John Saunders (abt. 1616 - aft. 1674)

Born about 1616 in Wiltshire, England

Husband of Esther (Rolfe) Saunders — married 1638 in Amesbury, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Descendants

Died after 1674 after about age 58 in Wiltshire, England

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John Saunders migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Directory, by R. C. Anderson, p. 295) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Disambiguation

• A. John Sanders: Unknown; 1622; Wessagusset (Weymouth [GMB 1525]. Sent to Massachusetts Bay by Thomas Weston and left in charge during the winter of 1622/3. No known children. No Wikitree profile.
• B. John Sanders: Unknown; 1636; Salem; m. Elizabeth Grafton; d. 1643 [TEG 23:229-35]
• C. John Sanders: Unknown; 1638; Salisbury; Married Hester Rolfe; Returned to England 1655. [TEG 23:229-35]
• D. John Saunders: Unknown; 1634; Ipswich, Hampton, Wells, Cape Porpus; m. Ann d. 1670 [GM 2:6: 165-71]
• E. John Saunders Unknown; 1639; Piscataqua. Mentioned in the will of Jonathan Weymouth [GDMNH 606]. No Wikitree profile.
• F. John Sanders of Lynn died intestate. Admin granted 28 June 1670. Inventory 29 Nov 1670. No Wikitree profile. Essex County Probate 2:193 ($)
• The John Saunders married to Alice Coles is not any of these men.

This particular John appears as "Sanders" in Anderson's "Great Migration Directory" on page 271 with an Unknown origin, arrival by 1638 to Salisbury and the note that he returned permanently to England in 1655.^[1]

Biography

John Saunders immigrated to New England between 1621 and 1640 and later departed for England

Immigration

Passengers Intended for New England in the good ship Confidence of London, 200 tons, John Jobson, master, 11 April 1638. Southampton 24 April 1638.^[2]

John Sanders of Lanford [Langford] in the County of Wilts, Husbandman, 25

Sara Sanders his wife (see notes below, some research indicates this was not his wife but his sister)

John Cole, 40

Roger Easmen, 25, servant

Richard Blake, 16, servant

William Cottle, 12, servant

Robert King, 24, servant

Next on the ship list was the Rolfe family^[2]

John Roaff of Melchitt [Millchill] Parke of Wilsheir, Husbandman, 50

Ann Roaff his wife

Hester Roaff, their daughter

Thomas Whittle their servant, 18.

PackratPro gives this entry for the "Confidence":

Sanders, John, 25, husbandman of Caversham, Oxfordshire, or Landford Wiltshire, wife Sarah^[3] again noting that some consider Sara to be his sister, not his wife.

Marriage or Marriages

Maybe First: A wife Sara sailed on the Confidence with John. Sara died soon, for John remarried late in 1638 or early in 1639.

David Webster Hoyt author of The Old Families of Salisbury suggested that Sarah may have been his sister, Sarah Sanders who married Maj. Robert Pike in 1643.^[4] If indeed Sara the first wife was, instead, his sister Sarah (Sanders) Pike then this John was the son of John Saunders and Alice (Coles) Saunders.

Second: John married Hester Rolfe, daughter of John, who sailed on the Confidence with him. Their first child was born Sep 1639.

John Rolfe left his daughter and son-in-law property in Salisbury in his 1663 will. "2dly I give and bequeath my house and all my land I have in salsbery with all the priviledges and apurtenances be longing ther vnto in said salsbery unto my daughterr Hestur Sanders the wife of John Sanders during hir life and thirtie pounds more and after hir decease to Remain unto hir Children of hir body by Equall portions."[1,10]^[5]

Massachusetts

• 6 Sep 1638 "Mr Bradstreete, Mr Dudley junior, Capt Dennison, Mr. Clarke of Newberry, Mr. Woodbridge, Mr Battye, Mr Batter, Mr Winsley, Hen: Bily, Giles Firman, Richrd Kent, and John Sanders are alowed (upon their petition) to begin a plantation at Merrimack ..."^[6]
• 5 Nov 1639 another petition to Massachusetts Colony was made by inhabitants of Colechester, appointing John and five others to order the business fo the town making sure that lots are divided evenly.^[7]
• 13 May 1640 Henry Saunders and others of the Salisbury settlers were given freeman status by Massachusetts Bay.^[8]
• 1642 John was appointed as Deputy to the Massachusetts Court from Salixbury^[9]
• 1 Mar 1642 John sold land in Salisbury to Edward French.^[10]
• 10 May 1643 He was appointed with two others to deal with small claims in Salisbury under 20s.Records of Massachusetts Bay Vol 2. p. 35
• 28 Dec 1643 John Sanders "of Salisbury" was director of the estate of Robert Marston.^[10]
• 1 March 1644 John "of Newbury" sold 13 acres in Salisbury.^[10]
• 1647 Magistrate for Newbury.^[10]
• 1649 Selectman of Newbury.^[10]
• 30 Sep 1652 He sold his house at Salisbury with the consent of his wife Hester.^[10]
• 1653 sold several parcels of land in Salisbury.^[10]
• 1654 John was a representative to the General Court of Massachusetts.^[10]

Return to England and Death

John and Hester returned to Wiltshire, England, permanently in 1655. They left kinsman^[11]Richard Dole to act as their agent in New England. They were both still living in 1676 when they signed documents for Dole.^[12]

They resided in England at Weeks, parish of Downton, Wiltshire, England.^[13]

Children "Sanders"

1. Hester Sanders b. Sept. 5, 1639.^[14]
2. John Sanders b. July 1, 1641, Salisbury;^[14] d. young.[4]
3. Ruth Sanders b. Dec. 16, 1642, Salisbury.^[14]
4. John Sanders b. Dec. 10, 1644, Salisbury.^[14]
5. Sarah Sanders b. about Aug. 20, 1646.^[15]
6. Mary Saunders b. June 12, 1649, Newbury.^[15]
7. Abigail Saunders, b. Apr. 12, 1651, Newbury^[15]
8. Joseph Sanders b. Aug. 28, 1653, Newbury.^[15]
9. Elizabeth Sanders b. Jan. 26, 1654, Newbury.^[15]

Research notes

Great Migration Directory: Sanders, John: Unknown; 1638; Salisbury; returned permanently to England in 1655 [Drake’s Founders 58; SyTR 1; MBCR 1:237, 277, 376; TEG 23:229-35].

Sources

1. ↑ Great Migration Directory by Robert Charles Anderson, page 271 entry for John Sanders
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Drake, Samuel Gardner, Result of some researches among the British archives for information relative to the founders of New England : made in the years 1858, 1859 and 1860; originally collected for and published in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, and now corrected and enlarged (Boston : Office of the New Eng. Hist. and Gen. Register, 1860.) p 58
3. ↑ PackratPro passenger list for the "Confidence" sailing of 1638
4. ↑ Hoyt, David Webster. The old families of Salisbury and Amesbury, Massachusetts; with some related families of Newbury, Haverhill, Ipswich and Hampton (Providence, R.I. : [Snow & Farnham, printers], 1897) [https://archive.org/details/cu31924025963772/page/n323 bio and footnotes p. 309.
5. ↑ Essex County, MA: Early Probate Records, 1635-1681.Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015. Vol 1 p. 438 Link at AmericanAncestors ($)
6. ↑ Shurtleff, Nathaniel. Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England Volume 1 1628-1641 (William White, Boston, 1853-)p. 237
7. ↑ Records of Massachusetts Bay Vol 1 p. 277
8. ↑ Records of Massachusetts Bay Vol 1 p. 376
9. ↑ Shurtleff, Nathaniel. Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England Volume 2 1642-1649 (William White, Boston, 1853-) p. 1
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7} Sanders, Barbara Brett. "The Three John Sanders Who Came to Essex County, MA in the 1630s" The Essex Genealogist 23: 229. Link at AmericanAncestors ($)
11. ↑ Hester's cousin, Hannah (d/o Henry Rolfe) m. Richard Dole.
12. ↑ "Correction to NEHGR 113 p. 223 and The Essex Genealogist Nov 2003. p. 233." The Essex Genealogist 27 p. 94 Link at AmericanAncestors ($) The error stated that John died in Newbury 8 Feb 1664.
13. ↑ “New England families, genealogical and memorial: a record of the achievements of her people in the making of commonwealths and the founding of a nation” Volume 4 by William Richard Cutter p 2039- 2040 (Note this are a lot of errors but it is worth a read).
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3} Vital records of Salisbury, Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1849. (Topsfield, Mass., Topsfield historical society, 1915) p. 213
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4} Vital records of Newbury, Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1849. Salem, Mass. : Essex Institute, 1911. pp 459, 461

• Baptism for John of Downton. 1613. "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N63C-HJ6 : 6 December 2014), John Saunders, John Saunders; citing Downton, Wiltshire, England, reference 18; FHL microfilm 1,279,387.
• The Pioneers of Massachusetts (1620-1650)
• The founders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony: a careful research of the earliest records of many of the foremost settlers of the New England colony” by Sarah Sprague Saunders Smith pages 17 42,54, and 55.

link.download pdf This book has been called well-intentioned but has conflated the several John Sanders.

• John Saunders of Salisbury at Geni