Jonathan Fuller

Jonathan Fuller, born 15 June 1643 at Salem in Essex County, Massachusetts Colony, was a son of Robert Fuller and Sarah Bowen, or Bowine. He moved with his family to Rehoboth, held land in the North Purchase, served as Rehoboth constable in 1674, and was later reported as a selectman and participant in other local civic service. He died at Attleboro on 10 February 1708/9.

Jonathan Fuller was born on 15 June 1643 in Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts Colony. The supplied material identifies him as the oldest son of Robert Fuller and Sarah Bowen, whose surname also appears as Bowine. A later account gives his birth only as about 1640.

He moved with his parents from Salem to Rehoboth, Massachusetts. There he held land jointly with his father and received shares in the general divisions of land made to the first settlers in 1661 and 1668. The notes also report that he received Rehoboth land shares from 1661 through 1676. On 28 May 1669, he purchased three acres at Wachemechett from John Sutton and Sutton's wife.

Jonathan married Elizabeth Wilmarth, daughter of Thomas Wilmarth, at Rehoboth on 14 December 1664. Her surname appears in the supplied material as Wilmarth, Wilmot, Willmore, and Wilmoth. Their principal reported child list names Jonathan, David, Daniel, Robert, Thomas, another Robert, Nathaniel, Elizabeth, Sarah, Mary, and Noah. Robert and Thomas, born 28 June 1671, were identified as twins; the first Robert reportedly died the following month. A separate account also names Rachel as a child, but she does not appear in the principal list.

In 1674, Jonathan served as constable of Rehoboth. During King Philip's War, he and his father were said to have advanced money to Rehoboth for troops in 1676. One later account further states that he undoubtedly served in the war and that two of his brothers were slain; these statements are not documented by the material supplied and should be regarded as unconfirmed.

Jonathan made his home in Rehoboth's North Purchase, an area later called Attleborough or Attleboro. The supplied account reports that the area escaped the destruction suffered by Rehoboth and other places during the conflict of 1675 and 1676, so Jonathan and his family remained there while other surviving members of Robert Fuller's family returned to Salem. The first Attleboro town meeting was held on 11 May 1696, and the boundary between Rehoboth and Attleboro was established in 1697.

By 1696, Jonathan was reported to have accumulated a 500-acre estate and was described as a prosperous farmer, leading citizen, churchman, and selectman. Another account specifically places his selectman service in 1698 and reports that he served on an inquest that year and on a trial jury in 1699. The suggestion that his parents may have lived with him after their return to Rehoboth is presented only as a possibility in the supplied notes.

Jonathan Fuller died in Attleboro, Bristol County, Massachusetts Colony, on 10 February 1708/9. He reportedly died intestate and left a substantial estate. Administration was granted upon his estate at Rehoboth on 6 April 1709. The notes state that his widow, Elizabeth, settled the estate in March 1709 and that he had previously made extensive property transfers to his children by deed. This account conflicts with a separate entry giving Elizabeth's death as 1701.

Several of Jonathan's sons later settled in Connecticut. David was reported to have lived in the part of Rehoboth that became Attleboro. Daniel moved his family to Windham in 1701, and Thomas later moved to Windham with his second wife, Ann Woodcock. The notes also state generally that three sons settled in Windham, Coventry, and Ashford, Connecticut.

Historical context

Jonathan's adult life was connected with Rehoboth and its North Purchase, an area that later became Attleboro. The supplied material places his constable service in 1674 and describes local wartime financing during King Philip's War in 1676. It also records the organization of Attleboro through its first town meeting in 1696 and the establishment of its boundary with Rehoboth in 1697.

Sources & research

Original family-tree notes: Copied from http:/sonic.net/~prouty/prouty/b363.htm#P1016.
Genealogical Dictionary of New England, by Savage; no page given.
National Society of the Daughters of the American Colonists, Vol. 5.
Rehoboth Vital Records, pp. 143, 824–825.
Compendium of American Ancestry, Vol. II, p. 80.
Boston Transcript, 10 Dec 1930 and 27 Apr 1931.
Genealogical Exchange, Aug. 1905, p. 32.
Genealogical Exchange, Mar. 1910, p. 85.
Braintree Births 1640–1793 (U–X), entry for Willmot, Elizabeth, 4 Feb 1647, parents Thomas and Elizabeth, p. 628.
Hartford Times Queries; C376.
Carol Clark Johnson, Fullers, Sissons and Scotts, Mobile: American International, 1976(?), p. 249.
Newton Fuller, Genealogy of the Fuller Families. Descending from Robert Fuller of Salem and Rehoboth, Massachusetts, 1638, New London, Connecticut, 1898; reprint, Higginson Book Company, Salem, Massachusetts, 2006.
Ancestral File Number: #89CK-8Q, for Jonathan Fuller.
Ancestral File Number: #2TV7-B5, for Elizabeth Wilmarth.
Ancestry.com contribution: MargaretMastortwo, originally shared 7 Mar 2007.