History of Plymouth county, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 55

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, J.W. Lewis & co.
Number of Pages: 1706

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taine Cottages together abandoned by the Sauages, and not farre off we beheld their Gardens, and one among the rest of an Acre of ground, and in the ' same was sowne Tobaeco, Pompions, Coweumbers, and sueh like, and some of the people had Maiz or Indian Wheate among them. In the fields we found wild Pease, Strawberries very faire and bigge, Goose- berries, Raspiees, Hurts, and other wild fruits." In the year 1605, Champlain, the French voyager under De Mont, visited the harbor of Plymouth, which he named Port St. Louis, and on his map of the sur- rounding shore the mouth of Jones River is indieated. His description of the country is similar to that of Pring's. These facts are mentioned here as every- thing that ean throw light upon the past history of our land, especially previous to its settlement by Englishmen, eannot fail to be interesting to present and succeeding generations.

Early Settlers and Proprietors of Lands at the Rocky Nook and Jones River .- It was only a short time after the settlement at Plymouth by the " Mayflower" Pilgrims before the colonists began to oecupy lots around the bay, for, as Governor Brad- ford states in his history, " ye people of ye plantation begane to grow in their outward estats . . . and as their stoeks inereased and ye inerease vendible, ther was no longer any holding them togeather, but now they must of neeessitie goe to their great lots ; they could not otherwise keep their katle; and having oxen growne they must have land for plowing and tillage. And no man now thought he could live, except he had eatle and a great deal of grounde to keep them ; all striving to inerease their stoeks. By which means they were seatered all over ye bay, quiekly, and ye towne, in which they lived eompaetly till now (1632) was left very thine and in a short time allmost desolate. And if this had been all, it had been less, thoug to much ; but ye ehureh must also be devided, and those yt had lived so long to- geather in Christian & comfortable fellowship must now part and suffer many divissions." This last refers

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HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH COUNTY.

to the formation of the church at Duxbury, and many lamented the division, so much so that four years later (1636), the year previous to the incorporation of that town, the question of uniting the churches of Plymouth and Duxbury at some convenient point between the places and there building a meeting- house and town was seriously considered. After " much conference" the persons appointed to consider the subject decided " Joncs River to be the fittest place," and afterwards it was left to the two churches " to agree upon and end the same." Nothing more, however, is known of the matter, except that the towns were never united. At the period just referred to it is certain that a number of houses had been · built and oceupied in Rocky Nook and by Jones River or vicinity, and those early residents or pro- prietors of lands in that part of Plymouth that has been included within the bounds of Kingston since the year 1726 will now be noticed.

ISAAC ALLERTON .- He was one of the " May- flower" Pilgrims, and for several years a very import- ant man among them, being almost at the head of their business affairs, and was one of the few who was designated by the title of Mister. He owned the house and farm at Roeky Nook, near the river, which afterwards belonged to his son-in-law, Elder Thomas Cushman. In the spring of 1621, after the death of Governor Carver, when William Bradford was chosen Governor, Mr. Allerton was his assistant, and they continued together several years. In 1627 he re- turned from London, where he had been sent by the " Planters of New Plimoth" as their agent, to make an agreement with the company of adventurers, and to solicit aid in behalf of the Leyden Church. He was fortunate enough to purchase all the interest of the adventurers for the planters, and continued their agent until some time in 1630, when his business transactions, which had at first seemed profitable to them, proved to be a loss, and as many were involved in the transaction, mueh unkind feeling was felt to- wards him. Governor Bradford devotes many pages of his history to explaining the complicated affairs of his friend, hinting in several places that he probably intended no wrong, and saying, " God give him to see ye evill in his failings that he may find mercie by repentance for ye wrongs he hath done to any and this pore plantation in spetiall. They that doe such things doe not only bring themselves into snares and sorrows, but many with them (though in another kind), as lamentable experience shows ; and it is too manifest in this bussiness." Mr. Allerton did not remain in the colony long after this, but after being in New Amsterdam and other places awhile he made his home

in New Haven, where he died about 1659. He married Fear, daughter of Elder Brewster, in 1626, who died about 1634. His first wife, who came with him in the " Mayflower," died soon after their arrival, and their daughter, Mary, married Elder Cushman. She was the last survivor of the first-comers, dying in 1699.

GREGORY ARMSTRONG .- " At a Towne's Mecting ye 22nd June, 1644," this person was ordered to re- pair with a company from Jones River, " in case of Alarum in time of war or danger." He married in 1638 Eleanor Billington, the widow of John Bil- lington, who was the first to be executed for murder in the Old Colony, 1630.

WILLIAM BRADFORD .- This illustrious person, the Governor of the colony for many years, had a large tract of land near Jones River, and a house at Stony Brook, as early as 1637, probably the same one afterwards occupied by his son, Maj. Bradford. Some have been of the opinion that the Governor's chief residence was there, while others doubt if he lived so far from the town proper. David Bradford, of the fourth generation from the Governor (dying in 1840, aged eighty-three years), and the last of his direct descendants who lived on the place, thought, however, that his ancestor had resided there. court order in 1637 mentions the house, and in 1643, when Bradford was Governor, the following vote was passed at a town-meeting, February 10th: " It is agreed that wolfe traps be made according to the order of court in manner following: 1st, that one trap be made at Jones River by the Govnrs family, Mr. Prence and Mr. Hanburn's,1 and Mathew Fuller and Abraham Pieree." In 1644, when Winslow was Governor, Mr. Bradford's family, at Jones River, was ordered to furnish one person for a company in time of war or danger. After the death of Elder Brewster, at Duxbury, it is recorded that Jonathan and Love, his sons, " returned from the burial of their father to the house of Mr. William Bradford, of Plymouth," and in the presence of the ministers of Marshfield, Duxbury, and Plymouth, together with Standish, Winslow, Prence, and others, they mutually agreed upon a division of their father's estate. This not only shows that Elder Brewster was buried in some part of Plymouth, but also that Gov- ernor Bradford lived at some point between the burial-place and their home in Duxbury, as they were returning from the burial. Rev. Mr. Stecle, in his " Life and Times of Elder Brewster," says that he was buried on Plymouth Burial Hill, but further

1 Probably Hanbury.

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247

HISTORY OF KINGSTON.

on in this work it will be shown that he might have been buried in Plymouth, even if not on the hill. Of the publie services of Governor Bradford no mention will be made here. as that work properly belongs to the historian of Plymouth.

MAJ. WILLIAM BRADFORD, son of the Governor, born June 17, 1624. was one of the most important men in the colony. He resided near Stony Brook (at the same place just referred to in notice of his father), and the location of his house can be distinctly seen on the rising ground between the houses of the late Deaeon James Foster and Francis Drew. The spot was pointed out to Alden Bradford, Esq. (secretary of the commonwealth of Massachusetts), many years ago by the venerable David Bradford. and some years after, Francis Drew, who came into possession of the estate, made an examination of the old eellar and found many little relics of household articles. Per- sons now living in the neighborhood ean well recollect the trees of the old orchard. which were planted near the house. As late as the year 1843 several of the ancient sweet apple-trees were standing and bearing good fruit. Within a few years they have all been cut down, with the exception of one that was pur- posely left as a landmark of the past, and this bore a small quantity of fruit in the year 1876. Soon after the death of his father, Maj. Bradford was elected assistant and chief military commander in the colony. He was a prominent officer in King Philip's war, and was Deputy Governor from 1682 to 1686 and 1689 to 1692, when the colonial government terminated. Afterwards he was chosen a counselor of Massachu- setts. At a town-meeting, April 22, 1673, he was requested to act as moderator at all the town-meet- ings at Plymouth. In the year 1662, when Alex- ander. the successor of Massasoit, was suspected of designs against the English, Maj. Bradford was with Maj. Winslow when the chieftain was surprised and taken prisoner. As the account of Alexander's arrest and death has been given to the public many times, and in different ways, it will not be out of place to give Bradford's version of the affair. It is contained in a letter written by Rev. Jolin Cotton to Dr. Mather, which was published by Judge Davis in his edition of Morton's " Memorial," and is as follows :

"Maj. Bradford confidentially assures me that in the narra- tive of de Alexandro there are many mistakes, and fearing lest you should, through misinformation, print some mistakes on that subject, from his mouth I this write. Reports being here that Alexander was plotting, or privy to plots, against the English, authority sent to him to come down. He came not. Whereupon Maj. Winslow was sent to fetch him. Maj. Bradford with some others went with him. At Munponset river, a place not many miles hence, they found Alexander, with abont eight

men and sundry squaws. He was there about getting canoes. He and his men were at their breakfast under their shelter, their guns beiug without. They saw the English coming, hut con- tinued eating, and M. Winslow telling their business, Alex- ander freely and readily, without the least hesitancy, consented to go, giving his reason why he came not to the Court before, viz. : because he waited for Captain Willet's return from the Dutch, being desirous to speak with him first. They brought him to Mr. Collier's that day, and Gov. Prince living remote at Eastham, those few magistrates who were at hand issued the matter peaceably and immediately dismissed Alexander, to return home, which he did part of the way ; but in two or three days after he returned and went to Maj. Winslow's house, in- tending thence to travel into the Bay,1 and so home ; but at the Major's house he was taken very siek, and was by water con- veyed to Maj. Bradford's, and thence carried upon the shoulders of his men to Tetequit river, and thence in canoes home, and in about two or three days after died."

The account of this affair, which had been pub- lished by Dr. I. Mather previous to the discovery of the letter just referred to, made it appear that force or threats were used before Alexander would accom- pany the officers, and that the vexation and exeite- ment produced the fever that caused his death.

The most eventful period of Maj. Bradford's life was during the years 1675-76. He was chief com- mander of the forces fromn Plymouth at the time King Philip and his people were attacked and routed from their stronghold in the Narragansett Swamp. The details of that bloody battle cannot be entered upon here. It is enough to say that on the result of it seemed to depend the existenee or destruction of the colonies. The English realized the situation, and in the depth of winter made one of the mnost desper- ate attacks on a savage foe that we find recorded in history. They gained the victory, but not without having eighty men killed and one hundred and fifty wounded. In the year 1689 he is styled by the people of Rehoboth as the " Worshipful Major Brad- ford." At the same time they were endeavoring to procure from him a quit-claim deed of the lands in that town. The deed was soon after obtained, and to show the phraseology of a part of that aneient docu- ment, the recital is here copied and is as follows :

" To all people to whom these presents shall come.

"William Bradford, of the town of New Plimouth, in New England, in America, Esq'r., the eldest son and next heir of William Bradford, Esq., late of Plimouth, deceased, sendeth greeting, &c. Whereas the said late William Bradford, my honored father, was invested by virtue of a grant by Letters Patent from the Honorable Council, established at Plimouth, in the county of Devon in the realm of England for the plant- ing, ruling, and governing of New England in America, deri- vating from our late Sovereign Lord, King James the first, in all that part of New England tract and tracts of land which lie within and hetween the limits and bounds of said letters

1 Colony of Massachusetts Bay.

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HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH COUNTY.

patent oxpressed to be granted, given, and confirmed unto the said William Bradford, his heirs, associates, and assigns fer- ever, and all lands, rivers, waters, havens, ereeks, ports, fishing, and all hereditaments, profits, and commodities, situate, lying, or being or ensuing within or betwoen any the said limits, viz., &e., &e."

Maj. Bradford's estate comprised the whole of the present village north of Stony Brook, extending to the bounds of Duxbury, besides tracts of land in other parts of the town. All that portion north of the brook was bequeathed to his four younger sons,- Israel, Ephraim, David, and Hezekiah,-" enjoining upon them to sell it to none that do not bear the name of Bradford and be not descended from him." The part of this estate on which his house stood de- scended to David Bradford, his great-grandson, as before mentioned, and he, dying without children, gave, in his will, a portion of the old homestead to the writer of this article, who was the last person having Bradford connected with his name to possess any of the estate by direct descent.

Maj. Bradford married, first, Alice Richards, of Weymouth, and she died 1671. His second wife was a widow, Wiswall, and the third was Mary, widow of Rev. John Holmes, of Duxbury. She survived her husband more than eleven years, dying June 6, 1715. By these three wives he had a large family, viz. : (Maj.) John, William, Thomas, Samuel, Alice, Hannah, Mercy, Melatiah (female), Mary, Sarah, by first wife; Joseph, by second wife; Israel, Davaid, Ephraim, and Hezekiah, by third wife. He dicd Fcb. 20, 1704, and was buried on Plymouth Burial Hill. According to tradition it was his re- quest to be buried there by the side of his father. His gravestone bears the following inscription :

" Here lyes ye body of ye Honourable Major William Brad- ford, who expired February ye 20, 1703/4, aged 79 years.

He lived long, but still was doing good, And in his country's serviee lost much blood. After a life well spent, he's now at rest- His very name and memory is blest."

JOSEPH BRADFORD, the youngest son of the Gov- crnor, lived at Joncs River, half a mile from its mouth, at a place called " Flat House Dock." He was licensed by the court in 1678 to sell liquors.1 As his name is but seldom mentioned in the records it is to be supposed he did not engage much in public affairs. He married Jael Hobart, daughter of Rev. Peter Hobart, of Hingham, May 25, 1664. He died July 20, 1715, and was buried at Plymouth,

near his brother, Maj. William. His gravestone has this inscription :

" HIcre lyes ye body of Mr. Joseph Bradford, son to the Hon- orable William Bradford, Esq., governor of Plymouth Celeny, who died July 20, 1715, in the 85th year of his age."

Mrs. Jael Bradford, his wife, died April 24, 1730, in her eighty-seventh year, and she is buried in the churchyard of this town, the stone at her grave being now in a good state of preservation.

MAJ. JOHN BRADFORD, the eldest son of Maj. William, born 1653, lived in the house that is still standing at the "Landing," near the Old Colony Railroad. It was partially burned by the Indians during Philip's war, probably 1676, after the Narra- gansett fight, as the savages were committing depreda- tions at that time in Halifax, Eel River at Plymouth, and other places. The circumstances connected with this event will doubtless be interesting to the reader. The story is this : " Mr. Bradford had removed to the guard-house over the river, in town, and one day as he was returning for some goods, in company with several others, he discovered his house to be on fire, and saw an Indian standing on the brow of Abra- ham's Hill, stationed as sentinel to warn his comrades of the approach of the white men, waving his blanket and crying, 'Chocwaug ! chocwaug !' (' the white men are coming'), but so intent were they on plundering that they heard not their sentinel's alarm, and were not aware of their danger until Mr. Bradford rushed in among them. They instantly fled, and made their way into a dense swamp that was situated by the frog- pond, near the railroad, at the base of the hill, and were pursued by him, and he fired at the Indians, killing one, as he supposed, by seeing him fall, but was greatly surprised on reaching the spot at not find- ing his body. He could hardly account for the cir- cumstance, until some time after the close of the war an Indian asked him if he recollected shooting one of them at the time of the plundering of his house, and upon being answered in the affirmative, the Indian made the fact known that he was the sclf-same person, and as he fell only severely wounded, was able to crawl immediately bchind a log, and thus escaped notice. Mr. Bradford then examined his body, and saw distinctly the scars where three balls had passed through his side, which made the fact that he was not mortally wounded still more wonderful to him." 2 The house, as has been stated, is still standing, and has been known in more modern times as the "Sampson House," for it was owned and occupied by Col. Joseph

1 " Liberty is granted unte Mr. Joseph Bradford and Mistress Jael Bradford, his wife, te draw and sell boor as occasion may require, so as they prudently prevent all exeess that may eome thereby."

2 Related by the late Francis, Drew, as rocoived from aged persens.

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HISTORY OF KINGSTON.

Sampson the latter part of the last and the first of the present century. In 1689, Mr. Bradford was chosen one of the deputies from Plymouth, and was also chosen for the two years succeeding. He was the representative to the General Court in 1695, 1705, and 1708. At a town-meeting, held at Plymouth on the 21st of May. 1705. " at sd. meeting the inhabitants of said town made choyce of Major John Bradford as the Representative to serve for and represent them in the Grate and Generall Court to be holden at Boston on the 30th of this instant, May, & the sev- eral adjournments thereof throughout the year." He was their representative again in 1708, and served as one of the selectmen during the years 1703, 1704, 1708, 1709. and 1712. He was the last of the Bradford family who had the history of Plymouth Plantation written by his grandfather, the Governor, in their pos- session. When the long-lost manuscript was found in the Fulham Library, in England, the following note on a leaf was discovered, written by Prince, the chronologist, which proved beyond a doubt that it was the very history so long a time sought for :

"TUESDAY, June 4, 1728.

"N.B .- Calling at Major John Bradford's, at Kingston, near Plymonth, son of Major Wm Bradford, formerly Dep. Govr of Plimouth Colony, who was eldest son of Wm Bradford, Esqr., their 24 Gorr, and author of this History ; ye sd Major John Bradford gave me several Mannscript Octavoes wc He assured me were written with his Grandfather, Govr Bradford's, own Hand. He also gave me a little Peucil Book, wrote with a Blew lead Pencil by his sª Father, ye Dep. Gorr, and he also told me yt He had sent & only lent his sd Grandfather, Govr Bradford's, History of Plimouth Colony, wrote by his own Hand, also to Judg Sewall ; and desired me to get it of llim or find it out, & take out of it what I think proper for my New England Chronology, we I accordingly obtained, and this is ye sd History, wc I find wrote in ye same Hand-writing as ye Octavo Manuscripts above sd.

" THOMAS PRINCE.

" I also mentioned to him my Desire of lodging this History in ye New England Library of Prints & Manuscripts we I had been then collecting for 23 years, to we He signified his willing- ness, only y' He might have ye Perusal of it while he lived. "T. PRINCE."

He married Mercy Warren, 1674, and had John, 1675 ; Alice, 1677 ; Abigail, 1679. He lived more than ten years after the incorporation of the town of Kingston, dying Dee. 8, 1736. His widow lived until 1747. His name will appear many times on succeeding pages. His four younger brothers- Israel, Ephraim, David, and Hezekiah-all lived on different portions of their father's estate north of Stony Brook, but they will not be included here as among the early settlers.

ROBERT BARTLETT, the ancestor of the Bartlett family in the Old Colony, and who arrived from Eng- land, 1623, had lands at Jones River, obtained in

exchange for some which he owned at Eel River. He married Mary, daughter of Richard Warren, 1628, and died 1676.

CLEMENT BRIGGS arrived in the " Fortune," 1621. He exchanged four acres of land with John Brown at Jones River, Oct. 8, 1637, and owned some at Rocky Nook next to Mr. Thomas Prence in 1640.

JOHN BROWN arrived in the country at an early date, and had a house at Jones River previous to 1640, and that year he sold it. He was elected an assistant in the colony, 1636, and filled that office for seventeen years, and was one of the commissioners of the united colonies of New England from 1644 to 1655. In 1641, Mr. Brown and E. Winslow were appointed by the court at Plymouth to purchase a traet of land eight miles square of Asamecum for the inhabitants of Seekonk. He removed to Reho- both about 1640, and was " one of its most influ- ential and useful inhabitants." He died April 10, 1662.

FRANCIS COOK, the ancestor of the Cooks in this vicinity; arrived in the " Mayflower," and lived at Rocky Nook at an early period. He was one of the first " layers-out" of land in 1627. In 1644 he was required to furnish one from his family for a com- pany in time of danger. Governor Bradford, writing in 1650, says, " Francis Cooke is still living, a very olde man, and hath seen his children's children have children." He lived, however, thirteen years longer, for his death did not occur until April 7, 1663.

JOHN COOK, the eldest son of Francis, also came in the " Mayflower." He was admitted a freeman Jan. 1, 1633, and is styled, in 1637, "John Cook the yeonger, of the Rockey Noocke." This shows there were two of the same name living there at one time. In 1647 one was deacon of the church, and before that date John Cook is mentioned as having a large estate at Rehoboth. In 1660 the Plymouth Records speak of lands "lying near unto John Cooke's at Rocky Nook."

JACOB COOK, the son of Francis, was probably born in England, as Bradford, in his list of the " Mayflower" passengers, names " Francis Cooke and his sone John. But his wife and other children came afterwards." He was one of a number of sol- diers who were " willing to goe upon service against the Pequents." He lived at Rocky Nook, and had lands at Smelt Brook.

CALEB COOK, son of Jacob, lived at Rocky Nook. His name will be recollected in connection with the death of King Philip. He was a soldier, and was " placed with an Indian to watch, and, if possible, kill Philip. Cook, as the historian relates, snapped

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HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH COUNTY.

his gun, but it missed fire. He then bade the Indian fire, and he instantly shot Philip through the heart." This last quotation is from the Historical Society Collections, and the same article states that the gun was given by the Indian to Cook, and it was kept many years in the family as a memorial of the event. The gun-barrel is now in Pilgrim Hall, but the loek was presented to Isaae Lothrop, of Plymouth, many years ago by Sylvanus Cook, of Kingston, and it was after- wards in the possession of the Historical Society, in Boston. He died 1722.

JACOB COOK, another son of Jacob, lived near the river, on the north side. He died in 1747, aged ninety-four years.

CHARLES CHAUNCY, the minister of Plymouth and Seituate, and afterwards president of Harvard College, had a grant of ten aeres of land "at the North Meddow, by Joanes River," about 1640.

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History of Plymouth county, Massachusetts, with biographical sketches of many of its pioneers and prominent men, Part 55

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton) Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Philadelphia, J.W. Lewis & co. Number of Pages: 1706

Author: Hurd, D. Hamilton (Duane Hamilton)
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, J.W. Lewis & co.
Number of Pages: 1706