Mary Ann SPARKS GIBSON

Devin Ferguson found this picture of Mary Ann SPARKS GIBSON in the St. George, UT "Daughters of the Utah Pioneers Museum." There are many of her grandchildren and step grandchildren who will be thrilled to finally see a picture of this amazing women.

Mary Ann SPARKS GIBSON (1802-1871) daughter of Josiah SPARKS and Lydia TOLLISON.
First wife of George Washington GIBSON (1800-1871) son of Robert GIBSON and Mary EVANS.

They were both born in Union County, South Carolina and in 1822 were married there.
Mother of 11 children: Mary Densia GIBSON NEW, Robert Malek GIBSON, Lydia Ardelicia GIBSON HUNT, Robert Pulaski GIBSON, William Washington GIBSON, Francis Abigail GIBSON, William Gilbert GIBSON, Laura Arrilla GIBSON ANDRUS, Moses Washington GIBSON, Manomas Levina GIBSON ANDRUS, Joseph Smith GIBSON.

They joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mississippi and entered the Salt Lake Valley with the Pueblo / Mississippi Saints in July 1847. Settling in Cottonwood/Holladay then moving to the Dixie Mission. Where they both died at Duncan Retreat, UT and are buried in Grafton.

As time permits I will add photos of their children.

Grandma, Granddaughters and Great Grandsons

Dinner with Grandma

By BR

"We went to have dinner with my grandma last night. She is usually in Washington, but in Salt Lake for the summer. She will be 90 next month." "Reuben is named after her dad (and son). So, she told Reuben a bit about her dad. He drove a truck for the state. He would walk two miles to town, to get the truck. Drive it all day, then walk the two miles back home. He had a large family and had to do what he had to. And the state was paying then." "Jordan asked her if she wore fingernail polish, (because my nails were looking good). And yes she did. She was a beautician. Her cousin went to beauty school and came home with romantic stories so she and her sister went. When asked if she liked it, she said, 'I guess. I didn't know any better." She said, "I wasn't very imaginative. Someone would tell me they did something, and I'd decide to do it.'" "This is a very telling statement about my Grandma. She has great ability. She can see something, decide to do it, and then do it--successfully. She might not think she was imaginative, but she has great ability. Not everyone can decide to do whatever they see and then do it..." (Borrowed family post, thanks.)

Happy Father's Day

1 John 4:7-8 Beloved, let us ^alove one another: for ^blove is of God;

and every one that loveth is ^cborn of God, and knoweth God.

He that loveth not ^aknoweth not God; for God is love.

William, William and William CARPENTER

Description = Bevis Passenger list England to America in 1638 AD

Three Grandfathers (son, father, grandfather) all William Carpenter and One Grandmother (Abigail Briant Carpenter) Arrive Together on the Ship Bevis 1638

Ancestry Chain: 11th great-grandfather William CARPENTER Immigant b.1576, 10th great-grandfather William CARPENTER Immigant b.1605, 9th great-grandfather William CARPENTER Immigant b.1631, Daniel CARPENTER b.1669, Eleazer CARPENTER b.1704, Elihu CARPENTER b.1752, Betsy CARPENTER b.1788, Adaline RAWSON b.1811, Mary DUNN b.1833, Harriett Camilla ENSIGN b.1859, George Ensign SMITH b.1898, Camilla SMITH b.1926, Lark JR.

The Rehoboth Carpenter family is an American family that helped settle the town of Rehoboth, Massachusetts in 1644.^[1]

The first immigrant and founder of this line was William Carpenter (generation 1) (b. c1575 in England), his namesake son, William Carpenter (Generation 2) (c1605 in EnglandBevis from Southampton, England, in 1638. William Carpenter (Gen. 2) and the son's wife and children (then numbering four) arrived on the arrived on the Bevis from Southampton, England, in 1638. Nothing more is known of the father, William, in Massachusetts and he is presumed to have perished either in passage, shortly after arriving in the new world or, less likely he returned to England. William Carpenter (Gen. 2) is buried in the Newman Congregational Church Cemetery with a simple field stone marked with a "W. C.".

William Carpenter, (Gen. 2) first appears in New England records in 1640, as a resident of Weymouth, Massachusetts. He was among the founders (at Weymouth in late 1643) of the Plymouth Colony town of Rehoboth (settled 1644). His son, William (Gen. 3) Carpenter (b. 1631 in England - 1702/3 Rehoboth, Bristol, MA), was for many years Rehoboth town clerk, by virtue of which his name—not that of his father—appears with some frequency in Plymouth Colony records, in association with a number of local vital-records lists that he certified and forwarded to colony authorities. The name William Carpenter appears in copious Plymouth Colony records and in the writings of John Winthrop and in other public records over the generations.

Three Carpenter family houses in Rehoboth are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places: Christopher Carpenter House, Col. Thomas Carpenter III House, and Carpenter House.

