The Buell Family - Colonial Americans

Martha Buell was the wife of Nathaniel Holcombe II. She was born in Simsbury, Connecticut in 1675. Martha was the third or fourth of nine or ten children of Sergeant Peter Buell (b.1644, d.1728) and his first wife, Martha Cogan (Coggins / Cozzins) (b.1648, d.1686) both of Windsor, Connecticut.

Martha and Nathaniel Holcombe were married in 1695. She was raised on the frontier at Hop Meadow and would raise her family in the remote outpost at Salmon Brook. By the early 1700s the area was becoming more settled and less of a frontier but there were still dangers lurking about. 

Peter Buell

Sargent Peter Buell and family were one of the first settlers of Simsbury arriving before 1670 after being awarded one of the first land grants at a place called Hop Meadow. He was part of a committee of three from Simsbury that granted privileges to the Indians to hunt venison and he served as an elected representative from the town to the General Assembly in 1687. Peter was married three times and had children with two of his wives. His first wife was Martha Cogan; they were married in 1670 and had nine children. After Martha died, he married Mary Strong (d.1688) in 1687 and then Mary Gillett (b.1667, d.1734) in 1698. He and Mary Gillett had four children. The Buell and Holcomb families had many marriages, including four of Peter's children who maried Holcombe children.

The gravestone of Peter Buell at Simsbury Cemetery. Text on his
stone is deteriorated but still visible; no stone for Martha has survived.

Martha Cogan was born in New Plymouth and was the Daughter of Thomas Cogan (b.1610, d.1653) from Somersetshire, England and Joan Boweridge (b.1611, d.1695). Martha and Peter are buried at Simsbury Cemetery (know historically as Hop Meadow Cemetery). The children of Peter Buell and Martha Cogan were:

• Peter (b.1671).
• Abigail (b.1673, d.1727), married Thomas Barber (b.1671, d.1714) in 1699. They had four known children: Thomas, Sarah, Marha, and Abigail.
• Martha (b.1675, d.1760), married Nathaniel Holcombe in 1695 and lived in Salmon Brook which was then a part of Simsbury. They had 13 known children. For more on this family, see the Holcombe link at the end of this post.
• Mary (b.1677, d.1720), married Jonathan Holcombe (Nathaniel's brother) in 1701. They had eight knows children: a son (name unknown), Jonathan, Elizabeth, Azariah, Persis, Damaris, Jacob and Mary.
• William (b1678, d.1718)?.
• Sarah (b.1679/80, d.1734), married William Goring (b.1679, d.1715) in 1700 and after his death, she married Elias Slater around 1715. She is known to have a daughter with Elias.

The gravestone of Sarah Buell at Simsbury Cemetery.

• Peter (b.1681, d.1703).
• Ephraim (b.1682/83, d.1718/19), married Mary Holcombe (b.1676. d.1745) in 1713. She was the daughter of Joshua Holcombe. Ephraim was noted to have gone into the wilderness to hunt for horses and froze to death along with his stepson, John Barber. Ephraim and Mary had two children: Mindwell and Ephraim.
• Hannah (b.1684, D.1725), married Richard Saxton (b1673, d.1714) in 1706. They had seven known children: John, Richard, Hannah, Mary, Adam, Sarah, and Lucy.
  

The gravesite of Lucy Saxton, the daughter of Hannah Buell at Simsbury Cemetery.

• Samuel (b.1686, d.1750), married Hannah Holcombe (b.16890, d.1740) in 1711. Hannah was also a daughter of Joshua Holcombe. They had six know children: Peter, Samuel, Joseph, Hannah, Hepzibah, and David.

The gravesite of Hannah Buell, the daughter of Samuel at
Memento Mori  Cemetery in Farmington, Connecticut..

William Buell

Peter Buell was the son of William Buell (b.1615, d.1681), possibly from Huntingdonshire, England and Mary (Post or Thomas?) (b.1607?, d.1684). It has also been claimed but not proven, that William was the descended from Sir Robert Bevill(e) of Devon. Based on newer research, it seems highly unlikely that William was from that line. Another source noted that he was “a Welshman, joiner by trade, an early and respectable settler of Windsor.” Some family trees have traced the Buell (Bewell, Bevill) lines back to the 12th Century and into Normandy but these connections are tenuous as best. William first settled at Dorchester, Massachusetts, having arrived in the new world sometime around 1630. He migrated with the group from Dorchester to the Connecticut River valley and was included in the first land division of Windsor. His will was written, inventory taken, and probated in summer and fall of 1681. After the death of his wife, his lands were divided between his son Samuel and Peter.

The Home of Peter Buell was in the center of Windsor, just
west of the Palisades and across the Farmington River.

