Person · 1677 - 1764
William Manning
William Manning
| Born | 1677-06-27 Billerica, MA |
| Died | 1764-03-25 Billerica, MA |
| Select Board | |
| In Office | 1726 - 1727 |
| Father | Samuel Manning |
| Mother | Abiall Wight |
| Spouses |
Elizabeth French
Mary |
| Children |
Sarah
Rachel William (b. 1708-02-28) Jacob (b. 1710-03-27) |
William Manning, known as Ensign Manning, was a farmer on the Chelmsford road in the western part of Billerica, on the farm whose house survives as the Manning Manse. He was born in Billerica on June 27, 1677, a son of Ensign Samuel Manning, town clerk, selectman and representative, and his second wife, Abiall (Wight) Manning of Medfield. His father had land west of the Concord River by 1673, where no farmsteads were settled until after 1690, and the family's records date the house to 1696. By the time Samuel made his will in February 1711, leaving everything else to his wife, the farm had already passed to William, who was one of the executors.
He married Elizabeth French, a daughter of Jacob French. Their children were Elizabeth, born in 1701/2, who married Samuel Manning in 1728; Esther, born in 1703, who married Joseph Baldwin; Mary, born in 1705; William, born on February 28, 1707/8; Jacob, born in 1710; Sarah, born in 1711/2, who married Jonathan Danforth; Rachel, born in 1714/5, who married Abraham Durrant; Martha, born in 1718; and Hannah, born in 1719/20, who died in 1723. Elizabeth died on September 19, 1736, in her fifty-seventh year, and on April 19, 1737 he married Mary Shed, whom Hazen calls the daughter or widow of Nathan Shed.
He witnessed deeds for his neighbors in 1706 and 1720 and served one year on the Select Board, in 1726; the tax lists call him "Ens. William Manning." On February 4, 1733/4, "for love and parental affection" and "in full of his part and portion in my Estate," he gave his son William thirty-four acres on the south side of the County Road and on both sides of Vine Brook, as they had been recorded to Ensign Samuel Manning, forty-nine acres in the first range of lots along the Chelmsford line, and two lots of about an acre and a quarter in Broad Meadow, keeping half the use of the meadow for his own life. The younger William, a lieutenant, kept the homestead as a tavern from 1752, and his son William Manning (1747-1814), the author of "The Key of Liberty," later owned the farm.
Ensign Manning died in March 1764, in his eighty-seventh year, and was buried in the Old Corner Burial Ground. The town's vital records, taken from his gravestone, give the date as March 5; Hazen gives March 25. No probate record of his estate has been found.
References
- Hazen, History of Billerica (1883), Genealogical Register p. 93, MANNING 4
- Vital Records of Billerica to 1850, deaths p. 377 (William, Ens., Mar. 5, 1764, in 87th y., G.R.3; Elisabeth, w. Ens. William, Sept. 19, 1736)
- Vital Records of Billerica to 1850, marriages p. 288 (William, Ens., and Mary Shed, Apr. 19, 1737)
- Hazen, History of Billerica (1883), p. 306, list of selectmen (Wm. Manning, 1726)
- Hazen, History of Billerica (1883), tax list of 1755 (Manning, Ens. William)
- Vital Records of Billerica to 1850, deaths p. 377 (William, Ens., Mar. 5, 1764, in 87th y., G.R.3; Elisabeth, w. Ens. William, Sept. 19, 1736)
- Vital Records of Billerica to 1850, marriages p. 288 (William, Ens., and Mary Shed, Apr. 19, 1737)
Title References
| Date | Type | Grantor | Grantee | Summary | Property | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 18, 1706 | Mortgage | James Patterson of Billerica | John Wilson Jr. of Billerica | Witness, with Samuel Manning, to the Patterson mortgage, 1706 | Joshua Abbott House | 14/160 (South) |
For 30 pounds, "one Messuage or Tenement situate in Billerica ... Containing by Estimation Thirty acres," "bounded North by Ens. Samuel Mannings Land and John Patersons Orchard, and East by the Country Road, and the West End of John Patersons orchard and bounded South by the Land of John Baldwin, and West by Concord River," with an acre of mowing east of the Country Road, "all the buildings" and a six-acre town right, "Excepting only that Andrew hath an Interest in sd Messuage or Tenement to the value of six pounds"; void on payment of 31 pounds 16 shillings by Jan. 22, 1706/7. Dated Jan. 21, 1705/6, witnesses Samuel and William Manning and Oliver Whiting; recorded Dec. 18, 1706; discharged by Wilson June 14, 1707. The mortgagor, signing without a mark, was evidently the son James Patterson Jr., the father having died in 1701. John Patterson's orchard was a small piece on the road at the north corner; it was back in the lot when Wilson sold "Thirty and Two acres" in 1717. Billerica town book 1, pages 359-361.
Title from:
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| 1711 | Will | Estate of Ens. Samuel Manning of Billerica (died Feb. 22, 1710/11) | His wife Abial Manning; his son William Manning co-executor | One of the executors of his father Samuel Manning's will, 1711 | Manning Manse | Probate #14598 |
Will dated Feb. 21, 1710/11 and proved May 7, 1711. Samuel Manning, town clerk, selectman and representative, left all his estate to his wife Abial for her use, adding that "as for al my other children they have had considerable out of my estate"; the only lands named are 8 1/2 acres of first-division land, 5 acres of meadow in Broad Meadow and 5 acres at Long Pond, with his son William among the executors. The Chelmsford road farm west of the Concord River, recorded to Samuel in the town book of records, is not in the will: it had already passed to his son Ens. William Manning. Papers read, pages 1-3.
Title passed to:
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| August 9, 1776 | Warranty | Joshua Abbott of Billerica | Deacon John Sheldon of Billerica | Witness to the deed of a slip of land to Deacon John Sheldon, 1720 | John Sheldon House | 77/162 (South) |
Dated Feb. 15, 1719/20 and acknowledged the same day before Oliver Whiting, recorded Aug. 9, 1776 with the gift deed to Samuel Sheldon (Billerica town book 7, pages 93-95). Abbott sells John Sheldon "One small slip of Land ... containing about thirty eight poles," bounded "Northward & Westward by the Land of the said John Sheldon, Southward by my own Land about sixteen poles, being six poles wide at the West End & so running to a point at the East End to a Black Oak marked." Witnesses Samuel Danforth and William Manning. A small addition to the Sheldon home lot.
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| February 14, 1793 | Deed of Gift | Ens. William Manning Sr. of Billerica (1677-1764) and Elizabeth Manning his wife | William Manning of Billerica, his son (1707/8-1776) | Gift to his son William of 34 acres by Vine Brook, 49 acres on the Chelmsford line and Broad Meadow lots, 1734 | Manning Manse | 110/232 (South) |
Dated and acknowledged Feb. 4, 1733/4 before Oliver Whiting; recorded Feb. 14, 1793. For love and parental affection and "in full of his part and portion in my Estate", William Manning Sr. gives his son William "several parcels of upland medow and swamp situate lying and being in Billerica aforesaid on the West side of Concord River": one parcel of upland and swamp of thirty-four acres "on the south side of the County Road and on both sides Vine Brook according to the cuts and bounds of the same in Billerica Town Book of Records, as it was recorded to Ensn Samuel Manning of Billerica"; forty-nine acres and fifty-seven poles "in the first range of lots", bounded northwest by the Chelmsford line about 43 1/2 poles, northeast by Deacon Andrew Spaulding about 138 poles, southwest by Joseph Davis about 237 poles and southeast by the highway, with "allowance made for Ensn Mannings land that lies within the bounds of said lott"; and two lots of about an acre and a quarter each in Broad Meadow (one laid out to Thomas Hubbard, the other bought by "my Father Samuel Manning deceased" of the town committee), the father reserving half the improvement of the Broad Meadow land for life. Elizabeth Manning releases dower. No buildings are named. Billerica town book 8, pages 385-387.
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Title passed to:
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Recorded is Book/Page at the Middlesex North Registry of Deeds unless noted; Probate # is a Middlesex probate case, Ctf a Land Court certificate of title.