Peaslee family Quaker Roots

The American family was founded in Massachusetts about 1635 and from there has spread to every state and territory in the Union. Many distinguished men have borne the name or inherited the blood through intermarriage. One of the latter is John Greenleaf Whittier, the poet. Two governors of New Hampshire have borne the name, a chief justice of the Massachusetts supreme court and several members of congress. Few men have attained higher honor in the medical profession than Dr. Edmund Randolph Peaslee 1814-1878, of New York City, while judges, clergymen, lawyers, physicians, educators, eminent business men and farmers may be named without number. The family furnished its full quota of soldiers to the revolutionary army (although many were Quakers), and in the "Anti Rent" war that raged in the counties of the Mohawk valley.  Provincial and State Papers, Volume 13

Thomas Peaslee was a strong, fearless leader and to his wise council and grim determination to never yield may be largely attributed the successful result of the strife in Schoharie county. See home picture above.

Whoever opens for examination the old book of town records of Haverhill, Massachusetts, will find on one of its first pages, "Joseph Peasley and Mary, Joseph, born September 9, 1641," and further search will disclose repeated mention of Joseph Peasley, father and son, through the records of three-quarters of a century. Joseph Peaslee, the emigrant ancestor, came to this country about 1635. Prior to the emigration he married, in Wales, Mary Johnson, daughter of a well-to-do farmer who lived near the river Severn, in the western part of England, near the Wales line. The first mention of Joseph Peaslee in Massachusetts is in the records of Newbury, in 1641. He took the freeman's oath, June 22, 1642. He was granted land in Haverhill, March 14, 1645, and subsequent allotments up to 1656. He was a farmer, eminently respectable, of strong character, a self-educated physician, and often mentioned in old records as a "preacher and gifted brother.'' His descendant, the poet John Greenleaf Whittier, speaks of him as the "brave confessor." He was a commissioner of claims and selectman of Haverhill, 1649-50-53. He removed from Haverhill to Salisbury, Massachusetts, to the part called Newtown, now Amesbury.

He was made a "townsman" there July 17, 1656, and granted land; later grants were made in 1657 and 1658. The inhabitants of "Newtown" neglected to attend church worship in the "Old Town" and failed to contribute to the support of the minister. They held meetings for worship in private houses, and having no minister. Joseph Peaslee and Thomas Macy officiated as such; this soon coming to the notice of the general court, who decreed that all the inhabitants of "New Town" should attend church in "Old Town" and also contribute to the support of the minister. All who did not obey were to be fined five shillings unless they had a reasonable excuse. Under the leadership of Peaslee and Macy the people did not heed the "decree" of the general court, nor did the leaders cease preaching although a special fine of five shillings was to be imposed on them for each offense. See Powow Preacher spats with Puritans

OLD GARRISON HOUSE (PEASLEE HOUSE)

In 1658 the general court ordered Joseph Peaslee and Thomas Macy to appear before the next term of said court to answer for their disobedience. This mandate was also unheeded, and Joseph Peaslee continued to preach, with the result that he was fined five shillings per week. While there is no evidence to show that Joseph Peaslee joined the Society of Friends, his friend, Thomas Macy, was prosecuted and fined for allowing four of that sect to take shelter in his house one rainy day for three-quarters of an hour. There was no society of "Friends" organized in New England prior to his death, the early comers being cruelly persecuted and sent back to England. Joseph was opposed to the Puritan church in his religious convictions, hence his disregard of the orders from the court to conform to the state church. He died December 5, 1660, leaving his wife, Mary, executrix of his estate that was appraised at three hundred and sixty-four pounds. In 1662 she was granted one hundred and eight acres of land in Salisbury. She died in Haverhill in 1694.

Children: Jane, married, December 10, 1646, John Davis, and settled at Oyster river. New Hampshire (now Durham). 2. Mary, married a lawyer, Joseph Whittier, and lived at Newbury. 3. Elizabeth, no record of her ever having married. 4. Sarah, married Thomas Barnard (2), April 12, 1664; lived at Amesbury. 5. Joseph.From Records--- Joseph Peasley Sen. died in 1660. Joseph Peasley Jr. was not of age in 1666. He was granted a "township '' in Amesbury in 1660, but lived in Haverhill after he became of age. November 1660: The last Will and Testament of Josef Peasly is that my debts shall be payedout of my Estate and the remainder estate----my debts being payed I doo give and bequeath unto Mary my wife During her life and I doo my daffter Sara all my hous and lands that I have at Salisbury and I doo give unto Josef my sonne all my land that I have upon the plain at Haverhil and doo give unto Josef my sonne all my medo ling in East medo at Haverhil and doo give unto Josef my sonne five shares of the common rites that doo belong to me on the plain. I doo give unto my daffter Elizabeth my fourty fower acres of upland ling westwards of Haverhil and doo give unto my dattfer Elizabeth fower acres and a half of medo ling in the---- at Haverhil and doo allso give my daffter Elizabeth fower of the common rites that doo belong to the plain and doo give unto daffter Jean fower shillings and to my daffter Mary Fower shillings. I doo give unto Sara Saier my grandchild my upland and medo ling in -----medo.
And I doo give unto my sonne Josef all the remainder of my land at Haverhil which is not herein disposed of. I doo allso make Mary my wiff my Soule executrer and doo allso leave Josef my sonne and the estate I have given him to my wiff to poss on till Josef my sonne be twenty years of age."

"Joseph Peaslee, called 'Junior', was but twelve years old when his father died. He and his family lived in the "eastern part of the town near the head of what is now (1977) East Broadway on the side towards the Merrimack River". The house he erected prior to 1675 on the County Bridge road This house became known as the "Peaslee Garrison" 790 East Broadway, Haverhill. It was used as a sort of armory at one time and was constructed with bricks imported from England. (An interesting sidenote is that Robert Hastings , the mason who built the house, had a daughter, Elisabeth, who later married Joseph's son, Joseph.) The house is 2 stories high and has 3 rooms upstairs and 3 rooms downstairs. A chimney is located at each end of the house. During King Philip's War the home was used as a garrison house where soldiers were stationed and people could flee if need be.

In 1692, he was granted "the privilege of erecting a sawmill at the head of east meadow river upon the stream by or near Brandy Row." The mill was built in 1693 and the site later became known as ‘Peaslees Mills’. A ‘Peaslee’ occupied it until 1860. Joseph sold 25% of the mill to Simon Wainwright in 1693/4 for 110 pounds.
'Junior' was said to have been a physician and was called 'Doctor'. He was known locally as a ‘physician’ who had much knowledge of herbs and roots and used them to aid people medically.The amount of property enumerated in his will would constitute a well-to-do man, even of today. He also had a second wife, a Mary Tucker, the widow of Stephen Davis. His daughter, Mary, became the grandmother of John Greenleaf Whittier, a famous American poet.

More info from William Richard Cutter Genealogical and Family History of Western New York: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Building of a Nation, Volume 1

Dr. Joseph Peaslee, was born at Haverhill, Massachusetts, September 9, 1646, died there March 21, 1734. Prior to his father's death in 1660 he was granted "Children's Land" and October 10, 1660, a "township," the latter a term used to indicate prospective rights. About 1673 he built his house in East Haverhill near "Rocks Bridge," spanning the Merrimac. using bricks brought from England. It was of two stories with a wing and was widely known as the "Peaslee Garrison House." The building is yet in a good state of repair, one of the landmarks of the Merrimac valley and of great interest to antiquarians. The house famed in prose and poetry was originally built by Dr. Peaslee as a refuge for women and children from the Indians, and was used as a garrison house in the French and Indian and King Philip's wars. The first Quaker meetings in that part of the country were held at this house, Dr. Peaslee becoming a convert and joining the meeting. This was in 1699 after the town had refused them the use of the meeting house. In 1687 he was chosen constable, having taken the oath of fidelity and allegiance in 1677.

