William Hoskins (c.1615 – 1695-09-07) was a Great Migration immigrant who came to America in 1634, and my 9th-great-grandfather and 10th-great-grandfather through his children William and Rebecca, respectively, both born to his second known wife Anne Hinds, by being an ancestor on both sides of Mercy (Hoskins) Crossman. He is also notable because in 2023, amateur genealogists found a convincing descent of William from kings of England.

William immigrated from Ireland to Plymouth Colony, where he died. He also lived for a time in Taunton, Massachusetts.

Origins

William came from Aghadown, County Cork, Ireland, the son of Henry Hoskins and Anne Winthrop. No birth record for him has been found, but it is likely he was born there. The identity of these parents were confirmed by a letter from Anne, who remained in Ireland, to John Winthrop the Younger (1606–1676), Governor of Connecticut. Anne Winthrop’s father, also named John, had immigrated to Ireland from England. Henry’s parents are unknown.

Family

William is known to have married three times:

• He married Sarah Cushman in Plymouth on 1636-11-02. Her parents are unknown, but there is evidence connecting her to my Cushman family, specifically that she may be the daughter of Robert Cushman and Sara Reder. They had one child, Sarah.
• He married Anne Hinds (also spelled Hinde, Hynes) in Plymouth on 1638-12-21. Her parents are unproven, but she may be the daughter of John Hynde baptized 1617-01-12 in Bradfield, Yorkshire^ref, which would fit her self-declared age of about 25 in 1642.^ref They had at least five children—Mary, Rebecca, Elizabeth, William, and Samuel—and two other children John and Richard are speculated to be theirs. The children Rebecca and William are both my ancestors.
• He married Elizabeth, widow of Aaron Knapp, some time after 1674. Her maiden name is not known. They had no children; both were of advanced age then.

Royal descent

In 2023, through the work of amateur genealogists, a convincing line of descent was found of William from medieval royal kings. Though to my knowledge it has not been reviewed by relevant experts, the evidence looks quite strong, with multiple strains of evidence for each generation.

Here is a descent from King Edward I of England:

This makes the king William’s 11th-great-grandfather, and my 22nd-great-grandfather (and 23rd, due to my double descent from William).

There are many other such descents. Longer descents from royal families exist from Anne/Agnes Wingfield’s paternal side; here is an example from a Scottish king:

This makes David my 27th-great-grandfather (and 28th).

Finally, here’s a descent from an illegitimate son of Henry I down to Elizabeth de Bohun (above), which qualifies me as a “royal bastard”:

There are several other descents from Robert de Caen; the above seems to be the shortest.

Ancestry

See

• Thread on WikiTree about the royal descent.
• Thread on Usenet about the royal descent.