Shubael Hinckley

Notes:

Will of Samuel Hinckley
I Samuel Hinckley of Barnestable in ye County of Barnestable in New England being now very Ill and weake and Every day expecting my Great and Last Chang and yet through ye mercy and Goodnes of God of disposing mind and memory am desirous according to my Duty to Sett things in order before I goe hence and therefore do make this my Last Will and Testament In manner and form following first I Comitt my soul to God in Christ who gave it me and my Body to Decent Burial when God shall Please to call me hence: And as tuching my worldly estate which God hath beyound my desearts bestowed on me my will is to dispose of it as followeth


Imprimis I Will and Bequeath unto Sarah my wife ye one half of all my Lands and housing to be at her free and Sole disposeing


It[em] I will and bequeath unto my Son Thomas Hinckley ye other half of all my sd Lands and housing to him his heirs and assignes for ever, provided that he shall confirm ye conveyance of ye Lands which I have sold of his unto Samuel Cob and henry Cobb which wear given to my sd son by his uncle Thomas Hinckley in his Last will and Testament and that my said Son Thomas shall have all ye money now due to me from Richard Childs Eliazer Crocker and Jonathan Crocker being part of ye money which I Sold his Land for


It[em] my will is that my personal estate shall be at ye dispose of Sarah my sd wife for ye paying of my Debts and Bringing up of my Children And then if any thing shall be Left to be by her disposed of amongst all my childern as she shall see cause


It[em] I constitute and appoint Sarah Hinckley my sd wife to be Sole Executrix to this my Last Will and Testament, and Desire my trusty frinds and Bretheren Cap't Seth Pope and Josiah Crocker to be over seers to advise her and to see that this my will be performed : In witness whereof I have here unto sett my hand and Seal this 12th day of march 1696: Alias 7:


Samuel [his mark] Hinckley (Seal)


Signed Sealed and declared to be his Last Will and Testament in presence of William Bassett Shubal Smith Tho Smith


April ye 7th 1697 : then William Bassett and Shubal Smith whose hands are here to sett as witnesses appeared and made oath that they did see Samuel Hinckley above Named Signe Seal and declare ye above written Instrument to be his act and Deed and that Thomas Smith was present at ye same time and sett his hand to this Instrument as a Witness before Barnabas Lothrop Judg of probats and granting Administration


Examined and duely compared with ye origanal and entered April ye 13th day : 1697 Attest Joseph Lothrop Register


[p. 42] A true Invintory of all and singuler ye Lands goods chattels and credits of Samuel Hinckley Jur Deceased prised at Barnestable ye second day of April : 1697 : by Deacon Job Crocker Josiah Crocker and Daniel Parker [Totaled £136.16.0]

History of Barnstable County, Massachusetts

edited by Simeon L. Deyo.

1890. New York: H. W. Blake & Co



pages 366-418 of CHAPTER XVI.

TOWN OF BARNSTABLE.

Natural Features. —Early Industries. —Settlement. —Indian Lands and Names. —Names of Settlers. —Incorporation. —Purchase from Indians. —County Road. —Early Mills. —Common Lands. —The Revolution. —War of 1812. —Population. —Schools. —Civil History. —Churches. —Cemeteries and Villages: (Barnstable, West Barnstable, Old Cotuit, Cotuit Port, Osterville, Wianno Beach, Hyannis, Hyannis Port, Centreville, Craigsville, Marston's Mills)—Societies.

—Biographical Sketches [in separate file].
WHILE Yarmouth on the east has been dismembered and Sandwich on the west has become the mother of Bourne, Barnstable, the central town of the original three, and still the central one of the five, remains nearly the same as originally laid out. Its historical prominence as one of the original towns of 1639, and its geographical position, led to its selection as the shire town when the county was organized in 1685. It is trapezoidal in shape, the western bounds, along Sandwich and Mashpee being eleven miles in extent, and the eastern along Yarmouth six. Vineyard sound laves its southern shore along ten miles of beautiful beach, while Cape Cod bay spans six miles of Sandy neck for its northern bound. The ancient Cummaquid harbor extends across its northern part and several bays and harbors indent its southern coast. A high ridge extends east and west across the town north of the middle, south of which the surface is a vast undulating plain sloping toward the sound. The northern part contains the great salt marsh extending nearly across the town along the harbor. The streams are small and run both ways from the central ridge.

The area of ponds in this town is greater than that of any other in the county, being over seventeen hundred acres, besides many small ones unworthy of special mention. The largest is Great pond, variously known as Nine-mile or Iyanough's, embracing an area of seven hundred acres, situated about the center of the town, and having only an artificial outlet which was opened by the Nine-mile Pond Fishing Company. This pond furnishes many kinds of excellent fish.

Of the twenty-seven ponds embraced in the town only three others have visible outlets. Spruce pond, of twelve acres, has Bridge creek, and the pond of eighteen acres south of West Barnstable has Scorton creek for their respective outlets. The other ponds are Long pond of sixty-three acres, in the west part of the town; Steward's, of thirty-

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six; Muddy, of twenty-five acres, at Newtown; Shubael, of fifty; Round pond of thirteen acres, south of Shubael; Cotuit ponds, west of Shubael pond and the plains, the most southerly containing 126 acres, the one north of this 118, and the most northerly one 147 acres; Pondsville pond, eleven acres; Lovell's, forty-eight, in the west part; one north of Osterville has fourteen acres and another fifteen; Mill pond, sixteen, west of Centreville; a pond of twelve acres north of the last; Shallow pond, east of Iyanough, has ninety acres; Hathaway's, fifteen; pond north of the last, twenty-one acres; Israel, twenty-one, in east part; Small, twenty-two; Half-way, twelve: Lewis, ten; Long pond of sixty-nine acres, east of Centreville, this also has an artificial outlet; two ponds west of Hyannis, containing respectively, twelve and ten acres.

The boulders of Barnstable are profusely scattered from the north shore to the summit of the ridge, which extends in an east-westerly direction through the town. Generally these lands are the most fertile. South of the water shed no stones of any significance are found, and the soil is generally sandy. Stone fences, which are general on the north side, are not found on the south side, and the foundation stones for buildings in Osterville and other villages on the south side have been carted from a distance.

The soil on the south side of the town is somewhat sandy on the uplands, and a rich loam in the valleys and around its numerous ponds, while near the north shore the soil is a heavier loam. The varied forms of agriculture, including the great cranberry industry, constitute the principal land occupation of the people in the sparsely settled and rural communities. Brick are manufactured at West Barnstable, and boat building on the south shore is still an industry. Maritime enterprises early furnished employment to many, and became an important source of revenue for the people. In 1839 men of this town were filling every branch of maritime pursuits—from the highest positions in the best ships of the Union to the humblest coaster, to the number of 250, and after that the number increased until about 1855.

The superior advantages from its waters, the vast marshes which furnished an abundance of ha}', the supposed richness of its soil, and the many acres already cleared and cultivated by the natives, were the arguments that induced the whites to make the first settlement of the town. Permission was granted by the Plymouth court in 1639 "for seating a congregation," whose leaders had intended to settle at Sippecan (now Rochester). But a diversity of opinion arose, and the growing wish to settle at Mattacheese led to a division of the congregation into three companies, who should pray for direction in the election of committees " to set clown the township." A former grant of Mattacheese to Mr. Callicot and others, of Dorchester, having

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been rescinded, .and other impediments removed, the little band determined to seek the lands at Mattacheese. This was the Indian name of lands, now in Barnstable and the northern part of Yarmouth, adjoining the ancient Cummaquid harbor. The lands of this township contained other Indian tribes at the south and west, each having its sachem, by whom the community was ruled. The names of the small tribes and their tracts were identical. Iyanough's land and tribe was south—midway between the bay and sound; his name was often spelled Janno and Ianno and Hyanno. Chequaket, now Centreville; Coatuit, Santuit, Mistic, Skanton, partially in Sandwich; and Cotocheeset were communities and lands south of and around Iyanough's. With the remembrance that Cummaquid harbor is now Barnstable harbor, the reader will be better able to follow the first settlement and further purchase of the town.

After the determination of the congregation to "set down at Mattacheese," on the 26th of June a fast was held at Scituate, where this colony were residing, "that the Lord in his presence" go with them to this new land. Rev. John Lothrop, the beloved pastor of the church there, by his letters, found among Governor Winslow's papers, has furnished many facts concerning the trials of himself and associates as to where the settlement should be. Some historians assert that Joseph Hull, Thomas Dimock and their few associates had settled here during the summer, or in advance of Mr. Lothrop and his associates; and there are circumstances that substantiate that. On June 4, 1639 (June 14, N. S.), the colony court granted permission to Messrs. Hull, Dimock and others "to erect a plantation or town at or about a place called by the Indians Mattacheese;" and Rev. Mr. Lothrop, in his diary, said, that upon their arrival at Mattacheese, "After praise to God in public was ended, we divided into three companies to feast together—some at Mr. Hull's, some at Mr. Mayo's, and some at Br. Lumbard's Sr." Prior to this—sometime in 1638—Rev. Stephen Bachilor and a few associates made a fruitless attempt to settle in what is now the northeastern portion of Barnstable. The location was for a time considered as a part of Yarmouth; hence some writers make Rev. Bachilor a settler of Yarmouth.

There is no other record of the settlement of Barnstable until the arrival of Rev. John Lothrop and his associates on the 21st of October, 1639 (N. S.). The greater part of Mr. Lothrop's church accompanied him to Barnstable, leaving the remaining few "in a broken condition." Besides Joseph Hull and Thomas Dimock and their associates as mentioned in the grant, we find here in the autumn of 1639, John Lothrop, the pastor, Mr. Mayo, Mr. Lumbard, sr., Isaac Wells, Samuel Hinckley, Samuel Fuller, Robert Shelley, Edward Fitzrandal, Henry Ewell, Henry Rowley, James Cudworth, William Crocker, John

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Cooper, Henry Cobb, George Lewis, Robert Linnell, William Parker, Edward Caseley, William Caseley, Henry Bourne, Anthony Annable, and Isaac Robinson.

The town was incorporated September 3, 1639, and on the first Tuesday of December, the same year, its deputies took their seats in the general court.

Others came to the town during the fall, winter and spring following, so that in 1640 we find here these heads of families in addition to those already mentioned: Thomas Allyn, Nathaniel Bacon, Austin Bearse, William Bills, Abraham Blush, John Bursley, John Caseley, Henry Coggen, John Crocker, Dolor Davis, Richard Foxwell. Roger Goodspeed, James Hamblin, Thomas Hatch, Thomas Hinckley, Thomas Huckins, John Hull or Hall, Samuel Jackson, Laurence Lichfield, Thomas Lothrop, John Smith, Thomas Shaw, John Scudder, John and Samuel Mayo, Thomas Lombard, Bernard Lombard, and Robert Linnet. Before the lands were divided others had arrived, among whom were: Richard Berry, Francis Crocker, John and Nicholas Davis, William Tilley, David Linnet, Benjamin and James Lothrop, Nathaniel Mayo, Samuel Lothrop, John Foxwell, Thomas Blossom, John Blower, Thomas Boreman, William Pearse, John Russel, Nicholas Sympkins, Laurence Willis, and Samuel House.

A very few of those mentioned returned or removed elsewhere, whose names do not appear again, but the larger portion of these settlers are represented to-day in Barnstable by lineal descendants, and generally by name. Other settlers, and the sons of these already given, are named as freemen and voters in the civil acts of the proprietors, so that the reader will be enabled to trace the "new comers " to 1670.

The settlement thus begun in the Mattacheese territory was confined to the northern portion of the present town until 1644, when on the 26th of August, a further purchase of lands of the Indians was made by the town, being a portion to the southwest of that already settled by the whites. It was purchased of Serunk, a South Sea chief, and extended from the Sandwich line easterly; the consideration paid was four coats and three axes. The deed signed by Serunk, by mark, was witnessed by Anthony Annable, Henry Cobb, Thomas Allen, John Smith, Laurence Willis, and Thomas Dimock.

The second purchase, in 1647, was of Nepoyetum, Indian, by Thomas Dimock and Isaac Robinson, who were appointed by the town to act for them. The deed was signed by the parties and by Thomas Hinckley and Tauonius, Indian, as witnesses, conveying land for which the town was to build three-score rods of fence, give him two coats and do certain plowing.

The next purchase was in 1648, of Paupmunnuck, a South Sea In-

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dian. In this purchase Miles Standish acted for the settlers, and secured the southern part of the town from the Mashpee line east to the Oyster river, and to Iyanough, or Ianno's lands on the east, and to Nepoyetum's lands on the north. The pay for this was two brass kettles and some fencing done. This completed the purchase of the western part of the town from bay to sound and along the northern part; and the bounds between Sandwich and Barnstable were fixed in 1652, substantially as now. The lands at Cotuit were then part of Mashpee, but have been since added to Barnstable. In 1659 the first bounds between Yarmouth and Barnstable were fixed, nearly one mile west of the present bounds.

In 1664 a purchase of the lands of Iyanough was perfected, which gave to the town more substantially its present area. The deed was taken for the town by Thomas Hinckley, Nathaniel Bacon and Tristam Hull, being for land at the South sea extending easterly to Yarmouth, northerly to that bought of Nepoyetum, and westerly to that purchased of Paupmunnuck, except that given to Nicholas Davis, which soon after was purchased by the town. This deed embraced the southeastern part of the present town, except a tract owned by John Yanno, son of Ianough, in and around Centreville, which was purchased of him in 1680 by Thomas Hinckley in behalf of the town. Some subsequent minor purchases of small reservations brought the lands of the town to the ownership of the proprietors, and over this territory the settlers were fast erecting their rude cabins.

Of course difficulties arose regarding bounds of lands, and in 1658 the bounds between Mashpee and Barnstable were set, leaving the lands about Satuit pond to the Mashpees; and later the west bounds of Yarmouth were defined "from the centre of Stoney Cove creek due north to the sea"—substantially the present bounds. The proprietors were yet very careful as to the character of new comers, concerning which rules were made by the general court. In 1661 William Crocker and Thomas Huckins were empowered to take notice of any who should intrude themselves without the town's consent. The underlying reason, however, for such surveillance was that religions not orthodox should be kept away. There was room in town for more people if they were of the right faith, as the entire territory between the Long pond and Shoal pond had no settlers yet, and it was made " commons for the town's cattle."

The main line of travel from these Cape towns in these early days was toward Plymouth, and the subject of a road—a main, well-defined, wide road—was agitated. The road for the time had been opened from Sandwich, south of Scorton hill, south of Honey bottom, so-called, and so easterly near the old church in the West parish, through the woods on the south side of the pond into the present road, to avoid

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the creek that had no bridge. In 1685 the court ordered a road opened through Barnstable, and sixteen men, whose names appear at the bottom of the survey, were empaneled as a jury to lay it out. The road has been since known as the "county road," and is the main street of Barnstable village. By the courtesy of Mr. Gustavus A. Hinckley, of Barnstable, we are enabled to produce a copy of the original survey, verbatim et literatim, that our readers may not only enjoy its quaintness, but locate the settlers on its sides.

"The County road or highway laid out by ye in March and April 1686 through Barnstable is as followeth—beginning at ye bounds between Sandwich and Barnstable, running for ye most part easterly at a rock lying in Ralph Jones, his fence, ye north side of ye sd way and a heap of stones on ye south side of sd way, from thence to a red oak markt tree on ye south side of ye sd way upon ye land that was Capt. Fuller's, from thence to ye fence of John Fuller Jr., on ye south side of sd road, and a markt tree upon ye north side of ye way, from thence to marked trees on both sides of sd way at ye corner of Wm. Troop's fence where ye way goeth down to Scorton, from thence to ye foot of ye hill between ye fence of Wm Troop and a little swamp & so to ye said Troop's stone ditch on ye north side of sd road and a bound set on ye south side within ye fence of sd Troop ye sd Troop's dwelling house on ye north side of sd road, from thence to trees marked on each side of ye way by a swamp and from thence to a marked tree on ye north side of sd road bounded by a stone set in ye field on ye south side of sd road and Mr. Smith's house on ye north side to the fence of John Bursley bounded by trees marked within ye fence of ye Widdow Davis on ye south side of ye way runing between ye dwelling house of sd Widdow Davis and ye barn of sd John Bursley on ye north side of sd way & so over ye bridge called John Bursley's bridge, from thence to a marked tree on each side of sd way upon Peter Blossom's land to a stake set upon 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 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 & John Crocker bounded by a markt tree and a stone within ye fence of sd Parker on ye south side of sd road by ye house of Richard Childs & ye house of Lieut John Howland on ye north side of sd road and ye barn of sd Howland on ye south his sheep yard in ye highway runing by ye house of Elder John Chipman on ye north and ye house of John Otis on ye north bounded by three marks set up within his fence on ye south side of sd road runing through or by ye foot of ye lands of Samuel Hinckley

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Senr, bounded by marks set up within John Otis his fence on ye north side of sd way, runing over ye bridge called Hinckley's bridge thro ye lands of Joseph Blish bounded by marks on ye side of ye sd way neer ye marsh between ye lands of Mr. Samuel Allin and sd Blish bounded by three marks set up within ye fence of sd Allin on ye north side of sd road & sd Allins and ye house of Joseph Blish on ye south side of sd road running by ye house of Widdow Annable's and ye house of Thomas Ewer both on ye north side of sd road bounded by two marks set within ye fence on sd Ewer's land on ye south side of sd road, running by or neer ye upper end of Deacon Crocker Junr. his land, on ye south side of a great rock partly at ye head of the lands of Austin Bearce, runing through a valley to coming into ye old road neer ye land of Thomas Huckins, always provided that Dea.. Crocker Junr. make ye way that is turned out of ye old road (at his Desire) or cause it to be made a good convenient passable way till it come into ye old road again, runing above ye houses of Thomas Huckins James Hamlin Senr. Mr. Russel neer by ye meeting house all on ye north side of sd road, by ye pond called formerly Coggins pond on ye north side of sd way leaving ye Governours house on ye south and his barn on ye north side of sd road bounded by three marks set up within his fence on ye south side of sd way, from thence runing by ye house of John Lothrop and Mr. Barnabas Lothrop on ye north side of sd way & so thro ye lands of Capt.. Lothrop between ye house of sd Capt Lothrop on ye southwest & ye house of Melatiah Lothrop on ye northeast side of sd road & along by ye house of Thomas Lothrop on ye north side of sd road being too narrow ye breadth of his stone wall in ye bottom neer his house, & so going along by Isaac Chapman's house and shop on south side of sd way being too narrow is bounded into his land on ye north side of sd way from ye corner of his stone wall to Henry Taylor's fence, sd road going along by ye house of Saml Sarjant on ye south side and ye house of John Davis Senr. on ye north side of sd way up ye hill called Cobbs hill by ye house and shop of Lieut James Lewis on ye south side of sd way too narrow at his barn three foot, & so sd road lying along neer ye house of Mr. Bacon on ye north side of sd way leaving ye house of Serjant James Cobb on ye south side & ye house of Ensign Shobel Dimock on ye north side of sd road sd way too narrow ye breadth of his fence from John Scudders to a stake set in his field in ye swamp, sd way runing along close by ye house of Henry Taylor on north side of sd way bounded by a little stone & a stake in ye swamp within ye fence on ye south side of sd way lying along by ye house of George Lewis & ye house of Thomas Hinckley on ye south side of sd way bounded by a little stone in ye swamp within his piece.. Said way runs by Saml Cobbs house & Josiah Davis his house on ye

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north side of sd way bounded by a stake in his field on ye south side and by Joseph Benjamin's fence by a stone set in his field and by three stones laid together and by a little stone drove into ye ground with little stones laid about it on south side of sd way, runing along thro ye lands of James Gorham leaving ye house of Josiah Hallett and James Gorham on north side of sd way bounded into the field of sd Gorham on south side of sd way by three stones & stones laid together at ye west corner of his fence of sd field & so thro ye lands of John Gorham leaving his house and barn on ye north side of sd road bounded by a stake set within his hay yard fence between his house and barn & so running to ye bounds of Yarmouth neer where are three great stones laid together being laid all along forty foot.

"The names of ye Jury: Capt. Lothrop, Lieut. Rowland, Ensign Dimock, James Gorham, Jabez Lumbart, James Cob, Saml Cob, Nathl. Bacon, Ensign Lumbart, Lieut. James Lewis, John Phinney, Job Crocker, Samuel Hinckley sr., Joseph Blish, Josiah Crocker, James Hamblin jr."
The town, tiring of long trips to Plymouth for grinding, in 1687 ordered that a wind mill be built, either on Cobb's hill or the old Meeting House hill, and appropriated money and land to pay for it. Thomas Paine of Eastham constructed one on Meeting House hill, much to the satisfaction of Barnabas Lothrop and Samuel Allen, who were the committee to oversee the work. The same year John Andrews and others were granted a tract of eight or ten acres at the river by John Goodspeed's, and the benefit of the stream, "to build and keep a fulling mill." but there is no record of its being built. Roads were rapidly laid out, branching from the county road. In 1689 the same jury, whose names have been given, opened a highway into the woods opposite the Dimock house, another into the common field, and by the opening" of this communication permission was given for another fulling mill, which was erected on the river where the Goodspeeds resided—now Marston's Mills—and Thomas Macy, or Massey, was made keeper of it. The contract with the town was that it should be kept running twenty years, and it was. much longer. The reader of the present day can hardly realize that the wool and flax at that time, and a hundred years later, were spun and woven into cloth for domestic use, and the fulling mill was as necessary as the grist mill. In 1696 other roads were laid out. and Mr. Otis had permission to build a warehouse on Rendezvous creek. He was given forty feet

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square of land for the purpose, and this was the first store-house on the harbor in that part of the town east of the present court house. Rendezvous creek is said to have run northerly across the marsh, and had its source in the swamp back of Eben B. Crocker's residence.

Prior to 1700, communities had sprung up and started the various industries that the town needed. The creeks that furnished the power for mills were south of the ridge that lines the marshes and harbor on the north side of the town. In 1696 we find along the south shore John, Benjamin and Ebenezer Goodspeed, Thomas Macy, John, James, William and Andrew Lovell, John Issum, Thomas Bumpas, Dolor Davis, Thomas Lewis, Joshua Lumbert, John Linnel, John Phinney, jr., Edward and John Lewis, Joseph Lothrop, jr., Edward Coleman, and the Hallett, Crosswell. Bearse and Claghorn families. These names are largely represented now along the southern side of the town, at Cotuit, Marston's Mills, Osterville, Centreville and Hyannis.

In 1703, after a controversy of many years, a final division and apportionment of the land of the proprietors was made. They divided about six thousand acres among those who were entitled to the lands, and this bone of contention was removed. Too many who were not proprietors, nor their descendants or assigns, wanted rights in the commons, and the final division was much complicated by the great number of actual owners. They reserved eighty acres for schools, known as the school lot, in the south part of the town, and eight)" for the ministry, known as the minister's lot. on the north side.

There was a poor house, prior to 1768, in the western part of the town, for that year it was "voted to build a new poor house on the site of the old one;" but when the first was built, neither tradition nor records give any date. This house of 1768 was used until 1821, when a new one was built on the farm which Parker Lombard had bequeathed "to the support of the poor forever." This is the house now in use, situated at West Barnstable. The Lombard tract mentioned, extends from the poor house north to the harbor. The old road running from the church to the cemetery is in part the eastern boundary of the tract.

Samuel married Sarah Jenney Pope on 13 Nov 1676 in Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA. Sarah (daughter of Thomas Pope and Sarah Jenney) was born on 14 Feb 1658 in Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA; died on 5 Jul 1727 in Harwich, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Thomas Hinckley: 14th Governor of Plymouth Colony
In office: 1680–1686
Preceded by: Josiah Winslow
Succeeded by: Joseph Dudley (as President of the Council of New England)
In office: 1689–1692
Preceded by: Edmund Andros (as Governor of the Dominion of New England)
Succeeded by: Sir William Phipps (as Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay)

Personal details
Born: March 19, 1618
Died: April 25, 1706 (age 88)
Nationality: English
Spouse(s)
Mary Richards
Mary Glover

Thomas Hinckley (bapt. March 19, 1618 – April 25, 1706) was the governor of the Plymouth Colony and held several other governmental positions during his lifetime, including that of a representative, a deputy, magistrate, and assistant, among others. A monument, created in 1829 at the Lothrop Hill cemetery in Barnstable, Massachusetts,[1] attests to his "piety, usefulness and agency in the public transactions of his time."

Thomas Hinckley was born in Tenterden, Kent, England in 1618. His parents, Samuel and Sarah Hinckley, were followers of the Nonconformist minister John Lothropp, in whose church at nearby Hawkhurst Thomas was baptized on March 19, 1618.[2] In 1634 the Hinckleys and Lothropp migrated to New England, although when Thomas came over is uncertain, because he did not travel with his parents.[2] They settled in the Plymouth Colony community of Scituate. In 1637 he was made a freeman of the colony, and in 1639 he followed Lothropp to Barnstable, where he began to assume positions of responsibility in the colonial government. The following is a list of his roles in government and the time he occupied each:

Deputy (1645)
Representative (1647)
Magistrate and assistant (1658–1680)
Deputy governor (1680)
Governor (1680–1692)
Commissioner on the central board of Plymouth and Massachusetts colonies (1673–1692)
Councillor (1692 – ?)

Hinckley married twice; first on December 6, 1641 to Mary Richards, and again to Mary Glover (née Smith) on March 15, 1659. He may have had as many as 17 children; different sources disagree on the exact number. One of his children, Samuel Hinckley (whose mother was Mary Richards), was a direct ancestor of Presidents George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush, as well as an ancestor of the former president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Gordon B. Hinckley. Thomas Hinckley's sister, Susannah Hinckley, is an ancestor of President Barack Obama, which means that Thomas Hinckley's father, Samuel Hinckley, is the ancestor of three U.S. presidents.

Great Swamp Fight
Part of the King Philip's War
Date: December 19, 1675
Location: near South Kingstown, Rhode Island
Result: New England victory

Belligerents:
New England Confederation
Pequot
Mohegan
Narragansett

Commanders and leaders:
Josiah Winslow
Canonchet

Strength:
1,000 militia
150 warriors
1,000 warriors
1 fort

Casualties and losses:
~70 killed
~150 wounded
~300 killed
1 fort destroyed

King Philip's War

Brookfield
Bloody Brook
Springfield
Great SwampFight
Lancaster
Nine Men's Misery
Sudbury
Peskeompskut

The Great Swamp Fight, or the Great Swamp Massacre, was a crucial battle fought during King Philip's War between colonial militia of New England and the Narragansett tribe in December of 1675.

Battle
In the decade between when King Philip assumed power after the death of his brother, Philip began laying careful, secret plans to attack and exterminate the English settlers in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. He slowly built a confederation of neighboring Indian tribes. He also gathered muskets and gunpowder for the eventual attack, but only in small numbers in order that the English would not be alarmed.

In King Philip's War, the Native Americans wanted to expel the English from New England. They waged successful attacks on settlements in Massachusetts and Connecticut, but Rhode Island was spared at the beginning as the Narragansett remained officially neutral.[2] The war actually began after Wampanoag braves killed some English owned cattle near their tribal headquarters in what is now Bristol, Rhode Island. English livestock was always a source of friction as cattle repeatedly trampled Indian corn. The natives first laid an ambush for soldiers led by Captains Hutchinson and Wheeler. Eight soldiers were killed in the trap. The rest of the company barely made it back to the garrison at Brookfield. In October, hostile Indians struck again with raids on the towns of Hatfield, Northampton and Springfield where 30 houses were burned. As winter set in, the attacks diminished.

On November 2, 1675, Josiah Winslow led a combined force of over 1,000 colonial militia including about 150 Pequot and Mohegan Natives against the Narragansett people living around Narragansett Bay. The Narragansett tribe had not yet been directly involved in the King Philip's War, but had allegedly sheltered many of King Philip's men, women and children and several of their warriors had reportedly been seen in Native raiding parties.[3] The colonists distrusted the Narragansett and feared the tribe would join King Phillip's cause come spring, which caused great concern due to the tribe's location. The decision was made to preemptively strike the Narragansett before an assumed uprising. Several abandoned Narragansett Native villages were found and burned as the militia marched through the cold winter around Narragansett Bay. The tribe had retreated to a large fort in the center of a swamp near Kingston, Rhode Island.

A Portrait of King Philip, by Paul Revere, illustration from the 1772 edition of Benjamin Church's "The Entertaining History of King Philip's War."

At the center of this cataclysm was one man, Metacom, leader of the Pokanokets, a tribe within the Wampanoag Indian Federation. At an early age, when relations between the natives and settlers were less stressed, Metacom was given the nickname of King Philip by the English, because of his haughty mannerisms. One of the many ironies of this conflict is that Philip was the son of Massasoit—the same Massasoit who had helped the Plymouth Pilgrims survive their first winter in the New World. A father's kindness would become a son's curse.[4] In some cases, local residents fought on the native side of the battle. Records indicate that Joshua Tefft wounded Captain Nathaniel Seely of Connecticut, who subsequently died. An Indian spy reported that Joshua, "did them good service & kild & woonded 5 or 6 English in that fight & before they wold trust him hee had kild a miller an English man at Narragansett and brought his scalpe to them."[5]

Led by a Native guide, Indian Peter, on December 19, 1675 on a bitterly cold storm-filled day, the main Narragansett fort in modern South Kingstown, Rhode Island was found and attacked by the colonial militia from Plymouth Colony, Connecticut Colony and Massachusetts Bay Colony. Led there by an Indian guide, the militia were able to reach the fort because an unusually cold late fall had frozen the swamp, making an assault possible.[6] The massive fort, which occupied about 5 acres (20,000 m2) of land and was initially occupied by over a thousand Natives, was eventually overrun after a fierce fight. The Native fort was burned, its inhabitants, including women and children, killed or evicted and most of the tribe's winter stores destroyed. It is believed that about 300 natives were killed though exact figures are unknown. Many of the warriors and their families escaped into the frozen swamp; there hundreds more died from wounds combined with the harsh conditions. Facing a winter with little food and shelter, the whole surviving Narragansett tribe was forced out of the quasi-neutrality some had tried to maintain in the ongoing war and joined the fight alongside Philip. The colonists lost many of their officers in this assault and about seventy of their men were killed and nearly 150 more wounded. The dead and wounded colonial militiamen were evacuated to the settlements on Aquidneck Island in Narragansett Bay where they were buried or cared for by many of the Rhode Island colonists until they could return to their homes.

The Great Swamp Fight was a critical blow to the Narragansett tribe from which they never fully recovered.[8] In April 1676, the Narragansett were completely defeated when their chief sachem Canonchet was captured and soon executed. On August 12, 1676 the leader of the Wampanoag sachem, Metacomet (also known as King Philip) was shot and killed by John Alderman, a Native American soldier in Benjamin Church's company. King Philip's War, one of the greatest native uprisings in New England, had failed.

Notable Officers and Native Chiefs
Captain James Avery
Major William Bradford
Chief Canonchet
Captain Benjamin Church
Captain Isaac Johnson
Captain Samuel Marshall, Windsor Horse Troop (killed in action)
Captain Joseph Gardner (Salem Company)
Captain Nathaniel Seeley (killed in action, age 48) oldest son of Massachusetts Bay Colony Puritan settler Robert Seeley.
John Gorham I, whom Gorham, Maine is named after and [10] who is the great grandfather of John Gorham 4th.[11]
Captain George Denison
Chief Metacomet
Chief Uncas
Governor Josiah Winslow

References
^ http://burnpit.us/2012/12/great-swamp-fight-colonial-militia-assault-indian-stronghold
^ http://minerdescent.com/2011/11/19/great-swamp-fight/
^ David Lindsay, PhD., Mayflower Bastard: A Stranger amongst the Pilgrims (St. Martins Press, New York, 2002) p. 205-206
^ http://www.tauntonriver.org/kingphilipwar.htm
^ http://www.westernrihistory.org/uploads/6/5/0/9/6509445/western_ri_newsletter_8-11.pdf
^ http://www.churbuck.com/wordpress/2007/12/the-great-swamp-fight-332-years-ago-today/
^ Axelrod, p. 104
^ "Flintlock and Tomahawk--New England in King Philip's War" by Douglas Edward Leach, New York: MacMillan, 1958, pg. 130-132
^ http://books.google.com/books?id=8jd1AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA65&lpg=PA65&dq=great+swamp+figh t+memorial&source=bl&ots=2AM4IpjLoR&sig=DkY0_jSLBan39tD-BARERIkOctg&hl=en&sa=X& ei=JUnsUJLQE6y-0QHj1YGQDQ&ved=0CFsQ6AEwBTgK
^ Josiah Pierce. A History of the town of Gorham, Maine. p. 169
^ Hugh Davis McLellan, History of Gorham, Maine; Smith & Sale, printers; Portland, Maine 1903


Thomas Hinckley, the sixth and last governor of Plymouth colony [1], was born in England about 1618, came to this country with his father, Samuel Hinckley, and settled at Scituate, later removing to Barnstable. He was admitted as freeman of Plymouth Colony as early as 1645. In 1646 he was made Deputy from the town of Barnstable to the Colonial Court, [2] and, was repeatedly chosen to this office until 1658, when he was made Governor's Assistant. Promoted to Deputy Governor in 1680, he was next year chosen Governor, and except during the interruption to the government, caused by the appointment of Sir Edmund Andros, Governor Hinckley held that office until 1692, when Massachusetts Colony and Plymouth Colony were united. [3] [4] [5]
He married Mary Richards, daughter of Thomas Richards of Weymouth, December 7, 1641. They had eight children. Mary Richards, died June 24, 1659, and he married March 16, 1660, Mary Glover, the widow of Nathaniel Glover of Dorchester and the daughter of John Smith. Thomas died in Barnstable, April 25, 1705.


Long Biography
'Governor Thomas Hinckley, bap. 1619, Mar 19, Hawkhurst, county Kent, England. Came with his parents [Samuel and Sarah Hinckley] to Barnstable in 1639. He took an early interest in the affairs of the town and colony, and soon became prominent. A deputy as early as 1643; a magistrate and assistant in the colony of Plymouth from 1658 to 1680; and made governor in 1681 - continuing in office, except during the interruption by Andros. His acceptance of office under Andros was regretted by his friends, has been sharply criticized, and his policy questionable, though well intended. He was a man of much energy of character and distinguished reputation. His life covered the history of Plymouth colony. His grave, at Great Marshes, attracts many visitors - he was governor until the union with the Massachusetts colony in 1692. He was also a commissioner in the General Board of the two colonies from 1678 to 1692. His death is thus noticed in the interesting and valuable work entitled 'The History of Cape Cod' by the Rev. Frederick Freeman, page 341. [6]
From 'Hinckley Ancestors' by John Fay Hinckley:
'In 1706 April 25, died suddenly, in Barnstable, Governor Thomas Hinckley, at the advanced age of eighty six. A gentleman of distinguished reputation and of great energy of character, who, as we have seen, filled a large space in the history of the county of Barnstable, and especially in the affairs of the Plymouth colony. In truth, it may be said that it was his to fill a large space in the world's history. He had stood by the cradle of the colony in its infancy, and had been, from first to last, the associate, in weal or woe, of its great and good men and had lived, himself the chief among the surviving, to see the last chapter written in its immortal annals.'
'Governor Hinckley was first married to Mary Richards, daughter of Thomas Richards of Weymouth, December 7, 1641. She died 24 June 1659, and he married for his second wife, Mary Glover, widow of Nathaniel Glover, of Dorchester, 16 March 1660. She was born in Lancashire, England in 1630, and was a daughter of Quartermaster John Smith of England, who died in Dorchester, Sept. 17, 1676. She died 29 July 1703, aged 73. Her friends were opposed to the marriage as she had two children and Mr. Hinckley eight, and they urged this against the marriage.
'Gov. Thomas Hinckley was father of sixteen children. The second wife Mrs. Mary Glover, who bore him nine children was a rare gentlewoman.
'At Barnstable she to the day of her death appeared and shone in ye eyes of all as ye loveliest and brightest woman for knowledge, beauty, wisdom, majesty, accomplishments and graces throughout ye colony.'......' [7]
Amis Otis says of Hinckley:
'...During half a century he held offices of trust and power in the Old Colony, and had a controling influence over the popular mind. He was the architect of his own fortune in life; the builder of his own reputation. He was a man of good common sense, and of sound judgment; honest and honorable in all his dealings; industrious, persevering and self-reliant; and, if it be any praise, it may be added, he was the best read lawyer in the Colony. He had some enemies - it would have been a miracle if so prominent and so independent a man had none. Barren trees are not pelted. The Quaker influence was arayed in hostility to him. He examined every question presented to him in its legal aspects, and viewing his acts from that stand-point, he was very rarely in the wrong. He was a rigid independent in religion, and his tolerant opinions, though in advance of his times, did not come up to the standard of the present.' [

Thomas Hinckley
· 2013-05-15 06:34:34 GMT+0000 (UTC) · 0 Comments


Thomas Hinckley was born in England. Thomas’ parents left the Church of England and became Puritans. There was no religious freedom in England. Most of the Puritans came to America. They called themselves Pilgrims. “Pilgrims” means religious travelers. Thomas’ family moved to Scituate, Massachusetts. Thomas moved to Barnstable, Massachusetts. He married Mary Richards. Mary was the most beautiful and talented woman in the Colony. They had many children, including a son, Samuel, named after Thomas’ father. The Pilgrims lived in peace with Chief Massassoit. When Chief Massassoit died, one of his sons was peaceful, but the other went on the warpath. The Pilgrims called him, “King Philip.” Thomas was an officer in the Pilgrim Army. The Pilgrims marched towards King Philip’s headquarters at Mount Hope. King Philip met them in a swamp. The Pilgrims won the “Swamp Fight.” Later, an Indian tracker shot and killed King Philip, and the war ended. Thomas became a Deputy of Plymouth Colony. He served well. He became a Representative of the Colony. Mary died. Thomas married a widow, Mary Glover, whose maiden name was Smith. A “maiden name” is a girl’s last name before she gets married. Thomas and Mary Glover had many children. Thomas became a magistrate and assistant. He served well. He became Deputy Governor. Finally, he was elected third Governor of Plymouth Colony. Thomas passed a law that people who broke the Sabbath by working and cussing had to pay a fine. A “fine” is a small amount of money. The law was called “Hinckley’s Law.” The Quakers didn’t follow the Hinckley’s Law. They hired lawyers to defend them. The lawyers argued that the law said that a person could only break the Sabbath by working AND cussing. Thomas changed the law to say that people could break the Sabbath by working OR cussing. The Quakers kept breaking the Sabbath. Thomas made the Quakers pay. Thomas became Commissioner of the Board of Plymouth and Massachusetts Colonies. He served well. He became a Councilor. Thomas grew old. He died and was buried at Lathrop Hill Cemetery. The people remembered what a good leader he was. They built a monument to his “piety, usefulness, and agency.” “Piety” means “Goodness.”

Governor married Mary Richards on 4 Dec 1641 in Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA. Mary (daughter of Thomas R Richards and Welthian Loring) was born on 11 Nov 1620 in Pitminster, Somerset, England; died on 24 Jun 1659 in Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA; was buried in Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Residence: 1617, , Kent, England
• Arrival: 1634, , , Massachusetts, USA
• Residence: 1643, Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA
• Probate: 4 Mar 1663, , Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Notes:

Birth: May, 1589 Fordwich, England
Death: Oct., 1662 Barnstable Barnstable County Massachusetts, USA

Baptized Harrietsham, Kent, 25 May 1589, son of Robert Hinckley. Came from Tenterden, Kent to Plymouth Colony in 1635 on the "Hercules." (On 15 March 1634/5, "Sam[ue]l Hinckley of Tenterden & Sarah his wife, Susan, Sara, Mary children and El[e]zab[eth] a kinswoman" were enrolled at Sandwich for passage to New England on the Hercules). First settled in Scituate MA; moved to Barnstable in 1639. Died in Barnstable "the end of October 1662."

MARRIAGES:
(1) Hawkhurst, Kent, 7 May 1617 Sarah Soole, baptized there on 8 June 1600, daughter of Thomas Soole. She died at Barnstable on 18 August 1656 and was buried there on 19 August 1656.
(2) Barnstable "about the 15 of December 1657" Bridget Botfish, widow of ROBERT BOTFISH {1634, Lynn}.
Source: Anderson's Great Migration Study Project.
Common ancestor of Barak Obama and George Bush Jr

Family links:
Spouses:
Sarah Soole Hinckley (1600 - 1656)
Bridget Botfish Hinckley

Children:
Thomas Hinckley (1618 - 1706)*
Susanna Hinckley Smith (1625 - 1675)*
Sarah Hinckley Cobb (1629 - 1687)*
Samuel Hinckley (1642 - 1727)*

Samuel married Sarah Soole on 7 May 1617 in Hawkhurst, Kent, England. Sarah (daughter of Thomas Soole and Mary Iddenden) was born on 8 Jun 1600 in Hawkhurst, Kent, England; died on 18 Aug 1656 in Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Residence: 1617, , Kent, England

Robert married Katherine Leese. Katherine was born in 1551 in , Kent, England; died in 1605 in , Kent, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Thomas married Mary Iddenden. Mary was born in 1573 in Cranbrook, Kent, England; died on 18 Aug 1656 in Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]