1332–1333. Christopher Todd was baptized in Pontefract, Yorkshire, England, on Saturday, January 11, 1617, and died in New Haven, Connecticut Colony, on April 23, 1686. Grace Middlebrook was baptized in Batley Parish, Yorkshire, England, on Tuesday, April 11, 1609, and died in New Haven. He is the son of William and Katherine (Ward) Todd. She is the daughter of Michael Matthew and Grace (_____) Middlebrook. They had six children:
| i. | John Todd was baptized in New Haven Colony on December 2, 1642. He married Sarah Gilbert on 26 Nov 1668. She died April 1, 1674. Their wedding was probably a double wedding with his brother, Samuel. She was the daughter of Matthew and Jane (Baker) Gilbert. (Read about the early New Haven Gilbert family which is separate and distinct from the main Gilbert line of this genealogy.) His second marriage was to Sarah Blackman on August 20, 1677. | |
| ii. | Samuel Todd was baptized in New Haven Colony on April 20, 1645, and died in April, 1714. He married Mary Bradley, daughter of William and Alice (Prichard/Pritchard) Bradley [#1316/7], on November 26, 1668. Theirs was probably a double wedding with his brother, John. Among their children was Abigail who married John Gilbert. (Read about the early New Haven Gilbert family which is separate and distinct from the main Gilbert line of this genealogy.) | |
| iii. | Mary Todd was baptized in New Haven Colony on September 16, 1647, and died on May 3, 1676. On Wednesday, August 19, 1668, she and Isaac Turner were married. He is the son of Capt. Nathanial Turner [#2646]. | |
| iv. | Grace Todd was born in New Haven Colony on December 15, 1650. She married Richard Mallock on 2 Mar 1668/9. He deserted her. | |
| v. | Michael Todd [#666]: He was born in New Haven Colony on June 18, 1653, and died in 1713. | |
| vi. | Mercy Todd was born in New Haven Colony on February 18, 1656, and died on April 8, 1717. She married John Bassett, son of William and Hannah (Dickerman) Bassett. |
Christopher Todd was in New Haven in 1644 and took the oath of fidelity there. In 1681 he was the miller. His will, dated 1656, notes his mill, bakehouse and lands; and the estate inventoried at at £985. His name appears frequently in the division of land but he did not have much to do with public affairs.
There should be much additional information in The Todd Family in America or the Descendants of Christopher Todd 1637–1919, compiled by John Edwards Todd, D. D. and edited by George Iru Todd.
Many questions have been raised about this family. First, Grace is 8 years older
than Christopher and had her 6 children when she was 34, 36, 38, 42, 44, and 47
years so,
respectively. It is hard to imagine this many births at these ages. Therefore,
it is tempting to speculate that there was another Grace Middlebrook who
married Christopher Todd, who was born 10 to 15 year later. Unfortunately, there
are many gaps into Batley Parish records; these years a missing:
1595–1605; 1605–1608; 1609–1614; 1632–1634; 1635–36;
1639–42; and 1645–1652. (These details from Maxine Stansell.)
That is, about 33 of the 58 years from 1595
to 1652 are missing; more than half. In fact, none of Grace's siblings appear
in the Batley records, so it is possible that Grace and her siblings all came
from another area, and therefore, her father is not Michael Middlebrook as
given here. (There is a Grace in the records born in 1609.)