Edmund Littlefield's Grist and Saw Mills, Wells, Maine

Webhannet Falls, Wells, Maine
Where Edmund Littlefield was granded land for a 
grist and saw mill in 1643

 

Edmund Littlefield (1592 - 1662), my 10th great grandfather, is called "The Father of Wells, Maine".  Edmund was baptized in Titchfield, Hampshire, England on 22 June 1592.  He arrived in Boston in 1635 with his two sons, and his wife and six more children arrived in 1638 on board the ship Bevis.  Edmund Littlefield was in New Hampshire to sign the Exeter Combination in 1639, and in 1643 he joined Rev. John Wheelwright on the coast of Maine, in what is now Wells, Maine. 

This little wayside marker for Edmund Littlefield's mill is next to the Webhannet Falls on the side of Route 1, south of 876 Post Road. There is room to pull off the road and park to explore this site. 

Edmund Littlefield was granted this land from Thomas Gorges, son of Sir Ferdinando Gorges on 14 July 1643.  [NEHGS Register 105:262].   There appears to be a time discrepency between his land grant for the mill on the river, and the sign mounted on the boulder (see below). 

RECOGNITION OF THOSE WHO MADE PARK POSSIBLE

Wells Town Officials                        Goodspeed Family   

June & Roger Messier                            Gray Farms       

Elizabeth & Bruce Parker                     Hayway Vales    

Ester Miller                                         Jo-Ann's Gardens

Cindy Brockway                           Nickersons 9B Ranch

Gail Lynde                                           Garden Club       

Wells Highway Dept.                           Wells Rotary      

Historical Society

THE FIRST PERMANENT SETTLEMENT

OF WELLS WAS AT THIS SITE WHEN IN

1640/41 EDMUND LITTLEFIELD ERECTED

HIS SAW & GRIST MILLS

For the truly curious:

Wells [Images of America Series], by Hope M. Shelly, Arcadia Publishing, Dover, NH, 1996, page 7.

The Historical Society of Wells and Ogunquit, Maine - Littlefield Gallery webpage:   https://www.wellsogunquithistory.org/littlefield  

My blog post on Edmund Littlefield for Surname Saturday (showing my lineage):   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/01/surname-saturday-littlefield-of-wells.html    

Tombstone Tuesday, Josiah Littlefield, buried in Wells, Maine:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2022/07/josiah-littlefield-d-1713-wells-maine.html  

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Edmund Littlefield's Grist and Saw Mills, Wells, Maine", Nutfield Genealogy, posted December 15, 2022, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2022/12/edmund-littlefields-grist-and-saw-mills.html

Wells, Maine Town Hall - Weathervane Wednesday

 Today's weathervane was photographed over the Town Hall, 208 Sanford Road, Wells, Maine.

This terrific weathervane is a highly detailed three masted ship with white sails.  It is located on the cupola above the Wells Municipal Building or town hall.  The original meetinghouse was a small wooden building built in 1662, which burned in 1692 during a raid by the indigenous people of the area.  A second meetinghouse was built in 1699, and a third one in the 1770s.  The current meetinghouse was built in 1862 as a church known as the First Congregational Church of Wells,  and is now used by the Historical Society. 

The Wells Municipal Offices Building was built in the 1960s.  There were several previous town halls built in the 1800s and 1900s after town government separated from the churches.  Most "meetinghouses" in New England were formerly used as churches.

For the truly curious:

The Town of Wells, Maine   https://www.wellstown.org/  

The Historical Society of Wells and Ogunquit, Maine  https://www.wellsogunquithistory.org/  

Click here to see nearly 500 weathervane blog posts:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday  

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Wells, Maine Town Hall - Weathervane Wednesday", posted December 7, 2022, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2022/12/wells-maine-town-hall-weathervane.html: accessed [access date]). 

Benjamin Treadwell, died 1815, Wells (now Kennebunk), Maine

 This tombstone was photographed at the Webhannet Burial Ground in Wells, Maine. 

