Lynn, Essex County, Massachusetts was first settled by English Puritans in 1629 and was first incorporated in 1631 as Saugus.
John Endecott (or Endicott) was the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Governor John Endicott
Hannah Collins Ingersoll was born in 1636 in Lynn, Essex County, Massachusetts. Her parents were Henry and Ann Collins.
When she was about 21 years old, she married Deacon Nathaniel Ingersoll on March 25, 1657. Nathaniel was the son of Richard Ingersoll and Ann Langley. He was born in Salem about 1632 and was about 11 years old when his father died. His mother married John Knights, of Newbury and he was sent to live with Governor John Endicott (Endecott) on his plantation called Orchard in Salem Village. He was sent to learn how to farm the land his father had left him.
The Ingersolls' daughter’s name is not known, but she was possibly Sarah Ingersoll. They adopted Benjamin Hutchinson when he was an infant. He was the son of Joseph Hutchinson. Benjamin was baptized September 26, 1666.
Nathaniel was a tavern keeper. In 1673 he was allowed to sell
bear and syder by the quart for the tyme whyle the farmers are building of their meeting house and on Lord’s days afterwards.
Church meetings were held at the Ingersoll home. Near their home was a block house where a watch was kept for Indian raids.
In 1675 he was a lieutenant in the attack on the Narragansetts in the Great Swamp fight.
The first hearings in the infamous Salem witch trials were held at the Ingersoll tavern on March 1, 1692. Nathaniel was an accuser in at least seven cases. The Sarah Ingersoll who made a deposition may have been their daughter. Benjamin Hutchinson testified against Mary Estey during her trial.
Nathaniel died in 1719. The bulk of his property went to his adopted son, Benjamin Hutchinson.
The Great Swamp Fight was on November 2, 1675. Josiah Winslow led a force of over 1000 colonial militia and about 150 Pequot and Mohegan warriors against the Narragansett. Several abandoned Narragansett villages were burned and the tribe retreated to a five acre fort in the center of a swamp near Kingston, Rhode Island. The fort, which was occupied by over a thousand indigenous warriors, was taken after a fierce fight. It was burned and the inhabitants, including women and children, were killed or evicted. The winter stores were destroyed. The colonists lost about 70 men and nearly 150 were wounded.
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.
