William Twining Jr (abt. 1615 - 1703)

Born about 1615 in England

Husband of Elizabeth (Deane) Twining — married about 1652 in Massachusetts

Descendants

Died 4 Nov 1703 at about age 88 in Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania Colony

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Biography

William was born about 1615 in England, son of William Twining and his first wife, name unknown. With them (or with just his father), he emigrated to New England about 1635.^[1]

William is first mentioned in 1652 when he was a member of the Grand Jury. He was again on the jury in 1667 and in 1671. He married probably in Eastham around 1652 (records missing) Elizabeth Deane, and was granted a 3.5-acre lot adjacent to property owned by his father. And in 1664 he was granted 10 acres which was formerly Josiah Cooke’s. William also owned land in Wellfleet. ^[2] On 5 Apr. 1669 William and Elizabeth Twining, Stephen Snow, Susanna Snow and Meriam Dean sold land to Peter Warden. The deed was witnessed by Josiah Cooke and Nicholas Snow. ^[3] In 1671 William sold 100 acres at Namakasset, Middleborough for £28 to Thomas Dogget and in 1674 he sold land on Prince’s Neck to John Yates.^[4] He was a deacon in the Eastham church and is mentioned as early as 26 Feb. 1677 as "Deacon Twining" and as late as 1681. He and his son William are listed as voters of Eastham in 1695.^[5]

William was mentioned in the will of his mother-in-law's second husband, Josiah Cooke 22 Sept. 1673. William's son, Stephen was also mentioned.

About 1695 William's religious views changed to embrace those of the Friends and he and his family moved to Newtown, PA to escape Puritan New England. William's name appears in the Middletown Friend's Monthly Meeting in 1699 along with Stephen's concerning testimony against selling rum or strong drink to the Indians. ^[6]

"I, William Twining, of Newtown, in the county of Bucks, and the province of Pennsylvania, having taken into consideration the frailty of this temporal life, being in health of body & of sound and perfect mind and memory, praise be therefore given to Almighty God, do make & ordain this my present last will & testament, in manner and form following (that is to say):

First & principally I commend my soul into the hands of Almight God, & my body I commit to the Earth, to be descently buried at the discretion of my executors hereafter named, and as touching the disposition of all such temporal estate, as it hath pleased Almighty God, to bestow upon me, I give & dispose thereof as followeth:

First, I will that my debts and funeral charges shall be paid and discharged.

Item. I give unto William, son of Stephen Twining (My Grandchild) ye sum of twenty Pounds, to be paid to him when he shall come to twenty-one years of age, if my wife be dead before he comes to that age, but if she be living I leave it with her, for her use so long as she liveth, and then t o be paid at her decease to Said Wm Twining. Item. I give unto my son Stephen Twining, my daughter Johanna, my daughter Mahitable, and the two daughters of my daughter Anna Bills (to wit) Anna Bills & Elizabeth Bills, as ye residue of my estate which I have in Penna, after my wife's decease (that is) my mind is, that Anna Bills & Elizabeth Bills, have both but an equal share with my son Stephen & the rest of his sisters.

Item. I give unto my son William Twining (after my wifes decease) all the lands, or the residue that I have lying within the Township of Eastham, and County of Barnstable, in New England, so far as ye Bound Brook, lying on the South side of the Brook called Bound Brook. Item. I give unto my daughter Elizabeth Rogers (after my wifes decease) all my estate, right, title and interest to the Drift-Fish at Panath [Truro], with all my lands and privileges at Easton Harbor, so far as the purchased lines goes during her life, and after her decease, to fall to her youngest son then living by John Rogers.

All the rest and residue of my estate, real and personal, goods and chattlels, whatsoevere, I do give and bequeath unto my loving wife, my exeuctrix, equally joint with my sons Stephen Twining and William Twining- all equally joynt-executors full and sole to this my last will and testament And I do hereby revoke and disanulle & make void all other or former wills and testaments by me heretofore made.

In witness whereof I ye said William Twining to this my last will and testament have hereunto set my hand and seal ye 26th day of ye fourth month in the year 1697.
William Twining
In ye presence of
Ann X Scaife
Jonathan Scaife.

Then personally appeared [ ] Twining and Stephen Twining (William Twining the other executor being beyond the sea) and proved the above will... John Evans...

Whereas there is a will of William Twining, of Newtown, in our county of Bucks, which said will the executors witnesses being somewhat difficult to be got to Philadelphia through age and other infirmities, they desired me to attest & examine the said witnesses which accordingly I did... Joseph Kirkbride, Justice". ^[7]

Sources

1. ↑ Leon Clark Hills in Cape Cod Series, Vol. I: History and Genealogy of the Mayflower Planters and First Comers to Ye Olde Colonie
2. ↑ The Twining Family- Thomas Twining, Fort Wayne, 1905- pp. 14-16
3. ↑ Dean-Twining-Snow-"Mayflower Descendant"- Vol. XV, p. 51
4. ↑ The Twining Family- Thomas Twining, Fort Wayne, 1905- pp. 14-16
5. ↑ The Twining Family- Thomas Twining, Fort Wayne, 1905- pp. 14-16
6. ↑ "The Scott Family of Shrewsbury, NJ"- Rev. Arthur S. Cole, The Register Press, Red Bank, NJ, 1908- pp.17-8
7. ↑ Genealogy of the Twining Family- Thomas J. Twining, Sidney, Indiana, 1890- pp. 27-8 quoting Philadelphia County Wills- Bk B, p. 402

• The Chrisman Pedigree, website created by Lonnie Chrisman
• Frederick Freeman, The History of Cape Cod: The Annals of the Thirteen Towns of Barnstable County, Vol I. Boston, 1862.
• Leon Clark Hills, Cape Cod Series Vol. I: History and Genealogy of the Mayflower Planters and First Comers to Ye Olde Colonie, Washington DC: Hills Publishing Company, 1936.
• Genealogy of the Dean Family: Descended from Ezra Dean, of Plainfield, Conn. and Cranston, R.I., Scranton, PA: F.H. Gerlock and Co., 1903.
• The American Genealogist. New Haven, CT: D. L. Jacobus, 1937-. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .) John Insley Coddington. "The Widow Mary Ring, of Plymouth, Mass., and Her Children" Vol. 42, p. 198, 199.subscriber$

See Also:

• The American Genealogist. New Haven, CT: D. L. Jacobus, 1937-. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .) John Insley Coddington. "The Widow Mary Ring, of Plymouth, Mass., and Her Children" Vol. 42, p. 198, 199.subscriber$
• Paine, Josiah. 1916. Early Settlers of Eastham. Library of Cape Cod History & Genealogy. No. 32. www.ancestryinstitution.com.
• A link to the old 1890 Twining genealogy on archive.org:[1]
• The pioneers of Massachusetts, a descriptive list, drawn from records of the colonies, towns and churches and other contemporaneous documents by Pope, Charles Henry, 1841-1918 Publication date 1900 short paragraph
• Swarthmore College; Swarthmore, Pennsylvania; Minutes, 1664-1807; Collection: Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Minutes; Call Number: MR-Ph 305 image
• Torry, Clarence A. New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2004. image
• "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-8979-9XFN?cc=2061550&wc=Q4DW-7MF%3A353349701%2C353418401%2C353418402 : 20 May 2014), Barnstable > Eastham, Orleans > Births, marriages, deaths, land grants 1649-1722 > image 94 of 157; citing Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston.