Capt. John Saunders, of Salisbury

Summary

“John Sanders of Salisbury” (c 1616 – 1674) came from Weeke, Downton, Wiltshire, England, in the ship "Confidence" in 1638 from Melchitt Burke, Wiltshire.[1,2] He married Hester Rolfe (c 1616 – 1663) whose family was from Melchitt [7] and had nine children in Salisbury and Newbury, Essex, Massachusetts between 1639 and 1654 all recorded in VR.[1,2,4,5] He returned to Weeke, Downton, Wiltshire, England where he died leaving a will in 1674. His parents are unknown. He and his wife were named in the will of his step-father.[2,3] Children born in Salisbury and Newbury:

1. Hester b. Sept. 5, 1639.[4]
2. John b. July 1, 1641; d. young.[4]
3. Ruth b. Dec. 16, 1642.[4]
4. John b. Dec. 10, 1644.[4]
5. Sarah b. Aug. 20, 1646.[5]
6. Mary b. June 12, 1649.[5]
7. Abigail b. Apr. 12, 1651.[5]
8. Joseph b. Aug. 28, 1653.[5]
9. Elizabeth b. Jan. 26, 1654.[5]

Warning

There are five different John Saunders / Sanders in New England during this period. This John Sanders was not the son of John SANDERS who married Alice (COLES). That was John Saunders of Salem who married Elizabeth Grafton. This John Sanders was not baptized in 1613. Cutter confused him with a different John Sanders.

Biography

John Saunders, who came from Weeke, Downton, Wiltshire, England, in the ship "Confidence" on 11 Apr 1638 with servants Roger Eastman, William Cottle and Robert Ring [1,2] from Melchitt Burke, Wiltshire[7] by way of Southampton. He married Hester Rolfe [1,2] whose family also came from Melchitt Burke.[7] He left nine children recorded in Salisbury and Newbury, Essex, Massachusetts.[1] John ROLFE (1589-1663/4) father of his wife was of "Melchitt or Melchet Parke"[7] which adjoined White Parish, Downton, and Landford, Wiltshire. England. Both John Saunders and his wife are named in his father-in-law’s will in 1663[1,10]:

• "2dly I give and bequeath my house and all my land I have in salsbery with all the priviledges and apurtenances be longing ther vnto in said salsbery unto my daughterr Hestur Sanders the wife of John Sanders during his life and thirtie pounds more and after his decease to Remain unto hir Children of hir body by Equall portions."[1,10]

From the Colonial Records of the Custom House of Southampton 1638, we read that:

• "John Rolle (Rolfe) aged 50, of Melchit Park, Wiltshire, together with his wife, Ann, and daughter, Hester, wife of John Sanders, took passage for the Colonies."[7]

This John Sanders was one of the original twelve grantees of the town of Salisbury, Massachusetts in September, 1638.[1,2] Together with eleven others (including Simon Bradstreet, Daniel Dennison, Christopher Bailey, Samuel Winsley and Samuel Dudley) were granted a plantation on the southerly side of Hampton, to be called "Merrimack" (afterwards changed to Salisbury). It was a royal grant and a royal subdivision for each of the proprietors, covering 75 miles, extending from the Atlantic Ocean to the Merrimack and Hampton Rivers. In 1640 John Sanders was appointed surveyor of the grant and received a second grant of land in the first division that same year. He was a freeman May 13, 1640 [2]. Salisbury and Hampton were joined to the jurisdiction of Ipswich--each of them to send a grand juryman once a year to Ipswich.

He had nine children total recorded in Salisbury and Newbury.[1] The vital records of Salisbury give the following births of the children of John and Hester (Rolfe) Sanders:[4]

1. Hester b. Sept. 5, 1639.[4]
2. John b. July 1, 1641; d. young.[4]
3. Ruth b. Dec. 16, 1642.[4]
4. John b. Dec. 10, 1644.[4]

He removed to Newbury in 1642. [2] The vital records of Newbury give the following births of the children of John and Hester (Rolfe) Sanders (Newbury was across the river northward from Salisbury):[5]

1. Sarah b. Aug. 20, 1646.[5]
2. Mary b. June 12, 1649.[5]
3. Abigail b. Apr. 12, 1651.[5]
4. Joseph b. Aug. 28, 1653.[5]
5. Elizabeth b. Jan. 26, 1654.[5]

His business enterprises extended through that part of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, where his vast properties were located. We find him administering to many wills and estates, settling town disputes in Hampton, Salisbury and Haverhill, and attending to his duties at the General Court.

After 1654 he returned to England and settled at Weeks, parish of Downton, Wiltshire, England where he owned an estate. [2] He appointed his brother-in-law, Richard Dole, of Newbury, as attorney in America, May 9. 1674. [2] In a letter he sent from Downton in 1674 to Richard Dole he authorized the latter to recover "lands in Salisbury received from their father Rolfe.”[3] He left a will in England where he died in 1674.

Biography and sources by Roland Henry Baker, III

Sources

• 1 “The old families of Salisbury and Amesbury, Massachusetts: with some related families of Newbury, Haverhill, Ipswich and Hampton” Vol 1 (1897) p Introduction, 116, 297, 300, 301 by Hoyt, David Webster. link
• 2 “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 4 by William Richard Cutter p 2039- 2040 (Note this are a lot of errors but it is worth a read). link
• 3 “The Grantees and Settlement of Hampton, N. H.” The Essex Institute (1917) By Victor Channing Sanborn p 20 – 21. link Another John Sanders came on the Confidence in 1638 from Landford in Wilts, 38 and settled in Newbury, soon removing to Salisbury. He married Hester, daughter of the first John Rolfe, returned to Newbury and sometime after 1654 went back to England. In 1674 his letter of attorney to Richard Dole authorized the latter to recover "lands in Salisbury received from their father Rolfe" At this time he was living in Weeke [Wick], in the parish of Downton. No record exists to show that this man had any connection with Hampton.
• 4 Vital records of Salisbury, Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1849 Topsfield historical society, (1915) Births p 213. link
• 5 Vital records of Newbury, Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1849 Essex Institute, (1911) Births p 459. link
• 6 New England, The Great Migration and The Great Migration Begins, 1620-1635 Vol 2, C-F, for John Saunders p 108
• 7 " The founders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony: a careful research of the earliest records of many of the foremost settlers of the New England colony” by Sarah Sprague Saunders Smith pages 42,54, and 55. link.
• 8 Massachusetts, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1790-1890, year 1650, place Salisbury, name John Sanders.
• 9 U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s, source code 6435.60, name John Saundrs
• 10 Estate of John Rolfe of Newbury. Essex Probate Docket # 24116
• Updated from Ancestry Genealogy by SmartCopy: Dec 28 2015, 15:14:21 UTC

See also

Lt John Sanders of Cape Porpoise, Maine

John Saunders of Salisbury

John Saunders of Weeks

John Saunders of Salem

John Saunders The famous Quaker

John Saunders of Weymouth