Edmund Barlow England to Charlestown, Massachusetts

english origins
Edmund Barlow is one of those mystery men who just suddenly appear in the records of Massachusetts. No prior information for him can be found which is very frustrating to anyone trying to trace his ancestry. Now, you will see on the web and ancestry.com that Edmund Barlow was born on 1 Oct 1626 in Bolton, Lancashire.[1] I have looked for some kind of proof that would authenticate this birth date but so far I have had no luck. A search of the British website freereg.org for Edmund Barlow born between 1615 and 1630 brings up about 10 results. I wish I knew why they chose to go with the 1626 Edmund. For now, my confidence level in this information is not high, so I'm going to stick with unknown origins for Edmund.

coming to america
Well, here's another question we can't answer about Edmund. When did he arrive in Massachusetts? Don't know, I'm afraid. His name appears in a court record in 1653. The case involves his in laws the Pembertons. So we know at least he was in Massachusetts by the early 1650s. [2]

occupation
Edmund and at least two of his son were mariners by trade. This information comes from the 1685 land grant to his son Thomas, in which he gives his occupation as mariner. [3] This may explain why Edmund did not have much land as he earned his living at sea. In fact, it seems that what land he had, he got from his father in Law, James Pemberton in his will. [4]

The choice of going to sea seems to have been a dangerous occupation. Both of Edmund's sons who became mariners died in foreign places. Edmund Jr. is said to have died in Suriname and Thomas was buried in Barbados. [5]

children of mary and edmund
None of the births for the children of mary and edmund were recorded. Neither Mary nor Edmund were members of the Church. So, the exact dates of their births is not known.

1. Mary b. abt. 1652, m. John Chadwick ancestors, she died 1724.
2. Edmund b. abt. 1655, d. 1695 in Suriname, his father probated his estate.
3. James, b. abt. 1659, mentioned in Grandfather's will, d. in Connecticut March 1690.
4. Thomas, b. abt. 1665, buried in Barbados in 1691.
5. Elizabeth b. abt. 1665, m. James Whiting
6. Sarah b. abt. 1670, m. Thomas Grover
7. Deborah b. abt. 1676, m. James Hovey, d. in Connecticut 1749.

rip
Edmund outlived his three sons, dying himself in 1697. At least two of his daughters lived long lives. Mary Pemberton Barlow died after her husband, but her death was not recorded.

This has been a pretty boring bio. Unfortunately I can't find anything interesting about Edmund, there's just not much written about him. Maybe I'll have better luck with the Chadwicks.

Sources/ Citations

1. Edson Barlow, "Edmund Barlow of Malden Massachusetts," Barlow Genealogy 1998-2004, (www.barlowgenealogy.com : accessed 21 November 2015).

2. Middlesex County, MA: Abstracts of Court Files, 1649–1675. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2003), (Unpublished abstracts by Thomas Bellows Wyman, "Abstract of Middlesex court files from 1649," n.d.) Court case involving Ed(ward) Barlow and his In laws James and Mary Pemberton.

3. "Massachusetts Land Records, 1620-1986,"  digital images, Family Search (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1961-36170-4898-72?cc=2106411 : accessed 21 November 2015), Middlesex > Deeds 1684-1693 vol 9-11 > image 238 of 741; county courthouses and offices, Massachusetts.

4. "Middlesex County Probate Files, 1648-1871," digital images, American Ancestors (http://www.americanancestors.org : accessed 21 November 2015), James Pemberton, 1662.

5. Thomas B. Wyman, "The Genealogies and Estates of Charlestown, 1629-1818," (Boston : D. Clapp, 1879), digital copy, Internet Archive (http://www.archive.org : accessed 21 November 2015), 59.

"Middlesex County Probate Files, 1648-1871," digital images, American Ancestors (http://www.americanancestors.org : accessed 21 November 2015), Edmund Barlow, 1697.