William Carpenter (Gen. 1) born about 1575 in England. He died after 2 May 1638 (Bevis passenger list) and certainly before 1644 when his son, William settled in Rehoboth. He was of Newtown, Shalbourne Parish, Wiltshire, England, by 1608, when he became a copyholder (semipermanent leaseholder) at Westcourt Manor (Westcourt Recs 7). Shalbourne, completely in Wiltshire since 1895, previously it straddled the line separating Wiltshire and Berkshire, with Westcourt comprising the Wiltshire part of the parish (Shalbourne Map); the Hampshire border was/is about four miles away. It is likely that William was born in one of these three counties. William's renewal of his Westcourt tenancy on 22 June 1614 gives his age as 40 (Westcourt Recs 7). The passenger list of the Bevis, the ship on which he left England, is dated 2 May 1638 and states William's age as 62 leading to an estimate of about 1575 for his birth.

His son William Carpenter (Gen. 2) was born about 1605 in or of Wiltshire, England. He died 7 February 1658/1659 in Rehoboth, Bristol, MA. He married Abigail Briant, daughter of John & Alice, on 28 April 1625 in Shalbourne Parish, Berkshire, now in, Wiltshire, England.

Their children:

1. John Carpenter - Christened 8 Oct.1626 in Shalborne Parish - Bevis passenger
2. Abigail Carpenter - Chr. 31 May 1629 in Shalborne Parish - Bevis passenger
3. William Carpenter (Gen. 3) - Chr. 22 Nov. 1631 in Shalborne Parish - Bevis Passenger
4. Joseph Carpenter - Chr. 6 Apr. 1634 in Shalborne Parish - Bevis Passenger
5. Samuel Carpenter - Chr. 1 Mar 1636/1637 d. 20 Apr 1637 both in Shalbourne Parish.
6. Samuel Carpenter - b. abt. 1638 of, Weymouth, Norfolk, MA - his mother was probably pregnant on the Bevis
7. Hannah Carpenter - b. 3 Apr. 1640 Weymouth, Norfolk, MA
8. Abiah Carpenter - b. 9 Apr. 1643 of, Weymouth, Norfolk, MA

(Wikipedia)

Ship BEVIS - DESTINATION: Weymouth 1638

Name	Age	Occupation
Carpenter, William	62	carpenter, of Wherwell (listed "Horwell"cit.3), county Hampshire
Carpenter, William, Jr	33	carpenter, of Wherwell, county Hampshire
(wife) Carpenter, Abigail	32	(Maiden Name: Briant*; listed "Abigael"cit.3)
(child) Carpenter	-	under 10 (John*)
(child) Carpenter	-	under 10 (Abigail*)
(child) Carpenter	-	under 10 (William*)
(child) Carpenter	-	under 10 (Joseph*)
Banshott, Thomas	14	(Carpenter servant)

Thomas PRENCE 4th, 8th & 12th Governor of Plymouth Colony

Thomas Prence House Eastam, Barnstable County, Massachusetts. Built 1646. Demolished.

Thomas Prence Governor of Plymouth

Thomas Prence (1599 – March 29, 1673) was a co-founder of Eastham, Massachusetts, a political leader in both the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies, and governor of Plymouth (1634, 1638, and 1657 - 1673).

Early Life:
Thomas Prence was born in 1599 at Lechlade, Gloucestershire, England a son of Thomas Prence and Elizabeth Tolderby. Thomas emigrated to America in 1621 on the ship Fortune, arriving in Plymouth on November 9, 1621, just a few days after the first Thanksgiving.

A chair belonging to Thomas which now resides in the Pilgrim Hall Museum.
75 Court Street (Route 3A), Plymouth, Massachusetts 02360

Marriage and Family:
Prence married three times. He married as his first wife on August 5, 1624 at Plymouth, Plymouth County, Massachusetts (the ninth marriage recorded in the colony), Patience Brewster, a passenger on the Anne which arrived in Plymouth in 1623. She was born circa 1600 probably in Scrooby a small village, where her father was born, in the northern part of the English county of Nottinghamshire and died before December 12, 1634 in Plymouth, Massachusetts, of a "pestilent fever." She was a daughter of Elder William Brewster, (c. 1567 - April 10, 1644), the Pilgrim leader and spiritual elder of the Plymouth Colony and a passenger on the Mayflower.

Thomas and Patience had four children: Thomas Jr., Rebecca, Mercy, and Hannah. Rebecca married first Edmund Freeman, Jr. the son of Edmund Freeman and had two children. Rebecca married second Capt. John PUTMAN they had ten children. She died in Sandwich, Massachusetts. Mercy married John Freeman, had eleven children, and settled in Eastham, Massachusetts. Hannah married Nathaniel Mayo, had six children, and died in Eastham.

Prence next married on April 1, 1635 in Plymouth, Massachusetts, Mary Collier, bapt. in 1612 at St Olave's Church, in the parish of Southwark St Olave, an area of south-east London, now the London Borough of Southwark, England and died before December 1662 in Plymouth, Massachusetts. She was a daughter of Jane (____) Clark and William Collier, one of the investors, or Merchant Adventurers, and an initial shareholder in the Plymouth Plantation. She was the sister of Sarah Collier, the wife of Love Brewster, a passenger on the Mayflower and the son of Elder William Brewster.