Here lies the body

of

Benjamin Treadwell

He was born Nov. 2, 1786

and died Aug. 8th 1815

Aged 29 Years

Beneath this stone death's prisoner lies

The stone shall move, the prisoner rise

(the rest of the epitaph is below the vegetation) 

As I was wandering this little burial ground in Wells, Maine, to photograph my ancestor Josiah Littlefield, I found this gravestone to Benjamin Treadwell.  I am a descendant of Thomas Treadwell of Ipswich, Massachusetts, so I thought that perhaps there might be a cousin connection.  So we snapped this photograph.  It turns out that Benjamin Treadwell is my third cousin, six generations removed. 

Benjamin Treadwell was born 2 November 1786 in Wells, Maine, the son of Captain James Treadwell and Shuah Littlefield (another cousin connection!).  Captain Treadwell was a veteran of the Revolutionary War.  Benjamin died very young at age 29, but I could find no clues in the vital records or town history to his early demise.  He married Eleanor Kimball (another cousin connection!) on 30 November 1809 in Wells.  

Benjamin's descent is from James Treadwell (1749 - 1811), Samuel Treadwell (1720 - 1803), Samuel Treadwell (b. 1687 in Ipswich), Nathaniel (1637 - 1726 - also my 8th great grandfather), and Thomas Treadwell (about 1603 - 1671 - the immigrant from England to Ipswich and also my 9th great grandfather).  

For the truly curious:

My TREADWELL lineage: 

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2012/02/surname-saturday-treadwell-of-ipswich.html   

My LITTLEFIELD lineage:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/01/surname-saturday-littlefield-of-wells.html  

A recent blog post about Josiah Littlefield, buried in this same cemetery:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2022/07/josiah-littlefield-d-1713-wells-maine.html   

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Benjamin Treadwell, died 1815, Wells (now Kennebunk), Maine", Nutfield Genealogy, posted July 26, 2022, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2022/07/benjamin-treadwell-died-1815-wells-now.html: accessed [access date]). 

Josiah Littlefield, d. 1713 Wells, Maine

The headstone and footstone of Josiah Littlefield
at the Webhannet Burial Ground, on the Post Road in Wells, Maine

HERE LYES Ye BODY OF

Mr. JOSIAH LETTLEFIELD

AGED ABOUT 50 YEARs

DIED APRIL Ye 26th

1731

Josiah Littlefield is my 8th great grandfather.  You can read my post about my Littlefield lineage HERE.

Josiah was the son of John Littlefield and his wife Patience (maiden name unknown).  He was born about 1662 in Wells, York County, Maine.  His paternal grandparents were Edmund Littlefield and Annis Austin, immigrants from Titchfield, Hampshire, England. Josiah inherited his father's sawmill.  There is a marker for this sawmill on the Post Road in Wells, by the Josias River (named in his honor). 

Josiah's life in Maine was marked by terribly sad and violent relations with the native people.  There were frequent raids and massacres on both sides.  On 10 August 1707 his wife (my 8th great grandmother Lydia Masters) and son, John Jr., were killed by the Indians on their way to Boston.  On 22 April 1708 Josiah was captured by the Indians and taken to Canada, and not released until April 1710 as part of a prisoner exchange.  On 18 April 1713 he was killed while working in his fields.  

After his death his eight children (three sons and five daughters) were adopted by Samuel and Elizabeth Cole, and their baptisms were recorded in the records of Wells, Maine.  His second wife, Elizabeth Hilton, carried on a long feud with Joseph Winn, who had been in charge of Josiah Littlefield's estate during his captivity.  She sued Joseph Winn in what was the longest litigation in colonial Maine history (but it left great records about the family! Yay!)  Elizabeth Hilton Littlefield remarried in 1716 to Malachi Edwards, who had been her lawyer during the lawsuit.  

The book The History of Wells and Kennebunk: From the earliest settlement to the year 1820, at which time Kennebunk was set off an incorporated , by Edward Emerson Bourne, 1875, has an account of Josiah Littlefield on pages 267 - 274.  This book also has this letter written from Josiah to his children during his 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."

