Genealogy Report: Ancestors of Arnold Victor Guilford
Ancestors of Arnold Victor Guilford
256.Paul Guilford317,318,319, born 22 Apr 1653 in Hingham, Massachusetts320; died Aft. 5 Jul 1690 in died during an expedition for an assault on Quebec321,322.He was the son of 512. John Guilford and 513. Susanna Knowlton.He married 257. Susanna Pullen 20 Feb 1676/77 in Hingham, Plymouth, MA322,323.
257.Susanna Pullen323,324,325, born ca. 1660 in Hingham, Plymouth, MA326; died 8 Apr 1690 in Hingham, Plymouth, MA327,328.
Notes for Paul Guilford:
The following are extracts from The Ancestry of Dr. J. P. Guilford, Vol. 1Seventeenth-Century New England Colonials, by Joan S. Guilford, Ph. D.- Call number CS71.g957 Copyright 1990 by Joan S. Guilford, Published 1990 by Sheridan Psychological Services, Inc., P.O. Box 6101, Orange, CA92613-6101),pp. 324-325 and from The Guilford Families by Margaret Guilford-Kardell - Lib. of Congress #:83-082579 - Copyright 1983 by the author, published by Guilford-Kardell Research Enterprises, P.O. Box 5, Lakehead, CA 96051, pp. 215-217:
"Paul2 Guilford was baptized on August 14, 1653, at Hingham, Mass., and orphaned in his seventh year. He was indentured to Jeremiah Bumstead, but was released from service 30 April 1672 and 'committed to the honored Governor to dispose of to a good master as he pleaseth.' On 30 July 1672, the Session ordered Jeremiah Bumstead to deliver over to the Governor Paul2's indenture and his clothes. On 23 October 1673, Paul2 was'presented by the Grand Jury for brutish and Uncivilized
carriages and noe Evidence appearing against him was discharged.' In 1675, he was named with his sister Susanna2 as heir to his maternal grandmother's estate from which he received two parts and Susanna the rest (Guilford-Kardell, p. 215).
He evidently first marched under Capt. Joshua Hobart of Hingham in 1675 during King Philip's War, being on the roll of payments 24 August 1675. He once more marched under Capt. Samuel Wadsworth and was paid on 24 July 1676 and Hingham paid him further for service under Capt. John
Holbrook (see Bodge, pp. 222; 281; 368).
In February of 1677 Paul2 married Susanna Pullen, thought to be daughter of Edward1 and Elizabeth (----) Pullen at Hingham (NEHGR 2:254). The record was made by the Rev. Peter Hobart who performed the marriage. In 1679, Paul2's name appeared on the list of persons at Hingham who took the oath of allegiance and in this same year he was 'convicted of affronting the Constable in the Execution of his Office' and sentenced to pay 10 shillings (Guilford-Kardell, p. 216).
According to the genealogy, he was a joiner, the term she says was used for architect but other sources say meant carpenter. He also owned several pieces of land, not only at Hingham, but in Maine. Some of the land he sold was with the consent of the overseers, presumably because it was land that he had inherited from his father who received it from the town. In 1679 he sold a house and home lot to Enoch Hobart, described as being bordered on the west by the sea with a street in front.
"On 8 April of 1690, Susanna died at Hingham and it is assumed that at the time, Paul2 was on expedition with Sir William Phipps [of Maine] who first sailed from Boston early in the spring of that year to Port Royal [Nova Scotia] to fight the French [in King William's War]. That effort being successful, Phipps again regrouped at Boston with about 30 ships and 2,000 Masssachusetts men for an assault on Quebec, this expedition meeting with disaster. Paul2 was among those who were either killed or carried off by smallpox during this expedition. Before he left Hingham, he prepared a will on 5 July 1690 to assure the welfare of his children, their mother now being deceased. He directed that certain lands be set apart for the education of William3."
More About Paul Guilford:
Baptism: 14 Aug 1653
Cause of Death: possibly small pox
Note: listed in the "National Society Daughters of Colonial Wars", Vol. II
Occupation: Joiner (architect/carpenter)
More About Susanna Pullen:
Fact 1: thought to be daughter of Edward Pullen & Elizabeth329
Marriage Notes for Paul Guilford and Susanna Pullen:
married by Rev. Peter Hobart
Child of Paul Guilford and Susanna Pullen is:
128 | i. | William Guilford, born ca. Jun 1689 in Hingham, Plymouth, MA; died ca. 1760 in Leicester, Worcester, MA; married Elizabeth Wright 7 Mar 1710/11 in Scituate, MA. |
258.Thomas Wright330,331, died 1691 in Scituate, Plymouth, MA.He married 259. Elizabeth ?.
259.Elizabeth ?, died Unknown.
Notes for Thomas Wright:
Information and sources taken from Ancestry.com World Tree - Wilson/Stevens Ancestors -
Updated:Dec 20, 2001 - Contact: Richard Wilson <[email protected]> :
History of Scituate, Mass., p. 393, says that Thomas was prob. a grandson of William Wright, who came in the Fortune in Nov. 1621.
