It is believed that the Athearn family originated in the parish of Boughton-under-Blean, County Kent, about ten miles north of Ashford, home of Nicholas Butler.

SIMON ATHEARN came to this country as a servant of Nicholas Butler, somewhere around 1659. He was born approximately 1642, and died February 20, 1714. According to tradition, he selected his future wife as she was romping with her playmates and her dolls and toys. The girl was MARY BUTLER, daughter of John Butler, and it is said that she "was not fourteen when he married her." She was born in 1652 and died April 8, 1741. Simon and Mary had nine children.

JABEZ ATHEARN was born October 10, 1678, and died November 29, 1761, both in Tisbury. He married (1) KATHERINE BELCHER in Tisbury on November 30, 1705. She was the daughter of Moses and Mary (Nash) Belcher of Braintree, Mass. Jabez later married Thankful (Daggett) (Butler) Daggett, widow of Zephaniah Butler and Brotherton Daggett. Jabez resided in Tisbury, and was a gentleman, lawyer, and Clerk of Courts.

ELIZABETH ATHEARN was born April 13, 1715 in Tisbury and married (2) PETER WEST in Tisbury on December 16, 1740.

ROBERT BARNARD, was born in 1615 in Nantucket and died there in 1682. In 1641 in Salisbury, MA, he married JOANNA HARVEY, who was born in Salisbury in 1620 and died in Nantucket on March 11, 1705.

SARAH BARNARD, born in Salisbury in 1646, married JAMES SKIFFE JR in March, 1677.

THOMAS BAYES married on December 26, 1639, ANNE BAKER, at Dedham, Mass. He was born in 1615 in Yorkshire, England, and died in 1680 in Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard. His political offices were hog reeve, constable, and leader of the train band. In 1676 he was chosen selectman.

RUTH BAYES married ISAAC NORTON.

WILLIAM BROWNING was from Maldon, County Essex, England. He married on September 10, 1583, DOROTHY VERNON.

MALACHI BROWNING was married to MARY COLLIER of London. His occupation is unknown. Malachi was born about 1601, and died in Boston "at the home of Robert Scott" on November 27, 1653. Mary died September 7, 1672, in Edgartown.

SUSANNAH BROWNING married WILLIAM VINSON.

WILLIAM BON COEUR was a French Huguenot who fled to England to avoid the religious persecution to which he was subjected in France. His wife's name was JOANNE -----. William was born in 1600 in Nancy, France, the son of Guilliaume Bonecourt and A Gosselive. He died in Benego, Hertfordshire, England.

GEORGE BUNKER married JANE GODFREY on May 5, 1644, in Mauldin, Bedfordshire, England. Savage states that George resided at Ipswich, MA. Jane was the daughter of Thomas Godfrey and Elizabeth Mead.

ELIZABETH BUNKER married THOMAS LOOK.

NICHOLAS BUTLER married (1) Mary Cotterell, (2) JOYCE BAKER, daughter of Richard and Margaret Baker of Ashford, England. She was baptized May 30, 1602, and married Nicholas on January 22, 1623. Her father was a miller of Ashford and the family had resided in Kent for many generations.

JOHN BUTLER, baptized January 2, 1624; moved to Edgartown about 1652; husbandman. He married MARY LYNDE, daughter of Thomas Lynde of Charlestown, MA. She was born about 1629. John died in 1658.

JOHN BUTLER was born 1649-1650, but baptized July 6, 1651, in Dorchester, MA, and brought to Edgartown by his parents in infancy. He was called a gentleman and captain in the records. He married PRISCILLA NORTON about 1671. She was born about 1655. John was a leading citizen in the town and served as coroner for the county. In 1691 he was sergeant of the militia. He died in 1738.

ZEPHANIAH BUTLER was born about 1687, and died September 15, 1721. He married THANKFUL DAGGETT, a Mayflower descendant, who was born April 6, 1696.. They lived in Edgartown, where he was a farmer.

SHUBAEL BUTLER was born about 1716 (Edgartown vr's have the baptism date as December 9, 1722) and resided first in Nantucket, then Edgartown, finally Tisbury. He was a weaver. He married HEPSIBAH DAGGETT JONES, widow of John Jones of Nantucket, on November 10, 1743.

SARAH BUTLER, born December 14, 1755, married on December 21, 1775, THOMAS WEST.

The early spelling of this name is Codnam, and the correct form is probably Codenham, which is a parish in Suffolk, England. ROBERT CODMAN is first found in Salem, Mass., then Salisbury, Mass., then Hartford, CT, then Saybrook, CT, to finally Edgartown. He was a mariner and engaged in coastwise trading. His wife, whom he married around 1639, is unknown.

HEPSIBAH CODMAN was born around 1657 and married NATHAN SKIFFE around 1679.

