William Dexter (1619 to 1694) of Leicestershire, England, and Saugus, Sandwich, Barnstable, and Rochester, Massachusetts and his Wife Sarah Vincent

William Dexter was baptized 21 February 1618[/19] at Great Bowden, Leicestershire, England to Thomas and Mary (Harper) Dexter. [Mahler] As a child of 10 or 11 he came to New England with his father and siblings where they first settled at Saugus, Essex County, Massachusetts (later Lynn). His father built mills, bridges and other useful things in the young colony, seems to have been a man of means, was a large landholder, served the colony in a variety of ways, but had a short temper and often appeared in court. William doesn’t appear to have shared his father’s litigious streak or his passion for public duties as he infrequently appears in records. William is my 9th great-grandfather on my grandfather Arthur Washburn Ellis Davis’ side of the family.

William’s father owned hundreds of acres at Saugus/Lynn, had a large farm, built a mill and a bridge that he attached a weir to for fishing. I wrote about Thomas Dexter here. William lived briefly in Sandwich on Cape Cod, where his father built the first mill which William’s brother Thomas took over. There’s a later mill on the spot where the original one stood that is open to the public and still bears the name of Thomas Dexter. 

About 1646 William was living at nearby Barnstable on one of the two farms purchased by his father. [Otis] Unfortunately many Barnstable County deeds were lost in a courthouse fire. 

In July 1653 William Dexter married Sarah Vincent at Barnstable. [Barnstable VR in Mayflower Descendant 4:223] Sarah was born about 1633, the daughter of John and Hannah Vincent. Some genealogists and historians say William’s brother Thomas married Sarah’s sister Elizabeth, [Lovell] but that’s contested by others. 

Sarah and William had seven children [births Barnstable VR/MD 4:223; marriages/deaths from Warden]: 

1. Mary born January 1654; married Moses Barlow; lived at Rochester; died between 1694 (father’s probate record) and 1698 (husband remarried)
2. Stephen born May 1657; married 27 April 1696 Ann/Anna Saunders; died Barnstable before 16 Jan 1733/34
3. Philip born September 1659; married Alice [—?—]; died in 1741 at Falmouth, Massachusetts, where he operated a mill 
4. James born May 1662, married Elizabeth Tobey; died 15 July 1697 at Rochester
5. Thomas born July 1665; married 1) Mary Miller on 17 July 1695; married 2) Sarah [—?—]; no issue
6. John born August 1668; married in 1702 to Sarah Clark; died 31 July 1744 at Rochester
7. Benjamin born February 1670; married Sarah Arnold, daughter of Rev. John Arnold, in Rochester; died 1734 at Rochester 

I descend from Benjamin. Remarkably all seven children lived to adulthood as they are all mentioned in their father’s 1694 estate settlement. 

William took the oath of fidelity in Barnstable in 1657. [Warden] He operated the grist mill near Willow Street, West Barnstable, probably built about 1646 by William and his father. [Lovell] The Whelden Memorial Library’s collection has a photo of the mill in a ruined condition with a note indicating it was behind a house at what is now 113 Willow Street; I drove down Willow Street and took a quick look but couldn’t find No. 113. It’s a lovely, narrow street that is heavily wooded so I didn’t see a stream or brook.

Remains of Dexter Mill, Barnstable source: Whelden Library

In 1679 William was one of 30 proprietors of the new town of Sippican, later called Rochester, which included William Bradford, Kenelm Winslow, Thomas Hinckley, Benjamin Hammond, and Rev. Samuel Arnold. [Warden] William and his son-in-law Moses Barlow drew house lots at Mattapoisett, which later became a separate town. Rochester was originally part of Barnstable County and later Plymouth County. 

The first settlers who made Mattapoisett their home in 1680 did not live along the harbor where the village is now, but settled to the east in Pine Islands, the area around Pine Island Pond which is actually a partially enclosed bay off Mattapoisett Harbor. The identifiers as island and pond are misleading! William had a farm three-quarters of a mile square with a brook running through it. At the what was later called Dexter Dam on this brook, he built a sawmill and a gristmill. [Mendell] His daughter and his four youngest sons settled near him. [History Mattapoisett and Rochester]

Pine Island Pond source: savebuzzardsbay.org

Today the Mattapoisett Land Trust oversees Dexter Mill Park, aka Tub Mill, on Mendell Road, the site of the later Dexter Sawmill that burned down in 1911. Given its name it appears that the mill land stayed in the Dexter family for many generations, but I need to do more research. 

Dexter Mill Park source: fairhaventours.com

It seems just like his father before him, William eventually set up his sons with the Rochester mills and returned to Barnstable. There is no mention of mills in his estate settlement, but his son Benjamin’s 1732 will mentions Rochester mills. [Warden] In 1685 William is mentioned as owning land at Barnstable and when he died in 1694 he was “of Barnestable.” It seems likely that William and Sarah either kept their Barnstable property or were living with their eldest son, Stephen, who likely took over the family mill there. 

source History Rochester & Mattapoisett

In 1685 the court ordered a road opened through Barnstable, later known as the County Road which is the main street of Barnstable Village. Sixteen men conducted a survey in March and April 1686 beginning at the bounds between Sandwich and Barnstable, running for the most part easterly. It mentions all of the land owners where the road would run including Peter Blossom’s orchard “leaving ye sd Peter Blossom’s house on ye south side of sd road, from thence thro ye lands of Wm Dexter bounded by several marks set up within ye fence of Phillip Dexter on ye north side of sd road, ye house of sd Phillip Dexter [William’s son who later moved to Falmouth] on ye north side of sd road & ye house of Increase Clap on ye south side bounded by a stone in ye orchard of sd Clap, through ye lands of Samuel Parker and John Crocker.”

William Dexter died before, likely close to, 8 May 1694 at Barnstable when his inventory was taken. [MD 23:64 and Barnstable County Probate records volume 1:100-101 at Family Search] He was about 75 years old.

“An Invintory of ye goods…as also of ye Lands of William Dexter Lately deceased” was taken 8 May 1694 by John Howland and John Otis, “all ye Housing and Land both upland and marsh in Barnestable” was valued at £190; “one whole Share of Land at Sepecan” [Rochester] £60. He likely had deeded additional lands and the mills to his sons. Also included in the inventory are household items, husbandry tools, pair of spinning wheels, pair of looms, four cows, 20 sheep, and two horses. 

Sarah Dexter made oath to the inventory on 9 May 1694. On that same date “Stephen Dexter Son of William Dexter late of Barnestable deceased Intestate,” was appointed administrator. 

On 9 May 1694 Stephen Dexter, Phillip Dexter, James Dexter, Thomas Dexter, John Dexter, Benjamin Dexter, and Moses Barlow mutually agreed “to abide contented & satisfied with ye settlement and disposition of ye Estate of our Honnored Father William Dexter”  and they all signed the document. It gave a detailed account of William’s assets including land at Rochester and Scotten (Barnstable), housing at Barnstable, pair of looms, husbandry tools, cattle, horses, sheep. James, Thomas and John received the Rochester land, to be divided equally. The housing and land in Barnstable was to be divided between Stephen, Phillip and Benjamin, with the latter also receiving housing and to give “sufficient security” for his mother who was to have use of the dwelling house and the livestock. Moses Barlow and his wife Mary, their sister, were to receive all the bedding and household stuff after their mother’s decease. Benjamin was also to receive a pair of looms and the husbandry tools. 

I have not found a death record for Sarah but she died after 9 May 1694 when she made oath to her late husband’s inventory.

Sources:

JH Beers & Co, Representative Men and Old Families of Southeastern Massachusetts, 1912

William A. Warden, Genealogy of the Dexter Family in America: Descendants of Thomas Dexter Together with the Record of Other Allied Families, 1905

R.A. Lovell, Jr., Sandwich A Cape Cod Town, 1984

Simeon Deyo, History of Barnstable County, Massachusetts, 1890

George Bowman, The Mayflower Descendant, “Abstracts of Barnstable County Probate Records,” 23:64

Leslie Mahler, The American Genealogist, “Colonists from Great Bowden, Leicestershire: Dexter, Cole, Blakeman,” 78:181 (2003)

Committee, prepared by, Mattapoisett and Old Rochester Massachusetts Being a History of These Towns and Also Part of Marion and a Portion of Wareham, 1907

Charles S. Mendell Jr, Shipbuilders of Mattapoisett, 1937

Amos Otis, Genealogical Notes of Barnstable Families, 1888-90

Jonathan Nye born 1740, of Rochester and Middleboro, Mass., and His Wife Elizabeth Irish

Jonathan Nye was born 22 March 1740 at Rochester, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, to David and Elizabeth (Briggs) Nye. [Rochester Vital Records 1:225] I wrote about his parents here. He is my 6th great-grandfather on my grandfather Arthur Washburn Ellis Davis’ side of the family but my information on him so far is quite sparse. I would love to hear from anyone who knows what became of Jonathan! 

Jonathan Nye married Elizabeth Irish in 1762; marriage intentions 4 July 1762 at Rochester. [Rochester VR 2:227]  She was born 3 August 1745 to William Irish at Plymouth. 

Elizabeth and Jonathan had two daughters:

1. Sophia/Zerviah Nye born 8 November 1763 at Rochester [RVR 1:227]; married Elisha Benson of Middleborough 15 July 1783; removed to Woodstock Vermont
2. Dinah birth unrecorded; died 11 Jan 1847 of old age at Rochester, unmarried; death record names her parents as Jonathan and Elizabeth Nye. 

I descend from Sophia/Zerviah whom I wrote about here.

Jonathan served in the Revolutionary War, according to the Nye Genealogy.  [details from Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors]

• Jonathan Nye was a private in Captain Joshua Benson’s company, Colonel Theophilus Cotton’s regiment; muster roll dated 1 August 1775; enlisted 7 May 1775; service three months two days. 
• Private in Lt. William Tomson’s company, Colonel Theophilus Cotton’s regiment; order for bounty coat or its equivalent in money, datJoed Roxbury 14 Nov 1775. 
• Private in Captain Joshua Benson’s company, Colonel Theophilus Cotton’s regiment, company return dated 7 Oct 1775; residence Middleborough.  
• Private in Captain Thomas Samson’s company, Colonel Theophilus Cotton’s regiment, General Palmer’s brigade; service from 25 Sept 1777 to 27 Oct 1777; one month two days, on secret expedition against Newport RI, roll sworn to in Plymouth County.

That he lived at Middleborough in 1775 when he served in the war was a welcome clue but records in Middleborough are lacking and have not proved helpful. 

From this point, I have a hard time tracking Jonathan and Elizabeth. I have not found death or probate records. I thought I had discovered them living in nearby Plympton and spent a good deal of time researching them there. There is just one Jonathan Nye in the census and town tax records of that time period, but it seems that is a different Jonathan Nye, born 1746 in Rochester, married Elizabeth (or course to make it more challenging!) Ellis, often called Betty. When I found their death information, I realized I had the wrong couple.

A number of Rochester families removed to Hardwick in Worcester County, but I did not find any record of Jonathan there. There was what appears to be a different Jonathan Nye at Hardwick who had children born there: Oliver, son Jonathan, baptized 4 April 1762; Mary baptized 5 August 1764, daughter of Jonathan and Mary or Rebecca; Hannah born 1766, no mother listed; Rebeckah daughter of Jonathan and Rebekah, baptized 28 Jan 1770; Jonathan born 12 February 1773 to Jonathan and Rebecah; and Thomas son Jonathan and Rebecah baptized 13 August 1776.

I found this record interesting, as a Jonathan Nye of Shutesbury, Massachusetts conducted business with two men from Rochester, Massachusetts: Nathanial Sprague, Gent. and James Cowing, Cordwainer,  attached Jonathan Nye, Shutesbury husbandman, for trespass upon the case, on note dated 23 July 1780 for “Six loads of Cole to be delivered to the New Furnace in Rochester at the Still Water so called at or before the twenty fifth day of December then next.” Plaintiffs say that the refusal to deliver the coal, valued at £4 10s was to their damage of £15. Default by defendant. Judgment for £4 10s and £2 10s 5d costs. Appealed by defendant.[Plymouth County Court Records 9:179, Court of Common Pleas October 1783] Note that Shutesbury is in Franklin County, quite a distance away in the western part of the state. I have yet to find anything further on Jonathan Nye in Shutesbury. 

It could be that Jonathan Nye married, second, Mrs. Eunice Pratt, 18 March 1778. Middleborough Vital Records index citing original record of 4:15; intentions published 17 January 1778, both of Middleboro. Middleborough Vital Records index citing original record of 4:31. But again, I do not know if this is the correct Jonathan 

Sources: 

George Hyatt and Frank Best, Benjamin Nye of Sandwich, His Ancestors and Descendants, A Genealogy of the Nye Family, 1907

Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors in the Revolutionary War, published 1896-1908, 11:589

Thomas Landers ca 1613-1675 and His Wife Jane Kirby of Sandwich, Massachusetts

Thomas Landers was born about 1613 in England, based on his age at emigration. [Hotten] I have not discovered his origins but he was likely from Sussex where most of the men he had a connection with were from, some being people of high distinction. He was first at Saugus (later Lynn), Massachusetts, and was among the first settlers of Sandwich on Cape Cod. His last name is also seen as Lander, Launder and Launders. He is my 9th great-grandfather on my grandfather Arthur Washburn Ellis Davis’ side of the family.

On 29 June 1635 Thomas Launder, husbandman, age 22, was listed as a passenger on the Abigail of London, bound for New England. [Hotten] Another passenger Dennis Geere of Ovingdean, Sussex, contracted smallpox on board and wrote his will 10 December 1635, clearly a man of means based on the number of large bequests. He wrote of “the estate in New England, to Thomas Tupper five pounds, Thomas Braines three pounds, Thomas Launder three pounds, Benjamin Nye thirty shillings, Thomas Grenuill ten shillings, all which deducted and paid together with the sending my two servants with my child into England…” Edmund Freeman was a witness. Tupper, Nye, and Freeman, also my ancestors, were early Sandwich settlers. Some of the passengers, including Freeman, were first at Saugus before settling Sandwich. [Brownson & McLean] Whether Thomas was a servant or related to a passenger on the voyage, perhaps Geere, I have yet to discover. Some passengers are identified as servants but Thomas is not. 

He was not on the list of “the ten men of Saugus” who arranged a 1637 grant from Plymouth Colony to create the first English settlement on the Cape but he was among the first settlers. On 16 April 1640 Thomas Launder was granted one acre of meadow land there as a dividend. [Records of Colony of New Plymouth 1:150, hereafter PCR] Some of the other early settlers received larger grants, as much as 42 acres (Edmund Freeman).

He was on the list of men able to bear arms at Sandwich 1643 [NEHGR 4:257] and there he took the oath of fidelity in 1639. [PCR 8:184] 

On 2 July 1651 Thomas Lander married Jane Kerbie at Sandwich on Cape Cod. [Sandwich VR in MD 14:170] Jane was born about 1630, the daughter of Richard and Jane Kirby who removed to Dartmouth about 1660. There is quite a gap between Jane and Thomas’ ages, but I haven’t found evidence he had been married previously. Jane’s maiden name is also seen as Kerby in records. 

Thomas Launder was summoned to the Plymouth Colony Court 2 March 1651/2: “Wee further psent Thomas Launder of the towne of Sandwidge for haveing a child born within thirty weeks after marriage.” [PCR 3:6] Thomas didn’t appear and was fined £2. At court 4 Oct 1653 the record shows that “for special considerations” he was cleared and the fine withdrawn. [PCR 3:42] Perhaps it was found the baby may have been premature. 

