From "American Ancestors", New England Historic and Genealogical Society, Volume 113, pp 101-102

It is not known when William came to America, but according to the Manor Rolls of Braintree, co Essex, England he bought land in Braintree of Jonas Webb on 30 March 1647, as William Wilbore, son of John. On 2 Jan. 1650 he sold this land to Thomas Rowell and Mary, his wife. According to these transactions William was not married in 1647, for usually in the Manor Rolls the name of the wife is given when a person buys land.

We do not hear of William again until July 1654, when his cousin, Samuel Wilbore, transferred ten acres of land to him in Portsmouth, land that belonged formerly to Thomas Emmons.

William Wilbore's will was made 1 March 1710 ad proved in Portsmouth 15 Aug. 1710. His children were never recorded, but are all given in his will. Arnold's "Vital Records of Rhode Island" gives a list of his children in both Little Compton and Tiverton, with the years of birth, but on looking at the original records in Little Compton they are not to be found. They are, however, in Otis Wilbor's transcript of the records in Little Compton and are also given in the same way in a fairly modern book in Tiverton, which gives the year of birth of the children and also his own birth, namely, 1630. This would seem to be the work of Otis Wilbor, who died in 1856, and consequently the births given are only approximate. The original will if William Wilbore is in the hands of Mrs. Edward P. Garland of Wellesley Hills, Mass., a descendant. In signing William always makes a mark or "W" for Wilbore. His lack of education is rather surprising when you consider that his cousin, Samuel, and his three sons could write, and the son, Shadrach, was a beautiful penman. This situation would seem to come from a difference of environment and would be easily explained if we know that John Wilbore of Braintree, who went to the Isle of Old Providence off South America, was William's father, John.

If John Wilbore returned to Braintree in 1641, after the Spaniards conquered Old Providence, and brought with him our William, it would fit in with his buying the land in Braintree in 1647.

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Find A Grave:

• Birth: May 21, 1630 Braintree Essex, England
• Death: Apr. 15, 1710 Tiverton Newport CountyRhode Island, USA
• Son of John Wilbore and Joan/Joanna Drane of Braintree, Co.Essex, England. (NEHGR 112:111 and 113:99-100)
• First Husband of Martha ----, married about 1653.
• Children: Mary Wilbore Mowry, Joseph Wilbore, John Wilbore, Thomas Wilbore, William Wilbor, Martha Wilbore Sherman, Samuel Wilbore, Daniel Wilbore, Joanna Wilbore Potter, and Benjamin Wilbore.

http://worldconnect.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=PED&db=dmn4211&id=I6938&style=TEXT --------------------

It is uncertain whom he married. He had nine children. The record of their births is as follows:

1. Mary, born in 1654, died 1720, married Joseph Mowry
2. Joseph, born 1656, died May 4, 1729, married Ann Brownell
3. John, born 1658
4. Thomas, born 1659
5. Wil1iam, born Dec 1660, died 1738. Married first --- Tallman, married second Joan Biggs
6. Martha, born 1662/3, married William Sherman
7. Samuel, born 1664, died 1740, married Mary Potter
8. Daniel, born 1666, died 1741, married Ann Barney
9. Joan, born 1668, died 1729, married Nathaniel Potter
10. Benjamin, born 1670, died 1729, married first Mary Kinnicut and married second Elizabeth Head

There is a record dated May 12, 1681, of the marriage of Thomas Sherman of Marshfield to “Martha, daughter of William Wilbor of Portsmouth, R.I.” Martha must have been nineteen at that date. This only assists in establishing the early history of his family.

William died early in 1710, aged eighty.

-------------------- Created will - March 1, 1710

aka - William Wilbore

1665 - juryman at Portsmouth

1668 - Constable

1669 - Grand Juryman

1672 - Member of the Court

1678 - Deputy to the General Assembly at Warwick, Portsmouth, Newport and Providence Plantations

1680 - Tax collector

-------------------- According to Little Compton Families, published by the Little Compton Historical Society, the earliest settlers of the Plymouth Colony, seeking to expand their boundaries, discovered a "garden spot" called Sogkonnet, meaning "haunt of the black goose" in the language of the inhabitants, the Sogkonitte tribe of Indians. The land was later called Sakonnet until 1682, when it was incorporated by Plymouth Colony and renamed Little Compton. In 1747, the town, along with Barrington, Bristol, Cumberland, Tiverton, and Warren was ceded by Massachusetts to Rhode Island, and Little Compton became an incorporated town of Rhode Island. -------------------- "Possibly the nephew of Samuel Wilbour of Boston and Taunton. Deputy 1678"

This is what is written in our book, but I have found some info that indicates William is the son of Samuel Wilbur. Here is the link to the googlebook.

http://books.google.com/books?id=MVoEAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA343&lpg=PA343&dq=william+wilbur+1630&source=bl&ots=gqOtfgLQiW&sig=8qkbfggXNQvEgrAkAX9QgK90eSE&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=6&ct=result#PPA342,M1

I am going to include Samuel in our tree as his father, please let me know if any of you find anything that would contradict this.