George Munroe

Notes:

Compiled and edited by Allen Alger, Genealogist, Clan Munro Association, USA

Birth:
George's birth date is calculated from the age listed in his death record.

Family/Spouse: Unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Charles E. Munroe was born est 1843; and died.

Notes:

Abel lived in Surry, New Hampshire as early as 1795. He is thought to have lived first in house No. 22 which stood on land bought in 1790 by his uncle, Dr. Philip Munroe. That house was torn down before 1799 and the timbers used to build the second story of house No. 23, which Dr. Munroe opened that year as a tavern.

Abel's wife, Bethany Barron was of Scottish descent and came to New England from Northern Ireland.

In 1799, Abel was carrying on the farm for Widow Brockway after the death of her husband, John. On 18 Jan 1800, Abel took out a license to keep tavern at Widow Brockway's and he continued there until 21 Jun 1805 when the place burned down. In 1803, Abel paid a salary tax of 50 cents. In the census taken during the summer of 1806, he appears as 31 years old, with wife Bethany aged 33, and five children: William aged 9, James 7, Abel 5, John 3, and Rebecca 1.

On 12 Oct 1808, his name is 34th on a list of 51 soldiers who "did military duty with the 4th Co., 20th Regt., the 11th of this instant." On 9 Dec 1811, he took out a license at the Col. Bond house.

Sometime between 1811 and 1818, Abel appears to have moved with his family to Boston, Massachusetts and is found in the Boston Directory of 1818 living on a small street in the North End called Henchman Lane and working as a laborer. Subsequent directories show him living on Lynn Street (1823), Battery Street (1830-1832), Tileston Street (1835). He is no longer listed after 1835.

The death record of his son, Abel, says Abel Sr. was born in Shrewsbury, New Hampshire and that Bethenia was born in Derry, New Hampshire. This information is thought to be in error.

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In the Richard S. Munroe's History and "Genealogy of the Lexington, Massachusetts Munroes" this Abel is listed as the son of Philip and Rebecca rather than the grands. Estelle Wait in an article in NEHGR Vol126 p.240 corrects this "Among the Munroe births recorded at Rutland Mass, is the following 'Abel, grands. Philip & ---- Oct. 30, 1785 bap. C.R.' Surely this was Abel, son of Abel and Rebecca Sadler Munroe, baptized at the age of ten. With his mother dead and his father remarried, he had gone perhaps to Rutland to live with his Munroe Grandparents. Ms Wait also believes Abel Sr. is the first child of the Philip Munroe's marriage to his second wife Abigail, whose baptism appears in the Lexington birth records on 7 Oct. 1750, no parents names being given.

In a paragraph in Mrs. Wait's article Richard S. Munroe that his 1966 genealogy was incorrect and applauded Estelle Waits work.

Abel Jr. then married Bethany Barron at Keene, N.H. 22 SEpt. 1796 He appeared in Surry as early as 1795 and is thought to have lived first in house No.22, which stood on land bought in 1790 by his uncle, Dr. Philip Munroe. It was torn down before 1799 so its timbers could be used for the second story house No.23, which Dr. Munroe opened that year as a tavern.

In 1799 we find Abel Munroe carrying on the farm for Widow Browckway following the death of her husband John. On 18 Jan. 1800 Abel took out a license to keep tavern at Widow Brockway's, and he continue there until 21 June 1805, when the place burned. In 1803 he paid a salary tax of fifty cents. In the census taken during the summer of 1806 he appears as 31 years old, with wife Bethany, aged 33, and five children: William 9, James 7; Abel, 5; John, 3 and Rebecca.

1. On 12 Oct. 1808 his name is 34th on a list of 51 soldiers who "did military duty with the 4th Co., 20th Regt., the 11th of this instant."
On 9 Dec 1811 he took out a license at the Colonel Bond House, and that is the last glimpse of him at Surry.

Sometime between 1811 and 1818, Abel appears to have removed with his family to Boston, for the Boston Directory of 1818 shows an Abel Munroe, laborer, living on Henchman Lane, a small street in the North End. Abel of Surry and Abel of Boston are undoubtedbly the same man because subsequent directories show Abel, laborer, at the same addresses as men bearing names of sons of Abel of Surry. In 1823, Abel lived on Lynn Street, and William Munroe was on Lynn Street in 1822. From 1830 to 1832 Abel was on Bettery Street, where Jotham Munroe was located in 1830. In 1835 Abel was on Teleston Street: William and Abel Jr were on Tileston in 1831 and later James, John and Jotham Munroe all resided there. After 1835, Abel, the laborer is no longer listed.

