Research Library

Research done by Judge Lester E. Winslow

Lester E. Winslow
Judge
HOWARD CIRCUIT COURT
KOKOMO, INDIANA

July 1, 1965

Dear Winslows:

From early boyhood, I have entertained a curiosity and interest in the lives, interests and activities of my antecedents. AS the years past by and one by one those we knew left us, my interest grew along with the realization that much of the facts and information about our antecedents also passed beyond our reach.

On June 24, 1964, just a few moments before midnight, my grand—daughter, Leslie Michelle, was born. When I returned from the hospital in the early hours after midnight, the thoughts of a new generation coming on the scene led to a resolution to start upon a project that has always intrigued me but upon which nothing had been done up to that time. It seems as each generation appears, we are inclined to grow farther away from the generations that have preceded us. This process will continue unless someone acts to prevent it. Thus, the task of seeking details of family history, about individual lives within the family and compiling a narrative of this information began.

The task has been and is time consuming and almost beyond possibility of completion, at least in a given lifetime. However all tasks must have a beginning. It is hoped that the work thus begun will reach a point so as to excite the interest of others who will contribute to and continue with the work so that in the future, perhaps even beyond our own time, it may become increasingly comprehensive and complete for those of our family who may be interested.

The narrative which follows is only a brief summary of the considerable volume of material which has been collected since June 25, 1964. Knowing well the uncertainties of a given lifetime, I have reduced to narrative form such information as has to date been received about individual lives and events which have occurred to our forefathers. All, however, with the full realization and intent that these sketches and narratives must be continually expanded and re-written as more information is received. Many documents and items of interest have been collected. The following, therefore, is only a thumb nail sketch and summary of some of the information, to include a lineage chart, and does not purport to be a finished product. No attempt has been made to date to seek information about other branches of the family, such as the Berry family from whom our grand—mother came, or any of the other branches because of the short time which has been given to the work to date.

Obviously, a vast amount of information is yet to be obtained. The purpose for the preparation of this sketch is to share a bit of the family history with you and to perhaps to kindle in one or more of you sufficient curiosity and interest which would result in others cooperating in the project. The task has been a slow, laborious, and sometimes frustrating one upon which only a few moments could be spent at a given time. However, it is hoped that those who read this sketch may find it of interest and receive enjoyment and pleasure from it. If any member or members of the family has sufficient interest and share my curiosity and determination, their cooperation and the co-ordination of our joint efforts will be most appreciated. With such cooperation and coordinated effort, our family may one day possess a detailed family history rarely found among individual families.

Sincerely,
Lester E. Winslow

WINSLOW FAMILY HERITAGE

In the dim, obscure past of “Merrie Olde England ”, the ancestors of the winslow family lived in all probability on a lower then middle level of the feudal system. It is recognized as one of the oldest families who later became a significant part of the American Scene. At no point in the oldest of records is found a part of nobility; yet often in the past six centuries has its members been close to and a part of the ruling circles.

In the early fourteenth century 13005) the Winslow family emerged from obscurity as a loosely knit clan living in the vicinity of the very ancient hamlet of Winslow, in Buckinghamshire, from which in some remote past they had adopted their family name. They showed a sudden group animation about the time when King Edward III, pulling England together after his father’s inept reign, decided, with sturdy commercial common sense, to encourage the home weaving trade by inducing Flemish Weavers to settle in his kingdom. The impetus to British trade also gave an impetus to the Winslows as it did to so many others who had an eye for opportunity; the Winslows woke up!

They married selectively and profitably; they bought and sold properties, steadily increasing their holdings; they expanded to the Counties of the West and toward London, becoming numerous, more prosperous, and more important as they went.

By the end of the century they formed two fairly distinct main groups, the country Winslows owning much land in Wiltshire, Oxfordshire and Worcestershire, while the town Winslows were comfortably ensconced as merchants in London, and had property in Hartfordshire, Essex and Cambridgeshire.

