Jonathan Danforth and Susanna White of Hardwick

Jonathan Danforth of Hardwick, Worcester, Massachusetts

Jonathan Danforth is one of the more interesting and "colorful" members of the Danforth family because of his obstinate run ins with his fellow townspeople who were members of the Committee of Public Safety during the Revolutionary War.  While he was not a British Loyalist his conservative sympathies to those Tories in his second wife's family were what became the source of most of his troubles during the War for American Independence.

He was the grandfather of Thomas Bassell Danforth the great grandfather of Anne Ruth Danforth Williams. He was quite a character and while he was not a loyalist his attitude about American Independence had him arrested and under house arrest for most of the war. At one point a lynch mob came to hang him but the constable of the town saved him. His most serious charge was hiding the property of his 2nd wife's relatives who were loyalists so it could not be confiscated by the Patriots. He never caused enough real harm to his neighbors and out lived all his foes. However all his children who could moved away from Harwick. I visited his grave in 1989. Harwick is still a very typical New England small town. The other grave is of his 2nd wife. 

Jonathan Danforth was born in the town of Billerica  26 February 1741/2, the youngest to Samuel Danforth Junior and his wife Elizabeth Hosley.  At the young age of seven years, his father died without having provided materially for his family.  Seven years later his mother died leaving him an orphan at the tender age of 14 years. 

Being the youngest of his brothers and sisters he probably was shuffled from household to household of various relations.  His three oldest brothers were all dead by 1758, having died as young men. His brother Isaac Danforth died a few months before their mother Elizabeth and two brothers, James and Samuel  died 7 months apart in 1758. Samuel Danforth a soldier in the French and Indian War and so may have been his brother James as neither had much financial incentives to stay in Billerica as poor relations.

Jonathan Danforth either lived and worked for relatives until his older brother Nicholas Danforth married in 1758.  The two brothers may have tried working as tenant farmers for a couple of years but with no more success then their father.  Without the knowledge of crop rotation, the soil around Billerica was probably played out.

           

In 1760 their remaining sibling Elizabeth Danforth married her cousin William Danforth, the orphaned son of their uncle Jonathan.  At this time  Nicholas Danforth and Jonathan Danforth moved away from Billerica to lands further west on the Nashua River.  Several of the Jaquith family, Nicholas' wife's people, also may have moved with them. Nearly 100 years after their ancestors founded the village of Billerica in a wilderness, these two Danforth sons were heading  33 miles due west to a new Wilderness. 

Conflict with the various Indian tribes discouraged settlements in this area any closer than Lancaster. The Nashaway Indians who had never settled permanently in the vicinity fled almost completely after the unsuccessful war of King Phillip in 1675. The sparsely populated region was rich in game and provided fine hunting for Indians and whites alike. In 1718, Samuel Page cut the first clearing in what is now Groton, but it was not until 1735 that his son headed west and built his garrison in the area that became Fitchburg.

The frontier was settled very slowly as hostilities between England and France encouraged Indian bounty hunters to attack isolated garrisons. In 1748 Indians carried off John Fitch and his family to Canada; the father and children returned from captivity the next year. The bloody war between France and England with its corollary of Indian hostilities lingered on until 1761. By this time the people were ready to turn their hearts and hands to peaceful productivity on their farms.

Settlers in the westerly part of Lunenburg County,  sought for three years to incorporate as a separate township. In 1764 this was accomplished and the name of Fitchburg, after John Fitch -"a synonym for heroism" - was chosen. Farmhouses from this era, such as the Gibson Garrison on Pearl Hill, still stand.

Fitchburg's  development was interrupted by the advent of the Revolution. With a total population of about 800, at least 169 Fitchburg men joined the Continental Army and fought in the battles for independence from England. Jonathan Danforth's brother Nicholas was among these men and was a Minute Man who fought at the first battle at Lexington and Concord in 1775. 

Jonathan Danforth at the age of 20 was far away from Billerica and any relations except for his brother. He was not suited to be a farmer as he had a mathematical instinct. At the age of 21 he may have received a small monetary settlement of his father and mother's estate from his brother.  About this time he traveled to Albany in New York Colony on the Hudson River and bought some tea and other merchandise. On his return he sold it and with the profits moved to the small village of Hardwick and became a merchant there for which he was more suited.  

The village of Hardwick is 32 miles southwest of Fitchburg.  Hardwick was a peaceful little New England village established in 1739 in the Swift River Valley. The only disturbance was the talk of excessive taxes levied by the British government to support a British army in America to guard the frontier. 

Here in Hardwick Jonathan operated a country store for farmers in the township providing supplies such as tea, coffee, cast-iron pots, and nails. Through hard work and a good mind for business he prospered and at the age of 28 years was successful enough to ask for the hand of Susanna White the daughter of the  town's pastor. Jonathan Danforth and Susanna White were married on 19 April 1770 in Hardwick by her father Reverend David White and they immediately began a family. 

MARRIAGE and FAMILY

  Jonathan and Susannah's first child was a son born on 19 March 1771 in Hardwick. He was named after Jonathan's father Samuel. Next came another son born in February 1773 and named Jonathan Junior. During increasingly troublesome times, Jonathan Danforth's wife Susanna gave birth to a baby boy on 10 November 1774 whom they named David White Danforth after Susannah's father.  However the baby lived just a little over a month and died on 16 December 1774. Obviously  having a sick child at home added to Jonathan Danforth's worries and may have unbalanced his behavior towards his fellow townsmen who had previously held him in high regard. During the height of conflicts with townsmen, Susanna White Danforth gave birth to her only daughter Pamelia Danforth who was born 8 November 1777 in Hardwick. Two years later on 14 November 1779 Susannah died at the age of 36 leaving Jonathan a widower with three small children eight years, five years, and two years old. 

THE RUGGLES FAMILY

Jonathan Danforth later married Anna Ruggles the daughter of Lt. Joseph Ruggles and Hannah Cushman. Joseph Ruggles was a blacksmith from 1750 until 1757 and later was an Innkeeper and owner of a grist mill located on Great Meadow Brook not far from his home. He was also a prominent Loyalist. Anna Ruggles was also the niece of the notorious Loyalist Brigadier General Timothy Ruggles. The Ruggles family of Hardwick was fairly wealthy but Timothy Ruggles' traitorous actions made the Ruggles very unpopular in Hardwick. 

When Richard Ruggles asked Jonathan Danforth in August 1775 to hide his household property in the woods which Ruggles could not take with him in his secret departure. Danforth agreed to conceal the goods of his friend until he could come back for them and to keep the property out of the hands of the Committee of Correspondence. This marked Jonathan Danforth as not a friend to the cause of Independence. 

In 1753, at age 42, Timothy Ruggles was seeking a grander life style and he moved his wife and their 7 children to Hardwick. The relocation had been in the planning stage for some time as 6 other Ruggles families had moved to the area where their father Rev. Timothy Ruggles of Rochester, Massachusetts had acquired  large tracts of land.  Timothy Ruggles was by far the richest and most well known person in the new town.

Ruggles began a life style commensurate with his wealth and that of English country gentlemen. He entertained his guests in a lavish style and conducted hunts on the property and hosted many grand dinners. Russell Lovell's book about the village of Sandwich gives a good description of  Timothy Ruggles 400 acre farm. He writes: "Timothy and Bathsheba established no ordinary farm in Hardwick.  He laid out a deer park and stocked it.  He bought imported and local horses of excellent breeds and developed splendid hunting and riding horses.  He bought prize bulls and developed a dairy herd.  He laid out a large orchard with many fruit varieties.  In all these activities, especially the selection of stock, the breeding patterns of his animals and the grafting and propagation of his trees, he displayed the greatest interest and observation in advanced scientific practices. He was able to entertain in baronial style, and his home became a magnet for travelers from all over the state."

The Ruggles continued to be active in religious matters as well politics. Timothy Ruggles  was elected as Hardwick's first Representative to the General Court in 1754; a position he would hold for the next 17 years.  He was also appointed a judge in the county seat of Worcester.

When The French and Indian War broke out many of the townfolks of Hardwick joined the colonial militia. Joseph Ruggles was a lieutenant and fought at the battle of Fort Henry in 1757. His brother Timothy Ruggles   raised a regiment from Worcester County and  was subsequently named Brigadier General in charge of Provincial forces from Massachusetts and Rhode Island. 

In 1759, as second in command to Lord Amherst, Timothy Ruggles with the joint British and Provincial forces attacked Fort Ticonderoga and wrested it from the French. He participated in campaigns in each season through 1762 when the battles largely ended in America.  Ruggles had achieved wide spread recognition as a fine officer who demonstrated exceptional leadership skills and whose troops would willingly serve under him.

  

After the war, the Ruggles triumphantly returned to Hardwick and Timothy Ruggles was amply rewarded by the Crown for his efforts.  He was named Survey-General of the King’s Forests receiving 300 pounds per year and was also granted 1500 acres in nearby Princeton.  His political career blossomed and he was named Chief Justice of the Worcester Superior Court.  He founded the Hardwick farmer's market fair in 1762 which continues to this day as America's oldest continual market fair.

Not only did Timothy Ruggles continue to represent Hardwick in Boston, but he was named Speaker of the House in 1762/1763.  Around this time, young John Adams wrote in his journal, "Ruggles grandeur consists in the quickness of his apprehension, steadiness of attention, the boldness and strength of his thoughts and expressions, his strict honor, conscious superiority, and contempt of meanness. People approach him with dread and terror."

Up until this time, the colonists considered themselves as staunch Englishmen as they had done for the last 150 years. Circumstances were about to change and so would the attitudes of some and later many of the colonists.

The French and Indian War had cost a huge sum of money and England insisted that the American colonies help pay the debt of 147 million pounds accrued during the war.  England also had a 10,000 man army still stationed on the western borders of the colonies to protect against Indian attacks and possible French encroachments. The Crown wanted the colonies to help bear the costs. Consequently Parliament passed the Stamp Act in 1765 that taxed legal documents, newspapers and playing cards.  The stamp was evidence that the tax had been paid.  Stamps were familiar in England adorning all kinds of documents and they generated 300,000 pounds per year for the Crown. However, this was the first time Parliament had placed an external tax on the American colonies.

Timothy Ruggles, who fought in the war, appreciated the price that England had paid in lives and pounds.  He was a Tory and loyal to the King and thought it was a reasonable approach and cautioned for moderation.  He was in the minority. Many in the colony openly rebelled against the tax.  People in New York, Virginia and Philadelphia took to the streets in protest. Mobs in Rhode Island hanged the tax officials in effigy. New Englanders called for a boycott of British goods.

 James Otis Jr., a Ruggles opponent and the son of his old adversary on Cape Cod, called it a violation of the colonists' constitutional rights. When Otis was elected as a member of the Assembly, Ruggles confided to a dinner guest, "Out of this election will arise a damned faction which will shake this province to its foundation".

The Massachusetts Assembly called for a meeting of all of the colonies to discuss and act upon the Stamp Act.  In June, 1765, representatives of 9 of the 13 colonies met in New York.  It was the first national convention of the colonies and it was convened without the approval of the Crown. Massachusetts sent 3 representatives with the two more important being Timothy Ruggles and James Otis Jr. 

The Royal Governor of Massachusetts awaited instructions from London, but knew that the colonial congress would be completed by the time he received direction.  Therefore he attempted to mitigate the situation by using his leverage to have Loyalist Ruggles made President of the Congress.  The fact that his peers voted him President indicates that loyalty to the Crown was still a moderate and popular position to most Americans in 1765. Ruggles had reached the apex of his career.

The Congress sent a deferential petition to the King and Parliament stating the "Essential Rights and Liberties of the Colonists."  Among many items, they listed 2 privileges essential to freedom; 1) - that they are free of all taxes unless consented to by their representatives and 2) - that they are entitled to a trial by their peers (and not by the Admiralty Court).  It was a moderate document in that it did not either reject or acknowledge Parliament's authority.  Nevertheless, Ruggles was 1 of 2 representatives who refused to lend his signature to the proceedings.  This was the beginning of his down fall from popularity along with all other Tories and he would eventually face virulent attacks. 

One of the earliest denunciations came in the form of a censure from the Massachusetts Assembly, led by James Otis Jr., for the Brigadier's refusal to approve the actions of the Stamp Act Congress despite his being President of the group.

Within a year Parliament repealed the Stamp Act due to the protests in the colonies and the political pressures brought by the English merchant class who were experiencing large losses due to the colonial boycotts.  However, the strains and tensions between the colonies and England would continue to grow in the ensuing years.  The inhabitants of Massachusetts would move from a quiet accommodation with the British imperial system to massive rebellion against it. Despite Ruggles censure, the Brigadier would continue to be elected as the Representative from conservative Hardwick and was re-elected to the General Court as late as 1770.

 England was still in a quandary as to how to pay for the war debts and the new Chancellor of the Exchequer levied the Townsend Act upon the American Colonies which taxed common goods imported into the colonies.  Once again it was vehemently opposed by the Americans who boycotted English goods and smuggled in other products to avoid the tax and threatened violence against the custom officials.

THE BOSTON TEA PARTY

 In 1773 the hated Stamp Act was repealed but replaced with a tax on tea. Most colonists drank tea as a daily beverage and only agents of the royal government were authorized to sell it and to collect a tax on it.  In Boston a group of men calling themselves "the Sons of Liberty",  dumped a shipment of tea into Boston Harbor as a symbolic act of defiance.  King George III and his ministers responded to the "Boston Tea Party" by closing  Boston Harbor to shipping, shutting down the Massachusetts Colony's legislature, and banning town meetings even in places as far off as Hardwick.  Additionally King George III sent three thousand more British troops under the command of General Gage to rule the colony under strict royal prerogative.

"Taxation without representation is tyranny", a phrase credited to Otis, was on the lips of many colonists.  Like its predecessor, the Stamp Act, it too was quickly repealed - except for a symbolic, small tax on tea.  In December 1773 the Sons of Liberty, furious about even a small tax, conducted the Boston Tea Party and dumped 40 tons of British tea into the harbor.  It would be the prelude to the Revolution.

As British troops under General Gage arrived in Boston from England, Massachusetts men formed militias and began to drill with muskets in their villages and towns.  Those who were expecting trouble with the British military started to call themselves "minutemen" because they were prepared to fight at a minutes' notice.

However, Danforth reluctantly joined his fellow townsmen in drilling on the village green while all the time espousing his opinion that it was a dangerous thing to take up arms against the king.  In fact he so irritated his fellow minute men by ridiculing their efforts that in the Autumn of 1774 he was dismissed from the militia . 

TAXES

 Jonathan Danforth was a well respected citizen of his community. He owned a farm north of town and a country store in the community.  He was elected Constable for the township in 1773 and one of his duties was to collect the township's taxes and deliver them to the official royal treasurer.  However the 1770's  were a troublesome time to be collecting taxes because American colonists were angry over the seemingly ever increasing amount taxes they had to pay to support a British Army, an army that now was seen more and more as an occupational force.

From 1774 until the end of the war in 1781 Jonathan Danforth's presence in Hardwick was a major source of annoyance to his fellow townsmen and to those who formed the Revolutionary  governing committee, he was even considered down right dangerous.

Unlike what is taught in American public schools, the American Revolution was not supported by the majority of the colonists.  The revolution was as much a civil war as anything else, over the issues of loyalty to the king and England and loyalty to the concept of American liberty.  Puritan ministers for well over 150 years had taught from their pulpits that rebellion was a great sin.  Rebellion was an abhorrent concept in the minds of these deeply religious Christians who understood that the angel Lucifer himself became the devil by rebelling against God at the creation of the world.  It was Puritan poet in the 17th Century, John Milton, who wrote the great epic poem "Paradise Lost" dealing with this very subject of expulsion from heaven due to Lucifer's rebellious nature. 

 Jonathan Danforth being a business man and son-in-law of the town's minister evidently was a very conservative man who felt that for a stable social order, it was important to remain  loyal to the proper authorities of the British Crown from who he had his authority to act as a Constable and tax collector for the town of Hardwick. 

The American Provincial Congress in 1774 enacted a resolution that all the towns in Massachusetts should call on their constables for the outstanding tax money in their hands lest the moneys fall in the hands of the British Treasurer.  In November 1774 Thomas Robinson, who was a member of the Hardwick committee to examine its constable concerning this public money, stated that Jonathan Danforth was called before the committee at a public town meeting to give an accounting for the taxes.  Jonathan Danforth had refused all attempts by the committee to have the money turned over to them or get the information from him where the money was to be had.

At this meeting, tempers were hot and Thomas Robinson told Jonathan Danforth that he being under oath had to give an account of the taxes and that if he did not comply with the wishes of the committee, he would turn Danforth over to the towns people who were very agitated with him. Robinson's threats that Danforth would "be given up to the people to be dealt  with" meant,  given sentiments of the times, that he could be tarred and feathered or even lynched. 

Jonathan Danforth still refused to turn the money over to any one but the Crown's treasurer and  replied to the committees' threats by saying, "Damn you all!" which made enemies for him out of the most powerful men in Hardwick. 

Jonathan Danforth stormed out of the meeting but as he attempted to leave several men seized him and physically tried to force him to hand over the money.  Thomas Robinson who was a man of giant form and strength and known to be fearless seeing the angry mood of the townsmen, instead of "giving him up to the people" as he had threatened, caught Jonathan Danforth by the shoulder and conducted him safety to the town's jail which stood of the westerly side of the commons. 

Robinson stood before the angry mob which had become a multitude  outside the jail and endeavored to persuade them to dispersed quietly.  Robinson assured the citizens of Hardwick that no matter how much he disapproved of Jonathan Danforth's offensive conduct, he would not see him abused and he warned the crowd that he would defend Danforth to the "last extremity". 

The men of the village knew that Thomas Robinson was resolute and this prevented anyone from caring to attack.  After the mob dispersed and tempers cooled, Robinson succeeded in conveying Jonathan Danforth to a place of greater security and finally safely back to his wife and family.  Jonathan Danforth later in life said that he should have been killed at the time if. Robinson had not protected him.

           

One day shortly afterwards, still fuming regarding his ill treatment by his neighbors at the town public meeting, Jonathan Danforth was over visiting Jonathan Warner at his house in Hardwick, and Warner asked Danforth "Where would he pay the money he had in his hands?" Jonathan Danforth answered that he would not pay the money to Hardwick or to their committee because he was not accountable to them for the tax money. 

He continued to vent against the committee who he now regarded with animosity saying that he would either see them "damned first or he would be damned" before he would pay them the money. He said " I swear before I pay it to Henry Gardiner Esquire, I will pay it to Harrison Grey."  Henry Gardiner was the Patriot Treasurer of the State of Massachusetts appointed by the Provincial Congress to collect unaccounted tax money for  the Americans while Harrison Gray was the kings' agent.          

REVOLUTIONARY TIMES

 The British responded rapidly and harshly to the deteriorating situation in Boston.  In 1774, England closed the port of Boston, the busiest port in America, as the Crown tried to isolate the rebellious locals.  General Gage arrived in the city, declared martial law and was made Governor General of the colony.  He ended the native democracy of the colony by refusing to convene the Assembly. Furthermore, he changed the nature of the Governor's Council. Instead of its members being nominated by the Assembly, Gage personally appointed 36 Tories to the Governor's Council.  Many of the appointees declined the position because the practice was fiercely opposed by the populace and because they faced violence from the Sons of Liberty. Timothy Ruggles was one of the appointed councilors.

When his Whig Hardwick townsmen found this out Timothy Ruggles had accepted the position they ordered him to immediately leave town. The next morning, just after daybreak, he rode out of town alone fleeing to the safety of the British encampment in Boston.  He was met at a bridge by his brother, Benjamin Ruggles who had taken the Patriot side.  It was reported that the Brigadier said, "I shall come back at the head of 500 soldiers if necessary" to which his brother replied, "If you cross this bridge today, you will never cross it again alive."  It was August 1774 and he never returned. Timothy Ruggles was now a vilified figure. 

The Revolution split the Ruggles family. When Timothy Ruggles fled to Boston, his wife Bathsheba did not go with him and she never joined her husband in exile.  Over the years their relationship had withered and any bond between them was now gone. Perhaps his nearly 7 year war time absence drained the relationship and added further to Bathsheba's independent spirit.  Their 400 acre farm was confiscated by the authorities and sometime after the war she went to live with her son Timothy III until her death .  On the other hand the Brigadier had the loyalty of his 3 sons. His sons John and Richard would join Ruggles in Boston and ultimately in Nova Scotia. Timothy III also moved to Nova Scotia after the death of his mother and later became a member of the House of Assembly of Nova Scotia.  Joseph Ruggles two sons Joseph Ruggles Jr and Nathaniel Ruggles also left Hardwick and joined their uncle Timothy Ruggles in exile.

The appointment of the 36 councilors by General Gage prompted Mercy Otis Warren, sister of James Otis Jr., to write her satirical play, The Group in late 1774.  One of the lead characters is Brigadier Hateall, a ferocious warmonger who is married to a lowly tavern woman, "nutbrown Kate, the buxom dowager."  Hateall says he would not abandon his position in the Governor's Council even to save his wife, family and friends.  He boasts of beating his wife and recommends the same course be taken to other wives if they object to quartering British soldiers in their homes.  Mercy's friend, John Adams, had the play published anonymously and the Patriots read it with delight.  She reveled in savaging her former Cape Cod neighbor, a Tory and lifetime opponent of her brother and father.

MORE TROUBLE OVER TAX MONEY

Jonathan Danforth, by January 1775, was compelled by the town to pay the outstanding tax money in his hands to the Committee by threat of imprisonment.  They also made him swear to not oppose the committee any further and made him sign a declaration to that effect. 

Daniel Warner who was a member of the Committee, collected the money from Danforth and sent it to Henry Gardiner Esq. as directed by the Provincial Congress who had issued a Provincial Warrant ordering Danforth to account for the money.  Warner wrote the receipt for the money on the back of the Province Warrant and gave that to Jonathan Danforth.  When the British Officer, Harrison Gray demanded an accounting of the tax money by Jonathan Danforth, he sent him the receipt which had the Provincial Warrant written on it. 

Harrison Grey, Esquire, having seen the Provincial Warrant  and Daniel Warner's signature on the receipt for the tax money made Daniel Warner accountable for the entire amount. Later when Daniel Warner traveled to Boston,  Grey had Warner arrested and demanded the tax money. Daniel Warner  was put in jail as a rebel.

When Elijah Warner and Dennison Robinson of Hardwick who were also in Boston on business,  heard of Daniel Warner's fate, they  later testified that it was Danforth's fault for Warner's arrest. Warner and Robinson testified at a later date that "Mr. McIntire first informed us of the matter, on which we went to the gaol (jail) in Boston.  There we found Daniel Warner in the custody of an officer.  We then gave our bonds for him to appear in court."  However when Dennison Robinson read the receipt for the bond on it the British jailers had written: "Take us Rebels for bail."   

Warner and Robinson blamed Danforth for sending the receipt on the Provincial Warrant to the British however if Danforth would not have made an accounting of the money to Gray, he not Warner would have been liable for the taxes. 

THE SHOT HEARD AROUND THE WORLD

In the April of 1775 as conflict between the colonists and the King increased, the town's entire militia, which was made up of  "diver companies", was assembled together. Jonathan Danforth,  to the further irritation of his fellow townsmen, "instead of bearing arms, rode amongst us to the no small disturbance of the companies" according to Thomas Robinson.  Jonathan Warner added, "Jonathan Danforth instead of appearing with his arms like a good soldier, rode his horse around the companies in an insulting manner."  Jonathan Warner, a relative of Daniel Warner and hated Jonathan Danforth later would testify  that Danforth did this in May of 1775, but Thomas Robinson testified that Danforth did this before the Battle of Lexington which began the American Revolution.

On Jonathan Danforth's fifth wedding anniversary,  19 April 1775, militia men in the village of Concord were fired upon by the British Army which had been sent to confiscate weapons being stored in the village and to arrest John Hancock.  Massachusetts men rallied to the defense of the Concord Militia and the Minute men at the village of Lexington and with these battles, the war between the colonies and England began.  Jonathan Danforth's brother Nicholas Danforth was a minute man from Fitchburg and fought at the Battle of Lexington which forced the surprised British Army to retreat to Boston.

In a conversation with a neighbor Stephen Gorman, Jonathan Danforth asked him if he was really going to take up arms against King George. Stephen Gorman he replied, "Yes, if he was going to fight me." Jonathan Danforth then warned Gorman, "We should all be styled rebels then."  Jonathan repeated this opinion to all his neighbors who then would hold him in suspicion when hostilities began in the Spring of 1775.

CONFLICTS WITH THE COMMITTEE of CORRESPONDANCE

 As the conflict between the Americans and the British widened and the Continental Congress in Philadelphia created an army under the command of General George Washington to fight the British Regulars. Upon hearing the news of Concord and Lexington a Committee of Correspondence, Safety and Inspection  was formed in Hardwick by townsmen under the authority of the Provincial Congress and became the governing body for Hardwick.  The Committees of Correspondence were given full power from Congress to punish people suspected of being Tories and Loyalist to the Crown. 

Jonathan Danforth appeared to have been a very stubborn and obdurate individual who was willing to risk the good will of his neighbors for the belief in the strength of convictions.  While not sympathetic to the cause of Independence he was not a Tory nor a traitor to his country. However  Jonathan Danforth, who had once been the town's constable, a respected merchant with family connections to the town's minister, his opposition to fighting against the king and his failure to recognize his fellow townsmen as the legitimate government, quickly cause him and his young family years of  grief. 

On April 24, 1775, within a week of the Battle at Concord and Lexington, the Hardwick committee vote, "that the town are not satisfied with Jonathan Danforth's declaration of his being a friend to liberty. Voted, that Lieut. Timothy Ruggles be put under guard, and also John Rion, until said Ruggles shall satisfy all the men that now live at Brigadier Ruggles' house for their labor, and see that they go out of town forthwith, and see that the arms and ammunition, now at Brigadier Ruggles' house, are delivered up ; and then he is confined to his farm, and not to go out of it, excepting on Sabbath-days, fast days, or some other public days ; and that he pays the guard for their trouble in taking care of him." Later on 15 May 1775 it was voted "to take possession of the guns found at the house of Brigadier Ruggles," and "to return them when they think proper. Voted, that Lieut. Timothy Ruggles have liberty to go to Boston, and live there, if he pleases."  This was the Brigidier's son.

 In June, the British forces decided to attack the colonialists atop Bunker Hill.  General Gage let it be known that he thought the rebels would run at the sight of British cannon.  Timothy Ruggles believed he was wrong and that the Americans would fight bravely.  When the battle ended in disaster for the British, Ruggles was reported to have told him, "My God sir, your folly has ruined your cause."

After the Battle of Bunker Hill in June of 1775 Jonathan Danforth expressed the opinion that the British would have the town of Cambridge within a month to a neighbor Ebenezer Lawrence Junior.  Danforth also advised Lawrence saying "if I was you I would not stir one step to help (the Americans.)" and furthered advised him  to stay home about his own business.  These types of conversation made his neighbors suspect Danforth of being a Loyalist and not trust worthy.

The Committee of Correspondence in Hardwick decided to punish Jonathan Danforth for his obdurate behavior regarding the handling of public moneys and his vocal opposition to taking up arms against King George III by publishing his name in newspapers as a Tory sympathizer and ordered him confined to the town of Hardwick fearing that he might go over to the British and inform on who is all on the committee. 

The Committee, of Correspondence for the town of Hardwick on 7 August 1775 voted, "Whereas Deacon James Fay, Jonathan Danforth, Aimer Conant, Joseph Ruggles, Jr., Israel Conkey, and Jonathan Nye, all of Hardwick, in the County of Worcester, have, by their comments in various instances, manifested a disposition inimical to the rights and privileges of their countrymen, — therefore Resolved, that their names be published to the world, agreeable to the association of the Continental Congress ; and that it be earnestly recommended to the inhabitants of this town, county, and colony, not to have any commercial connection with the said Fay, Danforth, &c, but to shun their persons and causes, and treat them with that contempt and neglect they deserve. And whereas the said Committee have thought it necessary that the said Danforth, Fay, etc.  be confined to this town, and that they assemble not together more than two of them at a time (except at public worship and at funerals), therefore further recommend it to the good people of this colony, that (if the said persons or any one of them should depart out of this town without a permit from said Committee) they take up and confine or send them back again. Per order of the said Committee. Seth Padleford Clerk of said Committee." The notice was printed in the  New England Chronicle on August 17, 1775.

Jonathan Danforth however refused to recognize the authority of the committee of Correspondence over him; considering them his enemies out to destroy him and his reputation and therefore refused to obey  their orders.

In  August 1775, Richard Ruggles, a good family friend of Jonathan Danforth and , son of Brigadier General Ruggles confided that he was leaving Hardwick and going over to the British as did earlier his father. While Jonathan Danforth was not nearly as wealthy as the Ruggles, he was a Conservative, was also entrenched in the power structure of the village of Hardwick. He was a successful merchant, married to the daughter of the beloved town minister, and was elected to the important position of tax collector. As in the case of Brigadier General Timothy Ruggles it could also be said, "While his opponents saw him as obstinate and inflexible, he saw himself as a man of uncompromising principles."

Hardwick's Committee of Correspondence, upon learning that Richard Ruggles had fled and went over to the enemy, went to the home of Jonathan Danforth suspicious of his involvement and asked what he knew of it.   Jonathan Danforth admitted having a few possessions of Ruggles but then swore to the committee that the items in his home were all that he was aware of. 

Jonathan Danforth was then told to attend a town meeting to answer in the matter of  Richard Ruggles' property.  There Danforth was confronted with further evidence of his involvement with the departure of Ruggles and was forced to reveal where the Ruggles' fortune was hidden under the threat of physical assault.  Danforth confessed that he had indeed hidden the rest of Ruggles property on a certain hill where the committee later found it. 

The committee now felt certain now that Danforth was a Tory and could not be allowed to freely go about his business in Hardwick.   Restrictions were placed on Jonathan Danforth and he was placed in effect under house arrest.  He was prohibited from leaving his own farm except to attend Sunday church meetings and to attend funerals.

In a conversation with Job Dexter, Danforth told of his regrets of letting the committee know where he hid the Ruggles property. He told Dexter that he was a damned fool for telling the committee where anything was of the estate of Ruggles, "for they had no more business with it than the devil had."

TRAVELS TO ALBANY

 After being placed under house arrest, in the Fall of 1775 Jonathan Danforth left Hardwick anyway on business. He went to  Albany New York to stay for a while where he had sympathetic friends. In December 1775 Jonathan Danforth bought a half barrel of Bohea Tea in Albany and hired Uriah Higgins to haul it back to Hardwick for sale in his store. 

Jonathan Danforth had  not informed the Committee of his departure and with his disappearance from the town, the committee was led to suspect that Jonathan Danforth had actually gone and joined Richard Ruggles because previous to his leaving, he sold all his livestock and part of his property privately and then concealed the rest in the woods.  He also took with him all his valuable writings.  The proceeds of the sale however was to support his family during his absence. 

