John Cousins
John Cousins | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1596 Marlborough, Wiltshire, England |
| Died | June 26, 1682 (aged 87) |
| Nationality | English |
| Spouse | Mary Cousins |
John Cousins (1596–1682)[1] was a 17th-century English emigrant to the New England Colonies. Cousins River, Cousins Island and Littlejohn Island in what was then North Yarmouth, Massachusetts Bay Colony (now Yarmouth, Maine),[2] where he settled, are named for him.[3]
Arrival in the Thirteen Colonies
After living firstly in Portland, Maine (then known as Falmouth, Massachusetts Bay Colony), between 1626 and around 1635,[4] he moved ten miles north to North Yarmouth a year or so before the arrival his compatriot William Royall (c. 1595–1676), living on a neck of land between branches of the Cousins River.[3] He is regarded as second only to Royall in importance as a pioneer in the area.[1]
In 1645, he purchased from Richard Vines, Steward General and councillor for Sir Ferdinando Gorges,[5] what became known as Cousins Island and Littlejohn Island, at the mouth of the Yarmouth River.[4] The two islands were collectively known as the Hogg Islands at the time of Cousin's inhabitance.[5] In 1647, he sold approximately half of Cousins Island to Richard Bray, who settled there with William Wise.[5][6]
Conflicts forged by King Philip's War caused Cousins to abandon his Westcustogo home of over thirty years and move south.[2] He was injured, and went to York to receive treatment.
Personal life
Cousins was married to Mary, with whom he emigrated from England.[3] Their son, Isaac (c. 1613–1702),[4] followed them in 1647, aged about 34, arriving with his new wife, Elizabeth (c. 1625–1656).[4] A year after Elizabeth's death at the age of around 31, Isaac remarried, to Ann Hunt.[4] Ann died in 1660, aged about 45, after three years of marriage. Isaac married a third time, seventeen years later, to Martha Priest.[4]
Death
Cousins died in Cider Hill, near York, on June 26, 1682, aged 87.[4] He deeded his real estate in Casco Bay to his wife.[3]
References
- ^ a b Ancient North Yarmouth and Yarmouth, Maine 1636-1936: A History, William Hutchinson Rowe (1937), p. 13
- ^ a b About Yarmouth – Yarmouth Chamber of Commerce
- ^ a b c d Ancient North Yarmouth and Yarmouth, Maine 1636-1936: A History, William Hutchinson Rowe (1937)
- ^ a b c d e f g "Cousins Make Mark on Maine" – banfield-hodgkinsfamily.com
- ^ a b c Our History – cousinsandlittlejohnislands.org
- ^ Chamber of Commerce Journal of Maine, Volume 13 (1901), p. 9