The first MACOMBERS of record in America are two brothers, William and John.
William and John are born and raised in England. They immigrate to America in 1638.
Their parents, John Macomber and Edith Locke, are Scots
Boarding ship in England in preparation for the long voyage to America
The thirteen English colonies that declared their independence from Great Britain on the Fourth of July 1776 were established by optimistic individuals seeking a new way of life in a wilderness where their notions of freedom, religion, opportunity, and self-reliance could be exercised. From these beginnings sprang one of the greatest nations of all time, and the MACOMBERS have been an integral part of it from the earliest generation to the latest.
Note: this work uses the convention of typing MACOMBER with capital letters to represent the same ancestral family line despite various spelling variations that have evolved from one generation to the next. See Appendix A –Macomber Spelling Variations– for further details.
The First MACOMBERS in America
The first MACOMBERS of definite record in America are two brothers, William and John. Both William and John first appear in colonial records in America in 1638, which is less than 18 years after the landing of the Mayflower and more than 138 years before the Declaration of Independence. Other MACOMBERS subsequently appear in colonial records, but as shall be shown in this work, all of these early colonial MACOMBERS are descendants of either William or John. In addition, as shall be shown in this work, the vast majority of MACOMBERS in America are descended from these early colonial MACOMBERS.
In the following chapters, we will elaborate on the records of William and John and their descendants in the colonies of America, but first let us present a few introductory particulars.
The English Childhood of William and John
William and John Macomber were born in or around Bridport, Dorset, England. There is a church in Bridport called Saint Mary’s that was built in stages starting sometime before the year 1263. Parish records indicate that William was christened at Saint Mary’s on Lady’s Day , 25 Mar 1610, and John was christened at Saint Mary’s on 26 Oct 1613. It was customary at the time in the Church of England to christen children as soon as possible after birth; furthermore, there were churches in all major towns in England at this time; thus, it is likely that William and John were born only a couple of days before their christenings in or around the town of Bridport.
The records of Saint Mary’s also show that the parents of William and John were John Macomber and Edith Locke, who were married in the church of Saint Mary’s in Bridport on 8 Jun 1607.
The town of Bridport grew up centered on the rope industry during the Middle Ages as evidenced by the following excerpt, “following King John’s request that the townsfolk make ‘night and day as many ropes for ships both large and small and as many cables as you can’. Hemp and flax were grown locally, and the ropes were originally laid out in long rope walks extending from the back of houses.”
William and John obviously grew up in and around Bridport because their parents and other siblings appear in the records of Saint Mary’s throughout William and John’s early years as evidenced in the tables presented hereafter.
Exhibit 4: Front View of Saint Mary’s Church
Exhibit 5: Left Side View of Saint Mary’s Church
Exhibit 6: Inside View of Saint Mary’s Church
Exhibit 7: Rear View of Saint Mary’s Church
Exhibit 8: Rear Entrance View of Saint Mary’s Church
Exhibit 9: Tower View of Saint Mary’s Church
To understand the dates presented in the following tables and elsewhere in Bygone Days prior to 1752, it is helpful to understand the differences between the Old Style (or Julian) calendar and the New Style (or Gregorian) calendar systems.
Parts of Europe adopted the New Style or Gregorian calendar in 1592; however, England, Scotland and the English colonies in America did not adopt the New Style until 160 years later in 1752. The New Style corrected a flaw in the Old Style that consisted of miscalculated leap years that caused the Old Style Julian calendar to lag the solar year by several days.
When a country switched to the New Style calendar system, several days were omitted to bring the calendar in sync with the current solar year; the number of days omitted depended on when the transition from the old to the new style occurred. In 1592, ten days were omitted, and in 1752, eleven days were omitted. Also, in the new system, a new year started on January 1, but in the old system, a new year started on March 25, which was Lady’s Day (exactly nine months before December 25, or the day celebrated as the immaculate conception). Thus, January 16, 1633 in the Old Style would be January 6 1634 in the New Style. Because parts of Europe adopted the New Style calendar system in 1592, but England did not until 1752, from 1592 to 1752 English dates between January 1 and March 25 were often written with the Old Style Julian calendar date, but with both the Julian and Gregorian calendar years separated by a slash, (for example, January 16, 1633/4). Dates after March 25 would be the same year in either the old or the new systems. In the records of Saint Mary’s during the 1600’s, events between January 1 and March 25 were often written using the Julian date and both the Julian and Gregorian years separated by a slash.
