Surname Saturday ~ SWETT of Newbury, Massachusetts

SWETT / SWEET / SWETE

John Swett, my 10^th great grandfather,  was one of the original 91 grantees of Newbury, Massachusetts on 18 May 1642.  He died in Newbury on 13 January 1652.

John Swett’s son, Benjamin, baptized on 12 May 1624 in Wymondham, Norfolk, England, was my 9^th great grandfather.  He married Hester Weare, a daughter of Nathaniel Weare, who was also one of the original Newbury grantees.   The Weare and Swett families removed together from Newbury to Hampton around 1662.  In 1670 Benjamin Swett received a grant of 100 acres from Hampton.   He became the captain of the militia.  During King Philip’s War he was killed at Black Point (Scarborough, Maine) in an Indian raid in 1677.

Benjamin Swett’s widow administered his estate in probate records found in Essex County, Massachusetts.  His estate was valued at 558 pounds, 19 shillings.  The widow remarried to Ensign Steven Greenleaf of Newbury in 1678. 

I descend from Benjamin’s son, Captain Joseph Swett (1658 – 1721) my 8^th great grandfather, who was also the head of the militia and led a company to Saco, Maine in 1703.  He was several times a representative of Hampton to the General Court.   His son, Captain Benjamin Swett (1710 – 1762), my 7^th great grandfather, was also the head of the Hampton militia (three generations!).

Some SWETT resources:

“The Swett Family”, New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 6 [1852], pages 49 -  61.

Swett Genealogy:  Descendants of John Swett of Newbury, Massachusetts, by Everett Schemerhorn Stackpole, 1888.

History of Newbury, Massachusetts 1635 – 1902, by John James Currier, 1902.

I found this handy website  “John Swett of Newbury: A Collection of Genealogical Research Papers”  http://swett-genealogy.com/

My SWETT genealogy:

Generation 1:  John Swett, born about 1583 in Norfolk, England, died 13 January 1652; married to Phebe Unknown.  Five children.

Generation 2:  Benjamin Swett, baptized on 12 May 1624 in Wymondham, Norfolk, England and died in an Indian raid on 29 June 1677 in Black Point (now the town of Scarborough), Maine;  married on 1 November 1647 in Hampton to Hester Weare, the daughter of Nathaniel Weare and Sarah Unknown.  She was born about 1630 in England and died 16 January 1718 in Hampton Falls.  Eleven children.

Generation 3: Joseph Swett, born 21 January 1658 in Newbury, died before January 1721 in Hampton; married on 20 November 1701 in Hampton to Sarah Andrews, daughter of Thomas Andrews and Martha Baker.  She was born about 1670 in Boxford, Massachusetts.  Six children.

Generation 4:  Benjamin Swett, born 2 May 1710 in Hampton, died 6 June 1762 in Hampton Falls; married on 20 July 1732 in Hampton to Elizabeth Norton, daughter of Bonus Norton and Mary Goodhue.  She was born 31 March 1703 in Hampton and died 25 March 1759 in Hampton Falls.  Four children.  Benjamin remarried to Mary Green.

Generation 5:  Elizabeth Swett, born 29 May 1742 in Hampton Falls, died 12 August 1769; married on 24 July 1760 in Hampton Falls to David Batchelder, son of Josiah Batchelder and Sarah Page. He was born 13 January 1736 in Hampton Falls, and died 11 March 811 to Hampton Falls.  David remarried to Mary Emery in 1771 in Newbury and had eight more children.

Generation 6:  Elisha Batchelder m. Sarah Lane

Generation 7: Jonathan Batchelder m. Nancy Thompson

Generation 8: George E. Batchelder m. Abigail M. Locke

Generation 9:  George E. Batchelder m. Carrie Maude Batchelder m. Joseph Elmer Allen

Generation 10: Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandparents)

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday ~ SWETT of Newbury, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted January 30, 2016, ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/01/surname-saturday-swett-of-newbury.html: accessed [access date]). 

Tombstone Tuesday ~ My 8th Great Grand Aunt, Mary (Norton) West, buried 1762 Beverly, Massachusetts

This tombstone was photographed at the Abbott Hale Burying Ground, Beverly, Massachusetts

Here lies ye body of

Mrs. MARY WEST

wife of Mr. SAMUEL

WEST who died April ye

28th AD 1762

In the 80th year

of her age.

Mary Norton was the daughter of George Norton and Mary Foxwell of York, Maine.  She was born on 18 January 1685 and died 28 April 1762 (she was only 77, not 80 years old, but our colonial ancestors tended to round up not being as vain about age as modern Americans).  On January 1701/2 she married Samuel West in Beverly, Massachusetts.  He was the son of Thomas West and Elizabeth Jackson.  Samuel West was born on 22 May 1674 in Beverly, and died 18 April 1725 in Beverly.  He was the brother to my 8th great grandmother, Mary West (1676 - 1758) who married Robert Woodbury.

Mary Norton is my 4th cousin 10 generations removed via my NORTON lineage, as a descendant of Bonus Norton (1657 - 1719) of Ipswich, Massachusetts and Hampton, New Hampshire.

Mary Norton and Samuel West had nine children, all born in Beverly, Massachusetts.

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Published under a Creative Commons License

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Tombstone Tuesday ~ My 8th Great Grand Aunt, Mary (Norton) West, buried 1762 Beverly, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted January 19, 2016, (  http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/01/tombstone-tuesday-my-8th-great-grand.html:  accessed [access date]). 

Surname Saturday ~ WINTHROP of England and Massachusetts

The first known Winthrop in this line was Adam Winthrop, son of Adam Winthrop and Joane Burton, who was apprenticed in London for ten years.  He was a clothier, and a member of the Clothworker’s Company of London.  He was later elected Sheriff of London.

In 1543 he served time in Fleet Prison “for disobeying the wardens in the search because that he would not suffer them to carry the cloth out of his house”.  Adam was not released from Fleet until he paid a 600 pound fine.  In 1544 he bought a manor house in Groton and became “Lord of the Manor” .  King Edward VI granted him arms and the rank of Gentleman in 1544.  This was passed on to his son John Winthrop.   I descend from the youngest son, the third Adam Winthrop in this line.

This Adam was also a clothier in London.  He was made master of the Clothworker’s Company in 1551.  When his brother John went to Ireland in 1594 he became the Lord of the Manor at Groton.  His papers were preserved in the British Museum as “The Winthrop Papers”.  Adam and his second wife are buried at St. Bartholomew’s Church.   Adam’s only son, John Winthrop (1588 – 1649) was the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and came to New England on board the ship Arbella in 1630. There were a total of eleven ships that came that summer with the Arbella, and these ships carried about 800 Puritan immigrants known as “The Winthrop Fleet”.

Governor John Winthrop’s youngest sister, Lucy (1601-1679) came to the New World in 1638 on board the ship Thomas and Francis with her husband, Emanuel Downing and settled in Salem, Massachusetts.  They returned to England in 1645 when her husband became a spy for Cromwell.  Downing was appointed to be Minister to Holland under Cromwell, and later Council of State for Scotland under the King Charles.  He died in Scotland, and Lucy went to live with her son, Sir George Downing, in London.  George lived at Number 10 Downing Street, which later became the Prime Minister’s residence.

Lucy Winthrop Downing was my 10^th great grandmother, and the end of my Winthrop line.  Her daughter, Lucy Downing (1625- 1697) was born in Salem, Massachusetts and married Bonus Norton.  They were my 9^th great grandparents.

The Winthrop Papers are online at  https://archive.org/details/winthroppapers05wint 

The Lion and the Hare: Being the Graphic Pedigree of over one thousand Descendants of John Winthrop, 1588 – 1649, by Ellery Kirk Taylor, Ann Arbor Michigan, 1939

Notes On the Winthrop Family: And Its English Connections Before Its Emigration to New England, by William Henry Whitmore, Albany NY, 1864

The Winthrop Family in America, by the Massachusetts Historical Society, 1948

My Winthrop Genealogy:

Generation 1: Adam Winthrop married to Joane Burton

Generation 2: Adam Winthrop, born on 9 October 1498 in Levenam, Suffolk, England, died on 9 November 1562;  married first on 20 July 1534 to Agnes Sharpe; married second to Alice Hunne.