The committee, not knowing his intent and probably frustrated by his antics. confiscated his estate under the law  which allowed properties of enemies of the Revolution to be forfeited.  However by Christmas Jonathan Danforth had returned to Hardwick with his tea and demanded the return of his property. He threatened the members of the committee with  lawsuits if they did not leave him and his property alone.  His property was returned however Jonathan Danforth fearful for his safety and the trouble that his presence in Hardwick might bring to his young family almost immediately left Hardwick again to Albany until he returned in the Spring of 1776 when  to plant crops.

The Revolution was fully underway and Boston, under control of the British, became the only safe place for the 1500 Tories who fled to it.  However the British and Loyalists continued to be hemmed in Boston by General Washington’s forces and the stalemate continued until a young Colonel Knox pulled, pushed and dragged cannon from the recently seized Fort Ticonderoga to Boston.  When the British realized their fleet was in jeopardy, they had no choice but to evacuate Boston.  On March 17, 1776, the British and Loyalists sailed away having been driven out by the cannon from the fort that Timothy Ruggles had helped capture 20 years earlier during the French and Indian War.

The Ruggles evacuated to the English strong hold in New York and stayed on Staten Island and later Long Island.  While in New York Timothy Ruggles began a series of unsuccessful efforts to gain British support for a Loyalist company.  But the British saw them as "colonists" and not their equals as "Englishmen".  His habit of informing the British officers of their stupidity did not help his cause.  A fellow Loyalist, Edward Winslow, wrote at the time: "There was such a mixture of virtue even with his obstinacy that while we depreciated it as unfortunate to ourselves we dared not oppose it."

The threat to take Jonathan Danforth's property was a real possibility as that other residents of Hardwick with Tory sentiments had their estates already confiscated and given to Patriots. While Jonathan was away from Hardwick in early 1776, the Committee had  gone to the Justice of the Peace to get an injunction against doing business with Jonathan Danforth which basically closed his store and they were beginning proceedings to confiscate the Bohea Tea he had brought back from Albany. 

Upon learning of Jonathan Danforth's return, Committee member, James Paige, went to his home in May 1776 and warned him that if he  did not behave better the committee would confiscate his estate as an enemy of the people of Hardwick.  At this threat, Jonathan Danforth flew into another rage and cursed Paige and "God damned the committee and the selectmen and the whole time repeatedly".
 
A person who was personally acquainted with Jonathan Danforth testified that he was not usually in the habit of using profane language unless he was in a strong passion or under strong provocation. He made familiar use of the word "devil" however which he pronounced as "divil".

In court  Jonathan Danforth defended his actions at the time by questioning James Paige under oath.  "Did you not tell me that the committee would have my estate if I did not behave better?" Paige replied, " I do not remember it now".  Danforth then asked, "Was I in a passion when I discoursed with you?" and this time Paige answered "yes."  Danforth then asked of Paige, "Did you ever hear me say anything against any authority except in the town of Hardwick?" Paige replied, "no."  This bit of information truly reveals that Jonathan Danforth while certainly was not a Patriot was not a Tory and was feuding more with his neighbors then with the idea of  Independence from Great Britain.

DEPARTURE and ARREST

Jonathan Danforth secretly sold his farm and all his property to a relative of his wife Susanna so that the committee could not seize it as a forfeited estate and insure some support for his family who remained behind. This uncertainty  of the fate of Jonathan Danforth must have taken its toil on a frail young wife who had two young children five years old and younger. 

On 1 July 1776  again Jonathan Danforth left Hardwick without informing the Committee of Correspondence and he traveled to North Yarmouth in Cumberland County and stayed with his friend the Honorable Judge Jeremiah Powell who was a member of the Council for the State of Massachusetts Bay. Here he lived  here at the time of the Declaration of Independence 4 July 1776 and he stayed with the judge until the 6th of November 1776 when then he returned to Harwick  again to find that all his property had been seized as a forfeiture.  The secret deed had never been recorded. He immediately went into another "passion" causing such a disturbance that the committee had Jonathan Danforth arrested on 4 December 1776 on charges of conferring with the enemy. 

Jonathan Danforth's arrest Warrant read: Worcester SS. to the Sheriff of the county of Worcester or to the keeper of the common gaol in said county, Greetings.  In the name of the Government and the People of the Massachusetts Bay in New England: You are required to take into safe custody, and commit to gaol, Jonathan Danforth, of Hardwick, a person Inimical and Dangerous to the States of America, there to remain in safe keeping till he shall be liberated and discharged by due course of law.  Given under my hand this 4th day of December Anno Domini 1776.  William Paige Chairman of the Committee of Correspondence for Hardwick.

On the 5th of December 1776, Hardwick's Committee of Correspondence filed formal charges of treason against Jonathan Danforth. "To the Honorable Council of the State of Massachusetts Bay: We, the Committee of Correspondence, Safety, and Inspection for the town of Hardwick, do show that we have committed to the common gaol in Worcester, Jonathan Danforth of this town for the several crimes following Viz.

 1. That he being collector for said Hardwick, refused to pay to the Treasurer of the State, Henry Gardiner, Esquire, the public moneys he had in his hands, according to the resolve of Congress.

2. But being compelled for said moneys he produced other men's security and took a receipt of the committee which receipt he afterwards gave to Harrison Grey Esquire on the account of which one of the committee was seized by said Grey and detained to the great loss and damage of him.

3. Afterwards he was published in the public papers and confined to the town as an enemy of the United States not with standing he broke through his confinement and went to New York and other places which we apprehend was to confer with and give information to our enemies.

4. Concealing the goods of Richard Ruggles, a fugitive, when sought for and when part was found with him, he solemnly declared there was all he knew of; but afterwards others were found in a certain wood, which he confessed he put there.

5. And also absconding from said town of Hardwick many months conferring with our enemies to the great uneasiness and worry to the inhabitants of said town.   For these and may other reasons which we are ready to show if called to it, I have committed the said Danforth as above stated. By order of said Committee.  William Paige, Chairman. Worcester December Ye 5th 1776

At  Worcester, Deacon William Paige and Constable Gamaliel Collings appeared at the Inferior Court Paige as Chairman of the Committee of Correspondence and who ordered Danforth held in custody, conferred with Judge Moses Gill regarding the manner in which the committee could legally press charges against Danforth. It was the judge's opinion according to Collings that the committee "should think he was an enemy to their country" and act accordingly. Paige and Collings sought also the opinion of Judge Baker who according to Collings stated "there had not been much law in the land, only the law of the committees and that the committees had a right to commit any persons for treason till further order of court." Paige and Collings received the support of the judges kept Jonathan Danforth incarcerated in the Worcester County jail charged with treason.  Jonathan Danforth was forbidden bail even though he had enough security for a bond because members of Hardwick's Committee of Correspondence was fearful that once freed he would flee to the British.

RESPONSE and DEFENSE

Jonathan Danforth wasted no time in jail and wrote a petition to The Council for the State of Massachusetts to address his case the next day on 6 December 1776 after the formal charges were filed. Jonathan Danforth argued that the Committee of Correspondence acted illegally by issuing the warrant for his arrest themselves rather then presenting his case to the Justice of the Peace where he could have secured bail.  Jonathan Danforth also commenced a civil lawsuit against the members of the Hardwick Committee of Correspondence to return his confiscated property. 

His petition to the Council stated: To the Honorable Council of the State of Massachusetts Bay, in Council assembled December Ye 6th 1776: Jonathan Danforth of Hardwick, in the county of Worcester, now a prisoner in the common gaol in said county, humbly shows that some time in the month of July last, he left the town of Hardwick  aforesaid and  went to North Yarmouth in the county of Cumberland, and let himself to the Honorable Jeremiah Powell, one of this honorable board, and lived with him until the sixth day of November last when he returned home to Hardwick, bringing proper credentials with him from said Honorable Jeremiah Powell, that during the time he lived with him, he behaved well. 

That during the time of his absence, the Committee of Correspondence etc. for said Hardwick seized upon the estate of your petitioner and leased out the same, although  he left a proper person on it, to take care of it, and his family in his absence. 

That some little time after your petitioner's arrival home, the aforesaid Committee seized him and in the most ignominious manner put him under guard and charged him with having been in his absence with the British Troops and made out a Mittimus, signed by one William Paige, their chairman directed to the Sheriff of the county, ordering him committed to gaol as a person inimical and Dangerous to the States of America and at the same time forbidding the Sheriff to take any bail, although your petitioner could have secured ample security for his good behavior, and he is confined in the gaol aforesaid with Prisoners of War, thieves, and etc. and must remain there unless your honors interpose in his behalf.

Since Civil government has taken place among us, and Civil Magistrates are appointed for the due execution of the law, your petitioner apprehends that Committees can not lawfully grant mittimuses for the commitment of any person. 

The late law of the State directs that if any person is supposed to be inimical  to the States of the United Colonies, upon complaint made by the Committees to a Justice of the Peace who is to examine the  matter of complaint and upon due proof being made to bind the offender to the next court, and to his good behavior in the meantime. Which law your petitioner is willing to submit to. Therefore prays your Honors to direct the Sheriff that upon your petitioner's giving bond etc. agreeable to the direction of the law may he be liberated, and as in duty bound shall pray. Jonathan Danforth

           

Perhaps because of influential friends on the Council, Jonathan Danforth's petition was received on 7 December 1776 and he was ordered to be "set at liberty by the Judges of the Superior Court of Massachusetts."

RETURN TO HARDWICK and REMOVAL TO BARRE

Jonathan Danforth returned to Hardwick to the "great distress and annoyance" to the members of the Committee of Correspondence/ He immediately began to file a lawsuit against them for the return of his property and his illegal incarceration.  The Committee, outraged, filed charges of treason against Jonathan Danforth with the House of Representatives of the State of Massachusetts.  The state preoccupied with the business of war with England could not hear the motion until February of 1778 and then Jonathan Danforth was put on trial for treason in June of that year.

Jonathan Danforth presence in Hardwick was eventually too hard on his family and his wife who was in failing health. He moved his family from Hardwick to a neighboring village of Barre where he lived in 1777 and during the trial in 1778. While in Barre a daughter named Pamelia Danforth was born on 8 November 1777 to Jonathan and Susanna Danforth.  She was the last child Susanna would bear her husband.

INDICTMENT FOR TREASON

When Massachusetts in September 1778 published a list of the top 300 Tories, Timothy Ruggles was 4th on the list behind Governor Thomas Hutchinson, Gov. Francis Barnard and Tax Collector Thomas Oliver. They were officially exiled from Massachusetts, their property seized and they were forbidden to return on pain of death.    Other from Harwick who were banished as Loyalists were Timothy Ruggles sons Richard Ruggles, John Ruggles, and Timothy Ruggles, .his son in law Gardner Chandler who was a merchant like Jonathan Danforth, his nephews Joseph Ruggles and Nathaniel Ruggles and a Daniel Oliver.  Joseph and Nathaniel Ruggles were Anna Ruggles brothers.

Brigadier General Timothy Ruggles' favorite daughter, Bathsheba Spooner, met a tragic fate.  Ruggles had left his daughter behind in Massachusetts and on July 2, 1778, she became the first woman executed in the newly independent United States of America. She was hanged while 5 months pregnant for the crime of plotting the death of her husband Joshua Spooner who was savagely beaten and dumped in a well. Her 3 accomplices, a 17 year old Continental Army soldier with whom she was having an affair and two British soldiers, who had deserted the British Army were hanged for murdering her husband. 

The incredible spectacle of the quadruple hanging took place in Worcester, very close to the court house where her father had been the Chief Justice. While hangings were a public event of which people thought it was their duty to attend, it is doubtful that Jonathan Danforth was able to witness the execution as that he was under house arrest and on trial for treason.
On 18 February 1778 the Committee of Correspondence of Hardwick finally was allowed to present formal charges against Jonathan Danforth with the Massachusetts House of Representatives. The record of his trial is still recorded in the State Archives of Massachusetts.

"To  the Honorable Council and House of Representatives for the State of Massachusetts Bay: The Petition of the Selectmen and Committee of Correspondence Safety and Inspection for the Town of Hardwick, humbly show that Jonathan Danforth of Hardwick in may instances, in our opinion, been aiding and assisting the Unnatural enemies of the United States of America.  Therefore, we the Selectmen and Committee of Hardwick, shall endeavor to inform the Honorable Court of Jonathan Danforth's conduct from the time of the decision of the Provincial Congress in 1775 requiring every town in this state to appoint  committees to call their Constables to account for outstanding moneys in their hands, to that of other transactions of the town in regards to Jonathan Danforth.      
           

In the first place when the town's committee in accordance to the Congress wishes, proceeded to call Jonathan Danforth to account for outstanding moneys, he absolutely refused to do so. He then was compelled by the town to give an accounting in respect to the money and he gave a humble acknowledgment of his past conduct and solemnly swore not to oppose the Committee any further. But rather assist with all his power the people of Hardwick and this state in not doing anything contrary to the Constitution of this State. He said he would religiously stand by all covenants of the town which he had signed, and that he would stand or fall with the  people of Massachusetts.

However instead of keeping his agreement, Jonathan Danforth immediately turned over to Harrison Grey , Esquire,  the receipt the Committee had given him for the money.  The gentleman who gave Jonathan Danforth the receipt had written it on the back of the Provincial Warrant in behalf of the town and this gentleman was arrested by Harrison Grey for the money Danforth  had given him.

Jonathan Danforth also in 1775 endeavored to discourage the people from taking up arms to fight against the King of Great Britain and whenever the townsmen met for that purpose of raising men for the militia, he would appear at such meetings and ridicule them in a contemptuous manner.

Further more Jonathan Danforth did actually conceal from the committee the forfeited household furniture of Richard Ruggles, who has actually joined the enemy.  When Jonathan Danforth was suspected of concealing the property, he delivered up a part of it and point-blank declared that he knew nothing anymore about it.  However on further evidence obtained against him, he said in an open town meeting that he had concealed some other articles in the woods on a certain hill which articles were later found on the hill.

Thus a restriction was laid upon Jonathan Danforth to stay in the limits of the town, however not withstanding the restrictions laid upon him by the Committee he in open contempt of our authority went to New York or elsewhere and purchased a large quantity of Bohea Tea and brought it back to town and then absented himself from the town almost immediately. 

The committee in obedience to a resolve by the Provincial Congress which required the Committees to take effective measures to prevent suspected persons from executing their wicked designs, had placed a restriction of Jonathan Danforth.  With his disappearance from the town, the committee was led to suspect that Jonathan Danforth had actually gone and joined our cruel enemy because previous to his leaving, he sold all his livestock and part of his property privately and concealed the rest in the woods, taking with him all his valuable writings.

            When he did return to Hardwick, he informed the committee of his coming and that he was ready to give an account of his past conduct. However when questioned by the committee, he refused giving any direct answer in respects to his conduct. Furthermore, he endeavored while in town to actually in a clandestine manner convey his real estate to another to secure it from being taken as a forfeited estate.

Finally his whole conduct ever since the time of the organization of The Committee of Safety, he has been insulting and acting in contempt against the resolves of the Continental Congress and the Covenants and Agreements ordered by the Committee in accordance to the directives of the Acts of the Great General Court of this State, unless compelled.

 We shall endeavor to inform the Honorable Court of the transactions of the town with Jonathan Danforth from time to time. We view him as an enemy to the Rights and Liberties of this country and in pursuance to a Resolve of the Provincial Congress in the year 1775 which recommended that every town in this state should take effectual steps to put it out of the power of such persons to obstruct by any means whatsoever from establishing a common defense, we publish his name to the world as an enemy. And restricted him not to pass over the bounds of the town without a license first granted from the Committee.

Also in the year 1776 the Committee went before the Justice of the Peace and ordered that no commercial intercourse should be allowed with him and that a warrant should be issued to confiscate tea which he had stored. 

Because Jonathan Danforth had fled the town, the Committee in accordance with an Act of the General Court issued in April 1776, had Jonathan Danforth listed as a person who acted in a manner against the Rights and Liberties of the United States of America and because of his crimes his property was confiscated. 

By the Act of the General Court in 1776 the Committee was authorized to take immediate possession of all such person's estates and lease out the real estate.  In the opinion of the Committee and every true friend and well wisher to the Rights and Liberties of the United States believed Jonathan Danforth to be such a person as Inimical to the rights and liberties of the United States. 

After Jonathan Danforth returned to  Hardwick after being absent from the forepart of July until late in the fall, he was brought before the Committee to be questioned and examined.  He would give no direct answers to questions asked of him and thus it was our candid opinion that he, being the most bold, impudent, and dangerous enemy to the Rights and Liberties of the United States, he ought to be confined. We held that it was not good for the safety and welfare of the people for him to be at large. 

Therefore we the Committee with the advice of the principle men of the town and the Judges of the Inferior Court for the County of Worcester, proceeded to commit him to the Worcester gaol although we had no particular Act at hand which pointed out the correct method for the commitment.  However we did first of all laid the case before the people at a full town meeting which was assembled for this very purpose and a very unanimous vote confirmed our actions.

After Jonathan Danforth had remained in gaol for some time, he was set free and at liberty by the Judges of the Superior Court, the Committee unaware of his petition and trial and thus consequently had no opportunity  to be heard. 

Upon his returning home, the inhabitants of the town were very uneasy, thinking that it was not safe for the matter to remain unresolved.  In conformity to an Act of the Great General Court that the Committee made a complaint against Jonathan Danforth believing him to be an enemy to the liberties of the people an have brought him before proper authority for examination and trial. 

The Committee was surprised that Jonathan Danforth had been unexpectedly set at liberty without any punishment or having to pay damages.  Jonathan Danforth encouraged by the Superior Court's decision proceeded against the town and the Committee by endeavoring to take advantage of the law and had a Magistrate grant him a Writ to recover the tea that as taken by the Committee and to appear at the next Quarter Sessions held at Worcester to answer for his default. 

Jonathan Danforth furthered endeavored to take advantage of the town and Committee by threatening to commence diver law suits against them for their proceedings against him and his estate.  He still was insulting and impudent to the Committee.  And whereas this town in a particular manner has had the hard misfortune to suffer greatly by being infested with Villains such as Jonathan Danforth, beyond what other towns in this State has had to endure, it gives your petitioners great uneasiness to see one which in no way should have the advantage of the law, suffer to disturb Hardwick. If it were in Jonathan Danforth’s power he would involve the whole land in ruin and misery. 

Therefore your petitioners humbly pray that the Honorable Court would take the matter in their wise consideration and point out to us some effectual method to bring this matter to a speedy close and your petitioners as duty bound shall ever pray. Dated at Hardwick the 18th of February 1778 William Paige, Thomas Robinson, David Allen, Timothy Paige and Timothy Newton.

THE TRIAL

 On 3 June 1778 action was finally taken in this matter when the Massachusetts House of Representative acting upon the petition of the Committee ordered Jonathan Danforth to stand trial for treason in the Inferior Court of Worcester the Second Tuesday of June, 1778. The House ordered that the Committee had to serve Jonathan Danforth a copy of the indictment so that he could answer the charges lodged against him and that all lawsuits against the people of Hardwick by Danforth were to be stayed until after the trial.

Depositions of the trial of Jonathan Danforth from the middle of June until October 1778 are still preserved as recorded the court clerk Paul Mandell, Esquire and give most of the details from which this biography is written.

On 9 October 1778 the Judges of the Inferior Court entered their decision concerning the lengthy trial of Jonathan Danforth and had it made part of the public records of Worcester County, Massachusetts and then turned the matter back over to the House of Representative after  writing their finding and decision on the matter:

 "In the House of Representatives. Whereas it appears to this court that Jonathan Danforth, late of Harddwick, now of Barre, since September1774 from time to time has behaved in a very insolent and abusive manner towards the town of Hardwick and especially the Committee of the town, in their executing the duties of office, particularly in his unreasonable turbulent obstinacy in accounting for public moneys in his hands, when properly called to do so, his endeavoring to conceal the goods and effects of persons fled to the enemy, his discouraging and insulting speeches and behavior to and among the good people of Hardwick, when pursuing the orders of government etc., which malign conduct he continued till July 1776, when he in a sudden and secret manner absconded, having first secretly conveyed away his most valuable effects; all which gave the strongest presumptive evidence that he actually fled to the enemy to be with his friends who were known to be gone thither. 

Under these circumstances, the Committee of Hardwick proceeded agreeable to the Resolves of the General Court, and in behalf of the Government took possession of his estate that could be found as a refugee's estate.  That in about four or five months after which Jonathan Danforth returned and without applying to this court for restoration of his estates taken as aforesaid, he is harassing the Committee of Hardwick with expensive and perplexing lawsuits and is threatening to bring more, not only to their damage but also of the good and liege people of this state.  Wherefore it is become absolutely necessary for this Court to interpose in this matter.

 Therefore, Resolved that the two actions brought by Jonathan Danforth, one against Timothy Paige for confiscating a quantity of tea, the other against Thomas Robinson, for recovering of a certain house claimed by Danforth, which are mentioned in the petition of the Selectmen and the Committee of  Hardwick addressed to this court, and are now pending in the Inferior Court of Common Pleas in the County of Worcester. 

These suits of Jonathan Danforth shall be and are hereby declared  utterly null and void and all further proceedings thereon shall cease forever. Jonathan Danforth shall be hereby utterly disqualified and disabled forever from bringing any other action or actions against said Committee, or either them, or any other person, either in his name or in the name of others in his behalf for the recovery of damages done or supposed done in consequence of the proceedings of the Committee of Hardwick, dealing with him as a person Inimical to the Common Cause, without leave first had and obtained from the General Court.

And whereas it does not appear to this Court that Jonathan Danforth has been guilty of actually joining our unnatural enemies, or giving information to them or supplying them but rather the contrary is supposed.

Therefore Resolved That the Committee of Hardwick be and they are hereby directed and ordered to acquit and release to Jonathan Danforth all the Estate by them taken as the estate of Jonathan Danforth.  The Inventory whereof is lodged in the Secretary's office.

The decision of the Inferior Court having been read in Council  was concurred with and consented to by fifteen members of the Council of the House of Representatives..

The judgment of the Inferior Court actually rendered substantial justice to both Jonathan Danforth and the Committee members and perhaps let some of the healing begin. The decision verified the actions of the Committee based on their assumptions and protected them from damaging law suits by Jonathan Danforth in performing their duties.  Jonathan Danforth was exonerated as being a traitor to his country with the court hearing evidence that  said "the contrary is supposed" meaning that Jonathan Danforth on his trips away from Harddwick may have been helping the cause of the Revolution. Evidently a man with Patriotic convictions such as Judge Jeremiah Powell never considered Jonathan Danforth as a man Inimical to the Liberties of the United States. 

Jonathan Danforth was able to recover his house and his tea from this Court decision but it was not a complete vindication of him because what the court was saying that while Danforth was not actually guilty of treason he deserved  what he suffered in consequence of his obstinacy and exasperating behavior in opposing the Revolution and his poor behavior in dealing with his fellow townsmen.

RETURN TO HARDWICK

After the court decision, Jonathan Danforth moved his family back to his home in Hardwick and settled down and keeping the peace. Perhaps the ill health of his wife kept his attention focused at home.  Susanna Danforth probably suffered quietly as much as did her vocal husband during these trying times. Previously to the war she was respected daughter of the beloved town's minister and married to a prosperous country store keeper but in 1774 she lost the baby named for her father and she probably was subjected to scorn by her former neighbors because of the actions of her husband. 

On 14 November 1779 Susanna Danforth passed away leaving three young children in their father's care.  She was buried in the town's burying ground next to her father's church.  One has to wonder whether the conflict between her husband and the Committee, along with alienation from former friends and neighbors while her husband was gone for months at a time during the long New England winters did not contribute to her early death.

REMARRIAGE and FAMILY

After a year of mourning, Jonathan Danforth at the age of 38 years married 25 year old Anna Ruggles, the daughter of Joseph Ruggles and Hannah Cushman. They were married on 1 October 1780 at Barre in Worcester County. After his second marriage he resided less than half a mile south of the Common on the homestead of his father in law. Anna Ruggles was born 14 April 1755 cousin of his Tory friend, Richard Ruggles. When she was 23 her brothers left Hardwick and went over to the British leaving her and Lydia her 25 year old sister to care for her aging parents, Anna's eldest sister Hannah was the wife of Abijah Edson and left home when Anna was about 7 years old. An older brother named James Ruggles died at the age of 18 in 1764 when Anna was about 9 years old.

Anna Ruggles had stayed behind in Hardwick to take care of her ailing aged father and mother while her brothers had joined the British. After the war ended Anna Ruggles' brothers and many of her cousins settled in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The ending of the war came on 19 October 1781, when Jonathan was 39 years old and his wife pregnant with her first child. The British General Charles Cornwallis surrendered his troops in Yorktown, Virginia and his first child by Anna was born there on 28 December 1781. They had a daughter whom they named Susanna White Danforth in honor of Jonathan Danforth's first wife. 


At the end of the war, Timothy Ruggles was among the 30,000 to 40,000 Loyalists who were relocated to Canada by the British.  The Crown rewarded him for his service by granting him 1,000 acres in Wilmot, Nova Scotia on the Bay of Fundy where at age 70 he built a new estate.  He resided there until his death at age 83 in 1795.

Tories like the Ruggles were, for the most part, people with entrenched power and wealth.  They were the office holders, large land owners, clergymen of the established church, and judges.  They were conservatives who were reluctant to accept change and were certainly opposed to a revolution that rejected the King and Parliament. They thought of themselves as Englishmen who wanted stability in the colonies and harmony with their mother country. They were proud of the British Empire and they considered themselves as Englishmen and part of the most powerful and most free nation on earth.
Anna Ruggles' family were resolute in the defense of the Crown.  They had an unbending loyalty to Britain.  As far as they were  concerned, the movement for independence was being driven by an unruly mob and they rejected their violent efforts for separation from England.          

.  

On 20 March 1784 Anna Danforth bore Jonathan Danforth a son whom they named Joseph Ruggles Danforth after Anna's father.  A daughter named Hannah Danforth was born 8 June 1786, a son named Lyman Danforth was born 22 October 1788, another daughter named for her mother, Anna Ruggles Danforth was born 2 March 1791.  Joseph Ruggles died 28 January 1791

POST REVOLUTIONARY WAR

The American Revolutionary War was officially ended in 1783 with the Treaty of Paris. Jonathan Danforth must have decided to settle down and devote his attention to providing for his new family rather then continue old grudges. 

Jonathan Danforth after the war became a model citizen again and regained the respect, good will, and confidence of his neighbors and townsmen of Hardwick where he lived another fifty years. He was elected in 1797 a select man for the village, served as an assessor in 1795 and 1797 and even performed the duty of a tax collector for the town once again. 

Lucius Paige who wrote a history of the town of Hardwick claimed that for the rest of Jonathan Danforth's life he lived in peace and tranquillity and performed faithfully the duties of a good and loyal citizen, enjoying the confidence and esteem of his neighbors.  He and Anna Danforth continued to live a mile south of the Hardwick Commons on what was called the Old Danforth Place.

Anna Ruggles Danforth died 4 March 1824 in Hardwick. Jonathan Danforth lived  for fifty years after the Revolutionary War yet he never entirely forgot his early conflicts with the Committee of Correspondence. One day in 1831 when the Reverend John Goldsbury paid a visit on Jonathan Danforth, he showed him the obituary of Colonel Stephen Rice who had just recently died at the age of 95 years. Jonathan Danforth recounted to Reverend Goldsbury that Rice had been a member of the Committee of Correspondence and he began to tell of  some of his early trials and sufferings at the hands of the committee.

Danforth related, among other grievances, that the Committee had prohibited him from leaving his own farm except to attend Church meetings on Sunday and funerals. "One day," Jonathan told his pastor, " a member of the committee informed me that there was to be a funeral and inquired whether I wished to be present.  I told him I always liked to go to funerals- And I hoped I might live to attend the funeral of the whole dammed Committee! And I have done it! I have seen every  devil of them under ground. Rice was the last of them!"

DEATH

Jonathan Danforth peacefully passed  away on 15 September 1833 at the ripe old age of 91 years having outlived his two wives and at least seven of his eleven children.  His remains were laid to rest in the Hardwick burying ground amidst the bones of his old adversaries.  His slate tombstone while very weather beaten can still be deciphered.

There is no known will of Jonathan Danforth.

At the time of his death in 1833 only one of his eleven children remained in Hardwick and she was a spinster who never married.  One has to wonder why but one stayed in in Massachusetts.  

Perhaps old feuds die hard and the stigma of being  children of a suspected Tory left a black mark on the family. Or maybe the children of Danforth like thousands of other New Englanders simply heard the call of the Westward movement where knew lands could be had for next to nothing.  What ever the reason, there are no Danforths left in Hardwick.

SAMUEL DANFORTH son of Susannah White

Samuel Danforth was born 19 March 1771 in Hardwick, Worcester, Massachusetts. Jonathan Danforth's eldest son left home and moved from Massachusetts to the State of Vermont to seek his fortune. Like his father he operated a country store in the town of Rupert in Bennington County. Samuel Danforth married Lucy Auger of Rupert  and had six children. Only one of Jonathan and Susanna Danforth's children married and had children. He died 17 December 1824 at the age of 53 years in Ithaca, Thompkin, New York.  [Ancestor of Anne Ruth Danforth]           

JONATHAN DANFORTH son of Susannah White

Jonathan Danforth, Junior  was born 25 February 1773 in Hardwick, Worcester, Massachusetts and his also left home about 1795 and went to live with their older brother Samuel Danforth who was becoming a successful merchant in Rupert. Jonathan Danforth Junior fell ill and returned to Hardwick where he died 3 April 1797 at the age of 24 at his father's home and was buried next to his mother in the Hardwick Burying Ground. 

DAVID WHITE DANFORTH son of Susannah White

David White Danforth was born 10 November 1774 Hardwick, Worcester, Massachusetts and named for his grandfather. He died 16 December 1774 age 1 month old in Hardwick. 

PAMELIA DANFORTH daughter of Susannah White

Pamelia Danforth, was born 8 November 1777 in Hardwick, Worcester, Massachusetts.  Pamelia Danforth was living with her brother Samuel in Rupert  when she died of a fever on 16 December 1802 at the age of 25 years. 

SUSANNA WHITE DANFORTH GRAY daughter of Anna Ruggles

Susanna White Danforth was born 28 December 1781 in Hardwick, Worcester, Massachusetts. She married late in life at the age of 46 years.  She married a widower Captain Moses Gray of Dorset Vermont on 22 May 1828. He was the son of Aaron and Isobel Lucore Gray. She died 5 Jan 1834 at the age of  52 and is buried in the town of Ware, Hampshire County, Massachusetts.  Her tombstone We weep for me, my dearest friends refrain. With Christ in heaven we all shall meet again. Entombed in silence death has closed my eyes, my dust shall sleep till Jesus bids it rise.  

