Person:John Nelson (12)

John Nelson of Middleborough and Plymouth, Mass., married three times and had seven children. His sister Jane wed Thomas Faunce.

From the Bartlett Society

He was the son of William and Martha (Ford) Nelson. He had married (1st) in Plymouth 28 Nov 1667 Sarah Wood by whom he had Mehetabel, Martha and John. He m. (3) in Plymouth 4 May 1693 Patience Morton by whom he had Liddiah and Sarah.

On 22 June 1697 Samuel Nelson, son of John Nelson, late of Plimoth chose William Shurtleff and Nathaniel Wood as his guardians. On 22 Dec 1698 William Nelson of Middleborough and James Barbabe of Plymouth were appointed guardians of Joanna Nelson, daughter of John Nelson of Plymouth.

Legacy

John Nelson made his will at Plymouth, 29 April, 1697, and died the same day. An exhaustive extract of the will, and of all records relating to the settlement of the estate, found in the Plymouth County, Mass. Probate Records and Files.^[8]

John Nelson's Will

[1: 270] On 29 April, 1697, "John Nelson of Plimouth" made his will. Bequests were as follows:

To "my Son Samuel the westermost part of that land I Bought mr Cotton Square off from Haywards Swamp to Edward Doteys land."

"Item I Give to my Daughter Mehetabel Dotey That land which lyes Eastward & westward of the house She lives in as far as my land goes also to my sd Daughter [p. 271] I Give all that part And portion of my meadow at ye Gurnet which I bought of Francis west of Duxborough Also I Give unto her The yoak of oxen which are now in ye hands of my Son in law John Dotey and a Small Bed that is now in their hands which said Particulars now Bequeathed to my Said Daughter with what they have Received already I esteeme as good as fifty pounds."

To "my Daughter Joanna The Bed I commonly lye upon with all Sutable furniture to it"

"I Give to Anne Tilson forty shillings."

"All ye the lands I have Either in plimouth or Duxborough or Elsewhere whether upland or meadow I Give to my Beloved wife patience Nelson for ye term of Sixteene yeares from ye day of this date."

"All ye Cattel and movables I Give & Bequeath to my said wife at the end of ye abovementioned Sixteene years: my Will is that my Son Samuel Have all said Lands he allowing to his mother in law the Benifits of ye thirds During her life . my desire is that if Samuel cary it well to my wife that She allow him a place to Build a house upon when he shall Attaine to ye Age of twenty one years." "Item my will is That my wife Give unto my Daughter Joanna the Sum of ten pounds when she shall come to be Eighteene years of age And if said Joanna dye before that time or without heirs afterwards that then the said ten pounds be paid to my Daughter Mehetabel Dotey."

"my will is that my wife Give unto Samuel two young Buls or two young Steeres which they can agree upon."

"my will is That if my Son Samuel Dye before he comes of Age that then all my lands which he is to Receive by vertue of this will Sixteen years after my decease shall be Equally divided betweene my then Surviving children Still Reserving ye Rights & priviledge of thirds to my wife during her naturall life." "wife patience Nelson" to be sole executrix.

"Also my desire is That my loving Son in law John Dotey junr & Such other person or persons as my wife shall Desire may be helpfull to her in ye performing this my will"

"my will is that when my son Samuel takes possession of ye land that he give ten pounds to my Daughter Joanna."

The witnesses were John Cotton, John Bradford and Thomas Faunce, all of whom made oath to the will, at Plymouth, on 16 June, 1697, before William Bradford, Esq., Judge of Probate.

[I :272] On 16 June, 1697, the will was probated, and administration committed to Patience Nelson, executrix, by William Bradford, Judge of Probate.

[From original inventory] On 18 May, 1697, the inventory was taken, by Thomas Faunce, "Epraim morton" and "Nathanell Wood". No real estate was mentioned.

Patience Nelson, executrix, made oath to the inventory, before William Bradford, Esq., on 16 June, 1697. [The inventory was also recorded, 1: 272.]

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Roser, Susan E. Mayflower Increasings (2nd Edition). (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. [1], 1995)
   p. 112.
2. ↑ Davis, William. Genealogical Register of Plymouth Families.
3. ↑ Vital Records of Plymouth, Mass..
4. ↑ Spooner, Thomas. Records of William Spooner of Plymouth, Mass. and his descendants. (Cincinnati, Ohio: T. Spooner, 1883).
5. ↑ General Society of Mayflower Descendants. Mayflower Families in Progress. (1991)
   Richard Warren of the Mayflower and His Descendants for Four Generations.

   p. 11, 3rd edition, General Society of Mayflower Descendants, Plymouth, MA, 1989

6. ↑ Torrey, Clarence Almon. New England Marriages Prior to 1700. (1963).
7. ↑ 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 Farmer's Register. (Boston: Little, Brown, and Co, 1860-1862)
   Vol. 3, p. 267.

   JOHN, Middleborough, perhaps s[on]. of William, m[arried]. Lydia, wid[ow]. of James Barnaby, d[aughter]. of Robert Bartlett of Plymouth. but she was, I judge, his sec[ond]. w[ife]. and that he first m[arried]. 28 Nov. 1667, Sarah, d[aughter]. of Henry Wood, wh[o]. d[ied]. 4 Mar. 1676, hav[ing]. had John, wh[o]. d[ied]. 5 June 1676; and Martha, wh[o]. d[ied]. 19 Feb. preced[ing].

8. ↑ ^8.0 8.1 Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants. Mayflower Descendant: An Illustrated Quarterly Magazine of Pilgrim Genealogy, History and Biography
   Vol. 1, p. 220 (ch by Sarah); 13, p. 206 (Morton marriage); 16, p. 63 (death); 19, p. 190-2 (will); 40, p. 36 (Sam. gdn.).
9.   Landis, John T. Mayflower Descendants and Their Marriages for Two Generations After the Landing: including a short history of the church of the pilgrim founders of New England. (Washington, DC, 1922).