William Wentworth was baptized in Alford, Lincolnshire, England on 15 March 1615/6, son of William and Susanna (Carter) Fleming Wentworth of Rigsby, Lincolnshire, England, and grandson of Christopher and Katherine (Marbury) Wentworth. He died in Dover, NH 15 March 1696/7.

There is considerable uncertainty about the names of the wives of William Wentworth. It is speculated that he had two wives, and that Elizabeth Kenny was his first wife with the name of his second wife unknown. Another speculation is that his second wife was Elizabeth Knight, daughter of William's friend, Ezekiel Knight, but her dates place her as more likely the age of William's son, Ezekiel, who did have a wife named Elizabeth whose surname has not been found in the records. The subject of the dates of William's marriages and the names of his wives have been discussed at some length in Wentworth's Wentworth Genealogy, pp. 106-109. The conclusion seems to be that unless further information becomes available, the details of his marriages must remain a matter of speculation rather than statements of fact.

Tradition says that William Wentworth left his home in England just subsequent to the time of the disposition of his father's property in England when William was about nineteen years old. Also, that he emigrated from England to America probably in the group with his kinsman, Rev. John Wheelwright. They landed in Boston 26 May 1636.

The first written evidence of William in America is that, on 4 July 1639, he, with 35 people, including Rev. John Wheelwright, signed a "combination" for government at Exeter, NH, Rev. Wheelwright who because of the contents of his sermons had been "banished from Massachusetts and had, with others, purchased from the Indians the title to certain lands on April 3, 1638." When Massachusetts extended its jurisdiction to the Piscataqua River, and thus included Exeter, NH, Rev. Wheelwright had to move again. William Wentworth went with him to Wells, Maine.

Two of William's relatives through the Marbury family, Rev. John Wheelwright and Anne Hutchinson, were individuals who held strong convictions, views which were contrary to those held by most of their contemporaries and even outlawed in Massachusetts. Both were banished and had to move around as Massachusetts expanded its territory.

It appears that William lived in Wells, ME from 1642 to 1649 as he was recorded in 1642 as a juror from Wells to the York County Court. He was listed as constable in 1648 and again on the jury in 1647 and 1649.

Following this, William moved to Dover, NH, where he was generally referred to as "Elder William Wentworth" by virtue of his being a ruling elder of the church. He was "taxed" there in 1650. Dover, NH, then had four parts: Dover Neck, Bloody Point, Oyster River, and Cochecho, and William settled in Cochecho, which is now the central part of the City of Dover. He became involved in lumber manufacturing at the head of tidewater on Fresh Creek where he, with others, were proprietors of a sawmill. William was a selectman over a period of about 20 years, town moderator in 1661, and commissioner (an office in which small cases were adjudged) in 1663.

It is reported that on "June 27, 1689, a Thursday, Indians attacked, and the garrisons of Peter and Tristram Coffin were destroyed, but (the) Heard garrison was saved by William Wentworth who held the door until help arrived."

Although he was a "Ruling Elder" in the Dover, NH church where he officiated as preacher, he also preached in Exeter, NH 1690-1693, where his contract read, "agreed with Mr. Wentworth to supplyu and perform the office of minister for one year, if he be able, at 40 pounds." Later, an entry in the journal of Rev. John Pike read, "Mar. 16 '96/7, Elder Wentworth deceased a few days after he was taken speechless with a sudden shivering."

William Wentworth and his first and/or second wife had eleven children, birth dates of the children not known, but estimated by assuming they were at least 21 years old when recorded as taxed:

• Samuel, b. 1641/2; m. Mary Benning.
• John, b. ca. 1647; m. Martha Stewart.
• Gershom, b. ca. 1649; m. Hannah French.
• Ezekiel, b. ca. 1651; m. Elizabeth -----.
• Elizabeth, b. ca. 1653; m. (1) James Sharpe, m. (2) Richard Tozier, Jr.
• Paul, b. ca. 1659; m. Catherine Stewart.
• Sylvanus, m. Elizabeth Stewart.
• Timothy, m. Sarah -----.
• Sarah, m. (1) Benjamin Barnard; m. (2) Samuel Winch.
• Ephraim, m. (1) Mary Miller; m. (2) Elizabeth (Waldron) Beard.
• Benjamin, b. ca. 1670; m. Sarah Allen.

Our first reference to John is on the Dover, NH tax list of 1668 but nothing has been found of him before that year. He took the "oath of fidelity" on 21 June 1669. On 1 Dec. 1674, his father gave him land in Dover near that of John's brother, Gershom. Shortly thereafter, on 20 Dec. 1674, John sold the land to George Ricker and we assume that this was when he moved to York, ME. On 5 February 1675, John "formerly of Cutchechah (Cochecho), now of York" bought land from Isaac Everest. In 1680, "John and wife Martha" sold 100 acres of land in Wells, ME, which "he had of Ezekiel Knight." One of the last records of John found in Maine is that he was the plaintiff in the York County Court vs. Charles Bissum on 18 Dec. 1685, "for damage done by a parcel of turkies." John and his family moved to Falmouth, ME, to Newbury, MA, and to Canton, MA, where it appears he rented or bought land from the Indians in 1704.

