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When Richarden Chambers of Scituate, wife of Thomas, made her will in 1672, she identified Thomas, Richard, Elizabeth and John Curtis as her children. Thomas, Elizabeth, William and John can be identified as children of Thomas in their baptism records in Worth and Ash in Kent, England. "Recharden" Curtis, widow, and Thomas Chambers were married in Ashe in 1632 following the death of Thomas Curtis there in 1631. Thomas, Richard, Elizabeth, William and John were all residents of Scituate and were of a plausible age to have been the same who were baptized in England. These circumstances show that Thomas and Richardene Chambers must have brought her Curtis children with them when the immigranted to Massachusetts Bay Colony.
William Curtis was baptized in Ash, also called Ash-juxta-Sandwich or Ash-next-Sandwich, Kent, England, on 29 April 1627. As with all the Worth and Ash parish baptisms for this generation of Curtises, he is called the son of Thomas with no mother named. There is a burial record for William, son of Thomas, in the same parish on 16 September 1630. Circumstances make it clear this was a mistake by the parish clerk. He had a brother Stephen who was baptized in December 1629 in Ash. There is no further record of him, and it's likely that it was Stephen who was buried in 1630.
William's real estate was divided among his heirs on 1724. He is referred to as having died intestate "many years past." The ten shares were allocated as follows:
Joseph, the oldest son, 2 shares. A piece of meadow bordered southeast by the North River next to another given to his brother Stephen; what remains of the another piece of meadow in Marshfield at "Cove Creek" after two acres of which was set off to his brother William; a half of a piece of meadow at Stony Brook; a share of his father's homestead land, being the "northerly side...below ye road;" seven acres granted to his father on 10 April 1700; other lands laid out to Joseph hear his house and a right of way to be agreed upon with brothers Stephen and Samuel through their meadow lots at the North River.
Benjamin was given "one half of that end" of the lot where his father lived "above ye road;" one half of a lot of meadow land at Stony Brook; an eighth right in the Scituate commons that was his father's; a fifth right in the 59th lot of a cedar swamp and a fifth right in the Old Sawmill Pond lot.
William and Samuel were given a part of the homestead land "above ye road." William was given two acres of the Marshfield meadow at Cove Creek, a fifth share in a cedar swamp and a tenth share of the Old Sawmill Pond lot and an eighth share of the Scituate commons.
John Curtis was given a part of the four acres of meadow on the North River, to be determined after an acre is set off to his brother Stephen; a share in the homestead land "above ye road;" a fifth share of the 55th lot in the cedar swamp; a fifth share in the Old Sawmill Pond lot and an eighth share of the Scituate commons.
Stephen Curtis was given an acre of the meadow at the North River; a piece of meadow his father bought from Edward Manton; a share in the homestead land; twenty four acres granted to his father; a fifth part of the cedar swamp; a fifth of the Old Sawmill Pond lot; an eighth share of the Scituate commons and a fifth share in the west end of his parents' house and a fifth share of the barns.
Samuel Curtis was given a piece of meadow next to Joseph's piece ("the river" is mentioned, so surely the North River meadow); another piece of meadow next to Stephen's piece; sixty acres that was given "by ye committe in Scittuate" to his father "and is ye 2d lot in number in ye Second Division; a fifth share in the cedar swamp; a fifth share in the Old Sawmill Pond lot and an eighth share of the Scituate commons.
Ownership of the west side of the house was divided into fifths, inferred by Stephen's share description. The fifth shares there and at the cedar swamp and the Old Sawmill Pond belonged to all the brothers except Joseph. The eastern side of their parents' house, including the "lean to," went to William, Mehitabel and Sarah as well as the "old" garden near the house, and that it should continue "in the name of Curtis." The "lean to" likely extended across the entire width of the house, as was the norm in "salt box" style houses of New England. It may have gone entirely to the three siblings It was acknowledged that they had already received £132, 12 shillings and 6 pence in money and goods.
The division was signed by Miriam Curtis but she isn't mentioned in it other than as one of the three sisters who agreed that they relinquish any claim to their father's real estate. It's likely she was mistakenly left out of the group that were given the west end of the house and the money and goods already received. Her 1755 estate inventory shows she didn't lack for household comforts.
On 25 July 1724, Benjamin and John divided thirty acres of shared land. It isn't obvious which parcel this was, but it was probably their share of the homestead land.
William's homestead was on either side of what is now River Street in Norwell and bounded on the east by the North River. This was the South Parish of Scituate until 18 , when it was incorporated as the town of South Scituate, then Norwell in . A house was still on the property up to about 1891 and was gone by 1903. It descended son to son from William, Samuel, Amos and Samuel, then to Samuel's daughters Sophia and Mehitable and finally to their nephew Samuel Curtis Cudworth, son of their sister Mary. He died in 1891. He and his wife had no children, and his property was left to her family. Mehitabel, Samuel and his wife sold land next to their "residence homestead" in 1871, and was on the west side of the road. There are old houses in this area, but none old enough to have been William's. An 1857 map of South Scituate shows "S. Cudworth" living on the east side of the road, so it isn't clear exactly where William's house may have stood. His daughters Miriam and Sarah had some of their inherited land at Cordwood Hill taken for building a road in 1726. This is likely what is now Forest Street, which passes on the north side of that hill where it meets Circuit Lane.
children of William Curtis:
Deborah, bap. 18 May 1662
Joseph, b. May 1664, bap. 26 June 1664
Benjamin, b. January 1666/67, bap. 14 April 1667
William, b. January 1668/69, bap. 20 June 1669
John, b. February 1670/71
Miriam, b. April 1673
Mehitable, b. December 1675, bap. 23 March 1677
Stephen, b. September 1677, bap. 1 December 1678
Sarah, b. August 1679, bap. 5 September 1680
Samuel, b. July 1681, bap. 29 November 1685