Sources:
Author: Torrey, Clarence Almon, and Elizabeth P. Bentley
Title: New England Marriages Prior to 1700
Publication: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, 1985 (w/ rev'd intro. by Gary Boyd Roberts), c. 1985 by NEHGS
Note: Excellent compendium of New England marriages by Torrey, a towering figure in New. Eng. genealogy
Page:843
Author: Leonard, Clarence Etteinne
Title: Fulton-Hayden-Warner Ancestry in America
Publication: New York: Tobias A. Wright, 1923
Note:Includes information on the Guilford line, from John Gilford, b. ca. 1590 in England
Page:272
Children of Thomas Wright and Elizabeth ? are:
129 | i. | Elizabeth Wright, born Bef. 9 Sep 1683 in Scituate (Hanover), Plymouth, MA; died Unknown; married William Guilford 7 Mar 1710/11 in Scituate, MA. | ||
ii. | Jane Wright332, died Unknown; married Benjamin Hanmer; died Unknown. | |||
iii. | John Wright332, died Unknown. | |||
iv. | Martha Wright333, died Unknown; married John Ford; died Unknown. | |||
v. | Mary Wright333, died Unknown; married Benjamin Woodworth; died Unknown. |
264.David Burt334,335,336, born ca. Oct 1629 in Harberton, Devonshire, England337; died 9 Sep 1690 in Northampton, Hampshire, MA337.He was the son of 528. Henry Burt* and 529. Eulalia March*.He married 265. Mary Holton 18 Nov 1655 in Northampton, Hampshire, MA337,338.
265.Mary Holton339,340,341, born 1 Sep 1636 in Hartford, Hartford, CT342; died 16 Dec 1718 in Northfield, Franklin, MA343.She was the daughter of 530. William Holton and 531. Mary.
Notes for David Burt:
One of the first settlers at Northampton, MA and his home was on King St.His marriage was the first ever performed in Northampton.
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Sources for information on the Burt family:
"Genealogical Research in England, NEHGS "Register," Vol 86, pg. 219 & "The Ancestry of Lorenzo Ackley...," N.G. Parke & D.L. Jacobus, 1960, pg. 233
Title: Hale, House and Related Families
Author: Donald Lines Jacobus & Edgar Francis Waterman
Publication: Hartford, CT: 1952; repr. Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1978
Repository:NEHGS Library
pg. 489
"Gen. Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England," James Savage, 1860-1862 & "Genealogical Research in England," NEHGS "Register," Vol 86, pg. 219 & "Gen. Records of Henry & Ulalia Burt," Roderic k H. Burnham, 1892, pg. 31.
Northampton, MA - Deaths in Vital Records to 1840, posted online at: [ftp://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ma/hampshire/towns/northampton/vitals/death001.txt].
Title: History of the Town of Sunderland, Massachusetts with Genealogies
Author: John Montague Smith, genealogies by Henry W. Taft & Abbie T. Montague
Publication: Greenfield, MA: 1899
Repository:Morristown Free Public Library, Morristown, NJ & NEHGS Library
pg. 280
Title: American Marriage Records Before 1699
Author: William Montgomery Clemens
Publication: Pompton Lakes, NJ: The Bilbio Company, 1926
Repository:www.Ancestry.com
Marriages, sorted by the groom's surname, in the Vital Records for Northampton, MA, from the town's first record to around 1840:
[ftp://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ma/hampshire/towns/northampton/vit als/marr0001.txt].
More About David Burt:
Baptism: 18 Oct 1629, Herberton, Devonshire, England344
Notes for Mary Holton: From RootsWeb's WorldConnect Project - Ancestry of Bob and Mary Beth Wheeler last updated Feb 20, 2000 - Mary Beth Wheeler <[email protected]>: Alternate date of death 16 Dec. 1713, per "Gen. Records of Henry & Ulalia Burt," Roderick H. Burnham, 1892, pg. 35 and "Ancestry of Lorenzo Ackley & his wife Emma Arabella Bosworth," N.G. Parke & DD. L. Jacobus, 1960, pg. 233 and "History of the Town of Northfield,MA," pg. 529 and "Hale, House & Related Families," pg. 489. |
More About Mary Holton:
Died 2: 1718, of Northampton, Hampshire, MA345
Children of David Burt and Mary Holton are:
i. | David Burt346, born 14 Jul 1656; died 30 Aug 1660. | |||
ii. | Jonathan Burt346, born 1 May 1658; died 15 Apr 1662. | |||
132 | iii. | Henry Burt, born 20 Aug 1660 in of Pine Meadow, Litchfield, CT; died 26 Sep 1736 in Northampton, Hampshire, MA; married (1) Elizabeth Alvord 12 Dec 1684 in Northampton, Hampshire, MA; married (2) Hannah Denslow 9 Dec 1687 in Northampton, Hampshire, MA; married (3) Mary Thayer 22 Aug 1690 in Northampton, Hampshire, MA. | ||
iv. | Mary Burt346, born 18 Mar 1662/63; died 3 Nov 1666. | |||
v. | Sarah Burt346, born 2 May 1665; died 14 May 1689; married Robert Porter; died Unknown. | |||
vi. | Hannah Burt346, born 2 Sep 1667; died 3 May 1689. | |||
vii. | David Burt346, born 25 Aug 1669; died 9 Feb 1689/90. | |||
viii. | Jonathan Burt346, born 5 Sep 1671; died 15 Oct 1745; married Mindwell Taylor; died Unknown. |
