Have you heard about King Philips and the war with the Colonists in 1675? King Philips was not English, French or Spanish. He was a Native American from the Wampanoag tribe, who started a war in the New England area in 1675 and continued until 1676.
The Plymouth Colonist’s had made a pact with the Native Americans early during the settling of Salem and Other communities in the New England colonies. Prior to 1676, the French, English and Dutch had wars and conflicts trying to settle and live in North America but not the English. The first major English conflict would pit the Colonies against the Indians and would prove to be deadly to both sides.
The pact with the Massasoit, Chief of the Wampanoag Indians started in 1638 and slowly came apart after 37 years after his son, Metacomet (King Philip) took over the leadership following his father’s death. The early pact would be based on less expansion and based on protecting each other in a war. However, over time as the colonies grew, the English population would grow to about 80,000 people and the land expansion would push many of the Native Americans from their lands.
The trigger for this conflict would be a known Indian convert to Christianity being killed by three Wampanoag Indians, the Indians being tried and convicted of the crime. As with English custom, the men would be swiftly executed by hanging and this angered the Native Americans greatly.
The five tribes of Native Americans attacked the English settlements and brutally killed Men, Women and Children. The brutality by the Indians witnessed by the Colonist was severe. The Indians would dismember bodies and do things that would cause the people both havoc and shock.
The first battles would utterly destroy the villages of Westbrook, Northfield and Deerfield. In the Massachusetts region, twelve villages and towns would be attacked and the Indians were easily overrunning the local Militias. The war rules of Europe were gone and fighting by ambush or behind trees by the Indians would mean a different war was being conducted.
My Ancestors during the war time would be the Rae family (Joshua Ray (Rae) (My 8th Great Grandfather), (Samuel Rae (My 7th Great Grandfather) and Richard Waters (My 9th Great Grandfather) all living in around Salem while the war underway. For the Vest Family, these ancestors would come through Elizabeth Ray who married John Valentine Vest.
After researching a great deal, the only possible relatives that fought in the conflict would be from my Baker lineage through Alma Baker (Vest), my Grand Mother, and that would be John Baker, Thomas Baker, and Timothy Baker who served in the army formed to confront the Native Americans.
On my Mother’s side of the family, there is a Samuel Chapman would fought in the conflicts too and is mentioned in the archives. At this time, I cannot say how or if he is related to me but I will be continuing to search and find out.
The war would continue and as in most wars, the American Colonist would learn to fight similar tactics as the Indians, would form an army consisting of both volunteers and impressed soldiers and would bring the conflict to the Indian tribes. Two tribes, the Mohegans (Mohicans) and the Pequots would come to the aid and support the colonists in the war.
At the end of 1676, Metacomet would be killed and some of his captains would be captured or killed in the conflict. The son of Metacomet would be deported to Bermuda and the tribes would begin to seek peace thus ending the conflict.
The estimates of the death and toll ranges from 800 to 1000 colonist and up to 3,000 of the Native Americans. Over half of the US Colonies cities would be attacked and several villages and towns would be left empty for several years. The war took a great toll on the people living within the English colonies during the time. People had seen horrors and lived in fear wondering if their village would be attacked or not. The loss of crops, animals and life would stem the growth for a period until the people could focus on their lives again.
Amazon Select this link for more books and information about this history of the time.
The following Reference Links are Some to Explore for More Information about King Philip’s War
Olive Tree Genealogy Information
The Olive Tree Genealogy is becoming one my favorite sources for information about history and relatives. If you are into Genealogy and don’t want to pay for a subscription, this is a great source to visit.
Westbrook Historical Commission
Wiki Page on King Philips War
Download Book Written Soldiers in King Philips War by George Madison Bodge
Originally posted 2018-03-11 15:25:21.
John Moses Vest (1650 – 1735) and Francis Chapman (1598 – 1656) came to the new colonies to start a new life as we have discussed in earlier blogs. The early colonist came to start a new life and search for gold but only found that the key to the new life was farming.
The group that came from England and Germany brought only small tools and livestock. The small tools would be an ax, shovel, chisel, hammer, other tools that were poorly built and the farmers would need to repair frequently. The livestock would include sheep, goats, chickens, horses and cows.
Upon landing at the site, the first priority for the people was shelter. The groups would either pitch a tent or live on the vessel until a crude one room home could be built. Shaping the wood would take time and once the logs were ready the people would build the small home quickly. After two months in a ship, having one room shelter had to feel like luxury.
Unless the colonists were lucky enough to secure an old Native American camp site, the fields were covered in trees and rocks. The land had to be cleared and crops had to be planted. To clear the land of tress with the crude axes was very difficult and the Colonists had worked long days clearing the fields. They were taught by the Native Americans that if a person would cut a groove around the bottom of the tree all the way around the tree, the tree would die. After the tree died over the course of time, one could cut it down easier or burn the tree to the ground. Removing rocks and stumps were another challenge that the farmer had to contend with.
Clearing a site would take a great deal of time and was estimated at an acre every year. Since there was little help to hire due to the minimum number of colonist that were available, the work was tedious, back breaking and presented a challenge clearing the area. Plowing a field was always done by using hand tools to poke holes and cover the soil. Planting would take a great deal of time and help was needed.
The families would have as many children as possible to help tend the farm and these families would as large as ten on occasion. My ancestors, the Vest family would come to the colony with Moses Vest (7th Great Grand Father) and his son, John Valentine Vest (6th Great Grand Father) would have many children
- John Daniel Vest (1705 to 1765) (5th Great Grand Father)
- George Vest (1713 to 1745)
- Elizabeth Ann Vest (1715 to 1775)
- Valentine Vest (1717 to 1759)
- Phillip Vest (1722 to 1816)
The farming would quickly plant corn as taught to the settlers by the Native Americans. Corn would be more plentiful in food amount than barley or wheat and the entire corn stalk and cob would be consumed by either the farmer or the animals. Nothing went to waste and the farmer would learn other ways to produce symbiotic plants within the corn crops. Beans and pumpkins would be planted after the stalks were above the surface and these three plants worked together to produced badly needed food for the families of Virginia.
To keep the animals as bay and out of the crops, crude fences would be built. The early fences would be split rails with a hole bored through on the ends to stack and lock the rails in place. In the areas where there more rocks and stones, complete and partial fences built as stone works would line the property and keep the livestock penned. The stone fences would be found more in the north part of the Virginia colony and wood fences would be prominent.
Last, the farmer would start to build a new home with more rooms. A kitchen would be added and a bedroom or a keeping room would be added to provide more room for the expanding family. Overtime, the home in the fields would take over for the family and the one room in the settlement would go to another family or part of their extended family.
For more information about the Early Colonial Life, please read the reference book where I found the information written. Select the image and you can go to Amazon to order the book if you would like to have additional reading about the subject.
Originally posted 2018-03-03 22:10:44.
My 10th Great Grand Father on my Father’s side of the family is Reverend Samuel Skelton, who was the first Minister of the Salem, Ma, church and the first church of the Mass Bay.
In one of my previous writings, we explored the Salem Witchcraft trials and how one of my relatives signed a petition that the accused witch was not a witch. This story takes place almost 60 years before the witch trials.
Samuel would be born in England and would come to the new world to become part of the historic “puritan” movement by starting a church and ministering to the people. He was requested to come to the new world by the Governor who would give Samuel a reward of land for coming to this part of the colonies.
As his reward for coming to the new world, he would be given 200 acres of land plus an additional 11 acres to build and live on.
Rev. Skelton would continue to preach for just a few years before the teaching in New England would change and the few churches in Massachusetts would become one “puritan” group.
