.., 80New England Historical and Genealogical Register

.Q f) q 1 t2.20'i~'5'9 I !

ii. DAVIDCUSHMAN,b. 21 Feb. 1733;no further record.

iii. OBEDIAHCUSHMAN,b. 7 Jan. 1755; d. at Dartmouth 19 July 1833;[521m.there, 19 April 1778, RUTH BARKER,daughter of Isaac and Elizabeth(Howland) Barker.

iv. SARAHCUSHMAN,b. ca. 1757 Dartmouth; d. at Westport, Mass., 29 Aug.1831)53]m. (1) at Dartmouth, 29 April 1776,154]SAMUELWATE,(2), prob­ably at Westport, 18April 1790, EDMONDDAVIS)SS]

v. MARCYCUSHMAN,b. 9 April 1759;d. unmarried.

vi. JEDIDAHCUSHMAN,b. 14 Jan. 1766;d. at Cambridge, N.Y., 8 Oct. 1848; m.at Dartmouth, Mass., 7 Nov. 1782,CALEBGIFFORDJ56]

vii. MARYCUSHMAN,b. ca. 1768 in Massachusetts; m. at Dartmouth, 18 March1784,JACOBATKlNS)S7]

viii. DINAHCUSHMAN,b. ca. 1770, prob. in Massachusetts; m. at Dartmouth, 2..1July 1794, ELIHUGIFFORD.After his death in 1798 in the West Indies,Dinah evidently moved to Cambridge, N.Y. with the family of her sisterJedidah and her parentsJS8]

ix. PATTYCUSHMAN,b. ca. 1772, prob. in Massachusetts; m. JOHN KENNEYofFairhaven, Mass.

x. HANNAHCUSHMAN,b. ca. 7 April 1773; m. at White Creek, N.Y., 15 Sept.1794)59]LAWTONBARKER.See above, page 75, for their family.

Charles H. Wadhams, Jr., who is retired from management careers in Financial Ser­

vices and Communications Intelligence, resides at 2977 West Brampton Lane, Fresno,CA 93711-1186.

52.Gravestone,ElmStreetCemetery,Padanaram,Dartmouth,Mass.53. Vital Records of Westport, Massachusetts to the Year 1850 (Boston:NEHGS,1918),270.54. Dartmouth VRs, 2:148.55. Ibid., 2:147.

56. Register, 135[1981]:50-52,includesan extensiveaccountof thiscoupleand their children.57. Dartmouth VRs,2:147.

58. Register, 135[1981]:48.59.FamilyBible[note9].

THE ENGLISH ORIGIN AND ANCESTRY OF

THE PARKER BROTHERS OF MASSACHUSETTS

and of their Probable Aunt,

Sarah Parker, Wife of Edward Converse

Douglas Richardson

James1 Parker was of Woburn, Massachusetts in 1640, and was joined there

at unknown dates by his brothers, John1, Abraham (or Abram)l, Joseph1,

and JacobI Parker. All five men removed as a group, about 1653, to

Chelmsford, Massachusetts, where Abraham and Jacob remained; John,

James, and Joseph afterwards went to Billerica and about 1661, James and

Joseph continued on to Groton. The evidence that t~ese five men werebrothers was set forth in 1943, by Mary Walton Ferris in Dawes-Gates

Ancestral Lines. Briefly, she shows that a donation for Harvard College was

made in 1657 by John1 Parker in behalf of his brother, James. A court record

of 1668 referred to JacobI Parker as brother of John Parker deceased, while in

June 1672, Sarah, daughter of JacobI Parker, chose her uncle, Abram1 Parker,

as her guardian. The residence and land ownership of Joseph1 Parker ineach of the four towns where James was recorded argues that he was

another member of the family.f1]

Clues to the English origin of the Parker family have been in print for

some time. In 1877, Deloraine P. Corey, Esq., historian of Malden,

Massachusetts, published a transcript of a letter written in 1677 by Susan

(Waite) Redington of England to her sister and brother-in-law, Robert and

Mary (Waite) Lord of Ipswich, Massachusetts, regarding the settlement of a

Waite family estate in England.[2] The immigrant RobertI Lord and his wife,

Mary Waite, to whom the above letter was addressed, were married at

Finchingfield, Essex, in 1630P] In a postscript, Susan asks,

Pray present our kind loves to broth[er] John and wife to whom I canot nowwrite pray send me word which of the parkers widows she was.

Susan was obviously referring to the marriage of her brother, Capt.

John1 Waite, in 1675 at Malden, to Sarah, widow of JacobI Parker of

Chelmsford, but she was evidently unsure whether he had married the

widow of JacobI Parker of Chelmsford, or that of Jacob's brother, John1

1.MaryWaltonFerris,Dawes-Gates Aru:estral Lirws, 1 (Milwaukee:privatelyprinted, 1943),464,citingPublications of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, 31[1935]:152,186,214;T. B.Wyman,Gerwalogies

and Estates of Charlestown, Massachusetts (Boston:DavidClapp& Son,1879),4,317,350,522,640,72h­

9,1035;MiddlesexCounty,MassachusettsCourtFiles,June 1672.2. DeloraineP. Corey,"Letter of Mrs.Susan Redington,concerningthe Estate of her Brother,Rev.

.;.•..•.,9"·,,·il '"ic'~ t.F··L·c- " __1__..1""'1,"",°'·' ~1 r1R771'1t\O-1t\;2, ( .._, :::.>.00 Mil ~,.' L oJ s.) "c.'·l,.,·jr\1 C'f"> r=."8IClIiC1 •." k.t!Qir;~I'{· ;1( f),""/J]: i!vC-r{2

.•.7.CJujl7.:.> Clttlc..(J-fJ7:,nck:.<!E.c,.I,.-. ~ ,..;.- dfld t;./C!;Z. bJ ffii'~\fCl,·'fJ), J -..c:.>,sP."": ;...fHL r)/Ic rO"j-lC!Je i.,{};2l~" r;f/!lJ-~.J·c.JJ

4. Robert Charles Anderson, TIw Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633, 3 vols.(Boston: NEHGS, 1995):1:461-462.

5.Ferris, Dawes-Gates Ancestral Lines [note IJ,465.6.Middlesex County Deeds, 2:197.

7. Arnold P. G. and Carolyn Bryant Peterson, "Edward Converse of Woburn, Massachusetts: Notes onhis Birthplace and Ancestry," Register, 146[1992]:130-132.

8. Parish registers of South Weald, Essex (FHL microfilm 1,526,985)[hereinafter South Weald PRs].

Parker of Billerica; both men had died about the same time. SusanRedington evidently knew the Parker family, a fact that suggests a commonplace of residence in England.

A second clue to the English origin of the Parker brothers may be foundin their close association with, and apparent kinship to, the family of theimmigrant Edward1 Converse of Charlestown and Woburn, Massachusetts.

