There are numerous errors in print and on the internet about the King family of Weymouth. Here are the most noteworthy issues:
1. Nothing credible can be said about the birthplace and parents of John. There are occasional claims otherwise on the internet, but they aren't based on any credible evidence.
2. There is also no historical evidence that he married a woman named Mary "Blucks." The International Genealogical Index, a user-submitted database at familysearch.org, is possibly the origin of this and there developed, by repetition and layering of even more mistakes and guesses, a dizzying array of made-up dates and places connected to John and Mary.
3. Neither John nor his first wife have death dates recorded, nor is there a record of their marriage or a specific record of John marrying his second wife Dorothy, though her probate papers show it did take place.
4. The published Weymouth town records, apparently based on a transcript made in 1852, give Fearnot Warren the birth date of Fearnot King, son of John, Jr. and do not include him among John, Jr.'s, children. A careful examination of available records reveals how this anomoly came about.
The earliest we can take John back is to some point before John Humfrey came to Massachusetts Bay Colony in July 1634, sailing from Weymouth, England.3 John King and his wife were servants of Humfrey in England. This legal document describes their indenture:4
They say that being bound to serve foure yeares only it was agreed that they should be freed when they came to New England for two dayes worke a weeke by the said John King only for seven yeares wch comes to at the rate of twelve pence a day meat & drinke 36-8s. And whereas the said servants did serve one yeare and a quarter of the said foure yeares the same being valued according to the said rate of 6s a weeke for the said John King and three shillings a weeke for his said wife comes to 29l 5s. And wheras the said John King since his departure hath served the said John Humfrey twelve weekes wch comes at the said rate of 6s a weeke to 3l 12s in all 32l 17s wch being deducted out of the said 36l 8s There remaynes due to the said John Humfrey 3l 11s.
John King
Mary King
Boston 2 Sept. 1640
The wording suggests John and Mary made the agreement shortly before coming to New England. It also implies their original agreement was for both to serve Humfrey, then revised, calculating what John would do for Humfrey by himself before he was legally free. The original monetary compensation agreed on apparently didn't change. Once in New England, the service seems to have reverted back to both John and his wife serving. John's "departure" is cryptic. If he left Humfrey's service, he wouldn't have served for another three months. Was this a physical departure? Did he go to sea for Humfrey for three months? Did the family move from one town to another? The latter assumes the Kings lived near Humfrey and when they moved, it was no longer practical to act as servants beyond another three months. It was John who continued after his "departure," so it might have been a combination of moving and being of service at sea and whatever points of landing.
Edward Winslow, in his journal, has an entry about Humfrey arriving in New England in July 1634.5 "He brought more ordnance, muskets, and powder; bought for the public by moneys given to that end." He also "brought sixteen heifers given by a private friend...to every of the ministers one, and the rest to the poor..." He was granted land in Saugus, which became Lynn and is in what is now the town of Swampscott, Massachusetts, and he lived there until he and his family left New England in 1641.6 It's possible, as a seaman, John may have helped Humfrey distribute the things he brought from England.
John may have married shortly before he came to New England. As outlined above, it seems that their original agreement was for service performed by both, and it's doubtful they would do so if his wife had a very young child to look after. Maybe with the birth of their first child, the agreement was amended to John being the sole servant. Once in New England, there may have been a way worked out for Mary to be of service, thus reverting back to the original agreement. She may have helped look after the babies in the Humfrey household. Their mother was the daughter of the Earl of Lincoln, so it's easy to imagine she wasn't a typical "hands-on" mother, even to the extent that Mary may have been a wet nurse to the Humfrey children. Dorcas, Sarah and Theophilus Humfrey were born between about 1633 and 1637.
The date of the indenture account above was September 1640. The Kings were already settled in Weymouth by then, since their daughter Mary is in the town's records with a birth in June 1639, followed by Abigail in 1641 or 42.7 It's possible they left Humphrey's service much earlier, and it took some time to discover the monetary discrepancy. There isn't a court case involving the Kings and Humphrey, so what led up to the invoice being made is a guess.
It's interesting to note that George Chamberlain, in his genealogical work for The History of Weymouth, Massachusetts, claims that John was the one with that name who "went with others in a boat from Lynn to Sandwich."8 According to a history of Barnstable County, a group (with a John King) migrated from Plymouth, Duxbury and Saugus to Sandwich as first settlers in 1637.9 Apparently most if not all of them were families, and a large portion were from Saugus. It isn't obvious why Chamberlain connected the two John Kings. Maybe due to the same name, maybe the possible connection to Humphrey in Saugus, but there isn't enough documentary evidence to say more certainly who this John King was. It would, however, explain John's "departure." It would also mean the Kings falling short of their money agreement wasn't discovered or acted on for another three years or so.
Some of the migrants to Sandwich from Saugus didn't stay. Some were considered "not fit for church society," according to the standards set by Sandwich's Rev. Leveridge, and therefore unfit as settlers. Whoever this John King was, he and his family leave no record of having stayed in Sandwich. He was certainly gone by 1643, since he isn't on a list of men between 16 and 60 who was "able to bear arms" there.10
The first time John King of Weymouth is likely mentioned in New England records was in the minutes of the December 1638 session of the Massachusett Bay Colony General Court.11 He and two other men were called to court to testify about a "murtherer" (archaic term for a small cannon) they had taken from "the island," which was probably Governor's Island in Boston Harbor, where there was military activity. The other men were William Reeves, evidently a seaman living in Boston,12 and John Davies. John King is known to have been a seaman,13 and transporting armaments in a boat was a plausible activity for him. Sandwich, and even less so, Weymouth, weren't so far from Governor's Island to cast doubt on John being involved.
In Weymouth, he's named as either a former owner or abutting property owner in lot descriptions dating to the early 1640s, but he isn't among those whose property is individually described.14 I can't account for this. He was "occupying" a Weymouth house owned by Thomas Jenner as late as December of 1649,15 further adding to the mystery, unless this wasn't his primary residence. In preparation for laying out the "great lots" in Weymouth at a town meeting on 26 November 1651, the town ordered a list made of those granted rights to the lots. John is on that list, dated 2 February 1651/5216 Another list, dated to "the latter part of 1663," gives the names of grantees of property in two divisions within Weymouth.17 John King "planter" and John King "seaman" are on the list, likely differentiating between father and son. John, Jr., was also a seaman. John, Sr., had eight acres in the "first" division "beginning on the Braintree Line," and twenty four acres in the "second" division by Braintree. John, Jr., had acreage in the second division, and land there is mentioned in his estate inventory of 1691.18 Chamberlain calls the 1652 and 1663 lists a record of when these lots were granted rather than when they were ordered to be laid out. This has been repeated often. The lot descriptions from the ealy 1640s and the lot grants and lay-outs are the only references found to John's land. He doesn't appear in Suffolk County deed records as a buyer, seller or abutting property owner. Chamberlain appears to be the original source mentioning "Weymouth land grants" as a manuscript database, including page references. Many of the early Weymouth land owners are said to be included. All other references I've found to this quote Chamberlain. They don't appear to be in the microfilmed Weymouth town records.
In a deposition made about April 1641, there is a snapshot of John's business activity.19 About October 1640, John proposed to and agreed with Thomas Applegate of Weymouth to captain one of Applegate's boats to transport goods. Either King or Applegate would find someone to go on the trip to help "manage" the boat. Destination and specifics on what goods might be involved isn't said, but John was to have "his owne parte of the fishe taken by himslefe in the sd boate freight free & that the said Thomas Applegte should have the 4th penny of freight of goods carryed in the said boat. John was to be liable for any damage to the boat or goods. An accompanying deposition says that about early November, at John King's house, John was heard to refuse involvement with transporting a boat with hogsheads of salt. The boat's owner, William Newland, intended to add one more hogshead to the load, which King said would sink the boat. Newland ignored him, loaded the barrel and the boat tipped over on the side with the added weight and sank.
