John Hathaway

1629-1705

By: Bob Alford 2010

John Hathaway was born in 1629 in England, probably in London. He was the son of Nicolas Hathaway, a successful brewer who came to Massachusetts in the late 1630s with his son, and possibly two other family members. It is uncertain exactly when Nicolas and John came to the new world. Some genealogies put it as early as 1635, but the earliest record of them is from February 24, 1639 when Nicolas was granted 36 acres of land at Monaticott, Mount Woollystone, which is now part of Braintree. There are also records indicating that he bought land in the Boston area around the same time.

In the records 40 there is the following:

“At a meeting February 24, 1639, there was granted to Nicolas Hathaway of Monaticott, at Mount Woollystone, a lott there for 4 heads, and 20 acres more, there being in all 36 acres, upon the same covenant of 3 shillings per acre.”

The land grant mentions four people. We not know who the other two were. There are some claims that they were two other sons, Jacob and Joseph. There is also a possibility that they were Nicolas’s wife and his daughter Elizabeth. None of them, including John (who was a minor) are mentioned in any records from the period.

Many genealogies confuse our John Hathaway with a John Hathaway that migrated to America in 1635 at the age of seventeen. They were not the same person.

Shortly after they came to America the town of Taunton was founded about 40 miles south of Boston and 25 miles west of Plymouth. The town was official incorporated in 1639, and Nicholas Hathaway is on a list of “First Settlers”. His name appears frequently in the town’s historical records prior to 1643 in regards to land transactions, indicating he became an extensive land owner.

Nicolas’s name is not included in the militia list of 1643, which comprised all able to bear arms between the ages of 16 and 60. This has led some to believe that he died prior to 1643, but there is no proof of that. From the amount of land he owned he appears to have been quite wealthy and probably brought that wealth with him from England. We know that Nicolas was a successful business man in London as a brewer. We also know that era was a time of great unrest in England. It is quite possible that Nicolas came to America with his son to protect his wealth by investing in land in Massachusetts, which he certainly did.

It is pure speculation, but he may have returned to England prior to the 1643 Militia List. Regardless of whether Nicolas had died or returned to London, where was John? We do not know. He was only 14 in 1643 so his name would not be on the list. He may have returned to England with his father and returned later or he may have stayed in Taunton. (See the biography of Nicolas Hathaway for further details/speculation on what happened after 1643.)

The story of John Hathaway is very much tied to the story of Taunton. His father was an original settler, but it was John who really settled there as a young man and became an important player in the development of the community.

In 1649 he was in Taunton. We have a record that on 20 October 1649 John Hathaway of Taunton was presented at Plymouth General Court for lending a gun to an Indian. He was cleared with an admonition.

That same year twenty year old John married his first wife Martha in nearby Freetown. It is usually reported that she was the same age as John, and was the daughter of John Shepard and Frances Kingston. There is however a question of her ancestry and if her maiden name was really Shepard.

William Shepard was a fellow resident of Taunton. The March 1664 Plymouth Colony Records Archives Book (page 38) contains an entry where Will Shepard of Taunton, shoemaker, empowered "my loving brother John Hathaway of Taunton husbandman to take Care of all that I, William Shepard, have within Taunton or elsewhere in the sovereign King Charles Dominions and to dispose anything that I have for the best advantage of me and my Children." If Shepard should die then Hathaway was to divide all the property equally among Shepard's children, except that his eldest son Samuel should have a double portion of the lands, which was the custom of the time. The document makes no mention of Shepard's wife; the omission suggests though it does not prove, that she had already died.

This document, especially the phrase “my loving brother John Hathaway” is taken by many to indicate that Martha was William Shepard’s sister and therefore a “Shepard”. This is probably not true. It is believed that William Shepard was the son of John Shepard of Towcester England. The will of John Shepard of Towcester refers to his oldest son William as being “now in New England”. It goes on to list seven children, but there is no Martha among them. On April 11, 1936 an article was published in the Boston Transcript concluding from this Martha was not a Shepard. It proposed instead that William Shepard was married to a sister of John Hathaway. Some genealogies have gone so far to list Elizabeth Hathaway as William’s wife. Elizabeth was in fact John’s sister as evidenced by documents in England relative to Nicolas Hathaway, John’s father (see biography of Nicolas Hathaway on our web site.) There is however, no evidence that this Elizabeth ever traveled to the new world.

