Hussey Ancestry Narrative

The narrative below was originally the content of a page on Reverend Steven Bachiler, contributed by User:Tecbarclay in a gedcom upload. While the content does cover Reverend Bachiler, it is a much more wide-ranging text, not really suited for a particular person-page.

John Hussey, earliest documented ancestor of most of the Hussey family in America, was born in Dorking, Surrey April 29, 1559, according to Martha Burr Hollingsworth, a descendant of Jamestown, Ohio. She wrote in a letter dated February 6, 1978:

"Ethel Johnson Bradds started about 1920 trying to get into DAR, and after her death in 1953, I was given her papers. In the late 1950s a Miss Anna Hussey [now deceased] from Kansas City, Missouri came here searching, and she hired a professional to search and when she finished she mailed all her papers to me. One of Ethel Johnson's records shows that John Hussey, who married Mary Wood, was born April 29, 1559 and died November 8, 1597 at Dorking. This would come from research done 40-50 years ago."

"Maxwell History and Genealogy" states that John Hussey was probably born in Berkshire and later became a resident of Dorking.

Bessie Brooks Pritchett Hanna, an early Hussey researcher, wrote in 1911 that John Hussey was a great-grandson of Sir Henry Hussey of Slynfold, Sussex, but she did not elaborate nor document the relationship. Quoting from a chart labeled "Slynfold, Rape of Arundel, Hundred of Westeaswrith and Poling" Bessie Brooks Pritchett Hanna reports that Henry Hussey was married about 1517 to Eleanor Bradbridge, daughter of John Bradbridge of Slynfold. John Bradbridge is reported to be a descendant of Roger de Bradbridge who was living in 1355. The will of "John Bradbridge of Slinfold" was filed with the Dean of Canterbury, according to "Dean of Canterbury Manuscripts." Eleanor Bradbridge Hussey was identified as the sole heir of her father. [Inspection of this will might provide documentation of a relationship.]

Henry Hussey "of Sussex" was the recipient of a subsidy from King Henry VIII in 1523, according to "Calendar of State Papers." This volume also shows Henry Hussey as a member of the king's household August 1, 1524. He was named to the king's Commission of Sewers [members of the household who supervised the serving of food and the seating of the royal guests] July 4, 1538.

Sir Henry Hussey of Sussex was named on a grand jury panel November 30, 1538. Sir Henry Hussey, knight, member of Parliament for Horsham, Sussex died in 1557.

Children born to Henry Hussey and Eleanor Bradbridge Hussey include:

John Hussey born about 1519

John Hussey, son of Henry Hussey and Eleanor Bradbridge Hussey, was born about 1519 at Slynfold, Sussex. He was married about 1545, wife's name unknown. They became the grandparents of John Hussey, according to Bessie Brooks Pritchett Hanna.

John Hussey, a resident of Guildford, Surrey, was one of "Her Majesty's Commissioners for Surrey and Sussex", according to "Manuscripts of William More Molyneau."

Children born to John Hussey include:

Henry Hussey born in 1547

Henry Hussey, son of John Hussey, was born at Slynfold, Sussex in 1547. He was enrolled in Queens College, Cambridge University at Easter, 1662 and was a "resident pensioner" there in August 1564, according to "Hussey Record."

He was married to Judith Pagett about 1570, according to Bessie Brooks Pritchett Hanna. He became Clerk of the Spicery in service to Queen Elizabeth I in 1576. When King James I ascended the throne in 1603 he continued to serve him in that capacity. He died May 23, 1611 and was buried in the south aisle of the church at Battersea, Middlesex where a monument was erected to him by his widow.

The monument, according to "History of Surrey," is inscribed:

"To Henry Hussey, Esquire his loving wife Judeth Pagett hath erected this monument. He was born at Slinkford in Sussex. He was Clarke of the Spicery to Queen Elizabeth and King James, and lived in the court 35 yeares. He delivered his soul to God on the 23rd of May 1611, in the 64th year of his age; his body lyeth buried here waiting for a joyful resurrection."

Children born to Henry Hussey and Judith Pagett Hussey, according to Bessie Brooks Pritchett Hanna, include:

John Hussey born April 29, 1559

John Hussey, son of Henry Hussey and Judith Pagett Hussey, was born April 29, 1559, according to Bessie Brook Pritchett Hanna. [If John Hussey were born April 29, 1559, then he could not be the son of Henry Hussey and Judith Pagett Hussey who were married about 1570.]

John Hussey was married "5th, 12th 1593," according to a letter written by J. William Bardoe, Director of Research, English Genealogical Research, Guildford, Surrey. Walter Weston Folger, writing in "Historic Nantucket" states that "Between 1582 and 1752 March was the first month of the year. The "12th" month therefore was February, which brought about double-dating. Consequently, "5th, 12th 1593" could be written as February 5, 1593-94."

Thus in "new style" dating John Hussey, at about age 35, was married to Mary Wood, age about 18, February 5, 1594, as recorded in the Dorking Parish Register. She was the daughter of John Wood, Jr. and Joanne Taylor Wood and was baptized "5th 5. 1581" [July 5, 1581], according to Dorking parish register where she was identified as "granddaughter of John Wood, senior." She was the daughter of Henry Wood and Martha Bull Wood, according to "Genealogical History of New England" by Ezra Stearns. In the Dorking register her name was entered as "Marie Woode," and the German-appearance of the script has caused some researchers to transcribe her name as "Mary Moore."

John Hussey was a mariner and a resident of Dorking in 1598, according to "Early Settlers of Nantucket" by Lydia S. Hinchman. Some researchers haved claimed that John Hussey died at Dorking "8th, 11 1597 [January 8, 1598] citing the parish register as proof, but it was his infant son John Hussey who died on that date.

Concerning the death of John Hussey a different version is found in "Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire:" "John Hussey was the early voyager who was castaway upon Cape Florida and there devoured by the native canibals." Joseph Marshall in "Genealogy of the Husseys" erroneously attributes this fate to Christopher Hussey, son of John Hussey and great-grandfather of Joseph Marshall. [The Marshall manuscript, if located, might give much additional information on the Hussey family.]

The "castaway" legend keeps recurring in Hussey research, and if credence is placed in the report, it is quite possible that John Hussey was a mariner who made lengthy voyages and might have been considered lost by his family at some time.

John Hussey died in 1638, according to "One Hundred and Sixty Allied Families" by John Osborne Austin. This volume has a section on the Wood family [presently unresearched for this manuscript.]

Rev. John R. Lamb, M.A. of Dorking in a letter dated October 27, 1977 recommended two professional genealogists to assist with Hussey research in Dorking: A. J. McMillan of Dorking and J. William Bardoe of Guildford, Surrey.

J. William Bardoe found an entry in the Dorking Burial Register reading, "24th, 5th month, 1632, John Hussey, aged 74." He further reported that the registers of the adjacent parishes of Abinger and Shere did not contain Hussey entries prior to "5th, 12 1593," and neither did Richmond Parish registers reveal anything pertinent to the ancestry of Christopher Hussey.

Some might wish to speculate that John Hussey was the legendary "castaway" who did manage to find his way back to England perhaps years later. Finding his family had removed "to Holland," "to the colonies" or "to parts unknown," he may have continued to follow the sea until old age brought him back to Dorking to die alone there July 24, 1632 at age 74.

It is possible that Mary Wood Hussey, apparently a woman of strong religious convictions, may have left her husband because of disagreement and utilized the "castaway" story to explain her widowhood. In any event she presented herself as a widow for the remainder of her life.

Wood family footnote: Based on data found in the Dorking Parish Register it is apparent that John Wood Sr. and his wife Audrey Wood were the grandparents of Mary Wood. The Baptismal Register records, "9th, 7th 1581, Marie Wood, granddaughter of John Wood senior."

John Wood Sr. and Audrey Wood were residents of Dorking in 1562 when their son, John Wood, Jr., was baptized there according to the parish register. They were also living there in 1581 and 1586 when two of their daughters died, according to the burial register. Audrey Wood was buried "18th 2. 1603 [April 18, 1603], and John Wood, Sr. was buried "5th 4. 1612" [June 5, 1612], according to Dorking burial register.

Mary Wood Hussey continued to live in Dorking "31st 1. 1601" [March 31, 1601] when a daughter was baptized, according to Dorking Parish baptismal register. It is believed that Mary Wood Hussey had already entered her "widowhood" at this time. Widowhood, at the beginning of the seventeenth century, would be difficult at best with young children to feed, clothe and educate. It is possible that she removed, perhaps with other members of the Wood family from Dorking to Lincolnshire near Scrooby, shortly afterward. It is believed that she was deeply influenced by the Separatist ministers of that period. Very likely she and her family sat through long discourses by Rev. Stephen Bachiler of Hampshire, John Robinson, minister at Scrooby, who led the Pilgrim exodus to Holland, and William Brewster, who later was in charge of the "Mayflower" Pilgrims.

When James I ascended the throne of England in 1603 the Puritans were optimistic that he would complete the separation of the Anglican Church from the Roman Catholic Church begun by Henry VIII. However, James I vacillated in the matter, alternately courting, then shunning the Catholic church.

In disgust some of the Puritans left the Anglican Chuch to estblish the Separatist Church in England. Nowhere in England was the Separatist movement more visible than in Lincolnshire, Surrey, Hampshire and Kent. These quickly became the target of the ire of the king who felt they were completely unconcerned with his delicate balance of political expedience.

When the persecution of the crown became unbearable to the Separatists, some of them, particularly the congregations at Scrooby and at Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, under the leadership of John Robinson began to make plans to flee to Holland to join other English exiles who had gone there for religious freedom.

Although no evidence has been found to document Mary Wood Hussey in Holland, it is possible that she joined other Separatists in making plans for a surreptitious flight to The Netherlands. It would have been a bold sacrifice for Mary Wood Hussey to part with possessions she cherished and to venture the unknown privations in a foreign country.

In 1607 the Separatists stealthily set forth on an escape plan designed to take them to Amsterdam. In small groups they moved to Boston, Lincolnshire to await the arrival of the Dutch ship that was to smuggle them out of England. It is believed that Mary Wood Hussey and her son sought shelter among friends in Boston while awaiting the secret arrival of the Dutch vessel.

