John Welles (1537 - bef. 1618)

Born 1537 in Ringstead, Northamptonshire, England

Descendants

Died before 18 Mar 1618 before age 81 in Ringstead, Northamptonshire, England

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Biography

The parentage of John Wells is unknown, ^[1] as is his birthdate and place.

He had at least one sibling, a brother Thomas, who was the overseer of his will in 1618.

John's wife may have been the "Hellene" Wells [Helen or Ellen] buried at Ringstead on 22 May 1612: ^[2]

"Hellene Wells wyfe of John Wells buriede this xxij th of May [1612]

John was a yeoman farmer at the time of his death. He owned land which he left in his will in trust to his grandson John Morton.

He was the father of

• Isabel Wells and grandfather of Richard, John and William Tuttle who emigrated to the colonies on the Planter in 1635. Isabel and her husband Symon Tuttle were mentioned in John Well's 1618 will.^[3]
• a daughter who married a Morton (mentioned in his will)
• a daughter who married a Barwick / Barwek (a grandson "Custby Barwek" is of age to have borrowed eight pounds in money from his grandfather)

John Wells was buried 18 March 1617/8^[4]

Will

Abstract of the Will of John Wells of Ringstead, Northamptonshire. ^[5]

In the name of god amē th xxth daye of January å dm 1617 I John Well of Ringstede in ye coutye of Northampt yeomã in health & pfct memory prasing god do make this my last will & testamēt ... first I comend my soul into the hands of almightie god ... my body I commend to the earth ... as for my worldly goods I dispose as followeth

In primis I give to John Mortõ my grandchild ... land wch I bought of Willm morton... [the will mentions that John is not yet twelve and that his father should take care of it]

It I give to Richard Tootell my grandchild ... [Richard in turn is to pay 16 shillings each year to the churchwardens of Ringsted to be given to the poor]

It I give to Etheldred mortõ my grandchild

It I give to my daughtr mortõ

It I give to Elizabeth mortõ my grandchild

It I give to my daughtr Tootell my second bedstede my second fetherbede & all the second furniture for that bede my third & fourth chars my rede capser [?] six of the next peces of pewtr ye second candlestick my best table cloth & my best salt.

It I give to Richard Tootell my grandchild ... [goods]

It I give to Willm mortõ my grandchild ... [goods]

It I give to Willm Welles & John welles my brother Thoms his sones (money)

It I give to Thomas Tootell Simõ Tootell and will Tootell my grandchildren besids the thre cowes I delivred to their father for them To every of them in mony eughten poūds

It I give to every of my godchildren twelve pence.

It I give to Anna mortõ my grandchild [goods]

It I give to Simõ Tootle & willm mortõ my sones in lawe ...

I give to Richard Tootell my hoggscales

It I give to Custby Barwek my grandchild ye eygh pouds he othe me & xis yt Robert Matley oweth me And I give to Lewys Barwek my grandchild in monye tene pounds

It I give to Thomas welles my brother in mony twenty pouds to bar the charges of my buriall to distribute to the poor at his discressiõ & the rest in considratiõ of his paines to what use he thinketh good.

It wheras John portr at ye town end othe me 22s I give him ye 2s & I give to will Creatõ Jane Lowe and Isabell portr my sone Tootles servants to every of them 3s4d & to John Botcher [?] & Robt finson my sone mortons servants to either of them 5s.

It I give to Richard Tootell ... to Simõ Tootell ye younger ... to Elizabeth mortõ ... To Etherldred mortõ ye youger & to Wlll mortons 3 daughters ...

All the rest ... I give to Simõ Tootell & willm mortõ my sones in lawe who I make executors ... I ordaine Thoms welles my brother & michaell welles his sone ovrsers

John Welles

Witnessed Tho: welles, John Botcher, Robt finson Proved 25 Mar 1618.

The sixteen shillings which Richard Tuttle was to pay the churchwardens each year became part of a charitable institution known as the Ringstead Gift: ^{[6] [7]}

"The Ringstead Gift is administered by the incumbents and churchwardens and two other trustees in conformity with the provisions of a Scheme of the Charity Commissioners of 2 August 1864. This charity was formerly called the Charity Estate, but its origin is unknown. The property consists of 27 a. o r. 5 p. of land in Ringstead let to various tenants and producing in 1924 £44 16s. 4d.

The Scheme directed that three-fourths of the net income should be applied to educational purposes and the remaining fourth for the benefit of the deserving poor.

A sum of 16s. a year understood to have been given by a person named Wells is paid out of the Drayton Estate by Mr. William Dodson of Woodford Mill, Ringstead. This is applied as part of the Ringstead Gift."

Children and Grandchildren

The Children and Grandchildren of John Welles of Ringstead, from his will and with supplemental information from the parish registers.

• Daughter Wells and Euseby Barwick John's will refers to grandson Custby Barwek. This may be a mistranscription of "Euseby", as John Welles did have a grandson named Eusebe (ie Eusebius), baptised in 1591.
  • Robert Barwicke baptised 20 November 1586^[8]
  • Etheldred Barwick baptised 28 September 1589^[9]
  • Eusebe Barwick baptised 23 June 1591^[10]
  • Lewas Barwicke baptised 28 February 1593/4^[11]
• Etheldred: The will of John Welles refers to "Ethedred Morto[n] y^e you[n]ger", which suggests Etheldred's mother may have also been named Etheldred. This is confirmed by the 1595 marriage between William Morton and Etheldred Wells. Etheldred Wells married William Morton 13 July 1595, in Ringstead.^[12]
  • John Morton baptised 20 May 1596^[13]
  • Elizabeth Morton baptised 26 December 1597^[14]
  • Etheldred Morton baptised 18 December 1599^[15]
  • John Morton baptised 12 November 1609^[16] In the bequest to grandson John Morton, it refers to his being under 12 years old: "I will y^t his father shall have use of yt till y^e said John be twelve yers of age". This is consistent with John Morton's 1609 baptism.
• Isabel Wells married Simon Tuttle
  • Richard
  • Thomas
  • Simon
  • William Tootell baptised 26 December 1607^[17]
  • John was not named in his grandfather Welles' will, but was named in his father's will.

Research Notes

Hellene Wells as the wife of this John Wells.
There is no other John Wells in the parish register, and a wife who predeceased him would fit with John making no mention of his wife in his will. The burial and marriage records were recorded amongst the baptism records for the years 1607 to 1617. The parish clerk at this time used the terminal E liberally on many words.
If this is Hellene is John's wife, it is not known whether she was his only wife or the mother of his children.

Incorrect Connections

Because nothing is known definitely of John's parents or wives, gaps have been filled with incorrect information.

Non-parents Thomas Welles and Elizabeth Bryan Welles who were residents of Stourton, Whichford, Warwickshire, England, and did not have a known son John.

Not Johannes (John) Welles, who had a least one child, Philippa in 1670 at Howden, Yorkshire.

Not married to "Jane Antrobus, b. 1541, Ringstead, Northamptonshire, England (the parish registers start in 1569) d. 1572, England (Age 31 years) allegedly Married: 1562 Ringstead, Northamptonshire, England

Not married to Jennet Lawtie, b. 1545, Howden, Yorkshire, England, d. 15 Mar 1570, Howden, Yorkshire, England (Age 25 years); Married: 04 May 1564 Howden, Yorkshire, England

Not married to Alice Hunt, b. 1543, Essex, Lancashire, England, d. 05 Jul 1615, Whichford, Warwickshire, England (Age 72 years); Married: 1572 Whichford, Warwickshire, England

Not the father of:

• Thomas Welles, b. 1566, Essex, Lancashire, England, d. 26 May 1620, Colchester, Essex, England (Age 54 years)
  
• Robert Welles, b. 1575, Of, Warwickshire, England, d. 10 Jun 1627, Whichford, Warwickshire, England (Age 52 years)^[18]

