William Varney

Of Ipswich, where he was by the 1640s. His estate was administered in 1654 (Essex Quarterly Courts 1:338).

In 1650 he and William Bartholomew took the inventory of Thomas Cook, deceased: a debt from Mr. Batter of Boston, 20li.; a cow, 5li.; goods, 5li.; and a debt of John Gorames “at the Iron Works” (Essex Quarterly Courts 1:196). In 1652 the Salem court presented Joseph Langton “for evil usage of a little child of his wife,” and ordered that the child “continue to live with his grandfather, William Varney, and his grandmother, until next Ipswich court” (1:258). On 25 Sept 1653 “John Prockter and Wm. Varnye” took the inventory of John Cogswell Jr. (6:69): he worked alongside the Proctors and Cogswells, whose families later married into his.

His inventory was taken “1: 1: 1653” (1 Mar 1653/4) by George Gidding and John Cogswell: “houses & land, 25li.; in cattell, 22li.; in bookes, 6s. 8d.; total, 57li. 2s. 8d.,” with debts of £6. It lists “2 flock beds and flock boulster and 2 pillows, 2li. 10s.”; “his weareing aparell, 3li.”; “axes and tooles, 15s.”; and “a brase pot & frieing pan, 11s.” Administration was granted 28 Mar 1654 to the widow Bridgett. “He left three sons and one daughter. Ordered that the eldest son have 8li. within three months, and the other children 4li. each at the age of twenty-one” (Probate Records of Essex County 1:173).

His only daughter, Rachel, was “Rachell Cooke” when she married William Vinson at Gloucester on 10 June 1661 (Gloucester VR). So she was very likely Thomas Cook’s widow, and the child in the Langton case was probably her Cook child (our inference).

Open questions

• Was Rachel the wife of Joseph Langton in 1652? Not proved.