Person:William Jeggles (1)

Reality and Mythology in the Life of William Jeggles

There is much about William Jeggles and his family that has been widely reported and accepted as true. Much of that information comes from an undocumented source and may be more mythology than reality. Separating what is documented from what is not documented may lead to more research that will help clarify William's life story.

What is Known About William Jeggles

William Jeggles was in Salem, Essex County, Massachusets by 1636. He was not one of the "old planters", but may have been part of an influx of new settlers at that time. Among the properties William owned was a one acre lot on the South River. ^[2][8]

William was also granted one acre of marshland in Dec. 1637, at which time there were 8 people in his family in Salem.^[2]

In 1648 William was listed as a member of the First Church in Salem.^[3] On Dec 1649 he was sworn as a freeman (full voting citizen) of Salem.^[8]

William died in May 1659,^[2] and his estate was entered into probate on 28 Jun 1659.^[1] At that time, William had a wife named Elizabeth, and five surviving children, one of them living in England. He owned probably about 12 acres of land; books, carpenter tools; and was sole owner of a ketch named William. At the time his widow Elizabeth died, she owned about 2 acres of land, and there were five surviving children.^[9]

William Jeggle's Origins and Family

William Jeggles probably came fromn the area around the boundary for Suffolk and Norfolk in England. Jeggles is not a common name, and other individuals with that name in the same time period seem to be located in that area.^[7][18] (See William and Elizabeth Giggles of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.)

William's only documented wife is Elizabeth, and there is nothing in the court/probate records to suggest that she was a second wife and not the mother of his children. Other people by the name of Jeggles who lived in Salem at this time include Daniel, Mary, Thomas, and William ("from Virginia"). Because of the rarity of Jeggles as a surname, they can be assumed to be members of William's family. William ("who came from Virginia") is identified as a son in the probate record of William's widow Elizabeth. Daniel and Thomas can also be inferred to be sons of William, by their ages and activities. Mary's relationship to William is not documented, nor can it be inferred based on the single reference to her (as a member of the First Church in 1637). Pearly^[2] adds a daughter Elizabeth to William's family. Although he does not cite a source for Elizabeth directly, his work generally holds up when compared to original sources, and he would appear to have found a source for her in 1675, perhaps in Malden. Pearly does not include either Daniel or Mary in the list of William's children. Finally, if William had a family of eight in 1637, and five living children and a wife at the time of his death, one of whom was in England, then two of his children would appear to predecease him.

One speculative family for William would include his wife Elizabeth, an unnamed son in England, sons William, Daniel and Thomas in Salem, daughters Mary and Elizabeth, and one other unnamed children.

Problems with Raymon Meyers Tingley's Genealogy

Raymon Meyers Tingley published a genealogy for the Jeggles family, among others, that has no documentation or source citations. Some of it is reasonably accurate, some is obviously speculation, and some has no known basis whatsoever. Other information in Tingley, where sources are similarly unavailable, has been described as "invented"^[16] and even "fraudulent".^[17] Comparing Tingley's "information" with what is actually known about William and his family leads to a number of questions.

For William, the source for his date of birth is unclear. Is this speculation? As speculation, it seems reasonable, but the basis for the speculation needs to be stated.

For William's wives, Tingley has obviously assumed that the Mary Jeggles who was listed as a church member in 1637 was William's wife, not his daughter. That assumption may be reasonable, but entails additional assumptions: that Mary died, that William remarried, and that there was in Salem at that time an Elizabeth, presumably a widow, who was available for (re)marriage. Somewhere, in those assumptions, there might be documentation, but it is needed before the assumptions can be treated as more than assumptions or speculations.

That William's oldest son was living in England in 1659 is documented. That his name and date of birth are as stated by Tingley is not. One would expect William's oldest son to be named William. What evidence is there that the William who came from Virginia is not the oldest son?

That Daniel Jeggles existed is documented, and the assumption that he is William's son is reasonable. There needs to be some support for his birth and death dates, however. Was his "room" [land] at Winter Harbour given to another, perhaps explaining the reported death date?

Unless appropriate documentation can be found, Bridget as the daughter of William seems to be conjured out of thin air. There is no indication that the wife of John Rowe was a daughter of William Jeggles, nor that William had a daughter named Bridget. The identification/relationship of Bridget has been questioned by other researchers as well.^[11][12] If the mother of William's children was named Mary, then one would expect that William's oldest daughter was also named Mary. That there is such an expectation is evidenced by the fact that some researchers have added Mary as an alternate or second name to Bridget^[13]

Hugh as another son of William, like Bridget, appears to have no known supporting documentation, and may not even exist.

Elizabeth, as the widow of a Mr. Green, has been suggested by Perley^[2], and presumably could be documented. Her husband is not, however the Ralph Green who was the father of John b. in Boston in 1642. That Ralph Green was married to a daughter of a Robert Blott of Boston and died before1662.^[17] His widow remarried. The child born in Malden in 1653 would appear to be the child of a different Ralph Green.^[14][15] Whether he was also the child of Elizabeth Jeggles is a question that needs to be answered by documentation. Tingley's information for Elizabeth appears to consist of whatever is convenient and looks somewhat reasonable, but has no real verification.

Thomas, whose birth date was probably 1622, based on court records, has been documented

William as the son of William has been documented, as has his date of death. His age at death, however, currently lacks documentation, and his date of birth should be treated with extreme caution.

The information reported by Tingley clearly includes unspecified assumptions, and what today is sometimes called "dash and grab" genealogy -- if you see something that looks like it might fit, grab it and run on without bothering to verify what you've grabbed. It could be that Tingley had sources for some of his assumptions and other information, but they need to be found and reported. In the meantime, it is perhaps best to treat his undocumented information as speculative and more likely as unfounded mythology.

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Massachusetts, Probate Court (Essex County). The Probate Records of Essex County, Massachusetts. (Salem, Massachusetts: The Essex Institute, 1916, 1917, 1920)
   Vol. 1, pp. 287-288.

   Estate of William Jigles of Salem
   William Jegles died intestate. Amount of inventory, 148li., ordered June 28, 1659, that the widow shall keep it in her hands for her use. (Source: Salem Quarterly Court Records, vol. 4, leaf 31).
   Inventory of estate of William Jigles taken 26:3:1659, by John Browne, John Gardner and Edm. Batter: One dwellinge house & house Lott, 35li.; ten Acres of upland, 3-4 salt marsh & of meadow a small pcell about the upland, 9li. 10s.; 1 Cow, 4li.; 5 yewes, 5li., 1 pige, 4s., 9li. 4s.; 1 Tableboard & 2 formes, 1li.; 1 Chest, 18s.; 1 Cubburd, 12s., 1 bedpane, 12s., 2li. 2s.; p And Irens, 10s.; 1 friing pane, 5s.; 1 earthen basun, 16s.; Basen & Ewer, 2 Candlsticks & Salt, 16s., 7 Cushings, 20s., 1li. 16s.; 1 Remnant of Carsy, 32s.; 1 Carpet & brush, 9s., 2li. 1 s.; Aparell, 4li., 1 feather bed, 2 bolsters, 1 Rugg, Curtayns, bedsteed & hangings, 10li; gune & sword, 5s., brasse, 33s., pewter, 30s., 3 li. 8s.; silver beker, 2li., fire shovel, tonges, spit, &c., 4s., 2li. 4s.; 4 Chaires, 1 small Table, 10s., earthen ware, &c., 13s.; bookes, 10s., carpenters tooles, 25s., Iron potts & hangers, 20s., ockum, 3s., 2li. 18s.; sheers & table Linnen, 7 li.; new linen, 20.,, and an old bed & Rugg, 30s., 2li. 10s.; 1 Grindston, 2 s., 1 kitlw, 10s., 12s.; a Katch named William with her apurten., 50li.; total, 145li. 15s.; a small pcell woole, 5s.; a old boate, 2 li.; total, 148li.
   The children, or three of them, were married in town long since, the other abroad at sea. The eldest son was in England and the master of a ship. On 28:4:1659, it was ordered that the estate be left in the hands of the widow Elizabeth, for her necessities while she lived, and be disposed of by the court at her decease. (Source: Essex Co. Quarterly Court Files, vol. 5, leaf 14.)

2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7} Perley, Sidney. The History of Salem, Massachusetts. (Salem, Massachusetts: Sidney Perley, 1924-1928).

   Vol. I,
   pp. 313
   - Earliest lots in Salem unrecorded, but most were 2 acres each. Sometime before 1635 they were limited to 1 acre each. Two acre lots seem to be on North River, one acre lots on South River
   William Jeggles had lot on the South River
   p. 316 - landowners of South Field - William Jeggles 1658
   p. 390
   - William Jeggles, a shipwright, living in Salem in 1636, m. Elizabeth NN, d. May 1659
   Children: William "who came from Virginia", died 12 May 1674; Thomas; Elizabeth; 2 others
   p. 456
   - Appendix A - Land grants, list as of 1636: William Jeggels - 50 acres [in first part of list, which is in alphabetical order, i.e., in original list]
   p. 462
   - Land Grants B - Dec 1637 division of Marsh and Meadow - granted 1 acre, had 8 persons in family
   Vol II
   p. 373
   - ships: William, a Ketch, owned by William Jeggles at time of decease in 1659, which with appertenances was appraised at 50£
   p. 390 - the family of William Jeggles:
   William had a wife Elizabeth who died in the summer of 1667
   a son William Jeggles "who came from Virginia" and died 12 May 1674
   a son Thomas
   a daughter Elizabeth, who married __ Green of Malden before 1675, when she was his widow
   two other unnamed children

3. ↑ ^3.0 3.1 Phillips, James Duncan. Salem in the seventeenth century. (Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin, 1933)
   pp. 350-355.

   Member of the First Church from 1636-1651
   p. 352 - Mary Jeggles, 1637
   p. 355 - William Jeggles, 1648 (granted land 1637)

4. ↑ ^4.0 4.1 Roberts, Gary Boyd. Ancestors of American Presidents. (Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009)
   p. 38.

   William Jeggles, ca 1590-1659, m. ca 1614, Mary [UNKNOWN];

5. ↑ Gildrie, Richard P. Salem, Massachusetts, 1626-1683 : a covenant community. (Charlottesville, Virginia: University Press of Virginia, 1975)
   p. 109.

   "When William Jeggles, master mariner, died in 1659, his ketch William, worth £50, constituted over one-third of his estate." He was sole owner, which was unusual

6. ↑ Suffolk, in Charles Edward Banks, and Elijah Ellsworth Brownell. Topographical Dictionary of 2885 English Emigrants to New England, 1620-1650. (Philadelphia, PA: The Bertram Press for E E Brownell, 1937)
   p. 160.

   Jeggles, William, from Southould to Salem, MA
   Source: Waters (or Waters & Emerson), Genealogical Gleanings in England, 1885

7. ↑ ^7.0 7.1 Waters, Henry Fitz-Gilbert, A.M.. Genealogical Gleanings in England. (Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1901)
   Vol. 2, p, 1409.

   Will of Daniel Jeggles of Southould, merchant, 9 Feb 1641, proved 3 Nov 1642
   . . . . "to my kinsman William Jeggles all such sums of money as he oweth me."
   ----
   "(The foregoing wills [all from Suffolk, only one of which mentions William] are all I have found relating to the family of Jeggles, or Giggles. . . . Henry F. Waters)"

8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2} Massachusetts (Colony). Quarterly Courts (Essex County). Records and files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts. (Salem, Massachusetts: The Essex Institute, 1911-1925, 1975)
   Vol 1, pp. 4, 183.

   p. 4 - Dec 1636 - Salem, 27:7:1636
   Robt. Cottaa vs. Wm Jeggle, assault and battery
   p. 183 - Dec 1649
   William Giggles Sr. sworn freeman

9. ↑ Massachusetts, Probate Court (Essex County). The Probate Records of Essex County, Massachusetts. (Salem, Massachusetts: The Essex Institute, 1916, 1917, 1920)
   Vol 2, pp. 94-95.

   Estate of Mrs. Elizabeth Giggles of Salem
   died intestate
   Administration granted 24 Sept 1667 to Thomas Jeggles and Joseph Swasie
   Value of estate: 105li 15s 2d
   to be divided into 6 shares, two to eldest son.
   Wm Giggles to have bed and bedstead with appurtenances out of estate which his mother gave him.
   Source: Ipswich Quarterly Court Records, Vol. 5, p. 46
   Inventoty
   includes one dwelling house and about one acre of ground adjoyning, 40li; 3-4 acre of bad marsh at forest River, 3li; about 1-4 acre in south field [sic], 2li; books, 1li, bible, 9s; small old Catch [sic], 35li (also old clothes, old household items, old furniture, etc.)
   Source: Essex County Probate Files, Docket 10,881

10.   Tingley, Raymon Meyers. Some ancestral lines: being a record of some of the ancestors of Guilford Solon Tingley and his wife Martha Pamelia Meyers. (Rutland, Vermont: Tuttle Publishing Co., 1935)
    pp. 164-165.

