John "of Rehoboth" Read

It’s an old myth that this John Read was a son of Sir William Reade, of Canterbury, Kt. and Lucy Reade (of Royal descent). They did have a son John Reade, of Gray's Inn, who was a barrister at Gray’s Inn in London, and died there, unmarried.

John Read and Sarah Lessie were charter members of Reverend Samuel Newman's congregation, which removed from the Dorchester area to settle Rehoboth (now East Providence, RI & Seekonk, MA) in 1643. This John Read was a farmer and tavern keeper.

From http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cousin/html/p449.htm#i11249

John Read of Dorchester was born in 1598 at East Anglia, England and immigrated to America arriving 1630; According to family tradition, as well as written sources, came to these shores as part of the Winthrop Fleet. Freeman on 13 May 1640 at Dorchester, Massachusetts; appeared as #3, with 300 pounds sterling to his name, on a list of early settlers or proprietors. left Dorchester and settled in Rehobath in 1645. He died on 7 September 1685 at the Old Seekonk burying grounds, Rehoboth, Bristol County, Massachusetts, at age 87 years. His gravestone, still there in 1860, dates his death as "Sept. 1865, age 87."

From The Reade record no. 1-16. Extra number A. Page 6 < Archive.Org >

FAMILY OF JOHN READ OF REHOBOTH (Reade List No. 7)

John Read born in England, died at Rehoboth in 1685; married Sarah Lessee daughter of "Will Lessie of Blyborough, Suffolk"; she died at Rehoboth Apr. 23, 1702.

Sarah Lessie b. 1614, d. 23 April 1702

Of their twelve children, [sic: 14] the births of the two oldest were recorded at Braintree, the eight youngest at Rehoboth, viz.

Children

1. William Read b. c 1632 at Dorchester
2. Abigail Read b. c 1633 at Dorchester
3. Samuel Read of Mendon+ b. 1635, d. 5 Apr 1717. Samuel 2 birth not found; d. at Mendon 1718; m. May 10, 1068 Hopestill Holbrook who d. at Mendon Jan. 12, 1705-6; his second wife Hannah d. at Mendon Jan. 24, 1710-7
4. John Read Jr. b. 29 Aug 1640, d. 26 Mar 1676. John 2 b. Aug. 29, 1040, d. Mar. 26, 1676 killed by Indians; his widow Rachel m. (2) June 27, 1678 Thomas Wilmarth Jr.; d. Nov. 12, 1710
5. Thomas Read b. 20 Nov 1641. Thomas 2 b. Nov. 20, 1641, d. Feb. 6, 1695-6 "aged 54"; m. Mar. 29, 1665 Elizabeth Clarke who <l. Feb. 23, 1674; m. (2) June 10, 107.") Anna Perrin who d. Mar. 8, 1710.
6. Sarah 2 birth not found; d. Jan 1661
7. Zachariah 2 twins, b. 1649, d. 1649
8. Ezekiel 2 twins, b. 1649, d. 1649
9. Moses Read b. Oct 1650. Moses 8 b. Oct. 1650, d. Dec. 14, 1 . 10; m. Dec. 6, 1077 Rebecca Fitch who d. Jan. 28, L 723-4.
10. Mary Read b. Jun 1652. Mary 2 b. Ian. 1652, d. unmarried Feb. 1687-8 "aged 35."
11. Elizabeth Read b. Jan 1654. Elizabeth 2 b. fan. 1654, d. Sept. 1654.
12. Daniel Read b. Mar 1655. Daniel- b. Mar. 1655, d. Oct. 17. 1710; m. Aug. 20, 1077 Hannah Peck.
13. Israel Read b. 1657. Israel 2 b. Mar. 1657, d. Nov. 17, 1732; m. Nov. 6, 1684 Rebecca Ruggles of Roxbury who d. Mar. 11 1735-6.
14. Mehitable Read b. Aug 1659. Mehitable- b. Aug. 1000, d. Ma\ 28, 1710 "in 50th year"; m. Oct. 10, 1688 Samuel Robinson who d. Sept. 17. 1721.

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Will

"6 Jan 1679 Will of John Read of Rehoboth "being aged", mentions wife Sarah and makes her executrix; sons Moses, Daniel and Israel; two daughters Mary and Mehitabel; son John, now deceased and sons Thomas and Samuel who have already been given their portions; grandchild John Read to dwell with his wife (grandmother) until he is 21. Overseers: Ensign Nicholas Peck, Samuel Peck, and William Carpenter. Witnesses: Nicholas Read and William Carpenter, Will proved 20 Oct 1685; Inventory dated 1 Sep 1685." [Bowen quoting from "Rehoboth Deeds" Vol. V: pt. 2, p.360]

Bowen notes "Just why this will and inventory should be recorded in the Land Records instead of in the Probate Records where it properly belongs is not known. The case is so unusual that the record is included in this list of deed abstracts."

Bowen, Richard LeBaron (1878-1969) "Early Rehoboth, documented historical studies of families and events in this Plymouth colony township" p.163. pub. 1945, Rehoboth, Mass., USA: Rumford Press, Concord, N.H. https://archive.org/details/earlyrehobothdoc03bowe/page/163/mode/1u...

• "The REED FAMILY in Europe and America" by Jacob Whittemore Reed printed in Boston in 1861 states John Read of Rehoboth came to America with the great fleet in 1630. He is supposed to be the son of William by his wife Lucy Henage; and was the brother to William of Weymouth. He was born in 1598....was in Weymouth in 1637...Dorchester in 1638...in 1643 or 44, he went with Rev. Mr. Newman and his church to Rehoboth. His name is the third on the list of purchasers of that township. He was a man of large property for those times, and held the office of constable, which was the chief executive office in town. He lived at what was called the Rim, which is now in Seekonk...He kept a public house, and was a prominent and leading man...He died Sep 7, 1685, aged eighty-seven...
• Per "Geneal. Dict. Of New Eng."John, Dorchester, rem. to Weymouth or Braintree, freem. 13 May 1640, ar.co. 1644, had Abigail, b. at Dorchester; John, 29 Aug 1640;and Thomas 20 Nov 1641; rem. to Rehoboth, 1645, there had, perhaps, William; Samuel; Moses,Oct 1650; Mary, June 1652; Eliz., an1654; Daniel, Mar. 1655; Israel, 1657; and Mehitable, Aug. 1659; was one of good prop. and influence, whose gr.stone, still extant, it is said, shows that he d. Sept. 1685, aged 87.
• John, of Weymouth, a planter, took a 10 years lease of Capt. Tyng's farm at Mt. Wollaston Feb 14, 1639. "

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165. John1 Read; born 1598 at Ryborough, Lincoln, or Kent, England;112 married Sarah Lessie, daughter of William Lessie, before 1640;113 died 7 Sep 1685 at Rehoboth, MA.113

He 14 children. He "(I) John Reed or Read was born in 1598, supposed to be son of William and Lucy (Henage) Reed. He was brother of William Reed, of Weymouth, Massachusetts. He came to America in 1630 and lived for a time in Weymouth, where he was in 1637. He was of Dorchester in 1638, and removed from there to Braintree. In 1643 or 1644 he went to Rehoboth with Rev. Mr. Newman and his church, and his name is third on the list of proprietors of that town. He was constable, and a man of affairs. He kept an inn. He married Sarah (???). He died September 7, 1685, aged eighty-seven. Children: Samuel, William, Abigail, baptized in Dorchester, December 30, 1638; John, born in Braintree, August 29, 1640; Thomas, November 9, 1641; Ezekiel (twin), died young; Zachariah (twin), died young; Moses, October, 1650; Mary, January, 1652; Elizabeth, January, 1654: Daniel, March, 1655; Israel, 1657; Mehitable, August, 1660: Josiah, mentioned below."69 He "1) JOHN READ, the first of this branch of the family to come to America, is thought to have been a son of William and Lucy (Heneage) Reade. He was born probably at Maidstone, County Kent, near London, England, in 1598, and sailed from London for America on April 1, 1630, with the great fleet of eleven ships, which accompanied Governor John Winthrop, with about seven hundred persons, arriving at Salem, Massachusetts, June 22, 1630. He was of Weymouth, Massachusetts, in 1637, of Dorchester in 1638, and from there removed to that part of Braintree which is now Quincy, where he was a freeman, May 13, 1640. In the spring of 1643/44, he joined the company of the Reverend Samuel Newman, of Weymouth, in founding a settlement at Seekonk, which Indian name he replaced with the Scripture town name, Rehoboth; and the name of John Read is the third in the list of estates in 1643; according to which, the allotments of land were distributed. His estate was valued at lbs. 300, a large property for those times. He served as constable, and lived at the Rim, now in the town of Seekonk, where he was proprietor of an inn, and a leading man of the town. He died Sept. 7, 1685, at the age of eighty-seven years, and was buried in the old Seekonk Burying Ground, the inscription on his gravestone, "J. R. aet eighty-seven, D. S. 1685." He and his wife, Sarah, were the parents of thirteen children."114 He "JOHN

Descendants of John Read

First Generation

1. John Read was born about 1598. He died on 7 Sep 1685 in Seekonk, , RI and was buried on 7 Sep 1685.

John married Sarah Lessie, daughter of William Lessie. Sarah was buried in Jan 1661 in Rehoboth, Bristol, MA.

They had the following children:

• 2 M i Samuel Read died after 5 Apr 1717. Samuel married (1) Hopestill Holebrook on 10 May 1668 in Rehoboth, Bristol, MA. Hopestill died on 12 Jan 1706. Samuel also married (2) Hannah. Hannah died on 24 Jan 1717.
• 3 M ii William Read. William married Ruth Crooke on 20 Jan 1653.
• 4 F iii Abigail Read was christened on 30 Dec 1638 in Dorchester, , MA.
• 5 M iv John Read was born on 20 Aug 1640 in Braintree, , MA. He died on 26 Mar 1676 in Rehoboth, Bristol, MA. John married Rachel. Rachel died on 12 Oct 1710 in Rehoboth, Bristol.
• 6 M v Thomas Read was born on 9 Nov 1641 in Braintree, , MA. He died on 6 Feb 1695/1696 in Rehoboth, Bristol, MA. Thomas married (1) Elizabeth Clarke on 29 Mar 1665 in Rehoboth, Bristol, MA. Elizabeth died on 21 Feb 1675. Thomas also married (2) Annie Perrin on 16 Jun 1675 in Rehoboth, Bristol, MA. Annie died on 28 Mar 1710 in Rehoboth, Bristol, MA.
• 7 M vi Ezekiel Read was born in Aug 1649 in Rehoboth, Bristol, MA. was buried in Jun 1649 in Rehoboth, Bristol, MA.
• 8 M vii Zachariah Read was born in Aug 1649 in Rehoboth, Bristol, MA. was buried in Jun 1649 in Rehoboth, Bristol, MA.
• 9 M viii Moses Read was born in Oct 1650 in Rehoboth, Bristol, MA. He died on 14 Dec 1716 in Rehoboth, Bristol, MA. Moses married Rebecca Fitch on 6 Dec 1677 in Rehoboth, Bristol, MA. Rebecca died on 28 Jan 1723/1724 in Rehoboth, Bristol, MA.
• 10 F ix Mary Read was born in Jan 1652 in Rehoboth, Bristol, MA. She died on 23 Feb 1687/1688 in Rehoboth, Bristol, MA.
• 11 F x Elizabeth Read was born in Jan 1654 in Rehoboth, Bristol, MA. was buried in Sep 1654 in Rehoboth, Bristol, MA.
• 12 M xi Daniel Read was born in Mar 1655 in Rehoboth, Bristol, MA. He died on 17 Oct 1710 in Rehoboth, Bristol, MA. Daniel married Hannah Peck on 20 Aug 1677 in Rehoboth, Bristol, MA. +
• 13 M xii Israel Read was born in Mar 1657 and died on 17 Nov 1732.
• 14 F xiii Mehitable Read was born in Aug 1660 in Rehoboth, Bristol, MA. Mehitable married Daniel Robinson on 10 Oct 1688 in Rehoboth, Bristol, MA.

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John Read Sr. BIRTH 1598, Lincolnshire, England DEATH 7 Sep 1685 (aged 86–87) BURIAL Newman Cemetery, East Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island, USA, MEMORIAL ID 14192640

Picture added by GravRidr

The following was sent by Cathy Combs:

I have more information for John Read Sr, taken from family documents, originally prepared by my Great Grandmother approximately 1920. Here is what she wrote:

John Read Sr (of Rehoboth) came to America on the Great Fleet in 1630.

He is supposed to be the son of William Read, by his wife Lucy Henage, and was brother to William of Weymouth. Born in 1598.

The first known fact of him after his arrival was in Weymouth, in 1637. He was from Dorchester, 1638 and went from there to Braintree (now Quincy).

In 1643 or 1644 he went with Rev Newman and his church to Rehoboth. His name is the third on the list of purchasers in that township.

He was a man of large property for those times and held the office of Constable, which was the chief executive office in town. He lived at what was called Rim, (now Seekonk) Ancient Rehoboth was divided into seven towns: Rehoboth, Swansey, Attleborough, Barrington, Seekonk, Pawtucket and Cumberland.

He kept a Public House and was a prominent and leading man. There is a record that Richard Ponton was "put" to John Read in 1644.

Mrs Read's maiden name was Sarah Lessie, daughter of William Lessie.

John died Sep 7 1685, aged 87 years. His gravestone is standing in Seekonk Old Burying Yard, inscribed "J.R., aged 87 D.S. 1684".

Spouse Sarah Lessie Read, 1607–1661

Children John Read, 1640–1676 Thomas Read, 1641–1695 Zachariah Read, 1642–1649 Samuel Read, 1645–1717 Ezekiel Read, 1649–1649 Moses Read, 1650–1716 Mehitable Reed Robinson, 1660–1719

Inscription

(as best I can read it) Born in Lincolnshire, England. He and others with their pastor Rev. Samuel Newman, came from Weymouth, Mass. and began the (church?) of the town in 1643.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14192640/john-read

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References

• Reed, Edward, F. “The English Ancestry of William Reade of Weymouth” in Proceedings of the Reade Historical and Genealogical Association, Boston: 1907. Page 27. Archive.Org
• https://homepages.rootsweb.com/~cousin/html/p449.htm#i11249 Cites
• [S821] Sons & Daughters of America's First Families, John Read, http://www.linkline.com/personal/xymox/roh/read.htm, Nominated by Donald W. Read, of Grove, Oklahoma.
• [S821] Sons & Daughters of America's First Families, John Read, http://www.linkline.com/personal/xymox/roh/read.htm, Nominated by Donald W. Read, of Grove, Oklahoma, per History of the Town of Surrey (N.H.) by Frank Burnside Kingsbury, p. 823..
• [S781] MBC Pre-1633, online http://www.winthropsociety.org/planters.htm
• [S810] Oscar Fay Adams and Walter Kendall Watkins, "EO: English Towns", under Farmlingham, NEHGR Apr. 1903, pages 193-198.
• [S821] Sons & Daughters of America's First Families, John Read, http://www.linkline.com/personal/xymox/roh/read.htm, Nominated by Donald W. Read, of Grove, Oklahoma, per Early History of Boston by Aspinwall, p.11and The History of Swanzey, N.H. by Benjamin Read, p. 430..
• [S260] M.S. George Walter Chamberlain Weymouth History, Vol 3 - pg. 516.
• [S541] James Savage First Settlers of New England, pg. 516.
• [S260] M.S. George Walter Chamberlain Weymouth History, Vol 1, pg. 82.
• [S1390] Bliss Family in Rehoboth, online http://www.usgennet.org/family/bliss/rehoboth/rehoboth.htm, According to the 1836 History of Rehoboth (Leonard Bliss, Jr., pages 24 and 25).
• [S541] James Savage First Settlers of New England, Vol 3 - pg. 516.
• [S260] M.S. George Walter Chamberlain Weymouth History, Vol 1, pg. 199.
• [S441] Kinnexions.com, online http://kinnexions.com/index.htm
• [S541] James Savage First Settlers of New England, Vol 3 - pg. 518.
• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Read-42 has errors as of 24 September 2023
• The Reade Record (Reade Historical & Genealogical Assoc., Old State House, Boston, Massachusetts, 1912) no. 5, Page 6. < Archive.Org >