Elizabeth Townsend

Evidence needed to support Elizabeth Townsend as a daughter of Robert Coles and Mary Harvye who married Matthias Harvye second.

Disputed Origins

The Great Migration project does not have a daughter Elizabeth Townsend for Robert Coles, nor is she a known child of Robert Coles, of Oyster Bay.

Apparently Savage attributed her birth to Robert Coles in error:

extracted from Savage, "First Settlers of NE Vol I", p 17:[2] COLES, ROBERT, Roxbury, came in the fleet with Winth. req. to be made freem. 19 Oct. 1630, and was adm. 18 May foll. rem. perhaps to Salem, and to Ipswich, was oft. punish. for drunken. yet in 1638 seems to be reform. if remis. of fines may just. be thus understood, tho. it may only have been act of policy to ensure his rem. from our jurisdict. But at last he went to Providence, was reform. in earnest, and bec. one of the found. of the first Bapt. ch. there. By w. Mary he had John, beside Daniel, Nathaniel, Robert, and ds. Sarah, perhaps youngest; Ann, wh. m. Henry Townsend; Eliz. wh. m. John Townsend; both from L. I. where Quakers were persecut. by the Dutch. He d. bef. 18 Oct. 1654, when the town counc, exercis. their duty of mak. distrib. of his prop. in the way he should have made his will. The wid. m. Matthias Harvey, and rem. to Oyster Bay, L. I. with hers. Nathaniel and Daniel, and the two ds. that m. Townsend foll."

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References

1. From "The Memorial of Samuel Hicks Seaman", byMary Thomas Seaman: from "American Ancestry", Vol 9, pp 77-80: from Bunkers Long Island Genealogies: from "The Wright Family of Oyster Bay", by Rowland Delano Perrine, New York, 1923: from "The Jones Family of Long Island", by John Henry Jones, New York, 1907: from "Samuel Gorton", by Adelos Gorton, Philadelphia, 1907: and from the Cocks, Cock Family in America, by George William Cocks, New York, 1912. … 1/6. Elizabeth Coles. She married, 1st, a Mr. Montgomery: 2nd, John Townsend who died in 1668-9, son of Thomas Townsend, see subject 616 page 1, and subject 308 for issue and further particulars. [sic: not listed as a child by Anderson in The Great Migration Begins]