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Joseph Howland of Plymouth Colony
February 24, 2013
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Howland Monument
While my first cousin 12x removed, King Philip, was waging war against the Pilgrims, Joseph Howland, my 9th great grandfather, was guarding Wampanoag prisoners. The fact that I am related to so many people in the colonies is not all that strange because they only had a limited pool of religiously correct folks to marry. The ones who went Baptist and went to Rhode Island, had even fewer. If my Pilgrim ancestor, Gabriel Wheldon, had not gone AWOL upon arrival in Plymouth and married a Wampanoag princess I would not be related to both sides of this bloody war. The conflict between the welfare of the Pilgrim people and the welfare of the native people is still in gear. Guess who is winning.
Joseph lived and died in Plymouth, where he was always closely identified with the welfare of the people. He was commissioned a lieutenant of militia in 1679 which position he held many years. He was a large real estate owner, and he and his son Thomas, his grandson, Consider, and his great grandson, Thomas, successively held the land on which Pilgrim Hall, in Plymouth, now stands. Joseph d. 1st mo. n1704.
JOHN HOWLAND: A MAYFLOWER PILGRIMJoseph Howland was the second son of the Pilgrim, born about 1635 to 1640. A pioneer farmer as his father was, he too held various offices, among them that of surveyor, church delegate, selectman which at that time included the office of justice of the peace,and deputy to the General Court. He served on many town committees, once with the Governor, and was foreman of the jury.
Joseph was also a soldier. In 1667 he agreed to serve the town as a standing trooper for a period of five years. He later became lieutenant of the Plymouth Military Company. During King Philip’s War, in 1675, when the Indians reached the outskirts of Plymouth and were burning houses, he and another soldier guarded Indian prisoners.
By 1690 he had become Captain of the Plymouth Company. This was a considerable honor as this company was the oldest in the Colony and its first Captain was Myles Standish. A special law had been passed which permitted its former officers who had resigned to keep their military titles. Military titles in those days of Indian attack were very highly thought of.
Starting out originally with two acres Joseph eventually became a large landowner. He ingerited land not only from his father, but also through his wife from her father. Captain Thomas Southworth. Much of the latter was of considerable value as it was situated in the center of Plymouth, where Pilgrim Hall now stands.
In 1664 Joseph married Elizabeth . Joseph’s mother-in-law. Elizabeth Reynor Southworth was a close relation of the Reverend John Reynor, for many years the Plymouth misister. He, as many of the early Colonial New England clergy was a graduate of Magdalen College Cambridge University. The Reverend John referred to Joseph as “beloved kind man”, and Joseph eventually became trustee of his estate.
As at the present time, there was servant problems in those days. One sued Joseph for unpaid wages. However, Joseph won the suit.
In Joseph’s inventory, a horse, saddle, and pillion are mentioned. He and his wife Elizabeth must have ridden often together from Rocky Nook to Plymouth and beyond.
The Pilgrim John Howland had bought the property at Rocky Nook in 1633. He left this in his will to his wife Elizabeth stating that it was to be hers for the rest of her life, then it was to go to Joseph. In 1675, during King Philip’s War Indians attacked Rocky Nook and burned the main “dwelling house”, Elizabeth eventually went to live with her daughter Lydia Brown, the wife of James Brown, Swansea. Joseph Howland took over and built his house in 1676. When he died in 1736, he left the property to his son James ? who finally sold it in 1735. All told Howlands lived at Rocky Nook for almost one hundred years.From and address at Dedication at Rocky Nook, Kingston, Mass. by McClure M. Howland September 7, 1963.
Joseph Howland (1640 – 1703)
is my 9th great grandfather
daughter of Joseph Howland
son of Elizabeth Howland
daughter of Eleazer Hamblin
daughter of Sarah Hamblin
daughter of Mercy Hazen
son of Martha Mead
son of Abner Morse
son of Daniel Rowland Morse
son of Jason A Morse
son of Ernest Abner Morse
I am the daughter of Richard Arden Morse
King Philip
Richard Carder of the Portsmouth Compact
February 21, 2013
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Portsmouth Compact
The Puritans left England for religious freedom. As soon as they arrived in New England some of them needed to be religiously free of the Puritans in Plymouth. These ultra free people formed their own “Plantations” in Rhode Island. One such Bodie Politick was Portsmouth, which made it’s political agreement in 1638 with God Himself.
The Portsmouth Compact
The following is quoted from the book Story of Dr. John Clarke; The Founder of The First Free Commonwealth of the World; on the Basis of “Full Liberty in Religious Concernments” by Thomas W. Bickness, published by the Author, Providence, R. I., 1915; third edition. Note: In the book is a picture of the compact which has been scanned in color for these pages. The transciption has been corrected to spell Phillip Shearman’s name with two “L”s and to add the words “his mark” as they appear next to Henry Bull’s name and under his mark “+”.
Prior to leaving Boston, a compact was drawn up, under date of March 7, 1638, by which a number of the leading men of the proposed Colony incorporated themselves into “A Bodie Politik” to the end that they might go to their new Plantation in a formal organization, under a chosen leader or Governor.
The compact is as follows:
The 7th Day of the First Month, 1638
We whose names are underwritten do hereby solemnly in the presence of Jehovah incorporate ourselves into a Bodie Politick and as He shall help, will sub- mit our persons, lives and estates unto our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, and to all those perfect and most absolute laws of His given in His Holy Word of truth, to be guided and judged thereby. William Coddington John Clarke William Hutchinson, Jr. John Coggeshall W illiam Aspinwall Sa muel Wilbore John Porter John Sanford Edwa rd Hutchinson, Jr. Esq. Thomas Savage Willi am Dyre William Freeborne Ph illip Shearman [ John Walker Richa rd Carder Willi am Baulston Edw ard Hutchinson, Sr. + H enry Bull [“his mark” written next to name] Randal l Holden
Exodus, 24c., 3:4.II Cron., 11c., 3. II Kings, 11:17.
This compact was signed originally by twenty-three persons. The original paper is in the keeping of the Secretary of State, at the State House, Providence, a photograph of which appears on the opposite page. Four names,– Thomas Clarke, brother of John, John Johnson, William Hall and John Bright-man, Esq.,– follow the nineteen that appear above. Erasure marks have been made over these names, the reason for which it is not easy to understand as the first three were among the first recorded settlers of Newport, and Mr. Brightman may have been.
Neither was a Constitution nor a Bill of Rights for a Colony. Boston called the compact an act of incorporation. Plymouth called theirs a covenant, Boston did the act in “the presence of Jehovah,” Plymouth wrote “in the presence of God.” Boston formed a “Bodie Politick,” Plymouth called theirs a “Civill Bodie Politick.” Boston submitted their “persons, lives and estates unto our Lord Jesus Christ.” * * * ** “And to all those perfect and most absolute lawes of His given us in His Holy word of truth, to be guided and judged thereby.” Plymouth promised submission and obedience to such “just and equal lawes, ordinances, acts, constitutions and offices” as might be enacted, constituted and framed. Each compact had for its purpose the formation of a civil state under an orderly government. The Boston paper was probably written by Dr. John Clarke, whose piety and purpose lent a strongly religious sentiment to the document, so much so that some historians have called it theocratic. But Dr. Clarke did not classify The Christ as a theocrat, for all his writings make the great Teacher the interpreter of a new Democracy in which soul-liberty is established and enforced.
Samuel G. Arnold, our Rhode Island historian, has given a very clear and just interpretation of the Portsmouth Compact. He says, “So prominent indeed is the religious character of this instrument, that it has by some been considered, although erroneously, as being itself ‘a church covenant, which also embodied a civil compact.’ Their plans were more matured than those of the Providence settlers. To establish a Colony independent of every other was their avowed intention, and the organization of a regular government was their initial step. That their object was to lay the foundation of a Christian state, where all who bore the name might worship God according to the dictates of conscience, untrammelled by written articles of faith, and unawed by the civil power, is proved by their declarations and by their subsequent conduct.” * * * *
My 10th great grandfather was on the list signing the document breaking up totally with England, church and state. They were disarmed and put in jail by the Puritans for praying in the home of Anne Hutchinson. They decided to leave.
Richard Carder (1604 – 1675)
is my 10th great grandfather
daughter of Richard Carder
son of Mary Carder
daughter of Malachi Rhodes
daughter of Dorothy Rhoades
son of MARGARET HAMMETT
son of Benjamin Sweet
son of Paul Sweet
daughter of Valentine Sweet
son of Sarah LaVina Sweet
son of Jason A Morse
son of Ernest Abner Morse
I am the daughter of Richard Arden Morse
Portsmouth Compact
Captain John Whipple of Providence, Rhode Island
February 20, 2013
— 2 Comments
Providence, RI
My 10th great grandfather came to America as a teenaged indentured servant. He worked for a carpenter, and established himself in the new world. It is likely that his work during the indenture included building the first water powered grain mill in Rhode Island. He also caught and sold fish for his master. When he became a freeman (conditional on church approval and the satisfaction of his indenture) he had a farm. It is not known why he moved his large family to Providence. It is possible that Puritans pushed him like Roger Williams before him. John and his wife Sarah are centrally located at the North Burial Ground on Main Street in Providence, after having been removed from their graves in the family home garden. I look forward to visiting them when I go on ancestry round up, Puritan style, in Cape Cod and Rhode Island. I have a very high concentration of dead peeps to visit there. There is some mystery about Sarah’s birth, but we know exactly where she died.
John Whipple (1617 – 1685)
is my 10th great grandfather
Son of John
Daughter of John
Daughter of Dorothy Whipple Rhodes
Daughter of Dorothy
Son of MARGARET
Son of Benjamin
Son of Paul
Daughter of Valentine
Son of Sarah LaVina
Son of Jason A
Son of Ernest Abner
I am the daughter of Richard Arden
John was born ca 1617 based on his age at the time of death, probably in England. In 1632 he came to Dorchester, Massachusetts, in service to Israel Stoughton, carpenter. He married by about 1640, Sarah . Since John was a young, unmarried servant when he first arrived in Dorchester, it is not surprising that he does not appear in the records very often during the 1630s. However, he also generated remarkably few records between 1640 and 1658, during which period he lived in Dorchester as a married man.
On October 3, 1632 the General Court ordered that “Alex: Miller & John Wipple shall give iijs iiijd apiece to their master, Israell Stoughton, for their wasteful expense of powder & shot”. On January 2, 1637/8 John was granted eight acres in Dorchester about the mill. “John Whiplle” was the last of the Dorchester proprietors to sign his name to an agreement submitting to arbitration a dispute over the fencing and division of land.
In 1641, John and Sarah became members of the Dorchester church. On November 15, 1658 “John Whiple of Dorchester…carpenter” sold to George Minot of Dorchester “his now dwelling house and housements scituate and being in Dorchester near the River Naponset together with thirty-seven acres of upland more or less thereto adjoining,” also “eight acres of salt marsh more or less lying near the place commonly called the penny ferry”; “Sarah the wife of the said John Whiple” relinquished her dower rights.” John then moved his family to Providence, Rhode Island.
On July 27, 1659, he was received in Providence as a purchaser. On February 3, 1661/2 John Whipple Sr. petitioned for a piece of land next to his orchard, but his will was referred to the next court. On July 27, 1662 John Whipple Sr. was permitted to exchange sixty acres at Mashapauge Pond for lands at Loquasqussuck. These lands were probably the eights acres at Loquasqussuck laid out to him by Thomas Harris Sr. on April 13, 1667. On November 23, 1663 John Whipple Sr. of Providence deeded to “my son John Whipple” a houselot formerly owned by William Arnold excepting two acres, two shares of meadow, six acres of upland, sixty acres of land at Loquasqussuck. On February 19 John Whipple Sr. drew lot #45 in the division of lands east of Seven Mile Line.
On November 13, 1666 John Whipple Sr. was granted permission to exchange his sixty acres at Tare Breech Plain. On February 24, 1674 John Whipple St. gave a deed of gift to his “son Eliezer Whipple”. On April 12, 1675 he drew lot #43 in the lands on the west side of Seven Mile Line. On January 27, 1674/5 John Whipple Sr. was granted permission to change a fifty-acre division of upland. On May 24, 1675 he drew lot #91 in the land on the east side of Seven Mile Line. He was among those who “stayed and went not away” in 1676 and as such was entitled to share in the disposition of Indian captives, whose services were sold for a term of years. On June 6, 1681 John Whipple Sr. was granted permission to exchange his twenty-five acres at Goatum valley “which he bought of Mr. Benedict Arnold”. On March 4, 1683/4 John Whipple Sr. made a deed of gift to his “son David Whipple”.
John was a carpenter and tavern-keeper. In 1669 John Whipple, Sr. was paid 10s. to allow the town council to meet at this house. In 1670 the amount was raised to 20s. He took the Oath of allegiance (freeman) May 31, 1666.
John held several offices in Providence. He was Deputy to the General Court, September 4, 1666. He served on a Petit jury October 19, 1670. John was a Providence selectman, 1670, 1674, and on April 27, 1676 he was made moderator. He served as Treasurer, June 1, 1668 and Surveyor, June 6, 1670-71. John was on the Committee to run the line, January 27, 1663/4 and on the Committee to consider building a new town house. He was on a jury, May 12, 1663. He was appointed to confer about mending a bridge, January 27, 1664/5, October 28, 1667. He was appointed to a Committee to arbitrate over fences, December 2, 1666. John was an arbiter in the matter of the estate of Resolved Waterman, deceased, January 9, 1700/1. He served on the Committee to “demand & receive at every garrison what was taken from the Indians,” September 7, 1676 and on the Committee to lay out a common, April 27, 1678.
John died on May 16, 1685 at Providence. Sarah predeceased him, dying sometime in 1666.
In his will, dated May 8, 1682 and proved May 27, 1685, John Whipple Sr. of Providence “being in a great measure of health…having many children & to prevent all differences that otherwise may hereafter arise…having formerly given unto three of my sons all my lands…namely Samuell, Eliazer & William equally to be divided among them…only excepting thirty acres which I gave unto my son John at the northwest end”; to “my three aforenamed sons, namely Samuell, Eliazer & William, each of them a quarter part of one right of commoning for pasturing, cutting of timber, & firewood”; to “my son Benjamin a right of lands in the late division which is already laid out unto him”; to “my son Jonathan one division of lands”; to “my son Joseph my dwelling house & my three home lots & the garden next the river, also a six acre lot…also twenty acres near Thomas Clemence his dwelling, also I give unto my son Joseph my share of meadow near Solletarey Hill & two six acre lots…also a five acre lot lying near where William Wickenden formerly dwelt; also one division beyond the Seven Mile Line…also I do give unto my son Joseph all other divisions which shall hereafter belong unto two rights throughout”; to “my sons John, Samuell, Eliazer, William, Benjamin, David & Jonathan unto these seven twelve pence to every of them”; to “my three daughters (namely) Sarah, Mary & Abigall unto every of them ten shillings”; to “my son Joseph all my right of lands in the Narragansett Country”; to “my son Joseph” residue; “my son Joseph my executor.”
In May of 1685, Thomas Olney, Town Clerk of Providence, deposed that he had gone to John Whipple, at his request, and obtained clarification of some of the bequests:
That upon ye sixteenth day of this instant may John whipple senior of the aforesaid towne of Providence sent for to speake with him; This deponant sayth he Emediatly went to him: the said John whipple then shewed him this paper & the writeing which on ye other side of this said paper is written down, desireing this deponant to peruse it. This deponant saith he then did peruse it, & haveing well perused it, he asked the said John whipple what his mind was concerning ye lands which in ye said writeing he had desposed of to his severall sons, whether or no he did intent by that writeing, or will that ye said lands should be unto his said sons & theire Heirs & Assignes for Ever, or only unto his said sons for terme of life, he Emediatly made this Answer; That how Ever it was worded in ye said writeing yet his mind & will was that his sons Each one of them should have those lands house & Rights which hee in ye said writeing unto Each one of them had desposed, to be unto them, theire Heirs & Assignes for Ever to despose ye same or any part thereof at any time as they see cause. & that ye same was his Mind & Will when ye said will was written: And further, that whereas in ye said Will it was omitted to be inserted that his son Jonathan should have one of his Rights of land & Comoning on ye west side of ye seven mile line, yet that was his mind & will; That his son jonathan whipple should have one of his Rights of land & Comoning on ye west side of ye seven mile line to be unto him his Heires & Assignes for Ever; and that was his mind when ye said will was written, how Ever by ye scribe it was omitted. And whereas in ye first part of ye said Will there is an Exception made only of thirty acres of land to his son John by him formerly given, that he owned to be a mistake, & that ye Exception must be of sixty acres which formerly by deede of Gift he had given to his son John whipple; and all the remainder of his said farme lieing about Loquasqussuck should be devided Equally betweene his said three sons (viz) Samuell, Eliezer, & william; This saith this deponant is trueth, & that hee tooke it Emediatly from ye said John whipple his mouth & wrott it downe. And also that whereas the said Will Expresseth a quarter part of a Right of Comoning to Each of his three sons, (namely) Samuell, Eliezer & william, he said his Meaneing intent & will was that it should be so farr westward as ye Seven mile line & no further; And that the said John whipple was then when hee did declare the Same of Sound mind & of Good memory May ye 27th: 1685 upon Oath…
The inventory of John Whipple Sr. was taken May 22, 1685 and totaled £41 11s. 10d., including no real estate, viz: yoke of oxen, 2 cows, 2 yearlings, 2 two years, 2 calves, steer, 3 swine, feather bed, 7 pewter platters, 5 pewter porringers, 3 old spoon, chisel, gauge, augurs, etc.
Captain John Whipple is buried in the Whipple family plot in the North Burial Ground on Main Street in Providence, Rhode Island. Some sources indicate that John and his wife Sarah were initially buried in the garden burial site near their home. Their bodies were moved to the North Burial Ground when it was established in 1700. The headstones of John and his wife Sarah are located approximately 48 feet west-south-west of the “Dahlia Path” sign in the cemetery. On the tomb stones of John and Sarah Whipple, in the north burial ground in Providence, are the following inscriptions:
In Memory ofCapt. John Whipple, whowas born in England &Died in Providence Townye 16th Day of May AnnoDom. 1685. About 68years of age
In Memory of Mrs. SarahWhipple, wife of Capt.John Whipple. She wasborn in Dorchester, inNew England, & Died inProvidence, Anno Dom.1666. Aged about 42years
Many published genealogies state John Whipple married Sarah They or Darling ca 1639. (He would have been 22-23, she 15-16.) No evidence has been found to confirm that Sarah’s maiden name was either They or Darling. Neither appears among early Dorchester surnames; the closest being Thayer. Sarah’s tombstone states she was born in Dorchester and died in Providence in 1666, aged about 42 years. The stones do not appear to be very ancient and may have been erected fifty years or more after the decease of Capt. Whipple and his wife. But if the year and age are correct, she would have been born ca 1624. Thus, she could not have been born in Dorchester, unless she was a Neponset Indian, since Dorchester wasn’t founded until 1630. English settlers didn’t marry Indians in those days, so we can presume she was white. With a birth date of 1624, we can be sure that if she was born in New England, it must have been in Plymouth, which was settled in 1620. Travel by a ferry at a cost of a penny per person between Dorchester and Plymouth was common in 1638.
Ousameequin Wampanoag, 11th Great Uncle
February 7, 2013
— 7 Comments
Ousameequin Massasoit
The Wampanoag tribe answered to a supreme sachem known as massesoit. When the Pilgrims landed the in 1620 this title was held by my 11th great grandfather. His son known as King Philip waged war with the English between 1675 and 1676. Before King Philip’s War the villages of the Wampanoag Nation stretched from Rhode Island east to Cape Cod and north to Gloucester, MA. After the violent battles were won by the Brits, Mashpee on Cape Cod became the center for native people from the area. In 1685 Plymouth Colony recognizes a deed that stipulates Mashpee as a reservation. Through a series of legal battles the Wampanoag tribe won status from the United States government as a tribe in 2007.
Ousameequin Massesoit Wampanoag (1581 – 1661)
is my 11th great grand uncle
Father of Ousameequin Massesoit
Son of Wasanequin Great Sachem
Daughter of Quadequina
Daughter of Margaret Diguina Oguina
Son of Ruth
Daughter of John
Daughter of Abigail
Daughter of Martha
Daughter of Grace
Son of Sarah
Son of John Nimrod
Son of John Samuel
Son of William Ellison
Daughter of George Harvey
I am the daughter of Ruby Lee
The First Thanksgiving, 1620, was a time of warm feelings and friendly relations between the Plymouth Colonists and the Indians of America. On March 22, 1621, Samoset, an Indian who spoke English appeared on the scene. He once had been kidnapped and taken to London where he learned pigeon English. He helped the Colonists to sow seed and manure the land with fish for a bountiful harvest. He then arranged a meeting between Massasoit, the revered chief of the Wampanoags, a tribe of the Algonoquin Indians, and the leaders of the Plymouth Colony and a Peace Treaty was signed. The Colonists, as hosts at the First Thanksgiving, could speak no Algonguian, the language of the Indians, and the Indians, except Samoset, could speak no English. There must have been much smiling, nodding of heads, pats on the shoulders, and hearty grunting. Of course a three day party where the English shared their new supply of beer certainly was expected to engage many friendships. It is particularly significant that the peace treaty drawn during the feast was never broken during the remaining forty years of Massasoit’s life! From the writings of two of the settlers, Govenor William Bradford and Edward Winslow, as compiled for “The Pilgrim Reader” by George F. Willison: “Our harvest being gotten in, our Governor sente four men out fowling that so we might, after a more special manner, rejoyce together after we had gathered the fruit of our labours. These four, in one day, killed as much fowl as, with a little help besides, served the company almost a week, at which time, amongst other recreations, we exercised out armes, many of the Indians coming amonst us. And amongst the rest, their greatest King, Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom, for three days, we entertained and feasted. And they went out and killed five deer, which they brought to the Plantation, and bestowed on our Governor and upon the Captaine and others. And although it be not always so plentiful as it was at this time with us, yet, by the goodness of God, we are so farr from wante that we often wish you partakers of our plentie.” 2. Various chroniclers at the time of the First Thanksgiving described Massasoit as being very tall and slender, typical of the Wampanoags, “a very lusty man in his best years, an able body, grave of countenance, and spare of speech”. His clothing, or lack thereof, did not differ from that of his followers, “only in a great chain of white bone beads about his neck” and “Behind his neck hangs a little bag of tobacco, which he drank and gave us to drink; his face was painted with a sad, red like mulberry, he was oiled both head and face and looked greasy, a long knife hanging on a lace at his breast was his only weapon”
After such a warm welcome, things went sour for the tribe. Today they want to build a casino, so the legal battles continue for the People of the First Light.
People of the First Light
February 2, 2013
— 1 Comment
The Wampanoag tribe is known as the People of the First Light because they lived, hunted, fished and made wampum along the outer banks of New England before the Pilgrims landed. The dawn as viewed on this side of the Atlantic assures one that Europe is distant. New dawn in a new world is powerful natural medicine. As goes the story all across the nation, that medicine proved to be easily hackable by flim flam Euros. The First Light, and all the real estate with a fine view of same was desired by colonial imperialists as soon as they found it. Bare naked greed was employed to occupy the territory, form a government, and launch right into a big fat slave trade with big fat profits. Early in the disagreements King Philip, a native with a following, attempted to oust the invaders. This was used by the colonists as an excuse to starve and otherwise decimate the surviving native inhabitants in order to occupy all their real estate.
These same religious zealots who gave us the Salem witch trials used the Harvard Indian College as a political ploy to gain financial support in England for conversion of whatever was left of the heathen native people. This institution in Cambridge, like the Indian boarding schools in the western US, was designed to strip the natives of language and culture in order to make them good Christian citizens. Why colonize a place if you can’t decimate the population and make good fearful Christians of the survivors?
Frances Latham
January 31, 2013
Latham Coat of Arms
One of the graves I will look for in Newport, Rhode Island is that of Frances Latham. She sailed from England to Boston with her third husband, Jeremiah Clarke, and her four children from a previous marriage. After religious disagreements arose between the Pilgrims, many of my ancestors moved to Rhode Island for more religious tolerance.