Generation 3: Adam Winthrop, baptized on 10 August 1548 at St. Peter’s Parish in Levenam,  died on 28 March 1623 in Groton, Suffolk, England;  married first on 20 February 1579 to Anne Browne; married second to Alice Still.

Generation 4: Lucy Winthrop, born on 9 January 1601, died on 1679 in England; married on 10 April 1622 in Groton to Emanuel Downing.  He was the son of George Downing and Dorcas Bellamy baptized on  12 August 1585 in St. Lawrence Parish, Ipswich, Suffolk, England, and died on 26 July 1658 in Scotland. Five children.

Generation 5: Lucy Downing m.  William Norton

Generation 6:  Bonus Norton m. Mary Goodhue

Generation 7:  Elizabeth Norton m. Benjamin Swett

Generation 8:  Elizabeth Swett m. David Batchelder

Generation 9:  Elisha Batchelder m. Sarah Lane

Generation 10: Jonathan Batchelder m. Nancy Thompson

Generation 11:  George E. Batchelder m. Abigail M. Locke

Generation 12:  George E. Batchelder m. Mary Katharine Emerson

Generation 13:  Carrie Maude Batchelder m. Joseph Elmer Allen

Generation 14:  Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandparents)

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The URL for this post is

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/09/surname-saturday-winthrop-of-england.html

Copyright © 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Surname Saturday ~ Emanuel Downing of Salem, Massachusetts

from the Peabody Essex Museum, dated about 1819
The Emanuel Downing mansion on Essex Street in Salem,
This house was taken down in 1753. 

DOWNING

Emanuel Downing (1585 – 1658), my 10^th great grandfather, is a fascinating ancestor who seemed to be related to lots of historic figures from New England history.  Because he touched so many historic events and knew so many important figures, it is easy to find information on his life and genealogy.  His lineage goes back to the time of the Magna Carta in 1215, and he descends from one of the sureties Saire de Quincy, Earl of Winchester.

Emanuel Downing graduated from the University of Cambridge in England.  He first married Ann Ware in 1614 and had three children.  He then married Lucy Winthrop, sister of Governor John Winthrop of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and his famous son, George, was born in 1623.  George Downing, brother to my 9^th great grandmother, Lucy Downing (1625 – 1697), graduated from Harvard and was the Ambassador to the Netherlands under Cromwell and Charles II.  He lived at Number 11 Downing Street, which is now the residence of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.   Samuel Pepys was his clerk.  George Downing was knighted in 1661 and became Secretary to the Treasury.  He became a baronet in 1663.

One of Emanuel’s daughters, Anne, married first to Joseph Gardner, and second to Governor Simon Bradstreet.  Simon was a Cambridge University graduate, and a founder of Cambridge, Massachusetts.  He was Secretary of the United Colonies of New England, and an envoy to King Charles II in 1661.  He was deputy Governor of Massachusetts from 1673 – 1679, and Governor from 1679 – 1686, and again from 1689 to 1692. 

Emanuel Downing lived in Salem, in what is now Peabody, Massachusetts.  He had a tavern on the Ipswich Road, and a house in Salem he bought from Governor Simon Bradstreet.  He returned to England in 1656 and rented his tavern in what is now Peabody to John Proctor (1631 – 1692).  John Proctor is also my 8^th great grandfather, and was hung as witch on 19 August 1692 during the Witch Hysteria.

On a sad note, Emanuel Downing is infamous for penning a letter in 1645 to his brother-in-law, Governor John Winthrop, "A war with the Narragannsett is verie considerable to this plantation... if upon a Juste Warr the Lord shall deliver them into our hands, we might easily have men, women, children enough to exchange for Moores... For I doe not see how we [white men] can thrive until wee get into a flock of slaves sufficient to doe all our business".  He advocated trading the native Indians of New England for black African slaves. [Emanuel Downing to John Winthrop, August 1645, Massachusetts Historical Society Collection,  Winthrop Papers, 5: 38 - 39]

After Emanuel Downing returned to England he was made Clerk of Council of State to Scotland. He removed to Edinburgh, where he died on 26 September 1660.  He was buried at St. Martin’s in the Field in London.  Lucy, his wife, removed to England to live with her son Sir George and died in London on 10 April 1679. Emanuel Downing had several famous descendants, including William Tecumseh Sherman,  US President John Quincy Adams, and Vice President Aaron Burr (who killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel in 1804).  He is also the ancestor of Reverend Johnathan Edwards, Puritan theologian. 

For more information:

You won’t find Emanuel Downing in any of the volumes of The Great Migration series by Anderson, but you will find several of his children there.  He is mentioned in several local history books, including The History of Salem by Sidney Perley, and in books about the Winthrop and Bradstreet families.

Emanuel Downing, by Frederick Johnson Simmons, 1958 

The Ancestry of Dr. J. P. Guilford, Volume I: Seventeenth Century New England Colonials, by Joan S. Guilford, Orange, CA, 1990, pages 253-258 are about Emanuel Downing.

The American Genealogist, Volume 74, pages 161-174, and 299 – 308) for the English ancestry of Emanuel Downing.

My DOWNING genealogy:

Generation 1: Emanuel Downing, son of Reverend George Downing and Dorcas Bellamy, was born 12 August 1585 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, died 26 July 1658 in Scotland; married first on 7 January 1614 in Edinburgh, Scotland to Anne Ware (three children); married second on 10 April 1622 in Groton, Suffolk, England to Lucy Winthrop (five children).  Lucy was the daughter of Adam Winthrop and Anne Browne.

Generation 2: Lucy Downing, daughter of Emanuel Downing and Lucy Winthrop, born in 1625 in Salem, Massachusetts, died on 2 May 1697 in Ipswich, Massachusetts; married to William Norton, son of William Norton and Alice Browest.  (five children)

Generation 3: Bonus Norton m. Mary Goodhue

Generation 4: Elizabeth Norton m. Benjamin Swett

Generation 5: Elizabeth Swett m. David Batchelder

Generation 6: Elisha Batchelder m. Sarah Lane

Generation 7: Jonathan Batchelder m. Nancy Thompson

Generation 8: George E. Batchelder m. Abigail M. Locke

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)

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The URL for this post is

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/08/surname-saturday-emanuel-downing-of.html

Copyright © 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Surname Saturday ~ NORTON of Ipswich

NORTON

I have several NORTON ancestors.  There is a Nicholas Norton (abt. 1610 – 1690) who settled at Edgartown, Massachusetts on the island of Martha’s Vineyard.  (see this link http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/12/surname-saturday-norton-of-marthas.html )    There is also a George Norton ( abt 1610 – 1659) who settled in Gloucester, Wenham and Salem, too.

This is a post about William Norton (1610 – 1694) who arrived in New England aboard the ship Hopewell on 29 August 1635.  William Norton settled in Ipswich, Massachusetts.  There was a John Norton, who was a minister in Ipswich and Boston, and many genealogists including Savage and Pope thought they were brothers.  Robert Charles Anderson of the Great Migration series does not agree and states in The Great Migration, Volume V, page 282 “Further research in the English records of this family should be undertaken with a view to resolving this problem.”

 There is an article in The American Genealogist, Volume 16, pages 101 - 115 “George Norton of Salem, Massachusetts”, that attempts of connect George Norton with John and William as one big family. This article was written so long ago (1939) that it is a bit outdated, but it does lay out the English origins of the Norton family.  There are earlier articles about the Nortons in some NEHGS Register journals from 1859 and 1874.  It appears that no new research has been published recently on the Nortons.

