Connections

In understanding the information about William Bucklin (b. ca 1606) it is necessary to know about both Josias Plaistow and also Jonathan Bosworth. Although we have examined many records, see generally the excellent summaries and leads to the existing documents found in: Robert Charles Anderson. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633 [database online] Provo, UT: Ancestry.com, 2000. Original data: Robert Charles Anderson. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633, vols. 1-3. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995.

JOSIAS PLAISTOW AND WILLIAM BUCKLIN

In the notebook of Governor Winthrop made while on the voyage to the New World, he records some of the passengers. Among other persons, he mentions that William Buckland is on board as a servant of Mr. Josias Plaistow.

The records of the Massachusetts Bay Colony then have several mentions of Plaistow. They start with an entry of 1 March 1630/1: “Mr. Plaistow” was one of six men to be sent back to England on the Lyon, or as soon thereafter as possible “as persons unmeet to inhabit here” [MBCR 1:82]

27 September 1631: “It is ordered, that Josias Plaistow shall (for stealing 4 baskets of corn from the Indians) return them 8 baskets again, be fined £5, & hereafter to be called by the name of Josias, & not Mr., as formerly he used to be, & that William Buckland & Tho: Andrewe shall be whipped for being accessory to the same offense” [MBCR 1:92]. Winthrop reports this case, adding the details that the corn had been stolen from Chickatabot and his men (who were present at court) and that Buckland and Andrews were Plaistow’s servants [WJ 1:74].

5 June 1632: “There is a commission granted to Mr. Pinchon & Mr. Mavericke, Senior, to make inquiry, & to take depositions of the creditors of Josias Plaistow & their witnesses, that it may appear what debts are owing by him, & so his estate to be preserved here till the next Court” [MBCR 1:96]. The commissioners on Plaistow’s estate were from Dorchester and Roxbury, it would seem that Plaistow was active somewhere on the south shore of Massachusetts Bay; this is consistent with the involvement of Chickatabot, an Indian of that area.

This court record of June 1632 indicates a settlement of an estate of a debtor, not as of a deceased person, and yet the debtor is not a party to the proceedings. Thus, Plaistow had departed from Massachusetts Bay, sometime after the September 1631 court record and before the June 1632 court record, leaving behind some estate, and also some debts. Ordinarily, ships did not depart/arrive New England to/from England in the winter, so it is most likely that if Plaistow had not departed in September/October of 1631, then he departed with the resumption of the ship schedules in the spring of 1632.

What about his servants Andrews and Bucklin?

As for the THOMAS ANDREWS mentioned in this 27 September 1631 order of the Court of Assistants of Massachusetts Bay that “Tho. Andrewe and Will Buckland ” be whipped as an accessory to Josias Plaistow in the theft of corn from the Indians [MBCR 1:92] — does not show up in any records after that according to all researchers. Anderson, The Great Migration Begins, 1620, at entry for Thomas Andrews comes to the conclusion that it can reasonably could be supposed that he went back to England as a servant to Plaistow.

The same reasonable supposition can be made about William Buckland. That is, from the time of the court orders about Plaistow until 1634 there is no record of anyone named Buckland or its soundex equivalents (e.g., Bucklin). After 1634, and the mention of “our” William Buckland/Bucklin, there is no mention of any other William Buckland/Bucklin except for “our” William Bucklin [We exclude a later William Buckland who is clearly not either the Will Bucklin of the Plaistowe court order or “our” William Bucklin of the 1635 record.] We can reasonably think that he went back to England with Plaistow in the spring of 1632.

Mary Bosworth Clarke, [Bosworth Genealogy.[ 45 and 51] records the arrival on the ship Elizabeth Dorcus, in 1634 of “Edward Bosworth, who with his wife Mary….had with them their sons…a daughter Mary, and her husband William Buckland…

This statement by Clarke may not be accurate as to William Buckland. It certainly is not accurate as to “their sons”. Edward and Mary had only three sons. But son Jonathan was in Cambridge by 1633, perhaps sent to prepare the way or send back a report whether the rest of the family should come. [See Anderson, Great Migration 1620 entry for Jonathan Bosworth.]

Shortly thereafter, in 1635, Hingham MA records show “Wm. Buckland had land granted to him as follows: 4 acres …Wearyall Hill; a house lot of 5 acres near present …West Hingham; 2 acres at Great Plain; 2 acres at Layford… Meadow; and 3/4 acres of salt meadow at Cohasset. He also owned 1 lot at Broad Cove” Thereafter, in the Colony’s court records of July 1635 William Buckland appears along with the sons of Edward Bosworth as one of “Edward Bosworth & his family” whose transportation had been paid by Henry Sewall [Massachusetts Bay Colony Records 1:152 . In our view the most reasonable supposition is that the William of the 1630 record of Winthrop and the William of the ship arrival of 1634 is the same William. While this identification remains in our view as “most likely”, it is not certain.

The gravestone for William’s son Joseph Buckland provides an age at death from which a calculated birth date of 26 June 1633 may be derived. To have the William Buckland of the 1631 record be the same as the 1634 husband of Mary Bosworth, we have to believe that William Buckland returned to England in 1632 (this is likely, the servants of Plaistow would have returned to England with him in 1632), fathered his son Joseph, and then sailed for New England again in or before 1634.

It is possible that the 1630 William was a different person than the husband of Mary Bosworth. We think not. The name William Buckland/Bucklin was not a common name. There is a short time frame in which Will Buckland/Bucklin shows up in the same area of the south shore of the Massachusetts Bay.

Jonathan Bosworth

Jonathan Bosworth, the brother in law of William Bucklin, shows up in Cambridge, MA, records as early as 1633. When William Bucklin shows up in the 1634 ship arrival, Jonathan moves to where William Bucklin is and thereafter seems to sell his land in Hingham before 1640, then moves to Rehoboth probably in the 1640’s when William moves to Rehoboth, to the exact bridge/mill run area where William moves to Rehoboth, and Jonathan even sells his land in Hingham at the same time as William sells his land in 1661.

The description from Anderson, Great Migration, 1620, at entry for Jonathan Bosworth, reads as follows.

FIRST RESIDENCE: Cambridge, 1633 REMOVES: Hingham by 1636, Rehoboth by 1658 OCCUPATION: Tailor. FREEMAN: Oath of fidelity at Rehoboth, 1658 [PCR 8:178]. In Rehoboth section of Plymouth Colony list of freemen, [blank] March 1683/4 [PCR 8:209]. EDUCATION: Evidently signed deeds, but made his mark to his will [Early Rehoboth 3:157, Bosworth Gen 74]. ESTATE: Granted one rood for a cow yard in Cambridge, 5 August 1633 [CaTR 5]. Granted a lot of two acres in the West End, 4 August 1634 [CaTR 9]. Granted a proportional share of one-half in meadow ground, 20 August 1635 [CaTR 13]. In the Cambridge land inventory on 10 October 1635 “Jonathan Bosworth” held three parcels: “one house with backside about two acres” in the West End; one rood in Cowyard Row; and two acres on Small Lot Hill [CaBOP 30-31]. Under dates of 3 April 1636 and July 1637, “the several parcels of land and meadow legally given unto Jonathan Bozworth by the town of Hingham” were: “a house lot two acres of land; …for a great lot ten acres of land lying upon the Great Plain …, for a house lot five acres of land…, one acre of fresh meadow…, one acre of fresh meadow…” [Bosworth Gen 63, citing HiTR]. Although no deeds were recorded, Jonathan evidently conveyed the two acre houselot, the ten acre great lot, and the five acre houselot, each before 1640, when the subsequent owners described them as “formerly Jonathan Bosward[‘s]” [Bosworth Gen 64]. On 18 April 1661 Jonathan Bosworth, Sr., of Rehoboth sold twelve acres of land (purchased from Joseph Phippen) and one acre of fresh meadow (his by grant) in Hingham to Daniel Cushing [SLR 8:150]. Jonathan probably gave a proprietary right at Rehoboth to his son-in-law John Cobley, who received one whole share in the North Purchase of Rehoboth, 10 April 1666: “John Cobley, one whole share that he had of his father Jonathan Bosworth” [Early Rehoboth 1:41]. On 20 April 1666, “Jonathan Bosworth, Sr., of Rehoboth, tailor,” deeded his house and lot in Rehoboth, purchased of “his brother Benjamin,” to Stephen Paine [PCLR 3:2:224]. On 26 May 1668 Jonathan Bosworth was twenty-fifth of those drawing meadowlands in the North Purchase and he was sixty-sixth at the 18 March 1668/9 drawing [Bosworth Gen 69]. On 26 May 1672 “Jonathan Woodcock of Rehoboth” sold to “Jonathan Bosworth Sr. of Rehoboth” an acre of fresh meadow at the Mill Run [Bosworth Gen 69, citing original deed, apparently unrecorded]. On 28 May 1672, Rehoboth granted “goodman Bozworth Senr.” a small tract of land against his meadow on the neck, provided he leave a sufficient passable way from the bridge…” [Rehoboth TR]. On 20 February 1678[/9] William Buckland of Rehoboth deeded to Jonathan Bosworth Sr. of Rehoboth a twelve-acre lot of upland in Wachamoket Neck and Joseph Buckland of Rehoboth sold Jonathan twenty-six acres of upland at the same place [Bosworth Gen 70, citing original deed]. In a list of Rehoboth possessions, “Jonathan Bozworth” owned: “my house lot containing twenty acres…, fifteen acres of land in Wachamoket Neck…, twelve acres and ten rods of upland at Wachamoket Neck…, twenty-six acres of land at Wachamoket Neck…, one acre of land … near the bridge … and one acre of meadow … which I purchased of John Wodcok Sen” [Bosworth Gen 70-71, citing Rehoboth Proprietors’ Records 2:128]. Jonathan Bosworth Sr. and Samuel Peck were made administrators of the estate of Nathaniel Peck on 1 November 1676, and Jonathan was appointed administrator of the estate of John Cobley on 1 March 1680/1 [PCR 5:212, 6:55, 56, 73]. On 30 December 1680, Jonathan Bozworth and wife Elizabeth Bozworth deeded to Joseph Bozworth “half of my house lot with the east end of my dwelling house and half my barn and two lots adjoining in Wathchamositt Neck…, excepting that part that the highway cuts off which is six or eight acres … and another which was Jacob Amesbury’s,” also two cows “fair with calf and the use of the teams to do his work and mine so long as I shall see cause or til he hath of his own … but for his brother Jonathan he shall have nothing to do with anything I have except he decline from that opinion of the Anabaptists which he now holds …” [PCR 5:137]. On 8 March 1686 Jonathan received another grant of meadowlands at the North Purchase [Attleboro TR 1:165]. In his will, dated 24 February 1686/7 and evidently never brought to court (but found among ancient papers in a Barrington, Rhode Island, attic), “Jonathan Bozworth Senior” of Rehoboth “being weak and aged” bequeathed to “my dear and beloved wife” the use and improvement of the rooms of my house that I now dwell in with the one half of my barn, orchard and homelot, and other lands not disposed of for her natural life, also all my household goods and corn and cattle to be at my decease “wholly at her dispose”; to “my eldest son Jonathan” 5s. to be paid by my son Joseph “I having already given him a good portion of lands and other estate to a good value: more than I was able”; to “my son Joseph” the other end of my house and the one half of my barn and orchard and houselot and lands in Wachamoket Neck “of which I have formerly given him an instrument” do hereby confirm, also the other half to him at my wife’s death; to “my daughter Rebeka Peck” 5s.; to “my daughter Bethia Peck” £5 [perhaps should be 5s.]; to “my daughter Batsheba” 5s.; son Joseph to pay all legacies; “my dear wife” executrix and “my son Joseph” executor [Bosworth Gen 73-74, citing unrecorded original will]. BIRTH: About 1613 (deposed in June 1639 “aged about 26 years” [Lechford 84]), son of Edward and Mary (_____) Bosworth. DEATH: Rehoboth 3 January 1687/8 [ReVR 802 (Arnold says “Jonathan Bosworth, Jr.” in error and fails to indicate the double date)]. MARRIAGE: By about 1636 Elizabeth _____. She died Swansea 15 June 1705 “being almost ninety one years of age” [SwVR 27].