William Peachee (abt. 1650 - bef. 1689)

Born about 1650 in England

Descendants

Died before 20 Mar 1689 before about age 39 in Burlington County, New Jersey

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Biography

William was born possibly around 1650, probably in England (estimating he was in his mid-20s when he married). His parentage is not currently known.

He was a Quaker, and married Anne Dell 9 August 1675 at the Devonshire Meeting House Without Bishopsgate in London. The record calls him a haberdasher, of Martin's L'Grand in the Liberty of Westminster.^[1] Children:^[2]

• William b. ca. 1676, buried in London, 24 August 1676
• Joseph bap. 1st of 3rd mo. 1678, Burlington, New Jersey
• Thomas bap. 9 of 12th mo. 1679, Burlington, New Jersey
• Sarah bap. 23 of 1st mo. 1681/2, Burlington, New Jersey
• Ann bap. 28 of 7th mo. 1683, Burlington, New Jersey
• Rebekah bap. 29 of 6th mo., 1687, Burlington, New Jersey

William was reportedly imprisoned for his Quaker beliefs.^[3] He was one of the original 120 or so proprietors of West Jersey, the newly formed Quaker colony, signing on 3 March 1676/7.^[4] He acquired one share for himself and seven others, a group of tradesmen.^[3] He and his friend Thomas Olive were probably the first public Friends or ministers in West Jersey.^[3]

William seemingly sold half of his 1/8 share almost immediately after acquiring it, reportedly selling 1/16 share to Walter Humphries on 27 March 1677.^[5]

William was reportedly buried at Burlington on the 20th of the first month 1688.^[6] According to Quaker customs, this should be March, but it is not clear if the year was 1688 or 1689 by modern reckoning. On 20 February 1692/3, when a court record shows that a highway was to be built through Wellingborrow "as straight as may be to Widow Peachees plantation."^[7]

William's will was dated 4 September 1687, but it was not proved until years after his death, on 19 September 1698.^[8] The record says he was a haberdasher, of London, when passed away in 1698, corroborating the 1675 marriage record. The will of William Peachee of the Nursery, near Burlington on the Delaware River, husbandman, mentions:

• wife Ann
• children Sarah, Ann, Rebecca, Thomas (under age)

Sources

1. ↑ Piece 0974: Monthly Meeting of Devonshire House, Houndsditch, London: Marriages (1666-1764), Image online; consulted through "England & Wales, Quaker Birth, Marriage, and Death Registers, 1578-1837," database and images, Ancestry.com.
2. ↑ Hannah Benner Roach, "Seventeenth Century Birth Records in the Delaware Valley," The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine 27 no.2 (1971)
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} John E. Pomfret, "The Proprietors of the Province of West New Jersey, 1674-1702," The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 75 no. 2 (1951) page 128
4. ↑ The concessions and agreements of the proprietors, freeholders and inhabitants of the province of West New-Jersey, in America [1677*], transcription online
5. ↑ Documents Relating Colonial History New Jersey: Vol. 21, Page 445
6. ↑ "Catalog of Eighty-Seven Public Friends yt have Died in Pennsylvania since ye First Settlement of Friends there Read at ye Yearly Meeting, 1709," Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine 31 (1979-80) page 114
7. ↑ "The Burlington Court Book of West New Jersey, 1680-1709," American Legal Records volume 5 (American Historical Association, 1944), page 149.
8. ↑ Documents Relating Colonial History New Jersey: Vol. 23, Page 355

• Documents Relating to The Colonial History of The State of New Jersey (Daily Journal Establishment, Newark, New Jersey, 1880-1949)