James HOSMER^[1]

1605 - 1686  (~ 80 years)

• Name	James HOSMER
  Birth	c.1605	England   [2]
  Baptism	8 Dec 1605	Hawkhurst Parish, Kent Co, England   [3]
  	James was baptized on 8 December 1605 at St. Laurence's Church in Hawkhurst, England.
  Gender	Male
  Occupation	Before 1635	Hawkhurst, Kent Co, England   [2, 4]
  	James' occupation was noted as clothier on the manifest of the ship aboard which he sailed from London to New England in 1635. The term clothier covered a wide range of activities in the English cloth trade over several centuries. From the 16th to the 19th century the term was used to describe "men whose families manufactured pieces of cloth, from the preparation and carding of the wool to the spinning and the weaving."
  Immigration	1635	Massachuttes Bay Colony   [2]
  	During the summer of 1635, James and his family arrived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. They had been manifested at London on 9 April as passengers aboard the Elizabeth with William Stagg as Master. The family held a certificate of conformity "from the minister of Hauckust in Kent". Marie Donnard, age 24, and Marie Martin, age 19, were listed as servants of the family.
  Prop	4 Jan 1635/1636	New Towne, Massachusetts Bay Colony   [5, 6]
  	Within a year of the family's arrival in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, James purchased property at New Towne [Cambridge]. According to the New Towne records of 4 January 1635/6 it was "ordered that James Hosmer shall have 2 Ackers ther [by the pyne swamp] provided he buy a house in the Towne ore else to Returne againe to the Towne".
  Freemanship	17 May 1637	Massachusetts Bay Colony   [7]
  	James was granted freemanship within the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts Bay Colony on 17 May 1637. The prerequisite for obtaining this status was proof of one's membership and good standing in a Congregational Church. The Freeman's Oath legally bound the individual to the government of the colony, and thereby, its laws and orders. Additionally, the Oath required participation by the individual in local and colonial affairs when called upon.
  OFFH	8 Mar 1654/1655	Concord, Middlesex Co, Massachusetts Bay Colony   [8]
  	On 8 March 1654/5, James was among nine men, three from each of the "Quarters", chosen to act as a public overseer.
  OFFH	1660	Concord, Middlesex Co, Massachusetts Bay Colony   [9]
  	James served as a Concord Selectman during 1660.
  Prop	1665	Concord, Middlesex Co, Massachusetts Bay Colony   [10]
  	The town records show that in 1665 James owned 4 lots in the South Quarter of Concord, comprised of 164 acres.
  deed	1 Mar 1683/1684	Concord, Middlesex Co, Massachusetts Bay Colony   [11]
  	On 1 March 1683/4, James deeded his entire estate, with directions for several legacies, to "my only living son Stephen Hosmer". The transfer of the estate was to take place "at my decease", and was in return for his maintenance until his death.
  settler	c.1639	Concord, Massachusetts Bay Colony   [5, 12]
  	He and his family joined the group of settlers who had been authorized by the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony on 2 September 1635 to start a new settlement to be called Concord at Musketaquid. By 21 September 1639, James had sold the New Towne property to Edward Winchep.
  Death	7 Feb 1685/6	Concord Village, Middlesex Co, Massachusetts Bay Colony   [13]
  	James died on 7 February 1685/6 at approximately 81 years of age. He had outlived all three of his wives and five of his seven children.
  Person ID	I3800	mason
  Last Modified	22 Jul 2026

  
  

  Father	Stephen HOSMER,   b. c.1570, England d. May 1632 (Age ~ 61 years)
  Mother	Dorothy SELDEN,   b. England d. 5 Feb 1640/1, England
  Marriage	25 Jan 1601/2	Ticehurst Parish, Sussex Co, England   [14]
  	"Stevin Hossmeer & Deraty Selline" were married on 25 January 1601/2 at St. Mary's Church in Ticehurst, England.
  Photos		St. Mary's Church, Ticehurst Parish, Sussex, England.
  Family ID	F439	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Alice (UNKNOWN)   d. 3 Mar 1664/5, Concord, Middlesex Co, Massachusetts Bay Colony
  Notes	SEE HARD FILE & TGM FOR MORE ON THIS LINE.
  Children	1. Stephen HOSMER,   b. 27 Nov 1642, Concord, Massachusetts Bay Colony d. 15 Dec 1714, Concord, Middlesex Co, Province of Massachusetts Bay (Age 72 years)   2. Hannah HOSMER,   b. 16 Aug 1644, Concord, Middlesex Co, Massachusetts Bay Colony d. 15 Dec 1675, Concord, Middlesex Co, Massachusetts Bay Colony (Age 31 years)   3. Mary HOSMER,   b. 14 Apr 1646, Concord, Middlesex Co, Massachusetts Bay Colony d. After 1 Mar 1683/4 (Age 37 years)
  Family ID	F4204	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	22 Jul 2026

  
  

  Family 2	Mary (UNKNOWN)   bur. 11 May 1641, Concord, Massachusetts Bay Colony
  Notes	SEE HARD FILE & TGM FOR MORE ON THIS LINE.
  Children	1. James HOSMER   d. 21 Apr 1676, near Sudbury, Middlesex Co, Massachusetts Bay Colony   2. Mary HOSMER,   b. 10 Jan 1639/40, Concord, Massachusetts Bay Colony d. 18 Aug 1642, Concord, Massachusetts Bay Colony (Age 2 years)
  Family ID	F479	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	22 Jul 2026

  
  

  Family 3	Ann (UNKNOWN),   b. c. 1608, England
  Marriage	England   [2]
  Children	1. Marie HOSMER,   b. c.1633, England   2. Ann HOSMER,   b. Jan 1634/5, England
  Family ID	F4205	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	22 Jul 2026

  
  

• Photos		St. Laurence's Church, Hawkhurst Parish, Kent, England
  		James Hosmer family entry, Elizabeth passenger list, 9 April 1635.

  
  

• Sources

  [S4312] Sophie Selden Rogers, Elizabeth Selden Lane, Edwin van DeusenSelden, compilers, Rogers, Lane & Selden, Selden Ancestry: A Family History, ((Oil City, PA: Edwin van Deusen Selden, 1931)). pp. 424-425: [Stephen Osmere will; Archdeaconry Court of Canterbury, PRC17/68/359b]. [S1585] James Hosmer family, Elizabeth passenger list, 9 April 1635. [S4312] Sophie Selden Rogers, Elizabeth Selden Lane, Edwin van DeusenSelden, compilers, Rogers, Lane & Selden, Selden Ancestry: A Family History, ((Oil City, PA: Edwin van Deusen Selden, 1931)). p. 22. [S1587] David Hey, editor, Hey, The Oxford Companion to Local and Family History., ((Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press, 1996)). p. 100: clothiers. [S1593] The Register Book of the Lands and Houses in the "New Towne" and the Town of Cambridge with the Records of the Proprietors of the Common Lands, ((Cambridge, MA: University Press, 1896)), p. 56. [S1623] The Records of the Town of Cambridge (Formerly Newtowne) Massachusetts, 1630 - 1703, ((Cambridge, MA: University Press, 1901)), p. 15. [S1590] Lucius R. Paige; indexed by Elizabeth Petty Bentley, Paige, List of Freemen of Massachusetts, 1630 - 1691, ((Baltimore: GPC, 1978)), p. 15., ISBN 0-8063-0806-0. The record notes him as James Osmer. [S1642] Charles Hosmer Walcott, Walcott, Concord in The Colonial Period, ((Boston: Estes and Lauriat, 1884)), p. 76. [S1642] Charles Hosmer Walcott, Walcott, Concord in The Colonial Period, ((Boston: Estes and Lauriat, 1884)), pp. 138-139. [S4244] Alfred Sereno Hudson, Hudson, The History of Concord, Massachusetts, ((Concord, MA: Erudite Press, 1904)), p. 288. [S1586] Robert Charles Anderson, Anderson, The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634 - 1635., ((Boston: Great Migration Study Project, NEHGS, 1999 - 2009 )), Vol. III, pp. 421 - 423. [MPR 10:23]. [S1627] Lemuel Shattuck, Shattuck, A History of the Town of Concord, Middlesex County, Massachusetts from Its Earliest Settlement to 1932 and of the Adjoining Towns: Bedford, Acton, Lincoln and Carlisle, ((1835, Rpt. Baltimore, MD: GPC, 2002)), pp. 4 & 5. [S142] Concord, Massachusetts Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1635 - 1850., ((Boston: T. Todd, printer, 1895)). p. 28. (Concord Registers - Book I) [S3398] Patricia Geddes, transcriber, Marriage Registers of Ticehurst, 1559 - 1840, ((n.p.: n. pub., n.d.)), SOG: SX/R 143 (Sussex shelves).