Rev. Stephen Bachiler - Part 4
My 10th Great-Grandfather
Ministry and Misery!
The General Court, [in Saugus/Lynn] for the first four years, consisted of
the Governor [John Winthrop], Deputy Governor, twelve Assistants, or
magistrates, and all who had obtained the privileges of freemen. Instead,
therefore, of sending representatives, the whole number of freemen attended the
Court in person. An order was made, that no persons should be admitted to the
privileges of freemen, but such as were members of some church, and had
certificates from their ministers that their opinions were approved. This
policy continued, till…1662.[i]
Unfortunately, neither Stephen nor the government authorities
behaved much differently in the colony than they had in England and neither was
willing to change. Massachusetts was filled with Puritans who were seeking
freedom in worship while officials in the Colony were pressured to uphold the
principles of the church as they were prescribed in England. Stephen was
independent and refused to abide by the strict rules the magistrates placed on
the church. After only four months of preaching in Saugus, the General Court
passed an order to limit Stephen’s ministry to those who had come with him from
England. The use of the word “scandles” meant he was conducting worship differing
in some way from the rigid rituals approved by the governing officials of the
colony.
Octobr 3, 1632, Mr. Batchelr is
required to forbeare exerciseing his guifts as a pastr or teacher
publiquely in or Pattent [land grant], unless it be to those hee brought with him,
for his contempt of Authority, & till some scandles be removed.[ii]
The
limitations on his public ministry were removed five months later and he was
free to gather a church in Massachusetts Bay.
A Court holden att Boston March 4th 1632. The
Court hath reversed the last act against Mr. Batchelr wch
restrained him from further gathering a Church wthin this Pattent.[iii]
However, his loyal followers were in constant conflict with
other members of his congregation and the authorities during his first four
years in his new home. Governor John
Winthrop noted on 15 March 1635 that “divers of the brethren of that
church, not liking the proceedings of the pastor and withal making a question
whether they were a church or not, did separate from church and communion.”[iv]
Stephen
requested that the dissatisfied members of the congregation place their
grievances in writing, but they refused. He reacted by threatening to
excommunicate all of the objectors. The conflict was brought before elders of
all the churches and both sides were reconciled for a time.
Stephen had previously resisted swearing the required oath to
the colony, because he opposed governmental control over churches. He took the
oath on 6 May 1635, perhaps as a result of pressure from the fallout of his
latest controversy. The oath gave him
status as a freeman with voting rights.[v]
Unfortunately,
the reconciliation with Stephen’s congregation was short lived. As a result, Stephen was again brought before the
court in January, 1636.
Mr. Batcheller of Saugus was convented before the
magistrates. The cause was, for that, coming out of England with a small body
of six or seven persons, and having since received in many more at Saugus and
contention growing between him and the greatest part of his church (who had,
with the rest, received him for their pastor), he desired dismission for
himself and his first members, which being granted, upon supposition that he
would leave the town (as he had given out), he with the said six or seven
persons presently renewed their old covenant, intending to raise another church
in Saugus; whereat the most and chief of the town being offended, for that it
would cross their intentions of calling Mr. Peter or some other minister, they
complained to the magistrates, who, foreseeing the distraction which was like
to come by this course, had forbidden him to proceed in any such church way
until the cause were considered by the other ministers, etc. But he refused to
desist. Whereupon they sent for him, and upon his delay, day after day, the
marshal was sent to fetch him. Upon his appearance and submission and promise
to remove out of the town within three month he was discharged.[vi]
On the Move
Stephen spent about a year in nearby Ipswich where he independently established a church that was not authorized by the colony. Consequently, it was not long before he was forced to relocate again. He walked an astounding one hundred miles down the coast to a more distant settlement in Yarmouth, Massachusetts, in the winter of 1637/8. Yarmouth was still a wilderness and it is likely Stephen and his band of followers suffered greatly from the cold and lack of provisions.
Governor Winthrop wrote in an entry from late March of that
year, that “Another plantation was now in hand at Mattakeese (Now Yarmouth),
six miles beyond Sandwich. The undertaker of this was one Mr. Batchellor, late
pastor of Sagus, (since called Lynn), being about seventy-six years of age; yet
he walked thither on foot in a very hard season. He and his company, being all
poor men, finding the difficulty, gave it over, and others undertook it.” In
other words, Stephen and his followers probably did not have enough wealth and resources
to sustain their settlement Yarmouth.[vii]
An unusually strong earthquake was recorded in New England on
1 June 1638. Stephen and his family members almost certainly experienced the
unsettling effects of the trembling earth on that day.
Between three and four in the afternoon, being clear, warm weather,
the wind westerly, there was a great earthquake. It came with a noise like a
continued thunder or the rattling of coaches in London, but was presently gone…
It shook the ships, which rode in the harbor, and all the islands, etc. The
noise and the shakings continued about four minutes. The earth was unquiet
twenty days after, by times.[viii]
The great earthquake was so violent its shock, in some places, that movables
in houses were thrown down, and people of doors could scarcely retain a
position on their feet.[ix]
Stephen
abandoned the remote settlement at Yarmouth and moved north of Lynn to Newbury,
Massachusetts, for about a year, where he received a grant of land on 6 July
1638. He again organized a church at Newbury, probably from the same members he
had originally gathered at Lynn. Soon after, on 7 October 1638, Stephen
petitioned the General Court in Massachusetts for a land grant farther up the
coast at Winnacunnet, the Native American name for Hampton, meaning “Pleasant
Pines.” His request was granted, perhaps
both as an effort to be rid of Stephen’s troublesome preaching and to strengthen
rights to land on the northern edge of the colony.
The Court grants that the petitioners, Mr. Steven
Bachiler, Christo: Hussey, Mary Hussey, Vidua, Thom: Cromwell, Samuel Skullard,
John Osgood, John Crosse, Samu: Geenfield, John Molton, Tho: Molton, Willi:
Estow, Willi: Palmer, Willi: Sergant, Richrd Swayne, Willi: Sanders, Robrt
Tncke, with divers others, shall have liberty to begin a plantation a
Winnacunnet and Mr. Bradstreete, Mr. Winthrop, Jr., and Mr. Rawsome, or some
two of them, are to assist in setting out the place of the towne, and
apportioning the several quantity of land to each man, so as nothing shal bee
done therein without leave from them, or two of them.[x]
Stephen signed a land entry on the records of Hampton on 8 September 1638. Further proof of Stephen’s move to Hampton was found in a letter he wrote to his friend John Winthrop.
To my worshipful friend, John Winthrop, Esq., at his
house in Ipswich. these: Worthy Sir, I comment me to you & yours in the
Lord, Sir it is, that we are resolved (God so consenting) the second working
day of the next weeke to set forward towards our plantation, [settlement]
preparing thereto the day before. We intend to go by a shallop, [small rowboat or sailboat] so that as we hope and
desire to have your helpe and our Christian friend’s Mr. Bradstreete; so we
pray [request] you both to be ready to accompany us, the day following:
We were there & viewed it cursorily [quickly] and we found a
reasonable meet [suitable] place, which we shall shew you; but we
concluded nothing. I pray you acquaint Mr Bradstreete with our desire &
purpose, that we may lay some foundation & the better by your helpe &
assistance. The Lord’s good eye be ever upon you & yours, & so I rest
in him that is alsufficient. Yours in all Christian office & service, his
most unworthy
This 9, of this 8th
month, 1638 Stephen
Bachiler.
Hampton, New Hampshire
At Stephen’s request, Winnicunnet, at the north edge of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, was established and incorporated as a town named Hampton, (later to be part of New Hampshire), on 7 June 1639.[xi] About a month later, Stephen and his son-in-law, Christopher Hussey, divested of their property in Newbury.
On the 5th of July, 1639, he and Christopher
Hussey sold their houses and lands in Newbury for “six score pounds,” and
thereafter his entire interest was with the Hampton settlement. The town in
1639 granted their pastor three hundred acres of land for a farm besides his
house lot, and he gave them a bell for the meeting house.… In the Hampton record
book containing the grants in the year 1644 and 1658, copied according to the
town vote, concerning the copying of grants with witnesses, if necessary, is
the following:
To Steven Bachiler sometimes of
Hampton.
1. Impr. nine acres & half of
upland granted unto him, for a house lott:
2. & five acres of upland added
to the south-east end thereof: fourtenth acres & half granted unto him:
laying between the upland of John Samborn towards the south-west & the
upland of Christopher hussy, towards the northeast abutting upon the
meeting-house green in pt & upland of John Samborn in pt towards the
southeast: more or less as it is layd out.
3. Item abought fower acres of swampy
ground granted unto him: layeing between the ground of John Samborns towards
the north-east: & the ground of Christopher Hussy towards the south-east
abutting upon the meeting-house green towards the north-west and the Oxe common
towards the south-east; more or less as it is layd out.
4. Item eleven acres medow granted
unto him layeing between the medow of henry Ambros towards the north: and the
medow of William Samborn towards the south: abutting upon the upland towards
the west: & a common waye by the beach towards the east: more or less as it
is layd out.
5. Item foure acres of medow granted
unto him: layeing between the medow of Richard Swaynes toward the north: &
a common waye towards the south, abutting upon certaine upland towards the
east: & a certain river called Tayler river towsrds the west, more or less
as it is layd out.
6. Item two hundred acres of upland
medow & marsh for a farme layeing between the line of Solsberry in pt:
& the farme of Mr. Tymothy Dalton the Teacher in pt: & the farm of John
Browne in pt towords the south: & the farm of Christopher Huse towards the
north more or less as it is layd outt.
7. Itt eight Acres of upland in the
East field lying between the land of William Samborn towards the south and
como[n] way towards the north abutting upon the fresh medow of the sd Mr.
Bachelder towards the east and the land of John Cliffords towards the west more
or less as itt is layd outt.[xii]
Stephen’s House Lot was on today’s
Park Avenue in Hampton, New Hampshire[xiii]
Christopher and Theodate Hussey lived across the road from
Stephen. Christopher’s mother and Isaac Perkins, whose daughter married the
Hussey’s son John, lived on the north side of the Meeting House Green.
A comparison
of this map with today’s streets and highways follows:
The main road going horizontally across the top of the map
then, at right, angling down to the right corner, is today’s Winnacunnet Road.
At the bottom right corner, it leads “To The Sea”.
Today’s Lafayette Road/Route One starts in the top left and
goes vertically down (south) into the thicker road, then about 2/3 of the way
down angles sharply off to the left corner in the small road reading “To
Salisbury”. That road today is pretty much straight as an arrow north to south.
Midway down that same road a small road angles off to the
left that reads “To Drake Side”. That is today’s Drakeside Road.
The fat road leading from the point where Route One angles
off “To Salisbury” to the right and its meeting with Winnacunnet Road, is
today’s Park Ave.
The two roads leading off the bottom of the map both say “To
the Landing”, and at the time were both ends of a single road that went in a
loop. Today they are still there, called Landing Road, but are cut off in the
middle by a new highway.
Lastly the small road in the top right is Mill Road.[xiv]
.JPG)
Land Grant to Stephen Bachiler
Mentioning Christopher Hussey
Page 2 from Volume 1 of the Hampton
Town Records[xv]
Hampton was a very desirable location for settlement due to its lush natural resources. Much of the land was level marsh and meadow, covered with salt grass, which was ideal for grazing livestock. A variety of soil types was present, including dark, fertile soil well suited for the cultivation of crops. Rivers and ponds provided ample sources of mill power and clean water. The low sandy beaches and sheltered coves were perfect for landing small fishing boats. Large patches of forested land supplied rich stores of both evergreen and deciduous trees for lumber. Fish, fowl and wild game were abundant sources of food for the new inhabitants.
However, Hampton occupied an unsettled wilderness lacking any
existing shelters or sources of manufactured supplies. Much of the settlers’
time and effort was consumed by creating log homes for their families and
planting crops to feed their children. Livestock were kept in a common pasture
and shepherded by a trusted man who was hired to keep watch over them during
the day. Each resident was responsible for driving his animals to the shepherd
every morning and picking them up every evening to spend the night on their
owners’ property. Even with such careful care of their livestock, sheep and
cattle were often killed by hungry wolves lurking in the forest.[xvi]
Historical Markers in Hampton, New Hampshire
Old Landing Road Which Stephen
Traveled to Establish Hampton[xvii]
Boulder Honoring Rev. Stephen Bachiler in Meeting House Green
Memorial Park[xviii]
FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
HAMPTON. N.H.
ON OCTOBER 14, 1633, REV. STEPHEN
BACHILER AND FIFTY-FIVE SETTLERS FROM
MASSACHUSETTS LAID OUT WINNACUNNET PLANTATION AND ORGANIZED WHAT IS NOW THE
OLDEST CONGREGATIONAL SOCIETY IN NEW HAMPSHIRE AND THE SECOND OLDEST CONTINUOUS
CHURCH FELLOWSHIP IN THE UNITED STATES
PRESENTED BY NEW HAMPSHIRE SOCIETY
OF THE DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN
REVOLUTION [xix]
Once again, Stephen, now seventy-seven years old, established
a church and served as the pastor in Hampton. The settlement grew
quickly, with about sixty families arriving in 1639. Among them was Rev. Timothy Dalton who joined Stephen at the pulpit
as Teacher. He opposed Stephen’s concepts of radical church reform and brought a
larger number of followers than Stephen’s small flock. His knowledge was
probably no match for Stephen’s education from the most famous university in
England. However, he was tenacious in his opinions, embraced governmental
control over the church, and was backed by the powerful leaders of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony. In fact, the magistrates may have specifically sent
Dalton to keep an eye on Stephen and his followers. Once again, Stephen was
pitted against a foe who would challenge his beliefs at every turn.
Dalton
probably became frustrated with his futile efforts to silence his adversary. Stephen’s
intellect and years of preaching experience were formidable. After three years
of unsuccessful attempts at defeating Stephen’s beliefs with debate, Dalton attacked
his moral character instead. He accused Stephen of propositioning another man’s
wife, even though the allegations seemed unlikely for a man of Stephen’s
age, history and character. The charges were serious because moral indiscretions were criminal
offenses in the colony. Winthrop wrote in his journal in 1641 that Stephen “being
about 80 years of age, and having a lusty comely woman to his wife, did solicit
the chastity of his neighbor’s wife.”
Of course, it was nearly impossible to prove such an
allegation, since only Stephen and the woman knew the truth of the matter. In
fact, Stephen stated the accusation was slanderous. No doubt, the charges were based
on Dalton’s desire for revenge against Stephen’s public challenges against him.
No judicial or church records were filed detailing any legal proceedings
against Stephen, but he was temporarily excommunicated from the church. That
punishment was soon reversed, but he was removed as pastor. His dismissal was
most likely caused by the conflict and division in his church, not proof of his
guilt. Stephen wrote to Winthrop that he would remove from Hampton “for
peace’s sake.”[xx]
Stephen made an attempt to clear his name before leaving
Hampton, but he was never given an opportunity to plead his case before a
court. He wrote to Governor Winthrop late in 1643 and expressed his desire to
have a public trial to exonerate his character before he accepted one of two
calls he had received, to Casco (Maine) and Exeter (New Hampshire). It is
likely that Dalton’s accusations were not considered credible if Stephen was
offered two pastoral positions in nearby communities. (The section of his
letter which asked for a trial is highlighted below in bold font.)
Stephen
Bachiler to John Winthrop and the Elders of the Church in Boston:
Grace mercy and peace in our L. Jes.
Christ
Right Worshipfull and Reuerend Brethren,
Myne humble duty and Service in Christ remembred. I had no
sooner written and ended this inclosed letter to my brother Cotton, for some
satisfaction to certaine cases, waiting for a convenient messenger, but,
Casco-messenger came with your Christian and carefull letter of my good and
Gods glory (I should haue first said), was deliuerd to me, Which inclosed
letter (tho properly belonging to my brother Cotton, yet because it may
concerne you all, in respect of a reason or motiue, (which after will appeare
in the sequell of this letter) for my furtherance to that work and place,
wherto your advice and perswasion seemeth to ayme) I thought good to inclose it
and send it to you all (vpon my second thought, as before I intended it to my
brother Cotton alone), and this I desire you all to vnderstand to be the true
Cause of communicating it vnto you all. Now, as Touching the maine thing it
selfe of my calleing to Casco, The reasons and motiues which you vse to
further me, were all presented vnto me, and were runing dayly in my
consideration of the said calling, In so much, as it caused me to remember a
passage of a Sermon of my brother Cottons (speaking long since vpon thos words
in the Acts of Christ being made the Cornerstone), he vttered words to this
effect (and I do think he will remember and owne the very words themselues)
That all the proceedings of the Scribes and Pharisies, and all their adherents
together, that by them all, they did but thrust and shoue at Christ, till they
had thrust him into that very place (vidzt, of being the Corner stone of the
fathers building for the strength and perfecting of the same) to which the
father had appoynted him. so said I to my wife considering what a calling I
had, some 14 yeres agon (by that Company of the ploughe), there to sit downe
with them (not as a Planter only, but as a Pastor also) and considering how the
Lord, (thinking to haue rested at New Towne (then so called) vpon that disaster
which happened to the goods of the Company by the false dealing of thos
entrusted by vs with the ploughe ship, and our goods therin) I say how the Lord
shou'd me thence by an other calling to Sagust, then, from Sagust to Newbury;
then from Newbury to Hampton: and now seems to do the like from Hampton to the
very place it selfe (all the former shoveings and remoueings being still
directly towards that place, which I thought in my minde might haue some
resemblance to the Pharisies dealing with my Lord and Master.) Howebeit, I
thought with all, I could not certainely conclude any such secret Counsayle of
the Lorde, seeing the intervenient callings were also of God, and the last to
Hampton, not least certaine to me to be of God, As (also) that the two last
remouealls (N. from Sagust to Newbury, and from Newbury to our Hampton) not
being so proper from god, as from Satan and some vnjust instruments, and this
now from Hampton to Casco to be (after a sort) forced by like vnjust
proceedings, as well (or as much) as by an honorable calling from Casco, and
like honorable advice from you etc. I was and am the more doubtfull in my selfe
and is to my speciall frends, whose harts I haue cause to satisfye, why I
should remoue against so many reasons objected against me. but (I feare) I am
too tedious and large, takeing vp too much of your tyme from imployments of
greater moment. I will therfore come to the very poynt, and to the maine stick
of all, which is this. I see not how I can departe hence, till I haue (or (I
meane) God for me) cleered and vindicated the cause and wronges I haue suffered
of the church I liue yet in, that is, from the Teacher (indeed) who hath
don all and ben the cause of all the dishonour that hath accrew'd to god
shame to my selfe, and griefe to all Gods people, by his irregular proceedings,
and abuse of the power of the church in his hand, by the maior parte cleaveing
to him, being his Countrymen and acquaintance in old Engl. whiles my cause (tho
looked sleitly into by diverse Elders and brethren) could neuer come to a
judiciall searching forth of things, and an impartiall tryall of my allegations
and his defence secundum allegata et probata, which, if (yet) they might, I am
confident in God (vpon certaine knowledge and due proufe before your Selues
whose hands are subscribed to this letter or calling of advice). The Teachers
act of his excomunicateing me, (such as I am, to say no more of my selfe),
would proue the foulest matter, both for the cause alleged, of that
excommunication and the impulsiue cause (even wroth and revenge) and also
the manner of all his proceeding thorough out to the very ende: and lastly his
keeping me still vnder bonds, and much more then here I may mention, for
diverse causes (Christes wrongs and sufferings excepted) that euer was
committed against any member of a church. Which (to beare on my shoulder in
going hence) is so vncomfortable: tho I can refer it to Gods revenging hand,
and wait vpon him (Eccles. 4. 1. 2. and 5. 7 with Psal. 10. 13. 14 verses) yet
(then) I am taught againe, that such sinnes, endangering the very state of
church and common-wealthe for neglecting of the complaintes of the afflicted in
such a state, as wherin both Magistrates, Elders and brethren all are, in the
sincerest manner set to finde out Sin, and (with Levie) to search into the
complaintes of the poore not knowing father nor mother, Church or Elder. In
such a state (I say) in such a wine Seller to finde such a cock-atrice, and not
to kill him—to haue such monstrous and fearfull proceedings passed ouer without
due justice in proceeding etc. this againe stirs vp my spirit to seek for, and
labour to obteine a writ ad melius inquirendum, Towards which the enclosed
letter tendeth (as you may perceaue.) Yet (notwithstanding all that I haue said
of my burthen and temtations) if your wisedomes shall think it and judg it more
safe and reasonable to refer all my wrongcs (conceaued) to Gods owne judgment,
I blesse the Lord for his grace (if I know myne owne hart herein) I can submit
my selfe to be over ruled by you. And (here) I give you all more thankes then
my pen can expresse, for that aboundant vndeserued care, you plainly shew
forthe, in this your letter of advise. Whervpon, I presume, that in case the
Lord shall so prevayle with me and vpon me, as (in your worships short
postscript you suppose I will not engage my selfe so fully and sodainly, till I
shall haue had good experience, both of place and persons) you will ever haue
me in your memories (as occasion shalbe offered) for my gloryfying of God
there, and to be ayding and assisting to that whole Province, because I am
there, by your encouradgment, that I may still depend vpon you for your
Christian Loue and faithfullnes to me and mine. The truth is, I haue sent them
of Casco this answer, brieflye. 1. That their necessityes, hunger and thirst
after Christ their so free choyse of my selfe (so vnworthy), their offers of
Reverence, Credence and subjection to Christes ordinances administred
(according vnto God) etc. I purpose (God willing) to come and confer with them
about the last week of the next monthe (our first) and that the will of God shall
over rule me against all the difficulties of this case (which are many) if that
will, or as that will shall cleerlye appeare vnto me: against which I shall not
willfully or hypocritically shut myne eyes. This I haue promised, and so far I
haue engaged my selfe, and no further. And (indeed) the being of that (my deare
brother Jenner) and mr. Wheelwright stablished in thos partes is not a weak
motiue to drive, or a cord to drawe me that waye. And now (to conclude) if the
Apostles words should be objected, that this is thankes worthy, if a man (for
Conscience sake towards god,) shall endure griefe, suffering wrongfully, that
(therfore) I ought (in this afforesaid cause of mine to endure the greefe
therof, in what soeuer I suffer wrongfully, without seeking for any redresse or
justice against the offender) I confesse it was more absolutly necessary so to
suffer when the church had no civill power to seek vnto, (then as affore is
said) in such a land of righteousness as our new England is. But, I ende, and commending
you all to God, with my poore selfe and cause, I rest Your worships at commaund
in the Lorde, his moste vnworthy Servant
Stephen
Bachiler
Hampton, this 26 of this last M. 1643[xxi]
[The last month in the Old-Style calendar used at this time
was February, so the date was 26 February 1644.]
Stephen, now without a congregation, was invited to be pastor
for the people of both Exeter and Casco. He accepted the call to Exeter with
the provision that they provide a parsonage for him. He offered to contribute
forty pounds towards the purchase of Mr. Wheelwright’s house as a parsonage.
However, the Bay Colony had different plans for Stephen when they learned of
his intentions. Ten days after receiving
news from Exeter, the General Court of Massachusetts, held at Boston on 29 May
1644, passed the following:
Whereas it appears to this Cort that some of the
inhabitants of Exceter do intend shortly to gather a church, & call Mr
Bachiler to be their minister, & forasmuch as the divisions &
contentions wch are amonge the inhabitants there are judged by this
Cort to bee such as for the psnt they cannot comfortably & wth
apprbation pcedd in so weightly & sacred affaires, it its therefore
ordered, that direction shalbe fourthwth sent to the said
inhabitants to defer the gathering of any church, or other such prceeding until
this Cort or the Cort at Ipswich (upon further satisfaction of
their reconciliation & fitness) shall give allowance thereunto.[xxii]
Gov. Winthrop further clarified the action by noting, “and
beside Mr. Batchellor had been in three places before, and through his means,
as was supposed, the churches fell to such divisions, as no peace could be till
he was removed.”[xxiii]
Exeter
complied with the order to postpone organization of a new church, but there was
no mention of Stephen being unfit as a pastor. This was another indication that
the charges of immorality against Stephen were most likely fabricated and
false. However, the disagreements at Hampton were so hostile that Christopher
Hussey, Stephen’s son-in-law, petitioned the court at Boston to hear their case
and make a judgement.
At a General Court of election, held
at Boston, May 29th, 1644, it was ordered that ‘Mr Bellingham, Mr
Saltonstall & Mr Symonds are appointed a committee & have full power to
hear & determine all businesses according to their several petitions.
On the 11th day of June,
1644, on petition of Xpofer Hussie [Christopher Hussey] & 18 others of ye inhabitants of
Hampton, “Mr. Bellingham Mr Soltonstall & Mr Broadstreet are a committee to
examine and judge the differences between the inhabitants.”[xxiv]
On November
12 the court produced an order in regard to the petition:
It is ordered by the Massachusetts General Court that Mr
Samuell Dudley, Mr Carlton, & Mr. John Saunders of Salsberry shall be
commissions to hear & examine all matters concerning Mr. Bachiler &
Hampton: & they have power to examine witnesses upon oath, whereby they may
returne the truth of the case to the next Genrl Cort of
Election.[xxv]
Gov.
