The Greele / Greeley Family

The Greele / Greeley Family:

First Generation

 

1.  Andrew Greele/Greeley Sr.¹ was born circa 1617 in England [?].¹ He died on 30 Jun 1697 at the age of 80 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts.¹ Andrew Greele was probably born in England about 1617. His arrival in Massachusetts is not documented. The town of Merrimac was granted in 1638 as a plantation to Simon Bradstreet and others. The town was incorporated as Colchester in 1639 and renamed Salisbury in 1640.
By 1640 Andrew had settled in what is now Seabrook, New Hampshire and built a tide mill for the grinding of corn on Kane's River contiguous to a rock-bound island in the marsh where he built a sawmill in August 1655. The mill was passed down to Andrew Jr., then to his son Andrew, remaining in the family until 1747.

The Greele homestead consisted of about three acres and two sets of buildings. Three generations of Andrew Greele children were born there.  Andrew was chosen constable of Salisbury for 1654 and was active in local affairs. Shortly after the mill was completed, he moved to Haverhill.

Andrew Greele/Greeley Sr. and Mary Moyse were married circa 1642 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts.¹ Mary Moyse, daughter of Joseph Moyse and Hannah [Moyse], was born circa 1622 in Suffolk, England.² She died on 24 Dec 1703 at the age of 81 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts.¹

 

Andrew Greele/Greeley and Mary Moyse had the following children:

 

                              i.   Phillip Greele/Greeley was born on 21 Sep 1644 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts.¹

              2             ii.   Andrew Greele/Greeley Jr., born 10 Dec 1646, Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts; married Sarah Brown, 12 Jun 1673, Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts; died 26 Nov 1736, Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts.

                            iii.   Mary Greele/Greeley was born on 16 Jul 1649 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts.¹

                            iv.   Joseph Greele/Greeley was born on 5 Feb 1652 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts.¹

                             v.   Benjamin Greele/Greeley was born on 9 Dec 1654 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts.¹

                            vi.   Westwood Greele/Greeley¹ was born 29 Mar 1658/9 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts.¹ Westwood probably died young. Other than the birth record, there is no further mention of him.

 

Second Generation

  

2.  Andrew Greele/Greeley Jr.³ (Andrew-1) was born on 10 Dec 1646 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts.³ He died on 26 Nov 1736 at the age of 89 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts.³ Andrew Greeley took the oath of allegiance and fidelity before the military commander of Salisbury, Captain Bradbury, on 17 December 1677. He was a highway surveyor that year and again in 1683-84. Greeley was appointed constable on 7 January 1678/9. He and Benjamin Stevens were ordered to clear the great neck, leading from the beach shore, of cattle on 13 March.
Andrew received nine acres in Lot #25 at the division of land on 18 May 1681.
Greeley and Henry Ambrose were involved in a tax dispute with New Hampshire from 31 July 1699 to September 1700. The colonies of New Hampshire and Massachusetts had not yet settled their boundary. Both men had paid their taxes in Massachusetts and were being assessed by New Hampshire as well. Needless to say, Greeley and Abrose refused to pay duplicate taxes and were imprisoned. Both were released after posting bond.

Andrew Greele/Greeley Jr. and Sarah Brown were married on 12 Jun 1673 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts.³ Sarah Brown was born on 6 Dec 1654 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts.³ She died on 23 Jun 1727 at the age of 72 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts.³

 

Andrew Greele/Greeley and Sarah Brown had the following children:

 

                              i.   Andrew Greele/Greeley was born on 8 Oct 1674 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts.³ He died on 16 Nov 1693 at the age of 19 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts.³

                             ii.   Henry Greele/Greeley was born on 28 Sep 1676 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts.³ He died on 16 Jan 1693/4 at the age of 17 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts.³

              3            iii.   Mary Greele/Greeley, born 5 Dec 1678, Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts; married John Singletary, 17 Dec 1700, Haverhill, Essex Co., Massachusetts; died 8 Mar 1735, Sutton, Worcester Co., Massachusetts.

