Jane (Turner) Godfrey (abt. 1632 - bef. 1684)

Born about 1632 in Lynn, Massachusetts Bay Colony [uncertain]

Ancestors

Wife of Richard Godfrey Sr. — married about 1650 in Weymouth, Massachusetts Bay Colony [uncertain]

Descendants

Died before 26 Mar 1684 before about age 52 in Taunton, Plymouth Colony [uncertain]

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Biography

Jane (her given name is presumed but unproven) Turner was born, presumably in Lynn, Massachusetts Bay Colony, about 1632, the daughter of John and Jane (Unknown) Turner. John Turner was mentioned as working in the Lynn ironworks in 1654, and in the Taunton forge by 1656.^[1][2] Her first name is surmised by Emery, in his 1893 History of Taunton to be "Jane," but no evidence for her given name has been found. As her mother's name and the given name of a daughter were Jane, she may well have been "Jane," but Roberts says only that she is Unknown Turner, no dates given.^[3]

She married Richard Godfrey of Taunton about 1650, before the birth of their first child about 1651.^[4] No marriage record appears to be extant. Richard's first wife's parents are proven by an itemization in the Taunton Proprietors records. On 12 October 1666 a list of the lands of John Turner mentioned the fifth item was described as "six acres more or less, ... at a place called the 'hamer beame,' being bounded ... on the north by a parcel of land, which I gave to my son in law Richard Godfrey..."^[5]

Richard married a second time on on 26 March 1684 in Taunton, so Jane was deceased before this date.^[6] But she probably died by 09 March 1670/1 when her sister Mary was referred to on her wedding day as the only daughter of John Turner.^{[citation needed]}

Together Richard & Jane Godfrey had children, order uncertain, including:^[4]

1. Richard, b. ca. 1651; m. Mary Richmond; d. 1725 Taunton.^[7]
2. Jane, b. ca. 1652; m1. Israel Woodward, m2. John Cobb.
3. John, b. say 1654; m. Martha Joyce
4. Susannah, b. say 1656; m. Edward Kettle/Cetill.
5. Alice, b. say 1658; m. Peter Holbrook
6. Robert, b. say 1660; m. Hannah Hackett.^[8]

Sources

1. ↑ Emery, Samuel Hopkins, History of Taunton, from Its Settlement to the Present Time, (Syracuse, N. Y., 1893), page 92.
2. ↑ Swift, Katharine Whitin, The Whitin Family: Historical Notes. (Whitinsville, Mass.: E. K. Swift, 1955). Page 61. (Link on Hathitrust.)
3. ↑ Roberts, Gary Boyd, Ancestors of American Presidents,(Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009).
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Ullmann, Helen Schatvet, "Richard(1) Godfrey of Taunton, MA, and his Children and Grandchldren," New England Historical and Genealogical Register Vol. 162 (July-Oct. 2008), pp. 187-199. Link by subscription to AmericanAncestors.org
5. ↑ Taunton Proprietors Records, 1639-1800, page 47
6. ↑ NEHGS, Vital Records of Taunton, Massachusetts to the Year 1850 (Boston, MA: NEHGS, 1978), Vol. 2:203.

   "Richard (Godfree) Sr. and Mary Phillips [T.P.R. Philips], wid., Mar. 26, 1684.*"

7. ↑ VRs of Taunton, Vol. 3:90.

   "Godfrey, Richard [dup. Godfree], h. Mary [T.P.R. Marcy], Aug. 14, 1725 [dup. a. 74]. [Godfree, a. 74, G.R.9.]"

8. ↑ Godfrey, Michael L. Footprints in the Sand: The Godfrey Story, page 12. Lulu.com (2012) Google Books.

See also:

* Cutter, William Richard, 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 (Lewis Historical Publishing Co., New York: 1915) {Volume & page needed}

Acknowledgements

Contributors: Jacky Gamble, Bobbie Hall