John Spofford, the Puritan vicar of Silkstone

Not the son of Robert Spofforth & Lady Agnes de Spofforth

Rev Jon Spafford was Vicar of Silkstone Co. of Yorkshire England from which living he was ejected in 1662 for 'nonconformity'. It is claimed that his son John Spofford, of Rowley came to America in 1638 with Rev. Ezekial Rogers Co. The motto on the Spafford coat of arms is "Rather deathe than False of Faythe."

The dates do not work for Anna Swan to be his daughter.

Venn Cambridge Alumni: John Spofford < link >

• John SPOFFORD
• Approx. lifespan: 1588–1668
• Matric. sizar from ST CATHARINE'S, Easter 1614.
• S. of Thomas, of Wistow, West Riding of Yorkshire .
• B.A. 1616/7 .
• Ord. deacon (York) Mar., 1616/7; priest, Dec., 1617.
• V. of Sutton-in-Holderness [ East Riding of Yorkshire ], in 1626 .
• V. of Silkstone [ West Riding of Yorkshire ], 1643 ; ejected, 1662 .
• Died 1668, aged 80.
• “His son John emigrated to America and was the founder of an influential family in Massachusetts.”
• ( Calamy, II. 575; Burke, L.G. )

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Biography

"Mr. John Spawford, or Spofford, was many years Vicar of the church at Silkstone, which on account of its beautiful structure was called the 'Minster of the Moors.' He was a pious man, of competent learning and ability, plain in his preaching, holy in his life, facetious in his discourse, and a lover of all good men. He 
was ejected for non-conformity about 1663, when Mr. Robert Cotton, a 
worthy, pious gentleman of the parish, took him to his house where he died in
1668."

The Rev. John Spofford was ejected from being Vicar of Silkstone, by the Act of Uniformity in 1662, when he was 74 years of age. 'His widow died in April 1679, aged 94, in dotage, at John Hulme's.

Family

1. Thomas Spofforth (Spawford) of Wistow, co. York, had; 2. John Spofforth, born 1587 or 1588. After ejection lived at the house of William Cotton, at Nether Denby, Penistone, co. York. Died 1668, aged 80; buried Silkstone, 9 June 1688; married __ ; she, died at the house of her son in law, John Hulme, April 1679, aged 94, “‘in dotage,” buried Silkstone, 28 April 1679; had

1. John Spofforth, bp Sutton in Holdeness, 16 April 1626
2. Sarah, bap. Sutton in Holdeness, 13 July 1628

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Disputed Parentage

"The pedigree first given by Mr. Ashworth P. Burke is furthermore amazingly inaccurate in many particulars, and so much so as to throw doubt on the greater part of it. It gives as the father of the Rev. John Spofforth, sometime vicar of Silkstone, a Robert Spofforth whose wife was Agnes, dau. of Gilbert Clare, of Pontefract. This is incorrect, as the Rev. John Spofforth's father was Thomas Spofforth of Wistow."[1]

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ancient lineage

Claimed as descendant of Gamel fitz Orm

See http://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000040487234988

Son to America?

"According to family tradition, John came from a long line of Spofforths who were religious and sometimes rebellious, in that their beliefs differed from those of the English Church. He came to America from Yorkshire in 1638 with approximately 60 other families who had the same religious convictions, under the leadership of The Rev. Ezekiel Rogers {Ezekial later married John's widow, Elizabeth Scott}. The group apparently sailed from Hull in the ship "John of London" in the summer of 1638. He was one of the Pilgrim fathers who settled in Massachusetts. The group acquired many holdings in the area of Rowley, Essex County" ~• from http://magenweb.org/Essex/Georgetown/Spofford_family.html

Whether or not John Spofford is the father of the Anna who married Richard Swan is not proven. An Anna Spofford was born September 1598 to John Spofford in Kirk Ella, England, this based on parish records provided by Alex Spofforth of the UK to Robert Spafford and is posted at . While, if true, this pieces a lot of information together, the one item that suggests caution is that Anna's last child was born in March 1644 which, if she had been born in 1598, would make her 45.5 years old at the child's birth. Provisionally, she is being listed as John's daughter because it is a plausible relationship.

Notice the change in spelling of the last name, which means the Firth of Spof or the land of Spof

characterization in English lineage

A Genealogical Account of the Spofforth Or Spofford Family By Ashworth Peter Burke ; on page 5
(see photo)

