John Tefft, Sr.

Immigration: Abt. 1630 John and wife Mary arrive aboard the ship Arabella.
Served in military: King Philips War- Killed in action by Indians

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Philip%27s_War

John Tefft Sr

• Birth: Abt 1610 in England, (of Portsmouth, RI)
• Death: 26 January 1676, Kingstown,Washington,Rhode Island
• Father: William Tefft Sr, b. about 1590, England; d. 1 May 1648, Kingstown, Rhode Island
• Mother: Ann. birth: 1590, England
• Siblings:
  • William Tefft Jr,birth: 1616; death: before 23 November 1672
  • Sarah Tefft, birth: 1618; death: 14 March 1642
• Marriage: 1638, Rhode Island
• Wife: Mary Barber, b. 1618
• Children:

1. *Wilson Tefft, birth: about 1642
2. *Mary Tefft, birth: about 1642; death: 1675, m. Samuel Wilson
3. *Samuel Tefft Sr., birth: 1643 in Providence; death: 20 December 1725
4. *Joshua Tefft, birth: 1646 in South Kingston, RI; death: 18 January 1676; m. Sarah ------
5. *Tabitha Bethiah Tefft, birth: 1653 Providence, RI; death: 1722, m. George Gardiner
6. *Wilson Tefft, birth: about 1655
7. *John Tefft Jr., birth: 1676

R.I. Register:

• John Tefft, brother of William Tefft of Boston, came to Massachusetts in 1630 on the ship Arbella (Gov. John Winthrop's ship).
• He later lived at Portsmouth and Kingstown, R.I., and was listed as a inhabitant of Pettaquamscott in May 1671.
• He was made a freeman in 1655.
• He was killed by Indians Jan. 26, 1676, during King Philip's War, eight days after his son Joshua was executed for fighting with the Indians against the English.

From Austin:

• John Tefft's death is alluded to in a letter from Captain James Oliver (written at the house of Richard Smith in Narragansett).
• He mentions that Joshua Tefft had married a "Wamponag" and that he shot twenty times at the English in the Narraganset fight, was captured and executed at Providence.
• Capt. James then declares Joshua was a sad wretch, he never heard a sermon but once these fourteen years.
• His father, going to recall him, lost his head and lies unburied.' [Presume he was killed in Providence County.]
• Note: "Joshua Tefft, a resident of Kingstown, in Narragansett country, was executed for treason at Smith's garrison house" (in what is now Wickford Village, North Kingstown, Washington County, RI). http://www.quahog.org/factsfolklore/index.php?id=150
• John Tefft's will, written Nov. 30, 1674, probated in 1676, named his son-in-law, Samuel Wilson, executor of his estate. It specified--among other bequests--1 shilling for Joshua, 1 shilling for Tabitha, 2 shillings for Samuel, and his dwelling and 20 acres in Pettaquamscott to son-in-law Samuel Wilson.
  • The will was written about a year before the Great Swamp Fight, 19 Dec. 1775, in which Joshua was accused of fighting with the Indians against the English.

Virkus:

• John Tefft, died 1676,
• from England to MA 1655, then to Portsmouth (Kingstown), RI.
• Freeman 1655. Killed in King Philip's War.
• Married Mary Barber who died in 1679.

G&B Record, Part 2:

• John Tift (or Teft or Tefft), brother of William of Boston, lived in Portsmouth and Kingston, R.I.
• Died 1676.
• A freeman in 1655.
• Recorded as a resident of Pottaquamscott in 1671.
• Wife Mary died 1671.
• Lists only three children: Samuel, Joshua and Tibitha.
  • And it lists Samuel's descendants.
• A Solomon Tefft was captured at Fort Griswold in 1781 and held held on the "Jersey," a prison ship. A descendant of John Tefft, or of brother William?

De Forest: John Tefft, emigrated to Portsmouth, RI, in 1630 and was made a freeman in 1655. In 1671 he was registered as an inhabitant of Kingstown, RI. On 22 Nov. 1672 he and wife Mary sold seven acres of Portsmouth land. His will was dated 30 Nov. 1674 and probably written in Kingstown.

Memorial: John Tefft, brother of William Tefft of Boston, settled in Portsmouth and Kingston, RI, and made a freeman there in 1655.

Narragansett: A Tefft-Barber marriage farther down the line: South Kingston, R.I., Mary Barber and Samuel Tefft, son of John, married 5 Oct. 1727.

Founders: John Tefft, Portsmouth, RI, 1655, Kingston 1671. Died by 26 Jan. 1676. Freeman.

Savage: John Tefft, died 1676; from England to Mass. and thence to Portsmouth (Kingstown), R.I. Freeman 1655. Killed in King Philip's War. Married Mary Barber.

Witter Family: John Tefft, born about 1620 in England. Died 18 Jan 1676. He emigrated to Boston, his brother (not named) was there by 24 Dec. 1638. "In King Philip's War, son Joshua shot 20 times at English in the Narragansett Fight,' captured by Capt. Fenner, tried, hanged and quartered at at Wickford, R.I., 18 Jan 1676. Said he was captured by Indians, made slave to chief, made to fight. Didn't go over. Had Indian wife. Father, John Tefft, wemt to get body, could not find head."

John Tefft lived in Portsmouth and Kingstown, R.I.; was one paid to "keepe auld JOHN MOTT" [Chart 21, #121] in 1656. Sold land in 1662. Inhabitant of Pettaquamscott in 1671. Daughter Sarah, unmarried, in town of Warwick, which was founded by religious outcasts.

Sources:

• http://records.ancestry.com/John_Tefft_records.ashx?pid=2108342
• "Pedigree Resource File", database, https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.2.1/SBTB-FG7
• http://awt.ancestrylibrary.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=:1034016&i...
• Genealogical Dictionary of RI by John Osborn Austin; Rhode Island Genealogical Register, Vol. 1;
• Genealogical and Biographical Record of New London County, Conn., 974.65, D3bg;
• The Narragansett Historical Register, Vol. II, No. 3 (1,321,086, Item 1);
• Babcock and Allied Families by Louis E. de Forest;
• First Families of America by Virkus;
• Founders of Early American Families;
• Savage;
• A Witter Family History by Edwin D. Witter Jr.
• Potter-Richardson Memorial: http://archive.org/stream/potterrichardson00hann#page/150/mode/2up
• Genealogy of the Tefft Family by Tefft

_________________________________________________________

• Immigration: Abt. 1630 John and wife Mary arrive aboard the ship Arabella.
• Served in military: King Philips War- Killed in action by Indians

**********************************

From: Find A Grave Memorial# 34093854

John Tefft

• Birth: 1615, England
• Death:Jan. 26, 1675 in Kingston, Washington County, Rhode Island, USA
  • Beheaded by Indians 26 Jan 1675/76 while trying to rescue his son Joshua on 26 Jan 1675/6.
• Burial: in John Tefft Lot in South Kingstown, Washington County, Rhode Island, USA
• Spouse: Mary Magdalene Barber Tefft (1618 - 1680) (m. 1638)
• Children:
  • Joshua Tefft (____ - 1676)
  • Samuel Tefft (1643 - 1725)
  • Tabitha Tefft Gardiner (1652 - 1722)

_________________________________________________________

• Note: Tefft Historical Park :

from TEFFT-L Archives - http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/TEFFT/2000-11/0975540255

Subject: [TEFFT] Re: The Tefft Historical Park

Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2000 18:24:15 -0500

"It's official! The South Kingstown Land trust closed on 28 acres containing a significant portion of the Tefft homestead yesterday. Now it will be possible for us and future generations to walk the same land that John Tefft and his descendants walked and see how they lived. Hopefully, archaeologists will be able to give us greater insight into their everyday lives. ... " ~ A. Craig Anthony

from The Tefft Papers - The Tefft Family and the Narragansett Controversy - http://www.freewebs.com/kingsprovince/teffthistoricalpark.htm

..."It was these favorable environmental attributes that motivated the English immigrant John Tefft to purchase 500 acres of land encompassing the site sometime between 1658 and 1672. The original deed has not survived. John Tefft served as a witness to the second Pettaquamscutt Purchase of 1661, and possibly laid out his share soon after. From land evidence records of adjoining neighbors, and from the Fones Record, we learn the location and extent of John Tefft's holdings. From John Tefft's 1674 will, we also learn that he owned a 20 acre homestead along the Pettaquamscutt River in the Tower Hill area of the Pettaquamscutt Purchase.

It appears that Joshua and Samuel Tefft, John's only sons, settled the 500 acre property and began to raise livestock, cattle in particular, in the mid-1660s. The homestead site, situated near the geographical center of the property, seems to suggest that it was probably selected first before the boundaries were run. Situated nearby a natural protective peninsula in the Genessee Swamp called Tobeys Neck, along with the natural springs and fertile ground, the site was ideal for agricultural pursuits.

There is documentary evidence that both Joshua Tefft and his brother Samuel spoke the native Algonquin language. (Providence Town Papers, 1:364, LaFantasie, 2:711) Joshua Tefft mentions his cattle and "his farme a mile and a half from Puttuckquomscut" in a deposition taken by Roger Williams in 1676. (LaFantasie, 2:711) For fourteen years the Tefft family lived peacefully with their Narragansett neighbors, until the outbreak of King Philip's War in 1675. While the Tefft family sought safety on Aquidneck Island, Joshua remained behind to care for the cattle. Joshua Tefft did not survive the war."

• Reference: Ancestry Genealogy - SmartCopy: Mar 3 2018, 21:36:17 UTC
• Reference: Ancestry Genealogy - SmartCopy: Mar 3 2018, 21:40:39 UTC

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