Thomas Holcombe - Burial Place or Memorial?

Hi Ken,
The Holcombe line begins in Windsor. Granby and Simsbury were once part of Windsor. There is still currently a farm under the family name of Holcombe in Granby. I will look at my records to see what I have , and will check with the Windsor Historical Society as I live in town and it is close to me. I was recently going to go to that farm then I got ill. Planning to go soon.

Hi, Patricia. I moved to Granby since 2005. I just came upon Wikitree's commentary. The complete chapter about Granby in the Phelps book is really as close as one ever had on the history of the time. Wikipedia pages about cities and towns usually control or revise authorship about their towns. However, there's no attempt to utilize the broader content from this book it cites as a source.
The link to the Granby chapter: https://archive.org/details/historyofsimsbur00phel/page/103/mode/1u...

The area may've named Granby before it was sufficiently inhabited as a "settlement". Just when that was may not be known. After reading the Phelps chapter, it seems possible the naming of northern "Simsbury" as Granby occurred as early as 1660?

HI Ken,

I looked into my records and I believe Thomas is buried in Granby but died in Simsbury, I still would like to check a few more sources, I am currently getting ready for a research trip overseas so it may take me sometime to gather sources. There was a book written for the celebration of Windsor in 1935 that spells out the timeline of when towns became towns. Also the Mass Border towns were different at that time as well. My cousin has a copy and I will look at it again to get correct dates. I read the Wiki tree and believe it needs work. I have not used that site in awhile as I have been working on other projects. I found an old book today on internet archives I would like to look though, I will be at the Historical Society on Sat and will take a look at what they have. I see I need to finish that part of my tree. I wonder if they talk about the areas as they are today?

Excellent information and plan of action.

I'd love to get an better idea for when the region that became Granby was given its name. I'm betting it occurred before there were enough residents to call the locality a settlement.

And what's up with Weatogue? Mapquest calls it a "census-designated place and village in Simsbury", and Wikipedia uses the phrase: "The original settlement of Weatogue". Like Granby, who named it Weatogue, why, and when? Hmm........ and yet it's easy to learn answers to these questions about Tarriffville.

Granby is not a surname in Colonial America or England.
There's a Granby in Nottinghamshire.
Whether a colonist in early CT lived there before crossing the pond, we may never know.

HI I found the date, Granby separated from Simsbury in 1786. I believe he died before this date so I need to go to Simsbury to check the records, However this explains why he is listed as dying in Simsbury and buried in Granby. Yes not sure about Weatogue probably belonged to the Indians. There are several smaller towns like that or areas, Bloomfiled used to be Wintonbury before it sperated from Windsor.

@Ken, I just realized are you talking about the son or the father? The profile says Senior and you asked about Granby Simsubury so I assumed you meant the son.

Yes, formal incorporation of Granby occurred in 1786—separating it from Simsbury. However, Granby was a named area earlier though it was akin to Tarriffville and Weatogue "neighborhoods" or areas under Simsbury governance.

As to your question. Yes, Thomas, the father, could not have been buried in Granby as presently showing on his profile.
However, it's unlikely that any burial source of other persons presently showing with burials in "Granby Street Cemetery" or "Granby Cemetery" before at least 1706 are bogus as to the place of burial—unless Granby Street Cemetery was not in Granby but on a road once and later called Granby St. The basis of my argument hinges on the a source I previously included in this discussion along with two old sources I found at the Granby Library yesterday.

To clarify things for persons unaware of our area, knowing three things is useful to understanding the source quotations that follow.
1. There was only one Granby before 1858.
2. East Granby separated from Granby in 1858.
3. West Granby and North Granby have long referred to parts of the town of Granby.

SOURCE ONE: “Granby: Early History”, Compiled by Eva Dewey – (a narrative paper, not formally published.) — All-Caps below added for emphasis.

“It is believed the first house stood at the Falls, now in EAST GRANBY, and a little less than a mile north of the village of the town of Tariffville. This was occupied by Sgt. John Griffin of Simsbury (or https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Griffin-197 ) as early as 1664, and he was probably the first settler. He was given the first Indian deed. The next settlers located at salmon Brook in Granby proper, and the first house stood near the present home of Paul Avery which is next to the South Congregational Parish House.”

“Daniel Hayes of Indian fame lived about 1720 in a house that stood across from the Firehouse on Salmon Brook Street, South. The lilac bushes and the lemon lilies that were by that home may still be seen….

“Frequent attacks and murderous outbreaks, kept the early settlers in a perpetual state of alarm. Most of their energy was needed for personal safety rather than civic improvements.

“One most noteworthy event was the capture of Daniel Hayes by the Indians, who was then twenty-two or twenty-three, when he was on his way to the pasture in search of his horse. He was carried off to Canada and after several years as a prisoner was sold to a Frenchman who permitted him to buy his freedom. He returned after an absence of seven years,...

“Settlement and population was very slow. AS LATER AS 1709. there were only eleven families. In 1736, two Ecclesiastical Societies were established. All public measures prior to 1786 required the approval of the Town of Simsbury...
——————

SOURCE TWO: “The Heritage of Granby 1786: Its Founding and History”

“…The area west of Windsor, sometimes called by its Indian name of Massaco, was incorporated in 1670 as the Town of Simsbury, and within the town several settlements sprang up. [Note: Simsbury was settled in 1640 before in was incorporated or separate from Windsor.]

“Settlers gradually moved out from the center of Simsbury and established their homes — first along Salmon Brook Street in Granby center and then in the area around Simsbury Road in West Granby, along North Granby Road (on the road to Granville, Mass.) and in the Turkey Hill section of East Granby.

“The church was the ruling factor in the towns — not only for religion, but for government and education as well. A central meetinghouse had been erected in Simsbury for which all the people in the town were taxed. Families living on the outskirts were unable to cover the distance to use the meeting house built with their money, and feeling ran high over this state of affairs. So in 1736, the General Assembly divided the areas so that meeting houses were built near to the largest groups of people. Salmon Brook in Granby was one such area, or Ecclesiastical Society, and Turkey Hills in East Granby was another. These Societies were responsible to Simsbury until the town of Granby was incorporated in 1786.

“SETTLEMENT of the TURKEY HILLS section commenced ABOUT 1700….”

@Ken Ok , thanks for that, I hadn't gotten to my Granby book yet, I have a copy of one that talks about the town. So further looking into the records or accounts shows that Thomas Holcombe did not have a son Thomas. It was his son Josiah who had a son Thomas, I am looking to verify that next. I found the information in Thomas will where he named 8 children however two died young for a total of 10. I will not get to Simsbury until after I return late October or November. I will try to email Simsbury this week and see if that works. My line was messed up with duplicates etc and has now been fixed. My ancestry tree is open if you want to look at the records I have. P