Susannah Salisbury

DISPROVEN:

• Susanna who married William Salisbury of Massachusetts Bay Colony and Plymouth Colony is not the daughter of Thomas Cotton and Margreta Hill.
• Susanna who married William Salisbury of Massachusetts Bay Colony and Plymouth Colony is not identical to Susan Cotton (1626-) of Haddenham.
• Susanna's maiden name is not Cotton.

Parentage

There is no indication of any relationship between Susannah and the other Cottons of the Plymouth Colony, the Massachusetts Bay Colony, or England in the 17th century.

One earliest genealogical work from 1862 and few genealogical works from the early 1900s did not mention anything about her maiden name because her maiden surname was not revealed in any Plymouth Colony or Massachusetts Bay Colony records in the 17th century.[1][2][3][4][5]

Few records of Massachusetts Bay Colony and Plymouth Colony mention only her first name of William Salisbury's wife, and they say that her name was either Suzana or Susanna.

For example, the Suffolk County probate record says that the inventory of William Salisbury's estate was taken on 25 August 1675, amounted to 154 pounds 19 shillings, and his widow gave bond as administratrix on 17 September 1675. (Suffolk Probate, 5:270.) Also, the original Dorchester Town Records on page 317 says that on 30 July 1679, the selectmen of Dorchester voted to grant the widow Salisbury libertie to get 2,100 clapboards out of the common swamps.[6] Hence, his widow either remained in Dorchester or returned there at Swansea.

Next, the church record from Dorchester, Massachusetts Bay Colony says that on 7 May 1677, "ye widdow Salsbery" was admitted to full communion in Dorchester Church,[7] and on 1 July 1677, her eight children were baptized.[8] On 18 September 1681, she was dismissed to join the church at Milton, formed, and on 2 October 1681, admitted there to full communion.[2][9]

Finally, the probate record again mentions that on "Nov. 11, 1684, administration de bonis non— of William Salisbury, late of Milton deed. int. formerly under the adm. of Susanna his Relict also deed.- granted unto his eldest son, William Salisbury Swansea." (Suffolk Probate, 6:215). It was the last mention of her at Milton, Massachusetts Bay Colony.

The genealogical website such as Ancestry.com has Ancestry Family Tree and Millenium File, but they have no sources. They claim that Susanna's maiden name was Cotton and her parentage was Thomas Cotton and Margreta Hill, but they contain no sources to support it. There is no indication of the relationship between Susanna and Thomas Cotton and Margreta Hill. Unfortunately, they have copied those unsourced Ancestry Family Trees and Millenium File in their family trees since 2003. Reviewing records within these databases reveals NO citations.

Examining the original marriage record in Eastham, Cheshire, England reveals that Thomas Cotton and Margreta Hill were married in 1617, but examining the original baptism records in Eastham and its adjacent towns in Cheshire reveals at least two children were baptized in Eastham, and they may have been possibly the children of Thomas Cotton and Margreta Hill as follows:

• Johannes Cotton, baptized on 8 June 1621.
• Gulielm Cotton, baptized 21 October 1628.

However, those two baptism records only contain the father's name but not the mother's name. It is not certain if they are the children of Thomas Cotton and Margreta Hill. No record of Susanna's baptism is found in Eastham between 1621 and 1628.

Since 2003, the common belief is that Susanna, the wife of William Salisbury is identical to Susan Cotton who was born to Thomas and Margerie Cotton and was baptized on 14 December 1626 in Haddenham, Cambridgeshire, but recently, Thomas and Margerie Cotton's marriage record is found in Haddenham, Cambridgeshire and reveals that his wife, Margerie's maiden name was Pappore or Papworth, and they were married on 28 February 1618. They had four children being baptized together in Haddenham between 1621 and 1628. It proves that Thomas Cotton and Margerie Pappore or Papworth of Haddenham are not identical to Thomas Cotton and Margreta Hill of Eastham, so Susan Cotton of Haddenham is not identical to Susanna, the wife of William Salisbury.