For those who are in the Vest, Ray, and Baker Family, the line of ancestors are as follows:
1. Rev. Samuel Skelton
2. Samuel Skelton
3. Joseph Skelton
4. Mary Skelton
5. Elizabeth Ray married to John Valentine Vest
6. John Daniel Vest
7. William Tom Vest
8. Clovis Vest married to Alma Mae Baker
9. My Dad
10. Me
Below is a picture borrowed to show Samuel’s achievement
Courtesy of Ancestry website and one of my ancestors
For more information about Samuel Skelton, check out the wiki link below or try my ancestry link where there is over 62 pictures and bits about Samuel Skelton
Wiki Information Surrounding Samuel
My ancestry page
They came from many countries. The US is often called the “Melting Pot” due to the many colonist coming from the many different countries and staying in the land. Blending the cultures that would make America Great over time. The beauty of the US is that many cultures can blend and grow as a people and even in the early 1500, 1660 and 1700 hundreds, the culture who fought against each other learned to live together after the battles were fought.
The early visitors and settlers came from Spain and France. The Spanish came seeking treasure, gold and other valuables. The French would come and settle looking for furs and material items not commonly found in Europe. Finally, the English would start the journey in early 1600’s.
Why so late? There were multiple reasons but the primary issues was fear and poverty that had grown in the English Isle. There had been wars with Spain and the Spanish had dominated the seas at that time. English ships traveling alone were easy prey for the Spanish to capture or sink ending the lives of the travelers. At the end of the 1500’s, the war would end and it was “safe” to travel but the English still had to be on watch and safety meant having colonies established in areas where protection against foreign fleets was a must. This would be the case for Jamestown and it’s establishment in 1607.
The second reason was due to the poverty in England after fought against the Spanish. The crown did not have the funding to establish colonies and these efforts had to be privatized. The economy has so poor that over 95 percent of the population was considered to be lower class and only 5 percent of the people commanded the wealth of the nation. This five percent would make mean only 25 % of the men could vote at the time. Most of the people had no representation in the government due to being poor and not being allowed to vote due to their status. Following English law would later lead to the US wanting no taxation without representation. A story for another time.
In the 1600’s, the English would share with the poor people that another life could exist in the colonies. The tales of the Spanish and the fortunes found in their colonies would lead to something similar to the “Gold Fever” in California in the 1800’s. The people would pack up their material things, tools, clothes, food, and other items needed for the new world.
The groups would load up on the boats and would be tightly packed usually on one or more common floors. There would be little to no privacy for families or individuals who would use sheets sometimes to aid in blocking the other passengers view. The ship would be powered solely by the wind and traveled at the mercy of these winds to move the ship through the water. The ballast was such that the people often became sick to the motion of moving up and down and up and down as the vessel moved through the water.
The journey which would take 6 to 8 weeks or more would mean that there was little comfort from the elements. During the Summer heat, people would be exposed to uncomfortable heat. During the winter, no fires places existed and the people would huddle and bundle themselves up to overcome the cold.
The people would sleep on the mats on the floors if they owned one. There was no comfort given by the ship owners and you had to provide your own sleeping materials. Nothing put a tossing creaking ship was your sleeping arrangement every night.
The food had to be dried, pickled or preserved to last. Bread would not last the trip and the people would be almost starving over time. Food would spoil and the people would suffer during the long and dreary trip.
If a person died during the trip, there were tossed overboard and no proper burial would be given. The sick would suffer and little children would be very challenged to be hearty enough to make the trips. Hunger and poor elements would put many a person at risk.
These were the days of the early to mid 1600’s and over time the travel became so plentiful that over 600 people a day were coming to the US colonies in the mid 1700’s. During the 1700’s, the German emigrants would out number the English colonist coming to the new world.
The Germans would be the poor and lower middle class and they would travel more in families than the English that came in the 1600’s.
The challenge is to find which ships our ancestors came in. You can start by finding the port and the date they landed here in the new world. Here is a website that will help with the names of the English in the early 1600’s English Ship Web Site.
For the other ships that came before 1820, the records are a challenge to find.
My ancestors came from England and Germany.
