Capt. John White, of Haverhill

He was Captain of the Haverhill Military Company. He owned and commanded a garrison house on Mill Street in 1694.

Links

• http://freepages.family.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~carrollrogers/ps36/p...

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• Updated from WikiTree Genealogy via son William White by SmartCopy: Jul 6 2015, 9:42:07 UTC

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/65747119/john-white

John was born in 1662. John White ... He passed away in 1727.

• Updated from WikiTree Genealogy by SmartCopy: Jul 6 2015, 9:45:03 UTC

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• https://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Essex/Haverhill/aBirthsW.shtml "(White) John, s. John and Hannah (French), Mar. 8, 1663-4."
• https://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Essex/Haverhill/aMarriagesW.shtml "(White) John, and Lidia Gilman, Oct. 24, 1687."
• https://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Essex/Haverhill/aDeathsW.shtml "(White) John, Capt., Nov. 20, 1727. [in his 64th y. GR1]"

Haverhill VR has John & Lydia with these children:

• John, s. John and Lidia (Gilman), Sept. 11, 1688. died Aug. 19, 1705.
• Mary, d. John and Lidia (Gilman), June 24, 1690. married James Ayer, May 10, 1711. died (as White) ––– ––, 1777.
• Hanah, d. John and Lidia (Gilman), Jan. 27, 1691-2. died (unm.) ––– ––, 1775.
• William, s. John and Lidia (Gilman), Jan. 18, 1693-4. married Sarah Phillips, at Boston, June 12, 1716.
• Samuel, s. [Ens. CR1] John and Lidia (Gilman), Dec. 23, 1695.
• Nicolas, s. John and Lidia (Gilman), Dec. 4, 1698. married Hannah Ayer, Nov. 6, 1722.
• Timothy, s. John and Lidia (Gilman), Nov. 13, 1700. died Feb. ––, 1765.
• Elisabeth, d. John and Lidia (Gilman), Nov. 26, 1702. married Amos Main, June 20, 1732. died (as White) Jan. ––, 1776.
• James, s. John and Lidia (Gilman), Apr. 16, 1705. married (1) Abigial Peaslee, Apr. 9, 1728. (2) Mrs. Sarah Bailey, May 1, 1740.
• John, s. John and Lidia (Gilman), Sept. 8, 1707. married (1) Sarah Lebaron of Norton, Nov. 10, 1761. (2)
• Abigail, d. twin, John and Lidia (Gilman), Oct. 20, 1709. married Moses Hazzen, Mar. 5, 1727-8. died (as White) Dec. ––, 1792.
• Joseph, s. twin, John and Lidia (Gilman), Oct. 20, 1709. died Apr. 4, 1713.
• Lidya, d. John and Lidia (Gilman), Sept. 11, 1711. married Nathaniel Peaslee, jr., Nov. 16, 1727.
• Joanna, d. John and Lidia (Gilman), Mar. 31, 1714. died Nov. 2, 1714.

See https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/White-2833 for the marriages of the children.

GEDCOM Source

@R300859407@ Ancestry Family Trees Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.

GEDCOM Source

Ancestry Family Tree http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=4611052&pid=...

GEDCOM Note

CHAPTER
4

“Prosperity is not without many fears and distastes; and adversity is not without comforts and hopes. “ Francis Bacon

John White and Lydia Gilman

1663-1727

The only son of John White and Hannah French, was born March 8, 1663. Daniel Appleton White described John White Jr. as a "highly respectable and influential" man. These were characteristics that could readily have been associated with his grandfather. In fact, it seems clear that it was his grandfather, William White, who raised John White. This had been a provision of his father's will should his mother, Hannah, remarry. In many ways, at least, by modern standards this seems an odd stipulation. Hannah's second marriage to Thomas Philbrick was successful and she became the mother of three more children.

Business Enterprises

John White owned considerable property and he prospered in trade and merchandise. In 1706 he was permitted to build a fulling mill. This mill was the first of its kind to be constructed in Haverhill. Early New England towns typically had three types of mills all powered by readily available sources of water found in rivers and streams. These allowed the basic raw materials required by every town to be processed into finished products. Sawmills produced lumber for construction and gristmills ground corn into cornmeal. Fulling mills processed hand woven cloth into more durable and compact material.

Fulling mills were built in most New England towns and villages. Hand-woven cloth produced on a loom tended to be loosely woven and many of the original oils were still present in the material. Fulling involved beating the cloth with large wooden mallets while it was in a tub of water mixed with detergents. The process removed the oils and caused the fibres of the cloth to be felted together so that the finished product was reduced in size and made more compact. Part of the "fulling" also involved hanging the cloth on "tenterhooks" where it was stretched and sometimes stroked with teasels. The teasels would raise the nap of the cloth allowing it to be sheared smooth. Fulling mills were water driven and in Haverhill John White would have made use of the Merrimac River.

Political Life

John White held many elected offices during his lifetime. In 1692 he was appointed to the Board of Town Officers by Sir William Phips and was made Town Clerk in 1694. By 1709 he was Proprietor's Clerk for Haverhill, Mass. and between 1700 and 1719 he served eight times as the representative of Haverhill on The General Court of Massachusetts. He was also a magistrate of the County Court.

Land Holding in Colonial Massachusetts

John White was the grandson of one of the original proprietors and, as such, was heir to both land and power over the distribution of land. In most New England towns there was an economic divide that separated the proprietors or their descendants from those who came later. Commoners or freemen participated in town government but had no power to distribute common land. Opposition to distribution of this land invariably came from the proprietor class who had no wish to see the value of the lands they held forced down by an increase in the amount of available land. The pressure of population on towns like Haverhill made this a very contentious issue. By 1699, in Haverhill, the problem had resulted in nine applications for undistributed land "all of which were denied." There was an existing committee that had been struck some years before for the purpose of considering the distribution of common lands. John White was a member of this committee along with Nathaniel Saltonstall, and in 1700 they were joined by Captain Samuel Ayer. It was typical in New England towns that proprietors or their descendants retained power over land distribution and this seems the case in Haverhill. The one advantage to this wrangling over land was that it forced men to move on to other areas where land was more readily available.

Military Service and Indian Problems

Not surprisingly, John White was also involved with the Haverhill Militia and had risen through the ranks from Ensign to Captain of the Haverhill Company. In 1694, as Captain John White, he owned and commanded a garrison house near the original White home on Mill Street. He had six men under his command. These included Stephen Dow Sr., Stephen Dow Jr., Edward Brumidgo and Israel Hendrick. Garrison houses were two storey strong points often built of brick. They had one outside door that would allow the entry of only one person at a time. Windows were not large and covered by iron bars. The glass for the windows was very thick and secured with lead rather than putty. There were only two rooms inside on the basement level. Access to the upper level was by ladder rather than stairs. This allowed the ladder to be pulled up preventing an intruder from reaching the upper floor. There were also large fireplaces and ovens that could be used to supply food to the defenders during a siege. This was a very dangerous time and every man was expected to be a soldier.

There were several problems with the Indians in the years after 1674 some of which involved the town of Haverhill directly. In 1675 a conflict called King Phillip's War broke out and ravaged parts of the colony. There was considerable alarm in Haverhill and the meetinghouse was fortified. The town itself was not attacked during this period but every preparation was made against that possibility. In 1688 problems with the Indians again resurfaced and continued, off and on, until 1698. “Haverhill was a frontier town for nearly seventy years, and but few towns suffered so severely from the Indians.” Indian attacks on the town and wider community usually consisted of small parties singling out unprotected individuals or families. These attacks could come at any time, in summer or in winter. Those not brutally slain in the initial assault were taken into captivity and seldom seen again. The Haverhill community established "six garrisons and four homes of refuge" to provide some protection against this constant threat. Most families sought to live in close proximity to one of these fortified buildings.

In 1696 the Haynes family of Haverhill were attacked and Jonathan Haynes with his four children were captured. Three of the children were sold to the French in Canada. These included Mary, Thomas and Jonathan. They were later found by surviving members of the family in Quebec in 1757 but could not be persuaded to return to New England.

