The Kimball Lineage

The common ancestor of the great majority of the Kimballs in America was Richard Kimball of the parish of Rattlesden, county Suffolk, England. The name was originally spelled Kemball or Kembolde. The Kemble family seems to have been distinct from the Kimball family for the last four centuries, at least, and according to Morrison and Sharpies, the family historians, these families have always been distinct. (History of the Kimball family in America from 1634 to 1897 and of its ancestors the Kemballs or Kemboldes of England, by Leonard Allison Morrison and Stephen Parschall Sharpies, pp. 1278, Boston, 1897.)

Richard¹, the immigrant ancestor of the family, was born in England, probably at Rattlesden, County Suffolk. He married Ursula, daughter of Henry Scott. With his wife and eight children, he came to America in the ship "Elizabeth," William Andrews, Master, in 1634, embarking at Ipswich, England, April 10th of that year. In the party on the ship was Thomas Scott, his wife's brother. Reaching Boston Harbor, Richard soon went to Watertown and settled there with his family. The first Kimball born in America was Sarah Kimball, clan of Richard', who first saw the light at Watertown, Mass., 1635. She married Edward Allen of Ipswich, Mass., and died June 12, 1690.

By trade, Richard was a wheelwright, and his services were in such demand that he was soon called to leave the Watertown settlement and go to Ipswich, where he was given a house lot and other privileges on condition that he become the town wheelwright. At Ipswich, his two other (10th and 11th) children were born. On October 23rd, 1661, he married Mrs. Margaret Dow of Hampton, N. H. Richard died June 22, 1675, aged 80 years and over, and his wife died March 1, 1676. He was very well to do for those days, the inventory of his estate amounting to over £737, although he had already given to his numerous children at their marriages.

Richard², fourth child and second son of Richards and Ursula, was born in Rattlesden about 1623 and came to America with his father in 1634. He married (1) Mary _____, who died Sept. 2,1672. He subsequently married (2) Mary ______ (probably Mary Gott). He died in 1676, leaving eight children living. He was a wheelwright and removed to Wenham, Mass., between 1652 and 1656. He was selectman of Wenham for twenty years. From the circumstance that the inventory of his property, at the time of his death, showed that wages were due him from the country, it is probable that he had been engaged in the war with the Indians, and "he was probably with his nephew, Caleb Kimball, at the time the latter was killed at Bloody Brook." He had nine children.



Ensign Samuel³, second son, and child, of Richard² and Mary (1st wife), was born at Ipswich about 1651 and died Oct. 3, 1716. He married Mary, daughter of John and Sarah Witt of Lynn, Mass., on Sept. 20, 1676. Samuel lived in Wenham and was ensign in the militia. He was made freeman in 1682 and held the offices of surveyor, constable, and selectman. (See Witt Lineage)



Ebenezer⁴, eighth child and fifth son of Samuel³ and Mary, was born about 1690 and died in Hopkinton, Mass., in 1769. He married, Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Carr of Salisbury, Mass., on June 9, 1712. He lived in Wenham and Beverly, but in 1740 removed to Hopkinton, where he lived the remainder of his life. His wife survived him. He was a yeoman and a mason. His children numbered nine, three sons and six daughters.



Boyce⁵, the youngest child of Ebenezer⁴ and Elizabeth, was born in Wenham June 18, 1731, and died in Shutesbury, Mass., on May 13, 1802. On Dec. 4, 1755, he married Rebecca Haward, who was born June 9, 1739, and died July 23, 1790. He lived in Wenham, Hopkinton, and Shutesbury and had twelve children, seven of whom were sons. Three of his brothers served in the War of the Revolution.



Rev. Ruel⁶, * the eleventh child and seventh son of Boyce⁵ and Rebecca, was born Dec. 20, 1778, and died at Easthampton, Mass., Oct. 1, 1847. He married Hannah Mather, daughter of Timothy Mather of Marlboro, Vt. on Jan. 1, 1799. He was a Presbyterian minister and his charges were in Marlboro, Vt., until 1804, then in Leroy, N. Y., until 1816, and then in Leyden, N. Y., where he remained until his death. He died while on a visit to his son, David M. Kimball, of Massachusetts. A brother, Boyce⁶, served in the War of the Revolution

The children of Rev. Ruel and Hannah (Mather) Kimball were:

i Ruel, born in Marlboro, Vt., Dec. 24, 1799. He married three times, his last wife, Sarah Lord, having survived him several years. He died in Leyden, N. Y., on May 1, 1867.

ii Amanda, born in Marlboro, Vt., April 13, 1802. She married Alanson Merwin on Jan. 13, 1825, and lived to celebrate her golden wedding, having died in Leyden, N. Y., April 17, 1878, her husband following her on Oct. 7, 1888. She was the mother of Judge Milton H. Merwin of the Supreme Bench of New York, whose residence is in Utica, N. Y.

iii Cotton, born in Leroy, N. Y., June 7, 1804. His widow, Ruth, survived him and reached an age of 97 years.

iv Huldah, born in Leroy, N. Y., Aug. 1, 1806; died Aug. 22, 1827.

v Alonzo, born Nov. 20, 1808; married Sarah Weston in Hudson, N. Y., on Oct. 1, 1840; died Aug. 7, 1900.

vi David Mather, born Nov. 25, 1810; died Aug. 1, 1813.

vii David Mather, born Aug. 26, 1813; twice married, his second wife having been Charlotte Maria, daughter of Col. Warren Lincoln of Warren, Mass.; died Oct. 23, 1857.

viii Lucy, born July 31, 1815; married Rev. Henry Bannister, D. D. of Evanston, Ill. on Aug. 12, 1840; died Oct. 18, 1886. Her husband died April 15, 1883.

ix Mary H., born Dec, 18, 1817; married Serene T. Merrill of Beloit, Wis. on Jan. 8, 1844; died March. 4, 1852.

x Harriet, born Jan. 14, 1820; died Feb. 12, 1823.

xi Martin Luther, born Sept. 24, 1826; married (1) Mary Buttrick, and on Jan. 13, 1862, he married 2) Frances Ann Richards, who survives him. He died in Oshkosh, Wis., March 18, 1891.

Alonzo,⁷ the fifth child and third son of Ruel' and Hannah was born in Leroy, N. Y., Nov. 20, 1808. He graduated from Union College, in Schenectady, N. Y., in 1836, and entered Andover Theological Seminary to prepare for the ministry, but was compelled to abandon his studies in 1839 because of ill health. In 1840, * while principal of an academy in Lee, Mass., he met and married Sarah, daughter of Rev. Isaiah Weston of Dalton, Mass. In 1848, he removed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and, two years later, to Green Bay, Wis. Until 1852, he continued to teach, but at that time he established himself in the hardware business at Green Bay, which, since his death, has been conducted under the firm name, Alonzo Kimball, by his second son, Charles Theodore'. For more than forty years, Mr. Kimball was a deacon in the First Presbyterian Church of Green Bay, now known as the Union Congregational Church.

In 1890, he celebrated his golden wedding anniversary with the united families of his five children. His wife died on June 27, 1891. He died in Green Bay on Aug. 7, 1900, and on Aug. 9th was buried from his church home, the Rev. J. M. A. Spence officiating.

The Unionist, a bright Congregational magazine published by members of his Green Bay church, says of him:

"Gifted souls now passed beyond will fill out the measure of our testimony in fitting phrase. To them, also, years of association had made `Father Kimball' a loving parent in all but tie of blood, and, though he made few protestations, there are many who treasure memories of unexpected thoughtfulness and affection.

"In the slight cloud that fell upon the advanced years of our friend, there was little of real bitterness. Weary and restless, sometimes; lonely, often, there was yet in the very conceits of his feebleness, a touch of that merry brightness which had always made his companionship most enjoyable.

"He was a student always; whether his work as a teacher made him fond of the young, or his love of youth made him a successful teacher, this thing is certain, he cherished for books and children a love that was unusual.

Oct 1, 1840

"His Greek Testament was a pocket companion for scores of years and there was no self-infliction in its continual perusal.

"Dear old friend! May the memory of thy well-doing prove an abiding stimulus to greater service and unselfishness."