1st wife of John Bissell

John Bissell, the immigrant, had six known children, all by his first wife who d. of record at Windsor, Conn. May 21, 1641. (I cannot change this, but some sites say his wife was MARY DARBIE DRAKE 1598- 1641/42...

family

From https://old.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=5091692

The children of John Bissell, Sr. and his unnamed first wife, the order uncertain, are:

1. Mary Bissell, b. circa 1631 in England, d. testate Sept. 11, 1689 at Windsor, Conn.; m. Apr. 12, 1649 at Windsor, Sgt. Jacob Drake, s. of John Drake & Elizabeth Rogers, b. circa 1624 in England. He d. testate at Windsor, Conn. Aug. 6, 1689. They had no known children.
2. Lieut., also referred to as Cornet, John Bissell, Jr., b. circa 1633 in England, d. intestate before Oct. 15, 1688 at an undefined place in the Province of New York while in the King's service; m. June 17, 1658 at Windsor, Israel Mason of Saybrook, Conn., dau. of Maj. John Mason and his unnamed first wife, b. circa 1637-38, prob. at Windsor. She d. after Mar. 15, 1693/4. Nine children of the family.
3. Quartermaster Thomas Bissell, b. circa 1635 in England, d. testate at Windsor July 31, 1689; m. Oct. 11, 1655 at Windsor, Abigail Moore, dau. of Dea. John and Abigail Moore, b. June 16, 1639 at Windsor. She d. at Windsor purportedly July 31, 1728. Twelve children of the family, three dying in infancy.
4. Samuel Bissell, b. circa 1637 in England, d. testate at Windsor Dec. 3, 1700; m. 1) June 11, 1658 at Windsor, Abigail Holcomb, dau. of Thomas and Elizabeth Holcomb, bapt. Jan. 6, 1638/9 at Windsor, Conn. She d. at Windsor Aug. 17, 1688. Nine children of the family. Samuel m. 2) after Aug. 1688, Mary Buell, dau. of William Buell and Mary Post, and widow of Simon Mills, latter who d. intestate at Simsbury, Conn. July 6, 1683. There were no children by this marriage, Mary having ten children by her first husband. She d. testate at Windsor, Conn. June 24, 1718.
5. Joyce Bissell, b. circa 1639 in England, d. after Sept. 8, 1689 when named in her sister Mary's will on the latter date; m. Nov. 17, 1665 at Windsor, Samuel Pinney, s. of Humphrey Pinney and Mary Hull, b. Mar. 30, 1635 at Dorchester, Mass. He d. after Dec. 13, 1689 when he was appointed one of four administrators of his sister-in-law Mary (Bissell) Drake's estate. Three children of the family.
6. Nathaniel Bissell, b. Sept. 24 (bapt. Sept. 27), 1640 at Windsor, Conn, d. testate at Windsor Mar. 12, 1713/4; m. 1) Mindwell Moore, dau. of Dea. John and Abigail Moore, and sister of his brother Thomas Bissell's wife Abigail, b. July 10, 1643 at Windsor. She d. at Windsor Nov. 24, 1682. Nine children of the family. Nathaniel m. 2) July 4, 1683 at Windsor, Dorothy Fitch, who d. at Windsor June 28, 1691 by whom he had two recorded children. He m. 3) on an unknown date after June 1691, Deliverance Haines, formerly the wife of 1) John Rockwell of Windsor and 2) John Warner of Middletown, Conn. She d. intestate June 12, 1718 at Middletown, Conn. There were no children by this marriage. Deliverance had seven children by her first two husbands.

disputed ancestry

• Not a known child of William Thompson & Phillis Thompson Disconnected Feb 2018
• not a known child of William Gibbs & Eleanor. Disconnected Feb 2018
• Some writers give the first wife the name of Mary and still others claim she was Mary Drake. But, neither variation has any proof and it is quite likely Mary Drake has been confused with the married name of John Bissell's daughter Mary (Bissell) Drake. On this point, in 1969 the eminent genealogist, Donald Lines Jacobus, wrote:

May I try to set the record straight once again? [The immigrant] John1 Bissell [Sr.] did indeed die in 1677; there is no authority that I know of for calling his wife Mary Drake. A nameless wife, perhaps the mother of his children, died in 1641; he thereafter had another nameless wife, whose death, as wife of John "Sr.", was recorded in 1665...(NEHGS Register, 123:278-279.)

sources

• New England Marriages prior to 1700, published by Genealogical Publishing Co.
  • Bissell, John (1591-1677) &1/wf?Mary Drak(no)?Elizabeth Thompson ( - -1/21May in Eng. ca 1625/1630? Windsor, CT.
  • Bissell, John (1591-1677) & 2/wf ? aft. 1641 Windsor, Ct.
• Kaye, Ruth Lincoln. NEHGR (1969). Vol. 123, page 114 - 117 . Dorothy, Unidentified Wife Of Edward Kellogg. < AmericanAncestors >; (document attached)