John Wood, of Portsmouth

The term "John Wood of Portsmouth" is frequently used to distinguish John Wood (c. 1590–bef. 1655) from his son, John Wood (c. 1620–1704), who is known as "John Wood of Middletown." From 1643 until 1655, he resided on Rhode Island's Aquidneck Island.

Based on the typewritten manuscript John Wood of Rhode Island and His Early Descendants on the Mainland (1966) by Bertha W. Clark, some family trees online link John Wood of Portsmouth to John Wood of the Bachelor, a London seaman who dealt with both John Winthrop, Governor of Massachusetts Bay, and John Winthrop, Jr., Governor of Saybrook Colony, in 1636.

Clark's work influenced Dorothy Wood Ewers, who published Descendants of John Wood, a Mariner Who Died in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, in 1655, which she reproduced from Clark's typescript in 1978. She was the first genealogist to coin a nickname for him, "John Wood, a Mariner," which many have used since to differentiate him from other "John Wood" of the colonial period.

However, between 1643 and 1655, Rhode Island records do not reflect that John Wood of Portsmouth was a mariner, therefore his occupation is uncertain.

Hence, he is known as John Wood of Portsmouth because he died at Portsmouth.

Origin and Parents

John Wood's parents and place of origin are currently unknown.[1] Throughout his life, twenty-four males with the same name left records in New England. For the majority of them, there is insufficient information in the records to tell which was which.

Residences

The admittance of inhabitants records and the court roll of freemen for Newport show evidence that John Wood was not in Newport, Rhode Island, from 1638 to 1641.[9]

The first clearly identifiable and dated records of John Wood in New England are two trespass charges against "John Wood of Nuport" in April 1643.[7]

John Wood of Newport purchased 14 acres of land from John Cranston of Newport on September 15, 1645.[8]

There is an undated land purchase from Jeffereys, who was a resident of Newport from 1639 to 1646.[8] The context of this undated entry shows that it occurred after September 15, 1645, and before January 17, 1646. Recorded immediately after was a grant from the town of Nuport to John Wood of 30 acres adjacent to the lot, which he purchased from Mr. Jeoffreys.

Therefore, those records show that John Wood was in Newport from 1643 to 1646.[10]

Finally, John Wood became a freeman in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, in 1648[11] and resided there from 1648 to 1655. It shows he moved his residence from Newport to Portsmouth at some point between 1646 and 1648.

Marriage

John Wood's first wife was probably married about 1620, although her name is still unknown. He married her some time before his first child was born. It is unclear what happened to his first wife.[2] Genealogist Bertha W. Clark speculated that his first wife may have perished in the Maspeth Massacre of 1643, but she offered no proof or references to back up her theory.

John Wood married Elizabeth, his second wife, after his first wife passed away; Elizabeth was listed in his estate settlement.[4][5][12] It is unknown whether they ever had children together, but his two young children, Susanna and Elizabeth, are considered to be the result of his second marriage to Elizabeth. After John Wood died, his widow, Elizabeth, married Hugh Parsons, whose land was next to the Wood family's.

Children

The birth order of the children is uncertain; his two youngest children, Susanna and Elizabeth, are assumed to be by his second wife, Elizabeth. This cannot be accepted until evidence of a second child, Susanna, has been examined, but she is included here in the spirit of completeness.