William Norton married Lucy Downing, the daughter of Emmanuel Downing, and niece of the Governor of Massachusetts, John Winthrop (1588 – 1649).  He was referred to as “Mr.” in documents, and was a wealthy merchant in Ipswich.   They had five children, and the youngest was born six years later than his closest brother, and so was named “Bonus Norton”.   This is a name that always makes me smile.

Bonus lived in Ipswich and married Mary Goodhue.  He later removed to Hingham, Massachusetts and then to Hampton, New Hampshire where he ran a tavern from 1695 to about 1700.  He is buried in the Quaker burial ground in Seabrook, New Hampshire. I have no evidence he was a Quaker, and his wife had been admitted to the First Church at Hampton. 

William Norton and Lucy Downing were ancestors of both President John Adams and John Quincy Adams, through Bonus’s brother,  Reverend John Norton of Hingham, Massachusetts.

My Norton genealogy:

Generation 1: William Norton, born about 1610 and died 30 April 1694 in Ipswich, Massachusetts.  He married Lucy Downing, the daughter of Emmanuel Downing and Lucy Winthrop.  She was born about 1625 in Salem and died 2 May 1697 in Ipswich.  They had five children.

Generation 2: Bonus Norton, born about 1657 in Ipswich, died on 30 April 1719 in Hampton, New Hampshire; married Mary Goodhue, daughter of Joseph Goodhue and Sarah Whipple.  She was born about 1664 in Ipswich, and died after her husband (she was administratrix of his will).  They had eight children.

Generation 3:  Elizabeth Norton, born 31 March 1703 in Hampton, died 25 March 1759 in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire; married on 20 July 1732 in Hampton to Benjamin Swett, son of Joseph Swett and Sarah Andrews.  He was born 2 May 1710 in Hampton and died 6 June 1762 in Hampton Falls.  Elizabeth and Benjamin had four children.  Elizabeth was previously married to Thomas Jenness and had two children.

Generation 4:   Elizabeth Swett m. David Batchelder

Generation 5:   Elisha Batchelder m.  Sarah Lane

Generation 6:  Jonathan Batchelder m. Nancy Thompson

Generation 7:  George E. Batchelder m.  Abigail M. Locke

Generation 8:  George E. Batchelder m. Mary Katharine Emerson

Generation 9:  Carrie Maud Batchelder m. Joseph Elmer Allen

Generation 10: Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandparents)

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The URL for this post is

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/08/surname-saturday-norton-of-ipswich.html

Copyright © 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo  

Surname Saturday ~ BUTLER of Martha's Vineyard

BUTLER

Nicholas Butler, my 11^th great grandfather,  arrived in Massachusetts in June 1637 aboard the ship Hercules with his wife, children and five servants.  He lived at first at Dorchester, and his son, Henry, went to Harvard College.  By 1651 the Butler family was in Edgartown, on the island of Martha’s Vineyard.  Nicholas was a magistrate and later assistant to the chief magistrate.  He is called Mr. Butler in the records, and Governor Thomas Mayhew signed his will.

Nicholas Butler signed a brief will on 12 August 1671 and died the next day.  His will has a note “his sight as it were gon” and he signed with a mark, which might mean he had gone blind at this time.  His short will does not name any children, and he leaves permission for his wife to decide how his estate will be divided.   His wife left a longer will in 1689 which named her grandchildren.

This doth testify that I Nicholas Butler Being at present Sound in memory doe Now by this my last will give my Estate Whatsoever that I left after I Shall be buried like a Christian wholly unto my wife Joyce Butler, uppon serious consideration for her to dispose of to hir children and my children as shee shall see good, and hereunto I praise [god] being of memorie as aforesaid Sound. I doe witness with my hand this 12th of August 1671.

This will is witnessed by us   THOMAS MAYHEW   THO’ BIRCHARD The marke of Nicholas Norton

His sight as it were gon the mar  X  of NICHOLAS BUTLER.

