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William Vassall (1592–1655)

Anne Kinge (c. 1593–by 1655)

William Vassall's English Ancestry

John Vassall died on 13 September 1625 of the plague and was buried in Stepney, Middlesex. [17] He married first Anne Hewes on 25 September 1569 in St. Dunstan's, Stepney. [3] She left no surviving children. [3] He married second Anna Russell on 4 September 1580 in St. Dunstan's. [3] She died on 5 May 1593. [3] He married third Judith, the daughter of Stephen and Joan (Overye) Burough of Stepney and widow of Thomas Scott, gentleman of Colchester, by a license of 23 March 1593/4. [3][1] She died in January 1638/9. [3]

John was an alderman of London. [3] In 1588 he fitted out (at his own expense) and commanded two ships, the Samuel and Little Toby and joined the Royal Navy to oppose the Spanish Armada. [3]

John Vassall, mariner of Ratcliffe in Stepney, made his will on 29 April 1625; it was proved on 16 September 1625. He mentioned his wife Judith; his sons Samuel, William, Stephen, and Thomas; his daughters Ann Jones, Rachel, the wife of Peter Andrews, Mary, the wife of Edward West, Elizabeth the wife of Henry Church, and Judith, the widow of John Freeborne. [3]

Judith Vassall of Eastwood, co. Essex made her will on 9 November 1638; it was proved on 29 January 1638. She mentioned hers sons Thomas and Stephen and her daughters Rachel, the wife of Peter Andrews, Mary, the wife of Edward West, Elizabeth, the wife of Henry Church, and Ann, the wife of John Jones. [3]

Children of John Vassall and Anna Russell: Births from Waters [3]

i. Judith Vassall was born on 25 March 1582. She married John Freeborne. He died between 27 January and 17 February 1617/[8?]

John Freeborne of Prittlewell, yeoman, made his will on 27 January 1617; it was proved on 17 February 1617/[8?]. [3]

ii. Samuel Vassall was born on 5 June 1586.

Samuel was an M.P. for London from 1640 to 1660. [3]

Samuel was a major figure in the sugar, tobacco, provisioning, and slave trade with the West Indies and Brazil in the mid seventeenth century. [12]

iii. William Vassall was born on 27 August 1592.

Children of John Vassall and Judith (Burroughs) Scott:

iv. Anna Vassall was born on 10 January 1595. [3] Ann, the widow of John Jones, was buried on 24 July 1640 in St. Nicholas Acon. She married John Jones. John Jones, the Rector of St. Nicholas Acon, died on 14 May 1636 in Highgate, co. Middlesex, and was buried on 15 May 1636 in St. Nicholas. [3]

John Jones, clerk of St. Nicholas Acon, London, made his will on 18 April 1636; it was proved on 5 May 1637. [3] Ann Jones, widow of London, made her will on 9 May 1640; it was proved on 27 July 1640. [3]

v. Rachel Vassall died after 29 August 1650. She married Peter Andrews. He died between 29 August and 3 October 1650.

Peter Andrews, merchant of London, made his will on 29 August 1650; it was proved on 3 October 1650. Among others, he mentioned his wife Rachel. [3]

vi. Stephen Vassall died in 1643. [3] He married first Mary Bromley. [1] He married second Mary, the daughter of John Grubb of St. Albans. [1] She was born on 2 January 1614. [1]

Stephen received his B.A. from Pembroke College Cambridge in 1619/20 and his M.A. in 1631. [1]

Stephen was rector of Raleigh, co. Essex. [3]

vii. Thomas Vassall was born on 7 April 1602. [3] He married Anne Dickenson on 27 June 1625 in St. Nicholas Acon. [3]

Thomas was a draper of St. Leonard, Eastcheap. [3]

viii. Mary Vassall married Edward West.

ix. Elizabeth Vassall was born about 1607. She married Henry Church on 20 January 1624/5. Henry was born about 1602.

Henry, a 22-year-old seafaring man and Elizabeth Vassall, daughter of John Vassall, mariner of Stepney married at St. Nicholas Acon with a license dated 19 January 1624/5. [3]

William Vassall was born and baptized on 27 August 1592 in Stepney. [1] He died in Barbados between 21 July 1655, when he wrote his will, and 8 April 1657 when Frances Vassall confirmed her husband's sale of her father's estate there. [2] He married Anne King in 1613 in Cold Norton, county Essex.

Anne Kinge, the daughter of George Kinge of Cold Norton, Essex, was born about 1593.

William and Anne's marriage license, dated 9 June 1613 says [3]

William Vassall of Eastwood, Essex, yeoman, bachelor, aged about 20, son of John Vassall of the same parish gen't, with his said father's consent, and Anne Kinge of Cold Norton, spinster, about 20, daughter of George Kinge of Cold Norton, yeoman, who appeared and did give express consent, to be married at Cold Norton.

William and Samuel Vassall were associates of the Massachusetts Bay Company grantees. They were both elected Assistants and William regularly attended company meetings in London between May and October 1629. William was present at the last meeting of the court of Assistants in England—held on the Arabella at Southampton on 23 March 1629/30. [4]

William and his family went to New England with the Winthrop fleet, but they returned in the Lyon in July 1630. [5]

A 17 June 1635 list of people to be transported to New England on the Blessing includes Thomas King, 21, John Vassall, 10, William Vassall, 42, Ann Vassall, 6, Margaret Vassall, 2, Mary Vassall, 1, Ann Vassall, 42, Susan King, 30, Judith Vassall, 16, and Frances Vassall, 12. [6]

The Vassall family probably settled first in Roxbury where Mrs. Anna Vassaile, the wife of William, was a church member in 1636. [7]

They subsequently settled in Scituate, where apparently William was granted a large amount of land and quarreled with other residents who felt their holdings were insufficient. On 1 January 1637/8 the court noted that 200 or 300 acres should have been granted in Scituate to William, who had agreed to erect a ferry at the North River to transport people at a penny a person and animals at four pence each. The court ordered that the residents end their differences with William and said that they had decided it would be more expedient to allow a group of residents to run the ferry. [8, 1: 72]

William joined the Scituate church on 28 November 1636. He took the oath of allegiance to the king on 1 February 1638/9. [9]

On 3 December 14 Charles [1638], William was granted 150 acres lying upon the North River. On 1 April 15 Charles [1639], Mr. William Bradford, Mr. Edward Winslow, and Mr. John Brown were appointed to view and lay out the parcel. On 16 May 1639 they reported that the land would lie on the other side of the North River, right against William's land in Scituate. [8, 1: 124]

"The first records of the town before 1636, appear to be in the very beautiful hand of Mr. William Vassall: there being no Town clerk until 1636." [10, 111] In 1638 the court appointed William and William Hatch to exercise the people in arms at Scituate. In 1639 court gave William the liberty to make an oyster bank in the North River near his farm. [10]

William was a deputy and on the Council of War on 27 September 1642. Hi is in the Scituate section of the 1643 section of the Plymouth Colony list of men able to bear arms. [9]

When Reverend Chauncey arrived in Scituate in 1642, William became embroiled in a doctrinal dispute. [10]

William attempted to convince the Plymouth Colony and Massachusetts Bay Colony authorities to adopt a more tolerant religious stance. Deane comments that some have supposed him an Episcopalian and suggest this as a reason he was never appointed to a high office in New England. After consistently failing in his efforts, he returned to England in 1646 on the Supply, and he moved to Barbados in 1648. [1][10][11]

John Winthrop commented at various times: [9]

A man of busy and factious spirit, and always opposed to the civil governments of this country and the way of our churches.

Mr. Vassall, a man never at rest, but when he was in the fire of contention.

As for those who went over to procure us trouble, God met them all. Mr. Vassall, finding no entertainment for his petitions, went to Barbados.