In a deposition in 1657 he said that he had been at the "Kenebeak River" settlement in May of 1656 with Richard Collicut.20 By 1656 there were two major trading posts on the Kennebec River, one at Cushnoc, which later became the city of Augusta, Maine, and one on Arrowsic Island at the mouth of the river. The deposition refers to Alexander Thoit's house, which was at Cushnoc. John may have been a member of the ship's crew, but he was likely of service beyond just that, having experience in commercial transport. Also, at about 57 years old and capable of navigating on his own, he probably wasn't there to do basic crew tasks.
This is the deposition transcribed from the original manuscript, which differs slightly from published versions. The month reference (4) is to June, it being the fourth month on the Julian calendar used at the time:
John King aiged about fiffty seven yeares : Sworen Sayeth : that he was with mr Richard Colicott in kenebeak River & master & owner of the Vessell In May 1656, about which tyme mr Joshua Teads Vessell was taken by the Inhabitants of the sd River at wch tyme this deponant Sayeth mr Colicott was : from the place that mr Teads Vessell was taken above twenty Milles : about fouer dayes after mr: Teads Vessell was taken
mr Colicott being at the house of Alex Thoyts in Kenebeak River mr: Tead with mr George Munings Came to the sd : hous : to Request him the sd : mr Colicott to Asist mr Munings: about Recovering of the vesell & goods the: wch he did: and when it was Effected: the Sayed mr Tead was Very thankfull boath to mr: Colicott and mr Munings : & firther Sayeth nott
Sworne in Court by Jno. King. 23. (4) 57.
Thomas Danforth Recorder
The testimony of John : King formerly sworn : sayeth that the goods Received of Mr Tead by John Richards & Companie un the delivery of his Barke: was tranceported by the sd Richards & Companie from thence I know not whether : but to the best of my knoledg not any of the sd goods Came on board of mr Colicotts vessell and firther Sayeth nott
Sworne in Court — 24. (4) 57.
Thomas Danforth Recordr
John was voted a selectman at Weymouth in November 1669,21 at which point he must have had retired from the sea. He's called John, Sr., in the records of that town meeting. "John King" was chosen to be a selectman in 1671 and 1672.22 These and subsequent references to a man by that name in Weymouth before John King, 3rd became an adult, are without suffix, suggesting John, Sr., had died and his son then went just by "John King," as was customary for the time.
Chamberlain is mistaken in saying John and his third wife Abigail sold land in 1669, as recorded in Plymouth Colony records.23 He was undoubtedly referring to Abigail's petition regarding land bequests in Plymouth Colony by her father John Hewes, dated 14 April 1669.24 John King wasn't involved or mentioned.
It's safe to say the John King of this article was certainly dead by 1678/79. The shift to John, Jr., becoming the eldest John in Weymouth is evident on an Oath of Allegiance list in that "year" (maybe the dual year referring to the Julian/Gregorian calendar overlap?), which includes John King, Sr., listed alone, then Phillip, Thomas, Samuel, Hezekiah and John, Jr. listed together.25 John "Sr.," Phillip and Thomas were undoubtedly John and Mary's sons, then the rest were John and Esther's sons, including John, "Jr." Although oaths of allegiance and other such public declarations were usually made by adult men, this Weymouth list has males who were in their later teens. John, Jr., was the youngest of the Kings listed and was 18.
Chamberlain is particularly lax in scholarship when he says John King of Weymouth signed a deed in 1631 in Plymouth, following the vague statement "Being a mariner he took many journeys about, so we find him in these trips making visits to several places in New England." What he refers to is a deed made in Plymouth, England, involving land in what is now Maine.26 Robert Trelawny, Mayor of Plymouth, Thomas "Coga" and John "Kinge" attested to the accuracy of a copy of the deed on 4 January 1631/32. There is no reason to think this John was the immigrant. In fact, John King is found in other Trelawny papers as a merchant of London and a kind of overseer of affairs at Richmond Island, Maine, both occupations more fitting as a co-signer with the mayor of Plymouth than a seaman who was indentured or would soon indenture himself as a servant.
