Gabriel Whelden

Gabriel Wheldon

• Birth: 1590 Nottinghamshire, England
• Death: 1654 Malden Middlesex County Massachusetts, USA

He was probably the son of Henry Whelden of Basford, Co.Nottinghamshire, England.

His will was dated Feb 11,1653/4, and it was proved Apr 4,1654.

His first wife was named Jane according to early records, and, though not clear, she was possibly the mother of his children. She was living at Basford as late as Aug 5,1637.

His second wife was Margaret, whom he likely married after 1639 in Massachusetts. Margaret was the wife of Gabriel named as sole heir and executrix of Gabriel's 1653/4 will. Her step-children protested the will in 1655.

Children(by first marriage): Thomas Whelden, Catherine Whelden Hopkins, Henry Whelden, Mary Whelden Taylor, Martha Whelden, John Whelden, Ruth Whelden Taylor, and John Whelden.

Family

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Whelden-3#Disputed_Wives

The Basford, Nottinghamshire baptism records of Gabriel's children name him as the father, but name no mother.

The earliest mention of a wife of Gabriel Whelden is on a 15 August 1637 deed exchanging land between John Hutchinson and Gabriel and his wife Jane (_____), who may or may not be the mother of his children.

He married second, probably after 1639 in Massachusetts, Margaret (_____), who was not the mother of his children, nor was she an "Indian princess." She obtained the bulk of his estate and did not respond to her step-sons' subsequent law suit.

Jacobus suggests that Margaret may have been related to Marmaduke Mathews (pastor in Malden) and returned with him to England in 1655.[9]
Disputed Wives

There is no evidence that Gabriel was ever married to a Mary Davis around 1617. (If there is, please provide it.)

The suggestion (by F.E. Bearce) that Gabriel's wife Margaret was an American Indian was disproved in 1939.[10]

Children

Research conducted by Jan Porter and Dan Stramara shows that all of Gabriel's known children were baptized at St. Leodegarius Church in Basford, Nottinghamshire.[11] (In fn 12 they note that the records they viewed were on microfiche provided by the University of Nottingham.) The following comes from their research:

1. Thomas Whelden, bpt 1 Feb 1611/12; buried 15 Apr 1614
2. Kathren Weelden, bpt 6 Mar 1616/17; m. Giles Hopkins (of the Mayflower) Oct. 9, 1639
3. Henry Wheeldon, bpt 20 Feb 1618/19; m.25 Jan 1647/8 Edith (d.15 May 1682); lived at Sandwich, Mass; listed among the "Males able to beare Armes" in Yarmouth in August, 1643; fought in King Philip's War in 1675-6.
4. Mary Wheeldon, bpt 23 Dec 1621; m. Richard Taylor, tailor-- either the tailor of Boston, or the tailor of Yarmouth.
5. Martha Wheeldon, bpt 23 Dec 1621 (baptized same day; twin?); drowned 17 June [4th month, old calendar] 1639 Malden, Massachusetts
6. John Wildon, bpt 5 Nov 1623; d bef 1630 (see below)
7. Ruth Wheelding bpt 5 Jul 1626; m aft 27 Oct 1646 Richard Taylor, husbandman ("of the Rock")
8. John Weelding, bpt 4 Oct 1630; m. Mary, dau. of Thomas Folland Sr.

   ---

Brief biography

from http://genforum.genealogy.com/wheldon/messages/51.html

Catherine Wheldon/Wheldin/Whelden is the daughter of Gabriel Whelden founder of the Whelden, Welden, Wheldin families in America. "The American Geneologist" Vol 48 1972 throughly documents this family. The more common spelling is din or den although there were dozens of variations of spelling.

Added by E. C. Nickerson : NOTE: First Scouting Party Gov. Bradford 1622 Went to Mattacheese For food so the Pilgrims would not die that winter, which the Native Population as always gave what the had to feed them. First Settlement attempt was by REV. Stephen Bachilor 1637- which Failed!! Yarmouth Town Records-Very First Settler in Mattacheese was STEPHEN HOPKINS (1638) Recorded as building first house) next came Gabriel Whelden (Gabriel Whilden) was one of the first settlers along with ( *Gregory Armstrong No other mention of descendants in records.* ), September 1638-May have played a part in the Hopkins/ Weldon marriages in what was then a purely Native American Villiage, and in what is now YARMOUTH ( Mattacheese)in Barnstable County on Cape Cod.ECN/ He was given permission on 3 September 1638 by Plymouth officials to settle on Cape Cod, which included a land grant. At the time the area was called "Mattacheeset". It was organized into Yarmouth in 1639. Gabriel appears in the Yarmouth records, 6 October 1639, so he settled in Yarmouth between September 1638 and October 1639. In 1793/4 Dennis was formed out of Yarmouth. Modern day researchers need to look in Dennis town records as well as Yarmouth town and Barnstable County records.

