Richard Godfrey Sr. (abt. 1631 - 1691)

Born about 1631 in Lancashire, England [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Jane (Turner) Godfrey — married about 1650 in Weymouth, Massachusetts Bay Colony [uncertain]

Husband of Mary (UNKNOWN) Godfrey — married 26 Mar 1684 (to 16 Oct 1691) in Taunton, Plymouth Colony

Descendants

Died 16 Oct 1691 at about age 60 in Taunton, Bristol, Massachusetts Bay

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Disambiguation

Please do not make the following changes, as Richard has been proven not to be:

• the son of Francis Godfrey
• the brother of Peter Godfrey of Essex, or George Godfrey of Chatham.
• married to Mary Browne. She was married to Peter Godfrey

Biography

Richard Godfrey, (perhaps the son of Richard & Margaret (Temple) Godfrey^[1]) was born probably by 1631, in England, perhaps in Lancashire.^[2] He arrived in the New World at Taunton, Bristol County, Massachusetts (then Plymouth Colony), sometime prior to 1652^[3] where he remained for the rest of his life. He settled in a part of Tauton called Squawbetty "near the old forge, now Raynham."^[4]

He married twice. His first wife (given name possibly Jane) was a daughter of John and Jane (--?--) Turner, whom he married about 1650, before the birth of their first child about 1651. No marriage record appears to be extant. Richard's first wife's parents are proven by an itemization in the Taunton Proprietors records. On 12 October 1666 a list of the lands of John Turner mentioned the fifth item was described as "six acres more or less, ... at a place called the 'hamer beame,' being bounded ... on the north by a parcel of land, which I gave to my son in law Richard Godfrey..."^[5]

His second wife, Mary (--?--), was the widow of James Phillips, and was named in Richard's will. Richard and Mary married on 26 March 1684 in Taunton.^[6][4] He died, probably at Taunton, on 16 October 1691.^[7]

The will of "Richard Godfree, sen'r." of Taunton dated 4 Oct 1691, proved 17 November 1691,^[8] names son Robert Godfree; daughter Jane, wife of John Cobb; daughter Alice, the wife of Peter Holbrook; daughter Susanna, the wife of Edward Kettle; son Richard Godfrey; son John Godfree; and "my loving wife Mary Godfree."^[9][10] The will is now missing from the probate packet, but it's contents were extracted before its loss.^[4]

Together Richard & Jane (Turner) Godfrey had children, order uncertain, including:^[4]

1. Richard, b. ca. 1651; m. Mary Richmond; d. 1725 Taunton.^[11]
2. Jane, b. ca. 1652; m1. Israel Woodward, m2. John Cobb.
3. John, b. say 1654; m. Martha Joyce
4. Susannah, b. say 1656; m. Edward Kettle/Cetill.
5. Alice, b. say 1658; m. Peter Holbrook
6. Robert, b. say 1660; m. Hannah Hackett.^[1]

Research notes

• The source (NEHGR 162:187-198) does not give any dates or locations for his first marriage, only dates when records refer to his wives. This first marriage date & place appear to be suppositions only.
• The source (Footprints in the Sand...) makes no mention of Richard's second wife, who was clearly named in his will, and erroneously states that first wife Jane died at age 100.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Godfrey, Michael L. Footprints in the Sand: The Godfrey Story, page 12. Lulu.com (2012) Google Books, however the parents and location provided are without sources.
2. ↑ Ullmann, in NEHGR 162:187 states that in W.M. Bollenbach's The New England Ancestry of Alice Everett Johnson (Baltimore: Gateway press, 2003), p. 153, he claims that Richard was born in co. Lancaster 16 Oct 1631, but none of his cited sources includes that possibility.
3. ↑ Swift, Katharine Whitin. 1955. The Whitin Family: Historical Notes. Whitinsville, Mass.: E. K. Swift. Page 61 (Link on HathiTrust). "Richard Godfrey was in Taunton as early as 1652."
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3} Ullmann, Helen Schatvet, "Richard(1) Godfrey of Taunton, MA, and his Children and Grandchldren," New England Historical and Genealogical Register Vol. 162 (July-Oct. 2008), pp. 187-199. Link by subscription to AmericanAncestors.org
5. ↑ Taunton Proprietors Records, 1639-1800, page 47
6. ↑ NEHGS, Vital Records of Taunton, Massachusetts to the Year 1850 (Boston, MA: NEHGS, 1978), Vol. 2:203.

   "Richard (Godfree) Sr. and Mary Phillips [T.P.R. Philips], wid., Mar. 26, 1684.*"

7. ↑ Ullman, "Godfrey of Taunton," cites George A. Dary, "Godfrey Genealogy descendants of Richard of Taunton, Mass.," (Brookline, Mass., 1920), [manuscript in R. Stanton Avery Special Collections, NEHGS,] page 2, who cited "the probate papers," no longer in the empty probate packet.
8. ↑ Bristol County, Mass., Probate Records, Volume 1:48 Will of Richard Godfree Sr. of Taunton.
9. ↑ Wakefield, Robert S., "Notes & Corrections Turner - Godfrey - Woodward - Cobb" NEHGR Vol. 123:230. (Link by $ubscription) The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1847-. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2018.)
10. ↑ H.L. Peter Rounds, Abstracts of Bristol County, Massachusetts Probate Records 1687-1745, (link by subscription to Ancestry.com).
11. ↑ VRs of Taunton, Vol. 3:90.

    "Godfrey, Richard [dup. Godfree], h. Mary [T.P.R. Marcy], Aug. 14, 1725 [dup. a. 74]. [Godfree, a. 74, G.R.9.]"

See also:

• Roberts, Gary Boyd; Ancestors of American Presidents. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009.
• American Ancestry (Joel Munsell's Sons, Albany, N.Y., 1891) Vol. 6, Page 149
• S2309 William Richard Cutter, New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of Commonwealths and the Founding of a Nation (Lewis Historical Publishing Co., New York: 1915) {volume & page reference needed}

Acknowledgments

Contributors include: Kim Baltz, Anita Brew. See the Changes page for more details.