Appendix 7 -- Notes on the Ancestry of Abigail Andrews Hovey.

(Excepts from the Hovey Book of 1914, pp. x - xiii)

Abigail Andrews' father, Robert, retained the English way of spelling his name, signing it "Robert Andrewes"; the extra "e" in the final syllable being suggestive of the "ancient ancestry" of Suffolk County, England, that spelled it thus.

The widow of Thomas Andrewes, (Master of Trinity House), Mrs. Johane Andrewes, residing at London, on "Tower Hill, All Saints Barking," left a will which is found in "Genealogical Gleanings in England," Vol I, p. 603. She mentions her son, Lancelot, the Bishop of Winchester, who lived in the reigns of Elizabeth, James I, (whom he assisted to crown), and Charles I. He was first in the list of fifty-four learned men selected to make what is known as King James' "authorized version" of the Bible. The will also mentions her son, Thomas; and her brother-in-law, William, to whom (along with Richard Ireland) she left "one-third part of the ship called 'the Mayflower,'" on certain conditions. It is said that William came to America in 1663, after the original Pilgrims arrived, and settled in Boston. This will likewise mentions a brother-in-law Robert Andrewes.

The Bishop's will, found on pp. 609 and 610 of the same volume, names numerous relatives, among them his "cousin Robert Andrewes." Thomas and Richard Andrewes are mentioned in Bradford's Letter-Book, as among the forty-two merchant adventurers of London who financed the Plymouth Plantation; and Thomas at least belonged subsequently to the Massachusetts Company. Both names figure frequently on the pages of what is sometimes styled "The Log of the Mayflower."

How the foregoing persons stood related, if at all, to Captain Robert Andrewes, master and owner of the Angel Gabriel, we do not certainly know; but they shared in planting New England.

The Angel Gabriel was an armed ship that came as consort of the James, in August 1635, and both were caught in a terrible thunder storm,⁽¹⁾ and had to part company. The James anchored near the Isles of Shoals, and the Angel Gabriel off Pemaquid, on the coast of Maine. The diary of Rev. Richard Mather, published by Dr. Young, in 1846, and republished by the Dorchester Antiquarian and Historical Society, gives an account of that disastrous gale, as it imperilled the James, which finally arrived "rent in sunder and split in pieces" in the Boston harbor. Mr. Mather remarks that "The Angel Gabriel was the first vessel which miscarried with passengers from Old England to New." It was built for Sir Walter Raleigh, and sailed from Bristol, England, and was of 240 tons burden, carrying sixteen guns. For a full account of the wreck of this gallant ship, we refer the reader to Chapter XI of a book entitled "Ten Years at Pemaquid," and to Vols. XXX, and XXXIX of the Massachusetts Archives. Omitting details it interests us that among the rescued passengers, besides Captain Andrewes and his family, were his three nephews, John, Thomas and Robert Burnham, sons of his sister Mary, who had been put under the charge of their uncle. These all, with a London merchant, named John Coggswell, afterwards settled in the town of Ipswich. From the town records it appears that large land grants were made in 1635 to Mr. Coggswell, and considerable grants were made to Robert Andrewes. The latter was also licensed to "keep ordinary (an inn) in the plantation where he lives during the pleasure of the court." It was agreed that he might sell wine, "if he do not unwittingly sell to such as abuse it by drunkenness." This was probably the first case of the kind in this region. Under the circumstances it proved the confidence men had in Mr. Andrewes as a man of discretion and integrity.

In Waters's "Ipswich," pg. 58, it is stated that road surveyors were appointed in January, 1640-1, and that Mr. Robert Andrewes was one of the first four men designated for that responsible office. Their task was to transform crooked paths and grass-grown lanes into passable highways for ox-carts and primitive carriages. It was also their duty to detect encroachments on the roadways and to enforce the laws for repairing the same by the labor of all "youths above 14 years of age." They had power to call out all the Town for at least one day's work with men and teams for mending walls and wharves.

The will of Robert Andrewes, March first, 1643, mentions his wife, Elizabeth, his sons John and Thomas, his grandchildren, one of them being his "son-in-law Franklyn's daughter," and the other "my son Daniel Hovey's child, Daniel Hovey my grandchild." The mother of the former has been identified as Alice, and the mother of the latter was Abigail, as proved by Daniel Hovey's will. In order of age they were Alice, Abigail, John and Thomas. Robert Andrewes provided by his will for the education of his younger son, Thomas, who also had further aid by a legacy from John Ward, and became the school master of Ipswich, concerning whose estate Daniel Hovey made a certificate. The will of Robert Andrewes names his nephews, John, Thomas and Robert Burnham, who were with him on the Angel Gabriel. The family of the Captain must have included our colonial grandmother, Abigail, who was married to Daniel Hovey six years later. John, mentioned in the will as the eldest son, must also have been a survivor of that shipwreck. Hammatt states that the latter was in the Pequot War, being first Corporal, then Lieutenant. He moderated the town meeting, August 23, 1687, when sturdy resistance was made to the tyrant, Sir Edmund Andros, who violated the terms of the charter of the colony by levying taxes without consent of the General Court. In memory of that event the seal of Ipswich bears the motto: "The Birthplace of American Independence, 1687."

1. See "The Great Storm of 1635." Essex Antiq. Vol I., p. 63.