400 Years of American Hulburds
Authored, Compiled and Edited by D. Michael Iradi 1989 thru 2011,
Co-authored and Co-Compiled by Joanne Hayford 2009 thru 2011.
Dedicated to the Memory of Fellow Hulburd Family Researcher, Richard O. Monighetti.
Compiler’s and Editor’s Foreword
I [i.e. D. Michael Iradi of FL - hereafter DMI] am open to any corrections and additions, provided you have either documentation or compelling arguments to back it up. Any questions or comments may be directed to my email address dmiradi@gmail.com. Anything that does not have a documented source should not be taken as fact, but rather used as a starting point for your own research. This is a continuous work in progress, and I will try to update and correct errors as I find them and when time allows.
This genealogical study is the intellectual property of the compiler and editor. While nobody can own the raw historical data itself, this genealogical compilation has protected status, as “value” has been added to the bare facts. To add this value, the compiler and editor has selected the records to include, filled in missing information, interpreted ambiguous data, arranged the compilation into a unique format, and published the data on the Internet. Using this work as a reference is allowed under the Fair Use Statute, and encouraged by the compiler and editor, provided the compiler and editor is properly cited as the source. However copying large portions of this genealogical study without first obtaining express permission from the compiler and editor, particularly for financial gain and/or without properly citing the compiler and editor as the source, is not allowed.
The following Hulburd genealogy was first greatly supplemented from 2003-7 with research of the late Richard Monighetti of CA [hereafter ROM], as well as several additions by fellow family researchers, Lois Tiller of VA [hereafter LT], Nick Hoffman of PA [hereafter NH], Tom and Linda Hulbert of WI [hereafter TH and LH], Gil Hurlbut [hereafter GH] and several others as noted throughout. It was ROM’s enthusiasm for this project, which initially motivated me to organize it. However, the greatest supplementation of information and research was added thru the research and motivation of fellow researcher Joanne Hayford [hereafter JH], from 2009 until the present time (i.e. 2011). This Hulburd genealogy would not exist anywhere near its present scope and form without her continued support and tireless research, interest and contributions.
With the additional technical support and expertise of Gil Hurlbut, this genealogy – as well as the comparative DNA results for various Hulburd descendants – has appeared on the internet at various times, and in various stages, and is thereby readily available to other researchers. Although the American Hurlbut family has entirely different ancestral origins from the American Hulburd Family, there has been much confusion between these two lines in America over the past four centuries, both intentional and unintentional, and untangling and assigning the descendants of these two families to their respective lines has become an essential and unavoidable part of publishing the genealogies of either family.
Furthermore, there are examples of both Hurlbut and Hulburd descendants who, over time, have adopted a generic surname spelling of “Hulbert”, which further complicates efforts to distinguish these two genetically unrelated families from one another. Additionally, Hurlbuts can sometimes appear with the surname spelling of “Hulbert”, and veritable Hulburds can sometimes appear in sources and older records even as “Hurlbut”.
This confusion between the two distinct lines has been greatly magnified by the machinations of notorious genealogical fabricator Gustav Anjou, who created a fictitious ancestry connecting in England the American immigrants Thomas Hurlbut(t), William Hulburd I and Walter Holbard as brothers. This is pure creation, and there is demonstrably no grain of truth in it. However, the lies of Anjou have crept their way into numerous other historical and modern compilations, which repeat this imagined (and genetically disproved) connection as “fact”.
An individual is identified in this genealogical account as “of” a certain township, based upon where they had demonstrably last spent a minimum of 5 uninterrupted years of their life. Therefore, for example, Amos Hulbert who died in Wyalusing, PA (in the same year he had moved there) is listed as “Amos Hulbert of Hanover, NJ, because the last 5 year long continuous residence known or inferred for him, was at Hanover, NJ.
Biographical information on men with the surname “Hulburd” or a variation thereof, is listed in the generation in which they fall from the immigrant. Biographical information for women born with the surname “Hulburd” (or a variation thereof), is typically listed at the end of the entries for their respective fathers.
