William Freeborn (abt. 1594 - 1670)

Born about 1594 in Maldon, Essex, England

Husband of Mary (Wilson) Freeborn — married 25 Jul 1625 in St. Mary, Maldon, Essex, England

Husband of Mary (Perkine) Freeborn — married 30 Nov 1629 in St Mary, Maldon, Essex, England

Descendants

Died 28 Apr 1670 at about age 76 in Portsmouth, Newport County, Rhode Island

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William Freeborn migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Great Migration (Series 2), by R. C. Anderson, vol. 2, p. 573) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

William Freeborn was born in England.

William was a Friend (Quaker)

William Freeborn is Notable.

William FREEBORN born 1594 in Maldon, Essex, England; he died 28 April 1670 in Portsmouth, Rhode Island and married 25 July1625 at Maldon, Essex, England to Mary Wilson. ^{[1] [2]}

They had one daughter Mary prior to his wife Mary's death. She was buried at St. Mary, Maldon on October 11, 1629. ^[2]

After Mary's decease, William married second, Mary Perk(in?)e the following month, on November 13, 1629. ^[2]

Prior to emigration, William was the owner of the Manor of Batisford, Witham, County of Essex, England, with mansion house "of great antiquity", which stands in the middle of the town of Witham, Essex County, on the right side of the road going from Colchester to Chelmsford. It is said that the house was built early in the 16th century and was reconstructed in the 17th century. It is on Witham (others say Newland) Street. It was sold to Dr. George Boseville on 20 December 1633.^[3]

The family of John Freeborne owned the manor of Batisfords, in Witham, which passed to William Jackson, of Witham in 1693, whose wife was Sarah, daughter of Lawrence Brown, of Wickham Bishops. (See Nos. 400 and 405.) ^[4]

William Freeborn, age 40, emigrated on the ship Francis of Ipswich on 30 Apr 1634 with wife Mary, 33 and children Mary, 7; Sarah 2; and one John Albury, 14.^[5]

It is believed that William FREEBORN left his native England to come to the primitive New World because of religious persecution. ^[6]

He settled initially at Roxbury, Massachusetts, where son Gideon may have been born.

On 7 March 1637/8, William Freeborn, with 18 other planters, among them Clement Weaver, original purchasers of Rhode Island, signed the compact which marks the foundation of the Colony at Portsmouth, R. I.: "We whose names are underwritten do hereby solemnly in the presence of Jehovah, incorporate ourselves into a Bodie Politick and as He shall help, will submit our persons, lives and estates unto our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and to all those perfect and most absolute laws of His, given us in His holy word of truth, to be guided and judged thereby."

"On 1637/38 February 19. Thomas Dudley to John Winthrop. Is agreeable, with certain qualifications, to the proposal that William Coddington and others of the Antinomian faction be allowed to leave Massachusetts. Antinomian controversy, permission to Coddington and others to leave Massachusetts. Released from fines as long as they depart by 13 March never to return. The persons named in this letter had all been supporters of Wheelwright and Mrs. Hutchinson during the controversies of the previous year."

Men listed:

William BAULSTON - BALSTONE, BOSTON

Richard CARDER

John COGGESHALL - COXAL

William FREEBORNE

Edward HUTCHINSON ^[7]

Five days later, he and eight of the other signers, "because the opinions and revelations of Mr. Wheelwright and Mrs. Hutchinson have seduced and led into dangerous errors many of the people of New England," were by sentence of the General Court on 9 mo. 20th, 1637, ordered to deliver up all firearms and by act of Assembly of 12 March 1638 were for their convictions formally banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. ^[8]

He helped survey Rhode Island in 1639, and was elected Freeman in Portsmouth (along with Jeremy Clarke) on 16 Mar 1641. On 1 December 1641, Jeremy Clarke and William Freeborn were members of the Grand jury in Portsmouth, and in 1642 William Freeborn was Constable. On 10 December 1649 he received a grant of 140 acres in Portsmouth conditioned only that he must build a house within a year. In 1655 he purchased a mill from James Sands and Samuel Wilbor; this mill remained in the family until after 1800. On 19 May 1657 he was elected a member of the General Court of Commissioners and the same year was a member of the Rhode Island Assembly.

He was a member of the "Bodie Politick" that formed the first Government of the State of Rhode Island. ^[9]

He is listed as age 80 at the time of his death in 1670. ^[10]

Associations

John Walker and William Freeborne followed the same migration sequence in New England, from Roxbury to Boston to Portsmouth. William Freeborne witnessed the will of both John and Katherine Walker, was a minor legatee in the will of the latter, and witnessed the deed between the sons-in-law of John and Katherine. As passengers in 1634 on the Francis of Ipswich [Hotten 278-79], the Freebornes were probably from Essex or Suffolk. If the association noted here derives from a prior relationship in England, then the origin of the Walkers should be sought in the same two counties.

The Freeborns were members of the Society of Friends.

Children

by Mary Wilson

1. Freeborn-5| Mary]] baptized at St. Mary's, Malden on January 28, 1626/7; married Clement Weaver by 1650. ^[1]

by Mary Perk(in)e

1. Sarah baptized on October 2, 1631; married Nathaniel Browning by 1652 ^[1]; died at Portsmouth ^[11] before May, 1670. ^[12]
2. Gideon baptized on November 20, 1633, buried on December 1, 1633. ^[2]
3. Gideon born about 1639 ^[1]; died at Portsmouth on February 27, 1719. ; married first, Sarah Brownell on June 1, 1658 ^[11]; married second, Mary Lawton, widow of John Lawton and daughter of Matthew Boomer at Portsmouth on June 3, 1678. ^[13]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Anderson, Robert C., George F. Sanborn, Jr., and Melinde Lutz Sanborn. William Freeborn in: Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume II, C-F, New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts, 2001, p. 573-5 (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.)
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} West, Randy A., William (1) Freeborn, of Roxbury and Boston, Massachusetts, and Portsmouth, Rhode Island: An Update, in: The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 177, Boston, Massachusetts, 2023, p. 395
3. ↑ Vaughn, Don, 4, Thomas and Mary (Vaughn) Weaver, John and Gillian’s fifth child (accessed 02 Apr 2024).
4. ↑ Page 155 Transactions of the Essex Archaeological Society, http://esah1852.org.uk/images/pdf/new-series/T2140000.pdf
5. ↑ Source: Founders of New England, pp. 53-54
6. ↑ Descendants of East Tennessee Pioneers", written by Olga Jones (Wear) Edwards and Ina Wear Roberts. (2nd edition) pages 280
7. ↑ Winthrop Papers. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2016.) Originally published as: Winthrop Papers. Boston: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1929 -; Vol 4 p. 14.
8. ↑ Descendants of East Tennessee Pioneers", written by Olga Jones (Wear) Edwards and Ina Wear Roberts. (2nd edition) pages 280
9. ↑ Local and Family Histories: New England, 1600-1900s; The descendants of Thomas Durfee of Portsmouth, RI, Vol. II, Part I, pg. 123
10. ↑ Arnold, James Newell. Rhode Island Vital Extracts, 1636–1850. 21 volumes. Providence, R.I.: Narragansett Historical Publishing Company, 1891–1912. Digitized images from New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts.
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1} Arnold, James N. Editor. Vital Record of Rhode Island : 1636-1850 : First Series : Births, Marriages and Deaths : a Family Register for the People, Vol. 7: Friends and Ministers. Narragansett Historical Publ. Co., Providence, Rhode Island, 1895, p. 16: 90: 102
12. ↑ Fiske, Jane Fletcher. Portsmouth Loose Papers in: Rhode Island Roots, Volume 22, Rhode Island Genealogical Society, Warwick, Rhode Island, March, 1996, p. 4-5 (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2012.)
13. ↑ Arnold, James N. Editor. Vital Record of Rhode Island : 1636-1850 : First Series : Births, Marriages and Deaths : a Family Register for the People, Vol. 4: Part I: Portsmouth. Narragansett Historical Publ. Co., Providence, Rhode Island, 1892, p. 28

• Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England (New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, 1995) Vol 2, C-F p 573
• Arnold, James Newell. Rhode Island Vital Extracts, 1636–1850. 21 volumes. Providence, R.I.: Narragansett Historical Publishing Company, 1891–1912. Digitized images from New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts.
• Austin, John O. The Journal of William Jefferay, Gentleman (E. L. Freeman & Sons, 1899) Page 126: "Apr. 28, Thursday. Mr. Freeborn, of Portsmouth, died, leaving one son to bear his name."
• Category: Great Migration Ships - WikiTree Page
• Category: Francis, 1634 - WikiTree page listing passengers of the ship Francis
• Drake, Samuel G. Result of Some Researches Among the British Archives for Information Relative to the Founders of New England: Made in the Years 1858, 1859 and 1860, Originally Collected for and Published in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, and Now Corrected and Enlarged, by Samuel G. Drake. (Boston: H. W. Dutton & Son, 1860). Free copy at Archive.org. See passenger list of the ship Francis (1634) of Ipswich on p. 54.
• Edwards, Olga Jones (Wear) and Ina Wear Roberts. "Descendants of East Tennessee Pioneers" (2nd edition) page 280
• Harrold and Related Family Research - Index of Family Surnames - William Freeborn
• History of Newport here
• O'Gorman, Ella Foy. Some Ancestors of Edwin Wallace Swindell and His Wife Joy Lorraine Hoover of Berkeley, California (1936). See Freeborn pp. 28 - 30.

• https://web.archive.org/web/20090722074610/http://pages.prodigy.net/reed_wurts/heraldry/weaver.htm
• WFT Vol. 1 Tree # 0684 dated May 30, 1995
• William Freeborn (Settler) - Wikipedia
• William Freeborn (settler) - WikiVisually
• Winthrop Papers. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2016.) Originally published as: Winthrop Papers. Boston: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1929 -; Vol 4 p. 14.