John Read
Of Weymouth in 1637, Dorchester in 1638 and Braintree, and of Rehoboth by 1644/5. His wife Sarah was the daughter of Will Lessie of Blyborough, Suffolk; his own parents and English origin are unknown. Father of Daniel Read (b. 1655), who married Hannah Peck.
Life
- c. 1598Bornc. 1598
From his gravestone, "æt. 87" in 1685.
compiledprobable - 1685DiedRehoboth, Massachusetts
Gravestone "J. R., æt. 87. D. S. 1685" (J. W. Reed p. 186), then "standing in Seekonk old burying-yard."
documentedprobable
Family
- Parents
- Spouse
- Sarah Lessie
"John Reade of Braintree & Sarah his wife the daughter of Will Lessie of Blyborough in Suffolke" (Nov. 1644).
documentedproven1 child
Pedigree
Notes
At Weymouth in 1637, Dorchester in 1638, Braintree 1640-44, and Rehoboth by 1644/5, where he was an original proprietor, taxed on £300. J. W. Reed calls him constable, and says (p. 186) he lived “at what was called the Rim, which is now in Seekonk” and “kept a public-house,” adding: “There is a record that Richard Ponton was ‘put’ to John Read in 1644.” His will of 6 Jan 1679 names sons Moses, Daniel and Israel (WikiTree, citing Bowen, Early Rehoboth 3:163; compiled).
His children include (Reed) Abigail, baptized at Dorchester in the 10th month of 1638; John, born at Braintree 29 Aug 1640; Thomas, 9 Nov 1641; and twins Ezekiel and Zachariah, who died in infancy. Daniel was born at Rehoboth in March 1655.
Mollie Pfeiffer says he came with Winthrop in 1630 and was sheriff in 1654. Neither is supported: Reed himself gives his first record as Weymouth, 1637, and calls him constable. Her descent for him (son of William Read and Lucy Heneage, of the Redes of Redesdale back to Brianus de Rede, kin to the Bishop of Chichester) comes from Reed’s book (pp. 28-29), and even Reed only “supposed” the parentage. It is contradicted by the records: the Reade Society (1907) dates Lucy Heneage’s birth to 24 Feb 1586, twelve years before John’s, and says her son John “did not emigrate to America, but remained in England and died there unmarried.” John of Rehoboth’s in-laws were of Blyborough, Suffolk.
Open questions
- His parents and English origin are unknown.
- Read his will (Bowen, Early Rehoboth 3:163).
Mollie's typescript
Mollie's Read chart gives his birth in England in 1598, his death at Rehoboth on 7 Sept 1685, and his marriage to Sarah Lessie of Blyborough, Suffolk.
JOHN READ (1) Born, England 1598 Died Rehoboth,Sept 7,1685 Married Sarah Lessie daughter of Wm. Lessie of Blyborough
p. 147 →Mollie says he lived briefly at Dorchester, Braintree and Weymouth before moving to Rehoboth, where he was third on the list of original proprietors, kept an inn, and died aged 87 (her claims that he came with Winthrop and was sheriff are not supported).
He is the third on the list of original proprietors, and was taxed for 300 pounds, a large estate for those days. He was regarded as a man of substance and resposibilty, and became at once a leading citizen.
p. 149 →
Checked against the records
- DisprovenJohn Read was 14th from Brianus de Rede, kin to a Bishop of Chichester
The chain is J. W. Reed's (1861), and it makes a 14th-century bishop a great-grandfather. It reaches John only through William Read and Lucy Heneage, and the Reade Society (1907) says their son John "remained in England and died there unmarried." John of Rehoboth's English origin is unknown.
Read it in the book, p. 148 → - DisprovenJohn Read, son of William and Lucy Heneage, came with Winthrop
Even her source, J. W. Reed (1861), only "supposed" the parentage, and his first record of John is at Weymouth in 1637. The Reade Society (1907) dates Lucy Heneage's birth to 24 Feb 1586 and says her son John died unmarried in England. John's wife was a daughter of William Lessie of Blyborough, Suffolk (1644).
Read it in the book, p. 148 → - DisprovenJohn Read was sheriff from 1654
Her own source, J. W. Reed's History of the Reed Family (1861), calls him constable, not sheriff. No record makes him sheriff.
Read it in the book, p. 149 →