John "Baptist" Cissell, of St. Mary's County

Not the husband of Mary Dant

Find A Grave - https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/96260379/john-baptist-cissell

Disputed Origins

• Parents unknown
• See https://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=norvan&id=I186086 for discussion
• Not a known child of Sir Thomas Cecil, Knt., of Keldon & Susan Cecil
• Y DNA Haplogroup R-FGC51311 June 2019 at ftDNA: https://www.familytreedna.com/public/Cecil-Cissell?iframe=yresults

Research Notes from David Cissell

“For John Cissell there is no evidence ,that I know of, as to what his wife's madden name was. Similarly there are no records to indicate that he had a second wife. Linda Reno's notes under Mary Shircliffe suggest that she may have married 1st Peter Mills and secondly Thomas Dant [and so not John Cissell]
As part of our DNA testing efforts, we have looked for matches with Shircliffe descendants and have found none.”

Cecil-Cissell DNA Project Administrator

Notes

From https://www.colonial-settlers-md-va.us/getperson.php?personID=I0232...

Cissell, John, St Mary, Co, 28th Apr, 1698; 6th June, 1698.
To sons John, William and Thomas, equally, and hrs, 150 A, "White Acre." " sons Richard and Robert equally, 100 A, "Long Neck". " Wife Mary, extx. and residuary legatee of estate, real and personal, including plantation during life. To son Edward and hrs, sd. plantation at death of wife; to pass in event of his death without issue to young, son James and hrs. Test: Jno. Richards, Adam Head, Mary Mekin, Robt. Asiter. 7. 381.

John Sissell 16.200 I SM £75.11.0 Jul 26 1698 (also John Sessill) Appraisers: Henry Spink, James French.

Early Families of Southern Maryland, Vol. 1, Revised, by Elise Greenup Jourdan, 1993, p. 59 "John Cissell of St Mary's Co., MD., a native of England, demands 50 acres of land for his own transportation in 1658; warrant vide return 25 Mar next" (Early Settler's List, 6,429). Since he only applied for 50 acres of land for his own transportation, we can assume he did not bring a wife into Maryland. John Cissell, a gunsmith, was the earliest known person of the Catholic Cissell family to settle in Maryland. Birth estimated ca 1630-1640 of unknown parents in England; d. 1698 St Mary's County. Glover's "Bristol and America" states that he came to Maryland via Barbados from the port of Bristol, England. He is believed to have married in St Mary's County to Mary Shirtcliffe, b. ca 1647; d. after 1707; d/o John Shirtcliffe and Anne Goldsborough. In 1707 a Mary Dant owned 50 acres of Poplar Neck, while William, James and Thomas Cissell owned the remainder. It has not been possible to determine if this is Mary, widow of John Cissell who m. a Dant after the death of John in 1698 (Rent Rolls). Mr. Harry Wright Newman wrote an excellent paper documenting the evidence to substantiate his opinion that Mary Shirtcliffe was the wife of John Cissell. Portions of the following information have been abstracted from the documents found with the Harry Wright Newman Collection. (Learning Resource Center, Southern Maryland Room of the Charles Co. Community College, LaPlata, MD 20646).

1658 immigrated to either Barbados or MD with brother William.

There is some dispute from Erv Chell, a Cecil researcher that this John is the son of Thomas.

"Colonial Settlers, St Clement's Bay 1734-1780, St Mary's County, Maryland" by Mary Louise Donnelly, states "John Cissell (Cecil), a Catholic, immigrated to the Province of Maryland in 1658 from Wales, England (Patents 4:29). He married Mary. Upon his arrival, John Cissell was a man of means as he purchased a number of tracts in St Mary's County. He became possessor of 150 acres of "White Acre" which on 12 Nov 1652 had been patented for William Brough on 25 Nov 1642, who died in 1651 leaving his total estate to his wife Sarah (w 1:37). By 1707 the sons of John Cissell owned this acreage. John Cissell purchased 100 acres of "Cadloe" as did his brother William, which was patented on 4 Nov 1650 for Joseph Cadloe, who died in 1652. John Cissell also obtained 100 acres of "Long Neck" which on 10 Jun 1681 had been surveyed for John Addison who moved to Prince George's County, Maryland. John Cissell, a gunsmith, wrote his will on 28 Apr 1698 and it was probated on 6 Jun 1698. To his sons John, William, Thomas, he left 150 acres of "White Acre." To his sons Richard and Robert he left 100 acres of "Long Neck". His son Edward was to receive the home plantation "Poplar Neck" after the death of Mary. If Edward died without heirs it was to pass to his youngest son James. On 26 Jul 1698 the estate of John Cissell was appraised and valued at L75.11.00 (inv 16;200.)

