JOHN WOOD OF PORTSMOUTH

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Wikitree profile Wood-114

About me

This profile on Wikitree was created in 2010. Despite my best efforts to keep the profile ACCURATE, the number of users on Wikitree who make changes without collaborating with the profile manager make this an impossible task. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Wood-114

Source records

In addition to the source records within the Rhode Island Archives, I personally hold the 1683 bible owned by John Wood (1620-1704), a 1729 Quaker tome owned by Isaac Wood (1693-1741). The bibles of James C. Wood (1780-1845), Rev. D. M. Wood (1849-1910) and early family letters.

I have been researching and writing about early colonial families, and specifically about the family of John Wood of Portsmouth, for over 30 years. My work has appeared in more than a dozen peer-reviewed journals and is included in the permanent collection of the Library of Congress.

The 1966 work of Bertha W. Clark

Bertha W. Clark was instrumental in pulling together a number of source records which were posthumously published in "John Wood of Rhode Island, and his early descendants on the mainland. Many of the hypothesis made by Clark have been disproven, yet misinformation continues online.

A short biography of John Wood of Portsmouth

NAMING

John Wood (abt. 1590 - bef. 1655) is often referred to as "John Wood of Portsmouth" to differentiate him from his son John Wood (abt. 1620 - 1704) who is called "John Wood of Middletown." One source record which refers to John Wood (abt. 1590 - bef. 1655) as "John Wood Sr."; however, this name suffix is not applied here.

Some family trees associated with "John Wood of Portsmouth" call him "John Wood, The Mariner," because some online publications (for example, that of Bertha Clark), claimed he was a mariner. There is no proof that he was a mariner, thus this moniker is not being used here.

ORIGIN AND PARENTS

John Wood's parents and place of origin are as yet unknown.[1] Several men of the same name left records in New England during his lifetime. See Disambiguation of John Wood for further details.

MARRIAGES

John Wood married his first wife sometime before his first child was born before 1620 probably in England, but the name of his first wife remains unknown. What became of his first wife remains undetermined.[2] Bertha W. Clark, a genealogist, hypothesized that his first wife might have been killed in the 1643 Maspeth Massacre, although she cited no evidence or references to support this claim.[3]

An oft repeated error is Bertha W. Clark's claim that John Wood of Portsmouth is identical to John Wood of St. Savior, Southwark who married Margaret Carter. The marriage entry in the parish registers of St. Savior, Southwark in England shows that a John Wood married Margaret Carter, a daughter of John Carter, a tailor, on January 28, 1610/11, at St. Savior's Parish in Southwark, Surrey, England.[12] John Wood and Margaret Carter were listed in the Token Books of St. Saviour Southwark every year from 1623 to 1643 as the head of a household residing in Frying Pan Alley and attending St. Savior's, the same street where Margaret Carter lived with her father from 1620 to 1622.[13] Her husband's name, John Wood, was listed next to John Carter, and they were residing on Frying Pan Alley in Boroughside from 1623 to 1629 in the Token Books. See the disambiguation page; research demonstrates that John Wood of St. Savior, Southwark, is not the same as John Wood of Portsmouth, who lived in Newport from 1643 to 1646 and again in Portsmouth from 1648 to 1655.

After his first wife died, John Wood married his second wife, Elizabeth, who was named in his estate settlement.[4][5] Elizabeth, whose maiden name is not currently know, was born about 1613. Her approximate birth is known from a 1673 deposition regarding the death of "Mrs Rebeca Cornell", in which was recorded "Elizabeth ye wife of Hugh Persons of ye Towne of Portsmouth, Aged sixty yeares or thereabouts...". Whether they ever had any children together is unproven, but his two young children, Susanna and Elizabeth, are assumed to be by this second wife, Elizabeth. After John Wood died, his widow, Elizabeth, married secondly, Hugh Parsons, whose property was adjacent to the Wood land. Clark (without citing a source) suggests she may have been the widow of John Smith Sr., who was at Taunton when Richard Smith, a trader, was there, and who was killed in the Maspeth massacre. This must be taken as speculation until supported by source records.

RESIDENCES

The first clearly identified and dated records of John Wood in New England are two accusations of trespass against John Wood of Nuport in April 1643.[7]

John Wood of Newport purchased a 14-acre land from John Cranston of Newport on 15 September 1645.[8]

There is an undated land purchase from Jeffereys, who was a resident in Newport for 1639-1646.[8] The context shows that it occurred after 15 September 1645 and before 17 January 1646. Recorded immediately after was a grant from the town of Nuport to John Wood of 30 acres adjacent to the lot he purchased of Mr. Jeoffreys.[8]

The admittance of inhabitants records and the court roll of freeman for Newport show the evidence that John Wood was not in Newport, Rhode Island from 1638 to 1641.[9]

John Wood was in Newport from 1643 to 1646.[10]

Finally, John Wood became a freeman in Portsmouth, Rhode Island in 1648 and resided there from 1648 to 1655. It shows he moved his residence from Newport to Portsmouth at some point between 1646 and 1648.

Probate

In April 1655, his widow Elizabeth and children John, Thomas and William, requested that an inventory of John Wood's estate be taken. A "daughter Manchester" and son-in-law Samuel Jennings were mentioned.[5]

John Wood's estate was settled in Portsmouth on 07 May 1655.[11][12] He did not leave a will. Mentioned in the settlement were his widow Elizabeth (executrix); his children Thomas Wood; John Wood; daughter Manchester; William Wood; George Wood, his eldest son; his two young children Susanna and Elizabeth to receive their bequests at age 16. The widow was referred to as William Wood's "mother-in-law" (step-mother). The widow was to bring up the young children. See "Genealogy" for the full text of the settlement.

CHILDREN

The birth order of his children is uncertain; the exception being George (named "oldest son" in the settlement of his estate) and his son John Wood of Middletown (1620-1704) whose tombstone was transcribed in 1890 by George Richardson as “John Wood died Aug. 26, 1704, Age 84 years” (Cemetery transcriptions, ca. 1890, held at the Newport [R.I.] Historical Society). His two youngest children, Susanna and Elizabeth, are assumed to be by his second wife, Elizabeth. This cannot be accepted as fact until evidence of a second child, Susanna, has been examined. Both children named Susanna are included here in the spirit of completeness.

George Wood
Born before 1620 and living in May 1655 when he was named the eldest son in his father's estate. Possibly the George Wood who spent most of his life on Long Island. He married an unknown first wife, and married a second wife, Ann about 1657. Five children lived to maturity, namely: Jacob, John, Mary, George, and Ann. After his death, his widow, Ann, married secondly, Henry Rogers.[6]

John Wood
Born about 1620, married an unknown first wife, married a second wife, Anna ____, and married a third wife, Mary Peabody. He was in Portsmouth by March 1649/50. He was elected deputy in Newport in May 1690. In November 1695, he sold Little Compton land to his son, Thomas. He died on 26 August 1704 and was buried at the Deacon Smith Farm in Middletown, Rhode Island. He is called "John Wood of Middletown" to differentiate him from his father.

Thomas Wood
Birth date unknown. Married an unknown first wife, married an unknown second wife, but married his third wife, Rebecca ____ (possibly Hall), about 1673. CLARK speculated, without evidence, that he may have remained in England for some years after his parents settled in Rhode Island. He first appeared in American records at the time of his father's death in 1655. He lived in Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Clark speculated, without evidence, that he may have lived for some time in Rehoboth, Massachusetts, and in Swansea, Massachusetts, about 1678. He served in King Philip's War, for which he received 100 acres in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. He died after December 28, 1702, and before April 4, 1704, when he was referred to in the records as deceased.

William Wood
Born in 1634, and married in about 1662, Martha Earle, daughter of Ralph and Joan (Savage) Earle. He was a freeman in Portsmouth in 1658 and a constable in Dartmouth 1685.

Margaret Wood
Birth date unknown. Married, probably bef. 1650, Thomas Manchester (abt. 1620- abt. 1691); they had eight children. She died about 1693. See NEHGS Register in sources below. See "Disambiguation" regarding the confusion caused when Margaret was called "sister Manchester".

Susannah Wood
Birth date unknown. Married before 1655 (perhaps about 1647) Samuel Jenney, who was born about 1618, son of John and Sarah (Carey) Jenney. The Jenney family were of Plymouth; after his father's 1644 death, Samuel moved to Portsmouth. See TAG 60:159.

Susanna Wood [#2].
Birth date unknown. She was under age sixteen in 1655, (thus born after 1639 and before 1655). She married her first husband, Josiah England, before May 17, 1675 (and probably as early as 1672). They lived in Dartmouth, MA; he may have been killed during King Philip's War. She married her second husband, Ephraim Carpenter, on December 3, 1677. She died in 1684, leaving three children: Sarah, Elizabeth, and Phebe. Her widower, Ephraim, married his third wife, Lydia Dickinson.

Elizabeth Wood
Birth date unknown. She was under age sixteen in 1655, (thus born after 1639 and before 1655). Some sources suggest she was born 1651. She married Isaac Doty (sic Doughty), who was born in Plymouth 8 Feb 1648, the son of Edward Doty and his wife Faith Clarke. They lived in Oyster Bay, Long Island. Six children were born between 1673 and 1695, namely: Isaac, Joseph, Jacob, Solomon, James, and Samuel.

SOURCES

↑ Preston, Eugene D., The descendants of John Wood of Portsmouth, R. I. (Colorado Springs, CO: typewritten manuscript held by the NYPL, 1916)
↑ Austin, John Osborne. Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island: Comprising Three Generations of Settlers Who Came Before 1690 : With Many Families Carried to the Fourth Generation. (Albany: J. Munsell Sons, 1887) p. 230, 231
↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Clark, Bertha W, and Dorothy W. Ewers. John Wood of Rhode Island: And His Early Descendants on the Mainland. (Crete, Ill.: 1966). pp. 2, 6, and 11. Link at FamilySearch.
↑ Portsmouth Early Records, pp. 300-301, 322-324
↑ 5.0 5.1 Moriarty, G. Andrews, Jr. "Notes,"New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Vol. LXIX (Boston, published by the Society, 1915), pp. 188-189. Archive.org.
↑ Clark, Bertha W. "Rhode Island Woods on Long Island", By Miss Bertha W. Clark, of Boston, Mass., The American Genealogist , Whole Number 155, Volume 39 No. 3, July 1963. pp 129-140. American Ancestors (subscription)
↑ 7.0 7.1 Chapin, Howard M.. Documentary History of Rhode Island: History of the towns of Portsmouth and Newport to 1647 and the court records of Aquidneck. United States, Preston and Rounds Company, 1919, pp. 141, 142.
↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Rhode Island Colony Records: Vol. 1, Part 1, 1646-1669, p. 10. See the following link to view digital records to locate page 10 at Rhode Island State Digital Archives.
↑ Chapin, Howard M.. Documentary History of Rhode Island: History of the towns of Portsmouth and Newport to 1647 and the court records of Aquidneck. United States, Preston and Rounds Company, 1919, pp. 116-120.
↑ 10.0 10.1 Chapin, Howard M.. Documentary History of Rhode Island: History of the towns of Portsmouth and Newport to 1647 and the court records of Aquidneck. United States, Preston and Rounds Company, 1919, pp. 154, 157.
↑ 1655 Probate Record. Town of Portsmouth, Rhode Island. 1901. The Early Records of the Town of Portsmouth. Providence, R.I.: E. L. Freeman & Sons. Rhode Island Historical Society, editor. Available online without restriction courtesy of Hathitrust: "We have determined this work to be in the public domain, meaning that it is not subject to copyright. Users are free to copy, use, and redistribute the work in part or in whole." Also available at Archive.org.
↑ Clark, John Wood of Rhode Island... pp. 9-11, citing Portsmouth Early Records, pp. 300-301, 322-324.
↑ 13.0 13.1 Winthrop, John, The History of New England from 1630 to 1649, ( Boston : Printed by Phelps and Farnham, 1825) Volume 1, p. 389-390. Archive.org.
↑ 14.0 14.1 "Rhode Island Colony Records, Vol. 1, Part 1, 1646-1669, p. 10. Document viewable/downloadable at Rhode Island State Digital Archives (file accessed 26 Jan 2024.)
↑ Clark, John Wood of Rhode Island... p. 7, transcription.
↑ Wood, Michael M. "The Token Books of St. Savior's, A Source for testing a John Wood Hypothesis." American Ancestor's Magazine. Vol 19, number 2 (Summer 1028). AmericanAncestors.org (link by subscription)
↑ Wood Y-DNA Project.