((UPDATE: It's been ten years since I posted this and since then I've discovered that
I have Moore, Whitcomb, Wilder, and Fairbanks ancestors. So only three names listed below
are not those of a direct ancestor or a cousin. First posted in February 2009))
I found a few more things during my research on Simon Willard that
touched on some of my ancestors. One of them is this transcription at
Genealogy.com by Janice Farnsworth of "Lancaster in Philip's War:
The Early Records of Lancaster, Massachusetts 1643 - 1725 Edited by
Henry S. Nourse, A.M. Lancaster, 1884 (page 107)
"Lancaster March 11, 1675/6 - Letter to the Governor and Counsell -"A
humble Petition of the poor distressed people of Lancaster (excerpt)
"...many of us heare in this prison, have not bread to last us one month &
our other provisions spent & gon, for the genrallyty, our Town is drawn
into two garisons - sixteen soulders....we areseartaynly a bayt (bait) for
the enemy. We are sorrowful to leave the place but hoplesse to keep it
unlesse mayntayed by the Cuntrey....our women cris dus daily...which dus
not only fill our ears but our hearts full of Greefe and makes us humbly
Request yo'r Hon'rs to send a Gard of men & that if you please so comand
we may have Carts about fourteen will re-move the whool eight of which has
presed long at Sudbury but never came for want of a small gard of men, the
whooll that is, all that are in the Garison, Kept in Major Willards house
which is all from y're Hon'rs most humble servants & suplyants -
Lancast'r March 11, 1675/6 Jacob FFarrar
John Houghton Sen'r
John Moore
John Whittcomb
Job Whittcomb
Jonathan Whittcomb
John Houghton Jun'r
Cyprian Steevens
The other garrison are in like distresse & soe humbly desire yo'r like
pitty & ffatherly care, having widows & many fatherless children - the
number of carts to Carey away this garison is twenty carts. Yo'r Hon'rs
Humble pettisioners
John Prescott Sen'r
Tho. Sawyer Sen'r
Tho. Sawyer Jun'r
Jonathan Prescott
Tho Willder
John willder
Sarah Wheeler, Wid.
Widow Ffarbanks
John Rigby
Nathaniell Wilder
John Rooper
Widow Rooper
The whole is in the handwriting of Cyprian Steevens.
[Massachusetts Archives, LXVII, 156.] "
Transcribed by Janice Farnsworth
What struck me reading this was the names of those in the garrison. They include my
direct ancestors John Prescott, Thomas Sawyer, Senior and Thomas Sawyer, Junior
in the second garrison two of my Houghton relatives in the first. It reminded me again
of how many of my ancestors were so close to a violent death during the Indian wars
of New England. Some, as I've mentioned in earlier posts, did not escape it. One of
those things that historians sometimes ponder is "What If?" If more of my colonist
ancestors had died, I and many more of their descendants wouldn't be around to
trace our ancestry.
Thank you to Janice Farnsworth for granting me permission to use her transcription!
Showing posts with label Wilder Family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wilder Family. Show all posts
Friday, July 19, 2019
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
ONLY HUMAN
I've been thinking the last few days about the discovery that my ancestor Nathaniel Wilder was sentenced to death by hanging for the murder of six Indians three women and three children. Tthere is always the possibilty that the two men who were hung were the actual murderers while Nathaniel Wilder and Daniel Hoare merely looked on and so gained clemency.
I have a degree in history and was taught in college that we should not impose our present day beliefs and ethics when examining the events of the past. It's hard not to sometimes do that, though, when it's your own family history. Some of the Wilder genealogies published in the 19th century show that later generations changed the facts a little, saying it was only one Indian killed, a brave that had surrendered. One male Indian was easier to swallow than six women and children.
I took a course in philosophy at college and one day the professor asked us if world peace was possible.(This was back in the 1960's.) I said no, because we were all humans and had emotions like hate, greed and jealousy. The professor said I was a cynic and moved on to the next student.
