Margaret Wilkins

Notes:

In 1692 she gave testimony against her neice Margaret Wilkins' husband John Willard, in the trumped-up proceedings that led to his judicial murder in the middle of the Salem witchcraft mania. Her niece Margaret, daughter of her brother Thomas, was also a DGH ancestor, via her marriage, after Willard's murder, to William Towne.

She was living when her father made his will on 9 Jan 1697.

Margaret married Philip Knight before 1669. Philip (son of Philip Knight and Margery) was born about 1646; died after 26 Sep 1724. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Elizabeth Knight was born on 25 Jan 1677; was christened on 24 May 1691 in Topsfield, Essex, Massachusetts; died on 17 May 1752 in Topsfield, Essex, Massachusetts.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: 1 Jan 1702, Salem, Essex, Massachusetts

Notes:

Arrived in 1633; first at Dorchester, then to Lynn in 1630, and subsequently Salem in the same year.

His disgraceful role, and that of several of his family members, in the judicial murder at Salem in 1692 of John Willard, husband of his granddaughter Margaret Wilkins, is set forth in some detail on the Wikipedia page for John Willard.

Bray married Hannah Way before 1636. Hannah (daughter of Henry Way and Elizabeth) was born before 3 Mar 1616; was christened on 3 Mar 1616 in Bridport, Dorset, England; died after 26 Jan 1702. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Also called Anna.

Notes:

He had children who were baptized in Bridport, Dorset, but his actual English origins are unproven. David L. Greene's 1985 article (citation details below) sets forth two strong possibilities.

Henry married Elizabeth before 1606. Elizabeth was born about 1581; died on 23 Jun 1665 in Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

David L. Greene in his 1984 "Bray Wilkins of Salem Village MA and His Children" (citation details below) calls her Elizabeth Batchelar, but in his 1985 "A Search for the English Origin of Henry¹ Way" (citation details below) he calls that assumption "hasty, although not necessarily erroneous." A Henry Way did indeed marry an Elyzabeth Batchelar in Bridport, Dorset on 22 Jan 1615, but at least five of our Henry Way's eight known children appear to have been born before 1615.