1. George Wood was born in 1619 and was living in May 1655, when he was named the eldest son on his father's estate. Possibly George Wood, who spent most of his life on Long Island. He married an unknown first wife and married a second wife, Ann, about 1657. Five children lived to maturity, namely: Jacob, John, Mary, George, and Ann. After his death, his widow, Ann, married Henry Rogers.[6]
2. John Wood, Jr. was born about 1620, married an unknown first wife, married a second wife, Anna ____, and married a third wife, about 1663-1665 in Dover, Massachusetts, Mary Peabody, who was still alive on November 14, 1695. He married his last wife, Mary, by June 28, 1699, but it is not certain if he married Mary Hardine of Woodbridge, New Jersey, on January 11, 1697. It is probably that he married initially in England and that his oldest three children were born there. He was in Portsmouth by March 1649/50. He was last elected for a public position (deputy) in May 1690 (in Newport). In November 1695, he sold Little Compton land to his son, Thomas. He died on August 26, 1704, and was buried at the Deacon Smith Farm in Middletown, Rhode Island.
3. Thomas Wood married an unknown first wife, married an unknown second wife, but married his third wife, Rebecca ____ (possibly Hall), about 1673. He may have remained in England for some years after his parents settled in Rhode Island. He first appeared in American records at the time of his father's death in 1655. He lived in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, for many years (and periodically returned there); he may have lived in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, and in Swansea, Massachusetts, about 1678. He served in King Philip's War, for which he received 100 acres in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. He died after December 28, 1702, and before April 4, 1704, when he was referred to in the records as deceased.
4. William Wood was born in 1634 and married, in about 1662, Martha Earle, daughter of Ralph and Joan (Savage) Earle. He was a freeman in Portsmouth in 1658 and a constable in Dartmouth in 1685.
5. Margaret Wood married Thomas Manchester before 1655 (and probably about 1649); they had eight children. She died about 1693.
6. Susanna Wood [#1] married before 1655 (and probably about 1647) Samuel Jenney, who was born about 1618, the son of John and Sarah (Carey) Jenney. The Jenneys of Plymouth were a seafaring family; after his father's 1644 death, Samuel moved to Portsmouth, but by early 1652, he had placed his wife and children with his mother in Plymouth. Susannah died on March 23, 1654/55, leaving two sons and a daughter, Sarah, whom she put into the custody of Thomas Clarke. This act made the grandmother (mother of Samuel Jenney) angry, and she changed her will to exclude Susannah's children unless they returned to her. Samuel's mother died shortly after August 1655. Samuel did not regain custody of little Sarah until after 1659.
7. (possibly) Susanna Wood [#2]. According to the probate records, she was under age 16 in 1655, so she probably was born about 1647. She married her first husband, Josiah England, before May 17, 1675 (and probably as early as 1672). They lived in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, where he may have been killed during King Philip's War. She married her second husband, Ephraim Carpenter, on December 3, 1677, perhaps in Long Island. She died in 1684, leaving three children: Sarah, Elizabeth, and Phebe. Her widower, Ephraim, married his third wife, Lydia Dickinson.
8. Elizabeth Wood. According to the probate records, in 1655, she was under age 16. She married about 1673 Isaac Doty, who was born in Plymouth on February 8, 1648, the son of Edward Doty of the Mayflower and his wife Faith Clarke. They lived in Oyster Bay, Long Island. Six children were born between 1673 and 1695, namely: Isaac, Joseph, Jacob, Solomon, James, and Samuel.

Probate

On March 17, 1655, the Portsmouth Town Council chose an appraiser for his estate, Wood, who had died intestate. This fact can be confirmed by a record of the town clerk of Portsmouth in the following month, which reads:

April 1655 Being requested by the widow of John Woode of Portsmouth and the sd Woodes children, John Woods, Thomas and William, to take an Inventory of his goods the sons before named choose their mother, the late wife of their father John Wood, as administratrix, She hath given unto his daughter Manchester a 'ewe gotte' and to his son-in-law Samuell Jenninges a ewe kid. John Is to have land in his possession, Thomas is to have the 40 acres next Robert Splnkes land. William is to have the lands and house. John, Thomas, and William are each to give their sister Manchester a 'ewe goote'.

In April 1655, his widow Elizabeth and children John, Thomas, and William requested that an inventory of John Wood's estate be taken. His "daughter Manchester" and son-in-law Samuel Jennings were mentioned.[5]

John Wood's estate was settled in Portsmouth on May 7, 1655, because he did not leave a will.[12] Mentioned in the settlement were his widow Elizabeth (executrix); his children Thomas Wood; John Wood; daughter Manchester; William Wood; George Wood, his eldest son; and his two young children Susanna and Elizabeth, to receive their bequests at age 16. The widow was referred to as William Wood's "mother-in-law" (stepmother). The widow was to bring up the young children.

Disposition of the estate of John Wood, May 7, 1655, Portsmouth.

