John
Akin was born between 1663 and 1664 at prob. Aberdeen, Scotland. He married an unknown person in 1687 at Portsmouth, RI. He married
Hannah Sherman, daughter of
John Shearman and
Sarah Spooner, in 1711 at Dartmouth, Bristol Co., MA. John Akin died on 13 June 1746 at Dartmouth, MA.
Probate records of John Akin in Bristol Co., Mass. indicate that he was a man of some wealth.
Other records indicate he was a civic leader and a man of influence. The Akins appear to have been Quakers (Soc. of Friends). Movements of the family seem to be within Society communities.
"The Akins were of Scotland, where they embraced the ........... doctrine of the Society of Friends, or Quakers. On account of their religion the Quakers refused to bear arms or take the required oath. This subjected them to severe persecution, which they emigrated to America to escape. They settled in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, where they soon found that with the Puritans religious freedom meant freedom only for those of their own religious faith. The Quakers were banished from Massachusetts, some even suffering death." -Cuyler Reynolds, Hudson-Mohawk Genealolical Memoirs
"John Akin, founder of the family in America, born in Scotland, in 1663, came to America with others of his sect in 1680, settling in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, where, in 1687 he married Mary Briggs (this differs from other data stating that they married in RI). When persecution again drove him from his home, he with others of his family settled in New Netherlands (He couldn't have settled in New Netherlands, as it had ceased to exist about 1663, he settled in the formerly Dutch region which had become New York), where the Dutch did not disturb a man for his religious belief. He married a second wife, and died June 13, 1746, leaving eight sons and seven daughters." - Cuyler Reynolds, Hudson-Mohawk Genealolical Memoirs
I would add a word of caution here. Cuyler Reynolds is not my favorite source. His work is generally a useful resource but he is an editor of compilations only, not a researcher. His Hudson-Mohawk Genealolical Memoirs is a large untaking and I believe that he has been guilty, in some instances, of passing on misinformation and has given it credibility through his personal prestige.
I think the above notes reference the correct family but some of the details are shaky and I have therefore edited the text. Unrecognized GEDCOM data: (an unknown value) at Or Smith's Neck, MA.