John Wilson
Descent: Meghan Jane Leineweber ← Catherine Raye Lobb ← Patricia Jane Loomis ← Edward Byron Loomis ← Isaac Hayes Loomis ← Juliette Cordelia Hayes ← Nelson Hayes ← Rhoda Slaughter ← Lois Carpenter ← Benjamin Carpenter ← Elizabeth Wilson ← Benjamin Wilson ← John Wilson
In brief
Born about 1626 in England. About 1652: Arrived in Salem, Massachusetts from England with his wife and infant child. He married about 1650. He died July 2, 1687, in Woburn, Massachusetts.
Family
Children
- John Wilsonb. Abt. 1652 in Englandm. Johanna Carter around 1672 near Woburn, Massachusettsm. Rebecca ____, May 25, 1713, in Rehoboth, Massachusettsd. February 1, 1734[1735], in Bedford, Massachusetts
- Sarah Wilsonb. Abt. 1653 around Salem, Massachusettsm. Samuel Snowd. June 15, 1686, in Woburn, Massachusetts one week after childbirth
- ____ Wilsonb. Abt. 1655d. Struck by Lightning
- Dorcas Wilsonb. January 29, 1657, around Salem, Massachusettsm. Aaron Cleveland, September 26, 1675, in Woburn, Massachusettsd. November 29, 1714, in Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Samuel Wilsonb. December 29, 1658, in Woburn, Massachusettsm. Elizabeth Peirce, February 24, 1681[1682] in Woburn, Massachusettsd. November 21, 1729, in Woburn, Massachusetts
- Francis Wilsonb. Abt. 1660 around Woburn, Massachusettsm. Ruth Duntlin, March 6, 1683, in Woburn, Massachusettsd. August 15, 1724, in Rehoboth, Massachusetts
- James Wilsonb. Abt. 1663 around Woburn, Massachusettsm. Deborah Peirce, January 19, 1687, near Woburn, Massachusettsm. Margaret Russ, April 17, 1704, in Andover, Massachusettsd. Around Killingly, Connecticut
- Abigail Wilsonb. August 8, 1666, in Woburn, Massachusettsm. Joseph Hildreth, February 25, 1683[1684] in Woburn, Massachusettsm. Jonathan Barrett around 1708d. November 27, 1747, in Chelmsford, Massachusetts
- Elizabeth Wilsonb. August 6, 1668, in Woburn, Massachusettsm. Isaac Hildreth, November 12, 1685, in Chelmsford, Massachusettsd. January 4, 1743, in Chelmsford, Massachusetts
- Benjamin Wilson · in this lineb. October 15, 1670, in Woburn, Massachusettsm. Elizabeth Fuller, Abt. 1693 near Woburn, Massachusettsd. July 11, 1750, in Ashford, Connecticut
- Hannah Wilsonb. May 31, 1672, in Woburn, Massachusettsm. Jonathan Peirce, November 19, 1689, in Woburn, Massachusettsm. James Proctor around 1695d. February 27, 1726, in Woburn, Massachusetts
Life story
A Cavalryman's Escape
John Wilson was born around 1626 in England and served in the English cavalry, most memorably, according to family tradition passed down through his great-granddaughter, in single combat against a Scottish soldier who rode out each morning to challenge the English lines — after several inconclusive encounters, John finally unhorsed and killed the man, only to be captured himself shortly afterward and released on parole on the promise never to fight the Scots again. He is said to have emigrated to Massachusetts around 1652 to avoid being called up to fight the Scots a second time, sailing with his wife despite her professed lack of fear for the voyage — the ship reportedly struck a rock in Boston Harbor and sank, its passengers reaching shore by clinging to wreckage (Hannah's account has the women and children reaching shore by lifeboat).
A Woburn Mason
John settled first in Salem, Massachusetts, then moved to Woburn around 1661, working as a mason — he plastered the home of the Reverend Fox in 1680 — while steadily acquiring land: by 1671 he held ten acres in town, and he continued adding parcels through the 1670s. He served Woburn as a hog- and fence-warden and as surveyor of highways, and, as a Baptist in a Puritan-dominated town, he and his wife were fined more than once for failing to attend the required Sabbath services. John died in Woburn on July 2, 1687; his estate, including a homestead worth 105 pounds and scattered outlying parcels, passed to his wife Hannah as administrator.
Sources (2)
- Ken Stevens, Wilsons from New England: Volume J, Descendants of John Wilson of Woburn, Massachusetts (Walpole, New Hampshire: Ken Stevens, 1991); digital images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/descendantsofjoh00stev : accessed 10 August 2026).
- William Utermohlen, “Elizabeth Fuller of Salem and Woburn, Massachusetts; Rehoboth, Rhode Island; and Ashford, Connecticut – Probable Wife of Benjamin Wilson,” New England Historical and Genealogical Register 178 (Spring 2024): 169-188; image copy, American Ancestors, (https://www.americanancestors.org/DB202/i/82242/169/97028178 : accessed 10 August 2026).