Upton, John

Published: 15 Dec 2014, Updated: 7 Apr 2019
Page contributors: Dr. Andrew Millard, Teresa Rust, Nelda Upton Gallerano, George Upton

John Rubton, #27 on Scots at Lynn 1653. Iron Works Inventory¹
(UPTON was misspelled on the “Scots in Lynn 1653. Iron Works Inventory” as RUBTON.)

IMPORTANT UPDATE! (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 1650,² (England: Oxbow Books, 2018), on page 248, John is categorized as:

Definite [that he is a Dunbar prisoner transported on the Unity]

Upton/Rupton/Ripton/Ribton/Ruton, John. Residences: Lynn, Reading MA. Appears: 1653. D.1699. [Exiles; Banks; DR; SPOWS; Ch.8; App.B]³⁴⁵⁶⁷⁸

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 UPTON, is believed to be a Scottish POW from the Battle of Dunbar and was born, presumably in Scotland, about 1625-30, (See the “Sources and Notes” section) and died at Reading, Middlesex County, Massachusetts on 11 July 1699. He married, ELEANOR (_____). (Possibly her surname was STUART.)

Biographical Notes:
He had moved to Salem by 1658, and in 1665 was charged with abetting Henry Spencer, a runaway servant. He refused to pay a tax for a new meeting house in 1675, and moved to Reading by 1686. According to the, The Upton Memorial: A Genealogical Record of the Descendants of John Upton, of North Reading, Mass. … Together with Short Genealogies of the Putnam, Stone and Bruce Families by John Adams Vinton. E. Upton & Son, 1874. “The progenitor of the name in this country was John Upton, a Scotchman by birth, and settled at what was then Salem village…”

Children of John and Eleanor (_____) Upton:
2. i. JOHN UPTON, (John¹), b. at Salem (now Danvers), Massachusetts about 1654; m. SARAH THOMPSON.
2. ii. ELEANOR UPTON, (John¹), b. at Salem (now Danvers) about 1656; died at Salem on 20 April 1663; Died young.
2. iii. WILLIAM UPTON, (John¹), b. at Salem (now Danvers) about 1658; died at Salem in April 1663; Died young.
2. iv. JAMES UPTON, (John¹), b. at Salem (now Danvers) in Sep 1660; Unmarried.
2. v. MARY UPTON, (John¹), b. at Salem (now Danvers) about 1661; d. at Salem on 15 April 1663; Died young.
2. vi. WILLIAM UPTON, (John¹), b. at Salem on 10 June 1663; m. MARY MABER.
2. vii. SAMUEL UPTON, (John¹), b. at Salem in Oct 1664; m. ABIGAIL FROST.
2. viii. ANN UPTON, b. at Salem; m. at Salem (now Danvers) on 4 April 1684, SAMUEL FRAILE, (his 2nd wife). They signed a petition in defense of John Proctor and Elizabeth, accused of witchcraft in Salem in 1692.
2. ix. ISABEL UPTON, (John¹), b. at Salem on 3 Jan 1666/7; d. 6 Dec 1689; Unmarried.
2. x. EZEKIEL UPTON, (John¹), b. at Salem in Sep 1668; m. 1st, REBECCA PRESTON; m. 2nd, RUTH (MARSH) HARDY.
2. xi. JOSEPH UPTON, (John¹), b. at Salem on 9 April 1670; m. ABIGAIL (_____).
2. xii. FRANCIS UPTON, (John¹), b. at Salem on 1 July 1671; d. 9 Dec 1694; Unmarried.
2. xiii. MARY UPTON, (John¹), unmarried and alive at the time of her father’s will in 1697.

Second and Third Generation

2. i. JOHN UPTON, (John¹), was born at Salem (now Danvers), Massachusetts about 1654 and died at Reading, Massachusetts in 1727. He married on 14 Dec 1680, SARAH THOMPSON, daughter of GEORGE THOMPSON, (a SPOW).

Children of John and Sarah (Thompson) Upton:
3. i. SARAH UPTON, b. at Reading on 26 Oct 1681; m. JAMES STIMPSON.
3. ii. JOHN UPTON, (John², John¹), b. at Reading on 11 March 1683; m. TABITHA (_____).
3. iii. MARY UPTON, (John², John¹), b. at Reading on 25 May 1685; m. on 15 Oct 1706, SAMUEL MACKINTIRE.
3. iv. JOSEPH UPTON, (John², John¹), b. at Reading on 8 Sep 1687; m. ABIGAIL GRAY.
3. v. EZEKIEL UPTON, (John², John¹), b. at Reading on 9 Nov 1689; m. his cousin ISABEL UPTON.
3. vi. JONATHAN UPTON, (John², John¹), b. at Reading on 4 March 1692; m. ELIZABETH WILKINS.
3. vii. ELIZABETH UPTON, (John², John¹), b. at Reading on 14 May 1694; d. 29 May 1694. Died young.
3. viii. FRANCIS UPTON, (John², John¹), b. at Reading on 17 May 1695; d. 23 May 1695; Died young.
3. ix. ELIZABETH UPTON,(John², John¹), b. at Reading on 19 July 1696; living and unmarried at father’s will in 1720.
3. x. HEPHZIBAH UPTON, (John², John¹), b. at Reading on 22 May 1700; m. at Reading on 1 Nov 1733, ROBERT HAYWARD.

2. ii. ELEANOR UPTON,(John¹), b. at Salem about 1656; died at Salem on 20 April 1663; Died young.
2. iii. WILLIAM UPTON, (John¹), b. at Salem about 1658; died in April 1663; Died young.
2. iv. JAMES UPTON, (John¹), b. at Danvers in Sep 1660; Unmarried.
2. v. MARY UPTON, (John¹), b. at Danvers about 1661; d. 15 April 1663; Died young.
2. vi. WILLIAM UPTON, (John¹), b. at Danvers on 10 June 1663; m. MARY MABER.
2. vii. SAMUEL UPTON, (John¹), b. at Danvers in Oct 1664; m. ABIGAIL FROST.
2. viii. ANN UPTON, b. at Danvers; m. at Salem/Danvers on 4 April 1684, SAMUEL FRAILE, (his 2nd wife). They signed a petition in defense of John Proctor and Elizabeth, accused of witchcraft in Salem in 1692.
2. ix. ISABEL UPTON, (John¹), b. at Danvers on 3 Jan 1666/7; d. 6 Dec 1689; Unmarried.
2. x. EZEKIEL UPTON, (John¹), b. at Danvers in Sep 1668; m. 1st, REBECCA PRESTON; m. 2nd, RUTH (MARSH) HARDY.
2. xi. JOSEPH UPTON, (John¹), b. at Danvers on 9 April 1670; m. ABIGAIL (_____).
2. xii. FRANCIS UPTON, (John¹), b. at Danvers on 1 July 1671; d. 9 Dec 1694; Unmarried.
2. xiii. MARY UPTON, (John¹), unmarried and alive at the time of her father’s will in 1697.

SOURCES AND NOTES:

Posted 7 June 2019 by Rose Beauvais:
As seen on our Facebook Group there has been some hearty discussions recently concerning the origins of John Upton, as well as other SPOWs over time. To clarify the standing of the Scottish Prisoners of War Society, I wished to iterate the society’s goal as provided on our website’s main page: “The Scottish Prisoners of War Society desires to bring together the known facts of the prisoners. By working together with other descendants and researchers we hope to contribute to the general knowledge of our Scottish POW ancestors and the historical events surrounding their lives.” We strive to accurately pass along the information provided to us by researchers and descendants as well as information from published works such as Lost Lives, New Voices: Unlocking the Stories of the Scottish Soldiers at the Battle of Dunbar 1650, (England: Oxbow Books, 2018).

Additionally, if time allows, we, the volunteers of the society, will assist to further the research by scanning the available primary documentation from the timeframe in question. As this work is completed, and/or offered by individuals as reference material to further the study of a particular SPOW and his line, it is compiled and posted to that SPOW’s profile page. This is a long-term project powered by only a few members who volunteer to maintain and improve the materials available on the website.

We strive to fact-check the information but, considering the origin date of most documentation, it is almost impossible to find, let alone verify, the accuracy of the sources. It is a dream come true if we can find multiple different sources which discuss the same event, thereby providing a comparison of the fact in question. This is why we rely so heavily on primary documentation from courts, churches and writings which occurred contemporary (during the time) to the SPOWs life and even these can hold errors such as name variations. We are aware of numerous family histories that were compiled years after the fact and may indeed hold information of value but it should be understood that these are widely considered as potentially flawed due to the timespan which passed between the original life of the SPOW and the writing of the book. We do not discount what may be gleaned from the histories, only that primary documentation is held in higher regard as a source.

As for the proving of a person’s birth place, unless primary documentation lists an actual birth (not just baptism location because even that often differs from the birth place) we can only state what has been reflected in the materials we have available. For most of the SPOWs, it is assumed they were fighting for their country of birth and we attempt to portray our uncertainty by stating they were “possibly” of Scotland. It is almost impossible to know for certainty and considering how the border line between England and Scotland was pushed back and forth, what at one time was Scotland was later called England so even that change could affect what country a person was born in at any given time. I don’t know of any SPOW researcher or descendant who would not love to find a church record that has the man’s name and location of birth inscribed but that would be a very rare happening. And in my own opinion, from reading multiple discussions on the matter of birth location of several SPOWs, it is apparent that this arguing over birth location is only causing a widening gap between the differing sides and it is not going to concretely prove what you wish to validate. But, thanks to DNA testing, we have the key to solving the birth location of these individual SPOW men. It will lie in working together to amass yDNA results which can then be analyzed to connect these men to their families they were forced to leave. The proof will be found in the genetic trails going back through the ages. For more information on the Scottish Prisoners of War yDNA study please visit the page at /dna-study-at-family-tree-dna/

Rose Beauvais
(A variation of this has been posted to the Facebook group)
———————————————————————–

Submitted by Nelda Upton Gallerano – on 17 July 2016:
“I am the direct descendent of John Upton #27 at the Iron Works. All of my research
shows he is English having been born in Newton Ferris to English parents. He and his
descendants are well documented in the colonies. My question is: How did this young
man come to fight and be captured with the Scots? Thank you for your time and
devotion to this project. I have learned so much through your website.”

Found this today, 12-15-14:
The Upton Memorial: A Genealogical Record of the Descendants of John Upton …
By John Adams Vinton
“We first meet with his name on record under the date of December 26, 1658, when Henry Bullock of Salem, for the consideration of four pounds, conveys to John Upton. “sometime of Hammersmith, forty acres of upland within the limits of Salem,”… ~ Teresa

For additional help, please go to the Facebook Group.
(Our small website team is unable to help with further research.)

1. Stewart, George Sawin. The Bartlett Collection. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts. /george-sawin-stewart-documents/ [↩]
2. Gerrard, Christopher M.., et al. Lost Lives, New Voices: Unlocking the Stories of the Scottish Soldiers at the Battle of Dunbar 1650. Oxbow Books, 2018, p. 248. [↩]
3. Stackpole, Everett Schermerhorn. Scotch Exiles in New England. 1922. Coll. 733 & 831, Collections of the Maine Historical Society, Portland ME. [↩]
4. Banks, C.E. 1927. ‘Scotch Prisoners deported to New England by Cromwell 1651-2’. Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society 61, 4-30. https://www.jstor.org/stable/25080212 [↩]
5. Rapaport, Diane. Working List of Early New England Scots. 2015. [↩]
6. Stewart, George Sawin. The Bartlett Collection. New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts. /george-sawin-stewart-documents/ [↩]
7. “Dunbar Prisoners of War Profiles.” The Scottish Prisoners of War Society, Teresa Rust, 18 Feb. 2019, scottishprisonersofwar.com/battle_of_dunbar_pows_america/. [↩]
8. Gerrard, Christopher M.., et al. Lost Lives, New Voices: Unlocking the Stories of the Scottish Soldiers at the Battle of Dunbar 1650. Oxbow Books, 2018. Ch. 8, Appendix B, p. 257-284. [↩]