12. WILLIAM5 WILBORE (John,4 Joseph,3 Nicholas,2 Thomas ?), of Braintree, co. Essex, England, and Portsmouth, R. I., married either in England or Ameiica, MARTHA It is not known when William came to America, but according to the Manor Rolls of Braintree he bought land in Brain-tree of Jonas Webb on 30 March 1647, as William Wilbore, son of John. On 2 Jan. 1650 he sold this land to Thomas Rowell and Mary, his wife. According to these transactions William was not married in 1647, for usually in the Manor Rolls the name of the wife is given when a person buys land. We do not hear of William again until 10 July 1654, when his cousin, Samuel Wilbore, transferred ten acres of land to him in Portsmouth, land that belonged formerly to Thomas Emmons.
William Wilbore's will was made 1 March 1710 and proved in Portsmouth 15 Aug. 1710 (see "Wildbores in America"). His children were never recorded, but are all given in his will. Arnold's "Vital Records of Rhode Island" gives a list of his children in both Little Compton and Tiverton, with the years of birth, but on looking at the original records in Little Compton they are not to be found. They are, however, in Otis Wilbor's transcript of the records in Little Compton and are also given in the same way in a fairly modern book in Tiverton, which gives the year of birth of the children and also his own birth, namely, 1630. This would seem to be the work of Otis Wilbor, who died in 1856, and consequently the births given are only approximate. The original will of William Wilbore is in the hands of Mrs. Edward P. Garland of Wellesley Hills, Mass., a descendant. In signing William always makes a mark or "W" for Wilbore. His lack of education is rather surprising when you consider that his cousin, Samuel, and his three sons could write, and the son, Shadrach, was a beautiful penman. This situation would seem to come from a difference of environment and would be easily explained if we knew that John Wilbore of Braintree, who went to the Isle of Old Providence off South America, was William's father, John.
If John Wilbore returned to Braintree in 1641, after the Spaniards conquered Old Providence, and brought with him our William, it would fit in with his buying the land in Braintree in 1647.
Printed from NEHG Register, Volume 113, April 1959, © New England Historic Genealogical Society & Broderbund Software, Inc., Banner Blue Division, January 13, 2002
BURIAL: Headstone
JOHN, b. 30 June 1634 [BVR 2]; bp. 27 July 1634 [BChR 279]; m. (1) about 1661 Susanna Vergoose (eldest known child b. Boston 5 March 1661 [BVR 79]), daughter of Peter and Susanna (Firmage) Vergoose [Dudley Wildes Anc 123-24, citing 23 December 1681 will of Susanna Vergoose, widow, who makes a bequest to the children of her daughter Susannah Raynsford "lately departed this life"]; m. (2) Sarah _____ (in his will of 27 March 1688 "John Raynsford" made a bequest to "my loving and beloved wife Sarah Raynsford" [SPR 10:425-26]).
JOHN, b. 30 June 1634 [BVR 2]; bp. 27 July 1634 [BChR 279]; m. (1) about 1661 Susanna Vergoose (eldest known child b. Boston 5 March 1661 [BVR 79]), daughter of Peter and Susanna (Firmage) Vergoose [Dudley Wildes Anc 123-24, citing 23 December 1681 will of Susanna Vergoose, widow, who makes a bequest to the children of her daughter Susannah Raynsford "lately departed this life"]; m. (2) Sarah _____ (in his will of 27 March 1688 "John Raynsford" made a bequest to "my loving and beloved wife Sarah Raynsford" [SPR 10:425-26]).