The actual location of Gabriel Whelden's homestead was on the north bank of Follins Pond on the Bass River near the intersection of Setucket Road and Mayfair Road. It straddles the Dennis - Yarmouth line and the neighborhood is sometimes called "The Head of the Point." According to Nancy Thacher Reid in "Dennis Cape Cod: from Firstcomers to newcomers 1639 -1993" published by the Dennis Historical Society, descendents of Gabriel Welden resided on the property until the 1960's. Richard 'the Taylor' Taylor and Thomas Folland, also "Firstcomers" and future relatives by marriage settled next to Gabriel.

In receiving the land grant, Gabriel must have been first declared a "Freeman" in Plymouth even though there is no record of this declaration. A freeman is an adult male who has met rigid requirements and been accepted and designated as a "freeman" by the ruling officials of church and state. Only a freeman is fully franchised to vote and hold office in that local jurisdiction. To qualify in Plymouth, a person must be 21 years old, a member of the church in good standing and be a "freeholder" in possession of considerable property. The property requirement was sometime waived if the person was given a land grant of the "Committees" of the place to be settled. We know that Gabriel was a landowner because he later sold land in Nottinghamshire, England. Even if a person could become a freeman, that still did not insure a land grant. The committees that screened applicants for land grants rejected far more that they accepted. Gabriel had to be judged of good character by the committee selecting settlers to receive land grants in Yarmouth before he could get the grant.

The maiden name of Gabriel's wife Margaret is unknown. She may even be his second wife.

In 1641 and 42 Gabriel served as town officer, "Supervisor of Highways" in Yarmouth.

In 1643, there were growing problems with the Narragansett Tribe, under their chieftain Ningret. This drove Massachusetts Bay Colony, Connecticut Colony, Plymouth Colony and New Haven Colony to form the United Colonies of New England and to discuss preparedness for war. Rhode Island was excluded from this union since they harbored dissenters and others who did not accept the the tenents of the orthodox church. The immediate result in Yarmouth was a listing of all men between the age of 16 and 60 to serve in the militia. Fifty two names were on the Yarmouth list. Gabriel Whelden was not listed, his son Henry was. This seems to indicate that Gabriel was over 60 and Henry was over 16. Having one son in service was not grounds for avoiding military service, since William Chase and his son William, Jr. were listed. Henry was one of the five Yarmouth men who were called up to serve against the Narragansetts in 1645 when the Narragansetts attacked the Mohegans and the United Colonies came to the assistance of the Mohegans. The five men as part of the 50 man contingent from Plymouth Colony, marched to Seekonk in August and returned 2 September. The dispute was settled peacefully without the Yarmouth men having to fight. Before the march they were issued: one pound of powder, three pounds of bullets, and one pound of tobacco. The tobacco wasn't just for smoking, it was also used as money, since hard cash was rare in the colonies.

The Plymouth Colony considered marriage a civil contract rather than a religious sacrament. The Pilgrims adopted this custom while in Holland. From this the court records reflect a romantic courtship involving Gabriel, his daughter Ruth and future son-in-law Richard Taylor. Richard Taylor, a single man, settled near the Wheldens, and in accordance with the law requested permission from Gabriel court his daughter Ruth. Although no reason is recorded, Gabriel refused possibly reluctant to part with a beloved daughter.

Richard persisted in his suit, and Gabriel refused to relent. Finally, Richard filed suit with the Court in 1646. Apparently the wise old men of the Colony sided with Richard and persuaded Gabriel to reconsider Richard as a future son-in-law. Gabriel at last relented and the young couple were soon married.

Gabriel Welden moved from Yarmouth to Lynn, then to Malden where he died in 1654.

He and his youngest son John W. sold to William Crofts of Lynn, 21 Oct 1653, lands in Arnold and elsewhere in Nottinghamshire, England. In his will, Gabriel gave the money still owed from this sale to his wife Margaret. This caused his sons Henry and John to file suit in court for their portions in 1655. According to "The American Genealogist" vol 48: 1972 page 5 "The fact that the will does not mention, either directly or by implication, any children, is unusual, and the most likely explanation is that Gabriel gave them their portions of his estate either at marriage or by gifts of money or deeds to Barnstable County land. If Margaret was a second wife, there may have been a pre-nuptial agreement setting forth the reasons why she was to have the entire estate at Gabriel's death." According to Reid in "Dennis, Cape Cod" page 52, the custom was for one third of the estate to go to the widow as long as she was unmarried. Single daughters were allowed to live at home as long as they were single and frequently small legacies were given to married and unmarried daughters such as bedsteads and bedding, silver spoons or other valuable household articles. The real estate was divided up amongst the sons.

Notes

• First known marriage to Mary Davis on August 3, 1617
• Buried at Bell Rock Cemetery in Malden, MA
• Date and means of arrival in U.S. not known
• Daughter married Giles Hopkins (a Mayflower passenger)

.

Said to have married a woman of the Wampanoag named Oguina, a niece of the sachem Massasoit.

Notes

Gabriel Wheldon is reported to have married Mary Davis on 3 Aug 1617 in Arnold. But no documentation has been offered, and no record found in the Parish Registers of Arnold, Basford, or Nottingham. His first known wife JANE [__?__] was living on 15 Aug 1637. He immigrated in 1638 or 1639.

“The pilgrims didn’t know it, but they were moving into a cemetery,” About 1614, a series of three epidemics, inadvertently introduced through contact with Europeans, began to sweep through the Indian villages in Massachusetts. At least ten Wampanoag villages were abandoned because there were no survivors. The Wampanoag population decreased from 12,000 to 5,000.

Note: It is not known what the actual disease was that caused this epidemic. Various writers have suggested bubonic plague, smallpox, and hepatitis A. There is strong evidence supporting all of these theories. It is estimated that by 1619, 75% of the Native population of New England had died as a result of this epidemic.

When Squanto returned from England with captain Thomas Dermer in 1619, he searched for the Wampanoag of his village, but found that they had all died in the epidemic.

By the end of the wars the Wampanoag were nearly exterminated: only 400 survived.

When the Mayflower pilgrims and the Wampanoag sat down for the first Thanksgiving in 1621, it wasn’t actually that big of a deal. Likely, it was just a routine English harvest celebration. More significant—and less remembered—was the peace treaty that the parties established seven months earlier, which lasted for 50 years. (See also: National Geographic Kids: First Thanksgiving.)

“There’s in fact very little historical record of the first Thanksgiving, which is why Thanksgiving wasn’t really celebrated as a holiday until the 19th century,” says Charles C. Mann, author of 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus. “To historians, it seems kind of funny that the celebration … now seems more important than the treaty itself.”

President Abraham Lincoln established Thanksgiving as a national holiday during the Civil War, and the feast has since become an American tradition. Yet the story of the Wampanoag and the pilgrims who first broke bread is not commonly known. (See also: Talking Turkey: Facts about Thanksgiving's Big Bird.)

Here’s a little background about the much-mythologized meal.

1. It wasn’t actually a “Thanksgiving.”

In 1841, Boston publisher Alexander Young printed a book containing a letter by pilgrim Edward Winslow, which described the feast:

“[O]ur harvest being gotten in, our governor sent four men on fowling, that so we might after a more special manner rejoice together … [There were] many of the Indians coming amongst us, and among the rest their greatest King Massasoit, with some ninety men, whom for three days we entertained and feasted.” (See also: National Geographic Kids: First Thanksgiving.)

Pilgrims land An engraving depicts the Mayflower pilgrims landing at Plymouth Rock in 1620. In reality, the pilgrims never wrote of any such rock. The first written mention of Plymouth Rock was in 1835.

Among 17th-century pilgrims, a “Thanksgiving” was actually a period of prayerful fasting, and Winslow did not use the word anywhere in his letter. But when Young published the letter, he called it the “first Thanksgiving” in a footnote, and the name stuck.

Edward Winslow Pilgrim Edward Winslow visits Massasoit, the Sachem (or leader) of the Wampanoag Confederacy.

2. A year before the first Thanksgiving, the pilgrims raided Native American graves.

When the pilgrims arrived in Cape Cod, they were incredibly unprepared. “They were under the persistent belief that because New England is south of the Netherlands and southern England, it would therefore be warmer,” says Mann. “Then they showed up six weeks before winter with practically no food.”