They were the parents of five children: Mary Prence, Jane Prence, Elizabeth Prence, Sarah Prence, Judith Prence. Jane Prence (November 1, 1637 - 1712) married Mark Snow the son of Nicholas Snow and Constance Hopkins, a daughter of Stephen Hopkins (born about 1582 – 1644), a tanner and merchant who was one of the passengers on the Mayflower in 1620, settling in Plymouth Colony.

Lastly, Prence married Apphia Quicke in December, 1662. It is unknown if they had any children.

COMMENTS: For many years it was believed that Prence had married only three times and that his last wife was "Mary" Freeman, but this was straightened out in 1904 by Ella Florence Elliott, who divided the erroneous construct into its proper wholes, revealing divorcee Apphia Freeman and widow Mary Howes as Prence's last two of four wives.

Career
He was allowed to join with Bradford, Allerton and Standish as a member of the Trade Monopoly. Later, in 1644, he and several other prominent families left Plymouth for better land and founded the community of Eastham, Massachusetts. He became governor of Plymouth, for the first time, in 1634; he was elected again in 1638 and served from 1657 to 1673. After the death of Governor Bradford in 1653, he became the leader of the Plymouth Colony serving in that capacity until his death.

He was distinguished for his religious zeal, and opposed those that he believed to be heretics, particularly the Quakers. He became infamous for the banishment of those who would not conform to his specific church law, including Samuel Gorton, the first governor of Rhode Island. He restructured the local government to secure his position and led the persecution of numerous people for offenses such as smiling in church, harboring non-church members, and tending garden during the Sabbath. He also procured revenue for the colony's grammar schools so future generations would be better educated.

Governor Prence gave to Wamsutta and Pometacom, the sons of Massasoit, the names Alexander and Philip as a compliment to their warlike character.

Plots belonging to our Grandfathers found on this map are:
William Brewster, Thomas Prence,
Peter Browne, Stephen Hopkins and [Uncle Dr. Samuel Fuller.]

"He was another able business man to arrive in Plymouth on the Fortune in 1621, and became Governor of Plymouth Colony for 20 years, serving at times from 1634 to 1673. He followed his father-in-law, William Brewster, to Duxbury in 1632, and finally removed to Nauset (Eastham) in 1644 with six other families, returning later to Plymouth where he died."
- Leon Clark Hills, The Mayflower Planters, History and Genealogy of the Mayflower Planters & First Comers to Ye Olde Colony, Genealogical Publishing Co., 1990, Baltimore, MD.

"Prence arrived at Plymouth Colony in 1621 on the Fortune, and from the beginning seemed to have taken a leading role in Plymouth affairs. Of the eight Plymouth Undertakers, who seemed to be the most important men in the colony in 1627, Prence was the only one who had not arrived on the Mayflower. He became governor in 1634, and was elected an Assistant in 1635, and from then on he was either an Assistant or governor every year for the rest of his life. He also served as treasurer, as president of the Council of War, and in various other capacities. With the death of of Bradford in 1657, Prence became without a doubt the most important and influential man in the colony. He was of a conservative nature, as is shown by his siding with Bradford and Winslow in the 1645 Vassall controversy, and by his actions against the Quakers. He was involved in several law suits which were decided in his favor, ... " - Plymouth Colony, Its History & People, 1620-1691.

"In July 1627, Thomas Prence became one of the eight parnters called undertakers, who guaranteed the purchase of Plymouth Colony from the merchant adventurers. He, with his father-in-law, William Brewster, and brother-in-law, Jonathan Brewster, signed 'Articles of Agreement' to have the 'whole trade consigned to us for some years' to pay the 'debts (of the colony) and set them free:' and to 'transport as many of our brethern of Leyden over' to Plymouth. Thomas Prence served Plymouth Colony as Governors Assistant in 1632, 1635-37, and 1639 through 1656. He was the treasurer of Plymouth Colony from 1637 to 1640 and he served as Commissioner of the United Colonies, 1645, 1650 and 1653-56. On 1 January 1633/34, when he was only 34 years old, Thomas Prence was elected as the fourth governor of Plymouth Colony. He served his second term in 1638, during which time he presided over the trial of four men wh had robbed and murdered an Indian near Providence. The evidence presented to the court resulted in them being found guilty and they were hung, one having escaped. 'On 3 June 1657, Thomas Prence was again elected Governor of the jurisdiction of New Plymouth and served until his death in 1673.'" ^- Barbara Lambert Merrick, William Brewster Of The Mayflower and His Descendants for Four Generations, General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 1996. "Thomas Prence was the most distinguished of the settlers of Eastham, though not the best educated. At the time of his removal in 1645, he was holding the position of an assistant ofFortune, in November, 1621. At the time of his removal he was residing in Duxbury. His farm at Eastham contained many acres. It was situated northwest of Town cove, in that part now include within the present town of Eastham. His house stood on the est side of teh county road, near where Mr. E. Doane's howse now [1916] stands. It is said his farm comprised teh 'richest land' in the place. The famous old pear tree planted by him while a resident, and which was blown down in 1849, stood but a few rods westward from the site of his house. He was a large land-owner. He owned land in what became afterwards Harwich and Truro, besides tracts at Tonset and other localities iin ht Colony. He disposed of most of his landed estate before his death. His tracts at Sauquatucket, now Brewster, which came to him by grant, on the account of haveing been a 'Purchaser or Old-Comer,' he sold to his son-in-law, Major John Freeman, in 1672. His 'half share' at Paumet, both 'purchased and unpurchased,' lying between 'Bound Brook,' at Wellfleet, and 'Eastern Harbor or Lovell's Creek,' he sold to Mr. Thomas Paine in 1670. "Mr. Pratt, in his History of Estham, says the homestead of Gov. Prence was given by will to his son-in-law, Samuel Freeman, but the statement is not supported by documentary evidence. Records show that Gov. Prence did sell to his 'beloverd son-in-law, Mr. Samuel Freeman, Jan. 12, 1671, for thirty pounds' his 'hose lot situated and being in the town of Eastham' and 'containing eighteen acres of upland, be it more or less,' boutnde 'at the northeasterly end' by a creek, together with other upland and meadows in other parts of the town. Records also show that Gov. Prence provided a place of abode for his son-in-law, Samuel Freeman and Mercy his wife, soon after thier marrigae, and that in December, 1662, it was conveyed to them. They were then residing upon it. It was the place of the governor purchased of Mr. Josiah Cook, a 'gentleman' of Eastham. The position of this house lot the writer cannot give, but undoubtedly it was near Gov. Prence's place. "Gov. Prence continued in the office of an assistant by successive elections till 1657, when he was unanimously elected to the office of governor, as successor to Gov. Bradford, who died that year. As the law required the governor to reside at the seat of government, a dispensation was obtained from him, and he was allowed to remain at Eastham, as he desired. Mrs. Bradford was engaged to entertain him and his assistants while at Court; and attendant was appointed to attend him in his journey to and from Plymouth, and Mr. Allyn of Barnstable was engaged to accommodate him and his attendant in his house with private rooms when passing 'to and from' In 1665, Gov. Prence removed to Plymouth, and occupied the place provided by the government at a place called Plain Dealing, which the late Judge John Davis, a native of Plymouth, says was 'nearly two miles from the centre of the town on the road to Boston.' The late William Russell in his Guide to Plymouth, says the place called Plain Dealing 'extended it is believed to Kingston line'; and that Gov. Prence's house was near 'Mr. Hedges,' and in the vicinity of 'Starts Hill.' At this place, while occupying the gubernatorial chair, he died March 29, 1673, in his 73d year. He was 'honorably interred at Plymouth, April 8th.' Judge Davis says: 'The Plymouth church records, in expressing Mr. Prence's character and his amiable and pleasant conversation, depart from their usual course by an indication of his personal appearance, from which it may be supposed that it was peculiarly dignified and striking. He was excellently qualified for the office of governor. He had a countenance full of majesty, and therein, as well as otherwise, was a terror to evil doers. Gove. Bradford, and had twice been chosen govenor of the infant colony-first election in 1634, and second election in 1638. He was a native of Lechlade, a parish in Gloucestershire, England, it is understood, and born about the year 1600. He came to Plymouth in the ship

Besides holding the office of governor, Mr. Prence was a great number of years an assistant of Gov. Bradford. He was one of the commissioners of the United Colonies many years; colonial treasurer and one of the council of war. He was one of those who stood bound to the adventures for the payment of the sum they demanded for their interest in the stock, trade, etc., of the Colony, when the purchase was made in behalf of those who came in the three first ships, viz: Mayflower, Fortune and Ann.

"Gov. Prence's will bears date March 13th, 1673, and codicil march 28th, 1683. He appointed his wife, Mary, executrix, and desired that his brother, Thomas Clark, and Mr. Josiah Winslow be her advisers. To his wife mary, he gave the profits of his part of the mill at Sauquatuckett, now West Brewster, with the land adjacent to it, which he desired at her death to go to his grandson, Theophilus Mayo, who was living with him. This, he said, he gave him for his encouragement to proceed in learning. HE also gave him all his 'books fit for him in learning. He enjoined him to 'carry it well with his grandmother,' and, in case he did so, to have a 'bed.' How dutiful he was to his aged grandparent, we have no means of knowing. He doubtless removed with her to Yarmouth. From what can now be gathered he did not survive her. His death, it is supposed, took place about 1678. He was the youngest son of Nathaniel and Hannah (Prence) Mayo, and it would seem, at the death of his father, was taken by the governor into his family. The governor also gave him one-half of his land and meadow near Namassakett, in Middleboro, which if he died without descendants, would be equally divided between Gov. Prence's daughters. Of his books he gave, among others, 'to Maj John Freeman, of Eastham, Speed's, Church's and Wilson's Dictionary; Simpson's History of the Church, and Newman's Concordance.' He made other bequests, but we cannot mention them all.

