The SYMONDS Family of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England and Boxford

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First Generation

JOHN SYMONDS (abt 1595 - 1671) of Great Yarmouth and Salem

Parents: Unknown

John Symonds was born about 1595, based on a deposition that he was about 74 in 1669. He died between 16 May 1671, when he signed his will, and 19 Sep 1671, when it was proved. [Ref] He married first Ruth Fox. [Ref] He married second Elizabeth Unknown. [Ref]

John was a joiner and a cooper. [Ref]

John emigrated from Great Yarmouth. [Ref] He was granted 20 acres in Salem in 1636. [Ref] He was granted a houselot in 1652. [Ref] He was granted 10 acres in 1670. [Ref]

John appeared in court in 1644 for allowing his cattle to go at large before the fruit was gathered. [Ref][Ref] He was discharged from training in 1648 on account of lameness and on the condition that he would attend if he recovered. [Ref][Ref]

John was a grand juror in 1657. [Ref]

In his will, John Symonds of Salem mentions his wife Elizabeth, who was in an "ill condition"; his son James; his daughter Katherine Towne; his daughter Ruth Swinnerton; his son Samuel. [Ref]

Children of John Symonds and Ruth Fox

1. John Symonds was baptised on 30 Mar 1625 in St. Nicholas church, Great Yarmouth. [Ref] He probably died young. [Ref]
2. Edmund Symonds was baptised on 21 Dec 1626 in St. Nicholas church, Great Yarmouth. [Ref] He probably died young. [Ref]
3. Mary Symonds was baptised on 18 May 1628 in St. Nicholas church, Great Yarmouth. [Ref] She probably died young. [Ref]
4. Katherine Symonds was baptised on 18 Apr 1630 in St. Nicholas church, Great Yarmouth. [Ref] She married Jacob Towne on 26 Jun 1657. [Ref] Jacob, the son of William and Joanna Towne, was baptised on 11 Mar 1633. [Ref] He died on 27 Nov 1704. [Ref]
   Jacob was a husbandman. [Ref]
   
5. Ruth Symonds was baptised on 20 Feb 1630/1 in St. Nicholas church, Great Yarmouth. [Ref] She married Job Swinnerton on 19 Jul 1658 in Salem. [Ref]
6. James Symonds was baptised on 19 May 1633 in St. Nicholas church, Great Yarmouth. [Ref] He died before 7 Jun 1714, when administration was granted on his estate. [Ref] He married Elizabeth Browning on 20 Nov 1661 [Ref] in Salem. [Ref] James and Elizabeth had 12 children. [Ref]
   James was a joiner in Salem. [Ref]

Children of John Symonds and Ruth Fox or Elizabeth Unknown.

1. Samuel Symonds was baptised in Nov 1638 in Salem. He married Elizabeth Andrews.

Second Generation

SAMUEL SYMONDS (bp. 1638 - 1722) of Boxford

Parents: John Symonds and Ruth Fox or Elizabeth Unknown

Samuel Symonds was baptisesd in Nov 1638 in Salem. [Ref] He died on 14 Aug 1722, age 84, in Boxford. [Ref] He married Elizabeth Andrews on 14 (2) 1662 in Salem. [Ref, also recorded in Boxford]

Samuel was a joiner. [Ref] He built a ten-foot pulpit for the Topsfield church in 1682. [Ref]

He was a freeman on 22 Mar 1689/90. [Ref]

Samuel was part of a committee that met on 7 Jun 1692 to find a location for the Boxford meeting house. [Ref] On 18 Jun 1692, he was on a committee to agree with workmen to build the meeting house. [Ref] On 4 Oct 1700 John Perley and Samuel Symonds were on a committee to meet with the carpenters and set the pews. [Ref]

In Mar 1695 John Perley, Thomas Perley, Samuel Symonds, Thomas Andrews and John Peabody were on a committee to meet with people from Topsfield and settle the boundary line between the two towns. [Ref]

Samuel asked to be dismissed from the Topsfield church in the autumn of 1702, but his request was denied on the basis of where he lived. He was finally dismissed in 1709. [Ref]

Samuel was chosen to collect taxes in Boxford in 1699. [Ref] He was the constable of Boxford in 1700. [Ref] He was a selectman in 1698, 1701, 1702, 1703, 1706 and 1710. [Ref] He was a representative to the General Court in 1704. [Ref]

Children of Samuel Symonds and Elizabeth Andrews:

1. Elizabeth Symonds was born on 12 Jul 1663 in Boxford or Salem. [Ref][Ref]
2. Hannah Symonds was born on 25 Dec 1664 in Boxford. [Ref]
3. Grace Symonds was born on 14 Oct 1667 in Boxford. [Ref] She married Zerubabel Endicott of Topsfield in Jul ____ [before 1691]. [Ref] Zerubabel was the son of Dr. Zerubabel and Mary Endicott of Salem and the grandson of Gov. John Endicott. [Ref] He died in 1706, age 42. [Ref] Grace and Zerubabel had seven children. [Ref]
4. Mary Symonds was born on 26 Feb 1669 in Boxford. [Ref] She married Joseph, the son of Joseph Peabody, in Mar 1693/4 in Ipswich. [Ref]
5. Samuel Symonds was born on 6 Aug 1672 in Boxford. [Ref] He died on 7 Jul 1755 in Middleton. [Ref] He married first Abigail Porter of Salem on 8 Jun 1698 in Topsfield. [Ref] She died on 12 Nov 1716 in Topsfield. [Ref]
   Samuel was the constable of Boxford in 1699. [Ref] He was a selectman in 1712, 1715, 1718, 1722 and 1723. [Ref]
   some descendants of Samuel Symonds
   
6. John Symonds was born on 29 Mar 1674 in Boxford. [Ref] He married Hannah Hazen on 13 Feb 170_ [1705 - 8?]. [Ref]
   John was a selectman in Boxford in 1716, 1725, 1734 and 1736. [Ref] He was a representative to the General Court in 1734 and 1736 - 1738. [Ref]
   some descendants of John Symonds
   
7. Ruth Symonds was born on 24 Dec 1676 in Boxford. [Ref] She married Andrew Elliot of Boston on 19 Jul 17__ [1703-8?]. [Ref][Ref says 1705] Her son, Rev. Andrew Elliot, was chosen president of Harvard College in 1773, but declined. [Ref]
8. Rebecca Symonds was born on 31 May 1679 in Boxford. [Ref]
9. Phebe Symonds was born on 2 Oct 1682 in Boxford. She died on 18 Jun 1757. She married John Fuller.
10. Joseph Symonds was born on 24 May 1685 in Boxford. [Ref] He died on 5 Mar 1755 in Boxford. [Ref] He married Mary Peabody on 31 Jan [?] 1710/11 in Boxford. [Ref] She died on 24 Jun 1761 in Boxford. [Ref]
    The Josiah Symonds who was recorded as born the same day [Ref] is probably the same person. [Ref]
    Joseph was the town clerk of Boxford 1736 - 1742. [Ref] He was a selectman in 1719, 1730, 1731, 1737, 1738, 1743, 1745, 1746 and 1747. [Ref]
    some descendants of Joseph Symonds
    
11. Nathaniel Symonds was born on 26 Jan 1687 in Boxford. [Ref] He died unmarried in 1769. [Ref]
    Nathaniel was a builder. [Ref] He was a a selectman in Boxford in 1727, 1733, 1747 and 1749. [Ref]

Third Generation

PHEBE SYMONDS (1682 - 1757)

Parents: Samuel Symonds and Elizabeth Andrews

Phebe Symonds was born on 2 Oct 1682 in Boxford. [Ref] She died on 18 Jun 1757. [Ref] She married John Fuller on 22 Jan 1704/5 in Salem. [Ref]

References

Davis, Walter Goodwin, Massachusetts and Maine Families in the Ancestry of Walter Goodwin Davis, v. I-III, Baltimore, Genealogical Publishing Co., 1996.

Dow, George Francis, Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Essex Institute, 1911.

Fuller, William Hyslop, Genealogy of Some Descendants of Thomas Fuller of Woburn, privately published 1919.

Perley, Sidney, The History of Boxford, Essex County, Massachusetts: From the earliest settlement known to the present time, a period of about two hundred and thirty years, Boxford, The author, 1880.

Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850. Online Database: NewEnglandAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2007.

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