Frances
White
formerly [surname unknown] aka Hilton
Born about in England
[uncertain]
[uncertain]Daughter of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Wife of
William Hilton Sr
— married
1635 (to 1655) in York, York, Maine
Wife of
Richard White
— married
30 Jun 1656 in Kittery, York, Maine
Descendants 
Died after
after about age 70
in Kittery, York, Massachusetts Bay Colony [uncertain]
[uncertain]
Profile managers:
Bob Keniston 
[send private message] and Puritan Great Migration Project WikiTree [send private message]
[send private message] and Puritan Great Migration Project WikiTree [send private message]Profile last modified
| Created 27 May 2011
This page has been accessed 472 times.
| Frances (Unknown) White migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm |
Contents |
Disputed Origins
Frances' last name at birth is unknown. She is found in some references as Frances Hayward but no reliable sources for that last name have been found. Anderson refers to her as Frances ________ in The Great Migration.[1] Her last name has been changed to Unknown pending reliable sources being added to this profile.
Biography
Frances, the second wife of William Hilton, was born about 1618, based on a February 1687/8 deposition where she gave her age as about 70 years old. Her origins and birth surname are not known. She also deposed that she had resided in Kittery about 46 years prior, or about 1642, as the wife of William Hilton. This was the year that William was made freeman.[2]
William had arrived at Plymouth, Plymouth Colony in 1621, and was joined by his first wife and two children in 1623. He had departed Plymouth by 1627, and appears in early records in the area of the Piscataqua River by 1631. There is no record of the fate of his first wife. Two of his children by her, William and John, have later records in Newbury and can be assumed to have come with their father to the Piscataqua area.
Frances is assumed to have been the second wife of William Hilton, but no marriage record has been found for them. Frances had a daughter Magdalene who married James Wiggins in 1656 (see court record for 30 July 1656 below). Magdalene is assumed to have been born about 1636, based on her marriage year. This would mean that Frances had Magdalene at age about 18. This was six years before Frances appears in Kittery as the wife of William, but in the absence of other candidates, William is usually assumed to have been Magdalene's father. The assumption is supported by the name Magdalene being associated with the Winslow family, with whom William was also associated.
Given the above caveat, Frances and William had children:[1]
- Magdalene (ca 1636), married James Wiggins by 1656
- Agnes (ca 1643), married Arthur Beale about 1665
- Mainwaring (ca 1646-1671), married Mary Moulton about 1670[3]
- William (ca 1653-ca 1700), married Ann (Parsons?) ca 1677[4]
William Hilton died sometime between 28 June 1655, when Frances, in court, railed that William had been cavorting with another woman, and 30 June 1656, when Frances appears in court as the wife of Richard Whitte (White), charged with slander. Frances therefore remarried very shortly after William's death.[5] Richard White was a fisherman. He probably took over William's ferry franchise, as he was paid by the Court on different occasions for ferrying magistrates back and forth to court. The ferry service explains his records appearing in both York and Kittery. Richard also administered William's estate.
Court records show that Frances and Richard White had a daughter:
- Frances (ca 1658), given lashes in 1671 for slandering her brother William (see below)
Frances is known mainly from her court records, of which there were many. She evidently had quite a temper, with verbal abilities to match. She also associated with others who were constantly in court for a range of offenses that indicated low moral standards. The following court records are grouped by the volume of the Province and court records of Maine in which they appear:
- 16 October 1649: Mrs. Hilton admonished for fighting and abusing her neighbors with her tongue. (p.135)
- 15 October 1650: Mr. William Hilton and Frances his wife sued for slander (p. 145)
- 12 September 1666: Frances convicted for verbal abuse of a Justice and the Grand Jury, sentence was a three pound fine or ten lashes. (p. 267)[6]
- 28 June 1655: in court for railing against her husband William for going with Joane "his bastard to his three halfe penny hoores". Frances was censured by the Court to have 20 lashes on her bare skin, for this and other unnamed "miscarriages towards others". The lashing was suspended upon the request of William, unless further complaints against her were heard in the next Court session. (p 43)
- 30 June 1656: Rice Jones complains of slander and defamation by Frances, now the wife of Richard Whitte. Case deemed not actionable. (p. 47). But the Court ordered Frances to publicly acknowledge the wrong she did to the wife of Rice Jones. Frances acknowledged the wrong in Court on 3 July 1656 and was fined. (p. 49-50)
- 30 July 1656: Letters of Administration of the estate of William Hilton granted to Richard Whitte, as he was married to his widow. (p. 51, 54)
- 30 July 1656: Magdeline Wiggin the wife of James Wiggin reported that she saw William Moore and her mother Frances Whitte in an act of adultery. Witnesses Mistress Gunnisson, Ann Crockett, Joane Andrews. On 6 July 1657 Frances was censured by the Court and sentenced to 20 lashes on the bare skin or pay a fine of five pounds. (p. 52)
- 6 July 1657: Children of John Andrews presented for breaking and entering the house of Robert Wadleigh. Witnesses William Moore and James Wiggin. (John’s wife was Joane Andrews, a frequent target for Frances’ vitriol). John Andrews was presented for threatening the "estate & life" of Wadleigh if he did not drop his charges against his daughters. (p. 55-57)
- 6 July 1657: Gowan Willson presented for frequenting the house of John Andrews "suspitiously and at unseasonable times", and for "daly" taking John’s wife Joane onto the river. Willson, who had a wife and children, replied that he would not refrain from his behavior until the Court formally constrained him. The Court then bound Gowan to a bond of ten pounds, and bound Joane to the same bond to enforce her staying away from Willson. (p. 55-57)
- 6 July 1657: Joane Andrews was presented for threatening Goody Whitte, swearing and saying that "she would be avenged" even if it meant signing a pact with the Devil. Joane retorted that she cared "not a toard" for any of the magistrates. Witnesses Frances Whitte and Magdaline Wiggin. Joane was sentenced to twenty lashes on the bare skin, but her sentence was deferred and five pounds fine levied, on Joane’s statement that she was with child. (p. 55-57)
- 5 July 1658: Richard and Frances were fined and whipped for physically fighting one another (p. 63)
- 7 July 1659: Richard is granted a license to sell beer and victuals in York, but only the weakest (one penny) beer. (p. 79) Later admonished for running an ordinary in Kittery without a license. Acquitted because he was using Hugh Gunnisson's license. (Note: Hugh Gunnisson had acquired William Hilton's ordinary license after William's death).
- 3 July 1660: Complaint by Mistress Gunnisson against Richard, Frances, and James Wiggins, resulting in a 10 pound bond on the three to keep the peace against others, particularly Mistress Gunnisson. (p. 93)
- 5 July 1660: Richard Whitte and his wife Frances presented for entertaining drunken men on the Lord’s day, for not attending church, and for "common lying and back bitting of their neighbors & slandering them & for their great disorder in falling out & feighting one with another & for beateing company in their house & for beating Mistress Gunnisson & Joseph Davesse his servants…". Richard and Frances were lightly fined on their promise to change their behavior. (p. 91)
- 11 October 1660: Cases involving Richard Whitte - defamation of Mistress Gunnison (guilty); theft of goods from Mrs. Sarah Gunnisson (not guilty); theft of goods of John Tucker (guilty); defamation of Ann Crockett by Richard and Frances (guilty) (p. 366)
- 8 September 1671: Daughter Frances was given five lashes on the bare skin for "a slanderous ly against her brother William Hilton by complayning hee would have forced her, & deniing of it again..."
