Robert Stiles, of Rowley

Not a known son of John ‘the Settler’ Stiles & his wife Rachel Beadells

Robert Stiles, Sr.

• Birth: about 1639 in Yorkshire, England (unsourced birth date of 30 Jul 1637 - was this his wife?)
• Death: 30 Jul 1690 at about age 53 in Rowley, Essex, Massachusetts Bay Colony
• Parents unknown
• Spouse: Elizabeth Frye - married 4 Oct 1660 in Rowley, Massachusetts Bay Colony (by Governor Bradstreet)
• Spouse: Elizabeth (unknown) - died after 1703 (uncertain details)

  ---

Biography

"The Stiles family in America : genealogies of the Massachusetts family, descendants of Robert Stiles of Rowley, Mass. 1659-1891, and the Dover, N. H., family, descendants of William Stiles of Dover, N. H. 1702-1891" https://archive.org/details/stilesfamilyinam00guil/page/n25

ROBERT STILES, another early settler, was an emigrant from Yorkshire, Eng. In 1659 we find him owning a farm containing two hundred and fifty acres, with buildings thereon, in Rowley Village. His residence was near the East-Parish village. Dec. 16th of that year, he mortgages his farm to Thomas Wasse of Ispwich. To write his name was more than he was capable of doing. The next year, 4 Oct. 1660, he married Elizabeth, daughter of John and Anna Frye of Andover. Robert Stiles. Sen., died 30 July 1690; and the administration of his estate was granted to his widow Elizabeth, a month later. Descendants of this emigrant have ever since continued to reside in Boxford.[1]

---

See also "History of Boxford" pp. 27-28. https://archive.org/details/historyofboxford00perl/page/26 (flip to p 28 to see next 5 children)

Family

Retrieved from https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Stiles-374 and then edited

Marriage

1. Robert Stiles married Elizabeth Frye Oct. 4, 1660 in Rowley, Massachusetts[2]
2. There is no marriage record for a seond wife called Elizabeth

Family

According to Stiles:

Children of Robert Stiles and Elizabeth Fry, born in Rowley (not Rowley Village) Massachusetts:

1. John, b. 30 Jan. 1661; also recorded as 30 June 1661[3]John was made a freeman October, 1690; m. Deliverance Town of Topsfield, 24 Nov., 1685, who d. 16 May, 1700, and by whom he had several children; lived in Boxford, south side of Fish Brook.
2. Elizabeth, b 15 March 1662[4] . John Buswell, 8 July 1700.
3. Sarah, b. 31 Jan 1664; a twin {note: twin to Eunice}[6] d. 1 Feb. 1664.
4. Abigail, b 15 Feb. 1666. or 14 Feb 1666[7]
5. Ebenezer, b. 20 Feb 1669[8]; m Dorothy Dalton, 23 July 1701, and d. 3 June, 1746; lived in Andover and Middleton.
6. Sarah, b. 20 Oct., 1672.[9]

Children of Robert Stiles and Elizabeth (unknown), Rowley became Boxford in 1685:

1. Robert, b 15 Nov., 1675 [10]; m. Ruth Bridges, 10 Nov. 1699.
2. Eunice/Unice, b. 31 Jan 1664; a twin {note: twin to Sarah}[5] [conflict!]
3. Timothy, b. 1 Oct. 1678[11]; m Hannah, dau. of Ephraim and Hannah Foster of Andover, 5 March 1701-02; d. 7 Dec. 1751
4. Samuel, b. 21 May 1682; m. Elizabeth Cary, 2 May 1703; lived in Boxford, and had children.[12]

   ---

Second wife

Stiles, Henry Reed. The Stiles Family in America, Genealogies of the Connecticut/Massachusetts Family (Doan & Pilson, 1895). Pages 13-16. < Archive.Org >

Robert Stiles was married (by Bradstreet) October 4, 1660,[4] to Elizabeth (dau. of John and Anna) Frye, of Andover, Massachusetts,* who was born in England in 1637 see footnote, pp. 16, 17). According to Boxford records, Robert Stiles had a second wife also named Elizabeth, who survived him. He died July 30, 1690 Perle's History of Boxford, p. 28). This date is probably correct, but it does not tally with a record furnished us by Mr. Perley himself. To his widow Elizabeth was granted, one month after his death, the administration of his estate [Hist. Boxford, p. 28). She was admitted to the church February 21, 1703 Boxford Records). She must have been the person referred to in the following from the town records: "Mch. 2, 1696-7, a new road laid out to Widow Stiles' new field Hist. Boxford, p. 133). In 1702, Widow Stiles was admitted to full communion. Boxford Records.

