John Sutton (1594 - 1672)

Born 14 Jul 1594 in Great Snoring, Norfolk, England [uncertain]

Husband of Julian (Adcocke) Sutton — married 22 Oct 1620 in Eaton St Andrew and Christchurch, Norwich, Norfolk, England

Descendants

Died 1 Jun 1672 at age 77 in Rehoboth, Plymouth Colony

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John Sutton migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Directory, by R. C. Anderson, p. 324) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography of John Sutton

1594 Baptism Year and Place

John Sutton was baptized in the parish of Great Snoring on July 14, 1594; son of John and Dionysia/Dinois (Clements) Sutton. Great Snoring is about thirth miles north of Attelborough and near Eaton.^[1]Baptism entry only lists his father's name ^[2]

Proof of this parent child relationship can be found in the will of John Sutton dated March 2, 1615[/6?] where he left "houses Landes and tenements boeth free and Coppinhold" to his daughter, Margaret; son John; and wife, Dionis.^[1]

Sibling

1. Margaret (named above in her father's will) is the only known sibling of John Sutton, for whom this biography is written.^[1]

1620 Marriage to Judeth Adcocke

Parish Records have recently been found which confirm that John Sutton, carpenter,^[3]married "Judeth" Adcocke on October 22, 1620, at Eaton St. Andrew near the city of Norwich, thirteen miles northeast of Attleborough.^[1]

Marriage entry in Eaton St Andrew and Christchurch reads: 1620 : " John Sutton and Judeth Adcock married the xxii^th October 1620." ^[4]

Other accounts had previously reported (incorrectly) an earlier date of 1616. ^[5] noting that at the time of the marriage John was 23 and Julian was about 18 years old.^[6]

Julian, or also known as "Judeth" Adcocke was born in Great Ellingham, Norfolk, England and was baptized on February 11, 1598/99^[3]at the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Anglican Church in Attleborough, Norfolk, England; ^[6]the daughter of John Adcocke and his wife Elizabeth (Eldred). Her sister, Neele was baptized at Attleborough on February 20, 1602/3 and later became the wife of Stephen Paine. She died in 1660 [/1?] at Rehoboth, Plymouth Colony.^[3]

1623-1625 Great Saxham, Suffolk

John Sutton and his wife Julian possibly relocated for a period of years to the parish of Great Saxham, Suffolk, about 35 miles from Attleborough. Their daughters Elizabeth and Mary were baptized here on 25 August 1623 and 10 August 1625, respectively. Zubrinsky notes that "The Suttons' presence in Great Saxham was probably tied to Julian's maternal kinship with the family of John Eldred (c. 1552-1632). ^[7]

1629 Attleborough

"The family had returned to Attleborough by 27 November 1629, when Judith, daughter of John Sutton, was baptized there. ^[8]

Migrated 1638 On Board the Ship Diligent

In 1638 the Suttons decided to move to New England along with their children. Their group of 133 passengers who traveled to Ipswich, Suffolk, England, and booked passage on the ship Diligent, captained by John Martin of Ipswich.^[5]They landed in Boston on August 10, 1638; were early settlers of Hingham in 1638 and Rehoboth in 1644 or 1645.^[3]

Daniel Cushing, a contemporary of John Sutton's at Hingham, records that immediately above the Sutton entry, was Stephen Paine and his family, from Great Ellingham [adjacent to Attleborough, in Norfolk], as passengers on the same ship. The wives of Sutton and Paine were sisters (as noted above.)^[3]Paine is named in the 14 October 1638 will of John Adcocke as "Stephen Payne my sonn in lawe" along with "Elizabeth Sutton my grandchild." ^[9]

