John Pease, of Great Baddow & Martha's Vineyard

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Nauset and the World:

'Captain John Pease

      Sex: M

Individual Information

         Birth: 

Baptism: 20 Nov 1608 - Great Baddow, Essex
Death: Between 1677 and 1689 - Edgartown, MV 3
Burial:
Cause of Death:
Parents

        Father: Robert Pease (Est 1580-      )

Mother: Margaret (Est 1580- )
Spouses and Children

1. *Lucy Reeves (1611 - Oct 1643)

      Marriage: 1635 - (Salem, Mass.)

Status:
Children:
1. James Pease (1637-1719) 3
2. John Pease (1639-Abt 1710)
2. Mary Browning (1625 - After 1695)

      Marriage: Cir 1648

Status:
Children:
1. Mary Pease (1649-1737) 4
2. David Pease (Cir 1651-1724)
3. Abigail Pease (Cir 1653-Bef 1711)
4. Samuel Pease (Cir 1655-1689)
5. Thomas Pease (Cir 1657-After 1748)
6. Rebecca Pease (Cir 1659- )
7. Sarah Pease (Cir 1668-After 1735)
8. Jonathan Pease (1670-1737/1738)
===Notes===

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Unknown-248859

General:

Embarked on the Francis, November 1634 from Ipswich age 27 with his brother Robert

and nephew Robert age 3.

In Salem by 1637 (Hist. of MV 93)

or

Arrived with his brother Robert in Salem, Massachusetts in 1634 on the Frances;

settled on Martha's Vineyard about 1644

"On 3 November 1635 it was ordered "that John Pease shall be whipped, & bound to his good behavior, f

or striking his mother, Mrs. Weston, & deriding of her, & for diverse other misdemeanors,

& other evil carriages" [ MBCR 1:155]."
---------------------------------------------------------
via Rootsweb file merrygo (Mary Jo Freeman):

See also:

http://mjgen.com/pease/1JohnPease.html

and

http://mjgen.com/pease/peasefamily.html

'Captain JOHN PEASE,

the 8th child of Robert and Margaret (King) Pease was born in 1607

in Great Baddow, Essex County, England (baptized Nov. 20, 1608 in St. Mary's church) .

His father died in England in 1623, and his mother followed her two sons to America in 1639

and died in Salem in 1644.

His grandparents were John Pease "the clothier" of Great Baddow, England

(the son of John "the Smythe") and Margaret Hyckes (daughter of Richard Hyckes.

In April, 1634, when John was 26 years old he and his brother, Robert (and Robert's 3-year-old son, Robert), sailed for America on the ship "Francis." see: http://english-america.com/spls/634ne003.html

It's not sure why they left, but this quote from "Calendars of State Papers, American and Colonial Series, 1574-1660, ed. by W. Noel Sainsbury. London, Longman & Green, 1860, p 111" says: "On 4 February 1634 Henry Dade wrote from Ipswich, England, to the Archbishop of Canterbury that the ships FRANCIS and ELIZABETH with 60 men in each intend to sail for New England on about 10 March and he supposes they are debtors or persons disaffected with the established church. About 600 such men will go over shortly and he questions the effects of allowing such swarms to go. Mr. Ward of Ipswich has preached against the Book of Common Prayer thus causing this giddiness and desire to go to New England."

The charismatic Puritan minister, Thomas Hooker, had regularly preached in Essex County, including Great Baddow in the 1620s and early 1630s. "It seems that he was actively preaching in Essex sometime before the end of 1626, and entered into his lectureship [at St. Mary's in Chelmsford] toward the end of that year, for his daughter Anne was baptized at Great Baddow, a village near Chelmsford, on January 5, 1627. He moved his family to Chelmsford sometime in the following year..." [from: "Thomas Hooker 1586-1647" by Frank Shuffelton. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1977. p. 74] New England Puritan preacher, Cotton Mather, wrote of his tim at Chelmsford: "Hereby there was a great reformation wrought, not only in the town [Chelmsford,] but in the adjacent country, from all parts whereof they came to 'hear the wisdom of the Lord Jesus Christ,' in his gospel, by this worthy man dispensed; and some of great quality among the rest, would often resort from far to his assembly...." [from: "Magnalia Christi Americana" by Cotton Mather. New York: Russell and Russell, 1967, volume I, p. 335.]

Later when his Bishop Laud removed him from his lectureship at St. Mary's in Chelmsford for not conforming to church teachings, Hooker moved to the nearby village of Little Baddow (just a few miles from Great Baddow) and set up a school there for children and another for ministers of the area who wanted to learn more from him of the Puritan way of the church. For sure the Pease family knew of Thomas Hooker and maybe were his followers. The Pease brothers came to Boston just a few months after Hooker. A large number of people from around Chelmsford left their home in England and came to America.

