of Plymouth Colony
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| Combs &c. Families of Plymouth Colony |
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The following report is still a Rough Draft. In addition to Plymouth Colony Families, it also includes some references/records to the Massachusetts Bay Colony; Saco, Maine, and various other early New England Colonists. Emphasis herein is on not only the earliest COMBS of New England and their ancestors, but also of their connections to other early Colonial and English families as well as connections between the New England Colonies and Maryland, Virginia and the Carolinas.
Brief Background: The Mayflower arrived in Plymouth Colony in the fall of 1620. The legal basis for the colony was a series of patents: (1) the patent of 2 February 1619/20 issued by the Virginia Company to John PEIRCE, who was acting on behalf of the Adventurers; (2) the patent of 1 June 1621 issued by the Council for New England to John PEIRCE and his associates; and (3) the patent of 13 January 1629/30 issued by the Council for New England to William BRADFORD and "his heirs, associates, and assigns" (sometimes referred to as the Bradford Patent, or the Warwick Patent, after the Earl of Warwick). The 1620 PEIRCE Patent was lost, its provisions unknown, but became invalid once the colonists settled outside the Virginia territory. PEIRCE was the principal financial backer of the Paragon, whose voyages to bring new settlers to New England were aborted at least twice in 1622 and 1623 by tempestuous storms, and PEIRCE suffered great losses as a result. This appears to be the reason why, as one of the Adventurers wrote to BRADFORD on 9 April 1623, that at great cost "we have got Mr. John PEIRCE to assigne over the grand patente to the companie," he charging them £500 for what had cost him £50.1 (Stratton…)
The third patent was issued by the Council for New England (which had also granted the second PEIRCE Patent of 1621), which itself existed by virtue of a royal charter, and specifically gave BRADFORD the right to make laws for the colony, provided such laws did not conflict with the laws of England. Signed by Robert RICH, Earl of Warwick at Westminster, it referred to "… Lodowicke late lord duek of Lenox, George late lord marques of Buckingham, James Marques HAMILTON, Thomas earle of Arundell, Robert earle of Warwicke and Ferdinando GORGES, knight, and divers others… Councell established at Plymouth in the county of Devon for the plantinge ruelinge orderinge and governinge of New Englande in America… the said councell by virtue and authority of his said late Mats letters pattents and for and in consideracon that William BRADFORD and his associatts have for these nine yeares lived in New Englande aforesaid and have there inhabited and planted a towne called by the name of New Plimouth… wee the said counsell have made constituted deputed authorized and appointed Captaine Miles STANDISH, or in his absence Edward WINSLOWE, John HOWLANDE and John ALDEN, or any of them to be our true and lawful attorney…" (Excerpted from "The Compact with the Charter and Laws of the Colony of New Plymouth…," William Brigham, Boston, 1836, p. 21-26)
Stratton… (p. 399) adds that "Isaac ALLERTON obtained in England Plymouth's third patent, dated 13 January 1629/30, granted to William BRADFORD and his associates by the Council for New England. This was the patent which BRADFORD formally surrendered to the General Court of Freemen on 2 March 1640/41. It remained the justification for Plymouth's existence until the usurpation of ANDROS in 1686," confirmed by the depositions of Capt. Thomas WITHERLY (WETHERLY):
04 Oct 1627 - 01 Oct 1632 High Court Admiralty Examinations. Thomas WITHERLEY (or WETHERLEY) of Horseydown, captain of the John and Frances of London, deposes 4 Oct., 1627 (no age stated), and 1 Oct., 1632, aged 30. (Ed Note: He is the Thomas WITHERLEY, mariner, to whom such frequent reference is made in Lechford's "Note-Book." Savage confounds him with Wetherall. In 1630 he figured in a sea-drama which brought him into the H. C. A. in the capacity of defendant.) Early in that year Sir Ferdinando GORGES, Mr. Isaac ALLERTON of New England, and Mr. Thomas WRIGHT of Bristol, set out the Swift of Bristol, Stephen REEKS of Poole master, for New England, laden with passengers and provisions. These were in due course landed at "Sacho and, Cuscoe," where REEKS reloaded with "fishe and trayne oyl" for St. Michael's, one of the Azores or Western Islands. He could speak a bit of French; so, in accordance with his owners' instructions, and in order to outwit enemy privateers, he called his ship the St. Peter and himself Phillip ALLEY. The ruse would doubtless have succeeded had not Capt. WITHERLEY, then in command of the WARWICK letter of marque,* swooped down upon him, while he still lay in Damerell's Cove, on the New England coast,.and made him a prize. On reaching London REEKS confessed his deception in WITHERLEY'S presence, at the house of Capt. John MASON in Fenchurch Street, but whether he recovered his ship is not apparent. (James Nicholls, 18 Oct., Stephen REEKS, 30 Oct., Thomas Millard, 1 Nov., 1630. (Genealogical Notes from the High Court of Admiralty Examinations, J. R. Hutchinson, p. 182)
Notes: Isaac ALLERTON, Sr. of the above record was uncle of Sarah PRIEST who m ca 1630, John COMBS of Plymouth Colony. His son, Isaac ALLERTON, Jr. (b 1630, by Feare BREWSTER, d/o William), later removed to Westmoreland Co VA. Sir Ferdinando GORGES was the grandfather of Sir Ferdinando GORGES who m Mary ARCHDALE 22 May 1660, St. Bride's, London, EN, the latter d/o Thomas & Mary NEVILLE Archdale, 1st cousin ,once removed, of Margaret ARCHDALE who m in 1587 in London, John COMBS. Robert RICH, the above-noted Earl of Warwick, was cousin to Warwick CAMMOCK, a close associate of Archdale COMBS of Old Rappahannock Co VA (See Also Archdale-Combs-Gorges Families and The Cammock-Rich Families).
