vitals sources
John appears on the passenger list of the ship "Susan & Ellen," which left London on 14 April 1635 and arrived in New England on 9 May 1635. The passengers all held certificates to prove they were "conformable to ye orders and discipline of
the Church of England."(1) John is called a husbandman (farmer), age 40, and travelled with his wife Martha, 28, son John, 3 and daughter Marie, 1. Church records have been found that clearly are for this family, placing them in Suffolk, England, within seven years of their immigration.(2) He settled in Ipswich, Massachusetts. He deposed in 1667 that he was about 75 years old.(3) In the same court case, John's "brother Giddens" also deposed. He was George Giddens. Enough is known about both families that no familial relationship is likely, unless John married as a second wife George's sister Martha. John's first wife was Martha Harper, and he names a wife Martha in his will. Nothing else suggests she wasn't his first and only wife. Martha (Harper) Proctor wasn't the Martha, wife of John, whose 1659 death appears in the Ipswich vital records. This and other death records from this time period concerning John Proctor are for John Proctor, Jr. Also, his daughter Sarah wasn't born in 1646, which can be widely found in internet databases. She was married in 1659 and had children to 1676, placing her birth in the mid to late 1630s. Her death record says she was 60 in early 1706. She would likely have turned 61 in that year. If the order of daughters given in John's will is chronological by age, which is customary, she wasn't born in 1635/1636, but more likely about 1639. The record of her age at death may be incorrect.
John's will was written on 28 August 1672 and probated the following 28 November. An inventory of his estate was taken on 11 October. Two women appeared before the court on 24 September to depose that when they had questioned John about what was to be done with his wife's clothing, he said they were to be divided between his daughters. This places his death between 28 August and 24 September 1672. It also implies that Martha had also died within this time frame. He mentions a daughter "Sara Dodge" in the will, one of four who were given £ 5.
children of John and Martha (Harper) Proctor:
John bap. 9 October 1631, Assington, Suffolk
Marie (Mary) bap. 17 October 1633, same
Martha
Abigail (not born 24 August 1637, as claimed on internet - different family)
Sarah
Hannah
Joseph
Benjamin b. abt. 1651 (Essex Co. Quarterly Court deposition that he was 17 in 1668)
sources for vital records: His marriage is in the parish records for Groton, Suffolk, England.
1. The Original Lists of Persons of Quality, etc., ed. John C. Hotten (Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore:1998).
2. New England Historical & Genealogical Register, David L. Green, "English Orgins of George Giddens," 135:285, citing research by John Dorrence Morrell. For more on the Proctors, see NEHGR 51(July):409-410.
3. Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, 3:396-397.
all text and photographs © 1998-2007 by Doug Sinclair unless where otherwise noted