In 1659, Ed ward 1 Converse made his will leaving 40 shillings to his

"kinsman," John Parker, who was to be one of the overseers.14] As MaryWalton Ferris rightly noted, two subsequent facts tighten the apparentbond between these families: (a) Josiah2 Converse (Edward1) assisted JacobIParker in the administration of the estate of Jacob's brother, John1 Parker;and (b) in 1672, after the death of JacobI Parker, James2 Converse (brother ofJosiah) joined the widow Sarah Parker and her brother-in-law, James1Parker of Groton, Massachusetts, in petitioning the court for a division ofthe property left by JacobI Parker.15]

In a Register article published in 1992, Arnold P. G. and Carolyn BryantPeterson suggested that the immigrant Edward Converse was probably theman of that name baptized at Navestock, Essex, England, 23 March 1588/9,son of Allen Converse of Navestock and his first wife, Joanna. Thebaptismal date of Edward 1 Converse of Navestock agrees with hisdeposition given 10 March 1661/2, when he gave his age as then about 73years.[6] Edward Converse married at Great Burstead, Essex, on 29 June1614, his first wife~ Sarah Parker, and they resided at South Weald, Essex,where they had the baptisms of three children recorded between 1618 and1623.[7]

In an effort to confirm the alleged English origin of Edward Converse,this writer reexamined the parish registers of South Weald.18] In addition to

the baptisms of Edward Converse's three children as reported by thePetersons, two previously overlooked burials were found: Sara, daughter ofEdward Converse, in 1623, and Sara, wife of Edward, in 1625. Moreover,the South Weald registers revealed that Edward Converse's brother, AllenConverse, Jr. (baptized at Navestock, Essex in 1586), also resided at SouthWeald, where he and his wife-also named Sara-had five children

83

12.;) (f1tJ f 2-

English Origin of the Parker Brothers· of Massachusetts1999]

(Theophilus, Allen, Aron, Abraham, and Sara) baptized between March1613/14 and 1621.Allen's wife Sara was buried there 5 December 1626.[9]

Of the five children of Allen Converse, Jr., recorded, only three,Theophilus, Allen and Sara, survived infancy. Since only Theophilusappears as an adult in the South Weald registers, it is reasonable to supposethat Allen and Sara are identical with the Allen Converse "kinsman" and

Sara Smith "kinswoman" named in the 1659 will of the immigrant EdwardConverse of Woburn, Massachusetts. Allen Converse, nephew of Edward,did in fact immigrate to New England, where he joined his uncle atWoburn. He married about 1641, Elizabeth , and died at Woburn 19

April 1679PO] Edward Converse's niece, Sara (Converse) Smith, appears tobe identical with Sarah (died 1687), wife of John Smith (died 1673) ofCharlestown, Massachusetts, who were married by 1646.111J

The fact that Edward1 Converse's first wife, Sarah, was a Parker,explains Edward's having referred to John Parker of Billerica as "kinsman"in his will dated 1659. Research in the Essex Record Office in Chelmsford,Essex, was commissioned in 1976 and again in 1990 by Marian ParkerCongdon (Mrs. Guilford) of Atherton, California, a Parker familyhistorian.[12] Both searches located the baptisms of four of the fiveimmigrant Parker brothers: John (1615), Abraham (1619), Joseph (1622), andJacob (1626), all sons of John Parker of the parish of Great Burstead.Although the baptism of the fifth brother, James Parker, was not located, hisestimated birth date of 1617, indicated by both a deposition and the will hemade as an adult in New England, is consistent with the gap between thebaptisms of his brothers John and Abraham.

While the discovery of the four baptisms was encouraging, conclusiveproof that these were the baptisms of the Parker brothers appeared to belacking, as no will could be found for John Parker, the putative father of theimmigrants. It was known that the eldest brother, John Parker (theimmigrant to New England), had married, at an unknown date after 1639,Mary, widow of John Poulter of Rayleigh, Essex. As Rayleigh and GreatBurstead are in the same general vicinity, it is natural to suppose that thiscouple married in England prior to their emigration sometime before 1649,

9.See below, pages 100-101.10. Edward F. Johnson, Woburn Records of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, from 1640 to 1873. Part I: Births.

Part II: Deaths, with William R. Cutter: Transcript of Epitaphs in Woburn First and Second Burial­

Grounds. Part III: Marriages. Bound in one volume (Woburn: Andrews, Cutler, & Co., and Boston:

Winship, Daniels & Co., 1890-91)[hereinafter Woburn VR,j, 2:39.

11. Clarence Almon Torrey, New England Marriages Prior to 1700 (Baltimore: Genealogical PublishingCo., 1985),683.

12.This search was repeated in 1990,at Mrs. Congdon's request, by Debrett Ancestry Service, Limited,

of Alresford, Hampshire.

UANUARYNew England Historical and Genealogical Register82

13. Mary Walton Ferris suggested that the couple married in America after both parties hadimmigrated (Dawes-Gates Ancestral Lines [note 1],1:499).

14. Court of the Archdeacon of Essex, Registered Wills, 49 ER 20, otherwise Register Whitehead, folio49 (FHL microfilm 91,218).An abstract of the will of John Poulter appears in Register, 141(1987]:216-217.

but no record of the marriage of John Parker and Mary Poulter has beenfound in English recordsp3]

However, a close review of the Great Burstead parish records shows thata John Parker and Mary Aylett, widow, were married there in 1642.Although the bride's name was dearly Aylett, it suggested to this writer thatthe widow Poulter might have had a brief second marriage to a man namedAylett, after the death of her first husband, John Poulter, in 1639, and beforeshe married John Parker in 1642.

Searches failed to locate such a marriage about 1640, but the will of JohnAylett of Rayleigh, Essex, yeoman, proved in 1640, was found andcompared with the will of Mary Poulter's first husband, John Poulter ofRayleigh, proved in 1639.

In his will, dated and signed 18 March 1638[/9], John Poulter left to hisson John Poulter £50 at age 21, and to daughters Mary and Elizabeth Poulter£100 each at age 21 or marriage. If any of the children died before inheriting,their portion[s] were to go to his loving wife Mary Poulter, who was to paythe children's legacies to his overseers within six weeks after his death, to be"put out by them unto the best advantage and sufficient bond to be takenfor the childrens better assurance and the use to be for the mayntenanceand bringing of my said children or so many of them as shall live." Hebequeathed "unto Marie Poulter. my mother" 40s to buy her a ring for aremembrance. He made other bequests: 20s each to "Anne Hayward myAunt", Anne Hudson, Richard Abrahams the son of Richard Abrahams, andWilliam Brewster. Jane Broadwater and Elizabeth Broadwater were to have

5s each, and William Clements lOs. His wife Mary was to "have the keepinggovernance & bringing up of my said children during the ire nonages." Allthe rest of his estate was to go to his wife Mary, who was appointedexecutrix, with Thomas Purchas, clerk, and John Sharpe, yeoman, asoverseers, each to have 205 for a remembrance. He added a bequest "untoMarie Pope my mother in law," £5 to be paid unto her for five years at 20s ayear "if she shall so long live." Witnesses were John Horsnayle, WilliamBrewster, and John Offen [his mark]. The will was proved at Great Baddow,Essex, 30 May 1639, before Richard Baylie on the oath of Mary Poulter, relictof the said deceased and the executrix named in the said testament, towhom was committed the administration of the said deceased's estate.[14]

85

12.2OC:;~{~

English Origin of the Parker Brothers of Massachusetts

John Aylet of Rayleigh in the County of Essex draper, signed his will 9March 1639[/40], noting that he was "sicke of body." Following the usual

preamble, he stated:

And for my worldly estate I thus dispose .... unto my brother Gyles Aylett ofSutton magna 405 to buy him a ring .... unto my brother Richard Aylett ofLeighe £5 to be paid unto him when he shall accomplishe his age of fowre &twentie yeares ... , unto my Cosen Edward Young of Thundersley 20s.... untomy servant John Parker 2Os.... unto my servant Elizabeth Broadewater 205.... The rest of all my goods chatttells and moveables my debts and legaciesbeing paid I give and bequeath unto Mary my beloved wife whom I makesole executrix of this my last will and testament. ... Witnesses StephenVassall,Thomas Gresby, John Parker.

The will was proved at Maldon, Essex, 17 April 1640, before Richard

Baylie on the oath of Mary Aylett, relict of the said deceased and theexecutrix named in the said will, to whom was committed the admini­stration of the said deceased's estate.[15]

Both John Poulter and John Aylett had a wife named Mary and both left

bequests to a certain Elizabeth Broadwater, who in Aylett's will is called "myservant." This suggests that Elizabeth had been a servant in the householdof John Poulter, and subsequently in the Aylett household when hermistress remarried. We can suppose that both men were fairly young when

they died as John Poulter's three children are known to have been bornbetween about 1631 and 1635,whereas John Aylett was born after 1606, and,in 1640 he had a brother, Richard, under 24 years of age.[16] Likewise, if

John Aylett's wife, Mary, was the widow of John Poulter, it wouldnecessarily have been a brief marriage, and probably childless, which isconsistent with the fact that Aylett's will mentions no children. The will of

John Aylett fits all the necessary criteria for him to have been the husbandof Mary Poulter, barring a specific bequest in his will to her Poulterchildren.

Perhaps the singular most significant thing about John Aylett's will is abequest of 20s to his servant, John Parker. It seems likely that John Parker is

15. Court of the Archdeacon of Essex, Registered Wills, 78 ER 20, otherwise Register Whitehead, folio

78(FHL microfilm 91,218).16.It is certain that John Aylett was born after 1606,as his parents, Rev. Giles Aylett, M.A., clerk,

parson of Sutton, Essex, bachelor, and Mary Thurgood, daughter of Robert Thurgood of MagdalenLaver, Essex, yeoman, married in that year at Chelmsford, Essex (Boyd's Marriage Index, Essex[FHL microfiche 6,026,993(Ailett)); d. Joseph Foster, London Mnrriage Licenses, 1521-1869 [London:B. Quaritch, 1887],56).John Aylett's parentage is proven by the will of his mother, Mary AyIet,widow, of Sutton Magna, Essex, dated 7April 1634,proved 14Dec. 1635,in which she named hersons Giles, John, and Richard Aylet; grandson Thomas Westbrok; and son-in-law Thomas

Westbrok (Court of the Bishop of London's Commissary, Original Wills, 68 BW 53 [FHL microfilm'),/-;If)")...]}

1999]

1

1

·f

UANUARYNew England Historical and Genealogical Register84

THE P ARKER FAMILY

of Great Burstead, Essex, and New England

1. JOHNc PARKER was born say 1525. The names of his parents areunknown, but according to his will, he had sisters named Joan and Agnes

87

e2.(Jqo(~

English Origin of the Parker Brothers of Massachusetts

20. Samuel Lewis, Topogaphical Dictionary of England [note 18], 1:390.

21. Court of the Bishop of London's Commissary, Original Wills,41 BW 29 (FHL microfilm 94,384).22. Essex Record Office, document QjSR 179/61.

(or Annes). His wife was MARGARET __ . They lived in Great Burstead,described by Samuel Lewis in his Topogaphical Dictionary of England as"pleasantly situated on elevated ground commanding a view of the riverThames .... The church is an ancient structure ... very spacious, and is a

prominent feature in the landscape .... ,,[20]

John Parker of Great Burstead, husbandman, at the time of his deathowned two houses in Great Burstead and one house in the market-town of

Billericay in Great Burstead. In his will dated 15 March 1580/1 and proved 29

May 1581, he asked to be buried in the churchyard of Great Burstead, andbequeathed,

to Mergreat my wyfe m[y] [two] housses that is to saye the howse thatThomas Boothe now dwelleth in [and the] howse that widdowe Charnelldwelleth in with thaportenance during [her] naturalllife and after herdecese, Iwill and my wi1lis that the saied [howses] aforesaid with all andsinguler thaportinance shall remayne unto my sonne John and his heires forever unto my said wife 3 kynne & [ ] ewes and halfe my moveablegoods unto [my] sonne in lawe Thomas Doore halfe an acre of my wheatenow gro[wing] one the grounde and halfe an acre of land to sowe otts onealso [1]will that he shall have 4 bushells of wheat and my wi1lis that his twochyldren Thomas and Amee shall have ether of them one sheep to bedelivered within halfe a yeare nixt after my decese.... unto my two SystersJoan and Annes ether of them 105 within one yeare nixt after my decease also... to Marian Huller 35 4d within one yeare after my decease .... unto thevicker of great bursteed 55 for a sermon at my buriall .... unto the poore ofgreat bursteed 105 within one yeare nixt after my decease .... unto my twodaughters Sara and Marye my howse at Bi1lercaywithin 3 yeares after mydecease to them & to their heires of their bodies lawfully begotten myexecutors shall have and in Joye the rent of the said howse at Billericay for the[said] 3 yeares afore specified, to paye and descharge the said legacies [given]in my said will. The rest of all my other goods unbequeated [sic] to my threechyldren John Sara & Marey equallie to be devided, And of this my presentwill and testament 1make and ordayne Margreat my wife and John my sonnemine executors ... Witnesses ... James Harris, Walter Harris, John Trower,

Thomas Jooce Doce]with others.l21]

The subsequent history of Margaret, wife of John Parker, is not known. TheEssex Quarter Sessions Court records mention an otherwise unidentifiedWidow Parker of Great Burstead, who was indicted for victualling withouta license in 1607.[22] Although this seems a bit too late for Margaret, widow

1999]

J

DANUARYNew England Historical and Genealogical Register

17. Besides the five Parker brothers and their probable aunt, Sarah (Parker) Converse, researchindicates that another immigrant, Joseph Hills of Malden, Mass., came from Great Burstead.Possibly the Hills and Parker families were related in England - Joseph Hills' son-in-law, CaplJohn! Waite of Malden married, second, Sarah, widow of Jacob! Parker.

18. The parish of Great Burstead included the site of an episcopal chapel (formerly a chapel of ease)located in the market-town of Billericay. In 1840, the chapel was described as an "ancient brickbuilding in the center of the town erected probably in the 14th Century" (Samuel Lewis, ATopographical Dictionary of England, 4th ed., 4 vols. [London: S. Lewis & Co., 1840], 1:206).If some ofthe local church rites were performed in the Billericay chapel, it might explain the poor record­keeping of the Great Burstead pam:' registers.

19. This placement of Sarah (Parker) Converse is consistent with the chronology of both the Converseand Parker families and with the other known facts of the Parker family. Below, Sarah (Parker)Converse is shown as the daughter of John Parker and the sister of John and James Parker, all ofGreat Burstead. Having male relatives named John and James Parker accounts for the appearance

of the given Ijames, John and James, among Sarah (Parker) Converse's children, as these namesu.,H!,''fJ I/.·t US,,;'ci 11'1 ·.[I)lI f'N>\I, Ci;~ 9"i1"1'~''f/£.,' '/' hf'r ;!L.':;'J'~l/lI'c··Po ,~,,'ly.. -

the immigrant to New England, and that he married Mary, the widow of hisformer master, John Aylett, and earlier the wife of John Poulter. JohnParker, baptized at Great Burstead, Essex in 1615, was approximately tenyears younger than his wife, Mary, who was born about 1605, if her age of88 years at death in 1693 was correctly stated. At the time of their marriagein 1642, John Parker and the widow Mary Aylett (formerly Poulter) wouldhave been 27 and 37 years old respectively.

In summary, combining previously known evidence with newdiscoveries, we find that the parish records of Great Burstead, Essex, includethe baptisms of four of the five Parker brothers and the marriage of SarahParker to Edward Converse, as well as the previously undetected marriagesof the immigrant, John Parker, to Mary Aylett, widow, in 1642, and of hisbrother, Joseph Parker, to Margaret Puttow (or Putton) in 1650.[17]

Additional research into the Parker family of Great Burstead has tracedthis family's ancestry to a certain John Parker, husbandman, who diedleaving a will proved in 1581. Although the parish registers of GreatBurstead appear to have been poorly kept over many years and very fewParker family wills are available, the following tentative reconstruction ofthe family has been madep8] While it is still unproven how closely relatedSarah Parker, wife of Edward1 Converse, was to the five immigrant Parkerbrothers, for the purposes of this article it is assumed that she was theiraunt, named for a Sarah Parker found in an earlier generationP9]

86

23, Boyd's Marriage Index, Essex (FHL microfiche 6,026,989),sub Dore, where the bride's surname isincorrectly given as Porter,

;;1'1. i<'Q,c:~,,~cl8'-' f't;/Jf' £8:';(>", qva ,-k,,, S"Sc.i c' ", 5> e":J,-'.j I £5$(,~" 11:- <'<"re!0(·1-1( e./ q/;;f!. .d;:W/I/

of JohnB Parker, it is worth noting that her grandson, James Parker [no.2.ill.], was indicted for the same,offense in 1621.

Children:

i. ANNE PARKER, b. say 1553; m. at Great Burstead, 28 June 1573, THOMAS

DORE (or Doore).f23] He was a legatee in the 1581 will of his father-in­law, John Parker.

Children, first two bp. at Great Burstead, parents' names not stated:

1. Amy Dare, bp. 6 Dec. 1574. Her grandfather, John Parker, in his 1581will bequeathed her one sheep,

2. John Dare, bp. 24 Nov. 1577; d. presumably young.

3, Thomas Dore, b. say 1579 (baptism not found). His grandfather, John

Parker, in his 1581 will bequeathed to him one sheep.

ii, JOHNB PARKER, b. say 1560; m. (1) ' (2) MARY ASHELS (or WHEELER).

iii. SARAH PARKER, living in 1581 when her father bequeathed to her a jointshare with her sister Mary in a house in Billericay in Great Burstead.

iv. MARY PARKER, living in 1581 when her father bequeathed to her a jointshare with her sister Sarah in a house, as noted above.

2. JOHNB PARKER (JohnC) was born say 1560, and was buried at Great

Burstead, Essex, 5 August 1613, as "John Parker, householder." He married,first, a wife whose name has not been learned. He married, second, as

"John Parker, widower," at Great Burstead, 9 October 1606, MARY__ ,whose surname, not clear in the parish register, appears to be ASHELSbutcould be the more likely WHEELER.

John's father in his will written in 1581 bequeathed to him two houses inGreat Burstead. Presumably his widow was the Mary Parker who marriedthere, 14 November 1614, Edward Bridges. Nothing more of theirsubsequent history has been learned.

Children, with first wife:

3, i. JOHNAPARKER, b. say 1585/90; m. ANNE (or ANNA) __ ..ii. ALICE PARKER (possible child), b. say 1590; m. at Great Burstead, 12 July

1609, GEORGE PAYNE. Their subsequent history is unknown.

iii. JAMES PARKER, b, say 1594; buried at Great Burstead 8 March 1622/3, as"James Parker, young man, son of John Parker." He m. at Great

Burstead, 14 Aug. 1616, JOAN COKER; she m. (2) at Great Burstead, 18Sept. 1623, John Hove. James Parker of Great Burstead was indicted in1621, for victualling without a license)24]

Children, all records from registers of Great Burstead:

1. Elizabeth Parker:, bp. 9 April 1620; buried 26 Aug. 1620, in both recordsas "daughter of James and Johan Parker,"

89

RJ.oo,o!<) ,

English Origin of the Parker Brothers of Massachusetts1999]

2. James Parker:, bp. 14 Oct. 1621, as "son of James and Johan Parker"; m.

30 Sept. 1647, Elizabeth Willson. Children, bp. at Great Burstead: (i)

James Parker, bp. 28 April 1650. (ii) James Parker, bp. 6 March 1652,

(iii) James Parker, bp. 6 March 1654.

4, iv, SARAH PARKER, b. say 1596; m, EDWARD1CONVERSE.

Child with second wife, Mary Ashels or Wheeler:

v. JOSEPH PARKER, bp. at Great Burstead 9 Aug, 1607, as "son of John Parker";

d. presumably young.

25,The parish registers of Romford, Essex (FHLmicrofilm 571,183)record a marriage in 1613 for a JohnParker to Anne Sibley (Boyd's Marriage Index, Essex, on FHL microfiche 6,026,994 (sub Parker) and6,026,996 (sub Sibly). Presumably she is the Anne Snagges who married previously at Romford, in1606, Richard Sibley (or Sybley), who was buried there 21 June 1611 (ibid" sub Sibly, and FHLmicrofiche 6,026,996,sub Snaggs; Romford parish registers [burial of Richard Sybley]), Perhaps themarriage of John Parker and Anne (Snagges) Sibley at Romford is that of John and Anne Parkerwho resided at nearby Great Burstead, However, the Romford registers record the deaths ofseveral Anne Parkers in this period, as follows: Ann Parker, widow, buried 26 Dee, 1616; __ ,wife of John Banes alias Parker, buried 4 March 1617/8; Anne wife of John Parker alias Banes,buried 28 April 1618; Anne wife of John Parker, buried 27 Nov, 1618; and Anne wife of JohnParker, buried 7 April 1628, Given the profusion of Anne Parkers at Romford in this period oftime, three of whom had husbands named John, it seems likely that the burial record of one ofthese Anne Parkers relates to Anne (Snagges) Sibley who married John Parker there in 1613, Ifcorrect, then the marriage of JohnA and Anne Parker who lived nearby in Great Burstead wouldhave to be sought elsewhere,

26,Essex Record Office, document Q/SR220/11.

27. Vital Records of Billerica, Massachusetts to the Year 1850 (Boston: NEHGS, 1908) [hereinafter BillericaVRs],381.

28, For further information, see Janet Ireland Delorey, "The Poulter Family of Rayleigh, Essex,

£n.{j leuleL; G/jdc"f','/ If e.1"1C.c..:~i/YlQ s::fCd!1! u~'eff-s, ;j;, 'if /e; 4-1' i¥ I (l'1ft7)fU 5 - )..,71

3. JOHNA PARKER(JohnB-C) was born probably between 1585 and 1590. Hemarried, say 1614, ANN or ANNA __ .[25J They resided at Great Burstead,where six of their seven known children were baptized. John served as awitness in 1618, in the Essex Court of Quarter Sessions)26] John Parker andhis wife, Anne, were both living in 1630, at the birth of their seventh child,Joshua. Their subsequent history is unknown.

Children:

i. [Sergeant] JOHN1 PARKER, immigrant to New Eng]and, bp. at GreatBurstead 4 June 1615, as "son of John Parker"; d, intestate without issue

at BilJerica, Mass" 14 June 1667)27] He m, at Great Burstead, 23 June

1642, MARY (?POPE) (POULTER) AYLETT, b. ca. 1605, daughter of Marie

L-) Pope, and widow successively of John Poulter, yeoman, and John

Aylett, draper, both of Rayleigh, Essex. Mary had three children with

her first husband: 1. Mary Poulter, 2, Elizabeth Poulter, and 3. JohnPoulter)28]

Possibly John and his brothers attended the schooJ for boys in GreatBurstead, which in 1840, Lewis stated, was endowed with land

UANUARYNew England Historical and Genealogical Register88

2,

iJ

90 New England Historical and Genealogical Register UANUARY 1999] English Origin of the Parker Brothers of Massachusetts

fZ~d,ol.6

91

producing £60 per annum.[29] He was a legatee and witness to the 1640will of John Aylett of Rayleigh, who bequeathed him 20s and called him"servant."[30] John and Mary immigrated to New England by 1649,where they settled first at Woburn, and by 1654 were at Billerica, Mass.John Parker was the first town clerk of Billerica, the first collector oftaxes, and he built the first meeting house there. He was named alegatee and overseer in the 1659 will of Edward1 Converse of Woburn,Mass., who called him "kinsman" and bequeathed him 40'.

Following John Parker's death, his widow Mary m. (4) at Billerica, 16or 17 April 1674 (as his 2nd wife), Thomas1 Chamberlain, Sr., who d. atChelmsford ca. 21 Dec. 1700,131]She d. there 7 or 8 Feb. 1692/3, aged 88yrs, leaving a will dated 10 March 1673/4 in which she named her sonJohn Poulter; her daughter and son-in-law, Jonathan and ElizabethDanforth; and her grandchild, Anna Danforth.[32]

ii. [CAPTAIN]JAMES!PARKER,immigrant to New England, b. ca. 1617 (he gavehis age as 81 yrs in a deposition in 1698 and as 83 in his 1700 will); d. atGroton, Mass., shortly before 12 July 1700 when his estate wasinventoried. He m. (1) at Woburn, 23 May 1643)33JELIZABETHLONG,bp. at St. Albans, Herts., 14 Nov. 1621,134]daughter of RobertI and Sarah(Taylor) Long of St. Albans, and Dunstable, Bedfordshire, and Charles­town, MassJ35] She was the older sister of Anne (or Anna) Long, whom. James's first cousin, [Lieut.] James2 Converse [see no. 5.iii., below].He m. (2) between 1693 and 1697, EUNICE (BROOKS) CARTER,b. atWoburn 10 Oct. 1655,[36]daughter of John1 and Eunice (Mousall) Brooksand widow of Rev. Samuel2 Carter.

James Parker resided successively at Woburn, Chelmsford, andGroton, Mass. He was selectman of Groton in most of the yearsbetween 1662 and 1699; town clerk there 1678-1679;town treasurer 1697;representative to the General Court for Groton, 1683 and 1693; deaconof the Groton church and captain of the military company in Grotonduring King Philip's War,l37)James Parker, "Senior," left a will dated 25

29. Lewis, Topographical Dictiormnj of England [note 18], 1: 390.

30. Court of the Archdeaconry of Essex, 78 ER 20 (FHL microfilm 91,218.

31. Billerica VRs, 297; dup. rec. Vital Records of Chelmsford, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849

(Salem: The Essex Institute, 1914) [hereinafter Chelmsford VRs], 185.

32. Chelmsford VRs, 377; dup. ree. Billerica VRs, 349; Middlesex County Probate File 16724. See alsoFenis, Dawes-Gates Ancestral Lines [note 1],1: 499-500 (re. Poulter); Delorey, "The Poulter Family ..."[note 28]; and Prentiss Glazier, "Chamberlain Families of New England," The American Genealogist[hereinafter TAGI, 51 [1975]: 151-152.

33. Woburn VR,<,3:200.

34. William Brigg, Parish Records of St. Albare<Abbey, 1558-1689 (Harpenden, England: privately printed,1897),56, 143.

35. Charles Henry Pope, Pio""ers of Massachusetts (1900, Boston: privately printed; reprint Baltimore:Genealogical Publishing Co., 1965),290.

36. Woburn VRs, 1:27.

37. Caleb Butler, History of Groton, Massachusetts (Boston: Press of T. R. Martin, 1848), 11-12, 14-18, 25­

;1"1; '-1-7/ 7f-t.,"''' J?5.-S z I'J'Y; .. '?, fSf -'J.i'S i 3?7/ '/;1/ -'j,J;l,

May 1700, proved 17 Aug. 1700, in which he mentioned his wife, Eunice;his wife's former husband (not named); daughters Sarah Parker (under

18), Anna Blood, and Elizabeth Gary; grandchild Elizabeth Parker,daughter of son Zechariah Parker, deceased; grandchild Abiel Parker,daughter of son Joshua Parker, deceased; former gifts to sons James,Josiah, Samuel, Zechariah, and Eleazer Parker; son Josiah Parker ofCambridge, Mass., to serve as executor.[38] His widow Eunice, m. (3)after 1701, John Kendall, b. at Woburn 2 July 1642, d. ca. April 1732, ae.86,139Json of Francis1 and Mary (Tidd) Kendall of Charlestown andWoburn.

iii. ABRAHAM(or ABRAM)1PARKER,immigrant to New England, bp. at GreatBurstead, 6 Feb. 1619, as "son of John and Anna Parker"; d. atChelmsford, Mass" 12 Aug. 1685.140]He m. at Woburn, Mass., 18 Nov.

1644,[411ROSElWHITLOCK,who d. at Chelmsford 30 Nov. 1691.~Abraham Parker kept an ordinary or public house at Chelmsford, and

served the town as grand juryman, 1658/9; constable, 1673; and

tithingman, 1679. Abraham Parker, "Senior," left a will dated Aug. 1685,proved 6 Oct. 1685, in which he named his wife, Rose; his sons, John,Abraham, Moses, and Isaac Parker; and daughters, Mary, wife of JamesParker, Elizabeth Parker, and Lydia, wife of John Kidder.l43]

iv. JOSEPH1PARKER,immigrant to New England, bp. at Great Burstead 1 Sept.1622,as "son of John and Ann Parker"; d. in 1690. He m. (1) evidently atGreat Burstead, 16 April 1650, MARGARETPUTTOW)44Jand they came toNew England by 1652. He m. (2) at Chelmsford, Mass., 19 Nov. 1683)45]HANNAH OENKINS)BALKE,widow of Capt. John Balke (or Bake) ofChelmsford and daughter of Joel1 and Sarah (Gilbert) Jenkins ofBraintree and Malden, Mass.l46]Hannah m. (3) 8 Jan. 1690/1, at Concord,as his 2nd wife)47) Robert Blood, Sr., of Ruddington, Nottingham, and

Concord, Mass.,[48]who d. at Concord 22 Oct. 1701.[49JHannah d. there13 Dec. 1716.[50]

38. Middlesex County Probate File 16698; d. Butler [note 37], 282-285.

39. Woburn VRs, 1: 138; Dawes-Gates Ancestral Lines [note IJ, 1: 375-380 (re. Kendall family).

40. Chelmsford VRs, 419.

41. Woburn VRs, 3: 200.

42. Chelmsford VRs, 421. She is possibly the Rose Whitlock listed in the Infernatiorml Genealogical Index

- (IGI) as bp. 6 June 1624 at Wheathampstead, Herts., daughter ofThomas Whitlock.43. Middlesex County Probate File 16473.

