Newcomb Update: Francis Newcomb Bio

I have some minor changes to the Francis Newcomb bio, mostly background in the first paragraph.

Francis Newcomb was born in England in 1605. It is believed he was a native of St. Albans, Hertfordshire, a few miles north of London. There were three parishes in St. Albans. The records of one date back to only 1643. The name Newcomb was not recorded from 1590 to 1640 in the second. The records of the third parish were destroyed by fire in 1743. There is also a tradition that Francis hailed from Oxfordshire and was of pure Saxon blood. The idenity of his parents has yet to be learned.

Francis Newcomb [aged 30] set sail from London for New England in April 1635 with wife Rachel [aged 20] and two children, Rachel [aged 2½]and John [aged 9 months] aboard the Planter, Nicholas Trarice, Master. Also on board the ship were Rachel's mother, Rachel, and her 2nd husband, Martin Sanders and three half-siblings.

The Newcombs settled in Boston, where on 28 February 1635/6 Rachel became a member of the Boston First Church. They removed to Mt. Wollaston, which became Braintree on 13 May 1640 [now Quincy]. Rachel was one of thirteen Boston church members recommended to the Church of Christ at "Mount Wollystone" on 16 February 1639/40. At Braintree, Francis acquired several tracts of land, one being near the Iron Works and another on the south side of the Monaticut River. He probably resided at or near the "Neck."

Francis died 27 May 1692 at Braintree. The Hancock Cemetery records there gave Francis' age as 100, but since he was listed as being 30 in 1635, an age of about 87 would be more likely.