Notes for Jonathan Burt: JONATHAN BURT.--1671-1745. Jonathan Burt, the second son of David Burt of Northampton, that grew to manhood, married Mindwell Taylor, June 2, 1696. They had five children and he d. October 15, 1745, aged 74 years. The children were: 1. Jonathan, b. July, 1697, who d. unmarried, December 3, 1786, aged 89 years. 2. Eleazar, b. January 30, 1699, d. January 14, 1704. 3. Mindwell, b. November 22, 1700, m. Josiah King 1724. 4. Lydia, date of birth not known, m. Azariah Beach in 1730. 5. Eleazar, b. December 29, 1717, m. Abigail Baker, June 3, 1762. He lived in Northampton, and d. February 28, 1787, aged 69 years. The children of Eleazar, the son, were: Edward, b. July 16, 1763, who lived in Northampton and left one son, who died in New Orleans; Mindwell, b. December 26, 1764, and m. Elisha Babcock; Elizabeth, b. August 1, 1766, who m. Simeon Bartlett, Jr., in 1792; Jonathan, b. July 31, 1768, and d. unmarried, February 10, 1809; Andrew, baptized January 25, 1771, removed to Cincinnati, where he left children, whose descendants are among the prominent citizens of the place; Abigail, baptized February 10, 1774, and m. George Clapp, Jr., in 1794. Jonathan's son Jonathan bought the property known in recent years as the Asahel Wood house, at the lower end of Pleasant street, in Northampton, in 1722, and he left it by will to the children of his brother, Eleazar, viz: Edward, Mindwell, Elizabeth, Jonathan, Andrew and Abigail. Edward bought the interest of the other heirs, and there have since been seven different owners of this property. |
ix. | Joseph Burt346, born 26 Sep 1673; died 19 Jun 1759; married Sarah Cowles; died Unknown. |
Notes for Joseph Burt: JOSEPH BURT.--1673-1759. Joseph, the ninth child of David Burt of Northampton, and the third son to rear a family, spent the greater part of his life at Northfield. He was born September 26, 1673, and m. Sarah Cowles, daughter of John Cowles of Hatfield, April 16, 1702. He d. at Northfield, June 19, 1759, and his wife May 21, 1772, aged 91 years. Joseph was a cordwainer by trade and after his marriage lived in Hatfield, until 1717, when he became one of the first settlers of Northfield. He led a busy life, filling many town offices, engaging in Indian warfare, and going with his company on the Crown Point expedition. He accumulated a large property for his times and continued up to his death a prominent and useful citizen. His children were: 1. Sarah, b. March 25, 1703. 2. Esther, b. January 9, 1704, m. December 14, 1722, Benjamin Knight. 3. Mary, b. February 8, 1706, d. November 26, 1722. 4. John, b. August 26, 1709, d. December 1, 1759. 5. Eleazer, b. 1711. He was living in Northfield in 1762. 6. Miriam, b. September 2, 1713. 7. Asahel, b. August 31, 1715, d. April 15, 1747,--slain by the Indians. 8. Aaron, b. September 17, 1717, m. Miriam Elmer, d. 1792. JOSEPH BURT'S WILL. The will of Joseph Burt, given below, is on file at the Probate Office in Northampton: IN the name of God Amen, The first day of January, Anno Dom. 1754. I, Joseph Burt, of Northfield, in the County of Hampshire, & Provience of the Massachusetts Bay, &c. Freeholder, Being far advanced in years but yet of perfect mind & memory, thanks be given to God; But calling to mind the mortality of my body, and knowing that it is appointed for all men once to die, Do make and ordain this my last will and testament. That is to say, principally and first of all, I give & recommend my Soul into the hands of God that gave it, & my body I recommend to the earth, to be Buried in a decent Christian burial, at the discretion of my executors, nothing doubting but at the general Resurrection I shall receive the same again by the mighty power of God. And as touching such wordly estate wherewith it hath pleased God to bless me in this life, I give, Demise, & Dispose of the same, in the following manner & form, viz: Imps. I give and bequeath to my loving wife & to my son John, the use and improvement of all my estate During their natural lifes. Item. I give & bequeath to my daughter Sarah Elgar, Six pounds, to be paid by my executor in three months after my decease. Item. I give to my daughter Miriam Allen, Twenty shillings, to be paid in three months after my deceased as afforesaid. Item. I give to my daughter, Mary Wire, Twenty shillings, to be paid at the time & manner aforesaid. Item. I give & bequeath to my Grandsons Simeon & Benjamin Knight & to my grand daughter Hannah Wright, five shillings each, & to my grand daughter Esther Cole, a Bible, at the time & manner abovesaid. Item. I Give to my son Aaron all my housen, buildings & lands, (excepting a lot of land in upper Island meadow, or Ashuelot Daught, so called) together with all my moveable estate, to be his, & his heirs after the deceased of my wife & my son John. Item. I give to my Grandson Joseph Burt, five shillings at my decease, & to my Grandsons Benj. & Enos Burt, eight pounds each, to be paid by my executor when they arrive to the age of twenty-one years, & to my grandson Reuben Burt, a lot of land in Island meadows, adjoining to a lot of land that was in the possession of my son Asahel, in his life time, and also a weaven loom, to be his when he arrives to the age of twenty-one years. Item. I will & order that if either of my Grandsons, the sons of Asahel Burt, die before they come to the age of twenty-one years, then the other surviving breatheren shall have & divide the deceased part or portion of the estate amongst themselves in equal proportions. Item. I constitute and appoint my son Aaron Burt, my executor of this my last will and testament, and I do hereby utterly disallow, revoke and annull all and every other former Wills, Testaments, Legacies and Bequeaths, & Executors, by me in any ways before Named, Willed and Bequeathed, Ratifying and confirming this & no other to be my last will & testament. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand & Seal the day and year above written. JOSEPH BURT, Seal. Signed, Sealed, Published, prinounced and declaired by the said Joseph Burt as his last will & testament before us the subscribers. NEHEMIAH WRIGHT, SETH FIELD, ELIPHAZ WRIGHT. AT a court of probate holden at Northampton, within & for the county of Hampshire, on the second Tuesday of February, being the 8th day of said month, An. Dom. 1757, I Timothy Dwight, Esq., Judge of Probate Court: The foregoing will was presented for probate by the executor therein named, & Seth Field, Esq., & Eliphas Wright, two of the witnesses to the same, personally appearing, made oath that they saw Joseph Burt, the testator, sign & seal & heard him pronounced & declared the same to be his last will & testament, & that he was of sound mind & memory when he did it, & that they with Nehemiah Wright, all signed as witnesses to the same in presence of the Testator, & of each other, wherefore it is ratified, approved, & confirmed, as the last Will & Testament of Sd. deceased. TIMOTHY DWIGHT. Feby. 8th, 1757, Sworn to by Seth Field, Esq., & Eliphaz Wright in Comform, & they saw the other sign. |
x. | Mary Burt347, born 3 May 1676; died 13 Apr 1734; married (1) Thomas Hastings; born 1 Jul 1652; died Unknown; married (2) Samuel Belding; born 6 Apr 1657; died Unknown. |
More About Thomas Hastings: Relationship: Ancestor of Thomas Hastings, Esq., Musical Doctor and Composer in NY |
xi. | Ruth Burt348, born Apr 1677 in Northampton, Hampshire, MA; died Mar 1745/46 in Northampton, Hampshire, MA; married Nehemiah Allen 1710; born 6 Nov 1669 in Northampton, Hampshire, MA; died 1738 in Northampton, Hampshire, MA. | |||
xii. | Benjamin Burt348, born 17 Nov 1680 in Northampton, Hampshire, MA; died 20 May 1759 in Wethersfield, Hartford, CT; married Sarah Belden 1702 in Deerfield, Franklin, MA; born 15 Mar 1681/82 in of Hatsfield, Hampshire, MA; died 1749 in Ridgefield, Fairfield, CT. |
Notes for Benjamin Burt: BENJAMIN BURT.--1680-1759. THE DEERFIELD MASSACRE--CAPTURE OF HIMSELF, WIFE AND OTHERS--THEIR WINTER MARCH TO CANADA. Benjamin Burt was the twelfth child of David and Mary Holton Burt; he was born at Northampton, Mass., on November 17, 1680. During his childhood the borderland along the Connecticut valley was the theatre of Indian forays and massacres. When eight years old his brother David, a soldier on duty at Schenectady, N. Y., was taken prisoner on the dreadful night of February 9, 1690, when that town was destroyed by the French and Indians, and was never again heard of, as stated in the previous sketch. Having added to his occupation as farmer the additional craft of blacksmith, Benjamin moved in 1701 to Deerfield, the outpost settlement of Massachusetts. Here, on October 19, 1702, he married Sarah, daughter of Daniel Belden, who had greatly suffered in his family by Indian outrages. Deerfield is beautifully situated near the confluence of the valleys of the Deerfield and Connecticut rivers, and contains a large area of that alluvial soil so attractive to early settlers. It is surrounded by a picturesque region of hills and vales, but its location at the union of river valleys from the north, west and east made it easily accessible to hostile approach from those directions. These conditions and its extreme frontier position had attracted to it as a strategic point the savage enemy in the "King Philip" and the French wars. In 1703, its exposed site led to its fortification by a palisade of tree trunks entirely surrounding it, and to its protection by a garrison. In January, 1704, an expedition was formed at Montreal, Canada, under the command of Major Hertel de Rouville, for a foray upon Deerfield. The party consisted of two hundred Frenchmen and one hundred and forty-two Indians, and Major de Rouville had for subaltern officers his two brothers. The foray upon Schenectady fourteen years earlier was almost exactly repeated. The invaders made a forced march through the wilderness and suffered terribly from the intense cold. When they reached the vicinity of their destination there were four feet of snow on the ground and the crust on it was sufficiently strong to bear the weight of men, while the drifts had made easy inclined paths to the top of the palisade that encircled the devoted village. The sole sentinel on duty, depending upon the mid-winter rigor as a sufficient defense, had been unfaithful to his trust and sought shelter from the icy blasts, when just before daybreak on February 29, the assault was ordered upon the undefended and unsuspicious town. A general attack was simultaneously made by the invaders scattered throughout the settlement. The unfortunate inhabitants, wakened from slumber and pleasant dreams by the frightful warwhoops of the savages, were massacred or disabled as they ran afrighted from their assaulted homes, to which incendiary torches were applied to illumine the awful scene. As in other such raids the Frenchmen failed to restrain their barbarous allies, and the imagination can but faintly conceive the terror and frenzy that overwhelmed the homely people of that quiet hamlet when they realized in the mingling light of flame and dawn that they were in the hands of their ruthless foe. What a commentary upon the utter barbarism of war was the misery of these ill-fated people, caused by the quarrels of two monarchs three thousand miles distant. Very few of the unfortunate people escaped to the adjacent forest, and such of the others as were not slaughtered at sight were gathered in the open