Generations of fidelity to the God of truth

Thomas Hubbard

 First Generation

        1.  Thomas¹ Hubbard^[1] birth date unknown.  Thomas died May 26, 1555 in England. 

      

       Thomas Hubbard was a gentleman residing at Horden-on-the-Hill, in Essex, England, “of good estate and great estimation,” and “zealous and religious in the true service of God.” Discovered by an informer to Bishop Bonner, he was seized, imprisoned and burned May 26, 1555.  It is believed that the story of Thomas Highbed in Fox’s Book of Martyrs, refers to him.

       Thomas Hubbard had the following children:

    +      2      i.     James² Hubbard.

            3     ii.     Richard Hubbard.  He was christened in Mendelsham, Suffolk, ENG, September 13, 1562.  The following individual is also linked to this event: Thomas Hubbard (father).

            4     iii.     Elizabeth Hubbard.  She was christened in Mendelsham, Suffolk, ENG, September 13, 1562.  The following individual is also linked to this event: Thomas Hubbard (father).

 Second Generation

       2.  James² Hubbard (Thomas ¹)^[2] birth date unknown.  James died in Mendelsham, Suffolk, ENG. 

       He married Naomi Cocke.  Naomi was the daughter of Thomas Cocke.  Naomi died in Mendelsham, Suffolk, ENG. 

       James Hubbard was a yeoman of Mendelsham, Suffolk, England, 80 miles northwest of London.  His Testament (printed in 1549) “which he hid in his bedstraw lest it should be found and burned in Queen Mary’s days,” was brought to America by his son Samuel, and is possibly in the Library of Alfred University, at Alfred Centre, NY.  He and Naomi Cocke reportedly had ten children.  Benjamin, James, Rachel, and Samuel came to America, but probably none of the others.  Six are identified in Day’s, “1000 Years of Hubbard History.”

       James Hubbard and Naomi Cocke had the following children:

            5     i.     Rachel³ Hubbard was born in England.  Rachel died in Fairfield Co, CT.  She married John Brandish in England.  John died in Fairfield Co, CT. 

                           Rachel who married John Brandish, of Ipswich, Suffolk, ENG.  They came to America in 1633, and lived in Salem, MA, Wethersfield, CT, and Fairfield, CT.  After the death of her husband, Rachel married secondly, Anthony Wilson, of Fairfield, CT. Rachel and John Brandish had four children.

                           1)  Mary, b. 1628, Ipswich, ENG.  Married Francis Purdy of Fairfield, CT

                           2)  John, b. 1633, Salem, MA.  Removed to Flushing, New Netherlands

                           3)  Bethia, b. 1637, Wethersfield, CT.  Married Timothy Knapp, of Greenwich, near Stamford, CT.

                           4)  A posthumous son born 1639, Wethersfield, CT.

            6      ii.     Benjamin Hubbard.

            7     iii.     James Hubbard.  He was christened in Mendelsham, Suffolk, ENG, August 14, 1603.  The following individuals are also linked to this event: Naomi Cocke (mother); James Hubbard (father).

            8     iv.     Sarah Hubbard was born 1598.  She married John Jackson in England.  John was born in England.  John died in England. 

                           Sarah, the eldest daughter, and her husband John Jackson, lived in Yarmouth, Norfolk, ENG. They had a son, Robert Jackson, who served four years under Oliver Cromwell.

            9     v.      Thomas Hubbard was born 1604.  He married Esther.  Esther was born in England.  Esther died in England. 

                           Thomas, the eldest son, and his wife Esther, lived in Freeman Lane, near Horsley, down in Southwark, London.

    +    10     vi.     Samuel Hubbard was born May 10, 1610.

 Third Generation

       10.  Samuel³ Hubbard (James ²)^[3] was born in Mendelsham, Suffolk, ENG May 10, 1610.  Samuel died 1689 in Newport, Newport Co, RI, at 79 years of age. 

       He married Tacy Cooper in Windsor, Hartford Co, CT, January 4, 1635/6.  Tacy was born in England February 12, 1608/9.  Tacy died circa 1697 in Newport, Newport Co, RI. 

