Robert Haseltine of Rowley and Bradford, Massachusetts 1609-1674



St. Peter's Church in Rowley

The story of Robert and John Hazeltine should probably start with the Reverend Ezekiel Rogers, who was to play a large role in their future as well as many others who came to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Ezekiel was a radical puritan minister in England.  The Church seems to have been a family calling. His father Richard, brother Daniel and cousin Nathaniel Rogers were all ministers. After graduating from Christ College Cambridge University in 1608 Ezekiel became Chaplain to Sir Francis Barrington of Hatfield Broad Oak in Suffolk. Sir Francis was very wealthy and was able to procure for Ezekiel the living of St. Peter's in Rowley, Yorkshire in February 1620. 

In 1638, the village was very small, but parishioners would travel from nearby villages to the church for services. Ezekiel's career ended, as did many other puritan ministers, because he refused to read from "The Book of Sports". This book, first written by James I of England in 1617, was reissued by his son Charles I. The purpose of the book was to spell out what "sports" were allowable on the Sabbath. Puritans, of course, did not allow anything on the Sabbath, except going to church. Ezekiel convinced his congregation to leave England and sail with him to Massachusetts, where they would be free to worship in the manner of their choosing.

The village of Rowley does not exist today. Twenty local families left England and emptied the parish of its residents. Ezekiel and his group sailed from nearby Hull on the ship "The John of London".  They landed first in Boston, and then sailed to Salem, where they sought permission from the General Court to start a new plantation.  In 1639, the plantation of Rowley was underway. Ezekiel, with most of his original settlers, was joined by about 40 more families in their undertaking.  



english origins

So how do Robert and John Hazeltine fit into this scenario?  Did they sail on the John or did they join up with Ezekiel after they arrived in Massachusetts? For starters, there is no ship manifest of passengers for "The John of London", so there is no way to prove they were on board. Their lives were rather ordinary, so nothing much is recorded about them. If they ever discussed where they were from, it was not written down.  There was, however, a family named Haseltine which lived in a village rather close to Rowley, Yorkshire, called Knedlington.  A Robert Haseltine of Knedlington had at least four sons baptized in the nearby Village of Holden, they were: Edward (6 Feb. 1608), Robert (2 Jan 1610,[1] John (23 Aug. 1612) and George (23 March 1613). These baptisms can be found in the Howden parish register. 

Robert Sr. is said to be the son of Edward Hesseltine, b. 2-22-1582.  He married Joanna Swanne of Gilberdyke at the parish church of Eastrington in 1609. I have not seen the documentation for these names and dates, but am hoping to find some kind of confirmation. WARNING:  This is in no way proof of any kind, it is only a possibility!

rowley, massachusetts
Anyway, Robert and John Hazeltine, whether on the John or not, arrived in Massachusetts by 1639 and are among the first settlers of the new plantation of Rowley. Robert and John were farmers and everyone knows that a farmer needs a wife. The first recorded marriage in the new town of Rowley was that of Robert Hazeltine and Ann Unknown. Thery were married on 23 October 1639.

Robert and John began the arduous task of clearing land for planting. The brothers were the first settlers, along with William Wild, to clear land along the Merrimack River by 1650. This became known as Rowley Village on the Merrimac and finally as an independent village called Bradford. John would eventually cross the river and finally settle in Haverhill, MA.

In 1652 the town of Rowley gave Robert, John and William Wild 40 acres of upland each and each was to have commons for 20 head of cattle to fence in if they wanted and 20 acres of meadow land. They were allowed to fell trees for pipe staves, firewood, timber to build houses and fences. They were given the right to keep swine. They would also be freed from paying taxes to the town for the space of seven years.  In return Robert, John and William would be in charge of the towns cattle herd.

bradford
When enough families had settled in Rowley Village, the settlers petitioned the General Court, asking to be incorporated into their own town. In 1668 the Court agreed to their petition provided they hire an orthodox minister and be able to pay his rate. The Bradford men seem to have already anticipated this and had hired their minister.  John Hazeltine had donated an acre of his land to be used for a meeting house.  At a town meeting in 1670 Robert Hazeltine and his son-in-law Benjamin Kimball were appointed to a committee charged with setting up and furnishing said meeting house. In 1671 Robert was given the authority to call and require men to work on the meeting house. A list of the first church members includes the names of Robert Hazeltine's family.


 court orders
Robert is mentioned several times in the records of the Essex Quarterly Court.  If you have never read the records, they are actually pretty entertaining.  Those naughty puritans! Anyway, Robert served on several juries, and was ordered to keep a ferry for crossing the river.  One case of interest, in which Robert was called as a witness, involved a man named Robert Swan.  The case is very confusing and involves a cow which is claimed by various men as their own.  Anyway, Robert Swan is asked why he did not go to "his cousins" the Hazeltines. This wording might mean anything or nothing, but it reinforces the idea of a connection with Yorkshire, as Robert's mother was supposedly Joanna Swanne.  A good deal of ancestry trees have Richard Swan of Rowley as coming from Gilberdyke.  Again, I have not seen any of the actual records which support this claim.


John Hazeltine married a few years after his brother, his wife was Joan Auter (Anter). In the book "Genealogical and Family History of the State of Maine", George Thomas Little, stated that Joan was from Biddeford, England.  She came as a servant to the Holman family.  Many family researchers have glommed onto the name Biddeford, which is in Devon. Many, many websites and ancestry tree say that the Hazelton's are from Biddeford, but if the evidence that they are from Howden is not enough to be called proof, then there is certainly nothing that I have seen that would lead me to believe that they were from Devon.

Parish Map showing Howden, Eastrington and Gilberdyke

This map shows the area where the Hazetines and the Swans are from.

Children of Robert and Ann Hazeltine

1. Anna b. 1 Feb 1640 Ipswich, m. 7 Nov 1660 Caleb Kimball, d. 9 April 1688

2. Mercy b. 16 Aug. 1642 Rowley, m. 16 Apr. 1660 Benjamin Kimball, d. 5 Jan 1707

3. David b. 1644 Rowley, m. 26 Sept. 1668 Mary Jewett, d. 31 Aug 1717 Bradford

4. Samuel b. 20 Dec 1645, m. Deborah cooper, d. 19 Aug 1717 Bradford

5. Mary b. 14 Dec 1646 d. 1647

6. Abraham b. 23 Mar 1648, m. 7 Oct 1669 Elizabeth Longhome, d. 28 Apr 1711 Bradford

7. Deliverance b. 25 Jan 1651, d. 14 May 1654

8. Elizabeth b. 15 Jan 1652, d. 18 May 1654

9. Deliverance b. 15 Jan 1653, m. 12 Dec 1672 Nathaniel Dane, d. 15 June 1735 Andover

10. Robert b. 7 Sep 1657, m. 21 Jul 1680 Elizabeth Jewett, d. 8 Mar 1728 Bradford

11. Gershom b. 31 Jan 1661 m. 23 Jun 1690 Abiah Dalton d. 16 Oct 1711

rip

Before they died, Robert and Ann buried three of their small children.  Robert died in Bradford on 27 Aug 1674 and Ann on 26 Aug 1684.  I have seen Ann's date of death attributed to Joanna Swanne Hazeltine.  I'm not sure why that is, but I do not believe that she left England.

Deliverance Hazeltine Dane
Isn't that a great name, Deliverance? Robert and Ann named two daughters this special name, the first one died as a young child on 14 May 1654 aged 3, her younger sister Elizabeth, aged 2 died four days later. As was their habit, Robert and Ann named the next daughter Deliverance. They had no more girls so there was no second Elizabeth.

Deliverance lived to adulthood and married Nathaniel Dane, son of Francis Dane. During the Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692, Deliverance was accused of Witchcraft. She was interrogated and confessed. She also implicated her father-in-law, Francis Dane, a Puritan Minister. He was not questioned and in fact was instrumental in the ending of the trials. Sadly, her testimony did not survive. Deliverence survived and died in 1735.

Deliverance Dane was featured in the novel, The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe. I've read this book and found it very enjoyable. It is a work fiction, so reader beware.

My Family Tree with links:
Robert Hazeltine - Ann Unknown

Benjamin Kimball - Mercy Hazeltine

Abraham Kimball - Mary Green

Mary Kimball - Edmund Chadwick

James Chadwick - Mary Thurston

Hannah Chadwick - Jonathan Blanchard

James Blanchard - Phebe Carter

Chloe Blanchard - Samuel Thornton

John C. Thornton - Jennie Clover Rowell

sources:

[1] "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JW6T-CYK : 11 February 2018, Robart Haseltine, 02 Jan 1610); citing , index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 0844553-555.

[2]  Yorkshire Marriages," database with images, Findmypast (https://www.findmypast.co.uk/ : accessed 28 January 2019), marriage entry image for Robet Hessletine and Joanna Swanne, 6 July 1606, Eastringham; East Riding Archives & Local Studies Service.

J. L. Ewell, The First Minster of Rowley, The Bay State Monthly, p.2-   September 1899

England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JW6T-CYK : accessed 20 May 2012), Robert Haseltine, 1610.

Kingsbury, J. D., A Memorial History of Bradford, Haverhill, MA, 1883

Roger Shaw of Cambridge, MA and Hampton, New Hampshire

A perusal of the web and website ancestrydotcom for the genealogy of Roger Shaw of Cambridge and Hampton, New New Hampshire reveals a mishmash of bad research or a complete lack of research and a lot of what I call "copy and paste" genealogy. Extensive and exhaustive research was done by Edgar Joseph Shaw which he compiled in his article "The English Origins of Roger and Ann Shaw of Cambridge, Massachusetts and Hampton, New Hampshire".  This article was published in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register in 2004. Many genealogies use the book "Shaw Records: A Memorial of Roger Shaw" by Harriette F. Farwell as the basis of their information.  This book is full of errors, some almost laughable. I especially love the claim that he received a grant of land from King Charles II on 15 November 1647. If you don't get it you'll have to look it up yourself. 

Gawsworth Parish Church, Photo by Colin Park

english origins
According to most family trees available on the internet Roger was born in London to a Ralph Shaw, past researchers used the fact that he was never again mentioned in any record in England as proof of his departure for New England. If he was in fact born in London in 1594 and arrived in Massachusetts in 1638, he lived 44 years in London with no records of marriage or children.  This seems unlikely to me and I would not think it compelling evidence that this was Roger the immigrant.

According to the research done by Edgar J. Shaw, Roger Shaw was born in Cheshire, England around the village of Congleton in about the year 1600. The parish register at St. James Church in Gawsworth list the baptisms of Roger Shaw's first children. The mother was not mentioned. The entries for the baptism of Margaret, Mary, Ann and Joseph can be found in a search of the Family Search website.

I found this interesting bit about Congleton on Wikipedia:  During the Civil War, former Congleton mayor and lawyer, John Bradshaw, became president of the court which sent Charles I to be beheaded in 1649. His signature as Attorney General was the first on the king's death warrant. There is a plaque commemorating him on Bradshaw House in Lawton Street. Almost opposite the town hall, the White Lion public house bears a blue plaque, placed by the Congleton Civic Society, which reads: "The White Lion, built 16th-17th century. Said to have housed the attorney's office where John Bradshaw, regicide, served his articles.




parents
In his article Shaw also discusses his research into the parents of Roger Shaw.  Based on a search of the probate records found in the Archdeconary Court of Chester, he was able to pinpoint the parents of Roger to Roger and Margery Shaw of Astbury and Hulme Walfield, and also identify a brother, Humphrey. In his will, Roger Sr. left his estate to his two sons, Roger and Humphrey, and in Humphrey's will of 1652 he left the land he bought of his brother Roger Shaw to one of his sons. However, when compared with parish records, it becomes clear that were two men named Roger Shaw who lived as close neighbors, one in Congleton and one in Gawsworth. Our Roger is the one from Gawsworth and his parents are unknown.

arrival in america
Roger and his family arrived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony sometime prior to the fourth month of 1638 when his daughter Ester's birth was recorded at Cambridge, Massachusetts. On 14 March 1638/9 he was made a Freeman of the Colony, which meant he had also become a member of the Church. Roger jumped right into the running of the town and the new Colony, then less than ten years old.  He was a selectman for Cambridge in 1641,42,44, and 45. Roger was chosen Cambridge Town Clerk in 1642. According to the book the History of Cambridge "he bought a house and land on the southerly side of Arrow Street".  Arrow Street still exists in Cambridge.

