Source: History of Newton Massachusetts, by Francis Jackson
Source: History of Newton Massachusetts, by Francis Jackson
Source: History of Newton Massachusetts, by Francis Jackson. He was a Dr. and settled in Wrentham.
Source: History of Newton Massachusetts, by Francis Jackson
Was a Quaker in Sandwich and was fined and removed to Barnstable. Referred to as Thomas Jr. Was a tailor.
Source: "Sandwich, A Cape Cod Town" by R.A. Lovell, Jr. 3rd ed.
Respecting the family of Thomas Ewer, 2d, little is known. He removed to Sandwich early. In 1659 he had a family and resided near Spring Hill. He was a Quaker; and for refusing to take the oath of fidelity, and for attending Quaker meetings, was fined £20,l0, which with expenses amounted to £25,8. In payment the Marshall seized a debt due him from Richard Chadwell for labor, £7,13 In money taken out of his house, 6,17 Clothing, new cloth, with other goods particularly named, 10,18 £25,8
From the new cloth taken (four yards of Kersey) George Barlow, the Marshall, had a coat made, and which he wore at Court. Ewer, seeing him have it on, asked the Magistrates, "Whether they owned George Barlow in wearing his cloth." To this question Gov. Prence replied: "That if he could prove that George Barlow had wronged him, he might seek his satisfaction." For this question he was sentenced "to be laid neck and heels together." Which, says Bishop, was the injustice he received at their hands.
The Court records give a different reason of the matter. He was sentenced to lye neck and heels together during the pleasure of the Court, "for his tumultuous and seditious carriages and speeches in Court." The Magistrates being informed that he was an infirm man, and was troubled with a rupture, the sentence was not executed.
Bishop is usually accurate, but in this case he omits a material fact and leaves a wrong impression on the mind of his reader. He adds that Ewer's axe, with which he wrought, worth three shillings, was taken for a tax of ten pence to the country, and that at another time, half a bushel of grain, out of his bag at the mill, for a similar tax, for the same amount.
These were assessments legally made to pay the current expenses of the Colony. Ewer was abundantly able to pay, he resisted the execution of a law, to which no constitutional objection was made, and if his axe or his grain was taken to pay, neither he nor his apologist, Mr. Bishop, had a right to complain.
The Quakers had right and justice on their side, when they refused to pay fines imposed for not taking the oath of fidelity, or
362 GENEALOGICAL NOTES OF BARNSTABLE FAMILIES.
for attending meetings of their own society; but when they refused to pay their proportion of the public expensed, they were clearly in the wrong, and those of their number who resisted, were not only guilty of doing wrong to their country, but to their religious associates; because by thus resisting they prejudiced their claim for sympathy as sufferers for conscience sake.
In 1658..Thomas..Ewer and most of the leading members of the Society of Friends in Sandwich were disfranchised and ordered to leave the town. Ewer continued to reside there till 1660. In 1661 he is spoken of as of Barnstable. In that year he bought a part of the farm and meadows on the west of the Crocker land, then owned by .Mr. Dimmock, originally laid out, I think, to Thomas Hatch. This small farm his descendants have continued to own till recently.
The goods seized by the Marshall were such as a tailor usually keeps, and I infer from this that he learned the trade of his father. He died in 1687, aged 34, leaving a widow Hannah and a family of children. I find no record of their names. Thomas Lothrop, the father-in-law of the deceased, and Shubael Linnell, his uncle, were appointed guardians of the children. Thomas Ewer, 3d, afterwards owned the Ewer farm, and the facts and circumstances above stated make it probable, if not certain, that he was the son of Thomas Ewer, 2d, and his wife Hannah.
Source: "Genealogical Notes of Barnstable Families" vol. 1, by C.F. Swift
Will of Lott Conant:
"I Lot Conant aged about fiftie yeers being sicke and weak, yet of p'fit understanding doe hereby declare my last will and testament wherein in the first place I doe bequeth my soule unto god that gave it, and my body to the grave in hope of a blessed resurrection: and for my outward estate ,and goods I doe bequeath and give unto my five sonns to each of them fiftie pounds and unto my sonn nathaniel the shop and tools over & above the rest, and unto my five daughters twenty pounds to each of them and this estate I leave to be whole and unbroken till they come to full age or to marriage estate and in the meane time the whole to rest in the hands of my wife, and for the bringing up of the children and further more my will is that my wife be executrix and that the Iand be not at all disposed off from the children and that my wife have the dwelling house and orchard for her life time. and also that my kinwoman mari Leach have a cow or heifer at her being married or going from my wife. And for help unto my wife in this matter I doe instruct and designe mr. John Hale, Captaine Lathrop and my brother Exercise Conant to be assisting. hereunto I have subscribed my hand this 24 of the 7 month 1674.
Witness
ROGER CONANT (signed) LOT CONANT
EXERCISE CONANT
Roger Conant and Exercise Conantt sworn in Court at Salem the 26: 9 mo: 1674 that they were present as witnesses when Lott Conant signed and procIaimed the above written as his last will and testament and there is no later will they know of, the said Lott being of good understanding.
Attest HILLIARD VEREN Cl."
The original will is preserved in the Court Files of Essex county. A tao-simile of it is here presented.
LOT, b. about 1624 (aged "about fifty years" in his will dated 24 September 1674 [EQC 5:431]); m. as her first husband Elizabeth Walton, bp. Seaton, Devonshire 27 October 1629, daughter of Rev. William Walton (her brother Nathaniel Walton names her "Elizabeth Conant" in his will [EQC 5:254; NEHGR 142:368]). She m. (2) Lynn 10 January 168[1/2] as his third wife Andrew Mansfield Sr.
Lot Conant seems to have lived at Marblehead as early as 165. He Was selectman there in 1662, had one cow's commonage in 1667 and on 25 May 1674 is recorded as one of the householders. On 20 Nov 1666 his father gave him the homestead at Beverly with 32 acres adjoining and 72 acres in arher parts of the town. On the same day Lot leased the homestead with three acres adjoining, composing the southern part of the home farm, to his father and mother for an annual rent of one Indian corn" About this time he probably moved to Beverly and built a house near his father's, as a dwelling house and orchard containing about 4 acres, with an old house of his father is mentioned in the inventory of his estate. On 4 Jul 1667 he was one of those granted dismissal from the First Church of Salem in order to form a church at Bass River - or Beverly. His will was witnessed by Roger and Exercise Conant on 26 Sep 1674. King Phillips War began just a few month's after Lot's death, and his family must have suffered some of the consequences. King Philip's War (1675-1676) was one of the bloodiest and most costly in the history of America. One in ten soldiers on both sides was injured or killed and it was many years before Plymouth and the other colonies recovered from the resulting property damage.
Elizabeth WALTON CONANT's second husband, Andrew MANSFIELD was the father-in-law of her two oldest sons.
Sources: LDS Ancestral File; Research of John F. Chandler
The following is quoted from Mansfield Genealogy by Daland and Mansfield:
ANDREW MANSFIELD (Robert1) was born in England about 1620. He came to Boston in 1636 and to Lynn in 1639 before his father (Lewis and Newhall, p. 187). On 26 March 1661 being then about 38 years old, he made affidavit to the Court at Ipswich, Mass., that he had been an inhabitant of Lynn about 22 or 23 years and in June 1669 "about 49 years old, he testified in court concerning the estate of Frances Axey." (Records and files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Mass. Vol. VIII 1680-1683 p. 256-257, also Warner).
Andrew was very active in Town affairs. He was made freeman 8 July 1645. He was a selectman, was on committees for laying out roads and settling land disputes. He served as trial juror and on Grand Jury 1650-1677. He was called "sergeant" from 15 March 1663. This showed the confidence which the people had for his legal ability. "There are many letters on file in the clerk of the courts office of Essex County in his clear legiable handwriting showing his ability and that the esteem in which he was held was well merited. He was deputy to the General Court from l880-1883 inclusive. By reference to the Court records it wilt be seen that he was entrusted by that body with important commissions." (Moulton).
Andrew was married three times; 1st about 1850 to BETHIAH who died 2 July 1672. Bethiah's maiden name may have been Gedney (Lynn Hist. Register 1913) or Townsend (Warner-Harrington Genealogy). He married second 4 June 1673, MRS. MARY NEAL, widow of John Neal and only child of Francis Lawes, a wealthy citizen of Salem. She died 27 June 1681. He married third, 10 Jan. 1661-82, MRS. ELIZABETH CONANT widow of Lot Conant of Beverly and daughter of Rev. Wm. and Elizabeth Walton of Marblehead. She was born in England, baptized at the Parish of Seaton, Devonshire 27 Oct. 1629. She died 29 Sept. 1674. She had 10 children by her first marriage and two of her sons, Nathaniel and John Conant had previously married two of Andrew's daughters. Andrew lived in Beverly for a time after he married Elizabeth Conant.
Andrew's will was dated 1 June 1679, with a codicil dated at Boston 19 Nov. 1683. It seems that while attending the General Court he was taken suddenly and seriously ill, as the codicl was witnessed by members of the court then in session. The Exact date of his death is not known but the inventory of his estate was returned to the Probate Court 28 Nov. 1683, nine days after the codicil was made (Moulton).
©All information on this page is quoted directly from and remains the property of Mansfield Genealogy, Complied by Geneva A. Daland, a descendant of Andrew, and James S. Mansfield, M.D., a descendant of Joseph 1980.
Surname is possibly Townsend
Nathanel CONANT, Jr born: 3 Jan 1679 in Beverly MA; married: (1) 5 Jun 1701 Margaret LAUGHTON (b. 1680 in Bridgewater MA d. bef Dec 1716 in Bridgewater MA) probably in Bridgewater MA (2) 17 Dec 1716 Elizabeth HAINS or HINDS (3) Mary; died: 8 Sep 1745 in Bridgewater MA; Son of Nathaniel CONANT and Hannah MANSFIELD
Children: (By 1st wife)
1. Thomas b. 29 Feb 1704 in Bridgewater, Plymouth MA m. (1)@1730 Martha AMES in Bridgewater, Plymouth MA (2) 29 Oct 1745 Mary WOOD d. 14 Jun 1786 in Bridgewater, Plymouth MA - 2. Nathan b. 1706 (Bridgewater MA) - 3. Bethiah b. 1709 (Bridgewater MA)
Sources: LDS Ancestral File
Thomas CONANT born: 29 Feb 1704 in Bridgewater, Plymouth MA; married: (1) @1730 Martha AMES (dau of William AMES and Mary D. HAYWARD; b. 1704 in Bridgewater MA; d.@1742 in Bridgewater MA) in Bridgewater MA (2) 29 Oct 1745 Mary WOOD; died: 14 Jun 1786 in Bridgewater, Plymouth MA; Son of Nathaniel CONANT, Jr. and Margaret LAUGHTON
Children: (By 1st marriage)
1. Thomas b. 12 Apr 1731 (Bridgewater MA) m. Hannah LAZELLE - 2. Sarah b. 2 May 1733 (Bridgewater MA) m. John HAYFORD - 3. Martha b. 8 Feb 1735 (Bridgewater MA) m. Seth LATHROP - 4. Rebecca b. 20 Jul 1737 (Bridgewater MA) m. Robert RANDALL - 5. Bethiah b. 19 Sep 1738 (Bridgewater MA) - 6. Mary b. 19 Feb 1740 (Bridgewater MA) m. 18 Sep 1767 Zebulon BRYANT (Bridgewater MA) d. 13 Dec 1808 (Ashfield MA) - 7. Zelpha b. 15 May 1742 (Bridgewater MA) m. Samuel KERTH By 2nd marriage: 8. Abner b. 4 Oct 1746 (Bridgewater MA) - 9. Zenas b. 6 Nov 1748 (Bridgewater MA) - 10. Ezra b. 22 Jul 1750 (Bridgewater MA) - 11.
Jedediah b. 22 Feb 1752 (Bridgewater MA) - 12. Abigail b. 3 Jan 1754 (Bridgewater MA) - 13. Keturah b. 13 Dec 1756 (Bridgewater MA) m. Barnabus WASHBURN
Sources: LDS Ancestral File; Vital Records of Ashfield MA; Elmer Genealogy
Nathaniel's death date is from the Bridgewater, Mass., Vital Records
Nathanel CONANT, Jr born: 3 Jan 1679 in Beverly MA; married: (1) 5 Jun 1701 Margaret LAUGHTON (b. 1680 in Bridgewater MA d. bef Dec 1716 in Bridgewater MA) probably in Bridgewater MA (2) 17 Dec 1716 Elizabeth HAINS or HINDS (3) Mary; died: 8 Sep 1745 in Bridgewater MA; Son of Nathaniel CONANT and Hannah MANSFIELD
Children: (By 1st wife)
1. Thomas b. 29 Feb 1704 in Bridgewater, Plymouth MA m. (1)@1730 Martha AMES in Bridgewater, Plymouth MA (2) 29 Oct 1745 Mary WOOD d. 14 Jun 1786 in Bridgewater, Plymouth MA - 2. Nathan b. 1706 (Bridgewater MA) - 3. Bethiah b. 1709 (Bridgewater MA)
Sources: LDS Ancestral File
Thomas CONANT born: 29 Feb 1704 in Bridgewater, Plymouth MA; married: (1) @1730 Martha AMES (dau of William AMES and Mary D. HAYWARD; b. 1704 in Bridgewater MA; d.@1742 in Bridgewater MA) in Bridgewater MA (2) 29 Oct 1745 Mary WOOD; died: 14 Jun 1786 in Bridgewater, Plymouth MA; Son of Nathaniel CONANT, Jr. and Margaret LAUGHTON
Children: (By 1st marriage)
1. Thomas b. 12 Apr 1731 (Bridgewater MA) m. Hannah LAZELLE - 2. Sarah b. 2 May 1733 (Bridgewater MA) m. John HAYFORD - 3. Martha b. 8 Feb 1735 (Bridgewater MA) m. Seth LATHROP - 4. Rebecca b. 20 Jul 1737 (Bridgewater MA) m. Robert RANDALL - 5. Bethiah b. 19 Sep 1738 (Bridgewater MA) - 6. Mary b. 19 Feb 1740 (Bridgewater MA) m. 18 Sep 1767 Zebulon BRYANT (Bridgewater MA) d. 13 Dec 1808 (Ashfield MA) - 7. Zelpha b. 15 May 1742 (Bridgewater MA) m. Samuel KERTH By 2nd marriage: 8. Abner b. 4 Oct 1746 (Bridgewater MA) - 9. Zenas b. 6 Nov 1748 (Bridgewater MA) - 10. Ezra b. 22 Jul 1750 (Bridgewater MA) - 11.
Jedediah b. 22 Feb 1752 (Bridgewater MA) - 12. Abigail b. 3 Jan 1754 (Bridgewater MA) - 13. Keturah b. 13 Dec 1756 (Bridgewater MA) m. Barnabus WASHBURN
Sources: LDS Ancestral File; Vital Records of Ashfield MA; Elmer Genealogy
Nathaniel's death date is from the Bridgewater, Mass., Vital Records
Death & Marriage Source: Bridgewater, Mass., Vital Records