USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Scituate > The early planters of Scituate; a history of the town of Scituate, Massachusetts, from its establishment to the end of the revolutionary war > Part 29
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363
JOHN WILLIAMS
fits thereof for paying such legacies out of said farm as I shall hereafter appoint. If Williams Barker shall die or depart this life without issue lawfully begotten then my will is that Samuel Barker his brother shall have and enjoy said farm, x × x he then giving himself and being thenceforth called by the name of Williams Barker."
"Item. To my well beloved nephew John Barker £30." His son John £10: his son Samuel aforesaid £30: and each of the daughters of John Barker £10. "All to be paid in convenient time out of the profits of said farm."
Item. Further to nephew John "one moiety or half share in Conihasset undivided lands."
Item."To my well beloved nephew Abraham Blush of Boston," house and lands in Scituate which formerly "was my brother Edward Williams deceased & my two remaining lots in Conahasset and my lot there which I purchased of Richard Sillis. He paying £60 to cer- tain legatees."
"Item. To my good friend Samuel Fuller of Middle- borough £10: to Sarah the wife of Thomas Stetson £10. To the children of Abraham Blush £40 to be equally divided between them."
"Item. To my well beloved nephew Jonathan Dod- son all my lands in Freetown and meadow at Sippecan and on Taunton river."
"Item. I give and Bequeath to my Ancient servant John Bayley of Scituate All that my ffarme on which he now liveth with all my upland, meadow land or marsh lying near adjacent to the same vizt that in Conihasset neck and that at or near ffane Island and said Islands with my meadow in the sixty acres of marsh so-called, and also one moiety or half a share of Conihasset undivided land, to hold to him his heirs and Assigns forever; provided he shall pay and I hereby order him to pay out of it or the rents and proffits
364
THE EARLY PLANTERS OF SCITUATE
thereof in Good merchantable pay to such of my Leg- atees as I shall nominate the sume of one hundred pounds and to pay the same at ten severall times of payment in equall proportions, that is to say, ten pounds per year every year till the whole is paid."
He gave to his sister Mary Dodson ten pounds and a like amount to each of her daughters, Margaret, Bethiah and Eunice Dodson, Mary Booth and Patience Pierce on condition that they deliver to his executors "a bond or bill obligatory on which I stand charged as debtor to the estate of my late father John Williams in the sum of £40." These legacies were to be paid by John Bayley.
Item. "To my nephew John Barker my common purchase right in Conahasset and the Township of Scituate."
Item. "I give and bequeath to my two boys and children George and Thomas whom I obtained with my sword and with my bow and whom I will that they be sirnamed after my name vizt: George Williams and Thomas Williams, I say I give to each of them as followeth that is to say :- I give and bequeath to the said George Williams one whole share of land at Show- amet both divided and undivided, that is to say more particularly one lot lying next to the lot of Lieut. Little and one lot in the outlet being the first and second lot next to the neck and one lot of five acres in the Little Neck called Boston Neck with a share of ye undivided land as aforesaid."
Item. "I further give and bequeath to the said George Williams the Bed and furniture whereon Rich- ard Cox usually lodgeth and one of my guns which he shall choose and my black horse which he useth to ride on and the sum of £10 x x x I further give to the said George Williams the sum of $20 to be paid to him by John Bayley $10 within seven years after my de- cease and tother £10 within eight years."
1
365
JOHN WILLIAMS
Item. "I give and bequeath to Thomas Williams all that my corne mill and lands that I have within the township of Middleborough excepting that given to my kinswoman Mary, now wife of David Wood x x x I further give to said Thomas Williams my three score acres of land that I purchased of John Ham- mone deceased lying in ffoards farms so-called. Fur- ther I give and bequeath to the said Thomas Williams one whole share of land in Showamet both divided and undivided that is to say, two lots of upland lying to- gether at a place called Labour in Vain and one five acre lot in said Boston Neck; with one whole share of undivided lands at Showamet with what meadows I have in at or near said place called Labour in Vain."
Item. "I further give to said Thomas Williams the sum of $20 to be paid by the said John Bailey £10 in nine years after my decease and £10 in ten years; further I give the said Thomas Williams the bed I usually lodge in with ye furniture belonging to it. I also give him the mare that is usually called his and her colt, and two cows and the two stiers that I hired to John and Stephen Burdere and £10 in money all to be paid to his order or guardian."
Item. "I further give and bequeath all the rest of my meadow on the Taunton River that is not before given to the aforesaid George Williams XXXX and if either the said George Williams or Thomas Williams happen to die or depart this life without issue that the survivor of them enjoy the portion or legacy of the said deceased; and if both of them shall die with- out issue that then my will is that my servant Tom Bailey have and enjoy the portions given to them."
Item. "I give and bequeath to my servant Tom Bailey one whole share of land at Showamet afore- said that is to say my lot lying on the southerly side of Lieut Little's lot there and my lot that I purchased of Captain Church in the Great Neck, with a five acre
366
THE EARLY PLANTERS OF SCITUATE
lot at or near the Little Neck called Boston Neck also purchased of said Church and one whole share of un- divided land in said Showamet X x I also give him one horse."
Item. "I give and bequeath to my servant Will one horse and the bed and furniture whereon he usually lodgeth and half a share of land at Showamet which said half a share I purchased of Daniel Hicks X x x x and one-half a share in the undivided land of Showamet with about ten acres more of the said un- divided land which I also had of said Hicks."
Item. "I hereby release and set free and at Liberty my said Boys George Williams and Thomas Williams, and my said man servants Thom. Bayley and Will, hereby ordering that every of them shall be free from servitude immediately after my decease."
Item. "I do hereby commit the Inspection care and oversight of my said boy Thomas Williams unto my friend and Neighbor Joseph Woodworth of Scituate hereby impowering him as a Guardian to said boy, to receive his portion afore given to him and to take the rents and profits of his lands and to Improve and dis- pose thereof for the good of said Boy in Bringing of him up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and to learning of the tongues, arts and sciences."
To his friend Joseph Woodworth he gave five pounds and all the rest of his undivided Conihasset lands. He gave his kinswoman Deborah Burden of Middle- borough and each of her children five pounds; to Anna Pratt another relative and each of her children the same sum; to Mary Wood of Middleborough who he also styles a kinswoman "my twenty sheep which are now in her possession," and to each of her children five pounds; to Rebecca the wife of Samuel House one cow and a heifer and to her daughter Rebecca five pounds; to Peter Wortheylake of Scituate five pounds; to Ro- bert Stanford the same sum and a release and acquit-
367
JOHN WILLIAMS
tance of "whatsoever debt or debts he oweth me;" to Richard Cox and John Hoskins five and four pounds respectively and "to my much esteemed friend Samuel Sprague of Marshfield fifteen pounds and my third part of my book of Statutes which is now in his possession."
Item. "I do hereby further declare it to be my mind and will that if any of my said legatees shall not take up and rest satisfied with this my will and the legacies hereby given to him or them, but shall endeavor to alter, defeat or make void my said will, every such dis- satisfied legatee opposing this my will as aforesaid shall have no benefit by the same but shall lose the legacy hereby given to him or them the same to be equally parted amongst such of my legatees as shall acquiese and rest satisfied with this my said will."
The much beloved nephew John Barker was made executor.
"And I do hereby request my above named friends Samuel Sprague and Joseph Woodworth to be the overseers of this my will and to use their utmost care that the same be in all points performed according to the true intent and meaning thereof."
A memorandum added after the will had been thus far written but before signing was as follows, viz:
"I further give and bequeath unto my said sister Mary Dodson £10 to be paid to her when she shall give up the bond aforesaid "and whereas it is before expressed that I give to each of the children of Mary Wood the sum of £5 my meaning is excepting those children she had by her husband coombs, whom I have formerly taken care of and provided for."
Item. "I give to Ruth the wife of Joseph Garret £5."
Item. "I give to James Doughty £5." Signed in presence of
Samuel Little Valentine Diecrow
JOHN WILLIAMS
Benjamin Phillips
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THE EARLY PLANTERS OF SCITUATE
In all the will there was neither mention of, nor provision for the widow Elizabeth, who was still living at Barnstable, on the day of his death June 22, 1694. The inventory f of personal property alone, and not including the "three indian servants, Will, George and Tom" who had been given their friedom footed up £449:085:06d. When the instru- ment was offerred for probate before William Bradford, son of the former Governor, Mrs. Williams was represent- ed by William Basset of Sandwich who appeared by special power of attorney and claimed not only her dower rights in the large estate of her husband but also "all and every such debts and sums of money as are now due to me from my husband in the month of March last past and what hath since become due unto me for non-payment of the same." He died still in arrears for alimony. She made no contest. Her dower rights were preserved to her in the decree setting up the will.
f It was made by Thomas Hyland, James Briggs and Nathaniel Turner on November 14, 1694 and shows "corn growing on ye land £1.10s".
369
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
OTIS
John Otis was born on the banks of the Taw, at Barnstable in old Devon in the same year that the Pilgrims sailed away from Plymouth. When he was fifteen years of age his father, impelled by the same motives which actuated Carver, Bradford and Winslow, sought and found a new home near another tidal stream-Weir River in Hingham. Here the boy lived and married Mary, the daughter of Nicholas Jacob, his father's neighbor in 1653. He lost his mother by death and his father removed to Weymouth the same year.
Hingham continued to be his home until 1661 when with the oldest child, also named John, he moved to Scituate and took up his abode on the driftway. The second son Stephen came into being here soon after. James, Joseph and Job were born respectively in the years 1663, 1665 and 1667.
Of the eldest son John, who staid in Barnstable after his father had completed a temporary residence there, no men- tion will be made in these pages. As the ancestor of James Otis of Boston his place is secure. His brothers who lived in Scituate gave to the town, colony and province, progeny no less worthy and able than that of their elder kinsman but less conspicuous perhaps because of environment and of in- equality of opportunity.
The first John Otis lived in Scituate for twenty-three years. The family home under Coleman's hills was occupied for a time and then a new and more commodious one was built on Otis hill, overlooking the beaver dams on Satuit brook. His life in the town was not different from that of others of his same standing-he was a freeman, a grand and petit juror, a constable and served upon inquests. All these services denote the superior man of the community. Many of the inhabitants of the colony originally came thence
370
THE EARLY PLANTERS OF SCITUATE
as servants. Others, as Bradford complained, had been thrust upon the Pilgrims, and their immediate followers, by the financial sponsors of the colonization for the latter's per- sonal gain. They wanted able-bodied persons capable of endurance and toil ; and they found many willing to emigrate who were without either religious zeal or moral restraint. The colonists during the first century would no more have thought of electing one of these to civil or military office than they would of choosing him a deacon of the parish. i Therefore the occupancy of office, the designation to offi- ciate in however small capacity in the enforcement of the Pilgrim's rule of civil polity carried with it the badge of superiority.
Only once did John Otis the father of these boys fall below the standard set for him by his neighbors and by himself for himself. In October 1671 he was fined £2 for selling cider without a license but then the devout Cudworth had done the same thing and brave John Williams was punished for a similar offence not long afterward.
Stephen, the second son was a Conihasset partner. He was commissioned a captain of grenadiers at the age of thirty-seven. At the outbreak of the French and Indian War he was put in command of an expedition to L'Accadie, Nova Scotia being ordered to "enlist forty or fifty Indians" on that side"# A letter to Governor Dudley from his son in command at Province Galley in June 1707 speaks of their hardships :-
"We are willing and ready to return to ye Camp with a good reinforcement, notwithstanding all our Difficultys and their thirty-two pounders, which we were somewhat used to at last, we had one man killed in our Ravage up the river, and the man wounded of
+ One exception should be made to this statement. In the efforts to banish the Quakers, the instrumentality chosen for that purpose was George Barlow of Sandwich the marshal, than whom a greater rascal did not live in the colony.
Province Laws Vol VIII pages 241 and 683.
371
OTIS
Otis Company Dead since our Passage. For want of good Discipline and Order our Officers and men were · soon Discouraged, altho we had Deserters trying every day to escape to our Camp, and two poor men Endeav- oring were executed in our sight, and not having our Mortars, Artillery &c to defend us and offend the Enemy caused such speed and hast in our Retreat which was performed without the Least Damage."
Returned from the war he operated a tannery up to the time of his death. He was succeeded in this business by his son Ensign (so named for his mother who was Hannah, the daughter of Thomas Ensign), who served as a repre- sentative to the General Court in 1751, 1752, and 1753. Two other sons were physicians-Dr. Isaac who graduated from Harvard in 1738 and practised in Bridgewater and Dr. James in Scituate. Dr. Cushing Otis the son of Dr. James Otis and Dr. Ephraim at Assinippi were also descendants of Stephen.
Joseph Otis the fourth son like his eldest brother in Barnstable was a judge of the court of Common Pleas for his county. He married Dorothy, a daughter of Col. Nathaniel Thomas of Marshfield. He assumed his judicial duties in 1703 and served for eleven years, being also elect- ed to the General Court in 1710. Contemporaneous in service with him on this bench were his father-in-law Judge Thomas, John Cushing of Scituate, James Warren of Plymouth, grandfather of him of Bunker Hill fame, and Isaac Winslow of Marshfield son and grandson of Plymouth Colony governors. Only one of these men-Judge Thomas -was bred to the law but the possession of "universal con- fidence and esteem, integrity fortitude and humanity" according to the Boston Evening Post i was an equivalent to knowledge of the law for service in the judiciary in these years. It may fairly be assumed that Joseph Otis possessed at least some of these.
He did not however possess the esteem or confidence of
Obituary on Judge Winslow, December 1738.
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THE EARLY PLANTERS OF SCITUATE
Judge Sewall of the Superior Court of Judicature. A con- troversy was litigated in this court sitting at Plymouth, over some land claimed by one Thompson of Middleborough. A deed of the parcel was introduced in evidence bearing the attesting signature of Joseph Otis. He testified at the trial over which Judge Sewall presided. The latter, prone to jump at conclusions, immediately conceived the belief that there was fraud in the transaction; that Otis was its sponsor and was in some way to profit by it. No record is extant to give either particulars of or the result of the suit. A criminal action involving the same facts was brought against Otis in which he was acquitted. Judge Sewall was much incensed at the result. The following entry in his diary evidences his feelings :-
"March 27, 1716. 1 (At Plymouth) Court held by 4 Justices March 31. Great storm of snow on the Ground and falling and Jury not agreed; yet about Noon got away the weather clearing. To Mr. Joseph Otis, brought in Not Guilty! I said, The providence of God in clearing you will I hope melt your heart; for what you did was notoriously criminal."
Whatever may have been the moral obloquy of Otis- it would be unsafe to assume any upon the unsupported ac- cusation of the erratic and impressional Sewall-the latter's attempt later to oust him from his position on the bench of the lower court by secret accusations to Governor Dudley, which Otis had no chance to refute is most despicable. That Judge Sewall did this there is no doubt. He unblushingly and with apparent satisfaction makes this entry in his diary : "Feby 12, 1708: I went to the Gov. at Maj. Win-
throp's house, and told him I could be glad Mr. Higginson might be brought into Superior Court. Ad- vised that Mr. Winslow might be brought into Superior Court of Plymouth and Mr. Otis left out: Col. Tho. son-in-law. Told him of the fraudilent deed complain-
* This date is taken from Mass. Hist. Coll. Vol VII Page 76. It must be wrong and is probably 1706: See post page 445.
373
OTIS
ed of by Mr. Tomson of Middleborough; that the said Otis hand was to the fraudilent Deed as a witness, has now a part of what was granted by it; and was probably the Adviser in the whole matter. Told the Govr. I intended to wait upon his Excellency on Wed- nesday; but was hindered by the Storm. Note. The Gov'r us'd to tell the Councilors how acceptable 'twould be to him to be discours'd in privat about such mat- ter." i
The note following this entry indicates that Judge Sewall himself felt that he had done something not quite honorable. True, as a member of the Council he had the right to advise the Governor when important public appointments were to be made. But Otis was already upon the bench and coun- cillor Sewall's advice was that he be "dropped" and another put in his place. The reprehensibility consists in the fact that this effort was made by him privately. He may have had this action of his own in mind when charging the grand jury at the first term of court held in the new Town House on May 5, 1713 :-
"You ought to be quickened to your duty in that you have so convenient and august a chamber prepared for you to do it in, and what I say to you I would say to myself, to the court, and all that are concerned, seeing the former decayed building is consumed, and a better built in the (its) room, let us pray that God would take away our filthy garments and clothe us with a change of raiment, that our sins may be buried in the ruins and the rubbish of the former house and not be sufferred to follow into this : x x x Let this large trans- parent costly glass serve to oblige the attorneys always to set things in a true light." #
Whatever may be said of the conduct of Judge Sewall in the manner of making his accusations against Judge Otis to the Governor, the charges themselves were of no avail for he continued to serve until 1714.
1 Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll. Vol. Page
Mass. Hist. Soc. Coll. Vol Page
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THE EARLY PLANTERS OF SCITUATE
THE VINALS
Ann Vinal, widow, with her children Martha, Stephen and John came to Scituate from England in 1636. She had but recently been bereaved, through the loss of her husband, and, possessed of a comfortable competence, much thrift and enormous energy, she took up her abode in a house which she built at Greenbush. Her daughter Martha was in her teens; Stephen was six; and John three. It was not to be expected that she would support this small but husky family out of the income to be obtained through tilling the unresponsive soil at the First Herring Brook. She had no notion when she left the home on the other side of the water, that it should be supported by any such means. She was an accomplished spinster, and brought with her, from England, the spinning wheel, hand loom, and a stock of woolen yarn and "coarse threads" with which she imme- diately began to supply the needs of her neighbors, in ex- change for those necessities of life which she could not supply herself.
It is a little singular that she did not re-marry. Second and third marriages among the early pilgrims were frequent and a fourth and fifth search for connubial happiness, not unusual. If she had the opportunity, she did not grasp it, but stuck steadily to her loom and her children. She saved scrupulously, and continually added to her stock of home- made fabrics. She bought the same interest in the Conihasset lands as her male partners and chose her "lay out" shrewdly when the first allotment was made.
Her daughter Martha married Isaac Chittenden the son of her fellow weaver and Conihasset Partner, Thomas Chit- tenden, in 1646. Stephen and John continued to live with their mother. When the former married Mary, the daugh- ter of Rev. Nicholas Baker, he took his bride to live at his mother's home.
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THE VINALS
But three years passed before Ann Vinal, still a comely widow in her fifties, died. Stephen and Mary then suc- ceeded to the "estate." Stephen and his brother John were administrators. This inventory which they filed, bears out the assertion that she was not only a skilled spinster but a thrifty woman as well.
L S D
"Wearing apparel
13 :
In money 6:
13: 04:
Two cows, one heifer and calf
10:
One mare and two colts
12 :
Three swine
03 : 10:
Woolen cloth & linsey woolsey and cotton and linen cloth 08: 09:
Six yards of cloth
00: 04: 06:
Five pairs of coarse sheets and an odd sheet and an odd sheet and 4 yards and 1-2 linsey woolsey 03:
Bedding and sheets belonging to it 07: 08:
14 yards of cloth and 3 yards of cotton and linen cloth
17 :
Fine linen
01:
09 :
Corn
02:
Coarse linnine
10:
A winnowing sheet and bags
01 :
Furniture for a bed, taut rope and a bed cord 01 :
Woolen yarne and coarse thread
16:
Tallow candles and tallow, tallow riband and tape 08:
Brass vessels
03 :
10:
Pewter
01: 04 :
One leather vessel
10:
Iron vessel and other iron goods
02:
A table, forme and wooden vessels
01 : 10:
Working hooks
01: 15 :
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THE EARLY PLANTERS OF SCITUATE
Books
05 :
Syder apples and a yard of calico
12 :
157: 10: 10:
Nicholas Baker This is a correct inventory
Nathaniel Baker excepting the land"
The land excepted from the above was the homestead and one-thirtieth part of the Conihasset tract. Stephen took both. Later he became clerk to the partners. He was admitted a freeman in 1658; was a surveyor of highways in 1662 and 1673, and a member of the grand jury in 1658, 1679 and 1682. He frequently sat upon the coroner's in- quest, a duty which only the best men in the community were called upon to perform. He appears to have led a peaceful life, full of modest usefulness to the community.
John married Elizabeth Baker, a sister of his brother's wife. He was admitted a freeman in the same year that his brother took the oath, was chosen a constable and like Stephen served as the highway surveyor. He was appar- ently not of robust health, as he neared the half century of his life, and was freed from training in 1683 on this account. He died three years later.
Litigation which took place over his will, discloses a circumstance, the like of which not infrequently arises to vex the genealogist and antiquary. As is stated above, he married Elizabeth, the daughter of Rev. Nicholas Baker. His children were John, Elizabeth, Hannah, Jacob and Grace, born in the order named between the years 1665 and 1672. There is no record of any other marriage and yet; -let the record t tell the rest of the story :-
"Att a Court of Assistants held at New Plymouth, the first Tuesday in July, 1686.
Mrs. Elizabeth Vial # relict of Mr. John Vial, de- ceased, appearing at his majesties Court held at Pli-
Plymouth Colony Records Vol VI Page 199.
In the early days the name was interchangeably spelled, Vial, Vyal and Vinal.
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THE VINALS
mouth ye first Tuesday of June, 1686, producing an instrument said to be the will of her late husband, and offering a probate of the same. But Mr. John Vial, the eldest son of sd Mr. John Vial, deceased, in behalf of himself and others of his brothers and sisters, en- tered a caution with the Court, and gave some reasons for it, and made his request to the Court that the pro- bate of sd will might be suspended to this Court. Said Mrs. Elizabeth Vial at this Court appeared, and urged the sd will might be proved; and Capt. Anthony Checkley, as attorney, and in behalf of sd. Mr. John Vial, eldest son of the above said John Vyal, deceased as alsoe others of the children of sd deceased, appeared and produced his reasons, and gave in sundry testi- monys to make appeare the will to be uncertaine, unreasonable, &c, and not be allowed, but made null by this Court. This Court having seen the sd will, and heard what was said, and considered what was produced by both party's, and finding uncertainty in said will in most parts thereof, whereby the mind of the testator cannot be well understood, and considering that by reason of alteration of the estate since sd will was first made, there is nothing really given to the children he had by his first wife, doe therefore not ad- mitt the probate thereof, but judge it voyd. Yett in the disposall and settling of ye estate do judge meet that there be respect had as much as may be to the mind of the deceased in the writing presented as his will."
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