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

Jonathan Bumpus, ca 1769 to 5 February 1847, of Wareham, Massachusetts, Husband of Martha Chubbuck: Was He the Son of Noah and Hannah Bumpus?

I wrote about Jonathan Bumpus in a 2013 blog post, at which time I had his parents as unknown since the information I previously believed about his parents being Thomas and Mercy (Stewart) Bumpus seemed to be based on incorrect information on his death record. I knew he descended from Edward 1 and Hannah (—?—) Bumpus, but did not know how. I am grateful to Thomas Slocum for his recent tip that Jonathan was born 20 February 1749 at Wareham to Noah Bumpus and Hannah Bumpus, so I have delved into that possibility. 

My question: Is Jonathan Bumpus who married Martha Chubbuck the son of Noah and Hannah Bumpus born in 1749?

My answer: I am unsure, but it seems unlikely.

Jonathan Bumpus son of Noah and Hannah Bumpus:

Jonathan Bump was born Wareham, Massachusetts, on 20 February 1749/50  to Noah and Hannah (Bump) Bump. [Wareham Births, Marriages & Deaths, book A, page 9]  His parents were first cousins. He is a descendant of Mayflower passenger Richard Warren through daughter Mary Warren and her husband Robert Bartlett. Their surname is spelled in a variety of ways, most commonly Bumpus, Bumpas, and Bump.

Jonathan Bumpas is named in his maternal grandfather John Bumpas’ will dated 24 June 1763 and proved 5 Nov 1764. John names his grandchildren Lucy, Jonathan, and Deliverance, children of deceased daughter Hannah Bump/Bumpas. [Plymouth County Probate Records 19:135, 333]

If this Jonathan is the man who married Martha Chubbuck at Wareham on 7 January 1790, he was 39 years old and 14 years his wife’s senior. Not an everyday occurrence, but not impossible.

What I do know: 

Jonathan Bumpus of Wareham is my 5th great-grandfather on my grandfather Arthur Washburn Ellis Davis’ side of the family. He was born about 1769 based on his age at death of 78. 

On 7 January 1790 Jonathan Bump and Martha Chubbuck, both of Wareham, were married by Rev. Noble Everett. [Wareham First Church Records p 51] Intentions published in Wareham 1789. [Coldren-Walker]

Martha was born Wareham 29 February 1764, calculated from her age at death which of course is not also accurate. I have not discovered Martha’s parents with any certainty, although given the uncommon surname I believe she is descended from Nathaniel Chubbuck of Wareham who wrote his will in 1740 and had a daughter Martha. Nathaniel was the son of John and Martha (Beal) Chubbuck. John was one of the 1682 purchasers of Agawam (later Wareham). I recently discovered the identities of two of Martha’s sisters named in a deed as Mercy Maxim and Abigail Kenney (more on this deed below) but so far this new clue has not helped me find her parents.

In online trees she is often conflated with an earlier Martha Chubbuck, born Wareham 1741, daughter of Benjamin and Ruth (Besse) Chubbuck, and married Nathan Muxhom/Maxim.

Jonathan and Martha (Chubbuck) Bumpus had eight children, all born Wareham. There births are unrecorded but are all named in their father’s will and some have Jonathan and Martha identified as parents in their death records:

1. Olive P. born 16 July 1790 (calculated from age at death) just seven months after her parents’ marriage; married Shem Bumpus [his death record states he is son of Noah Bumpus Jr, and therefore grandson of Noah and Hannah Bumpus]; died Wareham 28 September 1864, 74/2/12, typhoid fever, parents Jonathan Bumpus and Martha C. [MA VR VR 175:347]

2. Etsel/Hatsil born 12 April 1794 (calculated from age at death); married (int.) Lucy Smith 15 July 1827 [MA VR p 139]; served War of 1812 [Bumpus]; died Wareham 1 December 1851, 57/7/19, palsey,  [MA VR 1841-1910 58:194]

3. Jonathan born 2 March 1795 (calculated from age at death); married Ruth Pierce; died Wareham 19 September 1874, 76/6/17, cancer, parents Jonathan Bumpus and Martha Chubbuck [MA VR 266:329]

