Robert Linnell, born c.1584, was in his fifty-fourth year 1638 when he made the voyage from London, England to America. He was known as "Mr. Linnell" when he arrived at Scituate, a fact that gives some support to the belief that he was known and respected even in England before coming to this land. Mr. Linnell took the oath of allegiance to the King and of fidelity to the colony on 1 Feb. 1638 and was admitted a freeman on the 3rd of December of that same year. (Amos Otis; Genealogical Notes of Barnstable Families Vol. 2, p. 151). It was among the men of Kent that he first settled, men who may have been neighbors at one time before their removal to London and then to America. It is said that their choice of a settlement at Scituate may have been because the cliffs of that seaport reminded them of the cliffs of Dover in Kent.
That Kent was well known to Mr. Linnell is evidenced by the fact that his second wife, Penninah Howes was the daughter of John Howes, the parish clerk of Eastwell, Kent. It is probable that her mother was John Howes' wife Alice. Penninah's sister, Hannah, was the wife of the Rev. John Lothrop whose congregation in London had refused to accept the King as head of the Church. This conflict had resulted in the imprisonment of the Rev. John Lothrop for two years. Upon his release, many members of the congregation made their move to America with him to be able to worship as they chose. That Penninah belonged to the congregation in London can be shown by the report of her being questioned by the Ecclesiastical Court along with others in the congregation in 1632. There she stated that only God was Lord of her beliefs.
The reunion of the Linnells with the Rev. John Lothrop and his flock in Scituate must indeed have been joyous, especially for Penninah Linnell with her sister, Hannah Lothrop. The sixtieth entry in John Lothrop's records of the church at Scituate was that "My Brother Robert Linnell and his wife having a letter of dismission from the church in London joyned to us September 16, 1638."
Robert Linnell was one of those who petitioned to be granted land in another area of the colony. They wanted to develop their own close knit group, observing their religious practices according to their interpretation. Land was granted to this group first at Sippican; but there seem to have been problems connected to this location and a new grant was given for removal to Mattacheese. On "June 26, 1639, a fast for the presence of God in mercy to go with us to Mattacheese" was held with a Thanksgiving celebration when they had all arrived in that place now known as Barnstable (Frederick Freeman, History of Cape Cod, Vol.II, p. 246).
So where I need help is who are Robert's Parents and who are his Siblings where was he born and further more. Can some one please help me.
Thanks
JLinnell
