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| From David and Joan Sisson's Sisson Newsletter: Richard was born 1608 in England. It has been reported that he came to Portsmouth, RI, in 1639. We have never seen a confirmation of this. If he first came in 1639 he must have returned to England, since at least the first three children, George, Anne, and Elizabeth, were born in England. Apparently they came to Dartmouth, Massachusetts, with these children. Dartmouth records show that Richard and Mary immigrated to Massachusetts on May 17, 1653. When first found in Dartmouth, Richard was recorded as 45 years of age. Further records show that in August, 1653, Richard served as a juror. On July 6, 1658, he bought 1/300th of Quonaquett Island and 1/300th of Dutch Island. In 1660 he sold both and an additional 1/300th to Peleg Sanford. On June 5, 1667, he served on a Dartmouth Grand Jury. In 1671 he became Surveyor of Highways. His will, written October 18, 1683, named his son James as executor. In politics he was reported as Huguenot [which is a term used of French Protestants, not a political term - David Arne Sisson]. He was a member of the Society of Friends (Quakers). We have never found any indication of a formal occupation. Some early references listed Richard and Mary as immigrating with two sons. As shown above Richard and Mary probably brought four children with them when they immigrated but only one of these is a son (George). We doubt that other children would have immigrated with the family without being recorded. Useful references for Richard and his descendants are: "Colonial Families of the United States," Vol. II by Rhodes; "160 Allied Families" by Austin; "Genealogy of Sisson Kindred in America" by the Illinois DAR; "American Ancestry," Vol. 12, by Munsell et al; "Rhode Island Vital Records" by Arnold; "They Were Here, Too" by the Washington County, NY, Historical Society. There are two schools of thought on the immigration of Richard to New England. The first is that he immigrated to Dartmouth, Massachusetts, in 1639 and later to Rhode Island. The second is that he immigrated directly to Rhode Island before 1653. In either case Richard was admitted as a freeman in Dartmouth on May 17, 1653, and in Portsmouth, RI, in 1655. Whether he arrived from Massachusetts or England is not stated in the record. If Richard immigrated in 1639, then probably his marriage and the birth of all his children occurred in New England. To the best of our knowledge, no records exist for the marriage or for the birth of the first three children. This seems unusual in view of the many records that exist after 1653. Also, no Sissons became freemen in Massachusetts before 1690. If he immigrated in 1653, his marriage and the birth of his first three children would have occurred in England. Richard's will, written October 18, 1683, and proved February 26, 1684, names son James as executor and bequeaths to wife Mary, the house, stock and furnishing plus L12 per year; to James, house and land in Dartmouth; to Ann Tripp, land at Pogansett, and sheep; to John, house and land in Portsmouth; to George, L5 [George probably already had received his inheritance since he was the eldest]; to Elizabeth Allen L5; to servant Samuel, a mare; to granddaughter Mary [Lawton], three cows, a bed., etc., on her marriage [the usual dowry]. Richard died in February 1684; his inventory at that time was: L600/19s, Dartmouth real estate L240, Rhode Island real estate L60, cattle and horses L113/15s, swine L30, sheep L14/10s, furnishings L50, cloth, hemp, and flax L13, Negro servant L28, Indian servant L10, cash money L12. Additional references: "List of Freemen of Massachusetts, 1630-1691" by Lucius R. Paige, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, 1978; "The Genealogical Dictionary of R. I.," John O. Austin, Albany, 1887, p. 181. Added by David Arne Sisson: There is a record of the marriage on 14 Feb 1632 of a Richard Sissons of Elmeshall and Mary Atkinson of Hecke, certified 4 Sep 1970 by Canon B.A. Ramsker, M.A., Vicar of Snaith and of Carlton, Snaith Vicarage, near Goole, Yorkshire, England. Mr Ramsker also certified that there are records of baptism for children of Richard Sissons of Hecke: 15 May 1634 for Richard, 17 July 1636 for George, 24 June 1639 for Marie, 22 Aug 1642 for Thomas, and 23 March 1642 for Alice. There is no way of knowing from this data whether this Richard and Mary (Atkinson) Sissons are related in any way to the Richard and Mary Sisson who were in Rhode Island. Discussion during the Sisson Gathering of June 4 to 6, 1998, suggested that Richard and Mary were probably Quakers and, if so, could not legally leave England. If so, no records of their departure from England or arrival in New England would have been made. However, once they were in the New World, they left many records in the free atmosphere of Rhode Island where people of diverse religious persuasions were tolerated. A house built about 1725 by Richard and Mary's son George, perhaps including or superceding remains of Richard and Mary's house, can be seen at 1236 East Main Road, Portsmouth, Rhode Island. It was purchased (about 1998) by Roland A. Morgan, a trained archeologist, who planned in 1998 to open an antique shop there. Richard and Mary's house was perhaps built in the 1650s. In the 1660s they lived with or near their second son, James, in Westport, Bristol County, Massachusetts, owning a large piece of land there. They returned to Portsmouth, probably before King Philip's War in the late 1660's, and later died there. In a note to me, June 19, 1999, David and Joan Sisson say they "have heard that Richard came to America on the ship 'Anne,' and also wonder about the George Sisson supposedly here earlier than Richard. "Could he be Richard's father, especially reasonable since Richard's (first?) son was named George? We haven't found a reference for either idea, however."509 | ||||||||||||
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| Last Modified 23 Jan 2001 | Created 26 Jun 2001 by Reunion for Macintosh |