"The inventory of the governor's estate shows he owned on the Cape, 'one fourth of the mill and land adjoining to it at Satuckett,' now West Brewster; twenty acres of land and three acres of meadow at Tonsett in Eastham, and eighteen acres on Porchy Island. Befre his death Gov. Prence disposed of most of his estate by deeds. Thomas Prence's descendants are numerous upon the Cape. Thomas Prence, the only son of the governor, died in England, leaving no sons, consequently he has no descendants of the patronymic living." ^- Josiah Paine, "Early Settlers of Eastham," Library of Cape Cod History and Genealogy, 33 and 34 (1916), 63 pages.

(http://www.caskey-family.com/genealogy/ThomasPrence.htm)

Death:
Prence died March 29, 1673, in Plymouth, Massachusetts and was buried on Burial Hill.

(Wikipedia)

Ancestry Chain: 12th gr. grandfather (Gov.) Thomas PRENCE b.1599, Rebecca PRINCE b.1625, Priscilla PUTNAM b.1657, Lydia BAILEY b.1695, John JEFFORDS b.1724, John JEFFORDS b.1746, Lucretia JEFFORDS b.1766, Amariah RAWSON b.1787, Adaline RAWSON b.1811, Mary DUNN b.1833, Harriett Camilla ENSIGN b.1859, George Ensign SMITH b.1898, Camilla SMITH b.1926, Lark, TR.

GILLETT Family Bible

Gillette family bible, carried from England by Jonathan Gillett in 1630 The version of Bible that Jonathan Gillett brought with him from England to America is known as the ‘Breeches Bible’ because the ‘fig-leaf garment’ worn by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden - which is called ‘apron’ in the King James Version - is called ‘breeches’ in this edition. Jonathan's Bible was printed in Amsterdam in 1599 and was one of numerous editions of that translation, which was first printed in Geneva in 1559. This edition was favored by the Puritans in England, and it had a profound effect on the King James translation in 1611. The ‘Breeches Bible’ remains in Windsor. It has been torn and damaged, with many of its pages missing. The Bible passed into the hands of the present Holcomb family. The Gillett-Holcomb Bible became known as the "Bear Bible," because it was placed in a window to keep the sash raised, when a bear, wanting to effect an entrance, clawed it, leaving the marks of his claws so deep upon the edges of its leaves, where it can still be plainly seen. The blank pages between the Old and New Testaments are still intact, and their pen and ink entries establish the copy as having belonged to the early Gillett family. The script of the entries is the very old style, which was in use in England around 1600, in the hand of Jonathan Gillett of the second generation.
Ancestry Chain 1: (10th gr.grandfather) Jonathan Sr. GILLETT (GYLETTE) Immigant b.1604, Mary GILLETT b.1638, Abigail BROWN b.1662, Jonathan FOWLER b.1685, Catherine FOWLER b.1723, Lydia NOBLE b.1768, Horace Datus ENSIGN-76 b.1797, Martin Luther ENSIGN b.1831, Harriett Camilla ENSIGN b.1859, George Ensign SMITH b.1898, Camilla SMITM b.1926, Lark, TR.
Ancestry Chain 2: (10th gr.grandfather) Jonathan Sr. GILLETT (GYLETTE) Immigant b.1604, Samuel GILLETT, Hannah GILLETT b.1674, Mary TAYLOR b.1708, David BRONSON b.1733, Sylvanus BRONSON b.1769, Mary BRONSON b.1806, Martin Luther ENSIGN b.1831, Harriett Camilla ENSIGN b.1859, George Ensign SMITH b.1898, Camilla SMITM b.1926, Lark, TR.
Ancestry Chain 3: (11th gr.grandfather) Jonathan Sr. GILLETT (GYLETTE) Immigant b.1604, Joseph GILLETT, Joseph GILLETT b.1664, Elizabeth GILLETT b.1688, Esther MARSH b.1714, Esther SAWYER "GUNN" b.1739, Esther REMINGTON b.1772, Mary BRONSON b.1806, Martin Luther ENSIGN b.1831, Harriett Camilla ENSIGN b.1859, George Ensign SMITH b.1898, Camilla SMITM b.1926, Lark, TR.

Mehitable GUNN was married to two of our grandfathers David ENSIGN and Isaac SHELDON

Mehitable GUNN

Birth[1]

28 July 1644

Windsor, Connecticut, United States

Marriage	22 Oct 1663	Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut, United Statesto David Ensign
Divorce	Oct 1682	Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut, United Statesfrom David Ensign

Marriage	1686	Northampton, Massachusetts, United Statesto Isaac Sheldon
Death	30 Jan 1720	Northampton, Massachusetts, United States

Mehitable married twice, to David Ensign, and then to Isaac Sheldon. She had 5 children with David Ensign. She divorced him "for his ill conduct" and in 1686 married Isaac Sheldon of Northampton and had another child. Married to David Ensign on 22 OCT 1663 in Hartford, Hartford County, Connecticut.

Children David ENSIGN and Mehitable GUNN:

David ENSIGN b: 16 NOV 1664 in Hartford

James ENSIGN b: 08 JUL 1666 in Hartford

Thomas ENSIGN b: 07 DEC 1668 in Hartford

Sarah ENSIGN b: 22 JAN 1671 in Hartford

Mary ENSIGN b: 26 JAN 1674 in Hartford

The charges against David Ensign are recorded in “Connecticut Court Assistants,” page 34. Three charges were made. First he was charged with spreading false reports concerning the death of the King, the flight of the Duke of York, and the Duke of Monmouth being made Protector, and second it was charged that he “continually and unlawfully accompanied the wife of Thomas Long to the great dishonor of God, scandal of religion, and breach of the laws of the colony whereby he hath forfeited his bond made to Hartford County Sept. 18, 1679." The third charge was that he committed adultery with Thomas Long's wife, “or at least is suspiciously guilty thereof." Mehitable was married to Isaac SHELDON in 1686

Children Isaac SHELDON and Mehitable GUNN:

(Capt.) Jonathan SHELDON b: 29 MAY 1687 in Northampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts

David SHELDON 1688-1759

Source: http://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:Mehitable_Gunn_%281%29

1. ↑ Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut, United States. Records of Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1638-1925.

   Mahitable Gunn daughter to Thomas Gunn born July 28th A.D. 1644 (Bk I Page Sixteen)

David ENSIGN (8th great grandfather)

Alt Birth	26 Nov 1644	Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Birth	29 NOV 1644	New Hartford, Litchfield County, Connecticut
Christening	19 AUG 1649	Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Marriage	22 Oct 1663	Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut, United States to Mehitable Gunn
Divorce	Oct 1682	Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut, United States from Mehitable Gunn
Marriage	ABT 1686	to Sarah Wilcox
Death[1]	13 DEC 1727	Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut, United States

David was a farmer and miller and was also prominent in church and town affairs. He was chosen, 16 Feb 1665, chimney viewer; 23 Feb 1688, surveyor and grand juryman. He was one of the first settlers in West Hartford where he moved in 1686; his name headed the list of petitioners for the establishment of a new church. David was buried in the old cemetery of West Hartford where his gravestone bears the inscription: "Here lyeth the body of Mr. David Ensign who Died Decemr ye 14th 1727 in ye 83 year of his age." Mehitable divorced David in Oct 1682 for "ill conduct on his part." She married again in 1685, Isaac Sheldon of Northampton. David remarried Sarah Wilcox [daughter of and John WILCOX Jr. and Sarah WADSWORTH]. Nanncewatt brought complaint against David for "obtaining a quille of wampum" and he was ordered to pay the Indian 40s on 29 Dec 1674.

Children of David ENSIGN and Sarah WILCOX:

David ENSIGN Jr. b.10 OCT 1688. m.1st Hannah SMITH 16 MAY 1709. [six children] m.2nd Sarah MOODY 29 APR 1726. [six children] d.4 DEC 1759 Bloomfield, Hartford, Connecticut. David and Hannah were original members of the Second Church in Hartford, 18 Feb 1711/12. On 16 Dec 1712 he was chosen grand juryman; on 20 Dec 1715 he was selected collector of tax. He went from Windsor to Wintonbury, now Bloomfield, with all his goods in a bundle.

1682
David Ensigne is complained of in court.

First: for bringing and spreading false reports concerning the death of the King, the flight of the Duke of York, and the Duke of Monmouth being made protector. This prisoner returns and said he heard so at New York.

Second: for contempt of authority and that after so much means used, that he hath continually and unlawfully accompanied the wife of Thomas Long to the great dishonor of God, scandal of religion, and breach of the laws of the colony whereby he hath forefeited his bond made to Hartford County, Sept. 18, 1679.

Third: that he hath committed adultery with Thomas Long's wife, or at least is suspiciously guilty thereof.

The jury find the first article according to the prisoner's confession. They find the 2nd article and so consequently the breach of the bond, and they find the 3rd article as suspiciously guilty of the gross act of adultery. David Ensigne having been complained of in these three articles which have been committed to a jury, and he is found guilty.

The court, having considered the first article, that his misdemeanors therein in spreading such reports is notoriously dangerous and very offensive and there being no particular law that doth direct what punishment to inflict on such high misdemeanors, do inflict no punishment on him for the same, but leave to the consideration of the Court of Assistants in October next.

The court approves the verdict of the jury in the 2nd article and do accordingly judge him, the said Ensigne, to have forfeited his bond to the county of Hartford and do order execution to be granted accordingly.

And whereas the jury do find him, the said David Ensigne, suspiciously guilty of the gross act of adultery, and it being difficult to find out such notorious wickedness, not withstanding all care used, yet in this case wherein there hath been so great appearance of those gross ills, this court do order that the said David Ensigne give bond to the value of £400 in good estate, for his good behavior, and that he will totally forbear going into or keeping company with the said Long, which bond is to continue during the pleasure of the court of Assistants. In case he refuse to give bond, he is to be committed to prison, there to remain until the bond is given as aforesaid and do, for the miscarriage of above written, see good reason to defranchise him of his freedom in this corporation according to law.