The records and early histories of England reveal many interesting characters, including a John Winslow of Hundson who established the merchant group by selling supplies to the armies of the “Black Prince” and later founding a dynasty of citizen-drapers in London. Members of the family were court attendants of the King, others were government officers; some where landowners and sheep raisers while others wore wool, sheepskin and cloth manufacturers and merchants in London. Wishing to control their source of income from raw material to point of sale, the town Winslows made contact with their rural relatives to the West. A certain point of contact between the two groups was another Thomas Winslow, the owner of substantial estates. He was a member of Parliament for Worcester in 1449. He married Anne Throckmorton, thus forming the beginning of a relationship between these families the head of the latter being Sir John Throckmorton a close associate of the Tudor family who later ascended to the Throne of England. To this marriage were born four daughters one of whom married a Humphrey Seymour and by her marriage became the great-aunt to Jane Seymour, third Queen of King Henry VIII.

When Henry Tudor became King Henry VIII, One Henry Winslow, together with a Throckmorton, were attached to the Kings personal retinue and was granted lands in Huntingdonshire, the ancestral home of the Cromwells, who were, therefore neighbors of the Winslows and in all probability influenced the favors granted Edward Winslow, the “Pilgrim Father” of Mayflower fame by Oliver Cromwell.

In this same era, one of the country Winslows in Worcestershire was Richard Winslow, great-great-grandfather of the Five Brothers of the early American scene, who lived and farmed at Earl’s Croone, near Severn Stoke, Clifton and Kempsey.

In 1536 King Henry VIII began to close the monasteries and their estates were sold. Richard Winslow purchased sizeable tracts in Croone Manor. When he died he left a will. This will and manorial records show that his youngest son, Thomas, moved to nearby Kerswell, a hamlet within the parish of Kempsey. One of his sons, Kenelm Winslow, later sold that land and moved to Worcester City. Kenelm Winslow’s son, Edward, moved farther north to Droitwich where he ante red the business of extracting and selling the famous Droitwich salt. Salt in those days was essential to preserve meat and in treating the byproducts of sheep. Therefore, Edward found it necessary to make regular trips to London to sell the products of the Winslow clan; salt, sheepskin, wool and meat. The registers of the Church of St. Bride in Fleet Street reveal that he married Magadalen Ollyver in that church on November 4, 1594.

Edward and Magdalen Winslow had eight children, Edward, John, Eleanor, Kenelm, Gilbert, Elizabeth, Magdalen and Josias. Of these children, all five sons, the five brothers, came to America. All of the daughters remained n England.

Eleanor Winslow, baptized at the church in Droitwich, England on April 24, 1598, remained in England, as did her sisters, Elizabeth, who was baptized March 8, 1601/2 and buried January 20, 1604/5, at Droitwich. Magdalen was also baptized Dec. 30, 1604, at Droitwich. The old church was called St. Peters in the Fields. All of the five brothers were also baptized in this church, a picture of which is printed in volume 31 of the “New England Genealogical and Biographical Record”.

Four of the brothers, Edward, John, Kenelm and Josias—are identified with the ear1y history of the colonies and were the ancestors of a numerous family, branches of which are in every section of the United States and the lower parts of Canada. The fifth son, and fifth child of Edward and Magdalen Winslow, Gilbert Winslow, was born October 26, 1600, at Droitwich. He sailed with his brother, Edward, on the Mayflower when he was 20 years of age. Bradford’s list of the Mayflower passengers has his name lumped with nine other men in a special group. He received a lot in the division of lands in 1624 but he was not mentioned in the 1627 vision of cattle, so it is presumed that he returned to England sometime between the two dates. Various works written concerning the Mayflower Pilgrims state that he remained single and died in England in 1650.

The most prominent and most often mentioned or the remaining brothers was the eldest, Edward, often referred to as the Pilgrim Father. Edward was born 1595, baptized and brought up in Droitwich. He went to school in nearby Worcester, where he studied under the famous scholar, Canon Henry Bright. On leaving school he was destined for the family business, and when he was old enough he began to accompany is father on some of his business trips to London.

In the church yard of old St. Paul’s young Edward, who was one of the better-educated centers of this old Worcestershire family group, met the customers to whom his father sold his dressed skins, the famous printers and bookbinders of London. He became entranced with this business of the making of books. On August 19, 1613, according to the register of the Worshuprul company of Stationers he was apprenticed to John Beale, The sheep of Worcester had now produced a printer.