- 6 October 1674: Captain Francis Raynes sues Richard Whitte in behalf of Frances for slander. Richard to pay 15 pounds or receive 15 lashes, and Frances to publicly apologize to Raynes in front of the congregation at York. (p. 494)
- 7 July 1674: Richard was fined for his daughter not attending church services, and his daughter Frances warned to attend. (p. 286)
- 6 July 1675: Richard and his wife Frances fined and admonished for not attending church. (p. 307) [7]
- 30 July 1680: Frances was successfully sued by Capt. Joshua Scottow for non-payment of debt. (p. 57)[8]
In 1680 Richard White was one of the York residents who signed a petition to keep Massachusetts from claiming Maine as its province.[9] On 22 October 1687 Richard and Frances signed a deed selling the land in York that Richard had earlier been granted by the town (p. 194). On 15 July 1690 Richard was reprimanded for not attending meetings (p. 217). On 27 September 1692 Richard White, late of Kittery, sells land in Kittery (p. 147).[10]
It appears from the deed records that Richard and Frances sold the land in York and moved to Kittery about 1687. Frances died sometime after her 1688 deposition, probably in Kittery. Richard sold the Kittery land in 1692. Their moves should be viewed in the context of the French and Indian attacks of 1680-1700, where many English settlers were driven out of present-day Maine.
Research Notes
It is interesting to speculate how a literate person such as William Hilton, who was associated with the Winslow family, married such a person as Frances, who must have been below his class by birth. One possibility that explains both her presence in the Piscataqua area by 1636 and the timing of the birth of her daughter Magdalene is that Frances was on the 1634 voyage of the "Pied Cow", which in July arrived at Berwick to supply Mason's settlement there. On board were 19 women who were brought over as prospective brides. Their prospects in England must have been bleak for them to risk such an uncertain future, and it is probable that most were of the lower classes. In "Old Kittery and her families", Stackpole's imagining of the scene when the women debarked was: "There were no long courtships. Delays were dangerous. The proposal was, doubtless, made at first sight. The women stepped from the deck of the "Pied Cow" into a log cabin, after short ceremony by some Justice of the Peace, perhaps the Governor."[11]
William was quite familiar with Mason's settlement, as he and his brother Edward had preceded Mason in settling in the area, and he would have known of the Pied Cow's arrival. In this scenario, William's first wife would have died by 1634, leaving William with two sons, William and John, and possibly a daughter Mary. William may have chosen Frances at first sight in July 1634. Their first child Magdalene's estimated birth year is consistent with a marriage from that date.
Sources
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2010), (Originally Published as: New England Historic Genealogical Society. Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, 3 vols., 1995). https://www.americanancestors.org/DB393/i/12107/954/23895313
- ↑ The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1847-. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2018.) https://www.americanancestors.org/DB202/i/11630/181/0
- ↑ New England Marriages to 1700. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015. https://www.americanancestors.org/DB1568/i/21175/760/426927943
- ↑ The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1847-. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2018.) https://www.americanancestors.org/DB202/i/11630/184/0
- ↑ New England Marriages to 1700. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015. TEXT: WHITE, Richard & Frances (____) [HILTON], w William; ca/bef 30 Jun 1656; Kittery, ME {Cross Anc. 64; GDMNH 748; Reg. 31:183; Coltman Anc. 95}, [1]
- ↑ Maine., Moody, R. Earle., Allen, N. W.., Maine Historical Society. (1928). Province and court records of Maine. Portland: Maine Historical Society, Vol. I, page 135; page 145; page 267;
- ↑ Maine., Moody, R. Earle., Allen, N. W.., Maine Historical Society. (1928). Province and court records of Maine. Portland: Maine Historical Society, Vol. II page 43; page 47; pages 49-52; pages 55-57; page 63; page 79; page 91; page 93; page 286; page 307; page 366; page 494;
- ↑ Maine., Moody, R. Earle., Allen, N. W.., Maine Historical Society. (1928). Province and court records of Maine. Portland: Maine Historical Society, Vol. III page 57
- ↑ "The History of York, Maine, successively known as Bristol (1632), Agamenticus (1641), Gorgeana (1642), and York (1652)", Banks, Charles, 1931, page 258
- ↑ Maine: Early Wills and Deeds, 1640-1760. CD-ROM. Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2006. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009.) page 194; page 217; [2] page 147];
- ↑ Stockpile, Everett, "Old Kittery and her families", 1903,page 27
Sponsored Search by Ancestry.com
DNA
No known carriers of Frances's DNA have taken a DNA test. Have you taken a test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.
No known carriers of Frances's DNA have taken a DNA test. Have you taken a test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.