Rev. William Hyde of Weymouth, based on his own research, said there was a John King among the settlers who came to Thomas Weston's failed Wessagusset Colony (later the site of Weymouth) in the ship "Charity" in 1622.27 No details or sources for his conclusions are given. Chamberlain adds that he was among the settlers who went to the "fishing post" in Maine (on Richmond's Island) in 1623, then back to England and finally joining Humphrey in 1634. He likely jumped to the conclusion that John King of Wessagusset, if there was one, was the same as the London merchant living on Richmond Island, but he was there as late as 1644. A reference to him as a London merchant is in 1631.28 Chamberlain also refers to John being in Newton (now Cambridge), Massachusetts Bay, in 1636. I find nothing to support this. His work in general shows a lack of a logical and careful consideration of evidence, and given the immigrations, time frames and social circumstances involved with these clearly different John Kings, he falls particularly short.
To summarize, Chamberlain would have us believe John was a colonist at Wessagusset in 1622, an escapee from there to Maine in 1623, a London merchant in 1631, an indentured servant in 1634 sailing from Weymouth, England, a resident of Newton in 1636, a transplant from Saugus to Sandwich in 1637, a resident of Weymouth after 1639 to his death about 1670, a seaman by 1640 and an overseer of commercial affairs at Richmond Island, Maine in 1644. The only sensible connection is that, as a single man about age 22, he was among the Wessagusset colonists, and when the colony failed, went back to England, maybe via Richmond Island. As a man of low social standing, he eventually married and indentured himself in order to immigrate to New England. There is some interesting gray area. There would be coincidence involved, such as the two John Kings connected with Richmond Island and perhaps John returning eventually to what became the town of Weymouth, in which there was a long gap of near abandonment before the successful permanent settlement there was started in 1635.
There are only two birth records for children of John and Mary - Mary in 1639 and Abigail probably in 1642.29 The latter date is in the Julian/Gregorian calendar year overlap, so without a dual year recorded, it's likely that date, 14 March 1641, is in the Old Style or Julian form. John, Jr., had his first recorded children's birth (John) in 1659, but two others, Samuel and Hezekiah, who were surely older.31 John, Sr.'s, son Samuel married in 1658,30 suggesting his birth was before 1638. With John evidently the older, it could be he was born about the time of John, Sr.'s, immigration.
John, Jr.'s, will names a daughter Sarah Bogle, whose marriage to Alexander Bogle was in 1662.32 Chamberlain gives her birth as "near 1647,"34 which was obviously a guess, probably to fit her into the other circumstances around the family of John, Jr., and his wife Esther. This means she was about 15 when she married. People marrying at 15 in 17th century New England was extremely rare for either sex. John's birth would be pushed back to at least 1629, unless he also married at a very unusually young age. No evidence suggests a close circa date for his wife Esther's birth. There isn't a birth record for her youngest child, Johannah. The previous child, Patience, was born in 1668.35 If Johannah was the last child because Esther's natural fertility ended (the norm being about age 45), she may have been born about five years after Patience, which gap was also the norm. Her birth would then have been about 1673, and Esther's about 1628. Given this, it's possible Sarah could have been her child if born about 1647. If John was born say 1626-1628, it means there was probably a wide gap between his birth and Samuel's, and he would have been a 6-8 year-old when the Kings indentured to Humphrey. It's possible John, Jr., was married previous to Esther and Sarah was born to the earlier wife, but adoption is also plausible and would relieve the stress on the other evidence.