For the truly curious:

LITTLEFIELD Surname Saturday:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/01/surname-saturday-littlefield-of-wells.html  

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Josiah Littlefield, d. 1713 Wells, Maine", Nutfield Genealogy, posted July 12, 2022, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2022/07/josiah-littlefield-d-1713-wells-maine.html: accessed [access date]). 

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]).

Tombstone Tuesday ~ A Very Worn Ledger Stone

This tombstone was photographed at the Village Cemetery in Wethersfield, Connecticut, behind the First Church of Christ on Main Street.

Here

lies Interr'd

the Body of

Capt. Thomas

Wells who Deceased

September the 21st

1741, in the 63rd

Year of his

Age.

P. NELSON 2014

This very worn ledger stone was intriguing.  The soft sandstone was completely worn, but someone had recently altered it by adding a new plaque on top with what I assume is the original inscription.   

This tombstone is listed in the very complete book Wethersfield Inscriptions: A complete record of the inscriptions in the five burial places in the ancient town of Wethersfield, by Edward Sweetser Tillotson, 1899, page 136.   Perhaps this is how the descendants figured out what to put on the new plaque?  Note that the book was written in 1899, and the replacement plaque is dated 2014 - plenty of time for the soft sandstone to wear away.  

I have seen descendants erect replacement stones for ancestors, but this is the first time I have ever seen a tombstone altered with additional materials to replace the epitaph. 

For more information on the Wethersfield Ancient Burying Ground and Village Cemetery, see this website for photos, transcriptions and GPS coordinates of each stone:
http://wethersfieldhistory.org/burying-ground

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Tombstone Tuesday ~ A Very Worn Ledger Stone", Nutfield Genealogy, posted June 7, 2016,  ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/06/tombstone-tuesday-very-worn-ledger-stone.html:  accessed [access date]).

Surname Saturday ~ WARNER of Ipswich, Massachusetts

The Great Migration Series

WARNER

The English origins of William Warner were laid out in a book The History of Peter Parker and Sarah Ruggles of Roxbury, Mass., and Their Ancestors and Descendants, by John William Linzee (Boston, 1913) but disputed by Robert Charles Anderson in his book The Great Migration, Volume VII (T-Y), pages 243 -247.  He was born about 1587 and had two children baptized in Boxted, Essex, England.  His origins are unknown.

His wife is unknown, but the following excerpt from The Great Migration is interesting because both William Warner and Simons Stone are my 10^th great grandfathers :

“Richard Lumkin and Sarah Baker were married at Boxted, Essex, on 20 October 1614.  After Lumkin's death, Sarah married SIMON STONE {1635, Watertown} [Great Migration 2:6:553-58].  In her will of 25 March 1663, "Sarah Stone wife of Simon Stone of Watertowne... and the relict of Richard Lumkin deceased sometime of Boxstead in the County of Essex,  in England and last of all Ipswich in New England" ordered that the residue of her estate "be equally divided between my kinsmen John Warner, Daniel Warner, and Thomas Wells" and made these three men her executors [Middlesex County Probate Records 2:128-30, Case #21723].  Given this close connection between Sarah (Baker) (Lumpkin) Stone and the children of William Warner, and the baptism of the tow children of William Warner at Boxted, most writers have proposed that William Warner married a sister of Sarah, but no further evidence has emerged which would confirm that this is the precise relationship between the two families.”

Besides these interesting controversies over William Warner’s origins and the possible identity of his wife, not much else is known about him.  He was made a freeman in Ipswich by 1638 and he received one of the original 1635 grants of land.  In 1637 he was granted a house lot and farm land.  He left no will, and no tombstone, nor a death record.

For more information on the WARNER family:

“Posterity of William Warner, one of the Early Settlers of Ipswich, Massachusetts”,  in the New England Historic Genealogical Society Register, Volume 20 (1866), pages 64 -66

The Great Migration, by Robert Charles Anderson, Volume VII T-Y, pages 243 – 247.

You may also want to consult with a manuscript “Research on William Warner” by Elizabeth L. Nichols, call number Mss C3457 in the R. Stanton Avery Special Collections at the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston. These are the typed research and charts on several men in New England all named William Warner.

My WARNER genealogy:

Generation 1: William Warner, baptized 10 March 1586 in Boxted, died before 1648 in Ipswich, Massachusetts; married about 1611 to Unknown – possible surname Baker.  Five children.

Generation 2: Abigail Warner, born 2 June 1614 in Boxted, died 22 July 1671 in Ipswich; married before 1636 to Thomas Wells.  He was born about 1605 in England and died 26 October 1666 in Ipswich.  Seven children.

Generation 3: Elizabeth Wells m. John Burnham ( I descend from three of their nine children)

Lineage A:

Generation 4:  John Burnham m. Sarah Choate

Generation 5: J ohn Burnham m. Rachel Smith

Generation 6:  Dorothy Burnham m. Abner Poland

Generation 7:  Abner Poland m. Sarah Burnham

Generation 8:  Sally Poland m. Henry Burnham

Generation 9: Sarah Ann Burnham m. Samuel Mears

Generation 10: Sarah Burnham Mears m. Joseph Gilman Allen

Generation 11: Joseph Elmer Allen m. Carrie Maude Batchelder

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

Lineage B:

Generation 6:  Thomas Burnham m. Susannah Boardman

Generation 7: Stephen Burnham m. Mary Andrews

Generation 8: Joshua Burnham m. Jemima Wyman

Generation 9: Jemima Burnham m. Romanus Emerson

Generation 10: George Emerson m. Mary Esther Younger

Generation 11: Mary Katharine Emerson m.  George E. Batchelder

Generation 12: Carrie Maude Batchelder m. Joseph Elmer Allen (see above)

Lineage C:

Generation 4:   David Burnham m. Elizabeth Perkins

Lineage C1:

Generation 5:  David Burnham m. Elizabeth Marshall

Generation 6: Amos Burnham m. Sarah Giddings

Generation 7: Judith Burnham m. Joseph Allen (see above)

Lineage C2:

Generation 5:  Westley Burnham m. Deborah Story

Lineage C2a:

Generation 6: Westley Burnham m. Molly Woodbury

Generation 7: Henry Burnham m. Sally Poland (see above)

Lineage C2b:

Generation 6: Sarah Burnham m. Abner Poland

Generation 7: Sally Poland m. Henry Burnham (see above)

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The URL for this post is

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/10/surname-saturday-warner-of-ipswich.html

Copyright © 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Surname Saturday ~ WELLS of Ipswich, Massachusetts

WELLS

There were two Thomas Wells living in Ipswich, Massachusetts at about the same time.  No kinship has been proven to the other Thomas Wells who married Naomi Marshall.  No kinship has been proven to the Dr. Richard Wells, living at the same time nearby in Salem, Massachusetts (although an early NEHGS Register article Volume 4, pages 11 and 12 name Thomas Wells of Ipswich as a “physician” because he left a “physicke” book to his son in his will. This error was repeated in Joseph B. Felt’s book History of Ipswich, Essex and Hamilton, 1834).   There was also a woman named Ann Wells, age 20, who arrived with Thomas Wells on the same ship but according to genealogist Robert Charles Anderson, there is no kinship connection.

Thomas Wells arrived in the New World aboard the Susan & Ellen in 1635, aged 30.  He was made a freeman in Ipswich, Massachusetts on 17 May 1637.  He appears in many town records, as juror and constable, and as a land owner.  He was a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company in 1644.  His lengthy will named his wife and all his children. He owned many books and maps, and he signed his own name.  His wife, Abigail, also left a will dated 22 July 1671, which included many goods, but no real estate.

"Know all Men By These PrSents, that I, Thomas Wells, of Ipswich, in the county of Essex, being weake of body, yet of pfect memory... make this my last will and testament in maner follwing...