May 7, 1665 the council of the town of Portsmouth being met according to the law of the colony for legal disposition of the estate of John Wood, deceased, to those to whom it belonged, the decedent not having left a will or testament has chosen John Coggleshall, Thomas Cornell Jr., James Babcock and William Hall to appraise the land, buildings, fences and other appurtment of the aforenamed decedent, who have appraised that which is in John Wood's hands at 45£, that which is in Thomas Wood's hands 20£, and that which is in the widow's hands at 50£, there being an inventory of the goods and cattle taken by Thomas Cornell, John Roome, James Babcock, Obadiah Holme, John Gould and Edward Thurston, at the request of the widow and children of the decedent, being presented to the council hath been avouched to be the true inventory of goods and cattle of the decedent, and there-upon accepted by us, the council, amounting to the sum of 16£. Mr. William Balston being head officer of the town and Richard Bordin, John Briggs and Phillip Shearman being the town council, do dispose of the aforesaid estate as follows: Namely, unto John Wood that land which is in his present possession, and to pay unto his sister, Manchester, 8£, four now and four at the 29th day of September next, after the date thereof to be paid according to the custom of silver pay; and unto Thomas Wood that land which was his father's, which is in Newport, by the farm of William Weeden, being 40 acres, more or less and that land which the widow of the decedent lived upon, 10 acres of it to be delivered to the possession of William Wood and to be laid out to him on that side of the brook next to Clement Weaver, and the brook to be the boundary at that corner next the house until one comes to the swamp, and then to run as Richard Bordin and William Hall shall lay out, which will be most convenient; who are appointed to lay it out to the aforesaid William Wood, the present crop of corn which is growing upon part of the said land being excepted, and free liberty granted to the widow of the decedent to take of it peaceable, and all the land that is left in the possession of the aforesaid widow the aforesaid 10 acres excepted, to be enjoyed by the widow during the term of her life, paying unto George Wood, the eldest son of John Wood, deceased, the sum of 4£ according to the custom of silver pay and paying unto the two younger children of the decedent, Susanna and Elizabeth 8£ each at the age appointed, if it come into the said William Wood's possesion by the death of his mother-in-law before they come to the age of sixteen years, and the cattle and goods amounting by the inventory to the sum of 16£, we appoint the widow to enjoy to bring up the two younger children. It is also ordered by the aforenamed council that if either of the aforenamed younger children depart this life before the age of sixteen years, then the legacy of the decedent to be paid unto two younger of said children. It is also ordered by the council aforenamed that Elizabeth Wood, the late wife of the decedent shall be sole executrix to see the order of the council performed and the debts of the decedent paid. Witness:
John L. Briggs
Philip Shearman
William Baulston
John Roome

Research Notes

Disputed Parents: John Wood's parents are unknown. These were at one time connected, lacking proof, and have been detached as follows:

• John Atwood and Joan Coleson. Since his origins are disputed and unknown, the parents once added to the biography must also be in question.
• Wylliam Wood and Margaret Stamberie (Paine). There are no confirmed sources that prove that Wylliam Wood and Margaret Stamberie (Paine) were the parents of John Wood.

Disputed Spouse: Margaret Carter is often presented as the wife of John Wood. Bertha W. Clark, in her book, mentions that John Wood of Newport and Portsmouth was possibly the John Wood who married Margaret Carter at St. Saviour's, Southwark, London, on January 28, 1610/11. She states:

There is no real evidence that this was the John Wood later of Rhode Island, but the name, the date, and the place would suit that John Wood admirably, and more especially since the latter's only daughter by his first wife whose name is known with certainty was also Margaret"

However, recently digitized records, "Token Books of St. Savior's Parish," indicate that John Wood, spouse of Margaret Wood, may have still been living in St. Savior's parish until as late as 1643, when John Wood of Portsmouth was documented in Newport. This new evidence casts doubt on the claim that this is the Rhode Island couple.

Disputed Son: Fredericke Wood. Clark suggested, based on a 1636 Winthrop correspondence that has not been proven to be related to John Wood of Portsmouth, that Fredericke may have been a son of the John Wood mentioned in the letter; however, this letter has not been proven to be about John Wood of Portsmouth, and a Fredericke was not mentioned in the 1655 estate papers or any other records associated with him. (Clark's controversial theory is that Fredericke and his mother died in the Mespath massacre.) To avoid confusion, Fredericke is listed here until proven or disproven.

Disputed Identification: John Wood of the ship Bachelor.

In a letter dated May 16, 1636, at "Queneticut," John Winthrop Jr., Governor of Saybrook Colony, wrote to his father, John Winthrop, former second Governor of Massachusetts Bay in Boston. He made reference to particular people in this letter when he said the following:[14]

I have agreed with John Wood Fredericke and George to take her to thirds.

This reference to John Wood, and associated men named "Fredericke" and "George", has been hypothesized by Bertha Clark (1966) to be John Wood of Portsmouth and two of his sons.

It is not established that the John Wood described in this letter is the same John Wood as "John Wood of Portsmouth," nor is there any proof that John Wood of Portsmouth had a son by the name of Fredericke.

Although this possibility exists, it remains an unproven hypothesis until a reliable source is identified.

The following is what John Winthrop wrote to his father in his letter, which can be found in John Winthrop's The History of New England from 1630 to 1649:

Quineticut May 16: 1636
Sir, John Wood being returned without any Corne I shall now desire that I may be supplied by the first shipping that arrive with any store of provisions with 10, or 12 hogsh[eads] of meale 5 or 6 hogshfeads] of peas 2 or 3 barrells of oatmeale 2 hogshfeads] of beife. for if we should want I see noe meanes to be supplied heere, and a little want may overthrow all our designe. I send home the Bacheler, and desire your helpe for her disposing. I must of necessity have her returne heere for I may shortly have much vse of her: but I desire they may goe for shares and victuall them selves, which John Wood, and his company are willing to doe. I cannot find that the miscariage of his voyage was through his default but Contrary winds therfore I am desirous he should and that Company goe still in her, so they will goe for shares and victuall themselves, the Blessing I would sell if any will buy her at 160 or 150/f she Cost 145 besides some new saile, and rigging and a new Cable above 20IL the Cable is speciall good, except you should foresee any occasion that she should rather be kept still: or if their be imployment to Sable for her: but if she continues still to goe vpon any designe I desire she should goe likewise for her share the men to find themselves, otherwise I would have her laid up at Boston till further occation. the men I desire should be discharged as soone as ever they Come ashore, and their wages paid them: I thanke you for the bread you sent, you write of 800 but there is not above 300 and an halfe at most delivered, besides 100 they keepe still aboard the rest I cannot learne what become of it but that it hath beene wastfully spent: they had besides halfe an hogshead of bread of their owne which was likewise spent and they were but [mutilated] eleven persons they say most of that tyme. [Mutilated] for they pillaged her the tyme they had her to Salem pittifully that she hath neyther blockes nor braces nor running ropes, which the bolt Will sayth, that mr. Holgrave cutt them of he saw him. therfore I have agreed with John Wood Fredericke and George to take her to thirds, thus with my duty remembered, I rest
Your obedient Son
John Winthrop

In Quineticut, also known as Connecticut, John Winthrop, Jr. was the governor of Saybrook Colony and wrote his letter to his father, John Winthrop in Boston in 1636. In the context of his letter, it appears that John Wood, Frederick, and George operated on the ship, Bachelor. It is extremely difficult to identify them individually, who operated the ship, Bachelor. There is insufficient information in any document after 1636 on John Winthrop, Jr.'s relationship with them. It appears that John Winthrop, Jr. intended to have Bachelor committed in Boston until further notice if she persisted in following his wishes, and she should go accordingly for her portion of the men to find themselves. When the men arrived on shore, he wanted them to be released and handed their money. It is possible that John Wood was released in Boston and became known as John Wood of Boston, or that he later went back to England or elsewhere.

Winthrop's association with John Wood, Frederick, and George is not well known in any other documents, so the identification of those men makes future investigations extremely difficult. Those men's origins may be in Saybrook Colony (later became Connecticut) or Massachusetts Bay Colony, where John Winthrop, Jr. engaged them on the ship. How they came to Connecticut or operated on the ship remains unknown.

