The history of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, V. IV, Part 6

Author: Bicknell, Thomas Williams, 1834-1925. cn
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: New York, The American Historical Society
Number of Pages: 978

USA > Rhode Island > Providence County > Providence > The history of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, V. IV > Part 6

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

(XII) Hannah Carpenter, daughter of William (5) and Miriam (Searles) Carpenter, was born in Rehoboth, Mass., April 10, 1684-85. She married, in Rehoboth, November 23, 1703, Jonathan Chaffee. (See Chaffee III). They were the parents of Hannah Chaffee, who became the wife of Joseph (2) Armington. (See Arm- ington II).

(The Walker Line).

Arms-Argent on a chevron between three crescents sable as many dragons' heads or.

Crest-A demi-dragon's head vert, issuing out of flames proper and crowned or.

(I) The "Widow Walker," who is regarded as the founder in New England of the Walker family herein- under consideration, was the mother of both James and Philip Walker, and the head of a family which has since become a notable one in New England. She was one of the first purchasers and proprietors of the town of

Rehoboth or Seacunk (now Seekonk), and was one of the company who first settled that place. Her name is on the list of those who in 1643 gave in the value of their estates for a pro rata division of lands. Hers was fifty pounds. In the division made June 30, 1644, she was given a share and received allotments in several divisions of later date. She was given a share and lots were assigned to her in the drawing for the Great Plain, and on the eighteenth of twelfth month, 1646, she took part in the drawing for land in the Great Meadow. Her name then disappears, and no trace of her is found save the fact of her being associated with that brave adven- turous company which went out from Weymouth into the wilderness. This band was known for its religious enthusiasm, and the educated and saintly Rev. Samuel Newman was its leader. No record of the coming of Widow Walker to America is in existence, and it is probable that becoming a widow in England, she emi- grated with her younger son Philip, after the coming of her two elder children, James and Sarah. James and Sarah Walker are thought to have been passengers on the ship "Elizabeth," which sailed from London, April 15, 1634, as their names and ages, fifteen and seventeen years, respectively, appear among those who signed the certificate of conformity. On the same ship were Rich- ard Walker, aged twenty-four years, and William Walker, aged fifteen. This is the first and only time the name appears on any ship's list of passengers before 1655. The ship "Elizabeth" landed at Nantasket, or Hingham, Mass., and William, one of the passengers, went to Salem. The Richard Walker named was a son of Richard Walker, of Saugus, or Lynn, the father having preceded him. Sarah Walker married John Tis- dall, of Duxbury, and James Walker married Elizabeth Phillips. These three Walkers, evidently cousins, dis- tributed as follows: James and Sarah settled in Taun- ton, with John Browne, their uncle and guardian; Wil- liam in Eastham, and Richard in Lynn with his father.

(II) Philip Walker, son of the Widow Walker, was born in England, and is first of mention in Colonial records in Massachusetts in a deed bearing his signa- ture, dated, Rehoboth, 1653. He was one of the grand jury there, May 17, 1655, and took the oath of fidelity, June 1, 1658. His name appears in the first division of the Rehoboth North Purchase, June 22, 1658, and again on May 26, 1668. He became a prominent figure in the local affairs of early Rehoboth, and held many positions of trust and importance. In 1657 he became surveyor, and in the following year held the office of constable. He was on the grand inquest in 1668 and 1678; select- man between 1666 and 1675; and deputy to the General Court at Plymouth, in 1669. He was also a deacon of the church, and on November 2, 1663, was one of a com- mittee appointed to build or buy a parsonage. In King Philip's War he contributed twenty-six pounds to the war fund, the largest sum with two exceptions in the town. He was a prosperous weaver, and his estate was appraised at £681, one of the largest in Rehoboth. He was buried August 21, 1679. Philip Walker married, about 1654, Jane Metcalf, daughter of Michael Metcalf, of Dedham. (See Metcalf II). She survived him, and married (second) June 2, 1684, John Polley, of Rox- bury. She lived in the latter place until her death in 1702. Children : Samuel, born Feb., 1655; Sarah, Feb.

BIOGRAPHICAL

16, 1657; Philip, mentioned below; Elizabeth, twin of Philip, born in March, 1661, drowned Ang. 7, 1664; Mary, born in May, 1663; Experience, in 1664-65, buried Nov. 10, 1674; Elizabeth, April 1, 1666; Michael, March 1, 1667, buried Feb., 1677; Ebenezer, 1676; Martha.

(III) Philip (2) Walker, son of Philip (I) and Jane (Metcalf) Walker, was born in March, 1661, died Feb- ruary 17, 1740, buried in Seekonk Cemetery. His estate was large, and he was one of the wealthiest men of his day in Rehoboth. He married (first) December 31, 1687, Mary Bowen, born October 5, 1666, daughter of Richard and Esther (Sutton) Bowen; she was buried May 22, 1694. He married (second) Sarah Bowen, daughter of William Bowen, born in 1671, died February 6, 1739, in Rehoboth. Children of first marriage : Esther, born Oct. 31, 1688; James, mentioned below; Philip, Ang. 13, 1693. Children of second marriage: Sarah, born Jan. 8, 1696; Mary, March 19, 1700; Jane, March 21, 1702; Nathaniel, Jan. 31, 1704; Daniel, Oct. 10, 1706; Stephen, Aug. 7, 1709.

(IV) James Walker, son of Philip (2) and Mary (Bowen) Walker, was born September 3, 1690, and died November 28, 1747. He was a lifelong resident of Re- hoboth, where he married Elizabeth - -, who died December 29, 1748-49. They renewed the covenant, October 3, 1735. James Walker's estate was inventoried at £818; that of his father, Philip (2) Walker, at £ 1750. Among the children of James Walker, six in number, was Daniel, mentioned below.

(V) Daniel Walker, son of James and Elizabeth Walker, was born in Rehoboth, Mass., June 12, 1726. Early in life he removed to Cumberland, R. I. In 1767 his father gave him two hundred acres of land in Ash- ford, Conn., and later gave him land in Willington, Conn. He married (first) August 1, 1746, Hannah Barstow, who died February 8, 1747. He married (sec- ond) February 23, 1748, Sible Smith, daughter of Dan- iel and Ruth (Ormsbee) Smith. Daniel and Hannah (Barstow) Walker were the parents of a daughter, Esther, mentioned below.

(VI) Esther Walker, daughter of Daniel and Han- nah (Barstow) Walker, married, April 19, 1760, Joseph (3) Armington. (See Armington III).

(The Bliss Line).

Arms-Sable a bend vaire, between two fleurs-de- lis or.

Crest-A hand holding a bundle of arrows. Motto-Semper sursum.

The surname Bliss had its origin in two distinct and separate sources. The ancient Norman-French house of Blois was represented in the train of William the Norman, and the founding of the Blois or Bliss family in England dated from the Norman Conquest. The French name of Blois was modified gradually by the Saxons to Bloys, Blyse, Blysse, and Blisse; the Ameri- can branch eliminated the final "e." The English fam- ily, which tradition connects inseparably with the South of England, was of the landed gentry, owning extensive estates, and was entitled to bear arms. Descendants of Norman French, they were at first Roman Catholics, and remained so until the Protestant Reformation, when many branches broke away from the church of Rome; at a still later date, however, many severed their con- nection with the Established Church to become Puritans

and were involved in the contentions between Charles I. and Parliament.

(I) Thomas Bliss, the progenitor of the family in England, and the first of the direct line of whom we have authentic information, lived in Belstone parish, Devonshire, England. Very little is known of him except that he was a wealthy landowner, that he be- longed to the class stigmatized as Puritans on account of the purity and simplicity of their forms of worship, that he was persecuted by the civil and religious authori- ties under the direction of Archbishop Land, and that he was maltreated, impoverished and imprisoned and finally ruined in health, as well as financially, by the many indignities and hardships forced on him by the in- tolerant church party in power. He is supposed to have been born about 1550 or 1560. The date of his death was 1635 or about that year. When the Parliament of 1628 assembled, Puritans or Roundheads, as the Cava- liers called them, accompanied the members of London. Two of the sons of Thomas Bliss, Jonathan and Thomas, rode from Devonshire on iron grey horses, and remained for some time in the city-long enough at least for the King's officers and spies to learn their names and conditions, and whence they came; and from that time forth, with others who had gone to London on the same errand, they were marked for destruction. They soon were fined a thousand pounds for non-con- formity and thrown into prison, where they remained several weeks. Even old Mr. Bliss, their father, was dragged through the streets with the greatest indig- nity. On other occasions the officers of the high com- mission seized all their horses and sheep except one poor ewe that in its fright ran into the house and took refuge under the bed. At another time the Blisses, with twelve other Puritans, were led through the market place at Okehampton with ropes around their necks, and heavily fined, and Jonathan and his father were thrown into prison, where the sufferings of the son eventually caused his death. At another time, the king's officers seized the cattle of the Bliss family and most of their household goods, some of the articles of furniture being highly valued for their beauty and age, since they had been in the family for centuries. The family was finally so reduced in circumstances that it was unable to secure the release of both Jonathan and his father, so the younger man had to remain in prison, and at Exeter he suffered thirty-five lashes with a three-cord whip which tore his back cruelly. Before Jonathan was released the estate had to be disposed of, and the father and mother went to live with their daughter who had married a man of the Established Church, Sir John Cal- cliffe. The remnant of the estate was divided among the three sons, who were advised to go to America to escape persecution. Thomas and George feared to wait for Jonathan, who was still very ill, and they left Eng- land in the fall of 1635 with their families. Thomas Bliss, son of Jonathan Bliss, and grandson of Thomas Bliss, remained with his father, who finally died, and the son then came to join his uncles in Massachusetts, settling near Thomas. At various times their sister sent from England boxes of shoes, clothing and articles which could not be procured in the colonies, and her letters, long preserved but now lost, were the chief source of information concerning the Devonshire family.

HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND

Children of Thomas Bliss, the progenitor: Jonathan, mentioned below; Thomas, born at Belstone, Devon- shire, England, about 1585; Elizabeth, married Sir John Calcliffe, of Belstone; George, born in 1591, settled at Lynn and Sandwich, Mass., and Newport, R. I .; Mary, or Polly.

(II) Jonathan Bliss, son of Thomas Bliss, was born at Belstone parish, Devonshire, England, about 1580, and died in England, in 1635-36. On account of his non-conformist views he was persecuted and suffered heavy fines, eventually dying at an early age of a fever contracted in prison. Four children are said to have died in infancy, and two grew to maturity: Thomas, mentioned below; Mary.

(III) Thomas (2) Bliss, son of Jonathan Bliss, was born in Belstone parish, Devonshire, England. and on the death of his father in 1636 went to Boston, Mass., and from there to Braintree, Mass. He next went to Hartford, Conn., finally returning to the Massachusetts Bay Colony and settling in Weymouth, whence in 1643 he joined the pioneer settlement at Rehoboth. He was made a freeman at Cambridge on May 18, 1642, and in Plymouth Colony on January 4, 1645. In June, 1645, he drew land at the Great Plain, Seekonk; in 1646 was fence-viewer; surveyor of highways in 1647. He died at Rehoboth in June, 1649, and is buried in the grave- yard at Seekonk, now a part of the town of Rumford, R. I. His will was proved June 8, 1649. He married Ide -, and they were the parents of the following children: Jonathan, mentioned below ; daughter, mar- ried Thomas Williams; Mary, married Nathaniel Har- mon, of Braintree, Mass .; Nathaniel.

