Sgt William Harlow

Sources for Harlow Old Fort House:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlow_Old_Fort_House
• http://www.visit-plymouth.com/oldforthouse.htm

Sergeant William Harlow Written by: Ruth B. Wagner - Research by: Jane Baker

Half-a-mile south of the center of Plymouth stands the Harlow Old Fort House, a small story and a half dwelling with grayed shingles, gambrel roof, and a large central chimney. This type of house was often built in the area south of Boston. The gable faces Sandwich Street, the old "hieway" connecting Plymouth with Sandwich on Cape Cod.

The house presents much the same appearance it did in 1677 when it was completed and occupied by William Harlow, a cooper by trade, who had obtained the land at a town meeting in 1669. Harlow, a 'freeman' or voter of the colony, and a Selectman of the town which he also represented in various minor offices, was typical of the responsible, sober and hardworking men who carried on the pilgrim tradition in the second generation of Plymouth Colony. His house projects the Pilgrim home and way of life.

Sergeant William Harlow was born in England about 1624 but is first mentioned in Plymouth (Massachusetts) town records as a voter in 1646.

His first wife, Rebecca Bartlett, to whom he was married in 1648, was the granddaughter of Richard Warren, who arrived in Plymouth in 1620 as a passenger on the Mayflower. Mary Faunce was his second wife. He married the third time to Mary Shelley.

Many families today trace their ancestry back to Sergeant William Harlow through his fourteen children.

Local church history, as well as town sources, reveal his many contributions to the community. His title was obtained as a leader of the military company and he had charge of the old fort and saw much military service. In 1621 the Pilgrims built the old fort on Burial Hill where their religious services were held. At the end of King Philip's War (1676) the fort was torn down and its timbers used by Sergeant William Harlow for the construction of this house.

After nearly 250 years in the Harlow Family, the Plymouth Antiquarian Society acquired the property and restored and refurnished it to its original appearance and then opened to the public in 1921. It is supported by the generosity of the people whose national heritage is here preserved. Anyone interested in helping is cordially invited to become a member of the Society or to contribute to the Plymouth Antiquarian Society, Plymouth, Mass.

This is a working museum that presents to the visitor an intimate glimpse into the daily life of our 17th century settlers. A costumed hostess demonstrates how wool is washed, carded and spun on the spinning wheel; and how the thread is skeined, dyed and woven on the loom. She shows the process of making linen from the flax plant to the finished product. She dips bayberry candles by hand as they were made in Pilgrim times, and there are some demonstrations of fireplace cooking.

From "The Cummington Harlows Genealogy":

"...mentioned in the town records of Plymouth on Dec 10, 1646, when he was listed as one of the voters."

Family

From “The Mayflower Descendant: A Quarterly Magazine of Pilgrim ..., Volumes 12-13”. Oct 1910. GoogleBooks

Sergeant William Harlow of Plymouth had three wives and fourteen children. His first wife was Rebecca Bartlett), daughter of Robert Bartlett and Maryż Warren, and granddaughter of Richard1 Warren of the Mayflower. William Harlow and Rebecca Bartlett were married at Plymouth, 20 December, 1649,* and had four children born at Plymouth :

• : William, born 5 October, 1650, died 26 October, 1650;
• Samuel, born 27 January, 1652;
• Rebecca, born 12 June, 1655;
• William, born 2 June, 1657.

The date of Rebecca (Bartlett) Harlow's death is unknown, but it must have been between 2 June, 1657, the birth of her last child, and 15 July, 1658, when her husband married again.

William Harlow married, second, Mary Faunce, at Plymouth, on 15 July, 1658, and their children, born at Plymouth, were:

• Mary, born 19 May, 1659;
• Repentance, born 22 November, 1660;
• John, born 19 October, 1662, and died without issue, before 18 September, 1691;
• Nathaniel, born 30 September, 1664.

Mary (Faunce) Harlow died at Plymouth 4 October, 1664.

William Harlow married, third, on 25 January, 1665, Mary Shelley. Their children, all born at Plymouth, were :

• Hannah, born 28 October, 1666,7 and died, unmarried, at Plymouth, 27 June, 1689 $ ;
• Bathshua, born 21 April, 1667 t;
• Joanna, born 24 March, 1669;
• Mehitable, born 4 October, 1672;
• Judith, born 2 August, 1676;
• Benjamin, whose birth is not recorded, but is proved by the settlement of his father's estate.

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GEDCOM Note

Built in 1677, the gambrel-roofed Harlow Old Fort House is one of the few remaining 17th century buildings in the oldest established town in the Commonwealth. It was originally the family residence of settler William Harlow, a farmer, cooper and town official, who also served as sergeant of the local militia and participated in King Philip's War. In 1676, Harlow was granted permission to salvage material from the Pilgrim's fort-house on Burial Hill to use in the construction of his new dwelling. From the early 19th century, the Harlow House has been notable for the hand-hewn beams attributed to this source. The house, a local landmark for generations, is listed on the State and National Register of Historic Places.

In 1920, when the Harlow House was put up for sale by its last private owners, much of Plymouth's historic waterfront was being razed to prepare for the Tercentenary celebration of the Landing of the Pilgrims. The Plymouth Antiquarian Society recognized the importance of preserving one of the town's few remaining First Period structures and purchased the Harlow House for $3,000. Under the direction of architect Joseph E. Chandler, the house was restored to show the early hall with its central hearth and wide board flooring. Since 1922, the Harlow House has been in continuous operation as a historic house museum, furnished with early American artifacts to show daily life in colonial New England.

After hundreds of years of being lived in, the Harlow House remains a welcoming place for children and families to explore the past. Tours and educational programs are offered seasonally. A series of festive special events is held at the site each year, including a range of craft demonstrations and the annual Pilgrim Breakfast, a traditional New England repast featuring fish cakes, baked beans and corn bread. The Sgt. William Harlow Family Association holds a gathering for descendants of original settler William Harlow at the historic homestead every summer.

- Plymouth Antiquarian Society
http://www.plymouthantiquariansociety.org

From an old resource(MD, 3:109), he (and presumably his first two wives) is buried at Burial Hill in Plymouth,MA. This may be an assumption made based on the fact that he had been thought to have built his homestead there in 1677 which included timbers from the old Burial Hill fort. In 2011, a contributor reported the following problem in response to a photo request that had been made: "I located the grave where William Harlow who died 1691 is buried, and unfortunately there is a stone broken face up on the ground and it seems it has been like this for some time. The stone is illegible and I cannot say that it is his. I could not find evidence of name or dates on it." But it should be noted that, at this point in time, historians in Plymouth solidly agree that no there are no other burials from the 1600's at Burial Hill aside from the handful that have been documented. As far as a person finding a illegible gravestone on the hill which was on the ground, there are many.

The Harlow Old Fort House was originally located on Court street, it is now located on Sandwich street in Plymouth. William Harlow salvaged materials from the Pilgrim's fort on Burial Hill to use in the construction of his new house. He did not build his house on Burial Hill.

- Find-a-Grave

The Harlow Old Fort House is a historic First Period house at 119 Sandwich Street in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Sergeant William Harlow built the house in 1677 using timbers from the Pilgrims' original fort on Burial Hill built in 1621-1622.[2] Harlow received permission to use the timbers after the fort was torn down at the end of King Philip's War in 1677. The Harlow family owned the house for nearly 250 years until the Plymouth Antiquarian Society acquired the building and hired Joseph Everett Chandler to restore the plasterwork in the house. The Antiquarian Society opened it to the public in 1921. In 1974 the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The house is still open to the public and features seventeenth-century re-enactors.

- Wikipedia