From Probate Records, an abstract of William's Will: Bewell, William, Windsor. Died 16 November 1681. Invt. Pounds 147-12-10. Taken 30 November 1681, by John Loomys sen., John Moore. Will dated 26 July, 1681. I William Buell do give to my son Samuel the house and half the Home lot, with all the Land, purchased of William Thrall; & to my son Peter half the Home lot on the North side & all the Meadow & the Wood Land that was my own by gift of the Town. My Tools to be equally divided betwixt Samuel & Peter. My son Samuel is to pay out 11 pounds and Peter 6 pounds & this, with the rest of my goods, to be equally divided between my daughters, only my daughter Mary to have pounds 5 more than either of the others. These two parcels of land, one by the gravel hill, the other by the Mill Brooke, which I leave to my wife's disposing if she out lives me, & she is to enjoy all this as long as she lives. Witness: Nathaniel Gillett, Timothy Phelps, Job Drake, son of John Drake, James Hillier.

The children of William Buell and Mary where:

• Samuel (b.1641, d.1720), married Deborah Griswold in 1662. They had 12 children: Samuel, Deborah, Hannah, Mary, John, Hannah, William, David, Josiah, Mehitable, Peter, and Benjamin.
• Mary (b.1642, d.1718), married Simon Mills in 1659/60. They had 11 children: Samuel, Simon, Mary, Hannah, Simon, John, Sarah, Abigail, Elizabeth, Prudence, and Simon.
• Peter (b.1644, d.1728/29), married Martha Cogan, Mary Strong, and Mary Gillett and he had 13 children (see above). His four children with Mary Gillett were: Miriam, William, Jonathan, and Hester.
• Hannah (?) (b. 1646/47, d.1703/04), married Timothy Palmer in 1663
• Hepzibah (b.1649, d.1703/044); married Thomas Wells in 1672/73. They are thought to have had eight children. In 1693, Hepzibah and three of her daughter were 'tomahawked' by Indians and the family was broken up. She was later taken prisoner when the town of Deerfield was sacked during Queen Ann's War in 1704 and died on the march to Canada.
• Sarah (b.1653/54, d.1684), her death may gave been later, in 1734 (?).
• Abigail (b.1655.56, d.1684), her death may have been earlier, in 1681 (?).

William's mother, noted as Catherine "Goode" Buell in Connecticut Records and assumed to have traveled to the new world with her son, died in 1639 and is buried at the Palisado Cemetery (also know as the Old Burial Ground) at Windsor, Connecticut. William's wife Mary is also buried there.

Thomas Cogan

Martha Cogan's father, Thomas, was the son of Philobert Cogan (b.1563?) of Somersetshire and Anne Marshall (b.1576?) of Hampshire. It should be noted that it is unclear if Thomas was the son of Philobert - that is in dispute. Thomas was mentioned as owning land in Taunton in 1638 and as 'able to bear arms' at Touton in 1644. After his death, his wife Joan married Obadiah Miller and she outlived Thomas by 40 years.

Some sources have traced the Cogan family back another dozen generations, possibly to a Miles or Milo de Cogan (b.1135?, d.1182?) from Cogan, Glamogan, Wales. Miles was noted to be of Norman nobility and played a key role in the Norman Invasion of Ireland that began in about 1169. He was granted large tracks of land in Ireland after the conquest. Many with the name Cogan claim Irish ancestry but probably descended from Milo. As with other lines that trace back into Medieval England, none if this is certain. Anne Marshall was the daughter of Thomas Marshall (II) (b.1545, d.1617) and Mary Cotton (b.1553) both from Hampshire, England. Thomas Marshall (II) was the son of Thomas Marshall (I) (b.1513) and Ellen (?) (b.1517) from Hampshire. Thomas Marshall (I) was the son of Nicholas Marshall (b.1500?) and Ann Doane (b.1550?) both from Lincolnshire, England. Mary Cotton was the daughter of Henry Cotton (b.1521) and Margaret (?) both from London. Ann Doane was the daughter of Thomas Doane (b.1472) from Lincolnshire.

The Buell and Cogan families would prosper in New England. After the revolution, various lines would spread across the northern states in much the same way as other colonial families, into western New York and then the northwest territories and eventually beyond that farther west to the Pacific Ocean.

Additional Information:
For the five-part story of the Holcombe family, go here . . .

Research Notes: There is a wealth of information about the Buell family that can be found on the internet, including: the website geni.com; the website ancestry.com, the website familysearch.org, the website wikitree.com, the website find-a-grave.com and many other family websites. There are also print books on the family available. Updated in 8/2024.

This post is one of a series about the allied Colonial Families that branch off from my Holcombe line. From time-to-time, additions to the series are made. For an overview of all of the families covered and links to each story, go here . . .