On March 15, 1697 about twenty Indians attacked the town of Haverhill. They singled out the house of Thomas Dustin and his wife Hannah. He escaped with his children but his wife Hannah was taken into captivity along with her newborn baby and nurse. “About Nineteen or Twenty Indians now led these away, with about half a score other English Captives; but ere they had gone many steps, they dashed out the brains of the infant against a tree…” Hannah, the nurse and a youth later turned on their captors and escaped. “By cutting off the scalps of these ten wretches, they came off and received fifty pounds from the General Assembly of the Province as recompence for their action …” Nine houses in Haverhill were destroyed on that March day and twenty-seven residents of the town killed.

Indian attacks continued in the area until 1698 when peace between England and France was negotiated resulting in the withdrawal of French support from the Indians in their war against New England. Peace was, however, short-lived and in 1701 conflict again broke out. On The 29th of August 1708 a party of about 100 French and 30 Indians attacked Haverhill. A great number of Haverhill's citizens were slain in this attack including the town minister, Mr. Benjamin Rolf, as well as his wife and one child. The number of dead is uncertain but estimates range from thirty to forty. This was the last and most devastating attack on the town during this long period of conflict with the Indians and French from Canada.

John White and the Church

John White was, like his grandfather, a strong supporter of his church. During his lifetime Reverend John Ward was minister until his death in 1693. The Reverend Benjamin Rolfe and later Reverend Joshua Gardener followed him into the pulpit of the Haverhill Meeting House. At the ordination of Mr. Gardener in 1710 John White supplied the sugar and wine both of which luxuries he brought all the way from Boston. It is recorded by Daniel Appleton White that John White was one of few allowed to make a pew at his own cost in the Meeting House. This special privilege was approved at a town meeting in 1699. Later in life he requested leave to set up a shed on the outside of the west end of the Meeting House to keep him out of the heat of the sun. This was an unusual request but, no doubt, granted because of his prominence in the community. “His house seems to have been the usual stopping-place for those who supplied the pulpit while there was no settled minister in town. The celebrated George Whitefield , who visited the town twice, was on both occasions the guest of Deacon White.”

The Gilman Family

On October 24, 1687 John White married Lydia Gilman. Lydia was the daughter of the Honourable John Gilman of Exeter, New Hampshire. This was an excellent connection to a well established and prosperous New England family. Edward Gilman the emigrant ancestor of the Gilman family in North America sailed with his family from England in the ship Diligent, of Ipswich, John Martin, Master. The ship left Suffolk, England in April of 1638 and arrived August 10 at Boston, with about one hundred passengers, principally from Hingham, Norfolk. These immigrants were all destined for Hingham, Massachusetts. Edward Gilman’s sister, Mary Jacob, and her husband Nicholas had settled in Hingham, with their children five years earlier. This fact, as well as the ongoing struggle with the Church of England convinced Edward Gilman to follow his minister, Robert Peck, to New England. Several members of the Gilman family are listed as passengers on the Diligent in 1638. These included Edward Gilman, Mrs. Mary Gilman and six children. The children were Mary, Edward Jr., Lydia, Sarah, John and Moses. It is through John Gilman that the White family traces its connection to the Gilman line.

Hingham, Mass was founded in about 1633 by Edmond Hobart and his family when they discovered that the existing settlements had no room for them. They selected a harbour lying inside the peninsula of Nantasket, named Bare Cove. The cove was so named because it looked bare when the tide was out. On September 2nd in the year 1635, the Massachusetts Court allowed the change of Bare Cove to Hingham, and on the September 18 the first 29 proprietors of Hingham drew their house lots. The town of Hingham did not, however, offer sufficient economic opportunity for the Gilman family to prosper. Within four years Edward Sr. and his eldest son Edward Jr. moved firstly to Rohoboth and then to Ipswich. Sometime around 1647 Edward and his son moved again to Exeter, New Hampshire. They were attracted to this new community by the waterpower available from the river. Edward Jr. soon acquired the rights to establish a number of saw mills but in 1653 the family suffered a severe blow when Edward Jr. was lost at sea while on a trip to England to obtain parts for his sawmills. Despite this tragedy the family prospered in Exeter. “It is no disparagement to any other family here to say that in numbers and in everything that constitutes respectability, the Gilmans stood at the head.”

