Ralph 'Stonemason' Allen, Jr, of Sandwich

"The records clearly indicate that there were 2 adult Ralph Allens in southeastern Massachusetts in the mid-1600s. ... The other Ralph was Ralph Allen Jr., of unknown parentage. Descendants of this Ralph through his son Jedediah are found mainly in NJ and the mid-Atlantic states, and are treated at some length by C.C. Gardner in his 1941 work published in "The Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey"."

Source: The Two Ralph Allens of Sandwich, MA, in the 1600s Prepared June 27, 1997 © Richardson B. Allen e-mail

Family history says that he was a stonemason.

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(This information was taken from the About me of Ralph Geobro Allen, Sr 1600-1698 (Thurcaster) aka Ralph Allen Sr. (Son of George Allen) Ralph 'Wheelwright' Allen, Sr., of Sandwich ...Angus Wood-Salomon...I did not write the following..)

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Please Note: I am in the process of sorting out the two Ralph Allens who coexisted in Sandwich during this period. Much of the information written even in esteemed genealogical journals has mixed up information for the two of them. Therefore the information below is most likely not totally accurate. I am leaving it for now until I get it sorted out.

In general, here is what is now known:

During a short span of time, two Ralph Allens resided in sandwich, and both of them became involved, with the Quaker movement, along with other members of the Allen family.

The Ralph who was the son of George was the one designated at Ralph Sr. in the records, and was the second one to come to Sandwich.

The Ralph who was NOT the son of George was residing in Sandwich first, and had children born there named Jedediah, Experience and Ephraim. Before the arrival of Ralph Sr. to Sandwich, he was just named Ralph Allen in the records, and became Ralph Jr. after the arrival of the other Ralph to the town.

Justification for assigning Ralph Sr. as the son of George:

Prior to their both living there, one Ralph was residing at Sandwich and the other was residing at Rehoboth. Before moving to Rehoboth, however, one Ralph sold thirty acres of land at Weymouth, 22 acres of which originally belonged to George Allen.

The Ralph Allen who was at Sandwich first had a son named Jedediah born there in January 1646/47. The other Ralph was still at Rehoboth where he received a division of the New Meadow in February 1646/47. So based on this alone, the Ralph who sold a piece of land at Weymouth that belonged to George originally, and was living at Rehoboth in 1646/47, was not the Ralph who was the father of Jedediah.

The Ralph who was the father of Jedediah was also found to have had children born at Sandwich named Experience and Ephraim in 1651 and 1656, respectively. This Ralph is also listed as being a mason by trade. This Ralph Allen died in about 1662/1663 as abstracted from Jedediah's bible. He was married to Esther Swift.

The other Ralph Allen, who moved from Rehoboth to Sandwich, died in 1698 and left a will naming all of his children. No Jedediah, no Experience, and no Ephraim were named. This Ralph did have a daughter named Mary, however, who died young in 1675. This Ralph was referred to as Ralph, Sr. in the burial record. He was also referred to in other records as being a planter and wheelwright by trade. In his will he also mentions his brother William, who is a known son of George Allen.

Although the suffix Sr. and Jr. were found in a number of cases in the records involving the two Ralphs, the definitive use of the suffix Sr. was with the Ralph Allen, who was a planter, and who died in 1698.

The other Ralph, who was a mason by trade, was married to Esther Swift, and was the father of your Jedediah, may very well be related to George Allen somehow, but not his son. He could easily be a nephew or cousin, however. About: Ralph Allen, identified as a mason, was undoubtedly b. in England. He is called Jr. in the Sandwich, Mass. town records to distinguish him from an older Ralph Allen of Sandwich, called Sr., latter the acknowledged s. of the immigrant George Allen of Sandwich, Mass. But, the parentage of Ralph Allen, Jr. remains unknown.

Ralph Allen, Jr. was living at Sandwich, Mass. in 1659, then part of the Plymouth Colony, with the latter year generally used as the approximate year of his death. The fragmentary record of his death in his son Jedediah's bible says "My father Ralph Allen deceased ye 26 day..." and he was undoubtedly deceased by Oct. 12, 1662 when his mother-in-law Joan Swift made her will at Sandwich. Unlike the other Allen families of Sandwich who after 1656 were known Quakers, there is some question whether at his death Ralph Allen, Jr. had also joined the Society of Friends. If so, he was unlikely to have been interred at a Sandwich burying ground related to the Plymouth Colony's dominant Congregational Church.

Prior to 1647, Ralph Allen, Jr. m. Esther Swift, dau. of William Swift and his 2nd wife Joan, bap. of record May 28, 1629 at St. Mary Magdalen, Bermondsey, Surrey, England.

Comments

update March 2019: Birth location of Thurcaston, Leicestershire, England removed.

Links

• An updated version of "The Two Ralph Allens of Sandwich, MA, in the 1600's", dated 2018.Link also see document attached
• http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=jacquelin...
• http://jrm.phys.ksu.edu/genealogy/needham/d0005/I3045.html (the other Ralph Allen)
• http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/c/a/r/Donna-Carpenter-In...