John Comstock I (bef. 1626 - 1680)

Born before 13 Dec 1626 in Uxbridge, Middlesex, England

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 18 Jan 1680 after age 53 in Lyme, New London, Connecticut

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Biography

John Comstock I immigrated to New England as a child during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640).

Name

JOHN, son of William Comstock and Elizabeth Cock or Cooke.

Birth and Baptism

Born Uxbridge, Middlesex, England, December 1626.

Baptized 10 December 1626, at St. Margaret's, Uxbridge, Hillingdon, Middlesex, England, 'Sonne to Willm Coomstocke and Elizabeth his wife'^[1] See image at right.

Previous (disproved) estimates of birth date and location:

Birth: ABT 1624, England^[2][3]

Location: Culmstocke, Devonshire, England. NOTE: the surname Comstock and its variants appears to be a place-based name (rather than an occupation-based name or a patronym, for example), and the village of Culmstocke is the only apparent place in England as a source for it. However, no birth, baptism, marriage, or death record in that town has been found using that or any variant as a surname. Perhaps parent William Coomestock or an earlier ancestor with no surname took the village name as his surname after removing to another location in England.

The birth year of John is obviously an estimate, probably guessing him to be about age 15 when his "time to be served" was mentioned. If he was an apprentice to John Russell, he could have been of most any age from 9 or 10 to 21. He probably married 1660 or 61 since his first child was born in April of 1662. Most men of this time married around age 25 to 30 or born by 1630, so he might have been quite young in 1639.

John Comstock was born in England about 1639. He was a resident of New London, Connecticut by 1649.

Occupation

Occupation: initially, indentured servant of Henry (or John?) Russell ^[4]

Completed 7 yr (?) indenture, by 1649, Wethersfield, Hartford, Connecticut

24 Nov 1639. John Ressell (or Russell) in his will gave to his wife Jane "the remainder of his time to be served by John Comstock", quoted in E. B. Comstock's, The Comstock Family in America, 1938

Residence

Residence: 1639: Weymouth, Dorset, England^[4]

Residence: 1649, New London, New London, Connecticut

Residence: 1666, Saybrook CT. He was appointed one of a committee of six to divide the town of Saybrook and form the town of Lyme in Feb of 1666. "Connecticut Puritan Settlers" by Royal R. Hinman

Marriage

Note: [Estimated year of marriage based on birth of oldest child.]

He married Abigail Chappel Comstock, daughter of George and Christian Chappell about 1661. He died before 18 Jan. 1680, as his widow Abigail married Moses Huntley on 18 Jan. 1680 at Lyme, Connecticut.^[5]

Witness to the Will of Tobiah Colles, 1664

The last Will & Testament of Tobiah Colles: ^[6]

I give to John Cornstock one Axe and 2 days Work; to Henry Champion 2 days work and one payre of Woosted Stockings; to William Waller 5 Shillings, to Reinold Marvin 2 days work; to Richard Smith I days work; to Wolstone Brokeway 1 days work. I do allso give my Cloth Suite & Drawers that be at Wolstone Brockwayes to John Bordon. Also my Sarge Suite and Drawers and my Hatt I doe by this my Will give to Peter Laye, and also my Woosted stockings and Showes I give to Peter Laye. To Abigail Laye, my Chest which is in John Prentice House. My Come in Timothy Brooks lot, my 2 Steers & my Hogs, & my Land on Black Hall Playne which I bought of William Backhus, all these do I leave with Mr. Laye as his owne. I make John Laye my Executor. My Will is that My Child and its friends shall rest satisfied with that which I have formerly done for it and them in bringing it up.

Witness: Henry Champion, tobiah colls.

John Comstock, John Bordon,

Court Record, Page 24?10 October, 1664: Will & Invt. exhibited.

Adms. to John Laye.

Children of John and Abigail

1. Abigail b.12 Apr 1662 m. William Pike or Peak ^{[7] [8]}
2. Elizabeth b. 9 Jun 1665 m. Joseph Miner^[7][8]
3. William b. 9 Jul 1669 m. Naomi Noyes^[7][8]
4. Christian b. 11 Dec 1671 m. Robert Mentor^[7][8]
5. Hannah b. 22 Jan 1673 m. Bacus Gilliard^[7][8]
6. John b. 31 Sep 1676 m. Mary Elizabeth Colt^[7][8]
7. Samuel b. 6 Jul 1678 m. Martha Pratt^[7][8]
8. Marah Comstock dau. of John Comstock & Alea [was this Aba. - abbreviated for Abigail?] - b. 4 Apr 1685^[8]
9. Ann Comstock dau. of John Comstock & Alea - b. 13 Mar 1686;^[8]

Death and Will of John Comstock

d. Lyme. New London, Conn., 1680

Before 18 Jan. 1680: Probably Lyme, Connecticut^[5]

Death: BEF 1680, Lyme, New London County, Connecticut^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ St Margarets (Uxbridge, Hillingdon, Middlesex, England), , p. 30, John sonne to Willm Coomstocke and Elizabeth his wife; digital images, ancestry.com [1], accessed 26 Dec 2016
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Source: #S39
3. ↑ Source: #S19
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Source: #S334
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Virgil W. Huntley. John Huntley, Immigrant of Boston & Roxbury, Massachusetts and Lyme, Connecticut 1647-1977 and some of his Descendants. Books I, II, III. 1978, 1993, 1996. Vol. 1. p. 8. Material from the books used with written permission of the author. Collection of Phil Smith.
6. ↑ A Digest of the Early Connecticut Probate Records (Online database: NewEnglandAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2006), (A Digest of the Early Connecticut Probate Records, by Charles W. Manwaring, R. S. Peck & Co. Printers, Hartford, CT, 1904.). Volume 1, Page 188 Colles, Tobiah, Saybrook. Died ( ) August, 1664. Invt. £23-18-oo. Taken 2 September, 1664, by William Waller & Rennel Marvin. Will dated 12 August, 1664
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6} John A. Comstock. A history and genealogy of the Comstock family in America. Published: Los Angeles, Priv. print. for the author by the Commonwealth Press, 1949. p. 2. A HathiTrust e-book. JAComstock
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8} Lyme Town Records, Book 1, transcribed by Rev. F.A. Chapman; NEGHR Vol 23 (1869) & subsequent

• Comstock, Cyrus B., 1907. A Comstock Genealogy: Descendants of William Comstock of New London, Conn., who died after 1662. The Knickerbocker Press, New York, NY. pages 4-5 (#2)

• Source: S334 Author: James Savage, A Gen. Dict. of the First Settlers of New England, Publication: Name: Genealogical Publ Co, Inc., Baltimore

• Source: S19 Title: Laurie J. Paradee-Amijo, Internet Home Page: Comstock>Paradee x.html Note: Line of John Comstock, son of William Comstock (1) Repository: #R13
• Repository: R13 Name: FamilyTreeMaker Home Pages Address: <http://www.familytreemaker.com/users> Address 1: <http://www.familytreemaker.com/users>

• Source: S39 Comstock-Haggard and Allied Familes, Mary Jane Comstock, Compiler; Comstock-Haggard and Allied Families; (Chicago: Adams Press, 1973) Repository: #R3
• Repository: R3 Personal Library