September 1, 2011

Founding Family: Wm Eaton of Reading

Do you descend from this Eaton progenitor?

FAMILY OF WILLIAM EATON, OF READING, MASS.
1604-1897
BY DANIEL A. EATON, Lowell, Mass.

It is not known who his father was, but he was born in England about 1604 or 1606. He married Martha Jenkins in 1633, and came to the American plantation from Sandwich, on or about June 9, 1637, with two children, and a servant. He was a proprietor in Watertown, Mass. In 1642; made freeman in 1653; moved to Reading Mass., where he died Nov. 14, 1680. His will was made Sept. 26, 1672, and names wife Martha, eldest son John, son Daniel and childre4n, daughter Mary and two sons-in-law, Thomas Brown and Francis Moore.

8 comments:

Barbara Lee Fitzsenry said...

We, of course, know info for this progenitor has changed radically since the early days of the EFA, and an update will be forthcoming either by edit or comment by our Family Genealogist very soon.

Barbara Lee Fitzsenry said...

From our EFA Family Genealogist to a visitor to our site:

"The genealogy for this William is posted on the EFA website, members only section. I will give you the highlights here and see if it answers your question.

First, it is nice to see that you recognize that Molyneaux had some issues and inconsistencies. She did have a lot correct, but finding which is which takes longer than going out and doing the research oneself. The EFA uses her book as a source, very rarely.

One thing that she has dead wrong is the Jonas Eaton was a son of William. In fact they were brothers. We have some information to back that up if you think you need it.

William was the son of Peter Eaton and Elizabeth Patterson (widow Patterson). I do not have an exact date of birth or baptism for William, but the family lived in Dover, Kent County, England. Peter’s parents (William & Jane) lived in Dover as well.

I ran a quick ancestry report for William, the immigrant, which is attached. It does not go that far back because the EFA sanctioned genealogies need to have primary sources to back up any fact. We do have an alleged line back into Medieval England, but are still working on the details. However, here you go:

Ancestors of William (IMMIGRANT) Eaton

Generation No. 1


1. William (IMMIGRANT) Eaton, born 26 Sep 1607 in Dover, Kent, England (bapt); died 13 May 1673 in Reading, Middlesex, MA. He was the son of 2. Peter Eaton and 3. Elizabeth ( ) Patterson. He married (1) Martha Jenkin 28 Jan 1627/28 in Parish of St. John, Thanet, Kent, England. She was born 23 Nov 1605 in Parish of St. John, Thanet, Kent, England (bapt), and died 14 Nov 1680 in Reading, Middlesex, MA. She was the daughter of Edward Jenkin and Mary Phillips.

Notes for William (IMMIGRANT) Eaton:
W1 William was named for a brother who died the same month this William was born, The Parish Register at St Mary's Church in Dover records the burial of the first William as "Sep 1607", with no actual date given.
The first child of William & Martha was baptized in Margrate, where they were married. The next four children were baptized in the little hamlet of Staple, where they probably lived until emigration. They buried two children in Staple within a month of each other.
William, his wife Martha and children John, Martha & Albe were passengers on the Hercules in June of 1637 from the port of Sandwich, England. Jonas Eaton was on the same ship, listed as a servant in William's family. Historians have often called them brothers.
The Hercules passenger list is printed in New England Historical Genealogical Register vol 75, pp 221-223.

For a considerable number of years there was no conclusive proof that Jonas was positively the brother of William. It seems that circumstantial evidence would certainly indicate they were brothers. They were on the same ship They both settled in Watertown, and both went to Reading, building homes next to each other.
Eaton Families Association DNA testing, in 2006, was conclusive in determining that Jonas and William were "closely related, probably brothers". The same DNA testing indicated that William and Jonas were likely cousins of immigrant John Eaton of Dedham.
There has been no reason concluded as to why Jonas was listed as a servant on the Hercules passenger list.

Barbara Lee Fitzsenry said...

Part 2:

Generation No. 2

2. Peter Eaton, born Abt. 1568 in Dover, Kent, England; died Bef. 08 Jan 1630/31 in Dover, Kent, England. He was the son of 4. William Eaton and 5. Jane. He married 3. Elizabeth ( ) Patterson 23 Jan 1603/04 in Dover, Kent, England.
3. Elizabeth ( ) Patterson, died 08 Jan 1631/32 in Dover, Kent, England.

Notes for Peter Eaton:
Elizabeth, wife of Peter, was termed "widow of Mr. Peter" in the St Mary's Parish Register (Dover) burial record. There is a burial record at St Mary the Virgin Parish for a Peter Eaton "Captain of the Hector", buried Nov 3, 1625, but it has not been determined that this is this Peter Eaton.

The following is an excerpt of a report to the Eaton Families Association from Robert Noel at the College of Arms in London: (The report can be seen on the EFA website)

Peter Eaton of St Mary’s Dover. Mentioned in the wills of his father 1581 and his mother 1584 (then under 21) and (as deceased) in that of his brother, Nicholas 1636. Died before 1 Nov 1612. ( We think this incorrect as his last child was born 1623)
He married Elizabeth Patterson of St Mary’s Dover. Marriage Licence (Canterbury) 23 Jan 1603. Buried at St Mary’s Dover 8 Jan 1631-2. They were the parents of one son and four daughters namely: Capt. John Eaton of Dover whose will (as of Cadiz in Spain) was dated 25 Nov 1653 and was proved 11 Feb 1655 (Prerogative Court of Canterbury); Joyce eldest daughter who was mentioned in the wills of her uncle, Nicholas 1636, and her brother, John 1653, and who married (Marriage licence (Canterbury) 10 Aug 1632) Edward Ranger of St Mary’s Dover (living) 1653 of which marriage there was offspring three sons namely Nicholas Ranger [living ] 1653, John Ranger [living] 1653 and Peter Ranger [living] 1653; Catherine who was living in 1636 and who married (marriage licence (Canterbury) 1 Nov 1626 she being then aged 18) William Robinson of St James’s Dover; Jane who was living unmarried 1653; and Elizabeth youngest daughter living 1653 who married ... Clarke. (No mention is made of the other five children known to this couple)

Barbara Lee Fitzsenry said...

Part 3

PETER EATON, born say 1568, died between 1623 and 1626.He married [by license] 27 January 1603/4, St. Mary the Virgin, Dover, ELIZABETH (___) PATTERSON, widow, of St. Mary, Dover. She was buried at St. Mary 8 January 1631/2.
According to the directions in his mother's 1584 will, Peter was to be sent to France for at least a year to learn French.

"Peter Eaton is stated to have been a deputy for Dover to represent the port at the meeting of the brotherhood of the Cinque Ports ca. 1615. Peter Eaton was chosen to be a churchwarden for Dover in 1619, but appealed to Capt. James Barker(38) on 5 April 1619. He stated that "his place [position] exempts him now from serving, as it did on a former occasion" and asked direction from Lord Zouche, in a letter dated 5 April 1619 at Dover. Lord Zouch sent a warrant from London on 8 April 1619 to the mayor and council of Dover to discharge "Peter Eaton, a soldier of Arch-cliff Bulwark, Dover, from serving the office of churchwarden."(Reed)

More About Peter Eaton:
Burial: 08 Jan 1631/32, St Mary's Dover, Kent, England

Notes for Elizabeth ( ) Patterson:
Elizabeth was a widow of Patterson; her maiden name is not known.

Children of Peter Eaton and Elizabeth Patterson are:
i.William Eaton, born in Dover, Kent, England; died Sep 1607 in Dover, Kent, England (buried).
ii.Jonas (IMMIGRANT) Eaton, born in Kent, England; died 24 Feb 1673/74 in Reading, Middlesex, MA; married Grace Unknown in Watertown/Reading, Middlesex, MA.

Notes for Jonas (IMMIGRANT) Eaton:
[J1] Jonas sailed from Sandwich, England in 1637 on the ship Hercules (recorded in The Planters of the Commonwealth - Banks). Jonas was unmarried. William Eaton (Staple, Kent) & family was on the same ship.
The Hercules passenger list is printed in New England Historical Genealogical Register vol 75, pp 221-223 which includes the notation that Jonas, William and John of Dedham were probably brothers (1922 information):

Jonas & William settled in Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts. Jonas had six acres on north side of old Sudbury Road (now Main St.). He married Grace ___? , sold his house in Watertown Nov. 16, 1646 to Richard Cutting and moved to Reading, Middlesex, Massachusetts, where William had previously settled.
He established his home on 30 acres of land lying on east shore of "Redding Pond" just north of William's home. He held several town offices: Selectman 1650, '62, '70, '73. In 1655 his ministerial tax rate was 3 pounds 16:6, the largest in the list of 57 male inhabitants. He died in 1674 and left two farms: one in westerly part of Reading (now Grove St.) to eldest son John and the homestead on Main Street, now in Wakefield, on the easterly shore of Lake Quannapowitt to son Jonas. Jonas' will and inventory were recorded in Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts.

For a considerable number of years there was no conclusive proof that Jonas was positively the brother of William. For many years family genealogists perpetuated the fact that Jonas was a son of William, started in 1911 by Nellie Zada Rice Molyneaux in her Genealogical and Biographical History of the Eaton Family. There is no evidence to substantiate this.

Barbara Lee Fitzsenry said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Barbara Lee Fitzsenry said...

Part 4

Circumstantial evidence would certainly indicate they were brothers. They were on the same ship (Jonas, for whatever reason was listed as William's servant). They both settled in Watertown, and both went to Reading, building homes next to each other.
Eaton Families Association DNA testing, in 2006, was conclusive in determining that Jonas and William were "closely related, probably brothers". The same DNA testing indicated that William and Jonas were likely cousins of immigrant John Eaton of Dedham.
We are placing Jonas in the family of Peter Eaton and Elizabeth Patterson, although there is no birth or baptism record extant in England for Jonas. Contrary to widespread belief a record of Jonas’ birth in Staple, Kent, England has not been found. Prior to leaving for America Jonas’s brother William surely lived in Staple as four of his children were born and two are buried there.
More About Jonas (IMMIGRANT) Eaton:
Residence: 1637, England

Notes for Grace:
[J1] After the death of her husband Jonas Eaton, Grace lived in the ancestral home on Redding Pond until her marriage to Henry Sillsbee when she moved to Lynn. Grace Eaton's ancestry cannot be determined conclusively.

iii. Jane Eaton, born 17 Mar 1604/05 in Dover, Kent, England (bapt); married Shemal.

Notes for Shemal:
This very limited information about the marriage of Jane is found in the Sixth Manual Annual Report of the Eaton Families Association.

1 iv. William (IMMIGRANT) Eaton, born 26 Sep 1607 in Dover, Kent, England (bapt); died 13 May 1673 in Reading, Middlesex, MA; married Martha Jenkin 28 Jan 1627/28 in Parish of St. John, Thanet, Kent, England.
v. Catherine Eaton, born 15 Mar 1607/08 in Dover, Kent, England; married William Robinson 02 Nov 1626 in St. Mary, Dover, Kent, England; born Abt. 1602.

Marriage Notes for Catherine Eaton and William Robinson:
The marriage entry in ST. mary's parish Register states the groom was William Robins.

vi. Joyce Eaton, born 01 Sep 1611 in Dover, Kent, England (bapt); married Edward Ranger 16 Aug 1632 in Dover, Kent, England.
vii. Peter Eaton, born 03 Jul 1614 in Dover, Kent, England (bapt); died 03 Oct 1628 in Dover, Kent, England (buried).
viii. John Eaton, born 23 Oct 1616 in Dover, Kent, England (bapt).

Notes for John Eaton:
Living in 1636 when he was mentioned in the will of his uncle Nicholas Eaton.

ix. Elizabeth Eaton, born 22 Aug 1619 in Dover, Kent, England (bapt).

Notes for Elizabeth Eaton:
Living 1636 (when mentioned in the will of her uncle Nicholas).

x. Nicholas Eaton, born Jul 1623 in Dover, Kent, England (bapt); died 28 Sep 1628 in Dover, Kent, England (buried).

Barbara Lee Fitzsenry said...

Part 5

Generation No. 3

4. William Eaton, died Bet. 24 Oct 1581 - Jan 1581/82 in St James, Dover, Kent, England (buried). He married 5. Jane 1558.
5. Jane, died Bet. 29 Aug - 29 Dec 1584 in St James, Dover, Kent, England (buried).

Notes for William Eaton:
The following is an excerpt of a report to the Eaton Families Association from Robert Noel at the College of Arms in London: (The report can be seen on the EFA website)

"William Etton or Eaton of Dover, Merchant. Will (in which he desires to be buried at St. James’s Dover) dated 24 Oct 1581, proved 1 Jan 1581-2 at Canterbury. He married Jane. She was executrix to her husband’s will 1582."

From a report written by Paul Reed, FASG, for the Eaton Family Association (date unknown)

"WILLIAM B. EATON/ETTON, merchant, settled at Dover, Kent,(14) one of the Cinque Ports, and the chief port of entry from the Continent. He owned houses at Dunkirk, in Flanders, or the Spanish Netherlands [now Belgium], however, so it is possible he also lived there for some time. He probably married his wife, JANE (___), about 1558, when Queen Elizabeth I came to the throne, succeeding the Catholic Queen Mary. By the beginning of Elizabeth's reign, "Antwerp was now the biggest city in the Low Countries [The Netherlands and Belgium (Flanders)] and the chief financial and distribution center for western Europe." The Low Countries rebelled against their Catholic Spanish king in 1566-7, and over the next decade were in active revolt. In 1577, all the provinces in The Netherlands and Flanders joined the Union of Brussels. The Spanish commander, the Duke of Parma, invaded the southern provinces in 1578 and overran the chief Flemish towns in 1584 [Dunkirk was in Flanders] and overran Brussels and Antwerp in 1585.(15) This was the state of general uncertainty that William Eaton and his widow Jane had to live in (as merchants with interests at Dunkirk/Dunkerque) during their lives. Queen Elizabeth sent a small army under the Earl of Leicester to aid the newly formed Dutch republic 1585-7, and Sir Francis Drake raided the Spanish port of Cadiz, all of which resulted in the Spanish plan to invade England--ending in the disastrous defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588.

The port of Dover was perfectly situated on the English Channel through which almost all the shipping, traveling to and from northern and southern European ports, passed. In 1580, Sir Walter Raleigh petitioned to Queen Elizabeth the importance of Dover.(16)
In the whole circuit of your Majesty's famous Island, there is not any one [port] either in respect of security and defense, or traffick or intercourse, more convenient, needful, or rather of necessity to be regarded, tha[n] this of Dover, situate on a promintory next fronting a puissant foreign king [France], and in the very straight passage and intercourse of almost all the shipping of Christendon....
It is no wonder that William Eaton settled there. Concerted efforts had been made in the reigns of Henry VIII, Queen Mary and Elizabeth I to improve its harbor for international shipping.

The will of William Etton [sic, Eaton] was dated 24 October 1581 and proved 1 January 1581/2. A marginal note indicates that his inventory totaled £52.17.4.(17)"

The entire report is on the EFA website and includes the wills of William and Jane and a considerable number of source citations.

Marriage Notes for William Eaton and Jane:
From: The English Ancestry of John1 Eaton, of Dover, Kent, and Dedham, Massachusetts By Paul C. Reed, FASG (Researched for the Eaton Families Association)

Barbara Lee Fitzsenry said...

Part 6

Marriage Notes for William Eaton and Jane:
From: The English Ancestry of John1 Eaton, of Dover, Kent, and Dedham, Massachusetts By Paul C. Reed, FASG (Researched for the Eaton Families Association)
"It is also alleged that the wife of William B. Eaton, merchant, of Dover, was Jane Hussey, but no evidence to verify her surname or parentage has been found yet. She cannot be daughter of Thomas Hussey, of Caythorpe, Lincoln-shire, by his wife Bridget Bowes, as has been alleged, as their daughter Elizabeth became eventual heir of that family after the death of her brothers and nephew." It does not mean that this Jane is not a Jane Hussey, it means the EFA cannot prove it.

Children of William Eaton and Jane are:

i. Joyce Eaton, born Abt. 1559 in Dover, Kent, England; died 1637 in Dover, Kent, England; married Jacques Hugessen 27 Aug 1584 in Dover, Kent, England.

Notes for Joyce Eaton:
Mentioned in her father's will 1581

ii. Susanna Eaton, born 06 Jul 1561 in Dover, Kent, England.
iii. William Eaton, born Abt. 1562 in Dover, Kent, England; married (1) Joane Hawkes 07 Dec 1587 in St. Mary, Dover, Kent, England; died 26 Jun 1598 in Dover, Kent, England (burial); married (2) Annys Brett 14 Jan 1598/99 in St. Mary, Dover, Kent, England.

Notes for William Eaton:
Mentioned in the will of his father and his mother.
WILLIAM EATON, born say 1562, was a minor when his father died, but attained age twenty-one by the time his mother made her will nearly three years later. The baptisms of his children indicate that he resided in the parish of St. Mary, Dover.He was still alive in 1609 when his youngest son was born, but it is not certain yet when he died. (Reed)

The births of William's first two known children were proir to themarriage to Annys Brett.
In his report Reed indicated that William may have married Jeane or Joane Hawkes in 1787, a marriage that is recorded here with a notation that it is "presumed". Jeane/Joane died in 1598 so the second marriage in 1599 fits well.

Notes for Joane Hawkes:
The Parish Register of St Mary the VIrgin Church in Dover cites several spellings for this idividual, Joane beo ing the most prominent. She likely died as a result of childbirth as there ia a death record for a daughter (Alxandra) of Wyllyam 3 days after the death of Joane.

Marriage Notes for William Eaton and Joane Hawkes:
There is no absolute proof that this presumed marriage cited is for this William Eaton but circumstantial evidence of death dates and children's birth dates shows an almost sure fit.

iv. Barbara Eaton, born Abt. 1564 in Dover, Kent, England; married John Allen Abt. 1584.

Notes for Barbara Eaton:
Mentioned in her father's will 1581

Notes for John Allen:
Reed says:m. by 27 Jan. 1584/5 [JOHN] ALLEN.
No further information

v. John Eaton, born Abt. 1566 in Dover, Kent, England; died Bet. 25 Nov 1653 - 11 Feb 1654/55.

Notes for John Eaton:
"Nellie Zada Rice Molyneux, comp., History Genealogical and Biographical of the Eaton Families (Syracuse, NY, 1911), 102, without foundation, states that John was 'ancestor of the Welsh branch which settled in Pennsylvania." (Reed)


2 vi. Peter Eaton, born Abt. 1568 in Dover, Kent, England; died Bef. 08 Jan 1630/31 in Dover, Kent, England; married Elizabeth ( ) Patterson 23 Jan 1603/04 in Dover, Kent, England.
vii. Nicholas Eaton, born Abt. 1573 in Dover, Kent, England; died 21 Mar 1636/37 in St Mary's, Dover, Kent, England (buried); married (1) Katherine Master 02 Nov 1596 in Dover, Kent, England; married (2) Joan Tiddeman 26 Jul 1626; born 03 Aug 1578 in (bapt) Dover, Kent, England; died Bet. 06 Dec 1636 - 21 Mar 1636/37 in (buried) St Mary's Dover, Kent, England.

Notes for Nicholas Eaton:
Mentioned in his father's and his mother's will. Age 53 in 1626
Nicholas was a wealthy merchant and was Mayor of Dover several times.
He was Church Warden of St Mary's Parish in Dover in 1603 and likely many years thereafter.