44. Parish records of Great Burstead, Essex, abstracted by Debrelt Ancestry Service, from modern

transcript found at Society of Genealogists, London; d. Boyd's Marriage Index, Essex (FHLmicrofiche 6,026,097), where the bride's name is given as Putton.

45. Chelmsford VRs, 284.

46. Pope, Pioneers of Massachusetts [note 35], 257 (re. Jenkins family).47. Concord, Massachusetts, Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1635-1850 (Concord: the Town, 1895)

[hereinafter Concord VRs], 42; dup. Chelm<ford VRs, 283.

48. Concord VRs, 56 (re. Blood family); R. D. Harris, Story of the Bloods (Sanbornville, N.H.: privately

printed, 1960),144; Douglas Richardson, "English Origin and Ancestry of the Lakin Family," TAG,r..f.f. Qo 1"('0 I 'C'I II 12 ') I !;Ii!iO (l_c·."1(I<'l'(j Yf!.s i ~q

4. SARAH PARKER (JohnA-B) was born probably about 1596, and was buried

at South Weald, Essex, 13 June 1625, as "Sara wyfe to Edward Convers."[54]

She married at Great Burstead, 29 June 1614, as his first wife, EDWARD1

CONVERSE (or Combers), who was baptized at Navestock, Essex, 23 March

1588/9 and died at Woburn, Massachusetts, 10 August 1663,155]son of AllenConverse of Navestock and his first wife, Joanna. Edward and Sarah

resided at South Weald, where several of their children were baptizedbefore her death there in 1625. "

51. Billerica VRs, 381.

52.D.P.Corey,"Wayte,"Register, 26[1872]:82;JohnW. Dean,"Ward& Waite,"Register, 28[1874]:88­89;OeloraineP. Corey,Births, Marriages, and Deaths in the Town of Malden, Massachusetts, 1649-1850

(Cambridge:Cityof Malden, 1903)[hereinafterMalden VRs], 386.Marywas the daughter of Mr.Joseph!and Rose(Clarke)Hillsof GreatBursteadand Malden,Essex,and Malden,Mass.,who m.at GreatBursteadin 1624(Boyd'sMarriageIndex,Essex[FHLmicrofiche6,026,993,sub Hills,and6,026,995, sub Clark]).Theirdaughter Marywas bp. there 13 Oct. 1625(Col.EdwardM. Harris,"JosephHills' DaughterHarris,"Register, 120[1966]:74).Perhapsthe Hillsfamilyof New Englandwas relatedin somemanner to the immigrantParkerbrothers;both familiescamefromthe sameparish in England. If such a kinshipdid exist,it would explainhow Mary(Hills)Waite'ssister-in­law, Susan(Waite)Redington,who remainedin England,had personalknowledgeof the Parkerfamilyin New England,as indicatedby her lettercitedabove. JosephHillswasprominentin townand colonialaffairs,representingMaldenas deputy to the GeneralCourtmany times(Register, 31

[1877]:111,160-162).He d. at Malden,Mass.,26Sept. 1693,aged 75years (Malden VRs, 386). Hiswidow Sarahd. there 13Jan. 1707/8,aged 81years(ibid.).

53.Ferris,Dawes-Gates Ancestral Lines [note1],1:464-466,481-482.54.SouthWealdPRs[note8].55. Woburn VRs, 7: 39.

~~O/7-

93English Origin of the Parlrer Brothers of Massachusetts1999]

In. 1630, Edward Converse immigrated with the Winthrop Fleet to New

England, settling initially at Charlestown, Massachusetts, where he

operated a ferry between Charlestown and Boston. He was admitted as a

member of the Boston church in the fall of 1630)56] He requested to become

a freeman 19 October 1630, and was admitted 18 May 1631.[57] He married,

second, SARAH , shortly before 14 Oct. 1632, when they were

dismissed from the Boston church to participate in forming the newCharlestown church)58] He served as selectman at Charlestown, 1635-1638,

and grandjuryman there in 1638. In 1640, Edward and Sarah removed toWoburn, where he was a commissioner to end small causes in 1643, and

deputy to the General Court in 1660. Following the death of his second

wife there 14 January 1662 [presumably 1661/2 intended],!59] Edward

married, third, at Woburn, 9 September 1662)60] JOAN (or JOANNA)

(WARREN) SPRAGUE, daughter of Richard Warren of Fordington, Dorset,

and widow of Lieut. Ralph Sprague of Fordington St. George, Dorset, andCharlestown and Malden, Massachusetts.!61]

Edward Converse left a will dated August 1659, proved 7 October 1663,

naming his wife, Sara; sons, Josiah, James, and Samuel Converse; daughter,

Mary Sheldon; the children of his daughter, Mary Thompson; grandson,Edward son of James Converse; kinsmen, Allen Converse and John Parker;

and kinswoman, Sara Smith.[62]

Joanna, the widow of Edward Converse, died at Charlestown 24

February 1680/1)63] and in her will dated 24 February 1674[15], proved 15

June 1680, named her sons, Phineas, John, Richard, and Samuel Sprague;

her daughter, Mary Edmunds; and [her grandchild], Mary, daughter of

Daniel and Mary Edmunds.[64]

56. Richard D. Pierce, ed., The Records of the First Church in Boston 1630-1868, 3 vols. (Boston:PublicationsofThe ColonialSocietyofMassachusetts,VolumeXXXIX Collections,1961),1:13.

57. Nathaniel B. Shurtleff,ed., Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New

England, 5volsin6 (Boston:Pressof WilliamWhite,1853-54),1:80,366.58. Boston Church Records [note56J,1:16.It seemsreasonableto assumethatEdward Converse'ssecond

wife,Sarah,wasa Bostonchurchmemberin her own rightbeforehe married her. ChUrchrecordsshow only he wasadmittedas a memberin 1630,whereasin 1632,both Edward and Sarahweredismissedas memberswhen they left to formthe new Charlestownchurch-facts which suggestthat theirmarriagetookplacein New Englandbetween1630and 1632.If so, then Sarah'sidentitymight be discoveredthrough an examinationof Bostonchurch membershiplists for the period1630-1632.

59. Woburn VRs, 7:39

60. Woburn VRs, 3: 59.

61. The Great Migration Begins [note4],3:1728-1731,sub 5prague.62.MiddlesexCountyProbateFile4920.63. Woburn VRs, 7:39.

64.MiddlesexCountyProbateFile4930.SeealsoPeterson,"EdwardConverse,"[note 7] Register, 146

[I 992J; 13G"I::r:l.l UJ'I!'1 r/12.~I.f.C<.:i"-v'flJ8,<2, Semii' pI fI·p! f/.i"/(Ui'!i.''t-'N-s,-/:t/IJ.1h?SC-endo/1 {S y••P ....\..OtJlu •.i-! tJ.\,)i\_\.1)P.:'9,i!,1';-* ?....~/dl.'5 (ac"S"j-{')f1.' iflo6!l1 f'tfrrlc? 1/1

l'l0ti)1 S"f:3; A!lrI-i'r-~(""i ?h\4JC.;,t?"dk[~tJf'c;·~I'H! 8~.J;i"'<; i.JJ.·/~9/7 1/ 1/fj'l':'~L2'/~_ Cc)ni!Rr'<~~~){i~hlC J.... C,ol1!-lul..?S 1"i.~·~lr£t~'id ':'"4rn .•tci i.~,[ .,'.,f-.!:. ,;;.,:.

2-"'d\,oi.la"d C or: \,,-~t$ e ,.I>-tH.J D n *' j),f (';S"OII f

UANUARYNew England Historical and Genealogical Register

Joseph Parker resided successively at Woburn, Chelmsford, Groton,Dunstable, and again at Chelmsford, Mass. He had children with bothwives.

v. ANNEPARKER,bp. at Great Burstead 13 Feb. 1624,as "daughter of John andAnn Parker." Presumably she is the Ann Parker who m. at Great

Burstead,23 Sept. 1647, EDWARDCLYFE(or CUFFE). Their subsequenthistory is unknown.

vi. JACOBIPARKER,immigrant to New England, bp. at Great Burstead 19 Nov.1626, as "son of John and Ann Parker"; d. intestate at Billerica, Mass.,7 Jan. 1668/9.[SI] He m. SARAH__ , b. ca. 1627. Jacob was first townclerk of Chelmsford and served as selectman from 1662 until his death.

His widow Sarah m. (2) at Malden, Mass., 4 Aug. 1675 (as his 2nd wife),Capt. John1 Waite of Malden, b. ca. 1618 in England, son of Samuel andMary (Ward) Waite of Wethersfield, Essex, and widower of Mary Hills,who d. at Malden 25 Nov. 1674.152] Jacob and Sarah Parker wereancestors of Franklin Pierce, 14th President of the United States.153]

vii. JOSHUAPARKER,bp. at Great Burstead 29 Nov. 1630, as "son of John andAnn Parker"; d. presumably young.

92

I-

65. With his second wife, Sarah __ , Edward had: v. Samuel, bp. at Charlestown 12 March 163617; d.at Woburn 20 Feb. 1669 (Converse, ibid. [note 67], 12-14. He m. at Woburn, 8 June 1660 (Woburn

VRs, 3: 59), Judith2 Carter, daughter of Rev. Thomas! and Mary (Parkhurst) Carter of Watertownand Woburn, Mass. (Pope, Pioneers of MassIWhusetts [note 35), 90 (re. Carter family). Judith was b.at Watertown 15 March 164213;she m. (2nd) at Charlestown, 2 May 1672 (as his 2nd wife), Giles!Fifield of Charlestown and Hampton, N.H., mariner and tobacco winder (Roger D. Joslyn, Vital

Records of Charlestown, Ma.."IWhu.<elts to the Year 1850, 2 vols. (Boston: NEHGS, 1985-95), 1:82),b. ca.1629 (aged 46 in 1675),d. testate at Charlestown, 5 Oct. 1676 (Charlestown VRs, 1:97). She d. thereof small pox, 3 Oct. 1678 (Sybil Noyes, Charles Thornton Libby and Walter Goodwin Davis,Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire [Portland, Me.: The Southworth-AnthoensenPress, 1928-1939;reprint, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 19721,233 [reoFifield family)).

66. South Weald PRs [note 8J;Josiah deposed in 1660,as being aged 41 (Pope, Pioneers of Ma..<SIWhusetts[note 35), 114).

67. Woburn VRs, 7:40.

68. Woburn VRs, 3: 59.

69. Virginia Hewitt Watterson, Descendants of The Elder Richard Champney of Cambridge, Ma..<sIWhusetts

(Carlsbad, Calif.: privately printed, 1989),11.70. Billerica VRs, 354

71. Billerica VRs, 242; dup. Woburn VRs, 3: 59.72. Billerica VRs, 354

73. South Weald PRs [note 8]. James deposed in 1660 as being aged 39 (Pope, Pioneers of Ma..<=hu.<elts[note 35], 114).

74. Woburn VRs, 7:40

75. Woburn VRs' 3: 59

76. Brigg, Parish Records of St. Albans Abbey [note 34), 58.77. Woburn VRs, 7: 40.

78. Pope, Pioneers of MassIWhuselts [note 35), 290 (re. Long family).

Children of Edward and Sarah (Parker) Converse:[65J

i. JOSIAH! CONVERSE, bp. at South Weald, Essex, 30 Oct. 1618, as "Josiah

Conyers Son to Edward Convers"[66]; d. 3 Feb. 1690/1, aged 72 yrs.l67]He m. at Woburn, Mass., 26 March 1651)68] ESTHER CHAMPNEY,

daughter of Richard! and Jane L-J Champney of Cambridge,l69] b. ca.

1638 in England, d. at Billerica, Mass., 5 April 1713, aged 80,l7° She m.

(2nd) at Billerica, Mass., 17 Nov. 1690[71] (as his second wife), [Captain]

Jonathan2 Danforth, Sr., of Cambridge and Billerica, widower of

Elizabeth Poulter, stepdaughter of John! Parker of Billerica [see 3.i.,

above]. Jonathan d. 7 Sept. 1712, aged 85 yrs)721

ii. JAMES CONVERSE, bp. at South Weald, Essex, 29 Nov. 1620, as "John [sic]

Conyers son to Edw: Conyers and Sarah his wief"}73] d. at Woburn,

Mass., 10 May 1715, aged 95 yrs,l74] He m. at Woburn, 24 Oct. 164.1)75J

ANNE (or ANNA) LONG, bp. 1 June 1623 at St. Albans, Herts.)76] d. at

Woburn 10 Aug. 1691, aged 69 yrs)77] daughter of Robert! and Sarah

(Taylor) Long of St. Albans, Herts., and Dunstable, Bedfordshire, and

Charlestown, Mass., and younger sister of Elizabeth Long, wife of

James1 Parker (see no. 3.ii., above),l78]

95

l2~o,v( '3'

English Origin of the Parker Brothers of Massachusetts

CONVERSE ADDENDA

iii. SARAHCONVERSE, bp. at South Weald, Essex, 2 June 162..1,as "Sara Conyers

daughter to Edward Conyers & Sara his wife"p9] buried there 30 Dec.

162.1, as "Sara Conbers [sic] daughter to Edward Convers."[80]

iv. MARY CONVERSE, b. say 162..,},baptism not found. She m. (1) at Woburn,Mass., 19 Dec. 164.1}81]SIMON THOMPSON, who d. there in May, 1658.l82]

She m. (2) at Billerica, 1 Feb. 1659/60,183] John Sheldon, who d. there 24

May 1690, aged about 63.[84]

79. South Weald PRs [note 8].80. Ibid.

81. Woburn VRs, 3:59

82. Woburn VRs, 7: 190

83. Woburn VRs, 3: 27584. Billerica VRs,393.

85. South Weald PRs [note 8]. See also Converse, Some of the Ancestors and Descendants of Samuel

Converse Jr. [note 641, Vol. 2, Appendix 5; Peterson, "Edward Converse," Register, 146: 130-132,which strangely ignores Allen Converse's family at South Weald.

