> Samuel Stowell (4th of that name) ... Lived ... in Hingham, and
> then to Weymouth (1763), then to Abington (1773), Bridgewater
> (1790), and then to Plainfield by 1796. Dates are estimated.

I suspected that they did not live long in Weymouth or Bridgewater, as the published vital records of neither town reflects the presence of David's parents and siblings, and they are not found in the extensive genealogical registers in the published histories of those two towns. Although the genealogical registers in Hobart's history of Abington are skimpy compared with those in the histories of Weymouth and Bridgewater, and they are not found in Hobart, at least there are some records for the family in Abington VR.

I still have not found a record of David's birth, and I suspect that he was born in Weymouth or Bridgewater about 1770, and that the family moved very shortly thereafter without registering his birth (or maybe they told the Town Clerk after Sunday Meeting but he forgot to write it down in the Town Book after he got home).

Did David have any siblings other than Samuel Jr. and Abigail?

> Something must have happened for him to have moved away
> from Hingham...

It does seem odd that the eldest son would move away from the land of which he should have inherited the greatest part, but that has been known to happen. Perhaps it was connected with his occupation.

Unfortunately the Hampshire Co. probate abstracts to which I have access end in 1791. Samuel's probate file may provide the information you seek.

Dale H. Cook, Member, NEHGS and MA Society of Mayflower Descendants;
Plymouth Co. MA Coordinator for the USGenWeb Project
Administrator of http://plymouthcolony.net