When I asked if he felt he had the right parents, his reply, "Yes, I feel I have the parents. To start, I am attaching a deed from Essex County Registry of Deeds, Vol. 98, p. 133. It is for 30 acres being sold in March 1748. No buildings were mentioned on the lot, but William was listed as a yeoman. Note that the land is on the Saugus River; it would have been in current Lynnfield (then part of Lynn), near current Wakefield line (then part of Reading). Noter also references to the lot bordering lands of Benjamin Wiley and land of a widow Wiley. Finally, William Johnson's wife, Elizabeth Johnson, also signs, acknowledging that she was giving up any right of dower in the land (this was standard practice), signing with her mark, suggesting that she could not write."
Among things I learned, I want to share with you. He wrote about a single woman using Mrs. before she married, and the usefulness of finding deeds.
"As Elizabeth was listed as "Mrs." when she was married, it was of course quite possible that she was a widow, but we now know that Johnson was her maiden name, and there is no evidence that she married a man named Johnson prior to the Mead marriage. I have seen "Mrs." used in many marriage records of the period, even though the person had not been married prior to the entry, so this was actually not unusual."
"Deeds are not as yet used that much by people doing genealogy, but they are a valuable source that professionals will more often consult. If nothing else, the one I sent yesterday documents that William Johnson's occupation was a yeoman (farmer) and that Elizabeth signed with an "X" (her mark), so she likely could not write. The description places their land on the Saugus River, near a saw mill and adjoining land of Benjamin Wiley. I will be sending some more deeds and add some comments. You may also find them difficult to relate to, but the deeds serve as key evidence for being able to attribute who Elizabeth's parents were [Benjamin and Mary (Nichols) Wiley]."
I highly recommend this professional, and if you would like his name, please write me. I believe he took a personal interest in this case, and just based on the following information I'm sharing I think you'll agree. Obviously, he didn't just find me the parents of Elizabeth.
"I wondered if the Pooles of Reading were connected to you. Fun when different lines end up connecting.
Books I consulted regarding John Wiley and family in Reading included:
Loea Parker Howard. Ancient Redding in Massachusetts Bay Colony [1944], pp. 44-45.
“JOHN WILEY
“Sergt. John Wiley was an early settler on land in
the Woodville district of Wakefield. The men of this [44]
family took a deep interest in military affairs and were
officers in all of the early companies. His descendants
settled in Stoneham and Lynnfield, also.”
Lilley Eaton. Genealogical History of the Town of Reading, Mass.(1874), pp. 125-26.
“Wiley, John, one of the earliest settlers; lived in "Little World," now
called Woodville. He died probably in 1672. His wife, whose [125]
name was Elizabeth, d. 1662. Chil. : John (perhaps);
Benjamin (perhaps), who m. 1707, Mary Nichols; Elizabeth, b. 1649;
Timothy, b. 1653; Susanna, b. 1655, and m. 1678, John Damon;
Sarah, b. 1658.”
Savage vol. 4, p. 550 only says of John Wiley “Reading 1640, or at least an early sett.”
Curious, I thought I read in Howard that he likely had been from Ipswich. I guess my memory is slipping—I saw something and quickly checked Ipswich VR (finding nothing), but I failed to make a notation. Eaton certainly did more study of the Reading families than I, so he may have had a reason for thinking the most likely candidate for Benjamin’s father was immigrant John. My own instinct would be to look for possibility of Benjamin being a grandson of John.
Deeds are on microfilm at NEHGS, where I used to look them up. Copies are now uploaded in FamilySearch, but they are not as yet searchable. Originals are now at the Massachusetts Archives in Boston. I downloaded a few others if you are interested in some more."
Since this post is longer than I expected, I just posted the descendant, and it may be seen HERE.
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| Cemetery Stone of my 8th grandfather |