He bought a plantation in St Michael, produced sugar, and acted as agent for several New England merchants on the island. [11][12]

William was a judge of the court of common pleas for the precinct of St. Michaels, Barbados, in 1654. [12] In July 1655 he was a member of the Barbados Assembly—an elected body of the island's plantation owners. [12]

William Vassall, Esq. of St. Michael's made his will on 13 July 1655 and it is held by the Barbados Record Office. He calls himself a resident of Barbados. He left one-third of his estate to is son John and two-thirds to his daughters Judith, the wife of Resolved White of Scituate and Marshfield, Frances, the wife of James Adams of Marshfield, Anne, the wife of Nicholas Ware of St. Michael's, Margaret, the wife of Joshua Hubbard of Scituate and Hingham, and Mary, single in Barbados. [13]

Illness or injury must have come on him suddenly, as the literate Mr. Vassall signed his will with his mark.

On 8 May 1656 Joshua Hubbard was appointed attorney for the sale of the Scituate estate. With the consent of Resolved White and James Adams on 18 February 1656 and Margaret and Mary Vassall on 3 March 1655/6 the estate was sold to John Cushen and Mathyas Briggs for 120 pounds; it consisted of about 120 acres with a house and barns. The deed was signed by Joshua Hubbard, Resolved White, and Judith his wife, and James Adams on 18 July 1657. [1]

Anne Kinge's English Ancestry

George Kinge died between 14 October and 7 December 1625. He married Joane ___ .

George Kinge, yeoman of Woodham Mortimer, Essex, made his will on 14 October 1625; it was proved on 7 December 1625. He named his wife Joane; his eldest son George Kinge; his second son Thomas King; his third son; Daniel Kinge; his daughter Judith; his daughter Anne Vassall; his cousin William Petchey; his kinsmen Edward, John, Anne and Johan Petchey; his kinswoman Susan Purcas; his three grandchildren John, Judith and Francis Vassall; Susan and James, the children of his late brother Christopher King, clerk; son-in-law William Vassall; his servant John Harding; Thomas Totman of Norton; John Lurron, his wife's kinsman; widow Marrion of Norton; Old Tabor of Stow Maris. He made his son-in-law William Vassall his sole executor. [3]

Children of George and Joane King:

i. George Kinge

ii. Thomas Kinge

iii. Daniel Kinge

iv. Anne Kinge married William Vassall.

v. Judith Kinge

Children of William Vassall and Anne Kinge:

i. Ann Vassall was born on 6 September 1614 in Cold Norton. [9] She was buried on 22 September 1614. [9]

i. Judith Vassall was born about 1619. She died on 3 April 1670. [14] She married Resolved White on 5 November 1640 in Scituate. [9]. Resolved was the son of William White of the Mayflower. [15] He died between 1690 and 1694 in Salem. [15] He married second the widow Abigail Lord on 5 October 1674 in Salem. [14][15] She died between 25 June and 7 July 1682 in Salem."

Resolved White of Scituate, gentleman, and his wife Judith, daughter of William Vassall "of this island," Esq. sell to Nicholas Ware, merchant of St. Michaels his one-fifth of the two-thirds of William Vassall's plantation in St. Michael's and all other land inherited from William except the land where William lived in New Plymouth on 17 March 1656. This was acknowledged by Resolved's wife on 20 March 1656/7. [16]

ii. Frances Vassall was born about 1623. She married James Adams.

iii. Colonel John Vassall was born about 1625. He died in 1688. [1] He married Anne, the daughter of John Lewis. [3] She was buried on 23 February 1719/20. [1]

On 2 March 1646/7 John complained to the court about his father's apprentice John Lewis. The court ordered that John Lewis should live with Mr. Vassall and serve out his term. [8, 2: 108]

Mr. John Vassall was appointed lieutenant of the Scituate military committee on 29 June 1652. [8, 3: 14]

John lived in Scituate until 1661, when he sold his property there and moved to the West Indies, probably Jamaica or Barbados. [13]

In 1667 he was engaged in settling Cape Fear, North Carolina. [13]

A 17 January 1669 conveyance of Hender Molesworth, executor of the will of Sir Thomas Modyford, transfers 1000 acres near the mouth of the Black River "on Luana Bay" in the parish of St. Elizabeth, Jamaica to John. [1]

John made his will on 10 August 1684; it was proved in Jamaica on 6 July 1688. Saying his children were young and his estate in debt, and that his wife was willing to improve the estate and give the children the best education possible, he left his entire estate to his wife Anne. [1]

John's widow Anne lived almost thirty years longer. She was granted a patent of naturalization on 20 July 1685, and after that received grants of 480 acres in St. Elizabeth. [1]

On 15 May 1667 the Massachusetts Bay Colony court responded to a letter from Mr. John Vassall and the people with him at Cape Fear, who petitioned for relief. [4]

iv. Ann Vassall was born about 1629. She married Nicholas Ware of St. Michael's, Barbados.

iv. Margaret Vassall was born about 1633. She married Joshua Hubbard.

v. Mary Vassall was born about 1634. She was living in Barbados, unmarried, in 1657.

Resolved White witnessed a deed of sale from Mary Vassall of Barbados to her brother-in-law Nicholas Ware of St. Michael's merchant, of her share of her father's plantation in St. Michaels on 11 May 1657. [16]

References

1. Charles M. Calder, "Alderman John Vassall and His Descendants," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 109 (1955): 81–102.

2. Robert Wakefield, "Men of the Fortune: John Adams," The American Genealogist 55 (1979): 212–3.

3. Henry F. Waters, "Genealogical Gleanings in England," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 51 (1897): 281–90.

4. Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay, vol. 1, 1628–1641, vol. 5, 1661–1674 (Boston: William White, 1853, 1854): 1: 40–70 (Associates' meetings); 5: 337 (Cape Fear).

5. "1631 Dudley's Letter to Lady Bridget," webpage, Boston 400 (https://boston400.blog/1631-dudleys-letter-to-lady-bridget : accessed 30 March 2023).

6. John Camden Hotten, The Original Lists of Persons of Quality ... who Went from Great Britain to the American Plantations, 1600–1700, reprinted (New York: Empire State Book Co., n.d.), 93–94.

7. Walter Eliot Thwing, History of the First Church in Roxbury, Massachusetts, 1630–1904 (Boston: W.A. Butterfield, 1908), 52.

8. Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, Records of Plymouth Colony: Court Orders, vol. 1, 1633–1640, vol. 2, 1641–1651, vol. 3, 1651–1661, vol. 4, 1661–1668, vol. 5, 1668–1678, vol. 6, 1678–1691 (Boston: William White, 1855, 1866).

9. "The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620–1633, Volumes I-III," digitized book, AmericanAncestors.org, originally published as: Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, 3 volumes (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995), 1871–5.

10. Samuel Deane, History of Scituate (Boston: James Loring, 1831).

11. Larry Gragg, 'Englishmen Transplanted': The English Colonization of Barbados 1627–1660 (Oxford, Oxford Academic Press, 2003), specifically ch. 7, "Seeking Opportunity and Financing the Sugar Revolution."

12. Michael D. Bennett, Merchant Capital and the Origins of the Barbados Sugar Boom, 1627–1672, Ph.D. dissertation, University of Sheffield, June 2020.

13. James C. Brandow, Genealogies of Barbados Families (Baltimore: reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., 2001), 666.

14. Howard Dakin French, "The Parents of Elizabeth (White) Wheeler and Anna (White) Hayward of Concord, Mass.," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 89 (1933), 115–20.

15. G. Andrews Moriarty, "The Parentage of William White of Dartmouth, Massachusetts," The American Genealogist 17 (1940): 200.

16. "Barbadian Notes," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 67 (1913): 369.

17. Francis Olcott Allen, "Vassall," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 51 (1897): 152.

03-Apr-2023