and found a prominent statue of Colonel Thomas Knowlton in front of the building.
These pages record the genealogical search for ancestral information
by my mother and her ancestors.
The Knowlton and Gibson families have been collecting ancestral information for hundreds of years with a plethora of books and papers available. These records are amazingly accurate and correspond exceptionally well with information found on the Internet. Our family history is certainly noteworthy, with a few emotional and tragic events, and many ancestors exhibiting a significant influence on the founding of our country and the development of Europe and the western world.
The Shield: A red chevron with three crowns.
The Crest: "Argent, a chevron, between crowns and ducal coronets sable".
The Motto: "Vi et Virtute" Translated: By Strength and Valor.
The origin of the name Knowlton is from the old English,
"cnoll" (middle English, "knolle"), meaning a small rounded hill or mound
and the old English "tun", meaning an enclosed place, homestead or village;
so Knowlton means town, village or place on the hill.
Genealogy information and descendants of Captain William Knowlton, 1584-1632, from Kent, England
The
reference numbers after each Knowlton were assigned by genealogist,
Rev. Stocking in his 1897 book on the Knowlton Family History.
Stocking shows descent of William from Richard Knowlton and Elizabeth Candize which is contested by modern genealogists.
The questionable and undocumented line descends from Lord Perot Knowlton.
William Knowlton (1) b 1584 Kent, England m. Ann Elizabeth Smith
The link will take you to a 4th grade report written by Chris Gibson.
William is a fully approved, documented and cited, gateway ancestors,
and emigrated in 1632 to the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Our other maternal gateway ancestors are listed below.
There are at least three additional lines to William Knowlton in our family tree.
John Knowlton (2) b 1610, Kent, England m. Marjery Wilson
John Knowlton (5) b 1633, Ipswich, MA m. Deborah Grant
Deborah, related to Ulysses Grant, was directly descended,
multiple times, from both the Forbes and Kennedy families.
Nathaniel Knowlton (19) b 29 June 1658, Ipswich, MA m Deborah Jewett 3 Dec 1664
Nathaniel Knowlton (74) b 3 May 1683, Ipswich, MA m Reform Trescott his second wife.
His first wife was Marry Bennett, the mother of William.
A list of siblings and detailed information follows on this page.
Captain Samuel Knowlton (121) m. Anna Fellows
Brother of William Knowlton who was the father of Colonel Thomas Knowlton
Samuel was a decorated Captain in the Revolutionary War.
Jeremiah Knowlton (285) m. Anna Pierce
He was a first cousin to Colonel Thomas Knowlton, She was a cousin to Franklin Pierce.
John Knowlton (605) m. Sally Knowlton (706) (3rd cousins)
Sally's Father, Captain Joseph Knowlton was a cousin to Jeremiah and uncle of Colonel Thomas Knowlton
whom he fought alongside in the Revolutionary war.
Captain Joseph is also a direct descendant of Richard More, through the family of daughter Susan More.
Freeman Knowlton (1608) m. Abigail Hatch
John Watson Knowlton (3848) m. Aseneth Brown
(3850) b. 1838 John was a railroad mail agent and is descended from the well known Watson family through his mother.
Frank Adams Knowlton m.6 May,1889, Isabel Nellie Swett b.1868
b. July 9, 1865 d. Feb 1929 Frank was a dentist in Fairfield, ME
The Swett Family descends from a significant line of European Royalty and Nobility through the Mayhew family.
Thomas Mayhew Sr. and Thomas Mayhew Jr. Thomas Sr. was the founder and first Governor of Martha's Vineyard Island.
Benjamin F. M. Swett married Sophronia Norton, a direct descendant of the Adams family and seven Mayflower Pilgrims.
Jonathan Mayhew, a noted American clergyman, is credited with coining the phrase "no taxation without representation ."
Frank Watson Knowlton m. Letha Pearl Metzger
Early Bell Telephone employee and supervisor in Albany, NY
b. May 28, 1900 d. May 1928
Letha Pearl Metzger is descended from these early American colonial families:
James Williamson, Johannes Von Tschudi, Cornelius Janse Vanderveer, Hendrick Hendricksen Kip, Wolfert Gerretse Couwenhoven,
Giles Jason De Mandeville, Pieter Monfoort, Claes Cornelissen Van Schouwen, Johannes Theodorus Polhemius and Pieter Claesen Wyckoff.
Many descend from European royalty and are "first arrivals"(1625) of New Amsterdam, Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island and Long Island.
Sarah Jane Knowlton b. 1926
Only child of Frank Watson Knowlton and Letha Pearl Metzger, she was Raised in Norristown, PA by her Stepfather, Theodore Andreas Wiedemann.
m. Thomas Cushman Gibson b. 7/8/25-1996
Third son of Joseph Whitton Gibson, Raised in Norristown, PA,
Machine Tool Engineer, Designed aircraft carrier elevator lifting gears at Newark Gear
Thomas Knowlton b. 1948
Philip Cook b. 1950
David Cushman b. 11/20/1952-2/5/1987
Andrea Whitton b. 1956
Thomas Knowlton Gibson addresses the General Assembly
in Connecticut State Capitol Building in Hartford.
Thomas Knowlton Gibson b. 1948Eldest son of Thomas Cushman, Husband and Father, College Administrator and Professor,
Museum Curator, Summer Camp Director and Radio Engineer.
m. Cathy Ann Smith b.1960- Divorced November, 1999.
Christopher Thomas Gibson b.1990- High School Student,
Webelos Scout Award
with Arrow of Light Award
Jonathan Knowlton Gibson b.1993- High School Student,
Webelos Scout Award
with Arrow of Light Award
m. Kelly Beth Shealer 1959 - Wife and Mother, Registered Graduate Pediatric Nurse,
Wellspan Inc, Raising six children.
Many of our family ancestors were instrumental with
the drafting, signing or approving of significant historical
documents in the founding of our country, including
The
Magna Carta in
(1215); First, Second, & Third Virginia
Charters; Mayflower
Compact
(1620); Charter
of Massachusetts Bay
(1629); Pennsylvania
Charter
of Privileges
(1696); Resolutions of the Stamp Act (Oct. 19, 1765); Declaration
of Arms (July
6, 1775); Virginia
Declaration of Rights
(June 12, 1776);
Declaration
of Independence
(July 4, 1776); Articles
of Confederation
(Nov. 15, 1777) in York, PA; and finally the Constitution of the United States (1787).
Please view our complete family tree on Rootsweb.com, with more than 125,000 entries in 41,000 families.
If you have an Ancestry.com account, or are willing to sign up for a free one, you are invited to view our complete family tree.
It is one of the largest on the web, with more than 125,000 entries in 41,000 families, many going back more than 2000 years.
A few of the older listings on Ancestry.com (before 1500), are in error due to their "One
World Tree" systematic approach, please verify all sources.
Many of our ancestors are listed on the websites "The genealogy of 750,000 people connected to European Royalty", Cindi's List,
Colonists with Royal Ancestry
, and two superb genealogical surveys of the peerage of European royal families, and The Peerage.com.
The maternal
branch of the Gibson
family is directly
descended
from the following notable colonial
families.
We have identified almost 400 gateway
ancestors with more than 50 descended from about 2000 ancestors of*European
nobility.
* Many lines are through King Edward III of England or his grandfather King Edward I, and obviously their European Royal Ancestry through the Neville and Plantagenet trees.
The oldest known colonial
ancestor or
original
immigrant is noted, with * indicating one of more than fifty lines to European Royalty.
Most of our
ancestors are fully approved, documented
and cited, gateway
ancestors. The paternal half of this list is on the Gibson page.
*Adams, William married Elizabeth Kemp, ancestors of John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Samuel Adams and John Adams.
Our family has at least 7 ties with the Adams family of Quincy, Massachusetts, and is one of many lines to King Edward I of England.
*Adams, Joseph married Abigail Baxter, close relatives of Thomas Jefferson.
Allen, Bozoan married Ann Alby
Andrews, Robert married Grace Melburn
Andrews, Thomas married Martha Baker
Baker, Thomas married Priscilla Symonds, ancestors of both Thomas Cushman Gibson and Sarah Jane Knowlton.
Balch, John married Margaret Lovett
One of the oldest surviving wood frame houses in the United States was constructed by John Balch in 1636.
Bangs, Edward married Rebecca Hobart
Bennett, Anthony married Abigail Somes
Bird, Richard married Joanne Mitchell
Bird, Robert married Mary Popham
*Bompasse, Edward married Hannah Annable both early (1621) arrivals of the Plymouth Colony on the ship Fortune.
Our Bompasse family line is one of seven to King Edward III of England and obviously his Royal Ancestors, through the Neville and Plantagenet trees.
Bowers, George married Barbara Smyth
Bradford, William married
Bricker, Christian married Barbara Kissinger
Brown, William married Mary Murdock
Brown, William married *Susan Harding
*
Buck, Isaac married Francis Marsh, ancestors of John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Samuel Adams and John Adams.
