Roger Hunting

Notes:

Anecdote:
From Anderson:
He first appears on record at his Palgrave marriage on 27 July 1567 to one Jania [Jane] Leche. The parish registers for this period are in Latin, and it is not certain what surname is intended here; but probate records of the archdeaconry of Sudbury show that there was a Leach (or Leech) family in the vicinity. Roger died before the spring 1591 session of the manorial courts of Palgrave and Thrandeston, at which time he held lands in at least three manors. It was presumably his widow who, as "Jana Hunting," married John Bootyc at Palgrave on 25 September 1592.

Roger married Jane Leche on 27 Jul 1567 in Palgrave, County Suffolk, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Baptism: 2 Jun 1570, Palgrave, County Suffolk, England

Notes:

Anecdote:
From Anderson:
Manorial records provide some of the most-useful information on this family. One 1624 document alone verifies three generations of the Hunting pedigree. At a court-leet held for the manor of Woodhall in Thrandeston on die Mercurii in septiana. Pentecost in the twenty-second year of James I—in other words, 19 May 1624—William Hunting, Senior, surrendered to the use of his son William, and the latter's wife Prudence, eleven parcels of land. Nine were said to have come to the elder William on the death of his father Roger (with the transfer being recorded at the Pentecostal court-leet of 1591); and another son of Roger, Thomas, was said to have relinquished (at the Pentecostal court of 1600) any claim he might have on these lands. The other two parcels passed on by William, Senior, were said to have been obtained by Roger from the widow of Thomas Spurdance, in a transaction recorded at the 1606 Pentecostal court. In addition to the three generations it names, this document also approximates Roger's death date and provides evidence that William, Senior, was capable of adding to the lands he had inherited from his father.
Even before this transfer of Palgrave and Thrandeston property to his eldest son, William had begun to acquire lands farther afield, particularly at Hoxne. The earliest court book for Hoxne Manor is not available for inspection; however, there does exist an extent (a manor survey), dating from about 1637, that is exceptionally detailed. Not only does it provide the customary listing of each tenant's holdings and the rent and other obligations due, but it also includes some details on the acquisition of each tract. This extent, begun not long before William died, shows that he purchased several parcels in October 1614, another in October 1615, and one more in October 1629. By the latter date, William, Senior, was already a resident of Hoxne. He, his wife, and their younger children may have moved there soon after the 1620 baptism of their youngest child at Thrandeston. Certainly they should have been residents of Hoxne after the spring 1624 transfer of lands to William, Junior.
As William Hunting of Hoxne, yeoman, he prepared his will on 20 May 1638. It was proved at Yoxford on 31 October 1638 and includes important genealogical data. To wife Margaret, he left a life interest in the freehold and chartcrhold lands at Hoxne and Dcnham; after her decease, they were to go to son Samuel Hunting. Samuel also was to receive all freehold lands at Little Thornham in Suffolk, upon condition that he pay various sums to the testator's other children—i.e., to daughters Mary Hunting, Anne Hunting, and Elizabeth Hunting, £50 each; to daughter Susan Hunting, £45; and to son Robert Hunting, £30. Another son, Nicholas Hunting, was to receive one copyhold meadow called Caldwell in Cole, Suffolk, on condition that he pay £20 to his brother Steven Hunting. The wife Margaret was also to receive personal estate, for rearing their son Robert unto the age of twenty-one. Finally, the son Steven was to take William's copyhold land in Hoxne, to which the testator had been "admitted" at the court held for the manor of Hoxne cum Chickering on 8 October "in the fifth year of King Charles." The widow Margaret and son Samuel were appointed executors.
From the manorial records and wills, it is evident that William Hunting was an extremely competent manager of his own affairs and that he had a clear plan for setting up each son on at least one tract of land. Having inherited from his own father enough acreage to become a wealthy yeoman, not much below gentle status, William increased his holdings through purchases not only in Thrandeston but also in another half-dozen manors to the cast. When his eldest son William married in 1624, he transferred to this son all his lands in Palgrave and Thrandeston, thus making the lad—in one stroke, at the age of twenty-four—a member of the local elite.
William, Senior, then moved to Hoxnc, where he continued to add to his holdings. He may well have planned to pass this second empire to his second son, John; but this possibility went by the board when, in the spring of 1638, John joined the migration to New England. That May, while John was probably sailing across the North Atlantic, the aging William wrote his will, settling most of his remaining estate on his third son and providing substantial foundations for the rest of his children. Considering his wealth and concern for the well-being of his offspring, William may have provided the departing John with a sizable amount of cash, in lieu of the inheritance that he would have expected had he stayed in Suffolk.

William married Margaret Randolf on 22 Sep 1599 in Topcroft, County Norfolk, England. Margaret (daughter of William Randolf) was born about 1579; died in 1648 in Hoxne, County Suffolk, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Baptism: 12 Jun 1573, Palgrave, County Suffolk, England

Other Events:

• Baptism: 18 Mar 1676/77, Palgrave, County Suffolk, England

Notes:

Anecdote:
He had at least two sons.

Other Events:

• Baptism: 11 Dec 1578, Palgrave, County Suffolk, England

Other Events:

• Baptism: 31 Aug 1600, Thrandeston, County Suffolk, England

William married Prudence Pepper in Feb 1623/24. Prudence died in 1655; was buried on 23 Apr 1655 in Thrandeston. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Immigration: Massachusetts
• Baptism: 24 Jan 1601/02, Thrandeston, County Suffolk, England

Notes:

Anecdote:
John brought his family over from England and was the first ruling elder of the Dedham church.
According to Anderson:
John and Hester first lived in Hoxne, where their children Mary and Margaret were baptized. The family next appears in the neighboring parish of Oakley, with baptisms of children in 1631, 1634, and 1636. (Although Hoxne and Oakley are adjacent parishes, they are divided by several jurisdictional boundaries; Hoxne fell within Hoxne Hundred and the archdeaconry of Suffolk, Oakley within Hartismere Hundred and the archdeaconry of Sudbury. The northern boundary of each of these parishes was also the border between Suffolk and Norfolk.)
The dominant family in Hartismere Hundred was the Comwallises, staunch Catholics and ancestors of Lord Cornwallis of Yorktown. At Oakley, this family held the advowson (the right to recommend appointments to the pulpit); and in 1628 or 1629, despite their Catholic leanings, they nominated a vigorous Puritan, William Greenhill. The Reverend Greenhill served this living for almost a decade, until silenced in 1638. Perhaps John Hunting was attracted by the preaching of Greenhill, moved from Hoxne to Oakley to benefit from his teaching, and then in 1638—being deprived of this religious nurturing—decided to join the migration to New England.
Upon his arrival in the colonies, Hunting wasted little time in settling at Dedham. On 28 August 1638, the town agreed that he could be "enterteyned to purchase John Coolidge his Lott." According to his contemporary, Reverend John Allin:
Towards the end of summer we having some experience of Jo. Hunting who came unto us that summer from England & some of us knowing him before & having very good testimony of him from others we agreed to make trial whether he might not be found meet for this work & be willing thereto; in both which we found that incouragement that he also came in amongst us into society.
Thus, John Hunting became one of the eight "pillars" of the church at Dedham, admitted before the congregation formally organized.
The Dedham church entered into covenant on 8 November 1638 and soon grew beyond those eight pillars. Its eighteenth member was "the wife of John Hunting who notwithstanding some scruples a while sticking in some of the church yet at length gave good satisfaction & was received.'" Shortly after this, the church proceeded to the selection of a ruling elder, the principal assistant to the minister. Four candidates were proposed; after lengthy consideration, John Hunting was chosen for the position and held it for the rest of his life. He also served Dedham in its secular affairs—being a feoffee (trustee) of the first free school in New England and a selectman on several occasions.
Hester Hunting died at Dedham on 4 May 1676, having made a will on 4 January 1675/76 with the consent of her husband. In this document, which was not actually proved until 12 February 1684/85, Hester noted that £45 had been given her in the will of her brother Francis, but that it had not yet been received from England. She bequeathed £20 of this to her son John Hunting and £10 to her son Samuel Hunting, "liveing in Charlestown" [Massachusetts]. To Hannah, the wife of her son Samuel, she gave a pair of sheets and her best tablecloth; to her grandchild Samuel Hunting, the eldest son of son Samuel, she left six napkins. Hester then requested that the £15 remaining from her brother's bequest be divided into four equal parts and distributed as follows: one-fourth part (along with a coat) to her daughter Mary Buckner of Boston; one-fourth part to be divided equally among the children of her deceased "daughter Ware"; one-fourth part (and her best gown) to her daughter Hesther Fisher of Dedham; and one-fourth part (and other clothing) to Hesther Peck, the daughter of her son-in-law John Peck of Rehoboth. Finally, Hester made bequests of clothing to her maidservant Mary Wood and to Elizabeth Hunting, wife of her oldest son John. She then named sons John and Samuel as executors.
John Hunting, Senior, of Dedham made his will on 15 December 1684; he was nearly eighty-three years old but had more than four years yet to live. John began by confirming the bequests made by his wife Hester. He then gave 20s. to his son Samuel, living in Charlestown; this, added to the sum already given Samuel, was to make up that son's full portion. The remainder of John's estate was to be divided into six parts. Two parts (a double portion) were to go to his eldest son, John of Dedham. One part was assigned to his widowed daughter Mary Buckner of Boston and her daughter Mary White; the mother was to have two thirds of their share, the daughter one. Another part was to go to a Dedham son-in-law, Robert Ware, Senior, in right of Robert's wife (Hunting's daughter) Margaret. A fifth part was bequeathed to Hunting's daughter Heasther Fisher of Dedham. The final part was left to his son-in-law John Peck of Rehoboth and Peck's eldest daughter Hesther (in right of Peck's first wife Elizabeth, Hunting's daughter); the Peck share was to be divided equally between Peck and the young Hesther. Executors were to be his Dedham friends, Sergeant Richard Ellis and Thomas Battelle, and his son John, Junior.
Although Hunting died on 12 April 1689 and the inventory was taken on 11 June of that year, the will was not proved until 26 March 1691. This delay in probate may have been a reflection of the political upheaval consequent upon the 1689 overthrow of the administration of Sir Edmund Andros, governor-general of New England. In any event, John's estate was appraised at £153 3s. 11d., which £129 10s. represented eight different parcels of land.
Of the three generations for which records have been found, the senior male representatives of the Hunting family of Palgrave, county Suffolk, had successfully maintained and improved their economic status. The father, grandfather, and great-grandfather of the immigrant had each left a substantial estate to the next generation; and each successor to the family property had added more lands. The father of the immigrant John Hunting had already provided for his eldest son and was, at death, building a second fortune. John, by his decision to sail for New England, had foregone a landed inheritance in England that would have made him one of the wealthiest men in his community; yet, by the time he died in Dedham in 1689, his estate was probably greater than those of any of the brothers he had left behind.

John married Esther (Hester) Seaborn on 28 Jun 1624 in Wramplingham, County Norfolk, England. Esther (daughter of Wiliam Sabume and Mary) was born in in England; died about 1684. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Baptism: 18 Sep 1603, Thrandeston, County Suffolk, England

Notes:

Anecdote:
She was still unmarried as late as 1648.

Other Events:

• Baptism: 13 Jan 1604/05, Thrandeston, County Suffolk, England

Samuel married Mary on Yes, date unknown. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Baptism: 29 Mar 1607, Thrandeston, County Suffolk, England

Other Events:

• Baptism: 6 Aug 1609, Thrandeston, County Suffolk, England

Notes:

Anecdote:
She never married.

Other Events:

• Name: Susanna Richards
• Baptism: 9 Dec 1611, Thrandeston, County Suffolk, England

Susanna married Edward Richards on 10 Sep 1638 in Dedham, Massachusetts. Edward died in 1684. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Name: Anna Phillips
• Baptism: 2 Jan 1613/14, Thrandeston, County Suffolk, England

Anna married Henry Phillips on 1 May 1641 in Dedham, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Baptism: 1 Jan 1615/16, Thrandeston, County Suffolk, England

Stephen married Susan on Yes, date unknown. Susan died in 1684; was buried on 5 Apr 1684 in Hoxne, County Suffolk, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Name: Elizabeth Linney(?)
• Baptism: 7 Apr 1618, Thrandeston, County Suffolk, England

Elizabeth married Linney(?) between 1640 and 1648. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Baptism: 29 Nov 1620, Thrandeston, County Suffolk, England

Other Events:

• Immigration: Massachusetts
• Name: Margaret Ware
• Baptism: 21 Sep 1628, Hoxne

Margaret married Robert Ware on 24 Mar 1644/45 in Dedham, Massachusetts. Robert was born in in England; died between 19 Apr 1699 and 1699 in Dedham, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Name: Mary Buckner
• Name: Mary Jay
• Baptism: 26 Feb 1625/26, Hoxne

Notes:

Anecdote:
She was admitted to the church in Dedham on 30 April 1643.

Mary married William Jay in 1653 in Boston, Massachusetts. William died before 1668. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Mary married Charles Buckner before 1668. Charles died on 25 Aug 1684. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Name: Esther Fisher
• Baptism: 4 Sep 1631, Oakley, County Suffolk, England

Notes:

Anecdote:
It is possible that she is the Esther Fisher who married Timothy Dwight in Dedham on 31 July 1690 and died on 30 January 1690/1. If so, the marriage would have been 14 years after the death of her first husband.

Esther married Nathaniel Fisher on 26 Dec 1649 in Dedham, Massachusetts. Nathaniel died on 23 May 1676 in Dedham, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Name: Elizabeth Peck
• Baptism: 4 May 1634, Oakley, County Suffolk, England

Elizabeth married John Peck before 1657. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Baptism: 9 Oct 1636, Oakley, County Suffolk, England

John married Elizabeth Paine on 18 Apr 1671 in Dedham. Elizabeth was born on 6 Mar 1647/48 in Dedham, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Baptism: 9 Aug 1640, Dedham

Samuel married Hannah Hagburne on 24 Dec 1662 in Dedham. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Baptism: 24 Dec 1643, Dedham