Comfort Starr (6 July 1589 – 2 January 1659) was a 17th-century English

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

who emigrated to the

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th cent ...

. He was one of the five founders of

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher ...

Early life

Starr was born in

Cranbrook, Kent Cranbrook is a town in the civil parish of Cranbrook and Sissinghurst, in the Weald of Kent in South East England. It lies roughly half-way between Maidstone and Hastings, about southeast of central London. The smaller settlements of Sissing ...

, on 6 July 1589. He was one of the seventeen children of Thomas Starr.Comfort Starr
– Family Search

Emigration

In 1635, aged 45, Starr left the

Kingdom of England The Kingdom of England (, ) was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from 12 July 927, when it emerged from various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. On ...

aboard the ''Hercules'', which launched from

Sandwich, Kent Sandwich is a town and civil parish in the Dover District of Kent, south-east England. It lies on the River Stour and has a population of 4,985. Sandwich was one of the Cinque Ports and still has many original medieval buildings, including sev ...

. He settled in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...

Colony of Massachusetts Bay The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around the Massachusetts Bay, the northernmost of the several colonies later reorganized as the ...

, where he was a founder of

the following year. He came with three of his children and three servants; his wife followed with most of the other children.''Ancestry of Lawrence Williams'', Cornelia Bartow Williams (1915), p. 273 One of his daughters did not emigrate until after his death.''Ancestry of Lawrence Williams'', Cornelia Bartow Williams (1915), p. 274 His sister, Suretrust, also emigrated, and lived in Charlestown, Colony of Massachusetts Bay, with her husband Faithful Rouse.

Personal life

Prior to his family's emigration, Starr was a warden at St Mary's Parish Church in Ashford, Kent, where he also had a surgery.''New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of Commonwealths and the Founding of a Nation'', Volume 3 (1913), p. 1099 Starr married Elizabeth Watts on 4 October 1614. They had nine children: Thomas (1615–1658), Judith (1617–1622), Mary (1620), Elizabeth (1621–1704), Comfort (1624–1711), John (1626–1704), Samuel (1628–1633), Hannah (1632–1662) and Lydia (1634–1653). Mary married John Maynard in 1640.

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States from 1923 to 1929. Born in Vermont, Coolidge was a Republican lawyer from New England who climbed up the ladder of Ma ...

, the 30th

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

, was a descendant of John. After arriving in the Massachusetts Bay, in 1635 he purchased the homestead of William Peyntree in

Duxbury Duxbury (alternative older spelling: "Duxborough") is a historic seaside town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. A suburb located on the South Shore approximately to the southeast of Boston, the population was 16,090 at the 20 ...

. The family moved to Boston just over a decade later. Their grandson, Comfort Starr (1666–1743), built the

Comfort Starr House The Comfort Starr House, located at 138 State St., Guilford, Connecticut, is a classic saltbox house with an added lean-to. According to a dendrochronology study, completed in 2014, the house was built in 1695. About The house derives its nam ...

Guilford Guildford is a town in Surrey, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Guildford, the Diocese of Guildford and the Guildford (UK Parliament constituency), Parliamentary constituency of Guildford. Guildford, Guilford, or Gildford may also refe ...

Connecticut Colony The ''Connecticut Colony'' or ''Colony of Connecticut'', originally known as the Connecticut River Colony or simply the River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636 as a settl ...

, in 1695.

Death

Starr died on 2 January 1659, aged 69, just over six months after the death of his wife.''Some Colonial Families: Avery, Brewster, Mills, Morgan, Smith, Starr, Stewart, Tracey (1926), p. 61 They are buried in

King's Chapel Burying Ground King's Chapel Burying Ground is a historic graveyard on Tremont Street, near its intersection with School Street, in Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1630, it is the oldest graveyard in the city and is a site on the Freedom Trail. Despite ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

. A memorial plaque to Starr was installed in St Dunstan's Church in Cranbrook, Kent, where he was baptised.''Ancestry of Lawrence Williams'', Cornelia Bartow Williams (1915), p. 275Cranbrook Church, St Dunstan, Kent Dr Comfort Starr
– johnevigar,

flickr Flickr ( ; ) is an American image hosting and video hosting service, as well as an online community, founded in Canada and headquartered in the United States. It was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and was a popular way for amateur and professiona ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Starr, Comfort 1589 births 1659 deaths 17th-century English medical doctors Harvard University people English emigrants to Massachusetts Bay Colony people from Ashford, Kent