The Honourable John Gilman and Elizabeth Treworgye

John Gilman, the second son of Edward Sr., born January 10, 1624, was fourteen when his father Edward Sr. arrived in Hingham, Mass. At the time the family was establishing itself in Exeter he would have been nearly twenty-four. It was not long before he achieved prominence in the community of Exeter, as well as in the province of New Hampshire itself. “In 1680 he was made Councillor of New Hampshire, and was later a Judge of the Court of Pleas. He was also a delegate to the assembly and twice Speaker of the House.”

He and his older brother Edward were in the lumber and milling business but, after Edward’s death at sea the entire management devolved on John and he became at once a leader in Exeter. He was a selectman for many years and received many important grants of land. When New Hampshire was separated from Mass. in 1689 he was councillor for three years. He was also a member of the House of Representatives and in 1693 he was elected speaker. His political success led him to be called the “Honourable” John and his descendants are referred to as belonging to the “Honourable” John branch of the family. The death of his brother Edward Jr. placed much of the responsibility for lumber and milling businesses on the capable shoulders of the “Honourable” John Gilman. These businesses continued to do well and he died a very wealthy man in 1708. John Gilman built a well protected home for his family. This house still stands in Exeter and may be the oldest in the state of New Hampshire. Over the years its various occupants substantially altered its appearance both inside and out. A Local builder restored the building in the 1950s. This house, described in 1719 as "the old logg house," was built as a fortified garrison against the possibility of Indian attack. It was strategically located to protect the valuable sawmills and waterpower sites owned by John Gilman. The interior of this building reveals walls constructed of large sawn logs. Above the main entrance there is a pulley that was used to operate a reinforced door.

The Honourable John Gilman married Elizabeth Treworgye on June 20, 1657. Elizabeth and John Gilman had sixteen children, six boys and ten girls.

The Family of John White and Lydia Gilman

Lydia was the seventh child born to John White and Lydia Gilman on December 12, 1668. She became the wife of Captain John White on October 24, 1687. John and Lydia White raised a family of fourteen children, nine boys and six girls. It was from Nicholas, born December 4, 1698, that this branch of the White family traces its descent. The children of this family are listed in the Gilman family genealogy.

Death of John White

John White Jr. lived a useful and productive life. He died November 20, 1727 at the age of 64. There is no record of the death of his wife Lydia. She does not appear in the Haverhill vital records for deaths but it is possible that on the death of her husband she returned to Exeter, New Hampshire to live out her days with other members of the Gilman family.

[White3.FTW]

"John White was highly respectable and influential; most of his children sustained excellent characters, for which they were indebted to the good influence of their mother as well as their father. She was venerated by them and their children. Judge Daniel Appleton writes: 'I have heard my father speak of her with admiration.' He acquired much property in trade and merchandise, and possesed a very extended real estate, sufficient to afford his sons valuable farmss in Haverhill and Plaistow. In 1692 Sir William Phipps, first Governor of the province, under the new charter, appointed Ensign John White on the board of town officers. He was town clerk in 1694, and was chosen "proprietor's clerk" in 1701. He was Representative of Haverhill in the General Court eight years,-1700-2-3-8-13-15-16-19, Captain of the Haverhill company, and magistrate of the County Court.

In 1694 Capt. John White owned and commanded a garrison house errected as a defence against the indians, near the "White House" on Mill Street. At a town meeting, Oct 14, 1699, he was "one of eight persons allowed to make themselves pews in the new meeting-house at their own cost." Among other curious petitions is the following: "John White, desiring leave to set up a shed on the outside of the west end of the meeting-house, to keep out of the heat of the sun." In 1706 he ws allowed to build a fulling mill on Mill Brook, near his now dwelling-house," At the ordination of Mr Gardiner, Jan 10, 17111, the sugar and the wine for this occasion were brought from Boston by "Deacon White". His house seems to have been the usual stopping-place for those who supplied the pulpit while there was no settled minister in town. The celebrated George Whitfield, who visited the town twice, was on both occasions the guest of deacon White."

The Descendants of William White of Haverhill, Mass. P 10-11.