Winthrop’s notes from 15 July 1644 explain the situation at Hampton in greater
detail:
The contentions in Hampton were grown to a great height, the
whole town was divided into two factions, one with Mr. Batcheller, their late
pastor, and the other with Mr. Dalton, their teacher, both men very passionate,
and wanting discretion and moderation. Their differences were not in matters of
opinion, but of practise. Mr. Dalton’s party being the most of the church, and
so freemen [men with
voting rights], had great advantage of the other, though a considerable
party, and some of them of the church also, whereby they carried all affairs
both in church and town according to their own minds, and not with that respect
to their brethren and neighbors which had been fit. Divers meetings had been
both of magistrates and elders, and parties had been reconciled, but brake out
presently again, each side being apt to take fire upon any provocation.
Whereupon Mr. Batchellor was advised to remove. And at this court there
came petition against petition both from Hampton and Exeter: whereupon the
court ordered two or three magistrates to be sent to Hampton with full power to
hear and determine all differences there. [xxvi]
Stephen sued the town of Hampton in the Salisbury Quarterly
Court in the fall of 1650 for unpaid wages for serving as their pastor and was
awarded £40. However, 20 shillings, previously paid by John Sanders, was
deducted from the total. The verdict was appealed at Boston and it was unlikely
that Stephen ever received any compensation.[xxvii]
Mr. Steven Bacheller v. Willi. Fuller, Willi. Estow and
Francis Pebody, in behalf of the town of Hampton. Eighty pounds in wages
detained from him. Verdict for plaintiff, 40li. due from town, deducting 20s.
paid by John Sanders. Execution respited for ten weeks. Hampton appealed to
next quarter court at Boston.
Fire and Brimstone
Once again, Stephen was forced to give up his ministry in an
established community and stop preaching or move to a new location and set up a
new church. To add to his misery, fire destroyed his house containing his large
library and most of his belongings in 1644.[xxviii]
Under the circumstances, it was conceivable that the fire was an act of arson
by Dalton’s followers. Stephen’s loss was estimated at £200. In defeat, he soon
sold his large farm to William Howard and Thomas Ward. They sold the land to
Hampton town and later the town granted it to Rev. John Wheelwright.[xxix]
The
Scarlet Letter
Stephen eventually took up residence even farther
north on the Atlantic coast at a place called Strawberry Bank, which would later be named
Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
On
26 April 1647, he conveyed the remainder of the estate he left at Hampton to
his grandson John Samborn. John was instructed to pay £20 from the estate to each
of Stephen’s other grandchildren.
Steven
Bachiler late of Hampton in the County of Norfolk in New England & now of
Strabery Bank for...love and affection towards my four grandchildren John,
Stephen & William Samborn and Nathaniell Batchiller all now or lately of
Hampton deeded to grandson John Samborne, all of my dwelling house and
land or ground whether arable, meadow & pasture or other ground with their
appurtenances together with all the buildings, commons, profits, privileges and
immunites whatsoever to the same or any part thereof belonging or in any wise
appertaining, the greater part thereof being now or lately in the tenure,
possession or occupation of the said John Samborn & other part thereof not
yet particularly appointed by the town (excepting out of this grant the land
with the appurtenances which I formerly sold to William Howard and Thomas
Ward" said John Samborne is to
pay 20 pounds apiece to each of the other grandchildren.[xxx]
By the next month (May), Stephen suffered even more
misfortune when his wife Helen passed away at age sixty. He continued to preach
in Portsmouth, even though there was no formalized church in the town.
Apparently, he was respected and trusted in his new abode because he was appointed
as an overseer for the estate of resident James Woodward’s will on 27 June 1647.
Without a wife to care for his household, Stephen hired Mary,
the young widow of Robert Beedle, to be his housekeeper. This seemingly
practical act proved to be an error of judgement that resulted in an avalanche
of disgrace for Stephen. He faced harsh consequences from his actions when his
strict Puritan neighbors observed a woman in his home. He was literally forced
to marry his housekeeper to avoid scandal. He must have performed his own
marriage, which proved to be another grave misstep.
He wrote to his friend John Winthrop in May, 1647:
I can shew a letter of your Worship’s occasioned by some
letters of mine, craving some help from you in some cases of oppression under
which I lay, - and still do, - wherein also you were pleased to take notice of
those oppressions and wrongs; that in case the Lord should give, or open a door
of opportunity, you would be ready to do me all the lawful right and Christian
service that any cause of mine might require. Which time being, in my conceit,
near at hand, all that I would humbly crave is this – to read this inclosed
letter to my two beloved and reverend brothers, your Elders (Cotton and
Wilson), and in them to the whole Synod. Wherein you shall fully know my
distressed case and condition; and so, as you shall see cause, to join with
them in counsel, what best to do for my relief.
