My Rhode Island Roots-Wilbore

John Wilbore was born abt 1590 in Braintree, Essex, England and was likely the son of Joseph Wilbore and his wife Mary.  He married Joan Drane around 1616, they had a several children, among them, my 9th great grandfather, William Wilbore.  William was born either in Felsted or Braintree, Essex, England.  He likely immigrated as a young man and married around 1653 to a Martha Holmes. They had the following children:

Mary b. 1654 d. 1670 m. Joseph Mowry
Joseph b. 1656 d. 4 May 1729 m. Ann Brownell
John b. 1658 m. Hannah
Thomas b. 1659 m. Mary
William b. 25 Dec 1660 d. 1738 m. Sarah Tallman
Martha b. 1662 m. William Sherman
Samuel b. 10 Apr 1664 d. 1740 m. Mary Potter
Daniel b. 1666 d. 28 Nov 1741 m. Ann Barney
Joanna b. 1668 d. 1759 m. Nathaniel Potter
Benjamin b. 1670 d. 1729 m. Mary Kinnicut m. Elizabeth Head

This family primarily lived in Rhode Island.  The main locations that appear frequently are Tiverton, RI and Portsmouth, RI.  I have found this name to be spelled as Wilbore, Wilbur, Wilbor, Wilbour and I must admit that I am not sure which one is correct.  I have chosen to use Wilbore as that seems to be the most common spelling.

The first Wilbore that I came across as an ancestor was Samuel Wilbore.  The Wilbore's link to my family through my paternal Gage line.

Samuel Wilbore m. Mary Potter
Samuel Wilbore m. Elizabeth Carr
Mary Wilbore m. Silas Devol
Mary Brownell Davol m. John Macomber
Ruth Macomber m. William Gage
Potter Gage m. Cynthia Swan
Gilbert Gage m. Phebe Allen
Orlando Gage m. Edith Gallup
Ora Silas Gage m. Florence Christine Shawver
Helen Marian Gage m. Frank Stewart Johnson (my grandparents)

So, Samuel Wilbore and Mary Potter are my 9th great grandparents.  According to what I have found, Mary Potter's grandmother is also named Dorothy Wilbore.  I am fairly sure that they are connected in some way as she is born in the same area of England. So, as it happens, I was doodling around one night looking at another maternal line..and I run into the name of Wilbore again. When I started to look a little closer to the line, I found that my 9th great grandfather's sister, Martha was also my 8th great grandmother.  This line is definitely one that I need to look at more closely...but this is what I have found:

Martha Wilbore m. William Sherman
Mary Sherman m. Daniel Shepherd
Elizabeth Shepherd m. William Hammond
Sarah Shepherd Hammond m. Samuel Allen
John Peter Allen m. Elizabeth Zeh
Phebe Allen m. Gilbert Gage
Orlando Gage m. Edith Gallup
Ora Silas Gage m. Florence Christine Shawver
Helen Marian Gage m. Frank Stewart Johnson (my grandparents)

There are probably many lines that I need to examine more fully.  Thanks to the good work of a cousin (James Anderson), the Allen line is another tempting area to explore.  I have a lot of New England ancestry living in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire.  Many of those lines moved to New York.  I find it interesting to be descended from two siblings..one being my 9th great grandparent and another being my 8th great grandparent.  I probably will find some more interesting lines as I explore the Allen's more fully, and it seems likely I might find a few more interesting connections.

Phebe Allen Gage pictured with her grandchildren through son, Gilbert.
She and her husband, Gilbert shared common Wilbore ancestry.