The Dutch ship did not appear on schedule, and the Pilgrims, bundled into crowded dwellings and local inns, began to dole out their sparse provisions and precious shillings for food. Finally the ship crept into the harbor, and under the cover of darkness John Robinson began to assemble his scattered flock on the wharf from which dingeys carried them out to the small ship in Boston harbor.

After they were aboard and about to breathe a sigh of relief from the oppression of the crown, spies of the king rushed aboard the Dutch ship and arrested the entire party. The ship's captain had betrayed the Pilgrims to the English authorities.

A Pilgrim memorial was later erected on Scotia Creek at Boston where the Pilgrims were thwarted in their escape attempt. On this spot the king's agents ransacked their goods, searched them and "rifled their persons for money, even to their innermost garments and the women beyond the bounds of modesty." They watched helplessly while their luggage, treasured books and cash were plundered. The king's men then marched them back into town and made them a spectacle to the crowds who flocked curiously about them.

The male leaders, including Robinson and Brewster, were jailed, and the flock dispersed to go in a dozen different ways. Thereafter the band of Pilgrims met covertly in obscure places since they were now openly branded as disserters who had defied the king's edicts and had attempted to flee their homeland illegally.

The Pilgrim leaders were eventually released from jail and in the winter of 1607 began to make plans for another escape attempt, all the while trying to keep up the spirits of the uprooted and homeless flock. They contacted friends in Holland who arranged for another Dutch ship to come to their rescue. The second plan called for embarcation, not from Boston in the south, but from the Humber River in the north.

The women and children were placed aboard a barque which was to procede upstream on the Humber River. The men, meanwhile, approached the Dutch ship on a meadow that bordered the river downstream. The barque with the women and children arrived at the rendezvous first, and finding neither the Dutch ship nor the Pilgrim men on hand, the passengers feared another sell-out. Shortly the waves on the wide Humber became rough, making the passengers seasick. The women prevailed upon the barque handlers to make for shore where the craft became grounded as the tide went out.

The Dutch ship slipped into the Humber estuary the next morning. The captain was disturbed when he found the barque aground. Then he spied his men passengers nervously tramping up and down the shoreline. He ordered the ship's boat to the shore to pick up the men, and a number of them were soon on board. As the captain was about to dispatch the boat back to the river's edge to pick up the remainder, a large group of armed men, some mounted on horses, swooped down and arrested them. The Dutch captain promptly upped anchor and sailed away, and the remainder of the Pilgrims were abandoned for the second time.

If Mary Wood Hussey and her son were aboard the grounded barque, they simply had to disembark with their meager possessions and attempt to make their way to some home that might shelter them from the authorities and the elements.

Meanwhile the Dutch ship with the first group of Pilgrim men aboard was swept out to sea and caught up in a storm which carried them northward off the coast of Norway and threatened to capsize them repeatedly for hours on hours. Finally, two weeks later, the crippled ship limped into its Dutch port, presumably Amsterdam.

The remainder of the Pilgrims--men, women and children--were arrested by the agents of King James I and brought before magistrates who did not know what to do with them.

John Robinson, leader of the Pilgrims, had stayed behind with the ones whose escape had been thwarted and was again imprisoned. The majority of the congregation at Gainsborough got over to Holland in 1607, and the Scrooby congregation arrived in 1608, according to "History of Plymouth Plantation" by William Bradford.

Months later, after all the adversities, "they all gat over at length, some at one time and some at another, and some in one place and some in another, and met together again according to their desires, with no small rejoicing."

By the summer of 1608 about 125 members of the Scrooby congregation had made the journey to Amsterdam. John Robinson came with the last group and was probably met at the port by those who had preceded him. They were probably ushered to the Church of the Ancient Brethren which was the name given to the church established by the earlier refugees.

The friendly Dutch took the Pilgrims in and made them welcome in Amsterdam. The city was bustling with commerce at that time, and the English had no trouble finding jobs. They were soon settled in the British settlement of the city of some 250,000 people.

Shortly the Separatist church in Amsterdam was split into bickering splinter groups over minute points of Puritan dogma. So severe was the controversy that Robinson and Brewster determined to remove their flock. In February 1609 they petitioned the burgomasters of Leyden, Holland, a nearby university town, for a colony of "100 persons or thereabouts to settle there," according to "The England and Holland of the Pilgrims." by Henry Martin Dexter. The move was approved by the city fathers, and the Pilgrims settled there in May 1609. On January 27, 1611 the congregation purchased a meetinghouse and a church lot for 8,000 guilders.

The property, called "Groenepoort" [Green Door], had room for 21 houses that were built on the open lot after the purchase. Henry Wood, a single man and perhaps a relative of Mary Wood Hussey, was mentioned in the "Groenepoort" deed. He was later a witness at a wedding in Leyden December 8, 1617.

"Mary Wood," perhaps Mary Wood Hussey, was a witness at a wedding in Leyden October 3, 1614.

The Leyden congregation was the parent of Congregationalism, according to William Bradford. John Robinson accepted a teaching post at the University of Leyden, and, according to "The Beginnings of New England" by John Fiske, the English exiles were absorbed very harmoniously into the community at Leyden, which allowed them for the first time in many years to have the freedom of religion that they had so anxiously sought.

Mary Wood Hussey and her son probably found employment in Leyden. There he grew into manhood in the gentle, cultural influence of the many religious teachers in the university town. Among the religious leaders in exile Stephen Bachiler probably influenced the Hussey family more than any other.

Stephen Bachiler footnote: Stephen Bachiler was born about 1560, parents and place unknown. He was enrolled in St. John's College about 1581 and received his B.A. degree from Oxford University February 3, 1585-86, according to "Alumni Oxfordensis, 1500-1714," Volume I. He became the rector of Wherwell, Hampshire in 1587 through the influence of Sir Thomas West, second Baronet de la Ware, father of Lord Delaware.

His tenure at Wherwell lasted 18 years. He espoused the teachings of the Puritans and preached them from his pulpit until he was expulsed in 1605 by an order of the first ecclesiastical commission of King James I. He was described as "the silenced vicar of Wherwell."

However, he did not remain silent. He continued to preach the non-conformist doctrines in Hampshire, suffering much at the hands of the bishops, and occasionally made trips to Holland where some of his sons and daughters had fled. In 1613 he and his son, who had been expelled from Magdalen College, Oxford University, were sued for libel by a neighboring clergyman for composing scandalous verses about him and singing them in various places including the house of George Wither, the poet.

In 1622 Stephen Bachiler lived at Barton Stacy, Hampshire, about one and one-half miles from Wherwell. Here he bought land and accumulated considerable property.

On the 6th, 23, 1631 Stephen Bachiler, age 70, and his wife Helen, age 47, residents of South Stonham, Southampton, received license to go to Flushing, a fortified seaport in southwest Netherlands on the English Channel, to visit their sons and daughters "and to return within two months," according to "One Hundred and Sixty Allied Families." Two days later Anne Bachiler Sanborn, their daughter, "widow, aged 30 years, resident in the Strand, had licence to go to 'Vlishing.'"

When Stephen Bachiler arrived in Boston on the "William and Francis" he brought with him three grandchildren, children of Anne Bachiler Sanborn who had died. Shortly after his arrival he wrote a letter from Lynn to Gov. Winthrop complaining of a posposed sale of four hogsheads of peas and requesting that the sale be stayed. He wrote that the peas arrived in the ship "Whale" about the same time that he arrived in the "William and Francis." He alluded to the "Company of Husbandmen" owing him a "debt of near 100 pounds, which I lent to the company in as good gold as can be weighed with the scales." The peas would partly offset the debt, and as a further argument he says, "I have disposed of part of them and the residue are exceedingly wanting in mine own congregation." The company he alluded to had procured a grant called the "Plough Patent" [from the name of the ship that brought it] of the Plymouth Company.

He received a grant of 50 acres in 1636 in Ipswich, Massachusetts, but he soon left through "differences." In 1637, at the age of 76, he moved to Yarmouth, Massachusetts, travelling the 100 miles on foot in very cold winter weather. On the 6th, 7th month 1638 he was granted lands in Newbury, Massachusetts by the town. On the 6th, 9th month, 1638 the General Court granted him a commission to settle at Winnacunnet, New Hampshire. On the 9th, 10th day, 1638 he wrote from Newbury to John Winthrop, Jr, "So it is that we are resolved, God so consenting, the second working day of next week, to set forward towards our plantation [Winnacunnet]; preparing thereto the day before." He wrote that he intended to go by shallop and hoped that Mr. Winthrop and Mr. Bradstreet will, if possible, be ready to accompany them.

He wrote further, "This day had not an hindrance fallen out, I had brought your father-in-law's two stalls of bees to you; for that one of them hath robbed and spoiled a stall of mine, as the manner of bees is, and I cannot tell how to proceed against the offenders, to have law and justice against them; but by removing the thievish stall and keeping in the innocent till they are removed. The Lords good eye be ever upon you and yours, and so I rest on Him that is all sufficient, Yours in all Christian office and service, his most unworthy Stephen Bachiller."

On the 18th, l0th month, 1639 he wrote to the wife of Governor Winthrop alluding to his daily prayers for the governor, his wife and their children. He presented a book to her, hoping "that my token may in something help you forward as a sweet gale of wind in your back in the way of God. Looking among some special reserved books and lighting on this little treatise of one of my own poor children, I perceived nothing might suit more to my love and your acceptance."

In 1640 the town of Hampton granted him 300 acres and he presented the church with a bell. Following the burning of his house and the loss of his pulpit in Hampton he moved to Casco, [later Portland] Maine in 1641.

In 1643 he returned to Hampton and was restored to communion, but not to the pulpit. At this time he wrote from Hampton describing his wanderings from Lynn, to Newbury, Hampton, Casco and other points and complained that Rev. Timothy Dalton "who hath done all and been the cause of all the dishonor that hath accrued to God, shame to myself, and grief to all God's people by his irregular proceedings and abuse of the power of the church in his hand, by the major part cleaving to him being his countrymen and acquaintances in Old England." He vowed not to leave Hampton until he had been cleared and vindicated "of the causes and wrongs I have suffered of the church I live yet in."

