John Finch (abt. 1595 - 1657)

Born about 1595 in England [uncertain]

Husband of Martha (Unknown) Green — married 1634 in Watertown, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Descendants

Died 5 Sep 1657 at about age 62 in Stamford, New Haven Colony

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John Finch migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See Great Migration Begins, by R. C. Anderson, Vol. 1, p. 669) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

(NOTE: A lengthy discussion of John's disputed parentage and siblings, disputed spouse, and disputes regarding the emigration of his eldest son has been moved to the Research Notes section so that it may be less of a distraction from the profile of this individual who definitely lived in first Watertown, Massachusetts and then Stamford, Connecticut in the 1600s.)

Biography

John Finch (SR, or John Finch (1) ) was born in England probably before 1595 (see text under "Research Notes" for further explanation). His origin and parents are unknown.^[1]Charles Edward Banks includes John as a passenger in the Winthrop Fleet (see Banks^[2]). However, Anderson notes that his earliest New England record for John Finch is in 1632 (see Timeline).

Family

John (I) was first married probably prior to 1620 to an unknown woman, probably in England. The couple had one known child.^[1]

Who is John (II) (we refer to him here as John II because he in turn has a son named John who eventually becomes John Jr) b prior to 1620; (M1) (it is unconfirmed if he married before he married the Widow Fuller) (M2) widow Hannah (Marsh) Fuller (It was the second marriage for Hannah Marsh, so from this, some have speculated that John Finch (II) was married once before, but this has not been substantiated).

The second marriage of John (I) probably occurred as early as 1630, and as late as February 1636, as at this time he is recorded in Watertown and granted 4 acres (1 Acre for each person and cow, so perhaps four people, or three and one cow, etc) at "Beaverbroke Plains". By June 22, 1637, he receives four acres at "Westpine Meadows", Watertown (it is unclear if this is an additional four acres, or a different assignment for a different year, or...?). So his family is essentially the same size from February 1636, through June 1637. However, by 10 March 1642, he is granted 91 Acres (at 13 Acres per person and cattle, which yields 7). Anderson imagines that John (i) was likely married "for a second time in about 1635 (assuming she was mother of the other four children), to Martha (birth surname unknown)."^[1] The birth dates shown below are those commonly referred to by researchers. Each individual profile should (or may one day) contain more detail about how these dates were set.

• Isaac b say 1635; m (1) Elizabeth Bassett (2) Ann ___
• Samuel b say 1638; m Sarah Hoyt
• Joseph b about 1647; m Elizabeth Austin
• Abraham b say 1648; m ___

After John's death in 1657, Martha Finch remarried in September 1658, John Green.^[3]

Timeline Watertown, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Pope reported John as the man who lost his home and belongings in a fire in September 1630 (per Winthrop's Journal, although other records show this date as closer to 1632), however most other researchers believe it was not John, but "Ould Finch". Depending on where your bias about Abraham Finch Sr lies, this could mean Abraham Finch, or Daniel Finch.

The earliest record for John Finch's presence in New England was made in 1632.

- 1632 Nov 7: He was fined 10s for "wanting armes for his man, & for being absent himselfe from traineing."^[4]

- 1636 Jul 25: John was one of the 120 "townsmen" of Watertown who received a grant of land (lot 27 in the 3rd division.)^[5]

- 1636 Feb 28: Watertown's freemen alotted "one Acre per a person," and John received four acres of plowlands at "Beverbroke Plaines".^[6]

- 1637 Jun 26: received a grant of 4 acres in an allotment at Westpine Meadows^[7]

- 1638 Jun 05: "Laurence Waters wife was enjoyned to give John Finch 18^d, & Nico Theale to give Jn Finch 18^d, & Edw Lambe to give him 2^s, & Lambe was fined...for his contempt, & all of them were admonished to avoyde dancing.^[8]

- 1642 May 10: Received 13 acres in Lot 6 (for a total of 91) "to every head of Persons & cattle."^[9]

Timeline at Stamford, New Haven Colony

Although some publications place him there, John was not a resident of Wethersfield prior to Stamford.^[1]

- 1642 Oct : John Finch was granted six acres in the settlement of Stamford,^[10] joining 42 householders who pioneered the location beginning in 1641.^[11]

- 1650 Mar 1: an inventory of Stamford landholding was prepared, and John Finch’s real estate was summarized [Gillespie Anc 140, citing Stamford Town Records 1:43-44].^[1]

- 1653 sold his house and homelot to Richard Ambler^[12]

- 1654 Apr 26: John testified in New Haven Colony Court as a witness regarding illegal trading with the Dutch.^[13]

Death

John died on 5 September 1657 at Stamford, New Haven Colony.^[14] No estate records were located.

Savage at least once wrongly names him as the man named Finch who died at the hands of the Pequots. It was Abraham, son of Daniel who died young in that conflict.^[1]

Research Notes

Disputed Parents and Siblings

Depending on which history compiled by whom and under what circumstance, THIS John Finch, who was born arguably in or about 1585 is almost certainly related as a brother or other close relation to Daniel Finch (abt.1585-bef.1667).

Some researchers have perhaps errantly placed this John Finch as the son of Abraham Finch, Sr and his wife.

MANY researchers speculate John, Daniel and perhaps the mysterious Abraham Sr (aka "Ould Finch") were brothers.

There seems to be a theory which, since 1930 has received more emphasis than some of the earlier theories of this 'family unit'. First posited by Donald Lines Jacobus and apparently supported by 'proof' submitted by Robert Charles Anderson^[1], this theory tells us that there was no one named Abraham Finch Sr, and in fact the "Ould Finch" referred to in the Weatherstown records is actually Daniel Finch (this of course contradicts the 1885 land map of the town of Wethersfield^[15] which clearly shows "Abraham Finch (SEN)", "Daniel Finch", and "Abraham Finch, Jr" living next to one another on the east side of Broad Street).

It is correctly pointed out by Anderson^[1] and MANY OTHERS, that John and Daniel have not been proven to be brothers, but these two, and the Samuel Finch of Roxbury, Massachusetts, almost certainly are related in some way.

Dispute Regarding Eldest Son John's Emigration

Concerning John Finch, Jr, the son of the John of this profile, it is noted that in Huntington Town Records, Including Babylon, Long Island, N.Y.^[16] the editor, Charles R. Street, wrote the following footnote concerning the younger John,

"*John Finch, according to "Hotton's Lists," came from London in the "George" in 1635, then aged 27. He died here in 1685".

Please look to the profile for son John Finch, Jr for a full discussion (eventually) of this data including the arrival in Virginia in 1635 (why not New England?). The lands John Jr held in Westchester, New York (perhaps dutch lands at this time). His move to Huntington and Oyster Bay on Long Island. And most pertinent to this, the profile of his father, his age of 27 years in 1635 (thus making his birth be in about 1608, and his father, the John Sr of this profile, old enough to challenge 'brother' Daniel as "Ould Finch", and certainly older than a 1595 birth).

(See also a footnote with respect to Hotton's Lists^[17])

Disputed Wife

No historic records have been found to confirm that John Finch's second wife Martha ever had the surname Brett (nor even this as a maiden name). Anderson and Torrey both leave her surname blank.^[1][18]

However, Paul Prindle, tells us in his "Ancestry of Elizabeth Barrett Gillespie (aka Mrs. William Sperry Beinecke)," (printed 1976, pp. 138-42), the following

John Finch Sr. married second, Martha, maiden surname undetermined.

Then says

It is possible, though proof is entirely lacking, that Martha was born a Brett. The 13 November 1646 WILL of Thomas Brett of Tenterden, County Kent, England, refers to "my sister Finche, now wife of Mr. John Finch" (see "The New England Historical and Genealogical Register" - aka NEHGS, 44:300).

It is uncertain if anyone has taken this research further to identify if the Thomas Brett of Tenterden, County Kent, England had a sister named Martha who left for New England.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8} Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, 1995. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2010) By Subscription $. Pages 669-671.
2. ↑

   - Charles Edward Banks in the following books

   "The Planters of the Commonwealth,.."

   by Charles Edward Banks

   printed 1930

   available at archive dot org

   "The Winthrop Fleet of 1630,.."

   by Charles Edward Banks,

   printed 1930 (a second edition printed 1961 is also available)

   available at archive.org

3. ↑ "Stamford (Conn.) Town Records." The American Genealogist, Volume 10. New Haven, CT: 1933. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .) By Subscription $. Page 113.
4. ↑ Shurtleff, Nathaniel B. Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, Vol. 1 1628-1641. Massachusetts State Legislature, 1853. Page 102.
5. ↑ Watertown Records, Comprising the First and Second Books of Town Proceedings. Watertown, MA: Watertown Historical Society, 1894. Page 5.
6. ↑ Watertown, 1894.Page 7.
7. ↑ Watertown, 1894. Page 9.
8. ↑ Shurtleff, 1853. Page 233.
9. ↑ Watertown, 1894. Page 13.
10. ↑ Stamford, 1933. By Subscription $. Page 40.
11. ↑ Huntington, E.B. History of Stamford, Connecticut. Stamford, CT: Self-Published, 1868. Page 20.
12. ↑ Huntington, 1868. Page 32.
13. ↑ Hoadley, Charles J. Records of the Colony and Plantation of New Haven from May 1653 to the Union. Hartford, CT: Self-Published, 1857. Pages 75-6.
14. ↑ TAG, 1934. By Subscription $. Page 44.
15. ↑ ;- James Hammond Trumbull

    "The Memorial History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884" in two volumes

    Printed 1886, MAP left of page 433.

    Digital version located at archive dot org

16. ↑ Charles R. Street, ed., Huntington Town Records, Including Babylon, Long Island, N.Y. (Huntington: 1887); [archive.org/details/huntingtontownre01hunt/page/46/mode/2up image of p. 47] available InternetArchive.org.
17. ↑ Hotten's Lists. While many passengers who came to early North America are listed in rolls compiled by John Camden Hotten, in his book The Original Lists of Persons of Quality..., including the passengers of the ship George in 1635, but with respect to The Winthrop Fleet, Hotten asks, (and I think I paraphrase here) "Where are the passenger lists for the Winthrop Fleet?" It is not until Banks compiles and assigns lists for this books "Planters of the Commonwealth" and more to the point, ["The Winthrop Fleet", that we see the names of people who 'probably arrived' on those ships. However, Anderson notes in his Introduction to the Great Migration Series, that in the Winthrop Fleet, "Banks made many unwarranted assumptions, and this work should not be considered reliable." (Anderson, Robert Charles. Great Migration Begins, (1994) p xxv)
18. ↑ Torrey, Clarence Almon. New England Marriages Prior to 1700, Vol 1. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing, 1985. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) By Subscription $. Page 542.

See Also:

- "Descendants of John Finch of Connecticut"

Compiled, Edited, Researched by Claude B. Thummel and his ,

Self Published, 1965. Digital version located at Familysearch (link to free remote website that requires a log in via free account).

- "John Finch of Connecticut"

A revised presentation of Mr Thummel's work complied and presented by Paul R. Finch at a free remote website.

- "History of Ancient Wethersfield" (at HathiTrust)

by Sherman W. Adams (completed by Henry Reed Stiles),

published 1904, in New York.

Vol 1, plates 55, 56 of 1134 pages 25,26

Vol 1, plates 98, 99 of 1134 pages 66,67

Vol 1, plate 315 of 1134 page 269

Vol II, plate 387 of 1072 page 321

- "The Planters of the Commonwealth," & etc

by Charles Edward Banks, printed 1930.

page 73 (at Archive dot ORG)

- "The Winthrop Fleet of 1630.. & etc"

by Charles Edward Banks,

pages 69 and 70 (this one printed 1930 and at Archive dot ORG)

or here 1961, pages 69, 70 (at Hathitrust)

- "History and Genealogy of the Families of Old Fairfield"

A 2 Volume, 15 part set by Jacobus, Donald Lines printed 1930 and available at HathiTrust

Specifically this portion of Volume 1, part 2, plate 98-102 (pages 200-204)

And where Jacobus discusses at length his opinion that Abraham Sr never existed Volume1, Part 6, plates 138-140 (pages 718-720)

• "Finch and Ashley: American Frontiersmen 1630-1977"
• Prindle, Paul W., (1976) Ancestry of Elizabeth Barrett Gillespie. New Orleans: Polyanthos, Inc. excellent.