John Macomber & Mary Brownell Davol

Macomber is one of those names that I came across fairly early in my genealogical research.  Ruth Macomber was married to William Gage and the mother of Potter Gage of whom I wrote about earlier.  She was one of 16 children and was the daughter of John Macomber and Mary Brownell Davol. 

 

John Macomber was born on 26 Dec 1734 in Dartmouth, Bristol Co., MA to William J. Macomber and Lydia Tripp.  John Macomber married Mary Brownell Davol probably around 1759 as the first of their children were born the next year.  He served in the Revolutionary War on the Massachusetts line.  You might say that John Macomber lived during possibly one of the most important time periods of United States history in possibly one of the most active historical locations. His ancestors had been among the earliest settlers in America, from the Macombers in the early 1600’s in Massachusetts or the Tripps in Rhode Island.   After the Revolutionary War, John Macomber is still recorded in Massachusetts in the first national census of 1790.  However, a short time later, he left Massachusetts for New York State.  John Macomber died at the family farm in Dutchess Co., NY on 13 Apr 1802, living just nine days longer than his wife.

Like her husband, Mary Brownell Davol was born in Massachusetts.   She was born about 1745 probably around Dartmouth, MA.  She was the daughter of Silas Davol, Sr and Mary Wilbore.  The Davol name is spelled several ways…sometimes it is Devol and sometimes Duel.  It makes it an interesting line to research.   Her earliest Davol ancestor, William, probably arrived sometime after his marriage to Elizabeth Isabel Anderson in 1639.  Mary’s earliest Wilbore ancestor in America was William Wilbore who probably arrived sometime before 1653 when he married Martha Holmes in Rhode Island.  Mary died on 4 Apr 1802 in Dutchess Co., NY.

Mary Brownell Davol and John Macomber are another one of the examples of my family lines that originated in New England and moved to New York.  All of these New England families moved from places like Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island and arrived in New York sometime around 1790 – give or take a few years. 

I have no idea where John and Mary are buried for sure…the family farm in Dutchess Co., NY is an ambiguous location at best.  Perhaps a cemetery still exists…and perhaps not.  After 200 years, it is unlikely that I will ever know.  It is obvious that when they moved to New York that they lived in close proximity to a few families.   The surnames of Gage, Mosher, and Hammond are prominent in the Macomber spouses. Here is a list of their children:

• Patience Macomber b. 29 Apr 1760 d. 10 Aug 1833 m. Caleb Palmer
• Child Macomber b. 14 Dec 1761 d. 28 Feb 1763
• Child Macomber b. 19 Mar 1763 d. 14 Apr 1763
• Wesson Macomber b. 12 Mar 1764 d. 1814 Grand Isle, VT m Mary Mosher
• Hannah Macomber b. 18 Nov 1765 d. 30 Apr 1816 m. Moses Gaige (brother of William Gage)
• John Macomber b. 6 Oct 1767 d. 28 Jul 1842 m. Mary Briggs
• Mary Macomber b.  2 Jul 1769 d. 12 May 1801 m. Simeon Gage (brother of William Gage)
• Lydia Macomber b. 14 Nov 1771 d. ? m. Abraham Mosher
• Ruth Macomber b. 9 Oct 1773 d. 1844 m. William Gage (my 5^th Great Grandparents)
• Benjamin Macomber b. 2 Jun 1775 d. 1857 m. Mercy Gage (sister of William Gage)
• Zilla Macomber b. 6 Mar 1777 d. Feb 1860 m. Perry Potter
• Sarah Macomber b. 11 Oct 1778 d. 27 Apr 1864 m. Esock Wilbore
• Jeremiah Macomber b. 31 Mar 1781 d. ? m. ? Allen
• Joseph Macomber b. 14 Jun 1783 d. 21 Nov 1859 m. Maria Hammond m2. Elizabeth Thompson
• Margaret Macomber b. 8 Sep 1785 d. ? m. Eliakim Hammond
• Phebe Macomber b. 19 Jul 1787 d. abt 1846 d. Abraham Davis

 

Grave of William Gage and Ruth Macomber at Knox Cemetery, Knox, NY