William Bartholomew - to Boston, aboard the "Griffin"

Just to refresh: Lucius Carrington married Mary Montgomery Barthlomew (my ggrandparents)

Aunt Delores (Lori) Daugherty Johnson was the beginning of my interest in family history. She had a document written by "a Barthlomew cousin of Irene Carrington Daugherty...perhaps named Robert Barthlomew." This cousin never married, that I know of. The document is extremely interesting, however it doesn't state the name of compiler nor any of the sources. Still...it gave me a start...the only start I had. The document included four sheets of a tree chart, hand written with very small penmanship, and then several sheets of hand typed notes of all the people included in the chart. It was quite an undertaking and has become a very cherished possession of mine. Without this document, I might not have directed my interests to family history. I have three full notebooks of information and communications about the Bartholomew family. I'll gradually fill you in on this record and hopefully will spur your curiosity concerning this truly interesting family.

We start with three Bartholomews with the names of John, Robert, and Richard living in Warborough, Oxfordshire, England about 1550! John had a son John, who probably assisted in the founding of Bartholomew Chapel, Burford. Many of us (myself, daughter Elisabeth, some Johnsons,and some Goehrings) have visited this Chapel at St John's church in Burford, Oxfordshire, in the Cotswald Country in England. They were inspiring visits.

This second John had a son William (these names repeat themselves throughout generations), who was christened in Warborough, Eng., in Feb. 7, 1567. His wife was buried in a village a couple of miles from Burford. I looked for Friswede Metalfe's burial plot, but the stones were just too worn for positive identification. This William was a mercer, a dealer in silks and woolens in Burford. His name was prefixed by "Mr." showing that he held the social rank of gentleman. He and Friswede had 9 children. As I have mentioned in a previous post, the home manor is still standing and being lived in. It is a very lovely building.

The second son of William & Friswede is the branch that we are related to. William was born in 1602. There is a posibility that William was disowned from his father because of his religious faith. He was a dissenter of the Church of England...a Puritan. He was a very good friend of Anne Hutchison (check out her history, it's simply fascinating) and accompanied Rev. John Lothrop, his congregation, and Anne Hutchinson to America. It is possible that he was a member of the Presbyterian Congregation in London, and was imprisoned with them. It is easily seen why his farther disowned him. William was well educated, a student at the well-known Grammar School of Burford, and was probably a fellow student of Peter Heylin, who became Chaplain to King Charles I and afterwards sub-dean of Westminster.

We don't know when he went to London or when he married Anna Lord, but before September 1634, he had entertained the famous Mrs. Anne HUtchinson at his London home.

In September 1634, William arrived in Boston, on the ship "Griffin".
In 1635, he was made a freeman at Boston and was granted several tracts of land in Ipswitch, MA. He appeared at the General Court at Boston as a chosen representative of the inhabitants of Ipswich. He had only been in America seven months.
In 1637 - William was appointed on a special grand jury in Boston and took a prominent part in the trial of Mrs. Anne Hutchinson. I just googled Anne Hutchinson and there is an incredible amount of information on this revolutionary of religious freedom and rights for women.
In 1641 William became Town Clerk of Ipswich.
In 1645 he was appointed on a committee to report on the best manner of destroying "ye wolves, which are such revenous cruel creatures and daily vexatious to all ye inhabitants of ye colony."
In 1654, William was chosen treasurer of the county.
In 1655 he was a commissioner and was both "businesslike and an honorable man."
His grave in Phipps Street Cemetery, Charlestown, MA is in a prominent position adjoining that of John Harvard, the benefactor of Harvard College. William died in 1680 at the age of 78 years.
In later posts I'll continue sharing this interesting transcript. I hope I've whetted your curiosity about this ancestor from the Bartholomew family.