John Cousins (1596–1682) was a 17th-century English emigrant to the

New England Colonies The New England Colonies of British America included Connecticut Colony, the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Massachusetts Bay Colony, Plymouth Colony, and the Province of New Hampshire, as well as a few smaller short-lived c ...

Cousins River The Cousins River ( Native American: ''Sisquisic'') is a , primarily tidal river in southern Maine. Rising in the town of Freeport at the junction of Harvey Brook and Merrill Brook, it flows south and forms, for most of its course, the boundary be ...

Cousins Island Cousins Island is an island in Casco Bay within the town of Yarmouth in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. It is listed as a census-designated place, with a population of 490 as of the 2010 census. The CDP is part of the Portland– ...

and

Littlejohn Island Littlejohn Island is an island and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Yarmouth in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population of the CDP was 118 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Portland– South Portland–B ...

in what was then

North Yarmouth North Yarmouth, officially the Town of North Yarmouth, is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. North Yarmouth is included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and town area. The population was 4,072 at the 20 ...

Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around Massachusetts Bay, one of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of M ...

(now

Yarmouth, Maine Yarmouth is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States, twelve miles north of the state's largest city, Portland, Maine, Portland. When originally settled in 1636, as North Yarmouth, Maine, North Yarmouth, it was part of the Massachusetts ...

), are named for him.

Arrival in the Thirteen Colonies

After living firstly in Falmouth,

, between 1626 and around 1635, he moved ten miles north to

a year or so before the arrival of his compatriot William Royall (–1676), living on a neck of land between branches of the Cousins River. He is regarded as second only to Royall in importance as a

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a person who is among the first at something that is new to a community. A pioneer as a settler is among the first settling at a place that is new to the settler community. A historic example are American pioneers, perso ...

in the area.''Ancient North Yarmouth and Yarmouth, Maine 1636-1936: A History'',

William Hutchinson Rowe William Hutchinson Rowe (March 6, 1882''Maine Biographies'', Harrie B. Coe (before 1937), p. 135 – 1955) was an American author and historian who lived in Yarmouth, Maine. The town's elementary school, built the year he died, is now named for ...

(1937), p. 13 In 1645, he purchased from Richard Vines, Steward General and councillor for Sir

Ferdinando Gorges Sir Ferdinando Gorges ( – 24 May 1647) was a naval and military commander and governor of the important port of Plymouth in England. He was involved in Essex's Rebellion against the Queen, but escaped punishment by testifying against the ma ...

, what became known as Cousins Island and Littlejohn Island, at the mouth of the Yarmouth River. The two islands were collectively known as the Hogg Islands at the time of Cousin's inhabitance.Our History
– cousinsandlittlejohnislands.org In 1647, he sold approximately half of Cousins Island to Richard Bray, who settled there with William Wise.''Chamber of Commerce Journal of Maine'', Volume 13 (1901), p. 9 Conflicts forged by

King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1678 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodland ...

caused Cousins to abandon his Westcustogo home of over thirty years and move south.About Yarmouth
– Yarmouth Chamber of Commerce He was injured, and went to

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

to receive treatment.

Personal life

Cousins was married to Mary, with whom he emigrated from England.''Ancient North Yarmouth and Yarmouth, Maine 1636-1936: A History'',

(1937) Their son, Isaac (–1702),"Cousins Make Mark on Maine"
– banfield-hodgkinsfamily.com followed them in 1647, aged about 34, arriving with his new wife, Elizabeth (–1656). A year after Elizabeth's death at the age of around 31, Isaac remarried, to Ann Hunt. Ann died in 1660, aged about 45, after three years of marriage. Isaac married a third time, seventeen years later, to Martha Priest.

Death

Cousins died in Cider Hill, near York, on June 26, 1682, aged 87. He deeded his real estate in Casco Bay to his wife.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cousins, John 1596 births 1682 deaths People from Marlborough, Wiltshire People from North Yarmouth, Maine English emigrants to Massachusetts Bay Colony People from colonial Boston