Jane and Thomas had eight children born Sandwich [only 1, 2, 8 recorded Sandwich Vital Records 1:18, 26; MD 14:168, 174]:

1. Mercy born 23 Jan 1651/2; died Sandwich 7 March 1654/5
2. John born 2 Jan 1653[/4]; married about 1686 Rachel Freeman; died Sandwich 15 April 1737
3. Sarah born about 1658; died unmarried; on 3 March 1732/3 administration on the estate of “Sarah Landers late of Sandwich” was granted to “Joseph Landers of Sandwich…yeoman.” [Barn PR 5:55] On 1 August 1733 John Landers stated that he had “received of my brother Joseph Landers five pounds as he is administrator of the estate of my sister Sarah Landers. [Barnstable County Probate Records 5:173]
4. Thomas born about 1661; married Deborah Freeman by 1687; died Rochester, Massachusetts, February 1730/31
5. Tabitha born about 1663; married by 1683 Reuben Wait; died after 11 Oct 1707
6. Richard born about 1670; married Sandwich 6 Jan 1695/6 Sarah Freeman [Sandwich VR 1:40], daughter of Edmond Freeman [TAG 40:110]
7. Joseph born about 1672; married by 1711 Rebecca, widow of John Allen, on 26 February 1711/12, “Rebecca Landers late widow of said deceased” was included in the distribution of the estate of John Allen [Barnstable Probate Records 3:110]; died between 27 July 1749 and 4 May 1750
8. Hasadiah born 31 Jan 1674[/5] [MD 14:166]; married 28 May 1719 Benoni Ewen of Rochester; died after 27 July 1749

I descend from John. I wrote about him here.

Transcription/interpretation errors of the Sandwich records by some genealogists resulted in two additional daughters for Jane and Thomas: Merty/Martha and Mary. Both reference daughter Mercy who died in childhood. 

Thomas Landers lived in East Sandwich on what is now Ploughed Neck Road, off Old County Road. He lived next to Edmund Freeman Jr., near Major John Freeman (who lived in Eastham but kept title to house in Sandwich), and Jedediah Allen. Thomas’ house was near where the present (in 1984) Atwood house stands. [Lovell] I don’t find a current reference to an Atwood house, but the Sandwich Historical Commission online list of historic homes but includes three historic houses on Ploughed Neck Road and No. 27 and 33 seem good candidates to be the land owned by the Landers:

No. 11 Freeman House built 1705 (should be 11 Ploughed Neck Extension)

No. 27 No name 1863

No. 33 No name 1814

Map depicting 1667 East Sandwich Source: RA Lovell

The Freeman and Landers families were not just close geographically, there was a strong kinship—three of Thomas and Jane’s sons married daughters of Edmund Freeman Jr. [Lovell]

At court on 3 February 1656/7 a “complaint was made against Jane the wife of William Launder of Sandwidge [recording error—should be Thomas] and Sarah the wife of Richard Kerby” for disturbing public worship and abusing the speaker. They were Quakers or Friends so likely had strong disagreements with the established church. This is one of the earliest instances that George Fox’s followers were making converts in the area. Both women were sentenced to be publicly whipped but it was carried out only against Sarah as it was her second offense. [PCR 3:111, 112] 

Lovell refers to Jane Kirby Landers as “energetic and sharp-tongued.” At a time when women were often invisible in records and raised to be subservient to men, I’m proud my 9th great-grandmother was courageous! She believed so strongly in her religious convictions, she was willing to risk being whipped. 

Jane’s father Richard Kerby was also a Quaker, as was her brother Richard Jr. and several of her children. Thomas Landers and Ralph Allen posted bond of £10 each for the good behavior of Richard Kerbey at Plymouth Court on 7 October 1651. Thomas’ father-in-law was summoned to court with Ralph Allin Sr for deriding, vile speeches of and concerning God’s word and ordinances; bound unto the next general court to make their appearance, expecting to be of good behavior towards all manner of persons. In addition to Thomas and Ralph’s sureties, Richard Kerbey acknowledgeth to owe the Court £20. [PCR 2:173] The total of £40 was quite a large sum in those days. This was a time when many Sandwich residents of the Quaker faith, or those that sympathized with them, were being summoned to court. Thomas Landers was not among those called but it appears to me he was a Quaker as many of the key people in his life were Quakers, including his wife.