What makes the "Bacheler of London Bound for New Ingland" worth further investigation is a letter dated August 16, 1635, from Edward Hopkins to John Winthrop, Jr. This is the letter in which Hopkins states that "I haue hired the master and all the men (whose names and wages I shall afterwards expresse,) eyther to remayne in the Cuntrey to saile the barque there or to be returned home in some other Shipp, as you shall find most convenient." Furthermore, he goes on to say "the master is able enough, but savours nott godlinesse yett hath a desire as he tells me to continue in the Cuntrey." According to the letter, the master was "Jno. Webber Master of the Barque".[13]

The letter of the 16th mentions four passengers:

Serieant Gardener
a wife
a maid
and Wm. Job

As well as the crew of eight:

Jno. Webber Master
Ric. Baker Masters mate
Jno. Brikin Carpenter
Jno. Sherlocke
Jno. Harman
Jno. Hall
Robt. Sherley
An unnamed boy

They departed at London, England and arrived via Boston to Long Island on November 28, 1635.

This might trace the arrival in the colonies of one John Wood, if and only if he was also on board, the man who would later get associated with the ship. Once more, there is currently no proof that this is Portsmouth's John Wood.

The identity of John Wood, a seaman aboard the Bachelor, is still unclear and unconnected to Portsmouth's John Wood.

Sources

1. Preston, Eugene D., The Descendants of John Wood of Portsmouth, R. I. (Colorado Springs, CO: typewritten manuscript held by the NYPL, 1916).
2. Austin, John Osborne. Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island: Comprising Three Generations of Settlers Who Came Before 1690: With Many Families Carried to the Fourth Generation. United States, 1887, p. 230, 231.
3. Clark, Bertha. John Wood of Rhode Island, and His Early Descendants on the Mainland. Edited by Dorothy Ewers, United States, 1966, pp. 2, 6, and 11.
4. The librarian of the Rhode Island Historical Society, editor. The Early Records of the Town of Portsmouth. United States, E. L. Freeman, and Sons, 1901, pp. 300-301.
5. Moriarty, G. Andrews, Jr. "Notes," New England Historical and Genealogical Register, whole no. 274, vol. LXIX (69), April 1915, pp. 188-189.
6. Clark, Bertha. "Rhode Island Woods on Long Island." The American Genealogist, whole no. 155, vol. 39, no. 3, July 1963, pp. 129–40.
7. Chapin, Howard M. Documentary History of Rhode Island: History of the Towns of Portsmouth and Newport to 1647 and the Court Records of Aquidneck. United States, Preston and Rounds Company, 1919, pp. 141, 142.
8. Rhode Island Colony Records: Vol. 1, Part 1, 1646-1669, p. 10. See the following link to view digital records to locate page 10 at Rhode Island State Digital Archives.
9. Chapin, Howard M. Documentary History of Rhode Island: History of the Towns of Portsmouth and Newport to 1647 and the Court Records of Aquidneck. United States, Preston and Rounds Company, 1919, pp. 116-120.
10. Chapin, Howard M. Documentary History of Rhode Island: History of the Towns of Portsmouth and Newport to 1647 and the Court Records of Aquidneck. United States, Preston and Rounds Company, 1919, pp. 154, 157.
11. The librarian of the Rhode Island Historical Society, editor. The Early Records of the Town of Portsmouth. United States, E. L. Freeman, and Sons, 1901, p. 38.
12. The librarian of the Rhode Island Historical Society, editor. The Early Records of the Town of Portsmouth. United States, E. L. Freeman, and Sons, 1901, p. 322-324.
13. Papers of the Winthrop Family, vol. 3, Edward Hopkins to John Winthrop, Jr., 6 April 1635, Massachusetts Historical Society, 2024, https://www.masshist.org/publications/winthrop/index.php/view/PWF03....
14. Papers of the Winthrop Family, vol. 3, John Winthrop, Jr., to John Winthrop, 16 May 1636, Massachusetts Historical Society, 2024, https://www.masshist.org/publications/winthrop/index.php/view/PWF03....

See also:

• Clark, Bertha. John Wood of Rhode Island, and His Early Descendants on the Mainland. Edited by Dorothy Ewers, United States, 1966.
• Ewers, Dorothy. Descendants of John Wood, a Mariner, Who Died in Portsmouth, Rhode Island in 1655. United States, D.W. Ewers, 1978.