John Riley

John Riley

• Born before 1621 based on birth of eldest son
• Died between will and inventory 13 May 1674 and 11 Jun 1674 Wethersfield, Hartford, Connecticut
• Married Grace Buck - see The American Genealogist 10:50-51; 44:168; 9:29; for evidence of her maiden name
• Residence by 1646 Wethersfield, a carpenter--juror in 1649 and '71--died in '74.
• Origins and parents unknown

Warning

Some trees on the internet show a father Joseph Riley 1598 Ireland –1682 Westfield. This person is a internet based mass psychosis and never existed. See sources at the bottom and don't be a genealogy rube who simply copies internet trees. In fact his Y DNA shows he was from England. Probably best to start with Jacobus and then read all the references from TAG (see sources below).

Children

1. John RILEY (1646–1684)
2. Joseph RILEY (1649–1700)
3. Mary RILEY (1652–1692)
4. Jonathan RILEY (1652–1712)
5. Sarah RILEY Sayer / Sayres (or Sears) (1658–1752)
6. Jacob RILEY (1660–1706)
7. Grace RILEY Goodrich (1661–1712)
8. Isaac RILEY (1671–1737)

Probate

Ryley, John, Wethersfield, in Manwaring, Charles W. A Digest of the Early Connecticut Probate Records. (Hartford, Conn.: R. S. Peck & Co., 1904-06), 1:229-30.

Ryley, John, Wethersfield. Invt. -A3688-04-00. Taken 11 June, 1674, by John Nott sen., John Kilbourn, Enoch Buck, Eleazer Kimberly. Will dated I3 May,1674.

Be it known to all men by these presence, that I Jon Ryley of the Town of Wethersfield do make this my last Will & Testament: I give to my son John Ryley the House & Lott which I bought of John Dickinson, the 4 aches of Land lying at the east lower End of Beaver Meadow wch I had by Exchange of John Betts, The 1/2 of that Land which I bought of Will Gull, lying in the Plaine, 2 acres of my Plaine at the South Field, wch 2 acres shall be on the north side of it, The 1/2 of that Land wch shall by Division fall to me on the East side of the Great River. I do give to my son Joseph that House & Homelott which I had by Exchange of Tho: Couch Item. the other half of ye Land in ye Plaine which I bought of Will: Gull. Item: 2 acres of my Pasture at the South Field, next to his Brother John. Item: the other half of the Land which by Division shaIl fall to me on the East side of the Great River. Also, I give to him my gray mare and her Colt, only I do hereby enjoyn him my son Joseph to pay to his sister Mary the sume of A3I0 in Current pay of the Country 2 years after the Lands shall come into his Hands. Item: I do give to my son Jonathan 3 acres of Land lying at the lower End of ye Meadow between John Damon Jr. and Samuel Boreman. Item: 4 acres in Beaver Meadow between Goodman Churchill & Jonathan Damon. Item: 8 acres at Rocky Hill. Item: my Lott of 50 acres or there a bouts in ye Woods or West Division. Further, my Will is, with reference to these my three sons, John, Joseph & Jonathan, that my wife their Mother shall have the thirds of all the yearly products & Increase of such of the Lands bequeathed unto them as are improveable at my Decease, and this she shall have during her life. Item: I do give to my daughter Mary besides ye A310 above mentioned, A320 more wch my Executor and Adms. shall pay out of my other Estate. Item: I do give to my daughter Grace A320, which shall in like manner be paid by my Executors when she shall come to age. Item: I give to my daughter Sarah A320 when she shall come to age. Item: I do give to my 2 youngest sons, Jacob and Isaac, this house in which I now dwell. Item: 5 acres of Land at the Pond, 5 acres more or less of Meadow Ground within ye Meadow Gate. Item: 4 acres of Land in ye Plaine between Lands of Mr. Robbins & John Dickinson. Item: 4 acres of my Pasture at the South Field, which is the remainder from yt before bequeathed. All which Houseing & Lands shall be equally divided between these my 2 sons, Jacob and Isaac, after the decease of their Mother. I give unto my three older sons my Carpenter Tooles. I appoint my wife sole Executrix. I desire Mr. Bulkeley, my brother John gelding, my Brother Emanuel Buck, and my Cousin Michael Griswold to be Overseers.

