Allen line: William Buck, Immigrant 1585-1657

I've rarely written about a person with so much conflicting information.  On the one hand, we have Robert Charles Anderson, world famous Great Migration researcher, saying no one knows his parents, or his wife, and that William had only one known son.  On the other hand, we have other researchers who give William's parents, two wifes, and up to 17 children.  I've also found discrepancies, large ones, in his birthdate. 

In a nutshell, this is what is absolutely certain about William:  He came to New England from England with his son Roger, on the ship Increase, with his son Roger.  He was a plowright (a maker and probably repairman of plows) and he died January 24, 1657/58. 

That would be the end of this blogpost, except I also want to share what else may be true about William.  From a book published in 1799 called History of Worcestershire, England by Nash, he is referred to as esquire, and is said to have been the son and heir of Nathaniel, son of John, and is also said to have marred about 1606 Margaret Good, daughter and heir of Michael Good of Sussex, Lord of the castle of Frome, Somersetshire. My analysis of this is that it is doubtful, because of the way William made his living in Massachusetts Bay Colony and because he never joined a church or became a freeman.  Even the land he was given was on the outskirts of town, indicating that perhaps he lived on the edge of society.

I've also seen his parents listed as James Buck and Elizabeth Sherman, This connection goes with a birth location of Padbury, Cambridgeshire, England, and makes a little more sense historically, except that I can find no documentation for this information.  So as far as I can determine, the jury is still out.

William Buck is also said to have married Margaret Neave, September 7, 1618 in Andersby, Lincolnshire, England.  This would be late for a first marriage, but it is entirely possible that he had a first wife.  Under this theory, Roger, the known descendant, was born in 1617 and his mother, William's wife, died shortly after.  William is credited with as many as eight children with Margaret, including our ancestor, Grace.  But again, I can find no record of her birth, nor of any of her siblings. 

It is fun to think of William living as a plowright, next to a Winthrop farm . Perhaps he knew some of the Winthrop family, in a business sense, anyway.  Living in Cambridge, he would have known some of our other Allen and Holbrook ancestors, and helped them make a living on their farms. 

I am very open, even anxious, to learn more about William Buck.  Was he in fact the father of our Grace, and was he married to Margaret Neave?  I'd love to find his family!

The line of descent would be:

William Buck-possibly Margaret Neave
Grace Buck-John Riley
John Riley-Margaret McCraney
Mary Riley-Joseph Ely
Mary Ely Thomas Stebbins
Ruth Stebbins-Samuel Hitchcock
Margaret Hitchcock-Richard Falley
Samuel Falley-Ruth Root
Clarissa Falley-John Havens Starr
Harriet Starr-John Wilson Knott
Edith Knott-Edward Allen
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants