HATCH, Jonathan b. 7 Sep 1625 Aller, Dorsetshire, England d. 10 Dec 1710 Falmouth, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States

1625 - 1710 (85 years)

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Name	HATCH, Jonathan
Birth	7 Sep 1625	Aller, Dorsetshire, England
Christening	7 Sep 1625	Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States
Gender	Male
Burial	Dec 1710
Death	10 Dec 1710	Falmouth, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States
WAC	11 Sep 1886
_TAG	Reviewed on FS
Headstones	Submit Headstone Photo
Person ID	I28130	Joseph Smith Sr and Lucy Mack Smith
Last Modified	19 Aug 2021

Family ID F15595 Group Sheet | Family Chart

Family	ROWLEY, Sarah , b. 11 Aug 1625, Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United Statesd. 17 Dec 1710, Falmouth, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States (Age 85 years)
Marriage	11 Apr 1646	England
Family ID	F15594	Group Sheet \| Family Chart
Last Modified	24 Jan 2022

Photos At least one living or private individual is linked to this item - Details withheld.

At least one living or private individual is linked to this item - Details withheld.

Notes

When Jonathan Hatch was born on September 7, 1625, in Sandwich, Kent, England, his father, Thomas, was 22 and his mother, Grace, was 23. He married Sarah Rowley on April 11, 1646, in Barnstable, Massachusetts. They had 12 children in 21 years. He died on December 10, 1710, in Falmouth, Massachusetts, having lived a long life of 85 years, and was buried there.

Early Town Resident will get Gravestone
by Hugh R. McCartney April 16, 1991

Jonathan Hatch was one of the first inhabitants of the town of Falmouth more than 300 years ago. His remains lie with others among early residents of the town in the Old Burying Ground off Mill Road. For some reason, Mr. Hatch's grave, if ever properly marked, has no headstone now. On May 25 this oversight will be corrected. Falmouth selectmen made it official with a vote at their town hall meeting on Monday. Selectmen received a letter from the Falmouth Historical society above the signature of program chairman George W. Wood.

“The Falmouth Historical Society hereby requests permission from the appropriate town authorities, “
Mr. Wood opened his letter to the selectmen, “for the ******** of a headstone marking the grave of Jonathan Hatch in the town-owned burying ground off Mill Road.

“Jonathan Hatch is reputed to be the first inhabitant of the town of Falmouth, and although his grave has been located in the Old Burying Ground, it has not been properly marked,” Mr. Wood said. He explained to selectmen that upon returning to Michigan, Mr. Hatch wrote a letter to the historical society, “offering to pay for the ******** of a headstone in the style and material similar to other headstones of the era, provided the necessary permission can be obtained.”

Mr. Wood said the historical society's board of directors “considered the matter and supports Mr. Hatch's request.”

“Indeed, if arrangements can be completed, the Society would like to organize a brief unveiling ceremony on, perhaps, May 25 that might include comments by a minister, a spokesman for the town, an historian and Mr. Robert Hatch,” Mr.Wood said

This information came from Beryl Hatch Taylor in an email, and she said “Im going to write to Robert Hatch to see if he has a copy of the “comment”. All these little pieces are very interesting to me.

Hatch, Jonathan
1625-1710
"Hatch Genealogy" page 8-20

Jonathan Hatch, (Thomas), From all that we learn of him, Jonathan Hatch, whose descendants we shall follow, was a man of great energy and force of character with a decided will of his own which brooked no unseemly restraints.

He was pioneer in the march of civilization in the stirring times of the early history of New England, a man of daring enterprise and romantic adventure, only a part of which is known to us now.

He was born in England about 1625 and came to Mass. Bay Colony with his father in 1634. Even as a boy he was a lad of spirit and perhaps somewhat willful and disinclined to conform to all the austerities and restrictions of the intolerant age in which he lived. The most of his early struggles with society came from this cause and not from any natural depravity in the boy or man and from the further circumstance that as a boy his lot was cast largely among strangers where he was deprived of the loving counsel of good friends.

The theory has been advanced and with apparent good reason, that his father's wife Grace was a second wife, and not the mother of Jonathan and his sister Lydia, and that she and the children did not get along well together as a reason why the children did not apparently live much at their father's house.

At that time in Plymouth and Mass. Bay Colonies it was the custom of those who assumed leadership in any community to look askance and with disfavor upon any one who had no regular occupation or permanent place of abode. Such persons were the subjects of special attention and closely watched and either ordered out of town or appointed by the Court of Town Meeting to reside with some family of known probity to watch over them and keep them employed and out of mischief.

This was due partly to the austerity of the time, and the responsibility of training the twig as the tree should stand, but partly also to the fact that in their hand to hand conflict with the wilderness and the savages the colonists could not afford to have any impecunious person come into town who might become a public charge on the community or set a bad example for others. Sobriety, industry and frugality were prime virtues at that time.

The austerity of the time frowned upon all amusements as a device of the Devil. The Sabbath must be sacredly and religiously observed. They were perhaps too prone to meddle in private affairs and opinions, to put a straight jacket upon everyone's conduct, public and private. Even the clothes one might wear were subject to regulation by Puritan law.

But with at their drabness and austerity perhaps we should not judge those stern old Puritans too harshly. They were human and had their faults but they were a conscientious, God-fearing race, sternly doing their duty as they saw it, erring sometimes doubtless, sometimes in their zeal cruel and intolerant, but always we may well believe actuated by what they conceived to be the good of their religion and their respective communities.

In view of all these circumstances and perhaps also in the belief that the discipline of the soldier would benefit the boy, Jonathan was at about the age of 12 apprenticed to Lieut. Davenport of Salem, Mass.

There is little doubt that the free spirit of Jonathan chafed and fretted under the strictures and discipline of the soldier and perhaps a home-sick longing to be near friends and after serving him for about two years he could endure it no longer and deserted and made his way to Boston with the probable intent of seeking passage by boat to Yarmouth where his father then resided.

A strange boy wandering around the streets and wharves of Boston was, at that time, a sufficiently grave matter to be inquired into. It probably did not take long to ascertain the true state of affairs. Sept. 2, 1640 he was arrested as a fugitive from the service and "was censured to be severely whipped and for the present is committed for a slave to Lieut. Davenport."

But Jonathan did not wait for any whipping nor did he return to Lieut. Davenport. He had a good head and two good legs and the spirit and will to use them and that brought him safely to his father's home at Yarmouth.

Although his conduct in this case could not be justified by the law of that time, we cannot but admire his brave manly spirit in his resistance to the strictures and intolerant spirit of the age and for his courage and daring, boy though he was in striking out for liberty, alone and unaided.

Though he gained his liberty in a practically hostile community and arrived safely in Yarmouth, his troubles did not end there Dec. 1, 1640 Capt. Nicholas Simpkins had him arrested and charged with slandering him. When the case came up for trial in the General Court at Plymouth, Jonathan evidently proved the truth of his charges for Capt. Simpkins was fined 40 shillings and Jonathan was set free.

Still his troubles did not end. His father moved to Barnstable in June, 1641, but Jonathan apparently lived on in Yarmouth earning such a living as he could with no settled occupation or place of residence. That of itself was a sufficient reason why those stern old Puritans of that time should have him under observation. Undoubtedly they did.

March 1, 1642 he was "taken as a vagrant and for his misdemeanors was censured to be whipped and sent from constable to constable to Lieut. Davenport at Salem". His misdemeanors, aside from his desertion from Lieut. Davenport were probably nothing more than the natural disinclination of a spirited and exuberant youth to conform to all the austerities and restrictions of the strict age in which he lived.

The above sentence appears not to have been executed. Jonathan may have protested he would never stay there if sent. Knowing something of the spirit of the lad may have been cause for second thought. At the session of the Court held about a month later, April 5, 1642, this sentence was reconsidered. Jonathan was in Plymouth Colony while Lieut. Davenport was in Mass. Bay Colony. It was held Jonathan could not be sent back into the service of a master residing in another colony. And so Jonathan escaped again. But the Court appointed him to reside with Mr. Stephen Hopkins of Plymouth, who was enjoined to have a special care of him.

Mr. Hopkins died about two years later. In 1644 we find Jonathan in Barnstable where he was on the list of those able to bear arms. In 1645 he was one of four men forming the quota of Barnstable who with men from the other towns went forth Aug. 15 in an expedition against the Harrangansett Indians. They returned Sept. 2 and were disbanded the next day.

April 11, 1646 he married at Barnstable, Miss Sarah Rowley, daughter of Henry Rowley by his first wife Ann, who was widow of Thomas Blossom and daughter of William Palmer, SR., and his wife Frances. William Palmer came to Plymouth Colony in 1621 and in 1639 was one of the original first settlers of Yarmouth. Both Blossom and Palmer were of the Pilgrim element. Ann Palmer married Thomas Blossom in England in 1615 and went with him to Leyden, Holland where they were a part of the Pilgrim settlement. In 1620 they came to Plymouth, England in the Speedwell intending to take passage on the Mayflower for America; but for some reason found it impractical to do so and returned to Leyden, where they formed a part of the Pilgrim group.

While in Leyden, Blossom held some correspondence with Gov. William Bradford of Plymouth Colony and in 1629 he and his wife and son came to Plymouth, Mass. Blossom died soon after and Oct. 17, 1633 his widow married Henry Rowley as his first wife. Their first child was Sarah, who at about the age of 13 married Jonathan Hatch. After marriage, Jonathan lived for some years at West Barnstable.

Oct. 7, 1651 he and Samuel Hinkley, father of Governor Hinkley, were brought before the grand jury on a charge of hiring land from the Indians. Not a very heinous offense it would seem now, but rather as an evidence of their energy and enterprise. But at that time it was felt that enterprises of that kind should be discouraged as likely to lead to misunderstandings and trouble with the Indians.

Feb. 24, 1652 he was appointed one of a commission that was to "choose and lay out a common highway between Plymouth and Sandwich, according to your best judgment where you shall find it most convenient for the country's use," showing that at that time the Court had confidence in his integrity and good judgment. This road was at that time one of the most important roads in the colony.

But Jonathan found it difficult to suppress his natural instinct for trading wherever he found it advantageous and Mar. 2, 1652 he as again before the Grand Jury on a charge of "furnishing an Indian with a gun, powder and shot."

It is probable that heretofore he had worked for others or had farmed land on shares and that he now felt he wanted and was entitled to land of his own and that he applied to the town for a grant of land. At a town meeting held Oct. 27, 1653, it was "ordered that ye land measurers shall lay out Jonathan Hatch land as they shall conceive most convenient for him and least prejudicial to ye other inhabitants who are to have their lots laid out afterwards." It is probable at that time there was not unallotted land except in the outskirts of the town, for his land was laid out to him in quite the southeast part of the town known at that time as "Sepneset on ye South Sea." (Now Lewis Bay.) The Indian name was Sepneset.

After his land had been laid out to him he went there and built a log house and Oct. 7, 1654 moved there with his family. There were 50 acres of upland and a parcel of marsh adjoining and 8 acres of meadow and some land on an island. Feb. 14, 1655 he had the grant of his land recorded and at the same time, probably in answer to questions, expressed his satisfaction of the division of the lands.

All that part of the town was then an unbroken wilderness inhabited only by Indians. The Wigwam of Paup-Mun-Muche, Chief of the Massapees was only a mile away. There were no white settlers within several miles of him for several years. Rather a dreary and dangerous situation one would think. But it was characteristic of the man that no difficulties or dangers daunted him.

It is not known that he had any trouble with the Indians during all the time he resided there. He was friendly with them, traded with them and treated them well. That he was able to get and retain the good will of these wild denizens of the wilderness speaks well for his courage, tact, and good sense. If by his conduct towards them he had excited their hostility they could have done him much harm.

At this time oysters were abundant in the waters near Jonathan's residence at Sepneset and many barrels of them were annually pickled by him and his family and sent to market. The shells of the oysters were burned in kilns into quicklime of a superior quality and for many years all the lime used for building purposes was manufactured from the shells of oysters at this place.

Some time subsequent to the grant of his land at Sepneset he sold one-half his farm (probably an undivided half interest) to Mr. Thomas Shaw. Whether Shaw came there to live does not appear but it would seem not.

At first all the freemen of the Colony met annually at Plymouth in a General Court for transaction of the general business of the Colony. In 1638 a representation of the towns by Deputies was adopted. In 1657 Jonathan took the oath of fidelity, which, was the head of a family and a taxpayer entitled him to vote for Deputies and any other town business though he was not yet a freeman. He was made a freeman later.

It was well known that Jonathan had the good sense to be on friendly terms with the Indians. Perhaps it was sometimes thought he was too friendly with them. In June, 1658 it was proved in Court that an Indian named Repent had threatened to shoot Gov. Prence on his return from Plymouth. Jonathan was also in Court at the same time on suspicion that he had "justified" Repent; but of this there was no proof and he was by the Court admonished and released.

The vacant lands in his vicinity were being settled upon and it is evident Jonathan did not find here in this isolated locality the opportunities to satisfy his enterprising spirit. In the summer of 1659 he went in search of more promising prospects to Martha's Vineyard and elsewhere.

It was about this time that an old Indian Chief, Notantico by name, knowing that Jonathan was a good friend of the Indians and that he was looking for land, freely gave him a tract on that neck of land between Woods Hole and Buzzards Bay, about two or three miles southwest of the present village of Falmouth. Jonathan did not go there to live. It was too far away from even the nearest settlement with no prospect of others coming there for a good while. Years afterwards Jonathan remembered this gift and claimed it as we shall see.

June 7, 1659 "Liberty to purchase land at Succonnesset and adjacent" was granted by the Colony Court to another and different company of seven men, John Howe, Anthony Annabel, Nathaniel Thomas, Samuel Fuller, Abraham Pierce, Peter Blossom and Isaac Robinson. Isaac Robinson was son of John Robinson, the Leyden preacher and a friend of Jonathan Hatch. June 4, 1660, were added to the above purchasers of Socconnesset and places adjacent, Samuel Hinkley, Henry Cobb, John Jenkins, who were of the company which applied June 7, 1659 and Mathew Fuller, John Cooper and John Dunham, all of Barnstable and William Nelson and Thomas Burman (now Bowerman) of Plymouth. The purchase was made of Qua-Cha-tis-set and other Sachems of the Socconnesset and Massapee tribe of Indians.

Here seemed to be the promising prospect that Jonathan was in search of. Here he could be in the midst of things and a part of it. Just what day and month the purchase by the Company was consummated does not appear but that same year (1660) Jonathan Hatch and Isaac Robinson went there and built each of them a log house; whether before or after the purchase by the Company is not known but probably after and that they had the permission of the Company.

Land could not be purchased of the Indians except by permission of the Colony Court and as the Court had already permitted the purchase by a company it seems unlikely they would grant permission to purchase a part of the same land to an individual. It is improbable permission would have been granted previous to the purchase by the company for the Colony laws required that not settlement be made remote from a place of public worship unless the settlers be strong enough to support a minister of the Gospel. Barnstable was the nearest place of public worship about 15 miles away.

Jonathan built his house on or near that narrow neck of land between Fresh and Salt ponds about a half mile south or southwest of the present village of Falmouth. Robinson built his a little further south. They probably moved there with their families soon after they built their houses though no precise date is known. Jonathan placed his family and goods on a small skiff and sailed away down the coast till they came to Salt Pond, entering which they sailed up to the neck where they landed.

Jonathan Hatch and Isaac Robinson were the first white settlers in Succonnesset, now Falmouth. Jonathan's son Moses was the first white child born there -- named Moses it is said because so many bullrushes grew near his father's house.

May 27, 1661, Jonathan and Mr. Shaw sold their farm at Sepneset to Mr. John Thompson who sold about 1674 to John Lovet some of whose descendants still hold the old Hatch farm.

Nov. 29, 1661, the proprietors and purchasers of Succonnesset held a meeting which extended to Dec 3rd. following, and agreed upon an allotment of lands. The meeting appears to have been held at Jonathan Hatch's house so that they might view the land and make an equitable allotment. The land by the Herring Brook was to be "in general." Each of the proprietors was allotted about 80 acres. Commencing at the sea shore as a base these lots ran straight back into the interior. Nine of them were 16 rods broad, three were 17 rods broad, two were 8.5 rods broad and one (that to Isaac Robinson) was 18 rods broad. There lots were just east of the Herring Pond and the lines of the lots were to run to "the same point of the compass as Jonathan Hatch's 80 acres upon the sea," showing that Jonathan had his farm there of 80 acres previous to the first allotment. He probably selected and laid out his land soon after he moved there and it was not by his house but by the sea. For the better accommodation of all some other small allotments of 4 to 8 acres were made and "Jonathan Hatch and Isaac Robinson because they have built their houses shall have their lots by their houses, that is to as Jonathan Hatch to have 10 acres by his house, lying against the neck, leaving a sufficient was into the neck; and Isaac Robinson shall have 4 acres by his house and 8 acres next adjoining Jonathan Hatches."

Apparently upon second thought "because we questioned whether we should get water on these lots we laid out 4 acres to a share along by the pond *** a sufficient way to be left along by the pond side above or below the houses." What pond this was is not stated.

It was "also agreed that the proprietors shall not keep above 20 head of cattle each upon the great neck for a share." This great neck was probable that land by the Herring Brook which was to be "in general" and used in common by all as pasturage.

Again "we have laid out 20 acres to a share next to Jonathan Hatches ground abutting upon the sea and running 200 rods towards the woods. This work is now concluded and the agreement signed Dec. 3, 1661." Jonathan Hatch is one of the signers.

Jonathan Hatch's father died in Barnstable in 1661 and March 3, 1662, Jonathan and his sister Lydia, who married Henry Taylor Dec. 19, 1650, applied for and were granted letters of administration upon their father's estate by the Plymouth Colony Court. Isaac Robinson and Thomas Ewer were appointed to make an inventory and appraisal of the estate which they did May 27 and it was sworn to by the widow.

The new settlement at Succonnesset not being strong enough at that time to stand alone it was ordered by the Court in Mar., 1663 "that Succonnesset shall for the present belong to Barnstable."

The first purchase of land at Succonnesset by the original company in 1660 was probably not largely in excess of that allotted to the proprietors in Nov. and Dec. 1661.

Sometime subsequent to the first purchase the company obtained additional land; a tract extending along the seashore from Woods Hole to Five Mile River and extending inland four or five miles apparently completely surrounding the first purchase except on the sea side. In July 1677 it was agreed to lay out additional lands of 60 acres to a share also meadows. John Howland and Thomas Lathrop acting for the company appointed Bernard Lumber, William Gifford and John Smith a committee who laid out 12 strips or lots which were assigned to Moses Rowley, Sr., Joseph Hull, Thomas Griffin, John Robinson Samuel Tilley, Nathaniel Skiff, Thomas Johnson, William Gifford, Thomas Lewis, John Jenkins, Jonathan Hatch, Sr., William Wicks or Weeks and Thomas Ewer. There were also other 10 acre lots laid out to the same individuals. The balance of the tract was held in common to be sold later to others. Jonathan Hatch and Isaac Robinson were appointed a committee to sell the lands of those who did not wish to settle there.

It was about this time when settlement was extending and land was becoming valuable that Jonathan remembered the land the old Indian Chief had given him some years before. The old Chief was not living then but his son remembered the gift and confirmed it by the following deed dated Jan. 15, 1679, signed by Job Notantico, Indian of Succonnesset.

INDIAN DEED TO JONATHAN HATCH

"To all people to whom these presents may come, Job Notantico, son of Thomas Notantico, Indian of Succonnesset in the Govt. of New Plymouth sendeth greeting etc.

Know ye that I, the said Job Notantico, understanding that my father, the said Notantico, Sachem, many years ago, about of since the beginning of the Socconnesset Plantation, did freely and absolutely grant and give unto Jonathan Hatch, Sr., of the said Succonnesset all the tract or neck commonly called Woods Hole Neck, excepting a part which he, the said Notantico reserved from himself which afterwards he exchanged with Succonnesset men and accepted in lieu thereof 40 acres at little Sipperwisset, with liberty to cut sticks and wood in the commons. The fins and tails, whales cast ashore to be mine, etc."

This deed was witnessed by Shearjashub Bourne and Bathsheba Bourne and acknowledge by Job Notantico, alias Attuckoo, before Thomas Hinkley, Assistant.

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

There was preaching at Succonnesset -- often at the house of Jonathan Hatch -- but there was no regular church organization till the autumn of 1708. The business meetings of the proprietors were held more often at his house than elsewhere. When strangers arrived they were often entertained at Jonathan Hatch's till his house became a place of public entertainment for travelers and others and was finally licensed as such with the privilege of selling liquor for their use.

When any of Jonathan's good friends among the Indians were it was doubtless a little difficult for him to refuse them a little "fire water." June 7, 1670 he was fined £3 for selling them liquor; but knowing the Indians as he did it is not likely he gave them enough to make them dangerous.

Shortly after King Phillip's War Jonathan Hatch bought of Capt. Church three Indians, a man, wife and child, probable prisoners, many of whom were taken near the close of the war for the apparent purpose of liberating them. June 3, 1679 Jonathan and the brothers of the woman appeared in Court where it was agreed that "for £6 the man and woman should be released and the child should remain with Goodman Hatch till 24 years of age and then be released forever."

