Governor Thomas Hinckley^[1]

1618 - 1706  (88 years)

• Name	Governor Thomas Hinckley  [2]
  Birth	19 Mar 1618	Hawkhurst, Kent, England   [3, 4]
  Gender	Male
  Death	25 Apr 1706	Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA   [3, 4, 5]
  Burial	Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA   [4]
  Person ID	I7389	Master
  Last Modified	16 Feb 2019

  
  

  Father	Samuel Hinckley,   b. 25 May 1589, Tenterden, Ashford, Kent, England d. 31 Oct 1662, Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA (Age 73 years)
  Mother	Sarah Soole,   b. 8 Jun 1600, Hawkhurst, Kent, England d. 18 Aug 1656, Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA (Age 56 years)
  Marriage	7 May 1617	Hawkhurst, Kent, England   [6]
  Family ID	F2455	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Mary Richards,   b. 11 Nov 1620, Pitminster, Somerset, England d. 24 Jun 1659, Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA (Age 38 years)
  Marriage	4 Dec 1641	Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA   [7, 8]
  Children	+ 1. Mary Hinckley,   b. 3 Aug 1644, Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA d. 27 Jul 1688, Boston, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA (Age 43 years) + 2. Sarah Hinckley,   b. 4 Nov 1646, Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA d. 16 Feb 1686, Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA (Age 39 years) + 3. Melatiah Hinckley,   b. 25 Nov 1648, Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA d. 2 Feb 1715, Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA (Age 66 years) + 4. Hannah Hinckley,   b. 15 Apr 1650, Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA d. 20 Aug 1730, Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA (Age 80 years) + 5. Samuel Hinckley,   b. 14 Feb 1652, Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA d. 19 Mar 1698, Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA (Age 46 years)   6. Thomas Hinckley, Jr,   b. 5 Dec 1654, Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA d. Sep 1688, Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA (Age 33 years) + 7. Bathshua Hinckley,   b. 15 May 1657, Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA d. 27 May 1714, Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts, USA (Age 57 years) + 8. Mehitable Hinckley,   b. 24 Mar 1659, Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA d. 1726, Dedham, Norfolk, Massachusetts, USA (Age 66 years)
  Family ID	F2454	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	4 Feb 2019

  
  

  Family 2	Mary Ann Smith,   b. 20 Jul 1630, Toxteth Park, Liverpool, Lancashire, England d. 29 Jul 1703, Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA (Age 73 years)
  Marriage	16 Mar 1659	Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA   [7]
  Children	1. Admire Hinckley,   b. 28 Jan 1660, Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA d. 16 Feb 1660, Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA (Age 0 years)   2. Ebenezer Hinckley,   b. 22 Feb 1661, Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA d. 8 Mar 1661, Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA (Age 0 years)   3. Mercy "Mary" Hinckley,   b. 1 Jan 1662, Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA d. 25 Mar 1736, Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA (Age 74 years)   4. Experience Hinckley,   b. 28 Feb 1664, Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA d. 27 Jul 1688, Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA (Age 24 years) + 5. John Hinckley,   b. 9 Jun 1667, Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA d. 1706, Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA (Age 38 years) + 6. Abigail Hinckley,   b. 8 Apr 1669, Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA d. 14 Dec 1725, Chatham, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA (Age 56 years) + 7. Thankful Hinckley,   b. 20 Aug 1671, Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA d. 27 Sep 1706, Chilmark, Dukes, Massachusetts, USA (Age 35 years)   8. Ebenezer Hinckley,   b. 23 Sep 1673, Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA d. 17 Oct 1721, Braintree, Norfolk, Massachusetts, USA (Age 48 years) + 9. Reliance Hinckley,   b. 15 Nov 1675, Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA d. 24 May 1759, Harwich, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA (Age 83 years)
  Family ID	F3910	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	3 Feb 2019

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 19 Mar 1618 - Hawkhurst, Kent, England Marriage - 4 Dec 1641 - Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA Marriage - 16 Mar 1659 - Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA Death - 25 Apr 1706 - Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA Burial - - Barnstable, Barnstable, Massachusetts, USA  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• 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.”

  
  

• Sources

  [S761] Yates Publishing, Ancestry Family Trees, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.), Ancestry Family Tree. http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=156193840&pid=68 [S812] Ancestry.com, Massachusetts, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.). [S58] Heritage Consulting, Millennium File, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2003.Original data - Heritage Consulting. The Millennium File. Salt Lake City, UT, USA: Heritage Consulting.Original data: Heritage Consulting. The Millennium File. Salt Lake City, UT, USA: ). Birth date: 19 Mar 1619Birth place: Hawkhurst, Kent, EnglandDeath date: 25 Apr 1705Death place: Barnstable, Brnstb., Massachusetts, USA http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=millind&h=103014517&ti=0&indiv=try&gss=pt [S751] Ancestry.com, U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.). [S57] Ancestry.com, Cambridge University Alumni, 1261-1900, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 1999). [S763] Ancestry.com, England, Select Marriages, 1538-1973, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.). [S338] Ancestry.com, Massachusetts, U.S., Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.). [S910] Ancestry.com, The New England Historical & Genealogical Register, 1847-2011, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.).