John Fay
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John Fay (abt. 1648 - 1690)

John Fay
Born about in Englandmap
Son of and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of — married before 1669 in Marlborough, Massachusettsmap [uncertain]
Husband of — married 5 Jul 1678 (to 1690) in Watertown, Middlesex County, Massachusettsmap
Descendants descendants
Died at about age 42 in Marlboro, Middlesex, Massachusettsmap
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Profile last modified | Created 21 Oct 2010
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Biography

John Fay was born 1648 in England, [1]

He immigrated at the age of 8 on 27 June 1656 to Boston, MA, via the Speedwell from Gravesend.[2][3]

He married twice.

John married 1st Mary Brigham Abt. 1669 in Marlboro, Massachusetts, daughter of Thomas Brigham and Mercy Hurd. [4][5] She was born Abt. 1638 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and died 1676 in Watertown, Massachusetts. [1]
By his first wife, Mary, he had the following children: [1]
  1. John Fay Jr., b 30 Nov 1669
  2. David b 15 Oct 1671; d 1675/6
  3. Samuel, b 11 Oct 1673
  4. Mary b 10 Feb 1675
John married 2nd Susanna (Shattuck) Morse 15 Jul 1678 in Watertown, Massachusetts, daughter of William Shattuck. [6] and Susanna Unknown. She was born 1643 in Watertown, Massachusetts, and died Aft. 1695 in Marlboro, Massachusetts.
Date of marriage has also been listed differently in other sources as 5th day of the 5th mo, 5 Jul 1678 Watertown, MA [7] or 1678.[8]
Susanna was widow of joseph Morse and married Jul 30 1695 as her 3rd husband Thomas Brigham, Jr, who was a brother of John Fay's 1st wife. [1]
By his second wife, Susannah, he had the following children: [1]
  1. David, b 23 Apr 1679
  2. Gershom, b 19 Oct 1681
  3. Ruth, b 15 Jul 1685; m 28 June 1706 Increase Ward Jr.
  4. Deliverance, b 7 Oct 1686; d 22? Jan 1711; m 20 Feb 1706 Benjamin Shattuck (a cousin)

He was one of those selected to help defend the town of Marlborough, Massachusetts during King Philip's War (1675).[9]

It appears he lived in Marlborough (at least during King Philip's War) and also in Watertown.

He was made freeman in Marlboro on 18 Apr 1690.[10] (Or was this his son?)

John died 05 Dec 1690 in Marlboro, Massachusetts.

Notes from Fay Genealogy: [1]

John Fay embarked May 30, 1656, at Gravesend, England, and arrived in Boston on June 27, 1656, at the age of 8 years on the Speedwell (sister ship of the Mayflower). John was by no means the first Fay to come to America. Available Town records in New England show for example that (1) Richard Fay resided in Dorchester MA in 1634; (2) Henry Fay, a weaver of Newberry MA died 6/30/1655 and (3) William Fay was admitted as a townsman in Boston in 1643. These Fay's unquestionably preceded John Fay to America (1656), but there are no records to establish any interrelationship between any of them.

There is, however, reasonable evidence that his father and a brother Michael had preceded him to America. Although there is no documented record of the father (David) or Michael's birth or death. Reference is made in the early Town records of Sudbury, Massachusetts, that the father of John and Michael was David Fay "who came to America prior to 1656." On the other hand the direct lineage of the descendants of John Fay from his birth in 1648 down to 1898 were clearly and logically documented in the records accumulated in Orlin P. Fay's book.

The passenger list of the Speedwell lists five minors, including John Fay age 8 years. These young men were bound to Sudbury MA (settled 17 years previously) where each of them had parents or relatives. It is presumed that since John Fay was the youngest of these minors, he very likely had parents already residing in Sudbury.

Shortly after John Fay's arrival a group of recent immigrants, including young John moved to a new grant which was newly incorporated under the name of Marlboro, MA. The early records of Marlboro show that John Fay was made a freeman in 1669, at which time he had a wife and child. In 1675 the name of John Fay appears among the proprietors of Worcester Mass., and that he had a lot of 50 acres assigned to him "in the eastern squadron, lying next to the County road to Boston." Although, he owned land in Worcester he continued to live in Marlboro until the marauding Indians during the Phillips War made it necessary to move his family to the greater security of Watertown Mass. While in Watertown he buried his first wife, Mary Brigham and one child. His second marriage was to Susan "Susanna" Shattuck who was the widow of Joseph Morse. She had 7 children by Morse and 4 by John Fay. After John Fay's death, Susan married as her third husband, Thomas Brigham, who was a brother of John Fay's first wife, Mary Brigham. It is interesting to record that from Susan's last marriage, one of her descendants [actually it was her husband Thomas' brother Samuel] was Peter Bent Brigham who left a sum of $1,000,000 which was not to be spent until 25 years after his death. By this time the fund had grown to $2,000,000 and was used to build the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, a world famous medical research hospital connected with Harvard Medical School in Boston, Mass.


Sources

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Fay Genealogy: John Fay of Marlborough and his Descendants: Page 13-18
  2. The passenger list of the Speedwell 1656
  3. "A Lyst of the Pasingers abord the Speedwell of London, Robert Lock Master, bound for New England," in NEHGR 1(1847):132: John Fay, aged 8... The persons above named past from hence [in] the shipp above mentioned, and are, according to order, registred here. Dated, Searchers office, Gravesned, 30th May, 1656."
  4. Fay Genealogy: John Fay of Marlborough and his Descendants: Page 14-16
  5. Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Vol. 1, A-B, p 403: "iii. MARY, b. say 1649; m. by 1669 John Fay (eldest known child b. Marlborough 30 November 1669) [Brigham Gen 1:57-58]"
  6. Fay Genealogy: John Fay of Marlborough and his Descendants: Page 15
  7. Massachusetts Vital Records: Watertown Vital Records
  8. New England Ancestors Old Style Calendar Dates 1678 John Fay and Sufannah Mofs married the 5th day of the 5th mo.
  9. "Soldiers in King Philip's War," in NEHGR, 40(1886):315: "Marlborough the :1: of October: 1675: ... in case of asalt these places heare After mentioned should be defended by the persons that are expressed by name... John ffay..."
  10. "List of Freemen," in NEHGR, 3(1849):350

see Also:

  • AFN 8qlw-K9
  • Space:Soldiers in King Philip's War
  • "Massachusetts, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991", Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. [1]
Name John Fay
Probate Date 1691
Probate Place Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA
Inferred Death Year Abt 1691
Inferred Death Place Massachusetts, USA
Case Number 7428
Item Description Probate Papers 7354-7476




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It may be possible to confirm family relationships with John by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with John:

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Comments: 17

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Fay-4988 and Fay-27 appear to represent the same person because: Same dates, as suggested by Hiro Fay
posted by Michel Vorenhout
you can merge your john with : Fay-27
posted on Fay-4988 (merged) by Hiro Fay
Hiro, profile are merged now. Thank you.
Susanna Shattuck married John Fay on on July 5, 1678, not David as evidenced on this profile under sources ie. John Fay Probate Date 1691.
posted on Fay-4988 (merged) by Chris Hoyt
The England 1841 census lists over 5,000 John Fays. Number from a search in 1841 census on Family Search.
posted by Loren Fay
Hello, I'm in the french branch (from Stephen Fay_ Vermont).

I add some names some days ago (as i discover wikitree this week). Is the Fay' tree on wikitree completed (not the time yet to check it) ? Is the site "https://sites.rootsweb.com/~fayfamily/index.html " still alive ? updated ? Thank you for t your job here. Hiro Fay

posted by Hiro Fay
In the book The History of Westborough, there is a chapter on the old Land Grants, with old maps and explanations enough to let us know where the Fays and Brighams lived in the early days... on the far west edge of Marlborough, and the far west edge of Westborough, west of Fay Mountain... it seems he did not live in what is now Marlborough in Middlesex County, Mass.

The History of Westborough. Appendix. II. Land Grants, pp.454+

History often does this to us, dated events in certain places, then we change the map and place names and confuse the whole thing... In the 1790 census, there are only 2 Fay listings in Marlborough, 6 in Northborough, 6 in Westborough and 13 in Southborough.

posted by Loren Fay
The Westborough Historical Commission and the Historical Society have done many projects to preserve town history, including repairing the old stones in the Memorial Cemetery, and photographing all of them in both context and closeup... I wish they were all on Find a Grave... FAG has about 100 Fay memorials from Westborough, though not all with photos... Thank you for preserving and sharing information.
posted by Loren Fay
There are several videos about Westborough history on You Tube. Enjoy a nice historical video series by the Westborough, Mass, Historical Commission and Historical Society on You Tube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW6AMo9BfPE&list=PL_08wl6R4ShH54vf2k_UyQr88wbZylF6d

posted by Loren Fay
nice tree, tho possibly flawed in places...

https://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=PED&db=dtorrey&id=I5922

posted by Loren Fay
another look at John Fay's profile and history:

tp://familypedia.wikia.com/wiki/John_Fay_(1641-1690)

posted by Loren Fay
is it true that none of John's descendants have had the DNA tests for genealogy?
posted by Loren Fay
I have been seriously considering taking the test, but, I dont know enough about it. He is my 7th Great Grandfather.
posted by Nicole (Fay) Brown
The DNA percentages are shown only for certain number of generations. The one person shown is a 6th grandchild. I am a 7th grandchild and am not shown.
Found on Find a Grave:

John Fay, I Birth 1648 England Death 5 Dec 1690 (aged 41–42) Marlborough, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA Burial Unknown Memorial ID 5721922 · View Source Share Save to Suggest Edits Memorial Photos 2 Flowers 22 Birthdate year is approximate. Exact date, unknown. The following is taken from the book, "History of Hardwick, Massachusetts, with a Genealogical Register, by Lucius R. Paige. Published 1893, by Houghton, Mifflin and Company.

John Fay, Sr. was born in England about 1648. He came to New England (USA) aboard the ship, Speedwell, which arrived at Boston June 27, 1656. John was only 8 years old. He became an inhabitant of Marlborough, where he married Mary, daughter of Thomas Brigham of Cambridge, … Read More

Family Members...… more info than there is space here for....

posted by Loren Fay
What's the source for the second marriage to Susannah Shattuck, please?
posted by Jillaine Smith
See Orlin P. Fay's book, "John Fay of Marlborough and His Descendants", Published in 1898
posted by Christopher Murray

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