Begets and Begats

Anybody remember going to Sunday School and having to write down some of the begets and begats, as in Abraham begat Isaac, and Isaac begat Jacob, etc. etc.  They start out in Genesis, but the really long, boring ones are in Matthew Chapter 1.  Bible stories are great, but these were tedious. 

Anyway, that's sort of what my Ancestry notebook is starting to look like.  In fact, if we are doing this correctly, we can trace Alcotts back as far as William Alcott, born in Burlington County, New Jersey, in 1693.  Pretty cool, huh?  He is mentioned in The Burlington Court Booke of 1705/06 as he was apparently bound to some guy for nine years and three months in order to learn the trade of carpentry.  In those days, being bound as an apprentice to a trade was quite common and not at all like being bound as an indentured servant, who were generally criminals and could be bought and sold and had no choice in the matter.  Serving out your bondage term as apprentice meant you could belong to the trade guild and have access to the good jobs.  Sort of like modern-day unions, except you didn't have to deal with Governor Christie (no offense intended, but we read the papers down here in Florida).

So, William Alcott, born 1693, and wife Ann, begat:

Anthony Alcott, born 1723.  Anthony and wife Elizabeth (Wright) begat:

Israel Alcott, born 1760.  Israel and wife Mary begat:

John Alcott, born 11 November 1807:

John Alcott and his wife Elizabeth (Fox) begat:

 

James Franklin Alcott, born 24 March 1859:

James Franklin Alcott and his wife Louisa Elsworth (Toy) begat:

William Reynolds Alcott, born 7 April 1890, in Camden, New Jersey:

And as we know, William Reynolds Alcott and wife Ada (Carroll) begat and begat and begat those nine notorious Alcott kids we all love so much. 

So that's just a little sweep through Alcott history - we're following up on others, so bear with us.  Sometimes, though, I have to take a break and do some laundry.  --cds/ck