*Carter, Thomas married Mary Parkhurst, related to Robert "King" Carter, Robert "Councillor" Carter and James Earl Carter.
We have at least five connections with this famous family with more ancestors named Carter than either Gibson or Knowlton.
Chesley, Philip married Elizabeth Leighton
Chittenden, Isaac married Martha Vinal
Clark, Thomas married Rose Kerrich, ancestors of both Thomas Cushman Gibson and Sarah Jane Knowlton.
Coit, John married Mary Stevens
Collins, Joseph married Ruth Knowles
Cooke, Josiah married Elizabeth Ring, ancestors of both Thomas Cushman Gibson and Sarah Jane Knowlton.
*Couwenhoven, Gerret Wolfertse Van, married Aeltje Cornelis Cool
Dalrymple, James married Eremiah Yeoman
*Denham, Thomas married Sarah Bompasse The Denham family descended from a significant Royal line.
Doane, John married Ann Perkins
Dyer, William Sr. married Dorothy Shirley
Dyer, William Jr. married *Mary Barrett, Mary was hung for being a Quaker in 1660. Please don't skip this incredible story.
Eliot, Francis married Mary Saunders
Fiske, David married Seaborn Wilson
French, Thomas married Mary Scudamore, both very early Boston residents.
George, John married Ann Goldstone
*Grant, James married Agnes Grant (1st cousins) Both James and Agnes had an incredible pedigree descending from European Royalty.
The were closely related to Ulysses Grant and directly descended, multiple times, from both the Forbes and Kennedy families.
The Forbes family has owned many of the Elizabeth Islands off of Cape Cod for almost 200 years. The town of Gosnold includes the island chain.
*Our Grant, Forbes and Kennedy family lines are three of the twenty eight lines through King Edward I of England.
Harding, Joseph married Martha Doane, both early arrivals of the Plymouth Colony on the ship Little James and ancestors of Warren G. Harding.
*Harrington, James married Ann Clinton, daughter of Thomas Clinton, grandson of the 1st Earl of Lincoln, ancestors of both Tom and Sally Gibson.
Hart, Isaac married Elizabeth Hutchinson, Elizabeth was one of the accused during the Salem Witchcraft Trials.
One of the oldest existing houses in the United States was constructed by Thomas Hart in 1640.
Higgins, Owen married Seaborn Tew
Hilliard, Emanuel married *Elizabeth Parkhurst
Hinkson, Peter married Elizabeth Underwood
*Holbrook, John married Elizabeth Stream, closely related to Zachary Taylor, Franklin Pierce and Chester Alan Arthur.
John's grandson John married Sarah Knowlton. He was the founder of Brattleboro, Vermont, where his home is now a museum.
Howland, Henry married Anne Margaret Aires, ancestors of both Thomas Cushman Gibson and Sarah Jane Knowlton.
Henry was an ancestor of seven presidents including Franklin D. Roosevelt, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and George W. Bush, as well as Sir Winston Churchill.
Both of my parents are descended from his son, John Howland, my mother is also descended from his brother Henry who married *Mary Newland.
Howland, John with
his wife Elizabeth
Tilley, and her
parents John
Tilley
and
Joan Hurst, all
arrived on the Mayflower
in 1620.
Jewett, William, married Ann Field
Kent, Richard married Dorothy Emma Shorte
Kidder, James married Anna Moore
Jeremiah Knowlton married *Abigail Pierce, she was descended from ancestors of Barbara Pierce Bush, John Hancock and Franklin Pierce.
Knowlton, John I married
Margery Wilson
Knowlton, John II, son of John I, married Deborah Grant, daughter of James Grant and Agnes Grant, ancestors of Ulysses S. Grant.
Knowlton, William married Ann Elizabeth Smith
Lord, Thomas married *Dorothy Bird
Mackintosh, William married Margaret Ogilvie
Marshall, Peter married Elizabeth Weiser
*Mayhew, Jonathan a noted American clergyman in Boston, Massachusetts, is credited with coining the phrase "
*Mayhew, Thomas married Jane Paine, were founders of Martha's Vineyard Island and ancestors of Rutherford B. Hayes. Jane is related to Thomas Paine.
Living on an island, the first seven generations of the Mayhew family experienced significant intermarriage and hereditary deafness.
A superb story, my great grandmother, Isabel Nellie Swett could sign MVSL and attributed her deafness to her multiple Mayhew ancestors.
