Category Archives: Blake

Blake, Brreck

William Blake & Anne Breck, Dorchester & Milton, MA, 1600s

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This family sketch will conclude the five generations of the Blake family who are part of my cousins’ family tree, as with the youngest child, this surname will daughter out.

William Blake was baptized on 6 September 1620 in Pitminster, Somerset, England, the third of five children born to William Blake and Agnes (MNU) Band, who settled in Dorchester, Massachusetts with their young family in the 1630s.

William Blake married (1) Anne Breck, c1649 and (2) Hannah (Tolman) Lyon, 22 November 1693, Milton, Massachusetts.

The Blake family lived first in Dorchester, but removed to Milton, Massachusetts between 1662 and 1665, based on the births of two of their children.

William and Anne (Breck) Blake were the parents of ten children, seven of whom lived to adulthood:

  1. Samuel, born 14 May 1650, Dorchester, Massachusetts; died before 9 January 1720; married Sarah Macey, 23 October 1679, Milton, Massachusetts
  2. Anna, born 6 March 1652, Dorchester, Massachusetts; died 9 May 1722, Taunton, Massachusetts; married Thomas Gilbert, 18 December 1676, Milton, Massachusetts
  3. Mary, born 20 March 1654, Dorchester, Massachusetts; died 5 September 1723, Taunton, Massachusetts; married Joseph Leonard, 15 December 1679, Taunton, Massachusetts
  4. William, born 22 February 1656, Dorchester, Massachusetts; no further record
  5. Nathaniel, born 4 July 1659, Dorchester, Massachusetts; died 5 October 1720, Dorchester, Massachusetts; married Martha Morey, 9 October 1695, Milton, Massachusetts
  6. Edward, born 13 April 1662, Dorchester, Massachusetts; died 12 March 1737, Norfolk County, Massachusetts; married Elizabeth Morey, 6 June 1696, Milton, Massachusetts
  7. Experience, born 17 June 1665, Milton, Massachusetts; died 16 January 1746, Bridgewater, Plymouth, Massachusetts; married Samuel Sumner, 15 March 1683, Milton, Massachusetts
  8. Agnes, born 29 September 1667, Milton, Massachusetts; 22 July 1678, Milton, Massachusetts
  9. Susan, born 20 July 1670, Milton, Massachusetts; died 4 May 1676, Milton, Massachusetts
  10. Mehitable, born 2 April 1673, Milton, Massachusetts; died 7 October 1732, Taunton, Massachusetts; married William Briggs, 16 June 1696, Milton, Massachusetts

Anne (Breck) Blake’s date of death is unknown, but she died before November 1693 when William remarried.

William Blake died 3 September 1703 in Milton, Massachusetts and was survived by his second wife, Hannah (Tolman) Lyon.

Blake

William Blake & Agnes (MNU) Band, Somerset, England to MA, 1600s

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As mentioned in Saturday’s family sketch, William Blake, the son of William and Anne (MNU) Blake, had buried at least five of six possible siblings by the time he emigrated to Massachusetts.

William Blake Jr. was baptized on 10 July 1594 in Pitminster, Somerset, England. He married Agnes (MNU) Band, c1617.

They were the parents of five children:

  1. John, twin, baptized 30 August 1618, Pitminster, Somerset, England; died 25 January 1688/89, Boston, Massachusetts; married Mary (Souther) Shaw, 16 August 1654, Boston, Massachusetts
  2. Ann, twin, baptized 30 August 1618, Pitminster, Somerset, England; died 12 July 1681, Boston, Massachusetts; married (1) Jacob Leager, c1650 (2) Unknown Hallowell, before 9April 1672
  3. William, baptized 6 September 1620, Pitminster, Somerset, England; died 3 September 1703, Milton, Massachusetts; married (1) Anne Breck, c1649 (2) Hannah (Tollman) Lyon, 22 November 1693, Milton, Massachusetts
  4. James, baptized 27 April 1624, Pitminster, Somerset, England; died 28 June 1700, Dorchester, Massachusetts; married (1) Elizabeth Clapp, c1651 (2) Elizabeth (Smith) Hunt, 17 September 1695, Rehoboth, Massachusetts
  5. Edward, born c1630; died 3 September 1692, Milton, Massachusetts; married Patience Pope, c1657

William Blake died on 25 October 1663 in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Thankfully, other records have survived to identify his family because he was one of those helpful fellows who left legacies to his wife and five children in his will, proved at Boston, Massachusetts on 28 January 1663/64, but didn’t name a single one of those family members!

Blake

William Blake & Anne (MNU), Somerset, England, late 1500s

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William Blake was born c1562 in Over Stowey, Somerset, England, per a deposition he gave later in life and was the youngest child of John Blake and his wife, Joan (MNU).

William Blake married Anne (MNU), c1585 and the family removed about 20 miles from Over Stowey to Pitminster, still in Somerset, England.

William and Anne were the parents of seven children, all baptized at Pitminster, with the exception of Robert, who was possibly their eldest child:

  1. (Possibly) Robert, born c1587; married Sarah Wicham, 3 March 1616/17, Pitminster, Somerset, England
  2. Grace, baptized 9 February 1588/89; buried 5 January 1621/22, Pitminster, Somerset, England
  3. Eme, baptized 3 December 1592; buried 27 July 1593, Pitminster, Somerset, England
  4. William, baptized 10 February 1594; died 25 October 1663, Dorchester, Massachusetts; married Agnes (MNU) Band, c1617
  5. John, baptized 19 June 1597; no further record
  6. Anne, baptized 12 October 1600; no further record
  7. Richard, baptized 17 April 1603; no further record

William and Anne (MNU) Blake’s lives prove what a struggle life was. Of seven children, only William and possibly Robert were still living when William Blake was buried on 13 June 1642 in Pitminster, Somerset, England.

Perhaps that was one of the reasons that led William Jr. to seek a new life in Massachusetts.