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Tuesday, April 30, 2019

A BAD NIGHT AT JOHN PERKINS' TAVERN PT3

Another case involving Quartermaster John Perkins and his tavern was presented at that Essex County Quarterly Courtn session of 1May 1672. This one involved an assault on Perkins himself, and there was a different cast of characters from the previous brawl.

From the court records:

Andrews Peeters was fined upon his presentment, and was bound in five pounds that he shall come no more to Quartermaster Perkins' house except at court times.t

 tAlexander Orbort deposed that Quartermaster Perkins desiring him to attend in the room where Obadiah Bridges, and Andrew Peters were, he saw said Bridges take Perkins by the shoulders, "Andrew Peters in y* meantime pulling Quat'master by y* hair & John Clarke sitting att y* end off the table arose up & sayd unto Obadiah why doe you abuse the Quatrmastr thus, shall he not be master off his owne house: Obadiah Answered Noe he shall not: then John Clarke Answered yea but he shall thereupon John Clarke went to obadiah Bridges & struck up his heeles & held him downe." Samll. Clarke was not present when this happened. Sworn in court. 


John Clark's bill of cost. 


Joseph Fauwler, aged about nineteen years, testified that he was at his grandfather Kimbol's barn, and "I heard a ster in quartermasters new hauwse: and knowing my master was there I went In to quartermasters hauwse and when I kaeme in I asked the mayd what was the matter she told me she could not Tell I made to the Chamber where my master was: and in goyng I met with Jo Clark: I asked him what was the matter the sayd Clark told me that my master and the quartermaster was a quarreling: and sayd that obadyah stept in betweene: but I layd Obadyah soone at my foote: and I went op into the Chamber: and they where all Comming down into the lower Roome: and my master went out at the dore and in goyng out: the quartermaster took my master By the Coller: and stroke him: and my master did not lift op his hand agaynst the quartermaster
." -pp33-34


Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts: Volume V 1672-1674  Essex Institute, Salem Ma. 1916

The rest of the testimony will be in the next post.

To be continued


Monday, April 29, 2019

A BAD NIGHT AT JOHN PERKINS' TAVERN PT2

Continuing the story of a chaotic night at Quartermaster John Perkins' tavern, we hear from the victim Mark Quilter:

Mark Quilter, aged about forty-two years, deposed that he went to the quartermaster's to talk with Mr. Jno. Burr upon business. "when I told them I did not care for drinking, some answered & sayd you must kiss the cup then. . . . And I goeing to follow the Quartermaster was stopt by those that satt on eachside of mee: Mr Dudly Broadstreet & Mr Sam1 Jacob on one side; & Elihu wardell & mr Thomas wade on the other side, and goeing to creep under the table was stopt by some holding my Coat behind; till watching my oppertunity gott from behind the Table & makeing Towards the door, it was clapt too, & some Cryed, here is the man, here is the man," etc.-p33

 Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts: Volume V 1672-1674  Essex Institute, Salem Ma. 1916

That is all the testimony about the incident. I found the description by John Edwards of the behsavior of the men chilling, especially the part about the men  snapping their empty pistols at Mark Quilter as they walked out of the room. It does seem like the behavior of Wild West outlaws or of a biker gang in a bad 1950's movie rather than that of Puritans.

What the heck had Mark Quilter done to deserve being ganged up on by his fellow citizens?

This was not the only raucous night at John Perkins' house. There was another case presented at the same court session dealing with another incident. I'll give the details in my next post.

To be continued...

A BAD NIGHT AT JOHN PERKINS' TAVERN PT1


A drunken  crowd shooting  off their pistols inside a barroom, one shooting his off underneath the table.Then the light goes uut, more shots are fired, and when the light is restored, a man lies bleeding on the barroom floor.

A bad night in Dodge City in the 1870s?

Nope.

A bad night in Ipswich, Ma in 1672at the "ordinary" run by my 9x great granduncle "Quartermaster" John Perkins.

From the Essex County Quarterly Court Records:

Mr. Dudly Broadstreet, Mr. Nathl. Wade, Mr. Tho. Wade, Mr. Samuel Jacobs, Jno. Wainwrite, Thomas Bishop, Elihu Wardell, Jno. Cogswell, Mr. Nath. Rogers, Mr. Samll Rogers, Mr. Ezk. Rogers, Mr. Jno. Burr, Jno. Lee, Edward Nealand, Mark Quilter were presented for disorder in Quartermaster Perkins' house upon training day in shooting pistols in the house after the colors were lodged and for breach of the peace. 

