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Francis Littlefield Jr. (abt. 1636 - 1674)

Francis "The Younger" Littlefield Jr.
Born about in Titchfield, Hampshire, Englandmap
Ancestors ancestors
Husband of — married 1652 in Wells, York, Mainemap
Descendants descendants
Died at about age 38 in Wells, York, Mainemap
Profile last modified | Created 21 Sep 2010
This page has been accessed 2,586 times.

Biography

Francis Littlefield Jr. immigrated to New England as a child during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640).

Francis Littlefield, Jr. was baptized 24 Mar 1635/36 Tichfield, Hampshire, England.[1]He married Meribah Wardwell b. May 14, 1637 Boston, MA; d/o William Wardwell and Alice Marshall.[2]

Francis Littlefield was sometimes called called "Francis the Younger," because of the odd circumstances that he had an older brother also named Francis. He was one of ten children. The story sometimes given for the fact there were two boys named Francis is that the older Francis disappeared as a child and was thought to be dead, then was reunited with the family many years later. There seems to be no evidence of this, though.

His will, which was witnessed by his brother Francis, was made February 5, 1674, and probated April 6, 1675. His widow was living in 1677. His children were: Joseph, Nathan, Jonathan, Job, David, Mary, Joanna, Tabitha and Hannah. page 1939 ....NH Vol. 4

Francis Littlefield, Jr. came to New England with his mother in 1638. Proceeding first to Exeter, and then to Wells, he there received what education it was possible to obtain at that early period, and in 1653 signed the Act of Submission acknowledging himself subject to the government of Massachusetts. He, however, stood by his father and brothers in the subsequent opposition to the claims of Massachusetts, and finally joined with them in the petition of 1668. In 1668 he was appointed ensign in the military company of which his brother John was lieutenant, and took a prominent part in the Indian wars.

He was a large land-owner, was prominent in civil and church affairs, and respected by the community. He died between 05 February 1674/75 - 06 April 1675, leaving his property to be divided by will among his ten children.

Copy of Will

I Francis Littlefejld Junjor of Wells, In the Massatusetts Colony in New England this fifth day of ffebruary,one thousand six hundred seaventy foure, though we ake in body yet Prfect in memory blessed bee god, doth willingly & with a free haert Committ my soule into ye mercifull hands of Almighty god my saujor, & my body vnto the earth from whence It Came, & my estate I dispose of as followeth/ Inprs Ater my funeralls bee discharged, & all other debts, I doe giue & bequeath vnto my Loueing wife Meribah, my househould stuff to dispose of to my children, vnto wch of them shee thinkes good, & I give vnto my sayd wife one third of all my stocks & Moueables with out to bee hers & her assignes for ever/ Item I giue vnto my Elldest sunn Joseph, my home lott with all my houseing. Saw Mill, & Corne Mill, with all the appurtenances yrvnto belonging, and the other two 3d parts of my stocke. Namely oxen houseing Cows, with other Cattle, when hee hath Attayned the age of Twenty two yeares, hee paijng the Legacys follg

Namely to my sunn Nathan fine pounds/

To my sonn Jonathan fiue pounds/

To my sunn Job fiue pounds/ to my sonn Daniell fiue pounds. When they Attayne the age of Twenty one yeares/

And my will is that hee shall pay vnto my daughter Mary, Tenn pounds/

To my daughter Johanna Tenn pounds/

To my daughter Tabbatha Tenn pounds/

To my daughter Hannah tenn pounds to bee payd to them wn they haue Attayned the age of eighteen yeares/

Item I giue vnto my sonn Nathan, & Jonathan all my lands & Meddows at Mary Land, aequally to bee deuided, between them wn they come to bee the age of Twenty one years/

Ite~: I giue vnto my sonn Job, & Dauid[David] all my Land at Ogunquett, with the seaven Acers of Marsh that I bought of John Barrett, aequally to bee deuided between them wn they haue Attayned the age of Twenty one yeares/

And my will is wn my sunn Joseph doth enter vpon ye house & Land hee shall pay vnto my wife tenn pounds p

Ann: for three years towards the Mantayneing of the small children/

And my will is that my whoole estate as It now is shall remajne in my wifes hand, to mannage & Improue for the mantayneing of her & my children, vntill my sonn Joseph bee at age namely Twenty two years ould/

And I doe hereby nominate & appoynt my deare & Loueing wife Meribah & my sonn Joseph & Nathan to bee my executors, of this my last Will & testament, & hereby doe desire & appoynt my Loueing frejnds Mr Willia Symonds & Samell Wheelewright ouerseers of this my last will & testament, Revoakeing all other wills gyfts bequessts & testaments, whatsoeuer In testimony whereof I haue here vnto set my hand & seale the day & yeare aboue written/ Samuell Wheelewright/ Francis Littlefejld (his seale) Jujnor hismark

Fran : Littlefejld Senjor

Sworn to by attesting witnesses 6 April 1675; recorded 14 April 1675 ; Inventory returned at £801: 18: 0 by William Hammond and Abra: Tylton, appraisers, who. state that "Francis Littlefeeld Jr. deceased 6 Feby 1674." [3]

Research Notes

" ... In the meantime Francis the elder had come to Exeter previous to 1639, and from Exeter went to Woburn, where he married. His wife died December 20, 1646, leaving a daughter who died later, this being about five years after his father went to Wells. Soon after his daughter's death , Francis left Woburn and went to Wells also, only to find his father and family already located there. Francis Littlefield Jr. married Meribah Wardwell. Children : Joseph, born about 1652 ; Nathan, Jonathan, Job, David, Mary J. , Jo anna, Tabitha, Hannah. ... " Genealogical and Family History of the State of Maine Volume 1 page 101

Sources

  1. Gary Boyd Roberts, English Orgins of New England Familes Vol. I, (1984 Genealogical Publishing co. Inc.), 307.
  2. Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, 1923.
  3. Maine wills : 1640-1760 [pages 54,55,56.] by Sargent, William M. (William Mitchell), 1848-1891; Maine Historical Society Published 1887 (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89J3-NGN : 5 April 2022).
  • Genealogical and Family History of the State of New Hampshire: A ..., Volume 4 By Lewis Publishing Company
  • Publication, Issue 6 By Society of Colonial Wars in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts [year book 1900]
  • Francis “The Younger” Littlefield (1635-1674) on Find A Grave: Memorial #102024271 Retrieved 17 January, 2018.
  • The Planters of the Commonwealth, Title: The Planters of the Commonwealth: A Study of the Emigrants and Emigration in Colonial times 1620-1640 by Charles Edward Banks, Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc, Copyright 1930, 2006.




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Comments: 3

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This person immigrated to New England between 1621-1640 as a Minor Child (under age 21 at time of immigration) of a Puritan Great Migration immigrant who is profiled in Robert Charles Anderson's Great Migration Directory (or is otherwise accepted by the Puritan Great Migration (PGM) Project).

Please feel free to improve the profile(s) by providing additional information and reliable sources. PGM encourages the Profile Managers to monitor these profiles for changes; if any problems arise, please contact the PGM Project via G2G for assistance. Please note that PGM continues to manage the parent's profile, but is happy to assist on the children when needed.

posted by Bobbie (Madison) Hall
Littlefield-1191 and Littlefield-22 appear to represent the same person because: clear duplicate
posted by Adrian Stanley
This is one of those profiles that really needs some work to fix the overlong results of merges.
posted by Darlene (Scott) Kerr

L  >  Littlefield  >  Francis Littlefield Jr.

Categories: Puritan Great Migration Minor Child