IN BRADFORD

Grandpa Abraham Haseltine

Our grandfather Abraham Haseltine (9GGF) was the fifth child born to Robert and Anna Haseltine, the first settlers of the village of Bradford. In 1669, Abraham married Elizabeth Langhorne (9GGM) of Rowley. Elizabeth's father, Richard Langhorne (10GGF) had died the year before their marriage and Abraham and Elizabeth were immediately embroiled in a lawsuit relating to Richard's estate. They sued Thomas Knowlton, the man in charge of inventorying estates, overseeing wills and witnessing the signing of documents. Evidently Abraham thought that Thomas Knowlton had somehow monkeyed with the records and was shortchanging Richard Langhorne's heirs.

The case was tried in the Ipswich Quarterly Court: "Complaint of John Pickard and Abraham Hasiltine, overseers of the will of Richard Longhorne, to the Ipswich court: That Knowlton altered the account upon his book, whereby the executors are discouraged and the fatherless children in danger of being robbed..."

Only two years later, in June of 1674, Abraham filed another suit. This time it was one of those ever-popular Puritan defamation complaints: "Abraham Heseltine, John Sawer and John Pickard, jr, testified that upon training day at Rowley, John Acie called Abram Hezeltine a lying church member several times, and Daniel Wicam, who was present said that if all the church members who told lies were cast out of the church, there would be few left, etc. Sworn, June 29, 1674, before Daniel Denison."

While it's easy enough to find the numerous court cases filed back in the day in the multi-volume Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, it's not so easy to find how they were resolved. I guess we'll never know if the "fatherless children" got retribution in the courts or if John Acie was fined for defamation.

Abraham wasn't the only suit-happy one in the family. Shortly after Abraham's father Robert died, his mother, the widow Anna Haseltine (10GGM), sued one of the townspeople for killing her mare. The warrant was served by none other than her son Abraham in his capacity as constable for the year 1676. Anna won her suit and received damages for the animal.

During the King Philip's War years, most likely Abraham played his part in the defense of the town, though I can find no records of military service for him. Luckily, Bradford weathered those years pretty much unscathed. The only excitement after the war for Grandpa Abraham was a four year stint as town clerk, from 1686 to 1690. And his handwriting skills came into play two years later during the infamous witch trials.

Most New Englanders had at least some small part to play in the witchcraft trials taking place in Salem. Abraham was foreman for four grand juries that tried witchcraft cases. Below are two of the verdicts written in Abraham's hand. The first is an indictment against Mary Bridges for "covenanting w(th) ye Devill." She was found not guilty. The second is an indictment against Daniel Emmes "for afflicting Mary Warren." The jury rendered a verdict of Ignoramus on that one.

Note: A verdict of Ignoramus meant that the jury was flummoxed and the defendant, though possibly guilty, got off scot free except for the probable public stigma.

Once the witch trials were over and life got back to a semblance of normal, Abraham and his wife Elizabeth Langhorne decided the time was right to file one final lawsuit. It seems that even by 1695, twenty-seven years after Richard Langhorne's death, arguments over his estate were still cropping up. In this suit Abraham and Elizabeth were joined by two of Elizabeth's sisters, Constance (9A) and Sarah (9A), along with their husbands. One of the defendants in the suit was our uncle Thomas Stickney (9U).

The Essex Court records describe the proceedings: "an action in ye case for witholding from ye Plaintiff ye possession of about a hundred acres of areable pasture and meadow land situated in Boxford...The Defendants not appearing the Plaintiffs recovered possession, &c."

Once they got that last lawsuit out of their system, Abraham and Elizabeth were free to live their lives out quietly in Bradford.

Elizabeth died in 1704 at age 55 and Abraham died in 1711 at age 63.

the Kimballs

Grandpa Abraham's sister, Mercy Haseltine (9A), was Robert and Anna's second child, six years older than Abraham. In 1661, she married Benjamin Kimball and they lived in Salisbury, MA for the first two years of their marriage. Then, In 1663, Benjamin bought land in Mercy's hometown of Bradford and that's where they stayed for the rest of their lives. In 1675, Benjamin and Mercy sold forty acres of land to the town for the use of the minister, Zecheriah Symmes.

