John Isham (abt. 1654 - 1713)

Born about 31 Mar 1654 in England or Virginia [uncertain]

Husband of Jane (Parker) Isham — married 16 Dec 1687 in Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died 3 Sep 1713 at about age 59 in Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts Bay Colony

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Biography

John Isham was supposedly born March 31, 1654, probably either in England or Virginia. He married Jane Parker in 1687 in Barnstable, Massachusetts Colony (see the Family section for more details), and died in Barnstable September 3, 1713.

His origin is not known.^[Origin]

John Issum was living in a house in the boundaries of Barnstable by May 26, 1686.^[1] In December of probably the next year, 1687, he married Jane Parker, and they had nine children at Barnstable.^[2][Family]

John was admitted as a townsman at Barnstable on March 4, 1691/2,^[3] and signed as "John Isum" as a witness to the May 11, 1692 (11: 3: 1692) will of Ralph Joans, a Quaker.^[4] Braniard wonders if these two events suggest, along with the fact that no records of him exist at the Congregational Church at West Barnstable, that John was not a member of the established church and possibly had sympathies or ties to the Quakers.^[5]

John was listed as not receiving an addition of land on January 30, 1693/4, however it was recorded that he had one acre.^[6] He received an acre in the town division on January 12, 1696/7.^[7]

His "two acres right of marsh one of his own & one that Deacon Crocker bequeathed to him" near "Oyster Island" was described and granted at a town meeting August 4, 1697.^[8] Isaac was a "south-sea" man, his lands located on the southern coast of Barnstable.^[9] His land was mentioned as adjacent to land granted elsewhere in the town records.^[10][11]

On February 19, 1702/3, John Issum is recorded as having 20 3/4 of 6000 of the town's shares in the undivided land.^[12]

John Isum wrote his will June 1, 1713,^[13][Will] and three months later on September 3, 1713, John Issum, Sen^r died.^[2] The inventory of his personal estate was taken September 29, 1713, and was valued at £159-16-6.^{[14][Inventory]} His estate was brought to probate on October 10, 1713.^[15]

Family

John married Jane Parker in December 1687 at Barnstable, and had nine children there. No date was given for their last four children, though the order of their names in the record is preserved here. The revised dates are listed below.^{[2][Vital Record Error]}

1. Jane, b. October 7, 1689
2. John, b. August 25, 1691
3. Isaac, b. February 1692/3
4. Sarah, b. December 1694
5. Mary, b. June 1697
6. Hannah, b. abt. 1699
7. Patience, b. abt. 1701
8. Joseph, b. abt. 1703
9. Thankful, b. abt. 1705

Will

John Isum's will was written June 1, 1713,^[13] and was transcribed into court record October 10, 1713.^[15] It's likely the original will and inventory was destroyed in the Barnstable county house fire in 1827.

The following was transcribed from the court transcription:^[13]

Signed John Isum, and witnessed by Jonathan Russel, John Jenkins, and John Phiney Jur.

Signed John Isum, and witnessed by Jonathan Russel, John Jenkins, and John Phiney Jur.

Inventory

John Isum's inventory was taken September 29, 1713,^[14] and was transcribed into court record October 10, 1713.^[15] It's likely the original will and inventory was destroyed in the Barnstable county house fire in 1827.

His personal estate was valued at £159-16-6.

The following was transcribed from the court transcription:^[14]

Research Notes

An account of John Isham exists in Braniard's A Survey of Ishams In England and America.^[16] A similar account exists in Phinney's Isham genealogy, A brief history of Jirah Isham.^[17] .

A Mrs. Almeda (Isham) Potter had in her possession and sent to Braniard an Isham genealogy written by her father, John Isham (1776-1856), as recalled by his father, Timothy Isham (1725-1812). This genealogy (though not published), was viewed by both Braniard and Phinney, and connects Timothy and all his known Isham cousins back to John Isham of Barnstable.^[18] Phinney quotes what Almeda Potter had to say about the genealogy:^[19]

The genealogy of the Isham family as far back as we can trace it is as follows:

My great-great-grandfather came over from England and settled in Barnstable, Mass. He had three sons, John, Joseph, and Isaac. John settled in Eilington, Conn. He had one son Benjamin. Joseph settled in Colchester, Conn. He had two sons, Joseph and John. Isaac who was my great-grandfather settled on the old place in Barnstable. He had seven sons who all lived to be 70 and upwards.

Origin

Braniard has this to say about John Isham's birthday:

The date of John Isham's birth was furnished by the late George H. Loveland, formerly of New Haven, Conn. The source from which Mr. Loveland obtained it he did not reveal. It was probably from Freeman's Annals of Cape Cod, but the source Mr. Freeman used is unknown. It cannot be, if not correct, very far from the true date.

Freeman's Cape Cod mentions John Issum once in vol. 2, however it does not mention his birthday.

The origin of John Isham of Barnstable is unknown. Braniard discusses this in his Isham Genealogy. ^[20] He mentions three "traditions regarding his origin":

1. Isham brothers who settled briefly in Massachusetts, then to Connecticut and Virginia

   This origin has no historical basis

2. A Captain John Isham who settled in Barnstable, and sent letters back to England

   This is a fabricated story with no evidence of it based in fact

3. A cabin boy John Isham, either bound to or from Virginia, was able to escape to Massachusetts

   Though possible and romantic, there are no facts and there is no way to confirm this. Braniard does mention that there was a James Percival who ran away from Virginia to Barnstable in 1670 by boat. He likely had some kind of crew, though there is no evidence of who they were.

Despite Braniard's investigation he could not conclude an origin for John Isham, but was able to eliminate the claimed direct connections to the landed family in England.

There is no source for his birth in Massachusetts, England, or Virginia, despite other genealogies claiming as such.

Vital Record Error

The town records of Barnstable were transcribed in 1736,^[21] and into the new book in 1895.^[22] The originals either lost or destroyed.

In the (existing copies of the) Barnstable town records, The marriage of John and Jane was given as in 1677, and their children born 1679, 1681, 1682[/3], 1684, 1687, [say 1689], [1691], [1693], [1695]. Only the day for the first two were recorded, and the last four children's dates were not recorded at all, though their names were.^[2] It's possible that the original records were damaged, and this propagated through to the 1736 and 1895 copies - not only in the years and days not being recorded, but the year itself. In the margins of the records is written "10 years too old" - evidentally someone had noticed that these dates were ten years off what they aught to have been. Brainard discussess this in his Isham genealogy.^[23]

If these days are adjusted by moving them forward ten years, then the family and their ages make more sense. Jane Parker was born in 1664 - she is much more likely to have been 17 than 7 when she was married and started her family. This date revision also makes sense for all their children. Joseph, the youngest child, was not yet 14 in 1713 when John made his will. While his birth year wasn't recorded, by its ordering and assuming a child every two years, would make it 1693 by the error count, or 1703 adjusted (aged 20 or 10 at the time of the will). The adjusted years make sense with Joseph's age in John's will.

Sources

1. ↑ Barnstable Town Records, vol. 1, p. 299, as John Issum.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Barnstable Town Records, vol. 1, pp. 387-388.
3. ↑ Barnstable Town Records, vol. 1, p. 159, as John Issum.
4. ↑ Barnstable Co. Probate Records, vol. 1, p. 62, will of Ralph Joans
5. ↑ Brainard, pp. 109-110
6. ↑ Barnstable Town Records, vol. 1, p. 209, as John Issum.
7. ↑ Barnstable Town Records, vol. 1, p. 224, as John Isham.
8. ↑ Barnstable Town Records, vol. 1, p. 231, as John Issum in text, as John Isum as signed.
9. ↑ Freeman, vol. 2, p. 281
10. ↑ Barnstable Town Records, vol. 1, p. 256, as John Issum.
11. ↑ Barnstable Town Records, vol. 1, p. 268, as John Isum.
12. ↑ Barnstable Town Records, vol. 1, p. 292, as John Issum.
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1 13.2} Barnstable Co. Probate Records, vol. 3, pp. 282-283 , will of John Isum
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1 14.2} Barnstable Co. Probate Records, vol. 3, p. 284, inventory of John Isum
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1 15.2} Barnstable Co. Probate Records, vol. 3, pp. 283-284, probate of John Isum
16. ↑ Brainard, p. 106-115
17. ↑ Phinney, pp. 4-9
18. ↑ Brainard, preface, p. ii
19. ↑ Phinney, p. 3
20. ↑ Brainard, p. 106-108
21. ↑ Brainard, p. 110
22. ↑ Barnstable Town Records, vol. 1, p. i
23. ↑ Brainard, p. 115

• Brainard, Homer Worthington. A Survey of the Ishams in England an America; Eight Hundred and Fifty Years of History and Genealogy (Tuttle Publishing Company, Inc., Rutland, Vermont, 1938)
• Phinney, Mary Allen. Isham Genealogy, A Brief History of Jirah Isham (Tuttle Pub. Co., Rutland, Vt., 1940) Page 4
• Freeman, Frederick. The History of Cape Cod. The Annals of Barnstable County, Including the District of Mashpee. (Geo. C. Rand & Avery, Boston, 1858)
• Town Records (Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts), 1895 transcript. Barnstable Town Hall. Digital Images. FamilySearch. DGS film 007009780, items 2-3 ("Town records, 1640-ca.1855 [Barnstable, Massachusetts]")
• County of Barnstable Probate Records (Massachusetts). Barnstable County Registry of Probate. Digital Images. FamilySearch. DGS film 007705400 ("Probate records, 1686-1894")
• Myers, Marya & James, Jr., Donald W., A New Look at The Family of Francis and Philip James of Hingham: Immigrant Ancestors, The New England Historical & Genealogical Register (NEHGS, Boston, Mass., 1997) Vol. 151, Page 69.