4. Hosea born May 1797 (calculated from age at death); married Delia Bennett 10 October 1822 [MA VR p 242]; died Wareham 20 January 1863, age 65/8, widower, pneumonia, parents Jonathan and Martha [Wareham VR Book A, p. 319]

5. Ruth C. born 2 February 1802; married Jonathan Bumpus 17 May 1821 [death record shows son of Noah Bumpus Jr, and therefore grandson of Noah and Hannah Bumpus]; died Wareham 10 May 1866, 64/3/8, liver inflammation, parents Jonathan Bumpus and Martha Chubbuck  [MA VR 193:334]

6. Rowland Sturtevant born 20 January 1804; married Lucy Nye Pierce 5 September 1825 [Wareham VR p 245]; died Wareham 29 April 1853, 49/3/9, parents Jonathan and Martha Bumpus, died of consumption after returning from gold rush in California. [Mass. VR Vol. 76 p. 226]

7. James born 11 March 1810 (calculated from age at death); married Ruth Bumpus 26 May 1831 [Bumpus]; died Wareham 27 July 1866, 56/7/15, dysentery, parents Jonathan Bumpus and Martha Chubbuck [MA VR 193:335]

8. Martha C. born 1811 (calculated from age at death); married Charles Bumpus 19 September 1827; died Wareham 6 March 1865, age 54, parents Jonathan and Martha Bumpus, cannot decipher cause of death but she was sick for 12 months [MA VR p 19]

I descend from Rowland whom I wrote about here.

All of Jonathan and Martha’s daughters married Bumpus men so all the children kept that surname! In that generation there are three Ruths and two Jonathan/Ruth couples. James and Martha’s spouses were siblings, as were Jonathan and Rowland’s. They all stayed in Wareham to raise their own families. Talk about a crowded gene pool!

Bumpus, later Bump, was an early name in Wareham where they lived along Weweantic River on which stood the Bumpus mill. [History of Mattapoisett & Rochester]

Jonathan was a miller. [death record & Bumpus] From his inventory and other records we see he was also a farmer.  In a Wareham list of livestock markings, recorded 7 December 1802, Jonathan Bump’s mark is a hollow crop in the right ear & a half penny ye upper side & a half penny ye under side of the right ear & a half penny ye under side of the left ear with a crop cut ye foreside of the left ear. [Wareham Town Records 1719-1892, page 303 on Ancestry]

Lawsuits involving Jonathan Bumpus—the first one is likely him and the second his son or son-in-law [Benjamin Fearing is likely Israel Fearing’s son who were Wareham mill owners]:

• At the Plymouth Court of Common Pleas begun 10 April 1820, Israel Fearing Esq. (Wareham) v. Jonathan Bumpus (Wareham Yeoman). Case, on note dated 1 November 1797 for $98.80, payable on demand with interest, "from the first day of December then next." Default by deft; judgment for $211.79 and $8.46 costs.  [Plymouth Court Records 1686-1859, 28:28-33]
• At the Plymouth Court of Common Pleas begun 6 December 1847, Benjamin Fearing (Wareham Trader) v. Jonathan Bumpus (Wareham Laborer), and his trustees Lewis Kinney, Francis Carr, and Josiah H. Hall (all Wareham Manufacturers and partners under the firm of Lewis, Kinney, and Co.), and Nicholas Shearman and Samuel Shearman, Gentlemen, (both of Wareham). Case: for $100 for goods sold and delivered; for $100 for work done and materials found; for $100 for money lent; for $100 for money received; for $100 "for money due from the Deft. to the Pltf. for interest of money before then due and owing. Default by deft. Judgment for $69.80 and $11.73 costs. Execution granted against the goods of the deft. in the hands of the trustees. [Plymouth Court Records 1686-1859, 36: 167-172]

Plymouth County Deeds pertaining to Jonathan Bump/Bumpus of Wareham; not all this Jonathan if he was born 1769:

