John Whitcomb, II

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts_Bay_Colony

John Whitcomb aka Whetcomb aka Whettcomb aka Whettcombe

John was the first of the Whitcomb family to settle permanently in America. He also spelled the name "Whetcombe." According to William F. Whitcomb's research in his Memorial to the Whitcomb and Pierce Families, he was probably the son of Symon Whitcomb who was "one of 6 knights and gentlemen" to whom was granted on 3/19/1627 that part of New England lying between the Merrimack and Charles rivers" [this conflicts with other records that list his father as John - see database for references].

Records of him in Dorchester, MA appear as early as 1633. He joined the church there in 1635.

He removed to Scituate in 1644 with his son, John, where he already owned land. He was made constable and was on the 1643 list of those able to bear arms. He was admitted a freeman 6/3/1652.

He moved to Lancaster, MA in 1654. He had previously invested money when the town was being laid out in 1652. He, along with his son, John, were among the founders of Lancaster. He lived there for some 30 years.

The Annals of Lancaster MA 1643 - 1725 by Henry Nourse state the following on p. 63 :

1658 - John Whettcombe for and in consideratino of 3 swine killed and spoiled by his three sonnes, doth hereby promise to pay unto Steven Gates the sum of forty five shill in wheate within a week after michael tyde next 1658 to be paid at his house in Sudbury the said Steven allowinge for the carriage of the wheate tenn shill 6d.

Dated 4/2/1658 John Whetcom

28,,10,58 John Whetcombe owned this bill in Court to be his act.

The Middlesex Court Records contain the following response :

"To the honored County Court at Charlestown :

The humble Petison of Jno. Whetcombe humbly sheweth. That whereas your Petitioner hath set his hand to a note to pay fortie and five shillings to Stephen Gates of Sudbury. It was through my age and weakness that I did not consider of it that I had no right to pay anything to him, before he did duly make it appeare that I had damnified him, he did complaine before the deputie Governor his worship, that I or my Sonnes had killed and spoyled three of his swine in the woods, And made as if we stole them and with many threats which did somewhat amaze your petitioner so that I could not declare my case which is such as I have now gotten to be drawne upp fairly in wrighting, by which it may appeare to this honored Court that I had not wronged Stephen Gates nor was indebted to him anything for which I should agree to pay him anything. Wherefore your petitioner being aged and weak and mean in estate hath wronged himselfe and family in loss of so much, besides by this means of giving satisfaction there is an imputation of theft cast upon me and the family of your petitioner ( to my great Greef bing inoscent in that respect ) and we are much defamed in our names and creditt, and therefore do humbly request this honored Court that our case may be considered, and my bill may be suspended untill the next County Court and that then the case may be fully heard on both sides and determined accordinge to evidence and your petitioner shalbe redy and willing freely to yeald unto what is right and shall thankfully remain

Your worships humble servant

John Whetcombe

[The court decided that his bill must be paid....]

John, the third generation, seems to have been the first to build in this area of Lancaster which was to be added to the town of Bolton. His name is on the list of garrisons in 1711, but not on the 1704 list. This would place the building of his homestead between those dates. As he was married in 1711, that would seem a likely date for the building of his home, which was on the site of John Stephenson's house. Whether the lime quarry had been opened before John Whitcomb lived on the Great Road, or some time later it is not possible to say. John died in 1720, at the age of 36, leaving four small children["Whitcomb Farm History," Bolton Conservation Trust, (http://www.boltonconservationtrust.org/Trails/Horton/Whitcomb.htm)].

Limestone was first discovered in Massachusetts in Newbury in 1697; however the history of the discovery of limestone in Bolton is extremely vague. We know that the land where lime was discovered was a part of the large acreage owned by John Whitcomb, one of the early settlers of Lancaster. On his death, it passed to his son Jonathan. Neither of them ever lived on this land or even in Bolton territory ["Whitcomb Farm History," Bolton Conservation Trust (http://www.boltonconservationtrust.org/Trails/Horton/Whitcomb.htm)].

This portion of Lancaster was eventually added to the town of Bolton when it was created.

Detailed descriptions on the boundaries of his lands can be found in the Annals of Lancaster, MA 1643 - 1725, pp. 204-205.

The following is from the Bolton Historical Commision's report on Historic Homes

( http://www.historicalcommission.town.bolton.ma.us/main/whitcomb.html ) :

"ASSESSOR'S PARCEL: 5D-23 ACREAGE: .15 acres FILM ROLL/NEGATIVES: XIV 4-6

 DESCRIPTION

The Whitcomb Garrison site was excavated in 1988-90 in a volunteer archaeology project of the Bolton Conservation Trust in observance of Bolton's 250th anniversary. The .15-acre parcel on which it is located was donated to the town by William and Vicki Toth in 1990. Here a modern split-rail fence surrounds three sides of the exposed fieldstones of the excavation, and a bronze plaque on a boulder at its northeast corner reads "Site of the Josiah Whitcomb Garrison, Built 1680. Marker erected by Whitcomb descendants and friends, 1990." A metal interpretive sign on a stone post explains the significance of the site, and displays a conjectural sketch of the house as a two-story, south-facing "half-house" with a west wall chimney and a two-part leanto addition across the rear. Some clumps of daylilies and other low-growing plants are interspersed among the stones, but the lines of the foundation of the building described in the sketch are still discernable.

