JEREMY BELCHER

(ca. 1614-1690) - England; Ipswich, Essex co., MA

(Second Generation - Belcher Family)

FATHER
MOTHER
NOT KNOWN
NOT KNOWN


BIRTH Jeremy was born circa 1614 in England[1,2].
DEATH He died before 30 September 1690[1]. His death date occurred somewhere between his acknowledgement of a debt in Suffolk County Court on 28 July 1674[13] and before 30 September 1690, when his son Samuel referred to him as deceased in Essex County Quarterly Court[14]. Robert Anderson, et. al., also say that he "...may still have been alive as late as 1677, when Robert Lord finally recorded Belcher's 1652 marriage contract, apparently with Belcher's current acknowledgement[15]..."[16]
PROOF OF AGE Jeremy's birth date is estimated from the following records: he was "aged 22" at the time of his crossing in 1635[7,8]; he deposed aged "about fifty years" on 23 November 1666[9]; he deposed aged "about fifty-two years" on 20 June 1667[10]; he deposed again aged "about fifty-four years" in about 1668[11]; finally, he deposed aged "about fifty-nine years" on 21 March 1671/2[12].
MIGRATION Jeremy migrated in 1635 aboard the Susan & Ellen, Edward Payne, master. He was 22 years old and certified as having brought Certificate from the Minister of Justices of his Conformitie and was not a Subsedy Man. One of the other parties on the Susan & Ellen was the Procter family, which came to grief during the Salem Witch hysteria of 1692[8]. The ship embarked 14 April-9 May 1635, bound from London to New England[7].
OCCUPATION Jeremy Belcher was known as a merchant, including a license to sell spirits ("strong waters")[3,4]. From all accounts, it appears that he had a basic trading post in Ipswich, Essex co., MA.
EDUCATION He was an educated man, who signed his name to his deeds[5,6].
FREEMANSHIP Jeremy took the Oath of Freeman on 13 March 1639 in Ipswich, Essex co., MA[36,37,38],
CHURCH MEMBERSHIP Jeremy must have also been a member of the Church at Ipswich, joining sometime before 13 March 1638/9, when he was made Freeman[42].
MILITARY He served in the local militia and was elected Sergeant before January 1660/1[25], when he declared himself by that title on a land deed[6].
RESIDENCE & REAL ESTATE Beyond that, he is fairly easy to track through his frequent real estate deals & Quarterly Court appearances.

"Jerremiah Belchar" was granted 300 acres in Ipswich, Essex co., MA by the General Court on 28 May 1659[6,26].

"On 1 June 1660, Jeremiah Belcher of Ipswich, merchant, mortgaged to George Corwin of Salem, merchant, his one-hundred acre farm with houses, barn and other edifices, and sixteen acres of meadow in Ipswich. In addition to the mortgaged property, Jeremiah sold his oxen, Buck, Golden, Duke and Darby, his cows Black and Pye and a steer to George Corwin at the same time...[27]" On 30 November 1664, he acknowledged this mortgage and stated that it comprised 'all my farm, containing one hundred acres' and housing, and also sixteen acres of meadow, also 'my dwelling houses and ground' in Ipswich[27].

On 4 January 1660/1, "Sergeant" Jeremy Belcher of Ipswich, Essex co., MA sold 8 acres of salt marsh on Hog Island to Thomas Wells, also of Ipswich[25]. On 12 July 1666, Sergeant Jeremiah Belcher, with 'Mary my wife' sold one house and lot to Joseph Redding of Ipswich[5].

On 16 November 1668, Jeremiah Belcher agreed to pay a debt of £24 to the merchant Mr. Thomas Kellon of Boston, Suffolk co., MA. The debt was to be paid in fish[28]. Six years later, on 28 July 1674, "Jeremiah Belcher, Sr." of Ipswich, Essex co., MA acknowledged that he owed a debt of £30 to the same "Thomas Kellond of Boston, merchant"[13].

On 8 April 1674, Jeremiah Belcher of Ipswich, merchant, with the consent of his wife [unnamed], once again turned to George Corwin for money and mortgaged to him the Belcher farm and 100 acres of land in Ipswich, Essex co., MA. Included in this was another 16 acres, all subject to the former 1660 mortgage held by Corwin[29].

During the settlement of John Cogswell, Jr.'s estate in June of 1676, the Cogswell family acknowledged the "debts of my brother John which we found paid on sergent [B]elsher's book"[30]. One assumes that these were part of the "desperate debts" which John Cogswell, Jr. still had at the time of his untimely death.

On 3 May 1680, Jeremiah and Mary Belcharer of Ipswich, Essex co., MA sold to Phillip Cromwell of Salem, Essex co., MA, slaughterer, 450 acres of meadow near Haverhill, Essex co., MA. Apparently, this land was formerly mortgaged to William Reeves, "but the said debt being discharged the aforesaid land is again in my [Jeremy Belcher's] possession"[31]. On 13 July 1680, Jeremiah Belcher Sr. and his wife Mary deeded 200 acres of meadow to the gunsmith James Powlen of Salem, Essex co., MA[32].
TOWN SERVICE He remained an active good citizen in Ipswich, Essex co., MA a;; his life. He served on the Essex petit jury on the following dates[6]: 31 March 1646, 25 March 1651, 30 March 1658, 26 September 1665, 26 March 1667 and 28 September 1669[39]. He also served on the Essex Grand jury on 28 September 1647 and 26 September 1648[40]. Finally, he served as a selectman for the town of Ipswich in 1665[41].
LEGAL MENTION Humphrey Griffin sued "Jeremie Belcher" for a debt owed to him on 23 September 1652. Jeremy was found to owe the debt and the marshal attached his orchard for payment[17,18]. In March of 1654, 'Jer. Belcher' sued one Ned Acockett, an Indian, for debt, but he later withdrew the suit[19]. This may have been related to the matter that caused Jeremiah Belcher to petition the General Court before 19 October 1658, 'craving the remitment of the fine of £52 imposed on him by the last Ipswich Court for selling strong water, powder, & shot, the Court, considering the petitioner is poor & an honest man, not using any such trade, do judge meet to abate the said fine to £5[20].

Peter Coldham also mentions this suit from February 1657: "William Francklyn sues Timothy Osburne, executor of Humphrey Osburne and his relict Susan, regarding a house in Banbury, Oxon, and a business in Boston, New England. Names mentioned in connexion with New England are: Jeremy Bellcher, james Curatt, William Jones, Nathaniel Williams, thomas Burton and John Andrews." Given Jeremy's penchant for legal & financial entanglements, it is highly possible that he is the man named in this item[24].

Belcher appeared in court to make many depositions in the 1660s, mostly about the financial affairs of his neighbors. He accompanied the contentious John Godfrey to Haverhill, Essex co., MA in the mid-1660s and witnessed regarding Godfrey's refusal to receive wheat in payment of debt from one George Hadlock[21]. On 21 February 1671/2, Jeremiah Belcher, aged 59 years, deposed regarding the grant of a mill[12]. Occasionally, Belcher was sued for debt, as in June 1670[22] and 23 November 1675[23]."[18]
ESTATE On 30 September 1690, The Reverend "...Samuel Belcher of the Islands of Shoales' attempted to move to the house he had built and paid for, but was denied entrance 'by his mother-in-law Mrs. Mary Belcher the widow and relict of his deceased father, whom he out of kindness and respect to the memory of the deceased had left in the said house...[14]"

On 10 October 1692, Daniel Gould and his wife Dorcas Belcher Gould; John Andrews and his wife Judith Belcher Andrews; Thomas Andrews and his wife Mary Belcher Andrews; together with Richard Belcher and Ann Belcher stated that "...our father Mr. Jeremiah Belcher late of Ipswich...deceased...before his marriage to our mother gave by way of jointure upon confirmation of said contract his house in Ipswich aforesaid with several lands...entailed upon such children as should be born of our said mother in the time of their marriage together as appeareth by said jointure upon record being date...amongst which lands is the house and land about it the grist mill...and whereas our honored mother by said jointure hath only her natural llife in it the reversion belonging to us their children, and our mother the relict of said Jeremiah having need for her support..." In this decision, the children & their spouses chose to sell the land belonging to the "family homestead"[33] in order to help provide for his widow Mary. The next month, on 11 November 1692, Mary Belcher, widow, conveyed a lot of land to her stepson Samuel Belcher[33] - the same Samuel Belcher with whom she had tussled over the house he had built.

On 31 March 1693, Samuel Belcher, 'now resident in Ipswich, clerk' was granted administration on the estate of Jeremiah Belcher, late of Ipswich, Essex co., MA[34]. A fragment of his inventory, dated [torn] 1693, and presented [torn]ember 24, 1694, survives in the original probate file. His untotalled inventory contained no real estate, and included a 'linen wheel'[34]..." [35]
MARRIAGE #1 Before 1639 when Jeremy was 25, he first married Mary CLIFFORD, in Ipswich, Essex co., MA[1,43,44,45,46,47,48]. Mary was born in 1612 and was 25 years old when she migrated on the Susan & Ellen in 1635[1]. While, Mary Clifford's identity as Jeremy's first wife is technically "unproven"; Anderson, et. al. make a good case by pointing out that Mary Clifford's name is listed next to Jeremy's on the ship's manifest, indicating that they boarded the ship together[8,49]. In addition, he had a grandson named "Clifford Belcher"[46,50].

