William Addis (bef. 1604 - abt. 1662)

Born before 10 Jun 1604 in Frampton on Severn, Gloucestershire, England [uncertain]

Husband of Millicent (Wood) Addis — married 1634 in Duxbury, Plymouth, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died about 1662 after about age 57 in New London, Connecticut

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Biography

William Addis, and various spellings: Addes, Adis, Adys, Ades, Adde

Origin

William was born at Franmpton-on-Severne (Frampton), Gloucestershire, England.^[1] Birth date 1600 is a guess, based on the christening of his eldest known daughter in 1623.

The will of John Adys, gentleman, which was written on 25 May 1627 at Frampton-on-Severne, holds clues to the ancestry of William Addis. John and his wife Mary Seager were married on 21 January 1590 at Olveston.

"Cousin" William Adys was one of the overseers of this will, which mentioned John's brother, Thomas, who died unexpectedly leaving a debt and a widow Ann. Cousin was probably used as nephew, and circumstantial evidence points to this Thomas and Ann as the parents of this William Addis.^[1]

Immigration

William immigrated to Massachusetts with the Welsh party led by Rev Richard Blinman.^[1] The group was made up of residents of Monmouthshire and Gloucestershire.^[1] In 1642, William was reported "of Cape Ann" Massachusetts, and the same year, he became a townsman of Gloucester, located on Cape Ann.^[1]

Marriage and Children

William married in England. His wife's name is unknown. This profile reports she was Milicent Wood (without evidence or citation).^{[citation needed]}

Children:^[1][2]

1. Milicent Addis, chr 30 Apr 1623; m Nov 1642 at Gloucester, MA; m 1) 28 Nov 1642 William Southmayd, 2) William Ash, 3) Thomas Beebe (all of New London)
2. Giles Addis, chr 3 Oct 1625; bur 10 Mar 1626/7
3. Anna (Ann) Addis, chr 17 Mar 1628; m 1) 24 June 1653 at Boston to Ambrose Dart, 2) Benjamin Brewster
4. Mary Addis, chr 15 May 1631

Note: The records for the parish of Franmpton-on-Severne are not extant before 1625, and before 1625, we have the Bishop's Transcripts only for 1617 and 1623. So there may have been additional children.^[1]

Property

Pringle reports that William was not mentioned as a land owner at Gloucester, except that he "disposed of a lot on Eastern Point."^[3]

On February 19, 1682[/3?], John Rogers of New London made a sale of half of his property to Major John Pinchion. In the deed, the initial grantees of the property were mentioned, "secondly a parcel of land bought of Mr. William Adis containing 33 acres ..."^[4]

Positions and Court Records at Gloucester

William became "one of the first" selectman of Gloucester, Massachusetts.^[3][1] He was identified as a "brewer" by Savage, but he was also a merchant.^[2][1] This may explain his interest in a barque. A court case in 1647 with Charles Glover was "concerning the building of a barque."^[1]

William made several appearances in the Gloucester court. For instance in July, 1644, "... in the case of James Smith vs. Mr Wm Ades, Addes to appear at Boston court."^[5][1]

William was associated with William Barnes. The two posted bond for each other. In June 1643, "Writ: Philip Udall v. Wm. Addis of Gloster, ... Bond: William Barnes of Gloster," apparently a matter of debt. In return, in December 1643, Addes gave surety for him when Barnes was fined for swearing.^[5]

In December 1648, William was a witness to Charles Glover and his wife fighting, for which they were sentenced to sit in stocks.^[6] Also the same month, he appeared to explain why his daughter had not yet submitted the inventory for her lat husband's estate.^[1] Again in that month, William was appointed to oversee the complicated divorce of William Barnes from his wife Sarah. Apparently William was unable to satisfactorily achieve the task, to "inventory her goods & debts, as "she [Sarah] made frequent successful protests against his acts." Eventually William was replaced by Henry Kemball.^[1]

New London, Conecticut

A large group of Gloucester residents called the Cape Ann Company, including Rev. Richard Blinman, removed to New London in 1650-1. William did not go with them at the time but removed there in 1658.^[1] In fact, Rev. Blinman sold his house and lot at New London to William Addis when he was contemplating a return to England in 1659.^[7] On 19 December 1658, William was also granted land at New London.^[1]

