Person:William Sawyer (21)

Source:Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with a history of Worcester Society of Antiquity, by Ellery Bicknell Crane, p. 4:118, says William Sawyer of Lancaster m. Hannah Houghton, d/o John Houghton, and goes on to to profile his son Deacon Josiah Sawyer, b. 1714. Source:Historic homes and places and genealogical and personal memoirs relating to the families of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, by William R. Cutter, p. 1379 is almost identical, as is Source:History of the town of Berlin, Worcester County, Mass., from 1784 to 1895, by William A. Houghton, p. 473-4. For briefness, I'll call these three sources the Hannah sources.

The children of William Sawyer are listed as Benjamin, Israel, Joseph, William, Josiah, Uriah, Aholiab, Mary wife of Phineas Willard, Hannah wife of John Snow, Hepzibah wife of Increase Powers, Thankful Fairbanks, and Martha wife of Charles Wilder. No birth years are given, and it is not clear if the order is significant, though it is at odds with the probate documents cited below. Also, it is at odds with Source:The Birth, marriage, and death register, church records and epitaphs of Lancaster, Massachusetts, 1643-1850, which shows the baptism of Aholiab, Mary, Anna, and Hephzibah on 1 Jul 1711, before both William and Josiah are baptized. So the order probably does not represent birth order.

Looking further at Cutter's book, on p. 1773, one finds a second Sawyer section, which says that William Sawyer of Lancaster m. Mary, who was admitted to the Lancaster church 8 Apr 1711 and had a son William (no other children mentioned).

The only birth record in the Source:The Birth, marriage, and death register, church records and epitaphs of Lancaster, Massachusetts, 1643-1850 of William's children is for Josiah in 13 Aug 1714 and it explicitly names his mother as Mary, despite the fact that all three of the Hannah sources indicate Hannah Houghton as the mother of Deacon Josiah Sawyer b. 1714. The Hannah sources do not hint at a second wife.

The records of the Lancaster church confirm the admittance of "Mary Sawyer Wife to Wil---" on 8 Apr 1711. The baptism records list the children (Aholiab, Anna, Mary, Hephzibah, all four 1 Jul 1711; William 18 Nov 1711; Josiah 24 Oct 1714; Thankful 7 Apr 1717; Martha 5 Jul 1719; David 27 Aug 1721; Abigail 23 Aug 1724) only as "of William Sawyer" with no mother mentioned. There is no mention of Benjamin, Israel, Joseph or Uriah.

Source:The Houghton genealogy : the descendants of Ralph and John Houghton of Lancaster, Massachusetts with an introduction giving the Houghton families in England from makes no mention of William Sawyer and no eligible John is listed with a daughter named Hannah. In particular, p. 302 shows no daughter Hannah for John and Mary (Farrar) Houghton of Lancaster, despite him having 14 children, this being the John Houghton indicated as her father in the Crane source cited above..

Source:Mayflower Descendant, Worcester County Probate Records: William Sawyer

[p. 46:22:] Note dated 22 Apr 1740 [sic] asking that William Sawyer administer the estate, signed by Mary Sawyer, Josiah Sawyer, and Aholiab Sawyer.

[p. 45:166, case 52616:] William Sawyer of Leominster appointed administrator 22 Apr 1741. Inventory taken 7 Jun 1741. Settlement made 20 Aug 1742 set off the widow's thirds, mentions eldest son Aholiab Sawyer, second son William Sawyer, third son Josiah Sawyer; daughters Mary wife of Phineas Willard, Hannah wife of John Snow; Hepzibah wife of Increase Powers, Thankful wife of Jonathan Fairbank, and Martha wife of Charles Wilder. Land once belonging to Hepzibah's former husband William Whitcomb is mentioned.

Source:Mayflower Descendant, p. 44:48, Worcester County Probate Records: John Houghton

Case 31019. Inventory of John Houghton's estate taken 24 Jan 1737. Administered by son Jacob who died before completed. 9 May 1739 David Wilder submitted a petition behalf of two brothers and one sister, the children of Ebenezer Houghton. Final account dated 5 Feb 1739/40, amended Aug 1740 filed by Jonathan Houghton, s/o Jacob. Settlement dated 6 Mar 1746 among Bethesda Brabrook, John Priest, David Wilder, Simon Whetcomb, Mary Sawyer, William Sawyer, Benjamin Houghton.

This is the estate of John Houghton of Lancaster who d. 1737 (s/o John Houghton who d. 1684). The Hannah sources identify Hannah's father as John (2). (John, s/o Ralph Houghton of Lancaster, another possible John (2), appears to have died 1679 at age 24, apparently unmarried. See Source:The Houghton genealogy : the descendants of Ralph and John Houghton of Lancaster, Massachusetts with an introduction giving the Houghton families in England from, p. 93.) Notice that the settlement of the estate was in 1746, after the death of this William Sawyer, so the William Sawyer mentioned in the division was probably not this William Sawyer. It could be the son? Since there is no mention of the other heirs of William Sawyer (e.g., Aholiab or Josiah Sawyer or the daughters), the connection would not appear to be based on the identity of the wife of this William Sawyer, or reflect anything else about this William Sawyer. There are several Mary Sawyers in Lancaster at the time, including a daughter of Jonathan Houghton who married a Nathaniel Sawyer, so the Mary Sawyer mentioned in the settlement is probably not the widow of this William Sawyer, either.

Source:Sawyers in America, or, A history of the immigrant Sawyers : who settled in New England, showing their connection with colonial history, the many thrilling scenes, p. 23: "The names of William Sawyer's sons have been discovered almost by accident. They were found in the hands of Mrs. Silas Sawyer, of Berlin ; the list was made by her mother, whose maiden name was Whitcomb, of Bolton ... reads as follows, viz. : Benjamin, Dr. Israel, Joseph, William, Josiah, Uriah and Aholiab." Silas Sawyer being the son of Calvin Sawyer, a great-grandson of William Sawyer. 7 sons of William Sawyer: Josiah went to Berlin, Aholiab to Templeton, and the other 5 remained in Bolton.

Given the informal nature of this "proof", and the absence of confirming evidence after much searching, I am left to conclude that reports of sons Benjamin, Israel, Joseph and Uriah and a marriage to Hannah Houghton have been greatly exaggerated. --Jrich 11:00, 25 July 2009 (EDT)

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 Bolton, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. Vital records of Bolton, Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1849. (Worcester, Mass.: Franklin P. Rice, 1910)
   221.

   Sawyer, William, Feb. 3, 1740-41, in 62d y. G.S.3.
   [GS3=Old Cemetery. Age 61, so birth calculates to bef. 3 Feb 1679/80, so abt. 1679]