MAYHEW
THIS ROCK MARKS THE PLACE ON THE WAYSIDE WHERE THE
REV. THOMAS MAYHEW Jr.
SON OF GOV. MAYHEW
FIRST PASTOR OF THE CHURCH OF CHRIST ON MARTHA'S VINEYARD,
AND THE FIRST MISSIONARY TO THE INDIANS OF NEW ENGLAND,
SOLEMNLY AND AFFECTIONATELY TOOK LEAVE OF THE INDIANS
WHO, IN LARGE NUMBERS, HAD FOLLOWED HIM DOWN FROM THE
WESTERN PART OF THE ISLAND, BEING HIS LAST WORSHIP AND
INTERVIEW WITH THEM BEFORE EMBARKING FOR ENGLAND IN
1657, FROM WHENCE HE NEVER RETURNED, NO TIDINGS EVER
COMING FROM THE SHIP OR ITS PASSENGERS.
IN LOVING REMEMBRANCE OF HIM
THOSE INDIANS RAISED THIS PILE OF STONES
1657 1901
ERECTED BY THE MARTHA'S VINEYARD CHAPTER DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION
THE LAND GIVEN FOR THIS PURPOSE BY CAPT. BENJAMIN COFFIN CROMWELL OF TISBURY
THE BOULDER BROUGHT FROM GAY HEAD A GIFT FROM THE NOW RESIDENT INDIANS
TABLET PURCHASED WITH DONATIONS FROM MAYHEW DESCENDANTS
More than twenty years ago my sister moved to Martha’s
Vineyard and married a lobsterman. At
the wedding her best friend, a Mayhew descendant, showed me the plaque in the
church that said it had been founded by Reverend Thomas Mayhew in the 1600s. I
have met many Mayhew descendants since then, including Katherine Mayhew, the
genealogy expert at the Martha’s Vineyard historical society. So, I was flabbergasted to learn that I was
also a descendant of the same Mayhew family! (And my sister was quite
impressed.)
Thomas Mayhew was baptized at Tisbury, England and left
with the Great Migration in 1631 to come to Massachusetts. He first settled in Medford, and then became
the governor of the island of Martha’s Vineyard. He led a settlement there in 1641 with his
son, Thomas, Jr. The Mayhews were very successful at establishing friendly
relations with the Wampanoags on the island.
Even when King Phillip’s war was raging in the rest of New England, the
Wampanoags remained allies with the settlers on Martha’s Vineyard.
The son, Reverend Thomas Mayhew was one of the most
successful Christian missionaries in New England. He established towns of praying Indians,
schools, and churches. In 1657 Reverend
Thomas Mayhew went to England for an appeal for missionary funds, and his ship
was never seen again and presumed lost.
The Elder Mayhew carried out his son’s ministries to the Wampanoag for
the next 25 years.
The grandson, John Mayhew, carried on the mission
after his grandfather’s death in 1682. He died early at age 37 in 1688. His wife was Elizabeth Hilliard of Hampton, New
Hampshire. Her aunt, Deborah (Parkhurst) Smith, is also my 10th
great grandmother. A great grandson, Experience Mayhew, became the first person to translate the Lords' prayer into the Wampanoag language. He published several books in the Wampanoag language (Psalms and the Gospel of John) and was a Congregational minister. He wrote the book Indian Converts in 1727 about his Experiences (no pun intended).
For more Mayhew information:
Great
Migration Begins, by Richard Charles Anderson, Boston:
NEHGS, 1995, Volume II, pages 1243 – 1246
Divided
we Stand: Watertown, Massachusetts, by Roger Thompson,
Amherst, Massachusetts: University of Massachusetts Press, 2001
Martha's Vineyard Historical Society http://www.mvmuseum.org/ You can send genealogy queries at kayanddonald@yahoo.com, address your query to (who else?) Katherine Mayhew!
Generation 1: Matthew Mayhew, son of Thomas Mayhew and Alice Waterman, born about 1550, died about 1614, married on 2 October in Tisbury, Wiltshire, England to Alice Barter, daughter of Edward Barter and his wife, Edith.
Generation 2: Governor Thomas Mayhew, born about 1593 and died 25 March 1682 in Tisbury, on the island of Martha's Vineyard; married first about 1620 in England to Abigail Parkhurst; married second about 1634 in England to Jane Gallion. I am descended of two children, by Abigail - Thomas and Hannah who married Thomas Daggett/Doggett.
Line A:
Generation 3: Reverend Thomas Mayhew born about 1620 in England, died about November 1657 at sea on a voyage to England; married to Jane Unknown. Six children. I am descended of two children, John (see below) and Jedediah Mayhew who married Benjamin Smith.
Generation 4: Reverend John Mayhew, born about 1652 in Edgartown on the island of Martha's Vineyard, died on 2 February 1689 in Chilmark, on the island of Martha's Vineyard; married in 1672 at Tisbury to Elizabeth Hilliard, born 22 January 1654 in Hampton, New Hampshire, died 1746 in Chilmark, daughter of Emmanuel Hilliard and Elizabeth Parkhurst. Five children.
Generation 5: John Mayhew, born 1676 in Chilmark, died 3 March 1736 in Chilmark; married on 27 November 1700 in Chilmark to Mehitable Higgins, daughter of Owen Higgins and Seaborn Tew. Seven children.
Generation 6: John Mayhew, born 1701 died on 16 January 1790; married on 29 October 1730 in Falmouth, Massachusetts to Ruth Davis, born 5 July 1705 in Falmouth, died 16 Jan 1790 in Chilmark, daughter of Benjamin Davis and Mary Robinson (a descendant of Reverend John Robinson of the Pilgrims). Five children.
Generation 7: Mary Mayhew, born 22 May 1734 on Martha's Vineyard, died in Nova Scotia; married Caleb Rand, born 10 January 1730 in Charlestown, Massachusetts, died 25 September 1776 in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia, son of Caleb Rand and Katherine Kettell. Eleven Children.
Generation 8: Mary Rand m. Asahel Bill
Generation 9: Reverend Ingraham Ebenezer Bill m. Isabella Lyons
Generation 10: Caleb Rand Bill m. Ann Margaret
Bollman
Generation 11: Isabella Lyons Bill m. Albert Munroe
Wilkinson
Generation 12: Donald Munroe Wilkinson m. Bertha
Louise Roberts (my grandparents)
Line B:
Generation 3:
Hannah, born 15 June 1635 and died 7 February 1723 in Edgartown on
Martha’s Vineyard; married on 23 September 1657 in Edgartown to Thomas Daggett
as his third wife. She had eleven
children.
Generation 4:
Thomas Daggett m. Elizabeth Hawes
Generation 5: Elizabeth Daggett m. John Butler
Generation 6: Keziah Butler m. Samuel Osborn
Generation 7: Samuel Osborn m. Sarah Wass
Generation 8: Sarah Osborn m. Charles Skinner
Generation 9: Ann Skinner m. Thomas Ratchford Lyons
Generation 10: Isabella Lyons m. Reverend Ingraham
Ebenezer Bill
Generation 11: Caleb Rand Bill m. Ann Margaret
Bollman
Generation 12: Isabella Lyons Bill m. Albert Munroe
Wilkinson
Generation 13: Donald Munroe Wilkinson m. Bertha
Louise Roberts (my grandparents)
Line C:
Generation 4: Jedediah Mayhew, born 1656 and died 6 January 1736 in Edgartown; married Benjamin Smith, son of John Smith and Susannah Hinckley. He was born 7 January 1658 and died 4 July 1720. Eight children.
Generation 5: Jedediah Smith m. Reverend Samuel Osborn, yet he had an illegitimate son by Mercy Norton. This child is my 8th great grandfather, Samuel Osborn, Jr., the husband of Keziah Butler (see generation 6 above in Line B) Yes, this is quite a story- the minister's illegitimate child, but I'm saving it for another blog post!
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Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo
I think the females named Jedidiah are interesting. I have a Jedidiah Tarbox in my line and a few female Jedidiah cousins - Jedidiah Churchill and Jedidiah Harlow. And now Jedidiah Smith - my first cousin, 9X removed. I have two female Ebenezers too. Ebenezer Stevens is in my direct line and it one book said her father really wanted a son. The other is a cousin, Ebenezer Emery. No direct connection to this ancestor at this time but connected by marriage with the Smith/Hinckley lines.
ReplyDeleteYes, Hinckley is another Cape Cod name, and another colonial Governor, too!
DeleteI wonder how many descendants Thomas Mayhew has? I am descended from him and his wife Jane through their daughter Martha who married Thomas Tupper. Hello again, cousin ;-)
ReplyDeleteNo Mayhews in my line-- in fact, this is the first time I've come across the name! And Pam, I also have a female cousin named Ebenezer, poor thing-- Ebenezer NICHOLS who married Benoni TUCKER.
ReplyDeleteLook at that -- the first missionary to the Indians of New England. There are a number of missionaries among my ancestors, but not to the Indians. I am impressed that the Elder Mayhew and the grandson carried out his ministries after Rev. Thomas Mayhew was lost at sea. (In my family we have a signer of the Declaration of Independence who was lost at sea shortly after 1776.) It is also an incredibly powerful statement that they put up this stone in 1901 -- that in itself is a long time to remember someone.
ReplyDeleteI just started looking up Marthas Vineyard Rentals for my Wedding. It looks like a beautiful place to get married. I don't want a big wedding I just want a nice one.
ReplyDelete