In Colonial times the local Inn or Tavern often became the Civic Center of the community and excepting the meeting house was the most frequented place in town and the tavern keeper the best informed man in the community. People flocked there to learn not only the local gossip but the news of the outside world from travelers.

When in June 4, 1686 Succonnesset was detached from Barnstable and incorporated as a separate township and given the name of Falmouth, Jonathan Hatch's public house was the logical place for holding town meetings for the transaction of town business and all public affairs. From this time on, Jonathan became more prominent in the affairs and business of the town. He as often engaged in running the lines of lots, attending to the sale of lands and transfers of titles. Age and experience had toned down the fire and impetuosity of youth and he had become an honored and respected citizen and a religious man. June 24, 1690 he took the Freeman's oath and was admitted as a Freemen of the Colony at the County Court at Barnstable; which was something of a distinction at that time as none but men of known probity and integrity and generally church members could attain to that honor.

Jonathan Hatch acquired a large land estate and was regarded as among the wealthy of those times. In his later years he became the venerable patriarch of a large and esteemed family of children and grand children. He apparently gave away all his land to his children previous to his death as shown by the following:

LAST WILL OF JONATHAN HATCH

"I Jonathan Hatch, Sr., of Falmouth, in the county of Barnstable in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, in New England, being now, through the mercy of God in complete health and of disposing mind and memory, yet being aged and calling to mind the uncertainty of this Transitory life, I am desirous, according to my duty to settle things in order before I go hence, and there fore do make this my Last Will and Testament, hereby revoking and disannulling all former will and wills by word or writing heretofore by me made and hereby constitute and declare this to be my Last will and testament, in manner and form following, viz: My desire is to commit my soul to God in Jesus Christ, who gave it and my body to decent burial when God shall please to call me hence. And as touching my worldly estate which God hath beyond my deserts bestowed on me, my will is to dispose of it as follows: Imprimis, I will and bequeath to my six sons, viz: Thomas Hatch, Jonathan Hatch, Joseph Hatch, Benjamin Hatch, Samuel Hatch and Moses Hatch, to each of them one shilling over and above of what they have already had to be paid out of my estate. It. -- I will and bequeath to my two daughters Mary Weeks and Sara Wing to each of them three shillings over and above of what they have already had, to be paid out of my estate."

"It. -- I will and bequeath to my daughter, Marcy Rowley, all and singular my movables and debts and twenty pound of the thirty pound to be paid six years after my decease by my two sons, Samuel Hatch and Moses Hatch as my appear by obligations under their hands and seals bearing date, March the twentieth, One thousand seven hundred (1700) and I do hereby ordain, constitute and appoint my daughter, Marcy Rowley (wife of Nathan) to be my sole Executrix to this, my Last Will and Testament to administer upon all my estate. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal the fifteenth day of September, Anno Domini, One Thousand seven hundred and five."

Signed, sealed and declared to be his last will and testament, in the presence of us"

John Weeks, William Weeks and Thomas Bowman, Proved 4 Jan 1710-11, Attest,
William Bassett, Regtr.

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

His son Nathaniel and daughter Lydia were possibly not then living, as they are not mentioned in the will but there are reasons for believing that Nathaniel married and left descendants.

There is ample evidence that Jonathan continued to do business till the time of his death. As one of the agents of the proprietors he was often called upon to look after their interests and they could not have been confided to more faithful hands.

He died at Falmouth in Dec. 1710, aged 84, honored and respected by the community among whom he had lived for the last fifty years.

Jonatan Hatch 3rd Great Grandfather of Ira Stearns Hatch
1626-1710

Jonathan Hatch, so far as known the only son of Thomas Hatch, accompanied his parents to New England before May 14, 1634. At this date the family was residing at Dorchester, and Jonathan was six or eight years of age.

On August 7, 1638, permission was granted to Mr. Stephen Hopkins of Plymouth to erect a house at Yarmouth and to cut hay there that year to winter his cattle. The following January the General Court granted land for a settlement, and Thomas Hatch was one of the nine men that "proposed, to take up their freedoms at Yarmouth." He doubtless removed there without delay, for March 5, his name was on the Yarmouth list of those proposed, to be made freemen at the next court.

This little band of a dozen first families depended on each other to lend a helping hand in all the work of the seasons, a willing and efficient "first aid" corps, and Jonathan undoubtedly did his part. He must have become well acquainted with Mr. Stephen Hopkins when the latter came to cut hay to winter his cattle; perhaps he raked hay for him and in so doing earned his first money, after which, like many another boy, he felt himself no longer a child and became impatient to make his way in the world. Whether for this reason or imbued with the spirit of adventure, he appears to have run away, and in so doing, came to grief. Plymouth Colony town's dealt with "tramps" according to the custome of old English parishes. By the law of 1661, reenacted in 1663, the General Court of Plymouth ordered that "if any person or persons shall com into this Gouvernment, that according to the law of England, may justly be accounted vagabonds, and Marshall or the Con-stable of the Towne where unto they come, shall apprehend him or them and vpon examination soe appearing hee shall whip them, or cause than to be whipt with rodds. Soe as it exceed not fifteen stripes, and to give him or them a passe to depart the Gouvernment and if any person or persons shal bee found without theire passe or not acteing according therevnto they shalbee punished again as formerly."* The old English Parish usage made it incumbent upon the Constable, Headboroudgh, or Tithingman of the Hundred, Parish, or Tithing, to arrest every rogue and publicly whip him upon the bare back until it be bloody and then send him from Parish to Parish by the officers of the same, until the rogue came to his birthplace, but if then to the Parish through which the rougue last passed with out recieving a flogging.

Strolling Indians had the law against vagabonds applied to them with severity, and no Indian could move from one place to another without a permit from his “overseer." Persons re¬maining away from the meeting on the Lord's day were "sett in the stocks." In Salem all the boys were obliged to sit on three pair of stairs in the meetinghouse, including those of the pulpit, and three constables were placed at the great doors of the meetinghouse that no person might leave until all the exercises were finished.* A constable had power to take notice of idle persons and tabacco takers, to see if such harbored any young people, children, servants, apprentices, students, or "schollers" without hastening them to their respective employments by the law of England and New England, it would seem that the criterion of existence of a Parish or Township was the presence of this all-powerful official. The best men were made Constables and Captains of Militia, and in ancient times both officials were one and the same.

Miles Standish seems to have held the office of first Constable of the Plymouth Colony; his jurisdiction extended "from the Jones River southward as far as any inhabit."

