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THE ENDECOTT FAMILY
Pages 95-102
In the year 1262 a
charter was granted to a nobleman by the name of de Moelys for the Manor of
Itton alias South Tawton in Devonshire, England. This charter specified that an
annual quit-rent of ten shillings and six pence was due the Lord of the Manor
from the estate of Yondecote. This name was probably a combination of
"yonder" and "cote," meaning further homestead, as
hither-cote (Heathcote) means nearer homestead.
Just sixty-five
years later there is a record of a John Endicott in possession of this estate.
Johannes de Ynndecote, as the name was then spelled, was assessed ten pence in
the Devon Lay Subsidy Rolls of 1327 on his South Tawton lands. The Lady of the
Manor, Alicia de Moelys, was assessed two shillings. In the next century (1448)
John Yendecote alias Bittbear, Alicia his wife and Henry his son had an estate
in the parish of Wynelegh near South Tawton. Another record shows that Alice,
widow of Richard Yendecote of South Tawton, brought proceedings in chancery to
recover a 360 acre estate. This occurred between the years 1460 and 1483.
In
1528 the accounts of a church warden in Chagford, Devonshire, mention that John
Endecote, who had just acquired the estate of Mydell Park, gave a share of his
lands to the church. This John Endecote had two sons, Henry, who lived about
1515 to 1595. and a younger son, John. Henry married Margery, daughter of
William Halse of Crediton, and inherited valuable tin mines and smelters. Thus
the Endicotts added mineral and industrial wealth to their already rather
extensive landed estates.
Henry and Margaret
Endecote had four children, John born bout 1541, died 1635-6, whose wife was
named Johane, and who is believed to have been the grandfather of Governor John
Endecott of Massachusetts; and three younger children: William, died 1630;
Elizabeth, married John Downe; and Joan. Henry Endecote's son John had four
sons; Thomas, who died in 1621 leaving a widow named Alice; Robert; William and
Richard. The eldest, Thomas, had three children: John Endecott, the governor;
Gregory and Margaret.
When John Endecote,
grandfather of the governor, died in the year 1635-6, his eldest son Thomas was
no longer living, and his lands and mining properties were left to his younger
sons. The grandchildren received only 40 shillings. Under English practice
estates descended through the eldest sons, and Governor John Endecott, the
eldest son of the eldest son, was therefore deprived of his rightful
inheritance. He apparently contested his grandfather's will and lost.
The foregoing
history of the Endicott family is taken from a little book published early this
century by Sir Roger Lethbridge, entitled "The Devonshire Ancestry and
Early Home of the Family of John Endicott." The early records are
doubtless correct and indicate the origin of the family and the name. The
connection of the governor with the Chagford line is not definitely
established, but Lethbridge, after considering all the documentary evidence
believes that it can be "fairly assumed" that Governor John Endicott
was born either at Drewston in Chagford or at nearby Stokeon-Teignhead about
1589, the eldest son and heir of Thomas Endecott, who was buried at Chagford in
1621.
Lethbridge also
concludes that the future governor "in early life came under the influence
of the great Puritan divine, the Rev. John White of Dorchester and that he
became, probobly on this account, alienated from his grandfather and was
disinherited by him. Perhaps for the same reason he fought for the Protestant
religion against the Spaniards in the Low Countries." This would indicate
that John Endecott fought in the early years of the Thirty Years War
(1618-1648) possibly with the rank of captain, since he was frequently referred
to by this title in Massachusetts.
In the year 1628,
John Endecott was back in England and was married to Anna Grover. He joined the
five other wealthy Puritans(*) in the purchase of a grant from the
Plymouth Council for the settlement of Massachusetts Bay. This grant was later
confirmed by the Charter of Massachusetts, granted by Charles I. The task of
estblishing the colony in accord with the grant was assigned to John Endecott.
He embarked from Weymouth June 20, 1628 on the ship Abigail, with his wife and
a small group of planters, arriving at Naumkeag in New England on September 6.
This group was not
the first to land in Massachusetts: the Mayflower had brought the Pilgrims to
Plymouth eight years earlier, and a colony under Roger Conant was in possession
of Naumkeag when Endecott arrived. After some argument the older settlers
amicably accepted the authority of Endecott, and in commemoration of this
peaceful settlement Naumkeag was renamed with the Hebrek word for
peaceful--Salem.
From 1628 to 1630
John Endecott was the head of his little colony of fifty or sixty souls at
Salem, out of which the Commonwealth of Massachusetts grew. On June 12, 1630
the ship Arabella arrived at Salem bearing the Royal Charter of Massachusetts
and John Winthrop, who ?? been designated as govemor, During the following weeks
several other essels arrived, bringing in all about a thousand new settlers.
