Person Page - 460

       Robert/2 Stetson Jr. was born 29 Jan 1653/54 at Scituate, MA, and there baptised 26 Feb following at the Second Church.^1,2 Unmarried in 1675-76, when he had an illegitimate child with Elizabeth, daughter of Walter Woodworth.³ He married, probably between 1676 and 1678 at Scituate, Deborah/2p Brooks, daughter of William/1p Brooks and (–?–) (–?–). (The death record of Peleg Stetson at Pembroke records the boy as son of Robert and Deborah.) Robert may also have fathered the son Beriah Brooks born to Deborah 20 Mar 1674; no father is named in the record.⁴
     Evelyn Beran writes, "Robert was the Cornet's namesake, and the child of his old age, the only child not given a biblical name, and the only one to sow abundant wild oats in his youth. In 1676 Robert set up housekeeping in Scituate, but this same year a band of Narragansett Indians descended upon Scituate and burned many houses, among them the home of Robert Stetson Jr. It is not known how long he remained in Scituate. After their home was destroyed, they went to Duxbury, where they were living in 1700, when on 19 July 1700 his father, the Cornet, gave his son Robert of Duxborough 40 acres of upland and meadow lying in Scituate on the easterly side of North River—part of the tract called the 'Two Mile.' Robert Stetson, with his sons Isaac and Timothy operated the mill on the Herring Brook in Duxbury in 1707. In 1709/1710, in the division of the common land of Duxbury, Robert was given a grant of 100 acres, which land served as one of the boundaries in laying out the new lots. When Pembroke was incorporated in 1711/1712, Robert Stetson with at least seven children with their families were present, and with the 100 acres (then in Duxbury) were included in the new township of Pembroke. Some have interpreted the Cornet's will, which bequeathed his 'Wearing Cloaths' to son Robert, with what he had formerly given him, as a way of disinheriting Robert, but Robert had already received his inheritance via the grant of land in 1700.⁵
     "Different sources give conflicting reports on whether Robert Stetson Jr. married Deborah Brooks or her sister Joanna or both. Briggs claims he married both, and places Robert's marriage to Deborah at 1674, age 20, allowing time for son Peleg who died 29 June 1713 ('Peleg, son of Robert and Deborah Stetson' according to the Pembroke record) to be born before Robert's marriage in 1676 to Joanna Brooks. Deane says under Brooks that Deborah married Robert Stetson, and gives no spouse for Joanna; under Stetson, he says that Robert Stetson Jr. married Joanna Brooks 1670. Savage says under Brooks that Deborah married Robert Stetson and Joanna married John Besbedge, but under Stetson he says that Robert Stetson 'm. 1676, Joanna Brooks, says Barry, the later and higher authority, though Deane says Deborah, daughter of William'. Stetson suggests Robert might have married both, Deborah being the second wife—improbable if it was her sister Joanna Brooks who married John Bisby in 1687. Torrey says Deborah married Robert Stetson 1675-1678, and Joanna married John Bisby 13 September 1687."⁵

       Joanna/2p Brooks was baptised 16 Oct 1659 at the Second Church, Scituate, MA.^2,1 She married, 13 Sep 1687 at Marshfield, John/3 Bisbee of Duxbury, son of Elisha/2 Bisbee and Joanna (–?–). (Their siblings Thomas Brooks and Hannah Bisbee also married.).^3,4 Member of the Second Church, Scituate, 1704.⁵ She died at Pembroke 17 Aug 1726, at age 66.⁶ He died there 4 Sep following at age 80.⁷

       John/3 Bisbee was baptised 21 Dec 1645 at the Second Church, Scituate, MA.¹ Named in the will of Thomas Bird of Scituate, dated 4 Feb 1663.² He lived at Marshfield, and at Duxbury (later Pembroke).^3,4 Married, 13 Sep 1687 at Marshfield, Joanna/2p Brooks of Marshfield, daughter of William/1p Brooks and (–?–) (–?–). (Their siblings Hannah Bisbee and Thomas Brooks also married.).^5,6 Received a bequest in his father's will, 6 Apr 1688.⁷ His wife Joanna died at Pembroke 17 Aug 1726 at age 66.⁸ He died there 4 Sep following at age 80.⁹