Descendants of Roger Folsom

The family surname of Folsom, with its many varieties of spelling, arose with the adaption of surnames in England, from the town of Foulsham, a village in the county of Norfolk, England, which is located about 6-8 miles north of Hingham, Norfolk. The county of Norfolk was the home of The Foulsham family for many centuries where they possessed estates in fifteen different locations. The first traceable ancestor of our John(1) Folsom of Exeter, NH is one Roger Folsom of Necton, Norfolk which is about 11 miles northwest of Hingham, Norfolk. Roger, whose will is dated 1534, had a son William who married Agnes Smith of Besthorpe, Norfolk which is about five miles southeast of Hingham. William and Agnes Smith Folsom had a son Adam(1) whose will was written 04 Feb 1565 and who married Emma (–). Adam(1) owned lands in Besthorpe, Bunwell, Hingham, and Hackford all of which are located in the county of Norfolk. Adam (1) and Emma (–) Folsom had a son Adam(2), baptized in 1560 at Besthorpe, who married Grace (–) and had a home in Hingham and lands in Besthorpe. Adam(2), who died in 1630 at Hingham, and Grace (–) Folsom had son Adam (3) who lived in Hingham and married Agnes (–). Adam (3) made a will, which was proved 07 June 1627 at Hingham, wherein he named his three sons, i.e., John, Adam, and Peter Folsom.

References:PH27:837; PH87:3181; FH131:13; NEHGR:V30:211

Our immigrant ancestor is John(1) Folsom, the son of Adam(3) and Agnes (–) Folsom, who was baptized in 1615 in Hingham, Norfolkfolkshire, England and died 27 December 1681 at Exeter, NH. John (1) married, on 04 October 1636 at Hingham, Norfolk, Mary Gilman who was baptized 06 August 1615 at Hingham, Norfolk and died ca 1689/1691 at Exeter, NH. She was the daughter of Edward and Mary Clark Gilman of Hingham, Norfolk.

Little is known of John(1) Folsom’s early life in England. On 26 April 1638, the ship “Diligent of Ipswich”, of 350 tons, John Martin, Master, set sail from the mouth of the Thames river for Massachusetts Bay in the “new world”. On board were nineteen families and 6/8 single single persons, in all 133 persons bound for a new colony established in Hingham, Ma. Among the passengers we find John (1) Folsom, then 23 or 24 years of age, and his young wife, Mary Gilman Folsom, who was of about the same age; they were attended by two servants. This John (1) Folsom, as far as can be determined, became the ancestor of all the Folsoms in America with the exception of one Folsom family found in South Carolina. Adam Folsom, probably the brother of our John did come to New England in 1639 but later returned to England. It is to be noted that John and Mary Gilman Folsom were attended by two servants which would indicate that they were not “operating on a shoe string”.

Also on the ship “Diligent of Ipswich” were Mary Gilman’s immediate family, i.e., her father Edward Gilman, her mother Mary Clark Gilman, her brothers Edward, John, and Moses, and her two younger sisters, Sarah and Lydia Gilman. The Gilman family had three servants in attendance. Their parish rector, Rev. Robert Peck and his family were also aboard and here we find the probable reason for the voyage. There seems to have been “ trouble in ecclesiastical matters”. Rev. Robert Peck, in dispute with his Bishop Wren, was being prosecuted and made the decision to leave England. His loyal parishioners and friends, who sold their estates at half value, vowed to remain with Rev. Robert Peck. A postscript to this situation is that Rev. Robert Peck, now in New England, upon learning that Bishop Wren had been disposed, returned to England, after a number of years of voluntary banishment, resumed his rectory, and died in Hingham, Norfolk, England in 1656. It is not known if any of his “loyal parishioners or friends” returned with him.

The ship “Diligent of Ipswich” landed at Boston, Ma. on 10 August 1638 with the passengers immediately proceeding to Hingham, Ma. which is about 14 miles southeast of Boston. Shortly after their arrival there, John(2) Folsom, the first child of John(1) and Mary Gilman Folsom was born. John (1) Folsom with his growing family lived in Hingham, Ma. for 15 to 17 years. In the latter part of 1638 they were granted four acres of land on which they built their home. On 30 January 1645, John (1) was one of seven “chosen to order the prudent affairs of the town, i.e., selectmen”. Also in 1645, he, John (1) was implicated in the “Anthony Eames affair”, i.e., Eames was appointed by the local government to be Captain of the local militia but there was strong outcry of disapproval by the people who preferred Bozoun Allen. The government took took action by charging and fining the dissenters; John (1), who was a militia man, was fined 20 pounds with this fine being later remitted. Later on in 1645, it was ordered and agreed by the town council that Capt. Joshua Hubbard and John Folsom shall have liberty of the two rivers, Rocky Meadow and Bound Brook, so far as the town has property, to build, operate, and maintain a sawmill. So we see our John(1) active in Hingham as a farmer, a surveyor, a sawmill operator plus being active in the local government.

