General Notes

John Perkins was born December 23, 1583 during the reign of Elizabeth I in Hilmorton County, Warwickshire, England and married Judith Gator ( born in 1588) on October 8, 1608.Record of John and Judith's marriage is on file at the Hillmorton Parish(still standing) in England. John Perkins and his wife, Judith Gator sailed on a ship named the Lyon from Bristol December 1, 1630. The ship landed in Boston February 5, 1631, Boston was only founded months earlier in 1630. Also on this ship was a man named Roger Williams who was later to found the colony of Rhode Island. Also with John were their six children: John, Elizabeth, Mary, Ann, Thomas and Jacob. Times were hard for the colonists who were already there, in ANNALS OF NEW ENGLAND, Volume 1, the following is related:" As the winter came on provisions in the Massachusetts Bay Colony were very scarce and the people fed on clams, mussels, ground nuts and acorns, they became very discouraged especially when they heard that Governor himself has the last batch of bread in the oven. A day of fasting and prayer was set for February 6, 1631. On February 5, the day before the appointed fast, in came the ship LYON, this was an occasion of joy as the ship contained provisions and the day for fast and prayer was changed to the 22d to be celebrated as a day of thanksgiving for the arrival of the LYON." This is one of the possible origins of Thanksgiving as the colonists would not have survived long except for the arrival of the provisions on the ship. The records of Hillmorton, Warwickshire contain the records of John Perkins baptism, marriage and the births of his six children in the Shire Hall in Warwick. This information is from PERKINS FAMILIES IN THE UNITED STATES IN 1790 by D.W. Perkins published in 1911. Many people especially Puritans, who supported Parliament against the King and were known as Roundheads because of their short haircuts, left England at this time, due to the tyranny of the king, Charles I. In 1628, he reluctantly agreed to the Petition of Right, which was a document that limited the power of the king. He had no intention of keeping the agreement and did not allow Parliament to meet from 1629 to 1640. Charles I was deposed by Oliver Cromwell, a leader in Parliament, and was beheaded in 1649. By the time of the rise of Cromwell, many Englishmen had already populated New England. Upon Charles I death, England became a republic, the Commonwealth of England and Parliament ruled the country. In 1629, John Winthrop, became governor of the Massachusetts Bay Company and in 1630 sailed to Salem. About a thousand settlers followed him to America. He and about 800 Puritans crossed the Charles River in 1630 and founded Boston on a peninsula that the Indians called Shawmut. He helped establish a Congregational church. The number of Englishmen departing for the colonies dwindled once England became a republic in 1649. For about two years after their arrival, the Perkins family remained in Boston, where their last child, Lydia was born, her baptism is recorded in the parish books of the First Church in Boston, June 3, 1632. On the 18th of May, 1631, John took the oath of freeman, admitting him to all the civil rights of the colony only enjoyed by freemen. He moved from Boston in 1633 to the colony at Ispwich, founded by John Winthrop, Jr. John Winthrop Jr. was a colonial governor of Connecticut. He came to America in 1631. In 1633, he founded the town of Ispwich, Mass. He returned to govern a new colony in Saybrook, Conn. By 1640, Massachusetts Bay Colony had 2,500 people. He founded New London in 1646 and later served as governor of Connecticut. John Perkins was largely engaged in agriculture, his house was near the river at the entrance to Jeffries Neck on what is now East Street. John Perkins besides holding town offices and occupying other positions of trust, appears to have been one of the leading men of Ipswich. He died in 1654, aged 64 years. His will is on file at the Probate office in Salem, Massachusetts.