My father's second and third generation records are slightly confusing, It is clear the first generation was the indentured servant, Henry Straight, arriving in Rhode Island in 1667. Then there are two sons, born within a year of each other, one named Henry and one named John. It is unclear from the records which one my father was following into future generations. It is clear that the third generation name that he followed was John, and the following is what I could piece together about him:
John Straight was born on September 27, 1707. He appears to have lived his life in the area of Rhode Island that the first two generations lived.
On January 13, 1747, John Straight Jr of Exeter, purchased from Henry Straight of West Greenwich, eight-six acres in West Greenwich, bounded W by John Tillinghast, S by highway, N by swamp lots, and to extend E, to make above quantity. This was part of a three-hundred acre tract his brother Henry had purchased of Daleb Carr on June 26, 1744.
On February 6, 1764, John Straight of West Greenwich, yeoman, purchased of Silas wood of Conventry, with wife Jane Wood releasing her dower rights, forty-eight acres in Coventry.
On March 12, 1784, John Strait of West Greenwich, sold to his son Thomas Strait (my first name's first appearance!) of same, yeoman, two pieces of land in Coventry, one of twenty-five acres adjoining Stephen Potter, and Spink Tarbox (I am definitely swiping that name for one of my fiction stories!), and the other of five acres.
Please note that this is the first time that my father started using Strait as the last name instead of Straight. I have not yet found what provoked this change. It is interesting that it occurred around the time of the revolution and the formation of our new country.
On May 20, 1784, John Strait of West Greenwich sold to his son, Samuel Strait of Coventry, twenty-five acres in Coventry adjoining Fones Potter, Spink Tarbox and Thomas Strait. Sounds like a group of characters in an English fantasy novel.
In the Rhode Island census of 1774, he is listed at West Greenwich as 3-0-2-1, implying himself and two sons over 16, his wife and one daughter over 16, and one daughter under 16.
In the U.S. census, also at Greenwich, he is listed as 2-1-6, implying himself and one son over 16, one son or grandson under 16, and six females. Awesome...apparently all the women were thrown into one category.
His will, dated June 2, 1791, proved April 30, 1972, names his wife, Mary, eldest son David, sons John, Samuel and Thomas, eldest daughter Mary Logee, daughters Rebecca Rathburn, and Dorcas Wood and grandson John Blanchard, son and heir of Rose Blanchard, deceased. The homestead farm is divided between the sons David and John, John to have the west half.
Although some of the documents refer to David as the eldest son, others say the birth order is uncertain. All I can say is that my father resumes the generational line with Samuel Strait, as the lead son of the fourth generation.
John Strait would be the first generation to go through the Revolutionary war period. There is no record of what he did, or how he felt about the conflict. He would have been 68 at the time of the Declaration of Independence. Although not a Mayflower family, the Straights had arrived in the colonies some 109 years before the Declaration of Independence.
I too am a descendant of Henry Straight (though his son John). One of the things that has always struck me about his record is that people use 1667, the date he apprenticed himself to Gershom Woddell, to estimate his year of birth (ca 1652.) But that estimate assumes that he was 14/15 at the time he was apprenticed, the normal age of apprenticeship at the time. It fails to take into account the fact that he apprenticed himself--something that wasn't likely to happen w/ a 14 year old--rather than being apprenticed by his parents or guardian. This strongly suggests that he was near or at his majority in 1667, giving a much more likely estimated of 1645. A second conundrum is whether he was b. in the Colonies or England, or indeed somewhere else in Europe, i.e., Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany? Y-DNA results (Haplogroup Old--R1b1a2, new--RP311) indicate a more than fair likelihood of one of these other localities. Indeed, one of my closest matches is a man who is a 2nd generation Brit, his father having settled there from the Netherlands.
ReplyDeleteMy Dad's records indicates Wales as the point of origin. But I am sure that it is more complex than that. My Dad's records uses 1852, but states that the actual birth date is unknown. Based on what you're saying he could very well have been older.
ReplyDeleteCrap...I meant 1652. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteI too am a descendant of Henry Straight 1652 we have a complete genealogy from Henry down through dad Charley Straight 1909 His father , my grandfather was a brother to Davis Henry Straight. My email is jstraight@nationstraight.com if any want to talk. I live in Tulsa.
ReplyDeleteI suspect that we may related, as my great-grandmother--Alice Strait (Holcomb)--hailed from the Hillsdale area of Michigan. The remainder of the family tree is a direct match to what I've been able to discover thus far. Thanks for providing the additional detail.
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