They left Ipswich, a seaport town not far from Great Baddow, in April 1634 and landed in Boston, but were in Salem, Mass. by 1637. (Salem had been established in 1626 as the first settlement in Massachusetts. Plymouth, established in 1620, was not a part of Massachusetts at that time.)

John married about 1635 (probably in Salem) to Lucy Reeves (she was probably the daughter of Margaret (?) Reeves Weston and step-daughter of Francis Weston, who had all come over with Wintrop in 1630 and were in Salem, Mass. by 1635). Lucy's mother and step-father were banished from Mass. in 1638 for religious differences: they were followers of Anne Hutchison and Thomas Gorton. They took up residence in a settlement of Rhode Island.

John was involved in the maritime business of trading, from which he earned the title 'captain', and was often gone from home. He may have returned to England in 1639 to bring his mother Margaret and his nephew Abraham Page back to Salem.

June 18, 1644 he sold 1 house and 75 acres and he left Salem and moved with his wife and 2 sons James and John to Edgartown, on Martha's Vineyard Island (then a Dutch colony). The fanatical beliefs of his in-laws were probably too much for him, and he may have decided to distance himself from them. [This quote and most others are from the "History of Martha's Vineyard", chapter: "Annals of Edgartown"]

"Court record dated Nov. 3, 1635: 'Ordered that John Pease shalbe whipt & bound to his good behaviour for strikeing his mother (in law) Mrs. Weston & deryding of her & for dyvers other misdemeanors & other evill carriages.' "...Francis Weston was an early settler at Salem, originally a friend and supporter of Roger Williams, whom he followed in exile to Rhode Island. He was unfortunate, however, in his second marriage, as Mrs. Margaret Weston was afflicted with one of the religious whimsies of the period, and incurred the opposition of the authorities, not then famed for charity and tolerance, and she was made to sit in the bilboes for her schismatic 'notions.' The particular doctrines she imbibed were those promulgated by Samuel Gorton, for which he and others suffered persecution and were driven from Salem to seek an asylum in Rhode Island. "...In a few years Weston himself became a disciple of Gorton, and his step-daughter, Lucy Pease, likewise joined the sect, all of which was doubtless to the disadvantage of John Pease, socially and commercially, in orthodox Salem. In addition to this Mrs. Weston was undoubtedly unbalanced mentally, and later became of hopelessly unsound mind. We are thus enabled to see the environment of John Pease, and considering the stress of the times and the religious intolerance of the period may not harshly judge his unlawful chastisement of his mother-in-law. Doubtless she deserved forcible repression, and invited it by her actions. "Weston was banished in March, 1638, from the jurisdiction of Massachusetts for promulgating the tabooed Gortonian doctrines, and took up his residence at Shawomet, Rhode Island, whence he continued to spread them by whatever means he could employ." [Source #2]

Roger Williams had come to Salem from England in 1631, 3 years before John & Robert Pease arrived. He moved southwest and founded Providence in 1632, the first settlement in Rhode Island. The four settlements of Providence, Portsmouth, Newport and Warwick were united in 1644 as the Providence Plantations.

Francis Weston [Lucy Pease's step-father] moved to Shawomet in 1638. "A fourth plantation was established on the western shore of Narragansett Bay, twelve miles from Providence, by Samuel Gorton, an able but eccentric person who combined unconventional religious opinions with a combativeness of temperament that delighted in opposing accepted views. He, therefore, became the center of a violent controversy wherever he went. He had been expelled from Plymouth and Portsmouth and his views had aroused serious antagonism in Providence and Boston. Gorton probably realized that his pronounced individualism would always be at odds with the ruling class in settled communities, and that he could feel at home only on the frontier, for he bought land from the Indians and started a settlement at Shawomet, which he later called Warwick, in honor of the Earl of Warwick." [from A History of Colonial America, p. 132]

Massachusetts claimed sovereignty over the settlements of Rhode Island until 1644 when Roger Williams acquired a charter from the English Parliament, and so until then they were not free from interference from Massachusetts authorities.

"The magistrates of the Massachusetts colony tolerated this defiance for 5 years, and then determined to silence him, by forcible measures if necessary, and place him under arrest for teaching heretical doctrines. "John Pease heard of this in the fall of 1643 at Salem, and undertook to give his wife's father a warning of the approaching danger. The following account of this affair, written by Samuel Gorton himself, discloses John Pease in a highly favorable light considering all the circumstances. A letter dated Shawomet, Sept. 26, 1643, signed by Gorton and others of his sectaries, addressed to the military emissaries of Massachusetts, was sent by the hand 'of one John Peise who lived amongst them in the Massachusetts, who having a father-in-law amongst us was willing to come and declare unto his father, out of the tenderness towards him, of the nearness of the soldiers approach, and as near as he could the end of their coming, to persuade his said father to escape for his life.'... "This expedition resulted in the seizure and return of Weston as a prisoner to Boston, where he suffered incarceration with hard labor in the Dorchester jail.

