Surname Saturday ~ LITTLEFIELD of Wells, Maine

LITTLEFIELD / LYTTLEFIELD

Edmund Littlefield (1592 – 1661) was my 10^th great grandfather.  He was baptized in Titchfield, Hampshire, England on 22 June 1593, the son of Francis and Mary Littlefield.  He was a clothier, and on 16 October 1614 he married Annis Austin, the daughter of Richard and Agnes Austin, in Titchfield. They had ten children born in Titchfield.

Edmund probably came to New England in 1635 with his two oldest sons.  He was in Boston in 1637.  His wife and six more children immigrated on the ship Bevis in 1638, along with two servants John Knight and Hugh Durdal. 

On 5 June 1639 he was in Exeter, New Hampshire to sign the Exeter Combination, where he was granted 21 acres of land.  Edmund Littlefield joined in with the followers of Rev. John Wheelwright in 1643 and bought land on the Maine coast.  This became the town of Wells.  There is a plaque mentioning Littlefield as the first settler in Wells, on Route One, near 876 Post Road, and it states that his sawmill and gristmill on the Webhannet Falls were the first permanent structures.  One 14 July 1643 he was granted 100 acres of land next to his mills on the Webhannet River. 

His will was dated 11 December 1661 in York County, Maine.  It names his wife Annas; his sons Francis, Thomas and John; and his daughters Mary Barrett, and Hannah.  The will was recorded on 16 July 1662.  I descend from his son Capt. John Littlefield (1624 – 1696/7) who married Patience Unknown.  He ran a mill, just like his father, in Wells.

His son, Josiah Littlefield (about 1662 – 1712) is my 8^th great grandfather.  Josiah married Lydia Masters and had seven children. She was killed by Indians on her way home from Boston on 10 August 1707.  Josiah was killed by the Indians on 26 April 1712 in Wells just a few years after spending two years in captivity in Canada.  His second wife, Elizabeth Hilton remarried to Malachi Edward in 1716, and then she, too, was killed by the Indians in 1738. The Josiahs River in Ogunquit, Maine is named for him. 

Josiah wrote this letter while he was in captivity:

"Dear and loving children, my kind love remembered to you all, and my kind love to my brother and sister, and my kind love to all my friends att Wells, and to Mr. Emery in particular, dasiaring of him prayers for me and for my children, hoping in God they are in good health as I am att this present writing, blessed be God for it.

Aprel the 23 I was taken by foer Indans, and may the 3 I arrived att nongonuay (Norridgewock), and from thence to caback (Quebec), and arrived at caback may the 26 and from thence to Moriel (Montreal), and arrived at Moriel June the 2, and now I have liberty granted to me to rite to my friends and to the governor, and for my redemtion and for Wheelrite’s child to be redeemed by two Indena prisoners that are with the English now, and I have been with the governor this morning and hee have promised that if our governor will send them that wee shall be redeemed, for the governor have sent a man to redeem Wheelrites child and do lookes for him in now every day with the child to Moriel where I am, and I would pray whilrite to be very brief in the matter, that we may come home before winter, for we must come by Albany, and I have allso aquainted our Gofnear dedly (Dudley) with the same, no more at present but remain yours to command."

I descend from Anna Littlefield (born 1702), my 7^th great grandmother, daughter of Josiah.  She married Jacob Perkins in 1717.  In four generations of my lineage, three Littlefields had ten children each, and Josiah had nine children by two wives. 

Some LITTLEFIELD sources:

The Littlefield Family of England, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine, by Franklin Emery Littlefield, 1983

NEHGS Register, Volume 105 (1951) pages 261 - 263. 

Genealogy and Family History of the State of Maine, by Henry Sweetser Burrage and Albert Roscoe Stubbs, 1909.

The History of Wells and Kennebunk from the earliest settlement to the year 1820, by Edward Emmerson Bourne, 1875.

My LITTLEFIELD genealogy:

Generation 1:  Edmund Littlefield, son of Francis Littlefield and Mary Unknown, baptized on 22 June 1592 at Titchfield, Hampshire, England, died between 11 December 1661 and 16 July 1662 at Wells, Maine; married on 16 October 1614 at St. Peter’s Church, Titchfield to Annis Austin, daughter of Richard Austin and Agnes Unknown.  She was baptized at Titchfield on 1 February 1597.  Ten children.

Generation 2: John Littlefield, baptized on 1 November 1624 at Titchfield, died 2 February 1696/7 at Wells; married about 1660 to Patience Unknown, mother of ten children.  She died 13 January 1674/5 at Wenham, Massachusetts. 

Generation 3:  Josiah Littlefield, born about 1662 in Wells, died 26 April 1712 at Perkins Cove in Wells; married to Lydia Masters, daughter of Nathaniel Masters and Ruth Pickworth, mother of seven children.  She was born about 1633 in Salem, Massachusetts and died 5 April 1716.  He remarried to Elizabeth Hilton.

Generation 4: Anna Littlefield, born before 28 June 1702 in Wells; married on 12 October 1717 in Hampton Falls to Jacob Perkins, son of Jacob Perkins and Elizabeth Sparks. He was born 15 February 1685 in Ipswich, Massachusetts and died 19 March 1770 in Wells.  Ten children.

Generation 5: Stephen Perkins m. Comfort Chesley

Generation 6:  Mary Perkins m. Nathaniel Batchelder

Generation 7: Jonathan Batchelder m. Nancy Thompson

Generation 8: George E. Batchelder m. Abigail M. Locke

Generation 9: George E. Batchelder m. Mary Katharine Emerson

Generation 10:  Carried Maude Batchelder m. Joseph Elmer Allen

Generation 11: Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandparents)

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, “Surname Saturday ~ LITTLEFIELD of Wells, Maine”, Nutfield Genealogy, posted January 12, 2019, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/01/surname-saturday-littlefield-of-wells.html: accessed [access date]).

Surname Saturday ~ MASTERS of Watertown and Cambridge, Massachusetts

MASTERS / MARSTERS / MASTERSON

My 11^th great grandfather, John Masters (about 1581 – 1639) was a tavern keeper.  He is of unknown origins, but he used a Lady Barrington as a reference in a letter written on 14 March 1630/1.  In his book The Great Migration Begins, Volume 2, page 1236, the author Robert Charles Anderson states that this is a clue to his origins being in Essex, England as a servant with one of the Puritan gentry families.

John Masters, his wife Joan, and children arrived in New England with the Winthrop Fleet in 1631.  He first lived in Watertown where he was a freeman on 18 July 1631.  He then removed to Newtowne (now Cambridge) in 1633.  He was licensed to keep a tavern in Cambridge on 3 September 1635.  The History of Cambridge, by Lucius R. Paige, 1877, page 609, states that his house was located on what is now Ash Street, near Brattle Street, near the current Harvard Divinity School campus.  He died on 21 December 1639, two days after making his last will and testament.  His wife died five days later. He named his three daughters in his will, and the grandsons (Abraham and Nathaniel) by a son who had predeceased him. 

John Masters must have had a rebellious streak.  Winthrop wrote of him on 5 July 1632 “The strife at Watertown congregation continued still; but at length they gave the separatists a day to come in, or else to be proceeded against.  At that day, all came in and submitted, except John Masters, who, though he were advised by diverse ministers and others, that he had offended in turning his back upon the sacrament, and departing out of the assembly, etc., because they had then admitted a member whom he judged unfit, etc.; yet he persisted.  So the congregation (being loath to proceed against him) gave him a further day, 8, at which time he continuing obstinate, they excommunicated him; but, about a fortnight later, he submitted himself, and was received in again.” [The History of New England from 1630 to 1649, by John Winthrop, Volume 1, page 97] 

I descend from John Masters’ unknown son through his grandson, Nathaniel.  I also descend from his daughter Elizabeth who married first to Edmund Lockwood, and second to Cary Latham. 