Wait, Estelle The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 1847-1994 101 Newbury Street, Boston MA 02116, Volume 126p. 240

(Email from Suzanne Spencer - 16 Sep 2009)
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Ref: Lexington Munroes, 2nd ed. 13-84A-1, 13-84A-12

References:

(1) Clan Munro files - Roeser, Douglas Lee - Direct Descendants of Abel Monroe
- undated

Compiled and edited by Allen Alger, Genealogist, Clan Munro Association, USA

Abel married Mary Bethania Barron on 22 Sep 1796 in Keene, Cheshire Co., New Hampshire, USA. Mary was born on 12 Dec 1772 in Surry, Cheshire Co., New Hampshire, USA; died on 19 Oct 1844 in Boston, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Compiled and edited by Allen Alger, Genealogist, Clan Munro Association, USA

Notes:

Abel was probably a veteran of the American Revolutionary War.

Ref: Clan Munro files - Yard, Prof. F. L. Dixon

References:

(2) Clan Munro files - Roeser, Douglas Lee - Direct Descendants of Abel Monroe
- undated

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The following is from "Descendants of John Munro" received from W. M. Roeser - 14 May 2012

«i»Abel was probably a Revolutionary War veteran, and probably lived in Canaan, Columbia County, New York in 1790; and in Stephen, Rensselaer County, New York in 1800. He died in the city of Hudson, Columbia County, New York in 1824. This information was put together for Sarah Elizabeth Monroe (Aunt Lizzie) Altenburg by Myron Hawley Monroe's cousin, Theodore Monroe of Conowingo, Maryland.

Abel Monroe is most probably the Abel who appears on page 63 of "The Monroe Book" by Joan P. Guilford, Ph.D. detaling the history of the Munro Clan. Abel would have been the Great-Grand son of William Munro who was sent to this country in 1652 by Lord Cromwell after the battle at Worcester, England«/i».
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The following is a transcription of RW "Billy" Munro's genealogy notes:

«i»Baptised ? Lexington, MA 7 October, 1750«b». «/b»

Estelle M.Waite in New England History & Genealogical Register Oct., 1972 Pages 240-246, especially page 241. Richard S. Munroe 19, and his notes on above page 246
«/i»**********
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The following is from the Spencer reference:

«i»He is probably the Abel at Canaan, Columbia Co., NY in 1790 where his brother Lemuel resided at the time. After compiling this family, we found that Estelle Wait, compiler of the descendents of John Munroe of Bristol had previous done so (NEHGR, 126:240-246) and that Richard Munroe, compiler of the original genealogy of William, had written a note thanking her for the addition of this line. The title of Wait's article is "The Finding of Abel Munroe."

NEHGR The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston MA: New England Historical and Genealogical society, Vol. I 1847 to present.

Munroe, Richard S. History and Genealogy of the Lexington, Massachusets munroes, Florence MA: Munrow 1966; Sec. Ed. 1987 Ann Monroe Organ

Estelle Wait of Newton Centre, Mass wrote for NEHGR Vol. 126 p. 241 clearing up the mystery of several Abels. This Abel was probably the eldest child of Philip Munroe and his second wife Abigail whose baptism appears in the Lexington birth records on 7 Oct. 1750, no parent's names being given. After the birth of his daughter Rebecca (now his second marriage to Beulah Potter) Abel Sr. seems to have vanished from the Upton-Sutton area...
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«/i»The following is from an email from Craig Richardson - 5 May 2009:
«i»
The Lexington vital record book has a record of the baptism of Abel Munroe on 7 Oct 1750. I am not certain about Abel's death, but I did find a death notice that might well be him.

HeritageQuest has a book containing transcribed death notices from the Northern Whig, which was published in Hudson, Columbia County, NY. It includes a death notice for Abel Monroe dated 10 Aug 1824. The book was typewritten and the text is very fuzzy and hard to read, but here is my attempt at a transcription:

MONROE on the 6th Mr. Abel Monroe, a 76 yrs. (Printers & [??? news for] the western part of N.Y. State are requested to print death.

According to my notes, the transcribed date of death looked like it had been corrected, and might have been August 5th. The age given in the death notice would correspond to a birth in late 1747 or the first part of 1748, which is about right. Since our Abel Munroe had relatives in the western part of NY (for example, brother Lemuel), I think the inclusion of that request is a promising sign, but obviously there is no solid proof that this is the right Abel Monroe.

There is no listing for an Abel Monroe in the NEHGS NY Will Abstracts database, so this Abel Monroe probably died intestate. However, it's possible that land records would help to identify his wife and children.

