Biography

John Winter lived most of his life in Massachusetts.

Name

Birth and Parentage

John Winter (Jr) was born about 1634,^[1] probably in England,^[2] the son of John Winter, Sr, who died in 1662.

John Winter, Jr., born 1635 in Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts.^[3]

He was baptized 1 Apr 1638 in Scituate, Plymouth, Massachusetts, ^[3]

Savage, writing about John's father, believed John Jr was about 2 years old when he was brought to Massachusetts. ^[4]

Marriage

He was married ABT 1660 in Watertown, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, to Hannah Cutler.^[3]

Before 10 April 1665, John Winter, Jr, married his wife Hannah, who is often named as Hannah Cutler. ^[3]

Hannah was born in Watertown, Mass. in 1644 or 1645 ^[2] after the death of her father, Thomas King. ^[5]

Winter children born in Cambridge Farms (later to become Lexington), Massachusetts:^[6]

1. Hannah, d. of Jno and Hannah, Apr. 10, 1665
2. John, s. of Jno and Hannah, Sept. 17, 1667
3. Thomas, s. of Jno and Hannah, June 25, 1669
4. Joseph, s. of Jno and Hannah, Mar. 2, 1671-2
5. Mary, d. of Jno and Hannah Feb. 6, 1675
6. Elisabeth, d. of Jno and Hannah, Aug. 20, 1678
7. Abigail, d. of Jno and Hannah, Mar. 12, 1680
8. Samuel, s. of Jno and Hannah, Mar. 12, 1684-5

From this we may infer that Hannah's mother Anna, maiden name unknown, was first married to Thomas King, and then married to James Cutler, who raised Hannah as a step-daughter, explaining references to her as Hannah Cutler rather than Hannah King.

John Winter married Hannah, ^[7] probably in Watertown. By 10 Apr 1665, the date their first child was born, they were living in Cambridge Farms (Lexington).

Occupation

tanner^[3]

Residence

They lived in Cambridge Farms, Lexington, Middlesex, Massachusetts, and then Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts, ^[3]

Will and Death

John Winter, aged 56, made his will on 12 Dec 1690. He mentions eldest son John; sons Thomas and Samuel; and daughters Sarah, Hannah, and Mary.^[8] Since he mentions no wife, she had certainly died some time earlier. ^[2]

Six days later, John Winter died on 18 Dec 1690 in Lexington. ^[9]

His inventory was taken on 12 Jan 1690/91 and totaled £359.16s.6d. ^[8] The inventory was taken by David Fiske, Sr. and Samuel Stone, Sr.

His will was proved on 1 May 1691. ^{[8] [10]}

On 6 Oct 1691 the probate court appointed three commissioners to divide the estate. This was probably due to the fact that two of the children named in the will, Thomas and Sarah, died shortly after the will was made. The commissioners recommended dividing the estate into seven shares, with the eldest son John getting a double share.^[8]

The Commissioners appointed by the Court, Oct. 6, 1691, to the estate, (viz.: Lieut. David Fiske, Samuel Stone, and Lieut. Benjamin Garfield), reported, each of the other chil. 1 share.

Children

John Winter and his wife Hannah had the following children, all born in Cambridge Farms (Lexington):

1. Sarah Winter, ^[11] died on 19 Dec 1690 ^[9]
2. Hannah Winter, born on 10 Apr 1665, in Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts^[12]. She married John Harrington in Watertown on 17 Nov 1681. ^[13]Hannah Winter (1665 - 1741) married Nov 17 1681 John Harrington. John Harrington was named guardian of Mary in John Winter's will, which gave custody of the shares of the younger children to him. ^[3]
3. John Winter (III), born on 17 Sep 1667^[12]
4. Thomas Winter, born on 25 Jun 1669^[12]. He died on 4 Feb 1690/91. ^[9]
5. Joseph Winter, born on 2 Mar 1671/72^[12]. He died in December 1690, ^[9] probably before the 12th since he is not mentioned in his father’s will of that date. ^[2]
6. Mary Winter, born on 6 Feb 1675 ^[12]
7. Elizabeth Winter, born on 20 Aug 1678. ^[12] She is not mentioned in her father’s will. However, the division of her father’s estate was among six children, and she may have been the sixth. ^[2]An Elizabeth Winter married John Cooper in Concord, Mass. on 1Feb 1697/98. ^[14]
8. Abigail Winter, born on 12 Mar 1680 ^[12]
9. Samuel Winter, born on 12 Mar 1684/85.^[12] He may be the Samuel Winter of Killingly [Conn.] who married Elizabeth Philbrook in Groton, Mass. on 16 Feb 1713/14 ^[15] and later had a number of children baptized in Killingly. ^[16] The wife of Samuel Winter, Sen., 70 (not named), died in Killingly on 20 Aug 1756. ^[16]

