James Blake (bef. 1624 - 1700)

Born before 27 Apr 1624 in Pitminster, Somerset, England

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth (Smith) Blake — married 17 Sep 1695 in Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts Bay

Descendants

Died 28 Jun 1700 after age 76 in Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts

Biography

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

"He married in Dorchester, Massachusetts, Jan 1652, Elizabeth dau of Edward Clapp of Dorchester. She was born in Dorchester 1634 and died their 16 jan 1695 in her 61st year. James married again 17 Sep 1695 Mrs Elizabeth Hunt of Rehoboth, Massachusetts. Mrs. Hunt was the dau of Henry Smith from Norfolk County, England and had married Peter Hunt in 1646. James Blake died 28 Jun 1700 in Dorchester."

"James Blake came to America with his parents in 1636. He was made Freeman in 1652. He is said to have built the first house in Dorchester Neck in 1650 which was of such a substantial character that in 1669 the town voted to build for its minister 'such a house as James Blake's house' namely 38 foot in length and 20 foot wide and 16 foot between its joists. This house was kept in the Blake family until 1825. In 1895 the Dorchester Historical Society bought it and fitted it for their use in Richardson Park."

"Quoting from increase Blake Descendants: 'Mr Blake was a busy man. From 1658 to 1685 there is scarcely a year when his name does not appear in connection with some of the duties in the town. He was Selectman thirteen years, rater, constable, Deputy to the General Court, Clerk of the Writs, Recorder, Sergeant in the Military Company. He was an excellent penman, his name appearing very frequently in connection with deeds and wills and settlement of estates; evidently a man of sound judgement and capability whose judgement was repeatedly sought by his neighbors...' He kept an account book, much of it in cipher."

"Simonds says (1857): 'As old age crept upon him his eldest son James took possession of the homestead and the old gentleman lived with him.' James Blake wrote in his Annals of Dorchester: '1700. This year, 28 Jun Died Elder James Blake, age 77. He was the first Deacon of the Church in Dorchester about eleven years and then a Ruling Elder of the same Church about fourteen years until he died.'"

"His will, made two days before his death and proved 25 Jul 1700 mentions wife Elizabeth with whom he had made a marriage contract; son James, John and Joseph and daughter Elizabeth."^[1]

"Both James and Elizabeth Blake are buried in the Dorchester old graveyard. History of Dorchester (1857) states 'the stones which mark the graves are in excellent condition.'"

Sources

1. ↑ Suffolk County, MA: Probate File Papers.Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2017-2019. (From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives. Digitized mages provided by FamilySearch.org Case 2581: Will.

• "Massachusetts Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1790-1890 for: James Blake, Freeman on 26 May 1652 in Massachusetts Colony"

• From Ancestry of Edward Wales Blake and Clarissa Matilda Glidden, Compiled by Edith Bartlett Sumner, Los Angeles, California 1948. Accessed thru James Blake was baptized in Pitminster, County Somerset, England, 27 Apr 1624. (see England, Select Births & Christenings, Father William).

• Blake, Francis Everett Increase Blake of Boston, his ancestors and descendants, with a full account of William Blake of Dorchester and his five children, published 1898. Reference pages 28-9

• Records of the First Church at Dorchester in New England, 1636-1734 (Boston, Mass., George H. Ellis, 141 Franklin Street, 1891) Page 8

• Stott, Clifford L., Humphrey Blake (1494?–1558) and His Descendants in New England and South Carolina: Blake, Richards, Selleck, Torrey, and Wolcott, The New England Historical & Genealogical Register (NEHGS, Boston, Mass., 2009) Vol. 163, WN 652, Page 288.