Genealogy of Our Family The Family of John George Esterbrook and Mary Abigail Foster
From left to right Front Row: Harry Elmo, John George, Mary Abigail, and George Leland Back Row: Jessie Lee, Harley Rice, Benjamin Foster, John Lewis and Nellie Samantha IntroductionWhat the origin of our Esterbrook name is has not been determined, but the following are two stories that have been found so far and there are probably many more. The first is from a researcher by the name of Terry Easterbrook who’s Estabrooks, Eastabrook, Esterbrook line came from Devon County, England. He quotes a source from the "Historical Research Center" that states the following: "The English surname Easterbrook is of local origin, being one of those names that was descriptive of the place where the original bearer once lived or held land. This is borne out by the fact that many early instances of the surname are prefixed by "de", meaning "from" or "bi", meaning "by". During the middle ages when the system of surnames first developed, it was inevitable that a person would be identified by their place of origin. In this case, the name is derived from the Old English phrase" be eastan broce" which literally meant "one who lived near to the east of the brook". Alternatively, the surname could be derived from residence at a place name Eastbrook. Records of this surname in England date back to the 13th century. An example of this is William de Estbrok who lived at Eastbrook farm in Plymouth, Devon in 1254 (Assize Rolls). In 1296, a William Estebroke was mentioned in Subsidy Rolls for Sussex which were compiled in that year. In 1327, the same source also lists on Mathilda Estbrock. There are numerous variants of the name including Eastbrook, Eastabrook and Esterbrook. " The second story was found on the New Brunswick, Canada RootsWeb list on 8 Mar 2001, author unknown: "The Estabrooks family was originally from Flanders and name was Estabruggan. They went to England to escape religious persecution. 1296 AD --Record of William Estebrooke and 1327 AD -Record of Alan Esterbrook, at Sussex, England. ..Surnames now include Eastbrook, Eastabrook, Easterbrook, Esterbrook, Estabrooks ...In 1660 three Estabrooks brothers from Enfield, Middlesex county, England, arrived at Boston, Mass...” From which of these lines our Esterbrook line descends, if either, has not been determined. Our known Esterbrook family begins with the John George Esterbrook whose family is pictured above and who was born on 8 Aug 1849 in Waukegan, Lake County, Illinois. We know that based on John George’s death certificate that his father was John Esterbrook and his mother was Rhoda Mann, both born in Canada. Contradicting their place of birth in the 1880 census John George gives their birthplace as Wisconsin, however in subsequent censuses he gives it as Canada. We also know that John George’s father, John, must have died sometime between 8 Aug 1849 and 4 Sep 1855 when John George’s mother, Rhoda, married William L. Umstead in Fountain County, Indiana. Weather John George’s father died in Illinois, before the family moved, or in Indiana after they arrived there has not been determined. Rhoda is found with her new husband in the 1860 census in Pike Township, Warren County, Indiana as follows: William Umpsted, age 34, Day Labor, born Kentucky, Rhoda Umpsted, age 28, born Canada, and Amelia Umpsted, age 12, born Wisconsin. It is unclear who the Amelia Umpsted is, but she was definitely not Rhoda’s child. Rhoda and her second husband, William Umstead, have not been found in any census after 1860 so it is not known if they had any additional children. As can be noted, John George was not living with his mother in the 1860 census, but rather was with the family of James Hamilton, also in Pike Township, Warren County, Indiana. John George was listed as “George Eastbrook, age 11, born Ireland”. The father of the family that John George was living with was born in Ireland, thus the apparent confusion as to where John George was born. It is not known if John George Esterbrook had any siblings, but based on the fact that his mother would have been 17 or 18 when she had him, it is doubtful if he had any older ones and the fact that there were no younger siblings living with his mother in the 1860 makes it doubtful that he had any younger ones. It is therefore assumed that John George was an only child. It has not been determined if John George had any half brothers and sisters because his mother Rhoda and her second husband William have not been found in any censuses after 1860. For more information on the family of this John George Esterbrook, please click on the “Descendants” link below. Anyone who has any information, no matter how speculative, on which Esterbrook, Easterbrook, Estabrook, etc. family that this John George Esterbrook might descend is encouraged to please email me at the address listed below. Table of ContentsSend email to: frankgriggs@juno.com
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