1675 was also the year that the devastaing King Philip's War began. The war would be particulary harsh for Benjamin's brother Thomas and his family. Thomas Kimball , moved to Bradford in the early 1660's. His house, situated on the Boxford Road near the Merrimack River, was one of the legal places for posting and "publishing any orders or other business of public concernment to the whole town." Thomas ran a sawmill and was one of the wealthier men in town. His home, however, was some distance from the center of town and, during King Philip's War, this cost him dearly.

the night of May 2, 1676

Not all of the Praying Indians who had been converted to Christianity were faithful to the English. Two Native American brothers were prime examples. Andrew and Symon had lived most of their lives in Haverhill among the settlers. When war broke out, the brothers threw their lot in with their Native American kindred. They left their home in Haverhill and joined Wabanaki forces in northern Massachusetts. Symon in particular became notorious among settlers for his participation in the war, often called “Yankee killer” and the “arch villain” of the English.

On the night of May 2, 1676, Andrew, Symon and another Praying Indian, Peter, attacked the Thomas Kimball home. Thomas was killed trying to defend his family. His wife and five children were taken captive and carried off into the wilderness. There they remained captive for forty-one days. Finally in June, Chief Wanalancet of the Pennacook tribe released them without ransom. They returned to their home 13 Jun 1676.

Note: Chief Wanalancet will figure heavily in the story of another of our ancestors, Cousin James Richardson (1C10X) told in a future post.

Thomas' wife Mary Kimball described how her life and that of her infant were threatened. "Twice," she said, "were the fires lighted to burn them." But returning to her home wasn't the end of her ordeal. Mary sent a petition to the Governor and Council asking for protection:

"To the Hon. Governor and Council, The humble petition of Mary Kimball sheweth that Simon, the Indian who killed my husband, Thomas Kimball, hath threatened to kill me and my children if ever I goe to my own house, so that I dare not goe to looke after what little I have there left, for fear of my life being taken away by him; and therefore doe humbly entreate...that some course may be taken, as God shall direct...to secure him; for I am in continual fear of my life by him... Remain your humble suppliant Mary Kimball"

Symon was subsequently found and put in jail but he somehow managed to escape. Luckily for Mary and her family, he never returned to Bradford. Unluckily for our Littlefield family in Maine, Symon turned up in their neck of the woods to create even more havoc which will be covered in a future post.

after the war

Bradford's fear of warrior attacks didn't end with the war. In 1683, Benjamin Kimbell was first among others to sign a petition to the General Court asking "that a troop be raised out of Andover, Bradford, Topsfield & Rowley Village..." The General Court concurred and established "a Foot Company and one of Horse..." They appointed "Mr. John Osgood to be Capt. of the Troop...& Mr. Benj. Kimball, Cornet..."

Benjamin also offered himself for service during King William's war, begun in 1688, the first of the many French and Indian Wars. In 1690 Benjamin, along with others signed a notice that they were "ready & voluntarily offer our selvis to serve God, our King & Country in ye designed Expedition for Canada."

In 1690, Benjamin and Mercy Haseltine Kimball began operating a tavern out of their house in Bradford. The old Kimball Tavern still stands today near the Bradford Common as it has for more than three hundred years. For well over two hundred years the building was home to several generations of the Kimball family and their descendents. At one time it was used as a post office and stopping point for the Lowell to Newburyport stagecoach.

Benjamin died in 1696. The inventory of his estate showed that he was well off for the times. The total amount of the estate was £1060.7s. Aunt Mercy died in 1708. Their gravestones may still be seen in the back part of the Old Burying Ground in Bradford in the lands donated to the town by Mercy's uncle, John Haseltine (10U).

Samuel Stickney

Our grandfather William Stickney (10GGF), one of the Reverend Ezekial Rogers' flock, had settled in Rowley and amassed quite quite a bit of land before his death in 1663. In his will, he divided his estate equally among six of his eight children. His son Amos (9U) who "he having at noe time bene beneficiall to my estate," received only five pounds. The other left out of the will was his oldest son, our grandfather Samuel Stickney (9GGF). Samuel, according to the will, had received his portion of the estate earlier, probably on the event of his marriage to Julia Swan (9GGM) in 1653.

