Walter Woodworth (born circa 1612 and died between 26 November 1685 and 25 February 1685/6) of England and Scituate, Massachusetts

Walter Woodworth was born England by about 1612; his origins are thus far unknown. He migrated to New England by 1633, where he was first at Plymouth, and by 1635 had settled at Scituate when he is named in a land division. His last name is frequently seen as Woodward. He is my 10th great-grandfather on my grandfather Arthur Washburn Ellis Davis’ side of the family.

It appears that Walter came to Plymouth Colony as an identured servant, perhaps a short-term arrangement to pay his passage as he was was no longer a servant when taxed in 1633/4. In the colony he was a farmer and surveyor of highways. In 1664 he was granted land with another man and it is noted they “have a right as servants.” [Records of New Plymouth, hereafter PCR, 4:75]

“Walter Woodart” was assessed 9 shillings in Plymouth tax list of 2 January/27 March 1633/4. [PCR 1:26, 29] Walter Woodward was propounded as a freeman on 1 December 1640 and admitted 2 March 1640/1. [PCR 2:3, 8] Walter Woodward is in the Scituate section of freemen in 1639 (added after his admission on 2 March 1640/1), 1658, 29 May 1670 and early 1683. [PCR 5:275, 8:175, 198, 204]  In July 1666 he was taxed 4 shillings 8 pence and 3 shillings 3 pence. [PCR 7:130]

Many early Scituate settlers were from Kent, followers of Rev. John Lothrop who was from Edgerton. However Lothrop arrived in Boston in September 1634, which is after Walter is first recorded in the colony.

Walter signed his will and a deed by mark but his inventory included books, so perhaps he could read but not write.

Walter married a woman whose name is unknown by about 1641 [approximate birth year of first born], likely at Scituate. They had ten children, all named in Water’s will [estimated births from Anderson]:

1. Thomas born say 1641; married Deborah Damon at Scituate 8 February 1666[/7] [Scituate VR 2:336]; his house was destroyed by fire during King Philip’s War [Behan]; died 1719 Scituate [PCPR No. 23482]
2. Sarah born Scituate say 1643; apparently was married by 26 November 1685 [father’s will]
3. Joseph born say 1645; married Sarah Stockbridge at Scituate 6 January 1669[/70] [NEHGS Register, hereafter “NEHGR” 133:100]; died after June 1718 when he wrote his will [Behan]
4. Elizabeth born say 1648; in court 27 October 1675, 7 March 1675/6 and 22 July 1676 [PCR 5:181-2, 188, 208] about her illegitimate child with Robert Stetson; apparently married by 26 November 1686 (father’s will) 
5. Mary born Scituate 10 March 1650/1 [Scituate VR 1:418]; married at Scituate 24 December 1677 Aaron Simmons/Simonson [Scituate VR 2:336]
6. Benjamin born say 1656; m 1st by about 1680 Deborah —?—; m 2nd by 1691 Hannah —?—
7. Isaac born about 1658; married Lydia Standlake [Plymouth County Land Records, hereafter PCLR,  8:172-74, 207-8]; removed to Little Compton and finally to Norwich CT where he died 1 April 1714 [Behan]
8. Martha born say 1660; married Zachariah Damon June 1679 at Scituate [Scituate VR 2:96]; died after 27 May 1732 at Scituate when she conveyed land to daughter Hannah [Plymouth County Deeds 27:88]; had eight children
9. Mehetable born 15 August 1662 Scituate; on 6 March 1676/7 Mary Ingham was tried for, and found not guilty of, witchcraft and her accuser was Mehitable Woodworth who was “almost bereaved of her senses” and “fell into violent fits.” [PCR 5:223]; unmarried on 26 November 1685 (father’s will)
10. Abigail born about 1664; married John Jackson 24 December 1695 at Plymouth [Scituate VR 2:335]

I descend from Martha. I wrote about Martha and husband Zachariah Damon here. She and her brother Thomas married Damon siblings.

The Woodworth family lived on Kent Street near First Meeting House Cemetery in Scituate, amongst many men of Kent. [Sumner] He also had land at what was called Walter Woodworth’s Hill on the Northeast part of Walnut Tree Hill and on the first Herring Brook below Stockbridge’s Mill. [Deane] 

Walter served his community in several ways:

• Scituate surveyor of highways, 4 June 1645, 2 June 1646, 3 June 1656. [PCR 2:84, 102, 3:100]
• He was in the Scituate section of 1644 Plymouth list of men able to bear arms [PCR 8:191]
• Arbiter settling land disputes and the like 4 June 1645, 3 June 1662/3, 9 June 1665. [PCR 2:85, 4:31, 100] 
• In 1653 Walter made inventory of the estate of Thomas Hickes of Scituate; and in 1672 conducted the inventory of William Soanes’ estate. [Behan]
• Served on jury [committee] to make division of lands between John Williams Sr and Jr, 3 March 1662. [PCR 4:31]
• On 9 June 1665 Walter Woodward was one of the men asked to help Scituate townsmen that are helping settle the bounds of some lands of William Randall but are being hindered by Turner’s unworthy speeches. [PCR 4:100]
• Coroner’s jury 1 July 1680 about the sudden death of an approximately six month old child of Thomas Hatch of Scituate, who had been sick with a cold and was in a bed with two people including his sister Sarah where he was found dead, face down. Determined he suffocated from lying on his face or “accidentally over layed in the bed.” [PCR 6:45]

Records pertaining to Walter’s land:

• In February 1634/5 and April 1635 Scituate division of land, Walter received the third lot as a houselot on corner of Kent Street and Meetinghouse Lane. [Deane] He also received a tract on the First Herring Brook not far below the Stockbridge Mill and another tract on the northeast side of Walnut Tree Hill just west of the present Queensbush or South Scituate railroad station, which in early times was called Walter Woodworth’s Hill. These were the first of what became Walter’s considerable land holdings. [Behan]
• On 12 June 1642, Anthony Annable of Barnstable sold for £19 to Thomas Rauline of Scituate, houses, outhouses, and a large amount of land adjoining to that of Walter Woodward on the east side and to the swamp of the Herring Brook on the west side. [PCR 12:85]
• In a 13 November 1643: Deed from Samuell House to Thomas Tilden, land in Scituate near North River bounded by marshland of Walter Woodward. [PCR 12:101]
• On 20 April 1644 Samuell House of Cambridge sold Scituate land to Thomas Tilden, also mentions Scituate land bounding marshland of Walter Woodward of Scituate. [PCR 12:101]
• 25 March 1650: Deed of a parcel of marshland bounded on the west by land of Walter Woodward, once of William Hatch Sr, and by the First Herring Brook. [The Mayflower Descendant 1:92]
• Walter is on the 3 June 1662 list of servants and ancient freemen granted land at Saconnett Neck, later Little Compton, Rhode Island [PCR 4:18) and as a consequence on 4 October 1664 was granted 60 acres. [PCR 4:75]
• On 4 Oct 1664, Plymouth Court granted unto John Hanmore and Walter Woodward, of Scituate, “who have a right as servants” unto each of them is granted sixty acres of and near about the place abovementioned [near the line between Plymouth Colony and Massachusetts Bay], and also that they pay the Indian purchase for it if any be justly demanded. [PCR 4:75] 
• On 5 June 1666 court granted 50 acres of land unto Joseph Whiston, heir of John Whiston deceased, at the southernmost side of land granted to Walter Woodward upon the path from Bridgewater to Weymouth, bounding at the east end upon a little brook, and the west end by the common land and the southernmost side likewise to the common. [PCR 4:129]
• 5 July 1666: Walter Woodworth taxed for purchase of Indian Purchase for the west end of town. [PCR 7:130]
• On 14 November 1670 Isaac Stedman of Muddy River sold Scituate land to John Otis two acres of which “was disposed of by the said Isacke Stedman unto Walter Woodworth.” [PCLR 3:184]
• In 1673 with Josiah Winslow and 27 others, we was at Plymouth Colony Court to establish right to land in Little Compton RI. He received a whole share of the land, then called Seconet, which included Lot No. 2 in the First Purchase, drawn at Duxbury in 1674. [Behan]
• In 1675 Walter drew two adjoining 50 acre lots in Seconet together with Thomas Williams in the Second Purchase. [Behan]

Court involvement: 

• At 8 June 1651 Court, Walter Woodward was one of the men who gave evidence about George Russell and Isaac Stedman concerning their encroachment on common undivided lands in Scituate. [PCR 2:170] 
• On 7 July 1681 “Walter Woodworth of Scittuate” sued Japhett Turner for £10 for tearing down some of his fencing on the northerly side of the First Herring Brook between his house and John Turner’s and was awarded “five shillings damage and the cost of the suit;” the “Bill of Cost,” apparently prepared by Woodworth himself, totaled £3 16s. [PCR 7:238-9]
• In 1673 with Josiah Winslow and 27 others, he was at Plymouth Court to establish right to land in Little Compton. [Sumner]

Walter Woodworth was one of the brethren of Rev. Chauncy’s Church who gave him a house and land in 1653 and confirmed it by deed the following July. He signed the deed with his mark. [Bangs] On 24 October 1679 it was voted that the two religious groups in town would reconcile, “that we may be one Societie in peace and love, that then the place for our publicke worship shall be at Walter Woodworth’s hill, or the center of the present inhabitants of the Town.” [Deane]

Mrs. Woodworth died after March 1676 [court case mentions Mehitable Woodworth’s parents] but before 26 November 1685 [not named in husband’s will].