The structure that is visible here consists of the top of the fieldstone foundation of the basement under the "great room" of the original house, along with the stone bases of the other parts of the building that had no cellar beneath them. A large cluster of stones in the west portion of the site remains from the main chimney base; behind it to the north is a smaller cluster, remaining from a west-wall chimney built for the later leanto. A circle of stones outside the southeast front corner of the foundation indicates the position of the well. The dimensions of the original one-room with lobby-entrance building are approximately twenty by twelve feet; the leanto extensions expanded the building by about ten more feet to the rear.

RECOVERED DATA

Among the artifacts recovered from the site were fragments of various eating utensils, wrought nails, cut nails, clay pipes, and a 1770s Spanish coin. No whole ceramic vessels were recovered, but many sherds were found. They included examples of domestic Redware (1600s-1850s), and other pre-1800 English earthenware. Nearly all the ceramic material was of English origin, and the types identified ranged in date from eighteenth-century white salt-glaze stoneware to the type of porcelain still being produced today. Examples of English Creamware (1780-1815), Pearlware of the 1780s through 1820s, and eighteenth-century brown Staffordshire were also found. No Native American finds were recovered.

ARCHAELOGICAL OR HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

This foundation is the earliest known part of any building in Bolton. It was also apparently in this house that the first baby whose birth is recorded in Bolton was born. The structure remains from the house built in 1680-81 by original Bolton settler Josiah Whitcomb (spelled Whetcomb at the time). He was the youngest son of John and Frances Whitcomb, who immigrated from England to Dorchester in about 1635, and the only one of their children to have been born on this side of the Atlantic. The family relocated first to Scituate, and later to Lancaster, where, in addition to his proprietor's thirty-acre house lot near the center of the settlement, John Whitcomb rapidly acquired land in the outlying part of the town. Much of it was located in the part of Lancaster that eventually became the town of Bolton; in fact, he soon owned about a quarter of the land presently within Bolton's borders. Included in his vast holdings was all of the northeast section of town, from Main Street to the present Harvard and Stow borders. Over the next 250 years that area was populated largely by John Whitcomb's descendants.

John died intestate. Anne, his wife, and the children mutually agreed to a division of his estate which was approved by the court. The chief products of his farm in 1661 were corn, tobacco and flax. The present post office and bank building ( this is as of abt 1884 ) are probably built on Whitcomb lands. The current Post Office and bank building lie on Whitcomb lands.

John's home lot was assigned to his son John and Jonathan jointly and the house lot which had been John's was allotted to the younger sons , Job and Josiah.

Previous research into his ancestry has supposed that John was the son of Symon Whitcomb

(Whetcomb), one of the original patentees of the old Massachusetts Bay Colony, but this is not borne out by the will of Symon's father. He may have been Symon's brother.

---

John Whitcomb was born in 1588 in England.

John married Frances Coggin on November 26, 1623 at St. Mary's Parish in Somerset, England.

John and Mary were the parents of

Catherine,

John,

Jonathan,

Robert,

James,

Joanne,

Job,

Josiah,

Abigail and

Mary.

John died on September 24, 1662 in Lancaster, Massachusetts.

---

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Whitcomb-90

John Whitcomb aka Whetcomb

Born before 6 Apr 1588 in Taunton, Somerset, England

Son of Thomas Whitcomb and Joanna (Pope) Whitcomb

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

Father of Catherine (Whitcomb) Elmes, James Whitcomb, John Whitcomb Jr., Jonathan Whitcomb, Robert Whitcomb Sr, Joanne Whitcomb, Job Whitcomb, Josiah Whitcomb, Abigail Whitcomb and Mary Whitcomb Died 24 Sep 1662 in Lancaster, Worcester, Massachusetts Bay

Profile last modified 9 Apr 2019 | Created 31 Mar 2011

Genealogical Errors

Parents

The parents of the Great Migration immigrant John Whitcomb were correctly identified in 1997 by Robin Bush as Thomas and Joanna (Pope) Whitcomb[1]. Previously, many researchers believed that a 1634 visitation pedigree of the Whitcombs of Bread Street, London (View it!) published in The Visitation of London, 1633, 1634, and 1635[2] named the immigrant as John, the second son of John Whitcomb and Ann Harper, even though it has been known since 1914[3] that the immigrant's home was Taunton, Somerset, not London.

Children

Some have believed that James Whitcomb was a son of John and Frances (Coggan) Whitcomb. This was first refuted in Frederick W. Wead, "James Whetcombe of Boston"[4] and confirmed by Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration: 1634–1635[5], "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]."

