Edward Jessup, of West Farms

Edward Jessup is most likely the second of three children of John and Joanna Jessup.[3][1] As such, he would have arrived in Massachusetts with his parents in 1637.[4][3][5]. By 1649 he was a citizen of Stamford, Connecticut, and owned lands in that town. Stamford was then under the jurisdiction of the New Haven colony. He may still earlier have been in Fairfield, twenty-five miles nearer New Haven, the capital of the colony, having landed estate there which he sold in 1653. [6]

Along with John Richardson, Edward Jessup was granted the patent for West Farms in the county of Westchester, New York on April 25, 1666. [7]

The will of Edward Jessop was dated 6 August 1666 and probated 14 November 1666.[8][9] It mentions:

• daughters Elizabeth Hunt and
• Hannah Jessop (under 18) and
• son Edward Jessop
• grandchild Mary Hunt
• couzen Johannah Burroughs [presumably his niece]
• Derrick Gasson or Garrison [given a cow, relationship unknown]
• wife Elizabeth, Executrix
• Additional named "overseers" were Mr. Richard Cornhill, justice of the peace, Mrs. Sarah Bridges, brother-in-law John Burroughs, and Ralph Hunt.

John Burroughs definitely married twice, as only one of the children in his will was mentioned by his wife in her will of the following year. John's other children were then by at least one earlier wife. One of his children by this wife was Joanna, and this would be a natural choice if John's first wife was a sister of Edward, being named then for her maternal grandmother.

Links

• Needham Genealogy

Sources

• [3901] "Abstract of Wills on File in the Surrogates Office, City of New York, NY" (Volume I. 1665-1707) Vol. 1, Liber 1-2, p. 4, in: Cornell Library New York State Historical Collection http://historical.library.cornell.edu:80/Dienst/UI/1.0/Display/cul.... (Will of Edward Jessup, dated 06 Aug 1666 and proved 14 Nov 1666. The will names daughter Elizabeth Hunt and minor daughter Hannah Jessup, son Edward and widow Elizabeth.) (see document attached)
• Jesup, Henry G. Edward Jessup of West Farms, Westchester Co., New York, and His Descendants: With an Introduction and an Appendix, the Latter Containing Records of Other American Families of the Name with Some Additional Memoranda. Cambridge: Privately printed for the author by John Wilson, 1887.

  ---

GEDCOM Note

Puritan Great Migration

Biography

New Netherland Settler Sticker

Edward Jessup, the emigrant ancestor of the family was an Englishman who came to New England prior to 1649, at which time he was already a citizen of Stamford," Connecticut, and owned lands in that town. Stamford was then under the jurisdiction of the New Haven colony. He may still earlier have been in Fairfield, twenty-five miles nearer New Haven,the capital of the colony, having landed estate there which he sold in 1653. <ref>Edward Jessup of West Farms page 41

Along with John Richardson, Edward Jessup was granted the patent for West Farms in the county of Westchester, New York on April 25, 1666. link
The will of Edward Jessop was dated 6 August 1666 and probated 14 November 1666.[Collections NY Gen. & Biog. Soc.]]: Vol. 25, Page 4 Page 62 It mentions:

• daughters Elizabeth Hunt and Hannah Jessop (under 18) and son Edward Jess op
• grandchild Mary Hunt
• couzen Johannah Burroughs [presumably his niece]
• Derrick Gasson or Garrison [given a cow, relationship unknown]
• wife Elizabeth, Executrix Additional named "overseers" were Mr. Richard Cornhill, justice of thepeace, Mrs. Sarah Bridges, brother-in-law John Burroughs, and Ralph Hunt.

Death

: 1666-08-06 West Farms, Part Bronx, New York, USA

Burial

: 1666 Hunt's Point, Westchester Co., NY

Research Notes

Disupted identity of Edward's wife

Frost states that Edward married Elizabeth Burroughs<ref>Frost, Page 109</ref> and indicates this assumption is based just on the fact that Edward called John Burroughs "brother-in-law" in his will. But it is justas reasonable to assume this means John married a sister of Edward. And indeed that is the theory more supported by the evidence. John Burroughs definitely married multiple times, as only one of the childrenin his will was mentioned by his wife in her will of the following year. John's other children were then by at least one earlier wife. One of his children by this wife was Joanna, and this would be a naturalchoice of John's first wife was a sister of Edward, being named then for her maternal grandmother.

Sources

• Pelletreau, William S. Abstracts of Wills on File in the Surrogate's Office, City of New York. New York: [Printed for the Society],1893. p. 4.
• NJGS. "J." njgsbc.org. Accessed 13 Jun 2016. http://njgsbc.org/files/BCFamilies/BCFam-J.pdf PDF. Update 17 Feb 2019 -- the linkis broken and the NJGSBC website says "the online PDF files have been disconnectedwhile we review and amend our posting policy".
• Frost, Josephine C. Ancestors of Jerry Crary and his wife Laura Antoinette Dunham of Warren, Pennsylvania, Printed under the directionof Frederick H. Hitchcock by Braunworth & Co. Inc., New York, 1924.
• Jesup, Henry Griswold. Edward Jessup of West Farms, Westchester Co., New York, and his descendants (published by the author, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1887)<https://archive.org/stream/edwardjessupofwe00jesu/edwardjessupofwe0... />
• Torry, Clarence A. New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2004.
• Collections of the New-York Genealogical and Biographical Society (New York, 1892)
• http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=carver29&...
• Title: Ancestry Family Trees Publication: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Text:

  ---

GEDCOM Note

From Edward Jessup and his Descendants by Rev. Henry Griswold Jessup, Pub. 1887 Edward Jessup the emigrant ancestor of the family whose history is given, was an Englishman who came to New England prior to 1649, at which time he was already a citizen of Stamford, CT, and owned lands in that town. Stamford was then under the jurisdiction of the New Haven colony. He may still earlier have been in Fairfield, twenty-five miles nearer New Haven, the capital of the colony, having landed estate there on "Sascoe neck," which he sold in 1653 to Thomas Barlowe of Fairfield. The Town of Fairfield (Un-quo-wa) was settled in 1639 by Lieutenant-Governor Roger Ludlow, who removed there from Windsor with eight or ten families, where they were joined by others, from Watertown and Concord, Mass. Stamford (Rippowam) was settled three years later (1641) by a colony from Wethersfield. One of these settlers was "John Jessop," who previously to December 5, 1637 had been in the vicinity of Boston, Mass. He finally established himself in Southampton, New York, about 1653, and his descendants are numerous and widely distributed. Whether any ties of kindred existed between the above John and Edward is not known. Their common interests and residence inStamford, and the family name they shared, suggest the probability at least of a common ancestry, and such is the received tradition. The associations and sympathies of both were strongly with New England, and they may appropriately be classed among her pioneer settlers. The homes which they finally made for themselves, the one on the farther side of Long Island, and the other in Westchester County, New York, were still in territory over which jurisdiction was claimed by Connecticut, and at one time they both held official positions in connection with this colony. It was only as New York also became an English colony that their allegiance was compelled in another direction. Long continued and persevering efforts to ascertain the English ancestry of Edward Jessup have not as yet met with success. We must at present be content with the opinion that our common ancestor was "from the North of England." Family traditions sometimes refer to Wales, but more commonly to Yorkshire, especially to Sheffield and its immediate neighborhood, where many of the name in the United States who have more recently emigrated are known to have originated. That many of the first settlers of Stamford and on Long Island were from Yorkshire or bore Yorkshire names favors this supposition, as also the fact that the judicial districts on Long Island were names from those in Yorkshire. The one in which Jessup himself lived, and which he aided to establish, included, besides Hempstead and Oyster Bay, also the town of Westchester, where he was then living, and was officially known as the North Riding of Yorkshire. Moreover, as late as 1682, his son then in Connecticut addressed a letter to "Westchester, New Yorkshire." Edward Jessup did not long remain in Stamford,--not long enough, indeed, to leave much of any record behind him. When, in 1652, permission was obtained of Governor Peter Stuyvesant of the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam to establish an English settlement at the west end of Long Island, Jessup joined the party, and was one of the pioneers of Middleborough. These settlers purchased their lands from the Indian proprietors in 1656, paying at the rate of a shilling an acre, and the original list of fifty-five names with the amount paid by each, varying from two shillings to four pounds sterling, gives a good idea of the character and quality of the emigrants. Edward Jessup and Robert Coe, also a Stamford man, are the only two who paid the larger sum. Jessup also purchased real estate of Jonas Halstead (a house and land) in Jamaica, March 1, 1661, which was sold February 15, 1691, by his son Edward, then of Fairfield, Conn., to John Bowne of Flushing, a Quaker. The settlers of