Listening to Bruce Bassett (of the SAR) talk about his genealogy search that led from his family in New Jersey to his roots in Rochester, made me curious about the various local family genealogies that have been donated to the Historical Society. The first one that I picked off the shelf was that of the Covel or Covell family, compiled by Priscilla Waldron Gladwin. Pictured here is the Covel family of England’s coat of arms. The lion is perched on a hat that represents “high rank.”
In many ancestor searches, there is often more than one strain that is not considered to be related (an example is the “meat pie” Hartleys are not considered to be related to the “sawmill” Hartleys) to other strains. This happened with the research into the Covels, or later Covells, though their proximity in the New World (one group on the Cape and the other on Martha’s Vineyard) makes one wonder. In 1651, James Covell was living on Martha’s Vineyard and in 1667, there were Covells on Cape Cod.
James left England after receiving a grant of 10 acres of land on the island. He had four sons with no daughters mentioned. (An interesting fact- it’s believed some Native Americans adopted the Covell name).
Jethro Covell, James’ great-grandson, also lived on Martha’s Vineyard and was a member of a militia company in 1775 and in 1776 and was a member of the Vineyard’s Seacoast Defense. He had three children and the youngest, William, born in 1749, is the first connection to Rochester.
The Covell family seems to have been involved with New Bedford and many maritime industries. William spent many years at sea. His first wife died in childbirth and his second wife, Hannah Fish, began the genealogical connection to Rochester. Their youngest child, Clement Augustus Pease Covell, grew up to become a whaling master. Beginning in 1826 and continuing for 13 years, he was Captain of 6 different whale ships.
Clement had a son, also named Clement, who early on left his job of ship captain and settled on a farm in Rochester. He married and unlike his many forbears, had no sons. Only daughters, which brought an end to the Covell name.
However, the family continued on through his daughter, Annie Bennett Covell. She married Hiram Edmund Baylies Waldron and thus the Covell line became interwoven with the Waldrons of Rochester.
Next time you’re at the Museum notice the large portrait on the wall. It is of Hiram Waldron, Annie Covell’s husband. Hiram was born in Taunton in 1811. He was a wheelwright and died in Rochester in 1863.
By Connie Eshbach
