Individual Details
John BERRY
(1637 - 1717)
The Berry Family
Near the town of Bury in Lancaster County, England, which is north of Manchester and not many miles inland from Liverpool, was once the castle of Sir Thomas Bury, Kt He espoused the cause of Richard III. The king was killed in the battle of the Bosworth in 1485, and his property with that of his followers was confiscated, Bury's among the number. Ruins of the castle still remained within the present century. A James Berry living in Boston, Mass., in 1858 then about forty years of age, said that he came from Lancashire County, England and remembered climbing the remains of the old tower of Sir Thomas Bury, when a little boy and that the river Irwell bent around it. He also said that Thomas, John and William were frequent and familiar names in the family. After the Scotch Rebellion, the Burys assumed to spell their name Berry.
William Berry was one of the fifty odd men sent over by Capt John Mason to settle his grant land. These men were landed on the west side of the mouth of the Piscataqua River in 1631. There are reasons for supposing that William was a young man, though whether he married in England or after his arrival in this country is not known.
William Berry is said to have been the first settler in the present town of Rye as early as 1632. He lived at Sandy Beach. In 1640, he joined with others in the conveyance of a glebe? at Portsmouth. He was one of the grantees of Newbury, Mass., and had probably moved there previous to 1643. June 6, 1648, he gave to Anthony Ellis his bourn at Strawberry Bank. At a town meeting in Portsmouth in 1653, a committee consisting of William Berry, Anthony Brackett, Thomas Peavey and James Johnson was appointed to lay out the lands unto the people at Sandy Beach. William Berry probably died about the year 1654, for his widow, Jane Berry was appointed administratrix of her husband's goods on June 28, 1654. She subsequently married Nathaniel Drake.
The children of William and Jane Berry are supposed to have been Elizabeth, John, Joseph, James, William and perhaps others. Elizabeth was married to John Locke about 1652. The latter was killed by the Indians.
John Berry lived in Hampton in 1658. His wife's name was Susanna and his first child was John, born Jan 14, 1658 or 1659. In 1660, at the division of land in Portsmouth, John and Joseph Berry were among those who received grants. In the tax rates of 1688, John, Joseph, William and James are taxed as of Greenland. Stephen, Joseph, John and Thomas Berry were soldiers on duty at Fort William and Mary in New Castle, in 1708. June 13, 1717, John Berry and Joshua Foss divided land which was given to their grandfather, William Berry seventy years previous.
It is generally conceded that William Berry of Strawberry Bank and Sandy Beach, was a common ancestor of the numerous families of the name in New Hampshire and of many families in Maine.
(Rambles about Greenland in Rhyme By Micajah Otis Hall)
Near the town of Bury in Lancaster County, England, which is north of Manchester and not many miles inland from Liverpool, was once the castle of Sir Thomas Bury, Kt He espoused the cause of Richard III. The king was killed in the battle of the Bosworth in 1485, and his property with that of his followers was confiscated, Bury's among the number. Ruins of the castle still remained within the present century. A James Berry living in Boston, Mass., in 1858 then about forty years of age, said that he came from Lancashire County, England and remembered climbing the remains of the old tower of Sir Thomas Bury, when a little boy and that the river Irwell bent around it. He also said that Thomas, John and William were frequent and familiar names in the family. After the Scotch Rebellion, the Burys assumed to spell their name Berry.
William Berry was one of the fifty odd men sent over by Capt John Mason to settle his grant land. These men were landed on the west side of the mouth of the Piscataqua River in 1631. There are reasons for supposing that William was a young man, though whether he married in England or after his arrival in this country is not known.
William Berry is said to have been the first settler in the present town of Rye as early as 1632. He lived at Sandy Beach. In 1640, he joined with others in the conveyance of a glebe? at Portsmouth. He was one of the grantees of Newbury, Mass., and had probably moved there previous to 1643. June 6, 1648, he gave to Anthony Ellis his bourn at Strawberry Bank. At a town meeting in Portsmouth in 1653, a committee consisting of William Berry, Anthony Brackett, Thomas Peavey and James Johnson was appointed to lay out the lands unto the people at Sandy Beach. William Berry probably died about the year 1654, for his widow, Jane Berry was appointed administratrix of her husband's goods on June 28, 1654. She subsequently married Nathaniel Drake.
The children of William and Jane Berry are supposed to have been Elizabeth, John, Joseph, James, William and perhaps others. Elizabeth was married to John Locke about 1652. The latter was killed by the Indians.
John Berry lived in Hampton in 1658. His wife's name was Susanna and his first child was John, born Jan 14, 1658 or 1659. In 1660, at the division of land in Portsmouth, John and Joseph Berry were among those who received grants. In the tax rates of 1688, John, Joseph, William and James are taxed as of Greenland. Stephen, Joseph, John and Thomas Berry were soldiers on duty at Fort William and Mary in New Castle, in 1708. June 13, 1717, John Berry and Joshua Foss divided land which was given to their grandfather, William Berry seventy years previous.
It is generally conceded that William Berry of Strawberry Bank and Sandy Beach, was a common ancestor of the numerous families of the name in New Hampshire and of many families in Maine.
(Rambles about Greenland in Rhyme By Micajah Otis Hall)
Events
| Birth | 1637 | Strawberry Bank, Hampton, Rockingham, New Hampshire |  | ||
| Occupation | 1648 - 1703 | surveyer for Portsmouth and was one of the first settlers of Sandy Beach (Rye) | |||
| Marriage | 1658 | Rye, Rockingham, New Hampshire, British America - | |||
| Death | 1717 | Rye, Rockingham, New Hampshire, British America |
Families
| Child | George BERRY (1658 - ) |
| Child | John BERRY (1658 - 1729) |
| Child | Nehemiah BERRY (1660 - ) |
| Child | Mercy BERRY (1665 - ) |
| Child | Sarah BERRY (1668 - ) |
| Child | Samuel BERRY (1676 - ) |
| Child | Child BERRY (1677 - 1682) |
| Child | Hannah BERRY (1680 - 1746) |
| Child | James BERRY (1686 - ) |
| Child | Judah BERRY (1688 - ) |
| Father | William BERRY (1610 - 1654) |
| Mother | Jane Locke HERMINS (1619 - 1687) |