John Legg

JOHN1 LEGG

• was born 1609 in London, England1, and died January 05, 1673/74 in Marblehead, Essex Co., Massachusetts.He married ELIZABETH Abt. 1639 in Salem, Essex Co., Massachusetts2.She was born 1608 in England, and died 1698 in Marblehead, Essex Co., Massachusetts. His estate was divided between his three sons. There is no evidence he had daughters. His parents are unknown. The maiden name of his wife is unknown.

Children of JOHN LEGG and ELIZABETH (Unknown)

1. Samuel, b abt 1642; m b 1662 Deliverance _______; by 1690 was called Capt. Samuel Legg, mariner, of Boston.[2]
2. John, b 1645; d Marblehead 8 Oct 1718; m by 1668 Elizabeth Peach; by 1690 was called merchant of Marblehead.[3]
3. Daniel, b by 1647; may have settled in Nevis after father's death. Was assumed deceased and unmarried by 1690 when his two brothers divided up land their father had left to them.[4]

There is no evidence that he had any daughters including:

• Ann, b. Abt. 1648, Marblehead, Essex Co., Massachusetts; d. WFT Est. 1649-1742; m. ? JONES; d. Unknown. Notes for ANN MARY LEGG: Have two different names for daughter of john one is Ann and the other is Mary.Not sure if they are the same or different people.
• Mary, married 1) Edward Brattle 2) Nathaniel Norden 3) Edmund Goffe.

Biography

The earliest record of the Legg family is that of John Legg, an indentured servant of Mr. John Humphrey.John Legg was born in 1609 and came to America with the Winthrop Fleet in 1631 and landed in Salem, Mass.On the 3rd of May of that year, (John was then about 21 years old) he was severely whipped because he had struck a Richard Wright who had corrected him for idleness in his master's work.On becoming a free man on May 6th, 1635, he moved to Marblehead, Mass. and became one of the founders of that city.He was a shipmaker and a merchant.John eventually owned considerable property on Marblehead's Great Neck.In 1659 he was one of five men to work on "seating" the meeting house.He probable purchased "Legg's Hill" as an investment.On the Indian campsite behind the hill, a number of artifacts have been found.Two centuries later, the "Legg's Hill" reservoir and standpipe, which was for the exclusive use of Marblehead, still exist.

On 3 May 1631 it is "ordered, that John Legge, servant to Mr. Humfry, shall be severely whipped this day at Boston, and after-wards so soon as conveniently may be, at Salem, for striking Richard Wright, when he came to give him correction for idleness in his master's work" [Massachusetts Bay Colony Records 1:86]. He was admitted to the Church in Lynn 6 May 1635 and was a Freeman the same day. His wife Elizabeth was taken to Court on 6 Jul 1647 for defaming Moses Maverick [EQC 1:115]. On 25 Nov 1651 his wife was taken to court for "scandalous falling out on the Lord's Day [EQC 1:244]. Elizabeth was sentenced to sit in stock on 28 Nov 1656 for belying the wife of Joh. Cleements for calling none to the birth or death of her child and again two days later for speaking scornfully of Mr. Walton saying that a college boy could preach better than he and followed up this rebuke stating that his followers would go to hell and calling them a company of fools [EQC 2:10, 1:378, 2:190, 2:221].

Sources

1. Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration Begins..., Boston, MA: NEHGS 1995, pp 1166-1168 AmericanAncestors link, Ancestry.com link
2. "Parts of Salem and Marblehead in 1700," in Essex Antiquarian, 13(1909):137
3. Essex Antiquarian, 3:126, 8:87, 171
4. Pearly's History of Salem, 1:205
5. Essex Institute Historical Collections 47:93;
6. Putnam's Mag. 6:181
7. Immigration: England to Massachusetts on 'Winthorp' - May 3 1631 - Massachusetts Colony, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States
8. Reference: FamilySearch Family Tree - SmartCopy: Feb 13 2017, 0:59:06 UTC
9. Reference: WikiTree Genealogy - SmartCopy: Feb 13 2017, 1:01:10 UTC