Fearnot King first appears in 1676 in New England records as a soldier from Westfield, Massachusetts Bay, in King Philip's War.36 He married there the following year.37 As mentioned above, James Savage gives Fearnot as a son of John and Esther, born 29 June 1655 in Weymouth. The Weymouth town records say Fearnot Warren was born on that date.
It was customary in probate documents in 17th century New England, unless there were extenuating circumstances, to name children separately by gender and in order of birth. Of John, Jr.'s, sons, the first two were very likely born in a gap in the Weymouth birth records. Samuel is mentioned first. He had already given him £40, so he left his ninth share (accounting for his wife and eight children) to Samuel's children, who haven't been identified. Hezekiah was next, then John, born 1661 after a previous John born 1659. Patience and Joanna are mentioned together next as the youngest daughters. Patience was born in 1668, but there is no record of Johanna's birth. Sarah Bogle is next, to whom he had already given £15. The last, and also together, were Susan and Esther, born in 1663 and 1664. All his children were to be given a ninth share or the equivalent except Patience and Johanna, who were to get £5 each extra from the bequests to Hezekiah and John. Patience was 18 when the will was written. Joanna was most likely the last born and was also a minor, which may account for these daughters getting a greater share.
There isn't documentary proof that Thomas and Phillip were sons of John and Mary. There was a Thomas King in Weymouth of the right generation. He and wife Mary had two children's births recorded there in 1670 and 1673.38 Process of elimination makes Mary the daughter of William Sprague of Hingham, whose will names her as Mary King and a husband Thomas King. Hingham neighbors Weymouth to the east. The Oath of Allegiance in Weymouth, as mentioned above, includes Phillip and Thomas.39 None of Phillip's children's births are recorded in Weymouth, but he was active in town affairs there, appearing in town meeting records. The last was when he was chosen for a committee to assess the condition of the old meeting house and if a new one should be built on 27 November 1682, which met on 18 December.40 Thomas and then Phillip moved to Taunton, Plymouth Colony (now Bristol County, Massachusetts) about 1683. Their first recorded appearances there were 18 June 1683, when Thomas (of Taunton) bought land, and 20 July 1683, when Phillip, of Weymouth, bought land.41 Thomas was a witness to Philip's deed. Other deeds show this Thomas had a wife Mary, further connecting him to Thomas of Weymouth. Their family and Philip's are the only Kings on record in Taunton at that time.
There isn't a marriage record for John and his wife Dorothy (?) Barker Hunt. Her second husband, Enoch Hunt, was dead by 5 October 1647, when "Dorothy Hunt" is named an abutting property owner in a deed.42 John and Mary's son Phillip was evidently the last born, about 1645, so Mary may have died in childbirth then or with the next child. A plausible circa date for John's marriage to Dorothy is then 1648.
John's third wife Abigail was the daughter John Hewes and widow of William Hatch. The is evident in several deed records.43 There is no death record for John, nor was there any probate of an estate. This means he didn't have real estate when he died, but there are no deed records showing he or any of his heirs sold it. Given the appearance of "John King, Sr." in the Weymouth town meeting record for November 1669, as mentioned above, followed by the appearance of "John King" with no suffix in November 1671 and 1672.44 John likely died between November 1669 and November 1671.45 The November 1669 town meeting reference and others in the History of Weymouth (which don't give days of the month) aren't in the original manuscript town records filmed by the Church of Latter Day Saints. There aren't any apparent missing pages. The recording of the minutes of the meetings are continuous, but have gaps. Chamberlain's genealogies also refer to "Weymouth Land Grants" with page numbers. I see no one else referring to this source when they aren't copying Chamberlain and they also don't appear in any online images of the microfilmed Weymouth town records.
