John Sanders, the son of Henry Sanders, was born about 1578 in Downton, Wiltshire, England.¹

Around the age of 32, John married Alice Coles on 4 Feb 1610 in Downton.¹ Alice was about 19 at the time of their marriage.

Alice, the daughter of Barnaby Coles, was born in about 1591 in Downton.¹ She had a brother named Robert.

John and Alice had five children:

• i. John Sanders, who was baptized on 26 March 1613 in Downton.¹ He immigrated to the United States, arriving in Salem, Mass. on 28 June 1628.³ He married either a Miss Grafton in 1636 in Salem.² He died in 1643 in Salem.¹

• ii. Elizabeth Sanders, who was baptized in 1614 in Downtown.⁷

• iii. Sarah Sanders, who was baptized on 22 Feb 1615 in Downton.¹ She immigrated to the United States, arriving in Massachusetts in 1638.⁶ She married Robert Pike on 3 March 1641 in Salisbury, Mass.¹ She died on 1 Nov 1679 in Salisbury.¹

• iv. Joseph Sanders, who was baptized in 1617 in Downton.⁷

• v. Moses Sanders, who was baptized in 1622 in Downton.⁷

At the age of 56, John immigrated to the United States, arriving in Ipswich, Mass. in 1634.⁴

In 1638, John went to England to obtain a patent for another colony in Massachusetts. It was originally called Merrimack but later called Salisbury.⁵

In 1640, John was appointed surveyor to make rates, settle disputes and lay out highways.⁵

John died at the age of 92 in July 1670 in Salem.¹

Sources:

1. Heritage Consulting. Millennium File [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2003.
2. American Marriages Before 1699.
3. Rich, George. Genealogy: Ancestors and Descendants of John Sanders, Fort Covington, N.Y. 1933.
4. FARMER, JOHN. A Genealogical Register of the First Settlers of New-England; Containing an Alphabetical List of the Governours, Deputy-Governours, Assistants or Counsellors, and Ministers of the Gospel in the Several Colonies, from 1620 to 1692; Graduates of Harvard College to 1662; Members of the Ancient and Honourable Artillery Company to 1662; Freemen Admitted to the Massachusetts Colony from 1630 to 1662; With Many Other of the Early Inhabitants of New-England and Long-Island.
5. Smith, Sarah Saunders. Founders of Massachusetts Bay Colony. Sun Printing Co. 1897.
6. BANKS, CHARLES EDWARD. The Planters of the Commonwealth; a Study of the Emigrants and Emigration in Colonial Times: To Which Are Added Lists of Passengers to Boston and to the Bay Colony; the Ships which Brought Them; Their English Homes, and the Places of Their Settlement in Massachusetts, 1620-1640. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1930. 231p. Reprinted by Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1961. Repr. 1984.
7. Cutter, William Richard and Adams, William Frederick. Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of the state of Massachusetts. Lewis Historical Publishing Co. 1910.