Walter died between 26 November 1685 (date of will) and 25 February 1685/6 (date of inventory), likely closer to the latter date. In his will, Walter Woodward of “Sittuate,” being weak in body but of sound and perfect memory, left the following bequests: [PCLR 5:382-85] 

• Thomas Woodward ,my eldest son, a parcel of upland containing five acres bounded to the north by the Common in Scituate
• my two sons Thomas & Joseph Woodward ten acres of marshland in Scituate to be equally divided
• to the said Thomas my son one-third part of all my lands at Seconet which is purchased, & the other two-thirds I give unto my son two sons Beniamin & Isaak Woodword to be equally divided excepting twenty & five acres which I do give unto my son Joseph…& ten acres the which I do give unto my daughter Martha
• all the rest of my land at Seconnett which is yet to be purchased I give unto my two sons Thomas & Joseph Woodward to be equally divided
• Beniamin my son aforesaid my dwelling house with my barn & other outhousing with all my land both upland and marshland thereunto belonging, that is to say twenty acres of upland…& six acres of marshland…upon condition that my son Beniamin aforesaid do pay & allow the sum of seventy pounds unto my son Joseph & my six daughters Sarah, Elyzabeth, Mary, Martha, Mehetebel & Abigaile £10 a piece, and permit my two daughters Mehetabel & Abigaile to live in the house as long as they are unmarried
• my said two daughters Mehetabel & Abigaile my feather bed with the furniture thereunto belonging & all the rest of my household goods I give unto my six daughters Sarah, Elyzabeth, Mary, Martha, Mehetabel & Abigaile to be divided equally
• residue of estate after funeral expenses and other debts paid to be equally divided by all my children

He named his son Beniamin sole executor and two sons Thomas & Joseph overseers. He signed his will by mark. Witnessed by Thomas King Sr, Thomas Palmer, and Charles Stockbridge, who made oath at court on 2 March 1685/6. 

The inventory of the estate of Walter Woodward of Scituate was taken 25 February 1685/6 and presented at court by Benjamin Woodward on 2 March 1685/6. It totaled £355 10s. [PCLR 5:383-4] It included purse with cash, apparel, books, three beds and other furniture, kitchen items, spinning wheel, sheep’s wool, four cows, on oxen, three young cattle, two sheep, and 12 bushels of Indian corn. 

Real estate listed in his inventory:

• one dwelling house & barn & upland & meadowland adjoining thereto with common privileges, £140
• ten acres of salt meadow land, £50
• five acres of upland, £20
• one whole share of land at Saconet [Little Compton], £100

Various unproven claims: There is some speculation Walter married Elizabeth Rogers, daughter of Mayflower passenger Thomas Rogers, but no proof of this has been found.  There is also a story that he came to New England with two brothers, but again no proof. The 1898 Woodworth genealogy assigns a son Walter but modern researchers agree this is an error.

Resources:

Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins, 1995, pg 2064-7

Nathaniel B. Shurtleff and David Pulsifer, eds., Records of the Colony of New Plymouth, in New England, 12 vols. (New York: AMS Press, 1968)

Jeremy Dupertuis Bangs, The Seventeenth Century Town Records of Scituate, Massachusetts, Volume Two, 1999

Harvey Hunter Pratt, Early Planters of Scituate, 1929

Samuel Deane, History of Scituate Massachusetts, from its first settlement to 1831, 1831

Edith Bartlett Sumner, Ancestry and Descendants of Samuel Bartlett and Lucy Jenkins, 1951

Jeanette Woodworth Behan, The Woodworth Family of America: Descendants of Walter Woodworth of 1630 Through Six Generations, Volume 1, published by author, 1988

Robert Waterman (ca 1608-1652) and His Wife Elizabeth Bourne of England and Plymouth & Marshfield, Mass.

Robert Waterman was born about 1608 in England. There is tradition that Robert was from Norwich, England, the son of Thomas and Lydia (Chadwick) Waterman, but this has not been verified by genealogists. [Jacobus] He is my 10th great-grandfather on my grandfather Arthur Washburn Ellis Davis’ side of the family. 

Some researchers have Robert being at Salem in Massachusetts Bay Colony by 1636, but I have not found a source for this. Robert arrived at Plymouth by 1637 as on 11 December 1638, he married Elizabeth Bourne at Plymouth. [Plymouth VR p 653] 

Elizabeth Bourne was born 1618 at Kempsey, Worcestershire, the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Rouse) Bourne. [The Mayflower Descendant, hereafter “MD,” 11:100-4] It was a good marriage for Robert—his new father-in-law was an original settler at Marshfield and prominent man of means, his brother-in-law John Bradford was son of Governor William Bradford, and brother-in-law Josiah Winslow was Governor Edward Winslow’s brother. 

On 7 May 1639, Robert Waterman bought from Edward Hiliman a “garden place…in the new Streete in Plymouth aforesd betweene the land of Mr John Done…& of Mr Andrew Hellott…together wth all the tymber for buildinge fence in about the same” in Plymouth. Robert later sold this lot to Edward Winslow, but I have not found the date of that sale. [Records of the Colony of New Plymouth, hereafter “PCR,” 12:42]

By the early 1640s Robert and Elizabeth moved to live near Green’s Harbor, Marshfield. [Hills] The area was called Marshfield Neck or Rexame and other early settlers there were brothers Edward, Josiah and Kenelm Winslow, Joseph Beadle, Anthony Snow, and Elizabeth’s father Thomas Bourne. Settlers would have come by foot from Plymouth up the Green’s Harbor Path or up the Green Harbor River by boat. They would have to cross the tidal estuary by small boat or later a road made of laid logs. It was a fragile oceanside setting. [Krusell & Bates]

Various documents including Robert’s probate records indicate that he was an active in the Marshfield community, a capable and energetic man. He was a farmer, a member of the militia, was literate, had coopering and carpentry skills, was also a mariner and fisherman, and was involved in trade. I wonder if he came from a long line of mariners, hence his surname. His various offices indicate he was educated and he owned 12 books and some pamphlets. Scituate town records show that in January 1644 Robert Waterman was paid to “ballanc the glase,” meaning installing the windows, at the house being constructed for Rev. Edward Bulkeley. [Harper]

Robert must have been a man of substance to be quickly accepted by the Pilgrims and placed into the important position of Deputy to the Court and to marry into a reputable family. He was not, however, of the high social standing to be referred to with the honorific “Mr.” Robert died young and in debt, perhaps after a brief illness or an accident, but he owned luxury items of the day such as cloth napkins and tablecloths, books, brass items, a looking glass, and expensive clothing.

Elizabeth and Robert had four sons born at Marshfield:

1. John born 19 April 1642 [Marshfield VR 1:2]; married Ann Sturtevant 7 December 1665 [Plymouth VR 1:665]; Deacon John Waterman died 14 September 1718 [Plympton VR 1:529]

2. Thomas born last of November 1644 [Marshfield 1:2]; married Miriam Tracy November 1668 [Norwich CT VR 1:14]; died 19 June 1708 [Jacobus]

3. Joseph born 1650 (age at death); married Sarah Snow, who was a Mayflower descendant, about 1673; died Jan 1711[?/12] at Marshfield [Marshfield VR 1:389]

4. Robert born 1652; married 1st Susanna Lincoln 1 October 1675 [Hingham VR 2:183]; 2nd Sarah (Lewis) Lincoln 20 February 1699[?/1700] [Hingham VR 2:186]; died 18 May 1741 [Hingham VR 1:119]

I descend from John whom I wrote about here.. All four boys were named in their grandfather Thomas Bourne’s 2 May 1664 will, each to receive £2 in cattle, goods, or corn. 

On 7 September 1642 Robert Waterman was propounded for freeman, to be admitted and sworn at next court (March 1642/3). [PCR 2:45]

The 1643 list of Plymouth Colony list of men who were able to bear arms at Marshfield includes Robert Waterman. [Stratton] He served his community in a variety of ways:

• Served as a Selectman. [Hills] 
• Member of the Marshfield military company. [Jacobus]
• 7 March 1642/3 appointed to grand jury [PCR 2:53] ; 6 June 1643 appointed to grand inquest. [PCR 2:56]
• On 20 August 1643 he first appears as Deputy to the Plymouth General Court (early in records deputies were called Committees) [PCR 2:60]; again appears as Deputy March 1643/4 [PCR 2:68], June 1644 [PCR 2:72], August 1644 when noted as absent [PCR 2:75], March 1645/6 [PCR 2:95], July 1646 [PCR 2:104], June 1647 [2:123], June 1648 [PCR 2:123], June 1649 [PCR 2:144], June 1650 [PCR 2:154]. 
• On 27 September1643, Robert Waterman, Thomas Bourne, and John Bourne were appointed to keep watch at Thomas Bourne’s house. [Deforest] This was a response to a perceived threat from Native Americans.
• He was a highway surveyor and as a rater he assessed property values for the tax list. [Harper]
• In 1645 he was one of the 12 men in Marshfield responsible for establishing a public school, paying 20 shillings towards the school, one of the earliest in New England. [Jacobus] 
• On 7 July 1646, Waterman was one of “the Men nominated and appoynted in every Towne to recover the Excise & gather it” for Marshfield.
• On 8 June 1649 he is one of the nine-man committee appointed to lease the Kennebec trade, an important source of revenue for the colony. [DeForest] The committee also included my ancestor Mr. William Collier a wealthy,  prominent man. 
• On 24 June 1649 Marshfield town meeting was held at Robert Waterman’s house. [DeForest] This likely indicates Robert had a large home to host such a meeting.

