GIFFORD, John

1708 - 1802  (94 years)

• Name	GIFFORD, John
  Birth	7 Mar 1708  [1, 2, 3]
  Gender	Male
  Death	18 Dec 1802	Little Compton, RI   [1, 3, 4]
  Person ID	I1782	Ruth's Family Tree
  Last Modified	25 Nov 2014

  
  

  Father	GIFFORD, Jeremiah,   b. Abt 1681   d. 1770, Dartmouth, Bristol, MA (Age 89 years)
  Mother	WRIGHT, Mary,   b. 1683, Plymouth, MA d. Aft 10 Dec 1759 (Age 76 years)
  Marriage	1703  [5]
  Family ID	F817	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	HART, Comfort,   b. 4 Apr 1710, Little Compton, RI d. Yes, date unknown
  Children	1. GIFFORD, Ephraim,   b. 18 Nov 1733   d. Bef 1771 (Age 37 years)
  Family ID	F766	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	2 Jul 2009

  
  

• Notes

  (Research):«b»John Gifford of Little Compton, Rhode Island, died on 18 December 1802. Married Comfort Hart«/b» There is conflicting evidence regarding his parents. One line claims «b»Christopher Gifford and Deborah Perry«/b» as his parents; the other, Jeremiah Gifford and Mary Wright. We find support for the parentage of Christopher and Deborah in the following sources: «tab»Little Compton Families by Benjamin Franklin Wilbour, Vol 1, pp 277-8 «tab»Gifford family genealogies - such as Guiteras and Gifford «tab»and perhaps most significantly in James Arnold's Vital Records of Rhode Island, Vol 4, part VI, p 116. The claim for«b» Jeremiah Gifford and Mary Wright«/b» can be found in a substantive work "William Gifford of Sandwich, Mass (d 1687) by Almon E Daniels and Maclean McLean published over several years in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register - volumes 128-138. Jeremiah (#25) is found at NEHGR 129:234-237 and John (#58) at NEHGR 131:52-54. The sourcing of this link is not conclusive in my opinion. However, as we evaluate the claim of Jeremiah and Mary as parents of this John, we find other vital records in the adjacent town of Westport, Massachusetts: "John, s Jeremiah and Mary, 7«sup»th«/sup» 3 mo, 1708 CR" p 49 «i»Westport Births«/i» "John, s Jeremiah and Mary, 18«sup»th«/sup» 12«sup»th«/sup» month, 1802 in 95«sup»th«/sup» y(ear) CR" p 274 «i»Westport Deaths«/i» «i»Vital Records of Westport, Massachusetts to 1850«/i», published by NEHGS, 1918 "CR" is the abbreviation for church records, which the source notes as Society of Friends. https://archive.org/stream/vitalrecordsofwep00west#page/48/mode/2up Further support of this relationship can be found through the Mayflower connection of Mary Wright's father, Adam Wright. See «i»Francis Cooke of the Mayflower, The First Five Generations, by Wood, Ralph V, Jr, Picton Press, 1996, pp 483-4.«/i» «b»Discussion«/b» Both the Little Compton Families and the compiled Gifford family genealogy are derivative sources. The same can be said of the Arnold's Vital Records of Rhode Island citation. On September 9, 2013 I visited the Town Clerk's office in Little Compton Rhode Island and reviewed the available records. The record cited by Arnold is found in a compilation of family records transcribed by Otis Gifford in 1842. The records are grouped by family, in this case Christopher Gifford. The text in Arnold follows exactly the record in the Town Clerk's office. I did not find any original source records. Given that all of the sources found for the claim for Christopher and Deborah are derivative sources, and that the church record from the Friends Monthly Meeting in Westport is the most authoritative source, supported also by NEHGR and Mayflower Families, it is my conclusion that the parents of John Gifford were Jeremiah Gifford and Mary Wright. Why would we find records of the Gifford's in Westport, Massachusetts when they lived in Little Compton? When we visited the Little Compton Historical Society in September 2013, the director told us that many of Gifford families lived in the vicinity of Adamsville in the very northwest portion of Little Compton, adjacent to Westport. In the early 1800's Quaker families living in this area found it easier to travel to the Meeting in Westport than to travel to the meeting house in Little Compton.

  
  

• Sources

  [S171] Little Compton (RI) Families, (Little Compton, RI: Little Compton Historical Society, 1967.), 1: 277. (Reliability: 3). [S198] NEHGR, (American Ancestors.org.), p. v. 131, p 52, "William Gifford of Sandwich, MA," (accessed 25 Nov 2014) (Reliability: 3). John4 Gifford {Jeremiah5, Robert2, William1) was born 7 March 1707/8, and he died 18 December 1802, "in his 95th yr." (WestportVital Records). He married (int. 24 May 1730) Comfort Hart, daughter of Richard and Amy (Gibbs) [S201] Ralph V Wood Jr., Francis Cooke of the Mayflower, (Rockport, Maine: Picton Press, 1996.), pp 483. (Reliability: 3). John Gifford (Mary' Wright, Adam Wright, Hester' Cooke, Francis') born in Dartmouth 7 March 1707/8, died in Westport 18 December 1802, in his 95th year. John married in Little Compton (intention 24 May 1730) Comfort Hart. born in Little Compton 4 April 1710, daughter of Richard and Amy (Gibbs) Hart. The will of Richard Hart of Little Compton, dated 19 April 1745, names his daughter Comfort "Giffard", with other children. [S198] NEHGR, (American Ancestors.org.), p. v. 131, p 52, "William Gifford of Sandwich, MA," (accessed 25 Nov 2014) (Reliability: 3). John4 Gifford {Jeremiah5, Robert2, William1) was born 7 March 1707/8, and he died 18 December 1802, "in his 95th yr." (WestportVital Records). He married (int. 24 May 1730) Comfort Hart, daughter of Richard and Amy (Gibbs [S201] Ralph V Wood Jr., Francis Cooke of the Mayflower, (Rockport, Maine: Picton Press, 1996.), pp 190-2. (Reliability: 3). Mary' Wright (Adam' Wright, Hester Cooke, Francis') born probably in Plymouth about 1683 [if so, then aged.45 years when last child was born.]" died probably in Dartmouth after 10 December 1759. [2) Mary married about 1703 Jeremiah Gifford, (3] born about 1681,1'] died in Dartmouth between 3 March 1768 and 21 January 1771;['1 son of Robert and Sarah (Wing) Gifford.