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This genealogy file comprises the
descendants and ancestors of Anthony
Colby (1605-1660) and his wife Susannah (1610-1689)
and most related family branches. Anthony immigrated to
America in 1630 with the Winthrop Fleet. He was the first Colby in
America, and the Colby from whom most present day Colbys
living in America originate.
There are many Colbys that have left their mark on
America. As America expanded the Colby family moved with
it. When America moved towards independence, no Colby
refused to sign the New Hampshire Association Test of
1776. We have frontiersmen, pioneers, doctors, teachers,
lawyers, statesmen, railroad barons and of course, a few
black sheep. There are 92 places in the United States
with the Colby name. Included are cities, lakes, schools,
and hills.
The Colby family tree includes the following notable
people:
Laura Ingalls Wilder (Little House on the Prairie)
Joseph Smith, Jr. (Founder of the Mormon Church)
Chester A. Arthur (21st President of the United States)
William Egan Colby (CIA)
Anthony Colby (Governor of New Hampshire)
Gardner Colby (Colby College & President-Wisconsin
Central RR)
Carlos W. Colby (Congressional Medal of Honor -
Vicksburg, 1863)
Rear Admiral Harrison Gray Otis Colby (Commander-North
Atlantic Fleet)
Bainbridge Colby (U. S. Secretary of State, 1920-21)
Stoddard B. Colby (Register of the U.S. Treasury)
Richard Bruce Cheney (Vice President of the United States, 2001-)
Notable people whose descendants married into
the Colby family:
Susanna North Martin (Salem Witch Trials)
Mary Perkins Bradbury (Salem Witch Trials)
Hannah Emerson Dustin (Indian Captive)
Myles Standish (Mayflower Passenger)
This genealogy file presently contains more than 40,000 names and over
1,500 photos, with dates ranging from 1295 to the present.
This site pertains to the genealogy of
the Colby family. Although not yet completed, this is the
information I have collected so far. I am always
gathering new information.
Where possible I like to include photos
of people, places or things (especially headstones). If
you would care to contribute any photos and/or
information which would help update or complete the data
in this file, all such contributions will be greatly
appreciated. I would like to express my appreciation to
everyone who has assisted me or contributed information
to date.
If you see information that differs
from yours please email me.
Thomas Macy, first town clerk of
Amesbury, erected this house prior to 1654.
Persecuted for harboring Quakers he sold the house to
Anthony Colby and fled to Nantucket, becoming the
first white settler there as related in
Whittier’s poem “The Exiles”. -- Massachusetts
Bay Colony Tercentenary Commission
Old Norfolk County Records
Thomas Macy sold to Anthony Colby the
house in which Macy dwelleth and the barn and garden
near barn of Rodger Eastman, and the well and bucket
and rope belonging to it, and Colby agreed to convey
to Macy a mare foal, boards, corn and pipe or
hogshead staves or cattle, 23 : 11 : 1654.
John Colby deposed that Tho: Macy
sold to his father Anthony Colby the house in which
his mother now liveth, with a barn and orchard and an
English pasture of an acre at ye Newtown on west side
of Pawwaus river, in Salisbury for �38. Sworn to in
court at Salisbury, 12 : 2 mo : 1664.
Tho: Barnat testified that he heard
Tho: Macy acknowledge that he had sold to the above
to Anthony Colby, and that he was paid for it. Sworn
to in court, 12 : 2 mo : 1664.
The ancient home of the Colby family, at
least in the United States, can still be found in
Amesbury. Amesbury is in the northernmost part of
Massachusetts, almost to the border with New Hampshire. The directions
to see this wonderful home, exit 495 at the route 110 Amesbury exit,
follow route 110 (Haverhill Road) east until you come to the next set of
traffic lights, go right onto Main Street, the Macy Colby house is about
a half mile down on the right. There is a paved drive
going to the cemetery at one side of the house along with
a large marker placed by the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Tercentenary Commission. The house is dark brown, with a
bright coral-colored door. Over the door is a sign -
“1654". There is a window on either side of the
door on the ground floor and three windows on the upper
floor. There is a large bush at each corner.
The original house consisted of just the two front rooms
on the ground floor and a loft above. Later, a keeping
room was added at the rear and two rooms on a second
floor. Much later still, a kitchen was added behind the
keeping room. To this day, no running water, electricity,
or modern heating has been added. The last Colby moved
across the street in 1958. The house belongs to the
Bartlett Cemetery Association, as it is on their land. It
has been cared for by the local Josiah Bartlett Chapter,
Daughters of the American Revolution. Access to it can be
had, sometimes, through the Amesbury Public Library.
There are treasured items of the Colby family still in
the house. The items in the fireplace area of the keeping
room are the ones that have always been there. In the
corner of the front room, is a corner cabinet that
Anthony had brought over from England as a present for
Susannah. Also, in the front room in front of the
fireplace is a cradle. Just as if it were ready to have a
baby placed in it. This cradle belonged to a friend of
the family - Susannah North Martin. She was hanged in
Salem as a witch. There is a good story here, too! There
are items of bric-a-brac, portraits on the wall of
unnamed Colbys, and of the last Colby (with his faithful
dog) who lived in the house. Upstairs is the loom-room.
Who was the weaver? We don’t know, now. At the back
of the loom-room is a door leading to a storage room.
There are trunks, boxes, bags and stacks of books among
the boards and old windows. What treasures must be there!
There is also a stairway down to the keeping room. You
can see the wear of the years on the stairs. The original
narrow steps & high treads stairs is at the front of
the house. The floor boards are about 15" wide
throughout the house. Some of the latches on the doors
are handmade - by who? When?
This house is a treasure! Those who can trace their
lineage back here can really feel that they have come
home.-Alice Colby Volkert
(Note: Macy-Colby House, 259 Main Street, Amesbury, MA)