Nathaniel Wilder's family and neighbors in Lancaster, Ma. had been attacked and besieged by Indians. Some had been wounded, some killed. So it's probable his involvement in the deaths were prompted by hatred. It was a human reaction, It doesn't excuse it, but it helps in understsanding what happened. He was only human.
And it's only human for me to wish he had been able to control his emotions.
I have a degree in history and was taught in college that we should not impose our present day beliefs and ethics when examining the events of the past. It's hard not to sometimes do that, though, when it's your own family history. Some of the Wilder genealogies published in the 19th century show that later generations changed the facts a little, saying it was only one Indian killed, a brave that had surrendered. One male Indian was easier to swallow than six women and children.
I took a course in philosophy at college and one day the professor asked us if world peace was possible.(This was back in the 1960's.) I said no, because we were all humans and had emotions like hate, greed and jealousy. The professor said I was a cynic and moved on to the next student.
Nathaniel Wilder's family and neighbors in Lancaster, Ma. had been attacked and besieged by Indians. Some had been wounded, some killed. So it's probable his involvement in the deaths were prompted by hatred. It was a human reaction, It doesn't excuse it, but it helps in understsanding what happened. He was only human.
And it's only human for me to wish he had been able to control his emotions.
Saturday, December 10, 2016
52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2016 WEEK 49: NATHANIEL WILDER OF LANCASTER, MA. PT3
In August 1676 my 8x great grandfather Nathaniel Wilder and three other men were sentenced to death for the murders of six Indians: three women and three children.
On 26Sep 1676 two of his co-defendants, Samuel and Daniel Goble were hung in Boston. Neither Nathaniel or the fourth man, Daniel Hoare, were executed at that time. In fact they never were. I have my own theory on why the death sentence wasn't carried out. My ancestor and Daniel Hoare were sons of two prominent residents of their towns. Hoare and the Gobles were from Concord where the murders took place but the Gobles were not from an influential family. Appeals for mercy were probably made and two weeks after the date on which they would have been executed the following ruling was made by the Court:
Oct 1676. Upon the humble petition of Daniel Hoare & Nathaniell Wilder, presented to this Court, acknouledging the justice of this Court. & begging pardon for their lines, the Court haue granted their petition, and accordingly doe remitt the sentence of death passed against them, and order, that they pay prison ohardges and ten pounds apeece money, halfe towards the charge of witnesses. to be payd to the Tresurer of the country. and the other halfe to Andrew Pittime, & Swagon, ye Indians prosecuting against them: on payment whereof they are dischardged.
[Massachusetts Records.]
p118
The Early Records of Lancaster, Massachusetts. 1643-1725 W. J. Coulter,Pub.Lancaster,Ma. 1884
So for the sum of ten pounds my ancestor escaped the hangman's noose.
But I wonder. Two Indians had brought the accusation of murder against the four colonists. Five pounds in recompense for the loss of three women and three children probably did nothing to soother their grief and anger. So, when the town of Lancaster was attacked again by Indians in 1704 it may not have ben just coincidence that Nathaniel Wilder was killed, nor the death of his son Jonathan three years later in 1707. Another son, Ephraim, was severely wounded in that 1707 attack as well.
Perhaps the Indians exacted their own justice .
On 26Sep 1676 two of his co-defendants, Samuel and Daniel Goble were hung in Boston. Neither Nathaniel or the fourth man, Daniel Hoare, were executed at that time. In fact they never were. I have my own theory on why the death sentence wasn't carried out. My ancestor and Daniel Hoare were sons of two prominent residents of their towns. Hoare and the Gobles were from Concord where the murders took place but the Gobles were not from an influential family. Appeals for mercy were probably made and two weeks after the date on which they would have been executed the following ruling was made by the Court:
Oct 1676. Upon the humble petition of Daniel Hoare & Nathaniell Wilder, presented to this Court, acknouledging the justice of this Court. & begging pardon for their lines, the Court haue granted their petition, and accordingly doe remitt the sentence of death passed against them, and order, that they pay prison ohardges and ten pounds apeece money, halfe towards the charge of witnesses. to be payd to the Tresurer of the country. and the other halfe to Andrew Pittime, & Swagon, ye Indians prosecuting against them: on payment whereof they are dischardged.
