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Volume 1: Aaron Stark [1608-1685], Progenitor of our Stark Family in North America and the First Three Generations Part 2: The Second Generation; Children of Aaron Stark [1608-1685]
Part 2: Introduction 2nd Edition; October 2006; by Clovis LaFleur, with Editorial Assistance by Donn Neal; Copyright © August 2006, Clovis La Fleur Major contributors: Pauline Stark Moore & Gwen Boyer Bjorkman [Home] [Table
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[Previous: Chapter 1: Life & Times of Aaron Stark] [Next: Chapter 2: Aaron Stark (Junior) & Mehitable Shaw] From the New London County, Connecticut Court Records, Volume 5, page 109, June 3, 1685:
We can surmise Aaron Stark [1608-1685] died sometime before June 2, 1685 and his lands were divided between his three sons named Aaron, John, and William. Captain Samuel Mason, the son of John Mason, was requested to assist in the division of the estate. These sons were the second generation of Aaron Stark's [1608-1685] family in Connecticut and his daughters were most likely Sarah and Elizabeth Stark, identified from deed and marriage records suggesting they were siblings of the three brothers. Early settlers in New England did not adopt the English system of passing property to the oldest son. Instead, the father divided the land up among his sons, as was clearly the case in Aaron's will; daughters not receiving any land as part of their inheritance. Often, when a son reached the age of 21 or married, land would be given as a gift, this act binding the son to the father, which provided the patriarch with considerable control over his family and its affaires. In the first two generations, this system was fundamental in creating tight knit New England communities, bound together by patriarchal fathers, the centralized village, power of the Church, and the town meeting. Aaron Stark (Junior) died before 1701, passing his portion of the inherited land to his sons. His brother, John Stark died about 1689. Having no sons, his property, through inheritance and purchase, eventually passed to Isaac Fox, the husband of one of his two daughters. William Stark (Senior), born in 1664, would live until 1730, passing all of his property to his sons and a son-in-law during his lifetime as gifts. With each subdivision of the original property of Aaron Stark [1608-1685], the land, through purchase, began to pass to non-family members. Several of the children of Aaron Stark (Junior) became religious dissenters. Some joined the Baptist movement in 1704. Others became followers of John Rogers and joined the Rogerene movement that eventually removed to the more religious tolerant colony of New Jersey about 1730. In 1674, John Rogers (a resident of New London County, Connecticut), was converted to the Sabbatarian Sect in Rhode Island. On his return to Connecticut, he formed a small congregation which began to observe the Sabbath on Saturday. For not observing the Sabbath on Sunday, John Rogers and his followers were harassed and persecuted by the Congregational Church Leadership and Governmental Authorities. John Rogers and his followers would later split from the Sabbatarian Church and become known as the "Rogerenes." By around 1685, members of any of the Baptist congregations in Rhode Island were arrested and severely punished if they attempted to visit or have meetings within the jurisdiction of the other colonies. Despite the persecutions, the Baptists continued to grow in numbers and slowly began to spread to the other colonies. First Baptist Church preachers from Rhode Island ventured into Connecticut where they gained a few converts. By 1701, a small congregation was formed in New London County, Connecticut which began to hold regular meetings. They petitioned the Connecticut's General Court for official recognition to practice their faith, but received no response from the ruling body. Interpreting the General Court's silence as unofficial consent, the congregation formally organized themselves into a Baptist Church in 1705. In the summer of 1707, they sent for a young preacher named Valentine Wightman of North Kingston, Rhode Island to serve as their pastor. He began to hold regular meetings in Groton on the property of William Stark (Senior) which came to the attention of the County Authorities and a series of unsuccessful attempts were made to remove Wightman from the community. The second and third generation of Aaron Stark's [1608-1685] descendants would become Baptists sympathizers and converts, and challenge the authority of the Congregational Church to regulate religious activities in Groton. William Stark [Senior] joined and supported the original First Baptist Church movement which spread from Rhode Island to to Connecticut and many members of Aaron Stark's (Junior) family joined William Stark's (Senior) Baptist congregation while others joined the Rogerene movement. [Previous: Chapter 1: Life & Times of Aaron Stark] [Next: Chapter 2: Aaron Stark (Junior) & Mehitable Shaw] |
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Other than that work created by other acknowledged contributors or sources, the articles and genealogical data presented in this publication were derived from the research of Clovis LaFleur; Copyright © 2007. All rights are reserved. The use of any material on these pages by others will be discouraged if the named contributors, sources, or Clovis LaFleur have not been acknowledged. Disclaimer This publication and the data presented is the work of Clovis LaFleur. However, some of the content presented has been derived from the research and publicly available information of others and may not have been verified. You are responsible for the validation of all data and sources reported and should not presume the material presented is correct or complete.
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