BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES
Simon Crosby and Anne Brigham Simon Crosby was born about 1608 in Holme-on-Spalding-Moor, County York, England to Thomas and Jane (Sotheron) Crosby. He was their fourth son.
Anne Brigham was born about 1606 to Thomas and Isabel (Watson) Brigham, also in Holme-on-Spalding-Moor. She was the second of the couple's two children.
Simon and Anne were married in Holme-on-Spalding-Moor on April 21, 1634. They soon had a son, Thomas Crosby, born about February 1634/35.
In April 1635, the family embarked on a journey to New England. Evidence suggests that their move was motivated by religious (rather than taxation) concerns. They joined a company of followers of Reverend Thomas Shephard who were leaving their roots in Essex, Yorkshire and Northumberland to establish a new home in America. They set sail on the "Susan and Ellen" from London on April 18, 1635 and concluded the ten-week trans-Atlantic journey ended in Boston in July 1635.
The group settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts which had been established three years earlier by followers of Reverend Thomas Hooker who were now moving on to Connecticut. Having ample means, apparently through the generosity of his father, Simon purchased a homestead from William Spencer.
Simon and Anne had two more children: Simon Crosby, born in August 1637, and Joseph Crosby, born in February 1637/38.
Simon held a number of public offices including selectman, constable and surveyor of highways.
Simon died in Cambridge in September 1639, aged about 30 years and leaving a considerable estate. It is believed that Reverend Shephard probably conducted the funeral services.
Anne continued to raise her children in Cambridge for another six years and then married Reverend William Tompson, a widower, and moved to Braintree, Massachusetts where Tompson was minister. The couple had one child of their own, Anne Tompson.
In Reverend Tompson's later years, he was "afflicted with melancholia" and did not work for seven years prior to his death in 1666. His disability left his widow in difficult financial circumstances.
Anne died on October 11, 1675 in Braintree at about age 69.
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