Itm. I give and bequeath unto Abigaill my wife eight pounds yearly, to be payd unto her out of my Lands... and this is to be payd yearly in wheat, malt, porke and Indian corne... Also I give unto her to have one of the best roomes in the house, viz: either the hall or the parlour (at her choice)... and to have free liberty to bake, brew and wash etc. in the kitchen, and free liberty to lay her corne, meale, and mault etc in the hall chamber, and free use of garden ground where she liketh best and to have it well fenced in and to have land duly tilled to sow flax seed on... and freedom in both cellars as shee needeth and shall have suficiency of firewood pvided and seasonably layd in... and free liberty to keepe three or four hens and a pigg or hogg in ye ground and yards; and shall have the sixt part of the fruite that shall yearly grow in the orchyard...

Item I give unto my said wife the old bay mare (she uses to ride on) and the bridle, pillion seate, and pannell, and two cowes (att her choice) and to have the keepeing of a horse or mare and two cowes for her use both sumer and winter and good houseroome for them in winter... allsoe I give unto her the bible she uses and the booke called the Soule's prparation for Christ and that of Perkings upon the Creed and the bedsted we lye on, and the beding, curtaines and valens thereunto belonging (exsepting the blue rugg) and to have the best green rugg in leiw thereof; and I give unto her the best chest and the inlayd box with TW upon the lidd and to have one halfe of the lynen and lynen cloth and the third of the woolen cloth yt is in the house or in yarne or cloth at the weavers... and one halfe of the pewter that was her own fathers and the pewter pint pott and a brase or iron pott at her choice; and I give unto her the iron skillet and some of the best spoones and a good poringer and a coopell of saucers at hir choice and the best low chaire and hir little chaire and a good cushen and one of the great wheeles and a little spinning wheele and the warming pan...

Ite My will is that my said wife shall have the free use of my kettle... or milke vessells &c. shee needeth and of any other small things in the house... and to have freedome at the well for water and liberty for hir clothes or anything elce to be spred &c. where she pleaseth...

Ite Whereas John Wells (my second sonn) hath received of me a deed of gifts of all the lands I had at the town of Wells in the province of Maine being the quantity of thre hundred and fiftye acres (more or less) arrable meddow and pasture together with two cowes and ten pounds fifteene shillings yt I have payd (at his request) unto Stephen Kent of Haverill, in cattle upon a bill due from Francis Littlefield (his father-in-law) with several other things all wch he hath received of me in liew of his portion...

Ite I give unto my sonn John Wells ten pounds to be payd unto him or his assigns within three years next after my decease five pounds thereof in cattle, neate and in good condition and the other five pounds in wheat, malt and Indian corne in equall p'portion... and I give unto him my cloke, and one of the great pewter candlesticks wth the top thereof and two great saucers and two little saucers more and I give unto Sarah his wife (my daughter-in-law) one five shilling piece of gould...

Ite. Whereas my two eldest daughters viz: Sarah Massie of Salem and Abigaill Tredwell of this towne hath eache of them had thirtye pounds in leiw of there portions my will is that Sarah Massie or her assignes shall have a good cow or to the value of four pounds ten shillngs in other cattle... and alsoe to have the benefitt of the grase of a little peace of salt marsh ground adjoyneing to the northwest end of Mr. Wades neare unto Hogg Iland and my daughter Sarah to enjoy the use of this until the decease of my brother Massie her father-in-law and then to returne unto my executor. Allsoe I give unto Abigail Tredwell my daughter my six acre lott of salt marsh &c that lyes in Plumb Iland... or a good cow...

Ite. I give and bequeath unto Thomas Wells my youngest sonn two hundred and fiftie pounds sterl. in leiw of hir portion to be payd unto him... out of my housen and lands where I now I dwell within seven years, foure month and nyne or ten days next after the sayd Thomas Wells my sonn doe come to the full age of one and twenty yeares Viz: one hundred pounds to be payd at or before the twentieth or one and twentieth day of the third month comonly called May next com twelvemonth after the sayd Thomas Wells my sonn doe come to the age of one and twenty years (whose birth day was upon the eleaventh day of the eleaventh mo. Anno Dom: one thousand six hundred forty-six); forty pounds thereof to be paid in cattle... and in horse-kynd viz: in geldings and the horse- kynd not exced the sum of eight pounds... and thirty-six pounds thereof to be payd in wheate and barley malt... and twenty-foure pounds thereof to be payd in Indian corne, pease, porke and sheepe... and the other hundred pounds to be... payde... wth in three yeares next after the...day... of payment of the former hundred pounds... and the remaining fiftye pounds to be... payd... within the prementioned seaven years, foure months and nyne or ten dayes...

Ite. My will is that if my executor... doe not duly and faithfully pay and discharge this two hundred and fiftye pounds... the sayd Thomas Wells... shall... take possession of the housen and lands where I now dwell... until the whole be discharged...

Ite. My will is that if the said Thomas... shall dye and decease this life before he come to... full age... yn ye executor of this my last will shall pay unto the rest of my children the full sum of one hundred and forty pounds viz: unto John Wells or his survivers the full sum of forty pounds and the other hundred pounds to be equally porportionned and divided among my other five daughters... Viz: to Sarah Massie of Salem, to Abigail Tredwell of this towne, to Elizabeth Wells, Hannah Wells and Lidia Wells my daughters... the forty pounds to my son John Wells and the twenty pounds apeece to Sarah Massie and to Abigaill Tredwell and Elizabeth Wells (my three eldest daughters) to be payd unto them accordingly as is engaged unto their Bro: Thomas Wells, both for kind and quality... and the other twenty pounds apeece to Hannah Wells and Lidia Wells my own daughters shall be payd unto each of them... in wheat, barly, malt, porke, pease and Indian corne...

Item. My will is that Thomas Wells my youngest son, shall quietly posses and enjoy for his use the parlour chamber of this house where now I dwell and have free liberty for fire wood until he marry and yt he shall have his diate and washing while he keeps here at the cost of my executor untill he come to the age of 22 years, 4 months and ten days.

It. I give unto my son Thomas Wells all the bookes I bought for his use and my three phisicke bookes and the booke called the Orthodox Evangelist, the greate sermon booke, and Hyeling's Geogripha, and the little chest and table (he made) that stand in the hall chamber and my white box, and the chist plankes to make him a chist on, and the little iron canlestick, my white rule, my red pensheare, and my penknife and my sword and scabbitt and my firelock muskett wth a square barrell, and the mould, worme and scourer &c. Alsoe I give unto him the little bedstead in the hall chamber, and the little fetherbed therto belonging, and a paire of good sheets, and the red blankett and the blue rugg, and a good pillow and pillow beere. Allsoe I give unto my son Thomas my silver bowle, and one two-and-twenty shilling peece of gould, and I give unto him all my right and interest of the bond that is due unto me from goodman John Andrews of this towne, carpenter save only six pound ten shillings therof to my son Nath. Wells and wch makes the rest that he hath already had yr of twentye pounds, and this I give unto my son Thomas, towards his charges of his goeing to the colledge and for bookes and apparrell &c. or to put him to Mr. Allcocke or the like, and I give the new picktures viz: of the King and Queene and of the Five Sences... Allsoe my stufe clothes and a paire of my best stockings.

Ite. I give unto Elizabeth Wells, Hanah Wells and Lidia Wells my three youngest daughters each and every of them thirty-five pounds a peece to be payd... within one year next after they marry or when they come to the age of one and twenty years; twenty pounds thereof to be payd in cattle... and in sheepe... and the remaineing fifteene pounds in each and every portion to be payd in wheate, barly, malt, porke and Indian corne, in equall p'portion... allsoe my will is that every of these my daughters shall have each of them a bible and every of them a good chest...

