James Fuller of Lavenham 

Is The Most Likely Ancestral Line of John of Newton

John Fuller of Newton’s wife, Elizabeth Cole was baptized 1 January 1622/3 at the Parish Church in Lavenham, Suffolk, England, UK. We do not have the same birth/baptism documentation for John; however, we have evidence that links John of Newton to Lavenham.

“John Fuller of Newton immigrated to New England and settled in Newton (Cambridge Village at the time), Middlesex, MA about 1644. In 1658 he purchased a farm of 750 acers and over time added more land as he had five sons and planned to set up each son with his own farm before he died“[1]. John must have known Simon Onge of Lavenham very well or he would not have allowed Simon to live on his farmland for his lifetime. There is also a connection between John and James Fuller of Lavenham as Simon’s father was a witness to James Fuller’s 1618 Will.[2]  

James Fuller lived and raised his family in Lavenham with the earliest record being 1562/3.

1622 Original Record

The Lavenham Parish Records show that between 1562 and 1569 he had two children who lived past

childhood and three that did not.[3]  James Fuller was born say 1542 and died/buried 14 May, 1622.[4] His wife died and was buried in Lavenham, in 1614.[5]

  1. John was bp. 4 Jan, 1562/3[6], Lavenham and Anne Gates, bp. 5 April 1573,[7]

    1562 Original Record

    Lavenham, were married 15 Sept, 1594[8] in Lavenham. John and Anne must have moved to another parish to live and raise their family and it was common at the time for the wife to return ‘home’ to have her first child, which would explain why Edward was bp. in Lavenham.

      1. Edward, bp. 19 Oct, 1595[9] in Lavenham and may have died prior to 1618 as he is not named in James’ Will.                                             

        1569 Original Record

                                                                  

  1. Marie bp. Lavenham 21 Dec, 1569[10] and died Lavenham 13 May, 1620.[11] Marie had two documented marriages:
    1. Edward Willchyne, married in Lavenham 8 Oct 1598.[12]
      1. John Willchyne, bp 29 Oct, 1599.[13]
    2. Robert Smythe, appears in the 1618 Will of James Fuller wherein he left a bequest to “Marie smythe my daughter……”.

The 1618 James Fuller Will, probate 1622, named six people; his son, his daughter and four grandchildren, as quoted from the Original Will:

  1. “Itm I give and bequeath to my sonne [son] John Fuller…..”.
  2. “Itm I give and bequeath to Marie Smythe my daughter the now weif [wife] of one Rob[er]te Smythe…”
  3. “Itm I give and bequeath to John Mascall my grandchild….”
  4. “Itm I give and bequeath to John Fuller [the elder] of coulchester my grandchild…..”
  5. “…….…pay out of the same to his brother John ….”[Fuller the younger][grandchild] 
  6. “….and to his Syster Suzan [Fuller] [grandchild]….

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Based on the above documented events, we can speculate as to the “possible” descendants of James Fuller:

  1. Son John bap. 1562/3, Lavenham.
    1. m.1, say 1588, Unknown, Unknown[14]
      1. John Fuller [the elder], bp. say 1590, (28 in 1618) named as executor, ‘my grandson John Fuller of Colchester’.
    2. m.2, 1594, Anne Gates bp. 1573
      1. Edward, bp. 19 Oct, 1595 – no record found after 1595
      2. Suzan, bp. say 1600 – was paid 10 pounds in the Will
      3. John [the younger] bp. assume 1611[15] was paid 20 pounds in the Will 
  2. Daughter Marie bp. 1569 Lavenham d. 13 May 1620, Lavenham
    1. m.1, Unknown Mascall.[16]
      1. John Mascall, bp. say 1597 (21 in 1618), because in 1618, James left property to his grandson John Mascall (when he turns 23 and therefore, he must have been born after 1595).
    2. m.2, Edward Willcyne, 8 Oct 1598.  
      1. John Willchyne, bp. 29 Oct 1599 – not in the 1618 Will, may have died before. 
    3. m.3, Richard Smyth, say 1616, named in the 1618 Will.  

 

We do not have documentation to prove this ancestral line; however until we find that documentation, the information above lead us to believe that the:

Most Likely Ancestral Line for John Fuller of Newton is back to James Fuller of Lavenham and that he is in fact John Fuller the younger.

