William Allen (1629 - 1705)

Born 1629 in England

Husband of Prisilla (Browne) Allen — married 21 Mar 1649 in Sandwich, Plymouth Colony

Died 1 Oct 1705 at about age 76 in Sandwich, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Roland Goodwin [send private message] and Sandy Culver [send private message]

Biography

William Allen immigrated to New England as a child during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640).

From MacDonald:

"William Allen, believed to be the son of George Allen and his second wife, Katherine, is thought to have been born in about 1629 in England. Although William Allen was shown as being eight years of age in the list of passengers departing Weymouth, England on 20 March 1635, he was not shown on the list of men from Sandwich who were between the ages of sixteen and sixty and able to bear arms in the New Plymouth Colony of Massachusetts. His brother, Matthew, was listed, however. This list, which had been compiled in 1643, is believed to be more accurate than the passenger list. As such, the ages of William (8) and his brother, Matthew (6), are believed to have been reversed on the passenger list.

William married a woman named Priscilla Brown in the New Plymouth Colony of Sandwich, Massachusetts on 21 March 1649/1650.^[1]Priscilla, born about 1628, was the daughter of Peter Brown, a signer of the Pilgrim Compact, and his 1st wife, Martha Ford.^[2] William and Priscilla resided at Sandwich in the New Plymouth Colony of Massachusetts (now within Barnstable County, Massachusetts) for the remainder of their lives.

Both William and Priscilla were very active and outspoken supporters of the Quaker movement. Over the years they were often fined for holding meetings and for entertaining visiting Quakers in their home. Aside from the monetary fines, William and Priscilla also had property seized, and on several occasions William had to endure whipping.

In one instance in 1661, Sheriff George Barlow of Sandwich went to William's home while William was in jail in Boston. Having already seized the majority of William and Priscilla's moveable property, Sheriff Barlow went into their home and took Priscilla's last cooking pot and bag of meal. Upon doing so he sneered; "Now Priscilla, how will thee cook for thy family and friends, thee has no kettle." Priscilla then replied; "George, that God who hears the young ravens when they cry will provide for them, I trust in that God, and I verily believe the time will come when thy necessity will be greater than mine."

William Allen died without issue on 1 October 1705 at Sandwich, Massachusetts in what had become Barnstable County, Massachusetts. His will, which had been written on 17 February 1697/1698, was subsequently probated in Barnstable County, Massachusetts on 26 October 1705. Although Priscilla is believed to have died in Barnstable County also, the date of her death has not been determined.^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ Shurtleff, Nathaniel Bradstreet. "Records of the Colony of New Plymouth in New England: Printed by Order of the Legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts" AMS Press, New York (1855-1861) Vol. 8, p. 9.see at archive.org
2. ↑ The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2010), (Originally Published as: New England Historic Genealogical Society. Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, 3 vols., 1995). Sketch of Peter Brown. p. 261.subscriber$
3. ↑ Jack E. MacDonald, Allen Family The Allen Family Descendants of George Allen of England and Sandwich, Massachusetts

See also:

• The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2010), (Originally Published as: New England Historic Genealogical Society. Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, 3 vols., 1995). p. 261 (AmericanAncestors.org by $ubscription, provides Priscilla's parents)
• Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume I, A-B, Boston, MA: 2008, pp 27-35
• James Savage, "A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May 1692", Boston, 1860-1862
• Carl Boyer, "Ancestral Lines, Third Edition", published by the author, Santa Clarita, CA, 1998.
• Charles Carroll Gardner, "Genealogical Dictionary of New Jersey" GMNJ 16:1-4. Per Anderson: Gardner's compiled accounts of both George Allen and Ralph Allen of Sandwich (in, 49-52) have some errors, but "remain the best in print on these families."
• Twelve Generations of George Allen and his wife Catherine" Nellie Bethune Allen