David Ensigne personally appeared July 23, 1682 and did bind over to the Publick Treasury of the Colony of Connecticut, all his housing and lands within the township of Hartford, both on the East and West side of the Connecticut River as they stand bound to him in the publick records of the said town, or by his father's last will in the court records, to stand as security for his good behavior, and that he will totally forbear going into or keeping company with Sarah, the wife of Thomas Long, according to the judgement of the Court of Assistants, passed against him at their last session May 31 last passed, and for the confirmation hereof he hath sett to his hand and acknowledged the same before John Allyn, Assistant and Secretary. Page 34.

Divorce - May 28, 1683

Upon the petition of Mehitable Ensigne, that she might be freed from the conjugality to David Ensigne, the court hath considered the case, and finding testimony that the said David Ensigne hath sundry times withdrawn himself from his wife, the said Mehitabell, and bedded and boarded with the late wife of Thomas Long, and owned her to be his wife, and carried so to her, and hath not had, nor desired, communion with the said Mehitable for a long time, as she allegeth, but the last winter carried it in a laseivious manner towards the wife of Samuel Elmor, and is now gone from his wife to New York. And it may well be concluded he has gone after the said Long's wife again.

Upon those considerations this court do see good reason, and accordingly do grant, the said Mehittabell Ensigne a release from the matrimonial tye to the said David Ensigne.

And this court do order that an inventory of the personal estate of David Ensigne be taken, and that it be equally divided between the said David Ensigne and Mehitabell.

And this court orders that the house the said Mehitabell now lives in, she be not molested in her inhabiting there, without order of this court by any person whatever. Page 45. (published in 1988 or 1989 as page 24 in one issue of the Sheldon Family Association Newsletter. )

Ancestry Chain: David ENSIGN b.1644, David ENSIGN Jr. b.1688, Datus (Datis) ENSIGN b.1729, Isaac ENSIGN Rev.WarVet.b.1756, Horace Datus ENSIGN b.1797, Martin Luther ENSIGN b.1831, Harriett Camilla ENSIGN b.1859, George Ensign SMITH b.1898, Camilla SMITH b.1926, Lark, JR.

Source:

1. ↑ Hartford vital records, in Connecticut, United States. The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Records.

   David Sr, died Dec 13, 1727. David, son James, m Mehetabell GUNN, dau Thomas, Oct 22, 1663.

Isaac SHELDON (9th great grandfather)

Birth[1][2]	Abt 1629	Deposed at Northampton, Mass., 29 Apr. 1679, "aged 50 years or thereabouts."
Emigration[2]	1639	… came from England with Rev/ Ephraim Hewitt of Windsor, 1639.
Residence[1]	1652	Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut, United States
Marriage	By Abt 1654	Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut, United States to Mary Woodford
Residence[1]	1656	Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts, United States
Marriage	1686	Northampton, Massachusetts, United Statesto Mehitable Gunn
Will[1]	21 Jun 1708
Death[2]	27 Jul 1708	Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts, United States Died at aged about 79.
Probate[1]	1 Sep 1708

"Isaac Sheldon of Windsor, Conn., and of Northampton, Mass., was born about 1629 (according to his deposition of 1679, quoted in part above), a date which agrees with the supposed date of the birth of Isaac Sheldon, son of Ralph and Barbara (Stone) Sheldon of Ashford, in the parish of Bakewell, co. Derby, England, and died as Northampton, Mass., 27 July 1708, aged 78 years. He married first, in 1653, Mary Woodford, who was born about 1636 and died at Northampton 17 Apr. 1684, daughter of Thomas WOODFORD and Mary (Blott) Woodford of Hartford, Conn., and Northampton, Mass.; and secondly, in 1686, Mrs. Mehitable (Gunn) Ensign, who was born as Windsor, Conn., 28 July 1644 and died at Northampton, Mass., 30 Jan. 1720/1, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Gunn and formerly wife of David Ensign of Hartford, Conn.

…shortly before 13 Sept. 1652, when the order quoted above was passed at a meeting of the townsmen of Windsor, Isaac Sheldon bought of John Stiles a house and three-acre lot in Windsor. In 1656 he moved from Windsor to Northampton, Mass., which was thenceforth his home. [Isaac SHELDON and father in-law Thomas WOODFORD founders of Northampton.] In his will, dated 21 June 1706 and proved 1 Sept. 1708, he named his wife Mehitable, his sons Isaac, John, Thomas, Joseph, Samuel, Ebenezer, and Jonathan Sheldon and his daughters Mary Bridgeman, Ruth Strong, Thankful Edwards, Mindwell Lyman, Hannah Chapin (Hampshire Probate Records, vol. 3, page 188)"^[1]

Children of Isaac SHELDON and Mary WOODFORD:

Mary SHELDON 1654 – 1728

Isaac SHELDON 1656 – 1712

John SHELDON 1658 – 1725

Thomas SHELDON 1663 – 1728

Thankful SHELDON (twin) 1663 – 1741

Ruth SHELDON (twin) b.27 Aug 1663. m.1st Joseph WRIGHT Sr. 16 Nov 1679 [8 children]. m.2nd Samuel STRONG 28 Oct 1698 [4 children]. d.aft 16 May 1728.