Genealogical summary:
1. John King
b. abt. 1600, prob. England
d. prob. betw. November 1669-November 1671, Weymouth, Suffolk Co., MA Bay Colony
m. 1. name unknown, perhaps 1634, prob. England
2. Dorothy (?) Barker Hunt, perhaps abt. 1648
3. Abigail (Hewes) Hatch, 14 October 1658, Weymouth
children of John King and his first wife:46
2. i. John, b. abt. 1634/35
3. ii. Samuel, b. abt. 1636/37
4. iii. Mary, b. 15 June 1639
iv. Abigail, b. 14 March 1640/41
5. v. Thomas, b. abt. 1643
6. vi. Phillip, b. abt. 1645
2. John King
b. prob. abt. 1634/5, Massachusetts Bay Colony, maybe abt. 1626/7, England
d. abt. Spring 1691, prob. Weymouth47
m. Esther Bayley48
children of John and Esther:49
poss. Sarah, m. Alexander Bogle50
Samuel, b. perhaps abt. 165351
Fearnot, b. 29 June 165552
Hezekiah, b. abt. 165753
John, b. April 1659
John, b. December 1661
Susan, b. abt. 1663
Esther, b. 28 September 1664
Patience, b. 4 October 1668
Johannah
3. Samuel King
d. by 24 December 1711, Weymouth54
m. Experience Philips, 17 Sep 1658, Weymouth55
children of Samuel and Experience:56
Samuel, b. 12 February 1660/61
Elizabeth, b. 22 or 23 September 1662
Experience, b. 6 October 1664
Sarah, b. 31 January 1666/7
John
Susannah, b. 6 May 1669
Samuel, b. 1 March 1671/2
Hannah
Abigail, b. 20 April 1681
Hezekiah
4. Mary King
b. 15 June 1639, Weymouth
d. 30 May 1676, Braintree, Suffolk Co., MA Bay Colony57
m. Josiah Chapin, 30 Nov 1658, Weymouth
children of Mary and Josiah:58
i. Samuel, b. 11 November 1659
ii. John, b. 11 June 1661
iii. Mary, b. 27 August 1662
iv. Deborah, b. 16 June 1664
v. Josiah, b. 17 December 1665
vi. Shem, b. 11 May 1667
vii. Seth, b. 4 August 1668
viii. Joseph, b. 17 May 1670
ix. Henry, b. 15 February 1671/72
x. Ephraim, b. 18 Decemeber 1673
xi. Deborah b. 12 February 1675
6. Thomas King
b. abt. 1643, prob. Weymouth
d. betw. 30 March 1713 and 23 February 1718/19, Dighton, Bristol Co., Prov. of MA Bay59
m. Mary Sprague, abt. 1669
children of Thomas and Mary:60
i. John, b. 29 August 1670
ii. Mary, b. 12 June 1673
iii. Thomas, no further record61
iv. Joanna62
v. Comfort, b. abt. 168763
6. Philip King
b. abt. 1645, prob. Weymouth
d. 26 December 1710, Taunton, Bristol Co., Prov. of MA Bay64
m. Judah/Judith Whitman, prob. Weymouth65
children of Philip and Judith:
Mary, m. John Leonard
Elizabeth, b. abt. m. John Hall 1696
Experience, b. abt. 1680 m. Nicholas White 1703
Hannah, b. abt. 1682, m. Jonathan Paddleford
Lydia, b. supp. 3 March 1688, no supporting evidence found, not in Taunton records, m. Nathaniel Williams 1710, Taunton
Judith, m. Ebenezer Williams, 1713, and Ebenezer Robinson
John, b. abt 1677, d. 6 October 174166 "in his 66th year," gravestone.
vital records sources: John and Abigail's marriage is in Vital records of Weymouth, Massachusetts, to the year 1850 (hereafter VRW), vol. 2 (Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1910), 108, which calls her "Abigail Haty." The oldest transcript of the original records, done by Gilbert Nash, spells her name this way as do other transcripts based on his. I've seen no reference to the original records being extant to double check, but it's obvious he misread the early form of the letters "c" and "h" in "Hatch" as a "y." She was certainly the daughter of John Hewes and widow of William Hatch (see note 21).