Nicholas Wallingford

Notes:

NICHOLAS WALLINGFORD, "a poor boy," came in the Confidence from Southampton, 1638, to Newbury and was there called "Wallington," which name was continued on the early records of Rowley. The later generations of this family have styled themselves "Wallingford." He married in Newbury, 30 Aug, 1654, Sarah, daughter of Henry and Bridget Travers of Newbury; freeman 11 Oct, 1670. By deed, acknowledged 29 Jan., 1677, he gave one acre of meadow in the Crane Meadow, bounded on Crane Brook, "to have an able & faithful ministry settled amongst the inhabitants of the sd Towne of Bradford" (Essex Deeds, 4 Ips.: 130). Coffin says he was taken captive at sea and never returned. The inventory of his estate was taken 22 Sept, 1681; his widow to use the estate to bring up the young child and the lame child (Essex Deeds, 4 Ips.: 443)." [Blodgette, citation details below.]

Noyes, Libby, and Davis's Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire, p. 715, says that the father of John Wallingford was "neph. of Wm. Gore or Goore, gent. of Nether Wallop." William H. Teschek's lengthy and careful discussion of Nicholas Wallingford's probable origins in Nether Wallop, Southampton, can be read here. Among other matters, Teschek suggests that the reference to Nicholas as "a poore boy" in Boston customs house records connected to the Confidence's 1638 arrival "may have been meant to infer a relationship to the Poore family. Based on his uncle Gore's will we know that he had Poore cousins, one of his children married a Poore, and the Poores were resident in Newbury at the same time as the Wallingford family. No Poores were on the ship manifest, and no other children were referred to as 'poore'."

Another passage from Teschek's write-up covers what we know about what became of Nicholas:

"Nicholas was a seaman and his last voyage to sea apparently led to his being captured on his way to England and his death in captivity. The first word yet found of his disappearance is in a letter dated 24 October 1680 from Samuel Sewall of Boston to his brother Stephen Sewall of Bishopstoke, Hampshire, England. At one point in this letter Samuel writes, 'Mr. Lidget is well & brisk in London: enquire if he can tell any thing of Nic Wallingford.' Samuel Sewall was a rich merchant who later became a judge, but in these early years he had recently come of age in the town of Newbury where his father and grandfather were early settlers. It seems reasonable to imagine that the Wallingford family appealed to Sewall, having known his family and knowing that they had contacts in a wider world who might have word of Nicholas. Sewall later was a judge at the Salem witch trails, and eventually Chief Justice of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. The Mr. Lidget mentioned in the letter may be either Peter or his son Charles, both merchants from Boston and London. More research should be done into these individuals to see if they left any more letters with information on Nicholas. Samuel Sewall left an extensive diary covering most of his life but, unfortunately, the years which might reveal more information about Wallingford's disappearance were lost long ago.

"Certification of his death by Mr. Thomas Kellon, a merchant, was made to the court at Ipswich, Mass. on 27 September 1681, and an inventory of his estate had been made on the 22nd. Nicholas had been captured at sea while on a voyage to England and died in captivity, so likely died long before the news reached home. Evidence for this fact is contained in his probate files in a 1683 petition from his wife where she states that he 'being going for England was taken Captive and there ended his Days'. Some secondary sources state that he was captured by Barbary pirates, but this is likely only oral tradition, although perfectly plausible. The inventory of his estate begins 'An Inventory of ye Estate of Nicholaus Wallingford who Deceased in Argiers.'"

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Nicholas Wallingford (d. 1681) = Sarah Travers (1635-1709)
Sarah Wallingford (1661-1682) = Caleb Hopkinson (1648-1721)
Caleb Hopkinson (1681-1730) = Martha Spofford (1687-1735)
Sarah Hopkinson (1710->1764) = William Bryant, Jr. (1707-1777)
(probably) Sarah Bryant (d. >1785) = Solomon Garfield (1743-1807)
Thomas Garfield (1773-1801) = Asenath Hill (~1778-1851)
Abram Garfield (1799-1833) = Eliza Ballou (1801-1888)
James Abram Garfield (1831-1881)

Nicholas Wallingford (d. 1681) = Sarah Travers (1635-1709)
John Wallingford (1659-1709) = Mary Tuttle (1670-1717)
Judith Wallingford (b. 1699) = Amos Howard (b. 1696)
Ebenezer Howard (1730-1783) = Martha Goffe (1733-1808)
Samuel Howard (1752-1797) = Anna Lillie (1760-1804)
Harriet Howard (1782-1847) = Samuel Prescott Phillips Fay (1778-1856)
Samuel Howard Fay (1804-1847) = Susan Montfort Shellman (1808-1887)
Harriet Eleanor Fay (1829-1924) = James Smith Bush (1825-1889)
Samuel Prescott Bush (1883-1894) = Flora Sheldon (1872-1920)
Sen. Prescott Sheldon Bush (1895-1972) = Dorothy Wear Walker (1901-1992)
George Herbert Walker Bush (1924-2018) = Barbara Pierce (1925-2018)
George Walker Bush (1946- )

Nicholas married Sarah Travers on 30 Aug 1654 in Newbury, Essex, Massachusetts. Sarah (daughter of Henry Travers and Bridget) was born about 1635; died after 18 May 1691. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. John Wallingford was born on 7 Apr 1659 in Newbury, Essex, Massachusetts; died after 1704.