Henry Samson (bef. 1604 - 1684)

Born before 15 Jan 1604 in Henlow, Bedfordshire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Anne (Plummer) Samson — married 6 Feb 1636 (to before 24 Dec 1684) in Duxbury, Plymouth Colony, New England

Descendants

Died 24 Dec 1684 after age 80 in Duxbury, Plymouth Colony, New England

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Biography

Henry Samson, the son of James Samson and Martha Cooper, was baptised at Henlow, Bedfordshire, England on January 15, 1603/4. ^[1][2] Henry's father, James, left him £5 in his 1638 will.^[3][4]

When Henry was about sixteen years old, he sailed on the Mayflower to Plymouth with his uncle and aunt, Edward and Ann (Cooper) Tilley.^[2][5]

Henry received one acre in the 1623 division of land as a Mayflower passenger and a division of cattle in 1627. He was the fifth person in the fifth company of Mr. William Brewster.^[6]

Henry Samson married Anne Plummer at Plymouth on 6 February 1635/6.^[7] Henry and Anne had nine children. Anne died sometime between December 24, 1668, when she acknowledged a deed, and December 24, 1684, when her husband Henry made his will.^[2]

Henry became a Plymouth freeman about the time he married. His name is on the "1633" Plymouth list of freemen between entries dated January 5, 1635/6 and March 2, 1635/6.^[8]

Henry Sampson volunteered to join the fighting against the Pequot Indians, in 1637, but the Pequots were defeated before the Plymouth troops were needed.^[2][9]

Henry and his family moved from Plymouth to Duxbury before 1639. His name is subsequently on lists of 1639, 1658 and 1670 in the Duxbury Sections of Plymouth Colony.^[10]

A 1643 list of men, able to bear arms in Duxbury, contained Henry's name.^[2][11]

Henry was active in public affairs. He served on numerous grand juries between June 1641 and October 1670.^[12] He also served as an arbiter (2 May and 4 Oct 1648), a surveyor (1649, 1650), constable (4 June 1661), and tax collector (5 Jun 1667 and 3 Jun 1668).^[13]

During his lifetime, starting about 1637/8, Henry acquired land through purchase and town grant. During the 1660s he specifically looked for land for his children.^[14]

On 24 Dec 1668 Henry Sampson of Duxborough sold land in Namasket to Edward Gray. His wife Ann acknowledged the deed.^[2]

Henry Sampson of Duxborough, planter, deeded land received from the town of Duxbury to his daughter Hannah Holmes, wife of Josiah Holmes on 20 May 1675.^[2]

Henry Samson died at Duxbury, 24 Dec 1684.^[15][2]

Henry made his will, signing by mark, on 24 10th month (December) 1684. In it, he mentions sons: Stephen, John, James, and Caleb; and daughters: Elizabeth, wife of Roberd Sprout; Hannah wife of Josias Holmes; a daughter, wife of John Hanmore; Mary, wife of John Summers; and Dorcas, wife of John Bony. Son Stephen was the executor and friend Mr. Wiswall was the overseer. The will was proved on 5 March 1684/85, and the inventory was taken on 24 12th m (February) 1684/5. The estate was valued at £106 14s, of which £70 was in land at Dartmouth. The inventory also contained what was referred to as a library.^[16][2]

Children

This is the order mentioned in Henry's will (sons then daughters). The Mayflower Society Five Generation Book and Anderson's Pilgrim Migration each list a different order and have different estimated births.

• Stephen
• John
• James
• Caleb
• Elizabeth
• Hannah
• Daughter (unnamed)
• Mary
• Dorcas

Research Notes

DNA

Y-DNA Results I-FTB4532^[17] Previous Y-STR testing through the Mayflower Society DNA Project and the Pilgrim Henry Samson Kindred DNA Project has identified a 111 Y-STR haplotype for the Mayflower Samson lineage, which belongs to the I-M223 Y-DNA haplogroup. Nevgen.org further refines this prediction to fall under I2a2a I-M223>P222>CTS616>CTS10057>Z161>FGC3575>S2452>L801>Z165>CTS1977>Y4946>BY526 (Y8935) with 100% probability. NGS/WGS testing will be able to confirm this assignment and further refine the clade. NGS/WGS testing Descendants of two different sons of Henry Samson and two descendants of his cousin Abraham Samson have taken the Big Y test. Their results confirms the haplogroup prediction from NavGen and assigns the two branches to a further subclade: Y12052>FTB708. Furthermore, the descendants of Henry Samson fall under the FTB4532 subclade of FTB708 while the descendants of Abraham Sampson fall under the FTB635 subclade of FTB708.

