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- Date: 25 Nov 1662
- Note: Marriage Portion from father:
- "Promised by George Felt the elder to his son George Felt the younger to pay him out this Day of his Marriage, which was the 25 day of 9ber 1662, to the full & Intyre Sum of Fourty poinds Sterling as also at the Decease and Death of the Said George the Elder there is and ought to Bee Due and paid unto the said George the younger out of the Estate of Said George the Elder, So much as shall make up and Compleat the above Expressed Sum of fourty pounds to be and be made a full hundred pounds Sterling to be from hence fourth proper to the Said George the said George the younger, his heirs, Executors, administratiors or assigns, Notwithstanding any Deeds Conveyances or Delegations to be made by the said George the Elder. In witness to this Truth and to confirm the Obligation hereunto I George Felt, the Elder this 27 Day of 9ber 1662 have subscribed my name ... this above written writing was Entered into the booke of records of Scarborrow and Falmouth."[8]
- George Felt, Jr. was baptized with his two sisters in the First Church of Charlestown, Mass., one week after the adminission of their mother to the membership of this church, as witnessed by the following entry from its records. "1638-11th mo: day 26. Elizabeth Felch: George Felch and Mary Felch the son and daughters of Elizabeth were baptized." (Record Book of the First Church of Charlestown, Mass., page 206) It is probable that at this time he was several years old. He was undoubtedly taken to Casco Bay by his father, and when he returned from there about 1649 came with him. It seems probable that he lived in Salem for a time before returning to Casco Bay, for the signature of his son, George Felt 3d, to a petition partly quoted here, would appear to indicate that he was a house proprietor in that place prior to 1661. A meeting was called "at ye dwelling house of Mr. Saml Goltrite in Salem, in holder, on ye 29th day of June, 1713," of citizens, (and probably of their heirs or representatives,) who were "Legall proprietors of ye Comon and undevided Lands in ye township of Salem, by ye laws of this Province, having Cottages or dwelling places before ye year 1661." He returned to Casco Bay about 1660 (at the same time as his father), and was made freeman in Falmouth in that year. He married, November 25, 1662, Philippa Andrews, daughter of Samuel and Jane Andrews (**see Samuel Andrews for detailed footnote contained here **map), who was born in 1632. On this occasion he received from his father a "marriage portion" as shown by the following deed. (**see tag: Biography, 25 Nov 1662 for deed text **map)
- In 1670 he received from his mother-in-law, who had married Arthur Mackworth for her second husband and who had been for the second time left a widow, the gift of a homestead, as evidenced by the following deed. "Be it knowne unto all men by these presents, That I Jane Mackworth of ye Towne of ffalmouth alias Casco Bay, widow of Arthur Mackworth Gentl Deceased. For divers good Causes & consideracons me Thereto moving more Especialy for & in consideracon of a Marriage that hath been betwixt my daughter Phillipe & George Felt, have given granted &c a quantity of Land adjoyning to his now dwelling house in ye Town of ffalmouth alias Casco, bounded as followeth, with a deep Gutt hard by a parcel of pines at a place commonly called or knowne by ye name of ye Mussle cove alias, doco Missick upon ye South West Side of my daughter purchas her land which was given her by my Deceased husband Mr Arthur Mackworth Deceased & So in breadth to ye bounds of my Son James Andrews according to a writing or Deed which he Received o fme which lyeth South westerly from ye said Geoge ffelts & So up into ye Country till a hundred acres be Compleate & Ended, allwaies provided that he doe not Entrench neither upon My Son Andrews his land nor my daughter purchas her land, Together likewise with Two parcells of Marsh lying and being in ye aforementioned Towne of Falmouth in ye river which goeth up to poosumskut ye one commonly called or knowne by ye name of Morrice his Marsh Together with all woods underwoods profits privledges Commodities Emoluments & Immunities that may or shall thence arise or any way appertain or belong or to any part thereof To have and To Hold &c, &c. Allwaies provided that he ye said George ffelt his heirs & Successors doe & shall from time to time well & Truly pay or cause to be payed unto me Jane Mackworty my heirs Executors or assigns a due & proportionable part of such anual rents anualy as ye orriginal grant my husband Mr. Arthur Mackworth hath received doeth oblige to pay and make good unto ye Lord proprietor according to ye Tearms & true intent thereof if any such rent shall be by any Lord proprietor Lawfully demanded of me my heirs Executors or administr and in Witness of ye truth hereof I Jane Mackworth have hereunto Set my hand & Seals this Seventh Day of February in ye year of our Lord 1669-70." (Old Norfolk Records, Vol. 4, pg 95)
- This gift was evidently made in accordance with the desire of her husband expressed upon his death-bed, his informal will being known to us through the testimony of a neighbor, as follows: "This 17th day of August; 1660, I Robert Jordan to ascertajne on my oath, that I Heard Mr. Arthur Makeworth on his death bedd declare that his full will & testament was, that his wife Mis Jane Mackeworth should by her wisedom dispose of his whoole estate aequally as neare as might bee betweene her former husband's children & the Children between them, & In Case any shortnesse was on either side, that itt should rather bee on his owne Childrens side & further sayth not onely the dease of the sd Mr. Arthur Maceworth was before the submission of these Towns of Sarbrough & Falmouth to the Massatusetts authority under my hand & on my oath, by mee Robrt Jordan." (York County, Maine, Registry of Deeds, Vol. 1, page 155.)
