Chris & Julie Petersen's Genealogy

Nathaniel Phelps

Male 1625 - 1702  (~ 77 years)


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  • Name Nathaniel Phelps 
    Christened 6/06 Mar 1624/5  Crewkerne, Somerset, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Died 27 May 1702  Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID I2079  Petersen-de Lanskoy
    Last Modified 27 May 2021 

    Father William Phelps,   b. Abt 1593, of Crewkerne, Somerset, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 14 Jul 1672, Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 79 years) 
    Mother Mary or Marie,   b. Abt 1599, of Crewkerne, Somerset, England Find all individuals with events at this location,   bur. 13 Aug 1626, Crewkerne, Somerset, England Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 27 years) 
    Married Bef 1618  of Crewkerne, Somerset, England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F1207  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Elizabeth Copley,   b. Abt 14 Feb 1629, , , England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 6 Dec 1712, Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 83 years) 
    Married 17 Sep 1650  Windsor, Hartford, Connecticut, United States Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Last Modified 28 May 2021 
    Family ID F1250  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • RESEARCH_NOTES:
      1. From the book "Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-33":
      "William Phelps:
      Origin: Crewkerne, Somersetshire Migration: 1630 on Mary & John First Residence: Dorchester Removes: Windsor 1635... Birth: By about 1593 based on estimated date of marriage. Death: Windsor 14 July 1672 ("Old Mr. William Phelps died" [Births Marriages and Deaths Returned from Hartford, Windsor and Fairfield and Entered in the Early Land Records of the Colony of Connecticut..., Edwin Stanley Welles, ed. (Hartford 1898), hereinafter refered to as CTVR, 27]). Marriage: (1) By 1618 Mary ____, who was buried at Crewkerne 13 August 1626. (2) Crewkerne 14 November 1626 Anne Dover. "Mistress Phelps" was the first on the list of women members of the church at Dorchester who came with Mr. Warham to Windsor ["Matthew Grant Record, 1639-1681" in Some Early Records and Documents of and Relating to the Town of Windsor, Connecticut, 1639-1703 (Hartford 1930) hereinafter refered to as "Matthew Grant Record, 1639-1681" 9]. She died Windsor 30 August 1689 ("Mrs. An Phelps died" [CTVR 57]). Children:
      With first wife
      i William, bp. Crewkerne 9 September 1618; m. (1) Windsor 4 June 1645 Isabel Wilson ["Matthew Grant Record, 1639-1681" 55; The American Genealogist, Volume 9 to present (1932+) 52:78]; m. (2) Windsor 20 December 1676 Sarah Pinney ["Matthew Grant Record, 1639-1681" 72].
      ii Samuel, bp. Crewkerne 5 August 1621; m. Windsor 10 November 1650 Sarah Griswold ["Matthew Grant Record, 1639-1681" 55].
      iii Infant, bur. Crewkerne 8 January 1623[/4].
      iv Nathaniel, bp. Crewkerne 6 March 1624[/5]; m. Windsor 17 September 1650 Elizabeth (____) Copley ["Matthew Grant Record, 1639-1681" 55].
      With second wife
      v Cornelius, bp. Crewkerne 13 October 1627; no further record.
      vi Joseph (twin), bp. Crewkerne 13 November 1628; m. (1) Windsor 20 September 1660 Hannah Newton ["Matthew Grant Record, 1639-1681" in Some Early Records and Documents of and Relating to the Town of Windsor, Connecticut, 1639-1703 (Hartford 1930) 57; The American Genealogist, Volume 9 to present (1932+) 65:13-16]; m. (2) Northampton 19 December 1676 Mary (____) Salmon [Manuscript volume of vital records kept by John Pynchon, at Connecticut Valley Historical Museum 20].
      vii Mary (twin), bp. Crewkerne 13 November 1628; d. soon.
      viii Mary, bp. Crewkerne 6 December 1629; no further record.
      ix Sarah, b. say 1632; m. Windsor 9 June 1658 William Wade [Loomis 1:63].
      x Timothy, b. Windsor Aug. or 1 September 1639 ["Matthew Grant Record, 1639-1681" 55]; m. Windsor 19 March 1661[/2?] Mary Griswold ["Matthew Grant Record, 1639-1681" 56].
      xi Mary, b. March 1644 ["Matthew Grant Record, 1639-1681" 55]; m. Windsor 17 December 1663 Thomas Barber ["Matthew Grant Record, 1639-1681" 25]. Comments: In 1919 Mary Lovering Holman prepared a brief account of the family of William Phelps [Mary Lovering Holman, The Scott Genealogy.... (Boston 1919), 252-53]. In 1990 Myrtle S. Hyde resolved the problem of the identity of the wives of William Phelps and was also able to find the baptisms of his children in England [The American Genealogist, 65:161-66]. All the Crewkerne records cited above are taken from her article."

      2. Mentioned in father's will per the book "The Phelps Family of America and their English Ancestors," comp. by Oliver Seymour Phelps of Portland, Oregon and Andrew T. Servin of Lenox, Massachusetts, 1899, pp. 72-85:
      "The following is the last Will and Testament of Mr. William Phelps, or properly speaking, his Settlement Deed. From Windsor Records,
      'These presents testify, that I, William Phelps, of Windsor, on Connecticut, in consideration of a marriage concluded between my son Timothy, on the one part, and Mary, the daughter of Edward Griswold, on the other; have given and granted, and by these presents do give and grant unto my son, that he, the said Timothy, shall jointly enjoin and possess, together with me, all my houseing, lands and accommodations, as also all my estate, both real and personal, both within door and without, with all the property emoluments, products, and income of the same, during my material life; And my said son is to inhabit and dwell in my house, with me and my wife, in joint way; and that it shall continue during my material life; and if my wife shall survive me, she have and enjoy in a joint way with my son the estate for her maintenance as before expressed. But if my wife chooses to settle in any place and to leave the house, then my son shall pay yearly to my wife, the sum of ten pounds during her material life, and in case I myself in my life time, or my wife after my decease, in her lifetime while she abides, to inhabit with my said son Timothy, she see cause or desire it, I do reserve power both for myself and for her, after my decease to dispose a barrel or two of cider and some apples yearly, without any harm to the premises, and likewise I do reserve like liberty for myself and my wife, to dispose of my wearing apparel, and whom we shall meet to enjoy them after our decease. Also I do give full power of bequeathing the great brass pan at her decease; and my son Timothy is to carry the improvements of the whole Estate, and to order and dispose of the stock, so far as the necessity of our subsistance shall require, and after my decease and the decease of my wife, my said son Timothy shall have and enjoy all my whole estate fore mentioned to him and his heirs forever, always provided that in case my said son Timothy shall die and leave no natural heirs begotten by him, that shall either not attain the age of twenty-one years or marry, then the one-half of my lands exempting the orchard and pasture down to the bridge, that goeth into the meadow; also the upper pasture by the house that shall belong to the house, shall return to 'william, the son of my son Samuel. Also my son Timothy is to pay out of the estate: Imprimis to discharge my daughter Mary, with that which is paid, the sum of 34 pounds, which is the full portion I allow her. To my son William twenty shillings, to Samuel ten pounds, to Nathaniel fifteen pounds, to Joseph five pounds - these legacies to my sons to be discharged within two years of my decease. In consideration of the premises we both have hereunto set our hands this 22nd day of April Anno Dom. 1660. Witness to the signatures: Daniel Clark, James Alford, William Phelps, Timothy Phelps. Entered o the Windsor, Conn., Register, July 26th, 1672'."

      3. The book "The Phelps Family of America and their English Ancestors," comp. by Oliver Seymour Phelps of Portland, Oregon and Andrew T. Servin of Lenox, Massachusetts, 1899, pp. 88-89:
      "Nathaniel Phelps, b. England, about 1627, emigrated to New England with his father, in ship Mary and John, settling with his father in Dorchester, removing to Windsor, Ct., in 1635-6, where he m. Elizabeth Copley, 17 Sep 1650. She was an English lady.
      Says the Hon. James H. Phelps of Townshend, Vt., a descendant of the family of Elizabeth Copley, in England was the celebrated artist, John Copley, father of Lord Lyndhurst, who on the 30th of April, 1827, became Lord Chancellor of England.' Lord Lyndhurst appears to have no knowledge of this connection, as may be seen from his letter herewith attached. As this connection must be traced back over 200 years, here is no reason to doubt the same. Mrs. Phelps died in Northampton, Mass., 6 Dec 1712, some ten years after her husband. Her will probated in Northampton, Vol. II, 1678-1716. Reference is made to her sons Nathaniel and William Phelps, who are to have the land her husband left her, to be divided equally between them. Her homestead also to be divided between them, Nathaniel to have the side he lives in, and William the other side. To Abigal 50 pounds; to the children of Matthew and Mary Closson 5 pound each; to her son-in-law, Matthew Closson, 10 shillings; to Thomas Copley 3 pounds; to Samuel and John Lankton 20 shillings each.
      Mr. Phelps resided on the Orton place opposite his father's homestead, which he purchased of his brother Samuel. Here he resided up to 1656-7, when he remvoed with part of his family to Northampton, Mass., one of his first settlers. Says Stiles: 'He was a pious man of good intellect, and of a sound, discriminating judgment - was one of the first deacons of the N. Church. His homestead was occupied by him for 43 years, and by his descendants until 1835.' His homestead comprised the land which was over fifty years ago occupied by Miss Margaret Dwight's school, and which at a later date was a College Institute of J.J. Dudley, Esq., and which is now Shady Lawn. the old homestead stood a few rods north of that edifice. (Clark's Northampton Antiquity).
      Although Mr. Phelps, removed to Northampton in 1656-7, we find him paying slip rent in Windsor 4 Jan 1659.
      8 Feb 1679, Dea. Nathaniel Phelps, with his sons Nathaniel Jr. and William, took the oath of allegiance before Worshipful Maj. Pynchon.
      11 May 1681, he was made a freeman by the General Court at Boston.
      He died in Northampton 27 May 1702, aged 75 years, honored and respected.
      His children were:
      I. Mary, b. Windsor, Ct., 21 Jun 1651, m. Matthew Closson.
      II. Nathaniel, b. Windsor, Ct., 2 Jun 1653, m. Grace Martin.
      III. Abigail, b. Windsor, Ct., 5 Apr 1655, d. aged 101 yrs, 4 mos. 11 days, m. John Alverd. No issue.
      IV. William, b. Northampton, Mass., 22 Jun 1657, m. Abigail Stebbins.
      V. Thomas, b. Northampton, Mass., 20 May 1661, d. unmarried.
      VI. Mercy, b. Northampton, Mass., 16 Mar 1662, d. 15 Jul 1662."

      4. Henry R. Stiles, "The History and Genealogies of Ancient Windsor, Connecticut," 1892, v. 2, p. 565: "Nathaniel (Dea.) (son of William), m. 17 Sep 1650 (O.C.R.) Elizabeth Copley, 'an Englishwoman'; res. in Windsor on the Orton place near his father, but removed 1656 or '7 to Northampton, Mass.; was one of its founders; was regarded as a pious man, of good intellect, and of a sound discriminating judgment; was one of the first deacons of the N. Church. His homestead was occupied by him for 43 years and by his descendants until 1835; the last owner sold and removed to Ohio. This homestead 'comprised the land which was, over 50 years ago, occupied by Miss Margaret Dwight's school, and which at a later date was the College Instit. of J.H. Dudley, Esq., and what is now Shady Lawn. The old homestead stood a few rods N. of that edifice.' - 'Clark's Northampton Antiquities.'
      Dea. Nathaniel Phelps d. 27 May 1702; his widow d. 6 Dec 1712. It has been said that she descended from the same family as the celebrated artist John Coply, father of Lord Lyndhurst; but the statement lacks corroboration. Her will (N. Prob. Rec.) divides house and lands equally between her sons Nath'l and Wm.; to her dau. Abigail ₤50; to ch. of Matthew and Mary Closson, ₤5 each; to her son-in-law, Matthew Closson, 10s.; to Thomas Coply, ₤3; and to Samuel and John Lankton, 20s. each.
      8 Feb 1678, Dea. Nathaniel, with his sons Nathaniel and William, took the oath of allegiance before Worshipful Major Pynchon; 11 May 1681, he was made a freeman by Gen. Ct. at Boston. Children (the first 3 born at Windsor, the rest at Northampton):
      A. Mary, b. 21 Jun 1651 (O.C.R.); m. 12 Dec 1670 at N., Matthew Closson, an irishman, servant of one of the early settlers of N.; had 10 ch., of whom but 4 lived to adult age; their eldest was b. in N.; they removed to Deerfield abt. 1672, where many of their descendants are now found amoung the most respectable families of D.
      B. Nathaniel (Dea.), b. 2 Apr 1653. - O.C.R.
      C. Abigail, b. 5 Apr 1655 (O.C.R); m. John Alvord.
      D. William, b. 22 Jun 1657, 'at Northampton' (O.C.R.); m. Abigail Stebbins.
      E. Thomas, b. 20 May 1661; d. young, unmd.
      F. Mercy, b. 16 May 1662; d. 15 Jul 1662."

      5. Henry R. Stiles, "The History and Genealogies of Ancient Windsor, Connecticut," 1892, v. 2, pp. 563-65, has the following information, but I omit the first part which states he was born in 1599 in Tewkesbury in County Gloucester and married Elizabeth since this is not regarded as being correct as explained in notes above: "William... came to Dorchester, Mass., with Rev. Mr. Warham, of whose church, formed in Plymouth, England, he was an original member. - Old Church Records. He was accompanied hither by his wife and five children... He was from the first a prominent and highly respected citizen at Dorchester, his name frequently occurring in the "Mass. Records." 19 Oct 1630, he applied to be made a freeman; 9 Nov 1630, he was one of the jury empaneled for the trial of Walter Palmer for the murder of Austin Brotchus - the first trial by jury in New England; 27 Sep 1631, he was appointed Constable of Dorchester; 4 Mar 1634, Ens. Gibbs and Wm. Felps were appointed by the Genreral Court to go with a committee of three to arrange the borders between Boston and Dorchester, and explain what each town wants; 5 May 1635, he was a member of the General Court of Massachusetts from Dorchester. In the spring of 1636 he removed with his children (his wife having died in Dorchester) to Windsor, whither his brother George is understood to have preceded him, in the first emigration of Mr. Warham's church in the fall of 1635.
      In Windsor, as in Dorchester, he ranked as an honored and active citizen; was a member of the first court held in Connecticut, 1636; also in 1637, which declared war against the Pequots; was a magistrate from 1638 to the close of 1642; foreman of the first Grand Jury 1643; deputy to Gen. Ct. 1645, '46-'49, '51, '57; in 1658 was again made magistrate and held the office for 4 years after; is frequeintly named on the petit jury; in 1641 was appointed together with Mr. Welles of Hartford a committee on 'lying'. He was an excellent, pious, and upright man in his public and private life, and was truly 'a pillar in church and state.' His residence in Windsor was about three-quarters of a mile N.W. of Broad St on the road to Poquonock, on a place owned (1859) by Dea. Roger Phelps.
      He m. (2) at Windsor, Mary Dover, b. in England, and who is said to have been a fellow passenger with him on the 'Mary and John.' She was a member of original church of Dorchester and Windsor. - O.C.R.
      After a residence of 42 years in New England, ow which 36 where passed in Windsor, he died there 14 Jul 1672; his widow d. 27 Nov 1675. - O.C.R.
      In the Old Church Records and other Windsor records, Mr. Phelps was distinguished from his son William as 'Ould Mr. Phelps.' children (by first marriage, born in England):
      A. William, b. abt. 1620 (in a deposition taken at Hartford 29 May 1677, is mentioned as being about threescore years of age - i.e. b. 1617); removed from Dorchester with his father to Windsor where he was admitted to member of Windsor church 17 Nov 1639. - O.C.R. He m. (1) Isabel Wilson, 4 Jun 1645, 'now since 29 years and has had no child,' 15 Jul 1674 (O.C.R.); she admitted to Windsor 11 Mar 1654 (O.C.R.); d.s.p. He m. (2) Sarah (dau. Humphrey) Pinney, 20 Dec 167 (O.C.R.); she was b. 19 Nov, bp. 3 Dec 1648; he sett. one-third of his ppy. on her before marriage; no issue by her. He was made a freeman at Hartford 1669; d. 7 Feb 1681; contrib. 9 s. to Conn. Fund for Relief of Poor of other Cols., 1676. His noncupative will, dated 10 Feb 1681 gives all his land to his bro. Timothy. (He had land near his father, and his homestead on the N. side of the E. and W. road which ran from Josiah Ellsworth's {late Peter Brown's} house to the Rivulet. It was garrisoned in King Philip's War (1675/6) by details of Windsor men. William,. Jr. was a worthy man, tho' not a conspicuous figure as compared with his father. He had one of his wife's nephew's, Samuel Wilson, reside with him, and possibly (O.C.R.) adopted him. He gave him land on the opp. side of road form his own house. In making Sarah Pinney his second wife he executed a jointure before marriage, giving her much of his property, and a controversy arose, after the death of 'William the younger,' concerning this land, between her and the adopted son. William Phelps owned the W. part of the Ellison-Orton lot, 40 rods on highway, and bought of Sam. Pond 11 rods more, ext'g from his ho.-lot S. 51 rods of present ditch which drained the once swamp W. of old highway. - J.H.H.)
      B. Sarah, b. abt. 1623; m. Windsor 9 Jun 1658 Wm. Wade of Middletown, Conn.; she d. 10 Jul 1659; s.p.
      C. Samuel, b. abt. 1625.
      D. Nathaniel, b. abt. 1627.
      E. Joseph, b. abt. 1629.
      By second marriage:
      F. Timothy, 'was born here in Aug. 1639' - O.C.R.
      G. Mary, 'was born here March 1644'; m. Thos. Barber; sett. at Simsbury and became the ancestors of the S. Barbers."