[Massachusetts Records.]
p118
The Early Records of Lancaster, Massachusetts. 1643-1725 W. J. Coulter,Pub.Lancaster,Ma. 1884
So for the sum of ten pounds my ancestor escaped the hangman's noose.
But I wonder. Two Indians had brought the accusation of murder against the four colonists. Five pounds in recompense for the loss of three women and three children probably did nothing to soother their grief and anger. So, when the town of Lancaster was attacked again by Indians in 1704 it may not have ben just coincidence that Nathaniel Wilder was killed, nor the death of his son Jonathan three years later in 1707. Another son, Ephraim, was severely wounded in that 1707 attack as well.
Perhaps the Indians exacted their own justice .
Friday, December 09, 2016
52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2016 WEEK 49: NATHANIEL WILDER OF LANCASTER, MA. PT2
I found details of my ancestor Nathaniel Wilder's murder trial in Henry Stedman Nourse's book The Early Records of Lancaster, Massachusetts. 1643-1725:
Daniel Goble, thus executed with the murderers of the women and children of Lancaster, was a soldier, the ringleader in an atrocious murder of Indian women and children, during the popular excitement succeeding the Indian massacres. The sad story touched Lancaster, in the person of one of its most promising young men, and must not be passed over here.
" Wee the Grand Jury for our Soueraigne Lord the King doe Present & lndict Nathaniell Wilder of Concord [Lancaster] in the County of Midlesex in New England for that he not hauing the feare of God before his eyes & being Instigated by the Divil wth other his Accomplises at or on the 7th of August last, at or neere to Hurtlebury hill, in the woods in the precincts of Concord or neere therevnto did murder & kill three lndian weomen & three Indian Children contrary to the peace of our Soueraigne Lord the King his Crowne & dignitye the law of God & of this Jurisdiction. ‘ The Jurors fiinds this beill and leue hime to fl'urther triall.
RICHARD CALICOTT fi'oreman in the name off the rest off the Jurey.
[Endorsed] They finde a speciall vierdict. lf being present & seing the fact done & concenting, it be murder then we find him gilty according to lnditement, if not not gilty.
To the keeper of the prison in Boston.
You are hereby in his majtyc name, required to take into yo'safe custody the persons of Daniel Goble, Stephen Goble, Nathaniel Wilder & Daniel Hoare & them safely keepe, in order to their tryall for killing of seuerall Indians weomen & children wch they owned, and see that they be forth coming at the next court of Assistants, or whenever the authoritys shall giue further order, dated in Boston the 11‘h day of August 1676. By order of the Councill EDw" RAWSON Szcrery [Massachusetts Archives, XXX, 209, an, 221.]
The four soldiers were convicted and sentenced to death.
pp 117-118
The Early Records of Lancaster, Massachusetts. 1643-1725 W. J. Coulter,Pub.Lancaster,Ma. 1884
Now since I'm writing about the incident, Nathaniel Wilder wasn't executed. His daughter Eunice,my 7x great grandmother was born after all this. I won't lie and say I wish Nathaniel had hung. But I am disappointed in Nathaniel, and I am pretty sure I know why he was spared.
I'll discuss that next.
To be continued,
Daniel Goble, thus executed with the murderers of the women and children of Lancaster, was a soldier, the ringleader in an atrocious murder of Indian women and children, during the popular excitement succeeding the Indian massacres. The sad story touched Lancaster, in the person of one of its most promising young men, and must not be passed over here.
" Wee the Grand Jury for our Soueraigne Lord the King doe Present & lndict Nathaniell Wilder of Concord [Lancaster] in the County of Midlesex in New England for that he not hauing the feare of God before his eyes & being Instigated by the Divil wth other his Accomplises at or on the 7th of August last, at or neere to Hurtlebury hill, in the woods in the precincts of Concord or neere therevnto did murder & kill three lndian weomen & three Indian Children contrary to the peace of our Soueraigne Lord the King his Crowne & dignitye the law of God & of this Jurisdiction. ‘ The Jurors fiinds this beill and leue hime to fl'urther triall.
RICHARD CALICOTT fi'oreman in the name off the rest off the Jurey.
[Endorsed] They finde a speciall vierdict. lf being present & seing the fact done & concenting, it be murder then we find him gilty according to lnditement, if not not gilty.
To the keeper of the prison in Boston.
You are hereby in his majtyc name, required to take into yo'safe custody the persons of Daniel Goble, Stephen Goble, Nathaniel Wilder & Daniel Hoare & them safely keepe, in order to their tryall for killing of seuerall Indians weomen & children wch they owned, and see that they be forth coming at the next court of Assistants, or whenever the authoritys shall giue further order, dated in Boston the 11‘h day of August 1676. By order of the Councill EDw" RAWSON Szcrery [Massachusetts Archives, XXX, 209, an, 221.]
The four soldiers were convicted and sentenced to death.
pp 117-118
The Early Records of Lancaster, Massachusetts. 1643-1725 W. J. Coulter,Pub.Lancaster,Ma. 1884
Now since I'm writing about the incident, Nathaniel Wilder wasn't executed. His daughter Eunice,my 7x great grandmother was born after all this. I won't lie and say I wish Nathaniel had hung. But I am disappointed in Nathaniel, and I am pretty sure I know why he was spared.
I'll discuss that next.
To be continued,
Tuesday, December 06, 2016
52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2016 WEEK 49: NATHANIEL WILDER OF LANCASTER, MA. PT1
This is the entry for my 7x great grandfather Nathaniel Wilder in Ellery Bicknell Crane's Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Worcester County, Massachusetts:
(VI) Nathaniel Wilder, son of Thomas Wilder (5) , was born in Charlestown, November 3, 1650, died July, 1704. He married Mary Sawyer, of Lancaster, daughter of Thomas Sawyer and his wife Mary and was born July 4, 1652. (See sketch of Sawyer Family.) He settled in Lancaster, was lieutenant in the company, and was killed by the Indians. The children of Nathaniel and Mary (Sawyer) Wilder were: Nathaniel, born 1675, settled in Petersham; Ephraim, born August 16, 1678, of Lancaster, representative in general court; Mary, born May 13, 1679; Elizabeth, born April 20, 1685, died 1707; Jonathan, born 1686, married, and was killed by the Indians 1707; Dorothy, born 1686, married Samuel Carter; Oliver, see forward.
-p202
Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Worcester County, Massachusetts: With a History of Worcester Society of Antiquity, Volume 1 Lewis Publishing Company, 1907 - Worcester County (Mass.)
Of course, seeing that "... was killed by the Indians...", I had to see if there was more to that.
What I found instead were the details of an incident twenty eight years earlier for which my ancestor was
charged with murder. It took place in the summer of 1675/1676, the year the town of Lancaster had
suffered two Indian attacks. Seven colonists had been killed , some others taken captive, and the town
had been deserted. On 11August four men, brothers Daniel and Stephen Goble, Daniel Hoar, and Nathaniel
Wilder were charged with the killings of six Indians, three women and three children.
To be continued.
(VI) Nathaniel Wilder, son of Thomas Wilder (5) , was born in Charlestown, November 3, 1650, died July, 1704. He married Mary Sawyer, of Lancaster, daughter of Thomas Sawyer and his wife Mary and was born July 4, 1652. (See sketch of Sawyer Family.) He settled in Lancaster, was lieutenant in the company, and was killed by the Indians. The children of Nathaniel and Mary (Sawyer) Wilder were: Nathaniel, born 1675, settled in Petersham; Ephraim, born August 16, 1678, of Lancaster, representative in general court; Mary, born May 13, 1679; Elizabeth, born April 20, 1685, died 1707; Jonathan, born 1686, married, and was killed by the Indians 1707; Dorothy, born 1686, married Samuel Carter; Oliver, see forward.
