| Notes |
- John Mayo of Northamptonshire, a commoner’s son, was one of 504 students who matriculated at Magdalen Hall, Oxford University in 1615. He came to New England in 1638 but the ship that the Mayo family crossed in is unknown. In order to travel, the harassed clergy had to disguise themselves and use assumed names. His wife was named Tamsen but we don’t know where or when they were married. John Mayo was in Barnstable by 1639, where he was ordained a minister on April 15, 1640. Governor William Bradford, Thomas Prence, and Captain Myles Standish were in attendance when Mr. John Mayo of Barnstable was admitted as a Freeman by the court of Plymouth on March 3rd in the 13th year of his Majesty’s Reign, 1640. In 1646 he moved to the newly settled town of Nausett (Eastham), where he served as the minister until 1654. He became the first pastor of the Second Church of Boston (today called the “Old North Church”) on November 9, 1655. The city of Boston was growing rapidly and had more people than all of Plymouth Colony. While in Boston, he served as an overseer of Harvard College and the Boston Latin School. His contemporaries included John Endecott and Governor John Winthrop. He owned a house and lot on Middle Street (now Hanover Street), which he sold to Abraham Gording in 1673 for 200 pounds. Rev. John Mayo died in Yarmouth on May 3, 1676 without a will.
Mr. Mayo was in Barnstable in 1639, and became ‘teaching elder’ in the church of which Mr. Lathrop was pastor. His relation to the church here is said to have been that of “religious teacher” -- perhaps implying that he was not invested with the pastoral office. In Boston, he was inducted to the pastorate Nov. 8, 1655, and continued in office until 1673. They Plymouth record says, “Growing aged and unable to carry out his office, he removed again into this Colony, and lived near Yarmouth, and not long after fell asleep in the Lord.” Rev. Increase Mather, who succeeded him in Boston, has, with greater particularity furnished us with the following record: “1672, in the beginning of which year, Mr. Mayo, the pastor, likewise grew very infirm, insomuch as the congregation was not able to hear and be edified; whereupon, the brethren, the pastor manifesting his concurrence, desired the teacher to take care for a supply of the congregation that the worship of God may be upheld among us.” Again, “on the 5th mo. 1673, Mr. Mayo removed his person and goods to reside with his daughter in Barnstable, where, and at Yarmouth since, he hath led a private life, as not being able, through the infirmities of age, to attend to the work of the ministry. The -- day of May 1676, he departed this life at Yarmouth, and was there buried.” Mr. Mayo preached the annual Election Sermon, June 1658. He, with his entire family, came from England. His wife Tamsen d. at Y. a wid. Feb. 26, 1682. Their children were Samuel, Hannah, Nath’l, Elisa., John, and Bathsheba. Hannah m. Nath’l Bacon of Be., and Elisa. m. Joseph Howes of Y. - History of Cape Cod: Annals of Barnstable County (1862)
Reverend John Mayo ca 1598-1676 England-Eastham-Boston-Yarmouth
Although Mayo is an Irish name, this family was from England. Reverend John Mayo was educated at Magdalen College, Oxford, the son of a commoner. He came to Boston 1638 and was in Barnstable in 1639, where he was ordained a teaching elder to assist Rev. John Lothrop. He was a freeman in 1640.
John Bakke wrote in 2009 that John was in Holland in 1618, where he married Tamisen Brike, a native of Leiden. He returned to England from Leiden, where he was ordained in the Church of England but he preached according to Puritan beliefs for nearly two decades. At that point it became too difficult or dangerous to continue, so he immigrated to the new world.
John and Tamesin’s children were all born England: Hannah, Samuel, John, Nathaniel, and Elizabeth. None of his sons became ministers.
He took charge of the Eastham Church in 1646 and continued until 1655, when he went to Second Church in Boston (later called Old North Church). The first meetinghouse in Eastham was 20 foot square, with a thatched roof and holes on all sides for firing muskets. It was located near the old burial ground in Eastham. John may have left because of a fledgling town lacking the ability to support a minister. Soon after John left Eastham for Boston, the Congregational leadership in New England implemented a policy discouraging the theft of the most promising pastors from small, rural parishes to larger, wealthier, urban ones.