family tradition stories

According to family tradition, John came from a long line of Spofforths who were religious and sometimes rebellious, in that their beliefs differed from those of the English Church. He came to America from Yorkshire in 1638 with approximately 60 other families who had the same religious convictions, under the leadership of The Rev. Ezekiel Rogers. The group apparently sailed from Hull in the ship "John of London" in the summer of 1638. He was one of the Pilgrim fathers who settled in Massachusetts. The group acquired many holdings in the area of Rowley, Essex County, Massachusetts that have been passed down through the years to numerous descendants. [For the Historical and Genealogical Register.] MR. DRAKE, - The following anecdote, honorable to our Puritan ancestry, has been handed down by tradition. The writer received it more than fifty years ago from a descendant of Samuel Spofford, son of the hero of my story, and whose great age, ninety years, extending from 1653 to 1743, made him a living link between the first and the last generation, through whom persons well known to the writer might, and doubtless did, receive many interesting narratives of the acts and doings of the first settlers of Rowley. He was contemporary with his father, who came over from England more than thirty years before, and with his nephew, my grandfather, who I well remember, twenty-two years. During a time of great scarcity of corn, probably from the great drought of 1662, John Spofford, then living with his family at Rowley, and being with his neighbors much pinched by the famine, went all the way to Salem to buy corn. A ship-load of corn had lately arrived there, but the owner, foreseeing greater scarcity and higher prices, refused to open his store and commence dealing it out. Spofford plead the necessity of himself and his neighbors, but his arguments were unheeded, and he had only the prospect of returning without being able to carry bread to his suffering family. After every plea was exhausted to no effect on the heartless merchant, he sternly cursed him to his face! The merchant astonished to hear such language, had him arrested instantly, and arraigned before a magistrate, for profane cursing and swearing. The accused, nothing daunted, informed the magistrate that he had not cursed the merchant profanely but religiously, and producing a Bible, he read Proverbs xi. 26, He that withholdeth corn the people shall curse him, but blessing shall be upon the head of him that selleth it. The authority was deemed decisive, the accused was discharged, and, in accordance with the summary process of those days, the magistrate ordered that the merchant should open his store, and sell him as much corn as he desired at the current price. This man was afterwards the first settler of Georgetown, in this State, in 1668, and died in 1678 ; and every one of the name in this country may reckon themselves among his descendants.

https://spaf.cerias.purdue.edu/pers/Robert1056/burke.html

ROBERT SPOFFORTH, who m. 1565, Agnes, dau. of Gilbert Clare, of Pontefract, and had issue,

• I. John, the Puritan Vicar of Silkstone,, b. 1588, ejected from his living as a Nonconformist in 1663, and d. in 1668, leaving a son, John, one of the " Pilgrim Fathers," who fled to America to avoid persecution, and settled in Rowley, Massachusetts, 1638, and was ancestor of the numerous and distinguished family of Spofford still flourishing in America. He m. Elizabeth, dau. of Thomas Scott, of Ipswich, in America, and had issue (vide post).
• II. SIMEON, of whom presently.
• III. Joshua, Prebendary of Dannington, in York Cathedral, from 26 Oct. 1660. He left a dau. Mary, m. 13 Sept. 1665, Francis Horsley, of Full Sutton, Yorks (see DUGDALE's Visit., York).

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Who Was the Father of John Spofford, the 1638 Immigrant to Massachusetts?

https://spaf.cerias.purdue.edu/pers/Robert1056/curstat.html

There are conflicting opinions regarding the ancestral roots of John Spofford, the 1638 immigrant, who was one of the original settlers of Rowley, Massachusetts, and is the common ancestor of most persons with the name Spofford or Spafford currently living in the United States.

For those of you who may not care to read through the remainder of this rather lengthy document, here is a quick synopsis — Based on what I have found to date, there is good reason to be suspect of the traditional lineage of John's ancestors. However, at this point in time, I am definitely leaning in the direction that, if John, the immigrant, was not the son of John Spofford, the Vicar of Silkstone, he was at least closely related. Further, I suspect very strongly that John, the immigrant, was from somewhere in Yorkshire, and NOT, as John Threlfall claims, descended from Thomas Spufford of Toddington, Bedfordshire. And just to clarify at the outset — I have NOT yet found any primary evidence (birth/baptismal records, wills, etc.) that definitively links John, the 1638 immigrant, with any of his ancestors and, therefore, must conclude at this time that his immediate ancestry remains obscure.

Thus, Ralph Spofforth claims the following lineage:

Brian —> Richard —> Richard of Crambe —> John the Vicar —> John the 1638 immigrant

While the other traditional versions (Burke, Harleian, Speight, Jeremia Spofford) claim:

Brian —> Robert —> John the Vicar —> John the 1638 immigrant

According to Ralph Spofforth's claim, John the vicar's wife was named Ellin. (See the wills of both Richard of Crambe and his wife Anne.)

Both Capt. Ralph Spofforth (p. 18) and Sunderland considered the Spofforth/ Spofford pedigrees published by Burke and Harleian to be filled with conjecture and inaccuracies. They severely discredit much of what is contained therein.

References

1. WikiTree contributors, "John Spofford Sr (1588-1668)," WikiTree: The Free Family Tree, (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Spofford-17 : accessed 15 April 2024).
   1. “Who was the John Spofford who accompanied the Rev. Ezekiel Rogers in 1638?” The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1847. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2013.) Vol 99, April 1945, p. 174. ($) < link >; (document attached)
   2. Venn Cambridge Alumni: John Spofford < link >
   3. The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1847-. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2013.) Vol 8, page 335. A Family record of the Descendants of John Spofford, and Elizabeth his wife who came from England to America and settled at Rowley in 1638. Published Oct. 1854. Conclusions in this article are disputed by later genealogists and evidence. Referenced as source of original data, not as a reliable source. < AmericanAncestors >
2. https://spaf.cerias.purdue.edu/pers/Robert1056/curstat.html