Happy St. Andrew's Day!

Celebrating my Scottish roots with a reposting of this story. 

On September 3, 1651, the Battle of Worcester became the final battle in the English Civil War. On that day the forces of Oliver Cromwell defeated the Royalist forces of Charles II. Most of those fighting for Charles II were Scottish. About 3,000 men were killed during the battle and as many as ten thousand taken prisoner. The actual number of prisoners varies from one source to another. Many of these prisoners, at least those who survived long enough, were deported to New England, Bermuda, and the West Indies. Upon arrival, they were sold as indentured servants to repay the cost of their transport. Many who arrived in Massachusetts worked in the Saugus Iron Works. Heather Rojo wrote a post about the passengers on the John & Sara recently and I thought it was a very interesting story. She does a good job explaining the names got spelled phonetically and in the case of my ancestor, John MacBean/Bean became John Beme. With the help of the Piscataqua Pioneers book that I bought recently, I was able to confirm that this prisoner was my ancestor. 

http://www.henley-in-arden.org/history.html

John Bean (Bane, Baine, MacBean) was sold to Nicholas Lissen and taken to New Hampshire to work at the saw mills co-owed by Lissen and some other New Hampshire businessmen. He married Hannah Lissen, his master's daughter and they had three children before she died in childbirth. Their oldest child, Mary was born June 18, 1655. She was only about four years old when her mother died in childbirth. John married a second time to a woman named Margaret (last name unknown). He had nine children with his second wife. 

In 2004, colonial historian, Diane Rapaport, wrote an article called Scots For Sale for New England Ancestors Magazine. She included the following description of how three daughters of Nicholas Lissen married Scotsmen. 

John Bean & Hannah Lissen
Mary Bean & Joel Judkins
Samuel Judkins & Abigail Harriman
Joel Judkins & Mehitable Elkins
Joseph Judkins & Rebecca Sanborn
Moses Judkins & Abigail (or Apphia) Perry
Betsy Judkins & Calvin Cole
Apphia Cole & Sydney Hayes
George Hayes & Anna Rowe
Eva Hayes & Estes Yates
Linona Alice Yates - my grandmother

Sources:
Battle of Worcester - Wikipedia
Scottish Emigration to Colonial America, 1607-1785
Passenger List of the John and Sara

Serious Mental Imbalance - 52 Ancestors #44

Mary Shard was married twice. Her first husband was John Gove and they had six children before he died. Mary and John Gove are my 11X great-grandparents. Her second husband was John Mansfield. John Mansfield came from a good family, but he seemed to have conflicts with most of his relatives. He is described in his Great Migration sketch as demonstrating “serious mental imbalance throughout his adult life…” Among other things, he accused his brother-in-law, Robert Keaynes, of cheating him out of his rightful inheritance. John Mansfield had two sisters in Massachusetts. His sister, Elizabeth, was the wife of the Rev. John Wilson and his sister Anne was married twice, first to Capt. Robert Keayne and second to Samuel Cole.

John Mansfield was born about 1601 and died on June 26, 1674. He married Mary (Shard) Gove after her first husband, John Gove, died in January 1648. The family lived in Charlestown. Shortly after their marriage, Mary gave birth to twins, John Jr. and Elizabeth. Mary died on March 4, 1682. John's frequent petitions to the courts document his obsession with obtaining an inheritance from the estate of Robert Keayne. 

However, this obsession is not the only evidence of his "serious mental imbalance," John proved himself incapable of caring for his family.  In the Middlesex Court records, he says of that his home is "all open above and rotten under." Eventually, the two children of John & Mary (Shard) (Gove) Mansfield were removed from the household. They were only eight years old.

John Jr. was placed with his aunt, Anne (Mansfield) Keayne, for a period of ten years. He was to be kept in school for the first three years and then to spend seven years in an honest trade or employment. Elizabeth was placed with the family of Mr. Samuel Whiting, Jr. of Lynn. “John Mansfield, their father, is not capable by reason of misgovernment of himself and wife to educate and bring them up as they ought to be…”

I wonder what was going on in the lives of Mary's children from her first marriage and what they thought of their mother's household. Her son, Edward Gove, my 10th great-grandfather, was getting married about the time his half-siblings were removed from her care. Did the twins have a relationship with their mother after they reached adulthood and after their father died?

John & Mary (Shard) Gove

Edward & Hannah (Partridge) Gove

Joseph & Mary (Gove) Sanborn

Samuel & Mary (Sanborn) Prescott

Jeremiah & Mary (Hayes) Prescott

Elisha & Mary (Marston) Prescott

Thomas & Hannah (Prescott) Edgecomb

Oliver & Mary (Edgecomb) Philbrick

Benjamin P. & Jane (Matthews) Philbrick

Francis Llewellyn & Mary Elizabeth (Philbrick) Cotton

Ray Everett & Annie Florilla (Gibbs) Cotton

Fern Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother

Deborah Bachiler Poem

This poem was written by Mrs. Elizabeth Hoxie and read in 1903 when a bronze tablet was placed at the Sandwich home of Deborah (Bachiler) Wing. Deborah was the daughter of the Rev. Stephen Bachiler and the wife of Rev. John Wing. I have several lines of descent from Deborah's father so she is my 1oth or 11th great-grandaunt depending on the line. 

Long years ago in England,

When England yet was young,

Where the River Test flows softly,

Twixt banks of brightest green,

And Queen Elfrida's convent,

through the arching trees is seen.

Softly she sang her childish thoughts,         

As the daisies her small feet pressed;

Softly she touched the fragrant flowers,

Or watched the wild birds nest.

And this is the song the wee maid sang:

"There's never a day without a cloud

Or a joy without a sorrow:

And the sun that sets in the rain tonight

Will shine for me tomorrow."

The preacher prayed inside the church

For a conscience freed from sin,

While the little child in innocence

Caught the heavenly voice within--

"Father I stood by the river

just as the moon went down,

And it lighted the church of Wherewell

As if with a golden crown.

And Father, I saw a vision;

Dost thou think that children may?"

"And what was the vision daughter?

Tell it to me, pray."

Her dark eyes grew more earnest,

While steady and strong was she;

"I saw four boys and a woman

In a vessel upon the sea.

And she was sad and lonely;

And a man that looked like thee

Stood near; and there was sound of weeping,

And the woman looked like me."

"Didst see aught else, my daughter?"

And he thought of the threatening storm

Of church and state and conscience,

And his weary heart grew warm.

For might not his little maiden

Be chosen of God to warn

Benighted, priest ridden England

Of the rise of a brighter dawn?

Earnest and still that fair child stood,

As Deborah stood of old,

And God's grace shone upon her

While she her vision told.

It came again unto her,

The same foreshadowing truth;

And with a tiny hand extended,

She saw through the bounds of youth.

"Father, I see the vessel,

And many are there, who make

The air resound with prayers

For God and conscience sake."

Scarce eighteen summers now have come and gone,

With each clouds of sunshine on the way;

Life's story glimmers bright with youthful song,

And earnest hours have changed from foolish play.

The little child unto a maiden fair has grown;

A strong souled man has looked into her eyes,

And from her heart her girlhood's song has flown.

While in it's place thoughts strange and sweet arise

Across her sunny pathway

With young love's wooing came

Young John, the stalwart preacher,

With words of sweetest flame.

"Deborah, beloved maiden,

Thou art dear, and unto thee

Give I all my heart; now answer,

Givest thou thine to me?"

Deborah, the gentle maid,

With her eyes of dusky brown,

Answered softly, "John, I love thee"

With her fair face drooping down.

Think ye then that John the preacher

E'er remembered priestly gown,

With that sweet faced maid before him

With her hair of burnished brown?

Nay, for in his arms he gathered

Her love unto his heart;

"God do ill and more to me, love

If I fail to do my part."

Came there then no thought or vision?

Forgotten was the prophesy

Of the sad-eyed lonely woman

Out upon the stormy sea.

A few more years have come and gone

While joy and sadness into life have grown.

We see the blessings of the children five,

We hear the sadness of the widow's moan.

The vision given in the fleeting years long gone,

Seems nearing now it's strange, sad truth to prove.

the woman on the stormy sea forlorn,

In spirit hath no confines to her love.

Ah rare indeed that company

The Lord did send out that day!

Did the little ship The Francis

Sail calmly on it's way?

Sail, stately ship, more proudly;

Thy banners all unfurled;

Thou carry'st wondrous tidings

Unto an unknown world.

Oh, Shawme Lake, by Indians called, how fair!

We greet thee now, unknown to world and fame.

Oh Sandwich! Unto thee we give our love--

For in her longing heart she gave thee name.

Rev. Stephen Bachiler                                  Rev. Stephen Bachiler
Ann Bachiler                                                  Theodate Bachiler
John Sanborn                                                Hannah Hussey
Joseph Sanborn                                            Mary Smith
Mary Sanborn                                               Elisha Marston
Jeremiah Prescott                                        Mary Marston
Elisha Prescott                                             Hannah Prescott - Same as on left
Hannah Prescott - same as on right
Mary Edgecomb
Benjamin Perley Philbrick
Lizzie Philbrick
Ray Everett Cotton
Fern Lyndell Cotton - my grandmother

Rev. Stephen Bachiler
Nathaniel Bachiler
Nathaniel Bachiler
Abigail Bachiler
Elizabeth Dearborn
John Garland
Richard Garland
Alice Garland
Richard Hayes
Sydney Hayes
George Hayes
Eva Delphinia Hayes
Linona Alice Yates - my grandmother