JOSEPH RUGGLES DANFORTH son of Anna Ruggles

Joseph Ruggles Danforth was born 20 March 1784 in  Hardwick, Worcester, Massachusetts , He died five months after his half-sister Pamelia Danforth on 23 April 1803 at the age of 19 years in Hardwick. Perhaps of the same fever that carried off his sister. 

HANNAH DANFORTH daughter of Anna Ruggles 

Hannah Danforth was born 8 June 1786 in Hardwick, Worcester, Massachusetts. Hannah Danforth drowned 13 June 1811 in a boating accident on a pond during a family picnic. Hannah Danforth like her sister Pamelia died at the age of 25 years . 

LYMAN DANFORTH son of Anna Ruggles

Lyman was born 22 October 1788 also in Hardwick, Worcester, Massachusetts.  He had five daughters with Emeline Kittridge between 1831 and 1842. By 1830 he had moved to Pownal in Bennington County, Vermont but had moved to the village of Berlin in Rensselaer County, New York by 1840. He was an innkeeper in the town of Poestenkill in Rensselaer County where he died on 10 November 1863 at the age of 75. Their children were Luanda Danforth, May A Danforth,  Carolina Matilda Danforth wife of Joseph Hidley, Susannah Danforth, and Permelia  S Danforth wife of  William H Place.

ANNA RUGGLES DANFORTH  daughter of Anna Ruggles

Anna Ruggles Danforth was born 2 March 1791 in Hardwick, Worcester, Massachusetts and died 29 November 1873 age 82 years in Hardwick, Worcester, Massachusetts. She never married but out lived the rest of her family. She took care of her father in his old age and stayed on the Danforth place until her death.

CYRUS DANFORTH son of Anna Ruggles

 Cyrus Danforth was born 29 November 1793 in Hardwick, Worcester, Massachusetts. He married Hannah Perry the daughter of John Perry and Hannah Jenney about 1816 and was a veteran of the War of 1812.  He received a land grant for his service in New York and moved to Ithaca but later went west to Ohio and then to Illinois with his family.  His first wife died in Illinois and he remarried Mary Ann Jones a native of Virginia 1 July 1838 at Oquawka in Henderson County, Illinois.  Cyrus Danforth was the father of seven known children. Cyrus Danforth died 20 July 1847 in Henderson County, Illinois  at the age of 53 years.  Their children were

1. Joseph Ruggles Danforth born 19 July 1818 and died 4 September 1880 at the age of 62 of bronchitis. He was a cabinet maker and lived in Hardwick, Worchester, Massachusetts.  Husband of Hannah L. Brigham. They had two children Susan and George Danforth.

2. Hannah Jenny Danforth born 19 January 1820 and lived in New Braintree, Massachusetts, She was the wife of Waterville [Walter] Sibley a farmer in New Braintree. They were married 29 Mar. 1843. She died 24 Dec 1894 in New Braintree. They were the parents of  Martha Sibley wife of Ashbel Pepper, Ellen Sibley wife of Henry Pennycuff and J C Smith, Lucy B Sibley wife of William A Smith, Cheron Jenny Sibley [boy], Jonathan [John] Danforth Sibley husband of Eliza Greewald, Hannah Sibley, Susannah Sibley wife of J Perly Flint and Fred Haskell, and Lousanna Sibley wife of Addison R Cheever.

3. Mary Ruggles Danforth was born 3 January 1822 and married Chester Hubbard, a house carpenter who moved to Keokuk, Iowa in 1858. He died in Keokuk but is buried in Hardwick so his widow must have returned back to Massachusetts temporarily. The 1860 census of Lee County, Iowa showed that he was extremely wealthy with $20,000 worth of personal property and 5 thousand in real estate. The 1870 showed that she was boarding with another family and with her daughter Nellie. She must have never remarried as her grave stone lists Mary R Hubbard, 'Mother". The dates on the marker says 16 January 1823 and 29 December 1899, Her grave is located in Kansas City, Jackson, Missouri as is her son. They had two children Joseph Reuben Hubbard [1846-1921] and Nelly Hubbard.

4. George E Danforth born 16 March 1825 who went to California in 1849 as part of the Gold Rush, In the 1850 census he is listed as a laborer living in a hotel at Benicia, Solano County, California with 13 other young men. Nothing more is known of him.

5. Pamelia White Danforth born 14 September 1827 wife of Benjamin Franklin Paige a well to do farmer of Hardwick. They married 31 December 1848. She died 8 Feb 1899. They were the parents of George Danforth Paige [1850-1914] husband of Charlotte Conkey and Mary P Paige wife of James Matthews.  

Children by his 2nd marriage were

1. William R. Danforth, born 4 Feb 1840 Oquaka, Henderson, Illinois, He enlisted in Company C, Iowa 20th Infantry Regiment on 22 Aug 1862 as a private. In 1885 he was a hardware dealer in Winterset.  He is buried in  Winterset Cemetery, Winterset, Madison County, Iowa. He married Liddie A Benge and had children Edgar Danforth, George Danforth, Frank  Danforth, Charley Danforth, Stella Danforth, and June Danforth

2. Challen H. Danforth, b. 30 Jan 1844, Oquaka, Henderson, Illinois. He died 10 August 1915 in Winterset, Iowa. He married Lidia Sturman Winterset Madisonian, Winterset, Iowa  August 11, 1915 CHALLEN DANFORTH IS DEAD Early Pioneer in Madison County Challen Danforth, one of the oldest residents of Madison county, died yesterday morning. He had been failing rapidly during the past two weeks and the end was not unexpected. His children had been notified of the seriousness of his condition and were all at his bedside when the end came. Surviving members of the family are his wife, the former, Lida Sturman; Mrs. Beulah Foster of Denver, Mrs. Ray Hake of Worland, Wyoming, Frederick, Alfred and Jay, who reside in this county. He was born in Henderson county, Ill., Jan. 30, 1844 and came to this county with his mother in 1849, when but five years of age. He was one of the most successful business men of this community. His first business enterprise was in partnership with his brother in the hardware and tinning business. Later he engaged in the banking business and was one of the organizers of the Madison County bank. Funeral services will be held at the home on Thursday afternoon at three o'clock. Burial was made at the Winterset cemetery.

Major JAMES DANFORTH son of Anna Ruggles

The youngest son of Jonathan Danforth was James Danforth. He was born in 1796 at Hardwick. He was made a captain in the militia riflemen  on 16 May 1824 and promoted to major on 10 June 1825.  He married Nancy R. Smith of Barre 11 September 1830.  She died in 1834 and he died 8 September 1846 age 50  at Barre.   They had a just one daughter Delphia Danforth who died at 25 unmarried and son James T Danforth who was a silver plater.  It is unknown whether he had issue.

           

THE WHITE and WELLS FAMILIES
with Allied Families of Beardsley, Buell, Bunce, Crow, Goodwin, and Leavitt of the Connecticut River Valley
17th Century

Susanna White Danforth was the daughter of Reverend David White and his wife Susanna Wells. She was born 30 August 1743 at Hardwick.  Both her father and mother were both direct descendants of Puritan emigrants Elder John White and Thomas Wells, pioneers of Connecticut Colony.  Rev. David White was the great grandson of both Elder White and grandson of Thomas Welles through his father Deacon John White and mother Hannah Welles. Susannah was the great granddaughter of Thomas Welles and Elder John White through her father Daniel Wells and mother Mary White.  Her ancestors lived in dangerous times during the Indian Wars of the 17th and 18th Centuries with many of her relatives being killed during the conflicts between the Native Americans, the French, and the English.
          

ROBERT WHITE of ESSEX COUNTY, ENGLAND

Robert White, his name was also spelled Robert Whighte, was baptized 17 May 1560 in  Shalford, Essex, England. His parents are unknown. Shalford is about two miles south of Wethersfield. Robert White was of Messing when he died in 1617. He was buried on June 17, 1617 in Messing. 

Robert White and Bridget Allgar  were married in Shalford on Thursday, June 24, 1585.  His wife was Bridget Allgar who was baptized in Shalford, Essex, England, on 11 March 1562/3, and died in Shalford after June 24, 1605.  She was the daughter of William and Margaret (Parye) Allgar.  Her father William Allgar was buried  2 August  1575, in  Shalford, Essex. She had a sister named Mary, who married "Ralfe Bette".

Robert White was a yeoman [not a member of the nobility] but did own a small amount of land.  (small compared to a typical nobleman's estate). He was wealthy and appears to have lived in Shalford in Essex County from his marriage until a few months before his death.

He seems to have lived in Shalford in Essex most of the time from June 1585 until a few months before his death. The baptisms of nearly all his children are there recorded, and also the marriage of his daughters, Mary and Elizabeth. It was the home of his wife, where she was baptized in 1562, and where her father, William Allgar the elder, was buried in 1575.

John White’s will was dated May 27, 1617, and indicated he lived for considerable time in the parish of Messing and was quite wealthy. He gave to support the poor of Messing, and to Rev. Richard Rogers , a non-conformist minister, and Rev. Bartholomew Scrivener, an established church minister. That Robert White bequeathed 40 shillings to Mr. Richard Rogers, “preacher of God's word at Withersfield  [Wetherfield]”  indicates that he was friendly to the non-conformists and may attended some of their services.

Robert's will named his wife and all his children.  He also named are three sons in law, James Bowtell, Joseph Loomis, and William Goodwin,  his brother in law, Ralph Bett T "my kinsman and servant", and Joseph Digbie "my servant". The three unmarried children, Bridget, Anna, and John. They were bequeathed money on the condition that they obtain the consent of their mother in their marriages.

Will of Robert White - May 27, 1617:  In the name of God amen. May the seaven and twentyeth in the fifteenth yeare of the raigne of our Soveraigne Lord James by the grace of god Kinge ofEngland, France, and Ireland defender of the faith etc and of Scotland the fifyeth. In the yeare of our Lord god 1617 I Robert White of Messinge in the countye of Essex yeoman, beinge of good and pfect remembrance, doe make this my last will and testament, in manner and forme followinge.   Imprimis. I comend my soule unto the hands of god almightey my most faythfull creator redemer and sanctifier and my bodie to be buryed in the parish church or church yeard of Messinge, at the discretion of mine executors.   Item I give and bequeath unto the poore people of Messinge fortye shillings of lawful mony of England, to be distributed amongst them, at ye discretion of mine executors and the minister of Messinge, within one month next after my depture from this naturall life.   Item I give and bequeath unto Mr. Richard Rogers preacher of gods word at Withersfield in Essex aforesaid; and to Bartholomew Scrivener Minister of the church of god in Messinge aforenamed to each of them the several summe of fortey shillings of like lawfull monie, to be payd unto them within two monthes next after my departure.   Item I give and bequeath unto mine eldest daughter Sarah, the wife of James Bowtell of little Sallinge, the summe of fifteene punds of lawfull mony of England, to be paid within fower years next after my depture.   Item I give and bequeath unto Jeames  Bowtell the younger, son of my said daughter Sarah Bowtell, the summe of five pounds of good and lawfull mony of England, to be paid unto him when he shall come to ye sixteenth yeare of his age.   Item I give and bequeath unto my daughter Marie the wife of Joseph Lummis [Loomis]  of Branetree [Braintree], one pewter platter.   Item I give and bequeath unto my daughter Elizabeth the wife of William Gooddinge [Goodwin] of Bockinge the summe of fortye markes of like lawfull monye within one yeare next after my depture, to be paid unto hir.   Item I five and bequeath unto my daughter Bridgett White the sum of one hundred marks of like lawfull monye, to be paid unto hir upon the day of hir marriage, provided that she my said daughter Bridgett shall not bestow hirselfe in marryage without the approbation and consent of my two sonnes in law Joseph Lummys and William Goodinge formrly mentioned, and of my wife Bridgett White or the consent of two of them whereof my wife to be one of the twaine. But yf it happen that shee marrye without the consent aforesaid then I give hir only the summe of thirtye pounds of like lawful monie.   Item I give and bequeath unto my daughter Anna White the summe of one hundredth markes of like lawfull mony: to be paid unto hir upon ye day of hir marriage, yf soe be she shall bestow hir selfe in marriage, accordinge to the likinge and consent of my two fornamed sonnes in law, and my wife, as isaforesaid. But yf it soe fall out, as that she my said daughter Anna shall marrye without the consent and approbation formerly mentioned, then I give and bequeath hir only the summe of thirtey pounds of like and lawfull monie.   Item I give and bequeath unto my sonne Nathaniell White the sume of fortie pounds of like lawfull monye, wherof my will is that twenty pounds shal be paid within one yeare next after my depture, and the other twentye pounds to be paid unto him within two years next after my said depture oute of this natural llife.   Item I give and bequeath unto my sonne John White the summe of two hundredth pounds of like lawfull lmonie to be paid him when he shall come to ye years of one and twentye of his age; yett provided that my said sonne John shall not bestow himselfe in marriage without the approbation and consent of my aforesaid two sonnes in law Joseph Lummys and William Goodinge, and my wife his mother. And yf it soe fall oute that this my son John shall match him selfe contrarye to the good likinge and consent aforesaid, then I give and bequeath unto him onlye as his full portion the summe of one hundred pounds of like lawfull monye.   Item my mind and will is, that yf any of my foresaid children that are unmarried shall depte this naturall life before the tymes appointed for thepaymt of their portions; or yf any of them shall marrye contrarye to the consent and approbation mentioned, then such summe or summes of monie (as shallremaine and accrew, eyther by their death or disobeydience) shall be equally devided amongste the rest of my children whither marryed or unmarried, pte and parte like.   Item I give and bequeath unto my said son John White the loyned standing bedstead wch is in the parlour, wth the featherbed, flockbed, bolster coueringe wth other furneyture thereunto belonginge; alsoe the presse cupbourd the cupbourd table and newest chest all wch are in the said ploure to be delivered him after the death of my said wife Bridgett White, or instead thereof the summe of twenty marks of like lawfull monye.   Item I constitute and ordaine my aforesaid sonnes in law Joseph Lumys and William Goodinge supuisors [supervisors]of this my last will and testament and doe give unto each of them the severall summes of fortey shillings of like lawfull mony towards their charge and paines in seinge this my will executed according to my minde.   Item I give and bequeath unto Ralph Bett the younger my kinsman and servant the summe of five pounds of like lawfull monye, to be paid unto him within one yeare next after my depture.   Item I give and bequeath unto Joseph Digbie my servant, twentye shillings of like lawfull monye, to be paid within one yeare next after my depture.   Item all the rest of my goods unbequeathed I give and bequeath unto my wife Bridgett White, and to my sonne Daniell White whome I constitute and ordaynethe ioynte [joint] executors of this my last will and testament, hopinge they willfaithfullye execute this my will accordinge to the trust reposed in them.   In witness whereof I have hereunto sett myne hand and seale the daye and yeare first mentioned.   In presence of us:   John Christmas ye elders (+) marke   William Levett.   Probatu fuit Testamentu apud Kelvedon vicesimo Die mensis Junii 1617.

At least four of Robert Whites children would emigrate to New England. Through them Robert White and Bridget Allgar left a notable line of New England descendants through John Porter and Joseph Loomis of Windsor, and William Goodwin and John White of Hartford. Among some of their descendants are William Williams, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, at least three presidents, and the Wright Brothers.

Robert White and Bridget  children were:

1. Daniel White was born in Essex. Since Robert White made Daniel the joint executor with his wife, Bridget, it may be inferred that he was the eldest (surviving) son. Daniel's baptism is not recorded at Shalford, and he is not granted a bequest in his father's will, though he is called "my sonne."  He may have already received his inheritance.

2. Sarah White was baptized in Shalford on March 8, 1585/6. She married James Bowtell of Little Sailinge, county Essex.  It appears that all of their children died in infancy.

3. Nathaniel White was baptized in Shalford on April 30, 1587 in Shalford, Essex. He was apparently unmarried in 1617, since there is no mention of his wife or children (actual or potential) in his father's will.  He died in July 1623 in Feering, Essex, England about 36 years old.

3. Mary White was baptized in Shalford on August 24, 1590, and died in Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut, on August 23, 1652. She married circa 1614  in Shalford Joseph Loomis of Braintree (England).  They emigrated to New England and settled in Connecticut Colony. They lived next door to her sister, Anna Porter, and her husband while in Connecticut.  She was an ancestor of John Brown the abolitionist, Millard Fillmore the 13th U. S. President, and Joseph Smith the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

4. Elizabeth White was baptized in Shalford, Essex County on March 6, 1591/2, and died in Farmingham, Hartford, Connecticut, on May 17, 1667. She married William Goodwin of Bocking in Shalford on November 7, 1616.

5. Anna [Ann] White  was baptized in Shalford on July 13, 1600, and died in Windsor, Connecticut, in 1647. She married John Porter Oct. 18, 1620, in Messing, Essex. She was the ancestor of Wilbur and Orville Wright inventors of airplane, and aviation industry pioneers, William Williams , Signer of the Declaration of Independence, Ulysses Simpson Grant , 18th U. S. President, Stephen Grover Cleveland the  22nd and 24th U. S. President,  Gerald Rudolph Ford  38th U. S. President,

6. Bridget White was baptized in Shalford on August 18, 1594.  She married  John Christmas on September 28, 1618 in Messing, Essex, England . They had two sons: Richard and John.

7. John White was born in Shalford circa 1588. He married before leaving England, Mary LEVETT, probably the daughter of William (will dated Oct. 9, 1626; proved Dec. 15, 1626, Fering, Essex) and Margaret, and sister of Isaac, Richard and John LEVETT.  He died 1684 in Hartford, Connecticut. [Ancestor of Anne Ruth Danforth]

ELDER JOHN WHITE son of Robert and MARY LEAVITT daughter of William

John White was the son of Robert White, a yeoman farmer  of Messing, Essex, England, and his wife Bridget  Allgar. He was probably born at Shalford, Essex, where his father lived from the time of his marriage to Bridget Allgar, June 24, 1585.  John's baptism record has not been found but his birth is estimated between 1597 and 1600. Shalford, Essex, England is a parish that derived its name from an ancient ford over the river Blackwater, by which it is bounded on the east. The town is about three miles long and two miles wide.

John White married Mary Levit on 26 Dec 1622, at Messing, Essex, England,  as recorded in the parish register of All Saints Church. He was probably about 25 years of age. She was the daughter of  William Leavitt and Margaret Leavitt who were probably cousins.  Messing is 17 miles southeast of Shalford.

While living in Messing, John and Mary had children, John White baptized 28 Dec 1623, in Messing, Essex, England but died in infancy, Mary White baptized 16 Jul 1626 at Messing, Essex, England, Phillippa White baptized 21 Dec 1628 in  Messing, Essex, England and died in Infancy and Nathaniel White born about 1630.  Nathaniel’s baptism is not recorded in parish records and his parents may have stopped attending the official Church of England.  Between the two villages of Shalford and Messing was the town of Braintree where there was a congregation of Rev. Thomas Hooker’s Puritans.  

John White decided to leave England to make a new home in America due to the increasing persecution of religious non conformists.  He and his brother in law  William Goodwin made plans to sell their properties and finance a voyage to the New World. Goodwin was from Lyons Hall, Bocking, Essex and was  instrumental in the organization of the voyage of congregants to New England aboard the ship Lyon.  Many of the passengers were related or became related by marriage. As an example, William Goodwin, one of the leaders of the group, was related by marriage to John White of Messing.  Two other brothers in law John Porter of Messing and Joseph Loomis of Braintree, followed on the Susan & Ellen a year later.

John White traveled with his wife, and two surviving children, Mary and Nathaniel to London to board the ship Lyon.  "John White, gentleman, registered June 22, 1632, " to be transported to New England to the plantation there per cert, from Capt. Mason."  This bit of information states that he was a “gentleman” and not a yeoman. The distinction is that a gentleman lived off the income of his land and did not farm it like a yeoman would.   The same day registered "John Tallcott, John Watson, and William Goodwynn".   It is certain that the Lyon  was larger and more comfortable than the Mayflower and that the cost of the voyage was not a problem, as most of the passengers were able to afford such comfort as was available in those times; many indeed were people of some substance.   

William Peirce, was the Master, who sailed the Lyon from London and “brought one hundred and twenty three passengers, whereof fifty children, all in health.” The ship arrived in Boston 16 September after the passengers had been “twelve weeks aboard and eight weeks from Land's End.”  The ship encountered “five days of east wind and fog, but no disaster”.  

Within months of arriving in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, John White and William Goodwin settled across the Charles River in a settlement called Newtowne which later was changed to Cambridge.  John White was admitted as a Freeman 4 March 1633 and was elected a Selectman of  Newtowne in the first election.   White engaged in farming and had 30 acres of land and a home lot on "Cow Yard Row". The library building of Harvard University now stands on this property.  He was appointed surveyor of highways, in Newtowne Cambridge on 3 Nov 1634.  However during the next months the followers of Rev. Thomas Hooker made plans to leave Massachusetts Bay Colony to remove to the Connecticut River Valley near the settlement of Saybrook.  During this time John White sold his home and farm to Nicholas Danforth a recent widowed emigrant and father. In 1636 the main body of the religious group that had settled at Newtowne  moved to Connecticut with Rev. Thomas Hooker  and settled at a site they named Hartford.

With Thomas Hooker in June, 1636, John White and William Goodwin  joined a group of men, women and children and traveled through wilderness 110 miles to Hartford, Connecticut, with no guide but a compass. Some of the women were carried on litters. They drove 160 head of cattle and carried on their backs their packs, arms and utensils. The journey took nearly a two weeks.  John White  was one of the original proprietors and his lands included a 2 acre homelot, 40 acres of meadow, 32 acres of uplands, 10 acres of swamp, and 150 acres of upland on Hockanum  that was on the east side of the Connecticut River.

John White prospered and was chosen one of the Selectmen of Hartford in 1642 and again in 1646, 1651, and 1656. His house lot there was on Governer Street, in "the shadow of the Charter Oak". It was while  living in Hartford that he became one of the Puritan members that disagreed with his Church on their policies of baptism.

After Rev Thomas Hooker's death in 1647 there were dissentions in the Hartford Church  between Rev. Stone and his brother in law  Elder William Goodwin.  Goodwin was an ardent friend of Hooker, but after his death was deeply involved in the great dissension in the church at Hartford. John White was one of the signers of a request for a hearing on the matter of doctrine and after several years of controversy “the Withdrawers,” as they were called, under the leadership of Goodwin and Gov. John Webster, were unable to settle their differences and eventually on Apr 18, 1659, 60 persons from the towns of Hartford and Wethersfield signed an agreement to remove to Hadley.  John White was 5th on that list so was probably one of the leaders of the movement.  John White helped to found the Congregational Church in Hadley and his brother in law William Goodwin was Ruling Elder of the Hadley church for about ten years.

In 1659 as a result of religious differences within the church at Hartford, John White and others moved to and founded the village of  Hadley further up the Connecticut River Valley which placed them back into the Massachusetts Bay Colony.   

These “withdrawers” decided to buy a portion of Massachusetts wilderness where they might practice and believe in peace. The old Indian Chiefs Chickwallopp, Umppanchala, and Quonquont were ready to sell their ancient heritage and the “withdrawers” were eager to buy. The bargain was concluded – each Chief putting his “x” on the deed – and the withdrawers, who call themselves “strict Congregationalists” were ready to move themselves and their families out of Connecticut and onto their newly purchased land in Massachuessetts.

 They appointed John White, William Westwood, Richard Goodman, Nathaniel Dickinson, and William  Lewis to “go up to the aforesaid plantation and layout 59 home lots”. Most of them had not seen the land that was to become their new home.

“These men were men of wealth and learning and had held responsible positions which they released for their conscience’s sake. Among the leaders was John Webster, a former governor of Connecticut, and one of the commissioners of the United Colonies.”

The journey northward into the wilderness was difficult.  The “Great Falls” prevented travel by water and the Nolyoke Mountain stood squarely across the most direct route by land. Undaunted, however, they packed their household goods in Ox carts, made nests for their children in the feather mattresses in the Ox carts, each wife was mounted behind her husband on a pillion, and thus they plodded to their destination.

There the pioneers laid  out the town of Hadley  on both sides of the Connecticut  River. The grown sons of John White, John and Daniel White built their homes on  the west side of the river.  The remainder of the family lived on the eastern side of the river.  John White’s married son Sergeant John White died in a fire in 1665 leaving two young children. 

After a while  it was decided to build a new meeting house. Among those appointed to  the general committee were John’s sons Nathaniel and Daniel White. “One thing that had been determined about the new meeting house was that it should have no room under it for the geese, sheep or mischievous boys”. Nearly every family in Hadley had a flock of geese which on sunny days crowded under the meeting house, making such a commotion that it was difficult to hear the preaching within.

John White owned 8 acres of land in Hadley in 1663 and  served as a selectman for the town in 1662, 1663 and 1665. He  was elected a deputy to the Massachusetts General Court in Boston  to represent Hadley  3 Aug 1664, and 19 May, 1669.

On April 9, 1671, John White and his wife Mary were received into the Hartford Second Church, after having been dismissed from the church in Hadley.  In 1676 and 1677 he and his eldest son Nathaniel  were members of a council called to try to heal the church difficulties.  He was made a ruling Elder in March 1677 of the Hartford Second Church. He remembered the pastor of his church in his will.

John White made his will December 17, 1683, and since his estate was inventoried the following January 23rd, it is evident that his death occurred within that five week period.  He was about 85 years old. As that his wife was not mentioned in his will it can be surmised that she died before he did but after their return to Hartford.  

In his will, dated 17 December 1683 was proved 6 March 1683/4, "Mr. John White of Hartford" bequeathed to son Nathaniel £30, movables, and part of "my ox pasture"; to son Daniel White £20; to son Jacob White part of "my ox pasture" and moveables; "I empower my executor to give to my daughter Hixton according to his discretion as he shall see her need calls for"; "and whereas formerly I intended to give one parcel of meadow land in great Ponset to Stephen Taylor, yet now being forced to pay a great sum of money for the redemption of his house & home lot, I now see cause to dispose of that land for payment of that debt, and shall leave it to my executor with the advice of the overseers to give either to him or the rest of my daughter Hixton's children as he shall see cause"; to "my grandchild Stephen Taylor" various moveables; to "Sarah White the daughter of my son Nathanaell" £5; to "the Reverend Mr. John Whiting my honored pastor" £5; residue to be divided "among my grandchildren (viz) Jonathan Gilbert son of my daughter Mary, my son Nathaniell's children, my son John's children, my son Daniell's children & my daughter Sarah['s] children, their sons to have as much more as their daughters"; "my wearing apparel be divided amongst my sons"; "my son Nathaniell White" to be sole executor and "my beloved friends Ensign Nathaniell Stanly and Stephen Hosmer" to be overseers.

 The inventory of the estate of Elder John White deceased 23 January 1683[/4]" totalled £190 9s., of which £48 was real estate: "his lots in the west division," £12; "his oxpasture lying on the east side of the highway leading to Wathersfeld," £18; and "his oxpasture lying on the west side of the highway leading to Wathersfeld"

John is listed on the obelisk erected in 1837 in the Center Church Burial Ground in Hartford as an original founder of the town.

John White and Mary Levit had eight children:

1. John White baptized 28 Dec 1623, Messing, Essex, England. He died before 1632

2. Mary White baptized 16 Jul 1626 at Messing, Essex, England. She  died 16 Dec 1650 in Hartford the wife of Jonathan Gilbert who she married 29 January 1646.

3. Phillippa White baptized 21 Dec 1628; Philip is identified as a daughter in her baptism record, Messing, Essex, England.  She died before 1632

4. Nathaniel White was born about 1630 and  died 27 Aug 1711 in Middleton, Connecticut. He married first Elizabeth last name Unknown. He married second the widow Martha (Coit) Mould widow of Hugh Mould and daughter of John Coit of New London.  He was one of the original proprietors of Middletown and  deputy from 1661 to 1710, and held other public offices.

5. Sergeant John White was born about 1633 in Newtowne and died 15 Apr 1665 in Hatfield. He was the husband of Sarah Bunce before 1659 probably at Hartford, Connecticut, the daughter of Thomas Bunce of Hartford. [Ancestor of Anne Ruth Danforth]

6. Lieutenant Daniel White was born about 1635 and died 27 Jul 1713, the husband of Sarah Crow who he married 1 November 1661, the daughter of  John Crow of Hartford.  Sarah was born in Hartford on 1 Mar 1647. And died on 26 Jun 1719 in Hatfield. [Ancestor of Anne Ruth Danforth]

7. Sarah White was born about 1640 and  died 10 Aug 1702. She married first Stephen Taylor of Hatfield who was buried on 8 Sep 1655 in Hatfield. She married second Barnabas Hinsdale of Hatfield on 15 Oct 1666. He was slain by the Indians on 18 Sep 1675. She married third Walter Hickson [Hixon] of Hatfield.

8. Ensign Jacob White was born at Hartford 8 Oct 1645, and died before 12 Dec 1701. He married Elizabeth Bunce the daughter of Thomas Bunce of Hartford. He was elected  surveyor of highways in 1670 and served as a selectman  for Hatfield 1682, 1687, 1691, 1696. 

Sergeant JOHN WHITE son of elder John and SARAH BUNCE daughter of Thomas

 John White, Jr.,  known as “Sergeant John” was  the third of the six children of Elder John. Sgt. John White was christened on 28 Dec 1623 in Messing, Essex,England.  He married by 15 March 1659/60 Sarah Bunce the daughter of Thomas Bunce and Sarah Bull.  Connecticut Colony Governor John Winthrope Jr was also a physician, who treated an average of twelve patients a day by traveling around the colony. It is believed that he served up to 500 families out of a population of some 5,000 persons. He wrote in his physician journal “treated "White, Joh: his wife" on 15 March 1659[/60]” and "White, Sarah, about 17 y." on 7 May 1660.  This entry gave the approximate birth year of Sarah as 1643.  He probably was not treating her for a pregnancy as midwives usually cared for women who went into labor.  From 1659 to 1676, John Winthrop was always re-elected as governor of Connecticut Colony. 

Sgt John White as a young man went with his father in 1659 to start a new settlement for the dissidents of Hartford Church in Massachusetts.  He may have been married at this time. The journey from Connecticut was a difficult one, as the cart roads were not built at that time and all streams had to be forded. The route was up the valley to Westfield, then called Woronoke, to Springfield and Northampton. The tradition is that ten days were needed to accomplish the trip.  

Puritans had purchased a tract of land known as Norwottuck plantation  from Chieftains Umpanchala, Chickwollop, and Quonquont, who claimed different parts of the territory occupied by their tribe and

seemed to be under no binding allegiance to a higher authority. The number of Norwottucks at the outbreak of King  Philip's war in 1675 could not have been many, perhaps not over  200. 

The Norwottucks had a wigwam camping ground with their planting field in the Hatfield meadows. While the Connecticut valley settlers did not anticipate trouble with the Indians, whom they doubtless equaled in numbers, they knew by experience in other places the ever threatening danger of an uprising and had an organized militia force in preparation for an emergency.  Massachusetts  required each town in the colony to have a supply of ammunition on hand constantly.