-p202
Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Worcester County, Massachusetts: With a History of Worcester Society of Antiquity, Volume 1 Lewis Publishing Company, 1907 - Worcester County (Mass.)
Of course, seeing that "... was killed by the Indians...", I had to see if there was more to that.
What I found instead were the details of an incident twenty eight years earlier for which my ancestor was
charged with murder. It took place in the summer of 1675/1676, the year the town of Lancaster had
suffered two Indian attacks. Seven colonists had been killed , some others taken captive, and the town
had been deserted. On 11August four men, brothers Daniel and Stephen Goble, Daniel Hoar, and Nathaniel
Wilder were charged with the killings of six Indians, three women and three children.
To be continued.
Monday, December 05, 2016
52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2016 WEEK 48:THOMAS WILDER JR. OF LANCASTER MA.
Eunice(Wilder)White was the daughter of Thomas Wilder Jr., my immigrant ancestor. His father,
Thomas Wilder Senior never made ot to the New World, but his mother Martha (MNU) did. Ellery Bicknell Crane has entries for both father and son in his book Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Worcester County, Massachusetts:
(IV) Thomas Wilder, son of John Wilder (3), was born in Sulham, England. He settled in ShIplake, Oxford county, but was proprietor of the Sulham estate. He was born and died in Shiplake, however. He married Martha___ . He died in 1634 and she went to New England where two of her sons, Edward and Thomas, settled. She came on the ship "Confidence" in 1638 with her daughter Mary. She settled near her son Edward in Hingham, where she was a proprietor in 1638. She died April 20, 1652. Some authorities spell the name Shiplake, Shiplock. The children of Thomas and Martha Wilder were: John, heir to his father's estates, died in 1688; Thomas, see forward; Elizabeth, born 1621, married Thomas Ensign; Edward, married Elizabeth Ames, settled in Hingham, Massachusetts, died October 28, 1690; Mary, came to Hingham also. .
(V) Thomas Wilder, son of Thomas Wilder (4) , was born in Shiplock, England, in 1618. He settled in Charlestown, New England, where he was a proprietor as early as 1638. He was admitted a freeman June 2, 1641. He bought land in Charlestown, October 27, 1643. He was selectman in 1660 and 1667 and held other offices. He removed to Lancaster in 1659. He married Ann in 1641.She died June 10, 1692. She was admitted to the church May 7, 1650. He died October 23, 1667. He may have been born later than the date given as he deposed June 17, 1654, that he was thirtythree years of age. His will was dated January 22, 1667-8 and proved March 4, 1667-8. He bequeathed to his wife and six children named below. The children of Thomas and Ann Wilder were: Mary, born June 30, 1642, in Charlestown; Thomas, born September 14, 1644; John, born 1646; Elizabeth, born 1648; Nathaniel, see forward; Ebenezer.
-p202
Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Worcester County, Massachusetts: With a History of Worcester Society of Antiquity, Volume 1 Lewis Publishing Company, 1907 - Worcester County (Mass.)
The thought struck me reading this that Martha Wilder's story is more interesting than her husband's or
son's.She could have stayed in England with her oldest son John and lived well, but instead came to
Massachusetts with her youngest daughter and owned her own land in Hingham, Ma. Quite a woman!
I've found Thomas Wilder Jr.'s probate file over on AmericanAncestors.org and will post a transcription
here sometime in the future
Thomas Wilder Senior never made ot to the New World, but his mother Martha (MNU) did. Ellery Bicknell Crane has entries for both father and son in his book Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Worcester County, Massachusetts:
(IV) Thomas Wilder, son of John Wilder (3), was born in Sulham, England. He settled in ShIplake, Oxford county, but was proprietor of the Sulham estate. He was born and died in Shiplake, however. He married Martha___ . He died in 1634 and she went to New England where two of her sons, Edward and Thomas, settled. She came on the ship "Confidence" in 1638 with her daughter Mary. She settled near her son Edward in Hingham, where she was a proprietor in 1638. She died April 20, 1652. Some authorities spell the name Shiplake, Shiplock. The children of Thomas and Martha Wilder were: John, heir to his father's estates, died in 1688; Thomas, see forward; Elizabeth, born 1621, married Thomas Ensign; Edward, married Elizabeth Ames, settled in Hingham, Massachusetts, died October 28, 1690; Mary, came to Hingham also. .