Some have also believed that Margaret (?) Lewis, the wife of John Lewis, was a daughter of John and Frances (Coggan) Whitcomb. Nothing in the literature supports this. Information supporting or refuting this relationship is sought.

Profile Maintenance

This profile is being maintained by Cathy Carpentier-Alting and Kimball G. Everingham with help from everyone.

Transcription from The Whitcomb Fam. in America (1904)

From Charlotte Whitcomb, The Whitcomb Family in America, (Minneapolis, MN: the author, 1904).

(p. 25) JOHN WHITCOMB (or Whetcombe as the name was spelled) is believed to have been the first of the Whitcomb family to settle permanently in America. He was long supposed to be the son of Symon Whetcombe who was one of the original patentees of the old Massachusetts Colony as one of the six Englishmen of gentle birth to whom was made the famous Grant of Land, under charter by the king. But the publication of the will of Symon's father, John of Sherboume (Dorset, England), shows this belief to have been erroneous.

According to this will** which was proved in 1598, Symon was at that date under twenty-one years of age, and as John, our progenitor is allowed to have been born about 1588, it is obvious that Symon could not have been his father. [**This will which is reprinted from "Genealogical Gleanings In England." by Henry F. Waters, may be found on p. 18.]

(p. 28).....The English Whitcombs were of the Established Church. Several of them had been church dignitaries as is narrated in the Chapter on English Whitcombs, but during the transitional epoch following the evolution of the Pilgrims—that period of unrest when spiritual awakening and religious fervor were at flood tide, certain members of the family became Puritans. According to the late Samuel Whitcomb, Jr., Dr. John Whitcomb the Oxonian was one; Symon was certainly one and John, our progenitor was one.

Not all the Puritans were non-conformists, many of them were contented to remain in England and others came to New England not as Separatists but with the hope of bettering their fortunes. What part religion had in impelling John's emigration must be left to conjecture but it doubtless had its influence.

Though Symon the avowed and zealous Puritan never came to America, John appeared in Dorchester as early as 1633. He may have come earlier ; perhaps he was one of the voyagers with the good Winthrop on the ship Arbella in 1630. It would be interesting to find complete lists of passengers in boats destined for Dorchester in 1630-1633, but if such lists exist they are not yet found.

John became a church member in 1635; this and the birth of his youngest son Josiah, which occurred in 1638, are the only events of his family life recorded during the years he spent in Dorchester. Later evidence shows him to have been well-to-do for the times, a man of intelligence and enterprise much given to buying and selling land. His hand writing was strong and full of individuality and it is obvious that he was a man of academical education.

(p. 29) In 1640 he removed to Scituate where he owned land, one piece being a farm of 108 acres near the mouth of the North river on the Marshfield side, and after 1646 when he became one of the Conihasset* Partners he owned the lands which through that transaction became his share. During his residence in Scituate he was made constable, then one of the most remunerative as well as one of the most important offices in the gift of the townsmen. To act as sheriff he must have been a freeman in Scituate, but the only mention of his being such is in the Records of Plymouth Colony where the entry is, under date June 3, 1652. "Freeman admitted to this court and sworn, "John Whetcombe and John Willis." Marvin says, "Any man could become a freeman—he had only to be a Christian." Again, The Memorial History of Boston (Vol. I.) says, "Church members and church members only, exercised the franchise." Therefore as he became a church member in 1635 he may have been a voter and have taken part in town affairs from that date.

[*Concerning the Conihasset Grant there was in Scituate Township much discussion between Hingham and Scituate and Plymouth Colony regarding boundaries, from 1642 to 1682. Within the original bounds of Scituate township was included a large tract of land which the Colony Court had granted to four gentlemen, usually called "Merchant adventurers of London," called "Conihasset Grant." This was purchased of the other three by one of the four original owners. Mr. Hatherly, before 1846. and In that year he divided it into 30 shares (reserving one-fourth part of the whole) and sold it for 180 pounds to a certain Company since called the "Conihasset Partners." "Many of this Company were such as had already located themselves upon these lands, and were twenty-seven in all, including James Cudworth, John Whetcomb, and Rodolphus Ellmes —"These partners appointed their clerks, surveyors, committees and agents and conducted their affairs with all the efficiency of a corporate town." Later, upon Hatherly and the Conihasset partners petitioning the Courts that the territory allowed was "too straight" for their growing needs and discussion arising as to the bounds of this tract, in 1656 the Court granted Mr. Hatherly a tract three miles square on the Westerly side of Scituate, as indemnity for his "entanglements with the people of Scituate" and to "satisfy the Conihasset Partners." This he divided into 40 shares of which the Conihasset Partners had 27. (Gleaned from Dean's Hist, of Scituate; pp. 5 and 6.)]