- At about the time of George Felt's return to Maine the people of Casto Bay had become restive by reason of the uncertainty of their government. Though now under the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts Colony, many of the settlers objected to the rule of the magistrates appointed by the General Court, claiming that their appointment had been obtained through fraudulent misrepresentation, and undoubtedly there was a feeling that Massachusetts had gotten outside of the limits covered by her own patent. At this juncture a petition was presented to the General Court signed by a number of the dwellers at Casco Bay, George Felt, Jr., among them,as follows:
- "1660. - To the Hon. Gen. Court of the Mass. or whom else it shall or may concern, the humble petition of divers inhabitants and freemen of Plymouth, humbly sheweth. That whereas there hath been a sad contention in these parts concerning government, Yor petitioners most of them living upon their labor, and desirous rather to live in peace and learne to be obedient and submit to what government it shall please the Lord and our sovereign to appoint over us, than to contend or determine who our governors shall be, yet there hat latelie certaine men appeared in our names att ye Hon. Gen. Court, and as we are informed presented a petition which was without our consents or knowledge, for had ye government been settled and that we could have acted with freedom of spirit wee would never have dishonored the Hon. Gen. Court, with men of such lives and vonversations, as are first, George Cleeves, who is upon record for breach of oath and accused of forgery. Mr. Phippen not many days before his departure was beating and drawing of ye blood of his Majesties subjects and stands upon record for slandering ye deputie governor and was always a man of contention and strife since he came in our parts. John Phillips hath acknowledged himself guilty of keeping a woman which is none of his wife this 14 years. These men cam in your names and exercise authorite over us with many soare threatenings wherefore our humble request is, that if itt please the Lord to continue us still under your government you would be pleased to grant us the liberty that other of his Majesties subjects have, and you by Article granted, ye is freedom to vote for our officers and not such men imposedupon us, and we shall ever pray &c."
- In 1663 matters appear to have been but little better, and another delcaration, with George Felt among the signers, was forwarded to the Court at York as follows:
- "1663, 4 July. A Declaration of ye Townes of Scarborrow & ffalmouth, Black Point & Casco, to be Presented to ye Hond Court att York. - Wee ye subscribers according to a petition presented by some of us to ye Hond Generall Court of ye Massachusetts doe hereby Declare that we are not willing to contend or Determine who shall be our Gouernours butt that to submitt to whom itt shall please ye Lord & our Soueraing to appoint oure us. Neither to resist any power whereby any man shall be legallie cast in any Civill action Capitall or Criminall. Yett wee are not willing to subject or submit ourselves to ye claimes of either Authorities in this province or Countie for fear of bringing ouselves into further trouble till itt shall bee Determined by his Majestie our Soueraing Lord ye King to whom we properlie belong, but if itt shall so please ye Claimes of both Authrities to act according to ye agreement alls wel, wee shall willinglie and Chearfelli Submit thereto Till we have a definite resolution from our Souerings.
- "Wee doe Likewise Declare our griefe of Spritt for ye hard and viciull cariage & usage wch not Long since exercised upon an Antient officer officer amongst us who acted in his Majesties Name and for ought we know by Authorite Deriued from him, and ye Daylie threatenings which are Daylie putt forth concerning them ye joyned with him in acting & those ye obayed in submitting and as wee concieue in Confidence wee are bound to Due the utmost of our endeavors for ye preservation of any from amongst us to be used in ye Lide manner by reason wee are fullie perswaded yt ye Hond Court nevr gave any order for Such actings ahd yt some of us have often heard him and others declare yt if ye hHd General Court had ought to say against them they would be willing to goe if they sent but yt Least officer for them.
