GORHAM, Captain John Sr. b. 28 Jan 1620 Benefield, Northamptonshire, England d. 5 Feb 1675 Swansea, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States

1620 - 1675 (55 years)

Name	GORHAM, John
Prefix	Captain
Suffix	Sr.
Birth	28 Jan 1620	Benefield, Northamptonshire, England [1]
Christening	28 Jan 1621	Benefield, Northamptonshire, England
Gender	Male
Death	5 Feb 1675	Swansea, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States [2]
Burial	15 Feb 1676	Swansea, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States [1]
WAC	29 Jul 1908 [3]
_TAG	Reviewed on FS
Headstones	Submit Headstone Photo
Person ID	I27666	Joseph Smith Sr and Lucy Mack Smith
Last Modified	19 Aug 2021

Family ID F15105 Group Sheet | Family Chart

Family 1	HOWLAND, Desire , b. 13 Oct 1623, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United Statesd. 13 Oct 1683, Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States (Age 60 years)
Marriage	1643	Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States [1]
Family ID	F15103	Group Sheet \| Family Chart
Last Modified	24 Jan 2022

Family 2	HUCKINS, Hannah , b. 14 Oct 1653, Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, Bistish Colonial America Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, Bistish Colonial Americad. 13 Feb 1727, Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, Bistish Colonial America (Age 73 years)
Marriage	24 Feb 1673
Family ID	F15104	Group Sheet \| Family Chart
Last Modified	24 Jan 2022

Photos At least one living or private individual is linked to this item - Details withheld.

Notes

JOHN GORMAN
John and his descendants are the only ones listed in the Plymouth colony throughout the
Seventeenth century, so even if there were other sons, only he survived.
John was baptized in Benefield, Northamptonshire in England on January 28, 1620/21. He was
probably born about 1618. He was raised in the Puritan faith and was a leather tanner by trade.
On January 8, 1643/44 he married Desire Howland in Plymouth. Desire was a daughter of John
Howland and Elizabeth Tilley. She was born in Plymouth on April 24, 1627.
It is through Desire Howland that we have two 'Mayflower Lines'. Her father, her mother and her
mother's parents all came over on the Mayflower and landed at Provincetown and finally landed
in Plymouth in 1620. For more on these families, see the upcoming section on THE
MAYFLOWER FAMILIES.
In 1646, John and Desire moved north along the coast to the new town of Marshfield. He was
chosen Constable there in 1648. He became a freeman there in 1650 and in 1651 was a member
of the Grand Inquest of the Colony.
In 1652, he moved to Cape Cod and settled in Yarmouth and purchased part of the Hallett farm.
He had some 100 acres, most of which lay in the town of Barnstable. He operated both a grist
mill and a tannery in Yarmouth. He was a deputy to the Plymouth Colony Court in 1653.
In 1669 he was granted a large portion of land in Swansea, Massachusetts. He didn't seem to go
there immediately as in 1673 and 1674 he was a selectman in the town of Barnstable.
In 1675, John was made a Captain of the militia from Yarmouth in the war with King Phillip, an
Indian chief who vowed to run the white men out of his land. He led his troops in the decisive
battle of December 19, 1675 that broke the will of the Indians.
John Gorham developed flu from the cold and died in Swansea and was buried on the lands he
owned by never occupied. He died February 5, 1675/76.
As a reward for service in the war with King Phillip, soldiers were given lands in Maine and the
town was named Gorham, Maine in John's honor.
John was a resident of Yarmouth at the time of his death, but soon his widow moved to live with
her son in Barnstable. She, Desire Gorham, died there December 13, 1683.
The following is what I know about the twelve children of John and Desire Gorham.

From Gorham family pdf

John and his descendants are the only ones listed in the Plymouth colony throughout the Seventeenth century, so even if there were other sons, only he survived.
John was baptized in Benefield, Northamptonshire in England on January 28, 1620/21. He was probably born about 1618. He was raised in the Puritan faith and was a leather tanner by trade.
On January 8, 1643/44 he married Desire Howland in Plymouth. Desire was a daughter of John Howland and Elizabeth Tilley. She was born in Plymouth on April 24, 1627.
It is through Desire Howland that we have two 'Mayflower Lines'. Her father, her mother and her mother's parents all came over on the Mayflower and landed at Provincetown and finally landed in Plymouth in 1620. For more on these families, see the upcoming section on THE MAYFLOWER FAMILIES.
In 1646, John and Desire moved north along the coast to the new town of Marshfield. He was chosen Constable there in 1648. He became a freeman there in 1650 and in 1651 was a member of the Grand Inquest of the Colony.
In 1652, he moved to Cape Cod and settled in Yarmouth and purchased part of the Hallett farm.
He had some 100 acres, most of which lay in the town of Barnstable. He operated both a grist mill and a tannery in Yarmouth. He was a deputy to the Plymouth Colony Court in 1653.
In 1669 he was granted a large portion of land in Swansea, Massachusetts. He didn't seem to go there immediately as in 1673 and 1674 he was a selectman in the town of Barnstable.
In 1675, John was made a Captain of the militia from Yarmouth in the war with King Phillip, an Indian chief who vowed to run the white men out of his land. He led his troops in the decisive battle of December 19, 1675 that broke the will of the Indians.
John Gorham developed flu from the cold and died in Swansea and was buried on the lands he owned by never occupied. He died February 5, 1675/76.
As a reward for service in the war with King Phillip, soldiers were given lands in Maine and the town was named Gorham, Maine in John's honor.
John was a resident of Yarmouth at the time of his death, but soon his widow moved to live with her son in Barnstable. She, Desire Gorham, died there December 13, 1683.

Sources

[S64] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, International Genealogical Index.
John Gorham; Male; Birth: 28 JAN 1621 Benefield, Northampton, England; Burial: 05 FEB 1675 Swansea, Bristol, Massachusetts; Spouse: Desire Howland; Marriage: 1643 Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts; Film Number: 537539
Record submitted by a member of the LDS Church
Search performed using PAF Insight on 20 Sep 2004
[S64] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, International Genealogical Index.
John Gorham; Male; Birth: 28 JAN 1620 Benefield,Northamptonshire,England, , , England; Death: 05 FEB 1675; Father: Ralph Gorham; Mother: Mrs Gorham; Spouse: Desire Howland; Marriage: 06 NOV 1644 Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts; No source information is available.
Record submitted after 1991 by a member of the LDS Church.
Search performed using PAF Insight on 20 Sep 2004
[S64] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, International Genealogical Index.
John Gorham; Male; Birth: 28 JAN 1621 Benefield, Northampton, England; Burial: 05 FEB 1675 Swansea, Bristol, Massachusetts; Baptism: 17 FEB 1880; Endowment: 29 JUL 1908; Sealing to Spouse: 24 JAN 1969 SLAKE; Desire Howland; Spouse: Desire Howland; Marriage: 1643 Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts; Relative/Proxy: Priscilla Blake Haines; Film Number: 537539
Record of LDS Church ordinance (living or proxy).
Search performed using PAF Insight on 20 Sep 2004