1638 Land in Hingham

The town of Hingham gave John Sutton four acres of land for his family. This was printed in ” The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume XCI, 1937.” It reads: ” To all Xpian people to whom these prnts shall Come John Sutton junior of Cittuate in New England Carpinter. . . conveys to Mathew Cushen Senior of Hingham. . . my house & all my house lott Containeing fower accres of land . . . wch was giuen by the Town of Hingham to John Sutton my father.” This conveyance was made 2 Dec. 1653 and acknowledged before ” Jo: Endecott Govr the 22th day of December.” 1660.” ( Suffolk Deeds, Vol. 3. pp. 401-403. )^[5] We may assume that after receiving their land, the family built a house and began farming, for years later, after John, Sr.’s, death, John, Jr., sold the house the family had built on the four-acre lot. ^[6]

1642 Refuge from Religious Intolerance

Hingham's location, between two older areas of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay, was attractive to Separatists, Brownists, Baptists, and, Quakers who found themselves at risk from the Puritans. In 1641, both Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay raised concern “about ‘wickedness’ and ‘offenses against churches.’”^[5]

John Sutton and his family had arrived in Hingham in 1638 and remained there until 1642 when they probably followed Rev. Samuel Newman to the newly developed town near the Pawtucket River which Newman named "Rehoboth." Their move coincided with the recent founding of Rehoboth in 1641. While Newman wasn't as controversial as Roger Williams, he was a "thorn in their side" and they were probably glad to have him move further away. The name "Rehoboth" is mentioned three times in the Bible—the most fitting being in Genesis 27:22 which speaks of disputed land. “And he [Isaac] moved away from there, and he dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he named it Rehoboth, for he said ‘ At last the Lord has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.’”^[5]

In 1643 after the move to Rehoboth, John, Sr., deeded his house in Hingham to his son John, Jr. John, Jr. had remained in Hingham where he married and had a family of his own. He and his family lived on his father’s former property.^[5]

Property in Rehoboth

• At a town meeting held on June 31, 1644, 58 “lots were drawn for a division of the woodland between the plain and the town” and John received lot 20.
• On January 10, 1644/5, John’s name was on a list of those who “forfeited their lots for not fencing, or not removing their families according to a former order, made the 24th of the 8th month, 1643.”
• Six months later on June 9, 1645, John’s name appears as number 27, on a list of men receiving lots that were “drawn for the great plain, beginning upon the west side; and he that is first upon the west side shall be last upon the east.”
• During this year, John’s name appears on the “registers of the lands of the proprietors,” as owning land in the town.
• On January 11, 1648, at a general meeting of the town, “The lot that was given Unto George Robinson, being forfeited into the town's hands, was given unto John Sutton, he paying unto George Robinson his necessary charges laid out upon it.”
• On June 22, 1658, “At a town-meeting lawfully warned, lots were drawn for the meadows that lie on the north side of the town, in order as followeth, according to person and estate.” John was listed as number 28. Included in these records is a comment that states, “it appears that this division was of land after-wards included in the North Purchase, now Attleborough and Cumberland.” Attleborough was the name of the town in England where John came from.^[6]
• John Sutton of Rehoboth, with consent of his wife Julian Sutton, sold three acres and three quarters and twenty rods of upland to Jonathan Fuller on the 28th of May 1659. Plymouth Registry of Deeds, Plymouth Colony Records Deeds Vol. 3 1664-1674 Part 1, p. 146; digital images, FamilySearch, "Massachusetts Land Records, 1620-1986," (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89Z7-G8G?cc=2106411&wc=MCBR-PWY%3A361612701%2C362501701 : accessed September 24, 2023), image 317 of 677.

