William "of Weymouth" Reade

William "of Weymouth" Reade, who married Avis Chapman. Parents unknown: not the son of William Reade, of Maidstone & Lucy Reade.
Do not confuse with William Read, of New London. Not the same as William Reade, Jr. or of William Reed, of Woburn

Origins and emigration

Comments from Dr. P. Read, genforums. 2002: https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/reade/71/

Very FEW facts are known about the SECOND of these TWO immigrant William READEs to arrive in Weymouth.He is your William READE, born SAY 1605, and is the subject of this message.Some facts about his life while in Weymouth are:

• a.He probably arrived in Weymouth shortly before 1653 (see below);
• b.He was married to Avis ________ ;
• c.They had a child named James who was born CIRCA 1657;
• d.He held no public positions;
• e.He lived in (and may have owned) a house on a lot;
• f.Some of his children settled in Weymouth as adults;
• g.He never left Weymouth and died there (see below).

Note the sharp contrast between the events in the Weymouth life of the FIRST immigrant William READE (in point 3. just above) and those of the SECOND immigrant William READE. The first mention of him in Weymouth Town records was when he was elected a freeman (or voter) of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, at Weymouth, on 18 May 1653 (see "The Reade Record", Vol. X ,1917).This date is almost eighteen years after the founding of Weymouth on 02 September 1635.

Based on the 1653 date of the first appearance of the SECOND immigrant William READE in the Weymouth Town records and the fairly short time that new settlers usually took to be given freeman status, "The Reade Record" (Vol. X, 1917) concluded that he (and his wife and family) arrived in Weymouth "but a short time before" 1653

He died while living in Weymouth BEFORE 06 April 1658 per the Weymouth Town records.

Family

Married Avis Chapman 26 Oct 1635 in Long Sutton, Somerset, , England.  

Children:

1. Margaret born 1636 married John Vining 1st
2. Hannah born 1637-8 married Nicholas Whitmarsh
3. William born 10/15/1639 married Esther Thompson
4. perhaps Esther died 7/11/1719 Taunton married Jonah Austin - supporting evidence needed
5. Ruth born 1642 married John Whitman
6. Thomas born 1645 married Sarah Bicknell
7. Mary born 1647 died 4/16/1655
8. John born 1649 married first Bashua and second Bethiah Frye
9. James married Susannah Richmond.

Disambiguation

Tracing Reed ancestors in New England is difficult, because there were so many of them. James Savage, in Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, published in 1860, identified sixty-two Reed male heads of households in New England in the seventeenth century, in thirty-four apparently unrelated lines (3:515-20). Some of the links between families in the line presented on this web site are very weak links. But they are the most likely, presented in respected journals and books.

Comments from Dr. P. Read, genforums. 2002

Authors of compiled READE/READ/REED genealogies published prior to about 1920 did NOT recognize that there were TWO immigrant William READEs living in Weymouth in the period 1635 to about 1658. They assumed that there was only one William READE living in Weymouth in this era, and they created a (false) composite person by combining the data associated with the TWO individuals;
The parents, date of birth, place of birth, siblings, former place of residence in (probably) England, place and date of marriage, wife's maiden surname, ship used to reach the American Colonies, port of departure, date of arrival in the American Colonies, and port of arrival of the SECOND immigrant William READE of Weymouth, married to Avis, are all UNKNOWN (by the proof standards of today's professional genealogist).

From https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Reed-1700

There may have been a third William Reed in early Weymouth. A 1907 article by the Reade Historical and Genealogical Association reports the son of Sir William Reade of Folkestone immigrated to Weymouth and was married to an Avis.[9] Robert C. Anderson also mentions him, "There were at least two William Reads who resided at Weymouth in the early years, the subject of this sketch and another of the same name who arrived in town around 1650 with wife Avis" (p 28).[1] Anderson also mentions an interesting entry in the town record for the 1657 birth of an Ephraim Reed.[1] This was after the other known Reed family (William Read who married 1) Susanna Hayme and 2) Ruth Crooke), had removed to Boston and was certainly not a son of this profiled William Reed.

