401. Dr. Comfort1 Starr;61 born at Ashford, Kent, England;61 married Elizabeth Unknown before 1635;61 died 2 Jan 1660 at Cambridge, MA.61
He "COMFORT, Cambridge, surgeon, or physician, of Ashford in Co. Kent, came
in the Hercules 1635, from Sandwich, with three ch. and three serv.
and prob. w. Eliz. perhaps had one or more ch. in the country; was of
Duxbury 1638, or by dif. rep. 1642, thence to Boston aft. 1643, and his
w. d. 25 June 1658, aged 63. He d. 2 Jan. 1660, and left s. John
excor. of his will made 22 Apr. 1659, pro. 2 Feb. foll. In it, beside to
John and his three ch. he gives to five ds. of d. Maynard dec. L10 ea.
as they come to 16 yrs. of age; to the childr. of s. Thomas dec. L10
apiece, as they come to 18 yrs. of age, as also to the four youngest of
them an addit. legacy; to his gr.ch. Simon Eyre L6 per an. until he
came to 18 yrs. to help him to learning in the tongues, &c. to d. Eliz.
Ferniside, w. of John, a resid. dev. to be div. betw. her three ch. to d.
Hannah, if she wd. come to N. E. such a piece of plate, but all his
debts in O. E. and L50 out of his rents in Ashford, or as he spelt it,
Eshitisford, to s. Comfort, and his heirs, the ho. and ld. at Ashford; and
to d. Eliz. the ld. on wh. her present dwel. ho. is built, from the hi, way
back to the mill pond, and to his d.-in=law, wid. of Thomas. Of this will
Mr. Trask has pub. much larger abstr. than mine, in Geneal, Reg. IX.
223, 4. "61 He "Doctor Comfort Starr was of Cambridge 1635, Duxbury 1640,
also at Yarmouth, but spent the later years of his life in
Boston. He was bap. July 6, 1589, in Cranbrook, Kent, Eng.
d. Jany. 2, 1659, in Boston.
m. Elizabeth
b. about 1595. d. June 25, 1658, "t. 63.
He came on the "Hercules" from Ashford, Kent, Eng.; was one of the first "chirurgeons," or surgeons, to come to the colony."78
Children of Dr. Comfort1 Starr and Elizabeth Unknown were:
402. John2 Starr (Comfort1);61 born at Eng;61 married Martha Bunker, daughter of George Bunker and Judith Unknown;267 died after 1667.61
Children of John2 Starr and Martha Bunker were:
403. Lydia3 Starr (John2, Comfort1) Often mis-identified as Lydia Lusher - see explanation following;267 born 1652;207 married Nathaniel Gay, son of John Gay and Joanna Borden; died 6 Aug 1744 at MA.207
She The is confusion in the literature on Lydia, who is referred to as both Lydia Starr and Lydia Lusher. The following explanation from the Dedham Records helps clarify:
"Major Lusher died without children, and no one bearing the surname of Lusher has since been known among us. Indeed the name apparently has become extinct. But as a given name, the name of Lusher has been transmitted since 1685, through successive generations in a branch of the Gay family. In Maj. Lusher's will, it is stated that Lydia Starr, the daughter of Martha, the sister of Mrs. Lusher, had lived in his family from infancy, and she received legacies and lands by the wills of both Major and Mrs. Lusher. Lydia Starr was afterwards married to Nathaniel Gay, and the name of Lusher has been repeated in each generation of their descendants"
and further:
"But in 1662 Major Lusher was married to a second wife. This appears from the records of Charlestown by the following entry:
"Eleazer Lusher (Capt.) Dedham m. Mary Gwinn Aug. 8 1662."
It further appears that Mary Gwinn was the widow of John Gwinn of Charlestown. Her maiden name is not stated by Wyman, but an examination of her will, discloses that she was the sister of Jonathan Bunker of Charlestown, and of Martha, the wife of John Starr of Boston. These were the children of George Bunker of Charlestown, of whom, Savage says, "he owned the summit of that hill of glory bearing his name."1 George Bunker had a daughter Mary, according to Wyman, so that the identity of Mrs. Mary Lusher, with Mary the daughter of George Bunker, is fully established" in 1670.267
Children of Lydia3 Starr and Nathaniel Gay were: