| Maternal |
| CHURCH, c.1608-c.1677 |
|
Migration: England>Plymouth, MA
(1) Richard Church,
of Plymouth, Massachusetts, was born in 1608 as a deposition made by him
shows:
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"The Deposition of Richard Church aged about
56 yeares this Deponent saith that hee being att worke about the mill the
19th. day of august hearing of a Cry that the man was killed; hasted presently
and healped to remove the earth from Thomas ffish who being much bruised
thereby was gott to bedd and in four dayes and a halfe Dyed; and further
saith not." Made at Sandwich 25 Aug. 1664 and recorded in Plymouth
Coll. Court Orders, Vol. IV. p. 92 (Mayflower Descendants IV-152).
There is no record of the appearance, character or state of education of Richard Church, but the fact that he was invited to become a freeman the year of his landing makes it certain that his social position was known or that he arrived with introductions or endorsements that won him immediate recognition as a sober citizen, a church member, and a loyal subject of the King.
Richard left that Colony withoiut taking the oath and went to Plymouth where he became a freeman on 4 October 1632. Apparently there inquired about his status and a letter dated 1631 from Gov. Bradford of Plymouth to Gov. Winthrop of Massachusetts Bay gives a glimpse into the strict oversight which the early settlers maintained over new arrivals, a supervision necessary to weld a heterogenous mass of immigrants into an effective commonwealth:
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"Richard Church came likewise ass a sojournour
to worke for ye present; though he is still hear resident longer than he
purpossed; and what he will doe, neither we nor I think himselfe knows;
but if he resolve here to settle we shall require of him to procure a dismission;
but he did affirme to us at ye first that he was one of Mr. welb's men
and freed to goe for England or whither he would ye which we rather beleued
because he came to us from Wessagasscussett [Weymouth] upon ye falling
out with his partner." (Mayflower Descendants, IX-I).
The first significant fact that the records disclose about him is that he was assessed on 166 pounds at Plymouth in 1632-3, two years after landing -- a considerable sum that places him among the wealthiest class of the Pilgrims, if that term could be applied to any of them. Winsor, in his History of Duxbury, gives the taxes levied in 1633. William Collier and Gov. Edward Winslow are rated at 2 pounds 5 shillings each, Richard Church and four others at 1 pound 7 shillings each, placing him second in position of wealth. His financial independence supports the assertion by his great-grandson, Dea. Benjamin Church, that Richard "with two of his brethren, came early to New England as refugees from the religious oppression of the parent state." Garrett Church of Watertown, Massachusetts, is supposed to have been one of the brothers and he was the progenitor of an important family. Dea. Benjamin makes teh mistake of saying that the founder of the Plymouth family was named Joseph, and this may be the third brother, who, for some reason, did not become established in the New World.
Richard entered with vigor into the public activities of the colony. He served on the "Grand Enquest" several times both in Plymouth and in Duxbury, and many other civic appointments show that he was a valued member of the community. He served in the Pequot War of 1643 as a "voluntary" with the rank of sergeant, apparently without pay. He was enrolled earlier than this, for in the General and Special Orders of the Court on 7 June 1637 appointing Leift. William Holmes as commander and Mr. Thomas Prence as council of war can be found "the names of the Souldiers that willingly offer themselves," and Richard's name is among the first.
Richard married Elizabeth Warren, daughter of Richard Warren who came to Plymouth with the first settlers on the Mayflower in 1620. Elizabeth was not with her father, but came with her sisters on the Anne in July 1623. On the same ship with them was Roger Conant who selected the site of Salem, Massachusetts, and was put in authority over that settlement for two years.
Richard's marriage in to the Warren family may suggest something about his social standing. Richard Warren was one out of ten (of 41) signers of the Mayflower Compact who were distinguished by the title "Mister.", Myles Standish being called "Captain." Elizabeth, Richard Church's mother-in-law, was usually styled "Mistress," a title not at all common then.
Richard Church was a carpenter, and apparently a very good one, for the Plymouth authorities employe dhim immediately in making a gun acarriage for the defenses on Fort Hill and, with John Tomson, in building the first church in the colony -- although he had to sue to get paid. He probably learned his trade recently as a young apprentice in England, for he was just 22 years old when he arrived in Plymouth.
As early as 1632, Richard was taxed 1 pound 16 shillings "or to be paid in corn at six shillings a bushel," a valuation that shows the high cost of provisions in the colony. Another of his deals throws light on the difficulties that accompany the scarcity of a circularting currency. He sold a house and land for 25 pounds and it was stipulated that payment was to be "a Rid oxe yt they call his name Mouse for 8 pounds and ten shillings, commodities 6 pounds. Residue to be paid next yeare following either in cattell or in commodities or in merchants pay."
On 24 January 1635, he bought half-interest in a "corne mill" at Hingham, Plymouth Colony.
Richard lived in Plymouth from 1633 to 1649, was taxed in Duxbury in 1637, and was at Eastham the same year, Charlestown in 1653, and finally at Hingham in 1668 where he probably lived the rest of his life. He is also noted at Dedham, but it is doubtful whether he made any real settlement at either Eastham or Dedham.
Richard died in Dedham where he was on a visit "Sabbath day erly in the morning," and is buried in Hingham, Massachusetts at a spot now covered by the highway leading to the Old Steamboat Wharf and near the water. He left a modest estate, but since he probably granted inheritances to each of his eleven children as they reached majority or were married, it is likely that his estate was much greater than indices show it was at his death. His will is concise:
"I Richard Church of Hingham, having perfect understanding, yet visited by sickness of body, order this my last will. Debts pay'd then my will is that my wife, Elizabeth Church, shall enjoy the remainder during her life. And when it shall please God that she shall leave this life my will is that what Estate I shall leave her that shall not be necessarily Expended for her maintenance shall then be equally divided amongst my children, only my sonn Joseph to have a dubble portion, that is twice as much as any of the rest of my children, by reason of the lameness of his hand, whereby he is disinabled above the rest of my children for the getting of a livelihood. I ordain my sonn Joseph to be my Executor."The witnesses were Joshus Fisher, John Farebank, Sr., and John Farebank, Jr. The will was presented for probate 26 January 1669. The fact that Richard signed by a mark may not necessarily indicate lack of education, so much as weakness of body. The will is dated three days before his death.
25 Dec 1668 Richard X Church
- Abigail Church, born 22 June 1647 at Plymouth, Massachusetts, died 25 December 1677; married 19 December 1666 Samuel Thaxter, born 19 May 1641 in Hingham, Massachusetts, son of Thomas Thaxter and Elizabeth. Parents of:
- Sarah Thaxter, born 16 November 1668 at hingham, Massachusetts; married 25 March 1691 at Hingham, Peter Dunbar, born at Hingham, Plymouth Co., Massachusetts, 8 September 1668 and died at Bridgewater, Plymouth Co., Massachusetts, 23 April 1719.
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