(V) Thomas Wilder, son of Thomas Wilder (4) , was born in Shiplock, England, in 1618. He settled in Charlestown, New England, where he was a proprietor as early as 1638. He was admitted a freeman June 2, 1641. He bought land in Charlestown, October 27, 1643. He was selectman in 1660 and 1667 and held other offices. He removed to Lancaster in 1659. He married Ann in 1641.She died June 10, 1692. She was admitted to the church May 7, 1650. He died October 23, 1667. He may have been born later than the date given as he deposed June 17, 1654, that he was thirtythree years of age. His will was dated January 22, 1667-8 and proved March 4, 1667-8. He bequeathed to his wife and six children named below. The children of Thomas and Ann Wilder were: Mary, born June 30, 1642, in Charlestown; Thomas, born September 14, 1644; John, born 1646; Elizabeth, born 1648; Nathaniel, see forward; Ebenezer.
-p202
Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Worcester County, Massachusetts: With a History of Worcester Society of Antiquity, Volume 1 Lewis Publishing Company, 1907 - Worcester County (Mass.)
The thought struck me reading this that Martha Wilder's story is more interesting than her husband's or
son's.She could have stayed in England with her oldest son John and lived well, but instead came to
Massachusetts with her youngest daughter and owned her own land in Hingham, Ma. Quite a woman!
I've found Thomas Wilder Jr.'s probate file over on AmericanAncestors.org and will post a transcription
here sometime in the future
Monday, November 14, 2016
CYPRIAN STEVENS' LETTER TO THE GOVERNOR AND COUNCIL REVISITED
((UPDATE: It's been seven years since I posted this and since then I've discovered that
I have Moore, Whitcomb, Wilder, and Fairbanks ancestors. So only three names listed below
are not those of a direct ancestor or a cousin. First posted in February 2009))
I found a few more things during my research on Simon Willard that
touched on some of my ancestors. One of them is this transcription at
Genealogy.com by Janice Farnsworth of "Lancaster in Philip's War:
The Early Records of Lancaster, Massachusetts 1643 - 1725 Edited by
Henry S. Nourse, A.M. Lancaster, 1884 (page 107)
"Lancaster March 11, 1675/6 - Letter to the Governor and Counsell -"A
humble Petition of the poor distressed people of Lancaster (excerpt)
"...many of us heare in this prison, have not bread to last us one month &
our other provisions spent & gon, for the genrallyty, our Town is drawn
into two garisons - sixteen soulders....we areseartaynly a bayt (bait) for
the enemy. We are sorrowful to leave the place but hoplesse to keep it
unlesse mayntayed by the Cuntrey....our women cris dus daily...which dus
not only fill our ears but our hearts full of Greefe and makes us humbly
Request yo'r Hon'rs to send a Gard of men & that if you please so comand
we may have Carts about fourteen will re-move the whool eight of which has
presed long at Sudbury but never came for want of a small gard of men, the
whooll that is, all that are in the Garison, Kept in Major Willards house
which is all from y're Hon'rs most humble servants & suplyants -
Lancast'r March 11, 1675/6 Jacob FFarrar
John Houghton Sen'r
John Moore
John Whittcomb
Job Whittcomb
Jonathan Whittcomb
John Houghton Jun'r
Cyprian Steevens
The other garrison are in like distresse & soe humbly desire yo'r like
pitty & ffatherly care, having widows & many fatherless children - the
number of carts to Carey away this garison is twenty carts. Yo'r Hon'rs
Humble pettisioners
John Prescott Sen'r
Tho. Sawyer Sen'r
Tho. Sawyer Jun'r
Jonathan Prescott
Tho Willder
John willder
Sarah Wheeler, Wid.