Three grandparents of Isabel were multiple Mayhew descendants and the family lived in the town of Chilmark on Martha's Vineyard for almost 300 years.
Our Mayhew family line is one of seven to King Edward III of England and obviously European Royal Ancestry, through the Neville and Plantagenet trees.
Mayo, John married Thomasine Constable
Merrill, John married Elizabeth Vincent
*Merry, Joseph married Elizabeth Parkhurst, both early arrivals of Tisbury on Martha's Vineyard Island.
Metzger, Johann married Catherine Gerlach, daughter of Jacob Gerlach.
Monfoort, Pieter married Grietje Van Ness
More, Richard married Christian Hunter, both early arrivals of the Plymouth Colony with Richard on the Mayflower.
Moulton, Thomas married Martha Page
Murdock, Henry married Audria Cook
Park, Richard married Margery Crane
Parker, Abraham married Rose Whitlock
Parker, James married *Joane Drake
Partridge, George married Sarah Tracy, ancestors of Rutherford B. Hayes.
Pease, John married Mary Browning
Perkins, Abraham married Tabitha Niles
*Pierce, John married *May Barnett, ancestors of Barbara Bush, John Hancock and Franklin Pierce.
Poland, John married Bethia Friend
Polhemus, Daniel married Willemyntie Kip
*Popham, John married *Amy Anne Games
With his nephew George, they founded the Popham Colony in 1607, one of the earliest English colonial settlements in North America.
Although both Jamestown and Popham colonies were abandon
for a period of time, Popham was ultimately not as successful as it's sister in Virginia.
Popham Colony experienced a death rate of less than 20% compared to 50% at Plymouth, 80% Jamestown and 100% at Roanoke Island.
A Pinnace he named Virginia, was the first ocean going vessel ever constructed in the new world. Please don't skip this story.
Poulter, John married Marie Pope
Powers, Walter married Joane Newman
Rawlins, James married Hannah Fry
Rogers, Jeremiah married Ann Playle
Rowland, Jacob married Barbara Zorn
Sawyer, William married Sarah Littlefield
Schenck, Roelof Martense married *Annetje Wyckoff
Seymore, William married Arabella Stuart
Shepard, Ralph married Thank Ye Lord, also known as Thankful Lord.
Shoemaker, George married Anna Maria Barbara
Skiffe, James married Mary Reeves
Smith, John married *Deborah Parkhurst
Stream, John married *Elizabeth Whitman, ancestors of William Howard Taft and related to Walt Whitman.
Stewart, James married Elizabeth Stewart (3rd cousins)
*Stewart, John married Grizel Rattray We show multiple descent from the Royal "House of Stewart" and Rattray families.
*Swett, Captain Benjamin married Ester Weare, ancestors of Millard Filmore, James Garfield and Rutherford B. Hayes.
*Swett, Stephen married Hannah Merrill, Stephen and his son Joseph were founders of the town of Marblehead, Mass.
One of the oldest existing houses in the United States was constructed by Stephen Swett in 1670.
*Swett, Moses married Hannah Swett, (2nd cousins) descended from John and Sarah Swett.
There was significant intermarriage and hereditary deafness in the Swett and Mayhew families.
*Taylor, Doctor Henry married Lydia Hatch, he is a great uncle of presidents Zachary Taylor and James Madison.
Tilton, William married Susannah Morreal
*Treat, Richard married Alice Gaylord, ancestors of Robert Treat Paine, J. P. Morgan, and both Thomas C. Gibson and Sarah J. Knowlton.
Trescott, William married Elizabeth Nute
Trion, Johann married Elizabeth Achy
*Tschudi, Johannes Von married Maria Lang
*Underwood, William married Sarah Pellet, ancestors of Barbara Bush, John Hancock and Franklin Pierce.
*Vanderveer, Cornelius Janse married Tryntje Mandeville were early Dutch colonists in New Amsterdam.
We were neighbors of Vanderveer descendants when living on the Craftsman
Farms Estate,
on Route 10, in Morris
Plains, NJ
Weare, Nathaniel married Sarah Swain, both early arrivals of Nantucket Island.
*Whipple, John married Susanna Clarke, John Whipple was an early settler of Providence, RI and an ancestor of Stephen Hopkins.
*White, John was sent by Sir Walter Raleigh
John was the first Governor of Roanoke Colony, grandfather of Virginia Dare, and an early member of the Plymouth Colony.
White, Resolved married Judith Vassall, both early arrivals of the Plymouth Colony with Resolved on the Mayflower.