Elizabeth Polley

Elizabeth Winn

• Born 1628 in England
• Died 2 May 1695 in Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay
• Daughter of Edward Winn and Joanna (Unknown) Winn
• Sister of Ann (Winn) Cleveland, Joseph Winn and Increase Winn Sr
• Wife of George Polly — married 21 May 1649 in Woburn, Middlesex County, Massachusetts
• Mother of John Polley, Joseph Polly, George Polly, Elizabeth (Polly) Brown, Samuel Polly, Hannah Polly, Hannah Polly, Sarah (Polly) Goff, Samuel Polly and Edward Polly

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Biography

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Winn-225
Winn-225 created 21 Jun 2011 | Last modified 6 Apr 2022

Date of Birth

Elizabeth's date of birth is uncertain. Based on her date of marriage (1649), she was probably born sometime in 1624-1631, with about 1628 being a reasonable best-guess estimate.

Parentage

Elizabeth was the daughter of Edward Winn and his first wife, Joanna. Elizabeth's paternal parentage is established by Edward Winn's will, which includes a bequest to "the three youngest children of George Polly my son."[1] Elizabeth's maternal parentage is based on the fact that Joanna was Edward's first known wife and that she died in March 1649/50,[2] long after Elizabeth's estimated date of birth.

Place of Birth

Based on the fact that evidence indicates that her father, Edward Winn, emigrated to New England in 1640, Elizabeth was probably born in England (or perhaps Wales). However, since her father's residency prior to his emigration to New England has not been determined, a more specific place of birth for Elizabeth has also not been determined.

Emigration to New England; Settlement at Charlestown and Woburn

Elizabeth presumably emigrated to New England with her father in 1640 at the age of about 12. Her family initially settled in Charlestown, Massachusetts before moving to the newly founded town of Woburn, probably in 1641 or perhaps 1642.[3]

Marriage and Children

Elizabeth married George Polly in Woburn on May 21, 1649.[4]

Elizabeth and George had the following children, all born in Woburn:

1. John, b. December 16, 1650,[5] m. May 16, 1681 Mary Everett in Reading[6]
2. Joseph, b. December 25, 1652[5]
3. George, b. January 4, 1655/6,[5] m. October 24, 1677 Mary Knight in Woburn[4]
4. Elizabeth, b. April 14, 1657,[5] m. April 22, 1682 John Brown of Billerica in Woburn[4]
5. Samuel, b. January 24, 1660/1,[5] d. February 6, 1660/1[7]
6. Hannah, b. April 6, 1662,[5] d. April 6, 1662[7]
7. Hannah, b. June 28, 1663,[5] m. Octobger 18, 1682 John Baker in Woburn[4]
8. Sarah, b. say 1665 (based on date of marriage), m. September 29, 1686 Anthony Goff of Billerica in Woburn[4]
9. Samuel, b. say 1667, m. by early 1689 Priscilla _______ (based on birth of son Samuel in October 1689).[5]
10. Edward, b. say 1670, m. by 1695 Mary Merrow (based on birth of daughter Mary in March 1695/6).[8]

Residency at Woburn (and Cambridge?)

Records establish that Elizabeth and George were resident of residents of Woburn from the time of their marriage until their deaths, except perhaps for a brief period of residency in Cambridge around 1659.[9]

Legal Matters

Elizabeth had several brushes with the law in her late 20s to early 30s:

In 1656, Tthe Middlesex County Court ordered the constables of Woburne to direct Elizabeth, wife of George Polly, to appear at court for rescuing swine from pound, with Francis Whitmore's boy assisting her.[10]At a venire on November 20, 1656, Elizabeth and Francis Whitmore's boy were presented on those charges.[11]

At a Middlesex County Court held at Charlestowne on June 25, 1658, John Crownwill Scotchman and the wife of George Polly confessed that they were alone together at her house and that he kissed her once, ate some strawberries, and, being sick, lay down in the chamber for a while. They were sentenced to be severely whipt ten stripes a peece.[12] (John Crownwell died in 1662 near Chelmsford. He was referred to as "late trader with ye Indians"; he left "Seaborne Crownwell" as his relict.[4])

Husband's Death

Elizabeth's husband, George Polly, died in Woburn on December 22, 1683 or January 22, 1683/4.[9]

Death

Elizabeth died in Woburn on May 2, 1695.[7]

Sources

1. Middlesex County Probate Records, Vol. 6, pp. 111-112. FHL Film #007554520, images 71-72. Link to images at familysearch.org.
2. Woburn Records of Births, Deaths and Marriages, From 1640 to 1873. Part II - Deaths. 1890. p. 208. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
3. See the profile for Edward Winn.
4. Woburn Records of Births, Deaths and Marriages, From 1640 to 1873. Part III - Marriages. 1891. p. 213. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
5. Woburn Records of Births, Deaths and Marriages, From 1640 to 1873. Part I - Births. 1890. p. 198. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
6. Vital Records of Reading, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850. 1912. p. 420. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
7. Woburn Records of Births, Deaths and Marriages, From 1640 to 1873. Part II - Deaths. 1890. p. 149. Link to page at hathitrust.org.
8. See the profile for Edward Polly.
9. See the profile of husband George Polly.
10. Middlesex County Court Papers, Folio 14, Group 1. FHL Film #007831263, image 327. Link to image at familysearch.org.
11. Middlesex County, MA: Abstracts of Court Records, 1643-1674, Vol. 1, p. 62. Link to page at americanancestors.org.
12. Middlesex Court Records, 1649-1663, p. 132. FHL Film #007902601, image 76. Link to image at familysearch.org. See also:
13. Cleveland, Edmund Janes and Cleveland, Horace Gillette. The Genealogy of the Cleveland and Cleaveland Families. Vol. III. 1899. pp. 2421-2422. Link to pages at hathitrust.org.
14. Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/133556184/george-polly : accessed 17 January 2022), memorial page for George Polly (1625–22 Dec 1683), Find A Grave: Memorial #133556184, citing First Burial Ground, Woburn, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA ; Maintained by Cole Snyder (contributor 48398979) .
15. "George Polley," minerdescent.com.
16. "Polley," Dewayne E. Perry -- Ancestry of Dr. Clifford William Mell.