In the meantime, Mary Gilman Folsom’s parents and siblings “doing their thing”; a few years after their arrival in Hingham, Ma. they removed to Rehoboth, Ma. ca 1641. Father Edward Gilman, with others, acquired, in 1641, eight square miles of land near Rehoboth. They then removed to Ipswich, Ma. and finally, around 1648, they removed to Exeter, NH. to become early inhabitants of this new frontier community. They evidently spoke well of the new community there as John (1) Folsom and family decided to follow them. The Folsom and Gilman families evidently had a lifetime close family relationship. On 04 December 1647, John (1) was granted 60 acres of land in Exeter near the Hampton line. Exeter, NH is about 15 miles north of the Massachusetts’s and New Hampshire’s state line and inland about ten miles from the Atlantic Ocean. In the 1640's time frame, Exeter and the surrounding area was mostly wilderness. John(1) and his family sold their Hingham property in 1655 and went to Exeter, NH where they built their home on the west side of the Exeter river which is where the first settlement was established.

Over the years, John (1) acquired a fair amount of land. They were granted a “remnant of medow” on 14 February 1657; on 11 June 1660 they were granted 20 acres “lying in the halfe country” eight miles from Exeter; on 29 August 1661, John(1) purchased 10 acres from Gower Wilson “as near Capt. Clerk’s mill as convenient”; on 16 October 1664 they were granted 70 acres; on 03 May 1669, another grant of 30 acres. On 25 March 1672, John (1) was given “right” of 90 acres “if he developed it” and on 02 April 1675, John(1) was granted 200 acres located “ two miles from the meeting house”. Over the years, some of his land was sold for profit and some was transferred to his sons. In Exeter, NH we find our John(1) very much involved. He was chosen “measurer of land” in 1648, 1660, 1670, 1671, 1676 and 1690-92..He was a selectman in 1659 and 1669. He did much survey work and was the “layer out of highways” in 1664. Over the years he was a “marker of selected trees” and a maker and seller of masts for the King’s Navy. In July 1665 he was on the committee representing Dover, Portsmouth, Exeter, and Hampton in all matters political. John(1) presented the “Petition to the King’s Majesty, pray that they might be governed by the laws of England”. One has to remember that these were times of many new communities establishing political, geographical, economic, and security roots in an essentially wilderness area occupied by hostile Indians who were not thrilled with this “invasion” from England. Our John (1) Folsom was an enterprising, courageous, prominent in community, leader in public affairs individual.

John (1) and Mary Gilman Folsom had eight children; Israel born in 1644, died in infancy, Israel (2) born in 1646 and died unmarried in 1677; all the other children, i.e., John, Peter, Samuel, Nathaniel, Mary, and Ephraim reached adulthood, married, and had families. All of the children were born in Hingham, Ma.

References: PH7:273; PH13:237-338; PH27:837; PH49:232; PH87:2181-2182; FH130:25-44; FH131:7-18; FH135:181-182; FH142:38; FH322:6-9; NEHGR:V30:207-212

Deacon John(2) Folsom, either the first or second child/son of John(1) and Mary Gilman Folsom, was born probably in 1638; there is some confusion between he, John(2) and his brother Samuel, as to their order of birth. John(1) and wife Mary had a son born in 1638, either at sea or shortly after they arrived at Hingham, Ma. Samuel was baptized 03 October 1641 with son John being baptized 11 October 1641 Why the difference of eight days is anybody’s guess. In the normal order of naming offspring, the first born bears the name of the father; it is here being assumed that John(2) was the child born in 1638. John (2) was referred to as “Deacon” John to minimize the confusion of too many “Johns”. Deacon John died at Exeter, NH in 1715; his will was proved 06 December 1715. He married, on 10 November 1675 at Hampton, NH, Abigail Perkins who was born 02 April 1655 at Hampton, NH and died 1716+ probably at Exeter, NH. She was the daughter of Abraham and Mary Wyeth Perkins of Hampton, NH.

Deacon John was a sizable “planter” plus he had a share of the main sawmill. In March 1678, he received a grant of twenty acres and in September 1678 he was granted additional land on the same site as his initial grant. This land was located on the east side of the river, the Hampton side, and it was here that he built his principal home site. Deacon John received additional land grants, i.e., 200 acres in 1675 and 160 acres in 1698; he bought a number of land sites in Exeter and adjoining towns including 100 acres of “upland”, now the town of Newmarket; this latter purchase was given to Deacon John’s son, Jeremiah. Like his father, John (1), Deacon John became very much involved in his community. He was chosen, for many years, to be a “measurer” i.e., surveyor; he was a selectman in 1681, 1691, and 1696; he was a juryman in 1666, 1669, 1674, and 1679; he was on the grand jury in 1683. Being a juryman in the 1600s was considered a position of great responsibility and much care and consideration was given to this process. The communities were smaller in size where most everybody knew each other and the need for unbiased judgement was considered very important. Deacon John was a constable in 1670, a soldier of the militia in 1676, and he was a representative to the state conventions in 1685, 1688, 1694 and 1695.

Deacon John wrote an extensive will in November 1715 which was proved 06 December 1715. He names and makes bequests to all of his children and to his wife; he appointed his wife, Abigail Perkins Folsom, as sole executrix of his will. The inventory was in excess of 1,713 pounds which was a sizeable sum for the time period. Our Deacon John(2) Folsom was “a man of high standing and good property, active both in church and political affairs”. Deacon John and wife Abigail had nine children, four sons and five daughters, all born in Exeter, NH. They all reached adulthood, married, and had families.

References:PH7:273; PH13:238; PH27:838; PH49:232; PH222:V3:363; FH140:44-53; FH131: 18-23; FH135:182; FH322:13-17; NEHGR:V30:212-213

John (3) Folsom, the third child and second son of Deacon John(2) and Abigail Perkins Folsom, was born ca 1680 and drowned 31 March 1725. He married ca 1712/1716 at Exeter, NH Mary (xx). Most sources state that the surname of Mary was “Sewall” without identifying her parents. However, we find, in the “Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire”; Noyes, Libby, Davis; 1988: 238,631; a potential answer. We find our John (3) Folsom’s widow as being “Mary” with no surname who married Stephen Sewall and was his widow in 1748. That marriage would have taken place after 31 March 1725, the date of John (3)’s drowning “crossing the river above King’s Fall”. Stephen Sewall was the son of Edrwad and Sarah Gordon Sewall of Exeter, NH. As such, this compiler believes that John(3) Folsom married Mary (–) whose surname is unknown and consideration of “Sewall” as her surname relates to her second marriage to Stephen Sewall.

John (3) Folsom, with his family, lived in the southwest part of Exeter, south of the river and the road to Kingston. Their farm was near Kings Fall and was called “Kings Fall John”. He was granted 40 acres of land in 1698; he was granted another 80 acres in 1725 prior to his death. He worked on the Fort at Newcastle, NH in 1704; he was in Capt. Nicholas Gilman’s scouting company in 1710 and under Capt. Daniel Ladd in 1724. There was an ongoing hostility with the local native Americans who were being influenced and incited by the French military and settlers who had great economic and political goals in the “New World”. As such, our early ancestors in Exeter, NH were obliged to devote a considerable amount of their effort to “security matters”. As noted above, some time after John(3) early and untimely death, his widow, Mary (–) Folsom married Stephen Sewall who evidently died prior to 1743. By a special act of the NH Legislature, 2 December 1743, a committee was appointed to divide the real estate, which “the widow, by her industry had persevered near 20 years though the youngest child, Josiah, was not of full age”.

John (3) and Mary (–) Folsom had four children, two daughters, Susanna and Mary who married brothers, Lt. Jonathan and Samuel Bradley plus young Josiah who born about three months after his father’s death. There was another, unnamed child, who died at or shortly after birth.

References:PH13:238, 620-621; FH55:148,155; FH130:73-75; FH131:22-23,28-29;

Mary Folsom, the second child and second daughter of John(3) and Mary (–) Folsom, was born in 1719 at Exeter, NH and died 10 August 1817, age 98, at Concord, NH. She married first, perhaps on 02 November 1738 at Kingston, NH, Samuel Bradley who was baptized 24 September 1719 at Haverhill, Ma. and died 11 August 1746 in the Indian massacre near Rumford, NH. He was the son of Abraham and Elizabeth Philbrick Bradley of Haverhill, Ma. and Concord, NH. In that Mary and her sister, Susanna, married the brothers Bradley, it is possible that they had a combined marriage ceremony. Mary Folsom Bradley married, as her second husband, sometime after August 1746, Robert Calfe of Chester, NH where she lived, much respected, for thirty years. But she eventually returned to Concord NH where she lived with her grandson. Mary Folsom Bradley was a woman of great energy and superior education having been brought up in the family of Nicholas Gilman, father of the governor.

References: PH13:238; FH55:148,154; FH130:75-76; FH131:29-30