MacCoon, John

Published: 01 Feb 2016
Updated: 09 Mar 2020
Researchers: Andrew Millard, Diane Murach, Teresa Rust, Janet Stemmer
Editor: Teresa Rust

John “Maccoon”, #57 on George S. Stewart’s Captured at Dunbar List
Name Variations: Maccoon, Macchone, Macoone, Maccoone, McCone

Contributed by Dr. Andrew Millard in July 2018:
According to, Christopher Gerrard, Pam Graves, Andrew Millard, Richard Annis, and Anwen Caffell, in, Lost Lives, New Voices: Unlocking the Stories of the Scottish Soldiers at the Battle of Dunbar 1650, (England: Oxbow Books, 2018), on page 250, John is categorized as: Probable [that he is a Dunbar prisoner transported on the Unity] Maccoon/Macchone/Macoone/Maccoone, John. Residences: Cambridge MA. Appears: 1656. D.1705. [SPOWS; Ch.8; App.B] For explanations of the category, abbreviations and references see List of Dunbar prisoners from Lost Lives, New Voices.

First Generation in the New World

1. JOHN¹ MACCOON, was born, probably in Scotland, and died at Cambridge, Massachusetts, on 8 October 1705. He married, first, at Cambridge on 08 Nov 1656, DEBORAH BUSH.¹ He married, second, at Cambridge on 14 Jun 1665, SARAH WOOD.¹ He married, third?, at Cambridge before 17 Jan 1669, MARY (_____).²

Biographical Notes: John Maccoon/Maccoone is listed as #57 on the George S. Stewart Dunbar Prisoners list. He is believed to be a prisoner of war from the Battle of Dunbar which took place 03 Sep 1650. He would have arrived on the ship Unity in late Dec 1650 to Charlestown, Massachusetts Bay, and begun his indenture immediately, apparently staying in the Cambridge area throughout his marriages and his death. The indenture periods were typically 6 to 8 years, averaging closer to seven years but varying slightly. That is why we start to find records of the SPOWs appearing about 1656-1658. His first marriage takes place nearly six years after he would have arrived.

Children of JOHN and DEBORAH (BUSH) MACCOONE:
2. i. HANNAH² MACOONE, born at Cambridge, 31 Oct 1659.³
2. ii. DEBORAH² MACOONE, b. at Cambridge, 31 Dec 1661.³
2. iii. ELIZABETH² MACOONE, b. at Cambridge, 31 Jan 1662.³
2. iv. SARAH² MACONNE, born at Cambridge, 15 Feb 1663.³

Children of JOHN and SARAH (WOOD) MACOONE:
2. v. JOHN MACOONE, born at Cambridge on 14 Jun 1666; d. in 1733; m., ANNE LARKIN.³
2. v. DANIEL² MACOONE, born at Cambridge, 18 Feb 1668; d. in 1746; m., SARAH PLACE.³

Children of JOHN and MARY (UNKNOWN) MACOONE:
2. vii. ELIZABETH² MACOONE, born at Cambridge, 17 Jan 1669.³
2. viii. MARGARETT² MACOONE, born at Cambridge, 20 Feb 1671.⁴
2. ix. PETER² MACOONE, born at Cambridge on 21 Feb 1673.⁵

Second Generation

Children of JOHN¹ and DEBORAH (BUSH) MACCOONE:

2. i. HANNAH² MACOONE, born at Cambridge, 31 Oct 1659

2. ii. DEBORAH² MACOONE, b. at Cambridge, 31 Dec 1661

2. iii. ELIZABETH² MACOONE, b. at Cambridge, 31 Jan 1662

2. iv. SARAH² MACONNE, born at Cambridge, 15 Feb 1663

Children of JOHN¹ and SARAH (WOOD) MACOONE:

2. vi. JOHN² MACCOONE, (John¹), was born at Cambridge on 14 Jun 1666 and died in 1733. He married before 1754, ANNE LARKIN.

Children of John and Anne (Larkin) Maccoone:
3. i. JOHN³ MACCOONE, (John², John¹), was born in 1694 and died on 07 Apr 1754. He married, PATIENCE RANDALL.

3. ii. DANIEL³ MACCOONE, (John², John¹), was born on 18 Feb 1696. He married, ELIZABETH HALL.

3. iii. RACHEL³ MACCOONE, (John², John¹), was born in 1698. He married in Washington County, Rhode Island on 17 Apr 1721, JAMES HALL, Jr.⁶

3. iv. MARY³ MACCOONE, (John², John¹), b. 1700; m in Washington County, on 24 Jul 1730, JOHN LARKIN.⁷

3. v. ABIGAIL³ MACCOONE, (John², John¹), was born in 1702 and died on 12 Feb 1798. She married at Washington County, Rhode Island on 06 Apr 1730, BENJAMIN BROWN.⁷

3. vi. WILLIAM³ MACCOONE, (John², John¹), b. 1704; d. 1742; m., first, PENELOPE ROGERS; m., second, PATIENCE ALLEN.

2. v. DANIEL² MACOONE, born at Cambridge on 18 Feb 1668⁸ and died in 1746. He married at on , SARAH PLACE. Daniel of Cambridge Village was wounded in an expedition to Canada in 1690.⁹

Children of JOHN and MARY (UNKNOWN) MACOONE:

2. vii. ELIZABETH² MACOONE, born at Cambridge, 17 Jan 1669.¹⁰

2. viii. MARGARETT² MACOONE, born at Cambridge, 20 Feb 1671.⁴

2. ix. PETER² MACOONE, born at Cambridge, 21 Feb 1673.¹⁰

SOURCES AND NOTES:

15 Jun 2016, Diane Murach () said, “I recently read somewhere that two months before the birth of John Maccoon Jr, Apr 1666., there was a land transaction and in two places John’s wife indicated her name as Mary Maccoon. This could mean that the town clerk was mixed up when he named Sarah as the wife of John Maccoon 14 Jun 1665 in Cambridge and on the first two births of the sons John and Daniel. Perhaps Mary had a sister or mother named Sarah and they resembled each other. Wondering if you had heard this? I’m really into researching more on this family. I found the article online.: Rhode Island Roots Volume: 13 Pages(s): 7, Probable Origins of the Maccone Family, By Rosemary Canfield, March 1987
Couple of things that were stated.:
14 Jun 1665 marriage to Sarah Wood (Can’t be Richard Wood’s wife as he has not died yet, but could be a sister or daughter to Richard Wood)
Land Record 21 Apr 1666 Land Record where Mary Maccoon makes her mark.
Name Mary Maccoon is used twice. Land is sold to Randall Bush.
Son John born 14 Jun 1666 to John and Sarah
Son Daniel born 18 Feb 1668 to John and Sarah
Dau Elizabeth born 17 Jan 1669 to John and Mary as are rest of the children
Land Transaction – 13 Apr 1676 – Sarah Woods, “widow of Richard Woods late of Cambridge and their son Thomas Woods sold a house and 34 acres of land to John Maccone.
A Sarah Wood marries John Warner 12 Jun 1677 – (possible Mother to Mary, twin to Mary???)
Will of John refers to his children by my former and latter wife.”
My thoughts:
No marriage to a Sarah Wood, but definitely a marriage to a Mary (possibly
Wood) Perhaps Mary resembles her mother or sister who has the name Sarah.
Perhaps the town Clerk is really old, drinks or who knows what.
Ready to study John Maccoon of Cambridge and John Maccone of Westerly to see if they the same person. Studying a chronology of each to see where they fit together. I need to remember that people often registered children’s births in more than one location.
Sources, many I have not seen:
Vital Records of Cambridge, MA Vol 1 & 2
Middlesex Co MA deeds: Vol 3: 180 ; 4: 303 ; 6 :210
Middlesex Co MA Probate Vol 12: 107-111.
Arnold, Vital Record of Rhode Island, Vol 5 North Kingstown: 32 ; Westerly: 11.
Marblehead, MA Vital Records Vol II: 162.
Records of First church in Salem MA, p. 176.
Oysterbay Town Records, Vols I – III.
Records of the colony of Rhode Island, Vol II: 338, III: 68.
Collections of the Rhode Island Historical Society, III: 250 -253.
James Savage, genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England
John Austin, Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island.
George F Black, The Surnames of Scotland, p 475.
“The McCoun Family of Oysterbay, long Island” by Henry B Hoff in New York
Genealogical and biographical Record 108: 159 -162.
New World Immigrants, Michael Tepper, ed., Vol 1: 135-160.” ~ Diane

1. New England Marriages to 1700. Originally published as: New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015. https://www.americanancestors.org/DB1568/i/21175/986/426932843 [↩] [↩]
2. “my loving wife, Mary Maccoon.” Middlesex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1648-1871.Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014. (From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives. Digitized images provided by FamilySearch.org) https://www.americanancestors.org/DB536/i/14464/14446-co3/38323360 [↩]
3. Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1620-1850 (Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2016). https://www.americanancestors.org/DB190/i/7674/456/140969524 [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩] [↩]
4. “d. of Jno and Mary” Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1620-1850 https://www.americanancestors.org/DB190/rd/7674/456/140969524 [↩] [↩]
5. Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1620-1850 https://www.americanancestors.org/DB190/rd/7674/456/140969524 [↩]
6. “Rachel Meckcome” Rhode Island: Vital Records, 1636-1850. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014), Originally Published as: Vital record of Rhode Island 1636-1850: First Series: births, marriages and deaths: a family register for the people, by James N. Arnold. Providence, RI: Narragansett Historical Publishing Company. https://www.americanancestors.org/DB532/i/14346/4-34/260789136 [↩]
7. Rhode Island: Vital Records, 1636-1850. Originally Published as: Vital record of Rhode Island 1636-1850: First Series: births, marriages and deaths: a family register for the people, by James N. Arnold. Providence, RI: Narragansett Historical Publishing Company. https://www.americanancestors.org/DB532/i/14346/4-44/260789971 [↩] [↩]
8. “(see Macoon), Daniel, s. of John and Sarah, Feb. 18, 1668.” Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1620-1850 https://www.americanancestors.org/DB190/rd/7674/456/140969524 [↩]
9. Colonial Soldiers and Officers in New England, 1620-1775. https://www.americanancestors.org/DB494/i/13255/159/236050746 [↩]
10. Massachusetts: Vital Records, 16201850 https://www.americanancestors.org/DB190/rd/7674/456/140969524 [↩] [↩]