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WILLIAM NICKERSON (c. 1604–1689/90)

ANNE BUSBY (bp. 1609–aft. 1686), daughter of Nicholas Busby and Bridget Cocke

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William was born about 1607/9. [1] He died between 30 August 1689 and 8 September 1690. [2, 93] He married Anne Busby. [1]

Anne Busby was baptized on 2 February 1607/8 in St. Mary Coslany. [1] She died after 18 May 1686.

Nicholas Busby bequeathed his daughter Anne Nickerson fifty pounds and his "thicke bible." [2, 61]

The passengers who went to New England on 15 April 1637 on the John and Dorothy of Ipswich with Captain William Andrews and the Rose of Yarmouth with Captain William Andrews, his son, were examined from 8 to 13 April 1637. The Nickersons were examined on 8 April and desired to go to Boston to inhabit. William's household included William Nickerson, weaver of Norwich, age 33, Anne, his wife, age 28[!], and his four children, Nicholas, Robert, Elizabeth and Anne. They were traveling with his wife's parents and four of her siblings. [3] They arrived in New England on 20 June 1637. [2, 57]

Like his fellow emigrant of 15 April 1637, Michael Metcalf, he was probably fleeing the persecutions of the anti-Puritan Matthew Wren, Bishop of Norfolk.

William took the freeman's oath on 2 May 1638 in Massachusetts Bay Colony. [4]

He was proposed as a freeman at the next court on 1 December 1640 in Plymouth Colony. He took the oath of fidelity on 1 June 1641 and was propounded as a freeman at the next court. He was propounded again on 4 June 1650. [5 2: 3, 15, 17, 154]

William was appointed to the grand enquest jury on 1 June 1641. [5, 2: 15] He is in the Yarmouth section of the 1643 list of men between 16 and 60 able to bear arms in Plymouth colony. [6.]

William moved to Yarmouth, but consistently failed to get along with the other townspeople. At the March 1641/2 court, Mr. Thomas Star, Hugh Tilley, William Nickerson and Joshua Barnes, all of Yarmouth were "complayned to be scoffers & jeerers at religion, &c, and making disorders in their towne meetings, &c, are to be sent for answere the next Court, &c." The records of the June 1642 court show that they and some others were each assessed 42 shillings and released. [5, 2: 36, 41]

The court granted Mr. Anthony Thatcher, Mr. Thomas Howes, and Mr. John Crowe —referred to as the committees for the town—the right to distribute land in Yarmouth. Disgruntled inhabitants complained, and in March 1647/8, Captain Miles Standish was sent to arbitrate. He made grants of land to some residents. On 14 May 1648, Mr. Nickerson was granted ten acres of upland and eight acres of meadow toward the South Sea. On 15 May 1648, the committees and town residents agreed that three representatives of the town should be added to the committees and no land should be allocated without the consent of at least two of them. For the current year, Mr. Star, William Nickerson, and Robert Dennis were added to the committees. Their successors were to be chosen each year at a town meeting. [5, 2: 129–130][2, 58–59]

At the October 1650 court, William sued Thomas Starr and Robert Dennis for defamation, seeking 100 pounds in damages from each. Many Yarmouth townsmen sued William for slander, seeking damages of 100 pounds. The court ruled that concerning William versus Thomas and Robert, there were injuries on both sides. Concerning the townsmen versus William, William should acknowledge that he "carried himselfe therin unworthily" and the town should let it rest. [7, 50]

William was on the jury at the June 1651 court. [7, 54] He was a deputy for Yarmouth at the June 1655 court. [5, 3: 9]

In the defining event of his life in New England, William exchanged a boat and other goods with the sachem of Monomoit (spelled various ways, and later Chatham), Mattaquason, for a vast amount of land (seen in the figure above). This transaction was illegal, and Willem was called to court and ordered to pay the prohibitive penalty fine of five pounds per acre if he wanted to keep the land. William appeared at the June 1656 court to answer for buying land from the Indians against the court's order and selling a boat to the Indians against a warrant strictly forbidding this. For his actions, he was disenfranchised of his freedom. He petitioned the court to be allowed to keep the land he purchased. The court ordered that a deputy be sent to look at the land, come back, and report to the court. William would then be allowed to keep a portion, but the rest would be forfeited to the court. William rejected this and petitioned the court to keep all the land. The court responded that he must pay the fine if he wanted to keep all the land. [5, 3: 79, 101, 120, 165]

William took the oath of fidelity in Yarmouth in 1657. [8] In 1657 William and Anne went to Boston to care for Anne's aged parents. William bought land and a house and perhaps erected a shop. After the parents died, William sold his house in November 1661, and William and Anne returned to Yarmouth as early as January 1661/2. [2, 60–61]

On 15 January 1661/2 William conveyed 40 acres of upland and ten acres of meadow in his purchase to his daughter Elizabeth Eldred. [2, 62]

The June 1663 court ordered William to pay the fine for his illegal purchase in due and convenient time. He was summoned to the December 1663 court, where he again pleaded ignorance of the laws and asked for the court's mercy. The May 1664 court ordered the chief marshall of Plymouth to collect 200 pounds of the fine. The June 1664 court noted a dispute between William and the sachem Mattaquason and his son Jason Quason and ordered that deputies be dispatched to settle the matter. The court also ordered that since William persisted in possessing and improving the land without paying the fine, it should be sold, and William was only to have a portion. The sale did not occur, and William again pleaded ignorance of the law to the May 1665 court and asked it to remit the fine. [5, 4: 44, 49, 59, 64, 87, 96]

William then appealed to the Commissioners of the King, sent out to oversee the surrender of the Dutch and visit the colonies. They were apparently unimpressed with his claim to a four-square-mile farm but did not find him totally at fault. They agreed to appeal to the Plymouth court, and he was to accept their resolution. [2, 66–67] The June 1665 court noted that William lacked the estate to pay 200 pounds and that the land should be divided. William was to have 100 acres and a share of the meadow. His fine was remitted, and he was to be repaid the purchase price of the land. [5, 4: 101–2]

A letter dated 2 April 1666 from William to Colonel Richard Nichols, governor of the colony of New York, "scandulously" reproaching the Plymouth court was read aloud at the October 1666 court. William stood by the letter; his sons-in-law Robert Eldred and Nathaniel Covell acknowledged their consent to it and his son in law Trustrum Hedges did not deny consenting. The court judged itself "bound to vindecate the great scandall' and ordered William, Robert, and Nathaniel to give security for their appearance at the next court in June. William's bond was set at 500 pounds; Robert and Nathaniel were to post a bond of 100 pounds each. Viewing Assistant Thomas Hinckley as the primary source of his problems, William had written two letters—one to the court at Barnstable and one to the General Court—claiming that Thomas had denied him justice. On 18 June 1666 he wrote an acknowledgment of his "mistake" of defaming Thomas, acquitting him of his accusations, and asking forgiveness. This acknowledgment was exhibited at the October 1666 court. [5, 4: 134–5]

The March 1666/7 court fined William 50 pounds for his "scandalouse" charges against Mr. Hinckley and for stirring up faction and sedition. It offered to remit 30 pounds if William would openly acknowledge his miscarriage. Taking the court up on this offer, Willam acknowledged his misbehavior, said he was "very sorry," and hoped it would be a warning to him in the future. [5, 4: 140]

William and his sons-in-law Robert and Nathaniel appeared at the June 1667 court, according to their bond, but gave no satisfaction. They and "some frinds" asked for more time to consider, and the court gave them until July. Trying a different tactic to retain his land, William Nickerson, Sr. and his children William Nickerson, Jr., Nicholas, Robert, Samuel, John, and Joseph Nickerson, Robert Eldred, Tristrum Hedges, and Nicholas Covell petitioned the court. They said their father-in-law had bought land at Mattamoit to accommodate his children, but they did not want to live alone and were willing to receive and accommodate inhabitants. Thus, they asked for the liberty to settle a township. At the July court, it was noted that William had still not complied. Moreover, the court had discovered a second letter—dated February 1666—that William had written to Colonel Nichols. William and his sons-in-law were bound over to the October court. The court also noted that in all the years of controversy, William had never produced any legal evidence that he owned the land, and the Indians argued otherwise. It appeared to the court he had no legal right to the land. [4: 153–8, 162–3]

William appeared at the October 1667 court to answer to his two letters to Colonel Nichols. The court noted that he should have been fined a "great sume," but because he and his sons-in-law acknowledged their fault to some degree and because of a request by Colonel Nichols on their behalf, William was only fined ten pounds and Robert and Nathaniel each five pounds. [5, 4: 168]

Thomas Howes, the former constable of Yarmouth, complained that William Nickerson, Sr., Nathaniel Covell, Samuel Nickerson, Joseph Nickerson, and William Nickerson, Jr. had affronted him in the execution of his office and abused him. The June 1668 court sentenced them all to sit in the stocks. As William, Sr. was the ringleader, he was ordered to appear at the October court and find sureties for his good behavior or be imprisoned. He refused and was committed for three days. After that, he and his apparent surety, William Cole, each posted 20 pounds bond, and he was released. [5, 5: 183]

William sued Mattaquason, Great Tom, Cousin, and Will, Indians of Monomoit, at the July 1669 court for defaming him in a 19 October 1666 letter to the court, but the jury saw no grounds. [7, 155] William sued Mattaquason for damages because he refused to sign a deed confirming his original purchase. A jury at the March 167/12 court found for the defendant. [7, 171]