“Thomas Landers died ye 11 of November anno domini 1675” at Sandwich at about age 62. [SVR in MD 14:111] 

Thomas died intestate. The inventory of Thomas Landers was taken 15 November 1675 by Edmond Freeman, George Allen, and John Newland, all recognized Quakers. It was exhibited on 7 July 1675 and sworn to by John Launders. It included a musket sword and belt valued at £1, a small amount of household items that would be used in one bed chamber and a kitchen, and farm animals. The entire estate was valued at £51 5 shillings with no real estate included. [Plymouth County Probate Records 3:1:176] 

Jane Kirby Landers’ death is not recorded but it was before 9 October 1707 when the surviving children of Jane Landers, late of Sandwich, signed a court document that they were fully satisfied as heirs of their grandfather Richard Kirby of Dartmouth concerning his undisposed estate. She was young enough to have remarried but  a different surname does not appear in the court record.

Sources:

Lydia (Phinney) Brownson & Maclean McLean, NEHGS Register, “Thomas 1 Landers of Sandwich,” Vol. 124 p 42 (January 1970)

R.A. Lovell, Jr., Sandwich: A Cape Cod Town, 1984

Frederick Freeman, Freeman Genealogy, 1875

Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins, 1995

Nathaniel Bradstreet Shurtleff and David Pulsifer, Records of the Colony of New Plymouth in New England, 12 volumes, 1855-57

John Camden Hotten, The Original Lists of Persons and Quality 1600-1700, 1874

Book Review: The Wampanoag Genealogical History of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts,

My review of The Wampanoag Genealogical History of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, Volume 1, by Jerome D. Segel and R. Andrew Pierce, 2003, Genealogical Publishing Company 

The thorough research conducted by Segel and Pierce in putting together the first complete historical record of the island’s original people is remarkable. I did not realize a compilation like this existed. I am interested in the Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard Native Americans as some of my early English ancestors lived peacefully with the Native Americans, but  there were many others who stole their land, converted them to Christianity and later fought against them in King Philip’s War. 

A good chunk of this large 679-page book is the Database of Martha’s Vineyard Natives and Relations that contains genealogical information on an incredible 1,654 Wampanoags whose names are found in the 17th and 18th century records. The authors searched lands records, deeds, mortgages, leases, wills, court records, vital records, military information, maritime documents, religious records, and the census. 

Some examples of genealogical profiles:

• Hiacoombs was the first Indian convert on the Island. He became a teacher, worked as an interpreter for the Mayhews who governed the island, and was ordained by Rev. John Eliot as pastor and teacher of the first Indian church founded in 1670. 
• Hiacoombs’ son Joell was lost at sea in 1665 when he was coming home from Harvard to visit his parents. 
• Isak Papanau sailed on the sloop Endeavor to Jamaica in 1737. 

A number of the Wampanoag men included in this book were whalemen, fisherman, teachers, and ministers. Many owned land and several owned Bibles. 

The Wampanoags were forced to obey English laws and its legal system, often being sued or accused of theft but also bringing lawsuits themselves. 

Some of my English ancestral families are mentioned in the Wampanoag profiles. Joseph Starbuck lived on Chappaquiddick and was sued in 1741 by Matthew Pease regarding land.  Thomas Sussetom sold land near the Wading Place at Sanchacantacket to Nicholas Norton. Tackhequen is mentioned as living near John Butler Jr.  Thomas Tuxett, a fisherman, was sued by Nicholas Butler for land they co-owned on Pochey in 1731.  Nathaniel Cooper (Cuper) (Jacob) was sued by John Butler Jr for debt in 1708. 

Other chapters include The Native Vineyard Language, The Six Sachemdoms of Martha’s Vineyard, and Native New England Chronology.

There are helpful appendices including Cross-Reference to Settlers in Banks’ History of Martha’s Vineyard, Early Land Transactions, Indian Converts, and Native Place Names on Martha’s Vineyard. 

This book is a great addition to the library of anyone descended from or nterested in the Wampanoag people. I do wish it included a name index.

Genealogical Publishing Company provided me with a copy of this book to review.