ROBERT COATES OF LYNr-l. MASS. AND SOME OF HIS DESCENDANTS Compiled by EVELYN (COAT.ES) AHERIN Printing courtesy of Belle Coates 1970 Syracuse~ New York Ll.brary of Congress Catalog No. 70-148818 Fergus Graphic Arts Printers Chula Vis ta , California ACKNOWLEOOEMENT When asked why she attempted THE GENEALOGY OF ROBERT COATES OF LYNN, MASS. AND SOME OF HIS DESCENDANTS, my cousin Evelyn Aherin gave two reasons. Foremost, she was motivated by the high regard with which she held her father, Chauncey Sterling Coates. She wanted to explore his family background to dis­ cover sources that may have contributed to moulding the out­ standing inner strength and integrity of his character which later exerted such a powerful exemplary force in her own life. Coupled with this filial urge was her determination to prove or disprove--"we are a skeptical lot••--the contention of MAYFLOWER and Revolutionary heritage that cropped up all through her childhood from older members in more than one branch of the Coates family. Years of family talk and hearsay eventually found factual basis in a handwritten, unsigned note among genealogical mat­ erial collected in 1927 by my father, Louis Allen Coates. This note enabled Evelyn to prove our connection through the Leonard­ Bates line to Stephen Hopkins, a MAYFLOWER passenger. Then on the heels of her initial triumph, further research into the Bible records of the Titus Wood family proved the final link to a still more important MAYFLOWER ancestor--Lieut. Governor William Bradford. Here was the zenith of her research. Here she found family belief and esteem doubly justified. The work stands as a tribute to her father, and to the suc­ cession of forebears who founded, then fought to preserve, our patch of civilization. Members of.all living branches of the Coates family will be grateful to Evelyn Aherin for the pride and personal gratification contained in her accurate and dis­ tinguished compilation of our family genealogy. Work on the book consumed four years and entailed consider­ able expense. Evelyn engaged in voluminous correspondence in tracing family contacts throughout the country. She happens to reside conveniently near New England sources. With the as­ stance of her husband Frank she visited thirty counties of New York State and four counties of rv'lassachusetts. She visited cemeteries all over the area and examined Bible, probate, deed and census records. She researched genealogical departments of historical societies, state and city libraries, including her own hometown public library. · She learned to type, then assembled the entire manuscript. A proud part of the family she has so ably traced, she is reluctant to offer more than sketchy biographical information concerning herself. She speaks for herself through her work. Belle Coates Chula Vista, Calif. November, 1970 iii \ \ \ Evelyn (Coates) Aherin IflrRODUCT ION TM GENEA.L08-Y OF RO.BERT C!OA'rl!::::; OF 1'YNN, 1i·... A3;:; •.i\.N.u .SCi'•'~ OF HIS DE3C~NDAN·.r~, is of the first five generations, traced in r·.~assachusetts, Connecticut and New York State into the early 1800 • s. The most co:n.TTion spellings of the name were Coates, Coats and Cotes. These spellings still are used today, but the most corrL~on is Coates • .. The Coates Family of Essex County, 1.-lass.,., by Carlfred 3. :Broderick, was published in TnE NE'il ENG.LAN0 riI3l'ur<IC A;•lJ GENt:ALOGICAl, REGI3TER, vol. 111 pp 104-111, Thomas Coates, and the same vol. pp 222-227, Robert Coates. ,/hen it was found that l'llr. Broderick assigned John Coates, son of Robert, to Thomas, it seemed advisable to redo it, adding the Con­ necticut and New York descendants. Parkhurst' s ~ARLY F.At,iILI£3 OF NEll LONuCN, ::;oNN., 19 30, shows a Coates coat of arms for a branch of this family, but no proof is given that it belongs to this Coates family. In 196 5 the compiler• s aunt, i:.'"i.rs. Stella 11 elinda ~ ~·,ho was nearly eighty, stated that Pa (Seth #illard Coates, 18J7-1915) said, "Three Coates brothers came to America from .Li\,erfiool, England. Two settled at the same place and one went south.•' ;3he knew so much about the families "way back'' and r:1ost of her information has proved to be correct. This infor~atlan is given as a possible lead as no research :1as been done in ~ngland. I wish to thank the ::1any people who have helped rne in the preparation of this book. ~pace will not permit the nami~g of all of th.er.-,, Eowever, I wish t0 gratefully acknowledge the wise coun~el and encouragement cf :,:r. ~erald J. Parsons, F.A.3.G., of the Syracuse Public ~ibrary. Evelyn (Coates) Aherin 1 ABBREVIATIONS bapt baptized b. born bur. buried dau. daughter d. died div. divorced g. s. grave stone inf. information int. intention of marriage recorded m. married res. residence, resided 2 ROBERT COATES OF LYNN, MASS. AND SOME OF HIS DESCENDANTS Robert 1 Coates was believed born in England about 1627 and died at Lynn, Mass. before April 26, 1?08. (Essex Deed. series 3, 59:50). His exact date of birth and parentage is un_'ltnown. He married about 165? Jane Sumner, who probably was born in England about 1638, the daughter of emigrants, George and Mary Sumner of Rowley, Mass. The following petition appears in the Essex County court files: "The humble petition of Robert Coates Senior of Lyn and Jane his wife and daughter of George Sumner, who died by smallpox some forty years since, in Rowley, for administration of the estate of Thomas Sumner, her brother, who married and died without issue, his wif'e is also .dead, she having married twice (married second, Thomas Elithorp) and said Jane is only heir living, she being a­ bout ten years old when her father died. To the court to be held the first Tuesday, November 1691. 11 · Robert was the second inhabitant of Nahant, who probably liv­ ed there as a fisherman and shepherd. In 1657, the people of Lynn held a town meeting and appointed Thomas Laughton, George Keysor, Robert Coates and Joseph Armitage, a committee to defend their right to Nahant for the benefit of' all the people of' Lynn. In 1678, Robert Coates Senior, Robert Coates Junior and John Coates were among the inhabitants of Lynn, who took the oath of allegiance to the king. children, born Lynn: 2 2 i. Robert b. ca 1658; d. Stonington, Conn. 2 May 1724 3 ii. John b. ca 1661; d. Lynn 1729 iii. Abigail b. 10 April 1663; d. 21 July 1743; m. 16 Jan. 1681/2 Samuel Rhoads children, surname Rhoads, born Lynn: 1. Samuel b. 2 Aug. 1685 2. Abigail b. 19 Jan. 1686/7 3. Eleizer b. 5 Nov. 1688 4. Sarah b. 31 July 1690; d. 8 Oct. 1690 5. Obadiah b. 13 May 1693 3 6. Sarah b. 16 Aug. 1696 7. Jeane b. 10 Aug. 1699 8. Joseph b. 25 Aug. 1701 9. Benjamin b. 12 June 1704 iv. Eleazer b. 1667; d. 7 Sept. 1676 References: Boston transcript Nov. 12, 1930, no. 8043; History of Lynn by Lewis and New Hall 1865, pp 241, 261; Essex County court files Vol. XXX p 58 1 2. ~obert2 Coates (Robert ), was born at Lynn, Mass. ca 1658 and died at Stonington, Conn. 2 May 1724. He married at Lynn 29 Dec. 1682 Mary Sodgkins, who was born 6 April 1661, the daughter of ·::illiam and Grace (Dutch) Hodgkins of Ipswich. In 1684, Robert and Mary came from Lynn to reside for a time in Ipswich. According to the then requirement, William Hodgkins was obliged to furnish a signed and sealed document that the said young man and his family should not be burdensome to the town. It was one of the quaint A.ar] y custc:,s to require travelers to furn­ ish sponsers. The papers to the selectmen are still on file: "1684- Know all men by these presents that I, William Hodgkins Sr., of Ipswich, do bind myself, heirs and executors and adminis­ trators in the (penal) sum of fifty pounds current paid unto the selectmen of Ipswich or their successors that whereas my son-in­ law, Robert Cotes, is lately come to dwell in Ipswich, that he nor his familie become to any charge to the town during his or their residence in I~swich as witness my hand this twentieth day of Jan­ uary 1684." In 1674, Robert was a soldier on the Connecticut River under Captain Turner. About 1?07, he re~oved to Stonington, Conn. children, all born Lynn, except Mary: 4 i. Robert3 b. 17 Aug. 1683; d. Stonington 17?1 ii. Mary b. Ipswich 29 Aug. 16g5; d. Stonington unm.; will 25 Sept. 1764, proved 10 July 1772, New London, heirs, Hannah Coats and Bartholomew Coats, chil. of her deceas­ ed brother, Hezekiah (8) 5 iii. ~illiam b. 23 Oct. 1689; d. Stonington 23 Jan. 1776 iv. Obadiah b. 18 Sept. 1691 v. Hannah b. 12 Feb. 1693/4; m. ~esterly, Rh. Is. l Jan. 1?28/9 Joseph Babcock as 2nd 4 children, surname Babcock, born Stonington: 1. Dorothy b. 2 Feb. 1729/30 2. Abigail b. 30 April 1?31 3. John, twin b. 15 Oct. 1733 4. Joseph, twin b. 15 Oct. 1733 6 vi. Joseph b. 20 March 1695/6; d. Wallingford, Conn. 17?2 ? vii. Caleb b. 22 Sept. 1698; d. Stonington 9 Oct. 17~9 viii. Abigail, twin b. 30 April 1?01 ix. Grace, twin b. 30 April 1?01 8 x.