James Blood Sr. (abt. 1606 - 1683)

Born about 1606 in Nottinghamshire, England

Husband of Ellen (Harrison) Blood — married 7 Feb 1631 (to 1 Aug 1674) in St. Peter's Church, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England

Descendants

Died 17 Sep 1683 at about age 77 in Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony, New England

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Puritan Great Migration Project WikiTree [send private message], John Putnam [send private message], and Chris Hoyt [send private message]

James Blood Sr. migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Directory, by R. C. Anderson, p. 34) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Disputed Relations

Robert Blood, previously attached here as a son of James Blood, has been removed and attached as a probable son of Richard Blood, Senior of Ruddington. See Research Notes for further explanation.

James Blood is sometimes claimed to have been a brother or other close relation of Colonel Thomas Blood, famous among other things for his bungled plot to steal the English crown jewels from the Tower of London in 1671. However, as James was born in 1606 in Nottinghamshire and Thomas was born in 1618 in Ireland, this is not plausible. To date, no evidence from original sources has ever been found showing a connection between the Nottinghamshire Bloods and the Irish Bloods.

Biography

James was probably born in early 1606, almost certainly in Nottinghamshire, England. On 30 Mar 1661, in a petition requesting release from militia training, he stated his age as 55 years.^[1] On 13 Dec 1670, James Blood was deposed in the case of Harris v. Armitage, where he stated his age as 64 years.^[2][3] In neither case does James use "about" to describe his age, as was common in an era when most people probably didn't know their exact date of birth. If James did in fact know his date of birth, then from these two documents we can deduce that it would have been after 13 Dec 1605 but before 30 Mar 1606.

While James first appears in the records already resident in county town of Nottingham,^[4] there are reasons to believe this was not his place of birth (the BMD records for Nottingham's three parishes are complete from the 1580s but do not show a birth for any James Blood; the Nottingham branch of Bloods was very small; 'James' was not a previously-attested Nottingham Blood name; James appears to have emigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony either with or very close in time to the Ruddington Bloods).

James trained as a cordwainer (a maker of fine leather goods, to include shoes),^[4] and regardless of his place of origin he appears to have carried out his apprenticeship in that occupation in Nottingham. That may, in fact, be the reason he first appears in the record in Nottingham -- that town had a thriving leather industry in the early 17th century, and anyone from the surrounding region interested in the leather trade would probably end up spending some time there.

The first known surviving record of James identifies him as resident in St. Peter's Parish, Nottingham. This document is the bond and allegation supporting the license for his marriage to Ellen Harrison, dated 7 Feb 1630 (OS date; corrects to 7 Feb 1631 NS).^[4] The couple were married on the same day in St. Peter's Church.^{[5] [6]}

James was literate, as shown by him having signed his own name on his marriage bond and allegation in what was clearly a confident, practiced hand. This provides us with some indication of the social class and means of his family of origin, as all education was private and fees could be prohibitive for a lower-class family. It appears James had attended a grammar school, or at the very least a "petty school." It is noteworthy that while the scrivener that drew up his marriage bond and allegation spelled his surname Bloud, James signed it Blood.

The couple's first child, James Jr., was baptized in St. Mary's Church, Parish of St. Mary, Nottingham, on 11 Mar 1631 (given their date of marriage, this is probably OS, and the NS year would be 1632).^{[7] [8]}

James, Ellen, and James Jr. emigrated from Nottingham to the Massachusetts Bay Colony, settling in the new frontier town of Concord by 1639. ^[5] Here, he was allocated a 12-acre "house lot" in the main settlement as part of the first division of Concord's common lands. This would much later be the site of the "Old Manse" of the family of Ralph Waldo Emerson.^[9]

The couple's second known child, Mary, was born on 12 Jul 1640 in Concord.

James' wife Ellen died on 1 Aug 1674. ^{[10] [5] [11]}

James died 17 September 1683 [17:9:1683].^{[10] [5]} His probate documents contain only a brief inventory of some personal possessions valued at £61 16s, but states "October 7th 1683, An Inventory of the estate of James Blood of Concord in New England..."^[12]

Other Life Events

• 1641, 2 Jun: James was made a freeman of the Colony. ^[5] This process took most applicants at least two years to complete, and is further evidence of his arrival in the colony by the summer of 1639 at the latest.
• 1645, 1 May: James Blood, with others, signed a petition to the Governor, for relief of taxes due to the poor yield of crops and poor conditions in Concord, where many others had already left the town. The rate was reduced to £15, with restrictions to not remove from the frontier towns without permission of the magistrate. ^[13]
• 1650, 26 Mar: James was one of the two sergeants of the Concord company of militia; he is first referred to by his military rank in the appointment below. ^[14]
• 1650, 26 Mar: Appointed by the General Court to survey the 400 acre Hough grant on behalf of the family of Atherton Hough. ^[5] Atherton's son Samuel sold this land to John Blood later the same year.
• 1653, 19 May: James and 28 other men of Concord and Woburn signed a petition to the General Court requesting six square miles of land on the other side of the Concord River in order to establish a new town (the future Chelmsford).^[15][16]
• 1653, 22 Aug: James Blood was a signatory to an agreement by the leading men of Concord to provide £5 per year for seven years to support Cambridge College (now Harvard University).^[17]
• 1654, 14 Mar [1654:14:1]: Chosen juryman for Concord. ^[18]
• 1654, 8 Mar: “Sargn blood” in list of nine men chosen by the town of Concord to resolve a conflict about bridge and highway expenses.^[13]
• 1654: James Blood listed as the owner of land grants in the South Quarter of Concord.^[13]
• 1655: James Blood and James Blood Jr. granted 12 lots, totalling 660 acres, in Concord's North Quarter in the second division of town lands. ^[9]
• James Blood and James Blood Jr. granted 500 acres of the second division. ^{[9] [13]}
• James Blood and James Blood Jr., granted 14 acres of Elizabeth Ridley’s land. ^{[9] [13]}
• 1656, 8 May: James Bloud served as juror. ^[19]
• 1659, 3 May: James Blood of Concord was a witness in court in a case of wife beating.^[20]
• 1660, 2 Apr [2:2:1660]: Chelmsford chose James Blood, among others, as Commissioner to "end small causes." ^[21]
• 1661, 30 Mar: James Blood, "sergeant to Major Willard," aged 55, requested of the county court to be excused from militia training. ^[1] The reason for this request was "...the break of one of my shoulder boans..."^[22] Given that the petition was written and signed by someone else (James Blood's signature on it does not match any other known example) we can infer that the injury was to the shoulder of his dominant side.
• 1663, 18 Jun: one of the two jurors chosen for Concord. ^[23]
• 1663, 31 Aug: James Blood was a witness in the case of Joseph Wheeler, Moses Wheat and Jno. Stow, warned for 'night walking.' ^[24]
• 1663, 9 Oct: James Blood and James Blood Jr. were witnesses to an agreement of John Davis and John Blood. ^[25]
• 1663, 15 Dec [1663:10:15]: Both James Blood Sr. and Jr., among others, again testified in the case of John Blood vs. John Davis. Decision for the Plaintiff. ^[25]
• 1666, 26 Dec: The Concord town book's entry for this date details a total of 660 acres owned by James Blood, divided between 12 plots around the town's North Quarter. Among these is a 500-acre farm bounded on the northeast by the town's boundary and the farms of John and Robert Blood.^[26]
• 1670, 13 Dec: James deposed as being 64 years of age. ^[2]
• 1684: A formal deed was drawn up, for the purpose of documenting the prior sale of the lands consisting of about 8000 acres making up the town of Concord, from the Indian tribes to the land owners, including much of James Blood’s lands.^[9]

Children

James and Ellen had two known children:

1. James Jr., married on October 26, 1657, Hannah, a daughter of Oliver Purchis of Lynn ^[10], and lived at what has since been known as the Old Manse, owning a tract of territory thereabouts; he died November 26, 1692; his first wife Hannah died in 1677^[9]; married second, Isabel (Farmer) Wyman, widow of David Wyman and daughter of John Farmer, on November 19, 1679. ^{[27] [28]}
2. Mary born at Concord on July 12, 1640 [12:5{1640]; died on October 30, 1710; married Lieutenant Simon Davis on December 12, 1660. ^{[10] [9]}

Concord Births

BLOUD, Mary, d. James, 12: 5m: 1640. (p. 1)

Concord Deaths:

BLOOD: James dyed: 17:9:1683. (p. 26)

BLOOD, Elen , w. James, Sr., Aug. 1, 1674. (p. 18) ^{[10] [29]}

Research Notes

Paternity: Despite its persistence, the idea that James Blood could be the father of Richard, Robert, or John Blood fails on a number of points:

• James was at most 12 years old when Richard Blood was born.
• Robert was born in either 1625 or 1626, either four or five years prior to James' marriage to Ellen/Helen/Eleanor in 1631. Given that the average age of first marriage for men in early 17th century England was about 27, this was almost certainly James' first marriage.
• Robert's brother John was probably born a few years earlier than Robert, so if James is their father, we have to accept that he fathered not just one, but two illegitimate children in very Puritan Nottingham. This is highly unlikely.
• The parish christening records for the three early 17th century Nottingham parishes (St Peter's, St Nicholas', St Mary's) are complete for the period covering the births of Richard, John and Robert (i.e., the 1610s and 1620s), yet there is no record of any of them. By contrast, James, Jr.'s christening in St Mary's Church is recorded, with James, Sr. listed as his father.
• The tradition among the Ruddington and Nottingham Bloods was to name the first son after the father. Therefore, James' son James, Jr., born in 1632 (within a year of his marriage), is far more likely to have been James' first son than Richard, Robert, or John.
• When James emigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1639, he settled almost immediately in the new town of Concord with his wife and proven son James, and lived there for the rest of his life. By contrast, Robert and brother John (still children in 1639) settled in Lynn where probable older brother Richard lived -- a curious state of affairs if Robert and John were also the minor sons of James, Sr.
• James Blood's last will and testament, drafted on 18 Jun 1680, makes no mention of Richard, Robert or John, all of whom were older than James' known son James, Jr. While this is not a smoking gun, it is nonetheless extraordinary and far outside the 17th century norm to accept that James, Sr.'s three (alleged) eldest sons would have not only not been bequeathed anything by their "father," but wouldn't even have been mentioned in his will at all.
• In a deed of 4 Feb 1690, James, Jr. refers to Robert's brother John as "my uncle John Blood."^[30] As today, in the 17th century 'uncle' could mean a number of things other than merely "the brother of one of my parents." But then, as now, one thing it couldn't mean was brother. Why then would James, Jr. use this term to describe John if John was indeed his brother?