During his apprenticeship he went to church at St. Bride’s. the church where his parents were wed. There he met a parson who had strong sympathies for the extremist Puritan groups, one of which wore then living in Leyden, Holland, to escape the pressure exerted on them by King James’s bishops. These exiles operated a printing press for the purpose of printing anti-Episcopal propaganda which they smuggled into England for distribution. Needing assistance with their press, they contacted Edward thru the aid of tile parson and thus he went to Holland and joined the Puritan exiles there. There he labored and became a leader even though only slightly over 22 when he arrived. However, all was not work. On May 16, 1618, he posted the banns of marriage with Elizabeth Barker, formerly of Chettisham near Ely, in Cambridgeshire, who he married by civil form of marriage on May 27th of the same year. Little did he realize then that a short 3 yearn later he would bury her exhausted body in New England soil.

The story of the organization of the Mayflower Expedition is a full and interesting one in which Edward played a leading part but which we will not attempt to include for the reason that we do not descend from Edward but from his brother, John. Because of the close relationship of the Mayflower story to our family, we do, however, include a brief resume of his later life.

On September 6, 1620, Edward Winslow, his wife Elizabeth, his brother, Gilbert, three servants, George Soule, Elms Story and Ellen More, sailed on the Mayflower for America. Among the passengers were James Chilton, his wife and his daughter, Mary Chilton. After landing at Plymouth on November 9, 1620 his wife died during the first harsh bitter winter. He shortly thereafter married Susannah White, widowed also by that first winter, in the first marriage in New England.

Edward served as agent for the colony, made four or five trips to England and was well known for his sagacity, faithfulness and knowledge of medicine. He settled at Marshfield and in 1625 was chosen as Assistant Governor, a position he held continuously when not traveling. In 1633, 1636 and 1644 he was made Governor a position he exchanged with William Bradford. He died of fever May 8, 1654 and his widow died in Marshfield October 1, 1580. Of their children only two survived, Josiah and Elizabeth. In 1657, two years after his fathers death, Josiah was Assistant Governor, which office he filled until his election as Governor in 1673, and he held this office until his death.

Kenelm, the third oldest son was born April 20, 1599. He became a cabinet maker and immigrated to America in 1629 and settled at Marshfield, Mass. After his arrival he married Eleanor (Fuller) Adams in June 1634. She was the widow of John Adams. He died on a visit to Salem September 12. 1672. His widow died December 5, 1681, aged about 83.

Josiah, the youngest son, was born February 11, 1605/6. He arrived in New England in 1631. He lived in Saco, Main and later at Scituate. He married Margaret, daughter of Thomas Bourne. He, too, was active in public service, for he served as representative to the General Court for many years and as Town Clerk from 1646 until his death in Marshfield, Mass. Dec 1, 1674. His widow died in 1683.

The second son of Edward and Magdalen Winslow was John Winslow, born in 1597. When his brothers, Edward and Gilbert, sailed on the Mayflower, it is suspected that John was on the Speedwell which was forced to return to England. On Nov. 9, 1621, however the Plymouth Pilgrims, were brought a surprise when they saw a ship approaching their shore, it proved to be the brig Fortune and to the joy and surprise of Edward and Gilbert, John was one of the passengers. He brought news of the political and religious turmoil in England and of the Winslow family affairs there.

Three years after arriving in America, John married Mary Chilton, a Mayflower passenger, on October 12, 1624. A somewhat doubtful claim to flame for her has it that she was the first woman to set foot on Plymouth Rock when the Mayflower anchored in Thievish Harbor in 1620. She was the daughter of James and Jane Chilton, her mother died during the first harsh winter in America.

It is known that John and Mary Lived for a time in Plymouth, then in 1647 moved to Boston where John set up as a merchant and shipmaster. He was active in local affairs and one of the signatories to an Address of Loyalty presented to King Charles II on his restoration to the throne in 1660. His home was located in Spring Lane, Boston, a narrow alleyway running from Washington Street to Devonshire Street near Water Street. It is now marked by a plague which was unveiled in 1924 by three-year-old Mary Chilton Winslow, a direct descendant of John and Mary Winslow.

