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JOHN SPOFFORD (bp. 1611–1678)

ELIZABETH SCOTT (bp. 1623–1692), daughter of Thomas Scott and Elizabeth Strutt

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John Spofford, the son of Thomas Spofford and Ellen Harding, was baptized on 21 April 1611 in Toddington, Bedfordshire. [1] He died between 7 October and 6 November 1678. He married Elizabeth, the daughter of Thomas Scott of Ipswich. [1][2]

Elizabeth Scott, the daughter of Thomas Scott and Elizabeth Strutt, was baptized on 18 November 1623 in Rattlesden, county Suffolk. [1] She died on 10 February 1691/2 in Bradford. [1]

Elizabeth, age nine, came to New England with her parents on the Elizabeth in April 1634. [2]

Ezekiel Rogers, a Yorkshire minister, came with about 20 families to Boston in 1638. On 13 March 1638/9 land between Ipswich and Newbury was laid out. Settlement began in April 1639 and the town of Rowley was incorporated that September. John Spofford was one of Rogers's company. [3]

John Spofford made his will on 7 October 1678; it was proved on 6 November 1678. He left his wife the lease of the house and lands of Mrs. Prudence Cotton and all of his household goods, except the arms and ammunition. He also left her two cows, a calf and four sheep. He left her a young horse to share with his son Francis. Francis was to be at her disposal until 21, to help her with farming. He left Francis two young oxen, the mare and cart, the small gun and four acres at the great meadows. Le left his son John two steers, the long fowling piece, one half the lease of the farm, and 20 pounds. He left his son Thomas his village lands, gray horse, two sheep, a spring hog, a heifer, and the great musket. He left his son Samuel half the lease of the farm, two steers, a hog, and ten pounds. He left his daughter Elizabeth a heifer and two sheep; his daughter Hannah a cow, a heifer, and two sheep; his daughters Mary and Sarah each a cow, a calf, and two sheep. He named his wife and son Thomas his executors. [2]

Children of John Spofford and Elizabeth Scott:

i. Elizabeth Spofford was born on 14 February 1646 in Rowley. [4] She died after April 1724. She married first Alex Sessions on 24 April 1672. [1][2] He died on 26 February 1688/9. [1] She married second Richard Carrier, whose wife had been hung as a witch. [1] She married third ___ Low.

By a deed of April 1724, Elizabeth Low, widow of Andover conveyed land in Rowley that had belonged to her late father John Spofford and also her interest in her brother Francis Spofford's estate. [2]

ii. John Spofford was born on 24 December 1648 in Rowley. [4] He died there on 22 April 1696. [4][2] He married Sarah Wheeler on 9 March 1675 or 1676 in Rowley. [4][2] She married second Caleb Hopkinson of Bradford on 12 June 1701. [2] She died on 24 October 1732. [2]

iii. Thomas Spofford was born on 4 January 1650 in Rowley. [4] He died there on 20 July 1706. [4] He married Abigail, the daughter of Henry Haggett, on 22 September 1668. [2] He married second Mary, the daughter of Richard Leighton, on 23 May 1686 in Rowley. [1]

Thomas and Ezekiel Sayer—at night when they were supposed to be on watch—ran a cart into a brook, strung a rope across a road causing a boy on a horse to trip, and put a cartwheel in before someone's door. The November 1671 court sentenced them to be whipped or pay a fine. [1]

iv. Samuel Spofford was born on 31 January 1652 in Rowley. He died on 1 January 1743/4 in Byfield. He married Sarah Burpee.

v. Hannah Spofford was born in 1654 in Rowley. [4] She died on 24 April 1689. [1] She married John Mitchell on 20 May 1680 in Newbury. [1] He married second Constance Mooers (Morse). [1]

vi. Mary Spofford was born on 1 November 1656 in Rowley. [4] She married ___ Hunnewell. [2]

Mary and her husband had property in Westchester, New York. [1]

vii. Sarah Spofford was born on 15 January 1658. in Rowley. [4] She was buried there on 15 February 1660. [4]

viii. Sarah Spofford was born on 22 March 1661 in Rowley. [4] She married Richard, the son of Thomas and Mary (Smith) Kimball, on 19 September 1682. [1][2]

ix. Francis Spofford was born on 24 September 1665 in Rowley. [4] He died before 1719, probably leaving no children. [1][2] He married Mary, the daughter of Richard Leighton. [2]

Endnotes:

1. John Brooks Threlfall, Fifty Great Migration Colonists to New England and Their Origins (Westminster, MD: Heritage Press, 2008).

2. Spofford, Jeremiah, A Genealogical Record: Including Two Generations in Female Lines of Families Spelling Their Name Spofford, Spafford, Spafard, and Spaford(Boston: Alfred Mudge & Son, 1888).

3. Patricia Law Hatcher, "Ezekiel Rogers' Company," Great Migration Newsletter 18 (2009): 19–22, 27–30.

4. Vital Records of Rowley, Massachusetts to the End of the Year 1849, vol. 1, vol. 2 (Salem: Essex Institute, 1928, 1931).

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© A. Buiter 2014

06-Dec-2023 11:25 AM