John Hathaway, Jr. 1650-1730 By: Bob Alford 2010 John Hathaway, Jr. was born August 3, 1650 in an area of Taunton, MA that would later become Freetown. His father, John Hathaway Sr., was 21 years old at the time, and the town of Taunton had been founded only a decade earlier. John Sr. and his father Nicolas were among the first settlers. John Jr. was the third of ten children. He had four younger brothers, two older sisters and three younger sisters. Almost all Hathaways in America are descended from John or one of his brothers. The family had a long lasting impact on Taunton and surrounding towns where they lived for many generations. There are still a large number of descendants in southern New England today. John Sr. was a wealthy land owner and a leading citizen of Taunton. John Jr. grew up in his father s home and was well provided for. He went on to become a wealthy and prominent citizen in his own right. In 1668 he married Hannah Burt. She was born in 1652 and was the daughter of James and Anna Burt who lived in Taunton. The book A History of the Town of Freetown, published in 1902, describes the purchase of the land which became Freetown: The purchase of the four mile tract known as "Ye Freemen's Purchase" was transacted in 1659. The land was transferred by deed from Wamsitti and his squaw Tattapanum to twenty six persons known hereafter as "original purchasers" in consideration of "twenty coats, two rugs, two iron pots, two kettles and one little kettle, eight pair of shoes, six pair of stockings, one dozen of hoes, one dozen of hatchets, two yards of broadcloth, and a debt satisfied to John Barnes, due from Wamsitti to the said Barnes," which in all probability was for fire water. One of the original proprietors was Nathaniel Morton who was Colonial Secretary from 1647 to 1685. In 1671, John Hathaway Sr. bought Nathaniel Morton s property in Freetown known as the eighteenth lot and gave it as a gift to John Jr. and his wife. It was located about a mile from Assonet Village on Fall River Road. It was about 100 rods (1650 feet) wide and extended back about four miles to the river.
King Philip s War On June 20 th, 1675 war broke out between the Native Americans and the settlers when the Indians attacked the settlement at Swansea (then often spelled Swansey), which is less than 20 miles south of Taunton. It did not take the Indians long to move north and to attack the outlying farms around Taunton. This was the beginning of King Philip s War, so called because the Indian leader who led the attempt to drive the settlers out was referred to by the colonists as King Philip. Ultimately the war spread throughout New England and Boston itself was threatened at one point in the conflict. The cost to both sides was very heavy. The colonists lost 800 of the 52,000 inhabitants at the time. The Indians lost 3,000 of their 20,000 population. More than half the towns in New England were attacked by the Indians. There are many sides to why this happened, but that does not really matter. The destruction and loss of life was extensive and it would take decades for the colonies to recover. The Indians never really did. John and Hanna s third child, John, was born in 1674 and was only a little over one year old when the attacks came. To make matters worse Hanna was pregnant with their fourth child. Like most other settlers, John and Hanna abandoned their home and moved to the Garrison House in Taunton to defend their families. Our ancestor, Jacob Hathaway was born there in 1676. John s younger brother, Abraham, joined the colonial forces that fought the war. John, his father, and many of the other men in the town served in the local militia responsible for defending the town and their families. The war spread and the Indians won many victories and caused a lot of damage. The following is from Wikipedia: Throughout the winter of 1675 1676 more frontier settlements, as well as the Bull Garrison House, were destroyed by the Native Americans. Attacks came at Andover, Bridgewater, Chelmsford, Groton, Lancaster, Marlborough, Medfield, Millis, Medford, Portland, Providence, Rehoboth, Scituate, Seekonk, Simsbury, Sudbury, Suffield, Warwick, Weymouth, and Wrentham. The famous captive story of Mary Rowlandson, captured in Lancaster, Massachusetts, gives a Colonial captive's perspective on the war. Spring of 1676 marked the high point for the combined tribes when, on March 12, they attacked Plymouth Plantation itself. Though the town withstood the assault, the natives had demonstrated their ability to penetrate deep into colonial territory. Three more settlements Longmeadow (near Springfield), Marlborough, and Simsbury were attacked two weeks later, as Captain Pierce ] and a company of Massachusetts soldiers were wiped out between Pawtucket and the Blackstone's settlement and several were allegedly tortured and buried at Nine Men's Misery in Cumberland. The abandoned capital of Rhode Island (Providence) was burned to the ground on March 29. At the same time, a small band of Native Americans infiltrated and burned part of Springfield, Massachusetts, while the militia was away. The war ended for most purposes on August 12, 1676 after Philip was shot and killed by an Indian named John Alderman, who fought on the side of the colonies. His body was beheaded, drawn and quartered, which was the tradition at the time. His head was put on display in Plymouth. There were a few subsequent attacks, but with Philip gone the war was largely over and the rebuilding began. John, Hannah and their four children returned to their home in Freetown.
The Freetown Board of Selectman Although Freetown was first settled in 1659, it remained a proprietary settlement belonging to the landowners until it was officially incorporated in 1683. It was then, and still is, governed by a Board of Selectman. The board is made up of three selectmen. They are elected by popular vote for a term of three years, with one selectman being elected each year. In the early days their terms were shorter. John Hathaway served as Selectman from 1687-1688, 1698-1701, 1706-1709, 1711, and 1719. It is sometimes confusing as to which John Hathaway is indicated on a record since John Jr. had a son named John as well. It is possible, and in fact likely, that the latter terms listed above were his son. His son Jacob Hathaway (our ancestor) served as Selectman in 1716, 1720-1729, and 1731-1744. Children John and Hannah Hathaway had ten children: 1. Martha born November 7, 1669. Married Captain Josiah Winslow November 30, 1749. 2. Hannah born December 22, 1671. She married John Simmons of Taunton, MA December 14, 1697. They lived in the section of Taunton that became Dighton and had nine children. She died in 1765. 3. John born 1674. He married Mary Wilbore on June 28, 1697. They had one daughter, Hannah born March 30, 1716., John died November 4, 1718. 4. Jacob born 1675 in the Garrison House in Taunton in the midst of King Philip s War. He married Phillipa Chase January 28, 1797. They had thirteen children. Jacob died in late 1758 or early 1759. He is our ancestor. 5. Isaac born July 16, 1678. He married Sarah Makepeace on February 22, 1710. They had nine children. He died September 13, 1758. 6. Abigail born January 1, 1680. She married Captain David Sherman December 27, 1710. They had ten children. She died April 3, 1761. 7. Ephraim born 1680/1. He married Abigail Sarah Davis on December 19, 1717. They had eleven children. He died sometime after May 13, 1772 8. Thomas born 1682. He married Margaret Maxwell June 1, 1719. They had ten children. He died January 28, 1756. 9. Sarah born 1686. Married the Rev. James Hale on August 5, 1714. They had two children and lived in Ashford, CT. James Hales died November 22, 1742. 10. Experience born 1690. Married Elnathan Sherman January 2, 1724. They lived in Middleboro, MA and had five children. By this count, John Hathaway Jr. had 65 grandchildren! John Hathaway s Tavern On June 5, 1684 John Hathaway opened the first tavern in Freetown. This was approved by the colonial court the following November. The following is from the Plymouth Colony Court Records dated November 1, 1684: This court grants liberty to John Hathaway, Jun1 to keep an ordinary at Freetowne, and to be provided with such necessaries as are requisett for that purpose, aslodging and victualles for men, and prouender for horses; and that hee keep good orders in his house with those thar lodge ther or shall stay in theire jornings, that hee incur not just blame by his negligence.
