 - 1663
-
| Name |
William Blake |
| Gender |
Male |
| Baptism |
10 Jul 1594 |
Pitminster, Somerset, England  [1] |
| Will |
03 Sep 1661 |
Suffolk Co, Massachusetts [2] |
- The last will and testament of William Blake, (being of perfect memory & understanding ye good lord god bee blessed and praysed therefor) made ye third day of September in ye year, one thousand six hundred sixty & one, as followeth.
Imprs. My will is yt my body bee decently buried in hope of A joyfull Resurrection at ye Last day;
It. I give & bequeath unto ye town of Dorchester, twenty shillings to be bestowed for ye Repairing of ye Buringplace, so yt swine & other Vermine may not Anoy ye Graves of ye saints; pvided it be Repared wthin one yeare after my Decease. The Rest of My Land Goods & estate after My funerall Expenses & debts discharged; my will is And I doe give & bequeath Unto My five Children ye one halfe of My Lands Goods & estate to bee equally divided Amongst them by Equal p-portions; not that I disrespect My eldest son, for he hath ben and is soe dutifull a child unto mee as any of my children, but because he hath Least neede of it & he hath no charge: ye other halfe of my lands goods & estate I doe give & bequeath Unto my beloved wife & do make her sole executrex of this my last will & testament. And I doe Intreat my beloved breathren, Brother Edw: Clapp & Jno. Capen y they would bee pleased to bee ye ovrseers of this my Last will & testament, to see yt it bee fullfilled and prformed. finally my will is yt my wife doe not dispose of Any of her estate left her by this my last will & testament during ye time of her life without ye Advise and consent of my overseers & My four sones or ye Major part of them, yet nevryelesse in her Last will she may dispose of it Unto whome shee please; In Wittnesse whereof I have hereunto sett my hand & Seale In ye presence of
WILLIAM BLAKE wth a seale:
John Capen
Jno Minott.
Att a County Court held Att Boston 28. January 1663 Jno. Capen & Jno. Minott deposed that having subscribd their names to this paper was prsented & did both see and heare Wm Blake to signe & publish ye same to bee his Last will & testament, yt when he so did he was of A sound disposing minde to their best knowledg:
EDWARD RAWSON, Recorder."
"The Inventory of all ye goods & Lands of WM. BLAKE of
Dorchester deceased.
Imps. his waring apparell & Money his purse 009. 15. 02
his house & Lands 154. 15. 00
his Cattle hay & Swine 017. 01. 00
his plate & spoones 001. 06. 00
his pewter & brass 007. 08. 04
his bedding & sheets table Cloths & pillow beers 017. 18. 00
his bookes 001. 12. 00
his apples & quinces & Indian Corn 002. 18. 00
his tables chests & bedsteads 003. 03. 06
his Ironpotts pans axes & pott hangers & saws & hamers & wedges & other Lumber 008. 15. 00
¶224. 12. 00
WILLIAM SUMNER: JAMES HUMFREY
Owing to ye Estate 03. 10. 00
Debts Owing from ye Estate 39. 08. 00
More Owing from ye Estate 03. 08. 00
Att A County Cort held Att Boston 29 January, 1663, Mrs Anis(*) Blake deposed that this is A true inventory of the Estate of ye late William Blake her late husband to her best knowledge, that when she knows more she will discover itt to ye Court.
Allowed off EW. RAWSON, Recorder."
|
| Died |
25 Oct 1663 |
Dorchester, Suffolk Co, Massachusetts |
| Notes |
- William Blake married Agnis Band, Pitminster. She may have been the widow of Richard Band, whose will of 1616, was probated, 8 Jan 1621, and daughter of Henry Thorne of Pitminster. The whereabouts of William Blake between 1624 and 1636 is not known. The baptism of his son, Edward, has not been found. It has been reported that he was on the "Mary & John" in 1630, but there is no evidence of him in New England until 1636. The Cleveland Genealogy claims he sold a house at Aisholt in January, 1630, and went to New England, but no proof is given. Aisholt is only two miles south of Over Stowey, birthplace of his father. The parish records at Aisholt have not been searched. Present evidence indicates he came to Dorchester, MA, no earlier than 14 May 1636, when he was granted land there. He was not made a freeman until 14 Mar 1639, when he joined the First Church of Dorchester. Since he was a prominent person, it is very unlikely he came in 1630 without becoming a freeman earlier.