In the second generation, Henry the Harvard graduate returned to England, and John was the only son to remain in New England and produce descendants.  John is my 10^th great grandfather. He died very young, but had five children.  His son, John, my 9^th great grandfather, was born in Dorchester and lived in Edgartown on the Great Neck.  He was called a gentleman and captain in the records.  The next John, my 8^th great grandfather, lived in Tisbury on Martha’s Vineyard.

For more information on the BUTLER family:

The History of Martha’s Vineyard by Dr. Charles E. Banks, Volume II Annals of Edgartown, pages 54 – 58.  You can read this online at this link: http://history.vineyard.net/nickbutler.htm

My BUTLER genealogy:

Generation 1:  Nicholas Butler, born about 1590 in Ashford, Kent, England,  died on 13 August 1671 in Edgartown, Massachusetts on the island of Martha’s Vineyard;  married first on 18 July 1613 in Canterbury, England to Mary Cotterell;  married second on 22 January 1624 in Ashford to Joyce Baker, daughter of Richard Baker and Margaret Elkes.  Four children.

Generation 2: John Butler, born before 2 January 1625 in Dorchester, Massachusetts; died in 1658 in Edgartown; married about 1648 to Mary Lynde, daughter of Thomas Lynde and Elizabeth Unknown.  She was born about 1629 and died after 1693 in Edgartown.  Five children.

Generation 3: John Butler, born about 1650 in Dorchester, died between 10 November 1733 and 2 October 1738 in Edgartown; married to Priscilla Norton, daughter of Nicholas Norton and Elizabeth Isaac.  Twelve children.

Generation 4: John Butler, born about 1674 and died after 6 February 1754; married on 16 December 1708 in Edgartown to Elizabeth Daggett, daughter of Thomas Daggett and Elizabeth Hawes.  She was born about 1690 and died after 1754.  Six children.

Generation 5:  Keziah Butler, born 1710 in Edgartown, died in October 1768 in Edgartown;  married first to Samuel Osborn on 9 September 1731 in Edgartown;  married in 1752 to Matthew Pease, son of Matthew Pease and Mary Green.  He was born 5 June 1707 in Edgartown, and died about 1756 in Edgartown.   

Generation 6: Samuel Osborn married Sarah Wass

Generation 7: Sarah Osborn married Charles Skinner

Generation 8: Ann Skinner married Thomas Ratchford Lyons

Generation 9: Isabella Lyons married Rev. Ingraham Ebenezer Bill

Generation 10: Caleb Rand Bill married Ann Margaret Bollman

Generation 11: Isabella Lyons Bill married Albert Munroe Wilkinson

Generation 12: Donald Munroe Wilkinson married Bertha Louise Roberts (my grandparents)

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The URL for this post is

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/12/surname-saturday-butler-of-marthas.html 

Copyright © 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Surname Saturday ~ NORTON of Martha’s Vineyard

NORTON

Nicholas Norton arrived in New England in the 1635 company of Reverend John Hull.  The first record of him in Massachusetts in in 1637 in Weymouth.  He lived in Weymouth for twenty years before resettling on the island of Martha’s Vineyard.   

Nicholas Norton appears in many records on Martha’s Vineyard as “Goodman Norton”.  He was involved in several lawsuits and was both the plaintiff and defendant in the records.  In 1673 he joined the “Dutch Rebellion” with his townsmen.  This was an attempt by Holland to re-take New York.  When the English won New York back in 1674, it restored the authority of Governor Thomas Mayhew over the island.  He was officially “Governor for Life”.

The last will and testament of Nicholas Norton:

The last will and testament of me Nicolas Norton Being very weak in body but of perfect understanding and Souend memory After my death and desent Christian burial: I give and bequest my worry good as foloeth:-

Iprimes: I give my Son Izak Norton on half Comminig as also fouer Small Shares of medow
Secondly I give my Son Benjamin Norton all my medow at Saniacantick as also my medow at Morthals neck beach from the Crick dug into the Great pond westward as also my now dwelling hones and all my land aioyning to my Sayd houes after the deces of my wife Elizabeth Norton as also my lots at quompasha with all my devided land Elsewhere: provided my Sayd Son Beniamin deliver up his now dweling houes to my now wife Elizabeth Norton with the land aioyning to the Sayd houes: to be at my Sayd wifes sole will and pleseuer to dispose of at or before her desese, as also all that medow I have from a Creek to Izak Norton Medow
thirdly. I give Moses Cleveland the Remaynder of the Sayd medow to joyne with Weeks medow also on halfe Commonidg with all prevleges belonging there untoo
fourthly I give my Son in law Thomas Wolling on halfe Commonidg with all prevelidges belonging to it with a pese of medow from Izak Norton’s medow to the Creeke abofe named.
fifthly I give my Son Joseph Norton a tract of land lying at Saniacantacket joyning to the mill Creke which I bought of Mr Sam.
Sixtly I give that whole Commonidg which was Arys to my aforeSayd Son Beniamin Norton
Seventhly I give to Elizabeth Norton my wife all my Catle Coues oxen Steeres & Sheepe also all my hors kind & furder I give my Sayd wife Elizabeth Norton all my houeshold goods Beding pewter bras Iron tin wood wood as Chests trunks tables Chayers and all other things not named, also all plowes Carts Chayns yoks and all other utensells with all lumber: furder I leve my Sayd wife to give my dafter pese and my dafter wil (Wollong or Williams) and my dafter Stanbridg & my dafter Butler Something to Every one of them as much as shee sese cause: as also my dafter huxford to her my wife knows my mind
Eithly, my medow at the neck Caueled the Manado I leve to my wife Elizabeth Norton
Ninthly I doe apoynt my Sayd wife Elizabeth Norton to be my Sole Execitor and to performe my will as abof whritin.
The mark of N Nicklis Norton
Witness
Richard Sarson
Joseph Norton.

Some sources for Norton genealogy research:

The History of Martha’s Vineyard by Dr. Charles Banks, Volume III Family Genealogies:  pages 341 – 382  also available at this webpage http://history.vineyard.net/nortoni.htm

Also, the genealogy of Isaac Norton in the second and third generations at this link:

http://history.vineyard.net/nortoni.htm#isaac10

My Norton Genealogy:

Generation 1: Nicholas Norton, born about 1610 in Broadway, Somersetshire, England, died 1690 in Edgartown, Massachusetts on the island of Martha’s Vineyard; married about 1640 probably in Weymouth, Massachusetts to Elizabeth Isaac, born in England, died between 8 June and 8 October 1690 in Edgartown.  Eleven children.

Generation 2:  Isaac Norton, born 3 May 1641 in Weymouth, Massachusetts; died in 1723 on Martha’s Vineyard; married Ruth Bayes, the daughter of Thomas Bayes and Anne Baker. She was born 2 July 1643 in Dedham, Massachusetts; died after 1723 on Martha’s Vineyard. Eleven children.

Generation 3: Mercy Norton, born 1687; married on 30 November 1715 in Edgartown to James Claghorn, son of Shubael Claghorn and Jane Lovell.  Mercy had a child out of wedlock with Reverend Samuel Osborn.  

Generation 4:  Samuel Osborn m. Keziah Butler

Generation 5:  Samuel Osborn m.  Sarah Wass

Generation 6: Sarah Osborn m. Charles Skinner

Generation 7: Ann Skinner m.  Thomas Ratchford Lyons

Generation 8: Isabella Lyons m. Rev. Ingraham Ebenezer Bill

Generation 9:  Caleb Rand Bill m. Ann Margaret Bollman

Generation 10: Isabella Lyons Bill m. Albert Munroe Wilkinson

Generation 11: Donald Munroe Wilkinson m. Bertha Louise Roberts (my grandparents)

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The URL for this post is

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/12/surname-saturday-norton-of-marthas.html 

Copyright © 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Surname Saturday ~ OSBORN of Cape Cod and Boston

OSBORN


The Eastham, Massachusetts Windmill

In 1737 Reverend Samuel Osborn deposed that he was educated in Glasgow, Scotland and came to Massachusetts through Ireland, and graduated from the University of Dublin.  His origins are still unknown.  He was teaching school at Sandwich, Massachusetts, and preached a few times at Plymouth when he was invited in 1717 to Eastham, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod, as minister.  Another local minister, Nathaniel Stone, was opposed to ordaining Osborn. 