Contents
Page
1 Compiler’s and Editor’s Foreword
3 Contents
The Immigrant
15 William Hulburd I of Northampton, MA (1604 – 1694)
15 Did William Hulburd I Marry Helen / Ellen Tinker in 1628 in (New) Windsor, England?
16 Was William Hulburd I Originally from Reading (Berkshire), England?
18 Hulbert Church Records from Reading, England and Surroundings Prior to 1630
20 The Connection of William Hulburd I to Robert Keayne of London, England and Boston, MA
22 Did William Hulburd I Immigrate to MA in 1629 Aboard the Higginson Fleet?
24 The Founding of Dorchester, MA
29 William Hulburd I, Appears at Dorchester, MA in 1630
31 Origins of the Belief That the Hulburds Have a Welsh Ancestry
33 Origins of the Belief that a William “Hulbird” had Arrived on the Ship Mary and John
34 The Founding of Windsor, CT in the Spring of 1636
35 William Hulburd I Removes to Windsor, CT; Likely with the Group of Initial Settlers
36 The Location of “Backer Row” in the Early Windsor, CT Settlement
38 William Hulburd I’s Movements are Shadowed by the Tinker Family
39 Did William Hulburd I Introduce His Sister-in-Law Anne Tinker to Thomas Thornton?
40 Did William Hulburd I Marry Secondly an Ann “Amy” [Ames?] in 1643?
40 William Hulburd I, et al of Windsor, CT vs. Thomas Marshfield in 1643
42 William Hulburd I Removes to Hartford, CT from about 1647 - 1651
43 Where was the Palisado at Early Hartford, CT Situated?
44 William Hulburd I vs. James Wakeley in 1649 Hartford, CT
45 William Hulburd I Returns to Windsor, CT For His Last Marriage to the Widow Ann (née Whitmore) Allen about 1651
46 William Hulburd I Removes to Northampton, MA by about 1656
49 What was the Occupation/Profession of William Hulburd I?
51 The Family of William Hulburd I Listed in Dr. John Winthrop’s Medical Journal from 1663 to 1666/7
52 William Hulburd I and His Sons Donate to Harvard College in 1672/3
53 The Destructive Ministry of the Reverend Eleazar Mather at Northampton, MA
54 The Known Children of William Hulburd I of Northampton, MA
First Generation
56 John Hulburd Sr. of Northampton, MA (1640 – 1713)
56 The Intestate Probate of the Estate of John Hulburd Sr. of Northampton, MA
59 The Descendants of John Hulburd Sr. of Northampton, MA
66 Who Owned “Hulbert’s Mill” in Florence, MA in the First Half of the 1700’s ?
68 A Brief Family History by a Descendant of John Hulburd Sr. of Northampton, MA
69 Early Land Deeds for Hampshire and Hampden Counties, MA from 1636 to 1787
72 Early Hampshire Co. and Hampden Co., MA Hulbert/var.s of Undetermined Origin
73 William Hulburd II of Enfield, CT (c.1653 – 1734)
75 William Hulburd II at Northfield, MA at the Onset of King Philip’s War
79 Events During King Philip’s War, in Which William Hulburd II May Have Witnessed and/or Participated
80 The Children of William Hulburd II of Enfield, CT
82 William Hulburd II Removes to New Haven, CT c.1704
83 Where Did William Hulburd II Meet His Third Wife Hannah (née Whitaker) Hulet?
85 Establishing the Marriage of William Hulburd II to Hannah Whitaker
88 Enfield, CT as Part of Connecticut’s Disputed “Southwick Jog”
89 William Hulburd II in Northampton, MA and Enfield, CT Land Deeds
94 The Enfield Connection Between Half (or Step) Brothers William Hulburd II and Samuel Allen Jr.
Second Generation
96 Samuel Hulburd of Northampton, MA (1681 – 1748)
96 The Will of Samuel Hulburd of Northampton, MA
101 James Hulburd I of Northampton, MA (1687 – 1767)
101 The Will of James Hulburd I of Northampton, MA
105 Benajah Hulburd of Enfield, CT (1689 - 1708)
105 The Death of Benajah (alias Berechiah) Hulburd
106 Thomas Hulburd of Enfield, CT (1796 – 1715?)
106 Thomas Hulburd in Enfield, CT Records
107 William Hulburd III of Mendham, NJ (1698 – 1779)
107 Is William Hulburd III of Mendham, NJ Really the Son of William Hulburd II of Enfield, CT?
110 The Changing Jurisdictions of William Hulburd III’s Homestead in Mt. Freedom, NJ
113 The Settling of Mendham, NJ
114 Speculation on the Early Movements of William Hulburd III from Enfield, CT to Mendham, NJ
116 Was William Hulburd III an Early Baptist Settler to Randolph, NJ?
118 The Baptist Churches Near Mendham, NJ, Prior to the Founding of the Mt. Freedom Baptist Church
121 Was William Hulburd III an Early Quaker Settler to Randolph, NJ?
122 Was William Hulburd III an Early Rogerene Settler to Randolph, NJ?
127 The Pre-Revolutionary War Records in NJ of William Hulburd III’s Family
128 What is the Staten Island (and/or Piscataway / Woodbridge, NJ) Connection to William Hulburd III?
132 Did Early Hulburd Records in NJ Go Unrecorded, Due to Incompetent and/or Spiteful Ministers at the Hanover Presbyterian Church?
134 Did Early Hulburd Records in NJ Go Unrecorded, Due to Attendance at the Early Roxiticus Meeting House?
136 The Roxiticus Meeting House and Its Spin-Off Congregations
139 The Probable Site of the Roxiticus Meeting House and Burial Ground
142 The Pre-Revolutionary Royal Colony of New Jersey
144 Can the Earliest Records in NJ for William Hulburd III and Family be Found in the Archives of Hunterdon County?
146 Was the First Wife of William Hulburd III an “Allen”?
148 Was One of the Wives of William Hulburd III a “Wilkinson”?
151 Was Either William Hulburd III’s First (or Theorized Second) Wife the “Widow Nichol”?
152 The First Known Mention of William Hulburd III’s Last Wife Mary
156 Was William Hulburd III’s Last Wife Mary the Widow of Ephraim Loree?
158 The Confusion Between Ephraim Loree of Southold, NY, and the Ephraim Lore of Cumberland Co., NJ
163 William Hulburd III Witnesses the Will of Isaac Pain of Mendham, NJ
164 The 1778 Will of William Hulburd III of Mendham, NJ
167 The Children of William Hulburd III of Mendham, NJ
176 The Unrelated Holberts / Halberts / Halbords of Colonial Burlington Co., NJ
181 Who was the Benjamin Hulbert/var. Allegedly Listed in Mendham, NJ between 1740 and 1750?
183 The Maternity of William Hulburd III’s Four Youngest Children
184 The Source of the Name “Mount Freedom” (alias “Walnut Grove”) for that Section of Randolph, NJ
186 The Family of William Hulburd III and the Mt. Freedom Baptist Church and Cemetery
189 The Jail Bust-Out of William Tuttle (i.e. a Son-in-Law of William Hulburd III)
191 The Confusion Between the Deserter John Chambers, and the Patriot John Channel (i.e. a Son-in-Law of William Hulburd III)
193 The Fight of the Widow Rachel Hulburd to Receive Her Deceased Husband’s Military Half-Pay
195 Obadiah Hulburd I of Enfield, CT (1703 – 1785)
195 Obadiah Hulburd I Allegedly Representing his Mother’s Interest in Howard Lands
195 The Descendants of Obadiah Hulburd I of Enfield, CT
223 Ebenezer Hulburd Sr. of Hanover, NJ (1705 – 1770)
224 The Apparent Confusion Between Ebenezer “Holbert” (i.e. Hurlbut) of the Norwalk, CT Area, and Ebenezer “Holbert” (i.e. Hulburd) of the Middleton, CT Area
225 The Ebenezer “Holiberd / Holbert” (i.e. Hulburd) of 1745 Hanover, NJ, and His Presumed Descendants
237 Who was Ebenezer “Halbert”, born in Morristown, NJ in 1781?
238 Benjamin Hulburd I of Enfield, CT (1709 – 1757)
238 Did Benjamin Hulburd I Remove to Bennington, VT Prior to His Death in 1757?
240 The Death of Benjamin Hulburd I of Enfield, CT During the French and Indian War of 1757
242 The Descendants of Benjamin Hulburd I of Enfield, CT
Third Generation
251 Daniel Hubbard of Pittsfield, MA (1714 – 1777)
251 Daniel Hubbard of Pittsfield, MA: Not a Hulburd Descendant as Has Long Been Claimed
253 Benjamin Hulburd Sr. of Hanover, NJ (c.1733 – 1803)
253 Benjamin Hulburd Sr. of Hanover, Living in Staten Island, NY
254 The Alleged Bigamous Marriage of “Benjamin Halbert, Cooper of Morris-town, NJ”
255 Benjamin Hulburd Sr. of Hanover, NJ; “Dis-Fellowshiped” from the Baptist Church for his “Unlawful Marriage”, and a Probable Slave Owner
258 The Troubled Marriage of Benjamin Hulburd Sr. of Hanover, NJ to Patience Edwards of Elizabeth, NJ
261 The Bequest in Aaron Van Name’s Will to the Children of Benjamin Hulburd Sr. of Hanover, NJ
262 The Consequences of Aaron Van Name’s Death
264 The Children of Benjamin Hulburd Sr. of Hanover, NJ and Elizabeth Van Name
266 Were the Children of Benjamin Hulburd Sr. of Hanover, NJ Named after a Pattern?
266 Charles Hulbert, the Son of Benjamin Hulburd Sr. of Hanover, NJ
268 The Adult Baptism of Elizabeth (“Holbert”) Hinds, the Daughter of Benjamin Hulburd Sr. of Hanover, NJ
268 The Movements of Rachel Hulburd (alias Holbert / Hulbert), the Daughter of Benjamin Hulburd Sr. of Hanover, NJ
269 The Descendants of Rachel Hulburd of Madison, NJ and Orange, NJ
270 William Hulburd IV of Randolph, NJ (c.1740 – c.1812)
270 William Hulburd IV in the Morris County, NJ Court of Common Pleas
272 William Hulburd IV in Morris County, NJ Probate Court Abstracts
272 Abstract of the Transcription of an 1804 Deed of William Hulburd IV and his 2nd wife Anna, to Peter Till
273 Some Other Potential Children of William Hulburd IV of Randolph, NJ
275 The Descendants of William Hulburd V of Morristown, NJ, the presumed son of William Hulburd IV of Randolph, NJ and his wife Rebecca Kitchin