To the marriage of John Winslow and Mary Chilton were born nine children. They were:

Susanna, who married Robert Latham.
Mary (born 1630)who married Edward Grey.
John, who married first Elizabeth, then Judith.
Edward, born 1634) married first Sarah Hilton; then Elizabeth Hutchinson.
Sarah, who first married Myles Standish, Jr. and then Tobias Paine. She later married one Richard Middlecott.
Joseph, who married Sarah, whose last name is not known.
Samuel (born 1641) married Hannah Briggs.
Isaac, (born 1644) married Mary Lowell
Benjamin (born 1653).

Two of their Sons, John and Edward, continued in their father’s business and became prosperous ship-owners in Boston. A third son, Joseph, of whom much is yet to be learned, apparently migrated into North Carolina where his name appears as owner of lands and a juror.

It is with Joseph that this particular narrative is concerned.

John Winslow died a prosperous man in 1674, leaving a will of his considerable estate, ships and cargoes. One item of his will shows that the Pilgrims had overcome an earlier aversion to slavery. It reads:

“My will is than my Negro Gino Jane (after she hath served twenty years from the date hereof) shall be free and that she shall serve my wife during her life and after my wife’s decease she shall be disposed of according to the discretion of my overseers”

Mary Chilton Winslow survived John by four years and also left a comprehensive will disposing of a surprising amount of silverware. The document ends with a large and badly printed “M” and Mary Winslow, her mark.

John and Mary were buried in King’s chapel, Boston, although the exact gravesite is not now able to be located.

Little is known of Joseph Winslow, son of John and Mary Chilton Winslow, except that one of his sons was named Timothy; that he owned lands in North Carolina, served on a jury in 1676, and that he migrated from Boston to North Carolina

Again, little is known of Timothy Winslow except that he had a son, Thomas, born about 1684, and that he participated in the marriage of his son, Thomas, to Elizabeth Clare in 1704. The extent of the families of the next two or three generations have not as yet been learned by the writer but it is the hope that if such is not competed by the writer, some member of the Wins low clan Will take up this work.

Thomas and Elizabeth dare Winslow had a son, John, who married Mary Pearson, whose family had migrated to North Carolina from Cumberland County, England. The son, John, and Mary Pearson Winslow, had a son, Thomas, who was born in 1745, and married Elizabeth Phelps.

Thomas and Elizabeth Phelps Winslow, had several children, two of whom were Eleazor Winslow, born 1780, and Henry Winslow, born 1771. Eleazor married Elizabeth Stanton, daughter of Samuel and Mary Stanton in Randolph County, North Carolina in 1802.

Henry Winslow married Elizabeth Needham in 1794 in Randolph County, North Carolina, and to their marriage, among others, was a son, Thomas, who first married Millicent Nixon and to their union was born 4 children, Millicent Winslow, Milton Winslow, Emily and Lydia Winslow. Following the death of Millicent Nixon, Thomas then married, in 1830, Martha Bogue, the daughter of John and Lydia Bogue, and they were received into the Back Creek Meeting (Quaker). Randolph County, North Carolina, on a certificate from Piney Woods Monthly Meeting in1827.

To the marriage of Thomas and Martha Winslow were born six children, who were:

Nixon Winslow — later founded a bank in Fairmount, Indiana.
Jack Winslow.
Nancy Winslow.
Penniah Winslow.
Charles Winslow.
David Winslow.

In 1836, Thomas and Martha, with their children, Millicent, Lydia, Nixon, Jack and Nancy requested certificates to the Mississinawa Monthly Meeting, Grant County, Indiana. A substantial section of the Winslows at Fairmount, Indiana, are descended from this family.

Henry Winslow, above mentioned, also had other children beside Thomas. They were

Thomas Winslow (above described).
John Winslow (born 1800 Randolph County).
Jessie Winslow.
Nancy Winslow.
Polly Winslow.
Susan Winslow.
Sallie Winslow.
Elizabeth Winslow,
William Winslow.
Henry Winslow.

Of these children, we are concerned with John, the second Son.

We know from census reports that he was in Randolph County, North Carolina, until at least after 1840, and that in the year 1840, he had 4 children tradition has it that he was married twice but we have learned the name of the mother of the last of his children, which was Mary.