- My Mother married my Father and his name was Archie Vest. My Mother’s lineage is both the Michael and Chapman family
- The Michael Family would be heir’s of Johann Jacob Michael (1705-1787) who would hail from Germany and would live in the York, Pennsylvania area
- The Chapman Family would be heirs of Francis Chapman, who would come to the new world from England in 1606 and would sail on the Star (ship). He would reside in the Jamestown area where the English set up their first city
- The Vest family would come from Germany and our heir would be John Moses Vest and we discussed him in an earlier blog post (see Blogs for his information)
- My Grandmother Alta Mae Baker (1902 – 1943) married Clovis William Vest (1899 – 1936) and her family would be the Couch and Baker family. The Baker family heir would be Nicholas Obediah Baker (1737-1832) who would sail from England and live in North Carolina and later Alabama.
- Other Relatives that are key to the Vest family are the Ray Family who is linked when Elizabeth married John Valentine Vest
References Are Found Below, Click on the Image to go to Amazon
Originally posted 2018-02-25 20:54:15.
Elizabeth Hope “Ray” Vest married John Valentine Vest in Virginia in 1705. She was a second generation of US born family member and she was my 6th Great Grand Mother.
Elizabeth’s family was from the Salem, Massachusetts, and arrived from England in the Plymouth area in the early 1600’s. Elizabeth’s Grand Parents were Rea, which became Ray and Waters families that were settling in this growing community of Salem in the 1600’s.
The history or both families and how they tie to the Vest family is great. There is deep history to explore and I will be sharing it over the next few blog posts.
The voyage from England was certainly a challenge for Elizabeth’s Grand Fathers family. Each ocean vessel was built from wood of over 2500 trees on average and this one reason that finding an abundance of wood in the new world really over whelmed the average Colonist.
Each family that traveled from England had to pack up all of their possessions in trunks, bring food, water, tools and animals that they would need on board of the ship. During the trip, the food would become spoiled and boat was crammed full of people. There would be no private quarters and the smell would have been just horrible. The long journey lasted between 6 to 8 weeks and food shortage plus disease was always an issue on the journey. Many a colonist did not make the whole journey and passed away on the voyage only to be casted over board after their death.
During the early 1600’s, the English settlements had to watch for Spanish and other countries coming and attacking the newly established colony. Colony placement had to be made in strong points. Plymouth would be founded after the fall of Roanoke and the establishment of Jamestown in 1607. A constant watch had to be made over the protection of the community from the Spanish, French, Dutch and the Indians.
With only a little over a 100 people landed at the colony at a time, the people sought shelter on the ship until shelter could be built. The early shelters were tents and later progressed to dug out and wooden structures. The dug out was a technique where the colonist would dig down several feed into the earth for a very small room the size of 20 by 20. Support beams would be added to the corners and boards would be used for the walls. The roof was thatch and sod. This new how had only one door and that door would be made where a person would need to bend down to come into the building. This would make it easier to defend from predators and people trying to get into the home for harm.
The colonist would then begin to setup a community by building farms. Since there was an abundance of trees, land had to be cleared by axe, hoe and ploughs. Once the land was clear, crops could be planted for food and for trading. The tobacco plant has planted in the Virginia region and would be a cash crop for being sent back to England.
Elizabeth was born in Powhatan, Virginia names after a powerful Indian leader and father of Pocahontas.
After marrying John Valentine, she would have the following children, John Daniel Vest, George Vest, Valentine Vest, Elizabeth Ann Vest and Phillip Vest. They would live together until their deaths in 1735.
For Further Reading and Information, check out the two books listed below. I highly recommend both books. Check out the link on the side of the page that will take you to Amazon for a quick purchase.
References
Early American Life in Early America by David Freeman Hawke
American Colonies: The Settling of North America, Vol 1 by Alan Taylor
Originally posted 2018-02-10 22:32:44.
John Moses Vest was born in Warendorfer Landkreis, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany in 1650.
What many people don’t realize was that Europe had been struggling with wars, class issues and many people who did not have ample methods of staying fed or advancing into society.
Over 95 percent of the people in the many countries were considered lower middle to low class and they were struggling to make a life for themselves. The new world “United States Colonies” was a means to the end for some people. While most were farmers, many occupations would come to the new world seeking fortune only to find areas needing to be settled and a lot of hard work ahead of them.