(IV) Jonathan (2) Bliss, son of Thomas (2) and Ide Bliss, was born in England, about 1625. In 1655 he was made a freeman of Plymouth Colony. He was "way warden" at the town meeting in Rehoboth, May 24, 1652, and May 17, 1655, served as a member of the grand jury. He was made a freeman in Rehoboth, February 22, 1658, and drew land June 22, 1658. He was one of the eighty who made what is known as the North Purchase of Rehoboth. He married, 1648- 49, Miriam Harmon, who was probably a sister of Na- thaniel Harmon, of Braintree, who married Mary Bliss. He died in 1687. The inventory of his estate was sworn to May 24, 1687; the magistrate was the famous colonial governor, Sir Edmund Andros. Among the children of Jonathan and Miriam ( Harmon) Bliss was Experience, who became the wife of Nathaniel Chaffee, August 19, 1669, in Swansea, Mass., and was the mother of eleven children. (See Chaffee II).

(The Metcalf Line).

The authority Bardsley says on the subject of the name: "I feel assured that the name is local, and that it is a modification of Medcroft or Medcraft, of which an instance still remains in the London Directory. Met- calf and Turnbull were great Yorkshire names. I have seen them side by side in Yorkshire records of five hun- dred years ago." Horace Smith still keeps them in company.

Mr. Metcalf ran off on meeting a cow, With pale Mr. Turnbull behind him.

Arms-Argent on a fesse vert between three calves, passant sable, a leopard's face between two annulets or. Crest-A demi-sea calf purfled or.

Since the year 1637 the Metcalf family has been inti- mately connected with the life of New England, and in the period of over two and a half centuries since its establishment on this continent has been a well-known and prominent one in American life and affairs. The ancestry of the English family of which the American branch is an off-shoot has been traced for five genera- tions prior to the emigration of the progenitor of the American line to New England.

(I) Brian Metcalf, of Bere Park, as early as 1458- 59, was mentioned in the Middleham Roll of 1465-66. In 1484 he received a grant of an annuity out of the lordship of Middleham, and died about 1501. The fact that James Metcalf, of Nappa, was one of the adminis- trators of the will of Humphrey Metcalf, son of Brian, connects the two, but we have no evidence that James and Brian were not father and son, nor brothers. Hum- phrey, son of Brian, is mentioned below.

(II) Humphrey Metcalf, son of Brian Metcalf, was born probably before 1460, at Bere Park, Yorkshire, England, and died in 1507, intestate. As evidenced by the land records of the period, he had one son Roger.

(III) Roger Metcalf, son of Humphrey Metcalf, was born before 1500, and died before 1542. He married Elizabeth He had a son Leonard, as is shown by the land records and other evidence.

(IV) Leonard Metcalf, probably the son of Roger Metcalf, was born as early as 1530, for in 1544 Henry VII granted to Leonard Metcalf the estate at Bere Park in consideration of £ 147, etc., and to William Met- calf, who was probably a brother, yeoman of London, and to the heirs of John Bannister, who very likely mar- ried a sister. In 1569 Leonard Metcalf took part in the rising of the North, and was convicted of treason, sen- tenced to death, and his estate forfeited. At the last moment he was respited, and on September I, 1751, was pardoned. Two years later he paid a fine and received a lease of his lands, formerly lands of Roger Metcalf. He had sons, John, Christopher, Brian and Roger. There is no evidence that he had a son Leonard or a grandson of that name.

(V) Rev. Leonard Metcalf, thought by the com- pilers, Walter C. Metcalf and Gilbert Metcalf, of the extensive Metcalf Genealogy (1891-98), to have been a nephew of Leonard Metcalf, and perhaps the son of William Metcalf, and must have been born as early as 1545. In 1580 and afterward he was the rector of the parish of Tatterford, County Norfolk, and was suc- ceeded by Richard Metcalf. In the parish records is found the date of the birth of the American immi- grant. The children of Leonard Metcalf were: Michael, baptized September 3, 1585, died young; Michael, men- tioned below.

Note-The preceding generations, and their relations to one another, are held by the compilers of the Met- calf genealogy not beyond dispute. The best of circum- stantial evidence points toward the facts as they are given, but absolute proof is lacking on some points.

The American Metcalfs.

(I) Michael Metcalf, immigrant ancestor and pro- genitor of the family in America, was born in Tatter- ford, County Norfolk, England, and was baptized there on June 17, 1587. He followed the occupation of dornic weaver and tapestry maker, and it is said that he em-

HOI. GEORGE H. UTTER

BIOGRAPHICAL

ployed one hundred men at Norwich, England. Re- ligious persecution and intolerance made living in the mother country unbearable, and in 1637, in company with his wife and nine children and one servant, Michael Metcalf immigrated to America. He married, in Eng- land, on October 13, 1616, Sarah Ellwyn, born June 17, 1598, in Hingham, England, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Ellwyn. Upon arriving in America he settled in Dedham, Mass., where he was admitted a freeman of the colony, on June 14, 1637. He joined the church there two years later.

From the fact that Michael Metcalf brought with him to America a servant, and from the position which he later held in the colony, it is probable that he was a man of means. He was elected a selectman in Ded- ham in 1641. His wife Sarah died November 30, 1644, and he married (second) Mary Pidge, a widow of Rox- bury. He died in Dedham, on December 24, 1664. Eng- lish records confirm the statement of Michael Metcalf that he was forced to leave England by reason of re- ligious persecution. Before leaving England and while absent from Norwich trying to avoid persecution, he wrote a long letter "to all true professors of Christ's Gospel within the City of Norwich." After coming to America he wrote the following, which is printed with the other in the "Metcalf Genealogy" of 1898:

I was persecuted In the land of my fathers' sepul- chres for not bowing at the name of Jesus and observ- ing the ceremonies inforced upon me at the instance of Bishop Wren, of Norwich, and his Chancellor Dr. Corbett, whose violent measures troubled me in the Bishop's Court, and returned me to the High Com- missioner's Court.

Suffering many times for the cause of religion I was forced to flee from my wife and children, for the sake of liberty of my conscience, to go into New Eng- land; taking ship for the voyage at London, September 17, 1636, and being by tempests tossed up and down the seas until the Christmas following; then veering about to Plymouth, in County Norfolk, whence I finally shipped myself and family to come to New England; sailed April 25, 1637, and arrived three days before Midsummer with my wife, nine children, and a servant, Thomas Comberbach, aged sixteen years old.

Michael Metcalf and his family were passengers on the ship "John and Dorothy." His children were: Michael, born Nov. 13, 1617, died young; Mary (or Marcy), Feb. 14, 1619; Michael, Aug. 29, 1620; John, Sept. 5, 1622; Sarah, Sept. 10, 1624; Elizabeth, Oct. 4, 1626; Martha, March 27, 1628; Thomas, Dec. 27, 1629; Ann, also called Joanne, March 1, 1631, died young ; Jane, mentioned below; Rebekalı, April 5, 1635.

(II) Jane Metcalf, daughter of Michael and Sarah (Ellwyn) Metcalf, was born in England, March 24, 1632, and in 1637 accompanied her parents to the New England Colonies. She married (first) about 1654, Philip Walker, of Rehoboth. (See Walker II). She married (second) June 2, 1684, John Polley, of Rox- bury, and lived in the latter place until her death in 1702.

HON. GEORGE H. UTTER-The progress of to- day makes the history of tomorrow, and because of the important and helpful part he took in shaping the events of vital importance to Rhode Island, the Hon. George H. Utter left an indelible impress upon the history of the State. Distinguished as a journalist, he was equally widely known and honored by reason of the many progressive public movements which he instituted and

aided, and which constituted tangible evidence of his devotion to the State's welfare.

Hon. George H. Utter was born July 24, 1854, at Plainfield, N. J., a son of George B. and Mary Starr (Maxson) Utter. Through his mother, who was a daughter of John Maxson, he is a direct descendant of Newport's first settler, and of Jesse Starr, of Newport, who participated in the Revolutionary War. On this branch the line is unbroken to Elder William Brewster, the famous divine who founded Hartford, Conn., and came to this country on the "Mayflower." George H. Utter accompanied his parents to Rhode Island as a child and received his education at the private schools of Westerly, in this State, and at the preparatory department of Alfred University, Alfred, N. Y. He studied for two years at the latter institution, and then entered the Westerly High School for a similar period, and was there prepared for college. Mr. Utter then matriculated at Amherst College, from which he was graduated with the class of 1877. Before entering col- lege he had served an apprenticeship to a printer and learned that trade, so that after completing his education he became associated with his father and uncle in the publication of the Narragansett "Weekly." He later became a member of the firm, and in 1892, at the death of his father, became sole proprietor of that paper. He continued to be actively engaged for a number of years in newspaper work, and was the founder and publisher of the Westerly "Daily Sun," which has still a large circulation in this State. During his management of these periodicals, Mr. Utter was an earnest advocate of reform in many different departments of the com- munity's life and soon became well known and highly esteemed by his fellow citizens generally. While still a young man, he became connected with the public life of the town, his first position being that of member of the Westerly School Board. In 1883, however, he was appointed by Governor Bourn as a member of his staff, and served on that body until 1885. From that time on his rise in politics was rapid, and he served con- secutively as a member of the General Assembly, speaker of the House, member of the State Senate, State secretary, and lieutenant-governor. In the year 1904 he became the nominee of the Republican party for the highest office in the State, and upon the presenta- tion of his name for this candidacy, was referred to by Congressman Adin B. Capron, in the following terms :

As Jonathan would have delighted to have presented the name of David to the people of Israel, so do I approach the pleasant duty which this opportunity offers. The people of Rhode Island critically demand of the Republican party that the candidate it presents for the office of Governor and commander-in-chief, shall be without fear and without reproach. Less than our best will not satisfy, and, except upon the rare occasions when for a moment we have wandered away after strange gods, our nominees have had hearty approval at the polls during the entire life of our Grand Old Party. With our annually recurring elections, it has not been usually possible for our chief executive, except in times of war, to perform the duties of his office in a way to especially call forth marked approbation, voiced by all classes and especially by the bone and sinew of our citizenship, the workers and wage earners, as is the case with the man whose name will presently fall from my lips. For many years he served the cause of right and righteousness, as it was given him to know the right in the House of Representatives, where he reached out a kindly hand to me, a featherless fledgling from a country town. I came to love him as it is not often given men to inspire love in men, because of his unswerving hon-

2.4

HISTORY OF RHODE ISLAND

esty, his quick perception of the right, and his un- failing, cheerful and hearty courage in pursuing the right.

Mr. Utter was successfully elected to the governor- ship of the State, and served in that high capacity in the years 1905 and 1906. His administration won the un- qualified approval of political friend and foe alike and he became one of the most highly honored figures in the life of the Commonwealth. In 1910 he was elected representative from the Second District of Rhode Island to the National Congress, and died in office.

George H. Utter married, May 19, 1880, Elizabeth L. Brown, of Allston, Mass., a daughter of Cyrus H. Brown, of that place, and they were the parents of four children, as follows: George Benjamin, born April II, 1881; Henry Edwin, mentioned at length below; Mary Starr, born Feb. 21, 1890; and Wilfred Brown, born Sept. 13, 1894. George H. Utter died Nov. 6, 1912.

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The history of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, V. IV, Part 6

Author: Bicknell, Thomas Williams, 1834-1925. cn Publication date: 1920 Publisher: New York, The American Historical Society Number of Pages: 978

Author: Bicknell, Thomas Williams, 1834-1925. cn
Publication date: 1920
Publisher: New York, The American Historical Society
Number of Pages: 978