The Great Allotment: Pullen Point's First Land Owners
Introduction, William Aspinwall, Edward Bates, William Brenton, Thomas Buttolph, Thomas Fayerweather, Edward Gibbons, Valentine Hill, Ralph Hudson, Thomas Matson, Elias Maverick, John Oliver, William Pierce, John Sanford, William Stitson, John Winthrop/Deane Winthrop
John Winthrop, Deane Winthrop |
In April of 1630 John Winthrop emigrated to America at the lead of fleet of 11 ships with 700 Puritans. Aboard the “Arabella” with him were two of his sons, eleven-year old Stephen, and ten-year old Adam. For his son Deane, it wouldn’t be until he was twelve, in four years, that he would sail to Boston.
John and many of the settlers briefly stayed in Charlestown before moving across the bay in 1630 to the Shawmut Peninsula, naming it Boston after the town in England. He built a house there, and in 1631 built another on the bank of the Mystic River.
In 1632 he was granted an island in Boston Harbor that would then be named Governors Island.
The land John was granted on Pullen Point amounted is recorded as:
"granted to the Governor, Mr. John Winthropp, the twoe hills next Pullen Point, with some barren marsh adioyning thereunto. Provided it be noe hindrance of the townes setting up a Ware in Fisher's Creek, or fishing for Basse there." 1
And later clarified to:
"One Farme at Pullen poynt, conteineing about one hundred and twenty Acres, be it more or lesse, bounded with Mr. Pierce's lott on the north, the Bay and Fisher's Cove on the west: Pullen point on the south: and the Sea on the east." 2
In 1637 John purchased with Roger Williams, Prudence Island in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. Then in 1638, he was granted 1,200 acres of land along the Shawsheen River. Now parts of Billerica and Concord, Mass.
John had a house built on his Pullen Point land, but there is no record of him living in it. Located on the south side of Cottage Hill, then called Great Head, the house was occupied by Deane in 1645. In 1647 Deane was granted his father’s Pullen Point land, and in that same year he bought the adjacent land and house owned by William Pierce.
In 1644 Deane joined the Artillery Company, and is thought to have joined the Boston Church at about that same time. He didn’t take the Freeman’s Oath until 1665. In 1647 Deane married Sarah Glover. Their surviving children were Margaret (b. c. 1660), Elizabeth (b. 1663), Jose (b. 1666), Priscilla (b. 1669), and Mercy (b. 1673).
In 1646 Deane sailed with his brother John to Fishers Island just off the Connecticuit coast. In 1665, he was the first named petitioner for a grant of land in the Nashoba River valley in central Massachusetts he would name Groton.
Deane first wife died in 1684, and he remarried the widow Martha Mellows. He died in 1704. His widow died 12 years later in 1716. His land on Pullen Point was split between one of Deane's desendants and Joseph Belcher in 1720. The remaining land was mortgaged in 1747.
Selected Winthrop descendants, locations, and objects of note:
- Great Spring (Boston, Mass.). The decision John Winthrop made in 1630 to move his company's settlers to the Shawmut peninsula was based on the availability of the fresh water from this spring. His property and house was directly adjacent. - The Great Spring on Boston’s Spring Lane, The Next Phase Blog
- Ten Hills Farm (Somerville, Mass.). In 1631, John built a house on the southern bank of the Mystic river. Later that same year, his holdings there were expanded to six hundred acres, “near his house at Mistick, to enjoy to him and his heirs forever." It would become his Ten Hills Farm in what today is now parts of Somerville and Medford, Mass. - The Story of Somerville, Mary Alice Haley, 1903, Internet Archive
- Deane Winthrop House (Winthrop, Mass.). The original structure on the site was built on land granted to William Pierce. Deane Winthrop and his family lived in the house from 1647 until his death in 1704 - Wikipedia
- Fishers Island, N.Y. Deane’s brother John was involved in the earliest settlements of Connecticut, including Saybrook and New London. In 1640 he received a grant for a small island just off shore to be used for grazing, farming, and offering some safety. When John moved there in 1646, Deane accompanied him. The island remained in the Winthrop family until 1863. - Fishers Island, N.Y., 1614-1925, Henry Lee Ferguson, pg. 14, Internet Archive, and Henry L. Ferguson Museum
- Groton Plantation, Mass. In 1655, Deane was the first petitioner to create a town from eight-square miles of land in the Nashoba river valley thirty miles from Boston. He named the town, after his brother had done in Connecticut, after the city they were born in England, Groton. He became first selectman in the town, but likely only lived there for a short period of time, if at all.. - Two Chapters in the Early History of Groton, Massachusetts, Samuel A. Green, 1882, Internet Archive.
