John Emery Sr.

     John Emery Sr. was baptized on 29 March 1599 in Romsey, Hampshire, England.^1,2 He was the son of John Emery.¹ He married Alice Grantham, daughter of Walter Grantham and Eleanor (—?—) (Grantham), on 26 June 1620 in Whiteparish, Wiltshire, England.^3,4 He married Mary Shatswell Webster on 29 October 1647 in Newbury, Essex County, Massachusetts.⁵ He died on 3 November 1683 in Newbury at age 84.³
     
     On 5 April 1635, brothers John and Anthony Emery "of Romsey, carpenters," and their families sailed from Southampton for New England on the James of London, and arrived at Boston on 3 June.^6,7,8 John settled in Newbury where he combined his trade as a carpenter with inn keeping. He had an early town grant of half an acre for a house lot, added to it by his own initiative in 1637 (the addition was regularly granted to him in 1638), and was given twenty-two acres in the "great field beyond the new town" as a "divident" in 1644.^3,9

     John Emery Sr., was made a freeman on 2 June 1641 (third in a sequence of four Newbury men).¹⁰ His admission to Newbury church prior to that date is implied by freemanship.¹¹ Thereafter, he served Newbury in numerous capacities, being one of a committee of three to value town lands in 1644 and serving on the county trial jury (1648, 1659, 1660, 1672, 1673, 1675, 1678), the grand jury (1651, 1662, 1667), as constable (1655), clerk of the market (1656), and selectman (1661). He took the oath of allegiance in 1677. During King Philip's War, being too old for active service, he supplied a new saddle and bridle, a sword and belt, powder and bullets, and in addition received 2s. 6d. for "Cureing a soldier."¹²

     On 29 September 1646, "John Emery, for his miscarriage with the wife of Henry Travers, fined £3 or to be whipped, and pay witness fee to Christopher Bartlet. Bound to good behavior and not to frequent the company of the wife of Henry Travers."¹³

     John Emery Sr. was on the Ipswich petit jury, 26 September 1648, 29 March 1659, 27 March 1660, 26 March 1672, 24 September 1672, 30 September 1673, 28 September 1675, 24 September 1678.¹⁴

     John Emery Sr. was on the grand jury, 30 September 1651, 30 September 1662, 24 September 1667.¹⁵ On 25 March 1651, John Emery deposed regarding steers in controversy between Nathaniel Weare and John Chater.¹⁶

     On 14 October 1651, "answer to the petition of John Emery, of Newbery, power is hereby granted him, according to his desire, to sell a certain island which was left to three of his wife's children, & also a house & six acres of land which was bound to make good twenty pounds to other three of her children, provided he give security to the County Court at Ipswich to pay the children the full price the land shall be sold for, & make the three children's twenty nobles apiece eight pounds apiece, & pay the daughters their portions at eighteen years, & the sons at twenty-one years old."¹⁷

     John Emery sen was one of the overseers of John Bailey's will dated 28 October 1651.¹⁸

     On 14 May 1653, John Emery Sr. was one of seventeen Newbury men who dissented from a town vote to levy funds to support a free school.¹⁹ On 28 March 1654, with other leading men in town, John Emery Sr. sued John Merrill for selling the town's lands without order.²⁰

     With the majority of men in Newbury, John Emery supported the petition praising Lieut. Robert Pike of Salisbury.²¹ On 19 October 1654, the General Court instituted investigations into the answers of men who refused to repudiate their signatures; John Emery Sr. of Newbury was first on this list.²² When confronted by the commissioners to answer for his signature, "John Emerry demanded their commission and a sight of the petition before he would answer. He then said that the commissioners had no power to demand who brought the petition to him, and hearing John Bond answer, he told him that he was a wise man, in a bold manner."²³

     John Emery Sr. was sworn constable of Newbury on 27 March 1655.²⁴ On 19 May 1655, "John Emery of Newbury ..., carpenter," with "Mary my wife," sold to "William Boynton of Rowley one freehold or liberty of commonage that was John Webster's of Ipswich."²⁵ On 9 April 1657, John Emery was one of several Newbury men who testified with regard to "their neighbor William Titcomb" that they "had known him for years, and observed him to be honest and christianlike in his conversation, and not a liar."²⁶

     On 19 October 1658, the "Court, having heard the case relating to the military company petition of Newbury, preferred by John Emory, Senior, who, with his sons, John Emery, Junior, & John Webster & Solomon Keyes, have been so busy & forward to disturb the peace of the place by their actings in several respect, & occasioned much trouble to this Court in reference thereto, judge it meet to order that the said John Emery, Senior, John Emery, Junior, John Webster, & Solomon Keyes be severally admonished to beware of the like sinful practices for time to come, which this Court will not bear; and that they pay the several charges of their neighbors the last Court & this, in coming for relief from such under courses."²⁷

     On 25 March 1662, "John Emery and wife Mary" sued James Merrick for "detaining and keeping Issraell Webster, son of the said Mary Emery, without consent of John Emery and wife Mary, or any other person who had oversight of him"; the case was withdrawn.²⁸ He signed as a witness, on 26 March 1662.²⁹

     On 25 November 1662, "Israell and Nathan Webster, sons of John Webster, deceased, presenting their desires in writing, together with their mother's consent, with John Cheny, sr., Rob[er]t Long and W[illia]m Elsly as witnesses, and said Israell Webster being present in Court and manifesting his desire also, that his father-in-law John Emory and brother-in-law John Emory, jr., might be appointed guardians, the court appointed them guardians, and also ordered that the bond given into Ipswich court for security for the children's portions remain in full force."³⁰

     On 31 March 1663, Henry Greenland was charged with soliciting Mary the wife of John Rolfe, and found guilty. The extensive testimony in this case revealed that John Emery's step-daughter, Elizabeth Webster, was a maid in the Rolfe household and had witnessed several untoward passages instigated by Greenland. John Emery, on the other hand, had turned a deaf ear on Mrs. Rolfe's pleas for assistance even when Greenland had pulled her down into his sickbed in Emery's presence. Emery and his household paid several fines as a result of their behavior in these events.³¹

     Henry Jaques, constable of Newbury, came to court in May 1663 and presented John Emery, "for as much as John Emerie Sr. is one of our grand jury men this last year for our town of Newbury and he himself having broken the law as I do understand in entertaining of travellers and quakers into his house and one Mr. Greenland in all which disorder he have boldly insisted whereby reproach and scandal is come upon our town to the dishonor of God and damage and hurt to some of our neighbors."³²

     On 5 May 1663, John Emery was accused of entertaining Quakers and with saying "if they came to his house they should be welcome and he would not forbid them."³³

     As early as 1669, and continuing into the events of 1671, John Emery was active in his opposition to Rev. Mr. Parker.³⁴

     On 30 March 1669, "John Emery, bringing in acquittances of the discharge of the portions ordered by the court, was to have his deed delivered, but one being incomplete, he and his son John Emery, jr., bound themselves to bring in an acquittance from the youngest child of John Webster."³⁵

     On 29 March 1670, Benjamin Rolfe sued John Emery for cutting hay on John Musslewhite's land.³⁶

     John Emery Sr. appears in a 1671 list of members of Newbury church, one of the documents presented in the course of this controversy.³⁷

     On 28 February 1672/73, "John Emery Senior of Newbury" exchanged land with Nathaniel Merrill, Emery receiving "a parcel of land containing by estimation three acres ... as it lyeth in the salt marshes in Newbury," and Merrill receiving a parcel of salt marsh.³⁸

     On 10 July 1675, "John Emry Senior of Newbury ..., carpenter," deeded to "my son Jonathan Emry ... the one half of my living or land in Nubury unto me belonging together with one half of my housing and all other privileges and appurtenances thereunto belonging"; acknowledged 19 March 1678/9 by "John Emry Senior & Mary his wife."³⁹

     In a Newbury tax list of 7 October 1676, John Emery was assessed at £6 18s. 6d.⁴⁰

     In a 1678 dispute over the Newbury militia accounts, the following items are entered for "John Emery Sr.": "a new saddle & bridle," 28s; "sword & belt," 12s; "2 pounds powder & bullets," 4s; "curing a soldier," 2s. 6d; "2 pecks of wheat & a bridle lost," 7s; "powder & bullets," 2s; and "saddle & cloth," 23s.⁴¹

     John Emery Sr. took the oath of allegiance at Newbury, in November 1678 (as "John Emery Sr., 80").⁴²

     On 8 April 1679, "John Emerie, Sr., aged about eighty-one years, testified that about forty years ago he saw laid out to William Estow then living in Nuberie a four-acre lot, being a house lot, and twelve acres of meadow, ... which land said Estow sold to William White, and White to Tho[mas] Jones of Hampton, and Jones to deponent for William Ilsly, Sr., who has peaceably enjoyed it from 1643 to date."⁴³

     On 29 March 1680, "Richard Knight, aged seventy-eight years, and John Emery, Sr., aged eighty-two years, deposed that in 1656 after the division between Rowley and Newbury was made, a committee was appointed, of which they were two, to lay out the land.... Deponents were also of the committee at the second division in 1662."⁴⁴

     In his will, dated 1 May 1680 and proved 27 November 1683, "John Emry, Sr., of Newbery... in this eighty-third year of my age," bequeathed to "my daughter Ebenezer Hoag one acre and half of upland at the west end of my home lot joining to that parcel of land which I formerly gave her"; to "my son Jonathan Emry... all my lands in Newbery both upland and meadow together with my freehold and rights of common... the one half whereof I have formerly given him... upon condition and in consideration that the said Jonathan shall manage & manure that one-half of the said [land] both upland and meadow for the use and proper behoof of me the said Emry and my wife his mother... and also the said Jonathan is to pay fifty pounds" to the estate; "Mary my wife shall have £10 to dispose of at her decease to whom she pleases"; to "my grandchild Mary Emerson," £10; residue of estate to be "equally divided between my six children and said Mary Emerson"; "my sons John Emry and Abram Merrell" overseers, or if one of them dies, "[R+Exec1] in his room."⁴⁵ (The published transcript of this will has a number of errors as compared to the record book version of the same document).⁴⁶ The inventory of the estate of John Emery Sr., dated 13 November 1683, was appraised at The inventory of the estate of "John Emery Senior of Newberry who deceased the third of November 1683," taken 13 November 1683, totalled £263 11s. (against which were debts of £33 3s. 9d.), of which £170 was real estate: "six acres of plowland with a small orchard," £48; "half a barn and housing," £15; "ten acres three quarters of pasture land," £43; and "eight acres of meadow," £64.⁴⁷