                            iv.   Abigail Greele/Greeley was born on 24 Jun 1681 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts.³

                             v.   Joseph Greele/Greeley was born on 24 Nov 1683 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts.³

                            vi.   Sarah Greele/Greeley was born on 21 Oct 1685 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts.³

                           vii.   Rachel Greele/Greeley was born on 19 May 1688 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts.³

                          viii.   Hannah Greele/Greeley was born on 29 Jul 1692 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts.³

                            ix.   Judith Greele/Greeley was born on 13 Jun 1696 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts.³

 

 

Third Generation

 

3.  Mary Greele/Greeley (Andrew-2, Andrew-1) was born on 5 Dec 1678 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts.^4–5 She died on 8 Mar 1735 at the age of 56 in Sutton, Worcester Co., Massachusetts.^4–5 Greeley has death in 1733.

Mary Greele/Greeley and John Singletary were married on 17 Dec 1700 in Haverhill, Essex Co., Massachusetts.^4–5 John Singletary^4,6, son of Nathaniel Singletary and Sarah Belknap/Beltoft, was born on 7 May 1675 in Haverhill, Essex Co., Massachusetts.⁴ He died after 1747 at the age of 72 in Sutton, Worcester Co., Massachusetts.⁴ John Singletary was, by trade, a cooper. He was born in Haverhill in 1675. On 13 August 1689 John and his father were attacked by an Indian raiding party. John was taken prisoner, but managed to escape later in the day. His father was killed and scalped.*
 John moved to Salisbury, where he married Mary Greele in 1700 and then to Framingham about 1709. He purchased 50 acres on the west side of the mountain from Joseph Buckminster on 23 May 1709. There he built a house that became known as the Littlefield house. On 30 May 1720 he sold out to Samuel Moore and removed to Sutton.
There, John bought a mill lot on the outlet of what became known as Singletary Lake from Ebenezer Doggett and built a gristmill. The mill had two run of stones and a continual water supply. During dry times the Singletary Mill was the only one to do any grinding. John and youngest son Amos operated the mill for many years. Amos was the first white male child born in Sutton.

Mary died 7 March 1735 [Vital Records: Sutton Deaths, p. 462] John married  widow Mary Kenney four months later. He was still living in 1747.
*The Old Families of Salisbury and Amesbury, Massachusetts, David Webster Hoyt, Genealogical Publishing Company, 1982, p. 317

 

John Singletary and Mary Greele/Greeley had the following children:

 

                              i.   Nathaniel Singletary was born on 24 Apr 1702 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts.⁷

                             ii.   John Singletary was born on 15 Nov 1703 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts.⁷ He died on 22 Apr 1704 at the age of 0 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts.⁷

                            iii.   Sarah Singletary was born on 6 Apr 1705 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts.⁷

                            iv.   Mary Singletary was born on 25 Jun 1707 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts.⁷

                             v.   Richard Singletary was born on 27 May 1710 in Framingham, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts.⁷

                            vi.   Martha Singletary was born on 10 Mar 1714/5 in Framingham, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts.⁷

                           vii.   Joseph Singletary was born circa 1717 in Framingham, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts.⁷ no birth date given; estimate.

              4          viii.   Amos Singletary, born 16 Sep 1721, Sutton, Massachusetts Bay, British America; married Mary Curtis, 6 Sep 1742, Topsfield, Essex Co., Massachusetts; died 30 Oct 1806, Topsfield, Essex Co., Massachusetts.

 

Sources:

        1. George Hiram Greeley, Genealogy of the Greely - Greeley Family (Boston, Mass.: Frank Wood Printer, 1903), p. 1-3; digital images, World Vital Records,  (: accessed 10 July 2011.

        2. "Ancestors of Ernest Frederick Bauer and Serilda Ethel Hopkinson", database, Ancestry.com, Rootsweb World Connect (http://worldconnect.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=sp0607&id=I0310 : accessed 11 July 2011), "Ancestors of Ernest Frederick Bauer and Serilda Ethel Hopkinson," birth; submitted 2008 by Lawrence Goodman, [contact information for private use]; cites Hopkinson and Allied Families.

        3. Greeley, Genealogy of the Greely - Greeley Family, p. 19-20.

        4. Howard Jennison, Jennison Family History (Ponca City, Oklahoma: H. Jennison, 1994), p. 50.

        5. Greeley, Genealogy of the Greely - Greeley Family, p. 30-31.

        6. Greeley, Genealogy of the Greely - Greeley Family, p. 31.

        7. Greeley, Genealogy of the Greely - Greeley Family, p. 20-21.