This is one of the many mysteries from colonial times that will probably never be completely resolved. It is of passing interest, but of little consequence. For our purposes we will refer to her as Martha Hathaway since we know for a fact that she was John Hathaway’s first wife.

John and Martha had seven children:

1. John Jr. was born August 16, 1650 in Freetown. He married Hanna Burt. They had ten children. John Jr. is our ancestor. His biography is available from our web site.

2. Abraham was born September 11, 1652 in Taunton. He died August 23, 1725. He married Rebecca Wilbore August 28, 1684. They had nine children.

3. Isaac was born in 1655 in Taunton. He died December 17, 1722 in Berkley, MA. He married Mary Pitts March 17, 1686 in Taunton. They had three children.

4. Ephraim was born December 8, 1661 in Taunton. He died December 20, 1716. He married Elizabeth Talbot. They had eleven children.

5. Elizabeth wax born about 1662 in Taunton. 6. Rebecca was born about 1665 in Taunton. She died

December 31, 1742. She married Jared Talbot. 7. Abigail born about 1667 in Taunton. She married James Phillips.

As can be seen from this summary, by the third generation this family had already grown quite large. Today, most Hathaways in America, and those that have Hathaway ancestors, are descended from this family.

Inheriting the land belonging to his father, and adding to his holdings through purchases and at least one grant, John became a prosperous land holder and a prominent citizen of Taunton, MA. He lived in what was called “The Farms”, which is now part of Berkley, MA.

In 1657, at the age of 28, he officially took the oath of fidelity in Taunton. This was an important step in colonial times where a young man swore his allegiance to the colony and became a full-fledged member of the community with all of the appropriate rights and privileges.

In 1658 he purchased, with 2 associates (Edward Bobet and Timothy Holloway), for the sum of 152 pounds, 400 acres of 'meadow and upland' in Taunton which afterwards became incorporated as the town of Berkley. A transcription of the deed is available from our web site. It demonstrates that lawyers could produce very complex documents for very simple transactions, even in 1658!

When a town was settled it obtained its charter from Plymouth Colony. After the initial settlement of Taunton was built, the inhabitants insisted they needed more land and appealed to the court for “the meadow lands.” Some of these lands were granted and became part of the town, but that was not enough. On June 2, 1646 the town was granted the right to purchase more land. Most of the land was then purchased from the owners, which was often the Indians. This pattern continued with the town acquiring additional blocks of land through the late 1600s.

When blocks were purchased the townspeople had to determine how the land would be divided. The town would appoint a committee to do this work. John often served on these committees.

In 1659 Taunton produced a “Rates List” dividing a block of land. In this case each person was granted two acres per head (the size of the household including children), two acres for the lot (free) and 2 acres per shilling paid to the town. All of the lots were large by today’s standards as these were farmers who had to make their living from the land. On the 1659 list the smallest lot is 9 acres and the largest is 96 acres. The average size is around 30 acres. John Hathaway was granted 37 acres in this division.

There is something very curious about this particular document in regards to John Hathaway. It lists his family as having seven heads, yet in 1659 only three of his children had been born. This seems to indicate that there were two additional people in his household, or there is an error in the dating somewhere. Is it possible that these other two “heads” were Nicolas and his wife returned from England to live out their lives with their son? Does this seem too farfetched? Maybe, but it is possible. This is another little mystery to which we will probably never know the answer.

The division of the lands and the granting of rights were not without controversy. Complaints about the grants resulted in a committee of ten being appointed to resolve the issues and clarify the rights. The decisions of the committee had to be voted on by the townspeople. Sometimes the decision on a particular lot was to change or modify the grant, and sometimes it was to reaffirm the original owner’s rights. In one such document, approved by the townspeople in 1680, John Hathaway is reaffirmed as the rightful owner of all the land originally owned by his father, Nicolas.

On June 20th, 1675 war broke out between the colonists 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. The town of Taunton and all its residents, including John Hathaway and his family, were right on the front line.

