My Revolutionary War Patriots - Captain Westley Burnham of Essex, Massachusetts

 

The David Burnham house in Essex, Massachusetts

built by Capt. Westley Burnham's grandfather 

This is the 7th patriot ancestor I have written in this series of blog posts. My 6th great grandfather, Westley Burnham, was born on 17 August 1747 in the Chebacco Parish of Ipsiwch, Massachusetts (now the town of Essex), the son of Westley Burnham (1719 - 1797) and Deborah Story.  He was a descendant of Thomas Burnham (about 1623 - 1694) of Norwich, Norfolk England, and his wife Mary Lawrence. On 5 December 1771 he married Molly Woodbury, who was born 29 July 1749 in Beverly, the daughter of Robert Woodbury and Hannah Preston. They had ten children, who all grew to adulthood and were married. 

Westley, Jr., was a mariner, like most of the men in Chebacco Parish.  He worked as a fisherman and as a sailor before his marriage.  When the Lexington Alarm came on 19 April 1775 he served in Capt. David Low's 3rd Company, in Colonel Cogswell's regiment (which was a trainband or local militia).  In 1776 he was a private in Capt. Daniel Giddings' Company, in Colonel Foster's Regiment, which was stationed at Gloucester for seacoast defence. Also in 1776 he served in Captain Ray's Company, Colonel Pickering's Regiment. Then he served again in Capt. Dodge's Company, Colonel Johnson's Regiment in 1777, where he was in the Battle of Bemis Heights, which was part of the Battles of Saratoga in New York.  

Westley Burnham received a pension for his service in the war - Pension number s18750  [Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed 9 Feb 2018), "Record of BURNHAM, WESLEY JR", Ancestor # A018081.]  There is a Revolutionary War marker and flag on his grave in the Ancient Burial Ground in Essex. 

epitaph:

In Memory Of

Mr.Wesley Burnham 

who died 

Sept 1, 1835

Aged 83 years

According to the book The Burnham Family, on pages 344 and 345,  Westley Burnham, Jr. became a privateer after the Revolutionary War.  He was eventually captured by the British. "Captain Westley Burnham was in early life a sailor. At the age of seventeen he made a voyage to Lisbon, and rowed in a boat over the site of Old Lisbon, which had been destroyed and sunk by an earthquake in 1755. For a short time he served as a soldier in the war of the revolution. Afterwards he entered the privateering service. In an engagement with the enemy, the vessel in which he sailed was captured, and with the rest of the crew he was carried to England. An order of the admiralty gave permission to any American prisoners to go on board His Majesty's ships and do sailor's duty, except fighting, if they should choose to do so. After remaining some time in the 'Mill Prison,' he took advantage of this order, and entered the seventy-four gunship Preston. While on a cruise on the West India station he was taken sick with the small pox, and was left in hospital in Jamaica. He was so near to dying there, that one man who returned to this country from that island, reported to his family that he was dead. On his recovery he immediately took ship for Boston, and on arriving there walked to Chebacco. His arrival was noised abroad, and, as he expressed it, 'that night all Chebacco was at the house to see one who had risen from the dead.' He became a successful navigator. No vessel commanded by him was ever wreaked or dismasted, and his judgment in maritime matters was very highly esteemed. He afterwards followed the hereditary occupation of vessel-building. For a considerable length of time he was totally blind. He was a man of extraordinary strength."  

This story is also told on the Historic Massachusetts website. 

  "The “skipper” was also a fisherman and made many trips to the Grand Banks. He followed the hereditary occupation of vessel building, and some of these were built in a yard near the house and hauled to the water as was the custom. Westley Burnham served in the War of the Revolution and afterward entered the privateering service. He was captured along with his vessel and crew and carried to England. After remaining in Mill Prison, he took advantage of an order of the Admiralty which gave permission to American prisoners to go board his majesty’s ship and do any sailor’s duty except fighting. While on a cruise to the West Indies, he was taken sick with smallpox, and when the ship sailed, he was left in a hospital in Jamaica. He was close to dying and was reported to be dead by one man who returned to this country from the island. Westley recovered, took a ship to Boston, and walked to Chebacco where he was welcomed by his family as one who had risen from the dead." 

I descend from two of Westley Burnham's sons.  First I descend from Asa Burnham (1778 - 1850) who married Polly Bray in 1801 in Ipswich.  Secondly I descend from Henry Burnham (1783 - 1867) who married Sally Poland on 2 May 1805 in Essex.  Sally was the daughter of Abner Poland, who was also a Revolutionary War Veteran.  The Colonel Joshua Burnham (1754 - 1834),  who was the first ancestor in this series about Revolutionary War ancestors, is also a descendant of the immigrant settlers Thomas Burnham and Mary Lawrence, and a distant cousin to Captain Westley Burnham. 

The photo of the David Burnham House, Essex, Massachusetts,  above, is from Wikipedia and is attributed to  Magicpiano - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20998307

The David Burnham house in the photos above is located on Pond Street in Essex, and was built in 1685.  The land was granted to the brothers John and Thomas Burnham instead of pension money for serving in the Pequot War. Thomas Burnham's son John owned the land where the house was built by his youngest son David.  It then passed to Westley Burnham, Sr., who passed it on to Captain Westley Burnham, Jr.  After Capt. Burnham's death the house went to his daughter Anna Burnham (1785 - 1862) who married her cousin Abner Burnham.  Anna and Abner had fourteen children and 81 grandchildren!  From there the house passed into the hands of the Story family and was restored under the suppervision of George Francis Dowe, curator of the Essex Institute in Salem in 1924, 100 years ago.  It is still standing on Pond Street in Essex.  

