William Chase

Not the son of Aquila Chase. NOTE: Please do not re-attach Aquila Chase and Martha Sarah Jelliman as parents of William.

William Chase Sr (abt. 1605 - abt. 1659)

• Born about 1605 in England [uncertain]
• Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
• [sibling%28s%29 unknown]
• Husband of Mary (Unknown) Chase — married before 1627 in England
• Father of William Chase Jr., Mary (Chase) Dennis and Benjamin Chase Sr.
• Died about 4 May 1659 in Yarmouth, Plymouth Colony

Biography

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Chase-113

Profile last modified 12 Jul 2020 | Created 12 Sep 2010

William Chase Sr migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1620-1640).

Disputed Origins

NOTE: Please do not re-attach Aquila Chase and Martha Sarah Jelliman as parents of William.

Pre-merge duplicate profiles include some that called him son of Aquila Chase and Martha Sarah Jelliman. Some say he was b/bp 4 Jan 1607 at Hundrick Parish, Chesham, Buckingham, England, but without citation. Robert Charles Anderson says he was born by 1605 (based on estimated date of marriage) and his origins remain unknown, although he adds:

"Banks derives this William Chase from Wivenhoe, Essex, citing only 'Banks Mss.' [Topo Dict 53][1]; this is certainly the right area for an early Roxbury resident, but it should not be accepted without further research."[2]

However, there was a William Chase who had a wife named Marye that did reside in Essex. There is a christening record in Chelmsford, Essex, England for a William Chase, son of William and Marye, christened 27 Oct 1622, which fits with Banks' claim.[3] This could, possibly, be William Jr. of Yarmouth. There is, also, a christening record for a daughter named Dorothy 08 May 1625 which could be a daughter who died young. [4]

A 1928 genealogy of Hampton brothers Aquila Chase and Thomas Chase also indicates no proof that William was their brother or that any of these three were sons of Aquila and Martha (Jelliman) Chase. Key quotes include:

... No evidence has been found to support the claim, which has appeared in print innumerable times, that William Chase was a brother of Aquila and Thomas. In one instance it was state that this relationship was proven by Aquila's will making a bequest to his niece, 'daughter of his brother William.' This will, as will be seen, makes no such bequest.

From whence and how William came has not been established, notwithstanding the various statements that have appeared in print."[5]

An unsourced birth suggested: 19 Feb 1605 in Rogate, Sussex, England

Life

As described above, William's origins and parentage remain unknown. He married by 1627 in England Mary _____.

That he came to New England in 1630 as part of Winthrop's Fleet is supposed by an entry by Rev. John Eliott in the First Church of Roxbury, MA:

"William Chase, he came wth the first company, 1630."[6]

He lived with his family at Roxbury from 1630 to 1638 according to records kept by Rev. John Eliot of the church there. He was a housewright. He brought with him one child his son William, "a child of ill qualities & a sore affliction to his parents."[7] He removed to Yarmouth by 1638.

In Yarmouth he was involved in many court disputes.

Trouble with Marmaduke Mathewes brought him before the Court almost immediately, for on 1 Sept 1640 he was censured for his 'miscarriages' against Mr. Mathewes and disturbance of church proceedings.[8]

In 1641 he was back in court disagreeing with Nicholas Sympkins concerning a fence.

In 1647/8, the Plymouth Colony Court authorized Capt. Myles Standish to go to Yarmouth and put an end to the differences.
Death

He died in Yarmouth, MA btw 4 May 1659 (date of will) and 13 May 1659 (probate).[9]

His wife died not long after her husband:

"In October 1659 a coroner's jury 'having made search and inquiry, according to our best light and understanding, into the cause of death of Mary Chase, viz: of our town of Yarmouth, do with joint consent present, the day and year abovesaid, that we an find no other but that she died a natural death through inward sickness, as is evident to all men naturally." [PCR 3:172][10]

Last Will & Testament

"William Chace of Yarmouth the elder." Dated 4 May 1659; proved 13 May 1659; inventoried 14 Sep 1659:

• to my son Benjamin...
• to son William [elsewhere called eldest son] whoe hath had of mee alreddy a good portion...
• unto Mary my wife, named executor[9][11]

Children

1. William, b in England as early as 1627; m1 by 1645 _____ _____; m2 by 1672 ____ ____.
2. Mary, b probably in Roxbury abt 15 May 1637; bur Barnstable or Yarmouth 28 Oct 1652 as daughter of "Goodman Chase, ye elder"[12]
3. Benjamin, bp Roxbury 18 Apr 1652[13] (but Chase, 1933, p 49 -- as well as Savage and others -- believe Benjamin was born much earlier, say 1639); m by 1674 Phillipa Sherman, dau of Philip Sherman.

