William Wilcoxson

• BIRTH 1601 England
• DEATH bef. 15 Jun 1652 at Stratford, Fairfield County, Colony of Connecticut (aged 49–50)
• BURIAL Old Congregational Burying Ground, Stratford, Fairfield County, Connecticut, USA
• MEMORIAL ID 28453933

William Wilcoxson emigrated 02 APR 1635 from London to Boston on the good ship, "Planter" at age 34 with wife, Margaret aged 24 and son, John age 2. William and Margaret Harvey daughter of James Harvey of Ilkeston, Derbyshire married about 1633 She married as her 2nd, to William Hayden.[38] They sailed from London on April 15, 1635 and arrived at New England on May 6, 1635 then in Concord, MA 26 MAY 1635. He brought a certificate from the minister at St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England confirming his character.

Because William was a linen weaver by trade, he probably came from Derbyshire where they grew flax for weaving and many with the name of Wilcoxson lived. He may be the son of William Wilcoxson of Wirkswork. The will of William Wilcoxson, Sr. mentions a younger son, William, aged 25 years in 1626. He was made a freeman in Massachusetts Colony on Dec. 7, 1636, first living in Concord, Mass., removing to and settling in Stratford, Conn. by 1639 where he was one of the early settlers & had a homelot in the center of the village. He represented Stratford as deputy to the General Court in Hartford in 1647.

Some sources say that he left Stratford to live in Hartford & Windsor, but it is evident that he died in Stratford in 1651 and an inventory of his estate was taken in Stratford on June 16, 1652. In his will made in May of 1651. William left 30 pounds to the church in Concord, Mass. where they attended so many years before. He marriedMargaret Birdseye around 1632 in England. After William's death, she married William Hayden of Windsor, Conn., and the Haydens removed to Killingworth, Conn. before her death in 1675.

Spouse
Margaret Birdseye Hayden 1611–1675 m. 1632/3 in England, widowed she remarried William Hayden

Children
John Wilcoxson 1633–1690 m. 1) Johanna Titherton 2) Elizabeth Bourne
Joseph Wilcoxson 1635–1703 m. Anne
Dea. Timothy Wilcoxson 1638–1713 m. Joanna Birdseye.
Sgt. Samuel Wilcoxson 1639 - 1714 m. Hannah Rice.
Elizabeth Wilcoxson Stiles 1641– unknown m. Henry Stiles
Obadiah Wilcoxson 1645–1714 m. 1) Mary Griswold 2) Lydia Alling 3) Silence Mansfield
Hannah Wilcoxson Hayden 1644–1722 m. Daniel Hayden, Sr.
Sarah Wilcoxson Meigs 1648–1691 m. John Meigs
Phebe Wilcoxson Beach 1651–1743 m. 1) John Birdseye 2) John Beach
Johannah Wilcoxson

Notes

In an email exchange with Jane Wilcox following her trip to England to research this family, she has confirmed that definitive documentation on Margaret's surname has not been found. However, she has built a very strong set of supporting evidence including that William and Margaret emigrated with Anne Harvie, who would have been Margaret's younger sister along with several other Harvie family members. Jane also details the many strong contacts between the Harvie/Harvey family and the Wilcockson family. A description of the research is in Jane's travel blog which is definitely worth reviewing.[4]

Anderson in the Great Migration Begins reports that research of Jane E. Wilcox has shown circumstantial evidence in the parish registers of Ilkeston and vicinity which has "suggested, but not proven" that William's father may have been William Wilcockson of Biggin-by-Hulland, Derbyshire.

Johanna Wilcoxson b. c. 1653. Anderson failed to list Johanna. However she signed, by mark, the probate agreement of 1668. Looking at a more detailed extract of the 1668 agreement by the children of William Wilcoxson reveals that the daughter Johanna, listed by Jacobus, was in reality a daughter in law wife of Timothy.

He died in Stratford in 1651 and an inventory of his estate was taken in Stratford on June 16, 1652. In his will made in May of 1651. William left 30 pounds to the church in Concord, Mass. where they attended so many years before.

Anderson reports that research of Jane E. Wilcox has shown circumstantial evidence in the parish registers of Ilkeston and vicinity which has "suggested, but not proven" that William's father may have been William Wilcockson of Biggin-by-Hulland, Derbyshire.

Down the road I will write a series of articles giving the documentary evidence as to why I believe Puritan William was the son of tanner William Wilcockson and his first unknown wife from Biggin-by-Hulland, Derbyshire, and why Puritan William’s wife Margaret was Margaret Harvie, daughter of weaver James Harvie and his wife Elizabeth Winfield from Ilkeston Derbyshire — and not Margaret Birdseye or Birdsey as has long been erroneously held. These articles will contain more details and all of the sources I used to compile the evidence, as well as the genealogies of the Wilcockson, the Harvie and the Blakeman families in England in the 1500s and early 1600s.[41]

Disconnected as son of John Wilcoxson & Joanne Grundick. This couple is too young to have been his parents.

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William Wilcoxson (1601-1652) was apparently born and raised in England and became a linen weaver in Wirksworth, Derbyshire, England. He married Margaret Birdseye (Birdseye or Beardsley, ancestry sought) in England in about 1632 and their first child was born in England in about 1633. On 05 April 1635 William Wilcoxson (age 34) and his wife Margaret (age 24) and their son John (age 2) sailed aboard "The Planter" from England and they arrived at Boston Harbor on 26 May 1635. They settled first at Concord, MA and William Wilcoxson was on the 07 December 1636 Freeman list there. Two more children were born to this family at Concord, MA. By 1639 William Wilcoxson and his family (wife and 3 children) moved to Pequonnocke (later Cupheag, later still Stratford, CT), CT and they received homelot #70 on Elm Street and a share in the Common Field. Six more children were born to this family at Stratford, CT. William Wilcoxson represented Stratford, CT as a Deputy at General Court at Hartford in 1647. Some sources suggest that William Wilcoxson and his family lived later at Hartford, CT and/or Windsor, CT, but his Stratford estate inventory indicates that they lived at Stratford, CT at the time of his death in 1652. William Wilcoxson's will was dated 29 May 1651 and his Stratofrd, CT estate inventory was dated 16 June 1652.

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TRADITION has it that widow Margaret Birdseye Wilcoxson married widower William Hayden (wife Mary died in 1655, 3 children) of Windsor in about 1663. Where and when they met is not known, but it is known that they married and lived at Hamonoscett (later Killingworth), CT and were among the first settlers there in about 1655. It is believed that William Hayden and his children went to Hamonsett first and were soon joined by Margaret and the younger Wilcoxson children (Hannah, Sarah, Obadiah, and Phoebe). Her son Joseph Wilcoxson and his family also joined them in Killingworth, CT. The older Wilcoxson children were married and remained at Stratford, CT or Windsor, CT with their families. On 22 October 1668 the Wilcoxson children signed an agreement concerning their father's estate as it related to their mother's second marriage.

Son Obadiah Wilcoxson (1648-1714) married first at Killingworth, CT in about 1669 to Mary Griswold and they had had no children when she died in 1670. Widower Obadiah Wilcoxson moved to Guilford (East Guilford, now Madison), CT and married second in about 1675 to Lydia Alling (1656-1687) and they settled at Guilford, CT and had 4 children there. After Lydia Alling Wilcoxson died in 1687 their 2 living children apparently went to live with and be raised by their maternal grandparents in New Haven, CT by 1689. Widower William Wilcoxson married third at Guilford in about 1689 to Silence Mansfield and they had 7 children there. Obadiah Wilcoxson's will was dated 18 December 1710 and it was proved 01 November 1714. It mentions his wife Silence and sons Ebenezer (from second marriage), John, and Joseph and daughters Mary (from second marriage), Mindwell, Jemima, and Thankful.

Granddaughter Mary Wilcoxson (1676-1755), daughter of Obadiah Wilcoxson (1648-1714) and Lydia Alling (1656-1687), married at New Haven, CT in 1694 to Thomas Munson (1671-1746) and they had 11 children there.

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"The word is of Saxon origin, and the first Connecticut settler of the name appears to have been William Willcoxon, born 1601 at St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England, who, at the age of 34 years, came to America on the ship "Planter" (1635), accompanied by his wife, Margaret, aged 24. He died in 1652 and Margaret in 1653. They had nine children - John, Joseph, Samuel, Obadiah, Timothy, Elizabeth, Hannah, Sarah and Phoebe. (NEB genealogy)

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William Wilcoxson came from England to America on board the ship "Planter" (Nicholas Travice, master) which sailed from London to New England the morning of April 2, 1635. A total of thirty-eight persons were listed as..."the parties having brought certificates from the minister of St. Albans in Hertfordshire and attestations from the justice of the peace according to the Lord's orders." This party, along with eighty others and the crew filled the small ship. The Customs House records in London state that William was a linen weaver by trade and at the time of his departure was thirty-four years old. His wife, Margaret, was twenty-four and their son, John, two.

