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(Ed.note: This article is not about Albros, obviously. However, John Albro, the progenitor of American Albros, came to New England in 1634 at age 14, "under the care of" 1 , "in charge of" 2 , "ward of" 121 , or "traveling with" 3 William Freeborn and his wife Mary aboard the ship Francis 4 . The association is clear, and we thought this article would be of interest to Albro historians.)William Freeborn (Spelled Freborne, Frebourne, Freeborne, and several other ways as well) who came to New England aboard the ship Francis in 1634 and became one of the signers of the Portsmouth Compact (Rhode Island), like many of the original settlers, has several contenders for his English ancestry. In this report I am considering only two (ruling out quite arbitrarily the William Freborn born about 1604 in Halstead, Essex, England and married to Elizabeth Jeffry in 1629 in Halstead, IGI films 447990 and batch A455333 source 455333-455337, since our Wm. Freeborn's wife's name was Mary.)
One contender is the William Freebourne b.1594 in or near Witham (now the Hamlet of Newland), Essex, England, son of Alexander (or Alaxander) Freebourne, a surveyor. This Wm. Freebourne was listed as a sawyer in 1621; lived at Batisford Manor (also called Freebournes) until he sold it on Dec 20, 1633. He supposedly married Mary Wilson at St. Mary's Church, Malden, Essex, England in 1625 and died 28 Apr 1670 in Portsmouth, Newport, RI. Mary was supposedly born 1601 near Malden, Essex, England and died 3 May 1670, Portsmouth, Newport, RI. The references that make these claims are:
The link here is that Alexander was a surveyor, as our William so functioned in Rhode Island. So why was William Freebourne listed as a sawyer? Both professions involved quite extensive apprenticeships, required by law.
The other contender is the William Freeborn(e) born 28 April 1591 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England; baptised 30 April 1634 as the Francis departed for Boston; died 28 April, 1670 in Portsmouth, Newport, RI. This information is from the LDS FGR for AFN: HMVN-54 recid=12687005, and PRF Pin#726254 CD#16, Mamie Rosette Smail, Albany, NY. This William Freeborn supposedly married Mary (unknown) in 1627 in Ipswich. His date of birth is also given as an estimate of 1593-1594 in Ipswich in IGI films 1985371, 1985230, 1761042 and 1239547 p.1071 ref.22473, and PRF Pin#530070 on CD#14, Sundi Lee Ridgley, Bonners Ferry, ID. The marriage is estimated as taking place in Ipswich abt. 1626 in IGI film 1903537.
Two different sets of parents are assigned to this Wm. Freeborn; either William and Mary Freeborn or Gideon and Mary Freeborn. The father is William in IGI film 1985371 and LDS FGR familyid=6013583 , but Gideon in IGI film 1761042 and 1760728, and PRF Pin#530070. Both possible fathers are considered in FGR recid=12687005 . There is also a FGR (familyid=6117364) in which Gideon Freeborn, b.1570 in Ipswich, d.1651, is the son of William Freeborn, (b.1548 in Ipswich, d.1615, m. Mary (unknown) 1568 in Ipswich.) Mary (unknown) was b.1547 in Ipswich, d.1616. The FGR that has William Freeborn as the father of Wm. Freeborn has "Abt 1567 in England" for the birth of Wm. The Elder, which certainly sounds like a guess. If this contender is chosen, I would go with Gideon as the father and William as the grandfather, although it is possible there were two William Freeborns born in Ipswich (1591 and 1594).
A blend of the two data sets occurs as LDS PRF Pin#62459, CD#17, Wilma Belt, Bakersfield, CA. This PRF has William Freeborn b. 28 Apr 1591 in Witham, Essex, England, marrying Mary Sully in 1627 in Witham, Essex, England.
William's wife Mary was also reported to be Mary Boomar in a gedcom file on the World Family Tree, thought to be derived from a single LDS IGI record for a marriage of Mary Boomer to William Freeborn in 1615 in Newport, Newport, RI. But there was no Newport, RI then, and William Freeborn wasn't in America yet. Somehow the online gedcom had deduced that Mary Boomar was b.1601 in Ipswich to William Boomar. I can not find a record of this birth, which proves nothing. There could be a confusion with Mary Boomer or Booman, b.abt.1655 in Newport, RI, m. John Lawton of Portsmouth abt. 1675, later married Gideon Freeborn 3 June 1678 (from R.I. Genealogical Register vol.20, The Family of George Lawton of Portsmouth, Alden G. Beaman, Ph.D., p.28.)
The birth date of 1591 is compatible with William's stated age of 40 in the Francis' passenger log, while 1594 is not. Take that for whatever it's worth, and pick your contender.
Once William and Mary Freeborn get to New England, the only real genealogical discrepancies relate to a large number of children claimed to be theirs but having quite incompatible dates and places of birth. I am not going to list the claims here, as I don't believe any of them are more than wishful thinking. What follows is generally accepted without obvious conflict.
On the trip over from England (the Francis), William and Mary were accompanied by their children Mary (b. 1627, Ipswich; d. 6 March 1664 in Portsmouth, RI) and Sarah (b. 1632, Ipswich; d. 23 April 1670 in Portsmouth, RI), and John Aldbrugh, age 14 (which would make him born in 1620), whose presence there is unexplained. They arrived in Boston, MA in 1634. William became a Freeman of Roxbury, MA, 3 September 1634 (Pope's 'Pioneers of Massachusetts' p.175, Univ.of Fla.) William and Mary had a son, Gideon Freeborn, stated in another LDS IGI record to have been born in Boston in 1639. If so, then Mary must have stayed in Boston while William went to survey Rhode Island. William was reportedly one of 75 "in 1637 (Nov 20) disarmed in Boston for favoring Wheelright, and the next year went to Rhode Island." He was a signer of the Portsmouth Accord 7 March 1638. By act of Assembly he was expelled from Massachusetts for failing to appear in court 12 March 1638. He was assigned in 1639 with William Ballston, John Porter, John Wall, and Philip Sherman to "lay out lands as they shall be disposed" in Portsmouth. Was a member of the Grand Jury in Portsmouth 1 Dec 1641. He became a Freeman of Portsmouth 16 March 1641, Constable in 1642, and Commissioner to the General Court in 1657 (PRF Pin#726254) , possibly because surveyors were expected to know manorial law. Received a grant of 140 acres in Portsmouth on 10 Dec 1649 if he would build a house within a year. Elected a member of the General Court of Commissioners 19 May 1657 and a member of the Rhode Island Assembly the same year. A member of the Society of Friends. William died 28 April 1670 in Portsmouth, Newport, RI according to PRF Pin#726254, Pin#530070, Pin#332217, Pin#281781, Pin#848256, Pin#655646, Pin#1006050 and Pin#657505. PRF Pin#62459 has an apparent typographical error of 28 Apr 1676.
Gideon died 28 Feb 1720 in Portsmouth, RI. He had married Sarah Brownell (b.1641 in Portsmouth) 1 June 1658 in Portsmouth, Newport, RI. She d. 6 Sept 1676 in Portsmouth. Gideon later married Mary Boomer in 1678. Between the two wives Gideon had at least 20 children, one of whom was Ann Freeborn, b.28 March 1669 in Portsmouth, d.1729 in Portsmouth, and m. in Portsmouth Thomas Durfee (b.1670, d.27 April 1734, in Portsmouth) in 1690. Note that Sumter's book, and Arnold's "Vital Records of Rhode Island" erroneously assign Sarah Brownell's date of death to Gideon Freeborn.
References
1
Austin, John Osborne, One Hundred and Sixty Allied Families , Privately Printed. Massachusetts, 1893; reprinted Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. Baltimore 1982; CD504 "Early New England Settlers, 1600s-1800s, © The Learning Company, Inc. Jan 6, 2001.2
Holmes, Frank R., Directory of the Ancestral Heads of New England Families, 1620 – 1700 , originally published New York, 1923; CD504 "Early New England Settlers, 1600s-1800s, © The Learning Company, Inc. Jan 6, 2001.3
Hotten, John Camden, The Original Lists of Persons of Quality, 1600 – 1700 , Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1978, p.278.4
Copy of the passenger log of the ship Francis out of Ipswich, England, April 1634, at the Public Record Office, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, England. See also Ref.121 below.121
Passengers of the Francis by the Winthrop Society, winthropsociety.com/ships/francis.htmSend Email to: .
Copyright © 2000, Phil Albro.