JOHN CHAMBERLAIN,THE INDIAN FIGHTER

In my previous post about my ancestor Thomas Chamberlain Jr I mentioned I'd found a research
paper entitled "John Chamberlain,The Indian Fighter At Pigwacket." It was presented by George
Chamberlain to the Maine Historical Society in 1897. I was fascinated by the title, so I read pat
the part about Thomas Jr to see what it was about. It turns out that John is my 1st cousin 8x removed, being Thomas' grandson, and Pigwacket was the Indian name for the location of the
Battle of Lovewell's Pond. The theme of the paper was whether John Chamberlain was the man responsible for the death of the Indian chief Paugus.

Here's the story:

The Chamberlain-Paugus tradition was first published at Fryeburg, Maine, in the year 1799, by Elijah Russell in his edition of Rev. Thomas Symmes' "Memoirs of the Fight at Piggwacket." It runs as follows: —
Several of the Indians, particularly Paugus their chief, were well known to Lovewell's men, and frequently conversed with each other during the engagement. In the course of the battle Paugus and John Chamberlain discoursed familiarly with each other; their guns had become foul from frequent firing; they washed their guns at the pond, and the latter assured Paugus that he should kill him; Paugus also menaced him, and bid defiance to his insinuations. When they had prepared their guns they loaded and discharged them, and Paugus fell.

This story was printed seventy-four years after the battle occurred, and one year after Noah Johnson, the last survivor of the battle, had died. Was this story a fabrication invented by Elijah Russell? Did it exist before 1799 in other parts of New England? Does it contain any of the elements of truth?
-p5
 Collections of the Maine Historical Society, published by the Society, Portland, Me. 1898
Ironically many other accounts of the battle credit another of my cousins, Seth Wyman, as being the man who'd killed Paugus.

It's an interesting paper, although it seemed to me that while George Chamberlain admits that there
was no factual evidence about the incident, or that his ancestor was even actually at at the battle, George wants to believe it's true.

If you are interested in judging for yourself, you can read the paper here.

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2016 WEEK 3: THOMAS CHAMBERLAIN JR. OF CHELMSFORD AND GROTON MA.

I found only a little bit more about my 8x great grandfather Thomas Chamberlain Jr. than I found about his father Thomas, Sr.  Levi Shattuck has this to say about him:

2.) Thomas Chamberlain, S. of Thomas, (1) above mentioned, settled in Chelmsford, where he d. May 28,1727. He m. Aug. 10,1666, Sarah Proctor, daughter of Robert Proctor, and had the following, and perhaps other children. 1. Thomas, b. May 30, 1667, (noticed below;) 2. Sarah, b. Jan. 11, 1C79; 3. Jane, b. Jan. 19, 1682; 4. Elizabeth, b. July 25, 1685.
-p372

Memorials of the Descendants of William Shattuck: The Progenitor of the Families in America that Have Borne His Name; Including an Introduction, and an Appendix Containing Collateral Information  Dutton & Wentworth, Boston Ma. 1855.

I found a little more information in a paper about Thomas' grandson John Chamberlain presented to the Maine Historical Society by another descendant. From" JOHN CHAMBERLAIN,THE INDIAN FIGHTER AT PIGWACKET." BY GEORGE W. CHAMBERLAIN.

Read before the Maine Historical Society, March 11, 1897.  :

His grandfather, Thomas Chamberlain of Chelmsford, who was both senior and junior, was a soldier in King Philip's war, being stationed at the frontier garrison in Groton on November 30, 1675. He was probably the Thomas Chamberlain who served in Syll's Company and also in Poole's Company in 1676. Thomas, the father, and Thomas, the grandfather, were both stationed at the garrison in Chelmsford on March 16, 1691-92.
-pp1-2
 Collections of the Maine Historical Society, published by the Society, Portland, Me. 1898

I'm descended from Thomas Chamberlain Jr.'s daughter Elizabeth who married my 7x great grandfather
Jonathan Butterfield.

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2016 WEEK 2: THOMAS CHAMBERLAIN SR. OF CHELMSFORD, MA.

It's now time to turn to the families of the Butterfield wives, but there are a few problems with
identifying who the first few generations of wives were:

-Immigrant ancestor Benjamin Butterfield's wife is believed by some to be Anne Jundon but no proof of that has yet been discovered.

- There's a similar problem concerning Samuel Butterfield's wife, who may or may not have been Mary Ballard of Andover.

So I'll begin with the family of Elizabeth, wife of Jonathan Butterfield, and her grandfather,  Thomas Chamberlain Sr., the immigrant ancestor. Thomas Chamberlain is another who I haven't
found much about so far except for this short entry in a genealogy of the descendants of William Shattuck written by Levi Shattuck:

1.) The name of Chamberlain was borne by several of the early inhabitants of Massachusetts. THOMAS, Edmond, and Samuel, first of Charlestown and afterwards of Woburn, were among the petitioners and first settlers of Chelmsford. Thomas, probably the ancestor of all of the name who are mentioned in this volume, was one of those persons who purchased 1500 acres of land lying on both sides of Concord River; granted to Thomas Dudley. He settled in Chelmsford, but the precise date of his death is unknown. His first wife, Mary , d. about 1670. He m. 2, April 19, 1674, in his old age, Mary Parker, who d. Feb. 7, 1692. By his first wife he had, b. in Woburn, Thomas, (noticed below,) Samuel, b. Oct. 7, 1645, Mary, b. June 11, 1649, and perhaps other children
-p372

Memorials of the Descendants of William Shattuck: The Progenitor of the Families in America that Have Borne His Name; Including an Introduction, and an Appendix Containing Collateral Information  Dutton & Wentworth, Boston Ma. 1855.