In 1692 he was granted the privilege of erecting a sawmill. The mill was built the next year and for one hundred and fifty years thereafter was owned wholly or in part in the Peaslee name. He was a large landowner, by grants, inheritance and purchase. He was noted as a physician, was selectman of Haverhill, 1689-90 and in 1721 was again chosen constable.

He married, January 21, 1671, Ruth, born October 16, 1651, died November 5, 1723, daughter of Thomas and Eleanor M. Barnard. Her father, one of the first settlers of Amesbury, was killed by the Indians in 1677. Dr. Peaslee married (second) Widow Mary (Tucker) Davis, daughter of Morris and Elizabeth (Gill) Tucker, and widow of Stephen Davis. Children of first wife: 1. Mary, born July 14, 1672; married, May 24, 1694, Joseph Whittier, youngest son of Thomas and Ruth (Green) Whittier. Joseph and Mary are the great-grandparents of John Greenleaf Whittier, the poet. 2. Joseph, born July 19, 1674: married Elizabeth Hastings, and settled in Salem, New Hampshire. 3. Robert, born February 3, 1677; married (first) Alice Currier: (second) Ann Sargeant. He lived on the old homestead and was prominent in church and town. 4. John, of further mention. 5. Nathaniel, born June 25, 1682. He and Robert Peaslee were members of the famous "land syndicate" of four hundred members, whose transactions and lawsuits would fill many volumes; was for nine years a representative in the Massachusetts house of assembly and for many years held the highest office in the town of Haverhill. He married (first) Judith Kimball: (second) Mrs. Abraham Swan; (third) Mrs. Martha Hutchins. 6. Ruth, torn February 25, 1684. 7. Ebenezer, died young. 8. Sarah, born August 15, 1690.

John, fourth child and third son of Dr. Joseph (2) and Ruth (Barnard) Peaslee, was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, February 25, 1679, died in Newton, New Hampshire, in 1752. He moved from Haverhill to Newton, New Hampshire, about 1715, settling in the southern part nf the town. The first "Friends meeting" in Newton was held in John Peaslee's home, later a meeting house was built, and a burying ground located near by. He and his numerous family were all members of the Newton meeting. He was a prominent man in town and church affairs and highly respected. He married (first), March 1, 1705, Mary Martin, at the house of Thomas Barnard, "where a meeting was held for the occasion." Mary was a daughter of John, son of George and Susanna (North) Martin. Susanna North Martin, after the death of her husband, George Martin, was arrested for witchcraft, April 30, 1692, tried at Salem, June 29, and executed July 19, 1692. The story of the grief and suffering of her daughter is told by Whittier in his poem "The Witch's Daughter." A full account of the trial is found in "Merrill's History of Amesbury." John Peaslee married (second), August 18, 1745, Mary Newbegin, a widow, of Hampton, New Hampshire, and a minister of the society of Friends.

Children of first wife: 1. Joseph, born March 7, 170—; married Martha Hoag; twelve children. 2. John, born December 9, 1707; married Lydia ;ten children. 3. Sarah, born February 30, 1708-09; married Peter Morrill. 4. Mary, married, August 1, 1745. Fliphalet Hoyte. 5. Jacob, born May 1, 1710: married Hulda Brown; one child. 6. Nathan, born September 20,1711; married Lydia Gove; nine children. 7. Ruth, born 1712. 8. David, born April 3, 1713; married Rachel Straw: eleven children. 9. Moses, born 1714: married Mary Gove; ten children. 10. James, born 1715; married Abigail Johnson; seven children, it. Ebenezer, the founder of the family in New York state. This large family all married and had children. Various records give names and dates of the birth of ninetyeight grandchildren, while the sons of John Peaslee had two hundred and eighty-four grandchildren. The daughters had twenty-nine children, but there is no record kept of their grandchildren.

