Pope, John immigrant
There are difficulties about the true identity of the John Pope who gave rise to the Dorchester Popes.
There seem to be three options:
- Goodman John Pope "senior", one of the seven "pillars" of the Dorchester church, arriving well before 1634, deceased 1646.
- John Pope, servant of Nathaniel Butler of Kent, arriving 1637, unrelated (?) to the above (vs. his English-born "lost" first son).
Goodman John Pope
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John Pope, the Lesser
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Birth: c. 1615, Chalgrave, Bedfordshire, England |
History of the Town of Dorchester, Massachusetts
History of the Town of Dorchester, Massachusetts, published 1859
- A "Goodman Jno. Pope" is listed on p. 39 as a grantee of Dorchester lands prior to January 1636.
- p. 74 discusses the history of John Pope in this early history of the town.
- "John Pope, grantee of land in 1634, '47 and '56: one of the first signers of Church in 1636. There appear to be matters relating to his name which are not reconcilable, unless there were two of the name and generation. The first wife of his, we know if, is Jane. They had a son John, born June 30, 1635; Nathan, born and died in 1641. Thomas, son of John and Alice, born December 27, 1643. There was a Jane Pope, of Dorchester, who died in the latter part of 1662, or early in 1663, who left a daughter Patience, the wife of Edward Blake. There was a Margaret, wife of John Pope, Died October 20, 1672, aged about 74 years, buried in Dorchester burying ground. John Pope, sen., died October 19, 1686; left a widow Margaret, who administered on his estate. There was a John Pope who was a roguish fellow, and was arraigned before the General Court, which resulted as follows, 30 (2) 1640: "John Pope, for his unchast attempt upon a girle, and dalliance with maydes, and rebellios, or stubborn carriage against his master, was censured to bee severely whiped." This could not have been our John; his respectibility and character forbid it; so do the character and habits of his numerous descendants. He was a shoemaker by trade, and was more likely to be hard at work on his bench, than dallying "with maydes."
- p. 150 includes John Pope in the list of the 7 men who signed the Covenant reorganizing the Church in Dorchester in 1636. That year, a number citizens of the town moved to the Connecticut River with their places being taken by the hundred passengers who had come with Rev. Richard Mather. The Pequot War also occurred that year.
- p. 424 has John [P] Pope as a signatory to a document about organizing to support a school in 1641
- p. 195 mentions that, in 1664, a certain William Stoughton had purchased 325 acres of land from various persons who had moved away, including a John Pope. [Goodman Pope died in 1646.]
- p, 200 has a Thomas Pope as a signatory of a 1664 petition to the governor.
- p. 227 calls upon a John Pope to report to the Selectmen at their next meeting with such of his children "as are of capacity for learning." 1675.
- p. 239 lists among the events of 1680 that Thomas Pope was one of multiple recipients of a "legacy".
- p. 256 has the "Canady Soldiers" for 1690 under the command of Captain John Withington. It includes Corp. John Poope [sic] in the staff, and an Ebenezer Poope [sic] among the lower enlisted. 46 members of the company never returned, thought to be lost at sea, although the usual military fates are also mentioned.
- p. 146 list likely children of John Pope: John Pope, Jr. and Thomas Pope, among inhabitants of Dorchester who were over the age of 21 before 1700.
- p. 341 lists the person assembled on April 19th 1775, on the day of the battle at Lexington. It includes a Serg't Ebenezer Pope, Elijah Pope, Elijah Pope, Jr., Ralph Pope. There is an additional list of citizens who received some manner of payment for various forms of service between 1776 and 1779, which includes Elijah Pope.
- p. 386 records that there is a prominence known as Pope's hill on the southeast part of the town.
Wiki Tree
Interesting discussion of the "other" John Pope (c. 1622-1686) at https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Pope-1296
- A John Pope was born to John Pope and Jane ______ (shown on WikiTree as Jane (Clap) Pope, in Dorchester, Massachusetts June 30, 1635. Anderson says there is no further record of him.[1] [2]
- According to Charles Henry Pope, this profile's John Pope was a son of the elder John Pope, born in England. He may have been born about 1622. The author stresses the oddity of the John Pope Sr., naming two sons John, unless one wasn't likely to ever come to New England.[3] Quite possibly, he combined elements of the two Johns together into one.
- Neither John Pope Sr.'s will (he died in 1646, will proved in 1649), or his widow Jane Pope's will, dated April 18, 1662, mention any children except a daughter, Patience. They had a son, John, born June 30, 1635, who undoubtedly died before his father, and a son Nathan who was born and died in 1641.[4] This article goes on to explain that there was no relationship proved between John Pope Sr., and the John Pope who came to New England with his master, Nicholas Butler. The latter is the one that came from Kent as one of the servants of Nicholas Butler, and is the immigrant ancestor of the Dorchester Pope family.[4] Nicholas Butler, his family, and five servants took passage from Sandwich, Kent, England May 11, 1637.[5] Estimating that he was 18 years old in 1637, his birth was circa 1619.
- In summary, it appears that the John Pope of this profile in not the son of John Pope and Jane ______ (shown on WikiTree as Jane (Clap) Pope. His parentage is uncertain, and the current parents have been removed from his profile.
A History of the Dorchester Pope Family
A History of the Dorchester Pope Family, published 1888
- p. 44 lists a John Pope as one of a few Dorchester men who attained the status of "freemen" in 1634. One had to be a member of the Church in good standing with a letter from one's pastor in order to qualify.
- p. 46 documents that in November 1634, one of the common gates was to be established at Goodman Poapes, and that John Pope and Thomas Swift were each given 5 acres of land adjacent to other named lots. He then received a 20 acre "great lott" in 1635 (which was exchanged for another parcel in 1642). It mentions that when the large company with Rev. Mather arrived from Lancashire in 1636, a goodly number of the town agreed to move on to make room. John Pope stayed and helped re-organize the church as noted in the History of Dorchester, one of the "seven pillars of the church". (In a footnote, they explain that strictly speaking, Puritans only used the term "goodman" for prominent church-members of mature years, although usage relaxed over time.) In 1639, "Jane Pope" is added as a full member of the church along with many others.
- p. 49 documents in 1636 that John Poape and Edward Clap were assigned to inspect the fencing of "their feild" and points out that coincidence of Pope and Clap being mentioned together, when one of the original John Popes was apparently married to a Jane Clapp.
- p. 49 further lists John Poape among the 20 Selectmen in 1637, and is also on a 4-man sub-committee. He gets a little more land.
- p. 50, "Jo Pope" is selected as an overseer for some fence building.
- p. 50 - John Pope has signed his initial onto the 1641 Thompson's Island petition and then had someone else write out his full name. They explain that this is not for lack of literacy, since the illiterate mark a "X" not an initial, and he had signed his full name in 1636.
- p. 51 the book explains a very important little note from 1645, where fence inspectors again come up, and the clerk includes in the list "John Pope senior" which apparently means that our "Goodman" John had a son, John, who was by now was over 21 years old and so the clerk had to make the distinction.
- P. 52 tells how the next winter was full of sickness and so John Pope died, and his will was recorded in 1646.
- He gave the majority of his property and interests to his wife. His daughter was to inherit the house, as long as she let her mother live with her. The book speculates that John junior had already been well-established in more outlying properties, which was apparently the tradition (the eldest son getting major "new" lands, and younger heirs getting the homestead).
- The will mentions John's brother, Thomas, and distinguishes him from a Thomas Pope of Plymouth, a brother-in-law.
- The will also finally gives us John's profession, weaver, as he bequeaths looms and reeds to servants/apprentices. The book notes that a certain William Pope of Exeter was a master of the Weaver's Guild there. They point out that the will mentions "azell" as the type of cloth he wove and the interesting coincidence that this type of cloth was mentioned in the will of a certain "William Clapp the younger" of Salcombe near Exeter, and brother of Roger and Edward Clapp of Dorchester.
- An inventory was required to finalize the will and it was finally take to court in 1649 for "John Pope senior (of Dorchester)".
- p. 58 Jane Pope and "Widow Pope" continue to appear in town records in the management of her property: 1646, 1651, 1652, 1653, 1661.
- p. 59 A few weeks after her death in 12 (11) 1662 (November 12th?), the fencing assignments leave her name/plot out. There is an extensive discussion of where, exactly, the main lot would have been.
- p. 60 has Jane Pope's will.
- Her estate is assigned to her daughter, Patience Blake.
- p. 81 has the inventory of her estate (which says she died the 12th of January (!) 1662.
- The apparent site of the family homestead is connected with that of Cpt Roger Clapp and his brother, Edward, and is thus on Willow Court, westerly from Boston Street, a little way north of the "Five Corners" - "at the northerly end of ye town, next to ye aforesaid neck of Land."
- Reference to "pops lott" continues in property records to 1679, and in 1714 reference is made to a lot as a place commonly called Popes hill.
- p. 64-65 - More educated speculation:
- Clearly a native of England
- possibly Exeter in Devonshire, by evidence of the weaving Pope of Exeter (p. 38, William Pope, sheriff 1597, Master of the Company of Weavers, Fullers, Tuckers and Shearmen") and Cpt Roger Clap born 12 mi from Exeter and living some time in Exeter as a member of the Rev. John Warham parish where the New England colony was being imagined
- possibly Dorchester in Dorsetshire, by evidence of the Clapp connection
- Goodman Poape demonstrated to be living in Dorchester by Nov 3 1634
- John Pope made freeman Sept 3 1634.
- Roger Clap, who had come with the "first company", was only made freeman May 14 1634.
- Since it seems that generally one had to be a resident of good standing for several years, it's likely that John Pope had come well before 1634.
- the "Mary and John" arrived May 30, 1630 = "the first company"
- the "Lyon" came from Bristol Feb 8, 1631
- ship from Weymouth, Dorsetshire came Jul 24, 1633
- was a selectman and one of seven "pillars" of the church by 1636 when the Lancashire contingent arrived
- Possible Children vs. grandchildren vs. ?:
- John son of John Pope and Jane, April 30 1635
- Nathan son of John Pope and Jane, born & died May 1641
- Thomas son of John Pope and Alice, born Oct 27th 1643 (2nd wife, with Widow Jane Pope being a 3rd wife?)
- The author somehow believes that all of the above children are grandchildren of the original John. Note that it was in 1645 that the town clerk first noted "John Pope sr".
- Patience (Edward) Blake (from the wills)
- p. 68 moved to Boston 1657, children born from 1658-1676 (so born c. 1638? vs back in England since not in other Dorchester births)
- Other kin:
- Thomas of Plymouth, brother vs bro-in-law
- Joseph Pope of Salem, brother or son?
- Thomas of Stamford, Conn, father of John, another son?
- Clearly a native of England
