John Ayer
Encyclopedia
John Ayer was one of the original European
settler
s to Massachusetts
, settling in Ipswich
, Haverhill
, and Salisbury
.
, Wiltshire
, England
. He married once prior to 1619, but it is unclear what happened to her.
In 1620 Ayer married Hannah Evered als. Webb, daughter of John & Mary (Webb) Evered, in Cockfield, Durhamshire, England
. Their first son, John, died as an infant. Their second son, Thomas, was born in Lavenham
, Suffolk
.
On June 3, 1635, John Ayer set sail for the New World
with his family, including his two brothers-in-law, John
and Stephen, aboard the ship James. As they approached New England
, a hurricane struck, and they were forced to ride it out just off the coast of modern-day Hampton, New Hampshire
. According to the ship's log and the journal of Increase Mather
, whose father Richard Mather
and family were passengers, the following was recorded;
They tried to stand down during the storm just outside the Isles of Shoals
, but lost all three anchors, as no canvas or rope would hold, but on Aug 13, 1635, torn to pieces, and not one death, all one hundred plus passengers of the James managed to make it to Boston Harbor
.
" on September 6, 1638. A year later the plantation was named "Colchester", then finally Salisbury
in 1640. The idea was to establish a plantation-style settlement with the following criteria, as reported to the General Court
in March 1638:
In the year's end report, dated December 25, 1650, it states that "John Ayres Sen:" was assigned land grant No. 52 of the original 71 plots of the plantations, but by this time was reporting no crops.
Around 1646, Ayer and his family moved one settlement over, to the newly formed Puritan
settlement of Haverhill
. Haverhill, originally called Pentucket by the native Indians, was just granted by the General Court on May 13, 1640, but not official until the representatives of Passaconaway
signed the purchase agreement on November 15, 1642 for 3 pounds, 10 shillings, as signed by Passaquo and Saggahew, of the local Pentucket tribe. After moving to Haverhill, John & Hannah had five more children:
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
settler
Settler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
s to Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, settling in Ipswich
Ipswich, Massachusetts
Ipswich is a coastal town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 12,987 at the 2000 census. Home to Willowdale State Forest and Sandy Point State Reservation, Ipswich includes the southern part of Plum Island...
, Haverhill
Haverhill, Massachusetts
Haverhill is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 60,879 at the 2010 census.Located on the Merrimack River, it began as a farming community that would evolve into an important industrial center, beginning with sawmills and gristmills run by water power. In the...
, and Salisbury
Salisbury, Massachusetts
Salisbury is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 7,827 at the 2000 census. The community is a popular summer resort beach town situated on the Atlantic Ocean north of Boston on the New Hampshire border....
.
Early years
John was born on September 2, 1582 to father Thomas Eyre (Ayer) and Elizabeth Rogers, in SalisburySalisbury
Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He married once prior to 1619, but it is unclear what happened to her.
In 1620 Ayer married Hannah Evered als. Webb, daughter of John & Mary (Webb) Evered, in Cockfield, Durhamshire, England
Cockfield, Suffolk
Cockfield is a village and civil parish located approximately 3½ miles from Lavenham in Suffolk, England. The village consists of a central point and several outlying hamlets: Buttons Green, Colchester Green, Cross Green, Great Green, Oldhall Green, Smithwood Green and Windsor Green...
. Their first son, John, died as an infant. Their second son, Thomas, was born in Lavenham
Lavenham
Lavenham is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England. It is noted for its 15th century church, half-timbered medieval cottages and circular walk. In the medieval period it was among the 20 wealthiest settlements in England...
, Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
.
On June 3, 1635, John Ayer set sail for the New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
with his family, including his two brothers-in-law, John
Captain John Evered
Captain John Evered , also known as Webb, was one of the first Europeans to settle what is now known as the Merrimack Valley in Massachusetts, specifically the town of Dracut, which Evered named.-Early years:...
and Stephen, aboard the ship James. As they approached New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, a hurricane struck, and they were forced to ride it out just off the coast of modern-day Hampton, New Hampshire
Hampton, New Hampshire
Hampton is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 14,976 at the 2010 census. Located beside the Atlantic Ocean, Hampton is home to Hampton Beach, a summer tourist destination....
. According to the ship's log and the journal of Increase Mather
Increase Mather
Increase Mather was a major figure in the early history of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and Province of Massachusetts Bay . He was a Puritan minister who was involved with the government of the colony, the administration of Harvard College, and most notoriously, the Salem witch trials...
, whose father Richard Mather
Richard Mather
Richard Mather , was a Puritan clergyman in colonial Boston, Massachusetts. He was father to Increase Mather and grandfather to Cotton Mather, both celebrated Boston divines.-Biography:...
and family were passengers, the following was recorded;
"At this moment,... their lives were given up for lost; but then, in an instant of time, God turned the wind about, which carried them from the rocks of death before their eyes. ...her sails rent in sunder, and split in pieces, as if they had been rotten ragges..."
They tried to stand down during the storm just outside the Isles of Shoals
Isles of Shoals
The Isles of Shoals are a group of small islands and tidal ledges situated approximately off the east coast of the United States, straddling the border of the states of New Hampshire and Maine.- History :...
, but lost all three anchors, as no canvas or rope would hold, but on Aug 13, 1635, torn to pieces, and not one death, all one hundred plus passengers of the James managed to make it to Boston Harbor
Boston Harbor
Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeast.-History:...
.
New World settlements
It is reported that John and Hannah first moved to Ipswich before being part of the new settlement of the "plantation at MerrimackMerrimack River
The Merrimack River is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into Massachusetts, and then flows northeast until it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Newburyport...
" on September 6, 1638. A year later the plantation was named "Colchester", then finally Salisbury
Salisbury, Massachusetts
Salisbury is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 7,827 at the 2000 census. The community is a popular summer resort beach town situated on the Atlantic Ocean north of Boston on the New Hampshire border....
in 1640. The idea was to establish a plantation-style settlement with the following criteria, as reported to the General Court
Massachusetts General Court
The Massachusetts General Court is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the Colonial Era, when this body also sat in judgment of judicial appeals cases...
in March 1638:
"At a meeting at merrimack of Mr Simone Bradstreet, Mr Samuell Dudly, Mr Danniell Dennisonn, Christopher Batt, Samuell Winsley, John Sanders:
"It was ordered that there shall be 2 divisions of Meadow, the one nerrer, the other farther, the nerrest shall haue fower Acres to Each 100h(£), the other left to farther Consideration.
"It was further ordered that vpland for planting lotts shall be divided so as he that hath vnder 50h shall haue 4 Acres, and he that hath aboue 50h to 150h shall haue 6 Acres, and all aboue shall haue 4 Acres to Euerie 100h.
"Allso, it was ordered that all lotts granted to singlemen are on Condition that they shall inhabit here before the 6 of may next, and such as haue families that they shall inhabitt here before the last of october next."
"The names of those yt have lotts & proportions granted pr the Toune of Colchester in the first division;
Mr. Sam: Dudley, Mr. Willj Hooke, Mr Willj Worcester, Mr. Christopher Batt, Mr Sam: Winsley, Mr. Henry Biley, John Sanders, Mr Francis Doue, Jno Rolfe, Mr. Tho: Dummer, Mr Henry Monday, George Carr, Mr Tho. Bradbury, Jno Harrison, Mr John Hodges, Abra: Morrell, Jno Fullar, Phili.Challis, Luke Heard, Josiah Cobbet, Jarret Haddon, Anthony Colby, John Bayly Sen, John Stephens, John Seuerans, Robert Pike, Robt Ring, Richard Singleterry, Tho Macy, Tho. Hauxwell, Jno Clifford, John Eyres, Roger Eastman, Anthony Sadler, Fittz, Rowell, Widdow Browne. "This is A true copie of the originall list taken out of the old book of Reccords for Salisbury as Attests.2
"Vera copia Atest THO. BRADBURY rec.
EDWARD RAWSONEdward Rawson (politician)Edward Rawson served as the first Secretary of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.Edward Rawson was born in Dorset, England in 1615. Around 1636 he married his young wife, Rachel Perne, and soon left England for the Americas. He settled in Newbury in 1637...
Secrety"
In the year's end report, dated December 25, 1650, it states that "John Ayres Sen:" was assigned land grant No. 52 of the original 71 plots of the plantations, but by this time was reporting no crops.
Around 1646, Ayer and his family moved one settlement over, to the newly formed Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
settlement of Haverhill
Haverhill, Massachusetts
Haverhill is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 60,879 at the 2010 census.Located on the Merrimack River, it began as a farming community that would evolve into an important industrial center, beginning with sawmills and gristmills run by water power. In the...
. Haverhill, originally called Pentucket by the native Indians, was just granted by the General Court on May 13, 1640, but not official until the representatives of Passaconaway
Passaconaway
Passaconaway, a name which translates to "Child of the Bear", was a chieftain in the Pennacook tribe.-Life:One of the key native figures in the colonial history of New Hampshire, Passaconaway was believed to have been born between 1550 and 1570, and is said to have died in 1679...
signed the purchase agreement on November 15, 1642 for 3 pounds, 10 shillings, as signed by Passaquo and Saggahew, of the local Pentucket tribe. After moving to Haverhill, John & Hannah had five more children:
- Mary Ayer
- Captain John Ayer Jr.
- Nathanial Ayer
- Hannah Ayer
- Obadiah Ayer