Blood-1690 09:44, 23 February 2021 (UTC)Garry Michael Blood

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Middlesex County, Massachusetts: Abstracts of Court Records, 1643-1674, Vol. 1: p. 117 (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2003), (Unpublished abstracts by Thomas Bellows Wyman, "Abstract of Middlesex court files from 1649," n.d.)
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Middlesex County, MA: Abstracts of Court Records, 1643-1674 Vol. 2: p. 110 (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2003), (Unpublished abstracts by Thomas Bellows Wyman, "Abstract of Middlesex court files from 1649," n.d.)
3. ↑ Case of Harris vs. Armitage, 13 Dec 1670, (digital image of original document), Middlesex County Court Folio Collection, Folio 55, entry 1670-55-3, image 1140, Published by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Massachusetts State Archives, Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Online at: https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/210946
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Marriage Allegation and Bond of James Bloud and Ellen Harrison (digital image of original document), University of Nottingham Manuscripts and Special Collections, Doc. Ref. AN/MB 37/109, University of Nottingham King's Meadow Campus, Nottingham, United Kingdom.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5} Harris, Roger Deane. The Story of the Bloods, including an Account of the Early Generations of the Family in America in Genealogical Lines from Robert Blood of Concord and Richard Blood of Groton. Boston: Priv. Print., G.K. Hall, Boston, Massachusetts, 1960 p. 82
6. ↑ Phillimore, W.P.W. and Ward, James. Nottingham Parish Registers, Marriages, Phillimore's Parish Register Series, Vol. XXV (Nottm., Vol. III), Phillimore & Co., London, United Kingdom: 1901, p. 26. The Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/nottinghamparis02wardgoog/page/n8/mode/2up
7. ↑ "England & Wales Christening Records, 1530-1906," database, Ancestry.com (https://ancestry.com : accessed 11 Apr 2021), entry: James Bludd, 11 Mar 1631, father James Bludd. Data derived from British Isles Vital Records Index, 2nd Edition, Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States: 2002.
8. ↑ "England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, Ancestry.com (https://ancestry.com : accessed 11 Apr 2021), entry: James, Male, 11 Mar 1631, St Mary, Nottingham, Nottingham[shire], England, father James Bludd, FHL Film No. 503797, Reference ID 2:1201SR6.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6} Hudson, Alfred Sereno. The History of Concord, Massachusetts: Vol. 1, Erudite Press Concord, Massachusetts, 1904 pp. 286-287, 491-493
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4} Tolman, George compiler. Concord, Massachusetts Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1635-1850, Printed by the Town, T. Todd Printer, Beacon Press, Boston, Massachusetts, 1891
11. ↑ Metcalf, Henry Harrison & John Norris McClintock, The Granite Monthly: A New Hampshire Magazine Devoted to History, Biography, Literature, and State Progress, Volume 10: No. 3, H. H. Metcalf, Publisher, New Hampshire, March 1887, p. 82
12. ↑ [Case 2018: p. 1-3: 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)
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4} Walcott, Charles H. Concord in the Colonial Period: Being a History of the Town of Concord, Massachusetts, from the Earliest Settlement to the Overthrow of the Andros Government, 1635-1689, Estes and Lauriat, Boston, Massachusetts, 1884 p. 38-40: 70
14. ↑ Lilley, Eaton. The Genealogical History of the Town of Reading, Massachusetts, 1639 to 1874, A. Mudge & Son Printers, Boston, Massachusetts, United States: 1874, p. 9.
15. ↑ Drake, Samuel Adams. The History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Vol. I; Estes and Lauriat Publishers, Boston, Massachusetts, United States: 1880, pp.368-369. Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/historymiddlese01drakgoog/page/n386
16. ↑ Allen, Wilkes. The History of Chelmsford; P.N. Green Publisher, Haverhill, Massachusetts, United States: 1820, p.163. Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/historyofchelmsf00allen/page/n167
17. ↑ Willard, Joseph and Walker, Charles Wilkes with Pope, Charles Henry (ed.). Willard Genealogy: Sequel to the Willard Memorial; Murrat and Emery Co. Publishers, Boston, Massachusetts, United States: 1915, pp.vii-viii. Internet Archive at https://archive.org/details/willardgenealogy00will/page/n11
18. ↑ Middlesex County, MA: Abstracts of Court Records, 1643-1674 Vol. 1: p. 45 (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2003), (Unpublished abstracts by Thomas Bellows Wyman, "Abstract of Middlesex court files from 1649," n.d.)
19. ↑ Middlesex County, MA: Abstracts of Court Records, 1643-1674 Vol. 1: p. 49 (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2003), (Unpublished abstracts by Thomas Bellows Wyman, "Abstract of Middlesex court files from 1649," n.d.)
20. ↑ Middlesex County, MA: Abstracts of Court Records, 1643-1674 Vol. 1: p. 72 (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2003), (Unpublished abstracts by Thomas Bellows Wyman, "Abstract of Middlesex court files from 1649," n.d.)
21. ↑ Middlesex County, MA: Abstracts of Court Records, 1643-1674 Vol. 1: p. 116 Middlesex County, MA: Abstracts of Court Files, 1649–1675. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2003), (Unpublished abstracts by Thomas Bellows Wyman, "Abstract of Middlesex court files from 1649," n.d.)
22. ↑ Middlesex County Court Folio Collection, Folio 26, Section 4, Image 741, Massachusetts State Archives, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
23. ↑ Middlesex County, MA: Abstracts of Court Records, 1643-1674 Vol. 1: p. 162 (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2003), (Unpublished abstracts by Thomas Bellows Wyman, "Abstract of Middlesex court files from 1649," n.d.)
24. ↑ Middlesex County, MA: Abstracts of Court Records, 1643-1674 Vo. 2: p.5 Middlesex County, MA: Abstracts of Court Files, 1649–1675. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2003), (Unpublished abstracts by Thomas Bellows Wyman, "Abstract of Middlesex court files from 1649," n.d.)
25. ↑ ^{25.0 25.1} Middlesex County, MA: Abstracts of Court Records, 1643-1674 Vol. 1: p.172 (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2003), (Unpublished abstracts by Thomas Bellows Wyman, "Abstract of Middlesex court files from 1649," n.d.)
26. ↑ Pulsifer, David (transcribed and edited). Records of the Town of Concord: Ancient Records of Concord, Vol. 1, 1655-1784, Massachusetts State Archives, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Boston, Massachusetts, United States, pp.178-179.
27. ↑ Wyman, T. B. jr., compiler. The Wyman Family in: New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 3, NEHGS, Boston, Massachusetts, 1849 p.33
28. ↑ Genealogist John Farmer Discovers His Ancestry: The Warwickshire Family of Edward 1 Farmer, Isabel 1 (Farmer) (Wyman) (Blood) Green, and Thomas 1 Pollard, of Billerica, Massachusetts in: New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume 161 , NEHGS, Boston, Massachusetts, 2007 p. 216-18 (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2013.)
29. ↑ Entered by Chris Hoyt, Dec 27, 2011
30. ↑ Harris, p.143.

• Chandler, Charles H. The History of New Ipswich, New Hampshire, 1735-1914 (Sentinel Print. Co., New Ipswich, N.H., 1914); page 242
• S-204 Title: Nottinghamshire, England, Extracted Parish Records Ancestry.com. [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2001. Original data: Electronic databases created from various publications of parish and probate records.
• Shattuck, Lemuel: "History of Concord, Mass"; Appendix III; Notices of Early Settlers and Distinguished Men; page 364 (Blood); published by Russell, Odiorne and Company, Boston, 1835

Acknowledgments

• WikiTree profile Blood-145 created through the import of Putnam2-1_2010-01-02_2011-02-16_2011-10-11.ged on Oct 12, 2011 by John Putnam. See the Changes page for the details of edits by John and others.
• WikiTree profile created through the import of Thomas Sheffield Descendants.ged on Dec 21, 2011 by Michael Sheffield & Erin Proctor.
• Thank you to A. David Stubbs, Rich Davis.
• Thank you to Kathleen Callanan for creating WikiTree profile Bloud-1 through the import of Hayward-Update2013.ged on Dec 27, 2013
• Blood-360 was created by George Snow through the import of AsaDavis.ged on Apr 29, 2014.