William Nickerson
Sex: M
Individual Information
Birth: 9 Aug 1795 - Provincetown, Massachusetts 1
Baptism:
Death: 23 Sep 1796 - Provincetown, Massachusetts 1
Burial: in Cemetery #1, Provincetown 2
Cause of Death:
Parents
Father: William Nickerson (1771-1817)
Mother: Abigail Cross (Cir 1777-1818)
William Nickerson
Sex: M
Individual Information
Birth: 1771 - (Harwich, Massachusetts)
Baptism:
Death: 4 Jan 1817 - Provincetown, Massachusetts 1
Burial: in Cemetery #1, Provincetown 2
Cause of Death:
Parents
Father: Enos Nickerson (Est 1730-1782)
Mother: Elizabeth Ellis (1738- )
Spouses and Children
1. *Abigail Cross (Cir 1777 - 5 May 1818)
Marriage:
Status:
Children:
1. William Nickerson (1795-1796) 1
2. Mary Nickerson (1797- )
3. Hannah Kinney Nickerson (1798-1800) 1
4. Jonathan Nickerson (1801-1802) 1
5. Abigail Cross Nickerson (1804-1804) 1
William Nickerson
Sex: M
Individual Information
Birth: 1604 - Norwich, Norfolk, England
Baptism:
Death: 1689 - Monomoit (Chatham), Massachusetts
Burial:
Cause of Death:
Spouses and Children
1. *Ann Busby (1607 - 18 May 1686) 3
Marriage: 24 Jan 1627 - Norwich, Norfolk, England
Status:
Children:
1. Nicholas Nickerson (1628-1682)
2. Elizabeth Nickerson (1629-Bef 1706) 4
3. Robert Nickerson (1631-1710) 4
4. Thomas Nickerson (1633-1634) 4
5. Anne Nickerson (1635-1680) 4
6. Samuel Nickerson (1638-Bef 1719) 4
7. John Nickerson (1640-1714)
8. Sarah Nickerson (1644-After 1715) 5
9. William Nickerson (Bef 1646-1719)
10. Joseph Nickerson (1647-1725)
Notes
Marriage Notes (Ann Busby)
William Nickerson, was born in Norwich, Norfolk County, England. He married Anne Busby, daughter of Nicholas Busby and Bridget Cooke, who were married at St. Mary's in Norwich on June 24, 1605. William Nickerson was a weaver.
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On 28 April 1621, at the age of about eighteen, his father took William and his brother Richard on as apprentices in the tailoring business. William learned the craft of weaving, and was admitted a worsted weaver and freeman in Norwich on 18 May 1632. He continued to practice his craft after leaving England, since he often signed his name as a "weaver." In his will dated 20 July 1567, his father-in-law Nicholas Busby -- also a weaver -- left William one of his looms.
William's decision to emigrate to America probably was a result of the persecution visited upon Puritans and other nonconformists by Bishop Wren of Norfolk, coupled with a rise in taxes and a slump in the economy. These forces joined to drive over 3,000 small craftsmen out of the country over a period of several years. William and his family -- including his in-laws the Busbys -- were "desirous to go to Boston in New England and there to inhabit," and prior to their departure were examined by customs officials on 8 April 1637, in the port of Yarmouth, England. William gave his profession as weaver, his age as thirty-three, and that of his wife as twenty-eight. They sailed from Yarmouth aboard the ship John & Dorothy on 15 April 1637, and arrived at Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay Colony, on 20 June 1637, after a voyage of sixty-six days.
On 2 May 1638, he took the freeman's oath at Boston; records indicate that he was living in Watertown with the Busbys at the time. On 1 December 1640, though, he was proposed as a freeman at the Plymouth Colony Court, which shows that he intended to move to that Colony. He took the Plymouth oath of fidelity on 1 June 1641, and settled in Yarmouth where he is later listed as serving as a grand juror.
His home in Yarmouth was in the northeast part of town, near Follen's (Little Bass) Pond at the head of the Bass River. In the final land allotment on 14 May 1648, he received ten acres of upland and six acres of meadow at Little Bass Pond. This was the farm he had lived on for eight years, and it appears that the 14 May allotment simply confirmed him in those lands. He had, however, also acquired new lands -- six acres of meadow -- at Nobscusset Meadows, later known as Hockanom.
His nonconformist religious views, partly responsible for his leaving England, also got him into trouble with the colonial authorities. In 1641, he was complained of as being "a scoffer and jeerer of religion." Records show that for the next few years he had several run-ins with the church authorities. His outspokeness and temper also caused problems with his fellow citizens. On 2 October 1650, several suits for defamation by and against William were brought before the court. In two of them, both parties were found at fault. In one by Edward Dillingham and sixteen others, "the court doe judg yt the said William Nickerson, in regard to his offencive speaches against sundry of the towne, to have carried himselfe therein unworthyly, and desire him to see his evell therein, and to bee ready to acknowlldg it; and yt those hee hath offended in that behalfe should rest therin."