Ite. I give and bequeath unto Sarah Massie of Salem and to Abigaill Tredwell of this towne and to Elizabeth Wells and Lidia Wells my owne daughters, each and every of them two halfe crowne peeces of English money... and I give unto Hannah Wells my daughter one ten shilling peece of gould... all wch money... I have already given them into the hands and custody of Thomas Wells my youngest son whom I trust and confide in, to give the same as I have bequeathed unto his three younger sisters...

Ite. I give unto Abigaill my wife the third part of the English money wch shall remaine and be left and not payd unto the legatees yt is deceased in England and kindred of our Uncle Lumpkins; and my will is that my sayd wife shall have the tuission of my daughter Elizabeth Wells and my daughter Lidia Wells untill they marry or come to the age of one and twenty years...

Item. My will is that Mrs Mary Rogers of Rowley shall have th tuission and education of my daughter Hannah Wells untill she marry or come to the age of one and twenty years, the sayd Mrs Rogers will please to doe me that favour

Ite. I give unto my cousin Mary Baker (alias Lowe) of Colchester, soe much New England money as equivalent to fiftye shillings Old England money and my will is that my executor doe faithfully endeavor to convey the same unto her it being in reference to an agreement between both my brother Warners and myselfe in answer to a request of our Aunt Lumkin (alias Stone) late deceased, and to take the advice of my Bro: Daniell Warner about the conveighing of the same...

Ite. I give and bequeath all the rest of my whole estate both moveable and unmoveable, p'sonal and reall, houses and lands, unto Nath: Wells my eldest son pvided he doth fully acept heerin to be my executor... Allwayes p'vided that if the sd Nath: Wells dye and cease this life wth out any issue of male... my will is that then... the sd housen and lands heire in Ipswich bounds shall returne unto the sd Thomas Wells my youngest son... and the sd Thomas my son then to pay unto Lidia, Nath: wife (my daughter in law) the sum of forty pound wth in one yeare and halfe next after the decease of Nath: her husband... And the sd Thomas... shall pay unto the sd Nathaniells children the sum of one hundred and forty pounds the one halfe in cattle... and in horse kind... and the other half... to be payd in wheate, malte, porke, pease and Indian corne... Alsoe my will is... that my son Nathaniells children shall have the sum of eight pounds yearly payd by my son Thomas Wells... towards there bringing up whilest they come to the age of fifteene years...

Ite. My will is that if the sd Nath... dy and cease this life without isue of male... then the sayd Thomas Wells... shall pay unto my son John Wells his Bro:... the sum of 40£...

Fynally I desire my liveing and faithfull friends Thomas Bishop, Senr and Mr. Thomas Andrews to be the overseers of this my last will and testament and to be the gardians of my sonn Thomas Wells dureing the time of his mynority and nonage to whom I give as a token of my respect and love ten shillings apeece.

In wittness wherof and to wch I the above named Thomas Wells Senr have heer unto set my hand and seal dated the 31 of the fifth mo: comonly called July in the eighteenth yeare of the raigne of or Soveraigne Lord, Charles the Second by the grace of God King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland in the year of our Lord God one thousand six hundred sixty-six.

Prme Thomas Wells Senr"(3)

For more information:

Thomas Wells is not mentioned in Martin Hollick’s book New Englanders in the 1600s

There is a lengthy sketch of Thomas Wells of Ipswich in the book The Great Migration, Volume VII, pages 294 – 300. 

My WELLS genealogy:

Generation 1: Thomas Wells, about 1605 in England and died 26 October 1666 in Ipswich, Massachusetts; married by 1636 to Abigail Warner, daughter of William Warner.  She died 22 July 1671 in Ipswich.  Seven children, and I descend from two daughters.

Line A:

Generation 2: Elizabeth Wells, born 31 July 1646 in Ipswich, Massachusetts, died 9 June 1731; married on 6 June 1668 to John Burnham, son of Thomas Burnham and Mary Lawrence. He was born in 1648 and died 12 January 1704 in the Chebacco Parish of Ipswich, Massachusetts. Nine children, and I descend from three sons.

