BackGround: London Temple, London, England.
Up Dated 1 March 2008
Nathaniel was born 1608/1609 Rushden, Northhapmtonshire, England, and married first by 1640, Mary JACKSON the daughter of Edmund JACKSON of Boston, Linclonshire. She She was born about 1617 in England and died before 1655/56.
He married second Katherine _______. Nathaniel died in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts.
Woodward,...
NATHANIEL, Boston 1633, perhaps s. of the preced. but on join. the ch. 1 Dec. of that yr. is call. serv. to our br. William Coddington, and possib. brot. by him that yr. when he ret. from Eng. was freem. 17 Apr. 1637, by w. Mary had Elisha, bapt. 21 Apr. 1644, a. 6 days old; Nathaniel, 12 Apr. 1646, a. 7 days old; and prob. other ch. but perhaps he rem. for in 1648, he sold dwell.-ho. and garden to John Langdon.
JOHN, Taunton, m. 11 Nov. 1675, Sarah Crossman. Perhaps he had John, b. at Taunton, 2 Mar. 1678; and Israel, 30 July 1681.
NATHANIEL WOODWARD
ORIGIN: Puddington, Bedfordshire
MIGRATION: 1633
FIRST RESIDENCE: Boston
REMOVES: Taunton 1648, Boston 1655, Taunton by 1664
OCCUPATION: Carpenter.
CHURCH MEMBERSHIP: Nathaniel Woodward, servant to William Coddington, admitted to Boston church 8 December 1633 [BChR 17].
On 8 October 1648 "[o]ur brother Nathaniel Woodward and our sister Mary his wife according to their desires had letters of recommendation granted them to the Church at Tanton" [BChR 50].
On 14 August 1653 "[o]ur brother Nathaniell Woodward and our sister Mary his wife according to their desires had letters of dismission granted them to the church at Taunton" [BChR 54].
FREEMAN: 17 April 1637 [MBCR 1:373].
EDUCATION: Signed his deed of 21 March 1664.
OFFICES: Plymouth coroner's jury, 11 May 1650, 10 June 1651, 2 August 1653 [PCR 2:151, 175, 3:39].
ESTATE: On 28 October 1639 Boston selectmen ordered "a great lot granted to our brother Nathaniell Woodward at Muddy River for 3 heads" [BTR 1:43].
On 5 March 1644/5 "Nathaniel Woodward of Boston (Junior)" sold to Henry Stevens "twenty acres of land at Muddy River" [SLR 1:58].
In the Boston Book of Possessions in 1645 Nathaniel Woodward held "one house and garden" [BBOP 27].
On 26 May 1655 "Nathaniel Woodward of Boston, carpenter," sold to Richard and Joanna Richardson "a parcel of land near the Fort Hill in Boston" (the description of this parcel matches the holding in the Boston Book of Possessions [SLR
On 21 March 1664/5 "Nathaniell Woodward of Tanton ... carpenter & Katherine his wife" sold to William White of Boston, bricklayer, "all that their dwelling house scituate & being in Boston" [SLR 7:110].
On 14 September 1686 Nathaniel Woodward Senior of Taunton deeded to "his son James Woodward of Taunton ... twenty acres with the housing & orchard & meadow which is upon the abovesaid twenty acres"; "Nathaniel Woodward and Kathirene his wife" signed by mark, and on 1 February 1694[/5] the deed was acknowledged by the witnesses (indicating that the grantors were probably dead by that date) [BrLR 3:8].
BIRTH: Baptized Rushden, Northamptonshire, "probably in late 1608 or early 1609 [the record being torn]" [Maine Genealogist 20:164], son of Nathaniel and Margaret (Lawrence) Woodward.
DEATH: After 14 September 1686 and before 1 February 1694[/5] [BrLR 3:8].
MARRIAGE: (1) By 1640 Mary Jackson, daughter of Edmund Jackson of Boston, Lincolnshire (on 23 January 1640/1 "Mary Woodward the wife of our brother Nathaniell Woodward" was admitted to Boston church [BChR 33]; on 7 August 1642 Samuel Jackson of Boston, Lincolnshire, calling himself son of Edmund Jackson, bequeathed to "my sister Mary, now Mary Woodward, living in Boston in New England, twenty shillings to be paid to her or her child" [Waters 1015, citing PCC 160 Twisse]).
(2) By 1664 Katherine _____ [SLR 7:110]; she died after 14 September 1686 and before 1 February 1694[/5] [BrLR 3:8].
CHILDREN:
With first wife i Child, b. by 1642 (received legacy in the will of uncle Samuel Jackson, assuming that the language of his will was based on knowledge of the existence of such a child [Waters 1015]); no further record (unless this is son Israel). ii ELISHA, bp. Boston 21 April 1644 "about 6 days old" [BChR 295]; slain in King Philip's War, 1675 [Bodge 132]. iii NATHANIEL, bp. Boston 12 April 1646 "about 7 days old" [BChR 302]; m. by 1667 Elizabeth _____ (eldest child b. Taunton 24 June 1667). iv ISRAEL, b. say 1648 (but possibly the eldest child noted above); m. Taunton 4 August 1670 Jane Godfrey. v JOHN, b. say 1650; m. Rehoboth 11 November 1675 Sarah Crossman [ReVR 412]. With second wife vi JAMES, b. say 1665; m. by about 1698 Hannah Stacy [NEHGR 51:174], daughter of Richard Stacy [Granberry 198, citing BrLR 10:24].