Summary

The William and Avis Reed who were the ancestors of most of the Weymouth Reeds COULD BE the WILLIAM REED and AVIS CHEPMAN who married at Long Sutton, county Somerset, England, on 26 October, 1635. Avis came from Knole, a hamlet in the eastern part of the parish of Long Sutton. The family of William and Avis Reed appear to have left Long Sutton some time after the baptism of their first child, 20 January, 1635/6. William and Avis Reed appeared in Weymouth, Massachusetts, probably some time before 1651.
William Reed probably took the Freeman's Oath at Weymouth on 18 May, 1653 (GR 3:192). William Reed probably died in Weymouth some time between 11 January, 1657/58 and 6 April, 1658. On the first date, he was alive enough to buy some lumber. On the second date, the town's Selectmen ordered that widow Reed be allowed to have a garden plot in front of her house. On 6 February, 1659/60, they further granted that widow Avis Reed have a swamp lot.

from the Genealogical & Family History of NH: 

William Reade 1 supposed to be the READE son of William and Lucy Henage [N.B.  No proof - and in Erica Howton's opionion Dec 2011, not likely] was born in 1605 and sailed from Gravesend in the county of Kent England in the Assurance de Lo Isaac Broomwell and George Persey masters in 1635. He settled in Weymouth Massachusetts where he was made a freeman September 2 1635. In the year 1636 he bought a house and land of Zachary Binknall for seven pounds thirteen shillings four pence which was an average price for homesteads at that day. Only one year before the date of William Reade's purchase all the land in Boston proper with the exception of six acres in and about Charles and Beacon streets was sold by William Blackstone for thirty pounds. Previous to 1650 a dwelling house in Boston and lot of land would not command a greater price than a good cow while in 1857 the average of the valuation of dwelling houses was $5,500. 

From The Ancestry of Katherine Choate Paul: 

Brianus de Rede of Morpeth in the year 1139 had three sons to wit 1 Robert of Rede whose son of that name was bishop of Carlisle 2 William who was bishop of Chichester 3 Thomas of Redydale. William bishop of Chichester had a son Robert who had a son Galfrinus who had sons 1 William who m Margaret Glanville 2 Thomas of Redydale 3 Robert whose son held the manor of Hallbury in the seventh year of King Henry VI. Thomas of Redydale had one son Edmond who owned an estate at Heddington Oxon and another son Thomas living in 1429 who had himself a son Thomas who had an estate at Heddington married Christiana daughter of Robert James Lapole and sister of Michael De Lapole lord chancellor and had sons 1 John who was mayor of Norwich 2 Edmond who m Alice 3 Thomas who had estates in Wrangle Boston Burg or Bury Winthrop Bennington Leake and Lineston. John the mayor of Norwich had a son Edward who married Isiod Stanley and had himself sons 1 John who m Joan Ludlow and d Nov n 1502 2 Bartholomew who was mayor of London in 1502-3; Robert who m Margaret Alphew of Chiddingstone and became chief justice of the King's Bench; 4 William b about 1450 who was a professor of divinity. The last named William had a son Sir William who married Ann Menis and himself had a son William who married Rebecca the daughter and co heir of Menis and had children as follows 1 Matthew who married Alice Ward, 2 John who was knighted by King Charles I, 3 Richard who m Joan Dale of London lived there in 1657 aged eighty seven years and had besides Richard of Whittlesey in Kent and Rebecca, a son William believed to have been that William Reade who came to New England about 1635 settled at Weymouth Mass and removed thence to Boston.
4Thomas, 5 William, 6 Lucy. Matthew Reade who married Alice Ward had 1 William who m Lucy Henage, 2 Daughter who m Sir Henry Oxinden of Dene, 3 Elizabeth who m Morace Dixwell Esq of Broome in Kent. And William Reade who married Lucy Henage had sons 1 John believed to have been that John Reade b 1598 who came to New England in Winthrop's company lived at Weymouth, Dorchester, and Braintree and having settled finally at Rehoboth died there Sep 7 1685; 2 William believed to have been that William Reade b 1605 who settled at Weymouth Mass. 
9069 WILLIAM READE of Weymouth Mass born in 1605 was a brother of John of Weymouth. Dorchester. Braintree and Rehoboth and having left Gravesend. England in the ship Assurance July 24 1635 settled at Weymouth became a freeman there Sep 2 1635, bought house and land there of Zachary Bicknels in 1636. and represented the town in general court in 1636 and 1638. His wife who came also from England was Avis Deacon. Their children born in Weymouth were 1 Margaret b 1636 m John Viningm 2 Hannah b 1637 8 m Nicholas Whitmarsh, 3 William b Oct 15 1639 m Esther Thompson, 4 Esther b May 8 1641, 5 Ruth b 1642 m John Whitman, 6 Thomas b 1645 m Sarah Bicknell, 7 Mary b 1647 d Apr 16 1655, 8 John b 1649 m first Bashua and second Bethiah Frye, 9 James m Susannah Richmond. 8069 HANNAH READE born in Weymouth about 1637 8 married there Apr 2 1658 Nicholas Whitmarsh 8006 of that place and resided and doubtless died there.