For the truly curious:

The Burnham Family: Or the Genealogical Records of the Descendants of the Four Emigrants of the Name, who were among the early settlers in America , by Roderick Henry Burnham, Hartford, Connecticut, Press of Case, Lockwood & Brainard, 1869. (available to read online at Google books)  See pages 344 and 345 for Westley Burham, Jr. 

See also The Historic Massachusetts website  https://historicmassachusetts.org/essex/ accessed 16 March 2026 for the aerial view photo and the story of Westley Burnham's homecoming after being captured by the British. 

This blog post shows my many Burnham lineages:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/05/surname-saturday-burnham-of-chebacco.html 

Patriot #1 in this series, Colonel Joshua Burnham of Milford, New Hampshire:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/02/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-colonel.html  

Patriot #2 in this series: Major Andrew Munroe of Lexington, Massachusetts:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/03/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-major.html   

#3 Jonathan Flint of Reading, Massachusetts:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/03/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-jonathan.html   

#4 Daniel Glover of Marblehead, Massachusetts:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/04/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-daniel.html  

#5 Levi Younger of Gloucester, Massachusetts:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/04/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-levi.html  

#6 Nathaniel Treadwell of Ipswich, Massachusetts:  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/04/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-nathaniel.html  

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "My Revolutionary War Patriots - Captain Westley Burnham of Essex, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted April 28, 2026, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2026/05/my-revolutionary-war-patriots-captain.html: accessed [access date]). 

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Betty Thorndike, died 1765, age 13, Beverly, Massachusetts

This tombstone was photographed at the Abbott Hale Cemetery in Beverly, Massachusetts

In Memory of Miss

BETTY THORNDIKE

Daughter of Coln.

LARKIN & Mrs RUTH

THORNDIKE who

died Augt. 1765

Aged 13 years. 

Betty Thorndike was the 13 year old daughter of Colonel Larkin Thorndike and Ruth Woodbury.  Ruth is my 3rd cousin, 7 generations removed. Ruth's great grandfather, Thomas Woodbury (1639 - 1718) is the brother of two of my 9th great grandfathers - Isaac Woodbury (1643/4 - 1725) and also Humphrey Woodbury (1647 - 1724).  Ruth also had another great grandfather, John Woodbury (born 1630), who was the son of my 11th great grandfather, John Woodbury (1583 - 1642/3). 

Ruth Woodbury is also a descendant of John Proctor (hanged as a witch in 1692) and Edward Larkin (1615 - 1652), who are also my ancestors.  Her husband Larkin Woodbury is also a descendant of Edward Larkin, the immigrant. 

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Tombstone Tuesday ~ Betty Thorndike, died 1765, age 13, Beverly, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted August 7, 2018, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/08/tombstone-tuesday-betty-thorndike-died.html: accessed [access date]). 

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Abigail Woodbury, Infant, buried 1736 in Beverly, Massachusetts

This tombstone was photographed at the Abbott Hale Cemetery in Beverly, Massachusetts.

Abigail dau to

Isaac & Abigail

Woodberry 

died October ye

30th 1736  Aged

12 months

Little baby Abigail Woodbury is my 7th great aunt.  I descend from her sister, Lydia Woodbury (1725 - 1779) who married Humphrey Bray.  Their parents were Isaac Woodbury (1701 - 1775) and Abigail Herrick (1699 - 1754) of Beverly, Massachusetts. 

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Tombstone Tuesday ~ Abigail Woodbury, Infant, buried 1736 in Beverly, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted May 30, 2016, (  http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/05/tombstone-tuesday-abigail-woodbury.html: accessed [access date]). 

Tombstone Tuesday ~ William Woodbury and his wife Martha Woodbury, Beverly, Massachusetts

This tombstone was photographed at the Abbott Hale Cemetery in Beverly, Massachusetts

In Memory of

Mr. WILLIAM WOODBURY 2d.

Who departed this Life

Novr. 16^th 1788

In the 93d Year

Of his Age.

ERECTED

In Memory of Mrs

MARTHA WOODBURY

Wife of Mr.

WILLIAM WOODBURY

Who died April 27^th

1773, Aged 75

William Woodbury, son of William Woodbury and Joanna Wheeler, was born 11 July 1697 in Beverly, and died 16 November 1788 in Beverly.  On 2 September 1720 in Beverly he married, as his second wife, Martha Woodbury, daughter of Ebenezer Woodbury and Hannah Dodge.  They were third cousins. William was a miller. They had eleven children:

William, born 26 March 1721

Joanna, baptized 1 March 1723/24

Israel, born 4 January 1725/26

Ruth, born 4 January 1725/26

Zachariah, born 29 June 1730

Judith, baptized 6 May 1733

Lois, born 23 June 1735

Ebenezer, baptized 9 October 1737

Joseph, born 3 July 1739

Hannah, baptized 16 May 1742

Elisha, baptized 12 August 1744

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Tombstone Tuesday ~ William Woodbury and his wife Martha Woodbury, Beverly, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted May 23, 2017, ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/05/tombstone-tuesday-william-woodbury-and.html: accessed [access date]). 

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Captain John Thorndike, died 1760, Beverly, Massachusetts

This tombstone was photographed at the Abbot Hale Cemetery in Beverly, Massachusetts.

Here lies ye Body of

Capt. John Thorndick

who Departed this

Life March ye 24th

1760

In ye 86th Year

of his Age.

Captain John Thorndike is my 8th great uncle.  He was born 22 January 1675 in Beverly, Massachusetts and died 24 March 1760 [Beverly Vital Records say 23 March 1760].  On 30 March 1718 in Beverly he married Christian Woodbury, my 8th great aunt and sister of my 8th great grandfather, Robert Woodbury (1672 - about 1751).  They were the children of Isaac Woodbury and Mary Wilkes of Salem and Beverly.

Captain John Thorndike was married three times. His first wife was Joanna Larkin, married on 20 April 1696 and had six children.  Christian Woodbury was his second wife, and they had two children. She died on 28 April 1732.   He was married (a few weeks later!) in June 1732 to his third wife, Abigail Conant, and had two more children. 

The Capt. John Thorndike house still stands at 184 Essex Street in Beverly.  You can see a photo at this Wikipedia article:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capt._John_Thorndike_House

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Heather Wilknson Rojo, "Tombstone Tuesday ~ Captain John Thorndike, died 1760, Beverly, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted May 16, 2017, (http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/05/tombstone-tuesday-captain-john.html: accessed [access date]).

"Old Planters Reunion", Beverly, Massachusetts

This forefathers plaque can be found at the Cabot House, Beverly Historical Society, in Beverly, Massachusetts

THE NAMES OF THOSE WHO CAME OVER IN THE FIRST EMIGRATION

AND WERE BY THE BLESSING OF GOD THE PLANTERS OF BEVERLY, FROM THE FIRST GRANT 1638

TO THE INCORPORATION OF THE TOWN 1668 OR THEREABOUTS, OCCUPIERS OF FREEHOLDS

AND CONTINUING TO ABIDE THEREON, THEIR CHILDREN INHERITING THE LAND, AND THE NAME

OF THEIR WIVES AND THE NUMBER OF THEIR CHILDREN.

JOHN BALCH                   MARGARY             3

HENRY BALEE                 DOROTHY             4

JACOB BARNEY              ELIZABETH           3

JOHN BATCHELDER       ELIZABETH           7

EDWARD BISHOP            MARY                     3

JOSHUA BISSON              MARTHA               5

JOHN BLACK                   SUSANNA              1

RICHARD BRACKENBERY          ELLEN      4

JEREMIAH BOOTMAN   HESTER                  6

THOMAS CHUBB             AVIS                        4

ROGER CONANT             SARAH                    7

SAMUEL CORNING         ELIZABETH           4

MIGHILL CRESSY            MARY                     1

CHRISTOPHER CROE      DELIVERANCE     2

WILLIAM DIXEY              ANNA                     8

RICHARD DODGE            EDITH                    7

WILLIAM DODGE            ELIZABETH          4

JOHN EDWARDS              MARY                     2

RALPH ELLINWOOD      ELLEN                    7

ANDREW ELLIOT            GRACE                   6

EDMUND GALE               SARAH                   4

JOHN GALLY                    FLORENCE            4

EDMUND GROVER         MARGARY             6

ROGER HASCALL           ELIZABETH           9

ROGER HASKINS            RUTH                      2

NICOLAS HAYWARD      ELIZABETH           6

HENRY HERRICK            EDE                          8

ROBERT HIBBERT          JOAN                       9

JOHN HILL                       ABIGAIL                 6

WILLIAM HOARE           DORCAS                  6

FRANCIS HOOPER          JULIAN                    2

ISAAC HULL                    SARAH                    3

NICOLAS LAGROVE      HANNAH                5

RICHARD LAMBERT      ESTHER                  2

HUGH LASKIN                 ALISE                      2

LAWRENCE LEACH        ELIZABETH           7

THOMAS LOTHROP        BETHIA                  8

JOHN LOVITT                  MARY                     5

ROBERT MORGAN         MARGARET           6

RICHARD OBER             ABIGAL                   9

JAMES PATCH                 HANNAH                5

JOHN PATCH                   ELIZABETH            6

NICOLAS PATCH            ELIZABETH            2

THOMAS PICKTON       ANN                          0

DANIEL RAY                  BETHIA                    2

JOHN RAYMENT           RACHEL                   6

WILLIAM RAYMENT   HANNAH                 5

JOSIAS ROOTES            SUSANA                  4

JOHN SALLOWES         HANNAH                 6

THOMAS SCRUGGS     MARGARY              3

RICHARD STACKHOUSE  SUSANA            1

JOHN STONE                  SARAH                   4

JEFFREY THISTLE        MARY                     2

JOHN THORNDIKE       ELIZABETH           6

OSMAND TRASK          MARY                   10

THOMAS TUCK             JOAN                      3

JOHN WEST                    MARY                    3

THOMAS WHITREDGE  FLORENCE         3

JOHN WOODBERY        AGNES                  5

WILLIAM WOODBERY ELIZABETH        7

PETER WOODIN             ELIZABETH        4

PETER WOOLFE             MARTHA             2

IN FILIAL PIETY THIS MEMORIAL TO THE

FATHERS AND MOTHERS WHO ENTERED

INTO AND POSSESSED THE LAND NOW

BEVERLY IS ERECTED WITH GRATITUDE

TO GOD FOR OUR ANCIENT AMERICAN

BIRTHRIGHT BY THEIR DESCENDANTS

APRIL 19, 1913

Every two years the Beverly Historical Society hosts the "Old Planters Reunion" for descendants of the first settlers in what is now Beverly, Massachusetts.   This weekend was a three day event that included historic house tours, cemetery visits, lectures, a visit to the city hall archivists, a dinner at the Hale Farm, the annual Balch and Woodbury family reunions, and other events. We had a wonderful time in Beverly meeting lots of cousins and having fun.  I'm descended of a lot of these "Old Planters" including BALCH, BLACK, DODGE, DIXEY, ELLINWOOD, GALE, HASKELL, HERRICK, LEACH, STONE, THORNDIKE, WEST, TUCK and WOODBURY.

