John Crosssman, of Providence

• Not the father of Robert Crossman, of Taunton or the husband of Isabell Tripp
• Evidence needed to support as son of Lawrence Crossman or as husband of Joanna Crossman

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Biography

“Came over from England in 1637 with his son. He was a widower by this time.”

Retrieved from https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Crossman-31 on 6 May 2023 and then edited.

John was a Friend (Quaker)

This is the profile for John Crossman, mariner, who appeared in the records of Providence, Rhode Island starting in 1657 and died in Newport, supposedly aged 100 years, in 1688.

Date of Birth

Based on the record of John's death, which states that he was aged 100 when he died, it is generally assumed that John was born about 1588.[1] However, since the recorded ages at death of the very elderly were often exaggerated at the time, it is probably safer to say that John was probably born sometime in 1588-1600.

Blasphemer of Boston?

John Crossman of Providence may have lived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony prior to removing to Providence. That possibility is based on the following record from the Second Sessions of the General Court of Elections, held at Boston, starting on October 14, 1651:

Whereas the Courte and jury did not agree in John Crossmans case, who is now in prison for blasphemy, and so it necessarily comes to this Court to be determined, itt is ordered, that that case be heard before the whole Courte on the morrow, by nine of the clock in the morning, being 28th of the 8 mo, 1651. Att the tjme appointed, the prisoner was brought before the whole Courte, the evidences against him was read, and itt was ordered, that John Crossman, for utterring blasphemy against God, as was prooved, shall be severely whipped, and branded on the forehead, with a hott iron, with the letter B, presently after the lecture in Boston, the 30th of this instant October, and be bannished out of this jurisdiccion for ever, from the 20th of November next, not to retourne at his perill.[6]

The above transcript is from Vol. IV - Part I of Records of the Governor and Company of Massachusetts Bay in New England. There is another record of the event in Vol. III of Records of the Governor and Company of Massachusetts Bay in New England that indicates the October 14 start date of the Court session but does not mention the October 28 date of John Crossman's hearing.[7] Some genealogists have suggested that the Vol. III entry indicates that John Crossman was first tried on October 14 and that the Vol. IV entry indicates that he was tried a second time on October 28. However, Vol. III is a copy of a different set of records than the remainder of the volumes and contains duplicate, but different versions of, records of many of the same events as appear in Vol. II and IV. It seem clear that the Vol. III and Vol. IV entries relating to John Crossman are just different records of the same event and that the October 14 date was the date the session of the Court started and the October 28 date the date John was actually sentenced.

Besides consistency in name, the primary facts suggesting that these records may relate to John Crosman of Rhode Island are (1) the fact Rhode Island records establish that John was a Quaker and (2) the fact that, in the mid-1600s in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and particularly under Governor John Endecott, the beliefs of Quakers were considered blasphemous and they were subject to severe punishment.[8] This suggests that John Crossman of Boston adhered to Quaker beliefs, was branded and banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1651 for them, and moved to Rhode Island, where Quakers were more welcome.[9]

It may be read in Joseph Besse's Sufferings and elsewhere that the first English Quaker missionaries, two women, did not arrive until 1656, however, there is evidence of Quakers in the colony prior to this date, such as the Phelps family near Salem where meetings were held.

Residency in Rhode Island

As shown by the records in the "Chronology of Records" below, this profile's John Crosman first appeared in Rhode Island records in 1657. If he was the same person as the John Crossman who was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony in late 1651, his whereabouts between the 1651 and 1657 are unknown. Based on the records, John appears to have continued living in Rhode Island from 1657 until his death.[10]

Several records state that John was a mariner.[10] However, if, as his death record suggests, he was born about 1588, his sailing days may have been over by the time he moved to Rhode Island (at about the age of 70).

In 1674, John served on a Jury of Trials and, in 1675, on a Grand Jury.[10]

John was almost certainly a Quaker, at least at the time of his death, as two records relating to him come from the records of the Society of Friends. A 1677 deed in which John sold his land in Providence in trust for the Quakers of Rhode Island for 40 shillings (probably an under-market price) also supported that assertion.[10]

Rhode Island records from 1657 to 1675 place John in Providence.[10] But sometime about 1677, John seems to have moved to Newport, as he is described in the 1677 deed as "of Newport."[10]

Disputed relationships

• The parentage and place of birth of John Crosman of Rhode Island has not been determined. Some online genealogy pages state that John was the son of a Lawrence Crossman of Somerset, England. The source for that claim may be the unsourced 1961 Genealogy of Some Crossman Families in Massachusetts, which speculated that the John Crossman who supposedly came to Taunton, Massachusetts in 1639, was perhaps from Somersetshire in England and a descendant of Lawrence Croseman, Gent.[4] As discussed above, however, there very probably was no John Crosman of Taunton until Robert Crosman's son John. No reliable evidence has been cited or found that supports the assertion that this profile's John Crossman was either the son of a Lawrence Croseman/Crossman or that he was from Somerset.
• Some online genealogies pages say that John was the John Crosman, son of John Crosman, who was baptized at St. Gregory by St. Paul, London, England on September 5, 1688.[5] No reliable evidence, however, connects that baptismal record to to this profile's John Crossman.
• Some online family trees and genealogy pages say that John married a woman named Isabel Moses. No reliable evidence, however, has been cited or found that supports that assertion. He certainly did not marry the same Isabell Tripp who married John Tripp as is sometimes said.
• Attached as husband of Joanna Crossman without supporting evidence
• Not “John Crossman of Taunton.” “Buell Burdette Bassette's 1926 One Bassett Family in America[1] and many online family trees and genealogy pages say that John lived in Taunton probably before going to Boston and certainly before moving to Providence. As discussed in the profile for Robert Crossman of Taunton, however, and as outlined in the analysis below, it is very likely that there was no John Crossman living in Taunton prior to Robert Crossman's son”
• The fact that records show that John Crosman of Providence gifted Providence property to the Quakers and that he was cared for toward his death by a Mr. Johnson, who was compensated out of his estate,[10] suggest that John Crosman of Providence may have been childless.

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References

• New York Genealogical and Biographical Record 22:77 link
• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Crossman-803
• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Crossman-31
• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Crossman-81
• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Moses-104