Matthew Stanley

Matthew Stanley

• BIRTH 1628 England
• DEATH 30 Apr 1686 (aged 57–58) Topsfield, Essex County, Massachusetts, USA
• BURIAL Stanley Family Burial Ground, Topsfield, Essex County, Massachusetts, USA
• MEMORIAL ID 155419689

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MATTHEW STANLEY.

He was of Lynn, Mass., in 1646, where it is recorded of him, in Mass. Hist. Coll., as follows: "Matthew Stanley was fined œ5, with 2s. 6d cost, for winning the affections of John Tarbox his daughter without her parents' consent. The latter were allowed 6s for their attendance in court for 3 days." Samuel Stanley, a son of Matthew, born in 1656, was of Topsfield, Mass. He had eight children, of whom six sons went to Attleborough and settled near the Falls. One son, Benjamin, removed to Haverhill. From these have descended a large number of families residing in Eastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, and in later generations in New Hampshire and Maine, especially in the latter.

RESIDENCE: 1635 Lynn, MA; removed Topsfield, MA 1644;Ipswich, MA 1647

Notes:

the origins of Matthew, there are several ideas that Matthew is related to the Hartford Stanleys (which seems unlikely). Possibly he was indentured (hired out) at about 16 which was fitting for the times that Matthew of Topsfield & George of Beverly are related to Christopher of Boston who d. in 1646. In Daggett's account of Attleaboro, MA, a Matthew Stanley of Martha's Vineyard who later settled at Topsfield is mentioned. The Saugus iron Works was staffed by persons from Middlesex. An Edmund Chapman settled at Marblehead, MA in the 1640's. An Edmund Chapman and his servant Matthew Stanley of Middlesex, England were pardoned by Charles.

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Per research by Stephen Stanley who states:

"I am aware of many family trees that connect the Massachusetts Stanley line with that of the Stanley settlers of Hartford Connecticut, which may have resulted from a conflation of IGI Stanley records. Most researchers have Matthew Stanley's birth 1628 - 1630, with his birthplace as either Middlesex (Stepney) or more recently in my own research, birth on 12 Feb. 1628/1629, in Thame, Oxfordshire."

MATTHEW1 STANLEY was born 1638 in England, and died November 14, 1712 in Topsfield, Essex, MA.He married RUTH ANDREWS Abt 1649.RESIDENCE: 1635 Lynn, MA; removed Topsfield, MA 1644;Ipswich, MA 1647

Children of MATTHEW STANLEY and RUTH ANDREWS are:

• 2. i. SAMUEL2 STANLEY, b. Abt 1656; d. August 17, 1724, Rehoboth, Bristol, MA.
• ii. JOHN STANLEY, b. June 21, 1659, Topsfield, Essex, MA.
• iii. HANNAH STANLEY, b. February 17, 1659/60, Topsfield, Essex, MA.
• iv. ABIGAIL STANLEY, b. April 02, 1663, Topsfield, Essex, MA.
• v. ZURIUAH STANLEY, b. February 14, 1664/65, Topsfield, Essex, MA.
• vi. REBECKA STANLEY, b. March 02, 1666/67, Topsfield, Essex, MA.
• vii. LUCY STANLEY, b. November 09, 1668, Topsfield, Essex, MA.
• viii. JOSEPH STANLEY, b. December 14, 1671, Topsfield, Essex, MA.
• ix. BENJAMINE STANLEY, b. November 12, 1673, Topsfield, Essex, MA.

SOURCE: "Directory of Ancestral Heads of New Eng Families" by Holmes;"History of Winthrop" from Town Office, ME pg 597;Essex Antiquarian for 1902 pp 24 & 161; "New Eng Marriages Prior to 1700" by Torrey pg 701

Recent consensus is that Matthew was one of the children brought to Salem between 1643 and 1646 during the 1st Parliamentarian/Royalist Civil War from Middlesex County (now East Metropolitan London)to live with and work for families of the area.