• Benjamin King of Plymouth sold for £4 13s 4d paid by Jonathan Bumpus of Wareham, yeoman, his one quarter part of a lot of fresh meadow of about 30 acres lying on the Wareham River. It is land that he and his brother Samuel King bought of Miss Washburn and Edward Washburn of Plympton in 1738. Dated 26 Sept 1761. Witnesses were Betty Lothrop and Thomas Witherell. Rec. 31 March 1772, No. 102, 56:180.
• Jonathan Bump of Wareham “cordwinder” to Benjamin Fearing, gentleman, for £4 1s 4p, land at Wareham nigh my dwelling house on the west side of the Country Road that I bought of Joseph Doty, about 14 acres, 28 March 1772. Rec. 14 April 1772, No 134, 56:190. 
• Jonathan Bumpus: Israel Fearing Esq of Wareham recovered the court’s April judgment against Jonathan Bumpus of Wareham for the sum of $211.79 damages and $8.45 costs plus 25 cents more for the writ. We command you take Bumpus and commit unto Gaol in Plymouth and he pay the full sums. Witnessed by Nahum Mitchell Esqr at Plymouth 17 April 1820. Rec. 18 July 1820, No. 820, 140:255.
• Jonathan Bumpus and wife Martha Bumpus of Wareham, yeoman, in consideration of our support, love and affection and one dollar paid by our grandchild James Francis Bumpus, all real and personal estate in Wareham, consisting of a lot of land near Muddy Cove which Mercy Maxim & Abigail Kenney formerly owned, and at their deceased it descended to aforesaid Martha Bumpus, she being the only surviving sister. Includes all beds, bedding, chairs, tables, clothing and other furniture. Dated 28 March 1845, both Jonathan and Martha signed by mark. Rec. 14 April 1845, no. 446, 215:235. This deed was an incredible find as it names Martha’s sisters, but so far I have not found them with certainty in records. 

The mention of Israel and Benjamin Fearing in the court records and deeds is interesting. Isaac Bump born Scituate in 1681, the son of John and Sarah Bump and grandson of Edward 1, was Wareham’s miller. He built a gristmill adjacent to his homestead near the Agawam River. In 1747, Isaac and Elizabeth Bump sold their home and mill to Israel Fearing and moved to Connecticut. Israel’s son Benjamin Fearing expanded the structure in 1765 and the historic building remained in the family for over two centuries when it was acquired and restored by the Wareham Historical Society as the Fearing Tavern Museum. 

Perhaps Jonathan did not own a mill but rather worked for Israel and Benjamin Fearing. This would help explain why he died in debt as mill owners were typically well-off financially.

Martha Bumpus died 5 April 1845 at Wareham, from influenza, age 81 years 1 month 6 days, married, husband Jonathan Bumpus, informant John Bourne. [Deaths in the Town of Wareham, p 13, at Family Search “Massachusetts Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records 1626-2001”]

There is also a death record for “Mrs [unreadable] wife of Jonathan Bumpus” died 29 March 1845. [Records First Church Wareham, p 13]

Jonathan died in Wareham on 5 February 1847. He was 78,  a miller, died of old age. [MA VR 27:136]

If there were gravestones for Martha and Jonathan, they do not survive. Many family members are buried at Agawam Cemetery in Wareham.

Jonathan’s probate is Plymouth County Probate Record No. 3277. There is no mention of a mill. In his 22 March 1845 will, Jonathan Bumpus of Wareham, yeoman, being in ill health, left bequests:

• His dear wife (but no name given) use and improvement of dwelling house, the lots on which it stands and all other buildings, household furniture, all other person property during her natural life [Martha died a few weeks after the will was drawn]
• Grandson James Francis Bumpus to receive all, after legacies paid, that he left to his wife after her decease “in consideration of his faithful service to me”
• Each of his children to receive $1. Olive wife of Shem Bumpus, Hatsil Bumpus, Hosea Bumpus, Jonathan Bumpus Jr., Ruth wife of Jonathan Bumpus Jr., Rowland Bumpus, Martha the wife of of Charles Bumpus, and James Bumpus. 

He named William Bates Esquire of Wareham executor. He signed by his mark. Witnessed by Albert S. Hathaway, Albert Herriman, and Israel F. Nickerson. Will proven 8 June 1847 when William Bates appointed executor, and Herriman and Nickerson made oath to the will. One person appeared to object thereto, but no details given. On the same day William Bates as principal, Silvanus Bourne, and Benjamin Churchill, were bound for $1,000 on the estate of Jonathan Bumpus. 

Sadly Jonathan left over $212 in debt that included probate expenses. One of the debts owed was $20 to James F. Bumpus, presumably his grandson, and $32 to daughter Martha Bumpus.

His estate was valued at $259.75 and included his dwelling house at $183, cart, cow, fowl, clock, looking glass, light stand, various furniture, household and farming items. The inventory was appraised by William Benson, Consider Benson, and Francis Carr. William Bates made oath to the inventory 7 August 1847 and it was recorded book 89, page 324. 

To pay off the debts of his estate, the personal property of Jonathan Bumpus was sold on 18 August 1847:

Looking glass and light stand .08 by Cyrus Stewart

Milch cow 20.60 Cyrus Stewart

3 axes and 1 lot of iron hollow ware 3.00 Lewis Kinney

Dwelling house, out buildings and fencing 100.00 Lewis Kinney

Feather bed, bedding and bedstead 7.00 Lewis Kinney

2 tables, 1 chest of draws, 1 hand cart, iron, ___ 2.13 Lewis Kinney

Lot crockery, tin and glassware .90 Jonathan Bumpus [likely his son]

Lot wearing apparel .60 Jonathan Bumpus [likely his son]

Baskets and measures .50 Otis Pierce

Stove and apparatus 12.00 Perez Johnson

Chest .25 Isaiah Russell

Clock 1.25 Amos Covill Jr.

Lot domestic —?— .50 Frederick Stewart

Pan .06 Ruth Bumpus [likely his daughter]

Basket, hats etc. .98 Etsil Bumpus [son]

Total 149.82 [was appraised for $259.75]

Signed Wm Bates

How heart breaking that the children had to purchase some of their parents’ belongings at an auction.

William Bates accounting of the estate is recorded book 90, page 423:

Coffin and other funeral expenses 8.42

Horse and carriage to notify witnesses to attend probate court .62

Ditto to probate court in Plymouth 4.00

Horsekeeping .50

3 witnesses/1 day 1.30[?] and their transportation 40 miles 1.60 and 4.80 total 7.80

Horse & carriage to notify witnesses to attend Probate Court at Rochester .75

Recording deed from Jonathan Bumpus and wife to James F. Bumpus .50

Horse and carriage for witnesses & myself to Probate Court Plymouth 7.00

Expenses at Plymouth for board and housekeeping  1.85

2 witnesses 1 day 2.00; 2 travel 40 miles 1.60 3.20 Total 5.20

Horse and carriage to notify and qualify appraisers .50

Appraisers services 1.50

Premium of insurance on dwelling house 1.50

Policy of ditto 1.00

Expenses to probate courts Plymouth 2.00

Total 43.14

Amount of sale of property 149.82

Ditto of expenses paid 43.14

Looking after property 1.85

Auctioneer 1.00

Tax on property .44

Payment Silvanus Bourne, Moses Tobey as commissioners 2.00

Expenses to Plymouth .13

James Thurber for advertising appointments of commissioners etc. 2.00

Balance 50.66

Personal services viz:

Notifying witnesses to attend court .75

Attending probate court 3.00

Notifying witnesses to attend court .75

Attending probate court Plymouth 3.00

Writing and posting notices .75

Notifying and qualifying appraisers 1.00 

Probate court at Plymouth 3.00

Writing and posting notices of sale of property 1.00

Taking care and preparing property for sale 2.50

Writing bill of sale for house 1.00

Attending probate court Middleboro 3.00

Attending ditto with commissioners 2.19

Subtotal 21.94

Total 72.60

Signed by Wm Bates, 4 Dec 1848

Foregoing account examined and allowed. Aaron Hobart, judge of probate, same date. 

I am surprised given the precarious financial state of Jonathan’s estate that one of his children didn’t act as executor to save money.

Arguments for Jonathan being the son of Noah and Hannah Bumpus:

His parents are given as Noah and Hannah Bumpas in a Mayflower Descendant article by Julia Coldren-Walker and Christopher Challender Child [see Sources]. So who am I do disagree with the well-regarded Mayflower Descendant?!

