Ellis of Barnstable, Massachusetts
Lieut. John Ellis [a] b 14 Sep 1623, St. Butolph, Bishops Gate, London, England, d 2 Apr 1697, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA. He md Elizabeth Freeman 4 Jun 1645, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA, daughter of Edmund Freeman and Bennet Hodsoll.
Children of John Ellis and Elizabeth Freeman were:
  • John Ellis b abt 1646, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA; d bef 23 Mar 1676/77, King Philip's War.
  • Elizabeth Ellis b abt 1647, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA, d 2 Nov 1688; md Samuel Briggs abt 1664.
  • Bennet Ellis b 27 Feb 1648/49, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA, d 21 Jan 1701/02; md Obadiah Eddy abt 1688.
  • Lt. Mordecai Ellis b 24 Mar 1650/51, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA, d 9 Feb 1709/10, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA; md Sarah Clarke abt 1678.
  • Manoah Ellis b abt 1652, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA, d 30 Aug 1748; md Mary Burgess.
  • Deborah Ellis b abt 1652, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA, d 21 Jun 1711, Barnstable, MA; md Joseph Doty.
  • Joel Ellis b 20 Mar 1654/55, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA, d abt 1656.
  • Matthias Ellis (twin) b 2 Jun 1657.
  • Nathaniel Ellis (twin) b 2 Jun 1657.
  • Freeman Ellis b abt 1661, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA, d 20 Jun 1728, Barnstable, MA; md Mercy Winslow abt 1686.
  • Gideon Ellis b abt 1663, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA, d abt 1701/02.
  • William Ellis b abt 1665, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA, d 1716, Middleboro, Plymoth, MA; md Lydia Briggs abt 1696.
Matthias Ellis b 2 Jun 1657, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA, d 30 Aug 1748, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA. He md Mercy Nye [b] Jan 1678/79, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA.
Children of Matthias Ellis and Mercy Nye were:
  • Capt. Joel Ellis b 17 Jan 1679/80, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA, d 21 Jun 1763, Middleborough, Plymouth, MA; md [1] Elizabeth Churchill 6 Apr 1710, [2] Jemima Tupper 1758.
  • Matthias Ellis b 5 Nov 1681.
  • John Ellis b 17 Aug 1683, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA, d 12 Dec 1717, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA.
  • Mercy Ellis b 17 Aug 1685, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA, d bef 30 Oct 1751, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA; md [1] Thomas Doty 18 Apr 1705, [2] Jonathan Barnes aft 25 Aug 1722, Plymouth, MA, [3] Timothy Morton, 15 Dec 1737.
  • Experience Ellis b 26 Jul 1687, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA, d bef 20 Sep 1751; md Stephen Churchill.
  • Malachi Ellis b 8 Oct 1689, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA, d 12 Mar 1765; md Jane Blackwell 3 Jan 1715/16.
  • Remember Ellis b 1 Dec 1691, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA, d young.
  • Mehitable Ellis b 31 Dec 1693, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA, d bef 8 Nov 1751, Taunton, Bristol, MA; md Isaac Merrick.
  • Samuel Ellis b 12 Nov 1699, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA, d young.
Matthias Ellis b 5 Nov 1681, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA, d 1771, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA. He md Thankful Bassett 30 Mar 1710, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA, daughter of William Bassett and Rachel Williston.
Children of Matthias Ellis and Thankful Bassett were:
  • Thankful Ellis b 6 Jun 1711, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA, d 28 Aug 1741; md John Peckham abt 1736, Newport, RI.
  • Mercy Ellis b 22 Aug 1713.
  • Remember Ellis b 9 Nov 1715, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA, d 4 Mar 1807; md Eldad Tupper 23 May 1751, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA.
  • Experience Ellis b 10 Feb 1717/18, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA, d 13 Oct 1803, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA; md Samuel Tobey 3 Apr 1735, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA.
  • Mary Ellis b 29 Apr 1720, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA, d 8 Nov 1789; md Joseph Bodfish.
  • Elizabeth Ellis b 29 Nov 1722, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA, d 24 Aug 1755, Nantucket, MA; md Benjamin Tupper 5 Sep 1745.
  • Mehitable Ellis b 17 Sep 1725, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA, d 22 Jun 1731, Sandwich, Barnstable.
  • Jane Ellis b abt 1727, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA, d 21 Aug 1775; md David Churchill 20 Feb 1749/50.

Mercy Ellis b 22 Aug 1713, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA, d 8 Jun 1737, prob Portsmouth, RI. She md Abraham Dennis 24 Oct 1734, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA.

NOTES:
a. He was a Lieutenant in the militia during the Colonial wars. Records in Sandwich refer to a John Ellis, Sr. and Jr.; it is believed that John Ellis, Sr. is the John Ellis who married Elizabeth Freeman; the John Ellis, Jr. is believed to most likely be a son of this John Ellis, Sr, but born perhaps in England, by a first wife which died. His estimated birthdate (1637) would have been too early to have been a son of Sr. John Ellis by wife Elizabeth Freeman: because this John Ellis, Jr. held land in Sandwich in 1658, he would've been at the very least 18 years , and more than likely over 21 years, of age...thus could not have been a son of Elizabeth Freeman who married John Ellis in 1646. This first wife, earlier son theory is supported by Inventories of estates for both John Sr and John Jr, who evidently died timewise in close proximity, and both of whose inventories were presented on the same date by "widow Elizabeth Ellis"; John Ellis, Sr. and John Ellis, Jr. also owned adjoining land. Also, the fact that it was common to name a son after the father, and John Ellis and Elizabeth Freeman had no known son named John, further adds to the theory of a first first-born son named John by a previous wife.

There has been no documentation found which conclusively links John Ellis, quoted by Thornton from the Leiden archives, with brother-in-law Richard Masterson, to the John Ellis of Sandwich, MA. Drake quoted a list of presumably English townsmen in Leiden, Holland; Richard Masterson is no. 15 on this list, with the notation of his marriage (in 1619) to Mary Goodall, and the name of John Ellis "brother in law" who was a witness to said marriage. No. 61 on this list is John Ellis, but he is not further described. Records of the Banns for Richard Masterson and Mary Goodall also reveal this same information. Another source (Daniel Plooij, The Pilgrim Fathers From a Dutch Point of View, 1932) cites correspondence from William Bradford to one Christopher Ellis in Leiden, and that he was a brother to this John Ellis. Other sources (Hotten's Lists, The Winthrop Fleet, Planters of the Commonwealth, etc.) show no record of a John Ellis which could possibly have been the aforesaid Leiden Ellis. The first list of settlers in Sandwich, MA is dated 3 Apr 1637 and no John Ellis appears on this list. Yet by 1643, a John Ellis does appear on a list of those between ages 16 and 60 and able to bear arms. This puts his estimated birthdate about 1620, and he is believed to be John Ellis who married Elizabeth Freeman.

b. She is evidently misidentified in A Genealogy of the Nye Family as the daughter of Benjamin Nye and Katherine Tupper. A deed of Jonathan Nye to his son Jonathan Nye, dated 1717, makes specific reference to his sister, Mercy Nye, who is "feeble" and unable to care for herself, see NEHGR, Vol. 159, Jan 2005, The Origins of Benjamin Nye: Examining the Records, by Ian Hilder, George R. Nye, and Jonathan A. Shaw. Mercy Nye, daughter of Benjamin Nye (and siser of the aforementioned Jonathan Nye, Sr., never married, thus the origins of Mercy Nye, wife of Matthias Ellis, are still unknown.
SOURCES:
GL: Vital Records of the Towns Barnstable & Sandwich, Volume XIV, 1912, pp 130-131, Volume XXIX, 1931, p 137; The Benson Family Records, p 119, by Fred H. Benson, 1920; A Genealogy of the Nye Family, Volume I, p 29, by David Fisher Nye, 1907; Mack Genealogy, Volume II Appendix, p 1420, by Sophia Smith Martin, 1904.
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