Coffin is a word of Hebrew origin, signifying a small basket. In Welsh, the name is Cyffin - a boundary, limit, or a hill - or Cefyn - a ridge of a hill. The family origin is traced to England to the Norman Conquest. The ancient seat of the name in England, now called Portledge, in the parish of Ilwington, near Bideford, County Devon, was granted to Sir Richard Coffyn, Knight, for valuable services rendered to William the Conqueror. PETER COFFYN, son of NICHOLAS COFFYN, was born about 1580 and died in 1627 or 1628. He married JOAN THEMBER.

TRISTRAM COFFYN was born at Brixton in 1605, and married DIONIS STEVENS, daughter of Robert Stevens, ESQ, of Brixton, about 1630. They came to America in 1642, and settled first at Salisbury, MA, then Haverhill, MA. In 1644 he was licensed to keep an ordinary, sell wine, and keep a ferry on the Newbury side of Carr's Island. In 1653 Dionis was presented to the Central Court, charged with selling beer at three pence per quart, but she proved she had put six bushels of malt into the hogshead, and the charge was dropped. Tristram is best known as one of the purchasers of Nantucket. He died in October 1681. One of his daughters, Mary Coffin Starbuck, became known as the "Great Mary" because of her unusually high intelligence and common sense. She was an early convert to the Quaker religion and was instrumental in converting many Nantucket residents to Quakerism.

JOHN COFFIN was born October 30, 1647, at Haverhill, MA. He was the first to come to Martha's Vineyard. He was a blacksmith in Nantucket until 1682 when he came to Edgartown. He became a considerable owner of real estate and died September 5, 1711. In 1668 he married DEBORAH AUSTIN, daughter of Joseph Austin and Sarah Starbuck of Nantucket. Sarah Starbuck was the daughter of Edward Starbuck and Katherine Reynolds of Nantucket. At John's death, Deborah returned to Nantucket and died there in 1724.

ENOCH COFFIN was born on Nantucket in 1678. He was a blacksmith and a great land owner and speculator in real estate on mortgage and the records show 170 transactions in his name as grantor or grantee. He was Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in 1715, and representative to the General Court in 1721, 1733, and 1735. He died in 1761. He married about 1701 BEULAH EDDY, daughter of John Eddy and Hepsibah Daggett. She was born about 1680. I've seen references to her birth at both Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, so I'm not sure where she was born.

JOHN COFFIN was born April 6, 1710, and died December 30, 1791. He was a yeoman. His second wife was HEPSIBAH LAMBERT, whom he married about 1738-9.

EDDY COFFIN was born October 6, 1739, and died in Williamsburg, MA, in 1830. He married (1) Sarah Martain, who was John Eddy and Hepsibah Daggett's great-great granddaughter. He married (2) SARAH VINCENT, a Mayflower descendant, on October 26, 1772. Sarah was born April 13, 1752.

HEPSIBAH COFFIN was born November 22, 1773, in Edgartown and died February 1, 1868. She married ABISHA HAYDEN LAMBERT on October 16, 1792.

EDWARD COTTLE was born about 1628, and is first found in Amesbury, MA, with his wife JUDITH OSGOOD. He and his family then spent some years in Nantucket, then came to Tisbury about 1680. He was chosen one of a committee to procure a new town charter in 1687, to divide proprietors' lands in 1688, a fence viewer in 1688, a constable in 1689, and surveyor of highways in 1699. He was at least 82 years old in 1710 and it is probable he died not long after.

HANNAH COTTLE, born 1661, married JOHN HILLMAN.

JAMES COVELL, who arrived in this country on the ABIGAIL, first appears in Braintree, MA, as James Covey. He is first mentioned in Edgartown in 1651. His wife is unknown.

JAMES COVELL, born about 1660, died before 1749. He was a farmer. He married ABIGAIL SMITH, daughter of John Smith and Deborah Parkhurst.

LYDIA COVELL, born 1685, married RICHARD HILLMAN on January 24, 1706.
BETHIAH COVELL, born 1689, married JONATHAN HILLMAN on February 5, 1722-3.

Family historians give our first ancestors as WILLIAM DOGGETT and AVIS LAPPAGE. Although this has not been proven, it is accepted as true. Avis is the daughter of Thomas Lappage, born 1542 in Boxford, England, and Agnes Gael, born 1547 in Edwardstone, England. Agnes' father was Thomas Gael, born 1522. Thomas Lappage was the son of -----Lappage, born 1505, Groton, England, and Alice Doggett, born 1520 and the daughter of Richard Doggett, born 1481, and Sarah LeGris, born 1487.
It is believed that our first known ancestor is William and Avis' third son, JOHN DAGGETT, born or baptized November 4, 1602, in Boxford, England. He married HEPSIBAH BROTHERTON, about whom nothing is known.

