THE SETTLER A QUARTERLY MAGAZINE of HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY
The Mara Sargeant Grace Story ...May 1976
THE SETTLER A QUARTERLY MAGAZINE or HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY
February, May, September, November
Published by the Bradford County Historical Society
Towanda, Pennsylvania
Settler Staff
Mrs. A. Canton Wilson, Editor
Andrew Johnson, Mrs. Lois Crandeli
Volume XIV No.2
Mara Sargeant Grace
"Revolutionary War Heroine"
May 1976
The Mara Sargeant Grace Story
Dorman J. Grace Palmyra, Pa.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow might have written the poem,
Miss Mara Sargeant at Bunker Hill, and might have made
Mara as famous as Paul Revere.
As a Harvard professor after 1834, Longfellow lived at
Craigle House, Brattle Street, Cambridge, Mass., across
the Charles River from Boston. The house still stands, a
literary shrine, its rooms and furnishings as they were when
Longfellow lived there with his second wife Fanny Appleton,
who died in a fire in 1861.
Miss Mara Sargeant In 1775-76 was a frequent visitor at
Craigle House. It was then the headquarters of General
George Washington during his campaign to drive the British
Army out of Boston. Enroute from Philadelphia to Boston to
take command, Washington had met a Philadelphia-bound
messenger who gave him the news of the Battle of Bunker Hill,
fought June 17, 1775. He exclaimed, "This country's liberties
are safe!" He of course knew that Miss Mara who
washed and ironed for Martha Washington was a heroine of
the flattle of Bunker Mill. Mara made lace caps for Martha
and knit silk stockings for the General, who gave her a
keepsake coin to treasure.
Mara Sargeant drew faith and courage from her Puritan
forebears. They included John Howland and Elizabeth
(Tilley) Howland, both Mayflower passengers, as were Longfellow's
ancestors, John Alden and Priscilla Mullens Her
mother was Elizabeth (Upham) Sargeant, grand-daughter or
Michael Wigglesworth, minster, physician and foremost
early New England poet, author of the long religious poem,
The Day of Doom annotated with scripture references and
used by Puritan ministers as a supplement to the Bible.
(Michaet Wigglesworth, 1632-1705)
Mara's father was James Sargeant, born 1727, a sailing
ship captain, drowned at sea May 5, 1759, before Mara's
birth, Oct 10, 1759. Her brother, Ebenezer, born June 4,
1751, married (1) Hulda Sargent, (2) Betsy Adams, born
1773, daughter of John Adams*. Mara's sister, Elizabeth,
born August 7, 1754, married James Upham.
From the widow's walk of the Sargeant home in Medford,
15 year old Mara could see the Boston Harbor and across
the Charles River, two lanterns in Old North Church's belfry,
signaling the message Paul Revere would carry on his
famous midnight ride as a prelude to the April 19, 1775
Lexington "shot heard round the world." Paul Revere passed
through Medford at midnight on his famous ride.
At 4 a.m., June 17, 1775, British cannons on the H.M.S.
Livly began to shell the fort. Some among the untrained
American soldiers cut and ran but most remained. Mara and
her girlfriend stayed, carried water for drinking, for cooling
the answering American cannon and for the use of battlefield
doctors ministering to the wounded.
At 3 p.m., 2500 British troops ferried across the Charles
River from Boston and made their first grim and painful advance
in ordered ranks up Breed's Hill, firing at the entrenched Americans...
Years later Mara Sargeant Grace told the Bunker Hill
Story to her children, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren
gathered round her in the house belonging to her son,
William Grace on Grace Road, Springfield, Bradford County,
Pennsylvania, "...the bullets fell around us like hailstones!"
* probably not President John Adams
How Mara Sargeant Grace, in 1823, left the West Springfield,
Mass. grave of her husband, Joseph Grace II, veteran
of Bunker Hill and the Revolution, making the long journey
by ox team as first settlers in the namesake wilderness community
of Springfield in Penns Woods, is another story.
As a sidelight on the hardiness of our pioneer forefathers,
Old Grace Family Journel notes a walk in 1814 by Mara's
husband, Joseph Grace II, from their home in West Springfield, Mass.,
to visit their daughter Betsy (Grace) Fanning,
who was dying at Springfield, Pa. After her death, Joseph
walked home to Springfield, Mass. Born April 8, 1756, he
died at West Springfield, Mass., Sept. 7, 1823.
The life story of Mara Sargeant Grace ends Aug.30, 1844
in her son's home, the William Grace house on Grace Road,
Springfield, Pa. The heroine of the Battle of Bunker Hill,
Grandma Grace, age 84, unable to sleep in her bed, would
often sit up in her chair late at night drinking tea. Reaching
into the fireplace for her midnight teakettle, she fell into
the fire and died from burns and shock.
In 1970, the Pennsylvania Poetry Society awarded a First
Prize to Dorman Grace for his poem Miss Mara Sargeant at
Bunker Hill.
Men say if girls want equal place
They ought to be prepared to face
The shot and shell of combat zone--
Not leave the boys to fight alone.
Well, there was Breed's and Bunker Hill
And Colonel Prescott's "Fire at Will"
And Red Coat ranks in even rows
That fell like lines of dominoes.
Colonials were falling, too--
Our heroine, a young girl who
Was combat medic. (Where they bled)
Our soldiers' coats were also red.
She'd used up all her bandages,
Tore up her clothing, legend says,
To bind the wounds of Prescott's men
As Red Coats stormed Breed's Hill again.
Our ammunition gone, retreat
Was ordered. It was part defeat,
Part victory, says history.
Miss Mara, dressed immodestly,
Explained to Mother at her door,
"I couldn't take off any more."
Her proper Boston mother cried,
"My soul and body! Get inside!"
Graveside Address
Hon, A. C. Fanning
June 14, 1918
<< Frontside and Backside >>
(On the occasion of the marking of the grave of Mara
Sargeant Grace by the Os-Co-Hu Chapter D.A.R. at the upper
Leona Cemetery (also known as Boone Cemetery), Judge Fanning added
the following information to our saga of our heroine of the
Revolutionary War.)
"Mara Sargeant Grace whose memory and devoted work
in the cause of liberty, we honor today, was born in Boston,
Mass., October 10th, 1759, She never saw her father a
sea captain, A few days before her birth, his ship went down
in a great storm that swept the Atlantic and all on board were
lost. The widowed mother upon whom devolved the nurture
and training of the young girl, must have been a woman of
worth as evidenced by the strength and character and loyalty
which marked her daughter's life and conduct. As an illustration
of her adherence to convictions of duty, though dispelling
fond dreams of happiness, it may be related that
when about seventeen years of age, she was engaged to the
son of a wealthy ship-owner by the name of Winslow, and
Christmas day was fixed for the nuptials, All was in readiness
far the event. The groom-to-be had a long distance to
travel to get through the snows of winter. Enroute, he
stopped at a tavern to get warm and while there, was induced
to imbibe quite freely of wine. After his arrival at the Sargeant
home, the effects of his indulgence became manifest.
Mara immediately left his presence and though persistently
impertuned by friends, refused to consumate the marriage
and declared the engagement broken. Winslow was later
lost at sea but his family evidenced appreciation of Mara's
fine qualities by many acts of kindness and the bestowment
from time to time of valuable gifts."
"Her Young life was passed in the days of the 'great
awakening' amid scenes that quickened the pulse beat.
She doubtless heard the hasty tread of 'Minute Men', the
clanging of the alarm bells, and the call to arms. The light
that flashed from the belfry of the old South Church on that
historic April night, the midnight ride of Paul Revere, the
shots at Lexington doubtless thrilled her soul."
"On that eventful morning of June 17th, 1775, she took
her station on one of the house tops In Boston. She looked
out on the slopes of Bunker Hill where in the silent watches
of the night, magic-like fortifications had arisen. She saw
in the distance the resolute, hastily summoned Continental
Army, the long line of thoroughly disciplined Red Coats from
across the sea and the sunlight glinting on a forest of burnished
steel."
"She heard the throbbing of war drums, the crackle of
musketry and the defiant roar of freedom's guns. Her heart
was on fire. Though barely fifteen, with another girl companion,
a heroine whose name to us will remain unknown,
she hastened to America's first great battlefield where
Warren fell, a field where free men defied the domination
of kingly authority, a field forever consecrated by the blood
of patriots and there amid the hurtling missles of death and
the roar of conflict, carried buckets of water to the smoke
begrimed Continentals and later prepared bandages and
supplies and until night fall, assisted the surgeon in caring
for the wounded, even teariag her garments into strips to
aid in meeting the emergency. To have been a participant
in that eventful epoch-making day was an honor sufficient
for a lifetime."
"It was Wendell Phillips, that great orator who in later
years standing by the open grave of one whose sacrifices
for the cause of human liberty were not at that time appreciated,
referring to that memorable day in history exclaimed:
"Men walked Boston streets when night fell on
Bunker's Hill and pitied Warren, saying, 'Foolish
man, threw away his life,' Now we see him
standing collossal on that bloodstained sod and
severing that day the tie that bound Boston to
Great Britain."
"That night George the III ceased to rule in New England.
Washington's attention was in some way attracted to the young
girl and during the time his headquarters were near Boston,
she was frequently with Mrs. Washington for whom she made
lace caps and for the General knit a pair of silk stockings.
For years she was the proud possessor of a sliver dollar given
to her by General Washington."
"April 12, 1779, Mara Sargeant was united in marriage with
Joseph Grace of Boston. He was a Revolutionary soldier as
were his brothers Emanuel and Benjamin, men of fine physique
above six feet in height and all of whom it is said were in the
battle of Bunker Hill."
"Following their marriage Joseph Grace and his wife Mara,
took up their residence in West Springfleld, Mass. He was
a man of influence, a Methodist Class Leader and prominent
in public office. There they reared a family of five children,
Joseph, George, William, Polly (who married Ebenezer Sargeant)
and Betsy, the last named being my great-grandmother."
"Joseph, George and William Grace, shortly after the
settlement of the Township, with others, came through the
wilderness and made their home in this valley. (Wetona)
Joseph erected his cabin at the foot of the hill on the Grace
Road, George at the summit beyond the row of maples and
William a little further north. They were followed in 1812 by
their sister, Betsy who with her husband Elisha Fanning located
on the present site of the James Kennedy residence. To this
home during the last illness of his daughter, Betsy, came
Joseph Grace who walked all the way from Springfield, Mass,
He died at his home in Mass. on September 7th, 1823."
"His widow, Mara, thus left alone came to this Township
and resided with her son, William, in what for three quarters
of a century and more was known as the "Red House" on the
Grace Road. There she passed the remaining years of her
life. She was a woman of culture and an earnest christian.
Her bible now in the possession of B.C. Grace, was her constant
companion. Her excellent qualities of head and heart
were recognized and appreciated. She was an earnest and
entertaining conversationalist and her recital of the stirring
scenes of her early life attracted many to her side. The
name and history of Grandmother Grace, as she was called
became known in every home for miles around."
"August 30th, 1844, after a useful and honored career,
life's work well done, she passed to her reward. Tenderly,
she was placed by loving hands to her last resting place in
a casket draped with that starry emblem,
'Flag of the free hearts hope and home,
By angel hands to valor given.'
which she had seen unfurled amid the tempest of war at our
Nation's birth. Posterity will reverently wend its way In all
the coming years to this sacred spot where sleeps one of the
heroines of the American Revolution."
