| Notes |
- William Bassett was possibly the son of William Bassett of Bethnal
Green, London. A William Bassett was baptized at Stepney, England on 24 Oct
1600. Our William came over on the ship Fortune in 1621; settled fir
Plymouth, then in Duxbury, and finally in Bridgewater, of which town he was an
original proprietor. He died there in 1667. He was comparatively wealth
being a large land holder, only four in Plymouth paying a higher tax in the
year 1633. He had a large library. In 1648, he was fined five shillings for
neglecting "to mend guns in seasonable times" - an offense of not a very
heinous character - but is shows that he was a mechanic as well as a planter.
His name is on the earliest list of freeman, made in 1633; he was a
volunteer in the company raised in 1637, to assist Massachusetts and
Connecticut in the Pequod War; a member of the committee of the town of
Duxbury to lay out bounds, and to decide on the fitness of persons applying to
become residents and was representative to the Old Colony Court six years. His
son William settled in Sandwich; was there in 1651, and is the ancestor of the
families of that name in that town, and of some of the families in Barnstable
and Dennis. His son, Colonel William Bassett, was Marshall of Plymouth Colony
at the time of the union with Massachusetts, and in 1710, one of the judges of
the Interior Court, and afterwards Register of Probate.
When William Bassett died, he left books by Robinson and Ainsworth, a
concordance, commentaries, sermons, and religious histories.
There is no evidence to link our William Bassett with the Willi
Bassett of Leyden who married (1) Cecelia Leight before 1611. He is listed a
widower when he married (2) Margaret Oldham on 13 May 1611 in Leyden, Holland.
Our William married (1) Elizabeth, possibly a Tilden, most likely in
1623 after the ship Ann arrived in Plymouth. Elizabeth was the mother of all
of his children. Elizabeth died before 1650. He married (2) Mary (Tilde
Lapham, widow of Thomas Lapham and daughter of Nathaniel and Lydia (Huckstepp)
Tilden, sometime after 1651.
ESTATE OF WILLIAM BASSETT
INVENTORY OF ESTATE OF WILLIAM BASSETT
May the 12 anno. domini 1667
An Inventory taken of the moveable goods of William Basse
Bridgewater, deceased.
It a payr billowes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-10-
It an anvill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-00-
It a vice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10-
It the tongs hammers beckhorne . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-10-
It al the rest of Small shopp Tools . . . . . . . . . 4-00-
It Answorth on 5 books moses . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-06-
It Ursiuns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-10-
It more to books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-10-
It a comentary on romans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-10-
It a concordance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-16-
It a commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-12-
Wilson on the romans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-10-
Mayer on 4 evangelists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-10-
Rogers his seven treteses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-08-
Haris on the beatituds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-07-
wilsons dixsonary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-08-
Knights concordance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-08-
Mayers exposition of diffcultys of . . . . . . . . . . 0-05-
to small books against prelassy . . . . . . . . . . . 0-04-
weemses explanation of ceremonial law . . . . . . . . 0-07-
dike on deceitfulness of the hart . . . . . . . . . . 0-03-
mR Robinsons observations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-02-
a tretise of precious faith . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-02-
a parcel of small books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-08-
a mare and colt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-00-
3 cowes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-10-
to steers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-00-
one Hiefer and a steer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-00-
Three yearlings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-05-
a sow & seven shots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-05-
A rugg and fether bed & bolsters and sheets . . . . . 6-00-
mor and other smal fether bed boster & covering . . . 2-05-
more another rugg and fether bed and bolster
sheets and pillowes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10-
to pillowes to blankets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-15-
a parcell of flax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-05-
cotton yarne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-00-
smal parcel yarn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-07-
9 pounds of sheeps wool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-09-
corne 18 bushels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14-
an oxe hide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-18-
to bushels of malt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-08-
three baggs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-08-
on sadle & bridle & sadle cloth & girts . . . . . . . 1-10-
a panel.. & girt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-07-
a cart rope & halter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-05-
a horse harnes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-04-
Cow bels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-03-
nails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-15-
to payr of scales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-08-
old hogsheeds & tubs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-04-
------
84-11-
Pewter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-00-
three pots and pot hooks & skillet . . . . . . . . . . 1-00-
Iron mortar pot hangers Smothing Iron tongs and
fier shovel and spil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-14-
a candlestick & gridiron & fram of skillet . . . . . . 0-09-
howes and axes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-15-
Plow Irons & chaines rop ring & staple . . . . . . . . 1-18-
Cart & wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-02-
four guns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-05-
four forks & tu rakes a spade & tu shovels . . . . . . 0-09-
three weges & a wheel and wheelbarrow . . . . . . . . 0-10-
a parcell of hemp and tu braks . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-17-
a grindstone with his Iron hanging . . . . . . . . . . 0-18-
trayes a smal ketle & barrels & tubs . . . . . . . . . 1-16-
a Cheese press sives & sifting troughs payls and
half bushell & winding blades & hunk . . . . . . . . . 0-17-
in mony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-11-
powder bullets & horne & hemp hichel . . . . . . . . . 0-12-
a cutlesse warming pan & frying pan . . . . . . . . . 1-00-
a suite & cloak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-00-
more one suite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-12-
another suite & cloak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10-
a troopers coat & doblet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-03-
old cloathes and stockens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-05-
foure shirts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-00-
apeice of stufe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-00-
gloves caps and bands & neckcloths . . . . . . . . . . 0-15-
pillow beers napkins old linen . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-10-
shewes & hats & a carpet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-04-
cheasts chaires and table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-00-
a parcell of books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-00-
to Thwart sawes agers steeles sithes sneads . . . . . 1-00-
ropes & baskets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-02-
some small triviall things happyly forgotten . . . . . 0-05-00
The Inventory made by William Bre
John Willis
Mary ye relict of the bove sd William Bassett tooke oath this 25 of
May (67) before me Thomas Hinckley Asst.
THE FORTUNE
The actual second boat to Plymouth was the 55 ton Fortune. It arrived
at Cape Cod on Nov. 11, 1621 with "35 persons to remaine and live in ye
plantation." Under command of Thomas Barton, master, she had left London in
July.
The pilgrim fathers and mothers were settling in for another long,
cold winter. They didn't expect another boat until spring. When the Fortune's
tall white mainsail was seen off Cape Cod the nervous colonists thought it was
a French raiding party come down from Canada to make mischie
Governor William Bradford convened a council of war. Defense chief
Miles Standish, "the little chimney easily fired," mustered "every man, yea
boy, that could handle a gun" and ordered the 1,500 pound cannon on Fort Hill
to thunder out a warning shot.
As the Fortune tacked into Plymouth harbor, the settlers were
surprised and relieved to see her run up the red cross of England, this being
in the days before Scotland's cross of Andrew was added to the Union Jack.
Plymouth's sturdy little shallop, a tiny fishing vessell, brought ashore 35
new settlers, all in good health, "which did not a little rejoyce them
The welcome mat frayed a bit when it was learned that the penny
pinching Merchant Adventurers, the Colony's underwriter in London, had sent
the Fortune out with no provisions..."not so much as bisket cake or any
victialls," little bedding beyond "some sorry things" in their cabins, and
neither "pot nor pan to dresse any meate in."
Like those who crossed on the Mayflower, not all on the Fortune had
come to the New World seeking religious freedom. Only 12 were listed in
Plymouth's company of "saints," Separatist followers of Robert "Trouble
Church" Browne, a famous and fiesty dissenter from the Church of England.
The "saints" on the second boatload included such names as William
Bassett, Jonathan Brewster, William Wright, Thomas Morton, Austin Nicholas and
14 year old Thomas Cushman, who was adopted by Governor Bradford and grew up
to become Plymouth's ruling elder.
The rest were "strangers" - artisans and craftsmen sent over by the
sponsoring adventurers to make the colony viable enough to send fur and timber
back to England for profit. Included among them were Stephen Deane, a miller;
vintner William Hilton; Robert Hicks, a dealer in hides; armorer William Pitt;
carriage maker Thomas Prence, who later became governor; and, "fellmonger"
Clement Briggs, also a dealer in skins.
There was also a John Adams-a family name that was to leave an
indelible mark on the new continent- and William Conner, who might have been
Irish and either died or left the colony a few years later.
Besides the "lusty yonge men, and many of them wild enough," the
Fortune also carried four women, among them Martha "Goodwife" Ford who, the
journals report, was "delivered of a sonne the first night she landed, and
both are doing very well."
The newcomers found a tidy, tiny town rising along "a very swee
brooke under a hillside." There were 11 buildings along Leyden Street, seven
private dwellings and four common houses for stores, arms and bachelors.
Plymouth had made peace with a half dozen neighboring Indian tribes, had
celebrated its first harvest and witnessed its first marriage, between Susanna
Fuller White, a widow of three months, and Edward Winslow, a widower of less
than two months.
The colony had also witnessed its first and last duel, between Edward
Dotey and Edward Leister.
The little corn field on the hill behind the meeting house hid the
graves of more than half the 101 passengers who alighted from the Mayflower.
After surviving that first bitter winter and a spring epidem
scurvy and pneumonia, "when they were but six or seven sound persons" to work
the fields and put up the buildings, the Plymouth settlers were shocked to
learn that Robert Cushman arrived on the Fortune with an insulting letter from
Thomas Weston, speaking for the adventurers. It berated the colonists f
keeping the Mayflower too long and sending her back empty. The letter also
accused them of "weakness" and squandering their time in "discoursing, arguing
and consulting".
They swallowed the insults and loaded the Fortune with beaver a
otter pelts, bartered with the Indians for cheap trinkets, and stuffed as much
hardwood timber, wainscoting and "good clapboard" as they could into the
ship's hold.
The Fortune set sail on its return trip to England Dec. 13, just over
a month after arriving, only to fall into the hands of French pirates, who
hijacked the cargo and stripped the ship of everything of value on boar
including her sheet anchor. They left the passengers, including Robert Cushman
who had left his son behind in Plymouth, with not a "hat to their heads or a
shoe to their feet."
The new colonists from the Fortune were on hand for the second
Thanksgiving feast at Plymouth in 1622.
The Thanksgiving celebration, then usually held in October, was
repeated almost every year thereafter in the Plymouth Colony and soon became a
tradition throughout New England.
Thanksgiving moved west in the covered wagon era and became a national
holiday in 1863, when a war weary President Abraham Lincoln set aside the last
Thursday in November as a time for public thanksgiving.
(The above story from THE SECOND BOAT MAGAZINE, May 1982)
|
Bassett Family Association Database
- 1667