| Notes |
- John Tillotson came from Halifax, Yorkshire, England and descends fromRalph Tilston, who in turn was related to Charlemagne, William theConqueror, and other notables including the more recent (1600s) JohnTillotson, the famed Archbishop of Canterbury. This line is of specialinterest to me, as my mother is directly descended from Edmund Tilson,who arrived in America in 1636, and who is also believed to be descendedof this family.
The details of John's arrival to the new world are not known, but familytradition says that he and his sister, both orphaned, came on the Jamesof 1635, with Cotton Mather. John was 10 years old at that time, and mayhave been one of the many youngsters who were sent at the Church'sdirection to the colonies as conscripted servants.
The first reference to John In Massachusetts places him in Rowley in1639. He was one of the initial settlers and original property owners ofRowley, a proprietor there in 1645. He moved to Newbury, Mass in 1648, toWindsor, Connecticut in 1660, then to the section of Saybrook that laterbecame the town of Lyme.
John Tillotson married Dorcas Coleman in Newbury in 1648. They had threechildren, and Dorcas died in 1653/54 John re-married to Jane Evans. Theyhad four children together. Three of the four were born in Newbury,Mass., and the last was born in Saybrook, Connecticut. The family removedto Saybrook about 1660. John died in Lyme, in 1670.
The town records indicate that John had a temper and an poor dispositon.I suspect that John was avoided by many of the townfolk, and his name isincluded in numerous official entries such as the following:
- 1650: "John Tillotson, it is well knowne what he is, the town gave him30s but this winter to make a bane."
- Sept. 1650: "John Tillotson was sued by James Noyes for killing hismare, for which he had to pay 27 pounds. John did not like this. He waslater presented in a public church meeting for 'scandalous andreproachful speech cast upon the elders and authorities."
- 1656: "John Tillotson was admonished for chaining his wife to thebedpost with a plow chain to keep her within doors."
- Nov 1657: Court in Ipswich. "John Tilison sentenced to the house ofcorrection, but released and bound to "good behavior and to live with hisand prvyde for her according to his place as a husband ought to doe."
- 1659: "John Tilison, upon complaint of Mr. Drummer, fined for falseoath, and to pay fees of the Constable of Newbury."
To add to this list of black marks, John also had a child before hismarriage to Dorcas Coleman. No mother is named. The child named as MaryTillotson was born 17 Mar 1648 and probably died at birth. When Johndied he left an estate valued at eighty-four pounds.
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1618 - 1670 (51 years)
