John Catlin

1643 - 1704  (61 years)

• Name	John Catlin
  Birth	1643	Wethersfield, Hartford, Connecticut, USA
  Gender	Male
  Death	29 Feb 1704
  Person ID	I830	Master
  Last Modified	27 Feb 2018

  
  

  Father	John Catlin,   b. Abt 1617, , , , England d. 1644, Wethersfield, Hartford, Connecticut, USA (Age 27 years)
  Mother	Isabella Ward,   b. Abt 1621, Branford, New Haven, Connecticut, USA d. 8 Dec 1676, Wethersfield, Hartford, Connecticut, USA (Age 55 years)
  Marriage	Bef 1643
  Family ID	F221	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Mary Baldwin,   b. 23 Jun 1644   d. 9 Apr 1704 (Age 59 years)
  Marriage	23 Sep 1662	Wethersfield, Hartford, Connecticut, USA
  Children	+ 1. Esther Catlin,   b. 9 May 1675, Wethersfield, Hartford, Connecticut, USA d. 12 Dec 1733, Deerfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, USA (Age 58 years)
  Family ID	F215	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 1643 - Wethersfield, Hartford, Connecticut, USA Marriage - 23 Sep 1662 - Wethersfield, Hartford, Connecticut, USA  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Notes

  No family suffered more than his in the decimation of the town in 1704. His buildings were all burned and he and his son, Jonathan with them. One son was killed in the Meadows Fight, another saw three daughters captured - two of them killed on the march. The Deerfield massacre occurred as follows: In the middle of winter, the Governor of Canada sent a large war party towards the town of Deerfield, Massachusetts. It was sent, not because of any harm Deerfield could do Canada, but to keep the Indians in the Massachusetts area stirred up against the English and not allow them any time to develop any friendlier connections. The party was made up of 50-60 Frenchmen and 2-300 Indians. Deerfield had only 41 houses at the time, a population of 268 at the time of the attack. It had been a very cold winter and a recent heavy snow covered the ground. The river was frozen to a depth of 3 feet. The French and Indians came upon Deerfield in the early morning hours of the 28th. There was a patrol inside the little fort, but they were not professional soldiers and towards the morning, they went to sleep. It was two hours before dawn that the French leader, Hertel de ROUVILLE, took his men from hiding and descended upon the sleeping community. They were inside the pallisade before anyone knew they were there. Within minutes buildings were ablaze and the shrieks of inhabitants filled the air. Two houses on the north end of Deerfield were well fortified and many] had gathered here for safety. The Stebbin and Sheldon houses were attacked and a hole was hacked in the Sheldon house and Mrs. Sheldon was shot and killed as she sat on her bed, and her two year old daughter, Mercy, had her head bashed on the door stone. It was in this house that John's wife, Mary, shown as a bright star in a black night. Her husband, son and grandson having been killed, Mary found it within herself to care for a wounded French officer. When he was brought to the house he was in great pain and cried out for a drink. It was Mary who responded to his call and did all she could to comfort him. It was probably because of this that she was allowed to remain behind when all the other prisoners were marched off to Canada. The march to Canada is fully chronicled by the Reverend John Williams in his book "The Redeemed Captive". Out of 120 captives who left Deerfield, only 60 were alive when they were ransomed from Canada two years later.