Francis West (1606-1692) and Margery Reeves (1608 – abt 1672)
The origins of Francis West and Margery Reeves are not known, but they were married in Duxbury on February 27, 1640.
Francis was a carpenter. That turned out to be quite ironic. On November 2, 1640, Francis and Margery were sentenced by the Court to sit in stocks for “incontinence before marriage.” However, the town of Duxbury did not have any stocks. As Francis was a carpenter, he was ordered to build the stocks for him and Margery to sit in. This charge of “incontinence before marriage” seems to have been made when the first child was born a little too “prematurely.” The oldest daughter Mary was born in 1640 and since Francis and Margery had just married in February, the birth of Mary was a little too quick.
Francis owned a small amount of property in Duxbury and at times served on grand juries in the town. For a short time, he was constable. Francis was admitted as a “freeman” on June 8, 1655. To be a freeman in the colonies, a person had to be admitted to the church and only freemen were allowed to vote. Initially, freeman indicated that a person had worked off a period of indentured servitude, but the term seems to have had different meaning in the colonies. After coming to the colony, individuals were on “probation” during which behavior was closely monitored. The person might or might not have any debt to work off. However, the idea of freeman did include the meaning of being free of debt. Usually, this probationary period was one to two years, and Francis’s admission as a freeman was quite a bit longer than that.
Francis and Margery had five children all born in Duxbury, Plymouth Colony. Francis died in 1692. The date of Margery’s death is uncertain.
Click here to see the family group sheet for Francis and Margery: http://sites.rootsmagic.com/colonialgenealogy/family.php?f=353
Source:
West, Carlton Prince. (1987). A survey of the descendants of Francis West of Duxbury. Winston Salem, NC. (available from New England Historic Genealogical Society)