3 Oct 1662 : " Conserning a coult enquired after by John Sutton, att rehoboth, it is ordered by the Court, that hee shall have the said coult into his custody, with this proviso, that if any other shall come heerafter, and make proffe that it is theires, that then hee shall have him forth coming, to bee delivercd to them." ^[10]

1672 Death of John Sutton, Sr.

John Sutton, died in Rehoboth 1 June 1672. ^[3] June 1st is the day an inventory of the Goods and Chattles of John Sutton of Rehoboth deceased, was taken and totaled £55, 03s. ^[6][11][12] On June 3, 1673, “Julian Sutton, widow, the late wife of John Sutton, of Rehoboth” was granted letters of administration with “Nathaniel Paine to administrate the estate of said Sutton.” On that same day the court “payed a legacye to Goodwife Sutton” of 5 pounds.^[6][13]

1678 Death, Inventory, Burial of Julian

Julian "Judeth" (Adcocke) Sutton died probably in late May or early June of 1678, six years after her husband's death, and was buried on Rehoboth Island on June 4, 1678,^[3]with her husband and daughter Hannah. An inventory of the widow Julian Sutton’s estate totaling £27, 16s, 2d, was taken on June 18, 1678.^[6]

Julian Sutton’s will is mentioned on page 63 of ” The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume XCI, 1937,” It reads: ” Cf. “Inventory of the estate ( totaling L 27-16-02 ) of the widow Julian Sutton taken by the subscribers the 18th of June 1678. exhibited to the Court holden at Plymouth te fift of July 167- on the oath of John Ffitch of Rehoboth. Peter Hunt, Nicholas Peeke, Daniel Smith, William Carpenter, (Plymouth County Deeds (Wills), vol. 3, pt. 2. p. 207 ) and ” An inventory of the Goods and Chattles , ( totaling L 55-03-00 ) of John Sutton of Rehoboth deceased the first of June 1672 taken by Liettenant Peter Hunt, Ensigne Henery Smith and William Carpenter.” ( sb, vol. 3. pt. 1. p. 55 )^[5][14]

Julian was buried 4 Jun 1678 in Rehoboth, Mass.^[5] In the Rehoboth records will be found the burial of Julian Sutton, his widow, 4 June 1678.^[5]

Children

1. John Sutton Jr., first child of John Sutton and his wife Julian/Judith (Alcocke) Sutton was baptized October 7, 1621 in Great Snoring, England. The baptism record reads, "Jhon [sic] Sutton, son of John and wife Juda, baptized 7 October 1621."^[1]He died at Scituate, Massachusetts Bay between November 12, 1691 and February 9, 1691/2. John Jr. married at Scituate on January 1, 1661 to Elizabeth House, daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Hammond) House.^[3]
2. Elizabeth Sutton was baptized at Great Saxham, Suffolk on May 25, 1623.^[1]She did not migrate with her parents for she was living with her grandfather John Adcocke of Great Ellingham on October 14, 1638, four months after her family emigrated. She was named as a legatee in her grandfather's will; no further records.^[3]
3. Mary Sutton baptized on August 10, 1625, in Great Saxham, Suffolk, England;^[1]and died November 4, 1703 at Rehoboth. She married John Fitch at Hingham or Rehoboth about 1645. Both were migrants.^[3]
4. Anne Sutton was born about 1627.^[1] She married on November 23, 1651 at Rehoboth to John Doggett/Daggett, son of John and Alice (Brotherton) Doggett. Anne died after January 11, 1703/4 probably at Rehoboth.^[3]
5. Judith Sutton was baptized on November 27, 1629 at Attleborough and buried at Great Snoring July 20, 1631.^[1]
6. Esther Sutton was baptized at Great Snoring on April 1, 1632.^[1]She married on March 4, 1656 at Rehoboth to Richard Bowen. Died and was buried at Rehoboth on November 6, 1688.^[3]
7. Margaret Sutton baptized on November 30, 1637, at Attleborough.^[1]She married at Rehoboth on November 25, 1655 to Joseph Carpenter, son of William and Abigail (Briant) Carpenter. Margaret died between March 21, 1675/6 and October 4, 1676 probably at Swansea, Plymouth Colony.^[3]
8. Hannah Sutton was born probably between 1638 and 1642 in Hingham, Massachusetts. She died there about October 1642; possibly the 13th of the month.^[1]

Research Notes

Not Parents:

