William Macomber
Cooper, "of Dorchester" when licensed in 1638 to live within Plymouth Colony; at Duxbury in 1644 and later at Marshfield. In July 1644 he was bound to appear to answer for words spoken against the natives. His wife was probably the Ursilla who, as his widow, gave an administration bond in June 1670, and he was probably the father of Ursula Macomber, who married Nicholas White.
Life
- c. 1610Bornc. 1610
"A sworn statement, made March 1, 1655, gives his age as 45 years" (Stackpole p. 89). The statement itself has not been seen.
compiledprobable - bef. 1670Diedbefore 6 June 1670
His widow gave an administration bond on 6 June 1670.
compiledprobable
Family
- Parents
- Spouse
- Ursula Macomber
Widow "Ursilla" gave the administration bond (Stackpole, abstracting Plymouth probate).
compiledprobable1 child
Pedigree
Notes
From England, perhaps from Devon. Cooper. “Wilm Maycumber, of Dorchester, coop, is lycensed to dwell w[ith]in this gou[er]ment, at Plymouth or elsewhere, vpon the testymony of his good behauio’ hee hath brought w[ith] him” (1638, PCR 1:82). At Duxbury in 1644, later Marshfield. On 3 July 1644 he was bound to appear “to answere to all such matters … conc[er]ning word[s] spoken against the natiues, tending to the breach of the league betwixt us” (PCR 2:74); Mollie Pfeiffer and Stackpole say he was fined, but the record is a bond to appear. Stackpole quotes another Plymouth entry: “Aug. 20, 1644, William Maycumber of Duxborrow sent forth to bring in John Macomber for non-appearance for making allarum at Taunton.” Tradition makes John Macomber of Taunton his brother; Savage says “possib. br.” He was a surveyor at Marshfield in 1653 (Stackpole).
Mollie says he came on the Anne in 1623 and married a sister of Peregrine White. Both are false. He first appears in 1638, “of Dorchester,” and Peregrine White’s only recorded sibling was Resolved (Bradford names “the minor children, Resolved and Peregrine”). The White marriage belongs to a later William Macomber (1746-1815), who married, 15 Oct 1764, Ruth White, “fifth in descent from Peregrine White” (Stackpole); Richards’s History of Marshfield calls her his “cousin.” Mollie’s descent from the Earls of Fife has no evidence, and she doubted it herself.
Open questions
- His administration (1670) and Matthew Macomber’s will (1675) in the Plymouth Colony probate.
Mollie's typescript
Mollie gives the tradition that he came in the Anne and married a sister of Peregrine White (both false, the records show), and says he was a cooper granted a small island off Powder Point in 1638.
William Macomber (1) was a cooper. In 1638 he was granted an island "lying on the north side of Powder Poynt
p. 161 →He settled at Marshfield in 1644, was bound over for words against the Indians (Mollie says fined), was a surveyor in 1653, and his farm, with its garrison house, stayed in the family for nine generations.
In 1644 William Macomber settled in Marshfield, where he was fined for speaking against the Indians. He was a surveyor in Marshfield in 1653. ... The farm occupied by William Macomber is still in possession of the Macomber family of the 9th generation
p. 162 →Mollie quotes the Plymouth record licensing him, a cooper of Dorchester, to live in the colony on the testimony of his good behaviour.
"Will'm Maycumber of Dorchester, cooper, is lycensed to dwell within this gov'ment at Plymouth or ellsewhere, upon the testymony of his good behavior hee hath brought with him".
p. 163 →
Checked against the records
- DisprovenWilliam Macomber came on the Anne and married Peregrine White's sister
He first appears in 1638, a cooper "of Dorchester", and Peregrine White's only recorded sibling was Resolved. The White marriage belongs to a later William Macomber (1746-1815), who in 1764 married Ruth White, "fifth in descent from Peregrine White" (Stackpole). Mollie flagged the account for checking.
Read it in the book, p. 161 → - ProvenWilliam Macomber was fined for speaking against the Indians
In substance, yes. On 3 July 1644 he was bound to appear "to answere to all such matters ... conc[er]ning word[s] spoken against the natiues, tending to the breach of the league betwixt us" (Plymouth Colony Records 2:74). The record is a bond to appear; no fine is recorded.
Read it in the book, p. 162 → - UnlikelyThe Macombers were Scots, connected with the Earls of Fife
No evidence, and Mollie herself thought it unreasonable. William Macomber first appears in 1638 as a cooper "of Dorchester", licensed to live in Plymouth Colony, with nothing to tie him to Scotland.
Read it in the book, p. 162 →