from The History of the Reed Family in Europe & America: 

William the son of Galfrinus also had a son William. WILLIAM READE supposed to be the son of William Reade and Lucy Henage was born in 1605 and sailed from Gravesend in the county of Kent in the Assurance de Lo, Isaac Broomwell and George Persey masters in 1635. He settled in Weymouth.
 The Christian name of his wife it is supposed was Ivis Their children were William born Oct 15 1639, Esther May 8 1641, Thomas, John 1649, Mary who married Thomas Dyer, Margaret who married John Yining May 11 1757 and died May 6 1659.

From The Genealogical & Family History of Western NY: 

Thomas Reade of Weymouth born in 1645 which last named was a son of William Reade of Weymouth the immigrant ancestor of the family in this country who was born in 1605 in England and immigrant to America in 1635. He was a son of William Reade and Lucy Henage, a grandson of Matthew Reade and Alice Ward, and a great grandson of William Reade and Rebecca Menis, the last named was a son of Sir William Reade and Ann Menis, which last named William Reade was a son of William Reade Doctor of Divinity born about 1440, who was a son of Edward Reade and Isiod Stanley. Edward Reade was a son of John Reade mayor of Norwich about 1388, who was a son of Thomas Reade and Christiana his wife daughter of Sir Michael de la Pole second Earl of Suffolk. This last named Thomas Reade was a son of Thomas Rede of Redydale, grandson of Thomas Rede and great grandson of Galfrinus Rede of Redydale who was a great grandson of Brianus de Rede of Morpeth who flourished about 1139.

From Historic Homes & Institutions...by Cutter: 

It is supposed that he came from Maidstone near London. On March 9 1636 7 he purchased from the estate of Zachery Bicknell his house and farm which was located on the west side of Middle street.The old house stood on the knoll opposite the junction of Middle and Charles streets. The premises were recently owned by James Clapp. They passed out of the family in 1769. 
William Reade was among the first settlers of Weymouth which was made a plantation May 8 1635. He was admitted a freeman September 2 1635 and was elected deputy to the general court December 7 1636 and again September 6 1638 Rev Joseph Hull and his company came to Weymouth in the spring of 1635 shortly before Reade settled there and this band of very worthy settlers established one of the most noted colonies of the early days of the New England Puritans.
 In the same month that Mr Reade left England another ship containing his future wife sailed.  Avis Deacon was on the Alice of which Richard Orchard was the master and which sailed July 13 1635 from Gravesend with thirty two passengers most of whom were young men and women. Her twin brother

Thomas Deacon came on the boat with Reade.

Avis Deacon married William Reade probably soon after her arrival in New England. Reade was allotted land in the first division at Weymouth and he acquired considerable real estate.