Despite these problems, he held a series of civil offices. In March of 1643/4, he was listed as able to bear arms in defense of the colony in Yarmouth, and he served on a committee chaired by Capt. Miles Standish to settle land boundary disputes. In 1641, 1647, and on 7 June 1651, he served on grand juries, and on 8 June 1655 he served as Deputy from Yarmouth to the General Court.
Around 1656, William purchased a sizable tract of land -- about 4,000 acres -- at place called Monomoy (present-day Chatham). The sellers were a chief named Mattaquason and his son John Quason, and the deal was consumated without the permission of the colonial government, contrary to a law passed in 1643, ...
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William was a weaver by trade and no doubt belonged to the Weaver's Guild of Norwich. On account of the persecutions of Bishop Wren, of Norfolk, whose zealous efforts against non-conformists drove over 3,000 small craftsmen out of the country, he and his wife Anne Busby decided to go to America. Their examination just before their departure from England reads thus: "The examination of William Nickerson of Norwich, in Norfolk, weaver, aged 33, and Anne, his wife, aged 28, with four children, Nicho, Robartt, Elizabeth, Anne, are desirous to go to Boston in New England there to inhabit. April 8, 1637." This taken from the Complete Book of Emigrants. They sailed from Yarmouth, England on April 15, 1637 on the ship "John and Dorothy" and arrived in Salem June 20 1637. With them sailed Anne's parents. In the same party was 18 year old Samuel Lincoln, the ancestor of Abraham Lincoln, and also Joseph Lincoln, the famous author of Cape Cod stories.
On May 2, 1638, William took the oath of a free-man at Boston though it was likely that he was living in Watertown with his wife's people who came there after a brief stay in Newbury, MA. On December 1, 1640, he was proposed as a free-man at the Plymouth Colony Court, evidently planning to settle in the jurisdiction of the Old Colony rather than that of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
He took the oath of fidelity June 1, 1641, and on the same date he was on the grand jury and was propounded to be a free-man at the next court, being described as of Yarmouth. Evidently, he moved his family to Yarmouth about this time. His house and farm were near Folland's [sic] Pond (then known as Little Bass Pond) at the head of the Bass river. When he later moved to Monomoyick (Chatham), he sold his Yarmouth farm to James Mathews.
With others he was complained of March 1, 1641, as a "Scoffer and jeerer of religion", which was true to his spirit of a non-conformist. Several times in the next twenty years he was in trouble with the church, and very likely that had much to do with his decision to move into the wilderness of Monomoy. His trouble with the minister seemed in no way to affect his standing as a citizen, because he continued to be chosen for responsible civil offices as long as he remained in Yarmouth. He was among those between 16 and 60 able to bear arms in Yarmouth. Was chosen on the committee headed by Captain Myles Standish to settle disputes over land boundaries which had become acute in Yarmouth.
May 14, 1648, in the final allotment of lands at Yarmouth by the Standish Land Court, 10 acres of upland and 6 acres of meadow were laid out to him at Little Bass Pond ("toward the South sea", the record reads). This was the farm he had lived on for about 8 years and he also had purchased 6 acres of meadow in "Nobscusset Meadows", now known as Hockanom.
Prior to or early in 1656 William had bought of the Indian Chief Sagamore Mattaquason and his son John Quason, a tract of land at Monomoy without the consent of the authorities, which was contrary to a law of June 6, 1643, and he had obtained no deed thereof. On June 3, 1656, William was brought before the court.
"Att this court William Nicarson appeered, being summoned to answare for his buying of land of the Indians, contrary to the order of the Court, and for selling of a boat to the Indians, against a warrant directed to Yarmouth strictly prohibiting the same, haveing left the boate to bee the Indians; concerning his breach of order in buying of land, hee lyeth under the fine and penalty expressed in the order for the breach thereof; and for his contempt of the warrant, he is disfranchised his freedom."
His purchase was again before the Court on June 3, 1657:
"In answare unto a petition preferred to the court by William Micarson, desiring to have liberty to enjoy the land hee purchased att Mannamoiett, - the court have ordered, that the said land shall be viewed by some that shall be deputed; and afterwards, upon their report to the court, hee is to have competency or proportion out of it allowed unto him, and then to asigne up the remainder unto the court."
In 1657, the family returned to Boston.