In 1644, he sold his farm on North River to one Thomas Hicks and another disposal of land in Scituate was in 1654 when he conveyed half his share in the Conihasset lands to John Williams, Jr., giving the other half to his son Robert. During this year, 1654, he (p. 30) removed to Lancaster where two years before, when the town was platted, he had invested some money. Not all his children accompanied him to Lancaster. His daughter Catherine was settled in Scituate where in 1644 she had been married to Rodolphus Ellmes, a young man who had come over from England in 1635 on the Planter when he was but fifteen years old ; Robert, who had received his patrimony, also remained in Scituate and James, whose boyhood and youth seem to have passed without observation, is not mentioned until later when he is discovered a merchant in Boston and a man of affairs.

John Whitcomb and his son John, Jr., have been named as among the founders of the town of Lancaster. John's signature appears as "one of the pioneer settlers in the Nashaway Plantation which afterward became Lancaster" according to Mr. Nourse's Early Records, and, though he was not among those who actually took up a residence in 1652, he was among those who had a right by the conditions of the covenant to come later. He was also one of the signers to the petition for a township,—"We being now about twentie familyes, etc." —[Nourse's Early Records, p. 37.]

The first inhabitants of Lancaster were apportioned land according to their "estate," that is, "so much land to every £100 of estate and accordingly for a greater or less estate." In these divisions John Whitcomb's estate is large in proportion to the rest, in fact among the largest. From the old entries reprinted in "The Early Records" the following quaint descriptions are copied.

"The lands of John Whetcombe senor. "home Lott. his house Lott Given and Granted by the town Ly'eth on the west side (of the) Neck being twentie acors bounded (South) by the Lott of Robert Brick and north by the Lott of his son John Whetcomb buting East upon the Lotts that Ly upon the east side the neck and buting west upon his entervail a high way Runing Cross it to quasaponikin entervail.

"Entervail Lott. And his entervail Lott part of it on the east side the North* River thare being by Estimation about fifteen acors (p.31) and a half bounded west by the North River and east by his upland Lott buting South upon the Lott of Robert Brick that was Granted him by the town and buting North upon the entervail Lott of his son John Whitcomb nine acor; of entervail at quasiponikin between his son John Whitcomb and him either of them having an Equall portion that is four acors and half but it was not divided between them when it was Laid out the whole being bounded southardly by a high way that Goes between the medow Lott of Steven Gates and westardly by the North River and south west by a Lott of Richard Linton this four acors and half makes up the other fifteen and half his full Lott of twenty acors according to the town Grant but acording to Liberty Granted by a town order the fifteen acres and half exactly meashured it was found to be but fourteen acres and half and so it is an acre wanting which is Laid out together with his second division of entervail."

John's house lot is numbered "33" on the accompanying map and his son John was assigned a lot of equal size next to it marked "34." These lots extended across the street eastward meeting the other range of lots upon the Neck. The present Postoffice and Bank build-in Lancaster are upon old Whitcomb land.

The family next, on No. 35, was named Gates and in the Gates Genealogy, recently published, the frank admission is made that Mr. Gates was of an impetuous temper and quarreled with his neighbors, the Whitcombs, thus confirming the following which is by Mr. Nourse in the Early Records : "The Gates blood seems to have been of decidedly tropical nature Stephen Gates quarreled with his neighbors, the Whitcombs, was deprived of his constable's staff and moved away from Lancaster after less than three years residence."

This was the man who brought action against John Whitcomb, then seventy years old, on a complaint that his swine had been killed by John's sons. The following note of hand, and petition are very human documents and full of interest:

(p.32) NOTE OF HAND. 'John Whettcombe for and in consideration of three swine killed and spoiled by his three sonnes, doth hereby promise to pay unto Steven Gates the sunie of forty-five shill. in wheate within a week after michael tyde next 1658 to be payed at his house in Sudbury the sd Steven allowing for th:e carriage of the wheate tenn shill 6d. Date Apr. 2. 1658. John Whetcombe."

John later petitioned to be released from paying the note in the following document: "To the honored County Court at Charlestown. The humble Petison of Jno. Whetcome humbly sheweth that whereas yor Petitioner hath set his hand to a note to pay fortie and five shillings to Steven Gates of Sudbury. It was by reason of age and weakness I did not consider of it that I had no right to pay anything to him before he did duly make it apeare that I had damnified him. He did complaine before the deputie Govr his worpp that I or my sonnes had killed and spoiled three of his swine in the woods. And made as if we stole them & with many threats which did amaze yor petitioner so that I could not declare my case which is such as I have nowgotten to be drawne vpp fairly in wrighting by which it may appeare to this honord Court that I had not wronged Steven Gates nor was indebted to him anything for which I should agree to paye him anything. Wherefore yor petitioner being aged and weak, and mean in estate hath wronged himselfe and family in loss of so much, besides by this means of giueing satisfaction there is an imputation of theft cast vppon mee and the family of yor petitioner (toyr great Greef being inosent in that respect) and we are much defamed in our names and creditt, and therefore do humbly request this honord Court, that our case may be considered and my bill may be suspended untill the next County Court, and that then the case may be fully heard on both sides and determined according to euidenc and equtie and yor petitionr (p33) shalbe redy and willing freely to yeald unto what is right and shale thankfully remain Yor worrpp humble servant John Whetcomb." (Middlesex Court Records.)

