Massachusetts

WILLIAM PAUL. His surname, derived apparently
from the Latin word Paulus meaning little, is usual among the
Romance peoples, and, seeming to have gone abroad like their
legions, their law and their church, appears among the Germans,
the EngJish and the Scotch. Perhaps its frequency among the
Scotch is due to their intimacy with France. William Paul was a
Scotchman by birth and a weaver by trade, according to tradition
and ancient records. and is believed to have been the person of that
name who, according to Hotten. left Gravesend. England, June
10, 1635, in the ship True Love de London, Robert Dennis,
master, for the Bermudas or Summer islands, and to have come
thence, perhaps, by way of Newport. Certainly he was a man of
self-reliance, strength and energy, such a one as might have left
his native hills for conscience’s sake when Laud became Archbishop,
or having arrived at Taunton. might have enjoyed its
freedom. Unfortunately, however, the town records have perished
and little concerning him can he gleaned from other sources. He
married Mary Richmond (8007) before March. 1657 ; complained
Mar. 5, 1671-2. in an action of damage and defamation against
John Hathaway, Sr., of Taunton. to the damage of twenty pounds
for damnifying and defaming his meadows : became a proprietor
of the South purchase in 1^72; and joined with others. Feb. 27,

1687. in contributing lands for the benefit of Rev. Samuel Dan-
t’orth. then minister at Taunton : gave dwelling-house and lands
there to his sons John and Edward. Feb. 27. 1687-8: and having
heen mentioned as a ratable poll of Taunton in the will of Thomas
Coram in 1/03. died Nov. 9. 1/04. aged eighty years. His gravestone,
short, rough, hard and brown, still stands in the grave-yard
near the ancient musterfield on Assonet neck, now in Berkley,
sheltered from breezes that come in from the sea by rows of tall,
sighing pines. Mary, born in 1639. died at Taunton Oct. 3, 1715.
aged seventy-six years. Their children, born there, were: 1.
James, b. Apr. 7, 1657, m. Man’; 2. John. b. July 10. 1660, m.
Dorothy Walker: 3. Edward, b. Feb. 7, 1663-4, m. Esther Bobbit:
4. Mary, b. Feb. 8, 1666-7. m. Thomas Jones: 5. Sarah, b. July 5,
1668, m. Henry Tew. who became deputy governor of Rhode
Island ; 6. Abigail, b. May 15, 1673. m. first Joseph Woode or At-
wood, and second John Burt ; 7. Ebenezer, b. 1677. m. Sarah who
was perhaps widow Sanford : 8. Benjamin, b. 1681. m. Ruth Dyer —
see Shepherd line.

JAMES PAUL, born in Taunton Apr. 7. 1657, was defendant
Dec. 23. 1676. in the Court of Common Pleas for Bristol
county in an action of trespass brought by Jarard Talbuts. plaintiff,
and having appeared was acquitted : bought lands of Edward
Bobbit Mar. 5, 1683. and is supposed to have married soon afterward ;
bought lands of Thomas King Mar. 5. 1685; became a
proprietor of the South purchase ; joined with his brothers John
and Edward, brother-in-law Thomas Jones and others in signing
a petition Oct. 1 1 . 1 708. that the South precinct might be set off
as a new town ; became an inhabitant of Dighton, by reason of its
organization in 1712: was chosen in 1714 to see upon what
grounds Swansea men hold a mile of land out of our Grand Deed :
attended a meeting of the proprietors of the South purchase Mar.
25. 1717: obtained judgment in the Court of Common Pleas at
Bristol in April. 1717. on a plea of trespass originally brought
against him by John and Joanna Godfrey: testified concerning a
path in Dighton July 10, 1717: witnessed the will of Thomas
Jones Jan. 25. 1723: sold lands to Joseph Atwood Mar. 18. 1723;

made his will Sep. 28, 1723, and having left to my son James one-
half of my lands in Rocky woods charged with the payment of
legacies, and to my son William the residue of my estate, appointed
the latter to be executor, and died soon afterward. His
will was probated Jan. 14, 1724-5. His estate, appraised Mar. 23,
1724-5, was worth four hundred thirty pounds. His widow was
Mary. Their children, born in that part of Taunton which became
Dighton, were: 1. James, b. about 1685, m. Mary Phillips;
2. Mary, b. about 1687, m. Daniel Bartlett ; 3. Hannah, -b. about
1689, m. Robert Pigsley; +4. William, b. about 1691, m. Mary
Whitmarsh.

WILLIAM PAUL, born in Taunton about 1691, became a
master mariner and husbandman ; sold sugar to Charles Bridge-
water July 21, 1710; became an inhabitant of Dighton by reason
of its organization in 1712; married Mary Whitmarsh (6oo5)
about 1718, sold lands to William Nichols July 24. 1725; bought
lands of Mary Paul, widow and administratrix of the estate of
his brother James, Apr. 21, 1727; and died about 1732. Letters
cf administration issued to his widow Mary Apr. 16, 1734. His
estate, appraised at twelve hundred ninety-eight pounds, included
a negro boy named Nave or Cave. Mary, born Feb. 20, 1698,
married Jan. 19, 1736, her second husband William Mitchell. Her
children by her first marriage, born in Dighton, were: 1. Alary,
b. before 1723, m. perhaps Oliver Simmons, Jr. ; 2. William, b.
July 10, 1722, m. Hannah Phillips; 3. Hannah, b. after 1723, m.
Isaac Pool ; 4. Susannah, b. after 1723; +5. James, b. after 1723.
m. Sarah White; 6. John, b. after 1730, who m. Love Caswell, and
served in the expedition to Louisburg in 1758, and also in the
Revolutionary war.

FROM:

The Ancestry of Katharine Choate Paul: Now Mrs. William J. Young, Jr. by Edward Joy Paul – 1914 – 386 pages