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5th great-grandfather

John Simpson

Also known as: John Simson

Feature profile
Profile evidence
Established profile
Last reviewed
11 July 2026

A Mispillion Hundred yeoman whose tax, land, and probate records directly identify him as a son of William Simpson, with Y-DNA independently corroborating the documented paternal line.

Life Story

John Simpson, recorded in early Kent County records as John Simson, was probably born about 1712 or earlier, a son of William Simson, a yeoman of Mispillion Hundred, Kent County, Delaware. No surviving record reviewed for this family identifies John’s mother.

John first appears in the surviving Mispillion Hundred levy sequence by 1733, listed beside William Simson.1 In 1734, the relationship was stated directly: the list placed “John Simson his son” beneath William Simson.2 These records establish John as William’s adult son by the early 1730s, although they do not provide an exact age or birthplace.

The 1735 assessment placed William Simson, John Simson, and William Simson Junr. together in Mispillion Hundred, each with an assessment figure of 12.3 The entry identifies an adult family group consisting of the elder William and two sons. The assessment figure appears to represent a taxable basis rather than twelve pounds actually paid.

By the late 1740s, John was participating in county legal business. He witnessed several probate or administration bonds and appeared as a witness to a 1748 deed from James Taylor to George Goforth.4 The surviving probate bonds appear to preserve John’s autograph signature, suggesting that he could sign his name at that period.

On 22 May 1749, William Simpson conveyed 147 acres south of the main branch of Mispillion Creek to John by deed of gift. William described the transfer as made for the “good Love and good Will” he bore toward his son, and the deed indicated that John was already living on the land.5 A neighbouring deed recorded in 1772 independently described the deceased William Simpson as John Simpson’s father.6

The lifetime conveyance probably explains why John was not named in William’s 1757 will. William instead provided life use of his home plantation to his wife Urcilla, then devised that plantation to his son Moses after “his Mothers Death,” while leaving the personal estate to his daughters Joan, Elizabeth, and Jemima when they reached full age.7 The arrangement suggests that William distributed property among his children at different stages rather than through a single final division.

John remained in Mispillion Hundred through the middle decades of the century. The 1753 levy list placed John Simson near Moses Simson and members of the Stuart and Smith neighbourhood.8 Moses appeared again in 1754,9 and John was assessed in Mispillion Hundred in 1756.10

A county list from 1766 records John turning in 43 squirrel scalps, part of a local bounty system intended to reduce agricultural pests.11 It is a small record, but it places him within the practical work of an eighteenth-century farming community and among the same Mispillion neighbours found in other records.

By the early 1770s, John was arranging both the succession of his land and his own support in old age. A later sheriff’s deed recited a division dated 12 April 1771 of two tracts, Mount Pleasant and Simpson’s Folly, between his sons John Jr. and Robert.12 The tracts had been surveyed by David Hilford, a member of a family repeatedly associated with the Simpsons in land, probate, and marriage records.

John made his will on 17 March 1772 and named John Jr. as sole executor. Robert was to receive the half of the land he was already occupying, subject to half the mortgage owed to the General Loan Office and half of a disputed bond originally owed to the deceased John Vining. John Jr. received the dwelling plantation and the residue of the personal estate, but he was required to maintain his father for life without charging the other children.13

John also made detailed provision for his unmarried daughter Mary. He left her a feather bed, a pied cow, a white ewe, a loom, two linen wheels, a woollen wheel, a small trunk, and a glass bottle. His sons were to build and maintain a sufficient house and garden ground for her on whatever part of the family land she chose, for as long as she remained single.13

John died sometime after making his will on 17 March 1772 and before it was proved on 4 January 1775. The 1774 Mispillion Hundred levy list placed “John Simson Junr.” where the older John had previously appeared, suggesting that John Sr. may have died before that assessment was completed.14 His personal estate was appraised on 20 March 1775 at just under £30.15

The inventory describes a modest but established rural household. John owned cattle, sheep, farming implements, axes, carpenter’s tools, pewter, textile equipment, old books, and spectacles.15 Together with the will, these goods point to a mixed household economy based on land, livestock, cultivation, repair work, and textile production. His mortgage and disputed bond show that landownership did not necessarily mean financial ease, but his estate planning was deliberate: he divided land between his sons, required care for himself, and created a continuing home and means of household production for Mary.