Frances Latham (1608 – 1677)
is my 10th great grandmother
Daughter of Frances
Daughter of Sarah
Son of Sarah
Daughter of John
Son of MARGARET
Son of Benjamin
Son of Paul
Daughter of Valentine
Son of Sarah LaVina
Son of Jason A
Son of Ernest Abner
I am the daughter of Richard Arden
Birth: Feb. 15, 1609KempstonBedfordshire, England
Death: Sep. 2, 1677NewportNewport CountyRhode Island, USA
Frances Latham (Dungan Clarke Vaughn) is known as the “Mother of Governors”. Her third husband was the Reverent William Vaughn. She had four children by her first husband; from the descendants of these children are many distinquished statesmen. There are seven children born of her second marriage, and these too have given many governors to the country. Each one of Frances Latham Clarke’s sons served his country, or church, with public service, and each daughter married men who did the same. “She was undoubtedly a very attractive woman, her three marriages would indicate. One can only imagine the gathering of distinquished men and women in the “Common Burial Ground” of Newport when Frances Vaughn, recently widowed for the third time was laid in her grave.There was her eldest Clarke son, then governor, her daughter Mary, with her husband, then Deputy-Governor John Cranston and later governor; and their son Samuel, who before the century closed would also be governor; her daughter Sarah, sometime the wife of Governor Caleb Carr; Barbara with her husband, James Baker, to be chosen the next year as deputy governor; Frances and her husband, Major Randall Holden, ancestors of several of Rhode Island’s governors and one of Washington: Weston Clarke, then attorney-general; James, Latham, and Jeremiah Clarke, with their sons and daughters, and Rev. Thomas Dungan, who perhaps was the one to say the last sacred words over his mother’s grave “Mother of Governors”Her father was Sargeant Falconer Lewis Latham to King Charles I.Children not listed below: John Dungan (died young), William Dungan, Frances Dungan Holden, Elizabeth Dungan (died young), Walter Clarke, Latham Clarke and Jeremiah Clarke Spouses: Married four times1st Lord Weston2nd William Dungan3rd Capt. Jerimah Clark4th Rev. William Vaughn Family links: Spouses: William Dungan (1606 – 1636) Jeremy Clarke (1605 – 1652) Children: Barbara Dungan Barker (1628 – 1677)* Thomas Dungan (1635 – 1688)* Mary Clarke Stanton (1640 – 1711)* Weston Clarke (1648 – 1730)* James Clarke (1649 – 1736)* Sarah Clarke Pinner Carr (1651 – 1706)* Inscription:Here Lyeth ye Body of Mrs. Frances Vaughn, Alias Clarke, ye mother of ye only children of Capt’n Jeremiah Clarke. She died ye 1 Week in Sept. 1677 in ye 67th year of her age.” Burial:Common Burying Ground NewportNewport CountyRhode Island, USA.
Caleb Carr, Governor of Rhode Island Colony
January 30, 2013
— 3 Comments
Caleb Carr at Rest
I must amend this post because I made an error in my tree. After I had the good luck to visit Caleb, I learned that I had the wrong Sweet in the 1600s. I have corrected the error, but will am leaving this here for his fans. He is not my 9th great grandfather, but is my relative.
Gov. Caleb Carr , born in London, Eng., Dec. 9, 1616, came to America with his brother Robert, on the ship Elizabeth Ann, which sailed from London May 9, 1635. He settled in Newport, R.I., with his brother Robert about 1640. He held many offices of public trust and honor during his lifetime, and accumlated considerable property. He was general treasurer from May 21, 1661 to May 22, 1662. In 1687-8, he was justice of the General Quarterly Session and Inferior Court of Common Pleas. He was governor of the colony in 1695, which last office he held till his death, which occured on the 17th day of December, of the same year. He was drowned. In religious belief he was a Friend or Quaker.
He had seven children by his first wife Mercy, (probably Mercy Vaughan) who died Sept. 21, 1675, and was buried in the family burying ground. The inscription on her gravestone reads as follows: “Here lieth interred ye body of Mercy Carr, first wife of Caleb Carr, who departed this life ye 21st day of September, in ye 45th year of her age, and in the year of our Lord, 1675.” His second wife was Sarah Clarke, (Widow Pinner) daughter of Jeremiah Clarke, and sister of Gov. Walter Clarke, and by whom he had four children. She was born in 1651 and died in 1706.
He died Dec.17, 1695, and was buried in the family burying ground on Mill street, beside his first wife. The inscription on his tombstone reads: “Here lieth interred the body of Caleb Carr, governor of this colony, who departed this life ye 17th day of December, 1695, in ye 73rd (79) year of his age.”