Are you descended of one of the families listed above?  Or other early Beverly families? The best way to be informed about the next reunion is to join the Beverly Historical Society, and they will mail you information and registration forms for 2018.  (see the link to click on the reunion brochure PDF below)  I hope to see you at the next  "Old Planter" reunion!

Dan Driscoll, Beverly City Archives Volunteer
describes the vast range of documents in the city vaults

Your truly poring over town clerk records from the 1600s

The John Balch House on Cabot Street with newly renovated facade.
This house dates from the early 1600s

Reunion participants touring the Balch House

Salem State University Archaeology Professor Emerson "Tad" Baker
describes artifacts found during excavations at the Balch house. 

Dinner in the backyard of the Hale Farm.  It was built in 1694 by Rev. John Hale
who played a large part in the 1692 Salem Witch Hysteria. 

We toured the Old North Beverly burial ground and also the
well hidden Dodges Burial Ground, and found lots of ancestors!

We finished the weekend with a tour of the Beverly "Gold Coast"
on the schooner "Fame".

Lots of cousins helped to lift the sails for our tour of Beverly Harbor. 

Beverly Historical Society -  http://www.beverlyhistory.org/  

Old Planters Reunion 2016  PDF   http://www.beverlyhistory.org/misc_files/OldPlantersReunion_Early2016.pdf


--------------------------------

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, " "Old Planters Reunion", Beverly, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted September 26, 2016,  (http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/09/old-planters-reunion-beverly.html: accessed [access date]). 

Tombstone Tuesday ~ William Ellingwood, died 1766 Beverly, Massachusetts

This tombstone was photographed at the Abbott Hale Cemetery in Beverly, Massachusetts

In Memory of

Mr. WILLm.  ELINWOOD,

who departed this

Life July 13th

1766

In the 51st year

of his age.

William Ellingwood, son of William Ellingwood and Abigail Woodbury,  was born 10 June 1716 in Beverly, Massachusetts, and died 13 July 1766.  He married Elizabeth Woodbury, his first cousin, on 12 May 1737 in Beverly. She was the daughter of Jonathan Woodbury and Elinor Ellingwood, borm 15 May 1716 in Beverly, and died 14 Jan 1800.  

William Ellingwood is my first cousin, 8 generations removed.  We are both descended from his grandparents (and my 8th grandparents) Benjamin Ellenwood and his wife Mary.  Elizabeth Woodbury is also my first cousin, 8 generations removed, since we are both descended of Benjamin Ellenwood, too, as well as our common WOODBURY and DODGE ancestors.

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Tombstone Tuesday ~ William Ellingwood, died 1766 Beverly, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted February 2, 2016, ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/02/tombstone-tuesday-william-ellingwood.html: accessed [access date]).

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Thomas West, died 1745 Beverly, Massachusetts

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

HERE LYES THE

BODY OF Mr.

THOMAS WEST

WHO DYED JUNE

THE 7TH 1745

IN Ye 38TH YEAR

OF HIS AGE

Thomas West, son of Thomas West and Christian Woodbury, was born 30 August 1707 in Beverly, Massachusetts.  He married Mary Herrick on 14 February 1731 in Beverly and had five children.  She was the daughter of Henry Herrick and Joanna Woodbury, born 11 November 1711 in Beverly, and died 22 January 1787 in Beverly.

I'm a first cousin 9 generations removed from Thomas West.  We have common WEST, WOODBURY, WILKES, JACKSON, and WEEKES ancestors.

-----------------------------

Published under a Creative Commons License
Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Tombstone Tuesday ~ Thomas West, died 1745 Beverly, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted January 5, 2016, ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/01/tombstone-tuesday-thomas-west-died-1745.html: accessed [access date]).

Surname Saturday ~ WILKES of Salem, Massachusetts

WILKES

In Essex County, Massachusetts there was a WILKES family, and a WILKINS family and a WILKINSON family.  When researching these families, besides keeping all these families separate in your record keeping, you have to deal with a plethora  of Interesting spelling variations.  Just remembering that these surnames were distinct families is very helpful.   There are no WILKES compiled genealogy books, nor any recent articles on this family.

Thomas Wilkes was the first generation of this family to live in Salem, Massachusetts.   He was a shipwright, and granted ten acres in the area of Salem known as North Field in 1656.  His house lot was on the North River.  It is lot #17 on the map above. 

from The Probate Records of Essex County, by George Francis Dow, 1916, pages 381-383:

"Estate of Thomas Wilkes of Salem.

Administration on the estate of Tho. Wilkes, that he had in this country, granted June 24, 1662 to Mr. Edmond Batter. An inventory, amounting to lOOli. 6s. 11 l-2d., was presented to this court. Salem Quarterly Court Records, vol. 4, page 98.

