William Billings II (1660 - 1738)

Born 16 Feb 1660 in Stonington, New London, Connecticut Colony

Ancestors

Husband of Hannah (Sterry) Billings — married 1689 in Connecticut

Descendants

Died 8 Jul 1738 at age 78 in Preston City, Preston, New London, Connecticut Colony

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Becky Simmons [send private message]

Biography

This profile is part of the Billings Name Study.

This profile is part of the Stonington, Connecticut One Place Study.

Genealogically Defined

Birth

William Billing III, son of William Jr and Mary Billing, was born arounf 1659/60, in Stonington, Connecticut. ^[1][2][3]

Baptism

He was baptized on 1 Sep 1672, at New London.^[1][2]

Research Notes

 : According to James Shaw Billings: A Memoir, William and four of his siblings were baptized in Stonington, however, the church hadn't been established until June 3, 1764, so if the Baptisms were in Stonington, outside of their home, they could've only been in the meeting house, before it was established.^[3]

Marriage

: William married Hannah Sterry, daughter of Roger Sterry and Hannah Palmer, circa 1688/89.^{[1][2][4] [4]}

Children

Mary (Billings) Boardman; b. 24 Apr 1689^[1][2][4][5]

Joseph Billings; b. 28 Jun 1691/2^[1][2][4][6]

Prudence Billings; b. 12 Jun 1694; living unmarried in 1737^[1][2][4][7]

Reverend William Billings; b. 5 Feb 1697^[1][2]

Samuel Billings; b. 18 Aug 1699^[1][2][4][8]

Dorothy (Billings) Edwards; b. 05 Feb 1702^[1][2][4][9]

Rachel (Billings) Kennedy; b. 25 Mar 1704^[1][2][4]

Sarah Billings; b. 16 Sep 1705^[1][2]

Hannah (Billings) Putnum; b. 09 Jun 1706^[1][2][4]

Roger Billings; b. 9 Mar 1707/08^[1][2]

Ichabod Billings; b. 05 Sep 1710^[1][2][4]

Elizabeth (Billings) Avery; b 05 Jan 1712/13^[1][2][10]

Research Notes

• In 1683, Thomas Fanning and his next brother, John Fanning, inherited (from their father) the 100-acre Pukhunganuck Lot near Pendleton Hill, North Stonington. Connecticut. They sold this tract in July of 1701 to their brother-in-law William Billings of Preston [William's sister was married to their brother Edmund Fanning].^[11]

Reverend William Billings: birth was listed as February 16, 1697, in History of Stonington.^[4] Listed as February 15. 1697, on Family Search.^[12]

Rachel (Billings) Kennedy: birth listed as 01 Mar 1704, on Family Search.^[13]

Sarah Billings: date of birth is listed as 10 Sep 1705, in History of Stonington.^[4]

Hannah (Billings) Putnum: date of birth listed as 16 Sep 1705, on Family Search.^[14]

Roger Billings: date of birth listed as 19 Mar 1708, on Family Search.^[4][15]

Ichabod Billings: birth listed as 01 Sep 1710, and name transcribed as Jacobud.^[16]

Military Service

• William served as an Ensign March 15, 1704.^[1][2]

• He served as Captain October 11, 1716, in the Preston Company.^[1][2]

Profession

William was Deputy from Preston, May 13, 1703 and later.^[1][2]

Death & Will

Death

WIlliam died June 8. 1738, and is buried in Rixtown Cemetery in Griswold.^[1][2][17]

Will

In William's will, dated June 4, 1737, proven July 12,1738, he mentions his wife, Hannah; his sons: William, (who died in 1733), Joseph, Samuel, and Roger; his daughters: Mary Boardman, Prudence, :Rachel Kennedy, Hannah Clarke*, Elizabeth (Billings) Avery, and Dorothy Edwards; and his grandchildren: Dorothy Edwards, William Edwards, and Hannah the daughter of Samuel, (deceased).^[1][2]

Note

*It appears that Hannah married twice. Mr Clarke's first name has not yet been located.

