Why Multiple Josiah Willingtons Create False Lineages
One of the most persistent sources of error in New England genealogy is the assumption that identical names refer to a single individual. When a name repeats across generations, towns, and families, records that belong to different men are easily—and often incorrectly—merged.
The case of Josiah Willington illustrates this problem clearly. Multiple men of the same name lived in Massachusetts during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, some contemporaneously. These men are documented in respected published sources, yet none can be automatically identified as the Josiah Willington who married Polly Hutchinson in Worcester in 1794 and later settled in Vermont.
The Six Josiah Willingtons in Bond’s History of Watertown
Henry Bond’s History of Watertown, Massachusetts documents six distinct individuals named Josiah Willington across multiple generations of the Wellington family.¹ These entries demonstrate both the frequency of the name and the danger of assuming identity based on name alone.
The six Josiah Willingtons identified by Bond are:
Josiah Willington, baptized 23 May 1708, son of John Willington and Hannah Morse. Bond identifies this Josiah as “of Weston” and records that he married a woman named Mary.²
Josiah Willington, born 4 April 1745, son of Thomas Willington and Margaret Stone. This Josiah married Susanna Stearns, who died in 1766.³
Josiah Willington of New Braintree, identified by Bond as the son of Josiah Willington (born 1745) and Susanna Stearns.⁴
Josiah Willington, born 4 June 1780, son of Joseph Willington and Dorcas Stone.⁵
Josiah Willington, born 16 September 1796 and died 12 June 1797, son of Thaddeus Willington and Ruhanna Brown.⁶
Josiah Willington, born 17 March 1802, also a son of Thaddeus Willington and Ruhanna Brown.⁷
These entries represent six separate individuals appearing in distinct family sketches and generational contexts. Some lived only briefly, others reached adulthood, and several overlapped chronologically with the Josiah Willington who married Polly Hutchinson in 1794.
What Bond Does and Does Not Establish
Bond’s work demonstrates that the name Josiah Willington was reused repeatedly within the extended Wellington family. This repetition alone makes name-based identification unsafe.
At the same time, Bond does not identify a Josiah Willington who married Polly Hutchinson, does not place any Josiah Willington in Worcester, Massachusetts, and does not trace any Josiah Willington to Vermont. Bond’s sketches are centered on Watertown and nearby Middlesex County towns, and they do not extend to Worcester County or later Vermont settlers.
Bond therefore provides important context for name repetition, but it does not establish identity for the Josiah Willington associated with Worcester and Braintree, Vermont.
Documented Marriages Involving Men Named Josiah Willington
Independent of Bond, Massachusetts town records document several marriages involving men named Josiah Willington or Wellington during the same general period:
Josiah Wellington married Susanna Stearns in 1765.³
A Josiah Wellington married Mary Smith in Sudbury in the early 1770s.⁸
Josiah Wellington married Zilpah Delano in Norton in 1772.⁹
Josiah Willington married Polly Hutchinson in Worcester on 6 September 1794.¹⁰
These marriages involve different women, different towns, and different time frames. No record has been found that connects any of these men to one another through remarriage, migration, or parentage.
The Absence of Willington Births in Worcester
The marriage record of 1794 states that Josiah Willington was “of Worcester,” a phrase that denotes legal residence rather than birthplace. A review of Worcester town birth records reveals no births for individuals with the surname Willington or Wellington at all, not merely the absence of a Josiah.¹¹
This absence is significant. Worcester’s vital records for the eighteenth century are comparatively thorough, and many other families are well represented. The lack of any Willington or Wellington births indicates that the family was not established in Worcester during the period when Josiah would have been born.
This evidence supports the conclusion that Josiah was not born in Worcester, but arrived there from another town or county prior to his marriage.
Overlapping Lifespans and Separate Locations
The existence of multiple adult men named Josiah Willington is further supported by overlapping lifespans. Men marrying in the 1760s and 1770s could still have been living in the 1790s, making it unsafe to assume that a later marriage represents the same individual without corroborating evidence.
Geography reinforces this separation. The towns associated with these Josiahs—Watertown, Weston, Sudbury, Norton, and Worcester—span multiple counties. While movement between towns was common, no record has been found that traces a specific Josiah from any of Bond’s Watertown families into Worcester and then onward to Vermont.
Why Name Duplication Matters
In eighteenth-century New England, the reuse of given names across generations was common. Sons were often named for fathers, grandfathers, or uncles, resulting in multiple contemporaries with identical names living within a relatively small geographic area.
In this case, the presence of six documented Josiah Willingtons means that records must be assigned cautiously. Marriages cannot be merged without proof, and parentage cannot be inferred based solely on name similarity. Bond’s documentation confirms name repetition but does not resolve identity for men appearing outside his geographic scope.
Sources
- Henry Bond, History of Watertown, Massachusetts (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1860), Wellington family sketches.
- Ibid., entry for Josiah Willington, baptized 23 May 1708, son of John Willington and Hannah Morse.
- Ibid., entry for Josiah Willington, born 4 April 1745, son of Thomas Willington and Margaret Stone; marriage to Susanna Stearns.
- Ibid., entry identifying Josiah of New Braintree as son of Josiah Willington (b. 1745) and Susanna Stearns.
- Ibid., entry for Josiah Willington, born 4 June 1780, son of Joseph Willington and Dorcas Stone.
- Ibid., entry for Josiah Willington, born 16 September 1796, son of Thaddeus Willington and Ruhanna Brown.
- Ibid., entry for Josiah Willington, born 17 March 1802, son of Thaddeus Willington and Ruhanna Brown.
- Massachusetts town records, Sudbury, marriage of Josiah Wellington and Mary Smith.
- Massachusetts town records, Norton, marriage of Josiah Wellington and Zilpah Delano, 1772.
- Worcester, Massachusetts, marriage records, 6 September 1794, Josiah Willington and Polly Hutchinson.
- Worcester town birth records, eighteenth century, review of births showing no entries for the surnames Willington or Wellington.
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