276 Ephraim Hulburd of Ridge, OH (1759 – 1845)
276 Abstract of a Transcription of a 1783 Deed of Ephraim Hulburd to Jacob Doty
277 How Mendham, NJ Celebrated Independence Day in 1797
278 The 1833 Affidavit of Military Service of Ephraim Hulburd (alias Hulbert)
281 Ephraim Hulburd in the Pension Roll of 1835
283 The Movements of Ephraim Hulburd from Mendham, NJ to Ridge, OH
286 The Changing Jurisdictions of Ephraim Hulburd’s NY Homestead
287 The Descendants of Ephraim Hulburd of Ridge, OH
305 Speculation Regarding Who Were the Parents of Richard Hulbert of Amanda, OH
309 Jotham Hulburd Sr. of Randolph, NJ (1766 – c.1840)
309 The Road Laid Out Between the Lands of Jotham Hulburd Sr. and Israel Abers
310 Jotham Hulburd Sr. and Joshua Hulburd Witness the Will of Gilman Freeman of Randolph, NJ
311 Abstract of a Transcription of a 1804 Deed of Jotham Hulburd Sr. to Mendham Township
312 Abstract of a Transcription of an 1806 Deed of John and Mary Losey to a Jotham Hulburd (probably Sr.).
312 Abstract of a Transcription of an 1814 Deed, of Jotham Hulburd Sr. to Samuel Johnson
313 Abstract of a Transcription of an 1814 Deed of Jotham Hulburd Sr. to Bernard Towland
314 Condensed Abstracts of 4 Different Deeds of Jotham Hulburd Sr. Between 1823 and 1836
316 The Movements of Jotham Hulburd Sr. of Randolph, NJ
318 Was Jotham Hulburd Sr.’s Second Wife Jane Negus in Debt Collection?
319 Jotham Hulburd Sr.’s Divorce from Jane Negus
319 Did Jotham Hulburd Sr. Die in or Before 1824?
320 The Descendants of Jotham Hulburd Sr. of Randolph, NJ
323 Joshua Hulburd of Randolph, NJ (1768 – 1847)
323 Abstract of a Transcription of an 1809 Deed of Joshua Hulburd to a Jotham Hulbert (Probably Jr.).
324 Abstract of a Transcription of an 1811 Deed of Joshua Hulburd and His Wife Martha, to Daniel Lawrence Jr.
324 The Descendants of Joshua Hulburd of Randolph, NJ
340 Additional Presumed Descendants of Either Joshua Hulburd and/or of His Brother Jotham Hulburd Sr.
343 William Hulburd Sr. of Bennington, VT (1731 – 1782)
343 William Hulburd Sr. of VT, Counterfeiter
344 Benjamin Hulburd II of Bennington, VT (1746 - 1810)
344 Benjamin Hulburd II of Bennington, VT Sells Land at Castleton, VT
345 Ambrose Hulburd Sr. of Bennington, VT (1752 – 1781)
345 The Guardianship Papers for Ambrose Hulburd Sr.
Fourth Generation
348 William Hulburd of Pittsford, NY (c.1763 – c.1825)
348 The Revolutionary War Service of William Hulburd of Pittsford, NY
349 The NJ Debt Collection Against William Hulburd of Pittsford, NY
350 Initial Speculation Regarding the Identities of the Hulburds of Pittsford, NY
356 The 1809 Deed of Benjamin Hulburd Sr. of Mt. Carmel, IL, to His First Cousin William Hulburd of Pittsford, NY
357 The Descendants of William Hulburd of Pittsford, NY
365 Benjamin Hulburd Jr. of Wyalusing, PA (c.1766 – 1813)
365 The Confusion Between Benjamin Hulburd of Mt. Carmel, IL, and His First Cousin Benjamin Hulburd Jr. of Wyalusing, PA
367 The Movements of Benjamin Hulburd Jr. of Wyalusing, PA
368 Benjamin ulburdHulburd Jr. of Wyalusing, PA; a Soldier in the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794
370 The Descendants of Benjamin Hulburd Jr., of Wyalusing, PA
393 Moses Hulburd of Wyalusing, PA (c.1773 – c.1820)
393 The Movements of Moses Hulburd of Wyalusing, PA
394 The Descendants of Moses Hulburd of Wyalusing, PA
406 What was the Possible Cause of Death for Brothers Moses and Benjamin Hulburd Jr. of Wyalusing, PA?
407 The Other Moses Hulburds of Steuben Co., NY
408 The Obituary of George Washington Hulburd, the Grandson of Moses Hulburd of Wyalusing, PA
409 Amos Hulburd of Hanover, NJ (1780 – 1803)
409 The Murder of Amos Hulburd of Hanover, NJ
414 The Descendants of Amos Hulburd of Hanover, NJ
419 Benjamin Hulburd Sr. of Mt. Carmel, IL (c.1761 – c.1833)
419 The Descendants of Benjamin Hulburd Sr. of Mt. Carmel, IL
427 Rhuben Hulburd of Randolph, NJ (c.1769 – c.1855)
427 Who was Rhuben Hulburd of Randolph, NJ?
428 The State of NJ vs. Benjamin Hulburd (presumably of Mt. Carmel, IL); Includes the Grand Jury Indictment of Rhuben Hulburd.