Francis Weston was forcibly returned to Massachusetts when he was put in the jail in Dorcheser for heresy. He died there after being confined for 2 years. Doubtless this caused [Lucy] the wife of John Pease to consider her own safety, and shortly after her husband's return from the mission above related, she recanted her heretical views, as appears by the following record: 'Luce Pease the wife of ... Pease, p'fessing that she doth abhor & renounce Gortons opinions & confessing her fault in bloting out some things in the booke wch she bought & in showing the same before shee delivered it & pÙfessing shee was sorry for it, shee was dismissed for the p'sent to appear when she shall bee called for (17 October 1643).' "From these facts and resulting conditions we are now able to explain why John Pease left Salem to seek a home elsewhere outside the jurisdiction of Massachusetts. The religious atmosphere was too threatening and his wife would be constantly menaced with the fear of arrest, being held under bonds by the court for the future determination of her case. Consequently, he sold his property and that of his father-in-law in the summer of 1644, and left Salem forever." [History of MarthaÙs Vineyard, chapter: "Annals of Edgartown"]

When John Pease traveled to warn his father-in-law of his impending arrest, he probably took his ship around Massachusetts and Cape Cod and up Narragansett Bay to Shawomet since the trip overland would have been a difficult 70 miles: south to Boston, SW to Providence, and south to Shawomet/Warwick. It is not probable that John Pease ever met Roger Williams because Williams had already left Salem when John arrived, and by 1640 there were 16,000 people in Massachusetts. Also in 1644 Roger Williams was in England trying to secure a charter for Rhode Island to free them of the dangers of Massachusetts authority. That same year the Massachusetts General Court passed a law that anyone holding to Baptist doctrines should be banished.

John's mother and brother Robert died in 1644, which along with his wife's troubles with the religious authories, surely contributed to his timing in leaving Salem and moving to Martha's Vineyard Island. On June 18, 1644, John Pease sold to Richard Ingersoll of Salem "one house and 75 acres of land adjoyning to the fearme wheron the said Richard dwelleth." This was a fortunate move for the family since they escaped the Salem witch trials of the 1690's; however one Sarah Pease (daughter-in-law of his brother, Robert) was prosecuted for witchcraft at Salem in 1692 and imprisoned, but not executed.

In 1643 the settlements in Connecticut and Massachusetts joined to form the New England Confederation. The name of the union was "The United Colonies of New England" and though it lost much of its power in a dispute in 1653 over the amount of power Massachusetts would have, it continued on until 1684 when Charles II revoked its charter. By 1643 there were 14,000 to 16,000 people in Massachusetts, probably as much as all the rest of British America put together.

There is an interesting account of the family's move to Martha's Vineyard which was printed in the Nantucket Gazette and the Albany Journal in 1838. This account has no historical proof, and the dates are surely wrong, but being a family story, it may have some truth to it: "In the fall of 1632, or a year or two later, a vessel bound from England to South Virginia, fell in with the south shoal of Nantucket, came up through the Vineyard sound and anchored off Cape Poge on account of a distemper which, like a plague, raged among the passengers and crew, twenty-five of whom died. "

Or according to another account, scarcity of provisions was the cause. Four men with their families, requested to be put on shore, preferring to take their chance with the natives, than to pursue the voyage under such distressing circumstances. "They landed at the spot since called Pease's Point or Edgartown. Their names were John Pease, Thomas Vincent, ___ Trapp and ___ Browning or Norton. A red coat, presented on landing, by Pease to the Chief or Sachem, secured at once the good offices of the tribe; and they were treated with hospitality. In order to shelter themselves from the approaching winter, Pease and his company made excavations in the side of a hill near the water, whence they could command a full view of the harbor and adjacent bay...."

Local tradition says there were families living there by the name of Pease, Vincent, Trapp, and Stone before 1640. The story goes that these settlers were on their way to join the Jamestown colony , but were driven into Edgartown harbor for shelter. They remained here after spending their first winter in a dugout at "Green Hollow," near what is now known as Tower Hill.

On Martha's Vineyard "John Pease lived at first at Mattakeset and later, when the home lots were distributed, he drew the first in present-day Edgartown situated at the north end of the town of Great Harbor. John owned a house lot of ten acres of upland and two acres of meadow at the north end at a place now known as Pease's Point, and a street to the south of this land is Pease Point Way.

On Mar 23, 1647 John Pease sold 'a parcell of land about 10 acres & two acres of meadow' at Mattakeeset to Mr. John Bland and moved to Norwich, CT. Here he purchased land that he retained until his death, bequeathing it to John Pease Jr.: "all that was given to me at Mohegin, with that frame of a house." [from his will]

John's wife Lucy died about 1648 (or maybe as early as 1646)--about the time he moved to Connecticut: "... About 1645-50 the new settlements at Saybrook, New London, & New Haven [Connecticut] were being founded and were attracting hundreds from the old towns in Massachusetts and probably John Pease was prospecting and trying his fortune on the mainland...."