- "Subscribed us fourth day of Juli 1663."
- In 1665, three Commissioners were appointed by the King, into whose hands was given command of the province. A few years later, Massachusetts again claimed jurisdiction, and finally, in 1677, settled the vexed question by purchasing of Ferdinando Georges, the grandson and heir of Sir Ferdinando, the original patentee, for the sum of 1250 pounds sterling, all rights in the Province of Maine, Expressly "excepting all leases, grants and conveyances made by the original Proprietor, or his agents engaged in planting the Province."
- July 29, 1666, George Felt appears as a juryman at a Court held at Casco, which tried James Robinson of Black Point for the murder of Christopher Collins of the same place, of which charge he was acquitted.
- In 1672, in conjunction with Jenkin Williams and Francis Neale, he bought a large tract of land of the Indians, as witnessed by the following deed (Essex Land Records, Vol. 8, page 181):
- "This indenture or covenant made this 14th day of August in the yeare of our Lord 1672, betwixt Nanaadcoult, Wavaad Button, Indian Sagamores, of the one part, and Francis Neale, George Fealt & Jenkin Williams, planters, of the other party Witnesseth, that Wee Nanaadconit, & Wavaad Button, for and in consideration of a certaine sum of money or moneys worth to uspaid in hand before the sealing and signing of these presents, wherewith we acknowledge ourselves fully sattisfied paid and contented; have given, granted, bargained and sold & by these presents doe absolutely give, grant, sell, aliene, enfoefe & confirm unto Francis Neale, George Fealt and Jenkin Williams, their heires & Assigns forever, a quantity or parcell of land, lying and being near Casco Bay & up the river called Psumpskitt river & bounded as followeth, viz: On ye Northease Side of the river, and to begin where Mr. Geo. Munjoy according to his deede which about five or six years since he had from us, endeth, upon the same side of the river, and So to run downe by the Side of the river to the falls & Soe along the Side of the river within four score poles of John Waklies now dwelling house, and six miles up in ye country; together with all lands, marshes, wood, timber, trees, underwoods, with ye privilidges of the river and falls and all other profitts and privilidges of What nature Soever is or may be contained within the above mentioned bounds; alwayes excepted, that if any of the aforesaid land be within the now claime of title of the Massachusetts Colony or Jurisdiction we do not presume to dispose of itt. To have & to hold &c, &c., . . . And in witness of ye truth hereof, Wee, Nanaadconit and Wavaad Button, have hereunto Sett our hands and Seals this fourth of August 1672."
- Other Indians afterward claimed this land on the plea that those who had disposed of it had no right to do so. George Felt's share of this tract was in 1690 conveyed by his son George to David Phippen of Salem, the other two proprietors having already deeded him their portion.
- In 1673 the town of Falmouth granted to George Felt Lower Clapboard Island, lying in the bay about a mile off his house (Old Norfolk Land Records, Vol. 4, page 78):
- "Att a meeting of Select Men of this Towne of Falmouth this 23 January 1673, Granted to George Felt Junr the Lower Claboard Island with the priviledges thereunto belonging Excepting Liberty for any Inhabitants of the Towne to fetch Stones from thence or for Fowling, all Towne right in it's granted to him . . . This writing was entered into the records of Scarbarrow and falmouth."
- He also possessed the Three Brothers and the Little Chebeague Islands in Casco Bay. (Essex Land Records, Vol. 32, page 138).
- We find also another piece of property deeded to him, the record of which is as follows:
- "This is to certifie Whom soever it may Concern that I Marjary Haynes have set and let to George Felt of Casco Bay a Tract or pacell of Marsh formerly belonging to my former husband Nicholas White Dec'd lying at the North East End of Mericancague Neck, all and every part of the Same lying in two parts with a point of upland running between and bing on the Eastern Side of the Creek of Mayne Gutt, all upon the value and Consideration of two pairs of Shoos paid in hand and are rec'd, and also for the building of a Small house frame Sixteen feet long and twelve foot wide Covered posts and Logged panes Closed and well lined and Three pairs of Couples upon it all within the Space of the two years after the Date hereof During which time the said George Felt and upon these Terms Shall and May Cutt Sett and lett the said Marsh, given under my hand this 15th day of Aprill 75 . . . this writing was Enteredinto the book of Records of Scarborrow & Falmouth." (Old Norfolk Land Records, Vol. 4, page 75.)