Witness: Gershom Bulkeley,

Michael Griswold. [also a direct ancestor]

JOHN X RYLEY. Ls.

Court Record, Page 143--3 September, 1674: Will approved.

Savage

John Riley, in Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England: Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May, 1692, on the Basis of Farmer's Register. (Boston: Little, Brown, and Co, 1860-1862)

3:542.
John (Riley), Wethersfield, by w. Grace had John, b. 1646; Joseph, 1649; Jonathan, 1651; beside Mary, Grace, Sarah, Jacob, and Isaac, whose dates are unkn. but all the eight are named in this order in his will of 1671, soon after wh. he d. All exc. Jacob, wh. prob. d. earlier, div. the est. of Joseph, wh. d. without w. or ch. in 1706; and John and Jonathan d. 1711; Grace m. 22 Nov. 1680, William Goodrich the sec.

Cutter

from William Richard Cutter, ed. New England families, genealogical and memorial : a record of the achievements of her people in the making of commonwealths and the founding of a nation. Volume 1. Ne York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1914, p. 157.

John Riley, the immigrant ancestor, came in 1621 (sic no evidence until 1643), the year after the landing of the Pilgrims (not), from Stepney, England (no evidence to support this), to Wethersfield, Connecticut, where in 1643 he was a landholder. His name was spelled Riley, Rilloy and Ryly in the old records. He married Grace , who died November 28, 1703, aged about seventynine, "if she had lived till Xmas." He died in May or June, 1674, and the inventory of his estate, taken June 11, 1674, by John Kilbourn, Enoch Buck and Eleazer Kimberly, was valued at 668 pounds, 4 shillings. His will was dated May 13, 1674. He made his wife executrix and bequeathed to her and to his children. The will was proved September 3, 1674. His widow was a member of the church in 1674. Children t. John, born about August 15, 1646; Joseph, October 20, 1649; Jonathan, about March 4,165253; Mary, married Benjamin Gilbert; Grace, married, November 22, 1680, William Goodrich, 2nd; Sarah, married David Sayres (or Sears) ; Jacob, born about 1660; Isaac, mentioned below.

Sources

1. The American Genealogist 10:50-51; 44:168; 9:29;
2. Adams, Sherman Wolcott, The History of Ancient Wethersfield, Connecticut, 2 vols. (New York: Grafton Press, 1904) 2:373, 543-4
3. Goldthwaite, Charlotte, Boardman Genealogy, 1525–1895 (Hartford: Case, Lockwood & Brainard, 1895 242
4. Marvin, George Franklin, Descendants of Reinold and Matthew Marvin of Hartford, Ct., 1638 and 1635 (Boston: T. R. Marvin & Son, 1904) 307
5. Jacobus, Donald Lines, et al., Hale, House and Related Families, Mainly of the Connecticut River Valley (Hartford: Connecticut Historical Society, 1952) 556
6. John Riley, in Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England: Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May, 1692, on the Basis of Farmer's Register. (Boston: Little, Brown, and Co, 1860-1862), 3:542.
7. Ryley, John, Wethersfield, in Manwaring, Charles W. A Digest of the Early Connecticut Probate Records. (Hartford, Conn.: R. S. Peck & Co., 1904-06), 1:229-30.
8. William Richard Cutter, ed. New England families, genealogical and memorial : a record of the achievements of her people in the making of commonwealths and the founding of a nation. Volume 1. Ne York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1914, p. 157
9. New England Marriages Prior to 1700, Clarence, Torrey, pg. 625