Estabrook Genealogy

This has been a well-known family name in Carleton County since the early 1800's, and in the southern part of New Brunswick since the 1760s. According to the "Genealogy of the Anglo-Dutch Estabrooks Family of the Saint John River, New Brunswick", compiled by Florence C. Estabrooks of Saint John, N.B., in 1935, revised 1958, the most remote ancestor of the Carleton County families was Joseph A. Estabrooks (sometimes spelled Estabrook, Esterbrook, Easterbrook, Estabrooke, Estbrok and a few other variants). He apparently was of some consequence for his son Joseph received a preparatory education in England before entering Harvard College at Cambridge, Mass.

Joseph Estabrooks Jr. was born in England about 1640 and arrived in Boston in 1660. He entered Harvard and was graduated in 1664. He was made a freeman at Cambridge, Mass., May 3, 1665. In 1657 he was ordained as collegue of the Rev. Peter Bulkeley, minister of the church in Concord, Mass., and on Mr. Bulkeley's death in 1696, became pastor of the church, continuing in that office until his own death Sept. 16, 1711, at the age of 71 years. On May 20, 1668, he married at Watertown, Mass., Mary, daughter of Capt. Hugh and Esther Mason of that place. She was born Dec. 18, 1640.

His salary at Concord was 80 pounds of which 40 pounds was to be paid in money and 40 pounds in grain. On the 12th of March, 1681, the town voted: "that every householder that hath a team shall carry yearly one load of wood to the minister, and every other householder or votable person shall cut wood one day for the minister, and that the wood be equally divided to the minister as the selectmen shall appoint".

On his death the Boston "News Letter" of Sept. 18, 1711, said: "This day was interred in Concord the Rev. Joseph Estabrook, minister of the gospel in said town for about 44 years (and many of them was colleague to the famous Mr. Bulkeley). He was eminent for his skill in the Hebrew language, and a most orthadox, learned and worthy divine; of excellent principles in religion, indefatigably laborious in the ministry, and of holy life and conversation."

The church in which Rev. Joseph Estabrooks preached was the church on the hill near the centre of the old burying ground. It was the one first erected by the colonists. After his death the congregation decided to build a larger, more convenient edifice; so down near the square in 1712 they built the beautiful colonial building which was to witness some of the most stirring events of the American revolution.

The children of Rev. Joseph and Mary (Mason) Estabrooks were:

Joseph; Benjamin (Harvard, 1690, minister at Lexington, died 1697); Mary; Samuel (Harvard, 1696, minister at Canterbury, Conn., 1711-1727); Daniel; and Ann Estabrooks.

Joseph Estabrooks, son of Joseph and Mary (Mason) Estabrooks, was born at Concord, Mass., May 6, 1669. He married first, Dec. 31, 1689, at Cambridge Farms, Mass., Melicent, daughter of Henry W. Woods of Conn. She died at Concord, March 26, 1692, and he married second, Hannah, widow of Joseph Loring and daughter of John Leavitt of Hingham, Mass. Hannah Loring had a daughter, Submit, by her first husband who married Joseph's son, Joseph IV, by Melicent Woods in 1713 and thus brought the name "Submit" into the Estabrooks family.

Joseph III bought a farm in Lexington in 1693. It was quite near the Green on the Lexington-Concord road. He was highly respected, commanded a military company, was town clerk, treasurer, assessor, selectman and representative to the General Court. He was also engaged to teach the first man's school in the town. He died at Lexington Sept. 23, 1733. His children, born in Concord and Lexington were: Joseph IV; John; Solomon; Hannah; Melicent; and Elijah Estabrooks.

Elijah, son of Joseph III and Hannah (Leavitt) Estabrooks, was born in Lexington, August 25, 1703. He married, Oct. 1, 1724, in Boston, Hannah Daniel of Sherborn, Mass. She was born April 6, 1702, at Sherborn, daughter of Robert and Hester Daniel.

Elijah and Hannah's place of residence between 1724 and 1734 is unknown. There is a tradition on the St. John River that their son, Elijah, was born in England, and that Elijah Sr. brought his family back to America in 1730. They possibly lived in Rhode Island from 1730 to about 1734 when they removed to Sherborn, Mass., where Hannah (Daniel's) family lived, and where Elijah's sister, Hannah Estabrooks (Mrs. Joseph Frost) lived. Elijah's health may have been failing for he died in1740.

Elijah and Hannah (Daniel) Estabrooks had at least 8 children who were:

1. Mary, born c1725, probably in England, married Ebenezer Stone in Sherborn, Mass., April 11, 1752.

2. Elijah Jr., born c1728, probably in England, and later came to the Saint John River. There will be more about him in the next in this series.

3. Deborah, born c1729, probably in England, married Joseph Frost Jr. at Sherborn in 1753.

4. Submit, born c1730, place uncertain, married Aaron Sargent at East Haverhill, Mass., Nov. 16, 1757. They lived in Canterbury, N.H.

5. Hannah, born Sept. 29, 1734, at Sherborn. She never married but probably went to Haverhill, Mass., and probably was the Hannah Estabrooks mentioned among the householders there in 1798.

6. Joseph, born Aug. 10, 1736. He may have been a storekeeper at Montague, Mass.

7. Samuel, born Nov. 27, 1738. In March, 1757, his name appeared on a muster roll of the third foot company of Haverhill, enlisted to attempt the conquest of Canada.

8. Aaron, born March 20, 1740/41.

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