William Eager (abt. 1635 - 1690)

Born about 1635 in Massachusetts Bay Colony

Husband of Ruth (Hill) Eager — married 7 Oct 1659 (to 6 Nov 1679) in Malden, Massachusetts or Charlestown, MA

Husband of Lydia (Cheever) Eager — married 12 Apr 1680 (to 4 Apr 1690) in Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay

Descendants

Died 4 Apr 1690 at about age 55 in Marlborough, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Problems/Questions Profile managers: N Gauthier [send private message] and Casey Clark [send private message]

Biography

He was born about 1635 in Massachusetts. ^{[citation needed]}

Alternate surname spellings include Eager, Eger, Ager, Agar, Auger.

William Eager was first married on 07 Oct 1659 in Malden, Massachusetts by Captain Marshall ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]} to Ruth Hill (1640-1679), ^[7] daughter of Sarah (Long) and Abraham Hill.

He was mentioned in the last Will of William Godden or Gooden, written in 1663 ...

"There were sums of money due him [Godden] from Edward Wiar and William Egar, Scotchmen ..."

Both of these men were included on a list of probable Unity passengers in 1651, compiled by Elizabeth French Bartlett, one of the most esteemed genealogists of her time, doing English research in England and America between 1908 and 1917.

About 1672 he moved his family from Malden to Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. ^[6]

His wife, Ruth, died on 06 Jan 1679 in Cambridge, Massachusetts and was buried there ^[8] at the Old Burying Ground (basically in Harvard Yard) with inscription, "Ruth, wife to William Eger, aged 39 year, Dec Jany 6. 1679".

William Eager married secondly on 12?13 Apr 1680 in Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts to Lydia Cheever (widow of Thomas Barrett and Arthur Cole=Coale). ^{[5] [9]}

By 1682 he had moved his family to Marlborough, Middlesex County, Massachusetts ^[6] in the earliest days of that settlement. He was instrumental in the purchase of the Ockoocangansett Plantation from the Indians in 1684 when he bought land there ^[6] making him one of the original proprietors. They settled there and it was afterward his family homestead.

He died on 04 Apr 1690 in Marlborough, Middlesex County, Massachusetts ^{[10] [5] [6]} and was buried there at Spring Hill Cemetery. ^[11]

His Will was proved in 1690 in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. ^[12]

Origins

There is much conjecture about William's origins. His ancestry is believed to be from England, and then settled on their estates in Ireland and married into a Scottish family. There is no record of his birth or his arrival in New England. He was deposed in 1689/90 as being age 60, making his birth year about 1629. ^[13]

There is strong evidence that he was one of 10,000 Scottish soldiers captured on 03 Sep 1650 at the Battle of Dunbar by Oliver Cromwell of England. It is thought that William was one of the 150 Scottish Prisoners of War who were then taken to New England on the "Unity" and upon arrival in early 1651, they were sold as indentured servants. The usual term of indentured servitude was 7 years. William Eager is on a list of prisoners annexed to a letter that Cromwell sent to the Speaker of Parliament on 04 Sep 1650. (See prisoner list here.) ^[14]

The names of his wives and 14 children are listed in the Malden church records and in the Will of William Eager, which was probated in 1690.

Marriage

Marriage#1: 07 Oct 1659 Malde, Massachusetts

Husband: William Eager

Wife: Ruth Hill

Marriage#2: 12 Apr 1680 Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusettss

Husband: William Eager

Wife: Lydia Barrett

Children

m1: Ruth Hill ...

1. William #1 Eager, b: 1661; d: 1661 Malden, MA (died young)
2. William #2 Eager (Jr.), b: 30 Nov 1662 Malden, MA; d. bef.1684
3. Zachariah "Zechary" Eager, b: Oct 1667 Malden, MA; d. 05 Jul 1742 Marlborough, MA; m: 1693 Elizabeth Newton (1672-1756)
4. Abraham Eager, Capt., b. 11 July 1670 Malden, MA; d. 25 Oct 1734 Shrewsbury, MA; m: 15 Nov 1692 Lydia Woods (1672-1739, daughter of John Woods & Lydia Rice)
5. Zerubbabel Eager, b: 08 Jun 1672 Cambridge, MA; d: 09 Jan 1746/47 Marlborough, MA; m: 23 Mar 1698 Hannah Kerley (1678-1746, daughter of Henry Kerley & Elizabeth Ward Howe)
6. Martha Eager, b: 26 Oct 1674 Cambridge, MA
7. Ruth Eager, b: 01 Feb 1677 Cambridge, MA; d: 25 Dec 1768 Marlborough, MA; m: 11 Nov 1695 John Bannister (1670-1730)
8. Sarah Eager, b: 25 Jun 1679 Cambridge, MA.

m2: Lydia (Cheever) Barrett Cole ...

1. Margaret Eager, b: 25 May 1681; d: 1725 Cambridge, MA; m: 08 Apr 1708 Isaac Manning
2. Mercy Eager, b: 20 Oct 1682 Marlborough, MA
3. Lydia Eager, b: 20 Jun 1684 Marlborough, MA
4. James Eager, Capt., b: 21 Sep 1686 Marlborough, MA; d: 07 Jun 1755; m: 02 Apr 1713 Tabitha Howe (1684-1755)
5. Jacob Eager, b: 1688 Marlborough, MA
6. John Eager, b: 06 Jun 1689 Marlborough, MA; d: 18 Jan 1756.

His last Will mentioned an Esther, which is believed to be the daughter of Lydia Cheever and her first husband, Thomas Barrett.

Lineage

.1 William Eager, m1: 1654 Ruth HILL; m2: 12 Apr 1680 Lydia Cheever Barrett COLE

..2a Zerubbabel Eager, b: 08 Jun 1672; m: 23 Mar 1698 Hannah Kerley

...3 Uriah Eager, b: 04 Apr 1700; m: 14 Mar 1727 Sarah Bingham

....4 Uriah Eager, b: 05 Feb 1740; m: 29 Mar 1764 Tryphosa Bush

.....5 Moses Eager, b: 30 Oct 1772 m: 29 Dec 1793 Sarah Stratton

......6 Moses Eager, Edward b: 16 Nov 1797; m: 25 Mar 1827 Harriet Durant

.......7 Edward Rutledge Eager, b: 09 Nov 1830 Cambridgeport, MA; occ#1: 1859-1895 Kinsley Iron & Machining Company in Canton; then moved to Boston, MA; m1: 1856 Sophia L. Jenkins, d: 1857; m2: 16 Oct 1862 Mary H. Talbot, res: Ease Machias, Maine

Disambiguation

There are a number of different men named William Eager or Ager or Agar ...

• William Ager-134, b: 1606 UK; immig: 1630 on the Winthrop Fleet; admitted as a freeman on 18 May 1631 MA; d: 1654 MA; m: Alice (unknown); ^[15] need proof for those who say his son appears to be William Eager (Jr.), b: c1635 Marlboro, MA

• William Eager, b: c1629 was a Scottish prisoner of war sent by Cromwell to New Emgland as an indentured servant.

• William Eager-60, b: 1629-1635 UK or MA?; d: 04 Apr 1690 MA; m1: Ruth Hill; m2: Lydia

"History of the Eager Family from the coming of the first immigrant William Eager in 1630 to Date; by Susie Eager Trotter in 1952; for William Eager or Augur - mentions that there is no records of William Eager from the time he came over in 1630 (presumably) until he married Ruth Hill in 1659. She writes of her father's family tradition that told of how the first William came from England to Ireland and married a Scottish neighbor. Later on she mentions ... "His marriage and his interest in the purchase of the Indian tract indicated that he was a man of some standing, and I have, therefore, been suprised not to find any record of this admission to citizenship or his activity in public affairs. The record of his Scottish ancestory probably explains this. If he was a Scotch Presbyterian he was, of course, not eligible as long as he retained this membership." ^[16]

Sources

1. ↑ New England records, m: 07 Oct 1659 in Malden, MA
2. ↑ Massachusetts Marriages 1695-1910 at Family History Library
3. ↑ "American Marriages before 1699" by William M. Clemens in 1920s on ancestry.com
4. ↑ Biographical review, containing life sketches of leading citizens of Norfolk County, Massachusetts by Biographical review publishing company of Boston, MA in 1898; call#2660081; for son, Edward Rutledge Eager res: Canton
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} " Child's Genealogy of Henniker, New Hampshire" p50 Eager
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4} Eager p1-2 by Grace Olive Chapman in 1942
7. ↑ Malden, Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850 p199 for Ruth Hill, b: 1640 Malden, MA
8. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #39443728 for wife, Ruth (Hill) Eger, b: 04 Feb 1640 Massachusetts, USA; d: 06 Jan 1679 Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA; buried: Old Burying Ground, Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA
9. ↑ Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850 transcribed by NEHGS Concord
10. ↑ Vital Records of Marlborough, Massachusetts p357 by Franklin P. Rice of Worchester, Massacusetts in 1908
11. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #129773997 for William Eager, b: 1629; d: 04 Apr 1690 Marlborough, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA; buried: Spring Hill Cemetery, Marlborough, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA
12. ↑ Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850 transcribed by NEHGS Concord; citing Probate records of Middlesex, County, Massachusetts
13. ↑ New England Historical and Genealogical Register v85 p 453-454 published in 1931 in Boston, MA
14. ↑ | list of prisoners
15. ↑ http://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:William_Ager_(3)
16. ↑ message thread on ancestry.com

• Vital records of Malden, Cambridge & Marlborough, Massachusetts

• Genealogical guide to the early settlers of America by Henry Whittemore, b: 1833 & published in 1898 in New York

• http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/c/u/l/Mary-E-Cull Family Tree] for William Eger, d: unknown' with son William Eager, b: 1635 Marlboro, Middlesex Co, MA; d: 04 Apr 1690 Marlboro, Middlesex Co, MA.

• Family records for nine generations to 1996 ...

- George Eager, desc. of Abraham Eager

- Peter Eager, desc. of Zerubbabel Eager

Acknowledgements

• WikiTree profile Eager-60 was created on 18 Aug 2012 by Merry Kennedy through the import of perry and plumb tree.ged

• WikiTree profile Eager-162 was created on 1 May 2015 by Casey Clark