John Endecott - Family

Family

Before he came to the colonies in 1628, Endecott was married to his first wife, Anne Gower, who was a cousin of Governor Matthew Craddock. After her death in New England, he was married in 1630 to a woman whose last name was Gibson, and by 1640 he was married to Elizabeth, the daughter of Philobert Cogan of Somersetshire. It is uncertain whether these represent two different wives, or a single wife whose name was Elizabeth (Cogan) Gibson. Because of the uncertainty concerning his wives, it is not known who the mother of his two sons was. There is only firm evidence that he was already married to Elizabeth in 1640, and the records that survive for the 1630s, when his sons were born, do not otherwise identify his wife by name. Endecott's last wife, Elizabeth, was a sister-in-law of the colonial financier and magistrate Roger Ludlow. Endecott's two known children were John Endecott and Dr. Zerubabbel Endecott, neither of whom, seemingly to his disappointment, followed him into public service. There is also evidence that Endecott fathered another child in his early years in England; in about 1635 he arranged funds and instructions for the care of a minor also named John Endecott.

Despite his high position, Endecott was never particularly affluent. According to his will, several large tracts of land, including the Orchard estate in Salem and one quarter of Block Island, were distributed to his wife and sons; however, it was also noted that some of his books were sold to pay debts. One unexpected legacy left behind by Endecott was the uncertain boundaries of the "Orchard" estate. Several generations later, his descendants were involved in litigation concerning disputed occupancy of part of the estate.

Endecott's descendants include Massachusetts governor Endicott Peabody and United States Secretary of War William Crowninshield Endicott. His descendants donated family records dating as far back as the colonial era to the Massachusetts Historical Society. In 1930, the Massachusetts tercentenary was marked by the issuance of a medal bearing Endecott's likeness; it was designed by Laura Gardin Fraser. Endicott College in Beverly, Massachusetts (once a part of Salem) is named for him.