We do not know for certain that the Hathaways moved into town to take refuge, but it is highly likely that they did. John’s business partner and friend Edward Bobet did. This is from the Babbitt (modern spelling) Family History compiled almost a century ago:

“Finally their position became too dangerous to admit of further delay and being warned of the commencement of hostilities, on June 25, 1675, they took refuge in the garrison at Taunton, leaving behind the home which had been the fruit of so much labor in the wilderness. We must depend upon tradition for the account of Edward Bobet's last hours. This tradition has been so faithfully handed down from generation to generation and seems so fully confirmed by his place of burial that there is no reason to disbelieve it. According to this tradition Bobet returned to his house to secure some necessary article—perhaps the cheese hoop, as the story says: he was accompanied by his dog in the thought that perhaps warning of prowling savages would be given by it. He secured the needed article and was on his way back to the fort when he became aware of his pursuit by Indians; he climbed a tree and was effectually hidden, but his faithful dog disclosed his presence and his life was the forfeit of his hazardous adventure. His grave is in a private yard, near Berkley Bridge, and is thought to be the spot where he was killed. The spot was marked by a bronze Memorial Tablet in 1911—its cost being defrayed by small contributions from his descendants, from all over the United States and Canada. “When he failed to return to the fort the searching party probably buried his mutilated body where it was found and later the old headstone was placed there, which is now in Historical Hall, it having been taken away from the grave in after years and placed on a stone wall nearby.”

In colonial times all able bodied men between the ages of 16 and 65 who were capable of carrying a weapon were considered to be available for the militia and all were trained in the use of firearms. The town had to defend itself until help arrived. The colony did not hesitate to act. A letter was sent from Swansey to the Massachusetts Colony for aid. It was responded to the same day with assurance of immediate assistance.

From the Connecticut Archives, War Documents Vol. I. Doc. 5: Boston July 5"" 1675 Honorable Genf By our former dat. the 3rd of this instant wee gave you a brief account of the late outbreaking of the Indians in the Plimouth Colony at Swanzie and since wee received the enclosed declaring the deplorable condition of those at Taunton in the same Colony wee have at their request accomodated them with ammunition and men, ie. ab' SO troopers furnished with carbines & small musketts ab' 100 dragoones & ab' 100 foote soldjers so that with tlieir attendance for waggons whole may be neere 400 men also two vessells well fitted with men provisions & ammunition we have sent ab"- the Cape to accomodate all their necessityes so far as wee could judge necessary,

The remainder of the letter discusses the affairs of the United Colonies relating to the arming and management of the Indians not yet engaged with Philip, and is signed by Edward Rawson, Sec'y, on behalf of the Court. Plymouth, Massachusetts and Connecticut colonies all supplied troops for the early part of the war. Swansay and Taunton were not required to supply troops (other than volunteers) because they were on the front line and billeted troops for the battles. The men were needed to protect their homes and their families and to provide a defense in case of attack. Some family genealogies claim that John fought as part of the militia in King Philips war and was in fact an Ensign. There is a very clear record of his son Abraham serving in the military under Captain Daniel Henchman, but I cannot find any war records for John or any of his other sons. I suspect they fought in defense of Taunton and were part of the Taunton militia, but were not part of the formal military forces. The first record of Abraham’s service is in a ledger dated August 20, 1675. This makes sense. John Hathaway senior was a leader of the town with a sizable family. John Junior was married and living with his wife in Freetown. Abraham was 23, single, and ideally suited for military service. The war spread and the Indians won many victories and caused a lot of damage. This 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, Philip was shot and killed by an Indian named John Alderman, who fought on the side of the colonies. His body was beheaded and 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 begun.

With the war ended the Hathaway’s could return to their homestead in the farms section of Taunton. The picture of John Hathaway’s home on the right was taken in the late 1800’s

In the 1889 the historical society of Taunton put up the iron marker in the picture on the right marking the Hathaway Homestead. At the end of the war Abraham returned to Taunton and his parent’s home. He married Rebecca Wilbore on August 28, 1684 in Taunton. He served for 35 years as the Town Clerk of Taunton and has been recognized as “One of the finest penmen of Colonial New England.” In 1672, prior to the start of King Phillip’s War, two sections of land, sometimes referred to as the “South Purchase of old Taunton”, were purchased from the Indians for 43 pounds and 147 pounds. After the war ended it came under the control of a committee. On December 30, 1684, the committee chose John Richmond and John Hathaway “to see this writing signed, sealed and delivered before a magistrate.” Soon after, a settlement began to form with the settlers coming primarily from Taunton. One of the earliest settlers was Jared Talbot who married Rebecca Hathaway, John’s sixth child. Also among the first settlers were Abraham Hathaway, John’s second child, and Ephraim Hathaway, John’s fourth child.

On October 11, 1706 a group of residents of the South Precinct of Old Taunton signed a petition to separate from Taunton to form a new town. Jared Talbot (Rebecca’s husband), Abraham Hathaway, Isaac Hathaway, and Ephraim were all signers of this document. This was quite controversial, and caused considerable debate. In 1712 the petitioners prevailed and the area was incorporated as Dighton, Massachusetts. John played a prominent role in Taunton in the 1680’s as evidence by the town records. Town boundaries and land holdings were in dispute, especially with neighboring towns, and the townspeople wanted written confirmation from Governor Bradford as to the validity of their claims. The following are from the Taunton town records:

“This 8th of January, 1883. The town hath by vote chosen John Hathaway, senior and John Richmond to go abroad to procure evidence for strengthening and further confirmation of our township.”

-and-

“This 6th day of July, 1685 The Town hath voted and agreed to choose two men to send to the Court at Plymouth to do their best endeavor to procure the confirmation of our township as it is already drawn up by selectman and by some others. The men chosen is(sic) John Hathaway, senior and Thomas Leonard.”

There are many other entries in the town records that mention John Hathaway. Suffice it to say that he remained one of the town fathers and a prominent figure in Taunton all of his life. At various times he served as the town constable, a position of great importance and power in colonial times, and as Taunton’s representative to the General Court in Plymouth.

Sometime between 1683 and 1692 (some reports say 1685 but that is unsubstantiated), John’s wife Martha Hathaway died. On December 25, 1692, John married Ruth Dyer, widow of Christopher Dyer, at the First Church of Braintree in Braintree, MA. They lived in Taunton, and there are several deeds signed by John and Ruth between 1694 and 1704. Ruth died September 10, 1705 at the age of 62. John died that same year at age 76. They are both buried at Fox Cemetery in Berkeley, MA, which was part of old Taunton.

http://image1.findagrave.com/photos/2010/106/51256877_127154712701.jpg

The Legend of the Iron Men

There is a story that is repeated over and over in various genealogies, both on the Internet and in books, that the early Hathaways of Taunton, including John and his sons, were Iron Men. The way the story is usually told; in 1695 John built and operated an Iron Works called the Chantley Iron Works. He passed this on to his son John who in turn passed it to his sons. This is embellished to various degrees in different tellings. The problem is that it is not true. [Note: This story is NOT in Hathaways of America, which is generally considered the best and most accurate Hathaway Genealogy.]

There are a few things about this legend that do not pass the smell test. First, in 1695 John was 66 years old. He was a wealthy land owner, a leader of the community, and heavily involved in Plymouth Colony as well as Taunton Town politics. Why would such a man suddenly become an Iron Works operator?

A little research into the Chantley Iron Works reveals that it did exist and was built in 1695, but by Thomas and James Leonard, who were long time Iron Men and who owned the Taunton Iron Works. So where did John come in? He was one of many who deeded land to Thomas and James Leonard for the project.

From the New England Historical and Genealogical Registry Volume 38:

To add fuel to the legend, John Hathaway, Jr., also a very wealthy land owner, invested in another Iron Works in Freetown in

1704. This was an investment. It is widely reported that he gave the Chartley Iron Works to two of his sons in his will. It is most

likely this investment that he willed to his heirs, not the Chantley Iron Works, since he did not own that. He did not own and

operate any Iron Works, and contrary to some reports the Hathaways were not “Iron Men”.

“June 14, 1704, articles of agreement were signed by James Tisdale Sr., John Paul, Edward Bobbet, Abraham

Hathaway, Edward Paul, Malachi Holloway, James Tinsdale Jr., John Spur, John Burt, Joseph Dean, Nathaniel

Holloway, Timothy Holloway, Albert Burt, John Wilbur, and William Phillips of Taunton, and by Josiah

Winslow, Benjamin Chase, and John Hathaway of Freetown to build some iron works on the land of Nathanial

Winslow of Freetown. The iron was to be obtained upon land in Taunton called the “Red Weed Land” which

was owned by Able Burt. The company was to pay Burt but two shillings a ton for the iron as it lay on the

ground, until they 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.”

John Hathaway – A confused genealogy record

Genealogy is an imperfect record of our ancestors. It is made far worse by incorrect information that creeps into the writings of genealogies and gets copied from one to another. The Internet, and the widespread activity by many people interested in their own genealogy and reporting it via the web, has greatly amplified the problem, but it did not start with them. Many older publications contain errors, and if these errors result in interesting, but false stories based on misinterpretations or educated guesses reported as facts, they tend to be picked up and reprinted over and over, sometimes being falsely embellished along the way.

Information obtained from old books, or other peoples web sites, is useful, but must be validated, or at least considered to determine if the claim is even plausible. Modern Internet databases like Ancestory.com and the LDS database are notoriously bad. They are open for people to add their own information, which is good, but a lot of the information added is simply not true. The LDS database for example contains many bad entries made by well meaning contributors. I have found entries where generations are confused such that a couple is credited with having children long after they are dead, the children of course really belonging to a descendent or a different couple with similar names.

Gross errors in dates are easy to detect, but more subtle errors that grew out of false assumptions or embellishments of facts to the point of fiction, are more difficult. I have seen such errors in all of my ancestral lines and have done my best to filter them out by checking back to official records or at least sources that actually quote official records, but I am sure that I too have been guilty of passing on information that someday will prove to be false.

In no other ancestor have I found as many confused reports and bad data as in the history of John Hathaway. It may be because so many people are descended from him that there is a high level of interest, that so many people copy bad information. For example:

1. Many genealogies report that he came to America in 1635 and that he was 17 years old at the time. They are confusing him with another John Hathaway, whose line has died out. This problem goes back to books written in the late 1800’s but it has found itself onto many web sites.

2. There is a widely quoted claim that in 1690 John and his sons fought in King Phillips war and that he was an ensign. The problem with this report is that King Philip’s War took place in 1675. I do not know the origin of this particular claim, but it precedes the Internet by many years. It has been copied over and over without any of the people reporting it even checking to see when King Philip’s war took place.

3. There is the famous debate of the maiden name of Martha Hathaway. Many years ago an assumption was made that she was a Shepard. This had been discredited by the 1930’s, yet many web sites make this claim today.

4. Finally there is the Legend of the Iron Men described in the previous section.

These are but a few examples. John Hathaway was a pioneer who came to America as a young boy and left a huge footprint on his new homeland. He was a wealthy land owner and a prominent citizen of Taunton. He was active in local and colony politics and was very influential in his community. His story is interesting and one could spend far more time researching him and telling about it than I have done here. Unfortunately most descendents seem satisfied just reporting the dates he was born, married and died (sometimes incorrectly) and copying a few unverified claims that others have made. I hope someday someone will really research the life of John Hathaway and his children and produce a definitive work on this prominent colonial family. I am sure the truth will be very interesting.

The Times of the Life of John Hathaway

He was born in England in an age of Kings where King Charles I had disbanded Parliament and was ruling England with an iron

fist. With Civil war on the horizon has father immigrated with his ten year old son, and probably two other family members, to

the new world. By 1642 he was in Taunton where his father became a first settler of the town and a wealthy land owner.

This was still early colonial times and Taunton, where he lived his life, was part of Plymouth Colony. During his lifetime the

colonies grew from a few small settlements to a population of over 250,000. This growth was not without pain and conflict,

between the settlers and the native Indians, between various groups of settlers over territorial claims, and between the colonists

and various factions in Europe.

In 1675 war came to John’s home town when the Indians attacked first Swansea and then Taunton in what was to become King

Philip’s War, and Indian uprising that killed thousands. War came again in 1690 when King William’s, a war between England

and Spain over new world territory and resources was fought primarily in the colonies.

In Europe this was an era of war and strife, which drove the mass migration to the new world. This was also the time of Galileo,

and later Sir Isaac Newton, who, along with their fellow scientists of the age, advanced our understanding of the world in which

we live far more that at any previous time in history.

Unlike the common perception of the typical colonist being a very poor, struggling settler in a foreign land, John Hathaway was

quite wealthy and became even wealthier through his investments. He was a very well respected and powerful individual, who

was very influential in local as well as Plymouth Colony politics. He left a very large footprint in his time, and he raised a large

family who in turn had great influence and wealth of their own.

This is not to imply they lived in the lap of luxury. There was little luxury in colonial days. It is hard for us to imagine a life in

Massachusetts at that time with few roads and no modern conveniences where everything had to be grown and constructed

locally; where there was a constant threat of attack from the native tribes; and where the decisions made by a King in a far away

land could have far reaching impact on our lives with us having no say in the matter and no recourse. Yet he and his family not

only survived, they thrived and established the Hathaway family in America.

“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, 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, migrated to America, 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.