It was probably on Martha's Vineyard that he married his second wife, Mary Browning, about 1648. Mary was much younger than John, probably born about 1630. She was the daughter of Malachi Browning (b abt 1615 in England; d Nov 27, 1653 at the home of his friend, Robert Scott in Boston, MA) & Mary Collier (b abt 1715 in Edgartown). Malachi was the owner of a large book shop in Boston.

In 1650 John was still in New London, Ct. but before March 5, 1653 he had moved back to the Island, when he was involved in a land suit. He was elected Constable Nov. 7, 1653, the only office he is known to have held in the town. His nephew, Robert Pease, moved to Edgartown by 1656 to be the town weaver, but had moved away by 1660. In 1673 he and 19 others of the leading residents of the Vineyard signed the celebrated appeal to Massachusetts for annexation, and joined in the 'Dutch Rebellion' of that and the following year. He was one of the first to be attacked in reprisal, 5 days after the petition was dated:

"John Peas being by the Govournour by his officer warned to appear to answer his misdemeanour for committing a riott at Edgartown the Marshall returneth answer that the warrant was by the said Peas his wife taken him and therefore he cannot return his warrant; the said Peas appearing before the Govournour is both person and estate bound to answer at the next sessions of triall held upon the Duke his highness province and Territories for the said riott committed and his wife for forcibly taking the warrant of the marshalls hands." [#2] This incident probably had something to do with the second Dutch War of 1672. (The first Dutch War was in 1664 when the English took over New Netherland and it became New York.)

After this trouble with the governor, John may have left Martha's Vineyard for another place, maybe Portsmouth, NH. It's not know for sure when or where he died. He died sometime between Sept. 1677 and June 3, 1689.

"The last mention of him in the record is on Sept. 25, 1677, when he served as a juror, at which time he was 70 years old and had already executed his last will and testament."

Will of John Pease (Dukes Deeds, I, 340): "March the 4th, 1674. The last will and testament of me, John Peas, husbandman and inhabitant uppon Martins Vineyard in the Town called Edgartown, I John Peas having upon good consideration and being now in some measure in good health and perfect understanding and memory though I am striken in years and Crasy in respect of what formerly, I having had two wives one formerly deceased and by her have yet two sons surviving, James Peas, & John Peas and these two sonnes James the Elder, God hath been pleased to bless him in his labours & indeavours and I have been helpfull to him so that he is verry well to pass in his Estate farre beyond myself: I do therefore in this my last will and testament give to my eldest Son James Peas twelve pence; My second son John Peas I have alreddy given unto and do hereby give unto him all that was given unto me at Mohegin [Connecticut], with that frame of a house I set up uppon some part of that land; I say I give it unto my son John Peas & his heirs forever: I having by my now living wife Mary Peas, four sonnes & four Daughters, my Sonnes Thomas Peas Jonathan, Samuell, and David and my Daughters Abygaill Peas, Mary, Rebecca, and Sarah Peas unto these my four Sonnes and four Daughters I doe give all my landes and houseing that I have upon this Iland Martins Vineyard to be either equally devided or valued or sold or exchanged and the price thereof Equally devided to everyone of them alike and this to be performed at convenient age of them: or as my now living wife Mary shall see meet whome I make my full and whole Executrix to performe all this my last will and testament; and I give unto whatsoever I have more or less for her use and comfort and helpfulness in bringing up my children at her disposing for Ever. In witness hereunto my hand and seal. JOHN PEAS. Further I give and bequeath unto my second son John Peas twelve pence. Wee whose names are underwritten are witnesses to this will and testament. Thomas Birchard, Kathrin Birchard, Thomas Trappe."

(By June 3, 1689 his widow had remarried to ? Creber [probably Captain Thomas Creber of Portsmouth, N.H., master of the ketch "John & Mary," engaged in coastwise trading. The name of this boat seems to imply that it had belonged to and was named by John Pease]. Mary outlived this husband also and was a widow again in 1695.

Sources: 1. "An Account of The Descendants of John Pease", by Frederick S. Pease of Albany, NY, 1849. Copied from an old book (name lost) 2. "History of Martha's Vineyard," chapter: "Annals of Edgartown" 3. "A History of Colonial America," p. 132 3 5

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'John Pease

The ship in which John Pease came was bound to Port Penn, in the Delaware, with 140 persons on board; it was in the fall of the year, and they were short of provisions, and sickness prevailed. Owing to a head westerly wind they came to anchor near Stony Point. They landed in a boat at Pease's Point. The Indians came to meet them, holding forth a pine bough to denote their desire for peace. As the whites advanced, the Indians retreated. John Pease, who had on a red coat, took it off, laid it on the ground and made signs for the Sachem to put it on. The Indians approached it with caution, poking it with a stick, until gathering courage the chief put it on, when Pease by signs give him to understand that he gave it to him.

This story was written out fifty years ago, as told to him by the late Capt. Valentine Pease (born 1764). From another source, Rev. David Pease (born 1783), Mr. R. L. Pease was given the same story as told by the widow Susannah (Butler) Pease (born 1777), w^ho "had heard the story from a very aged person of your family." This account will be quoted lateroninthecourseofthischapter. Itisalsostatedbyother members of the Pease family as part of the story, that Obed Pease (born 1743) had talked about a "black book," which mysteriously disappeared in the early days and is supposed to have contained some records bearing upon this question. But of this collateral topic consideration will be given later. It will thus be seen that the legend is one which has its sup- port and origin, probably, among members of the family bearing this name, and unfortunately too, for it thus acquires the coloring of family sentiment and pride in a matter which depends so much upon impartial support for its acceptance. It may be said however that, if true, the descendants of John Pease would be quite as likely as any others to be more familiar with the story.

https://ia600301.us.archive.org/22/items/historyofmarthas01bank/his...

John arrived at Boston, Suffolk Co., MA aboard the 'Francis' in 1634, together with his brother Robert and nephew Robert (age 3). John received land grants in Salem on Jan. 2, 1636/7 and on Apr. 23, 1638. John was absent from Salem in Aug. 1639, and likely had returned to England to bring his mother to America.

John Pease sailed with his brother, Robert, on the ship “Francis” from Ipswich, England on Nov. 1634 and arrived in Boston late 1634.

He lived a troubled life, emigrating to Salem at the age of 17, he married into the Weston Family, which was embroiled with the local authorities over theology. His father in law was banished and later died in prison for his heretical teachings. After Francis Weston died, his wife, Margaret Weston, went mad, and in Jun 1637 was sued with her husband by William Pester for defamation. She accused the pastors of the church of hypocrisy and was in turn accused of disorderly carriage by the church.

Margaret Weston's fanatic beliefs, and carrying on must have been too much for her son-in-law, as it appears he took matters into his own hands. A court record of Nov 03, 1635 in Essex County states: "Ordered that John Pease of Salem shall be whipt and bound to his good behaviour for striking his mother (in-law), Mrs. Weston and deryding of her for dyvers other misdemeanors and other evill carriage."

ON Jun 5, 1638, she was sentenced by the General Court to be set in the bilboes, two hours in Boston,, and two hours in Salem upon a lecture day. She was also a follower of Samuel Gorton, whose religious beliefs differed with those of the authorities and was also banished to Rhode Island. She later became “of hopelessly unsound mind.”

His wife, faced with arrest, was forced to recant shortly before she died in 1644, the year his father-in-law was banished, his mother and brother died and John Pease sold his property in Salem and “fled” to Martha’s Vineyard becoming one of the original settlers.

There he remarried and peaceably raised a second family unttil he joined in the rebellion against the autocratic rule of Governor Mayhew in 1673. In the wake of reprisals by the Governor following his reestablishment of authority,

John Pease left Martha’s Vineyard for the mainland probably for Portsmouth, NH, although it is not known for sure when or where he died.

http://history.vineyard.net/pease.htm

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John Pease came to America in 1634 on the ship Francis with his brother Robert. Margaret Weston's fanatic beliefs, and carrying on must have been too much for her son-in-law, as it appears he took matters into his own hands. A court record of Nov 03, 1635 in Essex County states: "Ordered that John Pease of Salem shall be whipt and bound to his good behaviour for striking his mother (in-law), Mrs. Weston and deryding of her for dyvers other misdemeanors and other evill carriage." In Jan 1637, Salem, John and Robert Pease were issued grants of land, John receiving twenty acres. On Jun 18, 1644, John Pease sold to Richard Ingersoll of Salem "one house and 75 acres of land adjoyning to the fearme wheron the said Richard dwelleth." After that date, he disappears completely from the Essex county and the Salem town records. The next appearance of his name occurs in the records of Edgartown, MA, under date of Mar 23, 1647, when he sold ten acres of land at Mattakeeset to Mister John Bland. On Martha's Vineyard, John owned a house lot of ten acres of upland and two acres of meadow at the north end of the town of Great Harbor. When the home lots were distributed, he drew the first in present day Edgartown at a place now known as Pease's Point, and a street to the south of this land is Pease Point Way. After the sale of his Mattakeeset property in 1647 to John Bland, he moved to Norwich, CT, where he purchased land that he retained until his death, bequeathing it to John Junior. His home lot was bequeathed to son Thomas. John Senior returned to the island before Mar 05, 1653 when he was involved in a land suit. On Nov 07, 1653, he was elected constable, and served on a jury Sep 25, 1677. His will is dated Mar 04, 1674. Excerpts: "...me John Peas, husbandman and inhabitant uppon Martins Vineyard...being now in some measure in good health...am stricken in years and Crasy in respect of what formerly ... give to my Eldest Son James Peas twelve pence...my second son John Peas...all that was given to me at Mohegin, with that frame of a house...(to the rest of the children)...all my landes and houseing that I have upon this land Martins Vineyard to be either equally devided or valued or sold or exchanged and the price thereof Equally devided to everyone of them...my now living wife Mary shall see meet whome I make my full and whole Executrix... and I give unto Mary Peas my wife all my cattle of every sort with all my household goodes whatsoever... in witness hereunto my hand and seal. " The will was witnessed by Thomas Birchard, Kathrin Birchard, and Thomas Trappe.

