Abel Royce (abt. 1730 - bef. 1769)

Born about 30 Mar 1730 in Wallingford, New Haven County, Connecticut Colony [uncertain]

Ancestors

Died before 1769 before about age 38 in Connecticut Colony [uncertain]

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Susan Anderson [send private message]

Biography

Research Note

There is no record of Abel Royce's birth in the published Wallingford records (or elsewhere) on 30 Mar 1730. Furthermore, that date is the birth date of Joanna Royce, Abel's supposed sister, whose birth record in Wallingford does not indicate she was a twin.

Birth record for Joanna Royce: Connecticut: Vital Records (The Barbour Collection), 1630-1870, (Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2011.) From original typescripts, Lucius Barnes Barbour Collection, 1928., Wallingford, p. 287, citing vol. 5, p. 524 of the Wallingford Land Records (subscription required - accessed 28 Mar 2018).

Since the original profile was created through a GEDCOM, the source for the existence of Abel Royce, b. 1730 in Connecticut, may be the American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI), available through Ancestry.com. Its contents are described as:

"This database contains millions of records of people whose names have appeared in printed genealogical records and family histories. With data from sources largely from the last century, each entry contains the person's complete name, the year of the biography's publication, the person's state of birth (if known), abbreviated biographical data, and the book and page number of the original reference. In addition to family histories, other genealogical collections are indexed. These include the Boston Transcript (a genealogical column widely circulated), the complete 1790 U.S. Federal Census, and published Revolutionary War records."

The information for this Abel Royce was derived in part from: "Gen. Column of the " Boston Transcript". 1906-1941. (The greatest single source of material for gen. Data for the N.E. area and for the period 1600-1800. Completely indexed in the Index.): 11 Mar 1929, 8165," vol. 150, p. 299.^[1] An image of the relevant column for 11 Mar 1929, 8165 is available on AmericanAncestry.org. Citing Davis, History of Wallingford, Conn., pp. 894-5 (published in 1870):

"Among the eight children of Abel and Joanna (Beach) Royce are: Hester, born Dec. 21, 1727; Abel, born March 30, 1730; Benedict, born Feb. 19, 1735; Mehitable, born April 1, 1737; Hezekiah, born Dec 16, 1739."

Since the item concerns Hezekiah, this is the only mention of son Abel. Note that Joanna Royce, the other child with the relevant birthdate, is missing from this list, but, then, so are Rhoda, Jacob, Hulda, and Olive. In Davis, Abel and Joanna were linked as though they were twins, although this wasn't explicitly stated; Davis also included Rhoda and Huldah, but not Jacob or Olive. The Davis genealogy may also have been a source for the AGBI and the creation of this profile.

A second reference on Ancestry.com for an Abel Royce, born in 1730, is also to the AGBI: vol. 149, p. 394, referencing Bates, ‘’Rolls of Connecticut Men in the French and Indian War, 1755-1762’’, Collections of the Connecticut Historical Society, vol. 9, p. 211 (or vol. 1, p. 211 of the two-volume set). That reference is to an "Abel Roce," no age or place of origin indicated, who appeared on a payroll dated 1757, for the militia company of Captain Ammy Trumble of Windsor, Connecticut Colony, with John Hatchett of Simsbury as Ensign, which responded to an Alarm and marched to the relief of Ft. Edward.^[2] Abel Royce, the supposed father of this Abel Royce, would have been only 56 in 1757, and therefore eligible for muster as part of the militia. On the other end of the possible age spectrum, the Abel Roce on this payroll could have been a teenager in 1757, putting his birth closer to 1740 than 1730. Alternatively, "Roce" could be a variant of a different surname.

Donald Lines Jacobus (a renowned genealogist) also included son Abel in vol. 7 (published in 1931) of his Families of Ancient New Haven. He listed Abel before Joanna with the same birth date and cited the Wallingford Vital Records for both, although he did not designate them as twins. He cited the records of the First Congregational Church Society of Meriden (from the establishment of a second meetinghouse in 1727 until incorporated as separate town in 1806, part of Wallingford) for Joanna's baptism on 5 Apr 1730, but provided no information for Abel's baptism (which admittedly is odd). He wrote that this Abel married in about 1758, but gave no name for a spouse, nor did he indicate a source for the marriage information.^[3]

Note: Keep in mind that Jacobus had access to the original vital and church records, not just the transcripts used by the previously mentioned sources.

Abel's father's will, dated 31 Mar 1769, did not mention him.^[4] This might indicate he died without heirs before March of 1769, but it must also be possible that he never existed.

Sources

1. ↑ Godfrey Memorial Library, comp.. American Genealogical-Biographical Index (accessed 7 Apr 2018).
2. ↑ Bates, ‘’Rolls of Connecticut Men in the French and Indian War, 1755-1762’’, vol. 1, p. 211.
3. ↑ Jacobus, New Haven, CT: Families of Ancient New Haven, vol. 7, p. 1559 (accessed 12 Apr 2018).
4. ↑ Last Will and Testament of Abel Roys, p. 1, dated 31 Mar 1769: Probate Files Collection, Early to 1880, #2401 (accessed 13 Apr 2018).

• Bates, Albert C., ed., ‘’Rolls of Connecticut Men in the French and Indian War, 1755-1762’’, vol. 1, ‘’1755-1757’’, ‘’Collections of the Connecticut Historical Society’’, vol. 9, Hartford, CT: Connecticut Historical Society, 1903.
• Connecticut: Vital Records (The Barbour Collection), 1630-1870, (Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2011.) From original typescripts, Lucius Barnes Barbour Collection, 1928. (subscription required)
• Connecticut State Library, Probate Files Collection, Early to 1880 (Hartford, Connecticut), Ancestry.com, Connecticut Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999 (Online Database) Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Probate Packet No. 2401, Hartford, CT. (subscription required)
• Davis, Charles Henry Stanley, History of Wallingford, Connecticut, from Its Settlement in 1670 to the Present Time, including Meriden, Which Was One of Its Parishes until 1806, and Cheshire, Which Was Incorporated in 1780, published by the author in Meriden, CT, Wallingford, CT: Mount Tom Printing House, 1870.
• Godfrey Memorial Library, complr., American Genealogical-Biographical Index, (AGBI) [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 1999. Original data: Godfrey Memorial Library. American Genealogical-Biographical Index. Middletown, CT, USA: Godfrey Memorial Library. (subscription required)
• Jacobus, Donald Lines, New Haven, CT: Families of Ancient New Haven. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as New Haven genealogical magazine. vols. I-VIII. Compiled by Donald Lines Jacobus. 8 vols. Rome, New York: Clarence D. Smith, 1923-1932. (subscription required)

Acknowledgements

This person was created on 18 May 2010 through the import of JBEACH.GED.