John Williams (abt. 1618 - abt. 1712)

Born about 1618 in Norfolk or London, England

Husband of Mary (Burley) Williams — married 29 Jun 1644 in Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut

Husband of Hester (Kelsey) Williams — married 10 Jun 1686 in Windsor, Hartford County, Connecticut

Descendants

Died about 1712 at about age 94 in Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut Colony

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John Williams migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Directory, by R. C. Anderson, p. 375) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Origins

• There is conflicting information about the parentage of John Williams; one source says he was son of Arthur Williams and Catherine;^{[citation needed]} another claims he was the son of Robert Williams and Elizabeth Stratton.
• One LDS ancestral files claims he was baptized 24 May 1618 at St. Giles at Cripplegate in London.^[1]
• Following Wikitree policy, we detach him from any parents until we can confirm with documentation.

Biography

One source says he was in Windsor as early as 1639.^{[citation needed]}

He supposedly emigrated on the ship "Rose" before 1644.^{[citation needed]}

"JOHN, Windsor 1639, m. 29 June 1644, Mary Burkly, if we follow Parsons in his spelling, Geneal. Reg. V. 364; but a more practised eye reads the name Brelly, Bralley, or Burlly, perhaps the same as Burleigh in our times; and we gain no light from the early dwellers at W. had John, b. 26 Mar. 1646; Nathaniel, 25 Oct. 1647; Rebecca, 20 Apr. 1649; Hannah, 13 Apr. 1651; Mary and Elizabeth tw. 5 Jan. 1653; Abiel, 2 Sept. 1655; and Abigail, 31 May 1658; and he d. 1665. Of the five ds. we kn. that Rebecca m. 1670, Obadiah Cooley of Springfield; Hannah m. 1677, Nathaniel Bancroft of Westfield; Mary m. 1678, John Gunn; Elizabeth d. in few wks.; and Abigail m. 1681, Edward Griswold; Abiel may have d. unm."^[2]

A session of the general court in Hartford, 11th day of March 1657/58: ... The listed person for Troopers presented to and allowe by this Court, under the command of Major John Mason, are as follows:... In Windsor, .... John Williams^[3]

John was born in 1616. He passed away in 1712. Three generations of the John Williams family of Westfield: http://josfamilyhistory.com/htm/nickel/griffin/sheldon/noble/dewey-williams.htm

"John, 1644, bo't 14 acres, next W. Pal. S. side ext. W. to top of hill: ho. opp. Backer Row road."^[4]

At a special court held at Windsor on 11 September 1676, John Williams, Joshua Holcomb, Nicholas Gozzard, and Nicholas Evans were ordered to post a £10 bond each for their appearance in court the first Wednesday in December next "to answer for their breach of peace."^[5]

Christening

Name: John Williams

Christening Date: 24 May 1618

Christening Place: St Giles Cripplegate, London, London, England

Father's Name: Robert Williams^[6]

Marriages

"... John Williams who married at Windsor, 29 June 1644, Mary Burlly. Mary (Burlly) Williams died 18 April 1681, having been married, as the record says, 37 years and sometime later this John Williams married again, this time to that Ester or Hester ----, who had married, first, James Eggleston (Bigod), and second as 4th wife, James Enno or Eno aforesaid. John Williams died in 1712 aged 96 and Esther/Hester died in 1720."^[7]

Children

1. John Williams, born March 26, 1646
2. Nathaniel Williams, born October 25, 1647
3. Rebecca Williams, born April 20, 1649; married Obadiah Cooley
4. Hanna Williams, born April 13, 1651; married Nathaniel Bancroft of Westfield
5. Mary Williams (twin), born January 5, 1652; married in Westfield, January 22, 1678, Captain John Gunn, son of Thomas Gunn who was born in Windsor, July 8, 1647.^[8]
6. Elizabeth Williams (twin), born January 5, 1652; died young
7. Abiel Williams, born September 2, 1655
8. Abigail Williams, born May 31, 1658; married Edward Griswold in 1681

Death and Burial

There is confusion concerning the date of death of John Williams. However, his will is dated 10 February, 1707-8, and an inventory of his property (apparently for probate) was taken 14 May, 1712, by Benajah Holcomb, Thomas Griswold and Nathaniel Hosford. I have dated his death in 1712.

Buried in Palisado Cemetery, Windsor, Hartford County, Connecticut, USA

Plot: Founders Monument

Find A Grave Memorial# 34507279: [2]

There is also conflicting information about his death:

• The same LDS Ancestral file cited for his Cripplegate baptism claims he died 6 Oct 1658, again without support.
• The biography quoted above (still seeking source origin) claims he died in 1665.
• Other biographies indicate he married second after the 1681 death of his first wife Mary, Ester and that both lived into the 1700s.^[9]

Sources

1. ↑ LDS Ancestral File 51041506; Date: 1 APR 2008
2. ↑ A genealogical dictionary of the first settlers of New England showing three generations of those who came before May, 1692, on the basis of Farmer's Register by Savage, James, 1784-1873; Making of America Project; Farmer, John, 1789-1838; Dexter, O. P. (Orrando Perry), 1854-1903 Publication date 1860-62 Publisher Boston, Little, Brown and company Vol 4 p. 561 Williams entry
3. ↑ Public records of the colony of Connecticut, pp. 308-209:
4. ↑ History of Ancient Windsor, p. 168
5. ↑ Descendants of the Founders of Ancient Windsor, Family of Thomas Holcombe. 2006. Compiled by James Hallowell Holcombe Jr. page 8. Archived in WayBack Machine 28 March 2018
6. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch [1]; citing St Giles Cripplegate, London, London, England, reference ; FHL microfilm 380,199.
7. ↑ McPherson, Holcombe Genealogy, Page 89.1. See also The American Genealogist 56:169. [Holcombe Family:https://web.archive.org/web/20180328181911/http://www.holcombegenealogy.com/DFAW/DFAW-Holcombe.pdf Archive from 28 March 2018]
8. ↑ Westfield and its historic influences: 1669-1919: p. 91:
9. ↑ McPherson, Holcombe Genealogy :(Archive from 28 March 2018, Page 89.1. See also The American Genealogist 56:169.

See also:

• James A Savage, A Genealogical Dictionary of The First Settlers of New England, showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May, 1692, on the Basis of Farmer's Register, Volumes I - IV. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, 1977; Vol ??, p. ??
• Robert Charles Anderson, George F. Sanborn, Jr., Melinde Lutz Sanborn, The Great Migration Begins and/or The Great Migration, Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS); 1999-2005 [check], p. ??
• Edgar J. Bullard, Bullard and Allied Families, Private Publisher, Detroit; 1930; Call # CS71.B936x, p. ??
• "Pedigree Resource File," database, FamilySearch entry for John WILLIAMS (accessed 5 October 2012).

Acknowledgements

• WikiTree profile created by Julie Shafer on Sunday, May 18, 2014.

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