King Philip’s War was a bloody and costly series of raids and skirmishes in 1675 and 1676 between the Native American people and the colonials. King Philip was the Native American leader Metacom.
In 1688, during the Glorious Revolution, the Protestant king and queen,William and Mary, took the English throne from Catholic King James II. The bloodless revolution profoundly impacted the American colonies.
Hopewell Davis was born in 1644 in Charlestown, Suffolk County, Massachusetts. His parents were Barnabas and Patience Davis. He was a cordwainer.
He served in King Philip’s War under Captain Joseph Sill.
In 1675 Capt. Sill was engaged in service from Sudbury westward toward Wachusett Hill; and subsequently by order of Major Simon Willard he was employed in guarding supplies and in guard duty about the various garrison houses. (The History of Concord, Massachusetts)
When he was 38 years old, he married his first wife, Sarah Boynton, on September 14, 1682. Sarah was born on April 19, 1658. Her parents were John Boynton and Eleanor Pell. Eleanor Pell was Daniel Warner's third wife.
Hopewell and Sarah's children included:
John Davis (1684, died young),
Joseph Davis (1686, died as an infant)
Ebenezer Davis (1688, died at birth),
Sarah Davis Palmer Richards (1690, married Thomas Palmer),
Eleanor Davis (1693), and
John Davis (1698, married Sarah Kimball).
His wife, Sarah, died on December 14, 1704 in Charlestown.
His second wife was named Mercy or Mary.
He died in Charlestown on August 17, 1712 when he was 68 years old.
Old Style Calendar
Before 1752 the year began on Lady Day, March 25th,. Dates between January 1st and March 24th were at the end of the year. Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) are used to indicate whether the year has been adjusted. Often both dates are used.
A cordwainer (or cordwinder) made shoes from fine, soft leather. There was a distinction between a cordwainer, who made shoes, and a cobbler who repaired them.
Some Puritans gave their children hortatory names (from the Latin for “encourage”) like Thankful, hoping that the children would live up to them. The names were used for several generations.
Charlestown was first settled in 1628 and was the Massachusetts Bay Colony's initial seat of government. Charlestown became part of Boston in 1874.
A blockhouse or garrison house is a small, isolated fort. The typical blockhouse was two stories with the second story overhanging the first. It had small openings to allow residents to shoot attackers without being exposed.