- Jose Glover (b. 1602) and the first printing press. Deane's first wife, Sarah Glover (b. 1629) was the daughter of Jose and Elizabeth (Owlfield) Glover. In 1638, Jose emigrated to Massachusetts with his second wife Elizabeth (Harris) Glover, their children, and the first printing press in North Amercia. Jose died of a fever during the trip. His widow Elizabeth settled in Cambridge, Mass., and with an assistant, Stephen Daye and his son, began printing. Their second effort was and Almanac for William Pierce, one of men granted land on Pullen Point. - American Printing, Cambridge Historical Society
- Stephen Whiting (b. 1720). The husband of the granddaughter of Deane’s daughter Margaret, Stephen Whiting was a merchant in glass, mirrors, and picture frames, and occasionally sold prints and maps. His occupation is sometimes given as a “japanner”, someone who lacquers picture frames and furniture with a dark shellac. - The Arts & Crafts in New England, 1704-1775, George F. Dow, 1927, Internet Archive
- Samuel Royall (b. 1696). Deane’s daughter Priscilla married Samuel Royall. He was the grandson of William Royall, who had emigrated to Salem in 1629 as an indentured servant. The Ryal Side neighbor in Beverly (formerly part of Salem) is named for him. In 1635 he received a patent to land in Maine, giving his name to the Royal River (Wikipedia). Samuel's brother Isaac was a slave trader, rum distiller, and wealthy merchant. He bought the Ten Hills Farm from John Winthrop and replaced his house with the Isaac Royal House (Wikipedia) in Medford, Mass. - Ryal Side From Early Days of Salem Colony, Calvin P. Pierce, 1931
- Atherton Hough (b. 1593). Deane’s daughter Mercy married Atherton Haugh, the great-grandson of Atherton Hough, former Mayor of Boston, England. He was granted the 600 acres now call Houghs Neck - Wikipedia
| Selected Deane Winthrop Descendants |
| Deane (b.. 1623), m1. Sarah Glover, m2. Martha Mellows |
| Margaret (b. 1660); m. Jotham Grover |
| John Grover (d. 1747); m. _________ |
| Mary Grover (b. 1717), m. Stephen Whiting |
| Priscilla (b. 1669), Eliah Adams |
| Priscilla Adams (b. 1702), m. Samuel Royall |
| Mercy (b. 1673), m. Atherton Hough |
Links
- Deane Winthrop - Wikipedia
- Remembering Deane Winthrop - Vita Brevis
- Winthrop's Journal, History of New England, 1630-1649 - James Kendall Hosmer, 1908, Internet Archive
- Life and letters of John Winthrop - Robert C. Winthrop, 1864, Internet Archive
- John Winthrop - American National Biography Online
- Ten Hills Farm, with Anecdotes and Reminiscences - Alida G. Sollers, Historic leaves, volume 1, April, 1902 - January, 1903
- 1 A Documentary History of Chelsea: including the Boston Precincts of Winnisimmet, Rumney Marsh, and Pullen Point, 1624-1824, Vol. 1, pg. 91 - Mellen Chamberlain, 1908, Internet Archive
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Fishers Island, N.Y. Deane accompanied his brother to the island in 1646. Map - Norman Leventhal Map Center, Boston Public Library |
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Groton Plantation, Mass. In 1655, Deane was involved in the settlement of this area in the Nashoba Valley. - Two Chapters in the Early History of Groton, Massachusetts, Samuel A. Green, 1882, Internet Archive |
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First printing press (Cambridge, Mass.). Deane first wife, Sarah Glover, was the daughter of man who brought the first printing press to North America. - American Printing, Cambridge Historical Society |
Deane Winthrop
Descendants
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Stephen Whiting (b. 1720). Mary Grover's husband sold picture frames and prints. - Collections Database, Five Colleges and Historic Deerfield Museum Consortium |
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Royal River, Maine. Priscilla (Winthrop) Adams married the grandson of William Royall, an early settler in Maine. - Picture: North Yarmouth Historical Society |
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