It is no news to certify you that God hath taken from me my
dear helper and yokefellow [wife]. And whereas, by approbation of the whole plantation of
Strawberry Bank they have assigned an honest neighbor, (a widow) to have some
eye and care towards my family, for washing, baking and other such common
services, - it is a world of woes to think what rumors detracting spirits raise
up, that I am married to her, or certainly shall be; and cast on her such
aspersions without ground or proof, that I see not how possibly I shall subsist
in the place, to do them that service from which otherwise they cannot endure
to hear I shall depart. The Lord direct and guide us jointly and singularly
in all things, to his glory and our rejoicing in the day and at the appearing
of our Lord Jesus Christ! And so, with my humble service to your worship, your
blessed and beloved yokefellow, (mine ancient true friend) with blessing on you
both, yours and all the people of God with you, I end and rest your Worship’s
in the Lord commend.[xxxi]
In May 1650, Stephen was fined £10 for failing to publish his
intention of marriage according to law. One-half of the fine was returned to
him in October, the same month that his wife was charged with adultery with
George Rogers, a seaman who lived across the river.
Mr. Steven Bacheller fined for not publishing his marriage
according to law. Execution deferred to Hampton court.[xxxii]
George Rogers and
Mrs. Batcheller were presented upon vehement suspicion of incontinency for
living in one house together and lying in one room. They are to be separated
before the next court or pay 40s.[xxxiii]
To
make the situation ever more unbearable for Stephen, another court order was
passed and issued to the Bachilers during the same month.
Ordered
that Mr. Batchelor and his wife shall lyve together as man and wife, as in this
Court they have publiquely professed to doe; and if either desert one another,
then hereby the Court doth order that the marshal shall apprehend both the said
Mr. Batchelor and Mary his wife, and bring them forthwith to Boston, there to
be kept till the next Quarter Court of Assistants, that farther consideration
thereof may be had, both of them moving for a divorce: and this order shall be
sufficient order soe to doe: provided notwithstanding, that if they put in £50
each of them for their appearance, with such sureties as the commissioners or
any of them for the county shall think good to accept of, that then they shall
be under their baile to appear at the next Court of Assistants: and in case
Mary Batchelor shall live out of the jurisdiction without mutual consent for a
time that then the clerk shall give notice to the magistrate att Boston of her
absence that further order may be taken therein.[xxxiv]
Final
Toll of the Bell
Stephen
had petitioned the court for a divorce from Mary, but instead the court
required him to live with his unfaithful, now pregnant, wife while the divorce
was pending. He was allowed to post bail and if he did not obey the court order,
he faced a term in jail. It seemed as if the magistrates were intent to make
Stephen’s life as miserable as possible. As time passed, it appeared that a
divorce would not be granted and Stephen made the decision to escape his
intolerable situation by returning to England. King Charles I had been beheaded
and state religion had been abolished. Oliver Cromwell, a fellow Puritan who
may have been a friend of Stephen, was now in power.
Sometime after the divorce court
debacle, probably in mid-1654, Stephen and his grandson Stephen Sanborn, sailed
back to England. Stephen had family and friends in London who could have
blessed him with love and care in his final years. He most likely lived in
London, where he died in 1656.
Stephen was buried on 31 October
1656 in the All Hallows Staining Church Cemetery, London, England. If there was
a monument, it is long gone, but All Hallows Church records document his burial
and the receipt of payment of 1 shilling, 6 pence, for the “tolling of the
bells” for Rev. Stephen Bachiler.
“Received
for Stephen Bachilers knell £000 – 01s -06d” in the Receipts by Richard
Pockley, churchwarden, page 193 for the year 1656, MS 4956/3, Guildhall Library
in London.[xxxv]
Remains
of All Hallows Staining Tower Built Circa 1320[xxxvi]
.JPG)
Stephen Bachiler Burial Record[xxxvii]
All Hallows Staining Parish Record, City of
London, England
Transcription of bottom entry on the
page:
“1656 burials
Steeven Bachiller Minester that dyed att Robert Barbers was buryed in the new church yard Octob 31th”
[i] Lewis, Alonzo, & Newhall, James R., History of Lynn, Essex County, Massachusetts, Including Lynnfield, Saugus, Swampscott, and Nahant, Boston, Massachusetts, J.L. Shorey, 1865, p. 134; accessed https://archive.org
[ii] Batchelder, Charles E., Rev. Stephen Bachiler, The New England Historical and Genealogical Register 1892, Volume XLVI, pages 60-61, New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, 1892; referencing Record of the Court of Assistants of the Colony of the Massachusetts Bay, 1630-1692, v. II, Boston Massachusetts, County of Suffolk, Rockwell and Churchill Press, John Noble, editor, 1904, p. 27; accessed https://babel.hathitrust.org