By a deed dated 19 June 1672, in consideration of one shallop, ten coats of hacking cloth, six kettles, 12 axes, 12 hoes, 12 knives, 40 shillings in wampum, a hat, and 12 shillings, Mattaquason and John Quason, Indian sachems of Monomoit, transfered William's original purchase of land to William. By a deed of 1 July 1672, in consideration of 90 pounds, Thomas Hinckley, John Freeman, and Nathaniel Bacon sold the tracts of land in Monomoit that had been granted to them by the court and were adjacent to the land William had bought from the Indians, to William Nickerson, yeoman of Monomoit. [9]

In early 1674 William conveyed 40 acres of upland and ten acres each to his sons Samuel, John, Joseph, and Robert, and his daughters, Ann Hedges and Sarah Covell. [2, 74]

The June 1674 court allowed William to purchase adjacent lands with the help and assistance of those the court appointed to render such assistance. [5, 5: 147] Differences arose between William and some of the Purchases over land at Monomoit. The June 1675 court appointed a committee to set the bounds and to leave no uninhabited lands between the inhabited lands and the sea. William also requested that the neighborhood and Monomoit be a township. The same court rejected this—saying it did not then have the capacity—but allowed it a deputy, constable, and grand juryman, to be chosen by Eastham and themselves. [5, 5: 171]

Some of William's children had helped finance his purchase of the property at Monomoit. His son-in-law Trustrum Hedges sued William for 100 pounds for selling land in which he had an interest. The jury at the October 177 court found for the plaintiff that Trustrum and his wife were joint partners with Willem and the rest of his children. Willem asked for a review. He also sued Trustrum for 1,000 pounds for saying that William stole the land and warned people not to buy pieces of it from him. This suit, however, was withdrawn. [7, 207] Trustrum accused William of refusing to divide the land, but this was recorded as non-suited at the March 1677/8 court. This court reviewed the case presented at the previous court and found that Trustrum had been given land at Monomoit, and it did not believe he had a right to any more than what he had. [7, 105–7]

The residents of Monomoit complained of difficulty attending worship in Eastham. They argued to be a town, saying they intended to hire a minister. The March 1678/9 court told them that if they did so, they should apply again in June. In June, the court responded to a petition by William and ordered that Monomoit could choose its constable and juryman. It told them to raise taxes to build a meeting house and a house for a minister. [5, 6: 4, 14]

William gave away his land during his lifetime. By a deed of 12 February 1685/6, acknowledged by William and his wife Anne on 18 May 1686, he gave all of his land and personal property in Monomoit to his daughter Sarah. By a deed of 2 December 1687, William and Sarah conveyed land called Monomesset Neck and half the interest in his land to William Jr., with Sarah retaining the home farm. [2, 93]

Children of William Nickerson and Anne Busby: The first five baptized at St. Peter Parmentergate, Norwich [1]

i. Nicholas Nickerson was baptized on 10 August 1628. He died before 26 March 1681/2. [10] He had an unknown first wife. [11] He married second Mary Derby in 1663. [10] Mary, the daughter of John Derby, was born in England about 1644 and died on 16 March 1705/6. [10]

Nicholas took the oath of fidelity in Yarmouth in 1657. [8, 186]

On 5 June 1667, the selectman of Yarmouth complained about Nicholas not attending church. [11]

Nicholas was presented at the July 1667 court for "approbrious" speeches against Mr. Thornton. He had claimed that Mr. Thornton said that if a man did not have enough money to pay for the minister's maintenance, he should borrow it. Acknowledging his fault and promising reformation, he was released. [5, 4: 158]

On 14 October 1667 a cornoner's inquest found that one of his children had been strangled by a piece of pumpkin shell. [5, 4: 170]

Nicholas was on the grand enquest at the June 1678 court. [5, 5: 256]

Inventory was was taken on Nicholas's estate on 26 March 1681 in Yarmouth. [11] It was valued at £125-09-03. The October 1682 court divided it between his widow and children. [5, 6: 99] Mary and William Nickerson, administrators and executors of the estate of Nicholas of Yarmouth, posted bond on 16 April [?] 1683. [12]

ii. Elizabeth Nickerson was baptized on 1 January 1629/30. She probably died between 16 July 1695 and 3 May 1706. She married Robert Eldredge the last week of October 1649. [2, 117] He died before 18 January 1682/3.

Robert owned a farm at Little Bass pond in Yarmouth, consisting of 70 acres of upland and 20 acres of meadow. He sold it to Samuel Hall of Yarmouth by a deed dated 25 February 1666/7 and moved to the farm given to Elizabeth by her father. [2, 118]

Inventory was taken on his estate on 18 January 1682/3. It amounted to 312 pounds and included two horses, 20 cows, two steers, a pair of oxen, eight heifers, three yearling calves, 29 sheep, 12 hogs, 17 shoats, and four hives of bees. [2, 118–9]

Elizabeth received one-third of her husband's buildings and movable property; the other two-thirds was divided between her children, the oldest son having a double share. [2, 119] This must not have been rigorously enforced, as on 16 July 1695, Elizabeth Eldredge, administrator of her husband's estate—he had died many years since it was settled—said the estate had suffered losses. There was not enough left to give her younger daughters their portions. Thus, she gave her daughters Hannah and Martha twenty acres, the house she lived in that her husband had built, and her household goods on the condition she could use them for life. [13] When she died, this agreement was recorded as a will on 3 May 1706. [2, 120]

iii. Robert Nickerson was baptized on 27 November 1631. He died before July 1713, when his son Robert of Harwich sold 20 acres of his late father's property in Chatham to Seth Taylor of Yarmouth. [2, 121]

Robert took the oath of fidelity in Yarmouth in 1657. [8, 186] He was on the grand enquest at the June 1679 court. [5, 6: 11] He was a constable in 1683. [5, 6: 107]

iv. Thomas Nickerson was baptized on 10 January 1633/4. He was buried on 21 February 1633/4 at St. Peters Parmentergate. [1]

v. Anne Nickerson was baptized on 7 May 1635. She married Trustram Hedges on 20 December 1657 in Boston. [2, 121]

v. Samuel Nickerson was born say 1637. He died before 3 September 1719. He married Mary, the daughter of John Bell, about 1660. [2, 122]

Administration of his estate was granted to his widow Mary on 3 September 1719. [2, 123]

vi. Sarah Nickerson was born say 1639. She married Nathaniel Covell.

Thomas Williams of Eastham left his grandson William Nickerson, the son of John Nickerson, one shilling in his will of 10 May 1692. [14]

John Nickerson of Monomoit sued William Griffith for trespassing and cutting his wood. The July 1685 court found for the plaintiff and awarded him five shillings plus costs. [7, 289]

viii. William Nickerson was baptized on 1 June 1646 in Barnstable. He married Mercy Williams.

ix. Joseph Nickerson was born in December 1647 in Yarmouth. [15] He died after 1726, when his son was referred to as Joseph, Jr. and before 1731, when his widow was mentioned. [2, 131] He married Ruhamah ___. His widow lived to be very old. [2, 131]

Ruhama, the wife of Joseph Nickerson, Samuel Nickerson, Edward Cottle of Monomoit and his wife, and the wife of Nathaniel Covell were found guilty at the June 1678 court of profaning the Sabbath by fighting and quarreling. Ruhamah and Nathaniel Covell's wife could choose between paying 40 shillings or being whipped; Samuel was fined 40 shillings but allowed to appeal; Edward Cottle and his wife were fined 40 shillings. [5, 5: 253]

Joseph was on the grand enquest at the June 1680 court. [5, 6: 36]

Joseph's wife and son were charged in the winter of 1709/10 with aiding and abetting an Indian in burning the barn of Mr. Edward Bangs at Satucket. The Indian was not convicted, but his wife was ill, did not show up in court, and forfeited her bond. [2, 131]

Map [2, between pages 72 and 73]

References:

1. Richard L. Bush, "The English Ancestry of William and Anne (Busby) Nickerson of Chatham, Massachusetts and Nicholas and Bridget (Cocke) Busby of Boston," The American Genealogist 85 (2011): 242–53.

2. William C. Smith, A History of Chatham, Massachusetts (Hyannis: F.B. & F.P. Goss, 1909).

3. 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.), 289, 290.

4. Lucius R. Paige, "List of Freemen," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 3 (1849): 95.

5. 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).

6. Eugene Aubrey Stratton, Plymouth Colony: Its History and People 1620–1691 ( Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1986), 45.

7. Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, Records of Plymouth Colony: Court Orders, Judicial Acts, 1636–1692 (Boston: William White, 1857).

8. Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, Records of Plymouth Colony: Court Orders, Miscellaneous Records, 1633–1689 (Boston: William White, 1857).

9. "Massachusetts: Plymouth Colony Deeds, 1671–1673," database with images, AmericanAncestors.org, vol. 2, part 2, 84–87.

10. G. Andrews Moriarty, "Genealogical Research in England: Derby," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 79 (1925): 441.

11. "New Englanders in Nova Scotia," database with images, American Ancestors, 65–66.

12. "Plymouth County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1686–1881," database with images,  AmericanAncestors.org, case 14674.

13. "Barnstable, MA: Probate Records, 1685–1789," database with images, AmericanAncestors.org, 2: 168.

14. "Abstracts of Barnstable County, Mass. Probate Records," Mayflower Descendant 31 (1933): 106.

15. "Plymouth Colony Vital Records," Mayflower Descendant 15 (1913): 26.

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26-Dec-2022