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The Great Allotment: Pullen Point's First Land Owners

John Sanford

John Sanford (Sandford) came to Boston aboard the "Lyon" in 1631. Since 1629 he was in the employee of John Winthrop making arrangements for loading provisions destined for the colonies. In 1631 he was admitted to the Boston Church, and took the Freeman's Oath in 1632. A trained surveyor, and familiar with military matters, Sanford was made cannoneer of the fort in Boston, and "surveyor of the ordinance and other ammunition."

Upon arriving in Boston in 1631, Sanford had married Elizabeth Webb. They had two children, John (1632) amd Samuel (1634). Unfortunately, she died shortly after the birth of Samuel. In 1636 he married Bridget Hutchinson, the daughter of William and Anne Hutchinson. Their mariage produced nine children, many of whom died young.

John's allotment to land on Pullen Point is noted as:

"John Sanford, 6 acrs of Marsh, bounded towards the North, towards the East by the Upland of William Aspinwall, towards the South by the Allottment of Thomas Buttalph, towards the West by the Allottment of the Governor, Mr. John Winthropp, sen."

John was caught up in the Antinomian Controversy‎ (being a supporter of Mr. Wheelwright and and son-in-law of Mrs. Hutchinson) and was disarmed and banished in 1637. Settling in what would become Rhode Island in 1638, Sanford was active in the colony and chosen in the following years, Constable, Secretary, Treasurer and General Recorder, Head Magistrate, and eventually President of the Colony, dying in office in 1653.

After John's death Bridget moved back to Boston in 1654. She remarried Major William Phillips, his third wife.. Seh died in 1698.

John's six acres of marsh on Pullen Point became part of the Edward Hutchinson farm, and eventually purchased by the Bill family.


Selected Sanford descendants, locations, and objects of note:
  • Cannoneer on Fort Hill Boston - It is thought that John acquired his military experience when pressed into service with John Winthrop, Jr. in the unsuccessful campaign to relieve Huguenots at the Siege of La Rochelle. - Wikipedia
  • Portsmouth Compact signed by John Sanford - The document was written by a group of men who were seeking religious freedom apart from the governmental oversight of the Massachusetts Bay Colony by moving to Aquidneck Island to set up a new colony. - Wikipedia
  • Frederick Coleman Sanford (b. 1809) - Initially a silversmith, Frederick went on to become a wealthy shipper, whaler, international businessman and benefactor to Nantucket. - Memorial Biographies of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1908, pg. 12, Google ebook
  • Sanford, Maine - After the death of John in 1653, his wife Bridget (Hutchinson) married Major William Phillips, his third wife. He was a Boston merchant who had purchased in 1661 large tracts of land from the Abenaki Native Americans. When he died in 1683, he willed a portion of the land called Phillipstown to Bridget’s eldest son Peleg. The town eventually took his name. - The history of Sanford, Maine 1661-1900, Edwin Emery, 1901, pg. 12, Internet Archive
  • Peleg Sanford (b. 1639) - The son of John's second wife Bridget Hutchinson, Peleg was born in Rhode Island. His first wife was Mary Brenton, a daughter of William Brenton, one of the men who received land on Pullen Point. He was the 10th Governor of Rhode Island. - Wikipedia
  • Charles Skiff Sanford (b. 1816). - Born in Madison, N.Y, Charles moved his family in 1863 to Midland County, Mich. A 213-acre tract of land he purchased first became known as the "Salt-Spring Reserve", the first salt well in the state of Michigan. - Sanford Centennial Museum
Selected John Sanford Descendants
John (b. 1605), m1. Elizabeth Webb, m2. Bridget Hutchinson

John (b. 1633), m1. Elizabeth Spatchurst, m2. Mary Groton

Samuel (b. 1677), m. Deborah Manchester
Restcome (b. 1704), m1. Elizabeth Lake, m2. Content Candall
William (b. 1725), m. Mary Waight
William (b. 1757), m1. Abigail Simmons, m2. Susan Howe
Peleg (b. 1792), m1. Anna Skiff, m2. Melinda Greenlief
Charles (b. 1816), m1. Eliza Button
Samuel (b. 1635) m1. Sarah Wodell, m2. Susanna Spatchurst
William (b. 1676), m. Hope Sisson
Richard (b. 1701), m. Elizabeth Smith
Giles (b. 1730), m. Peggy Coleman
Frederick (b.1809), m. Mary Allen - Nantucket, Mass.

Links

 

 
Fort Hill highlighted on 1635 map of Boston. In 1634 John was made cannoneer at the fort. - George Lamb, Norman B. Leventhal Map Center, Boston Public Library.
John Sanford's signature on the 1638 Portsmouth Compact. It laid the foundation for the establishment of the town of Portsmouth on Aquidneck Island. - The Portsmouth History Center
John Sanford Descendants
Easton & Sanford teaspoons, Nantucket, Mass. Silversmiths operated from 1830 to 1838 - Rafael Osona Auctions Nantucket
Sanford Farm and Ram Pasture (Nantucket, Mass.), 800 acre property is now conservation land - Nantucket Conservation Foundation
Sanford, Maine, 1889, As it appeared almost 200 years after it was willed to Bridget Sanford's son Peleg. - George Norris, Norman B. Leventhal Map Center, Boston Public Library
The Letter Book of Peleg Sanford of Newport, Merchant. Correspondence by the future Governor of Rhode Island on his trading and transactions between Newport, Boston, London, and Barbados. - Rhode Island Historical Society, Haithi Trust
Charles Skiff Sanford (b. 1816). In 1864 he purchased 213 acres where present day Sanford, Mich. is located. - Sanford Centennial Museum
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