Jno. Edwards, aged about forty years, deposed that "upon a trayning day Last sumer at this Towne I was attending at Quartermaster perkins” house drawing bear &c: for his Guests and being too & fro in severall Roomes of the House, I saw in one Roome these psons: viz* Mr Dudly Broadstreet, mr Nath1 Wade, mr Samuell Jacobs, Jn* Wainewright, mr Tho. Wade, Thomas Bishop, Elihu Wardell, Jn* Cogswell, mr Nath1 Rogers, mr Samuel Rodgers, mr Ezk. Rogers, Jn* Lee, Edward Nealand, mr Jn* Burr, Mark Quilter: In which Roome there was much disturbance & offence given to the master of the House by shooting of pistols in the Roome In soe much that the Quartermaster & his wife often went & sent to bid them Cease fireing in yo Roome:who not w"standing their earnest chardg & intreaties was Littl regarded soe that yo Quartrmaster was forced to throw open the Cagements, and bad them. If they would shoot to shoot out there. Butt his words were little Regarded: for as I past I saw them shoot in the Roome: & soe much that soome in the Roome Complained: and after this one in the Roome cald for one doz" of bear for Mark Quilter & I seeming to take noe notice without Mark had caled for it himself: Mr Samuell Jacobs sayd Bring half a doz° of bear & we will have noe more, & If Mark Quilter will not pay for it I will. Soe I went & fetcht it for him that cald for it & sayd this is for you And then Mark Quilter Came downe to the barr, & ask' If any thing was chardgd to his Acet, I answered Noe: He Replyed, & sayd nor chardg none woout I call for it my self: only sayer hee give mee a pint of wine to drink wth them then Came up after the wine was Carried up. And many drank to him & I took Notice that Mark had two Cups full before him & another drunk to him, & he took the cup, but would drink little: & presently Thomas Bishop shooting under the Table: Mark complained & sayd is this the kindness you pretended in drinking to mee: &c. lle stay noe longer with you, and about this time the light was putt out, soe I went to light it & the Quarter Master comeing up sayd sir* depart the Roome, for I will have noe such dessorder here; all being in a Tumult, & Mark very Angry, his cloathes were burnt with shooting under the Table. And Qur Master sayd Mark gett you gon for they will doe you mischeif; and I being lighting the light as the Qurmaster went downe still it was blowne out, as I did light it & Mark Goeing to Follow y* QuarTnaster two psons clapt too the door, & the Rest pressing about him: a pistoll was shott by some, but who I know not did the execution among the severall pistolls then shott. And Mark sayd you have lamed mee: I then did light the light, and Cryed out you have kild the man, and all the persons were hustling, and gon out of the Roome only two, that as they went presented & snapt their pistols at Mark as they went, he lying by the door & Bleeding: I vewing his wound saw a wadd sticking which I took out, it being on fire, & I Cryed againe, you have kild the man, for he lay speechless & Ready to dy away: Help comeing up presently Laboured to stanch the blood, & Qurmaster took care the Doctor might be sent for presently: I Goeing downe saw not any one of these psons mentioned but Mark left in any Roome of the house all being gon soe he was Carried away by those the Qurmaster desired to his owne house.
"pp31-32

Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts: Volume V 1672-1674  Essex Institute, Salem Ma. 1916

To be continued...

Sunday, April 28, 2019

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2019 WEEK 18: ROBERT LONG OF CHARLESTOWN, MA. :

Turning to the families of the women in the Perkins line, I'm beginning with Hannah (Long) Perkins' father, Robert Long. Robert is another of my immigrant ancestors and made the voyage tothe Massachusetts colony with his  first wife and ten children.He settled in Charlestown where he became a prominent and wealthy man. Assuch, he became a member of the Militaty Company of Massachusetts which was a Boston militia company. It was chartered by Gov. John Wintrop in 1635 and still exists today nder the name of The Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts. This makes it one of the oldest military organizations in the world. I found this entry for Robert Long in a history of the company written by Oliver Ayers Roberts:

Robert Long (1639), of Charlestown, came from Dunstable, England, in the "Defence," in 1635, at the age of forty-five years, bringing his wife, Elizabeth, and ten children. He had been an innholder at Dunstable, Bedford County, England, where Rev. Zechariah Symmes, of Charlestown, Mass., had formerly preached. He was an innkeeper in Charlestown, and his house was situated "on the south of Mill hill — his houselot being bounded by the market place, meeting house lane and High Street." He was licensed Sept. 3, 1635, "to keepe a house of intertainment att Charles Towne for horse and man." In 1640, Charlestown chose him to sell wine, and the General Court approved the choice. Dec. 11, 1648, Robert Keayne (1637) and James Penn, deputies of the General Court, and in behalf of said court, signed articles of agreement with William Phillips (1644), Robert Long (1639), Hugh Gunnison (1646), William Hudson (1640), and Robert Turner (1640), vintners, by which the latter had the exclusive right to sell and retail all kind of wines in Boston and Charlestown for five years, by paying to the treasurer of the jurisdiction of Massachusetts one hundred and sixty pounds yearly, in current money. He owned, according to the Book of Charlestown Land Records, twelve other pieces of real estate, containing above one hundred and fifty acres. He died Jan. 9, 1664.

"The Great House, first used as the official residence of the Governor, was purchased in 1633, by the town, of John Winthrop and other gentlemen, for ,£10, and used as a meeting-house until it was sold, for L30 to Robert Long [1639] in 1635, when it became a tavern or 'ordinary,' sometimes known as the 'Three Cranes' from its sign. It stood wholly in the market-place, in front of the building lately the City Hall, at the corner of Harvard Street. The tavern was kept by Mr. Long [1639] and his descendants till 1711, when it was sold to Eben Breed, in whose family it remained until the land was bought by the town to enlarge the Square after the Revolution."
-p93

History of the Military Company of the Massachusetts, Now Called, the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachusetts, 1637-1888  Volume 1  A.Mudge & Son  Boston, Ma 1895


There has been an archaeological dig at the site of the Three Cranes Tavern and you can see some of the items recovered at this website of the Massachusetts Historical Commision

Four more children were born after Robert and his wife arrive in the colony, bringing the total number to fourteen. One of the four was my  8x great grandmother Hannah.

Thursday, April 25, 2019

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2019 WEEK 17 :MARK PERKINS OF NORTH BRIDGEWATER, MA.

