ELEVENTH GENERATION

1784. John Pike ^{(23994) (23995)(23996) (23997)(23998) (23999)(24000) (24001)} was born about 1580 in White Parish, co. Wilts, England. ^(24002) He emigrated on 6 Apr 1635 from Southampton, co. Hants, England.^{(24003) (24004)} He arrived in Boston in August 1635 aboard the "James". He signed a will on 24 May 1654. ^{(24005) (24006)} He died on 26 May 1654 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts. ^{(24007) (24008)(24009) (24010)} His estate was probated on 3 Oct 1654 in Hampton, Rockingham Co., New Hampshire.^(24011) John Pike, at the age of 62 (app.), one of the first settlers of Newbury, Massachusetts, arrived in America with his five children: John, age 22; Robert, age 19; Dorothy, age 18; Ann, age 14; and Israel, age 12 (ages are app.) having been two months since leaving Southampton, England.
They came on the ship, "James of London, three hundred tons, William Cooper, Master. She sailed from Southampton 5 April and arrived 3 June 1635 with 86 passengers and cattle. (Banks, p. 135ff) (Winthrop in his journal 1, 156 calls her master "Mr. Graves" and says that he "had come every year for these seven years.")

There is still the unanswered question whether Dorothy Day, the wife and mother accompanied them. She would have been about 57 years of age. Charles E. Banks (The Planters of the Commonwealth, p. 138) lists "John of Langford, Co. Wilts, Mrs...Pike" and the five children by name. James Savage (Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, p.435) does not list her as arriving with the family. Information from the Pike Family Association maintains that the wife and mother did not come with the family to America (Pike Assoc. 1939, p. 27). (Banks in the preface of his book gives a comprehensive explanation of the research into these early records in England. He states: "The compiler of the lists which follows in this volume, during a residence of nearly five years in England has examined personally the originals of all the lists heretofore printed by Drake, Savage and Hotten, and subjected them to analytical study with a view of presenting them in an intelligible form.")

There is a legend passed down, especially by relatives in Salisbury, that John Pike is buried in the Old Burial Ground (established in 1639) located on Beach Road, Salisbury, Massachusetts. The story is that early settlers, including John, as well as other Pike members including Major Robert, were buried in unmarked graves due to the fact that the Indians would dig up the graves.

John Pike was probably born in Whiteparish, Co. Wiltshire, which is located about 90 miles southwest of London, a short distance from the great city of Salisbury, with its 13th Century Cathedral. It is recorded: "The earlier name must have referred to the color of the original church" (Grover, Mawer, + Stenton, p.388).

John Pike's parentage is unknown. "The Pike wills in the P.C.C. and in the Sarum (Old name for Salisbury) courts fail to show his parentage; perhaps he was from the adjoining county of Hants, for which there are wills at Winchester" (NEHGR, Vol. 66, 1912, p. 257-261.

He married 14 January 1612, Whiteparish, Co. Wiltshire, England, Dorothy Day of Langford (recorded as Dorothie Daye in the register. Whiteparish WRO, M/F 830/1).

John Pike is said to have been registered in the "Customs House" in Southampton as a "laborer of Langford" (Savage, p. 435). To quote Savage this was certainly done "to evade the despicable tyranny of the regulations" governing emigration or a deception to conceal a more noted person from such regulations. Joshua Coffin writes "No laborer of those days had two such educated sons as Robert and John Pike, Jr.; both were men of marked prominence in the Colony. We might say that no laborer of those days was himself such an educated man. The probabilities are that he certainly was a man of liberal education and much natural ability not only from his having two sons, who ranked so high in later years in the history of the colony and that of New Jersey, but from some evidence of his personal ability."

James Shepherd Pike, grandson (7th generation), of John Pike wriiting in "The New Puritan" stated "The listing of his being from Langford may have been erroneous, for at that period it was sometimes found expedient for persons of pronounced opinions, hostile to the governing powers, to leave the authorities in the dark as to the places of residence of the zealous Dissenters who were hastening out of the country. The description of John Pike as a laborer from LAngford may be therefore mythical. It is clear that a part of it, at least, is inaccurate." (The New Puritan, reprint, p. 25)

John Pike and his children landed in this country, presumably Ipswich, Massachusetts in 1635 and took up residence on the bank of the Parker River in Newbury.

The court records show that he acted as attorney in two cases and successfully on each occasion. Several times in the records of the Quarterly Courts we find him appearing as counsel for his friends. This fact probably accounts for the family tradition that he was a lawyer. He served in 1645 on the Grand Jury and on the Jury of Trials in 1653, and on 28 March 1654 he appeared for the town of Newbury against John Merrill.

In February 1638 he was fined two shillings and sixpence for "departing from the (town) meeting without leave and contemptuously." He endears himself to us by very humanness. When in an argument with Thomas Bloomfield he laid hold of his coat, the latter slipped out of it and ran away. Whereupon, John Pike, enraged by such cowardice, calmly cut the coat to ribbons.

He seems to have made his home in his last years with his son, Robert in Salisbury where he died on 26 May 1654, leaving property to the amount of £230, comprising nearly £15 in clothing. [It is estimated that an early pound would have been in later years worth $3.32 American currency. In 1988 an English pound was worth $2.80 American currency. Therfore, John's worth may be calculated as approximately $750, of which $50 was in clothing; not to mention his land holdings.]

His home and land in Newbury, and land in the new town, Salisbury, comprised his possessions. His will made 24 May 1654, two days before his death and proved in Hampton Court 3 August 1654, gave his estate to his sons: John who was then residing in Woodbridge, New Jersey, and Robert; and £20 ($66) to each of his three daughters: Dorothy (Hendricks), Ann (Fiske) and Israel (True-Fletcher).

He was married to Dorothy Daye on 17 Jan 1612/13 in White Parish, co. Wilts, England.^{(24012) (24013)(24014) (24015)(24016) (24017)(24018)}

1785. Dorothy Daye ^{(24019)(24020) (24021)(24022) (24023)(24024) (24025)} was born about 1592.^(24026) She died between 20 Jun 1631 and 28 Mar 1632. ^(24027) Children were:

892 i. Lt. John Pike.
ii. Maj. Robert Pike^{(24028) (24029)(24030) (24031)} was born about 1615/16 in Landford, co. Wilts, England. ^{(24032) (24033)(24034) (24035)} He established settlement in 1639 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts.^(24036) He was a commisioner from 1644 to 1706 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts. ^(24037) He died on 12 Dec 1706 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts. ^{(24038) (24039)}
799 iii. Dorothy Pike.
iv. Israel Pike^{(24040) (24041)(24042)} died on 12 Mar 1699/1700 in Salisbury, Essex Co., Massachusetts. ^(24043)
v. Ann Pike^{(24044) (24045)(24046)} was also known as Hannah Pike.^(24047)