      6. "The American Genealogist," 68(Jul 1990):161-166, "The English Origin of William1 Phelps of Dorchester, Mass., and Windsor, Conn., with Notes on His Marriages," by Myrtle Stevens Hyde:
      "William1 Phelps of Dorchester, Mass., and Windsor, Conn....
      Children (Phelps) of William1, prob. by his apparent first wife Mary (___), bp. Crewkerne, co. Somerset...
      iv. Nathaniel bp. 6 March 1624[/5], d. Northampton, Mass., 27 May 1702 (James Edward Buckman, comp., "Northampton Deaths," in Forbes Library, Northampton, p. 13); m. Windsor 17 Sept. 1650 widow Elizabeth COPLEY (Windsor Early Recs. p. 55; see NEHGR 64[1910]:248 fn.). For his probate, see Hampshire Co., Mass., PR 3:93-94..."

      7. The publication "Search for the Passengers of the "Mary & John" 1630," by Burton W. Spear (Toledo, OH; The Mary & John Clearing House, 1989-2004), 15:52, "More on the Possible Wives of William Phelps":
      "Until 1982 it was generally accepted that William Phelps of Windsor, CT was bpt. 19 Aug. 1599, in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, son of William and Dorothy Phelps. However, in The American Genealogist, volume 58, p. 243-244 (1982) Myrtle Stevens Hyde wrote an article that revealed this William Phelps was no doubt the overseer of the will of his uncle, Edward Phelps, in 1637 in England.
      In 1988, during the second "Mary & John" tour to England, I visited the Somerset Record Office in Taunton and copied the following records from the original registers for Crewkerne. These were published in the Search series, Vol. 11, p. 24:
      Children of William Phelps:
      William Phelps, bpt. 9 Sept. 1618 (He married in 1645).
      Samuel Phelps, bpt. 10 Aug. 1621 (He married in 1650).
      Nathaniel Phelps, bpt. 11 May 1624 (He married in 1650).
      Cornelius Phelps, bpt. 13 Oct. 1627 (He married in 1660).
      There was also another entry:
      William Phelps m. Ann Dover, 14 Nov. 1626.
      If the above William Phelps was the one at Windsor, CT, then this was a second marriage. Up to now the name of his first wife has never been proven. There was a marriage of a William Phelps to Anne Law in Broadwindsor, Dorset (5 m. S of Crewkerne) in 1618 (no day or month listed). This is the same year that William, Jr., the first known child of William, was born.
      Also, it has long been claimed, but not proven, that there was a Mary Dover on the "Mary & John" in 1630, and she married William Phelps about 1638, as his last wife, but this has now been challenged.
      In another article by Myrtle Stevens Hyde, in The American Genealogist, July 1990, p. 161-166, she published some additional parish entries found in Crewkerne:
      Infant of William Phelps, bu. 8 Jan. 1623/4. ,
      Marie, wife of William Phelps, bu. 13 Aug. 1626. NOTE: This is three months and a day before William Phelps m. Ann Dover.
      Joseph Phelps, son of William Phelps, bpt. 13 Nov. 1628. (He married in 1660). Mary Phelps, dau. of William Phelps, bpt. 13 Nov. 1628 (Same day as Joseph). (NOTE: She may have d.y. because another was named Mary the next year).
      Mary Phelps, dau. of William Phelps, bpt. 6 Dec. 1629. NOTE: There is no other record of this Mary and he named another dau. Mary, in 1644. This was only three months before the family sailed for New England so she must have d.y., possibly at sea.
      From these new Crewkerne entries, Myrtle Stevens Hyde suggests that:
      1. William Phelps m. (1) Mary ___ who was bu. 13 Aug. 1626.
      2. He m. (2) Ann Dover, 14 Nov. 1626.
      3. No record has been found for the death of a wife of William Phelps in the 1630's or a record of a marriage to a Mary Dover.
      4. Finally, she suggests there was no Mary Dover or another marriage in New England. She suggests the names of his wives, (1) Mary ___, and (2) Ann Dover, became confused. If this is true, then his unnamed widow, who died, 21 Nov. 1675, was Ann Dover and not Mary Dover."