---

May not be the son of William Reade and Lucy Heneage

WILLIAM READE, supposed to be the son of William Reade and Lucy Henage,was born in 1605, and sailed from Graves end, in the county of Kent, in the "Assurance de Lo" (Isaac Broomwell and George Persey, masters), in1635. He settled in Weymouth, Mass; and was made freeman, Sept . 2, 1635.He b ought a house and land of Zachary Bicknall, for seven pounds thirteen shillings and fourpence, in 1636; which was an average price for homesteads at that early day. Onl y one year before the date of William Reade's purchase, all the land in Boston Proper, with the exception of six acres in and about Charles and Beacon Streets, was sold by William Blacks tone for thirty pounds. Previous to 1650, adwelling-house in Boston, and lot of land, woul d not command a greater price than a good cow; while, in 1857, the average of the valuation of dwelling-houses was $5,500. Mr. Reade was among the early settlers of Weymouth,--it havin g been made a plantation, May 8, 1635; and Rev. Mr.Hall and twenty-one families settled ther e. He was representative from Weymouth in 1636 and '38. The Christian name of his wife, it is supposed, was Ivis. Their children were--William, born Oct. 15, 1639;Esther, May 8, 1641 ; Thomas; John, 1649; Mary, who married Thomas Dyer;Margaret, who married John Vining, May 1 1, 1757, and died May 6, 1659."(Reed.doc, p.310)

Title: History of the Reed Family in Europe and America Author: Reed,Jacob Whittemore Public ation: Boston: John Wilson and Son, 1861

From the Talcott genealogy:

Samuel Read, the father of John, was the son of John Read who came to America in the great fleet of 1630, who was supposed to be the son of William Read and Lucy Henage, and brother to WIlliam of Weymouth, and born 1598. Was of Weymouth 1637, Dorchester 1638, and Braintree 164 3-4, and went with Reverend Mr. Newman to Rehoboth (Attleboro). He was a man of large property for the times, and held various public offices. He lived at what was called "The Run," now Seekonk; he married Sarah ---and had 13 children, of whom Samuel above was the oldest.
Note: William Read (Reed) married by about 1629 Maybel ____, & brought her to Massachusetts Bay. They had 8 children: George, Ralph, Justice, Abigail Wyman, Israel, Sarah Walker, Rebecca Winn, & another unnamed child. She married (2) at Woburn on 21 Nov 1660 Henry Summers Senior. She died at Woburn on 15 Jun 1690, 11 days AFTER her inventory was taken & 2 days before her will was proved. + Source" Anderson's Great Migration Study Project

Bibliographic Comments

"The Reade Record" identified the SECOND immigrant William READE, born SAY 1605, married to Avis, with the title "William READE of Weymouth".They also gave him the number of "READE No. 16" on their list of the 44 distinct (unrelated) immigrant READE/READ/REED heads of families in Colonial America.

Copies of "The Reade Record" are hard to find, but before he died in 2001 the late Gregg Kinney transcribed and placed portions of selected articles in "The Reade Record" which dealt with the SECOND immigrant William READE of Weymouth, born SAY 1605, married to Avis, on the lower portion of a web page.

The two early compiled genealogies on READE/READ/REEDs:

1.Jacob Whittemore Reed's 1861 book "The Reed Family in Europe and America", John Wilson and Son;

2.John Ludovicus Reed's 1902 book "The Reed Genealogy - Descendants of William Reade of Weymouth, Massachusetts", The Lord Baltimore Press;

are VERY UNRELIABLE sources of information about an immigrant William READE of Weymouth, born SAY 1605, married to Avis.

Sources

• Paul Herbig. "Herbig-Cracken family Chronicles, "Avis DEACON married soon after arrival."
• History of Weymouth, Massachusetts: Published by the Weymouth Historical Society, Howard H. Joy, President. Under Direction of the Town, Volume 4 Weymouth Historical Society (Weymouth, Mass.) Wright & Potter printing Company, 1923 Page 568 - 569 GoogleBooks
•  http://maxfield5.tripod.com/reedw1.html
•  http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/c/o/u/Donna-M-Courtney/W...
•  http://genforum.genealogy.com/reade/messages/71.html
• The Damon family : listing some of the Ohio descendants of Amos Damon of Chesterfield, Mass .. Page 147 AncestryImage “Reed Family.”
• https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/reed/3918/