Building a Church in Freetown This part of the story will take a bit of telling, but it is fact, it is interesting with several twists to it. It directly involves John Hathaway Jr. and his family, and gives us some real insight into life in Colonial Freetown, MA. The colonies were under the rule of the King of England, but each colony had a government, and the rule of the colony was largely left to the local authority, since England was very busy at the time dealing with its own internal problems. In Massachusetts the governor, lieutenant-governor, and colonial secretary were appointed by the crown. The charter gave the governor the power to convene and dissolve the General Court, and a veto of all its acts. The councilors first appointed by the crown were afterwards to be annually elected by the House of Representatives and the existing council; but of the twenty-eight thus chosen the governor might reject thirteen. The advice and consent of the council were necessary to all appointments and official acts. Massachusetts Colony law required every town to have a school-house and a meeting-house (church). As early as 1647, every Massachusetts village of fifty house-holders was required by state law to maintain a school, in which the catechism and the rudiments of reading, writing and arithmetic should be taught, while every town which boasted a hundred householders was obliged to establish a grammar school. The church was the centre of the community's social and political life. Attendance on public worship was enforced, during many decades and in many places, by village ordinance. Church and state were curiously confused. Only church members were allowed to vote at town-meetings, and the selectmen of the village assigned the seats to the congregation, according to the peculiar regulations of the town-meeting. This was not the case in Freetown, as we shall see. Not all colonists were pious citizens and not all agreed with the rulings of the General Court. Laws were much harder to enforce (and easier to ignore) in those days, as the people of Freetown were want to do. Freetown was originally the Freeman s Purchase, an investment made by twenty-six wealthy individuals; however none of these individuals became settlers. In 1675 the area was devastated by King Philip s war, delaying settlement, and when it was settled the process was slow and by a real mix of people. While there were undoubtedly many religious people among them who worshipped in their homes, the tow n as a whole was not inclined to pay for the building of a meeting house, or church, regardless of what the colony law said. In June of 1699 at a town meeting it was finally resolved to build a church at some point convenient to our neighbors in Taunton, meaning getting them to at least help pay for it. John Hathaway Jr. was one of the three town selectman during this period. Negotiations went on for almost three years but the people of Taunton were not interested. In February of 1702 the town resolved that the spiritual house should take precedence over the material on, and that no building should be undertaken at the town s expense until they had obtained the services of a minister, who would also be the town teacher. This was a clever stall to get around the colony law while seeming to be in the process of finally conforming to it. It took two years, but in 1704 the town found someone to their liking, named William Way. One of the things that probably made him attractive to the town is that he was willing to work for whatever was freely offered by the good people of the town through donations. However, William Way did not meet the requirements of the Massachusetts Colony government that every town should maintain a learned and orthodox minister. In 1706 the town received a formal complaint by a county grand jury. John Hathaway Jr. was once again a selectman at this point (1706-1709). The town appointed Lieutenant Job Winslow, another selectman, to answer to the court and to consult with the p astor of Taunton about getting William Way approbated as a minister. Both his missions ended on failure and in January 1707 the Massachusetts Court of General Sessions issued a preemptory writ requiring the town to hire a minister.
The Village Selectmen, including John Hathaway Jr., were not defeated yet however. The townspeople did not want to be taxed to pay for a minister, especially one not to their liking, and they strongly resented the interference by the colonial government in what they considered a town matter. Certainly today this would be unconstitutional and a clear violation of the principal of separation church and state, but the US Constitution was still about 75 years away. In what might be considered a master stroke, the town passed a resolution by two-thirds majority to apply to the Bishop of London for the assignment of a Church of England minister. This undoubtedly was very upsetting to the court in Boston. In truth the people of Freetown did not want a minister for the Church of England any more than the Puritan Government in Boston did, but they stopped the colonial government cold, since the colonial government ruled by the grace of the King, and the King and the Church of England were one in the same. It should be noted that the townspeople were not against religion, they were against the colony telling them what religion to practice and forcing them to tax themselves to build a church and hire a minister that met the approval of the puritan coloni al government in Boston. Freetown was and is a very small town. In 1686 there were only 270 people and the town grew very slowly, so the burden that the colonial government tried to impose was significant. By 1706 the town had successfully defied the colonial government on this issue for almost twenty years. The stalemate lasted until 1710 when a wealthy land owner from Boston gave the town a large lot of land for a meeting house, school house, training field and burial ground. The colonial General Court gave the town a grant of 25 pounds. The town voted to give the money to Rev. Joseph Avery, and began to build its first meeting house, which records show was to be 36 feet by 26 feet. For a brief amount of time the issue seemed to be settled. This did not last however and the Rev. Avery left to become first pastor of Norton, MA. A replacement candidate, Re. Wadsworth, was found, and the townspeople initially voted to pay him twenty pounds a year from tax money. Strong objections were raised however, led by John Read, Jr. and the Rev. Wadsworth wisely declined the position. The bottom line was simply that the townspeople, or a least a large faction of them, did not want to be taxed to pay for a minister. In 1712 John Hathaway was appointed to find a new minister and the townspeople appropriated twenty-five pounds for the year. John recruited the Rev. James Hale, but he was found unacceptable to the townspeople. He was well liked by the Hathaway s however and on August 5, 1714 John s daughter Sarah married the Rev. James Hale. They moved to Ashford. CT where they spent the rest of their lives. The town continued to be divided over taxing the citizens to fund the church, and although some additional funds were allocated to finish the meeting house and pay a minister, it was with great protest. From 1713 until 1715 a local resident, Jonathon Dobson filled the role as minister while the town officially waited for the Church of England to supply a minister. At the end of this period some local citizens offered their support for the Rev Thomas Craighead. At a town meeting on September 17, 1717, by a vote of 25 to 3, the town committed to pay the Rev. Craighead s salary. His popularity was very short lived however and the three town constables, who were responsible for collecting taxes and making payments, refused to collect the monies and pay his salary. One of those constables was John Hathaway Jr. The Rev. Craighead sued the town. This turned into a serious legal battle with the town fathers choosing to ignore the courts. The case became so serious that it escalated all the way through the county and colony courts to a resolution passed on March 28, 1721 by the House of Representatives.
Source: Journals of the House of Representatives of Massachusetts
In addition to the case reaching this remarkably high level, note that it states that in 1721 John Hathaway Jr. was deceased. We know that John Hathaway Jr., our ancestor, was alive in May of 1724 when he wrote his will. It is most likely that the John Hathaway Jr. referred to in the House of Representatives order was our ancestor s oldest son, John iii, who died November 4, 1718. The whole affair seemed to have worn out the voters and the effort to hire a minister with town funds came to an end. A Quaker movement emerged and meetings of Friends began to grow. Jacob Hathaway, John s second son and our ancestor, became a Quaker by 1719. In 1725 a Quaker meeting house, independent of the town government, was built by the members on land donated by Jacob Hathaway. In addition to the involvement by John Hathaway and his son, this accounting illustrates the problems in colonial America regarding the mixture of religion and government. In Massachusetts the Puritans prevailed in the 17 th century and they attempted to impose their belief on the whole colony. Problems in many small communities similar to those that occurred in Freetown, led to a strong belief among many that they not only needed separation from the King, they needed the government to be separated from the church, any church. It was these experiences that led to the doctrine of the separation of church and state which was incorporated into the US constitution.
The Shipyard John Hathaway Jr. was the cofounder of the Coram Shipyard with Captain Thomas Coram. It is believed that they partnered and began their effort in 1693, although some reports indicate that their partnership did not begin until 1700. They built houses side by side near the yard. Today the Coram Shipyard is a designated National Historical site. The following is from the National Park Service: John Hathaway s partner, Captain Thomas Coram, was quite famous in both English and Colonial history. He was born in Lyme Regis, Dorset, England in 1668. He came to Taunton on 1692, and interested John Hathaway, who was one of the town s wealthiest and most prominent citizens at that time, in investing in his venture to build and operate a shipyard. As described on the previous page, the two men built homes side by side near the yard. These buildings still exist and are part of a National Historical site.
