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David Wooster
1732 - 1808 (76 years)David Wooster and the Possible Link to the GWT
The original burial site was at Fish Point Cemetery. The gravestone was moved to Brown’s Cemetery where the inscription is: Born in Chester, England / Feb 22, 1732 / Died Aug 28, 1808 / Ae 76 y'rs 6 m's 6 d's 1,2 .
Extensive research by Simon Neal 3 into the archives in Chester would suggest that Chester is an unlikely birthplace for David, since there don’t appear to be any families in Chester at that time with the name Wooster (or variants).
In From Mayflower to Maine 2 it is claimed that “David came to America in 1744”, a fact which seems to be widely accepted. This would have made him twelve years old, and various stories on Ancestry suggest he travelled with an Uncle.
One possibility is that he is this David Wooster on the GWT and was born in High Wycombe (known as Chepping Wycombe at the time) as the youngest child of John Wooster and Elizabeth Elkington. If this is the case, then he was baptised on 4 Sep 1735 at All Saints, High Wycombe 4, almost certainly making him younger than twelve when he emigrated, in fact more like nine.
Support for this theory comes from the fact that David does not appear on any more records in England and Simon Neal 3 has located the will of his older brother William, in which, he mentions all his other surviving siblings apart from David. It would also appear that David may have been orphaned in 1744 when his mother died. There are two burials of a John Woster, one in 1740 and one in 1746 5.
In conclusion there are many possibilities:
A. That the name Wooster is either mis-transcribed or made up, for whatever reason.
B. That he is David Wooster of Chester and that he comes from a family of as yet undiscovered Woosters, the records having not survived. Unlikely, given the extensive nature of Simon’s research.
C. That his DOB is correct, but he or his uncle have got his birth place wrong e.g. mis-transcribed, misquoted etc.
D. That he is the David Wooster on the GWT and his DOB and birthplace are wrong.
References
1. Find a Grave
2. From Mayflower to Maine by Alice Kay Smith (1994). Full Story
3. Ancestry
4. Bucks FHS Baptisms
5. Bucks FHS Burials
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