John and his wife Martha (Stewart) Wentworth had at least seven children, order of birth not known, place of birth not known, except that Edward was born in Newbury, MA:

• John, b. ca. 1676; d. in Stoughton, MA 6 Jan. 1772, age 95; m. Elizabeth Bailey.
• Charles, b. ca. 1684; d. in Canton, MA 8 July 1780, age. 96.
• Edward, b. in Newbury, MA, in 1693; d. in Stoughton, MA 12 Feb. 1767, age 74; m. Keziah Blackman as his first wife, daughter of Deacon Benjamin Blackman of Stoughton, MA.
• Shubael, (frequently spelled Schubael) d. in Stoughton, MA 1759; m. Damaris Hawes.
• Mary, m. in Boston, MA 1712 James Wright.
• Abigail, m. in Dorchester, MA in 1715 Benjamin Jordan.
• Elizabeth, m. in Stoughton, MA 1728 John Kenney.

This family lived in Stoughton, MA where Shubael was a farmer and a blacksmith. He bought land on 18 Jan. 1725 adjacent to that of his brother-in-law, John Kenney. He and his brothers, John and Charles, bought land from the residents of Punkapaug, an Indian plantation in the town of Dorchester, MA. Shubael was the clerk ofthe Precinct of Stoughton.

Shubael and his wife Damaris (Hawes) Wentworth had eleven children, all born in Stoughton, MA:

• David, b. 13 Jan. 1718; bpt. 19 Jan. 1718.
• Hannah, b. 12 Aug. 1719; m. George Talbot, Jr.
• Catherine, b. 18 May 1721; m. John Nixon.
• Ezekiel, b. 26 March 1723; m. Mary Gibbons.
• Sion, b. 31 March 1725; m. Hannah Pettengill.
• James, b. 13 April 1727; m. Letitia Tilden.
• Bathsheba, b. 15 Nov. 1728; m. Francis Moore.
• Amy, b. 26 Feb. 1732; m. Andrew Kennedy.
• Lemuel, b. 20 Feb. 1732/3.
• Benjamin, b. ca. 1734.
• Sylvanus, b. 8 Nov. 1737.

Sion was a blacksmith and it is assumed that he and Hannah lived in Stoughton and Sharon, MA, as their daughter, Hannah was born in Stoughton, and two sons were born in Sharon. There is a note that says Sion lived in Western (now Warren), MA, but whether that was before or after his marriage, we do not know.

According to John Wentworth's Wentworth Genealogy, p. 357, Sion bought from John Burnum land in that part of Norwich, CT, now called Lisbon. Later, 10 April 1752, he sold it to Timothy Corliss who in turn sold it to Sion's brother, James. These transactions seemed to have taken place before his marriage.

Sion and his wife Hannah (Pettengill) Wentworth had eight children:

• Lemuel, b. 28 May 1754.
• Hannah, b. in Stoughton, MA 25 Feb. 1756; m. Ephraim Payson, son of Ephraim and Margaret (Morgan) Payson.
• Shubael, b. in Sharon, MA 29 Jan. 1759.
• David, b. 11 Dec. 1763.
• Benjamin, b. ca. 1765; m. Polly Malace.
• Enoch, b. in Stoughton, MA 9 May 1766.
• Sion, b. in Sharon, MA 30 May 1769.
• Lydia, d. 26 Aug. 1775.

Ephraim lived in Dover, NH, on or adjacent to the Wentworth grants. He was surveyor of highways in 1702 and "fence viewer" in 1709. Ephraim conveyed on 10 May 1726 (the day of his second marriage), a share in the Fresh Creek mill privilege and land, which had been granted to his father in 1652, to John Waldron, brother of his second wife. In 1708, John Tuttle, Sr. conveyed to Ephraim, "one eighth of the lower falls of Salmon Falls on the west side." A grant of 200 acres made to William Pomfret in 1656 (Dover Records) was "laid out" on 24 October 1719, one hundred of the acres going to Ephraim Wentworth.

Ephraim's will, written on 16 March 1738, and proved 29 January 1748, does not mention his wife, but does list his children who are not recorded elsewhere.

Ephraim and his first wife Mary (Miller) Wentworth had nine children:

• Ephraim, m. Martha Grant.
• Spencer, m. Keaiah Heard.
• Ezekiel, m. (1) Dorothy Wentworth; m. (2) Sarah Nock.
• Samuel, m. Patience Downs.
• Jonathan, m. Abigail Heard.
• Mary, m. Nehemiah Kimball.
• Anna, m. Ephraim Ham.
• Martha, m. Joseph Twombly.
• Elizabeth, unmarried at the time of her father's will, but said to have married a Twombly.