According to the Middlesex Court Records John had decided the case against himself by giving his note; this note, John being a Christian and a law abiding citizen, doubtless "payd in good wheate after michael tyde," and later events prove that "Peace hath her victories," for during the two or three succeeding generations several marriages occurred between the sons of the turbulent Stephen and the daughters of the self-respecting John.

The products of John's tillage in Lancaster up to 1662 were corn, tobacco and flax with roots and garden herbs and vegetables. The farm probably yielded maple sugar also and the inventory shows that there was an orchard. Log houses were the rule in the time of John and a description of one would probably give the features of all. They were usually of one story and an attic. Small openings in the log walls served as windows; these were protected at night by shutters made of hewn planks; sometimes glass was simulated by the use of skins scraped to semi-transparency or by the skins of bladders. Later the luxury of small panes of greenish glass was introduced. Doors were made of hewn plank battened together and the latch-string was universal. A huge chimney in the middle of the house provided a fireplace which serv'ed the purposes of heating and cookery and in Lancaster each family ground its own corn until to the general rejoicing, a miller with his wheel and millstones arrived.

There was no idle class; whatever had been a man's condition in England here he worked with his hands. If he had a trade so much the better; if he had not he tried to have, for necessity compelled him to be resourceful and inventive. The miller, the smith, the shoemaker were in demand and every man was in some degree an agriculturist....

(p34) After some thirty years of this primitive life in the Colony, eight of it spent in Lancaster, the aged Puritan John Whetcombe, met "the inevitable hour," September 24, 1662, and died aged about seventy-four years. He was laid with other forefathers of the hamlet in "the old burying ground," but today no fragment of even a battered stone marks his resting place.

He was married in England to Frances -, family name unknown, and in England his older children were born. He had certainly five sons, perhaps six, and three daughters. There are no records of births, but in wills and other documents the children's names have been found. He died intestate and the widow and children mutually agreed upon a division of the property which was approved by the court. Frances made her will May 12, 1671, and died at Lancaster May 17, 1671. She named her youngest daughter, Mary, as executrix.

CHILDREN:

CATHERINE,* was married in 1644 to Rodolphus Ellmes of Scituate. They resided in Scituate; nine children. JOHN. ROBERT. JONATHAN. ABIGAIL, perhaps died unmarried; no record. JOB. JOSIAH, born 1638, Dorchester, Mass. MARY, was married to John Moore, August 13, 1643. He was the son of John and Anna Smith Moore. .....(p. 38)At the time of John's decease his children... were all living in the towns of Lancaster and Scituate. They married and had children in those towns where, indeed, their descendants remained in some cases for several generations. Catherine left a numerous posterity who settled in Scituate and vicinity and Robert's descendants lived on his estate for several generations.

But in Lancaster the family met change and disaster. John was accidentally drowned leaving no sons; Job removed to Connecticut; Jonathan died and his widow was killed by Indians during one of their merciless raids upon the town; members of the next generation adventured into other settlements or new plantations, and in the fifth generation the Whitcombs had scattered widely from both Scituate and Lancaster and were found in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania and Canada.

(p.35) "An Inventory of the Lands goods and Chatels of John Whitcomb (deceased) of Lancaster as the wase prised by Thomas Wilder and Jacob Farrer boath of them of the same towne as the wase prized Accordinge to theire best estimation the 2th of October, 1662.

Imprimus the house orchard and broake up land..£26—00—00 Ite land within some unbroake up 24 Aikers.............24—00—00 Ite Intervale land without some ii Aikers....................05—10—00 Ite house lots unbroake up 36 Aikers.........................18—00—00 Ite in medow 12 Aikers.................................................24—00—00 Ite in lands of Second divition 300 Aikers...................07—10—00 Ite in the Corn on right in the towne...........................04—00—00 Ite two oxen...................................................................12—00—00 Ite one old cow..............................................................04—00—00 Ite more in Cattell..........................................................18—04—00 It in Corne.......................................................................15— 14—00 It in tobacco....................................................................04—00—00 It in flax...........................................................................01—00—00 It a paire of Cart Wheeles.............................................02—00—00 It plow & furniture for plow and Cart.........................02—14—00 It in swine.......................................................................07—04—00 It in axes & howse.........................................................00—10—00 It in Armse......................................................................01—00—00 Ite bedstead beding and aparell.................................12—00—00 It in pewter brass & Iron tooles with other lomber.. 07—00—00 Witness our hands, THOMAS WYELDER, JACOB FARRER. Cambr. 7 (8) 1662 John Whetcomb appearing in Court is granted power of administration on the estate of his father deced. & tooke his oath to the Inventory above written that it is the truth & yt if any more appeare He will timely & truly (?) the Same and The Court ordered that ye sd estate be divided according to ye agreemt of ye partyes consrned, the wich agreemt was Exhibited in Court and attested by Major Willard to be ye art (?) & is on file with ye Records of this Court. THO DANFORTH R.

