John Whitcomb Jr. (abt. 1626 - 1683)

Born about 6 Aug 1626 in Taunton, Somerset, England

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Unknown) Moore — married 19 May 1669 in Lancaster, Worcester Co, MA

Descendants

Died 6 Apr 1683 at about age 56 in Lancaster, Worcester, Massachusetts Bay Colony

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Biography

John Whitcomb Jr. immigrated to New England as a child during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640).

John, son of John Whitcomb, was baptised 6 August 1626 at St James, Taunton, Somerset. ^[1]

"John Whitcomb, Jr. was born in England (no date given) and has been regarded as the oldest son of John...."^[2] The family emigrated to Massacusetts in 1635 from Weymouth, sailing on the Hopewell and settling first in Dorchester.^[3]

"John Senior and John Junior appear to have been very closely associated in business and in the family life. The signatures are found together in several places;--once as early as 1652 when they signed the town covenant of Lancaster; they appear together again in 1653 among those who had a right to become residents of Lancaster within a year, and in 1654-5 they are both among the "twentie familyes" named in the petition for a township drawn and signed by John Sr.

"John Jr., seems to have been in an intimate and special way, the trusted son of his parents and the good steady-going, helpful, elder brother to the household of younger children. He remained unmarried until his brothers and sisters were settled in homes of their own, and for the nine years of his mother's widowhood one may think of him as her faithful adviser, and helper.

"His real estate in Lancaster consisted of a "home lott" containing twenty acres which adjoined his father'"entervail" lot of fifteen and one-half acres. Following the death of John Sr., in 1662, the real estate was divided and the father's home lot was assigned to John and Jonathan jointly, while the home lot of John Jr., was allotted to the two youngest sons, Job and Josiah.

According to Mr. Nourse, John was married May 19, 1669, to Mary _____. ^[4] Curiously enough this is the very entry made concerning the marriage of Job (John's brother.) Another authority, Savage, in his Genealogical Dictionary, says he was married to Mary _____ January 16, 1671."

Even more curiously, Mr. Nourse reports, on the next page, that John married Mary on 16.1.70-1, which translates to January 16, 1671, in agreement with Savage. This suggests that the 1669 marriage note was probably meant to be about Job, not John. According to Whitcomb Genealogy, John left no male posterity, only two daughters: Ruth, born June 4, 1672 who married William Divoll and Sarah, born _____, 1674. However, the document below indicates there was a son, Jonathan who signed the document Jonathan was probably his brother who was with John when he drowned.

"To the Honed James Russell esq Judge of pwlate (sic) &etc for the County of Middlesex: these may signifie that wee the subscribers have mutually agreed & concluded of a Devission of the Houseing and Land that formerly appertained to our Honed father John Whetcomb sumtime of Lancaster Deceased according as followeth.

"William Divoll husband to Ruth the eldest Daughter of ye said John Whetcomb and Sarah Whetcomb the youngest daughter do by these presents firmly covenent, &etc.

signed.....Jonathan Whetcomb, William Divol, Sarah Whetcomb. August 1698 Jno Whitcomb Inventory 1683 L105,s10, do August 26, 1689."

John drowned in the Penekuk River near Lancaster while he and his brother, Jonathan, were bringing some hay across the river in 2 canoes, pulling the canoes over by a rope tied to a bough at river side. When the canoes sank, John fell into the river and drowned. A jury of inquest was called the following day in Middlesex Court records as follows:

"Vpon ye 7th of April 1683 Lancaster a jury of Inquest was Caled (sic) to give in thier (sic) virdict concerning ye vntimely death of John Whetcomb, we whose names are onderwriten doe by what we understand by ye brother of ye deceased by name Jonathan Whitcombe and one more by name George huse who was standing on ye shore and saw how ye said John Whitcombe felle into ye water, do here vnanimously giue in our virdict thus, that ye said John Whitcomb and Jonathan Whitcomb beng bringing some hay ouer ye riuer vpon two canoes indeavoring to pull them ouer by a rope which was fastened to a bough at ye riuer side, but ye canoes sinking ye said John Whitcombe falling into ye riuer was by a prouidence of god drowned in peenecuk riuer ye 7th of this instant Aprill."

signed by 11 men.

