Frances (Dighton) Williams (bef. 1612 - bef. 1706)

Born before 1 Mar 1612 in Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England

Ancestors

Wife of Richard Williams — married 11 Feb 1633 in Whitcombe Magna Parish Church, Great Witcombe, Gloucestershire, England

Descendants

Died before 7 Mar 1706 at about age 94 in Taunton, Bristol County, Province of Massachusetts Bay

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Frances (Dighton) Williams migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

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Biography

Birth and Parents

Frances Deighton, daughter of John Deighton, Gent., and Jane Basset, was baptized at St. Nicholas parish, Gloucester, Gloucestershire, on 1 March 1611/2.^[1][2][3][4] Her baptism record from the Church of St. Nicholas reads:

"Anno dmi 1611. The first of March was baptized Frances the daughter of John Dighton".^[5]

Marriage

Frances married on 11 February 1632/3 at Great Witcombe (aka Whitcombe Magna), Gloucestershire, to Richard Williams,^[6] son of William Williams^[3] and his second wife, Jane Woodward.^[1][2] Their marriage was recorded as follows:

Richard Williams of the parishe of St. Johns in Gloucr and Frances Deighton of the parishe of St Nicholas in Gloucr Aforesayd, were marryed the xith day of February at Witcombe Magna, by Mr Stubbs [t]eacher 1632.^[3][5][6]

Immigration and Life in New England

The exact year the Williams family arrived in New England is unknown, as is the ship on which they immigrated. Richard may have came early, as several sources say that he arrived in New England about 1636 or 1637,^[1][2] about the same time of the arrival of his brothers-in-law, John Lugg and Samuel Hagburne.^[3] Based on an indexed baptism date of 2 February 1636 for their son Samuel,^[7] the family (or at least Frances and her children) may have still been in England in 1636/7. More research is needed to verify this baptismal record.

Some time after their arrival, Richard purchased land in Dorchester, Massachusetts Bay Colony, which he sold in 1646.^[4] It appears that Frances and Richard initially lived in Dorchester for a few years,^[8] as they are listed as having been members of the First Church of Dorchester prior to 1639.^[9]

Richard and others purchased a tract of land called Cahannot, later known as Taunton, from the Massachusetts Bay Company^[3] in about 1638.^[10] The family probably removed to Taunton by 1639.^[4][8]

Children

Frances and Richard had six sons and three daughters:

1. John,^[1][2] baptized 27 March 1634 at St. Nicholas, Gloucester^[5][11] and died young^[3]
2. Elizabeth,^[1][2] baptized 7 February 1635/6 at St. Nicholas, Gloucester,^[3][5] died 15 February 1635/6 at Gloucester, England^[12]
3. Samuel,^[1][2] baptized 2 February 1636/7 at St. Nicholas, Gloucester, England,^[7] or perhaps around 1639 in Massachusetts; married Jane Gilbert.^[3] Samuel died August 1697 at Taunton^[13]
4. Nathaniel,^[1][2] born 17 November 1639 at Taunton, Massachusetts and died there 16 August 1692.^[13] He was baptized 7 February 1641 and married 17 November 1668 to Elizabeth Rogers in Taunton^[3]
5. Joseph,^[1][2] born about 1643 at Taunton, married 28 November 1667 to Elizabeth Watson in Taunton,^[3] died there 17 August 1692^[13]
6. Thomas,^[1][2] born about 1645 at Taunton, married Mary _____,^[3] died in 1706 at Taunton^[13]
7. Elizabeth (again), wife of John Bird,^[1][2] was born about 1647 at Taunton,^[3] and died 20 October 1724 at Dorchester^[13][14]
8. Hannah, wife of John Parmenter,^[1][2] was born about 1650 at Taunton,^[3] and died there 12 August 1683^[13]
9. Benjamin,^[1][2] born about 1652 at Taunton, married 12 March 1689/90 Rebecca Macy in Taunton,^[3] died there July 1701^[13]

Death

Frances's husband, Richard, died at Taunton, Massachusetts,^[1][2] before 15 September 1693, when his inventory was filed.^[3] Frances made her will on 20 October 1703 and it was proved on 7 March 1705/6.^[3][15] In her will, Frances made bequests to son[-in-law] Parmiter; the widows of sons Nathaniel, Joseph, and Benjamin; son Thomas, and daughter Elizabeth Bird. She named her son Thomas and daughter Elizabeth Bird as her executors.^[3][15] Douglas Richardson says she died in February 1705/6.^[1][2]

