UNDER CONSTRUCTION
HATCH
THOMAS HATCH, b. in England, d. 27 May 1661 in Barnstable, Barnstable Co., MAm. GRACE _______. Ltrs. of Admin were granted to Grace on 3 Mar. 1663
CHILDREN:
1. JONATHAN HATCH
2. Lydia Hatch
SOURCES:
JONATHAN HATCH, son of Thomas and Grace Hatch, was born about 1624 in England. He came to Massachusetts with his parents during, or prior to, 1630. In 1638, at the age of fourteen, Jonathan was apprenticed to Lt. Richard Davenport of Salem. This is the same year that his parents and sister Lydia moved to Yarmouth in the Plymouth Colony.
It would seem that being an apprentice to Lt. Davenport didn't suit Jonathan because in 1640, aged about 16, he ran away and was subsequently taken into custody in Boston. There he was sentenced by the Court to be "severely whipped and for the present commited as a slave to Lieutenant Davenport".
Jonathan had already 'voted with his feet' in regards to Lt. Davenport so is isn't surprising that he reacted to the prospect of slavery to the same man with another act of defiance. He escaped again, this time from the Boston authorities and fled to his parents in Yarmouth, conveniently outside the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts Courts.
What reception Jonathan received from his parents when he arrived on their doorstep is lost in time, but they could not have been unaware of his recent adventures and transgressions. In any case, someone must have interceeded for Jonathan with Lt. Davenport and the authorities for he wasn't returned to the Bay Colony, and nothing exists in the Plymouth records to indicate that any effort was made to have him returned.
Jonathan seems to have resisted parental authority and supervision for he didn't remain out of trouble for long. On 5 Oct 1640 he is recorded in the Plymouth records as having been "taken as a vagrant, and found purloyneing divers things, is censured to be whipt at the post".
Less than two months later, on 1 Dec. 1640, he was again the the center of focus for the Judicial eye of the Plymouth Court, when one Nicholas Sympkins was tried by the Court on charges that he had attempted "to lye with an Indian Woman...his maid servent". Sympkins was cleared of the charges although he was fined for not having brought the woman with him to the trial as previously directed by the Court. It would seem that Jonathan was responsible for the charges because Sympkins was further directed to bring Jonathan hatch to the next Court "to recieve punishment for slandering him". It is curious that it was Sympkins who was required to insure Jonathan's appearance at the next Court rather than the Consstable, or even Jonathan's parents. Perhaps the members of the Court felt that Sympkins above all others would be the most eager to have Jonathan recieve punishment. Whatever the case there was no record thaT an appearance was made.
Jonathan drops from sight for a period of fifteen months until 1 March 1642 when his sister Lydia was censured to be publicly whipped for failing to report to the authorities that Edward Mitchell had attempted "to abuse her body by uncleaness". She was also censured for "lying in the same bed with her brother Jonathan". Lydia was whipped; Mitchell and a companion of Mitchell's, for a variety of unsavory actions, were sentenced to be whipped and publicly censured, respectivly, and "Jonathan Hatch was taken as a vagrant, and for his misdemeanors was sentenced to be whipped, and sent from Constable to Constable to Leiftennant Davenport at Salem." Once again the specter of Lt. Davenport has risen to haunt him.
There is nothing in the Plymouth court records to indicate that any part of the sentance was carried out. Faced with the prospect of returning to the control of Lt. Davenport, Jonathan must have done some fast and eloquent pleading, for on 5 April 1642, at the next Court, this entry appears: "Jonathan Hatch, by consent of the Court, is appoynted to dwell with Mr. Stephen Hopkins, and the said Mr. Hopkins is to have special care of him." Stephen Hopkins was a Mayflower passenger and a solid, respected citizen of Yarmouth in the Plymouth Colony. Jonathan lived in Hopkins' house until Hopkins died in 1644.
After Hopkins' death Jonathan removed to Barnstable, where, on 28 Oct 1645 Jonathan Hatch "of Barnstable" was listed as being among those men of the Plymouth colony who were sent to fight the Narragansett Indians in an expedition commanded by Myles Standish that lasted fourteen days. He was then about twenty years of age.
On 11 April 1646 Jonathan married SARAH ROWLEY, the daughter of HENRY ROWLEY and SARAH PALMER, of West Barnstable. It can be supposed that for the next few years he lived with Sarah on her father's farm.
For the next five years the records are silent about Jonathan and Sarah except to record the births of their first two children in West Barnstable. Then on 7 October 1651 he was back in Court again, this time with a companion Samuel Hinckley, for "hiering" land from the Indians. Hinckly was freed and Jonathan was cleared. Five months later on 2 March 1652/53, Jonathan Hatch was presented for giving a gun, powder and shot to an Indian. A marginal note in the records indicates that he was cleared of this charge also.
These two items of information are the first of many which indicate that Jonathan Hatch had a much closer relationship with the local Indians than was enjoyed by most of his colonial neighbors. It is certain that he possessed a basic understanding of the local Native American dialects, and his fluency probably increased as the years passed. What is more telling however is the fact that he was trusted enough by them to have been used by many as an agent when they sold lands to the colonists.
On 14 Feb 1655 he recieved title to a grant of land at a place called Sepuisset, now Seapuit, Mass., consisting of fifty or more acres. By this time he and Sarah had four children, and their fifth was born seven months later in their new home in Sepuisset.
In 1658 some of Jonathan's neighbors charged him in court with having "justified", meaning defended, an Indian named Repent who had taken a shot at Governor Prince, Jonathan was cleared of the charges. All in all Jonathan seems to have been a man who spoke his mind.
On 27 May 1661 Jonathan sold his land in Sepuisset to Thomas Shaw. The primary business at Sepuisset at that time was Oyster gathering and making lime from the shells. Jonathan removed to Succanesset, now Falmouth, Mass., and resided there for the rest of his life. When they arrived in Succanesset Jonathan and Sarah's family had grown to seven children. Their son Moses was born there in 1662 and became the first white child born in Falmouth, Mass.
On 2 October 1662 Jonathan pressed suit in the Plymouth Court against Mr. Tristram Coffin Of Nantucket for damage of twenty pounds in an action of non-payment for a debt of thirteen pounds and ten shillings. The jury found for Jonathan, awarded him the debt plus forty shillings in damages and the cost of the suit. On 10 October the Court sent men to view an assortment of cables, rope, and a block that belonged to Coffin and were under attachment. They judged the goods to be worth eight pounds, seventeen shillings and three pence.
During King Phillip's war many of the surviving Narragansett Indians were taken captive. In addition to the Narragansett however, many Indians from other New England tribes were taken prisoner. Some, in fact, were friendly Indians who had placed themselves under the protection of the Colonial governments when the war had broken out. In an act of betrayal after the war these same governments sold many of the friendly Indians into slavery.
Jonathan Hatch bought three of these captives from Capt.Church, an officer in the Colonial Milita. Keeping in mind Jonathan's friendship with the local Indians, and the close call he had in his early years when he was committed as a slave to Lt. Davenport, it would appear that this was more an act of ransom than slave buying. The three consisted of a woman, her husband and a young Boy.
On 3 June 1679 Jonathan appeared in the Plymouth Colony Court with the woman's two brothers. The brothers petitioned the Court for the release of their sister and her husband. It is an interesting comment on the times that Jonathan could not voluntarily release the captives but had to petition the court for the priviledge. The Court decreed that the two captives could not be set free until the woman's brothers had paid Jonathan six pounds Sterling. This at a time when hard currency was still in short supply in the Colonies and perhaps a majority of debts were settled with some commodity such as corn. It would seem that the Court was attempting to make it difficult for the two men to rescue their loved ones. The brothers paid three pounds in silver on the spot and one wonders if Jonathan actually received the balance of the payment before he released the two captives. The Court also decreed at the same hearing that the third Indian, "it being younge" be placed with Jonathan Hatch until "it attaines the age of 24 years, and then to be released forever". This seems to have revised the boy's status from slave to bond servant.
On 2 June 1685 Jonathan, who as noted previously kept an Inn, was further granted a license to keep a "vittualing house & retailing liquor".
