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Attached is a history of the Knowlton family written by Charles Henry Wright Stocking in 1897. Our Grandfather Edward Jones’ mother was Alberta V. Knowlton. Yes, the book is informative, but it is also controversial. The author claims that the first Knowlton in America was Capt. William Knowlton and his family and asserts he was a son of Count Richard Knowlton, Earl of Kent. Very impressive sounding, but genealogists today are saying that there is no evidence that William ever existed and there is no DNA evidence to suggest a connection to Richard. Someone from long ago claimed he had seen the grave of William Knowlton, but it has never been found.
Still, the members of the Knowlton family were prominent in commerce and the military in New England and Nova Scotia society during the 1600s-1800s. Their sons and daughters married into prominent families. Click on the photo of the book below for the full text. More on the existence of William Knowlton. This comes from the family tree website wikitree.com. It is a rather brutal assessment. Research Notes “This person is a fictional invention of Dr. Charles Stocking in his 1897 Knowlton Genealogy. There is no physical evidence that he ever existed, and the civilian owner of a ship in that time was a "Master" and not a "Captain" (which was reserved for the military). Furthermore, English Parish records in Uxbridge, England identify the three Knowlton brothers who emigrated to Ipswich, MA ca. 1637-9 as descended from Robert and Mary Knowlton in Uxbridge. There is no connection whatever to Knowlton Manor in Kent or English nobility. Captain William Knowlton is an imaginary person. There is no primary source documentation for his existence, just a story about an old gravestone (for a William Knowlton, died 1632), that was found in Nova Scotia in the 19th century. This is the only source for the unreliable old Knowlton genealogy's tale about Captain William Knowlton, the imaginary father of the three Knowlton brothers who settled in Ipswich, Massachusetts. The old Knowlton genealogy gives an imaginary wife Ann Elizabeth Smith for the imaginary Captain William Knowlton. It also gives imaginary parents, Richard Knowlton and Elizabeth Cantize; see this page. The Errata and Addenda to the Knowlton genealogy incorrectly supposes that Captain William Knowlton (died 1632) was the same as William Nolton of Hingham (d. 1639), whose wife's name was Ann. There is no evidence to support such a hypothesis. Furthermore, the will of Widow Ann (----)(Nolton) Tucker left everything to her grandchildren Paul Guilford and Susanna Jewell, with no mention of any Knowlton sons. Fictional Biography The information below is included for reference the original myth from Stocking as well as an unsuccessful attempt in 1903 in the Errata and Addenda by George Knowlton to clarify it. Capt. William was at least part owner of the vessel in which he sailed for America. He died on the voyage, probably not far from Nova Scotia, for a land surveyor, Alphonso Wells by name, in the employ of the Canadian Government, brought word to the Canadian Knowltons that, when surveying land in Shelbourne in 1839, he had found an ancient head-stone there bearing the name of William Knowlton, 1632. Tradition also says that his ship was sold here, and that his widow and children proceeded to Massachusetts, probably to Hingham, the following year, where his widow is said to have remarried. The English tradition is that her name was Ann Elizabeth Smith. On June 9, 1668 one Anne, widow of William Knollton, petitioned for an appraisal of land in Hingham, and she has been thought by some to have been the widow of Capt. William, an opinion strengthened by a will of Deacon Thomas, her son, dated "12th month, 14th day, 1653," in which he makes certain bequests to his brother John, to Marjery Wilson, and to his nephew Abraham and his niece Elizabeth, and "the rest for my mother`s use during her life." Although this makes certain that his mother was then living, the petitioner Anne may have been the widow of William (1615) also named Ann Elizabeth. The Knowltons of New England pg. 21 Sources Rev Charles Henry Wright Stocking DD, The History and Genealogy of the Knowltons of England and America. (New York, NY: The Knickerbocker Press, 2897), Page 3 George Henry Knowlton, Errata and Addenda to Dr. Stocking's History and Genealogy of the Knowltons: And A Supplement With Copies of Old Wills Administration Records, Etc., (Boston, Mass: The Everett Press Company, 1903), page 1 U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900; Source number: 138.000; Electronic Database; Number of Pages: 1; Yates Publishing. [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Preston, Edward M. A History of Captain Roswell Preston of Hampton, Connecticut (E.M. Preston, Nevada City, California, 1899) Page 45” A quick post about our 9th great grand uncle, Dr. John Clarke, who was a physician and statesman as well as a Baptist Minister. Yes, he is one more of our ancestors who left the Puritan settlement for religious freedom in Rhode Island.
Click on the photo of the Portsmouth Compact below to link to an article about the accomplishments of one of the founders of Rhode Island. |
Bonnie EastonHi! I am a Jones cousin, daughter of Evelyn Jones Easton. Since retiring as a reference librarian after 20 years, I have become a genealogy addict. Our ancestors want to tell us their stories.
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