Prior to January 5, 1661/2 William was back in Yarmouth with his family. Probably his older sons had been keeping his farm going for him in his absence. On November 27, he sold his Boston property to Phillip Gibbs for 150 pounds.
July 4, 1663 William Nickerson presented a petition to the Plymouth Colony Court for permission to settle at township at Monomoyick, now Chatham. In the spring of 1664, William, then being about 60 years old but still physically and mentally rugged, left the comparatively settled community of Yarmouth and moved with his wife and all but one son (Nicholas) to the wilderness of Monomoick. His sons and daughters cleared farms and built homes of their own and were the first settlers of the area.
In the Records of Plymouth Colony, we find several instances with William Nickerson being fined: March Court-20 pounds (p. 119); June 6, 1667-Debts due by rates and fines-20 pounds (p.120); October 1667-For sending scandalous writings to General Nichols-10 pounds (p.122); Jul 8, 1669-Item due to county also in debts and fines-20 pounds (p.127)
In 1682, William deeded a part of his land to his daughter Elizabeth. This was only part of the thousands of acres he had purchased, beginning in 1656, from the Indian Sagamore Mattaquason, who had accepted in pay cows, cloth, wampum, and other trade goods. Together they staked out the metes and bounds, some of which are landmarks to this day; but the Sagamore could give no written deed because the Plymouth real estate operators had passed a law that no Indian could sell property without the consent of the colony. William claimed that the land was the Indian's to do with as he saw fit, but it took him 20 years and a substantial kick-back to the speculators before Mattaquason was allowed to set his hand to a deed.
Their house in Monomoit stood between White Pond and Emery Pond, just south of Old Queen Anne Road, and his father provided him additional properties as he did for all his children, except Nicholas, who remained in Yarmouth. John's lands were located at Oyster Pond, Stage Neck and Buck's Creek. In the division of common land, he received a lot in East Harwich.
At Monomoit, the years between 1664 and 1672 must have been arduous and cheerless for the first tiny group of settlers. The forest areas in some placed "wooded to the brink of the Sea", and wild, dense thickets that had to be cleared away are rather hard to imagine now. Present day old-timers will tell you that if you take a small dirt road from Wellfleet to Truro you can see, toward the bay, a stretch of tangled thicket which remains today as it was then.
Quite isolated from the other Cape colonists, William and his children's families were the only white and English-speaking inhabitants in that neigh borhood - and relatively few others joined them in twenty-five years. Fortunately, they maintained cordial relationships with their Monomoic Indian neighbors, which "reflects the charity of the Indians at least as much as their own benevolence."
4
William Nickerson
Sex: M
Individual Information
Birth: Bef 1 Jun 1646 - Yarmouth, Plymouth colony
Baptism:
Death: 1719 - Chatham, Massachusetts
Burial:
Cause of Death:
Events
• Alt Birth 4, 1 Jun 1646 in Yarmouth, Plymouth colony
• Alt Death, abt Apr 1716 in Chatham, Massachusetts
Parents
Father: William Nickerson (1604-1689) 3
Mother: Ann Busby (1607-1686) 3
Spouses and Children
1. *Mercy Williams (Cir 1644 - 7 Feb 1740)
Marriage: 30 Nov 1668 - Monomoit (Chatham), Massachusetts 6
Status:
Children:
1. William Nickerson (Between 1668-Bef 1742)
2. Mercy Nickerson (Abt 1669- ) 6
3. Lieut. Thomas Nickerson (1670-Bef 1736)
4. Judith Nickerson (Abt 1678-Cir 1746) 7
5. Nathaniel Nickerson (Abt 1680-Abt 1725)
6. Robert Nickerson (Abt 1684-1755)
7. Elizabeth Nickerson (Est 1670- ) 6
Notes
General:
He fought in King Philips War.
He sat in stocks as punishment for affronting constable Thomas Howes in his office along with his father, brothers and brothers-in-laws.
His estate was probated April 7, 1719.
The Nickerson Family vol. I. By The Nickerson Family Association, in Chatham, Barnstable, Massachusetts.
Cape Cod Library of Local History & Genealogy 102.
He was a member of the first Chatham church. He was the first town clerk and treasurer of the town.
Before 1677, William Jr. owned a parcel of land east of Great Hill, Monomoit, and another lying southwest of the head of Ryder's Cove where he probably lived. But in 1689 he bought land at Cotchpinicut (Old Harbor) where he built a house and resided for some time. He took the oath of a freeman in 1690 and was a soldier in King Philip's War. As an active participant in village affairs, he served as grandjuryman, constable, inspector of whales, selectman and was the first village treasurer and clerk. It is noted that he did not record his own family, and but few others. William took oath of Freeman in 1690.
In 1700, stimulated by the work of the minister, Mr Jonathan Vickery, the village voted to "bild a meten hous of 20 and 2 foot floor and 13 foot in the wall". For this purpose they made "made chose of Gorg Godfree a nd William Nicarson, Jr. to lok after and see the work be don and at the same meten the inhabetence ded agree with Edward Small to be the fore workman to get the tember and to frame the hous with the help of the inhabtance and the inhabbetance ded agree to take thare tornes and goo out with Edward Small and to get the tember two days a pece tell every man had took his torn." It was also agreed "that every man that had a teme should drag one lode to plase of the tember ... and when the reat is made it shold be took from thar reat that had don the work and aded to them that had not to ok thar torn in doing the work". The building roughly completed in 1701, had no shingles, clapboards or glass for the windows. There were no pews, but benches, for the men on one side, and women on the other side of the aisle. The oldest persons sat at the front, and others in the order of their ages.
4 6
William Nickerson
Sex: M
Individual Information
Birth: 1698 - Monomoit (Chatham), Massachusetts
Baptism:
Death: After 1759 - Fairfield, Connecticut
Burial:
Cause of Death:
Parents
Father: Lieut. Thomas Nickerson (1670-Bef 1736)
Mother: Mary Bangs (1671-1736) 8
Spouses and Children
1. *Bethiah Harding (Est 1700 - Est 1730) 9
Marriage:
Status:
Children:
1. Tabitha Nickerson (Est 1721-1753)
2. Hatsel Nickerson (Abt 1722-1793)
3. Nehemiah Nickerson (1725-1804)
4. Bethia Nickerson (1726-1812)
5. Enos Nickerson (Est 1730-1782)
2. Sarah Bassett (Est 1720 - After 1761)
Marriage:
Status:
Notes
Marriage Notes (Sarah Bassett)
Children, all in Danbury, Conn.
William Nickerson
Barach Nickerson
Iranah Nickerson b: ABT. 1738
Jonathan Nickerson b: ABT. 1759
William Nickerson
Sex: M
Individual Information
Birth: Between 1668 and 1675 - Monomoit (Chatham), Massachusetts
Baptism:
Death: Bef 15 Nov 1742 - Chatham, Massachusetts
Burial:
Cause of Death:
Parents
Father: William Nickerson (Bef 1646-1719)
Mother: Mercy Williams (Cir 1644-1740)
Spouses and Children
1. *Deliverance Lombard (Abt 1670 - Bef Oct 1717)
Marriage:
Status:
Children:
1. Elizabeth Nickerson (Abt 1705-Bef 1739)
2. Caleb Nickerson (1713-1749)
3. William Nickerson (1701-1763)
4. James Nickerson (1704-1757)
2. Anne Atwood (Jan 1688 - )
Marriage: 21 Oct 1717 - Chatham, Massachusetts 6
Status:
Children:
1. Anna Nickerson (1717-Bef 1756)
2. Eldad Nickerson (1723-Cir 1770)
3. Deborah Nickerson (Est 1720- )
William Nickerson
Sex: M
Individual Information
Birth: Est 1860
Baptism:
Death:
Burial:
Cause of Death:
Spouses and Children
1. *Abbie Lane (Est 1860 - )
Marriage:
Status:
Children:
1. George E Nickerson (1883- ) 10
Notes
General:
1883 mariner, Wellfleet
William H Nickerson
Sex: M
Individual Information
Birth: 11 Jul 1841 - (Eastham, Massachusetts)
Baptism:
Death: 21 Jul 1915 - (Eastham, Massachusetts)
Burial: in Evergreen Cemetery, Eastham
Cause of Death:
Spouses and Children
1. *Theodora Viola Brown (21 Jul 1850 - 4 Feb 1901) 12
Marriage:
Status:
William H Nickerson
Sex: M
Individual Information
Birth: 6 Jul 1836 - Eastham, Massachusetts
Baptism:
Death: 17 Jul 1838 - Eastham, Massachusetts
Burial: in Bridge Road cemetery, Eastham
Cause of Death:
Parents
Father: Captain Joshua Walker Nickerson (1805-1868) 13
Mother: Mercy Walker (1804-1881)
William Kilburn Nickerson
Sex: M
Individual Information
Birth: 1854 - Hebron, Maine
Baptism:
Death: Nov 1932 - Boston, Massachusetts
Burial:
Cause of Death:
Parents
Father: Jesse Nickerson (Est 1830- )
Mother:
Spouses and Children
1. *Loretta Rogers (Cir 1857 - 1916)
Marriage:
Status:
Notes
General:
obit Provincetown Advocate, 10 Nov 1932, p3Medical:
Provincetown resident
worked for Old Colony and New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroads
died at Mass. General