George Munro

Notes:

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

George married Martha Fry on 8 Jul 1751 in Newport, Newport Co., Rhode Island, USA. Martha was born about 1732; died before 6 Mar 1785. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Nathaniel (Nathan) Munro was born on 7 Jul 1753 in Bristol, Bristol Co., Rhode Island, USA; died on 28 Jun 1853 in Newport, Newport Co., Rhode Island, USA.

George married Rachel Cranston on 6 Mar 1785 in Newport, Newport Co., Rhode Island, USA. Rachel was born about 1732; and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Ref: "Four Generations of Bristol Munros" by Estelle Wellwood Wait

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

John married Elizabeth Archer in 1716. Elizabeth was born on 31 Jan 1698 in Bristol, Bristol Co., Rhode Island, USA; died on 9 Dec 1743 in Bristol, Bristol Co., Rhode Island, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Elizabeth was the daughter of John and Mehitabel (Shears) Archer of Bristol.

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

Notes:

Ref: "Eagle Flyer" - Winter 1992
"Four Generations of Bristol Munros" by Estelle Wellwood Wait
Clan Munro files - Broughton, Patricia
- Brown, Thelma
- Hatch, W. Jerome
- Knox, Nellie Maude
- Bowers, Dr. Nancy Brooker
- Munro, John Quincy - Robert Munro descendants

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

Birth:
John's place of birth has not been proven.

John married Mehitable in 1692. Mehitable was born about 1666; died before 20 Nov 1718. [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.

Notes:

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(The following is from an e-mail message from Marston Watson - 25 Jun 2013)

«b»«i»"Goodman" John Munro«/b» b. in 1632 Assynt, Sutherland, Scotland. He married Sarah Lawton in Oct 1663 Duxbury, Plymouth, Mass., [no VR found]. He d. on 10 Oct 1691 Bristol [no VR found]. He is referred to also as Monroe, Monrow, Munroe and Munrow.

John joined the Royalist army to fight against Cromwell and fought in the battle of Worcester on 3 Sep. 1651, which was the final English Civil War and where the Royalists were badly defeated. Fourteen thousand Scots died in the battle and John was among the 8,000 who were taken prisoner. The prisoners were freed by ordinance of Parliament on 20 Oct. 1651 and sent to America to serve as indentured servants until debt of their passage was paid. He is the same person as the "John Monrow" who came on the John and Sarah from London on 11 Nov. 1651, along with three other "Monrow" passengers listed as Robert, Hugh and "(William)." This latter passenger, whose first name was obliterated in the record, has been demonstrated clearly for testimony of William that he came in 1652. All were shipped as prisoners of war and consigned to Thomas Kemble (of Boston) to whom they were indentured.

They all arrived at Boston and were indentured to farmers, land and mill owners, and planters for a period of seven or eight years. John is believed to have been sold into bondage south of Boston, possibly to the iron bogs in Taunton, Massachusetts. Nothing further is heard of John from 1652 until he appeared on a record on 27 Jan. 1673/74 as a witness for Constant Southworth's taking of land in Sakonnet (now Little Compton, Rhode Island) from the Indian Squaw Sachem, Awashunks.

John Munro is likely the one who is listed as "Goodman Roe" in the 11 Feb. 1688/89 census of Bristol with a wife and ten children. An inventory of John's estate was taken on 10 Nov. 1692 (valued at £75 15s). He and Sarah had ten children at Bristol, Rhode Island. John was the 7th great-grandson of James II, King of Scotland (1437-1460).«/i»
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The following is from the writings of Estelle Wait, of Massachusetts, (via the Sikes reference) who completed in 1958 eighteen years of research on location, attempting to clarify that although the Lexington branch of the Munros was descended from William, undoubtedly the Bristol branch was descended from John Munro of the "John and Sarah" prisoners from the battle of Worcester.

One of the early settlers at Cambridge Farms (now part of Lexington) was a William Munroe, who became the founder of he large Lexington Munroe family. He is known to have been born in Scotland in 1625, and both Mr. MacKenzie and John G. Locke, a former historian of the town of Lexington, believe that he is identical with William, son of Robert of Aldie, born in 1625, and captured in the battle of Worcester. Robert of Aldie's son is known to have been deported, hence the historian's belief that the obliterated name on the passenger list of the "John and Sarah" is William. Mr. MacKenzie died before he could establish the ancestry of the three other Munrows on this ship, but he did believe that there was a blood relationship between the four men, and that Robert, John, or Hugh was the founder of the Munroe family of Bristol, Rhode Island.

It is my belief that it was John Munrow who was the founder of this family and, with very little documentary evidence to go on, I have tried in this account to prove it. What disposition Thomas Kemble made of John on his arrival at Boston in February, 1652, (or 13 May 1652 according to Thomas E. Monroe) is not known, and we can only guess where he was and what he was doing for his first twenty-two years in New England. That seems like a long time to be unaccounted for, but such is the case at this writing.

We do not see him from 1652 until January 28, 1674, when he was one of several witnesses to the taking of land in Sakonnet (now Little Compton, Rhode Island) by Constant Southworth from the Indian squaw Sachem, Awashunks. Constant Southworth was one of the leading men in Plymouth Colony, and his home was in Duxbury. It seems a safe assumption that John Munrow was also living in or near Duxbury at that time, for how else would he have been chosen to accompany Southworth on his mission to Sakonnet? The account of this land transaction is in Baylies Memoirs of Plymouth Colony.

John Munrow's next appearance is in Bristol, Rhode Island. This town, situated on land which had been the home territory of King Phillip, was founded in 1680. The first town meeting was held in 1681, and as John Munrow's name is not on the list of inhabitants, it is evident that he had not yet moved there. However, in 1688/9 when the first Bristol census was taken, there appears in it the name of G. Row who had a wife and ten children, the largest family in town. The name Munroe has often been found shortened to Row or Roe, and I believe that G. Row was actually G. Munrow. (G. stands for Goodman, a lesser title than Mr., but better than no title at all.)

The census of 1688/9 does not give G. Row a first name, but without a doubt it was John, for on November 10, 1691, an inventory was taken of the "estate of John Munro deceased." While no location is mentioned in this inventory, the fact that it was taken by William Troop and Samuel Kelton, two Bristol men, makes it practically certain that the John Munro who died in 1691 was a Bristol inhabitant.

His estate was valued at 72 pounds, 15 shillings; and in the uncertain spelling of the day, the inventory appraises the following possessions: "21 cattell, 1 hors, swine, corne of all sorts, carts and plows and other furnitur, working towls and houshold good of all sorts." His debts amounted to 16 pounds,14 shillings; the Largest amount (14 pounds) being owed to Mr. Burton, who may have been Stephen Burton, one of the four proprietors of Bristol. There is a note at the bottom of the inventory which reads: "Admin Deferred & opportunity taken to bring ye wid. & child together." This note would suggest that at the time of John's death his family were not all under one roof. It may be that some of the children were married and in homes of their own. One boy we know was an apprentice and was very likely living with his master. But whatever the reason for the separation, John's widow and children were soon brought together and a very interesting document resulted.

This document is dated Feb. 1, 1692, and is called "Articles of Agreement between Sarah Munroe, relict of John Munroe late of Bristol deceased and adminstratix of his estate remaining on the one part, and his sons John, Thomas, William and George Munroe, and his two daughters, Sarah, and Elizabeth Munroe, on the other part." In this agreement, Sarah promises to bring up, maintain and educate the other four children - Susannah, Benjamin, Joseph, and Mary -until they become of age or marry. She further agrees to allow the three oldest sons to keep all the estate they have had, and to give George two cows with calf or calves when his apprenticeship expires in about three years; and to give daughters Sarah and Elizabeth each a cow with calf or calves on May 1 next. After she has paid John's debts, the widow Sarah is to have the balance of the estate. The document is signed by the marks of Sarah and the six eldest children.

From this agreement we know that John Munroe had a wife an ten children, which confirms the fact that he and G. row were one and same. Knowing this number of children, we are able to make some calculations as to John's probable age. If his tenth child was a year old when the census of 1688/9 was taken, and if we allow twenty years for the births of all ten children, he would have been married about 1668. (And of course the older his tenth child in 1688/9, the earlier he would have been married). William Munroe of Lexington had his first child in 1666. Thus we see that John of Bristol and William of Lexington were contemporaries, a fact which strengthens my belief that John of Bristol was the John Munrow on the "John and Sarah." It is interesting to note that the earliest Munroe births in Bristol, beginning in 1696, list children born to men of the same names as John's sons - John, Thomas,, George, Benjamin and Joseph - while the first Munroe marriage in Bristol, was that of Elizabeth in 1694. This should indicate almost without a doubt that John was the ancestor of the Bristol Munroes.

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John joined the Royalist army to fight against Cromwell. On 3 Sep 1651, he fought in the battle of Worcester where the Royalists were badly defeated. Fourteen thousand Scots died in the battle and John was among the 8,000 who were taken prisoner. The prisoners were freed by ordinance of Parliament on 20 Oct 1651 and sent to America to serve as indentured servants until debt of their passage was paid.