Caleb Carr (1623 – 1695)
is my 9th great grandfather
Sarah Carr (1682 – 1765)
Daughter of Caleb
John Hammett (1705 – 1752)
Son of Sarah
MARGARET HAMMETT (1721 – 1753)
Daughter of John
Benjamin Sweet (1722 – 1789)
Son of MARGARET
Paul Sweet (1762 – 1836)
Son of Benjamin
Valentine Sweet (1791 – 1858)
Son of Paul
Sarah LaVina Sweet (1840 – 1923)
Daughter of Valentine
Jason A Morse (1862 – 1932)
Son of Sarah LaVina
Ernest Abner Morse (1890 – 1965)
Son of Jason A
Richard Arden Morse (1920 – 2004)
Son of Ernest Abner
Pamela Morse
I am the daughter of Richard Arden
On May 9, 1635 the ship Elizabeth and Ann slipped her moorings and put out from London, England under the command of Roger Cooper, Master. Her destination was New England. On board were on hundred and two passengers bearing permission to emmigrate to the new world that lay on the western shore of their ocean.
Among these passengers two should command our attention. These are listed in the old records as Robert and Caleb Carr. The notation of “Taylor” is appended to the name of Robert designating his trade. A later writer, Dr. Turner of Newport, refers to them as from Scotland. As yet we do not know exactly from whence they came.
Sometime in the following June (early midsummer, one account says) the ship arrived in Boston harbor and our ancestors were in America.
For the next two years we have to guess as to the residence of the two passengers on the Elizabeth and Ann. For the remainder of their lives Robert and Caleb Carr were close associates of William Coddington who came from Boston, Lincolnshire, England as of of the original members of the Mass. Bay Company in 1629 and was a leading merchant in Boston, Mass. during this period. Robert and Caleb landed at Boston and two years later left Boston. Adding all these facts together are w not permitted to assume that our ancestors were for these first two years of the living on this side the Atlantic in the rapidly growing town of Boston.
Early in 1637 a group of Boston people led by William Coddington left Boston because of religious differences. They went to Providence and conferred with Roger Williams as to settling in those parts. With the active aid of Mr. Williams the group purchased from the Indians the large town of Quidnick and immediately proceeded to the business of founding the town of Pocassit (later called Portsmouth). It is thought that the Carrs left Boston with this group. Certainly they were early at the Pocassit settlement for on Feb. 21, 1638 Robert Carr was listed as an inhabitant. It is my thought that Caleb who was still but a child of fourteen accompanied Robert.
Many seem to have come to the new settlement at Pocassit that summer of 1638 and the following winter for in the spring of the next year William Coddington and a small group of the leading men removed to the south end of the island to lay out a new settlement leaving at Pocassit a goodly company to carry on.
Again the Carrs followed William Coddington and like him remained at the new settlement the rest of their days. the name which they gave this new home was remained unchanged all these years. It is still Newport.
Lying in the mouth of Narragansett Bay off shore from Newport is the sizable island of Conanicut (known now as Jamestown). In contrast with the forested shores of Aquidnick, Conanicut had some cleared land where the Indians had for generations summered and grown their corn and vegetables. This area of hay, pasturage and vegetable land appealed to the forest bound inhabitants of Newport. Thus in 1659 we find William Coddington, Benedict Arnold, William Brenton, Caleb Carr and Richard Smith leading a company of Newport citizens in arranging the transfer of Conanicut and the small adjoining islands of Gould and Dutch to themselves. Chief Quisaquam made the transfer on the part of the Indians.
Both Robert and Caleb were among the ninety-eight original purchasers of the island. It is thought that neither of the brothers resided on the island. This move was left to their children.
Wampum
January 27, 2013
— 4 Comments
Wampum, or shell beads has been used for centuries in New England. After colonists arrived in America a currency exchange value was set to convert it European currency. This forever changed the meaning and trade value of what was a Native American tradition and source of historical pride. Once it was adopted by Dutch and English as currency it was manufactured in New York on Long Island as well as by Native tribes that dominated the newly created market for trading currency. Since both Native and Europeans could trade with it, it’s use thrived until the end of the 17th century. Counterfeiting was a problem during colonial times as it was more widely used. It was eventually phased out in favor of metal coins as the official currency of New England.
Before the colonists changed the meaning and tradition wampum was used in ceremonies and agreements.It is important as a covenant record and means of communication. Language was commonly understood in terms of wampum color. Messages and agreements were sealed by way of wampum belts created for the specific meaning. White shells had a brighter meaning and dark purple shells indicated heavier subjects. The tapestry woven into a wampum belt was a story. I am looking forward to seeing the new wampum being made today and perhaps some of the historical pieces. I will be visiting museums as well as living wampum artists. It is a fascinating subject.
Jeremiah Clarke of Rhode Island, 10th Great Grandfather
January 27, 2013
— 15 Comments
Jeremiah Clarke, my 10th great grandfather, nickname Jeremy Clarke, b. 1605 in East Farleigh, Kent, England, d. Jan 1652 in Newport, Newport County, Rhode Island, buried in Newport, Newport County, Rhode Island, resided 1638 in Aquidneck and Portsmouth.