space near the little church; and among these were Benjamin Burt and his wife, who had escaped death only to witness the destruction of their home. Less than eight years earlier, in a sudden raid upon her father's house, Mrs. Burt had seen her mother, two brothers and infant sister killed by the Indians, and another brother desperately wounded, while she escaped by hiding in the attic, and her father, a brother and a sister were taken captive to Canada, whence they did not return for two years. Her father's fate was the best that could now befall her, as she and the other wretched survivors clung together in scanty attire, alternately chilled by the winter's cold or scorched by the heat of their blazing homes, as they tearfully counted the slain by their absence, mingled their lamentations over the loss of loved ones, and saw all their treasure turning to ashes, while a dreadful uncertainty obscured their own fate. In their midst their revered pastor, the Rev. John Williams, addressed prayers for divine assistance and support, which were interrupted by the orders to march, as the forlorn captives were driven from the village, while its conflagration still continued. The number of prisoners was one hundred and twelve, and among them were Mrs. Burt's step-mother, Mrs. Hepzibah Belden, and Mr. Burt's cousin, Nathaniel Brooks, with his wife and two children. The prisoners were first taken to the "west mountain" north of the late village, and on the same afternoon started on their terrible journey to Canada. Their route was up the valley of the Connecticut, and the deep snows and rugged character of the wilderness made their progress as slow as it was painful; on March 3 they had gone only thirty miles on their way and advance after that date was even slower. The condition and sufferings of these unfortunate creatures cannot be adequately described; in the few brief, agonizing minutes of the attack they had neither forethought nor time to make the least preparation for such a fearful journey; poorly clad and shod, the rocks, bushes and brambles soon rent their scanty garments and when sodden with the penetrating melted snow their power to resist the icy blasts was almost exhausted. At night when the exertion of motion no longer stimulated their blood they could only save their vital warmth by lying close together in the snow, a feebly palpitating mass of misery. There was the further privation of insufficient food, the Indians always depending for subsistence on their forays upon the hap-hazard wild game that fell in their way. Of course the captives received the minimum share of such poor food as they had and that of a quality repugnant to the weaker ones. The women and children naturally suffered the most from the unintermitting fatigue and deficient food, and when they lagged or were disabled they were immediately slain by the impatient and ruthless savages. The wife (Mrs. Williams was, before marriage, Eunice Mather, daughter of Rev. Eleazar Mather, the first minister in Northampton) of Pastor Williams was the first victim, having given out early in the march, and was tomahawked in the presence of her afflicted husband and children. The next victim was Mrs. Belden, the step-mother of Mrs. Burt, then nearly sixty years old, and who met the fate that about ten years earlier had overtaken her three daughters at Hatfield, where they were tomahawked by the Indians. Altogether there were thus slain on this sad journey nineteen captives, most of them being pregnant women. Some of these poor creatures, when they felt that their powers of endurance were nearly exhausted, calmly prepared for death by seeking the consolation of prayer with Mr. Williams, who gives in his journal a pathetic account of the resignation and heroism of these brave souls about to part from their tortured, worn-out bodies. On this direful march none endured more than Mrs. Burt; when she started upon it she was in the eighth month of her first pregnancy, and despite the solicitous aid of her husband could scarcely have borne the burdens, rigors, privations and horrors of those twenty-five woeful days, had she not been sustained by her youth and extraordinary powers of endurance. The writer has often in fancy depicted to himself this ancestress, subjected in her early wifehood to that direful ordeal; the days of unmitigated misery in the deep snows of the bleak and trackless wilderness; the piercing cold; the sore, aching, frost-bitten limbs; the ever gnawing hunger; the slaughter of her step-mother and of the many women burdened like herself; of the long nights haunted by the vague dread of the morrow with all its known and unknowable terrors. Was it with joy or dread that she felt within her the throbs of her unborn child? When the party reached Co”s in Vermont (near the present site of Newbury on the Connecticut) it was entirely destitute of provisions and two of the captives died here of sheer starvation. The hunters having succeeded in getting some game, the dreary march was resumed, until on March 25 the party reached Chambl‚, about eighteen miles northeast of Montreal. Here, on April 14, Mrs. Burt was delivered of her first child, a son named Christopher. Subsequently the captives were distributed among the Indians and French and put to various services, the larger portion of them being employed in the convent and Jesuit academy near Montreal, Mr. Burt and his