On this impressive occasion, services were conducted
in the Spear Cemetery, Springfield, at the northern end of
the Leona Road. A marker for Revolutionary War Soldier,
David Brown was to be unveiled there and it seemed appropriate
that this occasion be honored along with the marking
of the Mara Sargeant Grace gravesite in the upper Leona
Cemetery by the Os-Co-Mu Chapter of the D.A.R.
So it was that on June 14th, 1918, the Os-Oo-Hu Chapter
of the D.A.R. opened the exercises in the Spear Cemetery
with the singing of America. The ritual and response was
given by the Regent, Mrs. R.E. Van Syckel. The prayer was
given by the Chaplain, Mrs. Mary C. Long and this was
followed by a salute to the flag.
Leon Ballard, who had accompanied his mother Mrs.
Benjamin L. Ballard to the service and as a young boy had been
given the honor of unveiling the memorial for David Brown in
the Spear cemetery, still recalls that moment when his aunt,
Grace Beal, steered him towards the marker to remove the
cloth covering it.
Later the program at the Leone Church followed:
Hymn
Prayer by Rev. Howard
Scripture reading of the 90th Psalm from the Old Bible
once owned by Mara Sargeant Grace, Heroine of Bunker Hill.
Salute to the flag
Flag drill by children of the Sunday School
Solo "Joan of Arc" - Mrs. H.S. Mitchell,
accompanied by her son Oliver, on violin.
Address: Hon. A.C. Fanning, Great-Grand Son
of Mara Sargeant Grace
Song - Mrs. F. L. Ballard
Exercises by the Sunday School Children
Song - America
The exercises at the Leona Cemetery at the grave of
Mara Sargeant Grace by the Os-Co-Hu Chapter of the D.A.R.
were as follows:
Remarks - Mrs. R.E. VanSyckel, Regent
Prayer - Mrs. Mary C. Long, Chaplain
Record and unveiling of marker by Julia Johnson and
Lawrence Keir, descendants.
Poem - Mrs. Maud Halpin
Ritual - Closing song "Tenting Tonight"
Taps - James Robinson Pierce
The Ancestors of Mara Sargeant Grace
by Dora Grace Donnocker
(daughter of Ellsworth and Mamie Brown Grace.
Ellsworth was the son of Addison and Dimmis Knapp Grace
and Addison was the son of William and Hannah S. Grace.)
William Sargeant, the first Sargeant to come to America,
was born at Courteen Hall, Northampton, England on June 20,
1602. In 1638, he, with his third wife Sarah and his two
small daughters emigrated to America and the Massachusetts
Bay Colony.
<< Interior and Exterior >>
The church sanctuary in Courtenhall, Northamptonshire,
England, where William Sargeant, the last member of three
generations of Sargeants' did worship, 1602-1682.
At Malden, Mass., he purchased a farm and with his wife
Sarah, on the following year was admitted to the church there
where he became a lay preacher, Two sons and a daughter
were born to them and later they moved to Barnstable where
William purchased more property. When he died in 1682, he
bequeathed the farm in Malden to their son John and the one
at Barnstable to their son Samuel.
John Sargeant, the older son, also married three times and
was the father of fifteen children, His third wife was a daughter of Hope
Howland who was the daughter of our Pilgrim ancestors, John
Howland and Elizabeth Tilley who came over to Plymouth on
the Mayflower in 1620, Mara's father, James Sargeant, a
fifth generation of Sargeants in America, was born in 1727.
He married Elizabeth Upham in 1749.
The Sargeant Family
William Sargeant b.June 20, 1602 d. Dec. 16, 1682
m. 1. Hannah d. 1632
m. 2. Marie d. 1637
m. 3. Sarah d. Jan. 12, 1688
John Sargeant b. Dec. - 1639 d. Sept. 9, 1716
m. 1. Deborah Hillier
b. Oct. 30, 1643
d. Apr. 20, 1669
m. 2. Mary Bense
b. -
d. Feb. - 1670
m, 3. Lydia Chipman
b. Dec. 25, 1654
d. Mar. 2, 1730
Jonathan Sargeant b. Apr. 12, 1677 d. Oct. 27, 1754
m. 1. Mary Lynde Mar. 13, 1699-1700
b. July 5, 1678
d. Nov. 19, 1716
m. 2. Mary Sprague
b. May 25, 1696
d. Mar. 1, 1787
Phineas Sargeant b. Sept. 21, 1702 d. Sept. 25, 1761
m. 1. Abigail Pratt Dec. 31. 1724
b. March 13, 1699
d. June 14, 1776
James Sargeant b. July 16, 1727 d. May 5, 1759
m. 1. Elizabeth Upham Apr. 25, 1749
b. 1727
MARA SARGEANT b. Oct. 10, 1759 d. Aug. 30, 1844
m. 1. JOSEPH GRACE April 12, 1779
b. April 8, 1756
d. Sept. 7, 1823
Elizabeth Upham was also a fifth generation of Uphams in
America. John Upham and his wife, Elizabeth Webb sailed
from Weymouth, England in 1635. rhey first lived in Weymouth,
Mass. and then moved to Malden. Later on John Upham was
one of the founders of Worcester. His qualities for leadership
were noted in the towns where he had lived. In Worcester he is
remembered as a moderator at town meetings,
serving as commissioner six times and in his church served
as a deacon for twenty four years.
Their son, Lieutenant Phineas Upham, died of wounds recelved
in the King Phillips War in 1676.
The Upham Family
John Upham b. 1599-1600 d. - 1681
m. Elizabeth Webb
b. 1603
d. 1670
Lt. Phineas Upham b. 1635 d. Oct. - 1676
m. Ruth Wood
b. 1636-7
d. Jan. 18, 1696
Phineas Upham Jr. b. May 22, 1659 d. Oct. - 1720
m. Mary Mellins
James Upham b. 1687
m. Dorothy Wigglesworth June 2, 1709
b. Feb. 22, 1687
d. --
Elizabeth Upham b. 1727
m. James Sargeant Apr. 25, 1749
b. July 16, 1727
d. May 5, 1759
Another well known ancestor of Mara Sargeant was her
mother's grandfather, Michael Wigglesworth. He came from
Yorkshire, England to Boston in 1638 with his parents when
he was seven years old. His parents later moved to New
Haven where he studied medicine and theology at Harvard
University and graduated in 1651 at the age of twenty. He
preached and practiced medicine but he is best known for
his poetry and his most famous poem "The Day of Doom". This
particular poem consisted of 224 verses and was the third
'most read book' in New England for one hundred years. It
was memorized - or portions of it - and quoted in sermons
for all those years. Another poem, "Meat out of the Easter,"
is also remembered.
It is interesting at this point to recognize excerpts from
the "History of Malden. Mass." 1633-1785 written by Deloralne Pendre Corey
and published in 1899 by the University Press.
p.291 Cotton Mather says of him:
"It was a surprize unto us to see a Little Feeble Shadow
of a Man, beyond Seventy, Preaching usually Twice or Thrice
in a Week; Visiting and Comforting the Afflicted; Encouraging
the Private Meetings; Catechizing the Children of the Flock,
and managing the Government of the Church; and attending the
Sick, not only as a Pastor, but as a Physician too; and this
not only in his own rown, but also in all those of the Vicinity
Thus he did unto the last; and was one Lord's Day taken off,
before his Last."
This homely couplet is on the mossy stone at the dead
teacher's head:
HERE LIES INTERD IN SILENT GRAVE
BELOW - MAULDENS PHYSICIAN FOR
SOUL AND BODY TWO
p.304 - "29 people had been granted lots in Quansigamug,
the first attempt to settle the town of Worcester. Among these
was Phineas Upham. He was one of the actual settlers In the
month of April, 1675 when the work was commenced with vigor
and several houses were built. But the enterprise was of a
short duration. On the 14th, July following, Matoonas, the
Nipmuck chief who was afterward executed on Boston Common
for his exploits, attacked the little settlement at Mendon in
supposed revenge for the death of his son who had been hanged
for the murder of a man in Dedham In 1671. In the alarm which
followed, the pioneers withdrew into the security of the older
towns or took the field against the enemy. The deserted
houses at Quansigamug were burned by the Indians, Dec. 2,
1675 and the land was not again occupied until 1684."
p * 320 footnote: "Phineas Upham married Ruth Wood, April
11, 1658. His seven children were probably born in Malden
although the birth of but one is recorded. He was one of the
grantees of Quansigamug in 1674 and an actual settler there
in the following April. The sudden breaking out of the Indian
War and his presence upon the frontier, brought him into
active military service and some traits of character and habits
may have insured his promotion."
After the defeat of Capt.Hutchlnson at Wickabaug Pond,
he was sent as a Lieutenant with a force under Capt. John
Corham, into Nipinuck country, but finding none of the
enemy, he returned to Mendon where In Oct. 1, 1675, he
wrote a report of the expedition which is preserved in Mass.
Archives. Soon after, he proceeded towards Springfield with
a company of recruits with orders to serve under Capt. John
Wayte. A reorganization of the forces upon the Cona. having
taken place, he was assigned to the company of Capt.
Jonathan Poole and was probably at Springfield or Hadley
at the time of the attack upon Hatfield. Returning to the
eastward after the cessation of hostitilities upon the western
frontier, he joined the little army which was marching into
the Narragansett country and was attached to the company
of Capt. Isaac Johnson of Roxbury.
Capt. Johnson was killed during the first assault and
as the attacking party fell back, it is not unlikely that
Lieutenant Upham was wounded before the fort was entered,
or he may have rallied his men and led them in the
final attack. During the night, in the face of a driving
snow storm, the army marched eighteen miles with its
dead and dying. Lieutenant Upham was taken to Rhode
Island and after a while removed to Boston. His death
is recorded upon the Malden records and it is probable
that he died here. As to the place of his burial, the
graves of his wife 16S6-7 and his little daughter Ruth,
1676, are marked by stones in the Bell Rock Cemetery.
A search made, June 17, 1891. showed that a person
of good height had been buried by the side of the wife
and that a long period had elapsed since the interment
as nothing was found in the grave but a little dark
mould In which a few pins were imbedded and a slight
discoloration caused by the decay of the wood of the
coffin.
"Among the soldiers in King Philip's War were:
John Lynde, Impressed, Jan. 1675-6; hyres peinberton
in his Stead; was with Maj. Willard in 1676."
'James Mudge, son of Thomas, was a teamster in
the train convoyed by the 'Flower of Essex' under
Capt. Lathrop, marching from Deerfield to Hadley
Sept.18, 1675 on which day he was killed at Bloody
Brook.
"John Mudge, his brother, was with Capt. Sill in
1675 with Capt. Mosley in Dec. 1675 and was the
only Malden survivor of the Swamp Fight among the
grantees of Narragansett No. 2."
"Thomas Mudge, their brother was in the garrison
at Wading River in 1675; was with Capt. Mosley in
1675; and with Maj. Willard in 1676. He is supposed
to have died in the service or soon after the war."
"John Pratt, was at Hadley and was at the Falls
Fight May 19, 1676."
"John Sargeant was at Quabauge and with Maj. Savage
in 1676. John Upham, the fatherless lad from the Barbadoes
was at Hadley with Capt. Turner In 1676."
There are references to the offices many held.
Phineas Upham II was treasurer once or twice, John
Sargeant, Sen., was elected 'Clark of ye market' at
the annual meeting In 1693-4 and several years after.
In 1701-2, John Sargeant, his son was chosen 'Sealer
of Waits and Clerk of Ye Market' and he appears to
have been annually re-elected until 1712-13, when he
was succeeded by his son Jonathan Sargeant. This
officer apparently took cognizance of the prices of
produce and other commodities which were frequently
subject to fixed rates and considered and settled questions
arising from their exchange.
p.360 - There are references to James Mellens who married
Richard Dexter's daughter. John Brintnall married Deborah,
a granddaughter of James Mellens.
Footnote p.368: "The house of Joseph Lynde was that which
was built by his father, Thomas Lynde above Mount Prospect
or Wayte's Mount. It passed from the Lynde Family to the
Pratts"
In a chapter on poverty: In 1767, John Mudge, who
had been a worthy citizen and a deacon of the South
Church, appears in the following order as one who had
become dependent upon the town. He had been living
with Joseph Pratt who was paid for his board in March
and died Nov.16, 1761, aged 71 yrs. He was the son
of John Mudge who bought a tenement and farm of 65
acres at Turkey Hill. Deacon John inherited it but sold
it in 1745 to Peter Edes his brother in law (sister Martha.)
The next excerpt appears to contradict the version
of James Sargeant's death as a 'Sea Captain drowned at
sea three months before the birth of his third child Mara,
born Oct. 10th, 1759.'
For it says on p.432 of the exerpts from the History
of Malden Mass. 1633-1785 --
"Men like Ebenezer Pratt of Moulton's Island and
others who made boating a means of Livelihood, lived
in the vicinity and their boats were used to transport
produce, timber wood and supplies to and from landings
continued to be used until the building of Malden Bridge
and even after when the wharves gradually disappeared.
A boat that tradition says was from the landing at Wormwood
Point, met with a mishap which is thus recorded
in the Malden record of births:
"John Rudge, James Sargeant and Nathan Burditt
on the 5th day of May 1759 by the oversetting of a
small boat in a high gall of wind were drowned between
Boston and Winesimmit Providence, ordered it
so that an aged woman mother to the said Burditt who
over with him was saved alive by taking hold of an
oar and a bag of bread."
Following the marriage of Mara Sargeant to Joseph Grace
on April 12, 1779, they moved to West Springfield, Mass.
There, they reared their five children who are as follows:
Elizabeth (Betsy) b. Dec. 15, 1780
m. Elisha Fanning Jan. 1800
d. June 25, 1814
Mary (Folly) b. March 26, 1782
m. Samuel Sargeant 1806
d. March31, 1841
Joseph Jr. (or 3rd) b. Nov. 26, 1783 d. Feb. 9, 1825
m. Deborah Leonard Nov. - 1803
b. July 2, 1784 --
George b. May 4, 1785 d. in Elmira 1852
m. Clarissa Williams June 6, 1805
William b. Sept. 30, 1787 d. May 25, 1S49
m. Hannah Salisbury Nov. 30, 1807
b. July 4. 1789 d. Feb.7, 1866
Joseph Grace Jr. III and his family moved from West
Springfield, Mass. to Springfield, Penna. in 1807. They
were preceded by Deborah's father, Austin Leonard and his
brother Ezekiel and it is recorded that they settled in Springfield
township in 1803. Joseph and his family also settled
in the same township in the village of Leona. They came with
an ox-team drawn wagon and a cow whose milk provided food
for the children. Like all the other early settlers, Joseph had
to build a primitive log house and battle the elements for
sustenance. He died two years after his father's death.
The Children of Joseph Grace III and Deborah Leonard
Ambrose m. Adelia Griswold
James Upham Grace m. Charlotte A. Morley
Maria m. David M. Brooks
Betsy m. Chauncey Brooks
Jone m. Lewis Beach
Joseph Leonard Grace (no record of m.)
George Grace and his family and his sister Betsy Fanning
with her husband and six small children made the 20 day trip
to Leona in 1811. Each family had two yoke of oxen to pull
their covered wagons and provide them with milk. When one
realizes the hardship endured in settling a family in the
wilderness of Pisgah Mountain, it becomes understandable that
Betsy Fanning only lived three years after moving to Pennsylvania.
The Children of George and Clarissa Williams Grace
Josephine m, Dr. Whitman
Mary Ann m. Prentice Norman
Amorette m, 1. Joseph Bascom
2. Joralemon Wesley (?) said to
have been killed by Indians.
Betsy and Elisha Fanning's Children
Armanda m. Stephen Mills
Eliza m. Ephram Sargeant
David Grace m. Antis Kennedy
Charlotte m. John Ward
William J.
Hiram.
In 1814, Joseph Grace at the age of 56, walked from his
home in Springfield, Mass. to visit his three children near
Leona,PA. He was with his daughter Betsy when she died. He
returned.to Mass. where he remained until his death in 1823.
William Grace, in company with his brother George (who
must have gone back to Mass. to visit his parents) walked
to Pennsylvania in the spring of 1816. It took them 10 days
according to William's account book. After buying land near
his two brothers, he walked back to West Springfield, Mass.
alone in another 10 days. On Sept. 18, 1816, William and
Hannah, with their three small daughters left their home in
Mass. and arrived in Leona on Oct. 13th. They built a log
house on the same road as his brothers Joseph and George,
known today as the Grace Road and later, built the first frame
house in Springfield Township and painted it red. For many
years It was known as the 'Red House.' William was noted
as a singer of songs and his favorite is recalled as "The Age
of Man", his Own composition.
It is not known when William returned to Mass. to bring
his mother Mara Sargeant Grace to the 'Red House' in Wetona,
Springfield, Pennsylvania to live with his family following
the death of his father on Sept. 7th, 1823.
<< Pine chest . . . . . . . Chest of drawers >>
"She rode in an Ox drawn cart with a long pine chest as
her seat and a chest of drawers at her back." *
Mara spent the last years of her life in the 'Red House'
with her son William. She was a woman of culture and an
earnest Christian. She belonged to the Methodist Church in
Leona which still stands. Her eldest son, Joseph was one
of its 8 original founders in 1813.
The 'Red House' had an especially large fireplace and
chimney. It was large enough to hold an eight foot log.
Mara's grandson Addison, son of William and Hannah S.
Grace, born in 1830, often told his family about playing near
the fireplace while his grandmother Mara dozed in her chair.
When he got between her and the fire, blocking the heat,
she would waken and scold him saying, "Git out of there you
little Imp or I'l1 cane you good"
In her later years, Mara must have suffered from asthma
for she spent her nights sitting in her chair in front of the
fireplace, She always kept a pot of tea near the coals and
poured herself a cup several times during the night. On
August 30, 1844, when nearly 85 yrs. of age, she reached
for her teapot and fell into the embers. Her screams brought
her son William to her side. She died soon after from burns
and shock suffered in he accident. She was laid to rest in
the upper Leone Cemetery in an unmarked grave except for a
fieldstone. *
On June 27th, Sunday, the descendants of Mara Sargeant
Grace will honor her memory at the gravesite when a suitable
monument, purchased with their generous contributions, will
be unveiled. The services planned will culminate with a
genealogical attendance of family, friends, George Clymer
and Os Co Hu D.A.R. Chapters, ** and Bradford County and
State Historical Society Personnel. A song composed by
Mara's son, William, who died May 25th, 1849, five years
after the death of his mother, called "Memories of the Old
Kitchen Floor" will also be a part of the memorial service.
Hannah Salisbury Grace, wife of William died on Feb. 7th,
1866 at the home of her son, Addison.
*A D.A.R. Flag Holder was placed at the gravesite in the
ceremony June 14, 1918.
**The George Clymer and Os Co Hu Chapters of D.A.R.
donated the Bronze Plaque secured to the Granite Memorial
which reads: "Mara Sargeant - Patriot at Bunker Hill,
Placed by George Clymer Chapter D.A.R. , E. Balch Fund
and Os Co Hu Chapter D.A.R."
Memories of the Old Kitchen Floor
William Grace 1787 - 1849
Far back in my musings
My tho'ts have been cast
to the cot where the hours
of my childhbod were passed.
I loved ev'ry room
from the pantry to hall
but the blessed old Kitchen
was dearer than all.
Its chairs and its tables
none brighter could be
and all its surroundings
were sacred to me.
From the nails in the ceiling
to the latch on the door
and I loved every crack
in the old Kitchen floor!
The musical arrangement is the result of Dora Grace Donnocker's
personal memory of the melody as it was sung by
her father Ellsworth Grace. The base notes were supplied
by Suzanne Klinedinst.
The Children of Willlarn and Hannah S. Grace
Harriet L. b. Oct. 25, 1810 m. (1)Guthrie (2) Spouse
d. April 3, 1900
Hannah b. Aug. 15, 1812 m. John Salisbury
Minerva b. Feb. 10, 1815 m. William Mills
Olive b. July 9, 1818 m. Eli Brooks
William
Salisbury b. Feb. 25, 1821 m. Jane Decker
Mara b. July 25, 1823 m. Jack Ross
Arotine L. b. June 3, 1827 m. Ulisses S. Moody
d. Jan, 3, 1892
Addison
Grace b. July 11, 1830 m. Dimmis Knapp
d. Mar. 1, 1916
Ruby b.Oct. 23,1835 d.Sept. 28,1844
In the year 1808, WIlliam Grace was recouperatlng from
typhoid fever in a Boston hospital. He noticed the horn of
a steer lying outside his window and asked a nurse to get it
for him. Using a pocket knife, he carved scenes of the harbor,
houses, several rabbits, deer and figures of Indians
as well as "Joe Grace, his horn, March 18, 1809." In
another section, "In the year 1807, the embargo was laid
on our ships." In still another place. "Liberty and Equality"
is carved.
Photo William Grace 1787-1849
Photo of Hannah Salisbury Grace, daughter of
William Salisbury and Hannah Brown Salisbury 1789-1866
Since Plymouth was the first permanent settlement made in
America by whole families and the first religious settlement,
the early history of this colony is of special interest to the
Sargeant-Grace ancestry where whole families are interwoven
with John Howland, John Tilley, his wife Bridget Tilley and
their daughter Elizabeth, fourteen years of age who were
among the first 102 brave Pilgrims to settle in America, Edward
Tilley, an older brother of John, his wife Ann, two
young cousins, Henry Sampson and Humility Cooper, also
came on the Mayflower.
The three sources of information agree that John Howland
was a servant of Governor John Carver and his age varies
between twenty one to twenty eight. He was one of the
signers of the Mayflower Compact. It is not known whether
he was the son of one of the original English Pilgrims who
fled to Holland or whether John Carver hired him when he was
on one of his trips to London to make arrangements for the
voyage to America. It is important to know that he received
a fine commendation from William Bradford in the folLowing
account of their stormy voyage:
"In sundry of these storms the winds were So fierce
and the seas so high as they could not bear a knot of
sail but were forced to lay-to for divers days together.
And one of them as they lay at hull In a mighty storm,
a lusty man, called John Howland, coming above the
graitings was with a pitch of the ship thrown into the
sea; but it pleased God that he caught hold of the
topsail halyards which hung overboard which ran out
at length. Yet he held his hold, though he was sundry
fathoms under water, till he was hauled up by some
rope to the brim of the water and then with a boat hook
and other means got into the ship again and his life
saved. And though he was something ill with it, yet he
lived many years after and became a profitable member
both in church and commonwealth."
*The three Sources were: (The Plymouth Adventure-Gebler's
Book-Bradford's Passenger List and Log & Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow's poem, The Courtship of Miles Staridish.)
Only Carver, Brewster and Winslow received higher praise
from Governor Bradford. It is to be regretted that Ernest Gebler
omitted the above incident when he wrote the novel, The
Plymouth Adventure. The writer of the screenplay did include
the Incident but portrayed William Bradford as the one who
was swept overboard and rescued.
There is a conflict in the four sources of information concerning
two Tilley families and whether they came directly
from London or from Leyden, Holland is uncertain. Gebler's
book is the only one which states that the Tilleys were from
London but he complicates this information by stating that
Bridget, John's wife was a native of Leyden. Bradford's passenger
list indicates they were among the Leyden congregation
which is apparent when reading the names of the men who
went on the third expedition of exploration.
Later, Bradford wrote:
"Being thus arrived in a good harbor and brought safe
to land, we fell upon our knees and blessed the God of
Heaven who had brought us over the vast and furious
ocean, and deilvered us from all the perils and miseries
thereof."
"They had no friends to welcome them, nor Inns to
entertain or refresh their weather beaten bodies; no
houses or much less towns to repair to. And for the
season, It was winter and subject to sharp, violent,
fierce storms, dangerous to travel to known places,
much more to search an unknown coast. May not and
ought not the children of the fathers rightly say 'Our
Fathers were Englishmen who came over this great
ocean and were ready to perish in this wilderness',
but they cried unto the Lord and He heard their voice
and looked on their adversity."
Before any of the Pilgrims went ashore, their chosen leaders
of the Leyden congregation and the Londoners decided they
needed a written contract to bind them and hold them together.
The following Mayflower Compact was drawn up and signed
by the forty adult men who wished to sign it.
"In the name of God. Amen. We, whose names
are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread
soverein Lord, King James; by the Grace of God of
Great Britain, France, Ireland king, Defender of the
Faith. Having undetaken for the glory of God, and
advancement of the Christian Faith, the honor of our
King and country, a voyage to plant the first colony
in the northern parts of Virginia, do by these presents,
solomnly and mutually in the presence of God and
one another, covenant and combine ourselves together
into a civil body politic, for our better ordering and
preservation; and by virtue thereof, to enact, constitute
and frame such just and equal laws and ordinances from
time to time as shall be thought most meet
for the good of the colony; unto which we promise all
due submission and obedience."
"In witness whereof, we have hereunto subscribed
our names. Cape Cod, eleventh of November, In the
year of the reign of our sovereign Lord King James,
of England, France and Ireland Eighteen and of Scotland
Fifty-four, Anno Domini Sixteen Hundred and Twenty."
John Carver, who had been chosen as governor, William
Bradford, Elder Brewster, Edward Winslow, Edward and John
Tilley, were among the first to sign the Mayflower Compact.
Four servants or bondmen were among the signers, one of
whom was John Howland, servant of Governor John Carver.
The first exploring expedition on Cape Cod set out
November 15th, consisting of sixteen well-armed men under
the conduct of Captain Standish with William Bradford, Stephen
Hopkins and Edward Tilley acting as a council of advisers.
Apparently the names of the other twelve men were not recorded.
It was this expedition that discovered several bushels of
corn which had been buried by Indians. They took all the
corn they could carry and reburied the rest to be picked up
later and this was later used for seed which saved them from
starvation during their second winter.
It took nearly two weeks to put the knocked-down shallop
into condition for saillng. John Alden was among the carpenters
who did this work The second expedition which
started out November 28th consisted of twenty-four Pilgrims
and ten sailors with Captain Jones in charge of the shallop
and long boat. They ran into stormy weather. Jones finally
took the shallop with several of the sickest men, one was
Edward Tilley, and the rest of the buried corn back to the
Mayflower. The shallop returned the next day and took them
farther along the shore but found no suitable site for a harbor
or settlement so they returned to Cape Cod and the Mayflower.
About a week later when the weather permitted, a third
expedition was taken and Bradford~s description follows:
"On Wednesday, December 6, they set out in their
shallop with ten of their principle men who were of
themselves willing to undertake it. Namely, Captain
Standish, Governor Wllliam Carver, William Bradford,
Edward winslow John Tilley, Edward Tilley. John Howland
and three of London: Richard Warren, Steven Hopkins
and Edward Dotte and their two hired seamen, John
Alderton and Thomas English. Of the ship's company
there were two master mates, Copin and Clark, the
master gunner and three sailors.
The weather was very cold and the spray glazed their coats.
They built a barricade of logs and boughs on shore with a
fire inside to keep warm the first night. Early the next morning
they had a skirmish with Indians but none were hurt. They
gathered a bundle of arrows to send back to England. Soon
after getting into their shallop to sail westward along the bay,
another freezing storm hit them. It nearly wrecked their shallop
but they were finally able to land on what proved to be
an island, Later named Clark Island.
It took them all Saturday and Sunday to dry out their clothes.
They gave God thanks for His mercies and deliverances and
on December 11th made the famous landing at Plymouth. They
marched into the land and found cornfields and running water
and decided it was a place fit for their settlement. They returned
to the Mayflower with the good news. On December
15th, the Mayflower weighed anchor and sailed to the Plymouth
Harbor but had to drop anchor about a mile from shore. It was
not until December 25th, Christmas Day that they began to
erect a common house for common use to receive them and
their goods. Believing that Christmas was a man-made institution,
nowhere decreed in the Scriptures, they held no
holiday but made a start on temporary huts or turf, thatch
and branches while others began to fell timber for permanent
buildings.
In the accounts of the hardships endured during the explorations,
it is not surprising to learn that thirty one of the
fifty one men passengers died of colds, scurvey or consumption
before summer arrived. They had to wade in icy water
every time they went to and from the anchored Mayflower
which continued to be their living quarters from November 11th
until she sailed back to England on April 5th, 1621 when Bradford
related the following:
"In time of most distress, there were but six or
seven sound persons who to their great commendation
spared no pains night or day but with abundance of
toil and hazard of their own health, fetched them wood,
made them fires, dressed their meat, made their beds,
washed their loathsome clothes, etc. and all this
willingly and cheerfully showing herein their true love
unto friends and brethern. Two of these seven men
were Mr. William Brewster, their Reverend Elder and
Miles Standish, the Captain unto whom myself, (Bradford)
and many others were much beholden in our low
and sick condition. And yet the Lord so upheld these
persons in this general calamity that they were not at
all infected with sickness or lameness."
Edward Tilley, his wife Ann and Bridget Tilley were dead
by the middle of March according to rhe Plymouth Adventure
John Tilley probably died after the return of the Mayflower.
A larger percentage of the wives and mothers died that first
winter, fourteen out of eighteen, leaving only four mothers
and five single girls over fourteen years of age to do the
cooking and caring for the children, ten of whom were orphans.
The youngest of these girls was Elizabeth Tilley and like
Priscilla Mullens who was eighteen, lost both her parents
and shared in all the hardship of the first years in a strange,
cold and rugged country. According to the poet Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow, Priscilla Mullens married John Alden in his
Courtship of Miles Standish and the earlier writings of Bradford
submit the information that John Howland married Elizabeth
Tilley, the daughter of John Tilley.
"They are both now living (the year 1650) and have
ten children now all living and their eldest daughter
hath four children; and their second daughter one, all
living and other of their children marriagable. So fifteen
are come of them."
At the same time he also recorded that "John and Priscilla
Alden were both living having eleven children. Their eldest
daughter was married and had five children so there were
sixteen of them." John Alden lived till he was 89. Priscilla
and Elizabeth both passed their 80th birthday.
Mayflower to Mara Sargeant Grace
John Howland m. Elizabeth Tilley
Hope Howland m, John Chipman
Lydia Chipman m. John Sargeant
Jonathan Sargeant m. Mary Lynde
Phineas Sargeant m. Abigail Pratt
James Sargeant m. Elizabeth Upham
Mara Sargeant m. Joseph Grace
The Chipman Family
Thomas Chipman, the father of John Chipman was born in
Whitechurch near Dorchester about 1567. He died about
1623. He owned property in Whltechurch which yielded him
about 50 pounds a year. He married about 1590 and the name
of his wife is unknown. Their children were John, Hannor
or Hannah, and Tumsum or Thomasine.
John Chipinan was born about 1614 in Bryanspiddle near
Dorchester and died April 73 1708. He and his two sisters
were the children of Thomas Chipman. There is no record of
his mother but her name might have been Derby for he lived
with an uncle Christopher Derby following the death of his
father.
In May 1631, John embarked for the Colonies aboard the
ship Friendship which sailed from the port of Barnstaple,
Devonshire and arrived in Boston July 14, 1631. At that time,
John was about 17 years of age and a ward of his cousin
Richard Derby. They settled in Plymouth Colony and according
to a later will, it is assumed that John served his apprentice
ship as a carpenter. Apparently funds for John were paid to
his counsin Richard by his uncle for a later record indicates
a disagreement resulting from this arrangement.
In successive years, John Chipman was a selectman, a
magistrate in Plymouth Colony, a Deputy to Court and with
three assistants was designated to frequent early Quaker
meetings and "endeavor to reduce them from the errors of
their ways." On June 30th, 1653, he became a member of the
church at Barnstable, Mass., and an elder in 1670.
In 1649, three years after Hope Howland and John Chipman
were married, he purchased the homestead of Edward Fitz
Randolph in Barnstable, Mass. It is believed that John and
Hope lived there for ten years and their first four daughters
were born there. About 1659, the Chipmans moved to his
property located on what was then called the Great Marshes.
John and Hope Chipman had ten children, two sons and
eight daughters who blessed them with 23 grandchildren.
Hope died Jan. 8th, 1683 at the age of 54. She is buried
in the Lothrop Hill cemetery at Barnstable, Mass. and her
gravestone can still be seen.
In 1684, John Married Ruth Sargeant, Winslow, Bourne
who was twice a widow. Her first husband was Jonathan Winslow
of the Marshalfield Winslows and her second husband
was Rev. Richard Bourne who died in 1682. John's gravestone,
dated April 7, 1708, shows that he lies next to his
second wife who died in 1713 in the Bourne family lot in
the Sandwich Cemetery. His will indicates that he was
prosperous and the legacy of his children shows that his
acreage of land was extensive.
The Arms of the Chipman family shows a white shield and
a red shoulder belt running diagonally across between six
red stars while seated above the shield rests a white leopard
who wears a red mural crown upon his head.
The Mara Sargeant Grace Association
George Arthur Lewis - President
The Association to perpetuate the memory of Mara Sargeant
Grace was formed on Sunday, June 22, 1975, at the United
Methodist Church In Leona, Pennsylvania. The articles of
organlzation were presented and approved. A slate of officers
was elected for a term of one year. Thus was launched an
organization of direct descendants and friends determined to
do all in their collective power to obtain recognition for the
young girl who carried buckets of cool sprinqwater to those
patriots who fought the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17 1775.
Two hundred years of American history have been written
since that memorable day. rhe establishment of freedom and
liberty In this land of ours introduced one of the great epochs
of all history. The precious light of freedom continues to
shine in the hearts and minds of every oppressed soul on this
earth.
It is true that there are no war records that bear witness to
the fact that " . . .bullets fell all around like hailstones."
The accounts that have been handed down through many generations
link dates and events in a most remarkable fashion.
Equally incredible is the fact that a common fieldstone
should have stood sentinel for 130 years, preserving for posterity
the burial place of 'A HEROINE OF THE RATTLE OF BUNKER HILL'.
George Arthur Lewis, great, great, great grandson of
Mara Sargeant Grace attended the Salisbury-Grace family
reunions in the Big Pond, Pa., Grove Park, Elmira New
York and Macedonia, the old family homestead of his grand-
father Addison Grace, whose 70th birthday started the annual
ritual.
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