My 6x great grandfather Mark Perkins was born in Beverly, Ma on 30Apr 1699. He was a blacksmith like his father and moved around a bit too. He married Dorothy Whipple in Ipswich on 4Jun 1721. Eventually they moved to North Bridgewater, which is now Brockton, Ma. Bradford Kingman gives this list of their children in his book,  History of North Bridgewater: Plymouth County, Massachusetts, from Its First Settlement to the Present Time, with Family Registers :

1 MARK PERKINS was son of Luke; came from Ipswich, Mass., to
North Bridgewater in 1741; married Dorothy Whipple. Children : —

2 Dorothy, b. Feb. 4, 1721 ; married Jacob Packard.

3 Matthew, b. June 25, 1723; died June 25, 1724.

4 Sarah, b. March 27, 1725; married Ebenezer Packard.

5 Josiah, b. Jan. 4, 1727 [13]; married Abigail Edson, Aug. 17, 1755.

6 Jonathan, b. Jan. 5, 1720 [23]; married Abigail Packard, 1752.

7 Isaac, b. April 27, 1731 [36]; married Joanna Edson, May 2, 1754.

8 Martha, b. Dec. 30, 1733; married Nathan Packard, 1763.

9 Ebenezir, b. May 7,1736; died Nov. 9.1736.

10 Jemima, b. Feb. 17, 1738; married Levi Keith, Nov. 8, 1759.

11 Mary, b. Feb. 16, 1739; married Simeon Packard, July 6, 1761.

12 Jesse, b. Dec. 6, 1742 [41]; married Susanna Field, June 5, 1769.

The father died Dec. 20, 1756, aged 58. The widow married Solomon Packard, May 1, 1782.

-p619

History of North Bridgewater: Plymouth County, Massachusetts, from Its First Settlement to the Present Time, with Family Registers ,  Innes and Niles, Printers, Brockton, Ma 1866

Notice that the children married members of the Packard, Keith and Edson families. I'm descended from daughter Anne Perkins who married Reuben Packard,

Friday, April 19, 2019

THE SHOT HEARD `ROUND THE WORLD

Today is the 244th Anniversary of the Battles of Lexington & Concord which
started the American Revolution on 19Apr 1775. They were celebrated Monday in
Massachusetts on Patriots Day, the third Monday in April, when the Boston Marathon is run.

These are our colonial ancestors from our Dad's family lines for whom I have
so far been able to discover records that they took part in those battles and served in the
Revolution:



Jonathan Barker Jr. My 5x great grandfather
Was a Minuteman from Methuen Ma with rank of Sergeant.
He responded to Lexington and Concord with his sons
Served in Captain Samuel Johnson's Company in
Colonel Titcomb's Regiment for 2 months in 1777 in Rhode
Island and then with Nathaniel Gage's Company in Colonel
Jacob Gerrish's guards from Dec 1777 to l Apr 1778 guarding
the captured troops of General Burgoyne.


Jonathan Barker 3rd  My 4x great grandfather
Enlisted on 19 Apr 1775 in Continental Army, Capt. John
Davis' Company, Col. James Frye's Regiment, in the
Massachusetts line for 8 months in Cambridge, Ma. At the
conclusion of the term, he reenlisted for another 3 months in
Capt John Allen's Company, Colonel John Waldron's Regiment,
General Sullivan's Brigade in the New Hampshire Brigade at
Charlestown, Ma. He then enlisted a third time in June 1778
at Methuen, Ma., joining Captain Samuel Carr's Company, Col.
James Weston's Regiment, in General Lerned's Brigade at
White Plains, N.Y. and serving for another 9 months.





John Ames   My 5x great grandfather
Was a Minuteman under Capt. Asa Parker on April 19th,
1775. He then enlisted in the Continental Army under Captain
Oliver Parker, Col. William Prescott's Regiment and
in the Brigade that was commanded in turn by Generals
Putnam, Lee, and Washington and served for 8 1/2 months.


 


Asa Barrows    My 4x great grandfather
A member of the militia from Middleborough , Ma. (south of
Boston) in the Company of Captain Joshua Benson, in Colonel
Cotton's Regiment, and General William Heath's Brigade for
8 months during the siege of Boston. In December 1776 he
joined a militia Company commanded by Captain Joshua
Perkins and marched to Barrington, R.I. and was stationed
there for 6 weeks. In July 1780 he again enlisted, this time
in a militia company commanded by Captain Perez Churchill
that marched to Tiverton, R.I. .




Moses Coburn  My 4x great grandfather
Moses Coburn got into the War late and by reason of being
"hired by a certain class of men in the then town of Dunstable
to go into the Continental Army in the summer of 1781."
When he reached Phillipsburgh in New York he was placed in
Captain Benjamin Pike's Company, in the Regiment of the
Massachusetts line commanded by Lt. Colonel Calvin Smith in
which he served for nearly two years until it was broken up.
He then transferred to the Company of Judah Alden in the
Regiment commanded by Colonel Sprouts until his discharge
in 1783.




Samuel Haskell   My 5x great grandfather
Samuel served in Captain Joseph Elliott's Company in Colonel
William Turner's Regiment and then under Captain Hezekiah
Whitney in Colonel Josiah Whitney's Regiment.


Amos Hastings   My 5x great grandfather
Amos  responded to the Lexington Alarm as part of
Captain Richard Ayer's Company and Colonel William
Johnson's Regiment. He later served in Captain Timothy
Eaton's Company in Colonel Edward Wigglesworth's Regiment
and was at the taking of the British General Burgoyne at
Ticonderoga.




Elisha Houghton   5x great grandfather
Enlisted at Harvard Ma as a Private in May of 1777 in the
Massachusetts militia and was at the Battles of Bunker Hill
and Stillwater. He then enlisted for three years in the infantry
company commanded by Captain Joshua Brown in Colonel
Timothy Bigelow's 15th Regiment of the Massachusetts line.
and took part in the Battles of Monmouth and Newport and
was at Valley Forge. He twice was promoted to Sergeant and
twice was busted back down to the ranks.






Amos Upton    My 5x great grandfather
Responded to the Lexington Alarm and marched there from
his home in Reading. He later joined the militia company
commanded by Captain Asa Prince as an orderly sergeant
and then enlisted for eight months in the Continental Army
under Colonel Mansfield. He was at the Battle of Bunker Hill.
He was discharged in October of 1775.





John Griffith  My 5x great grandfather
Enlisted in 1781 as a Matross (he swabbed out the barrel of
the cannons after they fired, or so I've been told) in Captain
William Treadwell's Company in Colonel John Crane's
Artillery Regiment.


Reuben Packard   My 5x great grandfather
A Sergeant in Captain Josiah Hayden's Company in Colonel
Bailey's militia. They marched to Lexington at news of the
Alarm. He also responded several more times as a Minuteman
for a total of nearly 8 months duty.


Jonathan Abbott   My 5x great grandfather
Served as a Sergeant in the Militia under Captain Henry
Abbott and responded to the Lexington Alarm


Samuel Stowe  My 5x great grandfather
Minuteman from Sherborn, Ma. Served in Capt. Benjamin Bullard's
Company in Col. Asa Whitcomb's 5th Massachusetts Bay
Provincial Regiment.


Besides those direct ancestors, these other relatives fought
in the Revolution:

Moses Barrows, brother to Asa Barrows.

Samuel, Jesse, and Benjamin Barker, sons of Jonathan
Barker, Jr. and brothers to Jonathan Barker 3rd.

James Swan, brother in law to Jonathan Barker.

Thursday, April 18, 2019

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2019 WEEK 16 :LUKE PERKINS JR OF PLYMPTON, MA.

 My 7x great grandfather moved around a bit. He was a blacksmith and farmer, and he had the
great good sense to marry the daughter of Roger Conant, one of the founding fathers of Salem, Ma.
Here's a brief biographical sketch from Volume 3 of Representative Men and Old Families of Southeastern Massachusetts :


(III) Luke Perkins (2), son of Luke, was born March 18, 1667. He married May 31, 1688, Martha, born Aug. 16, 1664, daughter of Lot and Elizabeth (Walton) Conant. Mr. Perkins lived in Marbleh£ad, Beverly, Wenham, Ipswich and Plympton. The family went to Plympton, Mass., about 1714. Mr. Perkias was a blacksmith, and it is said that a lot of eighteen acres of land was deeded him at Rock Run in Plympton as an inducement to settle there as a blacksmith. He received from his uncle David Perkins, of Bridgewater, the latter's lands in Abington—one third of the Solomon Leonard purchase and two thirds of the John Robbin purchase. Mr. Perkins died in Plympton Dec. 27, 1748, in his eightysecond year. His widow died Jan. 2, 1754, in her ninetieth year. Their children were: John, born April 5, 1689, at Marblehead; Martha, born Sept. 19, 1691; Hannah, born March 12, 1693; Luke, born Sept. 17, 1695; Mark, baptized April 30, 1699, in Beverly, Mass., and Josiah, born in 1700. pp1721'1722

Representative Men and Old Families of Southeastern Massachusetts Vol III
J.H. Beers & Company, Chicago, Il,, 1912

I was surprised to learn Luke had owned land here in the town of Abington.

Luke Perkins Jr.'s son Mark Perkins was my 6x great grandfather.

Monday, April 15, 2019

"THE WRECK OF RIVERMOUTH" BY JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER

I wanted to post a poem on my geneablog for National Poetry Month, one that I could use for the Genealogy Poetry Challenge later this year. So I looked and found one by cousin John Greenleaf Whittier again, this one about a legendary witch and a shipwreck at Hampton NH where my ancestor Abraham Perkins had lived. I found it on the Bartleby.com website:


New England: Hampton, N. H.
The Wreck of Rivermouth
John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892)


RIVERMOUTH Rocks are fair to see,   
  By dawn or sunset shone across,   
When the ebb of the sea has left them free,   
  To dry their fringes of gold-green moss:   
For there the river comes winding down           
From salt sea-meadows and uplands brown,   
And waves on the outer rocks afoam   
Shout to its waters, “Welcome home!”   

And fair are the sunny isles in view   
  East of the grisly Head of the Boar,           
And Agamenticus lifts its blue   
  Disk of a cloud the woodlands o’er;   
And southerly, when the tide is down,   
’Twixt white sea-waves and sand-hills brown,   
The beach-birds dance and the gray gulls wheel           
Over a floor of burnished steel.   

Once, in the old Colonial days,   
  Two hundred years ago and more,   
A boat sailed down through the winding ways   
  Of Hampton River to that low shore,           
Full of a goodly company   
Sailing out on the summer sea,   
Veering to catch the land-breeze light,   
With the Boar to left and the Rocks to right.   

In Hampton meadows, where mowers laid           
  Their scythes to the swaths of salted grass,   
“Ah, well-a-day! our hay must be made!”   
  A young man sighed, who saw them pass.   
Loud laughed his fellows to see him stand   
Whetting his scythe with a listless hand,            3
Hearing a voice in a far-off song,   
Watching a white hand beckoning long.   

“Fie on the witch!” cried a merry girl,   
  As they rounded the point where Goody Cole   
Sat by her door with her wheel atwirl,           
  A bent and blear-eyed poor old soul.   
“Oho!” she muttered, “ye ’re brave to-day!   
But I hear the little waves laugh and say,   
‘The broth will be cold that waits at home;   
For it ’s one to go, but another to come!’”           

