John Knowles Jr. (abt. 1673 - abt. 1757)

Born about 10 Jul 1673 in Eastham, Barnstable, Massachusetts [uncertain]

Ancestors

Descendants

Died about 3 Nov 1757 at about age 84 in Eastham, Barnstable, Massachusetts [uncertain]

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Biography

b. 10 JUL 1673, Eastham, Massachusetts (Barnstable)^[1]

d. 3 NOV 1757, Eastham, Massachusetts (Barnstable)^[1]

Military: JUL 1715, :: Place: Eastham, Massachusetts (Barnstable)^[1]

Married Mary Sears in Eastham, Massachusetts (Barnstable)^[1]

Burial: Cove Burying Ground, Eastham, Barnstable County, Massachusetts^[2]

^[3]"Col. John Knowles ([son of] John, Richard), born at Eastham 10 July 1673, died there 3 Nov. 1757. He married first Mary Sears, born at Yarmouth 24 Oct. 1672. died at Eastham 7 Nov. 1745, daughter of Paul and Deborah (Willard) Sears; and secondly, at Eastham, 6 May 1746, Mrs. Rebecca Chanly (or Chanle), "now resident in Eastham." She survived her husband, but died at Eastham before 12 Oct. 1773, when administration on her estate was granted to Enoch Higgins of Eastham, whose wife Sarah was apparently an heir.

John Knowles was left an orphan before his recollection, and apparently was brought up by the worthy Joshua Sparrow, for whom his first son, Joshua, seems to have been named. He must have been given a good schooling, and evidently from youth up was exceptionally efficient and well regarded. The earliest occurrence of his name, after he grew up, is in the registration of an earmark for his cattle, 24 Apr. 1695. The records of the county not destroyed in 1827 contain frequent references to him in trusted capacities. A juryman in 1701, he was chosen as early as 1706 a member of a board of arbitration. In 1715, as Lieut. John Knowles, he was elected one of five townsmen to apportion the remaining common lands. He was for many years coroner, and was commander of the Second Barnstable Regiment.

Joshua Sparrow, in his will, gave to John Knowles the house and land where he was living. The Knowleses were a Head-of-Town-Cove family, that is to say, an Orleans rather than an Eastham family, none of them moving down to the north side of Town Cove till the third generation. Probably Dea. Edward Knowles may have been the first to do this, and some of the sons of Col. John may have thus removed before their father. Col. Willard Knowles devised to his son Joseph "the land where the old house stood which he improved," and Joseph very soon sold to Timothy Doane 16 acres located at "Stage Land," formerly belonging to Col. John Knowles. This was the name for the point south of Nauset Harbor. It has not been learned whether this was the first location given by the will of Joshua Sparrow. Late in life Colonel Knowles purchased from the Treat heirs the farm of Rev. Samuel Treat, and from that time on the senior branch of the Knowles family belonged in what is still the town of Eastham. The junior branch, descendants of the younger son of the first Richard, remained in what is now Orleans. Children by first wife, born at Eastham:

1. Joshua b. 6 July 1696
2. John, b. 28 June 1698.
3. Seth, b. 7 Aug. 1700.
4. Paul, b. 8 Aug. 1702.
5. James, b. 4 Nov. 1704.
6. Jesse, b. 1 Apr. 1707.
7. Mary, b. in Oct. 1709; m. (intention recorded at Eastham, 10 Aug. 1728) John Wing, Jr., of Harwich, b. 3 Apr. 1702, whose will was proved in 1773. For children, see the "Wing Genealogy," 1831, p. 63.
8. Willard, b. 6 Nov. 1711."

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Genelaogies of Mayflower Families, G-Pa Title: CD #171: Knowles Family of Eastham, Mass.; Pg. 448
2. ↑ Col John Knowles, Jr, Find-a-Grave memorial #22083773; entered by The Guardian on 10 Oct 2007 : last accessed by J. Ricketts on 22 Feb 2016.
3. ↑ THE KNOWLES FAMILY OF EASTHAM , MASS. BY CHARLES THORNTON LIBBY: Boston, 1926. pp. 380-381 https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/viewer/760525

See also:

• Births, marriages, deaths, 1649-ca.1840; intentions of marriage, 1700-ca.1905, database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G979-9FW7  : 2 October 2022), FHL microfilm 007009735, image 143, Eastham, Massachusetts, Volume 2, Births, & Deaths, 1654-1797, Page 78.
• Pratt, Enoch A. A Comprehensive History of Eastham, Massachusetts, (W.S. Fisher and Co. Yarmouth. 1844). This book contains the history of Eastham, Massachusetts from 1644 to 1844. This book also contains information about Wellfleet and Orleans county of Barnstable, Massachusetts.

• Wheeler, Mary Beth. GENDEX - 11/98.

• Mayflower Families 1500s - 1800s, CD #171. Genealogical Publishing Company (Broderbund)

• This person was created through the import of Bwiki.ged on 03 April 2011.

• WikiTree profile Knowles-1298 created through the import of mike_walton_2011.ged on Aug 20, 2011 by Mike Walton.

• Knowles-3688 was created by Robert Richards through the import of Atwood Family Tree_2015-11-25.ged on Nov 25, 2015.