Additional Notes of William Collier
|
He came to New England in 1633. He lived in Duxbury. The signature of William Collier appears in the Composition with the Plymouth Colony
on 15/25 November 1626. (See Arber 1897, p.321). Apparently this one of the only 42 people in England with some stake in Plymouth Plantation
at the time. He served as Assistant Governor of the Plymouth Colony. He was reported to be the "Richest Man in the Colony". He was an advocate of Religious Toleration. From Leon Clark Hills, "Cape Cod Series, Vol. II, WILLIAM COLLIER: History and Genealogy of the Mayflower Planters and first Comers to Ye Olde Colonie." Hills Pub. Co., Washington D.C., 1941: He was a Merchant Adventurer & Brewer of London, and very active in support of the New England Settlers. In fact, he was one of those to subscribe for special aid to the Plymouth colonists on Nov 15, 1626. He finally decided, like so many other merchants, to remove himself and family to America. It is not surprising to find him, his four daughters and apprentices (not servants), among whom were the brothers John, Job, and Daniel Cole, disembarking from the good ship "Mary and James," together with 190 other passengers when it arrived at Plymouth in 1633. His wife probably had died, leaving him with the children. He was an able man and soon took a high position in the Colony, especially in the matter of final settlement of acounts with the London Adventurers. He was a comissioner at the first meeting of the United Colonies in 1643, and served as Governor's Assistant from 1634 to 1665, a period of 31 years. The Court ordered a special aide for him in 1659, on account of "age and much business." Note: he was also in on the first purchase of Dartmouth in 1652. A posting on soc.roots by Jerry.Hodges{windmill,agape}.com, 3009 47th Lubbock TX 79413, claimed that one of his wives was Jane Clark, and a dau. of their was Ruth (Collier) COLE, wife of Daniel Cole. : Jane at ,England Source Chrisman Pedgree COLLIER, WILLIAM One of the few Adventurers to come to live in New England, he was praised by Nathaniel Morton (New Englands Memoriall, p. 91): "This year [1633] likewise Mr. William Collier arrived with his Family in New-England, who as he had been a good Benefactor to the Colony of New-Plimouth before he came over, having been an Adventurer unto it at its first beginning; so also he approved himself a very useful Instrument in that Jurisdiction after he arrived, being frequently Chosen, and for divers years serving God and the Country in the place of Magistracy, and lived a godly and holy life untill old Age." He was often elected an Assistant between 1634/35 and 1665, and he appeared to side with the more conservative leaders, such as in the 1645 fight with Vassal]. James Cudworth wrote that "Mr. Collier last June would not sit on the Bench, if I sate there" (Bishop, p- 176). He was on the Council for War, and he served at times as a commissioner of the United Colonies. He resided in Duxbury, and in 1649/50 he deeded ten acres of land in Duxbury to "my kinsman William Clark" (PCR 12:182). Collier married Jane Clark at St. Olave, Southwark, 16 May 1611, and he and his wife had four daughters with them in Plymouth Colony: Sarah, who married (1) Love Brewster and (2) Richard Parke of Cambridge; Rebecca, who married Job Cole; Mary, who married Thomas Prence; and Elizabeth, who married Constant Southworth- Robert S. Wakefield, "More on the Children of William Collier," TAG 49:215 and 51:58, identified eight other children in England (all of whom had died young there), and he showed that Collier had lived in St. Mary Magdalen Parish, Bermondsey, Surrey, and St. Olave Parish, Southwark. In the St. Olave register he was called a grocer. Bradford referred to a "brew-house of Mr. Colliers in London" (Ford 2:125). On 7 June 1653 Mrs. Jane Collier made a claim on behalf of her grandchild, the wife of Nathaniel 2 Warren (MD 3:141). The grandchild was Sarah (Walker) Warren, who was baptized at St. Olave, Southwark, 10 November 1622, the daughter of William Walker (TAG 51:92). On 2 December 1661 William Collier of Duxbury, gentleman, with the consent of Mrs. Jane Collier, sold all his house and land that he was living on in Duxbury to Benjamin Bartlett, who was not to enter into possession until the death of both William and Jane Collier. Collier died before 5 July 1671, when men were appointed to administer his estate (PCR 5:68). An excellent documented narrative of various aspects of his life is given in Moore Families, P. 196-205. (See also John Cole, above, and the Hunt article shown under job Cole, above.) Source: Plymouth Colony Its History & People 1620-1691 by Eugene Aubrey Stratton Rootweb Notes of William Collier |