General Notes

FROTHINGHAM William Frothingham, immigrant ancestor of all the colonial families of this surname, was born in England about 1600, and came from the vicinity of Holderness in Yorkshire, the ancient seat of the family, which probably came thither from Scotland. The name spelled Fotheringham was common in Forfarshire, Scotland, before 1300, at the very beginning of the use of surnames. In the ancient History of Scotland by John Lesley, vol. i., p. vi., the family of Fodringhame together with Crychton, Giffert, Manlis, Borthik "and others" are said to have come from Wugre (Hungary) under Malcolm, King of Scotland, with his wife Queen Margaret. But Hailes raised a doubt of the accuracy of the statement. Indeed, it seems that the final syllable indicates a local origin of Fotheringham, though the surname may have been a place name taken by a Hungarian noble after the custom of the time, eventually becoming the family name. William Frothingham came from England in Winthrop's fleet, and was one of the proprietors of Charlestown, Massachusetts, in 1630. He was admitted a freeman, March 6, 1631-32. With his wife Anne he was admitted to the church in Boston in 1630 and joined the new church at Charlestown in 1632. He was an adherent of Rev. John Wheelwright who founded Exeter, brother of the celebrated Mrs. Hutchinson, but Frothingham finally renounced his beliefs and remained in the established church of the Puritans at Charlestown. His wife Anne died July 28, 1674, aged sixty-seven years (see gravestone). He had a grant of land from the town on the Mystic side (Woburn) of ten acres. His house and four acres of land were bounded on the north by the Mystic river, east by homesteads of George Bunker and Thomas Ruck; west by E. Mellows and Abraham Pratt. He had eight other parcels of land on record. His will is dated September 31, 1651, and was proved February 6, 1652. The document itself has been in the possession of the family many years, though the records show that it was proved properly. He bequeathed his property to his wife, and the inventory places a value of fifty pounds on his house and orchard. His widow bought a house and land in Charlestown in 1656 of Grace Palmer. Her will, dated October 4, 1672, was proved October 6, 1674, bequeathing to her sons Samuel, J. Kettell, Peter and Nathaniel Frothingham, and Thomas White, who received her house orchard and barn. Children, born in Charlestown: Bethia, born February 7, 1631; John, August 10, 1633; Elizabeth, March 15, 1635; Peter, April 15, 1636; Mary, April 1, 1638; Nathaniel, mentioned below; Stephen, November 11, 1641; Hannah, March 29, 1642; Joseph, December 1, 1645; Samuel.

Series 1, New England Families Genealogical and Memorial, Page 79

FROTHINGHAM
WILLIAM , Charlestown, came, prob. in the fleet with Winthrop 1630, for in the ch. of Boston his name with that of Ann, his w. are Nos. 74 and 5, and in that yr. 19 Oct. he desir. adm. as freem. was sw. 6 Mar. 1632, had Bethia, b. 7 Feb. 1631; John, 10 Aug. 1633; Elizabeth
15 Mar. 1635; Peter, 15, bapt. 17 (not 18, wh. was Monday) Apr. 1636; Mary, 1, bapt. 8 Apr. 1638; Nathaniel, 16, bapt. 26 (not 23) Apr. 1640; Stephen, 11 Nov. 1641, bapt. same mo.; Hannah, 29 Jan. 1643; Joseph, 1 Dec. 1645, d. soon; and Samuel; perhaps William; was deac. and d. 10 Oct. 1651. His wid. d. 28 July 1674, aged 67. Her will, of 4 Oct. 1672, names ch. Samuel, Peter, Nathaniel, s.-in-law, Joseph Kettle, and Thomas White, and makes the last excor. Mary m. 17 Nov. 1663, White; Hannah m. 5 July 1665, Joseph Kettle. This has been the most com. name in the town for a large part of its exist.

From:
A GENEALOGICAL DICTIONARY of THE FIRST SETTLERS OF NEW ENGLAND,
SHOWING THREE GENERATIONS OF THOSE WHO CAME BEFORE MAY, 1692,
ON THE BASIS OF FARMER'S REGISTER.

BY JAMES SAVAGE,
FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND EDITOR
OF WINTHROP'S HISTORY OF NEW ENGLAND.

WITH TWO SUPPLEMENTS IN FOUR VOLUMES.

[[Corrected electronic version copyright Robert Kraft, July 1994]]

Baltimore GENEALOGICAL PUBLISHING CO., INC.

Originally Published Boston, 1860-1862

Reprinted with "Genealogical Notes and Errata,"
excerpted from The New England Historical and Genealogical Register,
Vol. XXVII, No. 2, April, 1873, pp. 135-139