Person:Samuel Worden (10)

Samuel was born in Barnstable (now East Dennis), Massachusetts, the first male Worden born in America. He was a prominent physician and became a large landowner in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.

Massachusetts

The first mention of Samuel in Plymouth records is in Plymouth Court records in 1665 when Wm. Newland, husband of Rose Holley, widow of Joseph, was required by the Court to pay Joseph’s children £20. One child was “Hopestill, wife of Samuel Werden.” Samuel was also in Court after an incident on 29 October 1668, when two men broke into Samuel's house in his absence and "attempting the chastity of his wife and sister, by many lacinous carriages, and affrightting of his children" The men were fined. ^[3]

In 1672 Samuel Werden was proposed for a freeman. In New England, a man attained the status of freeman either as the eldest son or by owning a freehold estate; and in every town there was a commission appointed to examine that freehold estate and make sure its title was clear. He attested the inventory of his father’s estate on Mar 21, 1680/1. On June 6, 1682, he is listed in the Court record as desiring to move.^[4] The last evidence of him in Yarmouth is an estate inventory dated 24 Aug 1689.

Rhode Island

Sometime before 1693, Dr. Samuel bought land in Rhode Island, because in a deed registered there on 19 September 1693, Werden's Pond is called by his name. ^[5] In 1695 he purchased 250 acres in Pettiquamscut, east of "Worden Pond," from Benedict and Josiah Arnold. It included the present towns of South Kingston and Narragansett.

On Feb 12 1697 he sold his Yarmouth farm back in Massachusetts to Isaac Chapman, except 1/2 acre for the cemetery. He excepted from the sale "one half aker of land which I Samuel Werden except and reserve to myself and to my fathers posterity forever, lying square about the place where my father Werden was buried, out of the aforementioned farm, notwithstanding whatever is said above to the contrary, with free liberty of ingress and egress with horse or cart or foot from the common highway to same to have and to hold forever." The deed is now in the Masonic Museum of Nat'l Heritage in Salem MA. Samuel moved about that time to Kingstowne, RI and was active in its development. He was referred to as “Dr.” but there is no record of his training. He and son Samuel were named in the first list of freeman in Kingston in December 1696.

Connecticut

On Apr 5 1708 he sold the 250 acres in RI to Edward Greenman. On May 12 1709 he bought 150 acres in Stonington, New London, CT and gave 30 acres to son Nathaniel, 20 acres to son Thomas. He moved to the remaining 100 acres and lived until his death. When his wife Hopestill died there in 1715, he had notice of her death and burial inserted in the Norwich town record, where his son Thomas lived.^[6] In the Norwich town clerk's office, Oliver Newton Worden found this precious record of conjugal and filial affection: "September 13, 1715, it was to me that woeful day in which my dear and tender and loving wife departed this life and was buried on ye 27th." "8 November 1752, then ye above written was entered from an ancient writing, at ye desire of Mr. Thomas Werden Jr. by me - Isaac Huntington, T.C."

A few months after Hopestill died, Dr. Samuel married Francis West. In Stonington, Connecticut 18 September 1716, "Francis Werden, widow and relique of Samuel Werden late of Stonington dec. refuseth to administer upon ye estate of her late husband, Samuel Werden dec. and desireth that adm. may be granted to Isaac Werden. Isaac Werden died in 1718 and his wife Rebekah became administer for both estates. ^[7]

Will

His will is in the probate record of 24 Sep 1716. Son Isaac was one of the administrators. On 22 Jan. 1716/17 Richard PARTLOW in right of his wife ROSE and Thomas WARDEN, all of Stonington, CT; Peter WORDEN, John HOLLOWAY in -right of his wife Hopestill and Daniel WILCOX in right of his wife Mary, all of Westerly, RI, the said Rose, Hopestill & Mary being daughters of Dr. Samuel WARDEN late of Stonington, deceased were notified that Isaac WARDEN, of Stonington, administrator of Dr. WARDEN's estate was to give an accounting of said estate. On 8 Apr 1718 Rebekah & Thomas WORDEN & Peter BOLTON, all of Stonington with Richard CHRISTOPHER of Stonington as surety, gave bond in the amount of 100 pounds for the estate of Dr. Samuel WORDEN of Stonington deceased. Rebekah WORDEN was the widow of Isaac WORDEN ^[8]

While it is true that a Samuel Worden married Mehitable Hinkley, it was not this Dr. Samuel. Dr. Samuel definitely married Hopestill Holley before May 1665, when Hopestill’s stepfather paid the children of Joseph Holley, Sr. the money due from their father’s estate. Hopestill, ”wife of Samuel Worden” was one of them. They were still married when she died September 13, 1715.

Text References

1. ↑ Connecticut, United States. The Barbour Collection of Connecticut Town Vital Records.

   (Stonington): d. 25 Aug 1716 age 71

2. ↑ Samuel Worden, in Find A Grave
   [1].
3. ↑ Source:Worden, Waite W. Worden, A Weir in the Valley
4. ↑ Worden, supra
5. ↑ Old N.K. Land Evidences, Volume 1, Page 223 in S.K. Townhouse.
6. ↑ Worden, supra
7. ↑ Obtained at Worden Hall in East Dennis, Cape Cod, Mass.
8. ↑ New London, CT Probate YR 1716, File 5842 & YR 1718, File #5843 - Conn. State Library, accounted at http://members.tripod.com/~catnip13/Worden-3.html