John Thurber

Did not marry Priscilla Alden

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Thurber-82

John Thurber (abt. 1626 - abt. 1706)

John Thurber

Born about 1626 in England [uncertain]

Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]

[sibling%28s%29 unknown]

Husband of Priscilla (Allen) Thurber — married about 1646 [location unknown]

Father of John Thurber, Mary (Thurber) Bullock, Edward Thurber, Thomas Thurber, Elizabeth (Thurber) Wheaton, James Thurber and Charity (Thurber) Millard

Died about 1706 in Swansea, Bristol, Massachusetts Bay

Profile last modified 21 Nov 2019 | Created 12 Oct 2011

This page has been accessed 2,547 times.

1.1 Disputed Origin and Immigration

Biography

Disputed Origin and Immigration

John's parentage and origins should be considered unknown unless and until new evidence is brought forward.

Many sources state that John and Priscilla came from either "Stanton" or Market Stainton in Lincolnshire, England -- often cited as family lore or even from family bible records.[1] At least one researcher, a Mr. Harland of Lincolnshire, searched the Parish records near Market Stainton for Thurber and variants and turned up no matches and only a handful of records with similar names (e.g. one John Turber).[2] On the other hand, no primary sources have ever been furnished that provably document the family of John and Priscilla.

Spouse and Children

John Thurber married Priscilla _____ probably in 1648 or 1649 in England (see research note below).

Children:[3]

i. John Thurber, born Abt. 1649 in England; died 24 November 1717; married Mary Tucker 1 September 1671 in St Dunstan, Stepney, London, England; born Abt. 1644; died 25 March 1718.
ii. Mary Thurber, born Abt. 1652 iii. Edward Thurber, born Abt. 1654. v. Thomas Thurber, born Abt. 1656. v. Elizabeth Thurber, born Abt. 1658. vi. James Thurber, b. 26 Aug 1660, Eng. died 26 March 1736, Rehoboth, MA; m. Elizabeth Bliss 25 June 1684, Rehoboth, MA. vii. Charity Thurber, born Abt. 1663. One or two additional children are included in many sources, although they likely did not exist. We include them so that their unlikely existence is explicitly addressed.

Posited children who likely did not exist

Abigail, first born -- no primary sources even hint at her existence; see discussion on her profile David -- likely based on an entry in the compiled Rehoboth vital records for Mercy Thurber, wife of David on 3 June 1725.[4] In March, 2000 Florence Gargaro contacted the town clerk at Rehoboth and received confirmation that the original name has the name THURSTAN, not THURBER.[5] Death and Probate

John passed away probably at Swansea in 1706. He left a will dated 21 March 1704[6], which may never have been proved -- a memorandum on the reverse side, written by Nathal Byfield, says that the lack in the will of a mention of grandson John nor of his wife Priscilla, and also the lack of direction given to the executor, should be sufficient reason to nullify the will.[7][8] Priscilla signed an inventory of John's estate dated 3 July 1706.

The will of John Thurber of Swansea is dated 29 March 1703/4. Thurber provided an incomplete transcription that overlooks the fact that John requested to be buried near his deceased sons. Notably, the second item of the will appears to say

I give my body to the dust from whence it came to buried at the Easternmost place of the buriall place on new mido [meadow] necke as near as [conveniently?] it may be to my two sons Thomas and Edward The will mentions:

sons Thomas (deceased) and Edward (deceased) son James (given his carpenter's tools) grandson John Thurber (given five pon) John Wheaton. He wills that "fifteen pond John Wheaton is to paid after my decease the first five pounds to James the second to Charitie the third to John my son for him to give to each of my grandchildren one shilling & the rest to himself". Executors were son James Thurber and also Robert Millard.

The last entry of the will presumably is directing that John Wheaton is to be a trustee after his decease in charge of making sure that the money is distributed as directed.

We see that of John's seven children, John, Edward, Thomas, James, and Charity were mentioned. Wife Priscilla and daughters Mary and Elizabeth were omitted. Mary had passed away over 30 years prior. Elizabeth's husband John Wheaton is mentioned, and presumably needs no share because she is provided for by her husband. But it is unusual that Priscilla is not named -- she was still living -- and this fact induced Nathaniel Byfield, Judge of the Probate Court, to state that the will should be nullified.

Life narrative

John Thurber and John Thurber (assumed to be John and son Capt. John) are listed as signers to be inhabitants of the Town of Swanzey. According to History of Swansea pages taken from UMASS interactive course www.gargaro.com/thurber/swansea.html], New Swansea's grant for township was petitioned at the court of New Plymouth in 1667. The agreement was made between the Church of Christ, meeting at Swanzey, and Capt. Thomas WIllet and associates. It was dated 22 Feb. 1668/9 [source: Early Rehoboth, Vol. I, by Richard L Bowen, p. 36]

Research Notes

Records name both "John Thurber Jr." and "John Thurber Sr." Presumably these usually refer to John and his son.

