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James Whitcomb |
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Mary Parker |
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James Whitcomb (Robert, Mary) was born in 1668 in Scituate,
Massachusetts WH5,
RO6, SH3, BA20. James Whetcomb married Mary Parker on November 22, 1694 in
Scituate, Plymouth County, Massachusetts VI38.
James was a set work cooper and lived in Rochester, Plymouth County,
Massachusetts MA23,
WH5, SH3. On January
12, 1704/5, James Whitcomb sold two parcels of property to Job Otis of Scituate
for the sum of thirty-five pounds, which included one acre and a house in
Cohasset, which James had previously purchased from Nathaniel Tilden, and an
additional three-acre parcel of land, which was formerly owned by his father,
Robert Whitcomb PL10. The one-acre lot was just north of the
highway and was bounded on the west by the land of Israel Whitcomb, and the
three-acre parcel, which was part of Whitcomb’s four-acre lot, was bounded on
the south by land owned by William James, and on the north by land owned by
Israel Whitcomb PL10. James and his brother, Israel, along
with Joseph Parker and his wife, Mary Parker, together sold ten acres of land
in Cohasset, Scituate to Job Otis on January 20, 1704/5 for the sum of ten
pounds PL10.
On
March
18, 1713/4, he was selected
to serve on the Grand Jury for the next “superiour court of judicature”
held in Plymouth, and on March 19, 1716/7, he was chosen to be the clerk of the
market for Rochester, and to serve as a highway surveyor alongside Isaac Bumpas, Nathan Hamond, Joshaway Laranc, and William Griffeth MA27. Exactly one year
later, Rochester voted to make James “Whitcome” and
John Blackmer, Jr. their tithingmen, and he was selected to serve as the sealer
of measures for Rochester MA27. After this year, the name “James Whitcomb”
or its variants (Whictcomb, Whitcom,
Whitcumb) appear in the town record book of Rochester
in association with the offices in which he served, but because James Whitcomb,
Jr. came into his majority in 1718, and lived for a time in Rochester as well,
it is somewhat unclear which James held the offices from the years 1718 through
1728. While the town clerks of that time recorded the generational suffix of “Junr”
elsewhere throughout the record book, they did not differentiate between James
Whitcomb, father and son. For simplicity, all of
James’ official duties for Rochester for the years 1718 through 1726/7 have
been mentioned here, and those from 1726/7 through 1730 have been discussed in
the biographical sketch of his son, James Whitcomb, Jr.
He and someone with the surname of “Robenson” were elected as constables on March 11, 1718/9,
and he was a sealer of measures on March 25, 1720 MA27. He was a clerk of
the market on March 29, 1721, a sealer of measures on March 22, 1721/2 and
March 22, 1722/3, and on April 17, 1723 he was appointed to serve on the Grand
Jury for the upcoming superior court MA27. Rochester selected
him as the sealer of measures again on March 27, 1724, the clerk of the market
on March 17, 1724/5, and the sealer of measures on March 25, 1725/6 and March
22, 1726/7 MA27.
James
created his will on September 22, 1727, which was witnessed by Leah Keen (or Kern),
Edward Winslow Jr., Seth C. Carl (this surname is uncertain), and Timothy
Ruggles, and was proved by
Isaac Winslow, Esquire, Judge of the Probate Court in Plymouth County, on
December 1, 1730 MA23. He died at about the age of sixty on
June 26, 1728 in Rochester, Plymouth County, Massachusetts MA27, VI8, WH5,
BA20.
A transcription of his will has been provided MA23:
In The Name of God
Amen This Twenty Second Day of September Anno Domini One Thousand Seven hundred
& twenty Seven I James Whitcomb of Rochester In the County of Plymouth In
the Province of The Massachusetts Bay In new England Set work Cooper Do Make
and ordain This my last Will & Testament In The First place I Give my soul
To God & my Body To the Earth To by buryed at the
Discretion of my Executors after my Death. and as Touching Such worldly Estate
It hath pleased God To bless me with I give & bequeath the Same In the
following Manner & form Imprimis I give & bequeath To Mary my Dearly
beloved Wife The whole Improvement of all my Estate both within Doors &
without During her natural Life Excepting what I shall reserve out of it &
give To my Daughter Mary and To my Two Grand Daughters Mercy & Mary Chapman
The Children of my Daughter Joannah Chapman Deceased:
Item I give To my Two Sons Nathaniel & James besides The Lands I have
already given Them by Deed one Shilling In Such money as passes from man to man
at my Deceace a peice Each
of them, Item my will is That my Son Robert also have besides what I have
already given him one shilling more as his brothers are to have, Item I give To
my Daughter Mary Davis & To her Heirs That Bed & furniture now in her
possession and also that Cow and yearling Hieffer In
her & her Husbands Possession The s[ai]d Cow
& Hiefer not to be so hers as to Dispose of them
without the Consent of my Son Nathaniel he To have the Disposing power thereof
Item my will is That
my Executors out of my moveable Estate Take Five pounds & put it into Some
Secure hand - upon Interest at their Election To be for my Grand Daughters
Mercy & Mary Chapman To be paid to them when the
come of Law full age to act for them Selves or to any of them if one Shall die
Then To the Survivor, and my will is also that after my wives Decease They have
Twenty pounds more out of The moveable Estate & the Same to be also put
into the hand of a trustee by my Executors In case I and my wife Decease before
they Come to full age
Item my will is That
all my Lands of all Sorts be the Same more or less where So ever the Same is or
may be found that I have & Do own or of Right belongeth
or hereafter may belong to me That I have not already Disposed of be Equally
Divided between my Three Sons after my wives Decease They paying out To my
Daughter Mary or her Heirs & my Grand Daughters Mercy & Mary Chapman or
Their Heirs The Tenth – part of the worth of the Same as Judicious men may
prize [perhaps the meaning of this word was meant to be “appraise”] the same
Lastly I Do hereby
constitute & appoint My Two Sons Nathaniel & James Joynt Executors of
This my Last Will & Testament Ratifying This & no other To be my Last
Will & Testament In Wittness whereof I have
hereunto Set my hand & Seal The Day & Year first written
Signed Sealed
Published pronounced & Declared by The Said James Whitcomb as his Last Will
& Testament In Presence of:
Leah Keen
Edward Winslow iuner [junior]
Seth Clark
Timothy Ruggles:
Mary Parker (William,
Mary) was born sometime between 1666 and 1668 BA20, WH5, SH3 and was mentioned in her father’s will dated July 1, 1684 PL6. She was the mother of six known children, including two sets of
twins, who were James, twins Nathanaell and James,
twins Mary and Joanna, and Robert.
James Whetcombe,
the son of James, was born on August 31, 1695 in Scituate, Plymouth County,
Massachusetts VI37, but died just as he reached toddlerhood on October 22, 1696 in Scituate,
Plymouth County, Massachusetts VI38.
Nathanaell Whetcom, the
son of James, was born two days before his twin, James, on August 19, 1697 in
Scituate, Plymouth County, Massachusetts VI37. Nathaniel
Whitcomb married Rose Cumbs on January 21, 1722/3 in
Rochester, Plymouth County, Massachusetts VI8. Nathanel and Rosillah Whitcumb were the parents of seven children whose births
were recorded in Rochester, Plymouth County, Massachusetts VI7. These were Johanah, born on June 6,
1725, Mary, born on October 9, 1727, Darcus, born on March 8, 1729/30, Nathanaell, born on May 26, 1732, Rozillah,
born on February 19, 1733/4, Asa, born on February 29, 1735/6, and John, born
on February 14, 1737 VI7. Nathaniel
was mentioned in the will of his father, which was dated September 22, 1727,
and the will of his mother, dated November 28, 1729 MA23. Rossillah Whitcum,
the wife of Nathanel, died on March 8, 1737 in
Rochester, Plymouth County, Massachusetts VI8.
Nathaniel Whitcum married Phebe Blackmer on July 27,
1738 in Rochester, Plymouth County, Massachusetts VI8. Nathanel and Phebe Whitcumb (or Whitcomb) were the parents of three children
whose births were recorded in Rochester, Plymouth County, Massachusetts VI7. These were Lott, born on May 2, 1739, and twins Cotent (or Content) Whitcumb and Thankfull Whitcomb, who were baptized on October 19 or 27,
1740 VI7. Nathaniel Whitcombe died at age seventy-five on March 18, 1779
in Hardwick, Worcester County, Massachusetts BA46.
James Whetcombe, the son of James, was born two
days after his twin, Nathanaell, on August 21, 1697
in Scituate, Plymouth County, Massachusetts VI37.
Mary Whetcombe, the daughter of James and
the twin to Joanna, was born on March 22, 1699/1700 in Scituate, Plymouth
County, Massachusetts VI37. Mary
Davis was mentioned in the will of her father, which was dated September 22,
1727, and the will of her mother, dated November 28, 1729 MA23. Her mother’s will suggested that Mary
Davis may have been a widow: “Desireing them
[Nathaniel and James Whitcomb] to shew kind ness to their sister Mary In all
her wants” MA23.
Joanna
Whetcombe, the daughter of James and the twin to Mary, was born on March
22, 1699/1700 in Scituate, Plymouth County, Massachusetts VI37. Joannah Chapman was called deceased in the will
of her father, which was dated September 22, 1727, but he named her daughters
(his granddaughters), Mercy and Mary Chapman; Mercy and Mary were again
mentioned in the will of Mary Whitcomb, dated November 28, 1729 MA23.
Robert
Whitcomb was mentioned in the will of his father, which was dated
September 22, 1727, and the will of his mother, dated November 28, 1729 MA23. Robert Whitcumb and Joanna Lawranc[e] declared their intent to marry on November 7,
1781 in Rochester MA26,
and the marriage between Robert Whitcomb and Joanna Lawrence occurred on
January 13, 1731/2 in Rochester, Plymouth County, Massachusetts VI8. Robert and Joanna (or Johanna) Whitcomb (or Whitcumb) were the parents of six children whose births or
baptisms were recorded in Rochester, Plymouth County, Massachusetts VI7. These included Elizabeth Whitcumb,
born on November 11, 1732, and Joannah Whitcum, born on May 29, 1737 VI7. Five children of Robert and Joanna Whitcomb were then baptized
on April 28, 1742 in Rochester, and these were Elizabeth, Joanna, Joshua,
Moses, and Robert VI7.
Next, Olive Whitcomb was baptized on April 1, 1744 in Rochester, Plymouth
County, Massachusetts VI7.
“Mary Parker otherways
Whitcomb” sold her portion of the estate of her father to her brother, William
Parker, on May 20, 1694 PL9:
Wheras William Parker of Scittuate In his last Will & Testament, left the Improomt
[improvement] & disposing of his whole Estate in the hands of his wife for
her support and Comfort, during her life time, & ordered that what part of sd
Estate should Remaine After her deceace
to be Equally distributed It or ye value therof
to six of his Children, as by sd Will may appear; Those
may Certifie all persons whomsoever it may Concerne that I Mary Parker the Daughter of the Abovesd
[above said] William Parker, upon Good & Valuable Considerations me
thereunto moving, wth the free Consent, & approbation,
of my Mother & upon ye Receit of fifty shilings in money to me in hand paid by My Brother William
Parker, to me in hand paid whereth I the sd
Mary Parker, doe acknowledge my self fully satisfied,
Contented, & paid, have bargained & sould…
Unto my foresd Brother William Parker All my Right… to the
Estate of my forsd Father, William Parker… As Wittness my hand & seale,
this 20th day of May 1694
On January 13, 1704/5, Mary relinquished her right to
dower (“her right of thirds”) to the land that was sold by James to Job Otis PL10. She
died at age sixty-two or sixty-three on November 30, 1729 in Rochester,
Massachusetts MA27, VI8, WH5, BA20. Her will, written on November 28, 1729, was witnessed by Martha
Keen, Timothy Ruggles, and Timothy Stevens, and was proved before Isaac
Winslow, Judge of Probate on December 18, 1729 MA23. It has been transcribed below MA23:
In the
name of God Amen This Twenty Eighth Day of November In the year of our Lord one
thousand seven hundred & twenty nine I Mary Whitcomb of Rochester In the
County of Plymouth In the Province of the Massachusetts Bay In new England
widow & relict of James Whitcomb late of sd
Rochester Deceased Do Make & ordain This my last will & Testament
Principally & first of all I Do Give my soul to God that Gave it & my
body To the Ground To be buryed after my Decease at
the Discretion of my Executors – hereafter named: In hopes of a Glorious
Resurrection and as touching such worldly Estate as it has pleased God To Bless
me with I Give & Dispose of the same In the following Manner & form
Imprimis my will is That my just debts & funeral Charges be paid out of my
share and Then That all my moveable Estate both within Doors & without be
Equally divided between my Three sons Nathaniel James & Robert, Excepting
one Cow & my wearing apparriel, which Cow my will
is shall be Improved for the use of my Two Grand Daughters Mercy & Mary
Chapman by my Executors Either by selling it & puting
the proceeds out to Interest or other ways & they the sd Mercy
& Mary to have the same with the Interest when they shall Come to the age
of Eighteen years or marriage if maryed before: &
if Either of them dye before, the other to have the whole: Item my will is That
all my wearing appariel shall be given and I hereby
Give it to my Daughter Mary Davis, lastly I Do hereby Constitute ordain &
appoint my sd sons Nathaniel & James Whitcomb Joynt
Executors of this my last Will & Testament, Desireing
them to shew kind ness to their sister Mary In all her wants: hereby Ratifying
this & only this to be my last will, In testimoney
where of I have here unto set my hand & seal this Day & year first
above written