John Spofford Sr (1588 - 1668)

Born 1588 in Silkstone, Yorkshire, England

Husband of Elizabeth P (Coburn) Spofford — married 1610 in Yorkshire, England

Descendants

Died 6 Nov 1668 at about age 80 in Silkstone, Yorkshire, England

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Biography

Not to be confused with Spofford-16.

John Spofford is believed to have been the son of Thomas Spofford of Wistow, Cambridgeshire, England and not the son of Robert Spofford and Agnes Clare. His parents are in dispute- see the Disputed Parentage section for more.

Marriage

Married first Unknown.

He married secondly Elizabeth Coburn.

Research Notes

Disputed Parentage

"The pedigree first given by Mr. Ashworth P. Burke is furthermore amazingly inaccurate in many particulars, and so much so as to throw doubt on the greater part of it. It gives as the father of the Rev. John Spofforth, sometime vicar of Silkstone, a Robert Spofforth whose wife was Agnes, dau. of Gilbert Clare, of Pontefract. This is incorrect, as the Rev. John Spofforth's father was Thomas Spofforth of Wistow."^[1]

"Mr. John Spawford, or Spofford, was many years Vicar of the church at Silkstone, which on account of its beautiful structure was called the 'Minster of the Moors.' He was a pious man, of competent learning and ability, plain in his preaching, holy in his life, facetious in his discourse, and a lover of all good men. He 
was ejected for non-conformity about 1663, when Mr. Robert Cotton, a 
worthy, pious gentleman of the parish, took him to his house where he died in
1668."

The Rev. John Spofford was ejected from being Vicar of Silkstone, by the Act of Uniformity in 1662, when he was 74 years of age. 'His widow died in April 1679, aged 94, in dotage, at John Hulme's.

Sources

1. ↑ Who was the John Spofford who accompanied the Rev. Ezekiel Rogers in 1638? The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1847. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2013.) Vol 99, p. 174. ($)

• Venn Cambridge Alumni: John Spofford

• The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1847-. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2013.) Vol 8, page 335. A Family record of the Descendants of John Spofford, and Elizabeth his wife who came from England to America and settled at Rowley in 1638. Published Oct. 1854. Conclusions in this article are disputed by later genealogists and evidence. Referenced as source of original data, not as a reliable source.