Holbrook line: William Hayward, Immigrant

It's February and the ice is thawing.  I feel like I'm on very thin ice, here, writing about this particular ancestor.  I hope I can stay away from all the cracks and holes in his story, and eventually get back to dry and solid land. 

Actually, let's start with dry and solid land.  It seems pretty well established that William Hayward died at Braintree, Suffolk County, Massachusetts on May 10, 1659.  He was at his usual work as a ferryman, and drowned.  Perhaps he had a heart attack or stroke that caused him to fall into the water, but the cause of death was apparently drowning.  The inventory of his estate showed a value of 195 pounds, 5 shillings, and 6 pence.  Power of administration was given to Margery, his late wife, on behalf of herself and the children.  His estate included a dwelling house, garden, and orchards, as well as other lands, oxen, cattle and a meager amount of household furnishings including seven shillings worth of books.  

Margery, his wife, is believed to be Margery Knight.  There are marriage records for a couple by those names on October 10, 1633, Stepney, Middlesex, England, and they are believed to be the same people who later came to New England.  Stepney appears to have been a separate village at the time but is now part of the city of London.  Some show the couple as having arrived in 1635 but the earliest records are from 1637, when William was in Charlestown.  He then went to Braintree ,where he was deputy to the general court in 1641. 

By occupation, William was a mariner, boatman, and ferry man.  He probably did whatever was necessary to support his family, which may have included as many as eight children, some of them still minors when he died. 

That is pretty much what is known about William.  I've been birth dates for him of everything from 1585 to 1617.  The 1617 date is likely not correct because that would have made him only about 16 years old when he married Margery, which doesn't seem likely.  More likely he was born between 1595 and 1610, but there were quite a few William Haywards born during that time period. 

So we end with a mystery or two.  Who was he, and who were his parents?  What were his reasons for coming to America?  Presumably he was made a freeman, since he held the office of deputy.  When did that happen?  Regardless, we once again come to the conclusion that he and Margery are people worthy of respect and honor, for crossing the ocean, for raising a family here, and for giving us those hardy pioneer genes that have served us well.

The lines of descent are:

William Hayward-Margery Knight
Huldah Hayward-Ferdinando Thayer
Ebenezeer Thayer-Martha Thompson
Ebenezer Thayer-Mary Wheelock
Abigail Thayer-Jesse Holbrook
Amariah Holbrook-Molly Wright
Nahum Holbrook-Susanna Rockwood
Joseph Holbrook-Mary Elizabeth Whittemore
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants 

and

William Hayward-Margery Knight
Samuel Hayward-Mehitable Thompson
Mary Hayward-Joseph Rockwood
John Rockwood-Deborah Thayer
Joseph Rockwood-Alice Thompson
Levi Rockwood-Deborah Lazell
Susanna Rockwood-Nahum Holbrook
per above

As you'll note, this is a rather tangled tree, with Thompson and Thayers showing up in several different ways.  That may explain why we have several ancestors in common with William Howard Taft, former President of the United States.