James Cudworth (1635-1697) and His Wife Mary Howland of Scituate, Massachusetts

James Cudworth was baptized Scituate in Plymouth Colony on 3 May 1635, the son of James and Mary (Parker) Cudworth.  [NEHGR 9:281] His father was a very important man in Plymouth Colony—he was Deputy Governor, a General in the military, commander in chief of the colony forces in King Philip’s War, and a man of conviction whose stance against persecuting Quakers cost him professionally and personally. I wrote about the elder James Cudworth here.

James Cudworth married Mary Howland before 1665, probably at Scituate, as their eldest child was born or baptized there 3 June 1665. [NGSQ 75:110 citing Pembroke Monthly Meeting records] Mary was born Duxbury, Massachusetts on 23 July 1643 to Henry and Mary (—?—) Howland who were Quakers. [GMB 2:1016-19] I wrote about Henry Howland here. Her uncle John Howland was a Mayflower passenger.  James and Mary are my 10th great-grandparents on my grandfather Arthur Washburn Ellis Davis’ side of the family.

James Cudworth Jr. was fined £5 in the Plymouth court on 3 October 1665 for “committing carnal copulation with his wife before marriage.” My personal opinion is that this charge was likely because the court did not recognize the Quaker marriage ceremony, so a child born to this unsanctioned union would have been deemed illegitimate by Separatists and Puritans.

James and Mary (Howland) Cudworth had seven children all born Scituate: [Pembroke Friends, Scituate Vital Records, 325:23]

1. James born 3 June 1665; possibly married Betty Hatch
2. Mary born 14 March 1667/8; living 4 Nov 1699; possibly her who died 7 March 1736/7 as Mary Cudworth [Lynn Vital Records referencing the Diary of Zacheus Collins]
3. Sarah born 13 April 1669; living 4 Nov 1699
4. Jo(h)anna born 8 August 1671; married Scituate 16 Sept 1696 Zachariah Coleman [Scituate VR]
5. John Cudworth born 2 May 1674; may have been the John Cudworth who married at Scituate 4 January 1702/3 Margaret Hatch [Archives of the state of New Jersey, series 1, 23:9]
6. Elizabeth born 4 March 1677/8; married James Tripp
7. Abigail born 9 March 1680; married Ebenezer Tripp

I descend from James. 

James (junior) served Scituate as surveyor of highways in 1671 and 1674. He obtained the rank of Captain in the Scituate Militia. [Deane] I have wondered if he served in King Philip’s War with his father but have not found confirmation of that. 

Because James’ father was an influential man in the colony, there is much written about him and he appears in a multitude of records. This has made it challenging for me to find information on his son of the same name. I’d imagine carrying his father’s name must have been a mixed blessing; perhaps he intentionally led a much more low-profile than his famous father.

Mary’s father Henry Howland of Duxbury wrote his will on 28 November 1670. Her bequest was 10 shillings and her brother Joseph was to pay 12 pence to each of his brothers, sisters, and their children. Henry does not mention his daughters’ surnames. [MD 19:33, citing PCPR 3:1:27]

Mary’s mother, Mary Howland, wrote her will on 8 May 1674, and left to her daughter Mary Cudworth £1. It was proved 26 April 1674 and a second time 8 April 1675. [PCPR 3:2:10]

In James Cudworth Senior’s 15 September 1681 will, James, as eldest son, received a double portion of a substantial estate, in addition to what he had already received from his father. The inventory was taken taken 20 June 1682 included £370 in real estate, including a house with 198 acres of land, 50 acres of marshland, undivided land at Conahasset, share of Freeman’s land, and another Freeman’s grant of land.  James was named executor with his brothers Israel and Jonathan. 

James expanded on the land he inherited from his father. James Cudworth Jr. was on the list of Scituate men who were “allowed and approved inhabitants,” to whom portions of the common lands were assigned by the Joint committee of the Court and the town in 1673. He also had land in Freetown in his father’s right and may have resided there for a time, but it seems he lived the majority of his life in Scituate. [Deane]

James died before 17 Dec 1697 at Scituate when his inventory was taken. 

He died intestate. On 17 January 1697/8, James’ widow Mary was granted administration of his estate, when she also made oath to the inventory. She signed the document with her mark. She and her son John Cudworth were to conduct and present an inventory. 

Oddly his inventory was taken before the letters of administration—on 17 December 1697 in Scituate, oath made by Mary Cudworth. It included “the half of the housing and lands which his father Cudworth died seized of” valued at £185, debts claimed in England due from his father's estate, books which show James was literate, cider & cider press, a gun, and various food stuffs and livestock that indicate farming. Mary Cudworth made oath to the inventory 17 January 1697/8. 

On 19 March 1697/8 Mary was involved in the estate division. “With the advice and consent of her children James and John Cudworth, sons of said James, and also with her brothers-in-law Israel and Jonathan Cudworth, for a division of lands left by the late Major Cudworth (also known as General Cudworth) when he died in 1682. Mary “and her children” were to enjoy half of all his lands, together with what they already had received (which was a freeman’s share of land in Freetown). The rest of the land was in Scituate. Signing were Israel, Jonathan, Mary, James, John, Sarah, Elizabeth, and Abigail Cudworth. Daughter Joanna did not sign as she must have been a minor; she married the following year. The lands were partitioned on 6 June 1698. [PCLR 3:73-74]

A full accounting of the estate wasn’t completed by Mary as she died between 4 November 1699 and 5 January 1699/1700 at Scituate. In December 1702 a citation was issued on the estate of James Cudworth, deceased, formerly granted to his “widow Mary Cudworth, who is also deceased not having rendered any account, remains, unsettled.” 

The Bond/Administration dated 4 March 1702/3 shows John Cudworth of Scituate as Principal. As Administrator, John provided an account on 5 March 1702/3. [PCPR 1:284, and 4:2:8, #5313]

Mary died at Scituate between 4 November 1699 (date of her will) and 5 January 1699/1700 at Scituate (date of her inventory). 

The widow Mary Cudworth was still a resident of Scituate when, “weak in body,” she drew up her will on 4 November 1699. Witnesses attested it on 23 Jan 1699/1700, but the inventory had already been taken on 5 January. Her will names sons James and John Cudworth and daughters Mary Cudworth, Sarah Cudworth, Joanna Coleman, Elizabeth Cudworth, and Abigail Cudworth. Bequests included beds, her wearing clothes, a pewter platter marked with two letters, two steers, two cattle, six sheep, and a shilling. Son John named executor. [PCPR 1:319-20] Accounts were filed by him on 5 March 1702/3, for Mary’s administration of James’s estate as well as for the settlement of the estate of Major Cudworth among his own children. [PCPR 2:11, 19, no. 5323] 

James and Mary are thought be buried were at the Meeting House Cemetery (aka Men of Kent Cemetery) in Scituate, without surviving headstones.

Sources:

Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins, 1995

Barbara Lambert Merrick, The Mayflower Descendant, “Plymouth County Probate Records and Files,” 41:19-20 (Jan 1991) and 43:209 (July 1993)

Robert S. Wakefield and Robert M. Sherman, National Genealogical Society Quarterly (NGSQ), “Henry Howland of Duxbury, Massachusetts, 1633, His Children and Grandchildren,” 75:2 (June 1987)

Nathaniel Shurtleff and David Pulsifier, editors, Records of the Colony of New Plymouth, 1855-1861

Pembroke Friends Monthly Meeting 1676-1776, LDS Microfilm No. LH 2173-74, RI Historical Society Library in Providence [includes vital records of Duxbury, Scituate and Freetown members]

Samuel Deane, History of Scituate, Massachusetts From Its First Settlement to 1831, published Boston 1831