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Experience married Thomas Jenkins on 24 Aug 1687 in Barnstable, Massachusetts. Thomas and died. [Group Sheet]

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• _UID: F844761580D5415F975F11892C22A5EC2BB9

Notes:

It is supposed that he was bom in England and baptized in the parish of St. Lawrence, Reading, Berkshire, England, April 10, 1686; that he came over with his mother prior to 1642, and resided at Barnstable, first, at his ``Coggin´s Pond lot, until 1702; when he removed to Hamblin´s Plains, West Barnstable; where his son Ebenezer occupied the old homestead, which he afterwards sold to Col. John Gorham.
Mr. Gustavus Hinckley, of Barnstable, writes in 1894, that the site of his house on his father´s Coggin´s Pond lot is well known; it having been owned and occupied by three generations of Gorham; a modern house was built about forty years ago over the old cellar. Mr. Otis says, that he lived all his life in Barnstable; but David Hamblen says, he died in Tisbury, May 3, 1718. He was a farmer, an exemplary member of the church and a good citizen. He married Mary Dunham, November 20, 1662. She was born 1642. Otis says, she was probably the daughter of Dea. John, of Plymouth; but Prof. Charles E. Hamlin, who gave considerable attention to this branch of the family, and from which he descended, says: she was daughter of John, of Martha´s Vinyard. Perhaps Otis and Prof. Hamlin referred to the same individual. Mr. Hinckley says, her grave is about sixty rods distant from the site of the house, on their Coggin´s Pond lot, and the slate headstone bears the inscription: ``Mary, wife of James Hamlin, died April ye l9th 1715, in ye 73d year of her age.´´
James Hamblen is expressly named in his father´s will, dated January 13, 1683. David Hamblen states that his children, Mary, Eleazar and Experience,, are expressly referred to in his will, as being then deceased in 1717; and infers that his children Elisha; John and Benjamin were also dead, from the fact that neither of them, nor any child of theirs is mentioned in the will.
His name frequently appears in the Colonial records: May 29, 1670, James Hamblen, Juni., in list of Freemen. June 5, 1671, James Hamblen, Juni., app. to inspect the Ordinaries (Taverns) in Barnstable. June 6, 1682, James Hamblen, Junir., Member of Grand Enquest.
- History of the Hamlin Family - with genealogies of early settlers of the name in America. 1639-1894, Franklin Andrews
Gravestone Inscription: "Here Lyeth Ye Body Of Mr. James Hamlin Late of Barnstable Who Died At Tisbury May Ye 3D 1718 In Ye Year 82 Of His Age"

Buried:
in West Tisbury Village Cemetery

James married Mary Dunham on 20 Nov 1662 in Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts. Mary (daughter of John Dunham and Mary) was born about 1642 in Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts; died on 19 Apr 1715 in Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts; was buried in Lothrop Hill, Cemetery,. [Group Sheet]

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• _UID: 4D1F1550769F4338B0E0C5B706ADD21D0F7B

Notes:

Otis called her a daughter of Deacon John Dunham of Plymouth. Prof. Charles E. Hamlin said she was a daughter of John Dunham of Martha's Vinyard. Andrews says perhaps they both referred to the same person. Various reports say she died at age 72, age 73, or in her 73d year. Andrews says "Mr. Hinckley says her grave is about sixty rods distant from the site of the house, on their Coggin's Pond lot, and the slate headstone bears the inscription: 'Mary, wife of James Hamlin, died April ye 19th 1715, in ye 73d year of her age.'"

Buried:
Barnstable, Massachusetts

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• _UID: BB39BE4168674F9897F346A1C1343DD8248B
• Arrival: 1639, Barnstable, Plymouth, Massachusetts

Notes:

James Hamblen, so far as hias been ascertained, was the first of the name who settled in America. He came from London and settled in Barnstable, Massachusetts, in the Spring of 1639. Of his earlier life very little has been learned; records exist, however, from which some traces of him are supposed to have been discovered.
The late David Hamblen, Esq., of Boston, the first to investigate his history about 1849, caused research to be made in England for the pedigree, which without citing the place where the record was found, he gives as follows:
JOHN HAMELYN of Cornwall, living 1570 Married Amor, daughter of Robert Knowle, of Sarum.
GILES HAMELIN - Son (of John) and heir County Devon. Married daughter of Robert Ashley.
THOMAS HAMELIN - (son of Giles) Gentleman, London 1623
JAMES HAMELIN (son of Giles).
From which it is understood that he was brother of Thomas, gentleman, of London, living in 1623; sons of Giles, of Devonshire; son of John, of Cornwall, England, who was living in 1570.
- History of the Hamlin Family - with genealogies of early settlers of the name in America. 1639-1894, Franklin Andrews

The records of the baptisms and burials of some of his children are supposed to have been found in the parish register of St. Lawrence, in Reading, Berkshire, England; extracts from which are taken: BAPTISMS. Hamlin James, son of James, Oct. 81, 1630. Hamblin Sarah, dau Sept 6, 1632, Hamlin Mary, July 27, 1634, James, son April 10, 1636. BURIALS. Hamlin James, Oct. 24, 1638. From these records it is apparent that the eldest child, James, died in England before the birth of the second James. It will be subsequently noticed that it was the custom of the family to baptize the children on the day of birth, if possible; so that the dates of baptisms are supposed to be about the dates of births.
Mr. Otis, the genealogist of the first settlers of Barnstable, says: that the baptism of his children, James and Hannah do not appear on the records of Barnstable, that it is probable they were born in England and that neither they nor their mother came over so early as the father, a common occurrence in those early times; the record of the birth or baptism of Hannah has not been found in England; perhaps owing to the troubles to be related, no public record of it was made there. It will be observed that their first child born in America, was Bartholomew, born April 20, 1642. Hannah may have been born about 1638.
An approximate idea of the time when the members of the family left England may be ascertained from these dates. Mr. Otis does not appear to have any knowledge of the English records referred to, and does not mention the children, Sarah and Mary; as they had another Sarah born in Barnstable in 1647 it is supposed the Sarah born 1682 had died before they came to America. An account of Mary will be given in its proper order later.
While no express record of the fact has been discovered, it is not improbable that James Hamblen may have been obliged to leave his family and fly (flee) from England on account of religious persecution; he was a Puritan and a member of Mr. Lothrop´s church after the latter came to Barnstable.
An account of the troubles of the congregation of Mr. Lothrop in England will be of interest, and may in future lead to information concerning our ancestor.
Rev. John Lothrop was pastor of an Independent or Congregationalist Society, at Southwalk, London. April 29, 1682, forty-five members of this church were apprehended for unlawful meeting, eighteen of whom escaped. Some were confined in the Clink, New Prison, and the Gate House, for about two years, and then released on bail; except Mr. Lothrop, for whom no favor could at first be obtained. There is some question as to the terms of his release, but the fact remains that these people caused the English government no little trouble; religion was regulated by law at that period; and this society were non-conformists. That they believed they were right does not alter the fact. The exact date of their release is not given, but on Sept. 18, 1634 The Griffin and another ship arrived in Boston with passengers, among whom were Mr. Lothrop and thirty of his followers. It is not supposed Hamblen was with them. Soon after Mr. Lothrop and most, if not all those who came with him, went to Scituate, Massachusetts, where there was a small settlement of his old friends, whom he had known in England, and who invited him to become their pastor. There were nine of these families then at Scituate who had previously come from England, settling tirst at Plymouth; and Mr. Lothrop gives a list of ``The Houses in ye plantation of Scituate att my Comeing hither, onely these wch was aboute the end of Sept. 1634, - all wch small plaine palizadoe Houses.´´ The name of James Hamblen is not in the list, nor does it appear there down to the date of removal of Mr. Lothrop and his church to Barnstable hereafter related.