Note: There is a traditional story with variations of John Pease as follows: About seven to ten years before the 1641 purchase of the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket by Thomas Mayhew of Watertown, MA, a vessel from England on the way to Carolina landed on the island. (Another account was that the boat was headed for Port Penn in the Delaware). The boat anchored at what is now known as Starbuck's Neck near the present site of Edgartown. John Pease, a passenger of the vessel, was in the British Military, and was wearing his uniform which consisted of the traditional red coat. A band of Indians greeted the landing party, and Pease, as a sign of peace, offered the Chief, his coat. The Sachem was so grateful, he offered the new arrivals, a large section of land which now includes Edgartown. While the rest of the passengers continued south, John Pease, William Vinson, Thomas Trapp and Malachi Browning decided to settle on Martha's Vineyard, and built caves for the first winter in a place called Green Hollow. As the settlement grew, and more settlers arrived, John Pease kept all transactions, including the original gift of the land in a book, known as the "Black Book" because of the color of it's cover. When John died, two men went into his house, and stole the book, never to be seen again. The present day town records of Edgartown in preserved books contain dates before the record keeper transcribed them. It is supposed that some of these events were copied from the "Black Book" before it was destroyed. Without the records in the book, the Pease family lost the titles to their land. In 1853, George Cleveland, a farmer was tilling his land, and came upon the ruins of three separate underground rooms that were large enough for living quarters. The ruins were a short distance from the center of Edgartown, and near a road which is now called Pease's Point Way. These sites were supposedly the caves that those mentioned above spent the first winter in. The legend can almost certainly be proven not true because of the dates of the "landing party". Port Penn did not come into existence until after 1682; the early Pease family did not dispute any land claims with any other settler of the island; John Pease himself was in Salem from 1634 until at least 1644, although he may have visited the island after settling in Salem; and there is no evidence that he was in the British military. The earliest settlers of most areas probably did spend at least their first few months in caves or crude shelters, as building lumber was not an available commodity (see John Pease 1.2.1). There were pageants on Martha's Vineyard with scenes of early settler stories put on display by contemporary actors. The "Red Coat" story was one of more popular acts.

http://history.vineyard.net/pease.htm

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John Pease came to America in 1634 on the ship Francis with his brother Robert. Margaret Weston's fanatic beliefs, and carrying on must have been too much for her son-in-law, as it appears he took matters into his own hands. A court record of Nov 03, 1635 in Essex County states: "Ordered that John Pease of Salem shall be whipt and bound to his good behaviour for striking his mother (in-law), Mrs. Weston and deryding of her for dyvers other misdemeanors and other evill carriage." In Jan 1637, Salem, John and Robert Pease were issued grants of land, John receiving twenty acres. On Jun 18, 1644, John Pease sold to Richard Ingersoll of Salem "one house and 75 acres of land adjoyning to the fearme wheron the said Richard dwelleth." After that date, he disappears completely from the Essex county and the Salem town records. The next appearance of his name occurs in the records of Edgartown, MA, under date of Mar 23, 1647, when he sold ten acres of land at Mattakeeset to Mister John Bland. On Martha's Vineyard, John owned a house lot of ten acres of upland and two acres of meadow at the north end of the town of Great Harbor. When the home lots were distributed, he drew the first in present day Edgartown at a place now known as Pease's Point, and a street to the south of this land is Pease Point Way. After the sale of his Mattakeeset property in 1647 to John Bland, he moved to Norwich, CT, where he purchased land that he retained until his death, bequeathing it to John Junior. His home lot was bequeathed to son Thomas. John Senior returned to the island before Mar 05, 1653 when he was involved in a land suit. On Nov 07, 1653, he was elected constable, and served on a jury Sep 25, 1677. His will is dated Mar 04, 1674. Excerpts: "...me John Peas, husbandman and inhabitant uppon Martins Vineyard...being now in some measure in good health...am stricken in years and Crasy in respect of what formerly ... give to my Eldest Son James Peas twelve pence...my second son John Peas...all that was given to me at Mohegin, with that frame of a house...(to the rest of the children)...all my landes and houseing that I have upon this land Martins Vineyard to be either equally devided or valued or sold or exchanged and the price thereof Equally devided to everyone of them...my now living wife Mary shall see meet whome I make my full and whole Executrix... and I give unto Mary Peas my wife all my cattle of every sort with all my household goodes whatsoever... in witness hereunto my hand and seal. " The will was witnessed by Thomas Birchard, Kathrin Birchard, and Thomas Trappe.

