Monday, Feb 5, 2018
My first discovery of a New England Ancestor from my mother's family line that I discovered about a year and a half ago while researching my great grandmother's family history.
Little did I know that making this discovery the August before last that I would be starting an amazing foray into the history of our world and that this marvelous journey through history would enable me to discover numerous ancestral great grandparents and aunts and uncles that came to America on ships such as the Mayflower and the Fortune and the Anne and the Little James and ships that sailed in the "Great Migration" of the Winthrop Fleet and more.
I would find Ancestors that would settle Colonial America and become the founders The United States of America.
I would then find Ancestors that would lead me back across the ocean to England and mainland Europe and beyond.
I would find Ancestors that have given me noble and royal ancestors that in my wildest dreams I never imagined would be possible, but the pedigrees are all there written down.
I would also find through these Ancestors that humanity is ONE BIG FAMILY and that we are all related to one another in one way or another.
John Jenney-My 10th Great Grandfather
Today I would like to introduce everyone to my 10th Great Grandparents and my 9th Great grandmother who I descend from through my mother and through her grandmother on her father's side of her family.
When I first discovered my line to him, all I knew was the following (I penned this paragraph in my journal back in Sep of 2016):
That I accidentally discovered a direct line of descent from one of my great grandmothers to a family that helped settle Plymouth Mass., though they did not arrive on the Mayflower is unbelievable!
So it is that My 10th great grandparents, John and Sarah Jenney sailed a few years (1623) after on a ship called “The Little James”.
They were part of the group that went to Leiden Holland in the early 1600s with William Brewster and the other pilgrims but for some reason they decided not to embark on the Mayflower and instead waited until 1623 to make the journey to New England. Once they arrived in Plymouth, they quickly became an important part of the new colony by erecting the 1st successful “Grist Mill” for grinding corn into mill and flour.
John also created the 1st salt works for the colony and was part of the early governing council. Family records indicate that they were close friends of William Bradford and Miles Standish among others.
My 10th Great Grandparents-America's First GristMill
Beyond the Pilgrim Story
My 10th Great Grandfather
A Genealogical Profile of John Jenny (From the Plimoth Plantation Web Site)
Ship: Little James, 1623
Birth: John Jenny was born in England by about 1589.
Death: He died in Plymouth between December 28, 1643, and
May 25, 1644.
Life in England: John Jenny described himself as being from Norwich at his 1614 betrothal in Leiden.
Life in Holland: John was living in Rotterdam and working for a brewer when he married Sarah Carey from Monk Soham, Suffolk in Leiden in 1614. He probably moved to Leiden at that time. Edward Winslow mentioned John Jenny as one of the members of the Separatist church who understood Dutch and occasionally attended the Dutch reformed church.
Life in New England: John Jenny came to Plymouth with his family in 1623 aboard the Little James, of which he was part owner. His wife gave birth to a son during the voyage, but the baby apparently died young. John was a freeman of the colony in 1633, and served on many committees, as well as being an assistant to the governor for several years. By 1638/9, he owned a mill for grinding corn, which his wife operated after his death.
Family: John Jenny married Sarah Carey in Leiden on November 1, 1614, and had seven children. She died in Plymouth between August 18, 1655, and March 5, 1665/6.
Children of John and Sarah Jenny:
Death: He died in Plymouth between December 28, 1643, and
May 25, 1644.
Life in England: John Jenny described himself as being from Norwich at his 1614 betrothal in Leiden.
Life in Holland: John was living in Rotterdam and working for a brewer when he married Sarah Carey from Monk Soham, Suffolk in Leiden in 1614. He probably moved to Leiden at that time. Edward Winslow mentioned John Jenny as one of the members of the Separatist church who understood Dutch and occasionally attended the Dutch reformed church.
Life in New England: John Jenny came to Plymouth with his family in 1623 aboard the Little James, of which he was part owner. His wife gave birth to a son during the voyage, but the baby apparently died young. John was a freeman of the colony in 1633, and served on many committees, as well as being an assistant to the governor for several years. By 1638/9, he owned a mill for grinding corn, which his wife operated after his death.
Family: John Jenny married Sarah Carey in Leiden on November 1, 1614, and had seven children. She died in Plymouth between August 18, 1655, and March 5, 1665/6.
Children of John and Sarah Jenny:
-
Samuel was born in Leiden about 1616. He married (1)
Susanna Wood after 1637 and had three children. He married
(2) Anne Lettice by 1657 and had six children. He died
between 1688 and 1692.
-
A child was buried in Leiden on June 16, 1618.
-
Abigail was born about 1621 in Leiden. She married Henry
Wood in Plymouth on April 28, 1644, and had ten children.
She died after 1673.
-
A son was born in 1623 aboard the Little James, but died
young.
-
Sarah was born about 1625. She married Thomas Pope in
Plymouth on May 29, 1646, and had seven children. She died
in Dartmouth by October 1683. (My 9th Great Grandparents)
-
John was born after May 22, 1627. He appeared in the 1643
list of men able to bear arms, but there is no further reference.
-
Susanna was born about 1634. She married Benjamin Bartlett
before April 4, 1654, and died before August 18, 1655.
A Possible Ancestry for John Jenney (unproven but plausible)
Disputed Parents
Claims have been made that John was the son of Henry Jenney and Mary Smythe but it seems clear that this couple's son John stayed in the village of Great Cressingham (not far from Norwhich, England) where he had a family.[1]
John Jenney's marriage record indicates he was from Norwich, England, and the following summary is quoted from a 2008 article in The Genealogist: "In summary, the documents mentioned so far indicate that a man named John Jenney, probably the son of a Mrs. Avis Jenney, lived in the Lakenham area of Norwich, where he operated a mill until around 1600. This information clearly suggests a connection with John Jenney who arrived in Leiden after 1600, stated that he was from Norwich, and settled later in Plymouth, where he named his farm Lakenham and operated a mill. I believe that the first solid proof of the Norwich origins of John Jenney of Plymouth has now been found."[2]
This article, after much discussion of further evidence, proposes the following parentage for John Jenney:
"So, was John Jenney, the miller of Lakenham, a posthumous son of Christopher Jenneyof Dunwich, and by extension a great-grandson of the formidable Sir Edmund Jenney, Sheriff of Suffolk. Given the spotty record-keeping at Lakenham, the loss of most Dunwich registers to the sea, and the partial or total destruction of relevant parish records in other known Jenney home places such as East Walton and East Dereham, direct evidence of John's birth may never be found. At the moment, a circumstantial case can be made based on two sets of facts. Firstly, Christopher Jenney married the widow Avis (Homberston) Crathorne in 1568 and died in 1570, leaving her exposed financially, though clearly believing that her presenting him with an heir was still a biological possibility; and little of his estate was in fact specifically left to her, save a house and some lands in an unnamed location. His property was occupied by his testamentary executor in 1573, and his widow petitioned for administration of the remainder of the estate at Norwich Consistory Court, which record places her in Norwich on 18 June 1574. Secondly, less than two years later a Mrs. Avis Jenney who had not previously appeared in Lakenham records is found in the records of that area of Norwich, and she appears to have had a son named John, who can first reliably to be shown to be of age by a 1588 list of able-bodied men, in which case he may have been born in 1570/71....I myself, once having determined that this Lakenham/Dunwich connection, however surprising, seemed the most plausible explanation of John's origins, have played devil's advocate against it on more than one occasion, and yet always find myself coming back to the Homberston family links to both areas, the chronology between the departure of an Avis Jenney from her dead husband's lands in Dunwich and the apparance of an Avis Jenney in a suburb of Norwich, and the seemingly inescapable connection between the John Jenneys of the two Lakenhams, that of Norwich and that of the Plymouth colony."[3]
Leyden, Holland and the Journey to America
1609-1623
His own records state that "John Jenney , a brewer's drayman, from Norwich, in England, but more recently from Rotterdam, was betrothed to Sarah Carey from Moncksoon, on 5 September 1614, Roger Wilson and Jane Lee accompanying them.
Although John Jenney lived in Leyden for many years, he did not become a citizen as did sixty-five of the Pilgrims had. John was known to speak Dutch.