• Fact: Christening (1 September 1672) New London, New London, Connecticut, British Colonial America
• Fact: Burial (8 June 1738) Rixtown Cemetery, Griswold, New London, Connecticut, British Colonial America
• Fact: 1672 was joint baptism with 3 other siblings, not infant christening
• Fact: http://familysearch.org/v1/LifeSketch William has a joint baptismal record with 3 other siblings (NOT the same as an infant christening record) in New London, Connecticut, in 1672. See attached under Sources.

Connecticut, Hale Collection of Cemetery Inscriptions and Newspaper Notices, 1629-1934 for William Billings (see attached source) indicates he died 1738 at age 74, which would give us an estimated birth year of 1664.

While it appears that William may have been born in New London (or at least baptized there), it appears that his children were born in Preston: 1. Mary has a birth record in Preston from 1689 2. Joseph has a birth record in Preston from 1692 3. Prudence has a birth record in Preston from 1694 4. William has a birth record in Preston from 1697 5. Samuell has a birth record in Preston from 1699 6. Dorothy has a birth record in Preston from 1702 7. Rachel has a birth record in Preston from 1704 8. Roger has a birth record in Preston from 1708 9. Ichabod has a birth record in Preston from 1710 10. Elizabeth has a birth record in Preston from 1713

In addition to the above, William also mentioned a daughter named Hannah in his will of 1737.

William has no marriage record. I have seen on the internet some people list his wife's maiden name as Sterry, but I can't find a decent source for this "information." Lots of unsourced secondary sources, but nothing primary. Does anyone have any better information?

In 1686, Thomas Parke, Thomas Tracy, and several others petitioned for and were granted by the Connecticut General Court authority to establish a plantation seven miles square to the east of Norwich and north of New London and Stonington. Owaneco, son of the Mohegan sachem Uncas, gave a confirmatory deed for the land in 1687. In October of that same year, the town was formally incorporated as Preston, named for the English city of Preston, Lancashire, which is interesting since William's own father was from Preston.

He was an ensign, 15 March 1704 and captain in the Preston Company, 11 Oct 1716.

William left behind a will dated 1737 with information about his family (see attached under Sources), including: 1. His wife Hannah 2. daughter Mary Boardman 3. daughter Prudence Billings 4. daughter Rachel Kennedy 5. daugher Hannah Clark 6. daughter Elizabeth Avery 7. daughter Dorothy Edwards 8. grandson William Billings. He actually had two grandsons named William, but I think he was referring to his son William's son. His son William died before 1737. 9. granddaughter Dorotha Edwards. I am not sure why she was singled out, except maybe the fact that her father was already dead. 10. granddaughter Hannah Billings, daughter of my son Samuell, deceased. She may be the only child of Samuel. 11. son Joseph Billings 12. son Roger Billings 13. son William Billings, deceased

Ichabod was not mentioned in his father's will, and I think had passed away by 1737 with no children.

The Connecticut, Hale Collection of Cemetery Inscriptions and Newspaper Notices, 1629-1934 for William Billings lists a death date for William of Ju___ 1738, age 74, and for his wife Hannah, Nov. 7, 1750, age 77. See attached under Sources.

The town of Griswold was originally the "northern" part of the town of Preston. As the local population grew, at the request of residents who had been travelling to Preston for church functions, the North Society was established in 1716. The town of Griswold was incorporated in 1815. While William was alive, where he lived was not yet Griswold.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19} The New England Historical And Genealogical Register For the Year 1927 Vol LXXXI; The Billings Family of Connecticut by Rev. Creighton Spencer-Mounsey. Published by the N.E. Historical /Genealogical at the Robert Henry Eddy Memorial Rooms, Boston; PG 159, #2. Available at the AmericanAncestors.
2. ↑ ^{2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19} Roberts, Gary Boyd, (Selected & Introduced by) (1983); Genealogies of Connecticut Families: From the New England HIstorical and Genealogical Register, Vol 1, Adams-Gates; Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, Maryland; Retrieved from: https://tinyurl.com/y9yhks8o
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Garrison, Fielding H. MD (1915); John Shaw Billings: A Memoir; G P Putnam's Sons, New York & London, The Knickerbocker Press; PG 404; Retrieved from: https://archive.org/stream/johnshawbilling00garrgoog#page/n433
4. ↑ ^{4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12} Wheeler, Richard Anson; (1900); History of the Town of Stonington, County of New London, Connecticut, from its first settlement in 1649 to 1900; Press of the Day Publishing Company, New London, Conn.; PG 234, #2; Retrieved from https://archive.org/stream/historyoftownofs00whee_1#page/n257
5. ↑ " Connecticut Births and Christenings, 1649-1906, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F7WX-SBQ : 11 February 2018), William Billings in entry for Mary Billings, 24 Apr 1689; citing ; FHL microfilm unknown.
6. ↑ Connecticut Births and Christenings, 1649-1906, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F74K-MMJ : 11 February 2018), William Billings in entry for Joseph Billings, 28 Jan 1692; citing ; FHL microfilm unknown.
7. ↑ Connecticut Births and Christenings, 1649-1906, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F7WX-3D7 : 11 February 2018), William Billings in entry for Prudence Billings, 12 Jun 1694; citing ; FHL microfilm unknown.
8. ↑ Connecticut Births and Christenings, 1649-1906, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F74K-MMY : 11 February 2018), William Billings in entry for Samuell Billings, 18 Aug 1699; citing ; FHL microfilm unknown.
9. ↑ Connecticut Births and Christenings, 1649-1906, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F7WX-3GS : 11 February 2018), William Billings in entry for Dorothy Billings, 05 Feb 1702; citing ; FHL microfilm unknown.
10. ↑ Connecticut Births and Christenings, 1649-1906, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F7WX-38R : 11 February 2018), William Billings in entry for Elizabeth Billings, 05 Jan 1712/13; citing ; FHL microfilm unknown.
11. ↑ Brooks, History of the Fanning Family (1905), Vol.2, p.607: [1]
12. ↑ Connecticut Births and Christenings, 1649-1906, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F74V-1Y3 : 11 February 2018), William Billings in entry for William Billings, 15 Feb 1697; citing ; FHL microfilm unknown.
13. ↑ Connecticut Births and Christenings, 1649-1906, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F7WX-32Z : 11 February 2018), William Billings in entry for Rachell Billings, 01 Mar 1704; citing ; FHL microfilm unknown.
14. ↑ Connecticut Births and Christenings, 1649-1906, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F7WX-3LY : 11 February 2018), William Billings in entry for Hannah Billings, 16 Sep 1705; citing ; FHL microfilm unknown.
15. ↑ Connecticut Births and Christenings, 1649-1906, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F74V-14Q : 11 February 2018), William Billings in entry for Roger Billings, 19 Mar 1708; citing ; FHL microfilm unknown.
16. ↑ "Connecticut Births and Christenings, 1649-1906," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F74V-1Y9 : 11 February 2018), William Billings in entry for Jacobud Billings, 01 Sep 1710; citing ; FHL microfilm unknown.
17. ↑ Find A Grave, database and images (findagrave.com : accessed 24 September 2018), memorial page for Capt William Billings (16 Feb 1660–8 Jun 1738), Find A Grave: Memorial #92114481, citing Rixtown Cemetery, Griswold, New London County, Connecticut, USA ; Maintained by John Beckstein (contributor 46939506).

• "Family Tree," database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : modified 17 July 2021, 22:24), entry for William Billings (PID https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/4:1:KNC1-71F ); contributed by various users.

See Also

• Dexter, Franklin Bowditch. Biographical Sketches of the Graduates of Yale College (Holt, 1885) Vol.1, Page 215

• Wikidata: Item Q109998356

Acknowledgments

• Profile created by Becky Simmons through the import of McCombs_Simmons Tree.ged on Mar 9, 2021.