 

W. L. Fuller. Feb, 2018 (reorganized, 2023)

 

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  1. Francis Jackson, A History of the Early Settlement of Newton, County of Middlesex, Massachusetts: From 1639 to 1800 – with a Genealogical Register of its Inhabitants prior to 1800. By Francis Jackson (of Boston) a Native of Newton. Boston: Printed by Stacy and Richardson, 1854, page 278
  2. Suffolk County Archives, Bury St. Edmonds, UK, SRO Document Reference # IC/500/1/78/15, the original 1618 will of James Fuller, clearly shows the signature of “Edmund Onge” as a witness.
  3. Church of England Parish Records for Lavenham Parish, transcribed from the original records by D. Spelman, Norfolk, UK:
    1. Anne “Christeninges A[nno] 1564 August: The xiijte[n] day Anne dawtr of Jamis Fuller”
    2. Anne “Burialles A[nn]o 1564 Octob[e]r The xvten day Anne dawtr of James Fuller”
    3. Robert “Christeninges A[nn]o 1566 Septemb[e]r The xxicti day Rob[e]rt sonne of Jamys Fuller”
    4. Robert “Burialles A[nn]o 1566 Octob[e]r The xvj day Rob[e]rt sonne of James Fuller”
    5. James “Christeninges A[nn]o 1567 Decemb[e]r The vijth day James sonne of James Fuller”
    6. James “Burialles 1567 Decemb[e]r the xxti daye James sonne of James Fuller”
  4. Church of England Parish Records for Lavenham Parish, transcribed from the original record by D. Spelman, Norfolk, UK. “Burialles 1622 Mai The 14 James Fuller”
  5. Church of England Parish Records for Lavenham Parish, transcribed from the original record. “…..……wife of James Fuller.” Note: we can only see a fragment of the original page which has been torn out.
  6. Church of England Parish Records for Lavenham Parish, transcribed from the original record by D. Spelman, Norfolk, UK. “Christeninges A[nn]o 1562[/3] Januarij The iiijth day John sonne of James Fuller”
  7. Church of England Parish Records for Lavenham Parish, copied from transcribed copies by John F. Cook Genealogist, Lowestoft, Suffolk, England, LDS Tape #007730102, page 47; “CHRISTENINGS – 1573. 5 Apl. Anne, d. of Edward GATES.”
  8. Church of England Parish Records for Lavenham Parish, transcribed from the original record by D. Spelman, Norfolk, UK “Marriages A[nn]o 1594 Septemb[e]r The same day [xvti] John Fuller & Anne Gates”
  9. Church of England Parish Records for Lavenham Parish, transcribed from the original record by D. Spelman, Norfolk, UK “Christeninges A[nn]o 1595 Octob[e]r The xixte[n] day Edward sonne of John Fuller”
  10. Church of England Parish Records for Lavenham Parish, transcribed from the original record by D. Spelman, Norfolk, UK. “Christeninges A[nn]o 1569 Decemb[e]r The same day [xxjti] Marie dawtr of James Fuller”
  11. Church of England Parish Records for Lavenham Parish, copied from transcribed copies by John F. Cook Genealogist, Lowestoft, Suffolk, England, LDS Tape #007730102, page 209; “BURIALS 1620 13 May, Marie Smyth”
  12. Church of England Parish Records for Lavenham Parish, transcribed from the original record by D. Spelman, Norfolk, UK. “Marriages A[nn]o 1598 Octob[e]r The same day [viijth] Edw[a]rd Willchyne & Marie Fuller”. At the time of this marriage Marie was close to 30 and therefore this could have been a second marriage and she could have been the mother of John Mascall in her first marriage.
  13. Church of England Parish Records for Lavenham Parish, copied from transcribed copies by John F. Cook Genealogist, Lowestoft, Suffolk, England, LDS Tape #007730102, page 136; “CHRISTENINGS Contd – 1599 29 Oct, John, s. of Edward WYLLCHYNE.”
  14. We have no evidence of this marriage. However, John, son of James bp 1562/3 was 32 when he married Anne Gates in 1594, which is quite old for a first marriage, so Anne could have been his second marriage. John the Elder must have been at least 23 in 1618 to be named the executor of the Will and therefore he had to be born before 1595 and could not be the son of John and Anne married in 1594 and had a son, Edward, in 1595. We found a marriage between a John Fuller and Grace Kebbell, 1 July 1586 in St Leonard Church in Colchester, when John bp 1662/3 would have been 23 (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N26F-8BM : 12 March 2020). It is possible that James’ son John could have married Grace and had John the Elder and then she died before he married Anne Gates in 1594.
  15. We assume John the younger is our John Fuller of Newton and in 1611 his father would have been 48 and his mother 37. If John was born in 1617, his father would have been 54 and is mother 43.
  16. We have no evidence of this marriage. However, the first documented marriage for Marie Fuller is in 1598 to Edward Wilchyne when she was 29 and this could have been her second marriage. We know that James left property to his grandson, John Mascall but have not found evidence of his birth. We found a Mary Fuller who m. 11 June 1587 to John Maslyn in Hadleigh, Suffolk, UK, which is 9.5 miles from Lavenham (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NL9S-ZZN : 12 March 2020), John Maslyn, 1587. In connection with that, we also found a John Masslyn bp 1 June 1599 in Hadleigh, son of John Hasslyn (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JWJ7-QL7 : 4 February 2023), John Masslyn, 1599. The reason for these examples is to show that our scenario of possible descendants of James Fuller may turn into descendants with more research.