Surname Saturday ~ WAY of Dorchester, Massachusetts

Second Church of Dorchester

WAY / WAYE

My 11^th great grandfather, Henry Way (1583 – 1667), lived in Bridport in the parish of Allington, Dorset, England where his six children were baptized.   Some say that he arrived in New England aboard the ship Mary and John with his wife Elizabeth Bachelor, and five children, but there is no passenger list for that ship.   They arrived at Nantasket on 30 May 1630 and settled in Dorchester, Massachusetts. The first record of Henry Way is in 1631 when his fishing boat rescued three men from a sinking ship [from The History of New England from 1630 to 1649, by John Winthrop, volume 2, page 71].  He signed a document to support the Dorchester school teacher on 7 February 1641/2 and he was admitted to the Second Church of Dorchester on 5 May 1643. 

Henry Way was a merchant, and he is often seen in records that have to do with mariners or boats. There was another merchant named “Mr. George Way” who had business in New England and might have been a kinsman.  George Way made a trip to Dorchester.

In a 1632 record “A shallop of one Henry Way of Dorchester, having been missing all the winter, it was found that the men in her, being five, were all killed treacherously by the eastern Indians.  Antoher shallop of his being sent out to seek out the other, was cast away at Aquamenticus, and two of the men drowned.” [ from The History of New England from 1630 to 1649, by John Winthrop, volume 2, page 95] In his book Great Migration Begins, Anderson believes that the author William Hubbard, in his book A General History of New England from Discover to MDCLXXX, 1815, page 198”erroneously supposed that these entries indicated that Henry Way not only owned the shallops, but was in one of them when the tragedies occurred”.

I descend from Hannah Way (b. 1615/6), my 10^th great grandmother who married Bray Wilkins.  You can read all about the WILKINS lineage at this link:  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/03/surname-saturday-wilkins-of-dorchester.html  

Henry Way's youngest son, Richard Way (1624 - 1697) had four wives.  His second wife, Bethia Mayhew, is also my 10th great aunt.  I descend from her brother Rev. Thomas Mayhew (about 1620 - 1657) and her sister, Hannah Mayhew (1635 - 1723) who married Thomas Daggett in 1657. Yes, a double Mayhew lineage with a cousin connection, too! 

For more information on the WAY family:

The Great Migration Begins, by Robert Charles Anderson, 1995, Volume III, pages 1951 – 1953.

Way Family History, by Mary Elizabeth Way, published 1974.

The American Genealogist, Volume 61, pages 241 – 256.

My WAY genealogy:

Generation 1:  Henry Way, born about 1583, in Allington, Bridport, Dorset, England, died 24 March 1667 in Dorchester, Massachusetts; married 22 January 1615 in Bridport to Elizabeth Bachelor.  She was born about 1587 and died 23 June 1665 in Dorchester.  Six children.

Generation 2:  Hannah Way, baptized on 3 March 1615/6 in Allington, Bridport; married about 1636 to Bray Wilkins.  He was born about 1610 in Wales, and died 2 January 1702 in Middleton, Massachusetts.  Eight children.

Generation 3:  Margaret Wilkins m. Philip Knight

Generation 4:  Elizabeth Knight m. Samuel Towne

Generation 5:  Rebecca Towne m. Stephen Johnson

Generation 6:  Ruth Johnson m. Richard Cree

Generation 7:  Stephen Cree m. Hannah Smith

Generation 8:  Sarah Cree m. James Phillips

Generation 9:  Hannah Phillips m. Thomas Russell Lewis

Generation 10:  Hannah Eliza Lewis m. Abijah Franklin Hitchings

Generation 11:  Arthur Treadwell Hitchings m. Florence Etta Hoogerzeil

Generation 12:  Gertrude Matilda Hitchings m. Stanley Elmer Allen (my grandparents)

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, “Surname Saturday ~ WAY of Dorchester, Massachusetts”, Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 24, 2018, (  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/03/surname-saturday-way-of-dorchester.html: accessed [access date]). 

Surname Saturday ~ WILKINS of Dorchester, Lynn, and Middleton, Massachusetts

WILKINS / WILKENS

Bray Wilkins (about 1610 – 1702), my 10^th great grandfather, is of unknown origins, although family tradition says he was from Wales.  He was at Dorchester, Massachusetts as early as 1633, and he joined the church there in 1640 and is recorded as “Brave Wilkins”. The baptisms of his first six children are recorded at Dorchester.  In 1654 he removed to the church in Salem.  Later, in 1689, Bray Wilkins and his wife were dismissed from Salem so they “might be a church of themselves” at Salem Village, which later became the town of Danvers.  He lived at “Wills Hill” which became part of the town of Middleton, adjoining Danvers.

