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Saturday, February 21, 2015

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2015 WEEK 6: JOHN WYMAN, CONCLUSION

So what do I know now about my ancestor John Wyman?
-He and his brother Francis were among the early settlers of Woburn, Ma.

-He married Sarah Nutt on 5Nov 1644

-He held several offices over the years in Woburn town government.

-He served in the militia during King Philip's War and was wounded before the
Great Swamp Fight. His oldest son died there.

 -He was a tanner by trade

-John had a Scottish indentured servant, Robert Simpson, who he bought to help him
in his tanning business. Simpson also served in the militia.

-He also had a "negro servant", James Carringbone.

-John, his daughter Bathsheba and James the servant were involved in a physical
altercation with John Seers over his horse being taken away for military use.    

-John Wyman died on 9May 1684

From the fact that he had at least two servants that are mentioned in documents, I've
concluded  that John must have been well off by the standards of 17th century Massachusetts
Bay Colony. He states in the document about Robert Simpson that he had bought the
Scotsman, who was one of the Scottish prisoners sent by Cromwell to the colony. While
James Carringbone was called a "negro servant" he was probably indentured if not actually
a slave.

I thought there would be some mention of what befell Carringbone in John Wyman's
will, part of which I'd seen quoted on the Burlington Historical Commission website. But
when I found the probate file over on the American Ancestors website in the Middlesex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1648-1871 database, all that was in it was a photo of a scrap of paper that said:



I hope someday those papers will be found.

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