Nathaniel Weare Sr (abt. 1605 - 1681)

Born about 1605 in England

Husband of Sarah (Unknown) Weare — married about 1629 in England

Descendants

Died 1 May 1681 at about age 76 in Nantucket, Nantucket, Massachusetts Bay Colony

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Nathaniel Weare Sr migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Directory, by R. C. Anderson, p. 362) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

Nathaniel Weare is assumed to have originated in England, but his birth year and local origin are not known. He appears in Newbury, Massachusetts Colony in 1637.^[1]

Nathaniel appears in a few Newbury town records, but his son Nathaniel also appears in those records, beginning about 1653. The Weare surname name was pronounced "wire", and was sometimes recorded as "Wyer". There were other Weare / Wyer / Wier / Wire early immigrants.^[2] Perhaps it was the paucity of records on this Nathaniel that led early biographers to impute a variety of relations and children to this Nathaniel. Over time, most have been disproven.

Nathaniel married Sarah (Unknown) in England about 1629, based on the birth of their first known child.^[3]

Sarah and Nathaniel had known children:^[4][5][6]

1. Esther (1629-1718), married Benjamin Swett ^[7], then Steven Greenleaf ^[8]
2. Nathaniel (ca.1631-1718), married Elizabeth Swain ^[9]
3. John, death recorded in Newbury: "Wyer, [John. S. dup.] Oct 12, 1653"; ^[10]
4. Mary (1638-1714), married John Swain ^[11]

Children Esther and Nathaniel were born in England, and Mary was born in Newbury. John seems to be accepted as a child of Sarah and Nathaniel, but the only record found for him was the cryptic death record shown above, perhaps the record that was used by Noyes, et.al. in the "GDMNH" entry for Nathaniel, cited above. If that John was a son of Nathaniel and Sarah then he would have been born in England in, say, 1635.

The spouses of Nathaniel Jr. and Mary were siblings, children of Richard Swain, one of the purchasers of Nantucket in 1659. In 1661 Richard Swain moved to Nantucket with sons John and Richard and their families. Richard sold his Hampton land to Benjamin Swett, husband of Nathaniel's daughter Esther. The root cause of the move was their adherence to Quakerism.^[12] In 1662 Nathaniel Sr. sold land to his son Nathaniel and also moved to Nantucket, likely for the same reason. In his book "Nantucket lands and land owners", Henry Worth describes Nathaniel's land on Nantucket and his estate.^[13] However, he makes the common error of confusing Nathaniel with his son Nathaniel, who did not move to Nantucket but removed to Hampton about 1662.

Nathaniel died on 1 May 1680-81 in Nantucket.^[14] There is an unsourced Find A Grave (168646150) date of 1682 for Sarah's death, which was certainly on Nantucket. She was the administrator of Nathaniel’s estate.

Research Notes

The father Peter Weare (-1653) and mother Sarah (Unknown) Weare (bef.1584-) have been disconnected from this profile, as there is no proof of the identities of Nathaniel's parents.

The association of Peter Weare of York, Maine as the brother of Nathaniel Weare, Sr. has been disproven.^[15]

The son Peter Weare that was linked to this profile appears to be entirely fictitious, a conflation of Peter of York, Maine and Peter, son of Nathaniel's son Nathaniel Jr.

The son Robert Weare that was linked to this profile was perhaps the Robert of Dedham, no known relation and too old to be a son of Nathaniel Sr.

The son Daniel Weare that was linked to this profile was the son of Peter Weare of York, and is a duplicate for the profile that Daniel.

Sargent's "Weare family of Hampton, New Hampshire" cited herein lists some spurious children, but it is used because it first lists Esther and Nathaniel.

Sources

1. ↑ Robert Charles Anderson, FASG. “The Great Migration Directory", New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015, page 604: “Weare, Nathaniel: Unknown; 1637; Newbury, Nantucket [NeTR 21; Farr Anc 311-13; Putnam’s Mag 6:245-51; GDMNH 726].”
2. ↑ The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1847-. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2018.); "Families of Weir or Wire in New England, Particularly of Charlestown, Mass.", Vol. 25 (1871); page 246
3. ↑ New England Marriages to 1700. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015. TEXT : WEARE, Nathaniel (-1681) & Sarah ____ (-1682+); by 1629; Newbury/Nantucket {GDMNH 726; Olcott (1937) 16; McIntire Anc. 58, 81; Weare 2; Sanborn Anc. 25; Brownell Anc. 147; Cram 32; Putnam's Mag. 6:249; Farr Anc. 311}; [1]
4. ↑ "Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire, Vol. 5", Noyes, Libby, Davis; 1928-1939; p 726. FamilySearch Book: 281315
5. ↑ Putnam's Magazine, Vol. 6 Page 249
6. ↑ "The Weare family of Hampton, New Hampshire and North Yarmouth, Maine", Sargent; 1879; Page 3
7. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QG1K-WXC6 : 6 May 2022), Benjamin Swett and Hester Weare, 1 Nov 1647; citing Marriage, , Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007009724.
8. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QG1K-4JX8 : 6 May 2022), Steven Greenleaf and Esther Swett, 31 Mar 1679; citing Marriage, , Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007009724.
9. ↑ "Massachusetts Marriages, 1695-1910, 1921-1924", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FH12-2FL : 28 July 2021), Nathaniell Weare, 1656.
10. ↑ Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1620-1850 (Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2016). [2]
11. ↑ "New Hampshire Marriage Records, 1637-1947," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FLFS-TVX : 22 February 2021), John Swain and Mary Wyre, 15 Sep 1660; citing , Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics, Concord; FHL microfilm 1,001,301.
12. ↑ The American Genealogist. New Haven, CT: D. L. Jacobus, 1937-. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .) Vol. 74 (1999), "The English Origin of Richard Swain of N.H. and Nantucket", page 274
13. ↑ "Nantucket lands and land owners", Henry B. Worth, Nantucket, Mass., Nantucket Historical Association, 1901-1913; page 79; "Internet Archive"
14. ↑ Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1620-1850 (Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2016). TEXT : Nath[anie]ll (Wire) Sr., Mar. 1, 1680-1. [Nathaniel Sr., 1st, 3 mo. 1680, P.R.63.] [3]
15. ↑ "Ancestry of Colonel John Harrington Stevens and his wife Frances Helen Miller", Holman, Mary Lovering, 1948; page 77