William Furbush
| Charts | Ancestors of Harriet Hanson Robinson |
William Furbush, whose parents are unknown (or untraced), died in what is now New Hampshire, after 27 August 1694 when he wrote his will.1
William married first, Rebecca (…) about 1664;1 he married (2) Christian (…) say 1690. The ancestry of both wives is unknown (or not traced here.1
William Furbush bought land with Daniel Ferguson in Kittery’s Middle Parish (now Eliot, Maine), and apparently was a feisty character. He was outspoken in his contempt of English authority which often landed him in trouble.
In 1659 he was taxed in Dover, now in New Hampshire, but by 1664 he was settled in the northwest corner of Eliot, now in Maine, "40 rods on the river." At this place is an old graveyard with about thirty unmarked stones.
William deposed in Boston in 1664, at the settlement of the estate of one Alexander Macdannel, a Scotsman who drowned 16 Jan 1663/4, between York and Dover, an area where William was probably living at the time. Furbush should not be confused with William Fuber of Ipswich, though Sumner may have done just that with this record. In her account she mis-states the date as 1633/4.
About 1668, he signed the Shapleigh petition of Kittery, Maine, to the King, read in the Council of London in 1680, asking for direct government, complaining that the Massachusetts government was suppressing freedom of religion. He also signed the Portsmouth petition, asking for a separate township.
In 1675 Furbush was fined 10s. in New Hampshire for drinking with two Indians named Richard and Harry, and again in 1686, in Maine, for selling liquor to Indians “& making them drunke." William admitted he had had a pint, and also had given Richard the Indian a dram.
He and his wife Rebecca repeatedly refused to attend Sabbath service, and William received twenty lashes in 1681 for calling court officials “Divells and Hell hounds.”
He and wife Rebecca were fined in 1679, when a constable attempted to seize their property and William “tooke up a dreadfull weapon & sayd that hee would dy before his Goods should be Carried away,” and Rebecca actually struck the constable. Sumner indicates the persecution may have stemmed from the probability that they were Quakers, though as Scots, this seems unlikely. He and his wife were fined again in 1683 for "talking against the government."
In 1695 widow Christian Furbush was subpoenaed as a witness, with others of Newcastle, New Hampshire who had watched in Robert White's illness. She gave her age in her testimony as about 43.
His will, dated 27 Aug 1694, was missing at his death, and was not brought to court until 2 Aug 1722. It was disallowed because the estate had been distributed by an agreement of the heirs dated 21 March 1701. The agreement provided that Daniel, evidently the eldest living son, have the homestead, and pay "any thirds that may appear due," but if any part of it should be recovered by William Wittum, all were to share the loss; Bethiah Furbush to have her portion; Enoch Hutchins to have the land at Spruce Creek already in his possession; the outlands to be divided by Andrew Neale, Thomas Thompson, William Furbush and John Furbush; John Furbush was to be the guardian of William, but John died, perhaps at sea, and his estate was administered by Daniel Furbush in 1701.2,3,4
William married first, Rebecca (…) about 1664;1 he married (2) Christian (…) say 1690. The ancestry of both wives is unknown (or not traced here.1
William Furbush bought land with Daniel Ferguson in Kittery’s Middle Parish (now Eliot, Maine), and apparently was a feisty character. He was outspoken in his contempt of English authority which often landed him in trouble.
In 1659 he was taxed in Dover, now in New Hampshire, but by 1664 he was settled in the northwest corner of Eliot, now in Maine, "40 rods on the river." At this place is an old graveyard with about thirty unmarked stones.
William deposed in Boston in 1664, at the settlement of the estate of one Alexander Macdannel, a Scotsman who drowned 16 Jan 1663/4, between York and Dover, an area where William was probably living at the time. Furbush should not be confused with William Fuber of Ipswich, though Sumner may have done just that with this record. In her account she mis-states the date as 1633/4.
About 1668, he signed the Shapleigh petition of Kittery, Maine, to the King, read in the Council of London in 1680, asking for direct government, complaining that the Massachusetts government was suppressing freedom of religion. He also signed the Portsmouth petition, asking for a separate township.
In 1675 Furbush was fined 10s. in New Hampshire for drinking with two Indians named Richard and Harry, and again in 1686, in Maine, for selling liquor to Indians “& making them drunke." William admitted he had had a pint, and also had given Richard the Indian a dram.
He and his wife Rebecca repeatedly refused to attend Sabbath service, and William received twenty lashes in 1681 for calling court officials “Divells and Hell hounds.”
He and wife Rebecca were fined in 1679, when a constable attempted to seize their property and William “tooke up a dreadfull weapon & sayd that hee would dy before his Goods should be Carried away,” and Rebecca actually struck the constable. Sumner indicates the persecution may have stemmed from the probability that they were Quakers, though as Scots, this seems unlikely. He and his wife were fined again in 1683 for "talking against the government."
In 1695 widow Christian Furbush was subpoenaed as a witness, with others of Newcastle, New Hampshire who had watched in Robert White's illness. She gave her age in her testimony as about 43.
His will, dated 27 Aug 1694, was missing at his death, and was not brought to court until 2 Aug 1722. It was disallowed because the estate had been distributed by an agreement of the heirs dated 21 March 1701. The agreement provided that Daniel, evidently the eldest living son, have the homestead, and pay "any thirds that may appear due," but if any part of it should be recovered by William Wittum, all were to share the loss; Bethiah Furbush to have her portion; Enoch Hutchins to have the land at Spruce Creek already in his possession; the outlands to be divided by Andrew Neale, Thomas Thompson, William Furbush and John Furbush; John Furbush was to be the guardian of William, but John died, perhaps at sea, and his estate was administered by Daniel Furbush in 1701.2,3,4
Family 1 | Rebecca (…) |
| Children |
Family 2 | Christian (…) b. abt. 1652, d. aft. 1695 |
| This person was last edited on | 30 Jun 2023 |
Citations
- [S922] Sybil Noyes, Charles T. Libby and Walter G. Davis, Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire. Portland, Maine: The Southworth Press, 1928-1939, 251. CD-ROM reprint, Compendium of New England Pioneers: A Collection of 14 Classic Genealogical Dictionaries of Early New England Settlers (Columbia, Maryland: Archive CD Books USA, 2006), further cited as Noyes, Libby, and Davis, Gen. Dict. of Maine & N. H.
- [S922] Noyes, Libby, and Davis, Gen. Dict. of Maine & N. H., 52 (list #364), 251.
- [S1373] Diane Rapaport, "Scots for Sale, Part II: Scottish Prisoners in Seventeenth Century Maine and New Hampshire," New England Ancestors 5 (Holiday 2004): 26-28, at 27, further cited as Rapaport, "Scottish Prisoners in Maine and New Hampshire."
- [S1060] Edith (Bartlett) Sumner and Thomas Farr, Descendants of Thomas Farr of Harpswell, Maine and Ninety Allied Families (Los Angeles, California: American Offset Printers, 1959), 154-5, further cited as Sumner and Farr, Farr Family.