John Masters (abt. 1584 - 1639)

Born about 1584 in England [uncertain]

Husband of Jane (Unknown) Masters — married 1606 in Aldenham, Hertfordshire, England

Descendants

Died 21 Dec 1639 at about age 55 in Cambridge, Massachusetts Bay Colony

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John Masters migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See Great Migration Begins, by R. C. Anderson, Vol. 2, p. 1234) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Disputed Origins & Marriage

While there was a John Masters born 8 March 1581 at Bath, Somerset, England, son of John Masters (no mother given but assumed to be Elizabeth Thompson),^[1] and there was a John Masters who married a Jane Coxe on 4 Dec 1597 in Bath, Someret, England,^[2] there is no proof that these records refer to the John Masters who emigrated to Massachusetts in 1630.

Birth place Aldenham, Hertfordshire, England is unsourced.

In his letter of 14 Mar 1630/1 to Lady Barrington, Masters noted that she and her family had 'desired me to write of this country...' he also stated that 'Sir Richard Saltonstall hath put me in place to oversee his great family, with his worthy son' [NEHGR 91:68-69; Letters of NE 83-85] These comments, and the entire tenor of the letter, indicate that Masters had in the past been n service to one or more of the Puritan gentry families of Essex, and his origins should be sought there."^[3]

Biography

What we do know is this:^[3]

He emigrated in 1630, settling initially in Watertown, where and when he was a member of Watertown church.[WJ 1:97]

Some say he was on the Arabella and referred to a passenger list, but there was no such list. [this needs checking]

That he came with Winthrop is probably assumed given that he first appears in Massachusetts records in 1631.

He was made a freeman 18 May 1631.[MBCR 1:366]

He removed to Cambridge by 1633 where he granted land in 1633, 1635 and 1636.[CaTR 5, 13, 18] By 1639 he had acquired three more parcels.[CaBOP 29, 53]

He was a tavernkeeper.[MBCR 1:159]

John Masters died on 21 December 1639 at Cambridge, MA, at age 58.[NEHGR 4:181]^[4]

Last Will & Testament

Dated 19 Dec 1639 proved unknown date.[SPR 1:11]

• to my wife all my estate...
• after her decease to my daughter Sarath Dobyson
• my daughter Lidya Tabor
• my grandchild John Lockwood
• to Nathaniell Masters [no relation given; Anderson says grandson]
• to Abraham Masters [no relation given; Anderson says grandson]
• residue to my daughter Elizabeth Latham

Children

Children of John and his wife, poss. Jane:^[3]

1. (poss.) Son, b abt 1606; possibly predeceased his father and left sons Nathaniel and Abraham who were named in John Master's will.
2. Sarah, b abt 1609; m. ____ Dobyson
3. Elizabeth Masters, b abt 1612; m1 by Nov 1632 Edmund Lockwood; m2 aft 3 Mar 1634/5 and 1639 Cary Latham
4. Lydia Masters, b abt 1615; m by 1639 Philip Tabor

Above are the only known children of John Masters. Some include the child below (without evidence, the name was included in John Master's will). Robert C. Anderson reports Nathaniel and Abraham as grandsons, sons of John's eldest (name unknown):

• Nathaniel Masters

Research Notes

Name: John Masters^[5][6][7]
Birth: 1581 Aldenham, Herts, England^[8], 1584 Aldenham, Herts, England^[5][6][9][8]
Event: Departure 1630^[6], Arrival 1630 Massachusetts^[10], Arrival 1631 Watertown, Massachusetts^[10]
Residence: Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts^[6], 1633 Cambridge^[6]
Marriage: MA^[8], 1617^[5], 1606 EN^[8] Death: 21 DEC 1639 Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts^{[5][11][6][9][12][7]}
Burial: 25 APR 1641 St Bride's, Fleet Street, London, England^[12]

Sources

• Anderson, Robert Charles. "John Masters," Featured name. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633. (NEHGS, 1995) AmericanAncestors.org LINK Volume 2, Page 1234.
• Call, Simeon. Genealogical History of the Call Family in the United States. (Joker Printing Co., Emington, Illinois, 1908) Additions and Corrections, Archive.org Page 10.
• Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England ... (Boston: 1860-1862) Archive.org vol. 3 pp. 170-71.
• Stewart Simonson Simonson Family Tree - John Masters (WorldConnect), last updated 14 Jan 2012 (accessed 19 Aug 2014)
• Representative Men and Old Families of Southeastern Massachusetts. (J. H. Beers & Co., 1912) Vol. 1, Archive.org Page ?? (There is no John Masters OR Jane Cox in the index of this book.) Archive.org Vol 1, Page 205 and Vol 3, Page 1443 Re: daughter Lydia
• Yates Publishing, U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 (Provo, UT, USA, The Generations Network, Inc., 2004)
• NEHGR: The New England Historical & Genealogical Register, 1847-2011 (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Provo, UT, USA, 2011)
• Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Provo, UT, USA, 2011)
• New England, The Great Migration and The Great Migration Begins, 1620-1635 (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Provo, UT, USA, 2013)
• Torrey, Clarence Almon. Torrey’s New England Marriages Prior to 1700 (Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. Baltimore, 1985)
• London, England, Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812 (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Provo, UT, USA, 2010) London Metropolitan Archives, St Bride Fleet Street, Register of burials, 1595-1653
• Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, U.S. and Canada, 1500s-1900s (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, Provo, UT, USA, 2010) 1630 Watertown, Massachusetts, Page 1234. 1630 Massachusetts, Page 80. 1631 Watertown, Massachusetts, Page 190.
• England, Select Marriages, 1538–1973 (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Provo, UT, USA, 2014)
• Find A Grave memorial #?

Footnotes

1. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," index, FamilySearch John Masters (accessed 20 Aug 2014), bp 08 Mar 1581; citing BATH ABBEY, BATH, SOMERSET, ENGLAND, reference ; FHL microfilm 845236
2. ↑ "England Marriages, 1538–1973 ," index, FamilySearch John Masters and Jane Coxe (accessed 20 Aug 2014), m 04 Dec 1597; citing Abbey Or Saint Peter And Saint Paul, Bath, Somerset, England, reference ; FHL microfilm 0845236 IT 1, 865132
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Anderson, Robert Charles. "John Masters," Featured name. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633. (NEHGS, 1995) AmericanAncestors.org LINK Volume 2, Pages 1234-36.
4. ↑ Vital Records of Cambridge, Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1849 (Boston:1915), p. 654.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3} Torrey
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5} New England, The Great Migration
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} NEHGR
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3} Yates
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} Find A Grave
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} Passenger and Immigration Lists
11. ↑ Mass., Town Vital Records
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1} London, England, Baptisms, Marriages and Burials