Inventory of the estate of Thomas Wilks, deceased, that was found in Boston in November, 1661, by John Wiswall and John Lake: Aparell and small things, 71i. ; 1 small pcell of goods as p. Invoys, 2li.; 10 p. small stockings, 6s. 8d. ; 6 1-4 linnen & woolen, 12s.; 5 yds. 1-2 Red cloath, Hi. 2s.; 9 yd. 1-2 gray Carsy, 21i. 7s. 6d. ; gloves, laces & silke, 7s. 6d. ; 3 grosse & 9 doz. buttons, Coat, 12s. 9d. ; 2 grosse, 8 doz. brest buttons, 9s.; 2 yds. Coifing stuffe, 3s. 4d. ; 13 yds. 1-4 shage at 3s. 4d. p., 2li. 4s. 2d.; 14 yds. Course woolen cloath at 3s. p., 21i. 2s. ; 28 p. gloves, Hi. ; 1 great Bible, 6s. ; 3 peeces Sardge at 4li. 5s. p., 12li. 15s. ; 16 yds. 1-2 duble Beys, 4li. 2s. 6d. ; 24 yds. Browne Lynen, 5li. 4s. ; 1 Coverled, 18s. & old Carpet, 3s. 6d., Hi. Is.; 1 old Satinnisco gowne, Hi. 6s.; Incle mancster & some ode things, 2s. 6d. ; packing cloath & Cord, 2s.; 19 yds. Carsy at 5s. 4d. p., 5li. Is. 4d. ; 14 yd. rlaninge, Hi. 16s.; hatte and Case, 8s.; 1 Child Blanket, silv. lace, Hi. 10s.; Chest, boxe, &c, 2 stone Juggs, lis.; 3 hhds. Suger, Neate, 15 C. 3qt. Hi., 151i. 15s. 3d.; 14 Gallon Rum at 3s. p., 21i. 2s. ; total, 701i. Inventory of goods in Salem, taken in December, 1661, by Walter Price and Hillyard Yeren: One pcell goods of small wares, 31i. Is. 3d.; 1 pcell Ironmonger's wares, &c, 2li. 10s. lid.; 1 pcell small wares, Hi. 4s. Id.; 1 pcell small wares, 2li. lOd. ; 1 friing pane, 2s.; 25 yds. Course Carsy at 4s. p., 5li. ; 14 yds. tickinge at 3s. p., 2li. 9s. ; 7li. old Iron & kitle, Hi. 7s. lid. ; 141i. peper, 28s., 2 grosse, 5 doz. hooks & eyes, 5d., Hi. 13s.; thimbles & nails, 3s. 7 l-2d.; 150li. Cotton, 3li. 15s.; 2701L Buckets, 31i. 7s. 6d.; 1 pcell small wares, 3li. lis. 10d.; total, 301i. 6s. 11 l-2d. Essex Co. Quarterly Court Files, vol. 8, leaf 28.

Court 25 : 9 : 1662 ordered Mr. Edmond Batter, administrator to send only 401i. of the estate to England to the widow, and to keep the remainder until the court takes further order. Salem Quarterly Court Records, vol. 4, page 106.

The request of Robert, son of Tho. Wilkes, deceased, made 26: 4: 1666, that he might have the estate of said Wilkes, which amounted to about 301i., in the hands of Mr. Edmund Batter, administrator, who held it for said Robert until he became of age, delivered to him for his own use. Court understanding that he was now of age and able to improve it, ordered that it be delivered to him. Salem Quarterly Court Records, vol. 4, page 165.

Robert Wilkes' receipt to Mr. Edmond Batter, dated 18: 10: 1666, for 361i., in full of what was due him from his father's estate. Witness: Hillyard Veren, jr., and Hillyard Veren, sr. Entered in the court records by Hillyard Veren, cleric. Salem Quarterly Court Records, vol. 4, page 178”

Thomas Wilke's wife, Mary Weekes, was the sister to Robert Weekes, a Salem merchant.  His will made his nephew, Isaac Woodbury the executor, and gave Mary, wife of Isaac and their children all his property. 

In the second generation I descend from Thomas's daughter, Mary, who married Isaac Woodbury. Thomas's son, Robert Wilkes was born about 1645 and died at sea in 1677.  According to the Essex Registry of Deeds, book 4, leaf 130, he was taken sick while on a voyage from Bristol to New England and died on the voyage.  He left a will that granted his house and land to his wife Mary for her life, and then to his neice Mary Woodbury.  He was a shipwright and he left his shop and the lot it sat on to his nephew Robert Woodberry, who was only five years old. Robert Woodberry became a mariner, and owned the shop and lot until 1707. [Essex Antiquarian, Volume 9, 1905, page 40]

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Generation 1:  Thomas Wilkes, born about 1620, died 1661 in Salem, Massachusetts;  married to Mary Weekes, two known children, Mary and Robert Wilkes.

Generation 2: Mary Wilkes , born September 1651 in Salem, died 19 December 1702 in Beverly, Massachusetts; married on 9 October 1671 in Beverly to Isaac Woodbury, son of Humphrey Woodbury and Elizabeth Hunter.  He was born 24 February 1643/44 in Salem and died 11 March 1725 in Beverly.  Seven children.

Generation 3: Robert Woodbury m. Mary West

Generation 4: Robert Woodbury m. Priscilla Ellingwood

Generation 5: Robert Woodbury m. Hannah Preston

Generation 6: Molly Woodbury m. Westley Burnham

Generation 7: Henry Burnham m. Sally Poland

Generation 8: Sarah Ann Burnham m. Samuel Mears

Generation 9: Sarah Burnham Mears m. Joseph Gilman Allen

Generation 10: Joseph Elmer Allen m. Carrie Maude Batchelder

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

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Published under a Creative Commons License

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday ~WILKES of Salem, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy,  posted October 3, 2015 ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/10/surname-saturday-wiilkes-of-salem.html : accessed [access date]).

Surname Saturday ~ WEST of Beverly, Massachusetts

My mother, my little sister, my grandmother Gertrude (Hitchings) Allen, and me
all taking a winter walk on West Beach in Beverly, Massachusetts in 1970.
The pier you see behind us was destroyed in the Blizzard of 1978.

WEST

John West was only 11 years old when he arrived in Massachusetts on board the ship Abigail in 1635.  He was probably a servant, listed under the name of William Fuller, age 25.  In the History of Ipswich, Essex and Hamilton, Massachusetts by J. B. Felt, John West is named as one of the first settlers at Ipswich.  He sold his house to John Woodman and remove to nearby Beverly.  He was admitted to the church in Salem in 1648 (there was no church yet in Beverly), and he was named a representative to the General Court for the town of Beverly in 1677. 

