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Baker-Rouse Genealogy
Captain James Plaisted [Parents] 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 was born 8 about 1656 in Berwick, York Co, Maine. He died 9, 10, 11 about 18 Oct 1710. He married 12 Lydia Hitchcock before 12 Oct 1680.
Other marriages:Rishworth, Mary
Wallingford, Margaret
Town clerk of York, 1699
James Plaisted,---Captain, Town Clerk of York and Representative. He was
twice married, first with Lydia Hitchcock, dau. of Richard and Lucretia
(Williams) Hitchcock of Saco,who died before 1690, leaving two or more
children. He was taken prisoner at Salmon Falls, and sent by the Indians
to demand the surrender of Holmes Garrison, thereby escaping.
He married 2nd about 1690, Mrs. Mary Sayward, widow of John and dau.
b. 1660, of Edward and Susanna (Wheelwright) Rishworth of York. She with
some of her children were taken prisoners, Feb. 1691/2, when York was
sacked by the iIndians and her infant child, then but a few days old was
killed. The mid-winter tramp through the wilderness to Montreal was
attended with unspeakable suffering, many of the captives perishing by
the way, but we have no report of their illtreatment by the French after
theier arrival. Mrs. Plaisted and those of her children who were with
her, were baptized at Montreal, Dec. 8, 1692 and were ransomed in Oct.
1695.Died around 18 Oct 1710 when Admin of Estate was granted to widow Mary (from "Simon and Thompson...")
James Plaisted, Jr. by right of his wife Lydia claims a certain tract of land situated and lying in Saco, butting upon Winter Harbor being part of the house. Lot of Thomas Williams of said Saco: being 20 acres, being a just third part of said House lot in the middle part of said lot to be the whole length of said lot from Winter Harbor into the woods and one half of the marsh being in the said Harbor about 4 acres more or less as deed from said Thomas Williams. Dated 12th of Oct, 1680, acknowledged the 12th October:1680. Recorded in the 3rd book of Records for Province of Maine. May 27:1681 (from Maine Historical and Geneological Register)
Lydia Hitchcock [Parents] 1, 2, 3, 4 died 5 in 1689/1690. She married 6 Captain James Plaisted before 12 Oct 1680.
of Saco, ME
They had the following children:
M i Francis Plaisted M ii Roger Plaisted 1 died .
of Berwick, MEM iii Ichabod Plaisted 1 died .
of Portsmouth, MEM iv John Plaisted 1 died .
of Portsmouth, MEM v Thomas Plaisted
Richard Hitchcock 1 died . He married Lucretia William.
Ancestry.com. Maine Will Abstracts, 1640-1760 [database online]. Provo, Utah: MyFamily.com, Inc., 2000. Original data: Sargent, William M. Maine Wills, 1640-1760. Portland, ME: Maine Historical Society, 1887.
Source Page: Court Records, E, 62. Name: Richd Hitchcocke Will Text: In the name of god Amen/ the sixth day of June one thousand six hundred & seaventy, I Richd Hitchcocke of Winter Harbour being Internally in bodily health, & of good & Prfect memory, thankes bee to almighty god, & calling it to remembrance, ye vncertenty of my transitory life, haueing an externall Malody vpon mee, yt is hastening mee to my end, do make constitute ordayn & declare this my last Will & testament in manner & forme following/ revoakeing, & adnulling by these Prsents, all & every testament & testaments, will, & Wills by mee heretofore made & declared either by word or writeing, & this is to bee taken onely for my last will & testament, & noe other/And first being sorry & poenitent from the bottome of my hart, for my sins past, most humbly desireing forgiueness for the same, I giue & Committ my soule vnto Almighty god my Saujor, & redemer in whom & by the merritts of Jesus Christ, I trust & beleiue, (Lord helpe my vnbeeleife) assuredly to bee saved, and to haue full remission & forgiveness, of all my sins & that my soule with my body at ye generall day of resurrection shall rise agajne, with Joy and through the meritts of Christs death and passion, possess & Inherite ye kingdome of heaven, prepared for his Elect & Chosen, & my body to bee burjed in such place, where It shall please my executrix hereafter named to appoynt/And now for the settleing of my temporall estate, & such goods Chattles & debts, as It hath pleased god fare aboue my deserts to bestow vpon mee, I do order give & dispose the same In manner & forme following/ That is to say first yt I will that all those debts, & dutys yt I ow In right or Conscience to any manner of Prson or Prsons wtsoever, shall bee well and truely Contented & payd, or ordayned to bee pd with in Convenjent tyme after my decease, by my executrix hereafter named/ Ite: I giue & bequeath one third part of all my estate, to my dearly beloved wife, the Wch shee shall haue & possess at & vpon my decease/ Item the rest of my estate in manner as followeth/ Each of my six children vidzt: Thomas Jerusha, Lydea, Rebeccah, Ann & Margerett, to haue a just & quall proportion, my sun at ye age of Twenty one years, & the rest at ye age of eighteen, & the house & Land after ye decease of his Mother, to fall into the hands of my sun Thomas, & If any of my aforesd children dy before the age aboue expressed, that then ye part of the deceased to bee qually deuided, amongst those yt surviue; to wch end & purpose, I Constitute make & ordayn my dearly beloved wife my executrix/ In witness wrof I haue sett two my hand, the day & yeare aboue written/Witnesses to this Will/Bryan PendletonSeth Fletcher/Richard Hitchcock/Acknowledged the same day before Bryan Pendleton Commissioner; Sworn to by both subscribing witnesses 20 Sept. 1671; recorded 31 April 1672: Inventory returned at 278 by Thomas Powell and Robert Booth appraisers, brought in by Lucretia Hitchcock, the widow, 20 Sept. 1671.
Lucretia William 1 died before 1690. She married Richard Hitchcock.
They had the following children:
F i Lydia Hitchcock
John Sayward [Parents] 1, 2, 3 was born 4 about 1659. He died in York, York, Maine. He married 5 Mary Rishworth about 1680 in York, Maine.
Ancestry.com. Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire [database online]. Orem, UT: Ancestry.com, Inc., 1998. Original data: Libby, Charles Thornton. Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire, Portland, Maine: The Southward Press, 1928.
John(1), York, with Henry Simpson had a gr. near the Folly in 1679 which was laid out 26 Sept. 1689 to his wid. O. A. 22 Mar. 1679-80. Tr.j. 1683; gr.j. 1687; selectman 1685, 1686. List 33. He m. (ct. 6 Apr. 1681) Mary (Rishworth) White, who was gr. adm. 21 (inv. 17) Dec. 1689, and m. 3d Phineas Hull(7). See New England Captives i: 236-243, or Hist. of York i: 304-306, for her captivity. Ch: Mary, b. 4 Apr. 1681, a captive (List 99, pp. 75, 92), bp. Marie Genevieve in Canada. She remained there as Soeur Marie-des-Anges of the Congregation, and d. in Quebec 28 Mar. 1717. Susannah, b. 9 May 1683, m. Abraham Preble, Esq. (3). Esther, b. 7 May 1685, a captive (List 99, pp. 75, 92), naturalized in 1710 as Marie-Joseph, m. in Montreal 5 Jan. 1712 Pierre de Lestage, merchant, who d. s.p. in 1743. Several ch. d.y. She d. in 1770, long a member of the Sisters' household and a benefactress. Hannah, b. 21 June 1687, m. Joseph Swett (5 jr.). John, York, b. 2 Jan. 1690, m. 1st 31 Dec. 1713 Mary Bane(4), m. 2d 9 Dec. 1734 Mrs. Mary Kingsbury. Grants 1715, 1718; see also Y. D. 10: 3. List 279. Will, 8 Feb. 1742 (d. 11 Mar. 1743), names w. Mary, sons John, Ebenezer (m. Mary Bragdon), James (m. Bethula Bradbury), daus. Esther (m. Josiah Beale(5) and d. early), Hannah, Marah. View Full Context </cgi-bin/sse.dll?gsfn=&gsln=preble&sx=&gskw=&prox=1&db=gendime&ti=0&ti.si=0&gss=angs&submit.x=0&submit.y=0&ct=24407>
Mary Rishworth [Parents] 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 was born 10, 11, 12 on 8 Jan 1660 in York, York, Maine. She died 13 in 1756 in York, York, Maine. She married 14 John Sayward about 1680 in York, Maine.
Other marriages:White, John
Hull, Phineas
Plaisted, James
captured by Indians Feb. 1692
"She with some of her chidren were taken prisoners, Feb 1691/2, when
York was sacked by Indians and her infant child, then but a few days old
was killed. The mid-winter tramp through the wilderness to Montreal was
attended with unspeakable suffering, many of the captives perishing by
the way, but we have no report of their ill-treatment by the French
after thier arrival. Mrs. Plaisted and those of her children who were
with her, were baptized at Montreal, Dec. 8,1692 and were ransomed in
Oct. 1695." Several of these children remained in Canada. (from "Lieut. Roger Plaisted...")
"Mary Plaisted, the wife of Mr. James Plaisted, was made a captive by the Indians about three weeks after her delivery of a male child.* They then took her with her infant off her bed and forced her to travel in this her weakness the best part of a day without any respect of pity. At night the cold ground in the open was her lodging, and for many a day she had no nourishment but a little water with a little bearflesh, which rendered her so feeble that she with her infant were not far from totally starved. Upon her cries to God there was at length some supply sent in by her master's taking a moose, the broth whereof recovered her. But she must now travel many days through woods and swamps and rocks, and over mountains and frost and snow, until she could stir no farther. Sitting down to rest, she was not able to rise until her diabolical master helped her up, which when he did, he took her child from her and carried it unto a river where, stripping it of the few rags it had, he took it by the heels and against a tree dashed out its brains and then flung it into the river. So he returned to the miserable mother, telling her she was now eased of her burden and must walk faster than she did before.*Mary Rishworth Plaisted, daughter of Rev. John Plaisted of Wells, Maine. Although she was only thirty-two at the time of her capture, James Plaisted was her fourth husband; at least two of his predecessors had died quite young. In 1692 Mary Plaisted and two daughters by a previous marriage, eleven-year-old Mary Sayward and seven-year-old Esther Sayward, were captured at York, Maine, by Acadian Indians. Mary Plaisted was baptized by French Catholics at Montreal in 1693 but was redeemed in 1695; she returned to her family and the Congregational church. The two daughters, however, remained in Canada. The elder became a nun and was eventually the head of a mission school for girls; the younger married a Canadian merchant."
from "New Assaults from the Indians" and "The Condition of the Captives" by Cotton Mather in Puritans Among the Indians:Accounts of Captivity and Redemption, 1676 - 1724, edited Alden T. Vaughan and Edward W. Clark (Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1981), pp. 140 - 142
Banks, Charles Edward. History of York Maine, Vol I. Regional Publishing Company: Baltimore, MD. 1931
p304-305
"Plaisted, Mrs. Mary (Rishworth)
Wife of James, of Kittery, and daughter of Edward Rishworth. At the time of her capture she was living with him (as her fourth husband) and in her family were two Sayward children by a former marriage. She was only thrity-two years old at this date and resided on Cider Hill. She was taken to Montreal and baptized there December 8, 1693, under the names of Marie Madeline. Her godfather at this event was Monsieur Juchereau, Lieutenant-General of the "Royal bailiwich of Monreal" while his wife acted as godmother. At that date she was living in the service of Madame Catherine Gauchet, widow of the predecessor of her godfater in the bailiwich. Cotton Mather relates, and family tradition confirms, that she had only three weeks prior to capture given birth to a son and he describes her sufferrings on the march because of her recent confinement, lack of food, and the extremity of the weather. Constantly falling behind on account of weakness, the Indians attributed it to the burden of the child and they relieved her of this encumberance by dashing the child's head against a rock and throwing it into the river. Then they told her she had no excuse to lag behind. She was redeemed in 1695 and probably outlived most of her companions in captivity, as in 1754 she was still on the tax list.
it is interesting to note that on October 6, 1696, she was presented by the Grand Jury "for not attneding the public worship of God upon the Lord's day." he husband, James Plaisted, answered for her in court the following April, and, affered as an excuse that she was "Under some bodily infirmity hindering her appearance (and) for her offence was fined for the fees 4s:6d and to be admonished (Deeds v, p2, fol. 94, 103). It would be illuminating to know whether her neglect to attend the religious services at the Purtain meeting house was due to "bodily infimity" or to the fact that she could not forget that she had recently be baptized with her children in the Catholic faith three years before. "
They had the following children:
M i Mary Sayward 1, 2, 3 was born 4 on 4 Apr 1681 in York, York Co, Maine. He died 5 on 28 Mar 1717 in Montreal, Canada.
Banks, Charles Edward. History of York Maine, Vol I. Regional Publishing Company: Baltimore, MD. 1931
p305
"Sayward, Mary
She was daughter of the above named [Mrs. Mary (Rishwroth) Plaisted} by her second husband, John Sayward and was born April 4, 1681, being about eleven years old when captured. She was baptized by the name of Marie Genevive in Montreal and was brought up under the care of the Sisters of Congregation. In 1699 she took vows in that order as Soeur Marie-des-Anges and was assigned to the Mission at Sault-au-Recollet as Superior of the local convent. She was later transferred, as is stated because of her high qualities, to the convent of the order in Lower Town, Quebec. She died in 1717 aged thirty-six years and the word "Anglouise" written in the margin of the burial register is all that is left to tell of the origin of little Mary Sayward of York, led captive from her home by savages and dying a stranger among a people who spoke an alien tongue."F ii Susanna Sayward F iii Esther Sayward 1, 2 was born 3 on 7 Mar 1685. She died .
Ancestry.com. Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire [database online]. Orem, UT: Ancestry.com, Inc., 1998. Original data: Libby, Charles Thornton. Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire, Portland, Maine: The Southward Press, 1928.
a captive (List 99, pp. 75, 92), naturalized in 1710 as Marie-Joseph, m. in Montreal 5 Jan. 1712 Pierre de Lestage, merchant, who d. s.p. in 1743. Several ch. d.y. She d. in 1770, long a member of the Sisters' household and a benefactress
Banks, Charles Edward. History of York Maine, Vol I. Regional Publishing Company: Baltimore, MD. 1931
p306
"Sayward, Esther
She was younger sister of the foegoing, born march 7, 1684-5 and a mere child of seven when captured. She, too, was baptized under the name of Marie-Joseph and was probably educated byt he nuns in Montreal with her sister. She was naturalized in 1710 and on January 5, 1712 she was married to Sieur Pierre de Lestage, a merchant of the parish of Ville Marie. Her husband lived later at Longueuil and he also owned the Seigniory of Berthier, opposite Sorrel. He died in 1743, and as all their children died in infancy, the widow was left alone. In accordance with a privilege granted to maiden ladies and widows to be received as permanent borders, Mme de Lestage purchased a house adjoining the convent and was allowed to cut a communicating door between the two buildings and for more than twenty years she continued this renewl of relations with the nuns who had taught her in childhood. She is on their records as a constant benfactress. She was also a generous friend to the convent of the Ursalines in Quebec, of which her cousin, Lamere de l'Enfant Jesus (Esther Wheelwright of Wells) was Mother Superior. In 1725 Theodore Atkinson and Samuel Jordon of Saco (who had married her half-sister, Olive Plaisted) were sent to Montreal on a commission to negotiate for the return of captives then remaining in Canada. On their return from this mission Mme. de Lestage, evidently persuaded by her brother-in-law, accompanied the party. Their journey was via Chanbly overland to the Hudson. The exact route from their to Boston is not known, but that she visited her mother in York, and a sister, whom she had never seen, is a part of the romantic story of this expatriated daughter of old York. One might wish that the story of their meeting could have been related in a diary of mother or sister, but the historian is not permitted to speculate on what might have taken place or did take place on that memorable visit. Mme. de Lestage was then forty years of age, and having been brought up since childhood to speak the French language, it is doubtful that this reunion resulted in mutual understanding of each other as neither could express herself fully in the language of the other. Mrs. Plaisted was then sixty-five years of age and probably well preserved as she lived thirty years longer. Mme. de Lestage died January 17, 1770, and was buried in the Chapel of Ste.-Anne in the Cathedral Church of Notre Dame, Montreal.F iv Hannah Sayward M v John Sayward M vi Frances Sayward died .
of Boston, MA
John White 1 died . He married 2 Mary Rishworth in 1677/1678.
Mary Rishworth [Parents] 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 was born 10, 11, 12 on 8 Jan 1660 in York, York, Maine. She died 13 in 1756 in York, York, Maine. She married 14 John White in 1677/1678.
Other marriages:Sayward, John
Hull, Phineas
Plaisted, James
captured by Indians Feb. 1692
"She with some of her chidren were taken prisoners, Feb 1691/2, when
York was sacked by Indians and her infant child, then but a few days old
was killed. The mid-winter tramp through the wilderness to Montreal was
attended with unspeakable suffering, many of the captives perishing by
the way, but we have no report of their ill-treatment by the French
after thier arrival. Mrs. Plaisted and those of her children who were
with her, were baptized at Montreal, Dec. 8,1692 and were ransomed in
Oct. 1695." Several of these children remained in Canada. (from "Lieut. Roger Plaisted...")
