John Spurr (1590 - 1639)

Born 1590 in Somerset, England

Died 1639 at about age 49 in Boston, Massachusetts

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John Spurr migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Directory, by R. C. Anderson, p. 316) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

Disputed Spouse

John's wife was Elizabeth. They joined the church 14 April 1639. Therefore she cannot have been Elizabeth Bigg who died in Boston in 1638. In addition Elizabeth was married to John Stowe from 1608 until the time of her death.

Disputed son.

There is no indication that Robert Spurr was the son of John.

From Savage's Genealogical Dictionary.^[1] SPURR, SPOURE, SPOOER, and SPORE, JOHN, John Spurr (Spoure, Spooer, Spore) was in Boston in 1638; joined the church with wife Elizabeth 14 Apr. 1639; was admitted freeman 22 May 1639. He had:

1. Mary, baptized next Sunday, 21, who was b. 20 Mar. 1638;
2. Ebenezer, b. 3, bapt. 8 May 1642;
3. Elizabeth bapt. 30 Mar. 1645, a. six days old;
4. Martha, 26 Mar. 1648, d. soon;
5. John, b. 16, bapt. 22 Dec. 1650.

From the Boston Church Records^[2]

• "The 14th Day of the same 2d Moneth. [1639] John Spoure a husbandman and Elizabeth his wife, admitted to the Church in Boston." (p24)
• "The 21th Day of the same 2d Moneth. 1639. Marye the Daughter of our Brother John Spour baptized."(p284)
• "The 8th Day of the 3d Moneth 1642. Ebenezer the Sonne of our brother John Spurre being about 6 dayes old."(p290)
• "The 30th Day of the 1st Moneth 1645 by our Pastor. Elizabeth Spoure the Daughter of our brother John Spoure being about 6 dayes old."[299]
• "The 26th Day of the 1st Moneth 1648 by our Pastor. Martha Spoure the Daughter of our brother John Spoure being about 3 Dayes old."[311]
• The 9th Day of the 1st Moneth 1650. John Spurre for his insolent bearing witnes against Baptisme and singing and the church covenant as noe ordinances of god was with the Consent of the church admonished the 1st day of the 4th moneth 1651."(p53)
• "John Spurr sonne of our brother John Spurr was bapt. the 22d day of the 10th moneth 1650."(p320)
• The 13th Day of the 5th Moneth 1651. Our brother John Spurre was in the publique Congregation with the Consent of the church by silence in the Name of the Lord excomunicated from the fellowship of the church: for his with Drawinge communion from the church at the Lords table and he professed he could hold noe more communion with the church as it stood and also questioned baptisme singing of psalmes and church covenant as being but humaine Inventions and thereby charged the church as supersticious idoliters and our officers as hipocrits and the ordinances of christ as humaine Inventions by the scriptures he brought as in the 17 of Acts 16 and 22 vers., 15 Mat. 7–9 vers., Col. 2:21 (p53)

married Elizabeth Bigge, b. 1590, England , d. 1638, Boston, Suffolk Co, Massachusetts ^[3]

Research Notes

John may possibly be a brother to Mary (Spoore) Mattocks (abt.1580-aft.1681), but reliable sources for a relationship between them are needed. This reference has a few sources, and may provide clues: ^[4] and may (or may not) be accurate.

Sources

1. ↑ Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May, 1692. Vol. I-IV. Boston, MA, USA: 1860-1862 p. 158 vol 3.
2. ↑ The Records of the First Church in Boston Vol 39. The Colonial Society of Massachusetts,https://www.colonialsociety.org
3. ↑ Johnson, Jerry Milo. Ancestry Project. John Spurr." (Accessed 7 July 2015, source cited is an Ancestry.com family tree.)
4. ↑ http://mattocks3.wordpress.com/category/mattocks/james-mattocks-mattocks-2/ Link