Note: There is a traditional story with variations of John Pease as follows: About seven to ten years before the 1641 purchase of the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket by Thomas Mayhew of Watertown, MA, a vessel from England on the way to Carolina landed on the island. (Another account was that the boat was headed for Port Penn in the Delaware). The boat anchored at what is now known as Starbuck's Neck near the present site of Edgartown. John Pease, a passenger of the vessel, was in the British Military, and was wearing his uniform which consisted of the traditional red coat. A band of Indians greeted the landing party, and Pease, as a sign of peace, offered the Chief, his coat. The Sachem was so grateful, he offered the new arrivals, a large section of land which now includes Edgartown. While the rest of the passengers continued south, John Pease, William Vinson, Thomas Trapp and Malachi Browning decided to settle on Martha's Vineyard, and built caves for the first winter in a place called Green Hollow. As the settlement grew, and more settlers arrived, John Pease kept all transactions, including the original gift of the land in a book, known as the "Black Book" because of the color of it's cover. When John died, two men went into his house, and stole the book, never to be seen again. The present day town records of Edgartown in preserved books contain dates before the record keeper transcribed them. It is supposed that some of these events were copied from the "Black Book" before it was destroyed. Without the records in the book, the Pease family lost the titles to their land. In 1853, George Cleveland, a farmer was tilling his land, and came upon the ruins of three separate underground rooms that were large enough for living quarters. The ruins were a short distance from the center of Edgartown, and near a road which is now called Pease's Point Way. These sites were supposedly the caves that those mentioned above spent the first winter in. The legend can almost certainly be proven not true because of the dates of the "landing party". Port Penn did not come into existence until after 1682; the early Pease family did not dispute any land claims with any other settler of the island; John Pease himself was in Salem from 1634 until at least 1644, although he may have visited the island after settling in Salem; and there is no evidence that he was in the British military. The earliest settlers of most areas probably did spend at least their first few months in caves or crude shelters, as building lumber was not an available commodity (see John Pease 1.2.1). There were pageants on Martha's Vineyard with scenes of early settler stories put on display by contemporary actors. The "Red Coat" story was one of more popular acts.

http://history.vineyard.net/pease.htm

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http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/r/o/b/Margaret-F-Roberts...

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=37316691

This man lived a troubled life. Emmigrating to Salem at the age of 27, he married into the Weston family, which was embroiled with the local authorities over theology. His father in law was banished and later died in prison for his heretical teachings. His mother in law went mad and his wife, faced with arrest, was forced to recant shortly before she died. In 1644, the year his father-in-law was banished, his mother and brother died and John Pease sold his property in Salem and 'fled' to Martha's Vineyard, becoming one of the original settlers. There he remarried and peaceably raised a second family until he joined in the rebellion against the autocratic rule of Governor Mayhew in 1673. In the wake of reprisals by the Governor following his reestablishment of authority, John Pease left Martha's Vineyard for the mainland, probably for Portsmouth, NH, although it is not known for sure when or where he died.

http://spicerweb.org/Genealogy/LegacyFiles/3359.htm

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• "An Account Of The Descendants Of John Pease : Who Landed At Martha's Vineyard In The Year 1632 : Pease, Frederick S. (Frederick Salmon), 1804-1867 : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive". 2017. Internet Archive. Accessed March 28 2017. https://archive.org/details/accountofdescend00peas.

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https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Pease-192

John Pease (bef. 1608 - aft. 1677)

Born before 20 Nov 1608 in Great Baddow, Essex, England

ANCESTORS

Son of Robert Pease Sr and Margaret (Unknown) Pease

Brother of Robert Pease II

Husband of Lucy (Unknown) Pease — married before 1637 [location unknown]

Husband of Mary (Unknown) Pease — married before 1653 in Massachusetts

DESCENDANTS

Father of James Pease Sr., Samuel Pease, Thomas Pease and Sarah (Pease) Capron

Died after 25 Sep 1677 in Enfield, Hartford, Connecticut

Profile managers: Jillaine Smith, Puritan Great Migration Project WikiTree, Michael Sanderson, and Gordon Ralls

Profile last modified 17 Nov 2018 | Created 14 Sep 2011

The Puritan Great Migration. John Pease migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1620-1640). Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: PGM Biography

John Pease was baptized Great Baddow, Essex, England, 20 November 1608, son of Robert Pease.[1]and Margaret (____) Pease who arrived in Salem at an unknown date. His brother was Robert Pease who arrived at Salem in 1635.