John Winslow had 10 children. They Were:

Walker Winslow — had a livery stable at Fairmont and operated a stage line there.
Henry Winslow — a Grocer and Quaker preacher at FalrmOuflt.
Henly Winslow.
Elizabeth Rush
William Winslow - a dentist who came to Kokomo and opened an office on the Southwest Corner of the Public Square on Jan. 4, 1866. His wife was Lindamira. They owned considerable property in Kokono, Ind.
Hezakiah H. Winslow — operated a grocery; Winslow, Fenton & CO — On Northwest Corner of square, Kokomo, Ind. was the County clerk, Howard County 1866-1874 and was Postmaster until March 4, 1879. Left Kokomo for Independence, Kansas. His wife Angelina, and he owned considerable property in Kokomo , and Greentown.
Penniah Winslow — married Tom Miligan.
Jennie Winslow — married Isaac Gossett.
Thomas Winslow — married Serilda Berry.
Charles Winslow.

It is well known that John Winslow came to Greentown, Indiana, and there operated a store on the Southeast corner of Main and Meridian Streets where the Greentown State Bank now is located. At one time, he and Mary owned lot 23 in C. O. Fry’s addition, which lot is located one block south of the intersection of Main and Meridian Streets and one block, less 2 lots, west, lot 24 was, in 1868, owned by Hezekiah, to whom John, in 1869, sold Lot 23. In the same year, Hezekiah sold both Lots 23 and24. John also purchased another parcel of real estate in 1864 and then sold it 3 months later. The deed was signed by John Winslow and Mary Winslow, his wife. The deed from John to Hezekiah in 1869 did not have Mary’s signature, so it is reasonable to assume she died before 1869. A Kokomo census report dated July 2nd, 1870, shows John then aged 70 years, as living with Hezekiah. The date of his death, nor his last resting place, is not is yet known by the writer.

Our Grandfather, Thomas Winslow, was born in Greentown, Dec 1 1852. At that time, an Indian village existed on the South bank of the Wildcat Creek, south of Greentown. These Indians traded at the store of his father, John, and the writer recalls the stories he loved to tell of being captured by these Indians when he was a small boy. How many years he lived in Greentown is not as yet known. We know that he was a postal carrier and by horseback carried mail from Kokomo to Plevna, Greentown and Phlox. Some details and bits of data have been obtained but are not included herein until much more is available.

Thomas J. Winslow and Serilda Berry, the daughter of Joshua and Mary Berry, Tipton County, Indiana, were married. To this union were borni eight children. They were:

Kora — born Aug. 26, 1875 died as an infant.
Raleigh — born Feb. 15, 1878 disappeared in 1900.
Frederic — born Jan 7, 1881.
Joshua — born Nov. 16, 1883 died 1962
Walker Henry — born June 27, 1886 died May 16, 1961. -
Alhijah Edgar — born Jan. 20, 1890. died Aug. 1961.
Orvel — born Aug. 1, 1893
Otto — born Oct. 6, 1896. ‘C

The attached lineal descent chart has been included in this sketch to give a clear picture of the line of descent and may lend a better understanding to the narrative. It was prepared from documents, reports and other sources of information obtained to date by the writer to serve as a guideline in future research. It is obviously, not complete but does emphasize the almost limitless extent to which this endeavor may be carried. The chart was prepared down to the writer’s grand-daughter but way serve other members of the family to prepare their own down to the youngest of their family.

The preceding summary or sketch purposely ended with the writer’s uncles and aunts with the thought that each of the sons of Thomas and Serilda Winslow will be developed by their children, to include every item or event occurring in their lifetime which can be recalled or discovered. It must be quite clear to all of the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of Thomas and Serilda Winslow that very quickly we and they will belong to a generation then in the same dim past as now is true of the generation of our grandparents and their antecedents. One must ask how his grandchildren will know of his father and grandfather if we fail to collect and preserve all, the little items of interest about them, as very sadly we must admit has been the situation until now.

Perhaps some will ask what good or value is to be gained from knowing of the past. Obviously, to them it will be of no value. However, to others it may be of interest and to them there will be meaning and value. To the latter group, we hope our efforts to date will give enjoyment and pleasure. The help and participation of those who wish to do so will be most sincerely appreciated.

Lester S. Winslow

July 1, 1965