The following is a copy of the document setting forth the partition of the estate of John-1 among his heirs. It was approved by the court and placed on file among the Middlesex court records. (C. W.)

(p.36) These may be to intreat this honoured court to take into consideration that whereas John Wetcomb late of this Towne of Lancaster in the Countie of Midlsex, who deceased without making a loyal will that if they see it fitt and convenient they would be pleased to confirme this agrement and covenant which the widow and soe many of the children of the deceased as therin is concerned doe mutualy and vneanimeisly consent unto, which is here by this present writing now after declared.

First, we all mutualy agre that Francis Wetcomb widow and late wife of the deceased and our mother shall have the now dwellinge house and one halfe of the orchard that now is and that is to be of that which is nerest to the said dwellinge house and soe much breakup upland ground as will make up that in her part of the orchard two Aikers of the nerest breakup land therunto, and also two Aikers of broakup Intervale land lying betwixt the said dwellinge house and the riuer also one third part of that we cale the pasture and also one third part of the medow and likewise a third part in all doworage belonging to the estate of her deceased husband soe as it be not of the second divition and moreouer we agre if she please she shall her firewood out of the two house lots which wase her husbands soe long as it is there to be had and these to have and to hould to her or to her Assigns for and during the time of her natural life we also doe agre that she shall have all the Cattel (Exceptinge two hogs thre pigs and one Cow) which was her husbands we likewise agre she shall have all the housold stuff exceptinge what heereafterin this writinge is expressed in particulars giuen and to whom we also agre she shall have all the flax, and also one halfe of the Corne that this yeare wase growing on the old land and thirtie pounds waight of tobacco made up in roule and made merchantable and she to pay one half of all dets which ought to be charged upon her late deceased husbands estate we also mutualy agre that John Wetcomb and Jonathan Wetcomb two of the said deceased John Wetcomb's sonnes shall haue the house lot which is next unto good man Brooks lot and also ninetene Aikers of Intervale next adjoyinge thereto (excepting soe much therof as we haue agreed as doth apeare and herein above is expressed to be our mothers for the time of her natural life) and the same to haue and to hould from the time of the confirmation of this writinge and to them their heirs or Assigns and for ever and after the decease of our mother the part excepted in like maner we also agre that the said John and Jonathan shall haue the residue of the tobacco and the hogs & pigs Above excepted and also each of them one pewter platter and John one silver spoone, and Jonathan one Cow and also the Said John and Jonathan shall haue the cart wheles, and plow and what tacklinge or furniture there is belonginge to them or to the horses and also two hows and two axes we also mutualy agre that (p. 37) Job Wetcomb and Josiah Wetcomb the two youngest Sonnes of the Said deceased John Wetcomb shall have the vpland or house lot which formerly wase their brothers Johns lott it beinge twentie Aikers and also twentie one Acers of Intervall lott and part of it adjoyinge to the before mentioned Intervall lott and part of it lyinge at quassaponakin and part of it where it shall fall to bee layed out the same to have and to hould to them their heirs or assigns for ever we also mutualy agre that the portion of medow alotted our mother for terme of her life Shall after her decease be equaly divided to us foure here named brothers and for all other medow or medows second divitions with all after divitions or dowers with dowerage and all other rights and privileges belonging to the Estate of the said deceased John Wetcomb we mutualy doe agre to diuide them also equaly amongst us foure above named brothers the same to have & to hould to them their heirs or assigns & for ever.

Also we mutualy agre that Abigail Wetcomb daughter to the deceased John Wetcomb Shall haue one cow out of her fathers estate furthermore we the Above Said Francis Wetcomb, John Wetcomb and Jonathan Wetcomb mutualy agree that when Mary Wetcomb daughter of the Said deceased John Whetcomb is Sixtene years of age we will giue to her one Cow Also it is further mutualy by us agreed that the above said John and Jonathan Shall pay the other halfe of the dets which ought to bee charged upon the Estate of the Said deceased John Wetcomb and for beter confirmation of this agreement amongst us we each signe it by Settinge here vnto our hands this Second of October 1662 in the presence of wittnes

THOMAS WYOLDER, JACOB FARRER. At a Common Court held at Cambridge.......FRANCIS WETCOMB, Octob 7 1662....................................................JOHN WETCOMB, This above being the mutuall........................ JONATHAN WETCOMB, agreemt of all partys (illegible) and.............. JOB WHETCOMB, to attested by Major Simon H. Willard......... JOSIAH WHETCOMB, in open court is allowed & confirmed.......... MARY WETCOMB, by act of yr court as attest. ............................ABIGAIL R. WHITCOMB, THOMAS DANFORTH Recorder. Entered and recorded the 7th of Octb 1662 In the Register of Wills & Inventory lib. 2, page 67.8.9.70, by Thomas Danforth Recorder.

