“Hopefully, John Sales, a “Black Sheep” in 1633 in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and his daughter Phebe, had a better life in New Netherland.”

Those were what I thought were words to finish up the saga of John and Phebe. However, the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society (NYG&B) has some articles in their NYG&B Record that mention John and Phebe, and I was finally able to gain online access to that article. So here are a few more tidbits about the family- some that answer questions in our previous posts, and some that flesh out the story a bit more.

Back in England, the parish registers of Little Waldingfield, Suffolk, England, included an entry for a marriage on 11 August 1625 of John Sales and Philip Soales.” Philip was a name used by women named “Philippa,” which is the feminine of Philip in Latin, the language used in the churches in those days.

John may have been older at his marriage than expected, (possibly not born ~1600) since his property was called “Old Jan’s Land” after his death in 1645- even in that time, 45 was not “old.”.

Those parish registers also included baptisms for “Phoebe Sales, daughter of John” on 1 May 1626, and for another daughter of John, “Sarah Seales,” who was christened 27 July 1628. No other mention of this family is made in these registers.

John Sales, his wife, and daughter Phebe did sail with the Winthrop Fleet in 1630, as surmised in our first post. The wife is not named, nor was she listed as a member of the First Church of Boston when John was noted as #21. Wives were listed for some members, however, so this may indicate that she died on the voyage or shortly after landing in the colony. Little Sarah may have died while they were waiting to sail and not in their own parish, or even once on board, since she only has the one entry in the parish register.

In 1664, colonist John Greene made a transcript of the Charlestown, Massachusetts town records. He noted that John Sales stayed and became an inhabitant of Charlestown in1629- though it was actually 1630- his was listed as #13 out of the 17 names recorded. The transcript goes on to explain how the colonists were in such dire straits:

“The summer this year [1632] prooving short, and wett, or [our] Crops of Indian Corne (for all this while wee had noe other) was very small and great want threatened us…”

The transcript goes on to describe the crimes of John Sales, and that he was openly punished, all his goods were to be sold to pay restitution, and he would be bound to Mr. Coxeshall until the year 1636.

Phoebe was to be bound out until 1647, and, if the above baptism is indeed the same Phebe, she would have been 21 when she gained her freedom, along with a “cowe cafe” from Mr. Coxeshall. Becoming an apprentice was a way to protect Phebe while her father was bound out, and it would teach her a trade so that she would not follow in the criminal footsteps of her father. This action does lend credence to the idea that she had no mother living, nor siblings.

John Winthrop, the Governor of the Colony, gave some details in his writings concerning John running away to the Indians. Winthrop states that Sales ran away to “… a place twelve miles off, where were seven Indians, whereof four died of the pox while he was there.” John must have been immune to smallpox since he survived, but the Indians did not have immune systems strong enough to fight the new disease brought by colonists to their lands.

John and Phebe Sales were not the only Massachusetts Bay Colonists who wished to remove themselves from the strict communities of the Puritans. Others also left for New Netherland, and John is first found in those records in 1638. As “Jan Celes” he was given a lease or permission to live at a plantation north of a place later called Rutgers Swamp. This area became known as “Old Jan’s Land” and his son-in-law took possession of some of the land, in the midst of Manhattan, after John’s death.

Phoebe is listed with a variety of first names and a variety of spellings of her last name in the Dutch records, but she was married 11 February 1640 to Theunis Nyssen. Thus she would have been only about 14, which was legal in New Netherland at that time. She had at least seven children, and they lived in Gowanus, Flatbush, and Brooklyn. There are no known daughters named Philippa, which would have been the Dutch custom, to name a daughter after the wife’s mother. If Phebe’s mother had died when she was very young, as was earlier hypothesized, she might choose to forego the custom. She did have a daughter named Mary, however- possibly after her step-mother, Mary Roberts?

Of course, we wondered what life was like for John and Phebe in the Dutch Colony, and this excellent article in the NYG&BR gives us more information concerning their daily life. (Our Helbling-Springsteen ancestors lived in Dutch New York possibly in this time period, too, so this information can give us some context to their lives.)

Apparently, Jan Celes made a number of court appearances due to various conflicts with neighbors. The first of those was when Jan was called in for “damage which the defendant’s hogs have caused the plaintiff.” He also still had some legal dealings in Massachusetts, as on 28 December 1639 he gave a power of attorney to a man from New Plymouth, and it was noted that John was living on Manhattan at that time.

“The fiscal vs. old Jan Selis” was a court case recorded on 26 November 1643. Neighbors testified that “old Jan drove many cows and horses into the swamp” and that he had “cut the cow of little Manuel with a chopping knife.” He was required to pay a fine, pay damages to his victims, and court costs for “having chased and wounded cattle.” Jan was also told that if committed such a crime again, he would be banished.

What may often be dismissed as dry genealogy in society journals can really help us learn more about our family. These articles can add much context, as in the case of John and Phebe Sales and the New York Genealogical & Biographical Record (NYG&BR). These articles also give us an idea of how the investigation progressed to learn the facts of a life, something we all might be able to use when researching other ancestors. Some say that societies are dead in this age of the internet, but societies provide valuable information for all who pursue the stories of their family- or even, those crazy people who become entranced by the stories of other families.

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. “The True Identity of John Sales Alias Jan Celes of Manhattan” by Gwenn F. Epperson, New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 123, No. 2, Pages 65-73, April 1992.
2. Additions and Corrections to “The True Identity of John Sales Alias Jan Celes of Manhattan,” New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 124, No. 4, Pages 226-7, October 1993.
3. “Jan Cornelius Buys (Alias Jan Damen) and Teunis Nyssen (or Denyse) and Roelof Willemszen,” by John Reynolds Totten, New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol. 66, No. 3, Page 284, July 1935.

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McMurray Family (Click for Family Tree)

Life in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1630s had been difficult for the “Black Sheep” known as John Sales and his little daughter, Phebe Sales. They are not related to us, but theirs is an interesting story that tells us a bit about what life was like in the early colonies, where some of our ancestors lived too.

In our previous posts we left John and Phebe on 6 June 1637, ‘bound out’ and “troublesome,” with an unknown fate to be decided by two men and the court.

Apparently, they were released from their indenture, as John and Phebe went to New Netherland, a Dutch colony that is now New York, New Jersey, Delaware, etc. The Dutch were much more tolerant of religious differences, women had more rights, and John and Phebe could be rid of the strict Puritans as well as their bad experiences in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. John changed his name to be Dutch-sounding- he went by “Jan Celes,” and lived in Manhattan. (It was a lot less pricey in those days.)

Jan Celes was recorded in New Amsterdam (now New York City), the capital, on 21 August 1644 when he married  a widow named Maria Sloofs, called “Marritjen [Mary] Roberts” in his will. (The Dutch used a woman’s maiden name for all official records, thus ‘Roberts’ would have been Mary’s maiden name and she was recorded throughout the records as such.)

Jan’s will was dated just eight months after the marriage, on 17 April 1645, and he was “…wounded and lying sick abed”- in fact, he was so ill that he could not write, thus gave his last wishes verbally with at least two witnesses.

Phebe Sales, his daughter, had already married, on 11 February 1640, to Theunis Nyssen, in New Amsterdam. In 1645, her father willed half his estate to Theunis, and half to his wife Marritjen, whose portion was to revert to Theunis upon her death or remarriage. Thus Phebe and any heirs would have the benefit of almost all of his estate eventually. Jan did allow in his will that Marritjen could have, if she did not remarry, 200 guilders to will to whomever she wished. John also listed his name as “John Seals” as well as “Jan Celes”; he combined the English and Dutch names when he wrote his signature as “Jan Seles.”

John died sometime between when his will was given on 17 April 1645, and 9 August 1645, when John’s widow “Mary Robbertszen” married Thomas Grydy (Greedy) in New York. Interestingly, Thomas was a convicted felon, as had been John Sales. Mary  probably died by 13 October 1658 when Thomas made his will, as no wife was mentioned.

Theunis likely died before Phebe, as her second husband was Jan Cornelison Buys; they married in Middelwout (now Flatbush) on 24 August 1663, and she may have had one child with him. She died and was buried as “Femmetje Jans” on 13 December 1666, in the Flatbush Church Cemetery.

Hopefully, John Sales, a “Black Sheep” in 1633 in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and his daughter Phebe, had a better life in New Netherland.

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Pioneers of Massachusetts by Charles Henry Pope, 1900, via Archive.org.
2. John Sale is listed on page 2 of “Boston Church Records” The Records of the Churches of Boston. CD-ROM. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2002. (Online database.  AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008 .)
3. Entry for John Sales: The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2010), (Originally Published as: New England Historic Genealogical Society. Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, 3 vols., 1995). He is listed on p. 407-8 in a footnote in the profile of John Coggeshall, page 1616-1618 in his own profile as John Sales.
4. “&c” means “and etc.”
5. Double or dual dating is often used during this time period because of the change from the Julian to the Gregorian Calendar. See the article on dual dating at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual_dating and http://www.usgenweb.org/research/calendar.shtml.
6. The followup on the lives of John Sales and Phebe Sales is a lesson in good genealogy. There was another “John Sales” who was found in Providence, Rhode Island, in the late 1630s- many thought these two were one and the same. An excellent article by Gwenn Epperson proved that they were not. See”The True Identity of John Sales alias Jan Celes of Manhattan” was printed in the New York Genealogical & Biographical Record (NTGBR 123:65-73), and the story was added to in 1994 by Harry Macy (NYGBR 124:226-27).

