John Webster’s origins are unknown. He was a freeman in Boston, Massachusetts on
4 March 1635. He was in Salem in 1637 and settled in Ipswich by 1639. In the records he was described as a baker “John
Webster the Baker was admonished for brewing and tipleinge” [1640]. He was married to Mary Shatswell, whose
brothers Theophilus and John Shatswell also immigrated to Ipswich.
John Webster had died by about 29 September 1646, when his
estate was administered in court. It is
the long untangling of his estate in court records that give us the best
glimpses into his life and property.
Mary’s will, as his widow, also continued the court records with many
pages of descriptive information on the children and property. In the Great
Migration sketch for John Webster, Robert Charles Anderson includes many pages
of untangling based on these court records, including indentifying the married
names of the daughters.
After John Webster’s death, Mary remarried on 29 October
1650 in Newbury to Sergeant John Emery, who was also my 9th great
grand uncle. I descend from his brother,
Anthony Emery (1601 – 1680) who settled in Boston, Massachusetts; Dover, New
Hampshire; and Kittery, Maine.
John Webster and Mary Shatswell had eight children,
including a daughter Hannah who was the mother of Hannah Duston (See this link
for the story of Hannah Duston’s kidnapping and escape). I descend from the son Stephen Webster (1636 –
1694) and his wife Hannah Ayer.
Some WEBSTER resources:
The Great Migration:
Immigrants to New England 1634 – 1635, by Robert Charles Anderson, Volume
VII, pages 261 – 268.
Pillsbury Family
manuscript, by Mary Lovering Holman, in the collections of the New England
Historic Genealogical Society MSS 779.
Ancestry of Charles
Stinson Pillsbury and John Sargent Pillsbury, by Mary Lovering Holman,
1938, Volume 1,
A Genealogical
History of the Clark and Worth Families, by Carol Clark Johnson, 1970
Genealogical Records
of Descendants of John and Anthony Emery ,by Rev. Rufus Emery, 1890
Historical and
Genealogical Shatswells of Ipswich., No 1., Augustine Caldwell, [A typed
manuscript available to read online at Ancestry.com]
Some of the
Descendants of John Webster of Ipswich, Massachusetts, compiled by John C.
Webster, MD, 1912. [Available online at
Google book search] – a revision of an earlier work by Dr. John Ordway Webster
in 1884.
My WEBSTER lineage:
Generation 1: John
Webster, born about 1606 in England, died before 29 September 1646 in Ipswich,
Massachusetts; married about 1630 in England to Mary Shatswell, daughter of
John Shatswell and Judith Dillingham.
She was born about 1610 in England and died 28 April 1694 in Newbury,
Massachusetts. Mary married second to
John Emery, my 9th great
grand uncle. He is the son of John Emery
and Alice Banet, my 10th great grandparents through John’s brother,
Anthony Emery (1601 – 1680). Eight
children.
Generation 2: Stephen
Webster, born about 1636 in Ipswich, died 10 August 1694 in Haverhill,
Massachusetts; married on 24 March 1662/3 in Haverhill to Hannah Ayer, daughter
of John Ayer and Hannah Webb. She was
born 21 December 1644. Six children.
Stephen married second to Judith Unknown, widow of William Broad.
Generation 3: Abigail Webster, born about 27 May 1676 in
Haverhill, died 19 June 1750; married Samuel Berry, son of James Berry and
Eleanor Wallis. Four children. Abigail was first married to James Marden on
23 October 1693.
Generation 4: Jotham Berry m. Mary Bates
Generation 5: Rachel Berry m. Ithamar Mace
Generation 6: Abigail Mace m. Simon Locke
Generation 7: Richard Locke m. Margaret Welch
Generation 8: Abigail M. Locke m. George E. Batchelder
Generation 9: George E. Batchelder m. Mary Katharine Emerson
Generation 10: Carrie Maude Batchelder m. Joseph Elmer Allen
Generation 11: Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda
Hitchings (my grandparents)
-----------------------------------
Published under a Creative Commons License
Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday ~ WEBSTER of Ipswich, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted November 28, 2015, (
Hey there. I am a direct descendent of john Webster of Ipswich. I have what I believe is the bloodline back through England into Wales to the 1300s. I can forward it to you if you like.
ReplyDeleteI would love a copy of John's Descendants! It seems many genealogy sites have different parents for him, so a copy would be appreciated
DeleteHello Cjw280. I, too, am a descendent of John Webster the immigrant. He is my 9x GGF. If you are willing, I would be interested in seeing your Webster line going back to Wales. I am at Lfinto@msn.com Thanks for all the work you do!
DeleteThanks for pulling this together! John Webster and Mary Shatswell are my 10th great-grandparents so I guess we're cousins :) I just wanted to let you know that you have a small typo above: you have Mary Shatswell's death as 1604 but I believe it should be 1694.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the message. I edited the blog post to reflect the correct date.
Delete