Excerpts from Additional Publications

From "Chamberlain Descendants of William Chase Peterson" (genealogylibrary.com) (may also contain his will):

William Chase and his family lived at Roxbury from 1630 to 1638; and the following information about them has been copied from the records of the church at Roxbury kept by Rev. John Eliot:

"William Chase, he came with the first company, 1630; he brought one child his son willia. a child of ill qualitys, & a sore affliction to his parents: he was much afflicted by the long & tedious affliction of his wife; after his wives recovery she bare him a daughter, wch they named mary borne aboute the midle of the 3d month [May], 1637. he did after yt remove (intending) to Situate, but after went with a company who maide a new plantation at yarmouth." (Roxbury Church Records, pp. 73-74.)

"Mary Chase, the wife of William Chase. she had a paralitik humor wch fell into her back bone, so yt she could not stir her body, but as she was lifted, and filled her wth great torture, & caused her back bone to goe out of joynt, & bunch out from the begining to the end of wch infirmity she lay 4 years & a halfe, & a great pt of the time a sad spectakle of misery: But it pleasd God to raise her againe, & she bore children after it." (Ib., p. 75.)

William Chase was named, 19 Oct. 1630, among those "who desire to be made freeman;" and he was made a freeman of the Massachusetts Bay Colony on 14 May 1634.[14] (REGISTER, vol. 3, pp. 90, 92.) In 1639 he moved to Yarmouth on Cape Cod, was appointed constable for the town of Yarmouth by the General Court of the Plymouth Colony, 5 Mar. 1638/9, and took the oath of office 4 June 1639. (Plymouth Colony Records, vol. 1, pp. 116, 125.)

His life at Yarmouth was not a peaceful one. Trouble with Marmaduke Mathewes brought him before the Court almost immediately, on 1 Sept. 1640 he was censured for his "miscarriages" against Mr. Mathewes and disturbance of the proceedings of the church, Court, and "contrey," and he gave the General Court bond for oe20 for his appearance at the next Court, 2 Mar. 1640/1. (Ib., vol. 1, pp. 135, 162, vol. 2, p. 9.) In 1641 he was again in Court on account of a disagreement with Nicholas Sympkins concerning a fence. (Ib., vol. 2, p. 20.)

Further, regarding his son William Jr.:

The following entry is found in the records of a General Court held at Plymouth on 6 Mar. 1654/5: "William Chase Junr. for goeing into the house of Richard Berry, and taking away by violence a p'cell of flax and a smale p'cell of hose yarne, was sentanced to sitt in the stockes an houre on a training day att Yarmouth." (Ib., vol. 3, p. 74.) This is obviously a duplicate with William Chase Sr.