“She ’s cursed,” said the skipper; “speak her fair:   
  I ’m scary always to see her shake   
Her wicked head, with its wild gray hair,   
  And nose like a hawk, and eyes like a snake.”   
But merrily still, with laugh and shout,           
From Hampton River the boat sailed out,   
Till the huts and the flakes on Star seemed nigh,   
And they lost the scent of the pines of Rye.   

They dropped their lines in the lazy tide,   
  Drawing up haddock and mottled cod;           
They saw not the Shadow that walked beside,   
  They heard not the feet with silence shod.   
But thicker and thicker a hot mist grew,   
Shot by the lightnings through and through;   
And muffled growls, like the growl of a beast,           
Ran along the sky from west to east.   

Then the skipper looked from the darkening sea   
  Up to the dimmed and wading sun;   
But he spake like a brave man cheerily,   
  “Yet there is time for our homeward run.”           
Veering and tacking, they backward wore;   
And just as a breath from the woods ashore   
Blew out to whisper of danger past,   
The wrath of the storm came down at last!   

The skipper hauled at the heavy sail:           
  “God be our help!” he only cried,   
As the roaring gale, like the stroke of a flail,   
  Smote the boat on its starboard side.   
The Shoalsmen looked, but saw alone   
Dark films of rain-cloud slantwise blown,           
Wild rocks lit up by the lightning’s glare,   
The strife and torment of sea and air.   

Goody Cole looked out from her door:   
  The Isles of Shoals were drowned and gone,   
Scarcely she saw the Head of the Boar           
  Toss the foam from tusks of stone.   
She clasped her hands with a grip of pain,   
The tear on her cheek was not of rain:   
“They are lost,” she muttered, “boat and crew!   
Lord, forgive me! my words were true!”           

Suddenly seaward swept the squall;   
  The low sun smote through cloudy rack;   
The Shoals stood clear in the light, and all   
  The trend of the coast lay hard and black.   
But far and wide as eye could reach,           
No life was seen upon wave or beach;   
The boat that went out at morning never   
Sailed back again into Hampton River.   

O mower, lean on thy bended snath,   
  Look from the meadows green and low:           
The wind of the sea is a waft of death,   
  The waves are singing a song of woe!   
By silent river, by moaning sea,   
Long and vain shall thy watching be:   
Never again shall the sweet voice call,           
Never the white hand rise and fall!   

O Rivermouth Rocks, how sad a sight   
  Ye saw in the light of breaking day!   
Dead faces looking up cold and white   
  From sand and seaweed where they lay.           
The mad old witch-wife wailed and wept,   
And cursed the tide as it backward crept:   
“Crawl back, crawl back, blue water-snake!   
Leave your dead for the hearts that break!”   

Solemn it was in that old day           
  In Hampton town and its log-built church,   
Where side by side the coffins lay   
  And the mourners stood in aisle and porch.   
In the singing-seats young eyes were dim,   
The voices faltered that raised the hymn           
And Father Dalton, grave and stern,   
Sobbed through his prayer and wept in turn.   

But his ancient colleague did not pray,   
  Because of his sin at fourscore years:   
He stood apart, with the iron-gray           
  Of his strong brows knitted to hide his tears.   
And a wretched woman, holding her breath   
In the awful presence of sin and death,   
Cowered and shrank, while her neighbors thronged   
To look on the dead her shame had wronged.           

Apart with them, like them forbid,   
  Old Goody Cole looked drearily round,   
As, two by two, with their faces hid,   
  The mourners walked to the burying-ground.   
She let the staff from her clasped hands fall:           
“Lord, forgive us! we ’re sinners all!”   
And the voice of the old man answered her:   
“Amen!” said Father Bachiler.   

So, as I sat upon Appledore   
  In the calm of a closing summer day,           
And the broken lines of Hampton shore   
  In purple mist of cloudland lay,   
The Rivermouth Rocks their story told;   
And waves aglow with sunset gold,   
Rising and breaking in steady chime,           
Beat the rhythm and kept the time.   

And the sunset paled, and warmed once more   
  With a softer, tenderer after-glow;   
In the east was moonrise, with boats off-shore   
  And sails in the distance drifting slow.           
The beacon glimmered from Portsmouth bar,   
The White Isle kindled its great red star;   
And life and death in my old-time lay   
Mingled in peace like the night and day!


 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed.  Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.America: Vols. XXV–XXIX.  1876–79.




 

Saturday, April 13, 2019

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2019 WEEK 15 :LUKE PERKINS SR. OF CHARLESTOWN, MA.

 My 8x great grandfather Luke Perkins Sr. left Hampton NH  at an early age to follow a trade:
  
(II) Luke Perkins, born in 1640-41, married March 9, 1663, Hannah, widow of Henry Cookery, and daughter of Robert Long, Sr. As a boy of about fourteen, in 1654, he apprenticed himself with the consent of his parents to Samuel Carter, a shoemaker of Charlestown, Mass. Mrs. Perkins was admitted to the First Church in 1668. Luke Perkins died March 20, 1709-10, and his wife died Nov. 16, 1715. Their children wtere: Henry; John, born May 10, 1664; Luke, born March 14, 1665, who died when young; Luke (2), born March 18, 1667; Elizabeth, born April 15, 1670; John, born April 15, 1670; Abraham, baptized 28th of 5th month, 1672; Hannah,born Dec. 9, 1673; and Mary, born April 5, 1676.-pp1600-1601

Representative Men and Old Families of Southeastern Massachusetts: Containing Historical Sketches of Prominent and Representative Citizens and Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families Vol III ... J.H. Beers & Company,  Chicago, IL 1912

Luke was a respected citizen of Charlestown but his most important act was his marriage to Hannah Long, the daughter of Robert Long, the owner of the Three Cranes tavern. I am descended from Luke and Hannah's son Luke Perkins, Jr.