Although no COMBS arrived on the Mayflower in 1620, one John COMBES had arrived in Plymouth Colony by 1630:
John COMBS, b bef 1610, d 1646-8, Plymouth Colony; m ca 1630, Plymouth Colony, Sarah PRIEST, b ca 1615, Leyden, Holland; d aft 1648, possibly in England (d/o Mayflower passenger, Degory PRIEST & Sarah ALLERTON Vincent Priest Cuthbertson).
Numerous of the Puritan English families who came to Plymouth Colony earlier lived in exile in Leyden, Holland, part of the Separatist Movement from England. Digory PRIEST m 04 Nov 1611 in Leyden, Holland, Sarah ALLERTON. According to their marriage certificate, Degory PRIEST was a bachelor from London, and Sarah VINCENT the widow of John VINCENT of London. Also signing the certificate were William LESLE and Samuel FULLER with Janet THICKINS and Rosamond JEPSON as witnesses. (Caleb Johnson's Mayflower Genealogy). On the same date, Sarah's brother, Isaac ALLERTON, bachelor of London, m Mary NORRIS, spinster of Newbury in England. Also signing were Edward SOUTHWORTH and Richard MASTERSON with Raynulph THICKINS, Dilly CARPENTER and Anne FULLER the witnesses. (Caleb Johnson's Mayflower Genealogy). On Apr 1619 in Leyden, Holland, Degory PRIEST stated in a record that he was 40 years old (b ca 1579). He was possibly the same who was baptised 11 Aug 1582 in Hartland, Devonshire, EN, the s/o Peter PRUST. Sarah and Isaac ALLERTON, Sr. may have been children of Edward ALLERTON, b 1555, St. Dionis, Bacchurch, London, England, d 1590, EN; m 14 Feb 1579/80, St. Peters, London, EN, Rose DAVIS, d 1596, London, EN. (Mayflower Genealogies).
Digory PRIEST came to Plymouth on the Mayflower with Isaac ALLERTON, but died on Jan 1620/1. On 25 Oct 1621 in Leyden, Sarah ALLERTON, widow of Degory PRIEST, married Cuthbert CUTHBERTSON, widower of Elizabeth ARENTS, witnesses William WHITE and John LEESON for the groom, and Sarah PHILPOT for the bride. In 1623, Cuthbert & Sarah came to Plymouth on the Ship Anne in 1623 with her daughters, Mary and Sarah PRIEST, and his son, Samuel CUTHBERTSON (not known yet if Samuel by Elizabeth or Sarah). The ship's list has this family listed as Godbert GODBERTSON, Sarah GODBERTSON, wife, Samuel GODBERTSON, son, Sarah PRIEST, step-daughter, Mary PRIEST, step-daughter.
According to Edward WINSLOW, Cuthbert CUTHBERTSON was a member of the Dutch Church who could speak English and who took communion with the Separatist Church in Leiden (Plooij's Dutch, p. xxx ,xlvii; Winslow, Hypocrisie, p. 63) where he worked as a hatmaker, where on 27 May 1617 he was betrothed to Elizabeth KENDALL and where also, on 25 Oct 1621, following the death of Digory PRIEST, he was betrothed to Sarah ALLERTON Vincent Priest (Stratton… who gives source: Dexter, p. 611-12).
Leyden, Holland Records, 1033 / B 64, show that on 27 May 1617, Cuthbert CUTHBERTSON, bachelor and hatmaker of Eastland, m Elizabeth ARENTSDR, spinster of England. Witnesses were listed as Edward ARENTS, fut. brother-in-law, Elizabeth KEBLE and Elizabeth KENDALL, mother. (Caleby Johnson's Mayflower Genealogy which translates "Arentsdr" as Aaron [KENDALL]'s daughter). No further mention of any KENDALLS appears in the extracted records; however, according to Caleb Johnson's Mayflower Genealogy, among the Separatists who remained in Leyden were Aaron and Elizabeth KENDALL and their children, Elizabeth, Edward and Anna; and Cuthbert and Elizabeth CUTHBERTSON and their son, Samuel. This latter is also apparently in error, perhaps due to confusion regarding Cuthbert's name.
All the children of John & Sarah PRIEST Combs have not been identified although Francis COMBS, later of Middleborough, is partially documented. From the records of Plymouth Colony, it appears possible that Sarah went to England following her husband's death. Whether their children remained in Plymouth Colony remains unknown (see below). The ancestry of John COMBE of Plymouth also remains unknown, although according to the 1943 James Logan Kendall manuscript, his source unknown, John COMBES, "gent" removed to Plymouth Colony ca 1628 from Hemil Hemstead, Hertfordshire.
12 Oct 1630 (Plymouth Colony Records) Ralph WALLEN to Mr. John COOMBE his house and garden plot.
This is the first record of John COMBS in Plymouth. Ralph & Joyce WALLEN were 1623 Anne passengers, and in 1623, WALLEN'S Division of land was listed as butted "against Hobes Hole." It is not yet known if this is the same plot, which was adjacent to those of Nicolas SNOW, Anthony DIXE.. and Mr. PERCES 2 Serv: [Servants?]. COMBS is listed in neither the 1623 Division of Land, nor the 22 May 1627 Division of cattle.
c1630 John COOMBS married Sarah PRIEST daughter of 1620 Mayflower passenger Degory PRIEST (MD4:96, where Sarah is termed a "daughter" of Godbert GODBERTSON.")
24 Oct 1633. (MD1:154) Inventories. Cuthbert CUTHBERTSON and his wife, Sarah.
Note: Both had died in the 1633 sickness.
24 Jan 1633/34 (PCR 1:25) John COOMBS, gentleman, exchanged thirty acres of land, which he possessed "in the right of Sarah his wife," with Mr. Thomas PRENCE
01 Jul 1634 (Plymouth Colony Records 1:30) Thomas CUSHMAN sued (successfully ) Mr. John COMBES for £10. [2nd date not located]
Notes: Isaac ALLERTON, Sr.'s daughter, Mary, by his 1st wife, Mary NORRIS, had m, date unknown, Thomas CUSHMAN, baptized at Canterbury on 08 Feb 1607/8, son of Robert CUSHMAN, who removed to Leiden, Holland shortly thereafter. CUSHMAN arrived at Plymouth on the Fortune in 1621, and became a ward of Governor BRADFORD. He was a Purchaser and received a number of land grants. He was admitted a Plymouth freeman 1 January 1633/34 (PCR 1:21). Thomas & Mary ALLERTON Cushman's son, Eleazar, m in 1687, Elizabeth COMBS, her ancestry unknown (Plymouth Families…)
26 Aug 1634 (Plymouth Colony Records) By agreement between Gov. Thomas PRENCE and John BARNES, PRENCE'S servant John ROUSE, "having a desire to forsake the service of his master," and BARNES'S servant Richard WILLIS, "having inclination to dwell with the sayd Thomas PRINCE," changed places. (Stratton…)
Notes: See Also John ROUSE, h/o Mary COMBS, d/o William and Katherine BOUGHTON Combs of Tachbrooke, Warwickshire, England. William was the s/o Thomas COMBS of Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, and his first wife, Mary SAVAGE. Thomas COMBS m 2nd Mary BONNER, d/o Anthony & Bridget SAVAGE Bonner, and widow of William YONGE (YOUNG), by whom she had Bridget YONGE, who m 02 Nov 1609, Holy Trinity, Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, George WYLLYS (WILLIS) of Fenny Compton, Warwickshire who later removed to New Haven, CT where he became Governor in …
27 March 1634/5 (Plymouth Colony Records 1:26-9) John COOMBS tithed £0 9s 0p.
1637 (Plymouth Colony Records) William SPOONER of Colchester, co. Essex, by contract of 27 March 1637, apprenticed himself to John HOLMES, gentleman, of Plymouth for six years, and later in 1637 HOLMES, with the consent and liking of SPOONER, assigned SPOONER'S contract to John COOMBS of Plymouth. At the end of the term COOMBS was to give SPOONER "one comely suit of apparell for holy dayes and one suite for workinge dayes and twelve bushells of Indian Wheate, and a good serviceable muskett, bandiliers and sword fitt for service."
Notes: According to Eugene A. Stratton's "The Descendants of Mr. John Holmes, Messenger of the Plymouth Court" (NGSQ, June and September, 1986), "There are hints that HOLMES might have been from Colchester, too, and might have recruited SPOONER as a servant for COOMBS." No record of either HOLMES or SPOONER has been located as yet in Essex. Also note that Judith BORROUGHS, widow of Thomas SCOTT of Colchester, ESSEX, m next on 27 Mar 1594/5, Stepney, Middlesex, John VASSALL, father of William VASSALL of Plymouth Colony by his earlier wife, Anne RUSSELL. (See Below and See Also Burroughs-Vassall-Ware Families)
04 Dec 1638 (Plymouth Colony Records 1:104) John COOMBS (& eight other men) were fined three shillings each for not appearing at court.
04 June 1639 (Plymouth Colony Records 1:128) Edward DOTY and John COOMBES posted £20 each as sureties for Richard DERBY, who was charged with endangering the lives of others by giving them poisoned drinks.
03 Sep 1639 (PCR1:132) John COOMBS disenfranchised as a freeman for drunkeness.
Aug 1640 Date? (Plymouth Colony Records 1:159) The Court acknowledged that John COOMBE, gentleman, and Phineas PRATT, joiner, had been given land by Cuthbert CUTHBERTSON because of their respective marriages with his "daughters." John COMBES and Phineas PRATT to John BARNES two acres of upland for £3. 17
Notes: Phineas PRATT, a Purchaser, m Mary PRIEST, b ca 1615 (d/o Digory & Sarah ALLERTON (Vincent) Priest (Cuthbertson)). PRATT had arrived in Plymouth on the Sparrow in 1622, one of an advance group sent out by Thomas WESTON which, following the arrival of the full company in the Charity and the Swan, began the ill-fated settlement of Wessagusset. PRATT was single in 1627 (livestock division), but m by 11 Nov 1633 when he was appointed to take possession of the personal property of Cuthbert CUTHBERTSON and his wife Sarah (PCR 1:19). PRATT was on the 1633 freeman list. Phineas & Mary PRIEST Pratt later removed to Charlestown where Mary d between 07 Mar 1686/7 and 22 Jul 1689.
5 Apr 1642 (Plymouth Colony Records 2:38) Mr. John COOMBS agreed he owed £3/4/6 demanded by John GORHAM, and GORHAM agreed that he would give COOMBS four or five bushels of wheat to sow his ground with, so that COOMBS could repay his debt with proceeds of the harvest. On the same day COOMBS for £14, forty shillings (sic) transferred the unexpired term of his servant William LAUNDER to Mr. William THOMAS.
06 Mar 1642/43 (Plymouth Colony Records 2:51) The Court ordered that William SPOONER "pay the debt of ten shillings of his master Mr. COOMBS to Mr. William HANBURY." (See also TAG 46:130.)
Notes: It has never been determined why SPOONER, whose indenture to COMBS expired ca 1643, would be ordered to pay COMBS' debts.
05 Jun 1644 (Plymouth Colony Records 2:271) John COOMBS was readmitted as a freeman (following his disenfranchisement for drunkeness).
05 Nov 1644 (PCR 2:78) Thomas BUNTING, who had been dwelling with Phineas PRATT [bro-in-law of John COMBS], put himself, with PRATT'S consent, as a servant to John COOKE, Jr., who had paid PRATT a milk cow valued at £5, plus forty shillings in money, for BUNTING'S indenture.
Notes: Phineas & Mary PRIEST Pratt later moved to Charlestown in the Bay Colony, where he died 19 April 1680, age about ninety years. He dated his will dated 8 January 1677/78, proved 15 June 1680, with probate papers indicating that his children were John, Mary, Samuel, Daniel, Mercy, Joseph, Peter, and Aaron (MD 4:137-38).
03 March 1645/46 (Plymouth Colony Records 2:95) Thomas CUSHMAN moved (successfully) that Mr. Isaac ALLERTON be allowed a year's time to recover his debts in the colony.
27 Oct 1646 (PCR 2:130-33) Letter signed by Isaac ALLERTON [Sr.] to Thomas CUSHMAN [his son-in-law] a debt of £100 sterling owed ALLERTON by Mr. John COOMBES.
01 Aug 1648 (PCR 2:131-3) John COOMBS was deceased before this date when the Court of Assistants assigned part of the one-third part of the English corn due Mrs. COOMBS from William SPOONER to Thomas CUSHMAN. The court noted that Mr. John COOMBS was indebted to the estate of Godbert GODBERTSON, which in turn owed Isaac ALLERTON, who had turned the debt over to his son-in-law Thomas CUSHMAN. The court also noted that COOMBS'S children were now with William SPOONER, who was ordered to "keep them for the present and not dispose of them without further court order."
Notes: No explanation is given as to why John & Sarah PRIEST Combs' children would have been with SPOONER; however, it appears that SPOONER was administrator of COMBS' estate. Sarah's 1/3 part of the English corn, was her dower share as COMBS' widow. ALLERTON, Sr.'s on-going financial problems were the subject of a number of slurs by various other members of the Plymouth Colony's leadership; however, by the time of his death in New Haven, CT in 1655, he had apparently recouped his losses, his will including mentions of property in Virginia, to where his son, Isaac removed following his father's death. (See Also below)
1662 Plymouth, MA. Grand Jurymen; Surveyors of Highways. Jacob COOKE; Joseph WARREN, Thos. LETTICE, Francis COMB (Extracted by Combs Researcher Debi Kendrick from "Peirce's Colonial Lists " by Ebenezer W. Peirce, 1880. Civil, Military and Professional lists of Plymouth and Rhode Island Colonies comprising Colonial, County and Town Officers, Clergymen, Physicians and Lawyers. PLYMOUTH. Incorporated DEC. 11, 1620. Indian names--ACCOMAC, APAUM and PATUXET)
1666 Francis COMBS (& var. sp.), son of John, received grant of land in his father's right. (Genealogical Dictionary of First Settlers of England, volume 1, James Savage, Boston: Baltimore Genealogical Publishing Company, 1860-62, p. 438 and 453) ("Genealogical Dictionary of First Settlers of England, volume 1, James Savage, Baltimore Genealogical Publishing Company, Boston, 1860-62, p. 438)
Notes: Francis COMBS was apparently the s/o John & Sarah PRIEST Combs. In 1633 the court had enacted a law that the children born at Plymouth, "& next to them such as are heer brought up under their parents and are come to age of discretion" would be granted land before any subsequent newcomers. This promise was kept on 4 June 1661 when the court authorized the "first born children" to purchase two large tracts of land, one next to the Massachusetts bounds, and the other between Namassakett and Bridgewater. On 3 June 1662 the court approved a list of "first born children" to share in the lands to be purchased. Actually, one tract of land at Namassakett had already been purchased from Indians on behalf of the colony by Capt. Thomas SOUTHWORTH on 7 March 1661, and this became known as the Twenty-Six Men's Purchase. Another acquisition, called the Pachade Purchase, of 9 July 1662 by Maj. Josias WINSLOW on behalf of himself and others seems to be the specific tracts referred to on 4 June 1661. However, many names of the first proprietors of both purchases are the same. These and subsequent purchases in the Namassakett area gradually began to be inhabited, and on 1 June 1663 the court ordered that those settlers at Namassakett would be considered as belonging to the town of Plymouth. (Plymouth Colony Records 11:16, 3:215-16, 4:20; Thomas Weston, History of the Town of Middleboro, Massachusetts, Boston & New York, 1906, pp. 584-86, 594-96; PCR 4:41, 5:19-20, 279.)
1667 Plymouth, MA. Selectmen; Constables; Representatives Lieut. Ephraim MORTON, Nathaniel WARREN, William HARLOW, William CLARKE; Francis COMB; John HOWLAND, Lieut. Ephraim MORTON (Extracted by Combs Researcher Debi Kendrick from "Peirce's Colonial Lists " by Ebenezer W. Peirce, 1880. Civil, Military and Professional lists of Plymouth and Rhode Island Colonies comprising Colonial, County and Town Officers, Clergymen, Physicians and Lawyers. PLYMOUTH. Incorporated DEC. 11, 1620. Indian names--ACCOMAC, APAUM and PATUXET)
14 Dec 1668. William WILSON of Southwark, Surrey, gent., age 50, and John COX of London, citizen and merchant tailor, age 30, depose at the request of Robert MORRES of London, citizen and skinner that Ezechiel FOGG of London, citizen and skinner, and John GIFFORD of Boston, New England, merchant, by deed 11 September 1667 became bound to Robert MORRIS in respect of goods exported to New England. 25 October 1676. Richard STONEHILL of London, notary public, age 28, deposes at the request of John WRIGHT, Esq., of Wrightsbridge, Essex, that John GIFFORD of New England, merchant, signed a deed 4 June 1673 to the use of the requestant. The deed bound the parties to observe the conditions of an agreement of the same date, between John GIFFORD, Sir Richard COMBE, John WRIGHT, Francis ALLEN, John GODFREY, John WILLIAMS, John EATON, and Ezechiel FOGG. (Lord Mayor's Court of London, Depositions Relating to Americans, 1641-1736 by Peter Wilson Coldham, 1980, pg 13, 14, 28, 29, 51, 78, & 81)
Notes: Sir Richard COMBE may have been the same who was of Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, EN (s/o Tobias & Mary THEEDE Combs and gs/o Francis & Jane POPE Combs).
01 June 1669 - 29 May 1670 (Plymouth Court Records 11:16) On 1 Jun 1669, the court granted township status to Namassakett and changed its name to Middleborough, its bounds being set between Plymouth, Taunton, and Bridgewater, and touching unincorporated land on the south. Middleborough had only six freeman residents as of 29 May 1670: John MORTON, Henry WOOD, Jonathan DUNHAM, Francis COOMBE, William NELSON, and Samuel EATON. (History of the Town of Middleboro, Massachusetts, Thomas Weston, Boston & New York, 1906, pp. 584-86, 594- 96)
16 May 1670 Plymouth Deeds 22. Edward GRAY to George BONUM (I:205) Edward GRAY of New Plimouth...yeamon... for all in in Consideration of ten pounds... paid by George BONUM of New Plimouth...sell...my parcell of upland meadow...lyeth on Both sides off Jones river...Begining at a white Oak... to an Island which was the Bounds Betwixt ye meadow of Thomas PRENCE Esq...to a Spruce tree that is the bounds of a parcell of meadow that was Francis COMBES but now the aobes Edward GRAY'S and fifty acres of upland...lying on both sides of the aforsaid meadows. Dated 16 May 1670. s/Constand SOUTHWORTH. Edward O. GRAY. Wm CROW ( his mark ). Akn. by Edward GRAY (no date given).
George BONUM Sen of plimouth coming before me the 15th day of Aprill 1693 did freely give...all his title...contained within the...deed on the other side...unto John TRAVIS Sen of Duxbough. (Excerpted by Combs Researcher Sharon Natolis from Plymouth County Deeds 22, The Mayflower Descendant Volume 37, July 2, 1987. Page 120)
Notes: This appears to have been Francis COMBS who had removed to Middleborough by 1669.
Feb 1672/3 Plymouth, MA. Samuel WOOD Alias ATWOOD to George MORTAN and Richard WILLIS"
(l:81-183) Samuel WOOD alias ATWOOD, Middlebury, planter, sold for five pounds to George MORTON, Plimouth, planter and Richard
WILLIS, Plimouth, planter... by virtue of Being he Relict(sic) of my Brother John WOOD alis ATWOOD deceased...All that my share
and Portion of Land which is the twelfth part or one part of twelve of a tract of land purchased by Major Josiah WINSLOW ... and
Edward GRAY of Plimouth (from ) the Black Sachem of Namascet... and his son... being at Assawamset Pond at ye Easterly side. Dated 13 February 1673.
The F:C: Mark of Francis COMBE
The X mark of Samuel WOOD alis ATWOOD
Akn. by Samuel WOOD alias ATWOOD 13 Feb 1673. Recorded 1 Feb. 1692/3."
(Excerpted by Combs Researcher Sharon Natoli from "The Mayflower Descendant Volume 36, July 2, 1986, Plymouth County Deeds 15,
Pagd 165 by Ann Smith Lainhart)
Notes: Probably Francis of Middleborough. Note that Edward GRAY
had purchased Francis' land by 1670.
Oct 1678 Plymouth Colony Records 5:273 "At the October 1678 Court "In answare to the petition prefered to the Court by Francis COMBE, and likewise the Court being informed that Sammuell FULLER is in a likelyhood to be procured to teach the word of God att Middleberry [Middleborough] the doe approve therof; and in case hee be obtained, and be likely to settle amongst them, doe hereby signify, that they will indeavor that the propriators of the lands within that townshipp may be healpfull towards his maintenance" (Excerpted by Combs Researcher Sharon Natoli from "The Mayflower Descendant Volume 39, January 1, 1989, Errata 25, "Samuel Fuller of Plymouth and Middleborough" by Robert S. Wakefield, page 85/86, hereinafter Samuel Fuller...)
19 Dec 1678. "In the Plymouth church, records under the date of 19 December 1678 we find: "Our brother, Mr Samuel FULLER being called to preach at midlebury did aske counsell of the chh, which motion they tooke into serious conseration till the next chh-meeting, which was on Jan:16 & then the chh did unanimously advise & encourage him to attend preaching to them as oft as he could, but not yet to remove his family, but waite a while to see what further encouragement God might give for his more settled attendance upon that service there"(MD12:27)
"On 1 June 1680 Mr. Samule FULLER was chosen to be one of the Celect Men: of Middleberry (PCR6:35) (Samuel Fuller...)
Notes: Samuel FULLER was the s/o Samuel FULLER, Sr. who had signed the 1611 Leyden Marriage Certificate of Digory and Sarah ALLERTON Priest.
1685 The Counties of Bristol, Barnstable and Plymouth were created from Plymouth Colony The Town of Plymouth is the county seat of Plymouth County.
Also in the Plymouth Colony was William VASSALL whose son, John, and son-in-law and daughter, Nicholas and Ann VASALL Ware are later found in the records of Old Rappa. Co, VA. VASSALL, s/o John VASSALL of Middlesex, Essex and London, was b ca1593, and he and brother, Samuel, were among original patentees of the Massachusetts Bay Company, with William coming to New England in 1630 as a Bay Colony Assistant. He returned to England after a short while, but returned aboard the Blessing in 1635, age forty-two, with his wife, Ann, age forty-two; and children Judith, sixteen; Frances, twelve; John ten; Ann, six; Margaret, two; and Mary, one; and first settled at Roxbury in the Bay Colony. Shortly after, however, he moved to Scituate, the Plymouth Colony town closest to the Bay Colony (NEHGR 17:56; Deane, Scituate, p. 366; Pope). VASSALL was considered a reformer, and was active in fighting WINSLOW and BRADFORD over the question of religious freedom.
Stratton… states that: "Following the disabling mistrust engendered by [Isaac Sr.] ALLERTON'S questionable dealings, WINSLOW became the colony's main emissary to England, and he engaged in numerous diplomatic and trade negotiations with the other New England colonies. In 1646 he was chosen by Governor Winthrop and the Bay Colony magistrates to go to England as their representative to defend the Bay General Court from the charges being made to Parliament by William VASSALL and Robert CHILD (detailed later in this chapter). In this he was successful, but his presence in England coincided with the height of the Puritan Revolution in England, and people of his experience and competence were needed. After performing various tasks for the Parliamentarians, WINSLOW was assigned a joint command of the 1655 English expedition which won Jamaica from the Spanish, his fellow commanders being Robert VENABLES and Sir William PEN (father of the Quaker founder of Pennsylvania). Winslow died during the expedition…"
"William VASSALL wrote on 2 February 1642/43, that when some of the members "called Mr CHAUNCY to be their Pastor,…William VASSALL, Thomas KING, John TWISDEN, Thomas LAPHAM, Suza KING, Judith WHITE [daughter of William VASSALL and wife of Resolved WHITE], and Anna [KENDALL] Stockbridge refused to do so," and they therefore entered a new covenant together "as a Church of Christ." The VASSALL group called their church the "Second Church" of Scituate… (Samuel Deane, History of Scituate, Massachusetts, Boston, 1831; reprint, Scituate, 1899, pp. 63, 60-61; Bradford (Ford) 2:306; Anderson, "Notes of Early Scituate Church History.")
William VASSALL left for England in 1646 in connection with the CHILD petition (Massachusetts Bay Colony), and never returned to New England. He later moved to Barbadoes, where he was quite prosperous, and he died there in 1655. In his will, dated 13 July 1655, he named his son John, and his daughters Judith, Frances, Ann, Margaret, and Mary (NEHGR 17:57). VASSALL'S wife was Ann KING, and she was possibly related to the Thomas KING who also sailed on the Blessing and settled at Scituate (see NEHGR 109:95). Of their children, Judith married Mayflower passenger Resolved WHITE and their descendants can be found in MF 1, and Frances married James ADAMS, son of John ADAMS, q.v. Son John VASSALL was on the 1643 ATBA for Scituate, and in 1652 he was a lieutenant under Capt. James CUDWORTH, but later left the colony. *Daughter Ann married Nicholas WARE, and daughter Margaret married Joshua HUBBARD (also seen as HOBART) (Torrey, p. 377). Additional information on William VASSALL is given in Roger D. Joslyn, "The English Origin of John Stockbridge and His First Wife Ann [KENDALL]" (NGSQ 74:111).
*William and Ann KING Vassall's son John, is later found in Old Rappa Co VA in the 1670s, witnessing a deed between William UNDERWOOD, Sr. (step-son of Archdale COMBS) and John FOXHALL, father-in-law of Alexander GORGES (relationship to the Archdale-Combs-Gorges Families, if any, unknown). Also found in Old Rappa Co VA are William VASSALL'S daughter, Ann, wife of Nicholas WARE. (See Burroughs-Vassall-Ware Families)
Capt. James CUDWORTH of Scituate was also a supporter of VASSALL'S proposed reforms (in regard to religious tolerance. CUDWORTH'S mother (not named in this source) married Mr. John STOUGHTON, the rector of St. Mary's Church, Aldermanbury, London (date not given). STOUGHTON'S brothers were Thomas STOUGHTON and Bay Colony Assistant Israel STOUGHTON, both of Dorchester (NEHGR 14:101-04). St. Mary's is also the church where the children of John & Margaret ARCHDALE Combs were christened.
Isaac ALLERTON, Jr., b 1630, Plymouth Colony (s/o Isaac & Feare BREWSTER Allerton, Sr.) , lived with his grandfather, Elder William BREWSTER following the departure of his father from the Colony. After graduating from Harvard University, ALLERTON removed to Westmoreland Co VA where he m Elizabeth WILLOUGHBY, d/o Thomas WILLOUGHBY and widow of (1) Simon OVERSEE; and (2) Thomas COLCLOUGH. Simon OVERSEE had m 1st Sarah THOROUGHGOOD, d/o Adam & Sarah OFFLEY Thoroughgood, the former an early member of the Virginia Council, the latter the d/o Robert and Ann OSBORNE Offley of London. ALLERTON'S daughter, Mary, m John NEWTON, Jr. whose step-mother, Rose, was the last wife of Thomas GERRARD of St. Mary's Co MD and Westmoreland Co VA (See Colonial Maryland re GERRARD'S overseer, Phillip COMBS). ALLERTON'S daughter, Sarah, m Hancock LEE, widower of Mary KENDALL (d/o William and Sarah MATTHEWS Kendall of Norfolk VA). After KENDALL'S death, Sarah MATTHEWS m (2) Samuel PALMER (unidentified). ALLERTON'S daughter, Frances m Samuel TRAVERS (how kin to Raleigh?), and son, Willoughby ALLERTON m Hannah KEENE (Sources to be added shortly).
Isaac ALLERTON (II or III?) owned property in Stafford Co VA adjacent to that of Joseph COMBS I, and in Westmoreland Co VA where on 01 Feb 1672, he witnessed the will of Thomas GARRARD (above-named) (Westmoreland Records, 1665-1677, Westmoreland Co, VA Wills, 1654-1800, Augusta B. Fothergill, Appeals Press, 1925; SHP reprint, Easley, SC, 1982.
On 22 May 1650, Andrew GILSON patented 600 A on the south side of the Rappahannock River by Tigners Creek (County not listed); his headrights included one Wm. SPOONER, who has not yet been identified. (Cavaliers & Pioneers, Vol. I, p. 197). Thomas GILSON, s/o Andrew & Beheathland BARNARD Gilson, m Elizabeth NEWTON, half-sister to the above John NEWTON, Jr. It is not known if GILSON was kin to William GILSON, Massachusetts Bay Colony Assistant in 1633, and later close associate of CUDWORTH and VASSALL in Scituate, Maine.
William SPOONER, of Colchester, Essex, EN, was apprenticed in Plymouth to John HOLMES in 1637, who transferred to John COMBES the same year. According to Savage…, he was made guardian of COMBS' children by the courts in 1645; m (1) Elizabeth UNKNOWN who d 28 Apr 1648, and by whom he had one child, son John; m (2) 18 Mar 1652, Hannah PRATT, d/o ?; by whom he had Sarah, b. 5 Oct. 1653; Samuel, 14 Jan. 1655; William; Isaac; Ebenezer; Martha; Hannah, and Mercy (dates and order of birth of the latter six unknown). SPOONER was propounded in Jun 1653 for freeman and admitted the following Jun. He was a grand juror in 1657, and by 1670 was living at Dartmouth where he d in 1684.
John ADAMS, who arrived in 1621 on the Fortune, later married Ellen NEWTON, who arrived on the Anne in 1623 with PRIESTS and CUTHBERTSON). Their first child, James ADAMS, was b bef 1627 when he received shares in the livestock division. Other children were: John ADAMS who married (1) Jane JAMES, and (2) Elizabeth _____; and Susan ADAMS, who disappears from the records. Son John ADAMS probably moved to Flushing, Long Island, New York. (Robert S. Wakefield's "Men of the Fortune, John Adams," (TAG 55:212). Son James ADAMS married Frances VASSALL, daughter of William VASSALL, and was known to have had interest in Barbadoes. On 15 May 1672 Frances [VASSALL] Adams, wife of James, petitioned the Massachusetts Court for, and was granted, 150 acres of land, and on 7 May 1673 the court noted that a farm of 150 acres belonging to her, wife of James ADAMS of Concord, was returned to the court (Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, 1854; reprint, New York, 1968, 4:2:524). John ADAMS, the father, died 1633, probably in the same epidemic that killed Cuthbert & Sarah ALLERTON Vincent Priest Cuthbertson, and his widow took inventory of his property on 24 October 1633 (MD 1:157). He was on the 1633 tax list, and his widow, Ellen [NEWTON] Adams, who later m Kenelm WINSLOW, was on the 1634 tax list.
Thomas PRENCE, b ca. 1600 (in his seventy-third year at his death on 29 March 1673 (PCR 8:34)), s/o Thomas PRENCE (PRINCE) who had lived at Lechlade, Gloucestershire, but was a carriage maker of All Hallows Barking, London (where John ARCHDALE, s/o Martin & Barbara SEXTON Archdale (Ayloffe), was baptised in 1601), when he made his will 31 July 1639 and named his "son Thomas PRENCE now remayninge in New England" PRENCE arrived at Plymouth Colony in 1621, became governor in 1634, and was elected an Assistant in 1635.
John STOCKBRIDGE was born in England ca. 1608, sailed for New England on 17 June 1635 on the Blessing with his wife Ann KENDALL, twenty-one, and son Charles, one. He settled at Scituate where he was recorded as a wheelwright. His wife joined the Scituate Church in 1637, and she was part of the VASSALL group in 1640. In June 1638 John STOCKBRIDGE was fined for disgraceful speeches against the government and those who attempted to reprove him, and in September 1638 he was fined again for contemptuous words against the government. He was presented in December 1638 for receiving strangers and foreigners, but the charges were dismissed. He continued speaking against the government, and, though he was proposed as a freeman, there is no record that he was ever granted the franchise. He served at various times as constable and grandjuryman, and he bought and sold land, and purchased a one-half interest in a grist mill, which was later expanded into a sawmill. His house was the main garrison in Scituate during King Philip's War. His first wife Ann KENDALL died, and on 9 October 1643 he married (2) Elizabeth (HATCH) Soan (or Soane), a sister of William HATCH, q.v., and widow of Robert SOAN. Probably ca. 1654 he married his third wife Mary _____, whose surname was possibly BROUGHTON. Shortly after 1656, STOCKBRIDGE moved to Boston, where he died 13 October 1657. (Roger D. Joslyn, "The Descendants of John1 Stockbridge," NEHGR 133:93, 187, 286, 134:70, 135, 228, 291, 135:36, 121) In his will dated 4 July 1657, inventory 3 February 1658, STOCKBRIDGE mentioned his wife Mary, son Charles; a younger son John; daughters Elizabeth, Mary Stockbridge, Esther Stockbridge, Sarah Stockbridge, and Hannah TICKNOR; and Hannah's husband William TICKNOR (Suffolk County Wills (Baltimore, 1984), p. 136).