HEPSIBAH DAGGETT was born about 1642, and died in West Tisbury on May 3, 1726. She married JOHN EDDY in 1658. He was the son of Samuel Eddy and Elizabeth Savery, and was born December 25, 1637, in Plymouth, MA. He died May 27, 1715 in West Tisbury.
Hepsibah's brother THOMAS DAGGETT was born about 1630 and was called a gentleman. He married HANNAH MAYHEW, the favorite daughter of Governor Mayhew, about 1657, thus assuring his position of high stature throughout the rest of his life. Hannah was born June 15, 1635 at Medford, MA. Thomas died in 1691.

THOMAS DAGGETT was born about 1658 and was a carpenter. He held the rank of Lieutenant and later Captain in the town militia. He died August 25, 1726. He was married to ELIZABETH HAWES, a Mayflower descendant.
JOSHUA DAGGETT, Thomas' brother, was born in 1664 and was a yeoman. He died about 1738. He married HANNAH NORTON about 1685. Hannah was born about 1664.

THANKFUL DAGGETT, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth, was born in April, 1696. Her first of three husbands was ZEPHANIAH BUTLER.
MARY DAGGETT, another daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth, married MATTHEW NORTON. She was born August 8, 1698.

JACOB DAGGETT, son of Joshua and Hannah, was born about 1690, and was a yeoman. He moved to Nantucket about 1714 and there married HANNAH SKIFFE on October 24, 1714. She was born in 1687 and died May 1773. Jacob died February 24, 1760.

HEPSIBAH DAGGETT, daughter of Jacob and Hannah, was born December 3, 1717, and her second husband was SHUBAEL BUTLER, whom she married on November 10, 1743.

JOHN EDDY married HEPSIBAH DAGGETT. see notation on Hepsibah, above.

ELIZABETH EDDY was born about 1663 and married on December 11, 1683, JONATHAN LAMBERT, a carpenter. Jonathan was the first known deaf-mute on the Island and at least two of his children were also deaf-mutes. The Lambert family (also known as Lombard and Lumbert) came from Tenterden, Kent, England, and settled in Scituate, MA. In 1640 they went to Barnstable.
BEULAH EDDY, another daughter of John and Hepsibah, was born about 1680. About 1701 she married ENOCH COFFIN. Enoch was Chief Judge of Dukes County. All of his and Beulah's children lived to old age; six of them were over 80; two over 90; and the rest over 70 at the time of their deaths.

EDWARD HAMMETT was born about 1680 and is first found in Taunton, MA, as a worsted comber. He married EXPERIENCE BOWLES on January 17, 1703-4 at Taunton. She was the daughter of Samuel Bowles and Mary Dyer of Sheepscot, ME, and Rochester, MA. Samuel and Mary were driven from Maine during the Indian War of 1689 and fled to Braintree, MA. Experience was baptized there on September 4, 1692. Edward died March 20, 1745.

JONATHAN HAMMETT was born in 1719 and was a yeoman. He died July 3, 1800. He served as a Private in the Sea Coast Defence in 1776. He married MARY HILLMAN on October 25, 1744. She was born in 1723 and died probably October 12, 1808.

ABIJAH HAMMETT was a farmer and was born in Tisbury on November 8, 1767. He died in Chilmark on May 22, 1857. On December 2, 1791, he married OLIVE ROTCH HILLMAN. She was born in Rochester, MA, on May 24, 1761, and died in Chilmark on April 22, 1851.

FRANKLIN HAMMETT SR was a farmer and was born in Tisbury on May 10, 1794. He married ELIZABETH SKIFFE TILTON (known as Betsy Skiff Tilton) on December 1, 1819. She was born in Chilmark on January 23, 1801.

FRANKLIN HAMMETT JR married NANCIE LAMBERT TILTON. Franklin was a mariner, a whaler who wrote a letter about one of his trips that has been handed down through the family, who was born in Tisbury on April 4, 1830. Nancie was born August 3, 1834. They were married June 26, 1857.

NANCIE LILLIAN HAMMETT married SAMUEL HOWARD FLANDERS. see Flanders genealogy.

According to tradition, JOHN HILLMAN was "shanghaied" and brought to this country when he was 16, being taken from a fishing boat in the river Thames. As he was born in 1651, this would probably be 1667. He divided his time between Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, and it was in Nantucket where he met and married HANNAH COTTLE in 1681. John and Hannah's two sons married sisters.

RICHARD HILLMAN was born October 7, 1682 and was a husbandman. He died March 26, 1743, and married LYDIA COVELL on January 24, 1706. She was born about 1685 and died before 1747.
JONATHAN HILLMAN was the youngest son of John and Hannah, and was born about 1696. He died in 1777. He also was a husbandman. He married BETHIAH COVELL on February 5, 1722-3. She was born about 1699 and died after 1744.