Salisbury Family Genealogy: In 1658 John, came to Maryland to look after his family's interests. (see notes on his father.) John settled in St Mary's Co. John Cicill (spelled Cissel and Cecil), the immigrant from Wales, England in 1658, died in 1698 and left a will in St Mary's County naming wife Mary (possibly Calvert), and sons John, William, Thomas, Richard, Robert, Edward and James (Liber PC 1 page 104, film 144424).

William Cicell, son of John and Mary, died in St Mary's County leaving Arthur, Luke, Margaret, Ann, Matthew and Clare. Thomas Cissell, son of John and Mary, died in 1724 leaving a son, John, and a brother James. James Cissel, son of John and Mary, died in 1717 leaving James, Mary and Ruth. Thomas Sissell, the immigrant in 1675, died in St Mary's County in 1701 and left a will naming son, George, son-in-law James Thompson, brother, George and daughter-in-law, Betty.

Some claims have been made that John Cicill, son of John, the immigrant in 1658, was the same John, of Prince George's County, who married Elizabeth Sollers, and it has also been proposed that William, John the emigrant's son, was also living in Prince George's Co, but these claims have never been proven.

"The Cecil Family of Maryland" by Walter V. Ball, book call #929.273 C322b. Also from the will of John.

Elise Greenup Jourdan, in "Early Families of Southern Maryland, Volume 1" 1992, states that "the Cecils and Cissells were prolific families who settled in Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania in the 17th century. Their descendants pioneered lands in Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Illinois and many other states."

Generally, Cecil is used for the Protestant lines and Cissell for the Catholic, but there are many spellings used in an assortment of records that are not consistent.

From Paul Tobler's research John and family had a sailing vessel called the "Martha Constant" that plyed between Barbados Colony and the Maryland Colony, plus visits to Nevis, Virgin Islands. Some of these sailings could have been made for the transport of indentured servants. Barbados dated from 1627 with the British, Maryland dated 1632 and Nevis dated from 1627-28 with the British. from Karen Salisbury: In Colonial Settlers of St Clement's Bay 1734-1780, St Mary's County, MD, by Mary Louise Donnelly, Will: Probated 16 June 1698, Appraised 26 July 1698,.Ship Martha Constant.

Who is the James Cissell who is listed in Hottens "Lists of Emigrants to America 1600-1700" on p 452, with 22 acres of Land in St Michael's Parish, Barbadoes with 1 hired servant, 0 bought servants, 16 negroes?

from Paul Tobler: Property that John B. Cecil owned was called "Cadloe", "Longneck", "White Acres", "Poplar Neck" 3)a. Cadloe he had originally obtained 100 acres upon arrival. 3)b. Longneck of 100 acres was added. 3)c. White Acres of 150 acres was added. 3)d. Poplar Neck of 200 acres was added. Therefore he had a minimum of 550 acres of property. The home place was on "Poplar Neck" where they lived with the residence there.

"I found a note saying that maybe John Baptiste Cecil was born in England 1634." ~ Carol Sidders

John Cissell was born in England before 1638. His specific date and place of birth is not known.

Generally, Cecil is used by researchers (somewhat arbitrarily) for the early Protestant lines and Cissell for the early Catholics, but there are many spellings used in an assortment of records that are not consistent. (Cissell is the spelling used in this man's will, however, so in this case it appears to be the most reasonable choice. Over time, many of John's descendants changed their name spelling to "Cecil," which is more common today.)

Elise Greenup Jourdan, in "Early Families of Southern Maryland, Volume 1" (page 1), states that "the Cecils and Cissells were prolific families who settled in Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania in the 17th century. Their descendants pioneered lands in Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Illinois, and many other states." Jourdan is one of those who uses Cecil for Protestants and Cissell for the Catholics.

Occupation: Planter and Gunsmith

Occupation: Planter per his will; gunsmith according to Jourdan and others.[2] See research notes below.

1658 Immigration

This John Cissell appears to be one of the earliest people to bring the Cecil/Cissell name to colonial America. Jourdan (page 3) notes only three others: Peter Cecill, in Virginia by 1624; William Sissell, transported to Virginia in 1654; and Rowland Sissill, in Maryland by 1649. She also notes that a T. Cecil made a map of Maryland in 1635, but that there was no record of him having actually been there.

Some sources report that he came from England and others report that he came from Wales, with some reporting that he came from Wales, England, displaying their ignorance that England and Wales are separate countries in one kingdom.

According to Jourdan:

"John Cissell of St. Mary's Co., MD., a native of England, demands 50 acres of land for his own transportation in 1658; warrant vides return 25 Mar next" (Early Settler's List, 6,429). Since he only applied for 50 acres of land for his own transportation, we can assume he did not bring a wife into Maryland. "John Cissell, a gunsmith, was the earliest known person of the Catholic Cissell family to settle in Maryland. Birth estimated ca 1630-1640 of unknown parents in England; d. 1698 St. Mary's County." Skordas simply records that "John Cicil" immigrated in 1658. "Immigrated" means that he paid his own way, while "transported" means that someone else paid it.

Donnelly reports that "John Cissell (Cecil), a Catholic, immigrated to the Province of Maryland in 1658 from Wales" (Patents 4:29).

Marriage to Mary Unknown

Donnelly says: John Cissell married Mary __________. [4] According to Mike Marshall: Before 1669 in St. Mary's County, Maryland John Cissell married Mary; her maiden name and early life is not known. She died after 1698 in St. Mary's County. [1] Although Jourdan states that John married Mary Shirtcliffe [2], that was later disproven by other researchers (see research notes below). We know Mary died after 1698 because she was named in John's will.

There is no reason to believe John Cissell had any wife other than this Mary, or that he had children by any other woman.

We know that John's marriage occurred soon after his arrival in Maryland, because he had five living adult sons (and two who had not yet reached legal adulthood) by the time he wrote his will (in 1694 or 1698).

Property

As mentioned, John was granted 50 acres of land in return for transporting himself to Maryland. Over time he acquired other property (for which no purchase records have been found) and he made his living by farming. His will noted he was a "Planter."

In his will, John left three properties to his heirs: "the plantation which I now live on," "White Acre" (or "Whitaker"), and "Long Neck." It seems reasonable to conclude that "the plantation which I now live on" was "Poplar Neck," which in 1707 was owned by three of John's sons and Mary Dant.

The fate of the original 50 acres is unknown. Two other properties, sometimes reported as being owned by (this) John Cissell, Scotland and Cadloe, were later found in the possession of John's descendants, but there is no record of John owning them. In the case of Scotland, John's son William gained control of the property through his wife, Catherine Joyner.

See the attached chart, John Cissell and Descendants' Property, for an overview.

1698 Death, Will, and Estate

Death

John Cissell died 6 June 1698 in St. Mary's County, Maryland.

Will

John Cissell, planter, wrote his will on 28 April 1698 (probably). It was probated on 6 June 1698.[4] See transcription attached to this profile. There are two copies of the will extant. One is dated 1694, the other 1698. The transcription is made from the version on-line at Familysearch.org [5], which shows a date of 1694, and preserves original spelling, including obvious errors. The version at Ancestry.com is much harder to read, although the date of 1698 is clear.

To sons John, William and Thomas, and heirs, 150 acres of "White Acre" (50 acres each). To sons Richard and Robert 100 acres of "Long Neck" to be divided equally between them, but if they die without issue, that land to go to son James. To Wife Mary, executrix, "this plantation which I now live on" during her life and "all the rest of my estate." To son Edward and heirs, sd. plantation at death of wife; to pass in event of his death without issue to youngest son James and heirs. Test: Jno. Richards, Adam Head, Mary Mekin, Robt. Asiter. 7. 381. Note: Of course, in John's day, documents were copied by hand. It seems clear the we are looking at two copies of the same will, and on one of them, the scribe made an error when copying the date. 1698 is the more likely date, as so often people made their wills when they were near death. In John's will, he describes himself as "Sick and weake in body."

