William Ricketson I (abt. 1656 - abt. 1691)

Born about 13 May 1656 in England

Ancestors

Descendants

Died about 1 Mar 1691 at about age 34 in Dartmouth, Bristol, Plymouth Colony [uncertain]

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Biography

William was a Friend (Quaker)

William Ricketson, Sr. was born on 13 May 1656 in England. He was Quaker. He married Elizabeth Mott, daughter of Adam Mott Jr. and Mary Lott, on 13 May 1679 in Portsmouth, Newport County, Rhode Island.

William was skilled carpenter. In the Dartmouth area, William built a house that was considered elegant for its time. It was on a hill facing south with a view embracing Adamsville, South Westport, and Westport Point to the Elizabeth Islands. According to records of Old Dartmouth Historical Society, the house is referred to as the Ricketson/Sherman house and was located on the east side of the road leading from South Westport to Horse Neck, about two miles south of the South Westport corner, and 300 yards east of the road. He petitioned the Town Meeting for "liberty to Erect and Set up a water mill for publick use" on 19 March 1682 Portsmouth, Newport County, Rhode Island.

William Ricketson is believed to be the first, and probably the only, Ricketson to immigrate from England to America, arriving in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, sometime prior to 1679 when he married Elizabeth. Unfortunately, little is recorded about William except that he was a Quaker and a skilled carpenter. William and Elizabeth lived in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, until 1683 or 1684 when the family moved to Dartmouth, Massachusetts where they lived until William died in 1692.

William Ricketson owned nearly 500 acres bounded on the west by the Noquophoko River. The land overlooked Buzzard's Bay. This area is now known as Ricketson Point. The land was originally owned by Hannaniah Gaunt, a relative of the Southworth family of Duxbury. In 1684, he conveyed the land to William Ricketson who was a resident of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, prior to that time.

He died about 1 Mar 1691, possibly in Dartmouth, Bristol, Plymouth Colony.^[1] The division of William Ricketson's estate took place 10 Oct 1707.^[2]

Children

William and Elizabeth's children were:^[3]

1. Rebeckah Ricketson, b. 4 May 1681 Rhode Island,^[4] d. 24 Mar 1750/51.
2. John Ricketson, b. 11 Feb 1682/83 Portsmouth,^[5] d. 27 Jan 1704/5.
3. Elizabeth Ricketson, b. 17 Sep 1685 Dartmouth, Massachusetts,^[6] d. 27 Jan 1704.
4. William Ricketson, b. 26 Feb 1685/86 Dartmouth, Massachusetts.^[7]
5. Jonathon Ricketson, b. 7 Apr 1688 Dartmouth, Massachusetts,^[8] d. 16 Oct 1768.
6. Timothy Ricketson, b. 22 Jan 1689/90 Dartmouth, Massachusetts, d. 1711.

Research Notes

Members of the Ricketson family of New Bedford and Boston, Massachusetts, trace part of their American ancestry to William Ricketson, a Quaker who settled in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, around 1684. William's great grandson, Daniel Ricketson (son of John Ricketson and Phebe Russell), was a merchant and ship chandler who operated a business at New Bedford with his son, Joseph Ricketson, from about 1795-1819. Joseph Ricketson's son, Daniel Ricketson, achieved a measure of fame as the author of two local histories, "History of New Bedford" (1858), and "New Bedford of the Past" (published posthumously, 1903), and two volumes of poetry. He is better known, however, as a friend and early admirer of Henry David Thoreau and as a correspondent of numerous contemporary American writers and abolitionists, including Amos Bronson Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, William Lloyd Garrison, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and John Greenleaf Whittier.^[9]

In 1834, Daniel Ricketson married Maria Louisa Samson, by whom he had four children: Arthur Ricketson, Anna Ricketson, Walton Ricketson, and Emma Ricketson. Walton Ricketson was a sculptor of some note who, with his sister Anna, edited two collections of Daniel Ricketson's writings in 1902 and 1910. Edith Guerrier (1870-1958), daughter of Emma Louisa Ricketson and George Pearse Guerrier (1837-1911), was an artist, author, and librarian who served as supervisor of all Boston Public Library branches from 1899-1940. She also founded the Saturday Evening Girls (S.E.G.), a Boston-based library club for working women, in the early 1900s; wrote a children's book, "Wanderfolk in Wonderland", in 1903; helped establish Paul Revere Pottery, Inc., a firm associated with the S.E.G. which made and sold quality ceramic ware between 1906-1942; and served as a volunteer in the Hoover Food Administration during the 1914-1918 World War. ^[9]

Sources

1. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FHBK-3QS : 10 November 2020), William Ricketson, 1 Mar 1691; citing Death, Dartmouth, Bristol, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007010711.
2. ↑ Bristol County Probate Records
3. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-8979-H61S : 20 May 2014), Bristol > Dartmouth > Births, marriages 1647-1779 > image 13 of 239; citing Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston.
4. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q29G-HQYZ : 10 November 2020), William Rickketson in entry for Rebeckah Rickketson, 14 May 1681; citing Birth, New Bedford, Bristol, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007009325.
5. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q29G-4G4L : 10 November 2020), William Ricketson in entry for John Ricketson, 11 Feb 1683; citing Birth, New Bedford, Bristol, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007009325.
6. ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FZVJ-42V : 15 January 2020), William Ricketson in entry for Elezebeth Ricketson, 1684.
7. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q29G-TXMF : 10 November 2020), William Ricketson in entry for William Ricketson, 26 Feb 1686; citing Birth, Dartmouth, Bristol, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007010711.
8. ↑ Jonathon Rickertson - "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FZVL-4BR : 15 January 2020), William Ricketson in entry for Jonathan Ricketson, 1688.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} Inventory of the Ricketson Family Papers In the New Bedford Whaling Museum Research Library; (if link does not work - Naviagate to Home > Research > Digital > Manuscripts > MSS 13: Ricketson Family Papers, 1795-1958)

See also:

• Genealogical Dictionary of New England Settlers volume 3 page 540. Text: Ricketson, William, Dartmouth, s. of Eliz. wh. may have been a wid. resid. there, by w. Eliz. had Rebecca, b. 14 May, 1681; John, 11 Feb. 1683; Eliz. 1 Sept. 1684; William, 26 Feb. 1686; Jonathan, 7 Apr. 1688; and Timothy, 22 Jan. 1690; and d. 1 ar. 1691.
• William Ricketson, William Ricketson, jr., and their descendants by Edes, Grace Williamson, 1864
• FamilySearch Person: LJPX-CYC