A great deal has been written about William Rockwell of Windsor, Ct., and his descendants; However, very little has been written about the descendants of Josiah Rockwell of Norwich, Ct. In the "History of Norwich, Ct.", by Frances Manwaring Caulkins, she speculates that Josiah may be the son of William of Windsor by a previous marriage; However, Josiah didn't name any of his sons William. The Rockwells tend to be traditional about naming their children from relatives' names, and the name William should have been given to one of his four sons. It seems more probable that Josiah was a nephew or cousin of William. Going by the names of Josiah's sons, Josiah, John, Joseph, & Samuel, and the tradition of naming children after relatives, speculation would point toward one of these four names being Josiah's father and/or Father-in-law.
All the available history information on Josiah comes from either Caulkin's books, or from James Savages' book -"A Genealogical Dictionary of The First Settlers of New England, showing three generations of those who came before May 1692 on the basis of the Farmer's Register". Caulkins states Josiah had earlier been in New London before locating in Norwich. Josiah wasn't one of the original settlers of Norwich, Ct., but one of the original settlers in what was known as The East Society (Today's Preston, Ct.). He purchased land 5 May 1673 (Norwich Land Deeds, Vol. 1:5) The date & place of his birth aren't known. Josiah's wife was named Hannah, but her maiden name isn't known. Some books have stated that she was a Rebecca Loomis, but these books are confusing Josiah, the son of William of Windsor with Josiah of Norwich. The vital records of Norwich don't mention her name in connection with Josiah or their children. After the tragic death of Josiah, Hannah re-married John Glover on 29 May 1682.
(Some of the above information is from Arlene D. Bell's book, page 1 and 2.) The rest is from books that I borrowed from the NEGHS Lending Library, Boston, Mass. (Lyle Rockwell.)
Obit: Chas. Alford Of Esparto Is Dead~
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Charles A. Alford, pioneer resident of Esparto, passed away last night at the age of 76 years, after extended suffering from a complication of diseases due to old age. He was the father of Charles A. Alford Jr., of this city, whose son, Victor, was killed in France in the late world war.
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Deceased was retired within recent years and lived with his aged wife in a little Esparto home, where they had many friends, and were beloved by all who knew him and know her. Mr. Alford was a native of Missouri and crossed the plains in the early days to his future home in California.
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Besides the wife and son he leaves a daughter, Mrs. Mollie Thompson of the Capay district.
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The funeral will be Sunday at 2:30 o'clock from Esparto Presbyterian church, with the Rev. Mason of Esparto officiating. Interment will be in Capay cemetery.
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December 31, 1920
Woodland Daily Democrat
Woodland California.