The Massachusetts Bay Colony Records chronicle no sins of commission against Jonathan Hatch up to this time, but as there was no Juvenile Court to aid him, for the sin of being away from home and not hastening to some employment, he paid the penalty. "Quarter Court held at Boston. First of 7th Mo. 1640. 1640 1 Sept. Jonathan Hatch was censured to be severly whiped & for the p'sent is comited for a slave to Lieft. Davenport.” Slaves adjudged to servitude by authority were those bound over to some suitable person named by the court to serve for a specified time. This was a form of punishment in those days which was meted out to offenders. To be "delivered up as a slave to whom the Court shall appoint” was in line with "binding out a youth” or apprenticing him for a certain period. In 1639 the Court records show that William Andrews who was committed to slavery, for all his ill and insolent carriage, was released upon his good carriage from slavery and put to Mr. Endicott for the rest of his time.*
Lieut. Richard Davenport, called "the valiant,” was in the expedition against the Pequod Indians in 1637. He resided in Salem from 1631 until 1634, when he, was given command of the Castle in Boston Harbor. In 1637/8 Lieutenant Davenport contracted to take care of the cattle at Salem for pound 36 a year. The Rev. Samuel Danforth of Roxbury described him as "a Man of choice and excellent spirit,” and one may well imagine him exercising martial discipline. Jonathan Hatch evidently did not remain long with Lieutenant Davenport at Salem at this time, for three months later, December 1, 1640, Court at New Plymouth: "Mr. Nicholas Sympkins is enjoyned to bring Jonathan Hatch to the next Court to receive punishment for slandering him." Jonathan had the courage of his convictions, and the Court vindicated him, while Captain Sympkins steered the penalty of 40 shillings fine.
The restless spirit of Jonathan which prompted him to seek for better things again brought him before the court; "1641/2 1 March. Jonathan Hatch was taken as a vagrant & for his misdemeanors was censured to be whipt & sent from constable to constable to Leiftennent Dauenport at Salem."
This sentence does not seem to have been carried into effect, at least not as far as his return to Lieutenant Davenport is concerned. It may have been that the honorable body was brought to see some injustice in the sentence by an influential friend of the boy's in the person of Mr. Stephen Hopkins, for the Court recorded "1642, 5 April. Jonathan Hatch by consent of the Court is appoynted to dwell with Mr. Stephen Hopkins & the said Mr. Hopkins to hauve a speciall care of him."* This placed him in the way of larger opportuni¬ties, and there is little doubt that he made the most of them in the little more than two years which intervened before the death of Stephen Hopkins, which occurred between June 6 and July 17, 1644. Mr. Hopkins came in the Mayflower from the "London quarter" and brought with his immediate family, two servants or employees, making a household of eight souls in his Plymouth home. Always dignified with the title of Mr. or Master, an honor which was accorded to but few, his was one of the three master minds of Plymouth Colony, and from the time of the first exploration off Provincetown, he was a leader in all hazardous adventures. He accompanied Standish as Counselor. As colleague of Winslow's, he had made the dangerous visit to Massasoit and established friendly relations, had served as one of the Governor's Council at least four years, had owned a wharf, a share in a ship, and had established his son Giles at Yarmouth. There was little need for an inn at Plymouth during the first decade of its existence, but Stephen Hopkins evidently kept "open house," which later became a house of public entertainment. The first guest of the house seems to have been the Indian Chief Samoset, who paid the settlement a visit on March 26, 1621. He was uninvited, and not feeling altogether safe with such a house guest, "they lodged him at Stephen Hopkins" and quietly watched.
The master of the house was broader in his views than most of his neighbors and was tried and fined on several occasions. In 1637 it cost him pound 2 for having allowed his servants and others to sit in his house drinking and "playing shovelboard"; in 1638 for selling wine, beer, and strong liquors, at too great a profit, and in 1639 for selling without a license which he frankly admitted he was fined pound 3.* His grasp of larger things of life made him strong in his ideas of justice, while his interpretation of the law disregarded its petty tyrannies.
The Hopkins home was on the easterly corner of Leyden and Main Streets on a commodious plot running through to Middle Street. Opposite on Leyden Street resided the worthy Elder Brewster, and across on the Main Street side stood the home of Governor Bradford. Probably Mrs. Elizabeth Hopkins, who died before her husband, was living when Jonathan Hatch became a member of the family, which then included the younger daughters and the son Caleb. There were games allowed and doubtless music, recalling pleasantly to Jonathan the violin which was one of his father's treasures. Withal spiritual training was not wanting, for as regular attendance at divine service was compulsory, he sat under preaching of John Rayner, a graduate of Magdalen College, Cambridge, on the Sabbath, while Stephen Hopkins must have inculcated teachings on week days, if, as described when he sailed from England in 1609 bound for Virginia with Governor Gates and his Chaplain (being lay-reader for the latter), he was one "who possessed much knowledge of the Scriptures and could reason well in them." The character of Jonathan Hatch seems to have been very like that of Stephen Hopkins, and the courage and manliness of the boy must have awakened a spirit of admiration which challenged the Pilgrim Magistrate to take him under his special care. There may have been ties of kinship between them; but surely comradeship existed between them. After his death Jonathan Hatch returned to Barnstable, probably to the home of his parents, and the following year found him among those going out in defense of the Colony.

Plymouth Colony Records, Volume IX, page 90. "The Pporcon and Names of the Souldiers in each Towne sent forth in the late Expedition against the Narrohiggansett & their Confederatt. The first company, viz: XVjteene went forth the XVth August 1645. Barnstable foure men wch went forth wth those that. went last, John Foxwell. John Russell. Joanthan Hatch. Francis Crocker. These foure men were forth xiiij dayes."

There was delivered to each soldier, on going forth, one pound of powder, three pounds of bullets, and one pound of tabacco. These defenders returned September second and were discharged.

The following year April 11, 1646, Jonathan Hatch married Sarah Rowley, daughter of Henry Rowley of Barnstable, who came in the Charles. Her mother was Mr. Rowley's first wife and a daughter of William Palmer, Sr.
At a Plymouth Town Meeting, June 1, 1627 (N.S.), when the division of cattle was made, "Stephen Hopkins and his company joined to him twelve persons in all, including William Palmer. Six of the twelve were of the immediate family of Stephen Hopkins and were three of the Palmers. Sarah Rowley was born in England, and, like Jonathan, had passed most of her young life in Barnstable, where her father took up his residence in 1639. His house lot was close by the first house lot assigned to the Rev. John Lothrop, on which he built his first home in Barnstable. This he vacated in 1644; it is still standing, having been converted into the Sturgis Library.
When Mr. Lothrop went to live in his new house, Mr. Rowley and his family moved into the house which had been Barnstable's first parsonage; here is where Jonathan Hatch courted and married his wife. Tradition calls her a very youthful bride.

He became a soldier in what is now calles “a colonial war”. He went to Seekonk near East Providence, Rhode Island, by sea in a barque from the southern shore of Barnstable, and returned the same way. The offical records of his service follow:

At the Gen'all Court of Or Souraigne Lord the King, holden at P1ym aforesaid, the xxviijth of Octobr, in the xxjth Yeare of his said Mats Raigne, of England, &c. Before Willm Bradford, gent, Gou..

The pporcon and Names of the Souldiers in eich Towne sent forth in the late Expedition against the Narrohiggansets & their confederates. The fallowing went forth the XVth of August, 1645.

Barnestable, foure men,
Wch went forth wth
those that went last
John Foxwell These foure
John Ruesell men were fourth
Jonathan Hatch xiiij dayes
Francis Crocker

These all returned the 2d of September, being Tewsday, and were disbanded the day following, being Wensday. There was delived to eich souldier j lb of poder, and 3 lb of bulletts a peece, and jib of tobaccoe, at their going forth,..:The charges of this Expedition, To Barnestable foure men 14 dayes,...Li 02:16:00...

