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| Notes for Margaret CULE | ||||||||||||||
| Page 12234 Page 3235 Some sources refer to her as Margaret Mason or Margaret Cole. Margaret - b. England; d. Jul. 3, 1686. In his will of 1667, William CHENEY called Margaret his 'deare and Afflicted wife," and Rev. John ELIOT wrote in 1674 that she had been released from being "under a melancholick distemper, (above 10 or 11 years) wch made her wholly neglect her Calling & live mopishly." As Widow CHENEY, she married second in late 1676 Mr. BURGE (d. before Mar. 15, 1679/80). Her will, dated May 15, 1686 and proved Sep. 23, 1686, names son Joseph, daughter Mehitable, and three grandsons, the sons of William. Margaret Cheney Burges - May 15, 1686 [Proved September 23, 1686, Suffolk Probate #1489] I Margrat Burges widdow now living in Boston being at present of sound mind memory and reasonable understanding, praised be ye Lord do make this my last will and testmt in manner and forme following That is to say, First I give my precious soul into the hands of my heavenly Father and dear redeemer and my body to bee desently buried according to ye good discretion of my herafter named executor, in hope of a blessed resurrection att ye last day. Item I give & bequeath to my son Joseph Cheney thirty pounds in moneys Item I give and bequeath to my daughter Mehittabell Wight all my cloaths It I give and bequeath to my grandson Wm Cheney five pounds And to his two brothers Jno and benjamin I give to each of them fifty shillings and I do make my son Joseph sole Execr of this my last will and testament all former wills being voyde as Witness my hand and Seal the fifteenth day of may in the year of out Lord 1686. Robert Sanderson Seneur Mary Emblin her mark Margaret her mark M Burge Eliz Sanderson witnesses Margaret had a breakdown after William died. In the Church records of the time, Reverand S. Danforth noted that "Margaret Cheany widow having been long bound by Satan under a melancholick distemper, (above 10 or 11 yeares) which made her wholly neglect her Calling & live mopishly, this day (24 Mar 1673) gave thanks to God for loosing her chain & confessing & bewailing her sinful yielding to temptation" (The Cheney Genealogy by Charles Henry Pope, 1897 pg 29) Despite William's careful provision for Margaret in his will, her widowhood was not without financial problems. She petioned the court regarding her son Thomas' treatment of her, to which it responded: "In answer to the petition of Margaret Cheeny, widdow: The Court Orders that Thomas Cheeny her Son pay unto his sd Mother Five pounds in mony every quarter of the yeare, yearely for the improvement of the Estate left by his Father & give her good assurance of her living peaceably with him, otherwise that hee leave the house; the Estate being judged to bee worth twenty five pound in mony per annum (Suffolk County Court, 749, dated 31 October 1676). Margaret married Mr Burge (or Burges or Burdge) and moved to Boston. She made a will on 9/23/1686, and died sometime later that year. (From the "Pioneers of Massachusetts" by Charles Henry Pope, copyright 1900, pg:97) Margaret Cheney Burges' Will - May 15, 1686 [Proved September 23, 1686, Suffolk Probate #1489] I Margrat Burges widdow now living in Boston being at present of sound mind memory and reasonable understanding, praised be ye Lord do make this my last will and testmt in manner and forme following That is to say, First I give my precious soul into the hands of my heavenly Father and dear redeemer and my body to bee desently buried according to ye good discretion of my herafter named executor, in hope of a blessed resurrection att ye last day. Item I give & bequeath to my son Joseph Cheney thirty pounds in moneys Item I give and bequeath to my daughter Mehittabell Wight all my cloaths It I give and bequeath to my grandson Wm Cheney five pounds And to his two brothers Jno and benjamin I give to each of them fifty shillings and I do make my son Joseph sole Execr of this my last will and testament all former wills being voyde as Witness my hand and Seal the fifteenth day of may in the year of out Lord 1686. Robert Sanderson Seneur Mary Emblin her mark Margaret her mark M Burge Eliz Sanderson witnesses | ||||||||||||||
