Jonathan Oak

born 1717

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Overview

Nathaniel Oak(e)first record 1686; died 1720/21Father Mary (Holloway) Oak1681/2–aft. 1749Mother

Jonathan Oakborn 1717

John Oakc. 1755–1842Son

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Family

Parents

Father: Nathaniel Oak(e) first record 1686; died 1720/21
Likely evidence: show why
Why: The 1906 register (entry 1) lists Nathaniel and Mary's eight children.
Records:
- H. L. Oak, Oak-Oaks-Oakes Family Register (Los Angeles, 1906), entries 1, 7, 20 and 72 (record page · view at Internet Archive)
Review: assessed 09-24-2026; evidence: Published transcription or compiled genealogy examined.
What the labels mean
Mother: Mary (Holloway) Oak 1681/2–aft. 1749
Likely evidence: show why
Why: The 1906 register (entry 1) lists Nathaniel and Mary's eight children.
Records:
- H. L. Oak, Oak-Oaks-Oakes Family Register (Los Angeles, 1906), entries 1, 7, 20 and 72 (record page · view at Internet Archive)
Review: assessed 09-24-2026; evidence: Published transcription or compiled genealogy examined.
What the labels mean

Children with Jonathan Oak 1717–bet. 1784 and 1785

Son: John Oak c. 1755–1842
Likely evidence: show why
Why: The 1899 Lewiston Journal (secondhand) says John Oak of Exeter was a son of Captain Jonathan Oak; Jonathan's will of 1784 names a son John; ages agree; Pamela Lambert called John her brother and appears to be Jonathan's daughter Millie. Against it, the pension file names no parent, Harvard has no matching John, and the Lewiston piece gives Bennington and Quebec service that the file never mentions.
Records:
- Lewiston Journal, 29 April 1899, 'On Maine's Historic Ground'. 29 Apr 1899, Illustrated Magazine Section, p. 20: 'John Oak, son of Captain Jonathan Oak, served in the war for Independence ... died in Exeter, Maine ... in 1842, aged 86 years' (secondhand)
- Will of Captain Jonathan Oaks, Canaan, 1784. will of Capt. Jonathan Oaks of Canaan, 2 Dec 1784, names sons including John, and daughter Mille
- Revolutionary War pension file R.7758, John Oaks of Exeter, Maine (widow Abigail, rejected). John Oaks's declaration of 4 Apr 1818 (aged 63; enlistments under Capts. Gilbert, Derby/Denby and White) and 1820 schedule (wife 64, son 20); widow Abigail's declaration of 4 Oct 1843 (aged 83; married 13 Dec 1783; he died at Exeter 25 June 1842); Pamela Lambert's deposition of 31 Aug 1843; Exeter selectmen 2 Oct 1843 (died June 1842); widow's claim rejected (27 pages) (context)
- Maine Marriages: Sherebiah Lambert Jr. and Permelia 'Millie' Oaks, Canaan, 1787 (index entry; image not seen) (context)
- H. L. Oak, Oak-Oaks-Oakes Family Register (Los Angeles, 1906), entries 1, 7, 20 and 72 (record page · view at Internet Archive) (context)
Review: assessed 10-03-2026; evidence: Published transcription or compiled genealogy examined.
Earlier: Unconfirmed (10-03-2026, research): Added from research; not in the imported family tree.
What the labels mean

Life events

Born	21 Aug 1717, Marlborough, Massachusetts Confirmed evidence: show why Why: The Marlborough vital records list 'Jonathan, s. Nathaniel and Mary, Aug. 21, 1717' (text in the saved Internet Archive copy). Records: Vital Records of Marlborough, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (1908), births: 'Jonathan, s. Nathaniel and Mary, Aug. 21, 1717' (record page · view at Internet Archive) Review: assessed 10-02-2026; evidence: Published transcription or compiled genealogy examined. What the labels mean
Died	No death date is recorded here. The site classifies this person as deceased from the dated records; no death record is cited.
Guardianship	Named among the eight children of Nathaniel Oak in a guardian's bond: 'To Jonathan in his fifth'; his guardian was Jonathan Forbush of Sutton, Feb 1721/2, Westborough, Massachusetts Confirmed evidence: show why Why: In the guardian's bond of early February 1721/2 (frame 774) Jonathan is one of the eight children of the late Nathaniel Oak of Westborough: 'To Jonathan in his fifth', that is, in his fifth year. A boy born on 21 August 1717 was four years five months old then, which fits. The bond does not tie this boy to the later Jonathan of Harvard and Canaan; that rests on the 1906 register. Records: Middlesex County probate case files 16185 (administration) and 16186 (guardianship) of Nathaniel Oak of Westborough, 1721-1729: inventory heading, appraisers' oath of 23 May 1721, guardian's bond to Jonathan Forbush of Sutton, guardians' bonds of 1728/9, guardian's account of 1729. Vital Records of Marlborough, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (1908), births: 'Jonathan, s. Nathaniel and Mary, Aug. 21, 1717' (record page · view at Internet Archive) Review: assessed 10-02-2026; evidence: Image examined; Published transcription or compiled genealogy examined. What the labels mean
Guardianship	At about fifteen he named Jonathan Forbush of Westborough as his guardian, as the Worcester probate record reads, 11 Aug 1732, Worcester, Massachusetts Confirmed evidence: show why Why: Read on the page image at zoom (Worcester probate records, vol. 1, pp. 58-59): 'Know all men by these presents, that I Jonathan Oak a minor aged about fifteen years son of Nathaniel Oak late of Westborough in the County of Worcester Husbandman Decd ... do put and constitute Jonathan Forbush of Westborough aforesd Husbandman to be my Guardian ... this 11th Day of Aug Anno Domini 1732 and in the Sixth Year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord King George the Second', with a note that the minor Jonathan Oak appeared before John Chandler, Judge of Probate, at Worcester on 11 August 1732 and acknowledged it. A boy born on 21 August 1717 was ten days short of fifteen, and the 1721/2 bond already named Jonathan in his fifth year under the same Jonathan Forbush. This ties the Jonathan born in 1717 to Nathaniel's estate and to Westborough in 1732; it does not tie him to the later Jonathan of Harvard and Canaan, which rests on the 1906 register. Records: Worcester County probate records, vol. 1, pp. 58-59: Jonathan Oak, a minor aged about fifteen, son of Nathaniel Oak late of Westborough, husbandman, deceased, names Jonathan Forbush of Westborough as guardian, 11 Aug 1732; acknowledged before John Chandler, Judge of Probate (screenshot captures of the viewer saved; the viewer's transcript reads 1782 for 1732). (record page · view at FamilySearch, Worcester, Massachusetts. Probate Records 1731-1770 (Full-Text Search), image 48 of 832) Vital Records of Marlborough, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (1908), births: 'Jonathan, s. Nathaniel and Mary, Aug. 21, 1717' (record page · view at Internet Archive) Review: assessed 10-02-2026; evidence: Image examined; Published transcription or compiled genealogy examined. What the labels mean
Family	His wife Elizabeth died, aged 23 years 9 months, as the Harvard town record reads, 23 Nov 1750, Harvard, Massachusetts Likely evidence: show why Why: The record names a Jonathan Oak or Oaks of Harvard and then Canaan; that he is the Jonathan born at Marlborough in 1717, a son of Nathaniel and Mary, rests on the 1906 family register and on the ages and places fitting, not on a record that names both. The Harvard vital records list the death of Elizabeth, wife of Jonathan Oak, on 23 November 1750, aged 23 years 9 months. Records: Vital Records of Harvard, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849: deaths, p. 289 ('OAK (see Oaks), Elizabeth, w. of Jonathan, Nov. 23, 1750, a. 23 y. 9 m.') and marriages ('OAK, Jonathan and Abigail Rand, Apr. 26, 1762') (view at Internet Archive) H. L. Oak, Oak-Oaks-Oakes Family Register (Los Angeles, 1906), entries 1, 7, 20 and 72 (record page · view at Internet Archive) Review: assessed 10-02-2026; evidence: Published transcription or compiled genealogy examined. What the labels mean
Marriage	Married Abigail Rand, as the Harvard town record reads, 26 Apr 1762, Harvard, Massachusetts Likely evidence: show why Why: The record names a Jonathan Oak or Oaks of Harvard and then Canaan; that he is the Jonathan born at Marlborough in 1717, a son of Nathaniel and Mary, rests on the 1906 family register and on the ages and places fitting, not on a record that names both. The Harvard vital records list the marriage of Jonathan Oak and Abigail Rand on 26 April 1762; the 1906 register counts her as his fourth wife. Records: Vital Records of Harvard, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849: deaths, p. 289 ('OAK (see Oaks), Elizabeth, w. of Jonathan, Nov. 23, 1750, a. 23 y. 9 m.') and marriages ('OAK, Jonathan and Abigail Rand, Apr. 26, 1762') (view at Internet Archive) H. L. Oak, Oak-Oaks-Oakes Family Register (Los Angeles, 1906), entries 1, 7, 20 and 72 (record page · view at Internet Archive) Review: assessed 10-02-2026; evidence: Published transcription or compiled genealogy examined. What the labels mean
Will	His will, made at Canaan on 2 December 1784, was proved on 12 March 1785; it names sixteen children, among them Lydia, John, Jonathan and Daniel, 12 Mar 1785, Canaan, Lincoln County (now Maine) Likely evidence: show why Why: The record names a Jonathan Oak or Oaks of Harvard and then Canaan; that he is the Jonathan born at Marlborough in 1717, a son of Nathaniel and Mary, rests on the 1906 family register and on the ages and places fitting, not on a record that names both. The printed Lincoln County probate record gives the will of 'Jonathan Oaks of Canaan in the County of Lincoln', dated 2 December 1784 and probated 12 March 1785. It names daughters Mary, Lydda (Lydia), Elizabeth, Sarah, Rebeckah, Lois, Mille, Sibbel and Lucy, and sons Jonathan (his 'eldest son', left ten shillings 'if he Ever Comes to this place again'), John, Daniel, Levi, Solomon, Abel and William, with his son Solomon as executor; it leaves his home lot and carpenter's tools to Levi and Solomon. The will does not state his age or birthplace. Records: Probate Records of Lincoln County, Maine, 1760 to 1800 (Patterson, 1895): will of Jonathan Oaks of Canaan in the County of Lincoln, dated 2 Dec 1784, probated 12 Mar 1785 [III, 121-2], printed pp. 149-151 (record page · view at Internet Archive) H. L. Oak, Oak-Oaks-Oakes Family Register (Los Angeles, 1906), entries 1, 7, 20 and 72 (record page · view at Internet Archive) Review: assessed 10-02-2026; evidence: Published transcription or compiled genealogy examined. What the labels mean