The VASSALL Family of Ratcliffe, Stepney, Middlesex, England, Cockseyhurst, Eastwood, Essex, England and Roxbury, Suffolk, MA, Scituate, Plymouth, MA and Barbadoes Send comments and corrections to anneb0704@yahoo.co.uk
JOHN VASSALL (d. 1625) of Stepney and Eastwood
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WILLIAM VASSALL (1592 - 1655) of Eastwood, Roxbury, Scituate and Barbadoes m. Anne Russell (d. 1593)
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FRANCES VASSALL (b. abt 1623) m. James Adams


Generation 1

JOHN VASSALL (d. 1625) of Stepney and Eastwood

Parents: He is said -- without evidence -- to be the son of John Vassall from Rinant by Cany in Normandy. [Ref]

John Vassall died on 13 Sep 1625 of the plague. [Ref] He was buried on 18 Sep 1625 in the Stepney church. [Ref] He married first Anne Hewes on 25 Sep 1569 [Ref] in St. Dunstan's, Stepney. [Ref] He married second Anne Russell of Ratcliffe, Stepney on 4 Sep 1580 [Ref] In St. Dunstan's. [Ref] She was buried on 5 May 1593. [Ref][Ref] He married third Judith (Borough) Scott on 27 Mar 1594 [Ref] in St. Dunstan's [Ref]. Judith was the daughter of Stephen and Joan (Overeye) Borough and the widow of Thomas Scott of Colchester and London. [Ref][Ref] She died in Jan 1638/9. [Ref]

John was an alderman of London. [Ref] He fitted two ships, the Samuel and the Little Tobey, at his own expense and commanded them in the opposition of the Spanish Armada in 1588. [Ref][Ref][Ref]

John Vassell, mariner, of Ratcliffe in Stepney, made his will on 29 Apr 1625. [Ref] It was proved on 16 Sep 1625. [Ref] He mentioned his wife Judith; his sons Samuel, William, Stephen and Thomas; his daughter Ann Jones; his daughter Rachel, the wife of Peter Andrews; his daughter Mary, the wife of Edward West; his daughter Elizabeth, the wife of Henry Church; his daughter Judith, relict of John Freeborne; his son-in-law John Jones. [Ref]

Children of John Vassall and Anne Russell:

  1. Judith Vassall was born on 25 Mar 1582. [Ref] She married John Freeborne. [Ref]
    John Freeborne, yeoman of Prittlewell, Essex, made his will on 27 Jan 1617; it was proved on 17 Feb 1617. [Ref] He mentions his wife Judith and his brother William Vassall. [Ref]
  2. Samuel Vassall was born on 5 Jun 1586. [Ref] He died in 1667 [Ref] in New England. [Ref] He married Frances Cartwright, the daughter of Abraham and Joan (Ware) Cartwright of St. Andrew's Undershaft, London. [Ref]
    Samuel was a merchant of London and an alderman. [Ref] He refused to submit to the Tax of Tonnage and Poundage in 1628 and was imprisoned and lost his property. [Ref] He was a Member of Parliament 1640 - 1641. [Ref] He was of St. George's, Southwark and Bedale, Yorkshire. [Ref]
  3. William Vassall was born on 27 Aug 1592 in Eastwood. He died on 13 Jul 1655 in Barbadoes. He married Ann King.

Children of John Vassall and Judith Borough:

  1. Anna Vassall was born on 10 Jan 1595. [Ref] She married John Jones.
  2. Rachel Vassall married Peter Andrews.
  3. Stephen Vassall died in 1643. [Ref] He was the Rector of Rayleigh. [Ref] He married first Mary Bromley of Orsett, co. Essex. [Ref] She died on 20 Jan 1632/3. [Ref] He married second Mary Grubb(e). [Ref] Mary, the daughter of John Grobbe(e) of St. Albans, was born on 2 Jan 1614. [Ref]
  4. Thomas Vassall was born on 7 Apr 1602. [Ref] He died after 1650. [Ref] He married Anne Dickenson in 1625. [Ref]
    Thomas Vassell was a draper of St. Leonard's, Eastcheap. [Ref]
  5. Mary Vasall married Edward West. [Ref]
  6. Elizabeth Vassall married Henry Church. [Ref]

Generation 2

WILLIAM VASSALL (1592 - 1655) of Eastwood, Roxbury, Scituate and Barbadoes

Parents: John Vassall and Anne Russell

William Vassall was born on 27 Aug 1592 in Eastwood. [Ref] He died on 13 Jul 1655 in Barbadoes, age 65. [Ref] He married Ann King [Ref] after 9 Jun 1613 (license, London). [Ref]

William was an assistant in the Massachusetts Bay company and one of the original patentees of land in New England. [Ref] On 15 Oct 1629 the company appointed him to go to New England; he went and returned on the Lyon after a brief stay. [Ref]

William and Ann Vassall, both age 42, and what appear to be their children, Judith (16), Frances (12), John (10), Ann (6), Margaret (2) and Mary (1), are on a 1635 [?] list of passengers to be transported to New England on the Blessing. [Ref]

He settled first in Roxbury and then moved to Scituate. [Ref] Mr. Vassall had a house in Scituate by Oct 1636, but after the end of Sep 1634. [Ref] "Mr Vassal" joined the church at Scituate on 28 Nov 1636. [Ref] He took the oath of fidelity in Scituate on 1 Feb 1638. [Ref] On Dec 1639 he received a license to make an oyster bed in the North River in front of his house. [Ref] Mr. William Vassall is in the Scituate section of the 1643 list of those between 16 and 60 able to bear arms in Plymouth Colony. [Ref]

In 1642, when the Narragansetts became a threat, he was chosen to be a member of the Council of War. [Ref]

The First Church of Scituate had a falling out with its minister Rev. John Lothrop over which mode of baptism -- immersion or sprinkling -- was appropriate. Rev. Lathrop left Scituate for Barnstable, taking half of the congregation with him. Those who remained voted -- barely -- to replace Rev. Lathrop with the brilliant Rev. Chauncey of Plymouth, who later became President of Harvard. Rev. Chauncey preferred to immerse infants into frigid water; Mr. William Vassall was opposed. William and his supporters met separately; both Chauncey and William claiming that their group was the First Church and the others the separatists. Chauncy, who was apparently rather hot tempered made a lurid account of William's behaviour to the neighbouring churches and complained that he was in fear of his life. The Plymouth elders asked for reconciliation; the Massachusetts Bay Colony supported the right of William's group to form their own church. They did so, appointing William Witherall of Duxbury, who in his nearly 40-year ministry performed over 600 "sprinkling" baptisms. [R. M. Fewkes' provides an interesting and amusing account of the episode on the First Parish of Norwell website.]

In 1646 William returned to England on the Supply to assist with a petition to redress the wrongs of the government. [Ref] He never returned to New England. [Ref] In 1648 he went to Barbadoes and died there. [Ref]

His will was written on 13 Jul 1655 in Barbadoes. [Ref] He left one third of his estate to his son John, and the rest to his daughters Judith, Frances, Ann, Margaret and Mary. [Ref] He mentions his son-in-law Nicholas Ware, the husband of his daughter Anna and he refers to Judith and Frances as the wives of Resolved White and James Adams, respectively. [Ref] One of the documents associated with the sale of his estate was signed by Resolved White and James Adams. [Ref]

Children of William Vassall and Ann King:

  1. Anna Vassall was born on 6 Sep 1614 in Cold Norton, co. Essex. [Ref] She died there on 22 Sep 1614. [Ref]
  2. Judith Vassall was born about 1619. She died about 1670. [Ref] She married Resolved White on 8 Apr 1640 in Scituate. [Ref] Resolved White is in the Scituate section of the 1643 list of those between 16 and 60 able to bear arms in Plymouth Colony. [Ref] Judith joined the church at Scituate on 16 Jul 1637. [Ref] She had five sons and three daughters. [Ref]
  3. Frances Vassall was born about 1623. She married James Adams.
  4. Samuel Vassall (twin) was born on 22 Jun 1624. [Ref] He died on 16 Nov 1624. [Ref]
  5. Mary Vassall (twin) was born on 22 Jun 1624. [Ref] She died young. [Ref]
  6. John Vassall was born about 1625. He is in the Scituate section of the 1643 list of those between 16 and 60 able to bear arms in Plymouth Colony. [Ref]
    On 2 Mar 1646/7 the Court ordered John Lewis to serve out his term as apprentice by serving John Vassall. [Ref] On 26 Aug 1658 Christopher Winter was excommunicated by the church at Scituate for marrying Mrs. Cooper, "a woman of scandalous carriage". It was noted that Mr. Vassall, Mr. Hetherly and Goodman Raylings did not consent to this. [Ref] In 1661 he sold his Scituate estates and left, perhaps, for the West Indies. [Ref]
  7. Ann Vassall was born about 1629. She married Nicholas Ware of Virginia prior to Jul 1655. [Ref] They probably settled in Barbadoes. [Ref]
  8. Margaret Vassall was born about 1633. She married Joshua Hubbard after Mar 1656. [Ref]
  9. Mary Vassall was born about 1634. She was alive and unmarried in Jul 1655. [Ref]

Generation 3

FRANCES VASSALL (b. abt 1623)

Parents: William Vassall and Ann King.

Frances Vassall was born about 1623. She married James Adams on 16 Jun 1646 in Scituate. [Ref says 16 Jul 1640][Ref]

After her husband died, Frances had 150 acres of land about eight miles north of Lancaster laid out for her by the Massachusetts General Court on 7 May 1773. [Ref]

References

Church Records

Otis, Amos, trans., "Scituate and Barnstable Church Records," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 9, 1855, 279-287; 10,1856, 37-43, 345-351.

Court Records

Court Records, Laws and 17th Century Texts, Plymouth Colony Archive Project, http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/users/deetz.

English Origins of American Colonists

Waters, Henry, "Genealogical Gleanings in England," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 51, 1897, 249-290.

Family Genealogies

Allen, Francis Olcott, "Vassall," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 51, 1897, 152.

C.B.E., "Family of John Adams of Plymouth," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 33, 1879, 410-413.

Calder, Charles M.,"Alderman John Vassall and his Descendants," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 109, 19555, 91.

Harris, Edward Doubleday, "The Vassalls of New England," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 17, 1863, 56.

T. C. A., "A Home of the Olden Time," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 25, 1871, 37-52.

Public Records

Editors, "Founders of New England," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 14, 1860, 297 - 346.

Hayward, Elijah, "Plymouth Colony Records," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 9, 1855, 313-318.

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

W. H. W., "Early Marriages and Births in Scituate, Mass. Prior to 1700," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 18, 1864, 285-287.; 19, 1865, 219-221.