Abigail Calkins

Born ca 1635 in Martock, Somerset. Sarah died on 1 May 1711 in Norwich, CT.30 Buried in Old Town Cem., Norwich.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=11776879

Birth: 1633 Martock South Somerset District Somerset, England Death: May 1, 1711 Norwich New London County Connecticut, USA

Sarah was the wife of John Calkins.

Sarah & John's children were; Sgt. Hugh, John, Samuel, James, Sarah, Mary, Elizabeth, Daniel, David, and Anne.

Family links:

Spouse:

 John Calkins (1634 - 1702)*

Children:

 Sarah Calkins Baldwin (1666 - 1685)*

*Calculated relationship

Burial: Old Town Hill Cemetery Groton New London County Connecticut, USA

GEDCOM Note

Category:Descendants of Robert Royce of Connecticut

Biography

Sarah Royce daughter of Robert Royce and Mary, bc. 1634, d 1 May 1711 Norwich, CT, ae 77, m. John Calkins<ref>Jacobus, Donald Lines (compiler). <i>Families of Ancient New Haven</i> Vols I-VIII. 1922-1932. Reprint. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1977.</ref> She was not born in Norwich, CT, (It didn't exist). It is pretty generally accepted that she was born in England. "Somerset" if you believe she is the dtrof Robert and Mary Sims. Stamford if you believe she is the dtr of Robert & Mary Jackson

It is very likely she isSara Royse chr 08 Feb 1634 Saint Michael, Stamford, Lincoln, England.d/o Robert<ref>"England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/N26R-W3L : accessed04 May 2014), Sara Royse, 08 Feb 1634; citing SAINT MICHAEL, STAMFORD, LINCOLN, ENGLAND, reference ; FHL microfilm 1450475 IT 2.</ref>
The children of John Calkins and Sarah Royce were born 1659-1678. So the couple were probably married about 1657/58, probably in New London,where they lived. They went to Norwich, shortly thereafter. Their children were born in Norwich. In 2003, the Calkins Family Association placed a plaque in Old Norwichtown Cemetery with her name and dates.

Disputed Parents

Kenneth Calkins, in his work "Calkins Family in America", attributes Mary Sims as being the wife of Robert Royce, and hence the mother of Sarah. But Charles Julian, a Royce researcher, makes a fairly strong case this is questionable or unlikely (see Charles Julian Addendum below).

• Fact: Christening (8 February 1634) Saint Michael, Stamford, Lincolnshire, England
• Fact: Residence Stamford, Lincolnshire, England* Fact: Burial Norwich, New London, Connecticut, British Colonial America
• Fact: Christening (8 February 1634) Saint Michael, Stamford, Lincolnshire, England
• Fact: Residence Stamford, Lincolnshire, England* Fact: Burial Norwich, New London, Connecticut, British Colonial America
• Fact: Christening (8 February 1634) Saint Michael, Stamford, Lincolnshire, England* Fact: Burial Norwich, New London, Connecticut, British Colonial America

Sources

<references />

• "Family Tree," database, <i>FamilySearch</i> (http://familysearch.org : modified 05 March 2019, 17:27), entry for Sarah Royce(PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:KND8-1SY); contributed by various users.* "Family Tree," database, <i>FamilySearch</i> (http://familysearch.org : modified 06 August 2018, 21:23), entry for Sarah Royce(PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:KND8-1SY); contributed by various users.* "Family Tree," database, <i>FamilySearch</i> (http://familysearch.org : modified 02 August 2018, 23:08), entry for Sarah Royce(PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:KND8-1SY); contributed by various users.
• The Calkins Family Association.* Kenneth W. Calkins, "Calkins Family In America", Calkins Family Association, September 2000* Robert Royce Family on Genforum: http://genforum.genealogy.com/royce/messages/893.html* Caulkins, Frances Manwaring,. History of Norwich, Connecticut : fromits possession by the Indians to the year 1866. New London: The friends of the author, 1874.

Addendum: Charles Julian post at Genforum

This is the text of a message posted by Charles Julian on February 25, 2006 at Genforum. It is copied here in order to preserve it: Robert Royce (Abt 1606-1676) of New London CT is probably the ancestorof most Royces in North America today, but his origins in England (specifically Martock, Somerset) have proven a headache for those attempting to take the record back further. Records of Robert Royce's birth in Somerset and of his early family there have never been found. This discrepancy has lead to a cycle of inference and speculation that has created, among other things, about 20 different birthdates for Royce inSomerset and about 20 different surnames for his wife Mary – most often "Sims", though this proposal has been disproven as noted below. "The often claimed marriage to Mary Sims on Jun 04, 1634 cannot be substantiated. Extensive research in the Long Sutton, Martok and Lubenham, Somerset, England parish churches failed to show any marriage in 1634 between a Robert Royce by any spelling and a Mary Sims (Syms). The closest that could be found was between a Robert Rayce and a Mary Simson Jun 04, 1624 in Long Sutton. Clarence Leslie Hewitt, Jr. in an article originally published in the NEGHS Register and later in "English Origins of New England Families", Series 2, Volume 3 pp 42-45 titled "Some Light on the Marriage of Robert and Mary Royce of Connecticut" concludes this could not be the correct date because the earliest recorded birth of a child, Sarah, was 1633-34 and they had seven children total." ( http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/d/o/b/Michael-E-Dobson ) This gives just some idea of the problem. In researching my own Roycehistory (I am not a descendant of Robert Royce) I may inadvertently have found the answer. On hearing vague mention of Somerset England as a possible point of origin for the Royses of Ireland (my line), I started in on the Royces of Somerset. Initially I thought that sorting out this family would take a long time since there are over 1250 entries for Royces in Somerset on the IGI alone. On closer inspection, however, I found that at least 1200 of these entries are in fact entries for Robert Royce himself and for various members of his family as contributed anonymously by over a thousand people. Of these records, not one is from a genuine parish roster. If you rake these 1200 + records, the total number of genuine birth record entries from County Somerset parishes is: eleven. And a fairly random eleven at that. There are twenty or thirty Royce marriages on record in the county but virtually all of these appear to have been fly by night, with few Royces having had more than one child christened there. At the time of the 1881 census, stray births aside, there is only oneRoyce family (arguably two) in all of Somerset. Factor in official records from all four of the counties that surround Somerset (Devon, Dorset Wiltshire, Gloucester), and there is still nothing. All this makes clear that there is not – and evidently there never has been – a viable Royce presence in Somerset or in any county of Southwestern England. Far from being a Royce epicentre some 1200 peoplestrong, County Somerset and surroundings are a veritable No-Man's-Land when it comes to people with the surname Royce. This begs the question, "Was Robert Royce really from Somerset?" Records of his birth, of his marriage, of the christenings of his known children, have never been found there, even though records from every conceivable parish at which he and his wife Mary {Unknown} might have been parishioners have records preserved and available for the time thathe and his family are believed to have resided there. In short – and in spite of folk legend, whether primary or secondary – there is really no evidence for Robert Royce's (b. Abt 1606) family having been from Martock, or from anywhere in Somerset. And, even on the off-chance that Royce did live at Somerset for a time and his records have simply gone missing, there is still no evidence to indicate a substantial Royce presence in Somerset. Robert Royce's family, if not Royce himself, almost certainly came from somewhere else before making passage to the New World.

References

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GEDCOM Note

• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Dec 4 2019, 5:30:35 UTC