Appraisal

On 26-Jul-1698 the estate of John Cissell was appraised and valued at L75.11.oo (inv 16;200.)

John Sissell 16.200 I SM £75.11.0 Jul 26 1698 (also John Sessill) Appraisers: Henry Spink, James French.

Children

What we know about John's children comes initially from his will (see will section above), which lists seven sons and no daughters. It states that Edward is under 21 years old and that James is the youngest son. John does not list any grandchildren. There is no evidence that John had any other children besides these seven. For the estimated birth dates shown here, see research notes below.

Of the seven sons, three--Richard, Robert, and Edward--are not heard of again. Another, John, died intestate and without wife or children. The remaining three--William, Thomas, and James--married, had children, and left wills when they died.

1. John Cissell, born around 1660. Per Jourdan, lived "16__-1722" . According to Marshall, b. Bef 1690, St. Mary's County, Maryland, d. 2 Oct 1722, St. Mary's County, Maryland - Inventory (Age > 32 years) Some claims have been made that John Cicill, son of John, the immigrant in 1658, was the same John, of Prince George's County, who married Elizabeth Sollers, and it has also been proposed that William, John the emigrant's son, was also living in Prince George's Co, but these claims have never been proven.

2. William Cissell, born around 1663. Per Jourdan, lived "16__-1744" . According to Marshall, b. 1669, St. Mary's County, Maryland, d. 28 Nov 1744, St. Mary's County, Maryland - Probate (Age 75 years) William Cicell, son of John and Mary, died in St Mary's County leaving Arthur, Luke, Margaret, Ann, Matthew, and Clare. [7]

3. Thomas Cissell, born around 1666. Per Jourdan, lived "16__-1724" . According to Marshall, b. between 1670 and 1671, St. Mary's County, Maryland, d. 24 Aug 1724, St. Mary's County, Maryland - Probate (Age ~ 54 years) Thomas Cissell, son of John and Mary, died in 1724 leaving a son, John, and a brother James.

4. Richard Cissell, born around 1669. According to Marshall b. Bef 1690, St. Mary's County, Maryland, d. Bef 1710, St. Mary's County, Maryland (Age < 20 years) ; according to Jourdan[2] page 70 born by 1698 and "d. young"

5. Robert Cissell, born around 1671. Per Jourdan, "d. young; under 21 in 1694." According to Marshall, b. Bef 1690, St. Mary's County, Maryland, d. Bef 1710, St. Mary's County, Maryland (Age < 20 years); see research notes below for estimation of birth date. (Jourdan's statement "under 21 in 1694" also appears in her notes on Edward (where it belongs) and appears to have been a typesetting error when applied to Robert.)

6. Edward Cissell, born after 1672 or 1676. Per Jourdan, "d. young; under 21 in 1694" . According to Marshall, b. Bef 1690, St. Mary's County, Maryland, d. Between 1698 and 1707, St. Mary's County, Maryland (Age > 8 years).

7. James Cissell, the youngest son according to John's will; born between 1674 and 1690. Per Jourdan, lived "16__-1717". According to Marshall, b. Bef 1690, St. Mary's County, Maryland, d. 22 Apr 1717, St. Mary's County, Maryland - Probate (Age > 27 years) James Cissel, son of John and Mary, died in 1717 leaving James, Mary, and Ruth.

Research Notes

There are numerous areas of uncertainty concerning John Cissell as well as areas requiring further research.

Sources

Please see Cissell Resources for a discussion of the sources used on this profile and a list of resources for researching colonial-era Maryland Catholics.

Name

Some sources show his name as John Baptist Cissell (without documentation), however middle names were unusual in this time period and not all researchers believe Baptist was actually John's middle name. [8] It should be noted that no one has ever produced even a single document showing that this person had the middle name "Baptist," although at least one of his descendants did. - Kelts-7 17:54, 15 December 2019 (UTC)

Parents

John Cissell is sometimes presented in popular genealogies as the son of Thomas Cecil and his wife Susan Oxenbridge, a gentry or noble family in England. This is incorrect. Among researchers who have refuted the claim is Erv Chell, a Cecil researcher, who disputes that this John is the son of Thomas.

No evidence has been found to support the connection, and John is not included among the known children of Thomas Cecil. There is no evidence that Thomas Cecil and Susan Oxenbridge had any children together, as noted by David C. Cissell, among others.

Finally, these families have been DNA tested. They are in different haplogroups with the nearest common ancestor predicted to be around the year 1200.

Thus, on WikiTree John has been detached from the disproven parents.

Though John Cissell is fairly well-documented in Maryland, no records of any kind have been found that directly tie John Cissell to any Cecil family in England. There are no wills, baptisms, land transfers, etc. to suggest any relationship.

Occupation

Jourdan (p. 59) says John Cissell was a gunsmith, but does not cite her source(s). The only one that has been found is a reference in the "Proceedings of the Council of Maryland, 1696/7-1698," page 366, noting eight pounds were "payable Jon Cissle for fixing Arms." That document was not specific to St. Mary's County, it was dated near the end of our John Cissell's life, and there were other men named John Cissle in Maryland.[13] In his will, John describes himself as a "planter." It is possible that he could have practiced his gunsmith trade in the winter, when he could not farm, but there does not appear to be any record of his sons doing the same, as one might expect because fathers often trained their sons in their own trade. - Kelts-7 19:48, 8 December 2019 (UTC)

John Cissell did not marry Mary Calvert

The family of John's wife Mary is not known. Speculation can be found that her name was Mary Calvert or Mary Shircliffe (see below) but no documentation has been found supporting this; to the contrary, both theories have been disproven.

According to Harry Wright Newman, "A study of the Calvert family of that period does not fit [Mary, wife of John Cissell] into the children of William Calvert, son of Governor Leonard Calvert, or any of the issue of Charles, Third Lord Baltimore."[14]

Speculation about the Calvert connection came from these sources:

According to Walter Ball, John Cicill (spelled Cissel and Cecil), the immigrant from Wales, England (sic) in 1658, died in 1698 and left a will in St. Mary's County naming wife Mary (possibly Calvert), and sons John, William, Thomas, Richard, Robert, Edward and James (Liber PC 1 page 104, film 144424). [15]

Donnelly says that John Cissel died in 1698 and left a will in St. Mary's County naming wife Mary (possibly Calvert), and sons John, William, Thomas, Richard, Robert, Edward and James (Liber PC 1, page 104, film 144424) [4]

The Salisbury Family Genealogy in its narrative assumes some of these connections which have not been supported by documents, including both the parents and wife of John Cissell. It states that in 1658 John, came to Maryland to look after his family's interests. (See notes on his father.) John settled in St. Mary's Co. John Cicill (spelled Cissel and Cecil), the immigrant from Wales, England in 1658, died in 1698 and left a will in St Mary's County naming wife Mary (possibly Calvert), and sons John, William, Thomas, Richard, Robert, Edward and James (Liber PC 1 page 104, film 144424).

John Cissell did not marry Mary Shirtcliffe

Jourdan reports that John Cissell is believed to have married in St. Mary's County to Mary Shirtcliffe (also spelled Shircliffe), b. ca 1647; d. after 1707; daughter of John Shirtcliffe and Anne Goldsborough. Jourdan's source was "an excellent paper" written by Harry Wright Newman.

Mike Marshall, on the "Early Colonial Settlers of Southern Maryland and Virginia's Northern Neck Counties" website, states that in 1686 in St. Mary's County, Maryland John Cissell married Mary Shircliffe, b. 1647, England, d. after 1712, St. Mary's County, Maryland (age > 66 years). He does not list any sources, and adds David Cissell's comments that "there is no evidence, that I know of, as to what John Cissell's wife's maiden name was. Similarly there are no records to indicate that he had a second wife. Linda Reno's notes under Mary Shircliffe suggest that she may have married 1st Peter Mills and secondly Thomas Dant [and so not John Cissell]. As part of our DNA testing efforts, we have looked for matches with Shircliffe descendants and have found none."

See also the research notes on Mary's profile. Mary married Thomas Dant, probably by 1685, and was still named Mrs. Mary Dant in 1712 (see "1712 Deposition" on Mary's profile). Meanwhile, John Cissell died in 1698 and named a wife "Mary" in his will, who thus must have been a different person.

Linda Reno, a respected St. Mary's County historian, also wrote on the subject in a 2003 Rootsweb posting, in which she explained why she did not believe Mary could have married John Cissell.

John Cissell's widow did not marry Thomas Dant

Per Jourdan: "In 1707 a Mary Dant owned 50 acres of Poplar Neck, while William, James and Thomas Cissell owned the remainder. It has not been possible to determine if this is Mary, widow of John Cissell who married a Dant after the death of John in 1698 (Rent Rolls)."

However, it is more likely that Mary Dant is Mary Shirtcliffe Mills Dant, because her son William owned both Poplar Neck and Annstruther, which had been surveyed for Peter Mills in 1667, in 1714 when he wrote his will leaving the property to his cousins.

As is further discussed on Mary Dant's profile, she married Thomas Dant, probably by 1685, and was still named Mrs. Mary Dant in 1712. Meanwhile, John Cissell died in 1698 and named a wife "Mary" in his will, who thus must have been a different person.

Property

This information was previously listed on this profile, and has been placed here due to several inaccuracies. (See the Property section in the main biography for what is currently known.) At some future time, someone may wish to remove it altogether:

Donnelly says: Upon his arrival, John Cissell was a man of means as he purchased a number of tracts in St Mary's County. He became the possessor of 150 acres of White Acre which on 12 Nov 1652 had been patented for William Brough on 25 Nov 1642, who died in 1651 leaving his total estate to his wife Sarah (w 1:37). Other researchers dispute that John was a "man of means."

By 1707 the sons of John Cissell owned this acreage. John Cissell purchased 100 acres of "Cadloe" as did his brother William, which was patented on 4 Nov 1650 for Joseph Cadloe, who died in 1652. John Cissell also obtained 100 acres of "Long Neck" which on 10 Jun 1681 had been surveyed for John Addison who moved to Prince George's County, Maryland.

From Paul Tobler: Property that John B. Cecil owned was called "Cadle", "Longneck", "White Acres", "Poplar Neck":

3)a. Cadle he had originally obtained 100 acres upon arrival. 3)b. Longneck of 100 acres was added. 3)c. White Acres of 150 acres was added. 3)d. Poplar Neck of 200 acres was added. Therefore he had a minimum of 550 acres of property. The home place was on "Poplar Neck" where they lived with the residence there. [17] Barbados Connection, Sailing Vessel "Martha Constant"

Below are several statements previously made on the profile of this man:

"Newman reports that in 1658 John Cissell immigrated to either Barbados or Maryland with brother William." [9]

"Elise Jourdan reports that Glover's 'Bristol and America' states that John Cissell came to Maryland via Barbados from the port of Bristol, England." But she wasn't talking about our John, and that's not exactly what she said. On page 2 of "Early Families" Volume 1, Jourdan wrote "1663/79 John Cecill came from Bristol to Barbadoes; listed under 'Servants to Foreign Plantations.'" The entry appears on the same page as the 1658 immigration of our John to Maryland; thus they obviously are not the same person.

"Who is the James Cissell who is listed in Hottens 'Lists of Emigrants to America 1600-1700' on page 452, with 22 acres of land in St. Michael's Parish, Barbadoes with 1 hired servant, 0 bought servants, 16 negroes?"(Note: Based on the book's table of contents (page x), this list appears to be dated 1678-9, 20 years after our John arrived in Maryland.)

"Is this the same John Cincill? who witnessed a will in Barbados?" (This question also appears on a RootsMagic page. It is not possible to track down this lead without a date, testator's name, or record source.)

"Martha Constant". The statement below can be found in many on-line genealogies, usually the same ones that repeat other errors about John's parents, middle name, etc. I have not found any place that mentions the original source. It appears most likely that the owners of the Martha Constant (if there was such a ship) were from the Protestant Cecil family, and not related to our John. Note that no one knows who our John's family was, so it's hard to know how he could have been identified as one owner of the ship. - Kelts-7 19:45, 30 December 2019 (UTC)

John and family had a sailing vessel called the "Martha Constant" that plyed between Barbados Colony and the Maryland Colony, plus visits to Nevis, Virgin Islands. Some of these sailings could have been made for the transport of indentured servants. Barbados dated from 1627 with the British, Maryland dated 1632 and Nevis dated from 1627-28 with the British.

Estimating the birth dates of John Cissell's sons

Estimation of sons' birth dates is based on these assumptions (supported by discussion in the various sections of the profile):

All were born after 1658 when John arrived in Maryland as an unmarried man. All were born before 1698 when John died. All were adults when will was written (either 1694 or 1698) and thus born by 1673 or 1677 except Edward, noted in the will as under 21 and James, noted in the will as the youngest. Sons are listed in will in order of age (except Edward); this is a somewhat arbitrary assumption, but the error in any one son's assigned age is likely to be less than 10 years. Births were spaced 2-3 years apart. Youngest son James was old enough to have had three children by the time he died in 1717. Based on those assumptions, the dates assigned are:

John Cissell - about 1660 William Cissell - about 1663 Thomas Cissell - about 1666 Richard Cissell - about 1669 Robert Cissell - about 1671 Edward Cissell - after 1672 James Cissell - 1674-1690 An independent estimate by Dave Cissell, another Cissell researcher, in 2018 [20], did not vary from these dates by more than a few years. Note that the window for the first five births, 1659-1677, is less than 20 years and the window for the last two, 1673-1698, is 25 years, so estimates are not going to be wildly inaccurate.

Miscellaneous records of unknown relevance

1699 Thomas Cissell a creditor of William Knight Estate:

Note: It is unclear who this Thomas Cissell is, where he can be found on the Marshall website, whether he has any relationship to John Cissell, or whether the creditor of William Knight is the same man as Thomas Sissell described below. - Kelts-7 18:30, 14 December 2019 (UTC)

William Knight 19-1/2A.156 I SM {1699} List of debts: William Weydon, Samuell Chamberlain, John William Coxen, Edward Farr, Capt. Richard Clouds, Joseph Chantery, Jethro Merritt, Elisabeth Watts, Nicholas Geulich, John Batt. Carbery, Richard Glover, Bartholomew Sheppard, Lewis Watkins, Francis Bower, Mathew Tennison, James Capling, Edward Merritt, James Glass, Joshuah Guibert, Thomas Cissell, Lewis Tapper.

Thomas Sissell, the immigrant in 1675, died in St Mary's County in 1701 and left a will naming son, George, son-in-law James Thompson, brother, George, and daughter-in-law, Betty. This man is not currently profiled on WikiTree (as of 16 December 2019), and the cited source, The Salisbury Family Genealogy, is of unknown reliability.

1702 Peter Gray Estate pays John Sissell:

This information is from Mike Marshall's website, and includes no further explanation. As John Cissell, the subject of this profile, died in 1698, it is not clear whether the John Sissell mentioned was the son John, John's estate, or someone else.

Peter Gray 21.385 A SM £21.3.0 £21.7.0 Jun 1 1702 Payments to: John Sissell, Adam Head, James French, Dr. Hed, John Jerum, Col, Lowe. Administrator: Charles Mills.[1] Sources

↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 Mike Marshall. Early Colonial Settlers of Southern Maryland and Virginia's Northern Neck Counties John Cissell Accessed 6/27/2019 jhd ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 Elise Greenup Jourdan. Early Families of Southern Maryland , Vol. 1, Revised, Family Line Publications, Westminster, MD, 1993; p. 59 unless noted ↑ Liber 4, folio 29. Gust Skordas. The Early Settlers of Maryland. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1968, page 90 ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Mary Louise Donnelly. Colonial Settlers, St. Clement's Bay 1734-1780, St. Mary's County, Maryland. Ennis, Tex., 1996 ↑ FamilySearch.org, "Maryland Register of Wills Records, 1629-1999," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9YTT-9WD7?cc=1803986&w... : 20 May 2014), St. Mary's > Will books 1658-1732 vol PC1 > image 111 of 372; Hall of Records, Annapolis ↑ Ancestry.com. Maryland, Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1777, Will books; Author: Maryland. Prerogative Court; Probate Place: Maryland: Name: John Cissom [as transcribed] Probate Date: 28 Feb 1698 Probate Place: Maryland, USA Inferred Death Year: Abt 1698 Inferred Death Place: Maryland, USA Item Description: Wills, vol 4-10, 1670, 1676-1679, 1682-1700 image ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Salisbury Family Genealogy. ↑ WikiTree Data Field, Not otherwise Sourced ↑ 9.0 9.1 Harry Wright Newman. Portions of the following information have been abstracted from the documents found with the Harry Wright Newman Collection. (Learning Resource Center, Southern Maryland Room of the Charles Co. Community College, LaPlata, MD 20646) ↑ David C. Cissell, The Pedigree of William Cecil, Lord Burghley: From Documents to Genetic Genealogy, 2020 ↑ Lord Burghley (William Cecil) and Related Families DNA Test Analysis Results ↑ Archives of Maryland: Proceedings of the Council of Maryland 1696/7-1698, William Hand Browne, editor, Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore, 1903, Vol. 23; a copy of the book can be found at Google books (scroll down to correct page number as shown in the upper right corner of the screen (not within the image itself); alternatively, scroll down to the name index at the end of the book and click on link to John Cissle) ↑ Among other sources, Jourdan herself acknowledges this on page 74. ↑ 14.0 14.1 "John Cecil of Maryland and Mary His Wife," six-page typewritten paper dated 15 March 1978, included in the Harry Wright Newman Collection, photographed at the Learning Resource Center in 2018 by Angie Hall and e-mailed to Julie Kelts image; see Cissell Resources for discussion of the Newman paper ↑ Walter V. Ball. "The Cecil Family of Maryland" , book call #929.273 C322b. ↑ Research Notes from David Cissell, Cecil-Cissell DNA Project Administrator, cited by Mike Marshall. Early Colonial Settlers of Southern Maryland and Virginia's Northern Neck Counties John Cissell Accessed 6/27/2019 jhd ↑ 17.0 17.1 research of Paul Tobler ↑ Bristol and America : a record of the first settlers in the colonies of North America, 1654-1685, including the names with places of origin of more than 10,000 servants to foreign plantations who sailed from the port of Bristol to Virginia, Maryland, and other parts of the Atlantic coast, and also to the West Indies from 1654 to 1685. This list is compiled and published from records of the Corporation of the City of Bristol, England. R. Hargreaves-Mawdsley, N. Dermott Harding, reprinted by Genealogical Pub. Co., Baltimore, Maryland, 1997 (original R.S. Glover, 1939) ↑ The Original Lists of Persons of Quality; Emigrants; Religious Exiles...1600-1700. John Camden Hotten, editor, reprinted by Empire State Book Co., New York, 1874; available on-line at archive.org ↑ based on e-mail discussions with Julie Kelts See also:

John Cissell "Career File", Dr. Lois Green Carr, Maryland State Archives U.S. Southern Colonies Maryland Resource Page Cissell Resources Poplar Neck Land Grants...

NOTE: Catholic gunsmith, whose surname is sometimes spelled Cissell or Sissill along with other similar variants. He died testate with a will dated April 28, 1698, which was recorded June 6, 1698, possessed of multiple tracts including Cadloe, Long Neck, Poplar Neck, and White Acres.

From Linda Reno

I have come to the conclusion that Mary Dant, daughter of John Shercliffe and Ann Spink was married twice, not thrice. I had married Mary Shercliffe off to John Cissell (d. 1698) because she was listed in the 1707 rent rolls as owning 25 ac. "Poplar Neck" along with the sons of John Cissell. John Cissell's wife was named Mary, but I just don't think she could have been Mary Shercliffe as she had to have been married to Thomas Dant by 1688 and she was still Mary Dant in 1707 and in 1712.

Source:

https://www.colonial-settlers-md-va.us/getperson.php?personID=I2323...