John Cable, passenger on the Arabella and founder of Springfield, CT

[Work in Progress. Hypothesis is that John Cable is the brother of Elizabeth Cable, wife of Jehu Burr. per History & Genealogy of Old Fairfield., Vol. 1 All three arrived on the Arabella and there are many links between John Cable and Jehu Burr. See below.] He is said to have come probably from [(document deleted) Essex, England].

John Cable, one of the first eight subscribers to establish a settlement in Springfield, did not remain here but a few years. In April, 1641, he sold his lot to the town and it was afterwards sold to Thomas Cooper. He had one child born here, and on leaving here went to Fairfield, Conn. His son born here was:—

John, b. January 12, 1640.

The Great Migration Begins
Sketches

JOHN CABLE

• ORIGIN: Unknown
• MIGRATION: 1630
• FIRST RESIDENCE: Roxbury
• REMOVES: Springfield 1636, Fairfield 1641
• OCCUPATION: Delegate, English Representative, First White man, Elder, [(document deleted) Man of the Law, as a Constable], Founding Father, Planter, First Builder, Sawyer, Landowner. (In his accounts as colony treasurer for 1632 and 1633, William Pynchon includes a payment to "John Cable for 500 four inch plank for fortification" [MHSC 2:8:232].) He not only signed his will, but he also signed an order to the first laws of the settlement regarding distribution of portions of land and property per magistrate, William Pynchon on May 16th, 1636 [(document deleted) See John Cable & William Pynchon, & Jehu Burr's signature here in source tab designating the first laws of the settlement]. Also, on the same page you will see his occupation as a planter and as a builder of the very first buildings of the plantation of Connecticut signing the first laws into effect on how land will be distributed.
• FREEMAN: Connecticut 10 October 1669 [CCCR 1:521].
• EDUCATION: Signed plantation order on May 16, 1636. Signed deed of 1641. Signed his will.
• OFFICES: Committee to set out the bounds of the plantation (Springfield), 3 January 1638/9 [SpTR 1:19]. Committee to lay out land in Springfield, 26 March 1640 [SpTR 1:25].
• ESTATE: On 2 April 1641 John Cable sold to the inhabitants of Springfield for £40 "all that his right in his lot, house & grounds broken up or unbroken up, also all his right in future dividends" [SpTR 1:3].
• In his will, dated 4 April 1682 and proved 21 September 1682, "John Cabel Sen[io]r" bequeathed to "my grandchild John Cabell my housing, homelot and all the rest of my lands" and a fowling piece, to "my grandchild John Knowles my featherbed, one rug, sheets, bolster and pillows," to "my loving wife Ann Cabell the rent or use of all my housing and lands and household goods during her natural life" (and she to be executrix), and to "my daughter Rebeca and my grandchild John Cabell all my movables after my wife's decease" (except those already given), and appointed "my loving kinsman Jehu Burr and John Burr my overseers"; witnessed by Ezbon Wakeman and John Banks. The inventory was taken 21 September 1682 and totalled £261 11s., of which £220 was real estate. Ann Cable refused the appointment as executrix, and "impleads to the Court her weakness and imbecility and her uncapableness to perform that trust," and requests that Mr. Jehu Burr and Mr. John Burr be appointed [Fairfield PR 3:81, Case #1523]. On 28 September 1682 Mr. Jehu Burr and Mr. John Burr, administrators on the estate of John Cable, deceased, and "Samuell Bets of Bruantford" prepared articles of agreement in which Samuel agreed that "he will take care of and maintain his dear mother Ann Cable" and in which all parties agreed as to how this would be done; the agreement was signed by mark by "Ann Cabels" [Fairfield PR Case #1524]. In her will, dated 6 February 1673 and proved 21 November 1683 (the year dates underlined in the original), Anne Betts ordered that "my son Samuell shall have my whole estate, he paying to the rest of my children five shillings per child, & to my daughter Mary my wearing clothes"; the inventory totalled £25 9s. 6d., of which £13 10s. was real estate; in the margin the testator was identified as "Anne Cable" [NHPR 2:111].
• BIRTH: By about 1615 based on estimated marriage date.
• DEATH: Fairfield between 4 April 1682 (date of will) and 21 September 1682 (probate of will).
• MARRIAGE: (1) By 1640 possibly Sarah _____ (in depositions relating to the witchcraft trial of Goody Knapp, Bethia Brundish, aged sixteen, deposed on 26 April 1654 about something she observed while in the company of Deborah Lockwood and Sarah Cable [NHCR 2:83]; as Deborah Lockwood was at that time seventeen it might be thought that Sarah Cable herself was about the same age; this record is, then, the only known record for the first wife of John Cable or for an otherwise unknown daughter). (2) After 31 August 1658 [TAG 12:101] Ann (_____) Betts, widow of Roger Betts. (This identification is based on the probate records cited above. The date of Ann's will leaves two possibilities: either she was still the widow of Roger Betts on 6 February 1673, and did not marry Cable until after that date; or the date of her will is in error and should be "6 February 1683" [i.e., 1682/3], in which case she chose to revert to her previous married name in making a will in which she only named her Betts children.)

CHILDREN:

• JOHN, b. Springfield 12 January 1640[/1] [Pynchon VR 40]; m. Elizabeth _____ [Spencer P. Mead, Abstract of Probate Records at Fairfield, County of Fairfield, and State of Connecticut, 1648-1750 (typescript, 1929), 1:35].
• REBECCA, b. say 1642; m. by about 1662 John Knowles [FOOF 1:369].
• ASSOCIATIONS: JOHN CABLE was related in some way to JEHU BURR. First, they were paired in all their migrations. Both first resided in Roxbury, and moved to Springfield in 1636, where both were among the four leading citizens. In contributions made on 13 January 1638 for building a house for Rev. George Moxon and for his maintenance, the largest donations on each occasion were made by William Pynchon, Henry Smith, Jehu Burr and John Cable [SpTR 1:15]. Pynchon and his son-in-law Smith remained in Springfield and were the most prominent citizens in the town for many years to come. Burr and Cable both departed Springfield in 1641 and participated in the founding of Fairfield in that year. Second, in his will John Cable appointed "my loving kinsman Jehu Burr and John Burr my overseers." The connection was probably through the first wife of Cable, or through Burr's wife. COMMENTS: On 22 March 1630/1 John Cable was one of three men ordered to be "whipped for stealing 3 pigs of Mr. Ralfe Glover's" [MBCR 1:85]. On the basis of this record Pope places Cable at Dorchester, but this must be based on the mistaken confusion of RALPH GLOVER of Charlestown with John Glover who was in Dorchester some years later. The three men charged with the theft all seem to be young single men, perhaps servants, and their residences are not certain. John Cable is placed provisionally in Roxbury because of his move to Springfield with William Pynchon in 1636. John Cable appeared as a defendant in lawsuits on 2 June 1640, 7 June 1649, 21 May 1650 and 20 May 1652 [CCCR 1:94, 190, 198, 208, 231].

Source

The first century of the history of Springfield: the official records from 1636 to 1736, with an historical review and biographical mention of the founders, Volume 2 (Google eBook). Springfield (Mass.), Henry Martyn Burt H.M. Burt, 1899.

• History & Genealogy of Old Fairfield., Vol. 1 (in source tab)