| Notes |
- As supplied by David B. Furbish on the web:
“William Furbish is as far as we know, the first immigrant with the Furbish name in this country. He was apparently born in Scotland and emigrated to the Colonies before 1648. [NOTE: Arrival date has been demonstrated to be late 1650, most likely in December.]
“Listed below are the known milestones in William’s life:
1648 Granted land in Dover, New Hampshire (18 March 1648)
1659 Taxed in Dover, New Hampshire
1663 The estate of Alexander Macdanile shows debt owed by William Furbush (16 Jan 1663)
1664 Was settled on the family homestead in the NW corner of Eliot
1667 Bought 150 acres of land on the Piscataqua River with Daniel Ferguson, (deed is dated 28 Feb 1667)
1668 William granted 10 acres in Kittery, Maine
1674 Removed to New Hampshire
1674 Prosecured in New Hampshire for getting Indians drunk
1679 Signed a petition for direct government
1679 William accused of lying at a public meeting
1679 William and his wife Rebecca were fined for abusing a constable
1679 Removed to New Hampshire
1680 William signs Major Shapleigh’s petition
1680 The dividing line between his property and that of Daniel Ferguson was laid out by referees
1683 William and wife fined for talking against the government
1684 Court of Sessions, 25 March 1684 for witholding a debt
1686 Removed to Maine
1686 Prosecuted in Maine for getting Indians drunk
1690 During King William’s War, William withdrew to Newcastle
1692 Signed a petition for Separate Township
1694 William’s will is dated August 27, 1694
1694 William’s will is reported missing
1694 William apparently dies
1695 The widow Christian Furbush, testified in court
1701 March 21, an agreement regarding his estate is made
1722 His will is brought into court August 2, 1722”
From Old Eliot, Vol.III, Eliot, Maine, January, 1899, No. I:
“The Furbush or Furbish Family”, by Nathan Goold. Read before the Eliot Historical Society,--at the residence of Mr. Sylvester Bartlett.
“...For over two hundred and thirty years the Furbush or Furbish family have been residents of Kittery, now Eliot, Maine. Their constancy is proved by the fact that the descendants of the first settler are living on his land, with an unbroken family title, to this time. They own “the land their father’s trod” and where they lie buried awaiting the rewards for their virtues; and the “days of their years” cover nearly three centuries. There are descendants of the name in the ninth generation.
William Furbish, spelled various ways, was the first settler of the family in Kittery, and probably in this country. He was granted six acres of land at Dover, N.H., March 18, 1648, [NOTE: see above note about this incorrect arrival date] and was a tax payer there, in 1659.
He was a land owner at Kittery, in 1664; and his lot was in what is now Eliot, District No. I. It was about forty rods wide on the river, and extended back about a mile. His house was thirty or forty rods from the river bank, where the cellar hole can now be seen. A deed of 1732, says of this cellar hole, “where an Old House formerly stood.”
A few rods south of the house was the Furbush grave yard, where are about thirty graves, marked with field stones, but not one inscription. Here were buried, no doubt, the first five generations, and at least one of the sixth, who died here.
On the land now live two of the descendants of the first settler of the name: Mrs. Lucy Ann (Furbish) Hanscom, of the sixth generation; and Howard B. Furbish of the seventh. Mrs. Hanscom’s pedigree is Lucy A. 6, Daniel 5, Meads 4, Joseph 3, Daniel 2, William Furbush I. Howard B. Furbish’s pedigree is Howard B. 7, Joseph 6, Stephen 5, Joseph 4, Joseph 3, Daniel 2, William Furbush I.
The name of the wife of William Furbush is, to the writer, unknown. Their children were:
Daniel, the eldest son.
John, who died in 1701.
Hopewell, married Enoch Hutchins, Jr., 1693, and William Wilson, in 1711.
Katherine, married Andrew Neale.
Sarah, married Thomas Thompson.
Bethia, married Joseph Goold.
William, Jr. went to South Carolina.
William Furbush probably died in the early part of the year 1701; because on March 21st, his children made an agreement in regard to the settlement of his estate which they all signed. He had made a will August 27, 1694; and his children knew it and were familiar with its contents. The wil was not presented to th Court until April 2, 1722,--twenty-one years after they had divided the estate among themselves. The outlying lands were divided among his heirs in 1722, and about two months after the will was presented. What connection, if any, these transactions had with each other probably will never be known.”
From: “The Descendants of William Furbish/Furbush of Kittery, Maine” by Bob Scott:
“William Furbish was probably born about 1631 at Aberdeenshire, Scotland, and died before 21 Mar 1701 at Kittery, York Co., ME. He married (1) Rebecca _____ about 1664, she was born about 1646 and died before 1686.
“The Clan Forbes held forth in Aberdeenshire. The Gaelic for Forbes is Foirbeis which may explain the New England Forbush, Furbush and Furbish spellings. On September 3rd, 1650, the Scottish supporters of Prince Charles (later King Charles II) lost the Battle of Dunbar to Cromwell’s English forces, with the resulting loss of four thousand Scots killed or wounded and ten thousand more taken prisoner. Five thousand of the prisoners were marched across the border and where three thoususand of them were imprisoned in Durham Cathedral. The Cathedral suffered much damage during their imprisonment. The prisoners were shipped to various parts of England, Ireland and the Colonies as indentured servants. William Furbush is listed as a prisoner in a paper read to the Mass. Historical Society by Colonel Charles Edward Banks entitled “Scotch Prisoners Deported to New England by Cromwell, 1651-1652.” [Ma. Hist.Soc. Proc. 61 (Oct 1928)p.4,29].
“In November, 150 Scottish prisoners were delivered to Augustine Walker, Master of the Unity, to be transported to New England. His order to sail was dated November 11th and it is presumed that he weighed anchor immediately. With this cargo of 150 souls, the Unity crossed the wintery seas of the Atlantic, probably landing in Boston Harbor in late January. How many died during the voyage is not known, but upon arrival 60 were sold to the Lynn Iron Works, and the rest were distributed to various towns. The cost of an Atlantic passage was about 5 pounds so the owners of the Unity cleared about 1500 pounds. The average indenture ws for 6 to 8 years. William Furbush and 16 other Scots were sent to the lumber mills of Kittery, Maine were they worked out their indentureship.
“William and several other Scots homesteaded property on the Piscatqua River as shown by an early map in the book “Old Kittery and Her Families” by Stackpole. William owned land in Kittery in 1664 and he lived near Thompson’s Point in what is nnow Eliot. This tract of land was 40 rods wide running from the river back one full mile or eighty acres in all. His house was in the middle of his land or about forty rods from the river where the marks of the old cellar could still be seen in the 1890s. He also had a grant of ten acres in 1668. William made his will the 27th of August in 1694 and his estate was settled by an agreement of his heirs, dated 21 March 1701, which they all signed.
“On May 8th, 1681, William fforbes [Furbish] of Newichawannock [upper Kittery] testified that: ‘about two years since he being at the house of Joseph Hammond in the towne of Kittery in the province of Maine Major Waldern, now being of the Councill, took out of his poctt a paper which he read, being in derision of the goverment of England and after some discourse said these words, There was no more a king in England than thou, Richard Nason, unto whom he then spoke.’ [Colonial Papers, Vol. XLVI, no. 188. Manuscript copy in library of N.H. Hist. Soc’y.]
‘The name of William’s first wife is not known for certain but it probably was Rebecca (a court record gives enough informatiion to indicate his first wife’s name,: ‘1 July 1679, [4:2:133], Wee present William Furbush for abuseing of the Constable & sleighting of his pouer & sayd hee could not answere what hee did in his office & the sayd Furbush tooke up a dreadful weapon & sayd that hee would dy before his Goods should bee carried away. Jury. The person presented fined for his Delinquency 40s & fees of Court 5s. rebeccah Furbush presented for strikeing the Constable. Jury. The offender fined tenn shillings & Cost of Court 5s.’ p. 355, Province and Court Records of Maine, Vol. II, Portland, Maine Historical Society, 1931.)
“William may have had a second wife named Christian, born about 1652, and died after 1701, who probably survived him as the settlement reached by his heirs divided his property in thirds. According to the source below she was mentioned in his will but the will is now missing. ‘Furbush, Lt. William, taxed in Dover, Strafford, New Hampshire in 1659; by 1664 settled on family homestead in N.W. corner of Eliot, 40 rods on the river, where is a graveyard with about 30 unmarked stones. In the second war he withdrew to Newcastle. Wife Rebecca in 1679; his widow was Christian, about 43 in 1695. Will dated 27 Aug 1694, missing; estate distributed by agreement of heirs, 1701. Children: Daniel, m. Dorothy Pray [John]; 11 children. John, d.s.p. Hope, m.1st Enoch Hutchins; m. 2nd William Wilson. Catherine, m. Andrew Neal. Sarah, m. Thomas Thompson. Bethia, m. Joseph Gould. William, died Craven, SC; wife unknown; 2 sons.”. [The Piscataqua Pioneers 1623-1775: Register of Members and Ancestors 1905-1967 compiled by Dallas Wylie Prugh, Genealogist and Registra 1967.p. 126]
”This name is spelled in more than a score of ways. William Furbish was granted land in Dover, N.H. 18 March 1648, and was a taxpayer there in 1659. He owned land in Kittery in 1664 and had a grant of ten acres in 1668. Lived near Thompson’s Point in Eliot. Name of wife unknown. Died in early part of 1701.”
”William Furbish, spelled varioius ways, was one of the first families in Kittery, Maine. He was granted six acres of land in Dover, New Hampshire in 1648; and was a taxpayer there in 1659. William Furbish was a landowner in Kittery, Maine in 1664. The name of the wife of William Furbish is unknown.”
”William Furbish probably died in the early part of the year 1701; because on March 21st, his children made an agreement in regard to the settlement of his estate which they all signed. William had made a will August 27, 1694 and his children knew it and were familiar with its contents.”, ,
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Connected Bloodlines
1631 - 1695 (64 years)
