John Wilson, Sr.[1]

Male 1626 - 1687  (61 years)


Personal Information    |    Notes    |    Sources    |    All

  • Name John Wilson  [2
    Suffix Sr. 
    Born 1626  England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Died 2 Jul 1687  Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID P2752  Wagner Wilson Hauger McElroy Family
    Last Modified 2 Sep 2012 

    Father William Wilson,   b. 1588, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Relationship Birth 
    Mother Patience Grindal,   b. 1590, 1670347,Lincolnshire, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1641  (Age 51 years) 
    Relationship Birth 
    Married 1624  England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F720  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Hannah Harnet James,   b. 1629, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1703, Woburn, Fairfield, Connecticut, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 74 years) 
    Married 1651  England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
     1. Sarah Wilson,   b. 1650  [Birth]
    +2. John Wilson, Jr.,   b. 3 Jan 1652, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1 Feb1734, Bedford, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 82 years)
     3. Dorcas Wilson,   b. 29 Jan 1657, Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 29 Nov 1714, Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 57 years)  [Birth]
     4. Samuel Wilson,   b. 1658, Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 1729  (Age 71 years)  [Birth]
    Last Modified 2 Sep 2012 
    Family ID F716  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/r/o/j/Heather-W-Rojo/GENE25-0123.html John Wilson:
      John WILSON Sr. was born about 1626 in England. He died on 2 Jul 1687 in Woburn, Middlesex Co., MA. John and Hannah left England and apparently arrived in Salem prior to 2 March 1652/3, as they purchased 2 acres of land with house from Thomas Weeks (Essex County Deeds). John's profession at the time was recorded as mason. In July 1657 they sold this homestead to Thomas Root for 18 pounds but didn't vacate the property until October by stipulation of the sale. Although there is no record of the Wilson family in Woburn until February 1661, their son Samuel's birth is recorded there in December 1658. Records of the Proprietors of Woburn show that John was granted four acres of meadowland in 1661 provided he live on the parcel for five years. The land was located far North of Woburn, near the Billerica line. Town records for February 1666, show John was elected one of four "to care for swine and fences". During this period of time the settlers were struggling to carve out a living and everyone was required to perform civic duties that benefitted the whole population. The same year he was taxed at the Country Rate. In the Town Records of April 1668, John was listed as one entitled to share in the common lands of Woburn. There are records that John and Hannah were identified with the Anabaptists as early as 1675. Then in 1777, Hannah, John Jr., and close friends were fined for not being present and "worshiping God on the Lord's day" (Middlesex Court Records). Their son Francis was repeatedly identified with the Anabaptists. John's will, if there was one, cannot be found. There is an administrators bond and estate inventory filed in the Soffolk County Probate Court Records by his administrix, Hannah, and his sons John Jr., and Francis. The document is signed 3 August 1687. Value of the estate was put at 253 pounds. Because Edmund Andros was Governor of New England at the time, the probate was handled in Suffolk County instead of Middlesex County. Documented evidence on the origin of John Willson and Hannah James is obscure if not completely lacking. Many attempts have been made to associate them with one or another account of Willson's from England but most are unfounded. It is a well known fact in genealogical research, if an ancester was not prominent, documentation of their existance is usually scarce. This is especially true when one searches overseas. Fortunately, town and vital records of New England have, in most cases, treated early settlers equally. Even then, associations are misleading. In the case of John and Hannah, their arrival in New England is based largely on the death of their son John. From data amassed by Ken Stevens, he suggests that because John Jr. died in February 1734 at age 84, and providing he was their first child, he was born about 1649/50 in England (they arrived in America with an infant). Since the first record of John and Hannah is their purchase of land in Salem in March 1652/53, they would have had to arrive in New England between 1650 and 1653. This again is still all circumstantial since the infant that accompanied them from England could have been their first daughter Sarah. The next mile post is the birth of their daughter Dorcas in January 1657, probably in Salem since they sold their homestead there in July 1657. From additonal data it appears Hannah may have married twice after the death of John. Children by the third marrige to Thomas Fuller are recorded in Woburn. He was married to Hannah JAMES before 1650 in England.

  • Sources 
    1. [S-1380926433] Ancestry Family Trees, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.), Ancestry Family Trees.
      http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=39548850&pid=2752

    2. [S-1375297985] Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s, Gale Research, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2010.Original data - Filby, P. William, ed. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s. Farmington Hills, MI, USA: Gale Research, 2010.Original data: Filby, P. William, ed. Passenge), Place: Boston, Massachusetts; Year: 1652; Page Number: .
      Arrival date: 1652 Arrival place: Boston, Massachusetts