Immigrant Ancestor -- Edmund Hobart (abt 1570-1646)

Another 10th great grandfather of mine was Edmund Hobart, who arrived with his wife and several grown children (the number varies) in New England in 1633. His son, Rev Peter Hobart was a vicar in England, but held strong Puritan beliefs and ran afoul of "the strict doctrines of Anglican England", which led the Hobart family and other Puritans to leave for New England.  

Soon after their arrival, Edmund, his sons Peter and Joshua and other recent arrivals from Norfolk, were the original settlers of Hingham, which today is part of Greater Boston. The town was incorporated as Hingham in 1635, named after their former home village, Hingham in Norfolk. It was a town born of religious descent, according to this Wikipedia entry.

Edmund Hobart and his wife Margaret (Dewey), said the Puritan minister Cotton Mather, "were eminent for piety...and feared God above many". Together, they had at least nine children. Margaret seems to have died not long after they arrived at Charlestown in 1633. He went on to marry two more times, fathering more children, before he died in 1646.

Edmund is the descendant of a family "established in East Anglia for many centuries", says one source. One of his brothers, Henry Hobart (abt 1560-1625), was a distinguished politician and barrister, and was knighted in 1603. The name has appeared as Hubbard or Hoberd, but Hobart became the most common spelling. Edmund's great grandfather, James Hobart, was knighted during the reign of Henry VII.

Colonial Families of the USA

Edmund himself must have been a man of some substance, because he was able to afford to send his son Peter to Cambridge University. Says this FamilySearch.org entry about him, "a university education in those days was a luxury only indulged in by the well-to-do".

Edmund was a well regarded senior member of the Hingham settlement in New England, serving as constable and a commissioner (the equivalent to today's justice of the peace).

I descend from Edmund and Margaret through their daughter Rebecca (1611-1655), who married another immigrant ancestor, Edward Bangs (abt 1591-1677) as his probable third wife.

The never ending story continues....


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