Person:John Washburn (5)

John Washburn was in Plymouth Colony at least as early as 2 January 1632/33, when he sued Edward Doty. ^[5] John was taxed at Plymouth in 1633 but not in 1634. In March 1635 he purchased land, shortly afterward his family (Margaret, aged 49, with ch. John, 14; and Philip, 11) arrived from England on the Elizabeth and Ann. This may suggest he returned briefly to get them started on their journey. Took the oath of fidelity at Duxbury in 1639 and admitted as a freeman in 1646. Served as a member of the grand jury several times between 1645 and 1660. Surveyor of highways in 1639 and 1649. Listed as able to bear arms for Duxbury in 1643. Accrued several dozen acres in Duxbury through grants and purchases. He was a freeman on 2 June 1646 and served in various minor offices at Duxbury (Grand jury, Appointed to view bounds, Coroner's jury, Duxbury Surveyor of Highways)^[6]

On 3 June 1662 he was granted what appears to be a double portion of land at Saconnet (Little Compton) by virtue of his being both an ancient freeman and a former servant, though the records do not indicate to whom he was a servant. ^[7] There is no record that he lived in Saconnet, but he moved from Duxbury to Bridgewater sometime after 26 May 1666.

Bowman shows (16:248) that John, Sr. must have died shortly before 17 March 1670/71. ^[8] But Great Migration believes that John Sr. was still living on 17 March 1670/1 and 22 May 1671 when his son was called Jr., but died soon after, as the document was altered to call the son Sr. ^[9]

Ancestry

Davenport supports the claim of some American Washburn descendants that John Washburn is a descendant of the Washburns of Wichenford, who have a proven royal line; however, he offers no valid evidence, and the claim must be considered unproven and probably false, E. A. B. Barnard, Some Notes on the Evesharn Branch of the Washbourne Family (Evesham, 1914), points out that there were Washburns in the neighborhood of Evesham centuries before a descendant of the Wichenford family is claimed to have moved there. Numerous errors have appeared on the Washburn family, such as the claim that the immigrant John Washburn was identical with the John Washburn who was the secretary in England of the Plymouth (England) Company until 1628, which Davenport denies, pointing to handwriting specimens of each, and noting that the Plymouth immigrant was a churchwarden in Bengeworth as recently as 1625. It is, however, possible that William Washburn, who died on Long Island in 1659, might have been either a brother or cousin to the immigrant John Washburn; see Davenport, p. 54, and John G. Hunt, "Clues to Origin of Washburne ... of Hempstead, L.I., etc.," TAG 36:62-64.

1. ↑ Washburn, George T. Ebenezer Washburn, his Ancestors and Descendants: a family story of 700 years. (Pasumala, SD: American Mission Lenox Press, 1913).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} John Washburn, in Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633. (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995).

   Origin:Bengeworth, Worcestershire
   Migration: 1632
   First Residence: Plymouth
   Occupation: Tailor [PCR 1:85]
   
   Birth: Baptized at Bengeworth, Worcestershire, 2 July 1597, son of John and Martha (Timbrell (Stephens) Washburn [Washbourne Gen 47]
   Death: Early in 1671 (apparently living on 17 Mar 1670/1 and 22 May 1671 when his son was called Jr., but died soon after, as the document was altered to call the son Sr. [MD 16:248, 250, citing PCLR 3:209]).

3.   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).

   JOHN, Plymouth 1632, came, I suppose from Evesham, Co. Worcester, and in 16354, his w. Margaret, aged 49, with ch. John, 14; and Philip, 11, foll. him in the sh. Elizabeth and Ann from London, as by certif. of the mayor and the min. of E. He was of Duxbury side of the water, and bec. one of the orig. sett. of Bridgewater, and d. bef. 1670.

4.   Stratton, Eugene Aubrey. Plymouth Colony, Its History & People 1620 - 1691. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry Publishing, 1986).
5. ↑ PCR l-,6
6. ↑ Anderson, Great Migration
7. ↑ PCR 4:18; this would certainly seem to refute any claim that he had been secretary of the Plymouth Company.
8. ↑ George E. Bowman, "Washburn Notes," MD 15:247-53, 16:248-53
9. ↑ Anderson, Great Migration, citing MD 16:248, 250, citing PCLR 3:209