William was made a freeman in Massachusetts Colony December 7, 1636, settling in Concord prior to moving to Stratford in 1639. He was a juryman, or deputy, in Hartford in 1647. At the time of his death, he left a widow and five sons. His will, in which he gave 30 £ to the church at Concord, is dated May, 1651/52. There is a record of the inventory of his estate dated June 16, 1652. His sons, Timothy and John, remained in Stratford, but Joseph settled in Killingworth in 1661. Samuel eventually settled in Simsbury, and Obadiah settled in East Guilford (now Madison.)

Little is known of William's true origins in England. Although he, his wife and son, and thirty-five others received a blanket certificate of character from the minister at St. Albans, this alone does not attest to his home as being in Hertfordshire. His trade was 'linen weaver,' and at the time of his departure this embryonic industry was centered in the towns of Belpre, Chesterfield, and Wirksworth in Derbyshire. The parish records of Derbyshire confirm that many Wilcoxsons lived in the surrouding villages. In the will of a 'William Wicoxson' of Wirksworth (dated 1626) behests are made to George, Anne, 'Mazie,' and William (descibed as a younger son, age twenty-five.) Peter Wilcoxson signed as a witness. As the younger son, William would not be entitled to receive any lands or property according to English Common Law. Therefore he would have been apprenticed to a trade (in this case linen-weaving.) Age, place, and trade provide strong evidence that this is the William who emigrated to America. [40]

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William Wilcoxson (1601-1652) was apparently born and raised in England and became a linen weaver in Wirksworth, Derbyshire, England. He married Margaret Birdseye (Birdseye or Beardsley, ancestry sought) in England in about 1632 and their first child was born in England in about 1633. On 05 April 1635 William Wilcoxson (age 34) and his wife Margaret (age 24) and their son John (age 2) sailed aboard "The Planter" from England and they arrived at Boston Harbor on 26 May 1635. They settled first at Concord, MA and William Wilcoxson was on the 07 December 1636 Freeman list there. Two more children were born to this family at Concord, MA. By 1639 William Wilcoxson and his family (wife and 3 children) moved to Pequonnocke (later Cupheag, later still Stratford, CT), CT and they received homelot #70 on Elm Street and a share in the Common Field. Six more children were born to this family at Stratford, CT. William Wilcoxson represented Stratford, CT as a Deputy at General Court at Hartford in 1647. Some sources suggest that William Wilcoxson and his family lived later at Hartford, CT and/or Windsor, CT, but his Stratford estate inventory indicates that they lived at Stratford, CT at the time of his death in 1652. William Wilcoxson's will was dated 29 May 1651 and his Stratofrd, CT estate inventory was dated 16 June 1652.

References

1. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Wilcockson-61 cites

2a. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/28453933/william_wilcoxson

2b. http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=28453933

2c. "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVVR-7BXG : 13 December 2015), William Wilcoxson, ; Burial, Stratford, Fairfield, Connecticut, United States of America, Old Congregational Burying Ground; citing record ID 28453933, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com. (No headstone showed. 1651, Stratford, Fairfield, Connecticut, Old Congregational Burying Ground)

Sources

3. Genealogical Dictionary by Savage, 1860

4. History and Genealogy of Old Fairfield by D. L. Jacobus

5. Wilcox/Wilcoxson Families of New England by M. S. Osborne, 1990

6. Descendants of William Wilsoxson by T. Wilcox, 1937 and 1963

7. Wilcox Family History by Ol Wilsox, 1911

8. Records of the Connecticut Line of the Hayden Family

9. Barbour Collection of Guilford, CT, Vol. A

10. New England Marriages Prior to 1700 by Torrey

11. History of Stratford, Connecticut, 1639-1939 / by Wm. Howard Wilcoxson.

12. Generation One = http://www.armidalesoftware.com/issue/full/Thaler_688_main.html

13. History of Stratford, Connecticut, 1639-1939 / by Wm. Howard Wilcoxson. http://archive.org/stream/descendantsofwil1893wilc/descendantsofwil...

14. Descendants of William Wilcoxson of Derbyshire, England and Stratford, Connecticut [database on-line]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Original data: Wilcox, Thomas.. Descendants of William Wilcoxson of Derbyshire, England and Stratford, Connecticut. Pasadena, Calif.: unknown, 1963.

15. Anderson, Robert Charles, (1995) "William Wilcockson," Featured Name. Great Migration 1634-1635, T-Y. NEHGS < AmericanAncestors.org > (Vol T-Y, Pages 396-401)

16. Wilcox, Jane, (not yet published, 2017 ?) From England to America: The Odyssey of the William and Margaret Wilcockson Family. The Forget-Me-Not Ancestry. < link >

17. Wilcox, Thomas, (1963) Descendants of William Wilcoxson of Derbyshire, England and Stratford, Connecticut. Pasadena, CA: T. Wilcox,< Archive.org > pp III=V discussion about William of Wirksworth) (Pages XIII-XV discussion of Margaret's maiden name).