On 16 June 1618, he and his wife buried at child at St. Peter's Church at Leyden, Holland. At the time he was living at Veldesstraat (Field Street).
(I am just beginning to unravel John and Sarah's ancestry in Europe and some of the fascinating things I am finding lead me to believe that both of their family pedigrees go back to noble family lines in England.)
John Jenney, his wife, Sarah, and three of their children came to America in 1623 from Leyden Holland on the Little James.
Another ship named 'The Anne" accompanied the Little James and sailed a few weeks behind them. On the Anne would be about
The Voyage of the Little James and the Anne
In the summer of 1623 about 90 passengers embarked in two small ships sailing from London to Plymouth Colony for the purpose of providing settlers and other colony support.
These were the 140 ton supply ship Anne and the smaller, new 44 ton pinnace Little James which had been outfitted for military service.
They were financed by Thomas Weston’s investment group, the Merchant Adventurers, also those who financed the Mayflower in 1620 and Fortune in 1621.
After a three-month voyage, the Anne arrived in Plymouth, per Bradford, on July 10, 1623 and the Little James a week or ten days later.
After this voyage the Anne was to return to its regular cargo shipping work and the Little James was to remain in the colony for fishing, cargo and military service.
The Anne’s Master was William Peirce and the Little James had two young men in charge – Master John Bridges, master mariner, and a novice Captain, Emmanuel Altham, a Merchant Adventurer
Of the 90-odd passengers, there were about 60 men, women and children total in both ships, many being former English Separatist residents of Leiden, Holland, and with about 30 others being part of an independent emigrant group led by John Oldham. This later group had been promised a separate living situation in Plymouth apart from the main settlement.
There are no separate passenger lists for each ship, as those that sailed in these ships were grouped together in records under the Anne when the official land division was made in 1623 with assignment of acreage lots by name.
But author Charles Banks did identify at least four men, three with families, who were passengers on the Little James. These totaled about 14 persons. Banks also states that it is possible the Little James had more passengers, but due to size it could not accommodate many. Additionally, eight wives accompanied their husbands on these two ships, along with twelve children most brought over by their parents, with at least two of whom were Patience and Fear Brewster, daughters of William and Mary Brewster, who had arrived on the Mayflower.
Association with the Mayflower
*Quite a few of these were my ancestors as well so as you can see below, had these ships not made it across the ocean, I and my family wouldn't be here!
Some joined husbands or future husbands:
*Hester Mahieu Cooke (My 11th Great Grandmother) came over to be with my 11th Great Grandfather, Francis Cooke
*Alice (Carpenter) Southworth who married William Bradford shortly after arriving (Alice was My 11th Great Aunt, the sister of my 11th Great Grandmother, Julianna Carpenter Morton and William Bradford was my 11th Great Uncle).
*Elizabeth Warren (My 11th Great Grandmother) who came over to be with my 11th Great Grandfather, Richard Warren, who came over on the Mayflower.
Barbara Standish.
*Another had been the spouse of a now-deceased Pilgrim – Sarah Allerton Priest Cuthbertson. (Sarah was my 11th Great Aunt, being the sister of my 11th Great Grandfather, Isaac Allerton).
There were other passengers who married Mayflower passengers after arrival:
*Fear Brewster/Isaac Allerton, (Fear would be my 11th Step Great Grandmother).
*Mary Becket/George Soule (My 11th Great Grandparents).
Christian Penn/Francis Eaton & Francis Billington
*Experience Mitchell/Jane Cooke (My 10th Great Grandparents).
Nicholas Snow/Constance Hopkins
*Sarah Warren/John Cooke (My 10th Great Aunt and Uncle, Sarah being daughter of Richard, and John being the son of Francis and Hester Cooke).
*Robert Bartlett/Mary Warren (My 10th Great Grandparents, Robert's parentage is unknown and Mary was the daughter of my 11th Great Grandfather, Ricard Warren).
*And there were Mary and Sarah Priest, the daughters of the deceased Pilgrim Degory Priest, who had arrived from Leiden and later married Phineas Pratt and John Coombs respectively(These two ladies were both my 10th Cousins, being that their mother was Sarah Allerton PriestCuthbertson, my 11th Great Aunt, the sister of my 11th Great Grandfather, Isaac Allerton).
In addition to the above their were additional passengers, with a majority of them also being my ancestors in many different lines that would eventually lead to me and my family.
Click on the link below to view the full passenger list.
I will try to create another post soon about these two ships and how, for me, they were truly my FAMILY ships.
The two ships landed in Plymouth, Plymouth, MA in August 1623 just a little under three years after the Mayflower made its memorable landing at the same place.
Upon arrival, the weary passengers were reunited with their friends and family (the Mayflower Pilgrims) who had left Leyden before them to make their historic journey across the Atlantic.
My Family Ships-The Little James and The Anne
The John Jenney Family
Generation One:
John Jenney- b. 1585 Norwich, Norfolk, England; m. 1November 1614 Sarah Carey at Leyden, Holland; d. May 1644 at Plymouth, Plymouth, MA
Their Children:
1. Child b. Leyden, Holland; d. abt 1681; buried 16 June 1618 St. Peter's Church at Leyden, Holland
2. Samuel b. abt 1619 at Leyden, Holland; m. Ann Lettice;
*3. Sarah b.abt 1620 Leyden, Holland; m. 29 May 1646 Thomas Pope at Plymouth, Plymouth, MA
(My 9th Great Grandparents)
4. John b. abt 1623 on the ship the Little James; m. Susanna Wood; d. abt. 1650 , aged 27 years.
5. Susanna b. abt 1625 at Plymouth, Plymouth, MA; m. Benjamin Bartlett; d. 23 March 1654 at Plymouth, Plymouth, MA, aged 29 years
6. Abigail b. abt 1625 at Plymouth, Plymouth, MA; m. 28 April 1644 Henry Wood at Plymouth, Plymouth, MA;
The following missive is from various sources that I have saved since starting my research into my heritage and gives one a good idea of his contributions to the beginnings of Plymouth and the beginning of American history :
*At Plymouth, John was one called "gentleman" and on 25 March 1633-34, he paid the third largest tax in the town of Plymouth, £1:16:00. rated in corn at 6 per bushel.
*He was listed as a freeman in the In-corporation of Plymouth in 1633 and later as John Jenney, gen, in a list from 7 March 1636-37.
*He was listed along with Samuel and John, Jr. as males in August of 1643 who were able to bear arms.
*On 1 October 1643, he was one of five appointed for laying out of the highways.
*On 5 January 1635-36, he was on a committee of seven chosen "to assiste ye Governor & Counsell to sett shuch rates on goods to be sould, & labourers for their hire, as should be meete & juste,"
*On 6 March of the same year , he and four others were a committee to select a suitable location for two meeting houses.
*In 1636, John was a Deacon of the Plymouth Church. " Mr. John Jenney
*On 20 March 1636-37 was appoynted to view the hey grounde from the town of Plymouth to Iland Creeke".
*On 5 May 1620 he and four others were chosen to view the meadows of Edwatd Doty to compute the numbers of acres.
*In 1641-1642 he was listed among those persons authorized by the General Court to grand lands in Plymouth.
*He was chosen Governor's Assistant on 5 Janaury 1635 and was reelected to that office for seven years.
*He traveled back and forth to England for the Colony and its business purposes many times, one being in 1638.
*He also served as Deputy to the General Court.
*In the first distribution of land to those who came over on the Anne and Little James in 1623, John was allotted five acres, out of forty-give, that 'lye beyond the brooke to Strawberie-hill, (kown as Mill Hill or Watson's Hill)."
The natives called it Cantaugheantiest or Planted Fields.
The land is situated on both sides of the Cold Spring Brook.
*In 1626-27, John Jenney with several others became Pruchasers of the English Merchant's interest in Plymouth Colony, this enabled John to get a share of the division of cattle on 22 May 1627.
"The twelueth lott fell to John Jene ^ his companie joyned him:
2. his wife Sarah Jane
3. Samuell Jene
4. Abigail Jene
5. Sarah Jene
Robert
6. Robert Hikes
7. Margret Hikes
8. Samuel Hickes
9. Ephraim Hickes
10 Lydia Hickes
11. Phebe Hickes
12. Stephen Dean
12 Edward Banges
--To this lott fell the greate white backt cow which was brought over with the first in the Ann, to which cow the keepeing of the bull was joined for these psents to puide for heere also two shee goats."
*In 1636, at the assignement of the "heyground" it was ordered that "John Jenney (and Edward Holman with him, for cow & a calfe) have the grounde from John Wynslow downeward to Mr. Allersons howse, or the creeke there."
*The next year the same plot was given to him "where he had the last yeare, and to edge more upon the sedgy place, that there may b ehey also gott there fo rthe teame of the towne."
*On 6 January 1636-37, it was agreed "that the six acres of the lands of John Jenney , and the two acres of Mrs. Fuller lying at Strawberry Hill, enclosed by Mr. Ralph Smyth, shalbe yeilded upp unto them this yeare, that they may ymprove them to the settling of corne; provided that the said John Jenney shall erext a swelling house neare or upon the said six acrees, with are to belong unto the said house as long as it shalbe a dwelling."
*He also received a grant on 16 September 1641 of "as much more upland as will make his farme at Lakenhame (now Carver) two hundred acres, and when that is used then to have more added to yet in lue of soem land he hath yeilded up at the towne to Gabriell Fallowell"
The Jenney Grist Mill in Plymouth, Mass
The first mill on Town Brooke was built and run by Stephen Deane from 1632-1634. At the inventory of Deane's death the value of the mill was £20.
Two years later John Jenney built a mill for grinding corn on the same site and was given the permit on 7 March 1676:
"It is conclued upon the Court That Mr. John Jenney shall have liberty to erect a Milne for grinding and beating of Corne upon the brook of Plymouth to be to him & his heires for ever. And shall have a pottle of Corne towle upon every bushell for grinding the same fo rthe space of the two first yeares next after the said Milne is erected, and afterwards but a quart at a bushell for all that is brought to the milne by others, but if he fetch it & grind it himself or by his servants then to have a pottle toule for every bushell as before."
For John though the mill was not always a success:
" on 4 September 1638, Mr. John Jenney was psented at Court for diging downe the highway before his mill, to the endangering of man and beast; and six months later, he was psented for not grinding corne serviceable, but to greate losse & damnage, both in not grinding it well, as also causeing ment to stay long before it can be grounde, except his servant to feede.
These accusations were not supported by evidence and he was released.
John Jenney took two apprecitces, John Smith and Thomas Higgins (for 7 to 8 years), they were both working at the mill during John's lifetime.
John was again at Court for trading with the Indians, which was against the law, 6 January 1636-37:
"Whereas John Jenney, Thomas Willett, and George Watson did, contrary to the auncient lawes of this colony, trade wth the Indians for corne, and thereby both the quabtitie of corn & he value thereof was forfaited to the collony, and that there upon the corne so traded contrary to law was seized to the use of the collony, and that afterwards,, by a publicke order made in Court, it was referred to the bench the said bench doth now order, that thone (the one) halfe of the said corne, and the forfaiture beisdes shalbe freely given to them againe, and theother halfe of the corne shalbe delivered to the Treasurer for the use of the collony, to be disposed as the bench shall see fit."
(After his death, on 4 August 1644, Mrs. Jenney "upon the psentment against her pmiseth to amend the grinding at the mill, and to keepe the morters cleane and baggs of corne from spoyleing and looseing."
My Great Uncle Samuel carried on with the mill after John's death).
On 20 April 1641, John received permission to make salt on Clark's Island and "to use such wood on the island as he may."
He sold this salt to the town residents so that they may preserve their meat and fish.
**Many years later, another of my ancestral cousins, Joy Morton, (a descendent of my 11th Great Grandfather, George Morton) would found a salt company that would be famous the world over.
(See links below)
My 11th Great Grandfather George Morton
The Morton Salt Company-an ancestral cousin's company
*John first obtained the home of Richard Marsterson, on Smith's Lane.
It was constructed of "hewn plank".
John later sold this first framed house of Plymouth to George Watson in 1635 for £23.
*In February 1638, John bought property at Rocky Nook from Mayflower Pilgrim John Howland.
(John Holland was also an 11th Great Grandfather of mine from another line)
Since he was most involved with Town Brook and Strawberry Hill, this was most likely an investment.
*He also increases his holdings in February 1638 with a purchase from Web Adey for £17:20 for :his house and garden place adjoyneing and three acres upon which the house stood in PLymouth."
*In June 1639, when he purchased of £15 from RIchard Clough, "all his house & garden with the dence abouth the same, together with some posts, rails, and pallasadoes kying in the woods." These lots were on the south side of Summer Street in Plymouth and extended from Spring Lane to the 1883 house of Barnabas Churchill.
It is thought that his interest in trade, he may have been the owner of the little James, a pinnace-2 masted craft of forty-four tones.
Though no evidence is found he did own the Little James, in 1637 a new barque which he used to travel back and forth to England was part of his holdings.
It was known as John Jenney's barque.
John died most likely in early May of 1644.
His inventory was taken on 25 May 1644.
Will and Inventory of John's Estate at his death
John and Sarah would be the progenitors of many decedents including myself and my siblings.
His children would have large families and his blood would end up in close to 50, 000 people through out the U.S. and the world.
A few of his more famous descendants:
William LeBron Jenney: Architect (father of the modern skyscraper)
George Bush (Sr ans Jr): Presidents of the United States of America
So now you know more about my 10th Great Grandfather than you probably ever wanted to....
I will try to create another post soon about these two ships and how, for me, they were truly my FAMILY ships.
The two ships landed in Plymouth, Plymouth, MA in August 1623 just a little under three years after the Mayflower made its memorable landing at the same place.
Upon arrival, the weary passengers were reunited with their friends and family (the Mayflower Pilgrims) who had left Leyden before them to make their historic journey across the Atlantic.
My Family Ships-The Little James and The Anne
The John Jenney Family
Soon after arriving, John and Sarah and their children settled in the colony of Plymouth and shortly thereafter, John became a very important part of the fledgling colony.
The first generation of my 10th Great Grandfather's family is as follows:
Generation One:
John Jenney- b. 1585 Norwich, Norfolk, England; m. 1November 1614 Sarah Carey at Leyden, Holland; d. May 1644 at Plymouth, Plymouth, MA
Their Children:
1. Child b. Leyden, Holland; d. abt 1681; buried 16 June 1618 St. Peter's Church at Leyden, Holland
2. Samuel b. abt 1619 at Leyden, Holland; m. Ann Lettice;
*3. Sarah b.abt 1620 Leyden, Holland; m. 29 May 1646 Thomas Pope at Plymouth, Plymouth, MA
(My 9th Great Grandparents)
4. John b. abt 1623 on the ship the Little James; m. Susanna Wood; d. abt. 1650 , aged 27 years.
5. Susanna b. abt 1625 at Plymouth, Plymouth, MA; m. Benjamin Bartlett; d. 23 March 1654 at Plymouth, Plymouth, MA, aged 29 years
6. Abigail b. abt 1625 at Plymouth, Plymouth, MA; m. 28 April 1644 Henry Wood at Plymouth, Plymouth, MA;
Life in New England
The following missive is from various sources that I have saved since starting my research into my heritage and gives one a good idea of his contributions to the beginnings of Plymouth and the beginning of American history :
*At Plymouth, John was one called "gentleman" and on 25 March 1633-34, he paid the third largest tax in the town of Plymouth, £1:16:00. rated in corn at 6 per bushel.
*He was listed as a freeman in the In-corporation of Plymouth in 1633 and later as John Jenney, gen, in a list from 7 March 1636-37.
*He was listed along with Samuel and John, Jr. as males in August of 1643 who were able to bear arms.
*On 1 October 1643, he was one of five appointed for laying out of the highways.
*On 5 January 1635-36, he was on a committee of seven chosen "to assiste ye Governor & Counsell to sett shuch rates on goods to be sould, & labourers for their hire, as should be meete & juste,"
*On 6 March of the same year , he and four others were a committee to select a suitable location for two meeting houses.
*In 1636, John was a Deacon of the Plymouth Church. " Mr. John Jenney
*On 20 March 1636-37 was appoynted to view the hey grounde from the town of Plymouth to Iland Creeke".
*On 5 May 1620 he and four others were chosen to view the meadows of Edwatd Doty to compute the numbers of acres.
*In 1641-1642 he was listed among those persons authorized by the General Court to grand lands in Plymouth.
*He was chosen Governor's Assistant on 5 Janaury 1635 and was reelected to that office for seven years.
*He traveled back and forth to England for the Colony and its business purposes many times, one being in 1638.
*He also served as Deputy to the General Court.
A large Landowner and with many Interests
From the entries below, one can see that John acquired quite a bit of property in Plymouth early on in the settlement's history:
*In the first distribution of land to those who came over on the Anne and Little James in 1623, John was allotted five acres, out of forty-give, that 'lye beyond the brooke to Strawberie-hill, (kown as Mill Hill or Watson's Hill)."
The natives called it Cantaugheantiest or Planted Fields.
The land is situated on both sides of the Cold Spring Brook.
*In 1626-27, John Jenney with several others became Pruchasers of the English Merchant's interest in Plymouth Colony, this enabled John to get a share of the division of cattle on 22 May 1627.
"The twelueth lott fell to John Jene ^ his companie joyned him:
2. his wife Sarah Jane
3. Samuell Jene
4. Abigail Jene
5. Sarah Jene
Robert
6. Robert Hikes
7. Margret Hikes
8. Samuel Hickes
9. Ephraim Hickes
10 Lydia Hickes
11. Phebe Hickes
12. Stephen Dean
12 Edward Banges
--To this lott fell the greate white backt cow which was brought over with the first in the Ann, to which cow the keepeing of the bull was joined for these psents to puide for heere also two shee goats."
*In 1636, at the assignement of the "heyground" it was ordered that "John Jenney (and Edward Holman with him, for cow & a calfe) have the grounde from John Wynslow downeward to Mr. Allersons howse, or the creeke there."
*The next year the same plot was given to him "where he had the last yeare, and to edge more upon the sedgy place, that there may b ehey also gott there fo rthe teame of the towne."
*On 6 January 1636-37, it was agreed "that the six acres of the lands of John Jenney , and the two acres of Mrs. Fuller lying at Strawberry Hill, enclosed by Mr. Ralph Smyth, shalbe yeilded upp unto them this yeare, that they may ymprove them to the settling of corne; provided that the said John Jenney shall erext a swelling house neare or upon the said six acrees, with are to belong unto the said house as long as it shalbe a dwelling."
*He also received a grant on 16 September 1641 of "as much more upland as will make his farme at Lakenhame (now Carver) two hundred acres, and when that is used then to have more added to yet in lue of soem land he hath yeilded up at the towne to Gabriell Fallowell"
America's First Grist Mill
The Jenney Grist Mill in Plymouth, Mass
(I took these photos on Feb 13, 2017 when I visited the mill for the 1st time)
The first mill on Town Brooke was built and run by Stephen Deane from 1632-1634. At the inventory of Deane's death the value of the mill was £20.
Two years later John Jenney built a mill for grinding corn on the same site and was given the permit on 7 March 1676:
"It is conclued upon the Court That Mr. John Jenney shall have liberty to erect a Milne for grinding and beating of Corne upon the brook of Plymouth to be to him & his heires for ever. And shall have a pottle of Corne towle upon every bushell for grinding the same fo rthe space of the two first yeares next after the said Milne is erected, and afterwards but a quart at a bushell for all that is brought to the milne by others, but if he fetch it & grind it himself or by his servants then to have a pottle toule for every bushell as before."
For John though the mill was not always a success:
" on 4 September 1638, Mr. John Jenney was psented at Court for diging downe the highway before his mill, to the endangering of man and beast; and six months later, he was psented for not grinding corne serviceable, but to greate losse & damnage, both in not grinding it well, as also causeing ment to stay long before it can be grounde, except his servant to feede.
These accusations were not supported by evidence and he was released.
John Jenney took two apprecitces, John Smith and Thomas Higgins (for 7 to 8 years), they were both working at the mill during John's lifetime.
John was again at Court for trading with the Indians, which was against the law, 6 January 1636-37:
"Whereas John Jenney, Thomas Willett, and George Watson did, contrary to the auncient lawes of this colony, trade wth the Indians for corne, and thereby both the quabtitie of corn & he value thereof was forfaited to the collony, and that there upon the corne so traded contrary to law was seized to the use of the collony, and that afterwards,, by a publicke order made in Court, it was referred to the bench the said bench doth now order, that thone (the one) halfe of the said corne, and the forfaiture beisdes shalbe freely given to them againe, and theother halfe of the corne shalbe delivered to the Treasurer for the use of the collony, to be disposed as the bench shall see fit."
(After his death, on 4 August 1644, Mrs. Jenney "upon the psentment against her pmiseth to amend the grinding at the mill, and to keepe the morters cleane and baggs of corne from spoyleing and looseing."
My Great Uncle Samuel carried on with the mill after John's death).
The Start of A Salt Works
On 20 April 1641, John received permission to make salt on Clark's Island and "to use such wood on the island as he may."
He sold this salt to the town residents so that they may preserve their meat and fish.
**Many years later, another of my ancestral cousins, Joy Morton, (a descendent of my 11th Great Grandfather, George Morton) would found a salt company that would be famous the world over.
(See links below)
My 11th Great Grandfather George Morton
The Morton Salt Company-an ancestral cousin's company
Homes and Properties in the Colony
John and Sarah Jenney House in Plymouth, Massachusetts
*John first obtained the home of Richard Marsterson, on Smith's Lane.
It was constructed of "hewn plank".
John later sold this first framed house of Plymouth to George Watson in 1635 for £23.
*In February 1638, John bought property at Rocky Nook from Mayflower Pilgrim John Howland.
(John Holland was also an 11th Great Grandfather of mine from another line)
Since he was most involved with Town Brook and Strawberry Hill, this was most likely an investment.
*He also increases his holdings in February 1638 with a purchase from Web Adey for £17:20 for :his house and garden place adjoyneing and three acres upon which the house stood in PLymouth."
*In June 1639, when he purchased of £15 from RIchard Clough, "all his house & garden with the dence abouth the same, together with some posts, rails, and pallasadoes kying in the woods." These lots were on the south side of Summer Street in Plymouth and extended from Spring Lane to the 1883 house of Barnabas Churchill.
It is thought that his interest in trade, he may have been the owner of the little James, a pinnace-2 masted craft of forty-four tones.
Though no evidence is found he did own the Little James, in 1637 a new barque which he used to travel back and forth to England was part of his holdings.
It was known as John Jenney's barque.
Death and Last Will and Testament
John died most likely in early May of 1644.
His inventory was taken on 25 May 1644.
Will and Inventory of John's Estate at his death
Descendants of John and Sarah Jenney
His children would have large families and his blood would end up in close to 50, 000 people through out the U.S. and the world.
A few of his more famous descendants:
William LeBron Jenney: Architect (father of the modern skyscraper)
George Bush (Sr ans Jr): Presidents of the United States of America
My Pedigree to John Jenney
John Repinski
You
You
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Warm Regards,
My Family Historian
John
2 comments:
Thomas Pope and Sarah Jenney are in my ancestral line, too. I came across The Pope Family by Charles Henry Pope of Boston, MA, published in 1888, in which he stated Thomas Pope married second to Sarah Jenney of Plymouth, daughter of Thomas and Ann. Are you sure that Sarah Jenney's father was John Jenney? Joyce Howell in Iowa
My name is Annabel Jenney and I too thought our dear old great grandfather of many generations ago came across on the Mayflower! Having been in touch with Nancy at the Jenney Museum, I’ve learned he did travel across on the Little James! Fascinating stuff!
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