CHILDREN 5. i. The Reverend Samuel BELCHER Samuel was born circa 1639 in Ipswich, Essex co., MA[50] and died in Ipswich, Essex co., MA on 10 March 1713/14; he was 74[50]. Samuel attended Harvard College and graduated in the class of 1659. He first married Mary COBBETT and second married Mary/Mercy WIGGLESWORTH, daughter of The Reverend Michael WIGGLESWORTH & Mary REYNER. Mercy died on 14 November 1723[56].
6. ii. Jeremy BELCHER Jeremy was born circa August 1641 in Ipswich, Essex co., MA, as estimated from his age at death of 81y:6m. Jeremy died on 6 February 1722/3; he was 80[57,58], and is buried in Revere, Essex co., MA. Jeremy first married Sarah WEEDEN, daughter of Edward WEEDEN & Elizabeth COLE, and second married Rebecca NASH.
7. iii. Mary BELCHER Mary was born circa 1643 in Ipswich, Essex co., MA. On 23 June 1662 when Mary was 19, she married Joseph RUSSELL, in Cambridge, Middlesex co., MA[57].
8. iv. John BELCHER John was born circa 1649 in Ipswich, Essex co., MA[57].


MARRIAGE #2 On 30 September 1652 when Jeremy was 38, he second married Mary LOCKWOOD, daughter of Edmund LOCKWOOD, in Ipswich, Essex co., MA[1,43,48,47,51,52,53].

CHILDREN 9. i. Abigail BELCHER Please see her own page.
10. ii. Dorcas BELCHER Dorcas was born circa 1656 in Ipswich, Essex co., MA[57] and died in Stoneham, Middlessex co., MA on 5 June 1730; she was 74[57]. She married Daniel GOULD, son of John GOULD & Joanna [surname not known].
11. iii. Judith BELCHER Judith was born on 19 August 1658 in Ipswich, Essex co., MA[70] and married John ANDREWS.
12. iv. Mary BELCHER Mary was born on 12 July 1660 in Ipswich, Essex co., MA[70]. On 9 February 1681 when Mary was 20, she married Thomas ANDREWS, in Ipswich, Essex co., MA[71].
13. v. David BELCHER David was born in 1662 in Ipswich, Essex co., MA[70]. No day or month is given in the Ipswich vital records. Anderson, et. al. remark that there is "...no further record. (He did not participate in the sale of land for his mother's support in 1692[33], and he was not a principal in the deed of 1721.)...[57]"
14. vi. Richard BELCHER Richard was born on 10 September 1665 in Ipswich, Essex co., MA[70]. On 20 May 1689 when Richard was 23, he first married Mary SIMSON, in Ipswich, Essex co., MA[71]. Their marriage record reads "Belcher, Richard and Mary Simson, grandd. Francis and Jane Jorden.". On 11 October 1705 when Richard was 40, he second married Ruth KNIGHT, in Woburn, Middlesex co., MA[57].
15. vii. Ann BELCHER Ann was born circa 1667 in Ipswich, Essex co., MA[57] and married Moses BURNHAM.






GENERATION Great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great (G9) Grandfather
FAMILY NUMBER 3678
SOURCES 1. Torrey, Charles, New England Marriages Prior to 1700., (Boston: New England Historic and Genealogical Society). [Torrey].

2. Anderson, Robert Charles, George F. Sanborn, Jr. and Melinde Lutz Sanborn, The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England 1634-1635., (New England Historic Genealogical Society), [GreatMig1634-1635], I:233.

3. Ibid. 231.

4. Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts, 1636-1686, 9 volumes, (Salem 1911-1975), [EQC], 2:69.

5. Ipswich Land Records, manuscript, Essex County Courthouse, Salem, MA, [ILR], 3:292.

6. [GreatMig1634-1635], I:231.

7. Coldham, Peter Wilson, The Complete Book Of Emigrants, (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing co., Inc., 1987), [Coldham], 138.

8. Hotten, John Camden, The Original Lists of Persons of Quality., (London 1874; rpt. Baltimore 1974), [Hotten], 59.

9. [EQC], 3:73.

10. Ibid. 3:424.

11. Ibid. 4:7.

12. Ipswich Land Records, manuscript, Essex County Courthouse, Salem, MA, [ILR], 3:209.

13. Records of the Suffolk County Court, 1671-1680, 2 vols., Publications of The Colonial Society of Massachusetts, vols. 29-30, (Boston, 1933), [SCC], 479.

14. [EQC], 49-112-1.

15. Ipswich Land Records, manuscript, Essex County Courthouse, Salem, MA, [ILR], 4:467.

16. [GreatMig1634-1635], I:233-234.

17. [EQC], 1:266.

18. [GreatMig1634-1635], I:236.

19. [EQC], 1:336.

20. Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, 1628-1686; 5 volumes in 6, Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, ed. (Boston: 1853-1854), [MCBR], 4:1:352.

21. [EQC], 4:72.

22. Ibid. 4:277.

23. [SCC], 640.

24. [Coldham], 340.

25. Ipswich Land Records, manuscript, Essex County Courthouse, Salem, MA, [ILR], 2:19.

26. [MCBR], 4:1:378.

27. Essex co., MA Deeds, [EssexDeeds or ELR], 2:93.

28. Ipswich Land Records, manuscript, Essex County Courthouse, Salem, MA, [ILR], 3:226-227.

29. [EssexDeeds or ELR], 4:52-53.

30. [EQC], 6:153.

30. [EssexDeeds or ELR], 5:85.

332. Ibid. 5:100-101.

33. Ipswich Land Records, manuscript, Essex County Courthouse, Salem, MA, [ILR], 5:539 .

34. The Probate Records of Essex County, [EssexProb or EPR], Case #2303.

35. [GreatMig1634-1635], I:231-233.

36. Pope, Charles Henry, The Pioneers of Maine and New Hampshire, 1623 to 1660, (Boston: C.H. Pope, 1908), [PopesPioneersofMEandNH], 43.

37. Savage, James A., A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, 1860-1862., (Boston 1860-1862; rpt Baltimore 1955), [Savage], I:156.

38. Mary & John, vols. 1+, (Toledo, OH: Mary & John Clearinghouse), [MaryJohn], 20:124.

39. [EQC], 1:93,210; 2:61; 3:270,387; 4:175.

40. Ibid. 1:124,146.

41. Ibid. 3:271.

42. [MCBR], 1:375.

43. [Savage], 1:156.

44. Hammatt, Abraham, The Hammatt Papers. No. 1-7 (printed from the Mss. In the Public Library) The Early Inhabitants of Ipswich, Mass., 1633 to 1700 By Abraham Hammatt, 1854., (Ipswich, Mass.: Press Ipswich Antiquarian, 1880-1899.), [Hammatt-Ipswich].

45. Ipswich, Essex co., MA Vital Records. [IVR], 27.

46. New England Historic and Genealogical Register. Vols. 1+, (Boston: New England Historic and Genealogical Register, 1845+), [NEHGR], 60:249.

47. Bartlett, Joseph Gardner, Belcher Families in New England, (Boston: NEHGS, 1906), [Belcher], 20.

48. Woolson, Lula May (Fenno), The Woolson-Fenno Ancestry and Allied Lines, with Bio. Sketches, ([Boston]: privately printed, 1907), [Woolson-Fenno], 98.

49. [Coldham], 139.

50. [GreatMig1634-1635], I:234.

51. [NEHGR], 11:238; 60:249; 70:104.

52. The Essex Antiquarian, (13 vols.)(n.p., 1897-1909), [EssexAnt], 6:18; 8:140.

53. Bridges, Samuel Willard, Bridges Genealogy including Britton, DeNike, ([Boston: George H. Ellis & Co. 1960]), [BridgesAnc], 14.

54. [IVR], II:489.

55. [GreatMig1634-1635], II:1193.

56. Wyman, Thomas Bellows, The Genealogies and Estates of Charlestown, 2 vols., (Boston: D. Clapp and Son, 1879), [Charlestown], 88.

57. [GreatMig1634-1635], I:235.

58. [NEHGR], 60:251.

59. [Charlestown], 426.

60. Reading, Middlesex co., MA Vital Records [ReadingVR], 526.

61. [NEHGR], 7:26; 60:250.

62. [Charlestown], 74,426.

63. [Belcher], 21.

64. Gould, Benjamin Apthorp, The Family of Zaccheus Gould of Topsfield, (Lynn, Mass.: T.P. Nichols, 1895), [Gould], 322.

65. Vinton, John Adams, The Giles Memorial: Genealogical Memoirs of the Families Bearing the Names of Giles, Gould, Holmes, Jennison, Leanord, Lindall, Curwen, Marshall, Robinson, Sampson and Webb; Also, Genealogical Sketches of the Poll, Very, Carr, (Boston: H. W. Dutton & Son, 1864), [Giles], 170.

66. [GreatMig1634-1635], 1:235.

67. [Charlestown], 425.

68. The Salem Witchcraft Trials: A Documentary History of 1692, (Salem, MA: The Nova Anglia Company, 2001), [SalemWitch], 384.

69. Essex Institute MSS. Collection

70. [IVR], I:36 [Ct. R.].

71. Ibid. II:42.


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