John Worth, V

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Worth-11

John Worth (son of John Worth and Wilmot Stuttever) was baptized on 11 Apr 1606 in Plymouth, England, and died 1643 in Siege of Plymouth Fort, England. He married Barbara Strong on 15 Apr 1634 at Plymouth, Devon, England. [1] [2]

Descendant of the de la Worth family that came to England from Normandy with William the Conqueror in 1066. Resided in Devonshire in the 1600s. Was a royalist at the time of the Puritan revolution. He died defending Plymouth Fort in 1645, during the Cromwellian wars. [3]

John Worth and his father both died of the plague in 1643 during the siege of Plymouth.

Father of William 'Pilgrim' Worth, a founding father of Nantucket.

JOHN WORTH was baptized April 11, 1606, in St. Andrews parish. Plague killed one-half the population of Plymouth in 1625, and circa 1643 according to family tradition John and his father were killed during the siege of Plymouth Fort and their estates confiscated. Charles I had attempted to arrest five leaders of his opposition in Commons, and in June of 1642 Parliament sent the king a statement of nineteen demands including parliamentary control of the army and the appointments of ministers and judges as well as abolishment of Roman catholicism in England. The demands were ignored and Civil War became inevitable. The opponents drew up sides, on one hand the Royalists comprised of nobles, most anglicans and catholics in support of the despotic Charles I, and the Roundheads, the supporters of Parliament, so-named because of their short haircuts. This latter group included Puritans, merchants and artisans. Both king and Parliament were seeking popular support and securing their fortresses. The opening battle of the Great Rebellion was at Edge-hill October 23, 1642. Plymouth declared on the popular side, the only place remaining faithful to the Parliament in all the Western Peninsula. Protective steps were taken and earthworks thrown up by November. Attacks by the Royalists were soundly defeated, but by August, 1643, Plymouth was completely blockaded by Colonel Digby. Prince Maurice marched to subdue Plymouth where the citizen army had been augmented by five hundred soldiers under Colonel Wardlaw. Stubborn Plymouth held out under almost daily assault, routing the Cavaliers to the cry of "God with us!", and for many years the bells of St. Andrews rang out in memory of the "Sabbath-day fight" of December 3, 1643, and a pious Puritan widow left a trust fund for sermons to be preached in remembrance of the deliverance. "Turris fortissima est nomen Jehoval" ("The name of the Lord is a strong tower"?Proverbs 18, 10) was adopted as the town motto. Fighting continued off and on at Plymouth until 1646, and three years of siege had cost the town dear. The parish registers record deaths of some 1,000 soldiers and about 2,000 townsfolk due to the war, but the figures do not include the defenders who were buried where they fell. More than 100 men fell in one assault, more than 300 in another, this at a time when the population of Plymouth was not over 7,000. The siege probably caused 8,000 deaths, ruined the trade of the town and reduced scores of families to great distress. It was during this period that the sons of John Worth went to America.

GEDCOM Note

[3026504.ged] John was born in Worth House in Tiverton, Deronshire Co., Eng. around 1610. John died at Plymouth Fort, Deronshire Co., when Cromwell came to power.

References

• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Worth-11 cites

1. PPRS, Devonshire Parish Registers, Marriages, part 2, 1581-1654, vol 135; Author: T Blagg
2. England, Select Marriages, 1538–1973
3. The Worth Genealogy: Descendants of Samuel & Hannah Prentice Worth of Greenfeld, Lackawanna Co., Pa., publ. 1956
4. http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/w/a/r/Cathy-Ward-Brookfi...