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John Lewis II, son of John Lewis, lived and died in Westerly, Rhode Island. He married Ann (last name unknown) who died in 1748,[1] and together they had eight children listed below. He was a deputy in 1704-09-10.
His will is dated 14 April 1732 and was proven 22 April 1735.[2] His wife Ann and son Joseph were executors. [3]
John was buried at John Lewis Ground No. 1, Westerly, Washington County, Rhode Island.
I have not yet found any original source record of John Lewis marrying Anna Lanphere in this time period, although a John Lanphere did marry an Anna Lanphere in Westerly ca. 1730. [7] Please note that Find a Grave is not a reliable source for familial relationships, particularly considering the number of John and Jonathan Lewises in this area at this time. John himself had an older brother named Jonathan. (This was not unusual at this time, as John and Jonathan were two separate names, not a name and its nickname.)
The only John Lewis I find record of marrying in 1682 is John Lewis of Hingham who married Hannah Benjamin (b 10 Sept 1659) on 17 November 1682. Hannah is the daughter of Daniel Lincoln of Hingham (b1644) who may or may not be related to the other Lincolns in the area, and his wife Susanna. [8] Being as he is from Hingham, this is unlikely to be the same John Lewis.
MORE RESEARCH NOTES 1. John Lanphere’s will, made in 1730, gave a legacy to daughter Anna Lewis. Some inferred that she married John lewis Jr. John Lanphere was born ca. 1681, so the probability that his daughter Anna married a man born ca. 1660 is close to zero. 2. The will of John Lewis Jr. stated his daughters’ married names. Youngest child Jerusha was identified as Jerusha Lewis. Jerusha perhaps married a Lewis cousin or was unmarried when John made his will; either inference is reasonable. Researcher and author Seversmith evidently assumed she married a cousin named Lewis. 3. John Lewis’s widow Anna left 5 shillings to each of John’s surviving children except Jerusha, the residuary beneficiary and youngest child. Anna’s will is summarized in John Austin’s reference work. Widow Anna also left legacies of 15 pounds (total) to 2 children of John’s daughter Abigail who m. Samuel Slack and 7 pounds to charity.
4. Possible inferences from Anna’s will, made in 1739, about 9 years before she died and when all of husband John’s children were at least 30 years old: A. Anna was John’s second wife and the mother of Jerusha but not John’s other children. B. Anna was either kin of Samuel Slack or the mother of Abigail, John’s daughter. C. Jerusha was the only unmarried child of John or had special needs.
In view of the modest size of Anna’s estate (48 pounds), gifts to 22 pounds to non-children and charity and only 5 shilling to all but one of John’s children, the strongest inference is that Anna, who outlived John by 13 years, was John’s second wife and kin of Samuel Slack, and thus a different wife bore all of John’s children except Jerusha.
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2. The will of John Lewis’s widow Anna gave 5 shillings to each of John’s first 7 children and 95% of her estate to others including its residue to child #8 Jerusha, so any claim that said widow was the mother of all of John’s children is unreasonable. Because James Arnold (see sources) identified the mother of Jerusha as Ann, we can deduce from that name and said will that John’s widow Anna was Jerusha’s mother.
3. Jas. Arnold listed John’s other 7 children’s names and birth dates (Vital Records of Rhode Island 1636-1850 Vol. V, Westerly births) consecutively (excluding Jerusha) but did not identify their mother’s name. The most reasonable inferences from these facts are:
a. John had exactly one child by Anna, John’s widow, who was his second wife..
b. John’s widow Anna was born before 1691 and thus wasn’t the daughter of the John Lanphear who married in 1705. Anna Lanphere should be detached as a spouse of the profiled John Lewis.
c. The surnames of John’s two wives and the given name of John’s first wife are all unknown and undocumented.
edited by Charles Clark