wife being among these. Strong efforts were made to convert them to the Roman Catholic faith and these Mr. Williams subsequently denounced in earnest phrase in his rare and famous book, "The Redeemed Captive Returning to Zion." The destruction of Deerfield excited great interest and sympathy throughout New England. Among the recent publications of the Massachusetts Historical Society is the diary of Mr. Samuel Sewall. He writes at Boston on March 6, 1704: "We are extreamly grieved to hear that Fifty Seven persons were kill'd and Ninety Captivated out of the little Town of Deerfield. The very worthy Minister, Mr. John Williams, and his wife, are among the Captives. How they will be able to travel to Canada in the very deep Snow and terrible Cold since Tuesday Night last when they were Taken; would make a hard Heart bleed to think of. We know not yet the Particulars or manner of the Tragedy." Ensign John Sheldon of Deerfield made four expeditions to Canada to redeem his fellow-townsmen, and finally on May 30, 1706, left Quebec with over forty of them, among whom were Mr. Burt, his wife and child. They went down the St. Lawrence and thence by sea to Boston, where they arrived on August 2d. On the voyage Mrs. Burt bore her second child, a son who was named "Seaborn," from the place of his birth. Mr. Sewall, writing from Boston on August 22, 1706, to Mr. Williams, still in Canada, says: "As you pray'd earnestly for those that returned last, so you will be glad to hear that they Landed here on the 2d Ins't. I took the widow Hirt into my House. It was a great blessing to see Mr. Willard baptise Ebenezer Hinsdale and Seaborn Burt, two little Sons born on the passage. The Captives most of them began their Journey homeward on the 12 Ins't." The Colonial government then sent the brigantine Hope to Quebec, which left there October 25 with Mr. Williams and fifty-six others, arriving at Boston on November 21. The remainder of the captives formed attachments in Canada, and being converted by the priests, married into French families and remained there.Mr. Burt and his family repaired to Deerfield, overborne by the memory of their own misfortunes and the massacre of so many of their near relatives in the border wars. As an illustration of the afflictions of those who founded our nation, the names of these relatives may be given. On Benjamin Burt's side were: (1), his brother David, captured at Schenectady, February 9, 1690, and never after heard from; (2), his brother John, killed in a scout in May, 1707; (3), his uncle, Joseph Baker, killed October 29, 1675; (4), his uncle, Thomas Holton, killed March 14, 1676; (5 and 6), his cousins, William and John Brooks, killed October 27, 1675; (7) his uncle, Sergeant Samuel Wright, killed September 2, 1676; (8, 9 10), his cousin Nathaniel Brooks's wife, captured at the same time as himself, the wife slain on the march to Canada and the children never after heard from. On Sarah Burt's side were (1, 2, 3 and 4), her mother, two brothers, and sister, killed September 16, 1696; (5 and 6), her cousin, Mary Belden, and child, killed September 19, 1677; (7), her cousin, John Smith, killed May 30, 1676; (8), her step??mother, captured at the same time as herself and slain on the march to Canada. They thus together had eighteen relatives slain, besides many others severely wounded or carried into captivity. Upon their return to Deerfield, the rebuilt village presented no familiar aspects, but revived the horrors of its destruction and the subsequent incidents. Mr. Burt and his wife considered the advisability of seeking a safer abode, and as the latter had kindred settled at Stamford, Ct., on Long Island Sound, they migrated there, and finally located at Norwalk, about seven miles from the former town. In 1708, certain townsmen of Norwalk purchased from the Indians a tract fifteen miles north of that place and settled it as "Ridgefield." As every useful, or rather indispensable, craft had to be represented in such isolated settlements, Mr. Burt became one of the co-equal proprietors as the blacksmith, and to him doubtless could be applied the lines of Longfellow in his Evangeline:" At a meeting of the Proprietors of Ridgefield held at Ridgefield May the 6th, 1712, the following vote was passed: The said proprietors by their Major Vote Do Grant to Mr. Benjamin Burt, now resident of Norwalk, a certain Right of Land, Reserved by them for a Blacksmith, which Right of land, contains one twenty-eighth part of all the purchased Land contained within the limits of their granted propriety or Township, With also a priviledge to purchase with them a like part or proportion of the unpurchased lands that lyeth within ye granted Bounds of their Township, (of the Native proprietors thereof) with al the Several Divisions already Layed out under said Right. To be to him, his heirs and assigns absolutely and as fully to have, hold, use, occupie, possess and injoy, in as full and free a manner, with the rest of the proprietors of said Granted Township, Provided he the said Benjamin Burt, pay to Joseph Keeler of said Town of Ridgefield ye sum of nine pounds in money, according to the agreement now made with him, And with all convient speed dwell as an inhabitant among them in order to carry on the trade of a Blacksmith among them, And forthwith Supply them with an able hand, to perform such Smith work for them, that they stand in