Robert Calef (1648-1719)


 * Born: 21 Nov 1648, Stansted, England
 * Died: 13 Apr 1719
 * Parents: ♂Joseph Calfe and ♀Martha ?
 * Married: ♀Maria Trace  abt.1648, Roxbury, Suffolk, Massachusetts
 * Born:
 * Died: b., d. 12 Nov 1719, Roxbury, Massachusetts
 * Parents:

Children
Roxbury, Suffolk, Massachusetts
 * by wife Mary 
 * 1) ♂Joseph Calef, b. 1671, Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts, USA, d. 28 Dec 1707, Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts, USA
 * 2) ♂Robert Calef, b. 1674, New Hampshire, USA, d. 4 Dec 1722, Chatham, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA
 * 3) ♂John Calef, b. abt.1675, England, d. Bet. Mar - May 1748, Chester, New Hampshire
 * 4) ♀Martha Calef, b, 1680, Boston, Massachusetts, d. 04 Mar 1759, Wrentham, Massachusetts
 * 5) ♂Jeremiah Calef, b. 1683, Portsmouth, Rockingham, New Hampshire, d. 03 Jun 1762, Exeter, Rockingham, New Hampshire, USA
 * 6) ♀Elizabeth Calef, b. 1685, Boston, Middlesex, Massachusetts, d.
 * 7) ♀Mary Calef, b. 1686, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, d. 1764/11/00 ?, Roxbury, Suffolk, Massachusetts
 * 8) ♂Edward Calef, b. 30 Jan 1688, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, d.
 * 9) ♂Daniel Calef, b. 27 Dec 1691, d. Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, d. 13 Apr 1712,

Biography

 * The first record found of Robert and Mary Calef is that of the batism of their son Edward at the New South Church, Boston, in 1688. In what year they came to this new land, and whether James Calef, forty years before in Rowley, and Samuel Calef, land owner in "the Eastern Country," now Maine, before 1700, were kin, are questions for the curious. All we know is that there were six children in the home of the doughty merchant when Edward was born, and since no record of their baptisms is found, it may safely be taken that they had been born in England, through their town is still to discover.


 * The family is of English origin. Camden's "Remains of Britaine" gives the epitaph of Sir John Calfe who lived in the days of Henry III, 1216 to 1270. A century later "the Danish King Waldemar IV gave to the nobleman Calf, his intimate friend, the Castle of Ripon, in Jutland" as is told in Sinding's "History of Scandinavia." In the Church of St. Nicholas in London, is an inscription to the memory of one John Calfe, dated 1426, and "Visitations" of several churches, as St. George's and St. Paul's, have references to Calfe or Calef.
 * Coming closer to Robert the emigrant is the will of Jerome Calfe made on the 11th of February 1640, at Stansted, England. Jerome left his goods to his brothers, Joseph, Robert, Edward, and to a nephew, Jerome, son of a brother William. These names are borne by sons and grandsons of Robert of Boston, save Jerome, and if that were used as a form of Jeremiah, the coincidence is complete.
 * Robert held continuing relations with the mother country, for he was part owner at different times of four vessels, the Three Brothers, captured from the French in July, 1696; the Unity, the Katharine, and late in life, the Adventure. Through the eighteenth centry his grandsons and great grandsons were in close business relations with the London firm of Robert Calef and John Chuter, of 18 St. Mary's Axe, later of Old City Chambers, Bishopgate Street. It is noteworthy, too that this firm came forward at once, without solicitation, to contribute to the fund raised in London for the sufferers from the Boston fire of 1787.
 * Legend, which his career in the new world gives no reason to doubt, says that Robert was well educated, attended one of the universities, was liberal in his views and, due to too sympathetic defence of the Quakers, found it well to leave England. He established himself as a merchant and cloth maker, and was soon one of Boston's solid citizens, serving as administrator of three estates in 1690 and appointed constable in 1691. He had reached Boston in an evil day, however, for men of his temper. The belief in witchcraft, throught Europe for four centuries the source of untold mental anguish, of persecution and of hideous deaths, had crossed the Atlantic in the mental luggage of the settlers. Increase Mather, president of Harvard, had published his "Illustrious Providences" in 1684, and his son Cotton Mather had followed this in 1689 by "Memorable Providences Relating to Witchcraft and Possessions." The delusion came to its head in Salem in 1692 where five men and women, protesting their innocence, were hung in one day. In all, twenty were executed and many lay in prison before sanity returned. The Salem hangings had given pause to the hysteria and the governor, Sir William Phips, coming back to Boston from an expedition against the French and Indians, thought matters were going too far. He dismissed the court he had set up and released the accused awaiting trial.

Calfe Family Story
Originally submitted by noblehorse_0423 to The Noblehorse & Payne Forest on 10 Nov 2007 The Calf(e) family came to East Anglia in 1066 from Normandy - with good old William the Conqueror.

The original family name was Calfe, (earlier, Calf) the anglicized version of the French surname, which was Veal. Roger le Veal came with William and founded the English Branch, from which we are descended.

In Normandy they spoke French and wrote in Latin. Latin for Veal (calf) is Calvus. Ricardo Calvus (Richard Calf) was buried in Bury St. Edmonds in 1070, only 4 years after the Norman Invasion. Veal was a Norman Baronial name. The coat of arms for the Calf and Veal families shows three calfs.

English as we know it was not spoken for 200 years after the Battle of Hastings (1066) so there are no early references to Calf(e) until later on in English history. Variants of the early name were: Veille, Val, Vel, Viel,Vail, Calvus, Calver, Calfo, Le Chauve.

In the historical rolls we find some interesting folks: Lawrence Calf was a Knight in Ireland (1351); Richard Calf was the Bishop of Down, Ireland (1354); Walter Calf was the Bailiff (jailkeeper) of Dunwich, Sufolk, in 1289; Simon Le Cauf a Gentleman and Mariner, was killed in 1457; Maurine Calf was a shipmaker (1474); Lanfrance Calve was a Merchant in Genoa (1377).

St. James Church, parish church to the early Calfe family still stands in Stanstead, Suffolk, East Anglia, Britain.

William Calfe was born circa 1545 and was a yeoman (farmer) of Stanstead. He was buried May 2, 1600.

His son Jerome Calfe was the third of five children and was baptized in 1572, died in January of 1638.

His son was Joseph Calfe, sixth of eight children, baptized in 1609, died around 1650.

Joseph's son Robert Calfe was born in 1648 and baptized in Stanstead, England in 1648 (not 1674), emigrated to New England, and died in Roxbury (Boston), Massachusetts on April 13 1719. Robert is buried in the Eustis Street Burying Ground in Boston. I am told the tombstone is in good repair.

It would appear that he changed the spelling of our name to Calef from Calfe. In the book, his name is printed Calef, but his signature reads Calfe.

Robert was a very brave man as he took on Colonial Governor John Winthrop, as well as Cotton Mather - and fought against the bigotry that 90% of the early Colonists held as the truth. Robert defended a number of the poor souls accused of witchcraft, including John Alden Jr., son of the John Alden that Longfellow made famous in the poem, "The Courtship Of Myles Standish". The Rev. Increase Mather, President of Harvard College, ordered Robert's book burned in Harvard Yard in 1700. Very few copies survived. Robert had to have the book printed in London as no New England printer would touch it. The book, as you probably know, is titled More Wonders of the Invisible World.

In addition to Robert, who opposed Cotton Mather during the Salem Witch trials, we are also related to Gen. Joseph Warren who was killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill. His grandmother was Mary Calef, daughter of Robert.

The Lt. John Calef encountered the very first elements of the Confederate Army at the Railroad Cut, west of Gettysburg. John was an Artillery Officer, and he opened fire with his horse drawn cannons, firing the very first shots in the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1, 1864.