Withrop ?? over Endecott's authority.
While John Endecott
was not elected governor until the annual elec?? of 1644, he occupied various
vital civil and military positions from the initial days of the colony until
his death. He was except for a few years always an Assistant, or member of the
governing council. Unlike Winthrop. ?? wrote little, and the histories. of New
England give no detailed ap?? of his character. He was, however, responsible in
no small part ?? the founding of Massachusetts and for the early direction
which its ?? took. The intolerance of its Puritanism may be in part a
reflection ??ndecott's personality. He wrote in 1629 regarding this religious
sys?? (*) "it is, as far as I yet gather, no other than is
warranted by the evi?? of truth, and the same which I have professed and
maintained ever ?? the Lord in mercy revealed himself to me." In his
actions Endecott ?? harsh, ruthless and sometimes impulsive. One of his first
acts was the ??pulsion of two influential members of the colony, who ventured
to adhere to the Church of England and set up a separate worship in
Massa??usetts. He received a mild rebuke from his company in England in a
letter referring to "undigested counsels too suddenly put in
execution."
The early days of
Salem were not pleasant or easy, and may have required a leader of Endecott's
temperament. Conditions which Winthrop and his companions found in 1630 were
desperate. "More than a quarter part of their predecessors at Salem had
died during the previous winter, and many of the survivors were ill or feeble.
. . . There was a scarcity of all sorts of provisions, and not corn enough for
a fortnight's supply after the arrival of the fleet. . . .Sickness soon began
to spread, and, before the close of autumn, had proved fatal to two hundred of
this year's emigration."** Endecott's wife was among those who
died soon after his arrival, and he married again on August 17, 1630 to
Elisabeth Gibson, said to be from Cambridge, England, who probably came to
America with Winthrop. The New England Historical and Genealogical Register
states that she was probably a widow, the daughter of Philibert Cogan, Esquire,
of Chard in Somerset, whose other daughter maried Roger Ludlow.
In May of 1631
Endecott was fined forty shillings for assault and battery. In writing to
Winthrop, Endecott explained the incident: "Sir, I desired the rather to
have been at Court, because I hear I am much complained on by goodman Dexter,
for striking him. I acknowledge I was too rash in striking him, understanding
since that it is not lawful for a justice of peace to strike. But if you had
seen the manner of his carriage, with ??uch daring of me with his arms on
kembow, &c. It would have provoked ?? very patient man."
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(*)Although disinherited by his grandfather, John Endecott had probably
inherited from |
In 1634 Endecott was again in trouble, this time for ??efacing the King's
ensign, by causing to be cut from it the cross of St. ??orge. Winthrop revealed
the motive: "Much matter was made of this, as fearing it would be taken as
an act of rebellion, or of like high nature, in defacing the king's colors;
though the truth were, it was done upon this opinion, that the red cross was
given to the king of England by the Pope, as an ensign of victory, and so a
superstitious thing, and a relic of Antichrist."(*) A committee
of four magistrates considered Endecott's act, and they found "his offence
to be great, namely rash and without discretion, taking upon him more authority
than he had. . ." He was disabled from holding any public office for one
year.
After the death of
John Winthrop in 1648, Endecott was again elected governor, and he was
reelected to the post every year, with the exception of two, until his death in
1665. This was the period of the persecution of the Quakers in Boston, but it
was also a critical period for the colony, and the success of Endecott's
government in meeting the threats to its people's liberties should not be
forgotten. As governor, Endecott was interested in the conversion of the
heathen Indians, as indicated by the following extracts from his letter to the
president of the Corporation for the Promoting the Gospel among the Heathen in
New-England:**
I Esteeme it not
the least of Gods mercies that hath stirred up the hearts of any of the people
of God to be instrumentall in the inlarging of the kingdome of his deare Sonne
here amongst the Heathen Indians, which was one end of our comming hither; and
it is not frustrated, it was prophesied of old, and now begins to be
accomplished, Psal. 2, 8. . . . The Foundation is layd, and such a one that I
verily believe the gates of Hell shall never prevaile against it. . . . Truly
Gentlemen, had you been eare and eye-witness of what I heard and saw on a
Lecture day amongst them about three weekes since, you could not but be
affected therewith as I was. To speake truely I could hardly refraine tears for
very joy to see their diligent attention to the word first taught by one of the
Indians, who before his exercise prayed for the manner devoutly and reverently
(the matter I did not so well understand) but it was with such reverence,
zeale, good affection, and distinct utterance, that I could not but admire it;
. . ." After a quarter hour of prayer and a half hour sermon by an Indian
convert, John Eliot "who was the first Minister the Lord stirred up to
promote this worke" taught in the Indian tongue for three quarters of an hour,
and Psalms were sung in the Indian language to an English tune. Endecott
remarks: ". . .the Indians, which were in number men & women neere
about one hundred, seemed the most of them so to attend him (Eliot) . . . as if
they would loose nothing of what was taught them, which reflected much upon
some of our English hearers." Endecott had ridden from his home about
forty miles to attend this service. His letter was dated "Boston the 27th
of the Eighth 1651."