One of Bray Wilkins granddaughters had a husband who was hanged as a witch in 1692.  His son Thomas had a daughter named Margaret who married John Willard.   The Wilkins family had not approved of Willard’s marriage.  They testified against him during the witch hysteria, which led to his arrest and he was eventually found guilty.  Willard was blamed for the death of young Daniel Wilkins “bewitched to death”.  He was also blamed for killing a Lydia Wilkins and one of Philip Knight’s children (Philip married Bray’s daughter Margaret, my 9^th great grandparents).  Bray Wilkins testified in early August 1692 about his kidney stones and blamed Willard for the death of his grandson Daniel Wilkins.  On 19 August 1692 John Willard was hanged along with John Proctor (also my 10^th great grandfather), Reverend George Burroughs, Martha Carrier, and George Jacobs (also my 11^th great grandfather).   

I descend from Bray’s daughter, Margaret (1648/9 – after 1710), my 9^th great grandmother, who married Philip Knight around 1668.  She had nine children born in Topsfield, Massachusetts, all baptized on the same day, 24 May 1691.  Her husband was a “husbandman” or farmer. Her daughter, Elizabeth, my 8th great grandmother, married Samuel Towne (from the same Topsfield TOWNE family with three accused witches - Rebecca (Towne) Nurse, Mary (Towne) Eastey, and Sarah (Towne) Cloyse.) 

Some WILKINS resources:

The Family of Bray Wilkins “Patriarch of Wills Hill”, by William Carroll Hill, 1943.

The Great Migration Begins,  by Robert Charles Anderson,  1995, Volume III, pages 1991 – 1994.

The American Genealogist, Volume 60, pages 1 – 18 and pages 101 – 113.

My WILKINS genealogy:

Generation 1:  Bray Wilkins, born about 1610 maybe in Wales, died 1 January 1702 in Middleton, Massachusetts; married about 1636 to Hannah Way, daughter of Henry Way and Elizabeth Bachelor.  Eight children.

Generation 2:  Margaret Wilkins, baptized on 10 February 1648/9 in Dorchester, Massachusetts, died after 1710; married about 1668 in Topsfield to Philip Knight, son of Philip Knight and Margery Williams.  He was born about 1646 and died after 1724.  Nine children.

Generation 3:  Elizabeth Knight m. Samuel Towne

Generation 4:  Rebecca Towne m. Stephen Johnson

Generation 5:  Ruth Johnson m. Richard Cree

Generation 6:  Stephen Cree m. Hannah Smith

Generation 7:  Sarah Cree m. James Phillips

Generation 8:  Hannah Phillips m. Thomas Russell Lewis

Generation 9:  Hannah Eliza Lewis m. Abijah Franklin Hitchings

Generation 10:  Arthur Treadwell Hitchings m. Florence Etta Hoogerzeil

Generation 11:  Gertrude Matilda Hitchings m. Stanley Elmer Allen (my grandparents)

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, “Surname Saturday ~ WILKINS of Dorchester and Middleton, Massachusetts”, Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 17, 2018, (  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/03/surname-saturday-wilkins-of-dorchester.html: accessed [access date]). 

Weathervane Wednesday ~ Moo! A Popular Ice Cream Spot in Massachusetts

Weathervane Wednesday is an on-going series of photographs I post weekly.  I started by publishing weather vanes from the Londonderry area, but now I've been finding interesting weather vanes all across New England.  Sometimes my weather vanes are whimsical, or historical, but all are interesting. Often, my readers tip me off to some very unique and unusual weather vanes, too!

Today's weather vane is from a town in Essex County, Massachusetts.

Do you know the location of weather vane #186? Scroll down to see the answer!

Today's weathervane was spotted at Richardson's Ice Cream in Middleton, Massachusetts.  This dairy farm is operated by the 8th and 9th generations of the Richardson family.  Not only are these Richardsons wonderful ice cream makers, but they are also distant cousins! We both descend from Thomas Richardson of Westmill, Hertfordshire, England.  His three sons, Samuel, Ezekiel and Thomas settled in Charlestown and Woburn, Massachusetts, and his daughter Elizabeth married Francis Wyman in 1617 and they became early Woburn settlers, too.  I descend from both Elizabeth (Richardson) Wyman (1593-1630) and Samuel Richardson (about 1602 - 1658).

In 1952 Ben and Hazen Richardson made their first ice cream and sold it in a stand on the side of Route 114.  By 1962 they had expanded to over 50 flavors. In 1978 they expanded to wholesale ice cream, and supplied ice cream stands all over New England, including Mack's Apples ice cream in Londonderry, New Hampshire.  I grew up enjoying the original ice cream stand, and later I found their ice cream in Londonderry when I married and moved to New Hampshire.  You can find Richardson's ice cream sold at Mack's Apples in the summer.  Yum!

Richardson's Ice Cream, Middleton, Massachusetts   www.richardsonsicecream.com 

Click here to see the entire series of 186 different Weathervane Wednesday posts! 

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Copyright (c) 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo