Generation 1

JOHN WHITE (d. 1673) of Salem, Wenham anad Lancaster

Parents:

John died between 10 Mar 1673, when he wrote his will [Ref] and 28 May 1673 [Ref][Ref], when it was proved in Lancaster. John White married Joanna Unknown. Joanna died on 18 (3) 1654 in Lancaster. [Ref][Ref, p. 12, w. John]

John was admitted as an inhabitant of Salem in 1639. [Ref] He had an estate in Wenham. [Ref]

John was an early inhabitant of Lancaster, signing the town covenant on 1 May 1653. [Ref, pp. 30-31] He was one of the 13 inhabitants of Lancaster who signed an agreement with John Prescott for the building of the first corn mill in Lancaster. [Ref, p. 32] On 30 (9) 1653 lots were laid out in Lancaster. Some of the original inhabitants of received 20-acre lots upon the neck lying between the North River and the Penacuck River. John received the sixth of these lots, his property lying between Jame Atherton's and William Lewis's. [Ref, p. 36] After the original division of land in Lancaster, further divisions were contingent on estate size. In 1654 estates were valued and John's - at about £380 - was the largest of the 30 eligible inhabitants. [Ref] He was given about 15 acres of meadow in 1654. [Ref] At a town meeting on 1 (9) 1654 it was agreed to limit the town to 35 families and 25 men were listed as townsman, one of whom was John. [Ref] He received the 33rd lot in the second division of meadow on 5 Feb 1659. [Ref]

Children of John White and Joanna Unknown:

1. Thomas White, the oldest son, remained in Wenham. [Ref]
2. Joanna White [Ref]
3. Sarah White [Ref]
4. Josiah White was born in Salem. He was baptised on 4 Jun 1643 in the First Church of Salem. He died on 11 Nov 1714. He married first Mary Lewis. He married second Mary Rice.
5. Elizabeth White died in the 10 Feb 1676 Indian attack on Lancaster. [Ref, p. 16] She married Capt. Henry Kerley. [Ref] Three of their children were also killed in the attack. [Ref, p. 16] Elizabeth and two [!] of her six chidren were killed in the Indian attack on Lancaster on 10 Feb 1675/6; her other four children died in captivity. [Ref]
   some descendants of Elizabeth White
6. Mary White married Rev. Joseph Rowlandson. [Ref] He died on 24 Nov 1678. [Ref]
   Joseph was the sole graduate of Harvard in 1652. [Ref] He began to preach at Lancaster in 1654. [Ref] He was ordained in 1660. [Ref] He went to Wethersfield as a colleague of Rev. Gershom Bulkeley. [Ref] Mary and her three children were carried away captive in the Indian attack on Lancaster on 10 Feb 1675/6. She and two of her children were ransomed, but her daughter Sarah died. [Ref] Sarah died of her wounds on 18 Feb 1676. [Ref, p. 16] Joseph's 19-year-old nephew Thomas Rowlandson was killed in the attack. [Ref, p. 16]
   Mary wrote an account of the Indian attack on Lancaster and her captivity and, as a result, few colonial New England women are as well known as Mary Rowlandson.
   some descendants of Mary White
7. Hannah White married Ens. John Divoll on 23 (10) 1663 in Lancaster. [Ref][Ref, p. 11] He was killed in the Indian attack on Lancaster on 10 Feb 1675/6. [Ref, p. 16]
   In his will, her father says that Hannah acted as a nurse to him in his old age. He left his Lancaster estate to her and Josiah. [Ref] Hannah's husband and her son Josiah were killed in the Indian attack on Lancaster on 10 Feb 1675/6. [Ref, p. 16] Her children John and Hannah were taken into captivity and died in captivity. [Ref, p. 16] Hannah and her youngest child William were also taken into captivity, but were ransomed.
   some descendants if Hannah White

Generation 2

JOSIAH WHITE (d. 1714) of Lancaster

Parents: John White and Joanna Unknown

Josiah White was born in that part of Salem that is now Wenham. [Ref, p. 36] He was baptised on 4 Jun 1643 in the First Church of Salem. [Ref, p. 36] He died on 11 Nov 1714. [Ref][Ref, p. 36] He married first Mary Lewis. [Ref, p. 36] Mary was the daughter of William and Anne Lewis. [Ref, p. 36] She was baptised on 2 Aug 1646 in the First Church of Roxbury. [Ref, p. 36] He married second Mary Rice on 28 Nov 1678. [Ref, p. 36]

Josiah moved to Lancaster with his parents before 1 May 1653. [Ref, p. 36] His father left his Lancaster estate to Josiah and his sister Hannah. [Ref]

Josiah White, Sr. was an early member of the First Church of Lancaster in 1708/9. [Ref, p. 270] His wife joined on 22 Mar 1712/3. [Ref, p. 271]

On 7 Oct 1679 Josiah was one of nine people who petitioned the Court to allow the resettlement of Lancaster. [Ref] On 7 Apr 1683 he was on a jury of inquest investigating the untimely death of John, son of John Whitcomb. [Ref] On 28 May 1684 the town chose Josiah White as tax collector. [Ref] He was a selectman in 1690. [Ref]

Josiah had a garrison house in Lancaster in 1704. [Ref, p. 36]

Josiah was a carpenter. [Ref, p. 36]

Children of Josiah White and Mary Rice:

1. Sarah White was born on 21 Oct 1680 in Lancaster. [Ref][Ref, p. 15, d. Josiah and Mary][Ref, p. 37] She married John, the son of John and Hannah Wilder. [Ref, p. 37] John was born on 11 Jul 1673 [Ref, p. 37] in Lancaster. [Ref]
2. Dea. Josiah White was born on 16 Sep 1682 in Lancaster. [Ref][Ref, p. 15, Joseph, s. Josiah and Mary, 15 Sep][Ref, p. 37] He married Abigail Whitcomb on 26 Jun 1706. [Ref, p. 398][Ref, p. 37]
   Josiah was an early member of the First Church of Lancaster. [Ref, p. 270]
   
3. Capt. John White was born on 29 Sep 1684 in Lancaster. [Ref][Ref, p. 15, s. Josiah and Mary][Ref, p. 37] He died by Jan 1755/6, when inventory was taken on his estate. [Ref] He married Eunice, the daughter of Lieut. Nathaniel and Mary (Sawyer) Wilder. [Ref, p. 37] She was born in 1690 in Lancaster. [Ref, p. 37]
   John was a well-to-do blacksmith; his inventory amounted to £1,220. [Ref]
4. Thankful White was born on 27 Mar 1689 in Lancaster. She married Jonathan Houghton.
5. Jonathan White was born about 1692 in Lancaster. [Ref, p. 37] He was killed by Indians on 16 Jul 1707, age 15. [Ref][Ref, p. 17][Ref, p. 37]
6. Judith White was born in 1694 in Lancaster. [Ref, p. 37] She died on 24 Mar 1774. [Ref, p. 37] She married Bezaleel, the son of Thomas Sawyer. [Ref, p. 37]
   Bezaleel was a farmer. [Ref, p. 37]
7. Keziah White was born in 1696. [Ref, p. 37] She married Jonathan Willard on 17 Aug 1719. [Ref, p. 37] Jonathan was the son of Henry and Dorcas (Cutler) Willard and the grandson of Maj. Simon and Jane (Sharpe) Willard. [Ref, p. 37] He was the great-grandson of Richard Willard.

Generation 3

THANKFUL WHITE (b. 1689)

Parents: Josiah White and Mary Rice [Ref, p. 37]

Thankful White was born on 27 Mar 1689 [Ref] in Lancaster. [Ref, p. 37] She married Jonathan Houghton. [Ref]

References

Burr, Annie Lane and Thomas Hovey Gage, "John Houghton of Lancaster, Mass and some of his Descendants," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 79, 1925, 392 - 400.

Nourse, Henry S., The Birth, Marriage, and Death Register, Church Records and Epitaphs of Lancaster, Massachusetts: 1643-1850, Lancaster, unknown, 1890.

Nourse, Henry S., Early Records of Lancaster, Massachusetts, 1643-1725, Clinton, W. J. Coulter, 1884.

Ward, Andrew, "Lancaster Records," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 16, 1862, 352-359; 17, 1863, 70-.

Whitcomb, Charlotte, The Whitcomb Family in America: A biographical genealogy with a chapter on our English forbears "by the name of Whetcombe", Minneapolis, C. Whitcomb?, c1904.

White, Almira Larkin, Ancestry of John Barber White and his Descendants, Kansas City, J.B. White, 1913.