Generation 1

SGT. JOHN PLYMPTON (abt 1620 - 1677) of Dedhanm Medfield and Springfield

Parents: Unknown

John Plympton was born about 1620. [Ref] He was burned at the stake in 1677. [Ref, p. 10] He married Jane Damon [Ref] on 13 Mar 1644 in Dedham. [Ref] Jane was born about 1626.

Chase [Ref] presents an interesting, if unabashedly fictionalised, account of his life. He presents a conjecture about John's English background, suggesting that he was a Puritan who fell out with his staunchly Catholic family.

In 1635 Abigail, the wife of John Eaton and widow of Unknown Dammant came to New England on the Elizabeth and Ann with her children Jane Dammand, age 9, Marie Eaton, age 4 and Thomas Eaton, Age 1. Her husband John Eaton and son John Dammant also came to New England and the family settled in Dedham. [Ref] John Eaton left John Dammant of Reading and John Plympton each five pounds in his will, dated 2 (9) 1658. [Ref]

Jane Damat, the daughter of "our sister Eaton" of the church at Watertown was received into the church at Dedham on 4 (10) 1640. [Ref] John Damat joined on 9 (1) 1645. [Ref]

John Plympton had the signature (reproduced in Chase [Ref]) of an educated man. The inventory on his estate included books. [Ref]

In his will of 22 Dec 1640, George Alcock of Roxbury gave his servant John Plimpton his time from midsummer. [Ref]

John was admitted freeman on 10 May 1643. [Ref] In 1643 he joined the Ancient and Honorable Artillary Co. (then the Incorporated Artillary Co.). [Ref]

John bought two acres of meadow in Fowle from Eleazer Lusher of Dedham for 5 shillings on 20 (9) 1646. [Ref]

A John Plimpton was granted 100 acres in the West Section in Medfield in 1650. [Ref] He was taxed in Medfield in 1652. [Ref] At the end of 1652 John's estate, which included two cows a calf and a pig, amounted to a small £46 and his household included six persons. [Ref] Ten years later his estate was valued at £102 and there were nine people in his family. [Ref] In 1669 his estate amounted to £238. [Ref]

John received 3£ 5s. 2 d. for sweeping the meeting house in 1661 and 1662. [Ref] He held several minor public offices. He was surveyor of the highways in 1661. [Ref] He was one of three men to burn the woods for herd walks in 1666. [Ref] He was constable in 1667. [Ref]

John was one of the inhabitants of Medfield who signed a 19 (8) 1664 letter to the General Court stating their loyalty. [Ref]

At a 4 Dec 1672 December proprietors' meeting at Pocomtuck (Deerfield), it was decided that John should be allowed to buy land there if he would settle there. [Ref] In the spring of 1673 the Plymptons moved to Deerfield. [Ref] He was appointed Sergeant there. [Ref]

John's house in Deerfield was a garrison surrounded by palisades. [Ref] During King Philip's War the residents of Deerfield took resident in Hatfield. [Ref] John returned to Deerfield in Sep 1677. [Ref] He was captured by the Indians and killed. [Ref] Benjamin Waite wrote from Albany to his friends in Hatfield on 23 May 1678, "Three of the captives are murdered: old Goodman Plympton, Samuel Foot's daughter, Samuel Russell." [Ref]

Inventory on John's estate was presented by his widow Jane on 24 Sep 1678. The estate amounted to only 29£ 11 s of possessions and some land in Deerfield. [Ref]

Children of John Plympton and Jane Damon:

1. Hannah Plympton was born on 1 (1) 1645 in Dedham. [Ref] She was baptised on 9 (1) 1645 in Dedham. [Ref] She married first Nathaniel Sutlieffe on 31 Jan 1664 in Medfield. [Ref] Nathaniel was killed on 19 May 1676 at the Fall's Fight, where he served under Capt. Turner. [Ref] She married second Samuel Harrington of Deerfield. [Ref]
2. John Plympton was baptised on 5 (2) 1646 in Dedham. [Ref]
3. John Plimpton was baptised on 23 (4) 1646 in Dedham. [Ref] He died on 19 Jan 1729/30 in Medfield. [Ref] He married first Elizabeth Fisher on 2 Jan 1677 in Medfield. [Ref] Elizabeth died in 1697 and is buried in Medfield. [Ref] He married second Susannah Draper on 13 Nov 1707 in Medfield. [Ref] Susannah married second as his second wife Stephen Sabin. [Ref] Stephen, the son of Benjamin and Sarah (Parker) Sabin, died in 1738. [Ref] He married first Elizabeth Mason of Dedham on 3 Jun 1718 in Boston. [Ref]
   A John Plimpton was in Capt. Moseley's company in Dedham on 9 Dec 1675. [Ref] John contributed two bushels of Indian corn to Harvard College in 1678. [Ref]
4. Mary Plympton was born on 19 Apr 1648 in Dedham. [Ref] She died on 27 Nov 1736 in Marlborough. [Ref] She married Nathaniel Solomon on 16 Nov 1671. [Ref] Nathaniel, the son of Solomon Johnson, was born on 3 Feb 1639 in Sudbury and died on 24 Jul 1718 in Marlborough. [Ref]
5. Peter Plympton was baptised on 7 (1) 1652 in Dedham. [Ref]
6. Joseph Plympton was born on 7 Oct 1653 in Medfield. He died on 20 Jun 1702 in Medfield. He married Mary Morse.
7. Mehitable Plympton was born on 15 Sep 1655 in Medfield. [Ref][Ref] She married first Ephraim Hinsdale [Ref] on 28 Sep 1676 in Medfield. [Ref] Ephraim was the son of Dea. Robert and Ann (Woodward) Hinsdale. [Ref, p. 10] She married second Joseph, the son of William Cheney. [Ref] She married third Dea. Jonathan Adams on 12 Dec 1717. [Ref]
8. Jonathan Plympton was born on 23 Nov 1657 in Medfield. [Ref][Ref] He was killed by the Indians during King Philip's War. [Ref]
9. Eleazer Plympton was born on 20 Feb 1659/60 in Medfield. [Ref]
10. Eleazer Plympton was born on 7 May 1661 in Medfield. [Ref]
11. Lede Plympton was born on 2 Feb 1662/3 in Medfield. [Ref] She died on 14 Feb 1662/3 in Medfield. [Ref]
12. Jane Plympton died on 12 Jun 1664 in Medfield. [Ref]
13. Herie Plympton died on 4 Jan 1668 in Medfield. [Ref]

Generation 2

JOSEPH PLYMPTON (1653 - 1702) of Medfield

Parents: Sgt. John Plympton and Jane Damon

Joseph Plympton was born on 7 (8) 1653 in Medfield. [Ref][Ref] He died on 20 Jun 1702 in Medfield. [Ref] He married Mary Morse on 3 Nov 1675 in Medfield. [Ref][Ref] Torrey says that Mary is the daughter of Joseph. [Ref]

1. Lieut. Joseph Plympton was born on 15 Mar 1676/7 in Medfield. [Ref] He died on 21 Oct 1739/40. [Ref] He married Priscilla Partridge on 22 Aug 1699. [Ref][Ref gives only the year][Ref] Priscilla, the daughter of William and Sarah Partridge, was born on 3 Sep 1672 and died on 24 May 1738. [Ref] Schultz [Ref] says that he married second Susanna (Dyer) (Plympton) Sabin in 1739. I have assigned Susanna as also the second wife of Joseph's uncle John Plympton. John was 30 years older than Joseph, so that while possible, it seems unlikely that Susanna could have been the wife of both uncle and nephew.
   Joseph and Priscilla lived in Medfield. [Ref] Joseph was a representative from Medfield in 1720. [Ref] He was a selectman in 1726, 1727, 1731, 1733 and 1735. [Ref] He was a lieutenant in 1723. [Ref] He was a farmer. [Ref]
   
2. Jonathan Plympton was born on 28 Apr 1680 in Medfield. [Ref] He died on 6 Dec 1749 in Medfield. [Ref] He married Bethia Fisk. [Ref] Bethia, the daughter of Benjamin and Bathsheba (Morse) Fiske was born on 24 Jun 1682 in Medfield. [Ref]
3. Jeremiah Plympton was born on 8 Nov 1683 in Medfield. He married Elizabeth Johnson.
4. Mary Plympton was born in Jul 1692 in Medfield. [Ref] She married Samuel Adams on 22 Nov 1709 [Ref gives only the year] in Medfield. [Ref][Ref gives only the year] Samuel was born on 25 Feb 1684/5. [Ref] He was the son of John Adams, the grandson of Peter Adams and the great-grandson of Henry Adams. [Ref]

Generation 3

JEREMIAH PLYMPTON (b. 1683)

Parents: Joseph Plympton, Sr. and Mary Morse

Jeremiah Plympton was born on 8 Nov 1683 [Ref] in Medfield. [Ref] He married Elizabeth Johnson in 1704. [Ref]

It is possible that Elizabeth is the Elizabeth who was the daughter of Return and Marie Johnson, born 10 Aug 1681, in Medfield.

Jeremiah lived in Canterbury, Windham, CT for fifteen years. [Ref]

Children of Jeremiah Plympton and Elizabeth Johnson:

1. Sarah Plympton was born on 17 Oct 1709. [Ref]
2. Sabilla Plympton was born on 20 Aug 1712. She married Moses Johnson.

Generation 4

SABILLA PLYMPTON (b. 1712)

Parents: Jeremiah Plympton and Elizabeth Johnson [Ref, p. 35]

Sabilla Plympton was born on 20 Aug 1712. [Ref, p. 35][Ref] She married Moses Johnson on 18 May 1732 in Holliston. [Ref][Ref][Ref, p. 35]

References

Cemeteries

Editors, "Medfield, Mass., Gravestone Records to 1850," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 58, 1904, 343-347.

Encyclopedias

Schultz, John A., Legislators of the Massachusetts General Court 1691–1780: A biographical dictionary, Boston, Northeastern University Press, 1997.

Family Genealogies

Adams, Andrew N., A Genealogical History of Henry Adams, of Braintree, Mass., and his descendants: also John Adams, of Cambridge, Mass., 1632-1897, unknown, Adams, 1898.

Chase, Levi B., A Genealogy and Historical Notices of the Family of Plimpton or Plympton in America: and of Plumpton in England, Hartford, Plimpton Mfg. Co. Print., 1884.

Johnson, Paul Franklin and Frank Leonard Johnson, Genealogy of Capt. John Johnson of Roxbury, Massachusetts, Commonwealth Press, Los Angeles, 1951.

Kimble, Mrs. Ellwood D., "The Solomon Johnson Family," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 11, 1912, 233-243.

Partridge, George Homer, "Descendants of William Partridge of Medfield, Mass. and his Descendants," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 69, 1909, 90-95.

Tingley, Ramon Meyers, Some Ancestral Lines: being a record of some of the ancestors of Guilford Solon Tingley and his wife, Martha Pamelia [sic] Meyers, Rutland, VT, Tuttle Pub. Co., 1935.

Titus, Anson, "The Sabin Family in America: Four Generations," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 36, 1882, 52-58.

Public Records

Morse, Charles H., trans., "Medfield Memorial," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 13, 1859, 346.

Trask, William, trans., "Indian War Papers," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 8, 1854, 239-243.

Vital Records

Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850. Online Database: NewEnglandAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2007.

Pulsifer, David, trans., "Records of Boston," New England Historical and Genealogical Register, various issues.

Torrey, Clarence A, New England Marriages Prior to 1700, Baltimore, Genealogical Publishing Co., 2004.

Wills

Trask, William, "Abstracts from the Earliest Wills on Record in the County of Suffolk, Mass.," New England Historical and Genealogical Register, various issues.