Ebenezer, youngest child of John and Mary (Martin) Peaslee, was born about 1717. He settled first in Newton, New Hampshire, later removing to New York state, settling near Quaker Hill, Dutchess county, about four miles east of Pawling station on the Harlem railroad. Here, in the large Quaker burying ground, he is buried with his wife. His removal from the Hampton, New Hampshire, (Newton) meeting is shown by his removal  More info Harvard Quaker History

John B. Peaslee

Benjamin Dodge Peaslee Physician. Hillsborough Bridge born in Weare, New Hampshire, April 18, 1857, son of Robert and Persis Boardman (Dodge) Peaslee. He is a descendant of Joseph and Mary Peaslee, who came from England in 1638 and settled in Newbury, Massachusetts. He pursued his professional studies in the Boston University Medical School, in the Pulte Medical College, Cincinnati, Ohio, and in the New York Ophthalmic College and Hospital. In 1879, he began practice at Meredith, New Hampshire, and practiced for a time in Bradford and Concord, New Hampshire, and Melrose, Massachusetts. For two years he was Superintendent of the dry-goods house of Houghton & Dutton, Boston, Massachusetts. Owing to ill health, he was obliged to give up active practice and business life, and now resides in Hillsborough Hridge, and devotes his time to special work of the eye and ear, being obliged to spend" the winters in the South. He is a lover of fine horses and of all outdoor sports, especially trout fishing, and is well acquainted with all the brooks in the vicinity. He is a member of Melrose Club, of Melrose, Massachusetts, and of the New Hampshire Medical Society. He is a Mason, a member of Harmony Lodge No. 38, and of Woods Chapter No. 14. Royal Arch Masons. Dr. Peaslee was married February 11, 1880, to Alice M. Hammond, and June 1 1. 1889, to Hattie Dutton. He has one son: Karl Hammond Peaslee, born January 7, 1881.

Amos Peaslee

Haverhill History

The Captain's Well Amesbury

Story on the Captain's Well made famous by J G Whittier.

According to "Contemporary American Biography: Biographical Sketches of Representative Men of the Day Representatives of Modern Thought and Progress, of the Pulpit, the Press, the Bench and Bar, of Legislation, Invention and the Great Industrial Interests of the Country, Volume 1, Part 1" Mr. John Greenleaf Whittier received some high prices for his poems—so high, he used to say, that he could hardly bring himself to accept them. The highest of these was one thousand dollars paid by the New York Ledger for ninety-six lines entitled "The Captain's Well." See full poem at Bartlelby

 "Captain's Well" in Amesbury Is Rededicated Thursday, August 7, 1930 

Residence of Valentine Bagley; now the Huntington Home and The Amesbury High School and the Captain's Well. Photos from Warren NH Site Whittier is not the only one who has made use of Bagley's experience, for Mrs. Harriet Prescott Spofford, of Deer Island, Amesbury, has also written a poem on the same theme.

The January 11, 1890, issue of the New York Ledger included a "Souvenir Supplement" featuring "The Captain's Well," a poem by John Greenleaf Whittier, illustrated by Howard Pyle. Here is one of the illustrations, untitled, and engraved on wood by Henry Wolf. From Howard Pyle

This poem, which was written in 1889, and may safely be set down as Mr. Whittier's last one of great length, has an interesting bit of local history for its theme. In the last quarter of the eighteenth century, Valentine Bagley, a young man living in Amesbury, went to sea and soon became Captain Bagley. (by Charles Dehlin)

When he was yet young his vessel was wrecked in the Red Sea, and he was cast upon the shore of Arabia, where he was seized and sold into slavery by the Bedouins. After many years he escaped and fled to the great Arabian desert, where he wandered until he nearly perished of thirst. Then, for the first time in his life, he thought of prayer. As he supplicated Heaven for aid, the picture of his home in Amesbury rose before his mind, and, with the finest regard for detail, he vowed that if the Lord would help him back to Amesbury, he would dig a well in a certain spot by the roadside near his home and dedicate it to the Lord.

In time Captain Bagley was rescued and brought home. On the first morning after his arrival, he proceeded to dig in the designated spot. His neighbors asked whether he was digging for gold, and he said no, he was digging for something more precious—water. Finally he came scrambling out of his well, followed by a gush of pure, cool water which rose almost to the brim. The Captain built a curb over the well and spent the remainder of his days sitting near it, keeping the ample trough full and cool, and inviting man and beast to stop in passing, and partake freely of "God's best gift to earth."

Captain Bagley died in 1839, at the age of sixty-six, but the well still remains, though the decayed curb was taken down about ten years ago. Mr. Whittier was thirty-one years old when the Captain died, and had known him for many years.
Info from "Genealogy of Richard Currier of Salisbury and Amesbury, Massachusetts (1616--1686-7) and Many of His Descendants"
Sarah Currier, (Daniel, Thomas', Deacon Thomas'. Richard) daughter of Daniel and Electra (Currier) Currier, was born in Amesbury, Mass., July 5, 1743. She married Dec. 21, 1763, Valentine Bagley, son of Colonel Jonathan and Dorothy (Wells) Bagley of Amesbury, who was born in Amesbury Jan. 1, 1742-3. He was a miller and yeoman and lived in Newbury, Mass. He died April, 1780, and she married, second, David Blaisdell (published Nov. 13, 1790). They had seven children:— John, Dorothy, Dolly, William, Sally, Valentine, and William Bagley. She died Dec. 7, 1821.

Captain Valentine Bagley, son of Valentine and Sarah (Currier) Bagley, was born in Newbury, Mass., January 17 1773- He lived in Amesbury, Mass., and was a sea captain and he was a charter member of Warren Lodge, A. F. & A. M., of Amesbury*, in 1822, and its first treasurer. He married July 24, 1796, Hannah Currier, daughter of Timothy and Anne (Colby) Currier, granddaughter of Thomas and Jemima (Morrill) Currier, great granddaughter of Thomas and Sarah (Barnard) Currier, great-great-granddaughter of Deacon Thomas and Mary (Osgood) Currier, and great-great-great-granddaughter of Richard and Ann Currier, who was born January 27, 1774, and died Oct. i, 1859. He died January 19, 1839, and was buried in the Union cemetery at Amesbury. (See tombstone).

Captain Bagley's tombstone burying-ground on the hill, only a stone's throw from the well.

From Dr. Tony Shaw's blog
Within the same enclosure is the Friend's little half-acre, and in this lie the ashes of Mr. Whittier's dear ones—Uncle Moses, Aunt Mercy, his father and mother, sisters Mary and Lizzie, and brother Franklin—and at the westerly end of the row there was just room for one more mound to be made, and one more plain little headstone to be set up, where the poet intended finally to lay him down to rest. His home was at Amesbury, Mass., and there he was buried in accordance with the following request contained in his will:

"It is my wish that my funeral may be conducted in the plain and quiet way of the Society of Friends with which I am connected, not only by birthright, but also by a settled conviction of the truth of its principles and the importance of its testimonies."

J G Whittier attended many meeting here as well in Dover, NH 

*Warren Lodge was chartered in 1822 and named for General Joseph Warren (1741-1775); an American Patriot, writer and activist, medical doctor, and Freemason. In 1769 the Grand Master of Masons in Scotland appointed Joseph Warren “Provincial Grand Master of Masons in Boston its surrounding territory. In 1772, his appointment was extended by the Grand Lodge of Scotland to be Grand Master of Masons in Continental America. He died commanding soldiers at the Battle of Bunker Hill on June 17, 1775. Widely remembered as a General, he held the rank of Major General for only three days before he was killed, but he was a pioneering doctor for 13 years and part of a dynastic medical family—his younger brother, founded Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Medical Society.

Lodge Address

8 West Whitehall Road Amesbury, Essex 01913

Quakers in Newbury MA

By Melissa Berry @ Newburyport News

---- — “The tale is one of an evil time,
When souls were fettered and thought was crime.
And heresy’s whisper above its breath
Meant shameful scourging, and bonds and death.”
— John Greenleaf Whittier

As we enjoy this season of good food and drink, as well as the liberty to choose which local house of the Lord we fancy, we can be thankful that Puritan tyrants no longer patrol our pastures as they did in our ancestors’ day.  