John migrated to New England in 1634 on the Francis of Ipswich. Children under the care were listed as Fayth Clearke, aged 15; Robert Pease, aged 3; and Darcas Greene, aged 15.

He first resided at Salem, then moved to Edgartown on Martha's Vineyard by 1646.

He was a land-owner, both at Salem and at Edgartown with the occupation as that of a husbandman/farmer. At Edgartown he held the office of constable on November 7, 1653.

By 1637 he had married Lucy _____.

Children of John and Lucy James Pease was born March 15, 1637/8 He married (1) Elizabeth Norton, daughter of Nicholas Norton. He married (2nd) Abigail (Travis) Covell on April 22, 1706. John Pease was born about 1640. From his father's will he received land at New London and lived there in 1672. By about 1657 John had married Mary _____. She married (2nd) by 1688 a man with the surname Creber, and possibly his first name was Thomas.

Children of John and Mary (birth order estimated) Thomas Pease was born about 1657. He married by 1685 Bathsheba Merry, daughter of Joseph Merry. Abigail Pease was born about 1659. Mary Pease was born about 1661. Rebecca Pease was born about 1663. Sarah Pease was born about 1665 and may have married John Doggett by 1686. Jonathan Pease was born about 1667. Samuel Pease was born about 1669 David was born about 1671. His will, dated March 4, 1674/5 bequeaths inheritance to his two sons James and John by his first wife, his 2nd wife Mary and children Thomas, Jonathan, Samuell, David, Abigail, Mary, Rebecca and Sarah

John Pease died after September 1677.[2]

Will of John Pease[3]

March the 4th, 1674. The last will and testament of me, John Peas, husbandman and inhabitant uppon Martins Vineyard in the Town called Edgartown, I John Peas having upon good consideration and being now in some measure in good health and perfect understanding and memory though I am striken in years and Crasy in respect of what formerly, I having had two wives one formerly deceased and by her have yet two sons surv- iving, James Peas, & John Peas and these two sonnes James the Elder, God hath been pleased to bless him in his labours & indeavours and I have been helpfull to him so that he is verry well to pass in his Estate farre beyond myself: I do therefore in this my last will and testament give to my eldest Son James Peas twelve pence; My second son John Peas I have alreddy given unto and do hereby give unto him all that was given unto me at Mohegin, with that frame of a house I set up uppon some part of that land; I say I give it unto my son John Peas & his heirs forever: I having by my now living wife Mary Peas, four sonnes & four Daughters, my Sonnes Thomas Peas Jonathan, Samuell, and David and my Daughters Abygaill Peas, Mary, Rebecca, and Sarah Peas unto these my four Sonnes and four Daughters I doe give all my landes and houseing that I have upon this Iland Martins Vineyard to be either equally devided or valued or sold or exchanged and the price thereof Equally devided to everyone of them alike and this to be performed at convenient age of them: or as my now living wife Mary shall see meet whome I make my full and whole Executrix to performe all this my last will and testament; and I give unto whatsoever I have more or less for her use and comfort and helpfulness in bringing up my children at her disposing for Ever. In witness hereunto my hand and seal. JOHN PEAS. Further I give and bequeath unto my second son John Peas twelve pence. Wee whose names are underwritten are witnesses to this will and testament. Thomas Birchard, Kathrin Birchard, Thomas Trappe,

Sources

1. Citing "Martha's Vineyard Hist 2:Edgartown:92" and noting his age as "27 on 30 April 1634 in "Hotten 279" in Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration, Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume V, M-P (2010), 415 (in particular part); digital images, AmericanAncestors.org (accessed 2013).
2. Citing "Martha's Vineyard Hist 2:Edgartown:102" in Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration, Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume V, M-P (2010), 415 (in particular part); digital images, AmericanAncestors.org (accessed 2013). ↑ Citing "Dukes Deeds, 1, 340" in Dr. Charles E. Banks, The History of Martha's Vineyard, 3 vols. (1911-1925), 2 [Annals of Edgartown]:102-103 for last will and testament of John Pease; digital images, Family History Library Catalog (accessed 2013). Unless otherwise cited, this biography is based on Anderson's "The Great Migration."
3. Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration, Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume V, M-P (2010), 414-418, "John Pease"; digital images, AmericanAncestors.org (accessed 2013). Note: reports his first wife as Lucy ____; second, as Mary ____. subscription site
4. FAG- https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/37316691Modern monument to the founders.
5. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Pease-192
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts_Bay_Colony.