This week's featured connections are Redheads: Frances is 13 degrees from Catherine of Aragón, 16 degrees from Clara Bow, 20 degrees from Julia Gillard, 14 degrees from Nancy Hart, 11 degrees from Rutherford Hayes, 13 degrees from Rita Hayworth, 15 degrees from Leonard Kelly, 17 degrees from Rose Leslie, 17 degrees from Damian Lewis, 16 degrees from Maureen O'Hara, 21 degrees from Jopie Schaft and 31 degrees from Eirik Thorvaldsson on our single family tree. Login to see how you relate to 33 million family members.
[Do you know Frances's family name?] | W > White > Frances (Unknown) White
Categories: Puritan Great Migration
I am descended from Edward Hilton of Exeter, New Hampshire whom is connected somehow to these Davenham Families via William and Charles Hilton. I am excluding the Biddick-Durham Hiltons and am aware our Y-Dna points to supposedly Viking Haplotype I in Wales just West of Chester City. I am unaware of any Lancashire or elsewhere Y DNA Testing. I am unconvinced that Edward was brother to William Hilton, 1621 at Plymouth (as Wm Hubbard stated in his 1660 History) but believe they are Connected. There are just too many similar named Hiltons in these Families and we must find other helpful.sources. I do strongly believe they are at least acquainted cousins and that they both spent some in greater London, possibly brothers but as Ann Browning noted previously, the terms are used somewhat loosely.
It my opinion that William's Famous Letter to his "Cousin" which he sent back to England with John Smith, was intended to the Fishmonger Edward Hilton whom is there, connected to a Charles Hilton whom is documented directly to the Fishmongers Guild Market, which street is up from the Wharves there near where John Smith likely was quite familiar with and by those there. Smith could have hand delivered the letter to Edward Hilton there. I need to look into any sources on Smith's documented timeline visits to London in 1621-1624 or thereabouts.
Regarding the Musters, it seems smart to investigate which Nobilty was in charge of the Musters there which Hiltons were recorded in. I have years for some (From Bostick) but do not know whom oversaw these Musters. If we identify them, we may be able to locate other sources connected to those families and the locations they were Lords at. Oftentimes, A Noble would reward a Supporter with Lands or Home or almost anything for what they did or for what they then agreed to do. Thus, our Hilton's may have been induced to relocate into Shipbrook or Davenham or Wilton by the Lord (of the Mustered Land) from their original seat of residence, which was also under control of that same Landlord. John Savage up on the Mersey, thus closer to Chester, Wales and Lancashire is such a documented Lord. The other families in the area surrounding Shipbrook are fairly well known. Our Hilton's are so called middle class at this time, not directly connected to any major Hilton Nobilty! I see a few Ellen's in the Shipbrook Region connected Hilton Families and an Eme (Amy), among others but no evidence of any kind that they were Manwaring's, a very noble and large family in Cheshire.
Every Ellen appears to be documented as married to some other landed gentry. I disagree 100% that William Hilton of Wilton married an Ellen Mainwaring but an Ellen of Unknown Surname. It is my opinion that Manwaring only entered into the Family of William of Plymouth and York thru the children of his 2nd wife, Frances (later White) whom I suspect may be the Illegitimate Daughter of a Sea Captain Phillip Mainwaring, whom was Captain of a Colonial Coastal Trader prior to 1640-45 whom stopped at Kittery and Strawberry Banks during this time. I believe he may have been one of the several Phillip Mainwaring's connected to Cheshire and Possibly Capt Henry Mainwaring whom was active along the Maine Coast all the way up to Acadia where the English and French fought it out with Pirates in their very early settlements. That is a long comment for another profile. I include it here only because of the Hilton confusion with Mainwaring's in both Cheshire and New England. I am certainly quite interested in any Documentation of Muster Rolls. Thank you for your valuable time. Jay Myers
edited by S (Hill) Willson
I have sent the PM a private message inquiring to see if he has any reliable source for the name Hayward. If not, we will change her last name at birth to Unknown.
UPDATE: The profile manager says he has no sources for her last name and agrees it should be changed to Unknown.
edited by S (Hill) Willson
Thanks again, Gregg.