There were four reasons people would come to the new world. One was for fortune and fame, the second was due to being a criminal, third was due to indentured service and the remaining reason was for religious freedom. Criminals were given a choice to die or to be sent to the states for a new life.
The major European countries sending Colonists were England, France, Spain and the Dutch and Germany, who followed closely with the Dutch.
John Moses Vest is my seventh great grandfather and he came to the states before 1679, where his son John Valetine Vest was born in Chesterfield, Virginia 1679. John Valentine Vest would marry Elizabeth Hope (Ray) Vest in 1705 in Virginia and will be topic of additional blogging in the near future.
There is not a lot of information about my great grand father Moses but history shows that a large contingent of German settlers who were sick of war and the lack of ability to farm or achieve success at home came to the Chesterfield area to farm. Since ocean voyage was more for hearty travelers, young Moses would have come to Virginia in his early twenties.
Moses would marry Elizabeth Inu, who was a native Virginian and was was born in 1640. After the birth of their son, John they would move to the Jamestown area and live. Jamestown is the oldest English settlement that was founded in 1607. Many people are not aware but of the 104 settlers to come and establish the settlement, only 35 would make it through the first winter. Many scholars believe the people were not prepared for the harsh winter and were spending their time looking for ways to make money. The lack of focus created low food stores and poor housing that led to the demise of unwary settlers.
When Moses and Elizabeth came to the area, it was almost a 100 years after that first poor start. By then Jamestown was better established and the mistakes of the past were gone.
Elizabeth would pass way in 1710 and Moses would pass away in 1735 and both were living and buried in Jamestown, Virginia.
Originally posted 2018-02-04 00:17:23.
I want to thank all of my relatives that have served in the Armed Services, Police, Fire and Medical fields. Without these sacrifices, we would not be allowed to live the life we live today!
In my immediate family, my Father served in the Navy for 20 years and retired as a CPO in the 1970’s. He sailed on many cruises on aircraft carriers during his years in the Navy. He was on the Lexington, Shang Ri La, and Enterprise to name a few of the carriers that he would serve on. His job was to keep the planes ready for action and to make repairs to the planes as these returned from their missions. He would serve early on in the Vietnam War.
Other Family members would served are;
- Brother Served in the Navy during the Vietnam War. He worked on electronics and served on Destroyers in the seas around Vietnam
- Brother in Law served in the Marines during the Vietnam War and achieved the rank of Master Sargent. He would be wounded twice during the conflict and the second time would be critical but not fatal
- My Dad’s Brothers would serve in the Army and Air Force
- My Mother’s Brother would serve during the Korean War
- My Cousin’s Husband would serve as a Police Officer in Arizona
- Many of my ancestors served in the Wars and Conflicts, which appear and will appear in this Blog
I appreciate the freedom they have given me by being an active role in providing protection to the Country that I love.
Please join with me as we say THANK YOU!
I am leaving the Blog open for this Tribute Page and you can send me your thanks that you want posted too if you want to. Just leave a comment on Facebook or to this Blog on the comment page or email me as usahistoryancestory@gmail.com and I will post your tribute to this page as well.
If you are a relative or just a reader, I will post to this tribute page. Just send me exactly what you want posted and I will include it.
Let’s try to fill this page up
Captain Pierce was my 11th Great Grand Father as explained in the previous Blog entry. Many people are not as lucky as I am in having as much information about a person as we do about Captain Pierce
He was a seagoing man and very prominent in England and in the New English colonies. First, he was a sea Captain. For many years, the Spanish ruled the ocean and it was difficult to explore many parts of the new world without conflict. The Spanish would build bigger and bigger ships and arm each one with Sailors and cannons that could crush a ship quickly if caught in the cross fire. The English would soon learn that their smaller ships were fast and able to stay out of direct fire from the Spanish Galleons. This tactic would mean that the rule of the ocean would become more balanced as the agile English vessels would destroy and keep the Spanish at bay.
