William Palmer Jr (1638 - bef. 1675)

Born 27 Jun 1638 in Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts

Husband of Susannah (Briggs) Palmer — married 1663 in Plymouth, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died before 30 Jun 1675 before age 37 in Dartmouth, Massachusetts

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Proof of Origins

"William(2) Palmer, born 27 June 1638, son of the "young wife" [of William(1) Palmer Sr.] died in Dartmouth, Mass., in 1675; . He left no will. He married about 1662 Susanna ----, parentage not found.

NOTE: Research conducted after this 1955 article confirmed her identity and the names of her children with William Palmer.

"In the Colony Records we find the following references to the above William(2) Palmer which prove his identity."

"On 28 April 1659, William Palmer of Plymouth, cooper, son of William of Duxbury nayler deceased, acknowledged he had received of Mr. William Bradford, Mr. Edward Winslow and Mr. Thomas Prence..." in full of my portion left unto me by my father's last will," and released them from any further claims arising from said will [PC Deeds, II, pt. 2:26; see MD 14:13]^[1]

Biography

William(2) Palmer, born 27 Jun 1638 [not 1634 as elsewhere recorded], the second son by this name, of William(1) Palmer, the first son having been born in 1610 and died in 1636, two years before this one was born. This was seemingly a common practice. He was born after the death of his father, a 'posthumous' baby. William has an older (half) brother named William who is the son of his father with the first wife Francis (Unknown). The older of the William brothers married Elizabeth Hodgekins at Plymouth on 27 March 1634. ^[2]

He lived in Dartmouth, Massachusetts.

"On 24 March 1661, William Palmer of Accushenah [Darmouth], cooper, sold to Mr. John Barnes, yeoman, of Plymouth, "all that my home lott lying and being att Accushenah (25 acres of upland) with all the house, housing and fences thereon with three acres of meadow as yett unlayed out... except my right of Commonage..." [ibid., II, pt 2:86, see MD 17:42]

"William Palmer was named Constable of Dartmouth, 5 June 1666; surveyor of highways, 6 Jun 1671, and again the following year; one of the Selectmen with James Shaw and John Russell, 3 Jun 1674; listed as a freeman of Dartmouth, 29 May 1670. [PCR 4:123; 5:58, 144, 279]

Occupation

William Palmer's father was a nailor (he made nails). William the son was cooper. ^[3]See this interesting article at Colonial Williamsburg for a description of his trade, or this Wikipedia article with images: Cooper (Profession).

Marriage and Children

This William Palmer, second son of that name, married Susanna (Unknown) about 1662. ^[2] They had at least two sons, the eldest named William Palmer (3rd generation of that name). ^[3] His profile is in WikiTree as William Palmer III, and is currently attached to parents which are duplicates of this profile of William Palmer, cooper, and to a wife Mary, all of which need to be merged.

Death & Legacy

He was reported as having been killed by Indians during King Philip's War^[4] and buried at Fairhaven.^{[citation needed]}

His widow Susannah survived him and was named administratrix, with Arthur Hathaway, and the Court appointed John Russell and William Briggs as overseers. Inventory of his estate was dated 30 Jun 1675 [PCR 4, pt 1:32].^[5] Settlement of the estate 3 Jun 1679 [PC Court Orders, 6:13] shows the widow was to have the improvement of the whole until the children come of age and one-third of the personal estate forever and one-third of the lands until her decease; eldest son of a double portion and the other children equal shares of the remainder. Names of the children do not anywhere appear in these estate papers.^[6]

"No mention is his widow was found after date of settlement of his estate, 3 Jun 1679, and no birth records of their children have come to light, nor the number of children they had, but they must have been born in Darthmouth. However, it is certain that their eldest son was named William, and possibly another son was John, both of whom will be found in Little Compton."^[7]

Sources

1. ↑ Florence Harlow Barclay, "Notes on the Palmer Family of Plymouth," in The American Genealogist, vol 32(1955):39-45
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Robert Charles Anderson, p 1385
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Notes on the Palmer Family of Plymouth, TAG Vol 32 (1956), pages 44-45
4. ↑ Carlton A. Palmer, Jr, 'Susannah (Briggs) Palmer of Plymouth Colony and Little Compton, Rhode Island,' in Mayflower Quarterly, 50(1984):188-190
5. ↑ "Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Probate Records, 1633-1967," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-997D-V3XK : 14 March 2023), Wills 1633-1686 vol 1-4 > image 495 of 616; State Archives, Boston.
6. ↑ Florence Harlow Barclay, "Notes on the Palmer Family of Plymouth," in The American Genealogist, vol 32(1955):39-45
7. ↑ Barlow, op cit.

See also:

• Notes on the Palmer Family of Plymouth, Mrs. John E. (Florence Harlow) Barclay, TAG Vol 32 (1956), pages 39-45.
• The American Genealogist. New Haven, CT: D. L. Jacobus, 1937-. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .)

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