18. Wilcox, Jane, "The Grand Wilcockson Tour to Derbyshire Day 4: Kirk Ireton, Margaret Harvie, Ilkeston, Rev. Adam Blakeman and Heage" The Forget-me-not Ancestry Link

19. Orcutt, Samuel, (1886) A History of the Old Town of Statford and the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut - Part 2. Fairfield County Historical Society, [Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor] Archive.org (Part 2. Page 1149)

20. Wilcox, Reynold Webb, (1893) Descendants of William Wilcoxson, Vincent Meigs, and Richard Webb. New York: T.A. Wright Archive.org (Pages 17).

21. McCracken, George E., (Jan 1983) "The Connecticut Willcocksons" The American Genealogist. AmericanAncestors.org (Vol. 59, No.1, Page 33) lists many sources for this family.

22. Hotten, John Camden, 1874 The original lists of persons of quality ... (Page 45) London: Hotten, Archive.org accessed 2 March 2016.

23. Jacobus, Donald Lines, MA (compiler, editor.) History and Genealogy of the Families of Old Fairfield. (Fairfield, Conn.: The Eunice Dennie Burr Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution, 1930.) Vol 1 p. 689

24. Orcutt, Samuel,(1886) A History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut, Part 1. [New Haven, CT: Press of Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor] Archive.org (Part 1, Page 106). See also:

25. Bradford, Mildred, Moses S. Curtis Descendants and Ancestors. (Baltimore, Md: Gateway Press, 2000)

26. Davis, Charles Henry Stanley, (1870) History of Wallingford, Connecticut from Its Settlement in 1670. Meriden, CT: The Author, Archive.org (Page 640).

27. Orcutt, Samuel, Rev. (1886) A History of the Old Town of Stratford and the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut, Part II Genealogies. Published by the Fairfield County Historical Society, Vol. 2, page 1346 (#1)

28. Ricker, Jacquelyn L., (2006) The Ricker Compilation of Vital Records of Early Connecticut. (Baltimore, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc.) Page 1387.

29. Savage, James, A Genealogical Dictionary of The First Settlers of New England, Before 1692, Vol 4. USGenNet (Volume #4, Wilbore - Wilkinson).

30. Wilcox, Owen (1911) Wilcox Family History: Being Some Account of the First Five Generations in Direct Line from William Wilcockson of Stratford, Connecticut, to Josiah Wilcox of Brecksville, Ohio. Archive.org (Reference page 3+).

31. Wilcox, Reynold Webb, (1893) Descendants of William Wilcoxson, Vincent Meigs, and Richard Webb. New York: T.A. Wright Archive.org (Pages 1-2).

32. The American Genealogist [origin] pgs 34- "TAG59

33. The Narragansett Historical Register (Narragansett Historical Pub. Co., Providence, 1889) Vol. 7, Page 285 User-contributed:

34. Nareen, et al, (22 Jul 2008) William Wilcoxson Find A Grave Memorial# 28453933, accessed 2 March 2016.

35. Thaler, David, (8 Aug. 2016) "Section ATB: Descendants of William Wilcoxson." Additional Sources for Disputed Origin:

36. Burge, Lynnette Jane Wilcox, editor, (Jan 2000) "The Descendants of William Wilcoxson, A Genealogical and Historical Outline." Archive.org, archived 1 Jul 2002 (Pages 1 & 2).

37. Wilcox, John, (25 Aug 2009) "William Wilcoxson and Anne Howdische." citing Thomas Wilcox, Descendants of William Wilcoxson of Derbyshire, England and Stratford Connecticut, Page V.

38. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/73472:3824?ssrc=p... U.S. New England Marriages Prior to 1700] (at Ancestry) gets the marriage year right, but the data originator was guilty of a generalization error for marriage.

39. Wilcox, Jane, "The Grand Wilcockson Tour to Derbyshire Day 4: Kirk Ireton, Margaret Harvie, Ilkeston, Rev. Adam Blakeman and Heage" The Forget-me-not Ancestry < link >

40. The History of Stratford (CT), The First Settlers. (p86): and The Complete Book of Emigrants, p 128.

41. http://www.4getmenotancestry.com/the-grand-wilcockson-tour-to-derby...

42. Orcutt's History of Stratford and Bridgeport, William came from England c 1636 on the "Planter", thence to Stratford 1640.