Middleborough were allowed the privilege of nominating to the Dutch Governor and Council six citizens for magistrates, three of whom should be duly appointed. Jessup's name is in the list first sent in (1652), though he was not appointed that year. He served, however, in 1659, 1660, 1661, and 1662, and there are many entries in the records of the town court apparently in his hand-writing, the old English script so commonly found in early New England records. Soon after the settlement of the town, the jealousy and enmity existing between the Dutch and the colonies of Connecticut and New Haven threatened to break out into open hostilities. Both parties claimed jurisdiction over Long Island, a claim the Dutch were powerless to enforce, except in that portion of the island immediately adjoining New Amsterdam, and even there the English settlers yielded only an enforced submission. The governor's attempt to interfere with their religious freedom by his efforts to suppress what he called "unlawful conventicles," made them still more rebellious. The report had been industriously circulated that should there be a resort to arms, the Indians had been hired to exterminate the English. In this emergency Middleborough and its neighbors, greatly alarmed, sought advice and assistance from New England, and appointed Robert Coe and Edward Jessup, with two from Hempstead, to proceed to Boston and present their case to the Commissioners of the New England colonies. No result apprears to have been reached, but more pacific measures prevailed, as Massachusetts was opposed to war. The fears of the settlers were gradually allayed, and amicable relations restored between them and the Dutch authorities. It was in this same year (1653) that Jessup disposed of his property in Fairfied, Conn., as referred to already; and it is a fair conjecture that it was done at the time of his voyage to Boston. He and his party would naturally stop in Connecticut, on the way, for consultation with those whose interests and sympathies were so closely allied with their own. In maintaining friendly relations with the Indians, the English were commonly more successful than the Dutch; but on one occasion, at least, Jessup and two of his neighbors incurred their displeasure,--under the following circumstances: On the 5th of September, 1655, Governor Stuyvesant, with seven vessels and some six hundred or seven hundred men, left home on an expedition against the Swedish settlements in Jersey, to punish them for crowding upon what he judged his territorial rights. The savages, never very fond of the Dutch, took advantage of the absence of most of the garrison, and landing at Manhattan Island on the 15th of September following, with sixty-four canoes and five hundred to eight hundred warriors (some say two-thousand), began to plunder and threaten the town. Edward Jessup with two of his neighbors, Henry Newton and Thomas Newton, were present on the night of the attack and aided in the defence. It is very possible that they knew of the proposed attack and gave warning. The Indians, at any rate, were enraged at these three men for defeating their project, and threatened vengeance and demanded their scalps. This Indian threat was not executed. Amid these tempestuous times, it is very evident that Jessup was no mere spectator; and it is equally true that he was prompt in looking after his own business interests. His petition for permission to erect a grist-mill on Wassel's Creek, although Governor Stuyvesant did not see fit to grant it, is a model of its kind. It is found on the pages of the Newtown records, and the original is on file in Albany. Although a magistrate, the town records show that Edward Jessup was more than once himself in court, sometimes as plaintiff, sometimes as defendant; but the chirography is often so difficult to decipher taht the merits of these various cases cannot certainly be determined. The cases of "Hony Sisirus Harney (?) vs. Edward Jesupe," February 2, 1660, and that of Edward Jessup vs. John Larison (Larwrence?) may safely be left to some future antiquarian. His removal from Stamford, moreover, had entailed upon him vexatious delays in reclaiming property left behind in that town, and obliged him to appeal to the colonial court at New Haven. The case of Edward Jessup vs. Richard Crabb was tried March 25. 1657, when Jessup declared that Crabb had taken up a mare belonging to him, and which had borne his mark or brand for two or three years; that he had induced Abraham Frost to change the said mark or brand promising him half the value of the animal. The record goes on to say: "But more fully to clear the business, Edward Jessup brought Joseph Mead of Stamford, who was his agent, employed by him, and did mark his mare for him, as his witness, who did now in open court affirm upon oath that when Edward Jessup and his mother, widow Whitmore, went from Stamford to live elsewhere, they left two mares at Stamford, and desired him to take care of them," and added that the mare in question belonged to Jessup. A special interest is associated with this record,--not from the suit, but because of the reference in the record to the "widow Whitmore," as the "mother" of Edward Jessup. The only person of this name known at this time to the Stamford records was the widow of John Whimore, one of the origianl settlers from Wethersfield, who in 1648 was murdered by the indians. This John Whimore was a prominent man, having in 1642 represented the new settlement in the New Haven Court, and his four children are thought to have been born in England. Whether his widow was the mother or mother-in-law of Jessup it seems idle to conjecture. And this is all the more unfortunate as we have here, and in the reference he makes in his will to John Burroughs of Middleborough as his "belove brother-in-law," the only clues to his antecendent history or connections, and these have thus far failed us. Soon after the restoration of Charles II, to the English throne, Connecticut obtained, in 1662, a charter which confirmed the colony in possession of its scknowledged territory, including the "islands adjacent." The latter phrase was interpreted to mean Long Island; and the English settlements there were speedily informed that they were "annexed to the other side of the Sound." Nothing could have been more in accordance with their wishes. James Christie of Middleborough was at once sent to Hartford with letters of inquiry, and he was desired on his return to visit the neighboring towns and ascertain their readiness to transfer their allegiance. Governor Stuyvesant had gone to Boston to attempt some settlement of the controversy between himself and his neighbors; but the Dutch sheriff, considering Christie's movements treasonable, promply arrested him at Gravesend, and he was soon within the walls of Fort Amsterdam. John Coe and Edward Jessup, with others of the town officials, immediately corssed at night to Westchester and brought back with them Capt. Richard Panton, a commissioned officer of Connecticut with a company of men. (This Captain Panton had already, in 1656, been imprisoned by the Dutch for treasonable conduct in Westchester.) These, the next day with a large company of citizens went to Gravesend with a view to the rescue of Christie. Finding him beyond their reach, they thought to seize the sheriff himself, but he had already escaped, and as the story goes, the crowd dispersed after having treated themselves to the brandy found in the sheriff's cellar. A demand was sent by the town for Christie's release, which elicited sonly some good advice in reference to keeping the peace. Christie was eventually released under bonds. The excitement soon culminated in a formal request from the English settlements to be received under the jurisdiction of Connecticut, only too readily granted, and followed by the deposition of the old magistrates and the appointment of others who took the oath of allegiance to Charles II, and to Connecticut. So great was this outburst of loyalty to the new king that Middleborough discarded its name and assumed the name of Hastings, which in turn was replaced three years after by the present name of Newtown. So speedy a revolution, however, settled nothing. Connicticut and the Dutch governor agreed to a truce until the dispute about Long Island should be determined by the English Crown and the Government of the Netherlands. This left the settlers much to themselves, with some doubt as to their fate, but none as to their wishes. Meanwhile Connecticut treated them as under its jurisdiction, appointed their magistrates, and welcomed such representatives as they chose to send to the General Court at Hartford. The conquest of New Netherlands by the English in 1664, and the granting to the Duke of York, the king's brother, of a charter for a new province, which should include Long Island, relieved the inhabitants from the domination of the Dutch, and, what was much less to their mind, cut them loose from Connecticut. It was during this unsettled condition of things, and just before peace with Holland was declared, that Edward Jessup removed from Hastings to Westchester County on the opposite shore of the Sound. The records determine the date very nearly, as Jessup was a magistrate in Hastings in 1662, while the following year (1663) he was acting in a similar capacity in the town of Westchester under appointment from Connecticut. The utter disregard of all attention to the orthography of proper names is amusingly shown in the record of the appointment: "8 Oct., 1663. The Court appoyntes Mr. Edward Gishop a Commissioner for the towne of West Chester, and he is invested with magistratical power in that plantation untill the Court in May. Sworn in Court." He was therefore in Hartford at the time. At the same time two of his townsmen "were accepted to be made free {freemen or voters} according to order of Courte." These were Thomas Hunt, whose son Thomas Hunt, Junior, was then or soon after Jessup's son-in-law, and John Quinby (or Quimby), who with Jessup represented their town in an assembly convened by Governor Nicolls at Hempstead in 1665. "Mr. Jessop" was a second time appointed magistrate "for Westchester" by Connecticut in 1664, and "the Court orders that those propounded for freemen in Westchester shall have the oath administered by Mr. Jessop." Edward Jessup's new