  ---

Biography

From https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Reed-1700

:Migration: unknown, Freeman at Weymouth, 18 May 1653
:Residence: Weymouth
:Marriage: Avis Chapman

Note of Caution, Multiple William Reads

Robert C. Anderson in his Great Migration, warns that there were multiple William Reads living in Boston and Weymouth at the same time, and that their biographies are so confused that Anderson chose not to deal with the problems. Anderson, Robert C., William Read Great Migration 1634-1635, R-S. Vol R-S, Pages 24-30 (Online database accessed February 4, 2015. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2012.) Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009. He said the works of Pope and Savage "muddled the records." He called Weymouth History by George Walter Chamberlain "less successful, but still useful," and Jacob Whittemore Reed's History of the Reed Family in Europe and America, (Boston 1861) "worthless." The one work he recommends is by Donald Lines Jacobus', The Granberry Family and Allied Families, Including the Ancestry of Helen (Woodward) Granberry. However, Jacobus cites Chamberlain and J. L. Reed, and even his work contains some mistakes regarding this William Read.

The other William Read of Weymouth is William Read in WikiTree. (He married 1) Susanna Hayme and 2) Ruth Crooke), arrived earlier, and removed to Boston by 1646.

Origin

Anderson in The American Genealogist, uses "Reed". Anderson, Robert Charles, "Ancestry of President Calvin Coolidge" The American Genealogist. (Vol 53, Page 165) New Haven, CT: D. L. Jacobus, 1937-. (Online database accessed February 4, 2015. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .)</ref> Jacobus in The Granberry Family ... also uses the "Reed" spelling.<ref name="Jacobus">Jacobus, Donald L., and Waterman, Edgar F., The Granberry Family and Allied Families, Including the Ancestry of Helen (Woodward) Granberry ..." (Pages 301-02) Hartford: E. F. Waterman, 1945, HathiTrust.org accessed February 4, 2015

Very little is known about the origin of this William Reed. We do not know his birth date, nor his place of birth, nor his parents.

He may have been the William Reed who married at Long Sutton, county Somerset, England, on 26 October, 1635 to "Avis Chepman." Jacobus in The American Genealogist, describes Avis Chapman as "of Knole, County Somerset, England." Knole was a small village in the parish of Long Sutton. Therefore, William might also have been born at the parish of Long Sutton, county Somerset, England.

The idea that William was a son of Richard Reade and Joanna Dale comes from their mention in Jacob Whittemore Reed's History of the Reed Family in Europe and America, ... (Boston 1861) which Anderson calls "worthless." This profile was detached from Sir William Read, as father (source of this is unknown).

Jacob Whitmore Reed also reports that William's parents were William Reade and Lucy Henage from Kent, and that he sailed in 1635 aboard the Assurance. Reed, Jacob Whitmore, The Reed Family in Europe & America. (Pgs 37, 310) Boston: 1861, Archive.org accessed February 8, 2015 (Note: called "worthless" by Robert Charles Anderson). This is a case of mistaking one William Reed/Read for another. Kinney, Greg, "Probably Avis Chapman - not Avis Deacon" GenForum July 22, 2000, accessed February 8, 2015. In fact the Reads aboard the Assurance in 1635 were expressly "to be transported to Virginea"! Reed, Alanson H., The William Reade Memorial The Reade Record No. 1-16 Boston: Reade Society for Genealogical Research, 1904, (No. 2 1909, Extra number A, Page 3) accessed February 8, 2015 This defies common sense. It is too early, the wrong destination (Virginia), and there was no woman named Avis, nor woman named Read/Reed/Reade aboard that ship. Freeman, Laura, trancriber, Passengers on Ship Assurance of London from London England to Virginia 1635 accessed February 4, 2015. William could not have been on the voyage in July and married in Somersetshire in October of the same year.

Birth date c. 1614 is a guess, based on marriage in 1635.