Nathaniel Stone spent twenty years trying to unseat Samuel Osborn from his church at Eastham.  As Osborn’s church grew bigger, Stone’s shrunk in members.  He inveigled some illiterate Cape Codders church to sign papers against Osborn, but when they were questioned by a church council they either admitted they did not want Osborn to leave or admitted they had never even met him. Stone tried other unethical tactics to defame Osborn, but they all backfired. Osborn’s parishioners loved him, and didn't want him to leave.

Finally, as many of the ministers and deacons who originally appointed and ordained Osborn died off, Stone’s complaints found some sympathetic ears. Another church council met to hear the old charges against Osborn.  One serious charge was that he fathered an illegitimate child. Another serious charge was that he was “venting erroneous doctrines”.  Some theologians believe that Osborn was an early Unitarian, and that his Arminian beliefs were too unorthodox for the Cape Cod community.  He was removed from his ministry in 1738.

Samuel Osborn went to Boston, remarried, and taught school for many years. By 1800 Reverend Nathaniel Stone’s own church became Unitarian. I descend from Reverend Osborn’s illegitimate son.

My Osborn Genealogy:

Generation 1: Reverend Samuel Osborn, probably born in Ireland about 1690 and died in 1774 Boston, Massachusetts; married on 1 January 1710 to Jedidah Smith, daughter of Benjamin Smith and Jedidah Mayhew.  Six children.  He was married second on 19 October 1743 in Boston to Experience Scudder.  No children.  He had an illegitimate son with Mercy Norton, and the child was named Samuel Osborn (see below)

Generation 2: Samuel Osborn, born 1711 at Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, died after 8 October 1753; married on 9 September 1731 in Edgartown to Keziah Butler, born about 1710 in Edgartown and died in October 1768 in Edgartown.  Ten Children.  Keziah remarried to Samuel Pease in 1752.

Generation 3: Samuel Osborn, born about 1732 in Edgartown, died in Nova Scotia; married on 28 April 1755 to Sarah Wass, daughter of Wilmot Wass and Rebecca Allen, born 24 January 1738 in West Tisbury, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, died about 1813 in Nova Scotia.  Five children.

Generation 4. Sarah Osborn, born 22 July 1760 in Fredricton, New Brunswick, died on 15 July 1848 in Pleasant Valley, Cornwallis County, Nova Scotia; married on 24 November 1774 in New Brunswick to Charles Skinner, son of Aaron Skinner and Eunice Taintor, born 3 January 1748 in Colchester, Connecticut, died before 1837 in Nova Scotia.  Fifteen children.  

Generation 5: Ann Skinner m. Thoams Ratchford Lyons
Generation 6: Isabella Lyons m. Ingraham Ebenezer Bill
Generation 7: Caleb Rand Bill m. Ann Margaret Bollman
Generation 8: Isabella Lyons Bill m. Albert Munroe Wilkinson
Generation 9: Donald Munroe Wilkinson m. Bertha Louise Roberts (my grandparents)

Another blog post about the Osborns:

Sarah Osborn Skinner 1760 – 1848

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/08/amanuensis-monday-sarah-osborn-skinner.html

Two good journal articles about the Reverend Samuel Osborn controversy:

“Ungodly Carriages on Cape Cod: by Gustavus Swift Paine, The New England Quarterly, Volume 25, Number 25, (June 1952), pages 181 to 198.   Available to read online at this link:

http://people.brandeis.edu/~dkew/David/Swift-Cape_carriages-1952.pdf

“A Caution to Erring Christians: Ecclesiastical Disorder on Cape Cod, 1717 to 1738” by J. M. Bumsted, The William and Mary Quarterly, 3^rd Series, Volume 28, Number 3 (July 1971) pages 413 – 438.

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Copyright © 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo