This Crandall family lived in the coastal community called Little Compton in eastern Rhode Island between the Sakonnet River and the Massachusetts state border. By the beginning of the eighteenth century, when this family lived there, Little Compton was a modest, sparsely settled agricultural community with a population of just over 600. The fields and farms that spread across rolling hills gradually were being cleared for crops and livestock and divided by stone walls, typical of the farm lands in the British Isles.
The head of this household, Samuel Crandall, was born in Westerly, Kings County, RI. His wife, however, was born in Little Compton. They had seven children with the following names and birthdates:
1686 Samuel
1689 Mary
1692 Jane
1695 John
1697 Peter, our ancestor
1701 Joseph
1707 Thomas
SAMUEL CRANDALL
BORN: 1663 in Westerly, Kings, RI
MARRIED: ABT. 1685 in Little Compton, Newport, RI
DIED: 19 May 1736 in Tiverton, Bristol, MA
SARAH COLBY
BORN: 1665 in Little Compton, Newport, RI
DIED: 3 Aug 1758 in Tiverton, Bristol, MA
BURIED: Samuel and Sarah are both buried at the Old Commons Burial Ground in Newport, Rhode Island. See the photo of that cemetery above.
SOURCES: "Elder John Crandall of Rhode Island and His Descendants,," by John Cortland Crandall, :Pages 8 & 14, (Published by the author: Woodstock, NY, 194ea9; Reprinted by Higginson Book Co.,: Salem, MA ) FHL # 929.273 C85 Additions, corrections and supplementary material is found in the periodical entitled ""The Crandall corner." (The newsletter of the Crandall Family Association, Inc. / Crandall Family Association); Ancestry Family Tree at FamilySearch.org; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, \"FamilySearch,\" database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org ; "Rhode Island Town Marriages Index, 1639-1916," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q24H-3SFT : accessed 30 January 2019), Sam.L Crandall and Mary Celly, 1685; citing , , Rhode Island, United States, town halls, Rhode Island, and Rhode Island Historical Society, Providence; FHL microfilm 57; "Rhode Island Births and Christenings, 1600-1914," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F87K-PJY : 10 February 2018), Samuel Crandall in entry for John Crandall, 11 Jan 1695; citing LITTLE COMPTON,NEWPORT,RHODE ISLAND, reference ; FHL microfilm 908,270; "Rhode Island Births and Christenings, 1600-1914," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F87K-YQR : 10 February 2018), Samuel Crandall in entry for Peter Crandall, 25 Oct 1697; citing LITTLE COMPTON,NEWPORT,RHODE ISLAND, reference ; FHL microfilm 908,270; Rhode Island Births and Christenings, 1600-1914," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F872-MPF : 10 February 2018), Samuel Crandall in entry for Samuel Crandall, 30 Oct 1686; citing LITTLE COMPTON,NEWPORT,RHODE ISLAND, reference ; FHL microfilm 908,270; "Rhode Island Births and Christenings, 1600-1914," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F87K-TR8 : 10 February 2018), Samuel Crandall in entry for Thomas Crandall, 27 Jun 1707; citing LITTLE COMPTON,NEWPORT,RHODE ISLAND, reference ; FHL microfilm 908,270; "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV29-B8T7 : 13 December 2015), Samuel Crandall, 1736; Burial, Little Compton, Newport, Rhode Island, United States of America, Old Commons Burial Ground; citing record ID 54851273, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com; Samuel Lt. Crandall and wife Sarah Crandall. Location of Cemetery: LC012 Old Commons Burial Ground Yes Good Condition Town 5 Commons Commons 1.6 acres Plate 020 Lot 0003.
"Rye, New York is a fascinating place that sits in the crossroads of America’s history, both literally and figuratively. From native peoples to European exploration; colonialization to independence, emancipation to immigration, industrialization and transportation, prohibition and suburbanization, Rye played an integral part.
When the first English settlers arrived in Rye in 1660, the area was inhabited by the Siwanoy or Algonkian nation. The Siwanoy lived off the bounty of the land in seasonal campsites, spending the spring and summer along Long Island Sound and moving inland in the fall. They grew corn, beans and pumpkins and relied on abundant oysters, other shellfish and small game. Their dwellings or wigwams were dome-shaped, built by lashing bent poles together and covering the structure with bark or thatched reeds, thus enabling quick assembly and easy transportation.
On January 3, 1660, an agreement between some Englishmen with the Siwanoy to acquire land between Long Island Sound and the Blind Brook was made. Later in 1660, English settlers acquired Manursing Island, paying 8 coats, 7 shirts and 15 fathom of wampum. They named their village “Hastings” after a coastal town in England. By the time additional settlers arrived in 1664, there was no more room on Manursing. The new settlers built their cabins on the mainland where Playland and Rye Town Park are now located and named their settlement “Rye” after another English coastal town. In 1665, Hastings and Rye merged and the village on Manursing Island was abandoned." [Notes from The Rye Historical Society]
Apparently, the Merritt family arrived in Rye sometime before Elizabeth's birth in 1683. She married Jonathan Kniffen when she was 16 years old in 1699. They had the following known children:
1700 Jonathan
1703 Thomas
1705 Benjamin, our ancestor
unk Martha
JONATHAN KNIFFEN
BORN: 1674 in Poss, Kniveton, Derby, England
MARRIED: 1699 in Rye, Westchester, NY
DIED: 1725 in Rye, Westchester, NY
ELIZABETH MERRITT
BORN: 1683 in Rye, Westchester, NY
DIED: 1755 in Rye, Westchester, NY
SOURCES: "Revised Merritt Records" by Douglas Merritt published 1916; FamilySearch Family Tree Under license to MyHeritage.com [online database]. Lehi, UT, USA: MyHeritage (USA) Inc. https://www.myheritage.com/research/collection-40001/familysearch-familytree;Record:https://www.myheritage.com/research/record-40001-990417192/elizabeth-merritt-in-familysearch-family-tree
Mary Park was born in New York City, Kings County, New York in 1678. She married Joseph Purdy who was also born in 1678, but in Rye, Westchester, New York. They lived in Rye, NY and had the following children, all born in Rye:
unk David
1712 Gertrude, our ancestor
1712 Obadiah
1715 Roger
1722 Moses
1725 William
JOSEPH PURDY
BORN: 1678 in Rye, Westchester, NY
MARRIED: unknown marriage information
DIED: 1678 in Rye, Westchester, NY
MARY PARK
BORN: 1678 in New York City, Kings, NY
DIED: 1725 in Rye, Westchester, NY
SOURCES: Mary Park is named the mother of Moses Purdy at Find a Grave memorial for Moses Purdy buried at Rye Westchester, NY's Milton Cemetery; Information from a researcher and descendant of Francis Purdy, Marianne Purdy, former president of the Cottage Grove Genealogical Society, via Family Treemaker CDs and the history of the Purdy family of Rye, Westchster, NY.
These fifth great grandparents were married on the 8th of November in 1714 in Weckesheim, Reichelshein, Weteraukreis, Germany. Elizabeth's surname was apparently the same as Conrad's. They may have been cousins. I have a list of eight of their children as follows:
1715 Conrad, our ancestor
1717 Anna Margaretha
1719 Johannes Michael
1720 Anna Elisabetha
unk Johannes Adam
1725 Johannes Nicholas
1728 Johannes
1734 Clemens
The family resided in Wolfersheim, Welteraukreis, Hessen Germany from about 1716, and all of them died there but Conrad, who emigrated to America. Wölfersheim is a municipality in the Wetteraukreis in Hessen, Germany. It is located approximately 34 kilometers north of Frankfurt am Main . [Wikipedia]
CONRAD HOFFMAN
BORN: 1696 in Wolfersheim, Welteraukreis, Hessen, Germany
MARRIED: 8 Nov 1714 in Weckersheim, Reichelshein, Welteraukreis, Hessen, Germany
DIED: 12 Apr 1773 in Wolfersheim, Germany
ELIZABETH HOFFMAN
BORN: 28 Dec 1691
DIED: 27 Aug 1759 in Wolfersheim, Germany
SOURCES:"Deutschland Geburten und Taufen, 1558-1898," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VH75-PYB : 11 February 2018), Elisabeth in entry for Anna Elisabeth Hoffmans, 01 May 1720; citing ; FHL microfilm 591,447. FamilySearch.org gave the birth and some death dates of most of the Hoffman children from these birth and death records of Deutschland 1558-1798.