Friday, April 12, 2019

ABRAHAM PERKINS: "...HE HAS SOLD THE KETCH AT BARBADOES..." CONCLUSION

The rest of the record of Abraham Perkins' lawsuit against John Cutt for the unauthorized sale of the ketch Dove is a bit frustrating in that while there are people listed who testified about the case, some of those testimonies are not detailed. But a few are and apparently there was enough evidence to give Abraham a victory in court:

Bond, dated July 19, 1673, of Abraham Perkins* and John Burnum* for the payment of the cost of building the ketch

Wit: Benjamin Marshall* and Edmond Marshall.* Benjamin Marshall deposed that being at the house of Abraham Perkins the evening before he intended to go out with the Dove, he heard Mr. Huberd ask said Perkins whether he would sell his part of the ketch. Perkins answered that he built her for his own use and had put himself out of his other employment to go in her, and therefore would not sell, though he could have more than she was worth for he liked her so well. Sworn, June 29, 1674, before Daniel Denison.* 


Edmond Marshal and Benjamin Marshall, aged respectively twenty-six and twenty-four years, deposed. Sworn, June 24, 1674, before Daniel Denison.* 


John Burnam, aged about twenty-seven years, deposed. Sworn, June 25, 1674, before Daniel Denison.* 


Francis Wainwright deposed that Perkins said he would sell his half for 80li., Jno. Burnum, jr., having sold his half to Hubbard for 70li. Sworn, June 29, 1674, before Daniel Denison.* 


Daniel Hovey deposed that in his own house and in Abraham Perkins' house, he heard said Perkins say that he was not pleased  with the sale of his ketch. Sworn, June 30, 1674, before Daniel Denison.* 


John Rennerrik deposed that at his house, etc. Sworn, June 30, 1674, before Daniel Denison.* 


Artor Arbit, aged about thirty-five years, deposed. Sworn, June 16, 1674, before Daniel Denison.* 


Luk Perkins, aged about twenty-five years, deposed that he was at Porchmouth when his brother Abraham Perkins demanded the ketch of John Cutt, who said that Mr. Hubard gave him order to sell her at Barbadus, etc. Sworn, June 29, 1674, before Daniel Denison.f


John Perkins and Elizabeth, his wife, deposed that Mr. Hubbard wrote Cutt a letter, etc. Sworn, June 27, 1674, before Daniel Denison
pp341-342

Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts:  Vol V 1672-1674 Massachusetts. County Court (Essex County) Essex Institute, 1916

So while John Cutt was ordered to pay damages to my ancestor Abraham Perkins, he was still out of a ketch. I haven't found sny record yet if he ever built another one.

Thursday, April 11, 2019

ABRAHAM PERKINS: "...HE HAS SOLD THE KETCH AT BARBADOES..." PT3

The cargo list of the Dove was entered as evidence in the lawsuit filed by Apraham Perkins against John Cutt:

Wit: Thomas Harney* and John Cutt.* Account, dated Barbados, Feb. 14, 1673-4, of freight sent to Barbados in the ketch Dove of Ipswich upon account of Mr. William Hubbard and Mr. Abraham Parkings of Ipswich, signed by John Cutt*: Dr. `to wages for myself in the Dove from Nov. 21 to Feb. 16, at 4li. per month, is 10li., in sugar at 8s. 4d. p, 2,400li.; to wages paid Jos. Sharbron from Nov. 21 to Jan. 29, at 35s. p month, 3li. 15s., in sugar 906li.; to wages paid Lewes Colle from Nov. 24 to Jan. 29 at 34s. per month, 3li. 12s., in sugar 864li.; to wages paid Christopher Cose from Nov. 21 to Jan. 29, at 35s. per month, 3li. 15s., in sugar, 906li.; to boat hire for lading the ketch, 1s. 8d., in sugar 216li.; to entering in the Secretary and Navy office, 12s. 6d., in sugar 150li.; to gunpowder, 14 pounds, at 1s. 6d. p., in sugar 252li.; to abatement of your freight for damage of fish by defect in the ketch's deck, in sugar 600li.; to my expense and charge, in sugar 500li.; to 2 hhds. sugar, 1,670li.; to the duty of your sugar at 4 1-2 per cent., 75li.; to him. for sugar, 250li.; total, 8,789li. sugar; to wages for myself from Feb. 16, 1673 to Apr. 16, at 4li. per month, 8li. Cr., by freight of 8 hhs. 34 quintals of fish in bulk being consigned to Mr. John Johnson at the rate of 600li. sugar per ton, in sugar 2,230li.; by freight of 8 hs. consigned to Mr. Tho. Stockom at 600li. sugar per ton, 1,200li.; by freight of sundry goods sent to Mr. Parret at 600li. sugar per ton, 2,700li.; by freight of 10 quintals of fish consigned to Mr. John Vaux at 600 p ton, 300li.; by freight of 30 quintals of fish in bulk con-signed to Mr. John Johnson at 600li. sugar per ton, 900li.; by freight of 30 quintals of fish in bulk consigned to Mr. Strowed, at 600li. of sugar per ton, 900li.; by freight of one bb. of oyle, 3-4 C. of hgd. staves, 55 pipe staves, 100li.; by freight of 4 him. consigned to Mr. Banster, 600li.; total, 8,930li. sugar. Due to balance, 141li. -pp340-341

Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts:  Vol V 1672-1674 Massachusetts. County Court (Essex County) Essex Institute, 1916

A few thoughts:

-The contract with Mt Martin mentioned a deadline of 31 October to load his cargo of fish and leave Portsmouth. But the details in the freight list after the ketch arrived in Barbados

-It looks like payment for the goods was made in sugar and that the crew of the ship received sugar as part of their pay. Sugar was a very valuable commodity in New England amd was used in the manufcture of rum. It became part of the Triangle Trade which brought slaves to the colonies.

