Robert Calef (bef. 1648 - 1719)

Born before 2 Nov 1648 in Stanstead, Suffolk, England

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 13 Apr 1719 after age 70 in Roxbury, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay

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Biography

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Robert Calef was involved in witch trials

Robert Calef, son of Joseph Calef, was baptized in Stanstead, Suffolk, England on 2 Nov 1648. The Calef family of Stanstead was "one of substantial yeoman and clothiers."^[1]

"Robert Calef, Merchant and Clothier, of Boston and Roxbury, Mass. Tradition is responsible for the statement 'That he was undoubtedly of good family, born in England about 1648, matriculating from one of the English Colleges, but on account of his pronounced friendliness for the persecuted sect know as Quakers, he became so unpopular at home that he was obliged to seek asylum in New England.'

He was brought prominently before the public at the time of the 'Witchcraft Delusion' in 1692, when he championed the cause of the poor wretches accused of witchcraft, and was courageous enough to oppose the Clergy and Magistracy, with saneness and common sense. His stand for justice and fairness to the accused brought down upon him the wrath of these two most powerful bodies, causing his removal to Roxbury, where his fellow citizens did him honor by electing him to such offices as were within their power....

He was the author of 'More Wonders of the Invisible World', a book written in reply to Rev. Cotton Mather's 'Wonder's of the Invisible World."

Calef married (probably before 1672) Mary ____. She died at Roxbury, Mass., 12 Nov., 1719, and lies buried in the Eustis Street Ground beside her husband who died at Roxbury 13 April, 1719 at age 71 ^[2]. Children, born in England:

1. Joseph, born about 1671
2. Robert, born _______
3. John, born about 1675.
4. Jeremiah, born _____
5. Martha, born ____; mar. Solomon Hewes
6. Mary, born _____; mar. Dr. Samuel Stevens

born in Boston:

1. Edward, born 20 Jan. 1688
2. Daniel, born 27 Dec. 1691; died 13 Apr. 1712^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ Moriarty. "The Calfe or Calef Family". New England Historical and Genealogical Register. (Boston, 1959) 113: 184–8.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} The Essex Institute, Vital Records of Roxbury, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849 Volume II - Marriages and Deaths (Salem, Mass. 1926)(Available at Ancestry.com) p. 480

• Boston Evening Transcript (March 10, 1902) Page 12
• Lunt, William. Robert Calef of Boston and Roxbury And Some of his Descendants (Hingham Historical Society, Inc., Hingham, Mass., 1928)
• Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook) Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988: Death Record: Boston Births, Marriages and Deaths; Digital Image, Ancestry.com
• FindaGrave Memorial: 29589830
• Inscriptions From The Old Burial Ground, Roxbury, Mass., The New England Historical & Genealogical Register (NEHGS, Boston, Mass., 1860) Vol. 14, Page 52
• Wikipedia contributors, "Robert Calef," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robert_Calef&oldid=927312266 (accessed December 30, 2019).
• http://salem.lib.virginia.edu/speccol/calef/calef.html
• Rasmussen, James Anthony. The Kerrington Ancestry of Robert¹ Calef of Boston, The American Genealogist (The American Genealogist, Barrington, RI, 1991) Vol. 66, Page 145.