II. Ancestors of Dorothy Wilbur

A. Parents of Dorothy

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It is not obvious why Dorothy's surname is usually given as "Wilbur", but that seems to be the most common spelling in the United States. Her father would most likely have used "Wilbore", derived earlier from "Wildbore" and ultimately from "Wildboar." Dorothy is thought to be the daughter of Samuel Wilbore, who was born either in Braintree, Essex, England (IGI film 1985316) or "of", Sible, Hedingham, Essex, England (FGR AFN: GH3N-SP.) His date of birth is variously estimated in different records of the LDS as about 1585 or about 1594, the former being based on a single christening record, the latter on wills and burial records. As always seems to be the case, there were many Samuel Wilbores born in this time range, and it is not easy to be sure which one is being referenced; clearly, these are not the same person. It is the Samuel Wilbore b. Abt.1594 who is considered to be Dorothy's father (b.Abt 1592, IGI film 1985500; abt.1594, IGI film 1903510; Jan.1595, IGI films 1985404 and 1985316.)

Wilbor(e) House in Little Compton, RI

The more controversial issue is Dorothy's mother. Three different women have been proposed in various records to be Samuel Wilbore's wife and Dorothy's mother. All three claims can be found in the LDS FGR for Samuel Wilbore, AFN:GH3N-SP. They are Anna Smith, Ann Bradford, and Elizabeth Lechford, AFN: GH3N-TV, VMMV-6R and GH3V-7L respectively.

Elizabeth Lechford can perhaps be dealt with most easily. Her marriage to a Samuel Wildbore reportedly occurred between 1620 and 1630, with the location ranging from Taunton, Bristol, MA (IGI film 1903902, 1620), through <braintree> , Essex, England (IGI film 1985332, 1620) to just England (IGI film 2034387, 1630). There is one claim for the marriage having been "Abt 1613" in "Of, Lancaster, Lancaster, England" to Samuel Wilbore (IGI film 1985454.) The MA claim is irrelevant because Dorothy was born in England (see below). The 1613 date can probably be dismissed because "Of, Lancaster" refers to the Samuel Wilbore christened in 1585, not the one born abt. 1594. The other dates are after Dorothy's birth, so Elizabeth should not be her mother. No children are presently assigned to this marriage. There is even a claim in the LDS FGR for AFN: GH3V-7L that Elizabeth Lechford was born on 29 November 1645.

Dorothy was born between 1617 and 1620 in Doncaster, Yorkshire, England ^19,22 . A Samuel Wilbore married Anne Smith on 13 January 1619/20 (not an uncertainty, a change in the calendar), in Lancaster, Lancaster, England (FGR for AFN: GH3NTV.) Again, this should have been the Samuel Wilbore christened in 1585. Another claim with the same marriage date has the location as Colchester, Essex, England²⁰ . They had seven known children, Samuel, b.either 12 Feb 1618/1619 or 10 April 1622; Arthur, b.28 Dec 1623; William, b.27 Aug 1626 (died in infancy, buried at St. Nicholas, Great Yeldham, Essex, England); another William, b. 21 May 1630; Joseph, b.28 Feb 1629; Shadrach, b.1631; and Sarah, b.Abt.1633. Arthur and William were born in Sible Hedingham, Colchister, Essex, England (supported by christening records), so the family had not moved to America by 1626. Dorothy is not in the list. There is one other claim ²¹ , that Samuel Wilbore married Anna Smith "Of Taunton, Somerset, England", Abt. 1630. Even if this were correct, it would be irrelevant to Dorothy. "Ann Smith" wife of Samuel Wilbore, reportedly²² died in Boston, Suffock, MA some time between 1633 and 1645.

The web site history.vineyard.net//allen/Web%20Cards/WC11/WC11_473.htm seems to combine selected information from the above. It has Ann Smith as Dorothy's mother and mother of Samuel, Arthur, William, Joseph and Shadrack Wilbore, all of these except Dorothy being born in Sible, Hedingham, Essex (Dorothy in Doncaster, Yorkshire), married to the Samuel Wilbore b. "by about 1595" in Braintree, Essex.

Finally, the marriage of Samuel Wilbore to Ann Bradford is claimed to have occurred (1) 13 January 1611 in Essex, England (PEF Pin#970316); (2) Abt.1613 Of, England (IGI film 2034424); and (3) 1616 in Yorkshire, England (IGI batch 8665909 source 1396201 sheet 23.) Any of these would let them have a child named Dorothy between 1617 and 1620. The LDS FGR for VMMV-6R lists only one child, William, b.21 May 1630 in Little Compton, Newport, RI. Little Compton did not exist in 1630, the FGR also has William christened in 1619 (?), and Ann Bradford is listed as having been born abt.1610 (married at age 3-6?) This FGR must be ignored. The GenWeb WDC file "Descendants of Thomas Wilbore" states that Dorothy Wilbore, wife of (1) Nathaniel Potter and (2) John Albro, was the daughter of Samuel Wilbore of Braintree, England, and Ann Bradford, who was born abt. 1590 in Bentley Arksey, Yorkshire, England, married Samuel Wilbore Jan 13, 1619 in Sible, Hedingham, Essex, England, and died bef.1639 in Tauton, MA. It states that Dorothy was b.1617 in Dorcaster, Yorkshire, England and died Feb 19, 1696 in Portsmouth, RI, data contributed by EVESERAT@aol.com. It may be this relatively specific marriage date of 1619 that has caused Dorothy's date of birth to be given as "Abt. 1620" in so many listings. The 1617 birth date is used in "One Line of Descent from John Albro of Portsmouth" by Alden G. Beaman³ . Is it just a coincidence that the January 13th date appears in both the 1611 claim (IGI) and that for 1619 (WDC file)?

Genealogy and Ancestral History Web Pages, "The Wilbur Family", created and maintained by Dr. Mary Ellen Van Camp, has the line of descent: Thomas and Alice Wilbore –> Nicholas and Ann Wilbore –> Nicholas Wilbore and Elizabeth Thickines –> Samuel Albro and Ann Bradford. Finally, the site "Wildbore/Wilbore/Wilbor/Wilbur - Descendants of Samuel Wildbore" contributed for use in USGenWeb archives by Susan W. Pieroth²³ , states that the Samuel Wilbore who started the line in America married Ann Bradford, came to America before 1633 with her and several children, and later married Elizabeth Lechford in Massachusetts. This again would make Ann the mother of Dorothy.

B. Parents of Samuel Wilbore

This is another area of confusion. To simply, Elizabeth Thickines, b. Abt.1566 in Sible Hedington, Essex, England, married first Robert Harrington, May 1, 1581 in Black Notley, Essex, England, and second, Nicholas Wilbore, Jr. (father of Samuel), abt. 1594 in Essex, England somewhere²⁴ . She has been considered the mother of Samuel Wilbore, but there are also records of Nicholas Wilbore marrying Mary Plumbe ²⁵ (Plume, Plumb), b. 9 Oct 1566 daughter of Robert Plumb and Elizabeth Purchas of Great Yeldham, Essex, England, supposedly in 1585 or 1586. This marriage has been reported as early as 1563 (IGI film 2034366) and as late as 1590 (IGI film 1760965). The FGR data for Samuel Wilbore, AFN: GH3N-SP, are duplicated for both Elizabeth Thickines Harrington and Mary Plumbe as mother.

Mary is supposed to have died in 1597, buried somewhere in Essex, England. The children attributed to her include Robert, b.Abt. 1587; Elizabeth, b.1588; Mary, b.Abt.1589; Nicholas, b.Abt.1593; and Samuel, b.Abt.1594. The possibility also exists that Mary Plumbe married another Samuel Wilbore, born in Braintree, Essex, England to Joseph and Mary Wilbore. The date of birth given²⁶ for this Samuel Wilbore ranges from 1560 through 1562, 1582, and 1593 to 1613.

Evidence to positively determine whether Mary Plumbe or Elizabeth Thickines Harrington was the mother of the Samuel Wilbore father of Dorothy is not presently available. There seem to be more votes for Elizabeth than for Mary, which proves nothing.

References:

³ "A Line of Descent from John Albro of Portsmouth" by Alden G. Beaman, Ph.D., R.I. Genealogical Register, Vol.1, No.1, p.30.

¹⁹ LDS Pedigree Resource file Pin #994927 and IGI film 1903936.

²⁰ IGI batch 7634402 source 1058862 sheet 37.

²¹ IGI film 1903697.

²³ Taken from "The History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantation" by the American Historical Association, Inc., 1920

²⁴ See LDS IGI and FGR files AFN: 1GLW-5TL; batch 5012757 source 1553550 sheet 1; film 1760820; batch F868258 source 1396257 sheet 9; film 451111 ref.39026; batch F515870 source 1553677 sheet 19; AFN: GH3W-32; and AFN: 1XD5-WNN.

²⁵ See LDS FGR and IGI files for AFN: 37WB-JH; AFN: 1XD4-165; film 1903743; film 1985640; film 1985415; and film 1760965.

²⁶ IGI film 2034366; film 446298 p.0015 ref.10576; IGI batch F507518 source 1553356 sheet 49; film 447938 p.90 ref.66416; and IGI film 1985316.

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