William Adams Duplicate Bio

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Contents 1 WikiTree Pages of Interest 2 Content 3 Bibliographic Notes 4 Research Notes 5 Sources

WikiTree Pages of Interest

William Adams (abt.1594-1661)

Content

William was baptised on 10 February 1593 in Wem, Shropshire, England. Seversmith says of William: "It is alleged that he was born at Wem, Shropshire, 3 February, 1593/4, and baptised in the parish church at that place, 10 February 1593/4. The proof of the identity is not found. ^[1]

William arrived in Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts in 1628.^[2]

Immigration to America ?? (1635 if William was age 15, then born about 1620.... conclusion not the same William nor closely related) Elizabeth and Ann Ship Passenger list - This is the ship William came on to New England. William Adams is listed and is 15 years old.

William was called a miller in 1654. William Adams was one of the selectmen of Ipswich in 1646, and in 1647 was discharged from militia training on account of his age. Adams is most frequently noted or recorded as a juryman, and he served continuously in that capacity with little interruption until 1659. He was undoubtedly the William Adams of Cambridge in the Massachusetts Bay Colony who was made freeman, 22 May 1639. He was a commoner of Ipswich, 31 January, 1642, which shows that he had removed to that town sometime before.

William arrived in Ipswich, Massachusetts in 1641.^[3]

On 19 July, 1654 William Payne of Ipswich, merchant, sold to William Adams of the same place, miller, six and three quarter acres of marsh for nine pounds. The deed was witnessed by William Goodhue and recorded in 1701.^[4] William Adams was granted twelve acres of land 27 February, 1644, 'beyond Mr. Appletons his farme near to the Land of the Widdow Stacye as may be convenient to be laide out by Mr. Appleton, John Whipple, and the lott layers.'

The Browne/Foster genealogy says that farm remained in the family for 250 years. The frontispiece shows the old homestead as it then appeared. The date of its construction was unknown. It places William at Cambridge Mass. in 1635, residing in the part of the town which was in 1898 Hamilton, on the Ipswich River, the farm being that of the late Silsbee Adams.

William died at the age of 64 on 18 January 1658 in Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts. A wife survived him; the widow was living in 1668. There is some reason to believe that he married more than once, but the identity of the wife or wives is not found. The Old Burying Ground was established in Ipswich in 1634 and probably William was buried here, but the early grave markers were of wood and did not survive. There are no Adams family markers from this era remaining.^[5][6]

William Adams senior died shortly before 26 March, 1662, on which date his will was proved; an agreement was signed between the sons Nathaniel and Samuel, 24 April, 1668, dividing the property.^[7]

Bibliographic Notes

Research Notes

The Essex Antiquarian gives an alternate ancestry, saying that William Adams of Cambridge is supposed to have been son of Henry Adams of that place. "Seversmith gives an account of the "alleged English ancestry of William Adams", based upon Americana, vol. 22 (1928), p. 432. He acknowledges the ancestry as indeterminate, but argues it is possible. Americana says William was son of Thomas Adams and Margaret Erpe; Thomas as son of Randall Adams. Thomas Adams was a tanner, presumably son of Randall Adams. If the family constructed here is correct, Thomas Adams, knight and staunch Royalist is in marked contrast to the Puritan loyalties of the rest of the family, and his wealth in contrast to their poverty.

Sources

1. ↑ Baptism: Shropshire, England, Extracted Parish Records Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2001.
2. ↑ Arrival: U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s Ancestry.com Operations, Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2010,
   Place: Cambridge, Massachusetts; Year: 1628; Page Number: 120.
3. ↑ Waters, Thomas Franklin. Ipswich in the Massachusetts Bay Colony (Ipswich Historical Society, Ipswich, Mass., 1905 & 1917) Page 588 (accessed 30 March 2023)
4. ↑ Massachusetts Land Records, 1620-1986," Essex > Deeds 1700-1702 vol 14-15 > image 172 of 665; county courthouses and offices, Massachusetts. Vol 14. Page 162 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9ZZ-1N3P
5. ↑ Death: "Massachusetts, U.S., Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988"
   Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook)
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2495 #82044991 (accessed 30 March 2023)
   William Addams death 18 Jan 1658 in Ipswich, Massachusetts, USA.
6. ↑ Hammatt, Abraham. The Hammatt Papers (A. Caldwell, A.W. Dow, 1880-1899) Early Inhabitants of Ipswich, Massachusetts Vol 1-3, Page 9 (accessed 30 Mar 2023)
7. ↑ Probate: Essex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1638-1881.Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives.) Essex Cases 1-1999; Case 338 dated 1659. https://www.americanancestors.org/DB515/rd/13744/338-co1/244876021