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The Jagger (Gager) family of Long Island

JOHN JAGGER (GAGER), of STAMFORD, CONN.
JOHN. JAGGER, of SOUTHAMPTON, L. I.

The following passages were taken from the work of  Harry Garfield Gager, Jagger-Gager genealogy: descendants of Dr. William Gager, Charlestown, Mass., 1630, Jeremiah Jagger (Gager), Watertown, Mass., 1630, 9th and 10th generations of each, John Jagger, Southampton, Long Island, 1641 San Francisco, Calif., 1942 and Descendants of Jeremiah Jagger (Gager), of Watertown, Mass., 1630 and John Jagger, of Southampton, L.I., 1641 : with references to Dr. William Gager, of Charlestown, Mass., 1630, San Francisco, 1939 - to see a complete version of the work please view the PDF file Linked HERE.

     It has been stated by Geo. R. Howell in his "History of Southampton, L. I.", Ed. 1887, P327, that "John Jagger, the eldest son of Jeremiah Jagger of Stamford, Conn„ settled in Southampton, L. I., and the first mention of him on the town records was in 1651 when he was granted a house lot; and his other two sons, Jeremiah and Jonathan remained in Stamford."
    I intend to show that John Jagger (Gager), the eldest son of the first Jeremiah Jagger (Gager), did not go to Southampton, L. L He remained in Stamford, raised a family there, and died there in 1684 (not in 1699). His will was probated in Stamford Conn. in 1684. and not in Southampton, L. I, in 1699, as stated by Howell and others. His descendents are found in Stamford and Windsor, Conn., also in Westchester and Dutchess Counties, N. Y. Many of them became known as Gager, and the writer is one of his descendants.
    There was a great tribe of Jaggers who lived in Southampton, L. I. The first one was John Jagger, who settled there about 1641, and said to perhaps be a brother of the first Jeremiah Jagger of Stamford, Conn. (Authority: "Gen. Diet. of the First Settlers of New England," by Jas. Savage, Vol. 2, p 534.)
    Geo. R. Howell, in his "History of Southampton, L. I.", p 30, has John Jagger on a list of persons who carne to Southampton "within a few years after the settlement of the town in 1639." (Corrected to 1640, by Gov. Winthrop). And on p 327, he states that "the first mention of John Jagger on the town records was in 1651, when he was granted a house lot", as has been previously stated. This is an error, as to 1651 being the first mention of him, which has been copied by various historians and genealogists from time to time ever since.      .
    I will show that it was very improbable if not impossible for John Jagger of South­ampton, L. I., 1641 or 1651, to have been the son of the first Jeremiah Jagger (Gager) of Stamford, Conn.
    The following are copies of two family records which obviously are two different families, yet they have been interchanged by various historians and credited to either John Jagger (Gager) of Stamford. Conn., or to John Jagger of Southampton, L. I. These records are self explanatory and prove that John Jagger (Gager) of Stamford (d. 1684), and John Jagger of Southampton, L..I. (d. 1699) were two different persons.
    Jas. Savage states as follows: "John Jagger of Stamford, Conn., son of the first Jeremy. Propounded for Freeman 1670. According to Probate Records of Feb. 16, 1684, he had the following children: Elizabeth, age 18, d. before May 1686; Hannah, age 16; Sarah, age 14; Mary, age 11; and Jonathan, age 9." (Authority: "Probate Records, Stamford. Conn.") by Rev. E. B. Huntington. No wife is named in his will, but according to the will of John Cross of Windsor, Conn., son of William Cross of Windsor and Wethersfield, b. about 1580, d. about 1655. (Authority: "Early Conn. Probate Records" by Chas, W. Manwaring, Vol. 2, p53, 375) and the will of his brother, Samuel Cross. (same authority, p 53) we find that their sister Hannah Cross, married John Jagger, and had a son Jonathan, and daughters Hannah, Sarah and Mary. This agrees with the children named in the will of John Jagger. of Stamford, Conn. (d. 1684), as previously stated, excepting that a daughter Elizabeth is omitted, as she died an infant. (Authorities: "Ancient Wethersfield" by Henry R. Stiles, Vol. 2, p9, 32, 168, 304. "American Genealogist", Vol. 9, 056; "Abridged Comp. of Amer. Gene.", Vol. 6, P444; "Genealogy of Conn.; by W. R. Cutter, Vol. 4, p2122; "Early Puritan Settlers of the Colony of Conn." by R. R. Hinman, p 761.)   Various real estate transactions are found recorded in Stamford, Conn., between the above mentioned John Jagger (estate), Jonathan Jagger, John Cross, and his brother Nathaniel, in the years 1685 to 1705.