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Sarah SPENCER 1645-c1668 |
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Stephen BACKUS c1640-1695 |
Sarah ROGERS 1625-1684/5 |
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Richard KNIGHT 1603-1683 |
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Sarah Gardner BACKUS 1663-1732 |
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David KNIGHT 1656-1744 |
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David KNIGHT, Jr. 1694-1769 |
David Knight, Jr.* (1694-1769), was the son of David Knight* (c1656-1744) and Sarah Backus* (1668-c1744). The link does not show anything about David Jr's children, however, the LDS record indicates that he is the father of another David Knight, David Knight, III.
According to the History of Norwich Connecticut, page 298, David Knight, Jr. was paid a bounty in 1720 for catching and killing 28 rattlesnakes in Norwich.
David Knight, Jr.'s wife was Abigail Crane*; b. Feb. 15, 1702/3, Windham CT; d. Mar. 12, 1790, Sprague CT. Abigail is the daughter of Lieutenant Jonathan Crane* and Deborah Griswold*. Lieutenant Jonathan Crane* was the son of Benjamin Crane* and Mary Backus*, early settlers of Norwich CT.
David Knight, III's wife was Abigail Hutchens*; b. June 17, 1720, Norwich CT; d. Mar. 21, 1756, Norwich CT. David III, and Abigail were married on May 11, 1743 in Norwich CT. Abigail Hutchens (1740-1756) is the daughter of John Hutchens* (b. Oct. 13, 1693) and Jerusha Bushnell* (b. Nov. 17, 1695), early settlers of Norwich CT. Jerusha Bushnell is the daughter of Joseph Bushnell* and Mary Leffingwell*. Joseph Bushnell is the son of Richard Bushnell* and Marie "Mary" Marvin*. Mary Leffingwell is the daughter of Thomas Leffingwell* (also known as Lieutenant Thomas Leffingwell), and Mary White*.
The LDS record also shows that Richard Knight* (c1605-c1680) is the son of William Knight* (1568-___?), and Elizabeth Carter* (1588-___?) of England. It indicates that William died in the town of Romsey. It also shows that this William Knight was the son of another William Knight*, who was born about 1545. Elizabeth Carter is shown as the daughter of Richard Carter* and Alice ___?*, both born in about 1550. Richard Carter is shown to be the son of John Carter* (c1529-1559), and Agnes Edlyn* (b. c1532) of Watford, England, who were married in about 1568. John Carter is shown to be the son of Richard Carter* (b. c1495) and Joan ___?* (b. c 1499) also of Watford.
Sarah Rogers', father, James Rogers* is shown in the LDS records as the son of another James Rogers* (b. Feb. 1, 1615) and Elizabeth Rowland* (b. c1619). Stephen Backus' parents are shown in the LDS record to be William* and Elizabeth* Backus, born in 1606 and 1603, respectively in Sheffield, England. They were apparently married in England in 1627. They (or he) came to America on the ship Rainbow to Saybrook CT in 1637, with their two young sons, William and Stephen Backus*, who were less than 10 years old. They were early settlers in Norwich CT, and William Backus died in Norwich on June 7, 1664. The LDS record states that Elizabeth probably died before 1659 in Saybrook CT. However, the Virkus reference implies that Elizabeth died in England, or soon after arriving in America, perhaps in Saybrook, and then William remarried to Sarah Charles in Saybrook CT, the daughter of Rev. John Charles of Branford CT; and then he later remarried a third time to Anne (Stenton) Bingham, widow of Thomas Bingham in about 1660. No record of Elizabeth's death has been found in America.
Stephen Backus* married Sarah Spencer* in Dec. 1666 in Norwich CT, and Sarah Spencer was one of 13 children of her parents, Gerard Spencer* (1614-1685) and Hannah Hills* (1618-1692).
Stephen and Sarah (Spencer) Backus had 5 children:
Sarah Spencer* (1645-1668), according to an LDS record has a long ancestry that goes back 18 generations to Thurston de Spencer* (b. c1122) and with sketchy data, back three more generations to Amaury Raoul d'Albetot, who was born in 1066, the year of the Norman Conquest. The dating errors and other inconsistencies in this LDS data are suffiently troublesome that it cannot be relied upon for accuracy. However, if Sarah Spencer's line does get back to Thurston de Spencer (b. c1122) then she is descended from an important line of English nobility that also produced the late Princess Diana Spencer (1961-1997) as well as the Earls of Oxford (surnamed DeVere), one of whom, the 17th Earl of Oxford, Edward DeVere (1550-1604), is thought to be to actual author of those great literary works normally attributed to William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
With some reliability, it seems highly likely that Sarah Spencer's father was Gerard Spencer*, (b. Apr. 1614, Stotfold, England), known also as Ensign Gerard Spencer, who emigrated to America before 1636 and married Hannah Hills* of Haddam CT, in that year. It was Hannah, however, whom the LDS record says was born in Haddam in 1618. However, it is unlikely for her to have been born in America on a date that preceded the arrival of the Mayflower in 1620! Gerard Spencer died in June, 1685 in Haddam. He was the son of another Gerard Spencer* (1576-b1646), who was born on May 20, 1576, and Alice Whitbread* (c1578-1628), daughter of John Lawrence Whitbread* (1548-1598), and Eleanor Radcliffe* (1550-1628). John Lawrence Whitbread* (1548-1598) is the son of Thomas Whitbread* (1522-1585) of Upper Gravenhurst, Bedfordshire, England. The elder Gerard Spencer* is the son of Michael Spencer* (1556-1599), and his wife Elizabeth __?*.