I've found a public family tree called the Clan Munro Genealogy Database 2009 that has our Abel's death occurring in 1824 in Hudson NY (which matches the newspaper death notice). It also includes a number of additional children. However, I'm not sure whether to trust this, because I *know* the database includes some serious errors. For example, it has the wrong husband and children for my own ancestor Mary Monroe (daughter of Freedom Monroe). I've written to the database owner to see if this error can be corrected, but no response after two weeks. If I hear from them, I'll certainly ask about the source of their information on Abel Munroe.«/i»
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Compiled and edited by Allen Alger, Genealogist, Clan Munro Association, USA

Birth:
Birth place unverified

Abel married Rebecca Sadler on 23 Nov 1773 in Upton, Worcester Co., Massachusetts, USA. Rebecca (daughter of Stephen Sadler and Elizabeth Taintor) was born on 8 Mar 1757 in Upton, Worcester Co., Massachusetts, USA; died on 3 Nov 1775 in Upton, Worcester Co., Massachusetts, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Compiled and edited by Allen Alger, Genealogist, Clan Munro Association, USA

Birth:
Birth place unverified

Notes:

Phillip's four oldest children, his first wife, Mary and his mother Johanna all died at about the same time, evidently in an epidemic. His last surviving child at the time was dead by 23 Dec 1749. At this time, Philip was 31 years old. He must have married his second wife, Abigail, between 1749 and 1753. From the 35th to 60th year of his age, 11 more children were born to him and Abigail. She was about 22 when the first was born and 47 at the birth of their last child.

Philip was of Shrewsbury, Boylston and Rutland, Massachusetts. The first Shrewsbury deeds call Philip Munroe of Lexington, Massachusetts. A little later he was called of Shrewsbury. There are 18 land transfers of places that he bought and sold. He lived on one of the places called the 'Roe farm', which was still standing in 1963.

He was living on the "Hill" in what is now Boylston, but was Shrewsbury North Precinct in his time. Two of his children were baptised in the church of the North Precinct or Second Parish on the same day, 2 Nov 1769.

Philip Munroe started acquiring land in Shrewsbury Area about 1763, he sold 5 acres to Jonathan Weelock in Shrewsbury in 1763, and in 1765 he purchased a piece of land from Benjamin Tainter. In the deeds he is called "Philip Munro a labourer". Today he would be called a land speculator. Most of the deeds call him of Shrewsbury, two call him of Rutland.

Two deeds establish his connection to Surry, New Hampshire. The first deed dated 22 Dec 1789, in which he is called a physician, and the second dated 29 Dec 1789. He had established himself of Surry, New Hampshire by about 1783.

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The following is a transcription of RW "Billy" Munro's genealogy notes:

[Abraham Munro] «i»Son of Philip Munro (1718-?) and Mary ___? Baptised Shrewsbury, 4 September, 1763.

Mackenzie Page 587
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«/i»Error alert: RW Munro says Philip was the son of Ens. William Munroe and his first wife, Mary Cutler. Other references say Philip was the son of William's second wife, Johanna Russell. Philip's birth date is after William and Johanna's marriage date.

Ref: Clan Munro files - Griffin, Richard
- Farlow, Donna

Compiled and edited by Allen Alger, Genealogist, Clan Munro Association, USA

Buried:
Surrey Village Cemetery

Philip married Abigail Parker in 1749 in Lexington, Middlesex Co., Massachusetts, USA. Abigail was born in 1731; was christened on 7 Oct 1750; died on 8 Oct 1801 in Surry, Cheshire Co., New Hampshire, USA; was buried in Surry, Cheshire Co., New Hampshire, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Error alert: There are three people named Abigail Parker who supposedly married close Munroe relatives close to the same time frame. This is either a coincidence or an error.

Compiled and edited by Allen Alger, Genealogist, Clan Munro Association, USA

Christened:
Baptism

Buried:
Surrey Village Cemetery

Notes:

Compiled and edited by Allen Alger, Genealogist, Clan Munro Association, USA

Birth:
Estimate: This birth date is an estimate based on the birth dates of nearest relatives or contemporaries, or based on other clues such as christening date, marriage date, birth order, etc.

Stephen married Elizabeth Taintor. Elizabeth was born about 1734; and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Compiled and edited by Allen Alger, Genealogist, Clan Munro Association, USA

Birth:
Estimate: This birth date is an estimate based on the birth dates of nearest relatives or contemporaries, or based on other clues such as christening date, marriage date, birth order, etc.