430 Rhuben Hulburd and the “Lost Check”
431 The 1803-4 Imprisonment of Rhuben Hulburd
431 Abstract of a Transcription of an 1807 Deed, of Rhuben Hulburd and His Wife Elizabeth to Daniel Aber
432 The Descendants of Rhuben Hulburd of Randolph, NJ
440 William B. Hulbert of Huron, MI (1790 – c.1865)
440 The William B. Hulbert Serves in the War of 1812
442 The Bounty Lands Granted to William B. Hulbert for His 1812 War Service, Redistributed
444 Oliver Hulbert of Madison, OH (c.1800 – c.1853)
444 The Movements of Oliver Hulbert
445 Jotham Hulbert Jr. of Newark, NJ (c.1784 – c.1835)
445 Jotham Hulbert Jr. Serves in the War of 1812
446 IL Land Grant to Jotham Hulburt Jr. for 1812 War Service
449 The Movements for Jotham Hulbert Jr. of Newark, NJ
451 Is Jotham Hulbert Jr. the Father of William Hulbard of 1830 Newark, NJ?
452 Were Mary Holbert and Ephraim Holbert of Randolph, NJ the Children of Jotham Hulbert Jr.?
453 The Presumed Descendants of Jotham Hulbert Jr. of Newark, NJ
454 Was William W. Hulbert of Brooklyn, NY, the Son of Jotham Hulbert Jr. of Newark, NJ?
Miscellaneous
455 The Hulburds in the Mendham, Randolph, Hanover and Morris Twsp, NJ. Tax Rateables from 1778 to 1823
467 The Hulburds in the 1793 New Jersey State Militia Census
468 Who was Hezekiah “Hurlbut”, Merchant of Morristown, NJ?
469 Some Hulberts of Morris County, NJ and Surroundings of Completely Undetermined Ancestry
471 Hulberts as Grantors in the Morris Co., NJ Hall of Records Land Deed Index: Series 1 (1785 – 1906)
473 Hulberts as Mortgagees in the Morris Co., NJ Hall of Records Mortgage Index: Series 1 (1771 – 1909)
474 The Transition of Hulbert Homesteads in Morris Co., NJ, as Depicted in the Atlases from 1853 to 1887
475 The Hulbert Homesteads Depicted in the 1868 Edition of Beers’ Atlas of Morris Co., NJ
476 Which Hulbert Family Perished in the Morris Canal Levy Failure of 1858?
477 American Families Whose Surname is Some Variation of “Hulbert”
480 The Y-DNA of the Descendants of William Hulburd I of Northampton, MA
483 Close Y-DNA Matches with Other Surname
The Immigrant
WILLIAM HULBURD I of Northampton, MA (1604 – 1694)
Possibly the son of William Hulbert and Anne Bye of Reading (Berkshire), England
William Hulburd I was most probably christened (i.e. shortly after being born) on 17 Jun 1604 at St. Giles Parish in Reading, England as William “Hulbert” or “Hulberd”. [Note DMI: “Hulbert” and “Hulberd” seem to be the spellings used by the Hulburds in Reading, England at that time. Per most Internet sources (which provide no documentation) William Hulburd I was b. 2 May 1612]. He was listed as “aged above 60” on 13 March 1666/7 (according to the notes of ROM, which cite without page reference, the Medical Journal of John Winthrop Jr., 1657 – 1669, hereafter WMJ). [Note DMI: The original 1000 pg manuscript is in the archives of the Mass. Hist. Soc]. ) As William “Hulberd” he d. 17 April 1694 in Northampton, MA, per church records there. [Note JH 6 Oct 2010: He is (presumably) buried in the Bridge Street Cemetery, with no tombstone surviving (nor for his last wife Ann). There is no will, or estate inventory, listed for him or his wife Ann in the Northampton civil archives, only intestate records for his son John Hulburd Sr. of Northampton in 1713. All land deeds for Northampton (Hampshire Co), MA before the year 1787 are filed in Springfield (Hampden Co), MA, even though Hampden Co. was formed out of Hampshire Co. in 1812].
Did William Hulburd I Marry Helen / Ellen Tinker in 1628 in (New) Windsor, England?
Per information posted on the internet, which was taken from an article originally printed in the New England Historic and Genealogical Register [hereafter NEHGR], Boston. Vol. 149, p. 413 entitled “The English Ancestry of the Merwin and Tinker Families of New England - Part Two” [Note DMI: said article yet to be read in its entirety by me], Helen (alias Ellen) Tinker (b.c.1604 d.?____) m. 13 Aug 1628 in New Windsor, Berkshire, England [Note DMI: today called simply “Windsor”, England, and referred to simply as “Windsor, England” in the rest of this genealogy] a William “Hubbard”. The parents of Helen Tinker were Robert Tinker and Mary Merwin. The author of that article speculates, that this William “Hubbard” may be the same man that James Savage refers to in his Genealogical Dictionary… as the William “Hulburd” who immigrated to Dorchester, MA.
Apparently, the reasoning behind this speculation, is because 4 of the Tinker siblings (John, Anne, Mary and Rhoda) and re-widowed mother (Mrs. Mary Collins) of this Helen Tinker ended up immigrating specifically to Dorchester, MA in the 1630’s, and they all removed to Windsor, CT during the 1630’s at roughly the same times that William Hulburd I was also in residence in those places. Furthermore, a close blood-relative to the Tinkers on their mother’s side (e.g. Miles Merwin) also immigrated specifically to Windsor, CT in the company of John Tinker about 1638.
The first known child of William Hulburd I, named John, died on 25 Aug 1639 (age at death undetermined), and the next year he had baptized a second son named John, and the mother of these two sons has never been determined. Was he named after his maternal uncle John Tinker (who apparently had important connections, including to Gov. Winthrop)?
The surname “Hulburd” has been misspelled by clerks a number of times in early American documents as “Hubbard”, and if that is indeed the way the name is written in the original marriage register of the church at Windsor, England (an is not a modern transcribers error for “Hulburd”, which I have also come across a number of times), then it is probable that this is a reference to William Hulburd I (who would have been about 24 years old at the time).
The founding of a settlement in America with the same name as the town one had resided in back in Great Britain (i.e. “Windsor”), was typical of early British immigrants to New England. More interesting still, is that the settlement was originally named during its first two years “Dorchester, CT (after the settlement in MA that the first party of settlers had come from), but the name was changed to “Windsor, CT” as soon as some of the Tinker family relocated there.
The date of the 1628 marriage in Windsor, England fits in well with William Hulburd I’s immigration date of 1629 or 1630 (most probably the former, most probably as part of the Higginson Fleet that sailed essentially from London, even though he’s regularly [and wrongly I feel] attributed as a passenger of the Winthrop Fleet – specifically on the Mary and John). The marriage in Windsor, England also fits in well with William Hulburd relocating from Dorchester, MA to the settlement named “Windsor” when it was established in CT in 1635. The immigration of the siblings and other family members of Helen Tinker to first Dorchester, MA and then to Windsor, CT is yet another indication that William Hulburd I was likely her spouse.
It should also be noted, that while Windsor, England had been a prosperous, Medieval city on the Thames, west of London, which was known for its shops and merchants (due mostly to activities associated with the construction of Windsor Castle there), by the 16th and 17th centuries, Windsor was known for having become impoverished, which provides a reason for why the members of the Tinker and Merwin families (and perhaps William Hulburd I too) would brave settling the wilds of America, for a chance to own land and improve their fortunes. However, additional research into the Tinkers and various associates of William Hulburd I suggests that the move to MA was actually motivated by the strong religious puritan-separatist beliefs of those individuals.
Was William Hulburd I Originally from Reading (Berkshire), England?
I emailed 18 Aug 2010 the following to JH:
“In the course of that research, I’ve stumbled upon a pretty interesting search engine called ‘Family Search’ provided on line by the Mormons. In that search engine, I was able to pull up all William Hulbert/var.s in England.
Nearly all of the Hulbert/var.s listed are from Wiltshire, and so it’s understandable why past Hulbert genealogists have theorized Wiltshire as a possible origin for our immigrant William Hulburd I.
However, using the clue I had stumbled upon several months ago, that our William Hulburd I had likely first married 13 Aug. 1628 as William ‘Hubbard’ to Helen (alias Ellen) Tinker in (New) Windsor, (Berkshire) England, I did a search for any mention of Hulbert/var.s specifically in Berkshire, England before 1635.
A William ‘Hulbert’ of Reading (Berkshire), England m. 14 Apr 1600 in St. Mary’s Parish of Reading, England an Anne Bye. Reading, England is only 20 to 25 miles by road west of Windsor, England (not to mention also being upstream from Windsor, England on the Thames River). This William would be about the right age to be a father or uncle for our William Hulburd I.
Also, a William “Hulbert’ was christened on 17 Jun 1604 in St. Giles Parish, Reading, England – parents unnamed in the excerpt, but presumably listed on the microfilmed original document. He is of the right age, to be our William Hulburd I, the immigrant, and is most probably him. What we do know of our William I’s age to date, is that (per the Winthrop Medical Journal) that William Hulburd I was ‘above age 60’ on 13 Mar 1666, and therefore, born probably just before 1606.
Also, there is a marriage of a ‘Willm Hulbert’ on 13 Apr 1611 in Saint Giles Parish, Reading, England to an Elizabeth Burton. Could this be a 2nd marriage, for the William Hulbert who had married Anne Bye in St. Mary’s Parish in 1600?