- The day following the execution of the above deed, William Haynes, schoolmaster, the husband of Marjery, conveyed to George Felt,
- "My right and Intrest of my Plantation at a place Commonly called pine point according to his bill of Sale, together with a piece of Marsh at a place Called Little river where upon I doe grant him Legall posession as really as tho I weare personally there." (Old Norfolk Land Records, Vol. 4, page 74)
- In the beginning o the year 1675 the prosperity of Falmouth stood at a high point, the town was occupied by energetic and enterprising people and mills had been established upon various streams in the vicinity. When, in June of this year, King Philip's War broke out in the Plymouth Colony, George Felt Jr., was peacefully enjoying his home at Mussel Cove, about two miles eastward from th e"Neck," or the "machigone" of the natives, the present city of Portland.
- Although the Falmouth Indians evinced no other than a peaceable disposition towards the English, it was thought best on the part of the authorities to deprive them of their weapons; but upon attempting to carry this measure into effect, collisions naturally occurred and the fear anf jealousy of the Indians were aroused. They forgot all the former kindnesses they had received, and open hostilities between them and the settlers became the signal for mutual exterminaiton.
- The Indians begain by gratifying their revenge upon those whom they deemed unfriendly, but, through the influence of the disaffected Narragansett Indians, the war ended in the indiscriminate slaughter of the settlers. An early and severe winter put a stop to hostilities, but not until some 50 settlers and over 90 Indians had been slain. In the summer of 1676 the war again broke out with renewed fury and with greater loss of life and property then on the previous year, and George Felt was numbered among its victims. So furious and persistent were the Indian attacks upon the people of Falmouth, that they fled for safety to a garrison upon James Andrew's Island, now known as Cushing's Island.
- The Rev. William Hubbard, Minister of Ipswich, published in 1677, a History of the Indian Wars in New England and in the quaint and interesting language of this narrative we give the closing scenes in the life of George Felt, Jr.
- "The day after, one George Felt suspecting the worst by reason of a smoak he saw on the opposite side of the Town, took his wife and Children into a Canoo to see what the matter was but when he came near a point of Land not far off, he found several of his Neighbors goods, which made him conclude their Owners were killed, which was a sufficient warning to him likewise to fly for his Life which he did to the same Island . . . Within a while after, or much about the same time, another sad Accident befel six or seven of them that belonged to Casco. For upon the twenty third of September some Persons that blonged to a Sloop and a Shallop that were pressed into the service . . . were over desirous to save some of their Provision, to which end they first made their Address to Captain Hathorne (Under whom they were ordered to serve) desiring they might be released; the Captain told them he could not do it, but desired them to have patience for a while, they told him, that they must and would go, else their Families must starve at Home; the Captain told them further of the danger, and bid them not stir at their peril; However they would go, and soon after went to Mount-joyes Island to fetch Sheep, where they landed seven men; but the Indians presently set upon them. They presently betook themselves to the Ruines of a Stone House where they defended themselves as long as they could; but at last they were all destroyed either with Stones cast in upon them, or else with the Enemies shot, except one, who, thought at first it was hoped that his wounds were notmortal, yet soon after dyed thereof; Amongst them was one George Felt, much lamented, who had been more active than any man in those parts against the Indians, but at last he lost his own life amongst them, in this too desperate an Adventure."
- The "Mount-joyes" (Munjoy) Island, here named, is now known as House Island.
- Phillipa, the widow of George Felt, removed, probably at this time to Salem, and married there, Dec. 19, 1682, Samuel Platt, an early settler of Rowley, Mass, as his second Wife. He died and she married again, April 9, 1690, Thomas Nelson, as his third wife. He was the town clerk or recorder of Rowley, from 1694 to 1697. He died April 5, 1712. She died Sept. 29, 1709. The children of George Felt removed finally to Salem about 1690.
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Categories: Suffolk County, Massachusetts | Falmouth, Massachusetts
According to the image I posted there may be another child. I would check children's dates of birth.
All in all, Great job!