enterprise in Westchester was undertaken conjointly with John Richardson. They purchased of the Indian proprietors a tract of land subsequently called West Farms. The conflict of jurisdiction that had existed for so many years made it necessary that means should be taken to bring all portions of the colony under a uniform system of government and methods of legal procedure. Governor Nicolls for this purpose summoned a convention of the towns, to be held at Hempstead, February 28, 1665. "A code of laws, previously framed and agreeing with those then in practice in New England, save that they were less severe in matters of conscience and religion, were with sundry ammendments passed, and promulgated, and distinguished as the 'Duke's Laws.' The province was erected into a shire, called after that in England, Yorkshire, which was subdivided into districts termed respectively the East,North, and West Ridings." Westchester was included in the North Riding, and her representatives in this the first deliverative assembly ever held in the colony, as already intimated, were Edward Jessup and John Quimby, both at the time freemen of Connecticut. Jessup and Richardson, now that the political condition of the country was settled, lost no time in securing a royal patent for their new possessions, cinfirming them in their common claim. Although joint occupants, each obtained a distinct patent for his moiety. The patent issued to Richardson may be found in Bolton's "History of Westchester County," that obtained by Jessup is recorded in the "Book of Patents" at Albany. Hardly, however, had he begun to get well settled in his new home than his enterprising career was terminated by death. His family was in consequence divided, and the future home of his descendants of the name transferred to the ancient town of Fairfield, CT, where, it is not at all improbable, he himself originally located. Too little is known of him to judge fully of his character; but what is recorded of him is to his credit, and shows him to have been a man well able to maintain his ground at a time when men were judged as men, and very little by their antecedents or accidental surroundings. He had the restless energy of many of the early emigrants who left the mother country because weary of the iron restraints there put upon life in every form,--social, political, and religious. Had he lived, it is altogether probable that, like his co-patentee Richardson, he had made West Farms his permanent home. He had a delightful location on the shore of Long Island Sound, near its western outlet, known as the East River,--a cost line of unsurpassed beauty, with abundant meadow and pasture and tillable land, and a limitless range to the northward for his cattle. All this meant present independence and ultimate weath. Edward Jessup died in the autumn of 1666, between August 6th, the date of his will, and November 14th, the date when probated. He was buried, doubtless, in the ancient cemetery at Hunt's Point, but no gravestones mark the place either of his own burial or that of his married daughter, Elizabeth Hunt. His will in now on record in the Surrogate's Office in New York City and is one of the earliest recorded in English. The maiden name of Elizabeth Jessup is as yet a matter of mere conjuecture. Her husband's confidence in her was such that he puts all his estate into her hands, counselling her to bring up his two minor children in the fear of God, and giving her as "overseers" {advisors} four of his most trustworthy friends. It is not impossible that Edward Jessup may have been twice married. Without attempting to decide the question, it may be remarked that when "Jessup and his mother, the Widow Whitmore," were spoken of on a preceding page as having left Stamford for a residence elsewhere, these two appear to have constituted the entire adult portion of the family. This was in 1653. That he had already been married is quite certain, as only thirteen years after he mentions in his will a married daughter and a grandchild. His two remaining children were at this time quite young,--the younger not far from three years of age. It is not a violent conjuecture, therefore, that if the "Widow Whitmore" was not after all his own mother, she was the grandmother of his daughter Elizabeth, and would naturally go with them in their removal. No further record of her has been found. In 1668, Elizabeth Jessup-, the widow of Edward Jessup, married Robert Beacham (Beauchamp} of what then was called "Bankside," in Fairfield, CT (now Green's Farms, in the town of Westport). Thither she removed with her two younger children, having disposed of the most of her property in both WEst Farms and Newtown. The records of Fairfield make frequent mention of Beacham's name, but he appears not to have been made a freeman until 1664, at the same time with Joseph Lockwood, then or afterwards his son-in-law. The new home he made for Elizabeth Jessup and her children appears in every way to have been a pleasant one. His step-son Edward Jessup, when of age, makes several purchases of real estate from him, and he gives him before his death property which he still further secures to him by direct bequest.