- William Berry (pioneer)
William Berry (1619 –
June 28 ,1654 ) was the first settler at Sandy Beach,Rye, New Hampshire .Early life
William Berry was born in Norfolk, England, the son of Johan Berry. He was in service to Captain John Mason in 1631, whenMason sent over fifty-eight men and twenty-two women to
Piscataqua River . Among them were William Berry, William Seavey, Francis Rand, and William or Anthony Brackett. The following were returned as belonging to Sandy Beach in 1688: William Berry, John Berry, John Marden, John Foss 1st, John Foss Jr., John Odiorne, Anthony Brackett, Francis Ran, Thomas Ran, WIlliam Wallis, James Randall, William Seavie, James Berry, Samuel Ran, John Seavie, Anthony Libbie, and Joseph Berry.Adult life
William Berry married Jane Locke Hermins in 1636 in the town of
Portsmouth, New Hampshire .He became a freeman on 18 May 1642 in
Newbury, Massachusetts , and is on the list of first settlers ofNewbury, New Hampshire .Signer of Glebe Conveyance
Berry signed the [http://seacoastnh.com/brewster/6.html Glebe Conveyance] in 1640.
He received a lot "upon the neck of land on the south side of the Little River at Sandy Beach on
January 31 1648 that included the area where 'Locke's Neck' is located.Political Life
Berry served as a Selectman of Strawberry Bank (which is now Portsmouth, New Hampshire) in 1646.
References
*Savage, James A., A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England, 1860-1862., (Boston 1860-1862; rpt Baltimore 1955), [Savage] , 1:171
*The Berrys by the beach : one of New Hampshire's first families / by Sylvia Fitts Getchell.
*New England Marriages Prior to 1700,Charles Torrey,New England Historic and Genealogy Society, Boston
*Parsons, Langdon B., History of the Town of Rye, NH From Its Discovery and Settlement to December 31, 1903, (1905; repr. Bowie, MD: Heritage Press 1992), [RyeHist] , 269.
*Brewster, Charles W., The Selling of the Land, ~1860
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