Sources

1. ↑ Based on his age when he made his will. Stuart Bloom.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} Bloom, Stuart. Winter Family. Earlville, IL, 2005. Published at www.earlvillepost.com/stubloom/Fam_Winter.pdf and accessed there April 25, 2015. Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20170131140013/https://earlvillepost.com/stubloom/Fam_Winter.pdf on 31 January 2017.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6} MediaWiki. http://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:John_Winter_%282%29. Accessed 3/21/2015
4. ↑ JOHN, Watertown 1636, a tanner, brot. from Eng. s. John, prob. two yrs. old, but from his will of 4 Mar. pro. 16 June 1662, in wh. he ment. s. Richard, Thomas, and d. Alice Lachman, all of London, it may seem they were left behind, for neither is heard of on our side of the water. Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England: Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May, 1692, on the Basis of Farmer's Register. (Boston: Little, Brown, and Co, 1860-1862), 4:605-606. Cited at John Winter, We Relate. http://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:John_Winter_%284%29 Accessed 3/23/2015
5. ↑ Sanborn, “Great Migration Diary,” NEXUS 15:202-203 (1998). Sanborn uses the will of James Cutler and other contemporary documents to support a convincing analysis that shows that Hannah Winter was the posthumous daughter of Thomas King and the stepdaughter of James Cutler, and not—as had been long accepted, based on incomplete analysis of his will—Cutler’s daughter. Cited by Stuart Bloom.
6. ↑ http://dunhamwilcox.net/ma/cam_births_w2.htm
7. ↑ Sanborn, “Great Migration Diary” NEXUS 15:202-203 (1998) Cited by Stuart Bloom.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3} Bond, Early Settlers of Watertown, 1:656, cited by Stuart Bloom.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3} Lexington VR, 211. Cited by Stuart Bloom.
10. ↑ Index to the Probate Records of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, cited by Media, shows two entries: Winter, John, 1662, Residence Watertown, Will, Sequence Number 25348, and Winter, John, 1691, Residence Cambridge Farms, Will, Sequence Numbere 25349.
11. ↑ Named in her father’s will. She is placed here in the birth order because she is mentioned as the first child in the History of Lexington, 775. [Winter, “Ancestors and Descendants of Benjamin Winter,” 2-3] It seems odd that her younger sister married in 1681 but that Sarah was still Sarah Winter in 1690. Stuart Bloom.
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7} Baldwin, Thomas W., Vital Records of Cambridge, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850 Volume 1. Births (Boston, Mass. 1914)(Free e-book) (Records are also available at ma-vitalrecords.org) p. 776
13. ↑ Watertown VR, 1:50. Cited by Stuart Bloom
14. ↑ Concord VR, 45. Cited by Stuart Bloom.
15. ↑ Groton VR, 2:185. Cited by Stuart Bloom.
16. ↑ ^{16.0 16.1} “Church Records of Killingly, Connecticut,” from the NEHGS Manuscript Collection, MSS CT 1. Cited by Stuart Bloom.

See also:

• Bloom, Stuart. Winter Family. Earlville, IL, 2005. Published at www.earlvillepost.com/stubloom/Fam_Winter.pdf and accessed there April 25, 2015. Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20170131140013/https://earlvillepost.com/stubloom/Fam_Winter.pdf on 31 January 2017.

• Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England: Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May, 1692, on the Basis of Farmer's Register. (Boston: Little, Brown, and Co, 1860-1862), 4:606. JOHN, Watertown, s. of John of the same, b. in Eng. prob. as he calls hims. 56 yrs. old at mak. his will, 12 Dec. 1690, pro. 1 May foll. It names no w. but three s. and three ds. John, Thomas, and Samuel, Sarah, Hannah, and Mary, but dates of b. are not found in Bond. Mary m. 17 Nov. 1681, John Harrington.

Acknowledgements

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