      

       From the Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island and “1000 Years of Hubbard History,” we learn:

       He says of himself: “Such was the pleasure of Jehovah towards me, I was born of good parents, my mother brought me up in the fear of the Lord, in Mendelsham, in catechising me and hearing choice ministers, & c.”

       Oct 1633 - Salem, MA.  He came this month from England.

       1634 - He went to Watertown, MA, where he says he joined the church, “by giving account of my faith.”

       Oct 1635 - With a party of about one hundred, he started to march through the wilderness to the Connecticut Valley; winter coming on before they reached their destination they suffered much from exposure, and insufficient food.  Samuel Hubbard remained at Windsor during the winter where he married to Tacy Cooper by Mr. Ludlow.  Tacy Cooper had come to Dorchester, MA, 9 Jun 1634, and was one of the party.

       In 1636, shortly after their marriage, they went to Wethersfield, CT.      10 May 1639 - Springfield, MA.  He moved here at this date, in search of peace, and a church was soon gathered; he says: “I gave acct. of my faith” and that there were “five men in all...my wife soon after added.”

       To escape persecution under the harsh laws of Massachusetts they agin moved 10 May 1647 to Fairfield, CT. His stay here was short: “God having enlightened both, but mostly my wife, into his holy ordinances of baptizing only of visible believers, and being very zealous for it, she was mostly struck at and answered two terms publicly, where I was also said to be as bad as she, and sore threatened imprisonment to Hartford jail, if not to renounce it or to remove; that Scripture came into our mouths, if they persecute you in one place, flee to another; and so we did 2 day of October, 1648, we went for Rhode Island, and arrived there 12 day.  I and my wife upon manifestation of our faith were baptized by brother John Clarke, 3 day Nov 1648.”

       7 Aug 1651 - He was sent by the church to visit the brethren in prison at Boston, viz: John Clarke, Obadiah Holmes and John Crandall.

       Oct 1652 - “I and my wife had hands laid on us by brother Joseph Torrey.”

       He was admitted Freeman of Newport, RI in 1655.

       1 Oct 1657 - “Brother Obadiah Holmes and I went to the Dutch and Gravesend and to Jamaica and to Flushing and to Hamsted and to Cow Bay.”  They came home 15 Nov 1657.

       In 1664 he was chosen to be General Solicitor, in case of inability of Lawrence Turner.

       He writes:  ”My wife took up the keeping of the Lord’s holy Seventh Day Sabbath. the 10th day March, 1665.  I took it up 1 day April 1665; our daughter Ruth, 25 Oct 1666; Rachel, 15 Jan 1666; Bethiah, Feb 1666; our son Joseph Clarke, 23 Feb 1666.”

       7 Apr 1668 - “I went to Boston to public dispute with those baptised there.”

       Jul 1668 - He wrote his cousin, John Smith, of London, from Boston, where he had been to a disputation:  ”Through God’s great mercy, the Lord have given me in this wilderness, a good, diligent, careful, painful and very loving wife; we, through mercy, live comfortably, praised be God, as co- heirs together of one mind in the Lord, traveling through this wilderness to our heavenly Sion, knowing we are pilgrims as our fathers were, and good portion being content therewith.  A good house, as with us judged, 25 acres of ground fenced, and four cows which give, one young heifer and three calves, and a very good mare, a trade, a carpenter, a health to follow it, and my wife very diligent and painful, praised be God. This is my joy and crown, in humility I speak of it, for God’s Glory, I trust all, both sons in law and daughters are in visible order in general; but in especial manner my son Clarke and my three daughters, with my wife and about 14 walk in the observation of God’s holy sanctified 7 day Sabbath, with much comfort and liberty, for so we and all ever had and yet have in this Colony.”

       16 Dec 1671 - He wrote to his children at Westerly, about the differences between those favoring the seventh day observance and the rest of the church.  Several spoke on both sides.  Mr. Hubbard gave his views. Brother Torrey said they required not my faith. Other discussion followed: “They replied fiercely, it was a tumult.  J. Torrey stopped them at last.”

