The Dearborns in England

While I was in New England last month, I was able to visit with the reference librarian at NEHGS who is a descendant from the Dearborn family which is one of my New England lines. Since this was one of the lines that I had chosen to work on while I was there, I asked him about the line we shared. I was able to give him some information on some of the more recent descent from Betsey Dearborn, daughter of Deacon Nathan Dearborn and he was able to provide me with some information on the immigrant Godfrey Dearborn’s father who had been previously unknown to me.

Today I began entering the information that I received from him in my database and noting as tasks the original records that I needed to make sure that I got that pertained to these. I printed off the information on each roll of microfilm which needs to be borrowed via a Local Family History Center. I also explored some of the information about the locations in which they lived.

First of all, let me state that many published genealogies say that Godfrey Dearborn was probably born in Exeter, Devon, England. Since he was baptized in Willoughby, Lincolnshire, that location seems unlikely. Godfrey’s father William was born in Lincolnshire. I don’t have a definite location for his birth at this point. David Dearborn says that William was married at St. Peter’s Church in Markby. One of the things that really caught my attention was a note by Dearborn that said that this was now the only thatched church in the county. I decided to do some investigation and located some photos online. In the article it states that the “parish was in the Alford sub-district of the Spilsby Registration District.” I found this interesting because while researching Willoughby, I had discovered that Anne Hutchinson was born in Alford. A well-documented history of the priory of Markby can be found at the British History Online site. There is also a brief history of the parish at the Alford Group of Churches web site which is as close to an “official” site for the church you can find.

I located all of the locations on an 1885 map of Northern Lincolnshire, an excerpt of which can be seen below with red stars showing locations of importance to the Dearebarne family. (The usual spelling of the surname in England is either Dearebarne or Dearbarne. The spelling Dearborn was adopted after coming to America.)

Willoughby is the location where Godfrey and all his brothers were baptized. Perhaps the most famous person to come from this village was Capt. John Smith. It’s interesting that Smith and Godfrey Dearborn ended up in such different locations in the Americas, having come from the same town; however, more than 30 years separated their trips. Willoughby lies just 3 miles south of Alford. Several of Godfrey’s children were baptized in Hannah, a town near Markby and Alford. (St. Andrew church in Hannah was built in 1753. He would have worshipped in an earlier building.)

Anne Hutchinson, of course, had been banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony before the first evidence of Godfrey’s presence in the United States where we find that he signed the “Exeter Combination,” which was signed on the 4th of July 1639. (You’ll note on the scan of the document that it was the 5th month. Back then the calendar started with March.) (For more information on the town of Exeter, see Edward Chase’s history of Exeter.) We do know that Godfrey was a follower of Rev. John Wheelwright, brother-in-law of Anne Hutchinson, who founded the town of Exeter. Wheelwright was also for Alford. (Here is a nice summary of the antinomian controversy which was kindled by Anne’s teachings.) I find it interesting that Anne went to Rhode Island but that her brother-in-law ended up in New Hampshire. I plan to further research why they headed in opposite directions and how Wheelwright’s beliefs influenced the settlers in Southern New Hampshire. Wheelwright and many of his followers ended up settling Wells, Maine. Godfrey apparently received a land grant there but never settled there. What made him change his mind?

Godfrey moved to Hampton, New Hampshire about 10 years later. It is my understanding that his home which was located at 73 Exeter Road (Route 27) is still standing and may be the oldest frame house in the state. I’d love to have a recent photo of this home. There are old ones here. I probably saw the house on my trip to Hampton as I was on Route 27, but I did not know about this home at that time. (Of course, this gives me another excuse for another New England trip!)

Boston Diary - June 2

This morning I got up early and stopped by Dunkin Donuts for breakfast rather than waiting until the hotel serves breakfast so that I could get on my way for the day's adventure.

My next stop was Enterprise Rent-A-Car in the "Pru" where I picked up this Kia to assist me in getting around to my destinations.

I started in Massachusetts. My day's travels would take me to two other states.


I decided to go to the most northerly point and work my way back down the coast so I headed up I-95 to Portland. My real destination was Cape Elizabeth, home of the famous Portland Head Light. I love lighthouses and was tempted to buy one of those lighthouse passport things, but then I thought of all the lighthouses that I'd already visited that wouldn't get stamped so I decided against it. Besides - a picture is sometimes worth a thousand words.


As I was driving down along the coast to the next place, I noticed that Thornton is a very popular street name. I suppose that they are really honoring Matthew Thornton, the signer of the Declaration of Independence, who is not related to our Thorntons. However, it's fun to pretend that they named it just in your honor! When I passed this place in Saco, I think, I couldn't help but wonder if was name in my honor, Terry's, or both.

Lunchtime found me in a well-known Maine town, Kennebunkport.

I had lunch at The Clam Shack, which looked like a great place to eat judging by the crowds there. It apparently has one of the best lobster rolls in all of New England; however, since I had lobster roll yesterday, I decided to try the clam strip roll instead. Without a doubt, those were the best clam strips I'd ever had in my life! The scenery over the bridge was gorgeous as well!


Now, if you make a trip to Kennebunkport, you know where you have to go. This isn't it, but it's along the road that leads there, and I thought it was a great picture!

Here is a picture of some of the seaweed that has washed upon the rocks. I loved this picture too!
Here are a few other homes in Kennebunkport. Can you tell that I fell in love with this quaint little town, and I hadn't even seen the reason for my detour along this road yet!
Here it is! The Bush summer home on Walker's Point. It was breathtaking. I didn't see George or Barbara (or even the secret service), but it was worth the drive.
It had taken so long to follow the coast from the Portland Head Light to Kennebunkport that I decided that if I was going to make it to my ancestral town in the next state down and have any time to look around that I'd better hop back on the toll road. I headed back to I-95, and before I knew it, I was crossing into New Hampshire.
My destination was Hampton. I loved the town of Hampton but I mostly spent my time driving around the town. I thought I would surely find the library or a historical society or museum or something, but before I spotted that I found Hampton Beach. I went to two different locations to take picture along the beach. This first one doesn't have white sand, but the second one does. Maybe Amy can tell us more about the beaches or locations.

When I got to the boardwalk area, I saw this sign which immediately reminded me of Bill and Janice. I didn't stop for one because I had a huge drink in the car that I'd picked up at a convenience store and because I'm holding out for the best (as recommended by Bill).
This is the beach along the boardwalk area of Hampton Beach. You can see that it has white sand.

This is part of the boardwalk area. I believe that Ashworth by the Sea is a well-known hotel because I've actually heard of it before.
This little fellow kept me entertained. He kept pecking at the little girl's beach toys bag. He would move around from one side to another. I think he wanted to play with some of the toys! I was just getting ready to put my camera on movie mode to capture him when the little girl noticed and ran up and frightened him away!
Did I mention how COLD the Atlantic was? BRRRR . . . One lady told me that it doesn't really get warm enough to swim there until July. That wasn't stopping surfers at the one beach though. I don't see how they could stand the water as cold as it was.


I ran back into Hampton but I really didn't find much. I saw a cemetery, but I was not sure if it was the historic one where my ancestors were buried, and I suspected they'd be closing the gates soon. I tried to find the Lane Public Library, but I couldn't find it either. I don't think they believe in using those little blue library signs they have in the rest of the country in New England. I knew that I was really going to have to come back when I had time to stay and really research them. However, I accomplished what I set out to do--to visit the town in which my ancestors had lived.

Now I'm ready to see what I can find at the NEHGS library over the next few days!