MARY HILLMAN, daughter of Jonathan and Bethiah, was born in 1723, and married JONATHAN HAMMETT on October 25, 1744.

JOSEPH HILLMAN, son of Richard and Lydia, was born about 1714. He married KEZIAH NORTON on November 27, 1737, of whom nothing further is known. He was in the Chilmark Militia in 1757, the last known of him.

SARAH HILLMAN, daughter of Joseph and Keziah, was born in 1745, and married JOHN FLANDERS on January 27, 1769. see Flanders genealogy.

THOMAS LUMBERT and his wife JOYCE ----- came over on the ship MARY AND JOHN. JOSHUA LUMBERT married ABIGAIL LINNELL on May 27, 1651. Abigail was the daughter of Robert Linnell and Jemima House. JONATHAN LAMBERT, the first known deaf-mute on the Island, was born April 28, 1657, in Barnstable, MA, and came to Tisbury about 1692 with his wife ELIZABETH EDDY, to whom he was married December 11, 1683. Jonathan served in the famous expedition to Quebec in 1690 under Sir William Phips, but then settled down to an uneventful life as a carpenter. Sewall refers to Jonathan on his visit in 1714: "We were ready to be offended than an Englishman, Jonathan Lumbard in the company spake not a word to us, and it seems he is deaf and dumb." Jonathan died between 1736 and 1738.

JONATHAN LAMBERT was born November 20, 1684, and died April 24, 1769. He was a weaver, and a selectman in 1737. He married RACHEL TILTON on October 19, 1707. She was born about 1685 and died February 14, 1733-4.

HEPSIBAH LAMBERT, daughter of Jonathan and Rachel, was born in 1713 and married JOHN COFFIN in 1738.
BENJAMIN LAMBERT, son of Jonathan and Rachel, was born July 22, 1709, and died February 21, 1792. He was a weaver. He married BATHSHEBA MAYHEW on January 16, 1735. She was born in 1708 and died July 8, 1776.

MOSES LAMBERT, son of Benjamin and Bathsheba, was born November 25, 1737, (Tisbury vr's have November 13, 1737) and died August 3, 1819. He was a yeoman. He married SARAH HAYDEN on April 8, 1762. She was born October 15, 1739, in Braintree, MA, and died March 26, 1828. All attempts to determine Sarah's parentage have proven futile.

PRUDENCE LAMBERT, daughter of Moses and Sarah, was born December 16, 1777, and married GEORGE WEST on October 27, 1796.
ABISHA HAYDEN LAMBERT, son of Moses and Sarah, was born August 9, 1769, and died April 13, 1827. He was a yeoman. He married HEPSIBAH COFFIN on October 16, 1792 (Edgartown vr's say Mrs. Hepsibah Coffin). She was born November 22, 1773, and died February 1, 1868.

KEZIAH FANNING LAMBERT, daughter of Abisha and Hepsibah, was born August 4, 1817, and married SAMUEL FLANDERS on April 2, 1837. see Flanders genealogy.

The name Look is derived from the biblical Luke, and the first settler, THOMAS LUKE, so spelled it. This Thomas was a collier and became one of the original ten associates of Salisbury in 1659 who purchased Nantucket. His wife's name is unknown.

THOMAS LOOK was born June 6, 1646, in Lynn, MA. He followed his father to Nantucket where he married ELIZABETH BUNKER. They then moved to Tisbury around 1685-6, and here he followed his occupation of miller until his death in 1725. He was a selectman, surveyor of highways, and county deputy sheriff.

JANE LOOK was born December 24, 1680, and married her second husband ABNER WEST on November 17, 1707.

This family originated from Tisbury-Dinton, England. We first find SIMON MAYOH, then his son, ROBERT MAYHEW of Dinton, who married JOAN BRIDMORE of Tisbury, England. The third son of Robert was THOMAS MAYHEW, who was bon about 1509 and was called a yeoman. He was buried in 1590 in Tisbury. His wife ALICE ----- died in 1586.

MATTHEW MAYHEW was born about 1550, and resided in Tisbury, England. He was described as a yeoman, which legally speaking means a freeholder next under the rank of gentleman. He was a man of substance and left an estate valued at about seven thousand dollars cash was well as real estate. He was buried February 26, 1613-4 at Tisbur, England. He married ALICE BARTER on October 2, 1587.

THOMAS MAYHEW, baptized April 1, 1593, in Tisbury, England, is the Governor. He was a merchant, having been apprenticed in Southampton, England. He married (1) ABIGAIL PARKHURST, and (2) JANE GALLION PAINE. Both of these marriages produced children who are my direct ancestors.

