| John Perkins Jr. migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm |
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Quartermaster John Perkins, son of John Perkins and Judith Gater,[1] was baptized 14 Sep 1609 in Hillmorton, Warwickshire, England.[2][3][4][5]
Together with his family, John Perkins Jr. sailed for British America, departing from Bristol, England on 1 Dec 1630 aboard the "Lyon", Capt. William Pierce, master. They arrived at Nantasket, Massachusetts on 5 Feb 1631, settling first in Boston, where the family stayed for about two years. In about 1633, John Jr., with his parents, removed to Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts, where he lived the rest of his life.[3][4][6]
In September 1633, at the first settlement of Ipswich, John stopped a possible attack by forty canoes "full of armed Indians with bad intentions". Robin, a friendly Indian, told John of the Indians' plot "to cut them off" and Sgt. John Perkins, with a few others, bravely defeated them.[3][6][7]
In 1634 and 1635, John received the following grants of land in Ipswich, Massachusetts: six acres of land (1634); six acres planting ground, six acres marsh and a one-acre house lot (1635). Also in 1635, he received forty-five acres beyond the Chebacco River with liberty to build a fish weir on that land (he sold the land and weir to John Cogswell soon after receiving).[1][3][6]
In 1637, "John Perkins Jr., is possessed of an Island [Cross Island] having on the south side the Chebacco River ..." and in February 1637 (or possibly in 1640), he also had a grant of "seventy acres of land against his Island beyond Chebacco river, which land he is to relinquish within four years to the town, if called upon to do so."[1][3][6]
In 1639, John bought a house lot of over one acre which was bounded by his father's lot.[6] In December 1660, he purchased two hundred acres from William Whitridge "all of his farm in Chebacco" with meadow and house; in 1661 he bought a farm with a house from William Whittred -- both farms were on the south side of the Chebacco River.[3]
In 1665, he sold a house and house lot in Ipswich, three acres in "Manning's Neck" and six acres of meadow to his brother, Thomas. In 1668, he bought from William Hubbard a dwelling house with eight acres and, in 1669, with Elizabeth's consent, he sold to Thomas Perring four and a half acres of marsh at Plum Island. In 1678, John bought one hundred acres from Daniell Epps; also that year he deposed that "all the marsh from above the islands in the marsh ..., was granted to him above 40 years ago when Mr. Winthrop was an inhabitant of that town, which was the first grant in that field."[3]
John Perkins Jr. was made freeman of Massachusetts Colony on 19 May 1637.[3][6][7][8]
John was a fisherman, engaged in coast fisheries and he was known to cure fish on Little Neck as early as 1645.[1][3][6]
John established the first ordinary (inn) at Ipswich.[1][6][7] He was licensed to still strong waters in March 1662 and, in March 1668, he was licensed to keep ordinary and draw wine and liquors, these licenses were renewed yearly for twenty years.[3]
John Perkins (perhaps his father, but probably John Jr.) served as a sergeant of the Allied English and Friendly Indians under chief Masconomah of the Agawam tribe in 1631 in the war against the Tarrantines. John Perkins Jr. was also called sergeant in the 1633 story about how he thwarted an Indian plot to attack Ipswich (see above).[6]
In 1663, John was chosen as Quarter Master of the Ipswich military company and retained the title until his death.[3][6]
John Perkins married Elizabeth ----[4] by 1636 (birth of their eldest child),[3][5][6] probably at Ipswich, Massachusetts.[9] Anderson (Great Migration) does not recognize any maiden name for her,[5] but some online trees and books suggest she was Elizabeth Eveleth, however no connection has been proved.
John and Elizabeth Perkins had the following children, all born at Ipswich:[1][3][4][6]
Despite claims on Ancestral Files and Ancestry.com family trees, there is no evidence of a son Reddington the younger, or Reddington the elder. Also there is no evidence that Mary Perkins who married Thomas Wells was a child of this John Perkins. These children have been detached from this profile.
Quartermaster John Perkins died 14 Dec 1686 in Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts Bay Colony,[4][10] probably at the home of his son, Abraham.[1][3]
He left no will but had distributed all of his real estate to his sons by deeds before his death.[1][6]
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John is 17 degrees from Zendaya Coleman, 25 degrees from Sting Sumner, 14 degrees from Josh Brolin, 17 degrees from Timothée Chalamet, 16 degrees from José Ferrer, 14 degrees from Frank Herbert, 12 degrees from Richard Jordan, 14 degrees from David Lynch, 15 degrees from Virginia Madsen, 18 degrees from Charlotte Rampling, 25 degrees from Patrick Stewart and 17 degrees from Denis Villeneuve on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.
And, while I have your attention, I’ll concur with Waters, that "The seven men" comprising Ipswich’s first board of government “are alluded to in such an incidental way.”[1] After describing John Perkins as a 1634 “lot-layer” platting out a townsite, I was stymied by “Goodman Perkins” on the board by 20 Feb 1636/7.
“Goodman Perkins, sr.” is identified … along with Goodman Gittens, Goodman Adams, sr., Goodman Pengre and Goodman French … in 1652 grand jury selection by Dow.[2] Only when reading this did I realize ‘Goodman’ was not a forename. Mid-century was an interesting period: three successive John Perkins were adult and, I suppose, at Ipswich.
Labarge (referenced Goodman Perkins and) acknowledged titulature c1635, in records applying the title “Mr.” to some Ipswich founders’ names.[3] I rely on Savage, to associate Perkins-631 with becoming a freedman 18 May 1637.[4] Does that make one a “Goodman”?
I contend Perkins-631, petitioning the Governor and Council at Boston in 1637, was in political exercise … independent of Perkins-122 … who does not appear among signatories questioning royal prerogative. I suspect other recorded acts are misattributed to the father.
[1] ‘The Development of our Town Government and Common Lands and Commonage’ by Thomas Franklin Waters (1900), p. 3. [2] ‘Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts: 1636-1656’ ed. by George Francis Dow (1911), p. 325. [3] ‘Ipswich in the Massachusetts Bay Colony,’ 2012 post by Charles Labarge to The Wades Of Ipswich, Massachusetts 1610 to 2010. [4] ‘A genealogical dictionary of the first settlers of New England showing three generations of those who came before May, 1692, on the basis of Farmer's Register, Vol. 3’ by James Savage (1861), p. 396.
with a few notes (not as extensive as shown here already)
edited by Richard Schamp