John Cushing Esq. (abt. 1627 - 1708)

Born about 1627 in Hardingham, Norfolk, England [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Sarah (Hawke) Cushing — married 20 Jan 1657 in Hingham, Plymouth Colony

Descendants

Died 31 Mar 1708 at about age 81 in Scituate, Plymouth, Massachusetts

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Biography

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

Col. John Cushing Esq. was born ca 1627 in Hardingham, England to Matthew Cushing and Nazareth (Pitcher) Cushing.^[1][2][3]

Immigration

When John was about 11 he left Gravesend, Kent, England with his parents and siblings on the Diligent 26 Apr 1638 and arrived 10 Aug 1638 at Hingham, Massachusetts Bay.^[4]

Marriage and Children

On 20 Jan 1658 John married Sarah Hawke, daughter of Matthew Hawke (1610-11 Dec 1684) & Margaret [Hawke] (-18 Mar 1684), in Hingham, MA. Born ca 1641 in Hingham, MA. Sarah was baptized in Hingham, MA, on 1 Aug 1641. Sarah died on 9 Mar 1678/9 in Scituate, MA.^[5][6]

Their children include - all born in Scituate:^[7]

1. Hon. John Cushing (28 Apr 1662-19 Jan 1738)
2. Thomas Cushing (26 Dec 1663-3 Oct 1740)
3. Matthew Cushing (16 Feb 1665-18 May 1715)
4. Jeremiah Cushing (13 Jul 1666-30 May 1710)
5. James Cushing (27 Jan 1668-)
6. Joshua Cushing (27 Aug 1670-26 May 1750)
7. Sarah Cushing (26 Aug 1671-24 Sep 1723)
8. Rev. Caleb Cushing (6 Jan 1673-25 Jan 1752)
9. Deborah Cushing (7 Sep 1674-18 Oct 1770)
10. Mary Cushing (Died unmarried) (30 Aug 1676-8 Mar 1698)
11. Dea. Joseph Cushing (23 Sep 1677-12 Dec 1760)
12. Benjamin Cushing (4 Feb 1679-1702)

Death and Probate

John died on 31 Mar 1708 in Scituate, Massachusetts.^[8][9][10] Inventory of his estate was taken 17 May 1708.^[11]

His will is dated 13 December 1706 and proved on 26 April 1708 in Plymouth. He mentions his son James, John, Joshua, Thomas, Matthew, Jeremiah, Caleb, Sarah Jacob, wife of David Jacob, Deborah Loring, wife of Thomas Loring ^[12]

His inventory was taken on 17 May 1708 in Scituate and recorded in Plymouth.^[13]

Civic Life

{the following seems to be repetitive and a lot of copy/paste from secondary sources and needs quality, reliable sources added as inline citations instead}

The following information supposedly comes from John Brooks Threlfall's "An Extension of the Sheafe Ancestry," The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 137 (1983): 291-305 (Boston: The New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1983); image of p. 291 by subscription AmericanAncestors.org but after combing through it twice no such information seems to be there:

"John returned to England briefly in 1657-1658, visiting his uncle Peter Cushing in London, and buying clothes, a bed tick and a pair of steelyards there, as well as travelling to Norwich and Hingham in Norfolk, where he visited other relatives .... This trip may represent the beginnings of John Cushing's long career as a merchant, town official and justice of the peace."

“John Cushing, sen. came into Scituate from Hingham, 1662, and purchased the farm on ‘Belle house neck,’ of Capt. John Vassall, son of William Vassall, to whom it was laid out 1634. He was the son of Matthew Cushing, and Nazareth Pitcher his wife. Matthew was born in England 1588, the son of Petert Cushing of Norfolk, whose grandfather had possessed large estates in Lombard street, London. Matthew Cushing, with his wife and five children, viz. Daniel, Jeremiah, Matthew, Deborah, and John, sailed from Gravesend, April 26, 1638, in the ship Diligent, John Martin of Ipswich master, and arrived at Boston on the 10th of August. They appear in Hingham in the autumn of the same year. ... We return to John, sen., who settled in Scituate. ... He was a deputy to the Colony Court many years, and first in 1674: an assistant of the Colony Government 1689, 90 and 91, and representative to the Court at Boston, the first year after the two Colonies were united in 1692, and several succeeding years.”

From The Genealogy of the Cushing Family:48 “In 1657 he, together with Matthias Briggs, purchased for 120 pounds the Varsall Estate at ‘Belle House Neck,’ Scituate, which consisted of 120 acres with house and barns. He did not move there, however, until about 1662. The land on which the farm was situated was always known as ‘Belle House Neck,’ a name given to the place in consequence of a of a bell that hung at the house there, for a century, to give an alarm to the neighboring country in case of the approach of Indians. In 1663 he was surveyer of highways and in 1667, receiver of excises. He was deputy to the colony in 1674 and often reelected. In 1673, he was on the committee for dividing Scituate lands; and in 1676, was chosen to report to the Government a statement of all services of the soldiers of Scituate in the war with King Philip. Selectman from 1674 to 1686 inclusive, and County Magistrate (Plymouth Co.) 1685 to 1692. Assistant of the Old Colony Government of Plymouth Colony 1689 to 1691, and representative to the General Court at Boston in 1692 (the first year after the two colonies, Plymouth and Massachusetts, were united), and for several succeeding years, Member of the Council 1706 and 1707. He was also Colonel of the Plymouth Regiment.”

In 1676 he was chosen to make report to the government of all services of the soldiers in King Philip’s War from the town of Scituate.

Research Notes

Birth Date: FindAGrave memorial (retrieved 4.6.2022), gives 21 Jan 1627, in Hingham, Norfolk, England, but without a source. Baptisms for some of his siblings are found in the parish registers, so its possible with some research this could be confirmed.

Sources

1. ↑ Little, George Thomas. Genealogical and Family History of the State of Maine (Lewis Historical Publishing Company 1909) Vol. 4, Page 1868
2. ↑ Little: Vol. 3, Page 1201
3. ↑ History of the Town of Hingham, Massachusetts 2:151-152 (Hingham: Published by the town, 1893); images of pp. 150-51 at Archive.org.
4. ↑ Charles Edward Banks, The Planters of the Commonwealth; A Study of the Emigrants and Emigration in Colonial Times: To Which Are Added Lists of Passengers to Boston and to the Bay Colony; The Ships Which Brought Them; Their English Homes, and the Places of Their Settlement in Massachusetts. 1620-1640 (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1930); images of pp. 192-93 at InternetArchive.org.
5. ↑ Richmond, D. B. The Richmond Family
6. ↑ History of the Town of Hingham, Massachusetts 2:151-152 (Hingham: Published by the town, 1893); images of pp. 150-51 at Archive.org.
7. ↑ History of the Town of Hingham, Massachusetts 2:151-152 (Hingham: Published by the town, 1893); images of pp. 150-51 at Archive.org.
8. ↑ Vital Records of Scituate, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850 (New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, 1909) Page 379. "Cushing, John Sr. Esq., Mar. 31, 1708."
9. ↑ Little: Vol. 3, Page 1201
10. ↑ Samuel Deane, History of Scituate, Massachusetts (Boston: James Loring, 1831); images 262-63 of 420, pp. 254-55 at HathiTrust.org.
11. ↑ Plymouth County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1686-1881.Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015. (From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives.) Case 5642: Inventory
12. ↑ "Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Probate Records, 1633-1967," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G97D-6STQ?cc=2018320&wc=M6BX-3T5%3A337794101 : 20 May 2014), Probate records 1702-1710 vol 2, Page 128-130 > image 79 of 106; State Archives, Boston.
13. ↑ "Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Probate Records, 1633-1967," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L97D-6SP8 : 20 May 2014), Probate records 1702-1710 vol 2, Page 135-136 > image 82-83 of 106; State Archives, Boston.

See also:

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/71817007/john-cushing : accessed 06 April 2022), memorial page for Col John Cushing (21 Jan 1627–31 Mar 1708), Find A Grave: Memorial #71817007, citing Hingham Cemetery, Hingham, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, USA ; Maintained by Anne Shurtleff Stevens (contributor 46947920) . Does not have a headstone image. Bio on the site contains copy/paste from other secondary sources.