Arthur Aylesworth Sr. (1653 - aft. 1725)

Born 1653 in Wales

Husband of Mary (Brown) Aylesworth — married [date unknown] in Providence, Providence, Rhode Island

Descendants

Died after 7 Nov 1725 after age 72 in North Kingstown, Washington, Rhode Island

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Darin Neves [send private message], Barry Meadows [send private message], and Murry Proctor [send private message]

Biography

The following biography is copied from the 1887 (public domain) Aylesworth genealogy written by Dr. Homer Aylesworth, MD ^[1]:

ARTHUR AYLWORTH ^[1] page 36

Arthur Aylworth came to America from either England or Wales previous to July 29,1679. Possibly previous to King Philip's War. He married Mary Brown of Providence (abt. 1675-1682), a daughter probably of Rev. John and Mary (Holmes) Brown, and settled permanently in Quidnesset where he died between Nov 7, 1725 and Sept 13, 1726. Mary's death preceeded Arthurs. The natural order of their children's names is not known, but the names of the sons apart from the names of the daughters, as given the following lists,stand probably in their natural order, excepting the name of Thomas, though John may have been younger than Philip:

• Children of Arthur Aylesworth and Mary (Brown) Aylesworth: ^[1] page 36 ^[2]

1. ) Robert, eldest son, m. Ann Davis.
2. ) Arthur m. Mary Franklin.
3. ) John m. Dorcas Jones.
4. ) Philip b. 1692, m. Rachel Green.
5. ) Chad b. 1696, m. (1) Elizabeth Major, (2) Mary Wood.
6. ) Thomas (2) was deaf and dumb; no issue. [Register.]
7. ) Mary (2) eldest daughter, m. John Greene.
8. ) Elizabeth m. (1) ____ Dolliver, (2) Peleg Card.
9. ) Katharine m ____ Green.
10. ) Martha m. John Davis

THE WILL of ARTHUR AYLWORTH ^[1]page 36:
[In the name of God, amen. I Arthur Aylworth of the town of King's Town in the county of Kings in the Rhode Island and Providence Plantations being * * * as to bodily health but of a] Perfect mind and memory [thanks be given un] to God. The refore calling unto [mind the mort] ality of my body and knowing [that it is appo]inted for all men once to dye do make [and ordain] this my Last will and Testament that [is to say prin]cipally and first of all I give and Rec[ommend my] Soul into the hands of God that gave [it an]d my body I recommend to the earth to be [burie]d in a decent Christian Buriall at the [discre]ssion of my Executor, and as touching [such] Worldly Estate where with it hath pleas[ed God to] bless me in this life. I give Disp[ose and bequeath the] same in this following manner and form. I Give and bequeath, after my Just debts last sickn]es and funerall charges is payd as hereafter direct]ed, unto my son Phillip Aylsworth and to [the male] Heire Lawfully begotten of his body forever, whom I Constitute make and Ordaine my whole and sole Executor of this my last will and [testament, to him] all my whole Estate both Real and personal, that is to say, my said farm with all the [appurtenances and]Priviledges there unto belonging [I give demise] and Bequeath to my son Phillip Aylworth [and to the male] Heire of his body forever. [But if my son Philip Aylworth should die without such heir then my will is that my said farm shall ascend to the male heir of my] son Chad Aylworth [and his heirs forever and that he] shall enjoy said farm as [his own. But if] my son Chad should dye without [a male heir] Lawfully begotten of his body my will is [that my said] farme Shall Ascend to the male heire [of my son] Robert Aylworth and his heires forever.

• I Give and Bequeath unto my Eldest son Robert five pounds Currant mony of this Colony.
• I give (and bequeath)unto my Son Arthur Three [pounds] in Like mony.
• I Give unto my son John Three pounds in Like mony.
• I Give and bequeath to my Son Chad Ay1worth [a] moiety or halfe part of all my Personall [estate and] fourty pounds Currant mony of said Colony.
• I give unto my Eldest Daughter Mary Green [Three ? ] Pounds in Like mony.
• I give unto my Daughter Eiizabeth Dolliver T[hree] Ditto.
• I give unto my Daughter Katharine Three pounds [and] one feather Bead and beading.
• I Give unto my Daughter Martha Three pounds and a bead and beading.

Which [several] Bequests before mentioned I do order [my son] Phillip shall pay the same Severall [bequests to be] Given in Some Convenient time after [my decease]. I do hereby Constitute my son Phillip [Aylworth the whole and sole executor of this my last will and testament whom I order to pay and satisfy my just debts, last sickness and funeral charges and I do hereby utterly disallow revoke and dis]annul all and [every other former testaments] Wills Legacies and Bequests a[nd Executors b]y me in anywise before nam]ed willed and bequeathed ratifyi]ng and Conforming This and no other [to be] my last will and Testament. In Wittness [ where of I the said Arthur Aylworth have [here] unto Sett my and Seall this Eighth [day ] of May one Thousand Seven hnndred and [ -t]een Anno Que ARTHUR AYLWORTH. {Seal}

Signed sealed] published Pronounced and declar]ed by Arthur Aylworth to be] his Last will and testament] in the presence of us the sub]scribers (EDWARD ?] GREEN. [JEREMIAH] GOULD. [Edw ?]d Green and Mr: Jeremiah Gould Both personally [appeare]d before the Town Councl of North King's Town [this 13th d]ay of September 172 and on their Sollem [engagemen]t Declared that they Saw Arther Aylworth Decd [sign] publish Pronounce and Declare the above [written] Instrament to be his Last will and Testament [and that at] the Signing thereof he was or a Sound and [disposing] Minde and Memory and at the same time [they subscrib]ed to the Same as Wittnesses and saw [each other sig]ne as a Wittness. Signed pr order of [the town council]

THE CODICIL ^[1] Arthur Aysworth; page 39:
[I Arthur Aylworth being of sound and disposing mind and memory do make this my codicil to my last will and testament written on the oth]er Side bareing date [May 8th 17-'teen and] I the said Arthur Aylworth [do by this cod]icell Confirme my Said Will and do [give my son] Chad Aylworth my bead and beading wich [I now lie] on in Liew of the one Moiety or halfe part [of my] Personall Estate given him in my said [will and] my will and meaning is my son Phillip [Ayleworth] Shall have and enjoy all my personall [estate, it] being but part of what I then had Left [having] Given to my Children Since for their Comfort. [And] further my will and Meaning is that my [two] daughters Katharine and Martha Aylworth [shall] not by Virtue of the within mentiuned [will have] the bead and beading they nor either of [them they] having had the same already since [my said] will beares date, and my will and mind [is] that this Codicell Shedule be part of [my] Last Will and Testament bareing date [as afore]said. In Wittnes whereof I Sett to my ha[nd] This Seventh day of November, 1725. ARTHUR AYLWORTH

[In presence] of [JO]HN ALLEN [JA]MES RENNOLDS [JEREMIAH] GOULD· Mr Jeremiah Gould and-- -- both appeared before the [town council of] North King's Town the 13th day [of September 1726] and on their engagement declared that they saw Arthur Aylworth dec'd sign] seall publish Pronounce [and declare the above written instrument to be his codicil, etc.

INVENTORY. ^[1]Arthur Aysworth; page 39:
…………………Wearing Apparel …… ………2 old beadsteds, 2 old books £14. -.0 …. Kee]ler and old warming pan two bottles } onej]ug & a Small old Malter all at “ 2. 12. 0 Carpe]nters tools a bell a pair of worsted combs “ 2. 11. 0 One] old Iron pott an Iron Kittle a pair of ..An)dirons 2 old Tramels old fire tongues ……..e a pair of small Stillards one ……..Pan a small Cag all at “ 3. 9. 0 Beetle] Rings Wedges and other old Iron one Clevis 14. 0 One W]oolen Wheel foure old chaires 16. 0 ………….t an old Table Spectacles and Case 12. 0 One plow]shear and Colter 9. 0 ..., Sheep and 3 Lambs “ 3. 6. 0 ...Cows “10. -. 0 …H]effers each Three years old “ 9.16. 0 …Stears Each Two Years old “ 8. -.0 One] Stear a year old “1. -.0 ………..Small Seder Tub 3 old Trays an old Churn 5.0 ………..Geese young & old “1. 12.0 ………..on hill fowles 6.0 [Corn ?] Standing “ 3. 7. 0 ________ £71. 1. 0

[Presen]ted pr Jeremiah Gould (and] Daniel Green Jr There are complete or partial records of seven receipts given to the executor for the legacies in Arthur Aylworth's will, all "in full" except perhaps that of Chad: “Robert Ayleworth," by mark, Oct. 13, 1726. “Arthur Aylworth," by autograph, Nov. 25, 1726. “John Aylworth," by mark, Oct. 7, 1726. Chad Aylworth- record of signature destroyed. John Green for his wife Mary Green - date destroyed. Peleg Card for his wife Elizabeth Card, Nov. 23, 1726. John Davis for his wife Martha Davis, Dee. 1, 1727. It is evident the author of the Register did not consult the Rhode Island town records. 'The North Kingstown records then in their entirety would have furnished him abundant material. Little can be obtained from them now relating to years previous to 1700.

Residence

According to Homer Aylesworth, the farm of Arthur Aylsworth was located on Quidnesett Neck, Rhode Island, situated on the three blank lots of this plat map: ^[1]page 12:

1718 Plat of Quidnesett, Rhode Island

Note that the plat map is dated 8 Feb 1718, however, a detailed examination of the owner's list in this plat map reveals a far greater correlation to the names of the original 1661 owners of the lots than it does to the owner's in 1718. For example, the Fone's Record ^[3] clearly documents that the lot in the far northeast corner of the map labelled Henry Fowler was sold by Fowler in 1666 to Thomas Clark; then in 1666 ^[3](Fones; page 90) Thomas Clark sold the farm back to the land mortgage company represented by Wm. Hudson. Wm Hudson, in turn sold the farm to Henry Tibbetts in 1667 ^[3](Fones; page 90) and finally Henry Tibbetts bequeathed this farm to his grandson William Tanner Jr. in 1713. Thus this Henry Fowler farm changed hands four times between the time it was assigned to the original owner, Henry Fowler in 1661, and in 1718 when the verifiable owner was William Tanner Jr. (Not Henry Fowler). A similar analysis on other lots yields the same conclusion, viz this map drawn in 1718 is the mapmaker's representation of the original 1661 ownership assignments of the properties (or of those shortly thereafter), and not the present ownership in 1718. Rhode Island Historical records clearly establish that Robert Aylesworth, son of Arthur was active in some emotionally charged and contentious Quidnessett community affairs as early as 1700, which suggests Arthur Aylesworth had purchased his Quidnessett farms well before this date, suggesting Arthur purchased the property sometime in the 1690s. Arthur Aylesworth's farm may be located on the present day Google map by identifying the farm as the area bounded by North Quidnessett Road on the North; CFletcher Road to the East and the south, and Potter Road to the west. These present day roads provide a nearly 1:1 correspondence to the roads shown on the 1718 plat map.

Tax Records

On 6 September 1687 he is cited on Gov. Edmund Andros' (1637-1714) tax roll at Rochester, (Kingstown) Rhode Island owing a “pole” (poll) tax of 1 s, and a property tax of 2s 5.5d, which places him as an adult resident and as a property landholder in Kingstown, RI on this date. ^[4] This tax roll identifies a sum total of 136 heads of house living in the roughly 22.5 square mile area associated with Kingstown, RI on this date in 1687; one consequence of this sparse population is that he would have been well acquainted with many, if not all, of the individuals identified on this list. The list is a defacto definition of the people who were available to be his friends, neighbors, and allies; it would be essential to cultivate strong working relationships with these neighbors in order to survive on this frontier landscape. This cross reference tool provides hot links to peruse most of the 136 Wikitree families identified in this tax roll. These families were very frequently interconnected, or became interconnected, by marriage over the course of their lives and/or throughout the ensuing generations, further binding a network of neighbors into extended families. ^[5]

Research Notes

1. The parents and siblings previously listed in this profile appear to have been fabricated to supply connections for a fabricated genealogy. There is no evidence that the previously asserted father, John John Ellsworth (1578-1653) and asserted mother, Lucia (Bower) Ellsworth (1590-1633), were related to Arthur and hence, have been detached. As there is no source given for the birth date listed, it has been deleted. As there is no source given for the death date listed, it would be deleted except that WikiTree requires a date, even if none is known.,

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6} Aylsworth, Homer Elhanan MD; Arthur Aylsworth and his Descendents in America, with notes historical and genealogical, relating to the family, from early English records; Edited by James Arnold, Providence, R.I.; Narragansett HIstorical Publishing Company, 1887. Public Domain.
2. ↑ The Settlers of the Beekman Patent, V. 1-8 (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2013), (Orig. Pub. by Frank J. Doherty, Pleasant Valley, NY. Frank J. Doherty, The Settlers of the Beekman Patent, Dutchess County, New York: An Historical and Genealogical Study of All the 18th Century Settlers in the Patent, ten volumes. 1990–2003). (Subscription required.) Vol. 2, Page 261
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Arnold, James, N.; The records of the proprietors of the Narragansett : otherwise called the Fones record, Vol I; Providence, RI.; Narraganssett Historical Publishing Co.; 1894. <
4. ↑ Roberts, Gary Boyd; Genealogies of Rhode Island Families, Vol. II, Niles - Wilson; Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore 1989. RI Taxes under Gov. Andros pages 592- 594.
5. ↑ Randolph Beebe;Cross Reference: Gov. Andros 1687 Rochester RI Tax Register to Wikitree profile; Wikitree Free Space Profiles, 2024.

Other Sources

The following section provides a listing of source material that is pertinent to the profile subject, but not presently cited in the narrative text of the profile.

• Sylvester Aylesworth Genealogy from printed on page 144 of 648 of the Homer Aylesworth Book

• Location of Arthur Aylesworth Plat in Quidnessett, RI. page 12 of Homer Aylesworth book.

• Secondary Source, Homer Elhanan Aylsworth (1838-1885), Arthur Aylsworth and his descendents in America, with notes historical and genealogical, relating to the family, from early English records, ^[1] ARTHUR AYLWORTH:

• Secondary Source, Clarence Almon Torrey, New England Marriages Prior to 1700] ^[6] Data extract:

1. ) Torrey's pre-1700 Marriages; page 59; Arthur Aylesworth, & Mary [Brown} ; ca 1680/02, by 1685; Providence {Green (#1) 114; {Green (#1) 14; Aylesworth 36; Brady Anc. 52, 99; Brown (#8) 6; Reg. 80:76; Austin; GDRI 6, 261.

• Records of the colony of Rhode Island and Providence plantations, in New England. Printed by order of the General assembly, Vol III, 1678-1706; Title Page This volume contains the early court records of Rhode Island. page 60