Job Bourne

  General Notes:

Job2 Bourne (Richard1), born probably in Sandwich about 1639, died in Hingham in February 1676/7.

He married in Sandwich, 14 Dec. 1664, Ruhamah3 Hallett (Sandwich Vital Records in Mayflower Descendant, vol. 14, p. 107, April 1912), born there about 1644, died after 13 Sept. 1714, daughter of Andrew2 Hallett, probably by the latter's first wife.

This eldest son Job predeceased his father and as we have seen the court appointed John Miller as agent in 1682 to act on behalf of the children and widow. Perhaps some reader can comment on the genealogical significance of this appointment, since it would seem that this was the John Miller whose wife Margaret was a daughter of Josiah and Margaret (Bourne) Winslow. As eldest son Job evidently lived with his father and stepmother upon the father's homestead farm, which his chil­dren inherited (vide supra). The inventory of his estate, dated 30 January, was sworn 5 March 1676/7 by "Ruhamah Bourne relict of Job Bourne, of Sandwich, deceased" (Plymouth Colony Probate, vol. 3, pt. 2, p. 48). In the absence of Barnstable County Deeds the detailed settlement of his estate is of genealogical value:

"Att a Court of His Majtls held att the Town of Plymouth for the jurisdiction of New Plymouth the sixt day of March A.D. 1676/7. In reference to the settlement of the Estate of Job Bourne late of Sandwich, deceased intestate. The Court orders that debts being 1st payed, Ruhamah Bourne the Relict of the said Job Bourne shall have the use and profitt of one third part of all the lands hee died possessed of which are alsoe hereafter mensioned, during her naturall life and one third part of all the moveables to be att her dispose, together with £20 more out of the moveables towards her charge in bringing up the smaller children and the residue of the Estate to be divided equally into six parts, whereof the eldest son to have 2 parts and the other three sons and the daughter to have theire equall parts. The lands to be divided amongst three of the sons, being apprised according to the district bounds thereof as they are assigned by theire grandfather Mr. Richard Bourne, with the consent of the said Ruhamah theire mother, and to be allowed toward theire Re­spective partes in such proportion as the value thereof shall amount to. Timothy the eldest son to have the lands following, viz.: all the meddows which his father bought of Mr. Standish and one halfe the Creek Stuffe with some small skirts of meddow lying from the tail of the meddow called Mr. Standishes meddow toward Wepanchett and one halfe the Up­land bought with the said meddowes and one halfe the herbage of Manamoett field with halfe the wood and Cedar Swampes bought by his father with the privileges belonging to the first grant or bargain according to the proportion of his land & meddow. And the other two sonnes called Eleezer & Hezekiah to have the rest of the meddow, being bounded by a marked tree standing about the middle betwixt Coweeset & Muchmanans field, thence ranging south west to a white oake tree att the head of the little Creeke next the Springs & another parcell of salt marsh lying att the hither part of Manamamoett old field att a little creeke which runs into the mouth of the Creeke that comes from Thomas Burges his meddow & soe runs down the River to Jacob Burges his meddow & soe to a stake standing in the marsh & to the Red Rocke in the River, to be equally divided between them. Hezekiah is allsoe assigned to have six acres on the North side of the River which was bought of Mr. Freeman & Joseph Burge & six acres more of new ground, being on the Easterly side of the River being att a small Run of Water & soe downward, together with the priviledges belonging thereunto. And to the sd Timothy & Eleezer is allsoe assigned the land on the West Syde of the River where the house is, the sd lands att the River above by the hills & soe alonge the topp of the hill untill it comes downward to the narrow stony place unto a flat Rock in the Stony Place & some new ground on the Eastern syde of the River from the end of the six acres given to Hezekiah above mentioned & thence ex­tending to a little swamp that cometh from the River up to the cart way & for any other parcell of land not above mensioned it shall be disposed by the administrators with the advice of the said Richard Bourne to such of the children as they shall judge meet. The other son, called John[A] not above mentioned being to have his portion out of the moveables of the sd Mr. Bourne, having declared his intention to provide some land for him. And the sd Ruhamah theire Mother to have the use of the house and one third of the land during her naturall Life as above sd., and the use of the whole Estate besides her £20 and thirds above sd towards the bringing up of the sd children untill they shall respectively attaine the age of twenty and one years or the day of marriage, which shall first happen, or the time that any of them shall choose their guardians and take theire respective portions unto theire hands. Ruhamah the sd Relict and her brother John Hallett and Elisha Bourne being granted of administration upon theire giving securitie to Mr. Thomas Hinckley in the Court's behalf" (ibid,, p. 270-272).

The will, dated 14 March 1681/2 and proved 4 June 1684, of "Andrew Hallett of Yarmouth," gives... "to my daughter[B] Ruhamah Bourne, what she hath of me already and doe will to her ye just sum of £20 more of my Estate and to my grandson Timothy Bourne I do will £5. & to Hannah Bourne, £5. & to Eliezer Bourne £5. and to Hezekiah £5." (ibid., vol. 4, p. 134). The will of "Anna Hallett of Yarmouth, widdow" (of the above Andrew2 Hallett), dated 23 June 1684, gives "to John Bourne my grandson now living with me, my bed in the chamber, with ye bedstead, curtains and vallents … and my great brass kettle or 22s., he to choose." She orders the residue divided into three equall parts, of which one "to my daughter[B] Ruhamah Bourne," whom she made co-executrix (Mayflower Descendant, vol. 22, p. 188, October 1920).

Rebecca (Chubbuck) Hersey, wife of William2 Hersey of Hingham, died there 1 June 1686, and her widower married, secondly, Ruhamah, widow of the subject Job2 Bourne. Wil­liam Hersey's will, dated 1689, names his "now wife Ru­hamah." This marriage is proved by the fact that "Ruhamah Herssey daughter of Anna Hallett of Yarmouth, widow de­ceased," made oath to the inventory as Executrix (under her mother's will) 13 April 1694 (ibid.). In 1699 her son Timothy Bourne sold a parcel of land in Agawam to "my honoured mother Ruharnah Hersey of the town of Sandwich" and she was still living 13 Sept. 1714, when she is described as "Mrs. Ruhamah Hersey" in a quitclaim by Job Bourne's heirs (vide post).
[A] Amos Otis, Genealogical Notes of Barnstable Families, ed. by G. F. Swift, 1888, vol. 1, p. 111-112, states that the name of this John3 Bourne is "omitted, probably by mistake." But the actual record shows that this mistake lies not with the pro­bate liber.
[B] See "Ann (Besse) Hallett, Stepmother of Abigail (Hallelt) Alden" (The American Genealogist, vol. 26, p. 193-195, October 1950), in which it is argued that the testatrix was not the mother of Ruhama (Hallett} Bourne. The facts as sub­mitted by the author, Mrs. John E. Barclay, seem to us to be reasonably conclusive. [The Rev. Richard1 Bourne of Sandwich, Mass. (c. 1610-1682) by Lydia B. (Phinney) Brownson and Maclean W. McLean, NEHGR 118-9, 1964-5]

Job married Ruhamah Hallett, daughter of Andrew Hallett, Jr. and Anna Besse, on 14 Dec 1664 in Sandwich, Barnstable, MA ¹⁸⁷.^,196 (Ruhamah Hallett was born about 1644 in Sandwich, Barnstable, MA ¹⁹⁶ and died after 13 Sep 1714 ¹⁹⁶.)