Nathaniel Masters has an interesting story.  He lived for some reason in Plymouth, Massachusetts where he probably married about 1631.   He is mentioned in a letter by Governor Bradford of Plymouth in February 1632.  Then he was mentioned in a New London, Connecticut record in 1651 for “fornication” before his marriage with Ruth Pickford (his wife).   This brings up a number of questions such as– Why was Nathaniel in Plymouth? Why did the fornication take place in New London (Pequott Harbor)?

Besides connections to Plymouth, Massachusetts and New London, Connecticut, Nathaniel received a land grant in York, Maine in 1666.  He became a freeman in Wells, Maine in 1670, and then was back in Manchester, Massachusetts in 1702.  He had seven children, and I descend from his daughter Lydia who married Josiah Littlefield.  She was killed by Indians on 10 August 1707 on her way home from Boston, along with her son Josiah, Jr.  Josiah, her husband, was killed by Indians in Wells, Maine in 1712 just a few years after spending two years in captivity in Canada. His second wife, Elizabeth Hilton, was killed by Indians in 1738. 

Some MASTERS resources:

The Great Migration Begins, by Robert Charles Anderson, Volume II, pages 1234 – 1236 for a sketch of John Masters.

Essex Institute Historical Collections, Volume 36, page 157

Surname Saturday post for PICKWORTH - https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/12/surname-saturday-pickworth-of-plymouth.html 

Surname Saturday post for LOCKWOOD -  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/12/surname-saturday-lockwood-of-cambridge.html  

My MASTERS genealogy:

Generation 1:  John Masters, born about 1581 in England, died 21 December 1639 in Cambridge, Massachusetts; married to Joan Unknown about 1606. Four children.

Lineage A

Generation 2: Elizabeth Masters, born about 1612 in England, died 14 April 1712 in New London, Connecticut; married first to Edmund Lockwood; married second to Cary Latham about 1685.  Eight children.

Generation 3: Jane Latham m. Hugh Hubbard

Generation 4:  Lydia Hubbard m.  John Burrows

Generation 5:  Desire Burris m. Moses Gore

Generation 6:  Desire Gore m. Thomas Ratchford

Generation 7: Elizabeth Ratchford m. David Lyons

Generation 8:  Thomas Ratchford Lyons m. Ann Skinner

Generation 9:  Isabella Lyons m. Rev. Ingraham Ebenezer Bill

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)

Lineage B:

Generation 2:  Unknown Masters.  Two sons named in John Masters’ will (Nathaniel and Abraham)

Generation 3:  Nathaniel Masters, died 1 July 1708 in Manchester, Massachusetts; married about 1653 to Ruth Pickworth, daughter of John Pickworth and Anna Unknown. Seven children.

Generation 4:  Lydia Masters, born about 1661 in Wells, Maine; died 10 August 1707 in Wells; married before 1688 to Josiah Littlefield, son of John Littlefield and Patience Unknown.  He was born about 1662 in Wells and died 26 April 1712 in Wells.  Seven children.

Generation 5: Anna Littlefield m. Jacob Perkins

Generation 6:  Stephen Perkins m. Comfort Chesley

Generation 7:  Mary Perkins m. Nathaniel Batchelder

Generation 8:  Jonathan Batchelder m. Nancy Thompson

Generation 9:  George E. Batchelder m. Abigail M. Locke

Generation 10:  George E. Batchelder m. Mary Katharine Emerson

Generation 11:  Carrie Maude Batchelder m. Joseph Elmer Allen

Generation 12:  Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandparents)

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Surname Saturday ~ MASTERS of Watertown and Cambridge, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted December 29, 2018, (https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/12/surname-saturday-masters-of-watertown.html: accessed [access date]).

Surname Saturday ~ PICKWORTH of Plymouth and Manchester, Massachusetts

PICKWORTH / PECKWORTH / PIKWORTH / PICKWORD

My 10^th great grandfather, John Pickworth (about 1606 – 1663) arrived in New England about 1631, and lived briefly in Plymouth before settling in Salem, Massachusetts.  He eventually lived in that part of Salem known as “Jeffrie’s Creek” which is now the town of Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts.  On 6 February 1631/2 [Winthrop Papers, 1498 – 1654, Volume 3, page 65] the Governor of Plymouth, William Bradford, wrote to John Winthrop, the Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, that  “John Pickworth, he came but as a sojourner to work for a few weeks, in which time he got a wife, and so is long since returned double, and hath no cause to complain, except he hath got a bad wife”.  There is no description of why the Governor thought Pickworth’s wife was “bad”.  She is known in records as Anne, but her maiden name is a mystery.

John Pickworth was a very active citizen of Manchester.  He was elected to several town positions, including selectman and constable.  He owned many parcels of land, and a share of the town sawmill.  He was also in court a few times, and the records show him being fined for drunkenness, and for fighting with John Norman (also my 9^th great grandfather from Manchester, Massachusetts).  He was a member of the church in Salem, and had eight of his nine children baptized there.

John Pickworth died in 1663, and he left a will which names his wife, sons, and daughters.  The inventory of his estate included his land, house, meadows, and his share of the sawmill.  His wife died in 1682, named as “the widow Ane Pickworth Of Manchester” who left items to her daughters and to granddaughters “Ane Pickworth” (daughter of son Joseph), “Ane Killem” (daughter of John Kilham), and “Ane Sibblie” (daughter of her daughter Rachel Sibley).  All three granddaughters who were listed in the will were all named Anne. 

I descend from John and Anne’s daughter, Ruth Pickworth (1633 – 1716) who married Nathaniel Masters about 1653 and had seven children.  Her husband was presented at court in Salem for “his wife being with child by him before they were married, the act having been committed in Pequott Harbor.”  The case was sent to Connecticut for trial (Pequot Harbor is the mouth of the Pequot River (now the Thames River and the city of Groton, Connecticut).  I have not seen a record of the trial in Connecticut.

Some PICKWORTH resources:

For this blog post I used the sketch about John Pickworth in The Great Migration Begins, Volume III, pages 1462 – 1464.  I also researched in the Essex Quarterly Court records, the Winthrop Papers (see above), the Salem Town Records, and the book History of Manchester, Essex County, Massachusetts, 1645 – 1895 by Rev. Darius Francis Lamson, 1895.  See Alicia Crane Williams’ blog post “Human Nature Writ Large” at the Vita Brevis blog of NEHGS 2 January 2014 for another account of John Pickworth’s brawl with John Norman https://vitabrevis.americanancestors.org/2014/01/human-nature-writ-large/   

My PICKWORTH genealogy:

Generation 1:  John Pickworth, born about 1606 probably in England, and died between 27 June 1663 and 25 August 1663 in Manchester, Massachusetts; married about 1631 to Anne Unknown.  Nine children.

Generation 2:  Ruth Pickworth, baptized in Salem, Massachusetts on 14 October 1638, died on 5 April 1716; married about 1653 to Nathaniel Masters, son of John Masters and Joan Unknown.  He was born about 1613 and died 1 July 1708 in Manchester.  Seven children.

Generation 3: Lydia Masters m. Josiah Littlefield

Generation 4: Anna Littlefield m. Jacob Perkins

Generation 5: Stephen Perkins m. Comfort Chesley

Generation 6: Mary Perkins m. Nathaniel Batchelder

Generation 7: Jonathan Batchelder m. Nancy Thompson

Generation 8: George E. Batchelder m. Abigail M. Locke

Generation 9: George E. Batchelder m. Mary Katharine Emerson

Generation 10: Carrie Maude Batchelder m. Joseph Elmer Allen

Generation 11: Stanley Elmer Allen m. Gertrude Matilda Hitchings (my grandparents)

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, “Surname Saturday ~ PICKWORTH of Plymouth and Manchester, Massachusetts”, Nutfield Genealogy, posted December 8, 2018, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2018/11/surname-saturday-pickworth-of-plymouth.html: accessed [access date]).