In Boston he was likely overshadowed by Increase Mather, who worked there as a teacher. Mather was assertive and slightly obsessive, while Mayo was a mild-mannered, peace-loving man who was loathe to split hairs. John was the first pastor there and served until 1673, when at an advanced age he went to Barnstable and spent time there, Eastham and Yarmouth for the remainder of his life. Of course the original Second Church building does not survive, but the current church was built in 1723 is the oldest surviving church building in Boston. It is famous for its role in history--on the eve of the American Revolution in 1775 the church sexton held two lanterns in the steeple as a signal from Paul Revere that the Red Coats were coming by sea to march on Lexington and Concord.
In Boston he lived in a house owned by Bart. Bernard on the south side of Fleet Street and then bought a house on the west side of Hanover (Middle) Street between Parmenter and Prince Streets. He also served as an overseer of Harvard College.
From The Old North Church records (in the handwriting of Increase Mather) in the beginning of 1672: “Mr. Mayo, the Pastor, likewise grew very infirm, insomuch as the congregation was not able to hear and be edified.” The congregation therefore desire a new minister and he consented. “On the 15th of the 2d month (April) 1673, removed his person and goods also, from Boston to reside with his daughter in Barnstable where (and at Yarmouth) since he hath lived a private life, as not being able through infirmities of old age to attend to the word of the ministry. The day of the 3d (May) month 1676 he departed this life at Yarmouth, and was there buried.”Mather’s unpublished diaries show how much Rev. Mayo influenced him.
Rev. John Mayo died in May 1676 in Yarmouth. Amos Otis writes he was a man of prominence as a minister and in 1658 preached the annual election sermon. His wife Tamosin/Tamsen died in Yarmouth in 1682. On 7 June 1676 “Mr. Hinckley, Mr. Freeman and Mr. Huckens are appointed by the Court to take course about the estate of Mr. John Mayo, deceased, to make devision and settlement of the said estate, both with reference unto his wifes pte and amongst his children, and therin to acte, if it may be, be theire satisfaction; and incase they can not, then to make report therof to the next Court, that soe further maybe taken for settlement therof.” (Plymouth Col Records 200)
The inventory of Rev. Mr. Mayo’s personal estate, taken 1 June 1676, by Edmond Hawes and Thomas Huckins, amounted to 111 pounds, 4 shilling, including 10 pounds for books. On 15 June 1676 his heirs settled his estate by agreement, which was signed by Tamsen Mayo, widow, John Mayo, son, Joseph Howes, son-in-law, and by Thomas Huckins in behalf of Hannah Bacon, daughter. John Mayo and Joseph Howes were administrators. There were three grandchildren mentioned: Samuel Mayo, Hannah Mayo and Bathsheba Mayo, children of his son Nathaniel Mayo, deceased.
The sum total of his inventory was somewhat small but equal to the average at that time in the Colony. His widow Tamisen was allowed to keep all of the property she bought into the marriage. - http://massandmoregenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/08/reverend-john-mayo-ca -1598-1676-england.html
Posting from ancestry.com message board:
Mike,
The author of `` Rev. John Mayo and His Descendants `` is my friend, Jean Mayo Rodwick. You can reach her at: jeanrodwick@yahoo.com . She vacations alot but usually checks her e-mails along the way. Her book includes my latest Mayo research in England and in Leiden, Holland. The information that you presently have is outdated and mostly comes from old Mormon Ancestral files.
I have done the research myself and have sources to back up my research:
1. Rev. John Mayo was baptized on Oct. 16, 1597 in Farthinghoe Parish, Northamptonshire, England, son of John Mayo and Katherine ( maiden name unknown ). He married Tamisen ( Tamsen ) Brike in Leiden, Holland on Mar. 21, 1618. They were married in the Dutch Reformed Church. The people believed to be the parents of Rev. John Mayo, John and Katherine Mayo, died in 1629/30 and 1633 respectively. Both are buried in the church yard at Thorpe Mandeville, Northamptonshire, England. I have a copy of this John Mayo´s will dated Jan. 18, 1629/30 and proved Mar. 20, 1629/30.
Known children of John and Katherine Mayo were:
a. Philipa Mayo: born ca. 1595; bapt. in 1595 in Farthinghoe; died Nov. 24, 1627 at age 32 yrs.
b. John Mayo ( believed to be Rev. John Mayo ): was bapt. Oct. 16, 1597 in Farthinghoe.
c. Hannah Mayo: bapt. Mar. 11, 1599 in Farthinhoe; married Daniel Jarvis ( Gervice ); had children: Thomas and Elizabeth Jarvis ( twins ) born in 1631, Daniel Jarvis, born in 1634, John Jarvis, born in 1634, and Ann Jarvis, born in 1634. This family lived in Thorpe Mandeville.
d. Elizabeth Mayo: bapt. Jan. 1, 1601 in Farthinghoe. She was unmarried when her father died in 1629/30.
e. Joyce Mayo: bapt. Aug. 21, 1603 in Thorpe Mandeville. She married Thomas Golbert ( Gilbarde ) there on Jan. 22, 1624. She was not mentioned in her father´s will, but her husband was. Their children were: Elizabeth Gilbert, baptized in Sept., 1626 in Slapton, not too awfully far from Thorpe Mandeville; and John Gilbert, bapt. in 1631 in Slapton. According to Joyce´s father´s will, her husband and children were living in Slapton in 1629/30.
Sources for the above information were:
1. Leiden, Holland City Clerk and the University records in Leiden. 2. Northamptonshire, England County Records Office. 3. Town or church records in Farthinghoe, Thorpe Mandeville, and Slapton in Northamptonshire, England. 4. Parish priest of Farthinghoe, Northamptonshire.
According to Rev. Charles Chauncy´s last living, Rev. John Mayo´s father was of Thorpe Mandeville, before he died. Rev. Chauncy had beed good friends with Rev. John Mayo´s father, when Chauncy was vicar of Marston St. Lawrence, a few miles from Thorpe Mandeville and next door to Farthinghoe.
It is strongly believed that John and Katherine Mayo may have originated in Marston St. Lawrence, but moved next door to Farthinghoe to have their children. There is no marriage record for them in Farthinghoe and the Marston St. Lawrence records of the time period burned, as they did in North Newington, Oxfordshire, England.
According to the Banks Manuscripts, Rev. John Mayo and family came to New England from North Newington, Oxfordshire, England in the Spring of 1638, about the same time that Rev. Charles Chauncy arrived. Rev. John and family are not listed on any existing ships passenger lists.
I talked to some Mayo´s in Northamptonshire, and they told me that Mayo´s in the areas connected to Rev. John Mayo over there originated in the county of Cornwall and had come to Marston St. Lawrence and surrounding towns in the mid-1500´s. They had lived for many earlier generations in Cornwall on land given to Mayo´s for their fighting for Normandy in the Norman Invasion of England.
One further note: According to the Banks Manuscripts, Rev. Charles Mayo came to America from North Newington, Oxfordshire, which is a stone´s throw from Broughton Castle and Lord Saye and Sele, who it was said held special favor with Rev. John Mayo. Rev. Mayo´s friends who later settled Connecticut, held secret Puritan meetings at Broughton Castle with Lord Saye and Sele. Unfortunately, the early records were destroyed by fire in North Newinton. I talked with the present Lord Saye and Sele who still lives in Broughton Castle, and he checked the early family papers but could find no mention of Rev. John Mayo.
One further note: I researched the Cattistocke/Dorset area to death and found that John Mayo, born 1590, son of John Mayo, Rector of Cattistocke, did indeed marry an Elizabeth, but they lived out their lives, bore children, and died and are buried in Dorset, England. He was definitely not Rev. John Mayo.
The birth and baptism records could not be located for the children of Rev. John Mayo in England, nor in Holland. My Leiden sources said that the baptism records for the Dutch Reformed Church of the proper time period have been lost. The North Newington records were burned.
North Newington in Oxfordshire is very close to Thorpe Mandeville and Farthinghoe in Northamptonshire.
Hope that helps some. Good luck with your research, and let me know if I can give you any more info on your Mayo line from Jean´s book.
- Jean Mayo - http://boards.ancestry.com/surnames.mayo/4119.2/mb.ashx
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1597 - 1676 (79 years)
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