ASSOCIATIONS: In 1998 Doris J. Woodward and Patricia Law Hatcher demonstrated conclusively that this immigrant was son of the Nathaniel Woodward who appeared in Boston a few years later [Maine Genealogist 20:147-68].
COMMENTS: Only one Nathaniel Woodward was admitted to Boston church in its first few decades, and so this must be the man who was admitted to freemanship in 1637, and who, with wife Mary, was referred to as "our brother Nathaniel Woodward" in 1648 and 1653 upon his recommendation and dismissal to Taunton church.
On 18 December 1637 Boston selectmen "agreed that John Woodward and Rob[er]te Woodward, the sons of Nathaniell Woodward, shall have houseplots allotted them" [BTR 1:22].
On 8 January 1637/8 "Nathaniell Woodward the elder" was granted twenty-eight acres at Muddy River [BTR 1:24].
These two records mark the first appearance of the elder Nathaniel.
There are then a number of land records in which the Nathaniel Woodwards may be distinguished. The 1639 grant to "our brother Nathaniell Woodward at Muddy River for 3 heads" [BTR 1:43] must apply to the church member with wife Mary. On 5 March 1644/5 "Nathaniel Woodward of Boston (Junior)" sold to Henry Stevens "twenty acres of land at Muddy River" [SLR 1:58]; this was not the twenty-eight acres earlier granted to Nathaniel the elder, and so would appear to be the parcel granted in 1639, thus solidifying the identification of the church member with wife Mary as the younger Nathaniel.
The Boston Book of Possessions, compiled about 1645, has two entries for men named Nathaniel Woodward [BBOP 27, 36], one of them labelled as "the elder" [BBOP 36].
The younger Nathaniel sold a house and lot in 1648 [BBOP 47], but this was not the parcel he was credited with in the Book of Possessions. This was the same year that he and his wife were recommended to Taunton, so when he removed from Boston he still owned the latter piece of land.
On 26 May 1655 "Nathaniel Woodward of Boston, carpenter," sold to Richard and Joanna Richardson "a parcel of land near the Fort Hill in Boston," the description of which matches the holding of the younger Nathaniel in the Boston Book of Possessions [SLR4:115].
A few months later, on 25 February 1655/6 Boston selectmen ordered that "Nathaneell Woodward is admitted an inhabitant, and Thomas Harwood bound in a bond of £20 to secure the town from any charge that may arise by the said Wodard or his family" [BTR 1:128].
(Theron Woodward stated that this record designated Nathaniel as "Junior," which it does not, but this is apparently the proper conclusion.)
On 4 January 1659[/60] "Nathaniel Woodward of Boston in New England ... carpenter & Margaret his wife" sold to James Penniman a parcel of land in Boston which may be identified as a portion of the Book of Possessions holding of the elder Nathaniel [SLR 3:364].
On 18 July 1660 this same couple sold to John Marion the remainder of this piece of land [SPR 3:519].
We conclude then that Nathaniel the elder maintained a continuous residence in Boston from 1645 to 1660 at least, and so there would have been no need to admit him as an inhabitant in early 1656.
This would mean that it was the younger Nathaniel, returning from Taunton, who was readmitted as an inhabitant. We now take note of his surety, Thomas Harwood, who had married in 1654 the widow of Robert Smith, son of Nathaniel the elder [NEHGR 51:173].
In his deed of 1655, the younger Nathaniel is not accompanied by a wife, as he is in earlier and later deeds. This may be interpreted to mean that his first wife had died by this date, and perhaps he was returning to Boston to find a new wife, or otherwise find assistance in caring for his family. Within a few years he had found a second wife, Katherine, and returned to Taunton.
The inventory of the estate of Nathaniel Woodward of Boston was taken on 11 December 1675, and was presented at court by Rachel Harwood [SPR
Since both Nathaniels were carpenters, and both active in Boston during much the same period, we are left uncertain as to which one of these men was the surveyor employed by the colony to run the line between Massachusetts Bay and two other colonies, Plymouth and Connecticut [MBCR 1:261, 323, 333], and which was the carpenter involved in a dispute with John Coggan in 1640 [Lechford 358-59], although the younger man would seem to be the more likely candidate for the surveyor.
COMMENTS: The first five of the younger Nathaniel's children must have been born before 1655, and we have assumed that he was between wives in that year, so all these must be by the first wife, Mary. Son James did not marry until about 1698, and so he is more likely a child of the second marriage.
On 5 June 1671 "Nathaniel Woodward, for speaking abusive words against Mr. Shove, the pastor of the church of Taunton, was sentenced by the Court to sit in the stocks during the pleasure of the Court, which accordingly was performed" [PCR 5:61]. (This may have been the younger Nathaniel of Taunton.)
CHILDREN of Nathaniel WOODWARD Jr. and Mary JACKSON:
+ 1. ISRAEL b: Abt 1642; Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts.
md: 4 Aug 1670; , , Massachusetts.
Jane GODFREY
d: 15 Jun 1674; Taunton, Bristol. Massachusetts.
2. ELISHA chr: 21 Apr 1644; Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts.
3. NATHANIEL chr: 12 Apr 1646; Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts.
md: By 1667; Taunton, Bristol, Massachusetts.
Elizabeth ?????
4. JOHN b: Abt 1648; Taunton, Bristol, Massachusetts.
md: 11 Nov 1675; Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts.
Sarah CROSSMAN
CHILDREN of Nathaniel WOODWARD Jr. and Katherine _______:
5. JAMES b: Abt 1665; , , Massachusetts.
md: Abt 1698; , , Massachusetts.
Hannah STACY
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