Person:Robert Tilton (1)

William Tilton’s family was well established in the parish of Wolston, Warwickshire, when William was born there in late 1586 or early 1587. His christening is upon the church records as February 28, 1586/7, the son of “Robert Tillton.” The marriage record of his parents in the same parish provides his mother’s name as Elizabeth Focell.

In 1610 William married Ursula Pycroft of Claybrooke, Leicestershire, around twelve miles to the northeast of Wolston. At this time William’s residence was Church Lawford, a parish adjoining Wolston. After their wedding William and Ursula resided in Wolston, where two children were born to them, John in 1613 and Peter in 1620.

In May 1638 Ursula passed away. The following December William married a second time. In the marriage entry, in Wolston, the minister failed to record the bride Susanna’s maiden name.

To William and Susanna in England came probably the son they named Samuel in about 1639, and maybe their son Abraham in about 1642. Around this time the family left their native land, crossed the Atlantic Ocean, and settled in Lynn, Massachusetts.

The first record of them in Lynn is dated March 16, 1643/4, when William helped with the inventory of an estate. Being this early in the year, the family’s sailing would have been at the latest 1643 and maybe earlier. Sons John and Peter had come before this. John had married in England in January 1640, in the parish of Claybrooke where resided relatives of his mother. With his bride he left England that early spring, and their son John was born in Lynn, Massachusetts in June. Peter came with a group who settled in Windsor, Connecticut, as his marriage is on record there in May 1641. John and Peter may have come together and settled in different areas after their arrival.

The last child of William and Susanna was a son born in about 1646, and they named him Daniel.

This same year the records have “William Tilton of Lynn freed from [military] training, paying 6s. yearly, but to keep his arms fixed,” and in June 1647 he was entirely freed from training because of his age. Such action was customarily taken when a man reached the age of sixty, which is what he was.

William died in the spring of 1653, the inventory of his estate being enumerated April 16. The listing contained his house and about two acres of land. On the east the property adjoined the town common, north and west other homesteads, and on the south “the Sea.” Among the other items were “too bibles and a hammer,” also a “sword, muskett & bandeleres.”

The winter after William’s death, widow Susanna apprenticed her son Abraham to a Lynn neighbor, John Hood, a weaver by trade. The indenture sets forth the duties of master and servant (“ye” in the document is here transcribed as “the,” which is what it meant and how it was spoken):

This indenture made the fifth day of December in year 1653 between Abraham Tilton the sonne of the Widdow Tilton of Lynn in New England and County of Essex on the one part and John Hud of the same town and County, Weaver Witnesseth that Abraham Tilton aforesaid hath, with the consent of his friends put himself apprentice to John Hude Weaver in the town and County aforesaid after the manner of an apprentice with him to dwell from the day and date hereof the full time and term of eight years and during the said time shall 2 William Tilton 1587 the said Abraham his said Master faithfully shall serve, his secrets shall keep, his lawful commands everywhere gladly shall Doe, taverns shall not frequent, matrimony hee shall not contract, Damage to his said Master hee shall not doe nor suffer others, hee shall not absent himselfe from the house of his said Master by day nor by night unlawfully, but everywhere behave himselfe as a faithful servant ought to do. And the said John Hud to his said servant shall teache and inform, or cause to be taught and informed in the art craft misterie and occupation of a Weaver as much as thereto belongeth or anywise apperteineth to the uttermost skill that John Hud himselfe hath, finding to his said Servant meat, drink, hoseri, shoes Woolen linnen Clothes Washing and ordering, and att the end of his time to learn to write between Yuletide and Januarie the servants friends paying for his writing and the said John hath liberty in case hee goe to Old England to give his servant his time; the said Abraham is to have double now at his coming to service. In Witness Whereof Wee Jno Hud and Abraham Tilton hath interchangably sett hands and seales the day and year above written
His Mark John Hud

This same winter, early 1653/4, Susanna remarried to widower Roger Shaw of Hampton, New Hampshire (then in Massachusetts jurisdiction), a man of ability and character. They signed a prenuptial contract by which Roger agreed to make certain payments to her children when they came of age. Susanna, with her sons Samuel and Daniel, moved to Roger’s home in Hampton. Because the pre-marriage residences of Roger and Susanna were far from each other, several suggestions arise about how they became acquainted. Perhaps they had common friends or relatives, or knew one another in England. Both Lynn and Hampton were on the seacoast, which may have been a factor.

From England Roger Shaw had come to Cambridge, Massachusetts in about 1638 and served that town as selectman and town clerk before moving to Hampton in 1647. Here also he served as selectman and represented the town in General Court in 1651, 1652, and 1653.

March 8, 1653/4 Roger and Susanna sold the Lynn parcel that she had inherited.

Ten months after the sale Susanna died, January 28, 1654/5, in Hampton, and Roger assumed the care of her two sons who were living with him, the older aged about sixteen, the younger aged about nine.

Meanwhile, back in Lynn, John Hood did in fact return to old England, as the apprentice indenture stated he might. This was probably in the summer of 1654, just months after Abraham Tilton began his apprenticeship. This left Abraham in the care of John’s wife, Elizabeth Hood, who no doubt felt that she could watch out for his needs until her husband returned. It seems that his return became delayed beyond what was expected, as the point arrived when Elizabeth felt that Abraham should be living with his own family until John Hood came back and continued the training. She knew of his mother’s death, and asked leaders in Lynn what they recommended she do. Then, the records state, “taking the advice of the Elders at Lynn,” she, through officials, negotiated with Abraham’s much older half-brother, “Peter Tilton living in Connetticott,” who would take Abraham and pay her thirty shillings “in lieu of w’t charges I had been att hee being young & but a little W’th us.” Abraham was taken to Connecticut.

Then the scenario changed. Deciding to remain in England, John Hood wrote to his wife Elizabeth in 1655 asking her to wind up his affairs in Lynn and join him. He directed her “to William Tilton 1587 3 deliver his prentice Abraham Tilton to his mother.” As the boy’s mother had died in January, 1654/5, this was impossible, but, of course, John did not know of Susanna’s passing.

When Roger Shaw, who was a very conscientious step-father, heard of what was happening, he traveled from Hampton to Lynn and asked that the boy be delivered to him. He talked with townsfolks who had known Susanna’s family well, and one man told him, and entered it into the court record, that he had “some speeche with Abraham Tilton before hee was sent away to Conecticott” and that “hee was altogether unwilling to goe to his brother but rather chose to goe to his father goodman Shaw.” Roger Shaw applied to the County Court at Hampton and obtained an order that Abraham should be placed in his care. He served it on Goodwife Hood. This had the desired effect, for in November, 1655, after explaining her position in detail she revoked the contract made with Peter Tilton “yielding & submitting to Wt the Court hath granted to his father in law [step-father] Rodger Shaw.” Thus Abraham’s stay in Connecticut was short, and the rest of his boyhood was spent with his brothers Samuel and Daniel in the Shaw household in Hampton.

April 6, 1660, Roger Shaw deeded to Samuel Tilton “ye son of Susana, my late wife, now deceased,” fifteen acres of upland and five acres of marsh in Hampton.

Roger lived until May 29, 1661. In his will he gave to his “son Daniell Tilton Five pounds” and directed his son Benjamin Shaw to “pay unto Daniell Tilton the sum of Twenty five pounds when hee comes to the aige of 21 yeares.” In a codicil he relieved Benjamin of this duty and appointed his son Joseph Shaw “to pay Abraham and Daniell Tilton their portions according to Covenant when they shall Come of Age.” Two weeks after Roger’s death, June 12, 1661, Joseph Shaw, his father’s executor, received from Samuel Tilton an acknowledgment that the £30 which Roger and Susanna Shaw had agreed should fall to him when he reached the age of twenty-one had been fully paid to his satisfaction. Samuel married in 1662. April 13, 1663, he, as then guardian of his brother Daniel, acknowledged the receipt of £10 from Joseph Shaw on Daniel’s account. Undoubtedly, whatever else might have been eventually due to Daniel was also paid.

Abraham married in 1666. May 13, 1669, he, then of Sturgeon Creek in the Maine town of Kittery, gave a receipt to the same step-brother, Joseph Shaw of Hampton, for £20, half of which was due to him by the will of his father, William Tilton of Lynn, and half by the contract of marriage between Roger Shaw and his mother. To be noted is that Abraham, when grown, earned his living as a house carpenter and millwright (builder of mills). Obviously he had not continued an apprenticeship of weaving, but instead had taken up the building trades.

Also published in England as Tilton family genealogical notes by Debrett Ancestry Research (Winchester, England) 1986/7 [1] A copy of these documents were published in Vol 12 p 6104+ in The ancestry of Anthony Morris Johnson including an updated Corrigenda dated 3 Mar 1992.

(1) William Tilton, husbandman of Narborough, Leicestershire, England; will made January
21, 1542/3 (married Agnes, living 1542).

(2) William Tilton, husbandman of Narborough, Leicestershire, England; will made May 14, 1578, proved June 19, 1578 (married Alice, living 1578).

(3) Robert Tilton, buried December 22, 1606, Wolston, Warwickshire, England

(4) Robert Tilton of Wolston, Warwickshire, buried August 7, 1642, Wolston Elizabeth Focel, November 18, 1583, buried November 4, 1620, Warwickshire, England).

(5) William Tilton, born Wolston Parish, Warwickshire, England; baptized February 29, 1586/7. Lived at Churchlawford Parish, Warwickshire, England, on January 30, 1610/11, when he married Ursula Pycroft of Claybrooke (Cleybrooke, Claybrook) Parish, Leicestershire, England. Claybrooke Parish is about four miles northeast of Churchlawford. Wolston Parish adjoins Churchlawford Parish on the west. The Town of Claybrook is in the Claybrooke Parish. The Town of Wolston is in Wolston Parish. The Town of Churchlawf ord is in Churchlawf ord Parish. Ursula Pycroft died after birth of their sons John Tilton and Peter Tilton at Wolston. Sometime after his marriage to his second wife, Susanna, on December 18, 1638 at Wolston, Warwickshire, England, the whole family emigrated to Saugus (Lynn), Massachusetts. Peter Tilton, son of William Tilton, came over before his father with Reverend Ephraim Huet (from Wroxall , Warwickshire, England) and they went to Windsor, Connecticut (vide Ancestry of Phoebe Tilton 1775-1847, by Walter Goodwin Davis).

etc.

Note the maiden name of Susannah was not located. The full document includes the names of sibling for a few generations.