On the 18th, 5th month, 1644 he wrote to Governor Winthrop of the great loss he had sustained in the burning of his home at Hampton. He estimated the loss at 200 pounds and "my whole study of books." He closed the letter with "I cease and rest in the Lord, Yours to command his most unprofitable servant Stephen Bachiler," and adds in a postscript, "Bear with my blotted paper, my maid threw down myne ink glass upon it, and I had not rescribendi tempus."

On the 3rd, 5th month, 1647 he wrote to Gov. Winthrop, "It is no news to certify to you that God hath taken from me my dear helper and yolkfellow, and whereas by approbtion of the whole plantation of Strawberry Bank [Portsmouth] they have assigned an honest neighbor, to have some eye and care towards my family for washing, baking and other common services; it is a world of woes to think what rumors distracting spirits raise up; that I am married to her, or certainly shall be, and cast on her such aspersions without ground or proof, as that I see not how possibly I shall subsist in the place to do them that service from which otherwise they cannot endure to hear, I shall depart."

On the 8th, 9th month, 1647 he made a deed while at Portsmouth "for and in consideration, natural love and affection towards my four grandchildren John, Stephen and William Sanborn, and Nathaniel Bachiler; all, now or lately, of Hampton.

At age 89 he married his third wife and in May 1650 was fined ten pounds for not publishing his intentions of marriage. Half of the fine was remitted in the October meeting. Later in the year they had matrimonial disagreements and the court intervened to order them to "live together as man and wife, and either deserting the other to be arrested." His wife, Mary was sentenced for adultry, and she and her lover were publicly whipped. About 1653 he returned to England in the company of his grandson, Stephen Sanborn.

In 1656 his wife, Mary Bachiler, filed for divorce, declaring that he had gone to England and "taken a new wife, leaving her with children who were sick."

Four months after his arrival and beginning of his ministry at Lynn the General Court in Boston ordered "Mr. Bachiler is requested to forbear exercising his rights as pastor, etc., for his contempt of authority, and until some scandals be removed." On the 4th, 3rd month, 1633 the court removed the injunction.

Stephen Bachiler was the subject of a section in "Maxwell History and Genealogy:"

"In the year 1629 a small company of dissenters in England organized themselves into what was known as the "Company of Husbandmen" or "Company of the Plough." These names were not descriptive, but probably scriptural in their allusion, as the members of the company were not farmers, but merchants and artisans. They had put their hands to the plough of nonconformity, and were determined not to look back to the Church of England, out of which they had come. Their chosen pastor and leader was the Rev. Stephen Bachiler, in all probability a member of the Puritan colony in Holland. He came to America in the "William and Francis" in the summer of 1632 with the second installment of the "Plough Company," bringing with him his wife, Helen, who was probably not the mother of his children; his grandson, Nathaniel Bachiler, Jr; and three grandchildren by the name of Sanborne, John, William and Stephen, sons of John Sanborne and Anne Bachiler Sanborne, together with his son-in-law, Christopher Hussey, and his wife, Theodate. He and his little flock established themselves at Lynn. In 1632, the year of his arrival, he incurred the displeasure of the Court, or Legislature, of Massachusetts Bay Colony for some divergencies of doctrine, and his "Plough Company" seems to have come to an inglorious end. His course was a difficult one, but he labored with unabated zeal and energy and never lost courage. In 1638, after several years of con flict with the authorities of Massachusetts Bay Colony he removed to Ipswich, and later to Newbury, where his son-in-law, Captain Christopher Hussey, resided. After living for two years in Newbury, this stout old dissenter, at the age of 79 or 80, conceived the idea of starting a plantation or town of his own, a day's march further north. Accordingly in 1639 the plantation was begun. At his request and in honor of the English city of Southampton, it was called Hampton. He was virtually the founder of this New Hampshire town. After a few year's residence in Hampton he moved to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where he had no church, but preached occasionally. He returned to England in 1654 and died at Hackney, Middlesex, now in east London in his 100th year. His career was beset with difficulties, but his great ability and his iron will left a decided stamp upon the communities in which he labored and breached. The name of his first wife, the mother of his children is unknown."

Writing of the efforts of Stephen Bachiler in Hampton Everett S. Stackpole in his "History of New Hampshire" states:

"The Rev. Stephen Bachiler deserves notice as the founder of this town. He was born in England about 1561, went to Holland as a dissenter, came to Boston in 1632 and settled at Lynn as minister. He was the minister at Hampton from 1638 to 1641, when he was excommunicated from the church, but he was restored two years later. He went to live at Portsmouth in 1647, and a few years later sailed for England, where he died at the age of 100. He was thrice married, his last wife, Mary, being the widow of Robert Beadle of Kittery, Maine. He sued for divorce from her and failed to obtain it. She later got divorced from him and married Thomas Turner. Several children were born to him in England, and their descendants are many in America, but his daughter by his third marriage, Mary, who married William Richards of Portsmouth, has been overlooked in the genealogy of his descendants. He was evidently a man of learning, leadership and popular gifts as a minister. To found a town in a wilderness requires greater abilities than to sit idly on an inherited throne."

Edward Rowe Snow wrote of Stephen Bachiler in his book, "A Pilgrim Returns to Cape Cod:"

There is another story about an erstwhile resident of Yarmouth--that of Rev. Stephen Bachiler, the minister there for a short time in 1637. His first two wives had died in England, and his third passed away in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. At the age of 81 Bachiler became interested in the wife of his neighbor and was excommunicated. About seven years later he remarried, but marital trouble started at once, as his wife presented "vehement suspicion of incontinency." He then sailed for England after hiking about 100 miles from Kittery, Maine to Boston. She was punished for her association with one George Rodgers, and both she and Rodgers were stripped down and given thirty-nine lashes each. Mary Bachiler was then forced to wear the letter "A" for "Adultress." Thus she was possibly the original for the character Hester Prynne in Hawthorne's book, "The Scarlet Letter." On October 18, 1656 she applied for divorce, alleging that her husband had gone to England several years before and had married again, according to "Records of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay in New England." A final episode in this stange drama occurred in London, where the Reverend Stephen Bachiler passed from this world when he was about 100, an English wife at his bedside."

John Winthrop, who had been designated by the crown to be the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, was not able to come to Massachusetts to take his office until he arrived in the "Arabella." The "Arabella" sailed from England in March 1630 and arrived at Salem, Massachusetts June 12, 1630 [old style]. With the governor was a large party of Puritan emigrants.

Gov. Winthrop kept a record of his tenure in office as governor to which he was elected 12 times. "Winthrop's Journal," a valuable record of early Massachusetts history was printed in part in Hartford, Connecticut in 1790 and later in whole in Boston, edited with valuable notes by James Savage as "The History of New England from 1630 to 1699" in 1825. The Puritans who accompanied Gov. Winthrop were largely non-Separatists, and the battle lines were immediately drawn between the two groups. Minute points of theology divided the colony from that point on. Gov. John Winthrop took note of the alleged escapades of Rev. Stephen Bachilerin "Winthrop's Journal." He wrote:

"Mr. Stephen Batchellor, the pastor of the church at Hampton, who had suffered much at the hands of the bishops in England, being about 80 years of age, and having a lusty comely woman to his wife, did solicit the chastity of his neighbor's wife, who acquainted her husband therewith; whereupon he was dealt with, but denied it, as he had told the woman he would do, and complained to the magistrates against the woman and her husband for slandering him. The church likewise dealing with him, he stiffly denied it, but soon after, when the Lord's supper was to be administered, he did voluntarily confess the attempt, and that he did intend to have defiled her, if she would have consented. The church, being moved with his free confession and years, silently forgave him, and communicated with him; but after, finding how scandalous it was, they took advise of other elders, and after long debate and much pleading and standing upon the church's forgiving and being reconciled to him in communicating with him after he had confessed it, they proceeded to cast him out. After this he went on in a variable course, sometimes seeming very penitent, soon after again excusing himself, and casting blame upon others, especially his fellow elder Mr. Dalton [who indeed had not carried himself in this cause so well as became him, and was brought to see his failing, and acknowledged it to the elders of the other churches who had taken much pains about this matter.] He was off and on for a long time, and when he had seemed most penitent, so as the church were ready to have received him in again, he would fall back again, and as it were, repent of his repentance. In this time his house and near all his substance was consumed by fire. When he had continued excommunicated near two years, and much agitation had been about the matter, and the chuch being divided, so as he could not be received in, at length the matter was referred to some magistrates and elders, and by their mediation he was released of his excommunication, but not received to his pastor's office.

Rev. Stephen Bachiler had written to Gov. Winthrop May 18, 1644 and in his letter described the loss by fire, according to "Winthrop's Jounal," Volume II. "I have had great losse by fire, well knowne to the value of 200 pounds, with my whole studdy of bookes."

Because the Rev. Bachiler had caught his wife in bed with one of the neighbors he left her nothing when he departed for England about 1655, leaving her behind. A grandson, Stephen Sanborn, escorted the old man back to his homeland. Stephen Bachiler was identified as the twelfth-generation grandfather of President Richard Nixon, No. 3394, in "The Ancestry of Richard Milhous Nixon."

In 1892 Charles E. Bachelder of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, a descendant of Rev. Stephen Bachiler wrote a serialized defense of his ancestor which was published by Massachusetts Historical Society. The defense tended to prove the innocence of his ancestor who had been victimized in a plot by Massachusetts church authorities who regarded the preacher as a threat to their dogma.

Children born to Stephen Bachiler and his wives include:

Nathaniel Bachiler born in 1589

• Deobrah Bachiler born in 1591
  • Samuel Bachiler born in 1592
    • Stephen Bachiler, Jr. born in 1594

Theodate Bachiler born in 1598 Anne Bachiler born in 1600 Mary Bachiler born about 1650

   * Deborah Bachiler was married to Rev. John Wing, minister of the Puritan church at The Hague, Netherlands. They were the ancestors of the Wing family of Cape Cod and Nantucket. Four children were born to them. 

   *
         o Rev. Samuel Bachiler was the chaplain of Sir Charles Morgan's regiment in Holland. 

   *
         o
               + Stephen Bachiler, Jr. matriculated at Magdalen College, Oxford University in 1610. He was expelled in 1613 for joining his father in unorthodoxy. Three children, Stephen, Nathaniel, and Francis were born to him. 

Anne Bachiler Sanborn's three sons were John born 1620, William born about 1622 and Francis.

From the Dutch sanctuary the Separatists encouraged their brethren to keep the faith and to come to Holland to join them when conditions became intolerable. They wrote a constant stream of letters and pamphlets extolling the religious freedom available in Holland. Under John Robinson's leadership the colony grew from 100 persons to about 300.

He issued a number of books and pamphlets, and his works were republished by Massachusetts Historical Society in Series 4, Volume I. A summary of their contents was given in "History of Congregationalism." O. S. Davis wrote the biography of John Robinson in 1897. John Robinson died in Holland in 1825, but not before he saw his dream of planting the Separatist church in the American colonies fulfilled.

Although the Separatists were only in Leyden 14 years, the city dedicated a museum to the Pilgrims and it still stands today, 400 years later. A memorial was erected to the memory of John Robinson who died in Leyden.

The Pilgrims would probably have still been in the Dutch paradise today, if it hadn't been for one event--the Spanish army was again threatening Leyden. They knew if the Spanish soldiers came, the Catholic church couldn't be far behind, and they would have religious persecution all over again.

Emperor Carlos V of Spain started the war in 1555. He made a star-crossed decision to overrun Continental Europe at that time and for the next 55 years, he and his son Phillip who succeed him on the throne were bogged down in continual battles.

The high watermark of the Spanish Empire was at Leyden. There the embattled Dutch fought the Spanish to a standstill. The Spanish completely encircled Leyden and attempted in a seige to starve the city into surrender.

When the situation in Leyden became hopeless, the Dutch broke the dikes holding back the North Sea and washed the Spaniards right out of their hair. It is interesting that the Dutch word "Flanders" means "flooded land."

This war with Spain also brought about a genetic anomoly. During the half century that the Spanish soldiers were on the Flanders front, they "fraternized" with the Dutch girls.

And thus emerged the Black Dutch. The Black Dutch originated and remained in southern Holland, and the blonde, blue-eyed Hollanders remained in the North. They were separated by discrimination for many years.

When it began to appear that the Dutch would soon be at war with Spain, the Separatists made plans to move again. One hundred twenty Separatists, about a third of the exiles in Holland, sailed from Delftshaven, Holland late in July 1620 for Southampton, England in the "Mayflower" and the "Speedwell." They departed Southampton August 5, but had to put into Plymouth, England when it was determined that the "Speedwell" was not sea-worthy enough to attempt the trans-Atlantic voyage to Massachusetts Bay.

The "Mayflower," formerly a wine ship on the Mediterranean run, appeared to be seaworthy, so most of the passengers aboard the "Speedwell" were transferred to the "Mayflower," and those who could not find accomodations aboard the crowded "Mayflower" were put ashore in England to await a later ship. About 100 of the Pilgrims were crowded into the "Mayflower" when she sailed.

Whether the party of Mary Wood Hussey and the party of Rev. Stephen Bachiler were among those put ashore at Plymouth is unknown. They may have remained in Holland when the first contingent of Pilgrims departed for Massachusetts. In any event they would remain together from this point forward because the son of Mary Wood Hussey had married a daughter of Rev. Stephen Bachiler, probably in Holland.

In retrospect it appears fortunate that the Hussey and Bachiler parties did not come to America on the "Mayflower" because half of the passengers died at Plymouth, Massachusetts during the first winter.

Soon afterward the "Fortune," the second ship, brought 50 more Pilgrims from Leyden to Massachusetts. At the end of the first ten years the population was 300. By Christmas of 1630 17 voyages had brought 1,000 people to New England in that year. Thus began the "Great Puritan Exodus" which took place during the 11 years when Charles I ruled without a Parliament [1619-1640.] In 1638, 14 ships bound for New England lay in the Thames River at the same time. In that year 3,000 settlers arrived in Massachusetts, according to "The Beginners of a Nation." Of the 26,000 inhabitants in New England at the end of 1640 all but 500 had come during these years. After 1640 the movement ceased almost as suddenly as it had begun, and emigration to New England was not renewed to any great extent until about 1790.

After 1640 the Puritans becam dominant in the political affairs of England as well as in the Colonies, and they had no further desire nor reason to leave England. For 150 years from 1640, the people of New England continued to multiply almost by natural increase alone and in remarkable seclusion from emigration by the rest of the world. So slight indeed was the influx of outsiders that for many years those returning to England more than counterbalanced those coming from there. Consequently the children began to intermarry with cousins by the time of the third and fourth generations, there being no one else to marry.

The white population of New England in 1650 was about 33,000; in 1678 about 60,000; in 1706 about 120,000; in 1734 about 250,000; in 1762 about 500,000, and in 1790 about 1,000,000.

The "Mayflower" had the distinction of carrying the "Pilgrim Fathers," the term applied to the Puritan Separatists who made the first passage. The ship departed Plymouth, England on September 6, 1620 [new style] and landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts December 11, 1620 [new style]. Some 41 of the passengers aboard signed the famous "Mayflower Compact" to give the colony a form of government when it landed.

Mary Wood Hussey arrived in New England aboard the "William and Francis." The ship with Captain Thomas as master had sailed from London March 9, 1632 and arrived June 5 "with about 60 passengers, having been 88 days on the way," according to "Winthrop's Journal."

Gov. Winthrop recorded the names of 41 of the passengers in his journal. The name of Mary Wood Hussey was recorded as a passenger in the party of her son, Christopher Hussey. Rev. Stephen Bachiler and his party were also named as passengers by Gov. Winthrop.

When Mary Wood Hussey debarked at Saugus, Massachusetts [later called Lynn] she found a bleak and foreboding future ahead of her. It must have taken some courage beyond that which was supplied by motherly love for her to undertake a three-month voyage in the cramped and uncomfortable quarters of the "William and Francis" at her age, then about 57.

Obviously her religious fervor had steeled her to accept whatever dangers and deprivations that lay ahead of her in the sparsely settled wilderness of New England.

A description of the village of Saugus was published two years later in London in 1634 by William Wood. Although the volume followed a typical chamber of commerce approach in advertising the opportunities and advantages of the new land, its descriptions could not camouflage the bleak landscape of Saugus. Description of the town, reproduced from Wood's book, appeared in "Chronicles of the First Planters" by Alexander Young, published in 1846:

"There be convenient ponds for the planting of duckoys. Here is likewise, belonging to this place divers fresh meadows, which afford good grass, and four spacious ponds, like little lakes, wherein is store of fresh fish, within a few miles of the town; out of which runs a curious fresh brook, that is seldom frozen, by reason of the warmness of the water. Upon this stream is built a water-mill, and up this river come smelts and frost-fish, much bigger than a gudgeon. For wood, there is no want, there being good store of good oaks, walnut, cedar, asp and elm. The ground is very good, in many places without trees, fit for the plough."

"The land affordeth the inhabitants as many rarities as any place else, and the sea more, the bass continuing from the middle of April to Michaelmas, which stays not above half that time in the bay. Besides, here is a great deal of rock-cod and mackerel from one end of the sandy beach to the other, which the inhabitants have gathered up in wheelbarrows. The bay that lieth before the town, a low spring tide, will be all flats for two miles together; upon which is great store of muscle-banks and clam-banks, and lobsters amongst the rocks and grassy holes. These flats make it unnavigable for ships. Yet, at high water, great boats, lighters and pinnaces of twenty and thirty ton, may sail up to the plantation; but they need have a skillful pilot, because of many dangerous rocks and foaming breakers, that lie at the mouth of the bay. The very aspect of the place is fortification enough to keep off an unknown enemy."

Johnson's "History of New England" told more of the circumstances at Lynn:

"Their meeting-house is on a level land, undefended from the cold north-west wind and therefore made with steps descending into the earth. Their streets are straight and comely, yet but thin of houses. The people mostly inclined to husbandry, have built many farms remote there; cattle exceedingly multiplied; goats, which were in great esteem at their first coming, are now almost quite banished; and now horse, kine and sheep are most in request with them. The first feeder of this flock of Christ was Mr. Stephen Batchelor, gray and aged."

At Ipswich, Massachusetts [formerly called Agowamme] the settlers set about to build up a church. The land was little different from Lynn. Johnson writes of Ipswich:

"Being near the sea, it aboundeth with fish, and flesh of fowls and beasts, great meads and marshes and plain ploughing grounds, many good rivers and harbours, and no rattlesnakes."

The residence of Mary Wood Hussey was short at Ipswich. Rev. Stephen Bachiler had immediately stirred up a religious controversy over some minute points of Pilgrim theology, and they had to move again, this time to Newbury, Massachusetts, about 12 miles north of Ipswich.

Their tenure in Newbury lasted but little longer. Rev. Stephen Bachiler stirred up another furor, and they had to move again in the latter part of 1637, this time to Salisbury, [now Amesbury] Massachusetts, still farther north and still farther away from the religion-regulating General Court at Boston, which kept a wary eye on the controversial preacher.

The flames flared up again, and Rev. Stephen Bachiler resolved to escape the control of Massachusetts. He moved his followers to the wilderness of New Hampshire. There, just across the boundary from Massachusetts Bay Colony, they established their own church and their own town. Mary Wood Hussey was one of the petitioners who received permission from the General Court in September 1638 "to begin a settlement at Winnacunnet"

Everett S. Stackpole in his "History of New Hampshire" shows the names of the founders of Hampton to include many that became prominent in the history of New England. He wrote:

"The founders included Rev. Stephen Bachiler, Christopher Hussey, widow Mary Hussey, Thomas Cromwell, Samuel Skullard, John Osgood, John Crosse, Samuel Greenfield, John Moulton, Thomas Moulton, William Estow, William Palmer, William Sergeant, Richard Swayne, William Sanders, Robert Tuck and divers others. The settlers went by shallop and began the settlement October 14, 1638. The following year the Rev. Timothy Dalton became associate pastor [or teacher] with the Rev. Stephen Bachiler, and Winnacunnet was granted town privileges, or incorporated. The next year the Indian name was given up and Hampton became the name of the town, suggested, it is thought, by Mr. Bachiler."

"Small Lots of ten acres and less were granted to the first settlers, around the meetinghouse green and along the road therefrom to the landing on Hampton River. These were home lots, and farms of many acres were alloted here and there as need and merit demanded. The two ministers had 300 acres apiece. John Crosse and John Moulton, the two first representatives to the General Court, had 250 acres apiece, and Christopher Hussey, son-in-law of Mr. Bachiler, had the same number. These, then, were the big men of the town."

"The town stretched along the coast of Colchester, the earliest name of Salisbury to the southern part of Piscataque, now known as Rye, and inland about 30 miles. Its original limits included the present towns of Hampton, North Hampton, Hampton Falls, a part of Seabrook, Kingston, East Kingston, Kensington, Danville, and a part of Sandown. The towns of Newton and South Hampton afterward came within the limits of Hampton, when the line was fixed between New Hampshire and Massachusetts."

Mary Wood Hussey was one of the original settlers of Hampton, arriving there in 1638 or 1639 and becoming a property owner. Her home on a five-acre plot adjoined the meetinghouse green, and the home of her son, Christopher Hussey, adjoined on the opposite side. The house lot of the widow is the location of the townhouse in present-day Hampton.

Later she received additional plots of land of which ten acres were situated between the land of Philemon Dalton and William Martin. On April 25, 1648 she sold to John Woodin "a joint possession until her death in 15 acres of land" which partly adjoined the property of Christopher Hussey, according to "Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire." "Ould Mistris Husse" had a pew designation in the seating arrangement at the church in Hampton March 4, 1649-50, according to "First Comers to Hampton, New Hampshire." by Charles Thornton Libbey. John Woodin, alone, sold the property which he had held "in joint possession" with Mary Wood Hussey July 27, 1657, suggesting that Mary Wood Hussey had died prior to that time, according to the Libbey volume. The volume refers to legal papers mentioning entries of Mary Wood Hussey recorded as "Lists 392a and 392b." Martha Burr Hollingsworth reports that Mary Wood Hussey died June 16, 1660 at the home of Christopher Hussey.

Children born to John Hussey and Mary Wood Hussey include:

John Hussey baptized April 29, 1594 Christopher Hussey born about 1596 Marie Hussey baptized January 31, 1601-02

John Hussey, son of John Hussey and Mary Wood Hussey, was baptized April 29, 1594 in Dorking, Surrey, according to "Maxwell History and Genealogy." This date is confirmed in a letter from Rev. John A. Lamb, St. Martin's Vicarage, Dorking, dated October 27, 1977. Dr. Lamb obtained the date from Guildford Muniment Room. John Hussey died 8th 11th month, 1597 and was buried in Dorking, according to "Maxwell History and Genealogy."

Christopher Hussey, "second child" of John Hussey and Mary Wood Hussey, was born in Dorking, Surrey in 1599, according to "One Hundred and Sixty Allied Families." He was baptized in Dorking February 18, 1599, according to Dorking parish register. Dates of the family of Christopher Hussey go back to 1538 in Dorking parish register, according to Dr. Ruth Ann Hussey Lindquist Bassler, a descendant.

"Christopher Hussey was baptized in Dorking, Surrey and was the son of John Hussey and Mary Wood," according to "Early Settlers of Nantucket" by Lydia S. Hinchman. Confirmation is given in a letter written in 1880 by a New Bedford member of the Hussey family. Extracts read:

"I forgot to tell you about my visit to Dorking, where I went before leaving England. It is 26 miles southwest of London, but took me an hour and a half by rail, but through a lovely country. It is beautiful old town. They say the country about there is considered among the most picturesque in England."

"I went to the parish clerk; he had gone out, and his sister thought perhaps the vicar might know the book. So I went there was shown into his study, a lovely old house and a very pretty room in Summer, but a fire-place too small to half warm it. The vicar was a wonderfully handsome and gentle-manly person, who offered to do all he could for me, but said the clerk had the book. I at last found him, and we looked over it together."

"As I knew the exact date of Christopher's birth, it did not take long, although the writing was the same queer German text hand we saw at Hampton, which seemed to be the style then, but, strange to say, the book itself looked a hundred years younger than that, it had been kept so much more carefully, and was of parchment."

"We found Christopher, son of John Hussey, was baptized 18th of February, 1599, and looking back a few years, found John Hussey and Marie [Moor or Wood] [I could not make out which] were married December 5, 1593. Then John, son of John, baptized April 29th, 1594, and died November 8th, 1597. There is no other mention of any one of the name of Hussey that we could find in the book, and no person of that name is living there or has been known to live there. The vicar told me it was a Berkshire name. John Hussey probably came there from some other place; and, as there seem to have been no other children that lived, no one of the name remains there."

It is believed that Christopher Hussey was taken to Holland in his youth by his widowed mother. Mary Puritans fled to Holland between 1607 and 1621 to escape the religious persecution that hounded them in England. His family settled in Leyden, Holland under the religious leadership of John Robinson. Apparently it was there that he met Theodate Bachiler, daughter of Rev. Stephen Bachiler and Ann Bate Bachiler and fell in love with her. "One Hundred and Sixty Allied Families" devotes a section to the Bachiler family. Theodate Bachiler was born in England in 1598, according to Martha Burr Hollingsworth. Jessie Gordon Flack in "Genealogy of Allied Familes" states that she was born in Wherwell, Hampshire.

When he asked for her hand in marriage the Rev. Bachiler gave his consent providing that the young couple would accompany his family in a move to Massachusetts Bay Colony. The young couple readily agreed and were married about 1630, in Holland, according to Bessie Brooks Pritchett Hanna. Mary Alnora Cox Drennan, a descendant, states that they were married in England in 1631 on their way to Massachusetts. Jessie Gordon Flack states that they were married in Holland in 1631. Their first son, Stephen Hussey was born in England, according to "Maxwell History and Genealogy," but no corroboration has been found for this.

Christopher Hussey was recorded as the head of a party which arrived after 88 days at sea on the "William and Francis" June 5, 1632 at Saugus, [later Lynn] Massachusetts by Gov. John Winthrop in "Winthrop's Journal." "Abridged Compendium of American Genealogy" states [erroneously] that he was a resident of Charlestown, Massachusetts in 1630.

The Rev. Bachiler began immediately to establish a church at Lynn, and his grandson, Stephen Hussey was the first child baptized by his grandfather in the new church. Stephen Hussey was the second child born in Lynn, according to "Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire."

Christopher Hussey became a freeman May 14, 1634 by an act of the General Court at Boston, Massachusetts while he was living at Lynn, according to "Massachusetts Bay Colony Records." Volume I. He removed to Newbury, Massachusetts in 1636. He became a selectman in Newbury in 1636 and was a proprietor there in 1637. Following their residence at Newbury they moved to Salisbury, Massachusetts, about four miles north of Newbury where Rev. Bachiler had another disappointing pastoral experience. While at Salisbury Christopher Hussey developed a life-long friendship with Robert Pike, one of the original settlers of the town and a major in the militia there. This was the last of their leap-frog moves in Massachusetts before moving another ten miles north across the state line into New Hampshire to establish Hampton near the Atlantic coast.

Rev. Stephen Bachiler and some followers attempted a settlement at Mattakeese [later Yarmouth], Massachusetts in 1637. The effort was described by Gov. John Winthrop in his journal:

"March 30, 1638: Another plantation was now in hand at Mattakeese, six miles beyond Sandwich. The undertaker of this was one Mr. Batchellor, late pastor of Saugus, being about 76 years of age; yet he walked thither on foot in a very hard season. He and his companions, all being poor men, finding the difficulty, gave it over, and others took it."

On "8th day, 8th month, 1637" Christopher Hussey was chosen as one of the seven selectmen of Newbury, according to "History of Newbury, Massachusetts" by John J. Currier. He wrote:

Although the inhabitants of Newbury were granted in November 1637 the privilege of removing to Winnacunnet [later Hampton, New Hampshire] no effort was made on their part to obtain possession of that territory until the autumn of 1638 when a petition was signed by a number of Newbury men was presented to the General Court for confirmation of the grant and for liberty to begin a settlement.

The General Court met September 6, 1638 and recorded:

"The Court grants that the petitioners Mr. Steven Bachiler, Christo. Hussey, Mary Hussey, vidua, . . . with divers other shall have liverty to begin a plantation at Winnacunnet: and Mr. Bradstreete, Mr. Winthrope, Jr. and Mr. Rawson, or some two of them, are to assist in setting out the place of the towne, and apportioning the several quantity of land to each man, so as nothing shall be done therein without allowance from them or 2 of them."

It is believed that Christopher Hussey was among the first men who moved to Winnacunnet during the winter of 1638. Others arrived in the spring of 1639. Their numbers had increased so that on June 6, 1639 the General Court declared:

"Winnacunnet is alowed to bee a towne, and has power to choose a cunstable and other officers and make orders for the well ordering of their towne, and to send a deputy so the Court, and Christopher Hussey, William Palmer and Richard Swaine to end all businesses vnder 20 shillings for this yeare; the laying out of land to bee by those expressed in the former order."

Currier further records, "The Rev. Stephen Bachiler has between a minister at Saugus for several years, but, in consequence of some contention among the people there, he removed to Ipswich, then to Cape Cod, and then to Newbury, where he was living in 1638. His son-in-law, Christopher Hussey, probably came to Newbury 12 months earlier."

They disposed of their property in Newbury June 5, 1639. The town records show:

"It was acknowledged by Mr. Richard Dumer and William Wakefield, town clerk of Winnacunnet, being authorized by Mr. Stephen Bachelour and Christopher Hussey to have sold both theyr house lotts and arable lands, meadows, marsh, orchard, fences, privileges and commons and Whatsoever Rights they had to any lands in the Towne of Newbury for and in consideration of six score pounds already paid. I say they did acknowledge to have full power to sell it unto Mr. John Oliver of Newbury to remaine abide and continue to him and his heyrs forever 6th, Monday, 5th, 1639 as by a Bill of sale doth appeer bearing the same date and subscribed by Mr. Stephen Bachelour and William Wakefield. Witnesses: Edward Woodman and Richard Lowle."

When the Rev. Bachiler made the move to Hampton in 1638 [Savage's "Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire" sets the date as 1639] Christopher Hussey and Theodate Bachiler Hussey accompanied him along with Mary Wood Hussey. During this period Christopher Hussey reportedly participated in the organization and settlement of Haverhill, Massachusetts als

With high hopes Rev. Stephen Bachiler began his work with the Congregational church of Hampton, New Hampshire, a town which he named and organized, according to "The Sanborn Family" written by Nathan Sanborn, M.D. of Henniker, New Hampshire.

"First Comers to Hampton, New Hampshire" by Edward Colcord in an abstract of Norfolk Court Files states that "Mr. Batcheller, Mr. Hussah, Abraham Perkins, Isaac Perkins and Moses Cox, young man that had lot, came to Hampton in the first summer." [1638]

Christopher Hussey was named to the "Commission to end small causes, under 20 shillings," similar to a justice of the peace court May 22, 1639 in Hampton. He was appointed "lot layer" [surveyor] October 31, 1639. He was granted an additional 250 acres 30th, 6th month, 1640. He was designated to "view the highway toward Colchester 25th, 8th, 1640." He was the first deacon in the church at Hampton in 1640 and was made moderator of the church in 1641, a post he held again in 1663-64 and in 1672. On 29th, 1st, 1641 he and two others were selected to "oversee the building of the new meetinghouse."

On 29th, 4th 1641 he was appointed to "conferre of ye ferry place." He was named as a commissioner by the General Court June 2, 1641. Christopher Hussey joined other Hampton settlers 7th, 3rd 1643 in a petition to the governor and General Court complaining of William Haward, military officer of the settlement. In 1645 it was specified that he was to have "two shares of the 147 allotted, besides his farm."

The meetinghouse seating arrangement on March 4, 1649-50 was listed in "First Comers to Hampton, New Hampshire" as: "at the table, first seat, Cristofar Husse [indicating that he was the 'first deacon'], second seat, Isak Perkingses; third seat on south side, Moyses Cox; the first seat next to Mistris Wheelwrit, ould Mistris Husse, her dauter Husse [probably her daughter-in-law, Theodate Bachiler Hussey."

He was town clerk from 1650 to 1653. His name often appeared on trial jury and grand jury panels. He was a selectman in Hampton in 1650, 1658 and 1664, according to "Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire."

"Abridged Compendium of American Genealogy" shows him as a resident of Hampton Falls, New Hampshire in 1650. In that year he sold all his property at Hampton and "moved to the Falls side."

On 6th, 9th 1653 he was assessed a "tax of 2:8:3" indicating that he was the second largest taxpayer in the area.

When Rev. Stephen Bachiler got into a controversy with other church officials at Hampton "Xopher Hussie and 18 other inhabitantes" signed a petition 11th, 6th 1664 in the preacher's behalf.

When Rev. Stephen Bachiler was preparing to leave Hampton he gave to Christopher Hussey and Theodate Bachiler Hussey "his cattle, goods and debts," according to "Pioneers of Massachusetts" by Charles Henry Pope. Colcott Colcord, a planter who lived at Salem, Massachusetts in 1637, gave a deposition 8th, 4th 1673 about the gift for legal records. Colcord lived in Dover, New Hampshire in 1673.

Christopher Hussey was confirmed a lieutenant in the militia 14th, 6th, 1653. Theodate Bachiler Hussey died at Hampton October 20, 1649, according to Martha Burr Hollingsworth.

Title to 250 acres of land initially granted to Christopher Hussey at Hampton was jeopardized when John Mason, an agent of Sir Ferdinando Gorges, original proprietor of New Hampshire and Maine, won a suit against him. As a result Christopher Hussey was imprisoned, and "he was forbidden to work and forced to live on the charity of his friends," according to "History of New Hampshire."

Upon receiving his freedom he continued to live in the Hampton area and was named a deputy there in 1650. He, along with others, petitioned the General Court on behalf of Robert Pike 19th, 10th 1654, according to "Winthrop's Journal." On 1st, 11th 1654 Christopher Hussey and his nephew, John Sanborn of Hampton were required to give bond in the amount of 10 pounds in connection with the case.

He continued as a lieutenant in the militia in 1658 and was promoted to captain in 1664. He was a representative to the General Court in 1658, 1659, 1660 and 1672. He was "Councillor in 1679 until Cranfield came in," according to "Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire." When New Hampshire was made a royal province he was one of the commissioners named in the charter.

Christopher Hussey was married to Mrs. Ann Mingay, widow of Jeffrey Mingay 9th, 12th month, 1658 in Hampton, according to "Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire." He was empowered to perform marriages "within the limits of Hampton" 10th, 18th 1659 by the General Court. He was appointed to a committee to survey land granted to Thomas Lake 12th, 11, 1659. "Maxwell History and Genealogy" states [probably erroneously] that he was a shipowner and master with vessels in the East Indies trade.

Shortly before this time Christopher Hussey became attracted to the Society of Friends. Quaker missionaries began to arrive in Massachusetts about 1656 and made rapid converts in New England. When the Congregationalists in New Hampshire were converted to the Society, the Puritans of Massachusetts redoubled their efforts in persecution of them. Quakers who remained in Massachusetts did so in fear of their lives. Four Friends were hanged on Boston Common in 1659 and 1660.

Three Quaker women who came to New Hampshire in 1662 were arrested, tied behind a cart and paraded from town to town on their way out of the province. "Three vagabond Quaker women, Anna Coleman, Mary Tompkins and Abbie Ambrose, were made fast to the cart's tail and whipped down their naked backs through the town," according to "History of Rockingham County, New Hampshire" by D. Hamilton Hurd.

It is believed that the revulsion that Christopher Hussey experienced at the sight of this incident was instrumental in his conversion to the Society of Friends. The entire congregation meeting at Hampton became Quakers early in the Quaker movement.

George Fox, founder of the Quakers in England, came to the colonies in 1672, and his presence gave additional impetus to the Quaker zeal. William Penn founded Pennsylvania in 1682 as a "holy experiment in the application of Quaker ideals to the state," but the Friends were not able to give their principles full expression because the crown imposed limitations on the colony's policies. The Toleration Act of 1689 put an end inciples full expression because the crown imposed limitations on the colony's policies. The Toleration Act of 1689 put an end being accepted by the other colonists.

The Quakers, on the whole, excluded themselves from politIcal life by refusing to take any kind of oaths. They denied themselves "frivolous pursuits of pleasure," which included music and art. They opposed war and slavery. They refused to pay tithes and to render military service. They had no formal worship; they practiced no communion nor baptism. Since every child born to Quaker parents was automatically a Quaker, the church grew rapidly in the colonies. They worked for fair treatment of the Indians, abolition of slavery, popular education, temperance, democracy and religious liberty.

By 1700 the Friends were powerful in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Rhode Island, North Carolina and Maryland. Between 1725 and 1775 there were several migrations of Quakers from New England and Pennsylvania to North Carolina and South Carolina. About 1800 however, the Friends found it impossible to live in the slave-holding South and began to move to the free territories of Ohio and Indiana.

Christopher Hussey became a proprietor on Nantucket Island 7th, 2nd 1659, according to "Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire." On 10th, 5th 1660 he was one of the men who bought half the land and grazing rights on the island from the Sachems--Wanamamack and Nickanoose--for 10 pounds. Some chroniclers have recorded that the proprietors considered Nantucket Island as a Quaker sanctuary, removed from the persecution of the Puritans. However, Louis Coffin states, probably accurately, in "The Coffin Family" that it was financial gain that motivated the First Purchasers to buy on Nantucket--not religious persecution.

Nantucket in the Indian dialect meant "the faraway land." It was located 27 miles south of Cape Cod. Nantucket, the town, the county and the island, contributed much to the colonial history of Massachusetts even before it was annexed to the colony in 1692.

Thomas Mayhew of Watertown, Massachusetts was the first owner of Nantucket Island, purchasing it in 1641. In 1659 he lived in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts when he sold his interest in the island to the First Purchasers. It seems that the First Purchasers had to purchase the island a second time--piece by piece from the Indians. Some of the Indians did not recognize Mayhew's English title and would give up the land only for additional compensation.

The first town on the island was called Capaum, later it was renamed Sherburne in 1673 when island was under the government of New York. In 1692 it became a part of Massachusetts. In 1795 the town was moved to Nantucket harbor and renamed Nantucket.

Originally the First Purchasers included ten men: Tristram Coffin, Sr, Thomas Macy, Richard Swain, Thomas Barnard, Petter Coffin, Stephen Greenleaf, John Swain, William Pile, Thomas Mayhew and Christopher Hussey. The ten needed to raise additional capital, and in 1659 at a meeting at Salisbury, Massachusetts it was agreed that each of the ten could invite in a partner. Christopher Hussey invited his old friend, Major Robert Pike to be his partner in the Nantucket investment. It was agreed at the meeting that Major Pike would keep the Salisbury records of the First Purchasers and that Thomas Macy would keep the Nantucket records.

Perhaps the First Purchasers foresaw the development of Nantucket as a profitable investment, but none could imagine the tremendous impact this harbor would have on the commerce of the world. "History of Nantucket" reports, "For more than a century the island and its commodious harbor was the primary headquarters of the American whaling industry. In 1842 it was homeport to 86 ships and barks, two schooners and two brigs, with a total of 36,000 tonnage, no mean amount in those days of sailing ships and swashbuckling seamen."

Shortly after the Nantucket purchase Christopher Hussey incurred the displeasure of the General Court by petitioning with others, for a mitigation of the sentence of Robert Pike "for seeming to uphold speaking in public without a license." Christopher Hussey and John Bishop had been previously punished for taking sides with Robert Pike who "espoused the cause of Macy and Peasley."

In April 1662 Christopher Hussey and his son John Hussey were admonished for a breach of the law in a called meeting of the church, according to Hampton Quaker records. Christopher Hussey was appointed by the General Court in August 1664 to a committee to examine a site on Wolf Island proposed for a mill. Christopher Hussey along with others received a deed 29th, 6th 1671 from Wanamamack, head sachem of Nantucket, of his interest in the island for 40 pounds.

Later in 1671 he sold his interest in Nantucket to his sons, Stephen Hussey and John Hussey. The deed, dated 23rd, 10th 1671, conveyed for 80 pounds "all my lands, arable land, pasture meadows, woodland, all commonage, rights and privileges due unto me, according to the purchase made by me, with all my cattle, neat cattle, goats and horses, all my stock that is on said island of Nantucket of what kind or quality so ever it be. /s/ Christo. Hussey, Witness: Samuel Dalton."

He was reelected a captain in the Hampton militia 15th, 5th 1672.

Although it is believed that Christopher Hussey never lived on Nantucket, he is reported to have been there in October 1675, perhaps on a visit. In 1677 Christopher Hussey was among the 50 residents of Hampton who signed a petition requesting that the four towns that composed New Hampshire be returned to the government of Massachusetts.

Christopher Hussey was the first person in Hampton, New Hampshire to swear allegiance to the king when Charles II was restored to the throne of England. He took the oath April 10, 1678 before Major Robert Pike, his former business partner. He was one of the seven men appointed by the king who composed the government of New Hampshire upon its separation from Massachusetts 18th, 9th month, 1679, according to "Acts of the Privy Council." He was a representative to the New Hampshire Council from 1679 to 1685.

Ann Mingay Hussey died June 24, 1680, according to "Genealogical History of New Hampshire." Christopher Hussey was reappointed captain of the Hampton militia March 25, 1681.

On March 2, 1683 Christopher Hussey, Richard Waldren and 17 other elderly men wrote a petition requesting that they be exempted from a "head tax" recently imposed. The petition "humbly showeth" etc:

"Whereas we conceive that it is the laudable custom of civil and much more Christian nations to have tender respect to the decrepit by age, we, your Honor's humble petitioners, being sundry of us about and above 70 years of age, some of us above 80, others near 90, being past our labor and work, do crave that favor, if your Honor see meet that we may be freed from head money, we being heartily willing our estates should pay their proportion to all public charges; but we humbly crave our heads may be spared, since our hands can do so little for them.

We also humbly suggest that some of us, that lived long in England, remember not that we paid anything for our heads, though we did for our estates. All of which we present to your Honor, craving pardon for our boldness; if your Honor out of your clemency shall see cause to favor us in our request we shall not cease heartily to pray for your Honor and remain your aged and humble suppliants.

                                              /s/ John Mas
                                                  Christopher Husse
                                                  [and 17 others] 

Christopher Hussey wrote his will February 26, 1684-85 at Hampton and wrote a codicil at Salisbury October 28, 1685. His will, recorded in "Province of New Hampshire Probate Records," Volume I, read:

"The last will and testament of Capt. Christopher Hussey made the 28th day of Feburary, 1684".

"I, Christopher Hussey, being through the mercy of God in health of body and of sound memory and disposing capacity for which bless the Lord; and yet being stricken in years . . ."

"Imprimis: I give my two sons Steven Hussey and John Hussey my farm with all priviliges thereof, namely the hundred and fifty acres of meadow and upland granted me by ye town as also 50 acres of marsh which I bought adjacent to it. I say I give it by equal parts, that is to say, the one half of it to my son Steven, his heirs and assigns in fee simple, and the other half to my son John in like manner only they paying to my daughter, Mary, as hereafter in my will expressed."

"Item: I give to my daughter, Mary Hussey, now wife of Thomas Page, my seven ackers of medow lying near Benjamin Shaw's: and that peece of medow through which the highway lyeth and also two shares in the ox common and also two shares of cow common and also I do order that my son, John Smith, shall pay her thirty pounds and my two sons, John and Steven, shall pay her forty pound a peece in goods."

"Item: I give and bequeath to my daughter, Hulda, in the like manner all the rest of my lands and housing and Common Rights in the towne of Hampton and all the household goods and stuff remaining, that is to say, my house and all in it or with it all the land adjacent and the planting lot toward the spring, two shares in the ox common and two shares in the cow common and do order and appoint that she shall pay to my daughter, Mary, thirty pound toward her pension."

"It is my will that the Legasies that I have bequeethed to my daughter, Mary, that part of it which is in land that she shall enjoy it immediately after my decease, and the thirty pound that she shall have of my son, John Smith, husband of my daughter, Hulda, I do will it to be paid to her in two years after my decease, that is to say, thereon half the first year and the other half the second year in good pay of Country."

"It is my will also that the forty pound a peece that I have willed to my two sons, Steven and John Hussey to pay her that it be paid also within or by the end of the two years next after my decease in some good pay of the Country. And, in case of fayler, she, my said daughter, shall have in lue thereof, thirty acres of the farm whereof shall be the old field lying on the other side of the way on end whereof butts upon my old house, and the other toward the mill river by the bridge and the rest to be made of the farm with said lands shall be engaged hereby and shall be responsible for the payment of the aforementioned some ten or twelve acres where of shall be meadow."

"I do upon further consideration will and declare that it shall be in my daughter, Mary's, choice whether she shall have the land forementioned in the farm or 80 pounds of my two sons Steven and John Hussey."

Lastly I make and ordain my son, John Hussey and my son, John Smith, to be joint executors of this, my will, and in case either of them should die before they have executed the same then the sole power to be in the survivor, and in case they should both die before as above said, then I do appoint my daughter, Mary, in case she should also in like manner fayle, then I appoint my son, Steven, to be my executor in their stead. And my trusty friends, Richard Waldren and Major Robert Pike, to be overseers of this, my will. In witness of all which I have set my hand and seal the day and year aforesaid mentioned."

                                         /s/ Christopher Hussey "Signed and sealed and declared to be his last will and testament before u
                                         /s/ Moses Pi
                                         /s/ Robert Pi
                                         /s/ Steven Tuck [his mark]" 

Christopher Hussey died about a year after he wrote his will on March 6, 1685-86 at age 88. He was buried at Hampton March 8, 1686, according to Martha Burr Hollingsworth.

The estate of Christopher Hussey was inventoried March 25, 1686 by Joseph Dow and John Tuck who set the value at 651 pounds, 13 shillings. It was itemized as:

"House, orchard and land adjoining 42 pounds Upland on the farm 200 pounds 50 acres meadow 100 pounds 40 acres marsh 60 pounds 15 acres marsh 24 pounds Planting land 28 pounds Spring meadow 30 pounds 7 acres meadow 14 pounds Meadow 6 pounds Land at New Plantation 5 pounds Land at North Division 6 pounds Four shares, ox commons 24 pounds Four shares, cow commons 30 pounds 12 acres pasture 20 pounds 3 cows, 1 ox, 1 one-year-old beast 12 pounds Beds, bolsters, blankets, rugs curtains 12 pounds Table, linen, sheets, etc 10 pounds"

Christopher Hussey and Theodate Bachiler Hussey were identified as eleventh-generation grandparents of President Richard Milhous Nixon, Nos. 1696 and 1697 in "The Ancestry of Richard Milhous Nixon."

Children born to Christopher [Hussey and Theodate Bachiler Hussey include:

Stephen Hussey born in 1630 John Hussey born in 1635 Mary Hussey baptized 2nd, 2nd, 1638 Theodate Hussey born 8th, 8th 1640 Huldah Hussey born in 1643

No children were born to Christopher Hussey and Ann Mingay Hussey.

Stephen Hussey, son of Christopher Hussey and Theodate Bachiler Hussey, was born 8th, 6th 1632, probably in Lynn, Massachusetts. "Maxwell History and Genealogy" states that he was born in England. He was the first child baptized in the church which was pastored there by his grandfather, Rev. Stephen Bachiler, his namesake. An unpublished manuscript by Nathaniel Barney states that Stephen Hussey was the second white child born at Lynn.

As a young man Stephen Hussey went to sea and made several voyages. In his travels he became fascinated with the climate and the people of Barbados, making his home there for a time. He acquired property and became a city official in Barbados. He was greatly influenced by the Quakers on the island, but nevertheless he purchased a number of slaves there which he brought to Nantucket with him to the consternation of the Quakers.

He had a strong will and apparently a fiery temper. He was charged in court in Hampton, New Hampshire in April 1668 "for disturbing the congregation on the Lord's day and reviling Mr. Cotton," according to "Genealogical Dictionary of Maine and New Hampshire."

He and his brother, John Hussey received a deed to their father's property on Nantucket Island 23rd, 10th month, 1671, according to "One Hundred and Sixty Allied Families." He arrived in Nantucket in 1673 to manage the Hussey property there. He failed to answer a court summons in April 1673 in Hampton which may have had something to do with the timing of his removal. In May 1673 he was appointed to administer the estate of Peter Rolfe there. He was listed as a resident of Sherburne in 1673, and Nantucket Island became his residence for the rest of his life.

Stephen Hussey received a deed "from Wauwinnet, son of Nickanoose, to one-half of creek stuff west of Masquatuck" in 1674, according to "History of Nantucket."

The volatile Stephen Hussey was charged in court "for contempt and presumption" in 1675, according to Sherburne town records. He had interrupted Capt. John Gardner while the captain was reprimanding Edward Carter for allowing his hogs to root up the Nantucket common. Stephen Hussey affronted the captain with, "Meddle with your own business--I gave him leave for his hogs to do so."

The people on Nantucket Island became a closely-knit community in which outsiders, known as "coufs," were held at arm's length. This resulted in much inter-marriage, making nearly all the population on the island cousins within a few generations. Biology seemed to take precedence over theology on Nantucket. Even the Quakers readily gave their daughters in marriage to cousins, although it was in strict violation of Quaker tenets.

A comment on the residents of Nantucket made in "History of Nantucket" showed that in a short time the personalities of the families on Nantucket had become stereotyped:

"What may be, perhaps not inaptly, termed the clanishness of the descendants of the First Purchasers, is illustrated by a little doggerel written by someone had no fear of tribal displeasure nor any respect for the family pride of those he lampoons. It appeared initially about 1834, and the irreverant writer thus characterized his victims:

"The Rays and Russels, coopers are, The knowing Folgers lazy, A lying Coleman very rare, And scare a learned Hussey."

"The Coffins noisy, fractious, loud, The silent Gardners plodding, The Mitchells good, the Barkers proud The Macys eat the pudding."

"The Swains are swinish, clownish called, The Barnards very civil, The Starbucks they are loud to bawl, And the Pinkhams beat the devil."

On 13th, 2nd 1676 Stephen Hussey wrote a petition to the town accusing the selectmen of tampering with a land title.

He was married, at age 46, 8th, 10th month, 1676 to Martha Bunker, daughter of George Bunker and Jane Godfrey Bunker who was born in Topsfield, Massachusetts. Jane Godfrey Bunker as a widow had remarried Richard Swain of Rowley, Massachusetts. Martha Bunker was born 1st, 11th month, 1656, according to "One Hundred and Sixty Allied Families."

Richard Swain sold land in Topsfield in 1660 and moved to Nantucket Island where he had received land in 1659 as one of the original 10 proprietors. Jane Godfrey Bunker Swain died October 31, 1662 on Nantucket, the first death recorded there.

Stephen Hussey had sailed to Barnstable, Massachusetts on Cape Cod for the wedding, probably in his own ship. He was described by this time as a wealthy man. On his way home with his bride after the wedding his ship encountered a hostile French privateer laying off Nantucket harbor. The bride was terrified at the sight of the French warship and was fearful that her wedding day might be her last. The welcoming party on the shore saw the danger, and while watching the drama on the sea, allowed the wedding cake of Martha Bunker Hussey to burn to a char.

In all the excitement a drunken Indian lounging near the punchbowl accidently broke his whiskey bottle on the bowl allowing a shower of glass splinters to fall into the punchbowl, rendering the contents unfit for the welcoming party.

All of these unnerving incidents were too much for the bride, and she cried that "the very heavens and stars were against us."

The first home of Stephen Hussey was located on the south side of Nantucket harbor. He had acquired all of his father's interest on the island and later added that of his partner, Major Robert Pike. According to "Lands and Land Owners" the Hussey and Pike lots were "on the west side of Trot's Swamp." Stephen Hussey built three houses for himself and his family, one on Federal Street near Chestnut, another at Monomoy and a third at Shimmoo in Sherburne, whose name was changed to Nantucket June 8, 1795.

Stephen Hussey made frequent use of his financial and political power. Court records show him suing sundry Indians and citizens for debts in the 1670s. He held political office perennially and apparently mastered the art of island politics. During the local turmoil following the temporary overturn of the New York government he was severely denounced for endeavoring to improperly influence the voting by Peter Folger, grandfather of Benjamin Franklin. Abiah Folger, daughter of Peter Folger, was born on Nantucket August 15, 1667. Benjamin Franklin, who was born in Boston in 1706, was her 17th child.

On November 6, 1678 Stephen Hussey was appointed to a committee to reconcile a dispute in Sherburne by the town's selectmen. In December 1679 Stephen Hussey was accused of "cutting down and carrying away timber from Maskatuck." John Swain, Eleazer Folger, Joseph Gardner and John Macy asked to be excused from jury duty on the case.

It is believed that Stephen Hussey became a Quaker before April 1682 when he and John Swain, his brother-in-law, refused to swear to an oath of office. The town installed Nathaniel Barnard and Stephen Coffin in their place. On 17th, 5th month, 1704 Stephen Hussey, one of two Quakers on the island, entertained at his home Thomas Story, a Quaker preacher whom he had known in Barbados, according to Story's journal. At this time a church meeting was held in his home. When the Society of Friends was organized into a church in 1708 in Sherburne Stephen Hussey was one of the seven organizers and petitioners, according to "History of Nantucket." This was "a somewhat anamalous condition" since Stephen Hussey was in and out of court frequently--"a most persistent litigant," and one of the Quaker tenets specified that they not go to court to settle grievances. Stephen Hussey wrote a letter March 26, 1708 to the Quakers in Rhode Island inviting them to the Nantucket Quarterly Meeting.

In 1683 Stephen Hussey sued Joseph Gardner, constable, for unlawfully seizing ten gallons of rum. Gardner's defense was that Hussey was attempting to land it without paying duty. He was fined 20 shillings for reproachful words spoken of the constable and overseers, when the officers seized the rum that he was attempting to smuggle into Nantucket. He was fined an additonal 10 pounds for contempt of court.

In 1684 Stephen Hussey, "freeholder of Sherburne," received a land grant along with several other men. In 1687 he received a deed from Spotso, an Indian, to 18 acres "against the harbor." In the same year he received a deed to 1,580 acres from Sasapana Will, an Indian.

On the 18th, 1st month, 1686 he received a deed from Jeptha, Indian Sachem, to a tract of land on Nantucket. Witnesses to the transaction were John Swain and Stephen Swain.

On the 4th, 6th month, 1694 he purchased from his brother, John Hussey, all of his interest in the Nantucket inheritance for 55 pounds. Witnesses to the transaction were Benjamin Swett, son-in-law to John Hussey, James Shangan and Christopher Hussey, son of John Hussey.

In 1695 Stephen Hussey did not appear at an alarm, and the sentence of the court was that he "would procuer one good fier goon for his Majestie's servis for the town. It being the first time, Stephen Hussey desired time to consider, and it was granted." He failed to produce the gun and was fined "five pounds or imprisonment for three months."

In 1702 he filed a complaint with the island government against people cutting firewood on his property, naming several officials among the offenders.

On April 8, 1709 Stephen Hussey was back in court in a dispute with the town of Sherburne in regard to a land title. On the 9th, 10th month, 1715 Stephen Hussey deeded to his son Bachelor Hussey "for love and affection, etc, one complete quarter of that share of land which I bought of my father, Christopher, containing one full, complete twenty-fifth of the Island of Nantucket."

In October 1717 Stephen Hussey brought suit against James Coffin, Stephen Coffin, and James Gardner who had rustled 95 head of sheep which were grazing on a disputed tract of land. The case was dismissed.

Later he was a representative to the General Court.

Stephen Hussey wrote his will "17th, 5th month [August 17], 1716. It read as follows:

"The Last Will and Testatment of Stephen Hussey of the Island Of Nantucket in the providence of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, Yeoman, is as followeth:

The great and weighty Concern Incumbent upon all mankind is the Consideration of their future Estate to be Considered in the first place and in the second place to Endevor to leave what they Cannot Carry with them so to be disposed of as to avoid Contests and Janglings In order to which I have made many wills heretofore which I do hereby declare to be all Null and Void and that this and no other is my last will and Testament.

And first I will that all my Just debts be well and tuly paid within Some Convenient time after my decease by my Executors hereafter Named.

Item: I give and bequeath unto my well beloved wife Martha Hussey all my land and Stock and housing on the Island of Nantucket for and during her natural life. I do also give her my sd. wife a Negro woman named Sarah and all my household goods for ever for her to dispose of them according to her own discretion.

Item: I give and devise unto my Son George Hussey and to his heirs and assigns for ever all my housing on the Island of Nantucket after his mother's decease Excepting that I will my son Silvanus Shall have the use of half of the warehouse as often as he hath occasion thereof.

Item: I will that after my wifes' decease all my stock of Cattle and Sheep on the Island of Nantucket be Divided among my Three Sons according to the land or privilege they have on sd. Island.

Item: I give unto my Son Silvanus a Negro boy named Mark. Item: I give unto my Daughter Theodata a Negro girl Named Dorothy.

Item: I will that my Son Silvanus Hussey do well and truly pay to his Sister Mary Worth the Sum of Seventy pounds Currant Money in this province within one year after my decease and Seven pound More to his Sister Theodata Within one year after She Shall arrive to the age of Eighteen Years or Marriage.

Item: I will that my Son Bachelor Hussey do well and truly pay to my Daughter Puella Gorham the Sum of Thirty pounds of like Currant Money within one year of my decease and Twenty pounds of like Money to my Daughter Abigail Howes within one year after my Decease and Seventeen pounds like money to his Sister Theodata within one year after She Shall arrive at the age of Eighteen years or Marriage.

Item: I will that my Son George do well and truly pay unto his Sister Theodata the Sum of Ninety Seven pounds of Like Currant Money of this province the one half thereof within Nine Months after She Shall arrive to the age of Eighteen years or Marriage and the other half within Twelve Months Next Ensuing the Nine Months.

I give all my Law Books unto my Son Bachelor Hussey for the use of his Son Stephen Hussey when he Shall arrive to the age of twenty one years.

And Lastly I make and ordain my three Sons, Silvanus, Bachelor and George Joynt Executors of this my Last Will and Testament. In Witness whereof I the sd. Stephen Hussey have hereunto put my hand and Seal the Seventeenth day of the fifth Month in the Second Year of the Reign of George of Great Brittain, France and Ireland, King etc. Annoque Domini 1718.

                                              Stephen Hussey 

Signed Sealed Published Pronounced and declard by the sd. Stephen Hussey as his last will and Testament in the presence of us the Subscribers.

Barnabas Gardner William Worth, Justice of the Peace Richard Swain Ruth Gardner Richard Macy"

Stephen Hussey died "2nd, 2nd month [April], 1718, in the 88th year of his age," according to "History of Nantucket." He was buried in Friends Burial Ground, Nantucket Island.

Martha Bunker Hussey died "21st, 9th month, 1744 at the age of 87 years, 10 months, according to a manuscript written by the Hon. Isaac Coffin, Nantucket probate judge.

Children born to Stephen Hussey and Martha Bunker Hussey, according to "Genealogical Dictionary of New England," include:

Puella Hussey born 10th, 10th month, 1677 Abigail Hussey born 22nd, 12th month, 1679 Sylvanus Hussey born 13th, 5th month, 1682 Bachelor Hussey born 18th, 2nd month, 1684-85 Daniel Hussey born 20th, 10th month, 1687 Mary Hussey born 24th, 3rd month, 1689-90 George Hussey born 21st, 6th month, 1694 Theodate Hussey born 15th, 9th month, 1700