The spot, that that was purchased by these Puritans,  was on the Connecticut River with settlers forming communities on the east and west sides of the river.  Elder John White settled on the east side and his son Sergeant John White settled of the west side as early as 1660.  Some of those who intended to settle on the west  side of the Connecticut signed an “engagement” [contract]  at an October meeting, or their friends for them, others in  January, February, and March of the next year, and passed the winter there. 

Hatfield was founded in 1660 on land granted to General Daniel Dennison and Governor William Bradford. It was formally incorporated as a town in 1670.  Hatfield soon became a center for agriculture and the region produced cattle, sheep, corn, and tobacco. 

At  a meeting held in Hadley in January, 1661, it was voted and  agreed upon that “all those that have taken up allotments  on the west side of the river put into the Rate that is to be made for this year and shall pay all charges for this present year as we ourselves on this side of the river doe."  The community of the west side became known as Hatfield.  By 25 March 1661, twenty-five heads of families had engaged to settle on the Hatfield side including Isaac Graves with his father, Thomas Graves,  John Graves,  John White, and  his brother Daniel White, all formerly of Hartford.  His house lot was the next above that of Nathaniel Dickinson, on the east side of the main street, the fifth from the south end of the original allotment. 

Sergeant John White was elected one of two selectmen for the town in 1663 and by then the father of two children Sarah and John.  

In September 1665 Sergeant John White was apparently burned so severely in a fire  causing his death. He was buried  15 Sep 1665.   His age was 42 years old. 

There is a tradition that at first a portion of the South Meadow was used as a cemetery and another that some land near the Connecticut  River at the end of the house lot of John White. Jr., was the site of the first graves, but no discoveries have ever been made tending to confirm these traditions. The probability is that the settlers who died before 1670 were buried on the other side of the river in "the Hadley burying ground but John could have been buried near his own property.

He was a man of some wealth and owned a house and land in Hartford, of which he retained possession after leaving that town. In the inventory  of his estate he was worth 313 including a lot and home in Hatfield as well as a home in Hartford .  As his children were born in Hartford just  two years prior to his death he may have just recently moved to Hatfield. 

Sarah Bunce White was widowed at the age of 22 with two small children but was left with considerable property. Governor Winthrope mentioned Sarah Bunce White once again in April 1666 when he treated "White widow daughter of Tho Buns".

Sarah Bunce White circa 1670 remarried Nicholas Worthington who from Liverpool Parish in Lancastershire England. He was said to have fought in the Cromwellian wars during the time of the English Commonwealth after the Civil War  in which his family “estates were confiscated". Nicholas came to New England circa 1655 from England and settled in Saybrook Connecticut before moving to Hartford and then Hatfield Village, Massachusetts Bay Colony. He was the first and probably the only Worthington who came early into New England.

In a document of the County court of Hampshire county dated 28 March 1670, He was called "of Hartford". Nicholas Worthington removed to Hatfield, Massachusetts. And received his allotment of land. When Nicholas Worthington married the widow of John White, Jr.,  he was given John’s property allotment.  He was the step father of Sarah Bunce’s two young children Sarah and John White.  She had a son by Nicholas  Worthington named William.

At first Hatfield’s relations with the local Native Americans were very welcoming on both sides on the Connecticut River however On October 16, 1675, a substantial part of the town was destroyed by Indians in the King Philip's War. The surviving settlers sought refuge in Springfield.  He was freed from military service during the King Phillip’s War by reason of "weakness and infirmity".

Sarah Bunce who never seemed to be in the best of health died the following year on  20 Jun 1676 at the age of 33 years in Hatfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay Colony. 1676, June 20: Sarah, relict of Nicholas Worthington, died at Hatfield Village (Hampshire) Massachusetts Bay Colony. Because Hatfield had no stone cutters until about 1720, most grave markers existing before then were made from wood and did not survive through the ages.  It is not known whether she was buried in the Hatfield or Hadley burial grounds.  She was probably buried near her first husband.

After the death of Sarah, Bunce, Nicholas Worthington married  Susannah Williamson and they had three children of their own. They were Jonathan Worthington husband if Elizabeth Scott , John Worthington husband of  Mary Pratt, and Margaret Worthington.   After Nicholas Worthington’s marriage it is likely that the White step children went to live with their uncle Daniel White.

At the beginning of the year 1678 Nicholas Worthington was elected the  constable of Hatfield and Daniel White, Sergeant John’s brother was elected a selectmen. “Here followeth likewise the names of ye Persons yt [that] took ye oath of aleagence [allegiance] as above in Hatfield Febr 8th 78.  Nicholas Worthington and Daniel White.” 1678/9, February 8: "The oath of allegeance which by order from our honored General Court was to be taken by all persons from 16 years old and upwards within this countie and accordingly was administered by ye worshipful Major Pynchon and by them was taken viz; by the inhabitants and others as afore sayd in Hadley whose names are here after written.

Before his death on 6 September 1683, Nicholas Worthington had served as Selectman from 1681 to 1683. 

Children of John White and Sarah Bunce: 

1. Sarah White was born in Hartford in 1661. She married John Graves son of John Graves and Mary Smith. Sarah died in 1741 in Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, United States.  She was the mother of 10 children.

2. Deacon John White was born about 1663. He died on 17 Nov 1750, age 87, at the house of his son, Rev. David White of Hardwick. He married Hannah Wells on 7 Jul 1687. Hannah, the daughter of Thomas and Mary Wells of Hadley, was born on 4 Jul 1668 and died on 17 Dec 1733. [Ancestor of Anne Ruth Danforth]

Child of Nicholas Worthinton and Sarah Bunce

1. William Worthington  b.1670 d.22 May 1753 Colchester, New London, Connecticut, United States husband of Mehitabel Graves daughter of Isaac Graves and Mary Church and widow of Richard Morton.  He was the father of five children.

THE BUNCE FAMILY

Captain Thomas Bunce born circa 1612, and thought to be a son of James and Elizabeth (Raynor) Bunce, and born at the Village of Saybrook, Kent Parish (Kent) England.  However there’s no definite proof.  In his will he mentions a sister Katherine Clark and a niece Elizabeth White.

Thomas Bunce came to New England and settled first at Cambridge and moved to Rev. Hooker’s adherents in Hartford on the Connecticut River.  There seems no record that he marched with Rev. Hooker from Cambridge to Hartford in May, 1636, but he was in Hartford by 1637.

Thomas Bunce married Sarah in the Hartford Settlement in  the Connecticut Colony.  Her maiden name has not been discovered. She is often confused with the wife of Thomas' son, who married the daughter of his father's commander in the Pequot war, Capt. Thomas Bull.

Thomas Bunce was commissioned as a Ensign and served in the Pequot of May, 1637, which was undertaken at the order of the General Court after 30 people had been killed^[. An army of about 90 men was raised from Hartford, Windsor and Wethersfield. 

The Pequot nation (the word “Pequot” is interpreted as “The Destroyers”) was considered to be the “most warlike and blood-thirsty Indian nation in New England” because they had about 500 warriors and, along with other Indian tribes in the vicinity, they posed a threat of 4,000-5,000 warriors against the small English settlements of about 800 persons in the Connecticut Colony. Additionally they were trading with the Dutch, and the English were interested in settling in New York, then controlled by the Dutch.

The Pequot War was an armed conflict that took place between 1636 and 1638 in New England between the Pequot tribe and an alliance of the English colonists of the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Saybrook colonies and their Native American allies.

In the 1630s, the Connecticut River Valley was in turmoil. The Pequots aggressively extended their area of control at the expense of the Wampanoags to the north, the Narragansetts to the east, the Connecticut River Valley Algonquians and Mohegans to the west, and the Lenape Algonquian people of Long Island to the south. By 1636, the Dutch had fortified their trading post, and the English had built a trading fort at Saybrook. English Puritans from the Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth colonies settled at the four recently established river towns of Windsor (1632), Wethersfield (1633), Hartford (1635), and Springfield (1636.)

Through the autumn and winter of 1636, Fort Saybrook was effectively besieged. People who ventured outside were killed. As spring arrived in 1637, the Pequots stepped up their raids on Connecticut towns. On April 23, Wongunk chief Sequin attacked Wethersfield with Pequot help. They killed six men and three women, a number of cattle and horses, and took two young girls captive. In all, the Connecticut towns lost about thirty settlers.

In May, leaders of Connecticut river towns met in Hartford, raised a militia, and placed Captain John Mason in command. Mason set out with ninety militia and seventy Mohegan warriors. Their orders were to directly attack the Pequot at their fort on the Mystick River. 

The war concluded with the decisive defeat of the Pequot. At the end, about seven hundred Pequots had been killed or taken into captivity.  Hundreds of prisoners were sold into slavery to the West Indies and  other survivors were dispersed as captives to the victorious tribes.

Thomas Bunce filled a number of civic offices in Hartford. He  was chimney viewer in 1646 and 1670,[ to prevent fires in the village], constable in 1648, juror in 1649, Townsman or selectman for the years 1653, 1661, and 1665; was Rate and list maker in 1669; and list maker in 1671, 1672 and 1673.

Both Thomas and his wife were early members of the 1st Church in Hartford, and became members of the 2nd Church by 1670, when is was separated

Thomas was granted 60 acres in 1671, and an additional 50 acres in 1672, by the General Court “for his Good service therein [in the Pequot Indian War].” His land was located near the present site of the state capitol.

Thomas was an active investor in real estate in Hartford, as there are records of nine land transactions for him in the Grantor Land Files of Hartford, and he was also a land speculator in Wethersfield. From early records it appears he also was involved in construction in Hartford, since his will shows he helped to build a saw mill, and also he worked on repairs to the bridge across Little River in 1648.

In September, 1672, he was relieved of military training, because he was then sixty years of age.

Thomas' name is inscribed on the Founders’ Monument in Hartford as a proprietor “by courtesie of the town”, which is assumed to indicate that he did not come with the first settlers, but settled there a short time later. Thomas was considered a wealthy man, as he owned land in Hartford and Wethersfield at the time of his death. 

Thomas Bunce’s last Will and Testament was not dated . I, Thomas Bunce, do give and confirme to John Bunce, my sonn and his heirs forever, all that my house and Lott and barn with all the appurtenances belonging to it (which I bought of Thomas Gridley) within the Bounds of the Township of Hartford and my 40 acre Lott which I bought of the aforesayd Gridley which Lyeth near Weathersfield Bounds, together with my whole, right, title and interest in the saw mill built by Mr. Gardener, Stephen Hosmer and my selfe, and doe put him in present possession thereof. Moreover I doe give and bequeath unto my sayd sonn John Bunce six acres of Meadow land in the South meadow on the south side of my Lott Lying by John Wattson’s, Thomas Catlin’s and Steven Hopkins’ Land, as I also give and bequeath to him my Lott lying over against Mr. Webster, which abutts on the Highway east and on John Wattsons land on the west and on John Richards’ Land on the South and on the Highway on the North. These last two parcels of land my sayd son John Bunce is to possess immediately after the decease of me and my wife Sarah Bunce. Moreover I give to my sayd (sonn) John Bunce out of my moveable estate £10. I doe give unto my dau. Elizabeth White £20. I doe give unto all my grand­child­ren to each of them £5. I doe give unto my cousin Elizabeth White £5. I doe give unto my sister Katheren Clark £10. I doe give to my wife all my moveable estate, both of cattell and household stuffe, to be to her use and behoofe whilst she shall Live and to dispose of it at her decease to our children. I doe give unto her the use and improvement of all my houseing and Land that I stand possessed of at my decease, to be for her comfortable subsistence, she keeping houses and fences in good repayre; provided, if she marry again she shall have but one halfe of my houseing and Lands. I do give unto my son Thomas Bunce, Jr. and his heirs forever, after the decease of my wife, all my houseing and lands of what nature and kind they soever be, or wheresoever situated. I doe nominate my sayd sonn Thomas Bunce to be my whole and sole Executor and to enable him to per­forme this my will and to pay such legacies as I have herein given, I do grant him the power to sell any part of my Land at Weathersfield for the end afore­sayd, not with standing any clause or bequest in this my will to the contrary and that he may have a refuge to repayre unto for advice and councill in all difficul­ties that may arise in the attendancy of this my will, I do desire my Breathern Ens. Nath Standly and Steven Hosmore to be my desired overseers to assist him with council and advice as there shall be need. Thomas Bunce Witness: John Allyn Joseph Whiting

The will does not mention daughters Sarah and Mary, who were presumably deceased by its writing. He does not name the children of his deceased daughter Sarah either but the will did provide five pounds to each of them which was later changed to 20 shillings.

A nuncupative Codicil appears upon record, entered upon the testimony of Thomas Bull and Jonathan Bull upon oath before John Allyn, Assist, 2 August, 1683, wherein he revokes the Legacy to his cousin Elizabeth White, giveing her nothing, and reduceing the Legacies to his Grand children from £5 to each to 20 shillings to each. Court Record, Page 73 — 6 September, 1683 : Will Proven.

An Inventory  of Thomas Dunce’s estate in Hartford was taken 3 August 1683 by James Steele, Nathaniel Stanly, John Easton and showed that he was worth £1024-03-00. His property in Wethersfield was valued at  £767-03-00 by an inventory taken by . by Samuel Talcott, John Deming, Wethersfield.

A Home lot and dwelling house, £100; to 9 acres of Meadowland at the Pond, £70; to land at the Wherle pool, £9; to Land in the Wett swamp £6; to 30 acres of Land in the Wett swamp, £30; to 6 Acres dry swamp, £12; summe £257; £767-03-00-£1024-03-00.

His widow Sarah Bunce made out her own on 19 August 1689. The Last will of Sarah Bunce, Late wife unto Thomas Bunce senr of Hartford Deceased:  I give & Bequeath unto my grand child Sarah meekins fifteen pound, of wch a feather bed & furniture & a great Brass Kettle shall be part.  It. I give unto my grand child John meekins five pound & a chest.  It. I give unto my grand child Thomas Meekins fourty shillings & a chest.  It. I give unto my grand child Mehetabell meekins Twenty shillings. It. I give unto my son John Bunce his two eldest Children Twenty shillings a peice. It. I give unto my sons Thomas Bunce & John Bunce ye rest of yt Estate wch my husband left me to dispose of, to be divided equally between them, whom I make overseers unto this my will;  & yt this is' my Last will & Testament, I declare by setting to my hand & seal this nineteenth of august, one thousand Six hundred & Eighty nine. Sarah X Bunce. Ls. senr In presence of Stephen Hosmer, Richard Btirnham. Court Record not found.

 His wife survived him by ten years, dying in January, 1693/94, leaving a will dated 1689, which mentioned their grandchildren, Sarah, Thomas and Mehitabel Meekins, and the two oldest children of her son, John Bunce, leaving the remainder of her property to her sons John and Thomas Bunce, executors of her will.

Sarah Bunce’s inventory was taken  January, 1693-4 and her estate was worth  £49-12-06 and taken by James Steele, Joseph Mygatt

Children of Thomas and Sarah Bunce

1) Sarah Bunce wife of John White and Nicholas Worthington [Ancestor of Anne Ruth Danforth]

 2) Thomas Bunce, Jr.; born 1643  died 1711 married Susannah Bull

3) Mary Bunce; born September 17, 1645; wife of Thomas Meakins and John Downing;

 4) Elizabeth Bunce  wife of Jacob White Elizabeth died about 1716, Hartford.

5) Sgt John Bunce; born March 20, 1650, , married Mary Barnard, dau. of Bartholomew Barnard and Sarah Burchard/Birchard. John died before 1734

Deacon JOHN WHITE son of Sgt John and HANNAH WELLES daughter of Thomas

John White was born circa 1663 and was only 2 years old when his father, Sergeant John White died. He was 13 when he became an orphaned with the death of his mother, Sarah Bunce White Worthington.

When he was 14 years old, on the morning of 19 September  1677, the town of Hatfield was attacked by Native Americans “ like a bolt from a clear sky, that left a trail of ruin and devastation.” “Most of the men were at work in the meadows cutting corn. The women were busy with their household duties and the children were playing about their houses and in the streets unconscious of impending danger.”

 “At eleven o'clock, when the savory odors of the noonday meal were rising into the tranquil air, a blood-curdling yell suddenly pierced their ears — the dread war-whoop of the Indians.”  “Through Middle Lane poured a band of armed and painted warriors who fell upon houses lying outside the stockade.”

The family of John Welles, the uncle of Deacon John White’s future wife Hannah, suffered in the attack. His two year old daughter, Elizabeth, was killed, and  his wife, Sarah Curtis Welles, and another child were wounded.

On the next lot near John Welles' home, some  men were at work building a house for John Graves, Jr., who was soon to marry Sarah White, Deacon John White’s older sister.  Seeing the attack on the Welles home, John and his brother Isaac Graves, and two young carpenters from Springfield, named John Atchisson and John Cooper shot from the frame of the structure being erected driving off the attackers.

“The shouts and screams and the noise of the firing reached the ears of the men in the meadows to the south and the mounting flames and smoke warned them of what to expect. They flew to the relief of the unguarded settlement, but before they arrived the foe had departed and all that could be done was to care for the wounded, remove the bodies of the victims of tomahawk and gun, and make up the roll of the missing. “

In all, thirteen homes had been invaded.  “Twelve of the inhabitants of the ill-fated town were left dead near their ruined homes and four were wounded.”  Seventeen of the women and children were captured and taken away.  “Stunned by the suddenness and completeness of the blow and fearful of an ambuscade in the swamps above, no pursuit of the Indians was attempted, but messengers were dispatched to the other" towns with the news and to ask for assistance.”

“The Indians with their captives and booty marched to Deerfield, which they attacked the evening of the 19^th.  After a halt for the night in the woods near-by the long journey to Canada was begun.” Eventually some of the captives were ransomed and returned.

 When John White of Hatfield was 20 years old, his stepfather Nicholas Worthington died 6 September 1683. He had remarried and had more children beside John White's half brother William Worthington.  John White most likely after his mother died and his stepfather remarried went to live with his uncle Lt. Daniel White.

 John White was circa 24 years old  when he 19 year old  married Hannah Wells  in July 1687 in the neighboring village of Hadley. Hannah was born in July 1668 the daughter of Thomas Welles and Mary Beardsley.  John White settled into married life and became a farmer, sheep raiser, and land owner. 

The sheep live stock industry was important in the Connecticut River valley and was actively promoted by the town.  In 1690 the owners of sheep were allowed to fence in a tract of land north of Hatfield, ''provided it be no obstruction to the town or county highway."  Sheep masters were appointed to keep track of how many sheep farmers kept. In 1699 there was a record of 291 sheep kept of those owned by local farmers with John White owning the most at 20 of them.

John White of Hatfield was elected for the first time a Selectman in 1689 along with his uncle Lt. Daniel White.  He would serve the town of Hatfield as a Selectman off and on in the years, 1695, 1698, 1700, 1702 through 1705, 1717, 1721, 1723 and 1724 when he was about 61 years old.  In 1701 at the age of 37 he was even elected a representative from Hatfield to the Massachusetts General Court.

While John White lived in Hatfield, Native American warriors were seen “frequently skulking in the woods and a strict watch was maintained and scouting parties were sent out at intervals.”  After the devastating raid on the town in 1677 and due to the threat of Indian raids spurred on by the French Canadians, John White joined other town folks in the  militia of the Hatfield company.  In 1689 his uncle Daniel White was listed as an Ensign and John White was listed as a sergeant under Captain Samuel Partridge.

On 15 September 1694, thirteen miles to the north of Hatfield, an attack on the village of Deerfield by the French and Indians was repulsed but the  next year some of the  Mohawk from the Albany New York Colony area came again to the Connecticut river valley. On 18 August 1695, a party of Deerfield men was attacked on its way to the mill and one man was killed. A pursuit of the Indians failed to discover the perpetrators of the outrage.  The next day some Deerfield settlers were taken prisoner by Indians  and on October 5 Richard Church of Hadley was murdered and scalped while hunting in the woods near Mt. Warner. The affair caused the greatest excitement in all the towns.

A search party for the attackers was gathered from Hadley, Northampton, and Hatfield, accompanied by some friendly Indians. They followed the tracks, and they came upon four Indians near Mt. Toby. One was captured and the other three were arrested in Hatfield the same day, October 6.  A court of Oyer and Terminer was held at Northampton, October 21, to try the four prisoners, for which special justices were appointed.  Indians Mowenas and Moquolas were indicted as principals in the murder of the Deerfield men and Wenepuck and Pameconset were tried as accessories. John White of Hattield was one of the grand jurists who heard the case. Daniel White was a member of the Petit Jury.

The Indians were tried separately and all declared guilty. The principals were sentenced to be shot and the execution, the first in Hampshire County, took place October 23 1695. The two accessories were held till February and then released. They were put in the custody of Captain Samuel Partridge of Hatfield, who advised the colonial authorities not to deal too severely with them on account of the slight evidence against them and "not to agrevate their evil spirits against us."  The Albany Indians had affirmed that the men were innocent and threatened retaliation.  Captain Samuel Partridge was allowed £31, 16s., for the expenses of the trial to be paid to the justices, jurors, and witnesses and for the board and guarding of the prisoners.

The rest of the Indians who remained in the vicinity left in  1697, when they went back to the Hudson and did not return to the Connecticut valley again. The General Court, impressed by the danger to the valley towns, passed an order that any Indians found within twenty miles of the west side of the Connecticut river should be considered enemies and treated as such.

When excitement settled down in 1699 a committee was appointed to report at the town meeting about building a new meetinghouse  as that the old one had become too small for the congregation.  In November 1633 it was "judged to be inconvenient and insufficient" and recommendation was made for a new one 45 feet square with gable windows upon each side of the roof. A building committee was chosen that included —Lieut. Daniel White, and John White. It was decided to place the new meetinghouse on the knoll where the former one stood but the old house was not to be removed till the new one was completed. Rev. William Williams was pastor of the Hatfield Church from 1686 until he died in 1741.

At the beginning of the year 1701 the two main highways through the commons to the west and north of town were agreed upon in a town meeting and formally accepted, after the report of a committee that included Daniel White, Sr., and John White. The highways were laid out ten rods wide and marked by blazed trees.

 Also in 1701 the aunt of John White of Hatfield, Elizabeth Bunce White the widow of Jacob White mentioned, her nephew as an heir in the disposition of her property to her husband’s relatives.  Evidently she had no children of her own.  John White and his brother in law John Graves were the “legal representatives to John White sometime of Hatfield decd”.

12 December 1701: Articles of Agreement betwixt Elizabeth, the widow and relict of Ensign Jacob White of Hartford, late decd., and Captain Nathaniel White of Middletown, Lieutenant. Daniel White of Hatfield, John White and John Graves (in his wive's right) of Hatfield, legal representatives to John White sometime of Hatfield decd., Sarah Hixson alias Hinsdell alias Taylor alias White of Hatfield by her lawful attorney Samuel Partrigg, all of whom are next of kin to the said Ens. Jacob White deceased, in order to a settlement of the estate of the said deceased:

1st. That the said Elizabeth, relict as above said, have the free use and improvement of all the real estate, viz., houseing and lands of what kinds soever within the precincts of Hartford or elsewhere, with all the privileges, rents, profits and advantages as by her management thereof may accrue, belonging or in any wise appertaining to the said deceased, for the full term that she is in a widowhood condition, viz., the widow of the said deceased, she keeping and maintaining the housing and fences in like good repair as they are now in, except only the ox house and the old barn that are in a tottering condition and for which she is not liable, but to keep them up so long as they may be of use, and when they fall it shall not be in her wrong or liable to any repair of them; yet, nevertheless, after the widowhood condition (should she see cause to change her present condition by marriage), then and at such time she is from thenceforward to enjoy only one-third part of the aforesaid housing and lands with the profits thereof.

2d. That Captain Nathaniel White aforesaid, brother to the said Ensign Jacob White deceased, after the widowhood of the said Elizabeth as aforesaid terminates, shall have one-fourth or quarter part of all the real estate, viz., housing and lands of what kinds so ever (the widow Elizabeth's thirds, which are to her for the term of her life as aforesaid, excepted) that are of right, or may grow to be as a right, of the said deceased, both for quantity and quality, set out to him to be to him and his heirs forever; and the like proportion in the said widow's thirds in reversion, in quantity and quality as above said, also to be to him and his heirs forever. And furthermore, that he now receive and enjoy, of the personal estate or moveable goods of the said deceased, one-eighth part by equal division and proportion, which at present amounts to the sum of £20-07-10, as also the like proportion of any moveable estate that shall or may appear by any additional inventory over and above what is contained in the original inventory.

3d. That Lieutenant Daniel White aforesaid, brother to the said deceased Ensign Jacob White, after the widowhood of the said Elizabeth as aforesaid terminates, shall have one-fourth or quarter part of all the real estate, etc., etc., etc., including the £20-07-10.

4thly. That John White and John Graves (in his wive's right), and both as legal representatives to John White deceased, brother to said Jacob White deceased, after the widowhood of the said Elizabeth terminates, shall have one-fourth or quarter part of all the real estate, both housing and lands, of what kinds soever, etc. etc. The one-half part to said John White, and the other half part as aforesaid to John Graves in his wive's right; always provided, that if the said John White make full payment of the full value of his sister Graves her part in sufficient good pay, he is to enjoy the whole of her part in the housing and lands, and the like proportion including the 1-2 part of personal estate, which amounts to the sum of £10-03-11.

5th. That Sarah Hixson alias Hinsdell alias Taylor alias White aforesaid, sister to the said Ensign Jacob White deceased, after the widowhood of the sd. Elizabeth as aforesaid terminates, shall have one-fourth or quarter part of all the real estate, viz., housing and lands of what kinds soever (including) £20-07-10, etc., etc., etc.

6th. The above said articles of agreement we the subscribers do mutually agree to, and do humbly present this our agreement to the Honoured Court of Probates within the County of Hartford in the Colony of Connecticut in New England, humbly desiring their approbation and confirmation thereof as a full settlement of the estate of Ensign Jacob White deceased, to which we subscribe and seal this 12th day of December, 1701, in the thirteenth year of the reign of William the Third of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith.

Signed, sealed and delivered in the presence of John Blackleach, Jonathan Bull, Ciprian Nickolls. Elizabeth X White, ls. Nathaniel White, ls. Daniel White, ls. John White, ls. John Graves, ls. Samuel. Partridge as attorney to Sarah Hixson. Test: Caleb Stanly, Clerk.

1703, April: Elizabeth the widow presented an account of her Adms. There is due to the estate the sum of £13-05-05. Also presented an agreement, under the hands and seals of the persons interested in the estate, which the Court confirmed and ordered to be recorded and filed. And this Court grant the Adms. a Quietus Est.

On 4 May 1702 Queen Anne of Great Britain declared war on France, and the next year the New England frontiers were again the scenes of fighting that lasted ten years. It was learned in the spring of 1703 from Mohawk spies that an expedition was fitting out in Canada for an attack on Deerfield. That town was at once fortified and garrisoned.

In  August  1703, the town of Hatfield "voted to fortify several houses on the Hill, Col. Samuel Partridge's, Richard Scott's and also John Meekins's, and in the town they do agree to fortify the house of Jonathan Graves, John White, Mr. Williams, John or Sergt. Waite's, Sergt. Belden, Goodman Marsh."  In 1705 Deerfield was attacked and many of  Hannah Welles’ family who lived there were massacred or carried off to Canada.  Hannah’s grandniece Susannah Wells, who married John and her son Rev. David White, was the granddaughter of Hezibah Buell Welles was murdered during the raid.

At the age of 43 in 1707 John White of Hatfield was appointed an ensign in the militia and probably served in the position until the war ended. 

John White of Hatfield was appointed a Deacon in the Hatfield Church in 1712 by Rev. William Williams and he became known thereafter as Deacon John White. He lived the rest of his life as a respected yeoman farmer and church goer. He held many key civic positions in the town

Deacon John White and Hannah Welles were the parents of ten children born all in Hatfield between 1689 and 1712.  Hannnah’s last child Eunice was born when her mother was 44 years old. Hannah Wells White died 17 December 1733 at Hatfield  when she was 65 years old, survived by her husband and seven married children. 

When Deacon John White was nearly 80 years old he sold his house and home lot in Hatfield to his son-in-law in Daniel White in 1742. He lived with his daughter and son-in-law for a few years, before moving to Hardwick to live with his son Rev. David White. His old home was turned into a tavern by his grandson Dr. Daniel White.

Deacon John White of Hatfield died in his son’s home in Hardwick 13 November 1750 at the age of 87 years.  He was buried in the Hardwick Church cemetery. 

 Children of Deacon John White and Hannah Welles

1. John White  was born 26 September  in Hatfield, husband of Mrs. Sarah Bull Barber and Hannah Meekins. He settled in West Springfield, Massachusetts and  and died there in 1759, age, nearly 70. His will was presented in Court, July 12, 1759. He married, 1st, 1717, Mrs. Sarah Barber, widow of Thomas Barber. She was the daughter  of Capt. Jonathan Ball of Springfield, and of Mrs. Susanna Williams Worthington, the second wife of Nicholas Worthington, whose first wife was this John White's grandmother. Mrs. Sarah White was born Aug. 6,1685, and died Nov. 3,1744He married, 2d, 1746, Hannah Meekins of Hatfield, daughter. of John Meekins. She probably returned to Hatfield in 1763 after her husbands’ death.

2. Mary White was born 3 January 1692/3 in Hatfield,  and died in infancy

3. Hannah White was born 26 March 1695 in Hatfield, the 2^nd wife of John Hastings who she married  14 July 1720. They resided  for some years in Hatfield before removing  up the Connecticut River  to Fort Dummer in 1735.

4. Mary White was born  1697 in Hatfield,  and was wife of Daniel Welles

5. Sarah White  was born circa 1699 in Hatfield, and died young

6. Jonathan White was 18 September 1700 in Hatfield, husband of  Esther , who died  Mar  25, 1727, Anna , who died in Flebron Mar. 2. 1747,  and Mrs. Anna Wright, who died Sept  30. 1777. Capt. Jonathan White as he was known lived in Hatfield  until 1731, when he removed to Hebron, Connecticut., and settled on a farm which he bought of Elisha and Simeon White. He held various town offices in both the towns in which he resided. In 1750 and 1751 he was chosen town clerk and treasurer of Hebron, and continued to hold the latter office till 1768. About 1745 he was chosen a deacon of the church in Hebron. He died March 28, 1776, age 75, leaving an estate of about £575.