In searching Wareham records, he is the only Jonathan Bumpus in records of the small-town at the time to be close to the right age to marry Martha Chubbuck. 

If Jonathan son of Noah and Hannah is not the husband of Martha, then he likely died young or left the area as there is no sign of him in records. 

Arguments against Jonathan being the son of Noah and Hannah Bumpus:

Jonathan Bumpas who died in 1847 was 78 years old, so a circa 1769 birth year, which does not match age of Noah and Hannah’s son. This death record does fit to be Jonathan who married Martha as he wrote his will in 1845 and is was proven in 1847. 

I have not found even circumstantial proof of his being Noah and Hannah’s son such as family naming patterns or being named in his father’s probate record which contains no names of children. 

Birth year of 1750 doesn’t match with age on most Federal census records, however year of 1769 does frequently work:

In the 1790 Federal Census there is just one Jonathan Bumpuss in Wareham: 1 male 16 and over, 2 females. My analysis: This would be Jonathan, wife Martha, and their daughter Olive. Other Bumpuss heads of family on the same page: Samuel, Noah [his possible father], Benjamin, Asa [likely son of Noah], Lot, Joseph x 2, Silvester, Barnabas, James, Jeremiah x 2, and Mary.  

Jonathan Bumpus in 1810 Federal Census for Wareham: 2 white males under 10; 1 white male 10-15; 1 white male 16-25; 1 white male 26-44; 2 white females under 10; 2 white females 16-25; 1 white female 45 and over; 5 household members under 16; 2 members over 25. 10 total family members. My analysis: Total household members nearly fits (they’re 8th child wasn’t born until 1811), but other particulars are off, especially that if Jonathan was born 1750 he would have been 60 years old. Jonathan born 1769 would be 41 which fits; and Martha born 1764 would be 46 which fits as well. 

In the 1820 Federal Census, Wareham, the Jonathan Bumpus household has 1 male under 10, 1 male 45 and over, 1 female 10-15, 1 female 16-25, 1 female 45 and over, for 5 total. My analysis: age 45 and over fits to be Jonathan and Martha, daughter Martha is about 9 so close to the 10-15 range, James is about 10 so close to under 10 range, Ruth is 18 so in the 16-25 range. The rest of the children were grown and off on their own—Rowland was only about 16 but may have been off working already.  On the same page is Shem Bumpus (their daughter Olive’s household), Jonathan Bumpus Jr (son), Noah (Jr), Asa Bumpus (son of Noah).

In the 1830 Federal Census, Wareham, in the only Jonathan Bumpus household in town is a fit to be Jonathan Jr. I don’t find Martha and Jonathan living with one of their children or their grandson James either.

There are three Jonathan Bumpus’ in the 1840 Federal Census living in Wareham. This is most likely: one male 60-69, 1 female 70-79, one person is employed in manufacture and trade. My analysis: age range is correct for Martha, close for Jonathan born 1769. Next door is James Bumpus, likely their son or grandson. Two doors away is his son Jonathan Bumpus 3rd with a large family of twelve. Three doors away is son Edsel Bumpus, also a son. 

Sources:

Leonard H. Smith Jr & Norma H. Smith, Records of the First Church of Wareham, Massachusetts,1739-1891, 1993 (reprinted from 1974) 

Daisy Washburn Lovell, Glimpses of Early Wareham, 1970

Lynn Albert Bumpus, A Genealogy of the Descendants of Edouad Bompasse of the Ship Fortune, 1986

Mrs John Barclay, The American Genealogist,”The Bumpus Family of New England,” vol. 43 (1967)

Julia Coldren-Walker & Christopher Challender Child, The Mayflower Descendant, “The Hicks Family of Mashpee, Massachusetts: Wampanoag Descendants of Pilgrim Richard Warren,” 68:5 21 (2020)

Robert S. Wakefield, Mayflower Families Through Five Generations: Richard Warren, Volume 18, Part 1, General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1999

Prepared by Committee, Mattapoisett and Old Rochester, Massachusetts, Being a History of These Towns and Also part of Marion and a Portion of Wareham, 1907