Captain Coram was a very intelligent and resourceful gentleman who had an exception career as a sea captain, shipbuilder and merchant. He is credited with being the first man to produce tar in the new world. This quote is from an 1808 Boston paper: The issue of religion once again touched on the life of John Hathaway. Captain Coram was a member of the Church of England and wanted to establish a church in Taunton. The Massachusetts Bay Colony however was run by Puritans who were very much opposed to the Church of England and Coram s efforts to establish a church there. In 1703 Captain Coram gave up and returned to England, leaving the Shipyard to John Hathaway. He left in trust, with the Vestry of King's Chapel, Boston, fifty-nine acres of land that he owned in Taunton, with the stipulation, "that if ever hereafter the inhabitants of the town of Taunton should be more civilized than they now are, and if they should incline to have a Church of England built amongst them, or in their town, then upon application of the inhabitants of said town, that is to say, forty ratable men of them, upon their application, or petition to the said vestry, or their successors, for any suitable part of said land, to build a Church of England, or a school house for the use and service of said church." Following the departure of Thomas Coram there was a lawsuit involving two ships that were in the yard almost completed and ready for sea. Apparently as a result John Hathaway lost the shipyard and his nearby home. He and his family returned the homestead in Freetown on the land his father had given him years earlier. The details concerning this lawsuit require further research. Captain Thomas Coram became a very successful London merchant and philanthropist. In 1717 he promoted the idea of establishing a colony in what is now Maine, which he called Georgia. After that effort failed, in 1732 he became a trustee of James Oglethorpe s Georgia Colony. He is best remembered today for his charitable work in founding a hospital for homeless children. The hospital site is today a children s play area that does not allow any adults that are not accompanied by children.
The Iron Works In 1704, John Hathaway was an investor, along with fifteen other citizens in an Iron Works. One of the other investors was his brother Abraham. Many genealogies report that he owned the iron works, but it is clear that he had a share and was not the primary owner. Others report he operated the Iron Works, which is clearly not true. The following is from the book A History of the Town of Freetown, Massachusetts published July 30 th, 1902: Although Freetown had only small streams flowing through its territory, yet from the great difference in altitude of the source and mouth a great many dams could be built along their courses. On Assonet River above the village are remaining ten dams within a distance of about six miles, in all stages of preservation. On Mill Brook and Terry Brook are three dams; while on Fall Brook in East Freetown remain six dams to show the large amount of business carried on within the distance of two and one-half miles. The greatest number of dams were constructed for the use of sawmills, but several furnished power to grist mills and iron works. The dates of the construction of nearly all of these dams have been lost and can only be approximated. The first dam across Assonet River was probably the one near Locust Street, where now remain only its ruins. It was built in or about the year 1695. At first the power was used for a saw mill, but a fulling-mill was subsequently added, a grist-mill and machinery for carding wool. This mill also had a bolting machine, and here was put in the first machine for grinding corn and cob together, about 60 years ago. On the west side of the dam there was a sawmill owned by Gilbert, Barnaby, and Kenelm Winslow, which has not been used for nearly sixty years. They were built by the Winslow family and remained in the ownership of that family until 1898. The second, which is now known as Forge dam, was built in 1702. It was carried away by a freshet and rebuilt in 1703. On the west side of the dam a grist mill was built, and was run by members of the Hathaway family until about 1820, when it was sold to Josiah Winslow. About 1845 Mr. Winslow gave up the grist mill, and in company with Henry Porter put in machinery for making cut nails. David M. Anthony and Capt. John W. Marble bought the mill privilege in 1885, and in this building Capt. Marble set up a shingle mill which was run four or five years. In 1892 J. Henry Peirce began sawing all kinds of lumber here, and at the present time is doing an extensive business. June 14, 1704, articles of agreement were signed by James Tisdale, Sr., John Paul, Edward Bobbet, Abraham Hathaway. Edward Paul, Malachi Holloway, James Tisdale, Jr., John Spur, John Burt, Joseph Dean, Nathaniel Holloway, Timothy Holloway, Albert Burt, John Wilbur, and William Phillips, all of Taunton, and by Josiah Winslow, Benjamin Chase, and John Hathaway, of Freetown, to build some iron works on the land of Nathaniel Winslow of Freetown. The iron was to be obtained upon land in Taunton called the "Red weed land" which was owned by Abel Burt. The company was to pay Abel Burt but two shillings per ton for the iron as it lay on the ground, until they had paid eighteen pounds; then Burt was to receive three shillings per ton, even if others who owned iron mines engaged to sell their iron at a lower price. The forge was built, on the east side of the dam. and remained in the hands of the company until 1820, when Thomas Strobridge bought it and manufactured scythes, axes, and carpenters' tools. Then John Crane, Sampson & Nichols, Weaver & Osborne, succeeded one another there in the manufacture of edged tools and nails. For a time Thomas and John Thorpe used the mill for washing waste. Then Crocker & Bassett manufactured nails. It was burned about 1874. In his will dated May 23, 1723, John gave half of his holdings in the iron works to his son Jacob and the other half to his s on Isaac. Many genealogies confuse this by saying he willed half of the iron works to each, rather than half of his share of the iron works. Many others confuse this with the Chartley Iron Works, which they claim he inherited from his father. This is completely untrue. His father was not an Iron Man and did not own the Chartley Iron Works.