He married Ruth Andrewes, daughter of William Andrewes of Lynn and stepdaughter of John Tarbox of Lynn, about 1652 and moved to Topsfield probably the following spring. They had 11 children that survived to adulthood. Records of Topsfield previous to June 1657 were lost to a fire at the town clerk's residence so no baptismal records of earliest children survive previous to this date.

Children:

1. William born about 1654. Died 1692 as a result of the house fire. Topsfield.
2. Elizabeth born about 1652. Died 1737 Ipswich. Spouse: Christopher Bowles.
3. Samuel born about 1656. Died 1724 Attleboro. Spouse: Johanna Towne?.
4. John born about 1659. Spouse: Mary Proctor. Both died in Attleborough.
5. Hannah born about 1661. Died 1744 Topsfield. Spouse: John Clarke.
6. Abigail born about 1663. Died unknown. Spouse: Thomas Waite.
7. Zerviah born about 1665. Died 1718 Portsmouth, NH. Spouse: William Parker.
8. Rebecca born about 1666. Died 1724 Boxford. Spouse: Thomas Andrews.
9. Lucy born about 1668. Died after 1740. Spouse: Nathaniel Wood.
10. Joseph born 1671. Died 1692 in the house fire. Brother Samuel names his son born that year after him. Benjamin names his first son Joseph.
11. Benjamin born about 1673. Died 1742 Haverhill. Spouse: Lucy Merrill

Family Members
Spouse
Photo
Ruth Andrews Standley
1633–1692 (m. 1652)

Children
Elizabeth Standley Bowles
1653–1737

William Standley
1654–1692

Samuel Stanley
1656–1724

John Stanley
1659 – unknown

Abigail Standley Waite
1663–1688

Zerviah Stanley Parker
1665–1718

Rebecca Stanley Andrews
1666–1724

Joseph Stanley
1671–1692

Photo
Benjamin Standley
1673–1742

This is the Old Stanley-Lake Cemetery, on the Coolidge House Properfty in Topsfield.No original markers remain, but this is the most likely site of Matthew Stanley's grave, where he was buried in 1686.

References

• Birth records of his children:
• "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FHL5-5BS : 4 December 2014), Mathew Stanly in entry for Joseph Stanly, 14 Dec 1671; citing Topsfield, Essex, Massachusetts, 47; FHL microfilm 877,468.
• "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FHLP-LZX : 4 December 2014), Mathew Stanly in entry for Rebecka Stanly, 02 Mar 1666; citing Topsfield, Essex, Massachusetts, 14; FHL microfilm 877,468.
• "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FHLP-222 : 4 December 2014), Mathew Stanlye in entry for Abigaill Stanlye, 02 Apr 1663; citing Topsfield, Essex, Massachusetts, ; FHL microfilm 877,468.
• "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FHL2-DQM : 4 December 2014), Mathew Standly in entry for Lucy Standly, 09 Nov 1668; citing Topsfield, Essex, Massachusetts, 53; FHL microfilm 877,468.
• "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FHLP-22N : 4 December 2014), Mathew Stanly in entry for Zerviah Stanly, 14 Feb 1665; citing Topsfield, Essex, Massachusetts, 14; FHL microfilm 877,468.
• "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FHLG-X9H : 4 December 2014), Mathew Stanley in entry for Benjamin Stanley, 12 Nov 1673; citing Topsfield, Essex, Massachusetts, 157; FHL microfilm 877,468.
• Find a Grave entry citing birth and death.
• "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/Q2S9-V5JX : 15 March 2016), Matthew Stanley, 1686; Burial, Topsfield, Essex, Massachusetts, United States of America, Stanley Family Burial Ground; citing record ID 155419689, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
• http://www.rogersark.net/hawkeyes/stanley.htm
• "Directory of Ancestral Heads of New Eng Families" by Holmes
• "History of Winthrop" from Town Office, ME pg 597
• Essex Antiquarian for 1902 pp 24 & 161
• "New Eng Marriages Prior ot 1700" by Torrey pg 701
• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/155419689/matthew-stanley