Sources

• ↑ Banks, Charles Edward, 1854-1931. Topographical Dictionary of 2885 English Emigrants to New England. pg 53
• ↑ Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration Begins, (hereafter GMB) Boston, MA: NEHGS 1995, pp 336-338
• ↑ "England, Essex Parish Registers, 1538-1997," database, FamilySearch : 6 November 2017), William Chase in entry for William Chase, 27 Oct 1622, Christening; citing , Chelmsford, Essex, England, Essex Record Office, England; FHL microfilm 1,472,064. [1]
• ↑ "England, Essex Parish Registers, 1538-1997," database, FamilySearch[2] : 6 November 2017), William Chase in entry for Dorothie Chase, 08 May 1625, Christening; citing , Chelmsford, Essex, England, Essex Record Office, England; FHL microfilm 1,472,064.
• ↑ John Carroll,. Seven generations of the descendants of Aquila and Thomas Chase. Derry, N.H.: unknown, 1928, pp 9-10
• ↑ Thwing, Walter Eliot, b. 1848. History of the First Church in Roxbury, Massachusetts, 1630-1904. Boston: W.A. Butterfield. 1908. pg 45
• ↑ Roxbury Church Records, p 74
• ↑ Deyo, Simeon L. History of Barnstable County, Massachusetts, 1620-1637-1686-1890. New York: Blake. 1890. pg 457
• ↑ 9.0 9.1 Massachusetts County, District and Probate Courts. Wills, Inventories, Etc, 1637 to 1685, County of Barnstable; Probate Place: Plymouth, Massachusetts. [3] Subscription site
• ↑ GMB, p 337
• ↑ John Carroll Chase, "Some of the Descendants of William Chase of Roxbury and Yarmouth, Mass.," New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Boston, MA: NEHGS, 87(1933):48, citing Plymouth Colony Probate Records
• ↑ NEHGS Register 9:286
• ↑ Roxbury church Records, p 119
• ↑ Andrews, H. Franklin (Henry Franklin), 1844-1919. List of freemen, Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1630 to 1691: with freeman's oath, the first paper printed in New England / arranged by H.F. Andrews. [4]
• Robert Charles Anderson, Great Migration Begins..." p 336-338.
• Has extensive primary source references.
• The New England Historical & Genealogical Register 1851 pg 388
• The New England Historical & Genealogical Register 1888 pg 22-23
• Mayflower Family's through 5 Generations vol 17 pg 159
• The Connecticut Quarterly (Hartford, Conn., 1897) Vol. 3, Page 241
• See Also: Geni.com [5]
• Find A Grave Memorial# 16683401 from [6]: “The beautiful blue marble gravemarker (nicest in the cemetery) behind the First Baptist Church in West Harwich on Cape Cod.. for the Chases..has four sides which read as follows: William Chase FirstAmerican Ancestor Born 1595 Died 1659 Served in Narragansett War 1644/ below that: John Chase Born 1735- Served in French & Indian War 1760 Died While Crossing The Delaware River With Washington At the Battle of Trenton/ next side John Chase Jr. Born 1755 Served in the Revolution Was Dicharged at Its Close Also In the War of !812 And was killed in the Battle of Chrysler's Field Nov 11 1813/ next side Captain Neri Chase Son of John Jr. 1793-1873 Served In the War of 1812 At the Burning of Falmouth/Ira B. Chase..Son of Neri 1836.... Served in US Navy During the Civil War/ next side Whitman Chase Son of Neri 1831... Served As Acting Ensign And Acting Master in the U.S. Navy in the Civil War 1862-1865 His Wife Mehitable D. 1836-1902” - Frank Chace Colonel USMC (Ret), 2004

www.findagrave.com

William Chase, Sr
Birth 1595
Death 4 May 1659 (aged 63'9664)
Yarmouth, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, USA
Burial
Baptist Church Cemetery
West Harwich, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, USA
Memorial ID 16683401

He had 3 children: William Jr. c1627- 1684/5, Mary 1637 - 1652, Benjamin 1639 - c. 1730.

William died between May 4 , 1659 (date of will) and May 13, 1659 (probate of will).

Family Members
Parents
Aquila Chase
1580'961644
Martha Sarah Jelliman Chase
1582'961643
Spouse
Mary Louney Townley Townley Chase
1603'961659 (m. 1620)
Siblings
Thomas Chase
1616'961652

Aquila Chase 

1618'961670
Children

William Chase 

1621'961685
Mary Chase
1637'961652

Benjamin Chase 

1639'961730

Inscription
WILLIAM CHASE
FIRST
AMERICAN ANCESTOR,
BORN 1595 -- DIED 1659
SERVED IN NARRAGANSETT WAR 1644
JOHN CHASE
BORN 1735 SERVED IN FRENCH &
INDIAN WAR 1760,
DIED WHILE CROSSING THE
DELAWARE RIVER
WITH WASHINGTON
AT THE BATTLE OF TRENTON