.
9. Mary, born on May 18, 1697 at Rehoboth, and died there on
July 22, 1747. She married Ephraim Walker on May 9, 1717 at
Rehoboth. Ephraim, the son of Samuel Walker and Martha
Ide, was born on September 4, 1692, and died on
March 2, 1731/32.
Dorothy Abell, daughter of Preserved Abell
Dorothy Abell was born on November 18, 1677 at Rohoboth, Massachusetts. She died at Rehoboth on August 1, 1741. She married (as his second wife) Ebenezer Walker, of Rehoboth, on October 11, 1703. Ebenezer was the son of Philip Walker and Jane Metcalf. He was born �Mid Nov(ember)� in 1676, and died on March 13, 1717/18 at Rehoboth. Dorothy remarried John Reed at Rehoboth on January or June 13, 1724.
The children of Dorothy Abell:
1. Ebenezer, born on June 30, 1701, died on May 26, 1702
2. Mehetable, born on December 18, 1702, died on May 5, 1705
3. Johanna, born on July 18, 1704, died on January 22, 1786,
married on November 12, 1724 to David Carpenter
4. Caleb, born on October 30, 1706, died on April 3, 1768
5. Mary, born on January 11, 1708/9, died on January 12, 1708/9
6. Dorothy, born on January 11, 1708/9 (Mary�s twin), died on
April 22, 1796
7. John, born on February 18, 1710/11, died February 27, 1710/11
8. Sarah, born on February 18, 1710/11 (John�s twin), died on
March 2, 1710/11
9. Elizabeth, born on March 24, 1711/12, died on March 18, 1753
10. Martha, born on July 20, 1714
11. Ebenezer, born on December 9, 1716, died in September of 1799.
He married at Rehoboth on January 26, 1737 to Bethiah Brown,
daughter of William and Elizabeth of Rehoboth. Bethiah was born
on July 8, 1718. They moved to Ashford, Connecticutt in 1769
where they joined the church there on January 8. They had four
children. Ebenezer was a blacksmith, and was called Captain.
After Bethiah died, Ebenezer moved back to Rehoboth where he
married another woman (whose name is unknown). After the
marriage, they apparently returned to Ashford, but after his
death in 1799 she was living in Rehoboth again.
The Unproven Ancestors and Relatives of Robert Abell
An Abell appears in the 'Doomsday Book', a census of all the people and their property of England. He was an under-tenant in the County of Kent.
In 1272, John Abell and his wife, Sue of Kent, were summoned by King Edward I to attend his coronation at Westminster.
Thomas Abell, a Roman Catholic priest, was Queen Catherine�s confessor. King Henry VIII wanted his marriage to her annulled because he wanted a male heir. When Reverend Abell failed to get the Pope�s consent, he was imprisoned in the Beauchamp Tower in London. There he carved the outline of a bell with the letter "A" in it. He was latter beheaded.
Reverend John Abell was the rector of a congregation of the Church of England at Newbold Verdun during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1602).
There was a John Abell who had an excellent singing voice, and was a favorite in King Charles II�s court.
There is a John Abell buried in the churchyard at Sarnesfield, near Weobley, Herefordshire. He was an architect of many market buildings.
Sources
One Branch of the Abell Family Showing the Allied Families, by Horace A. Abell
The Abell Family in America, by Horace A. Abell and Lewis P. Abell
April 1944 Issue of the New England Historical and Genealogical Register
(Vol. 98, pages 173-175)
� 1998 by David R. Jansen