Finally, in the town of Sandhurst (Berkshire), England, just south of Reading, is the (Latinized) record of a christening of a ‘Gulielmus Hulberd’ (i.e. William Hulberd), son of ‘Thomae Hulberd’ (i.e. Thomas Hulberd) on 2 May 1630. While this is obviously not our William I or any son of his, I point it out because of the use of the forenames William and Thomas, with the surname ‘Hulberd’, appearing in Berkshire records of the early 1600’s. Perhaps they were cousins of some sort to William Hulburd I”.
Per Reading History Trail, posted on the website atschool.eduweb.co.uk, which was forwarded to me by JH:
“In the middle ages, cloth making became the most important trade in the town of Reading [England]. With wool from the large herds of sheep in Berkshire, Hampshire and the Cotswolds, a ready supply of water for washing and dyeing in the River Kennet, good transport to London along the River Thames and a supply of cheap labour from the continually growing population of the town, Reading was the ideal place for the cloth industry. The wool was brought to Reading and then made into cloth, a task which involved many different jobs…. The cloth industry was in being by 1220 when there is evidence of a fulling mill and dyeing grounds on the Kennet. Cloth making was the important industry in the town throughout the Middle Ages and Tudor times. It was controlled by the Guild, which gained another charter in 1487 from Henry VII”.
Hulbert Church Records from Reading, England and Surroundings Prior to 1630
Per the above mentioned ‘Family Search’ IGI index records, these are the following records for Hulbert/var.s in Berkshire, England:
Various Marriages at St. Mary’s Parish, Reading, England
Henry Hulbert married in St. Mary’s Parish Mary Frese on 18 Jan 1600.
Henry Hulbert married in St. Mary’s Parish Elinor Pummell on 26 Dec 1614.
Elinor Hulberd married in St. Mary’s Parish John Mathew on 7 Jul 1628.
Various Christenings at St. Giles Parish, Reading, England
Thomas Hulbard, 30 Sep 1584.
Marye Hulbard, 24 Jun 1589.
Ellizabeth Hulbard, 9 Apr 1592.
Mary Hulbert, 25 Jan 1600.
Thomas Hulbert, 23 Apr 1602.
Mary Hulberd, 27 May 1603.
William Hulbert, 17 Jun 1604.
Elizab. Hulbert, 9 Jun 1605.
Richard Hulbert, 4 Aug 1605.
Thomas Hulbert, 1 Mar 1606.
Sarah Hulbert, 18 May 1606.
Mathias Hulbert, 21 Feb 1611.
John Hulbert Jr. [son of John Hulbert Sr.], 28 May 1620.
Christenings of the Children of Henry Hulbert and Mary Frese in Reading, England
Marie in 1602 (she died 8 Jun 1603).
Anna in St. Mary’s Parish in 1603 (she died 6 Feb 1614).
Christenings of the Children of Abraham Hulberd in Reading, England
Anna, 16 Mar 1614 (she died 6 Feb 1615).
Joseph, 26 Nov 1615.
Abraham Jr., 16 Jan 1618.
Peter in St. Mary’s Parish, 9 Apr 1620.
Thomas, 27 Oct 1622.
Judith in St. Mary’s Parish, Jul 1624.
Isak, 5 Aug 1628.
Christenings of the Children of Thomas (Latinized ‘Thomae’) Hulberd
Daniell in St. Mary’s Parish in Reading (Berkshire), England 6 Mar 1614.
Elizabetha (i.e. Elizabeth) in Sandhurst (Berkshire), England 6 Dec 1618.
Maria (i.e. Mary) in Sandhurst, 25 Feb 1621.
Susannah in Sandhurst, 11 Apr 1624.
Jana (i.e. Jane) in Sandhurst, Dec 1627.
Gulielmus (i.e. William) in Sandhurst, 2 May 1630.
There are also christening records for “Hulbert/var.s” in St. Lawrence (Berkshire), England starting about the year 1647. St. Lawrence lies halfway between Windsor and Reading (i.e. about 10 miles by road east of the center of Reading).
On 15 Sep 2010, I received the following email response from Ruth King of the Berkshire Record Office for Berkshire County in England:
“… We have the parish registers for Reading St Giles and Reading St Mary here at the Berkshire Record Office, as follows:
Reading St Mary
baptisms - 1538-1954
marriages - 1538-1954
burials - 1538-1995
Reading St Giles
baptisms - 1564-1990
marriages - 1564-1991
burials - 1564-1990
We also have transcripts of the above registers, as follows:
T/R77/1 - transcript of Reading St Mary marriages and burials, 1538-1812
T/R77/2 - transcript of Reading St Mary baptisms, 1538-1812
T/433 - transcript of Reading St Giles baptisms, marriages and burials, 1564-1812
… As you have found from the baptisms you already have, the very early entries do not give the names of the parents, so it can be difficult to put people into family groups…. I searched our personal names index but could not find any references to the name Hulberd/Hulbert for the period you are interested in. I also checked our index to Berkshire wills for the period 1508-1652 and found one [estate] administration for Abraham Hulbert of Reading, 1638”.
In follow-up email to JH the same day, I noted the following:
“We'll probably never know for sure, who were the parents of the William Hulberd who was christened in Reading in 1604, since it’s clear from the listings under the title "various christenings" I've already compiled from IGI, that there were at least two, possibly three, Hulbert men fathering children in Reading at the same time, due to multiple christenings during the same year. The 7 children that we know for sure from those records who were fathered by Abraham Hulbert, were christened starting 1614, but that's probably when they started including the parents' names with the child's christening entry. Abraham could also be the father of children who were christened before 1614, but we can't know for sure. It's true that estate administrations can sometimes give clues to family connections, but that's not typically the case.
In taking a second look at the LDS microfilm catalogue in the link that you provided, there are a couple of films that could possibly yield some info, as a long shot I suppose:
The churchwarden’s accounts of the parish of St. Mary’s, Reading, Berks, 1550-1662 Church of England. St. Mary's Church (Reading, Berkshire)
Parish chest records, 1550-1907 Church of England. St. Mary's Church (Reading, Berkshire)
Parish registers, 1538-1967, and church and civil records, 1250-1990 Church of England. St. Mary's Church (Reading, Berkshire)
The last one has subheadings headings for ‘Taxation’, ‘Occupations’, and ‘Poor Houses’. Interesting that they have tax records back to 1250, apparently”.
The Connection of William Hulburd I to Robert Keayne of London, England and Boston, MA
Per Heavenly Merchandize…, by Mark Valeri, 2009, pg 14:
“He [Keayne] was born in 1595 in Windsor, Berkshire County, England, the son of the butcher John Keayne…in 1605 his father apprenticed him to the London merchant-tailor John Heyfield. He worked eight years in the Cornhill District of London, secured admission to the freedom of the Merchant Taylor’s Company, a prominent guild, in 1615, and married Anne Mansfield in 1617. While in London, the young merchant also joined the puritan movement and established connections with dissenting leaders…. He joined the Honourable Artillery Company of London in 1623 and subscribed as an adventurer behind the Plymouth Colony. Eventually he became acquainted with John Winthrop…he advised Winthrop on procuring armaments for the Massachusetts Bay Company. In 1634 he invested £100 in the company. On July 17, 1635, when he was forty years old, he, his wife, and one surviving son out of four, Benjamin, departed England for Boston [MA]”.
and per pg 22:
“He [Keayne] held separate account books for the poor fund, his shop transactions, debts owed to him (three volumes), credits paid to him, debts he owed others.... He kept in addition, separate papers for debts due from his farmlands and from the ironworks...old debt books from London...Keayne...appeared to pay an unusual amount of attention to his ledgers. “As a good help hereunto”, he advised his executors, ‘I advise that my shop books, debt books, and all my books of account may carefully be looked [locked?] up, kept together and diligently perused, seeing that almost everything which belongs to my estate is by myself committed to writing in one book or another’. ”
So, the question now becomes, where are the account books of Robert Keayne now housed, (since William Hulburd I should be mentioned in them)? I would presume as part of the collection of the MA Historical Society in Boston, MA – that is if those account books still exist.