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McMurray Family (Click for Family Tree)

Puritans felt compelled to make sure that others, even non-Puritans, followed the rules/laws of an orderly society. Hence, “Black Sheep” like John Sales were to be made an example, and his punishment was harsh. On the 1st of April 1633, he was “censured by the Court after this manner:”

… all his estate was to be forfeited (though it likely was small)

… he had to pay double restitution to all those he had wronged

… he “shall be whipped”

…he will be “bound as servant with any that will retain him for 3 years”

The records continue:

“John Sayle is bound with Mr. Coxeshall for 3 yeares, for which hee is to give him £4 per ann[um]; his daughter is also bound with him for 14 yeares. Mr. Coxeshall is to haue [have] a sow [female pig] with her, & att the end of her time hee is to giue [give] vnto [unto] her a cowe calfe.”

So John’s little daughter, possibly just seven-years old (she was baptized 1 May 1626), was punished too. As her mother is not mentioned in any of the Colony records, we can assume that her father was her sole caregiver until this point. At least they kept the two together.

On 4 March 1633/34, John was whipped for running away from his master.

On 30 January 1634/35, John came back after running away again, and this time it was noted that he ran to the Indians. He was most likely whipped, again. It would be interesting to know his experience during the time he was gone, and whether or not his daughter accompanied him.

Two years later, on 7 April 1635, the court records that two of the colony leaders were to examine “the business” between John Sayles, his daughter, Mr. Coxeall, and a John Levens. There are no details of the problem or how it was solved, but by 6 June 1637, Phebe Seales, who had been ‘put apprentice’ to John Coggeshall (the same ‘Mr. Coxehall,’ Boston merchant), had caused enough problems that a court intervention was required. Unfortunately the girl “proved overburdensome to him… the Court…have thought it just to ease him of it…” Apparently Coggeshall had “put” Phebe (loaned her out) to John Levins, and that was not working out well either. So the court agreed upon two arbitrators, who were to “…end the difference between the said parties & to set down such order for the ease and discharge of the said John Coggeshall, &c disposing of the said Phebe, as they shall think equal.”

Sadly, we do not know how the issues were resolved, but we do know what happened to John Sales and his daughter Phebe Sales. We will finish the story in our next post, on Wednesday.

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Pioneers of Massachusetts by Charles Henry Pope, 1900, via Archive.org.
2. John Sale is listed on page 2 of “Boston Church Records” The Records of the Churches of Boston. CD-ROM. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2002. (Online database.  AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008 .)
3. Entry for John Sales: The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2010), (Originally Published as: New England Historic Genealogical Society. Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, 3 vols., 1995). He is listed on p. 407-8 in a footnote in the profile of John Coggeshall, page 1616-1618 in his own profile as John Sales.
4. “&c” means “and etc.”
5. Double or dual dating is often used during this time period because of the change from the Julian to the Gregorian Calendar. See the article on dual dating at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual_dating and http://www.usgenweb.org/research/calendar.shtml.

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Original content copyright 2013-2016 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

McMurray Family (Click for Family Tree)

Our Burnell, Tucker, Bannister, Pomeroy, Parsons, and Kingsley ancestors lived in Puritan Massachusetts in the 1600s, and the early 1700s as the society became more diverse. They may have known John Sales, or known of him- news travelled faster than we realize even though they did not have cell phones in those days. Thankfully, John Sales is not the ‘Black Sheep’ of our family, though he likely is such in some other family. His story, however, will give a bit of context to the time and place that our own ancestors lived.

Charles Henry Pope compiled information from many available sources, such as, in this case, the Records of Massachusetts Bay Colony or the General Court [Col. Rec.], and Gov. John Winthrop’s History of Massachusetts [W.]. Pope’s book Pioneers of Massachusetts was published in 1900.

These records show that John Sales was admitted as an inhabitant of Charlestown, Massachusetts, now known as Cambridge (Boston’s oldest neighborhood), and in 1630 the capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. From other sources we learn that John migrated from Little Waldingfield, Suffolk, England, in 1630, and his first residence in the colony was Charlestown. John most likely was already a member of the Puritan church- the ONLY religion tolerated in the colony. To become a member of the local church, however, John, like other men and women, had to be examined by local Puritan religious leaders and found to be steadfast and knowledgeable in his faith. In fact, he proved himself- John was one of the members from the very beginning of the First Church in Boston, on 27 August 1630- he was member #21.

Anne (Dudley) Bradstreet, the first female poet to be published in the English colonies- and the most famous poet in the colonies- was also listed in that first accounting of members of the new church. Her most famous lines are:

“If ever two were one, then surely we.

If ever man were loved by wife, then thee.”

John Winthrop, the Governor of the colony, was a member of the Boston First Church, too.

So how did John Sales, who travelled in such prominent circles to some degree, end up being convicted of theft?? ‘Black Sheep’ that he was, he had the distinction of being the first person in the colony to be convicted of that crime, on 1 April 1633.

We know that times were pretty lean in the first years of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and we know that John had a daughter named Phebe to support. We do not know John’s status when he immigrated to the colony- was he part of the gentry, a merchant, a skilled craftsman, an apprentice, or indentured servant? His wife was not listed in any records (still existing) once he was in the colony. She may have died in England after the birth of their second daughter in 1628, or she died on board ship or shortly after arrival. My hypothesis is that she would have been on board ship, as it would be unlikely a man would bring a four-year old daughter- Phebe- with him to the colony without a woman to care for her. (Phoebe was baptized in 1626, but may not have been an infant at baptism, thus her actual age is unknown.) If his wife and second daughter, 2 year old Sarah had come on the voyage, they would have been like many other colonists, who travelled as a family. A number of passengers on board perished during the journey, however, and John’s wife and youngest daughter may have been two of them, as they are not mentioned in any of the Colony’s records.

John Sales and family probably sailed from England with the Winthrop Fleet, the 12 ships that landed in Salem, Massachusetts on 12 June 1630. The sick and decimated colonists already in Salem did not have enough food even for themselves, nor housing for the new arrivals. The newest colonists then only had a few months to find a different place to settle and build shelters for the oncoming brutal New England winter. They moved about twenty miles away, and founded Charlestown.

The colonists mostly lived in very simple housing such as wigwams, dugout homes, or wattle-and-daub (basically stick and mud) houses with dirt floors. The rich persons in town had clapboard houses, which would have been much warmer in winter than drafty wattle-and-daub. There was a lack of fresh water in Charlestown, and growing and gathering food to sustain them over that first winter would have been a challenge during the few remaining months of summer. Many got sick from poor diet, local conditions, and hard work. In that first year, about 200 of the approximately 1,000 immigrants died; the next spring, in 1631, another 200 returned to England. John Sale and his daughter Phebe somehow survived these tough times, and made it through their first year in the New World.

The year 1632 was harder, though, for John and Phebe. The Charlestown Town Records state:

“heere happened in this Towne, the first knowne thiefe yt [that] was notoriously observed in ye Country, his name was John Sales who having stolne [stolen] Corne from many people in this Scarce time was Convicted thereof before the Court…”

John was accused of

“… fellonyously takeing away corne & fishe from dyvers persons the last yeare & this, as also clapboards, &c.”

Not that stealing is acceptable, especially when others also do not have enough, but perhaps John was just trying to feed his daughter and himself, and either add clapboards to their home to help them stay warm, or use the clapboards for firewood. He may have been too sick to care for his daughter as well as bring home dinner or kindling from the woods. We cannot know his situation or motivation, but we do know what happened next.

We can also tell you that John Sales was not listed as an inhabitant of Charlestown on 9 January 1633/34. Obviously there was a big change in his life.

Tomorrow- The Punishment

Notes, Sources, and References: 

1. Pioneers of Massachusetts by Charles Henry Pope, 1900, via Archive.org.
2. John Sale is listed on page 2 of “Boston Church Records” The Records of the Churches of Boston. CD-ROM. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2002. (Online database.  AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008 .)
3. Entry for John Sales: The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2010), (Originally Published as: New England Historic Genealogical Society. Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, 3 vols., 1995). He is listed on p. 407-8 in a footnote in the profile of John Coggeshall, page 1616-1618 in his own profile as John Sales.
4. “&c” means “and etc.”
5. Double or dual dating is often used during this time period because of the change from the Julian to the Gregorian Calendar. See the article on dual dating at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual_dating and http://www.usgenweb.org/research/calendar.shtml.

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Original content copyright 2013-2016 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.