William Black (probably Blake) was listed as a passenger on the ship "Hopewell" which sailed from Weymouth, Dorset, 8 May, 1635. Eighteen men were listed but their wives, children and servants were not named. On the same ship was listed Thomas Richards, a first cousin of William Blake.
!Search For The Passengers Of The Mary & John #20
"The following settled on the Connecticut river in 1635 and signed and agreement at AGAWAM (now Springfield, Mass.) Rules for location and distribution of lots etc. "We testify to the above order"
Signed - Wm. Pynchon William Blake
Mathew Mitchell Edmund Wood
Henry Smith Thomas Ufford
Jehue Burr John Cab?l
William Blake, born in England and a founder of Agawam, Mass. (Springfield), was a member of the ANCIENT & HONORABLE ARTILLERY COMPANY. In 1641, he was Constable, Selectman, 1645-1647 and 1651 was on committee to build the "new meeting house".
!Abridged Compendium of American Genealogy "First Families of America"; 1925, p.968
WILLIAM BLAKE joined the ARTILLERY CO., 1646. This was the ANCIENT & HONORABLE ARTILLERY COMPANY OF BOSTON, a famous military organization which has maintained itself and is in exixtence at the present time. William's elder brother, John Blake, a merchant in Boston, joined the Artillery Co. in 1642.
!James Savage, Genealogical Dictionary of new England, 1:193
William BLAKE, freeman 14 Mar 1638-9; selectman for the Town of Dorchester 1645, 1647, 1651; "Recorder for ye Town, Clerk of ye Writs for ye Co. of Suffolk," 1656 & continued in the office about 8 years, until he died. His will dated 3 Sep 1661, by which he "gives unto ye towne of Dorchester 20 shillings to be bestowed for ye Repairing of ye Buring place so yt swine & other vermine may not Anoy ye graves of ye saints"
! NEHGR 5:396
The etymology of the name, Blake, was furnished by JOHN H. BLAKE, Esq., of Roxbury, and is as follows:--
"The ancient and respectable family of BLAKE, is of British extraction, and traditionally descended from APLAKE, whose name appears as one of the Knights of King Arthur's round table. Succeeding generations, however, seem to have paid little attention to the orthography of the name, so variously do we find it written. In the first instance, by dropping the initial letter it was rendered P-LAKE, and then, by compression, PLAKE, one entire word, both of which, alike, produce a sound and utterance uncouth and unharmonious. It was corrupted into BLAGUE, to the confusion of all etymological explanation, had it so continued, but chance or design applied a remedy by substituting BLAAKE, and ultimately BLAKE, which latter reading took place many centuries back, and has continued invariably the same from that period to the present day."
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| Person ID |
I14771 |
Bryant |
| Last Modified |
21 Feb 2006 |
| Father |
William Blake, b. Abt 1564, probably, Over Stowey, Somerset, England , d. Jun 1642, Pitminster, Somerset, England |
| Mother |
Ann, d. Aug 1644, Pitminster, Somerset, England |
| Married |
1586 |
Somerset, England |
| Family ID |
F1010 |
Group Sheet |
| Family |
Agnes Thorne, b. Bef 12 Mar 1594, Pitminster, Somerset, England , d. 22 Jul 1678, Dorchester, Suffolk Co, Massachusetts |
| Married |
27 Sep 1617 |
Pitminster, Somerset, England [1] |
| Children |
| | 1. John Blake, d. 25 Jan 1689, Boston, Suffolk Co, Massachusetts |
| | 2. Annie Blake, d. 12 Jul 1681, Boston, Suffolk Co, Massachusetts |
| | 3. William Blake, Jr., d. 03 Sep 1703, Milton, Norfolk Co, Massachusetts |
| | 4. James Blake, d. 28 Jun 1700, Dorchester, Suffolk Co, Massachusetts |
| | 5. Edward Blake, b. 03 Sep 1626, Pitminster, Somerset, England , d. 03 Sep 1692, Milton, Norfolk Co, Massachusetts |
|
| Family ID |
F1007 |
Group Sheet |
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| Sources |
- [S13] NEHGR, NEHGR, (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society), 45:37.
- [S268] Blake, Blake Family, Blake, Samuel, (David Clapp, Boston, 1857), p.12.
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