Sources

1. ↑ Douglas Richardson, Tuttles Revisited, II Notes on Simon Tuttle and John Wells, The American Genealogist, 1983, Vol 59, page 215.
2. ↑ Hellene Wells in: Parish register of Ringstead, Northamptonshire, England 1569-1660. Northamptonshire Record Office; Northampton, England; Register Type: Parish Registers; Reference Numbers: 280P/1. Image accessed on Ancestry.co.uk 14 July 2020 Free sharing image
3. ↑ Donald Lines Jacobus, Hale, House and Related Families, Mainly of the Connecticut River Valley, Hartford, 1952, pages 771-772. William Tuttle, New Haven, Connecticut
4. ↑ FreeUKGenealogy, Parish Registers, database, FreeREG (www.freereg.org.uk : accessed 1 March 2020), John WELLS buried 18 March 1617/8, Ringstead, Northamptonshire, full record.
5. ↑ "John Tuttle of Ipswich, Massachusetts. TAG 54:169 (1978)
6. ↑ 'Parishes: Ringstead', in A History of the County of Northampton: Volume 4, ed. L F Salzman (London, 1937), pp. 39-44. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/northants/vol4/pp39-44 [accessed 15 July 2020].
7. ↑ Website of the Ringstead Parish Council, accessed 15 July 2020 https://www.ringsteadpc.org.uk/findmynearest,942813.html
8. ↑ FreeUKGenealogy, Parish Registers, database, FreeREG (www.freereg.org.uk : accessed 1 March 2020), Robert BARWICKE baptised 20 November 1586, Ringstead, Northamptonshire, full record.
9. ↑ FreeUKGenealogy, Parish Registers, database, FreeREG (www.freereg.org.uk : accessed 1 March 2020), Etheldred BARWICK baptised 28 September 1589, Ringstead, Northamptonshire, full record.
10. ↑ FreeUKGenealogy, Parish Registers, database, FreeREG (www.freereg.org.uk : accessed 1 March 2020), Eusebe BARWICK baptised 23 June 1591, Ringstead, Northamptonshire, full record.
11. ↑ FreeUKGenealogy, Parish Registers, database, FreeREG (www.freereg.org.uk : accessed 1 March 2020), Lewas BARWICKE baptised 28 February 1593/4, Ringstead, Northamptonshire, full record.
12. ↑ Church of England – Ringstead Parish (Northamptonshire, England), General Register 1569-1660, William Morton married Etheldred Wells 13 July 1595; "Northamptonshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1532-1812," database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 1 March 2020), Image 34 of 48 (subscription); citing 280P/1, Northamptonshire Record Office.
13. ↑ FreeUKGenealogy, Parish Registers, database, FreeREG (www.freereg.org.uk : accessed 1 March 2020), John MORTON baptised 20 May 1596, Ringstead, Northamptonshire, full record.
14. ↑ FreeUKGenealogy, Parish Registers, database, FreeREG (www.freereg.org.uk : accessed 1 March 2020), Elizabeth MORETON baptised 26 December 1597, Ringstead, Northamptonshire, full record.
15. ↑ FreeUKGenealogy, Parish Registers, database, FreeREG (www.freereg.org.uk : accessed 1 March 2020), Etheldred MORETON baptised 18 December 1599, Ringstead, Northamptonshire, full record.
16. ↑ FreeUKGenealogy, Parish Registers, database, FreeREG (www.freereg.org.uk : accessed 1 March 2020), John MORETON baptised 12 November 1609, Ringstead, Northamptonshire, full record.
17. ↑ FreeUKGenealogy, Parish Registers, database, FreeREG (www.freereg.org.uk : accessed 1 March 2020), Willm TOOTELL baptised 26 December 1607, Ringstead, Northamptonshire, full record.
18. ↑ http://www.turlingtons.org/getperson.php?personID=P9103&tree=turlingtons1

See also:

• Mildred Bradford, Moses S. Curtis Descendants and Ancestors, Baltimore, 2000.
• <http://familypedia.wikia.com/wiki/John_Wells_(1537-1618) />
• <http://www.ourfamtree.org/browse.php/John-Wells/p273044 />
• More about the Ringstead Gift and the administration of the charity here accessed 15 July 2020

Acknowledgements

• This person was created through the import of Peterson.ged on 22 September 2010.
• Thanks to Ellen Blackwell for starting this profile.
• Thank you to Susan Ketcham for creating WikiTree profile Wells-4275 through the import of Ketcham Family Tree (3).ged on Mar 20, 2013.
• Additional information from the parish registers Added by Donnelly-2171 05:08, 1 March 2020 (UTC)