John Nims^[1]

1679 - 1762  (83 years)

• Name	John Nims
  Birth	14 Aug 1679	Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA   [2, 3, 4]
  Gender	Male
  Married	1696  [4]
  Name	John (Twin) Nims
  Death	29 Dec 1762	Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA   [3, 4]
  Burial	Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA   [3]
  Person ID	I775	Master
  Last Modified	2 Mar 2018

  
  

  Father	Godfrey Nims,   b. 1650, , , , England d. 14 Mar 1704, Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA (Age 54 years)
  Mother	Mary Miller,   b. 24 Dec 1653, Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts, USA d. 27 Apr 1688, Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA (Age 34 years)
  Marriage	26 Nov 1677	Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA
  Family ID	F225	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Elizabeth Hull,   b. 23 Dec 1688, Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA d. 21 Sep 1754, Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA (Age 65 years)
  Marriage	19 Dec 1707	Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA   [5, 6]
  Children	1. John Nims,   b. 26 Nov 1707, Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA d. 28 Jan 1708, Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA (Age 0 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   2. Mehitable Nims,   b. 9 Mar 1709, Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA d. 16 Jul 1712, Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA (Age 3 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural] + 3. Elizabeth Nims,   b. 1 Mar 1712, Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA d. 28 Feb 1779, Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA (Age 66 years) + 4. Mehitable Nims,   b. 13 Mar 1714, Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA d. 5 Nov 1782, Greenfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA (Age 68 years) + 5. John Nims,   b. 19 Dec 1715, Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA d. 6 Oct 1769, Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA (Age 53 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural] + 6. Thomas Nims,   b. 8 Apr 1718, Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA d. 4 Feb 1793, Greenfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA (Age 74 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural] + 7. Jeremiah Nims,   b. 26 Jun 1721, Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA d. 12 Jul 1797, Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA (Age 76 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   8. Mary Nims,   b. 20 Jul 1724, Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA d. 23 Jul 1727, Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA (Age 3 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural] + 9. Rebecca Nims,   b. 6 Jan 1727, Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA d. 18 Apr 1750, Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA (Age 23 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural] + 10. Mary Nims,   b. 15 Mar 1729, Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA d. 21 Jun 1796, Shelburne, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA (Age 67 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural] + 11. Daniel Nims,   b. 15 Jan 1731, Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA d. 14 Oct 1806, Shelburne, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA (Age 75 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
  Family ID	F7303	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	25 Feb 2018

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 14 Aug 1679 - Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA Marriage - 19 Dec 1707 - Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA Death - 29 Dec 1762 - Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA Burial - - Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Notes

  John Nims, His Capture and Escape On October 8, 1703, according to the Rev. John Williams ("The Redeemed Captive"), Zebediah Williams and John Nims went into the meadow in the evening to tend livestock and were ambushed by Indians in the ditch beyond Frary's bridge. The Indians fired at them, missed, and took Zebediah right away. Nims ran away to a nearby pond but returned, afraid of getting shot. The Indians wounded the cattle, and marched their captives to Canada. Zebediah died there in 1706. John Nims escaped in 1705, with Joseph Petty, Thomas Baker, and Martin Kellog, all three of whom were among the Feb. 29th captives. The four men walked to New England, via territory that is now Canada, Vermont, and New Hampshire. A letter written by Joseph Petty detailing their experiences survived and was reproduced in The Nims Family Association Book. George Sheldon wrote in his History of Deerfield that they had no weapons, and only meager provisions, but they made it home, more dead than alive from hunger and fatigue. Sheldon says "they were discovered in wisdom in an imbecile condition, and seemed guided more by instinct than by reason...Their appearance when brought in was such as to melt the stoutest heart...Broth, in small quantities, was given at first, and by slow degrees more substantial food, until they were filled. It was a long time before their cravings were satisfied." Sheldon and the Nims Family Book (more information) also relate the following anecdote, told to Mr. Sheldon by his grandmother: One day when the fugitives seemed at the last extremity, they discovered and killed a great white owl. This was instantly torn in pieces, which were laid in four piles, and fairly divided, one turning his back, and responding to the query, "Who shall have this?" Each took his share, and hardly waiting to pull off the feathers, tore through the tough fragments with their teeth, like so many ravenous beasts. Grandmother said John Nims always insisted that a wing which fell to him was the sweetest morsel he ever tasted." source:http://freepages.folklore.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~pahlow/nims.htm Godfrey Nims (John's Father), and the Deerfield Massacre: Three of his children had smothered to death in the cellar of his home while it burned over their heads, and his son Henry had been slain. His daughter Rebecca Mattoon and her newborn son had been slain. His wife, his son Ebenezer, his infant daughter Abigail, his step-daughter Elizabeth Hull, his son-in-law Philip Mattoon, and his mother-in-law Elizabeth Smead--along with many of other more distant relatives, friends and neighbors--had all been taken away as captives. Was there, finally, nobody left for Godfrey? Was he all alone? Son John and step-son Zebediah Williams had been captured and carried to Canada a few months ago. His very first child had died shortly after birth; another step-son had died in the first Nims house fire in 1694. John Nims, the son of Godfrey and Mary Miller. He was born on the14th of August 1679 along with a twin sister, Rebecca. He grew up in Deerfield, Massachusetts and survived. He persevered through sickness, weather, and enemies. John Nims defeated death at every turn; it was meant for him to live. He is our legacy and we are his. On October 8, 1703 John 24 years old and his half brother Zebediah Williams age 28 were watching the cattle when they were taken by surprise and captured by Indians. They were taken to the Mohawk Fort in Canada. During his time as captive he watched the Indians bring in more prisoners and scalps. He saw many captives brought in from Deerfield, his family and friends among them. He watched their torture and endured his own. John finally managed to escape on May 14, 1705 with Martin Kellogg, Joseph Petty and Thomas Baker. His return to Deerfield was something short of a miracle. Upon arriving in Deerfield, John found his father Godfrey had passed away early that spring in March. Zebediah died a captive the following year. And to John’s dismal he was unsuccessful at bringing home his little sister Abigail or his brother Ebenezer. He offered a considerable sum for her ransom and the Indians would have given her up if she had wanted to go. The story was told that she would rather be a poor captive among Catholics than to become a rich heiress of a Protestant family. John lived on the old homestead and married December 19, 1707, to Elizabeth Hull his stepsister. She too had been a captive at the Mohawk Fort in Canada. Finally, his brother Ebenezer was released in 1714 and came to live with John at the Nims home for a time. John and Elizabeth had twelve children; of which two were born and died on the same day, a daughter died when she was three years old, and his first born, a son named John died when he was two months old. Their last child was Daniel, the son who we descend from. John’s cherished wife, Elizabeth, lived a long and hard life. She passed away at the age of 66 on the 21st of September in 1754; John was 75 years old. John died on the 29th of December in 1762 at the age of 83.

  
  

• 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=117125034&pid=1 [S338] Ancestry.com, Massachusetts, U.S., Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.) (Reliability: 3). Name: John Nims Event Type: Birth Birth Date: 4 Aug 1679 Birth Place: Northampton, Massachusetts Father Name: Godfred Nims Mother Name: Mary Nims https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=2495&h=7635857&ssrc=pt&tid=117125034&pid=420163545748&usePUB=true [S751] Ancestry.com, U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current, (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.) (Reliability: 3). Name: John Nims Birth Date: 14 Aug 1679 Birth Place: Northampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States of America Death Date: 29 Dec 1762 Death Place: Deerfield, Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States of America Cemetery: Old Deerfield Burying Ground Burial or Cremation Place: Deerfield, Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States of America Has Bio?: Y https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=60525&h=91851752&ssrc=pt&tid=117125034&pid=420163545748&usePUB=true [S243] Edmund West, comp., Family Data Collection - Individual Records, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.), Birth year: 1679; Birth city: Northampton; Birth state: MA (Reliability: 3). Name John Nims Spouse Abigail Hoyt Clesson Parents Godfrey, Mary Nims, Miller Birth Place Northampton, MA Birth Date 14 August 1679 Marriage Date 1696 Death Place Deerfield, MA Death Date 29 December 1762 https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=4725&h=1880601&ssrc=pt&tid=117125034&pid=420163545748&usePUB=true [S338] Ancestry.com, Massachusetts, U.S., Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.) (Reliability: 3). Name: John Nims Event Type: Marriage Marriage Date: 19 Dec 1707 Marriage Place: Deerfield, Massachusetts Spouse Name: Elisabeth Full https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=2495&h=5939229&ssrc=pt&tid=117125034&pid=420163545748&usePUB=true [S102] Dodd, Jordan, Liahona Research, comp., Massachusetts, U.S., Compiled Marriages, 1633-1850, (Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.) (Reliability: 3). Name: John Nims Gender: Male Spouse: Elisebeth Hull Marriage Date: 19 Dec 1707 City: Deerfield County: Franklin Source: Family History Library, Salt Lake City, UT, Film # 0760648 & 1887384. https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=7853&h=521546&ssrc=pt&tid=117125034&pid=420163545748&usePUB=true