Generation 1

REV. RICHARD BOURNE (d. 1681/2) of Sandwich

Parents: Unknown

Richard died after 18 Aug 1681, when he is mentioned in the town records, and by 1682, when letters of administration on his estate were granted to his sons Shearjashub and Elisha. [Ref] Ayer [Ref] says that he married first Bathsheba, daughter of Andrew Bartlett. Brownson and McLean [Ref] point out that there was no one named Andrew Bartlett in that period and say that possibly she was the daughter of Andrew Hallett. [Ref] He married second the widow Ruth (Sargent) Winslow on 2 Jul 1677 in Sandwich. [Ref][Ref] She died 4 Oct 1713. [Ref] Ruth, the daughter of William Sargent, was born on 25 Oct 1642 in Charlestown. [Ref] She married first Jonathan Winslow of Marshfield, the nephew of Gov. Edward Winslow. [Ref] She married third Elder John Chipman in 1684. [Ref]

It is often alleged that Richard brought a substantial estate to New England with him. However, while he must have been relatively well educated, there is no evidence of this. He is consistently referred to in the records as "Goodman Bourne" until fairly late in late in life. From as early as 1676 he his referred to as "Mr Bourne". He was industrious and of great use to the town of Sandwich, as well as to the Cape Cod Indians. He also acquired a reasonably large estate. It appears that he was not formally trained as a minister, but in 1670 he was ordained pastor of the Indian church at Mashpea. For this reason he is often referred to as "Rev. Richard Bourne", although his contemporaries did not appear to use this title.

A Richard and a Thomas Borne are on a Jan 1634 list of passengers bound for St. Christopher and Barbadoes. Richard is listed as 24. [Ref] Ayer [Ref] suggests that this is our Richard and that he somehow ended up in Sandwich. But, there is no evidence of this.

The first conclusive records of Richard are from early 1637, when he shows up in Sandwich. On 2 Jan 1636/7 Richard was granted seven acres to go with his dwelling house there. [Ref] He was a freeman on 7 Mar 1636/7. [Ref] He is in the Sandwich section of the 1643 list of those between 16 and 60 able to bear arms in Plymouth Colony. [Ref] Richard and his son Job are on a 1675 list of Sandwich men who have a right to the privileges of the town. [Ref]

Richard was allocated seven acres of meadow on 16 Apr 1640 in Sandwich. [Ref] In 1644 Richard requested some land at Mashpee pond and ten acres of meadow. The following May he was granted a right to upland meadow at Mashpee pond. [Ref] On 13 Jun 1660 Richard and Thomas Tupper 2 were granted liberty to look up lands for their accomodation towards the South Sea. [Ref] According to a 17 May 1661 deed, the land cost Richard £15, purchased under order of 2 Oct 1660. On 4 Jun 1661 when the deed was confirmed, the court also granted Richard a parcel of meadow at Mashpee. [Ref] On 13 (9) 1660 the town gave Richard 40 acres of land by the little swamp on the west side of the highway as it goes to 'Maspow' [Mashpee?]. [Ref]

Richard held many public offices. He was on a committee to lay out highways on 2 May 1637. [Ref] He was a grand juror at the 5 Jun 1638 court. [Ref] He was the deputy to the General Court from Sandwich for six years starting in 1639 and again in 1652, 1664-7 and 1670. [Ref][Ref chosen 24 May 1665] On 11 May 1665 he was chosen constable. [Ref] In 1652 he was the authorised agent for Sandwich to supervise the collection of [whale] oil. [Ref] On 21 (12) 1659 he was appointed to deliver oil to its owners. [Ref] On 16 Feb 1662 Goodman Bourne, Goodman Skiffe and Thomas Tobey were chosen to dispose of the town's oil. [Ref]

Richard was often empowered to help set and collect taxes and to act as agent for the town in other fiscal transactions. On 13 May 1653 Mr Dillingham, Thomas Harper, Mr Vincent and Richard Bourne were to collect £37 in taxes, to be paid in money or butter. [Ref] On 23 Nov 1654 Goodman Bourne, Thomas Tupper 1 and James Skiffe were two of five men appointed to make a rate of £18. [Ref] He was again appointed a rater on 24 4 1658, 28 Oct 1658, 29 Nov 1659, 13 (8) 1660, 24 May 1665 and 20 Feb 1667. [Ref] On 20 Jun 1676 Mr Richard Bourne, Daniel Wing, Thomas Tupper 2 and Steven Skiffe were appointed to examine who was entitled to what in King Philip's war. [Ref] On 8 Aug 1676 and 11 Jun 1678 he was appointed to take the constable's accounts with Thomas Tobey. [Ref] Also on 8 Aug 1676 Mr Richard Bourne and his choice of two others were appointed raters. [Ref] On 12 Sep 1676 Mr Richard Bourne, William Swift 2 and Steven Wing were assigned to take account of the town's charges since the last June court. [Ref] On 21 May 1678 Mr Bourne, Daniel Wing and Thomas Tupper 2 were appointed to accept accounts from the town's creditors. [Ref] On 11 Jun 1678 he and Thomas Tupper 2 were to take the constable's accounts. [Ref] On 6 Apr 1678 the town decided that 'Skawten Neck' was to be improved over the next ten years and Mr Bourne and William Swift 2 were appointed to take acccount of disbursements by town agents for this. [Ref] On 14 Aug 1679 Mr Bourne and William Bassett 3 were assigned to take the last year's constable's accounts. [Ref]

Richard was frequently called upon to lay out land or deal with land transactions. On 22 May 1658 he was appointed to lay out land. [Ref] On 28 Oct 1658 Richard Bourne was one of seven men chosen to lay out the bounds of each inhabitant's land for the Plymouth Court. [Ref] On 1 Mar 1666 Goodman Bourne was part of a committee to finish setting the boundaries of the land in Sandwich for the Court. [Ref] On 11 May 1665 he was asked to lay out six acres for 'Ludowack Hawkse'. [Ref] On 24 May 1665 he was asked to lay out land for Richard Smith. [Ref] On 18 Mar 1669 he was chosen to help lay out land for Mr Edmond Freeman and Benjamin Nye. [Ref] On 10 May 1670 the town sold land that was previously Edmond Freeman's to Thomas Burge, Sr and Richard was chosen to help lay out this land. [Ref] On 2 Sep 1673 Richard Bourne and James Skiffe were appointed to lay out lands for the use of the ministry. [Ref] On 22 (12) 1675 Richard was one the people chosen to go with Daniel Wing to view a piece of meadow and make an exchange with him. [Ref] On 18 Aug 1681 he was assigned to help reach an agreement with Thomas Tupper 2 about the road from the dock to the common. [Ref]

He was entrusted with many important tasks. On 1645 he was on the committee to draft laws for Plymouth colony. [Ref] On 7 Jun 1650 the town paid Richard 10 shillings and gave him a tax rebate in consideration of the work he had done on behalf of the town. [Ref] On 13 May 1654 Goodman Bourne and Goodman Tupper 1 were two of five men appointed to frame a petition to the Court to grant and assist them in buying Manumet. [Ref] On 26 Jun 1654 the town of Sandwich empowered Richard and Mr Edward Dillingham to agree with Thomas Dexter on building a mill. [Ref] In 1658 he was appointed to settle a boundary despute between Yarmouth and Barnstable. [Ref] Also on 29 Nov 1659 he was appointed to meet with Barnstable men to fix the bounds between the towns. [Ref] In 1659 he and Mr. Thomas Hinckley were appointed to purchase land from the Indians in Suckinessett (Falmouth). [Ref] He and Mr. Edmond Freeman were authorised to view land in Manomet and confirm it to Thomas Burges. [Ref] On 13 (9) 1660 Richard Bourne and Thomas Tupper 1 were put in charge of the town's powder. [Ref] On 16 May 1662 the town asked Goodman Bourne to be helpful to the Deputies. [Ref] On 2 Apr 1667, William Bassett 2, Richard Bourne and James Skiffe were appointed to the council of war for Sandwich. [Ref] On 19 (9) 1672 the town engaged Edward Perry and Joseph Holloway to attempt to get the best information from both the English and the Indians on behalf of the town. Edward and Joseph were to consult with Richard Bourne about the information provided by the Indians. [Ref]

Apparently, Richard's most serious brush with the law was on 4 Sep 1638 when he was fined 8 d. in Sandwich for having 3 unringed pigs. [Ref]

For many years Richard and Thomas Tupper 1 carried on religious exercises at Sandwich. [Ref] Richard was paid by the Corporation for Propegating the Gospel in New England for his evangelical work with Indians. [Ref] It is said that the Mashpee or 'South Sea' Indians' grant of land near Sandwich was obtained for them by Richard Bourne. [Ref] In his will of 1 Mar 1669, Nonquid Nummack asked Edmond Freeman and Richard Bourn to watch over his children, whom he desired to have brought up in the Christian faith. [Ref] In 1670 Richard was formerly ordained pastor of the Indian church at Mashpee. [Ref] A deed dated 9 Mar 1672 from several Indians to 'our well beloved Richard Bourne' was witnessed by Elisha and Ezra Bourne and Isaac Wampom. [Ref]

Richard's love letters to the much younger Ruth Winslow survive. On 4 Jun 1677 he wrote, 'I would entreat you to signifie to me ... whether you are not inclined to change your name ... '. [Ref]

In the settlement of his estate, the children of his deceased son Job were to have the house he lived in and accompanying land, valued at £300, plus 20 acres of land lying at a place called 'ye great hollow' were to be divided after his widow Ruth's decease. The remainder went to Elisha and Shearjashub. His moveables were valued at about £134; his land at £300; his debts from English people at £502 and his debts from Indians at £173. [Ref]

The town of Bourne is named after Richard's descendant Jonathan Bourne, a state legislator in 1884 and successful owner of whaling ships. [Ref]

Children of Richard Bourne and Bathsheba Unknown:

1. Job Bourne was born about 1639. He died in early 1677 in Hingham. He married Ruhamah Hallett.
2. Elisha Bourne was born about 1641. [Ref] He died on 21 Dec 1706. [Ref] He married Patience, the daughter of James Skiffe, on 26 Oct 1675 in Sandwich. [Ref] She died on 25 Oct 1716 in Sandwich. [Ref][Ref 'Patience Bourne, widow', the records say 1715, but the editors say that her grave says 1716]
   On 19 May 1677 Elisha's father deeded land in Manomet to him. [Ref] He was a freeman on 7 Jun 1681. [Ref] In 1695 liberty was given to Elisha to set up a grist mill on Herring River. [Ref] On 10 (3) 1673 he was appointed grand juryman. [Ref]
   In his will, dated 9 Jun 1698, Elisha gave Patience the house her father James Skiffe gave her. [Ref] He mentions his sons Nathan and Elisha and five unnamed daughters. [Ref] The inventory of his estate in 1706 values his real estate at £500. [Ref] In the settlement of the estate of Mrs. Patience Bourne on 8 Apr 1718 we find that her eldest daughter married John Pope, Abigail married William Bassett, Hannah married Seth Pope, Bathsheba married Micah Blackwell and Mary married John Parsival. [Ref]
   some descendants of Elisha Bourne

3. Shearjashub Bourne was born about 1643. [Ref] He died on 7 Mar 1718/9 in Sandwich. [Ref] He married Bathsheba Skiffe, the sister of his brother's wife Patience. [Ref] He presided over Indian affairs at Mashpee after his father's death. [Ref] He was appointed grand juryman on 29 Apr 1673. [Ref] On the last of Aug 1680 Shearjashub, William Bassett 3 and Thomas Tupper 2 were chosen to raters. [Ref] He was a freeman on 7 Jun 1681. [Ref] He was a selectman on 3 Jun 1684. [Ref] He was appointed deputy on 4 Jul 1684. [Ref] In the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York are two beakers described as a gift of Shearjashub Bourne, Esq. to the church of Sandwich. [Ref cites Betsy Keene, History of Bourne, 1937] His daughter Remember was the mother of Jonathan Mayhew, DD, father of the Unitarian Church. [Ref] Shearjashub and Bathsheba had the following children born in Sandwich: Meletiah (12 Jan 1673), Ezra (6 Aug 1676, m. Martha Prince 27 Dec 1698), Mary (21 Oct 1678), Sarah (6 Feb 1680), Remembrance (6 Feb 1683), Patience (20 Apr 1686). [Ref]

4. Ezra Bourne died after 9 Mar 1672, when he witnessed a deed. [Ref]

Generation 2

JOB BOURNE (abt 1641-1706) of Sandwich

Parents: Rev. Richard Bourne and Bathshseba Unknown

Job Bourne was born about 1639. [Ref] He died in early 1677 in Hingham. His father wrote to Ruth Winslow on 16 (12) 1676/7, ' ... my son who was at Hyngham was taken with the disease that many have died of, who was sick about five weeks and died last Saturday & was buried last Lord's day.' [Ref] He married Ruhamah Hallett on 14 Dec 1664 in Sandwich. [Ref][Ref] Ruhamah was the daughter of Andrew Hallett. [Ref] He had four sons and a daughter. [Ref] On 8 May 1670 he was surveyor of highways in Sandwich. [Ref] On 26 (6) 1674 Job and Thomas Tupper were chosen to lay out land for Lieut. John Ellis. Job, however, was replaced by Daniel Wing. [Ref] On 10 (3) 1673 he was appointed grand juryman. [Ref] Job and Ruhamah had the following children born in Sandwich: Timothy (18 Apr 1666), Hannah (18 Nov 1667), Eleazer (10 Jul 1670), John (2 Nov 1672), Hezekiah (25 Sep 1675). [Ref]

Children of Job Bourne and Ruhamah Hallet

1. Timothy Bourne was born 18 Apr 1666 in Sandwich. [Ref]
2. Hannah Bourne was born on 18 Nov 1667 in Sandwich. She died after 1 Sep 1732. She married Jonathan Morey.
3. Eleazer Bourne was born on 10 Jul 1670 in Sandwich. [Ref]
4. John Bourne was born on 2 Nov 1672 in Sandwich. [Ref]
5. Hezekiah Bourne was born on 25 Sep 1675 in Sandwich. [Ref]

Generation 3

HANNAH BOURNE (b. 1667)

Parents: Job Bourne and Ruhamah Hallet

Hannah Bourne was born on 18 Nov 1667 [Ref] in Sandwich. [Ref] She died after 1 Sep 1732. [Ref] She married Jonathan Morey.

References

Ayer, Mary Farwell, "Richard Bourne: Missionary to the Mashpee Indians," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 62, 1908, 139 -.

Bourne Historical Society Website

Brownson, Lydia B. (Phinney) and Maclean W. McLean, "The Rev. Richard Bourne of Sandwich, Mass. (c. 1610 - 1682)," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 118, 1964, 83-.

Moriarty, G. Andrews, "Gifford - Sargent," Genealogical Research in England Series, New England Historical and Genealogical Register 17, 1920, 142.

Sandwich and Bourne Colony and Town Records, 1912, C.W. Swift, Yarmouthport, reprinted in Leonard H. Smith, ed., Cape Cod Library of Local History and Genealogy, v. 2, 1992, Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore.

Shurtleff, Nathaniel B., "List of Those Able to Bear Arms in the Colony of New Plymouth 1643," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 4, 1850, 255-259.

Vital Records of the Towns of Barnstable and Sandwich

Winsor, Justin, "Abstract of the Earliest Wills in the Probate Office, Plymouth," New England Historical and Genealogical Register, various issues.