The Sumes the Townes are to pay their Souldiers, and what wilbe comeing to ye Treasurer. Souldiers, Barnestable, li 02:16:99, & to the Tres li 03:06.06. The Court doth order that every towne shall pay their owne souldiers what is due unto them for their wages...provided that every souldier allow by deduction of his wages what hee hath taken up of any man to furnish him for his service, and like to returne their armes and bulletts againe, or els allow for them.

Speaking of the life of Jonathan Hatch before he came to man's estate and enlisted as a fighter of Indians, Otis and Swift stated:

The records of the early life of Jonathan Hatch do not present his character. in an amiable point of view. His parents appear to have taken no interest in his welfare, and this can be accounted for only on the supposition that Grace was a second wife. I am no writer of eulogy. I must present such facts as I find on recoard; and my inferences must be logical or they are worthless. The boy was exposed to temptation on every hand - he had no friends on whom he could rely he was a bond servant "a Slave" - and that servitude his proud spirit could not brook he resisted he escaped from servitude; that, in the eye of the law, was criminal and for that he was im¬prisoned, and for that endured cruel stripes. Though his conduct is not legally justifiable, we cannot but admire his bold and manly resistance of the intolerable spirit of the age, and of the law which banished him from the home of his father, and which deprived him of the liberty which he claimed as a free born citizen of the British realm.

Barnstable town recoards, Volume I, page 417, given this marriage: "Jonathan Hatch & Sarah Rowley Married 11 April, 1646." She was a daughter of Henry Rowley of Barnstable by his first wife, a daughter of William Palmer, Senior.

Henry Rowley, at Plymouth 1632, perhaps came in the Charles with Hatherly; was of Scituate 1634; with his wife partook in gathering of the first church there, 8 January, 1635; removed to Barnstable with Rev. John Lothrop 1639; married 17 October, 1633, Ann, widow of Thomas Blossom, probably as his second wife for I suppose Sarah Rowley who married 11 April, 1646, Jonathan Hatch, was his daughter.

Whether ( ) Palmer, the first wife of Henry Rowley, died in England or very soon after his arrival in America is unknown.

The record of his second marriage.
Their home was a two story frame house built of heavy timber and covered with one and one-quarter inch planks at the time it was built a thatched roof. It stood on ground occupied later by the Barnstable Inn. It was called "the ancient house" in the Probate Records of 1748. There was a wharf and a landing on the rear of this lot, and another on the north side with a shipyard where ships were built until about 1800. Perhaps no better assurance of the good standing of Jonathan Hatch in the community can be vouchsafed than the consent of Mr. Rowley to give him the hand of his daughter in marriage. Paternal consent was not earned lightly, eligibility being then a product of adherence to the Ten Commandments and the Westminster Catechism, plus industry. Following his marriage, Jonathan Hatch seems to have made his home in West Barnstable for eight years. During that time he was blessed with a daughter and three sons. From the Court Records it appears that he was prosecuted October 7, 1651, in company with Samuel Hinckley (the father of Gov. Thomas Hinckley) for hiring land of the Indians, but was cleared. March 2, 1651/2, Jonathan Hatch was prosecuted for furnishing an Indian with a gun and with powder and shot.

February 24, 1652/3, he was on the jury appointed to lay out the road from Sandwich to Plymouth. Sometime during the year 1657 he took the oath of fidelity.

October 7, 1654, he moved to South Sea, five or six miles southward. His grant was recorded February 14, 1655. He had “fifty acres more or less of upland with a little parcel of Marsh adjoining at a place commonly called Sepnisset on ye South Sea" and eight acres of meadow, four of which were at Oster Island.

His possessions at the South Sea included "thirty acres bounded southerly by ye said creek, commonly called Sepawessisset alais Sepauisset, lying 140 rod long by ye sea side and 40 rod into ye woods."

His nearest white neighbor is thought to have been Roger Goodspeed, whose house was several miles distant, but he had a good neighbor in Paupmunnueke, sachem of the Massapees, who had a wigwam about a mile from the log house of Jonathan Hatch. He was friendly and helpful to his Indian neighbors even to at times suffering the consequences. In June, 1658, he was brought into Court on account of an Indian named Repent having threatened to shoot Governor Pience, and was accused of having justified the offender. The Court admonished him and discharged him.

The spirit of the pioneer again prevailed, and Jonathan Hatch saw fairer fields at Saconnessit (place of black shells), the Falmouth of today, where he-acquired land of the Sachem Notantico, probably in 1659 or 1660. This lay between Woods Hole and Buzzards Bay. Accompanied by Isaac Robinson, he had not only taken title, but had built a house before the Pro¬prietors allotment in 1661.
June 7, 1659, Liberty to view and purchase a tract at Saconessit was granted to Thomas Hinckley, Henry Cobb, Samuel Hinckley, John Jenkins, and Nathaniel Bacon of Barnstable; and Thomas Hinckley of Barnstable and Richard Bourne of Sand¬wich were empowered to airange with the Indians for the same.

The town of Falmouth contains about forty-five square miles, its boundaries being the town line of Sandwich on the northeast, on the south Vineyard Sound, on the east the re¬servation of Marshpee, and on the west, Buzzards Bay.

The exact date of Jonathan Hatch's making his home at Falmouth is not apparent, but the Barnstable records show that on May 27, 1661, he sold one-half of his farm at the South Sea to Tomas Shaw, and with the latter he sold to John Thompson. In 1674 he sold to John Lovel, whose descendants unto the present generation retain most of the ancient Hatch farm. The deed of Messrs Hatch and Shaw to John Thompson describes the upland as being at a creek commonly called Sepawessisset (Sepauisset).
It seems probable that Jonathan Hatch after his father's death in 1661 moved his family to Falmouth as soon as he sold his South Sea farm; with Isaac Robinson he was the first to settle there. The earliest of the Proprietors records of Saconessit or Falmouth commencing November 29, 1661, contain little else than divisions and bounds of lands as set off to the several original proprietors. Numbers of these were Barn-stable men.
The first entry in the records dated as above is:
An agree for laying out the lands in Saconnessit. We whose names are here unto roten have agreed for our selves and for whom any of us are Agents for laying out the lands at Saconnessit, first the Neck of land by the Herring Brook shall be in general; secondly that Jonathan Hatch and Isaac Robinson, because they have built their houses shall have their lots by their houses, that is to say, Jonathan Hatch to have ten acres by his house, lying against the Neck, leaving a sufficient way into the Neck; and Isaac Robinson shall have four acres by his house and 8 acres next adjoining to Jonathan Hatches intoward Peas's land (probably an Indian) also because they thought themselves wronged to be put off the Neck we have condescended that they shall have 1 acre and a half of Meadow within the great Neck toward Pease's land; Thirdly taking a view of the land beyond them and Pease's land, that it will yield but 8 acres to every share, so accordingly we fait it out by lots: John Crosman 4 acres and 8 acres to John Jinkins, James Hamblin, William Thomas, Samuel Fuller, Thomas Lothrop, Anthony Annabel, Peter Blossom, William Nelson 4 acres to James Cobb, 8 to Samuel Hinckley aff Thomas Ewer; all of which lots butt upon the Bay or Beach and run to the Hill, leaving a sufficient way.

Fourthly because we questioned whether we should get water upon these lots, we laid out 4 acres to the share along by the Pond: also by lots to each of the, above except William Nelson and John Chipman, who have 2 each a sufficient way to be left along by the Pondside above or below the house.

Fifthly it is also agreed that the Proprietors shall not keep above 20 head of cattle each, upon the great Neck, for a share.

Sixthly we have laid out 20 acres to a share next to Jonathan Hatch's ground butting upon the Sea and running 200 rods toward the Woods. This work is now concluded and the agreement duly signed Dec. 3rd. 1661 by Thomas Lathrop, Isaac Robinson (acting for Capt. Thomas, also drew lots for Goodman Annabel), Jonathan Hatch, James Hamblin, Thomas Ewer (for himself and John Chipman), Peter Blossom, James Cobb, William Nelson, Samuel Hinckley (acting for himself and John Jenkins).

July 23, 1677, it was agreed by the proprietors of Succanesset that the land at Woods Hole should be laid out equally to every purchaser according to his proportion and Jonathan Hatch was one of the thirteen entitled to his allotment. Great Neck was laid out ten acres to a share, and Jonathan Hatch received the fifteenth lot. Among his holdings were Plain Lots 4 and 5 and a corner of the Red Swamp.
The deed of the Indian Job Notantico dated January 15, 1679, seems to prove Jonathan Hatch to have been Falmouth's first settler and to prove that Isaac Robinson came about the same time.
To all people to whom these presents may come:
Know ye that I the said Job Notantico understanding that my father the said Notantico Sachem many years ago about or since the beginning of the Saconnessit Plantation did freely and absolutely grant and give, unto Jonathan Hatch. Sr. of the said Saconnessit all the tract or Neck commonly called "Would Hole Neck" excepting apart which he the said Notantico reserved for himself which afterwards he exchanged with Saconnessit Men and excepted in lieu there of 40 acres at little Sipperwissett with liberty to cut sticks and wood in the Commons. The fins and tails of whales cast ashore to be mine etc.

This deed was witnessed by Shearjashub Bourne and Bathshebe Bourne and acknowledged by Job Notantico, alias "Attuckoo" before Thomas Hinkley.

The Colony laws required that no settlement be made remote from a place of public worship unless the settlers be strong enough to support a Minister of the Gospel.

The March session of the Court, 1663, ordered "that it be commended to the settlers at Saconnessett to apply themselves in some effectual way, for the increase of their numbers” that “they carry on things toe their better satisfaction both in civil and religious respects." But"Saconesset not being yet strong enough to stand alone" it was "ordered by the Court that Saconnessett shall for the present belong to Barnstable." From such records as remain, it appears that the infant did not "stand alone" in a religious sense until after its twenty-fifth birthday had passed, but its people had all these years journeyed fifteen weary miles to the mother church at West Barnstable.

As the Town Fathers voted to open a new Town Book in 700 and have selected and transcribed therein from the old book "all that is needful," there can only be gathered such frag-mentary items concerning the doings of the Proprietors previous to this date as appear in Court, Colony, and Proprietors' Records.

In 1685 there is record that "Jonathan Hatch of Sacconnessett was granted a license to keep a house of entertainment, the said Hatch to keep a victualling house, retailing liquor for the entertainment of strangers, passengers or others as occasion may require." This was probably the first license that the Courte had granted him.

October 2, 1662. "Jonathan Hatch complained against Mr. Tristrum Coffin of Nantuckett in an action of debt to the damage of pound 20, for non-payment of 13 pounds 10 shillings, as by bill under his hand appears. The jury find for the plaintiffe and give him his bill and 40 shillings damage and the cost of the suite." Judgment was granted according to this verdict.

June 3, 1679 "In reference unto severall Indians bought by Jonathan Hatch of Capt. Church, the brothers of the woman desiring she might be released appeered in Court with the said Jonathan Hatch and came to composition with her for the freedom of both her and her husband, which are two of the three Indians above named and her brothers payed on that accoumpt the sume of three pounds silver money of New England and have engaged to pay three pounds more in the same specue and then the said man and woman are to be released, and for the third of the said Indians it being younge the Court have ordered it shall abide with the said Jonathan Hatch until it attaines the age of 24 years and then to be released for euer."

June 2, 1685 "July Court. Thomas Lewes Sen'r being Clerke of the records of the proprietors of Suckenessett appeared before the Court this 4th day of July 1685 & declared that the proprietors of Suckonessett did own Jonathan Hatch Senr. of same place to be an equall purchasser & propriettor with them that is to say one whole share in all the lands of Suckonessett."

June 24, 1690, Jonathan Hatch, Sr., and Jonathan Hatch, Jr., took the freeman's oath at the County Court in Barn-stable. The previous year the latter was chosen Ensign of the Military Company at Sucionesset.

February 25, 1689/90, Jonathan Hatch, Sr., purchased of Thomas Lewis lands allotted to the latter at Little Neck, near Woods Hole, on July 23, 1677, on which he had a dwelling, the purchase price being ten shillings in silver money. This was called No. 4 of Little Neck lots and extended across the neck to the Great Harbor so called.

In 1690 the Proprietors held a general meeting at the home of Jonathan Hatch. It was voted and "ordered that all the undt ided lands within said Suckanesset be laid out in lots and allotments as soon as convenient." In March, 1701, this was accomplished and Benjamin, Moses, and Jonathan Hatch "took lands."

November 4, 1690, Jonathan Hatch, Sr., was the appointee for Succonessett to inspect whales. This is one of the last public offices which the fragmentary records show him to have been called to fill.

To the Falmouth home Jonathan Hatch brought six sons and a daughter, Thomas his eldest son being in his thirteenth year. To Moses his eighth child tradition accords the honor of being the first white child born at Falmouth. The date Barnstable records give as March 4, 1662, while Falmouth makes the year 1663. The History of Falmouth states as "probably literally true" that the first company of settlers arrived in 1660 in boats from Barnstable and landed between Fresh Pond known also as (Consider) Hatch's Pond and Salt Pond where they encamped until their homes were constructed.

The first night after landing they encamped in the flag swamp at the south end of Fresh Pond, being greatly fatigued with the passage. The wife of Jonathan Hatch had a son born somewhat unexpectedly the same night. When asked what she would name him, she replied, "He wag born amongst the flags and rushes and his name shall be Moses."

His mother had a brother Moses Rowley (Deputy from Falmouth in 1692), which doubtless had more to do with his bearing the name of Moses than the fact that he first saw the light among the bulrushes. That his father's house was so surrounded at that time one may well believe. Three daughters were born in this home which stood between Fresh and Salt Ponds on the east of the Herring River. Two centuries later the descendants of Jonathan Hatch continued to possess this property, the original house having stood about where the late Richard Olney's home stands now.

He died at Falmouth in December, 1710, said to be about eighty-four. He had served well in his generation and died possessed of an ample estate. He established his sons comfortably and lived to see them enjoying a goodly degree of prominence in military and civil affairs. He made his will September 15, 1705 it was proven January 4, 1710, or 1711.

Will of Jonathan Hatch of Falmouth
1710
I Jonathan Hatch Sen'r of Falmouth In the County of Barnstable in the Province of the Massachuetts Bay in New England now being Thro the Mercy of God In Computant Health and of Disposing mind and memory yet being ed and Calling to mind the uncertainty of This Transitory life I am Desirous according to my Duty to sett things in order before I Goe. hence and Therefore Do make this my Last Will and Testament hereby Revoking and Disannulling all former Will and Wills by Word or Writing heretofore by me made and here by Con¬stitute and Declare This to be my Last Will and Testament In Manner and form following .. Viz. my Desire is to Committ my Soul to God in Jesus Christ who Gave it and my Body to Decent buryall When God Shall pleas to Call me hence Then as Touching my Worldly Estate which God beyond my Deserts bestoed on me my Will is to Dispose of it as Followeth - Imp. I Will and bequeath to my six sons viz. Thomas Hatch, Jonathan Hatch, Joseph Hatch, Benjamin-Hatch, Samuel Hatch, and Moses Hatch to each of them one Shilling over and above of what they Have already Had to be paid out of my estate.
It. I Will and bequeath to my Two Daughters Mary Weeks and Sarah Wing to each of them three Shillings over and above of what they have already Had to be paid out of my Estate.
It. I Will and bequeath to my Daughter Marcy Rowley all and Singular my moveables and Debts and Twenty Pound of the Thirty Pound to be paid Six years after my Decease by my Two Sons Samuel Hatch and Moses Hatch as may appear by obligations under Their Hands and Seals baring Date March the Twentyeth one Thousand Seven Hundred. And I Do Hereby ordain Constitute and appoint my Daughter March Rowley to be.my Executrix to This my Last Will and Testament to Administer upon all my Estate. In Witness where of I have Hereunto Sett my Hand and Seal this fifteenth Day of September Anne Domini one Thousand seven Hundred and five. Signed Sealed and Declared to be The Last Will and Testament In presence of us.
JOHN WEEKS.
WILLIAM WEEKS. THOMAS BONMAN.
Jan 4th 1710/11 John Weeks and William Weeks - before Barnabas Lothrop Esq. Judge made oath they Did see, Jonathan Hatch Sen'r Late of Falmouth now -Deceased - sign etc.
The children of Jonathan and Sarah (Rowley) Hatch appear on the records of both Barnstable and Falmouth. As these records vary, both are here given from the original.
He married third, Mrs. Hannah Bangs, widow of Joshua Bangs, who died May 13, 1739.
For his fourth wife he married Mrs. Patience Perry, who survived him.
He was a Deacon of the Falmouth church and gave the town the land upon which the first church was built. The Park is now the site occupied by this church. He was an active townsman filling many offices. He was Selectman in 1713. In 1730 he was chosen Town Clerk, in 1733 Town agent and Juryman to High Court, and it was frequently his province to settle bounds and lay out lots. In 1724 he was chosen Town Treasurer.
He died May 20, 1747, aged 84, at Falmouth. His stone is standing.
He left a will in which he names his wife Patience and child Moses, children of his daughter, Elizabeth Hallett (late wife of Timothy Hallett), and grand children, Nathan Skiff., Rebecca Lewis, Jr., Benjamin Nye, John Coffin, Sylvanus Hatch, Moses Hatch, and Deliverance Hatch. Moses Hatch, Sr., had nine children of whom five were daughters; four of these reached maturity and married. His sons with the exception of Moses died young. Moses Hatch's son and name-sake, Moses, Jr., baptized at Barnstable, Massachusetts, July 3, 1698, married at Chatham, Massachusetts, about 1724, Mary, daughter of the Rev. Joseph Lord and Abigail Hinckley. Her mother, Abigail Hinckley, was the daughter of Thomas Hinckly, the last Governor of the Plymouth Colony. He was the son of Samuel Hinckley from Tenterden, County Kent, England. Mrs. Hatch's father, Rev. Joseph Lord, son of Thomas Lord of Charleston, Massachusetts, was a non-conformist minister of exceptional learning, and founded the church at Dorchester, South Carolina. He returned, and died at Chatham, Massasetts, in 1748. He was a graduate of Harvard College, 1691.

12. Sarah Hatch married Nathaniel Wing, son of Stephen and Oseah (Dillingham)Wing, who was born at Sandwich about 1647. He was a soldier in King Philips War and did not marry until after 1680. He died probably in 1722; his will being probated December 4, of that year. He was called in his seventy-sixth year. Sarah, his widow, died July 8, 1731. They were parents of three sons and four daughters.

13. Mercy Hatch married Nathan Rowley, a cousin. They had eight children born at Falmouth, five daughters and three sons. Two of these married Hatch cousins.

14. Lydia Hatch Died at Falmouth. Fifty-two years later, May 29,1728, the General Assem¬bly of the Province took steps to redeem this promise and "passed a Resolve for granting two Tracts for Townships of the contents of Six Miles square each, to the persons, whether Officers or soldiers, belonging to this Province, who were in the service of their country in the Narraganset War." The legal representatives of those that were deceased were desired to "send into the Secretaries Office, lists of their names and Descents."

From Falmouth there were but two names, Joseph Hatch and Philip Dexter, both reported "alive." Tito tracts of land for Townships of the contents of six miles square were ordered laid out, each township being assigned to one hun¬dred and twenty claimants.

Joseph Hatch received his grant in the second of the two townships which was known as Narraganset township No. 3, Souhegan West, now incorporated as Amherst, New Hampshire. It originally embraced parts of the towns of Merrimack, Mt. Vernon, and Milford, and was under the government of Mass¬achusetts until 1741, when on adjusting colony lines it was found to fall within the province of New Hampshire. The tract lay on the south side of Souhegan River and contained 24,457 acres.

The grantees obligated themselves to settle families thereon, with a learned Orthodox minister, within the space of seven years, or, failing to do so, to forfeit their rights under this grant.
Isaac Robinson., colleague and pioneer neighbor of Jonathan Hatch in Falmouth, had removed to Martnas Vineyard and established his home at West Tisbury, there he filled the office of Recorer in 1673 and where, for many subsequent years, he was a Selectman. That the two families ever maintained the c1ose association which bespeaks kinship is quite certain, and having Isaac Robinson at West Tisbury, that town and Chilmark, which as late as 1680 was spoken of as "in the Manor of Tysbery," became home ground to the sons of Jonathan Hatch. So it is not surpriseing that three of them found their wives there. Benjamin married a daughter of John Eddy of West Tisbury, March 1, 1682/3; Moses married her sister Hephzibah, May 9, 1686; and Joseph Hatch married Amy, daughter of James Allen of Fhilmark, December 7, 1683.

Amy Allen was born August 14, 1663, probably at Sandwich, where three children were recorded to James Allen between 1663 and 1667, and she came with her parents to West Tisbury when about eight years of age. Joseph Hatch had surely reached the age of discretion when he married, being then twenty nine and nine years Amy Allen's senior.

The following entries on