Not the same as Rev. John Wilson

Biography

From http://mhollick.typepad.com/slovakyankee/2015/07/john-wilson-ca-162...

John Wilson was born about 1626 and died 2 July 1687 at Woburn, Massachusetts

He married before 1651, Hannah James?, born say 1630 and died about 1698 at Woburn, Massachusetts. She married secondly, Thomas Fuller of Salem, Massachusetts

John and Hannah had ten children:

1. John,
2. Sarah,
3. Dorcas,
4. Samuel,
5. Francis,
6. James,
7. Abigail,
8. Elizabeth,
9. Benjamin, and
10. Hannah.

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Disputed Origins

• Seen as son of William Wilson & Patience but this is impossible based on dates
• from Martin Halleck "The notion that John was the son of a Roger Wilson is a fabrication"
• no known relationship with the Wilson / Mansfield family

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John Wilson Memorial

John Wilson was born about 1625 in England. He married Hannah James about 1651 in England. John, Hannah and son John, Jr immigrated to America about 1652.

In January, 1657, daughter Dorcas was born in Salem, Essex, Massachusetts.

John owned 2 acres of land in Salem, purchased about 1653, which he sold to Thomas Root for 18 pounds, in about 1657.

In December, 1658, son Samuel was born in Woburn, Massachusetts. John bought 5 acres on land in Woburn in 1661.

John died 2 July, 1687 in Woburn. His probate was filed on 3 August, 1687, with Hannah as his administrix, and naming sons John Jr., and Francis.

comments

• Birth date between 1625 and 1631

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From http://wvrebel.0catch.com/WILSON.HTML

(Rev) John Wilson II was born in September 1621 in Scroosby, Nottingham, England & died July 2, 1687 in Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts Colony. He married Hannah James (daughter of Edmund James & Reana Andrews) who was born in 1630 in Woburn, Middlesex, England & died 1703 in Woburn, Middlesex, England. There are 13 known children: Hannah, William, Dorcas, Sarah, Joseph, Samuel, Thomas, David, Abigail, Elizabeth, Benjamin, John II & Susanna.

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http://www.familycentral.net/index/family.cfm?ref1=4985:4999&ref2=4...

John Wilson was born at of Scrooby, Nottingham, England Abt 1625.

He married Hannah James . Hannah James was born at of Scrooby, Nottingham, England Abt 1628 .

They were the parents of 10 children:

1. William Wilson born 1646.
2. John Wilson born Abt 1650.
3. Joseph Wilson born 1655.
4. Dorcas Wilson born 29 Jan 1657.
5. Samuel Wilson born 29 Dec 1658.
6. David Wilson born Abt 1662.
7. Abigail Wilson born 8 Aug 1666.
8. Elizabeth Wilson born 6 Aug 1668.
9. Benjamin Wilson born 15 Oct 1670.
10. Hannah Wilson born 31 May 1672.

John Wilson died 2 Jul 1687 at Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts .

John Wilson was born at of Scrooby, Nottingham, England Abt 1625.

He married Hannah James . Hannah James was born at of Scrooby, Nottingham, England Abt 1628 .

They were the parents of 10 children:

1. William Wilson born 1646.
2. John Wilson born Abt 1650.
3. Joseph Wilson born 1655.
4. Dorcas Wilson born 29 Jan 1657.
5. Samuel Wilson born 29 Dec 1658.
6. David Wilson born Abt 1662.
7. Abigail Wilson born 8 Aug 1666.
8. Elizabeth Wilson born 6 Aug 1668.
9. Benjamin Wilson born 15 Oct 1670.
10. Hannah Wilson born 31 May 1672.

John Wilson died 2 Jul 1687 at Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts.

Sources:

• The Genealogy of the Cleveland and Cleaveland Families by H.G. and E.J. Cleveland (3 vols., 1899).
• Wilsons of New England . . . Volume J: Descendants of John Wilson of Woburn, Massachusetts by Ken Stevens (1991).
• The Ancestry of Joseph Fletcher Parker 1880-1962 of Duluth, Minnesota by Marian Parker Congdon (Boston: NEHGS 2006).
• "Descendants of John Wilson of Woburn, Massachusetts"; by Ken Stevens, pub, 1991 link
• The Snow-Estes Ancestry, Format: 2 vols. Abbreviation: Snow-Estes Anc. Author: Snow, Nora E. Publication: the author, Hillburn, N.Y., 1939
• New England Marriages Prior to 1700 By Clarence Almon Torrey page 825 John Wlson ( - 1687) & Hannah [James] (ae 58 in 1687); M 2 Thomas Fuller; c 1650 in England ; Woburn < AncestrySharing >
• page 171 of The Genealogical Bulletin, Volume 1. 8. Samuel Snow (Richard1) of Woburn, married first, about 1670, Sarah. She was a daughter of John' and Hannah (James ?) Wilson of Woburn. (See Deed in Woburn Public Library.)
• http://familypedia.wikia.com/wiki/John_Wilson_(1639-1687)_
• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/103204487/john-wilson: accessed April 2, 2025), memorial page for Rev John Wilson (1625–2 Jul 1687), Find a Grave Memorial ID 103204487, citing First Burial Ground, Woburn, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA; Burial Details Unknown; Maintained by nancy robison (contributor 47058011).

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https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LT8P-CGF/john-wilson-1625-1687

Brief Life History of John

John Wilson was born about 1625, in England. He married Hannah about 1650, in England. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 5 daughters. He died on 2 July 1687, in Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, at the age of 63, and was buried in Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America.

Family Members

Spouse

John Wilson
Male
1625–1687

Hannah
Female
1629–1697
Marriage
about 1650
England
Children (10)

John Wilson
Male
1651–1735

Sarah Wilson
Female
1653–1686

Dorcas Wilson
Female
1657–1714

Samuel Wilson
Male
1658–1729

Francis Wilson
Male
1660–1724

James Wilson
Male
1663–1750

Abigail Wilson
Female
1666–1760

Elizabeth Wilson
Female
1668–1743

Benjamin Willson Sr.
Male
1670–1750

Hannah Wilson
Female
1677–1726

• Updated from MyHeritage Family Trees by SmartCopy: Dec 4 2015, 19:31:45 UTC

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https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Wilson-1990

John Wilson Sr. (abt. 1629 - 1687)
Born about 1629 [uncertain] in England
Died 2 Jul 1687 at about age 58 in Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts
John Wilson Sr.

Son of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]

Husband of Hannah (James) Fuller — married about 1650 in England map icon [uncertain]

Father of John Wilson Jr., Sarah (Wilson) Snow, Dorcas (Wilson) Cleaveland, Samuel Wilson, Francis Wilson, James Wilson Sr., Abigail (Wilson) Hildreth, Elizabeth (Wilson) Hildreth, Benjamin Wilson Sr. and Hannah (Wilson) Proctor

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John Wilson Sr. is currently protected by the Puritan Great Migration Project for reasons described in the narrative.
Join: Puritan Great Migration Project
Discuss: PGM
John Wilson's profile is being overseen by the Puritan Great Migration Project due to the numerous attempts to connect him to unsourced parents, and wives with disproven lineage.

Biography

John Wilson is believed to have been born in the late 1620s in England although no record of his birth or his parentage has been found. His parents are unknown at this time per all reputable sources. [Kindly do not add parents to this record without consulting with the profile managers.]

The research of Ken Stevens (see citation and link below) indicates that John and his family arrived in Salem, Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1652. Their son John, believed to be the infant who came from England with his parents, died 1 February 1735, age 84. This places the family in England in February 1652 and they are proven, through property records, to be in New England thirteen months later.

As with no birth record having been found for John Wilson, there has been no marriage record located with his wife, Hannah James, leaving a marriage date an educated guess. There does not appear to be a documented record of Hannah’s maiden name being James. However it is known from various records that her husband after the death of John Wilson was Thomas Fuller (though no marriage document has been found).

In March 1653, John Wilson purchased two acres of land with a house in Salem for 16 pounds. This was sold in July 1657.

The Wilson family first appears in Woburn town records in 1661 (via a grant of four acres of meadowland) although their move date from Salem is not known with certainty. Woburn was not founded until 1640 (Hannah’s last husband Thomas Fuller was an original subscriber of Woburn in 1640) so the several genealogies placing this Wilson family in Woburn prior to this date are in error. Stevens believes the birth entry for son Samuel in Woburn town records as 1658 was in fact entered in the town record several years later and is thus not indicative of residence there in that year.

The Wilson farm was near North Woburn located in what is now Bedford. In the Woburn Record of Marriages it is noted that they were associated with those of the “Schismatical assembly of Anabaptists.” This association appears to have brought about social challenges for the family and even John Proctor for associating with his mother-in-law in her later years.

John Wilson died 2 July 1687 in Woburn, Massachusetts. There is no record of Hannah’s death.

John Wilson is a 5th great grandfather of US President Grover Cleveland.

The children of John Wilson and Hannah (James) Wilson:

John born about 1652 (calculated)
Sarah born about 1653 (see Stevens for a discussion of the possibility she is the first child)
Unknown Daughter born about 1655 and killed by lightning.
Dorcas born 29 Jan 1657
Samuel born 29 Dec 1658
Francis born about 1660
James born about 1663
Abigail born 8 Aug 1666
Elizabeth born 6 Aug 1668
Benjamin born 15 Oct 1670
Hannah born 31 May 1672
It should be noted that there has been extensive misinformation of this Wilson family published and repeated since the work of S.C. Newman in 1867. The research of Ken Stevens appears to be the most complete and documented to date and may be found at https://archive.org/stream/descendantsofjoh00stev#page/n13/mode/2up

Research Notes

There is misinformation about this John Wilson posted in various places from various sources dating back to the 1860s.

Perhaps the best discussion on the topic is found in Ken Steven's 1991 book Descendants of John Wilson of Woburn, Massachusetts. The e-book is available on free loan at this location (create an account for free if you do not have one): https://archive.org/stream/descendantsofjoh00stev#page/n7/mode/2up

Sources

Please note that Source references without documentation have been removed from the Source listing. There are certain sources listed below which do contain information that has later been proven incorrect.

Cleveland, Edmund James, The Genealogy of the Cleveland and Cleaveland families, Case, Lockwood & Brainard, Hartford, Conn., 1899, Page 36. Digital version available: https://archive.org/details/genealogyofcleve01clev
Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, showing three generations of those who came before 1692. (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1860-62.), 4:585
Snow, Nora Emma. The Snow-Estes Ancestry (Hillburn, New York, 1939)
Snow, George Burwell. The Richard Snow Family. Mrs. G.W. Snow 1923. [Typescript]
Ken Stevens: Descendants of John Wilson of Woburn, Massachusetts. Volume J of Wilsons From New England, A genealogical record of some descendants from our colonial ancestors.
"Descendants of John Wilson of Woburn, Massachusetts"; by Ken Stevens, pub, 1991: https://archive.org/stream/descendantsofjoh00stev#page/n14/mode/1up
"dowfam3 -- Dowling Family Genealogy - John Wilson Individual Page" (undocumented); WorldConnect Tree, Person ID I146697: Tree 131380 (10-23-2019),
Family Data Collection - Deaths Edmund West, comp. Publication: Ancestry.com Operations Inc