Jeremy Clarke president governor
Newport County, Rhode Island, resided 1640 in Newport, Newport County, Rhode Island, immigrated ABOUT 1637 in (Probably) Rhode Island, event in Member of Lincoln’s Inn ?, military Captain, occupation 1647 – 1649 Treasurer of Rhode Island, occupation 1648 Acting Governor of the colony. From the Plantagenet Ancestry book, it’s not clear whether it was Jeremiah Clarke or Thomas that was a member of Lincoln’s Inn. “Jeremy Clarke, baptised East Farleigh, Kent 1 Dec. 1605, emigrated about 1637, resided Newport, Rhode Island, freeman 16 Mar.1640/1, treasurer of Rhode Island; buried Newport 11 mo., [Jan.] 1651/2;married, in England, about 1637 to Frances (Lathaum) Dungan, baptised at Kepston, Co. Bedford, 15 Feb. 1609/10, died September 1677, buried Newport, widow of Thomas Dungan, Gent., of Lincoln’s Inn, Middlesex, and daughter of Lewis Latham, Gent., Sergeant Falconer to King Charles I, by his wife Elizabeth. She married, third, before 18 Jan. 1656 to Rev. William Vaughan, died on or before 2 Sep 1677.” Arms of Jeremy Clarke: Gold on a bend engrailed azure a cinqfoil of the field. Note: maybe the arms for father William.) East Farleigh has a fine medieval bridge over which General Fairfax marched in 1648 to the Battle of Maidstone. Jeremiah may have died 11 Jan 1651. He married Frances LATHAM, married ABOUT 1637 in England.
Jeremiah Clarke (1605 – 1661)
is my 10th great grandfather
Daughter of Jeremiah
Daughter of Sarah Clarke
Son of Sarah
Daughter of John
Son of MARGARET
Son of Benjamin
Son of Paul
Daughter of Valentine
Son of Sarah LaVina
Son of Jason A
Son of Ernest Abner
I am the daughter of Richard Arden
I will visit his grave in Newport in April, and plan to learn as much about him as I can. There has been some work done on his ancestry, which leads back to those tricky Plantagenets who just about married everyone everywhere. Here are notes on his family tree:
In early preparations for his forthcoming Magna Carta Ancestry, Douglas Richardson has also traced the matrilineal line of my second royally-descended immigrant forebear, Acting Gov. Jeremiah Clarke of Rhode Island, to Sancha Blount, daughter of Sir Thomas Blount and Margaret Gresley, and granddaughter of Sir Walter Blount and the famed Sancha de Ayala, sister of a great-great-grandfather of Ferdinand I (1452-1516), generally considered the first king of United Spain, husband of Isabella of Castile and sponsor of Columbus. For more on Sancha, her Spanish ancestry and her immigrant American and presidential descendants, see National Genealogical Society Quarterly 51 (1963): 235-38, my Ancestors of American Presidents, 1st ed. (1995, hereafter AAP), pp. 365-68, and Register 152 (1998): 36-48, the latter a brilliant piece by Nathaniel L. Taylor and Todd A. Farmerie. Sancha Blount, granddaughter of Sancha de Ayala, married Edward Langford, and had a daughter Alice Langford who married John Stradling of Dauntsey and Richard Pole of Isleworth, later Sir Richard Pole, husband also of Margaret Plantagenet, Countess of Salisbury and niece of Kings Edward IV and Richard III. John and Alice left a daughter, Anne Stradling, who married Sir John Danvers. From the 1895 English Danvers genealogy, plus a recent successor, and the 1878 English Chester of Chicheley genealogy, the line to Clarke is clear. Sir John Danvers and Anne Stradling had a daughter Anne, wife of Thomas Lovett and John Wyke and mother in turn of Elizabeth Lovett, wife of Anthony Cave. Mary Cave, a daughter of these last, married Sir Jerome Weston and was the mother of both Richard Weston, 1st Earl of Portland, Lord Treasurer under Charles II, and Mary Weston, wife of William Clerke and mother of Acting Gov. Jeremiah Clarke of Rhode Island.
Providence Party
January 25, 2013
— 2 Comments
Space and time are the first two elements of fine festivity. A party, gentle reader, must have room to breathe and become what it wants to be. One can always have impeccable timing if one takes time to consider the elements and the goals. My party in Providence, RI is to celebrate with the living and the dead. I will visit some of my ancestors who lived there in the early 1600’s and discover people who live there now. For me , this is an excellent balance. I like both groups equally.
The city contains historic buildings and museums that will please me a great deal, but I have also perceived some excellent night life and party opportunities downtown. I will visit Plymouth Colony, Martha’s Vineyard, and the Wampanoag village before returning to Providence to party. I will probably need a day to myself in the Rhode Island School of Design Museum, after which I believe I will feel like painting Rhode Island red (a little rooster humor). I love nothing better than historic architecture put to modern artful uses. I am highly attracted to the whole state because it is so tiny and well preserved. It appears to have fabulous taste and a high fun factor, not to mention a history of wealth and power. I am looking forward to discovering what Providence has in store for me.
mermaidcamp 