need of until he shall remove with his family among them and be thereby able to perform such work for them himself, or by others under his care and Command. And it is to be understood that if the said Burt (shall at any time before the full Termination of four years from May the Ninth, 1712) have a Mind to remove from them, he shall not give, grant, bargain, sell, Directly nor Indirectly make any Alienation of said Right of Land Granted to him, but to such a person as shall be found capable to carry on the work of a Blacksmith among them. And further the said Burt doth hereby promise and Oblige himself falthfully to use his utmost endeavour to settle a Blacksmith on said Right, if he shall incline to remove from them after his continuance among them ye term of years above said. The above said ye original Draught of said act. RICHARD OLMSTEAD, Town Clerk. Recorded, November 28, 1712. Per me, JOHN COPP, Recorder. Mr. Burt died at Ridgefield, Connecticut, on May 20, 1759, leaving five sons and three daughters. One of the former, Daniel, who made a permanent settlement at Warwick, N. Y., the next year (1760), was the founder of the large family of Burts at that place. There has been preserved, and is now in the possession of John M. Burt of Warwick, a letter written by Benjamin Burt, the Deerfield captive, to his son Benjamin, in Warwick, in reference to assisting another son, Christopher, who did not have a prosperous life. It was the same Christopher whose birth occurred while his parents were in captivity, and shortly after their terrible midwinter march to Canada. The letter has been reproduced for these pages, to show the handwriting and the character of the father, and his interest in his first-born son, who came into life under such distressing circumstances, and which does not appear to have lessened in his declining years. The pre-natal influences upon the child, which must have colored his whole life, no doubt had much to do in unsettling what otherwise might have been a prosperous and stable career. |
xiii. | John Burt348, born 29 Apr 1682; died May 1709. |
Notes for John Burt: JOHN BURT.--1682.-1709. [KILLED BY THE INDIANS IN A SKIRMISH NEAR LAKE CHAMPLAIN.] Of the several intercolonial wars known as the French and Indian wars, that waged from 1702 to 1713 was the longest and most harassing. It was termed "Queen Anne's War," and from its inception until terminated by the treaty of Utrecht, there was scarcely an engagement that in importance could be called a battle. Several expeditions to invade Canada by the way of Lake Champlain or by sea were contemplated and in some cases extensive preparations were made, but through failure of expected co-operation by the English government, or other causes, none of them were carried out. It really consisted of a series of frontier raids, what would now be termed guerilla warfare, fraught with such awful surprises and destruction of villages as those of Deerfield, in 1704, and of Pentucket on the Merrimack, in 1708, and with an almost continual foray of small parties which cut off and slaughtered settlers working in the fields or on the road, or attacked isolated dwellings and killed the inmates without regard to sex or age. This barbarous system of warfare was at length imitated by the colonists and many of them became versed in all the Indian wiles and savage practices, even to that of scalping the fallen foes. As the raids had been generally made in force in the winter, the General Court of Massachusetts on March 14, 1704, ordered 400 snowshoes and as many moccasins for the use of those engaged on the frontier. One of the most distinguished of the leaders in making reprisals upon the French and their Indian allies was Benjamin Wright of Deerfield, a grandson of Henry Burt. His father, Sergeant Samuel Wright, had been killed by the Indians on September 2, 1675, when Benjamin was fifteen years old. This tragedy seems to have made a profound impression on his mind and during the remainder of his life he lost no opportunity to wreak vengeance upon those whom he evidently deemed hereditary foes. He once said that if he took a papoose he would dash out its brains, for "nits will be lice." Such is the demoralizing effect of war, suggesting an exact retaliation for every barbarity. Early in May, 1709, Captain Wright organized a war party for an expedition to Canada. His companions were: Lieutenant John Wells, Jonathan Hoyt, Jabez Olmstead, John Burt, Timothy Childs, Ebenezer Severance, John Strong, Joseph Root, Joseph Wait and Thomas McCreeney. John Burt was the thirteenth and youngest child of David and Mary Burt of Northampton, where he was born on April 29, 1682. He was a first cousin of Captain Wright. With a pocket compass as a guide through the unfamiliar wilderness, they followed up the valley of the Connecticut, to the mouth of the White river and then up that stream to its source, crossing the intervening mountain valley to the head waters of the French or Onion river, now called the Winooski, and followed this down to its outlet into Lake Champlain. Passing up the lake they advanced to within forty miles of Chambl‚ in Canada, whither five years earlier John Burt's brother, Benjamin, and his wife had been carried as captives. Upon their return by the lake on May 20, they espied two canoes with Indians in them, upon whom they fired, killing four as they believed, though they