Life Story
William Simson Jr. was one of two adult men named William Simson living in Mispillion Hundred during the 1730s. The 1735 assessment list entered William Simson, John Simson, and William Simson Junr. near one another, distinguishing the younger William from the older man of the same name.1 The record is the earliest clear evidence presently identified for William Jr. as an adult in his own right.
William’s birth year is not recorded. If he had reached the usual taxable age of about twenty-one by 1735, he was born by approximately 1714. That calculation is useful for placing him within the family, but it is an estimate rather than a recorded date.
Key Evidence
| Date | Record | Evidence | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1735 | Mispillion Hundred assessment | Lists William Simson, John Simson, and William Simson Junr. as separate taxable men.1 | Distinguishes William Jr. from the elder William and places him beside John in the same local family cluster. |
| 19 Dec. 1748 | Administration bond | Margarett Sympson qualified as administratrix of the estate of William Simpson, deceased; another William Sympson joined the bond.2 | Establishes William’s death before the bond date, identifies Margarett as the estate administrator, and places the elder William in the probate proceeding. |
| 29 May 1751 | Estate account | Margarett, described as widow, relict, and administratrix, accounted for a personal estate inventoried at £22.14.9 and paid £4 to “the father in Law Willm Simpson.”3 | Directly identifies Margarett as William’s widow and strongly identifies the elder William Simpson as the deceased man’s father. |
| 1757-1760 | Elder William’s estate | The elder William’s will identifies Urcilla as Moses’s mother; the later estate account includes a payment to “Margrait Simson.”56 | Provides context for William Jr.’s probable half-sibling relationship to Moses and may show his widow still connected to the family estate. |
William married a woman named Margarett, whose maiden name and marriage details have not been found. By 19 December 1748, William had died and Margarett was acting as administratrix of his estate. The administration bond named “Margarett Sympson and Wm Sympson” as obligors and described Margarett as the person appointed to administer the goods, chattels, rights, and credits of the deceased William Simpson.2 The second William was almost certainly the older William Simson of Mispillion Hundred, acting as surety.
Margarett’s estate account supplies the strongest evidence for William Jr.’s place in the Simpson family. She rendered the account as the widow, relict, and administratrix of William Simpson, deceased. It stated that an inventory had been made on 19 December 1748 and valued the personal estate at £22.14.9. Among the payments was £4 to “the father in Law Willm Simpson.”3 In the language of the widow’s account, the elder William was her father-in-law and therefore the father of her deceased husband.
That evidence makes William Jr. a brother of John Simpson, who is independently identified as a son of the elder William in a 1749 deed of gift.4 William Jr. was also a probable half-brother of Moses Simpson. The elder William’s 1757 will identifies Urcilla as Moses’s mother,5 while William Jr. and John were already taxable adults more than twenty years before Moses’s first clear separate appearances. No surviving record names the mother of the older sons, so the half-sibling relationship remains a strong inference rather than a directly stated fact.
No children of William and Margarett have been identified. The probate records reviewed for this profile name no children, and no guardianship, heirship, deed, or later family record has been found connecting a child to the couple. The profile therefore treats William and Margarett as having no documented children. This does not prove that no child was ever born, but there is presently no evidence of surviving issue.
A payment to “Margrait Simson” appears in the 1760 account of the elder William Simpson’s estate.6 She may have been William Jr.’s widow, still receiving money through the family estate, but the account does not identify her relationship and the name alone is insufficient for certainty.
Research Notes
Identification as William Simson Jr.
The 1735 assessment distinguishes an elder William Simson from “William Simson Junr.” in the same hundred.1 The younger taxpayer is best identified as the deceased William whose widow Margarett administered an estate in 1748-1751. The bond’s second William and the estate account’s “father in Law Willm Simpson” connect the deceased man to the elder William of Mispillion Hundred.23
Estimated Birth and Death
The proposed birth year of about 1714 is calculated from William’s taxable status in 1735. It should not be presented as an exact date. Likewise, the records establish only that he died before the administration bond of 19 December 1748. An exact death date has not been found.
Margarett Simpson
Margarett is directly identified as William’s widow, relict, and administratrix.3 Her maiden name is unknown. The “Margrait Simson” paid from the elder William’s estate in 1760 may be the same woman, but that identification is only possible.6
Children
No children are named in William’s probate records, and no separate guardianship or heirship proceeding has been identified. Because the surviving estate was modest and consisted of personal property, silence in the account is not absolute proof that no child was ever born. Nevertheless, the combined absence of children from probate, land, guardianship, and later family records supports treating the couple as having no documented surviving issue.
Relationship to John and Moses
The 1751 account identifies the elder William as the deceased William’s father, while the 1749 deed independently calls John Simpson the elder William’s son.34 William Jr. and John were therefore brothers.
Moses was also a son of the elder William, and the 1757 will identifies Urcilla as Moses’s mother.5 The much earlier adult status of William Jr. and John, combined with the later household formed around Urcilla and her children, supports the conclusion that William Jr. and Moses were probably half-brothers. No record explicitly names William Jr.’s mother.
Disputed Attribution of Simson’s Chance
A 1728 survey for the 200-acre tract called Simson’s Chance has sometimes been assigned to William Jr. The records used here do not connect the survey to him. The elder William was already active in Kent County land records by 1718, was taxable in Mispillion Hundred by 1726, mortgaged land in 1729, and continued to appear in land transactions through the 1740s. That chronology makes the elder William the more likely person associated with the 1728 survey.
William Jr.’s known probate file concerns a modest personal estate. No deed, probate land proceeding, widow’s dower transaction, or heir conveyance has been found showing that he or Margarett held Simson’s Chance. The tract should not be attributed to William Jr. without additional evidence.
Evidence Timeline
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Mispillion assessment
William Simson Junr. was listed as a separate taxable man near William Simson and John Simson.
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Estate administration
Margarett Sympson qualified as administratrix of William Simpson's estate.
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Widow's estate account
Margarett's account called her William's widow and recorded payment to the father-in-law William Simpson.
Family Group Sheet
- Parents
-
- William Simpson - documented father; William Jr.'s mother remains unidentified
- Mother unidentified
- Spouse / family connection
- Margarett Simpson, identified as widow, relict, and administratrix
- Children and direct-line notes
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- No documented children
Places in William Simson Jr.'s Life
Documentary Base
Sources
tax-list
[1] Mispillion Hundred assessment list, 1735 — William, John, and William Jr.
Contemporary record Back to first citationCitation: 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.
- 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.
probate-bond
[2] Administration bond for the estate of William Simpson, 1748
Contemporary record Back to first citationCitation: Delaware Public Archives, Dover, Kent County Register of Wills, probate file of William Simpson, administration bond of Margarett Sympson and Wm Sympson, 19 December 1748; "Kent, Delaware, United States records," images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSRM-49M2-Z?view=explore : accessed 26 May 2026), image 342 of 812; RG3545.000, Roll 200, "Simpson, John to Sipple, Garrett, Jr."; Image Group Number 104426529.
Access: FamilySearch digital image of Delaware Public Archives probate records; accessed 26 May 2026.
- Establishes that William Simpson was deceased by 19 December 1748.
- Identifies Margarett Sympson as administratrix of William's estate.
- Shows another William Sympson bound with Margarett, apparently as surety.
- Supports distinguishing the deceased younger William from the living elder William.
probate-account
[3] Estate account of William Simpson rendered by his widow Margarett, 1751
Contemporary record Back to first citationCitation: Kent County, Delaware, Register of Wills, probate records, account of the estate of William Simpson rendered by Margarett Simpson, widow, relict, and administratrix, allowed and passed 29 May 1751; "Kent, Delaware, United States records," images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSRM-49M2-C?view=explore : accessed 22 May 2026), image 346 of 812; RG3545.000, Roll 200, "Simpson, John to Sipple, Garrett, Jr."; Image Group Number 104426529.
Access: FamilySearch digital image of Delaware Public Archives probate records; accessed 22 May 2026.
- Identifies Margarett Simpson as the widow, relict, and administratrix of William Simpson.
- States that the estate inventory was made on 19 December 1748 and valued the personal estate at £22.14.9.
- Records a payment of £4 to 'the father in Law Willm Simpson.'
- Strongly identifies the living elder William Simpson as the father of the deceased William Jr.
- Names no children or child-related distributions.
deed
[4] 1749 William Simpson to John Simpson Deed
Contemporary record Back to first citationCitation: 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.
- 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.
probate file
[5] 1757 William Simpson Probate File
Contemporary record Back to first citationCitation: 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.
- 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.
probate-account
[6] Estate account of William Simpson rendered by Moses and Urcilla, 1760
Contemporary record Back to first citationCitation: Delaware Public Archives, Dover, Kent County Register of Wills, probate file of William Simpson, estate account dated 26 February 1760; "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), image 351 of 812; citing RG3545.000, Roll 200, "Simpson, John to Sipple, Garrett, Jr."; Image Group Number 104426529.
Access: FamilySearch digital images of Delaware Public Archives records; accessed 22 May 2026.
- Shows Moses and Urcilla acting as executors of William Simpson's estate.
- Documents Moses's active role in settling his father's probate business.