Through Thomas Mayhew and Abigail Parkhurst:

THOMAS MAYHEW was born 1620-1 in England, came to New England in 1631, and moved to the Vineyard in 1642. He was the first of the missionaries, and when he died at sea, a monument was erected in his memory. He married his step-sister, JANE PAINE, who was born about 1625. {Was Jane PAINE her actual name? Recent evidence indicates otherwise. Please read this summary as graciously provided by Ed Cooper of CAPE COD GENEALOGY }

THOMAS MAYHEW, another missionary, was born in 1650 and died July 21, 1715. He married SARAH SKIFFE, elder sister of the wife of his brother Matthew, who was born October 12, 1646, and died December 30, 1740, at age 94.
JOHN MAYHEW, brother of Thomas and son of Thomas and Abigail, was one of the best-known missionaries. He was born in 1652 and died at the early age of 37 on Februar 2, 1688-9. He married ELIZABETH HILLIARD, daughter of Emanual Hilliard and Elizabeth Parkhurst of Hampton, NH. She was born January 22, 1654-5 and died in 1746.

SARAH MAYHEW, daughter of Thomas and Sarah, married JOHN TILTON. Sarah was born about 1677. John was a yeoman and was born October 23, 1670, and died in 1759.
BATHSHEBA MAYHEW, daughter of Thomas and Sarah, born in 1680, married JOSIAH TILTON.
ZEPHANIAH MAYHEW, son of Thomas and Sarah, was born in 1686, and known as a farmer and yeoman. He married BETHIAH WADSWORTH, daughter of Joseph Wadsworth and Abigail Wait of Duxbury, in March 1711. Joseph Wadsworth's parents were Christopher Wadsworth and Grace Cole. Zephaniah died November 20, 1733.

JOHN MAYHEW, son of John and Elizabeth, was a farmer and was born in 1676 and died March 3, 1735-6. He married MEHITABLE HIGGINS, born 1680, on November 27, 1700, in Chilmark. Although not proven, Mehitable's parents were probably Owen Higgins and Seaborn Tew.
BENJAMIN MAYHEW, son of John and Elizabeth, was born September 11, 1679, and was a farmer. He died August 30, 1717. On May 13, 1704, he married HANNAH SKIFFE.

JEDIDAH MAYHEW, daughter of Zephaniah and Bethiah, ws born April 18, 1719, and married URIAH TILTON.

ZILPHA MAYHEW, daughter of John and Mehitable, was born March 30, 1718, and married JOSEPH TILTON.

BATHSHEBA MAYHEW, daughter of Benjamin and Hannah, was born June 11, 1709, and married BENJAMIN LAMBERT.
HANNAH MAYHEW, daughter of Benjamin and Hannah, was born October 14, 1711, and married SAMUEL TILTON.

From Thomas Mayhew and Jane Gallion Paine:

HANNAH MAYHEW, born June 15, 1635, married THOMAS DAGGETT.

Our first known ancestor was WILLIAM NORTON, tanner, of White Lackington, England, about 1540. He is described as the eldest of his family, but his parentage is unknown. He had been executor of his brother's estate, but his brother's widow as well as his own two sons brought suit against him for mismanaging the estate and not providing the family with any money. Ones of these two sons was NICHOLAS NORTON, the father of the emigrant. He was a church warden in 1599. This was the Church of England, dedicated to St. Aldhelm. The emigrant NICHOLAS NORTON was married to ELIZABETH ----- in Weymouth, MA, but nothing is known about her. Three of their 11 children are my direct ancestors.

PRISCILLA NORTON, born 1655, married JOHN BUTLER.
ISAAC NORTON was born May 3, 1641, and was a farmer. He married RUTH BAYES about 1663. She was born about July 2, 1643. Isaac died about 1723.
BENJAMIN NORTON was born in 1659 and died towards the end of 1733. He married HANNAH BOLTER.

HANNAH NORTON, daughter of Isaac and Ruth, married JOSHUA DAGGETT.

MATTHEW NORTON, son of Benjamin and Hannah, was born April 22, 1696, and died December 5, 1779. He was a farmer and a deacon of the church in Edgartown for many years. He married Mayflower descendant MARY DAGGETT, who was born Augst 8, 1698, and died December 13, 1779, one week after her husband. Was there a flu outbreak?

JANE NORTON, daughter of Matthew and Mary, was born on July 25, 1723, and married THOMAS VINCENT on November 22, 1748.

WILLIAM ROTCH (also known as Roche or Roach) was a weaver and was probably born about 1650. In 1690 he was married to HANNAH POTTER, daughter of Nicholas Potter and Mary Gedney of Salem. Hannah was born March 27, 1665. Her father was a bricklayer and lived on a tract of land known to this day as Roache's Point after it came into Hannah's possession through inheritance. William Rotch died about 1705.

BENJAMIN ROTCH was born about 1702 and was a mariner. He spent most of his adult life in Provincetown, MA, but died in Boston in 1758. He married MARTHA PAINE, who is said to have died in 1760.

WILLIAM ROTCH was born October 23, 1729 and died July 2, 1809. He was a shipwright from Boston. He moved to Rochester, MA, where he married (1) ANNE BARLOW on November 17, 1754. She was the daughter of Joseph Barlow and Abigail Wyatt, and was born May 24, 1737. Anne was the great-granddaughter of one George Barlow of Sandwich, MA. George was one of the most hated men of his time and his story gained my admission into the International Black Sheep Society of Genealogists. William Rotch served in the Louisburg Expedition in 1745 in the company commanded by Capt. Edward Coles. He was later married to Eunice Norton Lambert.

OLIVE ROTCH, born May 21, 1761, married ABIJAH HAMMETT on December 2, 1791.

JAMES SKIFFE SR was born around 1610. He first appears in this country at Lynn, MA, about 1635, and is said to have come from London. He had some association with Isaac Allerton of the Mayflower, through whom he was granted land in Sandwich which became his permanent residence. He was representative to the General Court beginning in 1645 for thirteen years, and in 1656 was appointed to train the militia. He was admitted as a proprietor of West Tisbury on May 20, 1671, and granted a full share of land. This lot he have to his son Nathan. He married MARGARET REAVES, about whom nothing is known. Of their nine children, five are my direct ancestors: James Jr, Stephen, Nathaniel, Sarah, and Nathan.

JAMES SKIFFE JR was born September 12, 1638, and died sometime shortly after 1719. He was a participant of the "Dutch Rebellion" of 1673 and was forever after ostracized. Thomas Daggett entered a complaint against him in 1674 for slander, in calling him "a thief, a lyer and knave and other opprobrious words." James had one of the first divorces on the Island in 1670, from Elizabeth Neighbor. He then moved to Nantucket in 1677 and the same year married SARAH BARNARD, daughter of Robert Barnard. He became a deacon of the church on Nantucket. Sarah was born about 1648 and died October 24, 1732.

HANNAH SKIFFE, daughter of James and Sarah, was born 1687, and married JACOB DAGGETT on October 24, 1714.

STEPHEN SKIFFE (James Sr) was born April 14, 1641, and died June 19, 1710. He resided in Sandwich, MA, and was known as a gentleman. He married LYDIA SNOW, a Mayflower descendant and daughter of Anthony Snow and Abigail Warren of Plymouth. Lydia was born about 1640 and died March 17, 1713. Stephen was Justice of the Peace and a representative to the General Court in 1676.

ABIGAIL SKIFFE, daughter of Stephen and Lydia, was born on May 2, 1666, and married SHUBAEL SMITH.

NATHANIEL SKIFFE (James Sr) was born March 20, 1645, and died in Windham, CT, of smallpox on April 24, 1723. He married MARY PARTRIDGE, daughter of George Partridge and Sarah Tracy. Sarah Tracy was the daughter of Steven Tracy and Tryphosa Lee. Steven Tracy came to this country on the ANNE in 1623.

HANNAH SKIFFE, daughter of Nathaniel and Mary, was born June 6, 1688, and married BENJAMIN MAYHEW on May 13, 1704.

SARAH SKIFFE (James Sr) was born October 12 1646 and married THOMAS MAYHEW.

NATHAN SKIFFE (James Sr) was born May 16, 1658, and died February 19, 1725-6. He was a farmer in Sandwich, MA, then came to Tisbury. There he was town clerk 1681-86, constable 1693, and then moved to Chilmark. He married HEPSIBAH CODMAN about 1678, who died July 19, 1696.

JAMES SKIFFE, son of Nathan and Hepsibah, was born March 10, 1689, and died January 6, 1724. He was a cordwainer. He married LYDIA SMITH, who was born October 4, 1685, and died November 8, 1745.

STEPHEN SKIFFE, son of James and Lydia, was born May 8, 1718. A farmer, he was on the Alarm List of 1757. He married BATHSHEBA TILTON on August 26, 1742. She was born June 22, 1721, and died November 3, 1767.

VINAL SKIFFE, son of Stephen and Bathsheba, was born February 11, 1759. He married KATHERINE TILTON.

MARTHA SKIFFE, daughter of Vinal and Katherine, married DAVID TILTON.

There are two Smith families on my tree, and as far as it can be determined, neither are related. The first Smith is JOHN SMITH, who was born 1615-6, and died about 1670. He was married to DEBORAH PARKHURST, daughter of George Parkhurst and Phebe Leete of Ipswich, England. Deborah was baptized August 1, 1619.

ABIGAIL SMITH, born 1662, married JAMES COVELL.

REV JOHN SMITH was a resident of Barnstable, MA, before 1643. I do not know his religious affiliation, but he was approved to attend meetings of the Quakers and hear their defense and reported in their favor. He withdrew from communion of his church for conscientious reasons but was restored later, and preached occasionally at Barnstable. In September 1661, he led in organizing a church which a council refused to approved. He then accepted a call to be pastor at Sandwich, MA, and served there 1673-89. On June 13, 1643, He married SUSANNA HINCKLEY, daughter of Samuel and sister of Governor Thomas Hinckley of Plymouth Colony. This Governor Thomas Hinckley is the direct ancestor of current LDS President Gordon Hinckley.

SHUBAEL SMITH was born March 13, 1653-4, and died April 5, 1734. He was a gentleman. His second wife was ABIGAIL SKIFFE, who was born May 2, 1666, and died June 7, 1718. This marriage took place in 1684.

LYDIA SMITH, born October 4, 1685, married JAMES SKIFFE.

It was said of EDWARD STARBUCK that "He was a man of great firmness and his influence among the Indians was so great that if at any time suspicion of alarm arose among the early settlers he was always in requisition to explain the apparent causes thereof and suggest a palliation for their rude and inexplicable action, which served to allay the fears of the more timid."
When the original ten First Purchasers of Nantucket chose ten others as partners, Thomas Macy selected Edward Starbuck. He was born in 1604, a native of Derbyshire, England. He married KATHARINE REYNOLDS of Wales, and came to America about 1635. Katharine died at Dover, NH, and Edward died December 4, 1690.

SARAH STARBUCK married for her second husband JOSEPH AUSTIN. (see John Coffin)

SAMUEL TILTON was the son of William Tilton of Lynn, MA, and his second wife Susanna -----. Samuel was born in 1637-8, probably in Lynn, and his father died when Samuel was 16. His mother died before 1660 after marrying Roger Shaw and moving to Hampton, NH. Now an orphan, Samuel learned the trade of carpenter, and on December 17, 1662, married HANNAH MOULTON of Hampton. They came to Martha's Vineyard about 1673. Hannah died April 11, 1720, and Samuel died November 29, 1731. Because of his aversion to swearing, it is supposed that he was a Quaker. Two of his six children, John and Josiah, are my direct ancestors.

JOHN TILTON was born October 23, 1670, and died 1759. A yeoman, he married SARAH MAYHEW, who was born about 1677.
JOSIAH TILTON, a yeoman, was born about 1680, and died in 1752. He married BATHSHEBA MAYHEW, sister of Sarah above, who was born about 1681.

JOHN TILTON, son of John and Sarah, was born March 24, 1705-6, and died in 1783. He was a yeoman. He married SARAH GIBBS, a Mayflower descendant, on August 30, 1738.
JOSEPH TILTON, son of John and Sarah, was born December 13, 1710, and was a yeoman. His second wife was ZILPHA MAYHEW, niece of Sarah and Bathsheba, whom he married April 5, 1742. Zilpha was born March 30, 1718, and diedFebruary 18, 1809. Joseph served on the Alarm List 1757 and died September 3, 1796.
SAMUEL TILTON, son of John and Sarah, was a yeoman and was born January 17, 1723, and died April 3, 1778. HANNAH MAYHEW, his first wife and first cousin of Zilpha above, was born October 14, 1711, and died January 10, 1766.

URIAH TILTON, son of Josiah and Bathsheba, was born November 15, 1713, and died January 1, 1788. He was a mariner and an innholder, and served in the Alarm List 1757. On March 16, 1737-8, he married JEDIDAH MAYHEW, niece of Sarah and Bathsheba, who was born April 18, 1719, and died March 31, 1788.
BATHSHEBA TILTON, daughter of Josiah and Bathsheba, was born June 22, 1721 and died November 3, 1767. On August 26, 1742, she married STEPHEN SKIFFE, who was born May 8, 1718.

JANE TILTON, daughter of John and Sarah (Gibbs), was born December 1, 1741, and married JOHN TILTON, son of Daniel Tilton of Middletown, NJ. John came to Martha's Vineyard about 1762 and remained about 20 years, then moved to Vassalboro, Maine, and died there. Jane was his second wife. His first wife was MARTHA YOUNG, who was born November 21, 1727, and died in 1761. John and Martha's daughter, KATHARINE TILTON, born March 3, 1761, married on November 11, 1779, VINAL SKIFFE.

REBECCA TILTON, daughter of Joseph and Zilpha, was born June 9, 1746, and married STEPHEN TILTON, her cousin.
OLIVER TILTON, son of Joseph and Zilpha, was born April 15, 1765, and died July 29, 1845. On January 23, 1791, he married EUNICE TILTON, his cousin, who was born December 11, 1771, and was living in 1850. Eunice was the daughter of Jane Tilton and John Tilton above.

STEPHEN TILTON, a yeoman and a son of Samuel and Hannah, was born in 1748 and died May 9, 1813. On December 14, 1768, he married REBECCA TILTON, his cousin and daughter of Joseph and Zilpha, who was born June 9, 1746, and died October 23, 1829.

DAVID TILTON, son of Uriah and Jedidah, was born May 5, 1752. It was said he moved to New Bedford, MA, but his death is recorded in Chilmark on September 14, 1796. He married MARY TILTON, parentage unknown, on July 2, 1775.

JOHN TILTON, son of Oliver and Eunice, was born on August 19, 1796, and married MARY WEST, born May 15, 1800.

HANNAH TILTON, daughter of Stephen and Rebecca, was born April 4, 1770 and married on December 23, 1792, JOHN FLANDERS. see Flanders genealogy.

DAVID TILTON, son of David Tilton and Mary Tilton, was born March 3, 1776, and married MARTHA SKIFFE. Their daughter was ELIZABETH "BETSY" SKIFFE TILTON, who was born January 24, 1801, and married FRANKLIN HAMMETT SR.

WILLIAM VINSON was another participant of the "Dutch Rebellion", but apparently he fared much better than James Skiffe Jr because he was only fined. He was born about 1627, and lived for some time in Norwich, CT. The reasons and the time spent in Norwich are unknown. He moved to Edgartown about 1655 and married that year SUSANNA BROWNING, daughter of Malachi Browning and Mary Collier. William died in 1697 and Susanna died in 1722. About 1800 the spelling of the name Vinson was changed to Vincent.

THOMAS VINCENT was born September 15, 1656, and died about 1740. He was a gunsmith and locksmith. He moved to Norwich, CT, before 1707 where his wife's family resided. He married SARAH POST about 1676. She was the daughter of Thomas Post and Mary Andrews, and was born in November, 1657, and still living in Norwich in 1746. Thomas Post was one of the original proprietors of Norwich, CT, along with his brother John Post and several others. Thomas's father was Stephen Post, one of the original proprietors of Hartford, CT, along with Reverend Hooker. Stephen was married to Ellener -----. Stephen and Ellener moved to Saybrook, CT, where Stephen died August 16, 1659, and Ellener died November 13, 1670. Thomas Post married Mary Andrews in Norwich on January, 1656. Mary died in Norwich in March, 1661, and Thomas died in Norwich in 1701.

THOMAS VINCENT, a farmer, was born in 1679 and died May, 1773, age 94 years. On January 1, 1710, he married SARAH MARTAIN, daughter of George Martain. She was born about 1686 and died January, 1779, aged 93 years.

THOMAS VINCENT, farmer, was born May 13, 1720, and died May 28, 1805. On November 22, 1748, he married JANE NORTON, who died October 11, 1764, at age 41.

SARAH VINCENT, born April 13, 1752, married on October 26, 1772, EDDY COFFIN.

FRANCIS WEST was born about 1606 and lived in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. He was a carpenter by trade and was still single when he came to America. He married MARGARET REEVES of Duxbury, MA, on February 27, 1639.

DR THOMAS WEST was a man of education and superior ability and was the first known practitioner of medicine and surgery on Martha's Vineyard. He was also a lawyer, for he was the "King's Attorney" and also known as the "King's Solicitor" and "Their Majesties Attorney." He prosecuted the first murder trials on the Island. With his wife ELIZABETH ----- he became a member of the Third Sabbatarian (Seventh Day) Baptist Church of Newport, RI, before 1692, but was excommunicated in 1702 for disobeying the tenets of communion. He was born in 1646 and died September 6, 1706. Elizabeth was born in 1653-4 and died February 16, 1728. At least six of their descendants were graduates of Harvard before 1800.

ABNER WEST, a carpenter, was born June 9, 1683, and died in 1756. On November 17, 1707, he married Mrs. JANE LOOK COTTLE, who was born December 24, 1680, and died about 1765 in Rochester, MA.

PETER WEST, husbandman, was born July 21, 1718. On December 16, 1740, he married Mrs. ELIZABETH ATHEARN CHASE, who was born April 13, 1715, and died September 2, 1789. Peter rendered distinguished services in the Crown Point Expedition 1756 as a Captain of a company in Col. Thatcher's Regiment and later in the regiment of Col. Zaccheus Mayhew. In the campaign of the following year he was garrisoned at Fort Edward, NY, taking part in the hostilities and died there of smallpox on October 30, 1757.

THOMAS WEST, master mariner, was born January 12, 1748, and died January 4, 1822. On December 21, 1775, he married SARAH BUTLER, who was born December 14, 1755, and died January 31, 1816.

GEORGE WEST, farmer, was born November 11, 1776, in Tisbury, and died October 8, 1856. He married in Chilmark on October 27, 1796, PRUDENCE LAMBERT, daughter of Moses and sister of Abisha. She was born December 16, 1777, and died July 24, 1869.

MARY WEST, born May 13, 1800, married JOHN TILTON, son of Oliver and Eunice.