Nathal Byfield's memorandum on the back of John's will explaining why the will should be nullified says Priscilla was married to John for more than 57 years and is dated 3 July 1706. His will was made out 21 March 1703/4. This would mean they were probably married 1648 or 1649.[8]

Very few records exist from early seventeenth century Lincolnshire with the name "Thurber" or a close variant.[9] There are some early New England records referring to "John Thurburrough", listed as surveyor of highways in Dartmouth in 1674, surveyor of highways at Swansea in 1675, and constable at Swansea in 1677.[10] Several researchers have suggested that this is actually John Thurber.

Florence Gargaro has hypothesized that these three records are not merely a case of misspelling "Thurber". She notes that there is an English surname "Thirdburough" with spelling variants including Thurburow, Thurborough, Thurborrow, Thurdborough, etc. This surname is far more common in Leicester than anywhere else in England. She includes a comment from an English researcher (details unknown): "The difficulty is that there is nowhere in Lincolnshire with the name Stanton. There is, however, a village of that name in Leicestershire, which is an adjacent county to Lincolnshire." He goes on: "English pronunciation of this name [Thurburrow] puts less stress on the latter syllables than you might in America. The English pronunciation is something like ‘Thurbruh,’ which is quite a small step from Thurber."[11]

A John Thurber may have been in Salem, Mass. in 1643.[12] It is unknown if this is John Thurber or a relative, but his name does not appear again in New England records until 1669 as a signer to be an inhabitant of Swansea.

This profile used to have James Thurber attached as father. Joanne E. Martin wrote that there is absolutely no evidence for the name of John's father, and that this should be considered an error unless otherwise specified. This error may result from misinterpretation of an entry in the Rehoboth VR -- John Thurber, of James, who passed away 23 November 1709. Indeed, an earlier version of this profile had this death date listed. However, that record is of the death of John's grandson, son of his son James.

John appears twice in Bristol court records:

8 May 1691 — "John Thurber senior did without with just grounds for so doing, call Mr. Hugh Cole a Thief and a Liar."[13] Second Tuesday, July, 1698 -- John Thurber Senr and son Edward were fined for preventing the Swansea constable from removing Mary Wormwell from the town DNA Study

Thurber DNA Study

Sources

↑ T. Thurber, page 71 ↑ Harland ↑ The exact birth order is uncertain. The order and approximate dates given here are from Martin's Thurber family genealogical index and differ slightly from those given by other authors, e.g., A. E. Thurber. ↑ Arnold: Page 880 ↑ See Thurber genealogy website, select "Musings: myths, mistakes, and mysteries in Thurber Genealogy" from the left menu, then search "David Thurber" ↑ assuming old style dating -- the document says 1703 ↑ Thurber: Page 2 -- this is incomplete and misses the important information about the length of John's marriage ↑ 8.0 8.1 Probate records, Bristol County, Mass, image online at American Ancestors (subscription required) ↑ Research note. Can find no records for John Thurber (including name variants) anywhere in England within 20 years of his given birth date. Used Findmypast.co.uk ↑ Peirce: Page 33, Page 35, and Page 30, respectively ↑ See Thurber genealogy website, select "Musings: myths, mistakes, and mysteries in Thurber Genealogy" from the left menu, then search "Thirdborough" ↑ Pope: Page 453 ↑ Abstracts of Land Records of Town of Bristol 1680-1746, page 34; citing book 1, p.39 Arnold, James. Vital Record of Rehoboth, 1642-1896 (Narragansett Historical Publishing Company, 1897) Martin, Joanne E.. Thurber collection (Joanne E. Martin, 2006) Peirce, Ebenezer Weaver. Peirce's Colonial Lists (A. Williams & Co., Boston, 1881) Pope, Charles H. The Pioneers of Massachusetts (Boston, Mass., 1900) Thurber Jr., A. Edward The Thurber Genealogy (Thurber, 1954) Thurber, Thurston T. Three hundred fifty years of Thurbers, published Buffalo, N.Y. (?) 1992.

1952 Letter from Charles H. Thurber

1955 Letter from Mr. Harland of Lincolnshire, England "Pedigree Resource File," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/2:2:3ML4-KMT : accessed 2018-01-24), entry for John /Thurber/, submitted by DeckerPaulGlenn1.

Family

https://www.genealogy.com/ftm/w/o/o/Jill-Diane-Wood/GENE2-0013.html

John Thurber, born 1626 in Stanton,Lincolnshire, England; died November 23, 1709 in Swansea, Bristol County, Massachusetts.He was the son of 2304. James Thurber and 2305. Mrs. Thurber.He married 1153. Priscilla Abt. 1645 in England.

Priscilla, born 1628 in Stanton,Lincolnshire, England; died February 15, 1691/92.

Children of John Thurber and Priscilla are:

• i. Abigail Thurber, born 1648 in Stanton,Lincolnshire, England.
• ii. Elizabeth Thurber, born 1648 in Stanton,Lincolnshire, England; married John Wheaton; born Abt. April 20, 1650.
• iii. John Thurber, born 1650 in Stanton,Lincolnshire, England; died November 24, 1717 in Swansea,Bristol County,Massachusetts; married Mary. More About John Thurber: Burial: Kickemuit Cemetery
• iv. David Thurber, born 1658 in Stanton,Lincolnshire, England; married Mercy Stafford; born Abt. July 08, 1668; died Abt. June 03, 1725.
• 576 v. James Thurber, born August 26, 1660 in Stanton,Lincolnshire, England; died March 26, 1736 in Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts; married (1) Elizabeth Bliss; married (2) Elizabeth Bliss Abt. June 25, 1684 in Swansea,Bristol County, Massachuetts; married (3) Elizabeth Toogood June 25, 1684 in Swansea,Bristol County, Massachuetts.
• vi. Edward Thurber, born 1662 in Stanton,Lincolnshire, England; died 1703.
• vii. Charity Thurber, born Abt. 1663 in Rehoboth,Bristol,Massachusetts; died August 27, 1741 in Warren,Newport, Rhode Island; married (1) Richard Millard Abt. February 12, 1688/89 in Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts; born June 12, 1666 in Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts; died August 17, 1710; married (2) John Wood January 31, 1709/10 in Swansea,Bristol County, Massachuetts; born Abt. 1663. More About Charity Thurber: Burial: Kickemuit Cemetery
• viii. Mary Thurber, born 1648 in Stanton,Lincolnshire, England; died October 04, 1674 in Rehoboth,Bristol,Massachusetts; married Samuel Bullock Abt. November 12, 1673 in Swansea,Bristol County, Massachuetts; born Abt. August 19, 1648; died Abt. March 10, 1716/17.
• ix. Thomas Thurber, born July 1657 in Stanton,Lincolnshire, England; died April 12, 1703 in Swansea,Bristol County,Massachusetts; married (1) Mary Walker; married (2) Ruth Busecot Abt. February 23, 1676/77 in Swansea,Bristol County, Massachuetts; born Abt. 1660 in Warwick,Rhode Island.
• x. Elizabeth Thurber, born August 24, 1663 in Swansea,Bristol County,Massachusetts; died 1750.

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A memorandum at foot of this inventory mentions "Priscilla Thurber, widow and relict of John Thurber." It is signed by John Carey, Reg. Aug. 7, 1706. The will is written on paper with a watermark of the Arms of Great Britain.

The family name Thurber or Thorber is a shortened form of Thorebern or Thorbern, the latter occuring in the Doomsday book A.D. 1086, and both in Hundred Rolls, A.D. 1273. It is traced back to Old Norse Thorbjorn, Thor-bear, and modern Thorburn.

It is believed that Priscilla, wife of John (1) Thurber was the daughter of John Allen or Alden and Elizabeth Bacon. See Salters History of Monmouth and Ocean Co., NJ. [I have checked the book by Edwin Salter. In it he says, referring to John Allen, ". . . (he) was probably the same named in Friends records of Newport R. I., as marrying Elizabeth Bacon, Oct. 14, 1650. He had children Elizabeth, b. 1651; Mary, b. 1652; John b. 1654; Priscilla b. 1659; Samuel b. 1661. All of his children were born at Newport. And he May have been the same John Allen named a few years previous at Rohoboth [sic], Mass. . ." The name Thurber is not mentioned. In addition, Priscilla, daughter of John Allen and Elizabeth Bacon born in 1659, could not be the wife of John Thurber. A memo on the back of John Thurber's will written in 1703/04 stated he had been married more than 57 years. That would mean he was likely married in 1646/7, 12 years before the birth of Priscilla Allen. Most of the children of John and Priscilla Thurber were b. before Priscilla Allen was born.]

Land Rec: First settled in Rehoboth, MA at New Meadow Neck where he drew land from William Bradford’s quit claim deed. Among the first admitted inhabitants of Swansea in 1669. Religion: 15 SEP 1682

Details: Jo Thurber being charged with severall evills but especially with a high contempt of the church, when dealing with him for his negligence of meeting and comunion; is called to an account this day for the same; and manifested some sorrow for his severall evills the church agree to defer the full determinacion of his case to this day 14 night. Upon which day he acknowledged his evills, with relacion to bro Allen, the pastor and the whole church and being admonished against pride passion neglect of meeting and exhorted to a more circumspect walking for the future was admitted to continuance of comunion (unknown if this was John Sr. or John Jr., both members.) Dec. 1766: Receved of John Thurber 1 1/2 of wood. “Swansea Baptist Church Records”, NEHGR Vol. 139, p. 41, 42, 44.

References

• https://www.caskey-family.com/john-thurber/