In a desperate state, the pilgrims robbed corn from Native Americans graves and storehouses soon after they arrived; but because of their overall lack of preparation, half of them still died within their first year. To learn how to farm sustainably, they eventually required help from Tisquantum, an English-speaking Native American who had been staying with the Wampanoag. (See also: Cranberries, a Native American Superfood.)

3. The pilgrims could only settle at Plymouth because thousands of Native Americans, including many Wampanoag, had been killed by disease.

If the pilgrims had arrived in Cape Cod three years earlier, they might not have found those abandoned graves and storehouses … in fact, they might not have had space to land.

Europeans who sailed to New England in the early to mid-1610s found flourishing communities along the coast, and little room for themselves to settle. But by 1620, when the Mayflower arrived, the area looked abandoned.

“A couple of years before, there’d been an epidemic that wiped out most of the coastal population of New England, and Plymouth was on top of a village that had been deserted by disease,” says Mann.

“The pilgrims didn’t know it, but they were moving into a cemetery,” he adds.

CULTURE & HISTORY

This is what happens when the migrant caravan comes to town

4. The peace that led to the first Thanksgiving was driven by trade and tribal rivalries.

Before the Wampanoag suffered losses from disease, they had driven Europeans like John Smith away. “Now,” says Mann, “the Wampanoag [were] much weaker because of the disease, and they’re much weaker than their hated adversaries, the Narragansett.”

Ann McMullen, curator at the National Museum of the American Indian, says that the Wampanoag weren’t necessarily looking to make alliances against the Narragansett; but “because the Wampanoag were in a slightly weakened position,” they realized that an alliance with the pilgrims “could fortify their strength.”

The Europeans were valuable trading partners for the Wampanoag and other Native Americans in the area because they traded steel knives and axes for beaver pelts—something that, in the beaver-rich New England area, the Wampanoag considered essentially worthless.

“It’s a little like somebody comes to your door, and says I’ll give you gold if you give me a rock,” Mann says. “The Wampanoag thought: if we tie ourselves to these guys, everybody else will be hesitant to attack us, because they could drive away these people who are willing to pay gold for rocks.

When the pilgrims arrived in Cape Cod, they were incredibly unprepared. “They were under the persistent belief that because New England is south of the Netherlands and southern England, it would therefore be warmer,” says Mann. “Then they showed up six weeks before winter with practically no food.”

In a desperate state, the pilgrims robbed corn from Native Americans graves and storehouses soon after they arrived; but because of their overall lack of preparation, half of them still died within their first year. To learn how to farm sustainably, they eventually required help from Tisquantum, an English-speaking Native American who had been staying with the Wampanoag. (See also: Cranberries, a Native American Superfood.)

3. The pilgrims could only settle at Plymouth because thousands of Native Americans, including many Wampanoag, had been killed by disease.

If the pilgrims had arrived in Cape Cod three years earlier, they might not have found those abandoned graves and storehouses … in fact, they might not have had space to land.

• Whilden
• Nottinghamshire History: Basford
• Miner Descent
• The Sacred Cod  Wellfleet Massachusetts, and connections
• New England, Historical and Genealogical Register (Vol. 163, No. 4, October 2009) Jan Porter and Daniel F. Stramara, Jr., "The Origin of Gabriel1 Whelden of Yarmouth and Malden, Massachusetts" pp. 253-261
• "Whelden" in New England Marriages Prior to 1700.  Clarence Almon Torrey Genealogical Publishing Com, 1985 - Reference - 1009 pages.  page 802. Gabriel Whelden (- 1654) & 1st wf; ca 1620? 1610? Yarmouth / Malden. & 2nd wf Margaret ?; Yarmouth / Lynn / Malden
• Gabriel Wheldon and spouse Margaret Diguina(?) 1620's
•  "From Out of the Past--Who our Forefathers Really Were, a True Narrative of our White and Indian Ancestors" filed in the 1930's by Franklin Ele-watum Bearse, a Scaticoke and Eastern Indian: http://www.murrah.com/gen/FEBearse%20Paper.doc 
•  Donald Lines Jacobus, "Austin Bearse and His Alleged Indian Connections" in THE AMERICAN GENEALOGIST, 1936 view article
• WeRelate

  ---

  
  

Sister of Oguina (Oguina was later renamed and baptized Margaret Wheldon by her husband).

Married the brother of Margaret's Husband.

Name currently: unknown.