It was proposed by Mark D. Minor that John Sutton was the son of Henry and grandson of Theron Sutton; "John’s parents were Henry Sutton and Sarah Tilden. He was the grandson of Theron Sutton. He was an only child. ^[5]After research, Eugene Zubrinsky reported, "the assertion that John Sutton was the 'son of Henry Sutton, who was the son of Theron Stton" has not been corroborated and appears dubious.^[15]

The names of Henry and Theron have been retained on WikiTree as "legends", persons who did not exist but who appear in many popular genealogies. Persons who did not exist cannot have parents, spouses or children and are therefore not linked to others in WikiTree. Below are links to John Sutton's legendary father and grandparents:

• Legendary Father Henry Sutton
• Legendary Grandfather Theron Sutton

It has also been reported that his father was a George Sutton. Mark Minor reports that this was disproved in a 1937 article.^[16]

Not Wives:

Numerous writers have proposed alternative wives but with little or no substantiation. These include:

• Wife Elizabeth, said to have accompanied him on the Diligent to Massachusetts. ^[17] A 1937 article showed that the origin of this error: John Sutton, Jr, was mistaken for John Sutton, Sr, and Elizabeth House, the wife of John Sutton, Jr, thus became the unnamed wife of John Sutton on the Diligent. ^[3]
• Wife Juliana Little. Miner reported that some sources say John’s wife was Juliana Little; that they married abt 1616 in Attleborough, England, She was born Abt. 1595 in England, daughter of Francis Little, and died June 04, 1678 in Rehoboth Island, RI.^[5] However, there is no supporting data for even the existence of such a person.^[6] Her profile has been retained as a "legend" because Juliana and her father appear on numerous popular genealogies, but in no case has any supporting data been found. Since a person who did not exist cannot have parents, spouses or children, she and her father are not linked to others in WikiTree, but the applicable profiles are cross-linked below:
  • Juliana Little, supposed wife of John Sutton
  • Francis Little, supposed father-in-law of John Sutton
• An unnamed prior wife. There are theories that John had an additional wife who preceded Julian, given that the time period between the birth of John, Jr (1617) and the next child, Esther (1625) is eight years.^[5] Without explanation, the distinguished genealogist Mary Lovering Holman describes Julian [__?__] as John Sutton’s second wife but fails to mention a first wife. Holman undoubtedly knew that Charles E. Banks had identified Sutton’s Diligent-passenger wife’s forename as Elizabeth. In attempting to reconstruct the identities of Sutton-family passengers, however, Banks mistakenly used Scituate, Plymouth Colony, records of John Sutton’s namesake son, his wife (Elizabeth House), and four of their children. Julian Adcocke married John Sutton early enough to have had daughter Elizabeth with him by 1638. Although this does not guarantee that Julian Adcocke was also the mother of his daughter Margaret (birth/baptismal date unknown), it does make it likely. John Adcocke’s granddaughter and legatee Elizabeth Sutton was presumably named after his wife (Julian’s mother). Since grandparents’ names were usually given to children early in the birth order, Elizabeth was probably older than Margaret. If so, logic dictates that Julian was also Margaret’s mother. Nevertheless, the name Julian does not appear among any of John Sutton’s known or supposed children and grandchildren. ^[18]

Not Children:

• Mistakenly claimed to be children: Nathaniel born 1619 in England;

• Anthony baptized on June 25, 1626 at Saint Dunstan Church in London.

Presidential Descendants

This John Sutton was a direct ancestor of President James Garfield, through his daughter Margaret.