However, the probate records can reveal the number and the name of children if Thomas and Margreta (Hill) Cotton's death date is known. After their marriage in Eastham, Cheshire in 1617, changing the location of their residence in Cheshire to the other counties in England is unknown, and how much their movement is unknown. There are no records of them going to America. They did not have occupied any prominent position either in England or in Massachusetts Bay Colony or was entrusted with no public services. Thomas Cotton's life was unknown even if his abilities qualified him to participate in public affairs, so as to have his name conspicuous in the records either in England or in Massachusetts Bay Colony. That's why several researchers and genealogists from 1862 and early 1900s did not have information on Susanna's early life, and they left her maiden name in blank in their genealogical books. Even renowned complier, Clarence Almon Torrey in his book, "New England Marriages Prior to 1700" in 1985 did leave Susanna's maiden name a question mark with an underline.[9] His book is the most complete index of its kind, naming almost 99% of the married couples in New England before 1700.

The bottom line is that Susanna's maiden name remains unknown and her parentage remains unknown.

Birth

Susanna was born between 1630 and 1635. Her childbearing would naturally stop at the age of 40 to 45. If her last child was born in 1675, she probably was born between 1630 and 1635. If her first child was born in 1651, she would be between 16 and 21 years old to give a birth to the first child, so she could not be born before 1630.

Marriage

Susanna married William Salisbury, but either Massachusetts Bay Colony, Plymouth Colony, or England had no records of their marriage. The date of the marriage is unknown, but it is probably sometime before 1651, based on the burial information which provides the age of 86 at her death of their daughter, Abigail (Salisbury) Williston in 1736. However, the New England Marriages prior to 1700 by Clarence Almon Torrey said that they were married before 1659 either in Dorchester, (now Milton) because their son, William Salesbury’s birth record of 1659 was preserved in Dorchester and it was only an earliest record to give the source for the date of their marriage.[10][11]

Her husband, William Salisbury was in Dorchester as early as 1648. The earliest reference of his name is found in the original Dorchester Town Records on page 68, and it says, "13 9 48 [13 September 1648]... Baliffe to Demand for wm Salsbury of Elder minot : for cattell at pond."[12] On 28th day of second month (April), 1653, he was for a time herdsman of the town cattle.[13] He disposed on 12 May 1656 that he was 34 years of age. He settled in Milton, formally part of Dorchester and he signed the agreement regarding the parsonage land on 18 May 1664. He removed to Swansea, Plymouth Colony as early as 1671, being the first of the time in the town. A list of the men of Swansea, eight soldiers recorded at Plymouth, including the name of William and John Salisbury.[14]

Children

They had nine children in 24 years as follows:

1. Abigail (Salisbury) Williston (1651 - 1736) was born probably in Dorchester.
2. John Salisbury (abt. 1655 - 1675) was born probably in Dorchester.
3. William Salisbury, Jr (1659 - 1726) was born in Dorchester.
4. Susannah (Salisbury) Seamans (1662 - 1712) was born in Dorchester.
5. Hannah Salisbury (1665 - 1665) was born in Milton.
6. Samuel Salisbury (1666 - 1757) was born in Milton.
7. Cornelius Salisbury (1668 - 1722) was born in Milton.
8. Elizabeth Salisbury (1673) was born in Milton.
9. Jospeh Salisbury (1675 - 1714) was born in Milton.

A church record at Dorchester states that children of Widow Salsbery were lately admitted to full Communion. The four first named (except for the first Hannah who had died in infancy) were adult and "did personally own ye Covenant and submitted to the government of the Church". The date given was May 1, 1677, and the children were William, Abigail, Elizabeth, Susanna, Samuel, Cornelius, Hannah and Joseph. This statement proves the parentage of the children.

Life

The following is a passage from “Plymouth Colony, Its History & People 1620-1691,” describing the events of June 23 & 24, 1675:

“The Indians were looting various deserted houses when two white men, and old man (William Salisbury) and his son (John), appeared on the scene. Seeing three Indians run out of the house, the old man told his son to shoot, which he did. One Indian was hit, but got away.

Later some Indians came to the garrison and asked why they shot the Indian, letting them know that he had died. The son said it was no matter. Some of the others tried to let the Indians know that they did not feel so callous about the death, but the Indians went away in haste.”

There are several other versions of what happened at Swansea.

One widely told tale stated:

“On Sunday, 20 June 1675, while the Swansea settlers were at church, some Indians shot some of their cattle. The frightened people moved to the garrison house.

On the 23rd of June, William and his son John left the garrison house to try to salvage some of their geese. They found the geese dead and also found some Indians ransacking their home.

William ordered his son John, to shoot, and one of the Indians was wounded, possibly killed.

The next day, June 24th, the Indians went to Swansea and found William and his son, John, and killed them both and cut off their heads.”

Another story stated:

“On 23 June 1675, John Salisbury, the 20 year old son of William, fired the first shot of King Philip’s War when he mortally wounded an Indian who was pilfering his house.

The next day the Indians returned, shot and killed William Salisbury, his wife not far off, heard the guns go off, went back; they took her, first defiled her, then skinned her head, as also the son, and dismist them both who immediately died.”

Susanna survived and was left with seven children from ages 15 to one month.

She was granted administration of William’s estate on 25 August 1675.

She returned to Dorchester which became Milton, because of the war, and was admitted to the Dorchester Church in 1677, and dismissed to join the newly formed the Milton church in 1681. Milton was formed from part of Dorchester.

Death

Susannah died about or before 11 November 1684, and her eldest son, William of Swansea was named administrator of her estate and that of his father which had previously been under the widow’s administration.

Sources

1. Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England Showing Three Generations of Those who Came Before May, 1692, on the Basis of the Farmer's Register. Vol. IV. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1862, p. 5.
2. Pope, Charles Henry. The Pioneers of Massachusetts, A Descriptive List, Drawn from Records of the Colonies, Towns and Churches, and Other Contemporaneous Documents, Boston, MA: Author, 1900, p. 392a.
3. Cutter, William Richard. New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of Commonwealths and the Founding of a Nation. Vol. IV. New York, Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1914, p. 2125.
4. Genealogy of the Richard Salisbury Family. Salisbury Reunion Association, 1924, p. 14.
5. Americana: (American Historical Magazine). Vol. XVI. New York, American Historical Company, Incorporated, 1922, 209.
6. Fourth Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston, 1880, Dorchester Town Records, third edition, 1896, Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, p. 234.
7. Records of the First Church at Dorchester, in New England, 1636-1734. Boston: George H. Ellis, 1891, p. 25.
8. Records of the First Church at Dorchester, in New England, 1636-1734. Boston: George H. Ellis, 1891, p. 186. Text: "The 1 5 77 weer baptized thes p'sons William Abigail Elizabeth Susana Samuell Cornelius Hanah Joseph} The Children of ye Widdow Salsbery latly admitted to full Comunion the fower first named weer adult & did p'sonally owne ye Covenant & Submitted themselves to ye government of Christ in ye Church".
9. Records of the First Church at Dorchester, in New England, 1636-1734. Boston: George H. Ellis, 1891, p. 12.↑ 9.0 9.1 Torrey, Clarence Almon, and Bentley, Elizabeth Petty. New England Marriages Prior to 1700. United States, Genealogical Publishing Company, 1985, p. 647.
10. New England Historic Genealogical Society. The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Vol. XVI. “Marriages, Births, and Deaths in Dorchester, 1648-1683.” Albany: J. Munsell, 1862, p. 155.
11. Fourth Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston, 1880, Dorchester Town Records, third edition, 1896, Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, p. 59.
12. Fourth Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston, 1880, Dorchester Town Records, third edition, 1896, Boston: Rockwell and Churchill, p. 62, 63.
13. Ancestry.com. History of the Salisbury Family, 1022-1950 [database on-line]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004, https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/23527/images/dvm_G.... Original data: Button, Velma Salisbury. History of the Salisbury Family, 1022-1950: Genealogical History of John Salisbury, 1828-1914. unknown: unknown, 1950, p. 6.

• Button, Velma Salisbury. History of the Salisbury family, 1022-1950. Author, 1950, p. 6.
• The American Genealogist, Vol. 60, 1984, p. 241. Re: King Philips War. See the attachment of the Acrobat image file about her life during King Philip’s War.
• National Society, Sons of the American Revolution, Ancestry.com. U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. (Secondary source.)
• Yates Publishing. U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. (Secondary source.)
• WikiTree contributors, "Susanna (Unknown) Salisbury (aft.1630-1684)," WikiTree: The Free Family Tree, (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Unknown-563818 : accessed 07 July 2021).

Links

• http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=wfrounds&...
• http://www.familycentral.net/index/family.cfm?ref1=5704:3475&ref2=5...
• Wikitree: Susanna (Unknown) Salisbury (aft. 1630 - 1684)

  ---

  
  

The Milton records contain the births of five children of William, namely:

• Hannah born May 18, 1665, and died June 29,1665
• Samuel born May 17, 1666
• Cornelius, born Oct 7, 1668
• Hannah, born April 20, 1671
• Joseph, born May 5, 1675