Contributed GEDCOM material

Name

John Whitcomb, Jr.[6][7][8][9][10] John Whitcomb[11][12][13][10][9][8][14] Birth

Scituate, MA 6 Apr 1588 England[8][10] 6 Apr 1588 Taunton, Somerset, England[10][8] Event

Arrival 1635 New England[9] Arrival 1620-1650 New England[9] Arrival 1633-1634 Massachusetts[9] Marriage

1623 So[8] 26 November 1623 Taunton[15][8] Wife: Frances Coggan Child: Catherine Whitcomb Child: James Whitcomb Child: John Whitcomb Child: Jonathan Whitcomb Child: Robert Whitcomb Child: Joanne Whitcomb Child: Abigail Whitcomb Child: James Whitcomb Child: Robert Whitcomb Child: Job Whitcomb Child: Josiah Whitcomb Child: Margaret Whitcomb Child: Mary Whitcomb Death

24 Sep 1662 Lancaster, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA[16][10][17] Notes

John was in Scituate by 1640. Immigrant England Sources

↑ Burton W. Spear, Search for the Passengers of the Mary & John, 1630, 27 vols., (Toledo, Ohio: the author, 1985–1992), 26:61–73 ↑ Henry Saint George, The Visitation of London, Anno Domini 1633, 1634, and 1635, Made by Sr Henry St George, Kt, Richmond Herald, and Deputy and Marshal to Sr Richard St George, Kt, Clarencieux King of Armes, ed. by Joseph Jackson Howard and Joseph Lemuel Chester, 2 vols., Publications of the Harleian Society 15 & 17, (London: Harleian Society, 1880–1883), 2:345 ↑ Elizabeth French and J. Gardner Bartlett, "Genealogical Research in England", New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 68 (1914): 63–64 ↑ Frederick W. Wead, "James Whetcombe of Boston", New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 112 (1958): 160 ↑ Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634–1635, 7 vols., (Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1999–2011), 7:331 ↑ Edmund West ↑ Holmes ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 U.S. and International Marriage Records ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Filby ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Millennium File ↑ Edmund West ↑ Edmund West ↑ Worcester County, Massachusetts Memoirs ↑ Holmes ↑ Edmund West ↑ Edmund West ↑ Edmund West Stearns, Ezra S. Genealogical and Family History of the State of New Hampshire (Lewis Publishing Company, 1908) Vol. 2, Page 603 Holmes, Frank R. Directory of the Ancestral Heads of New England Families, 1620-1700 (Genealogical Pub. Co., 1964) Filby, P. William, ed. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s, (Farmington Hills, MI, USA: Gale Research, 2009) New England; Year: 1620-1650 http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=pili354&h=1582323&ti=0&indiv=... Arrival date: 1620-1650 Arrival place: New England Massachusetts; Year: 1633-1634 http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=pili354&h=1439603&ti=0&indiv=... Arrival date: 1633-1634 Arrival place: Massachusetts Edmund West, comp. Family Data Collection - Deaths (Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2001) http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=genepoold&h=2817765&ti=0&indi... Death date: 24 September 1662 Death place: Lancaster, Worcester, MA, USA U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 Yates Publishing: The Generations Network, Inc. (Provo, UT, USA, The Generations Network, Inc., 2004). http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=worldmarr_ga&h=1312405&ti=0&i... Birth date: 1588 Birth place: ND Marriage date: 1623 Marriage place: So http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=worldmarr_ga&h=1312404&ti=0&i... Birth date: 1588 Birth place: Marriage date: 1623 Marriage place: So http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=worldmarr_ga&h=1312401&ti=0&i... Birth date: 1588 Birth place: EN Marriage date: Marriage place: of MA http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=worldmarr_ga&h=254153&ti=0&in... Birth date: 1604 Birth place: EN Marriage date: Marriage place: of MA http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=worldmarr_ga&h=254154&ti=0&in... Birth date: 1605 Birth place: ND Marriage date: 1623 Marriage place: So http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=worldmarr_ga&h=254155&ti=0&in... Birth date: 1604 Birth place: En Marriage date: 1623 Marriage place: En The Millennium File (Heritage Consulting) http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=millind&h=10129459&ti=0&indiv... Birth date: 1588 Birth place: Taunton, Somerset, England Death date: 24 Sep 1662 Death place: Lancaster, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA Ancestry Family Trees: Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members. http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=24279608&pid... http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=21058954&pid... http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=25520292&pid... Edmund West, comp. Family Data Collection - Marriages (Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2001) http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=genepoolm&h=519756&ti=0&indiv... Marriage date: 26 November 1623 Marriage place: Taunton Worcester County, Massachusetts Memoirs, Volume I-II Author: Ancestry.com Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2002. Original data - Ellery Bicknell Crane, ed. Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Worcester County Massachusetts with a History of Worcester Society http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=genref-gen-pers-mem-worc-ma&h... http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=genref-gen-pers-mem-worc-ma&h... Source: S1658871532 Repository: #R-2145023627 Ancestry Family Trees Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members. Ancestry Family Tree http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=4151977&pid=... Repository: R-2145023627 Ancestry.com Note: The Literature

The following are the important publications about the genealogy of this family in chronological order (i.e. the most reliable material is at the end).