7. Elizabeth White was born circa  1705 in Hatfield,  the 2^nd wife of  Capt. Daniel White  son of  Lt. Daniel White her father’s uncle. They were 1^st cousins once removed.. She died. July 4, 1770 about 65 years old. Her husband was born in Hatfield 5  Sept 1698. In the spring of the year 1742 he bought for £560 the house and home lot of his father-in-law, Dea. John White,  and again settled  in Hatfield from Bolton Connecticut. He was one of the town’s selectmen from 1742 to 1763. He died in Hatfield 15 December  1786 at the age of  88. In Hatfield he was chosen constable in 1723, town clerk in 1729, and selectman and assessor in 1730. While residing in Bolton, he was 8 times chosen a selectman, from 1734 to 1741, and was almost constantly on the committee for laying out lands to the proprietors of the town. Upon his return to Hatfield he was again called to the office of a selectman, which he held for 17 years, between 1742 and 1763, making 26 years in which this office was conferred upon him by the people of both towns. His son Daniel White in 1777 was a member of the Committee of Correspondence, inspection and  Safety" for Hatfield

8. Martha White was born 14 March  1707/8 in Hatfield, wife of Joseph Olmsted whom she married 31 Oct 1732

9. David White  was born 1 July 1710 in Hatfield, husband of Susannah Wells the daughter of Daniel Wells and Mary White. He was the pastor of the church in Hardwick, Massachusetts. [Ancestor of Anne Ruth Danforth]

10. Eunice White was born  13 February  1712/13 wife of Timothy Olcott whom she married 1 Nov 1732.

REV. DAVID WHITE son of Deacon John and SUSANNAH WELLS daughter of Daniel 

David White was the ninth child and youngest son of Deacon John White, of Hatfield, Massachusetts. He was born in that town, 1 July 1710. He was born during the reign of Queen Anne, the last monarch of the House of Stuart. His mother was Hannah Wells, the daughter of Thomas Wells and Mary Beardsley of Hadley Massachusetts. Her father Thomas Welles died from wounds received in the Bloody Creek Massacre in 1676 when she was 10. She was raised in the household of her stepfather Samuel Belding. 

 When he was four years, King George I ruled until David was 17 years old. David's youth was spent growing up in Hatfield. He would have known the tales of the Indian Attack on Hatfield in 1677 and the French and Indian Attack on Deerfield where in his cousin Mary Welles and his Hepzibah were murdered.  However much of the time he was a lad life on the western frontier of Massachusetts Bay was relatively quiet.

As that David White wanted to become a minister of the Gospel, his father agreed to allow him to go off to college to study theology. His father sent him to Yale College in the Connecticut Colony in New Haven. Yale was 88 miles due south of Hatfield so David would have boarded there during terms but perhaps went home to work on the farm during the summers. As that scholarships to Yale did not become available until 1732, certainly David's father Deacon John White paid for his tuition and boarding.  Rev. David White graduated at Yale College in 1730 at the age of 20 where he studied theology. 

Rev. David White's ministry in Hardwick predated  incorporation of the town. After short services elsewhere, David White began preaching in Lambstown about the beginning of July 1736, where a group of settlers from Roxbury purchased land from the local Nipmuc Indians.  Lambstown was a village founded in 1732 in the Swift River Valley about 45 miles north east of Hatfield in Worcester County, Massachusetts. One provision for legal recognition was that sixty families had to settle in this area within the period of five years and in 1736 the condition had been fulfilled. A petition was then sent forth asking the General Court for the Incorporation of the township which was not approved until January 1739. The township then received the name Hardwick, in honor of Lord Hardwicke, an English nobleman.  Water from its many nearby streams powered saw and grist mills, making the area an early source of manufactured goods as well as agricultural products. It was a very prosperous community prior to the Revolutionary War.

Rev. David White seems to have commenced preaching as a  candidate for minister of the settlement about July, 1736. "Soon after the commencement of Mr. White's labors, a church was organized in Hardwick (then called Lambstown)." 

" Lambstown, Oct. 20, 1736. The members of other churches, living in Lambstown, met together and concluded upon the following particulars respecting Church Government, 

" 1 . That there should be no relation required of those that  are received into the church. 

" 2. That after the minister has taken an account of the knowledge and faith of those that have a desire to come into the church, and is well satisfied therewith, that they shall be received into full communion in the church upon their making a public confession of their faith. 

" 3. That the power of calling church meetings lay in the power of the minister. 

" 4. That Messi. Christopher Paige and George Abbot should sign letters missive to the Pastor and Delegates of several churches, to gather a church in Lambstown and ordain Mr. David White Pastor thereof." 

David white was ordained the pastor of the church  on 11 November  1736 at the age of 26. The church, consisting of 12 members when it was organized on that day.   " November 11 1736. A Church was gathered and imbodied in Lambstown, and the members of the church publicly invited and chose Mr. David White to be their pastor. Accordingly, the same day, the said Mr. David White was ordained Pastor of the Church of Christ in Lambstown  by prayer and laying on of hands of the Presbytery." 

The names of the men that "solemnly entered into a church state in Lambstown, that before were members of other churches" were Christopher Paige, George Abbot, Thomas Perry, Joseph Allen, John Wells, John Kidder, and Richard Church". The names of the men that entered into a church in Lambstown, "which before were not members in full communion in other churches, but were then received into the church" were Eleazar Warner, Nathan Carpenter, Experience Johnson, Samuel Robinson, and Samuel Gillet." 

The man named John Wells in the list of organizers was probably the son of John Welles and Rachel Marsh of Hatfield. This John Welles was the first cousin to Thomas Welles and Hannah Welles White which would have made David White and John Wells 2nd cousins.

About a month later the church chose its first deacons. " Dec. ye 3rd 1736. The Church of Christ in Lambstown met together, and after a unanimous vote to choose two men to the otiice of Deacons in said church, Mr. Christopher Paige and Mr. Joseph Allen were chosen to the office of Deacons, by a majority of the votes of the church."

The following spring at a meeting April  4, 1737, it was " voted that the sum of twenty-eight pounds and sixteen shillings be raised, to pay Mr. David White for his service in the ministry, for his victualling and horse-keeping, for the quarter of a year before his ordination ; " also " that the year wherein Mr. White's salary be paid begin the first of October."  Also voted, " that the sum of fifty pounds be raised for the Rev. Mr. White, for his half year salary, beginning October the first  Anno Dom. 1736."

A permanent arrangement of the salary was made March 6, 1737/8, when it was voted " that the town give the Rev. Mr. David White for his yearly salary one hundred pounds per year, for five years successively, beginning at the first of Oct. Anno Domini 1736 ; and a further sum and sums from year to year for ten years next coming, namely, one hundred and five pounds to be paid at the expiration of the year, from the aforesaid first of Oct. 1736 ; and to increase the said sum, five pounds a year, yearly, until his yearly and stated salary shall come to one hundred and fifty pounds : and that sum, namely, one hundred and fifty pounds to be paid him yearly during his continuance in the work of the Gospel ministry in this place ; and the said sum of money to be paid in the common  currency of this Province, at the rate and in the proportion that  Bills of Credit are now valued with silver money, namely, reckoning  twenty-seven  shillings in Bills equal to one ounce of silver." 

Rev. David White also received a "parsonage", or "minister's lot," which was half a mile north from the meeting-house, and it contained two hundred acres of land. Now that Rev. David White had a consistent income he went to Deerfield where he married his cousin Daniel Welles' daughter Susannah Wells on 24 November 1738 in Deerfield. He was 28 years old and his bride was 24. Susannah Wells was born 1714 most likely in New Jersey although some family information believe she was left an orphan at an early age in Pennsylvania. She was the only known child of Daniel and Mary White Welles.  Daniel Wells survived two attacks on Deerfield. One was in 1693 when a sister  Sarah was killed and another scalped, and the 1704 Deerfield Massacre where his mother and sister Mary were killed.  Later he moved to New Jersey along with two of his brothers. Daniel Wells died in Cape May, New Jersey Colony in 1715 from an epidemic. Susannah Wells mother was said to be Mary White but her parentage is not certain. Certainly she is related to the White families of Hatfield. After the death of her parents Susannah was returned to Massachusetts and was brought up in the household  of her childless uncle and aunt Thomas Wells and Sarah Barnard of Deerfield.  

Rev. David White and his wife Susannah Wells had four children between 1739 and 1745, two sons and two daughters. If they had more children they were not recorded in town records. While his  salary was small, probably never so much as three hundred dollars per annum, in silver money,  Yet on this sum, together with presents, and the fruits of his own industry, he managed to support his family, and to give both his sons a public education both having graduated at Harvard College. 


Although nominally at peace, since the Queen Anne's War, Britain and France had been in conflict over colonial boundaries in Acadia, northern New England, and the Ohio Valley for over thirty years. About the time Rev. David White's youngest son was born,  the third in a series of Anglo-French colonial conflicts in North America broke out in 1745.   Known as the King George’s War in America the war in Europe was over a succession crisis that pitted France, Prussia and Spain against the British.  Colonists from New England and New York attacked the French Canadians and captured Louisbourg. However by terms of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748, in return for receiving Madras in India, the British returned Louisbourg to the French, thus nullifying the greatest victory American forces had ever won. Anger in the colonies was so great that London responded by reimbursing the colonial governments for funds spent earlier on the campaign. The losses of Massachusetts men alone in 1745–46 from the King George's War have been estimated as 8% of that colony's adult male population. The war ends with no clear victor.

The  King George's War was just a warm-up to the French and Indian War between France and England, also fought for domination over North America. In 1752 tension and small battles begin to break out between the French and the American colonists and another conflict breaks out in May 1756 with   Declarations of War  between Great Britain  and France when Rev. David White was 46 years old.  The British in 1760 captured Montreal and Canadian forces surrendered. Three years later with the Treaty of Paris  all French possessions east of the Mississippi River, except New Orleans, are given to the British. All French possessions west of the Mississippi are given to the Spanish. France regains Martinique, Guadeloupe and St. Lucia their prized sugar plantations.

There are very faint traces of human bondage in Hardwick. Among the marriages solemnized by Rev. Mr.White was that of " Tack and Rose, Kenelm Winslow's man and maid servant, April ye 3d, 1755." Mr. Winslow not long after wards removed to Petersham, and in his will, dated April 5, 1775, gave to his wife, during her widowhood, his three negroes, Sarah, Rose, and Phillis, probably the offspring from their marriage. Rev. Mr. White also baptized, July 27, 1755, " Zebulon, the son of Philip and Bathsheba, man and maid servant to Capt. Joseph Warner," and a second Zebulon, son of the same
parents, April 10, 1757.

Rev. David White's eldest son Thomas Wells White was 21 years old at the surrender of Canada and may have participated in the conflict as that Timothy Ruggles a prominent man of Hardwick was an officer in the war.

The cost of the French and Indian War led to conflicts between Colonists and the English Parliament that began to tax them which the Colonists resented having no representation in Great Britain.  in 1760 George the Third became king of England and he sought was to finance the cost of the French and Indian War. The Stamp Act and the tax on tea eventually lead to the movement for independence from Great Britain.  When the war broke out at Concord and Lexington in Massachusetts, Rev. David White was 65 years old.  His congregation was split been American Patriots and American Tories.  His own family was also split. Two of his children were patriots and two of his children were married to Tories.  His own views are unknown but being the town's minister he probably held conservative views.

These were apparently the golden days of Mr. White ; but they were soon overshadowed. The political excitement preceding and during the Revolutionary War so entirely engrossed public attention, that the church became comparatively inactive.

For several years before 1779, scarcely any action directly affecting the interests of the church can be gleaned from the records of either the church or the town, in addition to what has al ready been mentioned. In 1779 the bodily infirmities of Mr.  White, indicated by the employment of an assistant for two months, in 1741, before mentioned, seem to have increased to such an extent that the settlement of a colleague was considered desirable.

Contrary to the usual custom, the town took the lead, and at a regular meeting, January 25, 1779, requested the church to unite with the town in giving a call to Mr. Joel Foster. 

"Feb. 1,1779. The church . . . being regularly called and assembled together at the meeting-house, to know the minds of the members of the church respecting giving a call to Mr. Joel Foster, to settle in the work of the ministry in said town, as a colleague with the Rev. Mr. White ; the vote being put, there appeared thirteen members that were desirous of giving Mr. Joel Foster a call as above, and sixteen appeared against." 

The town was unwilling to yield the point entirely, and on the same day (February 1, 1779), voted, " to apply to Mr. Joel Foster, to preach the gospel in this town for a number of Sabbaths, and chose a committee for that purpose, viz., Jonathan Warner, Timothy Paige, Timothy Newton." The effort to obtain this manifestly favorite preacher was in vain, and he was soon ordained at Now Salem.

After this date, only two votes of the church appear on record during the ministry of Mr. White, the former of which, by the indefiniteness of its conclusion, in dictates some failure of his mental energy : " July 5, 1781.

 The church regularly called and met at the meeting-house ; this thing was proposed : (1) Whether it be the mind of the church that all baptized are visible members of the church, and under the special care and watch of it ; voted in the affirmative : (2) If it be the mind of this church that the baptized persons under the care of this church, that are arrived to years of discretion, be called upon to see whether they own their baptismal vow or not ; voted in the affirmative. Agreeable to the above vote, in a convenient time, it was moved in the congregation that all that was willing to comply with the above vote, by owning their baptismal vows, would show their consent by standing up ; and a great number did, — too many to set down their names." The last At a church meeting regularly called and mot in the meeting-house, it was put to vote whether they would invite Mr. Josiah Spaulden 1 to preach any more with us ; and it p;issed in tho affirmative by a very great majority." Although the ministry of Mr. Spalding did not result in his permanent settlement, it did produce a profound impression on the church and congregation. It does not appear at what precise date he commenced or ended his labor here ; 2 but he was actively engaged May 13, 1782, and was then desired to continue ; and the records show that during the eight months from December 30, 1781 to August 25, 1782, ninety-one persons were admitted to the church by profession, — a larger number than had been thus admitted during the preceding twenty years.3

Rev. David White's eldest son, Thomas Wells White was 36 years old at the start of the Revolutionary War. He was a merchant, a teacher, town clerk and town assessor for nearby New Braintree when he became a private in the militia. With his education and roles of leadership you would expect him to be an officer, but the only record found was T. W. White, private.   His youngest son John White was 30 years old at the time of the start of the war and 36 years old when it ended. He was a graduate of Harvard and while record of his military service has not been located he was known as Major John White.

Rev. David White's son on law Rev. Lemuel Hedge was ordained at Warwick, Massachusetts and he was suspected of being a Tory, and the town forbade him to leave Warwick. He died there Oct. 15,1777, age 43 leaving his wife Sarah a widow with seven children.  His son in law Jonathan Danforth was also suspected of being a Tory and the town forbade him to leave Hardwick which he did anyway to the consternation of Rev. David White when Jonathan was imprisoned. Rev. David White's daughter Susannah Danforth died 10 November 1779 at the age of 36 leaving her husband a widow with four small children at home. 

Age the age of 67  Rev. White sold this parsonage in 1777 and bought a house with 35 acres of land a few rods north of the Commons. He remained here throughout the war and lived here at the time of his death. 

The Revolutionary War ended in 1781 and the United States of America's independence was recognized by the Treaty of Paris in 1783. In effect Rev. David White became an American at the age of 73 years.

Susannah Wells White died  17 July 1783 a year and a half before her husband. It was written of her  "the uniform testimony of those who remembered Mrs. White was , that she was one of the excellent of the earth, and remarkable not only for her lady-like and Christian deportment, but also for her intellectual power, in which she was far superior to her husband."

Rev. David White died in office in Hardwick, 6 January  1784, in his 74th year. 




 They are both buried in the Hardwick Church Cemetery.  His tombstone reads:  "Sacred to the memory of the of Rev David White  who died    Jan ye 6th  1784 in ye 74th  year   his age.  He was the first minister settled in the Town and faithfully and conscientiously performed the sacred functions of his office for almost 50 years to the great edification and enlargement of his Church and the universal peace & tranquility of the Town."  His wife is buried next to him and her tombstone inscription reads:  Sacred to the memory of Mrs. Susanna White consort of  Rev David White who died    July ye 17th 1783, in the 69th year of her age. She lived a life of unexampled Piety and Virtue and of the greatest Patience and Resignation under her long continued bodily indisposition and died in the firm hope of a Glorious Immortality.


The wording on her tomsbtone seems to suggest that Susannah White had a sickness or was infirmed for a long time before her death which may have contributed to her only having four children.  It was written of her that "the uniform testimony of those who remembered Mrs. White was , that she was one of the excellent of the earth, and remarkable not only for her lady-like and Christian deportment, but also for her intellectual power, in which she was far superior to her husband."

During the forty-seven years of his ministry at Hardwick,  as pastor, Rev. David White baptized 1275 adults and infants, and married 316 couples. He also received 411 persons to full communion, and 77 under the half-way covenant. Full membership in the tax-supported Puritan church required an account of a conversion experience, and only persons in full membership could have their own children baptized. Second and third generations, and later immigrants, did not have the same conversion experiences. These individuals were thus not accepted as members despite leading otherwise pious and upright Christian lives. In response, the Half-Way Covenant provided a partial church membership for the children and grandchildren of church members. Those who accepted the Covenant and agreed to follow the creed within the church could participate in the Lord's supper. Crucially, the half-way covenant provided that the children of holders of the covenant could be baptized in the church. These partial members, however, couldn't accept communion or vote. Puritan preachers hoped that this plan would maintain some of the church's influence in society, and that these 'half-way members' would see the benefits of full membership, be exposed to teachings and piety which would lead to the "born again" experience, and eventually take the full oath of allegiance. Many of the more religious members of Puritan society rejected this plan as they felt it did not fully adhere to the church's guidelines, and many of the target members opted to wait for a true conversion experience instead of taking what they viewed as a short cut.

  Allen's Biographical Dictionary says of him, that "he was esteemed and very useful."   He  also  wrote "His talents were respectable, but by no means brilliant. His success in giving satisfaction to his  people depended not so much on the energy of his mind, as on the meekness, simplicity, and purity of his heart. He lived in a  troublesome period, both political and ecclesiastical.'  

David White and Susannah Wells children were:

1. Thomas Wells White was born 12 August 1739 at Hardwick and died 3 September 1815 in Waterford, Washington County, Ohio. He was probably named for his mother's uncle who raised her. At the age of 20, in 1759, he graduated from Harvard University and at the age of 25 h
e was the husband of Naomi Wright Wood the daughter of Phineas Wright and Joanna Field. They were married 17 Oct 1764 in Hardwick and lived in New Braintree in Worcester County where became a merchant, a teacher, town clerk and town assessor. At the age of 17 he fought in the French and Indian War. He was in one of the companies in the Crown Point Expedition, from September 20 to December 5, 1756. He was also a Revolution War soldier a Private in the Continental Line. "A Pay Roll of Capt. Timothy Paige's Company, in Col John Rand's Regiment of Massachusetts Militia, raised for the defense of the United States, agreeable to a Resolve of the Great and General Court, bearing date June 22, 1780 ; raised for three months, and did duty at West Point in the State of Now York." This company, which commenced service July 5, 1780, consisted of one hundred and two men, of whom thirty were residents inHardwick : — Thomas W. White. " He removed to Barnard, Vermont, where he lived until the Fall of 1799. He was the town clerk from 1778 to 1785.  Naomi died in 1798. The following year, 1799, Thomas, 4 sons, a daughter and their families, 18 in the group, migrated to the Northwest Territory. The place they settled became part of the state of Ohio in 1803. He settled on a farm in the township of Roxbury, now Waterford in Washington County.  Thomas Wells White and Naomi Wood had 11 children; 5 were born in New Braintree and 6 in Barnard. 
A. David Matthias White born 4 December 1765 New Braintree, Mass and was husband of Patta Cheadle, Rebecca Porter, and Mrs. Catherine Harris Briggs. He was the father of 10 children by his 3 wives. He moved to Ohio with his father and settled in Waterford where he was a farmer and Deacon in the Presbyterian Church there. He died 13 November 1840 at the age of 75.
B. Thomas White born 26 July 1767 New Braintree, Mass husband of Joanna Samson. He moved to Waterford, Ohio and died there 6 February 1848. He was Justice of the Peace for 20 years and faher of 8 children.
C. Theodosia White born 19 August 1769 New Braintree, Mass wife of Stephen Ellis
D. Naomi White born 13 September 1771 and died February 1816 wife of John Cheadle
E. Rhoda White born 17 October 1773 wife of Jonathan Fay
F. Sally White born 11 February 1776 wife of George Clapp
G. Susannah White born 28 December 1780 Barnard, Vermont, wife of Charles Swift
H. Hannah White born 13 January 1783 Barnard, Vermont
I. John White born 13 January 1783 Barnard, Vermont and died  October 1829 in Rupert Vermont where he was a Clothier. He was the husband of Laura Rising and had four children.
J. Fanny White born 1783Barnard, Vermont and died 1824 husband of Nathaniel Ripley
K. Olcott White born 9 January 1786 Barnard, Vermont and moved to Zaneville, Ohio in 1820. He was a Clothier, Calico stamper, Book seller, and book binder. He was the husband of Electra Abernathy and father of 5 children.
L. Samuel White born 30 November 1789 Barnard, Vermont and died 12 October 1823. He was a farmer in Waterford and  husband Eunice Emerson. He was the father of six children.

2. Sarah White was born 29 May 1741 and died 1808 in Middlebury, Vermont age 67. An announcement of her death was printed in the Columbian Centennial on 27 January 1808. She was the wife of Rev. Lemuel Hedge the son of Elisha Hedge and Martha Johnson. They were married 5 November 1761 in Hardwick. Lemuel Hedge graduated at Harvard College in 1759, and was ordained at Warwick, Dec. 3,1760. "After a ministry of nearly 17 years, Mr. Hedge died at Hardwick, Oct. 17, 1777, in the 44th year of his age.  Mr. Hedge was a Tory in the Revolution, or strongly suspected to be such." In March, 1775, the inhabitants voted to disarm him and confine him to the town, he was persecuted most, remorselessly."  There is no record of his death in Hardwick and it seems probable that he died and was buried in Warwick. , "He was suspected of being a Tory, and the town forbade him to leave Warwick" . A monument was erected to his memory, bearing an inscription " In private life he was cheerful, exemplary, and benevolent. In his ministerial character, faithful, solemn, and instructive. In full belief of the truths he preached to others, he fell asleep in Jesus, with the Christian hope of rising again to eternal life." Sarah White Hedge was left a widow with seven children the oldest being 13 years old and the youngest 1 year old.

A. Lemuel Hedge, died 15 November 1762 at Warwick, one day old

B. Lemuel Hedge born 8 March 1764 a graduate of Harvard College, 1784, was a teacher, and died unmarried in Washington, D. C, in 1801 

B. Levi  Hedge, born 19 April 1766 a graduate of Harvard College 1792, was Tutor and Professor there for 37 years. He died at Cambridge, Massachusetts 3 Jan 1844, age 77, husband of Mary Kneeland,  He was an American educator. His independent stand against hazing while still a student at Harvard was instrumental in ridding Harvard of the injustice associated with its "hat law". He was appointed a tutor at Harvard in 1795. In 1801, he married Mary Kneeland, with whom he had eight children, including Frederic Henry Hedge, who became a clergyman, transcendentalist, scholar of German literature, and also a Harvard professor. In 1810, Hedge became professor of logic and metaphysics. He published Elements of Logick (Boston, 1818), which went through many editions, and was translated into German. In 1827 he moved to the Alford professorship of natural religion, moral philosophy, and civil polity. That year, also prepared an abridgment of Thomas Brown's Mental Philosophy (1827). An attack of paralysis compelled him to resign from Harvard in 1830. He died in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1844.
C. Sarah Hedge norn 11 April 1768 wife of Moses Fay. She died in Rutland Vermont 7 April 1831 age 63.

D. Dr. Abraham Hedge  born 21 October 1769 was a physician in Windsor, Vermont, and died 26 April 1809 age 39 unmarried.  "Here are deposited the remains of Doct. Abraham Hedge, late of Chester, Vt. who died 27 April 1809 aged 39. He was a skilful physician an upright Magistrate and examplary Mason, & an honest man." His brother in law Josiah Denham and brother Samuel Hedge were administrators of his estate as he left no will.  An inventory of his estate showed he was worth  $921. 
E. Samuel Hedge born 29 March 1772 resided in Windsor, Vermont later settled 1813 in Presbyterian St Andrew, Montreal, Quebec, Canada and died there 7 JAN 1830. He married first Mariam Parsons who died 5 September 1800 in Windsor at the age of 35. Lydia Lyman 7 May 1806 at Northampton, Massachusetts.  The 1810 US Census showed that he was living in Windsor and had 8 people listed in his household.  He had a son also named Samuel born 30 January 1794 in Windsor, who resided in Montreal, France Hedge born 5 July 1795, William Hedge born 11 July 1796 husband of Elizabeth Hedge moved to Canada, George Hedge 11 April 1799 who died 1859 in Buffalo NY husband of Caroline Field, and Lucy Hedge 2 June 1800. All these children were from 1st wife and born in Windsor.
F. Susannah Hedge born 15 March 1774 was wife of Col. Josiah Denham. 

G. Eleutheria Hedge born 26 May 1776 was the wife of Hon. Daniel Chipman, a Member of Congress. She died 5 June 1866 in Middleton, Addison County, Vermont at the age of 90.  Daniel Chipman graduated from Dartmouth College, New Hampshire, studied law, was admitted to the bar and practiced law in Rutland, Vermont. He was a member of the Vermont State House of Representatives, (1790-94, 1798-1808). In 1815, he was elected as a Federalist to the Fourteenth Congress, serving until 1816. After his term, he resumed the practice of law, was a professor of law at Middlebury College and was a reporter for the superior court of Vermont.

3. Susannah White was born 30 August 1743 and died 14 November 1779. She was the wife of Jonathan Danforth. (ancestor of Anne Ruth Danforth)

1. Samuel Danforth, b. 09 Mar 1771, Hardwick, Worcester, Massachusetts husband of Lucy Auger [Ancestor of Anne Ruth Danforth] 
A. Thomas Bassell Danforth born 7 April 1796 Rupert, Vermont  died September 1877 Coldwater, Mississippi, and was husband of Matilda Burdine and Lucretia Morgan [Ancestor of Anne Ruth Danforth]
B. Samuel Danforth Jr. born 15 October 1798 Rupert, Vermont died circa 1860 Augusta, Georgia husband of Harriet Brown.
C. Rev. Charles Danforth born 26 August 1800 Rupert, Vermont died 1867Oberlin, Ohio husband of Cornelia Flower Sadd.
D. Lydia Permelia Danforth born 11 January 1803 died October 1851 New York wife of Henry Seymour Nash
E. Jonathan Edward Danforth born 15 February 1805 Rupert, Vermont died 27 May 1879 Novelty, Ohio husband of Matilda Haywood
F. Susannah Danforth born 5 May 1807 Rupert, Vermont died 7 August 1815 Rupert, Vermont
 2. Jonathan Danforth, b. 25 Feb 1773, Hardwick, Worcester, Massachusetts  died 3 April 1797 age 24 years unmarried.

3.. David White Danforth, b. 10 Nov 1774, Hardwick, Worcester, Massachusetts  died 16 December 1774

4. Pamela Danforth, b. 08 Nov 1777, Hardwick, Worcester, Massachusetts  died in Rupert Vermont unmarried.

4. Major John White was born 11 June 1745 in Harwick and died 1795 in Worcester. He was the husband of Sarah Henry [Heney] and Sally Brown. He graduated from Harvard College in 1765. He was a clerk in an office in Worcester. He had the title Major but left no children.

THE WELLES FAMILY of WINDSOR

THOMAS WELLES and FRANCES ALLBRIGHT

Thomas Welles Sr. in his will, called himself, "Thomas Welles of Evesham,  weaver." Evesham is a parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, England. There are many Wells or Welles families in the area, but thus far, no records have been found that might identify his parents.  He married Frances Albright  the daughter of Richard Albright.

Richard Albright was born circa 1565. The surname Albright is extremely rare in the Worcester  area of England. He  is doubtless descended from the Albright family seated in the parishes of Mickleton and Ebrington, in Gloucestershire. These adjacent parishes lie three to six miles south of Welford-on-Avon, Gloucestershire, where Richard Albright himself first appears. Little is actually known of his life.  Richard Albright married about 1592 to a woman whose name has not been learned. Following their marriage, Richard and his wife lived in the parishes on Welford-on- Avon, Gloucestershire, and Alcester, Warwickshire, where their children were recorded. He died intestate and was buried 22 January 1613/4 in Alcester. His wife was buried there 24 January 1626/7.  Richard Albright was the father of at least two sons and four daughters.  Elizabeth Albright died age 23 unmarried, John Albright died age 54 in 1649 the husband of Joan,  Richard Albright who died 1638 age 41 husband of Anne Kilby,  Frances Albright wife of Thomas Welles and Thomas Coleman,  Agnes who died as an infant, and Alice Albright  wife of Griffin Lowe.

Richard Albright’s daughter Frances Albright was born circa 1600, probably at Welford-on-Avon, Gloucestershire, or Alcester, Warwickshire. No Baptismal record has been located for her. , and she died probably at Hadley, Massachusetts, shortly before 26 March 1678 when her undated will was proved.  

She married Thomas Welles  was born circa 1595, and died in 1637, leaving a will dated 9 February 1637, proved that same year. His father, whose name has not been learned, was still living in 1637, when Thomas made his will, forgiving him a £5 debt and bequeathing to him an additional £6. The will also mentions a godson John Wells, who was probably his nephew. Because the name Wells is commonplace in English records, it has proved impossible to trace this family further with any degree of confidence.

To date, neither the marriage of Thomas and Frances Wells nor the baptisms of their three known children have been located. At the time of their marriage, they lived probably somewhere in the general vicinity of Alcester, Warwickshire, where Frances's widowed mother was living. Sometime before 1637, they moved to Evesham in Worcestershire, where Thomas was a weaver.

Thomas Welles died probably a young man as he stated that his unnamed father was to have a legacy in his will.  Thomas Welles referred to his wife, but not by name, and to his three minor children, Thomas, Mary and John.  He named Thomas as his eldest son.

He named his brothers in law,  John and Richard Albright, who he referred to as his “brothers.” He also named John Albrights two daughters Ann and Joan and Richard Albrights’s son and daughter John and Cattherine.  He left the same amount of money to John Loe [Lowe] and Sarah Loe [Lowe] the son and daughter of Griffen Loe [Lowe] which would suggest that they were also a nephew and niece also.  He named as his  godsons Joseph Blissford and John Welles.

Others mentioned in his will were  John Pathit, Sarah Ordway, Edward Ordway, William Lampit, and Charles Whitell.  John Pathit and Sarah Ordway were given the same amount as Thomas Welles’ nephews and nieces  and god sons.  Charles Whitmell was called “my man” so he was probably a servant or a tenant. He was given a sheep and hog worth 8 shilling s a shipe [sheep] & Hoge worth eight shillings or two hachibs which he nowe doth work with upon his good behaviour to his dame.”

The Will of Thomas Welles is dates 9 February 1637/8: In the name of god amen be it knowe to all men that I Thomas Welles of Evesham weaver doe make my last will and testament the ninth day of February 1637… I beequeth my soule unto the hands of my lord and saviour Jesus Christ whoo had Redemed it next I bequeth my body to the earth and all my worldly goods In maner and forme following first I forgive my father the 5 pownd which he oweth to me and I give to my father 6 pownd more to be paid in three yere by equell somes fourty shillings a yeare but if he dy the mony that is unpaid to remain to the Exseckiter.

Next I give to my eldest son Thomas 20 pownd to be paid at the age of 21 yeares and my house after the death of his mother. He then named an unmarried daughter Mary and another son named John who are both minors.

 Item I give to my daughter Mary 30 pownd likwise to my son John 30 more but if my wife be with child and it live then it is my will that 10 pownd a pece shall be taken from John and Mary and given to it and it is my will that my son John shall be paid at the age of 21 yeare and my daughter Mary at hur day of mariage or at the age of 21 yeares: but if they prove stouborne and dissobedent then it shall be left to the will of thir mother and the overseers when they shall have it: and further it is my will that if my son Thomas dy [die] without a aire [heir]  then it is my will that it shall come to my son John and if John dy without a a ire then to com to the other son if it be a son or elce to remaine to the Daughter if ther are two or elce to remaine to my daughter Mary.

 Item I give to my man Charles Whitell a shipe [sheep] & Hoge worth eight shillings or two hachibs which he nowe doth work with upon his good behaviour to his dame.

 Item I give to my godsons Joseph Blissord and John Welles 2 shillings a pece

Item I give to John Pathit  2 shillings.

Item I give to Ann  and Jone [Joan]  the daughters of John Allbright  2 shillings a peece.

Item I give to John Allbright and Catherin the sonne and daughter of Richard Allbright 2 shillings a peece.

Item I give to John Loe [Lowe] and Sarah Loe the son and daughter of Griffen Loe  2 shillings apeece.

Item I give to Sara Ordway 2 shillings.

Item I give to my brother John Allbright my cloake.

 Item I give to my brother Richard Allbright my best coate.

Item I give to the pore 5 shillings to be geven to whome my wif and Edward Ordway and William Lampit think good and I make my wife my whole exseckiter [ Executor] and my brother John Albright and my brother Richard Albright ovorseres [overseers].

The will was not signed. However it was witness by Thomas Handy, William Lampit, and Edward Ordway. HOMAS HANDY (mark TH), WILLIAM LAMPIT, and EDWARD ORDWAY.

Thomas Wells was buried in the parish of All Saints on 13 Feb 1637. Father mentioned in will, but no name given. The brothers of Frances Albright Welles lived in Alderminster, Warwickshire, a town 10 miles east of Evesham.  Thomas Welles  left the house to his elder son, Thomas, to have after the death of his mother. The will of Thomas Coleman shows that this was property was  brought into the family by Frances and held for son, Thomas Wells.

Following Thomas's death, his widow, Frances, married, second Thomas Coleman, a widower with four children. The marriage took place before 6 March 1638, when it was noted in the inventory of Frances's brother Richard Albright that his estate owed the sum of £3 10s "to Thomas Coalemans Children." The children in question were doubtless Coleman's Wells stepchildren.

Frances married circa 1638, Thomas Coleman likely at Evesham, Worcestershire, England, where they both lived at the time.  He was a widower with three children as well  and she had three children from her first marriage, Thomas Wells,, Mary Wells and John Wells. Thomas Coleman and Frances just had the one daughter, Deborah Coleman

In 1639 the Coleman family immigrated to New England, settling first in Wethersfield, Connecticut In 1654 he was chosen as Selectman, Deputy to General Court, 25 sessions, and Deputy from Wethersfield, Connecticut.  He was a first settler at Hadley, Massachusetts in 1660. Thomas Coleman  died in Hadley  at the end of September  1674. His will was dated 29 September  and he was buried on 1 October 1674.

The will of Thomas Coleman , of Hadley, named his wife Frances, his own Coleman children including Deborah. He also makes provision for his step-sons Thomas Welles and John Welles. This provision was for interest in property in Evesham, Worcestershire, England that had belonged to Frances’ first husband.  

Frances Albright survived Thomas Coleman by four years  and died at Hadley probably in March 1678.  The will of "widdow ffrances Coleman" was undated but proved 26 March 1678. She gave:  to my daughter Mary Wells, £6 to my son Jno Wells, £6 to my daughter Gilburt, £6 to my grandchildren Jonathan & Jno, each 10s; to my son Jno Wells his son  and to my grandson Thomas Wells a two and twentie shilling peice of gold to be equally divided between them; to ye daughters of my son Jno, Sarah & Mary 10s. each;  to my daughter Mary Wells that peice of stuffe or serge I formerlie lent her husband; to my son John Wells his wife my best red petticoate & soe much of my other cloathes as shall make that coate equal or equivalent to yt [that] peice of Stuffe or searge yt I gave to my daughter Mary Wells; to my daughter Deboro my greene apron & two other aprons & some of my weareing Lining as alsoe my muffe as alsoe Penestone to make her a pettecoate; And the rest of ye Penestone I give to my son John Wells; to my daughter Deboro one iron pott; to my son John Wells my grate Bible; to my daughter Deboro yt peice of searge in ye  chest as also woolen yarn yt is in ye house.  to my daughter Mary Wells my grate cheste; to ye wife of my son Jno Wells and to my daughter Mary Wells all the rest of my cloathes both woolen and lyning that is not before mentioned equally between them;  ye rest of my estate yt is not mentioned I give & bequeath to my son John Wells & to my daughter Deboro to be divided equally between ym -- Jno shall have a double part wth the rest of my estate.  my beloved son Jonathan Gilburd executor. Signed by mark.

Children of Thomas and Frances (Albright) Welles;

1. Mary Welles born circa  1626 in England and died at Hartford, Connecticut , 3 July 1700, aged 74. She married Jonathan Gilbert  as his second wife.  He was the  son of Thomas and Elizabeth (Bennett) Gilbert. Jonathan Gilbert was baptized  at Yardley, in Worcestershire, 8 June 1617 and died at Hartford 19 Dec. 1682, aged 64. He had married first Mary White the daughter of Elder John White 29 Jan 1645/6.  Mary White died about December 1649.He was Marshall of the Colony of Connecticut for many years.  Eight children. Jonathan and Mary were the grandparents of Jonathan Belcher, Governor of Massachusetts and later of New Hampshire, and ancestors of Noah Webster, noted American author and lexicographer.

2. Thomas Welles, eldest son, was born circa 1629 in England and died  at Hadley, Massachusetts between 30 September  and 14 December 1676. He married at  Wethersfield, Connecticut in May 1651, Mary Beardsley daughter of William and Mary Beardsley. She was born  in England circa  1631, and died at Hatfield, Massachusetts 20 September 1691. They had Fourteen children. She married as her 2^nd husband on  25 June 1678 Samuel Belding of Hatfield.

3.  John Welles, youngest son, born circa 1635 at Evesham and died at Hatfield, Massachusetts, 18 October  1692. He married circa  1658 Sarah Curtis  daughter of Capt. William Curtis. She was born  at Stratford, Connecticut  10 Oct. 1642, and died  at Hatfield, Massachusetts circa  1743, He was the father of nine children. His widow Sarah married Samuel Belding as his 3rd wife. 

Child of Thomas and Frances (Albright)(Wells) Coleman;

4. Deborah Coleman was born circa 1640 and was the wife of Daniel Gunn of Milford, Connecticut. He was the son of Jasper Gunn; no issue .

THOMAS WELLES and MARY BEARDSLEY

Thomas Wells, Jr was born between 1625 and 1629, in England, and was the son of Thomas Welles and Frances Albright. Thomas Wells Sr's will was written on 9 February 1637, and it was proved the same year. In the will, he left the house to his elder son, Thomas, to have after the death of his mother. The will of Thomas Coleman shows that this was property brought into the family by Frances (Albright) and held for son, Thomas Wells. 

Thomas's immigration in 1639 in the company of his Step father Thomas Coleman and his mother and his siblings and settled in Wetherfield, Connecticut Colony. Thomas seems to have been a householder at Wethersfield perhaps as early as 1650; deeds mention that he purchased his house from Thomas Coleman, his "father-in-law".

Thomas is "said to have married" in May 1651 to Mary Beardsley. She was born 1631 in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, England the daughter of William Beardsley of Stratford  and his wife, Mary Harvey .After Mary and Thomas were married, they made their home at Wethersfield, where five of their fourteen children were born.

By about 1660, the family removed from Wethersfield to Hadley, Massachusetts with the Coleman family.   He took the freeman’s oath at Hadley, 1660, having gone there in 1659, with others, to select the site for the new town, and also, for his home lot which was located on the road to the meadows and cemetery. 

He was one on the signers for the grant, and paid £ 150 for his share. In 1662, he was one of the teamsters contracted with, for the transportation of grain, to and from the mill at Hatfield, and certain days of the week were specified for the work. Land records lead one to think he was a carpenter, and as a sort of real estate man, building a home and selling, sometimes living in it and sometimes not.  Thomas Welles served as"townsman" of Hadley in 1663. 

He took an active part in many skirmishes with the Indians. Thomas was a teamster for the soldiers in the King Phillips War and fought and was wounded during the battle of Muddy Brook.  The battle took place near Deerfield on the banks of Muddy Brook, afterward called Bloody Brook.

In 1675 Colonists and Native Americans burned one another’s settlements as conflicts over English encroachment increased. Eventually war broke out between the English Colonists and the Native American confederation led by an Indian whom the English called King Phillip. Loyalties of tribes and individual Native Americans shifted, and mistrust fed on itself.  

In the summer of 1675, Native Americans who opposed the expansion of colonial settlements tasted victory in attacks on villages in Massachusetts. These assaults in the Connecticut River valley drove settlers to abandon their homes in September. Many gathered in the blockhouse at Deerfield but lacking food for winter, the settlers dispatched some eighteen teamsters, under the guard of Captain Thomas Lothrop and about seventy newly recruited soldiers from Essex County, to retrieve a gathered harvest of grain from their fields.

 The men loaded the harvest without incident and possibly began to feel too safe. On September 12, 1675, they attempted to haul the grain back to Deerfield. After traveling some distance, the convoy stopped to rest. The inexperienced soldiers laid their firearms in the carts of grain and picked some wild grapes nearby to eat.

 Unbeknown  to the soldiers and the teamsters, a much larger force of hostiles had been shadowing them. While the colonial troops rested, the Native Americans attacked. For approximately 6 hours, a battle was fought with neither side gaining the upper hand. Finally a troop of 100 Connecticut soldiers with a band of Mohegan [Mohican] arrived. Realizing they could not win now, the warriors disappeared into the forest. As many as ninety colonial soldiers and teamsters were killed.  

The surviving soldiers straggled back to Deerfield for the night and returned the next day to bury the dead in a mass grave. The dead soldiers and teamsters were buried in a mass grave.The sluggish little brook was re-named Bloody Brook.

Deerfield was abandoned shortly afterward and later the village was destroyed by King Philip’s warriors. The bloodshed led the remaining settlers swiftly to abandon Deerfield. For years after the war’s end, settlers’ attempts to reclaim the land provoked attacks by Native Americans. The settlers gradually prevailed. 

Thomas Welles died between 30 September and 14 December 1675, at Hadley about 46 years old. He was mortally wounded serving the militia and died between two dates, which leads one to believe that he may have been injured and not killed, but died of his injuries. Thomas  left a good estate in Wethersfield and Hadley, and house and lands in England.

"In the middle of the war, the people of Hadley had frowned on the young who were flaunting silk ribbons far above their station and wearing their hair long and other such extravagancies. Jonathan Wells, was wearing his hair to long. In all too short a time however, Jonathan would be hailed by one and all throughout New England as the "boy hero" and would be lying in a house far to the south fighting for his life." 

Thomas Welles sons Thomas Welles and Jonathan Welles when they were 24 and 16 years old were at the Battle of Turner’s Falls on the Connecticut River. Also known as the Peskeompscut massacre, the Battle  was fought on May 19, 1676, during King Philip’s War.

With the outbreak of King Philip's War there was a shortage of officers and soldiers  The governor of Massachusetts released Turner from being jailed for his Baptists beliefs in return for his recruitment of a company of men to fight the Indians. In March, 1676, Capt. Turner and his men helped repel the Indian attack on Northampton. This was one of several Indian raids on colonial settlements in March. A force of  an Algonquian tribe known as the Pocumtuck were at the village of Peskeompsut and held a number of colonial captives. They were planning a spring offensive against the colonists.

On 19 May 1676 Capt. Turner led 50 garrison troops, supplemented by 100 untrained local volunteers, on a daring dawn attack on the main Indian camps at Peskeompsut. The English colonists under the command of Captain William Turner fell upon the poorly guarded Indian village near the falls at dawn, slaughtering many of its inhabitants. They killed Sancumachu, the Pocumtuck sachem, and about two hundred other Indians of all ages. They also destroyed food supplies and forges the Indians needed for repairing weapons. Many of the warriors in the camp escaped, and they regrouped with those from other nearby camps to disrupt the disorganized retreat of the English militia. After the mas­sacre of nearly 200 Algo­nquian Indi­ans, mainly women, chil­dren, and the elderly, the Pocumtuck war­riors regrouped and attacked the Eng­lish on their retreat.  

Captain Turner and thirty-six of his men were killed by the Indians.  "Captain William Turner of Boston a soldier in King Philip's War was mortally killed while crossing the Pukcommeacon (Green) River and fell on the west bank May 19, 1676 on the retreat after the 'Falls Fight' at Peskeompsut (Turner's Falls). Forty men of his command fell that day. Captain Samuel Holyoke with the survivors fought their way back to Hatfield." Among the 100 or more survivors of the Turners Falls Fight were: Stephen Belding,  Jonathan Wells, Thomas Wells, and Nicholas Worthington, the husband of the widow of John White.  

 Jonathan Wells. at age, 16, became known as the “Boy Hero” of the Fight at Turner’s Falls. After the mas­sacre of a group of Indi­ans at Turner’s falls, the mili­tia was attacked by hun­dreds of Indi­ans, who rushed in at the news of the fight. Jonathan was in the rear guard, with 20 men cov­er­ing Capt. William Turner’s retreat. He wrote about his expe­ri­ences after the battle in his old age.

He told that while in the rear guard,   three Indians shot at him at close range. One bullet brushed his hair, one hit his horse and another struck him in the thigh. In danger of falling off his horse, he grabbed the horse’s mane and recovered himself. Believing him to be badly wounded, some of the Indians charged him, but Jonathan kept them back with a couple of shots. He picked up Stephen Belding, a 16 year old companion, and they escaped on Jonathan’s horse. Belding's brother Samuel would later marry the widow of his brother Thomas Welles.

Jonathan Wells then reached Capt. Turner and he urged the commander to either turn back or at least wait until the rear guard caught up. But Capt. Turner replied, “Better to save some, than to lose all”, at which time the main force broke up and went different directions.

While wounded, Jonathan fell back to the rear again with some men. They ran into some Indians and most of the men with him were killed. The remaining force split again. Ten men stayed with Jonathan, but as his horse began struggling with his wound, and with Jonathan weak from the loss of blood, he was left behind, with another wounded man, John Jones.

Jonathan had a gun and Jones had a sword. Neither knew the woods, nor could they find a trail. They decided to split up to find a trail, and since Jones’ wound appeared to be fatal, Jonathan was glad to leave him, so he would not be slowed down.  At one point, with Indians on his trail, he nearly fainted, but he ate a nutmeg his grandmother, Frances Allbright Welles Coleman had given him, and he revived. He reached Pukcommeacon [Green] River and started up a mountain, but he fainted and fell off his horse.

When he came to, he found the bridle reins in his hands and his horse standing beside him. He tied his horse and laid down again. After a while he grew so weak he could not get back on his horse. He thought he was going to die there, so, pitying his horse he released him, never thinking about keeping some provisions in the saddle bags.

At noon Jonathan was bothered by flies on his wounded leg, so using his flint­lock he started a fire and accidently set the woods on fire. The fire soon spread so fast his hands and hair were burned. Then, realizing the fire would attract the Indians, Jonathan  resigned himself to the fact they would find him and he would be killed. He flung his powder horn in one direction and his bullet pouch in another so they would not find them. He kept a little po­der so he might have one shot before he was killed. He stopped the bleeding of his wound, crawled to a different spot to rest, away from the fire and fell asleep.

When he awoke, he found he had new strength, and he could walk using his gun as a staff. After a few miles, he reached a river. He laid down and fell asleep again. When he awoke he saw an Indian approaching him in a canoe. He was greatly frightened because his gun was full of sand and he was in no condition to fight. But he aimed his gun at the Indian and the frightened foe jumped out of his canoe and fled. The Indian, upon reaching his people told them the English army was coming because he had seen one of their scouts.

Jonathan, expecting the Indians to return, hid among some fallen trees in a swamp. Finally, he reached Hatfield, and safety where he was able to warn the town of an impending attack.

It took Jonathan four years for his wounds to heal, and for one and one half years he laid in one spot on a bed, without being turned once and the skin came off his back from laying in one position.For a long time, Hadley had no resident poor that required aid from the town. In May, 1676, when men were preparing to go up to the falls-fight, the town voted to pay for damage in person and estate, if the colony failed to pay. Jonathan Wellrs was severely wounded, and was a long time under the
care of Mr. Bulkley, the surgeon, at Wethersfield. Massachusetts did not pay all the expense, and Hadley paid some pounds.

On the 30th of May the Indians attacked Hatfield with a force estimated at 200. The inhabitants withdrew inside their stockade for defense, not daring to attack such a large force, and the savages were left free to burn the houses and barns outside the palisades and to collect plunder.

A party of 25 from Hadley, who set out to the rescue, when they saw the smoke and flames at Hatfield, were attacked by the Indians while crossing the river and one was wounded. They fought their waytowards the town against a party of 150 Indians. When they were near the gate the Hatfield men made a sally to aid them.

The Indians fought desperately and 25 were killed. Of the Hadley men, one, John Smith, was killed and one, John Hawks, wounded.  Of the garrison troops, stationed at Hadley, four were killed, only two of whom are known : Jobanna Smith of Farmington and Richard Hall of Middletown ; and two were wounded, John Stow and Richard Orris of Connecticut. Many of the cattle of the town were killed and all the sheep driven off. Twelve houses and barns were burned.

A few days later Hadley was attacked on June 2 by 250 warriors. Reinforcements from Connecticut had arrived on the 8th under Maj. John Talcott, 250 troopers from the towns on Long Island Sound and 200 friendly Indians. With their aid the attack was easily repulsed and it proved to be the last battle of the King Phillips war in Hampshire County. 

The Indians disappeared from the region, some taking refuge in New York state near Albany and some in Canada, leaving the English mystified.  A scout to Northfield disclosed the fact that the Indians had gone and the troops returned to their homes, leaving the settlers alarmed lest another attack should be made.

King Phillip,was himself killed August 12 but  no treaty of peace was made between the hostile chiefs.  When peace reigned once more in the Connecticut valley the inhabitants set about building the destroyed dwellings and again cultivating their fields. "A year passed without attack and bountiful crops had been harvested." A feeling of security had taken the place of the former terror.

However on the morning of Sept. 19, 1677, the town of Hatfield was visited by another attack.  "At eleven o'clock, when the savory odors of the noonday meal were rising into the tranquil air, a blood-curdling yell suddenly pierced their ears—the dread war-whoop of the Indians."

A band of armed and painted warriors  fell upon houses lying outside the stockade. The torch was applied to the buildings of Samuel Kellogg at the corner of the lane and his wife, Sarah, and her infant son were killed and another child, Samuel, a boy of three years, was seized and bound. Surprised by the suddenness of the assault, Obadiah Dickinson and one child were captured unresisting at the house below. His wife, Sarah Beardsley Dickinson   was severely burned when her house and barn was set on fire. She was left for dead but survived butseveral of her children were taken captive. 

John Allis's barn was burned and his six-year-old daughter, Abigail, captured. John Allis  was a cabinet maker and business partner of Samuel Belding [Belden]. He would later marry the widow of Thomas Welles also.

 With no attempt to enter the  open gate of the stockade the invaders rushed across the street to the houses on the east side, whose inmates in alarm were seeking places of safety. As the warriors sped northward they stopped to kill the wife of Selectman Samuel Belden, who lived on the Silas Porter place.  After the death of his wife he would remarry the widow of Thomas Welles.

John Coleman, the step brother of Thomas Welles, his  house was burned and his wife, Hannah Porter Coleman, and infant child, Bethiah, were slain. During this raid two … of John and Hannah's children were taken captive. The Coleman children were both retrieved the next Spring from Canada. Little Sarah's shoe, she was wearing when retrieved, is in a museum.

The family of the youngest son of Thomas Welles and Frances Allbright  was also attacked. John Welles's daughter, Elizabeth, aged two, was killed, andhis wife, Sarah Curtis Welles, and one child were wounded.

Others killed in the attack were Philip Russell's wife, Elizabeth, and their three-year-old son, Stephen

Taken captive were Hannah Jennings, wife of Stephen Jennings, with her two children by her former husband, Samuel Gillett, who was killed at the Turner Falls fight. She was the granddaughter of Nanthaniel Foote and cousin of Samuel Foote's. His wife Mary Merrick Foote, with a young son, Nathaniel, and a three-year-old daughter, Mary, "was seized and dragged along".

In this 1677 attack the Indians burned 7 houses, killed 12, wounded 4, and carried 17 inhabitants into captivity.

The persons killed, taken and wounded, at Hatfield, Sept. 19, 1677, were as follows :—
Killed.—Sergt. Isaac Graves and his brother, John Graves ; John Atchisson ; John Cooper of Springfield, aged 18 ; Elizabeth, wife of Philip Russell and her son Stephen, aged 3 years ; Hannah, wife of John Coleman, and her babe Bethiah ; Sarah, wife of Samuel Kellogg, and her babe Joseph : Mary, wife of Samuel Belding ; Elizabeth Wells, aged two years, daughter of John Wells ; in
all, 12.
Taken.—Sarah Coleman, aged four years, and another child of John Coleman ; Martha, wife of Benjamin Wait, and her 3 daughters, Mary, aged 6, Martha, 4, and Sarah, 2 ; Mary, wife of Samuel Foote, and a young son, and daughter Mary, aged 3; Hannah, wife of Stephen Jennings, and two of his children by a previous wife ; Obadiah Dickinson and one child ; Samuel, son of Samuel Kellogg, aged 8 ; Abigail, daughter of John Allis, aged 6 ; Abigail, daughter of William Bartholomew, who lived at Deerfield before the war ; in all, 17.
Wounded.—A child of John Coleman ; wife and daughter of John Wells ; wife of Obadiah Dickinson.
Buildings burnt.—John Coleman's barn ; John Allis's barn ; Obadiah Dickinson's house ; Benjamin Wait's house and barn ; Samuel Kellogg's house and barn.

After the death of Thomas Welles, his widow Mary Beardsley remarried on 25 June 1778 to Samuel Belding [Belden] of Hatfield who was a cabinet maker. He was born in Staffordshire and was brought to America by his parents ca. 1640. and remained in Wethersfield until 1661, when he removed to Hatfield, on the west bank of the Connecticut River, 21 miles north of Springfield, Massachusetts.

In 1661 he came to Hadley in the Connecticut River Valley with John Allis, with whom he later formed a partnership under the title Belding & Allis. The precise date of the formation of the first church in Hatfield is unknown, but there is pretty clear evidence that it took place about 1 April, 1671. There were then only six male inhabitants who were church members, and Samuel Belding was one of the six. His first wife Mary , who was killed by the Indians when they attacked Hatfield on 19 September, 1677.  He then married Mary Beardsley, widow of Thomas Wells.  He became the step father of Mary's daughter Hannah Welles when she was ten years old. 

At the September Court, 1680, Ann Belding, a girl in her 16th year, daughter of Samuel Belding of Hatfield, was charged with "purposes and practices against the body and life of Mary, wife of William Webster of Hadley. She acknowledged, and was fined one pound to Wm. Webster, and four pounds to the county. Her father engaged to pay. This is a strange affair, and cannot be explained.

The widow of Thomas Wells married Samuel Belding of Hatfield, and he was taxed far her estate. Samuel Northam bought half the houselot. He removed to Deerfield, and Samuel Porter bought this half and Hezekiah Porter lived on it, 1687. Widow Porter bought the other half of the Wells lot.

Mary died on 20 September 1691 probably about 60 years old.  After She died Samuel Belding , and married as his third wife Mary, the daughter of Thomas Meeker and widow of John Allis. After her death, the date of which is not known, he married for the 4th time on  10 April, 1705, Sarah Curtis  daughter of Capt. William Curtis and widow of John Welles. She and Mary Beardsley had been sisters in law married to Welles brothers. She was 63 years old when she married Samuel Belding and is said to died about a 100 years old.  Samuel Belding died 1713 at the age of 80.

Children of Thomas Wells, Jr. and Mary Beardsley.

 1. Ensign Thomas Welles was born in Wethersfield, Connecticut 10 Jan 1652  but raised in Hadley, Massachusetts. Thomas moved to Deerfield in 1682-4 where he was a prominent man. He died in 1691 in Deerfield, Massachusetts about 39 years old.  He was the husband of Hepzibah Buel  who he married 12 January 1673/4, at the age of 21. His bride was Hepzibah Buel, daughter of William Buel of Hartford.  [Ancestor of Anne Ruth Danforth]
2. Mary Welles, was born in Wethersfield 1 October 1653 and died young. 

3. Sarah Welles, was born in Wethersfield 5 May 1655 the wife of David Hoyt whom she married 3 April 1673 in Hadley, Massachusetts  She is reported to be one of the women of Deerfield, who was captured by Indians in 1704 and perished on the march to Canada. Sarah and David had a son David who was killed by Indians on February 29, 1704 and may have had a daughter named Mary. 

4. John Welles, was born in  Wethersfield 14 Jan 1656/7, and died in infancy
5.  Jonathan Welles, was born about 1658 in Wetherfield.  He died on 5 Jan 1739.  Jonathan Wells was the military commander of Deerfield, when it was attacked in 1704 and he survived because his house was fortified and not attacked. Jonathan Welles married  3 December 1682 ,in Hatfield, Hepzibah Colton, daughter of George Colton of Springfield. She died August 27, 1697. He married again 23 September 1698 in Deerfield, Sarah widow of John Barnard of Deerfield and daughter of John Strong of Northampton. She died February 10, 1722/3. Jonathan, famous for his bravery and suffering during and after the fight at Turner's Falls. He too, later became a leading citizen of Deerfield. He was the first Justice of the Peace and was the leading man in town for many years. 

6. John Wells, was born at Hadley 3 Apr 1660, and "drowned in the river against Hatfield town" on 20 Jan 1680 at the age of 19. He was a tailor and is probably the John Wells referred to in the will of Thomas Coleman. Will dated 29 September 1674 gave "to my son in law [i.e. stepson] Thomas Wells...all my part of that which is in England due to me for ye Rent of ye House at Evesham & two his son John Wells now dwelling with me 10 pounds Provided that both these last are given with this Proviso that all writeings Respecting ye house in England & any exchnage for it here be quietely delivered in & all Pleas Concerning those matters to cease according to ye last agremt. novem: 2nd 1670." 

7. Samuel Wells, was born at Hadley 10 June 1662 and died August 9, 1690 at the age of 28 years. He married 1 December 1684  Sarah Clark, the daughter of Nathaniel Clark and Mary Meekins of Northampton. 

8. Mary Welles was born at Hadley 8 September 1664 and died  5 March 1751 age 86. She married her stepbrother, Stephen Belding on 16 August 1682, in Hatfield. After his death in 1720 , Mary married 2nd on 2 January 1723, Capt. Joseph Field of Sunderland, Massachusetts. .

9. Noah Welles, was born at Hadley 26 July 1666.  He married before October 1685 at Hatfield, Mary White, born 25 August 1665 the daughter of Lt. Daniel White and Sarah Crow of Hatfield. He lived at various places. He was of Hatfield in 1693, Deerfield in 1694, New London, Connecticut in 1697 and probably later at Lyme, Connecticut as an old deed in the family dated 1705 deeded to Noah Welles of Lyme, CT in the county of New London sixty acres of land in Colchester. 

10. Hannah Wells, was born at  Hadley 4 July 1667 and died 17 Dec 1733, age 65; at Hatfield. She married Deacon John White of Hatfield on 7 Jul 1687. He was the son of John White and Sarah Bunce on July 7, 1687. (Ancestor of Anne Ruth Danforth)

11. Ebenezer Wells, was born at  Hadley 20 Jul 1669 He died in 1743 in Greenfield, Massachusetts age 74. He married Mary Waite on Dec 4, 1690 in Hatfield. She was the daughter of Benjamin Waite,  born February 25, 1672.  and was taken captive by Indians September 19, 1677 at the age of 5, and marched to Canada before being ransomed. They had six children together before her death in about 1704. On August 15, 1705 he married Sarah Smith, widow of John Lawrence who was slain by the Indians at Brookfield 1694. She was the daughter of Samuel Smith and Mary Ensign. Ebenezer and Sarah had one known child in 1707.   
 12. Daniel Welles, was born in Hadley and died June 11, 1670 in Hadley. 

13. Ephraim Wells, was born in  Hadley 6 April 1671 and  died September 13, 1748 at the age of 77  in Colchester, New London, Connecticut. He married 23 January 1696 Abigail Allis of Hatfield daughter of John Allis and Mary Meekins. She was was born 25 Feb 1671/1672 in Hatfield, and died November 16, 1731 in Colchester, New London, Ct. Abigail Allis had been captured and ransomed by Indians in 1677. After her death Ephraim Welles married Elizabeth (Davis) Kilbourne in Colchester. 

14. Joshua Welles was born in Hadley 18 February 1673/4 and died 1676 in Hadley, about 2 years old

WILLIAM BEARDSLEY and MARY HARVEY

William Beardsley, was born in England in 1605 based on his age, of 30 years old, when he emigrated to New England in 1635. He was most likely born in Derbyshire , where he was married.  He was the son of Hugh Beardsley who was baptized on 31 October 1582, St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England, and grandson of Thomas Beardsley and Jane Upton who were married there in 1581.  Hugh Beardsley married Margaret Hassall 28 May 1598, Keele, Stafford, England. According to the family tradition, he was a native of Stratford-on-Avon the home of Shakespeare, and it is believed that he gave the name of Stratford to the settlement in which he made his home, now Stratford, Connecticut.

William Beardsley married 26 Jan 1631/2 Mary Harvey at Ilkeston, Derbyshire, England. She was baptized on 5 June 1605 at Ilkeston, Derbyshire, England, a daughter of Richard Harvey and Ellen Elliott. Her father Richard Harvey was probably born at either Denby or Ilkeston, Derbyshire, England. He is assumed to have been the son of Vincent Harvey and Anna Saltonstall but it has not been proven.

Richard Harvey married on 22 July 1604 at Denby, 4 miles from Ilkeston, to Ellen Elliott. The marriage record  lists their names as “Richardus Harvie” and “Elena Hellot”  Richard Harvey died between December 14, 1616, when his will was dated, and December 31, 1616 when he was buried. When he died, the name was spelled Harvie, per Ilkeston parish records.  It seems he was a tailor  or linen weaver, but his burial entry described him as a clergyman so he may have been a self taught Protestant preacher. 

William, his wife Mary and their children (Mary, John & Joseph) were members of the church of the Reverend Adam Blackman Minister of St. Albans, Hertfordshire, England. They immigrated to America as a congregation of this church on a ship called "Planter." Traveling along with the Beardsley was William’s brother in law Richard Harvey.

William Beardsley’s family came to New England in 1635, in the ship "Planter" with 36 other puritans. The Planter had been built a couple of years earlier at Wapping and at 170 tons the Planter was slightly smaller than the Mayflower that had sailed to Plymouth Rock 15 years earlier with 102 pilgrims aboard.  The Master of the ship was Nicholas Trarice.

The Planter, 2^nd April 1635 ---Theis [these] under written names are to be transported to New England imbaqued [embarked] in the Planter, Nic's Trarice Mr [Master] ,bound thither the p'ties [parties] have brought Certificate from the Minsiter of St Albens in Hertfordshire, and Altestacon from the Justtices of peace according to the Lords Order. Wm Beardsley, A Mason,  30, Marie Beardsley 26, Marie Beardsley 4, John Beardsley 2, Joseph Beardsley 6mo: Richard Harvie A Taylor  22

After leaving Saint Albans Hertfordshire England in April  the family boarded The Planter and left  London on 15 April 1635 and arrived in Boston about June 1, 1635. After arriving in Boston in 1635 he went first to Hadley Massachusetts. It was not until December 7, 1636, that William Beardsley took the oath of office in Hadley Massachusetts and was made a freeman.  The congregation of Rev. Blackman stayed in Hadley, Massachusetts  for about three years.  In 1638 he was chosen to help found the colony of Connecticut going first to Hartford and in the spring of 1639 the company of Rev. Blackman found a small clearing on the Pootatuck River where they settled. Around them was forest, thick with trees, animals and Indians. They persevered, others joined them and they became the founders of the Pequonnock Plantation (now known as Stratford, Connecticut) Here William Beardsley was one of the first settlers in the year, 1639.

That the plantation was settled in 1639 is evident from records kept by the General Court, dated, October 10, 1639, at which time the plantation was called Pequonnock, by the court. In June 1640, it was called Cupheay, and in April 1643 it was first called Stratford.

 There is no definite record as to the number of persons in the first group of settlers. A small creek setting back from the river, since known as Mac’s Harbor , is where this band of pioneers are supposed to have landed, in the location known as “Sandy Hollow.” Their “home lots” were of one or two acres in extent, grouped closely together as a means of protection.

The General Court of Connecticut, in 1638, enacted that each town in the Colony should appoint a recorder and keep an accurate record of land transactions and other affairs.  It has been thought that records prior to 1650  were destroyed by fire. The earliest definite record containing the names of those who were owners of land is the list of the owners of fence about the first “Common Field,” which was as early as 1650.

William Beardsley shared in the original distribution of land in Stratford, his homelot being on the east side of Elm street near the meeting house. He was one of the founders of the First Congregational Church of Stratford.

William Beardsley’s home lot was but a short distance from the harbor. His next door neighbor was William Wilcockson who had also been a passenger on the ship Planter. Next to him was John Peake, who had also come from Derbyshire. Among the other first settlers was Richard Harvie who married in Massachusetts and  who had come on the same ship. Then there was Rev. Adam Blakeman, Joseph Hawley, Robert Lane, Henry Tomlinson, all early settlers, and natives of Derbyshire.  William Beardsley was the second largest owner, his length of fence measured 24 rods, 6 feet.

In the affairs of the town William Beardsley was soon recognized as a leader. He is described as a man of worth and substance. In 1645 he was one of two Deputies of the General Court from Stratford and served in that honorable office for seven years.

William Beardsley took an active part in the affairs of the settlement. Judging from the Colonial records he was considered a man of worth, influence, and substance. He was Deputy to the General Court at Hartford for eight sessions between 1645 and 1659.

 In Connecticut colonial records of 1648/9, a “committee was chosen by the Court for the ordering of setting forth of these souldgers [soldiers] and Mr. Ludlow was desired to take care for preparing the souldgers with provisions and all other necessaryes for the designe in two (sea Side) Towns; and Mr. Hull and William Beardsley are chosen to assist therein.” When preparations were being made for waging war with the Dutch, the towns of  Fairfield and Stratford were seen as vulnerable. 

Again in 1651, "Andrew Wade, George Hull and William Beardsley were propounded for assistants to joine with the magistrates for the execution of justice in the townes by the seaside." He also served in 1653 in determining the boundaries between Fairfield and Norwalk.

In old colonial documents he is often referred to as "Goodman Beardsley."   In October 1659, “Mr, Blackman, Goodman Beardsley and Joseph Judson were chosen as a committee to help in the settlement of a dispute over property.”

He was one of the founders of the First Congregational Church of Stratford. The first meeting-house in Stratford was located at Sandy-Hollow on the bank of Mac’s creek, and around this place of worship was the first graveyard. No record of interments in the first graveyard, have been found, but the date of William Beardsley’s death would lead of to think that he was buried there; also his wife Mary, although we have no date of her death. The last record found of Mary Harvey Beardsley is in the list of inhabitants of Stratford, in the year 1668. 

William Beardsley's will was dated 28 September 1660 and was proved on 06 July 1661 at Stratford, in Fairfield County, Connecticut.  In his will he mentioned  “ all my daughters that are now married, £10 apiece; sons Samuel and Joseph; wife; overseers, Mr. Blackman, Philip Groves, John Brinsmade, John Birdsey, Joseph Hawley; Daniel; son John; children. The witnesses were Caleb Nichols and John Welles. His estate was inventoried in July of 1661.

 “I William Beardsley of Stratford, being sic and weak in body, but not in mind, do leave this as my last will and testament. All my daughters that are now married I give ten pounds a peace. My son Samuel I give that red cow which I have now lent him. I also reserve four acres of best land at Piquanock for my wife to improve of, Joseph fall in to help her if she please. The rest is Samuel’s. I also give him one of ye new white blankets. If Joseph, my sone, please to be an assistant to my wife for the carrying on of her byanes whilst she lives; or marryes and leaves the sea, I give him ye half of my accommodations in Stratford; if not I give him twenty pounds of my share of ye barke to be his part. I desire my loving wife, that if she should pleases to add to the shares of my daughters, that she would add to them all alike. The rest of my estate is however, to be disposed of unto my wife and children at the discretion of Mr. Blackeman, Philip Groves, John Brinsmoyd, John Burdsey, and Joseph Hawley and also the oare, government an disposal of my children. It is my will that Daniel, after the decease of my wife, that he have the other halfe of ye lots. I give to my son John, tenn Shillings. Sept.28,1660. I, William Beardsley in the Presence of _____. This is a true copy of ye will of William Beardsley.

William died in Stratford, 1661, and in studying the inventory of his estate, "one realizes more, the frugality of these ancestors". They could have had very few wordily possessions when they arrived at Stratford, and twenty years later, when he died, his estate inventoried over 327 pounds "a tidy sum in those early days".

Inventory of William Beardsley’s estate, July 6, 1661, by Samuel Sherman, John Hard, Henry Waklin, E 327-15a-8d. (portions of it were as follows:) pounds-shillings-pence Indian corn, 6 bushels 00-15-00 Cloth, 17 yards 02-10-00 1bed and covering 03-00-00 Flax and yarn 03-00-00 Barrels, baskets, bags, broom 01-06-00 Bed and bedstand 07-00-00 Cloth, 30 yards 02-10-00 Woolen blankets 07-10-00 3 bed ticks 02-00-00 1 bed and covering 05-00-00 Brass kettle 12-00-00 Powder 01-10-00 2 guns, 4 pistols 03-00-00 1 sword and belt 00-08-03 His apparel 06-10-00 Trading cloth 27-00-00 Carpeting 01-00-00 1 firkin of butter 01-06-00 Sheets, pillows, and napkins 09-00-00 39 bushels of wheat 07-16-00 29 “ “ 03-15-00 Hay 10-00-00 Salt with barrel 00-12-00 Oxen with yoke 02-00-00 1 pair of boots 00-05-00 6 horses and mares 50-00-00 house, barn and rest of accommodations 71-00-00 Meadows and uplands, ect ink is faded

William Beardsley died aged only 56 years, survived by his wife Mary and had several young children besides the following, mentioned in his will : John, Joseph, Samuel and Daniel. Only three daughters' names have been ascertained ; two were married after his decease, and yet he says in his will : "All my daughters that are now married, I give Ten pounds a peece." Therefore there must have been more than one then married, but of these only Mary's name is known. Judge Savage says among the children not named were William and Thomas, but of this William no evidence is found.

 He was buried at the Union Cemetery, in Stratford.  His inventory was dated February 13, 1660/1 which indicates that he has passed away at that time. His estate  amounted to three hundred and thirty-three pounds fifteen shillings eight pence. He died at the age of fifty-six years, leaving several young children.

In the year, 1939, the 300th anniversary of the settlement of Stratford, Connecticut, the descendants of William and Mary Beardsley, place a memorial for these ancestors; a bronze plaque, which reads as follows:

To honor the memory of William and Mary Beardsley and the other first settlers of Stratfordwho landed near this spot in the year, 1639. Erected by the Beardsley Family Association.

This plaque is on a boulder, placed in Sandy Hollow, near the spot where the first settlers landed. The boulder came from a Beardsley homestead, located near enough to Sandy-Hollow, to make one visualise that undoubtedly the children of William and Mary Beardsley, played upon this rock.

William and Mary Beardsley were undoubtedly, practical, thrifty people, coming to America in search of a new home, in what they hoped would be a land of opportunity. They were the parents of at least nine children whose descendants "have honourably played their part in building up this nation". 

The Children of William Beardsley and Mary Harvey  were:

1. Mary Beardsley wife of  Thomas Welles and Samuel Belding.  [Ancestor of Anne Ruth Danforth]

2. Captain John Beardsley born 1632 and died November 19, 1718 husband of Hannah, No children

3. Joseph Beardsley  born 1634; husband of Abigail Dayton Originally he was a seaman However, his father left him half of his estate on the condition that he leave that occupation and care for his mother.. Joseph complied with the terms and secured the land., Mariner

4. Samuel Beardsley born September 1, 1638 1638 and  December 24, 1706 married Abigail Clark had land in what is now Bridgeport. He received land from his father in Pequonnock in what is now the northern portion ol the city of Bridgeport, north of North avenue. He became the owner of considerable land, for, after giving to his children much, in his life time, the inventory of his estate amounted to ,£714.

5. Sarah Beardsley born 1640 and  died before 1692. Shemarried, June 8, 1668, Obadiah Dickinson.  In the 1677 attack on Hatfield she was severely burned when her house and barn was burned. She was left for dead but survived and several of her children were taken captive.

6. Hannah Beardsley, born 1642 and died 23 February 167. She  married Nathaniel Dickinson.  He was the brother of Obadiah Dickinson

7. Daniel Beardsley, born 1644 and died 7 Oct 1730.  He married Ruth Goodwin daughter of Thomas Goodwin

8 Ruth Beardsley married Mr. Smith and moved to Long Island

9. Thomas Beardsley was born circa 1646 and died 29 March 1667 at the age of 21.

10. Rebecca Beardsley born circa 1647 died 17 February 1739/40 and 93 years, She was the wife of Israel Curtis and James Beebe. 

Ensign THOMAS WELLES and HEZIBAH BUELL

Thomas Welles was born at Wethersfield in Connecticut Colony 10 Jan 1652  but as a young boy he went with his father and mother 55 miles north on the Connecticut River to the settlement of Hadley in Massachusetts Bay Colony

He married Hepzibah Buell January 12, 1672/3 in Hadley. She was the daughter of William Buell and Mary Post of William Buel of Hartford. By a law of Massachusetts in 1647, no one might endeavor to draw away the affections of a maid under pretense of marriage, before he had obtained liberty from her parents or governors. The fine for the first offense was £5. There were no prosecutions for this offense in Hampshire county, and very few any where.

Marriages were occasions of joy and merriment. The groom had some new garments, and the bride had as rich a wedding dress as in her circumstances, could be afforded.  Two months after his marriage, Thomas Junior was in Court charged with wearing silk and long hair contrary to law. He and his bride were part of the Fine Birds of a Feather.

Law regulating and restraining excess of apparel in some classes, were common in England  for centuries. Massachusetts enacted such a law in 1651, ordering that persons whose estates did not exceed 200 pounds, and those dependent on them, should not wear gold or silver lace, gold or silver buttons, bone lace above 2 shillings per yard, or silk hoods or scarves, upon penalty of 10 shillings for each offence.  

The first attempt to have this law observed in Hampshire County was made in 1673. At the March court of 1673, “25 wives and 5 maids [unmarried women]” and some young men, belonging to Springfield, Northampton, Hadley, Hatfield and Westfield, were presented by the jury, as persons of small estate, who " use to wear silk contrary to law."   Among them was "Thomas Wells”  who was  admonished and his fine was remitted at the next court.

The March Courts in those days were held at the house of Henry Woodward in Northampton  and there people appeared before the judges in the court-room. They, and the spectators attracted by the novelty of the scene, must have filled the house.  On the bench when the those appeared in court, March, 1673, were John Pynchon and Elazar Holyoke of Springfield, William Clarke of Northampton, and Henry Clarke of Hadley.

At the March court, 1676, the jury presented 68 persons, from five towns, 38 wives and maids, and 30 young men, "  for "wearing silk and that in a flaunting manner", and others "for long hair and other extravagancies."  There were ten people from Hadley, including Joseph Barnard and his wife Sarah, and his sister Sarah, Jonathan Wells and Hephzibah the wife of Thomas Wells,  who was fined 10 shillings.

 Thomas Wells was a volunteer under Capt. Samuel Holyoke at the Turner's Falls Fight, May 19, 1676.  By 1675 the village of Deerfield 15 miles north of Hadley  had grown to number about 200 individuals. In that year, conflict between English colonists and Indians in southern New England erupted into what is now known as King Philip's War.  The war involved all of the New England colonies, and the English destroyed or severely decimated and pacified most of its Indian nations. There were also many casualties among the New England colonists.

Deerfield was evacuated in September 1675 after a coordinated series of Native American attacks, culminating in the Battle of Bloody Brook, resulted in the death of about half the village's adult males.  Thomas Welles' father was a teamster and died of wounds he suffered at the Battle of Bloody Creek.

 Deerfield was one of several  villages in the Connecticut River valley abandoned by the English, and was briefly reoccupied by the warring Indians. The colonists regrouped, and in 1676 a force of mostly local colonists slaughtered an Indian camp at a site then called Peskeompscut. It is now called Turner's Falls, after William Turner, an English leader who was slain in the action.  Thomas Welles' younger brother was also at the Battle of Turner's Fall and while wounded survived to return to Hadley.

On the 30 May 1676 the Indians attacked Hatfield with a force estimated at 200. The inhabitants withdrew inside their stockade for defense, not daring to attack such a large force, and the savages were left free to burn the houses and barns outside the palisades and to collect plunder.

When smoke and flames from Hatfield was seen by the garrison troops stationed at Hadley,a party of 25 men, no doubt included Thomas Welles, set out to the rescue. They were attacked by the Indians while crossing the river and one was wounded. They fought their way towards the town against a party of 150 Indians. When they were near the gate the Hatfield men made a sally to aid them. The Indians fought desperately and 25 were killed. Of the Hadley men,  four were killed and two were wounded. Many of the cattle of Hayfield were killed and all the sheep driven off. Twelve houses and barns were burned.

 Reinforcements from Connecticut, 250 troopers from the towns on Long Island Sound and 200 friendly Indians,  had arrived in Hadley on the 8 June 1676 under Maj. John Talcott. The town of Hadley was attacked but the attack was easily repulsed and it proved to be the last battle of the King Phillips war in Hampshire County. 

Ongoing raids by the Mohawk forced many of the remaining hostile Indians in Hampshire County to retreat north to French-controlled Canada or to the west. Those going west joined other tribes that had formed a peace of sorts with the authorities in the eastern area of the Province of New York in the Hudson River Valley.  These Indians disappearance from the region, leaving the English mystified.  A scout to Northfield disclosed the fact that the Indians had gone and the troops returned to their homes, leaving the settlers alarmed lest another attack should be made.

King Phillip was himself killed August 12 but  no treaty of peace was made between the hostile chiefs.  When peace reigned once more in the Connecticut valley the inhabitants set about building the destroyed dwellings and again cultivating their fields. "A year passed without attack and bountiful crops had been harvested." A feeling of security had taken the place of the former terror.

On 19 September 1677 the town of Hatfield came under attack with the loss of many lives and captives.

Thomas Welles about 30 years old and his younger brother Jonathan Welles settled in Deerfield between 1682 and 1684 Of the five towns in Hampshire, that were broken up by the Indian war in 1675, Suffield began to be re-settled in 1677, Deerfield in 1682 or 1683, Northfield about 1685, and
Brookfield not long after. Deerfield is in the western part of the colony (see map) and in the 1690s it was at the leading edge of the western settlements in the colony.

 Military titles were in high repute among them. They were preferred to civil or ecclesiastical honors. The corporal was on the road to distinction. A sergeant had attained distinction and his title was never omitted. An ensign or a lieutenant was lifted quite above the heads of his fellows. A captain was necessarily a man of great influence."—Branson's History of Waterbury.

He was commissioned an Ensign in the militia by Col. John Pynchon on 5 July 1686 and was made Lieutenant of the "Standing Forces" by Massachusett's Govenor Andros on 18 February 1686/7. Was military commander in Deerfield from 1686 until his death in 1691.

From May, 1686 to May, 1689, there were no representatives of the people. After the overthrow of Governor Andros, the Council of Safety at Boston, early in May, 1689, wrote to the towns in Hampshire, requesting each to choose a representative to aid in the establishment of government. Thomas Welles was elected a representative from Deerfield to the General Court in 1689 and joined Representatives from six Hampshire towns to convene in Boston, May 22. 

Thomas Welles was living in Deerfield at a time when England was fighting a war against France known as The War of the Grand Alliance. In the Americas it became one of the French and Indian Wars known as King William's War 1688-1697.  During King William's War Deerfield was not subjected to any major attacks, but 12 residents were killed in a series of ambushes and other incident including Thomas Welle's own family.

1689 was a year of great sickness and mortality in Connecticut. For some weeks, they could not convene a General Court, and could not raise soldiers ; and they were not able to gather all their crops. The sickness extended up into Hampshire county as far as Springfield, where it was noticed by Major Pynchon and the selectmen. The latter said they lost much of their English and Indian harvest and hay, by reason of the sickness.

Hampshire county escaped the ravages of war in 1689 and 1690, but there were many alarms, and men were often called to arms. Hampshire county suffered much less than some other frontiers; yet at least 28 of the inhahitants were slain, and several captured. Seven or eight Indians may have been slain in the county. Northfield was the only town completely deserted.  However the people of Deerfield were always in danger, and as Major Pynchon said, " continually pecked at" by the enemy. 

There was a garrison at Deerfield, and scouts were sent up to West River, and smaller scouts were sent out frequently from the other towns. In 1690, Major Pynchon detached 40 men from Hampshire County, to join the army at Albany, but there were so many reports of Indians at the Falls above Squakeag, at Coasset and other places, that the 40 men were not sent out of the county. 

Thomas Welles died December 1691 at the age of 39 years" At burials nothing is read, nor any funeral sermon made,but all the neighborhood, or a good company of them, come together by tolling of the bell, and carry the dead solemnly to his grave, and there stand by him while he is buried. The ministers are most commonly present." There was no prayer. The ministers of New England, and those of some churches in Europe refrained from prayers at funerals, because there was in the Bible neither precept nor example for such prayers.Funeral expeuses are seldom noticed in the Probate records of Hampshire. The extravagance of many in Boston and the vicinity at funerals, was not imitated in these agricultural towns. Seldom were rings or gloves given. Cake and wine or other liquors were sometimes distributed. At the burial of the widow of John Barnard, of Hadley, in 1665, the cake and wine cost 40 shillings. But few mourning articles were worn previous to 1700,

The Widow Hepzibah Buell Welles and three of her daughters was on June 1693 knocked on the head and scalped by Indians, but she and one daughter recovered from their injuries."  In May of this year a party of Hudson River Indians were encamped at Carter's Land, for the purpose of bartering the furs collected in their winter's hunt for such supplies as the white settlers could furnish. Capt. Jonathan Wells became suspicious that mischief was brewing there, and employed Cotasnoh to find out what was going on. He failed to discover anything, and no precautions were taken

. On the night of June 6th a party of Indians, probably from this camp, made an attack upon the families of Thomas Broughton and Widow Hepzibah Wells, who lived at the north end of the street. "They had no design to take prisoners; were only bent on wanton murder". One Holmes, who was in the chamber at Broughton's, heard "the people plead for their lives: the man pleaded that if his own life might not be spared, his children's might; but they answered in Indian, 'We don't care for the children, and will kill you all.'" Accordingly, Broughton, his wife, and three children were tomahawked and scalped.

Widow Wells had gone to watch with a sick child near by, leaving four children at home,—Mary, Sarah, Daniel, and Hepzibah, and Nathaniel Kellogg, who slept in the chamber with Daniel. The girls were all tomahawked and scalped; Kellogg, jumping from the window, escaped. Daniel, a boy of ten years, slept soundly through the whole horrid affair in the chamber.

When the alarm reached Mrs. Wells, the heroic, true mother, without waiting one moment for aid, ran to the rescue of her children. She was too late for assistance, but not too late to share their fate. Mary lived a day or two. Mrs. Wells and Hepzibah, after years of suffering, finally recovered. Young Hepzibah, then seven years old, married, about 1717, John Dickinson, and was grandmother of "Uncle Sid." 

      The next morning after this assault two Indians were arrested at Carter's Land, and confronted with the mangled victims. Mary Wells recognized one, and Broughton, who was still living, the other. The chief, Ashpelon, defended them, insisting that the wounded persons were not in a condition to testify. The prisoners were sent to Springfield and confined. There was great commotion among both whites and Indians about Albany when the news of these events reached them. Gov. Fletcher went up from New York. Messengers were sent here and to Boston, and much correspondence was had between the governors of Massachusetts and New York. The question of the arrest was debated at the grand council of the Mohawks, under whose protection the prisoners lived. A Dutchman recognized the war-clubs found with the murdered people as belonging to Canada Indians. Meanwhile, the Indians escaped from prison and fled, the controversy thus coming to an end, and the feared rupture with the Mohawks was averted. The truth appears to be that Canada Indians were the murderers, and that some young Indian bloods from Carter's Land came over to witness the exploit.     

Write a comment."Widow Wells, who was a Buel of Windsor, went to Connecticut to get surgical aid for her wounded children, one or two of whom had been scalped. The healing process was long and expensive. The General Court of Connecticut passed the following order, Oct. 11, 1694. " Widow Wells of Deerfield motioned that she might have liberty to crave the charity of the good people of this colony for her relief of the great charge she hath been at in curing the wounds of her children, received by the Indians. This court recommends to the congregations in Windsor, Hartford, Wethersfield and Farmington, to be charitably helpful to the woman therein."

Deerfield was a much exposed place, and many Indian attacks were directed against the inhabitants of that town.  new fortification was made at Deerfield in 1693, by order of Major Pynchon, 302 rods in length, (one account says 202 rods,) and the estimated cost was five shillings per rod. In money. Deerfield was allowed £ 40 for it in her province rates. The fortification was repaired in 1696 and 1702.—It may be inferred that well made palisades post about five shillings per rod, as money.
  

A garrison of soldiers was there, from the Hampshire towns, and some times from Connecticut.  Connecticut soldiers were there in January and February, 1695, and 30 were sent up in

August. In September, 1695, there were 24 men at Deerfield and 16 more were sent to Deerfield, September 30. Some of these men were scouting daily for hostiles.September 15, 1694, M. Castreen and Indians attacked the fort at Deerfield, and were repulsed.

The Widow Hepzibah married as her second husband Daniel Belding [Belden] on 17 February 1698/9, and who was his 2nd wife. Daniel Belding was born 1648 the son of William Belding of Wethersfield, Connecticut and brother of Samuel Belding who married Mary Beardsley Welles. Mary Beardsley was Hepzibah's mother in law.

Daniel Belding on 10 November 1670 married Elizabeth Foote the daughter of Nathaniel Foote who was the step son of Governor Thomas Welles of Connecticut. They settled in Hatfield, Massachusett until circa 1689 he moved his family to Deerfield during the beginning of the King Williams' War.

On the 16th of September, 1696, the Indians captured John Gillet up Green River, above Deerfield, and came to the village and took Daniel Belden and two children, Nathaniel and Esther; killed his wife Elizabeth and three children, Daniel, John and Thankful ; and wounded Samuel and Ahigail, who recovered, though Samuel's skull was fractured.

At the time, the Mohawks (one of the Iroquois tribes) were allied with the French who occupied New France. On September 16, 1696 a band of Mohawks raided the Daniel Belding homestead killing his wife Elizabeth Foot and three of his children: Thankful (one year old), John (four years old), and Daniel (16 years old). Samuel (nine years old) and Abigail (11 years old) were wounded. Another child, Sarah, escaped death or capture by hiding in the barn.

"Sept. 16, 1696. The Indians came along from up Green River to the town, and assaulted Mr. Daniel Belden's house; took Mr. Belden, his son Nathaniel and daughter Esther captive, killed his wife and three children, and wounded Samuel and Abigail, but they recovered, altho' Samuel had a hatchet stuck in his head, and some of his brains came out at his wound."

"The Indians making an Assault upon Deerfield, in this Present War, they struck a Hatchet some Inches into the Skull of a Boy there, even so deep that the Boy felt the force of a Wrench used by 'em to get it out. There he lay a long while Weltering in his Blood; they found him, they Dress'd him' considerable Quantities of his Brain came out from time to time when they opened the Wound; yet the Lad recovered, and is now a Living Monument of the Power and Goodness of God."

Daniel Belding, his son 21 year old son Nathaniel and his 13 year old daughter Hester were captured and taken north to Caughnawaga [Kahnawake] just across the St. Lawrence river from Montreal. Nathaniel was sold to the French in Montreal while Daniel and Hester remained in the Mohawk village until later he was sold "...& lived as a servant with the jesuits at the Seminary; his business was to wait upon them & cutt wood, make fires & tend the garden &c. He accounted himself favorably dealt with."  Nathaniel Belding "worked for the "Holy Sisters."

After the Treaty of Ryswick, "the Dutch Gentlemen" gathered up what captives...they could and returned June 8 & took Mr. B. and his xdren and Martin Smith...& arrived in Albany in about 15 days." There Belding and his children were clothed at the expense of his brother who lived in Norwalk. They returned to Deerfield by way of New York and Connecticut ."

After his return to Deerfield, Daniel Belding married the 49 year old widow Hepzibah Buell Welles who became the step mother of his surviving four children.

The war expenses of Massachusetts in Hampshire, during the last five years of the war, averaged above £ 500 a year, and more than two-thirds of this was for the pay of soldiers and provisions at Deerfield.  Considerable sums were paid by the county and towns for scouting. The soldiers of Connecticut, when in this county, were paid by that colony, and supplied with provisions at the expense of Massachusetts. These soldiers commonly came

Queen Anne's War in America  was part of the renewed war in Europe between the Franch and the English. English attacks on the frontier French communities of what is now southern Maine in the Northeast Coast Campaign (1703) again put Deerfield residents on the alert. In response to their own losses in the Campaign, the French and natives attacked Deerfield.

The town's palisade, constructed during King William's War, was rehabilitated and expanded. In August of that year, 1703 the local militia commander called out the militia after he received intelligence of "a party of French & Indians from Canada" who were "expected every hour to make some attaque on ye towns upon Connecticut River."

However, nothing happened until October, when two men were taken from a pasture outside the palisade.  Militia were sent to guard the town in response, but these returned to their homes with the advent of winter, which was generally not the period for warfare.

Minor raids against other communities convinced Massachusetts Governor Joseph Dudley to send 20 men to garrison Deerfield in February 1704. These men, minimally trained militia from other nearby communities, had arrived by the 24th, making for somewhat cramped accommodations within the town's palisade on the night of February 28.  In addition to these men, the townspeople mustered about 70 men of fighting age. These forces were all under the command of Captain Jonathan Wells, the uncle to Hepzibah Buell Welles Belding's children.

On Leap Day 1604 French and Indian raiders, intent on attacking Deerfield, noticed that snow drifts extended to the top of the Deerfield palisade. This simplified their entry into the fortifications just before dawn on February 29. They carefully approached the village, stopping periodically so that the sentry might confuse the noises they made with more natural sounds. A few men climbed over the palisade via the snow drifts and opened the north gate to admit the rest.

As the Reverend John Williams, Minister of Deerfield later recounted, "with horrid shouting and yelling", the raiders launched their attack "like a flood upon us." The raiders swept into the village, and began attacking individual houses. Reverend Williams' house was among the first to be raided; Williams' life was spared when his gunshot misfired, and he was taken prisoner. However two of his children and a servant were slain and the rest of his family and his other servant were also taken prisoner.

Similar scenarios occurred in many of the other houses. The residents of Benoni Stebbins' house, which was not among the ones attacked early, resisted the raiders' attacks, which lasted until well after daylight. A second house, near the northwestern corner of the palisade, was also successfully defended.  The raiders moved through the village, herding their prisoners to an area just north of the town, rifling houses for items of value, and setting a number of them on fire.
The French and Indians attacked the Daniel Belding's farm.  His wife Hepzibah Buell Welles Belding, and his pregnant married 22 year old daughter Sarah Belding Burt, were among the people captured in that raid and taken to Canada.

Thomas and Hepzibah Welles' 29 year old daughter Mary Welles who was tomahawked in an Indian attack in 1693 killed in an attack in 1704.  His sons, 28 year old Daniel Welles, 26 year old Thomas Welles, 24 year old John Welles, 22 year old Eleazer Welles, and 19 year old David Welles were all in the militia repelling the attack.  

 Early in the raid, young John Sheldon managed to escape over the palisade and ran the fifteen miles  to nearby Hadley to raise the alarm. The fires from the burning houses had been spotted, and "thirty men from Hadley and Hatfield" rushed to Deerfield. Their arrival prompted the remaining raiders to flee with some abandoned their weapons and other supplies in the rush

As the morning progressed, some of the raiders began moving north with their prisoners, but paused about a mile north of the town to wait for those who had not yet finished in the village. The sudden departure of the raiders and the arrival of reinforcements raised the spirits of the beleaguered survivors.

About 20 Deerfield men joined the Hadley men in chasing after the fleeing raiders. The English and the raiders skirmished in the meadows just north of the village, where the English reported "killing and wounding many of them". The English soon ran into an ambush set up by the raiders who had left the village earlier. Of the 50 or so men who gave chase, nine were killed and several more were wounded.  After the ambush they retreated to the village, and the raiders headed north with their prisoners.

As the alarm spread to the south, reinforcements continued to arrive in the village. By midnight, 80 men from Northampton and Springfield had arrived, and men from Connecticut swelled the force to 250 by the end of the next day March 1st. After debating over what action to take, they decided that the difficulties of pursuit were not worth the risks. Leaving a strong garrison in the village, most of the militia returned to their homes.

The raiders destroyed 17 of the village's 41 homes, and looted many of the others. Of the 291 people in Deerfield on the night of the attack, only 126 remained in town the next day. They killed 44 residents of Deerfield: 10 men, 9 women, and 25 children, five garrison soldiers, and seven Hadley men.

Of those who died inside the village, 15 died of fire-related causes; most of the rest were killed by edged or blunt weapons. The raid’s casualties were dictated by the raiders’ goals to intimidate the village and to take valuable captives to French Canada. A large portion of the slain were infant children, who were not likely to have survived the trip to Canada.  The French and Indians took 109 villagers captive which represented forty per cent of the village population. They also took captive three Frenchmen who had been living among the villagers.

A majority of the captives taken were women and children, as the French and Indian captors considered them more likely than adult males to successfully assimilate into native communities and a new life in French Canada.

For the 109 English captives, the raid was only the beginning of their troubles. The raiders intended to take them to Canada, a 300-mile journey, in the middle of winter. Many of the captives were ill-prepared for this, and the raiders were short on provisions. The raiders consequently engaged in a common practice: they killed those captives when it was clear they were unable to keep up. Most  of the slain were the slow and vulnerable who could not keep up with the party and would likely have died less quickly en route.  Hepzibah Buell Welles Belding at the age of 55 was on the captives who was tomahawked for not being able to keep up. 

According to John Williams' account of his captivity, most of the party traveled up the frozen  Connecticut River, then up the Wells River and down the Winooski River to Lake Champlain. From there they made their way to Chambly, at which point most of the force dispersed. The captives accompanied their captors to their respective villages.  Williams' wife Eunice, weak after having given birth just six weeks earlier, was one of the first to be killed during the trek; her body was recovered and reburied in the Deerfield cemetery.

 Only 89 of the captives survived the ordeal. Survival chances correlated with age and gender: infants and young children fared the worst, and older children and teenagers (all 21 of whom survived the ordeal) fared the best. Adult men fared better than adult women, especially pregnant women, and those with small children.

Deerfield and other communities collected funds to ransom the captives. French authorities and colonists also worked to extricate the captives from their Indian captors. Within a year's time, most of the captives were in French hands, a product of frontier commerce in humans that was fairly common at the time on both sides. 

Some of the younger captives, however, were not ransomed, as they were adopted into the tribes or were adopted into French Canadian society. Thirty six Deerfield captives, mostly children and teenagers at the time of the raid, remained permanently. Those who stayed were not compelled by force, but rather by newly formed religious ties and family bonds.

Negotiations for the release and exchange of captives began in late 1704, and continued until late 1706. Mediated in part by Deerfield residents John Sheldon and John Welles, some captives  were returned to Boston in August 1706.  Governor Dudley, who needed the successful return of the captives for political reason. 

Rev. John Williams wrote a captivity narrative, The Redeemed Captive Returning to Zion, about his experience, which was published in 1707. The book framed the raid, captivity, and border relations with the French and Indians in terms of providential history and God’s purpose for Puritans. Williams' work was one of the reasons this raid, unlike similar others of the time, was remembered and became an element in the American frontier story. Williams' work transformed the captivity narrative into a celebration of individual heroism and the triumph of Protestant values against savage and "Popish" enemies.

Afterwards the widower Daniel Belding married for the third time. It is said he spent the  

spent the rest of his life in Deerfield, fighting off another Indian raid. He died   August 14, 1732  at the age of 83.  

Children of Thomas Welles and Hepzibah Buel

1. Mary Welles  was born November 12, 1674. She was tomahawked in andIndian attack on Hatfield  in 1693 but recovered from that only to be killed in an attack in 1704. She died unmarried 

2. Daniel Welles was born about 1675. He married Mary White, the daughter of Daniel White of Hatfield and died 1715 in Cape May, New Jersey. ( Ancestor of Anne Ruth Danforth)

3. Sarah Welles  was born January 27, 1676 in Hatfield, MA. She was killed by Indians on June 6, 1693. 

4. Thomas Welles was born about 1678 and died October 1750. He married Sarah Barnard, the daughter of Joseph Barnard who died October 13, 1754 at the age of 76. They had no children.  Sarah Barnard's father Joseph died 6 September 1695 from wounds from an Indian ambush. "On the 18th of August, 1695 five Deerfield men set out for the mill, on horses with bags of grain, and when they had gone about a mile southward, they were fired upon by seven or eight Indians who were concealed near the road, and Joseph Barnard was sorely wounded and fell from his horse. The others set him upon his horse with one to hold him on, when another shot killed his horse. They then put him upon one of their horses, when a gun was fired and he was again hit ; yet they all reached the garrison, unharmed, except Joseph Barnard, who died on the 6th of September. The Indians were pursued but not overtaken."

3. Lt. John Welles was born about 1680 and was killed as a lieutenant while serving as a scout in Canada in 1709. 

4. Eleazer Welles was born about 1682 and died in 1723 in Middletown, Connecticut. He was a sea captain and never married. 

5. David Welles was born about 1685. He married Elizabeth and died 1720 in Cape May, New Jersey

6. Hepzibah Welles was born in 1686. She was tomahawked in an Indian attack in 1693. She recovered and was married in 1715/16 to John Dickinson, the son of Daniel Dickinson. Hepzibah died April 25, 1773 at the age of 90. Hepzibah and John had a daughter, Abigail Dickinson who was born January 12, 1715 and may have married Jonathan Welles.  

THE BUELL FAMILY

There is considerable speculations as to the ancedants of William Buell. 17 FEB 1604/05 in Village of Chesterton, Peterborough Parish (Huntingdonshire) England He suspected as being born circa 1610 at the Village of Chesterton, Peterborough Parish (Huntingdonshire) England.  As a young man 1630c: He departed England in the company under the charge of the Reverend, Mr. Warham. He settled in Dorchester, Massachusetts. 

"William, on at least one occasion acknowledged the spelling of his nameas BEWLLE. The spelling of BUELL was assigned to William by the Recorder in Windsor or in Dorchester where he and his mother Mary, first landed and that spelling remains except that some descendants elected to use BUEL instead of BUELL. I believe that no one has yet found what ship (note: "The Mary & John" has been penciled in) and what year exactly brought Wiliam and his mother to this land . The many sailings of the WINTHROP FLEET in 1631 makes me believe that 1631 was the probable year because after 1631 most of the passengers names were recorded and have been traced. It is known that William and his mother settled on a landclaim in what became Windsor, by 1635. Maps of this Windsor settlement show the Buell name as many others.

20 March 1630: The good ship "Mary and John" leaves England today with a company of 140 pilgrims under the lead of Reverend John Warham, and were seventy one days on the ocean. The Buell Genealogy says that William Buell was one of this company and the presumption is strong that he was, but positive proof is lacking. Most of the early pilgrims who settled along the Connecticut river came, it is known, from the towns around Boston but yet many came through those towns without leaving any trace of their names on the public records. Earnest search has been made by students to find the name of William Buell in Massachusetts, but so far without success. The "Mary and John" arrived at Nantasket on May 30th whence the whole company proceeded to Dorchester and founded the town.

In 1635, Spring: He removed to Windsor, Connecticut. 16 April 1636: "With the first dawn of Spring," as one writer here expresses it, the largest part of the Dorchester Church with their pastor the Reverend John Warham set out for the Connecticut River via the water route. Dorchester settlers had visited the site at Matianuck (Windsor) the preceding fall. Whether William Buell was of this Warham party is not surely known but some think he was. Lots were laid wit to settlers no doubt on their arrival but public records of lands, etc., were not made at once.

1640, November 18: William Buell married Mary (unknown) at the Windsor Settlement, Connecticut Colony. 
1640, November 18: William Buell married Mary Post at Windsor, Connecticut. Children, born at Windsor: 1) Samuel (see below); 2) Mary; born September 3, 1642; 3) Peter; born August 19, 1644; 4) Hannah; born January 8, 1647; 5) Hephzibah; born December 11, 1649; 6) Sarah; born March 21, 1654 and 7) Abigail; born February 12, 1656. (Paula Curran, WorldConnect)

William Buell's home lot, for instance, was not recorded till 1640 3 December 1639 : The earliest dated Buell record in America, so far as known, is the following item in the Church Record of Reverend Matthew Grant of Windsor: "39 decern' 3 goode buell dyed." This reference is in all probability to William Buell's mother whom he had presumably brought with him to the new world 

1 December 1640: "William Buell hath graunted from the plantation an homelott five acres more or lesse in breadth fourteen rodd and quarter bounded west by John Hiller, east by Samuell pond: Beyond the homelotts five acres three quarters, the breadth nine rodd and Quarter, the length a hundred rodd, bound south by William Trail." Stiles locates this homelot as being on present Silver street, south west corner lot, 28 1/2 rods north of Hollow Fall, bounded west by highway. Various other lands are recorded to William Buell both by grant from the own and by purchase from John Bissell.

About 1646 William Buell and William Filley, jointly, bought of William Thrall two tracts of eight acres and thirty-six acres respectively. This shows probably either dose business or family connection but more docs not appear. The first fourteen years of life in Windsor are largely lost to us because there are no extant records during this period of town meetings or selectmen's minutes. They would be of extreme interest if we only had them.

1650, October: Here the author sets up the claim that William Buell and his wife were indicted in Plymouth Colony as Baptists, along with John Hazel, Edward Smith and his wife, Obadiah Holmes, Joseph Terry and his wife and the wife of James Mann, for continuing their meeting from house to house on the Lord's Day, contrary to the order of the Court; no punishments, however, being inflicted. Careful examination of the original record has revealed that these people were all of Rehoboth and that the name in question is William Deull, not Beuell or Buell; hence this much reputed story about William Buell of Windsor, Connecticut, should be dismissed from further thought 

1650, October 25: Old Ledger of Henry Wolcott Jr. These acounts show William Buell to be skilled as a cabinet maker. He seems in fact to have been the chief all round carpenter of Windsor

1651, January 6: "William Bewell plaintive against Thomas Ford defendant an action of trespas damage 7 bushells of Indyan Corn. In this action we finde for the plaintive damage 6~ bushells of Indyan Corn and cost 2s." This is the first record of a Jury or Court trial held in Windsor (I:2; TV).

1652, March 29: Twelve years after the first notice that a meeting house was to be built at Windsor, the first item relative to a provision for seats in the house (p. 9; Do).

1660, January 18: The following note is taken from an old book of rates and shows the number of house holders in Windsor & their manner of seating in the meeting house: "A note was taken what dwelling houses are in the town that the owners of them have paid for scats in the meeting house and how much and by whom. For those that have been placed in the two rows of long seats were first seated by five in a seat and were to pay William Buell 3s a person, or 6s for a man and his wife; and that made up his pay when he had finished them with doors. Also those that were placed in the short seats, at the first were to pay 3s a person, as they in the long seats; but when it was agreed that those seats should be raised higher for more convenient hearing, they were to pay Wm Bud 6s a person more, so that for a man and his wife 7s. First I set down those that have paid and were placed in the long seats when they paid: 9 long seats with six in a seat; 13 short seats with three in a seat." We find our William Buell, Thomas Holcomb, Jonathan Gillett, John Bissell, Anthony Hawkins and Richard Vore in the long seats, each paying 6s. There were 55 in these long seats. Among the 39 in the short seats "who have paid" we find our Edward Griswold, Joseph Loomis and James Enno each paying 6s; and among the 17 "in the pews" we find our "Mr. Loomis" paying 6s likewise (I:176; Stiles).

1660: This item appears in the annual estimate of Town expenses for the year: "Will Buell for a payer of stocks and mending some seats, 9s 6d." ( 2:2; TV).

1661, January 7: "The Townsmen met and agreed yt the Meeting Hows should be shingled, all the gutters on both sids the lanthorn, and not alter ye forme of ye roof . . . also agred with William Buell to Alter the great pue into two, one part for the magistrates, and one for others and yt raised equal wth the short setes . . . also those yt be seated and never paid, neither themselves nor by their predecessors in their howses should now be caled for to make in pay to William Buell for worke about the howse," and "also this daye William bewell take of andsepted of so many that ware behaind in our acount as made up - �2-l1-00 towards his worke don" (I:43; TV).

4 February 1662, In a long account with William Buell for work done to the meetinghouse, we find an item of "5 buttons for hats, 7shillings". He would say "pegs" today

1664c: William Buell bought of Richard Saxton the front part of his lot on Silver street with house upon it for his son Samuel. The rear part went the same day to Thomas Barber, Jr.

1667c: Samuel Buell, then of Kenilworth, sold this to his brother-in-law Timothy Palmer

11 October 1669, 0: In the census list off freemen of Windsor, as ordered taken by the General Court throughout the Colony on May 13, 1669, William Buell appears a

12 October 1669, "William Buell October 12 & 13 day part of each came and broat to new casments for ye to corner windos of ye metting hows and fitted them up and he counted for his work 7s, which take of his one town rat for '68, 3'-1* and Timothy Palmers town rat '68, 3'-6" so there rest dew to him still, 5"

1674c: In the Country rate for 1674 appears: "William Buell, list 040 rate 0-6-8"

1675, January: This month it was necessary "to prepar a ferry rat for James Rising" and the residents of the town were divided into classes according to the property owned by them. The classes were, "singul men" 38 names; "only familys" 17 names; "family & 4 oxen" 12 names; "a family, Hors & 2 oxen" 54 names; and "famyle & Hors" 41 names, of which the third was "w. buell" .

1675, September: "Country Rate" of six pence on the pound was laid and among the taxpayers we find: "William Buell, list 041 rat 1-0-6."

1676, January: Country Rate assessed this month made a levy of 1s-6d on the pound, William Buell being assessed at 34 with a tax of 2-11-00 (Do).

1676, June 11: King Philip's war was still raging, Philip not being captured and slain till August following, and the residents of Windsor made an offering for the benefit of the war sufferers in the neighboring colonies. This subscription list was entered in the Mathew Grant Record and among the persons contributing were: "William Buell 0-1-3"

1677, February 22: There is an ancient unpaged book of accounts in the Town Clerk's office at Windsor, from which this item of town expenses is taken: "William Buell for work on windo shuts 0-6-6." Later in the year 1677 these items appear: "William Buell did sume work at ye meeting house about casments for which he demanded 6s 6d; payd by his town rat '76, 2s 10d; and his ferry rat in 76, Is 06d" (I:126; G&M).

1681, July 26: The Last Will and Testament of William Buell was dated. "William Buell do give to my son, Samuel the house and half the Homelot, with all the Land, purchased of William Thrall; and to my son, Peter half the Home lot on the North side and all the Meadow and the Wood Land that was my own by gift of the Town. My Tools to be equally divided betwixt Samuel and Peter. My son, Samuel is to pay out 11 poundsand Peter 6 pounds and this, with the rest of my goods, to be equally divided between my daughters, only my daughter Mary to have 5 pounds more than either of the others. These two parcells of Land, one by the gravell hill, the other by the Mill brooke, which I leave to my wife's disposeing If she out lives me, and she is to enjoy all this as long as she lives."
Nathaniel Gillett, Timothy Phelps, Job Drake, sonne of John Drake and James Hiller.

1681, October 31: Here is recorded a deed from William Buell to his son Samuel of the lands bought of William Thrall some 35 years previously. One reservation in the deed is that Samuel is not to sell the property until after the death of his mother, the wife of the grantor. These lands comprised some forty four acres; but notwithstanding this deed the same land would seem to be listed in the inventory and specified in the will. Thus Samuel had a double claim upon it but it took a special agreement between the two boys to straighten out this and other provisions in dispute. 

1681, November 23: "William Buell Dyed, November the 23rd day at night, 1681."Thus reads the record, showing death within a month following the making of above deed. His death is recorded also with the inventory but is placed there one week earlier or November 16, 1681 (

1681, November 30: The inventory of the Estate of William Buell was taken by John Loomys Sr. and John Moore and it amounted to �147-12-10.

1682, March 6: It is mutually agreed By Samuel and Peter Bewell, as a final Issue betwixt them, respecting their father's will, as followeth: That all the houseing shall be equally divided betwixt them by an indifferent estimation. Also that Peter shall have Liberty to choose which end of the house he will have, both Samuel and Peter being bound to give or take according to the estimation that shall then be set upon it. Also that Peter shall have half the home lot as it Lyeth on the northerly side and as expressed in the will, with the addition of the southerly or other part of the swamp or meadow Lying by the Riverett, which is to extend from the River to the middle of the hill or falling ground betwixt the meadow and upland, as also that all the woodlands and boggy meadow shall be settled upon both of them according to their father's will, which was presented in court. Farther, we do also agree that the land lying in the great meadow shall be equally divided betwixt us both. The aforesaid parcells of land we agree shall be and remain to us, our heirs and successors, with all the privileges thereto belonging; and farther we do agree that whatsoever of Legacy shall be due by our father's will, it shall be discharged or payed equally betwixt us; and also that the tools our father left us shall be divided according to his will written. For the true performance of what is above written we do mutually set to our hands.
Samuel and Peter
Nathan Gillett and George Griswold"
"One Bassett Family in America: The Buell Family" by Buell Burdette Bassette; p. 158; New Britain, Connecticut; 1926 (HeritageQuest)

William Beull left his wife Mary two parcels of land, one by the Gravell Hill and one by the Mill Brook. Mary "Bewell", his relict, made oath 6 Mar 1681/1682 that she had made a true presentment of his estate and the distribution was accepted.  She died before 11 October 1684. The inventory of her estate was taken Oct. 11, 1684 by James Hilliard & Samuel Barber and amounted to 19 pounds-15 shillings-and 6 pence.

Her will dated August, 1684 as follows: .."to my eldest daughter Mary Mills my Westcoate, Coat, & that Hatt which was Sarah's, & 1 white linen apron, & 1 blue Apron which it is wove";  .."and the rest of my Wool & Linen Clothes I give to my daughter Hannah Palmer, & my Hatt, & 1 pewter Platter, & 1 tin pann." ...."I give to my daughter Hepzibah Welles 6 yards of linen Cloth",  ..."& I give to my gr. Child Sarah Palmer Wool Cloth for a Waste Coat, & the rest of my Wool Cloth is to be divided between my daughters Mary & Hannah, & the rest of my linen cloth is to be divided between my two daughters Mary & Hannah, & I give to my daughter Hannah 1 blue apron, & that is all that I give to my daughter."  Mary did not sign her will, but it was witnessed by James & Mary Hillier. Administration granted to son, Peter Buell.

As that Hepzibah revieved so little compared to her sisters from her mother, it may be assumed that Mary Post Buell was not in favor with her. 

Children: 
1. Deacon Samuel Buell  born 2 September 1642 died 11 January 1719/20 married Deborah Griswold
A. Samuel, Jr.; born July 20, 1663; married August 16, 1686, Judith Stevens; died November 2, 1732. 
B. Deborah; born October 18, 1665; married 1700ca, Nathan Porter; died before husband;
C.  Hannah; born September, 1667; died young;
D.  Mary; born November 29, 1668; married June 27, 1700, Deacon and Lieutenant Hezekiah Porter\
E. John  born 17 February 1670/1  married Mary Loomis
F. Hannah; born May 4, 1674; married December 5, 1699, Joseph Porter; died 1761c;
G, William; born October 18, 1676; married (1st) 1705, Hannah Collins; died April 7, 1763;
H. David; born February 15, 1679; married May 11, 1791, Phebe Fenner; died February 25, 17849;
I. Josiah; born March 17, 1681; died young;
J. Mehitable; born August 22, 1682; married November 18, 1701, Nathaniel Porter; died April 30, 1703;
K. Peter; born December 3, 1684; married (1st) October 8, 1713, Hannah Wells; married (2nd) January 7, 1729, widow Martha (Huntington) Grant; died March 1769;
L. Benjamin; born 1686ca at Clinton (Hartford) Connecticut; married June 28, 1710, Hannah Hutchinson; died February 18, 1724.
2. Mary Buell  born September 3, 1642; married February 23, 1659, Simin Mills; died June 24, 1718;
3. Peter Buell born August 19, 1644; married (1st) March 31, 1670, Martha Cozzens; died January 8, 1729;
4. Hannah Buell born January 8, 1647; married (1st) September 17, 1663, Timothy Palmer;
5. Hepzibah Buell born December 11, 1649; married (1st) January 12, 1673, Lieutenant Thomas Wells; married (2nd) February 17, 1699, Daniel Belding; died March 1704 at Deerfield, Massachusetts;
6. Sarah Buell born March 21, 1653; died 1734c
7. Abigail Buell born February 12, 1655; died November 16, 1681, unmarried.

DANIEL WELLS and MARY WHITE

Little is known about Daniel Wells the son of Thomas Welles and Hepzabah Buell. He was born probably in Hadley, Massachusetts circa 1675.  His father died when Daniel was 16 years old while living on the Massachusetts frontier in Deerfield. Later Daniel Wells survived two attacks on Deerfield. One was in 1693 when a sister  Sarah was killed and another scalped, and the 1704 Deerfield Massacre where his mother and sister Mary were killed.  His mother remarried in 1699 to a man named Daniel Belding when he was 24 years old. 

He would have been circa 28 years old during the winter attack and certainly was among the men led by his uncle Captain Jonathan Welles who tried to pursue the attackers with their hostages.  As a young man he was moved from Massachusetts to follow. He basically disappears from records in Massachusetts and the only mention of his afterwards is that his daughter Susannah Wells was orphaned in Pennsylvania and raised by her Uncle Thomas Wells.  

In the southern part of New Jersey across from Pennsylvania there are wills of Daniel Wells and David Wells in Cape May County from the early 18th Century.  They are probably the sons of Thomas and Hepzibah Wells both who disappear from Massachusetts records after the Deerfield massacre.  They probably followed their brother Eleazer Wells who was a mariner and perhaps so were Daniel and David.

Eleazer Welles was born about 1682 and died in 1723 in Middletown, Connecticut. He was a sea captain and never married. During the 18th century, Middletown became the largest and most prosperous settlement in Connecticut. Shipbuilding began in Middletown in 1669, and soon three shipyards were busy outfitting vessels for trade with the Caribbean.

Before the Whaling industry shifted to New England, it was centered in southern New Jersey from the mid 17th Century until the early 18th Century in Cape May County located between the Atlantic and Delaware Bay. While Cape May was some 300 miles from Deerfield, the abundance of whales in the Delaware Bay attracted Mayflower descendants from the North. After Massachusetts, Cape May County has the second largest number of Mayflower descendants. The first settlement was constructed on the banks of the Delaware River in Portsmouth, a New England Village or what is today called Townbank. Nothing remains of the first settlement because the land has been eroded away by the bay. Early settlers worked in the lumber, shipbuilding, whaling, fishing and shellfish industries. The town however was built around whaling.

Cape May County was created in 1692 from land held by the West Jersey Society.  Many of the earlier settlers of Cape May, were whalers by trade and moved to Town Bank on the Delaware River bank just north of Cape May. The population of the Cape May County, New Jersey grew from about 400 in 1714.

The Wells brothers were in Cape May by at least 16 March 1712/13 when David "Weles" was made a lieutenant in the militia of the upper part of the county under Captain Richard Downs.  He was about 28 years old. His occupation was given as a "joiner" which is a person who constructs the wooden components of a building, such as stairs, doors, and door and window frames. Humphrey Hughes, the man who would later marry David's widow Elizabeth was Captain in the lower part of Cape May County.  As that Cape May Town was in a growth spurt David Wells would have been busy building houses and may have also worked on ships as Cape May was also the center of ship building and repairs.

The first record of Daniel Wells is On 3 July 1714 when he was listed as an Executor of Timothy Brandreth's will along with John Page, and Joseph Ludlow.  Timothy Brandreth was a leading citizen of Cape May and had been one of its earliest residents. He had been the county sheriff and assessor.  John Page had served as a Commisioner of Coomon Pleas as had Brandreth. While Daniel Wells was not an old time settler he was respected as to serve as an executor with prominent towns men. It is doubtful that Daniel Wells was any more than a neighbor as Brandreth had a dwelling houses and land between Joseph Ludlow and Richard Townsend.  The Witnesses were members of the Townsend family. By the time the will was proved Daniel Wells himself was dead.  While Timothy Brandreth was a Baptist the Townsend family were Quakers. 

“During the late summer of 1713 the measles appeared in some town near Newport, Rhode Island, that had its origin in Canada. From Rhode Island it was apparently carried to Cambridge, Massachusetts by some Harvard student, for an epidemic broke out at the college during September before it spread throughout the town. The Boston epidemic began during October and continued until the following spring. By January the disease had reached New York and Cape May County in New Jersey, and by March it had appeared in numerous towns from Maine to Philadelphia. The epidemic passed by some towns at first only to return to them some months later. It was present on Long Island during May, 1714, on Cape Cod during June, in Danvers during November, and in New London, Connecticutt  and Cape May, New Jersey during the winter and spring of 1714-1715.

Between 1714 and 1715 “the county [Cape May] came near being depopulated by a grievous sickness, which carried off between forty and fifty of the inhabitants. The disease came on with pain in the side, breast, and sometimes in the back, navel, tooth, eye, hand, feet, legs or ear. Amongst the victims were Nicholas Stillwell, Arthur Cresse, Sen. and Jr., Reuben Swain, Richard Smith, Samuel Garretson, Cornelius Hand, Joseph Hewitt, William Shaw, John Reeves, Richard Fortesque, John Stillwell, james Garretson, Return Hand, John Foreman, Jedidiah Hughes, John Matthews, Daniel Wells and over twenty other.”  This severe epidemic killed off 10 percent of the population.

On 10 December 1714 Joseph Hewitt died without a will. However after wards at the epidemic swept through the communities a slate of will were drawn up especially in February 1715 when the measle epidemic was probably at it's height as no wills were drawn up in March.  John Reeves made out his will 29 December 1714. Daniel Wells witnessed the will as did, Henry Leonard (56 yrs. old) and Hannah Leonard. On 10 January 1714 an inventory of Reeves's estate was made by Daniel Wells and John Taylor and was valued at  £156 1shilling and 3 pence. 

At the beginning of 1715 on January 13 David Wells of "Cape May County, "joiner" made out his will.  He made his "Wife Elizabeth" his sole heiress and executrix of his real and personal estate. The Witnesses were Christian Bradner, John Bradner, and John Taylor."  His will indicated that he was married but without children.  He survived the epidemic as that his will was proved 17 May 1720 some 5 years later. It is not known if he had any children as that measles infections in adult men can lead to infertility if severe testicular inflammation occurs.

Jedidiah Hughes the brother of Humphrey Hughes made out his will on 21 January 1715, followed by John Mathews on January 25th, tho was the brother of Samuel Mathews.

Daniel Wells made out his own will on 28 January 1715 "Daniel Wells, of Cape May, Cape May County named his wife Mary sole heiress and executrix of "worldly estate," until children, whose names were  not given, are of age. He left a legacy to his brother David. The witnesses were Robert Townsend (29 years old), Abraham Hand, and Mary Hand.

Daniel Wells was alive on 4 February 1714/5  when he,  Ezekiel Eldridge and John Taylor were witnesses to the will of. Samuel Mathews,  yeoman. However on 9 February 1715 an inventory of Daniel Well's estate was valued  at £204 5. shillings and 10 pence made by John Taylor and Robert Townsend.  John Taylor was a witness along with Daniel Wells and Ezekiel Eldridge to the will of Samuel Matthews just a few days before.  Robert Townsend had been a witness of Timothy Brandreth's will in July 1714. 

Daniel Well's will did not give an occupation but neither did he own land however he was one of the wealthiest men in the county of those who left wills in 1714 and 1715.  His wealth may allowed him the status to be associated with prominent old settlers in Cape Cold.  His will also informed that he was the father of at least two children who were minors.  As that daughter Susannah Wells was born circa 1714 she must have had an older sibling.

.Five wills were drawn up in February They included Samuel Mathews on the 4th, Samuel Golding on the 5th, Sarah Mason on the 16th, her husband William on the 22nd and Abraham Hand on the 25th who had been a witness to Daniel Wells' will.

It can be ascertained that Daniel Wells died between 4 February and 9 February 1715 although his will was not  proved until 18 April 1715 in Cape May County, New Jersey.  He was probably 40 years old.

Not until 15 August 1715 was his widow Mary Wells as administratrix able to put up a bond along with fellow bondsman her brother in law David Wells to cover the cost of administering  the estate.  The last known record of Mary White Wells is from the administration of the estate of Abraham Hand.  On October 20 1715 an account of the estate pf Abraham Hand by his brother Benjamin Hand junior, showeddebts paid by him to Martha Corson, for nursing the child Peter Hand, Jacob Spicer, John Corson senior and junior, Henry Leonard, Benjamin Holdin, Esther Stillwell, John Townsend, John Buck, Ezekiel Mulford, John Cresse, Zelophehad Hand, Thomas Leaming,  Robert Townsend, John Randal, Richard Townsend, Cesar Godfrey, Peter Corson, and Mary Wells.

David Wells survived the epidemic and lived until 1720. He may have taken in his brother's children or made sure his niece Mary Wells made it back to Massachusetts. On  May 3 and Inventory of his personal estate, was valued at £55 16 shillings and 3 pence. The inventory was made by John Taylor and Aaron Leaming.  John Taylor had been one of the witnesses to David's will in 1715. 

After David Well's death his widow Elizabeth remarried Justice of the Peace Humphrey Hughes. 1 October 1723 " Account of the estate by the executrix, Elizabeth, now wife of Humphrey Hughes, who charges herself with payments to Aron Learning, Benj. and Richard Stites, John Crandall, Jonathan Swaine, Jonathan Foreman, Richard Downs, Samuel Eldridge, Natha'l Rusce, Ebenezer Newton, Jeremiah Hand, John Taylor, Ephraim Carman, Wm. Mathews, Samuel Johnson, John Parsons, Jacob Spicer, Nathan Hand, Joseph Welldon, James Briggs (for the coffin) and Henry Young, having paid altogether £67.2.3. 

Daniel Wells and Mary White Wells most likely died in Cape May County, New Jersey with any other children they may have had besides Mary Wells who was left an orphan. She was returned to Deerfield, Massachusetts to be raised by her  uncle Thomas Welles who was married but childless.

The parentage of Mary White the wife of Daniel Wells is an enigma. She is said to have been the daughter of Daniel White and Sarah Crow. However the only daughter of Daniel White by that name was wife of Noah Welles, the son of Thomas Welles and Mary Beardsley. She was born 5 Aug  1665 and Noah was said to have died 1712 in Middleton, Connecticut. Even if she had married Daniel Wells as a second husband she would have been 48 or 49 at the time of Susannah Wells birth in 1714.