secured but one scalp. (The French account says they killed two.) They captured one of the canoes with its arms and provisions. The next day they seized and destroyed five canoes. On their way up the French or Onion river, they met and attacked a party of Indians, and as they believed killed four, (the French account says they killed one.) In this skirmish, Lieutenant Wells and John Burt were killed and John Strong wounded, though able to be brought home. Upon the return of the party the following unique affidavit was made: "We whose names are underwritten being upon the Great Lake towards Canada on the 20th of this instant being in a fight with the enemy come this way toward New England; in which fight we judge we killed four of the enemy and one special we got and scalped him, which scalp we now present and show to yourselves at this present time and do hereby testify that the scalp was of our Indian enemy killed in fight as aforesaid; to which we subscribe this 28th day of May, 1709. Yr humble servants, BENJ. WRIGHT, JABEZ OLMSTEAD, JONA. HOYT, JOHN STRONG. Sworn to before me: They also declare that they are very certain that they killed 4 as above and that on French river they killed 4 more, making 8 in all. This they affirm to me. SMALL PARTRIGG. On June 10 of the same year, the General Court voted a bounty of œ12 to Captain Wright and œ6 to each of the other survivors of the expedition. There has been recently discovered a curjous account of the skirmish in which John Burt was lost. Mr. Bernard C. Steiner of the Pratt Library, Baltimore, Md., contributes to The Magazine of American History for September, 1892, an article entitled: "An Early Combat in Vermont." He says: "An old Greek Grammar in my possession originally belonged to the Rev. Stephen Williams, the son of the Rev. John Williams of Deerfield, Mass., who wrote 'The Redeemed Captive Returning to Zion.'" The Rev. Stephen Williams was carried captive to Canada with his father and 'returned from Canada the 21st day of November, in the year of our Lord 1705,' as he himself states on the fly-leaf.(*) On two of the blank leaves at the beginning of the book is an account of a skirmish with the Indians in 1709, which I have never seen in print. It is in Mr. Williams's handwriting. * * * * Mr. Williams's account is as follows: "On the 26th of May, 1709, came in Captain Benjamin Wright, Henry Wright, John Strong, John Olmstead, Jonathan Hoit, Timothy Chit(???), Thomas Regan, Epraim (???), and Joseph (???), from the lake, who had made an attack upon eight Indians towards the east side of the Lake, who recken they killed four and wounded a fifth, so ye boat paddled away. When they were coming home upon the french river they saw a canoe with four Indians in it, shot upon it and killed two right out, wounded the other two, one of which jumpt out of the canoe which they killed as he was going upon the bank on the other side, but they started up an Englishman, which they had padle the canoe to ym, but the wounded Indian yt was in the canoe paddled the other way and the Englishman towards them, so yt they fell down the stream and got to neither shore. They bid this Englishman take up an hatchet and knock him on the head. He took up a hatchet in order to do it, but the Indians took hold of it and got it away from him. They struggled and turned the canoe over. This Englishman was carried down the stream thirty or forty rods, so yt four men ran to help him, but two of them which made some stop to shoot at the Indian yt was turned out of the canoe with the Englishmen the other two ran yet lower & help this man out, but a company of Indains yt were below came upon these two men, kiled one, namely John Wells; the other two they shot with shot, but wound is not dangerous, the said captive (i. e. the one hitherto called 'the Englishman') took the said Wells his gun, but they were all quickly put to flight, the said captive they quickly lost. They lost one John Burt, as they fled." (*)The Rev. Stephen Williams was subsequently settled at Longmeadow, Mass., where he married for his second wife, Sarah, widow of Lieutenant Nathaniel Burt, killed in battle at Lake George, on September 8, 1755. Thus perished the second of the sons of David Burt of Northampton, in those dreary wars, the first one, David, being lost at Schenectady in 1690. The captivity of a third son, Benjamin, has been elsewhere narrated. The account given by the party itself is valuable testimony that the whites resorted to "scalping," and other savage devices. The rough account that Mr. Williams jotted down on the fly-leaves of his grammar is very interesting, though somewhat incoherent. It was evidently taken down hurriedly from the oral recountal of the scenes by one of the participants in them and gives a lively picture of the "rough and tumble" vicissitudes of those frontier encounters that illustrate the earliest stages in the development of human warfare. There were no discipline, tactics, or preconcerted plans--the enemy was unexpectedly overtaken and the main point was, by any and all means, to slay as many of them as possible and then to secure as many scalps as substantial and incontrovertible tokens of victory. Captain Wright and his comrades viewed the Indians much as an enthusiastic sportsman does quails or other game, killed them with as little compunction and delighted in bringing home a bag full of --scalps. |