| Notes for William (Spouse 1) | ||||||||||||||
| Page 12234 Pages 23 & 3235 William Cheney, bp. Feb. 5, 1599, in Bennington, Lincolnshire, Eng., came to Roxbury, Mass., perhaps with his brother John in 1635. Before 1640 he had 24 1/2 acres of land. In the ensuing years he was a constable, a member of the board of assessors, a selectman, an Ensign in the A & H A Co., and in 1664 a trustee of the Roxbury Latin School. William died June 30, 1667, his will dated April 1667; his widow Margaret married (2) a Mr. Burge. Children: i. Ellen2, born in Eng.; m. Sgt. Humphrey Johnson of Hingham in 1643. ii. Margaret, m. in Roxbury in April 1650, Thomas Hastings of Watertown, "one of the leading men of Watertown, civil and religious". iii. Thomas, m. at Roxbury Jan. 11, 1656, Jane Atkinson. In 1662 he was a surveyor of highways and became a freeman with his father May 23, 1666. He was a constable in 1659 and in 1675 served in Capt. Johnson's Roxbury company which left Boston July 6, 1675, for the Indian stronghold of Mt. Hope. He lived at Brighton and Cambridge and died before 1698; 11 chil. iv. William, a resident of Medfield and later died in Sept. 1681; only two of his children lived to maturity and had families, William and Benjamin. v. John, born at Roxbury Sept. 29, 1639, was drowned young "as he was catching of eales." vi. Joseph. vii. Mehitable. (A Genealogical History of the Clark and Worth Families, pp. 47-48) William CHENEY - b. about 1604, England; d. Jun. 30, 1667, Roxbury, MA. His will was dated Apr. 30, 1667 and proved Jul. 30, 1667. Although some suggestions have been made, there has been no evidence found for the CHENEY ancestry in England. Resided at Roxbury before 1640, owning 24 1/5 acres of land; freeman 1666; militia member 1647; constable; selectman 1656-7. Ensign in the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Society. He was a founder of the Roxbury Free School in 1664. Married about 1625, England. William Cheney - April 30, 1667 [Suffolk Probate #458, proved July 30, 1667] Being sick in body, & of perfect understanding & memory according to my measure, I make this my last will & testament. My will is, that my deare & afflicted wife, Margaret Cheiney, be carfully & sufficiently provided for during the time of her life, & to that end my will is, that she have all the rents & proffitts yearely, & every years, during the afresayd tearms, of all my houses, lands, & orchards, that I die possessed of, wither in Roxbury, Boston, or els where, except such part of my lands or estate which I shall here after in this my will dispose of to my children or otherwise, which estate bequeathed by me unto my sayad wife, it is my will, that she enter upon & be possessed of immediately after my decease (to witt) the present cropp upon all the land & the use of all my household stuffe & goods, my debtts & funerall expenses being in the first place with all convenient speed fully discharged; & for my wifes more comfortable being, my desire is, that one of my executors may live in my house in Roxbury, with her, to injoy the housing & lands by the yeare which I have as is aforesayd given unto my wife, upon such equall termes as my other executor & overseers shall agree with him for, but in case both my executors see cause to refuse to accept of this motion in answer to my desire herein, then my will is, that it be let outt by my executors & overseers to the best advantage for my wife comfortable maintenance. When all my debts & Legacies are discharged out of my stock & husbandry utensills, as cartts, plows & such like, what remaines of my stock afterwards, my will is, it be let out or disposed of for my wifes use by my executors, with the advice of my overseers; And my will is, that all my moveables be for my wifes use during her life, except what is before disposed. And in case what is above expressed be not sufficient for the comfortable maintenance of my wife, then my will is, that the house at Boston be sold & improved for her further & better supply. I bequeath unto my sonne, John Cheiney, all that land both Aeirable & pasture lying on the east side of the great lotts, being with in the great lotts, being twenty accres, more or lesse, being nowe in the possession of the sayd John. Allso, I give to my sayd sonne, a percell of meadow in the fresh meades being two accres, be the same more or lesse, as it lyeth on the south of a ditch made to dreine the sayd meadow. Also I give unto him one accre of salt marsh, be it more or lesse, as it lyeth bounded with a creeke next the marsh of John Bowles, formerly Isaack Heaths. Also I give unto him eitht accres of land, mor or lesse, lying neare the house of William Hopkinns, All & every of these percells of lands my will is, that my sayd sonne John, be possessed of immediately after my decease. I give to my sonne, William Cheiney, all my land lying in Medfield, lately in the possession of my sayd sonne, upon this condition or promise, that he & his wife, Deborah, be reconsiled & live together in Meedfield or ells where to the satisfaction of John Wiswall, of Boston, & Deacon Parke of Roxbury, but not in Providence or that Jurisdiction; provided allso, that what either my selfe or Deacon William Parke have allready payd, or doe stand ingaged for unto the Court in his behalfe, be first repayd & fully discharged by him, his heirs, or assignes; but otherwise, if my sayd sonne neglect or refuse to accept it with these provisoes, then my will is, that twenty pounds be payd to John Wiswall of Boston, out of my estate. To sonne, Joseph Cheiney, £60 (to witt) my land lying in the third devission, being thirty seaven accres, more or lesse, & twenty pounds to be payd to my sayd sonne, Joseph, out of my stock. My will is, that my three daughters (to witt) Ellin, Margret & mehitobell, have each of them £10 payd to them out of my stock. After my wifes decease, my will is, first that all my houses & lands in Roxbury undisposed of before by this will, I doe give unto two sonnes of my eldest sonne, Thomas Cheiney (to witt) his sonne, Thomas, & his sonne, William to be improved for their beniffitt by ther father untill they are 21 years old, then to be injoyed by them. What remaines of my estate after my wifes decease wither in stock or otherwise, in housing or lands (in any other towne) or estate in any kind undisposed of by this my will, My will is, that one halfe of it be given to my sonne, Joseph Cheiney, & for the other halfe thereof, my will is, that it be Devided into four equall parts, & so dispose of it to my sonne, John Cheiney, & to my three aforesayd daughters, to each of them an equall portion thereof. I make my two sonnes, Thomas Cheiney & Thomas Hasting, the executors of this my will, requesting my friends Mr. John Eliot, Deacon William Parke, & Edward Denison to be overseers. Aprill the last, sixty seaven. Witnesse, William X Cheiney John Newell, Samuell Scarborow It is still a mystery on how or when William arrived in Massachusetts. He was definitely living in Roxbury in 1640 because he was listed in the "estates and persons of the Inhabitants of Rocksbury". At that time, William owned 24 1/2 acres. William was a successful farmer. At the time of his death, he owned over 100 acres of land, his home and a house in Boston. The Cheney homestead was located on Dudley Street near Warren Street in Roxbury. Judging from the estate inventory, the main house was large. Probably, there was an entry area which opened on one side to the hall, and on the other side to the parlor. Behind both the hall and the parlor were bed chambers. The hall was the main living area of the Cheneys. The fireplace was located in the hall, and here was where the meals were prepared and eaten. The parlor was more of a state bedroom. Here the best bed with feather bolsters, pillows and fine linen was displayed. The room also boasted a great cupboard, a little cupboard and three chairs. Chairs were not common in New England households, and showed William to be above average in wealth. Also included in the estate inventory were 36 bushels of Indian corn, 12 bushels of Rye, 5 1/2 bushels of mault, 5 cows and 3 swine. This list gives a good indication of the Cheney diet. Indian corn was the staple of the Puritan diet. They learned how to plant, harvest and grind the corn from the Indians. The corn was then used in puddings, cakes, hominy, succotash, etc, etc. "Rye-n-Injun" bread, made from ground corn mixed with rye, was a moist bread which did not dry out quickly. The drink of the Cheneys was beer. It was drunk at all meals by the entire family. Mr Cheney obviously brewed his own beer since he had 5 1/2 bushels of mault. William was active in the community. On February 21, 1648, William was elected to the board of assessors. He was also a constable of Roxbury in 1654-1656. Constables in those days did more than keep the peace, they also collected the tax money. On January 19, 1656, William was elected a member of the board of selectman, an office associated with men of education and rank. In 1663, William Cheney guaranteed yearly contributions to the Roxbury Free School. The school, a first for Roxbury, was built with care and furnished with "convenient benches with forms, with tables for the scholars, and a conveniente seate for the schoolmaster, a deske to put the dictionary on and shelves to lay up bookes". On February 15, 1663 Cheney was chosen one of the Feofese of the school. The closest modern word for a feofee would be a director, and in Roxbury there were seven feofese. They made decisions on hiring of teachers, administrative matters and finances. William Cheney did not join the Puritan Church until January 5, 1664 - at least 24 years after he arrived in Roxbury. This is an interesting fact because in those days Massachusetts was a Puritan Colony. The Church leaders were also the Colony leaders, and they dictated all aspects of life from what holidays could be celebrated (not Christmas) to what books could be printed and sold (mostly sermons). In 1631, it was enacted that "no one should be admitted a freeman, and so have the right to vote, unless he was a member of one of the churches within the limits of the colony". How did William prosper in such a climate? Why did he wait so many years to join the Church. Possibly his wife joining the Church circa 1643, helped William maneuver around the Puritans. Whatever the case may have been, William was not made a "freeman of the Colony" until May 23, 1666. Unfortunately, he never got to use his new found right to vote because he fell ill in 1666, and died June 30th 1667. Sources: "The Cheney Genealogy" by Charles Henry Pope, 1897. "Customs and Fashions in Old New England" by Alice Morse Earle, 1893. "A Short History of the English Colonies in America" by Henry Cabot Lodge, 1881. The Cheney family in America Additional information on the immigrant family is found in The Ancestry of Eva Belle Kempton 1878-1908: Part I The Ancestry of Warren Francis Kempton 1817-1879, by Dean Crawford Smith and edited by Melinde Lutz Sanborn (Boston, 1996), pages 224-233. William and Margaret Cheney William CHENEY - b. about 1604, England; d. Jun. 30, 1667, Roxbury, MA. His will was dated Apr. 30, 1667 and proved Jul. 30, 1667. Although some suggestions have been made, there has been no evidence found for the CHENEY ancestry in England. Resided at Roxbury before 1640, owning 24 1/5 acres of land; freeman 1666; militia member 1647; constable; selectman 1656-7. Ensign in the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Society. He was a founder of the Roxbury Free School in 1664. Married about 1625, England. Margaret - b. England; d. Jul. 3, 1686. In his will of 1667, William CHENEY called Margaret his 'deare and Afflicted wife," and Rev. John ELIOT wrote in 1674 that she had been released from being "under a melancholick distemper, (above 10 or 11 years) wch made her wholly neglect her Calling & live mopishly." As Widow CHENEY, she married second in late 1676 Mr. BURGE (d. before Mar. 15, 1679/80). Her will, dated May 15, 1686 and proved Sep. 23, 1686, names son Joseph, daughter Mehitable, and three grandsons, the sons of William. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Children of William and Margaret Cheney 1. Elinor (or Ellen) - b. about 1626, England; d. night of Sep. 28/29, 1678, Hingham, MA. Resided at Roxbury and Scituate, MA. Married Mar. 20, 1642/3 at Roxbury, MA, Sgt. Humphrey JOHNSON, son of Capt. John JOHNSON and Mary HEATH. Refer to JOHNSON line for children and additional information. 2. Margaret - b. Nov. 20, 1628, England. Married Thomas HASTINGS. 3. Thomas - b. about 1631; died in infancy. 4. Thomas - b. about 1633, Roxbury, MA; d. 1693/5, Cambridge, MA. His will was dated Oct. 23, 1693 and proved Mar. 4, 1694/5. Constable 1659, freeman, 1666. Served in Capt. JOHNSON's company in 1675. Married Jan. 11, 1656, Roxbury, MA Jane ATKINSON (d. Jul. 1724), and lived at Brighton and Cambridge. Children: Margaret; Thomas; Mehitable; John; William; Mary; Jane; Joseph; Hannah; Benjamin married Mary HARBERT; and Ebenezer. 5. William - b. 1635, Roxbury, MA; d. Sep. 21, 1681 (hanged), Dorchester, MA. Married Deborah WISWALL (bap. Mar. 30, 1641), daughter of John of Dorchester. While married to Deborah, William became father of son William (b. Aug. 3, 1666 and probably surnamed DANIELS) by Sarah DANIELS, daughter of Robert and Elizabeth DANIELS. William was found guilty and sentenced to be hanged for rape, although his wife Deborah called Experience HOLBROOK (daughter of Capt. Joseph and Elizabeth HOLBROOK) a "lying wench." Deborah married second Ebenezer WILLIAMS. Son of William and Sarah: William. Children of William and Deborah: an infant; Deborah died as infant; William died as infant; Deborah; William; John; Benjamin; and a child born after William's execution. 6. John - b. Sep. 20, 1639; d. Oct. 12, 1671. He drowned "as he was catching of eales." 7. Mehitable - b. Jun. 1, 1643; d. 1693/4, probably at Medfield, MA. Married by 1663 Thomas WIGHT, Jr. (b. 1635; inv. Sep. 25, 1690), son of Thomas and Alice. The WIGHTs were burned out of their home by Indians in 1676. Children: Mehitable; Thomas; Mary (or Marie) married Joseph CLARK; Eleazer; and Joshua. 8. Joseph - b. Jun. 6, 1647, Roxbury, MA; d. Sep. 16, 1704, Medfield, MA. Married first Mar. 12, 1667/8 at Medfield, MA, Hannah THURSTON (b. Apr. 28, 1650, Dedham, MA; d. Dec. 29, 1690, Medfield, MA), daughter of John and Margaret THURSTON. Joseph married second Jul. 21, 1691 at Medfield, MA, Mehitable (PLIMPTON) HINSDALE, daughter of John PLIMPTON and Jane DAMON, and widow of Ephraim HINSDALE. Mehitable married third Dec. 12, 1717 Jonathan ADAMS. Children of Joseph and Hannah: Hannah; Margaret married Joseph BULLARD; Prudence died young; Joseph died young; Susannah died young; Mehitable married Jeremiah MORSE; Mary married first Benjamin CHENEY (her first cousin and son of Thomas CHENEY and Jane ATKINSON), and second Micahel FELSHAW; Josiah married first Hannah, and second Hannah MASON, widow of Samuel SMITH who was great grandson of Rev. Henry SMITH (Josiah, by his second wife, became ancestor of Pres. William TAFT); Prudence married Gershom LAKE; and Melatiah married Henry AMIDOWN. Children of Joseph and Mehitable: Hannah died as infant; Joseph died unmarried; Ephraim married Ann CLARK; and Hannah died young. William Cheney's will - April 30, 1667 [Suffolk Probate #458, proved July 30, 1667] Being sick in body, & of perfect understanding & memory according to my measure, I make this my last will & testament. My will is, that my deare & afflicted wife, Margaret Cheiney, be carfully & sufficiently provided for during the time of her life, & to that end my will is, that she have all the rents & proffitts yearely, & every years, during the afresayd tearms, of all my houses, lands, & orchards, that I die possessed of, wither in Roxbury, Boston, or els where, except such part of my lands or estate which I shall here after in this my will dispose of to my children or otherwise, which estate bequeathed by me unto my sayad wife, it is my will, that she enter upon & be possessed of immediately after my decease (to witt) the present cropp upon all the land & the use of all my household stuffe & goods, my debtts & funerall expenses being in the first place with all convenient speed fully discharged; & for my wifes more comfortable being, my desire is, that one of my executors may live in my house in Roxbury, with her, to injoy the housing & lands by the yeare which I have as is aforesayd given unto my wife, upon such equall termes as my other executor & overseers shall agree with him for, but in case both my executors see cause to refuse to accept of this motion in answer to my desire herein, then my will is, that it be let outt by my executors & overseers to the best advantage for my wife comfortable maintenance. When all my debts & Legacies are discharged out of my stock & husbandry utensills, as cartts, plows & such like, what remaines of my stock afterwards, my will is, it be let out or disposed of for my wifes use by my executors, with the advice of my overseers; And my will is, that all my moveables be for my wifes use during her life, except what is before disposed. And in case what is above expressed be not sufficient for the comfortable maintenance of my wife, then my will is, that the house at Boston be sold & improved for her further & better supply. I bequeath unto my sonne, John Cheiney, all that land both Aeirable & pasture lying on the east side of the great lotts, being with in the great lotts, being twenty accres, more or lesse, being nowe in the possession of the sayd John. Allso, I give to my sayd sonne, a percell of meadow in the fresh meades being two accres, be the same more or lesse, as it lyeth on the south of a ditch made to dreine the sayd meadow. Also I give unto him one accre of salt marsh, be it more or lesse, as it lyeth bounded with a creeke next the marsh of John Bowles, formerly Isaack Heaths. Also I give unto him eitht accres of land, mor or lesse, lying neare the house of William Hopkinns, All & every of these percells of lands my will is, that my sayd sonne John, be possessed of immediately after my decease. I give to my sonne, William Cheiney, all my land lying in Medfield, lately in the possession of my sayd sonne, upon this condition or promise, that he & his wife, Deborah, be reconsiled & live together in Meedfield or ells where to the satisfaction of John Wiswall, of Boston, & Deacon Parke of Roxbury, but not in Providence or that Jurisdiction; provided allso, that what either my selfe or Deacon William Parke have allready payd, or doe stand ingaged for unto the Court in his behalfe, be first repayd & fully discharged by him, his heirs, or assignes; but otherwise, if my sayd sonne neglect or refuse to accept it with these provisoes, then my will is, that twenty pounds be payd to John Wiswall of Boston, out of my estate. To sonne, Joseph Cheiney, £60 (to witt) my land lying in the third devission, being thirty seaven accres, more or lesse, & twenty pounds to be payd to my sayd sonne, Joseph, out of my stock. My will is, that my three daughters (to witt) Ellin, Margret & mehitobell, have each of them £10 payd to them out of my stock. After my wifes decease, my will is, first that all my houses & lands in Roxbury undisposed of before by this will, I doe give unto two sonnes of my eldest sonne, Thomas Cheiney (to witt) his sonne, Thomas, & his sonne, William to be improved for their beniffitt by ther father untill they are 21 years old, then to be injoyed by them. What remaines of my estate after my wifes decease wither in stock or otherwise, in housing or lands (in any other towne) or estate in any kind undisposed of by this my will, My will is, that one halfe of it be given to my sonne, Joseph Cheiney, & for the other halfe thereof, my will is, that it be Devided into four equall parts, & so dispose of it to my sonne, John Cheiney, & to my three aforesayd daughters, to each of them an equall portion thereof. I make my two sonnes, Thomas Cheiney & Thomas Hasting, the executors of this my will, requesting my friends Mr. John Eliot, Deacon William Parke, & Edward Denison to be overseers. Aprill the last, sixty seaven. Witnesse, William X Cheiney John Newell, Samuell Scarborow ------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ||||||||||||||
| Last Modified 15 Sep 2002 | Created 18 Sep 2002 |