It is not clear what member(s) of the Hathaway family owned and operated the Grist Mill mentioned above. It is unlikely that it was John Jr. as he was still involved with the shipyard at the time. It may have been is son as on October 13, 1720 John Hathaway is recorded as having paid for a five foot two inch millstone. This was probably John s son. Second Marriage Sometime prior to 1724, John married has second wife Christian. She is believed to Christian Maxfield, the mother of Margret Maxfield who married John s son Thomas in 1719. Both Christian and her daughter Margaret were widows prior to marrying John and Thomas Hathaway respectively. We do not know the exact date of the death of John s firs t wife Hannah, or the date of his marriage to Christian. Neither is mentioned in the Freetown Vital Records, but records were not well kept in that era. John identified Christian as his wife in his will dated May 23, 1724. It is reported in Hathaways of America, and widely repeated, that John died in June of 1730. There is no known record of the exact date of his death and it is not recorded in the vital records of Freetown. This date appears to be based on the fact that his will was probated on June 11, 1730, probably indicating that he died earlier that year. Since we do not know the exact date of either his birth or his death we can only say that he was either 79 or 80 when he died. The Times of the Life of John Hathaway Jr. When John Hathaway Jr. was born there were only 50,000 people in all of the American Colonies. By the time he died there were almost ten times that many. Imagining the country having a 10X population explosion in a single lifetime! During his early childhood years the Puritans ruled England under Lord Cromwell, and the continued to rule the Massachusetts Bay Colony during his lifetime. He was ten years old when the monarchy was restored to England under the rule of Charles II. He was only 16 years old when the plague struck London, followed shortly by the Great Fire. He was born into a world that was still very primitive and where an uneasy peace existed between the native tribes and the settlers. He was a young man of 25 with three small children when his home town was attacked by the Indians and he and his family had to flee to the protection of the central garrison in Taunton, where his fourth child, our ancestor Jacob Hathaway, was born. He saw, and helped implement, major changes in his world. He helped build his home town of Freetown, became the first tavern owner there, purchased and owned large tracts of land, invested in an Iron Works, and built a shipyard. How many of us could accomplish so much with so little? As you look at the timeline on the next page try to picture yourself as an early American colonist and a pioneer. Put yourself in his shoes and imagine what life was like for this great, great. great grandfather of ours.
So How am I Related to John Hathaway? If you can trace your ancestry to Frank Randel Hathaway and his wife Beulah Messer Hathaway, who were my grandparents, you are a descendent of John Hathaway. John was the great, great, great, great, great grandfather of Frank Randel Hathaway. Simply determine how many generations you are descended for him and add that number of Greats. If you are not sure who Frank Randel Hathaway was, see his biography which will tell you who some of his descendents were, and perhaps you can establish a relationship. If you are a more distant cousin who is descended from one of the early generations you can do your own generation counting. In this case please contact us and let us know who you are. I hope you have enjoyed meeting John and thinking about what his life was like. Had he not lived, married and had his family, none of us would exist today. All the information in this biography is historically accurate to the best of my knowledge. With genealogy, new information often comes to light that contradicts the old. If you are aware of any errors I have made or corrections or additions to this that should be added, please let me know.