In May 1661, a special court sat to hear the case brought by Mr. Thomas Reavell. William had invested some £750 in merchandise which was then "lost." The court found that, "no dishonesty was proved against him; he freely resigned all that he had remaining; expressed great sorrow for the result and threw himself on the charity of Mr. Reavell to be allowed to remain in his house and pursue his calling for a substance and livelihood in his old age."^[1]

Death and Legacy

William died c. 1662 at New London, Connecticut. We do not know his exact death date.^[1]

Birth: Born at Frampton on Severn, Gloucestershire, England. Year given on burial as 10 June 1604 also England and Wales Births and Christenings father William Addis. Christening place PAUNTLEY,GLOUCESTER,ENGLAND^[8]

Death: 1662 followed by burial at Preston, New London, Connecticut, United States of America^[9]

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} Bate, Kerry W. ["William Addis of New London, Connecticut." The American Genealogist. (Vol. 57, Pages 181-183) New Haven, CT: D. L. Jacobus, 1937-. (Online database accessed 6 March 2016. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .)
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Savage, James, A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England. (Vol 1, Page 2) Boston: Little, Brown, & Co., 1860, Archive.org accessed 19 January 2016.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Pringle, James R., 1892 History of the town and city of Gloucester, Cape Ann, Massachusetts. (Page 39) Gloucester, MA: s.p., Archive.org accessed 6 March 2016.
4. ↑ Anderson, Robert Charles, "James Rogers" Featured profile. Great Migration 1634-1635, R-S. (Vol VI, R-S, Page 79) (Online database accessed 6 March 2016. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2012.)
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Massachusetts (Colony). County Court (Essex co.), 1911 Records and files of the Quarterly courts of Essex county, Massachusetts. (Vol 1, Pages 52, 59, 68) Salem, MA: Essex institute, Archive.org accessed 6 March 2016.
6. ↑ Salem Quarterly Court Records and Files. The Essex Antiquarian. (Vol 6 1902, Page 110) Salem, MA: The Essex Antiquarian, 13 vols. 1897-1909. (Online database accessed 6 March 2016: AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2006.)
7. ↑ Wheeler, Richard A., The First Organized Church in New London County, A Historical Study, Part 2. New London County Historical Society, Nov. 26th, 1877, Ct GenWeb, accessed 6 March 2016.
8. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JMP4-PM1 : 11 February 2018, William Addis, 10 Jun 1604); citing , index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 423,280, 91,538.
9. ↑ "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVGT-WRGP : 13 December 2015), William Addis, 1662; Burial, Preston, New London, Connecticut, United States of America, Brewster's Neck Cemetery; citing record ID 134397712, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.

• Kerry W. Bate, "William Addis of New London, Connecticut" The American Genealogist 57(1981): 181-183.
• Kerry William Bate, "Millicent Wood, Wife of William Addis" The American Genealogist 58(1982): 209-216.
• Kerry William Bate, "Millicent Flower, Mother-in-Law of William Addis of New London, Conn." The American Genealogist 64(1989): 33-43.
• Robert Battle, "Enigmas #28: Was Millicent, Wife of Andrew Neale, of Boston, a Daughter of William and Sarah (Wilshire) Barnes?" The American Genealogist 86 (2012, pub. 2013): 54-60.
• Robert Battle, "The Wood Connection of William Addis of Gloucester, Massachusetts, and New London, Connecticut, and William Barnes of Salem and Gloucester, Massachusetts" The American Genealogist, 86 (2012, pub. 2013): 152-156.

See also:

• Felch, W. Ferrand, "The Blynman Party." NEHGR 53:234
• NEHGR 7:174

Research Notes Parents: Thomas Addis, Anne Addis (born Owenstead) Siblings: John Addis, Elizabeth Addis Wife: Millicent Addis (born Wood) Children: Millicent Wood Beebe (born Addis), Thomas Addis, Ann Darte Brewster (born Addis Darte), Mary Addis, Hannah Addis, Henry Addis, Richard Dart