Be aware that some authors, unaware of the irregular, country-by-country transition from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar systems and associated dating abnormalities, often miscalculate dates in their historical chronologies of Old and New World events between 1592 and 1752, which is subsequently carried forward into various genealogical records.
Table 1
Macomber Marriages at Saint Mary’s Church
Names of Husband and Wife and Date of Marriage
John Macomber
Edith Lock 8 Jun 1607
William Holway
Alice Macomber 14 Jul 1617
William Macomber
Ursula Thomas 16 Jan 1633/4
Table 2
Children of John and Edith Macomber Christened at Saint Mary’s
Name of Person Christened and Date of Christening
Thomas Macomber 12 Sep 1608
William Macomber 25 Mar 1610
Zephorah Macomber 1 Nov 1611
John Macomber 26 Oct 1613
Alice Macomber 23 Nov 1615
Edmond Macomber 24 Aug 1617
Richard Macomber 3 Dec 1619
Marie Macomber 12 Oct 1621
Thomas Macomber 14 Sep 1623
Edith Macomber 27 Dec 1625
Robert Macomber 2 Dec 1627
Table 3
Children of John and Edith Macomber Buried at Saint Mary’s
Name and Age of Person Buried and Date of Burial
Zephorah Macomber (5) 19 Jun 1617
Thomas Macomber (13) 13 Jan 1622/23
Thomas Macomber (4) 21 Mar 1627/28
Robert Macomber (4 months) 5 Apr 1628
Marie Macomber (10) 24 Jul 1632
It was customary in Europe during the 1600’s for parents to honor a deceased child by giving the deceased child’s name to the next child born. A close examination of the previous tables shows that John and Edith’s first son, Thomas, was buried on 13 Jan 1622/23 at the age of 13 (see Table 3), and the next male child born to John and Edith eight months later was christened Thomas on 14 Sep 1623 in honor of the first Thomas (see Table 2). This second Thomas born to John and Edith died at age three (see Table 3).
The MACOMBERS in England are Scots
The marriage of John Macomber and Edith Locke in 1607 is the first recording of MACOMBERS in Bridport, Dorset, England. This is to be expected since, as the surname indicates, the MACOMBERS are Scots, and generally, Scots did not reside in England prior to this time. During the late 1500’s and early 1600’s, however, Scots, including MACOMBERS, began to settle in England in a notable way because of a general feeling of goodwill between England and Scotland, and because of the influence of several individuals, including King James I, who was a Scot who inherited both the English and Scottish thrones in 1603. Several MACOMBER households appear in parish records in Dorset (or Dorset shire) and surrounding counties (or shires) during the late 1500’s and early 1600’s.
On 6 Jan 1633/4, 22-year-old William Macomber married Ursula Cooper at Saint Mary’s in Bridport (see Table 1). William and Ursula subsequently had a son they named Thomas who was christened at Saint Mary’s on 28 Feb 1635/6. As stated previously, William’s parents, John and Edith, had two sons named Thomas that died prior to the birth of William and Ursula’s son named Thomas (see tables 2 and 3). It appears that William and Ursula honored the deceased brothers of William by naming their first son Thomas. Note also that after the first Thomas died, William became the oldest living son of John and Edith, and since John and Edith had no more children after the second Thomas died, it would be appropriate for William and Ursula to honor William’s parents and deceased brothers by naming their first son Thomas.
Just 2-½ months after William and Ursula’s son, Thomas, is born, William’s mother, Edith, dies. Edith’s body was buried in the cemetery of Saint Mary’s on 10 May 1636.
Then, in 1638, within two years of the death of Edith, William Macomber (and subsequently Ursula and Thomas) are listed as being in Plymouth Colony in America. Also in 1638, William’s brother, John Macomber, is listed as being one of 43 males who settled on the island of Aguidneck (later called Rhode Island) about 40 miles southwest of Plymouth.
In the following chapters we will elaborate on the records of William and John and their descendants in the colonies of America, but first let us present in chapters two and three a panoramic view of major events that set the stage for William, Ursula, Thomas, and John leaving England for a new life in America.
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