    William Jeggles, of Salem, Mass, b. about 1590, d. May 1659, Salem, Mass. Married first, 1616, Mary __, member of church 1636. Married second, Elizabeth, d. summer 1667.
    Children:
    Capt. John Jeggles, b. about 1616, living 1659 in England
    Daniel Jeggles, b. about 1617, d. 10 April 1658, Salem, Mass, age 41
    Bridget Jeggles, b. 10 Jun 1916, Eng. Married first 10 June 1640 John Rowe.
    Capt. Thomas Jeggles, b. about 1621, England; living 1686.
    Elizabeth Jeggles, b. about 1623, England. Married abt 1642 Ralph Green of Malden who d. bed 1675. Their children: John Green, b. 22 Dec 1642, Boston, Mass; another child, b. Jan 1653, Malden, Mass.
    Hugh Jeggles, b. 1625, England, d. 3 Sep 1644, Salem, Mass, age 19
    William Jeggles, b. 1627, England, d. 12 May 1674, Salem, Mass, age 47. He came from Virginia.

11. ↑ Roberts, Gary Boyd. Ancestors of American Presidents. (Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009)
    p. 38.

    Bridget (possibly Jeggles), of Salem, possibly dau. Of William Jeggles; d. Gloucester, 2 May 1680, m. 1 John Rowe, m. 2 William Coleman

12. ↑ Torrey, Clarence Almon. New England Marriages Prior to 1700. (1963)
    p. 639.

    Rowe, John (-1662) & Bridget [Jiggles?] (?1619-), m/2 William Coleman 1662; b 1643; Gloucester

13. ↑ Ancestral File
    AFN 2TVB-3C.

    Bridget (Mary) JEGGLES, daughter of William JEGGLES and Mary Mrs JEGGLES
    Combined submissions of 22 people

14. ↑ Torrey, Clarence Almon. New England Marriages Prior to 1700. (1963)
    p. 656.

    Green, Ralph & [Elizabeth] [Jeggles?]/[Blott?], m/2 Richard Tozier/?Blott (William Green); by 1642; Boston/Malden {Tingley-Meyers 165; Stevens-Miller 412; Warner-Harrington 72}

15. ↑ Holman, Mary Lovering; Winifred Lovering Holman; and Helen Pendleton Winston Pillsbury. Ancestry of Colonel John Harrington Stevens and his wife, Frances Helen Miller: Compiled for Helen Pendleton (Winston) Pillsbury. (Concord, New Hampshire: Rumford Press, 1948, 1952)
    Vol. 1, p. 412.

    Child of Robert Blott of Boston, Massachusetts:
    a daughter, b. abt 1620, m. bef 1642 [?Ralph] Green; m.2 bef 1662, [?Richard] Tozier. A Ralph Green had in Boston, John, b. 22 Dec. 1642; a Ralph Green had a child in Malden Jan. 1653
    ----
    Robert Blott signed a will on 27 Mar 1665 in Boston,in which he stated:
    . . . "to my daughter Tosiars children . . . [and] to her eldest son John Green Cloth to make him a Coate"

16. ↑ Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633. (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995)
    Vol. 2, p. 1654.

    Abigail Sharp, dau. of Samuel Sharp and Alice Stileman, m. Thomas Jeggles by 1648 (oldest child b. Salem 21 Jul 1648).
    Raymon Tingley Meyers gives the marriage date as 27 October 1647, but as no other source, including the Salem vital records, reports this event, we may say with great assurance that this date has been invented. [emphasis added]

17. ↑ ^17.0 17.1 Douglass, Penny G. The English Origin of Robert(1) Blott of Charlestown and Boston, Mass. American Genealogist (D.L. Jacobus). (Apr 1992)
    p. 66, (footnote).

    "Torrey's suggestion, in brackets and with a question mark, that Ralph Green's wife was born a Jeggles probably comes from Raymon Meyers Tingley's Some Ancestral Lines (Rutland, Vt., 1935), pp. 164-65, which states that she was a daughter of William1 and Mary Jeggles of Salem. Tingley presents no evidence for this conclusion and his work is known to contain fraudulent data." [emphasis added]

18. ↑ ^18.0 18.1 Parish Transcripts for Southwold do not show christening for children of William. They do show a Daniel Jeggles as Baliff during the 1620s. (Registers for neighboring parishes, such as Wangford, may not begin until later.)
19.   (See Willialm Varney and Bridget Deverell for another example where Tingley's information has been disproven.)