John Barlow of  Fairfield, Connecticut

John Barlow was probably born around 1600 and probably in England. This estimate of his birthyear is based primarily on the assumption that he was about twenty years old when his first child was born in 1620- 25.

John Barlow's parents and birthplace are not known from the records. It has long been a family tradition that he was a descendant of Roger Barlow (ca. 1500 - 1553) who was the first of the name to settle in Pembrokeshire, Wales, where he purchased an estate, Slebetch Manor, from the crown in 1546. The family tradition goes on to say that Joel Barlow, a descendant of John Barlow, applied for and was given the privilege of the Barlow of Slebetch arms by the English College of Arms when he was in England in the late 18th century. Matthews' American Armoury and Blue Book [54] gives Joel as the holder of the arms. Based seemingly upon this, a number of references have stated that John Barlow was born in Pembrokeshire, Wales.

However, no record of Joel Barlow's inquiry to the College of Arms has been found and their records do not show any connection between John Barlow and Roger Barlow, according to correspondence with the College of Arms. Mr. P.Ll. Gwynn-Jones, the Lancaster Herald of The College of Arms at London states in a 1993 letter [55] that "There is nothing in the Records of the College of Arms to support the proposition that Joel Barlow sought and obtained the right to use Arms which were identical with or similar to the Arms of the Slebech or Slebetch Barlows, or any other Arms."

It has also been suggested that John Barlow's parents were Sir Alexander Barlow and his second wife Mary Brereton, but no proof of it has been given. Sir Alexander was a descendent of the Barlows of Barlow Hall of Lancashire, England, and Sir Montague Barlow says in his book Barlow Family Records that Alexander's  children were Margaret Barlow, who married Sir John Talbot; Sir Alexander Barlow; Rudesind Barlow (1585- 1656), a Benedictine monk; and Edward Barlow (1587-1641), whose was also a Benedictine monk and was known as Father Ambrose [56].

John Barlow was an early settler at Fairfield, Connecticut, but he was not among the first [46]. The migration patterns of other settlers seems to suggest that John and his family came to New England in the late 1630's, stayed briefly at Watertown, Massachusetts, then probably following the trail to Windsor, then down the Connecticut River to Wethersfield and then overland for the final leg of the journey to Fairfield.

The first group of Fairfield settlers that came in with Roger Ludlow, after he had received permission to settle the area in September 1639 from the General Court at Hartford, included John Green, Thomas Staples, Thomas Newton, Edward Jessop and Edmund Strickland. Others, mostly from Watertown according to Farnham [47] followed shortly, and apparently included John Barlow and his family. Edward Jessop and Edmund Strickland did not stay at Fairfield very long; they moved on to Long Island and sold their Fairfield lands to Robert Hawkins and John Barlow [45], respectively, probably around 1640. Fairfield originally consisted of but eight or ten families, living along five roads that Ludlow established. These roads created four squares, each comprising twenty-five or thirty acres. John Barlow's home-lot, which was originally Edmund Strickland's, was situated with those of Roger Ludlow, Thomas Staples, Thomas Newton and Robert Hawkins (originally Edward Jessop's) in the so-called Ludlow Square.

Roger Ludlow was born at Dinton, Wiltshire, England, in 1590 and was a son of a West Country gentry family that had become prominent during the reign of Henry VIII. He attended Balliol College, Oxford, and later studied law at the Inner Temple. A Puritan and an officer of the Massachusetts Bay Company, he sailed to New England in March 1630 on the Mary and John out of Plymouth, England. He was one of the founders of Dorchester, Massachusetts, was Deputy Governor of the Massachusetts colony in 1634, was the principal draftsman of the Fundamental Orders, the basis of government in Connecticut until the Charter of 1662, and in 1651-53 was commissioner of the United Colonies of New England.

John Barlow sold his original home-lot to Thomas Morehouse before 1653 and moved to unsettled land north of the village center. This was afterwards called "Barlow's Plain." John Barlow and his son John were accepted as freemen in 1664 and they participated in the various land divisions that were granted to the owners of estates in January 1668/9, February 1668/9, January 1670/1, February 1671/2, March 1681/2, February 1682/3, and April 1688.

John Barlow died around the first of June 1674, probably at his home at Fairfield.

His will reads as follows:

Imprimus: I Comit my soul into ye hands of my faythfull Creator upon his pleasing shall be to require it and my body to a Comely buriall. And for my wordly goods my funeral expenses first defrayed and my debts discharged I dispose as follows: I give and bequeath to my loving wife Anne Barlowe all my Lands housing Cattles of all sorts and all my moveable estate. I give and bequeathe the premises and every part of them to my Loving sonn John Barlow and to my daughters Elizabeth frost Martha Beers Deborah Sturgis Issable Clapham and Ruth Bradlee to be equally divided among them. And whereas Inconveniences may follow by dividing some parcell of land or particulars Chattles or moveables my will is that whichsoever of the six above named Legatees will give the greatest price for the same shall have it. In witness thereof I have hear unto set my hand this eigh t day of March one thousand six hundred seventy foure. Witnesses John Barlowe James Beers Junior Seal Robert Romsie

The inventory of his estate was taken on June 09, 1674, by George Squire Sr., Richard Ogden and John Burr, and the will was proved on November 03, 1674, at Fairfield. An agreement between his son and two of his sons-in-law was entered into on November 20, 1674 [41].

No gravestone has been found for either John or Ann Barlow.

John Barlow was a contemporary of Thomas Barlow of Fairfield.  see article.  He may have been a brother, a nephew or a cousin, a speculation based solely on the surname - no relationship can be gleaned from the records.

It is also an old family tradition or legend that James Barlow of Suffield, Connecticut, was John Barlow's brother. It is not known where this story originated but it has been repeated in Reynold's Biographical Review of Southern New York and in an article by Cholly Knickerbocker in the old New York Journal American. In his book " The Israel Barlow Story and Mormon Mores, Ora H. Barlow offers significant proof that James Barlow, who was born in 1659, or some 59 years after John, was a son of the immigrant Edmund Barlow of Malden, Massachusetts, and a grandson of James Barlow of Turton, Lancashire, England.       See the preceding article on Edmund Barlow

John Barlow met and married his wife Ann before coming to New England, probably around 1620 and probably in England. It has been suggested that her maiden surname was Ward but there is yet no proof of it. She died probably early in 1685 and probably at Fairfield. The inventory of her estate was taken on February 25, 1684/5, and was filed on March 10, 1685 [41]

With one possible exception, John and Ann Barlow's children are given in his will. Their birth order as given here is primarily based on the custom in colonial wills to list children first by sex and then by birth order. That is, sons were listed first in their birth order and then the daughters in their birth order.

The "possible exception" to John Barlow's family is Ann Barlow. According to Jacobus [40] she was "called" John Barlow's daughter in the Colonial Records. She was not, however, listed in either his or his wife's will. She was still living at the time of John and Ann Barlow's deaths, and while she had moved to New York, she was not that far away. If she had been "disinherited" or "disowned" for some reason, she probably would have been mentioned in the will, if only to exclude her. The suspicion occurs that she was either a younger sister or a niece of John Barlow. In any event, until better information is obtained, she continues to be listed as the oldest daughter.

Thus John and Ann Barlow's children were:

She married Samuel Drake on September 13, 1650, at Fairfield  [48] This marriage was also recorded as September 30, 1650, by the Rev. Silas Constant of the Yorktown, New York, Presbyterian Church.

They moved to Eastchester, New York, in 1663 and Samuel Drake died there in 1686. He was a son of John and Elizabeth (Rogers) Drake who came from England in 1630 [49]. Ann died after December 12, 1691  [50], probably at Eastchester.

Their children were:

John Drake, born in 1654

Joseph Drake, born in 1663 and died on May 12, 1732

Rebecca Drake

Ruth Drake

Samuel Drake, died in 1690

Hannah Drake

Mary Drake

She married Daniel Frost around 1640-42 at Fairfield and was his second wife. He was born around 1613 in England, was baptized on January 17, 1612/3, at St. Mary's, Nottingham, and was a son of William Frost who came to New England from Nottingham in 1639. She died in 1686.

Their children were:

Rebecca Frost, born in 1640, married Simeon Booth

Sarah Frost, born around 1644, married Samuel Smith

Rachel Frost, born around 1647, married Robert Rumsey

Hannah Frost, born around 1648, married John Thorp

Daniel Frost, born around 1650, married Mary Rowland

Joseph Frost, born around 1652, married Elizabeth Hubbell

Isaac Frost, born around 1654, died in 1684

Esther Frost, born around 1656  [37,47]

Martha Barlow was born probably around 1625 and probably in England.

She married James Beers around 1659 at Fairfield, when he bought land there. He came to Watertown, Massachusetts, as a youth with his uncle in 1635, and was a son of James Beers of Gravesend, Kent, England. He was an early settler at Southport, Connecticut, and he subsequently became one of the largest landholders at Fairfield. He died in 1694 and she died in 1698, both at Fairfield.

Their children were:

James Beers, born in 1662 and died in 1691

Martha Beers, who married Joseph Bulkley

Deborah Beers, who married Samuel Hull

Joseph Beers, died in 1696

Elizabeth Beers, who married John Darling [45].