William Frederic Whitcomb, Memorial of the Whitcomb and Pierce Families (View at Ancestry.com — a subscription web site), (Boston, Mass.: the author, 1888), begins the genealogical description of this family and proposes Symon Whitcomb as John Whitcomb's father.

Charlotte Whitcomb, The Whitcomb Family in America: A Biographical Genealogy with a Chapter on Our English Forbears "by the Name of Whetcombe" (Minneapolis, Minn: the author, 1904). Download free at https://archive.org/details/whitcombfamilyin00whit. Contains many errors and omissions, nevertheless, it is transcribed below.

Elizabeth French and J. Gardner Bartlett, "Genealogical Research in England" (View at AmericanAncestors.org — a subscription web site)], New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 68 (1914): 63–64, first identifies Taunton, Somerset, as the English home of this family and the Coggans as his wife's family.

Mary Lovering Holman, The Scott Genealogy (View at Ancestry.com — a subscription web site), (Boston, Mass.: the author for Harriet Grace Scott, 1919), 2:254.

Mary Lovering Holman, Helen Pendleton Winston Pillsbury and Winifred Lovering Holman, "Number 10: The Whitcomb Line" (View at HeritageQuest.com — a subscription web site), Ancestry of Colonel John Harrington Stevens and His Wife Frances Helen Miller, (Concord, N.H.: privately printed at the Rumford Press, 1948–1953), 1:86–93.

Frederick W. Wead, "James Whetcombe of Boston" (View at AmericanAncestors.com — a subscription web site), New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 112 (1958): 160, shows that John and Frances (Coggan) Whitcomb were not the parents of James Whitcomb of Boston.

Burton W. Spear, Search for the Passengers of the Mary & John, 1630, 27 vols., (Toledo, Ohio: the author, 1985–1992), 26:61–73, first identifies Thomas and Joanna (Pope) Whitcomb as the correct parents of John Whitcomb. (Not available online?)

Robert Charles Anderson, "John Whitcomb" View at AmericanAncestors.org — a subscription web site), The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634–1635, (Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1999–2011), 7:326–331, is the current authority for this family.

---

Birth: 1588 Keynsham, England

Immigration in 1635 on ship Hopewell

Death: Sep. 24, 1662 Lancaster Worcester County Massachusetts, USA

According to Rev. Frederick Lewis Weis (b. 1895- d.1966), 12th minister (1926-1951) of First Church (the Bulfinch Church) in Lancaster, and an ardent genealogist, he noted that, "John and Frances Whitcomb were buried in the Old Settlers Burial Ground, but their gravestones have not survived."

Family links:

Spouse:

 Frances Coggan Whitcomb (1605 - 1671)

Children:

 Catherine Whitcomb Elmes (1624 - 1671)*

 Robert Whitcomb (1629 - ____)*

 Josiah Whitcomb (1638 - 1718)*

*Calculated relationship

Burial: Old Settlers Burial Yard Lancaster Worcester County Massachusetts, USA

Created by: S.B. Manuel Record added: May 16, 2009 Find A Grave Memorial# 37149249

---

The family name was sometimes spelled Whetcombe. John, his wife Frances (Coggan) Whitcomb and children sailed from England to America on an unknown date to escape religious persecution. He may have arrived in Massachusetts as early as 1630 but first official mention of him comes from Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1633 showing him joining the Puritan Church. In 1640 he moved to a town called Scituate where he acquired a parcel of land and there he was made town constable or sheriff. Then in 1654 he moved on to Lancaster. He became "freeman" at some unknown point in time and to acquire that status one had to be a Christian. His signature appears as one of the pioneer settlers of the Nashaway Plantation which ultimately became Lancaster. He was a landowner and a farmer and known to buy and trade land frequently and some of the products he produced were corn, tobacco, flax, edible roots, garden herbs and vegetables. In addition he had an orchard and he probably harvested maple syrup. He died September 24, 1662 at the age of 74. He was laid to rest with several other forefathers of the hamlet in the "old burying ground" of Lancaster. (wab)

---

• Reference: WikiTree Genealogy - SmartCopy: Jun 12 2019, 15:52:34 UTC

  ---

GEDCOM Source

@R300473034@ Ancestry Family Trees Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.

GEDCOM Source

Ancestry Family Tree http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=40323802&pid...

• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Jun 17 2019, 0:30:23 UTC

  ---

GEDCOM Source

@R-1594052016@ Ancestry Family Trees Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members. This information comes from 1 or more individual Ancestry Family Tree files. This source citation points you to a current version of those files. Note: The owners of these tree files may have removed or changed information since this source citation was created.

GEDCOM Source

Ancestry Family Trees http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=32382361&pid...

---

GEDCOM Source

@R-1594052016@ Ancestry Family Trees Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members. This information comes from 1 or more individual Ancestry Family Tree files. This source citation points you to a current version of those files. Note: The owners of these tree files may have removed or changed information since this source citation was created.

GEDCOM Source

Ancestry Family Trees http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=32382361&pid...