John Carter Sr. (abt. 1616 - 1692)

Born about 1616 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England

Husband of Elizabeth (UNKNOWN) Carter — married 1642 in Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts

Husband of Elizabeth (Grose) Carter — married 1691 in Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Descendants

Died 14 Sep 1692 at about age 76 in Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony

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Biography

John Carter Sr. immigrated to New England as a child during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640).

The information in this biography comes from the sketch of John Carter in Early Families of New England^[1] and information regarding the Carter family in Dawes-Gates^[2] unless otherwise noted.

John Carter was the fourth of six children of Thomas Carter, a blacksmith, and his wife Marie (Unknown). He was probably born in England, but the place and date of his birth is unknown. Based on his age at death, 76, he would have been born about 1616. He also made a deposition on 4 April 1660 in which he said that he was about 40 years old, setting his birth date at about 1620. This profile previously reported that John was born at Branscombe, Devonshire, England, but evidence is lacking. A merged profile showed John's mother as Sarah Hall, with no evidence.

His parents brought him and his five brothers and sisters to New England about 1636.^[3] John was in Charlestown in 1640 and was one of the first settlers of Woburn where he was made freeman in 1644.^[4]

John married twice, both times to women named Elizabeth. First, he married Elizabeth UNKNOWN about 1642, an estimate based on his oldest child being born in August 1643, at , Branscombe, Devonshire, England.^[5][1]. (Dawes-Gates conjectures that she "was probably a Williams, for in 1662 Thomas Carter was attorney for his brother-in-law, Matthew Williams.") John and the first Elizabeth had at least the following children:^[6][7][1]

• Elizabeth Carter, b. 8 August 1643
• Mary Carter, b. 8 March 1646
• Abigail Carter, b. 21 April 1648
• Hannah Carter, b. 19 Jan 1651
• John Carter, b. 6 Feb 1653

On 29 May 1644, he became a freeman, so he was also a church member, as that was one of the requirements for freemanship. He performed many services for Woburn. During his life, John served as a Ensign from 1651 to at least 1661, Lieutenant from 1664 to 1672 and Captain from 1672 until 1690. He was removed from his position in 1690 due to great age and extreme deafness, but he continued to carry the courtesy title of Captain until his death.^[8] He was allowed to perform marriage ceremonies in Woburn from May 1673 until at least May of 1675. In 1675, he served under Captain Nathaniel Davenport on the Narragansett Expedition.^[9]

In 1687, there is a record of the birth of a daughter to John's negro servant Bess, probably a slave, whose name was Kate.^[10]

John's first wife, Elizabeth, died at Woburn on 6 or 7 May 1691 at Woburn.^[1] John married for a second time in Woburn, at age about 75, to Elizabeth Gross (Elizabeth Grose).^[11] She died after 7 January 1692/3.^[1] She was alive when John's Will was probated. There were no children from this second marriage.

John died at Woburn on 14 Sept 1692 and is buried at the First Burial Ground, Woburn.^[1][8] You can see a picture of his gravestone at FindAGrave. His epitaph reads:

HERE LYES Ye BODY OF

CAPT. JOHN CARTER

AGED ABOUT 76

YEARS DECEASED Ye

14 OF SEPTEMBER 1692

John signed his Will on 15 June 1691. In it, he mentioned:

• son John, Executor
• sons-in-law Peter Fowle and James Converse
• widowed daughter Abigail (widow of James Fowle)
• children of his three daughters
• daughter Mary [wife of Peter Fowle]
• daughter Hannah [(wife of James Converse]
• second wife Elizabeth

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5} Williams, Alicia Crane, (2013) Early New England Families, 1641-1700. AmericanAncestors.org NEHGS (John Carter (m. 1642) Vol 1, Pages 1-5). John Carter
2. ↑ Ferris, Mary Walton. Dawes-Gates ancestral lines. A memorial volume. Vol. 1. Milwaukee, WI: ] Priv. print. [Wisconsin Cuneo Press], 1943. Pages 145-149
3. ↑ Anderson, Robert Charles, (1995) "Thomas Carter [of Salisbury and Ipswich]," Featured profile." Great Migration 1634-1635, C-F. AmericanAncestors.org NEHGS (Volume II, C-F, Pages 27-30, citing p 30).
4. ↑ Savage, James, (1860) A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England. Boston: Little, Brown, & Co., Archive.org (Vol 1, Page 340).
5. ↑ Hugh Darrell Miller, compiler. "Genealogy: Ethel Peters Miller/Hugh Darrell Miller," 1985 [copy in possession of author].
6. ↑ Woburn, MA. Woburn Records of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, 1640-1873. Part 1, Births. Woburn, MA: Andrews Cutler & Co., 1890. Page 43. transcript accessed at The Massachusetts Vital Records Project.
7. ↑ Sewall: Page 598. Citing: "CARTER. I. John Carter, usually distinguished in Woburn Town Book, as "Captain John," or "the Captain," was an early inhabitant of Woburn, having been a subscriber to the Town Orders" in 1640. By his wife, Elizabeth, he had children as follows (1) Elizabeth, b. 8 Aug. 1643, and died 20 Dec. 1653, or as the County Records have, 28 Feb. 1654. (2) Mary, born 8 March, 1646. (3) Abigail, b. 21 Apr. 1648. 4) Hannah, b. 19 Jan. 1650-51; md. to James Convers, jun. (5) John, b. 6 Feb. 1652-3. Elizabeth, wife of Capt. John Carter, died 7 May, 1691, [aged 78 years, Gravestone.] Capt. John Carter and Elizabeth Groce were md. . . . . 1691. He died 14 Sept. 1692."
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} www.FindAGrave.com; Created by: Jan Franco; Record added: Jul 31, 2003; Find A Grave Memorial# 7725618
9. ↑ George M. Bodge. Soldiers in King Philip's War. Boston: Printed for the author, 1891. Open Library.
10. ↑ Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1620-1850 (Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2016). Vol. Woburn - V1, p. 43.subscriber$
11. ↑ Web Site - Bob Carter "Bob Carter's Family Genealogy Page," viewed 24 March 1999.

See also:

• Sewall, Samuel. The History of Woburn, Middlesex County, Mass. From The Grant of Its Territory To Charlestown, In 1640, To The Year 1860. Boston: Wiggin And Lunt, Publishers, 1868.
• Find a Grave
• Galbraith clan
• The Wrights: A Genealogical Study of the First Settlers in Canada'sNational Capital Region, Edition: revised edition Abbreviation: The Wrights: 1st Settlers in Hull Author: Evans, Patrick M. O. Publication: National Capital Commission, Ottawa, Ontario, 1978
• Ancestry of Colonel John Harrington Stevens and his Wife Frances HelenMiller, Format: 2 vols. Abbreviation: Stevens Miller Ancestry Author: Holman, Mary Lovering Publication: privately printed at the Rumford Press, Concord, N.H., 1948–1953
• The Genealogies and Estates of Charlestown, in the County of Middlesexand Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1629–1818, Format: 2 vols. Abbreviation: Gens. and Estates of Charlestown Author: Wyman, Thomas Bellows Publication: David Clapp and Son, Boston, Mass., 1879