John, his brother, Hugh, and his uncle Robert along with a distant cousin, William, are believed to have been among the 272 "honorable convicts" who were deported to the American colonies aboard the "John and Sarah," John Green, Master, which sailed from England in Nov 1651 and arrived in Boston before Feb 1652. The ship carried tools, household goods, and provisions that merchant and mill owner, Thomas Kemble was to sell, in addition to the men, for the "best advantage" of the investors.

The men were sold as indentured servants for a total of 4,000 pounds which was used to buy goods to ship to the West Indies on the second leg of the voyage. John and the other prisoners were indentured to farmers, land and mill owners, and planters for a period of seven or eight years. John is believed to have been sold into bondage south of Boston, possibly to the iron bogs in Taunton, Massachusetts.

There is no further record of John for 22 years until on 28 Jan 1674, he made his mark as a witness to the taking of land in Sakonnet (later renamed Compton, Rhode Island) by Constant Southworth from Awashunks, a Squaw Sachem, or lieutenant who served the Indian, King Philip. Because Constant Southworth lived in Duxbury, it is thought that John also lived in Duxbury at the time.





















An inventory of his estate was taken on 10 Nov 1691.

References:

(1) "The Munro Tree (1734)" by R. W. Munro - Edinburgh (1978) - Q/41

(2) "History of the Munros of Fowlis" by A. Mackenzie - Inverness (1898) - p.
466, 560

(3) "The Ancestors and Descendants of Albert Nelson Monroe of Swansea and
Brighton, Mass. (1819-1902)" by Estelle Wellwood Wait - (1958) - p. 1-4

(4) Clan Munro files - Bowers, Dr. Nancy Brooker - descendancy chart - John
Munro to Nancy Brown Brooker Bowers - prepared by Dr. Bowers - Jul 1994

(5) "Brown Munro, Sr.: A Life in Time (1829-1909)" by Nancy Brown Brooker
Bowers - Ames, Iowa (1993) - p. 10-11

(6) "A Dictionary of Scottish Emigrants to the U.S.A." compiled and edited by
Donald Whyte - Baltimore (1972) - p. 226

(7) "The Munro Book" by Dr. Joan S. Guilford - Franklin, North Carolina (1993)
- p. 257-258

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

Birth:
According to Y-DNA testing (Mark E. Monroe) 2018, John Munro of Bristol is Not the son of George Munro, b. 1615.)

Died:
Some references say John's will was dated 10 Nov 1691, but other references say he died in Oct 1691. The Thomas E. Monroe reference says the inventory was taken 10 Nov 1691.

John married Sarah Lawton in Oct 1663 in Duxbury, Plymouth Co., Massachusetts, USA. Sarah was born in 1640 in Bristol, Bristol Co., Rhode Island, USA; died in Feb 1693 in Bristol, Bristol Co., Rhode Island, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

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(The following is from an e-mail message from Marston Watson - 25 Jun 2013)

«b»«i»Sarah Lawton«/b» b. in 1640 Bristol, Bristol, Mass. She d. in Feb 1692/93 Bristol [no VR found]. She may have been of Lawton ancestry, but further research is needed. Sarah entered into an agreement on 1 Feb. 1691/92 with her four oldest sons (John, Thomas, William and George) and daughters Sarah and Elizabeth. In this agreement, Sarah promises "to bring up, maintain and educate the other four children - Susannah, Benjamin, Joseph and Mary - until they become of age or marry." The birth dates and birth order of Sarah's children are approximations, based on other source data.«/i»
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According to Guilford, "Wait has a vague sort of feeling that Sarah may have been in some way connected to Thomas Lawton."

According to Stotler, Sarah may have been born in Scotland, but Thomas E. Monroe says that it is very unlikely that Sarah came from Scotland as John came to America as a war prisoner in 1652, only men are listed on the ship manifest and New England was settled primarily by English.

References:

(1) "The Ancestors and Descendants of Albert Nelson Monroe of Swansea and
Brighton, Mass. (1819-1902)" by Estelle Wellwood Wait - (1958) - p. 4

(2) "Brown Munro, Sr.: A Life in Time (1829-1909)" by Nancy Brown Brooker
Bowers - Ames, Iowa (1993) - p. 11

(3) "The Munro Book" by Dr. Joan S. Guilford - Franklin, North Carolina (1993)
- p. 257-258

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

Birth:
Bristol County, Rhode Island was created in 1747, so it did not exist at the time of Sarah's birth or death.

This birth date can be found in "New England Families" (via the Thomas E. Monroe reference).

Notes:

Married:
Plymouth County, Massachusetts was created in 1685, so it did not exist when John and Sarah were married.