Widow Ffarbanks
John Rigby
Nathaniell Wilder
John Rooper
Widow Rooper
The whole is in the handwriting of Cyprian Steevens.
[Massachusetts Archives, LXVII, 156.] "
Transcribed by Janice Farnsworth
What struck me reading this was the names of those in the garrison. They include my
direct ancestors John Prescott, Thomas Sawyer, Senior and Thomas Sawyer, Junior
in the second garrison two of my Houghton relatives in the first. It reminded me again
of how many of my ancestors were so close to a violent death during the Indian wars
of New England. Some, as I've mentioned in earlier posts, did not escape it. One of
those things that historians sometimes ponder is "What If?" If more of my colonist
ancestors had died, I and many more of their descendants wouldn't be around to
trace our ancestry.
As it was, Thomas Sawyer Junior was to have another encounter with Indians
some years later, and I'll be telling that story soon.
Thank you to Janice Farnsworth for granting me permission to use her transcription!
I have Moore, Whitcomb, Wilder, and Fairbanks ancestors. So only three names listed below
are not those of a direct ancestor or a cousin. First posted in February 2009))
I found a few more things during my research on Simon Willard that
touched on some of my ancestors. One of them is this transcription at
Genealogy.com by Janice Farnsworth of "Lancaster in Philip's War:
The Early Records of Lancaster, Massachusetts 1643 - 1725 Edited by
Henry S. Nourse, A.M. Lancaster, 1884 (page 107)
"Lancaster March 11, 1675/6 - Letter to the Governor and Counsell -"A
humble Petition of the poor distressed people of Lancaster (excerpt)
"...many of us heare in this prison, have not bread to last us one month &
our other provisions spent & gon, for the genrallyty, our Town is drawn
into two garisons - sixteen soulders....we areseartaynly a bayt (bait) for
the enemy. We are sorrowful to leave the place but hoplesse to keep it
unlesse mayntayed by the Cuntrey....our women cris dus daily...which dus
not only fill our ears but our hearts full of Greefe and makes us humbly
Request yo'r Hon'rs to send a Gard of men & that if you please so comand
we may have Carts about fourteen will re-move the whool eight of which has
presed long at Sudbury but never came for want of a small gard of men, the
whooll that is, all that are in the Garison, Kept in Major Willards house
which is all from y're Hon'rs most humble servants & suplyants -
Lancast'r March 11, 1675/6 Jacob FFarrar
John Houghton Sen'r
John Moore
John Whittcomb
Job Whittcomb
Jonathan Whittcomb
John Houghton Jun'r
Cyprian Steevens
The other garrison are in like distresse & soe humbly desire yo'r like
pitty & ffatherly care, having widows & many fatherless children - the
number of carts to Carey away this garison is twenty carts. Yo'r Hon'rs
Humble pettisioners
John Prescott Sen'r
Tho. Sawyer Sen'r
Tho. Sawyer Jun'r
Jonathan Prescott
Tho Willder
John willder
Sarah Wheeler, Wid.
Widow Ffarbanks
John Rigby
Nathaniell Wilder
John Rooper
Widow Rooper
The whole is in the handwriting of Cyprian Steevens.
[Massachusetts Archives, LXVII, 156.] "
Transcribed by Janice Farnsworth
What struck me reading this was the names of those in the garrison. They include my
direct ancestors John Prescott, Thomas Sawyer, Senior and Thomas Sawyer, Junior
in the second garrison two of my Houghton relatives in the first. It reminded me again
of how many of my ancestors were so close to a violent death during the Indian wars
of New England. Some, as I've mentioned in earlier posts, did not escape it. One of
those things that historians sometimes ponder is "What If?" If more of my colonist
ancestors had died, I and many more of their descendants wouldn't be around to
trace our ancestry.
As it was, Thomas Sawyer Junior was to have another encounter with Indians
some years later, and I'll be telling that story soon.
Thank you to Janice Farnsworth for granting me permission to use her transcription!
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