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ROGER WILLIS (d. 1690/1700)
RUTH HILL (1644–1736), daughter of John Hill and Frances Unknown
Roger Willis died between 14 September 1690 and 10 December 1700. [WFS] He married Ruth Hill on 19 July 1664 in Dorchester. [VRD]
Ruth, the daughter of John Hill, was born in August 1644 in Dorchester. [WFS] The widow Ruth Willis died on 1 September 1736 in Sudbury. [VRS]
McTeer and Warner argue that the origins of Roger Willis have not been established. [WFS]
In 1670 Roger was living on lot 16 in the New Grants in Sudbury. [VRS]
After the outbreak of King Philip's War, Roger and Ruth must have temporarily returned to the relative safety of Dorchester. Ruth's sister Mehitable Hill, who may have lived with Roger and Ruth in Sudbury, also came to Dorchester. On 23 February 1676/7 the town charged Roger with supporting her. [WFS]
Ruth was admitted to full communion in Dorchester on 7 May 1677. [WFS] She was later listed as a communicant in Sudbury in 1714 and 11 February 1722. [WFS]
On 14 February 1733/4 representatives of John Hill's children sold their right to undivided lands Stoughton, Massachusetts. Ruth Willis, the widow of Roger Willis of Sudbury, signed on behalf of her children. This establishes that Ruth, the daughter of John, was the Ruth who married Roger Willis. When she acknowledged her signature on 15 August 1734 she was only four months from being 90 years old. [WFS]
Children of Roger Willis and Ruth Hill:
i. Ruth Willis (probable daughter) married John Goodenow, Jr. on 28 February 1689/90 in Sudbury. [VRS] She died before 1701, when John had a wife named Sarah. [WFS] John, the son of Captain John and Mary (Axdell) Goodenow, born on 9 September 1670 in Sudbury. [VRS][WFS] He died about 1736 in Weston. [WFS]
The evidence that Ruth was a daughter is circumstantial.
ii. Mary Willis was born on 9 January 1669 in Sudbury. [VRS]
iii. Samuel Willis was born on 1 April 1675. He died on 26 November 1758 in Sudbury. [VRS] He married first Experience Newell. He married second Susannah Gleason.
iv. Elizabeth Willis was born on 9 March 1677/8 in Dorchester. [VRD] She was baptized on 17 March 1677/8 in Dorchester. [WFS]
v. Hannah Willis was born on 11 February 1680 in Dorchester. [VRD]
vi. Sarah Willis was born on 20 March 1683/4 in Sudbury. [VRS] She married Daniel Taylor in 1712 in Marlborough. [WFS] Daniel, the son of William and Sarah Taylor, was born on 19 June 1690. [WFS]
vii. Josiah Willis was born on 9 December 1686. He married Sarah Wood on 11 January 1714/5 in Sudbury. [VRS]
viii. Thankful Willis was born on 14 September 1690. She died on 3 January 1735 in Southboro. [WFS] She married James Bellows on 18 January 1726/7 in Marlborough. [WFS] He married second Sarah Sherman on 8 December 1736 in Southboro. [WFS] She died there on 19 August 1740. [WFS] He married third Sarah ___. [WFS]
Endnotes:
VRD. "Dorchester Births, Marriages, and Deaths to the End of 1825," (Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, 1891).
16. Elizabeth Daughter of Roger Willis Born March 9th. 77 or 78.
18. Hannah the Daughter of Roger Willis was Born Febr. 11th: 80.
21: Roger Willis married to Ruth Hill 19th. (5 mo:) 1664.
WFS. Frances (Davis) McTeer and Frederick C. Warner, "The Willis Family of Sudbury, Massachusetts," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 114 (1960): 22–43.
VRS. Vital Records of Sudbury, Massachusetts, To the Year 1850 (Boston: New England History Genealogical Society, 1903).
WILLIS
Births, 154–5
Josiah, s. Roger and Ruth, Dec. 8, [16]86. M.R.
Mary, d. Roger and Ruth, Jan. 9, 1669. M.R.
Sam[ue]l, s. Rog[e]r and Ruth, Apr. 1, [16]75. M.R.
Sarah, d. Roger and Ruth, Mar. 20, [16]83-4- M.R.
Thankfull, d. Roger and Ruth, Sept. 14, 1690. M.R.
Marriages, 288
Josiah and Sarah Wood, Jan. 11, 1714-15
Ruth and John Goodenow Jr., Feb. 28, 1689-90. M.R.
Death, 330
Ruth, wid., Sept. 1, 1736.
GOODENOW
Births, 52
John, s. John and Mary, Sept. 9, 1670. M.R.
Marriages, 203
John and Mary Axdell, Sept. 19, 1656. M.R.
© A. Buiter 2014
19-Oct-2023 1:19 PM