Midwell SHELDON 1666 – 1735

Joseph SHELDON 1668 – 1708

Hannah SHELDON 1670-1690

Eleazar SHELDON 1672 – 1673

Samuel SHELDON 1675 – 1745

Ebenezer SHELDON 1677 – 1755

Mercy SHELDON 1684 – 1684

Ancestry Chain: Isaac SHELDON 1652 Immigrant b.1630, Ruth SHELDON (twin) b.1663, Ruth WRIGHT b.1687, Samuel NOBLE b.1722, Lydia NOBLE b.1768, Horace Datus ENSIGN b.1797, Martin Luther ENSIGN b.1831, Harriett Camilla ENSIGN b.1859, George Ensign SMITH b.1898, Camilla SMITH b.1926, Lark, JR.

Source:

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6} Bartlett, J. Gardner. The Sheldons of Bakewell, Derbyshire, England, and Isaac Sheldon of New England (1926). New England Historical and Genealogical Register. (Oct 1926), 80 [1926] : 378ff.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Trumbull, James Russell. History of Northampton : Northampton genealogies, 1640-1838. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1958).

Park to Honored Grandfather Capt. Michael Pierce 316 years after his death

Pierce Park and Riverwalk
Central Falls, Rhode Island

Pierce Park and Riverwalk is located on High Street in Central Falls along the Blackstone River. Constructed in 1991 it contains a ball field, trail systems with river overlooks, benches and playground facilities. It is also the site of the Pierce Fight. The Pierce Fight site has been nominated to the National Register of Historic Places. Located between High Street and the Blackstone River, this is the Rehoboth and Canonchet's Narragansett Indians on March 16, 1676. A marker near Macomber Stadium describes the confrontation, a critical episode in King Philip's War.
Services / Features / Restrictions: Smoke Free, Free Admission, Children's Activities, Attraction, Cultural, Of Interest to Children, National Register, Park, Spectator Sports, Alcohol Prohibited, Smoke Free, Blackstone Valley and Northern Rhode Island, Ball Field, Playground, Hiking Trail, Wildlife Viewing.
Handicap Service: Complete Wheel Chair Access.

Captain Michael Pierce was born in 1615. He married Persis Eames in 1643. Captain Michael Pierce died on 26 March 1676; The battle in which Captain Michael Pierce lost his life is detailed in Drakes Indian Chronicles (pp. 220-222) as follows:

"Sunday the 26th of March, 1676, was sadly remarkable to us for the tidings of a very deplorable disaster brought into Boston about five o'clock that afternoon, by a post from Dedham, viz., that Captain Pierce of Scituate in Plymouth Colony, having intelligence in his garrison at Seaconicke, that a party of the enemy lay near Mr. Blackstorne's, went forth with sixty-three English and twenty of the Cape Indians (who had all along continued faithful, and joyned with them), and upon their march discovered rambling in an obscure woody place, four or five Indians, who, in getting away from us halted as if they had been lame or wounded. But our men had pursued them but a little way into the woods before they found them to be only decoys to draw them into their ambuscade; for on a sudden, they discovered about five hundred Indians, who in very good order, furiously attacked them, being as readily received by ours; so that the fight began to be very fierce and dubious, and our men had made the enemy begin to retreat, but so slowly that it scarce deserved the name, when a fresh company of about four hundred Indians came in; so that the English and their few Indian friends were quite surrounded and beset on every side. Yet they made a brave resistance for about two hours; during which time they did great execution upon their enemy, who they kept at a distance and themselves in order. For Captain Pierce cast his sixty-three English and twenty Indians into a ring, and six fought back to back, and were double - double distance all in one ring, whilst the Indians were as thick as they could stand, thirty deep. Overpowered with whose numbers, the said Captain and fifty-five of his English and ten of their Indian friends were slain upon the place, which in such a cause and upon such disadvantages may certainly be titled "The Bed of Honor." However, they sold their worthy lives at a gallant rate, it being affirmed by those few that not without wonderful difficulty and many wounds made their escape, that the Indians lost as many fighting men in this engagement as were killed in the battle in the swamp near Narragansett, mentioned in our last letter, which were generally computed to be above three hundred."

Today, in Scituate, there is a Captain Michael Pierce Monument and a Captain Pierce Road.

Ancestry Chain: 10 Great grandfather Capt. Micheal J. PIERCE Immigrant b.1615 / Mary PIERCE b.165 / Mary HOLBROOK b.1686 / Rachel DANIELS b.1720 / Abner RAWSON Rev.WarVet b.1764 / Amariah RAWSON b.1787 / Adaline RAWSON b.1811 / Mary DUNN b.1833 / Harriett Camilla ENSIGN b.1859 / George Ensign SMITH b.1898 / Camilla SMITH b.1926 / Lark / JR.