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} Eugene Cole Zubrinsky "The English Origin of John Sutton of Hingham and Rehoboth, Massachusetts" Vol. 172 (2018) pp. 30 - 32.subscribers$
2. ↑ Image 24 by subscription in Great Snoring Parish Register https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/61045/images/4034003_00482
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} Eugene Cole Zubrinsky. "Julian Adcocke, Wife of John Sutton of Hingham and Rehoboth, Massachusetts, and Their Family" New England Historic Genealogical Register (January 2013). Vol. 167, pp 7 - 14.subscription site$
4. ↑ "England, Norfolk, Parish Registers (County Record Office), 1510-1997," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-DRPQ-6NV?cc=1416598&wc=4J8C-CN8%3A29535001%2C29358102%2C29578601 : accessed Sept 2023), Eaton St Andrew > Baptisms, Marriages, Burials > 1568-1758 > image 45 of 117; Record Office, Norwich.
5. ↑ ^{5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11} Mark D. Minor, " John Sutton." Miner Descent. http://minerdescent.com/2010/06/07/john-sutton/ Accessed March 21, 2016. This site also names the following source: Our Sutton Family History http://my.att.net/p/s/community.dll?ep=87&subpageid=143784&ck=
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7} Benjamin Sitton's Ancestors. J. T. Bullock. http://www.jtbullock.com/Tree/BenSitton.html. Accessed March 21, 2016.
7. ↑ Parish Registers of Great Saxham, Suffolk, 1555-1812 [FHL 0,952,199, item 2], cited by Zubrinsky (2013), p. 9
8. ↑ Zubrinsky (2013), p. 10
9. ↑ Zubrinsky (2013), p. 8
10. ↑ Shurtleff, Nathaniel B. (ed.), Records of the Colony of New Plymouth, in New England, Vol. IV, Court Orders 1661-1668, (Boston : Press of W. White, 1855) p. 27; digital image, Internet Archive, (https://archive.org/details/recordsofcolonyo0304newp/page/26/mode/2up : accessed September 2023)
11. ↑ "Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Probate Records, 1633-1967," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-897D-V3BW?cc=2018320&wc=M6BX-F29%3A338083801 : 20 May 2014), Wills 1633-1686 vol 1-4 > image 334 of 616; State Archives, Boston.
12. ↑ Vital Records of Rehoboth, p. 879; Mayflower Decendant, vol. 19, p. 165). This passage can be found on p. 62, 63 of, “The New England Historical and Genealogical Register,” volume XCI. See Minor article.
13. ↑ See also Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Probate Records, 1633-1967 collection, State Archives, Boston, Wills 1633-1686, Vol 3 part 2, on FamilySearch.org.
14. ↑ "Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Probate Records, 1633-1967," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-897D-V3BW : 9 March 2023), Wills 1633-1686 vol 1-4 > image 334 of 616; State Archives, Boston.
15. ↑ Eugene Cole Zubrinsky, "Julian Adcocke, Wife of John Sutton of Hingham and Rehoboth, Massachusetts, and their Family." New England Historical and Genealogical Register 167 (January 2013) 7-14, commenting on Roselle Theodore Cross. My Children's Ancestors..., Twinsburg, Ohio: the author, 1913, p. 151
16. ↑ “The New England Historical and Genealogical Register,” volume XCI, 1937, Published by The Society, 9 Ashburton Place, Boston states this passage on page 65: “George Sutton, as far as it is known, was not related to John Sutton.” Cited by Mark Minor.
17. ↑ Charles E. Banks, the Planters of the Commonwealth, 1620-1640 (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1930, cited by Zubrinsky, p. 7
18. ↑ Research of Eugene Cole Zubrinsky. For more details, see his article “Julian Adcocke, Wife of John1 Sutton of Hingham and Rehoboth, Massachusetts, and Their Family,” forthcoming in The New England Historical and Genealogical Register.). Cited at John Sutton. Miner Descent. http://minerdescent.com/2010/06/07/john-sutton/ Accessed March 21, 2016

See also:

• http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~sam/sutton.html
• http://www.ancestryregisters.com/booth/00004Booth_web/SUTTON00004.htm
• http://familytrees.genopro.com/PHYLLBEACH/EDDY/default.htm?page=family-JOHNFITCHandMARYSUTTON-fam07476.htm
• http://huskey-ogle-family.tripod.com/ancestorarchives/id46.html
• http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=jbbullock&id=I8500