John Whitcomb (bef. 1598 - 1662)

Born before 1598 in Taunton, Somerset, England

Ancestors

Husband of Frances (Coggan) Whitcomb — married 26 Nov 1623 in St. Mary Magdalen Parish, Taunton, Somerset, England

Descendants

Died 24 Sep 1662 after age 64 in Lancaster, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony

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John Whitcomb migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Great Migration (Series 2), by R. C. Anderson, vol. 7, p. 326) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

NOTE: The following is the most up-to-date information on John Whitcomb's origins and family. The data is found in Anderson's Great Migration series, citing the 1997 research of Robin Bush in Search for the Passengers of the "Mary & John", 1630. Other published genealogies include errors - proceed with caution when referring to them.

Origins

John Whitcomb (aka Whetcombe), son of Thomas Whitcomb and Joanna Pope,^[1] was born in Taunton, Somerset by 1598.^[2]

Marriage

On 26 November 1623, John married Frances Coggan at St. Mary Magdalene Church, Taunton, Somerset, England.^[2][3][4][5] Frances was the daughter of Henry Coggan.^[2]

Life in New England

On 8 May 1635, "Jon. Whettcomb and family" were passengers aboard the Hopewell, sailing from Weymouth, Dorset for New England.^[2][6] The family first settled in Dorchester, Massachusetts, but removed to Scituate, Massachusetts by 1639 and then to Lancaster, Massachusetts by 1654. John was a planter.^[2]

In 1643 John was on a list of men who were able to bear arms at Scituate. He took the oath of fidelity at Scituate on 15 January 1644[/5?] and was admitted a freeman of Plymouth Colony on 3 June 1652. He served on a petit jury on 4 June 1652 and was a constable at Scituate on 3 June 1652.^[2]

John was granted, bought and sold several parcels of land in Massachusetts, including properties in Dorchester, Scituate and Lancaster. At his death, John's inventory included almost 400 acres in various parcels of land, totaling £112.^[2]

Children

John and Frances had children in England and in Massachusetts as follows:

1. Catherine, born in England ca. 1624; married Rhodolphus Elmes^[2]
2. John, baptized at Taunton 6 August 1626; married first Mary _____; married second another woman named Mary _____^[2]
3. Jonathan, baptized at Taunton 14 September 1628; buried there 28 October 1628^[2]
4. Robert, baptized at Taunton, 20 December 1629; married Mary Cudworth^[2]
5. Joan, baptized at Taunton 18 May 1634; no further record^[2]
6. Jonathan, born ca. 1636 in New England; married Hannah _____^[2]
7. Job, born ca. 1638, married Hannah _____^[2]
8. Josiah, born ca. 1640; married Rebecca Waters^[2]
9. Abigail, born ca. 1642, ?married _____; named in her mother's will^[2] (note: Anderson, in his Great Migration entry for John Whitcomb, mentions that she is named in the will and adds that she was presumably married. There is nothing in Frances (Coggan) Whitcomb's probate papers to suggest this, nor have any other records been cited to support it)
10. Mary, born ca. 1647; named in her mother's will^[2]

Death and Will

John Whitcomb died in Lancaster on 24 September 1662^[7] and did not leave a will.^[2]

John's wife and children agreed to the division of John's estate. Named in the probate proceedings were: his wife Frances; sons John, Jonathan, Job, and Josiah; daughters Abigail and Mary.^[2][8]

John's widow, Frances, died at Lancaster on 17 May 1671.^[7] She left a will dated 12 May 1671 and proved 23 March 1671/2 which named daughters Katherine, Abigail and Mary and her five sons. Her daughter Mary was appointed sole executor.^[2]

Research Notes

Disproved Parents

Previously, many researchers believed that a 1634 visitation pedigree of the Whitcombs of Bread Street, published in The Visitation of London, 1633, 1634, and 1635^[9] named the immigrant as John, the second son of John Whitcomb and Ann Harper, even though it has been known since 1914^[10] that the immigrant's home was Taunton, Somerset, not London. Other theories about John's origins (i.e. that he was a son of Symon) have been disproved.

Detached Children

Many have asserted that James Whitcomb was a son of John and Frances (Coggan) Whitcomb. This idea was first refuted by Frederick W. Wead in "James Whetcombe of Boston"^[11] and confirmed by Robert Charles Anderson in The Great Migration: 1634–1635, which states: "James Whitcomb of Boston was not a son of John Whitcomb, nor were the two men known to be related in any way [NEHGR 112:160; Stevens-Miller 87]."^[2]

Some have also said that a Margaret, wife of John Lewis, was a daughter of John and Frances (Coggan) Whitcomb. Nothing in the literature supports this.

Sources

1. ↑ Spear, Burton W. Search for the Passengers of the "Mary & John", 1630. 27 vols. Toledo, OH: the author, 1985–1992, vol. 26, pp. 61–73. Not available online. Cited by Anderson as the source for John's parents and other info.
2. ↑ ^{2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20} Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration, Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Vol. VII: T-Y. Boston: NEHGS, 2011, pp. 326-331. AmericanAncestors.org($).
3. ↑ "FreeReg UK Parish Register database", database, Somerset, Taunton, St Mary, Phillimore's Transcript, File line number 1309, FreeReg Transcription, John Whetcomb marriage to Francis Coggan on 26 Nov 1623 in Taunton, Somerset, England.
4. ↑ "Somerset Marriage Registers, Vol 9", database with images. FindMyPast Image - FindMyPast Transcription ($): John Whetcomb, 26 Nov 1623, Francis Coggan, Taunton, Somerset, St Mary Magdalene.
5. ↑ "Somerset, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1531-1812," Ancestry.com image database online, parish register for Taunton St Mary, 1558-1696. Ancestry.com($): "[1623, November] John Whetcomb & ffrancis Coggan 26".
6. ↑ Great Migration: Passengers of the Hopewell, Spring 1635: Geni.com project, based on Spear's Search for the Passengers of the "Mary & John", 1630, Vol. 20.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Nourse, Henry S. Early Records of Lancaster, Massachusetts. Lancaster: W. J. Coulter, 1884, pp. 265-266 (residences); pp. 322-323 (deaths). Archive.org.
8. ↑ "Massachusetts, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991", database with images, Middlesex Probate Papers, No 24392-24507, image 298 of 1311. Ancestry Sharing Link (free access) - Ancestry Image ($), John Whitcomb.
9. ↑ Howard, Joseph J. and Joseph L. Chester, eds. The Visitation of London, Anno Domini 1633, 1634, and 1635. 2 vols. London: Harleian Society, 1880–1883, vol. 2, p. 345. Google Books.
10. ↑ French, Elizabeth and J. Gardner Bartlett. "Genealogical Research in England" in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, vol. 68 (1914) pp. 63-64. Archive.org
11. ↑ Wead, Frederick W. "James Whetcombe of Boston" in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston: NEGHS, 1958, vol. 112, p. 160. AmericanAncestors.org($).

See also:

• Crane, Ellery Bicknell, ed. Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Worcester County Massachusetts with a History of Worcester Society of Antiquity. Vol. I-II. New York, NY: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1907, pp. 424-425. Ancestry Sharing Link (free access) - Ancestry Image ($).
• Holman, Mary Lovering. The Scott Genealogy, part 2. Boston, MA: the author, 1919, p. 254. Ancestry Sharing Link (free access) - Ancestry Image($).
• Holman, Mary. Ancestry of Colonel John Harrington Stevens and His Wife Frances Helen Miller. Concord, NH: Rumford Press, 1948, pp. 86-91. Archive.org.
• Holmes, Frank R. Directory of the Ancestral Heads of New England Families, 1620-1700. Genealogical Pub. Co., 1964. Archive.org.
• McCracken, George E. "Early Cogans English and American" in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston, MA: NEHGS, 1957, vol. 111, p. 173. AmericanAncestors.org($).
• Nourse, Henry S. The Birth, Marriage, and Death Register, Church Records and Epitaphs of Lancaster, Massachusetts, 1643-1850. Lancaster, MA: W.J. Coulter, 1890. Archive.org.
• Stearns, Ezra S. Genealogical and Family History of the State of New Hampshire. Lewis Publishing Co., 1908, vol. 2, p. 603. Google Books.
• Stevens, Anne. Hopewell3" passenger list at Packrat-Pro.com, citing Peter Wilson Coldham's The Complete Book of Emigrants, 1607-1660, 1987, pp. 143-144.
• Whitcomb, Charlotte. The Whitcomb Family in America. Minneapolis, MN: 1904, pp. 25-39. Archive.org: contains errors.
• Whitcomb, William Frederic. Memorial of the Whitcomb and Pierce Families. Boston, MA: the author, 1888. Ancestry Sharing Link (free access) - Ancestry Image($): begins the genealogical description of this family and proposes Symon Whitcomb as John Whitcomb's father.