Deborah Barlow was born probably around 1630 and probably in England.

She married John Sturges (or Sturgis) in 1650 at Fairfield. He was born around 1624, probably in England, and he settled at Fairfield in 1660. He died in 1700, probably at Fairfield.

Their children were:

Jonathan Sturges, born around 1651, married Susannah Banks

Joseph Sturges, born around 1654, married Sarah Beers

Sarah Sturges, born around 1661-63, married Richard Straten

Deborah Sturges, born around 1659-62, married James Redfield

John Sturges, born around 1655-60, married Mary Goodwin

Abigail Sturges, born around 1663-73, married Simon Couch

Thomas Sturges, born around 1657-68  [45]

Isabella Barlow was born probably around 1632 and probably in England.

She married Peter Clapham around 1660 at Fairfield. He was born around 1628 and he died on February 18, 1698.

Their only child was Abigail Clapham who married Thomas Merwin in March 1678/9 at Fairfield.

Ruth Barlow was born probably around 1640 and probably in Massachusetts.

She married Francis Bradley around 1660-61 at Fairfield. He was born in 1625 in England and was an apprentice to Governor Theophilus Eaton at New Haven before coming to Fairfield in 1660. He died in October 1689 at Fairfield.

Their children were:

Ruth Bradley, born in 1662, married Thomas Williams

John Bradley, born in 1664, married Hannah Sherwood

Abigail Bradley, born in 1667, did not marry

Francis Bradley, born in 1670, married Sarah Jackson

Daniel Bradley, born in 1673, married Abigail Jackson

Joseph Bradley, born in 1676, married Eleanor ----

Mary Bradley, born on December 05, 1677

Second Generation

John Barlow was born probably around 1635 and possibly in England or Massachusetts. He had a home-lot on Main Street at Stratford, Fairfield County, Connecticut, in 1660. As a landowner he was probably at least 21 years old at this time. He sold this lot to John Hurd and moved back to Fairfield before 1668. John Hurd (1613-1681) was a miller and with Thomas Sherwood built the first mill at Old Mill Green, in 1653, where he was among the first residents in that part of town.

John Barlows will was dated January 28, 1690/1, and named his wife Abigail his sons John, Joseph and Samuel, and his daughters Abigail, Deborah, Elizabeth and Ruth. The inventory of his estate was taken on March 06, 1690/1 [41].

John Barlow married Abigail Lockwood probably around 1667 and probably at Fairfield. She was born around 1640 probably at Watertown, Massachusetts, and was a daughter of Robert and Susanna (Norman) Lockwood, who had moved to Fairfield from Watertown about 1652.

The children of John and Abigail Barlow were:

Abigail Barlow was born in 1671 at Fairfield.

She married first Jonathan Rowland on January 18 or 28, 1690, at Fairfield [7]. He was a son of Henry and Rebecca Rowland of Fairfield and he died in 1691

Their children were:

Jonathan Rowland, born in 1690

Abigail Rowland, born in 1691-2

Abigail (Barlow) Rowland married second Samuel Denton, a son of Samuel Denton of Hempstead, Long Island.

Their children were:

Ruth Denton, born on November 10, 1693

John Denton, born in 1695-6

Martha and Mary Denton, twins born on January 09, 1697/8

John Denton, born on January 12, 1699/1700

Deborah Denton, born in September 1701

twin daughters born on April 21, 1704, and died a day or so later

Joseph Denton, born on May 9, 1705

Ceziah Denton, born on July 12, 1707

Jemima Denton, born on August 05, 1709

Ann Denton, born on April 27, 1712

Deborah Barlow was born about 1675 at Fairfield  [40]. She died on December 04, 1726, in her 52nd year at Stratfield, Connecticut, and was buried there in the Old Stratfield Cemetery.

She married John Burr before November 03, 1698, at Fairfield and they had a child:

John Burr (1698-1752)

She married first Jeremiah Fowler of Westchester, New York, around 1692 at Fairfield, and they moved to Eastchester, New York. He was born around 1671 at Providence, Rhode Island, and was a son of Henry and Rebecca (Newell) Fowler. He died in the fall of 1723 at Eastchester. His will was dated September 26, 1723, and was proved on December 23, 1723.

Elizabeth (Barlow) Fowler married second Miles Oakley around 1724. He was born on December 24, 1671, at Throgg's Neck, Westchester County, New York, and was a son of Miles and Mary Oakley. He married third Hannah (Horton) Robinson, the widow of Thomas Robinson, around 1730 and they moved to Harlem, New York, before 1733. He died before 1762.

Joseph Barlow was born on September 01, 1677, at Fairfield [48]. Note that the recorded birthdates of Joseph and Elizabeth are too close and there is apparently some error. Jacobus seems to have recognized this error and placed Joseph's birth between that of his sisters Abigail and Deborah, but without explanation [40].