86. South Weald PRs [note 8J.

87. Boyd's Marriage Index, Essex (FHLmicrofiche 6,026,999).88. Woburn VRs, 2:39.

89. Woburn VRs, 2:40.

ALLEN CONVERSE (or Combers), Jr., brother of Edward1 Converse the

immigrant (see above), was baptized at Navestock, Essex in 1586, the son of

Allen Converse, Sr., of Navestock and South Weald, Essex with his first wife,

Joanna. He was buried at Navestock 24 April 1639)85] He married say 1613,

SARA __ , who was buried at South Weald 5 December 1626)86J As an adult,

he was styled "junior" to distinguish him from his father of the same name.

Children; all baptized at South Weald, Essex:

i. THEOPHlLUS CONVERSE (or Cumbers), bp. 13 March 1613/4, as "Theophilus

Conyers the S[onne] of Allen Conyers Jun[ior);" buried at South Weald

"as Theophilus Cumbers of Brentwood" 16 Aug. 1672; m. (1) at South

Weald, 2.,}Sept. 1644, ELIZABETH__ ' whose surname is not includedin the record. She was buried at South Weald as "Elizabeth the Wife of

Theophilus Conyers of Brentwood" 5 Feb. 1667/8. He m. (2) at South

Weald, 6 Oct. 1668, MARGERYL-) HURRALL.[87]

Children, bp. at South Weald: 1. John Converse, bp. 28 Sept. 1645;

buried at South Weald 9 April 1679. 2. Japhet Converse, bp. 14 Sept. 1648.

3. James Converse, bp. 11 April 1652.

ii. ALLEN1 CONVERSE, immigrant to New England, bp. 18 Aug. 1616, as "Allen

Conyers sonne to Allen Convers"; d. at Woburn, Mass., 19 April 1679.[88]

He m. say 1641, ELIZABETH__ , who d. at Woburn 9 Aug. 1691.[89] In

1999]

I

jl

DANUARYNew England Historical and Genealogical Register94

Douglas Richardson is a professional researcher and author specializing in English

origins. He may be addressed at 216 West Buffalo Street, #3, Chandler, Arizona 85224.

90.Pope,Pioneersof Ma..<sa£husells[note351,114(re.Conversefamily).91.Torrey,New England Marriages Prior to1700[note11],683.92. Charlestown VR.<, 1:85.

93.Pope,Pioneers of Massa£husells [note35J,422(re.Smithfamily).94. Charlestown VR.<,1:139.

1. BrockJobe,Portsmouth Furniture: Masterworks from tire New England Seacoast (Boston:UniversityPressofNewEngland,1993),19.

2."Book01 RecordsKeptbyJoshuaPeirceEsquireofPortsmouth,New Hampshire:1699-1814,"typescript,NewHampshireHistoricalSociety,Concord,N.H.

3.GeorgeFreemanSanbornJr.andMelindeLutzSanborn,Vital Records of Hampton, New Hampshire, to tire

End of the Year 1900 (Boston:NEHGS,1992,1998)[hereinafterHampton VRs], 2:209.

4. Parishregistersof Sl Stephen's,Bristol(FHLmicrofilm1,597,024).No other Bristolregistersrecordabaptismof aJohnMillsnearthis time.Thecuriouslyclosebaptismalrecordof aJohnMills,sonofJohnand Martha, on 2S December1692,in the parish of North Perrot, near Bristol, is probably acoincidence;norecordofotherMillsor Turnerswasfoundin that parish(FHLmicrofilm1,470,911).

5. "BristolApprenticeBook:1670-1711," manuscript,BristolRecordSociety.

JOHN MILLS OF BRISTOL, ENGLANDAND PORTSMOUTH, NEW HAMPSHIRE

David Lang Clark

V<':J.d1bl7

The skills of John Mills as Portsmouth's preeminent eighteenth century

turner (lathe-worker) and joiner are evident in the grand stairways that he

built in four extant houses there: the Lady Pepperell House, the Samuel

Moffatt House, the Gardner Wentworth House, and the Mills-Whipple

House. BrockJobe's recent magisterial study of Portsmouth furniture makers

accords Mills the honor of being "Portsmouth's leading turner," and "the

originator of the distinctive type of balustrade, with its three different

baluster patterns, that characterized houses of the region until after the

Revolution."[l] Genealogical study adds to architectural history by tracing to

Bristol, England, Mills' ancestry, training, and designs.

The first record of John Mills in America is his Portsmouth marriage

record: "John Mills of ye city of Bristol in Great Britain and Alice Mains of

Portsmouth were marryed 10 Nov 1726."[2] His birth in 1692/3 can be

deduced from the record of his death in Hampton, New Hampshire, on 29

May 1780, where his age is given as 87 years, 4 months)3] The register of St.

Stephen's Parish in Bristol records the baptism of a "John Mills, son of JohnMills and Martha," on 23 December 1692; three siblings also were baptized

at that church.[4] Although the Bristol baptismal date is one month off the

exact mark, information in the Bristol Apprentice Books provides likely con­

firmation of this identity and offers further information about the parents

and grandparents of John Mills.

1. JOHNB MILLS was a yeoman in the parish of Stanton Drew, Somerset,

during the years 1688 to 1700; in 1693 he was "of Bell Lawton" in the same

parish.[5] No parish records for Stanton Drew exist for the years in which

1.J'j

New England Historical and Genealogical Register

his will dated 14 April 1679, proved 17 June 1679, he named his wife,Elizabeth; two children of his deceased son Zechariah; son, Samuel; anddaughters Sarah and Mary.1901

iii. AARONCONVERSE,bp. 2 Feb. 1618/9, as "Aron Convers ye s[onne] to AllinConvers"; buried at South Weald 7 March 1618/9, as "Aron ConversS[onne] to Allin Convers."

iv. ABRAHAMCONVERSE,bp, 7 Jan. 1619120, as "Abraham Convers S[onne] toAleyn Convers"; buried at South Weald 3 May 1620, as "AbrahamConvers son to Allen Convers."

v. SARAH(or SARA)CONVERSE,immigrant to New England, bp. 17 April 1621,as "Sara Convers daughter to Allen Converse & Sara his wife"; living1659, when she was mentioned in the will of her uncle, Edward1

Converse, of Woburn, Mass. She m. by 1659,__ Smith. A review ofall contemporary Smith men with a wife Sarah suggests that she wasprobably Sarah, wife of JOHN1 SMITHof Charlestown, Mass., shipcarpenter, who m. by 1646.191]He d. 26 March 167213,f92]leaving a willdated 8 March 167213, proved 17 June 1673, that named his wife Sarah;sons, John, James, and Josiah; and daughters, Elizabeth, Sarah, andMary.193] The widow Sarah d. at Charlestown 12 Nov. 1687.[94J

96

The author wishes to acknowledge the contribution to this article made byMarian Parker Congdon (Mrs. Guilford Congdon) of Atherton, California, who

graciously shared her extensive research notes and correspondence regarding theParker family of New England. Special thanks are also extended to Mrs.

Congdon, Marston and Kathleen Watson of Richmond, California, and PoseyGodfrey (Mrs. John) of Ipswich, Massachusetts, all of whom proofed preliminarydrafts of this article. The author also wishes to acknowledge the work of JeanParker Schmid and John 'Carolus Schmid of Greeley, Colorado, who published ashorter, albeit more tentative article on the Parker family origins, entitled "TheEnglish Origin of James Parker of Groton, Massachusetts," in The Essex

Genealogist, 16 [1996]: 225-228.