Number and type of siblings: unknown. Documents state that "two of the daughters of Quadiquina" married the two Wheldon brothers, inferring that Quadiquina had several daughters and perhaps sons.

Gabriel Whelden GEBURT 1590 Nottinghamshire, England TOD 1654 (im Alter von 63–64) Malden, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA BESTATTUNG Bell Rock Cemetery Malden, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA GEDENKSTÄTTEN-ID 34164596 · Quelle ansehen TEILEN SPEICHERN UNTERÄNDERUNGEN VORSCHLAGEN GEDENKSTÄTTE FOTOS 0 BLUMEN 47 He was probably the son of Henry Whelden of Basford, Co.Nottinghamshire, England.

His will was dated Feb 11,1653/4, and it was proved Apr 4,1654.

His first wife was named Jane according to early records, and, though not clear, she was possibly the mother of his children. She was living at Basford as late as Aug 5,1637.

His second wife was Margaret, whom he likely married after 1639 in Massachusetts. Margaret was the wife of Gabriel named as sole heir and executrix of Gabriel's 1653/4 will. Her step-children protested the will in 1655.

Children(by first marriage): Thomas Whelden, Catherine Whelden Hopkins, Henry Whelden, Mary Whelden Taylor, Martha Whelden, John Whelden, Ruth Whelden Taylor, and John Whelden.

• ***************

Gabriel Whelden of Yarmouth and Malden is the subject of an article in The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Vol 163, published October 2009. The marriage of his daughters Ruth and Mary to two different Richard Taylors is discussed in detail in Vol 165 of the Register (July 2011).

https://de.findagrave.com/memorial/34164596/gabriel-whelden

Familienmitglieder

Ehepartner

Jane Whelden (m. 1611)

Margaret Whelden unknown–1655 (m. 1615)

Kinder

Thomas Whelden 1611–1615

Catherine Whelden Hopkins 1617–1690

Henry Whelden 1617–1694

Martha Whelden 1621–1639

Mary Whelden Taylor 1621–1673

John Whelden 1623 – unknown

Ruth Whelden Taylor 1626–1693

John Whelden 1630–1707

1580 England Government Aid for William Davison, Secretary of State for Queen Elizabeth of England 1585–1586 Netherlands Visited for two years War Veteran 1585–1586 England declared war on The Netherlands William accompanied Davison, Secretary of State to Queen Elizabeth and her personal envoy to Holland. Elder William Brewster, son of William Brewster III and Mary Smythe, who was the son of William Brewster II of Hatfield and Maude Brewster. Husband of Mary Brewster (maiden name and parents unknown) William Brewster was born around 1566. He was an Elder and teacher of the church in Leiden, and he continued his leadership in Plymouth. William was involved with printing religious materials in Leiden, which forced him to go into hiding from English authorities before the departure of Mayflower. He was the highest ranking Separatist church official to voyage on Mayflower. William married a woman named Mary around 1592, with whom he had 5 surviving children. Two of their children were Mayflower passengers, while the elder three joined the family in America later. He died in Duxbury in 1644. William BREWSTER III married about 1563, first to Mary SMYTHE SYMKINSON, daughter of William SMYTHE of Stainforth and widow of John SYMKINSON. William and Mary (SMYTHE) BREWSTER had a son William BREWSTER (1563-1644). THE AMERICAN GENEALOGIST, v.41, pp.1-5; Sherwood, Mary B., PILGRIM, A BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM BREWSTER (1982), p.15. William BREWSTER (III) was one of three men assessed in 1571 at Scrooby, England. William BREWSTER (III), in 1575, succeeded Thomas WENTWORTH as bailiff of Scrooby, England, and as agent of the archbishop of York, moved into the Manor House that belonged to the Archbishop and went with the position. Campbell, Douglas, THE PURITAN in HOLLAND, ENGLAND, and AMERICA (1893), v.II, p.241; Willison, George F., SAINTS and STRANGERS (1945), pp.11-25; James H. Allyn, SWAMP YANKEE FROM MYSTIC (1980), pp.2-4. In 1579, William BREUSTER (III) and Mary his wife, sued in chancery, William and Francis HOBSON, claiming life settlement of lands in Doncaster, late of John SYMKINSON, formerly husband of said Mary BREWSTER. John SYMKINSON and Mary his wife are first named in YORKSHIRE FINES in the year 1556 regarding lands in Wakefield, while they are last named during his lifet