Before 1660, most of America’s immigrants came from England and, like most of those that would follow them, they brought their beliefs and traditions with them. They established the language, the laws, and the culture that would evolve into America. Our AYERS ancestors were among those that led the way.

John AYRE (or sometimes written AYER) was our first ancestor to arrive in America, and in genealogical terms he is called “The Immigrant” for this bloodline. Like many other immigrants of the time, John and his family most likely came primarily for religious freedom. It must have taken great courage to travel to the new world when he was already in his forties with a half-grown family.  They arrived in the Massachusetts colony in 1635 just 15 years after the Mayflower in 1620, and when there were only about 1000 people in the colony.  Most Massachusetts colonists were Puritans who wished to reform the established church of England, and largely Congregationalists who believed in forming churches through voluntary compacts.

Thanks to books and records preserved about the early New England colonists, other researchers have pieced together some interesting facts about John Ayre’s life.  I have provided several summaries on the Family Tree website (see link or right).  However, the best summary I have found is on the website of Janson Ayer and I’ll repeat selected portions below.

The Story of John Ayer of Haverhill, Massachusetts

This is the story, to the best of my (Janson Ayer) knowledge, of John Ayer and his time in Haverhill, MA. I want to thank people like Willis Brown, Robert Ayers, and Warren Ayer for sharing so much of their research and knowledge. Clearly their input has helped my research significantly and made this website possible.

The immigrant John Ayer was said to have come from England, arriving on The James in 1635 with his wife Hannah and their first 4 children – Thomas, Rebecca, Robert, and Peter. There is no documentation found for his journey, but in John’s case he came with money, and perhaps was one of the people who were not allowed to leave without surrendering money and property to the Crown. Per Willis Brown’s research, we place him on the James because of his later close association with other listed passengers on that ship, such as the Pike family, and his kinsman, John Evered alias Webb.

The James itself is a part of history, surviving the Great Hurricane of 1635. The James, out of Bristol, England, met the hurricane off the Isles of Shoals, (near the New England coast) there losing three anchors and being forced to put to sea, for no canvas or rope would hold. The storm winds drove her to within feet of the Pascataquack rocks. “At this moment,” wrote Increase Mather (his father, mother, and four brothers being among the one hundred passengers), “their lives were given up for lost; but then, in an instant of time, God turned the wind about, which carried them from the rocks of death before their eyes.” On Aug 13, 1635, The James manages to make it to Boston Harbor proper with “…her sails rent in sunder, and split in pieces, as if they had been rotten ragges…”

So were the parents of’ a great American family delivered from death at the hands of the tempest. Of the one hundred plus aboard the James, none were lost.

A farmer, John Ayre and his family resided in Salisbury, Massachusetts  from 1640 – 1646, and then moved to Haverhill in 1647, where they were one of the first families to own land.  John and Hannah had 5 more children – Mary, John Jr., Nathanial, Hannah, and Obadiah.

According to the “New England Heritage” John was made a freeman, and was a well-respected member of Haverhill.  A freeman in those days was not the opposite of a slave. A freeman was more of a citizen with benefits in the Puritan culture. The Church had to vote on who became a freeman, and the process and questions were excruciating.

To the best of our knowledge, our John was married once, to Hannah, whose maiden name is lost to history. She survived her husband, and was the mother of all of his children, easily proven by the land deeds of MA.

John passed away in Haverhill in 1657, his will was dated March 12, 1656.   His wife, Hannah, survived him, and died Oct. 8, 1688, having remained his widow. John AYER devised his homestead to his oldest son John Jr., a common practice for those times.

Note from Dennis:  The town of Ayer, Massachusetts, which in reality is a part of Haverhill, was named after the early AYER settlers.  No doubt it was because John AYER was one of the most prosperous land owners in the area. Below is a picture of the sign entering town which I took when Sheryl and I visited in Oct 2007.