 In the early records of Beverly you can read “John WEST Departed this Life 6 Oct 1683, Aged about 68 yrs ."   His estate was granted to Thomas West.  The Salem court records mentioned his wife, former husband, Henry Ley [LEE].  The land was at the end of West Street near today’s West Beach in Beverly Farms, a section of Beverly near the Manchester border.  In the Essex Institute Historical Collections, 1920, pages 212 – 213 you can read “The eastern end of West street was a causeway three hundred and sixty-three feet in length. John West or his son Capt. Thomas West had contracted to keep it in repair; and, Jan. 21, 1750, Robert Haskell, Benjamin Woodbury, Mary Woodbury, widow of Capt. Robert Woodbury, deceased, Mary West alias Martin and Henry Herrick, jr., guardian of the heirs of Thomas West [Jr.], all of Beverly, agreed to divide the causeway into seven parts, which each respectively was to keep in repair.”  This is my lineage – John West, the immigrant to his son, Captain Thomas West, to his grand daughter, Mary (West) Woodbury.

Robert Charles Anderson, in his Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, Volume VII, page 301, says that there are no further records of John West after his passage on the Abigail.  Anderson believes that the John West in the Ipwich and Beverly records is a different John West.

I disagree, and I think there is evidence that Captain Thomas West of Beverly might be the son of John West.  Thomas West was made a freeman in Beverly on 11 May 1670.  In the Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Volume 2, George Francis Dow, page 299 – 300 there is are lengthy notes of a court case of William Cressey v. Mordecai Larcom and his wife Elizabeth, in 1661, for slander “In saying that he would have come to bed to said Elizabeth.”

In this book the testimony for the case names a visit to the home of John West, who lived at Beverly Farms near the Larcom family.  There is also the testimony of “Deliverance Frensh, of Glocester, deposed that, June 27, 1661, being at Goodman Larcum's house, Thomas West, son of John West, and Elizabeth Jackson, maid servant to Goodman West, came in and asked to see Goodman Cresse's boy”  Later that year, on 12 December 1661 Thomas West married Elizabeth Jackson.  Here he is named as the son of John West.

My WEST genealogy:

Generation 1: John West, born about 1616 probably in England, died 6 October 1683 in Beverly, Massachusetts; married to Mary Unknown.  Three children.  She died 2 April 1675 in Beverly.

Generation 2:  Captain Thomas West, born about 1641, died 28 March 1723 in Beverly, Massachusetts; married on 12 December 1661 in Beverly to Elizabeth Jackson, daughter of John Jackson and Katherine Unknown.  She was born about 1642 and died 12 October 1708 in Beverly. Nine children.

Generation 3: Mary West, born 4 May 1676 in Beverly, died 6 December 1758 in Beverly; married on 11 December 1693 in Chebacco Parish (now Essex) of Ipswich to Robert Woodbury, son of Isaac Woodbury and Mary Wilkes.  He was born 8 June 1672 in Beverly and died about 1751.  Nine children and I descend from two sons, Robert and Isaac Woodbury.

Lineage A:

Generation 4: Robert Woodbury m.  Priscilla Ellingwood

Generation 5: Robert Woodbury m. Hannah Preston

Generation 6: Molly Woodbury m. Westley Burnham

Generation 7: Henry Burnham m. Sally Poland

Generation 8: Sarah Ann Burnham m. Samuel Mears

Generation 9: Sarah Burnham Mears m. Joseph Gilman Allen

Generation 10: Joseph Elmer Allen m. Carrie Maude Batchelder

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

Lineage B:

Generation 4: Isaac Woodbury m. Abigail Herrick

Generation 5: Lydia Woodbury m. Humphrey Bray

Generation 6:  Humphrey Bray m. Molly Herrick

Generation 7: Polly Bray m. Asa Burnham

Generation 8: Lydia W. Burnham m. Samuel Mears

Generation 9:  Samuel Mears m. Sarah Ann Burnham (see above)

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday ~ WEST of Beverly, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted September 26, 2015 (  http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/09/surname-saturday-west-of-beverly.html : accessed [access date]).

Surname Saturday ~ WINDOW of Gloucester, Massachusetts

WINDOW/WINDOE/WINDOR/WINDE

Richard Window, my 10^th great grandfather, was married three times.  The first wife (unnamed) appears in the Gloucester records when he was called before the court for living without his wife.  He proved that he had sent for her to come from England, but she wouldn’t . He had to prove she was dead before he could remarry.  The next records show that  Window built a house in West Gloucester after marrying, Elinor, the widow of John Bennett.  This house is still standing at 11 Lincoln Street in Gloucester, Massachusetts. 

Richard Window was a house carpenter, and later he was chosen to be the constable.  He served as a town selectman in 1654.  My WINDOW lineage daughters out with his only child, Anna, who married Humphrey Woodbury in 1671.  He later married Bridget, the widow of James Travers.  We don’t know the maiden name of any of his three wives! 

 Richard Window signed his will on 2 May 1665 and died on 5 June 1665.   He had already sold his homestead to William Haskell in 1652. This house on Lincoln Street is now known as The Haskell House.  It is serendipity that William Haskell is also my 10^th great grandfather in another lineage! 

When Richard Window made his will, Haskell was one of the overseers who signed the will and who oversaw  Anthony Bennett (Window’s stepson) in 1666 until he chose a guardian.  His third, surviving wife, Bridget, petitioned the court because she had been left destitute in the will, all the estate having been left to his children.  The court ordered the administrators to leave her a cow.

