John Weeks (1678 - bef. 1732)

Born 18 Aug 1678 in Falmouth, Plymouth

Ancestors

Descendants

Died before 20 Jul 1732 before age 53 in Falmouth, Barnstable, Massachusetts Bay

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Biography

John Weeks was born on 18 Aug 1678 of John Weeks and Mary Rowley.

He may have married (1) an unknown wife who was the mother of Nathan and possibly David. He married (2) Mercy ________. A court order was required to allow Mercy guardianship of her daughter Thankful after John's death.^[1]

1. There are also vital records for Thankful Weeks, daughter of John and Mercy, born July 10, 1730. ^[2] This provides evidence that Thankful was the daughter of John Jr. who died about 1732. However, it does not say who Mercy was other than John's wife and Thankful's mother.

John has been attached to children other than Thankful. David and Nathan could be from a marriage(s) prior to John marrying Mercy. It is unlikely that a same couple waits 17 years between children.

1. Nathan, son of John and –––––, Apr. 28, 1713. ^[2]
2. David m. Falmouth 23 OCt 1746 Honour Weeks, his cousin, daughter of Shubael and Mercy (Freeman [sic Prince]) Weeks, thereby possibly placing him in this family.

There was a Jonathan & Marcy recorded to have the following children ^[3] This couple could be the John Jr. & Mercy parents of Thankful Weeks Davis.

1. Jabez (Jabes) Weeks, son of Jonathan Jr and Marcy (Mercy), born July 14, 1731 and baptized, May 16, 1742.^[2] Notice Jabez father possibly died at the time or before Jabez was born and definitely before he was baptized. This would imply John Weeks, Thankful's father.
2. William Weeks, son of Jonathan and Marcy (Mercy) born 2 Mar 1733. William would seems to be born after John, Jr. died. He may have died young.

Mercy John's Wife

Figuring out John Weeks Wife appears to have been discussed for a few centuries.

1. According to George Weekes of the 1880s ^[4] 'John ....had a wife Mercy (thought to have been the g.g.daughter of Gov. Thomas Pence).' However, her maiden name could not be Prence, because the male line ended. The problems are that there are many great granddaughters of Thomas Prence, several are named Mercy and all appear to have husbands assigned to them. Possibly, one of these Mercys married John Weeks as a second husband, such as Mary Barker, Mercy Bacon, Mercy Howland, Mercy Mayo or Mercy Mayo. Most of them have Mayflower ancestors, thus they have been well researched (and do not link to John Weeks).
2. Mercy ancestry could have been assigned to the wrong Governor. Mercy Prince of Sandwich was the granddaughter of Gov. Thomas Hinckley according to the diary of her brother Rev. Thomas Prince. ^[5] However, she was "Feeble & infirm, she was living single in 1738" and there was no record of her ever marrying in her brother's diary nor in the Vital Records of Middleborough. ^{[6] [7] [8]}...
3. John's wife may have been the same Mercy Weeks that then married Noah Davis. Although, there were other Mercy Weeks possibilities. Some evidence suggests that she was Mercy Meigs, who had a sister Thankful. This was stated in a genealogical book on the Meigs family. ^[9]. After John's death she could have married Noah Davis.^[10] However, Mercy Meigs was not a descendant of any Gov. of Plymouth. She would have been John's cousin once removed.

Who John Jr's wife Mercy was not:

1. Mary (Rowley) Weeks (Mercy or Mary Rouly, int.) who married John Weeks, of Attebuery (Attleboro), on Nov. 21, 1718. ^[2] She was the cousin of John of the profile. Although the time fits, they are relatively established in the records and she was not a descendant of a governor.
2. Marcy Robinson who married Jonathan Weeks on Oct. 26, 1704 ^[2] They were not John Jr. &Mercy nor were they likely the parents of children born about 30 years after their marriage.
3. Mercy (Prince) Weeks the wife of his brother Shubael. Possibly a mistranscription, by some genealogists generations ago, initiated the confusion. Her cousin was the mentioned Mercy Prince, the descendant of Gov. Hinckley, but she was not a Gov. descendant. Shubael's Mercy b. around 1686-89 is often credited with having Thankful as a daughter (so in her 40s). It is doubtful that Shubael would have approved of his wife having children with his brother, while Shubael and her were still married and raising a family.

Sources

1. ↑ MacGunnigle, Bruce Campbell. "Mayflower Families Through Five Generations Descendants of the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth, Mass, December 1620, Volume Four, Third Edition, Family of Edward Fuller." Plymouth, MA: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 2006, pg 98
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} Falmouth Vital Records [[1]]
3. ↑ Falmouth Vital Records
4. ↑ Weeks, Robert D., Genealogy of the Family of George Weekes, of Dorchester, Mass., 1635-1650
5. ↑ Publications of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, Volume 19 By Colonial Society of Massachusetts
6. ↑ Noyes-Gilman Ancestry: Being a Series of Sketches, with a Chart of the Ancestors of Charles Phelps Noyes and Emily H. (Gilman) Noyes
7. ↑ History of the Town of Middleboro, Massachusetts, Volume 1 By Thomas Weston
8. ↑ The Mayflower Descendant: Volume 29 1931
9. ↑ Record of the Descendants of Vincent Meigs: Who Came from Dorsetshire ...By Henry Benjamin Meigs (1901)
10. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5865202/mercy-davis: accessed 12 August 2022), memorial page for Mercy “Marcy” Meigs Davis (11 Dec 1705–3 Jan 1788), Find A Grave: Memorial #5865202, citing Falmouth Old Burying Ground, Falmouth, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, USA; Maintained by Don Blauvelt (contributor 46932939).

• Some Memoirs of the Life and Writings of the Rev. Thomas Prince, Together with a Pedigree of His Family by Samuel G. Drake January 1, 1851 N.E. Historic-Genealogical Register

• Genealogical and Ancestral Notes: ser. 1, v. 2. 47 families of Robinson ... By William Hopple Edwards
• MacGunnigle, Bruce Campbell. "Mayflower Families Through Five Generations Descendants of the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth, Mass, December 1620, Volume Four, Third Edition, Family of Edward Fuller." Plymouth, MA: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 2006, pg 98
• Source: Mayflower Descendant 35:129
• Source: Ward, Frederick Corbett. Rowley Family Chart. Chicago, IL: self-published, 1934. Repository: Newberry Library, 60 West Walton St, Chicago, IL.
• Source: Genealogies of East Haddam, Middlesex, Connecticut, LDS Film 1597,690.
• Source: NYGBR 37:61
• Source: NYGBR 33:177.

Acknowledgments

• Thank you to Brad Fisher for creating WikiTree profile Weeks-1659 through the import of Hervey W Fisher Family Tree_2013-11-28.ged on Nov 28, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Brad and others.