Jeremiah Belcher (abt. 1613 - bef. 1690)

Born about 1613 in England

Husband of Mary (Clifford) Belcher — married 1637 in Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts

Husband of Mary (Lockwood) Belcher — married 30 Sep 1652 in Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts Bay Colony [uncertain]

Descendants

Died before 30 Sep 1690 before about age 77 in Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts Bay

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Jeremy Belcher migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Great Migration (Series 2), by R. C. Anderson, vol. 1, p. 231) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

Jeremiah was born in England, but his exact birthplace and parents are unproven. Based on his age of 22 at emigration in 1635,^[1] and from four depositions that stated his age,^[2] he was born about 1613.

Immigration

Jeremy Belcher immigrated to America in 1635 aboard the ship Suzan & Ellin.^[3]

Marriages and Children

His first wife's name is unknown. It is often suggested that he married first, about 1637, Mary/Maria Clifford. The assumption rests on three pieces of evidence: 1) Mary/Maria Clifford was listed next to Jeremy on the ship list for the Suzan & Ellin in 1635,^[4] 2) one of Jeremiah's grandsons had a son named Clifford,^[5] and 3) there are no records for a Mary/Maria Clifford in New England after her arrival. The children from his first marriage:^[6]

1. Reverend Samuel Belcher, born about 1639, died 10 Mar 1714/5.
2. Jeremiah Belcher (1641-1723), born about August 1641, died 6 Feb 1722/3.
3. Mary (Belcher) Russell, born about 1645; married Joseph Russell.
4. John Belcher, born about 1643, and because there are no records other than a deposition when he was about 22, he probably died not too long after that.

Jeremiah married second, Mary (Lockwood) Belcher,^[7] 30 Sep 1652, probably in Ipswich. She survived him and died in October 1700. He had seven children from the second marriage:^[8][9]

Children:

v. Abigail Belcher (Gould), b. About 1653; m. In 1670, John2 Gould of Charlestown End (Stoneham), and had seven children, of whom the eldest son, John3, signed the deed of 1721.

vi. Dorcas Belcher, b. In 1656; m. Daniel2 Gould of Charlestown End (Stoneham); her eldest son, Daniel3, signed the deed of 1721.

vii. Judith Belcher (Andrus) b. Aug. 19, 1658; m. John2 Andrews of Ipswich. (Essex Deeds, vol. 40, page 9.)

viii. Mary Belcher (Andrews) (2nd) (second), b. July 12, 1660; m. Feb. 9, 1681-2, Thomas2 Andrews of Ipswich, brother of John2 who married her sister Judith; her son Thomas3 signed the deed of 1721.

4. ix. David Belcher, b. In 1662; married and had son David.

5. x. Richard Belcher, b. Sept. 10, 1665; married first, Mary Simpson; second, Ruth Knight.

xi. Anne Belcher (Burnham), b. prob. about 1668; m. Moses Burnham of Ipswich, who signed the deed of 1721.

Life in New England

On 13 Mar 1638/9 Jeremy took the oath of freeman.^[10]

[Much of the following is copy/paste from Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts, Vol. II^[11] and needs to be rewritten to PGM standards. Anderson includes a lot of primary sources and information, someone just needs to take the time to track those sources down and include them here.]

He sat down in the New England plantation at Ipswich, and is mentioned in the records as a merchant, also sometimes as sergeant, from which it appears that he was a member of the trainband. In 1680 he is called yeoman, and is mentioned as Jeremiah, Sr., first in 1664. He acquired considerable tracts of land by grant and by purchase. In 1659 he was granted three hundred acres by order of general court, same to be located beyond the settled plantations. This land was not taken up and improved during his lifetime, and in 1722 the grant was revived in favor of his son Jeremiah. Sergeant Jeremiah Belcher died in Ipswich, March, 1792-3, aged about eighty years, and his estate was administered by his eldest son, Rev. Samuel Belcher.

Research Notes

Disputed Origins: The most common belief among online trees for Jeremiah's origins is that he was baptised in London in 1611, son of Thomas Belcher and Ann Solme. Granted, a record apparently does exist for the baptism of a Jeremy Belcher, son of Thomas^[12] and there seems to be no other Jeremy Belcher in England at the right time, so the odds are high that this is the correct Jeremy Belcher. But no evidence definitively links the New England immigrant Jeremiah Belcher to the London Jeremy. Anderson lists Jeremy the immigrant's origins as unknown.^[13]

Sources

1. ↑ John Camden Hotten, The Original Lists of Persons of Quality..., reprint (New York: Empire State Book Co.) ; image of p. 59 at InternetArchive.org.
2. ↑ Robert Charles Anderson, George F. Sanborn, Jr., and Melinde Lutz Sanborn, The Great Migration, Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume 1, A-B, (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1999) 1:233; images of pp. 233 by subscription AmericanAncestors.org.
3. ↑ Hotten, John Camden, The Original Lists of Persons of Quality..., reprint (New York: Empire State Book Co.) ; image of p. 59 at InternetArchive.org.
4. ↑ John Camden Hotten, The Original Lists of Persons of Quality..., reprint (New York: Empire State Book Co.) ; image of p. 59 at InternetArchive.org.
5. ↑ Joseph Gardner Bartlett, "Jeremiah Belcher of Ipswich," (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1906) pp. 20-21; reprinted from The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 60:126, 249-56, 358-64; images of pp. 20-21 at InternetArchive.org.
6. ↑ Robert Charles Anderson, George F. Sanborn, Jr., and Melinde Lutz Sanborn, The Great Migration, Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume 1, A-B, (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1999) 1:234-35; images of pp. 234-35 by subscription AmericanAncestors.org.
7. ↑ Charles Henry Pope, The Pioneers of Massachusetts, a Descriptive List, Drawn from Records of the Colonies, Towns and Churches and Other Contemporaneous Documents, (Boston: C.H. Pope, 1900); image of p. 43 at InternetArchive.org.
8. ↑ William Richard Cutter, Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts, Vol. II, (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1908); image of p. 1078 at Google Books.
9. ↑ Joseph Gardner Bartlett, "Jeremiah Belcher of Ipswich," (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1906) pp. 20-21; reprinted from The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 60:126, 249-56, 358-64; images of pp. 20-21 at InternetArchive.org.
10. ↑ Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, ed. Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, Vol. 1, 1628-1641 (Boston: William White, 1853-); image of p. 375 at InterntArchive.org.
11. ↑ William Richard Cutter, Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts, Vol. II, (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1908); image of p. 1078 at Google Books.
12. ↑ Register of Allhallows London Wall (1559 - 1675), Pt. 2, filmed by the Genealogical Society, May 1968; "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database entry by subscription FamilySearch.org, Jeremy Belcher, 1611; the link to the records on that page simply go to the film which contains only an image 238 of 486 of index, p. 496 listing Jeremy Belcher on p. 154. The book with the actual entries appears to be filmed, but only available on microfilm, V. 1. 1559-1648, Family History Library, British B1 High Density, Film #994083, Item 7, Image Group Number 7550933.
13. ↑ Robert Charles Anderson, George F. Sanborn, Jr., and Melinde Lutz Sanborn, The Great Migration, Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume 1, A-B, (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1999) 1:231-237; images of pp. 231-37 by subscription AmericanAncestors.org.

See also:

• Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts, Volume 1
• Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts, Volume 2
• Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts, Volume 3