A 7 July 1640 letter written by Edward Winslow to John Winthrop, shows that Winslow was indebted by note to Winthrop, and discharged the debt by payment in cattle. “Concerning your acceptance of the five cows I am willing to send them, & becawse the wether is so hott, the flies so busie, & the woods so thick, I have agreed with Robert Waterman to bring them by water. I pray you send me a receipt under your hand for them upon the back of the note or bill I left with you.” [Jacobus citing Mass Hist Soc Collection 4th Series, 6:168] This indicates Robert was a seafaring man.

Robert is mentioned in Plymouth Court records: 

• On 5 March 1638/9 Robert Waterman, yeoman, was bonded for £20 for William Heller of Plymouth to assure the latter would keep the peace and appearing at the next Court. [PCR 1:119]
• On 3 December 1639 he was a participant in an action of trespass against Thomas Clarke for £20 and jury ruled in his favor. [PCR 7:14]
• On 7 Dec 1641 Robte Waterman complained against James Luxford in action of trespass. Judgment granted but doesn’t state what that was. [PCR 7:26]
• In 1644 Robert is mentioned in records about a dispute between James Skiffe and Samuel Jenney; the court ordered that James Skiffe should deliver the sail and the damages to Robert Waterman, with the “boat hee hath sold him.” [DeForest]
• On 5 June 1644 Robert Waterman was a defendant in a case concerning a canoe purchased by Henry Coggen which was to be settled by Anthony Thacher and Thomas Dimmack. [PCR 2:72]

Several court records indicate that in spite of Robert’s position in the colony, he ran afoul of the law:

• On 3 September 1639 Mr. John Holmes the messenger, Mr. Nathaniel Thomas, Robte Waterman, and Mr. John Combe were all at court for being drunk. Combe was disenfranchised and the rest fined. Robert fined 40 shillings for “drinking inordinately.” [PCR 1:132] Robert was in the company of some leading citizens who were referred to with the honorific “Mr” indicating a high standing in the colony. It seems likely this was a one-time indiscretion. 
• At the 4 March 1650/51 Court “Wee present Robert Waterman of the towne of Marshfeild, for offering an attempt of boddyly uncleanes to Sara Pitney, of the aforesaid towne.” He was to pay a 50 shilling fine or suffer bodily punishment. [PCR 2:165] Sarah Pitney was the wife of James Pitney of Marshfield and is my 8th great-grandmother. Perhaps he had propositioned Sarah or attempted an inappropriate kiss, which was a breach of separatist/Puritan etiquette rather than one of morality. A more serious offense, such as adultery, would have been punished much more severely. Jacobus writes: “He seems to have been of a social disposition and perhaps was too jovial or exuberant in temperament to suit the staid manners of the period.” 

Thomas Howell’s inventory was taken on 31 May 1648 and showed “cattell at Robert Watermans” valued at £38 and 2s. Howell also had cattle in Thomas Bourne’s keeping. [Deforest]

Robert witnessed the 19 December 1648 will of William Launders who left one cow and calfe to “the children of Robert Watterman My frend.” He appointed Robert and Thomas Bourne executors. Launders’ estate owed debts to Robert Waterman “for diet,” “for one hogshead,” and for an unspecified item. [DeForest]

In 1649 Edmond Weston of Duxbury sold Marshfield land to Robert Waterman for £14 10s already paid and £3 15s to be paid. Before the deed was acknowledged on 11 January 1652/3, Robert’s father-in-law Thomas Bourne paid the balance owed. [DeForest]

The 27 February 1643/4 inventory of John Atwood of Plymouth, indicated a debt of £2 10s 6d due from Robert Waterman and also “2 lines & a leade & a bushell of Corne.” In the 2 March 1651/2 inventory of Henry Drayton’s estate, a debt is due from the estate to “Robert Waterman for 2 load and a halfe of hay in 1650.” [DeForest]

I was really excited to stumble upon information about an early homesite uncovered in 2012 when the Marshfield Municipal Airport was undergoing expansion. The site was excavated by archaeologists and determined to be the circa 1638 site of the Robert and Elizabeth Waterman home! Ross K. Harper, Ph.D., led the dig and wrote a very interesting paper about the project which is very informative about how the Waterman family lived during the first period of settlement in Plymouth Colony. The house was situated on Marshfield Neck between the Green Harbor River and the South River, just over a mile from the coast. It was surrounded by wetlands rich in plant and animal life and the salt marshes provided hay for livestock. The house was lost in the mid 1640s to a catastrophic fire and a house was not rebuilt on the site, although the land stayed in the family for generations. These conditions resulted in a fruitful dig resulting in the discovery of over 11,000 artifacts including ceramics including Native American pottery, redware, borderware; copper & glass beads used in trading, pewter; green bottle glass; nails; spoons; tobacco pipes; textiles; compass; whetsone; brass skimmer; gun flints; brass book clasp; goffering iron (used to make pleats and ruffs in collars and cuffs); fragment of a brass kettle; and straight pins. The date of the fire is not found in town records. [Harper] The project revealed insight into colonial New Englanders’ diet as well. 