Per Transactions and Collections of the American Antiquarian Society, Vol. VII, 1885, is a printing of “the Note-Book kept by Thomas Lechford, Esq., Lawyer, in Boston, Massachusetts Bay, from June 27, 1638 to July 29, 1641”. We find on pg 342 the following [Note DMI: date not specified, but circa 1640]:
“Robert Keayne of Boston in N E m; makes a ler of Attorn. unto John Tinker of Windsore upon the river of Connecticott, planter, to receive of Willm Hubberd of Windsore 10s, John Haynes Esqr 2£ 10s, Mr. Robert Saltonstall 50£, Henry Browning 4£ 4s 8d, Thomas Witherle [i.e. Wetherill? / Witherell?] 2£ 14s 2d, Willm Quicke 4£ 7s 10d, Mr. [Rev. John?] Higginson 15s, David Anderson 6£ 6s ”.
[Note DMI: The Rev. John Higginson was son of the Rev. Francis Higginson who died 6 Aug 1630]
Per a footnote on pg. 401:
“Robert Saltonstall was at this time at Windsor, Conn. This agreement probably has some connection with the letter of attorney on p. 189 from Robert Keayne to one Tinker, of Windsor, to collect several debts, and among others £50 from Robert Saltonstall. Robert was a younger son of the baronet, and was engaged at Windsor in looking out for some property of his own and his brother’s…”.
[Note DMI: William Quicke, like the Saltonstalls, also seems to have been from London. John Haynes was elected Governor of the MA Bay Colony in 1635, and was later elected Governor of the CT Colony, serving in alternating years starting in 1639. He also owned land at Windsor, CT which he bequeathed to his widow].
[Note JH: Thomas Lechford was a lawyer in Boston, who was apparently the first lawyer in the New England. He nearly starved for lack of work, and returned to England about August of 1641].
Regarding the involvement of the Saltonstalls in the MA Bay Company, A History of Salem, Massachusetts, by Sidney Perley, Vol. I (1626-1637), 1924, states on pg. 89:
“Not long after, these [original] grantees [of territory in New England, who resided in and about the counties of Dorset and Somerset, England], through Mr. [Rev. Francis] White, [also] became acquainted with other religious persons of like quality in and about London, - Isaac Johnson, Matthew Craddock, Thomas Goffe and Sir Richard Saltonstall, - who became associated with them, for the purpose of founding a plantation where nonconformists in religion might be received”.
And per pg. 125:
[Note DMI: On 17 April 1629, the Massachusetts Bay Company sent along with the ships Talbot and Lion’s Whelp, a letter of instruction to Gov. Endecott, which included]: “Wee recommend vnto yow Sr Richard Salton∫tall and Mr I∫ack John∫on, who ∫end over ∫ervants and cattle in the∫e ∫hipps, de∫iring yow will take care for their pre∫ent accomodacon as afore∫aid…”.
As regards Rev. Francis Higginson, pg. 110 states:
“The Talbot, Thomas Beecher, master, was also a strong ship of three hundred tons, with nineteen pieces of ordnance, and manned by thirty mariners. It carried about one hundred planters, and as freight six goats, five great pieces of ordnance, with oatmeal, pease and all kinds of munitions and provisions sufficient for plantation for a year. Several servants of the pilgrims came in this vessel at this time and also Mr. [Rev. Francis] Higginson and his family…”.
Did William Hulburd I Immigrate to MA in 1629 Aboard the Higginson Fleet?
In an email of 6 Sep 2010 I wrote to JH:
“…there is a possibility that William Hulburd I actually arrived in MA aboard the Higginson Fleet, which arrived at Salem, MA one year before the Mary and John arrived near Dorchester, MA in 1630.
There is no proof one way or the other, when William Hulburd I arrived in MA, or upon what ship. We know he had to arrive sometime after his marriage at Windsor, England to Helen Tinker in the Spring of 1628, and we know he first appears in the American records in Dorchester, MA in 1630 - but, that doesn't tell us whether he arrived as part of the Higginson Fleet, or as part of the Winthrop Fleet. The assumption had been the latter, only because it was assumed that he must have been part of the Dorchester colonists who had come on the Mary and John, only because he petitions to be a freeman of that settlement early on in 1630.
However, Simon Hoyt(e) also petitioned to become a freeman of Dorchester, MA in 1630, and had arrived on either the Lion’s Whelp in 1629 (or possibly the Talbot), which was part of the Higginson Fleet, having helped to found, and resided at, Charlestown, MA during 1629.
Even though it has become clear recently, that William Hulburd I wasn't from the western regions of England, and therefore not likely a passenger on the Mary and John, we’ve nonetheless still been stuck on his coming over as part of the Winthrop Fleet in 1630. However, the Higginson Fleet left from essentially London (i.e. just down-river from London), on the Thames River, only one year before in 1629 (one year after William I's marriage to Helen Tinker within 40 miles of London, in Windsor, England - also a city on the Thames River).
The Thames River flows from west to east thru Reading, then Windsor, and then London, England. It would make a lot of sense, that William Hulburd I had set sail at or near London. The passenger lists for the six ships of the Higginson Fleet apparently don't exist, but Capt. John Smith in The True Travels, Adventures and Observations of Captain John Smith, London, 1630 wrote concerning the Higginson Fleet:
‘Now in this year 1629, a great company of people [i.e. The Higginson Fleet] of good rank, zeal, means and quality have made a great stock, and with six good ships in the months of April and May, they set sail from Thames for the Bay of the Massachusetts, otherwise called Charles River. The fleet consisted of, the George Bonaventure of twenty pieces of ordnance; the Talbot nineteen; the Lion’s Whelp eight; the Mayflower fourteen [note DMI: not the same Mayflower which had first sailed to Plymouth, MA in 1620]; the Four Sisters fourteen and the Pilgrim four, with 350 men women and children, also 115 head of cattle, as horses, mares, cows and oxen, 41 goats, some conies (rabbits), with all provision for household and apparel, 6 pieces of great ordnance for a fort, with muskets, pikes, corselets, drums, colors, and with all provisions necessary for a plantation for the good of man’.
Per Charlestown Town Records, Vol. 2, ‘Minutes of the Selectmen of Charlestown, entry of 18 April 1664’, Charlestown, MA, 1873:
“The inhabitants yet: first settled in this place [Charlestown] and brought it into the denomination of an English Towne, was in Anno 1629 as follows, viz: Ralph Sprague; Richard Sprague; William Sprague; John Meech; Simon Hoyte; Abraham Palmer; Walter Palmer; Nicholas Stower; John Stickline. Thomas Walford Smith yet lived here alone before. Mr. Graves who had charge of some, of the servants of the Company of Patentees with whom he built the great house this year for such of the said Company as are shortly to come over which afterwards became the Meeting house. And Mr. Bright Minister to the Companies Servants”.
Remember, Simon Hoyt(e) had become a resident of Dorchester, MA in 1630, and then was a near neighbor of William Hulburd I at Windsor, CT, and he later married Rhoda Tinker as her third husband”.
The Founding of Dorchester, MA
Per The Memoirs of Capt. Roger Clapp, written c.1680, printed 1731 by B. Green, reprinted 1844, Boston, pg. 2-51:
“…[Those] who came in ye year 1630…[included] preachers of ye word of God, as…Mr. Hubbard,….
Now coming into this Country, I found it a vacant Wilderne∫s, in re∫pect of Engli∫h. There were indeed ∫ome Engli∫h at Plymouth and Salem, and ∫ome few at Charle∫town, who were very de∫titute when we came a∫hore [Note DMI: several men who had come the year before in 1629 as part of the Higginson Fleet, had set up a small settlement called Charlestown, which was right next to a relatively large Indian village. Simon Hoyte was one of those men, and he applied to be a freeman at Dorchester, MA in 1630, the same year William Hulburd I did].
…we got a Boat of ∫ome old planters [Note DMI: i.e. men who had established the small trading post at Nantasket/Hull, MA, where the passengers of the Mary and John had been “abandoned”. “Old” meaning “earlier” as in, in the countryside before 1630, and not old in “elderly”], and laded her with Goods; and ∫ome able Men well armed, and went in her unto Charle∫town: where we found ∫ome Wigwams and one [split-rail] Hou∫e…then [we] went up Charles River, until ye River grew narrow and ∫hallow, and there we landed our goods with much Labor and Toil, ye bank being ∫teep. And Night coming on, we were informed that there were hard by us Three Hundred Indians: One Engli∫h Man that could ∫peak ye Indian language (an old Planter) went to them and advi∫ed them not to come near us in ye Night…. Alas, had they come upon us, how ∫oon might they have de∫troyed us! I think We were not above Ten in number [i.e. in that advance scouting party, which was formed out of the c.140 passengers of the “Mary and John”]….
We had not been there many Days…but we had [an] Order to come away from that place, (which was about [the later site of] Watertown) unto a place called Mattapan (now Dorche∫ter) becau∫e there was a Neck of Land [i.e. Columbia Point] fit to keep our Cattle on…. Not long after came our renowned and ble∫sed Governour [Winthrop], and divers of his A∫si∫tants with him. Their Ships came into Charles River, and many Pa∫sengers landed at Charle∫town, many of whom died ye Winter following…they lived many of them in tents and wigwams at Charle∫town, their meeting place being abroad under a tree…
In our beginning, many were in great Straits for want of Provi∫ion for them∫elves and their little Ones…when a ∫hip came laden with Provi∫ions, they [Governor Winthrop and his Assistants] did Order that ye whole Cargo ∫hould be bought for a general Stock; and ∫o accordingly it was, and Di∫tribution was made to every Town, and to every Per∫on in each Town, as every Man had need…. [Note DMI: an account of “communism” being practiced at the founding of our nation] It was not accounted a ∫trange thing in tho∫e Days to drink Water [i.e. rather than hard cider or ale, which were both safer, and tastier to drink], and to eat Samp [i.e. boiled cracked-corn] or Hominie [i.e. hominy grits] without Butter or Milk. Indeed it would have been a ∫trange thing to ∫ee a piece of Roa∫t Beef, Mutton or Veal; though it was not long before there was Roa∫t Goat”.
Per the Annals of the Town of Dorchester, by James Blake, 1750 (reprinted in Collections of the Dorchester Antiquarian and Historical Society, Vol. II:, Boston, 1846, pg. 7- 9):
“When many mo∫t Godly and Religious People that Di∫sented from ye way of Wor∫hip then E∫tabli∫hed by Law in ye Realm of England, in the Reign of King Charles ye fir∫t, being denied ye free exerci∫e of Religion after ye manner they profe∫sed according to ye light of God’s Word and their own con∫ciences, did under ye Incouragement of a Charter Granted by ye Sd King, Charles, in ye Fourth Year of his Reign A.D. 1628, Remoue them∫elves & their Families into ye Colony of ye Ma∫sachu∫etts Bay in New-England, that they might Wor∫hip God according to ye light of their own Con∫ciences, without any burthen∫ome Impo∫itions, which was ye very motive & cau∫e of their coming; Then it was, that the Fir∫t Inhabitants of Dorche∫ter came ouer, & were ye fir∫t Company or Church Society that arriued here, next to ye Town of Salem who was one year before them.
…This People [i.e. the group assembled at Plymouth, England] being too many in Number to come in one Ve∫sel, they hired one Capt. Squeb to bring them in a large Ship of Four Hundred Tons [i.e. the “Mary and John”]; they ∫et Sail from Plymouth ye 20th of March 1629-30, and arriued at Nanta∫ket (now Hull) ye 30th of May 1630, having a Comfortable tho’ long Pa∫sage, and having Preaching and Expounding of ye Scripture every day of their Pa∫sage, performed by their Mini∫ters. They agreed with Capt. Squeb to bring them into Charles River, but he was fal∫e to his bargain & would not come any further than Nanta∫ket [Note DMI: where a trading post had already been established by settlers from the Plymouth Colony], where he turned them and their Goods a∫hore on ye point, leaving them in a forlorn Wilderne∫s de∫titute of any habitation & mo∫t other comforts of life [Note DMI: which would have been pretty much the case wherever he left them off in 1630, so I’m not sure what the whining was about…]
But it plea∫ed God, they got a boat of ∫ome that had ∫taid in ye Country (I ∫uppo∫e for Trade, for there was ∫ome at Noddles Island & at Charles-town that ∫taid in ye Country for Trade with ye Natiues before the∫e adventurers came over…) and put their goods in ye Boat, and In∫tead of Sailing up to Charles River in a Ship were forced (as I ∫uppo∫e) to Row up in a Boat [i.e. the advanced scouting party of ten men]…. They went up ye River until it grew narrow & Shallow, & then put a∫hore & built a hut to ∫helter their Goods, Intending there to ∫et down [i.e. settle down for good], it being ye place where Watertown now is.
The Indians upon their arrival Mu∫tered thick, they thought about 300, but having with them an Old Planter as they called him, one that had ∫tayed in ye Country & could ∫peak ∫omething of ye Indian Language, (I ∫uppo∫e they took him from Charlestown that now is, for they called there & ∫aw ∫everal Wigwams, & one Engli∫h Man in an House where they ate boiled Ba∫s, but had no Bread to eat with it) they ∫ent him to ye Indians, who were per∫uaded to keep at a di∫tance ye fir∫t night, and ye next morning when the Indians appeared, they offered no violence but ∫ent some of their number holding out a Ba∫s; our people ∫ent a man with a Bi∫quet, & ∫o they Exchanged, not only then but often afterwards, a bi∫quet for a Ba∫s, and ye Indians were very friendly to them, which our people a∫cribed to God’s watchful Providence ouer them in their weak beginnings; for all the Company were not gone up ye River, but about Ten men to ∫eek out ye way for ye Re∫t.