The Cooper Frost Austin house, oldest in Cambridge, MA

His daughter Mary, born in Gawsworth, died in Cambridge in 1639, but another daughter Mary was born in 1645. Roger's wife Ann died sometime after this birth and his remove to Hampton where Roger was assigned a seat in the meeting house and no wife was named, but a seat was saved for a future Mrs. Shaw.

 Roger's name crops up occasionally in the Records of both the General Court of the Colony and the Quarterly Courts of Essex County. the first mention of Roger Shaw in the General Court's records was in 1639 when he was a juror in the trial of Marmaduke Percy, who was accused of beating his apprentice to death. Marmaduke got off, apparently the poor boy deserved the beating.  hampton

On 15 Nov 1647 (the date from earlier in the article) Roger bought an estate in the town of Hampton from John Crosse, Sr. for 101.15 pounds. The estate included houses, grounds, marsh, meadow, swamp, upland and commonage. Roger was not one of the original petitioners for the formation of the plantation of Hampton. That petition was presented to the General Court on 6 September 1638 and headed by the Reverend Stephen Bachiler.

As he did in Cambridge, John was immediately active in service to the town of Hampton. He served as Deputy to the General Court, as Constable, he was appointed to end small causes, and served on both petit jury and the grand jury. It is also widely stated that Roger was given permission by the General Court to operate an "Ordinary" in Hampton.  An ordinary was where you sold alcohol. I have read through all the records of the General Court and the Quarterly Courts and cannot find any mention of this action.  The fact that he was supposed to be operating an ordinary was given as further proof that he was the Roger Shaw of London, son of Ralph, who was a vintner.


brief remarriage

In 1653 Roger remarried to Susanna, widow of William Tilton.  In a prenuptial agreement, he agreed to take care of her sons by her first husband.  Unfortunately, she died the following year. Roger did not marry again. He died in Hampton on 29 May 1661.



Roger and Ann Shaw had the following children:

Margaret bp. Gawsworth, Cheshire, 4 July 1626, d. Hampton 15 April 1704, m. Thomas Ward

Mary bp. Gawsworth 8 Nov. 1629, d. Cambridge 26 Jan 1639/40

Ann bp. Gawsworth 22 April 1632, d. Hampton 1663 m. Samuel Fogg

Joseph bp. Gawsworth 12 Nov 1635 d. Hampton 8 Nov. 1720 age 85

Ester b. Cambridge 1638 d. after Aug 1660, named in her father's will of that date

Benjamin b. Cambridge July 1641 d. Hampton Dec. 1717

Mary b. Cambridge 1645 d. 1668 m. Thomas Parker

Joseph married Elizabeth Partridge daughter of William and Ann Spicer Partridge.


If you think I have made any errors in this article, please comment and let me know, especially the bit about Roger running an ordinary. 










Sources:
Harriette Favoretta Farwell, Shaw Records, 1903

Edgar Joseph Shaw, " The English Origins of Roger and Ann Shaw of Cambridge Massachusetts and Hampton, New Hampshire", The Register, October 2004, pp. 309-316

"England,Cheshire Bishop's Transcripts, 1598-1900," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/N4RG-L9Z : accessed 12 May 2012), Joseph Shaw, 1635.

Lucius Robinson Page, History of Cambridge, Massachusetts. 1630-1877: With a Genealogical Register, Boston 1877

Alan Rodgers, Murder and the Death Penalty in Massachusetts, 2008, p. 8

Ancestry.com