Early Bridgewater Families

 

Samuel Packard

of Stonham Aspal, Suffolk, England and

Hingham, Weymouth and Bridgewater, Massachusetts

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English Ancestry



Stonham Aspal Village Church
Copyright © Stonham Aspal Village Webpages 2006

 

B   ThomasB Wyther; buried 01-Jan-1595 Woolpit, Suffolk, England [WoolReg]. He married Margaret (——).

  Children (Wyther) [WoolReg]:
 
   i    ElizabethA; died 1565; buried Woolpit.
   ii    MaryA; baptized 1574 Woolpit.
   iii    ThomasA; baptized 1582 Woolpit.

 



Old Wing of the Red House, Stonham Aspal
Copyright © Stonham Aspal Village Webpages 2006



Red House Farm lies midway between the villages of Stonham Aspal
to the south and Mickfield to the north. Click on the map to enlarge it.

A   GeorgeA Packard born about 1570 probably Suffolk, England; died after 01-Dec-1623 (will); buried 14-Dec-1623 Stonham Aspal, Suffolk, England [StonAspReg].

     He married 27-Mar-1600 Woolpit, Suffolk, England [WoolReg] MaryA Wyther (ThomasB); baptized 1574 Woolpit [WoolReg]; died after 19-Aug-1652 (codicil).

     George was a yeoman farmer of "Colmans", Whitsun Green, Stonham Aspal [StonAspReg]. The original house has been expanded over the centuries and is now known as "The Red House" [SAHouses]. His nuncapative will dated 01-Dec-1623 [SufProbReg IC/AA1/59/99] left all of his property to his wife and made her his executrix.

     Mary's will, dated 11-Aug-1649 with codicil dated 19-Aug-1652 [SufProbReg 592/8/104], made bequests to daughter Mary, daughter Frances Standley, sons John and George, granddaughters Mary Standley and Margaret Smyth and the daughters of her son John.

  Children (Packard), i, ii, v - viii baptized Stonham Aspal [StonAspReg], iii - iv baptized Mickfield:
 
   i    Frances1 baptized 08-Oct-1601; she married (——) Standley. They had at least one child, a daughter Mary. Mother and daughter were both legatees in Mary Packard's will.
   ii    John1 baptized 08-Mar-1603; buried 15-Dec-1659 Mendlesham [MendReg]. He married 1st 14-Jul-1623 Mendlesham [MendReg] Elizabeth Watts; died 12-Apr-1624 Mendlesham [MendReg]. He married 2nd about 1630 Elizabeth Seaman; buried 13-Aug-1678 Mendlesham [MendReg]. John was a wheelwright, listed among the "Able Men" of Mendlesham 1638, paid "Ship Money" there 1640, and was churchwarden there 1642. His 1659 will left bequests to his wife and children Elizabeth, Anne, John and Esther. The surname of his second wife is proven by the 27-Mar-1634 will, proved 16-Apr-1634, of her brother Gilbert Seaman, singleman of Mendlesham, who gave to his sister Elizabeth, wife of John Packard, and her children Elizabeth and Anne. It appears likely that all of John's children were by his second wife.
   iii    George1 baptized 1605; buried 1605 .
   iv    George1 baptized 1607; died after 16-Oct-1664 (will). He married 1st about 1630; his first wife's name is unknown. He married 2nd, as a widower, 01-Aug-1643 Stowmarket, Suffolk, England [StowReg] Elizabeth Wright, singlewoman. George was a cooper, and was listed among the "Able Men" of Stowmarket 1638. He was a legatee in his mother's will. His will, dated 16-Oct-1664, left bequests to sons John and James, daughter Bridget, and John's children George, Mary, Thomas, Daniel, James and Bridget. The will lists his cooper's tools and the furniture of a well-to-do yeoman.
   v    Margaret1 baptized 29-Mar-1610; she married (——) Smyth. They had at least one child, a daughter Margaret. Mother and daughter were both legatees in Mary Packard's will.
1    vi    Samuel1 baptized 17-Sep-1612.
   vii    Nathan1 baptized 30-Mar-1614, buried 01-May-1614 Stonham Aspal [StonAspReg].
   viii    Mary1 baptized 08-Apr-1618; appears not to have married. She was executrix of her mother's will and a legatee in it. Possibly the Mary buried 04-Jun-1687 Framlingham, Suffolk, England [FramReg].

 

First Generation

 

1   Samuel1 Packard (GeorgeA) baptized 17-Sep-1612 Stonham Aspal, Suffolk, England [StonAspReg]; died 07-Nov-1684 Bridgewater [MD 15:256].

     He married Elizabeth (——) [MD 15:254]; born probably Suffolk, England; died after 27-Oct-1694 [MD 15:251]. She married 2nd after 07-Nov-1684 (1st husband's death) and before 27-Oct-1686 (2nd husband's will [MD 15:248]) as his 2nd wife John Washburn; baptized 26-Nov-1620 Bengeworth, Worcester, England [MFIPCooke 9]; died 12-Nov-1686 Bridgewater [MD 15:251]. This marriage is confirmed by a 27-Oct-1694 deed from Elizabeth [MD 15:251]. Note: There is no evidence to support the often repeated conjecture that her surname was "Stream." Elizabeth's surmane does not appear in any records and Stream was not a usual surname in East Anglia.

     Samuel, his wife and their eldest child came on the Diligent, which sailed from Ipswich, England Jun-1638 and arrived in Boston 10-Aug-1638, under Master John Martin and carrying about 100 passengers [Planters 191]. The family was said on the passenger list to be "from Windham" in Norfolk [Planters 194]. This is undoubtedly an error for Wymondham. Many of the early settlers of Hingham in the Bay Colony came from Hingham, Norfolk, England. Some of those settlers or their families have documented ties to Wymondham, Norfolk, which is about five miles east of Hingham, Norfolk, and about ten miles southwest of the shire town of Norfolk. There seems to be no record of Samuel or his family in Wymondham so that may have been just a gathering place for some of the Diligent passengers.

     The Packards settled first in Hingham, and about 1654 removed to Weymouth where Samuel was Selectman 1654-64. The family removed to Bridgewater about 1664. Samuel had purchased land from the original proprietors there by 1662 when he was appointed to a group to lay out highways. He was a constable in 1664 [Peirce 40; Mitchell 264] and 1674 [PCR 5:145], surveyor of highways in 1667 [Mitchell 60] and 1672 [Peirce 53; PCR 5:93], and collector of Minister's Rates in 1671 [PCR 5:59]. He was licensed to keep an "ordinary" 08-Mar-1671 [Peirce 59; PCR 5:54], and was assesed a 20s. fine for selling liquor to the Indians, but was freed from paying that fine in 1673 [PCR 5:128]. He was allotted ten acres of woodland in 1686 [Mitchell 63].

     In his will [MD 15:253-256] dated 29-Oct-1684 Samuel named his wife Elizabeth Packard; eldest son Samuel Packard; sons Zaccheus Packard, John Packard and Nathaniel Packard; grandchild Israel Alger; daughters Mary Phillips wife of Richard Phillips, Hannah Randall wife of Thomas Randall, Jael Smith wife of John Smith, Deborah Washburn wife of Samuel Washburn and Deliverance Washburn wife of Thomas Washburn; grandchild Deliverance Alger; and grandchildren Samuel Packard, Daniel Packard son of Samuel Packard, Israel Packard son of Zaccheus Packard and Caleb Phillips son of Caleb Phillips [Bowman's published transcription of the will reads "son of Caleb Phillips," but he was the son of Richard Phillips]. It named wife Elizabeth Packard and son Samuel Packard as executors, and James Keith and William Brett as overseers. The will was signed by mark and witnessed by John Field, John Ames Jr. and Shadrack Wilbore. On 03-Mar-1684/85 the first two witnesses testified that when Samuel signed and sealed his will he declared that he intended Thomas Washburn to be a joint executor with the two executors named in the will, which the court allowed. The inventory of Samuel's estate was dated 07-Nov-1684, mentioned no real estate and totalled £133, 6s., 6d. as appraised by Mark Lathrop and John Field on 11-Nov-1684. Samuel Packard Jr. swore to the inventory at court in Plymouth on 05-Mar-1684/85.

     Special Note: Much erroneous or misleading information about Samuel, Elizabeth and their children has appeared in print and on the internet. In 1991 Karle S. Packard published an article in Packard's Progress in order to present what could be determined, from contemporary records and by inferences drawn from those records, about the first two American generations of the family. I have transcribed that important article and it is now available online.

  Children (Packard):
 
2    i    Mary2 born about 1637 probably England [WeyVR 1:208; PackFam 11].
3    ii    Elizabeth2 baptized 19-Jul-1646 Hingham [Hobart 19].
4    iii    Samuel2 baptized 19-Jul-1646 Hingham [Hobart 19].
5    iv    Hannah2 baptized 19-Jul-1646 Hingham [Hobart 19].
6    v    Israel2 baptized 19-Jul-1646 Hingham [Hobart 19]; named a militia trooper 1671 [Mitchell 264]; no further record. It is often supposed that he was killed in King Philip's War, but this is belied by the claim [Mitchell 40] that no one from Bridgewater died in that war.
7    vi    Jael2 born about 1647 probably Hingham [PackFam 11].
8    vii    Deborah2 born about 1648 probably Hingham [PackFam 11].
9    viii    Zaccheus2 baptized 20-Apr-1651 Hingham [Hobart 24].
   ix    Jane2 baptized 20-Apr-1651 Hingham [Hobart 24]; probably died young.
   x    Abigail2 baptized 20-Apr-1651 Hingham [Hobart 24]; probably died young.
10    xi    Deliverance2 baptized 11-Jun-1652 Hingham [Hobart 25].
11    xii    Thomas2 born about 1653 probably Hingham [PackFam 11].
12    xiii    John2 born 20-Jul-1655 Weymouth [WeyVR 1:204].
13    xiv    Nathaniel2 born about 1657 probably Weymouth [PackFam 11].

 

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