Captain Pierce was in charge of many vessels and a key person in James City = Jamestown. He came to the new world 1609 to 1610 and was given a many acres to have and farm. Captain Pierce traveled on the Sea Venture which was separated from the other 5 ships coming to the new wold to bring supplies and was lost during a hurricane. The ship took on water and the crew had to abandon ship in the Bermuda islands. Over the next several months, the crew along with William Pierce would rebuild the ship to continue their travel to Jamestown.
Link to Early Ship Travel to the New World
He led two expeditions against the local natives the “Chickahomies” to stop the harassment the new area was given by some of the local natives.
Some believe that William Pierce was a captain of one of the Mayflower ships. It is quoted that he captained a second voyage to the new world but I have not been able to find solid evidence of this activity.
He was Captain of the Governor Wyatt Guards in early Jamestown and later he became LT. Governor of James City in 1629.
William would be active in the government and active in the House of Burgess in the new world. He would a member of the Virginia council from 1631 to 1648.
He captained several voyages of the ship Lyon to Boston in 1630 to 1634. He worked to bring more and more English people to the new world and on his fourth sailing, his vessel would hit a reef and sink. The ship would be replaced by the Rebecca and continue it’s journey to Boston.
Continuing his love for the seas, Captain Pierce would be killed by the Spanish in Bermuda as he was attempting to bring English colonist to the Island in 1641. The story goes that he and his ship navigator would be killed as the Spanish fired across the top of their vessel. The vessel would leave the area and return to the New Colonies instead and Captain Pierce would be buried at sea along the way back.
The Navy has played a key role in my family over the years. Going from Captain Pierce to my Father and Brother who would also serve in the US Navy. Thank you for your service to all Veterans and to Captain Pierce who helped build the United States.
May 1, 2018
Pocahontas is very famous for being a Disney Star but her real story is rather sad. Let’s begin with Jamestown and discuss what was happening to build the settlement here.
In the early 1600’s, the English was struggling to keep the Jamestown Colony going. The early settlers believed that the Native Americans would provide food and would be in awe of the settlers. The plan was to avoid seeing the colonist die or being buried but that failed due to the high rate of dying English Settlers. Over 80 percent of the inhabitants would die due to diseases over the early years at Jamestown.
The people were starving and the relationship between the Native Americans and the Settlers diminished because there was not enough food to be provided by the Native Americans. The two groups began to fight and Powhatan who ruled the many tribes around the area would continue to push back. Captain John Smith came to the colony and worked with the settlers during 1608 to 1609. Captain Smith led a group to ambush the local Native Americans but was ambushed by Powhatan’s people instead.
History shared that Powhatan’s daughter, Pocahontas stepped in and stopped her father from killing the Captain. That would make for a great story and a great animated movie during our modern time. However, some authors think the execution attempt was staged to make Captain Smith a sub chief and Jamestown a part of the powerful Powhatan’s reach. Either way, it saved his life.
Pocahontas was born in 1596 and was rather young during the event with John Smith. The hostilities between the tribe and the English settlers would continue after John left to go back to England without Pocahontas. She would eventually be captured in 1613 and would be used as a tool to stop the fighting by the people at Jamestown.
She would convert to Christianity and marry John Rolfe in 1614. John was a weatlty tobacco farmer and John and his bride would move to England to live where she died in 1617 at the age of 21. She had one child and his name was Thomas Rolfe. Thomas Rolfe would come back to the colonies years later but John Rolfe returned shortly after her death.
Captain William Pierce is my 11 Great Grand Father through the Vest, Baker, Appling, Clements and finally Pierce family genealogy. Captain Pierce came to the Jamestown in 1610 and was a very prominent person in the early colony. He was a Captain of the Governor guard, member of the House of Burgess, Lieutenant Governor at James City in 1629 and he would know both John Rolfe and Pocahontas.
After Pocahontas death in 1617, John Rolfe would return to the colonies and would marry Jane Pierce, Captain William Pierce’s daugher in 1617. Jane would be my 11 Great Aunt and that is how our family is connected to the Pocahontas story of the early 1600’s.
For more information about the colonies, click on the link beliow
Originally posted 2018-03-11 15:25:21.