Mr. Lothrop and his church came (to Barnstable) Oct. 21, 1639, New Style. The town had been incorporated, many houses built and a civilized community were dwelling among the Indians. Mr. Hull and the other settlers welcomed them to their homes, assigned them lands and assisted them in putting up their first rude cabins. It turned out that Mr. Lothrop´s church constituted a majority of the people, who preferred their own pastor, with whom they had suftered persecution in England. Mr. Dimmock and others of the first settlers preferred to sit under his preaching, rather than Mr. Hull, in consequence of which the latter left the town. The dwellings are thus described: ``The walls were made of poles filled between with stones and clay, the roof thatched, the chimney to the mantle of rough stone, and above of cob work, the windows of oiled paper and the floors of hand sawed planks. Mr. Lothrop called such structures ``booths,´´ and says: ``They were open and cold, and in winter a high piled fire was constantly to be kept burning. All the houses in the village were alike - there was no opening for pride to claim a supremacy.´´ Mr. Otis says there had thirteen settled in the town when it was incorporated June 4, 1639, among whom was James Hamblen. In a list of the inhabitants of Barnstable made on January 5, 1643-4, the sixteenth name is ``James Hamblin, London, of B(arnstable) spring of l639. These accounts show conclusively that he settled in Barnstable independently from Mr. Lothrop and his church. There is no proof that he was or was not a member of Mr. Lothrop´s church in London, or that he suffered any persecution; but the facts that he was a puritan; the unrecorded birth and baptism of his daughter Hannah; that he came from London without his family; and united with the church in Barnstable, whose members had suffered persecution; leads to the inquiry whether he might not have been a member of that church in London, which suffered persecution as related.
His house lot, containing eight acres, was at Coggin´s Pond, and was one of those presumably laid out under the authority of Mr. Callicut. It was bounded northerly by the lot of Gov. Hinckley; easterly by the Commons, (now the ancient graveyard); southerly by the Commons; and westerly by the highway, which at that time, after crossing the hill on the west, turned to the north on the borders of the pond, to Gov. Hinckley´s old house, which stood near the pond; and thence turned easterly, joining the present road at the head of Calve´s Pasture Lane. In 1680 the present road was laid out through Hamblen´s lot, and leaving a triangular shaped portion of it on the north of the road; afterwards, in 1693, the location of the road having been changed, the Hamblens were allowed to enclose that part of the old road situated between their land and the pond, adjoining Gov. Hinckley´s. The westerly portion of the road which was discontinued, opposite the south end of the pond, was reserved as a watering-place, and is so occupied to this day. His other lands were six shares, and six acres of upland in the Calve´s Pasture; twenty acres of upland, and the meadow on the north, bounded easterly by the land of Henry Bourne, and westerly by the land of Dea. John Cooper; his great lot of fifty acres was bounded southwesterly by the Great Indian Pond; southerly by the lot of Thomas Lothrop; and northerly by the Indian Pond lots, on which his son John built a house. The Hamblens were among the first settlers in that part of town; and that region of country is now known as ``Hamblin´s Plains.´´ In 1686 his house was described as standing on his twenty-acre lot, on the north side of the highway, between the houses of Mr. Russell, (known in modern times as Brick John Hinckley´s,) and Dea. John Cooper, owned by William Hinckley and others.
The name of Mr. Hamblen appears frequently in the records of Plymouth Colony. The first mention is ``March 1, 1741-2. James Hamblen was propounded for Freeman; ``Before Willm Bradford, gent. Gou. (and other members of the court named) James Hamlen (was appointed) Constable for Barnstable.´´; March l5, 1657, James Hamblen served on inquest on the body of a child, Simeon Davis. June 3, 1657; James Hamblen was sick and could not serve on the Oraud Enquest; The name of James Hamblen appears in the list of Freemen of Barnstable in 1658; June 7, 1670, James Hamblen served on Grand Enquest, same day he was member of a trial jury; May 29, 1670, James Hamblen, Juni, and James Hamblen, Seni, in list of Freemen; March 6, 1671, James Hamblen served on a jury; June 3, 1679, James Hamblen served on a jury in the case between Capt. John Williams and Edward Jenkins; July 7, 1681, James Hamblen served on juries; July 6, 1682, James Hamblen summoned to serve on a jury, and served; In the list of Freemen of Barnstable for 1689, among others appear the names of James Hamblen, James Hamblen, Jr., John Hamblen, Eleazar Hamblen.
"Goodman Hamblen was not much in public life. He was an honest man, a good neighbor and a sincere Christian; he was industrious and prudent in his habits and brought up his children to walk in his footsteps. His descendants have, with few exceptions, inherited the good qualities of the ancestor."
The correct spelling of his name is a question of doubt. As a matter of fact people in those times were not particular, and the same individual did not spell his own name uniformly, in many instances; there was no standard of English orthography then. In the foregoing pedigree the name is spelled Hamelyn and Hamelin, in the record of baptisms, Hamblin and Hamlin; in the colonial records, Hamlene, Hamlen and Hamblen. His pastor. Rev. Mr. Lothrop wrote the name uniformly, Hamling. Rev. Mr. Russell, a successor of Mr. Lothrop, wrote it Hamblin. His sons and descendants for the first four generations, generally wrote it Hamblen; but assigned to his will, it is spelled Hamlin. The descendants spell the name variously: Hamlin, Hamlen, Hamline, Hamblin and Hamblen.
- History of the Hamlin Family - with genealogies of early settlers of the name in America. 1639-1894, Franklin Andrews

Will Of James Hamblen. Recorded Vol 1, Page 37. Barnstable Co., Mass., July 21, 1888. True Copy From The Records-Attest Freeman H. Lothrop, Reg. Of Probate Court. The last Will and Testament of James Hamlin Senr. of Barnstable: I being weake in body but throu ye mercy of God of good and dis~ posing mind and memory, and calling to mind ye uncertainty of this transitory life, and being willing to sett things in order as there may be peace and good agreement between my children after my decease, I do make and delare this my last will and testament in manner and forme hereafter mentioned viz: -
Imprimis: I will and bequeath my soul to (God who gave it through Jesus Christ, my deare and only Saviour and Redeemer and my body to decent burial as to my Executrix hereafter named shall seeme meete and convenient, and as for my outward estate which God hath been pleased to lend me, my will is that all my debts which are in right or conscience due to any person shall be first duly satisfied and contented. And then my will is that Anne, my loving wife shall have and enjoy all the rest of my estate in whatsoever it be during her natural life for her supporte and livelyhood, and my will is that after her decease in as much as my son James hath had ten pounds already of me, and my son Bartholemew five pounds, and my daughter Hannah„ five pounds (according to ye desire of my mother) so my will is that ye rest of my children shall have each of them five pounds apeace made up to them out of my estate, viz: to my son John five pounds my little feather bed bolster and rugg belonging to it, to be in part or whole thereof as it shall be appraised; and to my daughter Sarah five pounds, in ye great fether bed I lye on with ye bolster and rugg belonging thereunto as it shall be appraised; And to my son Eliazer four pounds, and five shillings out of my estate which with ye fifteen shillings he owes me on account makes up five pounds to him, And to my son Israel three pounds and eighteen shillings to make up ye bed and coverlett he hath five pounds to him.
Item. My will is that my daughter Sarah shall, have two of my platters which shee shall chose. And my will is that Israel shall have one of my pewter platters as my sons and daughter already married have had each of them one. And my will is that whatsoever of my estate shall remaine after my foresd legacies shall be paid shall after my wifes decease be equally divided amongst all my children unless my wife shall see cause to will any part or parts unto any of my sd children as shee shall see fit to those that are most dutyful unto her, unto whose liberty my will is it shall be left.
As also to nominate an executor to take place after her decease to see this my last will performed, And here in case shee make any will to dispose of ye overplus as aforesd.
Item. It is my will that Anne my wife be sole Executrix of this my last will and testament so long as shee lives.
In witness whereof I have hereunto sett my hand and seal this 23 of January Anno Dom´ 1683. JAMES HAMLIN [seal.] In presence of THOS. HINCKLEY, Gov. JONATHAN RUSSELL.
Gov, Hinckley and Jonathan Russell witnesses to this will, made oath in Court October ye 22th 1690, that they saw ye above sd James Hamlin deceased signe seal and declare this to be his last will and testament as attest.
- History of the Hamlin Family - with genealogies of early settlers of the name in America. 1639-1894, Franklin Andrews

James married Ann Scott on 19 Apr 1632 in Exeter, St Paul, Devon, England. Ann was born in 1610 in St. Lawrence, Reading, Berkshire, England; died in 1690 in Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet]

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Notes:

John 2 Dunham would have been about 15 years old if he came to Plymouth with his family in 1629-30. While it is not known which ship brought the Dunham family to Plymouth, it is possible that they arrived with those last English residents of Leyden who came to Plymouth in 1629. A possible ship may have been the Mayflower (not the original ship), which left Gravesend in March with thirty-five passengers, mostly from Leyden. She arrived 15 May 1629 with thirty-five passengers, only 23 of whom are definitely known.[5] He probably married his wife Mary about 1640 when he would have been 25 years old. He was probably the John Dunham on the "Able To Bear Arms" list of 19 May 1643 in Plymouth. John Dunham, the father, was still living, but at age about 54 years may have been excused.
John 2 Dunham has often been given a wife, Dorothy. The book, New England Marriages Prior to 1700, by Clarence Almon Torrey, p. 229 lists John Downham & 1st wife Dorothe --?--, and a child b. 14 March 1643 in Braintree, Massachusetts. This John Downham is a separate family, and in fact John and Dorothy Downham had children recorded in Braintree at the same time that John and Mary Dunham were having children in Plymouth.[6]
Known as John Dunham, Jr,. he was listed in Records of Plymouth Colony Vol. 1, p. 36-37, March 1651, with the names of those “that have interest and proprieties in the Townes land at Punckateesett over against Road Island.” Page 53 notes “the bounds of John Dunham, Junior: his grant of forty acres of land on the southwest on Colchester is bounded . . .,” and pages 57 & 99 refer to land of John Dunham Junior at Winnatuxett. In 1665 he was granted lot number 7 lying on the west side of Nemassakett River (Middleboro).[7]
From Plymouth County Land Record 4:67, dated 8 June 1664, a statement shows that Anthony Snow, Ensign Mark Eames, Joseph Warren, Richard Wright, William Harlow, Nathaniel Morton, Ephraim Morton, William Paybody, JOHN DUNHAM, JR. & John Rogers "have liberty to look out land for accommodations."[8]
There are no land records that show that John 2 Dunham ever lived in Barnstable, but there must have been some close association with the people who lived there. His oldest daughter, Mary, 3 married 20 November 1662 James Hamblen, Jr., and his next daughter, Susanna 3 Dunham born say 1654 married in Barnstable 20 January 1673 Bartholomew Hamblen. Both James Hamblen, Jr. and Bartholomew were sons of James Hamblen one of the earliest settlers in Barnstable.[9] His oldest son John 3 also married in Barnstable 1 March 1679/80 Mary Smith, daughter of Rev. John and Susanna (Hinckley) Smith.
In the will of John Dunham Senior of Plymouth dated 25 January 1668 he states, “As for my son John Dunham whoe is my eldest sonne I have given him his portion alreddy both in land and other things to what I was able and beyond my abilitie.”[10]
The will of John 2 Dunham of Plimouth was dated 2 February 1691/2, and proved 16 April 1692.[11] To “wife Mary Dunham and to my Daughter Mercy Dunham my house I now dwell in with all” personal property except as specified, “Also...all my land about two miles off from my now Dwelling house and the orchard there it all Containing About” 16 acres, “Also...one acre of meadow lying at Doties meadows” in Plymouth, also 40 acres “at Colchester in the Township of Plimouth aforesaid I give to my said wife and daughter Mercy to be equally divided betwixt them But...if my wife need her share of the land for her Support she may sell it...which land I value at” £10; but, if she does not sell it, “after her decease my son John Dunham” to have one half of it, “hoping he will be tender and Carefull to help his mother while she lives” [John Jr. died before his mother; see more under Mercy.] To “my son John Dunham my Best Cloth Coat hereby Signifying he hath already Received his full portion” To “my Son Bartholomew Hamlin and my daughter Susanna his wife I Give all the Rest of my wearing Cloaths both linnen and woollen from head to foote” To “my son James Hamlin one shilling and to my daughter Mary his wife one shilling:” To “my son Robert Barrow one shilling and to my daughter Lidia his wife and to the heirs of her Body for Ever thirty acres of land which I have lying at Monponset in...Plimouth.” “my wife & Daughter Mercy to be Executrixes” and “my loving friends Isaac Cushman and Ephraim Morton junr to be overseers” of the will. The witnesses were John Cotton and Samuel Sturtevant. “Mr Jno Cotton one of the witnesses” made oath to the will at Plymouth, 16 April 1692, before “William Bradford Esqr Dept Governr and Mr Ephraim Morton Associate.”
- http://dunham2000.ipower.com/Generation-2-John(2)Dunham.html

John married Mary about 1642. died on 20 Mar 1698 in Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet]

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Giles married Unknown Ashley. Unknown was born in 1584 in London, London, England; died on 5 Mar 1673 in London, London, England. [Group Sheet]

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Notes:

A “Godly & Well Esteemed Deacon”
Deacon John Dunham (1589-1668)
The earliest Dunham ancestor to come to North America was John Dunham, a Separatist who fled religious persecution in England by first emigrating to Leiden, Holland, and then to Plymouth Colony.
He was born about 1589; a record exists that year of his baptism at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Henlow, Bedfordshire. His father was most likely Richard Dunham, who is recorded as being buried in Langford, Bedfordshire, on 19 November 1624, “an old man.” In his will, Richard left his estate to his son John “at his retourne,” for John was then living in Leiden. But John would never return to collect his inheritance.
On 17 August 1612 John had married Susana Kaino in the Church of St. Mary in Clophill, Bedfordshire. It is likely that by this time he was already a Separatist. Today we tend to think of the terms Separatist, Puritan and Pilgrim as practically synonymous. But Deacon John Dunham, while a Pilgrim, was no Puritan; the heirs of the Separatist tradition are today’s Congregationalists.
William Brewster of Scrooby, Nottinghamshire, was bailiff to the Archbishop of York 1595-1606. He was influenced by the Separatist leader Richard Clyfton, parson of All Saints Church in Babworth, Nottinghamshire, from 1586 to 1605. Separatists believed the Church of England was so corrupt that they would have nothing to do with its worship, teachings or structure. Puritans, by contrast, believed in reforming, or “purifying,” the Church of England from within. For Separatists to hold their own worship services was against the law; the 1559 Act of Uniformity required all citizens to attend Church of England services, with fines imposed for every Sunday and holy day they were absent from services. To attend an unofficial service was to risk even larger fines and possible imprisonment.
When Clyfton was removed from his post, Brewster invited him to live with him in Scrooby. There they began a small Separatist congregation, with John Robinson as the third leader. A member of the Scrooby congregation, William Bradford, who would later become governor of Plymouth Colony, recorded that the persecutions of Separatists (and Catholics, by the way) became unbearable:"But after these things they could not long continue in any peaceable condition, but were hunted & persecuted on every side, so as their former afflictions were but as flea-bitings in comparison of these which now came upon them. For some were taken & clapt up in prison, others had their houses besett & watcht night and day, & hardly escaped their hands; and ye most were faine to flie & leave their howses & habitations, and the means of their livelehood."
The Separatists decided to emigrate to the tolerant city of Leiden, where Brewster had previously served in a diplomatic post. After a number of aborted attempts to flee England, that included bribes, sting operations and imprisonment, a contingent of the Separatists finally arrived in Leiden in 1609.
John and Susanna Dunham were not a part of this original contingent, as their first child, John, was baptized at Henlow on 19 February 1614. It is likely that by the time their second child, Humility, was born in 1617 they were already living in Leiden; their third child, Thomas, was born there in 1619. In Leiden John earned his living as a weaver, and they would attend services conducted by John Robinson, first at Robinson’s house and later in the historic Pieterskerk (Church of St. Peter), which the city of Leiden gave to the Separatist community.
Although many of the Separatists thrived in Leiden, many still felt as foreigners in a foreign land, and yearned to strike out someplace on their own where they could keep their English language and customs. Susanna, however, would not see that day; she died sometime before 1622, when John married Abigail Billiou on 22 October. Their first child together, Samuel, was born about 1623.
By 1620 it was decided that the first contingent of the Separatists would leave Leiden for New England under the leadership of Brewster, with the majority staying with Robinson in Leiden until preparations could be made for their emigration. The first group left in July 1620 from Delftshaven on the Speedwell, meeting up with the Mayflower in Southampton. The Speedwell was, however, sabotaged, so only 102 of the passengers boarded the Mayflower for the Atlantic crossing. They arrived in New England on November 20, 1620.
Meanwhile, back in Leiden, John and Abigail had two more children; Abigail, born about 1626, and Persis, born about 1628. They appear to have come over with the second group of Leiden Separatists in 1629 (their daughter Humility died about this time at the age of 12). Governor Bradford writes: "In Anno 1629 a Considerable Number of the bretheren of the Church which were le[ft] in holland were Transported over to us that were of the Church in New England which although it was att About 500lb charge yett it was bourne Chearfully by the poor bretheren heer Concerned in it."
If the Dunhams were not in the 1629 group, they came shortly thereafter, for their son Jonathan was born about 1631 in Plymouth (In 1694 Jonathan will be ordained a minister in Edgarton, Martha’s Vineyard). Their eighth child, Hannah, was born in 1633. The first official record of John being in Plymouth is a reference in the 1633 will of Peter Brown that John Dunham is owed four shillings from Brown’s estate. Sometime after 1634, John is appointed a deacon of the Plymouth congregation, a post he will hold until his death. Deacon John continues to ply his trade as a weaver, but also acquires a herd of sheep and some cattle.
The ninth child of Deacon John was Joseph Dunham (b. 18 November 1636 in Plymouth, d. March 1703 in Plymouth), from whom I am directly descended. Another son, Benajah, follows about 1638 and the final child, Daniel, was born about 1640.
In 1639, John is elected by the colonists to serve as deputy of the General Court of Plymouth. He must have done a good job, for he was annually re-elected for the next 25 years.
Consider poor Deacon John and Abigail; the deacon has grown prosperous and respectable, but his sons are always getting into trouble. Married clergy with children today can no doubt sympathize with him. Apparently in those days no one warned young people about indiscretions appearing on their “permanent record,” for all the records of their misdeeds are now available to their descendants!
In 1644, Thomas is fined 10 shillings for challenging another colonist to a fight. Two years later John Jr. is accused of poisoning a neighbor’s dog (In 1665 John Jr. would be flogged for beating his wife and then drawing a sword upon himself in a dramatic gesture of remorse). In what was perhaps the first case of stalking in New England, Thomas is again in trouble in 1648; he is the subject of an early restraining order to “abstaine from coming att or sending vnto Martha Knote of Sandwidge.” Thomas and Martha were engaged, but Martha-wisely, it seems-cut off the engagement. And in 1656 Benajah was arraigned “for foolish and provoking carriages, in drawing his knife vpon sundry persons att Taunton.” Benajah, Dude, chill.
In 1660, Joseph Dunham, my eighth-great-grandfather, “complained against Hester, the wife of John Rickard, in an action of slaunder and defamation, to the damage of an hundred pounds, for saying that hee, the said Josepth Dunham, did offer her money to bee naught with her.” This Hannah would be his sister-in-law. Not always the victim, the next year Joseph was sentenced to public humiliation “for diuerse laciuiouse carriages, was sentanced by the Court to sitt in the stockes, with a paper on his hatt on which his fact was written in capitall letters, and likewise to find surties for his good behavior.”
Joseph was in his early 20s when these things happened; he had already married Mercy Morton (abt 1638-19 February 1667) on 18 November 1657 and had one son, my seventh-great-grandfather Eleazer (abt. 1659-abt 1702). Mercy was the daughter of Nathaniel Morton, secretary of the colony who had been born in Leiden in 1613. Secretary Morton, my ninth great-grandfather, had been raised in the household of his uncle Governor Bradford; he was the historian of the colony and is responsible for transmitting all of the written records of Plymouth down to us, much of them in the book New Englands Memorial, the first colonial history. His father, George, was the purported author of Mourt’s Relation, a book published in London to promote emigration to Plymouth, which was actually largely written by Bradford and Edward Winslow.
Joseph would have another son with Mercy, Nathaniel (abt 1662-aft 1734). When Mercy died, Joseph married Hester Wormall (abt 1648-aft 1715); they had six children together.
On March 1, 1668, Deacon John Dunham died. The record of his death notes that he was “an approved servant of God, and a usefull man in his place.” The Plymouth church records note his passing: “on the first day of march dyed, John Dunham, the godly & well esteemed Deacon of the chh, one of 80 yeares old.”
- http://www.stoltzfamily.us/?p=491

Deacon John Dunham was born in 1588-89 probably in Clophill, Bedfordshire, England. The following is from an article by Robert Leigh Ward in the July, 1996 edition of The American Genealogist:
No record of the baptism on John Dunham of Clophill has been found. The International Genealogical Index reveals Dunham, Donham, and Downham entries in the parish registers of nearby Bedfordshire parishes, and just across the border in Hertfordshire.
The probate record of Richard Dunham, the elder, poulter of Langford, some seven miles from Clophill, provides significant support for the conclusion that this is the correct family and that Richard Dunham was Deacon John Dunham's father. In his will, dated 5 October 1624, Richard Dunham left his body "to be buryed in such a place as my Executores shall think convenient." He mentioned son William, son William's son Richard, son John ("my best shirte and Twenty shillings in mony to be payd him at his retorne"), daughter Anne and her son Richard; daughter Elisabeth; residue to son Richard, who was to be executor. "Father Dunham, an old man" was buried at Langford on 19 November 1624, the only entry for that surname in the published parish register. The shirt and money to be paid to John Dunham "at his retorne" shows that the testator's son was away from home; the phrase probably means no more than that John would receive his legacy if he were to return, not that he was expected to do so. At the time, John was in Leyden.
Susan, daughter of Thomas "Cainehoe," was baptized in Clophill on 12 December 1586, and this appears to be the baptism of Deacon John Dunham's first wife. Thomas Caynehoe or Kaino was buried at Clophill on 15 April 1612, and an administration for the estate of Thomas "Keynoe" of Clophill was granted on 7 May 1612 to his widow Joanne; his inventory totaled 9 pounds, 10 shillings and 8 pence. Joanne is apparently the widow Joan Keno buried at Clophill on 7 February 1630. One could speculate that Deacon John's son Thomas Dunham might have been named for Susan's father Thomas Cainho.
These records establish the first marriage of Deacon John Dunham of Plymouth, identify his wife's likely parentage, and provide a strong possibility that Richard Dunham of Langford was his father.
Henlow, Bedfordshire was the home of the brothers John and Edward Tilley, and their brother-in-law Robert Cooper, who are also found at Leyden. The Tilleys came to Plymouth, Massachusetts, on the Mayflower with their wives, John's daughter Elizabeth Tilley, and Edward's nephew Henry Sampson and niece Humility Cooper. It is very tempting to speculate that John Dunham knew the Tilley family in Henlow, and that they removed together from there to Leyden. Note that the extremely unusual forename Humility was given to a daughter in both families at about the same time. Humility Cooper was born in Holland; we do not know where John Dunham's daughter Humility was born.
Possibly the reason John Dunham was not a passenger on the Mayflower in 1620 was due to the illness or death of his wife, Susan. It would make no sense for a single father to take small children on a dangerous ocean voyage to then face the hardships of the American wilderness. John's second marriage to Abigail Ballou occurred October 22, 1622 in Leyden, two years after the departure of the Mayflower. Abigail was a witness to the marriage of her sister Anne to Nathaniel Walker in Leyden in June 15, 1624.
More Pilgrims arrived in Plymouth on the Fortune in 1621, on the Anne and the Little James in 1623, and on a different Mayflower in 1629, but John Dunham was not listed among any of the passengers. In 1630, the Handmaid dropped anchor at Plymouth with 60 on board. The brethren described these arrivals as the "weakest and poorest", which may account for why none of their names were preserved. This was the last of the Pilgrim ships, although a few more brethren strayed in from time to time. At this point organized efforts to colonize Plymouth came to an end due to lack of funding. Emphasis shifted to the well financed Puritan migration farther up the coast at Massachusetts Bay.
The arrival date in Plymouth of John and Abigail Dunham and their children is unknown, but it was probably around 1629-30, possibly on the Handmaid or as independent travelers. In 1633, John was chosen a deacon of the Church of Plymouth under Elder William Brewster

Deacon married Susanna Kaino on 17 Aug 1612 in Clophill, Bedfordshire, England. Susanna was born on 12 Dec 1586 in Clophill, Bedfordshire, England; died on 7 Oct 1622 in Leydon, Zuid, South Holland, Netherlands. [Group Sheet]

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John married Amor Knowle. Amor was born in 1562 in , Devon, , England; died in 1722 in , Cornwall, , England. [Group Sheet]

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