Brief Life History of John
When John Charles III was born on 28 September 1685, in Springfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, his father, Samuel Charles, was 36 and his mother, Abigail Wheeler, was 19. He married Elizabeth Swetman on 10 March 1708, in Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, United States. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 2 daughters. He died about 1739, in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, at the age of 55.
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Family Time Line
Sources (19)
- John Charles in entry for Charles, "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915"
- John Charles, "Massachusetts Marriages, 1695-1910"
- John Charles, "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001"
Spouse and Children
1685–1739 Male
1687–1739 Female
Children (6)
1709–1709 Female
1711–1743 Female
1713–1798 Male
1716–1804 Male
1718– Male
+1 More Child
Parents and Siblings
1649–1690 Male
1666–1687 Female
Siblings (1)
1685–1739 Male
Name Meaning
Some characteristic forenames: French Pierre, Antoine, Andre, Francois, Patrice, Germaine, Magalie, Philippe, Yves, Alain, Jacques, Cecile.
French, Welsh, English, West Indian (mainly Haiti), and African (mainly Tanzania): from the French form of the ancient Germanic personal name Karl ‘man, husband, freeman’, which was Latinized as Carolus. In France the personal name was popular from an early date, due to the fame of the Emperor Charlemagne (c. 742–814; Latin name Carolus Magnus, i.e. Charles the Great). The Old French form Charles was briefly introduced to England by the Normans, but was rare during the main period of surname formation. It was introduced more successfully to Scotland in the 16th century by the Stuarts, who had strong ties with France, and was brought by them to England in the 17th century. Its frequency as a Welsh surname is attributable to the late date of Welsh surname formation. Old English Ceorl ‘peasant’ is also found as a byname, but the resulting Middle English form, Charl, with a patronymic in -s, if it existed at all, would have been absorbed by the French form introduced by the Normans. English variants pronounced with initial k- for the most part reflect the cognate Old Norse personal name Karl, Karli. Compare Carl .
English: in some cases, possibly a habitational name from Charles (Devon), or a post-medieval variant of Cherrill, with excrescent -s, perhaps by false association with the personal name Charles. Cherrill is either a habitational name from Cherhill in Wilshire, or a status name from Middle English cherl, cheril, charl, chirl ‘churl, bonded tenant, serf; peasant’.
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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