Captain Jonathan Sparrow

Captain Jonathan Sparrow (c. 1632–1706), son of Richard Sparrow and Pandora Unknown

Rebecca Bangs (say 1636–by 1677), daughter of Edward Bangs and Rebecca Unknown

Hannah Prence (by 1635–1698), daughter of Governor Thomas Prence and Patience Brewster

Jonathan Sparrow was born about 1632. He died on 21 March 1706/7 in Eastham. [1] He married first Rebecca Bangs on 26 or 28 October 1654 in Eastham. [1][2][3] He married second Hannah (Prence) Mayo. [4] He married third Sarah (Lewis) Cobb on 23 November 1698 in Barnstable. [1][4][5][6]

Rebecca Bangs was born say 1636. [3] She died before 10 October 1677.

Rebecca's father Edward Bangs referred to his deceased daughter Rebecca in his will of 10 October 1677. Rebecca's brother Joshua Bangs referred to his deceased sister Rebecca Sparrow in his will of 13 February 1706/7.

Hannah Prence, the daughter of Thomas Prence, was born before 1635. [1][7] She died on 23 November 1698. [7] She married first Nathaniel Mayo. [4] Nathaniel, the son of Reverend John Mayo, died between 19 December 1661, when he made his will, and 4 March 1662, when it was probated. [7]

On 10 June 1673 Jonathan Sparrow signed a receipt to Mary, the widow of Governor Thomas Prence, for the legacy given his wife. [8]

Jonathan and his first two wives are buried in the Cove Burying Ground in Eastham. The inscription on his gravestone says: [9]

Here Lyes Buried Ye Body of Capt. Jonathan Sparrow Aged 73 Years Died March Ye 21st 1706.

Jonathan came to New England with his parents. They settled in Plymouth and moved to Eastham by 1653. [1]

In 1644 the Court granted land to "those that goe to dwell at Nausett [Eastham]." Jonathan was an early settler of Eastham and his name appears on a 22 May 1655 list of inhabitants. [10]

When Jonathan's father died on 8 January 1660/1, his property was left to his widow Pandora and his only known child, Jonathan. In 1665 Jonathan and Pandora sold their home in Eastham and moved to what is now East Orleans.

Jonathan was sworn a freeman in June 1663. [1] He was employed as a school master in 1665. [1] He was deacon of the church. [1]

John was a deputy from Eastham to the Plymouth colony court at least 19 times between 1668 and 1686. After the unification of the colonies he was representative to the general court at Boston at least eight times between 1689 and 1702. He was a selectman for at least ten years between 1671 and 1686. He was a member of the council of war in 1681, 1685, and 1689. He was a magistrate in 1690 and 1690. He was a justice of the peace for many years. He was a frequent member of committees and juries. [1]

John was commissioned a lieutenant on 4 October 1675 and was a soldier in King Philip's War. [1] By 6 June 1677 he was commissioned a captain. [1]

Samuel Smith and John Mayo of Eastham were charged with illegally catching mackeral on Cape Cod and called to court to defend themselves. In October 1686 their attorney, Captain Jonathan Sparrow, appeared in court and requested more time, which was granted. [11, 203]

Jonathan Sparrow made his will on 10 March 1706/7. Probate was on 3 April 1707. He left bequests to his three sons, John, Jonathan and Richard; his grandchildren John and Jonathan Sparrow; his wife Sarah; his three daughters; the children of Samuel Freeman and his daughter Elizabeth, William Freeman and Lydia Godfrey, Bonony Gray, and Sarah Williamson. He referred to his brother Joshua Bangs. [12]

Children of Jonathan Sparrow and Rebecca Bangs: All born in Eastham. [1]

i. Rebecca Sparrow was born on 30 October 1655. She died in February 1740. She married Thomas Freeman.

ii. John Sparrow was born on 2 November 1656. [1] He died on 23 February 1734/5. [1] He married Apphia Tracy on 5 December 1683. [1]

John was amitted an inhabitant of Eastham before 1675. [10]