"John Moor sen fformen & the rest of the subscribers. the Jury of Inquest vpon the vntimely death of John Whetcomb llate of Lancaster appeared before me Pet Bulkeley assist. & made oath that the premises contain a true Acco. of the cause of the death of sd Whetcomb according to thier judgmt & conscience. June 18 1683 PET. BULKELEY Assist."

New England Historical and Genealogical Register 1863 Lancaster Records p. 71: Death of John Whitcomb-April 6, 1683. Other souces give his death as April 7th which was actually the date of inquest.

The Lancaster Vital Records list two marriages, his death and birth of child Ruth on 27.4.72 - (27 Jun 1672)

John Whetcombe and Mary his wife were maryed May, 19, 1669 m. Mary 19 May 1669.^[5],

John Whetcomb & Mary his wife, m. 16.1.70/1^[6] (Mar 16, 1670/1)

John Whitcomb dyed, April 6, 1683. John Whitcomb, drowned in Nashua River; inquest 7 April 1683.^[7]

From Probate distribution of estate of John Whetcomb (our Honored father,) sometime of Lancaster, deceased: "William Divoll husband to Ruth the eldest Daughter of ye said John Whetcomb and Sarah Whetcomb the youngest daughter do by these presents firmly covenant & agree with our Cousin Jonathan Whetcomb of said towne, that the divission Line betwixt us be & Remaine as it is now settled & marked. ... " 20 April 1696.^[8]

Holman, Mary (Lovering). Ancestry of Col. John Harrington Stevens and His Wife Frances Helen Miller, 2 vols. (Concord, N.H.: Rumford Press, 1948–52); also Torrey, C.A., “Notes and Corrections to Stevens-Miller Genealogy (1948),” typescript (n.p., 1949) 91 2:153

John Whitcomb (2) son of John and Frances bp 6 Aug 1626 St. James Taunton d. 6 Apr 1683 Lancaster; m. (1) 19 May 1669 Mary _____ m. (2) 16 Jan 1670/1 Mary ______ ch. by Mary (1). John b c. 1670 by Mary (2) Ruth b. 27 June 1672; Sarah b. 1674. – son John probably Jonathan for the estate division Aug 1698 is signed by Jonathan Whitcomb, Sarah Whitcomb and William Divoll, who m. Ruth.

the probate distribution says Jonathan is a cousin of Sarah and Ruth, so he was not the son. John was not mentioned, so if he was a son, he was dead by the 1696 distribution.

Space:Who were Mary Whitcomb and John Moor m. 1683

Sources

1. ↑ Somerset Heritage Service; Taunton, Somerset, England; Somerset Parish Records, 1538-1914; Reference Number: D\P\tau.ja/2/1/2. Image 5 by subscription https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/60856/images/engl78030_d-p-tau-ja-2-1-2_m_00001?ssrc=&backlabel=Return
2. ↑ The Whitcomb Family in America, by Charlotte Whitcomb (Oct, 1904) pp. 46-48.
3. ↑ Great Migration- Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Vol VII, T-Y p326 by Robert Charles Anderson; NGSQ 71:174
4. ↑ https://archive.org/details/birthmarriagedea1905lanc/page/12/mode/2up?view=theater
5. ↑ Nourse: Page. 14
6. ↑ Nourse: death Page 15
7. ↑ Nourse: Page 20
8. ↑ Middlesex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1648-1871.Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives. Digitized mages provided by FamilySearch.org) American Ancestors ($)

• Nourse, Henry. The Birth, Marriage, and Death Register, Church Records and Epitaphs of Lancaster, Massachusetts. 1643-1850 (Lancaster, Mass., 1890)
• Whitcomb, Charlotte. The Whitcomb family in America : a biographical genealogy with a chapter on our English forbears "by the name of Whetcombe" (by C. Whitcomb, Minneapolis, Minn., 1904) pp. 46-48.
• From New England Historical and Genealogical Register 1863 Lancaster Records p. 71: Death of John Whitcomb-April 6, 1683