"Mary Plaisted, the wife of Mr. James Plaisted, was made a captive by the Indians about three weeks after her delivery of a male child.* They then took her with her infant off her bed and forced her to travel in this her weakness the best part of a day without any respect of pity. At night the cold ground in the open was her lodging, and for many a day she had no nourishment but a little water with a little bearflesh, which rendered her so feeble that she with her infant were not far from totally starved. Upon her cries to God there was at length some supply sent in by her master's taking a moose, the broth whereof recovered her. But she must now travel many days through woods and swamps and rocks, and over mountains and frost and snow, until she could stir no farther. Sitting down to rest, she was not able to rise until her diabolical master helped her up, which when he did, he took her child from her and carried it unto a river where, stripping it of the few rags it had, he took it by the heels and against a tree dashed out its brains and then flung it into the river. So he returned to the miserable mother, telling her she was now eased of her burden and must walk faster than she did before.*Mary Rishworth Plaisted, daughter of Rev. John Plaisted of Wells, Maine. Although she was only thirty-two at the time of her capture, James Plaisted was her fourth husband; at least two of his predecessors had died quite young. In 1692 Mary Plaisted and two daughters by a previous marriage, eleven-year-old Mary Sayward and seven-year-old Esther Sayward, were captured at York, Maine, by Acadian Indians. Mary Plaisted was baptized by French Catholics at Montreal in 1693 but was redeemed in 1695; she returned to her family and the Congregational church. The two daughters, however, remained in Canada. The elder became a nun and was eventually the head of a mission school for girls; the younger married a Canadian merchant."
from "New Assaults from the Indians" and "The Condition of the Captives" by Cotton Mather in Puritans Among the Indians:Accounts of Captivity and Redemption, 1676 - 1724, edited Alden T. Vaughan and Edward W. Clark (Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1981), pp. 140 - 142
Banks, Charles Edward. History of York Maine, Vol I. Regional Publishing Company: Baltimore, MD. 1931
p304-305
"Plaisted, Mrs. Mary (Rishworth)
Wife of James, of Kittery, and daughter of Edward Rishworth. At the time of her capture she was living with him (as her fourth husband) and in her family were two Sayward children by a former marriage. She was only thrity-two years old at this date and resided on Cider Hill. She was taken to Montreal and baptized there December 8, 1693, under the names of Marie Madeline. Her godfather at this event was Monsieur Juchereau, Lieutenant-General of the "Royal bailiwich of Monreal" while his wife acted as godmother. At that date she was living in the service of Madame Catherine Gauchet, widow of the predecessor of her godfater in the bailiwich. Cotton Mather relates, and family tradition confirms, that she had only three weeks prior to capture given birth to a son and he describes her sufferrings on the march because of her recent confinement, lack of food, and the extremity of the weather. Constantly falling behind on account of weakness, the Indians attributed it to the burden of the child and they relieved her of this encumberance by dashing the child's head against a rock and throwing it into the river. Then they told her she had no excuse to lag behind. She was redeemed in 1695 and probably outlived most of her companions in captivity, as in 1754 she was still on the tax list.
it is interesting to note that on October 6, 1696, she was presented by the Grand Jury "for not attneding the public worship of God upon the Lord's day." he husband, James Plaisted, answered for her in court the following April, and, affered as an excuse that she was "Under some bodily infirmity hindering her appearance (and) for her offence was fined for the fees 4s:6d and to be admonished (Deeds v, p2, fol. 94, 103). It would be illuminating to know whether her neglect to attend the religious services at the Purtain meeting house was due to "bodily infimity" or to the fact that she could not forget that she had recently be baptized with her children in the Catholic faith three years before. "
Phineas Hull 1 died . He married 2 Mary Rishworth about 1690.
Mary Rishworth [Parents] 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 was born 10, 11, 12 on 8 Jan 1660 in York, York, Maine. She died 13 in 1756 in York, York, Maine. She married 14 Phineas Hull about 1690.
Other marriages:White, John
Sayward, John
Plaisted, James
captured by Indians Feb. 1692
"She with some of her chidren were taken prisoners, Feb 1691/2, when
York was sacked by Indians and her infant child, then but a few days old
was killed. The mid-winter tramp through the wilderness to Montreal was
attended with unspeakable suffering, many of the captives perishing by
the way, but we have no report of their ill-treatment by the French
after thier arrival. Mrs. Plaisted and those of her children who were
with her, were baptized at Montreal, Dec. 8,1692 and were ransomed in
Oct. 1695." Several of these children remained in Canada. (from "Lieut. Roger Plaisted...")
"Mary Plaisted, the wife of Mr. James Plaisted, was made a captive by the Indians about three weeks after her delivery of a male child.* They then took her with her infant off her bed and forced her to travel in this her weakness the best part of a day without any respect of pity. At night the cold ground in the open was her lodging, and for many a day she had no nourishment but a little water with a little bearflesh, which rendered her so feeble that she with her infant were not far from totally starved. Upon her cries to God there was at length some supply sent in by her master's taking a moose, the broth whereof recovered her. But she must now travel many days through woods and swamps and rocks, and over mountains and frost and snow, until she could stir no farther. Sitting down to rest, she was not able to rise until her diabolical master helped her up, which when he did, he took her child from her and carried it unto a river where, stripping it of the few rags it had, he took it by the heels and against a tree dashed out its brains and then flung it into the river. So he returned to the miserable mother, telling her she was now eased of her burden and must walk faster than she did before.*Mary Rishworth Plaisted, daughter of Rev. John Plaisted of Wells, Maine. Although she was only thirty-two at the time of her capture, James Plaisted was her fourth husband; at least two of his predecessors had died quite young. In 1692 Mary Plaisted and two daughters by a previous marriage, eleven-year-old Mary Sayward and seven-year-old Esther Sayward, were captured at York, Maine, by Acadian Indians. Mary Plaisted was baptized by French Catholics at Montreal in 1693 but was redeemed in 1695; she returned to her family and the Congregational church. The two daughters, however, remained in Canada. The elder became a nun and was eventually the head of a mission school for girls; the younger married a Canadian merchant."
from "New Assaults from the Indians" and "The Condition of the Captives" by Cotton Mather in Puritans Among the Indians:Accounts of Captivity and Redemption, 1676 - 1724, edited Alden T. Vaughan and Edward W. Clark (Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1981), pp. 140 - 142
Banks, Charles Edward. History of York Maine, Vol I. Regional Publishing Company: Baltimore, MD. 1931
p304-305
"Plaisted, Mrs. Mary (Rishworth)
Wife of James, of Kittery, and daughter of Edward Rishworth. At the time of her capture she was living with him (as her fourth husband) and in her family were two Sayward children by a former marriage. She was only thrity-two years old at this date and resided on Cider Hill. She was taken to Montreal and baptized there December 8, 1693, under the names of Marie Madeline. Her godfather at this event was Monsieur Juchereau, Lieutenant-General of the "Royal bailiwich of Monreal" while his wife acted as godmother. At that date she was living in the service of Madame Catherine Gauchet, widow of the predecessor of her godfater in the bailiwich. Cotton Mather relates, and family tradition confirms, that she had only three weeks prior to capture given birth to a son and he describes her sufferrings on the march because of her recent confinement, lack of food, and the extremity of the weather. Constantly falling behind on account of weakness, the Indians attributed it to the burden of the child and they relieved her of this encumberance by dashing the child's head against a rock and throwing it into the river. Then they told her she had no excuse to lag behind. She was redeemed in 1695 and probably outlived most of her companions in captivity, as in 1754 she was still on the tax list.
it is interesting to note that on October 6, 1696, she was presented by the Grand Jury "for not attneding the public worship of God upon the Lord's day." he husband, James Plaisted, answered for her in court the following April, and, affered as an excuse that she was "Under some bodily infirmity hindering her appearance (and) for her offence was fined for the fees 4s:6d and to be admonished (Deeds v, p2, fol. 94, 103). It would be illuminating to know whether her neglect to attend the religious services at the Purtain meeting house was due to "bodily infimity" or to the fact that she could not forget that she had recently be baptized with her children in the Catholic faith three years before. "
John Batten 1 died . He married Sarah Mayne.
Sarah Mayne [Parents] 1 died . She married John Batten.
Roger Plaisted [Parents] 1, 2, 3, 4 was born 5, 6 about 1580 in Mildenhall, England. He was christened 7, 8 in 1580 in Mildenhall, Wiltshire, England. He died 9 in Bradford Hall, Mildenhall, Wiltshire, England. He married Ciecle.
lived in Durnford Mill, Wiltshire, England
(from "Simon and Thompson Lines...")
Ciecle 1 was born 2 before 1584 in of Wilts Co, England. She died . She married Roger Plaisted.
They had the following children:
M i Leiutenant Roger Plaisted F ii Ann Plaisted
Edward Naylor 1, 2, 3 died . He married 4 Katherine Wheelwright in 1667.
Katherine Wheelwright [Parents] 1 was christened 2, 3 on 4 Nov 1630 in Bilsby, Lincolnshire , England. She died . She married 4 Edward Naylor in 1667.
Other marriages:Nanny, Robert
Roger Plaisted [Parents] 1, 2, 3, 4 was christened 5, 6 in 1648 in Mildenhall, Wiltshire, England. He died 7, 8, 9, 10 on 16 Oct 1675 in Salmon Falls, South Berwick, Maine. The cause of death was killed by Indians. He married 11, 12, 13 Hannah Furber on 19 Sep 1669/1671.
Hannah Furber [Parents] 1, 2 died . She married 3, 4, 5 Roger Plaisted on 19 Sep 1669/1671.
They had the following children:
F i Frances Plaisted M ii Roger Plaisted 1 died . F iii Abigail Plaisted
Reverend John Wheelwright [Parents] [scrapbook] 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 was born 12, 13, 14 about 1592 in Alford, Lincoln, England. He died 15, 16, 17, 18 on 15 Nov 1679 in Salisbury, Essex Co, Massachusetts. He married 19, 20 Marie Storre on 8 Nov 1621 in Bilsby, Lincolnshire, England. He was related to his parents by adoption.
Other marriages:Hutchinson, Mary
Mass Vital Records to 1850: Salisbury
1679 WHEELWRIGHT John, Rev., "Pastor of ye Church of Salisbury," [2d minister in Salisbury, called from Wells, apoplectic fit. C. R. 1.], Nov. 15, 1679. [in an advanced age, and 17th y. of his ministry, C. R. 1.]Ancestry.com. Maine Pioneers, 1623-1660 [database online]. Orem, Utah: MyFamily.com, Inc., 1999. Original data: Pope, Charles Henry. The Pioneers of Maine and New Hampshire, 1623-1660. n.p., 1908.
Rev. John Wheelwright Comment: graduated at Cambridge university, England, in 1614; vicar of Bilsby, Lincolnshire, 1623-1631; came to Boston, Mass. with wife and family in 1636. Was received to church 12 (4) 1636. Preached at Braintree, and sometimes at Boston. Because of his sympathy with his famous sister in law, Mrs. Ann Hutchinson, which greatly scandalized the ministers and magistrates of Mass. he was compelled to leave the colony. Removed to Exeter, N. H. where he with Samuel Hutchinson and Augustine Stor, of Boston, Edward Colcord and Darby Field of Piscataqua, John Compton of Roxbury, and Nicholas Needome, of Mount Wollaston purchased the rights of the Indian sagamore Wehanownowit and his son to the territory of Exeter April 3, 1638. Was the leader in the foundation of that town where he filled the office of pastor of the church and an active citizen. Bought land near Ogunquett river in Wells, Me. 17 April, 1643, and removed thither, becoming minister to the people of that new community. He petitioned the Gen. Court of Maine 15 Oct. 1650, for leave to erect a sawmill at the falls of the Ogunquat; granted. From 1647 till 1658 he was pastor at Hampton; he served the church of Salisbury, Mass. from Dec. 9, 1662, till his death. In the interval between the Hampton and Salisbury pastorates he visited England. He deeded, 22 Oct. 1677, to his daughter Sarah Crispe of Boston, Mass. land and tenement at Mawthorp in the parish of Willoughby, co. Lincoln, Eng. referring to Belleaw, same co. as his former residence.
He obtained for a house-maid one Elizabeth Evans of Bridgend, co. Glamorgan, Wales; an abstract of the "covenant" for 3 years' service from June 25, 1639, wages 3 li. per an. and passage paid for by J. W. is given in Lechford.
He married 1, [Nov. 8, 1621,] Marie, [daughter of Rev. Thomas Storre, vicar of Bilsby;] she died in Eng.; he m. 2, Mary, dau. of Edward Hutchinson, mercer, of Alford, Eng. and his wife Susanna; children, [John], Samuel, Susanna, (m. Edward Rishworth, Jr.) Katharine, (m. 1, Robert Nanney, 2, Edward Naylor,) Mary bapt. 25 (4) 1637, (m. 1, Edward Lloyd or Lyde, 2, Theodore Atkinson,) Elizabeth, (m. George Person,) Rebecca, (m. 1, Samuel Maverick, Jr. 2, Wm. Bradbury,) Hannah, (m.--Checkley,) Sarah. (m. Richard Crispe,) Thomas. The son Thomas and six daughters are mentioned in the will of their uncle Samuel Hutchinson of Boston in 1667.
He died 15 Nov. 1679; made will 25 May, 1675, "aged"; it was proved 26 Nov. 1679. Beq. to gr. son Edward Lyde estate in Mumby, Langham and Minge, co. Linc. to be delivered to his mother, Mary Atkinson; to gr. dau. Mary Mavericke other lands in Eng.; to son in law Edward Rishworth and his dau. Mary White; to gr. ch. Thomas and Jacob Bradbury; to son Samuel lands at Craft near Waneflitt, Eng. and at Wells, N. E.; to his latter wife's children all his plate.From JOSEPH DOW'S HISTORY OF HAMPTON Chapter 1 -- Part 5
PROTEST FROM EXETER
Allusion has already been made to the purchase of a considerable tract of land around Squamscott Falls, and to the settlement of Exeter by Mr. John Wheelwright and his company. The ground of the contention, that arose soon after between that company and the Massachusetts Government, and by which the settlers of this town were annoyed, since their grant was from that government, will be understood from a brief statement of facts. Mr. Wheelwright had previously been settled in the ministry in what was then a part of Boston, and had been banished from Massachusetts on a charge of heresy and sedition. Squamscott Falls and the whole tract of land that he had bought of the Indians, he regarded as beyond the jurisdiction of that government. Hence, when a few months after, he and his associates saw another company taking possession of, and settling upon a valuable portion of that tract, and claiming the soil under a grant from Massachusetts, they attempted to vindicate their own rights, by ordering those whom they regarded as intruders, to desist from their undertaking; and by inquiring of the government on what they founded their claim, avowing at the same time their own intention to lay out the whole of Winnacunnet in farms, unless Massachusetts could show a better title.
The General Court replied, "that they looked at this, their dealing, as against good neighborhood, religion and common honesty," since they had gone and purchased of the Indians a doubtful title, and had then sent to Massachusetts to inquire as to her right, when they well knew, at the time of their purchase, that Massachusetts claimed Winnacunnet as coming within her patent, or, at least, as vacuum domicilium, and that she had taken possession by building a house upon it two years before. The court also denied the validity of title to unimproved lands, derived from the Indians; maintaining that they had a natural right to so much land only, as they had actually improved, or were unable to improve, while all other lands lay open to the occupation and improvement of others.
However this dispute may have been settled between the parties, it is evident that, so far as the Indians were concerned, they had no reason to complain of encroachment upon their rights, as their title to the land had been fully extinguished by their deed to Mr. Wheelwright. Nor do we learn that the "Indians ever complained, or afterwards set up any title" to these lands. It is probable, too, that a satisfactory adjustment was soon made between the settlers of Exeter and of Hampton, as they ever afterwards maintained a friendly intercourse, and in their subsequent transactions, no unpleasant allusion is known to have been made to these early difficulties; while a few years later, Mr. Wheelwright was invited to Hampton and accepted the invitation under circumstances which leave no room to doubt that harmony had been fully restored. Difficulties did, indeed, arise as to the location of bounds, but not as to the right of Hampton to be.
Chapter 19 -- Part 3
The man first selected by the church and town, to assist Mr. Dalton, was Mr. John Wheelwright, the founder and first minister of Exeter, but then pastor of the church in Wells, in the province of Maine.
The contract between Mr. Wheelwright and the church, under date April 12, 1647, begins with a preamble, as follows:
"The church of Jesus Christ in Hampton haueing seriously considered the great paines & labours that the reverente & well-beloued Mr Tymothy Dalton haue taken among them in the worke of the ministry euen beyond his abilitie or strength of nater: And haueing upon sollemne seeking of God settled their thoughts upon the reverente & well-beloued Mr John Whelewright, of Wells, as a help in the worke of the Lord with the sayd Mr Dalton our prsent & faithfull Teacher: And haue[ing] given the sayd Mr Whelewright a call to that end, with the consent of the [w]hole towne; the which the sayd Mr Whelewright doe except off [accept of] according unto God:" therefore, the agreement was entered into, by which he was to have a house-lot, and the farm which had once belonged to Mr. Bachiler, but which had been purchased by the town. This was to be given to him, his heirs and assigns, unless he should remove himself from them without liberty from the church. The church and town were also to pay some charges and give Mr. Wheelwright as a salary £40 per annum. The farm was afterward conveyed to him by deed, and in 1654, ten pounds were added to his salary.
As it appears from the receipts annually given by Mr. Wheelwright for his salary, that his year was considered as commencing on the 24th of June, it is not unlikely that at that time in the year 1647, he became pastor of the church by installation. But there is some uncertainty about the length of his ministry. The latest receipt for salary, entered upon the records, is for the year ending at midsummer, 1655, and there is no record of any vote after that time, to show that he still continued to preach, and perform other ministerial labors in the town. It is evident, however, that the pastoral relation continued to a somewhat later period, for near the close of the year 1656, the town voted as follows: "To seeke out for helpe for the minestry to helpe wth or teacher untill wee see how God will dispose of us in respect of our pasture [pastor]." This being the first act on the part of the town for procuring another minister, seems to indicate that Mr. Wheelwright had but recently suspended, or closed his labors here. It was then doubtful whether he would resume his labors. There is no record to show that he did resume them; and sometime the next year another person was employed, who not long afterward received ordination and became pastor of the church.
After leaving Hampton, Mr. Wheelwright went to England, where he was favorably received by the Protector, Oliver Cromwell, with whom he had been in early life associated at the University of Cambridge. While in England, he did not forget the people of Hampton, as appears from his letter to the church, April 20, 1658, in which he mentions an interview with Cromwell, "with whom," he writes, "I had discourse in private about the space of an hour. All his speeches seemed to me very orthodox and gracious."
After the accession of Charles II to the throne, Mr. Wheelwright returned to New England and became pastor of the church in Salisbury, Mass., where he remained till the close of life. He died November 15, 1679, being about 85 years of age, and the oldest pastor in New England. [See Genealogies--Wheelwright.]
Rev. John Wheelwright was of Lincolnshire, in England, and was born about five or six years before the close of the sixteenth century. "His ancestors, no doubt, were of respectable standing in society, for he inherited a considerable real estate, which he disposed of by his last will. His parents had the good sense to bestow a portion of their wealth in giving their son a learned education. He had bright parts, and in youth was remarkable for the boldness, zeal, and firmness of mind he displayed upon all occasions. He was educated for the ministry, but embracing the Puritan sentiments, he necessarily incurred the censure of the church for non-conformity." [Judge Smith.] He came to America in 1636--whether for the first time or not, we do not pretend to decide--and landed at Boston on the 26th of May. He and his wife were admitted to the church in that town, on the 12th of June following.
About the same time he was suspected of having embraced the Antinomian sentiments held by his sister-in-law, Mrs. Anne Hutchinson. Some efforts were made to have him called to be a teacher of the church of which he was a member; but this movement was opposed by Governor Winthrop, who said that "he thought reverently of his godliness and abilities, so as he could be content to live under such a ministry; yet seeing that he was apt to raise doubtful disputations, he could not consent to choose him to that place."
Mr. Wheelwright became pastor of a church near Mount Wollaston--now Quincy, but then a part of Boston. Near the beginning of the following year, a general fast was kept in all the churches, one of the reasons assigned being the dissensions in the churches. Mr. Wheelwright preached on that occasion a sermon, for some statements in which he was called into court. The sermon was produced, and "he justified it." The court adjudged him guilty of sedition and also of contempt.
Omitting whatever transpired relative to this difficulty during the next nine months, it remains to be told that by the General Court that met the next fall, Mr. Wheelwright "was disfranchised and banished," and ordered to leave the jurisdiction of the court within fourteen days. This he did, as he probably supposed, and having bought of the Indians a large tract of land around Squamscott falls, founded the town of Exeter, and became pastor of the church formed there in 1638. In 1642 the people of Exeter voluntarily placed themselves under the jurisdiction of Massachusetts.
Mr. Wheelwright, being still under sentence of banishment, removed to Wells, in the province of Maine. A considerable number of the members of his church accompanied, or soon after followed him to his new abode, and he still continued to be their minister.
After Mr. Wheelwright had been several months in Wells, he wrote a letter to Governor Winthrop, expressing his sorrow for the part he had taken in the controversy several years before, and his grief for the censorious speeches that he then used; and declaring his readiness to give satisfaction, if it should appear to him "by scripture light, that in any carriage, word or action," he had "walked contrary to rule."
"Upon this letter, the court was very well inclined to release his banishment; and thereupon ordered that he might have a safe conduct to come to the court, etc."
This inclination and act of the court having been made known to Mr. Wheelwright by the governor, he replied, March 1, 1644, by a very manly letter. While thankful for the safe conduct proffered, he thought it not expedient to appear before the court in person; for, while he adhered to the spirit of his recent letter, he could not condemn himself for such crimes and heresies as had been charged upon him, which were the chief grounds of his banishment, but must hold himself free to make his defense.
Governor Winthrop, in reply, still advised his attendance at court, saying that though his liberty might be obtained without his personal appearance, yet that was doubtful.
Notwithstanding the doubt expressed by the governor, the next court released his banishment without his appearance.
In consequence of charges made against Mr. Wheelwright during his pastorate at Hampton, the town undertook his vindication. In town meeting, May 1, 1654, it was voted that the petition, framed and signed at that meeting for the vindication of Mr. Wheelwright's name, should be presented to the next General Court. The substance of their declaration, as given by Dr. Cotton Mather in the Magnalia is as follows:
"They, hearing that Mr.Wheelwright is, by Mr. Rutherford and Mr. Weld, rendered in some books printed by them as heretical and criminous, they now signify, that Mr. Wheelwright hath for these many years approved himself a sound, orthodox, and profitable minister of the gospel among these churches of Christ."
At the session of the court which commenced two days after the town meeting just named, the petition was presented, and considered, with this result:
"In Ansr to the peticon of the Inhabitants of Hampton. The Court doth declare, 'though they are not willing to recall those uncomfortable differences that formerly passed betwixt this Court and Mr. Wheelwright, concerning matters of religion or practice, nor doe they know wt Mr. Rutherford, or Mr. Welde hath charged him wth , yett Judge meete to certify that Mr. Wheelwright hath long since given such satisfaction, both to the Court and Elders, generally, as that he is now, and so for many years have binn an officer in the church of Hampton, wthin or jurisdiccon [jurisdiction], and that wthout offence to any, so farre as wee know; and there, as we are informed, he hath binn an usefull and profitable Instrument of doing much good in that church.'"
After the excitement occasioned by the discussions about Antinomianism, and the conduct of the persons charged with having embraced that doctrine, had subsided, and the people were enabled to examine calmly and dispassionately the whole subject, the measures adopted by the government were generally thought to have been far too severe. Even at the time of the excitement, Governor Winthrop, although he favored the proceedings against Mr. Wheelwright, yet said publicly, that "he did love that brother's person, and did honor the gifts and graces of God in him." Rev. John Cotton, of Boston, says: "I do conceive and profess, that our brother Wheelwright's doctrine is according to God, in the points controverted."--Dr. Cotton Mather speakes of him as "being a man that had the root of the matter in him."--Governor Hutchinson calls him "a zealous minister, of character both for learning and piety."--Dr. Belknap styles him "a gentleman of learning, piety and zeal."
Mr. Wheelwright's fast-day sermon, which occasioned his banishment, has been preserved. Hon. James Savage, of Boston, having read it, made the following declaration concerning it: "I unhesitatingly say, that it was not such as can justify the Court in their sentence for sedition and contempt, nor prevent the present age from regarding that proceeding as an example and a warning of the usual tyranny of ecclesiastical factions." Lastly, Judge Smith, of Exeter, after having carefully read this sermon, declared on the matter of sedition and contempt: "I have no hesitation in saying the charge was wholly groundless. There was not the least color for it."From A Long Deep Furrow: Three Centuries of Farming in New England by Howard S. Russell, Copyright 1976 by University Press of New England, Hanover, NH:
"In 1638 the pleasant lands on the river entering Great Bay from the south attracted thirty-six families from Boston, among them at least two husbandmen. With their dissident pastor John Wheelwright, they founded Exeter, (New Hampshire)."From Robert Charles Anderson. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633 [database online] Provo, UT: Ancestry.com, 2000. Original data: Robert Charles Anderson. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633, vols. 1-3. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995.
Entries referencing Wheelwright:
William Aspinwall:
Aspinwall was one of the strongest supporters of Rev. John Wheelwright, and drafted the infamous petition which caused so much trouble [WJ 1:293, 481-83]. As a result he was not simply disarmed, but was one of the few banished from the colony, being told on 2 November 1637 to depart by the first of the following month [MBCR 1:205, 207, 211]. He was one of those who signed the covenant at the formation of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, on 7 March 1637/8, and was appointed secretary on the same day [RICR 1:52; WP 4:17]. But Aspinwall did not attend subsequent Portsmouth town meetings; on 2 January 1638/9 he was to be dealt with "concerning his defaults," and then a month later was accused of sedition [RICR 1:64, 66]. On 28 April 1639 he was sued for debt, and "warrant was granted forth, for the attachment of his shallop till both that debt and other actions of the case be satisfied and discharged by him" [RICR 1:69]. He was still living at Portsmouth on 10 February 1639/40 when he was granted two hundred acres of land [RICR 1:73], and on 29 June 1640 when he signed a letter to John Winthrop [WP 4:260], but he may have moved to New Haven soon, as he is found there briefly when, on 2 March 1641/2, "Will[iam] Aspenall" gave testimony in a criminal case in New Haven General Court [NHCR 1:67]. By 7 October 1641 he was already making overtures for his return to Massachusetts Bay [MBCR 1:338]. On 27 March 1642 he was reconciled with and readmitted to Boston church [WJ 2:74], and on 20 May 1642 "William Aspinwall, upon his petition & certificate of his good carriage, is restored again to his former liberty & freedom" [MBCR 2:3]. As noted above, he soon acquired all the important scribal posts available (Boston town clerk, Suffolk recorder, notary public).
William Coddington:
In January 1637/8, John Winthrop wrote to William Coddington, John Coggeshall and William Colburn, telling them that he considered their "published writing" (presumably about Wheelwright) was a great mistake [WP 4:8-9]. William Coddington was one of those given a license to depart on 12 March 1637/8, along with three of his servants [MBCR 1:223]. He appointed Mr. Jer[emiah] Gould, 23 November 1640, again 26 April 1641, and 23 August 1641 his attorney to recover debts in Massachusetts Bay after his departure [SLR 1:15, 18]. William Denison:
"Willi: Denison" was one of five Roxbury men to be disarmed for supporting Mr. Wheelwright and Mrs. Hutchinson, 20 November 1637 [MBCR 1:212].
Henry Elkins:
Henry Elkins is named in the 20 November 1637 list of Boston men disarmed for supporting Anne Hutchinson [MBCR 1:211]. About 22 November 1637, Henry Elkins appears as one of twenty-four men asking to have their names removed from the remonstrance in favor of Reverend John Wheelwright [WP 3:513]. Nevertheless, Elkins seems to have remained a follower of Wheelwright, going with Wheelwright's group from Boston to Exeter [BChR 23], and then, as others of that party did, moving on to Hampton later. William Frothingham:
William Frothingham was among those who signed the petition in support of Reverend John Wheelwright, for on 15 November 1637 he was the last of seven Charlestown men who "did all acknowledge their sin, & desire the same, & it was yielded them that their hands should be crossed out" [MBCR 1:209]. Ambrose Gibbons:
Perhaps no family in early New England has been so sorely beset by forged records as that of Ambrose Gibbons. "Ambros Gibins, trader for the Company of Laconia," was ostensibly a witness to the forged 17 May 1629 deed of Wahangnonawit, sagamore of Squamscot, to John Wheelwright [NHPP 1:59], but Savage, in showing the falsity of this deed, demonstrated convincingly that Gibbons did not arrive in New England until 1630 [WJ 1:509].
Edward Steward:
"Edward Hilton Steward of the Plantation of Hilton's Point" was included as one of the witnesses of the forged 17 May 1629 deed of the four sagamores to John Wheelwright [NHPP 1:56-60]; as Savage points out, he was "the only one of the nine witnesses, who, we ay reasonably believe, was there 17 May, 1629," and the demonstrable absence of the other eight is the strongest evidence against the validity of the document [WJ 1:486-514, at 510].
Ancestry.com. Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire [database online]. Orem, UT: Ancestry.com, Inc., 1998. Original data: Libby, Charles Thornton. Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire, Portland, Maine: The Southward Press, 1928.
Rev. John,celebrated Antinomian and founder of Exeter soon aft. his banishment from Boston 2 Nov. 1637 and the disarming of those seduced and led away by the opinions and revelations of Mr. Wheelwright and Mrs. Hutchinson (Mass. Col. Rec. 1: 207, 211). See Col. Soc. Mass. 1: 271-303; Life of John Wheelwright (Heard, 1930); Dict. of Am. Biog., vol. 20 (1936) with references, for annals of his life, beginning in Lincolnshire ab. 1592-4 (his fa. Robert of Cumberworth and Saleby) and ending in Salisb. 15 Nov. 1679 in an advanced age and the 17th yr. of his ministry. Educ. at Sidney Coll., Cambridge, B.A. 1614-5, M.A. 1618, and vicar at Bilsby, Lincolnshire, 1623 to 1633, when replaced, altho appar. not resigning. At Boston he, his w. and her mo. were adm. to Ch. 12. 4m. 1636. Of Boston, Braintree, Exeter (until Mass. came in), and Wells where a large land owner (Y. D. 1: 28, gr. from Thomas Gorges 17 Apr. 1643; Y. D. 1: 137; 8: 14), and where he was liv. in May 1644 when Mass. remov. its ban (Mass. Col. Rec. 2: 67). From 12 Apr. 1647 to latter part of 1656 he was Mr. Dalton's colleague at [p.744] Hampton (see Dow's Hampton, i: 352), and aft. a stay in Eng. went to Salisb., where yrs. later in conflict with Major Robert Pike whom he excommunicated (see The New Puritan, pp. 67-81). Lists 371-373, 375b, 376a(2)b(1644), 269b, 262, 24. Y. D. 8: 16, has the much quoted, but forged Ind. deed of 1629. He m. 1st at Bilsby 8 Nov. 1621 Marie Storre, sis. of Augustine of Ex., who was bur. at B. 18 May 1629; m. 2d Mary Hutchinson(11), List 393a, outliving her. Will, 25 May 1675; much Wells and English prop.; his plate to be divid. among my latter wife's ch. Ch. by 1st w: John, bp. at Bilsby 6 Oct. 1622, remained in Eng., and in 1645 pub. a work in vindication of his fa. Thomas, bp. 5 Oct. 1624 (Banks). William, bp. at B. 10 Feb., bur. 19 May 1627. Susannah, bp. at B. 22 May 1628, m. Edward Rishworth. By 2d w. Mary (see will of their uncle Samuel Hutchinson 1667): Katherine, bp. at B. 4 Nov. 1630, m. 1st Robert Nanny, m. 2d Edward Naylor. Mary, bp. at B. 19 May, bur. 28 July 1632. Elizabeth, bp. at Laceby, co. Lincoln, 9 June 1633, ±39 in Sept. 1673, m. George Pearson(1). Mary, bp. at Boston 25 June 1637 (see 5), m. 1st Edward Lyde(3), m. 2d Theodore Atkinson of Boston, fa. of (4). Samuel, sister's oldest son 1667, ±40 in 1678. Rebecca, m. 1st in Boston 1660 Samuel Maverick(2 jr.), m. 2d William Bradbury(2). Hannah, m. by 1664 Anthony Checkley of Boston, who m. 2d Lydia (Scottow) Gibbs. Sarah, m. bef. 1671 Richard Crispe of Boston. In 1677 her fa. deeded to her land in Nawthorp, Boundthorp and Cumberworth, co. Lincoln.Bell, Charles H. History of Exeter, New Hampshire. J.E. Farwell & Co. Exeter: 1888 pp. 4-8
"On the third day of April, 1638, the Rev. John Wheelwright purchased by a deed from the local sagamore and his son, a release of the right of the Indian occupents to this locality and to a tract of the surrounding county, thirty in extent, reaching from the northern boundary of the Massachusetts Bay on the south, to the Piscataqua Patents on the east, and on the north to Oyster river. His purpose in making the purchase was to begin a settlement to which he gave the name of Exeter.
The Reverend John Wheelwright
Mr. Wheelwright, who is justly styled the founder of Exeter, deserves a more extended notice. He was born in or near the hamlet of Saleby in Lincolnshire, England, probably in the early part of the year 1592. His father was a man of sufficient means to afford him a university education and to leave him heir to some freehold property. At Sidney College, Cambridge, he gained his bachelor's degree in 1614, and that of M.A. four years later. One of his fellow collegians was the famous Oliver Cromwell, who afterwards bore testimony to his atheletic vigor and pluck, 'that he was more afraid of meeting Wheelwright at football than he had been since of meeting an army in the field, for he was infallibly sure of being tripped up by him.' Mr. Wheelwright was married on the eighth of November 1621, to Marie, daughter of the Reverend Thomas Storre, vicar of Bilsby, in the county of Lincoln; and on the ninth of April, 1623, having taken holy orders, on the death of his father-in-law, succeeded him in the vicarage. He is described as a faithful and zealous minister; but like many able and conscientious men of his time, he was led to question the authority of certain dogmas and observances of the English church, until he found himself arrayed in the ranks of the Puritans, so that after about ten years he was silenced by the ecclesiastical powers, for non-conformity. He continued to reside in England for two or three years afterwards and then emigrated to teh new world. He took with him his wife by a second marriage, Mary, daughter of Edward Hutchinson of Alford and his five children, and landed in Boston on the 26 of May, 1636.
There he soon became highly esteemed insomuch that after about six months, it was proposed by some of the members of the Boston church that he should be settled over them as a second teacher, in conjunction with the Rev. John Wilson and the Rev. John Cotton, two of the most eminent divines of the colony. But upon some objection being made to this, Mr. Wheelwright was placed in charge of a new church gathered at Mount Wollaston, afterwards Braintree and now Quincy, and received a grant of two hundred acres of land there.
About this time, Anne Hutchinson, a woman of keen wit and dominant disposition, the wife of William Hutchinson, a brother of Wheelwright's second wife, rendered herself a conspicuous figure in the religious circles of Boston. With the fondness for theological specualtions which was characteristic of that age, she had adopted some opinions not in unison with those of the majority of the ministers and elders of the Massachusetts Bay, and was in the habit of enunciating them in the shape of criticisms of their sermons and doctrines, at weekly meetings of the sisterhood held in her house in Boston. These heterodox opinions were the merest theoretic abstractions imaginable such as that 'the person of the Holy Ghost dwells in a justified person,' and that 'no sanctification can help to evidence to us our justification,' and the like, and had not possible relation to the practical concerns of life. Their opponents, however, gave them the bad name of 'Antinomian.' But Wheelwright also professed the same views in the main and Cotton timidly indorsed them, while a large proportion of the members of the Boston church approved them. All this was bitterly unpalatable to the authorities of the church and state (who were substantially the same) in the Massachusetts Bay, and they took counsel together how to suppress the rising heresy. Excommunication of the offenders was the obvious remedy; but as by far the greater part of the Boston church were in sympathy with them, there was danger that in the attempt to apply that remedy the movers might find themselves victims instead of victors. They therefore resolved on other and safer measures.
Apparently every utterance of Wheelwright was strictly watched to find cause of accusation against him. At length the desired pretext was obtained in a sermon which he preached on a Fast day in Boston, on the ninteenth of January, 1636-7. It is impossible for any unprejudiced person of our time to discover in this production, which is still extant, anything to cause alarm to the most timorous heart, but to the jaundiced eyes of the Massachusett's rulers of that day, it seemed to be filled with threatenings of ruin and destruction. And they determined that out of his discourse, they would find matter for his condemnation. It would require too much space to follow in detail the various proceedings which they instituted against Wheelwright. First, the great and General Court, backed by an advisory council of the clergy, pronounced him guilty of 'sedition and contempt of the civil authority.' Wheelwright was not daunted by this. The next application was a synod of the clergy of the colony, who, after a laborious session of twenty-four days, condemned no less than eighty-two erroneous opinions, which they alleged had been brought to New England and 'spread underhand there.' Wheelwright attended the meetings of the synod, and, of course, understood very well that its conclusions were, in effect, if not by name, a condemnation of his position and course, but he did not swerve a hair's breadth for that. Then his prosecutors determined to oust him by force. The General Court was to be the instrument; and in order to make sure of a majority of deputies who would perform their behests, the authorities resorted to the extraordinary course of a special election. Before this tribunal, thus organized to convict, Wheelwright appeared and pleaded not guilty. To such a trial, there could be but one ending. For the offenses of which, he had previously been found guilty, 'and for now justifying himself and his former practice being to the disturbance of the civil peace,' he was by the court disenfranchised and banished.
Wheelwright was not the only victim. Mrs. Hutchinson also was banished from the colony, and several of their adherents were 'disarmed' -- deprived of all weapons -- an ignominious and harsh punishment at that time when the means of protection and defense were so essential. Thus one of the earliest acts of those who emigrated thither to obtain their religious freedom was to establish a religious despotism. The poor pretense that teh act was necessary for the maintenance of 'the civil peace,' finds no justification in any fact which the most prejudiced apologist has been able to urge in its favor.
The sentence against Wheelwright was pronounced early in November, 1637, and he was allowed two weeks to depart out of the jurisdiction. Much to the surprise of many, instead of accompanying his sister-in-law to Rhode Island, where he would have been welcomed to an asylum of religious freedom, he turned his face towards the far less inviting solitude of the falls of Squamscot. It is probably that he sailed from Boston to teh mouth of the Pascataqua in a coaster belonging to John Clark, afterwards of Rhode Island, on of his sympathizers; and then made his difficult way overland to his destination. The succeeding inclement season he must have passed in the rude cabin of some neighboring settle, perhaps that of Edward Hilton. It was a bitter winter, and the snow covered the ground to the depth of three feet, from the fourth of November to the fifth of the following March.
But no sooner were the icy chains of winter loosed, than the resolute and indefatigable Wheelwright began to bestir himself in making preparations for his new settlement.
pp 11-12
From the best information that can now be obtained, the population of Exeter did no advance during the first year much, if at all, beyond a score of famileis. These consisted in about equal portions of Wheelwright's parishioners and adherents from Mount Wollaston and its vicinity in Massachusetts, and of his connections and friends lately arrived from Lincolnshire in England. In July, 1637, in the midst of the Antinomian excitment, a ship had reached Boston, from England, bringingn as passengers a brother of Mrs. Anne Hutchinson, and a number of other transatlantic friends of Wheelwright. The General Court of Massachusetts had recently enacted a law forbidding new comers to tarry in the colony for a longer time than three weeks, without the written permission of a member of the council or of two other magistrates. That friends of Wheelwright should be suffered to make their permanent homes in Massachusetts was out of the question. Governor Winthrop gave them leave to remain for four months, but no longer. In November, 1637, therefore, they had to seek an abiding place eselwhere. They, doubtless, chose to go where Wheelwright went, and found winter quarters somewhere on the Pascataqua; and in the following spring sat down with him at Exeter. Of these we can reckon about ten heads of families, and of those who came from the neighborhood of Boston, about the same number.
The wives and little ones did not stay long behind. Wheelwright's family left Massachusetts in March, 1638, to follow him to Exeter by water. The difficulties of travelling thither by land were too great for women and children, even at the most favourable season. But it was quite practicable to navigate a vessel of fair size along the coast and up the river to the very foot of the falls of the Squamscot; and it is altogether likely that most of the families adopted that mode of conveyance for themselves and their more portable household effects.
p. 38-39
John Wheelwright deserves here a brief sketch of his susequent career. He retreated before the advance of Massachusetts to Wells in the spring of 1643, and while he was there the General Court in not the most gracious manner, annulled his sentence of banishment, and re-enfranchisd him. After ministering to the little community at Wells for four years, he accepted the invitation of the church at Hampton to settle over them as the pastoral colleague of the rev. Timothy Dalton, their religious teacher. In Hampton he continued, to the entire acceptance of his flock, until 1655 or 1656 when he made a voyage to England. There he was received with high favor by Oliver Cromwell, his fellow collegian, now the highest personage in the land; and also by Sir Henry Vane, a friend and fellow sufferer in the Antinomian struggle in Massachusetts. After Cromwell's death Wheelwright returned to New England, in company with several other ministers, in the summer of 1662. He accepted the invitation of the church at Salisbury, Massachusetts, to become their spiritual guide, and though then arrived at teh age of threescore and ten, enjoyed among them the longest pastorate of his checkered life. He had his trials there, indeed, for he was not one to yield his opinions because another opposed them, but on the whole his ministrations were usefull and his motives and independence were respected. It was a pleasant episode in his later life that he preached a sermon in 1671-2 in behalf of Harvard College, soliciting contrinutions for the rebuilding of Harvard Hall which had been destroyed by fire -- thus showing that he harbored no malice against the dignitaries of Massachusetts for the harsh treatment that he had formerly recieved at their hands. His death took place at Salisbury November 15, 1679.History of Wells and Kennebunk Maine by Edward E. Bourne. Portland, ME: B. Thurston and Co. 1875.
p. 49-56:
"Rev. John Wheelwright, in 1642 or 1643, built a small house near the site of the dwelling of the late John Rankin. It may reasonably be supposed that Littlefield's successful location of himself and family, and his favorable descriptions fo the neighboring territory, induced Wheelwright to seek a home in the vicinity. Those who first settled here seem to have regarded mill priveleges as of prime importane, and a source of profitable income. There was no other source of immediate profit; Wheelwright accordingly seized upon the brook near his house as the only remaining one where the enterprise of a saw-mill could be attempted. We think Ogunquit Falls was already in some way secured by Littlefield, as his son John soon after was in the posession of it, and the mill is referred to in some instrument before this time. We know that Wheelwright petitioned to Gorges for a grant of the land adjoining Ogunquit, and that the Wheelwright farm embraced what was called the neck between the Ogunquit and the town river, and that he had a suit against John Littlefield in relation to the mill here, a few years afterwards, perhaps contesting his right to the privilege. Wheelwright built a saw-mill on the brook, we suppose, in 1642 or 1643, as he left Wells the last of 1645 or in 1646. His daughter says she lievd in the house with his grandson two years, about 1647, and the saw-mill was then still standing there.His son, Samuel, lived on the farm called the neck, between the Ogunquit and town river. His house stood near the great Wheelwright farm, which was deeded to Rev. John Wheelwright by Thomas Gorges, one-half of that farm having been conveyed to Samuel by his father. Thomas, also a son of Rev. John, set out to build a house on the other part of the farm, and made some progress in the work....
John Wheelwright continued in Wells but two or three years; but as he is regarded by many of the founder of the plantation, we have thought that some concise history of his previous history, espcially that which induced his resort to Wells, might not be inappopriate or uninteresting...
Rev John Wheelwright came to this country in 1636. Mrs. Ann Hutchinson, said to be his sister, preceded him, and being gifted with those endowments which fit one for public declamation, she exercised her faculties in exhortations to the people as to their religious obligations. As is natural to people of that class, by their too much speaking, she was probably every day uttering some crude and unconsidered thoughts to the multitude who thronged to hear her. Winthrop says she inculcated two dangerous errors: 'That the Holy Ghost dwells in a justified person, and that no santification can help to evidence to us our justification.' It is difficult to perceive how the spiritual or civil welfare of a people is hazarded by the first, or how any rational man or woman should give utterance to the second. But it was said that Wheelwright, who had been a silenced minister in England, adopted and preached the same errors. Being of the same family, it is very likely they did not differ widely in their religious views. He was admitted to the Boston church the year of his arrival. The court had appointed a fast on the 19th of February following and on that day Wheelwright preached a discourse which produced great dissatisfaction, resulting in an excitement in which it was said that he 'inveighed against all that walked in a covenant of works,' as he described it to be, viz.: such as maintain sanctification as an evidence of justification, and called them anti-Christs, and stirred up the people against them with much bitterness and vehemency.'
This sermon contains nothing which could justify any judicial proceedings against him. Its positions do not vry materially from sentiments which are freely uttered from the pulpit at the present day; but he was required to make his appearance before the general court to answer to the assumed offence. The result was, that he was declared guilty of contempt and sedition, and on such conviction he was sentenced to be disenfranchised and banished, fourteen days being allowed him to settle up his affairs and depart out of the jurisdiction. Being in the winter season, and the wildernedd east or west of Boston being but slightly subdued, it must have been with him a question of no small difficulty which way he should flee; but he determined on Piscataqua as his refuge. Thither he succeeded in reaching though 'it was marvellous he got there by reason of the deep snow in which he might have perished.' He was not the only person banished at this time, but others were driven from the colony merely for sustaining the positions of his sermon and sympathizing with him in his religious views, and among these were some of the members of the ourt. Governor Vane objected to all these proceedings, yet his opposition was without avail. Wheelwright established himself at Exeter, taking possession of a tract of land under his Indian ded. With several others who were the companions of his banishment, he laid the foundation of that town. Here he preached the gospel to great acceptance four or five years, when Massachusetts having assumed the position that this place was within the jurisdiction of that colony, he was compelled to remove further eastward. A few of his strong friends then made application to Thomas Gorges for an assignment of a tract of land within his province at Wells.
No better man could have been selected to begin the enterprise of clearing the wilderness, and introducing the blessings of civilization. He had been educated at the University and was a trained main, qualified with all the necessary sciencce for a skilfull pioneer in these great objects. He was, withal, a man able to handle the axe and do his part in the physical labor needed to bring the wilds into subjection to the service of man. He possessed a muscular, athletic organism adequate to any work. He had Oliver Cromwell as a companion at the University and the latter used to say that he never had so much fear in front of an army as he had of Wheelwright when they were together at teh institution. He was a distinguished wrestler; and Crowell always felt himself in danger of his kicks when playing with him at football. The probability is that he entered on his work at Wells with a strong and determined hand, and that the land was soon made to minister to his necessities. But this seclusion from the activities of more extensive communities failed to satisfy his aspirations. He preached the gospel here to a very small congregation. He soon tired, we have reason to think, both of his physical and ministerial labors in Wells. There was at that time but little intercourse with the other settlements. It was seldom that one could visit places as far distant as Boston. There was no regularly located way, and the business of coasting had not yet commenced; it was many years before vessels entered any of the harbors. Educated as Wheelwright had been amid an extended civilization, and eager to have a part in its movements, it is not strange that he should soon tire of the monotony of this secluded agricultural life. But it is strange that he should permit this desire for a change of location to overrule his self-respect, and lead him to demean himself by making confession to his persecutors of error in his teachings, especially when his ministrations had had the approval and support of some of the best of those who had knowledge of his theology; some of whom had shared with him in his fortunes. Such a confession must have come with a sad influence to the house of his friends. There is nothing more mortifying than the secession of one who has been an earnest defender of principles which have always commended themselves to his supporters as sound, and to which they have given a hearty support. And such a renunciation is doubly sad when the seceder confesses himself in his utterances to have been moved by the instigation of the devil. We cannot but feel that such a departure is treason to the interests of truth. The motives which led him to confess his errors, are not clearly apparent....
Mr. Vane had ceased to be governor, and John Winthrop was his successor in office; and after only a two years' residence in Wells, Wheelwright addressed to him two letters, the first of which, dated Wells, (7) 10, 43, is taken from Winthrop's History and is as follows: 'Right Worshipful. Upon the long and mature consideration of things, I perceive that the main difference between yourselves and some of the Reverend elders and me in point of justification and the evidencing thereof, is not of that nature and consequence as was then presented to me in the false glass of Satan's temptations, and mine own distempered passions, which makes me unfeignedly sorry that I had such a hand in those sharp and vehement, censorious speeches in the application of my sermon, or in any other writing, whereby I reflected any dishonor upon your worships, the reverend elders, or of any contrary judgment to myself. It repents me that I did so much adhere to persons of corrupt judgment, to the countenancing of them in any of their errors or evil practices, though I intended no such thing; and that in the synod I used such unsafe and obscure expressions falling from me as a man dazzled with the buffetings of Satan, and that I did appeal from misapprehension of things. I confess that herein I have done very sinfully, and do humbly beg pardon of this honored State. If it shall appear to me by Scripture light, that in any carriage, word, writing, or action, I have walked contrary to rule, I shall be ready, bu the grace of God, to give satisfaction; thus hoping that you will pardon my boldness, I humbly take leave of your worship, committing you to the good providence of the Almighty; and ever remain your worships in all service to be commanded in the Lord. J. Wheelwright'
It seems almost incredible that a man of sound moral principle, and of vigorous intellect, should ths fawningly have sought to restore himself to the favor of a bigotry which has but few counterparts in history; and especially that preaching the gospel from the fullness of his heart, he should have admitted himself to have been instigated by the wiles of the devil.... It answered his purpose, and at the court in 1644, it was 'ordered that Mr. Wheelwright, upon a particular solemn, and serious acknowledgement and confession by letters, of his evil carriage, and of the court's justice upon him, hath his banishment taken off and is received in as a member of the Commonwealth.'..."Perkins, Esselyn Gilman, Wells: The Frontier Town of Maine, Volume I, Ogunquit, Maine 1970 c. Esselyn Gilman Perkins. p 143
"WHEELWRIGHT, Rev. JOHN. Married in Bilsby, England (1) Marie Storre. Four children by first marriage. The oldest, John, Jr. remained in England. (2) Mary Hutchinson, sister of William, husband to the famous Anne. children by second marriage: Rev. Wheelwright came to Wells from Exeter in the spring of 1643. He received the title to land from Thomas Gorges of nearly 400 acres on the easterly side of the Ogunquit River in Juy 14, 1643. This is spoken of as the 'Wheelwright Farm.' Wheelwright left Wells after staying about four years, went to Hampton, N.H. He left wells in the spring of 1647, after he had received full pardon from Massachusetts and given permission to return to that portion of the country. From Hampton, he went to visit England in 1655 or 1656, He came back to New England to live his last days at Salisbury, where he died November 15, 1679, in his 87th year."
Marie Storre [Parents] 1, 2, 3, 4 died . She was buried 5, 6 on 18 May 1629 in Bilsby, Lincolnshire, England. She married 7, 8 Reverend John Wheelwright on 8 Nov 1621 in Bilsby, Lincolnshire, England.
They had the following children:
M i John Wheelwright 1 was christened 2 on 6 Oct 1622 in Bilsby, Lincolnshire, England. He died .
remained in EnglandM ii Thomas Wheelwright 1 was christened 2 on 5 Oct 1624. He died . M iii William Wheelwright 1 was christened 2 on 10 Feb 1627 in Bilsby, Lincolnshire, England. He died 3 on 19 May 1627. He was buried 4 on 19 May 1627 in Bilsby, Lincolnshire, England. F iv Susannah Wheelwright
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