Research Notes

Royal Ancestors

Frances, Jane, and Katherine Deighton, each of whom has modern descendants, have royal ancestry through King John's alleged illegitimate daughter, Isabel, wife of Richard Fitz Ives, along with "three additional Plantagenet descents for the Deighton sisters, interestingly all being lines from illegitimate children of various kings".^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14} Douglas Richardson. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham. (Salt Lake City, UT: the author, 2013), vol. II, pages 411-412, DEIGHTON 16.ii, Frances Deighton.
2. ↑ ^{2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13} Douglas Richardson. Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 4 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham, 2nd edition (Salt Lake City: the author, 2011), Vol. II, p. 40, DEIGHTON 15.ii, https://books.google.co.uk/books?redir_esc=y&id=8JcbV309c5UC&q=Deighton#v=snippet&q=Deighton&f=false Google Books]
3. ↑ ^{3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16} Winifred Lovering Holman. "English Ancestry of Richard Williams and His Wife Frances Deighton" in The American Genealogist. New Haven, CT, Vol 10 (1933), pp 24-29. Online at AmericanAncestors.org($).
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2} Quarter Millennial Celebration of the City of Taunton, Massachusetts, Tuesday and Wednesday, June 4 and 5, 1889. Taunton, MA: The City Government, 1889. Archive.org, p 113-114.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3} Quarter Millennial Celebration, 1889, page 163.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Ancestry.com. Gloucestershire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1813 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Citing Gloucestershire Archives; Gloucestershire Anglican Parish Registers; Reference Number: GDR/V1/274. Ancestry image.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, (FamilySearch: 11 February 2018), Samuel Williams, bap. 02 Feb 1636 at Saint Nicholas, Gloucester; father Richard Williams.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Samuel Hopkins Emery, History of Taunton, Massachusetts from its Settlement to the Present Time. Syracuse, NY: D. Mason & Co., 1893. Online at HathiTrust p. 83
9. ↑ Records of the First Church at Dorchester in New England, 1636-1734, 1891. Online at Archive.org, page 4
10. ↑ Emery, History of Taunton 1893. HathiTrust pp. 28-29
11. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, (FamilySearch: 11 February 2018), John Williams, 27 Mar 1634.
12. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, (FamilySearch: 11 February 2018), Elizabeth Williams, 15 Feb 1635.
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6} Mayflower Families Through Five Generations: Descendants of the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth, Mass. December 1620. General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1975. vol. 19:15,18.
14. ↑ "Inscriptions from the Old Burial Ground in Dorchester, MS," in New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Vol 5 (1851), p 257
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1} Bristol County Probate Records, Vol. 2:152 Will of Frances Williams 1703.

See also:

• "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, (FamilySearch: 11 February 2018, Frauncis Dighton, 01 Mar 1610); index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 855,634, 855,635: index only, bap date 1 March 1610.
• Waters, Henry. Genealogical Gleanings in England. Boston: NEHGS, 1901: online at Google Play, pages 551 and 552
• "Gloucestershire, England, Wills and Inventories, 1541-1858" Gloucestershire Probate Records. Diocese of Gloucestershire, Finding Reference GDR, Wills and Inventories. Gloucestershire Archives, Gloucester, UK. Accessed on Ancestry.com, 4 June 2020. Ancestry Record 4294 #129260 (requires subscription): Will of John Deighton, 1640, Will Number 117, Consistory Court of Gloucester, Reference Code: 223526.
• English Origins of New England Families From The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Vol. II, Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co. Inc., 1985. Ancestry.com page 674 #28
• The Visitation of the County of Gloucester, taken in the year 1623 by Henry Chitty and John Phillipot, vol. 21. London: Harlean Society, 1885. Archive,org, page 207: footnotes
• Find A Grave: Memorial #11266085 for Frances Deighton Williams. The memorial states that she was buried in 1706 at the Mayflower Hill Cemetery in Taunton, Bristol County, Massachusetts. An image of a note shares that she could not have been, as the cemetery was established in 1840 (citing the city of Taunton). See the image. Another image appears to be a record of her 1632 marriage to Richard Williams (see the jpg) accessed 29 March 2019.
• Dudley, Dean. History of the Dudley Family with genealogical tables, pedigrees, &c, Number VI, Wakefield, Massachusetts, 1892, p. 717, Internet Archive.
• Roberts, Gary Boyd, English Origins of New England Families, Publication: From NEHGS Register Three Volumes. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. 1984
• Frost, Josephine C. Ancestors of Amyntas Shaw and His Wife Lucy Tufts Williams (Not Published, 1920) Page 17, Page 45
• The Order of Americans of Armorial Ancestry. The lineage of Member
• Macomber, Donald & Macomber, Harriet Seaver. The Ancestry of Donald Macomber, Ethel Jaynes Macomber, and Harriet Seaver Macomber, revised edition (William F Macomber, compiler), Volume Four, Thomas S Leue, Saint Cloud, Minnesota, 1994, Part Three, pp. 125-348.
• "Our Royal, Titled, Noble and Commoner Ancestors", citing Douglas Richardson's books (with page numbers)

Acknowledgements

Magna Carta Project

This profile was developed for the Magna Carta Project on 10 December 2021 by Thiessen-117.

Frances (Dighton) Williams is listed in Magna Carta Ancestry as a Gateway Ancestor (vol. I, pages xxiii-xxix) in a Richardson-documented trail to Magna Carta Surety Baron Saher de Quincy (vol. II, pages 34-40 DEIGHTON). This trail has not yet been developed on WikiTree. See profiles on that trail in the Magna Carta Trails section of her mother's profile.

See Base Camp for more information about identified Magna Carta trails and their status. See the project's glossary for project-specific terms, such as a "badged trail".