Line A1:

Generation 3: John Burnham m. Sarah Choate

Generation 4: John Burnham m. Rachel Smith

Generation 5: Dorothy Burnham m. Abner Poland

Generation 6: Abner Poland m. Sarah Burnham

Generation 7: Sally Poland m. Henry Burnham

Generation 8: Sarah Ann Burnham m. Samuel Mears

Generation 9: Sarah Burnham Mears m. Joseph Gilman Allen

Generation 10: Joseph Elmer Allen m. Carrie Maud Batchelder

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

Line A2:

Generation 3: Thomas Burnham m. Susannah Boardman

Generation 4: Stephen Burnham m. Mary Andrews

Generation 5: Joshua Burnham m. Jemima Wyman

Generation 6: Jemima Burnham m. Romanus Emerson

Generation 7: George Emerson m. Mary Esther Younger

Generation 8: Mary Katharine Emerson m. George E. Batchelder

Generation 9: Carrie Maude Batchelder m. Joseph Elmer Allen (see above)

Line A3:

Generation 3:  David Burnham m. Elizabeth Perkins

Line A3a:

Generation 4: David Burnham m. Elizabeth Marshall

Generation 5: Amos Burnham m. Sarah Giddings

Generation 6: Judith Burnham m. Joseph Allen

Generation 7: Joseph Allen m. Orpha Andrews

Generation 8: Joseph Gilman Allen m. Sarah Burnham Mears (see above)

Line A3b:

Generation 4: Westley Burnham m. Deborah Story

Line A3b1:

Generation 5: Westley Burnham m. Molly Woodbury

Line A3b1A:

Generation 6: Asa Burnham m. Polly Bray

Generation 7: Lydia W. Burnham m. Samuel Mears

Generation 8: Samuel Mears m. Sarah Ann Burnham (see above)

Line A3b1B:

Generation 6:  Henry Burnham m.  Sally Poland

Generation 7: Sarah Ann Burnham m. Samuel Mears (see above)

Line A3b2:

Generation 5: Sarah Burnham m. Abner Poland

Generation 6: Sally Poland m. Henry Burnham (see above)

Line B:

Generation 2:  Abigail Wells, born about 1642, died 16 June 1677; married on 19 June 1661 in Ipswich to Nathaniel Treadwell, son of Thomas Treadwell. He was born 13 March 1637/8 in Ipswich, died 11 January 1726/7 in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Seven children.

Generation 3: Nathaniel Treadwell m. Hannah Unknown

Generation 4: Jabez Treadwell m. Lucy Haskell

Generation 5: Nathaniel Treadwell m. Mary Hovey

Generation 6: Jabez Treadwell m. Betsey Jillings Hovey

Generation 7: Eliza Ann Treadwell m. Abijah Hitchings

Generation 8: Abijah Franklin Hitchings m. Hannah Eliza Lewis

Generation 9: Arthur Treadwell Hitchings m. Florence Etta Hoogerzeil

Generation 10: Gertrude Matilda Hitchings m. Stanley Elmer Allen (see above)

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The URL for this post is

http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/07/surname-saturday-wells-of-ipswich.html

Copyright © 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo

Tombstone Tuesday ~ Nathaniel Treadwell, d. 1723, Ipswich, Massachusetts

This tombstone was photographed at the Old Burying Ground, Ipswich, Massachusetts

HEAR LIES Ye

BODY OF MR

NATHANIEL

TREADWELL WHO

DIED AUGUST

YE 17th 1723

In Ye 47th

YEAR OF HIS 

AGE

Nathaniel Treadwell is my 7th great grandfather.  He was born 13 June 1677 in Ipswich, Massachusetts, the son of Nthaniel Treadwell and Abigail Wells.  He married Hannah Unknown sometime before 1698, and they had seven children.  He died young on 17 August 1723, only 47 years old.  His widow remarried to George Hart on 4 April 1724 in Ipswich.

I love the death's head on this early stone.  The head is so primitive, it looks like a cartoon face!

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The URL for this post is
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/01/tombstone-tuesday-nathaniel-treadewell.html 

Copyright (c) 2014, Heather Wilkinson Rojo