On 12 August 1790, Andrew Barrett, High Sheriff of Kent County, executed a deed conveying the divided lands to John Jr. and Robert, completing the legal transfer of the property their father had arranged nearly twenty years earlier.12

Research Notes

Birth Year and Levy-List Interpretation

No birth or baptismal record has been located for John. His birth is estimated at about 1712 or earlier because he appeared as an adult taxable male by 1733 and was directly identified as William Simson’s son in 1734.12 The estimate should not be treated as an exact year.

The figure 12 beside William, John, and William Jr. in 1735 appears to be an assessment or taxable basis. The accompanying levy language indicates that tax was collected at a rate of pence in the pound; it should not be described as twelve pounds paid by each man.3

Mother and Probable Half-Siblings

John’s mother has not been identified. William’s wife in 1757 was Urcilla, also recorded as Ursley, but William’s will directly identifies her as Moses’s mother rather than John’s: the home plantation was to pass to Moses after “his Mothers Death.”7

The family chronology suggests that John and Moses were probably half-brothers. John was already an adult by 1733, supporting a birth around 1712 or earlier, while Moses’s first separate levy appearances in 1753 and 1754 support a birth in the late 1720s or early 1730s.189 William’s daughters Joan, Elizabeth, and Jemima also appear to have been below full age in 1757. If Urcilla were the mother of both John and the younger children, the surviving chronology would require a very long maternal fertility window, with relatively few documented surviving children between the older sons and the later household.

That pattern is biologically possible and does not prove that William married twice. Nevertheless, the age gap, the later household centred on Urcilla and Moses, the apparent youth of the daughters, and John’s earlier lifetime land settlement more naturally fit an earlier maternal family for John and William Jr. and a later family with Urcilla. The profile therefore treats Moses and the younger children as probable half-siblings, not as a directly documented maternal relationship.

Wife

John’s wife has not been identified. She was not named in his 1772 will, which suggests that she had died before it was written.13 No reviewed marriage record, church entry, deed, or probate record identifies her. A possible connection to the neighbouring Smith family has been proposed, but no direct evidence supports it.

Signatures and Literacy

John signed several surviving probate bonds in the late 1740s, while his 1772 will was executed by mark.413 The later mark should not be treated as proof that he had always been unable to write. Age, infirmity, eyesight, habit, or the circumstances of execution may explain the difference. The old books and spectacles in his inventory are consistent with at least some household literacy, although they do not establish that John personally read them.15

Hilford Family Connections

David Hilford surveyed the tracts divided between John’s sons and witnessed John’s will. Thomas Hilford later appeared as a surety in the administration of Moses Simpson’s estate, and John Jr. married Mary Hilford, daughter of Matthew Hilford and sister of David and Thomas. These repeated connections place the Simpson and Hilford families in the same land, legal, and kinship network. They do not identify John Sr.’s wife.

The 1771 Division and 1790 Sheriff’s Deed

The 1790 sheriff’s deed did not create a new family settlement. It completed the legal title transfer arising from John’s 1771 division and his 1772 estate plan.12 The later date should therefore not be mistaken for the date on which John’s sons first received or occupied the property.

Y-DNA Evidence

Y-DNA testing independently corroborates the documented paternal structure of this family. Davis Simpson, a documented direct male-line descendant of John Simpson, and Lee Simpson, a documented direct male-line descendant of Moses Simpson, match at FamilyTreeDNA and share haplogroup R-FGC39762.16

The Y-DNA result does not by itself prove every parent-child link between the testers and the eighteenth-century men. Its value comes from agreement with two independently documented male-line pedigrees descending through different sons of William Simpson. It strongly supports the conclusion that the John and Moses branches share the same biological Simpson paternal line and provides independent genetic corroboration of John’s place in Davis Simpson’s direct paternal ancestry.

Evidence Timeline

  1. Identified as William Simpson's son

    The Mispillion Hundred levy list directly names John Simson as William Simson's son.

  2. Received land from William

    William conveyed 147 acres to John by deed of gift.

  3. Made his will

    John arranged land, care for himself, and a continuing home for his unmarried daughter Mary.

  4. Will proved

    The probate establishes the latest date by which John had died.

Family Group Sheet

Parents
Spouse / family connection
Wife unidentified; probably deceased before John's 1772 will
Children and direct-line notes
  • John Simpson Jr. - direct-line child; later father of Clement Simpson
  • Robert Simpson - named in John's 1772 will and land division
  • Mary Simpson - named in John's 1772 will with a continuing home and household provision

Places in John Simpson's Life

Probable modern area: Milford Hundred. Broad historical-area marker; not the Simpson house or parcel.

Land reconstruction

John Simpson Sr.'s Delaware land

The 1749 deed gives seven measured courses for the 147-acre tract where John Simpson was already living. Its final boundary followed the bends of a branch, so the reconstructed outline is scaled from the deed but is not yet fixed to a modern parcel.

Scaled schematic of John Simpson's 1749 147-acre tract Measured deed calls are shown as solid lines. The branch boundary from P7 to P0 is shown as a dashed curve because its several meanders were not measured. P0 P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 N 20 perches / 330 ft
1749 deed: 147-acre Simpson tract South side of the main branch of Mispillion Creek; William Simpson's original line, Robert Smith, Moses Stuart, a road-side red oak, and a beaver-dam corner appear in the deed calls. The measured calls close to about 140.34 acres by a straight line. The deed's meandering stream boundary accounts for the remaining area.
  • C1: S 12° E, 216 perches, to a corner hickory in the original line of William Simpson’s land
  • C2: N 64° E, 65.5 perches, to a red oak corner of Simpson and Robert Smith land
  • C3: S 14° E, 40.5 perches, to a red oak near Robert Smith’s line by a road
  • C4: S 81° E, 63.5 perches, to a red oak
  • C5: N 10° E, 79 perches, to a red oak in the line of Moses Stuart’s land
  • C6: S 37°30′ W, 52.5 perches, to a red oak corner of Stuart land
  • C7: N 18° W, 185 perches, to a post by Stuart’s fence on the south side of a beaver dam
Scaled schematic of the adjoining 1772 Smith-Hudson parcel A ten-acre Robert Smith parcel conveyed to William Hudson, described as adjoining John Simpson's land near his house. H0 H1 H2 H3 H4 N 20 perches / 330 ft
1772 deed: adjoining ten-acre Smith-Hudson parcel The beginning was near John Simpson's house and a corner of his land. This was Robert Smith's land, later conveyed to William Hudson, not a Simpson-owned parcel. The calls close within about 0.47 perch, or 7.8 feet.
  • H1: S 62°30′ W, 41 perches, with John Simpson’s line
  • H2: S 2°51′ W, 17 perches, division line through Robert Smith’s land
  • H3: S 77° E, 47 perches, to a post in the Smith–Riggs line
  • H4: N 8° E, 48.5 perches, with Riggs’s line to the former Simpson–Riggs red-oak corner
  • H5: S 82°30′ W, 15.4 perches, with Simpson’s line to the beginning
Research hypothesis: possible common Simpson-Smith corner

The dashed outline below places the 1772 beginning corner H0 at the 1749 Simpson-Robert Smith corner P2. Similar red-oak boundary descriptions and nearly matching bearings make the alignment worth testing, but the records do not explicitly identify the corners as the same.

Possible alignment based on similar Simpson-Smith corner descriptions and nearly matching bearings; not established.

All parcel diagrams use a local grid in perches. They are scaled relative to the deed calls, not georeferenced to modern latitude and longitude. The house is shown only through the deed's written reference and is not plotted as a point.

Documentary Base

Sources

tax-list

[1] Mispillion Hundred levy list, 1733 — William and John Simson

Contemporary record Back to first citation

Citation: Kent County, Delaware, Levy Court Commissioners, "Tax Lists," Mispillion Hundred, 1733 tax list, entries for William Simson and "to him John Simson"; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS3J-PQXN-T?view=explore : accessed 23 May 2026), image 208 of 940; date heading shown at image 201 of 940; Image Group Number 007834262; citing Delaware Public Archives, Dover.

Access: FamilySearch digital images; accessed 23 May 2026.

Supports:
  • Places John Simson beside William Simson in Mispillion Hundred by 1733.
  • Supports John as an adult taxable male by the early 1730s.
  • The wording is less explicit than the 1734 list and should be used with that record for the father-son relationship.

tax-list

[2] Mispillion Hundred assessment list, 1735 — William, John, and William Jr.

Contemporary record Back to first citation

Citation: Kent County, Delaware, Levy Court Commissioners, "Tax Lists," Mispillion Hundred, 1735 assessment list, entries for William Simson, John Simson, and William Simson Junr.; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS3J-PQXY-S?view=explore : accessed 21 May 2026), image 229 of 940; Image Group Number 007834262.

Access: FamilySearch digital images; accessed 21 May 2026.

Supports:
  • Places William Simson, John Simson, and William Simson Jr. together as adult taxable men.
  • Supports the reconstruction of an elder William with adult sons John and William Jr.
  • The figure 12 appears to be an assessment basis, not twelve pounds paid.

deed

[4] 1749 William Simpson to John Simpson Deed

Contemporary record Back to first citation

Citation: Kent County, Delaware, Deed Book O1:12, deed of gift, William Simpson to John Simpson, 23 May 1749, acknowledged 10 August 1749; "Kent, Delaware, United States records," images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSGD-KW69?view=explore : accessed 22 May 2026), image 18 of 627; citing Kent County Recorder of Deeds, Dover.

Access: FamilySearch digital image, accessed 22 May 2026.

Supports:
  • William Simpson conveyed 147 acres to John Simpson.
  • The deed directly identifies John Simpson as William's son.
  • The deed helps explain why John was not a devisee in William's 1757 will.

deed

[5] Robert Smith to William Hudson deed naming William Simpson as John's father, 1772

Contemporary record Back to first citation

Citation: Kent County, Delaware, Deed Book V1:39-40, deed, Robert Smith to William Hudson, 10 November 1772; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSGD-GS1W-L?view=explore : accessed 22 May 2026), image 40 of 596.

Access: FamilySearch digital images; accessed 22 May 2026.

Supports:
  • Independently describes the deceased William Simpson as the father of John Simpson.
  • Provides neighbouring land context for John's Mispillion Hundred property.

probate file

[6] 1757 William Simpson Probate File

Contemporary record Back to first citation

Citation: Delaware Public Archives, Dover, Kent County probate file of William Simpson, will dated 13 November 1757, proved 10 December 1757; "Kent, Delaware, United States records," images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSRM-493W-8?view=explore : accessed 22 May 2026), images 348-354 of 812; RG3545.000, Roll 200, "Simpson, John to Sipple, Garrett, Jr."; Image Group Number 104426529.

Access: FamilySearch digital images, accessed 22 May 2026.

Supports:
  • William Simpson made his will on 13 November 1757 and it was proved on 10 December 1757.
  • The will names wife Urcilla, son Moses, and daughters Joan, Elizabeth, and Jemima.
  • The probate file establishes the death window, estate structure, executors, and household inheritance plan.

tax-list

[7] Mispillion Hundred levy list, 1753 — John and Moses Simson

Strong support Back to first citation

Citation: Kent County, Delaware, Levy Court Commissioners, "Tax Lists," 1753, Mispillion Hundred, entries for John Simson and Moses Simson; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS3J-PQVL-3 : accessed 22 May 2026), image 405 of 940; Image Group Number 007834262.

Access: FamilySearch digital images; accessed 22 May 2026.

Supports:
  • Places John and Moses Simson in Mispillion Hundred in 1753.
  • Supports continued residence by John and an adult tax appearance for Moses.
  • Contributes to the estimated age difference between John and Moses but does not provide exact birth years.

tax-list

[8] Mispillion Hundred levy list, 1754 — Moses Simson

Strong support Back to first citation

Citation: Delaware Levy Court Commissioners, Kent County, Tax Lists, Mispillion Hundred, 1754; "Kent, Delaware, United States records," images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS3J-PQVS-6?view=explore : accessed 24 May 2026), image 410 of 940; Image Group Number 007834262.

Access: FamilySearch digital images; accessed 24 May 2026.

Supports:
  • Places Moses Simson in Mispillion Hundred in 1754.
  • Supports the estimated late-1720s or early-1730s birth range when correlated with the tax-list sequence.
  • Does not directly state Moses's age.

tax-list

[9] Mispillion Hundred levy list, 1756 — John Simson

Strong support Back to first citation

Citation: Kent County, Delaware, Levy Court Commissioners, "Tax Lists," 1756, Mispillion Hundred, John Simson entry; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS3J-PQJP-B : accessed 22 May 2026), image 452 of 940; Image Group Number 007834262.

Access: FamilySearch digital images; accessed 22 May 2026.

Supports:
  • Places John Simson in Mispillion Hundred in 1756.
  • Supports continuity of residence after the 1749 deed of gift.

county-record

[10] Mispillion Hundred squirrel-scalp list, 1766 — John Simpson

Strong support Back to first citation

Citation: Kent County, Delaware, Levy Court Commissioners, "A List of Squirrel Scalps Receivd... 1766," unpaginated; digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS3J-PQNR-S : accessed 22 May 2026), image 697 of 940; Image Group Number 007834262.

Access: FamilySearch digital images; accessed 22 May 2026.

Supports:
  • Records John Simpson turning in 43 squirrel scalps in 1766.
  • Places him within the Mispillion Hundred farming community and neighbourhood.
  • Provides social and agricultural context rather than a major identity conclusion.

deed

[11] Sheriff's deed completing John Simpson's land division, 1790

Strong support Back to first citation

Citation: Kent County, Delaware, Deed Records, volume C2–D2, pages 30–32, deed from Andrew Barrett, high sheriff of Kent County, to John Simpson of Mispillion Hundred, 12 August 1790, reciting the ownership of John Simpson the elder and the division of his land between his sons Robert and John; acknowledged in the Kent County Court of Common Pleas in August 1790; digital images, “Kent, Delaware, United States records,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C37X-M164?view=explore : accessed 12 July 2026), images 36–38 of 644; Image Group Number 008577930; citing Kent County Recorder of Deeds.

Access: FamilySearch digital images of Kent County deed records; accessed 12 July 2026.

Supports:
  • Explicitly identifies John Simpson the elder as the father of the grantee, John Simpson.
  • Identifies Robert Simpson and John Simpson as sons of the elder John.
  • Recites that the elder John had held approximately 237 acres in Mispillion Hundred.
  • Describes the division of the property between Robert and John.
  • Describes the portion laid off to John as approximately 66 acres and 152 square perches.
  • Documents Andrew Barrett’s conveyance of title to John Simpson through sheriff’s proceedings.
  • The grantee was John alone; the deed recites the earlier division between John and Robert.

probate

[12] Will and probate file of John Simpson, 1772–1775

Contemporary record Back to first citation

Citation: Delaware Public Archives, Dover, Kent County Register of Wills, estate file of John Simpson, will dated 17 March 1772, proved 4 January 1775, RG 3545.000, roll 199, “Short, Peter to Simpson, John”; digital images, “Kent, Delaware, United States records,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSRM-4BBG?view=explore : accessed 12 July 2026), images 743–747 of 762; Image Group Number 104426528.

Access: FamilySearch digital images of records held by the Delaware Public Archives; accessed 12 July 2026.

Supports:
  • Names John's children John Jr., Robert, and Mary.
  • Names John Jr. as sole executor.
  • Divides the land and associated debts between John Jr. and Robert.
  • Requires John Jr. to maintain his elderly father for life.
  • Provides detailed property and housing provisions for unmarried daughter Mary.
  • Establishes that John was alive on 17 March 1772 and dead by probate on 4 January 1775.
  • Does not name a wife, supporting the conclusion that she was probably already deceased.

tax-list

[13] Mispillion Hundred levy list, 1774 — John Simson Jr.

Strong support Back to first citation

Citation: Kent County, Delaware, Levy Court Commissioners, "Levy Lists Kent 1774," Mispillion Hundred; digital images, FamilySearch, image 881 of 940; Image Group Number 007834262.

Access: FamilySearch digital image; full image URL was not included in the supplied citation.

Supports:
  • Shows 'John Simson Junr.' in the place where the elder John had appeared in earlier levy records.
  • Suggests, but does not prove, that John Sr. died before the 1774 assessment was completed.

probate-inventory

[14] Inventory of the estate of John Simpson, 1775

Contemporary record Back to first citation

Citation: Delaware Public Archives, Dover, probate file of John Simpson, inventory dated 20 March 1775; "Kent, Delaware, United States records," images, FamilySearch; citing RG3545.000, Roll 199; Image Group Number 104426528.

Access: FamilySearch digital images of Delaware Public Archives records; full image URL was not included in the supplied citation.

Supports:
  • Values John's personal estate at just under £30.
  • Lists livestock, farming tools, carpenter's tools, textile equipment, pewter, old books, and spectacles.
  • Supports interpretation of a mixed rural household economy.
  • The books and spectacles indicate household literacy but do not prove that John personally read.

dna-evidence

[15] Y-DNA comparison of the John and Moses Simpson branches

Contemporary record Back to first citation

Citation: FamilyTreeDNA, Y-DNA Matches and Big Y results for kit B24208, match to kit 436237; reviewed May 2026. Davis Simpson and Lee Simpson are documented direct male-line descendants of William Simpson of Mispillion Hundred through different sons, John Simpson and Moses Simpson. The testers match with six Big Y STR differences and both belong to haplogroup R-FGC39762.

Access: FamilyTreeDNA account results and supplied DNA-confirmation information reviewed May 2026.

Supports:
  • Independently corroborates that the documented John and Moses branches share the same biological Simpson paternal line.
  • Supports the broader paternal-line reconstruction back to William Simpson.
  • Does not independently prove every documentary parent-child link in either lineage.
  • Tester names and kit numbers are included because they were supplied for this public genealogical analysis.