Immigration

The details of the family's immigration are not known. It is certain that they arrived at Weymouth prior to the first record of William when he was made a freeman at Weymouth on 18 May 1653.<ref name="Jacobus">Jacobus, Donald L., and Waterman, Edgar F., The Granberry Family and Allied Families, Including the Ancestry of Helen (Woodward) Granberry (Page 301-02) Hartford: E. F. Waterman, 1945, HathiTrust.org accessed February 11, 2015. This also proves that his Wiliam Reed was not the "William Reade" elected a "Townsman" (or Selectman) at Weymouth, Nov. 26, 1651, as public offices were only held by church members.

Even The Granberry Family and Allied Families ... by Jacobus, which Anderson recommends, is not perfect. It attributes property which obviously could not have belonged to this William Reed when he writes, "On 9 March 1636/7 William Reade having bought the house & 20 acres of land at Weymouth..."<ref name="Jacobus"/> This was more than ten years before this William arrived at Weymouth and certainly belonged to the other William Read.

However the two families were probably not in Weymouth at exactly the same time, as it seems the other William Read removed to Boston about 1646, and this William Reed did not arrive until about 1650. Nevertheless, their records are often confused with each other.

Family

William married 26 October 1635 at Long Sutton, Somersetshire, England to Avis Chapman as "Avis Chepman." Anderson, Robert Charles, "Ancestry of President Calvin Coolidge, Cont." The American Genealogist. (Vol 53, Page 165) New Haven, CT: D. L. Jacobus, 1937-. (Online database accessed February 4, 2015. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .). Also in the parish records is an entry, "Wm. Reade and Avis Chapman 8th Oct. 1635." Kinney, Greg, "Probably Avis Chapman - not Avis Deacon" GenForum July 22, 2000, accessed February 8, 2015

Children Maxfield, Charles A., Some of the Descendants of William and Avis Reed of Weymouth accessed February 8, 2015.

1. Margaret Reed bpt 20 Jan 1635/6 Long Sutton; mar 11 May 1657 to John Vining
2. Hannah Reed b 1637, d 17 Aug 1663 ; mar 2 Dec 1658 Weymouth to Nicholas Whitmarsh
3. Ruth Reed b 1642 (Aldridge, p13),Weymouth; mar 19 Dec 1662 John Whitman
4. Thomas Reed b c. 1645 Weymouth
5. Mary Reed b 1647 Weymouth, d 16 April 1655
6. John Reed d 13 Jan 1720/2 Dighton, MA; mar Bethia Frye, daughter of George Fry/Frye of Taunton
7. William Reed b bef 1650; mar Esther Tomson
8. James Reed b betw 1657-60 Weymouth; mar Susannah Richmond

Death and Legacy

William died between 11 January 1657/8 and 6 April 1658 at Weymouth, Suffolk (later Norfolk) County, Massachusetts. On 11 January, 1657/58, he purchased lumber, and on 6 April 1658, Avis is recorded as his widow, when the town ruled she could have a front-yard garden."

Sources

• Aldridge, Bertha Bortle Beal, Reed Descendants: Thirteen Generations, Including the Ancestors of Paul Reed 1605-1955; Also Other Lines of Descendants of His Immigrant Ancestor William Reed, Born 1605 England. Batavia, NY: LaVerne Cooley, 1955. P. 11-13
• 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. (Page: 2081) New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1915.
• Jacobus, Donald L., and Waterman, Edgar F., The Granberry Family and Allied Families, Including the Ancestry of Helen (Woodward) Granberry (Page 297-99) Hartford: E. F. Waterman, 1945, HathiTrust.org accessed January 20, 2015 (recommended by Anderson).
• Reed, Jacob Whitmore, The Reed Family in Europe & America. (Pg 310) Boston: 1861, Archive.org accessed February 8, 2015 (Note: called "worthless" by Robert Charles Anderson).
• Reed, John L., Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirsof Worcester County Massachusetts. by New York: The Lewis publishing company, 1901.
• Reed, John Ludovicus, The Reed Genealogy -Descendants of William Reade of Weymouth, Massachusetts From 1635 to 1902. Baltimore, MD: The Lord Baltimore Press, 1901, pages: 5,14,16.