The FTB4532 mutation must have occurred either in Henry Samson himself, or his father, James. Likewise, the FTB635 mutation occurred within either Abraham Sampson or his father Lawrence. James and Lawrence were almost certainly brothers, but this Y-DNA evidence itself cannot prove this exact relationship.

Sources

1. ↑ "The Parish Register of Henlow 1558-1812" transcribed by Bedfordshire Archives and Records Service, published by Bedfordshire County Council
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8} Wakefield, Robert S. (editor). Mayflower Families Through Five Generations. Volume Twenty. Part 1 Family of Henry Samson. Robert Moody Sherman and Ruth Wilder Sheman (compilers).(General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 2000)
3. ↑ Ward, Robert Leigh. "English Ancestry of Seven Mayflower Passengers:" The American Genealogist. Vol 52. pp 206-207 (2007) Cites parish registers and James' will.
4. ↑ Anderson, Robert Charles. The Pilgrim Migration: Immigrants to Plymouth Colony 1620-1633. (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2004). pp 401-404 free link American Ancestors
5. ↑ Bradford, William. History of Plymouth Plantation (Massachusetts Historical Society, 1856) "Edward Tilley, and Ann his wife; and 2 children that were their cousins; Henry Sampson and Humility Cooper." "Edward Tillie, and his wife both dyed soon after their arrival; and the girle Humility their cousen, was sent for unto England, and dyed there. But the youth Henry Sampson, is still liveing, and is married, & hath 7 children. John Tilley and his wife both dyed, a litle after they came ashore." pp 449, p. 453 "Edward Tillie and his wife both dyed soon after their arivall; and the girle Humility, their cousen, was sent for into England, and dyed ther. But the youth Henery Samson is still liveing, and is maried, & hath 7, children."
6. ↑ Pulsifer, David. Records of the colony of New Plymouth, in New England. Deeds, &c. Vol 1 p. 1620-1651. Vol 12 of Series. (Boston: AMS Press, 1861) Vol. 12 p. 4, Vol 12. p 10
7. ↑ Plymouth Colony Records 1:36
8. ↑ Shurtleff, Nathaniel B. Records of the colony of New Plymouth, in New England; printed by order of the legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts by New Plymouth Colony. Vol. 1 Court Orders 1633-1640 (1855) Vol 1 p. 4
9. ↑ Plymouth Colony Records Vol 1. p. 61
10. ↑ Plymouth Colony Records. Vol 5: Court Orders 1668-1678 p. 275 "Henery Sampson", Vol 8: Judicial Acts 1636-1692 pp 175, 198.
11. ↑ Plymouth Colony Records Vol 1 p. 161
12. ↑ Anderson: Pilgrim Migration citing various Plymouth Colony Records
13. ↑ Anderson: Pilgrim Migration and citing various Plymouth Colony Records
14. ↑ Anderson Pilgrim Migrations citing Plymouth Colony Records 1:72, 1:144, 1:165, 2:119, 12:146, 2:177, 4:27, 67; 4:94, 5:5; 4:160:
15. ↑ Vital records of Duxbury, Massachusetts, to the year 1850. ( Boston, Mass. : Published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1911) p. 410
16. ↑ "Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Probate Records, 1633-1967," images, FamilySearch (20 May 2014), Wills 1633-1686 vol 1-4 > image 584 of 616; State Archives, Boston. Vol 4:2:94+95
17. ↑ MayflowerDNA.org wiki Y-DNA profile for Henry Samson

See also:

• Caleb Johnson's Mayflower History - Henry Samson
• Wikipedia article on Henry Samson (Sampson)
• Mayflower Increasings, 2nd Edition Author: Susan E. Roser Publication: Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1995. Repository: #R-199
• The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2010), (Originally Published as: New England Historic Genealogical Society. Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, 3 vols., 1995). (Subscription required.)
• Mayflower Births and Deaths, Vol. 1 and 2 [Ancestry.com. database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors. Original data: Roser, Susan E. Mayflower Births and Deaths: From the Files of George Ernest Bowman at the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants. Volumes 1 & 2. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, Inc., 1992.
• Bradford, William, 1590-1657. Of Plimoth Plantation: manuscript, 1630-1650. State Library of Massachusetts "List of Mayflower Passengers." In Bradford's Hand.
• >MayflowerDNA.org wiki and Y-DNA profile for Henry Samson

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