William Wetherell (abt. 1600 - 1684)

Born about 1600 in Yorkshire, England [uncertain]

Husband of Mary (Fisher) Wetherell — married 26 Mar 1627 in Canterbury, Kent, England

Descendants

Died 9 Apr 1684 at about age 84 in Scituate, Plymouth Colony

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William Wetherell migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Great Migration (Series 2), by R. C. Anderson, vol. 7, p. 318) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

William Wetherell was born about 1600 in England.^[1]

• It has been suggested that he was the son of William Wetherill and Mary Rogers.^{[citation needed]} None of the sources used mention this relationship. Anderson's Great Migration sketch makes no mention of parents.^[2]

William Wehterell matriculated sizar from Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, Easter of 1619. He was from Yorkshire and received his B.A. 1622/3 and his M.A. in 1626. Before his migration he was the schoolmaster at Maidstone, Kent.^[3]

William married Mary Fisher in 1625 in St Mildred, Canterbury, England.^[4]. They had three children in England and another six born in America.

William and Mary and their three children Samuel, Daniel, and Thomas emigrated to America aboard the ship Hercules and in the ship's register he is recorded as "Schoolmaster" from Maidstone, England. ^[5] They arrived in 1634 or before and by 1635, William was employed in a grammar school at Charleston in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He then taught at Cambridge for the next two years.

In 1638, the family moved to Duxbury in Plymouth Colony. On 8 January 1638, William purchased from Edward Hall, a dwelling house and garden place lying between the lands of Mr. Roger Partridge and Nicholas Robins.^[6]

In 1644, they moved on to Scituate in Plymouth Colony. On September 2, 1645, he was ordained as the first minister of the church organized there. From then on, the church records are in his hand until 1674.

Children:^[2]

1. Samuel Wetherell bp Maidstone, Kent, 5 Dec 1628; m. 8 Mar 1677/8 Isabel (_____) Hiland, widow of Samuel Hiland
2. Daniel Wetherell b. Maidstone, Kent, 29 Nov 1630, bp Maidstone 3 Dec 1630; m. 4 Aug 1659 [New London] Grace Brewster, dtr of Jonathan Brewster
3. Mary Wetherell b. say 1635; m. Scituate 22 Dec 1656 Thomas Oldham
4. Elizabeth Wetherell b. say 1637; m Scituate 22 Dec 1657 John Bryant.
5. John Wetherell b. say 1640; m. by 1675 Hannah (Pinson) Young, dtr of Thomas Pinson and widow of George Young.
6. Theophilus Wetherell b. say 1642; m. Scituate 9 Nov 1675 Lydia Parker, dtr of William
7. Sarah Wetherell b. Scituate 10 Feb 1644/5 bp. Scituate 2nd Church 7 Sep 1645; m. Hingham 21 Dec 1668 Israel Hobart
8. Hannah Wetherell b. Scituate 20 Feb 1656/7 bp Scituate 2nd Church 28 Feb 1646/7; no further record. She was not the wife

William Wetherell "our late pastor" died April 9, 1684, in Scituate^[7]

Probate

His will is dated 29 March 1684 and exhibited at the court at Plymouth on 4 June 1684. He mentions his sons, John, and Theophilus, his grandsons, Samuel and Josiah, sons of his son, Samuel, eldest, late deceased, his granddaughter, Hannah, daughter of his son Samuel, decd., his son Daniel, his daughter Sarah Hubbert, and his daughter in law Isabell Wetherell, widow of his son Samuel, decd. His inventory was taken on 21 May 1684^[8]

Research Notes

According to this source, he may be a son of Unknown Wetherill.^[9]

Sources

1. ↑ Unless otherwise cited, information in this profile is from Benton, pp. 52-3
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Great Migration 1634-1635, T-Y. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2012.) Originally published as: The Great Migration, Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume VII, T-Y, by Robert Charles Anderson. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2011. p. 321
3. ↑ Venn, John. Alumni cantabrigienses; a biographical list of all known students, graduates and holders of office at the University of Cambridge, from the earliest times to 1900; Cambridge, University Press, 1922. p. 375
4. ↑ England, Selected Marriages, 1538-1973, FHL Flim No. 1751627.
5. ↑ Hotten: James C. The Original Lists of Persons of Quality; Emigrants; Religious Exiles; Political Rebels; Serving Men sold for a term of years; apprentices; children stolen; maidens pressed; and others who went from Great Britain to the American Plantations, 1600-1700 : with their ages and the names of the ships in which they embarked, and other interesting particulars; from mss. preserved in the State Paper Department of Her Majesty's Public Record Office, England, London, England, 1874, Intro p. xix
6. ↑ "Massachusetts Land Records, 1620-1986," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89Z7-5Z84 : 22 May 2014), Plymouth > Deeds 1620-1651 vol 1 > image 66 of 239; county courthouses and offices, Massachusetts.
7. ↑ Vital records of Scituate, Massachusetts, to the year 1850. Boston, Mass. : Published by the New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1909 p. 467
8. ↑ "Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Probate Records, 1633-1967," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G97D-V3Q4 : 16 March 2023), Wills 1633-1686 vol 1-4 > image 603 of 616; State Archives, Boston.
9. ↑ Witherell, Peter Charles, History and genealogy of the Witherell/Wetherell/Witherill family of New England : some descendants of Rev. William Witherell (ca. 1600-1684) of Scituate, Plymouth Colony, and William Witherell (ca. 1627-1691) of Taunton, Plymouth Colony, published 1976. Reference page 140

See also:

• Benton: Benton, Charles Edward, Ezra Reed and Esther Edgerton: Their Life and Ancestry, A.V. Haight Company, 1912 On Archive.org
• Find A Grave: Memorial #62662813 Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 26 August 2019), memorial page for Rev William Witherell (1600–9 Apr 1684), Find A Grave: Memorial #62662813, citing Second Church Graveyard, Norwell, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, USA ; Maintained by Chip5610 (contributor 46997557).
• Merrick, Barbara Lambert,auth.; "Genealogy of Eunice Stetson," Unpublished2002, pg 5. Copy held by Roy S. Lamberton
• Hall, Virginia. Rev. William Witherell, M.A., of Scuituate, Mass., The Genealogical Advertiser (Lucy Hall Greenlaw, Cambridge, Mass., March, 1898) Vol. 1, No. 1, Page 21
• Source: S1500 Media: Internet GED: Witherell, Naphtali a23403.ged Publication: Ancestry.com OneWorldTree