Follansbee Aka Follingsby Or Foljambe Of Hamsterley Durham England

A Memory of Hamsterley.

This isn't exactly a 'memory' as it is a fact relating to my ancestors, the Follansbee's of Hamsterley, County Durham, England. It is recorded that the Follansbee's (various spellings) in my family tree were from Rockwood Hill, in the Pish of Hamsterley, Durham dated back to c.1560. Thomas Follansbee, my 9th Great-Grandfather, is the first family member that I have been able to locate & record being from Hamsterley. Thomas was born c. 1560 and his wife, Margret, b. c.1560. Thomas & Margret had 5 sons & one dau,Alice. As an adult, one of their sons, Henry, b.1595, moved to St. Dunstans, Stepney, England where he raised his family. He had 2 known sons, Thomas, b. 1637, & William, b. 1635. Both sons came to America, however, William returned to England shortly there after & started trading in India. Thomas stayed in America & raised his family in the Portsmouth, NH / Newbury, MA area. A descendant of Thomas's, a 3rd great-grandson, Samuel Follansbee, Jr.b. 1806, married Susan Gould,b.1819 in 1844, West Newbury, MA. Around 1851 Samuel moved his family from West Newbury, MA to Leominster, MA following the combmaking business, of which Samuel was well trained. According to Samuel's obituary he was a decent, well-liked, hard working family man.
Thank you for providing me this soapbox to share with you a small part of my families history.
Cheryl Follansbee of Exeter, New Hampshire, USA

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