Weymouth New England Genealogy

CHURCH MEMBERSHIP: Even though he was a member of the church, hewas frequently cited for failing to attend public worship. JohnCoolidge and John Whitney testified that John Warren and ThomasArnold "did absent themselves from the public ordinances, morethan 4 times before their presentment". Mr. Jeremiah Norcrossand David Fiske deposed in court that John Warren and ThomasArnold had absented themselves from the public ordinances on theLord's Days both at Watertown and elsewhere. John pleaded thathe had been absent elsewhere on six of the Sabbaths in question,but he was still fined 5s. for each absence. Bond speculatesthat John Warren was a Baptist.EDUCATION: He signed his will by mark. His inventory included"one silver spoon, two Bibles and other books," valued at £1 10.In his will he bequeathed to his daughter Elizabeth "a bookcalled the plaine man's pathway to heaven." OFFICES: Chosen Watertown selectman, 30 [November?] 1635, 6December 1639; committee to lay out highways, 14 November 1635;committee to divide land, 10 January 1647/8. ESTATE: Granted sixty acres in Great Dividend, 25 July 1636;granted thirteen acres in Beaverbrook Plowlands, 28 February1637/8; granted thirteen acres in Remote Meadows, 26 June 1637;granted a 162 acre Farm, 10 May 1642. In the Inventory of Grants John Warren held ten parcels:homestall of twelve acres; nine acres of upland; three acres ofmeadow; thirteen acres of plowland in the Further Plain;thirteen acres of meadow in the Remote Meadows; sixteen acresand a half of upland beyond the Further Plain; sixty acres ofupland in the Great Dividend; one acre and a half of meadow inWard's Meadow; one acre and a half of meadow near the LittlePlain; and two acres of marsh. In the Composite Inventory he held eight parcels: homestall oftwelve acres; nine acres of upland; three acres of meadow;thirteen acres of plowland in the Further Plain (Lot 84);thirteen acres of meadow in the Remote Meadows (Lot 50); sixteenacres and a half of upland beyond the Further Plain (Lot 19);sixty acres of upland in the Great Dividend (Lot 26); and a Farmof one hundred sixty-two acres. On 30 December 1662 the town of Watertown ordered that a ten ortwelve acre parcel of land be laid out to Daniel Warren "insatisfaction of some land that John Warren his father bought ofthe town". In his will, dated 30 November 1667 and proved 16 December 1667,John Warren Sr. "being aged & weake in body" bequeathed to "myson Daniell Warren the p[ar]cell of land that he now lives onbeing about the quantity of sixteen acres with all theapurtenances"; to "my son John Warren & my son Daniel Warren mydividend and all my remote meadow with another p[ar]cell ofremote land ... in Watertown ... [to] my two sons equally"; to"my son Daniell Warren my best flock bed with my green rug ...and two of my four pewter platters"; to "my daughter-in-law MaryWarren wife to my son Daniell one pewter porringer"; to "mydaughter Mary Begalow a p[ar]cell of remote land being thequantity of 16 acres ... already in her possession"; to "mydaughter Mary Begalow one small pewter dish"; to "my daughterElizebeth Knape plow land lying on the further plain inWatertown w[hi]ch her husband James Knape hath formerly beenpossessed of"; to "my aforesaid daughter Elizebeth a book calledthe plaine man's pathway to heaven"; to "my grandchild DanielWarren Son to my son Daniell Warren one of my cows"; to "mygrandchild Mary Begalow a lined box that was my wife's"; to"Michall Bloyse daughter to Richard Bloyse deceased one pewterplate"; to "all of my grand children to each of them the sum of2s. 6d."; residue "to my beloved son John Warren making andordaining him my whole and sole executor".The inventory of the estate of "John Warren Senior late decessedof Watertown" was taken 13 December 1667 and was untotalled, butincluded £123 in real estate: "one tenement of houses and tenacres of upland and three acres of meadow £60"; "sixteen acresof waste land £8"; "sixty acres of divident land £15"; "thirteenacres of meadow £10"; "farm land one hundred and fifty acres£30." Among the interesting things found in his inventory were"one musket, one sword, one halberd," valued under 15s. ASSOCIATIONS: John Warren was one of several immigrants to comefrom Nayland in Suffolk, some others being JOHN FIRMIN and ISAACSTEARNS, also covered in The Great Migration Begins.COMMENTS: In the 1629 Bishop's Visitation of Nayland,Archdeaconry of Sudbury, Diocese of Norwich, John Warren was thefirst in a list of seven men from that parish who were presented"for not kneeling at the communion," a common Puritan offense[VIS 6/1, Norwich Diocesan Archives, Norfolk and Norwich RecordOffice]. In the grants of Beaverbrook Plowlands and Remote Meadows JohnWarren received thirteen acres, but his immediate family at thistime comprised six individuals (himself, wife and fourchildren); this implies wealth well above the average, and thisis borne out by the size of his homestall and Farm grants. Elizabeth French in 1910 published English wills and parishregister entries which identifed the English origin of JohnWarren and three generations of his paternal ancestry.Examination of the originals of the Nayland registers revealsonly one discrepancy, in the baptismal date for the firstdaughter Elizabeth. In 1654, John Warren Sr. gave Hugh Mason six pounds of peas andwheat and nine pounds of powder for the town so that Mason wouldmake fireworks at the general training in Cambridge. BIBLIOGRAPHIC NOTE: The most recent published accounts of JohnWarren and his family are by John B. Threlfall in 1990 and byDean C. Smith and Melinde Lutz Sanborn in 1996. From "Bullard and Allied Families"He had a homestead and seven other lots, aggregating 188 acres.John Warren, though a member of the Puritan church, was insympathy with the Quakers, and was the subject of much criticismand abuse by certain church officials. He retained hismembership in the church, however, and died, at peace with itsdoctrines, December 13, 1667, aged 82 years. His wife Margaret(surname unknown), died November 6, 1662. His will datedNovember 30, 1667, was proved December 17 of that year..."Per SAVAGE, VOL 4 DICT. FIRST SETTLERS OF New England JOHN,Watertown, came probably in 1630, in the fleet with Sir RichardSaltonstall, then aged about 45, and having wife and children(four certainly are named in his will, and of them onlyElizabeth could be born here). There may have been others, butno record of birth or death is found. He was admitted freeman18 May 1631, chosen selectman 1636-40. Late in life he fellunder the censure of the laws, unwisely levelled at dissentingfrom the religious course of the major part of the inhabitantsand Bond informs us of proceedings against him in 1651, 1654,and 1661; but he died in peace, 13 December 1667, aged 82. His wife Margaret died 6 November 1662. She was probably the motherof all his children John, born 1622; Mary; and Daniel, born1628; beside Elizabeth who married about 1654, James Knapp.Mary married 30 Oct. 1642, John Bigelow. More About JOHNWARREN: Aug 01, 1585 - Baptized in Nayland, Suffolk, ENG. 1630 -Immigrated on the Arbella to Salem, MA.settled at Watertown, MA.May 18, 1631 - freeman1636-1640 - selectman Nov 30, 1667 - Willdated, Will Proved 17 Dec 1667.