For more information on Richard Window:

file:///C:/Users/Heather/Downloads/The_Monograph_Series_Excerpt.pdf see page 3 of the article “The Interior Details and Furnishings of the William Haskell Dwelling built before 1650 at West Gloucester, Massachusetts” for a description of Richard Window’s property.

History of the Town and City of Gloucester, Massachusetts. By James R. Pringle, 1892, page 53

Also see The Essex County Quarterly Court Files for the probate records of Richard Window’s will (EQC Volume 10, leaf 148), Anthony Bennett’s guardianship (Ipswich Quarterly Court Records Volume 1, page 150) and his widow’s petition  ( EQC Volume 11, leaf 133 and EQC Vol. 4, page 162).

My WINDOW genealogy:

Generation 1:  Richard Window, died 5 June 1665 in Gloucester, Massachusetts; married first to Unkown before 1649 probably in England;  married second about 1652 to Elinor Unknown, widow of John Bennett;  married third on 30 March 1659 in Gloucester to Bridget Unknown, widow of Henry Tavers and Daniel Goodwin.

Generation 2: Anna Window, daughter of Richard Window and Elinor, baptized on 19 February 1654 in Gloucester, died 28 February 1728 in Gloucester; married on 10 October 1671 in Gloucester to Humphrey Woodbury, son of Humphrey Woodbury and Elizabeth Hunter.  Eleven children.

Generation 3:  Susanna Woodbury m. John Bray

Generation 4: Humphrey Bray m. Lydia Woodbury

Generation 5:  Humphrey Bray m. Molly Herrick

Generation 6: Polly Bray m. Asa Burnham

Generation 7: Lydia W. Burnham m. Samuel Mears

Generation 8: Samuel Mears m. Sarah Ann Burnham

Generation 9: Sarah Burnham Mears m. Joseph Gilman Allen

Generation 10: Joseph Elmer Allen m. Carrie Maude Batchelder

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

------------------------------

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday ~ WINDOW of Gloucester, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted September 19, 2015, ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/09/surname-saturday-window-of-gloucester.html : accessed [access date]).

Surname Saturday ~ HUNTER of Salem, Massachusetts

HUNTER

Elizabeth Hunter’s origins are unknown.  She was an 18 year old girl on board the ship Blessing on 13 July 1635 from London to New England, along with her mother, Susan, and her stepfather, Richard Hollingsworth, her three siblings  ( William, 11; Thomas, 14; and Christian Hunter, 20) and four Hollingsworth half siblings. An interesting note is that Mayflower passenger Richard More married both Christian Hunter and Jane Hollingsworth- a sibling and half sibling to Elizabeth Hunter.

Elizabeth married Humphrey Woodbury, son of John Woodbury sometime before 1637.  They had twelve children.  Elizabeth survived to live three years longer than her husband, and wrote her own will.  Only two sons and three daughters are named in her will dated 8 August 1689 and proved 26 November 1689. I descend from two other sons, Isaac Woodbury (1643/4 – 1725) and Humphrey Woodbury (1647 – 1724).

Will of Elizabeth Woodbury, widow of Humphry Woodbury, Senr., late of Beverly. 1st May, 1689.

I give unto my two grandchildren, Peter ye son of John Woodberry, & to Peter ye sson of William Woodberry, 10 L apeice out of my estate because they bear ye name of my son Peter that was killed in ye war with Captain Lartheope by the indians, & had not had any inheritance among his bretheren.

I give to my two daughters Susana Tinee & Christian Traske to each of them 20 L apiece in money to be laid out in two Gold rings, and kept by them in rememberance of me.

My daughter Elizabeth Walker, my daughters Susanna Tenee & Christian Traske, Ex. My loving friends Peter Woodbury & Cornelius Baker, Overseers.

her

Elizabeth X Woodbury

mark

Witnesses, Wm. Woodbury, Sam'l Hardie, Hannah Baker.

This schedule or addition to my will made this 8th day of August, 1689.

I appoint my son William, Executor of my will, with my daughters.

Proved Salem 26. 9 mo. 1689 Inventory 26 Aug. 1689.

(Salem Court Files)

NEHGS Register, Volume 7, page 322.

Some HUNTER resources:

The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England 1634- 1635, by Robert Charles Anderson, Volume III, pages 473 – 474 for the Elizabeth HUNTER, and pages 380 – 384 for Richard HOLLINGSWORTH.

“Notes on the Hollingswoth, Hunter, More and Woodbury Families”, by Florence Barclay (Mrs. John E. Barclay) The American Genealogist, 1964, Volume 40, pages 77 – 84.

My HUNTER genealogy:

Generation 1:  Unknown Hunter married Susan Unknown.  Susan remarried second to Richard Hollingsworth, and third to John Jones.

Generation 2:  Elizabeth Hunter, born about 1614 in Buddleigh, Devonshire, England, died in 1689 in Beverly, Massachusetts; married on 11 April 1638 in Salem to Humphrey Woodbury, son of John Woodbury. Twelve children.

Lineage A:

Generation 3: Isaac Woodbury m. Mary Wilkes

Generation 4: Robert Woodbury m. Mary West

Generation 5: Robert Woodbury m. Priscilla Ellingwood

Generation 6: Robert Woodbury m. Hannah Preston

Generation 7: Molly Woodbury m. Westley Burnham

Lineage A1:

Generation 8: Asa Burnham m. Polly Bray

Generation 9: Lydia W. Burnham m. Samuel Mears

Generation 10: Samuel Mears m. Sarah Ann Burnham

Generation 11: Sarah Burnham Mears m. Joseph Gilman Allen

Generation 12: Joseph Elmer Allen m. Carrie Maude Batchelder

Generation 13: Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandparents)

Lineage A2:

Generation 8: Henry Burnham m. Sally Poland

Generation 9: Sarah Ann Burnham m. Samuel Mears (see above)

Lineage B:

Generation 3: Humphrey Woodbury m. Anna Window

Generation 4: Susanna Woodbury m. John Bray

Generation 5: Humphrey Bray m. Lydia Woodbury

Generation 6: Humphrey Bray m. Molly Herrick

Generation 7: Polly Bray m. Asa Burnham (see above)

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, " Surname Saturday ~ HUNTER of Salem, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted September 5, 2015 ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/09/surname-saturday-hunter-of-salem.html : accessed [access date]).