       With his wife, one daughter, and four other persons he formed the first Seventh Day Baptist Church in America.  He writes: “We entered into a church covenant the 23rd day of December, 1671, viz: William Hiscox, Stephen Mumford, Samuel Hubbard, Roger Baxter, sister Hubbard, sister Mumford, Rachel Langworthy,” &c.  Their church was not formed without a depature (sic) by their former associates from that spirit of toleration and “soul liberty” which Roger Williams claimed; for the members who united on Dec. 23, had been excommunicated Dec. 7, when the Rev. Obidiah Holmes preached against their doctrine of Seventh Day observance, and even declared “they had left Christ, and gone after Moses.”  There is extant a letter from Roger Williams to Samuel Hubbard, in which he argues the position taken by the latter, and cites various texts against his views; but it is written in a very different spirit from that shown by the Newport church, and recognizes the conscientious motives which actuated Hubbard. “Bro’ Hiscox and I send this Church to N. London and Westerly, 7 day Mar 1675,” and again March, 1677/8 and 1686.

Samuel Hubbard came in the flood of Puritans at the very beginning of our colonial era. Life was difficult, a wilderness with indigenous peoples who feared the new-comers’ possible takeover of their territories. In that setting Robert Burdick, the sole progenitor of all Burdicks in the United States, arrived and loved the dedication and spirituality of the young Bible believing Seventh-day Baptist Church. In that Protestant religion of truly fervent love of the scriptures Robert and Ruth raised up their children, and their children raised up another generation, and so on down into the 1900s.

Robert Burdick married Ruth Hubbard, who was the first baby born into Sabbatarian families in America. Her father, Samuel Hubbard was the first leader of the Seventh-day Baptists. Her mother, Tacey Hubbard, was the first convert to the seventh-day Sabbath in America. Ruth was a very godly and loving woman, as a letter from her attests.

They had eight children that survived, the last, Samuel being my forebear. The seventh-day Sabbath has been in my family for almost 350 years.

Robert Burdick was a very influential man, as can be seen by the large turnout of twenty families for his son’s “very great burial”.

 Robert, Deacon Robert, Robert, Captain Ichobod, Joshua, Curtis, and finally, my grandfather, Asa were all Seventh-day Baptists. But, finally we see the SDB church losing its strength of purpose and its faith in commandment-keeping. In my grandfather’s case, farming took up all his time and interest. This may have been the case of many other Seventh-day Baptists.

But, the Lord had another group who was coming up and were destined to take up the Sabbath torch, holding it up before the papal falsehoods being paraded around the world. Just as the Seventh-day Adventists began their march through the world, their boast of being the only true commandment-keepers was arrested by a Seventh-day Baptist. It was 1846 when Seventh-day Baptist Rachel Oakes stood up against the preacher at a Washington, New Hampshire Millerite Church. She told them they weren't keeping all the commandments if they were disregarding the fourth commandment. Soon the Sabbath truth became one of the central pillar doctrines of the Seventh-day Adventists. Their faction of the Millerite movement was very small compared to the whole Millerite Adventists. But, Jesus was with His seventh-day Sabbath-keepers, and He especially blessed their group, so that it would far exceed the other Millerite groups and see their demise.

My grandmother, Emily Rodrick, had accepted the Seventh-day Adventist message before marrying my Seventh-day Baptist grandfather, Asa Burdick. She remained faithful to the Lord, bringing my father up in the faith until she passed away when he was 9 years old. After that my back-sliden grandfather gave my father

no more religious up-bringing, and dad eventually forgot all about the little bit that his mother had taught him. After 20 years in the Navy and a strong yearning to know God and to understand the truths of the Bible, just as he was retiring and free from the military restrictions, a Seventh-day Adventist pastor knocked on our door one evening during the denomination's annual “Ingathering” campaign.

Dad was very interested and the pastor studied the Bible with him. In 1967 Dad was baptized into the three angels’ message. That was 50 years ago and he has brought me up in the same great last day movement to prepare the world for Jesus' return in power.