[iii] Lewis & Newhall, p. 142, referencing Record of the Court of Assistants of the Colony of the Massachusetts Bay, 1630-1692, v. II, Boston Massachusetts, County of Suffolk, Rockwell and Churchill Press, John Noble, editor, 1904, p. 30; accessed https://babel.hathitrust.org
[iv] Sanborn, Victor C., Stephen Bachiler, An Unforgiven Puritan, p. 16; accessed https://babel.hathitrust.org
[v] Massachusetts Colony, Shurtleff, Nathaniel Bradstreet, 1810-1874, Massachusetts General Court, Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, Boston, Massachusetts, Boston W. White, 1853; v. 1, 1628-1641, Stephen Bachiler, p. 371; accessed https://babel.hathitrust.org
[vi] Sanborn, V.C., p.159, referencing Massachusetts Historical Collection, Fourth Series, v. VII, p. 441 & Savage, Volume 1, p. 260
[vii] Savage, James, The History of New England from 1630-1649 by John Winthrop, Esq. First Governour of the Colony of the Massachusetts Bay, Volume I, Boston, Massachusetts, Little, Brown and Company, 1853, p. 313; accessed https://babel.hathitrust.org
[viii] Savage, Volume I, pp. 318-319
[ix] Freeman, Frederick, The History of Cape Cod: The Annals of Barnstable County and of Its Several Towns Including the District of Mashpee, Volume 1, Boston, Massachusetts, Geo. C. Rand & Avery, 1860, p. 134; accessed https://babel.hathitrust.org
[x] Massachusetts Colony, Shurtleff, Nathaniel Bradstreet, 1810-1874, Massachusetts General Court, Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, Boston, Massachusetts, Boston W. White, 1853; v. 1, 1628-1641, Session of the General Court, September 6, 1638, p. 236; accessed https://babel.hathitrust.org
[xi] Batchelder, p.160; referencing New Hampshire Provincial Papers, v. 1, p. 151
[xii] Batchelder, pp. 160-161
[xiii] Meeting-House Green 1638 Map, Digital image; accessed www.hamptonhistoricalsociety.org; originally from Dow, Joseph, History of the Town of Hampton, New Hampshire, Volume I, Salem, Massachusetts, Salem Press Publishing and Printing Company, 1893, p. cover; accessed https://babel.hathitrust.org
[xiv] Miner, Mark, Rev. Stephen Bachiler, Miner Descent Blog, May 16, 2010; accessed https://minderdescent.com
[xv] Hampton Records Volume 1 Photos, Hampton Town Records, Hampton, New Hampshire, Hampton Historical Society, Volume 1, p. 2, Stephen Bachiler; accessed https://archive.org
[xvi]
Dow, Joseph, History of the Town of Hampton New Hampshire, Salem,
Massachusetts, Salem Press Publishing and Printing Company, 1893, p. 1-22;
accessed www.google.com/books
[xvii] Digital Image of Old Landing Road Historical Marker No. 119; accessed www.hamptonhistoricalsociety.org
[xviii] Digital Image of Rev. Stephen Bachiler Memorial Stone in Meeting House Green Memorial Park; accessed www.hamptonhistoricalsociety.org
[xix]
Digital Image of First Congregational Church Historical Marker, Hampton, New
Hampshire; accessed www.ancestry.com, Gillum
Family Tree, owned by redreamweavr
[xx] Batchelder, pp.246-248
[xxi] Winthrop, John, Papers of the Winthrop Family, Volume 4, 26 February 1644, Letter from Stephen Bachiler to John Winthrop and the Elders of the Church in Boston; accessed www.masshist.org
[xxii] Massachusetts Colony, Shurtleff, Nathaniel Bradstreet, 1810-1874, Massachusetts General Court, Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, Boston, Massachusetts, Boston W. White, 1642-1649, v. II, p. 67-68, [*52}, 29 May 1644; accessed https://babel.hathitrust.org
[xxiii] Savage, James, The History of New England from 1630-1649 by John Winthrop, Esq. First Governour of the Colony of the Massachusetts Bay, Volume II, Boston, Massachusetts, Little, Brown and Company, 1853, pp. 216-217; accessed https://babel.hathitrust.org
[xxiv] Massachusetts Colony, Volume II, p. 67, 29 May 1644, [*51]
[xxv] Massachusetts Colony, Volume II, p. 79, 12 November 1644, [*62]
[xxvi] Savage, Volume II, pp. 216-217
[xxvii] Essex County, Massachusetts, Quarterly Courts, Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County Massachusetts, Volume I, 1636-1656, Salem, Massachusetts, Essex Institute, 1911, p. 189; accessed https://babel.hathitrust.org
[xxviii] Batchelder, p. 348
[xxix] Batchelder, p. 251
[xxx] Batchelder, p.348, referencing Rockingham County Registry of Deeds, Rockingham, New Hampshire, v. 13, p. 221
[xxxi] Winthrop, John, Winthrop Papers, Volume 5, 1644-1649, Boston, Massachusetts, Massachusetts Historical Society, 1947, p. 153; accessed https://archive.org
[xxxii]
Essex County, Massachusetts, Records and Files of the
Quarterly Courts of Essex County Massachusetts, Volume I, 1636-1656, Salem,
Massachusetts, The Essex Institute, 1911, p. 191; accessed
https://babel.hathitrust.org
[xxxiv]
Pierce, p. 36
[xxxv]
Sanborn, George Freeman Jr., Rev. Stephen Bachiler of
Hampton: Some Additional Information, The New Hampshire Genealogical
Record, January 1991, Bol.8, No. 1, Hampton, New Hampshire; accessed
www.hampton.lib.nh.us
[xxxvi] Digital image of All Hallows Tower; accessed https://en.wikipedia.org
[xxxvii]
All Hallows Staining, City of London, 1642-1710, London England, Church of England
Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812, Steeven Batchiller, October 31,
1656, London Metropolitan Archives; accessed www.ancestry.com,
image 102
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