The house would have been 20 by 14 feet with one palisaded wall, likely to protect against cold ocean breezes in winter. It was sided with clapboards, had a thatch roof and likely a dirt floor covered in rushes.  It featured a entryway or informal porch, a loft, an enclosed pantry, a food pit for winter storage, and a cellar with an intact hearth where the ground is well trampled from Elizabeth herself cooking and tending the fire. [Harper]

The Waterman’s brought many of their English ways with them to the colony—they built an English-style cottage, raised livestock, grew wheat, peas, and apples. They were also influenced by Native Americans and grew Indian corn, kidney beans, and squash and foraged for huckleberry, hickory and walnuts/butternuts. Dairy was an important part of their diet, as well as waterfowl, fish, and shellfish. [Harper] What a gift this work is to family historians!

The airport, located at 93 Old Colony Lane, has an exhibit featuring images of the artifacts called “8000 Years of Life on the Green Harbor River.” The actual artifacts are not on display.

Robert died at Marshfield on 10 December 1652. [Marshfield VRs 1:2] He was about 44 years old. His widow Elizabeth was appointed administratrix on 1 March 1652/53. [PCR 3:22]

His inventory was taken 13 January 1652/53 by Mr. Anthony Eames, Mr. Edmond Hinksman, Marke Eames, and Anthony Snow and was presented at court 6 June 1653 on the oath of Elizabeth Waterman. [Plymouth Colony Wills etc. Vol 1, folio 118]

The total of the inventory was £78; £30 of that was in land. It is a lengthy list of personal estate that includes half of a shallop; farm animals including cows, calves, a steer, heifer, 5 hens, 3 small swine; 12 books and some small pamphlets; household items such as 3 brass kettles, 2 brass candlesticks, brass mortar and pestle, a chamberpot, looking glass, candlesticks, a sucking bottle, kneading trough, a churn, 6 napkins, 2 tablecloths, 3 coverlets; a fowling piece [gun], sword and bandolier; old compass, cod line and 6 cod hooks; foodstuff including 18 bushels of wheat, 4.5 bushels Indian Corn, 1.5 bushels barley, bacon; Cooper’s beading stuff, farm tools. I find it interesting his wearing apparel is valued at £20 10s, roughly two thirds the value of his real estate, so he must have been a well dressed man! The estate was also due £5 3s 6p. 

Robert had debts amounting to £114 and £87 of those debts were paid, necessitating selling some real estate to pay the remainder. 

At the 2 August 1653 Court, John Phillips complained against Joseph Roes, for non-payment of £6 debt. The said goods of the said Roes may be equally divided betwixt the widow Waterman and the said Joseph Roes, and a part to be delivered to John Phillips. [PCR 3:39] 

The Judge ordered that between 6 October 1659 and the next court in March that any claims of debt from Robert Waterman’s estate, satisfaction shall be made proportionable to the estate. A quietus (a final settlement of a debt) will then be granted unto Elizabeth, sometimes the wife of Robert Waterman, until 7 June 1660. On the latter date, the estate was finally settled. [PCR 3:174]

Elizabeth, late wife of Robert Waterman, deceased, sold land, meadow and house adjacent to the late ferry between Marshfield and Scituate, that her husband had purchased from Thomas Howell’s estate which Howell had purchased it from Mr Jonathan Brewster. The sale was to satisfy the creditors of her land husband’s estate. The deed was recorded 7 July 1670. Interestingly she sold this land for £30 to Thomas Tilden whom she was to marry—it would seem Thomas purchased the land to keep in Elizabeth’s family. The date of the sale is not provided but it is noted Elizabeth sold the land before her circa 1653 marriage to Thomas. [Plymouth Colony Deeds 3:169]

Elizabeth married, second, Thomas Tilden around 1653. He was baptized at Tenterden, Kent, 19 January 1618/19, the son of Nathaniel and Lydia (Huckstep) Tilden. [French] 

Thomas Tilden had 10 children by Elizabeth and his second wife Mary Holmes. It is difficult to determine the mother of each child, but Elizabeth is the mother of at least these three children:

1. Unnamed son born 25 June 1654; buried 29 June 1654 [Marshfield VR in MD 2:5]
2. Unnamed son born 4 Oct 1655 and buried following day [Marshfield VR in MD 2:5]
3. Lydia born 26 April 1658 [Marshfield VR 1:5]; of Plymouth on 14 June 1680 when she married Samuel Ryder/Rider at Taunton [Plymouth Colony Records in NEHGS Register, hereafter NEHGR, 9:316]; she died Plymouth 17 Sept 1740 [Plymouth VR 2:7] in her 83d yr [gravestone]

I also descend from Lydia (Tilden) Ryder whom I wrote about here.