They were now landed upon ye Main Continent in a wild & unknown Wilderne∫s, and they had brought Cattle [i.e. principally goats] with them which if they put them a∫hore there would likely wander & be lo∫t & them∫elves likewi∫e in ∫eeking them. They had not ∫tayed here at Watertown but a few days but ye Re∫t of their Company below had found out a neck of Land Joyning to a place called by the Indians Mattapan, (now Dorche∫ter) that was a fit place to turn their Cattle upon to prevent their ∫traying; ∫o they ∫ent to their friends to come away from Watertown, and they ∫ettled at Mattapan, & turned their Cattle upon ye Sd neck then called Mattapannock, now called Dorche∫ter-Neck [i.e. Columbia Point]. They began their Settlement here at Mattapan ye beginning of June as I ∫uppo∫e, or thereabout, A.D. 1630, and changed ye name into Dorche∫ter, calling it Dorche∫ter Plantation. Why they called it Dorche∫ter I never heard, but there was ∫ome of Dor∫et Shire, & ∫ome of ye Town of Dorche∫ter that ∫ettled here; and it is very likely it might be in Honour of ye afore∫aid Revd. Mr. White of Dorche∫ter”.
Per History of the Town of Dorchester, MA, by the Dorchester Antiquarian and Historical Society, Boston, 1859 pg. 27-31:
“Much pains were taken to scrutinize the character and morals of all persons offering for emigration to Massachusetts in England, and such as arrived here without proper testimonials were not received [i.e. per Winthrop’s Journal, pg. 38]…. The principal qualification for this privilege [i.e. to become a freeman of Dorchester, MA] seems to have been church membership…. In November, 1634, it was ordered that ‘no man shall sell his house or lot to any man without [i.e. outside of] the plantation, whom they [i.e. the town council] shall dislike of’. [Note DMI: this is essentially the equivalent of an early example of Co-op (Co-operative) living, in what amounts to an HOA (Home Owner’s Association)]
The names of the first 24 freemen were… [a list of names, ending with] William Hubbert. Prince [i.e. Prince’s Annals] mentions that many of the early settlers of Massachusetts returned to England, and this was the case with some of the Dorchester settlers…. Lands allotted to persons who shortly left, appear to have been granted to others by the plantation; all speculation was thus prevented.
The first Dorchester Record Book, re-copied a few years since at the expense of the town, commenced January 16, 1632-3,… The two missing leaves at the beginning, traced, probably, the proceedings from the commencement of the settlement [i.e. 1 Jun 1630 to 15 Jan 1632]. A very large part of this book, containing six hundred and thirty-six pages, is devoted to grants of land, regulations for fences, the care of cattle, laying out of highways, and other kindred maters….
Frequent allusion is made to a book, containing a plot of the town, with lots, and the names of grantees from the beginning, probably a registry of deeds. Dr. Harris states it to have been accidentally burnt in 1657. It is however stated that a copy of this plot and the names of the grantees, made by that excellent draftsman, James Blake, has existed within the memory of the persons now living. If it should be found, it will be of great interest to the present generation…”. [Note DMI: This copy of the Dorchester land deed book, made by James Blake, and still in existence until at least about 1800 per the above account, has never resurfaced to date – i.e. 2010 – and is therefore presumed lost and destroyed sometime probably in the early 1800’s].
Per Codman Square…, by William J. Walczak, 2000, pg. 2-3, quotes from a letter written by Deputy-Governor Thomas Dudley in 1630 to a friend in England, which describes how the original plans of the Winthrop Fleet to settle all in one location in MA (presumably at Salem), were changed last minute so that scattered settlements were made:
“But… receiving advertisements (by some of the late[ly] arrived ships from London and Amsterdam) of some French preparations [of attack] against us (many of our people brought with us being sick of fevers, and we thereby unable to carry up our ordnance and baggage so far) we were forced to change counsel [i.e. change our original plans], and for our present shelter to plant [ourselves] dispersedly; some at Charlestown, some at Boston, some of upon Mistick [River], which [settlement] we named Meadford, some westward of the Charles River, four miles from Charlestown, which place we named Watertown, others of us two miles from Boston in a place we named Rocksbury; others upon the River Saugus, between Salem and Charlestown, and the western[-English] men [who had arrived on the “Mary and John”] four miles south of Boston at a place we named Dorchester”.
Walczak continues on pg 2-3:
“The Puritans who settled Dorchester were part of the group which obtained a charter allowing the Massachusetts Bay Company to settle the land between the Charles and Merrimack Rivers. Part of this group sailed on March 20, 1630 aboard the Mary and John and landed on June 6, 1630 at a placed called “Mattapannock” (Columbia Point) by the Indians. These settlers built houses and a meeting house nearby at a place later called Allen’s Plain (roughly where Pleasant Street is today).
Before leaving for America, the colonists had determined that for purposes of mutual protection they would build closely together. For this reason all settlers built homes within one-half mile of the meeting house on lots of four to six acres. [Note DMI: the original Meeting House at Dorchester, MA, built in 1631, was almost certainly inside of a Palisado, which corresponds roughly to the southern half of the land bounded by East Cottage Street and Pond Street, in the current Uphams Corner region of Boston, MA].
South of what is now called Meeting House Hill, “Great Lots” (in what is now Central and Southern Dorchester) for general farm purposes were granted. Thus, the first roads built by the Dorchester settlers centered around the [original] Meeting House (Cottage Street and Settlers’ Lane) [Note DMI: i.e. near intersection of East Cottage Street and Pond Street, “Settler’s Lane apparently being an alternate name for Pond Street], led to the fortress atop Rock Hill (now Savin Hill) by way of Pleasant Street, to the Cow Pasture (Columbia Point) by way of Pond Street and Crescent Avenue, and to the Burying Ground by way of Burying Place Lane (now Stoughton Street) [Note DMI: i.e. at the northeast corner of Columbia Road and Stoughton Street].
Later, as the danger from the Indians disappeared, homes were erected on the “Great Lots” and the center of town life shifted [southward] to Meeting House Hill. [Note DMI: the 2nd Meeting House was built atop Meeting House Hill in 1670]. This resulted in the building of new roads connecting other settlements and parts of Dorchester. Dudley Street connected Dorchester with the Roxbury settlement, and Boston Street [Note DMI: now partly Columbia Road] connected Dorchester Neck [Note DMI: now Columbia Point] and Heights (now South Boston) with the main settlement. When Israel Stoughton set up a grist mill on the Neponset River, a road was built across the “Great Lots” connecting the original settlement with it. This became known as the Lower Road (now Adams Street)”.
Regarding life in the MA Bay Colony in 1629 (specifically at Salem, MA), per New England’s Plantation, by Rev. Francis Higginson, published in London 1630:
“It is thought here is good clay to make bricks and tiles and earthen pots as needs to be. At this instant we are setting up a brick-kiln to make bricks and tiles for the building of houses…. It is scares to be believed how our kine [i.e. archaic plural form of cow] and goats, horses and hogs do thrive and prosper here and like well of this country…. Here are also an abundance of other sweet herbs…and two kinds of herbs that bear two different kinds of flowers very sweet, which they say, are as good to make cordage or cloth as any hemp or flax we have…. Also here are store of sumac trees, which are good for dying and tanning of leather…also here divers roots and berries wherein the Indians dye excellent holiday colors…. And although New England have no tallow to make candles of, yet by the abundance of the fish thereof, it can afford oil for lamps. Yea, our pine trees that are the most plentiful of all wood, doth allow us plenty of candles, which are very useful in a house; and they are such candles as the Indians commonly use, having no other, and they are nothing else but the wood of the pine tree cloven in two thin slices something thin, which are so full of the moisture of turpentine and pitch that they burn clear as a torch”.
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