"[L]iberty must at all hazards be supported.
We have a right to it, derived from our Maker.
But if we had not, our fathers have earned and bought it for us,
at the expense of their ease, their estates, their pleasure, and their blood."
-- John Adams, 1765
In 1662 Hampshire County, Massachusetts was formed from the western section of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Parts of the original county became Hampden, Franklin, Berkshire and Worcester Counties.
Early European settlers in the American colonies were mostly farmers and craftsmen. They had to work hard to provide daily neccesities for themselves.
Captain Simon Davis, Jr. was born on September 2, 1724 in Littleton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. His parents were Simon and Jane Davis.
He married Mary Powers on September 23, 1745. Mary Powers was born on November 1, 1723. She may have been the daughter of Joseph Whitcomb and Hannah Powers or of Isaac Powers, son of Walter.
On January 12, 1745 Simon Davis Junr & Mary his wif made an acknowledgement for fornication owned the Covenant & had their child baptized. (Records of Littleton, p. 206)
Simon and Mary's children were:
Susannah Davis (1745),
Abigail Davis Alvord (1746, married Stephen Alvord),
Elias Davis (1748),
Mary Davis (1749),
Sarah Davis,
Hannah Davis (1752),
Simon Davis (1759),
Phineas Davis (1761), and
Sampson Davis.
He came to Greenwich, Hampshire County, Massachusetts about 1748.
He was crippled in Colonel Seth Pomeroy's company at Lake George in 1755. The Battle of Lake George was on September 8, 1755 in northern New York. It was part of the French and Indian War. There were 1,500 French and Indian troops under Baron de Dieskau. They were defeated by 1,500 Americans under William Johnson and 200 Mohawks led by King Hendrick.
He was "warned out" of New Salem in 1760, where he may have lived but there are no deeds of land transaction.
Littleton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts was first settled in 1686 by English settlers and was the the location of the Native American village called Nashoba Plantation