In Newbury, the early settlers ran into conflict with Puritan authority over ecclesiastical differences. Quakers especially were in the hot bed, and anyone that harbored the “cursed sect” would feel the fiery fury of local officials. These aggressively “bloodthirsty” and “extremely fanatical” men were not open to compromise. When dealing with dissenters, in the words of John Proctor, Puritan “justice would freeze beer.”

When the Quakers came to the Colonies, they brought with them a spiritual democracy that threatened the Puritan aristocratic system. Their simplistic faith had an absence of clergy, creed and sacrament; moreover, they gave women equality. The head honchos like Endicott and Hawthorne labeled them “dangerous intruders invading our borders” and “wandering vagabonds.” Despite the tenacious efforts of the magistrates who wanted to eliminate the “vile heretics,” which included branding, whipping and cropping, the Quakers just kept coming, and the good folk of Newbury were more than willing to board and support them.

Phelps Farm

In the summer months of 1658, the farm of Robert Adams played host to two Quaker missionaries, William Brend and William Leddra. The Phelps family of Salem held a secret Quaker meeting, and Adams escorted the guest speakers to the gathering. See Hannah (Baskel) Phelps Phelps Hill - A Quaker Woman and Her Offspring Unfortunately, word got out and the constables came to break up the assembly and haul in all the “quaking heretics.”

When the law boys arrived, chaos broke out, and perhaps the distraction of finding their wives in the midst of this devil’s den allowed Adams to sneak his guests out and bring them back to Newbury. However, it would not be long before the authorities would track them down. Captain Gerrish and the minister paid a call on their buddy Adams, and despite their best efforts to resolve things amicably, Brend and Leddra were turned over to Salem Court. Adams paid the fines, but his friends faced a different fate.
Picture of Quaker Trial from Laura George

The tragic events that followed were nothing short of extreme cruelty. Confined to the Boston jail, Brend and Leddra were starved and repeatedly beaten with a three-pitched rope until they were on the brink of death. The disapproving sentiment of the public reached Endicott. Knowing he had to intervene, Endicott sent in a surgeon. Russell L. Jackson asserts that the aged Brend, with help from an “unseen Healer,” rose from his sick cot as he still had more light to spread and preach about in New England.

In August 1659, Thomas Macy (see Powow Preacher Spats with Puritans) was prosecuted and fined 30 shillings for hosting four Quakers. Two of his guests, William Robinson and Marmaduke Stephenson, would later be executed upon the gallows on Dec. 27, 1659. (Visit The Thomas Macy Home-Colby House

Fed up with the Puritan government, Macy “shook the dust from off his feet” and departed to Nantucket, where the iron hand of these despots did not reach. Thomas left “because he could not in justice to the dictates of his own conscience longer submit to the tyranny of the clergy and those in authority” (Macy Papers). His journey was a spiritual sign of deliverance as he, his family, Isaac Coleman and Edward Starbuck survived a fierce storm that raged like the Furies on their open boat.

Others like Coffin, Swain, Pike and Folger joined Macy on Nantucket. Allen Coffin noted that, while it was not an Elysium, the island was indeed blessed with “plenty’s golden smile” and “a refuge of the free.” Thanks to these brave, forward-thinking men, Nantucket became the first settlement to enjoy complete separation of Church and State.

On March 16, 1663, John Emery was presented to the court at Ipswich and charged with entertaining Quakers. The whole ordeal caused quite a buzz, and Rev. Parker showed up with a posse, demanding some answers. Sarah Emery asserts: “At this period one can scarcely depict the commotion such an incident must have caused in the secluded and quiet settlement of Quascacunquen, on the banks of the winding Parker, or appreciate the courage evinced by John Emery and his wife in thus rising above popular prejudice, and fanatical bigotry, and intolerance.” For this offence, the court fined Emery four pounds, plus costs and fees.

While we are grateful to live with religious freedom, we must also be grateful that our ancestors’ spirit, courage and light was not extinguished despite the tyrannical terror of dark Puritanical forces.
Happy Thanksgiving! Thank You to the Port Library Archives and Cheryl Follansbee.