John Wing of Sautucket [originally Yarmouth, later Harwich, now Brewster] (CPW1 pp. 42-46

     John Wing apparently moved to Yarmouth before 1648, when his son, Ephraim’s birth was recorded in the Plymouth Colony records as taking place in Yarmouth. About 1659 he moved further east.

     The precise date of his removal cannot be determined, as the early records of the town of Yarmouth were, in 1674, destroyed by fire and the first twenty pages of the Harwich† records are entirely lost. From incidental notices in the records of the Court of Plymouth and at Barnstable we gather a few items. The first reference of any interest to our history is under the date of March 1st, 1659, as follows: “The Court, taking notice that John Wing is erecting a building in a place that is out of the bounds of the township, and conceiving that such practices if permitted may prove prejudicial to the whole, do order that the said John Wing, and others that have done or shall do so, be prohibited to persist therein until it be further cleared to what township such lands belong on which they build.” This order refers to a requirement of that period, that no persons should settle upon lands which were not included within the chartered limits of towns, and under the permission of the Court and body of freemen incorporated by the government. There was some doubt whether Sautucket, the place at which John Wing had commenced building, was within the limits which had been given to Yarmouth township, and until that question had been decided it was deemed proper to prohibit its settlement. As, however it was reputed to be, and was soon afterwards proved to be within the chartered limits of the township, John Wing had already begun to build and soon established himself there. Indeed there are some indications that for an indefinite time before this he had purchased and lived upon a piece of land in the vicinity. It was in the northern part of the town, in the neighborhood of the sea coast. The Indians were then and for some time afterwards numerous in that region, but they were peaceable and never engaged in any hostile proceedings against the English. The precise spot on which John Wing settled is supposed to have been a high piece of land surrounded by swamp or meadow land, subsequently called “Wing’s Island,” about a mile northeast of the present town of Brewster. It was doubtless selected on account of its fertility and adaptation to the grazing of cattle. Freeman calls him and Lieut. John Dillingham (also from Sandwich) “large land owners.” The line on the east of Brewster, for a long time called “Wing’s Line,” was the base of future surveys and indicates a tract of land extending across the peninsula from the northern to the southern coast. (CPW1, pp. 42-44 †The Township of Harwich was set off from Yarmouth in 1694; in 1793 that of Dennis from Yarmouth on the east; and in 1803 that of Brewster from Harwich on the north)

[Grand-son] John Wing (1699 – 1758)

       His father died when John was but three years of age, and he was the particular care of his grandfather Wing, who left him his homestead and a one-third interest in his other landed possessions at Sautuckett River. This land he held in common with his Uncle Ananias and the heirs of his Uncle Joseph. He lived upon the original homestead, in the near vicinity of his cousin Elnathan, in the First School Remove of Harwich. (Owl, SEP 1915, p. 1487)

David Wing (1758 – c1806)

     While it is stated David died about 1806 in Dennis, (CPW1, p. 85) he is located at Harwich in the 1800 census. As the only son of John found living in Harwich for the 1790 Census, it is likely he inherited the original John Wing homestead in Sautucket.

Capt. John Wing (c1806 – 1830)

     Capt. John is the only son of David known to have lived at Brewster. It is believed he lived at the original John Wing homestead.

It is likely that the home was abandoned after the death of Capt. John Wing. It is known that all of his children settled in New York State.

No traces are now perceptible of the residence in which John Wing lived for more than forty years. (CPW1, p. 46 [1881])