Surname Saturday ~ HERRICK of Salem and Beverly, Massachusetts

Henry Herrick (1688 - 1755)
Abbott Street Burial Ground (Ancient Burial Ground),
Beverly, Massachusetts

HERRICK

There are lots of myths about Henry Herrick's origins.  He was not a Virginia planter, and he was not the son of an upper class gentleman in Leicester, England.  He was of humble origins, and a literate freeman in Salem, Massachusetts.  The Henry Herrick of Massachusetts and the Henry Herrick of Virginia may be related, but the kinship has not been established. 

Henry Herrick, my 11^th great grandfather,  was part of the original Puritan settlement of Salem, Massachusetts that arrived with Reverend Higginson, and Reverend Skelton in 1629.  It is thought that perhaps he arrived on the ship Lyon’s Whelp.  He applied for freeman in 1630 and was sworn as a freeman in 1631.  He was recorded as a member of the Salem First Church in 1636, along with his wife, Editha. 

Henry Herrick lived near the Bass River in Ryal Side in what is now the city of Beverly, Massachusetts, and in 1655 he witnessed the will of John Friend (my 10^th great grandfather), and he conducted the inventory of the estate of Agnes [Annis] Balch (my 9^th great grandmother) the same year.  These families all lived near the Bass River, which separates Salem and Beverly.   Henry Herrick’s will, proved on 28 March 1671, describes his land in Ryal Side.

"Henry Herrick owned all the land from what is now the intersection of Beckford and Cabot Streets, northwest, to a point about what is now Mason Street, thence westerly to the river, taking in the land west of Edmund Grover to the land where the drop-forge plant now stands. That portion of his land which was his 'english field' is now traversed by Grant, Simon, and Ropes Streets." [from Calvin P. Pierce, Ryal Side from Early Days of Salem Colony, (Beverly Historical Society, Cambridge, MA, 1931), pg. 87.]

If you look below, you will see that in the sixth generation, the great great great grandson of the original settler Henry Herrick, Humphrey Bray (b. 1756), married a young woman named Molly Herrick according to the Gloucester, Massachusetts Vital Records.   Who was Molly HERRICK?  Is this a possible cousin connection?  I have a lot of Beverly ancestors, and many HERRICK marriages in my family tree, right down to my mother’s first cousin, a HERRICK who still lives near the Bass River near the Danvers/Beverly town line.

For more information:

Herrick Genealogical Register:  A Genealogical Register of the Name and Family of Herrick from the Settlement of Henerie Hericke in Salem, Massachusetts, by Richard Leon Herrick, 2008, 3^rd edition in four volumes.

Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620 – 1633, by Robert Charles Anderson, Volume II, pages 910 – 914 for a lengthy sketch on Henry Herrick. 

Dawes-Gates Ancestral Lines: A Memorial Volume Containing the American Ancestry of Rufus R. Dawes, by Mary Walton Ferris,  Volume II, pages 420 -424

The Herrick Family Association http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~herrick/index.html

The Herrick Family Association on Facebook   https://www.facebook.com/herrickfamilyassociation

My HERRICK genealogy:

Generation 1:  Henry Herrick, born about 1598 in England,  died between 24 November 1670 and 15 March 1670/1671 in Beverly, Massachusetts; married about 1630 to Editha Laskin, daughter of Hugh Laskin and Alice Unknown.  She was born about 1613 in Weymouth, Dorset, England and died in 1677 in Beverly.  Nine children.

Generation 2: Henry Herrick, baptized on 16 January 1640 in Salem, Massachusetts, and died 20 June 1702 in Beverly, Massachusetts; married about 1660 to Lydia Unknown, mother of five children.  Married second on 25 May 1690 to Sarah Alcock, widow of John Giddings, and daughter of John Alcock of York, Maine.  No children.

Generation 3: Samuel Herrick, born 6 December 1668 in Beverly; married on 25 May 1691 in Salem to Sarah Leach, daughter of John Leach and Elizabeth Flint. Three children.

Generation 4: Abigail Herrick, born 13 November 1699 in Beverly, died 2 October 1754 in Beverly; married on 11 October 1722 to Isaac Woodbury, son of Robert Woodbury and Mary West.  He was born 18 June 1701 in Beverly and died 31 October 1775 in Beverly.  Four children.

Generation 5: Lydia Woodbury m. Humphrey Bray

Generation 6: Humphrey Bray m. Molly HERRICK  [possible cousin connection!]

Generation 7: Polly Bray m. Asa Burnham

Generation 8:  Lydia W. Burnham m. Samuel Mears

Generation 9: Samuel Mears m. Sarah Ann Burnham

Generation 10: Sarah Burnham Mears m. Joseph Gilman Allen

Generation 11:  Joseph Elmer Allen m. Carrie Maud Batchelder

Generation 12: Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda Hitchings

------------------------------

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday ~ HERRICK of Salem and Beverly, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted August 29, 2015, ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2015/08/surname-saturday-herrick-of-salem-and.html : accessed [access date]).