Jonathan's father Richard mentioned his grandchildren John and Rebecca Sparrow in his will of 19 November 1660. [4]

ii. Priscilla Sparrow was born on 13 February 1658. [1] She died before 10 March 1706/7. She married Edward Gray. [1]

iii. Lydia Sparrow was born after 19 November 1660. [1] She died after 16 March 1708/9. [1] She married first William Freeman. [1] She married second Jonathan, the son of Jonathan Higgins and grandson of Richard Higgins. [1]

iv. Elizabath Sparrow was born between 19 November 1660 and 1670. [1] She died between 31 August 1688 and 1694. [1] She married Samuel, the son of Samuel Freeman and grandson of Samuel Freeman. [1]

v. Jonathan Sparrow was born on 9 July 1665. [1][13] He died on 9 March 1739/40 in Eastham. [1][13] He married first Rebecca Merrick. [1][13] Rebecca, the daughter of William Merrick and Abigail Hopkins, was born on 28 November 1668 and died before 5 May 1723. [13] Jonathan married second as her second husband Sarah, possibly the daughter of Jabez Snow and Elizabeth Smith of Eastham. [13] She was born about 1674 and died on 28 November 1746 in Eastham. [13] She married first Henry Young. [13] Henry, the son and Abigail (Howland) Young and grandson of Henry Howland (the brother of John Howland), was born on 17 March 1672 in Eastham and died there on 26 April 1706. [13]

Children of Jonathan Sparrow and Hannah Prence:

vii. Richard Sparrow was born on 17 March 1669/70. [1] He apparently died young.

v. Patience Sparrow was born before 25 October 1675. [1][7] She died on 25 October 1745 in Eastham. [1][7] She married Joseph Paine on 27 May 1691 in Eastham. [1][14] She married second John Jenkings on 27 November 1715. [1]

iii. Richard Sparrow was born about 1674. He died on 13 April 1728 in Eastham. He married Mercy Cobb.

Children of Hannah Prence and Nathaniel Mayo: Births in Eastham [7]

i. Thomas Mayo was born on 7 December 1650. He died on 22 April 1729 in Orleans. [7] He married Barbara Knowles on 13 June 1677 in Eastham. [15]

ii. Nathaniel Mayo was born on 16 November 1652. He died on 30 November 1709 in Eastham. [7] He married Elizabeth Wixam. [16]

iii. Samuel Mayo was born on 12 October 1655. He died on 29 October 1738 in Eastham. [7] He married Ruth Hopkins. [17]

iv. Hannah Mayo was born on 17 October 1657. She died after 30 November 1709 in Eastham. [7]

v. Theophilus Mayo was born on 17 December 1659. He died between 28 March 1673 and 15 June 1676. [7]

vi. Bathsheba Mayo was born between 19 December 1661 and March 1661/2. She died on 21 March 1706/7 in Eastham. [7]

Endnotes:

1. Mary Walton Ferris, Dawes-Gates Ancestral Lines, vol. 2 (Milwaukee: Cuneo Press, 1931–1943), 363, 765–8.

2. Eugene Aubrey Stratton, Plymouth Colony: Its History & People 1620–1691 (Salt Lake City: Ancestry, 1986), 238–9.

3. "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), 86–89.

4. "The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620–1633," 1715–8.

5. George Ernest Bowman, "Richard and Mercy Sparrow's Children and Their Marriages," Mayflower Descendant 11 (1909): 1–5.

6. Robert S. Wakefield, "George and John Lewis of Brenchley, Kent, England and Scituate, Massachusetts," The American Genealogist 68 (1993): 24–28.

7. Susan E. Roser, Mayflower Births and Deaths, vol. 1 (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1992), 214–5.

8. The Editors, "A Receipt of the Heirs of Governor Thomas Prence," Mayflower Descendant 33 (1935): 97–100.

9. Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 03 August 2023), memorial page for Capt Jonathan Sparrow (26 Sep 1633–21 Mar 1706), Memorial ID 6023847, citing Cove Burying Ground, Eastham, Barnstable County, Massachusetts; Maintained by James Bianco (contributor 47745493).

10. David Hamlin, "First Settlers of Eastham, Mass.," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 6 (1852): 41–46.

11. Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, Records of Plymouth Colony: Court Orders, Vol. 6, 1678–1691 (Boston: William White, 1856).

12. "Massachusetts, U.S. Wills and Probate Records, 1635–1991," database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/9069) > Barnstable > Probate records vol. 1–3, 1686–1747, images 419–20.

13. Andrew P. Langlois, "Descendants of John Young of Plymouth and Eastham," Mayflower Descendant 54 (2005): 97, 111.

14. Mrs. M.L.T. Alden, "The Snow Genealogy," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 102 (1948): 47.

15. Charles Thornton Libby, “The Knowles Family of Eastham, Mass.,” New England Historical and Genealogical Register 79 (1925): 286–97.

16. Alicia Crane Williams, "Early New England Families, 1641–1700," database with images, AmericanAncestors.org > Brewster, William (MFIP Patience), 42–45.

17. Timothy Hopkins, "Stephen Hopkins of the Mayflower and Some of his Descendants," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 102 (1948): 46–6.

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04-Aug-2023