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JOHN WHITE (d. 1673)

JOANNA UNKNOWN (d. 1654)

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John White died between 10 March and 28 May 1673, probably in Lancaster, Worcester County, Massachusetts. He married Joanna Unknown.

Joanna, the wife of John, died on 18 May 1654 in Lancaster. [1]

John was an inhabitant of Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts in 1639. [2, 253][3] On 15 February 1642 and 30 January 1643 he was granted land in what is now Wenham. [3]

His wife Joanna was admitted to the first church in Salem on 26 February 1642/3. [3] When a church was formed in Wenham, Joanna was dismissed to it and the dismissal letter was read and accepted at a 10 April 1645 town meeting. [3]

John came to Lancaster with his wife Joanna, son Josiah, unmarried daughters Elizabeth, Mary, and Hannah, and married daughters Joanna and Sarah. [2, 254] His eldest son Thomas, remained on his father's land in what is now Wenham. [2, 254]

John White was one of the early signers of the articles of agreement of Lancaster on 1 May 1653. [2, 30] That year, he was granted 20 acres in the first grant of lots. [2, 36] The town listed estates in 1654 for purposes of dividing land and they ranged from about 78 pounds for Henry Kerley to about 380 pounds for John White. [2, 39] John and his sons-in-law Master Joseph Rowlandson and Henry Kerley are on on 9 (1) 1654 list of townsmen. [2, 14] On 22 June 1658 the selectman allowed Goodman White to keep the seven acres of land that he had plowed and fenced in the interval towards the "still river." [2, 56] John and his sons-in-law Joseph and Henry received lots in the 3 February 1659 division of meadowland. [2, 71–72]

John made his will on 10 March 1673; it was proved on 28 May 1673. He said his daughter Hannah had been "a nurse to him" in his old age and he left his estate in Lancaster to her and her brother Josiah. He left his estate in Wenham to his daughter-in-law Ruth White, the widow of his deceased son Thomas, for life, and her son Thomas. He left small bequests to his married daughters Joanne, Elizabeth, Mary, and Sarah, who had already received their portions. He named Josiah his executor. His inventory amounted to £389-11-10. [1][3]

Children of John and Joanna White:

i. Joanna White was born about 1630 in England. [3] She married Captain Thomas Fiske about 1650 in Wenham. [3] Thomas, the son of Phineas and Sarah Fiske, was born about 1630 in England. [3] He died between 24 April 1705, when he made his will, and 1 September 1707, when it was proved. [3] He married second Mrs. Martha Fitch of Boston on 14 May 1695. [3]

ii. Elizabeth White was born about 1631 in England. Elizabeth, the wife of Captain Henry Kerley, was killed in an Indian massacre on 10 February 1676 in Lancaster. [1] She married Henry Kerley on 2 November 1654 in Sudbury, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. [1] Captain Henry Kerley died on 18 December 1713. [4] He married second Elizabeth (Ward) Howe, likely on 18 April 1676 or 1677 in Charlestown (now in Boston). [4] Elizabeth was the widow of John Howe, who was killed by Indians in the Sudbury fight [on 21 April 1676]. [4]

Elizabeth's 18-year-old son Henry, her 17-year-old son William and her seven-year-old son Joseph were also killed in the 1676 Indian massacre. [2, 104–5]

Henry Kerley was the chief military officer in Lancaster. There were six Lancaster houses that served as garrisons and his family was assigned to the Rowlandson garrison. Fearing an Indian attack, Henry and his brother-in-law Reverend Joseph Rowlandson travelled to Boston to seek help. They arrived in Cambridge on 9 February. The colony's chief military officer, Captain Daniel Gooken, received word through an Indian spy of an imminent attack on Lancaster, and sent a company of 40 men, but was too late. A force of about 400 Indians attacked Lancaster at sunrise on 10 February. In the Rowlandson garrison were, among others, Elizabeth Kerley with seven children; [her sister] Mary Rowlandson with three children; [their brother-in-law and sister] Ensign John and Hannah Divoll, with four children. Everyone in the garrison was killed or taken captive, except Ephraim Roper. [2, 100–6][4]

Henry Kerley, former lieutenant at Lancaster, moved to Marlborough, Middlesex County, Massachusetts and married there. In 1864 he was appointed ensign of the Marlborough train band. [2, 124]

iii. Thomas White was born about 1633 in England. He died on 1 October 1672 in Wenham. [5] He married first Martha ___. [3] He married second Ruth Haffield. [3] Ruth, the daughter of Richard and Martha Haffield, was born in 1632 in Sudbury, co. Suffolk. [3]

iv. Mary White was born about 1637. She died on 5 January 1710/1, age about 73, in Wethersfield, Connecticut. [4] She married first Reverend Joseph Rowlandson in 1656 in Lancaster. [1] He was born about 1631. According to Bradstreet' s journal, Mr. Joseph Rowlandson—pastor as Wethersfield—died suddenly on 23 November 1678, age 47, in Wethersfield. [1] She married second Samuel Talcott on 6 August 1679. [4] He died in 1691. [4]

Master Rowlandson accepted the town's offer that he serve as their minister on 22 June 1658. [2, 55]

Mary's daughter Sarah was wounded during the massacre and died from an infection on 18 February. [1] Her 19-year-old nephew Thomas Rowlandson was killed. [1][4] Mary was ransomed and released on 2 May 1676 and wrote a famous narrative of her captivity. [4] Her two surviving children were also later released. [4]

After the massacre, Mary and her family went to Wethersfield. [4]

v. Sarah White was born in England. [3] She was baptized on 9 April 1643 in Salem. [3][6] She married first James Hosmer on 13 October 1658. [3] James, the son of James and Ann Hosmer, was killed by the Indians on 31 March 1676 in the Sudbury Fight. [3] Sarah married second as his third wife Samuel, the son of Edmund and Thamazine Rice, on 15 December 1676. [3]

vi. Josiah White was baptized on 4 June 1643 in Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts. He died on 11 November 1714 in Lancaster. He married first Mary Lewis. He married second Mary Unknown.

vii. Ruth White was baptized on 8 September 1644 in Salem. [3][6] She died by 10 March 1673.

viii. Hannah White was probably born in Wenham. [3] She married first Ensign John Divoll on 23 March 1663 in Lancaster. [1] He was killed in the Indian massacre on 10 February 1676 in Lancaster. [M1] She married second Samuel Lummus of Ipswich. [3]

Hannah's seven-year-old son Josiah was also killed during the Indian attack. [1] Her 12-year-old son John and her nine-year-old daughter were captured and died in captivity. [1] Hannah was taken captive, but she and her son William were later released. [4]

References:

1. Nourse, Henry S., Birth, Marriage and Death Register, Church Records and Epitaphs of Lancaster, Massachusetts, 1643–1850 (Clinton, MA, W. J. Coulter, Printer, 1890).

2. Henry S. Nourse, The Earliest Records of Lancaster, Massachusetts, 1643–1725 (Lancaster: J. Coulter, 1884).

3. Almira Larkin White, Genealogy of the Descendants of John White of Wenham and Lancaster, Massachusetts : 1638-1900 (Haverhill, MA: Chase Brothers, 1900).

4. Jennifer Eager Ehle, "The Attack on the Rowlandson Garrison, Lancaster, Massachusetts," American Ancestors, Fall 2014, 41–43.

5. "Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1620–1850, database with images, AmericanAncestors.org > Wenham.

6. Vital Records of Salem, Massachusetts: To the End of the Year 1849, 6 vols. (Salem: Essex Institute, 1916, 1918, 1924, 1925), vol. 2: 420.

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Last revised: 18-Dec-2023