---

From Vol. II, pp. 724-726 of Hudson-Mohawk Genealogical and Family Memoirs, edited by Cuyler Reynolds (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1911) < link >

In speaking of the first settlers of Boxford, Massachusetts, Perley (the town historian) says "Robert Stiles, another early settler, was an emigrant from Yorkshire, England. In 1659 we find him owning a farm containing two hundred and fifty acres, with buildings thereon, in Rowley Village. His residence was near the East Parish village." In Marriages, Births and Deaths in Essex County it is stated, "Robert Stiles was married (by Bradstreet) to Elizabeth, (daughter of John) Frye of Andover." In 1680 the number of families in Rowley Village had increased to twenty. The head of one of these families was "Goodman" Stiles. In the same year the town of Rowley (not Rowley Village) appointed "tithingmen to see that the Sabbath was well kept," and among the eleven families under the supervision of Joseph Higsbee was that of "Goodman" Stiles. In 1684 the Rev. Joseph Capen was settled at Topsfield, where a church had existed since 1663, and in his list of members in full communion is found the name of Robert Stiles, also that of his son John and wife Deliverance. During the year 1685 the town of Boxford was formed, and the Stiles family afterwards appear on the records of that town and church. In 1686 Robert Stiles was chosen constable of Boxford (probably the first one chosen), which in 1685 had been incorporated a town. Perley's "History of Boxford" [Sidney Perley's History of Boxford, Essex County, Massachusetts, from the earliest settlement known to the present time: a period of about two hundred and thirty years] says: "Robert Stiles Sr. died July 30, 1690, and administration was granted his widow Elizabeth, a month later."

• Robert Stiles
• Names & Stories in Newspapers from OldNews.com (Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont)
• Text: ... 3172. 1. STILES, WILSON. P. B. C., Feb. 29. 1932. The Stiles Genealogy gives on page 7: Robert (1) Stiles, ancestry not known, thought to have come with Rev. Ezekiel Rogers from Yorkshire to Rowley, 1639, probably child or...
• Birth: Circa 1639 - Yorkshire, England
• Marriage: Oct 4 1660
• Death: July 30 1690 - Boxford, Massachusetts, United States
• Wife: Elizabeth Stiles (born Frye)
• Newspaper: The Boston Transcript
• Publication: Apr 20 1932 - Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States
• Article summary: Robert Stiles' genealogy, including his marriage to Elizabeth Frye and their descendants.

  ---

• FRYE, Elizabeth
• b. ABT 1637 England
• d. 1678 Boxford, Essex, Mass.
• Parents:
• Father: FRYE, John
• Family:
• Marriage: 4 OCT 1660 Andover, Essex, Mass.
• Spouse: STILES, Robert
• b. ABT 1637 England
• d. 20 JUL 1690
• Children:
  • STILES, John
  • STILES, Elizabeth
  • STILES, Eunice b. 31 JAN 1663/4 Rowley, Essex, Mass.
  • STILES, Sarah b. 31 JAN 1663/4 Rowley, Essex, Mass.
  • STILES, Ebenezer

[and 5 more children - see links above]

• From: http://www.genealogyofnewengland.com/f_b01.htm#63

  ---

In the winter of 1638-9 a company of emigrants left Yorkshire England and came to Salem, Mass. In the spring they moved to a location between the towns of Ipswich and Newbury. They purchased a large tract of land under the name of Rowley and obtained an "Act of Incorporation"in Sept 1639. They held their land in common for nearly five years. Then they laid out to each family a home lot. The colony lived and thrived and soon became a prominent colonial town.

Robert Stiles was part of this colony and in 1659 owned a farm of 250 acres .

References

1. https://www.schenectadyhistory.org/families/hmgfm/stiles.html
2. "The Stiles family in America : genealogies of the Massachusetts family, descendants of Robert Stiles of Rowley, Mass. 1659-1891, and the Dover, N. H., family, descendants of William Stiles of Dover, N. H. 1702-1891" https://archive.org/details/stilesfamilyinam00guil/page/n25
   
3. See also "History of Boxford" pp. 27-28. https://archive.org/details/historyofboxford00perl/page/26 (flip to p 28 to see next 5 children)
4. WikiTree contributors, "Robert Stiles Sr (abt.1637-1690)," WikiTree: The Free Family Tree, (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Stiles-374 : accessed 16 January 2025).
5. https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/collaborate/L7FZ-ZX8 Note: Perley's History of Boxford MA; all in possession of compiler Note: (Samuel) child of 2nd marriage to Elizabeth -- ?