My Endicott family originated in England. English surnames were derived from several sources, including occupation (such as Baker, Carpenter and Taylor), locality or place of residence (such as Marsh, Meadow, or Dale), and physical features (such as Longfellow, Beard or Stout).    The Endicott surname is derived from a locality or place of residence.   The surname means "an end cottage".

  Some researchers believe our Endicott line goes back to John Yendecott, born about 1420-1425, who married Alice (maiden name unknown).    In 1448 John was granted an estate near South Tawton, which is a village on the northern edge of Dartmore, England.   

John Yendecott and Alice had children, including Henry Yendecott, who appears in the estate grant document with his father.  

Henry Yendecott is said to have had a son, John Endecote, who was born about 1490, at Dreston Manor near Chagford, England, and died in 1580 in England.  

John Endecote's children included a son, Henry Endecott, who was born about 1520, in England.    Henry married Margery Halse and was the owner of Drewston (now Drewsteignton) and Middlecott Manor (now Middlecott Village) in Chagford. Henry died about 1584-1589.   

Henry Endecott and Margery Halse's children included:

John Endecott and Johanna (maiden name unknown) had at least five children: 

 Thomas Endecott, son of John Endecott and Johanna (maiden name unknown) was born about 1566.    Thomas died December 20, 1621, in Devonshire, England.   He married Alice Westlake.

   Thomas Endecott and Alice Westlake are said to have had at least three children:

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My 9th great grandfather, John Endecott, was born in 1588, in Dorchester, England.    Some researchers say John was the son of Thomas Endecott and Alice Westlake.   To my knowledge this has not yet been proven.    We do know that John Endecott was the first Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Some records indicate John Endecott was a physician and surgeon in England.    John is said to have become a Puritan early in life. Records indicate John Endecott and five other "religious persons" were granted a patent for the "Governor and Company of Massachusetts Bay in New England" on March 19, 1628. Records indicate that their first intent was for this to be a commercial enterprise, but when that idea failed, John Endecott, Matthew Craddock and Roger Ludlow decided "to make the new colony an asylum for persecuted Puritans."

Before sailing to America, John Endecott married Anna Gouer in England. Anna was a cousin of Matthew Craddock, governor of the Massachusetts Bay Company in England.

 In June 1628, John and Anna, and a small company of fellow Puritans boarded the ship Abigail at Weymouth, England, and set sail for America. They arrived at Naumkeag, Massachusetts, on September 6, 1628, after a voyage of two months and sixteen days. It is reported that about 300 others immigrated to America from England the next year.

Anna died in 1629, at Salem, in Massachusetts Bay Colony, leaving no children. John governed the Massachusetts Bay Colony until John Winthrop arrived in 1630, and then remained a leader in Salem while Winthrop established the town of Boston.

John Endicott married my 9th great grandmother, Mrs. Elizabeth (Cogan) Gibson, on August 17, 1630, in Massachusetts. Elizabeth Cogan was born about 1607, the daughter of Philobert Cogan and Ann Marshall of Chard, Somerset County, England. Philobert Cogan was born about 1563, the son of Thomas Cogan (1530-1580) and Elizabeth Fisher (1537-?). Ann Marshall was born about 1576, the daughter of Thomas Marshall (1545-1618) and Mary Cotton (1553-?) of Downton Wilts, England. Elizabeth was the widow of a Mr. Gibson, of whom we know nothing. Elizabeth Cogan Endecott is named in her father's will dated February 10, 1640, and proved on April 12, 1641.

John Endecott served several terms as Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony. He is reported to have been largely responsible for the Pequot War in 1645, when he commanded the colonial army in an expedition against Block Island and the Pequot Indians. He is reported to have aggressively persecuted the Quakers.

Johnson's Encyclopedia, Vol. III, page 169, states: "John Endecott was acting governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony 1628-1630, and was elected to that office in 1644 and again in 1649, and re-elected every year from 1650 to 1655, with the exception of 1654. A bold and energetic man, a zealous Puritan, he was intolerant of whatever he considered wrong. To meet the needs of the Colony he established a mint in spite of a law forbidding such action, and cut the red cross of St. George from the Military standard, because, as he claimed, the emblem savored of popery."

Evert A. Duyckinck's History of the World, page 59, states: "John Endicott, with 100 followers, settled at Naumkeag or Salem in 1628, and in the same year the Massachusetts Bay Company obtained a patent from Charles I, with liberal provisions, but containing no specific arrangements as to religion. A large number of the proprietors were members of the Church of England, and desired its form of worship and services; but that stern, unrelenting Puritan, John Endicott, with others of like stamp, resisted every such purpose, and shipped off to England, in 1629, two brothers named Browne, who were Churchmen, as "factious and evil conditioned."

An English Nation, which appeared in Harper's Magazine, 1882-3, states: "In September 1628, there came sailing into the harbor of Naumkeag, afterwards called Salem, a ship bearing John Endicott, and some forty souls. Endicott was one of the six patentees of the "Dorchester Company", lately enlarged into the "Governor and Company of Massachusetts Bay". Endicott had been appointed Governor, and found on shore only a few settlers, partly strayed from Plymouth. The company itself was transplanted bodily from England. It was an organized government under a royal charter; the freemen were to meet four times a year and choose a Governor, Deputy-Governor, and eighteen assistants, who were to meet once a month and exercise all the functions of a state......It was based on the expectation of a less distinct breaking off from the Church of England than that of which the Plymouth colonists had set the example, yet when once established on this soil there was not much difference, in degree of independence, between the two colonies; and Endicott, when he sent two turbulent Churchmen to England, or when he cut the cross (then deemed idolatrous) out of the English flag, or when he suppressed Morton and his roisterers of Merry Mount, went further in the assertion of separate power than the milder authorities of Plymouth Colony ever went."

Some Descendants of John Endecott Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, by Mabel McFatridge-McCloskey, printed 1943, page 9 (often referred to as "The Mabel Book") states: "John Endecott was bold and energetic, a sincere and zealous Puritan, rigid in his principles and severe in the execution of the laws against those who differed from the religion of the Colony......He visited Morton's company at Merry Mount and caused their Maypole to be cut down and rebuked them for their profaneness. John and Samuel Brown were sent back to England because "their speeches and practices tending to mutiny and faction."

John and Elizabeth lived in that part of Salem that is now called Danvers, on the "Orchard Farm", to which John was granted title on July 3, 1632. John willed the "Orchard Farm" to Elizabeth "for life" and then to his sons, John and Zerubbabel, on May 2, 1659. The book, Memoir of Samuel Endicott With A Genealogy Of His Descendants, by William C. Endicott, privately printed 1924, Boston, Massachusetts, states: "After the death of Governor John Endecott his descendants for five generations continued to reside and to be buried on the Orchard Farm in Danvers, which had been in the family since 1632 when the Court of Assistants granted the estate to the Governor. The men of the family were farmers who tilled the soil as a means of livelihood; were respected members of the community in which they lived; and were in their quiet way good citizens." The farm remained in the Endicott family for one hundred and ninety-seven years, according to William C. Endicott.

William Crowninshield Endicott, in his book Memoir of Samuel Endicott, tells of the "Endicott Pear Tree" and the "Endicott Burying Ground". These are both very interesting and informative narratives.

 John Endecott died March 15, 1665, in Massachusetts Bay Colony. He is buried in Granary Burying Ground, Boston, Massachusetts. His estate was valued at 1031 pounds, which was a vast amount of money in colonial days. Elizabeth died at Massachusetts Bay Colony on September 18, 1676 and is also buried at Granary.

John and Elizabeth had two sons. Their eldest son, John Endecott, Jr., was born January 27, 1632, in Massachusetts Bay Colony and died January 27, 1667, at Salem, Massachusetts. John, Jr. married Elizabeth Houchin on November 9, 1653. Elizabeth was the daughter of Jeremiah Houchin and Esther Pigeon of Massachusetts, according to information in Mable McCloskey's book. John, Jr. and Elizabeth had no children. John and Elizabeth's second son was Zerubbabel Endecott.

My 8th great grandfather, Zerubbabel Endecott, was born February 14, 1635, in Massachusetts Bay Colony, the youngest son of John Endecott and Elizabeth (Cogan) Gibson. Zerubbabel married my 8th great grandmother, Mary Smith, in Wenhom, Massachusetts. Mary Smith was born about 1636, in Massachusetts, the daughter of Samuel Smith and Sarah (last name unknown) of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England.

 Zerubbabel was a physician, as had been his father. He lived part time at Danvers on the "Orchard Farm" and part time at Topsfield, Massachusetts, where the family owned property. Information contributed by Betty Ralph says Zerubbabel was fined in 1659, along with his brother John, Jr., for excessive drinking, was admitted a freeman in 1665, and was an ensign in the Salem Militia. The book Synopsis Medicinae or A Compendium of Galenical and Chemical Physick Showing the Art of Healing According to the Precepts of Galen & Paracelsus Fitted Universally to the Whole Art of Healing, written in 1677 by Dr. Zerubbabel Endecott contains some very interesting medical remedies. (To view these and more click here.)

  Mary died June 20, 1677, at Salem. Information from Betty Ralph indicates Zerubbabel agreed to marry Elizabeth Kimball after Mary's death, but for some reason they did not marry. Zerubbabel did, however, marry Elizabeth (Winthrop) Newman, widow of Rev. Antipas Newman and daughter of Governor John Winthrop of Connecticut.

  Zerubbabel died March 27, 1684. William C. Endicott in his book, Memoir of Samuel Endicott, states: "Family tradition handed down by William Putnam Endicott (1803-1888), who knew his grandmother Elizabeth Jacobs Endicott, who knew people who knew Governor Endecott and his sons John and Zerubbabel, says that Zerubbabel Endecott, his first wife Mary Smith and their three young children are buried within this enclosure" (speaking of the Endicott Burying Ground). "Zerubbabel Endecott died in 1683-4 and his wife Mary Smith died June 20, 1677. His second wife Elizabeth Winthrop Newman, died December 17, 1716. She was the daughter of Governor Winthrop of Connecticut and was buried in the Winthrop Tomb, King's Chapel, Boston, as described in Sewell's Diary. The three young children of Zerubbabel Endecott, above mentioned were: Elizabeth Endecott (1655-1658); Elizabeth Endecott (1661-1661) and Zerubbabel Endecott, born April 11, 1652, who died before February 14, 1664 when another son was born to Zerubbabel and his wife, who was given the name of Zerubbabel."

William C. Endicott, in Memoir of Samuel Endicott, states: "Zerubbabel, the son of the Governor, had thirteen children." Mabel McCloskey in her book, Some Descendants of John Endecott Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, lists ten children: (1) John Endecott, born 1657, Salem, died 1694, London, England, married Anne Edwards; (2) Samuel Endecott, born 1659, Salem, died 1694, Salem, married Hannah Felton, daughter of Nathaniel Felton; (3) Zerubbabel Endecott, Jr., born 1664, Salem, died 1706, Topsfield, Massachusetts, married Grace Simons; (4) Benjamin Endecott, born 1665, Salem, died 1735, married Elizabeth (last name unknown); (5) Mary Endecott, born 1668, Salem, died 1706, Massachusetts, married Joseph Herrick then Isaac White; (6) Joseph Endecott, born 1671, Salem; (7) Sarah Endecott, born 1673, Salem, married William Browne; (8) Elizabeth Endecott, born 1675, Salem, died 1709, married Nathaniel Gilbert; (9) Hannah Endecott, born 1676, Salem, died 1698, New Jersey, married Edward Gaskill; and (10) Methetable Endecott, born 1677, Salem, died 1698.

My 7th great grandfather, Joseph Endecott, was born July 14, 1671, at Salem, the son of Dr. Zerubbabel Endecott and Mary Smith. Joseph was christened at First Church, in Salem, on July 17, 1672.

 Betty Ralph says Joseph inherited considerable property from his father, after his death in 1684. We have not seen the will of Zerubbabel Endecott.

Joseph moved to Northampton, in Burlington County, New Jersey, in 1698. He married my 7th great grandmother, Hannah Gosling, in 1698, in New Jersey, according to information contributed by Betty Ralph. Hannah Gosling was born 1674-1684 in New Jersey.

Joseph came into possession of part of the farm at Topsfield, Massachusetts when his bother Benjamin died in 1735. Information indicates that Joseph was a Quaker. Whether he became a Quaker before or after his marriage is unknown. New Jersey Quaker Records list Joseph "among those Friends who conscientiously objected to joining the militia against French alarms", according to Mable McCloskey. How ironic it is that Joseph became a Quaker, when only a few years before his grandfather, Governor John Endecott, had persecuted the Quakers so harshly.

Joseph signed his will February 14, 1747. The will was probated May 1747. Betty Ralph shows Joseph died in 1746, at Northampton, Burlington County, New Jersey.

Joseph and Hannah's children included: (1) John Endecott, born 1707, Burlington County, married Mary Gosling; (2) Mary Endecott, born 1708, Burlington County, died before 1747, married William Bishop; (3) Joseph Endecott, Jr., born 1711, Burlington County; (4) Elizabeth Endecott, born 1713, Burlington County, died in Pennsylvania, married Isaac Delavane; and (5) Ann Endecott, born 1715, Burlington County, married Lucas Gillam, then Robert Hill.

My 6th great grandfather, Joseph Endecott, Jr., was born about 1711, at Mt. Holly, near Northampton, Burlington County, New Jersey, the son of Joseph Endecott and Hannah Gosling.

Joseph, Jr. married my 6th great grandmother, Anne Gillam, on May 12, 1736, in Burlington County. Anne Gillam was born about 1715, near Mt. Holly, in Burlington County.

Joseph, Jr. inherited only "5 shillings and no more" from his father in 1746. Sources indicate that Joseph, Sr. may have objected to Joseph, Jr.'s marriage, as Joseph, Sr. was a Quaker and the Gillam family was not Quaker. Quaker records indicate that both Joseph, Sr. and Joseph, Jr. were in trouble with the church and the militia.

 Joseph, Jr. was a farmer. He and Anne established their home near Mt. Holly, in Burlington County. Joseph died there a mere thirteen years later, between July 13, 1748 and December 31, 1748, leaving Anne with small children and "very meager finances". Joseph left a will instructing his executors to sell his plantation and use the money for his debts and to perform his agreement with his mother, Hannah Endecott, the residue to go to his beloved wife, Ann Endecott, to "bring up my children and I advise said wife that she put out my children to trades at suitable age, I having no estate to leave them". Joseph appoints his wife, Ann, and his friend, John Wills, executors. (Information from Mabel McCloskey's book.) Anne Endecott married Reuben Eldridge in 1751. Various sources have provided us with the following children.

Children of Joseph Endecott, Jr. and Anne Gillam

The music you are hearing is Candle In The Wind.

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