I have absolutely no problem accepting all known dates as correct. The approximate date of 1628 could indeed be his date of Birth; the baptism in Slapton in 1633 could very well have happened when he was about 5 years old - perhaps because he was actually born in some country town away from Slapton; the service on the jury of 1646/7 would be certainly feasible if he were 18 years old - no other machinations need explain that because he'd be old enough. I don't see a great problem in accepting it all. If, however, we found another James elsewhere in Devon, I could also accept that it might be this second man - if such a man existed. Now that I've firmly come down on the side of anything's possible ... Mary-Gene Bette Richards wrote: > Martin has been doing some research to try to pin down the parents of James > of Dover, NH. There is a baptism in Slapton in 1633/4 which most of us > believe was our James. The problem is that we have a James Buncker serving > on a coroner's jury in Kittery, Maine in 1646 when this James would have > been possibly 13 years old. We also have a deposition of James of Dover in > 1678 saying he was 50 years old indicating that he was born in 1628. James > said he was from Devon but we find no specific place in Devon that he may > have been from. > > In addition, James lived with Mrs. Trueworthy in 1648/9 in Kittery, Maine > and worked for Shapleigh's Mills. In the court record Mrs. Trueworthy's > name is spelled incorrectly. Her name was actually Treworgy and she was the > daughter of Nicholas Shapleigh who owned ships, a sawmill and a mercantile > store. His ships regularly traveled back and forth from Dartmouth, the only > Devon port deep enough to dock ships. > > The coroner's jury was to determine the cause of death of a man accidentally > shot by Charles Frost, the son of Nicholas Frost, a business associate of > Shapleigh. > > These are my thoughts on the possible explanations for James of Dover being > the one baptized at Slapton in 1633 and also serving on the coroner's jury > in Kittery, Maine in 1646. > > 1. Any one of the dates may be incorrect, but other evidence seems to > support them. > 2. The baptism of James may have been delayed for some reason and he was > not baptized as an infant. > 3. There were few men available to serve on the coroner's jury so in spite > of James' young age he was chosen as it was only to determine cause of death > and not guilt or innocence of a possible crime. > 4. James was deliberately chosen to be on the jury by Shapleigh and Frost > as they were commissioners at the time. There is abundant evidence of > chicanery by both of these men and "stacking" of juries in order to get a > favorable verdict. Shapleigh and Frost were very powerful and there were > great plans for Charles Frost. The man shot was not from a prominent > family. > 5. James was mistaken in his deposition and his age was actually 45 in > 1678. It was so common for people to state in depositions their age to the > nearest decade that this is a very likely possibility. It also may have > been recorded wrong. At any rate, based upon the numerous depositions that > I have read, I would say this is not the best evidence of anyone's age. > 6. I think is very possible that James came to America as an apprentice to > the Shapleighs or may have worked on the ship for his passage here. Mrs. > Treworgy did not run a boarding house. She was really quite rich. I can > find no other record at that time indicating anyone else lived with her > except James. James lived in Kittery about 5 years, which would have been a > reasonable time in which to work off his fare over here. > > I believe the Slapton James is the same one as the Dover, NH James. Even as > late as the late 1800's boys of the age of 10-12 were working at men's jobs > and doing things that grown men did. He was young to be on a jury in 1646/7 > but it is entirely possible that he did serve at that young age. Especially > since he worked for Shapleigh and Frost who was Shapleigh's manager. Also, > the date of the court record might be wrong. Those records are rather mixed > up and not always in chronological order. The transcriber may have > transcribed the date wrong. It appears that James was in Dover by about > 1650 and definitely by 1652. > > What do you guys think? > > Bette > > > > > ==== BUNKER Mailing List ==== > Post your information and queries. We love it. No BUNKER rock left untouched. Spelling variations ok - we don't "know" the original. > > >