“Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists."
― Franklin D. Roosevelt
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.
The town common (commons) was a small, open field at the center of the town which was jointly owned. It was used as a marketplace, a place for the militia to drill, or for grazing livestock.
John Warner was born about 1616 in England. His father was William Warner. He came to Ipswich on the ship Increase with his family in 1637. He was a freeman of Ipswich.
John's children with his first wife included:
Samuel Warner (1640),
John Warner (1644),
Mark Warner (1646), and
Nathaniel Warner (1650).
He married Priscilla Symonds on March 10, 1655. Priscilla was the daughter of Mark Symonds. She was born about 1620 in Essex, England.
John and Priscilla's children included:
Joseph Warner (1657),
Mehitable Warner (1659),
Daniel Warner (1661),
Eleazar Warner (1662), and
Priscilla Warner Cummings (married Thomas Cummings).
In 1670 he moved to Brookfield. When the town was destroyed by indigenous warriors during King Philip's War in 1675, he retreated to Hadley, Hampshire County, Massachusetts.
On May 17, 1692, he gave his property to his sons, Mark, Nathaniel, and Eleazar. His property included the two rights to the commons and land in Hadley and Swampfield. He also gave them 3 beds, 3 coverlets, 3 pairs of sheets, a bolster, 6 pillows, 2 brass kettles, 3 skillets, a frying pan, an iron pot, a pair tongs, an iron peale, an iron trammel, a box of iron, 2 pewter platters, a pewter basin, 2 catechisms, 2 bibles, 6 sermon books, 2 woman's coats, 2 waistcoats, a large apron, a silk handkerchief, a silk hood, a silk cap, and a hat.
Pewter is an alloy composed mainly of tin, but can include lead. It was used for dishes and utensils. Some colonists suffered lead poisoning from using it. It dents easily and lasted about ten years. It was expensive and wooden dishes were used most often.
Any man entering a colony or becoming a a member the church, was not free. He was not forced to work, but his movements were carefully observed to see if they followed the Puritanical ideal. After this probationary period, he became a "freeman." Men then took the Oath of a Freeman where they vowed to defend the Commonwealth and not to overthrow the government.
Coverlets (Coverlid) are woven bedcovers, used as the topmost covering on a bed.
John Norton (1606-1663) was a Puritan divine. He wrote Responsio ad totam quæstionum syllogen, the first Latin book in America in 1645 (published 1648). His biography of John Cotton, Abel Being Dead, Yet Speaketh,
was published in 1658.