In the July Court of the same year the "proprietors of (Falmouth) acknowledged Jonathan Hatch as being equal purchaser and proprietor with them, owning one share of all lands". This was twenty-four years after Jonathan arrived in Falmouth and it makes you wonder what prompted this belated concession by the proprietors too the man who probably arranged for the purchase of their lands to begin with.
On 24 June 1690 Jonathan and his son Jonathan Jr. took the freeman's oath and gained the right to vote. Sufferage was not universal in the colonies. It was based on ownership of property, membership in the church, and always, on how the individual was regarded in the community. Far less than fifty percent of the adult males in the colony possessed the right to vote. At the age of sixty-six, Jonathan had finally achieved full citizenship.
On 4 November 1690 Jonathan was appointed to view and inspect whales for the town of Falmouth. These no doubt consisted primarily of beached whales, perhaps mostly Pilots, which today still strand themselves in large herds on the beaches of the East coast. The New England whaling industry was still in the future at this time, but beached whales were a valuable commodity and a highly structured system had evolved in the Plymouth Colony's seventy year history which allotted portions and percentages of each whale, plus a tax for the colony's coffers.
In the end Jonathan Hatch, once a runaway apprentice, vagrant, and petty thief, became a man of influence in his community. He and his sons had large holdings of property, and were doing well by the standards of the time.
Jonathan died on 10 Dec. 1710, in Falmouth. No date of death is known for his wife Sarah Rowley Hatch. (WCL)
SOURCES:
1. "THE HISTORY OF OLD YARMOUTH", p. 67, Francis Smith.
2. "RECORDS OF THE COLONY OF NEW PLYMOUTH IN NEW ENGLAND", printed by the order of the legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Edited by Nathaniel B. Shurtleff, Boston: William White, printer, 1885. Vol. 1, pp. 108, 63; Vol. 2, pp. 4, 17, 35, 47, 122, 173; Vol. 3, p. 6; Vol. 4, p. 31; Vol. 5, p. 31; Vol. 6, pp. 15, 170-71, 251, 257-58; Vol. 7, p. 104; Vol. 8, p. 47.
3. "HISTORY OF MARTHA'S VINEYARD", Charles Edward Banks, Vol. 3, p. 95.
4. "SUCKANESSET; A HISTORY OF FALMOUTH MASSACHUSETTS", Theodate Geoffrey, pp. 16-23.
5. "NEW ENGLAND HISTORIC AND GENEALOGICAL REGISTER; Vol. 2, p. 194; Vol 4, p. 258; Vol 5 p. 388; Vol 14, p. 197-98.
6. FALMOUTH, MASS. BIRTHS AND CHRISTENINGS, 1659-1838", LDS microfilm.
7. "GENEALOGICAL ADVERTISER", Vol. 1, Sept, 1898, no 3, "Pembroke Records"; Vol. 3, 1900, pp. 82-83; "Town records of Falmouth Mass", Vol. 4, Sep. 1901, p. 113.
8. "SOLDIERS IN KING PHILLIPS WAR", George M. Bodge, p. 458.
9. "BARNSTABLE, THREE CENTURIES OF A CAPE COD TOWN", Donald G. Trayser.
THOMAS HATCH SR was born on 1 Jan 1648 in West Barnstable, Barnstable Co., MA[] and died probably in Falmouth, Barnstable Co., MA. He married ABIGAIL CODMAN on 22 Jul 1679 on Martha's Vineyard.[ /179] Abigail was born after 1654, possibly in Saybrook, CT, but more likely on Martha's Vineyard. and died probably in Falmouth, Barnstable Co. She was the daughter of ROBERT CODMAN.[]
CHILDREN:
From Falmouth Vital Records
pg. 73: (dau) Hatch, d. of Thomas and Abigall, b. 1 Jan 1683
pg. 72: Thomas Hatch, s. of Thomas and Abigail, b. 25 Apr 1685
pg. 66: Hipsibah Hatch, d. of Thomas and Abigall, b. 9 May 168_
pg. 71: Sarah Hatch, d. of Thomas and Abigall, b. 16 Sep 1687
pg. 72: Sr. Hatch, s. of Thomas and Abigall, b. 19 Jan 1689
pg. 69: Nathaniel Hatch, s. of Thomas and Abigall, b. 16 Mar 1693
pg. 64: Besiarith Hatch, s. of Thomas and Abigall, b. 16 ____ 1695
pg. 68: Marcy Hatch, d. of Thomas and Abigail, b. 16 Mar 1697
pg. 67: Jonathan Hatch, s. of Thomas and Abigall, b. 9 Apr 1698
pg. 70: Peter Hatch, s. of Thomas and Abigall, b. 25 Jul 1700
THOMAS HATCH JR was born on 25 Apr. 1685 in Falmouth, Barnstable Co., MA and died in Falmouth. Thomas married MARY CATHCART in about 1710 probably in West Tisbury, Martha's Vineyard. This is based upon the birth of their oldest child in 1711.[] Mary was the daughter of (1) ROBERT CATHCART and PHOEBE COLEMAN of West Tisbury.
From Falmouth Vital Records, where CR1 indicates First Congregational Church records
pg. 68: Mary Hatch, wife of Thomas, bp. 8 May 1733, CR1
CHILDREN:
Thomas Hatch and Mary Cathcart
pg. 71: Sillus Hatch, s. of Thomas and Mary, b. 18 Jun 1711
pg. 70: Robord Hatch, s. of Thomas and Mary, b. 18 Apr 1713
pg. 67: Jone Hatch, d. of Thomas and Mary, b. 13 May 1716
pg. 68: Mariam Hatch, d. of Thomas and Mary, b. 9 Sep 1718; pg. 69: Miriam Hatch, d. of Thomas and Mary, bp. 20 May 1733, CR1
pg. 65: Eunice Hatch, d. of Thomas and Mary, bp. 20 May 1733, CR1
pg. 70: Paul Hatch, s. of Thomas and Mary, bp. 20 May 1733, CR1
pg. 70: Phebe Hatch, d. of Thomas and Mary, bp. 20 May 1733, CR1
pg. 72: Solomon Hatch, s. of Thomas and Mary, bp. 20 May 1733, CR1
SOURCES:
1. "A HISTORY OF MARTHA'S VINEYARD", Charles Edward Banks.
2. "BIRTH AND CHRISTENING RECORDS, FALMOUTH, MASS., 1659-1830"
3 Falmouth Vital Records, Marriages and Intentions: pg. 179:
THOMAS HATCH III, was born in about 1722 or 1723. He married ANN LEWIS on 15 Oct. 1751 in Falmouth, Barnstable Co., MA. He was listed as "Thomas Hatch Jr.".[ /179]
CHILDREN:
1. Nathan Hatch, bp. 3 Dec 1752, CR1 - Falmouth VR pg 69
2. James Hatch, 13 Apr 1755, CR1 - Falmouth VR pg 67
3. Anne Hatch, bp. 22 May 1757, CR1- Falmouth VR pg 63
4. MERIBAH HATCH [PG 69]
From Falmouth Vital Records, where CR1 indicates First Congregational Church records
MERIBAH HATCH, was baptized on 29 Jul 1759 in Falmouth, Barnstable Co. MA. in the First Congregational Church.[ /69], and died after August of 1801 in Pittston, Lincoln Co., ME.[] She married DAVID MOOERS "of Pownalborough" on 22 Jan 1781 in Falmouth.[ /176] David was born in 1762 on Nantucket Island, Nantucket Co., MA,[] and died on 30 Jan 1847 in Pittston, Lincoln Co., ME.[] He was the son of THOMAS MOOERS and SUSANNAH CATHCART of Nantucket.[]
"MERIBAH HATCH, d. of Thomas Jr. and Anne, bp. 29 Jul 1759, CR1" - From Falmouth Vital Records pg. 69, where CR1 indicates First Congregational Church records
"Meribah Hatch and David (Daniel int.) Moors of Pownalborough, 22 Jan 1781" - Falmouth Vital Records, Marriages and Intentions, pg. 176