I haven't found a probate file for Thomas and I need to check for records of land sales, so that's all I have for him so far.

I'm descended from his son Thomas Chamberlain, Jr who will be the subject of my next post in the series.  

MY SNOWSHOE SOLDIER ANCESTORS PT4

This is the second part of Rev. Wilson Waters' partial list of the men who served as
"snowshoe soldiers" under the command of William Tyng. Again, the names of
those I am related to are highlighted in boldface italics and my comments in red
italics. I had originally intended to post this in two parts, but because of the length
of the list there will be a third: 


27. Peter Talbot [or Talbird], Chelmsford, was an emigrant from England. He lived several years in Dorchester, but at the time of his service in the snow-shoe company, under Capt. William Tyng, he was a resident of Chelmsford. At that time he must have been fully fifty years of age. His right in the township was given to his son, George Talbot, who lived several years in Stoughton.

28. Stephen Keyes, Chelmsford. There is no record of his birth and it has been thought that he probably was a son of Elias Keyes of Sudbury. He received land in Chelmsford in the right of Solomon Keyes, and it is possible he was a son of Solomon and Frances (Grant) Keyes. He was married March 7, 1706, by Jonathan Tyng, Esq., to Anna Robbins. He died in Chelmsford, February 6, 1714.

29. Benoni Perham, Chelmsford, lived in Chelmsford. He was living in 1722 and died a short time after that date [1723]. His son, Samuel, represented his interest in the grant of Tyngstown.

32. Josiah Richardson, Chelmsford, son of Capt. Josiah and Remembrance (Underwood) Richardson, was born in Chelmsford May 18,1665. He was a town clerk and selectman of Chelmsford, where he died October 17, 1711. His wife was a daughter of Deacon John Blanchard.

36. Henry Farwell, son of Henry Farwell of Chelmsford. Mass., was born about 1665. He was one of the early settlers of Dunstable. In the later years of Queen Anne's war his house was one of the seven garrisons in Dunstable. His son, Oliver was one of the victims of the Indian ambush at Naticook, September 5, 1724. His son, Josiah, was a lieutenant in Captain Lovewell's Company, and was killed by the Indians in the fight at Pigwacket, May 8, 1725.

38. John Richardson, Chelmsford, son of Capt. Josiah and Remembrance (Underwood) Richardson, was a brother of No. 32. Josiah Richardson was born in Chelmsford, February 14, 1669-70, where he died September 13, 1746.

40. Ephraim Hildreth, Chelmsford, removed from Chelmsford to Dracut in 1712, and there died September 26, 1740. He was town clerk of Dracut, a major of the militia, and an active man in town and business affairs. He was one of the proprietors of Concord and an influential factor among the proprietors of Tyngstown. At one time he was the owner of the saw-mill.
((My 8x great granduncle. His sister Elizabeth (Hildreth) Stevens is my  ancestor))

41. Samuel Chamberlain, Chelmsford, son of Thomas and Sarah (Proctor) Chamberlain, was born in Chelmsford, January 11, 1679. He was a prominent citizen and styled Capt. Samuel Chamberlain in Chelmsford records. He died April 12, 1767. There was a Samuel Chamberlain of about the same age, a son of Samuel and Elizabeth Chamberlain, who was styled in Chelmsford records Lieut. Samuel Chamberlain. The Tyngstown proprietors' records call the grantee Capt. Samuel Chamberlain, which makes it reasonably certain that the Samuel first named was the soldier and grantee.
((My 7x great granduncle. His sister Elizabeth is my ancestor)) 


42. Stephen Pierce, Chelmsford, son of Stephen and Tabitha (Parker) Pierce and grandson of Thomas Pierce of Woburn, was born in Chelmsford in 1678. He lived in Chelmsford and was the owner of many acres of land. He died September 9, 1749This Stephen Pierce was the grandfather of Gov. Benjamin Pierce of Hillsborough, who was the father of President Franklin Pierce.
((A cousin))

43. Timothy Spalding, Chelmsford, son of John and Hanna (Hale) Spalding, was born about 1676. He lived in the part of Chelmsford now Westford, where he died April 14, 1763. He was a brother of No. 13.
((A cousin.His father is my 7x great granduncle))

44. Paul Fletcher, Chelmsford, was the son of Joshua. His father was twice married: First, in 1668, to Gussies Jewell; second, in 1682, to Sarah Willey. I cannot state which of the wives was the mother of Paul. The Fletcher genealogy states that Paul Fletcher was a snow-shoe man in 1724. The date is an error.