John Bayles or Bayless I
Born: 1617, possibly Norwich, Norfolk, England
Died: after 1682, Jamaica, Queens Co., New York
Occupation: laborer, farmer, surveyor
Public Office: Setauket, New York Constable, delegate to meeting of Jamaica Town Deputies.
Marriage: about 1640, Connecticut or Long Island, New York
Wife: Rebecca Bayles (maiden name unknown)
Born: unknown
Died: after 1682, unknown
It is an interesting fact that the record of the first of our ancestors in this country is more fully documented thanthat of most of his descendants. There is no question that he was of the pioneer type, restless, active in civicaffairs and an inveterate land trader. While it would be tedious to list all of the minor activities of his manydescendants, it seems worth while to give the history of John (1) in some detail.
1617. Born in England. While we
have no information regarding his family or ancestors, it is clear that
he cameof humble yeoman stock, as he never learned to sign his name.
The weight of evidence indicates that he camefrom the Parish of St.
Peters of Mancrofts in Norwich, Norfolk, England.
1635. June 10. Sailed from London on the Truelove for Bermuda at the alleged age
of8.[Hotten.]It
is customaryfor a ship to clear for the first port of call. During the
colonial period it was very common for ships to make atriangular
voyage, calling first at the West Indies with trade goods, thence to
New England with molasses andfinally back to England with rum and other
New England produce. Their prompt appearance in New Englandproves
beyond question that many, if not all, of the passengers on this trip
stayed with the Truelove until itreached Boston.
1635-54. We are
satisfied that John (1) came to America as an indentured servant of
William Wells, born inNorwich in 1605, who was a fellow-passenger on
the Truelove. It was common for young men to work theirpassage in this
way.The fact that Hotten gives Wells' age as 17 in 1635 does not alter
this conviction. Wellscame of a wealthy family, but his older brother
John was heir to the estate and all William got was a first-ratelegal
education and a modest sum of money to start him in life. Wells arrived
in Boston in 1635, was in Lynn in 1638, in New Haven in 1639 and in
Southold, L. I.,in 1640. [Hayes.]
1640, when Wells moved to
Southold, John (1) had worked out his passage and was free to do as he
pleased,and it was probably about this time that he married Rebecca.
The fact that his marriage is not mentioned inClemens' Marriages Prior
to 1699 proves nothing, as this list is by no means complete. Equally
the fact that John(1) does not appear in the earlier records as having
been in Boston, Lynn and New Haven, together withWilliam Wells, does
not disprove our theory, as only masters and heads of households were
so listed.Duringthe period 1640-54 we can only assume that John (1)
worked at a trade (we do not know what) and saved whathe could.
1654.
Southold. The records of the First Church show that John (1) was living
there before 1654. [Holgate.]Theshort trip by boat across Long Island
Sound would not have been difficult, even for a man with a wife
andseveral children. Whether he made this move at the urging of his old
friend and former employer, or wasattracted by Rev. John Youngs, whom
he may have known in England, we do not know. It seems more
probablethat Wells, who may have offered him employment, was the
attraction.
1656. Southold. Bought a lot on the Town Street of
Thomas Scudder. [Case.] He could very well have lived and worked in
Southold for some time until he had saved enough to buy a home-lot.
1657.
Southold was first settled in 1640. A Town Street was laid out and
trees were felled to open it. In 1657 aresolution was passed at Town
Meeting that all who owned property on Town Street must remove the
stumpsin front of their lots. A study of a few wills indicates that
very few of the early settlers had horses, and the factthat the stumps
were allowed to remain in place so long is strong evidence that still
fewer had any sort ofwheeled vehicles.[Case.]
1661. Southold. Sept. 22. Sells his house and home lot to John Tuthill. [Moore.]
1661. Jamaica. July 14. Voted in Town Meeting. [RJ 1-101.]
probably the sale of his property in Southold was made or agreed upon before John (1)
Jan. 30, Jamaica. Candidate for Magistrate. [RJ 1-13. ]
1662. Apr. 3, Jamaica. Licensed to keep an ordinary.
1663. Dec. 3, Jamaica. T. M. voted him a delegate to a meeting of town deputies. [RJ 1-25 ]
During this period John (1) was involved in the New Jersey land grant.
While he probably did not movehis family to New Jersey, he was away from Jamaica most of the time during these two years.
1666. Jamaica. Surveys land. [RJ 1-33 ]
1668. Setauket. Accepted as a townsman by T. M. [BR 1-156 ]
1668-74.
Setauket. Resident and taxpayer, proved by numerous entries in the
Brookhaven Records. In spite of thefact that John (1) spent six years
in Setauket, it seems that none of the many Bayleses in Brookhaven
Town(Township), of which Setauket was the principal village, are
descended from him. Instead, they trace their lineback to Elias Baylis
(Bayles) who came to Setauket in 1656. See Part 3. [Thompson p. 262
]Whether Elias ofSetauket was any relation to John (1) we do not know.
We are only sure that he was not the same person as Elias (4) who was
the son of John (1).
1672. Jan. 10, Setauket. Elected Constable. [BR 1-131 ]
1674.
Apr. 22. "John Bayles, now of Setauket" trades land in Brookhaven with
Thos. Bigs for land in Jamaica,"formerly the property of John Bayles.
[BR 1-121 ]
1674. May 28, Jamaica. Attended T. M. [RJ 1-94]
1676.-1682. Jamaica. Many references. [RJ ]
1682. Oct. 18. Made his will. [NYW 1-122 ]
1682. Oct. 20. Jamaica. Deed to son Elias. [RJ 1-220]
1682. Dec. 13. Jamaica. Will proved. [NYW 1-122]
John
(1) was married to Rebecca, who survived him. The following list of
children is given in his will.They arearranged according to the order
given in the will, with due allowance for the fact that sons were
always namedfirst, and for the fact that Rebecca (2) must have been old
enough to marry, have a child and die before Rebecca(12) was born. The
dates of birth are reasonable approximations. The marriages are taken
in part from the N. Y.Hist. Soc. Coll., 1892, p. 122.
John b. 1641-2 d. 1696 m. Mar. 12, 1665 Ruth Rusco
Rebecca b. abt. 1643 d. before Rebecca (12) was born m. Nicholas Stilwell, leaving a son, Elias
Elias b. abt. 1645 d. after 1699 m. abt. 1674 Sarah
Elizabeth b. abt. 1646 d. after 1682 m. Dec. 31, 1664 James Hubbard
Thomas b. abt. 1647 d. abt. 1689
Jonathan b. abt. 1650 d. after 1682 m. abt. 1685 Elizabeth Cardell
Mary b. 1654 d. 1733 [C.A.G. 5-187 ] m. 1680 George Hewlett, 1639-1722
9 Damaris b. abt. 1656 d. after 1682 m. Nov. 13, 1679 Nathaniel Lyns of Gravesend
Abigail b. abt. 1658 d. after 1682 m. before 1682 Daniel Smith
Ruth b. abt. 1660 d. after 1682
Rebecca b. abt. 1662 d. after 1694 m. Jan. 11, 1664 Richard More