William Wentworth (Elder) ~ Immigrant

See “Royal Descents of 900 Immigrants to the American Colonies, Quebec, or the United States” (Gary Boyd Roberts) — https://shop.americanancestors.org/products/the-royal-descents-of-9...

William Wentworth (elder) William Wentworth (1616-1697) was a follower of John Wheelwright, and an early settler of New Hampshire. Coming from Alford in Lincolnshire, he likely came to New England with Wheelwright in 1636, but no records are found of him in Boston. When Wheelwright was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for his role in the Antinomian Controversy, he established the settlement of Exeter, New Hampshire, and Wentworth followed him there and then to Wells, Maine. After Wheelwright left Wells for Hampton, New Hampshire, Wentworth went to Dover, New Hampshire, and this is where he lived the remainder of his life. He was the proprietor of a sawmill, and held several town offices, but is most noted for being an elder in his Dover church for nearly 40 years. He had 11 children with two wives, and has numerous descendants, including many of great prominence.

Baptized on 15 March 1615/16 in Alford, Lincolnshire, England, William Wentworth was the son of William Wentworth and Susanna Carter.[1] His paternal grandfather was Christopher Wentworth, and his paternal grandmother was Catharine Marbury, who was a sister of Reverend Francis Marbury. Wentworth's father, therefore, was a first cousin of the famed Anne (Marbury) Hutchinson, who, with the Reverend John Wheelwright, was banished from Massachusetts for her religious opinions in 1637 during the Antinomian Controversy.[1] The Marburys, Hutchinsons, Wheelwrights, and Wentworths all came from Alford, or nearby, and it is highly likely that the subject William Wentworth came to Boston in New England with Wheelwright in 1636, though there is no documentary evidence to support this.[2] He left behind no records in Boston, likely because he was still a minor at the time.

Wheelwright and his sister-in-law Anne Hutchinson held religious opinions at odds with the established ministers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and at the November 1637 meeting of the General Court, Wheelwright was ordered to depart within 14 days.[3] He went to the Piscataqua River, establishing the town of Exeter, New Hampshire, with a group of his followers, one of whom was undoubtedly Wentworth.[4] The men, including Wentworth, signed an agreement for a government known as the Exeter Combination. (View a copy of this important early document in the "Media" tab.) The land on which Exeter sat was claimed by Massachusetts, which by 1642 began to exercise that claim. This compelled Wheelwright to move once again, this time to Wells in the Province of Maine, and Wentworth once again went with him.[5]

Wentworth lived in Wells from 1642 to 1649. In 1642 he was a juror there, in 1648 he was named as a constable, and again in 1647 and 1649 he sat on a jury in Wells.[5] In 1646 Wheelwright left Wells for Hampton, New Hampshire, but Wentworth stayed a few years beyond that, until late 1649 when he made his final move to Dover, New Hampshire.[6] He settled in the central part of the town that was given the name Cocheco, after an earlier trading post that had been established there.[7] Here Wentworth was a co-owner of a sawmill, and also served in a variety of town offices, such as selectman, commissioner, and lot-layer.[8] He was, however, best known for his position as a "Ruling Elder" of his church in Dover, a position that he held for nearly 40 years.[9] He was not in the clergy, but as an elder he often preached, and sometimes preached in other churches, including one in Exeter.[10]

One incident for which Wentworth is well known occurred late in his life. There had been an Indian uprising in his home village of Cocheco in 1689, and various garrisons in the town were attacked. When the one housing Wentworth was attacked, he was able to close the door on the attackers, and hold the door closed until help arrived. Two bullets went through the door, but missed him. He was 73 at the time, and his was the only garrison of five that was saved. In the attack, 23 settlers were killed and another 29 were taken captive.[11]

Wentworth died on his baptismal date, 15 March 1696/7. He left no will, but had already divided most of his property among his children.[12]

William Wentworth married twice. William's first wife was Elizabeth Quiney, daughter of William and Elizabeth Quiney of Stratford-Upon-Avon, England. Elizabeth Wentworth (Quiney)was the mother of many of Wentworth's older children. Wentworth's second wife was Elizabeth Knight, and she is thought to have been the mother of several more of William Wentworth's younger children.

Wentworth is notable for the large number of his descendants who reached great prominence in the American colonies and in the United States. His grandson John Wentworth was the Lieutenant Governor of the Province of New Hampshire at a time when the governor was also the governor of Massachusetts.[13] New Hampshire governors Benning Wentworth and Sir John Wentworth are also descendants, as were Judge John Wentworth and his son John Wentworth, Jr., who was a New Hampshire representative to the Continental Congress. Noted poet Sarah Wentworth Apthorp Morton was a great, great granddaughter, her poem "Invocation to the shades of My Ancestors Wentworth and Apthorp". [14] Chicago mayor and U.S. Representative John Wentworth was not only a descendant of Elder William, but compiled the extensive genealogy on the Wentworth family, considered one of the best family histories ever written.[1][15] Other descendants include the founder of the Wentworth Military Academy, Stephen G. Wentworth; noted publisher and philanthropist Warren Fales Draper; and Deputy Surgeon General Warren Fales Draper, who was a member of General Dwight Eisenhower's staff in Europe during World War II.[16] Erastus Wentworth, a seventh generation descendant, was a prominent missionary in China. The namesake of the T. T. Wentworth, Jr. Florida State Museum[17][18] and Adelaide Wentworth Waldron,[19] the wife of aviator John C. Waldron, were also descendants.

The ancestry of William Wentworth is thoroughly documented in The Wentworth Genealogy; however since the publication of this family history Isabel Sotehill has been identified as the wife of Oliver Wentworth, and the grandmother of Christopher Wentworth; Oliver's later wife and widow was Jane.[20].

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wentworth_(elder)

1. ^ a b c Noyes, Libby & Davis 1979, p. 738.

2. ^ a b Wentworth 1878, p. 80.

3. ^ Ostberg 2006, p. 47.

4. ^ Wentworth 1878, p. 81.

5. ^ Wentworth 1878, p. 82.

6. ^ a b Wentworth 1878, p. 84.

7. ^ Wentworth 1878, p. 85.

8. ^ Wentworth 1878, p. 86.

9. ^ Wentworth 1878, pp. 90,108.

10. ^ Wentworth 1878, p. 91.

11. ^ Wentworth 1878, p. 94.

12. ^ Wentworth 1878, p. 98.

13. ^ Noyes, Libby & Davis 1979, p. 739.

14. ^ Wentworth 1878, p. 178.

15. ^ Wentworth 1878, pp. 14,140,536.

16. ^ Wentworth 1878, p. 140.

17. ^ Wentworth 1878, p. 499.

18. ^ Roberts 2008, p. 399.

19. ^ Roberts 2008, p. 824.

Bibliography

Champlin, John Denison (1914). "The Ancestry of Anne Hutchinson". New York Genealogical and Biographical Record (New York: New York Genealogical and Biographical Society) XLV: 17–26.

Noyes, Sybil; Libby, Charles Thornton; Davis, Walter Goodwin (1979). Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company.

Ostberg, Susan (2006). William Wentworth, Puritan Preacher. Lincoln, NE: iUniverse. ISBN 978-0-595-39141-7.

Roberts, Gary Boyd (2008). The Royal Descents of 600 Immigrants to the American Colonies or the United States...with a 2008 Addendum. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company.

Wentworth, John (1878). The Wentworth Genealogy I. Boston: Little Brown and Company. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

From "New England Historical & Genealogical Register", S.G. Drake, 1850, Boston:

"He (William Wentworth) migrated from the County of York, in England, to Boston, in America, in the year 1628 and removed subsequently to New Hampshire. He was one of the parties to the deed of four Indian sagamores, to Rev. John Wheelwright, William Wentworth, and three others, made May 17, 1629. Probably left Exeter with Wheelwright, or about the same time and removed to Dover, where he remained until his death. As a preacher, he was occasionally employed aboad, and officiated in that capacity in Exeter when he was about 80 years of age. In March 1693, the town agreed with him to supply the pulpit one whole year, if he be able, and to pay him 40 pounds for his services.

Mentioned in "History of New Hampshire" by Belknap as follows. "William Wentworth was one of the first settlers at Exeter, and after the breaking up of thier combination for government, he removed to Dover, and became a ruling Elder in the church there. In 1689, he was remarkably instrumental of saving Heard's garrison [At this same massacre, Christine, daughter of Richard Otis, by his second wife, Grace Warren, was taken captive to Canada, described in the history of the Otis family, in April number, 1850, and July No. 1848, of this work, whose descendants (Christine's) married into one branch of the Wentworth family,] as is related in the proper place. After this he officiated for several years as a preacher at Exeter and other places and died at a very advanced age at Dover, in 1697, leaving a numerous posterity. From him have the several governors of that name descended. He was a very useful and good man."

The Wentworth Genealogy, by John Wentworth, 1878, describes in more detail the events of 1689 in which Heard's garrison was attacked by Indians. "Elder William Wentworth was still living in Dover in 1689. The remarkable manner in which Heard's garrison was saved from destruction by the Indians on the 28th of June 1689 by his instrumentality, has been preserved. Although it was a time of profound peace, the unusual number of Indians gathered at Cocheco, which was a trading post, excited the suspicions of the people. It was noticed also that many strange faces were among them. the confidence of Major Richard Walderne somewhat allayed their doubts, but many gathered into the garrisons, of which there were five at Cocheco. Elder Wentworth was in Heard's garrison, about amile from his house. In the evening of the 27th, squaws requested leave to sleep by the kitchen fire in the several garrisons, which was not unusual. they were admitted into four, including Heard's. In the darkest hour before the morn, the squaws opened the doors to admit the Indians. Elder Wentworth was awakened by the barking of a dog. Suspicious, he hastened to the door and found the Indians entering. Alone, and seventy-three years of age, he pushed them out, shut the door, and falling on his back held it until the inmates came to his assistance. While he was lying in this position, two bullets passed through the door and over him. It was the only garrison saved. Twenty-three persons were killed and twenty-nine carried away captive."

Elder William Wentworth died 15 March 1696-97 in Exeter, NH, at the age of 81. He left no will.

Elder William Wentworth was the start of our Wentworth family in America. He came to Boston around 1630 as part of the Rev. John Wheelwright religous group. The group was banished from Massachusetts for their religious views and in July, 1639 formed a combination (of 35 persons) for government at Exeter, New Hampshire. He moved to Dover in 1650 and lived there the remainder of his life. He was Ruler Elder of the Dover church. His grandson (by his son Samuel) was Lt. Gov. John Wentworth; his great-grandson was Gov. Benning Wentworth; his great-great-grandson was Gov. John Wentworth, the last governor of New Hampshire before the Revolutionary War.

_______________________

WENTWORTH, William, colonist, born in A1-ford, Lincolnshire, England, in 1615 ; died in Dover, New Hampshire, 16 March, 1697. He was a follower of the Reverend John Wheelwright, came with him to Massachusetts in 1636, and was associated with him in his difficulties with the Massachusetts government respecting his Antinomian opinions. With Wheelwright and thirty-three others he signed, on 4 August, 1639, " A combination for a government at Exeter, New Hampshire," of which town he was an early settler. Subsequently he removed to Wells, Massachusetts, but he afterward settled in Dover, New Hampshire, where he was a ruling elder in the church and often preached. He supplied the pulpit in Exeter, after Wheelwright's return to England, as late as 1693. In 1689 he was instrumental in saving a garrison from destruction by the Indians.

_________________________

William Wentworth (Wantworth) (1616-1697) at the time of his death was survived by his wife, Elizabeth, nine sons and one daughter. He may have married more than once. It is probably that he arrived in Boston with Rev. John Wheelwright on May 26, 1636

Elder William Wentworth1 M, b. 15 March 1616, d. 15 March 1697

• Father William Wentworth2 b. 8 Jun 1584
• Mother Susannah Carter2 b. c 1590 Elder William Wentworth was born on 15 March 1616 at Alford, Lincolnshire, England.1 He married Elizabeth Knight, daughter of Ezekiel Knight and Elizabeth, before 1653 at Exeter, Rockingham, NH.1 Elder William Wentworth died on 15 March 1697 at Dover, Strafford, NH, at age 81.1 Family Elizabeth Knight b. c 1630, d. c 1698
• Child
  • John Wentworth+1 b. c 1655, d. 25 Mar 1690
• Citations
• 1.[S14] Unknown author, New England Marriages Prior to 1700, by Clarence Almon Torrey., p. 796.
• 2.[S61] Unknown author, Family Group Sheets, SLC Archives.
• From: http://our-royal-titled-noble-and-commoner-ancestors.com/p2971.htm#...

The Wentworth genealogy, comprising the origin of the name, the family in England, and a particular account of Elder William Wentworth, the emigrant, and of his descendants (1870)

• http://www.archive.org/stream/wentworthgenealo01inwent#page/n95/mod...
• http://www.archive.org/stream/wentworthgenealo01inwent#page/n105/mo...
• http://www.archive.org/stream/wentworthgenealo01inwent#page/n202/mo...
• XIX. Christopher Wentworth, third but only surviving son of William Wentworth, of Waltham, and Ellen Gilby his first wife, was born probably about 1556, and was therefore about eighteen years of age at his father's death in 1574. On the 19th of August 1583, he was married, at the Church of St. Peter at Gowts, in the City of Lincoln, to Catharine, youngest daughter of William Marbury, Esq., of Girsby, in the parish of Burgh-upon-Bain, in Lincolnshire, by his wife Agnes, daughter of John Lenton, Esq. One of her younger brothers was the Rev. Francis Marbury, whose daughter Anne married William Hutchinson, and became afterwards the famous religionist of New England and the ancestress of the Governor of that name.
• http://www.archive.org/stream/wentworthgenealo01inwent#page/n208/mo...
  • XX. William Wentworth, who was baptized at St. Peter at Gowts, in the City of Lincoln (where his parents were married the preceding year), on the 8th of June, 1584, and who was mentioned as such, and still living, in his father's will, in 1628.
  • Down to this point, every step in the descent from the first Saxon Wentworth is abundantly substantiated, and we have as positively traced the last representative named, Christopher Wentworth, till his death at or near Alford. Feeling confident that there must have been some special reason for ending his days in that neighborhood, the writer set earnestly about the task of discovering it; and to that end spent several weeks in a close examination of the Parish registers of that place and of the towns immediately adjacent, as well as of the Transcripts in the Bishop's Registry at Lincoln, whenever the originals were defective; and although, perhaps, unable to adduce what would be required at evidence in a court of law, believes that a chain of circumstances so strong and clear can be presented that there need be little hesitation in adopting his conclusions.
  • The Alford parish registers show that a William Wentworth was living there certainly from 1614 to 1620, and those of Rigsby that he was of that parish in the following year; and the object is now to show that he was identical with this William, eldest son of Christopher Wentworth and Catharine Marbury.
  • http://www.archive.org/stream/wentworthgenealo01inwent#page/n210/mo...
  • The first mention of him in the Alford register is in the record of his marriage, which took place the 28th of November, 1614, when, if our theory be correct, he would have been about thirty years of age. The name of his wife is given as Susanna Fleming. She was, however, a widow; and an examination of the register, confirmed by various wills, reveals the following facts: Her maiden name was Carter, and so far as can be ascertained, she was the daughter of Edward Carter, of Well, a small village two miles southwest from Alford, who was probably a small farmer. On the 1st of July, 1613, she was married at Alford to Uther Fleming, son of Robert Fleming, of Alford, and his wife Jane. This Robert Fleming, who died in 1599, calls himself, in his will, a shoemaker. From the character and extent of his bequests, it is evident that he was what would be called in England, a "well-to-do tradesman." Uther Fleming lived but little more than six months after his marriage, as he was buried at Alford on the 22d of January, 1613-14; and on the 29th of May following, their only child, a posthumous daughter named Anne, was baptized. (This child was buried at Alford, the 27th of November 1619.) Six month later, the young widow married William Wentworth.
  • According to the Alford registers, their eldest child was baptized on the 15th of March, 1615-16, and was named William, after his father. On the 18 of January, 1617-18, another son was baptized, named Edward, doubtless after his maternal grandfather. A third son was baptized at Alford, on the 4th of June, 1620, and was named Christopher, in all probability after his father's father.
  • After this last date, the name of Wentworth disappears entirely from the Alford register; and it is evident that the family removed shortly after to the adjoining hamlet of Rigsby, two miles west from Alford; for in the Rigsby register occurs the burial of this third son of Christopher, under date of the 18th of May, 1621. Whether they had any other children at Rigsby must forever remain uncertain; for the early Rigsby registers have long since perished, and the few transcripts preserved at Lincoln do not embrace the period important in this investigation.
  • The discovery of the record of the burial of the child Christopher was so curious that is is worth a brief episode, and, more especially, as it forms one of the strongest links in the chain of circumstantial evidence referred to.
  • http://www.archive.org/stream/wentworthgenealo01inwent#page/n212/mo...
  • Rigsby church long since ceased to be an independent establishment, and became, and is now, a chapel of ease attached to Alford. The registers, such as were left, were transferred to the custody of the incumbent of Alford, but all previous to the year 1686 were reported in a parliamentary return, some forty years ago, as irretrievably lost. Those prserved were, therefore, valueless for the purposes of this investigation, and the writer turned from them in disgust, to pursue the examination of the Alford registers. In the course of this seach, his attention was attracted to some writing on the covers of one of the Alford volumes, -- two leaves of parchment evidently regarded as worthless, and so converted to this practical use. They proved to be, on examination, portions of one of the early Rigsby registers, covering only a brief period, the first date being 18 January, 1617-18, and the last 16 sep 1621. The very last burial recorded, however, was full of interest, for it was that of Christopher, infant son of William and Susanna Wentworth; thus fully accounting for the disappearance of that name from the Alford registers after 1620. Of the three sons of William and Susanna Wentworth, baptized at Alford, the youngest, Christopher, is thus disposed of.
  • http://www.archive.org/stream/wentworthgenealo01inwent#page/n214/mo...
    • XXI. William Wentworth, who it is believed, was identical with the New England emigrant, afterwards known as Elder Wentworth. As has been seen, he was baptized at Alford on the 15th of March, 1615-16, and, assuming the identity, it is a curious fact that he died on the eighty-first anniversary of his baptism, viz: the 15th March, 1696-7.
    • The circumstantial evidence touching the identity mentioned may be summed up as follows: ....
    • http://www.archive.org/stream/wentworthgenealo01inwent#page/n220/mo...
    • By referring to the account of the children of Christopher Wentworth and Catharine Marbury, it will be found that one of the daughters, Priscilla, married William Helmes, and that her husband in his will bequeathed five pounds per annum to their son Christopher, if he were living. It is clear, therefore, that this son Christopher was not then in England. By referring to Mr. Savage's Genealogical Dictionary, it will be found that there was a Christopher Helme at Execter in 1639, and signed the combination there, who removed to Massachusetts in 1643, then to Warwick with the Gortonists in 1644, and died there before December 1650, leaving a widow Margaret and a son William, who was alive in 1661. The name of Christopher Helme does not appear on the Exeter records after the combination. There can be little doubt that he was the son mentioned in the will of William Helmes in 1648-9, of whose existence he was doubtful (which he would not have been if he had been living anywhere in England), and that he had named his only son (according to Savage) after his own father. This Christopher would have been own cousin to William Wentworth the younger, of Alford; and, according to the foregoing theory, we find them positively together at Exeter in 1639.
    • Another similar piece of concurrent testimony is not unworthy of attention. It will be seen that Anne, the eldest daughter of Christopher Wentworth and Catharine Marbury, married the Rev. John Lawson, and that their children were mentioned in his will, in 1628. Now strangely enough, Mr. Savage gives an account of a Christopher Lawson,* who was also at Exeter in 1639, and signed the combination there. If a son of this marriage, to whom was given the name of his grandfather, which seems most probable, he too would have been an own cousin of the younger William Wentworth of Alford.
    • http://www.archive.org/stream/wentworthgenealo01inwent#page/n244/mo...
    • Dr. Belknap describes him thus:
    • William Wentworth was one of the first settlers at Exeter; and after the breaking up of their "Combination" for a government he removed to Dover, and became a ruling Elder in the church there.
    • In 1689, he was remarkably instramental of saving Heard's garrison. After this, he officiated several years as a preacher, at Exeter and other places, and died at a very advanced age, at Dover, in 1697, leaving a numerous posterity. From him the several sovernors of that name are descended. He was a very useful and good man.
    • http://www.archive.org/stream/wentworthgenealo01inwent#page/n252/mo...
    • If there were two wives and the name of one was not Elizabeth, the first must have died prior to 18 November, 1666-7. There is a family tradition that when he was quite advanced in years he married a second wife, who was very young even to be married, and that he had children by both wives.
    • http://www.archive.org/stream/wentworthgenealo01inwent#page/n254/mo...
    • She was certain of hearing the family talk over about the second wife's youth, her inexperience, and her making no preparation for the birth of her first child, and that her own ancestor Timothy, was a child of the first wife. She thought Mrs. Elizabeth Tozer ws one of the children of the last wife. This Mary married Samuel Bracket, of limington, Me., and had a daughter Phebe Bracket, who assured the author, during the lifetime of her mother, as follows:
    • From the first time I consulted mother about the daughter of Ezekiel Knight, of Wells she thought she was the second wife of Elder William, and the more she has thought of it the more she has thought that she was a Knight; but she will not allow me to say for a certainty. Yet she is certain that Elder William had a second wife.
    • http://www.archive.org/stream/wentworthgenealo01inwent#page/n256/mo...
    • We first find Elder William with a wife Elizabeth in 1666-7. The same tradition that gives Elder Wentworth a second wife also gives Elizabeth as her first child, and Timothy as the last child of the previous wife; and also that he had children after he had had grandchildren. The first grandchild whose birth has been found recorded was born 1666; so it may be inferred that if he had a second wife he married her between 1660 and 1665, and that Mrs. Elizabeth Tozer and sons Ephraim and Benjamin were her children.
    • The order of the birth of the prior chldren would seem to be as follows: Samuel, John, Gershom, Ezekiel, Paul, Sylvanus, and Timothy. We know he had a child in 1640; and there is every probability that Ephraim and Benjamin were born after 1670, making a difference of over thirty years in the births of children, and creating a probability that there were two wives. And there may have been other children. Indeed under the head of the "Daughters of Elder William," the claims of Sarah, wife of Benjamin Barnard, to be his daughter, upon the ground that her children, left fatherless, call Paul Wentworth their uncle, are canvassed.
    • Daughters. -- No documentary evidence has yet been found to prove that Elder William Wentworth had any daughters. But the traditionary evidence that he had a daughter Elizabeth, and that she married Richard Tozer, Jr., of Berwick, Me., comes from so many sources, and is of so strong character, that it will be assumed as a fact.
    • It has been supposed that Elder William had a daughter Sarah, from the following facts: One Benjamin Barnard died in Watertown, Mass., 12 September, 1694, leaving widow Sarah and two children. Their "uncle, Paul Wentworth, of Rowley," was made guardian, 19 December, 1705, of these two children, viz: Sarah Barnard, then in her fifteenth year, and Benjamin Barnard, then in his thirteenth year. In another record is the following: "April 30, 1706, Sarah Barnard, in her 15th year, chose her Uncle Paul Wentworth, of Dover, N. H., for guardian." Savage, in Gen. Dict., gives Sarah, born in 1692; Benjamin, born 24th August, 1693. That this uncle is called, in one record, "of Dover, N. H., " and in the other, "of Rowley, Mass.," is proof that he could be no other than Paul.
    • http://www.archive.org/stream/wentworthgenealo01inwent#page/n258/mo...
    • Paul Wentworth's wife was Catherine __; nothing else in known. If the following account of the Barnard family is correct, she could not have been a sister of Benjamin Barnard, who was son of John Barnard, of Watertown, Mass.:
    • http://www.archive.org/stream/wentworthgenealo01inwent#page/n262/mo...
    • Children of Elder William Wentworth
      • 2. I. Samuel, born in 1640.
      • 3. II. John.
      • 4. III. Gershom.
      • 5. IV. Ezekiel.
      • 6. V. Paul.
      • 7. VI. Sylvanus.
      • 8. VII. Timothy.
      • 9. VIII. Elizabeth, married Richard Tozer, jr. (54 after Timothy.)
      • 10. IX. Ephraim.
      • 11. X. Benjamin. ________________________
• John Wentworth, governor of New Hampshire, 1767-1775 (1921)
• http://www.archive.org/details/johnwentworthgov00mayo ______________________
• A genealogical and biographical account of the descendants of Elder William Wentworth : one of the first settlers of Dover, in the state of New Hampshire (1850)
• http://www.archive.org/stream/genealogicalbiog00went#page/3/mode/1up
• Pg.3 _____________________

The Wentworth Genealogy: English and American in three volumes by John Wentworth (Little, Brown and Co., 1878) is the source of most of the Wentworth information. The author cites as his source "William Flower, Norroy King of arms of the College of Arms,...who compiled it in the year 1588, and it has ever since remained upon the records of the College, and been accepted...as authentic."

Elder William Wentworth. b. bef 15 Mar 1615 prob Alford, Lincolnshire ENG. Chr. on 15 Mar 1615 Alford, Lincolnshire ENG. d. on 15 Mar 1697. William married Elizabeth Kenney.

WENTWORTH, William, colonist, born in A1-ford, Lincolnshire, England, in 1615 ; died in Dover, New Hampshire, 16 March, 1697. He was a follower of the Reverend John Wheelwright, came with him to Massachusetts in 1636, and was associated with him in his difficulties with the Massachusetts government respecting his Antinomian opinions. With Wheelwright and thirty-three others he signed, on 4 August, 1639, " A combination for a government at Exeter, New Hampshire," of which town he was an early settler. Subsequently he removed to Wells, Massachusetts, but he afterward settled in Dover, New Hampshire, where he was a ruling elder in the church and often preached. He supplied the pulpit in Exeter, after Wheelwright's return to England, as late as 1693. In 1689 he was instrumental in saving a garrison from destruction by the Indians. All the Wentworths in the United States are descended from him.--His grandson, John, lieutenant-governor of New Hampshire, born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 16 January, 1671; died there, 12 December, 1730, became a captain in the merchant marine, was appointed by Queen Anne a councillor for New Hampshire in 1711, made a justice of the common pleas in 1713, and in 1717 became lieutenant-governor of the province, which was then dependent on Massachusetts.- William's great-great-grandson, Joshua, soldier, born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1742: died there, 19 October, 1809, was colonel of the 1st New Hampshire regiment in 1776, was elected to the legislature, served for four years as state senator, and was appointed a delegate to the Continental congress, but did not at tend.--William's great-great-great-grandson, Tappan, lawyer, born in Dover, New Hampshire, 24 September, 1802; died in Boston, Massachusetts, 12 June, 1875, received a public-school education, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1826, and practised in Great Falls, New Hampshire In 1833 he removed to Lowell, where he was a member of the town council in 1836-'41. He served in the legislature as a Whig in 1851 and as a Republican in 1859 and 1863-'4, and in the state senate in 1848-'9 and 1865-'6. He was elected to congress as a Whig, and served from 4 March, 1853, till 3 March, 1855.--John's son, Benning, governor of New Hampshire, born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 24 July, 1696; died there, 14 October, 1770, was graduated at Harvard in 1715, and became a merchant in Portsmouth, which town he represented in the assembly. On 12 October, 1734, he was appointed a king's councillor, and when New Hampshire was made a distinct province in 1741 he became its governor on 13 December, and held this post until 1767. He was authorized by the crown to grant patents of unoccupied land, and in 1749 began to make grants in what is now southern Vermont. This land was considered by the colonial governor of New York as lying within his domain, and the collision, famous in the history of Vermont, respecting the " New Hampshire grants," ensued. A proclamation was made by the governor of New York on 28 December, 1763, claiming the territory under the grant from Charles II. to the Duke of York and ordering the sheriff to make returns of the names of those that. had settled west of Connecticut river under titles that were derived from New Hampshire. Governor Wentworth issued a counter-proclamation on 13 March, 1764, declaring these claims obsolete and maintaining the jurisdiction of New Hampshire. Governor Wentworth exacted heavy fees for his grants of land, and thus accumulated a large property. In each of them he stipulated for the reservation of a lot for an Episcopal church. After his resignation as governor he gave to Dartmouth 500 acres of land, on which the college buildings were erected. He was fond of display. His splendid coach with its retinue of servants became a feature of Portsmouth, and in his spacious mansion he assumed what was then looked upon as almost regal state. The town of Bennington, Vermont, was named in his honor. His first wife was Abigail, the daughter of John Ruck, of Boston, who died on 8 November, 1755, and his second was his young housekeeper, who had been brought up in his family. His marriage to her, which took place on 15 March, 1760, is the subject of Longfellow's poem, "Lady Wentworth." She was made sole heir of the governor's extensive property, and after his death married Colonel Michael Wentworth, of the British army. Her only child, Martha, became the wife of Governor John Wentworth's nephew, John Wentworth, author of " Special Pleading."--Benning's nephew, Sir John, bart., governor of New Hampshire and afterward of Nova Scotia, born in Portsmouth, N. II., 9 August, 1737 ; died in Halifax, Nova Scotia, 8 April, 1820, was the son of Mark Hunking Wentworth, a councillor of New Hampshire, with whom he was associated as a merchant after his graduation at Harvard in 1755. He went to England in 1765 as agent of the province, and through the influence of Charles Watson Wentworth, Marquis of Rockingham, obtained the appointment of governor of New Hampshire, succeeding his uncle, and serving from 1767 till 1775. To this office was added that of surveyor-general of the king's woods in North America, with a salary of £700 and perquisites. He landed in Charleston, South Carolina, in March, 1768, and, travelling northward by land, registered his commission as surveyor in each of the colonies through which he passed. He entered on his duties as governor in June, 1768, was popular, and an excellent public man in every particular. In business he was prompt and efficient, and aided greatly in encouraging education. He gave Dartmouth college its charter and endowed it with 44,000 acres of land, and also gave a piece of land to each member of the first graduating class. (See WHEELOCK, ELEAZAR.) He did much to encourage agriculture and to promote the settlement of New Hampshire, and labored zealously to increase its wealth and importance. When the Revolution began, his efforts to prevent a rupture were unwearied, and he was popular with the people until General Thomas Gage applied to him to procure workmen in New Hampshire to aid in the erection of barracks for the British troops in Boston. He endeavored to comply with this request, which gave the death-blow to his authority, and he was forced to abandon his post. The indignation of the people compelled him to take refuge first in Fort William and Mary and then on board a British ship. His last official act was performed at the Isles of Shoals, where he prorogued the assembly. He embarked for Boston in the ship-of-war "Scar-borough" on 24 August, 1775, and soon sailed for England, where he remained until peace was declared. Although he was regarded with especial favor by the king, he seems to have held no of-flee. In 1778 he was in Paris, and John Adams records meeting him as he was leaving his box in the theatre. "At first," says Adams, "I was somewhat embarrassed and knew not how to behave toward him. As my classmate and friend at college and ever since, I could have pressed him to my bosom with cordial affection ; but we now belonged to two different nations at war with each other, and consequently we were enemies." During their interview " not an indelicate expression to us or to our country or our ally escaped him. His whole behavior was that of an accomplished gentleman." In 1792 he was appointed governor of Nova Scotia, which office he held until 1808, when he retired with a pension of £500 per annum, and was succeeded by Sir George Prevost. He also resumed his post of surveyor of the king's woods. In 1795 he was created a baronet. In 1799 the Duke of Kent, the father of Queen Victoria, visited Halifax, and Sir John gave a dinner and ball of princely magnificence in his honor at the government house. After his retirement he went with Lady Wentworth to England, but returned to Nova Scotia in 1810 and was accorded a public welcome. He received the degree of A. M. from Harvard and Princeton in 1763, and that of LL.D. from Oxford in 1766 and Dartmouth in 1773. Governor Wentworth owned a large farm in Wolfsborough, New Hampshire, on which he erected in 1773 a mansion 100 feet in length and 45 feet in width and out-buildings of a corresponding size. His entire estate was confiscated and this house was burned in the year of his death. His house in Pleasant street, Portsmouth, was occupied for many years by a kinsman, Ebenezer Wentworth, at one time a cashier of the branch Bank of the United States, who died in 1860. He preserved the parlor in the same style in which its old occupant left it at the time of the Revolution. Many distinguished visitors from abroad have had curiosity to view the premises and his valuable collection of family paintings.--His wife, Frances Deering, was a native of Boston and died in England in 1813. Her maiden name was Wentworth, and, although her earliest attachment was for John Wentworth, during his first visit to England, she married Theodore Atkinson, a kinsman of both. On 11 November, 1769, after the death of her first husband, she married Governor Went worth. She was beautiful, accomplished, and gay, and when abroad was conspicuous at court. Her portrait by John Singleton Copley is considered an "excellent likeness and a rare picture." The towns of Francestown, Deering, and Wentworth, New Hampshire, perpetuate her name.--Their son, CHARLES MARY, born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1775; died in Hingsand, Devonport, England, in April, 1844, was long private secretary to the Earl of Fitzwilliam. He was appointed a member of the council of Nova Scotia in 1801, and died unmarried. His property descended to his maternal cousin, Mrs. Catherine Frances Gore, the novelist.--William's great-grandson, John, jurist, born in Dover, New Hampshire, 30 March, 1719; died in Somersworth, New Hampshire, 17 May, 1781, was a member of the legislature from 1768 till 1775, serving as speaker in 1771, in 1773 became chief justice of the court of common pleas, and on 17 January, 1776, was made one of the judges of the supreme court, although he had never studied nor practised law. He was president of the first Revolutionary convention in Exeter, New Hampshire, on 21 July, 1774, and was also chairman of the Revolutionary committee of correspondence. He was usually called Colonel John, or Judge John, to distinguish him from others of the same name.--The third John's son, John, lawyer, born in Somersworth, New Hampshire, 17 July, 1745; died in Dover, New Hampshire, 10 January, 1787, was graduated at Harvard in 1768, and studied law, which he practised in Dover. From 1776 till 1780 he served in the legislature, and was appointed by Governor John Wentworth register of probate for Stratford county, which office he held until his death. He was a delegate to the Continental congress in 1778-'9, and was a member of the state council in 1780-'4, of /tie state senate in 1784-'7, and of the New Hampshire committee of safety, which administered the government during the recess of the legislature, He was an ardent patriot, and signed, in behalf of New Hampshire, the original articles of confederation.--The second John's nephew, John, lawyer, born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1768; died in Paris, France, in 1816, was taken to England about 1775 and educated as a lawyer. He was appointed attorney-general of Prince Edward island, and removed to Portsmouth, where he married Martha Wentworth. In 1816 he returned to Europe. He was the author of a "System of Pleading" (10 vols., London, 1797).--The fourth John's grandson, John, journalist, born in Sandwich, New Hampshire, 5 March, 1815; died in Chicago, I11., 16 October, 1888, was a son of Paul Wentworth, and the grandson on his mother's side of Colonel Amos Cogswell, a Revolutionary officer. After graduation at Dartmouth in 1836, he settled in Illinois in 1836, attended the first meeting to consider the propriety of organizing the town of Chicago into a city, did much to procure its charter, and voted at its first city election in May, 1837. He studied law at Chicago, attended lectures at Harvard law-school, and was admitted to practice in Illinois in 1841. While studying law he conducted the Chicago " Democrat," which he soon purchased and made the chief daily paper of the northwest and of which he was publisher, editor, and proprietor until 1861. Being elected to congress as a Democrat, he served from 4 December, 1843, till 3 March, 1851, and again from 5 December, 1853, till 3 March, 1855. He introduced in that body the first, bill favoring the establishment of the present national warehouse system, was instrumental in securing the grant of land to the state of Illinois out of which was con-strutted the present Illinois Central railroad. He was one of the Democrats and Whigs in congress that assembled at Crutchet's, at Washington, the morning after the repeal of the Missouri compromise passed the house, and resolved to ignore all party lines and form an anti-slavery party. Out of this grew the present Republican party, with which he afterward acted. He was elected mayor of Chicago in 1857 and again in 1860, and was the first Republican may or elected in the United States after the formation of the party, and issued the first proclamation after Fort Sumter was fired upon, calling on his fellow-citizens to organize and send soldiers to the war. He introduced the first steam fire-engine, " Long John," in Chicago in 1857, and later two others, the "Liberty" and " Economy." Upon each occasion of his assumption of the mayor's office he found a large floating debt, and left money in the treasury for his successor. In 1861 he was a member of the convention to revise the constitution of Illinois, and he was a member of the board of education in 1861-'4 and in 1868-'72. He served again in congress from 4 December, 1865, till 3 March, 1867, was a member of the committee of ways and means, and was an earnest advocate of the immediate resumption of specie payments. Mr. Wentworth had been a member of the Illinois state board of agriculture, and was the largest real estate owner in Cook county. He received the degree of LL.D. from Dartmouth, to which college he gave $10,000, and was elected president of its alumni in 1883. Owing to his extreme height, he was called " Long John" Wentworth. In addition to lectures and writings upon the early history of Chicago, and historical contributions to periodicals, he was the author of "Genealogical, Bibliographical, and Biographical Account of the Descendants of Elder William Wentworth'" (Boston, 1850), and " History of the Wentworth Family" (3 vols., 1878).

William Wentworth and his first and/or second wife had eleven children, birth dates of the children not known, but estimated by assuming they were at least 21 years old when recorded as taxed:

• Samuel, b. 1641/2; m. Mary Benning.
• John, b. ca. 1647; m. Martha Stewart.
• Gershom, b. ca. 1649; m. Hannah French.
• Ezekiel, b. ca. 1651; m. Elizabeth -----.
• Elizabeth, b. ca. 1653; m. (1) James Sharpe, m. (2) Richard Tozier, Jr.
• Paul, b. ca. 1659; m. Catherine Stewart.
• Sylvanus, m. Elizabeth Stewart.
• Timothy, m. Sarah -----.
• Sarah, m. (1) Benjamin Barnard; m. (2) Samuel Winch.
• Ephraim, m. (1) Mary Miller; m. (2) Elizabeth (Waldron) Beard.
• Benjamin, b. ca. 1670; m. Sarah Allen.

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William WENTWORTH, colonist, born in Lincolnshire, England, in 1615 ; died in Dover, New Hampshire, 16 March, 1697. He was a follower of the Reverend John Wheelwright, came with him to Massachusetts in 1636. With Wheelwright and thirty-three others he signed, on 4 August, 1639, " A combination for a government at Exeter, New Hampshire," of which town he was an early settler. Subsequently he removed to Wells, Massachusetts, but he afterward settled in Dover, New Hampshire, where he was a ruling elder in the church and often preached. He supplied the pulpit in Exeter, after Wheelwright's return to England, as late as 1693. In 1689 he was instrumental in saving a garrison from destruction by the Indians.

The majority of Wentworths in the United States are descended from him.--His grandson, John, lieutenant-governor of New Hampshire, born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 16 January, 1671; died there, 12 December, 1730, became a captain in the merchant marine, was appointed by Queen Anne a councillor for New Hampshire in 1711, made a justice of the common pleas in 1713, and in 1717 became lieutenant-governor of the province, which was then dependent on Massachusetts.--William's great-great-grandson, Joshua, soldier, born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1742: died there, 19 October, 1809, was colonel of the 1st New Hampshire regiment in 1776, was elected to the legislature, served for four years as state senator, and was appointed a delegate to the Continental congress, but did not at tend.--William's great-great-great-grandson, Tappan, lawyer, born in Dover, New Hampshire, 24 September, 1802; died in Boston, Massachusetts, 12 June, 1875, received a public-school education, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1826, and practised in Great Falls, New Hampshire In 1833 he removed to Lowell, where he was a member of the town council in 1836-'41. He served in the legislature as a Whig in 1851 and as a Republican in 1859 and 1863-'4, and in the state senate in 1848-'9 and 1865-'6. He was elected to congress as a Whig, and served from 4 March, 1853, till 3 March, 1855.--John's son, Benning, governor of New Hampshire, born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, 24 July, 1696; died there, 14 October, 1770, was graduated at Harvard in 1715, and became a merchant in Portsmouth, which town he represented in the assembly. On 12 October, 1734, he was appointed a king's councillor, and when New Hampshire was made a distinct province in 1741 he became its governor on 13 December, and held this post until 1767. He was authorized by the crown to grant patents of unoccupied land, and in 1749 began to make grants in what is now southern Vermont. This land was considered by the colonial governor of New York as lying within his domain, and the collision, famous in the history of Vermont, respecting the " New Hampshire grants," ensued. A proclamation was made by the governor of New York on 28 December, 1763, claiming the territory under the grant from Charles II. to the Duke of York and ordering the sheriff to make returns of the names of those that. had settled west of Connecticut river under titles that were derived from New Hampshire. Governor Wentworth issued a counter-proclamation on 13 March, 1764, declaring these claims obsolete and maintaining the jurisdiction of New Hampshire. Governor Wentworth exacted heavy fees for his grants of land, and thus accumulated a large property. In each of them he stipulated for the reservation of a lot for an Episcopal church. After his resignation as governor he gave to Dartmouth 500 acres of land, on which the college buildings were erected. He was fond of display. His splendid coach with its retinue of servants became a feature of Portsmouth, and in his spacious mansion he assumed what was then looked upon as almost regal state. The town of Bennington, Vermont, was named in his honor. His first wife was Abigail, the daughter of John Ruck, of Boston, who died on 8 November, 1755, and his second was his young housekeeper, who had been brought up in his family. His marriage to her, which took place on 15 March, 1760, is the subject of Longfellow's poem, "Lady Wentworth." She was made sole heir of the governor's extensive property, and after his death married Colonel Michael Wentworth, of the British army. Her only child, Martha, became the wife of Governor John Wentworth's nephew, John Wentworth, author of " Special Pleading."--Benning's nephew, Sir John, bart., governor of New Hampshire and afterward of Nova Scotia, born in Portsmouth, N. II., 9 August, 1737 ; died in Halifax, Nova Scotia, 8 April, 1820, was the son of Mark Hunking Wentworth, a councillor of New Hampshire, with whom he was associated as a merchant after his graduation at Harvard in 1755. He went to England in 1765 as agent of the province, and through the influence of Charles Watson Wentworth, Marquis of Rockingham, obtained the appointment of governor of New Hampshire, succeeding his uncle, and serving from 1767 till 1775. To this office was added that of surveyor-general of the king's woods in North America, with a salary of £700 and perquisites. He landed in Charleston, South Carolina, in March, 1768, and, travelling northward by land, registered his commission as surveyor in each of the colonies through which he passed. He entered on his duties as governor in June, 1768, was popular, and an excellent public man in every particular. In business he was prompt and efficient, and aided greatly in encouraging education. He gave Dartmouth college its charter and endowed it with 44,000 acres of land, and also gave a piece of land to each member of the first graduating class. (See WHEELOCK, ELEAZAR.) He did much to encourage agriculture and to promote the settlement of New Hampshire, and labored zealously to increase its wealth and importance. When the Revolution began, his efforts to prevent a rupture were unwearied, and he was popular with the people until General Thomas Gage applied to him to procure workmen in New Hampshire to aid in the erection of barracks for the British troops in Boston. He endeavored to comply with this request, which gave the death-blow to his authority, and he was forced to abandon his post. The indignation of the people compelled him to take refuge first in Fort William and Mary and then on board a British ship. His last official act was performed at the Isles of Shoals, where he prorogued the assembly. He embarked for Boston in the ship-of-war "Scar-borough" on 24 August, 1775, and soon sailed for England, where he remained until peace was declared. Although he was regarded with especial favor by the king, he seems to have held no of-flee. In 1778 he was in Paris, and John Adams records meeting him as he was leaving his box in the theatre. "At first," says Adams, "I was somewhat embarrassed and knew not how to behave toward him. As my classmate and friend at college and ever since, I could have pressed him to my bosom with cordial affection ; but we now belonged to two different nations at war with each other, and consequently we were enemies." During their interview " not an indelicate expression to us or to our country or our ally escaped him. His whole behavior was that of an accomplished gentleman." In 1792 he was appointed governor of Nova Scotia, which office he held until 1808, when he retired with a pension of £500 per annum, and was succeeded by Sir George Prevost. He also resumed his post of surveyor of the king's woods. In 1795 he was created a baronet. In 1799 the Duke of Kent, the father of Queen Victoria, visited Halifax, and Sir John gave a dinner and ball of princely magnificence in his honor at the government house. After his retirement he went with Lady Wentworth to England, but returned to Nova Scotia in 1810 and was accorded a public welcome. He received the degree of A. M. from Harvard and Princeton in 1763, and that of LL.D. from Oxford in 1766 and Dartmouth in 1773. Governor Wentworth owned a large farm in Wolfsborough, New Hampshire, on which he erected in 1773 a mansion 100 feet in length and 45 feet in width and out-buildings of a corresponding size. His entire estate was confiscated and this house was burned in the year of his death. His house in Pleasant street, Portsmouth, was occupied for many years by a kinsman, Ebenezer Wentworth, at one time a cashier of the branch Bank of the United States, who died in 1860. He preserved the parlor in the same style in which its old occupant left it at the time of the Revolution. Many distinguished visitors from abroad have had curiosity to view the premises and his valuable collection of family paintings.--His wife, Frances Deering, was a native of Boston and died in England in 1813. Her maiden name was Wentworth, and, although her earliest attachment was for John Wentworth, during his first visit to England, she married Theodore Atkinson, a kinsman of both. On 11 November, 1769, after the death of her first husband, she married Governor Went worth. She was beautiful, accomplished, and gay, and when abroad was conspicuous at court. Her portrait by John Singleton Copley is considered an "excellent likeness and a rare picture." The towns of Francestown, Deering, and Wentworth, New Hampshire, perpetuate her name.--Their son, CHARLES MARY, born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1775; died in Hingsand, Devonport, England, in April, 1844, was long private secretary to the Earl of Fitzwilliam. He was appointed a member of the council of Nova Scotia in 1801, and died unmarried. His property descended to his maternal cousin, Mrs. Catherine Frances Gore, the novelist.--William's great-grandson, John, jurist, born in Dover, New Hampshire, 30 March, 1719; died in Somersworth, New Hampshire, 17 May, 1781, was a member of the legislature from 1768 till 1775, serving as speaker in 1771, in 1773 became chief justice of the court of common pleas, and on 17 January, 1776, was made one of the judges of the supreme court, although he had never studied nor practised law. He was president of the first Revolutionary convention in Exeter, New Hampshire, on 21 July, 1774, and was also chairman of the Revolutionary committee of correspondence. He was usually called Colonel John, or Judge John, to distinguish him from others of the same name.--The third John's son, John, lawyer, born in Somersworth, New Hampshire, 17 July, 1745; died in Dover, New Hampshire, 10 January, 1787, was graduated at Harvard in 1768, and studied law, which he practised in Dover. From 1776 till 1780 he served in the legislature, and was appointed by Governor John Wentworth register of probate for Stratford county, which office he held until his death. He was a delegate to the Continental congress in 1778-'9, and was a member of the state council in 1780-'4, of /tie state senate in 1784-'7, and of the New Hampshire committee of safety, which administered the government during the recess of the legislature, He was an ardent patriot, and signed, in behalf of New Hampshire, the original articles of confederation.--The second John's nephew, John, lawyer, born in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 1768; died in Paris, France, in 1816, was taken to England about 1775 and educated as a lawyer. He was appointed attorney-general of Prince Edward island, and removed to Portsmouth, where he married Martha Wentworth. In 1816 he returned to Europe. He was the author of a "System of Pleading" (10 vols., London, 1797).--The fourth John's grandson, John, journalist, born in Sandwich, New Hampshire, 5 March, 1815; died in Chicago, I11., 16 October, 1888, was a son of Paul Wentworth, and the grandson on his mother's side of Colonel Amos Cogswell, a Revolutionary officer. After graduation at Dartmouth in 1836, he settled in Illinois in 1836, attended the first meeting to consider the propriety of organizing the town of Chicago into a city, did much to procure its charter, and voted at its first city election in May, 1837. He studied law at Chicago, attended lectures at Harvard law-school, and was admitted to practice in Illinois in 1841. While studying law he conducted the Chicago " Democrat," which he soon purchased and made the chief daily paper of the northwest and of which he was publisher, editor, and proprietor until 1861. Being elected to congress as a Democrat, he served from 4 December, 1843, till 3 March, 1851, and again from 5 December, 1853, till 3 March, 1855. He introduced in that body the first, bill favoring the establishment of the present national warehouse system, was instrumental in securing the grant of land to the state of Illinois out of which was con-strutted the present Illinois Central railroad. He was one of the Democrats and Whigs in congress that assembled at Crutchet's, at Washington, the morning after the repeal of the Missouri compromise passed the house, and resolved to ignore all party lines and form an anti-slavery party. Out of this grew the present Republican party, with which he afterward acted. He was elected mayor of Chicago in 1857 and again in 1860, and was the first Republican may or elected in the United States after the formation of the party, and issued the first proclamation after Fort Sumter was fired upon, calling on his fellow-citizens to organize and send soldiers to the war. He introduced the first steam fire-engine, " Long John," in Chicago in 1857, and later two others, the "Liberty" and " Economy." Upon each occasion of his assumption of the mayor's office he found a large floating debt, and left money in the treasury for his successor. In 1861 he was a member of the convention to revise the constitution of Illinois, and he was a member of the board of education in 1861-'4 and in 1868-'72. He served again in congress from 4 December, 1865, till 3 March, 1867, was a member of the committee of ways and means, and was an earnest advocate of the immediate resumption of specie payments. Mr. Wentworth had been a member of the Illinois state board of agriculture, and was the largest real estate owner in Cook county. He received the degree of LL.D. from Dartmouth, to which college he gave $10,000, and was elected president of its alumni in 1883. Owing to his extreme height, he was called " Long John" Wentworth. In addition to lectures and writings upon the early history of Chicago, and historical contributions to periodicals, he was the author of "Genealogical, Bibliographical, and Biographical Account of the Descendants of Elder William Wentworth'" (Boston, 1850), and " History of the Wentworth Family" (3 vols., 1878).

Edited Appletons Encyclopedia, Copyright © 2001 VirtualologyTM

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• Year book of the Illinois Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, incorporated
• http://www.archive.org/details/yearbookofillino1896sonso
• http://www.archive.org/stream/yearbookofillino1896sonso#page/13/mod...
• PAUL WENTWORTH LNEBARGER, Attorney, 79 Dearborn Street, Chicago.
• Born, Warren, Ill., June 15, 1871; admitted, July, 1896.
  • Isaac Linebarger = Lucy Ellen Estes.
    • Elijah Stone Estes = Zebiah Walker Wentworth.
      • Elijah Wentworth = Lucy Walker.
        • http://www.archive.org/stream/yearbookofillino1896sonso#page/14/mod...
        • Elija Wentworth = Rebecca Capen.
          • Amariah Wentworth = Rebecca Shepard.
            • Charles Wentworth = Bethia Fenno.
              • John Wentworth = Martha Wentworth.
                • William Wentworth = Elizabeth Kenney.
        • ELIJA WENTWORTH, born, Stoughton, Mass., Dec. 31, 1744; died, Canaan, Maine, July 16, 1810; was a private in Capt. Asahel Smith's company, Col. Lemuel Robinson's regiment at Lexington Alarm; sergeant in Capt. Wm. Bent's company, Col. John Greaton's regiment, Aug. 1, 1775; was in Col. Heath's regiment at Fort "No. Two," Oct. 5, 1775; March 25, 1776, he was commissioned second lieutenant Capt. Lyon's 9th company, Beng. Gill's regiment.
  • References: Revolutionary War Records of Mass., volume 13, page 100; volume 14, page 13; volume 56, page 239; volume 29, page 160; Wentworth Genealogy, volume 1, page 574; volume 2, page 338.
• http://www.archive.org/stream/yearbookofillino1896sonso#page/24/mod...
• JAMES MURRAY SHACKFORD, Mechanical Engineer, Bloomington, ILL.
• Born, Portsmouth N. H., Feb. 18, 1853; admitted, Feb., 1897.
  • John Edward Shackford = Mary Aston Harris.
    • Capt. Theodore Jackson Harris = Mary McPherdis Warner Conner.
      • Capt. Benjamin Connnor = Abigail Warner.
        • Capt. Samuel Warner = Elizabeth Wentworth.
          • Hunking Wentworth = Elizabeth ___ (second wife).
            • Lieut.-Gov. John Wentworth = Sarah Hunking.
          • http://www.archive.org/stream/yearbookofillino1896sonso#page/25/mod...
          • HUNKING WENTWORTH, born Portsmouth, N. H., Dec. 19, 1697; died, Portsmouth, N. H., Sept. 21, 1784; was chairman of committee of safety for Portsmouth, N. H., from its first organization.
  • References: Wentworth Genealogy, volume 1, pages 291-196; Belknap's History of New Hampshire, fourth series, volume 3, page 326, published in 1837, by M. St. Claire Clarke and Peter Force, under authority of act of Congress, passed March 2, 1833; American Archives, volume 1, page 1223; volume 2, pages 631, 701, 740, 868; volume 3, page 966; volume 5, pages 889-901; New Hampshire State Papers, various pages.
• http://www.archive.org/stream/yearbookofillino1896sonso#page/26/mod...
• WILLIAM GRAFTON WENTWORTH, Salesman, Evanston, ILL.
• Born, Nashau, N. H., Aug. 28, 1857; admitted, Feb., 1897.
  • Samuel Clinton Wentworth = Caroline Putnam.
    • William Gowen Wentworth = Martha Harvey.
      • Samuel Wentworth = Rosanna Hill
        • Samuel Wentworth = Patience Downs.
        • SAMUEL WENTWORTH, Born, N. H.; died, March 4, 1789; was private Capt. Waldron's company, July 3, 1775; enlisted from Dover, N. H.; appears again Capt. Hodgdon's company, Long's regiment, from New Hampshire, subsequently commanded by Capt. Abraham Perkins.
  • References: New Hampshire Archives, volume 1, page 269; Wentworth Genealogy, by Hon. John Wentworth. _________________________

21st descendant of Reginald Wentworth, proprietor of the lordship of Wentworth who was living there when William the Conqueror came to England in 1066

________________________

William Wentworth

• Birth: Mar. 15, 1615 Alford Lincolnshire, England
• Death: Mar. 15, 1697 Dover Strafford County New Hampshire, USA

Note birth date above is his baptism date

Elder. Founder of the family in North America. Baptized at Alford, England in 1615. Arrived Boston in 1636. His farm granted in 1652, extended to Garrison Hill. His unmarked grave is in cemetery 800 yards west of this monument. From him came the Royal Governors: John Wentworth. Lt. Gov, 1717-1730; Benning Wentworth, Gov, 1741-67; & John Wentworth, Gfov. 1767-76; also John Wentworth, Speaker of the House, 1771-5.

Family links:

Children:

 John Wentworth (1638 - 1691)*

 Samuel Wentworth (1641 - 1692)*

 Ezekiel Wentworth (1651 - 1712)*

Burial: Wentworth Monument Dover Strafford County New Hampshire, USA

View William Wentworth's online grave site:

• From: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=82608798 ________________________

WENTWORTH, William, colonist, born in A1-ford, Lincolnshire, England, in 1615 ; died in Dover, New Hampshire, 16 March, 1697. He was a follower of the Reverend John Wheelwright, came with him to Massachusetts in 1636, and was associated with him in his difficulties with the Massachusetts government respecting his Antinomian opinions. With Wheelwright and thirty-three others he signed, on 4 August, 1639, " A combination for a government at Exeter, New Hampshire," of which town he was an early settler.

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https://books.google.com/books?id=PypAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA606&lpg=PA606&d...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Wentworth_(elder)

• Reference: TNG Genealogy - SmartCopy: Apr 28 2017, 3:21:24 UTC

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@R300859407@ Millennium File Heritage Consulting Ancestry.com Operations Inc 1,7249::0

GEDCOM Source

1,7249::10992943

GEDCOM Source

@R300859407@ U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 1,60525::0

GEDCOM Source

1,60525::30981787

GEDCOM Source

@R300859407@ U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 1,60525::0

GEDCOM Source

1,60525::30981787

GEDCOM Source

@R300859407@ U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 1,60525::0

GEDCOM Source

1,60525::30981787

GEDCOM Source

@R300859407@ Millennium File Heritage Consulting Ancestry.com Operations Inc 1,7249::0

GEDCOM Source

1,7249::10992943

GEDCOM Source

@R300859407@ Millennium File Heritage Consulting Ancestry.com Operations Inc 1,7249::0

GEDCOM Source

1,7249::10992943

GEDCOM Source

@R300859407@ U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 1,60525::0

GEDCOM Source

1,60525::30981787

GEDCOM Source

@R300859407@ Ancestry Family Trees Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.

GEDCOM Source

Ancestry Family Tree http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=4611052&pid=...

GEDCOM Source

@R300859407@ The Magna Charta Sureties, 1215 Ancestry.com Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006.Original data - Weis, Frederick Lewis. The Magna Charta Sureties, 1215. Baltimore, MD, USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1999.Original data: Weis, Frederick Lewis. The Magna Charta Sure 1,49232::0

GEDCOM Source

https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=FLHG-MagnaChartaSure... 1,49232::62166