He married Sarah Read, a daughter of William and Deborah (Baldwin) Read of Fairfield. He died suddenly and intestate between July 06, and October 03, 1697. The inventory of his estate was taken on October 30, 1697, and his estate was distributed to his widow Sarah on November 13, 1698. No children were named in the settlement of his estate.

After Joseph's death his widow married second Zachariah Ferris, Jr. (1674-1749).

Ruth Barlow was born in 1680 at Fairfield [7].

She married John Morehouse at Fairfield between January 28, 1690/1, (the date of her father's will) and November 03, 1698.

John Barlow was born about 1668 at Fairfield, Connecticut  [40]. On September 19, 1692, at Fairfield, he testified in the Mercy Disbrow witch trial, which is the only record indicating his birth year. From the court records:

John Barlow, eaged 24 years or thairabout, saieth and sd testifieth that soumtime this last year, that I was in bedd in the hous that Mead Jesuop then livied in that Marsey Desbory came to me and layed hold on my fett and pinshed them looked wishley in my feass, and I strouff to rise and cold not and to speek and cold not. All the time that she was with me it was light as day as it seemed to me - but when she vanicht it was darck and I arose and hade a paine in my feet and leags, some time after an our or too it remained. Sometime before this aforesd Marcey and I had a falling out and shee sayed that if shee had but strength shee would teer me in peses.

John Barlow renewed his Covenant at the Fairfield Church of Christ on February 24, 1694/5, the same day his son was baptized there [45]. He was a Lieutenant in the West Company of the Fairfield Militia in May 1705 [40]

John Barlow died in 1715 at Fairfield. His will was dated July 31, 1710, was proved on April 6, 1715, and named his wife Ruth, his four sons, John, Samuel, Joseph and Francis, and his four daughters, Abigail, Ann, Sarah and Deborah. The distribution of his estate was made on January 22, 1717/8, to his widow Ruth and their four sons [41]

John Barlow married Ruth (Sherwood) Drake around 1692 at Fairfield [40]. She was a daughter of Thomas and Ann (Turney) Sherwood and the widow of Samuel Drake who had died in 1690/1.

John and Ruth Barlow's children were:

Samuel Barlow was born on November 14, 1695, at Fairfield [48] and was baptized on April 26, 1696, in the Church of Christ at Fairfield [45].

He married Sarah Sherman and they had four children. He died in 1734 at Fairfield [41]

Abigail Barlow was born on June 30, 1697, at Stratford [40] and was baptized on September 05, 1697, in the Church of Christ at Fairfield [45].

An Elizabeth Barlow was recorded as born to John Barlow's wife on June 03, 1697, at Fairfield [48] and this perhaps was Abigail. She married William Hill about 1716 [48] She died on April 16, 1743, at age 47 at Fairfield and was buried there in the Greenfield Hill Cemetery [40]

Ann Barlow was born on October 6, 1699, at Fairfield [48] and was baptized on November 19, 1699, in the Church of Christ at Fairfield [45]. She died in November 1764 at Westport, Connecticut [40].

She married Jeremiah Sturgis on September 1, 1720, at Fairfield [48]

Joseph Barlow was baptized on March 16, 1706/7 [45]

He married but his wife's name is not known.
He died before his father's will of April 29, 1743.

Daniel Barlow was baptized on October 28, 1711 [45], and died in infancy [40]

Elizabeth Barlow was baptized on June 20, 1714 [45].

She married Benjamin Sturgis [40].

David Barlow was baptized on March 01, 1718/9 [45].

He married first Susannah Hubbard, a daughter of Zechariah and Mary (Hobby) Hubbard, on December 27, 1743, at Fairfield [48] and second Esther Sturgis, a daughter of Jeremiah Sturgis, on November 29, 1750, at Fairfield [48] He died and was buried on October 07, 1795, at Fairfield [53].

Ann Barlow was baptized on November 8, 1721 [45]

She married first Joseph Sturges of Stamford, Connecticut, on March 11, 1749/50 [45]. He was baptized on October 05, 1712, and was the son of Christopher and Mary (Godwin) Sturges of Stamford.

She married second William Knowles of New Milford, Connecticut [40].
She died on July 26, 1801, in her 80th year, at Stratfield, Connecticut, and was buried in the Stratfield Cemetery.

Grace Barlow was baptized on May 24, 1724 [45]

She married first Benjamin Lines (c.1717-c.1755), a son of Benjamin and Esther (Sturgis) Lines, on May 30, 1742, in the Greenfield Hill Church at Fairfield.

She married second Jonathan Darrow [40].