Witness to a Violent Altercation - 52 Ancestors #45

Samuel Younglove is my tenth great-grandfather. He was a butcher and lived in Ipswich, Massachusetts. On July 1, 1633, he married Margaret Leggatt in Epping, co. Essex, England and in 1635, they came to America on the Hopewell. 

        

On November 23, 1668, Samuel gave an account of a situation between Joseph Lee and "Goodman" Hunt. With a little further research into the court records of Essex County, I was able to find that "Goodman" Hunt was Samuel Hunt, Sr. The source of their dispute was the keeping of sheep and they had previous violent encounters.  

Scutching or Swingling knife

Lydia Burnham, aged about 24, testified, "that when young John Lee and Goodman Hunt were 'wording it' about the sheep, Joseph Lee came up the lane to Hunt with a club in his hand as large as a swingle [a wooden tool for beating flax], and told him to stand aside or he would knock him down. Hunt said he had as good a right there as he and took Lee by the collar, and tripped up his heels." 

Thomas Knowlton, aged about 27, deposed "that he told Hunt that he heard he had pulled the hair from Joseph Leigh's head, which Hunt owned, and said had it not been for the old man, he would have pulled them all out." 

Martha Gilbert deposed "that she saw the fight and when Hunt had Joseph Lea down, old Goodman Lea came up with a pitchfork which had but one tine and struck Hunt two blows. Had young John Lea not interfered, he would have killed Hunt, and she was the blood run down Hunt's head." 

Samuel Younglove's account includes the details that Joseph Lee struck Hunt "as hard as he could" and that afterward he could "see the bone upon his head." 

Children of Samuel & Margaret (Leggatt) Younglove:

1. Samuel Jr. was born about 1634
2. Joseph was born about 1638
3. Lydia was born about 1643
4. Abigail was born about 1653
5. Hannah was born about 1656
6. Elizabeth was born about 1657

Samuel Younglove

Abigail Younglove

Jonathan Parsons

Abigail Parsons

William Rowe

Stephen Blaisdell Rowe

Charles H. N. Rowe

Anna J. Rowe

Eva Delphinia Hayes

Linona Alice Yates - my grandmother

Sources:
NEHGR Vol. 16, pg 49 accessed at AmericanAncestors.org on January 27, 2015