Pages

Sunday, December 04, 2016

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2016 WEEK 47: CAPT. JOHN WHITE OF LANCASTER MA. PT.5

Alma Larkin White included one more field report from John White to  Lt.Governor William
Dummer, which is dated July 10, 1725. Two months later my 7x great grandfather was dead
at the age of forty-one.

"Dunstable July the 10 : 1725.
May it Please your Hon r :
Old Christian Being this morning Being Taken with a violent Bleed-
ing Caused our Companyes to stop and within a few hours he died &
the other mohaucks are not willing to Leave him before he is Buried
& our desine is to march ouer Merimack River and There to Take a
True List of our mens Names, & shall march as Quick as Possible.
Who Remain Still your Honours at Comand

John White
Seth Wyman"
(Massachusetts Archives, LII, 222.)
(From The Early Records of Lancaster, Mass., by Hon. Henry S.
Nourse.) "





Genealogy of the descendants of John White of Wenham and Lancaster, Massachusetts, 1638-[1909]
Chase Brothers Publishers, Haverhill, Ma 1900

-p39
His widow (my 7x great grandmother) apparently had a pretty strong opinion about what had
caused the death of her husband and two years later she sent a petition to the colonial government:
 
"To the Hon ble . William Dummer Esq r . Lieut. Governour and Com-
ander in Chief the hon ble . the councill and Representatives for the
Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England in General
Court Assembled at Boston the 23 d day of December Anno Dom
1727.

The Petition of Eunice White Relict widow of Capt. John White
late of Lancaster deced. Humbly Sheweth. That Whereas your Pet rs .
sd husband in his life time in the years 1724 & 1725 as well as at
other times performed sundry marches ag'. the Indian Enemy and did
other services for the good of his Country & was active and vigorous
in the Defence thereof against those barbarous Salvages, not only
hazarding his life but Expending good part of his substance therein,
as is well known to many. Some few Instances whereof your Pet r .
would humbly ripresent to this Hon ble Court. Yor . Pet rs . sd. hus-
band altho he had divers times had the honour to bear command yet
voluntarily Enlisted himself under the late Capt. Lovewell, and choose
rather to go as an Under Officer at that time because he would do
what in him lay to Encourage others to Enlist and marched with him
at the time when they killed the Ten Indians, in which march they
were out near Forty days. Then he performed a march to a place
called Cohosse on Connecticut River thinking to meet with the Enemy
there and came in at Fort Dummer, being out thirty four days, tho
they missed of their desired Success ; Then in about Eight days time
he had a Company raised and went to Pigwacket to bury Capt. Love-
well which he performed in a very difficult season of the year. Then
he went to Connecticut at his own cost and charge to get a Company
of Mohege Indians in order to go down to St. Francois to take an
Indian fort there, but failing of his aim, he returned home and then
enlisted a Company of Voluntiers and marched designing for a Fort
beyond Pigwacket, but was taken sick before he got there, returned
home and dyed leaving your Petr. his bereaved widow with seven
Children the Eldest about Fifteen years old and Four of them very
young, & one she then went with who is now living ; In all which Ser-
vices your Petitrs . said husband cheerfully underwent many hardships
and difficulties for the good of his country, and was at considerable
Cost and Charge, by Supplying those that Enlisted under him with
necessaries which could not be readily obtained elsewhere, purely to
make dispatch.

Now Forasmuch as the Sickness of which your Pet rs . husband dyed
was in all probability Occasioned by means of ye difficulties he under-
went in the Publick Service, & that he never in his life time had an
Opportunity of asking your Honrs . Favour for his past Services but
was taken away in the Strength and vigour of his life, without receiv-
ing anything from the Publick more than 2 s 6 d p day for the three
marches he performed as aforesd and in regard your Petr. is left a dis-
consolate widow with several Fatherless Children to bring up who
stand in daily need of relief and Support, your Petr. finding it very
difficult to provide for them, she therefore most humbly Implores
your Hon rs . pity and Compassion to herself & Children, and that as
you have been pleased in like cases to reward those that have served
the Province, and the Representatives of those that have lost their
lives in the Publick Service. So that she may Experience of the
Bounty & Goodness of this Honoble Court to her in her difficult Cir-
cumstances, and that you will be pleased to Grant her Two hundred
and Fifty acres of the unappropriated Lands of the Province that she
may dispose of the same for the Education and bringing up her afore-
sd . Children or that your Honrs, would otherwise relieve her as in
your Great Goodness & Compassion you shall see meet. And as in
duty bound your Petitr . shall ever pray &c.
Eunice White."

In the House of Representatives December 28 th . 1727. Read and
in answer to this Petition, Resolved That the sum of One Hundred
pounds be allowed and paid out of the publick Treasury to the peti-
tioner the widow Eunice White in Consideration of the good Services
done this province by her late husband Capt. John White, and great
expences for which he has had no Consideration, as particularly set
forth in the petition and the better to enable the petitioner to support
her Family and bring up her Children. Sent up for Concurrence

Wm Dudley Spr

In Council Dec. 28, 1727. Read & Concur d . J. Willard Secry
Consented to W m . Dummer.

(Massachusetts Archives, LXXII, 325, et. seq.)

( From the Early Records of Lancaster, Mass., by Hon. Henry S. Nourse.)
 

- ibid, pp41-43


It feels like Eunice had been fuming over this for the two yearsafter John's death. She knew the exact
number of days her husband had been away from home and the money he had been paid down to
the last cent.

I don't know if 100 pounds was the dollar equivalent of 250 acres, but I'm sure if it wasn't, Eunice
(Wilder) White probably let someone in the colonial government know about it!

No comments: