John Crowell, Tenth Great-Grandfather

September 13, 2016 — 1 Comment

family history

My tenth great-grandfather was part of the Great Migration. He moved to Cape Cod in January of 1639.   Many Pilgrims who moved out to Cape Cod got in trouble with the Plymouth church. In those days reaching villages on Cape Cod was a long hard  journey from Plymouth.   Some of my ancestors who lived on Cape Cod became (or already were) Quakers, and some moved to Rhode Island to escape the oppressive Pilgrim Fathers.

On January 7, 1639 the court record refers to the land grant to the first settlers John Crow, Thomas Howes, and Anthony Thacher as “the lands of Mattacheeset, now called Yarmouth”. This is considered the first usage of the name.
“Yarmouth” to represent the new township to the east of Barnstable.

Plymouth Colony: Its History and People 1620-1691 Part One: Chronological Histories Chapter 3: The Founding of Towns (1633-1643) Yarmouth On 7 January 1638/39, the Court of Assistants granted lands at “Mattacheeset, now called Yarmouth” to Mr. Anthony Thatcher, Mr. Thomas Howes, Mr. John Crow, and John Coite “to be enquired of.” Coite might have been the man of that name of Marblehead, but apparently he did not move to Plymouth Colony. Thatcher, Howes, and Crow were proposed [p.66] as freemen of Yarmouth, along with Mr. Marmaduke Mathews, Philip Tabor, William Palmer, Samuel Rider, William Lumpkin, and Thomas Hatch. It was also specifically noted that “Old Worden (dead),” Burnell, Wright, and Wat Deville were “Psons there excepted against,” probably meaning they were not eligible to be given freemen status, and showing that some form of settlement had already been in existence. In fact, on 4 September 1638 the General Court ordered the inhabitants of Sandwich and “Mattacheese or Yarmouth” to build a bridge over the Eel River (which was just a bit south of Plymouth town, and had to be crossed for travel between Plymouth and the Cape). On 5 March 1638/39 William Palmer was authorized by the General Court to be the one at Yarmouth who would exercise inhabitants in arms, and William Chase was elected constable there. It is apparent that earlier the Plymouth Court had granted land at Yarmouth to others also, for on 1 April 1639 it noted that lands at Mattacheese (another confusion of the names, for it should have been Mattacheeset) were granted to persons who should have inhabited there long ago, but did not, and the grantees “are not likely to come to inhabite there in their owne persons, and lest such as are there should receive in unto them unworthy persons, whereof the Court hath lamentable experience …, the Court doth order that onely such of them wch at present are there shall remayne & make use of some lands for their present necessity, but shall not divide any portions of lands there either to themselves or any others
American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI)

John Sr Crowell (1590 – 1673)
10th great-grandfather
Yelverton Crowell (1621 – 1683)
son of John Sr Crowell
Elishua Crowell (1643 – 1708)
daughter of Yelverton Crowell
Yelverton Gifford (1676 – 1772)
son of Elishua Crowell
Ann Gifford (1715 – 1795)
daughter of Yelverton Gifford
Frances Congdon (1738 – 1755)
daughter of Ann Gifford
Samuel Thomas Sweet (1765 – 1844)
son of Frances Congdon
Valentine Sweet (1791 – 1858)
son of Samuel Thomas Sweet
Sarah LaVina Sweet (1840 – 1923)
daughter of Valentine Sweet
Jason A Morse (1862 – 1932)
son of Sarah LaVina Sweet
Ernest Abner Morse (1890 – 1965)
son of Jason A Morse
Richard Arden Morse (1920 – 2004)
son of Ernest Abner Morse
Pamela Morse
I am the daughter of Richard Arden Morse

The Crowell family in North Dennis is descended from John Crow, who came, it is said, from Wales in 1635, to Charlestown, where he and his wife, Elishua, joined the church. It is probable that they sojourned there until 1639, when Mr. Crow came with Anthony Thacher and Thomas Howes to Yarmouth, with a grant from the court, having previously taken the oath of allegiance. All the first settlers
selected spots for their homes adjacent to good springs of water. The brook that flows through the village of North Dennis had numerous fine flowing springs to supply the need of the first comers. John Crow built his home north of the center of the present village, near the spot where the late Philip Vincent lived. His land, much of which is still owned by his descendants, was east of Indian Fields, and extended from the shore to the top of the hills back of the settlement. John Crow was a man of character and influence in the infant town of Yarmouth, filling many important offices. He died in 1673. His sons were: John, Samuel and Thomas. John married Mehitable. daughter of Rev. John Miller of Yarmouth. A grandson of John Crow, sr., whose name was John, was the first person buried in the North Dennis cemetery. He died in 1727. The name about that time had developed into Crowell. The offspring of John Crow are now to be found in all parts of the country, occupying important positions, with honor and credit to the name. Those who have remained upon the hereditary acres have produced in every generation men of ability and distinction. The late Hon. Seth Crowell and his cousin, Capt. Prince S. Crowell, and Mr. William Crowell, the well-known cranberry grower and seller, are illustrations of the character of the Crowells in the seventh generation. The family has never been large in North Dennis. Two pews in the old church sufficed to accommodate their needs for sitting room. Many of the family, before the old meeting house was torn down in 1838, had become desciples of John Wesley and left the church of their fathers.
Mr. Jeremiah Crowell, a descendant in the fourth generation from the grantee, John Crow, was for two generations a village celebrity. He lived in what was called “Crow Town,” just outside the western limits of Indian Field. The public highway went no farther east than his house in his day. The county road went through the woods south of Scargo hill. Mr. Crowell constructed a globe with the four quarters of the earth marked upon it. This was received by the Nobscusset children with open-eyed wonder. It was to be seen only, however, upon payment of one cent per head. He had besides a mammoth kite with a string a mile long, with a tail of wondrous length. He kept a daily journal of passing events, such as the capture of a whale, the arrival home of the Cod fishermen, the state of the weather, and the direction of the wind. But his great effort was the building of a pair of wings and attempting to fly. This was an achievement beyond his power to accomplish. The flying he regarded as practical and easy, but the alighting was difficult. He died at an advanced age, about the close of the last century.