William WARNER (1594 – 1648) may not have been Alex’s 11th Great Grandfather; one of 4,096 in this generation of the Miller line.

William Warner – Immigrant Ancestor

William Warner was born in 20 Oct 1594 in Boxted, Essex, England.  His parents were Samuel WARNER and Mary DOWNING.  He married Abigail BAKER in 1611. William came to America with his three children and was in Ipswich, Mass.  before 1637.   It is said by some Warner genealogists that they sailed on the ship,”Increase” in 1635, but he does not appear on the passenger list.  William died in 1648 in Ipswich Mass and is interred at High Street Cemetery, Ipswich, Essex Co., Mass.

Abigail Baker was born in 1590 in Boxted, Essex, England.   Her parents were John BAKER and [__?__].  It appears as though Abigail remained behind to nurse her mother when her husband left Boxted in 1635 on the “Susan and Ellen.” The mother did not accompany the family to America.  It is likely that Abigail died prior to the rest of the family leaving for the New World.

It appears there were two first cousins, both named Ruth, born a couple years apart who both immigrated from Massachusetts to New Brunswick;  William FISKE and Marah [__?__]‘s daughter Ruth and Joseph FISKE  and Susannah WARNER‘s daughter, Ruth.  Many genealogies mix these two women up, but it’s not possible that the same woman was mother to both Richard ESTEY‘s children and David Kilborne’s children because they were born at the same time.  It”s more likely that William Fiske’s daughter was our ancestor, but I’m including posts for both families.

Children of  William and Abigail

It is said by some Warner genealogists  William WARNER and three children sailed on the ship,”Increase” I just see William’s son John listed , perhaps as a servant of Matthew Marvyn.

#49 Marvynn Matthew 35, husbandman
50 Marvyn Elizabeth 31, wife of Matthew
51 Marvyn Elizabeth 31, sister or duplicate
52 Marvyn Matthew 8, child of Matthew
53 Marvyn Marie 6, child of Matthew
54 Marvyn Sara 3, child of Matthew
55 Marvyn Hanna 1/2 , child of Matthew
56 Warner Jo, 20, listed below Marvyns  (John from Boxted, Essex, bound for Ipswich).
57 More Issac 13, listed below Marvyns

William Warner, a weaver, settled in Ipswich, Mass. in 1637 with his two sons, John and Daniel, and his daughter, Abigail. Where they lived in Boxted is in some doubt. The name given to their house was “Merrylees Cottage” which is not traceable.  After his arrival in Massachusetts, Thomas Wells was granted five acres of meadowland in the name of his father-in-law, William Warner, at Ipswich, Mass.

2 May 1638 – William was admitted a freeman. Any man entering a colony or becoming a member the church, was not free. He was not forced to work, but his movements were carefully observed to see if they followed the Puritanical ideal. After this probationary period, he became a “freeman.” Men then took the Oath of a Freeman where they vowed to defend the Commonwealth and not to overthrow the government.

1637 – The town of Ipswich grants William one house lot, one acre, more or less, on the Mill Street., bounded on the east  by another house lot not yet granted (It was later occupied by his brother-in-law Lumpkin),on the N.E. by the highway leading from the mill Street. to the High St., butting on the Mill St. at the S.W. end , at the north end butting upon the swamp. Also a planting lot of six acres more or less, meadow and upland, and a farm of ninety and seven acres more or less, also a parcel of meadow, lying in the west meadows, being fourteen acres more or less.” The town of Ipswich was established on August 5, 1634, from common land called Agawam.

Ipswich in the Massachusetts Bay Colony … By Thomas Franklin Waters, Sarah Goodhue, John Wise, Ipswich Historical Society 1927

William Warner’s Ipswich Lot

The acre lot on the corner of the Lane, known as Baker’s Lane, was granted to Wm. Warner, 1636. Edward Chapman owned in 1667 and sold Edward Lummus “my dwelling house wherein sd Lummus dwells” with barn and one and one quarter acres, “the Street called Mill St. toward southwest, and the house and land of widow Stacy southeast,” March 2. 1667 (Ips. Deeds 5: 190). Edward Lomas conveyed to his son, Jonathan, his homestead, house, barn and an acre of land, and twelve acres purchased of Mr. Cogswell, May 25, 1682 (Ips. Deeds 4: 466). His will (Ips. Deeds 4: 476) states that the twelve acres were on the opposite side of the Street. Jonathan Lumas sold Daniel Rogers, schoolmaster, “the house in which he now dwells” with two .acres, Thos. Wait’s homestead southeast, June 18,1712 (25:1).

This lot came into the possession of the Waits. Mary Wait sold Robert Stocker Jr., a half acre, March 12, 1792 (155: 191) on which he built the house still called the Stocker house. Mary R. Kimball, the widow of John Stalker, sold to George B. Brown, the lot on which he built a grist mill, Jan. 12, 1881 (1055: 187). She sold the house and land to Bridget Murray, Oct. 11, 1881

Memorial of Professor Aaron Warner By Edward Payson Crowell, E P C Published by s.n., 1884

But among the large number of those who for the sake of civil and religious freedom came to this country in the great period of emigration, between the years 1620 and 1640, were William Warner of Ipswich, England, and his family including three children, who with his pastor settled in 1637 in Ipswich—one of the foremost towns in the colony in the intelligence and worth of character and thrift of its earlier inhabitants, as it was one of the oldest in settlement.

A few years after its founding in 1633, the historian Johnson recorded the fact that “the peopling of this town is by men of good rank and quality, many of them having the yearly revenue of large lands in England before they came to this wilderness.” And in 1638 Cotton Mather wrote concerning it: “Here was a renowned church consisting mostly of such illuminated Christians, that their pastors, in the exercise of their ministry might think that they had to do not so much with disciples as judges.” Of this church William Warner was a member, he died before the year 1648.

Abigail’s Sister

Abigail’s sister Sarah Baker was born 1593 in Boxted, Essex, England.  Sarah married Richard Lumpkin on 20 Oct 1614 at St. Peter’s church by George Phillips in Boxted, Essex, England.   Sarah died Jul 1663 in Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts.

Richard Lumpkin was christened 16 Dec 1582 in Boxted, Essex, England. He died Nov 1642 in Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts.

Sarah and Richard also immigrated in 1637 from Boxted.    Richard Lumpkin became a farmer and lived at Parsonage Farm, Church Street.  Sarah and Richard settled in Ipswich, Mass. at the same time as William Warner. Relatives of Sarah (Baker) Lumpkin settled in Charlestown.   Accompanying the Lumpkins was William Bartholomew, a farm labourer, married to Ann Stone. There is also a record showing that William Warner  and William Bartholomew were appointed to lay out land granted to Richard Lumpkin and William Whittered. His family were spoken of as ‘people of consideration’.

It is probable that Richard Lumpkin took the house lot next to the Warners and that he farmed the 97 acres of Warner’s land. He died in 1642 and his widow, Sarah, married Simon Stone of Watertown in 1654. On Nov 10, 1654 Sarah Stone, née Baker ex Lumpkin, deeded to Daniel Warner, son of William Warner, her house lot and 158 acres of land in Ipswich.

Sarah went to live with Simon Stone in Watertown but they both returned to live in Ipswich.

In her will of 25 Mar 1663, “Sarah Stone wife of Simon Stone of Watertowne … & the relict of Richard Lumkin deceased. sometime of Boxstead in the County of Essex in England & last of all Ipswich in New England” ordered that the residue of her estate “be equally divided between ny kinsmen John Warner, Daniel Warner & Thomas Wells” & made these 3 men her executors.

Given this close connection between Sarah (Baker) (Lumpkin) Stone & the children of William Warner, & the baptism of 2 of the 3 children of William Warner at Boxted, most writers have proposed that William Warner married a sister of Sarah, but no further evidence has emerged which would confirm that this is the precise relation between the ttwo families.

Children

1. Abigail Warner

Abigail’s husband Deacon Thomas Wells was born 11 Dec 1605 Colchester, England.  His parents were Thomas WELLS  and Elizabeth KEMBALL.  Thomas died 26 Oct 1666 Ipswich, Essex, Mass.

Ipswich in the Massachusetts Bay Colony … By Thomas Franklin Waters, Sarah Goodhue, John Wise, Ipswich Historical Society 1927

By grant of the Town, Thomas Wells had a house lot of an acre and a half on the further side of the river “near the foot-bridge” with the house lot of John Proctor, north, and that of Samuel Younglove, south, on the east and west compassed in by the Town River. This was recorded in 1635. At that time there was no cart-bridge over the river. All wheeled vehicles and horses forded the stream. There was no privilege of approach to the river apparently near the old Choate Bridge. If the foot-bridge were located on the site of the present Damon’s Mill, where the little island in the river would have made a very favorable location, approach to it from the south would have been by the two rod way by the side of the Cove, which was always open to the public. The original grant to Proctor and Wells, bounded by the river east and west, would not have prevented this right of approach. But the road from the corner where the Meeting-House of the South Church stands, to the river-bank near the saw-mill, was opened in a few years. Examination of early deeds of conveyance of the Proctor, Wells and Younglove lots, reveals plainly that they had their frontage on County St. and the houses were near this thoroughfare

.

Our Wells ancestors, original immigrant Nathaniel, son Thomas, and grandson Joseph and were all ship builders

 On the Coldham passenger list for the “Susan and Ellen,” Thomas Wells is said to be aged 30 which  places his birth between 15 April 1604 and 09 May 1605. A baptismal date for “Thomas Wells, the son of Thos. Wells, the 11th of December, 1605” was reported as being in “the Register of St. Botolph’s, in Colchester” [co. Essex, England] in “Genealogy of the Wells Family and Families Related,” by Gertrude W. Wells-Cushing (Mrs. William Tileston Cushing) [pub. 1903]. Mrs. Cushing also claimed that “St. Botolph’s Register, page 53, Colchester, Essex, Co., England has the following marriage record: ‘Thomas Wells of —–, single, and Abygall Warner of —–, single, the 23rd July, 1630.'” and adds “the parishes or places to which they belong are illegible.” The baptismal date reported by Mrs. Cushing is not necessarily inconsistent with the date range extrapolated from the passenger list, as baptism did not always occur within days or weeks of birth.

There is a much more serious problem with Mrs. Cushing’s statements, however There is, in fact, some controversy as to whether these St. Botolph’s records actually exist or if they were fabrications. In a private email message of 18 June 1997 from Orin Wells of the Wells Family Research Association, he stated: “I would submit that there is not a shred of evidence to substantiate that Thomas was from Colchester. I did some ‘on the ground’ research in Colchester because Prof. Albert Welles in his work in 1876 claimed that not only did Thomas come from Colchester, but so did the alleged 6 brothers he listed in his book. Turns out that with the possible exception of Thomas and Nathaniel, not a one of them is related to the others. We now know for certain where two of the others came from and the third did not even exist. Someone invented a name for him when they could not explain the “Widow Frances Welles’ in Wethersfield, CT. In fact, the searching of the Colchester records we have done so far has yielded precious few Wells and only one can be traced to the colonies. “Further, one author wrote that the marriage of Thomas and Abigail Warner was shown in the parish record of St. Botolphs on 23 July 1630.  However, a later check and recheck of this parish record and the Bishop’s Transcript for that parish showed that no such record occurred within 25 years of that.

Thomas’s left a will on 1 Jul 1666 at Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts.

“Know all men by these presents, that I Thomas Wells of Ipswich in the County of Essex, being weake of body, yet of perfect memorye blessed be god, doe make this my last will & testament, in manner followeinge, viz.: I comend my soule into the hands of my Blessed Redeemer, in hope of a Joyefull resurrection, vnto Eternall life, att the last daye; and my body to be decently buried.

Item. I giue and bequeath vnto Abigaile my wife, eight pounds, yearely to be paide vnto her, out of my lands where I now dwell, dureinge her life, in lewe of her Dowrye; and this is to be paide yearely, in wheate, malte, porke, & Indian corne, in equall proportion, and to be good & marchentable, and paide att ye current marchentable price, as such is then paide at here in Ipswich: Alsoe I giue vnto her to haue one of the best roumes in my house, viz: eyther the Hall, or the Parloure (att her choyce) and to enjoye the same dureing her widdowhoode, And to haue free liberty, to bake, brewe, & washe, &c., in the kitchen, & free liberty to laye her corne, meale & malte, &c., in the Hall chamber, and free vse of garden grounde, where she liketh best, & to haue it well fenced in, and to have lande duely tilled &c to sow flaxe seed on, and that yearely as she shall see cause; & freedome in both the sellars, as she needeth, and shall haue suffitiencye, of firewood provided & seasonably lay’d in, & that yearely att the cost of my executor, & free libty to keepe thre, or fower henns, & a pigg or hogg in the grounde & yards, and shall haue the sixte parte of the fruite, that shall yearely grow in the orcharde, & shall haue the free vse & libty of all these
dureinge her widdowehoode.

Ite. I giue vnto my saide wife the old baye mare (she uses to ride on) and the bridle, pillion seate, and pannell, and two cowes, (att her choyce) and to haue the keeping of a horse or mare and of two cowes for her vse, both summer and winter, & a good house roume for them in winters, & these to be well kept, att the cost of my executor, during her widdowehoode. Also, I giue vnto her the bible she uses, & the booke called the Soule’s preperation for christ, & that of Perkins upon the Creede, and the bedsteed we lye on, & the bedinge, curtans, & vallans, therevnto belongeing, (excepting the blewe rugg) and to have the best greene rugge in lewe thereof And I giue vnto her the “best chist and the” inlayd boxe wth T: W: vpon the lidd; and to haue one halfe of the lynen & lynen clothe, & the thirds of the wollan clothe that is in the house, or in yarne or clothe at the weavers, and the thirds of the woole in the house, at my disease, and one halfe of the putter [pewter] that was her owne fathers, and the putter pinte pott (or tanker), and a brass, or iron pott (att her choyce) saue onely the great Iron pott and I giue vnto her the iron skellet, & foure of the best spounes, & a good porrenger, & a couple of sauscers (att her choyce) and the best lowe chaire, & her little chaire, & a good Cushen, & one of the greate wheeles, & a little spinninge wheele, and the warmeing pan, as legacies

Ite. My will is that my saide wife, shall haue the free vse of any kettle (of mine now in the house) or milke vessells, &c., she needeth, & of anye other smale thinge in the house (that’s mine) as though they were her owne, and that wthout controule, & to haue freedome att the well for watter, and libty for her cloths, or anye thinge els to be spreade, &c., where she pleaseth, and these dureing her widdowhoode

IIte. Whereas John Wells, (my second son) hath receiued of mee, a deed of gifte, of all the lands I had att the Towne of Wells, in the province of Maine, beinge the quantity of three hundred & fifty acres (more or less) arrable, meadowe, & pasture, togeather wth two cowes, and ten pounds, fifteene shillings, yt I have paid (att his request) vnto Stephen Kent of Haverhill in cattle, vpon a bill due from ffrancis Littlefielde, Senr. (his father in lawe) wth severall other things, all wch he hath receiued of mee, in lewe of his portion, & accordeingly my will is, that the same shall soe stande.

Ite. I giue vnto my son John Wells, ten pounds, to be paide vnto him, or to his assignes, wthin three yeares next after my decease, five pounds thereof in cattle neate, & in good condition, & the other five pounds, in wheate, malte, & Indian corne, in equall proportion, & all good & mrchantable, & att the currante marchantable price, as it then goes here in Ipswich, & to be deliurd [delivered] att my now dwellinge house provided that my son John Wells be then liueinge. And I giue vnto him my cloke, & one of the greate putter candlesticks wth the topp thereof, & two great sauscers and two little sauscers more. And I giue vnto Sarah Wells, his wife, (my Daughter in lawe) one five shillings peece of gould, as legacies.

Ite. whereas my two Eldest Daughters, viz: Sarah Massie of Salem, and Abigaile Tredwell of this Towne, hath each of them thirty pounds in lewe of theire portions, my will is that the said Sarah Massie, or her assignes, shall haue a good cowe, or to the value of foure pounds ten shillings, in other cattle neate, & in good condition, (bulls onely excepted) & not to exceed eight yeares of age, & to haue the same deliuered here, where I now dwell, wthin one yeare, & a halfe, next after my decease, and also, to haue the benifitt of the grase of a litle parcell of salte marshe grounde, adjoyneing, to the north: west end of Mr. Wades, neare vnto hogge Iland, and my Daughter Sarah to enjoye the vse of this, vntill the decease of my Bro: Massie, her father in lawe, & then to return vnto my executor. Alsoe I giue vnto Abigaile Tredwell my Daughter, my sixe acre lott of salte marsh, &c., that lies in Plum Ilande, to her, & her heires of male, or a good cowe, to be deliuered vnto her in good condition wthin one yeare, & a halfe, next after my decease.

Ite. I giue and bequeath vnto Thomas Wells my youngest son, two hundred and fifty pounds sterl. in lewe of his portion, to be paide vnto him, his heires or assignes, out of my houssen, and lands where now I dwell, wthin seauen yeares, foure months, & nine; or ten dayes, next after the saide Thomas Wells my son, doe come to the full age of one & twenty yeares, viz: one hundred pounds, to be paide at, or before, the twenteth or one and twenteth day, of the third month, commonly called may, next come twelue months, after that the saide Thomas Wells my son, doe come to the age of one & twenteth yeares. (whose birth day was vpon the eleventh day of the eleventh mo: Anno Dom: one thousand sixe hundred forty sixe) Fortye pounds thereof to be paide in cattle neate, & in good condition, (bulls onely excepted) and in horss kinde, viz, in geldings, & the horss kinde not to exceede, the sume of eight pounds, and for age, not to exceede, aboue sixe yeares olde. And allways provided that the leane cattle, & horss kinde be paide & deliuered in the third mo. called may. And thirty-sixe pounds thereof to be paide in wheate, and barly malte, in equall proportion, and all to be good & marchantable, both sweete, drye, & well dressed. And twenty foure pounds thereof to be paide in Indian corne, pease, porke and sheepe, & all to be good & marchantable, as aforesaid, the Indian corne, not to exceed the sume of twelue pounds, nor the sheepe not to exceed ye sume of foure pounds: And the other hundred pounds, to be duely and faithfully paide vnto the saide Thomas Wells, my youngest son, his heires or assignes, wthin three yeares, next after, the time, & daye, or dayes of payemt of the foremer hundred pounds, & all to be payeable, & well and faithfully paide vnto the said Thomas Wells my son, his heires, or assignes, accordeinge vnto the foremr hundred pounds, both for Kinde, quallity & quantity. And the remaineinge fifty pounds, to be duely, & faithfully paide, vnto the saide Thomas Wells my youngest son, his heires, or assignes, wthin (the premenconed) seaven yeares, foure month’s & nine, or ten dayes, next after, that the saide Thomas, my son, doe come to the age of one and twenty yeares; twenty pounds thereof, to be paide in wheate, and barly malte, both good & marchantable, being sweet, drye & well dressed, & in equall proportion. And fifteen pounds thereof, to be paide in cattle neate, & in good condition, (bulls & bull saggs onely excepted) And fifteene pounds thereof, to be paide in Indian corne, porke, & pease, & all to be good & mrchantable, the Indian corne, not to exceed the sume of seaven pounds ten shillings; and all the cattle, horss kinde & sheep to be duely paide, & dld. [delivered] att my now dwelling house, here in Ipswich, & all the rest, to be likewise delivered here, att my house, where now I dwell, or att anye other house, malte-kilne & wharfe, in Ipswich where the said Thomas, the son, or his assignes shall appointe the same.

Ite. My will is, that if my executor (whom I shall name & appointe) doe not duely, & faithfully pay & dischardge, this two hundred, & fifty pounds as before mentioned, accordeinge to my true intente, (as before expressed) eyther in whole, or in parte. Then, the saide Thomas Wells, my youngest son, his executors, or assignes, shall enter upon and take possession of the houssen, and lands, where now I dwell, both of arrable, meadowe and pasture, & quietly, to possese, & enjoye the same, vntill the whole be dischardged, anye thinge herein contained to the contrarye notwthstandinge.

Ite. my will is, that if the saide Thomas, my youngest son, shall dye & cease this life, before he come to the full age of one & twenty yeares, then the executor, of this my last will, shall pay vnto the rest of my children, the full sum of one hundred, and forty pounds, viz. vnto John Wells, or.

Thomas died on 26 Oct 1666 at Salisbury, Essex County, Massachusetts, at age 60. Thomas’s estate was proved on 15 Nov 1666 at Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts.

Children of Thomas and Abigail

i. Nathaniel Wells b. 1636 in Salisbury, Essex, Mass.;  m.  He married 29 OCT 1661 Liedia Thurley, daughter of our ancestor Richard Thurley (THURLOW)   Nathaniel died (15 DEC 1675)(15 DEC 1681) at Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts.

ii. John Wells  b. 1637 at Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts. He married Sarah Littlefield.  Sarah’s parents were Francis Littlefield and Rebecca Rust and her grandparents were our ancestors Edmund LITTLEFIELD and Annis AUSTIN.  He settled in Maine. He died 11 APR 1677 at Wells, York, Maine.

iii. Sarah Wells (1640 – 1703) m. John Massey of Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts.

iv. Abigail Wells b. 1641-1642 at Ipswich, Essex, Mass. She married 19 JUN 1661 to Nathaniel Treadwell, son of Thomas and Mary Treadwell. She died 16 JUN 1677 at Ipswich, Essex, Mass. Nathaniel married (2) Rebekah Titcomb.

v. Peter Wells (1645 – 1715

vi. Rev Thomas Wells b. 11 JAN. 1646/7 at: Ipswich, MAl m. 10 Jan 1669 at: Ipswich, Mass. to Mary Perkins; d. 10 JULY 1734  He was given a “Legacy to be paid him at 22 yrs Going to College.”  was a student at Harvard College under a provision of the will of his father…

vii. Elizabeth Wells b. 2 JUL 1646 at Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts. She married 9 JUN 1669 to John Burnham. She died 9 JUN 1731 at Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts.

viii. Hannah Wells (1648 – 1682) m1.  [__?__] Rogers. She m2.  Richard Symonds on 16 Aug 1679 in Salam, Essex, MA.

ix. Lydia Wells (1651– ) m. John Ropes

2. John Warner

John’s wife Priscilla Symonds was born 1625 in Birch Great, Essex, England.  Her parents were Mark SYMONDS and Joanna [__?__].  Priscilla died 1688 Hadley, Hampshire, Mass.

John and Priscilla’s children were Joseph Warner (1657), Mehitable Warner (1659), Daniel Warner (1661), Eleazar Warner (1662), and Priscilla Warner Cummings (married Thomas Cummings).

John removed from Ipswich to Brookfield in 1670, was one of three men there who took the Indian deed for the town of Brookfield, December 19, 1673, and was one of the principal inhabitants there. When the town was destroyed by the Indians in 1675 he retreated with his younger children to Hadley, Massachusetts, whither Mark Warner, an elder son, and other children had gone to settle.   He was probably one of the 70 villagers who sought refuge in his brother-in-law John Ayer’s tavern.  For details see my post Siege of Brookfield.  He probably died at the home of some of his children, 1692.

Attack on Ayers Tavern

On May 17, 1692, he gave his property to his sons, Mark, Nathaniel, and Eleazar. His property included the right of two commons in and land in a Hadley and Swampfield. He also gave them 3 beds, 3 coverlets, 3 pairs of sheets, a bolster, 6 pillows, 2 brass kettles, 3 skillets, a frying pan, an iron pot, a pair tongs, an iron peale, an iron trammel, a box of iron, 2 pewter platters, a pewter basin, 2 catechisms, 2 bibles, 6 sermon books, 2 woman’s coats, 2 waistcoats, a large apron, a silk handkerchief, a silk hood, a silk cap, and a hat.

3. Daniel WARNER (See his page)

Sources:

http://www.genealogyofnewengland.com/b_w.htm

http://www.anamericanfamilyhistory.com/Warner%20Family/WarnerWilliam1594.html

http://trees.ancestry.com/owt/person.aspx?pid=7424536

http://www.boxted.org.uk/migration.htm