Since Samuel was raised in Rowley but spent his adult years in Bradford, most probably the land he received from father were part of his father William's "Merrimack lands." Samuel did well for himself in Bradford. He purchased additional property and built a "dwelling house and barn on Holmes Street" near his father-in-law Richard Swan (10GGF). He also held various positions in town including poundkeeper from 1662-1667 and Constable in 1676. In 1682 he took the Freeman's oath and that same year signed the Bradford Church Covenant. He also held the position of surveyor of highways and fences.

Note: A poundkeeper was a local government official responsible for the feeding and care of stray livestock such as domestic pigs, cattle, horses, sheep, and geese.

the Boston revolt

In 1689, Samuel Stickney was chosen as the delegate from Bradford to a convention in Boston gathered to confirm a new government. A series of events led up to this special assembly.

In his short reign, King James II of England created quite a bit of havoc for his colonies in New England. The colonies had their charter revoked in 1684 which was bad enough but the last straw for the colonists was the appointment of Edmund Andros as Dominion Governor over all the colonies in New England. Andros was wildly unpopular in the Bay Colonies. In addition to enforcing the dreaded Navigation Acts, he refused to acknowledge local representation, denied the validity of existing land titles, restricted town meetings, and tried to force the Church of England down the throats of the Puritans.

Events took a turn in 1688 when William of Orange overthrew James II and took the throne along with his wife Mary, the daughter of James II. Now it was left to the colonies to get rid of the despised Andros. Cotton and Increase Mather, two of the most influencial ministers in the colony, spearheaded the effort. While, the ministers' intent was mainly to inform the new of the colony's complaints, Andros caught wind of their dissent and ordered them arrested.

That was all the rabble rouser colonists needed. On the morning April 18, 1689 militia companies began gathering in Charlestown, just outside Boston. At 8:00 a.m., militamen crossed the river in boats and, joined by ever gathering crowds, surrounded Fort Mary where Andros was sheltered. By 10:00 most of Andros' military officials had fled or been arrested. Around noon, an orange flag was raised on Beacon Hill, calling to arms another 1,500 militiamen who stormed into the market square.

It took another day but, on the 19th of April, Andros surrendered. He was held by the colonists for ten months then sent to face the music in England where he was summarily tried, acquitted and released. A company man all the way, he later served as governor of Virgina and Maryland.

On 9 May 1689, a special session of the Council for Safety of the People and Conservation of the Peace was convened. In addition to the usual members, delegates representing the "Severall Towns and Villages" of Massachustts Bay also attended. The council and representatives chose a new governor, deputy governor and their assistants. They then drew up a petition calling for the new governace in the colonies to be accepted by the Crown of England. A new charter was drawn up in 1691 and accepted by both England and her colonies.

Our grandfather Samuel Stickny was present at these events as were Steven Greenleaf (2C9X) of Newbury, Ralph Hill (8U) of Billerica, John Brigham (2C2X) of Marlborough, John Ware of Wrentham (1C11X) and Josiah Richardson of Chelmsford (1C1X).

Note: The revolt and institution of the new charter all took place while a new war, King William’s which began in 1688, was still raging.

Samuel Stickney, Jr.

Grandpa Samuel Stickney, Sr. died in 1709 at age 76. Before he died, however, he followed his father's example. In 1704 he gave his son, Samuel Stickney, Jr. (8GGF), an early inheritance of land. Samuel Stickney, Jr. married Mary Haseltine (8GGM), the daughter of Abraham (9GGF) and Elizabeth Longhorne Haseltine (9GGM). He then served as selectman, assessor, constable and surveyor for Bradford over the years. In 1684, he was on the committee to set up a corn mill for the town.

Samuel and Mary had twelve children. Their last child was born two months before Samuel's death in 1714. His death must have come suddenly as Samuel died intestate at the age of 51. Mary was left with seven children under sixteen. She was awarded a third of the estate and the rest was divided among the children.

Mary Haseltine Stickney remarried eight years after Samuel's death and moved with her new husband to Lexington. She died in 1731 and was buried in Lexington next to her second husband, Joseph Tidd who had died the year before. Sadly, Grandpa Samuel Stickney, Jr.'s gravestone lies alone in the Bradford Burying Ground.

Samuel Haseltine

Mary Haseltine Tidd and her husband