The Holbrook Family of Bradford, Pennsylvania

The name of Holbrook is ancient and distinguished, and is frequently met with in England and the United States. As early as the reign of Richard II. of England one of that name was admitted to the order of Knighthood and “A chevron between three mullets” assigned as his coat-of-arms. Many Holbrooks were early in New England. The name first appears at Weymouth, Massachusetts, 1640, when Thomas Holbrook settled in that part of Weymouth called “Old Spain.” His will, dated December 31, 1668, mentions wife Jane and children:

Children

1. Thomas.
2. John.
3. William.
4. Ann.
5. Elizabeth.
6. Jane.

(II) Thomas (2) Holbrook

Thomas (2), son of Thomas (1) Holbrook, died 1697. He resided in Scituate, Weymouth and Braintree, and was a man of wealth and influence. His wife, Joana, survived him.

Children

1. Thomas.
2. Mary.
3. John.
4. Peter.

(III) Deacon Peter Holbrook

Deacon Peter Holbrook, son of Thomas (2) Holbrook, was born 1655, died May 3, 1711. He was an important man for his day. He owned lands and lived near Mendon, Massachusetts. He married (first) Alice ———, who died April 29, 1705; (second) Elizabeth Pool.

Children

1. John.
2. Peter.
3. Joseph.
4. Silvanus.
5. Joanah.
6. Richard.
7. Eliphalet.
8. William.
9. Samuel.
10. Mary.

(IV) Peter (2) Holbrook

Peter (2), son of Deacon Peter (1) Holbrook, was born in Mendon, Massachusetts, October 16, 1681, died at Bellingham, Massachusetts, December 24, 1728. He was a weaver by trade. He married, March 23, 1713, Hannah Pool, who survived him.

Children

1. Peter.
2. Isaac.
3. Daniel.
4. Elizabeth.
5. Abigail.
6. Elizabeth.
7. Oliver.
8. Abigail.

(V) Peter (3) Holbrook

Peter (3), son of Peter (2) Holbrook, was born at Mendon, November 26, 1713. He married Sarah ———, and lived in Bellingham, Massachusetts.

Children

1. Stephen.
2. Sarah. Died young.
3. Sarah.
4. Peter.
5. Simeon.
6. Elizabeth.
7. Jemina.
8. Timothy.

(VI) Stephen Holbrook

Stephen, eldest son of Peter (3) Holbrook, was born April 30, 1737. He married Rachel, daughter of Walter Cook, of Mendon.

Children

1. Sarah.
2. Stephen.
3. Amasa.
4. Simeon.
5. Peter.

(VII) Stephen (2) Holbrook

Stephen (2), son of Stephen Holbrook, was born September 29, 1767. He settled in Tolland county, Connecticut. He married ——— Griggs, and had six children, including a son Stephen G.

(VIII) Dr. Stephen Griggs Holbrook

Dr. Stephen Griggs Holbrook, son of Stephen (2) Holbrook, was born in Tolland county, Connecticut, May 1, 1798. His parents moved to Ohio in 1800, where he was educated and prepared for the profession of medicine. He located at Kelloggsville, Ohio, where he was in the active, successful practice of his profession until death there, September 22, 1875. He was a supporter of Horace Greeley when a candidate for president on the Democratic ticket, but always was a Republican. He married (first) Charlotte Kellogg, (second) September 12, 1842, Caroline Kneeland, born at Franklin, New York, January 3, 1815, died July 13, 1875, daughter of Daniel Kneeland (see Kneeland IX).

Children of first wife

1. Celestine. Now living at Ashtabula, Ohio.
2. Laura E. A resident of Cleveland, Ohio.
3. Martin. Died in Boulder, Colorado.

Children of second wife

1. Flora. Born August 18, 1846; married, June 30, 1867, Sanford L. Fobus, deceased; she resides with her brother, Stephen A.
2. Stephen Abernathy. Of whom further.

(IX) Stephen Abernathy Holbrook

Stephen Abernathy, only son of Dr. Stephen Griggs Holbrook and his second wife, Caroline (Kneeland) Holbrook, was born at Kelloggsville, Ohio, September 7, 1851. He was educated in the public schools at Kelloggsville, finishing his studies at the State Normal School at Geneva, Ohio. He began business life as a clerk in a boot and shoe store at Painesville, Ohio, later, with his brother-in-law, engaged in the drug business in Geneva, Ohio, remaining there until 1881. During the following year he resided in Bradford, Pennsylvania, going from there to Belmont, New York, where he engaged in the manufacture of tooth picks until 1886. From that date until 1905 he was engaged in the same business in Bradford, Pennsylvania. Since the latter year he has been engaged principally in the real estate business, being trustee in several land companies in Buffalo, New York, and in two that operate in British Columbia. He is also associated with F. W. Davis (formerly president of the First National Bank of Bradford) and F. P. Shoonmaker (city attorney), in the management of a tract of one hundred thousand acres of timber land in British Columbia. He is a Republican in politics, and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church. He belongs to the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and the Merchants’ Club of Bradford.

He married, November 15, 1876, Phoebe Ellen Chapman, born at Conneaut, Ohio, daughter of William B. Chapman, born at Cleveland, Ohio, October 8, 1826, died at Bradford, Pennsylvania, October 27, 1895. He was an attorney-at-law, and a veteran of the civil war, in which he was captain of the Twenty-ninth Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry, organized at Ashtabula. He married Cynthia Olds, born July 30, 1829, who yet survives him.

Children of Stephen A. Holbrook

1. Laura Ellen. Born August 13, 1879; married, June 21, 1905, William Angus Donald and resides at Olean, New York; child:
   1. Betsy. Born May 15, 1907.
2. Sarah Chapman. Born July 7, 1881; married, November 10, 1909, Dr. Granville Hunt Walker, of Bellevue, Pennsylvania.
3. Elizabeth Flora. Born March 2, 1885; married, October 30, 1907, Homer Samuel McKay; children:
   1. Martin Holbrook. Born July, 1908.
   2. Stephen. March 16, 1910.
4. Helen Cynthia. Born August 9, 1886, died January 19, 1900.
5. Ruth Caroline. Born August 26, 1893.
6. Dorothy Louise. Born January 12, 1897.
7. Marian. Born August 18, 1898.

The Kneeland Line

Tradition says the Kneelands were among the ancient Vikings that overran northern Europe prior to the tenth century and finally settled in Scotland. Burke in his “Landed Gentry” says: “The family of Cleland (formerly spelled Kneeland) is of great antiquity in Scotland.” Anderson in his “Scottish Nation” says: “Kneeland the first of his family on record—Alexander Kneeland living in the time of Alexander III. of Scotland, married Margaret Wallace, daughter of Adam and sister of Sir Malcolm, father of Sir William Wallace.” Burke says further: “William Cleland, the tenth of that ilk, eminent for his loyalty to Queen Mary, etc.” Both he and his son, Captain John, were eminent in their devotion to this luckless queen. The Kneelands of America use the coat-of-arms granted Major William by Queen Mary: “A lion rampant holding a cross. Crest: A demi lion rampant holding a cross.” The Clelands use the original coat-of-arms, which has probably been in the family since the days of Bruce.

The American ancestor of Caroline (Kneeland) Holbrook was a son of Captain John Kneeland, the second son of Major William Kneeland, born at Kneeland Manor, in Lanarkshire, Scotland, about 1550. He was a brave soldier and sailor and commanded several vessels, surviving shipwreck and battle to die peaceably in his own cabin and finding a sailor’s grave in the sea. He was a loyal follower of Queen Mary, and inherited from his father the possessions and coat-of-arms bestowed on him by “Her most gracious Catholic Majesty” for gallant services. He married Mary Dunbar, of Dunbar Castle, a descendant of the then extinct peerage of that name, and had several children, all of whom came to America.

(III) Edward Kneeland

Edward, second son of Captain John Kneeland, came to Ipswich, Massachusetts, about 1630, with his brother John. Edward Kneeland had sons: Edward and Benjamin.

(IV) Edward (2) Kneeland

Edward (2), son of Edward (1) Kneeland, was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, 1640, died 1711. His will dated January 5, 1711, was probated in Salem, Massachusetts. He was a soldier in King Philip’s war and is of frequent mention in the early records of Essex and Salem. He married Martha Fowler.

Children

1. John.
2. Martha.
3. Edward.
4. Benjamin.
5. Lydia.
6. Philip.

(V) Benjamin Kneeland

Benjamin, fourth child of Edward (2) Kneeland, was born in Ipswich, Massachusetts, July 7, 1699. He removed in 1725 to Framingham, Massachusetts, later to Hebron, Connecticut, where he died February 18, 1743. He lived in other places, however, viz.: Oxford, Massachusetts, and Glastonbury, Connecticut. In 1736 he joined with his sons, Benjamin, John, Joseph and Isaac, in a petition for a new town to be made up of parts of Glastonbury, Hebron and Colchester. He married Abigail, whose surname does not appear in the records.

Children

1. Benjamin.
2. Abigail.
3. Elizabeth.
4. John.
5. Joseph.
6. Ebenezer.
7. Isaac.
8. Deborah.
9. Hezekiah.
10. Edward.

In his will he desired his children to live in unity and be content with their father’s will, an injunction tradition says was faithfully observed.

(VI) Isaac Kneeland

Isaac, son of Benjamin Kneeland, was born at Hebron, Connecticut, May 15, 1716. He was a farmer of Hebron, and was one of the petitioners for the setting off of the new town of Marlboro. He married (first) November 8, 1738, Sarah Beach. She died March 7, 1741. Married (second) November 12, 1742, Content Rowley, a sister of Sarah Rowley, and a “Mayflower” descendant. Three of the sons of Isaac Kneeland, Benjamin, Isaac and Jesse, served in the revolutionary war. Content, second child of John and Deborah (Fuller) Rowley, was born at East Haddam, March 26, 1719. She was a daughter of John Fuller, born about 1655, son of Samuel and Jane (Lathrop) Fuller. Samuel Fuller came over in the “Mayflower” with his father, Edward Fuller, and uncle, Dr. Samuel Fuller. He was married April 8, 1635, by Captain Miles Standish, to Jane, daughter of Rev. John Lathrop, the famous minister of London, England, and of New England.

Child of Isaac Kneeland by first wife

1. Isaac.

By second wife

1. Content.
2. Sarah.
3. Benjamin.
4. Joseph.
5. David.
6. Mindwell.
7. Jesse.
8. Ellis.

(VII) Joseph Kneeland

Joseph, fifth child of Isaac Kneeland, was born at Hebron, Connecticut, August 13, 1749, died September 7, 1799. He was a wealthy farmer, and gave his children a liberal education for that day. He married, November 5, 1772, Ruth Pratt, born in Colchester, Connecticut, March 25, 1754.

Children

1. Ruth. Married her cousin, James Loveland, and resided in Franklin, Pennsylvania.
2. Molly. Married and moved to Ohio.
3. Joseph. A successful farmer of Marlboro, Connecticut; married (first) Elizabeth Eels, (second) Dolly Crocker.
4. Benjamin. Born at Hebron, died at Franklin, New York.
5. Daniel. Of whom further.
6. Sophia. Born at Hebron, December 15, 1782.
7. Eunice. Married Jedediah Elderkin and settled in western New York.
8. Denice.
9. Sally. Married Nelson Elderkin and lived in Franklin, New York.
10. Denice (2). Married Elizah Crocker, of LeRoy, New York.
11. Moses. Married Mary Alden and settled in the State of Mississippi, where he died.

(VIII) Daniel Kneeland

Daniel, son of Joseph Kneeland, was born in Hebron, Connecticut, March 2, 1781, died at Franklin, New York, May 28, 1842. In the spring of 1802 he settled at Franklin, Delaware county, New York, with his brother Benjamin; took up two hundred acres of land, part of which they cleared and erected thereon a log cabin. After this much had been accomplished, Benjamin sent Daniel back to Marlboro to bring back Benjamin’s promised bride, while he remained behind to prepare the cabin for her coming. Late in the autumn, after a tedious journey, much of the way marked only by blazed trees, they arrived at the forest home, but no welcome awaited them, as Benjamin was dead. Grace Williams, the bride-elect, seems to have found equal favor in Daniel’s eyes for they were at once married, October 23, 1803, and lived out their joint lives on the forest homestead, which Daniel cleared and made one of the best farms in the country. He died May 28, 1842, Grace, his wife, October 24, 1845.

Children

1. Sophia. Born September 29, 1804; married Arastarkus Mann, of Owego, New York.
2. Dr. Daniel. Born December 22, 1805; graduate of Cleveland (Ohio) Medical College; practiced at Penn Line, Crawford county, Pennsylvania, until 1855, when he settled at Conneaut, Ohio, where he had a large practice until his death; married (first) Susan Vaughn, (second) Olive A. Brown.
3. Benjamin. Born November 13, 1807; married Minerva N. Hine and lived on the old Franklin homestead farm.
4. Williams. Born April 29, 1809; married Phoebe Kellogg.
5. Anna H. Born February 5, 1811; married a Mr. Armstrong and moved to Canada.
6. Caroline. Of whom further.
7. Dr. Isaac. Born August 26, 1821; graduate of medicine, practiced at Berea, Ohio, until 1857, when he moved to Charlton, Iowa, where he was in good practice for twenty years; he was a great student and reader, being it is said the best informed botanist in western Iowa; later he moved to Burr Oak, Kansas, where he died in March, 1886; he married (first) Eliza S. Proctor, a descendant of John Alden and Miles Standish, (second) her sister, Susannah Church Proctor.
8. Grace Melissa. Born December 7, 1826, died unmarried.

(IX) Caroline Kneeland

Caroline, sixth child of Daniel and Grace (Williams) Kneeland, was born in Franklin, Delaware county, New York, January 3, 1815, died at Kelloggsville, Ohio, July 13, 1875. She married Dr. Stephen G. Holbrook (see Holbrook VIII).

Source

Jordan, J. W. 1840-1921. (1913). Genealogical and personal history of the Allegheny Valley, Pennsylvania. New York: Lewis Historical Pub. Co.

This genealogy is based upon the source cited above. Only the structure and formatting have been changed for clearer presentation; the genealogical and biographical content has been preserved.