-A quintal is a unit of measurement equal to 100 pounds.
To be continued...

Saturday, April 06, 2019

ABRAHAM PERKINS: "...HE HAS SOLD THE KETCH AT BARBADOES..." PT2

The following document was introduced into evidence in the lawsuit of Abraham Perkins against John Cutt for unlawfully selling the ketch Dove without Abraham's permission. It's called a "charter party" but in effect it's a contract between Abraham, his partner John Burnham, and a merchant named Richard Martyn to transport cargo to Barbadoes. I've added some thoughts after it:

Charter party, dated, Portsmouth, Sept. 7, 1673, between Abraham Perkins, owner of the ketch Dove of Ipswich, 29 tons, and Richard Martyn f of Portsmouth, merchant, the said owner have "fraight letten" to the said merchant the ketch "for a voyage wth her to bee made by gods grace in manner & forme following (That is to say) The said owner Covenanteth granteth & agreeth to & wth the said merchant his factors & Assignee by these psents: That y* said ketch shall bee compleatly fitted w” all her tackell & Apparrill & wt ever is convenient for her for such A voyage w” an able master & three sufficient Seamen more for her and all such puision as shall bee needfull for her: And shall bee readie in the Riuer of Pascataque to take in such loading of fish in casque: packt casque mackrill & oyle, as the said Mercht. Shall See meet to load her with at or before the last day of October next ensuing the date hereof And that the sd ketch shall as soone as shee is loaden by sd merch* his Factors or Assignes wth the first faire wind & weather make sayle from thence towards & vnto the Island of Berbados vnto Carlisle bay where shee shall bee won all convenient speed discharged from her said service & Imploym*," and the said owner was to receive 600li. of Muscovadoe sugar for every ton carried for said merchant to be paid within ten days after she be unloaded, also he was to have liberty of two tons freight, and the owner and merchant bound themselves in 200li. to have the covenant fulfilled. John Burnum,* part owner, also agreed to the indenture. -p.340

Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts:  Vol V 1672-1674 Massachusetts. County Court (Essex County) Essex Institute, 1916

 So, on 7 Sep 1673 Abraham Perkins and his partner John Burnham contracted to carry freight from Portsmouth to Barbados in the Carribean for a merchant named Richard Martyn.
-The cargo was to be kegs of mackerel packed in oil.
-The cargo was to be loaded by 31 Oct.
-The crew would consist of a master and three seamen.
-The ketch would deliver the cargo at Carlisle Bay in Barbados.
-Abraham was to be paid "600li of Moscavadoe sugar for every ton carried..." within ten days after delivery.

Some thoughts;
-The delivery was probably being made to the port of Bridgetown which is the modern capital of Barbados. It's located on the southwest corner of the island.
-I'd never heard of "Moscavadoe sugar" until now. Sugar was apparently a very valuable commodity in 17th century New England as the freight list will show.

To be continued

Friday, April 05, 2019

ABRAHAM PERKINS: "...HE HAS SOLD THE KETCH AT BARBADOES..." PT1

Whenever I start researching an early ancestor who lived in Essex County, Ma. I check online to see if they were involved in any court cases.  My 9x great grandfather Abraham Perkins lived in Hampton, NH which originally was part of Massachusetts, and indeed I found him in the court records. Once case in particular caught my attention.

At one point Abraham owned a ketch, which is a two masted sailing vessel, and Abraham sued another man who sold that ketch without permission! Besides the testimony, there are details of a contract of a trading venture and also the inventory the ship carried on its voyage. This took place in a session at the Salem Quarterly Court  of June 1674:

Abraham Perkins v. John Cutt, jr. Verdict for the plaintiff.

*Writ: Abraham Perkins v. John Cutt, jr., of Portsmouth; for, he having been shipped master of the ketch Dove, 29 tons burthen, for a voyage to the Barbadoes and return, not performing the same, but reports he has sold the ketch at Barbadoes for 250li. in silver, without any order; dated June 11, 1674; signed by Robert Lord, f for the court; and served by Obadiah Mors,f constable of Portsmoth, who delivered him to Abraham Perkins to hand over to the prison-keeper at Ipswich. 


Letter of attorney, dated June 20, 1674, given by John Cutt f of Portesmouth, Piscataqua, merchant, to Daniel Epps of Ipswich, . gentleman. 


Abraham Perkins' bill of cost, 3li. 12s. 9d.


Bond, dated June 19, 1674, given by William Hubbard,f teacher of the Ipswich church, for the appearance of John Cutt, jr. 


Bill of sale, dated Nov. 3, 1673, without signature and witnesses, given by John Burnam, jr., of Ipswich, carpenter, to . John Pumery of Salem, mariner, for one-half of the new ketch called the Dove, built at Chebacko in Ipswich, of about 30 tons burthen, also half of the masts, sails, sailyards, anchors, cables, ropes and cords, the long boat, etc. 


John Pumroy, aged about thirty-eight years, testified that the foregoing bill of sale was agreed upon but he desired to relinquish the bargain because when he came to measure the ketch, he found she would not carry above thirteen or fourteen ton in Barbados cask and he was afraid he and Abraham could not agree. He judged the whole catch to be worth not over 120li. in money. Sworn in court.


 Edmund Marshall,f aged about twenty-six years, deposed that he and his brother Benjamin built the ketch Dove for Abra ham Perkins and John Burnham, for 3li. 5s. per ton, and they stand ready to give a bill of sale of it whenever desired. Sworn, June 29, 1674, before Daniel Denison.f 


Jacob and Luke Perkins, aged twenty and twenty-five years, respectively, deposed. Sworn, June 29, 1674, before Daniel Denison.* 


Samuel Wilson, aged about twenty-four years, deposed that Abraham Perkins shipped him for the ketch Dove, and he was to live with him one whole year upon the same account. Further that deponent put himself out of the way of any other employment, waiting at least one month or six weeks, and said Perkins told him that he expected the ketch home by the latter end of March, 1674. Sworn before Daniel Denison.*
-pp339-340

Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Massachusetts:  Vol V 1672-1674 Massachusetts. County Court (Essex County) Essex Institute, 1916

I'll post the contract for the voyage next.

To be contined

Monday, April 01, 2019

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2019 WEEK 14: ABRAHAM PERKINS SR. OF HAMPTON, N.H. PT. 2




I found a transcription of my ancestor Abraham Perkins' will online at Google Books. His son Abraham Jr. had been killed by Indians at Hampton six years earlier, so he is not mentioned. I am descended from another son, Luke, who is mentioned  near the end of the will:

ABRAHAM PERKINS 1683 HAMPTON

In the name of God Amen. I Abraham Perkins of Hampton in the Province of New Hampshire in New England being weak in body but sound in understanding and of a disposing mind Do make this my last Will & Testament, as followeth.

ffirst, I commit my soul to Almighty God ye ffather of Spirits, who gave me life and being, and my body to the earth from whence it was taken, that after my dissolution to be buried in Hampton burying place in a Christian & decent manner as my Executors shall appoint. And for what worldly goods God hath given me, my Will is as follows


Item, I give unto my beloved Wife during her life the new end of my house, with the chamber above: And give her hereby liberty to make use of ye other back house as she shall have need. And I give unto her two cows & their increase wholly to dispose of them as she shall please. And for as much as I do by this my Will give unto my sons Jonathan & Humphry all my land & cattell excepting them two above menc’oned deviding all things equally betwixt them as hereafter shall be declared. And my Will is, that they do both of them carefully provide comfortable relief for their mother, & to provide three lods of hay & to put it into the barn for to winter her two cows, except they do agree otherwise. And further my two sons Jonathan & Humphry shall provide for their mother sufiicient fire wood so much as she shall need making it fit for her use, And to give her yearly sixteen bushel of corn Twelv of lndian Two of wheat & Two of barly or rye. And they shall provide for her a well fatted hog or shot to kill, 8 : half a hundred of good beef yearly. And I do give unto my Wife all my houshold stuff to be at her disposing excepting carpentars tools & military implements & husbandry. And I give unto her 4 sheep & my sons to maintain them for her & the thirds of ye apples in ye orchard. And in case my two sons Jonathan & Humphry do neglect their duty to their mother in providing things necessary for her comfortable being & not attending to my Will, then this is my Will; She shall have ye thirds of all I have And furthermore this is my Will, That I give unto my two sons (Jonathan Perkins and Humphry Perkins all my lands I have in Hampton, both meadow and Upland, viz; My house Lots & planting Lot North hill Lot and Asbrook Lot and the North devision towards Greenland And the New plantac’on with three shares of the Cow com’ons and one in ye Ox com’on. With all my tools for Carpentars, All implements for husbandry, as Ploughs, carts, harrows, yokes, chains. And likewise all implements belonging to military discipline; Guns, swords, pikes, ammunition, 8: what els. And my Will is, That my son Jonathan shall have ye whole Lot that I bought of Isack Cole w°“ is about four or five acres, lying between my old house Lot & ye street way which he hath now built upon. All these particulars above menc’oned I do give to him & his heirs for ever, paying out such legacies as hereafter shall be expressed. And I do give unto my son Humphry my House y‘ I now live in. With all ye building belonging to it, With ye Orchards belonging & being that this Lot is bigger than Jonathans, the Lot being about ten acres & much building, my son Humphry shall pay to my daughter Sarah twenty pounds for a legacy, Shall pay it in four years after my decease, To pay it in currant merchantable pay at currant price. And I do give unto my Granddaughter Mary ffifield now dwelling with me, fiive pound. And I give unto my daughter Abigail ffive pound. And I give unto my son James Perkins fiive pound. And I give unto my Grandson John Perkins ffive pound. And I give unto my son David ffive shillings. And I give unto my son Luke ffive shillings ; for these two sons have had their share already, These six last legacies which is twenty pound ten shillings shall be paid by both my sons Jonathan & Humphry equally alike every year ffive pound to them abovenamed after one another as they are set down to be paid in currant marchantable pay at curra’t price: And my son Jonathan & Humphry shall equally devide all my cattel excepting that cow he had with his wife. And to all these abovemenc’oned I set my hand & seal
Hampton August 22. 1683. Abraham Perkins [seal]


Signed & Sealed in y° p'sence of us Witnesses
Seaborn Cotton
John Tucke
[Proved Sept. 18, 1683.]
[Deeds, vol. 4, p. 63.]


[Inventory of the estate of Abraham Perkins of Hampton, who died Aug. 31, 1683; taken Oct. 4, 1683; amount, £361.2.6; attested before Edward Cranfield by Jonathan Perkins and Humphrey Perkins Oct. 5, 1683.]


-pp 263-265

Probate Records of the Province of New Hampshire ... 1635-[1771], Volume 31   Rumford Printing Company, Concord, N.H. 1907