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CHILDREN:
i JOHN, b. say 1604; d. Plymouth between 22 May 1627 and
September 1630.
ii FRANCIS, b. about 1606 (deposed 10 July 1674 "68 years of
age" [MD 2:46, citing PCR 1:81]); in the Plymouth tax list of 25
March 1633 and 27 March 1634 assessed 9s. [PCR 1:10, 27]; m.
Plymouth __ July 1634 "Christian Eaton" [PCR 1:31]. She was
CHRISTIAN (PENN) EATON, widow of FRANCIS EATON.
COMMENTS: In his list of passengers on the Mayflower Bradford
includes "John Billington and Ellen his wife, and two sons, John
and Francis" [Bradford 442]. In his 1651 accounting of the
Mayflower families, Bradford reported that "John Billington,
after he had been here ten years, was executed for killing a
man, and his eldest son died before him but his second son is
alive and married and hath eight children" [Bradford 446]. (The
man murdered by Billington was JOHN NEWCOMEN.) John Billington
met a sad end. John Newcomen had interfered
with his (John's) hunting and was warned by Billington to
desist. Newcomen apparently continued his annoyances until John
Billington hid behind a tree and when Newcomen approached,
Billington shot and killed him. For this act, John Billington
became the first American to be executed for a crime.
In a Survey of 1650 for the manor of Spalding in Lincolnshire is
a lease for three lives in which one of the lives is "Francis
Billington son of John Billington." In describing the three
lives involved, we are told that "Francis Billington (as it is
informed) was living about a year since in New England aged
forty years or thereabouts" [NEHGR 124:116-18]. The estimated
age for Francis Billington is probably less accurate than his
own deposition in 1674, but this record does provide an
excellent clue for further research on the English origin of the
family.
The family of John Billington has been treated thoroughly by
Harriet Woodbury Hodge in the fifth volume of the Five
Generations Project of the General Society of Mayflower
Descendants, and she lists the many occasions on which John
Billington or his sons were in trouble with the Plymouth
authorities in the first decade of the colony's existence [MF
5:31-34].
Among these incidents the most significant was Billington's
outspoken support for Lyford and Oldham in their revolt against
Bradford and the rest of the Leiden contingent [Bradford
156-57].
BILLINGTON, John Birth Date: 1605 Birth Place: Eng,
Massachusetts Volume: 13 Page Number: 531 Reference: Gen.
Column of the " Boston Transcript". 1906-1941.( The greatest
single source of material for gen. Data for the N.E. area and
for the period 1600-1800. Completely indexed in the Index.): Nov
18, 1901, 5166; Jul 15, 1907, 9362; Sep 11, 1907, 9362
John Billington may well have been a leading voice among the
dissident passengers on the Mayflower who apparently argued that
New Plymouth's government should be independent of the
separatist church from Leiden. We do know that their was a
bitter quarrel among the passengers which led to the formation
of two factions called "the Saints" and the "Strangers." Before
going ashore they had to "begin the first foundation of their
govermente in this place" because they had heard of
"discontented and mutinous speeches that some of the strangers "
1620, November 11: John Billington acknowledged and presumably
accepted of the conditions by being the 25th signer of the
Mayflower Compact on board ship while anchored in Provincetown
Harbor at the tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County,
Massachusetts
"Bradford's History" pp. 75, 87-8, 156-7, 234 and 442; 1952
His signature is far down the list. As Willison puts it, "
Billington may very well have been invited or commanded to
sign". There is reason to believe that he was at the forefront
of this mutiny because of subsequent events. It is reasonable to
assume that Billington was sincere in his criticism, enough to
be seen as "loyal opposition" by enough colonists that Bradford
couldn't expell him.
1620, December 5: A few days after landing, one of the
Billington sons, we are not told which, in his father's absence,
fired a gun near an open half-keg of gunpowder in the crowed
cabin of the Mayflower, endangering ship and passengers, "and
yet, by God's mercy, no harm done".
"Mourt's Relation" pp. 31, 44, 69-70
1621, March: Bradford chronicled "the first Offence since our
arrival is of John Billington and is this month converted before
the whole company for his contempt of the Captain's (Miles
Standish's) lawful command with oppobrious speeches, for which
he is adjudged to have his neck and heels tied together. But
upon humbling himself and craving pardon, and it being the first
offence, he is forgiven.
"Pilgrim Reader" pp. 124-5
1621, November: William Tench and John Cannon (surely the same
man as "Carman") came to Plymouth on the "Fortune" and were
allotted two acers in the 1623 Land Division, near Billington
Mayflower Descendants" I:151-2 and 228
1623: In the Division of the Land at Plymouth, John Billington
received three acres "on the South side of the Brooke to the
Baywards. " Why the Billingtons, who all four miraculously
survived the first bitter winter, received only three acres is a
mystery. Families were allotted one acre for each household
member, including servants. Possibly John, Jr. had been
indentured as a servant to some other family.
1625, June 9: William Bradford, in a letter to Robert Cushman in
England, wrote: "Billington still rails against you and
threatens to arrest you, I know not wherefore. He is a knave,
and so will live and die [Pilgrim Reader (284)."
1627: In the Division of Cattle, we know that young John
Billington was listed with the Warren and Soule families, while
his parents and brother Francis were grouped with the Hopkinses.
Mayflower Descendants" I:151-2 and 228
So we know that Billington was willing to publicly acknowledge
his dissident role while no others would and that he attempted
to actually organize a sort of opposition party by conducting
meetings at his home. After this "trial", Oldham and Lyford were
banished from Plymouth Colony, but nothing is said of punishment
for Billington. Perhaps his signing of the Compact insolated him
in some way, as his signing made him thereafter, a member of the
group, whether Bradford liked it or not.
1627: Evidently they had died or already left the colony before
the Division of Cattle, having named John Billington their heir.
Elinor, often witten "Ellen" or "Helen" by Bradford or by
Plymouth Court clerks, invariably was called "Ellinor" in her
own and her son's land records. "Plymouth Colony Records"
XI:33-4; XII:28-9, 37and 93-4
1630: The tradition that the execution took place in September
is borne out by John Winthrop who wrote merely: "Billington
excuted at Plymouth for murdering one.
"New England History" p. 43.
1630, June 12: In as much a Winthrop had arrived at Cape Ann.
"Massachusetts Pioneers" p. 508
1630, June 17 Winthrop arrived at "Mattachusetts", he was
"lately come over" that summer when consulted about the legality
of the trial. "Massachusetts Pioneers" p. 508
A number of other disgruntled settlers left voluntarily about
this time. One wonders that John Billington was not expelled or
at least urged to depart, but he remained at Plymouth, an
outspoken critic and persistent rebel.
The story of John Billington's execution for murder has often
been embellished with fanciful details in prose and poetic
fiction. But the only contempory eyewitness account was written
by Bradford:
1630: This year John Billington the elder, one that came over
with the first, was arraigned, and both by grand and petty jury
found guilty of wilful murder, by plain and notorious evidence.
And was for the same accordingly executed. This, as it was the
first execution amongst them, so was it a matter of great
sadness unto them. They used all due means about his trial and
took the advice of Mr. Winthrop and other the ablest gentlemen
in Bay of the Massachusetts, that were then newly come over, who
concurred with them that he ought to die, and the land to be
purged from blood. He and some of his had been often punished
for miscarriages before, being one of the profanest families
amongst them; they came from London, and I know not by what
friends shuffled into their company. His fact was that he
waylaid a young man, one John Newcomen, about a former quarrel
and shot him with a gun, whereof he died. "Bradford's History"
pp. 75, 87-8, 156-7, 234 and 442; 1952
"One of John Billington's bitterest enemies was John Newcomen, a
neighboring settler. Their feud raged for a number of years.
1630: Billington decided to end it with murder. Hiding behind a
rock, Billington waited in the woods until Newcomen, hunting for
game, appeared. Leveling his blunderbus, Billington shot and
killed him at close range. He was quickly tried by the little
band of pilgrims and hanged." Now all this is conjecture based
on the word "waylaid" in Bradford's account. We have no idea if
the killing was truely "premeditated" and where does he get the
idea that it was a "speedy trial" rather than a near linching.
The use of these words colors our interpretation of what we read
and make the capital sentence seem justified when we have heard
only from the prosecution. He ends his account with the words,
"Ironically, dozens of present-day Americans lay claim to being
related to Billington, murderer or not." What does he expect us
to do, falsify or distort history as he does!
The Pilgrims doubted their authority to carry out the sentence
and appealed to Massachusetts Bay Colony Governor John Winthrop,
who with typical self-contradictory Old Testament flair advised
that Billington "ought to die and ye land be purged from blood".
The fact that the Governor felt compelled to have the sentenced
sanctioned by the Bay Colony might presumably indicate that
there were extenuationg circumstances which led Bradford to
believe that he might be tried for murder if he carried out the
sentence. Billington was then hanged, drawn and quartered--the
first casualty in a 360-year-long debate over capital
punishment. And perhaps the first American executed because
society didn't much care for him or his opinions in the first
place.
Note: It has often been pointed out that almost all we know
about the Billington family was written by William Bradford, who
obviously disliked and criticized the entire family from the
beginning, and didn't know them well enough to know Ellinor's
name. The Billingtons were not in sympathy with the aims and
tenents of the Plymouth Church, but one wonders that they were
not more cooperative with those in authority who heavy-handedly
struggled to establish and maintain such a fragile colony on the
hostile shores of New England. John Billington, however, stoutly
supported individual choice and freedom of speech, raising the
voice of America's first 'opposition' to governing authority,
undoubtedly at great personal sacrifice, when he disagreed with
the rule of government. He and his descendents surely have
contributed to that integral part of the American character by
having the courage to just say "No."
[349432]
or b 1605
[349433]
William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation, 1620-1647, Samuel
Eliot Morison, ed. (New York 1952)
__ | __| | | | |__ | _(RESEARCH QUERY) BILLINGTON _| | | | | __ | | | | |__| | | | |__ | | |--John BILLINGTON "the Immigrant" | (1582 - 1630) | __ | | | __| | | | | | |__ | | |______________________________| | | __ | | |__| | |__
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Mother: Sarah "Sallie" ANDERSON |
_Joshua CHERRY ______+ | (1761 - 1840) m 1782 _Jared William CHERRY _____| | (1796 - 1871) m 1816 | | |_Martha R. KEENE ____+ | (1762 - 1820) m 1782 _Joshua W CHERRY _________| | (1823 - 1868) m 1846 | | | _John HOLLAND _______ | | | (1766 - 1842) m 1791 | |_Sarah "Sally" HOLLAND ____| | (1796 - 1827) m 1816 | | |_Jane ANDERSON ______+ | (1764 - 1859) m 1791 | |--Laura M. CHERRY | (1850 - ....) | _John H. ANDERSON ___+ | | (1784 - 1843) | _Jonathan Hadley ANDERSON _| | | (1806 - 1864) m 1825 | | | |_____________________ | | |_Sarah "Sallie" ANDERSON _| (1828 - 1903) m 1846 | | _____________________ | | |_Sarah "Susan" DAVIS ______| (1808 - 1850) m 1825 | |_____________________
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Mother: RADEGONDE |
_JOSCELINE de DINAN _+ | (1010 - 1070) _OLIVIER I de DINAN _| | (1040 - 1075) | | |_____________________ | _GEOFFREY de DINAN Sire of Dinan_| | (1070 - 1122) | | | _____________________ | | | | |_____________________| | | | |_____________________ | | |--JOSCE de DINAN | (1116 - 1167) | _____________________ | | | _____________________| | | | | | |_____________________ | | |_RADEGONDE_______________________| (1070 - ....) | | _____________________ | | |_____________________| | |_____________________
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Mother: Patience JOBE |
_Hugh MCKAY _____________________+ | (1640 - 1719) _Robert MCKAY Sr."the Immigrant"_| | (1679 - 1752) m 1716 | | |_Jane DUNBAR ____________________ | (1640 - 1700) _Robert MCKAY Jr.____| | (1708 - 1796) m 1734| | | _James BROWNE "the Immigrant"____ | | | (1656 - 1715) m 1679 | |_Anne BROWNE ____________________| | (1687 - 1726) m 1716 | | |_Honour CLAYTON _________________+ | (1661 - ....) m 1679 | |--Andrew MCKAY | (1736 - 1804) | _Andrew JOBE Sr. "the Immigrant"_ | | (1629 - 1699) m 1649 | _Andrew JOBE Jr._________________| | | (1650 - 1721) m 1692 | | | |_Elizabeth JOBE? ________________ | | (1631 - ....) m 1649 |_Patience JOBE ______| (1710 - 1762) m 1734| | _Thomas VERNON __________________+ | | (1644 - 1698) m 1669 |_Elizabeth VERNON _______________| (1671 - 1732) m 1692 | |_Elizabeth MAXWELL ______________+ (1648 - 1713) m 1669
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Kate Grogan, Murray, Spell in Vivian, was his step-Mother.
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Mother: Jane EWING |
_Thomas NORRIS II____+ | (1638 - 1683) m 1671 _John NORRIS Sr.________| | (1672 - 1750) m 1705 | | |_Elizabeth HOSIER ___ | (1650 - 1685) m 1671 _Robert NORRIS ______| | (1722 - 1792) m 1761| | | _Henry PATRICK ______ | | | (1660 - ....) | |_Mary Winifred PATRICK _| | (1689 - 1760) m 1705 | | |_____________________ | | |--Andrew NORRIS | (1765 - ....) | _____________________ | | | ________________________| | | | | | |_____________________ | | |_Jane EWING _________| (1740 - ....) m 1761| | _____________________ | | |________________________| | |_____________________
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Mother: Sarah BAYLY |
_William STROTHER III_+ | (1665 - 1726) m 1695 _Francis Thornton STROTHER Sr._| | (1698 - 1752) m 1718 | | |_Margaret THORNTON ___+ | (1678 - 1727) m 1695 _William Dabney STROTHER _| | (1726 - 1808) m 1752 | | | _John DABNEY _________+ | | | (1670 - ....) | |_Susannah DABNEY ______________| | (1698 - 1752) m 1718 | | |_Sarah JENNINGS ______ | (1670 - ....) | |--Susannah STROTHER | (1753 - 1830) | ______________________ | | | _Samuel BAYLY Jr.______________| | | (1700 - ....) | | | |______________________ | | |_Sarah BAYLY _____________| (1720 - 1774) m 1752 | | ______________________ | | |_______________________________| | |______________________
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Father: Harold Fred Vickers and Mother: Jennifer Herschey
Children of ROBERT VICARS and LYDIA JACKSON are:
i. JOSEPH3 VICARS, b. Abt. 1774, Fincastle Co., VA; d. 5 April
1841, Warren Co., TN.
ii. WILLIAM VICARS, b. Abt. 1775, Fincastle Co., VA; d. 1827,
Warren Co., TN.
iii. NANCY VICARS, b. Abt. 1777, Russell Co., Virginia; d.
Aft. 1840, prob. TN.
iv. THOMAS VICARS, b. 22 June 1779, Washington Co., VA; d. 17
March 1861, Riceville, McMinn Co., TN.
v. JOHN VICARS, b. Abt. 1782, Russell Co., Virginia; d. Abt.
1829, Scott Co., VA.
vi. LIDDA "LYDIA" VICARS, b. Abt. 1785, Washington Co., VA; d.
Aft. 1860, prob. Mercer Co., KY.
vii. PAUL VICARS, b. January 1787, Russell Co., Virginia; d.
28 August 1855, Russell Co., Virginia.
viii. MARY "MOLLIE" VICARS, b. Abt. 1787, Russell Co., VA; d.
Abt. 1830, prob. Russell Co., VA.
ix. JAMES VICARS, b. 1788, Russell Co., Virginia; d. 11
December 1855, Russell Co., Virginia.
x. MARTHA "MATTIE" VICARS, b. 2 January 1790, Russell Co.,
Virginia; d. 1 July 1844, Scott Co., VA.
xi. ELLENDER VICARS, b. Abt. 1793, Russell co., VA; d. Bef.
1850, prob. Washington Co., VA.
xii. JACOB VICARS, b. 8 April 1795, Russell Co., Virginia; d.
11 July 1829, Russell Co., Virginia.
(1) A genealogy written by Conley Abraham Vicars - copy of his
notes given to Helen Arnett in 1936.
(2) Letter from A.M. Vicars to Conley Abraham Vicars, 1929.
Vicars Family Newsletter: VOL. 1, Number 2 - Winter 1990
Will of Robert VICARS, Russell CO, VA Will Book 3 p355 ("?" =
unreadable in document)
"In the name of God Amen, I Robert Vicars of the County of
Russell and State of Virginia being sick and weak in body, but
of sound mind and disposing memory for which I thank God and
calling to mind the uncertainty of human life and being
desireous to dispose of all such in my estate as it hath pleased
God to bless me with. I give and bequeath the same in manner
following that "?" to say I desire that all the perishable part
of my estate be immediately sold after my disease. Such as
follows I give and bequith to my beloved wife Milly Vicars all
my stock of horses hogs sheep and cattle. Also the plantation
with all the crops "?" in the ground. Or outhouse and household
and kitchen furniture and plantation utentials of all this
things mention I give and bequith to my beloved wife Milly
Vicars, desiring her natural life or widowhood. In property I
give and bequith unto Joseph Vicars five dollars after the death
of my wife Milly. I give and bequith unto my son William Vicars
ten dollars i property after the death of my wife Milly. I give
and bequith unto mydaughter Nancy Burton ten dollars in property
after the death of my wife Milly Vicars like manner I I give and
bequith unto my son James Vicars the land that he "?" proper
that we bought between us in "boath ferways" immediately after
my disease. I give and bequith unto my son Jacob Vicars a pease
of land being joining end Dorton's land running down the main
road to the fork of said road and corning and running witht he
constitional line to him and his heirs forever for he paid me
one hundred dolars in money and the right to be in immediate
after his disease. I give and bequith unto my sons Thomas Vicars
John Vicars and Paul Vicars Joel Vicars likewise my daughter
Lidda Brickey Molly Gilbert, Martha Culbertson and Ellender
Barker after the death of my wife Milly all my estate real and
personal to be equally divided between the above names riten. I
do herby comstitute and appoint my friend John Dorton executor
of this my last Will and testament hereby revoking all other
former wills or testaments by me heretofore made. In "?" whereof
I have here cent set my hands and affixed my seal this 14th day
of February in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and twenty
one.
Robert Vicars (seal)
Signed and seal published and delivered as and for the Last Will
and Testatment of the above named Robert Vicars in presents of
us:
Robert Fugate
William Dorton
Stephen "x" Hieghs (his mark)Per DAR Membership Application of
Virginia F. Stewart:
Robert"Robin" Vicars came from England to Norfolk Co Va in 1767.
He served in the Rev War, according to "History of Va." p
287-88. But according to Vicars family stories, he was not a
Revolutionary soldier, he is quoted as saying that he would not
shoot at a red coat (the British Uniform) because he had worn
one himself, but if a red skin (Indian) needed shooting, he was
as good as any to pull the trigger .He did serve 99 days (the
full term of the war) in Lord Dunmore's War, the "battle of
Point Pleasant", against Indian raiders in 1774 ,under Captain
William Russell. At one time he took two horses loaded with
beaver skins and other furs to Abindgon to be carried and hauled
to Norfolk, there to be sold for supplies for the American
soldiers.
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__ | __| | | | |__ | _Wyatt WALKER _______| | (1730 - ....) | | | __ | | | | |__| | | | |__ | | |--Tabitha WALKER | (1750 - ....) | __ | | | __| | | | | | |__ | | |_____________________| | | __ | | |__| | |__
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