While only
quotations bearing directly on John Endecott have been cited, they do not give
a complete picture of the man. His position in New England affairs was so
prominent, that a thorough study of its history would be necessary to
understand his character and accomplishments. Many things would be found to
offset the unfavorable impression which quoted passages may have made on the
present day reader. He was as staunch and fearless in the defense of his
friends as he was ruthles in the persecution of his enemies. When two of the
regicides, colleagues of Gregory Clement, sought refuge in New England, he
apparently proposed to the Court that Massachusetts protect them against a
vengeful king. While the government did not agree, his position as governor
permitted him to withhold the cooperation which the king's agents would have
required to apprehend them.
Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow wrote a play entitled "John Endecott," which deals with an
estrangement between the governor and his eldest son, who sympathizes with his
father's victims. The conclusion of the play depicts the death of the governor:(*)
Endecott speaks:
O lost, O loved; wilt thou return no more?
O loved and lost, and loved the more when lost!
How many men are dragged into their graves
By their rebellious children! I now feel
The agony of a father's breaking heart
In David's cry, "O Absalom, my son!"
Oh Absalom, my son! I feel the world
Sinking beneath me, sinking, sinking, sinking!
Death knocks, I go to meet him! Welcome, Death!
Endecott falls
dead, and Bellingham, his successor as governor, pronounces his epitaph:
O gastly sight! Like one who has been hanged!
Endecott! Endecott! He makes no answer!
How placid and how quiet is his face,
Now that the struggle and the strife are ended!
Only the acrid spirit of the times
Corroded this true steel O, rest in peace,
Courageous heart! Forever rest in peace.
Endecott died on
March 15, 1665 and left will dividing his property between his two sons, both
born to his second wife. John, born about 1632 had no children, and the
Endicott family in America is descended from the younger son, Zerubbabel. This
name, which is continued in the Gaskill family, appears to be unique, but it is
not surprising that the Godfearing governor would choose the name of this Old
Testament character for his son.
Governor Endecott's
will, made the second of the third month 1659 leaves much real estate to his
sons, the elder receiving a double portion, and the personal property going to
the widow. The following are a few interesting passages from the will:
Also I give vnto
John Endecott & Zerubbabel all the Land wch was given me by the twoe
Sachems of Quinebaug: my Eldest sonne to have a Double portion thereof.
Itm I give to my
grandchild John Endecott Zerobabel his sonne, Ten pownds wch is to be payed him
when he is one & Twentie yeares of age. Also that Land I have bequeathed
vnto my twoe sonnes in one place or another my will is that the longer liver of
them shall enjoy the whole excapt the Lord send them children to inherit it
after them.
Itm I give vnto Mr.
Norrice teacher of the Church at Salem xls. & to Mr. Wilson pastor of
Boston xls. & to Mr. Norton, teacher xls.
Itm. I give to the
poore of Boston ffower pounds to be disposed of by the D??acons of the Church.
John Endecott (seal)
The inventory of
Endecott's estate showed a value of about 1600 pounds, a considerable fortune
for early colonial days. Besides the real estate, various weapons, gold and
silver articles, an old mare and other farm stock, the inventory lists "five
barrels of sidar at farmr Porters leakt out to 4 & on half."
Zerubbabel Endecott
was a physician and surgeon. He was born in or about the year 1635, second son
of Governor John Endecott and his second wife, Elizabeth. Where he received his
medical education is not known, but he undoubtedly followed the custom of the
times and read medicine in the home of some physician, and accompanied him to
visit patients. His brother John appears to have been a doctor also, as the
Massachusetts archives for 1668 preserve a bill he sent in the amount of five
shillings for a "vomit and affendans" on one John Clarke, "weak
and sike by reason of a scurvey and dropsy." There are a few entries in
the public records concerning Zerubbabel Endecott. In 1659 he and his brother
John were fined for excessive drinking. He was admitted as a freeman in 1665,
and was an ensign in the Salem militia in the same year. In 1676 he was a
member of a jury which held inquest on the body of Jacob Goodale, servant of
Giles Corey, after his sudden death. If appeared that the man was "almost
a Natural Fool." The bodly was badly bruised and Mr. Endecott performed a
post morfem, finding "clodders of Blood" about the heart.
Most of these facts
about Zerubbabel Endecott's life have been taken from the introduction to a
little book he wrote, and which was published in Salem in 1914 from the old
manuscript. The book is entitled "Synopsis Medicinae or a Compendium of
Galenical and Chymical Physick Showing the Art of Healing according to the
Precepts of Galen & Paracelsus Fitted universally to the whole Art of
Healing." The old manuscript bears the name of Zorubbabel Endecott and the
date 1677. It contains some thirty pages of directions for the mixing and
application of medicines for the cure of many diseases, and also for the
performing of surgical operations. Some samples of its contents follow.
For ye Colik or Flux in ye
Belly
1 the powder of
Wolves guts
2 the powder of
Bores Stones
3 oyle of Wormwood
a drop or 2 into the Nauell
4 3 drops of oyle of
Fenil & 2 drops of oyle of mints in Conserue of Roses or Conserue of single
mallows, if ye Paine be extream Vse it a gaine, & if need Require aply
somthing hott to the belly
For Vometing & Loosnes
in Men Women & Children
Take an Egg break a
Little houe in one end of it & put owt ye white then put in about 1/2
spoonfull of baye salt then fill vp the egg with strong Rom or spirits of wine
& sett it in hott ashes & Lett it boyle till ye egg be dry then take it
& eat it fasting & fast an hour after it or drink a Little distilled
wafers of mint & fenill which waters mixed fogether & drank will help
most ordinary Casses cr
For a Person that is
Distracted If it be a Woman
Tak milk of a Nurse
that giues suck to a male Child & also take a hee Catt & Cut of one of
his Ears or a peece of it & Lett it blede into the milk & then Left the
sick woman Drink it doe this three Times
For the Shingles
Take howse leeke
Catts blod and Creame mixed together & oynt the place warme or take the
moss that groweth in a well & Catts blod mixed & so aply it warme to
the plase whare shingles be
For Sharpe & Dificult
Travel in Women with Child by JC
Take a Lock of
Vergins haire on any Part of ye head, of half the Age of ye woman in travill
Cut it very smale to fine Pouder then take 12 Ants Eggs dried in an ouen after
y bread is drawne or other wise make them dry & make them to pouder with
the haire, give this with a quarter of a
pint of Red Cows
milk or for want of it give it in strong ale wort
For ye Toothe Ache
Take a Litle Pece
of opium as big as a great pinnes head & put it into the hollow place of
the Akeing Tooth & it will give preasant Ease, often tryed by me apon many
People & never fayled Zerobabel Endecott
Zerubbabel Endecott
was first married in 1654 and his wife's name was Mary, but her maiden name is
unknown. Ten children were born before her death in 1677. A year or so later he
remarried, taking as his second wife the widow of the Rev. Antipas Newman, who
was a daughter of Governor John Winthrop of Connecticut, and a granddaughter of
Governor John Winthrop of Massachusetts. There appear to have been no children
born to his second wife. At his death in 1684, Zerubbabei Endecott left, to his
son John, who was also a physician "all my Instruments and books of
phisicke and chirurgery." The inventory of the estated the instruments
"a case of lances, 2 Rasors, a box of Instruments. . .a saw with six
Instruments for a Chirurgion, a curb bit . . ." As was usual, the buik of
the estate wer??t to the sons, the daughters receiving fifty pounds each:
"I give vnto my five daughters (viz) Mary Sarah Elisabeth and Hanna and
Mehetabel to each of them fifty pounds to be payd vnto them by my Executors . .
." The inventory of the estate showed that Zerubbabel's property was worth
2726 pounds and 13 shillings. He had become almost twice as wealthy as his
father.
"The Endicott
Family"(*) published in 1847 gives the names and dates of birth
and some other information concerning the children of Zerubbabel Endecott: John
born 1657, Samuel born 1659, Zerubbabel born February 14, 1664, Benjamin born
1665, Mary born 1667, married August 2, 1685 to Isaac Williams, Joseph born
1672, Sarah born 1673, probably married a Mr. Brown, Elisabeth born 1675,
married Nathaniel Gilbert, Hannah born 1676, married Edward Gaskill, and
Mehetable born 1677, died unmarried in 1698. These birth dates are probably
taken from family records, as they vary slightly from the Salem baptismal
registers.