“Elizabeth ye wife of Thomas Tilden dyed & was buried ye 12 of December 1663.” [Marshfield VR 1:10]

Mr Josias Winslow and Anthony Snow were approved to be guardians to Robert Waterman’s two younger sons, Joseph and Robert, on 6 February 1665/6. Robert is referred to as under age. [PCR 4:113] This was more than two years after their mother Elizabeth’s death, so perhaps it was to offer some sort of financial protection to the boys rather than a physical guardianship. Anthony Snow’s daughter Sarah later married Joseph Waterman.

At the 6 March 1676/7 Court, John Waterman of Marshfield, eldest son of Robert, deceased, complaineth against John Mendall and John Phillips, both of Marshfield, in action of trespass, to the damage of £100, for entering and detaining unlawfully the land of the said John Waterman, a parcel of land of about 25 acres lying at or near the mouth of the North River, in Marshfield, whereon the said Robert Waterman lived and died seized and possessed, whereby the said land descended unto his said heir. The jury found for the defendant the cost of the suit. [PCR 7:199]

There is a monument dedicated to the first settlers at the Winslow Cemetery, Green Harbor, Marshfield that is inscribed with the names of early settlers including “Robert Waterman and wife Elizabeth.” The cemetery is the site of Marshfield’s first meeting house. 

Monument at Winslow Cemetery honoring the early settlers of Green Harbor

Sources:

Elizabeth French (transcribed by) and communicated by Committee of English Research, NEHGS Register, “Genealogical Research in England,” Reg 65:322-333 (Oct 1911)

Davis' Genealogical Register of Plymouth Families

Leon Clark Hills, Mayflower Planters and First Comers to Ye Olde Colonie, Vol. II, 1941

Eugene Stratton, Plymouth Colony: Its History and People, 1986

Louis Effingham DeForest, Moore and Allied Families; the Ancestry of William Henry Moore, 1938

Nathaniel B. Shurtleff and David Pulsifer, eds., Records of the Colony of New Plymouth, in New England, 12 vols. (New York: AMS Press, 1968)

Donald Lines Jacobus, ”The Waterman Family, Volume I: Descendants of Robert Waterman of Marshfield, Massachusetts, through Seventh Generations" volume 1, 1939

George Ernest Bowman, The Mayflower Descendant, “The Settlement of Robert Waterman’s Estate,” 11:100-104 (1909)

Ross K. Harper, The ca 1638 Waterman Site, Marshfield, Massachusetts: The Anatomy of a Pilgrim House, accepted 23 October 2019, published online 13 January 2021, Society for Historical Archaeology

Cynthia Hagar Krusell & Betty Magoun Bates, Marshfield: A Town of Villages 1640-1990, 1990

Thomas Granger (ca 1596 to ca 1642) and His Wife Grace Hasse (b. 1599) of Kent, England and Scituate, Massachusetts

Thomas Granger was born in England about 1596, possibly in Eastwell, Kent. I have not discovered his parents. He married Grace Hasse at Eastwell on 21 September 1620. Grace was baptized Eastwell, 15 April 1599, the daughter of Steven Hasse. [Parish Registers for Eastwell, Kent 1538-1985] Grace and Thomas are my 11th great-grandparents on my grandfather Arthur Washburn Ellis Davis’ side of the family.

Ruins of St. Mary's Church, Eastwell (source: wikipedia)

Grace and Thomas had three children, likely all born England:

1. Thomas born about 1626 in England; died 8 September 1642 at age 16 or 17 when he was executed for buggery [Records of the Colony of New Plymouth, hereafter PCR, 2:44]
2. John born about 1630 in England; died 4 October 1655 at Marshfield [Vital Records of Marshfield in The Mayflower Descendant, hereafter MD, 2:5] and buried Scituate; he was under 21 when his mother wrote her will in 1648; he likely died unmarried
3. Elizabeth born about 1636 (based on estimated age of 20 at marriage); she married John Booth in November 1656 probably in nearby Marshfield; died between 11 February 1719 (deed to son) and 1 May 1721 (son sold property) probably at Pembroke, Massachusetts which was formed from Duxbury in 1712. [Young]

I descend from Elizabeth. I wrote about Elizabeth and her husband here.

I have more research to do, but I found possible baptisms of Thomas and Grace’s sons, but in Nonington, Kent. [Ancestry “Kent England, Tyler Index to Parish Registers, 1538-1874]:

Thomas Grainger, son of Thomas, was baptized 17 April 1625

John Grainger, son of Thomas, was baptized 25 October 1629

Negative search for Elizabeth. Nonington is about a 29 mile drive from Eastwell on today’s roads.

Thomas and Grace came to New England on the ship Hercules in 1637. Thomas was listed as a servant to Joseph Bachelor, tailor of Canterbury, who settled Salem and then Wenham in Essex County. There were four additional Grangers on board: Grace [his wife], Stephen, Joan and a second Thomas [his son]. [Banks] Perhaps baby Elizabeth was too young to be listed or she was born later than estimated. I wonder if perhaps Joan Granger is a spelling error for son John. I do not know Stephen’s connection the the family—he’s not mentioned in any Plymouth Colony records that I have seen—perhaps a son who died young. Why Thomas’ servitude was short-lived is another unanswered question.  

The Grangers were at Scituate before 1642 where they lived south of the training field and northeast of Hick’s Swamp. [Deane]

Many of the early Scituate settlers were from Kent and followers of Rev. John Lothrop, who himself had been married at Eastwell and had two children baptized there. [The Great Migration Newsletter, 14:32] 

At the Plymouth court of 7 September 1642, "Thomas Granger (Jr.) late servant to Love Brewster of Duxborough with parents of Scituate, was this Court indicted for buggery or beastiality with a mare, a cow, two goats, divers sheep, two calves, and a turkey and was found guilty, and received sentence of death by hanging until he was dead." [PCR, 2:44] He was "about 16 or 17 years" [Bradford] I cannot imagine the grief and shame the family felt about this loss. I also descend from Love Brewster, and it was a large financial loss for him, losing a servant and 12 valuable and scarce farm animals. Thomas was required to identify each animal and they were destroyed as they were deemed unclean and not fit for any use. 

Young Thomas was likely made an example of because of the Pilgrims' concerns about keeping the growing colony's moral purity intact. Sodomy and buggery were considered worse offenses than premarital sex and adultery. Gov. Bradford speculated that "Satan hath more power in these heathen lands." [Philbrick]

At the 3 January 1642/3 Court, Mr. John Holmes [my 10th great grandfather], the Messenger, presented his account for his expenses which included “executing Granger and viij [12] beasts: £2 10 shillings.” [PCR 2:50]

The elder Thomas did not live long after his son’s execution, dying at Scituate probably in late 1642 as administration on Thomas’ estate was granted 3 January 1642/3 to Timothy Hatherly and Edward Eddenden "in the behalf of his wife and children" to pay debts. By this court order Hatherly became responsible for managing the estate of the deceased Thomas Granger, to pay debts, handle the affairs of the widow Grace Granger, and guide her and the two minor children, John and Elizabeth. [PCR 2:50-51] Hatherly was the leading citizen of Scituate, so perhaps his involvement in the estate indicated the Granger family was not treated like pariahs.

Grace, who at age 43 was already reeling from the horrific death of her son, was now left to raise her two remaining children alone. 

Grace Granger died sometime after she wrote her will on 24 November 1648. [NEHGS Register, 4:283 and MD 9:85] She was “in good health and memory,” and left bequests:

• Son John when he reaches age 21 my house and land; a share of Conihassett land Grace bought; a saw, one broad axe , one hoe, one narrow axe. “Now Whereas ther is tenn pounds payed out of my sonns mony in England my will is hee shall have all my land I bought at Conahsset to satisfy the tenn pound to him as in lew of it.” 
• Daughter Elizabeth a bedstead with feather bed, bolster, 2 pair of sheets, blanket and covering; one heifer with the increase; one great mortar and pestle; and one great kettle. 

Grace Granger signed with her mark; witnesses are Timothy Hatherley, John Hewse, Richard Beare.

Grace Granger, a widow, who seems to have owned a farm near the mouth of North River, on the Marshfield side, in 1648. [Deane]

Thomas and Grace’s son John died 4 October 1655 [VRs of Marshfield p 3 also reprinted in MD 2:5] at about age 25. His death was "unattested" (without witness) and reported to the Plymouth Colony General Court by a Grand Inquest on 5 March 1655(/6), although nothing is written about determination of cause of death. [PCR 3:97] His inventory was taken “the 24th day of the seaventh month November” 1655 [sic: “seaventh” month must be an error as November is ninth month] and exhibited at court 6 May 1656 by Richard Beer who had been granted administration. included three parcels of land in Scituate valued at £20. [MD 14:23, PCR 3:97-8]

Note that Deane in his Scituate history incorrectly identifies Grace’s husband as John, confusing father with the son.

Sources:

Malcolm A. Young, NEHGS Register, "John 1 Booth of Marshfield and Scituate, Massachusetts: Servant and Planter," Vol 159 (July 2005)

Charles Edward Banks, The Planters of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1620-1640, 1930 

Samuel Deane, History of Scituate Massachusetts, from its first settlement to 1831, 1831

Robert Charles Anderson, The Mayflower Descendant, “Elizabeth Granger, Probable Wife of John Booth of Scituate,” 42:55 (1992)

Nathaniel Philbrick, Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War, 2006 

William Bradford, Of Plimouth Plantation, edited by Caleb H. Johnson, 2006